#easton’s unnamed story

[mascwhump]

Yay, next… chapter? Idk wtf I’m doing anymore. Here you go. Also, the CW contains spoilers.

CW: blood, like a fucking lot of blood, stabbing, (almost) death, description of dying, needles

-

Charlie and Ethan sat in the living room, watching reruns of Forensic Files. The sun had just gone down, and it would be another hour until Crow joined them for movie night. It was Ethan's turn to choose the movie. He was still undecided, and scrolled through lists of films on his phone in an attempt to find something. There was a knock at the door, and Charlie got up to answer it.

"Is that Crow?" Ethan asked.

"Don't know," Charlie answered, "maybe he got out of his meeting early."

As soon as he opened the door, Charlie had something smack him hard in the face. He was sent backwards onto the floor, slamming the back of his head against the wood. He tasted blood as it began to flow from his now broken nose into his throat. He then heard the door shut and lock. It took him a moment to regain his bearings and sit up, and when he did, he was immediately grabbed from behind by his hair and dragged.

Charlie reached up and clawed at their arm as he struggled in their grasp. They finally let go once they reached the kitchen. Then, Ethan walked in. His mouth was moving, but Charlie couldn't make sense of what he was saying. He put his hands up and slowly lowered himself to the floor until he was sitting. The assailant finally moved into Charlie's view, and that's when Charlie realized it was Silas. Silas kneeled down and pinched the bridge of his nose, making him yelp.

"I'm here for one reason, and one reason only. I believe in an eye for an eye. Your mate murdered mine; it's only fair if I kill his, too," Silas said.

Before he could muster a response, Charlie felt a dull pain in his abdomen, as if he had just been punched. Then, the same feeling occurred again just above the other spot. He couldn't look down due to Silas' hold on his nose. He could only look ahead, directly into his eyes. Silas grinned as he finally backed off and stood up straight. Charlie's eyes drifted down and saw that Silas held a knife in his right hand. It was stained with blood. Ethan stood up.

"Oh my god, oh my god, you-" Ethan spoke, cut off when Silas whipped around. He jammed the blade into Ethan's side, then his chest. Adrenaline gave Charlie enough energy to get to his feet. He threw himself at Silas and began to hit him until he was stabbed again, this time in the shoulder. He shoved Charlie back into a cabinet and punched him in the jaw. Charlie slid down and put his hands up to cover his face. Silas kicked his shin, then turned back to Ethan, who was holding himself up against the counter. He screamed and curled up the best he could to protect himself, but Silas slashed his cheek, then his arm. He grabbed Ethan and threw him down next to Charlie.

"I should just slit your throats," Silas said, "but I'm going to let you bleed out instead." He folded the knife and put it in his pocket before walking into the living room. He took Charlie and Ethan's phones and smashed them against the floor until he was sure they were broken.

"Good luck getting help now. I know you're the only ones on this floor," he said as he opened the door. "Fuck you," Charlie snapped.

Silas stepped out and shut the door with a slam.

The pain was really beginning to set in, and Charlie felt like his entire torso was on fire. His shirt was completely soaked with blood, and it was beginning to drip.

"What do we do?" he asked. Ethan grabbed the dish towel that was hanging from the oven and handed it to Charlie.

"Press this against the wounds as hard as you can," Ethan instructed. He gripped the counter above to get himself to his feet. Blood trickled down his arm and legs as he moved.

"Where are you going?" Charlie asked.

"To find help," Ethan replied.

He made it about five steps out of the kitchen before becoming overcome with pain and fell to his knees. Charlie couldn't get up, even using all of his remaining strength. He stayed slumped against a cabinet with the rag pressed against his side.

"I can't move," Ethan said, voice cracking, "it hurts."

“You just have to get to the elevator,” Charlie said.

Ethan took a few deep breaths before attempting to stand again. He had to use the furniture to hold himself up, but he was able to make it to the door.

“Help will be here soon. Stay awake, okay?” He said. Charlie nodded, and he moved into the hall to reach the elevator. Charlie began to focus on his breathing. It was becoming increasingly difficult by the second. He was unable to maintain pressure with the now blood-soaked rag, and decided to drop it. He observed all of the blood pooling around him now, and the only thing he could think about was how it was going to ruin the wooden floor. The intense burning he felt was turning to ice, and the room suddenly felt extremely cold. His vision was beginning to darken. He just wanted the pain to stop.

Stay awake.

His eyes shot open, then fluttered shut again. Keeping them open took far too much effort. He decided that breathing was more important. His breaths became more shallow with each inhale, and no matter how hard he tried, he failed to take in more air. He was panicking, until he wasn’t. Suddenly, nothing mattered anymore. He felt an intense wave of peace wash over him, and he slipped into its sea.

…

…

…

…

…

When the elevator doors opened on Charlie’s floor, Crow immediately noticed the blood in the hall. He was already anxious, as they hadn’t replied to his texts, and this sight had increased his anxiety tenfold. The trail of blood lead to Charlie’s door. It had been left ajar. He made sure his knife was in his pocket before he slowly pushed the door open. He saw Charlie and immediately ran to him, and pressed his fingers against his neck to check his pulse. Luckily, he still had a heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. Crow grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors and cut Charlie’s shirt open. Upon seeing the stab wounds, he took off his jacket and pressed it against them as hard as he could.

“Charlie, can you hear me? I need you to wake up,” Crow spoke. Charlie didn’t respond. Crow looked around in a panic, trying to find something that would help him stop the bleeding. It was then that he remembered something. After their last run-in with Kendall, Mallory had given him a few vials of the healing serum. He had forgotten about them in the glovebox of his car - until now. Crow took off his belt and wrapped it tightly around Charlie’s waist to keep his jacket pressed tightly against the wounds. He ran out of the apartment and down multiple flights of stairs to the parking garage. He fumbled the keys as he tried to unlock the door, thanks to shaking hands and the blood making them slick. He finally retrieved the paper bag which contained the serums and syringes, then beelined it back upstairs.

He slid on his knees when he returned to Charlie, and dumped the contents of the bag out on the floor where it was clear of blood. Mallory hadn’t told him how much he was supposed to use, so he opted to fill an entire syringe. He slid the needle into Charlie’s neck, hoping the spot he chose was good enough, and injected the serum. Then, he waited. A minute passed, and nothing happened. He figured Charlie had built up a tolerance, and injected him with another syringe full. The risk of overdosing him was one he was willing to take. If an overdose didn’t kill him, then the blood loss certainly would.

Again, nothing happened. He checked Charlie’s pulse again - still weak, but there. He filled yet another syringe. It was the last of the serum. If it didn’t work this time, then-

The wounds began to heal. A minute later, and they had fully closed. Charlie suddenly drew in a sharp breath, and he opened his eyes. Crow threw the empty syringe aside and grabbed him, pulling him into tight hug. He began to sob against Charlie’s shoulder.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” he mewled.

“How did you…” Charlie trailed off, noticing the empty vials and syringes scattered on the floor amongst the blood. Crow loosened his hold on him and pulled back to look at his face. He moved a bit of hair from Charlie’s forehead, then held his face in his hands. He sniffled, and his expression turned serious.

“Who did this?” He asked.

“It was Silas,” Charlie replied, “he was saying some shit about ‘an eye for an eye’. I- wait, where’s Ethan?”

Crow’s eyes widened.

“Oh my god,” he gasped, “he was with you, wasn’t he?”

Charlie nodded. “He went to find help. He got fucked up just as bad, if not worse than me.”

Crow sat back and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He looked up the number to the nearest hospital, and asked if Ethan was there. The answer was “no”. He got the same answer for the next three hospitals he tried.

“I saw the blood in the hall, but none in the elevator, even though the trail lead to it,” Crow said.

“Was there any blood in the parking garage?” Charlie asked.

“No,” Crow replied, “but now that I think about it, I noticed that the asphalt was wet, like it had been hosed down, when I was first coming up.”

They both had the same realization at the same time. Crow went to his contacts and began dialing Mallory.

“What?” Mallory answered.

“I need you to track down Silas right now,” Crow demanded.

“What- oh, god,” Mallory replied, “alright, let me get ahold of Nikolas. What’s going on? Is Charlie okay?”

“He’s fine now, but Silas broke in and attacked him and Ethan. We think he might have Ethan now,” Crow explained.

“Fucking hell. Okay, give me a few minutes, I’ll call you back,” Mallory said.

Crow sighed as he set his phone down on the counter. He turned the ringer all the way up to make sure he didn’t miss Mallory’s call. Charlie stood up slowly. Despite the serum, he was still dizzy, and had to try hard to maintain his balance.

“Go have a shower. I’ll come in and update you if he calls back while you’re still in there,” Crow said.

Charlie wanted to protest, but he just as badly wanted to get the copious amount of blood off of his body. He stripped of his cut shirt and blood-soaked shorts in the kitchen before heading into the bathroom. Five minutes into his shower, the water was still stained red. He had to scrub himself head to toe three times to get all of the blood off of his body. Once he was certain it was all gone, he got dressed, and rejoined Crow in the main part of the apartment. Crow was on the ground with a trash bag, a bottle of bleach, and three rolls of paper towels. He had somehow managed to clean up most of the blood in the kitchen by the time Charlie was out of the shower.

“It didn’t stain the wood,” Charlie observed aloud.

“It’s linoleum, not real wood,” Crow replied.

“Oh. Uh, has Mal called back yet?”

“Not yet.”

Coincidentally, Crow’s phone began to ring. He dropped the wad of paper towels he was holding and answered the call.

“Hello?” he said.

“Hello. We’re tracking him, and he’s driving toward Reading. I’m sending the info to you now,” Mallory said.

“Okay. Where are you?” Crow asked.

“In town, actually.”

“Good. Can you meet me here now?”

“It’s pretty late, but I suppose.”

“Okay. We’re going to go find this bastard and get Ethan.”

“We are? Right now?”

“Did I fucking stutter?”

“Er, alright. I’ll be there soon.”

As soon as they hung up, Crow began dialing someone else. Charlie watched him pace around the kitchen with his phone to his ear.

“Hey. I know it’s late, but I need a favor. Can you be at Charlie’s ASAP? Long story. Okay, thanks. See you soon,” Crow said.

“Who was that?” Charlie asked.

“Basil,” Crow replied, “I’m having him come sit with you while we’re gone.”

“I’m not going?”

Crow sighed as he went back to cleaning the floor. Charlie folded his arms. He wanted to go. He was the reason Ethan was in this mess, and he was going to get him out of it.

“I want to go,” Charlie said.

“Charlie-“

“I’m not going to argue with you. I’m going.”

“No. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go. You need to stay here,” Crow said.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

Charlie walked away and slumped down on the couch to silently fume. There was a knock at the door a few minutes later. It was Basil. Crow let him in. Basil saw the remaining mess and offered to finish cleaning while Crow cleaned himself up. Crow gladly accepted his offer, and went to quickly change into a fresh set of clothes and wash the rest of the blood from himself. When he was done, Mallory had just arrived, and Charlie was trying to convince him to convince Crow to let him join them.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Mallory said.

“What isn’t a good idea?” Crow asked.

“He wants to come with,” Mallory replied.

Crow sighed. “Charlie, I already told you no.”

“But you didn’t give me a good reason,” Charlie argued.

