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longitudinalwaveme · 3 years

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Len Snart’s Creepy/Pathetic Proposals, Part 6

We now turn our attention to Flash #193: “Captain Cold Blows His Cool”. The issue was published in December 1969. It was written by John Broome, drawn by Ross Andru, and inked by Mike Esposito. It also has what is quite possibly the best Pre-Crisis Captain Cold cover.

Apparently this issue was the first Captain Cold issue comic book writer Geoff Johns ever read, and the cover in particular helped make him the Captain Cold fanboy we all know today.

The story itself begins with five elderly crooks escaping from prison. The guards go out to search for them, and ask a group of young surveyors if they’ve seen anything. They young men respond in the negative, and the guards drive off.

As soon as they’re gone, the “surveyors” reveal that they are the old crooks who escaped, having been de-aged by a mysterious sixth man. Said sixth man also gives them a mirror so that they can fully see the results of their transformation.

Old Criminal #2: “Looka me! I’m “Pretty Boy” Lloyd again!” Nice.

The old criminals ask their mysterious benefactor who he is, how he de-aged them, and why he helped them escape. He responds by ducking behind a tree, taking off his surveyor clothing, and very dramatically popping out as Captain Cold.

Captain Cold: “Get set for a big surprise--as I doff my surveyor-garb--and make a spectacular appearance as--CAPTAIN COLD! Fellow criminals, I’ve made you young again! I’ve given you back your youth--but you still retain your old skills--a fact that will be of supreme benefit to us all!”

Yes, Captain Cold has created a way to DE-AGE people! And no, he will never use it again after this issue. Nor will it ever be mentioned again, even though it seems like it could be really useful.

Old Criminal #3: “Captain Cold! Now things are clearin’ up---he can do anythin’ with that Cold-Gun of his!” Even things that have nothing to do with temperature or motion, apparently.

Pretty Boy Lloyd: “Yeah--he’s a real razzle-dazzler, Pop--uh--I mean Harry!” It is interesting that these old criminals seem as impressed as they are by the Captain. I almost would’ve expected them to disapprove him him needing “new-fangled gadgets” to commit crimes or something.

Captain Cold takes the old criminals to his hideout, which he has decked out with lots and lots of pictures of Laura Lamont, an old-time movie glamour queen in her seventies. She’s is Len’s newest stalkee-girlfriend, and, in addition to her age, she hasn’t been seen in years.

However, Len’s not concerned. He has the power to make his new bride-to-be young again, after all, so all he has to do is find her. And while he’s doing that, he’s going to send the old-time criminals to steal her wedding presents.

Because of a newspaper article she recently wrote, Len knows that Iris Allen knows where Laura Lamont lives. As a result, he disguises himself as a lawyer in the hopes of being able to convince Iris to help him find her.

Len on Iris: “A week ago an article appeared in Picture News written by Iris Allen--whom I used to be in love with before she went haywire and married that no-account police scientist Barry Allen! With me should could’ve lived like royalty-bah! Who can figure women out?” And this, Len, is why you still don’t have a girlfriend.

Also, Len’s disguise consists of a wig, some glasses, and a very fake-looking beard and mustache.

Captain Cold drives to the Allens’ house (which he knows the location of for...some reason) in a pink car that I’m pretty sure he stole, and introduces himself as Mr. Pendergast. He tells Iris that his client died and left a fortune to Miss Lamont...if she can be found, then asks Iris to tell him where Laura lives.

Iris refuses, but she does promise to contact Miss Lamont and tell her about the inheritance. Len gives her his card and walks away.

Iris tells Barry that she’s heading out to see Miss Lamont and tell her the good news. Barry, for his part, thinks that the lawyer looks familiar. His suspicions are raised further when he notices that the lawyer waited in his car for Iris to leave and then followed her to her destination.

He changes into the Flash and tries to follow them both, but since he doesn’t know where Miss Lamont lives, he loses them.

Then he gets knocked off his feet by a super-sonic blast emanating from a nearby building. He runs inside to see what’s going on and finds two of Cold’s crooks stealing an incredibly valuable painting.

“Young crooks? But they blew that safe like seasoned professionals!”

In addition to being unusually experienced, the crooks are also armed with high-tech weaponry. Since it’s apparently a sonic weapon, maybe Len got it from Piper?

However, well-armed or not, Flash manages to defeat and capture both crooks and take them to the police station.

The next day, at the police station, however, he finds that their fingerprints match those of Pop Handley and Fargo Jones, both of whom are pushing sixty. This confuses everyone, as nobody knows about Captain Cold and his magic inexplicable de-aging powers.

The police also tell Barry that there were a rash of other robberies that night, with a gold ring, a tiara, and a fur coat all being stolen.

Barry goes out to investigate as the Flash and heads to the site where the old crooks escaped. Once there, he finds a frozen stump and leaf and naturally comes to the conclusion that Captain Cold is involved.

Barry attempts to follow the residual radiation from Cold’s gun, but it’s been too long since he was there. “Captain Cold’s trail is too cold!”

Barry proceeds to run around the city in hopes of picking up a new trail. He eventually finds it at the store the mink coat was stolen from.

Barry uses the trail to follo Cold to his hideout. Upon his arrival, Cold somehow manages to use his suit to project a proto-cold field to slow the Flash down long enough for him to “reach my absolute weapon!”

Said absolute weapon is “this special attachment to my Cold-Gun!....It lowers the blast-temperature of my gun to below absolute zero!” SCIENCE!

Amusingly, Len even seems aware of how much science is breaking in this issue. “I know that sounds impossible-but then, everything I do is impossible! I don’t know what will happen when I hit you with this--but it’s bound to be absolutely horrible-oh, absolutely!” Was this a pun on “absolute zero”?

As it turns out, the below absolute zero weapon “not only knocked Flash to pieces like a jigsaw puzzle--it embedded the pieces right into the wall!” Um...uh...SCIENCE!

Len puts a picture frame around the Flash’s pieces, checks himself out in the mirror (”I must look my best tonight--my very best!”) and then goes out to propose to the woman he’s never met.

“I’m as nervous a a cat! I’ve waited so many years for this moment! Sometimes it seems to me that I’ve been in love with lovely Laura Lamont all my life!...But what if she turns me down?----Bah! She can’t turn me down-not with what I have to offer her!” Oh, Len....Interestingly, this is the first time that Len has considered the possibility that his stalkee-girlfriend might reject him.

Thus assured, he dramatically breaks into her cottage.

Captain Cold: “Please be calm, my dear! You have nothing to fear! I am Captain Cold! Perhaps you’ve heard of me!” Len, if you didn’t want her to be freaking out, maybe you shouldn’t have broken into her house and dramatically proclaimed yourself as a well-known criminal.

Laura: “Oh, yes--I’ve heard of you! You’re an evildoer--a ruthless criminal!”

Captain Cold: “Nothing of the sort--I’ve gotten a bad press, that’s all! Deep down, my heart is filled with love-especially for you, darling! I want you to be my wife! But before you reply, listen! To begin with, as one of your wedding presents, I’m prepared to give you back your youth--your beauty of years ago!” Question: What would Len have done if she was okay with marrying him, but asked him not to make her young again? Would he have been on board with marrying a woman who’s probably at least forty years his senior? That might’ve made for a more interesting story than what we got, actually.

Back to the actual story, Laura thinks that he’s making fun of her. In response, he pulls out his cold gun, points it directly at her face, and shoots her with it! Way to calm her down, Len.

He tells her to go look in a mirror, and when she does, she sees that she’s young again. She asks him how he did this, and he replies that he’ll tell her after they’re married. Then he takes her back to his hideout.

Once they arrive (and she changes or he makes her change into a red dress for some reason), he presents her with the crown, the mink coat, and a bunch of other treasures and jewelry. He leaves her alone with all of the stuff while he goes to phone the justice of the peace, because this marriage is going forward even if they’ve known each other for less than two hours! This is why no one will date you, Len.

Instead of calling the Justice of the Peace, Len accidentally calls Mick instead. “By the Aurora Borealis--I know that voice! I absent-mindedly dialed Heat Wave’s number--instead of the Justice of the Peace!”

Cold invites Heat Wave over to his hideout so he can show him the defeated Flash (and also have him be the best man at his wedding to a woman who’s forty years older than him who he’s known for two hours).

However, when Mick arrives and Cold shows him the defeated Flash, Mick totally freaks out for some reason (I guess because he won’t get to have his last fight with the Flash) and blasts the frozen Flash pieces with his heat gun. Somehow, this undoes whatever Cold’s below absolute zero gun did to the Flash, and Flash goes back to normal.

Captain Cold and Heat Wave get into a brief scuffle over who’ll get to kill the Flash the second time, and then Barry knocks them both out and takes them to the police.

The issue ends with Barry and Iris discussing the case. Iris says that Laura told her that she hadn’t wanted Cold to make her young again; aging had been too painful for her the first time. Therefore, she’s just going to put on a wig and makeup and pretend to be old until she actually is old again. This seems like a potentially interesting bit of characterization; it’s too bad Laura didn’t get very much focus in the rest of the issue.

After Iris tells Barry about what happened to Laura, Barry tells Iris that the reason Captain Cold called Heat Wave instead of the Justice of the Peace was because he managed to use telepathy to make sure that it would happen. So yeah, apparently Barry has telepathic powers that he never uses again.

In speaking of things that never appear again, what happened to the Cold Gun’s ability to make people young? Why did Cold never use that again, especially once he himself started getting older?

And what happened to the de-aged criminals? Did they stay young, or do the effects eventually fade off?

I have so many questions about this issue. It’s an entertaining story overall, but there are just so many questions that never get answered and so many powers that never get brought up again.

It’s also a pity Laura Lamont never appeared again. She and Ayesha, the Maharanee of Joadpur (from Flash #150) are easily the most interesting of Len’s non-Iris stalkee-girlfriends.

#flash rogues #captain cold #heat wave #the flash #barry allen #iris allen #flash comics

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heresathreebee · 3 years

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Bloody Mess

[Ralph Lamont X Female Reader]

AN: ok 1st of all this got Nasty and also I wanted to try a different format

Warning(s): +17 | Hemophilia, unprotected sex (wrap it to tap it), mentions of abuse, dead body (he deserved it), little rough, sub!Ralph Lamont, cum eating, hair pulling. Masterlist

Alright so I was dragging my feet to watch the episode of Blue Bloods with Alex Brightman in it and I'm glad I did because I got some cool ideas. I don't watch cop centric shows anymore but I thought Ralph would be a cool Italian mob type: turns out he's some dickhead twitch gamer who murdered a girl for stupid reasons I can't remember.

So fuck cannon, he's a 90's mobman now.

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

Imagine Ralph Lamont is a one man clean up crew. He's the go-to guy for any jobs gone wrong, gone messy. Body needs disappearing without a trace? Ralphie's your guy.

Kinda like The Wolf from Pulp Fiction (Tarentino, 1994)

Hydrochloric acid, latex, bleach, bone saw: all he needs is a few hours and it's like there was never a brutal murder here. (Sometimes this is accomplished with a distraction, a staged robbery or shoot out a few counties over if there were too many witnesses)

So Mr. Clean I mean Mr. Lamont gets a job at your home.

It's a cute little 3rd floor apartment with a Mr. and Mrs. Andersen living in it.

Mr. Andersen is– pardon, was– a bookkeeper for Dr. Coolidge (friend of Ralphie's; they both like sterile environments), so it's a favor. Dr. Coolidge mentioned over the phone he expected something "like this" to happen sooner or later. He asked Ralphie to be delicate with you– the late Mrs. Andersen.

You buzz him in without a word.

He finds you leaning against the kitchen island, putting out the cherry of your cigarette. You put it out right on Mr. Andersen's ugly yellow tie (or he thinks it used to be yellow)

It's a fucking blood bath in here. Mr. Andersen was a bleeder. Red splashes and streaks cover the counters, the toaster, the oven door, the fridge. There are bloody footprints on the floor and an honest-to-go pool of it dripping off the counter right next to Andersen's final resting place. You left the steak knife in his throat and he must have sat down in that island chair never to get back up again. His eyes are listless and grey.

Ralphie walks around you, careful to keep you in his peripheral just in case you weren't done "expressing yourself." The linen of your frock is stained, your feet are bare, and your eye is black and swollen. Some of your bruises are old.

In his sweep, he finds three bloodied knives in the sink: a bread knife, a fillet knife, and a cleaver.

"Mrs. Andersen," he says as he turns back to you, "if you wouldn't mind moving to the bedroom for me? You've made quite a mess and I'd hate for you to have to see anymore violence."

"You gonna fight him for my honor? He's already dead."

Ralphie chuckles. "No ma'am. I'm gonna cut him up into pieces so the gallons of acid I brought with me dissolve his corpse efficiently. I'll need to borrow your bathtub for that, and you don't want to try getting cleaned up after the fact. It's no good for the skin."

He's circled around the white marble kitchen island to stand before you. He's calm. The smile on his face is easy and it soothes you. You drop your eyes and catch an unexpected sight.

"Are you…" you wipe at your mouth a accidentally leave a crusted red streak. "Do you get off on this?"

Mr. Lamont shifts his stance; no doubt you've seen the light tent in his pants. "What can I say except I admire your handiwork, Mrs. Andersen. I imagine you may have wanted him to die slowly and painfully. Was it all that you hoped for?"

You turn sheepish (incredible, really, surrounded by such admirable evidence of your own rage) and nod. "It was…"

"Glad to hear," he says softly. "Now, if you wouldn't mind..."

He places a gentle hand on your shoulder but you step away from the island and change his distant, guiding gesture into an intimate embrace. He looks at you in surprise when he feels you wrap your hands around his back beneath his blazer.

"I seem to suffer a similar affliction," you tell him and press yourself into his erection. "You wouldn't mind giving a girl a hand, would you?"

Well it certainly wasn't part of the job, but he was eager to please.

“As you like it,” he whispered, pulling you into a soft kiss.

Your blood sings in your veins. You’ve just killed your no good louse of a husband and now you’ve got your tongue down a stranger’s throat. And a handsome one too, so polite (you were still wary of him but if Dr. Coolidge sent him perhaps he couldn’t be all bad)

You tug at his tie as if it would make him any closer to being inside of you. The smell of copper is a never ending assault on your senses, but you also smell wood smoke beneath it on his collar.

Mr. Lamont’s cheeky hands find your hips and a second later he’s helping you sit up on the kitchen counter. You can see your husband from the corner of your eye, his mouth hanging open in eternal anguish. It just serves to intensify your lust for life.

You give Mr. Lamont's belt a meaningful tug and slip back down to the floor to turn around

You mean to ask him to help you with your zipper, but instead you feel his lips at your neck just before his hand grips the back of your head and pushes you down, face first into the counter inches away from the pool of blood.

Your hand slides through the sticky essence and you feel Lamont draw your skirts up and your underthings down.

You gasp with a shriek as you feel something hot slide up your slit and over your other hole. Did he just lick you???

The living man growls in what sounds like pleasure, pulling at his sleek tie just enough to loosen the constriction at his throat and then he’s shucking his pants down.

You’re not sure if you want him to work you up slowly or take what he wants but you hold your breath and let him lead. You’re far from disappointed when he massages the meat of your rear and leans over your back.

“You can still change your mind, doll,” he whispers, “not too late to go shower and forget today.”

You consider it but you don’t want to forget. You want the feeling of Georgie’s life slipping through your fingers to soothe you to sleep every night. You want to carry the pleasure of giving your former husband a reason for his rampant jealous streak and know that for once there was nothing he could do about it. You want this living man to make this strange and terrifying day to end in bliss and solidify everything like lightning striking sand.

