#like martha is singing about how much she loves her husband

[sasha-whos-askin-racket]

Apparently, my poor little meow meow of the moment is centuries dead Catholic plotter Thomas Percy.

Thanks, Oliver Savile.

[unadulteratedsoulsweets]

A DC X DP IDEA #1 A mother’s love stretches throughout the realms

Imagine dis…

 What if Danny Fenton is a reincarnated version of Martha Wayne (I’d like to think that she is a badass woman, not your typical rich girl) When the portal accident happened he began remembering the life before Daniel “Danny” Fenton happened. At first, he thought that these memories are nothing more than ‘dreams’, as dreams kept us all day and are often forgotten the moment we wake up but every time he woke up from each ‘dream’ he kept remembering the love and fondness to a man who has the same built to his dad. The care, protectiveness, and love that he gave to Dani to a young male that looked like him, the feeling would cling to him throughout the day. The feeling of protectiveness would amplify his own. He wants nothing more than to find that blurred young boy and make sure that they are right. His core kept aching for that two individuals.

Far worse each year on a specific day. The horror and fear crawled up his spine as well the relief and safety towards the mystery boy.

The moment Danny turned 18 he was crowned as the High king in the Infinite Realm. The moment the crown and ring are within him he is bombarded with information about the information and secrets of the Infinite Realm, he also remembered his son.

He tried to find his husband, Thomas Wayne but was saddened that he couldn’t find his love. But also felt relief seeing that he found peace in his afterlife for him to move on.

After making sure that the balance is restored throughout the realm he wishes to see his son one more time. Using the information he got when he was crowned he navigated through the Infinity realms and entered the DC universe.

He turned invisible to see his son in Gotham, but what greeted him made him fear the worse.

There lay a very injured Batman, how did she know it has his son? Never heard of the phrasing “There is an endearing tenderness in the love of a mother to a son that transcends all other affections of the heart”

She knew that is her boy, and quickly turned to help his son. Learning under the teaching of the yetis, especially through Frostbite’s guidance he is able to make himself stable enough.

Pressing the panic button under his utility belt he can’t help but linger his eyes towards his boy.

His boy who has done much and given much, he who has so much to love to give, who gave all of his heart, body, soul, and mind to those he calls sons and those who he considers his kin, his boy who turned into a fine young man.

All of a sudden, he wasn’t in a grimy alley anymore but at the Wayne manor taking care of a 7-year-old Bruce who fell ill after playing under the rain.

Thomas his love, besides their son, whispers how he is handling that cold like a champ while Alfred is carrying an empty bowl of chicken soup out of the room.

He can’t help but go back to his old habits, rubbing his boy’s chubby cheeks, promising sweet words to his boy that It will be all right. While singing his lullaby for him.

The moment Nightwing appeared, a lingering cold air remained at the spot beside the man he call father.

It's been a few days since Bruce was recovered and healed up in the manor, having Dick fill in the gaps of Batman for a few days.

At the cave, Bruce is trying to recover the audio as well as the recordings through his cowl as he refused to be compromised. His children assured him that when the rest of them have gotten there he was all bandaged up and no one near could have been his savior. He refused to take the such chance.

The video is nothing more than a lost cause but the audio is clear enough for Batman to listen through it.

The situation, the faint feeling of fingers rubbing his cheeks, and the whispering words of reassurance made him remember but it was the lullaby that sealed the deal and made him freeze up

Come stop your crying

It will be alright

Just take my hand

Hold it tight

I will protect you

From all around you

I will be here

Don't you cry

No…

There is only one person who knows that song… that night he knew he looked like a man on a mission.

Who is that person who clearly knows his mother’s lullaby to him?

Somewhere near Crime alley, Danny is thinking of meeting the rest of his grandchildren's booth that was adopted officially and unofficially by his son's booth in and out of their suits.

As well as thinking of ways to heal and avenge his second grandchild looks like Jason got his hatred on clowns.

Hey! He may be Martha Wayne at one point but he is also currently Danny Phantom who is the king of Infinite realms, Champion of Balance but most importantly hates clown with passion as well willing to beat that clown up for killing his grandson.

 PS: If someone out there wanting to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so.

[supermanshield]

@chiropterancreed said:

clark, lois and bruce on a picnic date! the kids are running around chasing each other, it's on the kent farm, it's spring and warm and the scent of flowers and grass is sweet. martha made the food, and all of them feel loved and happy!!!

Not sure if you wanted this to be superbatlane but i'm not very big on that so I went with Clois + Bruce instead. Hope it's okay.

---

The grass felt nice under Lois' hands, still alive and green before the Kansas summer droughts would turn it dry and crisp. She let herself savour the feeling of it tickling her palms while watching Jon, Kon, Chris, Kara and all of Bruce's children play some newly made-up ball game.

Bruce was sitting on the other side of the picnic blanket, a little stiffly but with his palms in the grass much like her own. She'd had trouble relaxing here too, the first few times Clark brought her. It was only one summer evening late at night, after dinner when Johnathan brought out his violin and she'd watched Clark dance and sing with his mother and the neighbors, and after he'd pulled her to her feet to twirl her around under the stars, that she had finally stopped wondering about everyone and let herself get lost in Clark's eyes until he was all that mattered.

But that was long ago, and now all it took was a well-placed blanket under a lonely tree, Martha's delicious sandwhiches and salads, and the voices of the children and adolescents carrying across the field. Though still, as usual, there were a thousand questions running through her head watching Bruce, the rigidity of his back and the set of his jaw. With great effort, she kept them all inside.

"What are you thinking about?" She finally settled on, attempting conversation.

He answered quickly. "How lucky I am to still be here," he said, and what does one even say back to that? Batman definitely had a way of stopping a conversation right after it had started. She'd never had trouble interviewing Bruce Wayne, but he was not being Bruce Wayne right now. She could jab at him some more, and prod until she found the reason for his answer, but that required some hook or direction. Anything that Bruce didn't give her. His eyes were covered by shades and she didn't have Clark's hearing.

She did hear Clark's footsteps though, and she sat up from where she was lying half on the grass and on the blanket when she saw him walking towards them, a still-steaming pie in his hands.

"Blueberry pie, fresh from the oven!" He announced triumphantly and set it down on the grass. "Be careful though, the pan is still hot."

Lois chuckled. Her husband was the worst of a combination of a sweet tooth and a very keen sense of smell. "So now we'll just have to stare at it until we can eat it."

"Yes. But this way we can eat it the exact moment it's reached perfect temperature," he said, turning to her secretively. "And you'll get the best taste," he punctuated with a kiss on her lips. There had been a time when Clark had felt much too awkward doing so in front of Bruce, but that was years ago.

"And you. Relax," he told Bruce, squeezing his shoulder. "Nothing will happen to them out here."

Bruce was still intently watching the field and the children from behind his shades. It would always be jarring how differently Clark spoke to Bruce than to Lois herself, years of dealing with the bat folded into that one command.

Bruce huffed, but finally lifted his hands from where they had been digging in the grass. "That's what you say, but they can always happen to each other."

"And even then, we're right here. As is your personal trouble detector." Clark put a hand on his own chest and sat down next to Lois, pouring them all some more lemonade.

"hrm," Bruce replied, which was apparently enough for Clark to go on and suggest another strategy.

"Or you can always join them if you can't calm down." Clark pointed at the field. "I heard them say one team has to get the ball across, and pretty much anything goes for the other team to try and intercept them. Sounds like a good training exercise."

"Hmm. Fine." Bruce got up. "But don't eat that pie without me."

"No promises," Lois said. A small smile appeared on Bruce's face, and he jogged onto the field.

When Bruce was out of earshot, Lois scooted back a bit. "And now it's your turn to relax, mister trouble detector," she said, and Clark put his head on her lap without having to be told twice. His black hair tickled on her linen pants and she ran her fingers through it. It was much softer than the grass. He closed his eyes and hummed.

As much as Clark had a way with Bruce, she had a way with Clark. She squinted at the pie. "Now how do I know when that thing is ready to be eaten?"

"You can tell by the smell. Takes years of practice," Clark said, a smile playing around his lips. "You'll just have to trust me."

[love4annie]

Glossed over eyes.

John Shelby x OC

Note: Pretty much Martha, but with some modifications, and she's not dead because that's how i cope.

War had changed a lot of things.

Clothings that now became more practical, women dropping a few layers to keep up with their duties for when their husbands and fathers weren't home.

Haistyles, mostly for men, who wore it the same way they did while battling. It gave them a unique flair they held proudly, like a crown posed on their heads for serving their country.

War had changed a lot of things.

Nights in Birmingham were no longer the nearly peaceful wanders in darkness and dim lights escaping windows, dangerless other than the unfortunate meeting with a drunken neighbor whose violence took over, or the ocasional fights that broke between lads. They were now filled with nightmares for the woken and asleep, for those who went to war and those who didn't. They were filled with the cries of agony traumatised men would throw, or the shattering of furniture, or sobs of children. Even the once cocky and careless boys returned broken, double-checking with each step they made, glimpses of the front haunting them in diurnal whispers and nocturnal screams. They'd seen lives abruptly taken, flying with the breath of a breeze. They were survivors, while those who used to sit on the other side of the table, were gone, consumed in the ashes, dissipated in the mud of the collective graves, buried under the ground they walked on.

They were survivors, while others weren't.

War had changed a lot of things.

And her husband was one of them. It was not apparent when he bickered with his equally changed brothers, or when he did business. It was not apparent when he was playing with their kids, or when he was poking fun at her. It only showed in the gloominess, when John would finally allow himself to rest beside his wife, in the earliest hours into the next, unpredicable day. When he no longer would be distracted by the fast events of life. His wife's soft snoring and her gentle arms holding him would grow distant, his own body would grow numb and his eyes would look around the room.

But it wasn't the room they were seeing.

They would recall the details of the cruelty he had witnessed. They would remember the bursting heads of men he had chanted with, knowing well it could've been his. They would remind him of the pained expressions his brothers had when they were separated, not sure if they will unite again. He frankly believed the three of them would never sit around the same plate. He thought that one, two or even them all would forever perish in France.

In France, he would reminisce, over young Martha's portrait, of their free escapades and lovely times. He found comfort in all their memories, from when they met as children to when he got her pregnant at sixteen to when Arthur walked her down the aisle. He had smiled mindlessly to even their struggles with their two kids, thought of what his thirdborn would look like, until his smile dropped, realizing he was unable of seeing him, because the war was still rumbling around him, and if he didn't want it to reach them, he had to face it.

And he would shout, shriek, yell, of fear and pain and bravery, he would join the chorus of suffering voices and wake Martha from beside him. She would sit, worried, before her features displayed sorrow for her husband's torment. Her hands would grab his cheeks, cup his face and she would gently bring him back to her; the war had already taken him for long enough.

She would craddle him and wipe his forehead of sweat, while he brawled with unconscious protests. Then she would sing, a lullaby she used on her children, her mother using it on herself, and her warmth would bring John back, the familiar walls materialising around him and his wife's voice unclenching his heart. She would kiss and console him as he mumbled about his troubled self, appologizing for God knows what, so out of himself but also so safe and sound that she would just ignore it all and keep hugging him, reassuring both of them that he was home, often until dawn peaked through the curtains.

War had changed a lot of things. Even somethings in their daily, even in their dynamic.

But it never, never changed their love.

[thegeekyartist]

I finally saw the new genderbent version of Company and I have some thoughts... (the Let Bobbie Be a Lesbian essay)

I want to preface all of this by saying that I love this musical and there was so so much of it that I enjoyed (which I'll get to). I LOVE the move to make Bobby/ie a woman. I think that it opens the door to a lot of incredible interpretations of an already fairly open-ended text.

However, so much was lost because of the other changes made to the text to force it to work.

The new lyrics felt so clunky. ("Bobbie really ought to have a fella"???? Why not "husband"?? Just ugh.) There are also new nicknames for her in the Company motif that I still can't figure out. I also find it odd that they chose to have the husbands sing Poor Baby and the wives sing Have I Got a Guy for You. Not that I necessarily think it was bad, just that I didn't think it was necessary. The lyric changes in those were strange as well (for example, why can't the husbands be "the only tenderness she's ever known"? Why change that to "comfort"?). I can't remember all of them but there were plenty of moments like that that just felt disjointed with the change.

They also removed the implications that Peter was gay - which I totally forgot about until my partner reminded me. If memory serves there's a little bit of flirting with Bobby in the original (?), but they could have mostly kept those lines and implied that he and Susan had divorced to form a more queerplatonic union, a look into a different type of lifestyle for Bobbie to consider - which leads me to my main point.

So much of this clunkiness could have been avoided if they just let Bobbie be interested in women. Assuming that this version of the musical is set in the present, Bobbie is a late millenial who grew up in a time when casual homophobia was *everywhere* and being out and proud was still very taboo, with possibly the only exposure to queer living being some very imperfect queer representation in media. She watched gay marriage become legalized. It's still NEW. She has so much internalized homophobia to work through, and I think that could play a lot into her avoidance of committing to someone and settling down.

This also brings life back into the girl/boyfriends, and how each of them gives Bobbie a different look into what her life could be. Look at Martha/P.J! Martha would be an excellent bit of lesbian representation -- a way for Bobbie to experience a world in which she's allowed to be loudly queer and part of the pulse of the city. Kathy is an example of a queer woman happily falling into a traditional lifestyle, one who just wants to act like and be treated like people in heterosexual couples. April is a little tricky (I actually loved turning her into a self-aware himbo vs. ditzy and naive woman). But! Given April's wounded butterfly story, she could be interpreted as another baby gay trying to accept who she is and heal from previous relationships that didn't treat her the way she deserved. She's someone who already decided she wants something more, someone who IS ready to dive in, which is why she's so clingy at the end of their scene (Barcelona).

I also HATED that Joanne's come-on to Bobbie at the end of the play was changed to her offering up Larry instead. If Bobbie has spent the whole play struggling to come to terms with her sexuality as well as a desire for more than just physical intimacy ("Who will I take care of?") I think this makes Joanne's "I just did someone a huge favor" line even more poignant. Bobbie has fully accepted not only herself, but that she wants love and companionship for real.

So why not just make Bobbie bisexual? Keep some of the changes but allow for some of the original text to return? I appreciate the forethought to avoid Bobbie falling into the indecisive bisexual stereotype, however! I think a major part of Bobbie's character is that she is terrified of making the wrong decision, and what those decisions mean for the life she's currently living and (mostly) content with. There's such a huge level of biphobia in our society (yes, including lgbtqia spaces) that we insist that if a bisexual woman marries a woman, she's actually just a lesbian. And if a bisexual woman marries a man, well then obviously she's just straight and saying she's bi for the attention. This could be a huge barrier for Bobbie to settle down, that fear that an entire part of her identity will disappear with it. While I don't necessarily think this is a better reading than a fully lesbian Bobbie, I do think there could be interesting changes to explore there, as well.