“I cannot handle you getting hurt again. Not tonight, not ever. You are staying here, and that’s final,” Crow asserted, almost hissing. Charlie groaned.

“Are you ready to go?” Mallory asked. Crow nodded. He grabbed his phone and keys and they started out the door.

“You be good. I love you,” he said to Charlie. He shut the door before Charlie had a chance to respond.

“That’s the first time he’s ever said that to me,” Charlie said.

“Really?” Basil asked.

“Yeah.”

#whump #whump oc #whump series #easton’s unnamed story #multiple whumpees #whumper #whumpee #EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS FINE #fuck hospitals #oc #Ethan’s fine he just left to go eat some batteries #Charlie is a whiny bitch #xanax4crow #Mallory doesn’t give a single fuck

[akeowc]

Well, this is a story from a novel on Wattpad called “Sleeping Love.” You can find it on Wattpad and read it because I have already published approximately 7 chapters

To be clearer, this is Lance x oc's story, ever since I watched the show I've actually fallen for him.

So I wanted to do a story for him with my oc.

Now I leave you with the information.

Name: Elena Harris

Japanese name: エレナ・ハリス

Alias: Sleeping head

CHARACTERISTICS

Age

15 (Debut)

16 (now)

Gender

Female

Hair color

navy blue

Eye color

Bright teal

Height

164 cm

Weight

51 kg

Birthday

May 7th

PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION

Affiliation

Easton Magic Academy

Occupation

Student

Status

Alive

RELATIONSHIPS

Family

Unnamed father

Dead mother

Leon Harris (Older Brother)

MEDIA

Anime debut

Episode 1

Manga debut

Chapter 1

Japanese va

Sumire Morohoshi

Elena's mother died when Elena was very young. After her death, Leon took care of his little sister until she was 5 years old, when he had to leave his sister and go to Easton Magic Academy. During this period, her father was so busy that he appointed a nanny to take care of Elena.

She took care of her until she was 9 years old and said that she could take care of herself, so she did not need a nanny, even though she spent most of her time sleeping, which made her personality to be somewhat lazy. One day when she was  10 She went to the forest to go for a walk, and on her way she came across a boy of the same age pumping iron

She talked to him and asked him why he trained like this, he only replied that his father only told him to do it, she later learned that his name was Mash, and I became friends with him, since most people can't stand Elena's lazy personality when she starts, but Mash didn't mind  she also knew that he loves cream puffs, and when he finishes training, they eat them

Appearance

Elena is a girl of average height. She has slightly messy dark blue hair and pale skin. She has a moon-shaped mark on her left cheek. She often wears simple clothes when she visits Mash, but when she entered Easton Magic Academy, she always wore a school uniform that consisted of a T-shirt.  White, with a red tie, a black skirt with black socks, brown shoes and a black cloak, she is often seen with a sleepy expression but with a small smile on her face.

Fanbook Stats:

Blood type: O-

Dominant Hand: Right

Foot size: 23cm

Good Subjects: Astronomy, stars and the sky in general

Bad Subjects: Annoying or arrogant people

Hobbies: Sleep at all times and learn new information

Favorite Food: Sweets of all kinds

Favorite word: Sleep is the solution to everything

Favorite type of opposite sex: I don't care much about appearance, the important thing is that he is a good person and can deal with my personality

Dislikes: Complex topics

Frequently visited school spots: Mash room, dormitory kitchen

E.g. of spending money: Buy astronomy books

How to spend holidays: Hanging out with Mash and sleeping

----------------------------------------------

I hope you liked Elena. I tried as much as possible to try to imitate the style of drawing the anime, and this is what happened to me. The next chapter will be about the meeting of Mash and Elena. After that, I will start plotting the anime

See you in the next chapter!

#mashle #mashle magic and muscles #mashle oc #mashle x oc #mash burnedead #lance crown #finn ames

[beartoothbarry]

Finally (mostly) finished! (still have to design his tattoos, he's supposed to have a sleeve on his left arm but I can't do that until I write more of the story so I'm done with this one for now) this is Easton, one of the main characters of a project I'm working on about a band that goes on tour and discovers a bunch of supernatural mysteries at the shows they play. It's kind of like Scooby Doo, Gravity Falls, or MBAV with an adult target audience and some horror mixed in. Easton is the bass player in the currently unnamed band and the one who's afraid of ghosts and demons. His motorcycle gets possessed by a demon horse named Kevin

#art #drawing #easton #easton weston #oc #please zoom in and look at the details i spent a lot of time on this #kevin #kevin the demon horse bike

[rhetoricandlogic]

Covering Poe in “What Moves the Dead”

byJason Archbold

July 18, 2022

Our review of T. Kingfisher's "What Moves the Dead"

There are two elements to playing a good cover song. The first is that the band must remember what made the song great in the first place: don’t rewrite the whole song, don’t forget your roots, don’t venture too far from the original. The second (somewhat contradictory) element is that the musicians need to add something new—if only something subtle, a change of key or of instrumentation. A good cover (and there is a huge amount of ground between a clever reinterpretation of a classic and a rip-off) allows the listeners to hear the song anew, bringing to light dimensions of the material which were less developed the first time around. 

What T. Kingfisher’s latest novella, What Moves the Dead, offers is a transposition of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” into the territory of contemporary identity politics and, at the same time, the body horror subgenre. Poe’s tale describes its unnamed narrator’s visit of Roderick Usher, a reclusive childhood friend who lives in the crumbling manor house of his family and suffers from a mysterious and chronic illness. As Roderick announces that his sister, Madeline, has died, the pair agree to lay her in the family mausoleum for a period of observation in order to allay Roderick’s fear that Madeline may not in fact be dead, and therefore rule out the possibility of burying her alive (a perennial concern amongst the inhabitants of Poe’s tales). As Madeline rises from the mausoleum—alive, undead, or otherwise—the Ushers die together in a macabre embrace, and with them, their ancestral home collapses, hence the double meaning in the tale’s title. 

In Kingfisher’s hands, easily overlooked elements of Poe’s original setting, and previously-underdeveloped characters—the backup vocalists, as it were—are given their own time under the spotlight. Poe’s small cast of somewhat two-dimensional personalities is fleshed out and repurposed: Kingfisher’s Rodericks become more complex (and therefore more human) with the development of their familial backstory and the interaction between the siblings, Poe’s nameless narrator becomes the queer veteran Alex Easton, presumed lover of Madeline Roderick. An American doctor and a female English mycologist seeking to break into the male-dominated world of British life sciences round out the cast. The fungal growths which proliferate around the Usher manor perhaps gain the most from Kingfisher’s retelling, going from mere description to essentially being a character in their own right, one which plays the solo over the tale’s final act. 

By choosing to keep the majority of the dialogue in a relatively contemporary tone, Kingfisher is able to lend the tale a certain warmth and sense of humor. This serves to heighten the effects of the horror as the tale progresses; after more than a century of ‘cosmic horror’ fiction which aims at depicting the ‘nameless dread’ of their protagonists encountering forces beyond their comprehension, such strategies have become less effective. The interactions and relationships between Kingfisher’s version of the cast allows the reader to invest in the story in a way the original did not, and invested horror is almost always going to be more effective than the detached, ‘cosmic’ variety. 

Similarly, Kingfisher’s decision to historicize the tale is a good one. By emphasizing the rapidly changing culture of the 1890s, especially as regards the medical and scientific worlds, Kingfisher is able to draw upon a classic Gothic trope by reframing the story as a clash between knowledge and the unknown. (The 1890s were, after all, the time of Stoker’s Dracula, another story which ultimately pits the cutting-edge science and technology of its day against a nature of a wholly different kind.) Kingfisher’s references to key events in medical history, such as debates on the gendered nature of hysteria in France which would eventually lead to the establishment of modern talk therapy, also serve to highlight the political concerns of her work.

Where Kingfisher’s version of “The Fall of the House of Usher” runs into dissonance with the original lies, for the most part, in her decision to restage it in two fictious locations. Part of Kingfisher’s conceit is reframing the original characters in reference to the proud but hapless nation of Gallacia, the home country of Easton, whose only export beyond its soldiers is its intricate and expansive set of pronouns. While this choice of setting is sometimes a useful set-up for Kingfisher’s sense of humor—many of Easton’s jokes are self-deprecating, in that they make fun of Gallacia’s many ironies—it is more often distracting and feels like a second book project has been superimposed on the first. It is clear that Kingfisher is trying to do with Poe and gender what Victor LaValle did with Lovecraft and race in The Ballad of Black Tom or what Margaret Atwood did with Homer’s Odyssey in The Penelopiad; this lens, however, neither reflects upon the original nor furthers the story she is trying to tell with it, no matter how often she beats that particular drum. 

#T. Kingfisher #What Moves the Dead #mahreviews #long post

[ghostiboii]

^^HEY. THIS HAS A LOT OF WORDS AND PROBABLY SHIT GRAMMER^^

So!! It is 2 in the morning and I feel like talking about this. I have a group of ocs that just progressively get more and more people added to their group.

Initially started as one character as a modern warfare oc and then another one formed who initially started as an insert character for x reader stories who just evolved and then “What if someone was really short and could beat the taller guy’s asses” and a third one was born. THEN! A forth who I was just doodling in class instead of studying and he became a character.

Now technically they’re not MW ocs however but I’m slowly coming up with ideas for a 5th and trying so fucking hard not to make a 5th.

I really want to talk about all of them but I really don’t know if anyone would care but I will also proceed to list out their names, age, and country they’re either from or born in, and order they came in cause Y’know fuck it.

Easton Valli, 34, Finland.

Walker “Kid” Evans, 23, Wales. (It’s 2am I fuckin typed Whales Jesus Christ-)

Carter Wayne, 34, Egyptian/Greek.

Gene Ryan, 27, Irish/Japanese.

And a currently unnamed one if I ever flesh him out.

Alright I’m going to bed.

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty mw #ocs #original characters #call of duty ocs #original character #it’s 2am please help #I’m tired good night

[anadvanceddegreeinquiet]

What, Me Pandemic? A Boho Crowd Stakes Its Claim (and Claims Its $48 Steaks)

Fricasse Dubois, 21, lamented the decision to pull her latest concrete poem from The Codswalloped Pisspot as she passed one of the whimsical “Maine-ducks-in-flight” mailboxes that serve as newspaper bins for the red-hot downtown rag. But her friend and intern, Banshee Fitzgerald, 33, had made a good point: The Pisspot had been flirting with questionable taste for months now. 

First there was the ironic opera libretto by Steve Bannon, which cast Leo “KIDS” Fitzpatrick as a Muslim refugee in a Copenhagen no-go zone. Then there was the edgy faux-memoir from Terry Richardson, modeled on O.J. Simpson’s unpublished “If I Did It,” and accompanied by a portfolio of Juergen Teller ass-Xeroxes.

But now, the Pisspot hype was growing, and Dubois realized that she might miss the proverbial boat. Interest in the nascent publishing venture was at fever pitch; a SPAC had been formed by laid-off Gagosian and Perrotin directors eager to stage a hostile takeover of the irregularly published ‘zine. 

And a dash of infamy certainly helped—the paper’s co-editor, Stizzy Fugger, had just launched a Tumblr in which she tallied the number of people she had inadvertently infected with Covid-19, updated in real-time (12,617 at press time, if you’re keeping score, more than the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally).

