#until i become the new james patterson

[thienvaldram]

(Doctor Who) UK Prime Ministers and US Presidents

Full (Incomplete) UK PM List in the DWU from 1950 – 20XX (Some years are guessed)

Will be updated whenever I can be bothered we get new information. Just random speculation jamming together a list that was never meant to be jammed together.

Historical Before This Point

Winston Churchill (1951-1955)

Anthony Eden (1955-1957)

Harold Macmillan (1957-1963)

Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963-1964)

Harold Wilson (1964-1970)

Edward Heath (1970-1972)

Jeremy Thorpe (1972-1974)

Harold Wilson (1974-1975)

Brenda Jones (1975) (According to a Jonathan Morris Tweet)

Shirley Williams (1975-1976)

James Callaghan (1976-1979)

Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990)

Margery Phipps (1990-1992)

John Major (1992-1997) (Assassinated)

Lord Greyhaven (1997) (De Facto PM for several weeks)

Tony Blair (1997-1999)

Terry Brooks (1999-2000)

Phillip Cotton (2000) (Deputy PM until election was called)

Kenneth Clarke (2000-2001)

Tony Blair (2001-2002) (Second term)

Unnamed Male Pro-Europe PM (Possibly Hugh Grant) (2002-2005)

Tony Blair (2005-2006) (Third term)

Joseph Green/Jocrassa Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen (2006) (Only served as acting PM for a day)

Harriet Jones (2006-2008)

Harold Saxon (2008)

Aubrey Fairchild (2008-2009)

Brian Green (2009-2010)

Unnamed Female Prime Minister (2010-2013)

Kenneth LeBlanc (2013)

Unnamed Female Prime Minister (2013-2014) (Resumed for a second term after Kenneth Le Blanc died)

David Cameron (2014-2015)

Daniel Claremont (2015)

Theresa May (2015-2018)

Felicity (2018-2019)

Fiona (2019-2020)

Boris Johnson (2020-2021) (Revealed to be an Auton)

Jo Patterson (2021)

Edward Lawn Bridges (2021-2023)

Unnamed Woman (2023-2025)

S J Wordley (2025-2026)

Glenda Jackson (2026-2028)

The Director (2028-2046)

Dai (2047-2049)

Lomax (2049 - 2050)

Mariah Learman (2050-2055)

Unnamed (?-2065-?)

Corollaries (PM List)

Jeremy Thorpe and Shirley Williams are said to be Prime Minister contemporaneously with the UNIT stories (Which are assumed here to take place on their airdates as per Mawdryn Undead and most Modern Who references)

In a tweet Jonathan Morris claimed the Prime Minister in Terror of the Zygons or Mawdryn Undead was Brenda Jones, Harriet Jones' auntie. I put this in 1975 (for less than a year) because why not. Ignore this if you think it's bad.

Actual dates of Kenneth Le Blanc and Unnamed Female PM are unknown, but are set in the UNIT audios between Power of Three (2012-2013) and DotD (2013).

Felicity and Fiona are given as PMs in Aliens Among Us and God Among Us (Torchwood S5 and S6) released and presumably set in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Eight gives the PM list as Heath -> Thorpe -> Williams -> Thatcher -> Major -> Blair -> Clarke in Interference, this is not supported as a direct list by other sources, though I tried to fit it as best I could, resulting in Blair having two non-adjacent terms.

2010s are a mess due to BF, Titan Comics and the Lucy Wilson novels all giving conflicting accounts of who is PM only a couple years apart, apparently there were a lot of elections/resignations in that decade

Harriet Jones initially served Three terms prior to the Doctor altering history and deposing her, given UK Term Length is unclear, it's unknown how long this would have been, I would guess around 15 years, which would've put Harriet Jones at (2006-2021) where she'd be succeeded by Jo Patterson.

The UK becomes a military Dictatorship from 2028 until 2046 headed by ‘The Director’.

Dai is the first PM after the director, then in 2050 Lomax is the dictator of the UK. In the 'mid 21st Century', Mariah Learman is a ‘benevolent dictator’ of the UK.

An unknown Prime Minster led the UK during the weather crisis of December 2065.

Full (Incomplete) US President List in the DWU from 1960 – 20XX (Some years are guessed)

Historical Before This Point

John F Kennedy (1961-1963) (assassinated)

Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969) (VP who succeeded their predecessor)

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

Gerald Ford (1974-1977) (VP who succeeded their predecessor)

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)

Carrol (1993-1994)

Bill Clinton (1994-1997) (Presumably VP who succeeded their predecessor)

Tom Dering (1997-1999)

George W Bush (1999-2001) (Presumably VP who succeeded their predecessor)

Bruce Springsteen (2001-2003)

Chuck Norris (2003-2005) (VP who succeeded their predecessor)

George W Bush (2005-2007)

Arthur Coleman Winters (2007-2008) (VP who succeeded their predecessor)

Winter’s VP/Speaker of the House (2008-2009) (Succeeds Winters after he’s killed by Saxon)

2009-2017 Term

Felix Mather (2009-2017) (Presidency overwritten by Faction Paradox)

Sampson (2009-2017) (Presidency induced as an aberration by Lolita)

Barack Obama (2009-2017) (Replaced Felix Mather in history)

2017-2021 Term

Daniel Strunk (2017-2021) (Presidency overwritten by Faction Paradox – Mather’s Successor)

Matt Nelson (2017) (Presidency induced as an aberration by Lolita – Assassinated at Inauguration)

Lola Denison/Lolita (2017-unknown) (Assassinated her predecessor)

Donald Trump (2017-2021) (Replaced Daniel Strunk in history)

After 2021

Courtney Woods (unknown-2049-unknown)

Gavin A32X40 (unknown – 2086 – unknown)

Corollaries (President List)

The Eighth Doctor gives the list of Presidents as Carter -> Reagan -> (HW) Bush -> Clinton -> Dering -> Springsteen -> Norris

The President given in 2004 is referred to by the nickname ‘Chuck’ in Cat’s Cradle: Warhead which combined with the fact Springsteen was the President in 2003 and ‘Norris’ succeeded them suggests that the 2004 President was Chuck Norris.

The President in 2006 was implied to be George W Bush based on Harriet Jones’s dialogue. He was previously stated to be President in 2000 (Which he hadn’t been in real life)

Clinton is stated to be President in both 1997 (by metaphor in Placebo Effect) and in 1999 (in Rosa). However both of these are less conclusive than Tom Dering’s direct appearances in Option Lock and and Millennium Shock (also 1997 and 1999) implying that the mentions in Placebo Effect and Rosa were merely off by 1-3 years.

Obama is explicitly stated and shown to be President in 2009, 2012 and 2016, however Felix Mather is stated to be President in the 2010s, physically meeting the Eighth Doctor in Trading Futures. It is stated that Mather’s role in history was replaced due to Mather refusing to make a deal with Faction Paradox and so that has been taken into account.

Concerning the 2017-2021 Presidential Term

Donald Trump is stated to be a candidate in 2016 and is subsequently stated to be President in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

In contradiction, Daniel Strunk is stated to be President in 2017.

This is resolved by having Strunk be Mather’s successor who’s term was also replaced when Faction Paradox remove Mather’s term from history.

The Faction Paradox novel ‘Head of State’ depicts a 2 term Democratic President named Samson who is succeeded by Matt Nelson of a newly formed Radical Party. They are subsequently assassinated by their VP, the sentient humanoid TARDIS Lolita (Who has also been War Queen of Gallifrey and Queen of the UK before, as well as having devoured the Eleven Day Empire). It’s unknown how long she served nor when beyond ‘Early 21st Century’. She (along with Matt Nelson and Samson) have been as a temporal aberration replacing Mather and Strunk before themselves being replaced by Obama and Trump following Lolita’s defeat in True History of Faction Paradox and the ending of the War in Heaven.

A 2000 Bernice Summerfield short story claims Hillary Clinton was US President at some point. However, these records are portrayed as suspect with Bernice questioning them herself and have been ignored for lack of a position to place Clinton into the timeline.

#doctor who #dweu #doctor who eu #faction paradox #uk prime minister #us president #prime minister #president #in doctor who though #will update

[goblin-gardens]

How does someone become a librarian?

In the US (my only point of reference) you need to go to school to get a specific MLIS (Masters of Library and Information Science) degree to be an actual ✨Librarian✨. A Librarian in a larger public library will probably have a focus in different specialty/area like Children, Tech, or Reference. There's also non-public sector librarians like Law Librarians or Medical Librarians. TBH I can't tell you more about that side of things than Wikipedia can, because I'm not a Librarian.

I'm a Library Assistant. (Generally, you can group us into "Librarians" and "library workers".) I got the job by having retail service experience and emphasizing that I'm used to multitasking and like solving problems. "I love books" is not an exciting thing to hear in an interview for a job at a public library. "I love people" is.

My library is tiny, so some of the hats I wear overlap with what a Real Librarian would do, and also with what volunteers or book pages would do in a larger library that had more of any of those things. We only have 1 librarian on the floor, whose official title is Tech Services and Reference Librarian, and he does an even wider array of stuff than I do.

Average day for me includes: front desk friendliness, checking books in and out to patrons, processing holds (finding requested items for patrons at my location or to send to other libraries in our system), shelf reading (keeping books tidy and in order), weeding (getting rid of damaged or out-of-date books), computer help both basic and moderately advanced, talking a lady through setting up her very first Kindle and installing our library ebook app over the phone, selling tote bags with our library logo, explaining in a friendly way why a patron can't eat soup in the computer lab, preparing a bunch of kid's crafts, emailing local news outlets press releases for next week's special sparkly story time, cleaning up the glitter in the craft area, repairing damaged books, calling people to chat about how their books got damaged, entering new items into the system, fishing newspapers out from under chairs, navigating our demonic library software (Sierra📛), reading book reviews so I know what the new James Patterson book is called, child wrangling, teen wrangling, adult wrangling, coworker wrangling, volunteer wrangling, and being friendly to people who are stressed about sending faxes for the first time in 20 years or ever. I'm part receptionist part IT guy part personal shopper part custodian part brand ambassador (the brand is community engagement and information).

One becomes a library worker by applying for the job, really. There's no magic or special secrets that make people who work at a library any different that anyone else. And for public libraries, the more like the community you're serving, the better! Valuable skills include conflict resolution/escalation, patiently repeating the same information in multiple ways until it's understood, a average Millennial's understanding of technology, the ability to google while talking on the phone, and a Customer Service Voice that works on both kids and adults. It's a lot like retail or food service, but with a filter that makes people think you know absolutely everything.

#lol i never know how to answer these questions #hope this helps! #if you're asking because you're thinking about working at library 100% go for it! #idk what the job market is like in your area but i think the more library workers the better #long post

[friendsamongstars]

favorite book/series?

MUNDAY ASKS!

( I will spare you the obvious fact I love most any book written by Dav Pilkey since I hope that's been made clear. if it hasn't, Captain Underpants and Dogman are both great book series and the Dogman series specifically has been getting better and better with it's story.

Other favorite series include:

The Frog Princess by E.D Baker

Princess Emeralda doesn't like dealing with princess duties and finds a frog that claims to be a cursed prince named Eadric. After a mishap of turning into a frog herself they go on an adventure to become humans again. The rest of the series follows them and their relationship picking up friends that include a talking bat, a singing sword named Ferdy, dragons, a troll that's a son of one of Emma's previous suitors and a vampire that marries said talking bat.

A Wrinkle in Time

Meg Murray has alot to deal with including her dad who's missing and goes on an adventure with the school jock with a bad home life, her little brother, and three strange women that turn out to be more magical than she expected. I could go on about this book in an essay length I love it so much.

Hell Phone

A kid living in a trailer park with his single mother is doing his best to balance work, school and time with his girlfriend who's much better off. When he finally buys a cheap phone to be able to keep in contact with her better things go VERY WRONG. He ends up helping people that have family drama worthy of a netflix documentary. Worse, the culprit of said family drama is looking to swoop in on his girlfriend. All the while he ends up in hell and has to get out.

The Graveyard Book

The only other book I've read from Neil Gaiman and the first. Nobody Owens lost his family to a killer and only survived by chance, now being raised by ghosts in a graveyard. He has to stay there for his safety, but being isolated and surrounded by people who grew up eras before you doesn't make for the best life. On top of that, the killer is still lose and wants to finish the job. I adore Nobody Owens with all my heart and he deserves so much in life. He is too pure for this world.

Max Einstein

I learned too late you shouldn't really by James Patterson books but the first three in this series are a fun little ride about an orphan that lived homeless until being picked up for her intelligence by an organization with a rich benefactor that saw potential in her. Along with new friends she tackles various issues, obtains a robot little brother figure, and is overall a delight of a character. Her past is mysterious and while she wants answers, shes glad for her current family too. My only complaints are that the fourth book is awful and does not exist to me and the first three have some bad humor like often joking on the pudgier kid being obsessed with food. Otherwise I think it's pretty cute and Max is just trying to find her place and better the world.

#ooc #fcrgottn #munday #this is a bit long but theres some i hold closer than others

[gacmediadaily]

Since we've become a part of the Great American Media family, you may have noticed a few new faces in our movies and shows. We wanted to take some time to introduce you to these new faces - who they are and what they do both on and off screen.

In support of "One Perfect Match" streaming exclusively on Great American Pure Flix today, we're going to introduce you to the star of the film, Merritt Patterson.

Merritt is no stranger to Great American Christmas, as she's starred in several of Great American Family's Christmas movies over the years - including a new one coming later this year. But before we get into that, let's get to know Merritt's backgroud a little more.

Here are a few things you may not know about Merritt Patterson:

She's Canadian: Merritt grew up in the Whistler area. Another fun fact: many of Great American Family's movies are filmed in Canada! Merritt started acting at the age of 15: Her acting credits date back to 2006, including popular TV shows such as "The Royals" and the "Pretty Little Liars" spinoff, "Ravenswood."

She recently got married: Merritt and her husband, talent agent JR Ringer, tied the knot in 2022 in Puglia, Italy. They just celebrated their first weddding anniversary.

She loves to travel: Her social media feed is filled with stunning photos of her most recent adventures, including Kenya, New York and Vancouver.

Coming Soon: Trevor Donavan & Merritt Patterson Reunite for a New Great American Christmas Film

This Great American Family pair has been seen on-camera together before (keep reading for those details!) and they're coming together again for Great American Christmas 2023. The pair will star in "'Twas the Text Before Christmas."

In "'Twas the Text Before Christmas," Addie, played by Merritt, is a New York City chiropractor who mistakenly receives a text from “Nana.” The accidental text turns into a loving friendship between the matronly Nana and Addie who now communicate regularly. Nana invites Addie to spend the holiday in Vermont. It is picture-postcard perfect and exactly as Nana described except for one surprise. Nana’s single son, James (Donovan), a traveling doctor is also home for the holidays. Over three consecutive years, James and Addie are together during the holidays, though it isn’t until they are both single that they begin to see each other in a different light.

What to Watch: Merritt Patterson Movie List

Here's some notable films where you may recognize Merritt Patterson. Catch "One Perfect Match" now streaming on Great American Pure Flix!

One Perfect Match - A Great American Family Original

A professional matchmaker, played by Merritt, must choose between her job and her heart when she falls for a client.