What I will say!!!!!!! Is that there were plenty of things that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I think changing "Tick-Tock" from a ballet while Bobbie and April/Andy have sex into a fun nightmare of Bobbies speed-running a traditional marriage while our Bobbie was forced to watch was *awesome*. I almost wanted even more Bobbies running around to make her feel even more suffocated.

I also loved swapping Jenny and David's lines, making David the doting, nervous husband while Jenny is this woman who has lost her individuality to being nothing but wife/mother. Watching him get stoned and climb over the set and struggle to say "bitch" was hilarious.

AND ABOUT THAT SET!

One of my favorite things about Company is that it's a concept musical -- there's no set timeline, the plot is entirely comprised of unrelated vignettes. I think they could have played WAY more into this using the set, but let me start by saying I LOVED the grayscale. I loved that it gave everything this manufactured, fake feeling. And seeing Bobbie's bright red outfit in contrast was so nice and striking. Plus, seeing how small and crowded Bobbie's apartment was on such a large stage was an incredible visual (when the whole cast squeezed in for the first "Company"?? awesome)

I was GAGGED in the very beginning when Bobbie was pulling on all the doors of her apartment and couldn't escape, only for the set to shift and move so that when she could finally open a door, it led right into Harry and Sarah's apartment. Why didn't they do more of that??? I wanted so badly for them to always have Bobbie in this forced unreality of "how did I get here? Have I always been here?". Then each time she does finally escape a scene she'd find herself stuck in another one. I feel like that tension could have built beautifully throughout until the final "Company" motif when she finally breaks and interrupts them (Being Alive). It's not like they *didn't* do this (for example, the Peter and Susan's balcony lowers on her in a way that shows she wasn't expecting it), but it could have been a much, much bigger part of the overall theme had they really pushed it.

I did also really like the repeating 35's in the background of all the scenes, like it was a constant reminder for Bobbie that she couldn't escape. I wish there was even more of that, too (the balloons getting bigger was a vv nice touch, for example).

I also appreciated that in the scenes where the songs are sung as asides (Poor Baby, The Little Things You Do Together), Bobbie gets to interact with the singers while the rest of the cast is frozen. That's a great change, and once again plays into that idea that Bobbie feels stuck and is trying to escape/work through all these issues in her head throughout the play.

*************************

I know this got long, I guess my point is that with all the fun, incredible changes they made (The Amy/Jaime scene was hilarious. And I didn't even TALK ABOUT all the hidden passages in that set!!), they fell short of making the choices that would have really caused this interpretation to shine. An issue I always have with Company is that I never *really* root for Bobby. Every time he makes a poor decision it's like "well, there he goes again". I think keeping a lot of the changes, changing Bobby into Bobbie, and allowing her to be a lesbian trying to come to grips with her sexuality while also giving herself permission to open up her heart to what a serious relationship could be, would make this a perfect re-imagining of the original text.

[castle-dominion]

c4x14 the blue butterfly THIS EPISODE IS SO GOOD I WAS SO HAPPY THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED IT & I WATCHED THE AUDIO COMMENTARY & NOW I GET TO LIVEBLOG IT IDK IF I'LL BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE EPISODE TODAY BC IT IS THAT GOOD I WILL HAVE TO PAUSE IT AFTER EVERY LINE I SWEAR

Starting off sexy af, love the music love the costuming (even tho 40s colours were not ideal) love the singing love TJ/LP/BS love everything about this ugh I am dying & I have played maybe five seconds of the episode Ugh the way they talk mmmm I remember when I first watched casablanca & then it was ages until I had the chance to see double indemnity (which actually takes place 10y before this but shush) & heck the way we start off in the middle with castle/JF doing the investigation mmmmjsfhkjhdsjfs it's just sooo good so good so good. "I'm lookin at her" hhhh their eyes meet across the bar aaaaah this is so good.

You know before they flashed forward I thought this might have just been an AU.

Love this fellow's outfit she's so new york. Is ship coming in a figure of speech? We've heard it before. Does it just mean they are coming into money or getting something good like a job promotion? JE: Well, if you can remember anything else, can you please give me a call? SRO manager: Don’t hold your breath, hot shot. *walks out* KR: I think she likes you.

Banks: [we last spoke] Two months ago, which is crazy, ‘cause there was a time we couldn’t go two hours without talking. Glad s2 rysposito aren't here bc espt would make fun of ryan for calling jenny sm. Maybe he was an entomologist. Yo stan owes someone A Lot of money

KR: Just a bunch of books about mobsters and Manhattan in the ‘40s. Castle should read them. he'd probs enjoy them & he's a speedreader too. Ooh the diary! RC: Uh, this diary in Stan’s stuff, it’s also from the ‘40s. It sounds like it belonged to a private eye. Listen to this. “Usually wives turn on the waterworks when shown pictures of their husbands stepping out, but not this dame. She wanted payback. So what’s worse, that I pitched woo with a client, or that I invoiced her for services rendered after?” espt sounds so good when he uses the term "right on" I like it RC: Um, Beckett? Can I take this home for the night? I mean, it might be the key to what Stan was looking for. KB: You just want to read it because you think it’s cool. RC: Yeah, well, that, too. KB: Okay, just so long as…you… [Castle is already walking off with it.] KB: Bring it back in the morning.

Mmm music, old diaries, this is so good. I love the transition bc I could hardly tell what with the VO & the bourbon. Joe Flynn/Rick Castle: So, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone with a little hair of the dog that bit me. What does that mean?

Oh Martha/Florence Kennard I love! Ugh the outfit the coat the accents & vernacular mmm! The way the characters have a bit of their counterparts in them is so good. Kennard is just enough like martha & susan sullivan can play her so well

How did you know it would change your life? When are you writing this diary? Is it the evening after today or is it days later or what? After the case entirely? Picture of map of manhattan in the 40s. Oh that accent is... something. Gosh alexis is a baby how is she a married woman? hhhhh I can't say everything I love abt it "my shingle" Was her name really vera mulqueen? Was sally's maiden name sally mulqueen? *dabs her eyes* $15 in 1940 is worth $325.85 today or at the time, what 2012? $245.99 in 2012. That much a day plus expenses, hoo that's a lot Ugh the costumes, the acting, the preproduction... JF/RC: Looking at that photograph, all I could think was… Me: Hot dang? JF/RC: what a beautiful doll.

Ugh the scenes of the city jjghhjkfhghg

I KNOW THAT GUY HE IS MR SCOFFIELD I THINK, FORSHADOWING OMG Satchmo Besty Sinclair <3 ugh she sings so well. & I love this music & I love dancing but I do better with big band music I think. I would loooove to dance there. Shrapnel in my hip? From ww2? Well I love how we get to learn about So Much of the character but it is only mentioned in passing. He is such a big character but we only get these little pieces of him & it was just one mention of shrapnel but it tells us a lot about his character. She's pretty af! & you can see dempsey there in the background. gorillas lmao is that what you called your henchmen back then? You got it boss. RC/JF (V.O.): What was I thinking? This dame was trouble on two legs. I kept telling myself to look away. [A tough-looking man steps up next to Beckett/Vera.] RC/JF (V.O.): She was with Tom Dempsey, for crying out loud – the most ruthless mob boss New York has ever given birth to. [Beckett/Vera kisses Dempsey on the cheek.] Ooh his outfit! RC/JF (V.O.): Dempsey sent over two of his gorillas – an Irishman and a Cuban on loan from some Havana mob family. You can loan henchworkers? [Ryan/irishman and Esposito/cuban tough-walk over to Castle at the bar.] Esposito looks almost normal but ryan looks way out there. KR/Moxie: The boss wants to see you, boy-o. Ooh that accent tho. (my canadian ass first thought "newfie" lol but they say bo'y not bowy or they even say b'y) RC/JF: Sorry, boys. My dance card’s full. JE/Cuban: This isn’t a request, compadre. *shows his gun* That accent too They get to have fun & play other characters. But the characters are not too far off. Their ties too btw, wowie

& the music! Audio mirroring! RC/JF: The waiter? I’ll take a whiskey. The boys here can share a sloe gin fizz. LMAO Great fight scene! Going to clip that for sure! Words cannot describe how I feel about this. (noo not the kitchen! ugh the way he picks him up) & ngl that booty as he throws him into the alley? Nice.

RC, probably not what JF actually said: You should see what my face did to the other guy’s fist. Vera/KB is wearing the fur over her neck entirely. Covering up the goods. Que passando? I speak french not spanish but is that "what's going on?" like "what has passed?" Doesn't put the tapped R before the D, yeah lol. Ah finally revelas the necklace!

Woah that was kind of jarring to jump back to present day but heck yeah! RC: The Blue Butterfly. It’s a necklace. That’s why Stan Banks was killed. Why am I narrating? Because you were just imagining this guy's day while reading his narration & bc it's what hot girls do. u never talk to yourself? ig it is different from narrating...

OMG WHAT A SEXY INTRO THERE

Ok so what I know from acting is from the moment you hit the set you need to use your accent, you cannot just slip it on & off easy so filming the ryan parts & the henchone parts must have been, well, something. Gosh I can't believe we only get one audio commentary of this ep. I want more, more I say! Also I like ryan's patterned red tie & red vest but that striped shirt? The only reason it's ok is bc he is mostly covering it with the vest. It has red stripes. He has a lot of buttons on the sleeves of his jacket. American flag lapel pin today. With smth else ig. Ooh blue diamonds. I miss when blue diamonds were sexy & white diamonds were just there. RC: *passes his papers to ryan* KR: *shows it to Beckett as if castle didn't already hold em up for her to see*

RC: Turns out the Blue Butterfly disappeared sometime in the ‘40s, and rumor has it, it’s hidden somewhere in The Pennybaker Club. If he found it…a million dollar-necklace? Talk about motive for murder. By the way, Ryan, say “boy-o.” [meaning he really was imagining these people in these positions] KR: *looks up from the papers castle gave him* Boy-o. RC: “Boy-ohhh.” KR: Boy-o. RC: “Boy-o.” KR: Boy-o. RC, accented: “Boy-o.” KR: Boy—O. ??? *looks to beckett* [they go back to talking about the case & rick doesn't get nazi gold but SS officer diamonds which is the same thing. Cursed necklaces? stealing stuff from nazis? mob bosses? this is right up castle's alley.] KB: Okay, Ryan, you see if you can get a hold of the bookie. Castle and I will go back to the crime scene. KR: Okay. RC: Boy-o' KR: Boy-o RC: Boy-o' KR: Boy-O RC: Like a leprechaun. KR, with an angry "ew" face: Castle! RC: Sorry.

RC: Can you blame the guy? I mean, she was gorgeous. Castle how do you know? You are reading it not seeing it. You are imagining beckett there. I was too caught up in the story to think about the "animosity back home" they kept saying Castle is so right. Minor hidden safe, very hidden secret safe. I love how castle insists on telling the story to get to the part abt the safe. RC: Well, people didn’t waste time back in the ‘40s

Oh gosh look at her dress... lmao the transition

KB: Did you just say, “Kate”? Are you picturing the P.I. as you, and me as the gangster’s moll? RC: What? No. And I didn’t say “Kate”. I said “Fate”. “Fate’s heart quickened.” I was being poetic. (chuckles nervously) God. Anyway, as I was saying, they were just about to kiss when… Why not just read from the diary & say the PI was being poetic? Maybe she would read it & call him out tho. Or ig he was reciting from memory

Oh I love the collar on Esposito/Cuban Henchone rn! Raises his fists like that lol & then Besty/Lanie saves the day & gosh that is a good kiss. "mixed laundry" XP Betsie/Lanie almost sounds normal lol

Two Brunos? Interesting word. Well they are not here right now actually so...??? So you became the girl of a mob boss to wear his jewelry? That's it? That's the reason?

KB & me: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT'S IT? I'M NOT ONLY INTERESTED IN THE SAFE I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN THE STORY. btw I like her coat with that red scarf it's v pretty. KB: Well, why would you tell a story when you don’t know the ending? RC: If you wanted a beginning and a middle and an end, I have 27 novels you can choose from. XD

Ray Horton: Stan? And who— who killed him? KR: JE: RH: Me? Why would I kill my business partner? 10g for a diary?

RC: So, I traced the diary. Stan did his research. He purchased it from the granddaughter of Joe’s old secretary, a woman by the name of Ruth Huntsacker. Ah that's where the diary came from KB: Look, Castle, I admit that Joe and Vera’s story is fun and romantic, but whatever happened back in 1947 has nothing to do with who murdered Stan. RC: Uh… (chuckles) I’m not so sure about that. Our bookie alibied out. But ballistics came in, and we got a match. The .38 caliber revolver that killed Stan was used in an unsolved double homicide…in 1947. WOAH NOW THIS IS GOOD. This is so so sexy. Ok so vera mulqueen is her name so sally scoville probably made that mistake when meeting joe flynn on purpose.

RC: Murdered. That’s too bad. I really thought those two crazy kids were gonna make it. KB: Yeah, not exactly the ending I was hoping for. RC: I didn’t even know ballistics went back that far. Me, who watches murdoch mysteries: Oh ho ho! The man also invented blood types & fingerprints & tape & silly putty & (he didn't actually invent any of this he's a fictional character) KB: You know what? I bet you Dempsey caught the two of them trying to run away together, and he killed them. But how does Stan’s killer get Dempsey’s gun sixty years later? KR: Unless Dempsey killed Stan. He’d be, what, like 90 years old? But it’s still possible. RC: Couldn’t have been Dempsey. He died of a heart attack four months after Joe and Vera were killed. KR: Ah. RC: Still…we should dig up that 1947 police report. There could be something in there about the gun that could shed some light on Stan’s murder. KR, resigned: All right. I’ll go to the warehouse and I’ll pull up the old case files. RC: Oh, wai- oh, uh…I want to go. KR: ? *looks to becks* KB: *shrugs* KR: Uh…okay. RC: Can I drive? KR: I don’t care. RC: OwO!!! Espt always make ryan take passenger & beckett never lets castle drive so this is fun. But is it a police car or a personal one? bc castle is probs not allowed to drive if it is a police car.

Belasco is pretty for an old guy. Watercrafter lookin dude.