You lift your head and run your dripping red hand through his pristine locks. He locks eyes with you and a shiver runs through him as a droplet lands on his nose. “I don’t want to stop, Mr. Lamont. Now be a good guest and fuck me.”

“Call me Ralphie please,” he breathes, and he’s all too happy to comply. You feel his cock slip between your folds and as he enters you as he promised, you lick your lips and taste cherry and rust.

“Ralphie… Ralphie…” He loves the sound of his name on your lips, the squishing sound of your lovely womanhood taking everything he gives it. He puts a single hand on your hip leans back to take it all in: the bloody kitchen, the stiff, the lecherous moans, the sweat making his shirt stick to his back, the misleading cleanliness of the back of your dress…

Mr. Lamont runs his hand through the slime in his hair but that blood is already drying. He splashes it into the pool next to you and leaves a bloody print on your back, holding you down to the counter by your shoulder and driving his hips into you harder.

He can hear you’re close by the crescendo of your voice. He’s close too, and ever the gentleman, he slips out of you and flips you onto your back, pulling up a dainty leg in your daze so he can re enter your heat like he belonged there. He’s resumed fucking you in mere seconds and he likes this position because now he can see your eyes roll back into your head.

“Where do you want it,” he grunts out. He’s trying not to come but he doesn’t have the willpower to slow down. He needs your answer, and fast...

For a moment your eyes go hard. Mr. Lamont gulps and worries for a second you’re going to pull the steak knife out of your husband’s throat to slit his, but instead you take a hold of his hair and pull his head back into an awkward but commanding angle.

He feels your breath ghost over his neck. “My house, my rules. Make me see stars and I’ll tell you when to stop.”

You sink your teeth into his neck and reach down to circle your pearl. Mr. Lamont does as he’s told, hissing and grunting but he holds off his release to give you exactly what you want.

He has to stop thrusting when you start those delicious rhythmic tremors. He has to hold you up as you throw your head back and lose your balance, dependent on him to keep you upright. He takes over rubbing your pearl with a similar pressure as the one he watched you give yourself, and eased you back down from heaven into the bloody abyss on earth.

For a second Ralph fears you’ve got too much control. What will he do if you tell him not to come at all? He’ll do as you command, of course, but how cruel were you going to treat him now that you’ve gotten what you wanted? He’s seen your handiwork all around, remember that.

But your eyes turn soft and he’s worried you’re about to cry, that is until he watches you slip down to your bruised knees and ease your dress down your shoulders. Now you look positively debauched, breast bared and eyes turned up with a pleading look.

“Finish on me, Ralphie.” You bit your lip and hope to god he’s still listening. “Right over my heart.”

Ralph Lamont has never whimpered before. He’s doing it right now. How the fuck did he end up like this?

He strokes his cooling cock, taking everything in from his position above you and feeling his drumming heartbeat in the throbbing of his member. The only word going through his head is yes

Ralphie gives one of you tits a squeeze, then gets an idea

It's a little awkward trying to get you to understand, but you catch on and there's this eager glow in your eyes

You help him slot his cock between your breasts and continue to jerk him off, using your hands as necessary to assist

He's not far now seeing you-- feeling you like that

Ralphie comes with a groan, a white rope painting your chin and splattering cockeyed down over your neck and onto the tops of your breasts. He has to catch himself on the counter as the next rope dribbles lower, half slipping into your cleavage and the rest staining the neckline of your ruined dress. His hips jerk once, twice. You let him slip from your embrace and twist your hand over the head just to milk whatever he has left into your mouth, and then he collapses into a heap beside you.

You let him catch his breath for a minute, then grasp his jaw and turn his head towards you. You’re looking down your nose at him again and his vulnerable eyes beg for more.

“Now look what you’ve done,” you gesture to the milky essence covering your skin in mock annoyance. “Clean it up like a good boy.”

Eyes half lidded, Ralphie leans towards you in a trance, tongue swiping over every pearlescent trail and stray droplet until you’re ‘clean’ again

Completely spent, the man rests his head against your shoulder. Your hands come up to cradle him, stroking his matted hair as if you've not a care in the world

When he's ready he helps you stand up and straightens his clothes

Instead of helping you back into yours he strips you of them

"These will have to be burned, I'm afraid," he tells you. "Go on now, take a nice long bath and I'll call Kevin to see if he can take you somewhere for the night

You have to clear the tub and run it again to get truly clean. All of that grime builds up thick on your skin while you were having your acts of catharsis.

You slip into a satin frock in your favorite color and let Kevin whisk you away to a movie for the night

As you fix your earring in the rearview mirror, you catch sight of Ralph Lamont on your balcony. He waves down at you leaning against the ledge and unbothered by the state of his clothes. From this far down, it doesn't look like blood

But you know better, don't you?

@hoodoo12 @escape-your-grape

#Ralph Lamont x reader #Alex Brightman #three bees writing #🐝🐝🐝✒#smut #tw blood #black reader insert

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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So, any thoughts on The Green Lama (who unexpectedly became one of my faves), the Pulp Hero who is also a Superhero?

Much like other pulp heroes of the time, The Green Lama had multiple secret identities and a massive supporting cast aiding him in his quest for justice. Unlike his contemporaries, The Green Lama eschewed guns in favor of radioactive salts, magic, and sleight of hand. He rarely, if ever, killed his enemies. His tales also had an advanced sense of continuity, with characters growing and changing over time, plot points introduced in one story paying off several tales later. The Green Lama is a character of contradictions, driven forward by a faith he is forced to betray. It makes him flawed and imperfect, and in that way, one of the most human of all pulp heroes - The Green Lama: Scions

While not the "only" example of a pulp hero who is a superhero, The Green Lama is arguably the one who leans the most into the superhero aspect out of all the classic 30s pulp heroes that usually get brought up. I would argue that The Green Lama is the most direct answer to the question "what happens when you combine The Shadow and Superman together", considering he was modeled extensively after both in his forays into pulp, radio and comic books, and has also grown into his own character.

He's got the unique skills bordering on superpowers (that eventually became outright superpowers). He's got pretty much The Spectre's costume, except of course he came first. He's an urban costumed crimefighter wh deals with gangsters and criminal masterminds, and yet has an extremely strong stance against killing and carrying guns under any circumstance, even saying they would make him no better than the criminals he fights, which makes him by default the pulp hero that Batman would get along best with. The comics took it way further even turning the “Om Ma-ne Pad-me Hum” chant into a Shazam! transformation cry (Shazam came first, although the two debuted in the same year).

He's got a suitably punchy and dramatic origin: guy spends 10 years in Tibet and returns to America intend on spreading Buddhism's pacifist doutrine, only to witness the murder of children at the hands of mobsters the literal second he steps off the boat, and after spending restless days in the police station to see if they would find the culprit, he sees the killer walk out of the commissioner's office free, which convinces him he needs to take up crimefighting because the police are useless, and he outright calls the police "incompetent" in a letter to the papers that he uses to introduce himself to the world, which is not something you find often in 30s/40s fiction even if's an implicit part of the pulp hero/superhero fantasy.

He had a stronger sense of continuity than most pulp heroes were usually afforded. He has a lot of the pulp hero stock and trade like the assistants and the pseudo-science and the odd radio gadgets and of course the Orientalism that we'll get into, but remixed in a pretty cool way that allows him to stand out from his inspiration. He's got incredibly weird aspects to him like the fact that he gets enhanced abilities from crystallized salt or even becoming radioactive (which could be interesting to explore considering "radiation" became the go-to origin for superpowers in the 60s). He's got an allright supporting cast and Magga, while ultimately a deus ex machina, is a very interesting addition to it and I wish her mystery was played up more often in subsequent stories past the original run. There's a lot about The Green Lama that really works, he was incredibly successful at the time and he's managed to thrive over the years lot more than most of his contemporaries

Despite all the powers he wielded he felt impotent, nothing more than a rich boy playing the games of gods. He had chosen the path of the Bodhisattva, sacrificing himself for the good of all sentient beings, but even so the weight of responsibility, the lives of so many in his hands, threatened to crush him. It was tempting to turn away, to deny his calling, but the life of a Bodhisattva demanded more; and it was only recently that he had begun to realize how much it truly required.

The main problem with The Green Lama, and by problem I mean "the character works fine for his time but this is seriously holding him back from becoming sustainable again", is the fact that he's a white rich man who fights crime by going as hard into Orientalism tropes as possible, which is inescapably baked into the premise.

Now, I will argue that The Green Lama was, for his time, a progressive character. The Buddhist aspects of his character weren't just backstory fodder or an excuse for his superpowers as they were to pretty much every other character at the time, Jethro was a practicing Buddhist, who fought crime informed by his beliefs, trying to respect them (and not exactly succeeding) and offering a wholly positive perspective of Buddhism. Nowadays, it creates a problem, but at the time, it made the character stand out from every other hero who had "traveled to Tibet" checked out, because Tibet and Buddhism were heavily incorporated into the character. The Lama may have been born merely out of a desire to cash in on The Shadow's newfound radio popularity, but Crossen took it much more seriously than his contemporaries and made it an effort to instill admiration in his readers towards what he was referencing, which he was pulling from books about the subject and the Pali language. Is research the bare minimum? Yes. But it’s a bare minimum that even today’s writers don’t do even having an infinitely bigger wealth of information at their disposal.

To further cement my point: There's a particular Green Lama comic story called The Four Freedoms, which is about the Lama receiving a letter from a fan in the army who's worried about a racist private who keeps insulting the black privates while crowing about racial superiority, and so the Lama kidnaps the private and takes him on a tour through Germany so he can witness firsthand how his talk aligns with Nazi ideology, even specifically referring to Jim Crow's laws, criticizing how easily Americans fall for racial war rhetoric, and pointing out the idea of racism as a tool of tyrants to divide and conquer. It's not my place to champion this as some great representation and that's not what I'm doing, but if this all seems passe or simplistic or even problematic to you, trust me, this was still the era of Slap-A-Jap Superman, stories like this were absolutely not the norm at the time, even in other stories where superheroes dealt with racial discrimination.

He even caps off the story by stating that punching or ending Hitler is not the solution (although he lets Jones take a couple of swings) because Hitler is just one part of a much bigger problem that needs to be fought on all of it's forms. It's all very much afterschool special/anti-racism PSA, sure, but it's easier to mock those in our time. You find me a Golden Age superhero comic that shits on Jim Crow specifically while the hero tells the reader that Hitler is not the ultimate evil but merely "a cog in the wheel", part of a problem that's deeply entrenched in America's own shores (really, do, I'm genuinely curious if more of them did anything like this).

Does any part of what I said negates the fact that, at the end of the day, he's still a white man using Orientalism mysticism to fight crime? No, it doesn't. And if Iron Fist can't get away with it, if Dr Strange only just barely does, the Green Lama sure as hell can't. And you cannot downplay those aspects either lest you end up with a completely different character. It's a bit of a conundrum that makes the character tricky to approach from a revival perspective.

I completely agree with what you said here, Green Lama would benefit from a Legacy Hero approach very strongly. And Green Lama: Scions opens up an interesting possibility of Jethro Dumont not being quite what he seems, backed up by the fact that he wore disguise make-up in the original stories:

They had a lot of names for him in the papers—the Verdant Avenger, the Mysterious Man of Strength—but Reynolds had always been partial to “Buddhist Bastard.” No one had ever seen his face or, at the very least, the same face. Seemed like everyone had a different story. The Green Lama was white, he was black, he was asian, he was old, and he was young. You could fill a room of witnesses and no two would describe the same person.

Really I think if you just got rid of that one thing that holds the Lama back the most from catching on in modern times, I think he's the kind of character that lends itself a lot to long-term sustainability. He's already fairly popular as is, definitely an indispensable inclusion of any shared pulp hero or Golden Age superhero universe and definitely one of my favorites among the 30s American pulp heroes. And there’s ways to make the concept more interesting and workable.

Maybe The Green Lama is just a title that's been going on for generations, with Jethro being one of many to fill in. Maybe Magga used to be it, maybe the tulku that instructed Jethro did, maybe there's a new character with it. Maybe Jethro is just an identity used by an Asian-American adventurer to operate safely in the US, or maybe Jethro has a sort of Lamont Cranston arrangement going on. Maybe he's part of the reason why Tibet was the superpower capital of the world in the 30s or 40s, or part of the reason why radiation started granting so many heroes superpowers in the 60s.

The character's skillset has been fairly "anything goes" ever since his author made him a flying superman for the comics, and really he already started out being able to deliver electric shocks through his fingers by guzzling radioactive salts. He's a very weird character, and I will always argue that weird is what works best for the pulp heroes.

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #comic books #comics #the green lama #jethro dumont #alex ross

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mwolf0epsilon · 3 years

Note

What would be the Bendy cast's dream summer holiday?

Dream summer holiday you say? -cracks knuckles- I'll give it my best shot.

Joey Drew - Finally go to the Bahamas. Amazing islands with great beaches and spectacular coral reefs? This man wants to go scuba diving so bad it makes him look stupid... Also no one's going to find him when there's so many places to hide.

Henry Stein - Go camping with his wife and daughters. He knows some good spots up in the Appalachian mountains. Just them and nature... No weird machines that can summon inky devils. What more can you ask for?

Linda Stein - She's not picky when it comes to how she and her family spend their vacations. As long as everyone can unwind she's up for anything. Variety is a must tho, doing the same thing every year gets a little stale.

Sammy Lawrence - He never got to go to Coney Island so he'll likely look into finding the closest thing to it as possible. Maybe goes to Disney World out of pure spite. Overall just wants to have one day where decorum and appearances mean nothing. Deserves a break from being the guy with the stick up his ass.

Jack Fain - Traveling abroad is a big vacation goal for him. Call him cheesy but there's something about going to tourist attractions with the husband that feels really romantic to him. They're making memories together!

Susie Campbell - She's not one for big glamorous vacations. Just wants a couple of days to herself, maybe go to the beach to work on her tan, and overall just has a good couple of "Me" days. Might go to flea markets to get some goodies. She's treating herself!

Norman Polk - Look me in the eye and tell me he wouldn't travel to Paris specifically to sneak into the Parisian catacombs... Sends everyone the ugliest postcards he can find.

Allison Pendle - She'd invest to either go on an amazing tour of the Amazon forest, or a safari trip in Africa. As someone who appreciates the realm of the supernatural, Allison strikes me as someone who'd want to take a break through the natural.

Thomas Connor - Wherever Allison goes, he goes. All of their photos are mostly just Tom grumpily scowling at the camera while holding souvenirs, or laying in the hotel bed looking miserable because of mosquito bites. He's not a big vacation person but he'll endure it since his wife is really enjoying herself. He's honestly just glad to be away from other people.

Wally Franks - Disney World with the family. You can't tell me Wally wouldn't plan a massive trip for his entire family and all his friends. It's always a party with the Franks, and it's also likely someone's going to get arrested.

Shawn Flynn - Goes on a week-long hiking trip. Very big on photographing the journey, but the pictures aren't of the spectacular views or local fauna. Its just weirdly shaped rocks he finds that he thought were pretty neat.

Grant Cohen - Vacations are expensive. He'd rather just stay home and maybe sleep for an entire week or so. Seems like the type to turn on the radio and just get lost in cheesy radio-dramas.

Buddy Lewek - His family has never really had money for big vacations, so he'd do something like camping. Whether or not it's indoors or outdoors depends on how eager he is about the whole thing. Mostly he just wants to spend a bit of time reading and drawing without being disturbed.

Dot - She spends an entire month on a family trip to all the oddball tourist traps they can find. Writes about these family vacations and takes fun photos. Her favourite trip was to a UFO fanatic town. The people were quirky but polite and welcoming.