"One of my favorite parts of this movie is that [the main] characters are both successful, very put-together, confident characters. And when they interact they become a bit frazzled and charmed with each other. I think that's so endearing and I think the audience will really lean into that aspect of it and appreciate that," Merritt said of the film.

Fun Fact: This movie was written by Ansely Gordon, who played Abigail in the Great American Original movie, "The Abigail Mysteries."

"One Perfect Match" is currently streaming on Great American Pure Flix.

Catering Christmas - A Great American Christmas Film

A fledgling caterer, Molly Frost, is hired by Jean Harrison, the perfectionistic director of the renowned Harrison Foundation, to cater this year’s annual Christmas Gala dinner. Things get complicated when Molly falls for Jean’s nephew, Carson, 30s, a travel photographer with no desire to take over the family’s foundation… until his aunt assigns him to the task of making sure the catered dinner goes perfectly.

Merritt plays Molly in her most recent Great American Christmas film.

Jingle Bell Princess - A Great American Christmas Film

Through a series of mishaps, sophisticated Princess Amelia, played by Merritt, is stranded in the small town of Tucker, Maine. There, she becomes an “ordinary” guest of the unsuspecting Cutler family. Adapted from the book by Barbara Dunlap.

"Jingle Bell Princess" was originally released on Great American Family December 4, 2021.

Unbroken: Path to Redemption

The Louis Zamperini movie “Unbroken: Path to Redemption” picks up where the hit movie “Unbroken” left off: a returning World War II war hero fighting the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder. He had survived the atrocities of a Japanese prisoner of war camp and U.S. victory had been declared, but the war was still raging in his soul.

Merritt plays Cynthia Applewhite, Louis' husband, in this movie based on a true story.

Watch Merritt Patterson in "One Perfect Match" on Great American Pure Flix today, and keep your eyes open for her upcoming Great American Christmas movie, "'Twas the Text Before Christmas," later this year!

#merritt patterson #great american family #pure flix

[maxwell-grant]

Any thoughts on Darkman, the Liam Neeson movie? I heard it was originally going to be a Shadow movie.

I love Darkman very much, but I've realized recently that this love comes with some pretty bittersweet feelings at the story behind it.

Michael Uslan: I was going to produce a Shadow feature film with Sam Raimi, but Sam got consumed by back-to-back movies and we ran out of time. We were headed in a good, period piece direction and managed to do so without relying on yet another bout with Shiwan Khan. I later had another major director passionate to do The Shadow, but a person at the company wanted to do a modern day TV series instead, which ultimately did not go... - comment saved from a post in The Shadow Knows Facebook group

For those of you who only now got into The Shadow or don't remember, for much of the early 00s, when The Shadow basically had no current projects and Conde Nast was taking down webpages and fan content left and right, the only things that kept this "fandom" alive were occasional fanfics (many of which are gone now), and the dim light in the horizon that was the rumors that Sam Raimi was finally going to make his Shadow film. Dig back on The Wayback Machine for Shadow web page and you're gonna see this as consistently the only thing they had to look forward to in regards to the character. These rumors floated around for over a decade, at one point Tarantino was even supposed to direct it, but he confirmed in 2013 that it wasn't going to happen. At least, not with him at the helm.

The project has been dead for a while now, and Conde Nast seems to be shuffling around plans for the character, and I deleted my Facebook months ago so I haven't kept up with any news, although it seems the James Patterson novel wasn't received too well, so I'm not sure what other plans they have in the pipeline.

Back in the 1970s, after the release of Richard Donner's Superman and in line with The Shadow's pop culture resurgence, thanks to the paperback reprints and the 70s DC run, there were plans to make a Shadow feature film, and there were quite a handful of scripts being tossed around for the following years (Will Murray states most of them were horrible), several names attached to the project at one point or another. The plans died down a bit following Gibson's death and only really picked up again after the 90s, and of course we all know that the 1994 movie came out with spectacularly bad timing. From what I recall, it seems Sam Raimi wanted to make his Shadow film in the 80s, was unable to secure the rights, and then just made his own version, which would go on to be his first major motion picture.

Even after making Darkman, Sam Raimi still wanted to make The Shadow. I guess that's ultimately the bittersweet part for me. I imagine the current state of Shadow media would be significantly better if Sam Raimi, who was a fan of the character and the pulp version (and even knows of The Shadow's connection to Houdini and stage magic), got to make his Shadow film, years before Blood & Judgment, years before Burton's Batman made it impossible for a Shadow film not to be compared to it, in a time period where it wouldn't have had to compete with The Lion King and The Mask for box office. And second, I have been drawing up my plans for Shadow projects for, what, 5 years now? And I have just barely got my foot off the door as a filmmaker. Sam Raimi had a decade-long career as a cult filmmaker before he got turned down, and decades later, after becoming a household name in charge of Marvel's biggest icon, the project still fell through. It doesn't exactly get my hopes up, y'know.

I love Darkman, it's the best Shadow film that doesn't technically star the real Shadow, and it works pretty well on it's own regardless of that association, but I do get pretty sad looking at it from the outside, because I just can't help but think on what it could have been.

In some aspects I do think the film benefits from not being about The Shadow proper, because it means Raimi got the freedom to do whatever the hell he wanted. The character of Darkman already existed separately from Sam Raimi's plans for a Shadow film, already carrying off the Phantom / Universal Monster influence, and what Raimi did was basically combine the two ideas together.

He took the basic iconography of The Shadow, a terrifying urban crimefighter in coat and slouch hat, and add in other Shadow traits like his mastery of disguise, his disfigurement, and that wonderful scene where he's invisibly running circles around a panicky triggerman while laughing maniacally, a moment which definitely feels like Raimi taking a second to indulge himself to do what you can call The Classic Shadow Scene with a character he's, for the most part, succesfully convinced us (and Conde Nast's lawyers, most importantly) isn't supposed to be The Shadow.

But then he filters these through his own influences and style to make him a new character, so instead of a mysterious mastermind with lots of resources and a enigmatic background, instead he's a disfigured and psychotic scientist with a vengeance against those who made him that way. He's like Night Raven, in the sense that he's built off traits that The Shadow has, but develops them differently to the point he stands on his own as a character. It's The Shadow combined with The Phantom of the Opera, filtered through a 1930s Universal Horror lens, played for greater tragedy and a dash of Evil Dead 2 wackyness.

He hides away in trashed up ruins and bickers with a cat, he has fits of rage that make him endanger innocents, he has a doomed love affair, and sometimes he gets so batshit he gives us hilarious moments like "TAKE THE FUCKING ELEPHANT" and "SEE THE DANCING FREAK! PAY - FIVE - BUCKS! TO SEE THE DANCING FREAK!". Moments that really show why he was such a good fit for Spider-Man despite the liberties he took with the source material.

I think the big thing that helps to make Darkman works as a property in it's own right is also that, ultimately, these influences are ultimately at the forefront of it, and the core of it works on it's own. Darkman is a believable, engaging character in his own right, one who tells a story that would be more at odds with The Shadow proper. 

In some aspects, Darkman tries to be The Shadow, he is forced to become The Shadow by literally picking the clothes off a dumpster after he escapes the hospital, and it's a miserable, wretched existence, in a way rather befitting his status as a legally safe knock-off. He is a creature of nightmare who lost his face and takes on a dozen others to fight crime by turning terror against them, except he is still just a man in the end, and no man was ever supposed to live like this.

Raimi was also inspired by the Universal horror films of the 1930s and 1940s because "they made me fear the hideous nature of the hero and at the same time drew me to him. I went back to that idea of the man who is noble and turns into a monster".

He originally wrote a 30-page short story, titled "The Darkman", and then developed into a 40-page treatment. At this point, according to Raimi, "it became the story of a man who had lost his face and had to take on other faces, a man who battled criminals using this power"

A non-superpowered man who, here, is a hideous thing who fights crime. As he became that hideous thing, it became more like The Phantom of the Opera, the creature who wants the girl but who was too much of a beast to have her

I decided to explore a man's soul. In the beginning, a sympathetic, sincere man. In the middle, a vengeful man committing heinous acts against his enemies. And in the end, a man full of self-hatred for what he's become, who must drift off into the night, into a world apart from everyone he knows and all the things he loves.

For the role, Raimi was looking for someone who could suggest "a monster with the soul of a man"

It's the fact that Darkman is ultimately played for vulnerability and tragedy that really sets him apart. While I wouldn't go far enough to say The Shadow is a man with the soul of a monster, still, the difference in presentation is still there when it comes to these two. The Shadow is The Other, Darkman is You. Darkman is the victim of extraordinary circumstance that affects his life, The Shadow is the extraordinary circumstance that affects the lives of others. People react to The Shadow, Darkman reacts to people (and rather poorly).

One is the man who takes off his skin (or yours, staring back at you) to reveal the weird creature of the night ready to prowl and pounce and cackle at those who think they hold power over it's domain, and the other is the monster who falls apart bit by bit until you are left staring at the broken man within who has no choice but to be something he was never supposed to be.

The Shadow is The Master of Darkness. Darkman weaponizes the dark, but in the end, he's still just a man, lost within it. Not everyone can be The Shadow, and you would most likely turn into Darkman if you tried.

#replies tag #darkman #sam raimi #the shadow #pulp heroes #universal monsters

[freyanistics]

I’m bored so I’m going to keep going with these

Natasha & Dimitrescu sisters headcanons:

Bela:

At first she was apprehensive of the woman, especially since she tried stealing from them. But after she took note of her mother getting closer to the little thief she started following her around the castle, mainly to make sure she wasn’t attempting to steal anything else. Natasha would tell her things about the outside world. Mainly about science, arts & designs, and worldwide issues. It didn’t take long for Bela to become fascinated and wanting to know more, asking Natasha a bunch of questions until one day she gave her a couple of books to read. After that she started liking the dark skinned woman, sure she was a thief but not a common one. She was intelligent, cunning, and fun to be around with. Besides her mother Bela respects Natasha and was the first to approve her dating their mother.

Cassandra:

Cassandra was the hardest to win over. Not only was this human caught stealing from them but also able to outsmart and fight back. When she caught whiff of Tasha actual being interested in her mother she goes in protective mode. She’ll stalk, threaten, and try to scare her off. It’s not until Natasha just brings up different torture techniques that stuns the brunette. This human is suggesting another way to kill her? Now she’s intrigued as starts asking questions. What else do you know? Have you done it before? What do these devices do? Then Natasha shows her some of the defense weapons she carries like a taser and pepper spray and now Cassandra is even more interested. She’ll eventually softens up to her, even offering to take her hunting sometimes.

Daniela:

She was also apprehensive of her until Natasha started telling her books by authors she never heard of. Stephen King? James Patterson? Who are they? While Daniela is more into romance she doesn’t turn down a good horror story and gets more thrilled when Tasha brings over a few books for her to read. Pet Cemetery? Read it. Cujo? Read it. Fifty Shades of Grey? Read it. Even Animal Farm and To kill a mockingbird. Now she looks forward to Natasha gifting her new books for her to read. She also likes to stay close to her when it’s a bit too cold, burying her face into the crook of the neck and wrapping her entire body around the short woman

All together:

When all three girls are together they like to pester be all over Natasha. Since she’s from the outside world they know they can ask her questions about it. She also brings them things from the outside world like tablets, wifi, even let them use her laptop although this can backfire

Natasha: Okay which one of y’all were on the deep web trying to buy weapons?

Cassandra: 👁👄👁 wasn’t me….

She also teaches them a few recipes like pizza, hotdogs, etc

Natasha: No we are not topping flesh on the pizza, Dani. Nor putting blood in the sauce

When it gets too cold they’ll all cuddle up to Natasha in Alcina’s bed for warmth. A lot of times Alcina would come home to them asleep in their bed or Natasha dogpiled by the girls

Alcina: How precious

Natasha: I….really gotta pee and I can’t slip out. Help??

#lady dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #resident evil 8 #bela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #resident evil village #natasha dimitrescu #lady alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu x oc #resident evil oc

[justforbooks]

February 20, 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.

The Four Freedoms is a series of four 1943 oil paintings by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—are each approximately 45.75 inches (116.2 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm), and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by The Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million.

This series has been the cornerstone of retrospective art exhibits presenting the career of Rockwell, who was the most widely known and popular commercial artist of the mid-20th century, but did not achieve critical acclaim. These are his best-known works, and by some accounts became the most widely distributed paintings. At one time they were commonly displayed in post offices, schools, clubs, railroad stations, and a variety of public and semi-public buildings.

Critical review of these images, like most of Rockwell's work, has not been entirely positive. Rockwell's idyllic and nostalgic approach to regionalism made him a popular illustrator but a lightly regarded fine artist during his lifetime, a view still prevalent today. However, he has created an enduring niche in the social fabric with Freedom from Want, emblematic of what is now known as the "Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving".

Rockwell's Four Freedoms—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear—were first published on February 20, February 27, March 6, and March 13, 1943 along with commissioned essays from leading American writers and historians (Booth Tarkington, Will Durant, Carlos Bulosan, and Stephen Vincent Benét, respectively). They measure 45.75 inches (116.2 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm) except Freedom of Worship which measures 46.0 inches (116.8 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm). Rockwell used live models for all his paintings. In 1935, he began using black-and-white photographs of these live models extensively, although he did not publicly reveal he did so until 1940. The use of photography expanded the possibilities for Rockwell who could ask models to pose in positions they could hold only for brief periods of time. He could also produce works from new perspectives and the Four Freedoms represented "low vantage point of Freedom of Speech, to close-up in Freedom of Worship, midrange in Freedom from Fear, and wide angle in Freedom from Want".

In 1939, Rockwell moved to Arlington, Vermont, which was an artist-friendly community that had hosted Robert Frost, Rockwell Kent, and Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Of the move from New Rochelle, New York, Rockwell said "I was restless ... The town [of New Rochelle] seemed tinged with everything that happened to me". In New Rochelle, he had both endured a divorce and run with a fast crowd. Artists John Atherton, Mead Schaeffer and George Hughes established residences in Arlington soon after Rockwell. The resident artists, Rockwell included, were mutually supportive and hired local citizens as their amateur models. Using photography and Arlington residents as models, Rockwell was able to capture what he referred to as "human-looking humans", who were generally working-class people, in an hour or so rather than hire professional models for the entire day. Rockwell paid his models modestly. Rose Hoyt, who was engaged for a total of three photographic sessions for Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Worship, earned $15 ($234.71 in 2019 dollars) for her sittings.

When the US entered the war in 1941, it had three agencies responsible for war propaganda: The Office of Facts and Figures (OFF), The Division of Information of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Office of Government Reports (OGR). The OFF was responsible for commissioned artwork and for assembling a corps of writers, led by Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish. By mid-1942, the Office of War Information determined that despite the efforts of OFF in distributing pamphlets, posters, displays, and other media, only a third of the general public was familiar with Roosevelt's Four Freedoms and at most one in fifty could enumerate them. The Four Freedoms had been a "campaign to educate Americans about participation in World War II".

By 1942, Rockwell had been illustrating professionally for thirty years and was having a successful career. Additionally, by mid-1942 Rockwell's Gillis was becoming famous. Lorimer had been the editor of The Post from 1898 to 1936. He was followed by Wesley W. Stout for five years. In early 1942, Stout ran an article entitled "The Case Against the Jew", which led to advertising and subscription cancellations. The Post was rumored to be in financial trouble in 1942. Soon Stout was replaced by Hibbs who revamped the magazine.