Anyone who has witnessed a “Pisspot drop” in the Dimes Square neighborhood of Manhattan knows to expect pandemonium. But nothing could have prepared this reporter for the foamy-mouthed jubilee and ecstatic violence of the occasion. 

It was 11am on a Tuesday, and the editors appeared at the corner of Seward Park, bearing several cardboard boxes of the paper. They were trailed by the usual suspects: Pimple-necked sadcore rappers, sex-positive Zoom therapists, former Artforum critic’s pickers who now run content for Chipotle, and middle-aged men who really shouldn’t skateboard.  

It’s a truism that an issue of Pisspot isn’t really read so much as it is imbibed, absorbed via the osmosis of social media’s orgiastic frenzy. In fact, the Times had a great deal of difficulty locating anyone who had physically held a copy of the paper in their smooth, unlined hands; many preferred to experience it as a series of fuzzy, thumbnail-sized images posted ironically on MySpace. 

“People used to say they read Playboy for the ads,” said Kit Murano, a fish-eyed, forty-something member of a downtown-based Adderall (™) street team. “Pisspot doesn’t have ads. And no one who knows anything would be caught, like, just sitting there and flipping through the thing. It’s an attitude. It’s an essence. It’s a lifestyle.”

Okay, sure—but what about the actual content actually published in each issue? Imagine an early iteration of Vice cross-pollinated with Tiger Beat, and then add a splash of sexual-harassment-era Paris Review. It’s a bit silly, and a bit loose. Bret Easton Ellis contributes a crossword puzzle in which every answer is just another reason why millennials suck. A party report—‘Reamed & Furred’—diligently transcribes the coke-addled bon mots of the same group of six people all eating at the same restaurant every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening. 

If there’s an ethos gluing all of this together, it’s a passing-of-the-torch from an older bohemian guard to a younger demographic, with their laissez-faire attitudes about sex, drugs, and global pandemics. “It’s, like, we can all still party together, and age isn’t really ‘a thing’,” explains Murano, leaning out the window of a Mini Cooper wrapped in shiny SunGen Pharma adverts.

The entire scene revolves around the lopsided triangle known as “Dimes Square,” which borrows its moniker from the culinary hotspot Dimes. (The name derives from Cockney rhyming slang for ‘elongated pinky nail.’). Every New York story is also, of course, a story about real estate. In this case, that means the Connecticut country houses that this cohort has Airbnbed out while remaining to weather the storm in lower Manhattan. 

Parts of this scene are “white, but probably ambisexual-adjacent; they’re members of the creative class, but they possess enough self-hatred to seem authentic,” says Dash Johnson, a Dimes Square hanger-on who many suspect of running the Steak-Umms social media accounts. “Most of them used to work for galleries, or websites, or Garage magazine, but when those jobs dried up, they woke up one morning and said: Fuck it. Let’s stop pretending. Let’s just tweet.”

One essential element of any good scene is a gossip column to keep track—and to keep score. ArtWet’s “Wet Ass Pigment” plays that role for the Dimes Square cognoscenti. It’s a bleeding-edge social diary written by an anonymous, Gossip Girl-style correspondent who communicates solely via Signal, using a vocal transformer. 

“I was sick of trying to break into this world,” they said. “I was sick of meeting Anthony Haden-Guest at a dinner, for the 387th time, and having him introduce himself all over again, like we hadn’t both thrown up in the same toilet less than three days before. Fuck gatekeepers. I built my own gate, and then I started keeping it.” 

It was a Wet Ass Pigment column, in fact, which broke the season’s buzziest news: semi-disgraced first son Hunter Biden had bought an octoplex apartment directly above Dimes, where he’ll be staying as he prepares for a September solo exhibition that will open concurrently across Andrew Kreps, 56 Henry, Shoot the Lobster, and a pop-up space for Recess CBD seltzer. Unlike the gentle, “meditative” paintings that Biden had been making in recovery, the new work is brash and rudely vulgar—the product of an unexpected friendship Biden had struck up with Bjarne Melgaard and Jordan Wolfson. 

Meanwhile, the group’s literary face remains 29-year-old Katarina Klaus, whose razor-sharp prose skewers her surroundings with the acidic wit of a young Evelyn Waugh. “I’ll be honest, I fucking hate writing,” Klaus admitted, blowing her nose into a Telfar bag. “I’m both super motivated and super lazy. Sometimes I’ll just copy-paste random chunks of Speedboat into a column and no one will even notice.”

So what’s next for this ragtag crew? “Dimes Square will probably be over by the time this fucking article comes out,” Klaus laments. “You’re going to have, like, some TikTok influencer house on the corner of Canal and Essex, and all the coke will have fentanyl in it again because idiots from New Jersey just have no nose. You know what? I’m regretting this already. This is all off the record.”

Meanwhile, Klaus is already rethinking her involvement in Pisspot. With a current print run of 250 copies, the instantly iconic newspaper suddenly seems a bit too exposed. She’s in discussions with a new, unnamed venture that would distribute articles and essays in a serialized format, via fortunes randomly inserted into cookies at various Chinese restaurants within a three-block radius of the Square. “It’s all about ephemerality,” she says, sucking on a DMT vape she brought back from Mexico City. “It’s all about staying relevant.”

This article was lovingly rewritten from the original by Scott Indrisek.

CORRECTION: The above edition of this story mistakenly cites Kit Murano’s age as “forty-something,” based on our reporter’s visual guesstimation. She is actually 19.   

CORRECTION: ‘Dimes’ is in fact Cockney prison rhyming slang for the expression, “a bent knob is straight twice a day.”

CORRECTION: An earlier online version of this story mistakenly identified The Codswalloped Pisspot as The Duct-Taped Shitberg.

CORRECTION: An earlier, subscribers-only post of this story mislabeled the gossip blog Wet Ass Pigment as being a Spotify podcast called Wank ‘n Pose.

CORRECTION: Jordan Wolfson died in 2014. 

CORRECTION: An earlier Google Doc of this story referenced a non-existent ‘hardcore maternity diary’ by Chloe Sevigny, which most likely did not appear in issue 4 of the Codtaped Shitpot. 

CORRECTION: A version of this story that was sent to hapless print subscribers in Texas and Connecticut wrongly identified the geographic boundaries of “Dimes Square” as being East 45th Street, Central Park West, Freeman’s Alley, and Bedford Avenue.

[patolozka]

On Crowley and Mary Magdalene META

 So I was thinking about the whole ‘Crowley could be Mary Magdalene’ concept and I decided to put a few things together. I don’t want to persuade anyone of anything I was just thinking.

This META was written for @a-zira-fell and @azirafuck because they were feeding me with this stuff the last week.

 So here is it:

1. Before the GO show aired in May we knew that Crowley wore female clothes at Golgotha from the stills that were shown to us in April. (It was THIS meta by @intersexaziraphale that I read about it). But after the show I think we promptly forget everything about it because there were so many things to think about.

https://intersexaziraphale.tumblr.com/post/184424971273/so-i-realized-that-not-everyone-knows-what-i-do

2. In the show in the crucifixion scene there is this exchange between our duo:

C:           Come to smirk at the poor bugger, have you?

A:           Smirk? Me?

C:           Well, your lot put him on there.

A:           I'm not consulted on policy decisions, Crawley.

C:           Oh, I've changed it.

A:           Changed what?

C:           My name. "Crawl-y" just wasn't really doing it for me. It's a bit too... squirming-at-your-feet-ish.

A:           Well, you were a snake. So, what is it now? Mephistopheles? Asmodeus?

C:           Crowley.

A:           Hmm.

A:           Did you, uh... ever meet him?

C:           Yes. Seemed a very bright young man. I showed him all the kingdoms of the world.

A:           Why?

C:           He's a carpenter from Galilee. His travel opportunities are limited.

C:           That has got to hurt. What was it he said that got everyone so upset?

A:           "Be kind to each other."

C:           Oh, yeah. That'll do it.

 In the script there is no bigger change in the exchange and about Crowley there is not much more than that he is wearing black. But we saw how he looked like in the show.

 3. Then there is this Neil Gaiman’s tweet

Source: https://vintagefloof.tumblr.com/post/186199778332/confirmation-from-mr-gaiman-on-twitter-today-that

 4. And also this meta by @olliaaron about Crowley’s and Aziraphale’s clothing during crucifixion:

https://olliaaron.tumblr.com/post/186239033859/so-i-read-something-about-this-and-heres-an

 5. What do we know about Mary Magdalene

·         She may have been Jesus’s wife, but we don’t know for sure. {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         She is for the first time noticed as one of the women who “ministered to Christ of their substance.” (Luke 8:3) {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         She travelled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. (According to the four canonical gospels) {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         Mary as one of the women who travelled with Jesus and helped support his ministry "out of their resources", indicating that she was probably relatively wealthy. (Luke 8:2–3) {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         There is a statement seven demons had been driven out of her (Luke 8:2–3) and that prompted her to became Jesus‘ follower. {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         She was one of women who found the sepulchre of Jesus empty (with Salome and Mary the mother of James) and saw the “vision of angels”. (Matthew 28:5). {Eastons Bible Dictionary} The angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Then the risen Jesus himself appeared to the women as they were leaving the tomb and told them to tell the other disciples that he would meet them in Galilee. (Matthew 28:1–10){ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         She hastens to tell Peter and John (John 20:1, 2), and again immediately returns to the sepulchre. There she lingers thoughtfully, weeping at the door of the tomb. {Eastons Bible Dictionary}

·         The risen Jesus appears to her but she at first mistook him for the gardener. After she heard him say her name, she recognized him and cried out "Rabbouni!" (which is Aramaic for "teacher"). She tried to touch him, but he told her, "Don't touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my father”. The Gospel of John therefore portrays Mary Magdalene as the first apostle, the apostle sent to the apostles. (John 20:1–10) {CZ Wiki}

·         According to Luke 24:1–12 a group of unnamed women went to the tomb and found the stone already rolled away, as in Mark. They went inside and saw two young men dressed in white who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Then they went and told the eleven remaining apostles, who dismissed their story as nonsense. {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         After the resurrection she returned to Jerusalem. {Eastons Bible Dictionary}

·         In apocryphal texts, Mary Magdalene is portrayed as a visionary and leader of the early movement whom Jesus loved more than he loved the other disciples. {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         The earliest dialogue between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is probably the Dialogue of the Savior, a badly damaged Gnostic text discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. In saying 53, the Dialogue even attributes to Mary three aphorisms that are attributed to Jesus in the New Testament: "The wickedness of each day [is sufficient]. Workers deserve their food. Disciples resemble their teachers." The narrator commends Mary stating "she spoke this utterance as a woman who understood everything." {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         In Gospel of Thomas in saying 114: Simon Peter said to them: “Let Mary go forth from among us, for women are not worthy of the life”. Jesus said: “Behold, I shall lead her, that I may make her male, in order that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who makes herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.“ {ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         In Gospel of Philip: And the companion of the saviour [was] Mary Magdalene. [Christ] loved Mary more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on the mouth. The rest of the disciples [were offended by it and expressed disapproval]. They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Saviour answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness."{ENG Wiki Mary Magdalene}

·         The Gospel of Mary: The Gospel of Mary was probably written over a century after the historical Mary Magdalene's death. The gospel does not claim to have been written by her and its author is, in fact, anonymous. Unlike in the Gospel of Thomas, where women can only be saved by becoming men, in the Gospel of Mary, they can be saved just as they are.

