#8-2 see that for everett…… wait no. that’s not right i LOVE it i LIVE for it !!!

[larsnicklas]

well you see my beloved nhl team is hapless hopeless disastrous but by god my group of 16-20 year old major junior hockey players is an absolute wagon

[fieryghxul]

Margaritas, reunions and confessions. [a.h.]

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Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Warning(s): fem!reader – dom!hotch (well i tried) – last season’s spoilers – drinking – cursing – smut –  unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it tho) – oral sex (fem receiving) – slight chocking – a bit fluff at the end.

A/N: hello everyone! this is super random but i came up with this in the middle of the night and i couldn't shake the idea out of my head. i am not a writer and english is not my first language so if there’s any mistake, i apologize in advance. also, this is my first hotch smut so i hope it’s good. enjoy!

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[March 14th, 2020. 8:30 pm.]

“I have to go but promise me that you’re going to stop thinking about work and that you’re going to have fun these days.” You heard the pleading voice of Penelope Garcia on the phone as you walked out of the bathroom.

“I promise. I love you and I’ll see you when I get back.” You smiled and you knew that she was smiling too.

“It’s a date, angel. Love you more.” And with that, the line went silent.

You put your cell phone aside and took a look at the open suitcases on the bed. You didn't have anything planned but you knew you have to go out to clear your head and relax, things at work have been very stressful lately so when Prentiss told the team about taking some vacation time, you didn't hesitate to get a ticket and get on the first plane you found.

And that's why you were currently in a hotel room in Santorini, Greece. Yes, it seems like a lot, but nothing you can't afford.

A few minutes later, you finished applying some mascara and lip gloss, and took a few steps back to stare at yourself in the mirror. The navy-blue self-tie slit dress hugged every curve of your body perfectly; you paired it with a pair of black heels and a black jacket, just in case it gets cold at night. After taking one last look and smiling slightly at the reflection, you turned to grab your bag and left the room, hoping to have a good night once you were out of the hotel.

                                                       ▪ ▪ ▪

People flooded the streets and it was understandable, the night was really beautiful, there was a light breeze and the full moon was perfectly reflected in the sea. You have been walking for almost 2 hours, taking photos of almost everything and enjoying the night until you came across a bar, the word "cocktail" in the name of the place definitely caught your attention so you didn't think twice before walking into the place.

You walked to the bar and waited for the bartender to come up to you. While you were waiting, you could feel the back of your neck burning, someone was watching you but you didn’t want to deal with anyone yet, so you just ignored it, concentrating on reading the menu even though you already knew what you were going to order.

“Good evening, ma'am. Are you ready to order?” You look up from the menu, a brunette in her 20s is at the other side of the bar was smiling at you.

“Uh, yes, a margarita would be fine.” You ordered, mirroring her smile, and the girl gave you a little nod before walking away.

In the meantime you took your phone out of your bag and opened the ‘bau ladies’ group chat to send one or two of the photos you took a few hours ago with a “next time, i’m bringing all of your cute asses with me.” below them.

JJ was the first to reply, “oh my god, it’s gorgeous!”

Followed by Emily’s “look at that and some of us are still doing paperwork :( get drunk on my behalf please.”

You chuckled under your breath at her text and the margarita arrives just in time, “i’m on it, boss ;) isn't it a little late to be doing paperwork?"

Penelope replies next, “paperwork hahaha what a weird way to spell tara’s name“ and two “PENELOPE!” appear automatically in chat.

“you two are so obvious and spencer owns me 20 now.” You hit the send button before graving the margarita, taking a few sips of it. It takes about 3 minutes for your phone to vibrate again and you were about to answered but you are interrupted by the bartender.

“From the man at that table, ma'am.” She says placing another margarita in front of you and discreetly pointing at one of the tables that were on the patio of the place, you turned around but the only thing you see from the bar is his back. “Don’t worry; it doesn’t have anything weird on it.”

“Thank you...” The bartender walks away again and you stare at the drink, debating for a moment about whether or not to go and face the mysterious man. Fuck it. You decided before putting you phone back in your bag, forgetting about the messages and graving that and the drink before making your way to the table.

“Uh,” you cleared your throat once you reached said table, "can I seat here or are you waiting for someone?"

“Please.” He murmur in a low voice while gesturing toward the empty chair, indicating that you can sit down and a strange feeling of familiarity floods your body at that gesture. You shock your head trying to ignore that before placing your bag aside and sitting down in front of the man.

“I just wanted to thank you for the—“

The words got stuck on your throat and the world seemed to have stopped when you finally laid your eyes on the suited man that you thought you'd never see again.

Holy shit.

You stood still, a part of you fearing that if you moved he might disappear. Your face probably showing clear signs of confusion and shock as Aaron Hotchner sit right there in front of you.

He still looked serious and intimidating, his gaze reimaging cold to those who didn't know him and you remember all of those times you teased him about being a robot, there were times when you actually managed to make him laugh.

Yet at the same time there was something different about him. There was a different glow around him, he seems more relaxed and you could see it in his expressions, even in his posture.

“Hello, Y/N.” Hotchner said, voice still low but strong enough to bring you back to the present.

“Hey.” You said, still processing the fact that he was here with you and in the most unexpected place. “I, uh, it’s been a long time.”

“Almost 3 years.” He said before taking a sip of the glass that rested on his hand, you assumed that it was scotch.

3 years in 6 months, 13 days, 1 hour and 65 seconds. Give it or take.