On May 24, 1942, Rockwell was seeking approval for a poster design at The Pentagon because the Artists Guild had designated that he advocate for the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. Robert Patterson, who was then United States Undersecretary of War, suggested revisions. On the same day, he visited with Thomas Mabry of the Graphic Division of the War Department's Office of Facts and Figures, which coordinated war-themed posters and billboards. Mabry relayed the need for Four Freedoms artwork. Rockwell returned home pondering the Atlantic Charter, which had incorporated the Four Freedoms.

Rockwell remembered a scene of a local town meeting in which one person spoke out in lone dissent, but was given the floor, and was listened to respectfully, despite his solitary opposition. He was inspired to use this scene to illustrate Freedom of Speech, and Rockwell decided to use his Vermont neighbors as models for an inspirational set of posters depicting the themes laid out by Roosevelt the previous year in a Four Freedoms series. He spent three days making charcoal sketches of the series, which some sources describe as colour sketches. Rockwell's patriotic gesture was to travel to Washington, D.C. and volunteer his free services to the government for this cause. In mid-June, accompanied by Schaeffer, he took four charcoal sketches to Washington, where they stayed at the Mayflower Hotel, as the two sought commissions to design war art. During the trip, Rockwell was asked by the Boy Scouts of America to continue his annual creation of a new painting for their annual calendar by publishing representative Orion Winford. He was unable to hold Patterson's attention during their meeting, so he met with the new Office of War Information (OWI), where he was told "The last war you illustrators did the posters. This war we're going to use fine artists men, real artists."

On his return trip to Vermont with Schaeffer on June 16, they stopped in Philadelphia to meet with new Saturday Evening Post editor Ben Hibbs. Many accounts portray this visit as unplanned, but whether it was is unclear. Hibbs liked Rockwell's Four Freedoms sketches, and he gave Rockwell two months to complete the works. A June 24 correspondence from The Post clarified that both Rockwell's and Schaeffer's series would be published. By June 26, The Post's art editor James Yates notified Rockwell of plans for a layout of paintings with an accompanying essay or accompanying essays by President Roosevelt.

Rockwell's summer was full of distractions. At one point a Manhattan gastroenterologist prescribed a surgery of uncertain nature, though it was not performed. He had commissions for other magazines, and business complications regarding second reproduction rights. He also had his Boy Scout commitment. Under time constraints, Rockwell made every excuse to avoid all other distracting assignments. In October, The Post sent its art editor to Arlington to check on Rockwell's progress. At about the same time, despite its Graphics Division chief's, Francis Brennan's outrage, the OWI began showing signs of renewed interest. In fact, after Rockwell was chosen the entire OWI Writers' Division resigned. The press release associated with the resignation asserted that the OWI was dominated by "high-pressure promoters who prefer slick salesmanship to honest information. These promoters would treat as stupid and reluctant customers the men and women of the United States." There was further turmoil in the OWI from a faction supporting work by Ben Shahn; Shahn's work was not used in propaganda because it lacked general appeal. There were several artists who were commissioned to promote the war, including Jean Carlu, Gerard Hordyke, Hugo Ballin, and Walter Russell. Russell created a Four Freedoms Monument that was eventually dedicated at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The series took seven months to complete, and was finished by year end. Supposedly, Rockwell lost 10 pounds (4.54 kg) from the assignment. As Rockwell was completing the series, he was motivated by news of Allied setbacks, a fact that gives the work a sense of urgency. Models included a Mrs. Harrington who became the devout old woman in Freedom of Worship and a man named Jim Martin who appears in each painting in the series (most prominently in Freedom from Fear). The intention was to remind America what they were fighting for: freedom of speech and worship, freedom from want and fear. All the paintings used a muted palette and are devoid of the vermilion Rockwell is known for.

Some sources published after Rockwell's death question whether the government was truly as discouraging as Rockwell claimed. They cite an encouraging April 23, 1943 correspondence with Thomas D. Mabry of the OWI (a former Executive Director of the Museum of Modern Art). At the time, the three government propaganda agencies were disjointed until they were unified under the OWI on June 13, 1942 by a Presidential Executive Order. Furthermore, the writers' division, led by MacLeish, was under pressure for failing to deliver a message intelligible to people of varying intelligence.

Upon completion, Rockwell's works were briefly exhibited at the West Arlington Grange before being delivered to The Post in Philadelphia. The series arrived in Philadelphia in January 1943. Roosevelt was shown the paintings in early February, and The Post sought Roosevelt's approval for the series of paintings and essays. Roosevelt responded with both a personal letter to Rockwell and an "official" letter of commendation to The Post dated February 10. Roosevelt instructed The Post to have the OWI have the essays translated into foreign languages so they could be presented to leaders at the United Nations.

The Freedoms were published in a series of four full-colour, full-page editions, each accompanied by an essay of the same title. The panels were published in successive weeks in the order corresponding to Roosevelt's speech: Freedom of Speech (February 20), Freedom of Worship (February 27), Freedom from Want (March 6), and Freedom from Fear (March 13). For the authors of the accompanying essays, Hibbs had numerous options given the number of regular contributors to The Post.

Rockwell is considered the "quintessential middlebrow American artist" by Michael Kelly. As an artist he is an illustrator rather than a fine arts painter. Although his style is painterly, his work is produced for the purpose of mass reproduction, and it is produced with the intent of delivering a common message to its viewers via a detailed narrative style. Furthermore, the vast majority of Rockwell's work was viewed in reproduced format and almost none of his contemporaneous audience ever saw his original work. Also, Rockwell's style of backwoods New England small-town realism, known as regionalism, was sometimes viewed as out of step with the oncoming wave of abstract modern art. Some say his realism is so direct that he abstains from using artistic license. John Canaday, a New York Times art critic once referred to Rockwell as the "Rembrandt of Punkin' Crick" for his aversion to the vices of big city life. Dave Hickey derided Rockwell for painting without inflection. Some critics also view his sentimental and nostalgic vision out of step with the harsh realities of American life, such as the Great Depression. Deborah Solomon views the works as being "based on lofty civic principles", but rather than dealing with the warring patriots, they present themes with "civic and familial rituals" for "emblematic scenes".

Post editor Hibbs said the Four Freedoms were an "inspiration ... in the same way that the clock tower of old Independence Hall, which I can see from my office window, inspires me." Roosevelt wrote to Rockwell "I think you have done a superb job in bringing home to the plain, everyday citizen the plain, everyday truths behind the Four Freedoms ... I congratulate you not alone on the execution but also for the spirit which impelled you to make this contribution to the common cause of a freer, happier world". Roosevelt wrote to The Post, "This is the first pictorial representation I have seen of the staunchly American values contained in the rights of free speech and free worship and our goals of freedom from fear and want." Roosevelt also wrote of the corresponding essays, "Their words should inspire all who read them with a deeper appreciation of the way of life we are striving to preserve."

The Four Freedoms are perhaps Rockwell's most famous work. Some have said Rockwell's Four Freedoms lack artistic maturity. Others have pointed to the universality of the Freedom of Religion as disconcerting to practitioners of particular faiths. Others complained that he idealized American life because by depicting wholesome, healthy, and happy sentiments, Rockwell depicted the good that was remembered or wished for, but by avoiding misery, poverty, and social unrest, he failed to demonstrate command of the bad and the ugly parts of American life. Rockwell's response to this criticism was, "I paint life as I would like it to be." Rockwell made it known that he hoped these would be his masterpieces, but was disappointed. Nonetheless, he was satisfied with the public acceptance of the series and that the series was able to serve such a patriotic purpose. Laura Claridge feels he might have achieved his ambition if he had pursued the "quiet small scenes" he later became known for.

Although all four images were intended to promote patriotism in a time of war, Freedom from Want, which depicts an elderly couple serving a fat turkey to what looks like a table of happy and eager children and grandchildren has given the idyllic Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving work as important a place in the enduring marketplace of promoting family togetherness, peace and plenty as Hallmark at Christmas. Some say the Four Freedoms were unable to live up to the role of "illustrating grandiose concepts with humble correlatives" because they are too loud.

The commercial success of the series was in part because each painting is considered to be a model of understandable art by the general public. The success of Rockwell's depictions was due to his use of long-standing American cultural values about unity and respect of certain institutions while using symbols that enabled a broad audience to identify with his images. This understandability made it one extreme on the scale of artistic complexity when comparing the series to contemporaneous art. It was diametrically opposed to abstract art and far removed from the intrigue of surrealism.

In 1999, the High Museum of Art and the Norman Rockwell Museum produced the first comprehensive exhibition of Rockwell's career that started at the High Museum on November 6, 1999, stopped at the Chicago Historical Society, Corcoran Gallery of Art, San Diego Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, and Norman Rockwell Museum before concluding at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on February 11, 2002. Although there has been a long history of Rockwell detractors, during this Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People touring exhibition attendance was record-setting and critical reviews were quite favorable. The nostalgia seemed to cause a bit of revisionism in the art world, according to The New York Times which said, "What's odd is the show's enthusiastic reception by the art world, which in a lather of revisionism is falling all over itself to embrace what it once reviled: the comfy, folksy narrative visions of a self-deprecating illustrator..."

Some found Rockwell's presentation somewhat patronizing, but most were satisfied. The New Yorker remarked two years later: "They were received by the public with more enthusiasm, perhaps, than any other paintings in the history of American Art". Claridge notes that the series is an example in which the sum is greater than its parts. She notes the inspiration comes in part from their cumulative "heft".

Following the 1943–44 War Bond Show, the Four Freedoms toured the country further by train in a specially-designed car. Through the 1950s the Four Freedoms hung in Hibbs' offices at The Post. Hibb retired in 1961 and by the time The Post was discontinued in 1969, Rockwell regained possession of the original paintings. Norman Rockwell bequeathed his personal collection in trust to the Norman Rockwell Museum in 1973 for the "advancement of art appreciation and art education". This collection included the Four Freedoms paintings. The works remained on exhibit at "The Norman Rockwell Museum at The Old Corner House" for nearly 25 years. In 1993, when the Rockwell Museum moved from its original location, the Four Freedoms were displayed in the new museum's central gallery. As of 2014, the Four Freedoms remain in the collection of the Museum. In 2011, the Williamstown Art Conservation Center did some work on the Four Freedoms, including reducing exposure to various elements and preventing further wear.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Norman Rockwell #Four Freedoms

[fearsmagazine]

SEANCE - Review

DISTRIBUTOR: RLJE Films & Shudder

SYNOPSIS:  Camille Meadows is the new girl at the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls. Soon after her arrival, she is invited by six of her classmates to join them in a late-night ritual, calling forth the spirit of a dead former student who reportedly haunts their halls. But before morning, one of the girls is dead, leaving the others wondering what they may have awakened.

REVIEW: Prep school, supernatural ritual, ghosts, murder, mystery, etc. You know the story, especially if you’re a fan of the genre. While all that may be true, a good cast, good direction, engaging location, and some compelling special effects elevate SEANCE above what could have easily been a “been there & done that” B-Movie status.

Simon Barrett is a competent director who shows some talent as he guides a talented cast through the “hallowed halls” of Edelvine Academy for Girls. He has some nice locations and sets that feel like that creepy old New England prep school, with a lot of atmosphere and shadows. He keeps the action moving so the film moves along at a brisk pace and maintains an engaging energy level. There are some solid visual and special effects to satisfy the genre fans and enough twists and turns in the plot to sustain the mystery and suspense. The costumes were a bit utilitarian, but served their purpose. A few costume choices later on felt a tad “off the rack.” Were it not for the smoking, swearing, blood, and body count, SEANCE feels a bit like a Scooby-Doo mystery, minus the dog.

I enjoyed the cast. I remember Suki Waterhouse for her role in “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” and “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” I have to say that given all her hype - model, her accessories brand “Pop & Suki,” and her current relationship with Robert Pattinson - she really is a good actress. She creates a performance that allows you to focus on the story and forget her baggage, especially as the central character keeps her in the spotlight. The rest of the actors form a great ensemble cast, with strong performances that keep the viewer immersed in the story.

As the climax plays out it tends to become a bit over the top and cliched, in that Scooby-Doo way. Still, it wasn’t horrible and Barrett does a fine job of keeping it reigned in so as not to lose the viewer.

SEANCE is a fun horror thriller that makes for a good family movie night, that is if you have older kids. I’m sure some of the adults might groan a bit, but the material should be fresher for the younger viewers. Clearly an independent film with a decent budget, filmmaker Simon Barrett, who makes his feature film debut with this project, demonstrates he has the skills required to take on a feature film, as well as his continued passion for the genre. A satisfying view, and as Farmer Hoggett might be inclined to say with a smile on his face, “That’ll do Simon, that’ll do.”

CAST: Suki Waterhouse, Madisen Beaty, Ella-Rae Smith, Inanna Sarkis, Seamus Patterson, & Marina Stephenson-Kerr CREW: Director/Screenplay - Simon Barrett; Producers - John Schonefelder, Russell Ackerman, & Tomas “Dutch” Deckaj; Cinematographer - Karim Hussain; Score - Sicker Man; Editor - James Vanderwater; Production Designer - Mars Feehery; Costumes Designer - Leslie Kavanagh; Visual Effects - Andy Robinson OFFICIAL: N.A. FACEBOOK: N.A. TWITTER: N.A. TRAILER: https://youtu.be/nXUh99wYWsg RELEASE DATE: In Theaters, On Demand and Digital May 21st, 2021

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay),  or 👎 (Dislike) Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri

#movie review #film review #seance #seancemovie #rlje films #shudder #simon barrett #suki waterhouse #horror #supernatural #mystery #thriller #joseph mauceri #joseph b mauceri

[anime-x-reader69]

Writing prompts

1. "Knowing you're different is only the beginning. If you accept these differences, you'll be able to get past them and grow even closer." (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid)

2. "Sometimes, I do feel like I'm a failure. Like there's no hope for me. But even so, I'm not gonna give up. Ever!" (My Hero Academia)

3. "fifty bucks says I can."

4. " Can you remove your hand off my boob?"

5. " I dance fine, thank you, sir!"

6. "Protecting someone means giving them a place to belong. Giving them a place where they can be happy." (Log Horizon)

7. " You don't want her angry."

8. " You don't want him angry."

9. " Women are from Mars, and men are from Venus, I don't know about you, but I got one giant P###!" ( FLCL.)

10. " Don't hide who makes you, use it, its a power greater than your own."

11. "Even if we forget the faces of our friends, we will never forget the bonds that were carved into our souls." (Angel Beats)

12. "People with talent often have the wrong impression that things will go as they think." (Assassination Classroom)

13. "Remember the lesson, not the disappointment." (Spice And Wolf)

14. " If you don't take the risk, you can't create a future." ( One pice.)

15. "people's lives don't end when they die. It ends when they lose their faith." ( Naruto Shippuden.)

16. " Trying to forget someone you love is like trying to remember a person you ever met." ( Charlotte.)

17. " I never thought I would be able to see any of you again... but I did one more time. This, alone makes me happy." ( Fairy Tail.)