 Then there is this:

Source: https://azirafuck.tumblr.com/post/186236114966/so-i-was-already-on-board-with-the-whole-crowley

 6. How we can see Mary Magdalene in art

As you can see, majority of the paintings pictures Mary Magdalene with red hair and more so some of them even in dark colours.

Source of the pic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene

 7. Dan Brown

I’m a big fan of Dan Brown and of course I know his ‘Da Vinci Code’ is only a fiction but still…

According to Dan Brown, there was a woman in Jesus‘ life. According to him, Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. And according to his book Leonardo da Vinci painted Mary Magdalene on ‘The Last Supper’, not John. And you know what hair colour does she have there? Red.

Source: https://cdn.getyourguide.com/img/tour_img-312981-148.jpg

 Some pieces from book Da Vinci Code about Mary Magdalene

"The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record... Moreover, Jesus as a married man makes infinitely more sense than our standard biblical view of Jesus as a bachelor... If Jesus were not married, at least one of the Bible’s gospels would have mentioned it and offered some explanation for His unnatural state of bachelorhood." (The Da Vinci Code, 245; cf. 244)

“Behold the greatest cover-up in human history... Not only was Jesus Christ married, but He was a father. My dear, Mary Magdalene was the Holy Vessel. She was the chalice that bore the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ” (Code, 249)

“Jesus was the original feminist. He intended for the future of His Church to be in the hands of Mary Magdalene.” (Code, 248)

“The Church, in order to defend itself against the Magdalene’s power, perpetuated her image as a whore and buried evidence of Christ’s marriage to her, thereby defusing any potential claims that Christ had a surviving bloodline and was a mortal prophet.” (Code, 254)

Source: https://www.westmont.edu/~fisk/articles/bruce_fisk_on_the_da_vinci_code.html (it’s a big article about why it all can’t be true, but it has its moments)

 And I add one of my favorites:

"Who is she?" Sophie asked.

"That, my dear," Teabing replied, "is Mary Magdalene."

Sophie turned. "The prostitute?"

Teabing drew a short breath, as if the word had injured him personally. "Magdalene was no such thing. That unfortunate misconception is the legacy of a smear campaign launched by the early Church. The Church needed to defame Mary Magdalene in order to cover up her dangerous secret—her role as the Holy Grail." (Da Vinci Code, 205)

 8. Gender in Good Omens

We know that angels don’t bother themselves with gender. But to me it looks quite like Crowley was manifesting himself the first four thousands more as a female than as a male.

In the garden of Eden, he is a demon, of course, but still you can see a slit in his clothes. I don’t think Aziraphale has some too. It could be only that his clothes are ragged but still…

In the Noah’s ark he looks more woman then man on the second glance. His long hair, his dress with belt…

At Golgotha it’s most prominent. There you can see he presents himself as a woman.

And after that, only 8 years later, the big change. The short hair, the glasses, all male.

And only other occasion in which we can see Crowley as a female is with Warlock as his nanny. But that is a different story.

 9. So let me summarize it.

v  Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ follower and travelled with him.

v  Crowley knew Jesus, he showed him the world.

v  Mary Magdalene was a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

v  Crowley manifested himself as a woman during Jesus’ life and he was a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion.

v  Mary Magdalene was probably wealthy.

v  Crowley has no problem with money.

v  Mary Magdalene is often pictured as a woman with long, curly, red hair.

v  Crowley had for the first four thousand years long, curly, red hair.

v  After the crucifixion Mary Magdalene left and went to Jerusalem.

v  After the crucifixion Crowley left Palestine and went to Rome.

v  Out of Mary Magdalene had been driven seven demons.

v  Crowley is a demon.

v  Mary Magdalene saw an angel (or two angels) that told her Jesus had risen from the dead.

v  Crowley has no problem with seeing angels.

v  Jesus said to Mary Magdalene after resurrection: "Don't touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my father”.

v  Crowley is demon, that could do it. ¨

v  In apocryphal texts, Mary Magdalene is portrayed as a visionary and leader of the early movement.

v  Crowley invented many things and was a leader of a sort on Earth.

v  Three Jesus’ aphorisms are attributed Mary Magdalene: "The wickedness of each day [is sufficient]. Workers deserve their food. Disciples resemble their teachers." She is also described as: "she spoke this utterance as a woman who understood everything."

v  Well, I don’t think like you but I think it’s a pretty good description of Crowley if you ask his co-workers.

v  Jesus said he may make Mary Magdalene male to become equal men.

v  Crowley changed after his death to male and also changed his name.

v  The Gospel of Mary was probably written over a century after the historical Mary Magdalene's death. The gospel does not claim to have been written by her and its author is anonymous.

v  Mary Magdalene’s gospel was found in Egypt covered in feathers.

 10. So I think Crowley could be Mary Magdalene. Crowley and Jesus could be together. Crowley could be the one painted all the time on all the Mary Magdalene’s pictures.

 The idea about Crowley being Mary Magdalene is not mine. It’s all tumblr.

#Good Omens meta #my first meta #Crowley as Mary Magdalene #some thoughts #my meta

[sexandwistfulness]

1/1/20, part ii (or, a review of “my year of rest and relaxation” by ottessa moshfegh)

On New Year's Day, no amount of coffee could keep me awake. I got home from the New Year's Eve party at four; I was up again by seven-thirty. I sat bleary-eyed in the dark of my kitchen grinding Liberica beans on autopilot before reaching for my French press. Even the smell of the coarse grind blooming with slightly under boiling water failed to rouse me.

If I had any resolution for the new decade, it would be to halt the ennui. To sleep better. To lift the fog that bore down relentlessly upon me. Every time I closed my eyes I could feel myself begin to dissipate. The coffee didn't help. The next one didn't either.

Maybe I could nap. Maybe I could read. On the couch I failed to nap, staring at the ceiling instead, so I started Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a book I had owned since it came out but neglected to actually read.

I’ve listened to Moshfegh speak: she has a hypnotically measured way of speaking, in contrast to the excitable way some other authors talked about their craft. Her prose has that hypnotically measured trait too, and My Year has that from the very first page as the protagonist of Moshfegh’s second novel details her increasingly self-caged routine of sleeping days away and waking up only to restock on coffee, snacks, prescription meds and VHSes at the only two places she’d go — her local bodega and the nearby Rite Aid.

Reading in bed is something I strictly ban myself from doing: I’m an obsessive believer in that philosophy that my bed should be for sleep or sex only. (I’ll still read in bed, but only to make myself sleep. Heavy history tomes as thick my pillows weigh my chest down when I drift off. Short story anthologies — The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories being the present companion, because Banana Yoshimoto’s Buenos Aires-set piece is something I can never finish even as I keep trying — lie page-down next to me.

Apathetic to the world, contemptuous of her sole friend, and swaddled in privilege, the reader shouldn't like the unnamed narrator (in her words “tall and thin and blonde and pretty and young”, but also passive, emotionless, scornful, and completely uninterested in any form of self-awareness); her slide-descent into insanity as she decides in the summer of 2000 to hibernate for a whole year manages to be compellingly relatable for all of us reading this two decades later. Somehow, she is the sanest person we know — with world war on the brink, planes falling out of the sky, continents aflame, and Nazis everyfuckingwhere, who wouldn’t want to sleep a year away?

I slept through the Soleimani assassination. I used to wake up and consume news for hours, slowly dressing for work while analysis podcasts, cable news, tabs and tabs of newspaper website front pages, and Twitter alerts competed for my attention. I slept through Kim Jong-un’s New Year speech. I slept through the Baghdad embassy riots. Bold all-caps on a TV ticker, headlines on stacks of newspapers, forwarded articles. I ignored them all.

Unlike Vladimir Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert or Brett Easton Ellis’s Patrick Bateman, Moshfegh’s My Year features a protagonist who is less unhinged than she is unhinging: but while there is an almost dreamy fog to the novel, the reader is left with no doubt that she is, in fact, a reliable narrator. She is not rewriting herself in an idealized way when she describes herself as tall and thin and blonde and pretty and young, she is unenthusiastically echoing the thoughts and envies of others, including her neurotic best friend Reva, a friendship since college now rooted in some form of love by residue rather than actual mutual like.

My Year thus is not one of those near-contemporary novels set in a parallel history: it is our 2000, it is our 2001. Dot-coms arrogantly assume they will last forever. Yahoo! is the king of the world. Cellphones are barely more than pagers that can call. A bumbling idiot is president. New York City is exciting and pulsating, chaotically shifting but never changing.

The only thing the main character loves is Whoopi Goldberg, reciting on the phone to her friend the plots of the movies she watches and falls asleep to. She finds a quack of a psychiatrist so she can lie her way to stronger prescriptions: Dr Tuttle is more than happy to indulge her, while also sharing conspiracy theories and plotting to keep insurance investigators from sniffing too closely this escalating hoard of meds.

I read the novel in fits between naps. The main character sleeps a year away; I was sleeping New Year's Day away. I ignored texts and calls. I hate naps, but sprawled on an L-shaped sofa and waking up only to read, I was happy: this was all I wanted to do.

When she begins to take an increasingly intense cocktail of pills to keep herself asleep for days on end, her body begins to rebel against the passivity — first sleepwalking, then sleep-making waxing appointments, sleep-shopping, even sleep-partying.

Does the author know that another Moshfegh — one Dr Nicole — has a mirror image of a book out? It’s The Book of Sleep: 75 Strategies To Relieve Insomnia. Even reality, the reader’s reality, rebels against the book’s quest to spend a whole year asleep.

All the press about the book highlight that the novel drags itself inexorably to the end of a wild, carefree, extravagant era — September 11, 2001 is months, then weeks, then days away. On the final page of My Year, the main character makes a spectacularly insane revelation… and it is beautiful. Her eyes are open. She is alive. She has slept a whole year away, emerged from it rejuvenated if unrecognizable, fundamentally unchanged and probably no better, but in some way energized.

I refused to do anything but sleep and read this book as soon as I began it. I skipped meals. I eschewed coffee. Hypnotic: we think of mind control and suggestion and behavior control, but the word comes from the Greek — hupnōtikos, to induce sleep. When I finally finished the book, it was minutes from midnight, still January 1, 2020. It was dark out, but it felt like morning. It felt like I had completed something monumental. I treated the hours after midnight like it was the dawn of a new day. I made a French omelet, banging my fist on the handle of the nonstick pan to make the buttered eggs hop, and then I worked. It finally struck me. We’re in a new era, baby.

#prose #writing #book review #ottessa moshfegh #my year of rest and relaxation #me #mine

[opedguy]

Trump Slammed By the Fake News

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Sept. 4, 2020.--Repeating  the 2016 presidential race, the Fake News slammed 74-year-old President Donald Trump for allegedly making disparaging remarks about deceased U.S. soldiers on a trip in 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW I.  Writing in the Atlantic Magazine, Jeffery Goldberg quoted unnamed sources saying the Trump made defamatory comments June 10, 2018 about U.S. war dead, calling them “losers” and “suckers.”  Nothing was reported at the time until now, less than two months from the Nov. 3 presidential election.  Goldberg insists that multiple sources corroborate Trump disparaging remarks, yet he can’t name one.  Sounds much like the attack against Trump in 2016, when Gold Star family member 70-year-old Khizer Khan accused Trump of disgracing the memory of his 28-year-old son, Humayun Khan who died June 8, in Baqubah, Iraq.     

        Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used Khizer Khan at many of her campaign rallies, hoping to dissuade enough voters from voting for Trump.  Hillary went after Trump in 2016 with a vengeance, saying Trump had contempt for military families.  Most military families saw through Hillary’s charade, much like voters now see through Goldberg’s hit-job against Trump in the Atlantic.  Goldberg can’t produce a single named source to corroborate his charge about Trump, calling U.S. war dead “suckers” and “losers.”  Trump denounced the Atlantic’s fake news, saying today no president has done more for the U.S. military that him. ”Your’e not a patriot,” said retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton whose father Col Norman Dale Easton was killed in Vietnam in 1969.  Taking Goldberg’s article “hook, line and sinker,” Eaton doesn’t recognize fake news when he sees it.          

   Trying to defeat Trump at any cost—especially the truth—former Vice President Joe Bdien slammed Trump for his cavalier remarks, whether he actually made them or not.  Eaton has no qualms about the fact that he represents progressive Vote/Vets which is committed to seeing Trump defeated in November.  Easton has no problem disseminating any fabrication as long as it hurts Trump’s reelection bid.  Hillary did her best to fabricate Trump’s alleged contempt for the military and fictional ties to the Kremlin, something her fake dossier said about Trump.  No one in the press questioned whether or not Hillary’s paid opposition research that made many defamatory statements about Trump, including accusing him of being a Russian agent.  It took over three years of his presidency to finally get cleared of Hillary false accusations, after 75-year-old  Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his Final Report March 23, 2019.          

   Trump’s been subject to the fake news media, making up stories, often using anonymous-sourcing to make wild allegations.  Whether Democrats know it or not, Trump’s been hardened for the last four years facing relentless fake news on TV and in print, doing anything possible to see him impeached.  While Trump’s been blamed by 24/7 fake news about the coronavirus global pandemic and damage to the U.S. economy, recent polls show, like in 2016, voters starting to wise up.  “So, Mr. Trump, come 3 November, we’re all voting fore a real patriot, Joe Biden,” Easton said.  “Our country’s honor defends on it,” showing the extent of partisan lies that Democrats plan to hurl at Trump before the election.  Unless Goldberg can cite a real human source to corroborate his Atlantic fiction story, it’s going to backfire on the press like it did in the 2016 presidential election.   

          Practically every broadcast and print outlet in the 2016 endorsed Hillary for president, yet she lost the election.  For the broadcast and print media, their credibility is on the ballot in 2020.  If they can’t beat Trump controlling the airwaves over the last four years and the 2020 election cycle, then the U.S. media is dead for all practical purposes.  Trump ran his 2016 campaign against the fake news and he’s doing it again in 2020.  To the Democrat-friendly press, truth or objective reality no longer matter or count, only something to be manipulated to advance a political agenda.  While the media got burned in 2016, they hope for revenge against Trump in 2020.  If they lose again, it’s going to speak volumes how a lion’s share of voters no longer trust the media to get out the facts, seeing it as an extension of the Democrat Party.  There’s nothing in Goldberg’s Atlantic article that can be confirmed.    

         Trump’s 2016 critique of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) stemmed from McCain’s dogged anti-Trump stance, doing anything possible to sabotage Trump’s 2016 campaign.  McCained worked closely with Hillary to give former FBI Director James Comey her opposition research AKA “the Steele Dossier” that made wild, unconfirmed allegations about Trump’s ties to the Kremlin.  McCain was part of the “Never Trumpers,” that conspired with the press to spread any baseless lie about Trump to help Hillary get elected.  Trump recalls all the lies coming from Khizer Khan, now he’s faced with even more lies coming from Goldberg’s Atlantic article.  What’s only gotten worse since 2016 is the Democrat Party’s control over large parts of U.S. broadcast and print media outlets. With over 95% of the press against Trump, you’d think Biden would win by a landslide. 

About the Author 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.  

[mascwhump]

Trenches (Part 1) is now on Wattpad.

Will it get taken down? Idk, but it’s there.

#oc #whump #easton’s unnamed story #whump oc #whump story

[mybookplacenet]

Featured Post: An Other Place by Darren Dash

"About An Other Place: Get ready to enter the dark, disturbing waters of a dystopian sci-fi world in this widely-praised, mind-bending trip to An Other Place... where time and space are fluid... where the moon changes colour and savage beasts run wild... where teeth are used as currency and love-making is a perilous proposition... where cannibalism occasionally comes into fashion and the dead are swiftly forgotten... where strange sandmen offer sanctuary in times of danger and a mysterious Alchemist rules over all. When Newman Riplan's flight into the unknown turns into a nightmarish slide between worlds, he must explore an unnamed city where unpredictable terrors are the norm. By the end of his first day adrift, his life has spun completely out of his control, but the most mind-twisting and soul-crushing revelations are only beginning. As he desperately searches for meaning and a way out, he starts to realise that perhaps only madness can provide him with the answers, while surrender might offer him his only true hope of escape... "This is, by far, the best book of 2016, possibly the best book of this decade... the bastard love child of Kafka and Rod Serling, throwing in a dash of Ray Bradbury for good measure. 5/5 -- brilliant. Just brilliant." Kelly Smith Reviews. "An Other Place sees an imaginative writer at the top of his craft.It brings to mind The Twilight Zone, yet even Rod Serling himself would have struggled to come up with an alternate world so completely off-the-wall and yet oddly meaningful as Dash has here. 9/10 stars." Starburst. "Darren Dash has opened a new artery of terror... unlike any book I have ever read... hints of The Twilight Zone, Pines, and Station Eleven." The Literary Connoisseur. "Its luckless hero moves from ghastly scenarios to even ghastlier scenarios with such horrid reliability that his story reads like extreme black comedy. 4/5 stars." SFX. "Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, and Brett Easton Ellis may have written some weird stuff, but An Other Place tops all of it, both in terms of re-readability and overall scope." Dread Central. Targeted Age Group: Adults Written by: Darren Dash Buy the ebook: Buy the Book On Amazon Buy the Print Book: Buy the Book On Amazon Author Bio: Darren Dash is better known as Darren Shan, under which name he has sold over 25 million books worldwide, mainly in the YA market. While Darren is still in love with the world of YA and as active on that front as ever, he is now also exploring other worlds with his adult works, as Darren Dash. He has regularly made bestsellers charts in the USA (New York Times Top 10 on numerous occasions), the UK, Ireland, Hungary, Dubai, Japan, Taiwan and elsewhere. Darren's real name is Darren O’Shaughnessy. He was born in 1972, in London, but is Irish (despite the strong Cockney accent that he has never lost) and has spent most of his life in Limerick in Ireland, where he now lives with his wife and children. Darren went to school in Limerick, then studied Sociology and English at Roehampton University in London. He worked for a cable television company in Limerick for a couple of years, before setting up as a full-time writer at the age of 23. He has been an incredibly prolific author, publishing 51 books in just over 20 years. A big film buff, with a collection of nearly five thousand movies on DVD, Darren also reads lots of books and comics, and likes to study and collect original artwork, especially comic art, modern art, and sculptures. Other interests include long walks, going to soccer matches (he’s a Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland fan), listening to pop and rock music, theatre, worldwide travel, sampling the delights of both gourmet cuisine and finger-licking junk food, and dreaming up new ways to disturb and entertain his readers! Follow the author on social media: Learn more about the writer. Visit the Author's Website Facebook Fan Page Twitter Read the full article

#darrendash #darrenshan #dystopian #sciencefiction

[theofficialbibliodotcom]

What People Are Reading: Top Five Books Sold During the Pandemic Times

As COVID-19 has spanned the globe, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of books people are buying, which is great news for our booksellers who have had to close their doors to maintain quarantine and safe distancing for their communities. We decided to take a look at the most popular pandemic-related titles that customers purchased in the first half of 2020.

The Plague by Albert Camus

First edition of The Plague offered by Rare Book Cellar

First published in 1947 in French as La Peste, by Gallimard, Paris, The Plague concerns a fictional outbreak of bubonic plague in the French Algerian city of Oran on the North African coast and how people react to the quarantine. Set in the 1940s, is it thought to be based on historical cholera outbreaks in the same region. It served as an allegory of the Nazi invasion of France and a portrayal of human resonance in the face of terror and death. The English translation by Stuart Gilbert was published by Hamish Hamilton, London in 1948. First American edition by Alfred A. Knopf in 1948 with a jacket design by Jean Carlu, with a Modern Library Edition published the same year 

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

The Decameron is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio. It contains 100 tales told by the characters, seven young women and three young men, who are sheltering in place outside of Florence to escape The Black Death. Boccaccio’s work is said to have inspired many later works such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the plays of Shakespeare. The Decameron was first printed in 1620, although these later translations were generally incomplete and flawed, many leaving out what they considered vulgar parts of the text. 

The first complete translation of The Decameron into English by John Payne was published in 1886 by the Villon Society.  It was later reprinted by Horace Liveright Inc., US in 1925, and The Modern Library in 1931. In 1930, The Limited Editions Club of New York released a translation by Frances Winwar in an expensive two-volume set. In 1972, a Penguin Classics edition was published.  

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Love in the Time of Cholera is an international bestselling novel by Nobel Prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. It is considered a modern literary classic and one of the best novels of the 20th century. 

In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fell passionately in love. When Fermina chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs, but he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies and Florentino declares his love for Fermina again.

It is considered a non-traditional love story as “lovers find love in their ‘golden years’—in their seventies, when death is all around them.”

 Love in the Time of Cholera was first published in Spanish in 1985 with an English translation released in 1988 by Alfred A. Knopf and Jonathan Cape, London.

Blindness by Jose Saramago

First US edition for sale by Argosy Book Store

Blindness is a novel by the Portuguese author Jose Saramago, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. First published as Ensaio sobre a cegueira in 1995, it was translated into English by Giovanni Pontiero and published by Harvill in London and Harcourt Brace in New York in 1997. 

Blindness is about a mass epidemic of blindness that strikes an unnamed city. As nearly everyone loses their site from “the white sickness” chaos ensues even as the government tries to contain the sickness and those struck by it. 

A Journal Of The Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe was first published in March 1722. It is a fictional account of the Great Plague of 1655, the last time the Bubonic plague hit the city of London. Although it is presented as an eyewitness account written just a few years after the outbreak, Defoe was just five years old when the epidemic hit the city, although much of the information may have been taken first hand from the account his uncle kept during the plague. 

The Limited Editions Club published an edition of A Journal of the Plague Year in 1968, and Easton Press released a collector’s edition in 1978. 

The Great Influenza The Story Of The Deadliest Pandemic In History by John M. Barry

In 1918 the most lethal outbreak of influenza ever seen infected nearly a third of the world’s population. Nicknamed ‘the Spanish Flu’ its origins are unknown, although early cases were found in soldiers in the US in March 1918 just as the outbreak began. Over 18 months it killed between 20-50 million people worldwide, just at the end of World War I which had claimed the lives of 17 million people. 