Abby Lambert - Travels to France to go see the Mona Lisa. Does some sight-seeing and ends up painting the view from her hotel balcony. Sends Henry a little Eiffel Tower statuette and a card with a charcoal illustration. Likely runs into Norman at some point.

Doc Hackenbush - Volunteers to do veterinary work at a zoo for an entire month. Gets up close and personal with some of the most magnificent animals the world has ever seen. It's a humbling experience for a vet like him.

Bertrum Piedmont - Is taken against his will on a fishing trip by Lacie. He's initially grumpy about it, but relaxes once he realizes how calming it is. Eating a big fat meal of fish has never tasted better, especially after catching it himself.

Lacie Benton - Goes on a month-long fishing trip with Bertrum. Inheriting her uncle's boat has it's perks, especially when she feels it's time she and her best friend need some time alone from the idiots at JDS.

Emma LaMonte - A trip back to England every year keeps the homesickness away. Spends that time with family and friends, and is very private about it.

Detective Sinclair - When you're an old detective like him most days are a vacation anyway. Work can be quite scarce. Doesn't really care for long frivolous trips anyway. Hitting the local bar or catching the latest baseball game is good enough for him.

Nathan Arch - Hasn't had a vacation in years and doesn't plan on it anytime soon. His health wouldn't allow him either way...

Nathan Arch Jr - Spends a maximum of two week in a cheap ocean themed motel, just to be alone with his thoughts. It's become a bit of a ritual and the motel owner always saves him the same room. Despite the tacky decoration it's the only time he ever feels relaxed and content in the entirety of the year.

#bendy and the ink machine #batim #out of bounds au #headcanons

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daretosnoop · 3 years

Text

CRY Rewrite Chapter 5: Dr. Bolet’s Secret Study

Been having a lot of fun writing this. Lots of interesting research.

chapter 4

After dinner, Nancy got a call from Bess. She had gone to Zeke’s and met a man named Lamont Warrick. The paper Nancy had given her had the receipt number on it, and when Bess asked Lamont who belonged to 21-3872, Lamont had told her it was belonged to a Henry Bolet who came in with a large box of assorted goods.

“And when I tried to ask what was in the box, Lamont got really vague and said I was not allowed to know and that he didn’t want to make trouble for anyone. But that didn’t stop me! I snuck into the backroom and went through the box and you will not believe what I found”.

“Tell me,” Nancy urged.

“Well, there was a picture of a young Bruno with his dog. Then there was this weird box and when I opened it, there was a letter inside. It was addressed to Bruno Bolet from a T.W. Cladwell authorizing the sell of, get this, a skull called the Whisperer”.

The Whisperer? That was the same name in professor Hotchkiss’s book! “What else did the letter say?” Nancy asked.

“Well, Bruno was asked to respect its power and that in doing, the skull often undoes”.

“In doing, it undoes?”

“Ya, I know, makes no sense, but that’s not all Nancy. The box the letter was in had a skull-like indent! And and, Nancy, along with the other items Henry sold, there was also a costume”.

“A costume,” Nancy breathed the words heavily.

“A skull man costume,” Bess emphasized. “I took pictures of everything and sent it to you”.

The gears started to turn in Nancy’s head. Things were starting to fall into place. She was sure Henry had sold that box for quick cash, but was he also the skeleton man? Then again, Renee said she was missing some things. And this Whisperer skull, was it what Bruno Bolet was trying to hide? She almost got lost in her thoughts when she heard Bess’s frantic voice.

“Still here Bess, what else you got?”

“Nancy, I also found out that Lamont sells Hoodoo products”.

“Hoodoo?”

“Yep. Dabbled around in them. Those things really work. He also said that Renee Amande comes in regularly for Hoodoo products”.

“Was there a knock-out, sleeping powder,” Nancy asked, her voice brimming with excitement.

“No, I even asked. Lamont said he doesn’t sell high-end Hoodoo products. It can create trouble with the law apparently”.

“Not even any, on the sly, business?”

“Doesn’t seem like it, though I wouldn’t know how to check”.

Nancy thanked Bess for her discoveries. “One more thing,” she asked. “How did you get into the back room?”

“Oh you know,” Bess said in a chuffed voice. “Just set up a Rube Goldberg to throw sneezing powder at Lamont”.

“Bess, you clever conniving sneak,” Nancy exclaimed.

Bess laughed, “Learned from the best. By the way, I asked the chef at Granny’s and he said the Dr. Buford does come by nearly every day. It’s raining now, but if he comes, I’ll head on down and talk to him”.

“Thank you Bess, you’re a treasure”.

“I know”.

Before Nancy could get to the spider locked door, her phone rang again. Picking it up she heard professor Hotchkiss’s voice.

“Is this Nancy Drew?”

“Yes, and you are professor Hotchkiss”.

“Yes, I am she. Your name does sound familiar dear, do I know you from somewhere? Were you perhaps the young woman who gave me a cheese platter at the cheese factory?”

Nancy grinned. “No. No. We stayed together in a hotel in Wisconsin, remember? Wickford Castle?”

“Nonsense!” Hotchkiss exclaimed, “There was no cheese factory in Wickford Castle. Though I do remember there being a spunky maid there”.

“Yes, professor, that maid was me. I found an old journal of Marie Antoinette and you translated it and wrote a bestseller on it?

“No, no can’t remember Mandy. Now I’ve only got cheese on my mind. Oh dear. Well, you called about some best seller I wrote? Is it the one about Marie Antoinette? I am a scholar of French history, so I can help you there. Most of my work was done in thanks to that spunky maid who assisted me in the witching hours, you know”.

“Really?” Nancy asked sarcastically.

“Yes, now chop chop dear. I’m on a deadline. What is it you need to know?”

“Did a man named Bruno Bolet ever call you?”

“Indeed he did, Oui Oui. What a name. So French,” Hotchkiss sighed.

“Why did he call you?”

“Because he read my book, The Crystal Skull: Fact or Fable. Sold like hotcakes, you know”.

“Did he mention anything about owning a skull?”

“Ooh, I would have hung up on him if he did, Brandy! If I had a dollar for every crackpot whose read my book and called claiming to have an authentic skull, I’d be able to live like Marie Antoinette, or at least dine daily in New York’s Russian Tea Room. No… Bruno Bolet was a scholar, if a budding one. He wanted to know about the Whisperer and if I learned anything more since I wrote the book—which I hadn’t. Or if I had a new theory on it— which I didn’t”.

Disappointment filled Nancy. “That’s it? That’s all you talked about?”

“Oh such curiosity you have. So familiar, like that maid at Wickford. Shame I can’t remember her name. Oh wait a minute,” Hotchkiss suddenly exclaimed, “The Eyes have it!”

“I’m sorry?”

“I asked Bruno Bolet what his theory was and he just chuckled and said the eyes have it, and then hung up”.

Is it the same eye as the eye of the beholder?

“Professor, is this skull worth a lot?”

“In this day and age? No telling. Half a million? Two million? Who knows? Ch-ching! Ch-ching!”

“But how would they be able to authenticate the skull?”

“Good question Francie! Remember, the real skulls were made long before the tools commonly used for carving today were invented. So, let’s put on our thinking caps….”

“Modern day tools would have left marks if the skull was a fake?”

“Absolutely! Though mind you, the marks left by modern instruments can only be detected in a research lab. Our tired eyes cannot catch such impressions”

“You can’t use carbon-dating?”

“No Mandy. What is crystal? Quartz. What is Quartz? Silicon dioxide. No carbon. No carbon means no carbon dating”.

So you can only prove it’s real by proving it’s not a fake. Nancy fished out the envelope she found in the bin. Looks like Bruno Bolet might have done just that.

“And what about the rumors? The theory that the Whisperer can make its owner immortal? Do you really believe in that?”

“My dear Nessie, I believe that things that defy any so-called ‘rational’ explanations happen all the time. Now does that mean there are mysterious external forces at work in the universe of which we do not and cannot ever have full knowledge? Or does it all boil down to us? If the human heart desperately wants something to be true, does the human mind have the power to make it true? Who knows?” Professor Hotchkiss sighed, “Ah, questions, questions, questions, Oh, how dreary life would be without them!”

Nancy agreed with professor Hotchkiss. Life truly was dull when all the questions got answered by someone else. Though she did find it hard to believe that eternal forces really did exist. Even this Whisperer was hard to digest. How could such a death-defying object exist? She asked Hotchkiss, “In your book you said that all the people who’ve ever owned the Whisperer were murdered, yet Bruno Bolet died of a heart attack. How do you explain that?”

“Are you saying the Whisperer was in his possession after all? The scalawag!” Hotchkiss exclaimed. “Why didn’t he tell me? Oh that’s right—I would’ve hung up on him”. Hotchkiss thought over it for a moment, then slowly said, “Well if that’s the case, then I strongly suggest you take a close look at his so-called ‘heart attack’ Sandy. Because if he owned the skull and he died, I guarantee you – it was at the hands of someone else. I’m willing to bet my name on that!”

Nancy thanked Hotchkiss then sorted through everything she had learned. So much was now being called into question, but first thing first, if that skull really did exist, was it behind the locked door? There was only one way to find out.

Slipping downstairs, Nancy did not find Henry or Renee. She opened the secret door and slipped up the stairs to the locked door. Taking the bronze key, she took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and opened it to find a dusty mess of a study room.

There were all sorts of odds and ends inside this second study room. In one corner there was a skee-ball style game. On one wall there stood a cupboard all by itself. In front of Nancy there was a desk with books and papers. Connected to the desk was a ramp leading to an open duct. In front of the ramp there was a chair with a marionette pirate puppet. Bruno Bolet, where have you taken me?

Nancy did not know where to start searching. There was so much stuff. She headed towards the desk and found a calendar agenda and a piece of paper. She flipped through the calendar. Each month had a date marked with a skull and crossbones and the notes had odd names. She kept flipping till she came to the month of May. The thirty-first was marked with a skull and crossbones and the notes read, ‘Scuttled bones, Rampart and Dumaine”. A meeting spot? That’s in four days!

Nancy picked up the paper. It was an honorary celebration of initiation into the Jolly Rodger krewe of New Orleans. The paper reminded him of his oath to silence about the group and gave him an associate and sponsor— Mr. Gilbert Buford. Nancy put the paper down. Was, was she right? Was Dr. Bolet part of some cult? Whatever he was a part of, it looked like Dr. Buford was also involved. She then spotted a faded and worn journal and picked it up. Short Stories for Tired Eyes by Bruno Bolet. It was dedicated to those who heard the Whisperer. Nancy flipped to the first page and started to read.

My dear Henry. I write this out of guilt and urgency. If you are reading this, it means our family, the Bolet family now solely sits on your shoulders. It’s a big pressure and I am well aware I have done nothing to prepare you for this. This book is an attempt and a plea to listen to my words. Henry, it’s time you know about the Bolet name and responsibility.

The Bolet family is not just eccentric in nature, but in purpose too. Many of our members have had a connection to the Earth that extends the mortal plane. They can hear the voices of those long gone. No, I am not pulling your leg. No one really knows why our family has this ability, though many joke it’s because some ancient relative couldn’t keep their curiosity at bay and now our family is cursed with this ability. I suppose it’s not all that bad. It’s helped us financially, and it is nice to have some say in how our city is planned. However, this ability appears in family members randomly. Every generation has it, but as too whom, well, it’s hard to say. When it appears is also hard to say. It just does, apparently.

I do not have this trait, and I have no idea if you have this trait either. But seeing as you are the next generation, I’m guessing you do. I assume it must be scary, at least, remembering how your father soiled his pants the first time it happened. That’s right Henry, your father had this ability. My mother had it, and according to Bolet tradition, the one who has this trait must inherit the manor because they carry the responsibility of hearing the spirit’s voices. It’s an exhausting burden. I’d often see your grandmother and father exhausted and on the point of collapse.

I don’t know how to guide you should you have these whisperers haunt you. It’s never, I never thought it would be something I’d have to teach you. That was your father’s ….

The rest had been scribbled out. A few pages later, Dr. Bolet continued.

Make of it what you will Henry, but know that I am telling you the truth here. If you have this ability, the whisperers will not go away. They do listen to you, but you need to listen to them too, otherwise….

Bruno Bolet did not complete the sentence. Nancy noticed that some pages had been torn out before Bruno continued.

Henry, the skull will help you! Find it, it will transfer the knowledge you need! Look for the eyes, they are the key. Find all 25. Put them in the cupboard. They will take you to the skull.

Following Bruno Bolet’s last words were pages detailing what looked to be locks that, Nancy assumed, held these eyes. After reading the entire journal again Nancy had to sit down. She was right, Bruno Bolet was hiding the Whisperer skull. She didn’t know why, but she was sure now that the skull man was looking for the skull too. Why else would he have initiated the steps she now completed? But that would mean Henry isn’t the skeleton man. And this crystal skull, why would Bruno want to give it to Henry? What knowledge transfer was he talking about? First it was an immortal skull. Now it was a knowledge containing skull. What was going on? More importantly, Bruno had just confirmed to Nancy that paranormal powers apparently existed.

Nancy looked around the desk, forlorn. She noticed a picture of a man being greeted by three skeleton people. The picture had an inscription, Dr. Bolet’s inauguration into the Jolly Roger krewe. Nancy peered harder and dropped the journal onto the table. Everyone was wearing a costume similar to the skull man she saw at the entrance! Holding the picture in one hand, Nancy looked around the desk and noticed an old paper. She picked it up and read.

On this day November 8th, 1952

The Jolly Roger Krewe of New Orleans hear by invites Dr. Bruno Sinclair Bolet to join its hallowed ranks.

Speak of this to no one except the man who has championed you and will, should you accept this invitation, serve as your sponsor during the initiation process, Dr. Gilbert Buford.

Dr. Buford? Was Dr. Buford the skull man? But why? Everything felt like a farce. No wonder this secret was kept within the Bolet family because good god, who would believe this rubbish? Nancy supposed there was one good thing about all this, it wasn’t her problem to deal with.

She stood up and began to search for a way out. The door she entered from, curiously, only opened one way. She had to look for another exit. In the right-hand corner she noticed, amidst, the clutter, a candle holder that was attached to the wall. The candles were not lit and even looked fake. Nancy went over and felt the candle stick. It was metal. She grabbed it and pulled. The candle bent forward with ease and the wall behind the candle holder opened up. Another secret door. Nancy stepped through the door and saw Henry staring back at her open-mouthed.

#nancy drew #henry bolet #CRY #legend of the crystal skull

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blackjack-15 · 4 years

Text

Death, Philosophy, and the Runs — Thoughts on: Legend of the Crystal Skull (CRY)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. Like with all of the Odd Games, there will be a section between The Intro and The Title called The Weird Stuff, where I go into what makes this game stand out as a little strange.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: CRY, mention of CUR, mention of ASH.

The Intro:

It’s time for New Orleans, y’all.

Legend of the Crystal Skull is a game that’s often rated highly by the fandom, especially for its atmosphere (which is among the most well-done and pervasive of the whole series). Honestly speaking, were it not for the mental health/death/immortality storyline(s), CRY would simply be a Jetsetting game a bit out of order, given its fascination with its location (even if the amount of locations is slightly smaller).

One of the high points of this game is honestly its location and ambiance. CRY takes the idea of the “dark and stormy night” and plays it to perfection, cloaking everything in such thick atmosphere that the players, like Nancy, can’t always see the way ahead, and have to take leaps of faith every once in a while.