“Almost, yeah… so what are you doing here?” You asked, “I mean, you were more a city type of guy.”

“I still am, Y/N, but Jack and Jessica insisted on me going on a little vacation because apparently it’s been a while since I had some ‘me-time’.”

Your face light up a bit at the mention of the kid, Hotch noticed it. “How’s Jack? I can barely remember when the last time I saw him was was but he must be so big now.”

“He’s 14 and almost as tall as me.” A smile appeared on Hotch's face, he didn't used to smile a lot and you thought it was a bit normal considering the work that you two shared, but those times that he did you used to felt butterflies in your stomach. Still do apparently. “What about you? What are you doing here? I mean, you were more a city type of girl.”

You chuckled softly when you heard him repeating your words and you shrugged slightly, “I'm having some vacation time, it's rare to have free time at the BAU, you know? So when you do, you take it without thinking twice.”

“How’s the team doing?”

“Good. We're working on some things, going through a few changes, the usual I guess.” This time it was you who drank, taking a long sip of the margarita that was still in your hands.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you want to hear me talk about it?”

“Of course, unless, do you have somewhere else to be, Y/N?”

“Not anymore. We might need a few more of this though.” You pointed to the drinks on the table and flashing him a smile, catching a glimpse of his before calling the bartender and ordering another round of drinks.

And then you started talking, Hotch listening carefully to every word that came out of your mouth. You started with the cult that kidnapped Spencer and Garcia and then launching into the saga of the Everett Lynch a.k.a "The Chameleon", you mentioned how Emily is now shortlisted to be the next FBI director and how she would name JJ as the next unit chief of BAU unit, but that remains to be seen; you also talked about Garcia leaving the team to work in Silicon Valley and Hotch noticed the sad tone in your voice when you mentioned that but in part he was happy that everyone was moving forward with their lives, making new decisions and following different paths. You continued with Spencer being a consultant and teaching at the same time and finished with Rossi getting married again then talking about retirement but not fully doing it.

“That’s because Rossi’s never going to retired.” You and Hotch said in unison, laughing after noticing that.

“A lot of things had happened then.” He said, not very surprise and titling his head to one side, you nodded mutely. “But you forgot of someone, Y/N.”

“I did?”

“Yes, you. What about you? How are you?” He asked, his tone of voice changing to a concerned one.

“Oh… I, uh, I’m good.” You began but more hesitant this time, “I will never get used to the changes but its part of life so I just have to suck it up and live with it. I don’t have an outer motive yet so I'm not leaving the BAU, that's for sure. I always knew that that's where I belong and I can’t even bring myself to think about other options.”

“You have always been an important asset to the team, Y/N. The BAU is still lucky to have you.” Hotch said, still sounded like the boss but you didn’t comment anything out loud about it. Instead, you smiled kindly at him and both went silent after that, staring at each other every now and then and finishing the rest of your drinks. It was a comfortable and familiar silence, one of the many that you two used to share while working together in the office or in the long nights in the jet after finishing a case.

Your gaze swept over the bar, noticing the few people that was still there and the employees staring to clean up the place. You took at deep breath, pulling out your wallet.

“Well, Hotch, this was fun. Unexpected but fun.” You left some money under your empty cup, paying for your part of the drinks and Hotch did the same thing. “I should get going now, so—“

“Let me walk you over to your hotel.” He cut you off, grabbing his blazer from the chair and turning to look at you.

“Hotch you don’t ha—“

“Please, Y/N. I insist.” He said and his voice serious once again, just like when he used to get too bossy with the team but with a smile that contradicted that tone and you couldn’t say “no” to that.

“Alright, Sir. Let’s go.”

You grabbed your things and started walking out of the bar, Hotchner walking behind you.

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The walk back to the hotel was shorter than you thought; maybe it was because you were so focused on Hotchner and the small talk that you stopped paying attention to your surroundings.

“Thank you, Aaron.” You murmur while grabbing the room key from you bag, “But you didn’t have to come up here though.”

“I know, but I wanted to.”

You could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to do it and it doesn't feel good to pressure him, so you settled for just smiling at him.

And in that moment, standing in outside of you room and looking closely at him, you realized how much you missed him. You didn’t admitted that out loud after he left the BAU, you couldn’t do it because you also never fully admitted your feeling for him. Partially it was your fault, feelings were never your thing and you were afraid of what might happen if you confronted him about it so looking for excuses and reasons to not doing it always seemed easier.

For a while you truly did believed that it was just a stupid crush on your boss, something temporary, until the days turned into weeks and then months, years even, but then… he was gone.

You couldn’t really blame him for that though; he had a good reason for leaving so suddenly.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” Hotch finally mumbled.

You looked at him in confusion, “For what?”

“Leaving.”

“You did it to protect Jack; it was the right thing to do.” You reassure him with a smile, you unconsciously took his hand in yours. He didn’t pull away. “Don’t ever apologize for keeping your son safe, Hotch.”

“I know, choosing to be a full time dad to Jack is something I do not regret. It was something that we both needed it, especially after everything that happened with Haley.” You gulped at the mention of the name, remembering how devastated he was after her death. He took a deep breath, “But what I am trying to say is that I am sorry I didn't came back to you or the team, I should at least have called to let you know that we were fine but I got so caught up with the mundane life that it was a little too late by the time I realized about everything I left behind.”

To you.