The author, John M. Barry, is a professor at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Originally published in 2004 by Viking Press,The Great Influenza The Story Of The Deadliest Pandemic In History is reemerging as a relevant look at how cities and countries handle deadly pandemics. 

Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky

First edition of Polio listed by Rare Book Cellar

The 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner in History, Polio: An American Story by David M. Oshinsky explores the race for the cure to Polio, a disease that terrified Americans in the 1940s and 1950s until a vaccine was found by Jonas Salk. The book offers insight into the pioneering fundraising and publicity efforts that were made to fight the disease, from the organization of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in the 1930s to the government’s licensing and handling of drugs, ensuring the safety of the market through legal means. Polio: An American Story was published in 2005 by Oxford University Press.

The Masque of the Red Death  by Edgar Allan Poe

This copy listed by Bookbid Rare Books

“The Masque of the Red Death” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It follows Prince Prospero as he holds a party for all his rich friends while sheltering in place from the plague of the Red Death in his abbey. Safely walled in the abbey away from the unclean masses that are afflicted by the plague, 1000 nobles hold court. In the middle of the party a mysterious guest dressed as a ‘Red Death’ victim shows up, and as he visits rooms the guests die. First published in the May 1842 edition of Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine as “The Mask of the Red Death.” 

The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett

First published in 1994, The Coming Plague was a best-seller written by public health expert Laurie Garrett who won a Pulitzer for her journalism on the Ebola outbreak. This book explores how untreatable diseases and epidemics are being created by the conditions of our modern world.

The post What People Are Reading: Top Five Books Sold During the Pandemic Times appeared first on Bibliology.

source https://www.biblio.com/blog/2020/06/what-people-are-reading-top-five-books-sold-during-the-pandemic-times/

#bibliology #biblio blog #bookish

[ljones41]

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (1981) Review

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (1981) Review If James Bond fans and critics had judged all of EON Productions’ 1981 movie, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" solely on its pre-credit sequence, the movie probably would have barely made a dime at the box office. Worse, it would have been regarded as the worst movie in the entire Bond franchise. Thankfully, the rest of the movie proved to be far superior to its atrocious opening sequence.

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY", based upon two of Ian Fleming's 1960 short stories, "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risco", marked the directorial debut of John Glen, an assistant director and editor of previous Bond movies. Glen ended up steering the Bond franchise through a record five movies, all released between 1981 and 1989. With screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, Glen would take the franchise into a new era that depended less upon gadgets, grandiose villains and their even more outlandish schemes; and more on well-written plots, gritty edge and deep characterizations. And this new direction was certainly obvious in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" . . . well, except for the pre-title sequence. Which has led me to wonder . . . what on earth made Maibaum and Wilson include that atrocious sequence, in the first place? God only knows. The best I can say about the opening sequence, which featured an unnamed and crippled Blofeld was that its theme resonated with the rest of the movie – namely revenge. Once the movie had moved past its odious beginning, it became a sleek and tight thriller in which James Bond must recover the ATAC missile launching system, that disappeared, following the sinking of a British spy ship off the coast of Albania. MI-6 had originally recruited a British marine biologist named Sir Timothy Havelock to locate the missing ship and missile system, but he and his Greek wife ended up being murdered in full view of their daughter, by an assassin named Hector Gonzalez. Bond tracked Gonzalez to an estate in Spain. But before he could question the killer, Sir Timothy’s daughter, Melina murdered Gonzalez out of revenge for her parents’ deaths. Bond eventually learned that Gonzalez had been hired by a free-lance Soviet agent, who had been recruited to also find the ATAC system. In the Soviets’ hands, the ATAC could be used to destroy Western nuclear submarines. From the exciting chase sequence in the Spanish countryside, to the ski slopes of Cortina and the Greek Islands, Bond and Melina conducted a search for the missing ATAC that led to a bitter rivalry between two Greek smugglers – one who happened to be an independent agent contracted to the KGB. Portrayed by Israeli actor, Topol and British actor, Julian Glover; former friends Milos Columbo and Ari Kristatos drew Bond into a 30-year feud, in which both tried to convince the British agent that the other is the KBG contact. Even worse, Bond had to contend with Melina’s continuing desire for revenge - despite her murder of Hector Gonzalez. In the end, Bond managed to rein in Melina’s vengeful tendencies, learn that Kristatos was the KBG contact and prevent the ATAC from falling into Soviet hands. Roger Moore had nearly passed over his fifth chance at portraying the fictional British agent. Fortunately, he changed his mind at the last moment and proved that underneath the sophisticated façade and cheeky wit, he possessed the acting chops to star in a serious spy thriller. To this day, many cannot decide whether his best performance was in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" or in 1977’s "THE SPY WHO LOVED ME". Personally, I am inclined to believe that "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" was his finest moment in the Bond franchise. An excellent supporting cast and a first-class script – different from what he had been used to – allowed Moore to meet the challenge of a new kind of Bond and turn in a tough and excellent performance. Even better, he did all of this and still managed to retain something of his sly sense of humor. His finest moments included: -Bond’s conversation with Melina, after saving her life in Cortina -Bond’s first meeting with Columbo -Emile Locque’s death (a controversial scene in the Bond franchise) -final sequence at the St. Cyril’s monastery. French actress, Carole Bouquet, who was 23 years old when she filmed "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" ably supported Moore as the movie’s leading lady. She skillfully turned in an emotional performance as Melina Havelock, seeking revenge for the murder of her parents. Both Topol and Julian Glover portrayed the two rivaling Greek smuggler, whom Bond has to determine was the KGB contact responsible for the Havelocks’ murder. I must say that both actors gave very subtle performances, making it difficult for the audience to decide who was innocent and who was guilty. And this ambiguity contributed greatly to the movie’s success. In fact, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" seemed to be blessed with an exceptional cast that included Michael Gothard as the quietly callous killer, Emile Locque; Cassandra Harris (at the time, fiancée to future Bond, Pierce Brosnan) as the flirtatious and doomed Countess Lisl; Lynn-Holly Johnson as Kristatos’ ice skating protégée who develops a yen for Bond, Bibi Dahl; Jill Bennett as Bibi’s stoic trainer, Jacoba Brink; and Stefan Kalipha as the cold-blooded Cuban hitman, Hector Gonzalez. Also in the cast was Charles Dance portraying one of Locque’s henchmen, four years before he became well known in the miniseries, "JEWEL IN THE CROWN". Dance had also portrayed Bond author, Ian Fleming in a rather dull biopic called "GOLDENEYE". But what really made "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" for me, was the first-rate story centered on MI-6’s recovery of their secret missile system. Both Maibaum and Wilson, very smartly eschewed the gadget-filled fantasy epics of movies like "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE" and "MOONRAKER" for a slightly gritty spy thriller with twists and double-crosses, reminiscent of classic spy movies from the 1940s and 50s. Instead of using Bond regular John Barry to write the score, EON Productions turned to Bill Conti, who would later write the score to the "NORTH AND SOUTH" miniseries and direct the music for future Oscar broadcasts, to create a lively score that I found very entertaining. Also included was the movie’s main theme sung by Sheena Easton. The song went on to receive an Academy Award nomination. Thanks to Conti’s score, John Glen’s tight direction, a serious and tougher Bond portrayed by Moore, a first-rate supporting cast, and a skillful script written by Maibaum and Wilson, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (aside from the crappy pre-credit sequence) turned out to be what I believe is one of the finest movies in the Bond franchise.

#for your eyes only #for your eyes only 1981 #risco #ian fleming #james bond #007 #roger moore #carole bouquet #julian glover #topol #james villiers #lois maxwell #desmond llewelyn #john glen #jill bennett #lynn-holly johnson #bill conti #sheena easton #michael gothard #cassandra harris #stefan kalipha #charles dance #john wyman #jack hedley #geoffrey keen #janet brown #paul brooke #eon productions #james bond franchise

[allspark]

It’s time for our weekly Diamond Comics Shipping List! Check out some great titles IDW has in store for us next week like Transformers Unicron, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Ghostbusters, Marvel Action Black Panther, and much more! All coming your way for April 3rd!

TRANSFORMERS UNICRON TP

John Barber, Chris Ryall, David Rodriguez, Brandon Easton, Christos N. Gage, Magdalene Visaggio (A) Alex Milne, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Kei Zama, David Messina, Nelson Daniel, Juan Samu, Paolo Villanelli, Fico Ossio (A/CVR) Andrew Griffith

ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR MARCH RELEASE! Every IDW Transformers comic has led to this cataclysmic story! The culmination of IDW’s Transformers Universe! The end is nigh! Unicron, a planet-sized being that devours other worlds, has set its sights on Cybertron and all of its colonies-including Earth! Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and their friends must unite every Cybertronian, Earthling, and ally they have to stand against this threat to all existence. But why is Unicron hell-bent on destroying Cybertron-what original sin did Optimus Prime’s ancestors commit to earn this wrath? It’s an all-out battle against extinction as the world-destroying, universe-shattering threat of Unicron is on its way.

GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO #260

Larry Hama (A/CVR A) Ron Joseph (CVR B) John Royle

“The Cobra’s Venom,” Part 5. Mad scientists, even madder robots, and a small, desperate team of Joes left alone to defeat them at any cost! The final chapter in the latest bombastic arc of living legend Larry Hama’s magnificent G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero run!

Fifth of five JOE/COBRA vehicle/gear-themed RI covers by Jamie Sullivan!

MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC TP VOL 16

Paul Allor, Ted Anderson, Jeremy Whitley, Thom Zahler (A) Toni Kuusisto, Agnes Garbowska (A/CVR) Andy Price

Advance solicited for April release! Things are getting a little crazier than normal in Ponyville! Pinkie Pie gains extraordinary powers after eating a magic apple, but will she use her new powers for good, or for fun? Meanwhile, the entire town is getting into the spooky spirit for Nightmare Nights! Then, Rainbow Dash decides the elder ponies of the retirement village could use some more excitement in their lives. So she invents EXTREME BINGO! What could go wrong? Collects issues #69-73.

AMBER BLAKE #1

Jade Lagardere (A/CVR A) Butch Guice

Amber Blake was only a child when she was recruited to the Cleverland Institute, a school for gifted children. But predators hide in the school’s administration, abusing the children they’re meant to protect, and, on the verge of exposing them, Amber finds herself fleeing for her life from the very man who recruited her. But she’s not dead yet-and she’s not the only one who wants to see Cleverland’s leaders burn.

ATOMIC ROBO AND THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA #4

Brian Clevinger (A/CVR A) Scott Wegener (CVR B) Valentina Pinto

Atomic Robo just opened Tesladyne Institute’s doors to the next generation of Action Scientists. Meanwhile, an old comrade has an urgent message about the Vampire Dimension: it’s bad. Bernie might be speaking with the real Queen of Hollow Earth, instead of a hallucination? Jury’s still out on that one. Oh, and y’know the subplot about Robo’s secret robot son? Well… it’s fine. Everything’s fine.

DANGER GIRL DANGEROUS VISIONS 3-D

J. Scott Campbell, Andy Hartnell (A/CVR) J. Scott Campbell

The first issue of J. Scott Campbell’s Danger Girl (plus the original preview story) are presented in glorious full color 3-D-or as we like to describe it… DANGERVISION! Plus, as an added bonus, we are showcasing an incredible gallery section making this a true 3-D Extravaganza!