18. " Remember me when I'm gone." ( Coco.)

19. " So, ya in my earth, I'm the one and only Supergirl."

20. "Feelings of love are just a temporary lapse in judgment. Like some kind of mental illness." (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

21. "I'm not short! I'm fun-sized!" (Fullmetal Alchemist)

22. " How am I supposed to know he wasn't the guy?! He had a gun!!"

23. "Don't talk to me until I have my coffee."

24. " Wheres Wally?"

25. " No one is kissing me on the lips, ever!" ( Httyd.)

26. " Oh god, I feel we gone back to 2012."

27. " Today was about as much fun as a sandpaper di###." ( Deadpool.)

28. "Can we not talk about my nightly activities!"

29. " So, a lap dancer?"

30. "I'm a humanoid, not a robot."

31. "So, because I'm an omega, I'm supposed to me on my knees and beg!"

32. "You young lady are soo showing too much skin!"

33. " I'm a guy."

34. " Well, do I look like an Atlantean or what."

35. "I'm a humanoid, not a robot."

36. "Oh, your poor wife!" ( Deadpool.)

37. " You all be wondering why the red suit well that's so bad guys can't see me bleed, this guy got the right idea he wore the brown pants." ( Deadpool.)

38. " I never said this but don't swallow." ( Deadpool.)

39. " I'm supposed to be on the beach! With a tiny umbrella drink!" ( Flash.)

40. " My happiness comes from the kindness of those around me." (Fruits Basket)

41. " I'm not Superman. So I can't say anything big like I'll protect everyone on Earth. I'm not a modest guy who will say it's enough if I can protect as many people as my two hands can handle either. I want to protect... a mountain-load of people." ( Bleach)

42. "You're so adorable! I didn't even think you were a guy!"

43." Oh great, it's a kid! I thought I was rescuing a babe, a luscious damsel in distress, not some flat-chested little girl." (Slayers)

44. " Wake up my big strong alpha~"

45. "If humans don't want me, then why did they create me?." (Armitage III)

46. "I believe that two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn't matter what you do, or who you are or where you live; there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together." (Julia Roberts)

47. "Our journey isn't perfect, but it's ours and I'll stick with you 'til the end." (The Fresh Quotes)

48. "I won't promise to be yours forever, because I won't live that long. But let me be yours for as long as I live." (The Fresh Quotes)

49. "If I get reincarnated.... I wanna become a clam." (One Piece)

50. "Stop complaining about fate and saying how it can't be changed!" (Naruto)

51. "The great question which I have not been able to answer is, "What does a woman want?" (Freud)

52. "I have a family, I have friends, but if you're gone...to me, ...it'll be the same as being alone!" (Naruto)

53. " Just because I'm an omega I suppose gey on my knees and beg!"

54. "Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch." (Ruta Sepetys)

55. "I wanted to kill someone and I wanted to die and I wanted to run as far and as fast as I could because she was never coming back. She had fallen off the face of the earth and she was never coming back." (Melissa Kantor)

56. "To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe." (Marilyn Vos Savant)

57. "Theatre is life. Cinema is art. Television is furniture." (TV Facts)

58. "Please don't tell people our bakery's motorbike ran you over." (FLCL (Fooly Cooly))

59. " Is this dress too much?"

60. "The world isn't perfect. But it's there for us, doing the best it can. And that's what makes it so damn beautiful." ( Fullmetal Alchemist)

61. "Would you like to see my daughter? I have some pictures right here!" ( Fullmetal Alchemist)

62. " I'm not a girl!

63. " Your skin is soo soft and smooth."

64. " Batman is god."

65. "Half the time when brothers wrestle, it's just an excuse to hug each other." (James Patterson)

66. "What strange creatures brothers are!" (Jane Austen)

67. " I don't get pay enough for this shit."

68. " If you even break her heart, I'll break your spine."

69. "Happiness – when your brothers act like your bodyguard." (The Fresh Quotes)

70. "It's National Siblings Day, so I just wanted to let you know you are lucky to have me as a sister." "What are you putting in your body?"(The Fresh Quotes)

71. "It's okay if you don't like me. Not everyone has good taste." (Your Tango)

72. "Not all girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. I'm made of sarcasm, wine, and everything fine." (Your Tango)

73. "Oh~ someone excited."

74. "Nice pants can I test the zipper." (Quotes for Bros)

75. "I don't care if you have small boobs I still want to see them." (Quotes for Bros)

76. " Kissing burns 6.4 calories a minute. Wanna workout." (Quotes for Bros)

77. "Excuse me, but are you by any chance the oddball in your family?" (Pokemon)

78. "Don't tell me he wants to conquer the world? Can't he come up with something more original?" (Slayers)

79. " What are you putting in your body?" (The Fresh Quotes)

80. "Hurt me with the truth, but never comfort me with a lie." (fairy tail)

81. " Don't judge me unless you have looked through my eyes, experienced what I went through and cried as many tears as me. Until then back-off, cause you have no idea." (fairy tail)

82. " I want to become a man who treasures his friends." (fairy tail)

83. " Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something." (fairy tail)

84." Kiss me."

85. " I'm having one of those days where my middle finger is answering all my questions." (Emalie Newhall)

86. "When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a b*tch." (Bette Davis)

87." Be careful whose toes you step on today because they might be connected to the foot that kicks your *ss tomorrow!" (Big Hivemind)

88. " Your me!!"

89. " According to a new survey, women say they feel more comfortable undressing in front of men than they do undressing in front of other women. They say that women are too judgmental, where, of course, men are just grateful." (Robert De Niro)

90. " I'm having pups...I'm going to have pups babe!

91. " Don't stare you prev!"

92. " I cannot take any more; I'm so glad that I'll never fit in; that will never be me; outcasts and girls with ambition; That's what I wanna see." (Pink)

93. " You must look within yourself to save yourself from your other-self. Only then will your true self reveal itself." (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

94. " Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?" (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

95. " I love you, I always have."

96. " I want to swim in a pool of noodles." (Patch Adams)

97. " Look at those abs, yummy~"

98. " Does this look weird on me?

99. " Dude, what happens to bros before hoes."

100." I'm s.l.u.t!"

#writting prompt #anime #send me asks #ask me anything #ask me things #anime x reader

[dweemeister]

The Phenix City Story (1955)

Southeastern Alabama and southwestern Georgia are separated by the Chattahoochee River. Along the Alabamian banks of this river is Phenix City which, for over a century, became known as, “Sin City, USA”. Organized crime in league with the police department dealt in illicit drugs, fraud, rigged gambling operations, prostitution, and violence. These syndicates flourished on and around Phenix City’s 14th Street, and many of 14th Street’s patrons were Army soldiers visiting from nearby Fort Benning, Georgia (during the Civil War, deserting Confederate soldiers frequented Phenix City). So entrenched was Phenix City’s lawlessness that the city, state, and federal governments declined to do much to combat the organized crime. But in 1954, lawyer and Phenix City resident Albert Patterson ran for Attorney General of Alabama – campaigning partly on a platform to reform his hometown – and won. The Attorney General-elect’s assassination shortly before his swearing-in meant that Sin City, USA’s days were numbered.

With the events in Phenix City still in the news, Hollywood came knocking. Poverty Row studio Allied Artists envisioned an idea for a new movie – fast-tracking The Phenix City Story, directed by Phil Karlson (best known for his ‘50s film noirs) and a screenplay from Daniel Mainwaring (1947’s Out of the Past, 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and Crane Wilbur (best known for acting alongside Pearl White in the 1914 serial The Perils of Pauline). Barely a year had passed since Albert Patterson’s assassination by the time of The Phenix City Story’s controversial release: this is a shockingly violent film for ‘50s Hollywood, and the film’s thirteen-minute documentary prologue was censored in the American South. Given Allied Artists’ lack of resources compared to the major Hollywood studios, The Phenix City Story is roughly acted, edited, and shot on occasion. But the film, shot on location and sometimes resembling a documentary, pulsates in its violent immediacy. Over time, it has shed its modest background to become a solid film noir.

Local lawyer Albert “Pat” Patterson (John McIntire) has lived in Phenix City for much of his life, privately despising the immorality plaguing downtown. Rhett Tanner (Edward Andrews) is the owner of Tanner’s Poppy Club – a den of booze and gambling where a bloody fistfight is shrugged off. Despite their disagreements, Pat and Tanner are friends and when the latter asks Pat to be part of a new citizens’ safety committee, he declines. Too many such committees have been created over the decades, sometimes masquerading as fronts for aiding criminal operations. However, Pat remarks, he is looking forward to something special. His son, John (Richard Kiley), is returning home from Germany after several years of prosecuting Nazi war criminals with wife Mary Jo (Lenka Peterson) and their children. When John, Mary Jo, and the children arrive, John is disappointed and Mary Jo is distraught at how Phenix City’s red-light district continues to be a hive of scum and villainy. A rapid turn of events involving the Patterson family’s friends and acquaintances – Ellie Rhodes (Kathryn Grant), Zeke Ward (James Edwards), and Ed Gage (Truman Smith) – will precipitate into a wave of assaults, bombings, and homicides that force Pat to run for Attorney General of Alabama.

Preceding most prints of The Phenix City Story is an introduction by journalist Clete Roberts, famous for his radio news reports, by then working for KNXT-TV (later KCBS) in Los Angeles, and is today best remembered for his role in two memorable episodes of M*A*S*H. Roberts, in the highly formal yet folksy journalistic style of mid-century America, interviews people who were close to the Patterson family or witnessed Phenix City’s violence leading up to Albert Patterson’s assassination. Roberts’ reporting is not as polished as it would eventually become. This makes the on-location prologue difficult to sit through, as Roberts asks too many leading questions and undeveloped questions that can be answered in one or a few words. The interviews do not flow smoothly between subjects. While these thirteen minutes make the rest of the film feel like a cinéma verité (generally, observational cinema) documentary within the mold of moody film noir, it can be grating to sit through. This review is based on a print of the film with the prologue included.

According to Ben Mankiewicz’s outro to the film on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in January 2020, the prologue was placed into The Phenix City Story to allow the film’s violence – the film is not beyond brutal brawls and hoodlums murdering children – to bypass the Hays Code (which censored what could be shown in American movies until 1968, when it was replaced by the present-day MPA ratings system). If the film’s violence could be framed like a documentary, the censors agreed to allow depictions of bloodied characters, sultry women baring their legs, and a casual use of the epithet “nigger” by police officers on the syndicates’ payroll. The prologue – however flawed it is – allows The Phenix City Story to be as brutal as it is. Some theaters in the American South, noting that there was no requirement to show the longer version of the film (the one containing the prologue) they were provided, refused to show the prints with the prologue, deeming the Roberts interviews as inflammatory and impugning the South’s reputation.

Perhaps Allied Artists executives did not think the American moviegoing audience was ready for a diatribe on race relations, but one can see the United States’ historic racial violence at the film’s extremities, waiting to burst alongside the film’s general depiction of Phenix City’s criminal corruption. The film’s most horrifying moment is when Zeke Ward’s child is murdered by Tanner’s hitmen. Zeke, a black employee at Tanner’s Poppy Club who abandons his job after being barely involved on John Patterson’s side of a vicious clash, is targeted for being sympathetic to the Pattersons. That Tanner chose a black person as his first victim is no coincidence; when the police receive word of his murdered child, the officer on the line hangs up the phone and tells his colleagues: “Somebody just threw a dead nigger kid on Patterson’s lawn. Go out and have a look.” There is no urgent inflection in the officer’s voice, as if that call is considered less important because the victim is not white. As a partial aside, those few seconds make me wonder what the censors thought in that moment, as the Hays Code forbade “vulgarity and suggestiveness”, and recommended “good taste” in the depiction of law enforcement; nevertheless, enforcement over the use of “nigger” and other racial epithets did not have a consistently-enforced standard or discernible pattern of contextual exceptions. The Phenix City Story does not concentrate on race for the purposes of telling its story, but the white gangsters and their enablers imply – through their behavior, and if I may appropriate and slightly alter this contemporary line – that black lives could not matter any less.

The Phenix City Story is filled with unfamiliar faces; only those fluent in classic television (and I am not) might squint in half-recognition of the actors involved. There are no bravura performances here, but John McIntire and Edward Andrews – as the elders of this tale, Albert Patterson and Rhett Tanner – stand out from an otherwise lackluster crowd. George White’s (1946’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1947’s Green Dolphins Street) editing is consistent. To his credit, The Phenix City Story, outside of the prologue, is never dull as it blasts away at a rocket’s pace. But during the film’s most violent moments, White’s editing fails to hide some of Allied Artists’ low-budget limitations. In the moment where Zeke’s murdered child is tossed out of a car, White fails to hide the fact that the child is a dummy. On my first viewing, I found myself confused about what the dummy was supposed to be. Was it a plastic alligator, a wooden log? Whatever it was, it looked so terribly phony that I couldn’t contain my laughter. Cut to a close-up of the child’s lifeless face. I realize my laughter arrived at the worst possible time. Good thing I watched this film alone. Nevertheless, a better attempt at editing or an alternative angle could have deemphasized the artifice here and spared me (and probably many others) the mortification of laughing at the worst possible time.

The collaboration between director Phil Karlson and screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring led The Phenix City Story down the path of film noir. Karlson’s experience with film noir and Mainwaring’s expertise in tackling material taking place in small-town America gift this film its lurid, sweltering Southern atmosphere. The Southern hospitality disguising traces of malevolence, the notion that residential Phenix City is supposedly far away – geographically and culturally – from 14th Street, and the familiar banter between acquaintances who know each other’s names and families help The Phenix City Story feel authentic to the audience. It makes the film’s violence personal, even when the Pattersons are nowhere near the camera. Karlson, with journeyman Allied Artists cinematographer Harry Neumann (1940’s Midnight Limited, 1959’s The Wasp Woman), implement the chiaroscuro lighting characteristic in film noir to chilling effect – most notably as John Patterson walks into 14th Street on his first night back to visit the drugstore.

Alabamians who lived through or close to the times of The Phenix City Story say that the film achieves the atmosphere of what life in Alabama was like in the mid-1950s, even though the film contains numerous fabrications to dramatize the narrative. The real John Patterson became Governor of Alabama in 1959 and, ironically in comparison to his depiction here, was a segregationist politician. But Patterson, who later renounced those segregationist views, was considered a liberal figure in Alabama, and he was immediately followed by George Wallace. Following its prologue, The Phenix City Story convulses in rage. It denounces fully the criminal skullduggery that made possible a century of ill repute, though not the white racism that it barely brushes. And despite its technical hiccups and occasional dubious acting, it is a prime example of Southern-set film noir.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, click here.

#The Phenix City Story #Phil Karlson #John McIntire #Richard Kiley #Kathryn Grant #Edward Andrews #James Edwards #Lenka Peterson #Biff McGuire #Truman Smith #Clete Roberts #Daniel Mainwaring #Crane Wilbur #Harry Neumann #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

[avaliveradio]

Kama Linden Releases a Song about Summer 'Belmar Breeze'

Band Name: Kama Linden

Song name: Belmar Breezes

Music Genre: pop/adult contemporary

I live in... Bronx, NY

Link to play: BELMAR BREEZES https://open.spotify.com/track/5Kafd6tHkpTuRqXkpqvdrI?si=UfgJ6QxoSeq4KASG_KMNSw

BELMAR BREEZES is a song about Summer, but also a visual, detailed description of my version of PARADISE. The Jersey Shore is an oasis for me. I run the beautiful boards of Belmar to Spring Lake, and back, I go to the ocean after 5 pm until maybe 8 pm and walk along the ocean, listening to the calming ocean waves, and the funny seagulls. 

