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tsaritiz · 1 year

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Full identity v lore, all characters and main story.

This is a coletion of the game identity story. All characters stories in one place. Hope you enjoy and have fun in discovering your favorite game lore.

Long blog with a lots of spoilers, read it with time.

Main story (before game)

(The timeline is taken from the wiki)

☆ On March 14, 1874, the factory manager(Leo Beck) and his wife(Martha Remington) were married.

☆ On December 21, 1876, Emma Woods (The Gardener) was born.

☆ In 1885, the factory manager's wife and Freddy Riley(The Lawyer) took the factory manager's money and left.

☆ In the same year, the Gardener[9 years old] is sent to the orphanage. [citation needed]

☆ In 1900, Orpheus was born [citation needed]

☆ In 1923, a mysterious youth bought the manor, and the youth sent a letter to Orpheus [23 years old]

▪︎ In 1898, the Gardener [22 years old], the Lawyer [38 years old], and the Doctor [32 years old] are invited to participate in the game.

☆ In 1926, a fire burns Orpheus. (26 years old)

☆ In 1929, Orpheus [29 years old] opened a private detective office and slowly noticed his dark personality.

☆ In 1930, Orpheus [30 years old] is diagnosed with mental problems.

☆ In 1936, there was "a protagonist that was 36 years old a month ago," and a young daughter of a wealthy businessman went missing when he was on vacation in the country. After investigation, he found that all the evidence pointed to the infamous manor.

☆ "Two days ago" Orpheus received a letter of entrustment from a wealthy businessman.

☆ "Today" Orpheus arrives at the manor.

Main story (during game)

Taken from wiki

" In the northern part of Europe, there is a Winston manor that has become notorious for the villagers around because of the unknown rumors of previous generations. The villagers around the manor were not willing to get close to the manor, but they bought it at a low price. They were famous at the time. The artist bought this manor and also saw the beautiful natural scenery and quiet environment around it. After their they moved, they made a large-scale renovation of the manor. Because of their love of art, the manor was full of Western mythology. They also designed the symbols of the Muse Nine Goddess for their family.

Soon after, Orpheus was born into this family that lived happily. Their happy days would soon come to an end. On Orpheus' 12th birthday, a group of villains rushed into the manor and not only took away the valuable art in the manor, but also his father’s face. They killed his parents. Some unscrupulous people swindled him to sell the manor and then threw him into the mental hospital for a few years. After that incident, no one dared to buy the manor, and it was slowly abandoned.

Thirteen years ago , the manor was rumored to be acquired by a young man. Unlike other owners, he rehired people to run the manor. Although there were ominous rumors, there were still many people coming to apply under the heavy money. Soon, the operation of most of the functional areas of the manor was restored, but some areas that were too old and not very useful were still idle.

In the same year, Orpheus, a new criminal mystery novelist, began to emerge in the literary world. His stories were often dark and cruel. He quickly became the most popular novelist at that time.

Just when everyone thought that the manor would be fine for the young man, there was a rumor that some unspeakable things were happening in the manor, but the servants were not talking about it. More and more unknown rumors pointed to the manor, claiming that there were people going there, but there was no obvious increase in the actual number of people in the estate. However, the police's several investigations had nothing to gain.

It was not until an accident that happened about 10 years ago that the mystery of the manor was finally set aside. A fire broke out in a certain area of the manor, burning most of the area. After investigations by the fire brigade and the police, it was found that the death of the servants who died in the fire had nothing to do with the fire. Only a few survivors were stunned to the ground. Their position on the ground was specially arranged in some sort of mysterious ritual, and the novelist Orpheus was among the survivors. The strange thing was all the survivors woke up and found that they completely forgot why they came to the manor and what happened there. Subsequent investigations also confirmed that the cause of the fire was the burning of the incinerator in the absence of care, not intentional arson. The experience of the survivors and others were characterized as victims of the cult ritual, but the cause of death of the rest of the victims could not be reasonably explained.

At that time, the police searched the manor in detail, but the area was completely ruined by the fire and they could not get any clues. They suspected that the owner had fled when the fire broke out, because no similar body was found in the burned bodies. Afterwards, the police conveniently closed the manor. No one dared to even approach this area, and was called "the notorious manor."

The protagonist? - Orpheus was in a coma for a whole year at the hospital. When everyone thought he would have been stuck in that state, he finally woke up, but he completely forgot who he was. Based on the fame of a well-known novelist and his own savings, he was well looked after in the hospital that year. But shortly after waking up, he was excused from of the hospital. It was rumored that he blamed the hospital for his medication treatment affecting his writing ability, so that his hand trembled and could not create again, so he brought the issue to the hospital. There was a contradiction and he was angry and left the hospital.

Then, a reader found that what he wrote was completely inconsistent with the story in the gossip tabloid. Even the most fanatical readers couldn't stand the new lame content. They even denied that he was the real Orpheus! Soon, this once-famous name never appeared to the public eye again.

Seven years ago, on the second floor of a cheap rental house, Orpheus opened an inconspicuous private detective firm. Different from other firms, this was a door-to-door firm.

Just before January, when a young daughter of a wealthy businessman was on vacation in the country, Orpheus was strangely missing. After investigation, he found that all the evidence pointed to the infamous manor. The case was full of doubts, but the police were not willing to investigate in depth. The man helped him investigate the truth, and, most importantly, found his daughter.

Two days ago, the protagonist received a letter from the rich businessman - invited the protagonist to help investigate the manor to retrieve his missing daughter, along with the letter of entrustment, and a huge check, which was the largest since the establishment of the detective agency. The commission, the protagonist begged, look at the recipient on the letter of entrustment, is a name that he has forgotten - (the player enters the name).

Yesterday, the protagonist who couldn’t wait to go out sent a receipt letter and used the commission to buy some of the required items and prepare to leave tomorrow.

Sleeping all night, today, the detective set off and went to the "infamous" manor.

Because the manor is located in a remote place, coupled with the thunderstorm today, the protagonist lost his way, and arrived at the manor in the near night. In order to avoid the rain, the protagonist went directly to the long-lost main house to start investigation...

But apparently, there seems to be a connection between this mysterious manor and the survivors. It was like someone has been watching them for a long time and discovered their wants as well as needs. They were brought here for a reason but what is it? What is the owner of the Oletus Manor's true intention? Why are these survivors invited here? And what was this so called 'game' for? Whatever the answers are, it seems that something is about to happen soon... So, let the 'game' begin and what is to be their fates... "

Characters (survivors)

Taken from tvtropes and official information

The Gardener

Emma was born as Lisa Beck to a factory owner around 1886. Her father made her small toys and treated her well. However, her father was severely in-debt with the factory that he was tricked into buying. He burned himself in the fire after sending Lisa to an orphanage, where she stayed for five years. The orphanage resulted in children suffering psychological trauma, so Lisa was sent away to a clinic. At the clinic, she was operated on by Dr. Lydia Jones. After this, Lisa fled and changed her name to Emma Woods.

Her 2021 letter, written by a secondary source of information, heavily implies that her memory is completely intact. Her 2022 letter, in contrast written by Emma herself and privately addressed to her (hypothetical) mother, on the other hand, details that nearly all of her memories have been lost - even the memories of her childhood, her parents and previous name - and only her identity as Emma Woods remains. It remains to be seen which source of information is more reliable.

The Doctor

She is ambitious and extremely clever yet unobtrusive. But she is not all that she seems. To survive in this crazy world, you have to do something out of the ordinary. Tired of constantly moving around, Emily hopes to use this chance to find a place she can call "home" and ultimately enjoy a life of security and stability, one that she has never had. But before that, she needs to solve a few "problems" from her past.

Emily Dyer (birth name: Lydia Jones), born in a middle-class family, did not feel stable. Growing up, she tasted the changes and displacements of life. She grew tired of the life of relocating and wanted to find a stable life. She was eager for stability and security. But often, the normal state of life is to ask for nothing. The originally clever and lovely Emily slowly became dull and weak. Her original lovely big eyes were gradually lost from the glory of the past. She wanted to survive in this cold world, but she became ambitious, cold, and greedy.

In order to make ends meet she performed illegal practices, which lead to a woman's death, and forced her to change her identity and go on the run.

The Lawyer

Freddy Riley is a persuasive person, he sees money over morals and knows how to get what he wants. He conviced leo beck to buy a military factory that he knew that would ruin his financial life, seduced martha reminghton, knowing that she was married, to run way with her and the money. He complety ruined the beck family. In return, he's treated to Martha's death and an unsuccessful life living on meager pay, so in a way, this trope could have been subverted. In the game itself, however, it's played straighter.

The Thief

When the church wanted to open an orphanage on White Sand Street, Mr. Pierson generously handed over his business and land to the church. The compensation was significant, but for Mr. Pierson, not enough to build a new orphanage. Looks like he needs to make up the difference somehow...

Inclination: A petty, greedy, and selfish person whose lack of foresight made him suffer from his own "cleverness."

It is known that he used the children in his orphanage to help him rob innocent people and that a large number of the children were both physically disabled and suffering from mental illnesses. It’s possible that he crippled the children himself (or ended up getting them crippled during attempts at stealing possessions) and that his philanthropic nature was just an act to hide the fact that he was exploiting innocent children for his own gain.

There's also the matter of his exact relationship with the children in the orphanage. Robbie's deductions imply that he was cruel to the children and likely played a large role in damaging their psyches. On the other hand, certain add-odds contain details that he would occasionally try and raise the children's moods through whatever means he could. The canonicity of these add-ons is questionable, though.

This example contains a TRIVIA entry. It should be moved to the TRIVIA tab.Word of God has since confirmed that Kreacher was not responsible for the children's injuries.

Robbie's 2021 Character Day letter implies that he may have beaten some of the children if they didn't earn enough money from begging on the streets. If this is indeed the case, was him doing so him taking his anger out on children through physically violent means, or was it a (twisted) example of Tough Love and Deliberate Values Dissonance being put in play?

Further complicating matters is him calling Dolores and Robbie "helpers" and recalling how the former's broken arm could have made him a fortune were it not for the Church absorbing his orphanage in his 2021 Character Day letter, which also served as an extended version of one of his entries in his manor diary (something he likely would have no real reason to blend the truth in).

The Magician

Servais Le Roy began his magic career in Belgium and moved to London to open his own magic shop. Despite his proficiency in disappearing tricks, he has not gained approval from the public.

While waiting for the right time to investigate the frozen boar outside the manor, Servais, fed up with being bothered by a rat in the manor, decides to poison a glass of wine he had prepared for himself and leave it out for the rats. The thought that another Survivor may come across the wine and decide to drink it, apparently never crossed Servais' mind, and by the time William brings up the idea of drinking wine together while working on their diaries, Servais is so focused on discovering what is hidden inside the boar that he neglects to consider the idea that William may have taken the wine he had intended to be used to poison the rat. However, the Experiment Files would later reveal that this was in fact an Accidental Attempted Murder.

Appears to have killed his own mentor because he wouldn't let him perform tricks on stage and presumably had the Forward killed because he knew too much. Except not really. Inherited his mentor's role and reputation.

The Forward

Rugby football is attracting attention, but William Ellis, who claims to be the founder of this new sport, is being forgotten. He joined a small rugby club, but not everything went his way.

He saw (or at least believes he saw) the Magician kill his mentor, John, by tampering with the chains at a magic show and later overhears Magician and Mercenary talking. Not long after he is seemingly poisoned after eating the corpse of Murro's boar, and drinking wine offered to him by the Mercenary, who is believed to have been acting on the Magician's orders.

The Magician's Character Diary reveals that this was not actually the case. In truth, his death was a complete accident on Servais' part.

Despite being fully aware Magician and Mercenary are likely up to something sinister, he follows Mercenary's advice and has some wine with his dinner. It doesn't go so well.

If you believe that the Mercenary had nothing to do with his death, then him cooking and eating a boar that had been left out in the snow, without even considering the possibility that its body may have been poisoned or diseased, still paints him as this.

With the truth about his apparent death being revealed following the release of the Magician's Diary, we can now say for certain that he really should have known better than to drink from a glass filled with wine that just so happened to be present in the kitchen, without even considering that something might be off about the whole situation.

The Explorer

Kurt is an experienced explorer, passionate about exploring the limits of humanity. He has sailed across the English Channel, flown over old-growth forests in a hot air balloon, and, of course, joined a life-or-death game.

His "vanquishing" of a "dragon" that he claims/believes to have encountered. Did this event happen during his time as a soldier (if so, was this the catalyst for him being committed to the White Sand Street Asylum)? Or did it happen at the Manor (given that we don't yet know how Murro's boar was killed...)

Just how trustworthy is he in both William and Servais' diaries? In the Forward's diary, he describes Servais as a Jerkass who has spent almost his entire time at the manor asking questions about Murro, and had furthermore called him crazy and dubbed William a "simple-minded barbarian". Servais never outright calls Kurt crazy during the Magician's diary, and the worst thing he, intentionally, does to William calls him annoying when writing in his diary. Furthermore, it is actually Kurt who starts most of Servais' conversations about Murro. Is all of this an implication that Kurt may have hallucinated Servais saying all these things? Did Servais merely choose to omit certain details from his diary, and did indeed do everything Kurt claimed? Or does Kurt potentially have an ulterior motive, and wanted William to be suspicious of Servais?

There is also the matter of him stabbing Servais if the latter refuses to listen to him. Is it a sign that he may have become violent sometime following his release from the asylum? Or is him stabbing Servais what Servais, or even Orpheus, believes he would have done if Servais refused to listen to him?

The Coordinator

Martha was good at riding and shooting when she was young and attained the rank of captain after joining the cavalry. Not content to just gallop on horseback, Martha learned basic piloting skills and fell in love with flying. She quit her position in the cavalry and joined the Air Force. However, instead of becoming a pilot, as she had wished, Martha was required to perform signal guide work on the ground. To fly her own plane, she has to find a reliable "sponsor".

Martha’s lover, who her mother seemed to approve of, appeared to die in a glider accident during a misty night. It was Martha’s job to light up the airport with her flare gun. An earlier deduction gives the impression that Martha found her job as a signal guider to be dull, and chose to slip away from the work. It is unknown if these incidents occurred simultaneously. Another deduction potentially hints that Henry, Martha’s lover, may have had sexist views, which Martha would not have taken kindly to. It is unknown if Martha merely failed to perform her role and accidentally caused her lover’s death, or if she flat-out murdered her lover, possibly with the use of her flare gun.

A reward from the Kurt's Wondrous Journeys event states that the crash was an accident.

Her 2020 Character Day letter calls everything about her pre-established background and character into question.

The Geisha's 2021 Character Day letter reveals that Michiko's husband Miles was working with an associate with the surname of Behamfil. It is unclear if Martha was the one in contact with Miles (and had potentially come to the manor to help him find his wife), if Martha's father, or another one of her relatives, was the person in contact with Miles, or, given the implications from Martha's 2021 Character Day letter, Martha stole this person's identity or last name as part of her disguise.

At the very least, the Geisha's 2022 Character Day confirms that the Behamfil that Miles was in contact with was a female.

The Mercenary

Although not tall and physically strong, Naib is like most Gurkhas, and the rugged terrain has trained their strong body and indomitable spirit. Naib used to be a mercenary for the East India Company, but because he believed in the idea of equality for human beings, his dislike of war reached its peak and refused to sell for the British. He then became a free mercenary, but he has long since left his bloodthirsty life after retirement.

Naib's exact relationship with Servais/The Magician is deliberately left unclear in the Forward's Diary. Is Naib The Heavy, acting under Servais' orders, and the one responsible for the Forward's death? Or does he have his own agenda (as hinted by Servais verbally expressing his suspicions after Naib decides to put the corpse of Murro's boar back outside)? For that matter, is he even responsible for the Forward's death in the first place?

The Magician's diary reveals that not only is he not allied with the Magician, but he also had nothing to do with William's death.

A Professional Killer who might have been responsible for the death and/or disappearance of one of the more innocent Survivors in the game which the Experiment Files confirm to be the case, on top of him also killing two more Survivors, who, nevertheless, believes in the idea of equality and values (or possibly once valued) the importance of companions.

The Mechanic

Having been wrapped up in her "useless" little inventions and obsessed with gunpowder experiments, the Mechanic Tracy was soon in debt because of the high cost of these experiments. The invitation letter promised a golden prize, but what truly attracted Tracy were the secret gadgets in the manor

Her father’s death in an explosion that occurred at his clock shop. Was he murdered by one of his rivals? Did he commit suicide by setting his clock shop on fire, so his family could receive life insurance money and pay off his debt? Did Tracy, who is noted to have been obsessed with gunpowder experiments, have something to do with her father’s death (and, if so, did she intend to kill him)?

Her official extended backstory (seen in full here) implies that the explosion that killed Tracy's father was actually caused by his rivals and that Tracy's gunpowder experiments were potentially either her attempting to uncover whether or not the official statement given to her father's untimely death (as well as the cause of the explosion in the clock shop) held up or her going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against her father's rivals and/or suppliers.

There is also the matter of her debts. Did her father legitimately not compensate his suppliers, or were his suppliers working with Mark's rivals, and making up claims about unpaid debts so as to ensure that Tracy would sell her work to her father's rivals?

Bonbon's 2021 Character Day letter reveals that her father and Burke were acquaintances and that Tracy helped contribute to the construction of one of Burke's machines, heavily implied to be Bonbon himself.

If this is indeed the case, it is quite likely that Bonbon inspired the creation of her personal bot.

The Minds Eye

Helena is a blind woman that had lost her vision during an epidemic of a serious disease. Due to her condition, her hearing had improved exceptionally, allowing her to use her cane similar to how creatures use echolocation. Her blindness does not bring her down, though, as she often excels in her educational classes and is planning to enroll in college. However, with insufficient funds, she takes part in the 'game' at Orpheus Manor in hopes of winning the grand prize.

The Priestess

Fiona Gilman was born into an unknown class, interested in occultism and geography. She was a mystic and claimed to be a faithful believer in the time and space of Cthulhu mythology, Yog-Sothoth. When she was traveling, Gilman always carried a weird metal ring with her.

A priestess with an interest in the occult, who was studying a village home to what was basically a religious cult, whose residents mysteriously vanished, and who claims to have been guided to the manor by a spirit. That being said, nothing present in her deductions implies that she's a bad person.

Her 2021 Character Day letter implies that she may be far more aware of what is actually of what is truly going on at Oletus Manor than the other survivors. That said, it is still unclear just what it is she is up to.

Shares the surname "Gilman" with the protagonist of The Dreams in the Witch House who shares her desire to combine the ideas of science with the supernatural and comes into contact with a supernatural creature connected to Human Sacrifice (something Fiona may also have gone through, following The Reveal that she was interested in the traditions of Lakeside Village). In the story, the protagonist learns a formula that allows him to make wormholes which Fiona's portals are similar to.

Alternatively, she could also be an expy of the protagonist of The Shadow Over Innsmouth as both of them are interested in studying villages with possible ties with the supernatural located near bodies of water. It should also be noted that during his visit to Innsmouth, the protagonist stayed at the Gilman hotel.

The Perfumer

A famous perfumer from Grasse. After years of searching, she received inspiration from a mysterious perfume recipe and created 'Euphoria', a perfume that helps you to forget about your worries. Unfortunately, the aroma doesn't last long enough. She has no other choice but to go to the source of the formula and find a way to improve it.

She mistakenly believed that her sister was taking advantage of her by stealing and taking credit for her perfume designs. She later discovered that her sister had been trying to help her. Unfortunately, she only discovered this after she had murdered her sister and stolen her identity. Her reasons for coming to the Manor are so she can find a way to erase her bad memories and bury the grief and sorrow that now plagues her mind.

The Cowboy

A cowboy from the North America who befriended a young girl from a native American tribe when he was younger and learned how to use the lasso. Many years later, he was saved by the native Americans when he suffered misfortune and the passionate Kevin Alonso remained with the tribe. But good things never last and the tribe died out. He didn't want to stay, so he decided to roam the European continent.

His fourth letter contains subtle hints that the "poison" he drank was in fact one of the manor's memory-erasing drugs. In his recollection of his final night in the manor - seemingly two weeks after drinking the alleged "poison" - he takes time to note that he has the feeling that he'd lost something he once held tight, but couldn't quite put his finger on just what it was.

His 2020 Character Day letter reveals that, during his time at the manor, he may have chosen to drink poison, in order to protect a fellow Survivor (implied to be Patricia). His fourth letter would go on to reveal that he actually survived the incident, but was seemingly left incapacitated for about two weeks to such an extent that he was unable to join the "game" segment of the experiment, and claimed to experience headaches that he had been unable to shake off prior to his conversation with the manor's owner on his (alleged) final night in the manor.

The Female Dancer

Margaretha is a gorgeous dancer and is used to the good life. After an accident, however, she lost her husband, and with him all financial security. Margaretha, not knowing how to make a living, has gained a new understanding of "freedom".

Might have been responsible for the Moon River Tragedy. Mike certainly seems to believe her to be the culprit.

She is also one of the three candidates for the test subject responsible for hurting Violetta during her time in the manor. Her Experiment File confirms she wasn't the one responsible.

What little information we have on Margaretha's childhood implies that she was raised by her aunt and uncle for the majority of her life, in lakeside village. No word is given on the status of Margaretha's parents.

The Circus Runaway. Unsatisfied with living in a fishing village, and dreaming of a better life, Margaretha went along with her lover's plan to elope and drugged her aunt and uncle during dinner so that she could run away with the circus.