Comes with your very own set of DANGEROUS 3-D glasses!

GHOSTBUSTERS: 35TH ANNIVERSARY: GHOSTBUSTERS

Erik Burnham (A/CVR) Dan Schoening

The 35th Anniversary of the Ghostbusters is upon us! Let’s celebrate with four spooktacular weekly comics featuring different Ghostbuster teams in all-new standalone adventures!

First out of the Firehouse are the original ‘busting team of Peter, Winston, Egon and Ray, who have seen a lot of things during their time as paranormal investigators, but the latest case might just turn history on its head! Could it be that they’ve found proof of… Atlantis? It’s a case full of saltwater and slime with the ORIGINAL GHOSTBUSTERS!

GIANTKILLERS

Bart Sears (A) Rick Leonardi, Matthew Dow Smith (A/CVR B) Meghan Hetrick (A/CVR A) Bart Sears

Arkon the Giantkiller is fated to protect Auoro, the One True Chosen, so that she may destroy the evil Lord Omin. She just has to survive long enough to do it! Bart Sears pens the story he has always wanted to tell, a tale of brutal sword-swinging action as Arkon seeks to rescue the infant Auoro from her captors. With art by the all-star team of Rick Leonardi (X-Men) and Matthew Dow Smith (X-Files), the issue also includes a short story with art by Meghan Hetrick (Red Thorn), and a prose story written and illustrated by Bart Sears. Only an oversized, prestige format could contain this much epic storytelling!

An exciting new one-shot printed in prestige format!

IMPOSSIBLE INC #5

J. M. DeMatteis (A/CVR A) Mike Cavallaro

Lost in an ocean of Infinite Nothingness, Number Horowitz has to wonder: Has the universe disappeared-or have I? It’s a question she has to answer quickly, because the lives of every living creature in Creation depend on it! Join Number and the Impossible Inc. crew for the cosmic conclusion to the mini-series!

LODGER #4

David Lapham, Maria Lapham (A/CVR A) David Lapham

The line between hunter and hunted gets blurred when the Lodger gives into temptation. And out on the open road, Ricky and Golddigger close in for the kill.

The first black & white book from Black Crown! A new story from comics legends David & Maria Lapham (Stray Bullets)! Letters column, behind-the-panels process pages, & more!

“LODGER is from the team that brought us Stray Bullets, so you know we’re in safe hands, hands that just need one more rinse under a faucet to get the blood off them. This is small-town noir at its gothic best. Bleed on…”-Ian Rankin, best-selling author of Inspector Rebus

MAGIC THE GATHERING CHANDRA #2

Vita Ayala (A/CVR A) Harvey Tolibao

After her latest defeat, Chandra feels broken as events of the past continue to haunt her, and a familiar foe seizes the opportunity to strike! Will Ajani’s heroic intervention be enough to help her overcome the threat and stop her from traveling farther down a self-destructive path?

Rising star writer Vita Ayala and powerhouse artist Harvey Tolibao continue to expand the bounds of the Multiverse in the first Magic: The Gathering® series in nearly five years!

STORY SPINS DIRECTLY OUT OF THE NEWEST CARD SET, OCTOBER’S GUILDS OF RAVNICA , AND ITS SEQUELS, JANUARY’S RAVNICA ALLEGIANCE AND THE UNNAMED SPRING 2019 SET!

Magic: The Gathering, its logo, Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, and character names and distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC and are used with permission. ©2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All Rights Reserved

MARVEL ACTION BLACK PANTHER #1

Kyle Baker (CVR RI-A) Kyle Baker (A/CVR A) Juan Samu

Readers of all ages can get lost in the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda as they follow the adventures of its monarch, the Black Panther! King T’Challa is responsible for defending his people-and the world-from any threats. And he gets plenty of help-and sass-from his genius sister Shuri. A Marvelous new era begins here!  A bold new era for Black Panther begins here! From the mind of multiple Eisner and Harvey award winner Kyle Baker!

NIGHT MOVES #4

V.J. Boyd, Justin Boyd (A) Clay McCormack (CVR A) Chris Burnham

A terrifying noir nightmare in the occult underworld of Las Vegas! Face to face with an ancient evil, Alexis searches for signs of her old partner inside of what is now the demon Ashmedai. Narrowly escaping defeat (at a heavy cost), Chris and Alexis grow closer, only to be confronted by true evil-and it’s not what they expected… From the mind of VJ Boyd, co-executive producer of S.W.A.T. and producer of Justified, comes a fantastic new noir-ish tale!

UNCLE SCROOGE #43

Vito Stabile, Carlo Panaro (A) Francesco Guerrini, Paolo Campinoti (CVR A) Marco Mazzarello

What happens when Uncle Scrooge gets his greedy hands on Donald Duck’s magical hammock? Nothing simple and easy, that’s for sure! While Donald just wants a well-earned nap, Uncle Scrooge has other ideas in mind… See the hilarious results in “The Helpful Hammock!”

YE TP

Guilherme Petreca (A/CVR) Guilherme Petreca

Ye is a curious young man, named after the only sound he knows how to make. His voice must have been stolen by the Colorless King, the source of all the world’s sorrows-terrifying, unrelenting, all-taking and never-giving. Now, Ye has no choice but the embark on a long voyage over land and sea, past grizzled pirates, a drunken clown, and more, to find the famous witch who can help him defeat the Colorless King. What he discovers may be a lesson for us all.

•   Advance solicited for January release! •   Young cartoonist Guilherme Petreca won Brazil’s prestigious HQ Mix Award for Best Artist due to the unforgettable imagery on every page of Ye, his first full-length graphic novel. •   In the tradition of The Little Prince, The Neverending Story, and A Wrinkle in Time, this graphic fable will leave young and old readers awestruck and eager to relive the journey.

  Join the IDW Hasbro Shared Universe related conversation here in our Comics Discussion and Reviews section and here for all other franchises, superheroes, or general comic book discussions! Not a member? Join our community by creating your own free account here! Or jump right into the live chat on our Discord server or our Facebook Group!

IDW Comics Shipping List for April 3rd! It’s time for our weekly Diamond Comics Shipping List! Check out some great titles IDW has in store for us next week like 

#Avengers #Black Panther #Comics #Danger Girl #Diamond Shipping List #Disney #DuckTales #G.I. Joe #G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #Ghostbusters #Hasbro #IDW #IDW Publishing #John Barber #Magic: The Gathering #Marvel Action #MLP #MLP: FIM #My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #TF #Transformers #Transformers: Unicron #Uncle Scrooge #Unicron #Walt Disney Comics

[mascwhump]

Trenches, Part 2

Chapter 12 - Everything Is Always Fine

Tag list: @whatwasmyprevioususername @milk-carton-whump @whumpasaurus101 @whatwhumpcomments @latenightcupsofcoffee @ashintheairlikesnow @tears-and-lilies @utopian819

CW: brief nsfw dialogue/themes (not really explicit), guns, alcohol, manhandling, blood

-

Sometime during the night, the power went out. They were grateful that it was spring; otherwise, it would be far too cold. They had to keep the curtains closed, so Ethan lit a couple candles and lanterns around the cabin. Charlie liked the ambiance it brought. The cooler air also gave him an excuse to wear a hoodie. He had to hide the marks that Mallory had left on him the previous night. Crow and Ethan didn't seem to have a clue about what had occurred.

Crow was acting a bit more possessive of Charlie, though. Any chance he got to touch Charlie, he took. It started out innocent. He'd rest his hand on his shoulder as he walked by, or ruffled his hair a bit. But as the day progressed, he'd give him small kisses on the cheek or forehead. It seemed like he'd always make sure Mallory was watching, too. The power still hadn't returned by dinner. They ate with candles in the center of the table. It was uncomfortably quiet without the subtle hums of electricity, so they made plenty of conversation. Crow gave Charlie a break from washing the dishes for once, so he went into the living room with Ethan and Mallory.

"I don't think I've ever been so bored in my life," Ethan groaned.

"Let's make our own fun, then," Charlie suggested, "I saw a fire pit outside. Maybe we could sit around it and tell stories."

"I don't have any better ideas," Ethan said.

So, they all gathered outside by the fire. Charlie kept his distance from it. He and fire pits didn't get along so well. Ethan told them about how his parents came into possession of the cabin. He claimed it was their "our kids are adults now, so we're gonna splurge" gift to themselves. Charlie tried to think of something interesting to share. He ended up telling them about the time C-RAM went off a few yards away from him. He then proclaimed his love of hearing protection.

After awhile, he got up to go grab drinks from inside the cabin. As he stood, he stumbled a bit on the gravel.

"Careful. Don't need you burning your arse again," Crow jested.

"Maybe I want to burn my ass," Charlie replied.

He went inside and grabbed a pack of now room-temperature hard lemonades. When he returned, Ethan was sharing the origin of his code name.

"Yeah, I always had neon hair. My parents and teachers hated it, but it made me happy. Neon pink was my favorite," he said.

"I wish mine was better. I could've gotten a cool name, but, no. Apparently, being left handed is the most interesting thing about me," Crow laughed.

"Adrian's was the most fitting, though. Dude always had scotch in his hand," Charlie said.

Mallory shifted uncomfortably when Adrian was mentioned. Charlie quickly changed the subject.

"So, what happens now?" He asked.

"We just keep going as long as we can," Crow replied.

"What do you think will happen when they find us?" Ethan asked quietly.

Crow sighed and leaned back a little.

"When those guys got us," Charlie spoke, "He told me that they got Deke, but he didn't give me any proof."

There was silence for a moment. Ethan put his face in his hands and sighed.

"Let's hope he was just trying to mess with your head," Crow replied.

They decided to wrap it up there. Charlie hated leaving things on a somber note, but it was for the best. Ethan extinguished the fire and they all went back inside. It was still fairly early, though, so Charlie went over to the bookshelf to see if he could find anything that piqued his interest. As he was looking, Crow came over and grabbed his shoulder. When Charlie turned his head, Crow pushed him against the wall, but did so gently. Charlie froze, then Crow kissed him deeply. He slowly relaxed, melting into the kiss.

When Crow pulled away after a few seconds, he was grinning. Charlie felt his face get hot. He was caught off guard. Crow kissed his cheek before walking away. Charlie stood there for a moment, trying to settle the butterflies in his chest. He turned and caught Mallory looking at him. Mallory tried to act like he wasn't staring, and looked away quickly. Charlie didn't say anything to him. Instead, he decided to step outside onto the deck to let the chilled air cool his burning face. Before he opened the door to go back inside, he could hear Crow and Mallory arguing. He decided to listen from the other side of the door.

"What point are you trying to prove? You've been all over him, all day."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, but you seem to make sure I'm watching every single time. You're getting more aggressive with it by the minute. What's next, you're going to fuck him in front of me?"

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? You sick fuck."

"I'd like it more if I was the one fucking him."

There was a crash, and Charlie knew that was his cue to go inside and break it up. Crow had Mallory pinned to the wall by his throat.

"And you know what?" Mallory choked.

"Mal, don't-"

"I did fuck him."

"Bullshit," Crow hissed as he tightened his grip.

"It's true. I fucked him real good last night while you slept."