I watch the most amazing sunsets you have ever seen, and the big, bright moons that come up over the ocean, that you cannot see anywhere else. People are friendly and happy, even during COVID. I play my guitar on the boardwalks of a few of the beaches. I live for summer. One day I hope to live in Belmar, or close to it.

IF I'M WRONG is a song I wrote on Route 70 in maybe 15-20 minutes while driving. It is about making your own choices, and IF I'M WRONG, well, fine. But I took a chance. I did not lead a SAFE and boring life. I became an artist. I traveled. I funded my projects. 

I have been swindled out of money, usually by unscrupulous men, but I am here to tell you about it. I am a survivor. I live for me and do not allow myself to be controlled or manipulated, or if it happens, it is short-lived, I figure it out, and I flee the situation :). I am brave and need to try new things, take road trips, meet new people/new friends, and write and sing what is in my heart.

My music is...

Every song is different. Uninhibited was an eclectic pop/rock mix. Better Late Than Never has a theme of a single woman's journey through love, life, loss, and finding G-d. Southern Country is COUNTRY and was recorded with musicians who play at the Grand Ole Opry. 

However, Everything In Good Time is a story about letting what will be, come to be. Not rushing to get there and missing the sights. Getting it right vs. getting it now. Not forcing a result. 

It is the quintessential story a parent tells a child: “Que sera, sera”. It is a dedication to two great ladies, my Mom, and Nana, who guided me through life and answered the questions of an inquisitive, precocious, and artistic child. My songs are reflections, observations, and dedications. It took me 4 studio albums to finally have my voice and my music captured the way they should be captured. I hope that you will enjoy this journey that I have created, culminating over 20 years of songwriting. 

The song "Everything In Good Time" is a conversation between my Nana and I: A precocious little girl who want all the answers RIGHT NOW, and my Nana just telling me, "Don't Worry, it will be fine. You will be beautiful. You will be an actress. You will meet a nice man....just relax...."

If I'm Wrong as I described above, is the song about taking chances, and living a brave life, not a safe, "doing the norm" out of fear of failure or living up to other people's expectations instead of my own. Darla Perlozzi, of Misstyx studio, was able to find me the best musicians as they were all on furlough due to Covid. Tony Toliver's mastery of the piano was out of this world! I dreamed about the piano is a very important part of “If I’m Wrong”. I wanted a higher descending piano line like Vanessa Carlton's "1000 Miles", and then a lower one. But on this song, you will hear the guitar riffs of James Mitchell in the beginning.

Jim was able to telepathically understand what it was I was looking for in so many of my songs and took the helm. Tony also did the amazing keyboard work you hear in "Searching For Madonna" an "Belmar Breezes"...which was SUPPOSED to just be a SIMPLE piano song...both turned into the amazing masterpieces that they were! Tony and Jim went back and forth and just added more and more parts just because they liked my songs, unlike the musicians from "Southern Comfort" who were old guys who liked to COMPLAIN. Tony and Jim, as well as Darla, and her husband Timmy Patterson, play for A-listers! And here they were, giving me their ALL...little old me!

Rodney Ingle is hands down the BEST engineer I EVER WORKED WITH! He was instrumental in capturing my true voice the way it should be recorded. After I banged out the lead vocals to 11 songs in 4 hours, he made suggestions for the harmony lines, which I layered one by one like an individual melody. His guidance, professionalism, and mastery made this the best album I ever made. An album I WOULD GO AN BUY and listen to every day.

How do you think this release represents your current direction…

BELMAR BREEZES: Anyone who knows me or is on my Facebook will see photo after photo of my Jersey Shore escapades. Big moons. Beaches with lots of umbrellas. Timed shots of me in my sunhat, sunglasses, and bathing suits. Making the most out of life and summer. Connecting with other people. Vocally calming, beautiful, descriptive, and inspirational.

IF I'M WRONG: Is the 'in your face', brave, doesn't take no for an answer, taking chance kind of song, like "Better Late Than Never" was. Unapologetic. Feel-good music.

I write the lyrics, melodies, basic chords...play them over and over until I feel good about them, but the musicians from Darla' studio were the ones who brought everything from black and white into color.

James Mitchell, guitars and just guru who got inside my head.

Tony Toliver's mastery of the piano: I dreamed about the piano is a very important part of “If I’m Wrong”. He did more than this for me. He brought so many of my songs to life, and because of him, I do not “hate organ”. He is the reason "Belmar Breezes" sounds like it does. And "Searching For Madonna".

Timmy Patterson's wonderful bass playing, and for keeping me calm. He is the studio business side as well. We tracked 11 songs (12 tracks) in 14 hours, and I was worried about not being able to sing all the songs in one day. BUT I DID!

Darla Perlozzi, of MissStyx Studio, picked up my project when all seemed lost. The previous "producer" bailed on me, and I was better for it. Just listen to the difference in "Make Room For Mama" and "Make Room For Mama 2020". Darla did everything from putting together the best team, working with my budget, and giving me the album I should have had from other studios, at a NASHVILLE price! And of course, for her wonderful drum beats.

What most inspires you?: 

Although I started writing songs when I was 10, they began to fill my head around 1998. Songs would wae me up in the middle of the night. I could run to one song, and be inspired to write a song because of that song. Sometimes it is a simple sentence or catchphrase, like "Better Late Than Never": "What Took You So Long" was one of the last lines in the movie, "Singles". "Everything In Good Time" is what a parent or Nana tells an impatient child. You have only to go to Belmar to experience "Belmar Breezes".... it could be 90-100 degrees outside, and yet this Tradewind will kick up, and you feel like you are standing in front of the refrigerator.

"You're On Video" is about the constant scandals where you WILL BE FILMED on someone's phone, and brought to public justice on Instagram or the news. Think of all the police brutality incidents from Eric Garner to recent protests. Hit and run accidents. Hate speech. You will be filmed! You can't escape. Conversely, "Searching For Madonna" was pre-COVID: being so wrapped up in your phones and gadgets, that you have forgotten humanity, spirituality, and anything but taking selfies and scrolling through nonsensical posts of someone's breakfast.

Writing music is not a choice. It's a NEED. I don't think I could make it stop if I wanted to. Some songs come quickly, like "If I'm Wrong". Some I will write down a line or two, and come back to it years later. Each song is like a birth of a child. Sometimes I go a week or two with no writing, and sometimes It is like a flood of songs. When people hear my lyrics or a small child comes up to me on the boardwalk, dancing and smiling, "I love your voice" like Lara did on Saturday evening at Seaside, or a group of teens passing by stop to listen, jam along, clap, dance....even give a thumbs up...that is why I do it. Being remembered. Not just fame. But have a reason why I was put on this earth and what I will leave behind ("Here She Lies").

I took piano lessons from childhood, but I am one with my guitar. Ibanez. I have four of them. You will see me on the boardwalk with my black one, (Black Ivy) and in shows/photos with my purple one (Miss Plum)

I will hopefully record any future music with Darla's team, but like the movie "Once", all of this happened because I was furloughed, and the musicians were as well, and who knows if we will ever have the opportunity to work together as a team again, once everyone goes back to their touring schedules. I do my scratch recordings with a condenser mic an garage band and hope to eventually, finally learn ProTools. 

What was one notable event that helped shape your last decade?  

I really can't think of "one". Everything is just small little steps that eventually become part of a journey. But from 2016 onward, I taught fewer classes for the horrible and abusive gym and worked more on SAG-AFTRA projects. Of course, everything has been shut down for COVID.

What’s your goal for 2020?: 

Take "Everything In Good Time" to the heights it needs to reach! It is an album that MUST be HEARD. I snuck off to Nashville during a pandemic to record it with the best musicians in the world and released it during a pandemic. It can be for nothing. It is also my best work yet. The songs are relevant! "You're On Video", "We Could Be Friends" (Black Lives Matter and other discrimination and divisiveness), "Your Love Hurts" (domestic violence).

When I started, my first recordings were on "DAT"...

Then someone said, "You need to find a studio with ProTools". My first album and half were recorded at "Night Owl", and then I like paid what would buy me a small condo to finish "Better Late Than Never" at Cove City in Long Island. I trusted 3 "labels" who kept my money, took my money, and were lazy. 

Now I am in control of my production as well as finding people to promote my music. I also have learned that I can go to Nashville an get a quality recording, vs spending through the nose in NY. Like, NY, you have to weed through, as te 1st team was ok for the time, but when Darla's team explained that they probably had the mic on backward, recorded me on the clunky 2-inch machine they threw out when they took over the studio, didn't give me my tracks in a ProTools session so I could remix them if I wanted to, vs the amazing project I recorded with Darla's people. Darla and I bonded over being females, it is a boy's club, especially in Nashville. One guy must have been trolling Darla's FB, and although I just recorded at Darla's studio, wrote to me via my website, and wanted to know who I recorded with. 

I told him I was happy, and would never record ANYWHERE again except for Misstyx, which prompted an angry rant, and "do you know who I am" and "I will have you blacklisted from the musician's union".....so I called the musician's union. Everyone knows everyone, so both Tony (my piano player) and Darla, and a few other folks, shut him up.

Every time I get a guy who tries to scam me out of money ($150 to be on some blog in Nashville that no one has ever heard of) and he says, "You don't know how the music business works!" I just laugh. Musicians today have to do some digging, shopping, and unfortunately, occasionally being scammed or overpaying the wrong people, but it is easier to get it right now thanks to the public opinions online. Do good work, get good reviews. I was also scammed by "Loggins" bac in 2006 or 2007. They charged $750 a week and then tacked on charges for "gift cards" I did not agree to. You couldn't stop them from charging your card for like 2 weeks (you had to give "notice"). I eventually called "Loggins" to ask why I was not receiving ASCAP royalties for all the radio promotion he did, and he could not answer.

Musicians have all the tools they need to create and promote music. I could have bought a house with the mistakes I have made over the past 20 years. But I have learned to do my research and search out the right people to help me.

Website & social media links: :

 Kama Linden: www.kamalinden.com New album: "Everything In Good Time" June 20, 2020:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5RHPPSDhiiYpmt55p1ONeL?si=-WQaDYe9Ttu9eoj73sTNqg Apple:https://music.apple.com/us/album/everything-in-good-time/1517559501 Bandcamp:https://kamalinden.bandcamp.com/album/everything-in-good-time

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kamalindenmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamalindenmusic

#Kama Linden #bronx #New York

[mightyoaksnursery]

Mighty Oaks Day Nursery | 10 Reading To Children Tips You Need To Learn Now

Mighty Oaks Day Nursery | We are all aware that today, most children are so much more interested in watching television for hours, playing video games throughout the night, and gossiping on the Internet than they are in reading.

According to recent figures from the U.K. Department of Education, children are spending an average of four to six hours daily watching TV or movies; and that’s before the Coronavirus pandemic.

It has been proven, time and time again, that children who read achieve.

They do better in school and in life.

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass

Children who read tend to accomplish higher test and exam scores more often than their peers who read less often. However, getting children to simply open a book can sometimes be very tricky for parents and teachers alike : Mighty Oaks Day Nursery

Realize this, it is never too soon to get your child on the path to reading.

The U.K. Department of Education recommend that parents begin to read to their baby when they are six months old. The reason being, that hearing words over and over, time and time again, help them become familiar with those words.

Reading to your baby is one of the best ways to help them learn.

You can start by simply spending some time talking to your infant and toddler thereby helping them to develop the vocabulary they will need to enter school and begin to read.

And, in due course, as you point to and name the objects around them, they will start to understand and associate the words with the objects. In a short while, they will eventually begin to add those words into her vocabulary.

If, after a while, after a few years, you come to the conclusion that your child is showing little to no interest in reading, relax, there is hope.

“There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jacqueline Kennedy

Sometimes parents have to be creative and get a little sneaky. You can still turn your reluctant child into a reader.

The following 10 tips can help parents get their most stubborn children to read year-round:

Make the words come alive | Mighty Oaks Day Nursery

When you read to children, pick a book that has large print. Point at each word as you read it. This way your child will recognize and understand that the word being spoken is the word they see.

And to add to that, did you know that a child’s love for reading can grow when the words come to life? After reading, go out and share that experience as a family.

This can create a deeper family bond, and has the added power of putting the words into visual context.

What do I mean?

If you are reading to your child a book on bunny rabbits, go to a pet shop. Let your child see the rabbits, recite a few words from the book as you point to the rabbits.

This creates a powerful combination; the child can relate to what they’re hearing and seeing; making reading as fun as possible.

Read to open long-term dialogue

One of the best things you can do to ensure that your child will grow up reading well and loving to read is to read to them every day.

As we said earlier, reading together will create a special and strong bond between the two of you.

And this has an extremely important added benefit that will help them open the doors for a dialogue that will continue throughout the more trying years of adolescence.

The U. S. Department of Education suggests that, when parents read to children, it is important that they take the time to discuss new words.

Take the time to explain what each new word means and do your best to include as much sensory methods as you can; sight, hearing, touching.

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” – Margaret Fuller

Listen to your child | Mighty Oaks Day Nursery

When parents spend time talking and reading to children, they should also take the time to listen to their children.

This will help their children get ready to read faster.

When you read and talk to your child use sounds, gestures, songs, and even words that rhyme to help your child learn about language and its many uses. Inspire your child to do the same and be attentive to them.

This is vital.

There’s nothing worse than a child feeling they are being ignored.

When you go out with your child to the supermarket, practice pointing out the printed words there; you can point to a fruit, and ask your child what that fruit is and ask them to spell it and talk about it for a minute.

Never leave home without it

Take some books with you wherever you go. You never know when your child gets excited to read, and when they do, cherish the moment, and take full advantage of it.

Of course, this can also be beneficial at times when you don’t wish to be disturbed, so by handing over a book to your child it gives them fun activities to do to entertain themselves with, and it keeps them occupied while you’re driving, chatting with friends, or running errands.

Keep the books within easy reach

A well as creating a quiet, special place in your home for your child to read, write, and draw, make it a point to keep the books and all other reading materials within easy reach of your child.

Perhaps you can provide your child with their own bookshelf or small bookcase. This will not only make them feel special, but it will also communicate to them that reading is special.

An added bonus could be you reaching out for a book on their shelf for you to read in front of the child. This way the child can see that you are also reading, and this will make them realize that reading is important.

“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.” – Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Read a favorite book over and over again | Mighty Oaks Day Nursery

Get into the habit of recognizing your child’s favorite books, and read them over and over again. Repetition has the power of making the words sink in further and further into the child’s mind.

Also, you can think of ways to make it more fun each time you read that favorite book.

Be creative.

Time and time again, read the stories that have rhyming words and lines that repeat, and have your child join in the fun.

Provide encouragement

Parents play a crucial role by reading to children, and this greatly affects the child’s education. Children whose parents encourage them to read are more likely to read far more books than those parents leave reading up to them.