If one takes the voice-over accompanying the Weeping Clown's background story trailer, as well as the implications raised from it, as fact, she married the weeping clown. Considering what an absolute bastard Sergei turned out to be, her potential infidelity is incredibly easy to excuse.

Is she Natalie the animal trainer? Did she play a key role in the Moon River Tragedy?

Mike's Character Day letter reveals that she is indeed Natalie.

Her uncle is implied to have an unclear connection to the Geisha and her murderous father-in-law. What this potentially means for Margaretha is still unclear.

Mike's 2020 Character Day letter reveals that Mike was aware of the name she went by after she left the circus. Given the uncertainty of when the letter was written, what does this imply? Was Margaretha Zelle already an alias she utilized before she fled the circus, or did Mike manage to track her down and/or discover her new name after the massacre?

The Seer

From an early age, Eli could see "visions" and interactions with these visions caused Eli to view the world with an all-new perspective. However, this ability didn't improve his finances and a promise he made to his fiancée forced him to accept the invitation from Oletus Manor.

The Embalmer

There are minor differences in the final destination of people's lives and Aesop Carl is most definitely the person people envision sending them on their final journey. He follows every procedural step rigorously and affords the highest respect to visitors that have come to their final destination. He decided to come to the manor in place of an unfortunate woman, whose corpse found its way to his table, carrying a mysterious letter on her person.

His deductions suggest that Jerry taught him to help people meet their destined end and "guide lost people from darkness" by killing them. In his second Character Day letter, Aesop says that he has kept those teachings in mind as he explains that he intends to kill Victor Grantz/The Postman (and perhaps the rest of their fellow players), talking about how he believes he understands Victor and mentioning that such is his duty as an embalmer

The Prospector

After surviving a terrible mining accident, Norton Campbell became even more reserved and gloomy. With the meteorite magnet obtained from the accident, he changed his profession and became a geological surveyor to avoid entering the darkness of the mine.

While he is selfish, and is indirectly responsible for the deaths of his fellow miners, it's possible to see him as a sympathetic character, desperate to achieve a better life, and whose amoral actions were either motivated by pragmatism (him abandoning Benny in order to search for the treasure alone) or didn't go the way he had planned (the collapse of the mine) and leave him filled with remorse. On the other hand, it is also possible to interpret Norton as a sociopath, willing to exploit anyone for his own gain, whose reserved personality is a product of him being traumatized by his near-death experience, rather than feelings of regret for the deaths he was unintentionally responsible for.

Possibly. He is noted to have become more solemn and withdrawn after the mining accident. It is unclear if this is because he was traumatised by his near-death experience or because he feels guilty for causing the deaths of his fellow miners.

The Encantress

Patricia Dorval was born on a slave ship where her mother drew her last breath. Little Patricia reached New Orleans alive, the shipowner left her on the street. She thus found a new “mother”. Patricia followed her “mother”, learning herbs, healing and cursing, and when she reached adulthood she decided to go back to her foreign homeland to look for her origin. Patricia never thought that the curse hidden in her blood would gradually emerge at the moment she stepped onto the land. After running away for a decade, she finally arrived at Oletus Manor with the curse.

Was raised by a local woman of New Orleans, who was said to have selflessly loved her adopted daughter. Even when the spirit of her birth mother seemingly rejected her, Patricia chose not to feel too bad about it, mainly because she already had a loving foster mother

The product of an American man impregnating a Haitan woman who, even after finding out the truths about her origins, didn't choose to take her suffering out on the world.

The Wilding

After experiencing betrayals and struggles Murro decided to give up trying to fit into the so-called civilized society.

Was willing to do anything to escape from his uncle’s circus. Said circus just so happened to be Hullaballoo Circus, the site of an allegedly horrific massacre...

If you believe that his 2021 Character Day letter is addressed to Mike, however, Murro likely escaped from the circus a few days prior to the Moon River Tragedy, making it unlikely that he was responsible for the massacre.

Future information, likewise, would reveal him to instead be one of the more innocent and, at times, outright heroic of the Survivors.

He has been in a circus from a young age, kept isolated from the rest of the world by the circus' ringmaster Bernard until he convincingly resembled a feral child.

Murro’s uncle claimed that he grew up in the woods. Murro was actually raised in complete isolation for the first ten years of his, with his only toy dog and his uncle for company.

Frequently compares himself to Kaspar Hauser, a man who claimed he had spent the early years of his life being raised in an environment, completely cut off from human contact (this may have been a lie made by a swindler, however). It’s not hard to see where the comparison originates.

The Acrobat

Mike Morton is the most popular guy in the travelling circus “Hullaballoo”. After being left one of the only survivors of a disaster that saw the circus in ruin, Mike has made it his mission to find the person responsible for destroying his home.

In his first deduction, Mike states that Bernard is his ideal father figure. However, his fifth deduction, "Darling" has a description that reads, "How people call each other often reflects the degree to which the relationship has developed". In the same deduction, he also talks about wanting to "put [his] cold hands down [Bernard's] collar".

Murro's 2020 Character Day letter revealed that Mike was in contact with Arthur Russel (a man who had previously appeared to have been studying the phenomena of Lakeside Village), through which he had seemingly hired either a hitman or detective to do... something to an unspecified target, seemingly in return for the brain of another unspecified person. The circus was shortly afterward burned to the ground, killing the intended target and seemingly destroying any trace of the aforementioned brain, leading to Mike calling off their arrangement. It is unclear how this incident connects to Murro.

His 2020 Character Day letter. Does it take place before or after the Moon River Tragedy? And just how did he come to know of the Female Dancer's alias?

Is said to be hunting down the person responsible for the Moon River Tragedy. Given that Mike appears to believe Margaretha to have been responsible (or at least played a role in the tragedy), his 2020 Character Day letter (in which he requests Arthur Russel uncover information about Margaretha's past before joining the circus) potentially raises the possibility that he won't be satisfied with merely killing her...

The First Officer

In order to find the whereabouts of his loved ones and restore his family’s reputation, the sea knight, Jose Baden, decided to enter the cursed Oletus Manor.

It's implied that his self-loathing largely stems from his inability to turn against his father and do the right thing.

Hit the bottle pretty hard following some (as of yet) unexplained event to the point that he ended up at risk of losing his position and title due to continuously missing the tide.

Following his father's mysterious disappearance while he was delivering cargo overseas, the Queen, believing that the Baden family had stolen her treasure, proceeded to strip Jose of his title and deprive him of all the wealth that he and his family owned. Jose traveled to Oletus Manor, the intended location of one of the items that were to be delivered by his father, in order to locate his father and restore his family's reputation.

The Barmaid

Demi is a sunny girl who can make a miracle-like Dovlin, who has come to the Manor in search of her missing brother.

Both her and Jose's second letters raise the possibility that she may have been working for the manor owner. Her Experiment File casts doubt on this possibility, whilst also casting further suspicion on her brother, Sam.

Her second letter is a message left on the back of an old ferry ticket. Said ferry ticket was for a trip from Southampton to New York, which was historically the same route that the Titanic took in its fatal journey in 1912. It is, as of now, unclear if this is merely a coincidence or a hint to the time period in which Demi's game took place.

Originally thought to possess no real connection to any of the other Survivors or the Hunters, Jose's 2021 Character Day letter reveals that either she or, more likely, her brother previously did business with Jose's family. Furthermore, the fact that the handwriting in the invitation containing the codeword that Jose received resembled that of whoever had signed off the ledgers of goods that were given to Jose's father implies that one of the Bourbon siblings was involved in the First Officer's game

The Postman

Contrary to the general impressions of postmen, Victor isn’t particularly verbal and prefers to stay away from people. After receiving his first letter with great excitement, he embarked on a journey to the manor with his reliable partner, Wick the Post Dog.

His character deductions imply that his services as postman were originally used by a criminal organisation to smuggle unspecified items and that he may have witnessed the building he rescued Wick from being set on fire. It's unclear just how involved Victor was in criminal activity or what role he played in the building, where a police officer seemingly investigating him resided, being burnt to the ground. Did he witness his associates burn the building to the ground, and then rushed in an attempt to save people? Or did he burn down the building himself, only to have a crisis of conscience? His final deductions imply it was the former.

Furthermore, was he still affiliated with the criminal organisation when he received his letter from Oletus Manor or did gaining acceptance from the public for his actions during the fire allow him to become a proper postman?

There is also the question of how he got involved with the criminal organisation in the first place.

The Gravekeeper

For Andrew, rumors are more terrifying than illness. The invitation from the Manor gives Andrew the hope to be understood after years of being the Grave Keeper.

The local landlord may have been victim to a premature burial at Andrew's hands. Andrew's deductions imply that, if this was the case, Andrew was unaware that the man was still alive. That being said, it is also unclear whether or not the landlord did indeed end up dying (though Andrew's first letter implies that he did).

His implied side profession.

His deduction implies that his actual side profession was bodysnatching (digging up corpses and selling them for dissection or anatomy lectures in medical schools).

Is implied to have dug up the graves of "evil" people who had bought their way into being buried in the Lutz Cemetery and sold their bodies, on the basis that such people did not deserve to be buried in such a holy place. It is also implied that he himself wished to be buried in the Lutz Cemetery, an act which (given his status as a pariah) could only be achieved if he paid a large amount of money to be buried there. The money he would have earned from digging up graves and selling dead bodies.

The Prisioner

Luca Balsa was once a world-renowned inventor. He never gave up on his deepest aspiration even when he was sent to prison. Now that he's a free man, nothing is stopping him for completing his greatest invention.

He and his mentor came to blows, which resulted in his mentor being killed and Luca suffering from irreparable brain damage, causing his memory and focus to deteriorate. It is (as of now) unclear if Luca's mentor's death was an accident, or if Luca outright murdered him.

Made even more complicated by the fact that while Luca's character trailer implies Alva attacked Luca, Alva's character trailer implies that it was Luca who attacked Alva (or, at the very least, struck first, potentially causing Alva to retaliate).

Was sentenced to hang, but was mysteriously pardoned at the last minute. It is implied that someone connected to the Oletus Manor paid his bail and invited him to participate in a game.

Was taken under the wing of Alva Lorenz, a famous inventor, and became his assistant. Many people believed that Luca was being trained to inherit Lorenz's mantle. However, things spiraled out of control when Luca and Lorenz ended up in an academic dispute (Luca claimed that Lorenz was a plagiarist, while Lorenz accused Luca of selling the results of his research to his competitors) and turned on each other, apparently culminating in the two physically coming to blows, which resulted in Lorenz dying and Luca being sent sentenced to prison for his murder, with his reputation completely destroyed.

It is mentioned in his background story that, when he emerged as a public figure, no one knew where he came from, nor were they able to trace any hints of a family. The only things that people could clearly see were a sign of high education and a confident and ambitious personality.

The Entomologist

After the unfortunate incident, Melly realised that humanity is no different from the nature of insects; loyalty only exists when one has value.

Her background story video paints her in an extremely ominous light, to the point that you would be forgiven for assuming that she was meant to be a Hunter.

There's also the question of just how her late husband died. And if she was responsible for his death, was it an example of an abused spouse getting rid of her abusive partner or Melly getting rid of someone she thought was in her way?

If the description of the plot of the "Queen Bee" novel is any indication, Melly would appear to have killed her husband with bees in order to inherit his fortune and status.

As revealed in the Orfeo's Game anniversary event, one of Orpheus's novels - Queen Bee - told the story of a servant who married her employer and later killed him through the use of bees in order to inherit his status and fortune, only for her plans to be foiled by a detective. The plot's similarities with Melly's background are a bit too uncanny to be a coincidence.

The Painter

Edgar has long been aware of the gossip and hypocrisy. The only thing in this world that is worthy of his pursuit is the true essence of art and creative inspiration.

The last few notes of his deductions may be interpreted to imply that he used someone's blood as paint, just like in his original concept—albeit it's most likely Sarai's blood and not his own.

The Bapter

No one, no matter how affable they are, can tolerate repeated deception. Even after all this time, Ganji struggles to find a sense of belonging.

He uses his cricket bat to hit a ball towards a Hunter in order to push them away.

Assuming he was the culprit who burned down the Guard's manor, the only person he spared was the son of the manor.

The Toy Merchant

Having escaped from a life of humiliation and deception, Anne has finally realised her true power and gained a true sense of security from her small toy shop.

Her father raised her to be a Replacement Goldfish for her mother, and would frequently berate her whenever she was unable to live up to his expectations. He would later conspire with his daughter's fiancee to steal her inheritance.

Her extended backstory on the game's official site reveals that she suffered a miscarriage sometime before she got the idea to establish her toy shop and obtain financial stability.

The Psychologist

After leaving the asylum, healing Emil became Ada's most important goal in life. In order to awaken Emil's "love" and seek out effective treatment methods, she agreed to a deal put forward by an old acquaintance.

It is unclear on whether it was her or her father that did a psychological check-up on Martha Remington. Worth noting is that one of Ada's deductions mentions an investment project that a member of a laboratory wished to discuss with Ada's father.

Prior to her official release as a playable Survivor, a Dr. Mesmer was formally introduced, via correspondence, in Freddy Riley's 2021 Character Day letter, detailing their psychological check-up of the latter's pregnant wife.

Her and Emil's deductions reveal that the two first met years before Ada started working at the White Sand Street Asylum. Ada had come across Emil one day, starving on the side of the street, and, taking pity on him, gave him a piece of bread, an act of kindness that seemingly made him briefly retaliate against his caretakers.

Looks down on the doctors at the White Sand Street Asylum on the grounds of disagreeing with the methods they use to treat patients... despite admitting to having utilised the same methods in the past. She defends herself on the grounds that her motives were just and her actions necessary.

The Patient

After escaping from the asylum, Emil became an object of curiosity for Ada's research, choosing to accept Ada's treatment than face those fragmented and painful memories. Unconditional obedience, protection, dependence... These were his unique ways of forming a bond with his lover.

His deductions reveal that his parents, unable to care for another child, sold him to men operating dogfights, who would force him to beg for food, and would later use him to stir up entertainment by throwing him in the ring with the dogs. Years later, he was found on the corner of White Sand Street, suffering from a fever and afflicted with amnesia, and was promptly institutionalized in the White Sand Street Asylum, where he was made victim to a number of unethical medical procedures.

He and Ada's deductions reveal that the two encountered years before he was committed in the White Sand Street Asylum. While apparently begging for food, Emil caught the attention of a young Ada who, out of pity for his situation, gave him a piece of bread, something that Emil would be willing to attack his caretakers for, seemingly just to ensure he could eat it himself.

The Little Girl

The in-game character relationship system suggests that Orpheus is her father, something that Orpheus is shown to believe in Time of Reunion. However, the fact that she refers to him as "Orphy" and was shown together with him when they were both kids, along with the fact that the suitcase Orpheus investigates in the flashback only contains clothes fit for a 20-year-old woman, hint that she may actually be the daughter of Dennis DeRoss and his wife. Ashes of Memory would eventually reveal that "Memory" is in fact Alice DeRoss, the Journalist, with the child present in Orpheus's recollections of the past being a product of Orpheus's mind through a combination of drugs, fractured memories, and, potentially, the presence of his split personality.

The Ashes of Memory expansion would reveal her to be Detective Orpheus's mental substitute for Alice DeRoss, making her both the Identity Switch for the Journalist and the playable version of the, previously unnamed, daughter of the DeRoss couple mentioned frequently in deductions and letters that focused on the lives of the residents of the manor prior to the tragic event that led to the death of Alice's parents, and Alice herself being placed in a mental asylum.

The Weeping Clown

It doesn't matter how popular he was or will ever be because, deep inside, he knows... he will never have true friends. The Weeping Clown will forever portray his jovial side and never a miserable shell of a man.

For further information on him before the release of his Survivor persona, see Smiley Face.

One of three candidates for the test subject responsible for hurting Violetta during her time in the manor. Margaretha's Experiment File confirms that he was the perpetrator.

Having been born with a missing right leg and a naturally sullen face, Joker's parents believed that he was born to be a circus moneymaker. Given that neither his deductions nor letters make any mention of his family or any sort of life outside of the circus, it's all but outright stated that his parents gave him away to be raised as a circus act.

The professor

Professor Luchino used to study the origins of mankind with an endless thirst for knowledge, but during his research, he touched the future of human evolution.

For further information on him before the release of his Survivor persona, see Evil Reptilian.

Luchino is a friendly and well-meaning man, but also one who displays peculiar behavior and possesses an intimidating appearance according to Eli. In-game, his abilities involve removing the scales that are part of his skin to protect his allies. He also laughs rather wildly when knocked out by a rocket chair.

The Antiquarian

The youngest daughter of the noble Xiao family, and the only survivor of the disaster that befell them, Xiao Qi vowed to restore honour to her family's name and achieve her revenge. However, when her quest for revenge crumbled around her with every hardship she faced and she found herself walking a path of assured self-destruction, she realised that she needed to survive and live up to her will, even if it meant giving up her family name and piercing together a new identity. And so, Xiao Qi became Qi Shiyi, owner of the antique shop "Bamboo Study." However, just when she was ready to wash away the stains of her past, tragedy struck once again and the most important person in her life vanished without a trace a trace. As she worried for her friend, Qi Shiyi suddenly heard whispers that their strange disappearance was linked to a mysterious manor...

The Composer

As a child, Frederick Kreiburg was plagued by the ghosts inside of his head; until he attended his father's concert for the first time, and the music covered every bit of unwanted noise around him, including the voices in his head. As he grew older, Frederick desired to follow in the footsteps of his family and become the next rising star in the world of music. Alas, it was not to be, and Frederick soon lost the love of the people of Europe. Having been practically exiled by his family, Frederick desperately sought a change in his life; a possibility that emerged with the arrival of an aromatic letter...

The Characters (hunters)

Some of the characters won't be appearing because they already have their survivor form written.

The Hell ember

Leo Beck was once the owner of a small textile factory. After taking the advice of his friend Freddy Riley, he bought a small gun factory that was severely in debt. Before Leo realized the poor conditions of the factory, his wife and Freddy Riley made off with all his possessions and disappeared. Drowning in debt, Leo Beck burned down the factory.

After being tricked into debt by a trusted friend, who proceeded to steal his possessions and run off with his wife, and sending his beloved daughter to an orphanage, Leo seemingly tried to take his own life by burning down the arms factory he had been tricked into buying with him inside of it. Sadly, things only got worse from there. Left physically and mentally scarred from his near-death experience, Leo was later captured and subjected to a number of daily experiments, that are said to have killed eighty-five percent of the other test subjects, for ten years straight. Months later, through as of yet unknown circumstances, Leo becomes a Hunter and is presumably assigned to hunt his beloved daughter.

The author of his 2021 letter reveals that, after surviving the fire, Leo apparently lost a majority of his memories. However, every December 21, he would become "unusually exuberant." While it was technically the day Leo set the arms factory on fire, it is also the birthday of his beloved daughter, Lisa.

The Ripper

Before becoming "The Ripper", he was a student of James Whistler, a renowned artist influenced by Edgar Degas. Who would guess that a well-dressed gentleman during the day will, when darkness falls, walk into an alley and stalk poor women? As "The Ripper" gained infamy, the boundary between his two identities began to fade. Of course, before you see his true face, "The Ripper" is still happy to take a walk at night.

Just what exactly is the Ripper? Is it a Split Personality, or is it the result of some form of Demonic Possession?

A clerk, interviewed in Jack's 2021 Character Day letter, recalls that Jack spoke in a manner akin to a song heard in London about White Sand Street. Is this just the clerk jumping to conclusions? Is it meant to imply that Jack heard a song inspired by the tragedies that occurred in White Sand Street, and merely took a liking to it? Or is it a sign that he may possess a much more closer connection to White Sand Street than previously thought?

The Gamekeeper

Bane Perez was in charge of the forest farm and patrol cabin at Oletus Manor. In his spare time he raised a black-nosed moose like a child. However, accidents always happen, and a new hunting season was coming. Bane was wondering how he could hide the black-nosed moose to ensure its safety, but he was too late. A team of fully armed poachers had already arrived.

The gunshots rang through the forest. When Bane arrived, he saw that the black-nosed moose had fallen to the ground. He recognized a familiar face from the poacher's team. It was a boy that he had rescued a few years prior. However, when Bane pleaded with him, they cruelly wanted to turn him into a Minotaur. They cut off his tongue and put the head of the black-nose moose on him. They locked him up with a steel-jaw leghold trap and began a massacre in the forest.

After the poachers had left, the dogs dragged Bane back to the manor, where he somehow recovered. No one thought that his humiliation would turn Bane into a demon. He was transformed into a Minotaur, and the mountain forest became his maze. Since that day, Bane shows no mercy to anyone who sets foot on his land.

The Soul Weaver

Violetta was once a famous freak show performer, later reduced to performing in third-rate circuses after the audience lost interest in her. She's always wanted to get back on stage and once again become the much-anticipated star. With the help of a mechanic, Violetta installed flexible mechanical prostheses and a few sophisticated gadgets on herself and created a new show—Human Spider Show. Her old boss refused to let her perform, but Violetta didn't give up. She has accepted an invitation to perform, and is going to hold her comeback show at Oletus Manor. Of course, for safety reasons, audiences shouldn't watch it up close.

The Geisha

The Geisha met Miles, a foreign army officer at a banquet where they fell in love soon after. They got married and returned to Miles' homeland together. His father was particularly vocal in his opposition to their marriage. He was cynical of her and hoped to drive her out of the family home. Not long after, Michiko mysteriously disappeared after Miles left on a business trip. Miles' father claimed that she had ran off with another man and urged his son to find another wife. Miles, however, started to search for his wife, Michiko, but no one knew where she went.