The characters contribute to the thick atmosphere; Bruno is a shadow, Henry’s hiding everything under a guise of nonchalance and a fishnet glove, Renée is all gardening grandma hospitality but never says anything about herself, Gilbert has Southern Manners while avoiding saying anything bad even when he means it, and Lamont refuses to get involved in anything outside his shop. They aren’t perfect suspects, but they’re good characters, and it elevates the game.

Bess’ hesitance to delve into this atmosphere makes her the perfect partner for Nancy who begins by investigating just who the Skeleton Man was who attacked her before spiraling deeper and deeper into the mysteries surrounding Bruno Bolet and his crystal skull.

But while the costumes, pageantry, puns, and secrets all contribute to the atmosphere, nothing quite reaches the same level of Sheer Aesthetic as Bruno’s last years being dedicated to finding a crystal skull. Glittery and gothic with power over life and death, it’s easy to see why the game is named after it (which, of course, I’ll get into below).

This isn’t to say that CRY is all sizzle and no substance — far from it. CRY doesn’t attempt to teach the player the entire history of New Orleans, the complex background and practices of voodoo (or any of its other sister practices), nor does it get into iguana physiology or the mechanics of how to make someone sneeze or get the runs.

While education is of course present in CRY, it’s more centered in philosophy than in hard, straight facts. Professor Hotchkiss – a returning character perfectly suited to the French-influenced New Orleans and her love of slightly sinister history – gives the mission statement of the game, summing up its central philosophical question – “Does this mean that there mysterious external forces at work in the universe of which we do not and cannot ever have full knowledge? Or does it all boil down to us? If the human heart desperately wants something to be true, does the human mind have the power to make it true?”

It’s a fascinating question, and touches on all sorts of real-life phenomenon – the power of suggestion, the placebo effect, intelligent design, among others – without ever seeming like HER is trying to Teach a Lesson. Out of all the edutainment elements in this series, CRY (and I would add ASH in here as well) features some of the most subtle work that HER ever accomplishes.

The Weird Stuff:

Of course, a discussion (one-sided as these metas mostly are) of CRY wouldn’t be complete without addressing the things that qualify it to be a truly Odd Game within the Nancy Drew franchise.

The first and most obvious is that we’re dealing with death – and a recent death at that — for the first time in a while. We’d have to go all the way back to CLK to see another death of a relative not long before the mystery starts, and Emily’s mom’s death and Josiah Crowley’s death don’t hang over CLK the way Bruno Bolet’s death hangs over CRY.

Bruno is given instead more weight – part of the mystery is figuring out who he was, what he liked, what he wanted, and what he did every day, especially leading up to his death. The house is almost a stand in character for Bruno; it reflects him perfectly, including all the things that were important to him, and just as determined to keep his secrets. A lot of Nancy Drew games have the house/location as a character, but only a few associate the location with a specific character, and CRY does it possibly the best.

The second thing that makes this game so odd is the showcasing of an abusive relationship. Sure, Summer doesn’t hit Henry or anything, but is just as abusive all the same, and the game doesn’t shy away from showing her horrible behavior and the effect that it has on Henry. He stays with her because, like a lot of abuse victims, he doesn’t think he can do ‘better’ – that somehow this is what he deserves – and the only slight problem with how it’s portrayed is that we don’t get to see Henry leave her and be happier.

Lastly, in an oddity for Nancy Drew games so far, mental illness is put at the front and center of the game (rather than being a one-off random thing not really mentioned like in CUR). Henry, separate from the abuse he receives from Summer, is obviously depressed, and the game doesn’t really shy away from showing it. Sure, they might not use the term “clinical depression”, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not acknowledged. Henry’s depression, his sadness, his feeling of being out of control and yet still tied down – that permeates every moment of the game, and especially his conversations with Nancy. The whole reason Nancy’s there at the Bolet mansion in the first place is because Ned was worried about his shy, depressed classmate.

Gosh, Ned is such a good guy. He deserves so much better than Nancy “Lacks Tact” Drew.

Unlike a lot of the “Odd” games, the odd things in CRY don’t detract from the game; they make the game what it is. It’s a bit more mature, a little more introspective, a touch less black and white than most of the Nancy Drew games have been up until this point. No characters are simply caricatures, there’s very little stereotyping (for a ND game), and it’s not pointlessly spooky or try-hard in any way. CRY is the rare game that simply is what it aspired to be; while what it aspired to be was odd (and it is Odd), it doesn’t make it bad. It makes it feel genuine and honest – and after ICE, I can’t think of anything better for a game to aspire to be.

The Title:

We’re getting to the portion of Nancy Drew games where, regardless of the quality of the actual games, their titles are smash hits every time. “Legend of the Crystal Skull” is an incredibly good title on multiple levels.

First, it tells us what the game is about – not the Crystal Skull itself, but the legend of it – the myths, mysteries, and effects of the Skull. Not only does it (correctly) indicate that this game is a little more about philosophy than it is about something concrete.

The second thing it does is establish a sense of mysticism that is reinforced the second the game begins. We’re in New Orleans, we’re learning about this Crystal Skull, it’s dark, rainy, and spooky, there’s death and specters and possibly more afoot…and this doesn’t start with the Skeleton Man cutscene, or the phone call, or even the warning on the screen to play with the lights off – it starts with the title.

The Mystery:

We begin with Nancy and Bess visiting New Orleans – the French Quarter, to be specific – for a fun little vacation, only to be met with a Dark and Stormy Night. Ned, knowing of his girlfriend’s plans to visit New Orleans, asks her if she can check up on a classmate of his who’s going through a hard time: Henry Bolet.

Determined to get the visit out of the way, Nancy leaves Bess back at the hotel and traipses over to the Bolet Mansion. When she walks in – I know, honestly, Nancy – the open door, she’s greeted by a person in a skeleton costume in the front room, rather than a miserable college student.

She’s soon knocked out by the Skeleton Man, coming to when an elderly woman offers her an odd concoction and the Skeleton is long gone. Soon, Nancy discovers that Henry’s dead uncle was in possession of a Crystal Skull that was to protect its owner against any source of death other than murder, the plot starts to thicken quicker than a bubbling roux.

CRY is home to an incredibly solid mystery, full of atmosphere, colorful characters, and even a food minigame as if to draw me in specifically. While I don’t think it’s the best Nancy Drew game by a long shot, I would say that it’s definitely the best of the Odd games, and by far the most successful mystery + atmosphere combination that we’ll have until we reach SAW, quite a few games later.

Now, let’s move on to our colorful characters.

The Suspects:

We’ll start with Renee Amande, as I think she’s our first character who is properly introduced post-cutscene (with her concoction). Bruno’s elderly housekeeper, Renee is a practitioner of voodoo (kind of) and a believer in the crystal skulls – she wants to reunite all thirteen of them to move the world to a higher plane of understanding.

Our villain, yet not our killer – not directly at least – the only thing Renee is guilty of other than attempted murder of a plucky Illinois detective is falsifying a letter. The shock of the “false” crystal skull shocked Bruno so badly that he had a heart attack and died, but Renee didn’t actually kill him. She’s one of those villains in Nancy Drew stories who commit a minor crime, and jump immediately to murder when she’s discovered.

As the villain, Renee is actually the only suspect that could even work. The game plays with Dr. Buford and the mysterious Skeleton Man, but in reality Renee’s the only one with motive and opportunity. But, given that Nancy spends 3/4ths of the game trying to figure out what crime has actually been committed, rather than working with cold hard facts, that works out pretty well.

Henry Bolet, on the other hand, is apparently catnip to a good section of the Nancy Drew fandom, and is the closest thing to a living victim that we actually have in this game. When his parents died, he was shipped off to live with Bruno – and Bruno shipped him off to military school, so he should be a bit more muscular than he is – and he’s never gotten over their deaths.

Like, “Nancy finds him crying over his parents” kind of never got over their deaths.

I’ll be honest, while I know lots of people who did Love him with everything in them, I never really saw the appeal of Henry Bolet as a love interest for anyone, or even as a compelling character. His voice actor – Brian Neel – does a great job, with his voice definitely being the part of him with the most obvious appeal, but otherwise…maybe it comes from my distaste for underdog stories, maybe it’s that I’m no good with crying people, who knows.

As a suspect, Henry’s pretty much out from the moment that he confesses to Nancy that he sold a trunk for quick cash for his abusive girlfriend. HER isn’t bold enough to have that be a lie, nor are they dumb enough to make him the culprit after that. Henry’s out of the running for most of the game, but he never really becomes Nancy’s confidante, not like other early-clear suspects.

Henry’s an interesting puzzle as a character, but that more comes from his place as the central piece of CRY’s “Oddness”, rather than any interest in him as a possible suspect.

On the other end of fandom appeal lies Dr. Gilbert Buford, whose greatest sin as a character is declaring an obvious heart attack an obvious heart attack and using regular, polite Louisiana manners for a man of his age while interacting with a character who obviously has no problem with it at all.

Dr. Buford is hard at work giving the majority of Bruno’s characterization that doesn’t come from his house to him, as well as giving a truly excellent scare when finding Bess in the Secret Meeting scene. As a suspect, Buford is a moderately good one – cagey, a doctor, knows about the Skull – but ultimately falls short as he just has too many of his own secrets to carry.

I personally like Gilbert Buford as a character, and find him an entertaining source of exposition – but then, I grew up around Southern manners (and military manners, which aren’t too dissimilar), so that might be the reason why.

Rounding out our suspect list – though barely qualifying himself, honestly, is Lamont Warrick, owner of a curio shop and intensely vulnerable to hot sauce and sneezing powder.

One can only imagine the Horror that would occur if Nancy were to mix those two allergens. Well, one can also Giggle at the mental image, but still.

As a suspect…well, even HER knew that he was a non-entity; his biggest part to play is actually after the game concludes, where he closes his curio shop in order to search for Bernie, who has swallowed the crystal skull.

I guess someone had to search for it? I’d love a follow-up with him, maybe over Labor Day, or Memorial Day, where Bess goes back to see if he’s had any luck, only to find that he found a dead body along with the alligator, and in order to not get suspected for the murder, they have to bring the body with them and pretend that it’s alive, taking it to bingo games over the course of the 3 vacation days.

Yes, that was all to set up a bad “Weekend at Bernie’s” reference. Hush.

The Favorite:

As you might have guessed from…well, most of this meta, one of my favorite parts of CRY is the sheer atmosphere that the game embodies from its beginning through the closing puzzle.

The Bolet mansion is just the right amount of cluttered yet comfortable, shadowy yet detailed, and gloomy yet homey to be a nigh-perfect location. The graveyard isn’t hard to navigate, is filled with puns, and does a lot of the character work for Bruno and (to a slightly lesser extent) Henry while allowing both characters to be private and a bit mysterious. The greenhouse is simultaneously cozy and elegant and yet slightly cage-ish and slightly claustrophobic.

Even the locations that Nancy stays away from — the hotel balcony, Zeke’s, the food truck, the secret meeting — are thick with a different kind of atmosphere: less wet, less foggy, more brightly lit, more French Quarter than haunting mansion. Bess’ locations are welcoming yet secretive, perfect for the reluctant amateur-amateur detective who just wants her vacation to be fun and mystery-free.

Adding to the atmosphere is the sheer number of cutscenes/cinematic camera usages in CRY. The opening with the Skeleton Man, Bess getting caught at the meeting, opening the final crypt, Renee shutting the tomb…they’re all so perfect, and do a great job at making you feel really immersed in Nancy’s New Orleans experience.

My favorite puzzle is honestly finding the glass eyes. CRY isn’t really a game I remember for its puzzles; they fade a little bit into the background (with the exclusion of a couple I don’t like) because they’re well integrated into the story, and because the game doesn’t really grind to a halt to make Nancy complete minigames like in, for example, CUR.

My favorite moment is split between two very different moments. The first is, unsurprisingly, the conversation with Hotchkiss mentioned above where she lays out the theme of the game. It’s a shockingly nice moment in the game, coming in the start/middle of the mystery and being a familiar face – er, voice – for Nancy to get help from. It’s a moment that lets you stop and think about what Nancy’s actually dealing with, rather than effectively pausing the game through a rhymed puzzle about the skull or other such nonsense.

The other moment is a little more obvious and a little flashy – the moment when Bess is discovered at the Skeleton meeting. The tension right before, the sudden pop-up of the skeleton mask between the boxes, the conversation afterwards…it’s just as close as possible to a perfect scene. It’s long enough before Bess is discovered that the player can kind of get comfortable, but not so long that it drags on. The moment of discovery is startling, but not scream-worthy or too scary to replay over and over or in the dark. It’s just great.

The Un-Favorite:

There’s not a ton to complain about with CRY, but I do have a few small things that make replaying it somewhat of a chore.

The first is my least favorite puzzle: the loquat bug spraying. It takes a long time, it feels shoved in the game just to have an extra puzzle, and Nancy can only take one loquat at a time. I feel like the player should be able to take up to 3, and then come back and do it again if they need/want any more loquats. Honestly, it’s a puzzle in a place where a puzzle really just shouldn’t be.

My least favorite moment in the game would probably be the chest that Henry sells to Lamont. After selling it and building it up for quite a few minutes, it’s kind of a letdown that it only has a few things it in. This would have been a great place to have more character-building work done, but instead the focus is on “how do we find it/open it” and less on “what can this do for the story”.

Finally, I mentioned it above, but I’m not a fan of how Lamont pretty much is a non-entity in the game. I’m fine with one suspect being less suspicious or having less ‘dirt’ on them than the rest, but Lamont really doesn’t have anything on him. He’s never a suspect for the Skeleton Man, he doesn’t really do anything sketchy…he’s just underwhelming.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Legend of the Crystal Skull?

I think really the only fix that I would attempt is to give Lamont a little more plot significance. Sure, his curio shop is beautiful and wonderful and important to the plot, but Lamont himself really isn’t. In order to include him more in the plot, make Lamont a bona-fide treasure hunter that manages the curio shop for cash in between expeditions. He’s heard that Bruno has a treasure that people have killed for, but couldn’t figure out what it was before Bruno’s death. He buys the chest from Henry and searches it top-to-bottom trying to figure out if it’s hiding something since it’s obviously Bruno’s personal chest.

To add a bit more importance, I’d place him at the Bolet mansion on the night of Bruno’s death as well. Renee’s there, Dr. Buford is there, Henry we’ve already written off completely in the actual game as a suspect, so Lamont should be there as well, snooping around to try to figure out what treasure Bruno’s got and if he can persuade him to sell it (or at least let Lamont see it). Nancy can match footprints in the garden to his boots, or some other method of proving he was there. I’d just like for Lamont not to drop off the map early on. It also makes his canonical ending that much neater.

Honestly, that’s it.

Sure, I’d appreciate the loquat bug spraying minigame to be fixed as well, but CRY is honestly a pretty character-based game, thick with philosophy and legends, and it doesn’t need a ton of help in that area. Make all the suspects viable for most of the game, and I think an already entertaining and atmospheric game would be just a little bit better.

#nancy drew #clue crew #nancy drew games #legend of the crystal skull #nancy drew meta #video games #CRY #my meta #long post

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buzzdixonwriter · 3 years

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Federal Operator 99 review

“Sophistication” isn’t a word one hears applied to serials very often. Federal Operator 99 aims for sophistication and surprisingly hits the mark more often than not.

It’s not a uniformly smooth attempt and the rough spots are noticeable, but for the least expensive of Republic’s three serials in 1945 (and lordy, were Manhunt Of Mystery Island and The Purple Monster Strikes inexpensive!) Federal Operator 99 is solid entertainment.

Let’s start with the script, often the least sophisticated element of a serial. This time instead of Wild West adventures or sci-fi thrills Republic writers Albert DeMond, Basil Dickey, Jesse Duffy, and Joseph Poland under the guidance of studio story editor Ronald Davidson focused instead on a very human scale criminal enterprise, led by a colorful / complex / conflicted crime lord, Jim Belmont (George J. Lewis) with a penchant for fine art and piano concertos.