Those two little words echoed in your head as you look at those chocolate eyes that used to drive you crazy without knowing it. You noticed that he was even closer now, slightly towering over you. It’s now or never, Y/N. You thought to yourself before speaking.

“I waited for you. I never told anyone but for a whole I waited for you to come back, hoping one day to see your demanding self in an expensive suit walking through the BAU doors again but deep down I knew that eventually I had to let you go.” You let out a breath that you didn't know you were holding until now and smiled sadly, “That was easier said than done considering that I never stopped thing about it, about you. Because the true is that I loved you, Aaron. Maybe I still fucking do… but I doubt that this makes any difference now because maybe you never saw me in the same way that I saw you or just because it’s a little too late now.”

You finished and Hotch frowned, probably processing what you just admitted to him. He was silent for a few more seconds and you took it as your cue, letting go of his hand and turning around to open the door of you room. “I had an amazing night, thank you. See you around.”

But before you could even step foot in the room, you felt his hand grabbing your wrist and your chest hitting his. The next thing you knew after that was that his lips were on yours.

Aaron Hotchner was fucking kissing you after admitting your feelings for him.

He pulled away before you could react properly, keeping his eyes fixed on yours; this time he looked at you in a way that you had only fantasized about until now, there was love and lust on them and you could feel it, just all those feelings that you tried so hard to keep locked in the deepest part of you.

And that's all you needed before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and kissing him again, in a matter of seconds you two were inside the room. His lips were warm and the kiss quickly turned into a desperate one once the door was locked behind you, you could already feel yourself melting in his arms.

You didn’t even realize how it happened, but in one quick moment you were being totally pinned against the door with Aaron holding you by your thighs as your legs were wrapped around his waist. The position was now lifting your short dress, leaving your thighs even more naked but you didn't mind considering that now you could perfectly feel Aaron's hand caressing your hot skin. You move your hands from his shoulders to his chest, undoing the buttons of his shirt and stripping him off it, dropping the piece of clothing somewhere in the room. As you were doing that, he broke the kiss and moved his lips to your neck, nipping and teasing the area just under your ear, turning you into a moaning mess almost immediately. The sounds being like music to his ears.

“Aaron , please.“ You moaned, this was good but you need it more. You needed him.

“Tell me what you want, baby.” He asks, slightly biting the skin of your neck and you bite your bottom lip.

“Please, Sir. Fuck me.” You let out, noticing a sparkle in his eyes that you've never seen before and that only turned you on even more.

“Since you ask so nicely…” He said before walking to the other side of the room where the was a big bed in the center of it, Aaron kissed you lips and put you down in front of him, his hands moving to the zipper of your dress. “Are you sure about this, Y/N?”

“You’re kidding, right?” You asked and Aaron stares deeply at you, the sudden seriousness on his eyes making you gulp. You nodded.

“Words, Y/N. I need words.”

“I’m sure of this, yes.”

“Yes, what?”

Fuck, he was hot.

“Yes, sir.”

He bent down, his hands working on your zipper as he whisper “Good girl.” in your ear and you bite your lip once more, muffling down a moan.

He finally pulled down your dress, tossing it onto the floor completely and leaving you with only your red lace underwear; you weren't wearing a bra tonight, so you were much more exposed to him than you thought. He took one really good look at you before throwing you onto the bed, knocking the breath out of your lungs. Guess that we’re done playing around.

He kneels down on the bed, moving your legs with his knees and positioning himself between them. His hands are caressing your legs again, making their way up to the sides of your body and he leans in, kissing you again, your hands flew up to grab his hair, eagerly responding the kiss. You didn’t care how needy you seem right now, you’ve been waiting year for this, fantasizing about it, and now you had it, not really knowing for how long and that only gave you more reasons to enjoy every second of it.

“You know?,” Aaron began, his lips leaving yours and making his way down your neck, placing kisses all over your skin, “if I had know about how much you wanted me, I’ve would done something about it earlier.”

“Yeah?” You asked, arching your back as he bites one of your nipples gently, his other hand working on the other one.

“I would've pinned you down on my desk and take you right there on the office, baby. Not caring about anyone who could hear us.” He casually said, like he thought about it before and you moaned. You definitely thought about that particular situation too.

When he finally reached the place where you needed the most, he stopped and you were about to complain but Aaron shut you up by grabbing your ankles and yanking you down the end of the bed. He kneels again, parting your legs a bit more, placing one of your legs over his broad shoulders and kissing you inner thighs, slowly making his way to your soaked panties.

“I barely touch you and you’re so wet for me already?” Hotchner asked teasingly, rubbing circles with his thumb on your clit but over the fabric before taking a hold of them and ripping them out. And with no more words, Hotch held both your legs open and buried his face between them, making you moan in a matter of seconds.

He swept his tongue over you pussy swiftly, tasting my arousal first and groaning again your skin. A shiver ran through you as he stared circling your clit with his tongue and then moving down between your folds before going up again, alternating his speed and pressure.

When you thought that it couldn’t get better, Aaron proved you wrong by teasing your entrance with one of his finger and looking up at you, locking his eyes with yours. He wanted to see your reaction. You try to maintain the eye contact as he slowly started pumping his finger in and out of you, curling them an hitting the right spot, a string of cursings leaving your mouth.

It didn’t take much for your legs to start shaking around his head, the knot forming on your lower stomach.

“I’m- fuck, I’m close.” You breathed betweens moans and just when you were about to reach your high, he pulled away.