The Feaster

Once a messenger appeared clad in a yellow robe prophesying the catastrophic arrival of a dynasty; this messenger was known as the Feaster, Him who is not to be named. He is the embodiment of calamity and suffering, but those with curious hearts have always tried to seek Him out in the hope of being enlightened and learning the truth of the world.

The White/Black Guards

Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu (the White and Black Guards) have always been like brothers. As they traveled to Nantai Bridge one day, they noticed it was going to rain. Xie told Fan to wait under the bridge while he returned home to get an umbrella. After Xie left, the rain began to pour and the river rose, but Fan, reluctant to break his promise, stayed under the bridge. Shortly after, Xie returned with the umbrella only to find that the bridge was now submerged and Fan nowhere to be seen...

Xie was so grieved that he had no choice but to live without Fan. No matter whether it was rain or shine, he carried the black umbrella of the day and wore white mourning clothes. He eventually committed suicide by hanging himself under the Nantai Bridge and left the black umbrella where Fan had stayed.

The umbrella was found by a merchant and placed in center of a hallway. Since then, his family has had strange things happen to them. The black umbrella in the room was often unsupervised. In the middle of the night, the sounds of men sighing fill the hall. Everyone said that White Guard's soul was in the umbrella. Merchants invited the Taoist to get rid of the umbrella to raise the spell on the town. Since then, the house has been calm and quiet. Soon after, the merchants went out, but on the way, they found that the country was in chaos, and that the umbrella was missing.

The Photographer

Joseph was forced to leave France and move to England with his parents. The pain of losing his twin brother caused Joseph to become absorbed with art. He hoped to save the live images of those people and objects to liven up his pictures. Joseph has become obsessed with parapsychology and hopes to make some interesting modifications to his camera. He started to tell his closest friends that he had found a way to capture souls in pictures. No one took him seriously, but then they started to notice that everyone whose picture was taken by Joseph disappeared one after another. When a panic-stricken mob forced their way into Joseph's residence, Joseph was nowhere to be seen. On the wall of his studio, however, were all kinds of lifelike portraits of people that seemed to be looking right at them.

The Mad Eyes

Burke is the eldest son of a construction worker who grew up playing amongst designs, various machines, and tools. By the time he was 20, he had already acquired local fame for his skills. Hired by a married couple, Burke arrived at Oletus Manor when it was still desolate, rundown and was responsible for most of the architectural designs. As per the wishes of his employer, he led his team of workers and expanded Oletus Manor. In his own time, he added his own touch to the manor, his devices, turning the manor into Burke's secret laboratory. It is said that even up until that unfortunate incident this crazy architect was still planning the addition of new devices.

The Dream Witch

It is said that Yidhra has existed on earth before the emergence of the very first microorganism. As billions of years passed, Yidhra acquired a unique ability from the changes that took place around her, devouring creatures to acquire their characteristics. Yidhra can, therefore, divide herself into different aspects, though each part shares her consciousness. Merging themselves with Yidhra gifts her followers eternal life. She often hides her true form through powerful images, with only summoned followers being able to see it.

The Axe Boy

In one night, Robbie had lost his spacious house, comfortable bed, delicious food… and his parents. His life was replaced by endless work and an emotionless boss. But with help from his older sister Dolores, he gradually got used to the work in the yard and gardening became his new hobby. Not long after, the White Sand Street Orphanage was taken over by the church and the orphans did not need to work for a living. Robbie was somewhat disappointed about that. However, given that he and his sister no longer had to beg on the street and the nuns were providing warm food for everyone, Robbie’s little hobby seemed less important. After all, his life with his sister was back on the right track. And that was the last memory Robbie could recall. When he woke up under the juniper tree, his sister and the orphanage were nowhere in sight. The only thing left with him was the dead branch in his hand. Robbie could now continue doing his little hobby forever.

The Bloody Queen

Who would mention something so unpleasant as "bread" to such a sweet and lovely person? She has been surrounded by flowers, jewels and fancy clothes since she was born, pursuing fashion and beauty, and being born in a relaxed royal family gave her an inappropriate innocence, so much so that she was guillotined and still distressed. Long hair cut by the executioner. Staring face down at the reflection in the basin, she watched her dress gradually turn red. This was the last scene in Bloody Queen's memory.

The Guard 26

After twenty-five failed attempts, No. 26 was born on Burke's final endeavor and was once his proudest work. No. 26 exhibited a high level of autonomy, which significantly improved its work efficiency. It also allowed Burke to take breaks from work, avoid repetitive tasks, and invest time in new mechanical designs. Over time, No. 26 became sentient and even gave itself a name—Bonbon. Burke was angered by No. 26's declined efficiency due to its newfound sentience, so he replaced its central hub and wrote new programs for No. 26. Curiously, no matter how many times Burke replaced its central hub and modified its codes, the same phrase showed up after each reboot: "Nice to meet you, Bonbon."

The Disciple

When the epidemic disease stroke, disease remained cruel despite Ann’s devotion and generosity. Her only redemption in life would perhaps be the agile footsteps walking towards her ahead of the reaper and the non-human eyes staring at her at the end of the night when she was on the brink of death.

She was blamed for a plague that broke out in the city she lived in, mistreated as a result of this belief, and ultimately killed. Her final deduction heavily implies that, upon obtaining supernatural abilities, she proceeded to release another plague on the same city, deliberately targeting those who had abused her.

A seemingly innocent woman whose eyes were altered by a strange disease around the time that a plague broke out in her hometown. This caused people to believe that she was the one who spread the plague, which led to someone piercing a wooden stake through her heart and leaving her to die in the wilderness (and making her fresh pickings for the forces behind Oletus Manor).

The Violinist

Even at the height of his fame and addictions, the violinist Antonio did not abandon his unrestrained desire for music. He could see the rhythms of the whole world, which were controlled by ubiquitous strings.

His musical talent proved to be so great that it was decided by government officials that Antonio's music should only be performed for and heard by the members of the royal family. In order to ensure that he remained as a symbol of the royal family's alleged superiority, Antonio was confined to the palace and, when attempting to leave, had all but a single string plucked off his violin.

The sculptor

When she was young, Galatea always thought that she was her creator's masterpiece, that is until destiny played a sick joke on her. But she wasn't distraught. A genius sculptor can sculpt a perfect destiny for her.

Possibly. Her sculpting abilities increased greatly after taking a commission from a wealthy gentleman but her family soon became concerned when they found out that she was talking to her sculptures.

She is one of the more conventionally cute Hunters and she also murdered a person to make them into one of her works of art.

The Undead

Like many crazy inventors in the nineteenth century, Percy was obsessed with 'resurrection from the dead' and 'perfect humanity'. He used a corpse to create a monster, and was finally killed by this 'resurrection' monster. He entered the tomb with the secret records and instruments used to make monsters. However, on a stormy night, Percy's tomb was opened and the entire tomb was raided. Soon after, in the depths of the Oletus Manor, following a burst of painful and desperate wailing, a brand new 'perfect human' opened his eyes on Burke's operating table.

The Breaking wheel

A trio of performance artists with odd figures showed up on the street. Covered in a bedspread and wearing masks, they're performing an uninspired drama while twisting their bodies into peculiar shapes. Their individual names - Joking (the brother at the top), Pessimistic (the brother in the middle) and Reticent (the brother at the bottom) - are only mentioned in their deductions.

The Naiad

The unheard are doomed to be slaughtered, like fish in a net. It was only after grasping this harsh truth that Grace took up her harpoon. Even before her transformation into a Hunter; her gill-like scars are shown to have been present on her neck since she was a young girl. She is also said to have felt more of a connection to the fish swimming in the water than she did to the humans in her village.

The Wax Artist

Philippe believes one's face and demeanor reflect evil and malice. This belief is not only his research thesis but also the essence of his aesthetic aspirations. After all, wax sculpting is an art born of science. Consider this—once his theory is finally confirmed, how many future criminals will be strangled in the cradle before being given a chance to taint the world?

Philippe was determined to eke out a career from his talent, and when an unexpected encounter led to a significant breakthrough in his research and craft, the beautiful world of his imagining seemed within reach. However, his world was turned upside-down, and his delusions of grandeur faded into the shadows. The price of his weakness and inaction was the loss of something irreplaceable—of the thing he held dearest.

Plagued with insurmountable guilt and remorse, Philippe convinced himself that the only way to repent for his failings was to move forward, in both life and art. Welcome to my waxwork exhibition... Please refrain from touching the models. Each group of sculptures tells a triumphant tale of good overcoming evil—a tale I hope we can all benefit from.

My dear guest, please don't be afraid. Come closer... Raise your head, and let me see your face.

The Clerk

As she got older, Keigan came to understand that only the voices of people with "power" were heard. But it doesn't matter, now she is enough to be the one who can decide everything.

Keigan first appears in Jack's second letter, where she acts as both the interviewer and interviewee recounting her encounter with the Ripper in the manor (something that her Background story trailer implies is something she may do on a common basis).

She deemed her brother unfit to represent justice because he was taking bribes, but her solution to the problem was poison him. Her Background story trailer implies that deep down, she is aware that she is this.

The Hermit

Alva Lorenz experienced two devastating fires in his life. The first fire took his friend and left behind an invention that brought only misfortune. The second fire burned away his guilt and gave him a new life. Alva came to the conclusion that no formula nor theory could predict human nature. Only his service could ever stand by his side.

The Night Watch

Born as a twin son of the Norwell family in a town wracked by superstition, the boy was presumed stillborn by his family and was abandoned and left to rot in the wilderness during a raging blizzard. Found, revived and later raised by a suspected witch, the boy would remain unaware of his true origins up until the day that the magistrate's son - his face a mirror to that of the boy's - would lead a mob of villagers into the Icy Forest and take away his mother to be tortured. Though the boy would succeed in infiltrating the village and rescuing his mother, he would return to his home in the woods with a woman who could no longer recognise him and whose remaining life would prove to be short-lived. From that day forward, anyone who chose to enter the northern forest on a stormy night would find themselves prey to Ithaqua, the walking death.

#identity v #idv shitpost #idv fanart #idv #idv embalmer #idv x reader #idv askblog #idv lore #idv gardener #idv nun #identityv #identityv gameplay #game lore

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thebetawolfgirl · 5 months

Text

Bonding Time pt9

Pairing: Timmy x Reader

Warnings: Smut, Smut and then some more smut!

A/N: A bit later than I wanted to post it, but it’s been nonstop today!

Bonding Time part 9

Y/n looked at her outfit in the mirror and sighed as Timmy watched from the bed, she quickly stripped and tossed the dress aside grabbing another one.

‘Baby, you’ve tried eight dresses on so far, just pick one. You will look beautiful no matter what you wear.’

‘I don’t actually know why I’m so stressed out about this. We’ve met with mom’s friends hundreds of times-‘

‘But not as a couple, last time you saw them we were at each other’s throats, literally. Anyway, who cares what your mom’s friends think? None of them can judge.’

‘One of them is Sarah’s mother, Timmy! And Stacey’s mom will be there too you know.’

Timmy rolled his eyes lighting a cigarette. ‘Imagine my fear! I broke it off with Stacey weeks ago. She’ll be with her next plaything already. Not my problem if she hasn’t told her mother yet.’

Y/n finally settled on a blood red halter dress and walked over to him pinching his smoke and putting it out, before he pulled her on top of him kissing her.

‘That’s a lovely dress did someone buy it for you?’ He asked smirking wrapping his arms around her.

She smirked back. ‘Yes my boyfriend did.’

‘Ahh he has good taste.’ He smiled and sat up with her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

‘We do this today and that’s us. We’re done with the sneaking around and keeping secrets, we can be ourselves.’

‘That will be nice. Just Sarah to deal with then.’

She played with the buttons of his shirt watching him as he rolled his eyes.

‘Fuck her, she’s insignificant now. If she has an issue after all this time she can complain about it to her therapist. And none of that family can judge, her mother was her father’s apprentice and young assistant who he knocked up while he was still married to his first wife.’

Y/n sighed nodding and pecked his lips gently smiling before moving off him.

‘We need to get going, we don’t want to be late.’

‘I’m going to show you off to everyone. I don’t give a fuck who doesn’t like it. All those old ladies can all go to hell. Except Elaine, of course.’ He smiled standing up and kissed her hand.

She smiled back and left the apartment together.

When they arrived at the restaurant everyone was already seated and were waiting for them before ordering, y/n saw Sarah and Emma were both there and chose to ignore her and squeezed Timmy’s hand for support.

She knew he was curious as to why they were both there but Stacey was nowhere to be seen.

Y/n also knew that Timmy would now be full on with his affection just to rub it in Sarah’s face and she had no issue with that.

Y/n looked around at the surprised faces of her mother’s friends and smiled.

‘Are we ordering then? I’m starving!’

She states grabbing a menu and sharing it with Timmy.

‘Is that all you have to say?’ Sarah blurted out.

‘Are you really going to make a scene, therefore embarrassing your mother in front of all her friends in the middle of a busy restaurant Sarah?’

Sarah stopped and looked over at her mother who was glaring. Y/n leaned over to Sarah’s mother smiling ‘By the way Mrs Winston, I forgot to say when I came in, I love your stole, is it new?’

‘Oh yes, thank you dear for noticing. Mr Winston bought it for me while he was in Italy last month.’

‘It’s so beautiful. It’s so lovely to have someone who spoils you with such wonderful gifts isn’t it?’

She looks over smiling at Timmy, ‘Timmy is always spoiling with lovely things, just last week he surprised me by taking me on a boat ride, with a beautiful view of the entire city. Then we had a picnic in Central park. He’s always doing things like that for me.’

‘Well that’s all that matters y/n, finding someone who cherishes and respects you and treats you like royalty is very important.’ Mrs Winston smiled and patted y/n’s hand as her daughter looked on shocked ‘Mom their parents are MARRIED! It’s wrong!’

‘Love is wrong, Sarah?’ She challenged her daughter with a raised eyebrow.

‘You know, dear if you spent a little less time being so interested in everyone else’s business and began living your own life, you could find a love like theirs. You could find a little bit of happiness of your own.’

Sarah looked down and crossed her arms across her chest now in a huff.

Y/n rolled her eyes at her friend’s childishness and immaturity as the food was set down in front of them.

The fact that Mrs Winston who was the most judgemental woman in her mother’s circle was accepting of them was a huge thing, so y/n relaxed and enjoyed her meal.

Timmy lay his hand on y/n’s leg when the first course was finished and raised it up higher slightly under the hem of her dress.

‘Forgive me, but can someone show me to the little boy’s room?’

Y/n wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up,

‘I’ll show you, I need to reapply my lipstick anyway.’

She smiled at everyone as she led Timmy to the restrooms, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her into another room off to the side and shoved her against the wall attacking her neck and slid his fingers up her dress.

She gasped loudly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before pulling him up crushing her lips against his in a hungry kiss, he ran his hands up her thighs and grabbed her ass before pulling her underwear off her as she worked on undoing his belt and pants and shoving them down his legs as he picked her up by her thighs and carried her over to a nearby desk making sure not to trip over his pants around his ankles and lay her down breaking the kiss before burying himself balls deep into her already soaking folds.

She gasps and bit her lip to keep from screaming and dug her nails into the desk underneath her, as she felt him going deep repeatedly driving into her hard enough her entire body rocked against his thrusts.

‘T-Timmy don’t s-stop!’ She stammered panting. She reached up and grabbed his shirt pulling him down and kissed him hard as he tucked his arm under her back and ground his hips against hers before pulling her up to sit on the edge of the desk and grabbed her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck as he moved his mouth down her throat pulling her closer against him as he continued to slam his dick into her over and over again.

They fell back together against the table with a dull thud and came in a powerful orgasm together clinging to each other as he buried his face against her neck his hot breath panting against her skin. He lightly dragged his nails down her back leaving light scratch marks on her skin.

She slid her hand up his back under his shirt feeling the damp skin and droplets of sweat rolling down, he hissed against her ear and trails his tongue up her neck before nipping the shell of her ear. She shivered against him catching her breath and wrapped her legs around his waist resting her feet against the edge of the desk as he left wet open mouth kissed along her jaw before reaching her lips and pushed his tongue inside her mouth.

She gripped his jaw and returned the kiss hungrily, running her fingers through his curls.

They broke apart and he helped her up and off the desk before fixing himself quickly, as she fixed her make up and hair, she was looking for her underwear when she saw him with them in his mouth between his teeth looking at her with her devilish gleam in his eye.

She walked over and tried to grab them back but he moved his head away and instead shoved them in his back pocket smirking.

‘You can’t be serious? Timmy give them to me.’ She looked at him shocked as he walked towards the door, she followed him and caught up with him before he could reach for the handle and blocked the door before grabbing him opening his top button and biting down hard on his skin near his collarbone, making him hiss and release a squeak of surprise before he fell against her his forehead against the door behind her as she continued to leave her mark on him.

She was going to be the death of him, he was now completely convinced of it. She was the only woman in this world who could bite him and he became a puddle worth absolutely nothing. She was more addicting than an Class A drug.

In fact who needed Heroin when she bit him that way, she turned his head and kissed him firmly.

She pulled away and opened the door smirking before turning away as he fixed his collar with trembling hands and followed her fixing his hair.

They returned to the table and no one was none the wiser about where they were. In fact when Timmy sat down the women were talking about the latest fashion on the rails right now and Sarah must’ve left early.

Afterwards when they were heading home Timmy wanted to take her back to his where they would have no unwanted visitors and he could have her all to himself tonight.

‘Ok, it would be actually nice to be together without people letting themselves into my apartment as if they live there.’

So they went to his apartment and the moment he got in he had her over his shoulder and carrying her to the bedroom. ‘I want you again!’

He tossed her onto the bed and flipped her onto her stomach and untied her dress from the back before leaning down and biting her shoulder blade making her gasp, she sat up and turned to him grabbing his shirt ripping it open hearing the buttons tear of and scatter everywhere. He grabbed her by her throat before tossing her backwards and removed her dress in one sweep throwing it on the floor and undressed himself, climbing over her.

She ran her fingers up his chest lightly coming to his bite mark and pressing her fingertip against it firmly, making him hiss before pushing into her slowly, making her eyes roll back. He groaned watching her come undone, and began thrusting into her as she reached for him to hold him against her. He melted into her arms his breathing becoming laboured as she held onto him while he thrust into her.

She gasps audibly against his shoulder as she ran her hands down his sides and gripped his hips to signal him to go harder.

She gripped his hips digging her nails into his flesh as he rut in harder than ever, burying his face further against her neck. She knew his waist and hips would be covered in bruises from her fingertips but she had never had him go this deep or hard before.

She ran her hands up his back and dug her nails into his skin scratching him as she panted against his shoulder before leaning down and ran her tongue over his bite mark and he groaned against her and slammed faster into her before grabbing her waist shoving her further up the mattress and flipping them pulling her on top of him without pulling out of her and made her ride him.

She pushed her hands against his chest and rocked against him hard causing the bed to rock against the back wall, as he gripped her waist tightly groaning before he pulled her down and kissed her hard as she rode him as hard as she could.

This was the second time they had gone this intense before, Timmy had rode her so hard today people would definitely see her nail marks on that desk, now she was riding him into the mattress where the bed was moving on it’s own and they both knew the wall behind the bed would be chipped and/or scraped.

It was the fact that people knew now, they wouldn’t need to hide anymore and they could walk around like a proper couple that got them crazy. They came in another earth shattering orgasm panting each other’s names over and over, her hair was sticking to her skin as they tried to catch their breathes, he pulled her up against him and bit down on her neck hard hearing her gasp audibly and grip his hair.

‘Argh! T-Tim.’ He flipped them onto their side and sucked her neck hard making sure to leave a mark, before letting go and kissing up her jawline as she ran her fingers through his curls massaging his scalp, causing him to nuzzle her neck.

‘Y/n.’ He whispers her name like a prayer as he rubs his hands over her back, she pulls on his curls gently causing him to moan her name again. They pulled apart slightly and looked at each other in the dark bedroom before he rolled them letting her lay on her stomach and crawling to lay on her back and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Everyone knew now. Well everyone that was important. They no longer needed to hide. Both their parents new, y/n’s mother’s friends knew, they hadn’t heard anything from Emma but they weren’t too worried about it. Sarah didn’t approve still but they didn’t care about her.

Now it was their own friends group, all they had to do was go ‘public’ so to speak. But this was a whole new adventure they couldn’t wait to explore together.

@sufferingstarlight

@gatoenlaciudad

@kteezy997

@lixzey

@tchalamss

@mel-vaz

#lil timmy tim #timothèe chalamet #timothée hal chalamet #timmy x reader #timothee chalamet smut #timothee icons #timmy fanfics #smut smut smut

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randombook4idk · 1 year

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UWE: Wow, look at this messy love triangle we have there - Edred and Melinda have been together for centuries, but after Emma becomes her host, things change and the lovers can't truly reunite with Melinda/Emma having identity crisis and Emma refusing to give full control over her body to Melinda.

Then we have Emma and Winston. These two were about to marry only for Emma to get turned into Melinda's host. Emma is thrust into this new, dangerous life and can't ignore it to come back to Winston. Winston is heartbroken and refuses to lose her.

