My Yuletide Gift!

[wickedwords]

I am very slow this holiday season, and am only just getting to posting about my wonderful yuletide present.  It's short -- less than 1800 words -- and perfect for the fandom.

Setting it up: Larry and Rita have been each others best friends since at least the seventies, living and supporting each other in the mansion as best as two self-absorbed people 'trying to work on that' can. They leave the mansion for plot reasons and move in together, and their friendship is really the only thing that keeps them able to get through the day.  It's a lovely relationship, and I loved this take on their commitment to each other.  

Moving In
Fandom: Doom Patrol (TV)

Comments

[gwyn]

I've seen people mention this...I don't know what it is, show? movie? before--I meant to ask you at the bash what made it one of your asks. Tell me about it?

[wickedwords]

Doom Patrol is part of the DC Universe set of programs, and if you are interested in seeing it, I am happy to host. Meta wise, it's the story of a bunch of crappy people figuring out how to make themselves better, and each of them has a superpower that is really a badge of shame for how they have treated others.

We are intro'd to the show through an aging asshole NASCAR driver, Cliff Steele, who is having an affair with the nanny. There's personal drama for him, and he and his wife split; he finally realizes what a jerk he is and is reuniting with his family after ditching the nanny, only to be in an auto accident that kills his wife, his daughter, and nearly himself.

The only thing that survives is his brain, and Chief, the mad scientist type that owns the mansion, places it into a 1950s-style robot body. Cliff can feel nothing and has to learn how to operate the metal carcass he's been given, with help from the others in the household:

Rita Farr, a self-absorbed 'silver screen' actress from the 1950s who turns into the blob whenever she loses control of her emotions.

Larry Trainer, a closeted gay man and test pilot from the 1960s who is wrapped up in bandages as the alien inside of him produces radiation. The bandages are the only way to not kill everyone around him.

Crazy Jane, who has a multiple personality disorder stemming from abuse and during experimentation on her in the 1970s/1980s, each personality received its own superpower.

At some point, Cyborg from the teen titans shows up to be their leader, and the general response is 'fuck you.'

There's swearing, comedic levels of gore, and their supervillan is Mr. Nobody, a guy who is both bizarre and annoying as he narrates some of the episodes. The world that they exist in is grotesque at times, yet there's an element of humor that runs through it.

Cast:
Diane Guerrero - Crazy Jane
April Bowlby - Rita Farr
Alan Tudyk - Mr. Nobody
Matt Bomer - Larry Trainor
Brendan Fraser - Cliff Steele
Timothy Dalton - Chief