Someone else accessed your police files? Nice location u got here. Different place to film in. RC: Damn it, Joe. You old sap. Dizzy with a dame and got yourself cooked. KR: So, Mr Bogart, what exactly are we looking for here?

CB: Of course not. When I asked to see the alleged diary, he refused, and yet, he wanted access to all my research on The Pennybaker Club. I mean, really, the whole thing was absurd. Yeah that is kind of rude...

Esposito's hair is... interesting. Short but long enough that he brushes it & parts it.

KR: It feels like we’re looking for a needle in a haystack, except for, we can’t find the haystack. RC: Who needs a haystack when the needle is right here? Wait I just realized-- where did they get that previous photo of tom dempsey?? Wait nvm it was in castle's internet search along with the initial photo of the blue butterfly

Love the transitions "Hatchet men" lol Doyle, my nova scotian uncle has that last name. Lots of scottish & irish immigrants there obv. It's like newfoundland but less intense. Then PEI is like nova scotia #2. RC/JF: So every clover-loving Irishman worth his salt will be huddled around a radio tonight, cheering good ol’ Jimmy on. You’re gonna wait till a rousing part of the fight. Then you’re gonna excuse yourself. Whoever’s assigned to be watching you surely won’t be paying much attention. That’s when you slip right out the back door, where I’ll be waiting for you. that's way too easy. No way theyre going to let that happen But hey they are both so good looking. JF/RC: Look at me. I’m a new man. I’m a better man. I haven’t even had a drink since I met Vera, Girl it's been like a week. Then again for someone who consistently drank himself to sleep in his office, maybe this is a miracle. What if she doesn't have a sister HA I WAS RIGHT

KR, with his cheek in his hand, listening: What happens next? [btw I like his wedding ring, it's rly pretty. & also I love seeing it, he is In Love.] RC: I don’t know. That’s the end of the statement. KR: But if Sally wasn’t Vera’s sister, then who was she? [I love how castle is getting everyone invested in this story] RC: Sally set up the P.I. It’s a classic film noir twist. KR: But whhhy? RC: I don’t know. :D KR: What was Sally up to? [Ryan he only knows as much as you do! He may be a writer but you are a detective] RC: I don’t know. :D KR: Do you think she was connected to Dempsey? *takes the file* RC: I don’t know, :D but isn’t this great? KR: KR: *double take from castle to the file to castle*

YESS THE ADVENT OF WEST SIDE WALLY At least espt excuses himself before taking the call. That's the polite thing to do. Becks sharing the file with some other detective there. the little things make the show

Man has a wedding ring... WOAH TOM DEMPSEY Nice outfit! the makeup team possibly could have done a bit more to make him look related to tom dempsey not genetically identical to him imo but whatever that's just me Wait no maybe they did do enough about it I think. it's good.

So how do you know his real name was stan? Pillar in the community...? Oh guest book at betsy's funeral, that's how he figured it out. TD: No, I did not—I did not shoot him. Stan—Wait. Stan did find it? KB: Come on. You tell us. TD: I don’t know. I was not there! "was not" rather than "wasn't" I like it

Ok espt what are you wearing? Today you are wearing a dress shirt & a tie which is nice (if different from your frequent pyjama look) but grey on grey with THOSE greys does not work bud.

Ah good grammar <3 Jerry Maddox was the old bartender??? (But ik how this goes, why would he sign his name that way in the guest book?) JE: Good job, Castle. RC, like a puppy: Yeah? JE: .. Yeah.

The med guy calls him jerry too. I see. Aw she offers homemade soup <3 Beautiful blue eyes on this man, love the old music too. JM: but I was just a bartender back then What did you become later then?

Ooh interesting, he says: Of course. It was a big deal back then. Dempsey, the fella that owned the club, shot them in cold blood. So confirming the story But then when rick asks: The same year, do you remember a woman named Sally Scofield? She was a redhead. In 1947, she would’ve been about 18. JM looks really confused like he doesn't know her. Which would make sense for Jerry Maddox, but he looks overly confused bc he is JF trying not to reveal that he, well, you know.

Gina? Ooh different person narrating! Except... not really a different person narrating ; ) Drops the pretty girl for a new, younger, pretty girl. Ew. Then again she was there bc she wanted to wear his bling RC: & Sally? JM: Couple months after, uh, Vera and that P.I. got whacked, Dempsey died of a heart attack. RC: (yea I asked abt sally bro) JM: The evening of his funeral, in walks Sally, all dressed up. Ordered a whiskey neat, slammed it back, gave me a big ol’ crocodile grin, said she was free. Then she strutted on out the door, and that’s the last time I ever saw her. Interesting claim... it's a revenge story. It would be SO good from the other point of view, you're in the hold of a mobster & then he dumps your mom for the younger prettier thing & mum kills herself with pills bc this pretty girl wanted bling & your mob daddy wanted a pretty girl so you kill the pretty girl & probably kill the mobster too? That would be good except we know it didn't happen like that & it ends up a tragedy. RC: Somehow she used the P.I. to do it. JM: >:(

KR, pink shirt no tie, cute af as usual: So…West Side Wally. May I call you Wally? WSW: I prefer West Side. I LOVE HIM SM WSW: Whoa. Cagney and Lacey, [XD] you can stop right there. I wasn’t living in the club two days ago. I had already gotten bought out by the other guy. [but u leave your sleeping bag & stuff?] KR: Bought out? JE: By the other guy? yeah babes that's what he said. I love west side, he's great.

No he cannot do his show from prison b'y Oh & again he looks good he has nice style too. Bull whip. That's cool ig. lol so dramatic holding his hand as he says stan was holding the necklace Sure bestie.

Wasn't it so that she could kill vera or smth but dempsey did it for her so she ended up faking his heart attack instead & she killed the one who stole her mother's spot & the man who dumped her mom? Except wait why would maddox only see her in 1946? Maybe that's when he started idk. Do you trust what a man has to say abt shoes? Also there are many pairs of shoes, they could have both had those shoes... except then you said she'd be wearing heels. RC: Beckett, I just realizes something. KB: ? RC: "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." KB: ???? Ouh louis armstrong Satchmo! But listen maybe he played this club many times & that's why they BOTH fell in love with his music.

the fear on their faces when they get called by their old names <3 so good (sad)

He really really sounds like Castle's Joe Flynn when he says: Lady, you got it all wrong. WHOA THE MED AIDE? Huntsacker? His mom sold the diary. Her gramma was mrs kennard. He's back here after all this time. yk that's a good point. He is gently being a spy but then some other guy bullies them lol. But for how long were these two pretending to be the bartender? Frankie Benjamin Huntsacker the aide called him jerry earlier when the detectives came to talk.

"Bushwhack" lol

GASP THE BLUE BUTTERFLY Ugh the MUSIC tho! *casually touches it with his hands* How much of it was paste? Apparently the one they actually made was made of blue sapphires & they auctioned it off for charity. There are plenty of minerals that you can use in place of diamonds. Moissanite & white sapphires are both subs for diamonds. I'm sure blue sapphires can replace blue diamonds, except blue diamonds are typically not as coloured as a good quality blue sapphire.

Joe you said that any irishman worth his salt would be around the radio, not the cuban & mob boss too. I can't believe dempsey let her go but ig he was focussing on the fight. Hoo that leg The ice? Oh the bling, the diamonds Oof she just killed lenny! Yeah Sally was totally a victim! That's sooo cool they just ran away & burned the bodies & UGH THAT'S SO GOOD I'VE BEEN WANTING TO LEARN HOW TO LIGHT A MATCH ON MY THUMB FOR YEARS They probably lied tbh... You know, didn't want to get caught for a murder they did so many years ago, they did not struggle for the gun & have it accidentally go. Girl it is not up to YOU to decide. Tho I do like your decision. JF: We don't know how to thank you RC: I do Ok but here's the thing, how would they get by without the money they were going to get from this thing? Also hold on didn't this guy have a fake? The writer believes it was always a fake, castle believes it was switched out back in the 20s, Jerry & Viola (Joe & Vera) seem to think that they hid the BB but Frankie got his hands on a fake... idk I KNEW the brick would be a thing! Oh the music <3 RC/JF: Let the bastard spend the rest of his life not knowing his prized possession is right under his nose. Love <3 <3 <3 woah that dog! Tell them it was fake or tell them someone found it? The way he pulls her in like that <3 ALWAYS <3 <3 <3 How did they make it without the money from the BB tho? That's why they concocted this plan in the first place Weird ending but So Good I love it! ugh too good! Brilliant!

I am going to transcribe the audio commentary I swear.

this episode is one of my faves & I know I say that abt a lot but DANG this one was golden! So freaking good! So Freaking Good!

[writing-fanics]

. Pattinson!Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader .

.Out of Harms Way II.

.summary: Bruce visits his wife and son at the hospital and breaks down for not getting there in time. To protect them.

.warning: Bruce Wayne at his most vulnerable moment breaking down. Also y/n being the most sweetest and encouraging wife

He could barely bring himself, to look at the state she was in. Being hooked up to all theses machines, bandages covered her face and hands.

He held her hand staring at her, as she laid unconscious in the hospital bed. His eyes started to well up with tears, “It should’ve been me not you,” He whispered, as he kissed her knuckles.

A soft groan escaped her lips, “No,” She groggily said, as she opened her eyes, he looked at her tears rolling down his cheeks.

“D-Don’t talk like that,” She said, her voice scratchy and weak. “Y-You can’t protect everyone even if you tried.” She said, rubbing his hand with her thumb.

Her eyes glanced around the room, “Where’s Thomas?” She asked, worriedly.

Her heart racing worried about their son, well-being. “He’s okay, just a few scratches.” He said, as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

“He’s with Alfred.” He says, and she nodded. Looking out the window staring at the night sky, “I remember when Thomas was first born.” She chuckled softly, rubbing her husband hand.

“I remember how you held him, like he was some fragile piece of glass. How from the moment you saw him, you were going to protect him.” She smiled, tearing up at the memory.

“How when he first opened his eyes, and wrapped his tiny hand around your finger. I knew. You’d do anything to protect this family.” She said, and turned back towards her husband who’s tearing up.

“But, I also made a promise to you to protect you no matter what on our wedding day. As well to Thomas the moment, I held him in my arms.” She said, reaching out towards Bruce.

He moved his seat closer so she could, place her hands on his cheek. “You are.. the most amazing husband.. father.. you can’t save everyone it isn’t possible. Things happen that are completely out of your control.” She said, as she wiped away his tears.

“So, I need you to stop blaming yourself. I protected Thomas. The Riddler is trying to get to you. Don’t let him.” She whispered, giving him a warm smile.

He stared at her teary-eyed, “Bruce,” She whispered, as he broke down crying. He cried into her lap, she’s never seen him like this before. “I thought, I’d lost both you and Thomas.” He cried, her fingers ran through his hair.

She started humming the song, Martha would sing to Bruce whenever he was little. Seeing her husband in such a vulnerable moment broke her heart, he’s lost so much.

Everyday, he fears that someone’s going to find out his identity and take the last remaining family he has left. “You’re all I have left.” He whispered. Her heart broke seeing him like this, “Bruce, look at me.” She said, he looked up at her, his eyes bright red.

“Look at you, oh my love.” She whispered, wiping away his tears. “Dry up those tears.” She grinned, planting a kiss on his forehead.

She gestured towards the bat signal in the sky, “You’re needed, and I don’t want you going out there like this.” She said, grabbing the nearby tissues.

“You’re amazing, Bruce Wayne. And I love you so much. But I need you to get rid of those tears and find this bastard.” She said, smiling. He looked at her before standing up, and kissing her on the lips.

“Go,” She said, placing her hand on his chest. “Be careful,” She said, grabbing his hand before he turned to leave.

[missymurphy1985]

The Writer (part eight)

Warning - angst / kidnapping / character death

Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @peakyciills @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @noctvrnalmoth @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @namelesslosers @misscarolineshelby @screemqueen @cilleveryone @peaky-cillian @misselsbells06 @datewithgianni @heidimoreton @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch

"Y/n.... Y/n wake up..." A woman's voice dragged you from the darkness. You were in bed. Thomas's bed. A tight grip on your hand and something gentle stroking your face.

"A shot..."

"Yes. But you're fine."

"I got shot?"

"No y/n, the shock made you pass out."

"Tommy?"

"I'm here. I'm fine."

Your eyes opened to find it was his hand holding yours, and his other one stroking your face. You smiled at him and his smile in return made your heart jump.

"What happened? Is Charlie safe?"

"He's in his room with Finn playing with his train set.

"Thank god... Lucille..."

"Dead. She didn't know I was right behind her with a pistol at her neck," Polly smirked. The relief flooded through you. Pulling yourself up slowly, with Tommy's help, he sat next to you on the bed, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

"Gave me quite a fright. I didn't see Polly either, I just heard the shot and you go down - " he held you tighter as you relaxed into his embrace.

"I thought you'd been shot... I was so scared!" The door to the room opened and little Charlie ran in, standing at the foot of the bed. The boy was the image of his mother, but with Tommy's piercing blue eyes.

"Charlie, I'd like you to meet someone very special," Tommy patted the space in front of him and the boy climbed up, sitting in front of you. You held out a hand and he took it gently.

"Charlie, my name is y/n. I'm so happy you're home and safe!"

"Daddy saved me," the three year old gave you a big grin making you smile.

"Yes he did. Can I come and see your train set Charlie? I used to love trains when I was little?"

"Yes!!" He pulled your arm to drag you out of bed and you dutifully complied, allowing the little boy to lead you to his room. Thomas chuckled watching you, warning Charlie to be careful with you as you were still delicate.

You sat playing trains with Charlie for most of the morning - making small villages with his toys.

You could see his eyes growing sleepy, and right on cue Tommy appeared with a cup of warm milk, scooping his drowsy son into his arms. Charlie drank the milk and settled on his Dad's shoulder, happily being rocked to sleep. Your heart melted watching them - the love Tommy had for this small boy so clear in his eyes as he held him close. Small kisses to the top of his head, humming an old Romani song you recognised from long ago when Polly would sing it to Finn as a baby. Within minutes, Charlie was asleep, and Tommy placed him gently in his bed with another kiss to his head. He kneeled next to him, stroking his face and whispering words you couldn't quite make out. You slowly tiptoed out of the room to give them a moment together, and headed down the stairs where Polly was fixing some lunch.

"Polly, where's Frances?" You asked.