Oh what will happen to them-

Me: Dimitri x Melinda/Emma

UWE: ...what-

Me: You heard me

#dmitri is like that 3rd love interest that isnt a love interest but should've been a love interest #uwe #unicorn warriors eternal #unicorn: warriors eternal #dimitri dynamo #uwe dimitri #emmalinda x dimitri #dimitri x emmalinda #is emmalinda the name of melinda/emma fushion?#emmelyn #uwe emmelyn #emmelyn x dimitri #dimitri x emmelyn

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bookgeekgrrl · 2 months

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My media this week (3-9 Mar 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😍 That Was the River, This Is the Sea (what_alchemy) - 44K, Kaysanova, no-powers academia AU, meet ugly, annoyances-to-fuckbuddies-to-lovers - this was really lovely. the emotions were so good & chewy - very real family dynamics with all that grief and anger and love, Joe's journey of not immediately recognizing his own feelings 'cause his so fixated on a specific vision. And the sex was hot hot hot. I really loved Nicky's unabashed scent fixation. Just 😍😍😍 all the way around.

🥰 The Anthropocene Reviewed (John Green, author & narrator) - collection of essays about human things in the world; really enjoyable & hopeful

😊 The Canterville Ghost (Oscar Wilde) - via Serial Reader app

😊 Two of a Kind, the Perfect Pair (stfustucky (iwillpaintasongforlou)) - 78K, shrunkyclunks, fake dating - stucky bookclub pick - enjoyable

😍 Play It Again (metisket) - 63K, EXCELLENT Teen Wolf multiverse fic

💖💖 +74K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

the sound of you (wearing_tearing) - Stranger Things: steddie, 3K - short but super cute meet ugly

Accidental husbands… (darter_blue) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 17K - - reread, a very delightful 'woke-up-married-in-vegas' fic

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Ghosts (US) - s3, e4

D20: Adventuring Party - s3, e6-11

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Feasts & Families" (s7, e8)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Fight at the Museum" (s7, e9)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Nulla Dies Umquam Memori Vos Eximet Aevo" (s7, e10)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Let's Get Tiny" (s7, e11)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "The Battle of the Hot Dog Cart" (s7, e12)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Of Rats & Dragons" (s7, e13)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "History Checks and Lost Dex" (s7, e13)

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Vulture Clash" (s21, e9)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Emo People Meet at Panera" (s16, e9)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

What Next: TBD - Google’s Scam Obituary Problem

Pop Culture Happy Hour - 2024 Oscars Guide: Original Song

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - What Happens to the Food You Try To Sneak into the Airport?

Vibe Check - Hey, Sis: featuring Raquel Willis

Today, Explained - Why groceries are still so expensive

⭐ The Atlas Obscura Podcast - GALS Gone Wild

It's Been a Minute - 'The Harlem Renaissance' and what is Black art for?

Vibe Check - The Oscars Are My Super Bowl

Code Switch - This conspiracy theory about eating bugs is also about race

Short Wave - The Recent Glitch Threatening Voyager 1

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Mr. Kaor’s Letters

Shedunnit - Lucy, Anthony and Anne

Films To Be Buried With - Ray Winstone

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Exploring the Abandoned with Blake Pfeil

99% Invisible #572 - WARNING: This Podcast Contains Chemicals Known to the State of California to Cause Cancer or Other Reproductive Harm

Today, Explained - Can Reddit survive going public?

Worlds Beyond Number: Fireside - Fireside Chat #000 "This is Our Salad"

Consider This from NPR - Generations After The First Nuclear Test, Those Sickened Fight For Compensation

Pop Culture Happy Hour - 2024 Oscars Preview And What's Making Us Happy

What Next: TBD - Why TikTok Went Silent

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Couple To Throuple

Dear Prudence - I Want People to Shut Up! Help!

Short Wave - The "Shocking" Tactic Electric Fish Use to Collectively Sense the World

You're Dead to Me - Emma of Normandy

It's Been a Minute - And the winner is… outrage? Plus, if the economy is good, why does it feel bad?

⭐ Worlds Beyond Number - The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One #1: The Open Door

Under the Influence - Buy-O-Pics: When Brands Become Movies

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Les Misérables (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Cats (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Carly Rae Jepsen

Lord Of The Lost

Judas Priest

Women of Rock

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chasteandpregnantmale · 2 years

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Pregnant for Sarah

Me: It is Saturday 23rd August 2008 and yesterday was my last day at work for a few weeks. I still find it somewhat amazing that I, a man, should be sitting here 38 weeks pregnant. You may have seen the recent documentary on the five of us who were part of Herm07. If you haven't seen it, basically they discovered some evidence that two men became pregnant during world war ll through eating a berry that grows on Herm in the channel islands. This evidence came to light through the researches of the fetility expert, Robert Winston, in his quest to help couples who can't have babies the natural way. The first five clients got pregnant in the Herm06 project. I was fortunate to get involved in the next wave. More of all that it involved and how it all happens will come later. How did I come to be in this condition? It goes back over several years. My sister Sarah, who I would do anything for, and her husband Clive have been trying to have children for ages. There are three of us children, Sarah being the eldest and is now in her mid thirties. My brother Simon is a couple of years younger and is married to Emma and has two lovely kids. I was something of an afterthought and am ten years younger than Sarah and am 23. Eventually, the desparate quest of Sarah and Clive to have a child got them to see the World reknown expert, professor Winston. At this stage they would have done anything to have a child. Winston told them of this new treatment which would enable Clive to carry the baby. This must have been in early 2006 before the first project so Winston had to explain that it was an untried technique. My brother-in-law refused to have anything to do with the idea. It is hardly surpising really. He is a fitness coach and earns a lot of money by looking good. Getting a pregnant belly and losing his body to a baby would not do him or his career much good. But he had an idea. Clive takes up the story: Clive I can't remember when exactly this idea came to me, but it was after Sarah and I had seen professor Winston. He had suggested that a way forward for us would be to try this new technique where I would carry the baby to term. Some amazing evidence had come to light that would enable men to carry babies. This sounded pretty unbelievable to me, but apparently in World War ll there were two British Soldiers who missed the evacuation from Dunkirk, but managed to eventually steal a boat and began to set off for England. It was a brave but impossible thing to do and they got caught in fast tides and then a storm and eventually their boat got smashed on some rocks off the Channel Islands. When it became daylight they managed to swim to Herm, the nearest Island. The island was occupied by the Germans, but the two soldiers managed to keep out of their way for nearly three weeks. What with the difficult conditions on mainland France and the time at sea, the two men were suffering from malnutrtion and very hungry, but all they could find to eat were these apricot coloured tiny berries, about the size of blue berries. That was all there was to eat, so they ate them. They managed to survive for another two or three weeks before finally being discovered by the Germans and taken prisoner. Some papers were discovered recently on Guernsey, the neighbouring island, which managed to escape the general distruction of papers the Nazis did when it was becoming obvious that they were losing the war. In it there were amazing revelations of what happened on Herm in the war years. It is documented that one of the Nazi soldiers abused both those soldiers and they both became pregnant and gave birth to healthy children. What is more, he did it several times before the men were shot a the end of the war. Their bodies have never been found, nor have the babies that they produced. Prof Winston and his team did a lot of research and in the process discovered how the island got its name. Hundreds of years ago when the island was inhabited, the men were all hermaphrodites. Hence the island's name - Herm. Winston is convinced that it is these berries that are unique to the island and so far, no one has been able to grow them anywhere else. So he stared the Herm 06 project to see if it will work today. He went on to inform us that there client list (a maximum of 5 because the berry stock will only support that number) was full for 06, but he had some takers of 07 which would run if 06 was successful. It was very kind of him to explain it all but it was a complete waste of time. There was no way I was going to carry a baby. A guy with a huge gut as a fitness trainer was not going to happen. However, Sarah had other ideas. We had thought of surrogacy, but we both didn't like the idea of a stranger bearing our child so we didn't really consider it. It was obvious we were going to get into an argument in the consulting room, so the Prof suggested that we talk about at home over the next week or so, as it was obviously a big decision to make. He also advised us not to hang about too long as placed for Herm07 were going fast. Over the next few weeks, Sarah went on and on about it. She managed to find counter arguments to all my arguments The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't do it. I so wanted that we could have a child, but so didn't want to carry it myself. This was a huge dilema made worse by seeing Sarah's brother Simon and his family so happy. I so wanted that for us too, but it seemed impossible to have, unless I sold my body to pregnancy. And then in the middle of another sleepless night I hit on a brainwave. Nick. Nick is Sarah's kid brother. As long as I have known him (I guess nearly 15 years now) he has always been a bit different to other guys. He has never had a girl friend as far as I am aware, but the connection I really made in the middle of that sleepless night was the fact that he was fascinated by both of the preganacies of Simon's wife, Liz. He was always asking questions about what it felt like and that sort of thing. That night the penny suddenly dropped that it wasn't any coincidence that he is a trainnee manager for Mothercare. I put the idea to Sarah, who didn't dismiss it as out of hand straight away, though it was obvious that I was still the ideal solution. However, after a couple of weeks she came around to the idea. In fact she loved the idea of her kid brother who was very close to her, bearing our children. We invited him over to ask him. Nick: I will never forget the night that Sarah and Clive asked me to have their child. Of course, I knew that they were trying so hard for a baby and was so disappointed for them that it hadn't yet come to pass, but I had no idea that there was a possibility that men could get pregnant. My initial reaction was to be thrilled to be asked and excited at the prospect of having a baby. From as young as I can remember, I have always wanted to have a baby. So it was agreed that they would arrange for all three of us to see Prof Winston. What a nice man he is. He explained the whole thing to me and what I would be taking on. First of all, I would have to starve myself for a month to get pretty thin and malnourished. He thought one of the reasons the berries had such an immediate effect on those soldiers was because they were malnourished before they started eating them. Then I would have to spend three weeks on Herm at end of June and beginning of July to eat the berries, and then it would be a question of waiting to see if I transformed into a hermaphrodite. Once that had happened, I could then conceive in the normal way. Then the whole rollercoaster started. By the time we saw prof Winston after first being asked, the idea and what it would do to me, started becoming more real. It was great to be pregnant in my imagination, but how would it be in reality as people noticed me get bigger. How embarassing would it be to explain to them that I wasn't getting fat, but that I was pregnant. People would stare at me and my big belly in the streets and say things behind my back. They would think I was wierd. On the other hand, I would be doing a wonderful thing for Sarah and Clive. That in itself could be compensation. But there would be nine months of it before I even considered the other stuff like morning sickness, back ache, mood swings...... So when the prof asked if I was prepared to take the final place in the client list for Herm07 I was diffident to say the least - wanting to do what was good for Sarah and Clive, but now not at all sure that I could stand nine months embarassment apart from anything else. It was made worse by the prof telling us that he was seeing another potential client the next day. Talk about pressure!. Sarah, Clive and I went to discuss it over lunch. And that was really where there was no turning back. Sarah and Clive were desperate for me to say 'yes' and managed to persuade me to agree now while the place was there and that if I did change my mind, nobody would mind if I cancelled as there was another guy in the wings waiting to take my place. And so I agreed and signed the papers that afternoon. It has to be said that if I had more time to think about it and reflect on my own, I would have said 'no'. As it has turned out, I am pleased that I said yes. Even at 38 weeks gone I can say that it is great being pregnant even though I am big and very slow now. I love this belly which gets in the way the whole time. I now I am over the embarassment of having a gut that cannot be hidden, I enjoy the attention. This attention has got even greater in the past couple of weeks. The BBC got news of the Herm06 project but it was too late to get the clients on board to do the whole process from start to finish. So early last year the prof and the clients were asked if we would be willing to be a part of a documentary. I was very unsure, being shy and not wishing to put myself on display. However, there was quite a good fee and my proposed pregnancy was costing Sarah and Clive a lot. The fee would go some way to defray the costs, so I agreed. It also meant that I got to meet my fellows in this early on. The documentary is in two parts. The one that has just been shown goes up to the conception, which explains all the science - the story - introduces us and who we are and why we are doing it. The next one will be of our pregnancies and the birth of our children. But that is to jump the gun somewhat. Once the papers were signed way back in June 2006 there was not much to do except wait. Sarah and Clive didn't mention it in conversation probably not wanting to bring it to my mind, so that I might dwell on it too much and change my mind. In fact I didn't give much thought to what I might have done until the BBC contacted me in March 2007 about the documentary. I would have backed out of the whole scheme then and there if I hadn't felt this huge obligation to continue. I felt trapped by the fact that I had signed the form and taken the place of another who might have had more courage to face this than me. So I kinda drifted along with it all in the hope it might never happen. Of course, it did, and I have a belly to prove it! It was about this time too that the Prof called us all in for a briefing. It was to talk about the plans for our preparation. As I am (was!) a skinny guy, my dietary preparation was only a month. The chunkier ones of us had to start immediately. We were given diet sheets etc. As it turned out, I went from 130lb to 110lb in a month and lost a further 5lb while eating berries on the island. I got to be one really skinny guy. But the real revelation of the month was that the majority of the Herm06 clients were well established in their pregnancies and they were all having twins except one, who was having triplets. We got to meet most of them. One of the guys was 6 months gone and he was getting pretty big. He looked well though, and said he was enjoying the experience. I think he might have been saying that because his wife was there. You could tell by the way he moved that he was carrying a lot of extra weight and it wasn't that easy. The guy with the triplets was still in shock as it had only been confirmed a day or two before. Looking at these pregnant guys made me immediately want to be pregnant. They looked so great. At the same time I remember thinking that I couldn't possibly go out in public looking like they did. By looking at these guys I reckoned that I could get away with it for 3 months, but the guy who was four months couldn't hide what was growing in his belly. I began to truly realise what this pregnancy would mean and I knew that I couldn't go through with it and began to think of ways of backing out. Clive: Of course, Sarah and I went to the day along with Nick and we could see that he was having real difficulty with the pregnant look. And who could blame him. The guy who was 6 months gone was really quite big and he was a stocky guy, not slim like Nick. Both Sarah and I thought he was going to bottle it at that stage. And who could blame him. I certainly wouldn't want a body like that even in private, let alone in public and we now knew about the TV documentary which would make Nick's pregnancy very public. It was important he didn't back out now as we had invested a lot of money already and it would be a double whammy if he did as we would not get some of the TV money which was at least off setting a small part of our investment. It was interesting to see Sarah's change of attitude towards her darling little brother. From wanting entirely what was best for him, she now was determined that he should carry our babies. Actually, meeting the Herm06 guys was only a small part of the day. We were given a lot of infomrmation and practical stuff. They explained what would happen while Nick was on Herm and how his body would develop afterwards. Then there was the whole conception thing. Whilst we were clear we would like a September or October baby, as this would be best educationally for our child, we hadn't really thought about the fact that we might be constrained to the timing. Within any year they need that cohort not to all produce babies at once - quite reasonable, if you stop and think about it! However, it did mean that the guys needed to conceive at least a month apart and the choice of conception date (depending on the guy's menstrual cycle) was done on a bidding senario. The first on the list got first choice. As we were the last on the list, we suddenly realised that we might not get what we wanted unless we waited a year. Somehow, now we couldn't do that. We would have to make the best of it. Me: Sitting here now 38 weeks pregnant and looking at my huge belly, it is hard to believe that all those months ago I thought the guy who was 6 months gone was enormous. I know that I truly would have backed out if I had have realised quite what pregnancy would do to my body and my lifestyle. Actually, if I had had more courage, I would have definitely have backed out then and there, but I kept waiting for the right moment to say something and of course, it never came. So I found myself preparing to travel to Herm. At the beginning of May, as we had arranged, I went to stay with Sarah and Clive so that they could help me monitor my eating. Actually, I didn't find it hard to eat a little as I was beginning to get really nervous about the whole thing and when I am nervous I don't eat much. S & C were really kind and affirming and telling me what a great thing I was preparing to do for them. In fact the whole month was an affirming time eventually. S & C said I really ought to get my employer on board with all this. So the three of us went to see them to talk it through with my boss. He issued an emphatic 'no'. If I was to do this, I would have to resign. While S & C would be prepared to 'keep' me, it would mean a career break that probably wouldn't get looked on too favourably by future employers. After all for all they knew, I might go off and get pregnant again. So we were all very down hearted by that. But a few days later, I was called in by my boss, who had been talking to his bosses, who thought it would be a great idea and get a lot of good marketing opportunities for the firm. After all this would be the first time a pregnant guy would be serving pregnant women in Mothercare. So in the end they have been very generous and helpful, giving me time off for clinics etc and some paternity leave which I have just begun , which gives me the time to write this up for you. That six weeks of dieting went quite quickly and by the end of it, not only was I very skinny, I was beginning to believe that I could do this strange thing. S & C took me to Guernsey. They weren't allowed in the clinic on Herm but they saw me on to the boat with the other four guys - probably to make sure I did it! Once there, there was no way of getting off except swimming and it looked to be way too far for me to swim. Me and the other guys were there for three weeks. They got us to harvest our own berries morning and evening. The rest of the time they got various enterntainments for us and we did some classes on male pregnancy and what could be expected and all that kind of stuff, and of course, the eating of the berries. There were also various therapies to help us come to accept our bodies and the changes that would happen to them. The most embarassing and strange, at least to begin with, was that we had to go naked the whole time. To begin with, while I loved the feeling of freedom it gave in private, I hated being with the others and you could tell we were all embarassed. After all, we were all looking pretty weedy and skinny. By the end it was all perfectly natural and a great way to live. I never wear clothes at home now except when others are there, and when this is over, I plan to explore naturism a bit more, whether I get my body back or not. While we were there the first guy of Herm 06 was delivered of his twins. Sadly, one of them died in the womb just before he went into labour. The other was fit and healthy. Of course, as I sit here now, all the first cohort have been born and it was the same pattern throughout; one died just before the birth and the others were fit and healthy. The guy who was having triplets, also had two die but the other is fine. So we are all prepared that we shall give birth to hopefully one healthy baby but no more. This year two of us are having triplets. Like last year, it is the skinnest guys who are having them. So me and Craig have huge bellies which look massive on our small frames. The theory is that as we were so light when we had the berrie diet the substances in the berries have a greater effect and make us more fertile. In the Herm 08 cohort that went this year, I believe they have a minimum weight of 150lb to try and stop triplet pregnancies. You would think that three weeks on a tiny island would seem like an eternity, but it didn't. It soon passed and we all reconvened with partners (and in my case S & C) on Guernsey for the final briefing. Talking to the other guys about it, none of us felt any different after the 'treament', even if we were a bit lighter and now hermaphrodites. It turns out that we weren't at that stage, but that we now needed to eat well, so that the transformation could take place. After that we would start 'bulling' which the prof explained was what he called a period in a male. Once we had had three bullings at the same regular interval (which could be anything from 2-4 week intervals - there appeared to be a huge variation in the men so far) conception would be allowed to take place. It appears to be turning out that the skinnier the guy, the more frequent the bullings take place. Amongst all the other things the debrief told us, Craig and I were advised that we didn't conceive until we were at least 140lb. I don't know about Criag, but I had never been that heavy. But we were given a diet and a work out routine so that we built muscle to help us carry our babies when they arrived in our forming wombs. As Clive said as we left to have a meal with just the three of us:'let the fattening begin'. I didn't know whether he meant the general weight gain I had to do or the pregnancy that was to come. Luckily by this stage, my apetite had returned with a vengence and I responded well to Sarah's cooking, the work out routine and the Cambridge diet supplements. By the beginning of August I had gained back all the weight I had lost for the initial phase of the programme. My body had undergone the tranformation and I had my first 'bull' early that month. That is a weird experience, especially shoving tampons up your arse and using pantiliners in your crack. Needless to say, I started regularly bulling once a fortnight. Luckily I didn't find bulling any big deal, not like women seem to with their periods, even though I experienced heavy bleeds every two weeks. It was just inconvenient that was all. Next, negotiations needed to take place as to who was allowed to conceive when. For me, to meeting S & C's criterion of a September or later birth, I couldn't conceive until December. That meant a lot of bulling. While Craig made the transformation as quickly as I did, others in the cohort were slower. Craig and his wife opted for a pregnancy as quickly as possible. He must have reached the magic 140lb by September because that is when he conceived. He was the first of us to give birth - again, one healthy baby, two born dead. Still no one knows why. Apparently, even though I haven't seen him since Herm, he got huge at the end and hadn't been out of the house for ages. At that stage, apart from me, no one else had got into a bulling pattern and it wasn't until early November that the conceiving dates had got organised. It turned out that my bulling time just fited in with an early September birth. It couldn't go later because of the conception of an someone further up the list month later. My conception date was fixed at 30 November and with a 40 week pregnancy, would take us to 5th September. That is my due date. So far, though, all of the guys have been two weeks late or more. The guy with the triplets last year was nearly 4 weeks late as was Craig a month or so ago. So it could be another six weeks of this. Do I mind? Not really. I always knew I wanted to be pregnant, and now I am very pregnant. By the time I conceived I had got to 160lb thanks to Sarah's great cooking and some hard working out. That extra muscle paid off and I continue to work out to enable me to carry all this extra weight around. Last November my body looked extremely good and very buff. I suppose it is still quite buff, just with a bit of a belly on it!! At my last weigh in, I was a little over 250lbs. This is hardly surprising as it turns out that guys give birth to big babies. So far the smallest has been 10lbs and that was Craig's - carrying three makes them a bit smaller. That's what they keep telling me bu way of encouragement - because there are three they will be smaller and so easier to give birth , but as I keep reminding them, I have to do it three times! The largest to be born was nearly 15lb - the poor guy who had that one - the average being around 12lb. ***** But back to the beginning of my pregnancy. How I would conceive I think was a huge issue for S & C. I don't know the full details, but when they discussed it with me, they said they would prefer it if it was a 'natural' conception rather than using any gadgets. That suited me fine because it was the way I preferred it. I didn't really want a Turkey baster shoved up my bottom. It was interesting that while we were away with the other guys on Herm, all of them were going for the natural conception from the designated father, and it seemed, they preferred that idea too. I wonder what the fathers thought. I am pretty sure that Clive was not keen. Clive: Getting Nick from his return from Herm to the point where he conceived was something of a roller coaster ride. He came back from Herm full of enthusiasm for the project and felt really well. He put the weight that he had lost for the project fairly easily and I became his personal trainer. I wasn't that keen on doing this, as I didn't really want to be seen with Nick later in his pregnancy when he would be working out with a huge gut. It wouldn't be a good advert for my skills! However, as Sarah so pointedly said, it was the least we could do for Nick as he was doing this huge, huge favour for us. Of course, she was right. And Nick turned out to be a good client. His body really responded well to the diet and training. He stayed with us for about two months after returning from Herm. He is hugely independent and wanted to go back to his flat earlier, but we peruaded him to stay as he began to go back off the idea again and we felt that if he was with us we would be better placed to talk him round again. I think it was partly due to the fact that all last year's cohort had multiple pregnancies but also because only one baby of the set ever seemed to survive. However, by the beginning of September he was back on track and enjoying life and his new more muscular body. Because he was bulling every two weeks he was advised initially to drink at least one pint of Guiness per day. It turned out that this was not enough to keep his iron levels up so as far as I know he usually had 2 or sometimes three. He has continued this, under doctor's advise into his pregnancy. So Nick, as well as developing quite a buff physique, started developing a small beer belly. I don't like bellies on guys, but this looked really cute. Nick was obviously embarassed by it and started wearing baggy clothes, which was a shame because apart from a small gut, he had a good body to show off. All this provided another down for us to get over. Nick liked his new buff body and didn't want to spoil it by getting pregnant. Sarah and I worked hard on him saying he would get his body back afterwards. I don't think any of us really believed it, but Nick seems to have the kind of body that responds well to training. As we got towards the end of November I was beginning to dread the 30th more and more. Sarah and I had had huge arguments over how to get Nick pregnant with my sperm. I was all for doing it artificially. I had no desire at all to enter Nick. But Sarah wanted it as natural as possible and wanted to be there at the conception. We talked about it for weeks, and in the end Sarah won as she always did. Nick didn't seem to mind either way. The only plus point I could see, was that the project's experience to date showed that guys always conceived first time. I was so hoping that would be true for Nick as well. The day came and Nick came round, but what with the thought of having sex with a man and Sarah watching, it took me ages to 'perform' but I did eventually. Nick and Sarah seemed to quite emjoy it. ME: Sunday 24th August 2008 I never realised I had so much to write about in this, but I suppose it is a pretty big thing. As you can see Clive has been keeping some comments too, and I have tried to put some of his notes in at the relevant places in italics so that you can tell his comments from mine. I totally love being pregnant. To me, to be so big is a total turn on even though it is hard to do most things now and impossible to do some. I love the way it lies in my lap when I sit down. I love the way my belly gets in the way; the way I can't get close to the table to eat, but can more easily use my belly as a table to eat off. Even typing this is a bit awkward as there is a lot of belly between me and the keyboard. That's why I started my paternity leave this weekend really. Standing on the shop floor all day, this pregnant was really quite tiring even though I loved doing it. People have been so kind and say what I am doing is great, both staff and customers alike. The customers love to be able to be served by a man who knows what it is like to be pregnant. So I shall miss work and when I return, I shan't be pregnant any more. I would certainly like to be pregnant again, and if I follow the general pattern of the other guys being pregnant, I shall only have one live birth out of the three, and I know that S & C would like four children a year apart. I might well do more general surrogacy after that, it is just so great to be pregnant. The best part is knowing that three new lives are growing in there and feeling them move around. It is a wonderful feeling even though they are getting sooo heavy now. People keep asking me how I feel about the probability of two of them dying. The strange thing is that, at the moment, as long as I produce one live birth for S & C I shall be content. I hope that doesn't change when it happens. And if I was only pregnant with one, I wouldn't be this big, and being this big is sooo good. I haven't always felt this way though. It is only the last couple of months that I have had this great feeling. It wasn't that I hated being pregnant before, I just hated having to be in the world and be pregnant. Even before the conception, I started getting a beer belly from all the Guiness I was drinking to keep my blood iron levels up. I did my best to hide this by wearing my shirts untucked etc. I couldn't do this at work where the expected dress in the shop is white shirt and tie and black trousers. I was mortified when, before I had even conceived, one of the older asssistantants came in one morning with a new pair of trousers for me. My normal ones were getting a bit tight (well very tight) with all the Guiness. Bless her, Jean had gone to a lot of trouble to find low rise gents trousers with an elasticated waist, which is actually just what was required. All the staff had been briefed a few weeks before about my impending pregnancy and she thought my beer gut was it! The reason I was mortified was that she had noticed I was getting fat. But the trousers were great, with 5% lycra they fitted really snugly and so showed off my increasingly muscular butt to its full potential. It is a great design of trousers which I have been wearing ever since, though in a larger size now. By the time we got to the conception date, I really, really didn't want to do this, but by that stage I knew I couldn't let S & C down. I don't think Clive wanted to it on the night I went round either as he was faffing about for ages before he entered me. It was my first experience of sex and it felt good even though it was brief. For the first few weeks after conception, I didn't feel any different. Then, the day before Christmas Eve, I woke up to get ready for work and felt really ill. The next day I threw up three times before going to work. I must have looked terrible when I got to work because Jean was really sympathetic about it. Her kindness made me burst into tears. I really wondered what I had got into. Then my nipples started getting sore and I felt absolutely knackered all the time. Christmas and New Year were not very good for me, because I felt so ill. The film company came specially early in the morning one day to film me throwing up. They just wanted to show that blokes got it the same as the girls apparently. It all seemed to be happening and I didn't like it. I continued feeling ill until March, when suddenly I realised I wasn't feeling ill or tired any more. By this stage I was really hating my body as it was hard to hide my slowly expanding gut which protruded more and more over the elasticated waistband of my trousers. I couldn't get rid of it by sucking it in anymore. I began to feel really self-conscious about my belly. A few weeks later I could really feel people staring at it. I was in quite a public place being in the shop most of the time, except for the day a week when I went to management school. They didn't know about the pregnancy at that stage. About this time too, the shop started to make a thing of my pregnancy by advertising the fact that I was there and pregnant. I have to say it was good for sales! They came flocking in to see me and I had to wear clothes that showed my pregnancy off to its full advantage. I hated it but it was part of the deal for time out for clinics and paternity leave. The low point was one Saturday when the shirt I was wearing had got a bit tight across the gut. I heard one guy singing new words to 'I'm to sexy for my shirt'. He had changed them to 'I'm too pregnant for my shirt'. I suppose it was quite funny really, and I would love it now. But back then it was too embarassing to think about. So what changed all that? It happened in the space of week in May. The guy who does my monthly check could see that I was getting more and more agitated by my pregnancy. When I went for the check up in May I was getting pretty big. But it wasn't the weight that was bothering me. Thanks to the work outs I was still doing with Clive I could cope with all that. It was just being out in the world I had trouble with, knowing everyone was looking at me. The doc could see this, and he suggested I take a break - on my own. This seemed to me to be madness, as I would have all the time in the world to reflect on what a fat freak I was becoming. But the doc knew what he was doing as he suggested a particular place. It was the hotel in which we had had our post Herm conference. It is a family run hotel on Guernsey which as it turns out are well into all that goes on at Herm. The seven hour journey on the ferry (I advised it is best not to fly in my condition) was awful. It is only a small ferry and so few people to spread the stares amongst. However, once I got there, after a day or so, I started being confident in being me - a pregnant me who was going to give birth to triplets in just over three months time. The doc had his psychology right. There was something about being in the supportive environment of the hotel and being away from my usual surroundings that gave me the opportunity to find myself. Suddenly, I had the confidence to go into bars to get my daily dose of Guiness looking like this and I could now easily take my gravid belly into restaurants to feed my growing brood. I felt proud to walk down the main street of St Peter Port displaying my belly to the world. I returned home a new person. Clive: The first five or six months of Nick's pregnancy were not easy for Sarah and I to watch. We both really felt for him as he had morning sickness really badly for quite some time. At the beginning of March his small cute belly really started growing big time and you could see he was getting really shy about his size. I noticed when he came to the gym the stares he got from others. As he is a really shy sort of person, I could see why he would feel so embarassed about his gut. It didn't do a lot for me either. Once he got over the morning sickness, he has looked really well. He always has a good colour now and looks really fit. And I have to confess that I had very mixed feelings myself. Professionally, I didn't like this well-gutted guy coming to me for personal training, but as Nick got bigger, he got sexier. I loved the cycle he went through of his shirts being loose, then getting tight across his gut and then him buying some new ones that were losse again which all too quickly got tight again. Nick hated it even though Sarah and I were really supportive and genuinely liked his shape. He would wear tight shirts for us, but got hugely upset one Sunday lunch when he was in a shirt that was a bit snug. It was, I think, the first time he had got to the tight shirt stage - it was Easter weekend. It wasn't really tight - at least when he arrived - but Nick ate a huge lunch -which we always encouraged as he is eating for 4 and burst two buttons off his shirt. Sarah laughed but Nick burst into tears saying how much he hated his body - that he was like a beached whale and all that kind of thing. I worried at the time what the next five months were going to be like. After all he was getting big, even then. However, Sarah and I were more concerned about his mental health. Not that we were in any way going to suggest the pregnancy was terminated. On that level we were determined to see this through, even if it meant Nick suffering. We had a quiet word with his doctor about it who recommended this place on Guernsey. The doc explained to us that several of the guys suffer the same thing and a week alone on Guernsey at this particular hotel has alwasy done the trick. And it did the trick for Nick too. He is a transformed person who now really enjoys his pregnant body. ME: Thursday 5th September Sorry I have not updated for a while. There is no reason really, except not having to go to work makes you lazy. It also has a wierd effect on the mind. Not only do I have food cravings, but I get erotic ones too, even though they aren't directly involved with sex. So months ago I started getting a really short haircut - a No 2 or sometimes shorter. Now I have a craving for a big tattoo over my belly. It think this would be really hot but haven't had it done in case it damages the babies. YOu read such terrible things about hepatitis and tattoos. I have been so sexually alive since I got pregnant, though I am far too big now to do much about it. All this time to think makes it worse. I was sprung back into action yesterday as I am still going to my day release management school. The rest of my class were all amazed to see me yesterday as they hadn't seen me all summer and I have grown a bit since I last saw them. I have stopped driving now as it is getting too awkward, so have to go on the bus which is a pain. The college is the other side of town so I have to change buses half way. The class have been really cool with my pregnancy since I told them. I didn't get around to doing it until after I came back from Guernsey and had more confidence. Up to that point, I didn't really hang out with them. Then I started to hang out with them and told them straight away. I got a bit of joshing but all done kindly (I hope) and they were pleased that I was pregnant. They thought there was something wrong with me to get a gut like that. They took the micky out of me for working in Mothercare but hey, that is all part of the fun. Today is my due date, but there is no sign of anything yet. I had a check up on Tuesday (more bus rides) and everything is fine, but the birth doesn't look imminent. I love being this big and carrying a big belly around. I love squeezing onto full buses with people trying to move out the way for my belly. Mind you, my now fullsome butt gets pinched quite a lot these days in such situations and a lot of people feel they have the right to touch my gravid belly. They have been doing that for some time. When I was still trying to hide my belly (how futile was that when I think back?) I used to hate it. Once I had got more confidence in my size I have begun to enjoy it. I am lucky enough to live very close to the sea, and I really enjoy walking along the sea front either with a T shirt stretched across my belly or topless. I get some wonderful looks and it is suprising how many people touch it. I like to think that my increasingly bubble butt is attractive too especially in the black lycra shorts I like to wear on such occasions. I increasingly go naked where I can, not least because it is getting so damn hard to get down to my feet to get anything like pants over them. Of course, I don't go out in public like that. I might get arrested for a start. Maybe I should try it, just to see what the police might do with a pregnant dude!! People often ask if I get back ache. I do a bit especially if I have been standing around for a while, but it soon goes if I sit or lie down. Thanks to the workout routine I don't suffer too much. I still go to the gym three times a week, though I move about it far more slowly these days. Thur 19th September Still no sign of my babies arriving though it must be soon. Surely I can't get much bigger than I am now. I have just had my daily waddle down to the sea front. I like the sea air and all that goes on with the sea. The people down there seem to like looking at my belly. I came back via the supermarket. I still find it wierd after all this time pushing a trolley with all this gut out in front of me. I usually use the disabled check out as it is wider. The normal ones don't seem to have room for all for me and the trolley. As it is, it is awkward getting stuff out of the bottom of the deep trolleys as I have to reach in sideways. Needless to say that I go to the supermarket often as I have four to feed. NOt much else has been happening. It's just a case of waiting for D day. Clive took me out in his classic car - a lovely old sports car - to give me some enjoyment. I love that car. It really goes and has a great sound to it. UNfortunately it is very low. It is quite difficult for me to get in, but getting out has now got very undignified!. I don't think I shall be doing that again before the birth. The trip brought back to mind the canal holiday we all had in August; S & C and Simon and his family. I now know why they call them narrow boats. They are very narrow when you are nearly nine months pregnant. It was very relaxing but I did find it hard to get comfortable. I couldn't fit behind the table to eat, the shower was proposterously small and I had to reverse into the loo to sit down as once I was in there I couldn't turn round. And all the corridors on the boat were too narrow. Actually I found the whole experience very sexy. Clive: Nick has been great in the latter part of his pregnancy. He is really enjoying it now despite the fact that he is mega huge. I am so grateful that he is doing this and not me. I should hate to be that size. I nearly got him stuck in my classic car last Saturday. He couldn't get his knees up past his belly to get out so I had to kinda drag him out. He must be approaching 280lb now so it was no mean feat. I should have realised really. He had enough trouble on the narrow boat holiday in August. It was just not built for someone his size. Every time he stepped on it from the shore the boat rocked because he has got so heavy. Nick said he enjoyed the holiday, but I don't see how he can have done. Sarah and I are on edge now as the due date has past, and I know others have been four weeks late, so there is time to go yet, but we can't wait for the birth. The suspense is killing us! Nick doesn't seem that bothered by it and seems to take one day at a time. We have offered for him to stay here, which we would prefer really as we can keep an eye on him, but he prefers his independence. He assures us that he will let us know when he goes into labour. ME: Tuesday 1st October I woke up last Saturday 'not feeling right'. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it and I didn't feel ill or anything, just a bit more uncomfortable than normal. Anyway, I went off shopping as I usually did on a Saturday morning. The surprise came as I was walking home and my water broke all over the pavement. There seemed to be gallons of it but thankfully there was no one much around to see it. I remained quite calm and got home and cleaned up a bit, put my shopping all away before phoning S & C. It was Clive who answered who went into overdrive, saying I should get to the hospital immediately, till I reminded him that I hadn't had any contractions yet. The first contraction hit about lunchtime. I can honestly say that I have never felt anything like it. It was so painful but somehow it gave me a good feeling. They were very sporadic for a few hours and then towards the end of the afternoon they got more regular. All this time Clive kept phoning to see how I was. At about 4 pm I suggested they come and pick me up to go to the hospital. It was to be another 24 hours before the first baby was born. It was pretty exhausting going through all that. I thought the contractions would never end. The wierd thing was, if you can have such a thing as 'good pain' this was it and while it really hurt, I found it a fulfilling kind of pain. It would be too much to say that I enjoyed it but it kinda gave me a sense of pleasure after it had passed. It is only when you are in situations like this that you realise how stupid people are who design facilities for a specific purpose. For instance, we spent quite a lot of time in the cafeteria, which I found quite uncomfortable because the tables and chairs were all the immovable sort bolted to the floor - and you've guessed it - I couldn't fit between the chair and the table. I know I was big (well huge!) but honestly! Anyway, things didn't really get going birth-wise until Sunday afternoon, by which time I was pretty tired. Giving birth is painful - sooo painful. I thought I was giving birth to an elephant. All that pushing - I thought my entire insides were going to come out. The first two were born dead, one at about 4 pm, the next nearly four hours later. The third came much later in the early hours of Monday. Waiting for her to arrive was excruiating as we didn't want her to be born dead too. But Chloe was born fit and well at 2.13 a.m much to all our relief. What an ordeal that was, but it was worth it if only to seen the raptuous joy on the faces of S & C. And I have to say, that I so enjoyed being pregnant once I had got over the fact that everyone was looking at me. Just at present my body looks a bit of a mess, but I am sure I can soon get that back. I am walking on air just now as my body became 90lb lighter with the births, though I am a lot heavier than the 130lb I was before all this began. Would I do it again? Too right I would.