Belmont is no typical Republic supervillain but a very human — albeit murderously eccentric — criminal. All of his plots are plausible and doable. Conquer the world? Hell, no. Steal jewels then double cross when paid a ransom? Oh, yeah.

That alone is a refreshing change of pace for a serial of this era.

His opposite number is our eponymous Federal Operator 99, Jerry Blake (Marten Lamont). Serial leads (other than costumed heroes) tend to be played as just regular folks; the audience appeal is that we like to think we would be just as heroic under similar circumstances.

99, in contrast, is presented as debonair and dashing, super competent and equally as cunning as his quarry, and speaking with a faint English accent. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say he’s a prototype of another JB with a number: 007.

And speaking of JBs, notice how both hero and villain share the same initials as well as equal expertise in their respective fields, and a taste for the finer things in life. “Avoid giving your characters similar names” is one of the fundamental rules of genre fiction, and for Davidson’s tribe of scribes to give both the same initials indicates they were quite consciously trying to link the two on some level.

One of the best things about this serial is 99 is not a reactive hero, waiting for Belmont to strike so he can pursue him, but is actively trying to trick Belmont and lure him out into the open where Blake’s team can arrest him.

Despite this, Lamont comes across as a rather lacklustre leading man, while Lewis’ screen charisma is so strong we’re disconcerted to find ourselves actually rooting for him at numerous points in the story! Republic missed a bet by not swapping their two leads; it would have made for a far more dynamic story line.

The script doesn’t help much, either. While it’s always hard to tell who wrote what parts of any serial, one of the writers here clearly had a much better grasp on what they were trying to achieve and it reflects in good dialog and strong scenes.

Other writers give us the equivalent of juvenilia with their unimaginative flat declarative sentences, the single biggest drawback of this serial.

While she ended up a Republic Western heroine under both this name and Adriana Booth, Lorna Gray as Rita Parker is two lethal steps up from the typical supporting villainess. She’s not decorative arm candy but a willing and ready partner to Belmont’s crimes.

Of her counterpart among the good guys, let’s be generous and say Helen Talbot as Joyce Kingston is fetchingly cute and enunciates all her lines quite clearly. It’s not uncommon for serial stars, especially the ladies, to be tied up at some point in the proceedings but Ms Talbot is restrained so often and in such a wide variety that it’s clear somebody in the production had an affinity for this sort of thing. She also spends an inordinate amount of time being driven about in the trunk of various automobiles.

You do the best with what you’ve got and I’ll leave it to the reader to decide if this applies to Ms Talbot or the production.

The automobiles bring up an interesting point re Federal Operator 99’s meager budget. The serial uses a lot of stock footage and to disguise the fact some of it is well over a decade old, the script draws attention to certain cars being earlier models and not the more contemporary ones seen elsewhere.

Likewise, nobody changes clothes unless it’s to match stock footage; this is especially noticeable for Gray and Talbot.

Federal Operator 99 has a very lean look to it, past the opening chapters (typically used to sell the serial to theaters) there’s never more than four characters on camera at any time. Those familiar with Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley will spot many landmarks and familiar streets. The production does enjoy a bigger feel than other Republic serials of the era, and I think this is because they managed to use a number of sets left standing after feature films finished production.

Where the serial really shines is in the direction. As typical of the era, more than one director handled that chore. Usually studios had one director for dialog scenes and another for action, or one for interiors and another for exteriors, but Federal Operator 99 has three (!): Wallace Grissell, a film editor who became a director presumably because he knew how to intercut stock footage well; the legendary Spencer Gordon Bennet, who directed more serials than anyone; and Yakima “Just stay in the chariot and we’ll see you win the race, Chuck” Canutt, who handled the action scenes and boy, howdy! did somebody make the right call there! Federal Operator 99 is crammed with chair splintering / table flipping action from crotch to sternum, Canutt’s philosophy being no self respecting hero should ever walk through a door when he can dive headfirst through a window, gun blazing.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think chapter four was originally shot in 3D based on the amazing number of objects and human bodies Canutt sends hurtling straight at the camera.

The cliffhangers are good, better than most comparable serials, and there’s nary a cheater in the bunch. The Lydecker brothers round things off with a superlative display of exploding miniatures.

Serials are noted for their casual use of violence, but Federal Operator 99 is significantly more gruesome than most. 99 meets Kingston — elaborately bound and gagged in a closet, no less — right after shooting and killing one of Belmont’s men; the two then have a cheery conversation about what to do next despite the fact there’s a corpse laying literally at their feet! Various underlings and innocent bystanders get shot in the back or stomach, Belmont is freed in an expertly staged train rescue where a cohort as an afterthought casually shoots and kills the escorting agent, a woman screams off camera as Parker tortures her with a cigarette lighter, a criminal dies twitching under a hail of bullets, one bloodied mortally wounded minion takes a minute to heroically crawl to a detonator because how else are we going to get a satisfying Lydecker ka-boom?, and Belmont himself makes his on camera hard goodbye by plunging four stories to solid concrete.

The gruesomeness brings up two plot points that raise questions for me: First Belmont has a phone conversation with an unseen spy in Washington then discusses with his cohorts the spy by name and how vital he is to their organization…and we never reference said spy again; next Belmont mentions four members of his former partner‘s gang by their names, gives a brief run down on each, mentions how they might know where the hidden loot from a bullion robbery is…and in the next cut Blake is reading a newspaper story about how the four were brutally tortured and mutilated before being executed gangland style.

Say wha — ? I’m guessing Federal Operator 99 was originally conceived as a 15 chapter serial only to be truncated to 12 in preproduction (Manhunt Of Mystery Island and The Purple Monster Strikes were Republic’s last two 15 chapter serials, everything after that was either 12 or 13 chapters). Rather than waste more time and money rewriting the script, they just whacked out three chapters worth of material but didn’t change the dialog.

The gruesomeness of Federal Operator 99, and its more realistic scale and script make me wonder if it didn’t start life as a development for a Dick Tracy or Rex Barton serial; the format certainly fits both.

Not the best serial Republic ever made, but better than most.

#serial #Republic Studios #movies #B-movies

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goliath-de-senfina-sango · 5 years

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Danny Fenton & Wesley Weston Characters: Danny Fenton, Wesley Weston, Jazz Fenton, Maddie Fenton Additional Tags: Walker is mentioned repeatedly, Phantom Family AU, Revelations, being a lil shit is genetic apparently, Danny swears in stars and constellations and space stuff, Wes swears with cuss words Summary: Prompt from Tumblr: I wish you would write a fic about Danny being a little shit to Vlad by revealing him to Wes. Wes comes over and nearly gets Danny’s half life ended, which leads to further family revelations that leave Danny’s head spinning.

Danny Fenton was having a weird and not particularly pleasant week. His Dad had finally encountered the Box Ghost, who took one look at him and glitched out like a Bethesda character before apparently regaining his memories. Apparently, the Box Ghost was Jason Fenton, older brother of Jack Fenton. The Box Ghost was Danny’s Uncle. That was weird as fuck to discover, especially when he implied that Box Lunch would be a person he’d have to deal with soonish. He was going to have a cousin. His already living cousin, Wes, had decided later that week to ruin Danny’s life by asking him right in front of Jazz and Mom if he still had that giant green dog thing he’d crashed a game with. Danny dragged him up to the third floor of Fentonworks, shoved him into his room, and learned very quickly that Wes had figured out that he was Phantom the moment he focused on him. “Orion, man, you can’t just imply I’m a ghost in front of Mom or Dad!” “Why not?” Wes stared at him like he’d grown a second head - he hadn’t, he knew the sensation - and Danny took a moment to redirect the energy surging to his eyes over his skin and outward. It blanketed the room in a wave and left what Tucker had described as the feeling of touching an old tv and feeling static on your fingers all over the place. Wes rubbed his arm and raised a brow at him. “Wes, tell me what Jack Fenton is going to think if you tell him ‘hey that ghost kid you shoot at all the time is your kid’? Actually, no, how the fuck did you even figure it out?” “You look like you put on your suit and then someone turned on the color inversion filter on their camera. Blue skin, white hair, black and white suit.” Wes paused and poked Danny’s cheek, looking him in the eye. “Your eyes should be orange instead of green though if that were the whole case. How’d this happen? Last time I talked to you, you n Tucker were talking about building a motorcycle that could fly.” “The hoverbike has sorta been put on hold, I’ll admit,” Danny grumbled, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. He pulled his hands away from his face and Wes was still there, tall and stupid and overly observant. “If I tell you what happened, do you promise not to out me to my parents?” “I-should I treat this like you’re in the closet?” Wes snorted at the idea. “Closeted dead guy. Alright, I can get that. But uh, if you’re dead, why are you still…” he wiggled his hand and then gestured at Danny’s room. “In a house with ghost hunters?” “Well, to start with, I’m not actually dead. Not entirely, anyway.” Danny sat down on his bed and Wes followed, and after taking a moment to triple check that Vlad’s bugs weren’t in his room with another wave of energy, Danny told Wes the story of the Accident. It was a short story, but he was slow about it. He’d never really discussed it with anyone, Sam and Tucker just sort of knew better than to bring it up and Jazz probably thought he’d tell her himself in his own time. By the time he finished, Wes looked almost as uncomfortable with the situation as Danny felt. “You know, not to sound like a cheesy 90’s cartoon character but this is why you shouldn’t give in to peer pressure.” Danny snorted and laughed at that, and Wes grinned even when Danny elbowed him. “Ok, so I’m putting together that you did a bunch of dumb shit and found yourself decided to be a superhero. What the fuck was up with the dog, or the mayor getting kidnapped? Your eyes were fuckin red when you stole a bunch of shit that one time too.” “Ok in order of what all happened: Axiom labs euthanized their guard dogs and one of them came looking for his squeaky toy but forgot where it was and no matter how many times I shoved Cujo back into the portal-” “ Cujo ?” Wes snorted and ruffled Danny’s hair. “Have you been reading the stuff Sam gives you or did your emo phase just never really end? You have the emo bangs.” “I do not!” Danny huffed, running a hand through his curly hair that, well, Wes couldn’t really ruin a mess, could he? “You’re the one with actual bangs, sasquatch hunter.” “Acknowledging that Big Foot is real doesn’t mean I’m gonna go and shoot it.” Wes crossed his arms and rested them on Danny’s head. “By the way, any idea when that growth spurt is due?” “Bold words for someone with his shins within targeting range.” “I can and will put you in a headlock Astroboy.” “I can slam dunk you through a hoop like your precious balls.” Wes said nothing to this and simply leaned more onto Danny’s head. “If I snap my neck because of you I’m suing. Anyway no matter how often I yeeted Cujo back into the Ghost Zone-” “I beg of you to call it something cooler. Call it the afterlife even, just. Please.” “He just kept digging his way out. So, I looked at his tag, saw that he came from Axiom, and we ended up in there, while getting shot at by the Red Huntress-” “Valerie, right?” “H-” “She appeared as the Huntress literally the same time the dog shit was happening, and I am getting increasingly worried that no one has noticed that she sounds the same in her Red Huntress suit as she does in the Nasty Burger mascot suit.” Wes dropped his arms to Danny’s shoulder, but still rested his chin in his hair, humming loudly. Danny slid into that spot between and snorted when Wes fell onto the bed. “I can’t tell you how pissed she was that I outed her to her dad about being the Huntress so that she wouldn’t get herself killed fighting Pariah Dark. Pretty sure if you tell her or anyone else about that, she’ll shoot you.” “I mean, it’d probably get her swarmed by so much hostility she stops shooting at you, so that’d be a plus. I’d just come back and bug you anyway.” “You’re a jerk, but I guess you’re alright.” Danny flopped back. “The mayor thing was a ghost, this douche bag prison warden named Walker in the GZ who decided that since I broke out of his prison I owe him over a thousand years and he’d make my home a prison instead.” Wes stared at him, clasped his hands flat against each other, and took a deep breath. “There are so many things wrong in that sentence. Why were you in ghost prison?” “I did ghost crimes.” Wes looked and sounded like he was in some deal of pain, and Danny couldn’t help but grin. “Dad’s anniversary present for Mom fell through the portal while I was cleaning up by shooting things into their proper place,” he covered Wes’ mouth as he opened it, “and so I flew in after it, but it was a ‘real world item’ as though the Ghost Zone is fake somehow, and that was ‘Against The Rules’ according to Walker.” Danny rolled his eyes. “I got the present out and back to Dad but I had to like, get to him at your mom’s place.” “Did you fly all the way from Minnesota to Arkansas for a present?” “Arcturus, no, not with my powers.” Danny laughed, laying back on his bed. “That’d take me like, 8 hours at top speed. No, I used the Speeder.” “Have you modified it to get into space?” “Not yet.” “Do you have permission to mod it for space travel?” “Do I have permission to be dead?” “Touche.” “Anyway, Walker is stronger than me, even when possessing a human, so when all eyes and cameras were on me he possessed the mayor and dragged me back inside to make it look like I was dragging him in. Whole invasion was his idea.” “Danny?” “And then with the robberies when my eyes were red, did you know about Circus Gothica? Cause me and some other ghosts were under the control of the ring master of the circus, Freakshow, who had this freakin crystal ball thing that could control ghosts attached to his staff. It shattered after a very long fall, thank Astrea.” “That’s really fucked up. You’ve had a fucked up life.” “Yeah.” Danny shrugged. “I guess I have.” “Know what’s more fucked up about this?” Wes had a too big grin on his face and Danny narrowed his eyes. “Do you remember my mom’s last name?” “Wal..ker… no. ” The two of them were thundering down the stairs in seconds, Danny half shouting in the livingroom. “ Mom was your dad, by chance, a law enforcement officer, or jail warden or something?” Mom looked up at him from the staff she was tinkering with on the table - note to self, sterilize the table before dinner - and blinked at him a couple of times before smiling and nodding. “Why yes, he did. Warden James Lamont Walker ran the Spittoon prison when he was alive. He was a good man, if a bit strict. To my and Alicia’s fury and grief he was murdered during a prison break.” Mom stared off in the distance, the air around her curling with a dark cold that Danny was sure only he could see. Then she softened up a bit and smiled softly at them. “Why?” “No reason, auntie, I was just curious about something and Danny thought we should ask you.” Wes played with the hem of his shirt while maintaining eye contact and Danny wondered if he had a tell for awkwardness like that. Then he realized he was rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you have any pictures of him?” “Oh, yes! They’re in the shed! My boxes are actually labelled.” “Uh oh, careful, Dad might hear of organization and come to tear it up,” Danny said with a laugh, half dragging Wes out the back door. When they were out of his mom’s considerable ear shot, Danny said softly, but with feeling, “Fuck.” “Got locked up by grandpa, huh? That’s like, the worst way to get grounded ever .” Wes snickered and watched Danny run-walk up to the shed, hand glowing so softly you could only see it by staring directly at it as he turned the knob. “There are odds, slim ones, that this is a whole different Walker. It might even be his first name.” “Who the hell names their kid Walker?” “Walter, Wayne and Wesley Weston.” “Alright then.” For a few minutes the two of them searched through the mess known as the Fenton Family Shed for a box with a label neither had thought to ask for. Eventually, they found one labeled Scrapbooks and carefully eased it out of the mess of it all. “Y’knonw, Danny,” Wes said as they opened the box and started flipping through scrapbooks with just enough care not to damage them. “I’m feelin kinda good about investigating a ghost with you. Is this how it is with you n your boyfriend and best friend?” Danny almost tore a page out, turning to stare at Wes. He must’ve felt the temperature drop for a second because he looked up with a raised brow. “What?” “Boyfriend?” “Tucker. Tucker Foley.” Danny’s jaw dropped and Wes’ confusion morphed into a shit eating grin. “You know, Tucker spends most of his time with you Foley? The one you build shit with all the time? The nerd that you get sick in sync with? I’ve seen you lose a pencil and then he puts one behind your ear while you look for the one you lost. You made him a custom gaming computer disguised as a console.” Danny’s face burned red as a tomato at this point and he shoved Wes. “Shut up I’m not dating Tucker!” “I have to ask Jazz about this now, you’re killing me.” Wes snorted and flipped a page. He blinked down at the scrapbook and pointed at a picture. “James Walker. This look anything like him?” Danny took the book and looked at the picture. Looked at the several pictures of the man with his daughters, wearing a black pinstriped suit in a handful of them. And he let out a long, loud groan. “I hate this week, I hate it so much.” Wes started cackling and Danny scowled. “That reminds me.” He kicked Wes in the shins and grinned. “Much better. Also, Wes, I gotta tell you. I’m not one of a kind, as far as my living status goes.” “Oh what, there’s another Schrodinger’s little shit flying around out there?” Wes rubbed his ankle and hissed. “Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but that fruitloop we call a mayor may have been elected because he possessed literally everyone that was voting.” Wes went silent and stared at him, and Danny nodded. “Think you can pester him instead of me? He wants to kill Dad and thinks that he can get Mom if he does that.” “Danny. My Dad works for Masters.” “This puts you in the perfect position to mess with him, I say. Just act like you’re there to see your dad.” “You oblivious asshole. I fuckin love you, cous.” “Same here, skyscraper.”