“Hold that thought, sweetheart.” He shortly kissed your mouth and you tasted yourself in his before he got up off bed, his hands immediately went to unbuckle his belt and now you took your time to watch him. From his messy hair, to the red marks on his shoulders caused by your heels -oops- and then stopped at the large bulge formed in his pants, you groaned at the sight of that.

Fuck, he is big. God, if you weren't so desperate to feel him inside you, you wouldn't hesitate to drop on your knees and start sucking him.

“Do you like what you see, sweetheart?” He asked with a smirk on his face while taking off the rest of his clothes.

“Just fuck me already, please.” You begged and he positioned himself between your legs again, but he was hesitant. “Hotch?”

“I don’t have condom on me and I doubt that you have one, Y/N. I’m clean but if you—”

“I’m clean too and on the pill so don’t worry.” You smiled at him and gave a little nod.

And apparently he was as desperate as you because at all at once, Hotch took grip of your hips and pushed inside you. You immediately arched your back, moaning loudly in both pain and pleasure, your hands grabbing the sheets at your side. You were surprise that you didn’t ripped them apart yet.

“Fuck, Hotchner.” You screamed and he didn’t move for a few seconds, letting you adjust to his size. He really is big.

“You’re so thigh, baby.” He moaned in your ear, the raspy voice sending shocks straight to your core. He was capable of making you cum by just talking.

That’s how much power he had.

And then he finally started moving, pounding in and out of you slowly at first and working his way up, picking up a pace that had you both groaning and moaning.

“F-fuck, Y/N. I love hearing you scream my name.” His lips attacked your neck again and you threw your head back against the pillows, giving him all the space that he needed to play with your neck. And he took this as a perfect opportunity to sneak his hand around it, squeezing under your jaw around enough for your eyes to roll back in total pleasure as you instinctively wrapped your finger around his wrist, holding him in place. You didn’t expect him to be into chocking but you were definitely not against it.

“Harder, S-sir. Please.”

“You’re taking it so good, just like I expected it.” He growled, pulling away enough to look at the whimpering mess that you were right now, his hand never leaving your neck as he pounded even harder into you with every word. “Calling me ‘sir’ and everything, I didn’t even had to ask you to do that. You’re such a slutty responsive whore for me, aren’t you Y/N?”

The sudden dirty words coming out of your ex-boss’s mouth did nothing but to turn you on even more, if that was possible at this point. You weren’t able to form a proper sentence so you limited to nodding and moaning his name. He didn’t like that.

“I asked you a fucking question, sweetheart, answered it.”

“Y-yes, I am, S-sir.” You chocked, the knot on your stomach forming once more and by the way that his pace flickered you knew that he was close too. “I’m close, Aaron.”

“Then cum for me, baby.” He commanded, continuing his thrusts and you were already oversensitive from his earlier work so it didn’t took you long before you started clenching around him.

“Fuck, Aaron.”

“Say it louder, Y/N.”

“Aaron!” He bottom out inside of you again and you moaned loudly one last time as your body reached its limit, hitting your climax with every nerve in you tired body.

“That’s a good girl.” He said between moans, his dick twitching softly as he release himself inside of you with one last and hard thrust.

He let go of your throat but didn’t’ pull out immediately after that. His breathing was a little erratic, his lips were red and swollen, and there was a thin layer of sweat all over his body. He looked disturbingly hot.

Of course he did. He’s Aaron fucking Hotchner.

It was as if these last 3 years had never existed.

Neither of you said a word as he slowly got up and walked into the bathroom of the room to grabbed a wet towel to clean you up, doing the same thing on him before putting back his boxers, you didn’t have the strength to grab your clothes so you just put the sheets of the bed on top of you, covering you nudity.

“Oh, sp now you’re shy?” He snorted, chuckling softly and you smiled.

“Shut up and come here.” You patted the bed and he didn’t hesitate on laying next to you, wrapping his arms around you. You felt safe, like there’s was nowhere else you rather be in that moment.

“Thank you.” He whispered after a moment breaking the silence, his face resting on your shoulder.

“For what?”

“For all of… that.”

“You’ve always have such a ways with words, Hotch.” You chuckled as you looked down at him. “Thank you for ordering my margarita in the first place.”

“It was a pleasure.”

“It really was, wasn’t it?” You wiggled your eyebrows at him in a playful way.

“How long are you staying here, Y/N?” He finally asked and you let out a tiny sigh at the question.

You knew you weren't here for a long vacation and neither was Aaron, you two have your lives outside this room , but being here now felt so good and peaceful. So… right. This, also, was probably a one-time thing, something that was destined to happen eventually, no matter how long it took.

But you didn’t want- no, you couldn’t face the fact that you may have to let him go again. Especially not after what just happened. I mean, how could you?

And little did you know that Aaron was feeling the exact same thing.

“Enough not to have to worry about it right now.” You answered with a shrug while your fingertips trace invisible circles on his back.

“Good. I can live with that, for now at least.” And then he broke the comfortable embrace by getting up and out of the bed, you furrowed you eyebrows and he extended on his hands towards you, “Come on, let’s take a shower so we can sleep properly.”

“Yes, sir.” You took his hand, getting up with his help and trying your best not to limp as you made your way to the bathroom, “By the way, where are you staying while you’re here?”

He turned around at the question, pulling you closer to him and softly kissing your lips before using a more serious tone to say, “In the room above this one.”