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gerec · 3 years

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This idea just dropped fully formed into my head and I really need to send it out into the universe before I start yet another WIP so here we go:

1920s, A/O AU, Cherik, Erik/Shaw, Erik/Winston Frost

Former jazz club singer/piano player (and omega) Erik Lehnsherr is married to wealthy alpha tycoon Winston Frost, much to the chagrin of Winston's grown daughter and heir. Emma thinks Erik married her father solely for his money (he did, though Winston clearly knows and doesn't care, because he likes the company and having a pretty young omega on his arm) and isn't worthy of the Frost name. For his part, Erik mostly just stays out of Emma's way, content to enjoy the luxuries available to him now after a lifetime of poverty. And because Winston is both loose with his purse strings and busy running his business empire, Erik has a lot of money and free time to do as he pleases. This includes occasionally (and very discreetly) taking a lover on the side, which Winston turns a blind eye to since Erik's dalliances are only ever fleeting at best.

That changes when he meets Charles Xavier.

Scion of the Xavier fortune and old friends with Emma, Charles is young (younger than Erik), witty and devastatingly handsome. He's also an incorrigible flirt and notorious for being a heartbreaker, warming the beds of omegas of all ages, single and married. And even though he knows better than to get swept up by the irrepressible playboy, Erik gives in to Charles' blatant and persistent seduction, and sleeps with him multiple times - first at parties and social events, and then in clandestine meetings at Xavier's apartment in the city. Erik finds himself feeling something real for Charles and even imagines leaving Winston to be with him, only to find out that Charles has plans to head to Oxford to pursue a doctorate degree. This leads to an argument that takes an ugly turn, with Erik accusing Charles of misleading/lying to him in order to get him into bed. Charles doesn't really understand why Erik is so angry, and points to the fact that Charles is just one in a series of lovers he's taken since he got married, and why did it matter if they were bound to end eventually? Hurt and humiliated by the reply (because he's clearly misread Charles completely, even as he realizes that he's gone and fallen in love), Erik storms out and vows never to lay eyes on Charles Xavier again.

Then, two things happen in rapid succession, only weeks after Charles leaves for England.

First - Winston dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, leaving the bulk of his fortune to Emma and a small but generous sum to Erik that allows him to live independently for the rest of his days.

Second - Erik finds out that he's pregnant, and that Emma knows exactly who the father is, since she's been having him followed since he married into the family.

She's not particularly angry about Erik's infidelity (and she might even understand how/why it happened, given how well she knows Charles) but she is NOT going to let him claim the baby as Winston's since she has no interest in sharing her inheritance. She threatens him with a blood test to prove that Winston isn't the father, and to take away the money her father left to Erik if he doesn't comply with her wishes - which is to leave quietly and then claim another alpha as the baby's father (with the lie that the baby was conceived after Winston's death, to preserve the Frosts' reputation). She even offers to contact Charles and let him know about Erik's pregnancy, but Erik is too angry and too proud (and too afraid of being rejected) to agree. He ends up going to an ex-lover for help, and is relieved when the alpha consents to being named the baby's father, as long as Erik agrees to be with him again (and maybe eventually marry him).

----

Five years later, Charles returns to New York with his degree, older, wiser and with a better understanding of his true feelings for Erik. Of course things have changed a lot since he's been away, and Charles is shocked to discover that Erik is now parent to a four year old son named David, and that he's the live-in lover of crime lord Sebastian Shaw...

@lachatblanche :D

#gerec rambles #fic prompt #cherik #erik/shaw #plot bunny for adoption #i mostly just love the roaring 20s aesthetic #and the idea of rich boy Charles boning his way through high society New York 'Great Gatsby' style lol #a/o #1920s au

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swiftgronmasterpost · 4 years

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Spring/Summer/Fall 2013 - The End(?)

Click here for an appropriately sad Swiftgron breakup playlist.

I don’t know if it’s important or not but Dianna wishes several friends a late happy birthday on twitter, apologizing for missing the actual day through this spring and summer. It seems like maybe she’s going through something (like a bad break up?) because it’s not like her to miss friends’ birthdays.

March 26, 2013 - Maybe a relevant tweet?

April 7, 2013 - Dianna tweets a photo of James Dean in a day dream like setting:

April 16, 2013 - The article that outed them:

Someone made a fake article that said Swiftgron was dating:

Dianna tweets seven times that day which is a bit much for her.

The hashtag here stands out to me:

The fake article goes viral and all week people are tweeting about the possibility that Dianna and Taylor are dating.

April 23, 2012

It seems to culminate on this day. Many people are buzzing about Swiftgron and this actress tweets:

That’s right at midnight.

About 12 hours later Dianna deletes her public Tumblr:

On that same day Dianna reblogs several things on her private Tumblr. These two stand out to me:

She reblogged both of these posts and the only hashtag they had in common was “#lost love” - she was searching that hashtag.

I think it’s very clear that today is the day Swiftgron 2.0 broke up. I believe they were forced to by their management teams due to being outed.