"She.. she was in the house y/n, but we'd got there too late. She was already dead when we arrived, her heart gave out from the stress of it all. She wasn't involved. We put the husband through his own personal hell before we took his eyes, he told us she'd been forced to collect Charlie and take him to the hall. Her family had been threatened with torture if she hasn't. Poor woman had no choice."

"Oh Frances... Tommy must be devastated..."

"He's experienced more loss in his life than anyone should have, love. Which is why I have to say this... If you don't feel the same as he feels for you, you need to walk away now y/n. He can't handle another heartbreak, it'll kill him."

"Polly, the things I feel for that man can't be put into words.. he makes me feel alive. Like I'm walking on air when he's with me. I feel so free, and happy. Like I can take the world on as long as he's by my side. It feels comfortable, like being at home."

"Very similar to how he described you, actually," she smiled and gave you a hug. "About time you joined the family, although I was sure it would be John, not Thomas!"

"No, he only had eyes for Martha and I only had eyes for Jack. Until.."

"Everyone is allowed to move on Y/n. Jack wouldn't want you to be unhappy forever, would he?" You shook your head, swallowing back the tears. As much as you were falling in love with Tommy, there would always be a place in your heart for Jack.

The rest of the day was spent playing with Charlie. Tommy was reluctant at first, he didn't know what to do and was thinking about paperwork he needed to complete, but the way you and Charlie looked at him through puppy dog eyes had him beat. Charlie loved the new attention from his father, showing him all of his toys. You ended up in the garden that evening, taking a walk around the grounds and letting him explore.

"Thank you." Tommy smiled, his arm over your shoulder.

"For what?"

"For this. For showing me there's more to life than paperwork."

"Charlie just needs you. Not the toys or the fancy clothes, he needs his Dad."

"I guess I didn't know how - Grace always took care of this side of it. Then Frances.."

"I know - listen, my flatmate is looking for work. She's amazing with children. Why don't I talk to her, see if she'll come help with Charlie while you're working?"

"Can she be trusted?"

"She's marrying my brother, and I've known her since we were babies."

"Then yes." You smiled and turned to Charlie who was fascinated with the flowers.

"What do you think Charlie, can we run faster than Daddy?" You laughed, hoisting the boy onto your back and pointing to a tree the other side of the garden. Tommy smirked at you, taking his jacket off.

"Not a chance!" He laughed.

"Daddy old - too slow!" Charlie giggled behind you.

"Sounds like a challenge to me, boy," Tommy smirked before setting off in a sprint. You quickly ran as fast as you could, Charlie's laughter spurring you on.

"We win!!!" Charlie laughed as you easily reached the tree first, even with Tommy's cheating head start.

"It would appear your Dad is too old for this!" Tommy laughed, laying down to catch his breath. Charlie's hands reached for him, and you placed him on top of Tommy's chest. He quickly nuzzled into him, his eyes growing heavy. You watched the two of them for a few minutes, your heart felt like it would explode.

"Come on little man, let's get you to bed eh?" Tommy sat up gently, lifting his son into his arms. The three of you headed back to Arrow House.

Once Charlie was in bed asleep, he joined you in the sitting room. You already had the whiskey and two glasses ready.

"I hope you don't mind, I wasn't planning on going home?" You smiled, pouring two glasses.

"I thought you said you already were home?"

"You listening into my conversations Thomas?"

"Did you mean what you said?"

"Every word. Want me to show you exactly how much I meant it?"

He sat next to you on the sofa and shook his head.

"I'm going to show you how much I meant it when I told Polly the same thing. Brace yourself, y/n. You're in for a very long evening."

[self-shipyard]

The "Radio" Drabble

SYNOPSIS: An indulgent drabble in which Lumaca and Gh.iaccio are cuddling with the radio on, and Lumaca gets the idea to sing her own version of the songs.

Word Count: 977

CW: Domestic Fluff, Cuddling, Mild Swearing

The lamp gave the whole living room a tender glow and the disc in the radio spun quietly, only barely audible over the music. “Happiness is a Warm Gun” echoed throughout the room, reaching the ears of the couple laying down on the couch.

Lumaca laid face up and was running her fingers through Ghiaccio’s blue, disheveled curls. Ghiaccio laid face down and was holding her with his face buried into her abdomen. Their tangled-up legs hung over the side of the right armrest, furthest away from the radio, while her head was propped up against the left.

They could’ve spent hours like this, especially after all the work they had to get done that day. It was like, for a moment, they could forget about all the danger and worry Passione gave them.

Suddenly, he lifted his head up to squint at his blurry wife, who looked back into his soft grey eyes.

“You know something?” he muttered.

She smiled at the sleepiness in his voice.

"What is it, love?" she asked.

“Well,” he nuzzled his cheek against her front. “You know how Lennon and McCartney are saying ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’? I understand what they’re trying to say in the song but I have to call bullshit on it.”

Lumaca tilted her head a little, as though quietly urging him to continue.

“I don’t take any kind of joy out of feeling a warm gun,” he went on. “It reminds me of Passione too much. No, if happiness is anything, it’s feeling your warm body underneath mine, like right now.”

Her hand went up to cover one of her cheeks as she felt a warm blush spread across them.

“You’re so sweet,” she mumbled against his hair. “To me, happiness would be feeling your coolness against my skin… Happiness is your cool touch.”

She sung those last words to the tune of the song, which had conveniently gotten to that part of the song.

It made Ghiaccio tilt his head up and look at her.

“Hey,” he pointed out. “That was really clever."

“Thank you,” she grinned, feeling a little bolder now. “I do have another lyric change for the next song.”

“The next song’s ‘Martha My Dear’.”

“Mm-hmm! It’s not nearly as thought-out as that last one, but the lyric change with that one makes me feel happy.”

“I still want to hear it. If it makes you happy then it’ll make me happy too.”

The radio went quiet at the song’s end. It waited for a few seconds, then it came back to life with the familiar sound of a piano tune. It made her grin with anticipation and him watch her carefully.

The second Paul McCartney’s voice came through the speaker, she sang along but with a change he noticed right away.

“Ghiaccio my dear, though I spend my days in conversation please, remember me.”

He stared up at his wife in surprise, cheeks aglow with a warm blush and his eyes practically sparkling with adoration.

Seeing how lovestruck he was all of a sudden made her start to laugh.

“I guess you like it, hmm?” she cooed.

“I do, I-I like it a lot,” he stammered, trying to regain his composure. “It’s coming from you, so of course. Keep going… please?”

She pressed her forehead against his with a quiet laugh and continued to sing. She even gently drummed her fingers against his back as she sang along.

Her voice, as low and as quiet as it was, seemed to replace Paul’s voice with ease in his head. Maybe it’s because he always found her voice to be so pretty, or maybe it was because he was in love with her and not Paul.

Maybe it was meant to be.

That might’ve been his favorite lyric she altered, too: “Take a good look, you're bound to see, that you and me were meant to be for each other silly boy.”

Something about the way it sounded made him feel lucky.

It inspired him.

As soon as the last chord of the song played out and brought the room back to a temporary quiet, Ghiaccio sat up and reached over to the radio, making sure he wasn’t squishing Lumaca too badly.

She looked up at her husband, a puzzled look on her face.

“Honey?’ she quizzed. “What’re you doing?”

“It’s my turn now,” he responded as he squinted at the track number on the radio.

“Isn’t the next song ‘I’m So Tired’?” she giggled.

“It is.” His finger landed on the ‘skip forward’ button and pressed it a couple of times. “That’s why I’m going to skip ahead a little bit. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind! The music isn’t going anywhere, after all.” She started to feel a blush creep onto her face. “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

As soon as he found the track he was looking for, he shifted his body back down until his chin was resting against her abdomen and he could look up at his curious wife

“But I want to,” he replied. “You inspired me.”

The radio gave no time for her to prepare to hear her husband sing along to the tune of “Julia” in that low, hoarse singing voice she loved so much.

“All of what I say is meaningful, and I say it ‘cause I love you Lumaca.”

All of a sudden, she found herself blushing and holding him close to her, burying her face into his hair. Seeing her get so cute and flustered made him grin, and he made a note to sing his version of the song from then on.

He made it his all for her.

“Lumaca, Lumaca, Ocean child calls me, so I sing a song of love Lumaca.”

[maribabyart]

Do you have any Demon Martha headcanons? How do you think her reunion with Mrs. Mayberry (The teacher who paid for her assassination) in hell would go?

 OK YES I HAVE HEADCANONS FOR THIS HERE WE GO --

MARTHA HEADCANONS <3

So, I’m gonna start with her before she died so I can fully get into why every part of her is the way she is as a demon.

Martha is light skinned Latina woman with family coming from Venezuela. Her mother has a much darker skin tone than her, but her father is far more light-skinned, where she gets her complexion from. While she was raised in America, her parents were immigrants. She was born at home, and she didn’t get a birth certificate until she was four, the year before she started schooling.

She has three older brothers. They were very rambunctious with Martha as a child, pulling pranks on her/with her, taking her hunting, etc.

She was raised out on a farm in the middle of a forested area in Kentucky. They raised cattle, sheep, chickens, and horses. Martha’s main job on the farm was to groom/ride horses and feed chickens.

She learned her sharp-shooter skills in a more intense version of something like 4H unique to her area. She was fantastic with a bow and arrow, and even better with her firearms.

Cannibalism was normalized in Martha’s life from a young age. She knew that it must be kept secret from the outside world, and that it wasn’t accepted. However, it wasn’t something she found to be horrid.

Her family -- and their close friends -- came from a long lineage of Satanic cultists that practiced cannibalism to purge any bit of, “soul” remaining in the corpses of their sacrifices. Due to this, Martha had evolved to be able to be immune to the ill side effects of cannibalism, along with the ability to not feel repulsed by the idea of eating human meat.

Her favorite part of the body growing up was the brain, and it still is to this day. She loves the frontal lobe slathered in spices and hot sauce.

She began her cultish killings at age fourteen, when she officially joined the cult of her family’s descent -- Compañerismo de la Fruta Prohibida (Fellowship of the Forbidden Fruit, a refrence to their following of Lucifer)

Martha didn’t love Raphael Peterson, or, “Ralphie”. She was married of to him at age sixteen, when she became a, “Woman” in the cult’s eyes. They were both meant to appear as an ideal couple so that people wouldn’t suspect them, as their parents before them have.

Ralph and Martha always saw each other as friends with benefits.

They moved to Dayton, Tennessee to start their family when they turned eighteen.

In Nashville, Martha started singing to music her husband played in Taverns. Think Dolly Parton style music. She sounded a lot like that.

Their first child was born when Martha was eighteen: Their daughter, Jolene Peterson. Two years later, they had their son, Beau Peterson.

Martha was always really involved with her kids’ school activities, and she was always volunteering to work events, and her kids were in every activity they could be.

She used her physical attractiveness to seduce and kill men.

While sex favorable, Martha is on the aspec -- greysexual (sexual pleasure is irrelevant to her, and she only engages in it to appease her partner generally. She only finds sexual attraction in people while in the act.) Because of this fact, Martha only has affairs for the sake of gaining trust to bring the men home so they can be killed and eaten.

When Martha was shot, the community villainized Mrs. Mayberry because the town darling, Martha Jane Nunez Robles-Peterson, would NEVER cheat, right? The situation was misread: Martha was just talking to Jarold Mayberry that night about t-ball-related things, right? He WAS the the little league captain for her 6-year-old-son’s league, wasn’t he?

Martha was gifted millions by the community, and people were insanely supportive of her. They wanted the sweet Martha they, “knew” to get better soon. They loved her so -- such a darling woman!

Her music became more well known, and soon, Martha was all over TV. Her big musical break came from when she auditioned for American Idol and made it. Her sob-story propelled her, and she eventually won.

Martha was a hero to everyone around her -- surviving a traumatic event that was uncalled for, while also being so damn chipper and kind.

Hell, did you guys see the background in one of those scenes?! Martha was canonly proclaimed a SAINT! People loved her that much.

She used the public trust to lure in more victims and never be suspected.

Martha was 28 when she died. Ralphie was 28 as well. Jolene was 10, and Beau was 8.

Ralphie managed to survive the explosion, albeit he was completely paralyzed, and the two children went to heaven. Ralphie repented during his last month alive, and confessed to his crimes. He was sent to heaven as well.

Martha and the children were declared to have died in a bear attack, as Compañerismo de la Fruta Prohibida covered up their true demise with ease.

People were heart broken -- Martha’s music was used in sad collages on Youtube, Tik Toks had Martha’s face in them for memorials.

No one ever realized her crimes.

Now! As a demon....

In hell, Martha picked up the alias Hero -- it’s what she was in life, right? I’ll be calling her Hero from now on.

Hero is both different and similar to how she was when she was alive. She’s still the got her kind-hearted, southern mama vibe going for her: She tends to be able to fit into any demonic crowd well, either by attractiveness or by sheer, overwhelming allure -- she’s a very magnetic personality.

As far as powers go, Hero’s are mostly related to firearms. She’s acquired these powers through deal making and soul dealing, as most demons do. Her charming aura very quickly lure people into thinking she’s naive or really just being honest with them.

Her nails can peel back to allow her to shoot from, “finger guns”. Each finger is a different gun, besides her middle and index fingers. They are both shotguns. Together, they make a double barrel shotgun.

When in full demonic form, Hero’s bandages become sentient. They peel away from her wound, revealing a minigun like weapon in the hole in her head. This can rapid fire while the bandages can grab onto things or hoist Hero up. She can make this last for five minutes -- ten at the longest -- before she gives out to sheer exhaustion and needs to eat demon meat to replenish herself.

Within her first week in hell, she was known to be powerful. Not quite an overlord, but powerful enough to hang around overlords. 

She hit overlord status three months later, during the terf war seen in Hazbin Hotel’s pilot: She took several areas of land, and was seen to have several lesser demons flocking to be on her good side.

Hero used her land to build up a bar and grill that serves strictly demon meat and blood, where demons can play music and dance. It’s like a fucked up country dinner. It’s an insanely popular addition to Cannibal Colony, where she lives.

The place is called La Cocina de la Calle Kuru (The Kuru Street Kitchen)

Hero REALLY wants to get her hands on exterminator tools, but she’s not really a fan of black market deals -- it’s too “trashy” for her.

Hero knows Alastor pretty well, as he’s came in for meat and to watch the music. They’ve had pretty decent conversations while she was on break, seeing as they were both influential  southern, cannibalistic serial killers. It’s a running gag between them where they jokingly talk about who was more iconic -- “I bet I took out more belles in a lifetime than you could in your entire afterlife!” “Well hon, at least I could eat the brains without gettin’ Kuru!”