Encourage your child to read as often as possible, without pressurizing them, as this may put them off reading. Reading to children requires tactical persuasion, and getting children to read by themselves requires creative encouragement.

“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” – Edmund Burke

The early bedtime trick

Here’s a great coaxing approach that many successful parents have used in the past to read to children. Set your child’s bedtime to be 30 minutes before lights out.

Allow them time to perform all the before bedtime duties; such as brushing their teeth, getting into their pajamas, saying their good-nights to others, using the bathroom, and so on.

Once done, let them happily hop into bed, and then you open their favorite book, or book of their choice, and you read to them.

This is to be done before their official lights out bedtime.

After that, simply smile and say, “It’s time for bed, now. Would you like lights out, or would you like to stay up and read for a bit longer?”

More often than not, unless the child is particularly tired, they’ll choose to read awhile longer. This way they think it’s their idea (powerful, huh!).

Allow the child to choose whichever book they like to read until the time comes where you kiss them and bid them a goodnight and turn the lights out.

Summer reading enticement| Mighty Oaks Day Nursery

Where possible, sign up for a local summer reading club at your local library, or arrange to read with your neighbors’ children out in the back garden. Have them take turns reading to children that are present (some love to show off their reading skills).

On a rainy summer’s day, with the advanced technology of these days, you can always have your child read to their grandmother and grandfather via the Internet.

If your local library is closed, or your child doesn’t want to be cooped indoors, you can always take them out to a close park, lay a blanket on the grass and read to each other.

Practice the art of parents reading to children, then children reading to parents.

Think of ways you and your child, and other children, can have fun with it.

“I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that will turn them on to the joy of reading and turn them into lifelong readers.” – James Patterson

Read the entire book before you see the movie | Mighty Oaks Day Nursery

If your child is keen to see a particular movie, get the book and have the child read it first before you take them to the movie.

Make it a ‘rule’ that you do not take them to the movie until they’ve read the entire book.

This will encourage them to read, and the added bonus is that they may understand the movie more because they read the book with you, and you, more than likely, added life to it; explaining things the child didn’t understand.

There you have your 10 reading to children tips that you need to learn and implement now, or at least, as soon as possible.

Reading is very important for children. It prepares them for adulthood.

Reading is a prerequisite to success and perhaps everything in life.

If you think about it, in all areas of life, there is something to read: Road signs, food labels, newspapers, prescription labels, letters/emails from banks or work. We are all surrounded with things to read.

We cannot avoid reading… Period.

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.” – Kate DiCamillo

Do your best, make it one of your life’s missions, to turn your children into avid readers.

The more methods that you can combine into your child’s reading experience, the more likely you are to help your child grow into a strong reader.

Mighty Oaks Day Nursery | Always, constantly think of ways to infuse into your child that reading is fun. And, for you as a parent, remember that you can never be too old, too wacky, or too wild to pick up a book and read it with your child.

Reading to children is a must in every household.

“Stories are the most important thing in the world. Without stories, we wouldn’t be human beings at all.”

#Mighty Oaks Day Nursery Ofsted #Mighty Oaks Day Nursery and Preschool #Mighty Oaks Day Nursery #Children Tips

[back-and-totheleft]

Rider on the storm

“Get out there! Take a chance! That’s what the ‘60s were--the cutting edge! Ride the snake! Now! Now ! Remember that? Go to the limits! Challenge authority! Challenge your parents! See for yourself! Get in touch with your senses!”

That fusillade is being delivered by arguably Hollywood’s most successful protester. Yale dropout, drug-taking, decorated Vietnam vet turned auteur, Stone has delivered take after take on the ‘60s and their children--"Salvador,” “Platoon,” “Wall Street,” “Talk Radio,” “Born on the Fourth of July"--coming at his theme every which way. Drugs! War! Money! Politics! Stone has made movies to exorcise his and his generation’s demons, annoying the industry with his excesses, filmic and personal, earning a round of grudging respect for ballyhooing a 20-year-old Zeitgeist all the way to the bank. He is even a producer these days, taking home a nice percentage of the gross. The Outsider has become Establishment. Hey, Oliver, what’s that sound, everything going round and round? [...]

“Success?” asks the director, slightly startled. “That didn’t become popular as a concept until the ‘70s. Yeah, I have much more freedom to make the subjects that I want, but I don’t see myself as Darryl Zanuck. I would feel bad if I got indulgent. All good films come from people with an independent spirit, those who push. But the power of perception in the world is such that fringe ideas, when they are accepted, become mainstream--that because of their success they become a cliche.

“ ‘Platoon’ was a major innovation in our perception of what that war was. I thought ‘Born’ was a fairly radical statement; it took 10 years to make that picture--everybody passed on it. Once it was made and got eight Oscar nominations, it became a successful Hollywood movie. If it had not been successful, it would have been considered an outlaw film. Now, with the Kennedy film--why haven’t they made that already? Because people were fearful that it was uncommercial. I hope I was destined to make that picture.” [...]

As is well known, Stone made his mark as a movie maker five years ago when he turned his own life into film--"Platoon,” the 1986 Oscar-winning Vietnam War film that chronicled the director’s 1967-68 tour of duty. The movie won Best Picture and Best Director and grossed more than $160 million. Stone has made similar connections in his other less overtly biographical films. James Woods in “Salvador,” Charlie Sheen in “Wall Street,” Eric Bogosian in “Talk Radio,” Tom Cruise in “Born on the Fourth of July,” all played characters close to the director’s “male, Type-A personality,” says Bogosian. “Oliver makes movies about men under pressure.” [...]

It is a marriage of opposites that also fits Stone, who is described by those who know him as intense, passionate and smart, a prodigious director and writer whose early reputation for womanizing and drug taking never hindered an equally relentless work ethic. “He has the curiosity of a child and an incredible drive,” says Kenneth Lipper, an investment banker, author and consultant on “Wall Street.” “Oliver uses his films as an excuse to search out the facts--the truth--of a situation.”

Others who have worked for him say Stone is a masterful taskmaster who will manipulate, taunt and pressure cast and crew into sharing his commitment to the subject at hand. “He likes to do a lot of sparring to challenge you,” says actor Willem Dafoe, who starred in “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July.” Adds Bogosian: “He expects you to be a self-starter and thick-skinned when it comes to criticism. And if he senses you can’t take it, he will move away from you fast. Being on a set with him can be very punishing. But at the end of the day, everyone wants to be around him.” Kyle MacLachlan, an actor best known as FBI man Dale Cooper in television’s “Twin Peaks,” who co-stars in “The Doors,” says simply, “I miss working with Oliver.” [...]

Shying away from risks is the ultimate sin with Stone, the only child of a privileged Manhattan couple, a stockbroker father and socialite mother. Stone wore a coat and tie every day to prep school, wrote weekly essays for his father--who paid him 25 cents each--and embarked on his well-documented fall from grace as soon as he was able. Says one old friend: “Oliver grew up with a lot of contradictions in his life--Jewish father, French Roman Catholic mother who was this semi-Regine-type character. Oliver led this sort of Eurotrash jet-setter’s life--even after his parents were divorced--where nothing was normal.”

“My mother was never in bed before 3 in the morning,” Stone recalls. “She used to take me to France in the summers, and she was a great fan of movies, took me out of school to go to double and triple features. She was this kind of Auntie Mame person. ‘Evita’ would have been my homage to her.”

His parents’ divorce when he was 16 years old, Stone says, “was like parting the curtains of a stage play and seeing what was really there. I found out about a whole lot of things--affairs--I had been blind to. After that, I felt I was really on my own.”

The divorce also coincided with a larger rupture--Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the de facto starting gun of the ‘60s. “I had no faith in my parents’ generation after that,” Stone says. “By 1965, I was in Vietnam"--first as a teacher and a merchant marine, later as an Army enlistee.

He briefly attended Yale University, his father’s alma mater, which he says he “hated, especially since it was before women were admitted.” Stone dropped out and headed for Vietnam.

He was wounded twice and earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in a tour of duty that was later chronicled in “Platoon.” “He was never a regular GI Joe,” recalls Crutcher Patterson, a former member of Stone’s platoon. “He was pretty green, a loner and moody, always writing things. Whenever we got a break, he would stop and write a little descriptive story about it.” [...]

Stone hasn’t lost his concern for current events: “I’m praying for our soldiers, who are making the ultimate sacrifice in the Gulf War, but I don’t think Bush ever intended to negotiate. There was a military-industrial complex that pushed us into this.” Friends add that the director’s only real interest these days, in addition to making films, “is trying to set up other films.”

Have Stone’s demons finally gone AWOL? “I didn’t say I didn’t miss my old life,” he says with a half-smile. “I love the concept of suburbia, but I also love going to New York and Europe and Asia, meeting new people. My wife and I are different that way. I have a restlessness that never stops.” [...]

Stone does seem to be a man with his eye fixed perpetually over his shoulder, one who keeps a daily diary and who describes the art of filmmaking as giving vent to “that other person that is in you. The shadow self, the one that is always walking behind you. The real you, the deeper you.

“I’m not going to say I’m a lone soul here, wandering through my own soundtrack,” he says. “I enjoy the community of people who love movies. And I like using the power that I have to make things happen. But will I be doing this forever? Maybe I’ll be working in Eritrea or the Sudan, or maybe I’ll become a journalist for Rolling Stone.”

Stone has spent several hours over lunch, repeatedly waving off his crew, but now his impatience is tangible. “I still don’t like the answer I gave you about the ‘60s, how this film relates to this current generation. I felt stupid. I was doing a lot of ‘ums’ and ‘ahs,’ ” he says, suddenly obsessed with his image.

“I don’t want to believe in generation conflict, but it’s there. I feel distant from my own generation, out of step with the people my age who went to college. I always identified more with the Charlie Sheen generation, that younger group who came up, because it gave me new life. I was able to act out my own history through them, skip a generation and go back to it again. Believe me, that’s exciting, and I’m grateful for that chance because our tribal rituals are the same. It doesn’t have to be Jim Morrison or Vietnam; it’s about going out there and finding yourself.”

-Hilary De Vries, “RIDER ON THE STORM : With ‘The Doors,’ Director Oliver Stone Exhumes the ‘60s in All Their Lurid Excess,” Los Angeles Times, Feb 24 1991 [x]

#oliver stone #los angeles times #the doors #platoon #childhood #talk radio #eric bogosian #the vietnam war #charlie sheen #wounded #purple heart #bronze star #jacqueline stone

[truecrimehunter]

Kelly Anne Bates Case

Note:Torture, grooming,and abusive relationship  

On April 16, 1996, 17-year-old Kelly Anne Bates was torture for four weeks and killed by her 48-year- old “boyfriend”, James Patterson Smith. She was fighting for her life while he drown her in the bathtub.  

She had been groomed since she was 14-year-old when he was babysitting her friend. He took advantage of her while looking like a “gentleman” and walk her home to “keep her safe”. Sadly, her parents didn’t know he was grooming her until two years later. The parents and James spoke on the phone before, but they had no awareness to his age. When they did meet James, their concerns went way up. The mother said,” When I first met him, the hairs went up on the back of my neck”.

Before meeting James, Kelly loved playing sports while dreaming of becoming a teacher. She attended college and working for graphics firm(? I’m not sure, but it was in an article). Then came James, she stopped showering and spending hours curl up on the sofa. Her mother even said,”She came home and one side of her face was black. She said some girls had attacked her. I couldn’t bear the worry, but I knew if I dragged her away from him, I could lose her.”

Before James came into contact with Kelly, he had a criminal record. His marriage from 10 years earlier ended because of domestic violence. He was in a relationship with Tina Watson for two years. He had been using her as a punching bag and beating her while she was pregnant . Surprise, surprise, he tried to drowned her in the bathtub too. Thankfully, she escape from him. Another surprise, surprise, he had a relationship with a 15-year-old Wendy Mottershead which he also abused. He coming up with MO because he tried to drowned her in the kitchen sink.

One day, Kelly lied to her parents and said she got a new job that would busy up most of her time. Sadly on November 30, 1995, she moves in with James, and he made her no see her family again. She could only talked on the phone with them. Of course, the calls are coming in slowly, and birthday and Christmas cards were signed by him. The family grew even more concern called the doctor and the police, but they couldn’t do anything because she’s a legal adult. The parents were afraid of going there incase it would push their daughter even more away from them. They regret it until their dying days.

Later that fateful day of April 16, James went to the police and said she was dead. He claimed while they were having sex in the bathtub, she swallowed water and drown. Clearly, that wasn’t the case when the police gotten there. They found her naked on the bathroom floor. Then the police saw the horrific scene in the house. Her blood was in every room and had over 150 separate injures that wasn’t just in that day. During those unfortunate four weeks,she was burnt with cigarettes, boiling water on her butt and feet, stab wounds from knives, forks, and scissors. The stab wounds was inside her mouth. She had marks on her neck showing she had strangled, and her hair was tied to the radiator. Sadly, her hands and kneecaps were crushed. What brings her even more pain is her head was partially scalped and her ears, mouth, nose, lips, and genitalia had been mutilated. That isn’t enough torture for James. He gauged both her eyes out, and her empty eye sockets had been stabbed. So she had been blinded for three weeks. She hadn’t eaten and drink anything for days either. Before he killed her, he hit her with the shower head(it wasn’t like she was fighting back).

The jury was told her,” her death must have been merciful”. Her father had the job of identifying her body which must had been so hard on his mental state. Her mother said,” People called him an animal, but an animal wouldn’t do that to another animal. He is a very evil man. I think about how much pain she must have been in, how she must have thought we didn’t love her because we didn’t save her”. Here’s the kicker, he blamed her for the abuse and the torture he put her through. He said she put him through hell for winding him up, and she taunt him about his dead mother. Also, he said she would hurt herself make it look worse him him. When he was asked why so much torture, he said she challenge him to hurt her, so he did.The evidence was provided for the jury made them need professional counseling afterwards. It took the jury one hour to found him guilty. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the judge recommended that James served the minimum sentence of 20 years. The judge told James,“You are an abuser of women and I intent, so far as it is in my power, that you will abuse no more”.

Domestic Violence Hotline US:[phone]

#true crime #true crime research #true crime community #reblog with the sources

[maxwell-grant]

So that ask about a Doc Savage/The Shadow crossover (which as an aside, I agree that Doc is probably the worst of the archetype he is functionally the Ur-Example of that isn’t an intentional deconstruction focusing on his worst eugenicist/borderline-fascist aspects to create a villain) has me thinking: what exactly would be the boundaries for a good, well-written crossover between the Shadow and different genres or eras of what we all collectively call pulp? Could someone do a crossover between the Shadow and Indiana Jones that didn’t rely on one or the other being little more than a glorified cameo in a small portion of what was essentially the other’s story, or reducing the former to his lamest two-dimensional “gun-toting homicidal maniac” interpretations? Could the Shadow ever functionally exist in a universe shared with a space opera setting like the Lensman series? It seems like one could theoretically do a crossover between the Shadow and a character of the same era like Nero Wolfe or Sam Spade, but would it strain credulity to attempt it with characters from an updated form of the private detective archetype like Thomas Magnum’s Hawaiian noir or Rick Deckard’s cyberpunk dystopia? Obviously not expecting answers to each of these hypotheticals specifically, just as examples of the kind of thing I’m wondering now.