April 24, 2013 - Taylor seems regretful/stressed out she screenshots her text to Austin and posts:

I think Dianna’s obviously upset about this and as an act of defiance she tweets at Taylor a few days later (Taylor does not respond.)

April 29, 2013

Instead Taylor posts on Dianna’s Birthday (April 30) a silly google search (very DIanna in nature tbh) with a play on the lyrics from 22:

Taylor had the week of Dianna’s 27th birthday off of the Red tour (it was scheduled like that) but as far as we know they did not hang out.

May 4, 2013 - Ours

At her first show since their supposed break-up, Taylor performs Ours as a surprise song. She introduces it by saying: “This is a song about how, when you fall in love everybody starts to give you their opinion. I imagine it could be really hard to make a relationship last, I wouldn’t know. But, given that everyone is giving you their own opinion about it, I think that the only opinion you should really listen to is yours and if you love that person, that should be all that matters.”

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Dianna dyes her hair brown and goes to Morocco a week later with Ashley (”You searched the world for something else, To make you feel like what we had”) from about May 11 - May 14 or 15. While there she attends the A Small World relaunch. ASW could be viewed as a bit “sketchy” if you will. I think this is where she befriends Olivia Wilde.

This is Dianna’s first (known) trip to Morocco (Derek Blasberg is there too) but she seems to be drawn there over and over again after this, even marrying Winston Marshall there (and possibly meeting another boyfriend, Gus Wenner there.)

May 19, 2013 - Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas

Taylor wins 8 awards and says this during her acceptance speech:

This and the performance of Ours makes me think Taylor is bitter about a break up right now, even though publicly she broke up with Harry back in January.

This is also the event where Taylor is famously grossed out by Justin and Selena’s hetero nonsense and does this:

It seems like as always, Taylor has a lot going on right now...some kind of drama with Justin is boiling but it’s possible she’s also referencing her breakup with Dianna in her acceptance speech.

Dianna pops back up in NYC.

May 20, 2013 - WLW icon Kristen Stewart apparently spends the night at Taylors?

May 28, 2013 - Taylor plays Haunted on the Red Tour and gives a speech:

"This is a song that I haven't played on this tour so far. It came up when one of my friends tweeted the lyrics to it today and it reminded me that I haven't played this song in about two years. It has to do with the fact that, you know people talk about ghosts all the time. You just kind of imagine it being this supernatural thing, but there's another kind of ghost and it's just a person who is out there walking in the world or just doesn't love you anymore and that's a whole different kind of being haunted." Seems like she’s really going through it.

July 2, 2013 - Anniversary of Hyannis Port trip and interesting private Tumblr post from Dianna:

Bad things happen this summer. Cory Monteith passes away and Taylor is assaulted at a meet and greet by a DJ.

July 2013 - Dianna buys a house in LA (I Wish You Would)

August 2013 - Dianna’s whosirmesir moniker gets outed and she stops blogging under that tumblr account.

August 14, 2013 - Taylor is in a weird place according to the Lover diaries:

1. she seems to have basically written The Lakes here

2. she’s really harping on themes she ends up addressing in I Know Places, Out of the Woods, and Wonderland

August 29, 2013 - Dianna steps out with restaurateur Nick Mathers.

Not sure what to make of this one. Dianna seems to date two types of men: 1. teeny bopper actors for bearding and pr purposes (it generally seems) and 2. rich businessmen. Nick is type 2, but their relationship is reported on as if it’s PR. “Sources” call up gossip sites to fill them in on the relationship and both their projects get plugged along with announcements on them as a couple:

I don’t know if they were more or less legit but she goes out with Taylor five days later...

September 4, 2013 - The Fun! Concert:

Swiftgron’s last pre-Kaylor public sighting - they go to a Fun! concert in LA

It’s just a split instant of video footage but Sarah Hyland uploads this to Vine and it does not look like Dianna is enjoying herself:

Note: It kind of looks like DIanna has her arm around Taylor’s waist and also the person to the right of Taylor is Selby Drummond who is still friends with DIanna as of writing of this masterpost (December 2020) and who still appears to be a fan of Taylor’s.

Dianna does look miserable but I do think it’s interesting they seem to be making an effort to hang out on the two year anniversary of their public (perhaps private as well) first meeting.

Dianna tweets about the concert the next day:

September 6, 2013 - Taylor plays Speak Now as the surprise song on the Red tour. Interesting given the timing of Dianna and her new boyfriend being public just one week before this.

September 8, 2013 - Taylor plays Sad, Beautiful Tragic for the first time ever live and gives this speech:

"I kind of feel like playing a song I've never ever played live before. This is um a song that I wrote about how you know just because something's over doesn't mean it wasn't incredibly beautiful. Cause another lesson I've learned is not all stories have a happy ending and you have to learn how to deal with that. So this is a song about a story that didn't end so happily but was still supposed to happen. This is called Sad, Beautiful, Tragic."

I don’t think this song was originally written about Dianna but I do think at this time while they stumble through the last phase of their relationship Taylor was inspired to sing it.

October 2013 - Taylor writes I Wish You Would, a song inspired by an ex who had recently bought a house near her driving past her house. It’s thought to be about Harry but Harry didn’t buy a house in LA until March 2014. But of course we know Dianna did buy a house near Taylor’s in LA earlier this fall.

November 11, 2013 - The music video for “She’s Just Another Girl” premiers starring Dianna looking stunning in high fashion drag, dressed up as the lead singer, and lip syncing the words to the song:

Some lyrics to the song include:

All of my friends say I should move on She's just another girl, don't let her stick it to your heart so hard And all of my friends say it wasn't meant to be And it's a great big world, she's just another girl

I could be reeling them in left and right Something's got a hold on me, tonight Well maybe all of my friends should confront The fact that I don't want another girl

I think it’s at least possible that Dianna was drawn to this project because the lyrics resonated to her given what she was going through with Taylor at the time.

November 12, 2013 - Day of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show rehearsals and Dianna posts this (now deleted) picture:

November 13, 2013 - Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show where Taylor performs and Karlie Kloss walks the runway.

Dianna posts this picture (now deleted) of her at Emma Stone’s birthday party from 11 months previous:

It’s likely she’s looking at Taylor in this photo who was seated across from her.

It’s a very random picture to post. It wasn’t titled as a throwback and it wasn’t an exact year after the picture was taken (prompting some kind of happy birthday shout out to Emma Stone or anything) - just a random picture of Dianna smiling, likely at Taylor.

November 17, 2013 - Dianna posts a (now deleted) photo about missing someone:

November 21, 2013 - Taylor posts lyrics from a hopeful love song about a troubled relationship:

Lyrics:

December 9, 2013 - Dianna listens to Pale Blue Eyes

Lyrics are about being emo over a lost love with Blue Eyes:

Sometimes I feel so happy Sometimes I feel so sad Sometimes I feel so happy But mostly you just make me mad Baby, you just make me madLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

Thought of you as my mountaintop Thought of you as my peak Thought of you as everything I've had, but couldn't keep I've had, but couldn't keep

Linger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

If I could make the world as pure And strange as what I see I'd put you in the mirror I put in front of me I put in front of meLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

Skip a life completely Stuff it in a cup She said, "Money is like us in time It lies, but can't stand up" Down for you is upLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyesIt was good what we did yesterday And I'd do it once again The fact that you are married Only proves you're my best friend But it's truly, truly a sinLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

December 11, 2013 - You know the drill...Dianna posts a now deleted photo to Instagram:

December 13, 2013 - Dianna posts an attention grabbing photo on Taylor’s Birthday

Conclusions - Swiftgron very clearly goes through a rough breakup due to being outed.

Then they attempt some sort of reconciliation - even hanging out (date night?) on the second anniversary of their Fairfax Flea Market meetcute, but it goes wrong.

Taylor is on tour for much of this time and Dianna is posting angst ridden and peculiar Instagram posts exactly at the time Taylor meets Karlie.

Click here to keep reading!

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spacesuitsforemergency · 3 years

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I think I kinda want to change Bonnie’s backstory so that when Winston took Bonnie away from Juliette, Bucky got custody of her. Which Winston was pissed about cause he wanted the kid out of the picture %100, so he forbid Juliette from seeing Bucky and her daughter, but we all know Juliette didn’t care what the hell her father would do to her, she went and saw her baby anyways

So while Juliette didn’t get to raise her or see her very often, especially when she was married the last three times and those husbands were all controlling and only wanted “pure blood” in their family and not Bonnie, Bonnie was raised by Bucky (with help from Steve because come on, Buck didn’t know what he was doing and kept worrying he’d hurt the baby with his metal arm). She was still always super shy and had imaginary friends, but she also had Maximus and they grew up together raised as siblings

Then when Juliette finally got her freedom after Emma killed their father and Juliette killed her 3rd husband, she finally got to see Bonnie and when she was 15, Bonnie moved in with her

#Sam and Bucky called like eight hundred times a day at first to make sure Juliette was doing a good job #Sam: do you even have time for her with your rich white lady lifestyle?#Juliette: yes. thanks to my rich white Lady lifestyle I can pawn my work off to others and still make money so HA #Bucky: HAS SHE HAD BREAKFAST YET #Juliette: it’s noon. yes she’s had it-#Bucky: WHAT ABOUT LUNCH #Juliette: I AM NOT INCAPABLE-goodbye.#bonnie barnes

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dovebuffy92 · 3 years

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https://www.fanbolt.com/110752/the-crown-season-four-review-peoples-princess-turned-human/

he Crown Season Four, created by Peter Morgan, follows the British royal family from 1977 to 1990. Until the last episode, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher runs the United Kingdom with a stern hand. Gillian Anderson and Emma Corrin are a brilliant addition to the cast of powerful women.

The Crown dramatizes events surrounding the royals, so there is a lot of creative licenses taken. The series, which is based on real events, humanizes the British royal family. I want to be clear that I am writing about the fictionalized characters, not the actual royal family.

Margaret Thatcher is neither the villain nor hero in this saga. From the jump, Gillian Anderson as Thatcher is a complicated figure. She is the first female Prime Minister, but not a feminist. Thatcher would be thrilled to close the glass ceiling behind her, thinking that she is the exception, not the norm. She views women as weak.

Margaret often cooks meals for her male Cabinet Ministers. The prime minister serves them as she barks orders about the war with Falklands. Margret is the ultimate control freak who is unwilling to compromise, but at the same time, she acts out domestic tasks. When Margert visits Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle, she puts away her husband Dennis’s clothes, disgusted that anybody else would do that. It’s extraordinary that the formidable Margaret Thatcher tries to fit into the submissive housewife role. After all, Thatcher heads her household, not Dennis.

Instead of being an icon, Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin) presents as a real person in The Crown. During her life, Diana became the “People’s Princess” who could do no wrong. In the series, her flaws and strengths are revealed.

Prince Charles meets Diana as a shy sixteen-year-old who loves to perform. The future couple connects because they both feel like outsiders in their own homes. When Charles courts Diana, it’s clear that they are part of two different worlds. Diana’s in her late teens and helps out at a local pre-school. She cleans her big sister’s home, then parties with her three roommates in London.

Charles is a thirty-something-year-old man with significant responsibilities who enjoys outdoor activities like gardening and hunting. The match doesn’t work, but the family forces it. All they can see is Diana’s charm. Diana was born into British Nobility, grew up in the country, and seems quite shy. The main problem is that she doesn’t know Charles is already in love with the married Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles’ love affair dooms their marriage from the start.

The marriage between Lady Diana and Prince Charles causes pain for both parties. They are cruel to one another. Even when they were engaged, Charles pays little attention to Diana. She is left alone in Buckingham Palace to learn how to be Princess of Wales from her strict grandmother Lady Fermoy. Diana feels isolated without the warmth of her friends. The pressure mounts to the point where she develops bulimia. Diana’s struggle with bulimia continues throughout the season.

The television show does a great job of not glamorizing bulimia. Diana only suffers from the eating disorder in moments when she feels out of control, like when she realizes how close Camilla is to her fiancé. Prince Charles’ emotional and sexual affair with his mistress continues off and on during the whole season. Diana refuses to go along with things, unlike the rest of the Royal family. If something like going on a royal tour to New Zealand and Australia without her new baby son William displeases Diana, she fights back. Wherever they go, Diana steals Charles’ spotlight by presenting as a friendly “human” alternative to the stuffy aloof royals.

Diana rises in popularity because she hugs an African American boy with AIDS. The adoration she receives distresses Carmilla, who feels like she could never live up to her. Charles and Diana are victims of their forced nuptials.

Elizabeth II has found her footing and power as the Queen. At the beginning of the series, Queen Elizabeth II did not fully understand all of her duties or how the British government worked. Prime Minister Winston Churchill mentored her.

By now, Elizabeth is more experienced than her Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She correctly guesses everybody who will be in Thatcher’s cabinet. Elizabeth has her opinions and sticks with them. Queen Elizabeth II and the Commonwealth of nations all want to place economic sanctions on South Africa for Apartheid. Margaret Thatcher refuses to sign the sanction because it would damage the UK’s economy. Queen Elizabeth II goes to war with Thatcher to get her to sign a document condemning South Africa.

The two sent the condemnation back and forth, arguing over the perfect alternative to the word “sanction.” She is no longer the inexperienced young woman who won’t stand up for her beliefs. Queen Elizabeth II fights for her people like unemployed interior decorator Michael Fagan. Fagan breaks into her bedroom in Buckingham Palace. He begs Elizabeth to speak to Margaret Thatcher about how her economic policies cause millions of Brits to lose work without any safety net. The Queen speaks to Michael with compassion and even wishes him good luck when he is arrested. Elizabeth even mentions his plight to Thatcher, but that is all she can legally do.

The Crown Season Four marks the end of the British Empire, the beginning of the unraveling of Prince Charles’ reputation, and the events that lead to Diana’s death.

#fanbolt #tv review #tv show #the crown #netflix #the crown netflix #queen elizabeth ll #olivia coleman #princess diana of wales #emma corrin #gillian anderson #margaret thatcher #british #the united kingdom #prince charles #lady diana spencer #review #blogger #feminist

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crazyscotsmanthe1st · 3 years

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The Crown

You know me, I’m not a monarchist or a Royal-watcher. I view the Royals with a healthy dose of cynical apathy. I’m not necessarily in favour of getting rid of them, but I’m not necessarily completely against it. I’d have to be persuaded of the alternative - who would be our head of state, how would it be decided, how would our constitution be arranged going forward? Only when these questions are satisfactorily answered would I consider voting in favour of a Republican agenda. But I wouldn’t rule it out.

So I’m perhaps not someone you’d expect to be glued to Netflix’s glossy high-profile drama series, The Crown. But there I was, enthusing about the trailers for season 4, keeping an eye on the release date, and binge-watching it over a couple of evenings. For all the world like one of the muppets you see in the crowd at any Royal appearance, minus the union flag and the shrieking sycophancy.

When I first became vaguely aware of the series shortly after the release of season 1, I wasn’t much interested. I assumed it would be an exercise in jingoistic hero-worship, porn for Pimm’s drinkers. I turned my cynical, lefty nationalist nose up at it. Not for me, yer maj.

But then I saw a clip on YouTube with Winston Churchill, played by John Lithgow, making a scene at the wedding of the then-Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, i.e. the future Queen and Prince Philip. It piqued my interest sufficiently to watch a few more clips, then eventually to commit to actually watching the series.

The fact that an actor of Lithgow’s status had been lured, and was featuring so prominently, was a good sign. The role of the Queen’s first Prime Minister was not going to be a bit-part or a cameo. A lot of focus was clearly going to be on constitutional politics, and the social context in which the Queen’s early reign took place.

This was indeed the case, as we saw a young monarch, played superbly by Claire Foy, navigating her first steps with the help of a wily and experienced, but elderly and often truculent Churchill in his second period in office. She is beginning her reign just as he is approaching the end of his, and we see the dynamic change between them as she goes from relying on the wisdom of a grandfatherly mentor, to putting up with a silly old duffer who can’t accept his time is up. The story of season 1, aside from all the personal stuff between Elizabeth and Philip, is that transfer of energy as Elizabeth grows and Churchill recedes.

There’s also a lot of effort put into establishing background. Clothes, vehicles, aircraft, music, news articles... It’s all very 50s. For people who remember the decade, it’s probably very nostalgic. For the rest of us, it’s educational on the fringes. It gives us a good feel for the times.

Seasons 2 and 3 are also very strong in these departments, taking us through the political turmoils and social changes of the 60s and into the 70s. The cast change between seasons 2 and 3, when Olivia Colman replaces Claire Foy as the Queen, and a host of other older actors step in, is done as smoothly as was probably possible. You soon get used to the new faces, and any bumps in continuity are barely noticeable.

Special mention should go to the episode handling the Aberfan disaster in season 3. It’s powerful, moving television and I’d encourage anyone to watch it, regardless of whether they’ve seen the rest of the series. It stands alone as a poignant comment on the tragedy. The actor Jason Watkins gives a brilliant performance as Harold Wilson throughout season 3, and in the Aberfan episode in particular. Wilson’s exit in the last episode of the season, when he resigns because of deteriorating mental health, is another touching human moment.

You’ll notice I’m focussing more on the social-political events rather than the lives of the Royals, and of course that reflects my own interest. The personal and family dramas of the Royals play out alongside the bigger events, and indeed sometimes take up full episodes. But the makers of The Crown are very clever at including something for everyone. Royal worshippers and history/political geeks alike will be satisfied, and willing to put up with the “filler” to get to the good stuff.

Season 4 was built up to be the biggest yet, and the publicity was turned up to the max. We were given tantalising glimpses of Gillian Anderson as the devil Thatcher, and a young Diana played by Emma Corrin. For people of my generation, the show is finally dealing with events that took place during my lifetime, albeit that I was too young to care at the time.

Having watched season 4, I can report that it did not disappoint. Gillian Anderson was... spooky. She nailed the devil Thatcher’s rigidness, toughness and inability to compromise. The callous insistance that her policies were for the greater good, even in the face of immense opposition and human suffering, her social awkwardness at Balmoral, her bitterness and disbelief when her cabinet finally ousted her - all beautifully portrayed.

But even Anderson was eclipsed by the true star of this season. Even though I was more interested in the political stuff and usually don’t care much for the personal drama, Emma Corrin’s vulnerable, endearing and captivating performance as Diana completely stole the show. Even cynical old me was utterly swept up in the Shakespearian drama of a naive young lady who thinks she’s marrying a handsome prince from a fairytale, only to find very quickly that she’s become a prisoner in a loveless marriage, and is doomed to forever play second fiddle to her husband’s mistress. The joy turning to ashes. The fragile hope of youth giving way to bitter frustration and disappointment. Emma Corrin plays an absolute blinder.

There’s been a lot of discussion about “accuracy” in the press, to which the actors and production team have rightly responded that the show is a work of fiction, albeit heavily inspired by real events. Since a lot of the “accuracy” they’re discussing is to do with details of the Royals’ personal lives, most of it is hearsay anyway. And I don’t care.

I see the show not so much as a drama about the Royals, but more a social commentary on the last half century - told through the eyes of one posh family.

So if you haven’t watched any of it yet, I recommend you get stuck in. One won’t regret it.

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quinnyandco · 6 years

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Poldark Ask Meme! #'s 1, 5, 8, 16, and 69! ^_^

1. How did you discover Poldark?

I first heard about it when S1 of the 2015 series was about to be released. My grandma had actually watched the original series back in 1975 and hadn’t really liked it, but we decided that we’d try this new one anyway. I was totally blown away within the first couple of episodes–it was so unlike any period drama I’d seen before. I watched the series twice and then started reading the books, which fully cemented my love for Poldark.

5. Least favourite character? Why?

The obvious answer is, of course, Reverend Osborne Whitworth. He is hands-down the worst character Winston Graham has ever created, and judging from the countless chapters illustrating Ossie’s minutest thoughts, I believe Graham took pleasure in writing someone so awful for a change. But other than Ossie, I don’t like Emma Tregirls that much. She is so clearly a Margaret knock-off–Winston Graham describes her almost exactly as he did Margaret, complete with the copper dye in her hair. I adored Margaret but Emma feels rushed and awkward, a caricature of a “wild girl” with little original personality. Granted, I’m only on book 7, so she could still even out, but I think if Graham had wanted to write that kind of character he should have just brought Margaret back out to play and avoided turning Sam into another whiner Carne brother obsessed with a woman he can’t have.

8. Favourite book - and why?

Hands down, Ross Poldark. The beginning of Ross and Demelza’s story is beyond enchanting and so beautifully written that I could read it a hundred times and never get tired of it. It has everything I want out of a story: history, a wild and isolating setting, intensely well-drawn characters, and deep, sometimes wrong, always fascinating relationships. …Now I want to go read it again. And Demelza, too, because I honestly don’t think you can have book one without book two.

16. Worst casting choice.

Keren Daniels, by far. While watching S1, I kind of hated her and the entire Mark/Keren/Dwight love triangle. It felt like it came directly out of left field and threw off an otherwise flawless narrative. Then I read Demelza, and suddenly everything made so much more sense. The love triangle is still a little random, but I actually liked book!Keren, selfish as she could be. She was exhausted with the hard life of being an actress and wanted to marry a man who would provide her with the stable home she’d never had. But Mark wasn’t at all what she expected, and even though she tried to make it work, Dwight happened and she foolishly followed her desires instead of her head. Was she wrong to commit adultery? Of course. But the fact is that she and Mark were ill-matched, which caused a whole slew of problems from the very beginning. She needed someone closer to Dwight’s caliber, which she instinctively knew. I see her as somewhat parallel to Demelza, actually–Demelza had brains above her station and married into the gentry as a result. Keren could have done the same thing if given the opportunity. She was not “good” like Demelza but she was headstrong and tough in a way that I found interesting and, more often than not, endearing.