Of course he was. You thought while you watched as he began to prepare the bath for the both of you.

Funny how destiny works sometimes.

[cardest]

New Orleans playlist

Hungry for some po boys? Feeling the Mardi Gras vibes for this weekend? This is the ultimate NOLA playlist, right here. Play the songs here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC182dTlE-Gii6ZOO5ZrN1Z1T

Louisiana and New Orleans, all in the one awesome playlist. If there are songs I left out, let me know and I can add those. Or come meet me at Le Bon Temps Roulé  and we’ll listen to this NOLA playlist together with drinks.

LOUISIANA & NEW ORLEANS

001 Bob James - Take Me To The Mardi Gras 002 Earl King - Ain’t no city like New Orleans 003 John Lee Hooker - goin’ to Louisiana 004 Crowbar -  Wrath Of Time By Judgment 005 True Detective - Theme (The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road) 006 EyeHateGod - New Orleans Is The New Vietnam 007 The The Meters -  Chicken Strut 008 Paul McCartney - Live And Let Die (from Live And Let Die) 009 The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar 010 Lucinda Williams - Crescent City 011 King Hobo -  New Or-Sa-Leans 012 Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting 013 Down - Underneath Everything 014 True Blood Theme Song (Jace Everett - Bad Things) 015 Corrosion of Conformity -  Broken Man 016 The New Orleans Jazz Vipers - I Hope Your Comin' Back To New Orleans 017 Willy DeVille - Jump City 018 Left Side - Gold In New Orleans 017 Necrophagia -  Reborn through Black Mass 018 Johnny Horton -  The Battle Of New Orleans 019 Dr John - Litanie des Saints 020 Foo Fighters - In the Clear 021 Redbone - The Witch Queen Of New Orleans 022 Jucifer - Lautrichienne 023 Danzig - It's a long way back from hell 024 Harry Connick, Jr. -  Oh, My Nola 025 The Gaturs - Gator Bait 026 Jon Bon Jovi - Queen Of New Orleans 027 Cyril Neville -  Gossip 028 Carlos Santana - Black Magic Woman 029 Gentleman June Gardner - It's Gonna Rain 030 Eddy G. Giles - Soul Feeling (Part 1) 031 Tool - Swamp Song 032 Beasts of Bourbon -  Psycho 033 Seratones - Gotta Get To Know Ya 034 Chuck Berry -  You Never Can Tell 035 Grateful Dead - Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo 036 Pale Misery - Hope is a Mistake 037 Exhorder - Homicide 038 King James & the Special Men - Special Man Boogie 039 Chuck Carbo -  Can I Be Your Squeeze 040 Amebix - Axeman 041 Tomahawk - Captain Midnight 042 Waylon Jennings - Jambalaya 043 Heavy Lids - Deviate 044 Red Hot Chili Peppers -  Apache Rose Peacock 045 Necrophagia -  Rue Morgue Disciple 046 Johnny Cash -  Big River 047 Albert King -  Laundromat Blues 048 Meklit Feat Preservation Hall Horns - You Are My Luck 049 Le Winston Band  - En haut de la montagne 050 Dr. john - I Thought I Heard New Orleans Say 051 Down -  New Orleans is a dying whore 052 Samhain -  To Walk The Night 053 Creedence Clearwater Revival -  Green River 054 Southern Culture on the Skids -  Voodoo Cadillac 055 Bonnie, Sheila -  You Keep Me Hanging On 056 Warren Lee -  Funky Bell 057 Elf - Annie New Orleans 058 Cannonball Adderley - New Orleans Strut 059 Doug Kershaw - Louisiana Man - New Orleans Version 060 Willy deVille  - Voodoo Charm 061 The Animals -  The House of the Rising Sun 062 Porgy Jones -  The Dapp 063 Lost Bayou Ramblers - Sabine Turnaround 064 IDRIS MUHAMMAD - New Orleans 065 John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen No. 2 066 Hank 3 - Hillbilly Joker 067 Nine Inch Nails -  Heresy 068 Talking Heads - Swamp 069 Irma Thomas - I'd Rather Go Blind 070 Mississippi Fred McDowell -  I'm Going Down the River 071 Dee Dee Bridgewater   - Big Chief 072 Dr. John  - Creole Moon 073 Agents of Oblivion -  Slave Riot 074 Steve Vai - Voodoo Acid 075 Saviours -  Slave To The Hex 076 Kris  Kristofferson -  Casey's Last Ride 077 JJ Cale - Louisiana Women 078 Cher - Dark Lady of New Orleans 079 LE ROUX - Take A Ride On A Riverboat 080 The Melvins -  A History Of Bad Men 081 Floodgate - Through My Days Into My Nights 082 Opprobium - voices from the grave 083 Quintron & Miss Pussycat - Swamp Buggy Badass 084 Child Bite - ancestral ooze 085 Sammi Smith - The City Of New Orleans 086 The Explosions - Garden Of Four Trees 087 Bobby Boyd - straight ahead 088 Bobby Charles - Street People 089 Wall of Voodoo -  Far Side of Crazy 090 Rhiannon Giddens - Freedom Highway (feat. Bhi Bhiman) 091 Elton John - Honky Cat 092 Serge Gainsbourg - Bonnie and Clyde 093 Fats Domino - I'm Walking To New Orleans 094 Cruel Sea - Orleans Stomp 095 Down -  On March The Saints 096 Danzig -  Ju Ju Bone 097 The Neville Brothers ~ Voodoo 098 Megadeth -  The Conjuring 099 Miles Davis - Miles runs the voodoo down 100 Elvis Presley - King Creole 101 Led Zeppelin - Royal Orleans 102 The Lime Spiders -  Slave Girl 103 BIG BILL BROONZY  -'Mississippi River Blues'   104 Kreeps - Bad Voodoo 105 Dirty Dozen Brass Band -  Caravan 106 Kirk Windstein -  Dream In Motion 107 Eletric Prunes - Kyrie Eleison - Mardi Gras 108 Merle Haggard - The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde 109 Corrosion of Conformity -  River of Stone 110 THE ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN (MAIN TITLE) 111 Zigaboo Modeliste - Guns 112 ReBirth Brass Band - Let's Go Get 'Em 113 Inell Young -  What Do You See In Her? 114 Jimi Hendrix - If 6 as 9 (Studio Version) Easy Rider Soundtrack 115 Deep Purple -  Speed King 116 Exhorder - The Law 117 Crowbar -  The Cemetery Angels 118 A Streetcar Named Desire OST - Main Title 119 WOORMS - Take His Fucking Leg 120 steely dan - pearl of the quarter 121 Tabby Thomas - Hoodoo Party 122 Black Label Society -  Parade of the Dead 123 Dwight James & The Royals - Need Your Loving 124 Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (2012) The Rampant Hunter (Soundtrack