#Danny Phantom #Danny Fenton #Wes Weston #Jazz Fenton #Maddie Fenton #Walker #james walker #Box Ghost #fanfiction #fanphiction #phanfiction #phanphiction #phanfic #fanfic #fanphic #phanphic #prompt fill #Rexy Writes #Phantom Family AU

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tobeornottotc · 4 years

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Things mentioned in TKEM that might help you predict what’s going on. -King Arthur Part 1 (Lee Lim)

These are just brain dumps, and ideas about how she might be using this story as a base.

The legend of King Arthur has been an interesting base in TKEM. Especially surrounding the two men who are involved in the battle for the monarchy essentially: Gon and Lee Lim. The first time this book is mentioned is by Eun Sup, he listens to Taeul explain who Gon is, and calls him King Arthur. A king who starts of as a small boy who is fated to take the sword out of the stone and become king. He also has a tragic fate to be betrayed by all who he loves and fight for the control of his own throne. Sounds familiar so far with TKEM.

However, we are then introduced to Fate, and she has a conversation with Lee Lim, about the story, I became confused as well because here it seemed as if Fate was hinting that Lim is actually Arthur of the story. They have a conversation about Justice and his opinions on the story. This is not the first time we see a warped ideology on stories about fate and destiny with Lee Lim. He outright tells his brother as he kills him that he’s not afraid of being a villain because he does not believe in Karma or justice, once he’s the king he’ll change the meaning of that and succeed. Again, he does this with the yoyo boy who is known as Fate. I will explain about her later during this series.

Fate and Lee Lim’s conversation about Arthur is also interesting, she’s mocking his ideologies, but he stays steadfast. He believes because he knows the powers of the flute that he has the right to become the king, the knows how to change the laws of the universe because he has an object ‘his sword’ that can do his bidding. This is compared to Gon who uses the Flute to try and eliminate Lee Lim to get justice for the death of his loved ones. the title of the drama is all about these two, The King Eternal Monarch, its about the throne, its always been just as how the story of Arthur was also about the eternal reign of King Arthur even after he disappears.

So, with that I’m going to split this legend in two views, One where the King Arthur represents Gon, and another where if you actually think about it, it’s a base for Lee Lim and his tragic fate.

Lee Lim as Arthur.

Let’s go back to that conversation with Fate. Before we look at that here are certain points that are shown during that conversation:

First it happens after Lee Lim has just had a conversation with Buyeong about coveting the throne. Buyeong and Lim are like mirror characters, he also could have become the King, if he took the path Lee Lim took.

Lightning causes scarring on his face, we know this hurt so its scarier he doesn’t react. This also means he’s accustomed to the symptoms of the flute for an exceptionally long time, he doesn’t care about that and he’s determined to find the other half I guess to mend it.

Fate tells Lim that she hates blood, this shows you what side Fate is on, in my opinion, she doesn’t agree with Lim’s actions and is annoyed that he refuses to listen.

The book is described as a story about a man with noble blood drawing a sword and becoming King. The focus is on the sword, we’ve seen the sword already. It was shown by Gon’s father and Gon uses the speech on the sword to threaten Lim about the rights of the throne. I think Lim does not care about that sword however and is more focused on the Flute instead as the sword that proves he can take over the throne. Because he has control over the flute, he has control over the monarchy and will reign forever which is his goal essentially. Also, fate is mocking Lim here again, she makes sure to emphasise that its noble blood which annoys him. Therefore, he becomes evil; he was pushed away because he wasn’t noble blood. This is fate also warning him yet again about his ideology. He also uses the sword to kill Gon’s father almost forgot about that!

The conversation then mentions the villain drawing the sword. Since I’m looking at Lim as the Arthur in this POV, its important, Lim has already drawn the sword in his opinion, he’s already become King Arthur, what he’s doing now is fighting his enemies for the throne, and trying to make a legion of followers like what happened at the end with Arthur even after he died. Lim also can’t die; he has figured out a way to keep coming back which also goes back to Arthur being reincarnated time and time again.

End of scene

So how can Lim be Arthur? Why might KES have used him instead or his warped version of King Arthur as a base for this story? I think it lies in the original story of the legend. The fight between Arthur and Mordred. I was so excited when I discovered this even if this is just a theory. There are many versions of the story of Arthur, his fight for justice and fight to find a good political system to help his monarchy. And his downfall.

Gon as Mordred

In the earliest Arthurian legends, Mordred seems to have been regarded a hero. It wasn’t until later stories that he becomes a villain.

Mordred is always the key to his downfall. And he is normally a villain that is obsessed with vengeance and hate for Arthur. Maybe not in this case. You see Mordred is Arthur’s son in many versions. However, in the original version he is Arthur’s brother’s son Lot. See where I’m going with this. In Lamonte de Arthur, Arthur is warned to kill Mordred as a kid because he is destined to get rid of Arthur, Arthur manages not to get rid of Mordred. This is familiar to the beginning of TKEM. Lee Lim got rid of Gon’s dopple ganger in the other world and tried to also get rid of Gon but Gon was protected by a mysterious person. He failed to get rid of him and Gon is fated to destroy his plans. In my opinion Lim is a twisted version of Arthur, he’s drawn a different sword and is trying to take over the throne, he has a legion of followers, and people willing to do his bidding but he’s going to be betrayed by them (I’ll explain my theory on this) and he’s going to be killed by his nephew just like in the original story of the legend. I also found it exciting that Lee Lim saved Gon’s mother in Korea and is holding her hostage, remember in other text Arthur is connected to Mordred’s mother who is half-sister, or in the original his brother’s wife. Why is Lee Lim keeping Gon’s mother alive? I don’t know that’s another mystery to figure out, maybe she ends up even representing the Guinevere of the story. I’m really intrigued by her role in the drama. Let me know what you guys think about this.

Shin Jae as Lancelot

That brings us to the next part of this theory who is the Lancelot and Guinevere of the story. The key characters to Arthurs downfall as well. I’m not sure but I have an idea about this as well. I think Kang shin Jae connects to that aspect of it. Lancelot is a loyal follower and friend of Arthur, but he gets tempted by love and betrays Arthur. Shin Jae’s mother is in the castle spying on Gon, and Lee Lim has been keeping an eye on Shin Jae. He mentions how Shin Jae is a mistake that he made I think he meant to raise up Shin Jae to be one of his ‘knights’. There’s so many people hinting to Shin Jae that instead of being good, he can be on the other side of the law, it’s like he has to constantly fight the temptation to go to the other side, I think that parallels Lancelot. He’s torn between doing the right thing (and his belief God) and giving into this lust for Guinevere. So, what if the betrayal of Shin Jae ends up being one of the catalysts of Lim’s downfall just like Lancelot’s betrayal with Guinevere ended up weakening Arthur’s resolve making it easier for Mordred to get rid of him. What if its his most loyal follower, the man who is in the bookstore, the guy who follows the trail of Lim’s subjects?

Taeul as Guinevere

So, thinking of Shin Jae as Lancelot I continued researching, I learnt that in the original Guinevere was you guessed it Mordred’s wife as well. What if because of Shin Jae’s love for Taeul (Lancelot’s love for Guinevere) he betrays Arthur (Lim) and she ends up with Mordred. In the original text before Lancelot was introduced, Instead of Lancelot, Guinevere was in love with Mordred, i.e. Lee Gon and Taeul’s love story we’re watching unfold. I also believe she is the key as well to Lim’s downfall so I can see how she can also play the role of Guinevere in that case.

This is if KES is using Lim as Arthur in this narrative and if my theory is right Lim will always come back just like Arthur except we’re in support of Mordred in this theory instead so he’s always going to be defeated by his nephew. I’m going to make a different post about what if Gon is the Arthur instead later. This will include the unbreakable sword and how KES will avoid the tragic fate of Arthur for Gon.

#the king eternal monarch #the king:eternal monarch #king arthur #meta #kim eun sook

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stefankarlfanblog · 4 years

Text

Interview with Rúnar Freyr Gíslason talking about Singin’ in the Rain (2001)

This interview I’m translating mainly has brief mentions of Stefán Karl but still talks more in-depth about the Icelandic version of Singin’ in the Rain that both Stefán Karl and Rúnar Freyr starred in.

Interview written for Dagblaðið Vísir - DV for their weekend paper, published on the 10th of March 2001

Link: https://timarit.is/page/3013021#page/n15/mode/2up

Rúnar Freyr Gíslason Rúnar Freyr plays Don Lockwood in Singing in the Rain. His fiancée, Selma Björnsdóttir, plays Kathy.

Learned tap dancing and fencing

Actor Rúnar Freyr Gíslason takes the lead role in Singing in the Rain

The musical Syngjandi í rigningunni, Singing in the Rain, will be set up on the stage of the National Theater this April. Rúnar Freyr Gíslason takes on one of the main roles and it is safe to say that he has managed to gain a foothold and attracted much deserved attention for his performance on stage despite a short acting career. At the same time as rehearsals for Singing in the Rain are in full swing, he is also playing in Look Back In Anger (Horfðu reiður um öxl) by John Osborne and earlier this year he played in Midsummer Night’s Dream (Draumur á Jónsmessunótt) by Shakespeare and in Antigone. Then there are plans to stage the play The Man Who Wanted to Be a Bird (Maðurinn sem vildi vera fugl), Birdy, in which Rúnar Freyr plays the role that Nicholas Cage immortalized in the film of the same name.

One and many people also know is that Rúnar and Selma Björnsdóttir are a singing couple. They sang together in the musical Grease which was staged at the Reykjavik City Theatre (Borgarleikhúsið) with great popularity and are now going to repeat the adventure in Singin' in the Rain.

Captivated by Kathy

"I play Don Lockwood, Þórunn Lárusdóttir plays Lina Lamont, Selma plays Kathy and Stefán Karl plays Cosmo," explains Rúnar Freyr and praises the director of the work, the British Ken Oldfield, for his work. "It simply came to our notice then. He is so energetic and tears us young people up. He has, approximately, completed the work in five weeks. Now it's just up to us actors to finish the task. "

For those who remember the time of the two, the late Gene Kelly's masterpiece in the 1952 film of the same name. The musical, which takes place in the 1930s in the United States, deals with the filmmakers of the silent films in Hollywood and the reactions that occur in the actors' lives when dubbed films make their way. Don does well in voiced films, but Lina Lamont has a terrible voice that does not fit into films at all. At the same time, Kathy comes into the picture so that it becomes a love triangle where Don becomes the girls' competition. Rúnar Freyr himself says that this is not really a fight as Don and Kathy (Selma and Rúnar) are in love right at the beginning of the musical.

"This in itself is a bit fun for me as I don't have to act much. I'm in love with the girl played by Selma and my best friend in the play, Cosmo, is played by Stefán Karl who was with me at the Drama School and is also a good friend of mine. "

Heavy rain on stage

The staging of a musical as extensive as Singing in the Rain requires a lot of preparation, in addition, more than twenty actors work on the play and an eight-member band takes care of the accompaniment. Among other things, there will be a hell of a lot of rain on stage, just like in the movie when Gene Kelly sang the title song, swung the umbrella and stepped into unforgettable scenes. But is he going to play the scene after?

"I haven’t been watching the film with Gene Kelly as I don’t intend to imitate him. I can’t accept that. However, I have watched many movies from this time, e.g. Pirates and the Three Shooters with Gene Kelly. People behaved differently during this time. The human face was different and more formal in many ways, "says Rúnar Freyr and emphasizes that in the update, the director, Ken Oldfield, tries to get the actors to achieve this old rhythm.

In strict stepping

"I have been in a very strict step dance study in recent months and have also been practicing fencing. It can be said that there is constant joy and energy all the time. There's a lot of comedy in the play, "he says and promises that the step-dancing steps will be perfect before the premiere." It's incredibly difficult but this is all to be expected. Sometimes you look ahead and count the steps. You have to think about it. many things at once, "he says and promises a lot of wetness on the stage where no one is safe, neither actors nor viewers, as special equipment has been imported into the country to ensure that the water can be given the right way without filling the theater with water.

Copper Grease Rúnar Freyr as Danny Zuko in Grease, which was shown with great popularity at the Reykjavik City Theatre (Borgarleikhúsið) in 1998.

Negative media

There is talk of the nature of Icelandic theater life and the criticism that has been leveled at the cultural value of theaters. Are lighter pieces well on their way to becoming the backbone of the Icelandic theater world at the expense of heavier works? Are marketing issues slowly taking over?

"Not at all. Marketing, however, is a good thing and it is necessary to offer comedy mixed with more dramatic works. There are a lot of people who don’t go to shows except when the theaters offer lighter works. Then there are those who want heavier works and then of course these are available too. In this year of the National Theater, there is one musical and one children's play and the rest is on a more dramatic note so I think it's far from easy to gain the upper hand. For example, I never understood when the media frenzy started and it was said on a negative note that the works and these actors were going over to that and these theaters. Number one, two and three in this was in my opinion that there were positive things happening in the Icelandic theater world. Icelandic theater has become better, interest in theater is increasing and there is much more life and excitement in the theater world. "

Star couples

The talk goes back to the theatrical process. Many people have pointed out the relationship between Rúnar Freyr and Selma and compared them to star couples. Is the theater world trying to turn Selma and Rúnar into the star couple of theater life?

"No, on the contrary. I think I was chosen for the role of Don because of my own merits and Selma got her role as well because of her own talents. "

But what about a couple living and working together? Playing even in the same plays? Is there competition between them?

"No, not at all. It works well to coordinate the two.

Of course, it goes without saying that we talk a lot about the theater and the singing outside of work, "he says and emphasizes that they try above all to work together.

To dream a role

Rúnar Freyr started working at the National Theater at the beginning of last year and says he is satisfied with the work ethic and project selection. Before enrolling in the Icelandic Academy of Drama, however, he had also been involved in theater life in upper secondary school. He played Bugsy Malone in his first year at Versló (Commercial College of Iceland) and later staged the musical Tommy at the same school. When Rúnar Freyr had come a long way in his studies at the Drama School, he then played in Danny Zuko in Grease with great popularity, but in total over seventy performances were shown. It could be assumed from this list that musicals were a special favorite. Is he not afraid to get caught up in the musical roll?