I will be going through some of your hypotheticals though, you clearly gave a lot of thought to this and it's only fair I respond in turn. I am always eager to respond anyone who wants to ask specifics about writing The Shadow, because much of what I strive to do through this blog is to just inform people about the many, many things that made The Shadow great, the things that have been neglected, and to provide paths anyone who wishes to write the character may take. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to write The Shadow someday, but the least I can do is spread knowledge as I work my way there. I'd like to think I've done allright so far.

It's a fairly big question though so we're gonna through it by pieces...

...not THAT way

what exactly would be the boundaries for a good, well-written crossover between the Shadow and different genres or eras of what we all collectively call pulp?

Part of the reason why I did a post yesterday on The Shadow's influences is because looking at them, looking at a character's influences and history, I think are always essential to the prospect of tackling them. And in that regard, The Shadow doesn't actually have much, if any, boundaries stopping him from crossing over with just about anything. The most that's stopping the pulp heroes currently is, besides legal issues, their time periods and obscurity, but The Shadow is the most famous of them all, and a lot of stories have already worked with the idea that he's immortal (which I have my misgivings with, but for better or worse is clearly not going anywhere, and it's not a unworkable concept).

Right from the start, The Shadow was designed to be a long-running, versatile character that could partake in whatever adventures they felt like telling, and part of this is due not just to an incredibly strong personality not afforded to most pulp heroes or characters in general, even those who tried imitating him, but also the fact that he often takes a narrative backseat to the agents and proxy heroes, which means he doesn't have to carry a narrative by his own (and is in fact best suited not to), can blend in to just about anyone's story, and still stand out and be the center of sprawling mysteries. Actually, I'm gonna let Walter Gibson answer this one for you:

While his major missions were to stamp out mobs or smash spy rings, he often tabled such routines in order to find a missing heir, uncover buried treasure, banish a ghost from a haunted house or oust a dictator from a mythical republic.

There was no limitation to the story themes as long as they came within the standards of credibility--which proved easy, since The Shadow was such an incredible character in his own right that almost anything he encountered was accepted by his ardent followers.

Widespread surveys taken while the magazine was appearing monthly showed that a large majority of newsstands sold nearly all their copies within the first two weeks of issue. While other character magazines might show an early flurry, their sales were either spread evenly over the entire period or gained their impetus about the middle of the mouth and sometimes not until the third or even the fourth week.

From the writing standpoint, this made it advisable to adhere more closely to the Cranston guise and to emphasize the parts played by The Shadow's well-established agents, since regular readers evidently liked them. Also, it meant "keeping ahead" of those regulars, with new surprises, double twists in "whodunit" plots, and most exacting of all a succession of villains who necessarily grew mightier and more monstrous as The Shadow disposed of their predecessors.

Always, his traits and purposes were defined through the observations and reactions of persons with whom he came in contact, which meant that the reader formed his opinion from theirs.

This gave The Shadow a marked advantage over mystery characters forced to maintain fixed patterns and made it easy to write about him. There was never need for lengthy debate regarding what The Shadow should do next, or what course he should follow to keep in character. He could meet any exigency on the spur of the moment, and if he suddenly acted in a manner opposed to his usual custom, it could always be explained later.

The Shadow’s very versatility opened a vast vista of story prospects from the start of the series onward. In the earlier stories, he was described as a “phantom,” an “avenger,”, and a “superman,” so he could play any such parts and still be quite in character. In fact, all three of those terms were borrowed by other writers to serve as titles for other characters.

Almost any situation involving crime could be adapted to The Shadow’s purposes

The final rule was this: put The Shadow anywhere, in any locale, among friends or associates, even in a place of absolute security, and almost immediately crime, menace or mystery would begin to swirl about him, either threatening him personally or gathering him in its vortex to carry him off to fields where antagonists awaited.

That was his forte throughout all his adventures. Always, his escapes were worked out beforehand, so that they would never exceed the bounds of plausibility when detailed in narrative form. And that was the great secret of The Shadow.”

In some regards, The Shadow is a mirror. He presents himself to people the way that's best suited to them, the way they'd like him to be, the way he needs to be to affect them. They want money, he has it. They want honor, glory and purpose, he gives them that. They want to fight and turn around social systems for the better, he funds their dreams. Gangsters want the underworld's greatest hitman on their side, he becomes that and lets it be their doom. The story calls for a rich aristocrat who can rub elbows with politicians and kings and presidents, he can do that as long as it suits him. Kent Allard can be a world famous celebrity in one story and a disfigured, broke and faceless nobody in the next. You want a kind janitor with unexpected fighting skill to spy on police and assist the homeless, he has a little someone named Fritz for the occasion. You want an evil monster to be defeated, bring out Ying Ko. Hell, James Patterson's upcoming Shadow novel, which by all reviews seems to be pretty lousy, apparently features The Shadow transforming into a cat. Why? Screw you, that's why! But you'd never see James Bond or Batman spontaneously transforming into a cat without outside interference. He's The Shadow, he's got a face for everything.

(Okay to be clear I don't actually want the Shadow to literally transform into animals, at least not without a good explanation which the book clearly doesn't provide, but I do think it illustrates my point about how generally weird he is)

He is a shapeshifter who can be just about any character in any given narrative who only reveals himself when it's time to materialize into a cloaked terror or a familiar face (whether it's Cranston or Allard or Arnaud and so on). War stories, romance stories, sci-fi stories, globetrotting stories, parody stories, he's done all of them and then some. He doesn't need to be the protagonist of a story, he doesn't need to be invincible, and he doesn't really have any set rules regarding powerset. Gibson stressed credibility a lot, but for over 70 years now, that's clearly gone by the window of the character's writing. By design, he was always meant to be able to smoothly integrate into any existing narrative. Frankly, the only thing that's really holding him back (or saving him, depending on how you look at it) is the fact that he's not public domain (yet).

I think for a start, it's not so much boundaries, because in make believe land boundaries are just things to be overcome on the way to telling a story, so much as it's a good working knowledge of the character and of how far you are willing to stretch your storytelling limitations to include him, because he can account for just about all of them. Now, obviously there's stuff that works for the character better than others, a lot of Shadow fans don't like it when they take the character too much into fantasy, there's debates on how superpowered should he be if at all, and so forth. I have my own preferences, but one of the bigger tests of long-running characters is how can they succeed and thrive when placed outside of their element, and The Shadow can do that.

Could someone do a crossover between the Shadow and Indiana Jones that didn’t rely on one or the other being little more than a glorified cameo in a small portion of what was essentially the other’s story, or reducing the former to his lamest two-dimensional “gun-toting homicidal maniac” interpretations?

would it strain credulity to attempt it with characters from an updated form of the private detective archetype like Thomas Magnum’s Hawaiian noir

Well regarding the first question, the latter portion I think is very easy to do. Just, don't write him like that. Just be aware of why that's a mischaracterization, why the character doesn't need that to work, why he works better without it, and so on. It shouldn't be that hard.

Regarding Indiana Jones and Thomas Magnum, I think these two actually lend themselves very easily to crossovers with The Shadow. On Indy's case, he already is a Pulp Hero operating in the same time period, who's got a heavily contrasting niche and personality to build a fun dynamic around. Indy is more story-driven, in the sense that the Indiana Jones moves are all centered around his experiences and point of view and growth as a person, compared to The Shadow's stories, which are not really about "his" story as much as they are about the stories of the people he comes in contact with. Indy is a blockbuster superstar while The Shadow lurks and slithers through the edges and cracks of a story until it's time to strike. But if anything that just makes even more of a case as to why they could team up without issue, since there's a further built-in complimentary contrast to work with.

I have never watched Magnum P.I so there's definitely stuff I might be missing, but looking him up, past the necessary explanation as to why The Shadow's hanging around the 80s, it wouldn't strain credulity at all for the two to team up. The Shadow has had Caribbean/beach-themed adventures and one unrecorded adventure in Honolulu, he has a beach bum secret identity called Portuguese Joe that he could use for this occasion, and Magnum seems like exactly the kind of character who could star as the proxy hero of a Shadow novel. He's lively and friendly and can look after himself, he has a job that leads him to trouble and puts him on contact with criminals as well as victims, he's got secrets and a dark past and a laundry list of character flaws, he's perfectly capable of carrying a story by himself but can be out of his depth in the schemes that he gets caught up in.

Could the Shadow ever functionally exist in a universe shared with a space opera setting like the Lensman series? Or Rick Deckard’s cyberpunk dystopia?

I'm going to tackle parts of this question more throughly when I answer one in my query that's asking me "How would you do The Shadow in modern day?", which I still haven't gotten around to answering because it's a tricky one. I won't go into the specifics for the two examples you listed because I've never read the Lensman books and googling about them hasn't helped much very much, and Deckard's a fairly standard P.I character mostly elevated by the movie he's in, there's not really much to discuss regarding him specifically interacting with The Shadow. The question you're asking me here seems to generally be: Could The Shadow functionally exist in settings so radically apart from the 30s Depression era he was made for?

My answer for this is a maybe leaning towards yes. Starting with the fact that the concept of The Shadow is more suited for allegorical fantasy along the lines of space operas and cyberpunk, than the gritty realism he's been saddled with for decades, which I'll get into another time. For some reason, a lot of people seem to harp on about how the Shadow's costume is impractical and unworkable for modern times, and said James Patterson novel mentioned above ditched it all together, which as you can guess was a massively unpopular decision. Matt Wagner talked once about how cities don't have shadows and men wearing hats anymore and that's part of why you can't have The Shadow in modern times (as if The Shadow was always supposed to be dressing like an average guy, and not cowboy Dracula). But nobody seems to have a problem with characters dressing up exactly like The Shadow showing up all the time in dystopian future cities with fashion senses where they stick out like a sore thumb (and really, they should stick out, otherwise what's the point of being all weird and dark and mysterious?)

Although The Shadow is specifically suited for urban settings, is conceptually rooted in 1930s America, and there are important facets of his characterization related to history like the Great War, there are not the be-all end-all of The Shadow. It's part of the character. Other parts integral to the character are, as mentioned above, the versatility and metamorphous nature he was always intended to have. His nature as a character who exists to thrive in narratives not about him and not centered around him. His roots on Dracula and King Arthur and Oz and Lupin which are concepts that have had so, so many drastical revisions and turnabouts that still stuck to the basic principles of the icon.

Besides, The Shadow's already been there. He's already been to space, he's already been in alternate dimensions, he's already reawakened in modern/future times several times now (when he doesn't just live to them unchanged). He's been a cyborg twice, and between those, El Sombra, Vendata, X-9, the Shadow-referencing robot henchmen from Bob Morane and Yu-Gi-Oh's Jinzo referencing the movie's bridge scene, it's enough to constitute a weird pattern of The Shadow and Shadow-adjacent characters turning into robots. Perhaps one positive side effect of The Shadow's decades-long submersion in fantasy is that it's opened the character for just about anything, and I think this could be a good thing if it was married to an adherence to the things that made him such a juggernaut of an icon in the 30s and 40s.

Really, The Shadow partially works on Predator rules. And by that I mean, the big secret of the Predator that filmmakers don't seem to get is that the best way to make a Predator film is to just put the Predator somewhere he's not supposed to be, and let that play out. Because the Predator is, by design, a trespasser who invades narratives and turns the power dynamics around, and that works for any narrative you put it into.

The first movie is all about setting you up for a jungle action movie with Schwarzenegger's Sexual Tyrannosaurus Crew as the biggest baddest death squad around, only for the Predator to appear, turn the tables on these shitheads and pick them off one by one until Arnie scrapes a victory by beating it at it's own game. The 2nd movie is about a drug war between cops and gangs in L.A, until the Predator shows up and suddenly he's the big problem again that's gotta be put down. All the other movies fail because they try to be "about" the Predator, but the Predator doesn't work that way. He's a ugly motherfucker who's here to fight and kill things in cool ways for the sake of it's warrior game, who already has a specific structure to how his story's meant to play out, and that's all he needs to be. What you do is just take that character, take the structure he carries around, and throw it somewhere that works by different rules, and let the contrast play out the story.

Obviously there's a lot more to The Shadow than this, I write a billion essays on the guy after all, but much of what makes The Shadow work, much of what made The Shadow such an icon at the decade of his debut and such an interesting character to revolve any kinds of stories around, was because of the great contrast he posed to everything surrounding him, and the ways he can both be at the forefront as well as the backseat of any story.

Going back to what Gibson said:

Almost any situation involving crime could be adapted to The Shadow’s purposes. He could meet any exigency on the spur of the moment, and if he suddenly acted in a manner opposed to his usual custom, it could always be explained later.

The Shadow was such an incredible character in his own right that almost anything he encountered was accepted by his ardent followers.

advisable to emphasize the parts played by The Shadow's well-established agents, since regular readers evidently liked them.

The keyword here isn't that the Shadow should be realistic, frankly that's always been a lost cause. He was never really that realistic, and it's unfair to expect writers to keep pace with Gibson who had lifelong experience with the in and outs of magic and daring escapes and whatnot. The keywords I want to stress here is "accepted by his ardent followers".

Make a good explanation, an explanation that fits the character, an explanation that works, and the rest will follow. And if you can't, make us like the character. Make us accept that he can do and be all these things. Give us something to be invested in. And if that can't be The Shadow himself because he has to stay at arms length constantly to be mysterious, Gibson cracked the code almost a century ago through the agents. Make us invested in them, and through them, we will become invested in The Shadow.

The pulp Shadow would get tired, get injured, need rescuing, need to stop and rest and catch his breath, would need to think and plan and make split decisions on the spot and sometimes would make the wrong ones only to reverse them in the nick of time, and it made the fact that he was achieving all these things all the more impressive. The pulp Shadow was a creature of fantasy grounded in the history of the world he was a part of.

If you can make people care about The Shadow, be truly, genuinely invested in him and his world and the people he comes in contact with, be as invested in those as audiences were back then, you can and maybe should put him anywhere, doing anything, as long as you know what you're doing. As long as you understand what makes The Shadow tick, what makes him work and what doesn't, and whatnot.

Which is a lot of words for "do whatever you want, just don't fuck it up"

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #the shadow #lamont cranston #kent allard #the predator #indiana jones #thomas magnum

[carmenlire]

White Blank Page Ch. 4

read chapter one

read chapter two

read chapter three

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Fall gives way to winter and Magnus doesn’t know quite when it happened but Christmas is only days away. He still has more shopping left to do than he should but it’s the first time in more years than Magnus can count that he isn’t just the tiniest bit bitter about it all.

He thinks that maybe, possibly, the fact that he visits Alec once a week-- okay twice-- is the reason why.

The holidays are his favorite time of year and during his childhood, right up to the time he graduated college almost ten years ago, Magnus has loved everything about the season. The festive air, the way everyone seemed just a little kinder-- or laughably a little more snappish-- and that a new chapter was right around the corner.

Not to mention his birthday, Magnus thinks with a grin.

December has been Magnus’s favorite month for longer than he can remember and it seems especially painful when he hasn’t been able to spend it as he wished.

As he pushes the door to Lightwood Books open, he hears Alec curse as the store is flooded with cold air.

