#"Upstairs

[theamazingstories]

RETRO REVIEW –STAR SCIENCE FICTION #2 (1954)

Figure 1 Srar Science Fiction #2 Cover by John Berkey I had planned to review the British (Sky) science fiction series, The Lazarus Project, now about to enter Season 2, for this week; it’s pure SF with only a minimum of technobabble (just enough to enable the premise), but I think I’ll need to devote a lot of thought to how one can review a continuing series without entirely spoiling the whole…

[incorrectdwpquotes]

Classmate: One late night, you are up in your bedroom when you hear your mom calling you downstairs. You are halfway down the staircase when all of a sudden, you see your mom in front of her bedroom door, terrified, she whispers, “Don’t go downstairs. I heard her, too?” Who do you believe?

Caroline: The one calling me downstairs.

Cassidy: Yeah. They’re gay, not ghosts.

[lifeinpoetry]

— Shane McCrae, from "For Melissa Asleep Upstairs," Cain Named the Animal

[nightmareevara]

How to avoid people you don't want to deal with?

Let your intrusive thoughts about them win

[mantra4ia]

FISK: Miss Page, I must admit, I'm surprised you're here. I'm sure all of this (comfort and freedom) is offensive to you.

KAREN: Yes, it's offensive.

FISK: You came for words at least.

KAREN: Yeah, let's have some words.

FISK: You're not writing an article about my mother.

KAREN: I'm not? I could.

FISK: To what end, Miss Page? My distress?

KAREN: Hmm. Doesn't actually sound that bad now that you say it.

FISK: You worked for Ben Urich. I believe he mentored you.

KAREN: Yes, before he was murdered.

FISK: A final lesson. One you seem not to have understood.

KAREN: (notes the cameras) Is that a threat?

FISK: An observation.

KAREN: You're right, I'm not going to talk about your mother. I would rather talk about what she told Ben. Really — rather what she told us. I don't think you know that I was with him. She remembered a lot about your childhood, embarrassing things. We would never print those, we just pass them around the office.

FISK: How is it around your office? I heard about your misfortune (with "Daredevil").

KAREN: Before it even happened, I'm sure. No, the story we will print is her very detailed description of your father and how you murdered him. Is there any part of you that isn't broken, I wonder?

FISK: (notes the cameras) You asked me why I let you in. The reason is, Miss Page, I have a few questions of my own. You are a respected journalist, but at one time you were merely a secretary—

KAREN: Office manager—

FISK: At a law firm to Matt Murdock, yes? Intimately involved in his affairs.

KAREN: Business affairs—

FISK: Of course. Tell me at what point did you learn about Mr. Murdock's secret Life? (Internalizes her silence as confirmation) Yeah. Thank you, Miss Page.

KAREN: Okay, you want secrets? I can tell you a secret, Wilson. Is it okay I call you that? I feel like we know each other well enough.

FISK: As you wish, Karen.

KAREN: James Wesley. What was it like for you when he disappeared? It's those first 24 hours that are the worst, aren't they? When you call and you call...and there's just no answer. It becomes an obsession. The never-ending loop of a ghost's voicemail in your ear. You worry, you wonder, you swear "if he's still living I'm going to kill him myself."

FISK: (clenches his jaw in deafening silence as his cheek twitches in betrayal, no longer a rabbit in a snowstorm)...

KAREN: Is that what it was like for you? Did you rage at him 'cause you thought he betrayed you? Because I wonder what would be worse for you: his duplicity, or his death?

FISK: (inhales sharply)

KAREN: He died quickly. If you were wondering...You see Wilson, Matt Murdock isn't the person you should be worried about. I killed Wesley. I shot him seven times...because the clip ran out. He deserved more.

[savrenim]

so for those who have been following our chronicles of Holy Fuck Not A Week Has Gone By Without Something Going Terribly Wrong, we had a pipe burst which cost $2300 to fix and handle the water damage before mold set in, and then the plumber found another corroded pipe and pressure problems that will be $1400 to fix to make sure this doesn't happen again in a month. at this point I'm just flat-out not going to make it through the summer without some serious help. 

(for those of you who have not: I am the sole reliable source of income in my household, my previous job broke the contract it negotiated with the union resulting in us not getting thousands of dollars of backpay we contractually should have and a class action lawsuit there will take years, we ran into $5000 unexpected extra moving costs, and my beloved 18-year-old cat nearly died last month resulting in $3600 vet bills. before. you know. a pipe burst last week.) 

we never filled up the ko-fi fundraiser goal from last year, which is pinned here: https://ko-fi.com/savrenim. any help would be VASTLY appreciated. I'm fairly certain if I make that goal and manage to negotiate for more overtime at my current job I'll be able to make it through the summer. any bit helps.

I've also got a patreon https://www.patreon.com/savrenim although that's going to be a bit choppy with respect to what I usually try to do monthly there just given my mental health right now and everything I'm trying to juggle. If you're interested in my writing, I'm going to try to throw together some of the stuff I already have to try to self-publish an original novel before summer as one last hail mary.

[phasmophobie]

If any brightness could illuminate this darkest aspect of his life, it was hers.

— The Voice Upstairs, Laura Weymouth

[askthechronoverse]

Just dumping my new tags!

[tecchan]

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

Rufio, hanging out in the Inn of Ill Omen: Can't believe I am going to die someday.

Rufio: LOL. well back to sitting in my bedroom.

[ellies-enrichment]

who is riley to say what she finds enrichment worthy

[ereborne]

Memorable year asks, 18 & 19? Also I hope you feel better soon!!

I feel so much better!!!! I am very fortunate in my friends, who all have such patience for me as I languish in the world of blegh

18) A memorable meal: My grandfather sent us a stovetop grill that my grandmother bought in 1996 and then immediately hated, and which has been taking up space in their pantry ever since. We decided to try it out with hot dogs, so it'd be an easy fix if the grill didn't work, but then it worked so well!! The whole household turned out and we had essentially an impromptu indoor cookout. It was so much fun, and we did a lot of exclaiming over how long the grill had waited for us (only I am older than the grill).

19) Something I'm excited for next year: The vegeble man (you know the 'I have a guy for that' jokes? I have a Guy for Vegetables and Plants. He's incredibly nice and he delivers fresh local produce to my porch by request, and occasionally he texts me things like "unexpected bounty! a fern larger than a human head! will you be at home for such a fern, within three hours from now only" and I send back a delighted "yes please!" and then he says "goodness I am glad, I have already sent one toward you") gave me a horseradish plant, which is a thing I have never encountered before. It looks quite dead now, but I'm told it overwinters well and will sprout up on its own in the spring, larger and lusher than before, and then next fall it'll be established enough I can dig up half the roots and make my own fresh horseradish sauce! I'm very excited to see how it goes.

[diaryoftruequotes]

Are there any leading men in your life? Several, but they're all fictional.

Catherine Lowell, The Madwoman Upstairs

[imakemywings]

If I could draw worth a damn please know I would draw Daeron being interviewed about his relationship with Thingol and calling himself Thingol’s silly rabbit on national TV

[anintelligentoctopus]

It's been a long long time since I read any Arthur C. Clarke but one bit that's Always stuck with me for years and years is the line right near the end of Childhood's End "Jan had always been a good piano player. Now he was the best in the world."

[incorrectquotesideas-deactivated]

Person A: I know how this works and you’re not the one who talks, you’re just a party planner. One of you is supposed to have the guts to speak up instead of hiding behind this chick. One of you has to have the balls to say something to me. Do you? Any of you?

Everyone: …

Person A: Okay. Great intervention. I have been intervened upon. I will see you tomorrow.