In which Danica’s cold, cold heart is awoked.
On this week’s show, Brandon and Danica travel to 1814 to see The Doctor and Bill fight Scaffolding in the Series 10 episode “Thin Ice”. Along the way, they classify different types of orphans, the show addresses racism (?) and Bill is rad as hell. We loved this episode and Sarah Dollard is our new queen now.
Outro music is “Elephant” by Hannah Georgas
Podcast picture is by GIRL NAMED SHIRL PHOTOGRAPHY.
The following is the first bit of prose fiction that I’ve written in roughly two years (or more). It’s not good. But at least it exists. Excuse me while I cringe in the corner forever.
He wakes up at 6.
He wakes up at 6 and he is lying on his back and he’s looking at the ceiling, at the stucco pattern, at the lights that are sleeping. Lying in the dim, his mind begins to stir. He moves his left hand from its chosen position extended haphazardly outwards to his chest where it can feel his heart.
A look to the side, to the left. A slow opening eye, a contented sigh of recognition.
It’s morning.
It’s time to get up.
“Good morning,” a voice sweetly, a slow smile obscured.
He sits up, body reluctant. Blinking, his feet find the floor, cool to the touch.
Hands on his back, the weight of a chin on his shoulder.
It’s morning.
“It’s time to get up,” he tells himself.
With a push, he begins his morning routine, movements carefully practiced, a mundane dance to greet the day.
A short walk to the bathroom, a cat or two underfoot, eagerly awaiting attention or water or both.
The radio from afar, the clatter of drawers, of metal and porcelain.
He relieves himself and turns on the shower. At the instance of the cat or cats (depending on the day) he works the tap on the sink carefully until a controlled dribble of water comes out. He is rewarded with a head bop for his troubles and is then ignored. This is good, because he needs to be ignored.
He sits on the floor, looks into the shower. The room fills with heat.
A knock on the door, a voice muffled by the cascade.
Soon, the water hits him, warm, inviting. His eyes close and his neck tilts, hands pushing back his hair. The noise of the water and the fog of the heat envelop him, a place to hide.
A hand on his torso. Breath on his neck.
He doesn’t like to leave the shower. It wakes him and makes him more alert and the day can begin.
And so the day begins.
He is much more comfortable when the days are over, when it’s all done and then some nights, a few nights, there’s nothing for a while and he forgets.
But the day.
He turns the shower off with reluctance, carefully stepping out to the floor. He towels off.
“Good morning.”
It’s morning.
Back in the bedroom, it’s time to get dressed. He sits on the bed. The world creeps in.
It’s here where it starts, where he remembers.
There’s so much, and he is so little.
Sweet words whispered in his ear.
This is when the world arrives, so big and unwieldy. This is where he remembers. It’s always nice to forget. But the night always gives way to the day, and more than he is forgetful, he is small.
Fingers sliding around his torso.
An unseen smile.
Breath on his
But then
on his neck.
more than he is small
The weight of a chin
and more than he is forgetful
on his shoulder
he is hopeful.
“Good morning.”
It’s May already, which means this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day over at Variant Edition. Normally, this makes for a pretty insane week by itself, but hey, that’s nothing a heck ton of water falling from the ceiling can’t help.
As you all might have heard, the shop experienced a minor flood this past Sunday, which has put us in a state of high level stress. You can read more about the particulars in our store newsletter, but suffice to say, we’re doing our best to put forward the best Free Comic Book Day event we can muster, and we would love to see you attend.
Other things that have been happening lately? Well, I took part in an upcoming episode of Bollywood Is For Lovers, which should be out in the next few days, and Danica will be recording an episode of In Defence Of, which will be out soon as well. We’re also going full steam ahead with Doctor Whooch, so you’ll see a new episode of that on Thursday. Anything else? Shouldn’t that be enough? Knowing me, I’ll add a few more logs onto the fire. Nothing says “easy going times” like running a comic shop and pumping out content, yes?
Now.
The real reason why I wanted to check in today – beyond the fact that I am committing myself to keeping Submet rolling with at least four posts a week – is the fact that… I had a pretty good day today.
You’ve all probably been checking in here and there, so you know that life has taken few swings at Danica and myself over the past few days. Or years. Whatever. But today? Even with everything, today felt… okay. Not great – I think I still had a couple of minor panic attacks when I let my brain too far off the leash – but it was still nice, for the most part. And I think “okay” is a good place to start, even with the bumps in the road.
Anyway, I wanted you all to know that.
Tomorrow: I’m posting the first prose I’ve written in two years up. It’s not good. It’s not refined. But it exists, and I’m trying to be more comfortable with my words so. Y’all get to see that. Be kind.
See you then.
Good morning.
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