OST) 125 PanterA - The Great Southern Trendkill 126 Ween - WHO DAT? 127 Earl King - Street Parade 128 Ernie K-Doe - Here Come The Girls 129 Dejan's Olympia Brass Band ~ Mardi Gras In New Orleans 130 Body Count -  KKK Bitch 131 Goatwhore - Apocalyptic Havoc 132 C.C. Adcock - Y'all d Think She Be Good To Me (from True Blood S01E01) 133 The Meters - Fire On The Bayou 134 Dr. John - I Walk On Guilded Splinters 135 Balfa Brothers - J'ai Passe Devant ta Porte 136 Ween - Voodoo Lady 137 King Diamond -  'LOA' House 138 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Born On The Bayou 139 Dax Riggs -  See You All In Hell Or New Orleans 140 Professor Longhair - Go to the Mardi Gras 141 Dixie Witch -  Shoot The Moon 142 Ramones - The KKK Took My Baby Away 143 Fats Waller -  There's Going To Be The Devil To Pay 144 Mississippi Fred McDowell -  When the Train Comes Along with Sidney Carter & Rose Hemphill 145 Treme Song (Main Title Version) 146 Tony Joe White - Even Trolls Love Rock and Roll 147 Nine Inch Nails -  Sin 148 Exodus -  Cajun Hell 149 NEIL DIAMOND - New Orleans 150 James Brown - Call Me Super Bad 151 Jimi Hendrix -  Voodoo Child ( Slight Return ) 152 Allen Toussaint - Chokin Kind 153 Dash Rip Rock  - Meet Me at the River 154 Hawg Jaw- 4 Lo 155 Hot 8 Brass Band - Keepin It Funky 156 Hank Williams III - Rebel Within 157 Dejan's Original Olympia Brass Band - Shake It And Break It 158 Jelly Roll Morton -  Finger Buster 159 The Royal Pendletons - (Im a) Sore Loser 160 Little Bob & The Lollipops - Nobody But You 161 Gregg Allman - Floating Bridge (True Detective Soundtrack) 162 Michael Doucel with Beausoleil - Valse de Grand Meche 163 Dolly Parton - My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy 164 Othar Turner & the Afrossippi Allstars – Shimmy She Wobble 165 Jucifer - Fleur De Lis 166 Soilent Green -  Leaves Of Three 167 Ides Of Gemini -  Queen of New Orleans 168 Betty Harris -  Trouble with My Lover 169 Lead Belly - Pick A Bale Of Cotton 170 Candyman Opening Theme 171 Goatwhore - When Steel and Bone Meet 172 Acid Bath - Bleed Me An Ocean 173 Pere Ubu - Louisiana Train Wreck 174 Walter -Wolfman- Washington - You Can Stay But the Noise Must Go 175 Alice in Chains -  Hate To Feel 176 Body Count -  Voodoo 177 Live and Let Die - Jazz Funeral 178 Smoky Babe -  Cotton Field Blues 179 Professor Longhair - Big Chief Part 2 180 Lewis Boogie - Walk the Line 181 James Black - Theres a Storm in the Gulf 182 The Balfa Brothers - Parlez Nous A Boire 183 The Jambalaya Cajun Band - Bayou Teche Two Step 184 The Deacons -  Fagged Out 185 Thou - The Changeling Prince 186 Black Sabbath -  Voodoo 187 King Diamond -  Louisiana Darkness 188 Doyle -  Cemeterysexxx 189 KINGDOM OF SORROW - Grieve a Lifetime 190 Hank Williams III - Louisiana Stripes 191 FORMING THE VOID - On We Sail 192 BUCK BILOXI AND THE FUCKS - fuck you 193 Down in New Orleans - The Princess and the Frog Soundtrack 194 Trombone Shorty & James Andrews  - oh Poo Pah Doo 195 Whitesnake -  Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City 196 The Dirty Dozen Brass band - Voodoo 197 Joe Simon - The Chokin' Kind 198 Down -  Ghosts along the Mississippi 199 AEROSMITH  - Voodoo Medicine Man 200 Nine Inch Nails -  The Perfect Drug 201 The Byrds - [Sanctuary III] Ballad Of Easy Rider 202 The Iguauas - Boom Boom Boom 203 PJ Harvey - Down By The Water 204 Louis Armstrong - Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans 205 Dr John - Right Place Wrong Time 206 ESTHER ROSE - handyman 207 Lightnin Slim - It's Mighty Crazy 208 Slim Harpo - Blues Hangover 209 Irma Thomas - Ruler Of My Heart 210 WEATHER WARLOCK - Fukk the Plan-0 211 Superjoint Ritual - The Alcoholik (Use Once And Destroy) 212 Stressball - dust 213 Trampoline Team - Kill You On The Streetcar 214 Xander Harris - Where’s your Villain? 215 Dukes of Dixieland - When The Saints Go Marching In 216 Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Su Su 217 Danzig - I'm the one 218 EyeHatteGod - Pigs 219 Hank Williams Jr - Amos Moses 220 The Cramps - Alligator Stomp 221 Crowbar - The Serpent Only Lies 222 Shrüm - drip 223 Thou  - The Only Law 224 DR. JOHN - Babylon   225 Garth Brooks - Callin' Baton Rouge 226 Wild Magnolias - All On A Mardi Gras Day 227 NCIS New Orleans TV Show theme 228 Skull Duggery - Big Easy 229 Harry Connick Jr. - City beaneath the sea 230 Elvis Presley - Dixieland Rock 231 Tom Waits - I Wish I Was In New Orleans (In The Ninth Ward) 232 Neil Young - Everybody's Rockin 233 Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals - Delinquent 234 CORROSION OF CONFORMITY - Wolf Named Crow 235 Widespread Panic - Fishwater 236 Lillian Boutté - Why Don't You Go Down to New Orleans 237 Bryan Ferry - Limbo 238 Scream - Mardi Gras 239 EyeHateGod - Shoplift 240 Better Than Ezra - good 241 Duke Ellington - Perdido (1960 Version) 242 Bob Dylan - Rambling, Gambling Willie 243 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - sAve my soul 244 Le Roux - So Fired Up 245 Concrete Blonde - The Vampire song 246 Boozoo Chavis - Zydeco Mardi Gras 247 Idris Muhammad  - Piece of mind 248 Les Hooper - Back in Blue Orleans 249 Doug Kershaw - Cajun stripper 250 DOWN  - Witchtripper 251 Soilent Green - So hatred 252 Professional Longhair - Big chief 253 Willie Nelson - City Of New Orleans 254 Tom Waits - Whistlin' Past The Graveyard 255 Brian Fallon - sleepwalkers 256 Patsy - Count It On Down 257 Into the Moat - The Siege Of Orleans 258 Bruce Cockburn - Down To The Delta 259 Jello Biafra · the Raunch and Soul All-Stars - Fannie Mae 260 Exhorder - Asunder 261 Cane Hill - Too Far Gone 262 The Slackers - peculiar 263 Crowbar  - A Breed Apart   264 COC - Wiseblood 265 Necrophagia - Embalmed Yet I Breathe 266 EYEHATEGOD - Fake What's Yours 333 Alan Vega - Bye Bye Bayou 666 DOWN  - Stone the crow