She talks to Rosie a lot about business, and has met Niffty and Mimzy before. (Al hooked a bitch up with some friends lmao)

She REALLY likes Mimzy. She reminds her of Ralphie, and they became super fast friends. 

Vox and Hero have a confusing sort of friendship, as neither really wants to be seen with the other -- In his case, because she’s much lower on the overlord spectrum than him, and in her case, because she’s no stranger to Alastor and Vox’s hatred for one another. However, she often finds herself consoling Vox on sleepless nights after closing up the bar, trying to convince him that Valentino is NOT worth his time. Beyond that and him occasionally paying her back in tech at random hours of the morning, they don’t talk often.

Hero LOVES dancing! Like, a lot.

She’s seen Charlie’s ad for the Happy Hotel. Her and Mimzy watched it, and they both thought it was the stupidest damn thing they’d ever seen. However, Hero said she was happy Charlie got up there, because she was just, “Cute as a button, that lil’ sweatpea was!”

Hero’s best friends are Mimzy and an unnamed demon who specializes in black market, extermination tool selling (the one seen in in Addict -- Cherri Bomb’s former lover).

These two people, and these two people alone, can call her “Martha”

Hero cooks whenever she’s stressed. She also adores sewing and binging soap operas and reality shows on Voxflix.

Hero’s Instagram would be, “HeroicMelodies” in reference to her music career and name.

Hero gets hit on A LOT, and she despises it. She doesn’t need to seduce people anymore to get away with murder, and she doesn’t want to. She dresses the way she does because she LIKES that clothing. People can fuck off.

The reason Hero is white and pink is to show how innocent she looks. Her pitch-black eyes show her dark soul.

Hero sings in Spanish to herself when cleaning up.

Sometimes, Hero and Rosie spend holidays going around with ground demon meat to throw to the hell crows and other critters. They find it peaceful.

Hero, shockingly, holds no hatred for I.M.P., and commonly jokes about how the I.M.P.’s, “Did her a favor” by sending her somewhere she can actually be her. She has no idea who called for the hit, though. 

Hero finds Blitzo’s Instagram posts being poorly spelled to be, “Damn near precious”.

She thinks he’s a teenager, and probably would think it less adorable if she knew he was a grown man with a grown kid.

Hero doesn’t care about Mrs. Mayberry at all. Like, at all. She honestly assumes the woman is in heaven. She knew Mayberry wasn’t bad -- she probably wouldn’t care if she was in hell, though. Oh well. Sucks to suck, bitch.

Husk frequents La Cocina de la Calle Kuru to drink and engage in the gambling scene. Hero finds him trashy, but can’t say she hates him. She finds him funny as hell, and enjoys the business. Just not someone she’d personally hang out with.

[pointnumbersixteen]

My Personal Ranking of Ghosts Episodes and Why

So, here’s my personal order for all the current Ghosts episodes, from best to worst, with a bit of an explanation as to why I think so. I included who wrote each episode because the writing pairs tend to have consistent strengths and weaknesses that affect my enjoyment. These are, of course, just my opinions, and I recognize that different people have different tastes.  

1) Moonah Ston (Larry and Martha)

This episode is hilarious and it continues to be hilarious through multiple viewings (some of the jokes in other episodes start to wear thin after multiple viewings, but this one remains entirely solid through dozens of rewatches). Barclay and Bunny are my favorite guest characters throughout the show. Also some of my all-time favorite bits are in it: Cap stealing Thomas’s role doing the reading, the shooting of the pheasant with Cap, everything to do with Mary and the cooking of the pheasant, the way Alison yeets the pelaverga as soon as it’s handed to her, the juxtaposition of the eclipse ritual and the dinner party, Bunny’s ‘sobriety test.’ Also, there’s a strong A plot and a strong B plot that tie together, and all of the characters are fit into these two plots well, which is something the creators sometimes struggle with.

2) Getting Out (Mat and Jim)

I love everything about the Captain’s portion of the plot and it’s a nice big portion, too. His scene with Kitty is one of my favorite scenes in the show, brilliantly written, well-acted, and gorgeously shot. I can feel for Mike and Alison in it. Fiona’s another really funny guest character. My only major complaint is that the plot with other ghosts after the Captain’s left the group starts to drag after enough re-watches, particularly Thomas’s bad erotica and the jewel scene. I found both very funny on the first several watches, but the payoff to both is ruined with enough rewatches. With the first, the payoff is with how surprisingly bad for a ‘professional’ writer his story is, but after you’re well aware that Thomas is a bad writer, it’s just listening to bad writing over and over again. And the bit with Fanny’s jewel has such a long lead up, to get to the surprise payoff that the jewel was secretly pawned by George forever ago, but once you know the jewel is gone, the long lead up gets progressively more tedious with every watch. At least for me.

3) Reddy Weddy (Ben and Simon)

I’ve written extensively about this one before, so I won’t include much, but: I love everything having to do with the Captain in this one, particularly the completely wonderful flashbacks with Havers. Mike and Alison were very well done, and I enjoyed Martin as a guest character. But I really didn’t like the whose-turn-is-it-to-pick-the-movie subplot, it just seemed sort of unnecessary to me and detracted from the tone of the rest of it. I assume they just had trouble finding a better integrated role for Pat, Thomas and Julian, which, as I said under Moonah Ston, is an occasional weakness the creators had.

4) Gorilla War (Larry)

I love Cap’s campaign of attrition. And his singing. Everyone had solid, funny bits, all tied into one main plot in it. Mike and Alison are both well done in this episode. It’s the first episode where Alison is able to interact with the ghosts and I think they did a great job capitalizing on her coming to terms with it and Mike’s such a supportive husband in it.  

5) About Last Night (Mat and Jim)

I love the spat between Cap and Pat in this one, because the focus of their subplot is their relationship dynamic and I enjoy their relationship dynamic- even though it’s close to the breaking point in this instance, all is well because they make up in the end. Everything about the state of the house and trying to remember what happened to it-as well as the flashbacks to the party- is pretty funny. The bits with Dante were very funny as well. The Robin-Mary subplot was a bit meh for me, but I didn’t dislike it, I’m just not sold on the idea. I didn’t enjoy Mike being sidelined on the roof for most of the episode when Alison needed his help and all the criticism he got from the other characters for not being around to help Alison, though.

6) Who Do You Think You Are? (Mat and Jim)

This is a really strong introductory episode with some good, funny bits in it, but it doesn’t rank higher since the ghosts can’t interact with Alison yet and Mike and Alison don’t know they’re there, which is where a lot of the fun of the concept of the show comes in to me.

7) Bump in the Night (Larry and Martha)              

The robbers were funny as were the ghosts’ utterly inept attempts (save Robin) in stopping them. I loved music club, particularly the Captain’s performance. I appreciated the return of Barclay and his bitches. Humphrey was actually reasonably included in the plot, which is always a nice change. There weren’t any bits I found particularly outstanding (except maybe Cap’s musical performance) but there weren’t any major bits I disliked, either. Everyone’s included in one main plot and it continues to be just as enjoyable on rewatches.

8) The Thomas Thorne Affair (Mat and Jim)

I greatly enjoy examine-the-story-from-multiple-viewpoints-to-illustrate-unreliable-narration plots, so that went well in this episode. I also really like regency romances, so this ticked another box for me. Humphrey was given an important bit again, which I appreciate. The bit about Francis was a nice twist at the end, because otherwise it would have been a bit too predictable, with Thomas being shot in a duel over a romantic misunderstanding- that was the most obvious solution to his death, after all. It felt a bit contrived, though, that the characters who died after Thomas all went to the group meeting on time, while the characters who witnessed Thomas’s death were all still wandering around upstairs and just happen to wander into Alison’s room in time to contradict the last telling of the story and provide the next. And of course, the fact that half the cast is just sort of sitting downstairs waiting for a significant portion of the episode always seemed a bit lacking to me. Also, Mike starts the episode being unusually stupid (not knowing Elizabeth II is the current queen- at least in the US, not being able to answer who the current President is frequently used as shorthand for ‘having brain damage’) and spends the rest of it being insecure about Alison’s ex (this seems to be a Mat and Jim thing).  

9) Perfect Day (Mat and Jim)

I loved all the Cap bits in this. Pat’s plotline was good, too. Humphrey actually had a substantial role, which I appreciated, and more so since he actually managed to bring Fanny around to the gay wedding. I was of course thrilled that it was a lesbian wedding. But I’m not a fan of ‘miscommunication causes drama’ plots in any medium and I disliked how once again how insecure Mike is in this episode (Mat and Jim again) and how poorly he handles it.

10) Happy Death Day (Ben)

I love all the Pat bits. I liked the interactions between the Captain and Julian, they had a really enjoyable dynamic in this one, although they’re being rather disappointing human beings in their plotline. I like Kitty’s plotline, too, and the garden scene between her and Fanny is very funny and beautifully framed. I don’t think this episode did a particularly good job with either Mike or Alison, though. Mike ditches his probably still concussed wife who is plagued by ghosts to manage the building work he started because he’s spending hours a day out of the house because there are too many people in it and he’s apparently potty-shy and Alison thinks trying to convince people to do probably thousands, if not more, pounds worth of free labor by making them tea is both a plausible idea and an appropriate thing to even try (it’s bad enough when the people asking you to do free work for them are actually your friends, contriving a friendship in order to do this just sort of seems a bit contemptible to me). Some of the jokes get less funny with time- Fanny with the butt cracks, for instance. I considered the Thomas subplot another weak ‘well, something needs to be done with this character’ subplot and I can’t even remember off the top of my head what Mary was doing most of the episode despite having seen it at least a dozen times, besides the bit where Alison throws the teacup at her head (and if I were Terry, I would have called it quits then).  

11) The Ghost of Christmas (Ben and Simon)

Mostly fluff, and a decent amount of it was rather predictable fluff, but I’ve written more on that elsewhere. Mike’s sisters were the worst. I was hoping Ben would write himself a bigger role and he didn’t. In the Bleak Midwinter was gorgeous, though, and there were enough smaller bits that I found endearing to prop it up over the next two.

12) The Grey Lady (Larry and Martha)

I enjoy the ghosts’ routine as shown at the beginning of the episode. I found Pat’s radio show amusing. I liked the basement scene with Nigel. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Captain’s ‘stretching’ subplot (although I do greatly enjoy his  ‘for king and country’ running), it just seemed a bit silly to me, like they couldn’t decide what to do with him for most of the episode, so went with ‘eh, squats, I guess.’ Also, I feel like they had trouble placing Mary and Kitty, too. Mary spends a lot of the episode staring at a wall and Kitty spends all of it just following the group and occasionally wailing about the ‘ghost-ghost.’ Also, I think Alison went a little too far with her simulated haunting when she dressed up as the Grey Lady; it wasn’t smart because there was no way she was going to get away with it after anyone turned on the lights and it seems a bit more like attempting to defraud people than the rest of it did.

13) Free Pass (Mat and Jim)

Alison actively puts people in danger for money, misrepresenting the house as structurally sound in order to get a movie contract, when in fact the floors are held up by hope and happy thoughts and could (and eventually do) cave at any moment. If the floor had fallen through in the letter scene, before Mike braced it, when they were using the heavy equipment, there likely would have been serious injuries. Also: Toby Nightingale is the worst. Also: the solidity and supportive nature of Mike and Alison’s relationship is the best part of it and I dislike the choice (Mat and Jim again) to make him so insecure in this episode (this was the first in the episode order to do so).

To speak on general tendencies, though: I’m not a fan of doing morally questionable things for monetary reasons unless the situation is life or death, so all of the episodes where that’s Alison’s primary purpose get major demerits from me. That’s a matter of personal taste, but there I am. As for the writers (I recognize they all come up with the general story arcs together, but the writing pairs are responsible for execution), everyone struggles a bit sometimes to get solid roles for everyone into the plot, to be expected when the cast is so large, but some instances are worse than others. I think Larry’s (well, Larry/Martha for most of them, but they’ve both joked that mostly she drinks and he writes when they’re working on their episodes) still the strongest writer in terms of having mostly cohesive plots that standup consistently as solid to multiple viewings, but he also has the most experience as a writer, so that’s probably to be expected. Ben and Simon have both stated that they like jig-sawing a bunch of little plots together to make an episode, and while it is a bit impressive that they can make episodes with like, nearly as many plotlines as characters come together to make one reasonably sane episode, I find this strategy detrimental in that to me, when they do this, there’s always one or two plots that are really, really good, a few plots that are pretty good, and then one or two plots that I just don’t enjoy, that to me drag down the rest of the episode (most apparent in Reddy Weddy, but it happens to some degree in all of their episodes). My major criticism of Mat and Jim is with the way they write Mike. I actually really like Mike when he’s well done, but his portrayal seems to vary a lot between episodes, and (with the exception of Ben’s Happy Death Day, but his problems in that one are different) the episodes he’s written the weakest in are all written by Mat and Jim. They’re the only ones who I think write Mike as insecure in his relationship with Alison and his most incompetent and/or useless moments also tend to be written by them. I don’t know if they have a slightly different concept of Mike’s character than the other four or what, but I think Larry/Martha and Ben/Simon’s portrayals of him tend to be significantly more flattering.

[luthienne]

Hi ! I was wondering if you had quotes / thoughts about feeling lost in life, when nothing feels right and choices have to be made even though they all feel like lukewarm water when you wanted a hot bath. That feeling of losing a sense of grounding and not seeing the direction in which to move. thank you xx

(I’ve been wanting to compile this from the moment I received your ask in my inbox. I know the feeling intimately, and I love the way you articulated it. Hope any of these quotes resonate w what you were looking for xx)

“What shall we do my darling, when trial grows more, and more, when the dim, lone light expires, and it’s dark, so very dark, and we wander, and know not where, and cannot get out of the forest…”

—Emily Dickinson, Selected Letters

“She had never figured out how to figure things out. She was only vaguely beginning to know the kind of absence she had of herself inside her.”

—Clarice Lispector, The Hour of the Star (tr. Benjamin Moser)

“But as it is / I lack myself.”

—Anne Carson, Grief Lessons; “Herakles”

“Even now I can’t explain. Something happened, a kind of earthquake that shook everything and I lost faith and touch with everybody.”

—Katherine Mansfield, Letters of Katherine Mansfield

“She felt suddenly as if she were a ghost in her own life—”

—Catherynne M. Valente, The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden

“I hate seeing myself dissolve and slip and separate so that I’m living in one half of my mind, and I see the other half of me helpless and frantic and driven and I can’t stop it, but I know I’m not really going to be hurt and yet time is so long and even a second goes on and on and I could stand any of it if I could only surrender—”

—Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

“It makes me tremble. (…) To think back. I remember exactly how I thought life would be.”

—Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband

Emily Dickinson, “I felt a Funeral in my Brain”

“and I didn’t care / and I was alone / and there had been war / and that thing (my soul) / was a lost star / or a lost boat / adrift,”

—H.D., Child Poems: “Dedication” 

“She had a perpetual sense (…), of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.”

—Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway 

“You know the feeling? One lies in a kind of daze, feeling so sensitive—so unbearably sensitive to the exterior world and longing for something ‘lovely’ to happen.”

—Katherine Mansfield, Letters of Katherine Mansfield

“I don’t care a bit—about anything—I just seem to be asleep and can’t wake up—”

—Georgia O’Keeffe, Art and Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe

“Life is what happens to someone else; / I stand on the sidelines and wring my hands.”

—Lisel Mueller, Waving from Shore

“…it is a little thing to say how lone it is — anyone can do it, but to wear loneliness next to your heart for weeks, when you sleep, and when you wake, ever missing something, this, all cannot say, and it baffles me.”

—Emily Dickinson, Selected Letters

“My life now is a dream too, semi-detached, and seems to happen to somebody else.”

—Martha Gellhorn, from Selected Letters

“I don’t know—I don’t know anything. There is no one here I can talk to—it’s all like a bad dream.”

—Georgia O’Keeffe, Art and Letters of Georgia O’Keeffe

“…she does not know whom she wishes to catch, only that she wishes to catch someone, anyone, to be anchored, to be connected, to not be abandoned.”

—Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

“I had lost my true rhythm. But what was my true rhythm?”

—Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin: Vol 1, 1931-1934 

“People kept saying It’s only a matter of time so I persevered in the hope they weren’t lying. At the same time beginning to think I might’ve been lying to myself. Wasting everyone’s time with fantasies of this career I couldn’t have. The person I could never be. There was just so much rejection and not enough of me. I got so afraid. And I lost my nerve—”

—Eimear McBride, The Lesser Bohemians

—Denise Levertov, Life in the Forest; “A Daughter (I)”

“I’m not lost. Or not lost much. Lonely. It is that and … I don’t know what to do. So I move. And cars move. And it’s almost life.”

—Eimear McBride, The Lesser Bohemians 

“What prevents you? The future. The future tense, / immense as outer space. / You could get lost there. / No. Nothing so simple. The past, its density / and drowned events pressing you down, / like sea water—”

—Margaret Atwood, “Up”

“What is there to say? I became physically ill. It was as if I had fallen into space and hung there while life passed me by.”

—Boris Pasternak, Letters Summer 1926: Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, Rilke

“And nothing else happens. The days go by, lost, wasted, and I have no drive to write, no words come… And I grow more and more solitary.”

—Martha Gellhorn, Selected Letters

“I cannot write anymore, dears. Though it is many nights, my mind never comes home.”

—Emily Dickinson, Selected Letters

“As time goes by, especially in the last few years, I’ve lost the knack of being a person. I no longer know how one is supposed to be. And an entirely new kind of ‘solitude of not belonging’ has started invading me like ivy on a wall.”

—Clarice Lispector, Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector 

“There’s a loss of personality. / Or rather, you’ve lost touch with the person / You thought you were. / You no longer feel quite human.”

—T.S. Eliot, The Cocktail Party

“My wings are cut and I can-not fly I can-not fly I can-not fly.”

—Katherine Mansfield, Letters of Katherine Mansfield

“Me, as ever, gone.”

—Anne Carson, Decreation; “Despite her Pain, Another Day”

“…and I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.”

—Emily Dickinson, Letters

“…why this doubt that I have about everything I do, this void that frightens me, all these lost illusions?”

—Gustave Flaubert, Intimate Notebook 1840-1841

“What I fear I avoid. What I fear I pretend does not exist. What I fear is quietly killing me. Would there were a festival for my fears, a ritual burning of what is coward in me, what is lost in me. Let the light in before it is too late.”

—Jeanette Winterson, “The Green Man” 

“Around. Around. There / should have been / a lesson somewhere.”

—Louise Glück, “The Game”

“Only occasionally do I find I have to break my peace: shout or be lost in the shuffle. But mostly I am lost in the shuffle.”

—Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

“Things went wrong. She lost confidence. She became apprehensive in crowds. I recognize how that she was feeling then as I feel now. Invisible on the street.”

—Joan Didion, Blue Nights

“She had the oddest sense of being herself invisible; unseen; unknown;”

—Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway

“You might not remember me, dears. I cannot recall myself. I thought I was strongly built, but this stronger has undermined me.”

—Emily Dickinson, Selected Letters

“I have no world to go back into, or to go forward into. Because these years have cut me away from many things – from everything: not only materially, but also mentally, spiritually.”

—Martha Gellhorn, Selected Letters

—Rita Dove, “The Venus of Willendorf”

“…for we are in such fragile skin, so close to getting lost in the in-between.”

—Eimear McBride, The Lesser Bohemians

“I do not want revenge, I do not want expiation. / I only want to ask someone / how I was lost, / how I was lost,”

—Margaret Atwood, “Owl Song”

“I felt as if the sky was torn off my life. I had no home in goodness anymore.”

—Anne Carson, “The Glass Essay”

“Let it be over, she pleaded within herself. Let it never have happened—any of it. Let me be young again, and the story just starting.”

—Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

“The ultimate fantasy: the recovery of an irrecoverable past. But if I could daydream about an invented happy future…”

—Susan Sontag, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh

“Tell me what’s the difference / between hope and waiting / because my heart doesn’t know / It constantly cuts itself on the glass of waiting / It constantly gets lost in the fog of hope”

—Anna Kamienska, Astonishments

—Denise Levertov, To Stay Alive

“I long to—ah, so much!! If that were possible I’d get back to my spirit.”

—Katherine Mansfield, Selected Letters

“I told my Soul to sing— / She said her Strings were snapt—”

—Emily Dickinson, Complete Poems; “The first Day’s Night had come,”

“Surely it is a privilege to approach the end / still believing in something.”

—Louise Glück, Averno; “October”

“There is a wild raging river flowing inside of me. I can’t dam it. I’m hurt so badly. Believe me—oh shit! Believe, believe—what’s there to believe anymore?”

— Henry Miller, A Literate Passion

“And life tasteless. And so eager, so eager that I should accomplish a miracle. People always expect miracles.”

—Anaïs Nin, A Literate Passion

“I want to be filled with longing again / till dark burn marks show on my skin. I want to be written again / in the Book of Life, to be written every single day / till the writing hand hurts.”

—Yehuda Amichai,“I Walked Past a House Where I Lived Once,”

“I want / my heart back / I want to feel everything again—”

—Louise Glück, Averno; “Blue Rotunda”

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 6 Episode 3: Time to meet Group B! (Commentary & Guesses)

Hello fellow humans! Welcome (or welcome back) to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I recap and talk about this show called The Masked Singer if you wanna stick around for that. So, this time around, we get to meet the other group, Group B, who we might not see again for 2 weeks, since we are going to see group A perform again this upcoming week with a new wildcard, Pepper. Anyways, let’s get started with the recap:

Group B was introduced and they consisted of Dalmatian 🐶, Queen of Hearts 🫀, Mallard 🦆, Cupcake 🧁, and Banana Split 🍌🍦. They performed, and one was eliminated unfortunately, let’s start with that…

So the contestant that was eliminated/revealed first in Group B was:

Dalmatian 🐶

Performance Commentary: ok, so I wasn’t super surprised by this elimination honestly, I expected it since he was the weakest vocally of this group. He sang Beautiful by Snoop Dogg ft Pharrell Williams and I gotta give him props for actually singing when most rappers just decide to only rap and not sing at all on this show. However, he did sound a bit like they put way too much of that auto tune stuff on his voice so it sounded like a robot him singing, which kinda made him the weakest link. However, his rapping was awesome (duh because that’s what he does professionally… and btw not spoiling who he is with that comment because when you hear the performance, you’ll know 100% it’s a rapper)

And he was revealed to be…

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

Tyga

Omg I knew it!! Thank you Twitter for helping me out, y’all are the best. I thought at first it might have been Chance the Rapper but then people started saying Tyga and I was like hmmm lemme see the clues, yup makes sense, well great segue (segway) Ana because imma show you some of the clues you might have missed:

Scream Poster= he was in the Scream series

Cat Doll= play on words because his name is Tyga (like Tiger… man these producers are really into puns, it’s kinda clever tho)

Was discovered by a big player= in 2007, he started doing mixtapes and he was discovered by Travie McCoy who offered him a record deal

Now, that we have that out of the way, let’s get into our remaining contestants (big warning: this group has left me all types of confused when it comes to guesses so I apologize if my arguments aren’t perfect with some of these):

1. Cupcake 🧁

Performance: This performance is so confusing to me. Idk if this is a man or woman, sometimes I think woman with deep voice and other times I am like no that’s a man. So I don’t know about this one, it’s a very good performance of Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas but I need to hear more because I am confused. I am in between a specific man or a specific woman but I am not sure so unfortunately for this one I don’t have a guess

Sorry y’all no guess for this one :(… hopefully, next time they perform I will have a better idea*

*(I will say the guess I am leaning towards that a few people have said *just in case the cupcake leaves next* is Ruth Pointer from the Pointer Sisters because there were supposed to be multiple cupcakes and not just one, and in the PKG, cupcake said they were used to being in a group)

2. Banana Split 🍌🍦

Performance: They were 1000% my favorite performance of the night even though only Split/Ice Cream sang A Million Dreams from the Greatest Showman. She is amazing, I absolutely love her, she has that iconic Broadway sound that I absolutely adore. Just her singing this makes me so confident on who she is omg I’m stoked!

Having said that, I am so positive, like way too certain none of y’all will convince me otherwise like Todrick level confidence they are…

Katherine McPhee and David Foster

Ok, so you guys are probably like “Ana, how can you be so sure if the damn banana didn’t even sing a note, he just played the piano?!” Well, my friends, you have a point, but I know who she is and honestly I don’t even care if I am wrong ab him (I won’t know for sure until he sings a note) but HER I am absolutely positive….and they are a married couple and the banana has heart eyes so in my head it makes sense with the clues too, but before I go to the clues, I have a funny story on how I know who Ms. Katherine McPhee is… so like I was watching this performance and was like omg her voice Sound so familiar! Where have I heard her before?! This is driving me nuts… And then I saw people on YouTube saying that it’s them and I was like wait Katherine McPhee that name sounds so familiar. Then I looked her up and I found out that I knew who she was because I randomly watched a show on Netflix called Country Comfort (which side note: LeAnn Rimes or the Sun from Season 4 guest starred on that show and LeAnn’s husband stars in it… so connection there?), which to explain the show briefly it’s literally the Nanny but with country music and in Tennessee instead of NY. Anyways, she sang a lot on that show and it clicked, I was like BINGO OMG THAT IS HER IT CANNOT BE ANYONE ELSE (similar to how I felt about Todrick being the bull when I saw that damn sneak peak performance). Anyway ya, that was unnecessarily long, now onto the clues:

She left school to move to the city= she attended Boston Conservatory for 3 semesters and left to move to LA to try out for TV pilots

Thought she got her big break, but it wasn’t it= she got an MTV soap opera plot but it never made it to air

Collaborator who sticks with me through sweet and sour= they have known each other ever since she was on the 5th season of American Idol in 2006 and their collaboration is that he is a music producer and she sings (on American Idol, he would play the piano while she sang… does this sound familiar to you guys yet? Ringing any bells? If not, rewatch the performance Banana Split did)

3. Queen of Hearts 🫀

Performance: She sang Born This Way by Lady Gaga and I already knew she was going to be good, but this was like Black Swan all over again. This beginning song wasn’t the best for her voice, but she had fun and she did the damn thing. Closest Lady Gaga singing impression I’ve seen, but I am positive it ain’t Lady Gaga. Also, she slayed that ending.

Ok, so I am not too sure about this guess but after a bit of research and voice matching, I think it might be…

Jewel (the singer, not an actual jewel)

Again I say, with a bit of research, I feel like she’s the closest guess I can give you guys especially matching the singing voices, but let’s look at the clues:

Grew up in a house that lacked warmth= she grew up in Alaska (born in Utah)

Tin man from Wizard of Oz= she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True in 1995

Hilary Swank photo= Swank has a dog named Jewel (when I read this I laughed, wow Masked Singer really?! 😂😂)

4. Mallard 🦆

Performance: This performance was not my cup of tea tbh, it was real deep country which is not my jam at all. The song title says it all: Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by Big & Rich. Like it was great no lie, but like I just don’t really enjoy that kinda music so it wasn’t for me.

Again, this one is a shot in the dark guess but I am gonna stick with it and it is the one I am leaning towards voice wise:

Willie Robinson (yes the guy from Duck Dynasty)

Ok, so again hear me out, this might sound stupid (and half of me thinks it is) but it kinda makes sense in a strange way especially looking at the clues:

Surrounded by dollar bills= Duck Dynasty merch raised a ton of bills

Photo of Chris Pratt= they worked together and became friends filming Jurassic World in 2014

Platinum Album= Has a certified platinum album “Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas” (I can’t believe this one, I was pretty surprised)

Anyways, that’s it! I can’t wait to see Group A next week.. again yeah but with Pepper this time so woohoo another Wildcard. I just hope we can see more of Group B too because it feels like too much of Group A is being seen. Anyways, see y’all next week with the recap for tomorrow’s episode! Bye guys! Remember to do all the social media things! Like, comment, follow me for more, all of that 👋🏼

[kudaunknown]

A conversation with my 104-year-old grandma

Mbuya Shava — Martha Mangoma (née Madzikoto) — is my 104-year-old grandmother.

This interview was conducted in her cooking hut, as she enthusiastically prepared lunch for myself and her other grandchildren, plus great-grandchildren, who had come to visit.

We set off from Harare, to her home village in Headlands, which is within the province of Manicaland.

Manicaland is highlighted in red (above). 

A small number of ethnic Europeans first came to Zimbabwe as settlers during the late-nineteenth century. These colonial settlers established Headlands as a trading post and tobacco farming area in 1891. At this point, they named the area Laurencedale, after their leader, Laurence van der Byl. In 1897 they changed its name to Headlands.

Her village is approximately 140km from the capital and is a part of the Makoni District - which also includes; Baddeley, Chendambuya, Chikore, Chinhenga, Chinyudze, Dewerwi, Eaglesnest, Maparura, Mayo, Mazai, Mufusire, Mupururu, Nheta, Nyahowe, Nyawaro, Tanda and Tsikada villages.