“Shut the door,” Alec complains and Magnus looks up to see him give an exaggerated shiver.

Rolling his eyes, Magnus complies and walks over to where Alec was restocking the mystery section.

“It’s not my fault that it’s a blizzard outside. I probably resemble the abominable snowman right now. As if that doesn’t chap my ass,” Magnus mutters under his breath.

Alec just laughs as he continues unboxing the latest James Patterson. “You look perfect as always and you know it.”

Magnus tries to ignore how his traitorous heart sings at the backhanded compliment. It’s been weeks since he first stumbled into Alec’s shop and if anything, this infernal crush is just growing talons, digging into Magnus’s chest.

He can’t stop the way his gaze trails over Alec, lips turning up as he takes in Alec’s Christmas sweater.

Rudolph’s nose is actually blinking red.

Raising a brow, Magnus tosses his coat over a peg of the coat rack before walking over to join Alec in the mysteries.

He grabs a handful of books and replenishes the display acting as if he doesn’t see Alec’s chastising look.

“You’re a guest here, Magnus. Guests don’t work in the store.”

“You know me, darling. I like to keep busy.” I like being near you.

Magnus almost rolls his eyes at his own damn self. He needs to get a grip.

Luckily, Alec doesn’t say anything more and the two of them enjoy a few moments of silence before they finish, taking a step back to see how the display looks.

“Thanks,” Alec says in a gruff voice and Magnus just smiles at him.

Without another word, Alec takes the box and the reset of the copies and heads toward the stairs. Magnus follows and ignores his vibrating phone so that he can really take in the view.

Just a few more minutes, he thinks. Work could wait five damn minutes.

Alec places the box on the floor next to what’s become their table by the window before going over to Jace.

Jace is apparently in a mood as Alec looks irritated when he comes back to the table, their drinks in hand.

“My brother’s an asshole,” he mutters and hands Magnus a gingerbread latte.

Magnus looks over at the man in question and arches a brow at the glare Jace throws his way.

“Trouble in paradise?”

Settling in his seat, Alec blows across his mug before taking a quick sip. “Not that I can tell. Ever since Simon came with you a few weeks ago, all I hear about is Simon’s band and when his next gig is and do I know what he wore to his last show.”

Alec voice is mildly disgusted and overwhelmingly put upon. Magnus has to keep himself from cooing at the sight.

“At least you don’t have a secretary who keeps drawing his initials with Jace’s on your very important paperwork. He’s even started drawing a heart around the letters.”

Alec and Magnus look at each other a split second before they bust out laughing.

“I’m glad it’s not just me that has to deal with this,” Alec says as he wipes away a stray tear from laughing too hard.

“Unfortunately,” Magnus mutters and tries his gingerbread latte.

Alec liked to try and surprise Magnus with a different drink whenever their menu changed. Magnus tries the latte and tries not to spit it right back out.

“Too sweet?”

“Just a little, darling.” Magnus grimaces as he looks down at the innocuous coffee that tasted-- and felt-- like syrup.

“That seems to be the general consensus. The teenagers love it-- I think it’s delicious-- but most people just wince and say it tastes like a liquid lollipop.”

Magnus sends him a sympathetic glance but still says, “I think I felt a cavity forming just from the first sip.”

Alec glares at the offending beverage before his expression brightens.

“What did you think of Difficult Women?”

Settling back in his chair, Magnus hums as he thinks over the last book Alec had recommended. “It was extraordinarily well written. I see why you enjoyed it so much even if it was quite a bit heavier than a romance.”

Alec shrugs but smiles. “Gay packs a hell of a punch into her essays. I can’t believe you’ve never read anything by her before.”

Magnus has the good grace to look sheepish if defensive. “We’ve interviewed her for the New York Daily News but I’m not really involved with those. I knew she was popular but now I see why she’s taken the literary world by storm the past few years.”

Alec listens to Magnus’s reply, looking vindicated.

The two of them talk for a few more minutes before Magnus’s phone buzzes for the dozenth time in as many minutes.

“I’m sorry, Alexander, but it looks like I have to return to work.” He throws an apologetic glance to his favorite bookworm as he stands, pushing his chair in.

Alec waves him away as he always does, though Magnus hopes that it’s not just his imagination that’s putting a wistful gleam in Alec’s eye.

“You’re a busy man, Magnus. Don’t worry, I get it. I’ll see you next week.”

“Not before I see you first,” Magnus replies on autopilot and Alec just laughs at what’s become Magnus’s standard response whenever they separate.

“Bye, Magnus,” Alec says softly.

Magnus almost, almost reaches out. He almost gives in and sweeps a thumb over Alec’s cheek.

He doesn’t, though, and not the least of the reason why is because Magnus can’t help but think that everything he’s feeling is one sided. It’s infuriating but Alec is opaque in the extreme-- Magnus just can’t tell if there’s interest of if Alec is just treating him to his standard professional friendliness.

Magnus takes a step back and then turns toward the stairs with an imperceptible sigh. Until next time he thinks, and is just taking the first step downstairs when he looks up and his gaze catches on Jace’s.

Jace’s glare seems to have intensified over the past half hour and Magnus just returns it with his best look of confusion.

It’s Jace’s turn to sigh as he says something under his breath that Magnus has no hope of overhearing before he’s grabbing a dishcloth and moving out from behind the counter, making his way to where Alec’s resumed his seat.

Magnus just shakes his head, annoyed and feeling like he’s missing something-- which he hates on principle as a journalist.

He doesn’t take his phone out of his trouser pocket until he shrugs into his overcoat and when he sees the message, he swears.

There’s a flu that’s ravaged his offices and tomorrow’s edition of the NYDN is in danger of going unpublished if Magnus can’t get the paper to print by deadline.

Magnus rushes out of the store and is set to take the subway-- it’d be faster than waiting for his driver to arrive-- when he almost weeps in gratitude. Elias is waiting for him just in front of the store and he nods once as he opens the back passenger door for Magnus to climb in.

“Took you long enough,” he says dryly and Magnus just rolls his eyes.

“If it was anything else, I would have left you freezing your ass off out here. You do know that, right?”

He hears Elias chuckle before he touches two fingers to the brim of his chauffeur's hat. “Boss, everyone knows that your time with Mr. Lightwood is a priority.”

Magnus sniffs and tries desperately to act like Elias’s rejoinder doesn’t stop him in his tracks. For his staff to know of his attachment to Alec is altogether different than if it was just Magnus pining privately.

Magnus frowns as he stares at the sidewalk, Elias slowly pulling into early rush hour traffic.

Maybe he needs to take a step back and think about this thing with Alec.

Magnus dismisses the idea just a few seconds later, though. He doesn't think he could go without his weekly bookstore visit and he's in no mood to try.

Magnus rolls his eyes at the dozen cut out hearts on the glass display window. It’s early February and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.

He’s been asked out a few times by acquaintances that were also looking at being single for the holiday but Magnus had turned them down flat.

He wasn’t interested in anyone besides his surly bookseller. The trouble was, he had to say something and apparently that just wasn’t possible.

Magnus has taken to bringing his work with him a few afternoons a week when he visits Alec. He’ll settle at their table and enjoy conversation with Alec for a little while before Alec needs to leave and attend to business.

Magnus will then take out his laptop or reports or whatever else needs his attention and work in the quiet ambiance of the store.

Simon had had a minor heart attack the first time that Magnus had told him where he was going and how long he anticipated being at Lightwood Books.

Magnus was the boss, though, and he’d had surprisingly little resistance from Simon, had found it almost annoyingly easy to leave the office for a few hours almost every day.

The truth was that while Magnus could be just as efficient in the upstairs cafe as he could be in his office, he rarely was. There were always too many distractions.

Alec was constantly moving around the shop and it was like Magnus had a sixth sense where the man was concerned. Anytime Alec was visible, Magnus couldn’t help but study him from over his glasses.

Magnus can’t find it in himself to care, though. Not when Alec always smiled when they made eye contact from across the store, not when Magnus could just see the start of a flush sweeping over Alec’s cheeks before he turned away and hurried off to complete some other task.

Unfortunately, Alec seems to be busy downstairs and Magnus is left mostly alone. As a dull rain falls outside, Magnus turns toward a proposal that his financial adviser had sent over that morning. There was a newspaper company in Germany that seemed to be floundering and might welcome a takeover.

Magnus is immersed in the report, only on page twenty three of sixty, when there’s a thud at his table.

He looks up to see that Jace has just set down a replacement for his cappuccino.

“Thank you,” Magnus says easily and reaches for the cup, smiling at Jace in appreciation.

He’s almost reached the mug when Jace suddenly pulls it out of his reach.

Magnus stares at him, arching a brow.

“Why do you keep coming here?”

Nonplussed, Magnus just stares at him. Jace looks to be expecting an answer, though, and Magnus barely strings together, “I like it here.”

“Why do you like it here,” Jace stresses and Magnus finds himself growing irritated.

“What’s there not to like? Lightwood Books is a charming bookstore with a wonderful cafe.”

Jace doesn’t look impressed as he asks, “Is that all?”

“What are you looking for?”

“You come here almost every day and sip whatever nauseatingly sweet coffee Alec gives you and pretend to work when all you’re really doing is staring at my brother’s ass. I think it’s time I asked what your intentions were.”

Magnus knows that if he’d had the coffee that Jace is still keeping away from him then he would have spit it out all over the blonde.

“Excuse me,” he manages and Jace relinquishes his hold on the coffee mug, pushing it toward Magnus.

Jace is grinning but Magnus easily sees the warning in his eyes. “You heard me, Mr. News. You two flirt every afternoon and it’s my bad luck that I have a front row seat to it.”

He points at Magnus with an accusatory finger. “It’s time to shit or get off the pot, Bane.”

Magnus winces at the phrase-- really Jace was so crass-- before he freezes.

“You know who I am?”

Jace rolls his eyes as he takes the seat in front of Magnus, the one that’s usually reserved for Alec.

“Of course I know who you are.” He snorts. “You’re only one of the most influential people in the world. Didn’t Forbes name you one of their top ten entrepreneurs of the year or something?”

“Or something,” Magnus says and barely has time to process the fact that he’s not as inconspicuous as he thought before he focuses on their prior conversation.

“Are you telling me that Alec might be interested?”

Jace snorts again and it’s just as unattractive the second time. “You two are a disaster. Alec is a bit of a workaholic and it takes a lot to make him ignore his work.”

Magnus stares at Jace impassively but that seems to be all he’s getting. A mother with three children makes her slow but steady way up the stairs and Jace stands as they get to the top.

As he starts to walk toward the counter, he looks over his shoulder at Magnus. “Maybe you should take those journalistic instincts of yours and use them.”

Jace doesn’t give him a chance to say anything else before he’s turning toward the stressed mom and starting a conversation with her.

Magnus is lost in thought-- Jace had all the subtlety of an elephant-- and he startles as he’s interrupted.

“How’s your day going? I’m sorry I wasn’t available when you arrived but I had a shipment to unload in the back.”

Magnus looks up and smiles at Alec.

That smile dulls, though, as he gets a good look at him. Alec looks stressed as hell and as Magnus watches, he runs an exasperated hand through his hair.

“Tough day,” he asks.

Alec just smiles grimly at Magnus before he sighs a little and leans back in his seat. “You could say that.”

At that, Magnus leans forward. Without thinking, he lays a hand over Alec’s. “Feel free to tell me all about it. I’ve certainly vented to you a few times.”

Alec’s smile is a little more natural this time around. “It’s just a lot of drama.”

Sending him an arch look, Magnus just replies, “Think of who you’re talking to. I love drama. As long as it’s not my own.”

The two of them share a laugh before Alec settles down.

Neither one moves to pull away from where their hands are touching.

“My parents host a Valentine’s Day charity gala every year,” Alec starts. “I’ve been estranged from them for a few years but my mother called last night and asked if I’d attend.”

Magnus studies him for a moment, unsure what to say. For all that Magnus spends not an inconsiderable amount of time here, they’ve always been careful to steer clear of any mention of Alec’s parents.

“Do you want to go?”

At the only question Magnus can think to answer, Alec sighs again. “I don’t know,” he admits.

Alec looks up and meets Magnus’s gaze for a minute before staring back down at the table. “I was a lawyer before I opened a bookstore. I worked for my parents firm. Lightwood LLC.”

Alec looks up again as he says the firm’s name, as though expecting Magnus to have a coronary.

Instead, Magnus just smiles a little. “I know,” he says softly.

Surprised, Alec asks, “You do?”

“A friend of mine mentioned who you were when I told him I’d ran into this place. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve met your parents, darling, and let me say that the apple fell so far from the tree that it’s an orange.”

Alec barks out a laugh. “Thank God,” he murmurs.

Clearing his throat, Alec continues, “Well, I was a lawyer until my parents went behind my back and arranged a marriage for me.”

Magnus’s jaw drops but Alec doesn’t give him a chance before he says, “You heard me right. They set up a goddamn arranged marriage for me. They didn’t take it too well when I stood up from the dinner table and announced I was gay. They gave me an ultimatum: either I marry the woman they’d chosen for me-- or another one-- or I left the firm. I cleared out my desk that night and I haven’t spoken to either one since.”

Magnus squeezes the hand under his. “I’m sorry, Alexander. That couldn’t have been easy.”

Alec’s quiet for a minute before he responds. “It wasn’t,” he allows, “But I never would have had the guts to try something new if they hadn’t flung me out of the nest. I’ve always loved books but with two lawyers for parents, there was no way that I would’ve studied anything else. They did me a favor, really.”

Magnus just sends him a look. “They’re horrid parents and you’re well rid of them.”

Clearing his throat, Alec frowns. “That’s the thing. Apparently, my mother divorced my father in the fall. Max told me that she’s been asking about me lately. I think she might be aiming for some sort of reconciliation.”

“Would you be open to that?”

“I don’t know,” Alec admits. “That’s why I can’t decide what to do. I find it hard to believe that she would change her tune so drastically in just a few years but Max speaks highly of her and about how much she’s changed since the divorce.”

An idea springs to Magnus’s mind and he’s not quite fast enough to bite it back.

He ignores the fact that he damn well could have if he’d really wanted to.

“I could be your date,” he says. Alec gaze flies up to his as he continues. “If I was your plus one that would definitely give you an opportunity to see if her views really have changed and in either case, I could be emotional support for you.”

Alec just looks at Magnus, blinking. Magnus is just starting to sweat it out-- starting to think that he was unforgivably forward-- when Alec turns his hand in his grip and laces their fingers together.

“We’d have to be convincing,” he says and Magnus knows that Alec’s blush isn’t just his imagination this time.

“I think we could manage, don’t you?”

Alec laughs a little and when he looks up at Magnus, Magnus’s breath catches. Alec’s gaze is warm and steady as he inclines his head.

“I do,” he says firmly and Magnus bites his lip as the repercussions of his impromptu offer hit him.

He just agreed to be Alec’s date to a gala hosted by a woman he can’t stand.

He might just be deeper than he thought.

But as he looks over at Alec and feels the easy way they’re holding hands, Magnus thinks that he might not be the only one who's fallen.

#this chapter went so far from my outline im exhausted just thinking about fixing it lmao #i'll look at the outline tomorrow jdfgjsdfg #and this might be garbage! #but here we are #my writing #white blank page