"No, no. I have already done various other things and acted in very different works that have little to do with musicals. I don't think it's possible to define actors by the way they act. A good actor can handle any type of work. He can play both the hero and the fool. "But isn't it difficult to play in many works at the same time? Isn't there a risk of confusing roles?

"Of course, you have to be careful. I especially think this applies to younger actors who are gaining ground on the list. You don't throw away the role when you come home in the evening, "says Rúnar Freyr, but says he doesn’t recognize that he has stuck in the role of a character he has played.

"If I dream of the role before the premiere, it's a good idea." -KGP

#stefan karl stefansson #stefan karl #stefán karl stefánsson #Stefán Karl #2001 #rúnar freyr gíslason #singin' in the rain (2001)#a midsummer night's dream (1999)#birdy (2000)

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heresathreebee · 3 years

Text

Brackish and Briny Waters (five)

[Ralph Lamont x Female Reader]

Summary: Ralph apologizes and you've got baby brains, but sometimes life does nothing but kick you down. Previous Masterlist Next

Tag(s): 16+ | 1.7k words | more angst, baby fever, alcoholism, ghostly vibes

AN: GODDAMN Part 5 took me a lifetime to finish. As always no beta readers just poorly side eyeing this by myself and hoping it makes sense

THE NEXT MORNING

You barely stir when you hear the door open. You've all but forgotten last night, and yet you flinch when Ralphie tries to cuddle with you. He sighs somewhere near your ear and hugs you from behind anyways, lips brushing the nape of your neck and breath fanning over your back as he simply lies there, quiet as the grave.

There's no bruise but you can still feel his hand gripping your arm from last night. "You're being a huge dick…"

"... I know."

That is not good enough. You roll over to face him and watch his face twist when he notices the tract marks of dry tears on your face. He swallows and almost unconsciously takes your hand, smoothing his thumb over the back of your palm in a way that was meant to comfort him rather than you.

"I'm sorry." He opens his mouth again but he flounders for words. After a deep breath he continues. "We can't call Reagan. Because he won't do anything for us…"

You wait impatiently for him to explain.

"Sweetheart, if we called Reagan last night, he would have fucking laughed at us. It is step one down that slippery slope to the couple who cried wolf." He put a hand on your shoulder and looked you in the eye, "do you really think he would have done something?"

You think about it. If Ralph hadn't stopped you from calling him, what would you have said to Reagan?

I smelled exhaust fumes. Not an emergency, he would say.

I think he found us. What do you want me to do about it, too late now, he would ask.

We're in danger. I'll send a squad upstate, they should be there in 4 hours, he would joke.

"It was real," you insist. "I smelled fumes."

"I know. I believe you."

You squint at him threateningly and he doesn't give an inch. He doesn't seem like he's mocking you.

Ralph could be an asshole, but Reagan was infinitely worse. At least one of them gave a shit about your safety. The realization Ralph was right scared you more than anything. You were alone in this…

Well, alone together.

You sigh and bury your face in his neck. Your hair is tangled as shit and probably tickling his face, but your husband simply wraps you up in a tight embrace and holds you against him. It's all the apology you need.

END OF THE FIRST MONTH

Adjusting to your new life hit you like a sack of bricks early on a Monday morning. You woke up from a dream where you still lived in your tiny little apartment two minutes walk from everything. In a reality which felt more like a fever dream, Ralph was late for work, donning a tie and tweed jacket and kissing you goodbye for the day.

You never realized how much space there was in the new master bedroom. In the apartment, a queen sized bed nearly touched the walls and barely left room to creep around two night stands and a dresser, but in the new house you had room to lay on the floor and stretch, maybe put another piece of furniture in here like a bookshelf or something.

And the whole damn house was like that. You had an entire second floor to claim as your own! There is almost too much space… too much space for just the two of you.

God there's that thought again drifting into your mind unbidden, unfurling like a fern at the first droplet of sunshine. How many people does it take to turn a house into a home? Three should be plenty, your mind offers.

You busy yourself with measurements, regrouting the loose tiles in the kitchen floor, and scrubbing the blackened hell out of that downstairs bathroom. It seems to come to life beneath your hands and you can feel yourself getting excited to show guests the improvement.

The thoughts of turning your little twosome family into three persist over and over until you can't stand it any longer. Maybe it's finally time…

Ralph's late getting home by 5 minutes instead of 5 hours but he still looks tired. No mud tracks on his pants or hard set eyes. He's halfway up the stairs before you realize he's probably going to bed early.

"Hey!"

Ralph stops like it pains him. His head sags and his hold on the railing is tight like he'll fall if he lets go. The way he's wobbling he might. He is barely able to meet your eyes as he glances over his shoulder and when he does he simply grunts.

"I made dinner," you squeeze your hands together behind your back, "angel hair pasta and that sauce you love."

Ralph's eyes flicker in thought. "Be down in a second."

You wait nervously to see if he does come down. What if this is a bad idea? What if he doesn't take you seriously? Oh god what if he hates it, what if he calls you an idiot for even considering it?

Ralph does come back downstairs, hair wild from running his fingers through it. He seems to gain a small amount of energy while eating, not wanting to talk himself but asking how your day has been going.

You're definitely rambling right now. Ralph listens and listens, chuckling along but at some point he grows concerned and envelopes your hand with a worried expression on his face. "Jesus, I've never heard so many words come out of your mouth at once, it's like you're writing a dissertation over there. Are you OK, baby?"

You snap your mouth shut. God, you hadn't even come close to talk about kids for all your rambling. And then there was that weird smell…

Your blood runs cold as you recognize it. You lean a little closer to Ralph and he almost instinctively flinches away. If there's one thing you are sure of, one thing you could swear on god– Ralph Lamont has never flinched away from a kiss before. So he has something to hide. And that something has a sharp scent and explains his slow reactions and tired eyes better than anything else could.

"Have you… have you been drinking?"

It's the way he can't meet your eyes when you ask him. You know. It's beyond out of character, so much so that it's confusing and a little frightening for you.

A little drink here and there is, to you, to be expected especially considering the wealth of your new company. So why hide it? Is there something else he's not telling you?

You suddenly feel sick and too hot, ripping your hand away from his and getting up to leave the table.

He knows you get in your head sometimes and practically yells your name to stop you. "I'm… I don't know why I…"

Ralph sighs and buries his face into his hands, ashamed. All this suspense is twisting knots in your stomach. You sit back down gingerly, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down.

"Ralph," you warn, "you had better start explaining yourself right now before I lose it."

Ralph stares a hole into the table and worries his lip. The truth is he doesn't know what to say because he doesn't know why he did it. The students are easy, you are easy. Even in the toughest of times, at his lowest, he didn't drink so… what the fuck was coming over him?, he asked himself.

Something clicked. It rolled like fire in his belly given dry wood, smoking curling to the top of his throat and out of his ears. "They hate me."

"Who? Who hates you?"

"Everyone."

You looked him in the eye for the first time tonight and saw something dark looking in there. It makes you uneasy. "What makes you think they hate you, baby?"

Ralph's grip on his fork tightens until his knuckles are white before he gingerly sets the dishware down and deflates. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head with a sardonic grin.

"You wouldn't understand… and how could you? You never leave the house." He looks at you and there's a growing instability rising in his movements. "You… you don't see it. It started out as little nothings that I could ignore because it didn't matter that they didn't like me: I was new.

"Then it became lots of these little nothings. Staring and whispering and hushed silences. Tip toeing language and poking and prodding and testing me and my limits and it just… it just… it never got better…"

Rumors. It dawned on you that his frustration seemed intimately familiar to you as you had had to change schools once or twice due to a few terrible rumors that snowballed and got way out of hand. And you can imagine the sort of rumors that accompany a man with little interest in making friends who has a wife nobody knows anything about.

If you wanted to stay here long, you would need to change a few minds. You set aside your fear for a moment and make him look at you. You can see the unshed tears in his eyes and feel pity for him.

"I want to do that dinner party," you announce. "With all that's gone on, you probably didn't have the grand introduction you deserve. Let me show them how much you mean to me."

Ralph's shaking his head but he already knows you'll win this fight. For him it feels like begging for something he doesn't even want. He agrees because he already promised you could when you were ready and you needed to find new friends asap.

His sleep that night is fitful and the room's shadows seem to reach out like claws seeking his immortal soul. When the haze of whiskey finally dies down in his system he sleeps dreamless and wakes to feel somehow more hollow with despair than before.

Ralph Lamont has the distinct feeling things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before anything gets better…

@werwulfy @fundamentally-lazy @escape-your-grape @mimiscappinisideblog @go-commander-kim

#three bees writing #🐝🐝🐝✒#ralph lamont x reader #alex brightman #ralph lamont #black reader insert #1980s au #haunted house au

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

Note

Thoughts on the Shadow's Doppelganger, Lamont Cranston

The funny thing about Cranston in the original stories is that, yeah, one of the most famous scenes across all Shadow media is the “Lamont Cranston Talks to Himself” chapter in The Shadow Laughs, where we learn that The Shadow is not Lamont Cranston, but has usurped his identity, and now shows up at his bedside looking like him, talking like him, knowing more about his own life than he himself does, and ordering him to leave town, effectively blackmailing him into letting him use his face. It’s a very iconic scene that exemplifies a lot of what makes The Shadow unique as a character, and you can imagine why so many adaptations have gone with the idea of Cranston being either a hapless stooge bullied into submission, or an actual villain, because that whole scene is very much a horror movie scenario.

Thing is, none of them seem to remember how Cranston and The Shadow’s relationship developed past this. I’ll post this excerpt from Atoms of Death:

"Good morning, Cranston," came a quiet tone from the foot of the bed.

"Good morning, yourself," returned Cranston, rubbing his eyes without noticing the visitor.

"You should say: Good morning, myself," chuckled The Shadow, dryly.

Cranston was pulling down the sleeves of his pajama jacket. He sat bolt upright, staring. Then a slow smile showed on his lips; one that was almost a replica of The Shadow's.

"So it's you," remarked Cranston, sleepily. "Well, I knew that last night. It was about time we crossed paths again. Well, old man, you landed me in for plenty this trip."

Cranston shoved bedclothes aside and perched on the edge of the bed. He found cigarettes on the telephone table; The Shadow supplied a flame from a lighter before Cranston could ignite a match. The millionaire noted that The Shadow's lighter bore the initials "L. C."

"You handle every detail, don't you?" questioned Cranston in admiration. “Jove! I remember the first time I met you. In this very room. You dropped cloak and hat and left me looking at my own face as plainly as if I had seen it in a mirror. Just as it is today."

"And I advised you," recalled The Shadow, in Cranston's own tone, "to take a trip abroad, while I used your identity. You were a bit exasperated at first."

"I must admit that I was. I threatened to have you arrested, as an impostor, until you proved that you knew more about my affairs than I did. I really believe that if it had come to a showdown, I would have been proven the impostor and you the genuine Lamont Cranston. Jove!"

"Jove," repeated The Shadow, quietly, "You have acquired that expression recently, Cranston. I shall remember it for future reference. You have a penchant for acquiring anglicisms during your sojourns in British colonies. Jove!"

"Bounder and blighter," laughed Cranston. "Don't forget those. I still use them occasionally."

Or this excerpt from The Hydra, which is an incredible book where the chemistry between the two really shines:

Lamont Cranston woke up and wondered why his head still whirled. It took him about half a minute to learn that the motion came from the fact he was riding in his limousine. Someone must have put him back in the limousine and Stanley was driving him home.

He didn't have to guess who had helped him on his way, for at that moment Cranston heard a low-toned laugh beside him. He turned to see the black-cloaked figure of The Shadow.

"What did you hit me with?" asked Cranston. "All four of your automatics?"

"I'm only carrying a pair tonight," replied The Shadow

Look at these two dorks, just palling around and getting into shenanigans and The Shadow outright joking around Cranston, like they are just two old chums having a laugh at the weirdness of their lives. The “real” Cranston didn’t show up very often in the original stories, especially in the last stories when Lamont Cranston essentially became the real identity of The Shadow, but when he did, part of what makes him stand out as his own character is that he’s funny. Gibson gets a lot of mileage out of Cranston as this guy who is completely nonchalant and chill about all the weird shit that happens to him, even in The Hydra after he kills a man with an elephant gun, he’s still more or less the same, he largely just walks out of it with a newfound realization.

Relieving Cranston of the elephant gun, The Shadow steered his friend into the closet. Hauling the big weapon with him, The Shadow opened the door to meet and dismiss arriving servants who had dashed upstairs when they felt the house quake.

"Whenever I see this gun," began Cranston, coming from the closet, "I'll remember what I did with it -"

“Quite right," interposed The Shadow approvingly. "What you did to Mance will make amends for any elephants you may have killed. Too bad Mance didn't bring along a few more Hydra Heads.”

Slowly, understanding dawned on Cranston. He'd never compared his big-game hunts with The Shadow's quests for men of crime. He felt that The Shadow's cause was justified, but it had seemed outside the field of sport. It still was, but Cranston, now that he had dealt with a murderer who deserved to die, was realizing that his game hunts were more deserving of rebuke.

His encounters with The Shadow gradually changed Cranston from a useless millionaire wasting his resources and talents on idle pursuits, to...still largely a useless millionaire, except his resources and talents are no longer wasted and he’s gradually grown into a useful ally and friend to The Shadow. The Shadow tends to have that effect on people who work by his side and even Cranston, the guy whose main role in his organization is to just stay away and be useless somewhere else, can’t help but change a little into a better person when he appears.

There’s an interesting article written by Bob Sampson called “The Third Shadow” which refers to the Bruce Elliot run of The Shadow Magazine, which is incredibly maligned by fans and not without reason, the stories all largely suck and the Shadow bears little resemblance to his former self, instead mostly feeling like a diet take on the radio show Lamont, more of an average detective. The theory Sampson puts out is that, during this period, it was actually Lamont Cranston who became active as The Shadow while Allard was busy overseas, and I definitely like this theory. It makes sense specially considering The Hydra sets up for Cranston to become more pro-active and serious:

While not the towering master-mind of Allard, he does become the next best thing: A post-war sleuth. He even indulges in wearing the cloak and slouch hat from time to time (to varying degrees of effectiveness), while trying to laugh like Allard (also to varying degrees of effectiveness) as if to fulfill that forbidden fantasy until he finally gets it out of his system. After all, The Shadow pretended to be him, why not the other way around?

As Bob Sampson put it: “It is always Cranston who explains all and takes the credit”.

Probably very cathartic for Lamont, who for the last 18 years was relegated to being a distant supporting player in his own life. Cranston is still in contact with the agents however. He even receives "assignments" from Burbank.

This entire arrangement could only be with The Shadow's tacit approval. Let us remember, Cranston was not merely some insipid fop. He certainly had done his own share of exploring and was indeed a hunter. He could handle a variety of firearms, was familiar with exotic peoples and their customs, knew how to stalk dangerous animals through the jungle and veldt, but he was not, nor ever claimed to be, a master secret-agent and soldier.

I think it is fitting that the writing is completely different for this period as well. Not the enigmatic journalistic style of Allards exploits, but the witty, modern champagne fizz of Cranston's odyssey in a Post-War world. He feels a full range of emotions. In the Gibson stories, The Shadow is at arms length. In the Elliott stories, Cranston is sitting right next to you on a train or an airplane or roadster.