Makoni District, within Manicaland, highlighted in blue (above).

My grandmother was born in Chendambuya, raised her nine children in Tanda and now spends her days in Headlands. To me, she is extremely active, witty and downright hilarious. To my father, she is a beacon of strength. To our entire family, she is the matriarch.

She is a Christian, identifying with the Methodist Church. Her religious faith is extremely important to her, and this has undeniably shaped her worldview with a set of values that include kindness, forgiveness and hope.

This interview happened in Shona. It has been translated to English in order to make this piece accommodating for multiple friends and family, far and wide, who hold a love and interest in this ethereal being.

By my knowledge, this the most extensive discussion available with Mbuya Shava. It is an immense honour to present this conversation, as her grandson.

Me: Hi Mbuya.

Mbuya: Hi muzukuru.

How’s it going? I’ve got a set of questions I’d love to ask you.

Why?

To be honest, it was my dad’s idea and then I…

Of course it was. Sounds like something he’d request *laughs*

You know him well.

I know all of you well.

Alright then. What was your father’s name and those of his siblings?

His name was Rudzemba, and his foreign name was Zekiah. He had a brother named Maretekwa, and some sisters. A small family.

That must have been quite rare back then.

What?

A small Manicaland family.

Ahh. Probably.  

What was your paternal grandfather’s name and where did he come from?

I have no idea at all. We just referred to him as Sekuru (grandad) when we’d talk about him. He passed away before I was born.

What was your mother’s name?

My mum’s name was Zvekusekwa, and her foreign name was Esther. She had five sisters, no brothers.  

What were her sisters’ names?

You must’ve forgetten that I’m old *laughs*. I can’t remember their names right now, but let me try though. Hmmm, one was Eniah, then there was Isabella. In fact, that’s all I can remember.

Where was your mum born?

My mum was born in Chendambuya, but I really have no clue as to where exactly.

How many siblings did you have? Do you remember their names?

Like my mother, we were all girls. No brothers at all. I am the only one from that pack still alive.

And…their names?

Hmmm. Now you’re trying to embarrass me! How could I forget their names?! Alright, let me try. I’ll do it by order of birth.

So, first was, I forgot her name. Shoot! Was it Mary? No! Nyewerwai. Her name was Nyewerwai. Then, Sophia. Myself Martha as third born. Rukia was right after me. And then Oripa and Constance closed the family off. Not bad! I still remember *laughs*

How old were you when you got married?

I don’t look at time that way. It (GMT concept & Gregorian Calendar) wasn’t really a part of our culture back then. It’s really hard to say in those terms. We used to tell time by the sun’s position, our shadows and the seasons changing. I was old enough to have children.

Wait. I’ll be back. Let me help these kids kill this chicken for you.

* She walks out of the hut for three minutes, before returning seemingly agitated about the chicken’s delay *  

photo credit Andrew Tallon

Alright, so next…

What’s that on your leg?

What, sorry?

On the left there. It looks like some writing.

Oh! That’s my tattoo of your hut. The actual hut we’re in right now. I got it years ago to always have a part of you with me.

Can you wash it off?

tattoo by SWESCKI

* As she notices more of my tattoos, I go on to proudly show her nearly all 32 of them * 

No. Tattoos are permanent. They’ll all still be on me after I die.

You are actually crazy *laughs*. You must’ve learnt those ways in Australia. Some of them are quite lovely though.

Would you let me tattoo you?

No. I’m too old. But, let me tell you this. When we were younger, we used to do scarification on our faces. I had two vertical lines under each eye. I thought I looked pretty cool. And I also used to have flesh earrings.

That’s super cool to me. There’s kids all over the world, in my generation, that do that now, especially the flesh earrings.

Funny world.

Scarification reference - photo credit Anthony Asael

How much younger was my grandfather, Solomon, than you?

I can tell your dad wrote that question. Again, I don’t perceive time in that way — but he was very young. As you know, he was my second husband and I had three lovely children with him, who are your father (Elton) and his two younger brothers (Misheck and Stephen).

How many children did you have with your first husband?

I had six children with Magaso. We raised all of them in Tanda.

Do you know all of your grandchildren?

Wow. There’s a lot! Let me try. I’m forgetting. I’ll be honest, I don’t know all of their names off the top of my head but I can recognise every single one. I don’t know all of my great-grand children because I haven’t met them all, but I know plenty. Not bad for an old lady, yeah?

What’s the best food you’ve ever had?

Sadza. Easily. It’s the best. It ties our frame of culture and humanity. I only have one tooth left, so it’s easy for me to eat sadza.

What has been the best time of your life?

When we were all in Tanda, as a huge family, getting to watch my kids, nephews and nieces grow. It was the best of times. I often reminisce about them.

What was the worst time of your life?

After Magaso, my first husband, died — and when Solomon died. I was devastated. Both of those deaths cut deep, in different ways. Seeing my children grow, work, marry and have their own children is what healed me. I haven’t been sad in decades really. Every single day with this life feeds my soul. I am blessed. I have nothing to be sad about now.

What were the wars like for you?

Oh wow. That was obviously an awful time. It was scary. Violent death was so common. And your grandfather was extremely political, so we were very much aware of what was going on around us. He actually got arrested a few times for his activism against Ian Smith’s regime. He was so much like your dad.

photo credit Andrew Tallon

In 2002, you flew to America. What was that experience like? Was it your first time flying?

The America trip wasn’t my first time flying, but it was the last time I did. My first flight experience was from Bulawayo to Harare in the 90s. I was TERRIFIED. The takeoff and landing affected my breathing. I refused to eat the food during that flight because I thought we had to pay for it. Even if I’d known that the meals were included with the ticket, I probably still wouldn’t have eaten. I was too anxious.

Years later, in 2002, I flew to America with my son Stephen, his wife Marjorie and their children. Those flights were better because there were so many of them in a row. I looked out the window and knew that if the plane fell, we’d surely all die. I was a little nervous at the start. But eventually, we took many flights for that trip so, I got used to it and enjoyed myself. I got used to the sensations of being up in the sky. I never would’ve imagined anything like that when I was your age. I’ve learnt so much from my children. They got me to fly.

Your children are like rockstars to a lot of us. What do you think of your children and grandchildren?

I love them to bits. They’re all fantastic and hardworking. I love you all. I just remembered that they might hear or see this conversation. I love you.

How would you like to be remembered?

I don’t know. When I’m dead, I won’t remember you *laughs* so, feel however you want to feel about me. My request would be for you to sing songs for me at my funeral and when you think of me after that day, continue to sing and hum the songs that make you feel good about being you.

Where would like to be buried, and whom would you like to attend your funeral?

Right in this village, by the rocks at the end of the road where we bury everyone else here. I’d love for you to be there. Your wife. Your children. Your parents. Everyone who is family, I would love for them to be there if they can.

Right, Mbuya, that’s about it really. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Not much. I just want to thank God for blessing me with this life, for my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. And for those I consider family who will come into this life after I am gone.

photo credit Andrew Tallon

[coll2mitts]

#77 Grease (1978)

Slick your hair back and grab your team jacket, we’re hand-jiving our way through Grease, a movie about bunch of hot, self-motivated ladies with their whole futures ahead of them settling for a bunch of schmucks.

Grease is a strange experience to relive as an adult, because it was (as I suspect with a lot of people) ever-present in my childhood, and I didn’t understand the great majority of references then.  This movie was intended as an 8th birthday present from my mother; I came home from school one day and the VHS was sitting on our kitchen countertop unwrapped.  I didn’t recognize it, so when I asked my mom what it was, she feigned confusion for about 10 seconds before she gave up and said, “I bought it for your birthday, I guess you get it early now.”  She promised me I’d like it when I popped it into the VHS player, and she wasn’t wrong.  I hadn’t watched this movie in over a decade and I still could recite the majority of the dialogue.

While this movie is a toned down significantly from the stage show, it is still fairly raunchy in parts.  What is kind of hilarious to me is Grease’s gradual shift in categorization over time as a “kids musical”.  In 5th grade, my sister played Sandy in her elementary school’s production of it.  I asked if she remembered any of the lines they changed to keep things “appropriate” (the Kidz Bopification, if you will) and she responded, “No, I just thought it was weird I had to go out and buy a sexy outfit.”  Conversely, my 5th grade play was about the history of America and I dressed up like Martha Washington.  I’ll never forget the 50 Nifty United States from 13 original colonies... SHOUT ‘em, SCOUT ‘em, TELL all about 'em, ONE BY ONE till we’ve given a day to every state in the U-S-A.  AL-A-bama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, CON-NE-TI-CUT...

Anyway, do I think it’s weird that a movie about a bunch of horny teenagers has become Baby’s First Adult Musical?  Sorta.  Not really.  I mean, the dudes act like children for the majority of this, so I’m not surprised, at least.  It had, for sure, turned me off from wanting to date high school dudes when I was in high school.  The high school girls, however... we’ll get there.

It’s the first day of school, and the oldest high school seniors I’ve ever seen are poised to take on their last year at Rydell High.  The “T” Birds and their very uncool matching jackets are reunited after a summer apart and their super-senior leader Kenickie, played by the late Jeff Conaway, regales the tale of lugging boxes to earn money for a sweet ride, which you could feasibly do back in the 1950s.  Danny, played by John Travolta, spent his summer getting action at the beach, which he eloquently describes as “flippin’”.  

Frenchy and her new neighbor Sandy rendezvous with the Pink Ladies, who have very cool matching jackets and the unabashed confidence to go with them.  Stockard Channing, who plays Rizzo, is turned off by Sandy’s pure, seemingly holier-than-thou persona, and is dismayed when Sandy starts to describe her sickly sweet summer romance.  Her interest is only piqued when Sandy mentions her hunky date was notorious playboy and Rizzo’s ex, Danny Zuko.  

Sidenote: When I was a child, I thought Sonny asked if her “jugs were bigger than her nets”.  I asked my mother what “nets” were, since I surmised that jugs meant breasts, and she didn’t know, which I thought was weird.  It wasn’t until THIS MOMENT that I realized he was asking if her jugs were bigger than Annette’s.  Who the fuck is Annette?  Like the Mickey Mouseketeer Annette?!  Rizzo sings about her later and I’m just like.. this revelation has lead to more questions than answers.

Rizzo hatches a plan to call Danny out on his shit and reunite Sandy with Danny at the school pep rally, as they know her boyfriend is an asshat.  He predictably reacts maturely; Not wanting to admit his previous story of getting fresh with some cute Australian girl down in the sand was somewhat hyperbolic, he plays it off like he doesn’t give a shit about her, reducing Sandy to tears.  Frenchy comforts Sandy like the supportive queen that she is and invites her to join the Pink Ladies at a sleepover.

Honestly, a Pink Ladies sleepover looks lit as fuck.  As a kid (and now, tbh) I was Jan, I wanted to be Marty, I wanted to fuck Rizzo, and I wanted Frenchy as my best friend.  I would totally be down to drink champagne, eat Twinkies and mutilate our body parts with needles.  Sandy is a bit of a late bloomer and reacts to these series of events by puking.  Rizzo decides to be a bit of a slag and make fun of Sandy for being an inexperienced virgin before shimming down a drainpipe to get laid by some jerk with a shitty car and a 6-year-old condom.

Sandy, whose night has done nothing to alleviate her heartbreak, sings a song about being in love with a coward.  Part of the deal Oliva Newton-John signed to be cast in this movie specified she have her own solo number, so “Hopelessly Devoted” was written and filmed after the rest of the movie had been completed.  This feel pretty obvious, since it gives off a very strong 1970s pop Best Original Song vibe.  When I was a kid, I used this song as a break to use the bathroom or grab a snack, but as an adult I find myself humming it every so often.

Speaking of contract-obligated solos, we’re treated to a Travolta-led “Greased Lightning”, which I always thought was weird, cause like, who is going to sing a song about their friend getting tit in their sweet car?  Jeff Conaway played Danny on Broadway, he deserved better...  Also, I’m CONVINCED this song got the Pop-Up Video treatment, but couldn’t find it online anywhere.  Otherwise, how the hell else would the fact that they thought John Travolta putting the saran wrap on his crotch was too racy live rent free in my head for like 20 years?

After encountering Sandy on a date with a jock, Danny decides he’s going to join a sports team to prove to her he can be a motivated team player.  Instead, he just physically assaults several members of his school, but it’s fine because he’s wearing a uniform when he does it.  This is enough to impress Sandy, as she accepts Danny’s invitation to the school dance.

The other gang members are going through their own drama, as Rizzo is sick of giving it up to Kenickie without receiving a modicum of respect.  

“A hickey from Kenickie is like a Hallmark card.  When you care enough to send the very best.”

Danny regresses and continues to act like a shithead to Sandy in front of her friends.

“I don’t like tea.” “You don’t have to drink tea!” “Well, I don’t like parents.”

Jan and Putzie begin an innocent and adorable romance, which proves it’s possible to start off a relationship with mutual respect, even if your friends make fun of you for it.

“I also think there’s more to you than just fat.” “...Thanks.”

I love this scene, there’s so many good lines.

Frenchy, who had dropped out of Rydell to pursue a career in cosmetology, is also in crisis as her stint in beauty school went very poorly.  After hours, she somehow hallucinates Frankie Avalon advising her to get her high school degree.

As a child, I was so proud of myself when I realized all these women played other roles in the movie, as if facial recognition was an important skill.

The day of the big dance finally arrives, as National Bandstand comes to Rydell High with roofie-wielding predator and television host Vince Fontaine.  Rizzo arrives with the leader of the rival gang, while Kenickie has his best girl, Cha Cha, as his date, because they are both very well-adjusted teenagers that know how to work through conflict by communicating and not using desperate attempts to make each other jealous.  Danny and Sandy are cutting up a rug until Sonny attempts to physically assault Sandy, and Danny just lets it happen because another one of his exes, Cha Cha, starts to dance with him while Sandy is rebuffing Sonny’s advances.  Cha Cha and Danny subsequently win the contest.  Honestly, this is so fucked up, I would have dropped Danny after this lapse of good judgement.

But no, Sandy still allows him to take her on a date to the drive-in, and it’s not until he elbows her in the boob and then tries to cop a feel in front of everybody that she finally blows him off.  Then he has the absolute gall to act emo about it because he’s afraid people will think he’s a loser.  Jesus Christ.