All this to say that NONE of these traits came out in show!Keren. Clearly they wanted to put all the focus on Dwight (whereas in the book, Keren’s POV is the most important one) because he becomes a major character. As such, they wrote (and then cast) Keren as a kind of generic “slut” and didn’t bother to give her any real motive or personality. I’d say it was the laziest thing about S1. Yes, I know there was limited time and she was a side character but simply casting her as a more charismatic woman would have done wonders for evening out the entire subplot.

69. If you were to mix Poldark with another fictional world/universe, what would it be?

You know what? Any of them. I have seen so many fantastic AU ideas for Poldark and they all work. It just goes to show how enduring these characters are that they can be molded into any world and still have so much impact.

That being said, I would love a Star Trek AU. Captain Ross Poldark of the Starship Nampara. Demelza as the lowly cadet who caught his eye. Dwight as chief medical officer, of course. I still have to find roles for Caroline, Elizabeth, George, Francis, etc. (If anyone wants to brainstorm with me, shoot me a message!)

THANK YOU!! This was so much fun!!

Send me a Poldark ask HERE!

#poldarked-fangirl #asks #poldark

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wazafam · 3 years

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Schmidt is one of the most entertaining characters on New Girl. He is an arrogant and self-centered man who seems to only care about his own brand at first but eventually proves himself to be a carrying and considerate friend.

RELATED: New Girl: 10 Saddest Things About Jess

While Schmidt can get a little out of hand with his comments and can be unlikeable at times, there are other moments when it is hard not to feel sorry for him. It may be easy to laugh at him at times, but there are also some very sad things about Schmidt, from his past to his relationships, that make him more sympathetic than you might think.

10 Friend Anniversary With Nick

Although he has many significant romances throughout the series, perhaps Schmidt's most important relationship is with Nick, his best friend. The two may fight often and don't seem to have too much in common, but Schmidt really does love Nick.

Schmidt even celebrates his and Nick's friendship anniversary and plans a grand party for their ten-year festivities. Despite all the hard work and love Schmidt puts into it, Nick just doesn't care as much.

9 Hangups About His Weight

In various flashbacks to his youth, we see that Schmidt used to have a problem with his weight. While he seemed happy, he eventually grew self-conscious about how people saw him and started working out to lose weight.

RELATED: New Girl: 10 Saddest Things About Winston

It is great that he was able to get healthy and achieve such a difficult goal, however, he still carries a lot of emotional baggage from that time. Schmidt is often overly tough on himself for how he used to look and it is clear the ridicule he received still stings.

8 Losing Elizabeth

Though he has had a lot of unhealthy relationships over the course of the series, Schmidt's romance with Elizabeth was certainly one of the most fulfilling. The two met and began dating when they were in college and Elizabeth was genuinely loving of Schmidt even when he was ashamed of himself.

However, when Schmidt starts to lose weight, his whole personality changes and these two people who seemed perfect together drifted apart.

7 Breaking Up With Cece

As soon as Schmidt meets Cece, he falls head-over-heels for her. Of course, he is first just physically attracted to her but eventually, they form a connection and begin a very charming romance.

Despite getting the girl of his dreams, he begins to feel that he is inadequate and that she deserves someone better. In order to allow her to find her full potential, Schmidt breaks up with Cece, something that he quickly regrets as he is in love with her.

6 Cece Gets Engaged

Though he was the one who ended the relationship, Schmidt never really gets over Cece and is devastated when she starts seeing someone else and seems very happy. But when she gets engaged, that is the real dagger in his heart.

RELATED: New Girl: 10 Saddest Things About Cece

To make matter worse, this all happens at Schmidt and Nick's anniversary party which totally steals the thunder of the special day Schmidt had planned.

5 Losing Elizabeth And Cece

There is no doubt that Schmidt has made some major mistakes at different times and sometimes his misfortunes are his own fault. But that doesn't mean one can't still feel sorry for him.

After struggling with the news that Cece is getting married, Schmidt reconnected with Elizabeth only for Cece to call off her marriage because she still loves Schmidt. Unable to choose between them, Schmidt starts dating both girls until they find out and break up with him. A selfish act but it's still hard to watch.

4 Sexual Contract

Even though it is obviously a bad idea, Schmidt ignores his instincts and embarks on a relationship with his boss. However, the relationship is purely meant to be a sexual one which Schmidt seems alright with until there is a scary additional aspect thrown in.

His boss Emma makes him sign a sexual contract that absolves her of any injuries, emotional or physical, that might occur due to their relationship. This puts Schmidt in a worrisome and potentially dangerous situation.

3 Relationship With His Father

Part of the reason for some of Schmidt's more unlikeable qualities could have something to do with his father. Though he has a loving yet stern mother, his father left the family when Schmidt was very young and it left an emotional scar on him.

RELATED: New Girl: 10 Saddest Things About Coach

Schmidt's dad later comes back into his life, but it is clear after years of not knowing this man that he is very hesitant to start a new relationship with him.

2 Harassment At Work

Schmidt's career is very important to him as he sees it as a way to seem more important. However misguided as that may be, he works hard to get recognition in his job so it is very sad to see that he is subjected to so much harassment at the office.

Schmidt works in an office that is mostly females, so he is the butt of all their sexual jokes which he clearly doesn't find funny. He is even forced to dress up like a sexy Santa Claus for the office Christmas party which is inappropriate as well as embarrassing for Schmidt.

1 Being Used By Fawn

Schmidt seems to be attracted to powerful women which may be what draws him to start dating Fawn Moscato. Fawn is a city councilwoman who has big political aspirations. While Schmidt is initially excited to be with someone so important, he soon finds he is being used.

Fawn attempts to remake Schmidt in an image that would be beneficial for her politically. When she has an embarrassing public moment, she forces Schmidt to take the blame. His affection for Fawn blinds him to the fact that she has made him a pawn.

NEXT: New Girl: 10 Of Schmidt’s Best Quotes

New Girl: 10 Saddest Things About Schmidt | ScreenRant from https://ift.tt/3suK37C

#Blogger

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elenawickman-blog · 7 years

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Current Projects Tag!

Thanks so much @lmartinezwrites for tagging me! (By the way, I so want to read your counterfeit painter story. That sounds amazing! Same with the pirate one. Ahhh so good!)

Not sure who to tag, though. I’m pretty sure this tag has been done by everyone . . . so, if you follow my blog and you haven’t done this tag yet, consider yourself tagged!

The Color of War (YA Fantasy novel)

Word Count: 21,037 Status: Work in progress. This is my second draft of the book, which is actually a total rewrite. I finished the first draft earlier this summer. It’s coming along really well! Blurb: The war between Amnalpasia and Boiridos has driven thousands out of their homes and onto the streets. For Lolly and little Giselle, it drove them out of their country. Trapped in poverty, hiding like street rats from the soldiers that parade the streets daily, Lolly tries to find a way to keep herself and her sister alive. When soldiers barge into homes and take children to enlist in the war, desperation rises. But it’s hard to keep hidden when Lolly’s hair changes color with her mood and attracts unwanted attention. When a close friend shows up in army green, and her best friend is kidnapped by the soldiers, Lolly has to make a truly fatal decision. (ohmgosh ha ha why am I so bad at blurbs? Like . . . I promise the book is good. xD)

Unnamed Short Story (Contemporary/Literary short story)

Word Count: 2,418 Status: In progress! But I’m really, really loving how this is turning out. I love the characters, I love the prose, I love the idea of the story. It’s just felt so freeing to write this, and I’m so excited to have it done. I’ll share some snippets along the way. :) Blurb: Isla and Ingrid were two people thought of as one. They did everything together--typical sisters. It seemed to many that nothing would break them apart. But during the summer of 2008, Isla left early for college. Ingrid stayed home instead of seeing her off. They cut communication with each other entirely for three years. But the winter of 2011, their mother’s death forces them to meet again, to rehash old wounds. To bring up what split them apart in the first place. (hahahaha I cry at my blurbs whyyyyyy)

Unnamed Short Story (Contemporary/Literary short story) (clearly I am the best at naming short stories these titles are lit)

Word Count: 0 Status: I haven’t started yet, but I have the plan for where this is going. I’ll probably start this after I finish the other unnamed short story. Blurb: Not enough is concrete yet for a blurb. But basically, in lazy and not enticing words: It’s about a girl named Meara who has crippling social and general anxiety. It’s forced her to homeschool, kept her indoors most of the time, and disallowed her from making friends. At the suggestion from her therapist and desperate agreement from her parents, her family moves to the coast--the only thing Meara isn’t anxious around. I’m still working out the kinks past here, but hopefully it’ll work out. I like where it’s going so far in my brain.

Unnamed Novel (NA Contemporary/Literary novel) (can you tell which genre I love?)

Word Count: 0 Status: Still in the planning phase! I don’t want to even outline this one until I’m completely, 100% done with The Color of War. Because I know if I do, I’ll get too excited about it and want to write it right now. This project is one I’m dying to start, and I cannot fuel that desire until I finish what I’m on currently! Blurb: Sage Macari killed his brother in a car accident that left him with a Traumatic Brain Injury. Emma Leonard discovers her birth mom married her birth dad and has three kids with him--but gave her away. Sawyer no-last-name-yet lives with depression and a malignant EDNOS. Winston (Wynn) no-last-name-yet is a part-time wheelchair user due to chronic fatigue, and, though he seems chipper, is haunted by being cut off from his family months ago. These four college students, struggling in different ways, find each other and, through that, find themselves.

So again! If you haven’t done this tag yet, I tag you! Go do it!

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ufcw · 4 years

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Celebrating International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the social, cultural and political achievements of women today and throughout history. The UFCW is proud of the contributions of all the hardworking women who make sure our communities have access to the quality foods, health services, and more that we all depend on.

Women have played a major role in the history of workers rights, from fighting for equality for farm workers to demanding dignity for textile workers. Below are just a few outstanding women leaders from labor history.

*the following is adapted from the Zinn Education Project*

1. Louise Boyle

Photographer Louise Boyle is best known for the images she captured, documenting the devastating effects of the Great Depression on American workers. In 1937, at the height of a wave of labor militancy, Ms. Boyle was invited to photograph the living and working conditions of the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union members from several Arkansas communities. Her provocative recording depicted courageous people linking their futures together despite devastating poverty, physical hardship, and brutal police-endorsed reprisals. Most portray African American farmers in their homes, at union meetings and rallies, or at work with their families picking cotton. Boyle returned in 1982 to rephotograph some of the people and places she had documented earlier.

2. Hattie Canty

A Las Vegas transplant in rural Alabama, legendary African American unionist Hattie Canty was one of the greatest strike leaders in U.S. history. Her patient leadership helped knit together a labor union made up of members from 84 nations. During her time as an activist, she saw first hand how the labor and civil rights movements were intrinsically linked: “Coming from Alabama, this seemed like the civil rights struggle…the labor movement and the civil rights movement, you cannot separate the two of them.”

3. May Chen

In 1982, May Chen helped organize and lead the New York Chinatown strike of 1982, one of the largest Asian American worker strikes with about 20,000 garment factory workers marching the streets of Lower Manhattan demanding work contracts. “The Chinatown community then had more and more small garment factories,” she recalled. “And the Chinese employers thought they could play on ethnic loyalties to get the workers to turn away from the union. They were very, very badly mistaken.” Most of the protests included demands for higher wages, improved working conditions and for management to observe the Confucian principles of fairness and respect. By many accounts, the workers won. The strike caused the employers to hold back on wage cuts and withdraw their demand that workers give up their holidays and some benefits. It paved the way for better working conditions such as hiring bilingual staff to interpret for workers and management, initiation of English-language classes and van services for workers.

4. Jessie de la Cruz

A field worker since the age of five, Jessie knew poverty, harsh working conditions, and the exploitation of Mexicans and all poor people. Her response was to take a stand. She joined the United Farm Workers union in 1965 and, at Cesar Chavez’s request, became its first woman recruiter. She also participated in strikes, helped ban the crippling short-handle hoe, became a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, testified before the Senate, and met with the Pope. She continued to be a political activist until her death in 2013, at the age of 93.

5. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn once said, “I will devote my life to the wage earner. My sole aim in life is to do all in my power to right the wrongs and lighten the burdens of the laboring class.” In 1907, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn became a full-time organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World and in 1912 traveled to Lawrence, MA during the Great Textile Strike. She became “the strike’s leading lady.”

6. Emma Goldman

In 1886, year after her arrival from Lithuania, Emma Goldman was shocked by the trial, conviction, and execution of labor activists falsely accused of a bombing in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, which she later described as “the events that had inspired my spiritual birth and growth.” A born propagandist and organizer, Emma Goldman championed women’s equality, free love, workers’ rights, free universal education regardless of race or gender, and anarchism. For more than thirty years, she defined the limits of dissent and free speech in Progressive Era America. Goldman died on May 14, 1940, and buried in Forest Park, Illinois amongst the labor activists that first sparked her life’s work as an activist. Throughout her career, she fought against the corporate powers that tried to dehumanize the people that worked for them: “Still more fatal is the crime of turning the producer into a mere particle of a machine, with less will and decision than his master of steel and iron. Man is being robbed not merely of the products of his labor, but of the power of free initiative, of originality, and the interest in, or desire for, the things he is making.”

7. Velma Hopkins

Velma Hopkins helped mobilize 10,000 workers into the streets of Winston-Salem, NC, as part of an attempt to bring unions to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The union, Local 22 of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers of America-CIO, was integrated and led primarily by African American women. They pushed the boundaries of economic, racial and gender equality. In the 1940s, they organized a labor campaign and a strike for better working conditions, pay, and equal rights under the law. It was the only time in the history of Reynolds Tobacco that it had a union. Before Local 22 faced set-backs from red-baiting and the power of Reynolds’ anti-unionism, it gained national attention for its vision of an equal society. This vision garnered the scrutiny of powerful enemies such as Richard Nixon and captured the attention of allies such as actor Paul Robeson and songwriter Woody Guthrie. While it represented the workers, the union influenced a generation of civil rights activists.

8. Dolores Huerta

Before becoming a labor organizer, Dolores Huerta was a grammar school teacher, but soon quit after becoming distraught at the sight of children coming to school hungry or without proper clothing. “I couldn’t stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.” In 1955, Huerta launched her career in labor organizing by helping Fred Ross train organizers in Stockton, California, and five years later, founded the Agricultural Workers Association before organizing the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez in 1962. Some of her early victories included lobbying for voting rights for Mexican Americans as well as for the right of every American to take the written driver’s test in their native language. A champion of labor rights, women’s rights, racial equality and other civil rights causes, Huerta remains an unrelenting figure in the farm workers’ movement.

9. Mother Jones

Marry Harris “Mother” Jones made it her mission to stand up for the rights of the children who worked in factories and mills under horrible conditions in the early 1900’s. “I asked the newspaper men why they didn’t publish the facts about child labor in Pennsylvania. They said they couldn’t because the mill owners had stock in the papers.” “Well, I’ve got stock in these little children,” said I,” and I’ll arrange a little publicity.” On July 7, 1903, Jones began the “March of the Mill Children” from Philadelphia to President Theodore Roosevelt’s Long Island summer home in Oyster Bay, NY, to publicize the harsh conditions of child labor and to demand a 55-hour work-week. During this march she delivered her famed “The Wail of the Children” speech, even though Roosevelt refused to see them.

10. Mary Lease

“Wall Street owns the country. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, but a government of Wall Street, by Wall Street, and for Wall Street.” These words, which eerily echo some sentiments today, were spoken more than 120 years ago by Mary Lease, a powerful voice of the agrarian crusade and the best-known orator of the era, first gaining national attention battling Wall Street during the 1890 Populist campaign. As a spokesperson for the “people’s party,” she hoped that by appealing directly to the heart and soul of the nation’s farmers, she could motivate them to political action to protect their own interests not only in Kansas but throughout the United States. “You may call me an anarchist, a socialist, or a communist, I care not, but I hold to the theory that if one man as not enough to eat three times a day and another man has $25,000,000, that last man has something that belongs to the first.” Mary spent most of her life speaking out in favor of social justice causes including women’s suffrage and temperance, and her work reflected the multifaceted nature of late nineteenth-century politics in the United States. Many female leaders today, such as Elizabeth Warren, still fight against Wall Street and the 1% as inequality has reached exorbitant levels.

11. Clara Lemlich

“I have listened to all the speakers, and I have no further patience for talk. I am a working girl, one of those striking against intolerable conditions. I am tired of listening to speakers who talk in generalities. What we are here for is to decide whether or not to strike. I make a motion that we go out in a general strike.” These were the words of Clara Lemlich, a firebrand who led several strikes of shirtwaist makers and challenged the mostly male leadership of the union to organize women garment workers. With support from the National Women’s Trade Union League (NWTUL) in 1909 she lead the New York shirtwaist strike, also known as the “Uprising of the 20,000”. It was the largest strike of women at that point in U.S. history. The strike was followed a year later by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire that exposed the continued plight of immigrant women working in dangerous and difficult conditions.

12. Luisa Moreno

Luisa Moreno, a Guatemalan immigrant, first got involved in labor activism in 1930 at in Zelgreen’s Cafeteria in New York City, when she and her co-worker protested the employer’s exploitation of its workers with long hours, constant sexual harassment, and the threat, should anyone object, of dismissal. Hearing that workers would picket the cafeteria, police formed a line on the sidewalk that allowed customers to pass through. Luisa, in a fur collar coat, strolled through the cordon of policemen as if she was going to enter the cafeteria. When she was directly in front of the door she pulled a picket sign from under her coat and thrust it in plain view, yelling, “Strike!” Two burly policemen grabbed her by the elbows. They lifted her off the sidewalk and hustled her into the entrance way of a nearby building. She came out with her face bleeding and considered herself fortunate that she was not disfigured. Moreno spent the next 20 years organizing workers across the country. Her story serves as a reminder of just how dangerous the conditions were in those days to simply make one’s voice heard, but her bravery helped change those conditions for the better.

13. Agnes Nestor

“Any new method which the company sought to put into effect and disturb our work routine seemed to inflame the deep indignation already burning inside us. Thus, when a procedure was suggested for subdividing our work, so that each operator would do a smaller part of each glove, and thus perhaps increase the overall production—but also increase the monotony of the work, and perhaps also decrease our rate of pay—we began to think of fighting back.” This reminiscence by Nestor described how the oppressive conditions of the glove factory pushed her to take a leading role in a successful strike of female glove workers in 1898. Soon she became president of her glove workers local and later a leader of the International Glove Workers Union. She also took a leading role in the Women’s Trade Union League, serving as president of the Chicago branch from 1913 to 1948.

14. Pauline Newman

Pauline Newman, a Russian immigrant, began working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1903 when she was thirteen years old. Finding that many of her co-workers could not read, she organized an evening study group where they also discussed labor issues and politics. Newman was active in the shirtwaist strike and the Women’s Trade Union League. She became a union organizer for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) and director of the ILGWU Health Center. “All we knew was the bitter fact that after working 70 or 80 hours in a seven-day week, we did not earn enough to keep body and soul together,” she said.

15. Lucy Parsons

On May 1, 1886, Lucy Parsons helped launched the world’s first May Day and the demand for the eight-hour work day. Along with her husband, anarchist and activist Albert Parsons, and their two children, they led 80,000 working people down the Chicago streets and more than 100,000 also marched in other U.S. cities. A new international holiday was born. Parsons went on to help found the International Workers of the World, continued to give speeches, and worked tirelessly for equality throughout the rest of her life until her death in 1942.

16. Frances Perkins

On March 4, 1933, Frances Perkins became the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet. Having personally witnessed workers jump to their death during the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, Perkins promoted and helped passed strong labor laws to try to prevent such atrocities from ever occurring again.

17. Rose Pesotta

When Rose Pesotta arrived in Los Angeles in 1933 to organize employees in the garment industry, the workforce of which was 75% Latina, the local leadership of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), consisting of mostly white men, had no interest in organizing female dressmakers, feeling that most would either leave the industry to raise their families or shouldn’t be working in the first place. On October 12, 1933, a month after Rose Pesotta arrived, 4,000 workers walked off the job and went on strike. Their demands included union recognition, 35-hour work weeks, being paid the minimum wage, no take home work or time card regulation, and for disputes to be handled through arbitration. The strike ended on Nov. 6 with mixed results, but the workers gained a 35-hour workweek and received the minimum wage. Although not a complete victory, the message sent was a powerful one. What Rose Pesotta knew all along was now clear to the garment bosses and her male union counterparts; women, specifically women of color, should not be discounted. When it came to the demands of dignity and respect, these workers would not be ignored.

18. Ai-Jen Poo

When Poo started organizing domestic workers in 2000, many thought she was taking on an impossible task. Domestic workers were too dispersed–spread out over too many homes. Even Poo had described the world of domestic work as the “Wild West.” Poo’s first big breakthrough with the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) happened on July 1, 2010, when the New York state legislature passed the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. The bill legitimized domestic workers and gave them the same lawful rights as any other employee, such as vacation time and overtime pay. The bill was considered a major victory, and the NDWA expanded operations to include 17 cities and 11 states.

19. Florence Reece

Florence Reece was an activist, poet, and songwriter. She was the wife of one of the strikers and union organizers, Sam Reece, in the Harlan County miners strike in Kentucky. In an attempt to intimidate her family, the sheriff and company guards shot at their house while Reece and her children were inside (Sam had been warned they were coming and escaped). During the attack, she wrote the lyrics to Which Side Are You On?, a song that would become a popular ballad of the labor movement.