Crow punched him right in the nose. Blood started dripping down Mallory's face and onto Crow's hand. Charlie jumped in and tried to pull Crow off of him, but Crow shoved him back with his free hand.

"Stop it, both of you! Enough!" Charlie yelled.

"Stay out of this," Crow growled.

Mallory was now trying to pry Crow's hand from his throat. Ethan was watching, horrified, from across the room.

Charlie attempted to shove Crow, but he wouldn't budge. There wasn't much more he could do to stop him without hurting him. But Mallory was fading, and Charlie wasn't so sure Crow wouldn't stop until he killed him. Just before he made a drastic decision, Crow released his grip. Mallory slid down to floor and coughed as he drew in air.

"Come here," Crow breathed as he turned to Charlie.

"What?" Charlie questioned.

He started to back away instinctively. Crow grabbed him before he got too far and hooked his fingers into the collar of his hoodie. He pulled the fabric away from his neck.

"I knew I fucking saw something on you earlier," Crow muttered.

He let go of Charlie and went back to Mallory, who was still trying to catch his breath. Crow forced him back up and shoved him hard into the wall.

"Ethan, bring me my gun," Crow said.

"What? Why?"

"Because I should've put this bastard down a long time ago."

Once Crow realized Ethan wasn't going to move, he threw Mallory down and went to get the gun himself. Charlie grabbed his arm and pulled him with all his weight.

"Stop! Stop it. Calm the fuck down and stop!" Charlie yelled.

Crow shoved him off, sending him onto the floor. He retrieved his gun from the drawer in the kitchen, and cocked it as he walked back over to Mallory. Charlie scrambled to his feet and placed himself in between them.

"Move," Crow said.

"Don't fucking do this!" Charlie begged, "Please don't!"

Tears were welling in his eyes as Crow looked down at him with a blank expression. Crow then grabbed him by his arm and began dragging him toward the door. Charlie fought him as hard as he could, even resorting to beating on his chest as he was shoved out the front door. Crow locked it before he could stop him. Charlie started banging his fists against the door until his knuckles were bruised and bloody. Crow slowly walked back over to Mallory.

"Please don't kill me," Mallory whispered.

"You didn't think twice about killing Adrian. You didn't think twice about torturing us for months on end. I have an endless list of reasons why I want you dead. You should be grateful that I'm only going to put a bullet in your head, when you deserve to be fucking burned at the stake," Crow spat.

"I-I know I deserve it. I regret every single thing I've done. If I could take it all back, I would," Mallory said.

"You're just saying that because you have a gun pointed at your skull," Crow replied.

"No, I mean it. I really mean it. I never meant for things to go as far as they did. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry-"

"Do you think 'sorry' is going to change anything? The feds are going to bust down that door any day now and kill all of us. Because of you. Our lives are over, because of you. You've taken everything from me. I'm going to take your life before you take that chance away from me, too."

Charlie broke through the door as Crow put his finger on the trigger. He moved as fast as he could, and tackled Crow just as he pulled the trigger. The bullet went through the wall just left of Mallory's head. The gun went sliding across the floor, and Ethan picked it up before anyone else could get to it. Crow shoved Charlie off of him and stormed out the cabin. The car door slammed and the engine roared, quickly disappearing into the night.

Mallory got up and quickly left outside. Charlie was too stunned to move. He sat there, on the floor, staring at nothing. His ears were still ringing from the gunfire. Ethan walked over to him and crouched down.

"You okay?" He murmured.

"Yeah," Charlie replied, "I've gotta go find Mallory."

He forced himself up and walked outside. He didn't see him anywhere, so he walked around the side of the cabin. There Mallory was, curled up against the wall. As Charlie got closer, he realized he was crying. Mallory heard him approach and quickly tried to hide it.

"Oh, hey," he spoke.

"Hey," Charlie said as he sat down next to him.

They stayed silent for a moment, except for Mallory's occasional sniffling. Charlie eventually leaned over and forced him into a hug. Mallory couldn't hold it back anymore, and let out a sob. He hid his face against Charlie's shoulder. Charlie was now crying as well.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Mallory sobbed.

"Shh, just breathe," Charlie murmured.

"He's right, I-I deserve it. You shouldn't have stopped him. I shouldn't be here right now."

"Stop. Breathe."

Charlie held him until he calmed down enough to steady his breathing. They went back into the cabin after awhile. Ethan tended to Mallory's broken nose and Charlie's cut hands. There wasn't much they could do about the broken door, so they ended up leaning a chair against it to keep it shut. Charlie finally lied down once the others were settled. He stared at the ceiling, wondering when, or if, Crow would return.

#if this doesn’t post I’m gonna lose my shit #honestly FUCK this website #it’s taken me 5 tries to post this #whump oc #oc #whump story #whumper turned whumpee #whump #easton’s unnamed story

[mascwhump]

Trenches, Part 2

Chapter 3: Simulation

IT HAS RETURNED.

CW: manhandling, drowning, knives, panic attack, intimate whumper

Tag list: @whatwasmyprevioususername @milk-carton-whump @whumpasaurus101 @whatwhumpcomments @ashintheairlikesnow @tears-and-lilies @utopian819

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Charlie woke up and rolled onto his back. He thought that the bed felt much harder than before, but he was exhausted then, after all. He took a moment to relax before opening his eyes. Then, he remembered his flight, and shot straight up. When he finally opened his eyes, he was filled with confusion. This wasn't the motel room. This was Basil's room. He was on the floor in Basil's room at the foot of his bed.

Panic hit him like a truck. He began to hyperventilate as his heart raced and his vision narrowed. He felt like he couldn't breathe as he pushed himself to his feet, only to fall back down. He gripped the frame of the bed to support himself, but lost all feeling in his legs. The bedroom door opened and Basil walked in to find Charlie in the midst of his panic attack.

"Charlie? What's going on?" He asked softly.

"I-I was... I... no, no, no, no," Charlie stammered as he began to sob.

He curled up on the carpet and grit his teeth in an attempt to stop his sharp breathing.

"You were what? Did you have a nightmare?" Basil inquired as he knelt down.

He gave Charlie a few minutes to gain control of his breathing.

Charlie looked up at him with big, tear-filled eyes and asked, "how did you find me?"

Basil's concerned look turned to one of confusion.

"Charlie, you've been in my room all night," he replied.

His response set Charlie off again, and it took another few minutes for him to calm down. Once he regained enough composure, he sat up and told Basil about what he had experienced. Basil was quiet as he processed Charlie's dream. He then turned and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Charlie, I really am, but that didn't happen," he said.

"I just want to know what they gave me to make me experience that. It felt so fucking real," Charlie spoke against Basil's shoulder.

"I'm not sure. I don't even know if it was intentional, to be honest," Basil replied.

He held Charlie for a moment longer, rubbing his back as he continued to calm down. Charlie pulled away and wiped his face with his arm.

"I don't regret trying to smother him, and I'll do it again," he said.

"I don't blame you," Basil whispered.

"Why are you still here? You're not like them, at all. Is it money? What does he pay you?" Charlie asked.

"He pays me, uh... well. That's not why I stay, though. I just can't leave now. I would hate myself forever if I left you here alone," Basil answered.

The bedroom door opened, and Mallory popped his head inside before opening it fully.

"What're you two fraternizing about?" He jeered, “and why’ve you been crying?”

“Fuck off,” Charlie spat.

“Alright, let’s go,” Mallory said. He grabbed Charlie’s wrist in an attempt to pull him up from the ground, but Charlie stayed in place. Basil got up and moved out of the line of fire.

“I said come on,” Mallory hissed.

Charlie looked up at him, glared, then spit in his face. Mallory stood back, appalled. He wiped his face with his sleeve and blinked a few times, apparently trying to process what just happened. Then, he turned on his heel, and rushed out of the room. Charlie smirked and turned to look at Basil, who had a horrified expression on his face. They listened to Mallory’s heavy footsteps above them as he went upstairs.

“I don’t know why you did that,” Basil said.

“Because fuck him, that’s why,” Charlie replied, proud of himself.

“Charlie, this new defiant thing you’ve got going on? It’s going to get you killed,” Basil warned in a hushed tone.

They listened to the footsteps as Mallory came rushing back downstairs. He burst into the room and went straight for Charlie, grabbing his shirt by the collar.

“Go upstairs right now,” he growled.

“Or what?” Charlie challenged.

Mallory let go of his shirt and moved over to Basil as he took a switchblade from his pocket. He took hold of Basil and pressed the blade against his throat. Basil’s froze as he looked at Charlie with pleading eyes.

“Fuck, okay! Okay,” Charlie yelled as he got to his feet. He stormed out the door and marched upstairs, his hands balled into fists. Mallory wasn’t far behind him.

“Now what, asshole?” Charlie questioned.

Mallory shoved him into the bedroom. He slammed the door shut and locked it. It was then that Charlie noticed the sound of running water. Mallory took his arms and forced him toward the bathroom. Charlie dug his heels into the carpet in an attempt to prevent himself from being moved. Mallory managed to get him onto the tile, which allowed him to push Charlie much easier. He threw Charlie to the ground in front of the almost-filled bathtub.

“Don’t EVER fucking spit at me again,” Mallory growled as he grabbed Charlie to force him up over the edge of the bath.

Charlie fought against him and managed to push himself into his feet again. Mallory tried to throw him down, but Charlie got ahold of his shirt, and threw him down instead.

Mallory fell into the bath. Water splashed everywhere, soaking the bathroom floor. Charlie couldn’t help but grin at his small victory. It didn’t last long, though, as Mallory emerged from the water and grabbed Charlie’s shirt. He pulled him into the bath as well, and managed to get on top of him. He pinned him under the water, underneath the still-running tap. Charlie fought to get his head above the surface. He reached up and clawed at Mallory’s face and neck. He attempted to kick his legs the best he could with Mallory’s weight pinning them down.

After what seemed like an eternity, Mallory pulled him above the surface, but only for a second. Charlie barely got a breath in before he was underwater again. Mallory repeated the process until he was satisfied, then abruptly got out of the bath, leaving Charlie to lie there. He turned off the faucet and stood nearby, clothes dripping wet. Charlie sat up in the tub and coughed violently. He climbed out of the tub and collapsed onto the tile, shaking from adrenaline and the cold water.

Mallory peeled off his wet shirt and threw it at Charlie.

“Sop up this water,” he ordered.

“No,” Charlie coughed, “you do it.”

His head snapped to the side when he heard Mallory undoing his belt. Before he could move to defend himself, Mallory began to lash him with the belt. Charlie curled and covered his face with his hands. Mallory hit him twenty or so times before he became bored, then forced Charlie up again. He pushed him hard enough to make him slam into the wall, then wrapped his hand around his throat.

“How do I make you learn?” He hissed.

Charlie decided to spit at him again. Mallory smacked him, then hooked his thumb into his jaw to force it open. He spit into Charlie’s mouth, then stared into his eyes to gauge his reaction. Charlie froze, and Mallory snorted.

“Do it again, and see what happens,” he said as he began to walk away, then added, “If this water isn’t cleaned up in an hour, I’m cutting off your fingers.”

Charlie couldn’t tell if he was joking.

#oc #whump #whumper #intimate whumper #whumpee #easton’s unnamed story #trenches #whump oc