It’s also interesting to consider how Lamont Cranston has basically become the true name of The Shadow in pop culture. Often times it’s the name people use when they specifically want to reference The Shadow, the supposed “Ghost of Gay Street” hauntings in Gibson’s former apartment took the form of Lamont Cranston, and even in the stories, more and more people became aware of it as the years went by (which also helps reinforce the idea that the “real” Cranston eventually took to acting as a fill-in for The Shadow, to draw attention away from the real Shadow’s operations), and Gibson even mentioned a few times that Cranston was The Shadow’s “favorite” identity along with Arnaud. Which is kinda fascinating to think about and does hint at some weird underlying aspects of The Shadow’s psyche, that his favorite identity is one not his own.

And at last, there’s these passages from The Whispering Eyes, a book that does not mention Allard once, and the very last Shadow novel:

From beneath the seat he was taking his black garb. Cloaked and hatted as he stepped from the cab, Cranston merged immediately with the darkness. He had become The Shadow.

Cranston's switch to his other self could well be attributed to a hypnotic mood. The mental lapses produced through hypnosis were the sort that would often cause a subject to revert to habit. Now, as The Shadow, Cranston was still in what might be termed a haphazard mood. He was skirting through darkness, pausing, changing direction, behaving generally as though avoiding something that did not exist.

Lang had flung away his glasses; his eyes now showed the shining, hypnotic force that the lenses normally softened. He recognized the eyes that met his above a leveled gun muzzle.

The Shadow's eyes, yet strangely Cranston's, for this was one time The Shadow did not care to disguise them.

Which begs the question: Did Cranston succeed in fully becoming The Shadow? Or did The Shadow succeed in fully becoming Cranston?

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #the shadow #lamont cranston

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daretosnoop · 4 years

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Legend of the Crystal Skull Review:

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!

Atmosphere/Layout:

I loved this game so much! The Nancy Drew games are always stellar at placing you in the world of the game. I have yet to play a series that really roots you in its atmosphere. CRY delivered that at another level. I’ve been to New Orleans, and this game took me back to that trip. I loved how everything in the house was slightly crooked to reflect the kookiness of Bruno Bolet, as well as make things more eerie. I remember how the intro to the game scared me as a kid, yes, I got scared of the Skeleton man as a kid. Imagine freaking out to the skeleton man attack and then cutting to Renee’s creepy eyes as a kid! Even as an adult, Renee’s eyes creep me out, and no way was I ever going to drink that concoction! This game has a lot of odd things that you can eat: mysterious beverage that may or may not kill you, chocolate that definitely will, and expired bubble gum that surprisingly does not kill you. Okay, back to atmosphere. The ambience of the game was consistent, even when you played Bess’s portions which was supposed to take you away from the eeriness of the Bolet house for a bit. The rain effect and the semi-dark state of the house because of the electricity outage definitely amped up the fear and creepiness. You definitely took cautious steps in and out of the house. The graveyard. THE GRAVEYARD. THE GRAVEYARD. I think the exploration of the graveyard might be my favourite exploration spots of all the games. I love how you can see Nancy’s silhouette and hear her shoes as she traversed the grave. It was big enough to pique curiosity, but not so big that you would get lost. I also appreciated how every grave section had its own design as it made things more memorable. I know some people didn’t like the graveyard scavenger hunt, but I relished it! The earlier games (1-5) had this slight ruthlessness to the game play. There was a slight edge that kept the reader hooked and just a touch fearful, and this game maintained that edge. I really appreciated that, especially since it would pater out a bit in later games.

Music:

This game has one of the best tracks: “Legend”. That alone should put it as a game with an amazing music score, but no, they had to add other titles like “Chatter” and “Bruno”. As someone who loves Jazz, I digged this score. So often I would stop and just listen to the music, and could feel myself get pumped whenever “Legend” would play. Honestly, why hasn’t someone created a Nancy Drew Ambience record yet? The jazz music was a nice contrast to the shadowy layout which added to the “everything is slightly unhinged” element of the game. But man, when the danger music would play, I would get chills. Especially when you’re in Renee’s room or in Bruno’s secret room. Surprisingly those two rooms creeped me more then the graveyard!

I also loved the little noises like the sound of rain, or the way the rain hit the windows. Nancy’s heels as she walked through the graves. The skeletal hand for Charlie’s puzzle. The sound Henry’s chair makes when he moves. Etc. etc.

Characters:

Nancy was amazing as usual. It surprises me how she remains unfazed by everything, but I love that side of her. Bess felt a bit out of character with her resistance to participating in snooping. Usually she’s dying to know what’s up, or help Nancy out, but she wasn’t this time. Still, got to had it too her. Not many friends would sneak into a private meeting and demand her rights despite being surrounded by creepy skeletal men. Some of you might scoff, but y’all would be crapping your pants if you were in the same situation.

So since you technically didn’t know there would be a mystery, it made sense that there were only 3 suspects. I like how Nancy doesn’t start out with an investigation. She mostly wants to figure out who the skeletal man was and why he attacked her, and how that simple curiosity leads her to the crystal skull. It’s a nice progression of plot.

Henry: Henry Bolet is handsome. I know some people might not like the arm sleeve thing or painted nails, but it’s 2020, it’s called aesthetic! Her Interactive over here creating male characters who want to paint their nails way before popular culture accepted it/picked up on it. Haters be jealous. I’m kidding. But still, I loved how much depth they put into this character. How with so little, you understood his character. When he complains about how Bruno sent him away as a child, it revealed that Henry is someone who really needs family. He’s aware his emotional needs are higher than the average person, not because he lost his parents, but just who he is by nature. It also makes his attachment to Summer make more sense. We can easily surmise that Summer was probably the first person to give Henry the emotional security he needed, but that it was clearly done for her own selfish desires. Henry’s inability/or refusal to see it also makes more sense. That being said, the moment we learn about Summer, it takes Henry off the suspect list. Up till then, the game does a good job at making him seem suspicious do to his dealings with Lamont. It’s not a bad thing, but since we only have 3 suspects, his removal immediately makes the culprit an easy 50-50 guess. Not to mention the fact that after blackmailing him (which was kind of mean of Nancy to do to someone who is already being emotionally abused by his girlfriend) he gets sidelined for the rest of the game despite there being a good chunk left to play.

Renee: Classic sweet but deadly suspect. Love how the game kept her super suspicious from the way she acted to the way she would emphasize things. For example, I found it so odd that she remembered the exact percentage of who would receive what in the will, like she had been mulling over that. And the way she ends with mentioning that she was to receive 10% compared to the others getting 30%, so subtle a remark yet it catches the ear of any good detective. And of course, the room and her interest in the occult made the suspicion grow. Unfortunately, I found the whole part about authenticating the skull a bit lackluster and kind of gives the culprit away. I mean Renee said “I wanted to find the skull” when Nancy confronts her about hiding information. After such a confession, wouldn’t the obvious follow up question be “why?”. I can only guess they included this to hype up the “chase” for the skull since we know the Dr. Buford is also looking for it, but the game didn’t really deliver on the urgency so this felt like a lackluster confession. It also came close to the end of the game, so when Renee appeared at the end it wasn’t surprising. Nancy’s faith in Renee was odd, and the fact that she just tossed up the skull—face slap! Nancy, she literally confessed 10 min ago, did you forget!? The ending was nice. I liked how she “forgot” to tell Nancy about Bernie (so malicious!), but then actually forgot that Bernie was in the water.

Dr. Buford: He was interesting. Seems nice and charming, but the more we learn about Bruno’s death, the suspicious he becomes. Love how Bess worries about Buford coming back to take the skull. I still don’t understand what exactly the skeletal society does, other then being pirate fans, but I liked the costumes.

Puzzles:

I love a healthy balance between puzzles and dialogue and this game delivered on that. The dialogue was nicely spaced out throughout the game and added to the characters. Each character had their own way of talking and phrases that stayed true to their character. The one exception is Henry’s “I’ve been naughty but I’ll be nice now” line which threw me off so hard. HELLO?? WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS! It’s so random for a college/uni person to say this. Actually, who says this?? I’ll be honest, my mind went a bit dark and wondered just how bad was Summer abusing him for such a dialogue to come out of him……. poor Henry.

But back to the puzzles. I honestly loved most of the puzzles. I know the bowling ball machine (the one where you have to roll all eyes) annoys people, but I enjoyed it. I also know the graveyard scavenger hunt bored people, but I love puns, and l loved the layout of the house and graveyard so much that running back and forth was so much fun. Solving the clock puzzle and teeth puzzle was also fun, and they made me feel like a genius. The first part of the buzzard puzzle wasn’t bad, it was just annoying to have to turn back and see what affect each gargoyle bird did. The book mentioned that the sounds the gargoyle’s made was important, but I didn’t catch anything. I also liked how the final puzzle was a puzzle that built throughout the game. You didn’t know the eye puzzle would be the final big puzzle, but every little puzzle played a role in being a part of the final puzzle. I just thought that was cool, I like interconnected stuff.

There were three puzzles I did not like. The first was with Bess and the box she had to open. The clue was Hamlet and some numbers. I thought that you had to call Nancy and have her check the library for Hamlet and look up those reference numbers. What was the point of writing Hamlet? Nowhere in the letter did it mention that you have to associate the letter to the number and type out what it spells. Also, it did not mention that you had to restart the counting every time! I had to go online for help with this puzzle. The second puzzle was the second part of the buzzard puzzle. After getting the key, which you don’t get a good look at, you’re supposed to use them on the gargoyles. But I didn’t get that, plus the emblem on each gargoyle was just a feather with notches, so how do you know that the key goes there??? Finally, I hated the wasp puzzle. It was annoying and I don’t know why Nancy didn’t take a handful of loquats at once!

Graphics:

They really hold up despite being 13 years old. Sure, it’s a bit weird around the eyes and mouth, but the rest is stellar. Also, I love how they added in certain quirks that matched each character’s personality. Like Henry kicking his legs up to show he’s someone who doesn’t care about bending the rules, little rebellious. But then the fact that he sits proper when talking shows that he’s not so rebellious and is actually trying to be professional. Also shows the contesting sides of his emotional needs and the military training he would have received. Renee’s position over her pots show that she’s someone tricks you into thinking that she loves to work with her hands (lol, end game “this girl just handed me the skull”. I told you I love puns). It also shows that she prioritizes the small things, and the fact that she’s potting despite being recently laid off (she’s the only character still working despite Bruno’s death) makes her a bit unnerving. Dr. Buford at the French quarters show that he’s someone of charm. Etc. etc.

Plot:

Like I said, loved the slow buildup of plot—how one thing led to another. Don’t know why Ned sent Nancy to do his work, but okay…

The Summer plotline felt like it got accidentally dropped. Like the writers forgot to finish it. Even if it’s just Nancy telling Henry that what he has isn’t healthy/good, or something in the end credits where he finally broke up with her. For all we know, they could still be together.

The introduction of the magical qualities of the skull and Bruno’s death was weird. I like how Bruno’s death became questioned, but while his desire for the skull kind of made sense, it didn’t make sense why Buford or Renee wanted it. It still wasn’t clear at the endgame either. I guess there’s the financial prospect, but that subplot kind of pattered out in favour for the magical plot. It also didn’t make sense that Bruno wanted it for Henry, because let’s be real, he wasn’t a good guardian. It really did seem like Bruno didn’t care for Henry. I mean, why give your nephew a skull instead of what he really wanted/needed, a friend. You can take this a bit darker when you realize that Bruno was giving Henry monetary comfort over emotional comfort and that Henry by end game has come to associate monetary gift to be equivalent to emotional gifts, which just makes his relationship with Summer get even darker.

Overall, this was a great game. 10/10. One of my favourites and would play again and again. That’s why I bought it, lol!

~Dare to Snoop

#Nancy Drew #Legend of the Crystal Skull #CRY #Her Interactive #game review #long post

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youllallriseintheink · 4 years

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The supporting cast

Okay, here’s headcanons for Nathan, Abigail, Buddy, Emma, and Dot.

Nathan Arch -Appearance: 51 as of DCTL (same as Joey), 5’9, very overweight. Stylish red hair, brown eyes, never leaves the house wearing less than three status symbols and basically looks like a walking representation of capitalism. -Came from money and could have done basically anything he wanted with his life. Film was the closest thing he had to a passion. -very intelligent. Kind of lazy when it comes to actually doing stuff himself, but he’s good at planning and organizing others. -bored, skeptical and cynical. Prone to being an ass for his own entertainment. -his relationship with his wife is actually pretty great. He doesn’t respect a lot of people as equals but she’s one of them. She helps him with his business, and they decided against having children. They’re a posh power couple. -was kind of losing his mind by the time of Joey’s death. Dementia runs in his family. While he always has been the face of his company, and for most of its run really had been the smarter and more powerful one, his wife was doing most of the work to keep it afloat at that point.

Abigail Lambert -Appearance: 41, 5’6, pudgy/curvy. Is half Native American, has nice brownish skin, silky jaw-length black hair, and dark brown eyes. Very professional appearance. -It’s a man’s world, and she’s well used to having to struggle to be respected. Her skills at commanding respect (and when need be, demanding it) are well-honed. -Somewhat more chill outside of a professional environment, but she’s generally a very practical, take-charge kind of person. Comes unglued when she can’t be in control and keep things running smoothly. -Learned to fish and do outdoorsy stuff from her father, who grew up on a reserve.

Buddy Lewek -Appearance: 17 as of DCTL, 6’1, lanky. Dark brown hair (a bit choppy because he cuts it himself, and he often lets it get long), brown eyes, freckles. -Autistic. Cartoons are something of a special interest of his. Not very interested in people and didn’t have a ton of friends growing up. Also aro/ace. -extremely loyal to the people he cares about (often too much so- he forgives people very easily and is quite trusting to anyone who treats him nicely), and always does his best to be pleasant company. Probably doesn’t realize that others don’t have to put in as much work to do that as he does. -Idk what else to write, the book fleshed him out pretty well.

Emma Lamont -Appearance: 57 as of DCTL, 5’8, trim and athletic figure, grey-blond hair, and light, grey-green eyes. Has quite a few wrinkles but was clearly quite beautiful once. -At the age of 21, she married some rich guy she felt more or less neutral about because it was expected of her, and because keeping herself in an upper-class household would mean she'd have plenty of time to dedicate herself to dance. She had four children for him- including one set of twins- and then joined some musical company as soon as her youngest was old enough for boarding school. She was one of the older dancers they'd hired, but her skills were undeniable. -Despite her rather unconventional life, she knows and respects all the typical upper-class social conventions. She and Bertrum met at a fancy party. They're friends. -she left the musical company at age 54. Just because she can’t quite keep up with the younger professional women anymore doesn’t mean she isn’t still a complete badass. Yes, she can still breakdance. -Will probably go back to her husband in Britain or find a better job after a few years of working at the studio. She has more self-respect than this.

Dot -Appearance: 23, 5’3, thin. Has bouncy blonde jaw-length hair, bright blue eyes, and somewhat sharp features. Wears horn-rimmed glasses. Looks lively. -personality is basically Susie Campbell (sunny, charming, youthful, and outgoing), but less “sweetness and girlishness incarnate” and much more clever, curious, and assertive. -Loves mystery novels and probably reads encyclopedias for fun. Has a really good memory. -life is a game to her. -approached Buddy because she could tell he’d have problems fitting in and didn’t want him to be totally alienated. Probably would have been really concerned if he knew about his and Joey’s interactions.

#I'll take asks on the supporting cast from now on but not in the same ask as writing something down for each of the main crew.#No reason other than 18 being a lot of people #Bendy and the Ink Machine #headcanons #nathan arch #dot #emma lamont #abby lambert #Buddy Lewek

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