Kenickie is also hurting, as he discovers that Rizzo is pregnant and she doesn’t want anything to do with him, regardless of what being an unwed mother will do to her reputation.  He decides to process these emotions by racing Greased Lighting for pink slips, as he likes to live his life a quarter mile at a time.  Unfortunately, Danny steals Kenickie’s thunder (road) yet again, as he’s forced to take his place in the race because of a car door-related closed head injury.  Sandy is impressed by Danny’s driving skillz and decides to sex herself up for an unreliable and emotionally manipulative teenager.  Danny has a similar inclination and decides to put on a nice sweater to win Sandy back, which is something, I guess.  They declare they’re the one each other needs, oh yes indeed.

The school year ends, and all the boys end up paired with the girls.  Rizzo finds out she’s not pregnant and reunites with Kenickie?!  Marty ends up with Sonny even though he’s a handsy creep.  Danny and Sandy are just an mess with incompatible expectations of each other.  But at least Jan and Putzie and Frenchy and Doodie are fairly inoffensive.  The end.

This movie is great, even all these years later.  The entire cast is fantastic, even those with smaller bit parts.  I was *living* for the school staff, Principal McGee and Coach Calhoun especially.  Grease also jump started my lifelong love for Stockard Channing.  She’s great in The West Wing, but her part as Sister Husband in Where the Heart Is may be my favorite performance of hers.  I’ve watched that movie so many times I can’t even call it a guilty pleasure, I love it so much.

Olivia Newton-John wasn’t even sure she wanted to be in this movie and requested a screen test so she could see if she was good at acting.  John Travolta was enamored with her and helped convince Olivia she was perfect for the part, and he wasn’t wrong.  She gives such a strong performance as Sandy; I bought her transformation from clean-cut cinnamon roll to sexpot completely.  John Travolta was also unbelievably charming as Danny, and I found myself giggling at his line deliveries constantly.

The songs are also unbelievably catchy (albeit somewhat annoying after you’ve heard them 700 times).  Barry Gibb, my favorite Pras-adjacent composer, wrote the theme for the movie and it just bops so hard.  As a well-documented detractor of Doo Wop music, there’s not a whole lot else here for me, but that’s not going to blind me to the excellence of this soundtrack.  There is a reason this movie is revered as much as it is.  10/10, fun for the whole family, as long as the kids don’t understand the references.

[hamanuelton]

my favorite parts of hamilton:

- “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.”

- every time Leslie Odom Jr. as aaron burr begins another part with “how did a bastard, orphan-“ or like in that same way ‘cause he doesn’t always start it that way but you know what I mean

- the way Leslie Odom Jr. as My Boi Burr™️ says “well, the world got around, they said, ‘this kid is insane, man!’”

- also when Leslie Odom Jr. as A. Burr says

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME, MAN?!”

- “our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain, a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain”

- “Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton. And there’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait, just you wait...”

- background “just you wait, just you wait”’s as hammy’s putting on a new jacket and ensemble is praising nyc

- “and me? i’m the damn fool that shot him.”

- “Burr, sir” + the continuation of this all throughout

- “If you talk you’re gonna get shot” / FORESHADOWING WOOOEEEEWOOOOO

- “i’m John Laurens in the place to be”

- Lafayette’s fuckinf accent

- “BRRRAH! BRRAAAH! HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT”

- “if you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for”

- “‘Onarchy?”

- hey, yo, i’m just like my country, i’m young, scrappy, and hungry—

- the way Odom Leslie Jr. as The Hamburrglar™️ says ‘shot’ and they all take a shot

- this ⤵️

- Hammy getting //flustered// about friendship

- WHEN ARE THESE COLONIES GONNA RISE UP

- Angelica’s face when Burr is tryna tell her bout herself and she shows him up and ships him out

- Act 1: 6. Farmer Refuted

- honorable mention: “my dog speaks more eloquently than thee!" "but strangely, your mange is the same." "is he in jersey?”

- King George pouting

- Jonathan Groff’s overarticulation of each syllable as King George is a work of art

- “♪ Da-da-da-dat-da-dat-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪ Da-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪

- “Everybody! —“

- “We keep meeting.”

- “i imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. when’s it gonna get me? in my sleep? seven feet ahead of me?”

- “See, I never thought I’d live past twenty.”

- “this is not a moment, it’s the movement”

- “I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow, for the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow!”

- “dying is easy, young man, living is harder!”

- “i’m being honest. i’m working with a third of what our Congress promised.”

- “you need all the help you can get. i have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?” — “we’ll need some spies on the inside, some king’s men who might let some things slide.”

- “watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother be seated at the right hand of the father.”

- “Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him” — “That’s true.”

- “Yo, if your marry a sister, you’re rich, son!” — “Is it a question of ‘if’, Burr, or which one?” and then the little ‘hey’ ‘hey’ thing they do gets me every time

- literally the use of yo throughout the production fucking gets me every single fucking time

- “i’m writin’ a letter nightly. now my life gets better, every letter that you write me. — THE PURE UNBRIDLED SENSE OF FORESHADOWING IN “laughin’ at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem” — ft. “i’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him!”

- the irony in “Eliza, i don’t have a dollar to my name”, you’ll be on the $10 bill, my man

- top-notch brain

- Angelica TRIED TO TAKE A BITE OF ME

- the way Anthony Ramos as John Laurens says “alright, alright. that’s what i’m talkin’ about!” and also the face that he makes

- hunger-pang frame

- “You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.” — “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself.” — “You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.” — “Is that right?” — “I have never been satisfied.” — “My name is Angelica Schuyler.” — “Alexander Hamilton.” — “Where’s your fam’ly from?” — “Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but just you wait, just you wait...”

- tbh the way ‘Schuyler’ is spelled is oddly satisfying to me

- honestly just the way LMM says Alexander Hamilton+/ my name is Alexander Hamilton, and there’s a million things i haven’t done, ‘just you wait, just you wait...’ throughout the production

- “i’m the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in new york city is insidious”

- “You are the worst, Burr.”

- Act 1: 12. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes”

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. we rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. and if there’s a reason i’m still alive when everyone who loves me has died—“

- “Chick-a-plao!”

- the way they say ‘raise a glass’ is both elegant and (appropriately) reverent

- “i go back to new york and my apprenticeship” — i shouted MY BOI HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT DID NOT JUST SAY THAT, IF HE ACTUALLY LEFT AND ISN’T JUST UNDERCOVER OR SOME SHIT IMMA WRITE LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER

- the minute General Charles Les came into the picture i hated him so hard, even though his literal first word was ‘Whee!!!!’, though i can appreciate the sentiment and what LMM was tryna do there

- “Washington cannot be left to his devices indescisive, from crisis to crisis” — sweet baby jesus that alliteration, and jon rua totally pulled it off (i hate General Charles Lee not the person who played him, i can also appreciate the fact that as an actor it takes a lot of talent to be able to make you hate a character so easily, also shoutout to Jonathan Groff as King Georgey-Boy™️, Sydney James Harcourt as james reynolds, and the general way LMM somehow made me fed up/turn on Alexander with the whole scene with him and Maria Reynolds — and not only that but somehow redeemed himself to me which is easier said than done for characters and people alike.. i’ve been hurt too much to play like that.

- Act 1: 15. Ten Duel Commandments

- honorable mention: “if you don’t reach peace, that’s alright. time to get some pistols and a doctor on site. you pay him in advance, you treat him with civility. you have him turn around so he can have deniability.”

- Act 1: 17. That Would Be Enough

- honorable mention: the melody that LMM went with for that turn of phraseis a truly beautiful thing

- “Immigrants:” — “We get the job done.”

- THE FACT THAT MY MAIN MAN HERCULE MULLIGAN WAS ON THE INSIDE NOT ONLY DID I CALL IT BUT DAMN HE REALLY GOT THAT GOOD HOT TRIBUTE HE DESERVED

- “To my brother’s a revolutionary covenant! I’m runnin’ with the sons of liberty and I am lovin’ it! See, that’s what happens when you up against the ruffians. We’re in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it! Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction, when you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!”

- Act 1: 21. What Comes Next

- honorable mention: “i’m so blue” — the little squat that Groffsauce does as the light turns blue really got to me

- Act 1: 22. Dear Theodosia

- Leslie Odom Jr.’s voice is so ding dang delightfully airy

- honorable mention: “You have my eyes. You have your mother’s name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart.”

- Act 1: 23. Non-Stop

- as someone with siblings i can appreciate that they’re bickering like that’s just what they are

- “I was chosen for the constitutional convention! *squeal*”

- “Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed for the notion of a nation we now get to build. For once in your life, take a stand with pride. I don’t understand how you stand to the side.”

- Act 2: 1. What’d I Miss?

- honorable mention: “But the sun comes up and the world still spins.”

- Act 2: 2. Cabinet Battle #1

- honorable mention: “DOIN’ WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS YOU DO IN MONTICELLO!”

- tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

- “Daddy, daddy, look.... My name is Philip. I am a poet. I wrote this poem just to show it. And I just turned nine. You can write rhymes but you can’t write mine.” - “What!” - “I practice French and play piano with my mother.” — “Uh-huh!” — “I have a sister but I want a little brother.” — “Okay!” — “My daddy’s trying to start America’s bank. Un deux trois quatre cinq!” — “Bravo!” — “Hey, our kid is pretty great.”

- as much as i hate Act 2: 4. Say No To This (because for some reason i though Alexander Hamilton was better than that) Jasmine Cephas Jones sings in it is like a hot knife through butter — namely; “My husband’s doin’ me wrong beatin’ me, cheatin’ me, mistreatin’ me...”... I guess maybe I understand it ‘cause damn Jasmine Cephas Jones is so ding dang pretty and ding dang talented and wow what a remarkable person

- the way that Lin says “And her body’s saying, ‘hell, yes’ is um.. 😓

- “You see, that was my wife you decided to” — “Fuuuu—“

- Act 2: 5. The Room Where It Happens

- honorable mention: “Bros.”

- “Talk less. Smile more.” LMM being a dramatic bastard

- Act 2: 6. Schuyler Defeated

- Act 2: 7. Cabinet Battle #2

- “revolution is messy but now is the time to stand."

- honorable mention: “Ooh!!”

- “We signed a treaty with a King whose head is now in a basket. Would you like to take it out and ask it? ‘Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’ head?’ ‘Uh... do whatever you want, I’m super dead.’”

- Thomas Jefferson all like “but sir do we not fight for freedom” MY BAD SIR YOU ARE A SLAVE-OWNER HOW ABOUT YOU NOT

- mentioning Lafayette because apparently LMM has no problem with breaking the fourth wall

- “Daddy’s calling.”

- “I’m in the cabinet. I am complicit in watching him grabbin’ at power and kiss it. If Washington isn’t gon’ listen to disciplined dissidents, this is the difference. This kid is out!”

- “Southern motherfuckin’ Democratic-Republicans!”

- “The emperor has no clothes.”

- “Sir, I don’t know what you heard but whatever it is Jefferson started it.” — “Thomas Jefferson resigned this morning.” — “You’re kidding.” — “I need a favor.” — “Whatever you say, sir, Jefferson will pay for his behavior.” — “I’ll use the press. I’ll write under a pseudonym, you’ll see what I can do to him—“ — “Yes! He resigned you can finally speak your mind!” — “Ha. Good luck defeating you, sir.” - “I’m sorry, what?”

- Act 2: 10. I Know Him

- “—Vice President.” — “— No more Mr. Nice President.”

- “Sit down, John, you fat motherf—“

- Act 2: 12. We Know

- honorable mention: “You see that was my wife you decided to—“ — “WHAT—“

- Act 2: 13. Hurricane

- Act 2: 14. The Reynolds Pamphlet

- honorable mention: *DEEP VOICE* “DAMN”

- Act 2: 15. Burn

- i’ll be the first to say i wasn’t a huge fan of Eliza at first aside from Phillipa Soo’s killer voice

- this gave me a lot of respect for her

- honorable mention: “You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.”

- Act 2: 16. Blow Us All Away

- i would like to point out that tweet where someone @‘s LMM about not mentioning Philip’s hot and he responds “I’M FAIRLY F**CKING SURE I DID”, y’know ⤵️

- “The ladies say my brain’s not where the resemblance stops.”

- “God, you’re a fox.”

- Act 2: 17. Stay Alive (Reprise)

- The ‘I know, I know. Shh.’ and the full circle back to his mom teaching him french on the piano really got to me for the beautiful artistry in it but also damn them feels

- Act 2: 18. It’s Quiet Uptown

- “I spend hours in the garden. I walk alone to the store and it’s quiet uptown. I never liked the quiet before. I take the children to church on Sunday, a sign of the cross at the door, and I pray. That never used to happen before.”

- “Philip, you would like it uptown. It’s quiet uptown.”

- “You knock me out, I fall apart.”

- “Eliza, do you like it uptown? It’s quiet uptown.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is suffering too terrible to name. You hold your child as tight as you can and push away the unimaginable. The moments when you’re in so deep it feels easier to just swim down.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is a grace too powerful to name. We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable.”

- “Can you imagine?”

- Act 2: 19. The Election of 1800

- honorable mention: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

- “You used to work on the same staff” — “Whaaaat.”

- “Honestly, it’s kind of draining.” — “Burr...” — “Sir!” — “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?” — “No. I’m chasing what I want. And you know what?” — “What?” — “I learned that from you.” / this moment made the blow that he voted for Jefferson like a damn hole in my chest and i actually really felt for Burr. i get Hammy’s reluctance, i think if anything he was hoping voting for Jefferson would give Burr the chance to have experience as VP and then the next election he might vote for him then depending

- Act 2: 20. Your Obedient Servant

- A. Burr

- A. Ham

- “I just need to write something down.” / really resonated as one of the last things they showed him doing before going off to the duel, his life really was writing and that was the perfect way to say that in a very subtle sort of way. i really appreciate it artistically, whether it was intentionally so or not.

- Act 2: 22. The World Was Wide Enough

- okay but first of all i would like to comment on the fact that Ariana DeBose PLAYS THE GODDAMN BULLET, I JUST

- THE FACT THAT THE BULLET HAS A PART

- “This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” / this made me really sympathize with Burr, as well as when he tries to go towards Hamilton (at least in the play but I sincerely hope that was historically accurate) / but also that fact that Theodosia Burr was lost at sea at 29 makes me sad because Hamilton’s life was taken to give her one and then she just up and disappears in a freak accident

- Act 2: 23. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

- the orphanage got to me

- i loved that he (LMM) didn’t end it with himself or anything

- he let Phillipa Soo tear my heart out

- it killed me but i died quite happily

- and really what more could you ask for.