I don’t beads by the way! Hit play here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC182dTlE-Gii6ZOO5ZrN1Z1T

[gingyboo]

Mirror Mirror

A/N: Again many thanks to @booglebug

Description- Soulmates existed. People knew that much. Soulmates were rare, a handful in each generation, an unexplainable phenomenon that formed a bond closer than blood and more sacred than marriage.

Bucky finds his soulmate when he needs her most. Little does he know how much she needs him too.

(Soulmate au that slots pretty much in to the MCU but with soulmates. Set after TFATWS.)

Pairing- Bucky Barnes x OFC

Warnings- Mentions of violence and guns, but its mostly fluff, drama and angst.

This is a multi chaptered fic.

Please like, comment, reblog!

prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

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Chapter 12

They woke up curled together the next morning. Their foreheads were pressed together, his left arm snaked round her wait whilst his right was tucked up supporting his head, he hummed softly playing with her loose hair. She looked into his eyes, adoration flooding through her.

“I know I have never said it, but I love you.” Nancy whispered. A smile spread across his lips and a blush rose to his cheeks.

“I thought that was because it didn’t need saying, I love you too.” He kissed her firmly on the lips. She smiled into it before rolling away and out of the bed.

“Come on sergeant, we’ve got work to do.” She ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” He answered.

They got up and ready quickly and without incident. Nancy pulled on her dress from the night before and Bucky slipped into his jacket, the left sleeve missing, flexing his vibranium arm. They made their way to the palace once more, meeting Sam at the door. They were led to the main hall where Duncan Everett was already sat bound by a brightly lit device to the floor. A force field surrounded him as well. He has wearing the same clothes as the night before minus the black coat and appeared tired and fed up. Shuri was sat casually in a chair, her legs swung over one of the arms. She smiled as they entered gesturing to some other seats that were laid out.

“Lieutenant Everett if I’m correct?” Shuri started taking the lead in the interrogation.

“I don’t go by that rank anymore.” He answered quickly with a scowl

“Well, no I suppose you wouldn’t, seeing as you’re legally dead.” Nancy snapped back.

“touché.” He smirked.

“What is it you want with Martin Cartwright?” Shuri asked firmly.