Song Lyrics

CHORUS: Which side are you on? (4x)

My daddy was a miner/And I’m a miner’s son/And I’ll stick with the union/‘Til every battle’s won [Chorus]

They say in Harlan County/There are no neutrals there/You’ll either be a union man/Or a thug for JH Blair [Chorus]

Oh workers can you stand it?/Oh tell me how you can/Will you be a lousy scab/Or will you be a man? [Chorus]

Don’t scab for the bosses/Don’t listen to their lies/Us poor folks haven’t got a chance/Unless we organize [Chorus]

20. Harriet Hanson Robinson

At the age of 10, Harriet Hanson Robinson got a job in textile Mills of Lowell, Massachusetts to help support her family. When mill owners dropped wages and sped up the pace of work, Harriet and others participated in the 1836 Lowell Mill Strike. Later as an adult, Harriet became an activist for women’s suffrage and would recount her mill work experience in Loom and Spindle or Life Among the Early Mill Girls. In her book, Harriet concludes: “Such is the brief story of the life of every-day working-girls; such as it was then, so it might be to-day. Undoubtedly there might have been another side to this picture, but I give the side I knew best–the bright side!”

21. Fannie Sellins

Fannie Sellins was known as an exceptional organizer that also made her “a thorn in the side of the Allegheny Valley coal operators.” The operators openly threatened to “get her.” After being an organizer in St. Louis for the United Garment Workers local and in the West Virginia coal fields, in 1916 Sellins moved to Pennsylvania, where her work with the miners’ wives proved to be an effective way to organize workers across ethnic barriers. She also recruited black workers, who originally came north as strikebreakers, into the United Mine Workers America. During a tense confrontation between townspeople and armed company guards outside the Allegheny Coal and Coke company mine in Brackenridge on August 26, 1919, Fannie Sellins and miner Joseph Strzelecki were brutally gunned down. A coroner’s jury and a trial in 1923 ended in the acquittal of two men accused of her murder. She is remembered for her perseverance and bravery.

22. Vicky Starr

“When I look back now, I really think we had a lot of guts. But I didn’t even stop to think about it at the time. It was just something that had to be done. We had a goal. That’s what we felt had to be done, and we did it,” said “Stella Nowicki”, the assumed name of Vicki Starr, an activist who participated in the campaign to organize unions in the meatpacking factories of Chicago in the 1930’s and ‘40s.

23. Emma Tenayuca

“I was arrested a number of times. I never thought in terms of fear. I thought in terms of justice,” said Emma Tenayuca, born in San Antonio, Texas on Dec. 21, 1916. Later, she would become to be known as “La Pasionaria de Texas” through her work as an educator, speaker, and labor organizer. From 1934–1948, she supported almost every strike in the city, writing leaflets, visiting homes of strikers, and joining them on picket lines. She joined the Communist Party and the Workers Alliance (WA) in 1936. Tenayuca and WA demanded that Mexican workers could strike without fear of deportation or a minimum wage law. In 1938 she was unanimously elected strike leader of 12,000 pecan shellers. Due to anti-Mexican, anti-Communist, and anti-union hysteria Tenayuca fled San Antonio for her safety but later returned as a teacher.

24. Carmelita Torres

On Jan. 28, 1917, 17-year-old Carmelita Torres led the Bath Riots at the Juarez/El Paso border, refusing the toxic “bath” imposed on all workers crossing the border. Here is what the El Paso Times reported the next day: “When refused permission to enter El Paso without complying with the regulations the women collected in an angry crowd at the center of the bridge. By 8 o’clock the throng, consisting in large part of servant girls employed in El Paso, had grown until it packed the bridge half way across. “Led by Carmelita Torres, an auburn-haired young woman of 17, they kept up a continuous volley of language aimed at the immigration and health officers, civilians, sentries and any other visible American.”

25. Ella Mae Wiggins

Ella Mae Wiggins was an organizer, speaker, and balladeer, known for expressed her faith in the union, the only organized force she had encountered that promised her a better life. On Sept. 14, 1929, during the Loray Mill strike in Gastonia, NC, Textile Workers Union members were ambushed by local vigilantes and a sheriff’s deputy. The vigilantes and deputy forced Ella Mae Wiggins’ pickup truck off the road, and murdered the 29 year-old mother of nine. Though there were 50 witnesses during the assault and five of the attackers were arrested, all were acquitted of her murder. After her death, the AFL-CIO expanded Wiggins’ grave marker in 1979, to include the phrase, “She died carrying the torch of social justice.” Also a song-writer, her best-known song, A Mill Mother’s Lament, was recorded by Pete Seeger, among others.

26. Sue Cowan Williams

Sue Cowan Williams represented African-American teachers in the Little Rock School District as the plaintiff in the case challenging the rate of salaries allotted to teachers in the district based solely on skin color. The suit, Morris v. Williams, was filed on Feb. 28, 1942, and followed a March 1941 petition filed with the Little Rock School Board requesting equalization of salaries between black and white teachers. She lost the case, but then won in a 1943 appeal.

from Celebrating International Women’s Day

#Celebrating International Women’s Day

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randomrichards · 5 years

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MOVIES (THAT MIGHT BE) WORTH CHECKING OUT IN JUNE 2019:

June 7:

DARK PHOENIX

We begin with the last part of the X-Men prequel series.

Led by a young Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a small group of young mutants have grown from students to superheroes. They can even travel to space to rescue astronauts. But one interstellar mission goes wrong when telekinetic psychic Jean Grey (Sophia Turner) absorbs a mysterious energy. She not only survives, but she’s become more powerful. But this power begins to corrupt her mind, which attracts the attention of a mysterious woman (Jessica Chastain). Soon she becomes the destructive force known as the Dark Phoenix. Now her friends and mentors must decide how to stop her. Charles and Jean’s boyfriend Scott “Cyclops” Summers (Tye Sheridan) try to save her from the corrupt energy. Metal-bending holocaust survivor Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) believes the world can only be saved by killing Jean. We also see the return of fan favourites including Peter “Quicksilver” Maximoff (Evan Peters), Raven aka Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Hank “Beast” McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) and Ororo “Storm” Munroe (Alexandra Shipp).

Dark Phoenix saga is considered one of the most beloved X-Men stories of all time. It was the story that made Jean both a complex character and one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Fox Studios tried their hand at the story in X-Men: The Last Stand. The results were less than stellar. If they fail the second time, there will be hell to pay from the fans.

That’s where Simon Kinberg comes in. This will be his directorial debut after writing previous X-Men movies. This is a mixed bag. On one hand, he wrote one of the best X-Men films; Days of Future Past. But he also wrote the Last Stand as well as the underwhelming X-Men: Apocalypse. It also doesn’t help that he wrote Fan4Stic and This is War. So, we’re just going to have to wait and see if it will live up to the legendary story.

LATE NIGHT

Mindy Kaling draws inspiration from her early years as a TV writer for Saturday Night Live and The Office for this career-driven comedy.

It looks like Molly Patel (Kaling) is on her way to becoming a tv writer when she gets her first writing gig as staff writer for “Tonight with Katherine Newberry.” But she already feels out of place as the token hire in a room full of white male Harvard grads. It doesn’t help that the host(Emma Thompson) is a real hard ass. Unfortunately, Katherine has her own problems. She’s plummeting in the ratings and if she doesn’t turn it around, she will be gone in a year. In desperation, Katherine seeks advice from her writers to spruce up her image. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Many will notice parallels between Late Night and the Devil Wears Prada. Like the later, Late Night centres on a naïve young woman dealing with an over demanding boss in their attempt to achieve her dream job. As you may already know, The Devil Wears Prada was a surprise hit thanks to Streep’s unique portrayal of feared fashion magazine mogul Miranda Priestly and there were a few attempts to replicate it. The result is hit and miss at best.

For this to succeed, both the writing and the performances must click. The script needs to have a clear understanding of the business it’s portraying. With this in mind, Kaling has an advantage with her experience as both a tv writer of The Office and the creator of The Mindy Project. But writing for a weekly sitcom is a little different from writing for a daily late-night show.

The most important character to get right is the boss. The writing must make this character entertaining, with many hilarious lines for the actor to deliver. Plus, the audience must buy that this character has earned respect in the business. As for the actor, she not only have to deliver a hilarious performance, but must also bring some humanity into this archetype. Not only did Streep provide a unique spin to the Boss from Hell with Priestly, but she also made the character human. If anyone can provide the same quality, it’s Thompson.

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2

Illumination takes us back to their surprise hit about what pets do when the humans aren’t allowed.

While the first film centres on one storyline, this one seems to be divided the film into multiple stories. The first plot centres on canine protagonist Max (Patton Oswalt replacing Louis C.K.). He has gotten used to new dog Duke (Eric Stonestreet), but now he faces the idea of his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) getting married and having a kid. But on the plus side, they get to go on a road trip to the countryside. But that goes downhill when Max gets terrorized by a turkey. In desperation, he seeks guidance from stern top dog Rooster (Harrison Ford) to overcome his fears.

Meanwhile, Max’s friends are having their own adventures. Max’s toy is left in a cat lady’s room and Max’s love Gidget (Jenny Slate) disguises herself as a cat to get it back. At the same time, deranged bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart) has gone from freeing pets to playing superhero for a little girl. But he seizes the opportunity to be a real superhero when a dog named Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) calls on him to rescue a white tiger named Hu from a circus.

When Illumination introduced the world to Gru and his Minions with Despicable Me, it felt like the animation world has a new voice. With a collection of memorable characters, fast-paced visual gags and a unique, hipster-esque look, the film seemed like a breath of fresh air, especially compared to the similar film Megamind. Since then, the film has presented one hit film after another, especially the Secret Life of Pets. Then audience members began losing patience for Illumination for two reasons. First reason was the Minions. At first, they became fan favorites of Despicable Me.[1] But then they were everywhere, from carnival prizes to memes. Overexposure set in and no one could stand them anymore.

Another problem was that Illumination played it too safe with their movies. They play it too safe with their budget, creating each film with a much lower budget than most animated movies. While it’s miracle for an animated film to be made on a low budget, the result is less impressive animation and more rehashed character designs. Just as unimpressive is the storytelling, which most often uses tired tropes with little refreshing spin on it. The Secret Life of Pets itself was accused of being a Toy Story rip off. Apart from the Despicable Me movies, Illumination Movies are considered mediocre at best.

It’s important for filmmakers to grow as artists to avoid becoming stale and complacent. But I’m not holding my breath in this case. I will say this film may serve as a good afternoon out for the family.

June 12:

ROLLING THUNDER REVIEW: A BOB DYLAN STORY

Coming to Netflix is this rockumentary from Martin Scorsese. Need I say more?

Scorsese had already made a documentary about Bob Dylan with No Direction Home. Now he narrows his focus to Dylan’s 1975 Rolling Thunder tour.

As if I need to defend interest in this movie. It’s Martin Scorsese after all.

June 14:

AMERICAN WOMAN

Sienna Miller plays Deb, a blue-collar woman struggling to make ends meet in a small Pennsylvanian town. She faces her worst nightmare when her teenage daughter goes missing, leaving Deb with her grandson. The film takes place over 11 years as Deb raises the baby and tries to find closure with her daughters’ disappearance.

American Woman’s already garnering acclaim from its premier at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, especially from Miller’s performance as a desperate mother. It looks like the film will hook us into the desperation of a woman trying to keep a roof over her head. We may also see a realistic look at the struggle of living in poverty. In these moments, we may also see the strength that allows people like Deb to survive in such environments.

Sadly, it looks like this one will be swept under the radar unless Miller gains awards consideration.

THE DEAD DON’T DIE

Jim Jarmusch takes an unexpected turn into Zombie comedy with The Dead Don’t Die.

The little town of Centreville finds its peaceful existence threatened when zombies rise from the grave. That’s the plot in a nutshell. What could make this film stand out is the quirky characters including Bill Murray as Police Chief Cliff Robertson, Tilda Swinton as katana-wielding mortician Zelda Winston and Iggy Pop as a coffee-loving Punk Zombie. Also, among the cast are Adam Driver, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Selena Gomez, Carol Kane, Rosie Perez, RZA, Chloe Sevigny and Tom Waits.

This is probably the least likely film for Jarmusch to make. He’s usually known for droll character studies. His films do have humor, but it’s usually low key. The trailers make this film seem like a broad comedy. I suspect this could be a trick by the trailer considering I see a few of Jarmusch’s trademarks; droll acting, eccentric characters and roles played by musicians.

I suspect that Jarmusch loved how George A. Romero inserted satirical commentary into the Zombie Genre because you can see similar elements in this film. Both films have zombies copying activities they’ve done in life. In this case, we see zombies holding cell phones and drinking coffee. It would be interesting to see what satire Jarmusch puts into the film.

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL

We return to the intergalactic secret agency, though without Agents J and K.

A young woman (Tessa Thompson) has found the MIB Agency after decades of searching. This impossible accomplishment impresses Agent O (Emma Thompson) so much that O recruits her under the name Agent M. Her first assignment takes her to London, where she’s teamed up with leader High T (Liam Neeson) and fellow Agent H (Chris Hemsworth). Their case brings him face to face with the Hive, a gang of shape-shifting aliens. Cue an array of giant laser guns, flying cars and noisy crickets.

A spin off to such a successful franchise is a huge gamble. The chances of success are very slim[2], especially when the original films starred one of the most charismatic actors of all time. Yes, Hemsworth, Neeson and the Thompsons have a lot of charm, but filling the shoes of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is a daunting task. The film seems to have potential with a variety of environments, creative weapons and creative alien designs. Plus, it looks like the little alien Pawny (Kumail Nanjiani) could be a potential scene stealer.

There is hope in the form of Director F. Gary Gray. He’s proven his skills as an action director with The Fate of the Furious as well as underrated gems like The Italian Job and Set it Off. He’s also proved he can direct comedy via Friday. With this resume, it seems fitting for him to direct a movie like this. It may not hold a candle to the original, but at least this film looks like it will be entertaining.

June 21:

ANNA

Luc Besson really loves himself some lady killers, doesn’t he?

This time the lady killer is Anna Poliatova (Sasha Luss), a former Russian model turned Government assassin. There’s not much known about the plot beyond her boss (Helen Mirren) sending her to a job in Paris. It’s certain to involve Luke Evan’s character. It also looks like the film will be structured around an interrogation between Anna and Cilian’ Murphy’s agent.

But let’s be honest, you don’t really watch a Luc Besson film for the plots. You watch it for the badass action scenes and eye-catching visuals. The trailer certainly delivers on these, with one standout fight scene in a dining room, cultivating in Anna killing bodyguards using broken plates..

The question is if the plot is engaging enough for us to sit through two hours? Or should we just wait for the dining room fight scene to appear on YouTube? Unfortunately, his films have been lacking in quality in recent years. This one could turn it around, but I suspect this is another example of a director letting his style run amok at the expense of storytelling.

CHILD’S PLAY

Chucky returns to the big screen after a couple straight to video sequels.

Many of you know the story like the back of your hand. Single mother Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza) buys her son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) a Chucky toy. Then one night, Andy’s babysitter’s found dead outside of her home. And as everyone knows by now, it turns out the Chucky Doll (now voiced by Mark Hamill) is possessed by a serial killer who’s determined to pass his soul into Andy.

Like many horror fans, I’m tired of all the remakes of horror classics. Everyone knows they are lazy cash grabs. They are especially unnecessary we are seeing a growing number of original horror movies.

I will admit I find the idea of Chucky connected to the technology ala Alexa interesting. To think of him manipulating the environment present opportunities for more original kills.

This film will mark the first time Chucky’s not voiced by Brad Dourif. I have high hopes for Hamill, but like Freddy Krueger, you can’t imagine anyone else playing these characters because the original actors made the characters their own. You only hear Chucky’s voice at the end of the latest trailer, and it sounds a lot like Dourif’s. But it’s not enough to judge Hamill’s performance. I’m still not holding my breath.

THE COMMAND (or KURSK)

On one Saturday morning of August 2000, an explosion sends the 2000 K-141 Kursk to the bottom of the sea. Now Mikhail Averin (Matthias Schoenaerts) and fellow German sailors fight for survival. Meanwhile, Mikhail’s wife Tanya (Lea Seydoux) fights to get the Government to save her husband. British Commodore David Russell (Colin Firth) offers his men and equipment to rescue them but the bureaucracy led by Vladimir Petrenko (Max Von Sydow) prevent them from doing so.

Drawing from Robert Moore’s non-fiction book A Time to Die, The Command brings an unflinching portrayal of Government negligence putting innocent lives at risk and average people putting up a fight for those they love.

Director Thomas Vinterberg has had a fascinating career. He’s started out as one of the founding members of Dogme95, a film movement that involves making films as realistically as possible. Not only were you required to shoot improvised and on location, but you couldn’t even move the set pieces or use film lighting. This led to his most acclaimed film Festen (or the Celebration), an unflinching drama about a party where the staff helps a man reveal that his father molested his sister and drove her to suicide. But in recent years, he has flipped between sticking to his roots with the recent film the Commune and his Oscar-nominated film the Hunt and period dramas like Far from the Madding Crowd and this film. He’s proven himself just as skills with conventional films as he is with his Dogma.

This film has a better chance of gaining attention since it’s an English-speaking film. But this may be another film only show in arthouse theatres.

TOY STORY 4

Pixar returns to the film that jump started the revolution of CGI animated classics.

Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and their friends are enjoying their new roles as Bonnie’s toys. Now Emily’s new toy includes Forky (Toby Hale), a neurotic toy made from a spork, popsicle sticks and googly eyes. Woody makes it his duty to protect Bonnie’s new favourite toy. But Forky would rather be a disposable utensil than a toy. During a road trip, Forky hops out the window to freedom and Woody jumps out to get him back. Of course, they end up lost and need to talk a long journey back. Their long walk leads them to Grand Basin, a small town where a carnival’s taking place. That’s where he reunites with his old flame Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who enjoys an independent life alongside other antique toy. He also encounters arrogant Canadian stunt toy Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) and a creepy doll Gabby (Christina Hendricks), who’s determined to keep Woody at an old antique shop alongside her creepy Dummy henchman.

Meanwhile, Buzz is at Grand Basin to look for Woody. His attempts are undermined by the carnival, especially two hostile plushies Bunny (Jordan Peele) and Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key).

When Toy Story came out, it revolutionized the animation industry. Not only was it the first CGI-animated film, but it put Pixar on the map as a force to be reckon with. It also set a standard in storytelling for the later films to reach, which it kept surpassing with each sequel. Then it hit its highest peak with the third movie, which served as the perfect send off.[3] It’s exciting to return to the series. Albeit, there are some reservations about making a fourth movie, especially with how perfect Toy Story 3’s ending was. But with Andrew Stanton (co-writer of the original trilogy and the Director of Finding Nemo and Wall-E) co-writing the script alongside Stephany Folsom, I have a lot of hope for this one. And many want this to succeed.

WILD ROSE

A Scottish woman becomes a Nashville country singer. A feel-good premise like this is sure to make audiences curious.

The singer in question is Rose-Lynn Harland (Jessie Buckley), a troubled ex-con struggling to feed her family in Glasgow. Now she faces many struggles to get back on her feet and achieve her dream. Considering the fact many country singers were ex-cons, it looks like she’s off to a good start.

Audience members love themselves an underdog story and this one seems like an entertaining one. Plus, Buckley’s garnering acclaim for her performance. If this film gets enough attention, this could be a sleeper hit.

June 28:

OPHELIA

Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, Ophelia retells the story of Hamlet from Ophelia’s point of view. This can either be compelling or blah. It depends on whether the writing can go beyond just being “Hamlet...but with Ophelia” and present a whole new perspective on the tragedy and bring new dimension to the characters. There have been successful attempts with Paula Vogel’s Desdemona: A Play about a Handkerchief and especially Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

The question is, does Semi Chellas have what it takes to pull this off? The only real standouts in her resume are writing for Mad Men and the Romanoffs, which fit into the character-oriented drama like Ophelia. Director Claire McCarthy seems to do a lot of films of people traveling to foreign countries. Beyond that, nothing really stands out about her work.

What she does have going for her is an astounding cast including Clive Owen, Naomi Watts and Daisy Ridley taking on the title role.

YESTERDAY

What if you woke up one morning and found you were the only person who remembered the Beatles? That is what happens to struggling musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) when he goes through the classic trope of getting knocked upside the head and waking up in a world where weird shit like this happens. He takes advantage of this opportunity to claim credit for the songs and garner worldwide fame.

What does concern me is the premise can fill two hours of screen time. To me, this seems like it could fill a half-hour short film. It all depends on how engaging the characters are, especially Jack. If we can’t relate to him, it’s all over. There is hope with co-writer Richard Curtis, whose created classic romantic comedies including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones Diary as well as co-creating Blackadder and Mr. Bean. But he’s also written mediocre romantic comedies like About Time, so there’s no guarantee.

And then there’s director Danny Boyle, the man whose energetic directing style has provided such modern classics in every genre, whether they be anti-drug dramas (Trainspotting), biopics (127 Hours) or even an underdog story from India (Slumdog Millionaire). But his films have become more hit and miss lately, with no real standout since Steve Jobs.

There’s strong credibility but no guarantee.

[1] Most of this is because unlike other sidekicks, they contributed more to the plot beyond random gags.

[2] There are a few spin offs that succeeded both critically and commercially. Among them are Creed, Deadpool and Finding Dory.

[3] Plus, it’s the only sequel to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

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