“Absolutely nothing.” He dragged his eyes away from Nancy to look directly at Shuri. She frowned in response.

“What’s all this been about then?” She stood up approaching the forcefield.

“I don’t want anything from Matin Cartwright. I’m after her.” He pointed straight at Nancy. Bucky drew himself up to stand in front of her.

“Well you can’t have her.” he shouted, anger rising inside.

“Oh, believe me it’s not like that big guy.” He shook his head laughing.

“Then what is it like?” Sam asked. Duncan looked around the room weighing up his options.

“I’m trying to smoke out a rat, just needed some decent bait.” He leered at her.

“Who, who’s the rat?” Nancy faltered.

“I think you already know that. Christopher Cartwright.” He stated confidently.

“Christopher Cartwright is dead.” Bucky snapped back

“So am I, legally.” He smiled

“So, it’s true, Kit is alive.” Nancy said standing up to step infant of Bucky.

“Most defiantly.” The prisoners voice filled with venom.

“Explain.” Sam said. All of them now on their feet. Duncan looked between them, realising he was outnumbered and alone, he told them everything.

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America had their Captain, Britain wanted their own. The super soldier serum was lost but the military took on the greater scientific minds in the country to develop their own. The hired on the brightest and best test subjects from across the Army, Navy and Air Force. Duncan Everett was one such subject. He was the brightest and best, young, fit and healthy. Three years in the British army, he held a great sense of patriotism. It was the greatest honour to be selected. It was there that he’d met Lieutenant Commander Cartwright of the Royal Navy. He led their group, always first to volunteer, always encouraging, always up for a laugh. They’d all loved him. He was the first to take the serum, he was the natural choice, Duncan was happy to wait his turn. Until Christopher betrayed them all. Destroying the test samples and running off into the night. The scientists were found dead in the morning and the programme was shut down. After that the government wanted to forget the venture and wipe the slate clean. The test subjects were placed in witness protection for their safety. A fake training exercise was enough to stage their deaths and the country was none the wiser.

Witness protection hadn’t suited him or his comrades. If bringing in the only successful recipient of the new serum could restart the programme, then that is what they’d do. It wasn’t hard to find supporters, many criminal organisations were interested in possessing an enhanced human. What moral implications could there be for Duncan, he would simply had all his benefactors over to the police once they were brought back into the military. Tracking down Christopher Cartwright had turned out to be more difficult than he predicted. He was a man of great means, Duncan suspected he could be hiding anywhere.

Then he remembered the sister. The letters Cristopher had written but never sent, always to the same woman, the picture of the girl with the long dark hair laughing next to him that he’d kept in his wallet. Nancy Cartwright, the sister he’d felt guilty for abandoning, at least that is what Duncan had managed to infer from their conversations. She was nothing special, a London socialite, daughter of a diplomat overseas. Getting close was to her proved to be more difficult, her home was too secure to think about a break in, she rarely ventured out alone and when she did it was to no readable pattern. Then came her invitation to the ballet, they’d been intercepting her communications, alone in a box with an easily compromised politician. Duncan had sent in his men, only to be foiled by two of the avengers. He’d gone in to get her himself, played his trump card to no avail, then been picked off the ground like a door mouse being hunted by a bird. Duncan then retreated to regroup in Amsterdam.

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“Why would Kit betray you?” Nancy said forcing back the tears in her eyes. Kit was alive, it was the only thought in her mind, her singular purpose was finding him.

“I was going to ask you that. I don’t believe he was working alone. You got any ideas who he was working with?” Duncan smirked knowingly at her.

Nancy’s heart sank in her chest, she felt like she might feint or throw up. Bucky caught her as she stumbled, she couldn’t meet his gaze though. She shook off his grip and, though it took all her remaining strength, she marched from the room.

“Think I touched a nerve?” Duncan asked the room.

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Nancy walked for a while before her legs sent her to the training room. She found the targets set up like they had been the day before. She breathed deeply handling the knives laid out for practice. She picked one up, testing its weight gently before launching it towards the target with a scream. It missed rebounding off the forcefield and falling to the ground. she picked up two more throwing them with the same result. She let the tears fall, felt the walls collapsing in on her. knife after knife she threw until one bounced badly on the forcefield and came flying back at to her ear. A hand shot out and grabbed it, it took Nancy a moment to realise it was her own. She stared at it in surprise, taking a deep breath she could almost hear the music in her head, she threw it back and it hit home, dead centre. Her toes curled as she found adrenalin coursing its way through her. She jumped on the spot before picking up the fallen knives. she returned to her spot, the music filling her head again as she threw the knives in quick succession, each hitting, forming a ring around the centre. She heard a clapping coming from behind her, she whipped round to find Bucky stood leaning against the door frame, his face carved from stone and unreadable.

“Bucky…”

“What’s going on Nance, what was that in there?” he walked over to her, his thumb rubbed a stray tear off her cheek. she shook her head turning away from him.

“He’s so bloody smug, like he’s proud of himself, like this is some sort of game, well it’s not, it’s my life and it’s my family, it’s my brother.” she said pulling the knives from the target, “Well you know what, no one messes with my family,” Buck nodded agreeing with her.

“What did he mean, about Kit having help, he seemed to say it for your benefit.” he asked grabbing her hand.

“Bucky don’t push this,” he let go automatically, his brow creasing.

“Nancy please, you’re shaking.” She hadn’t noticed till he told her.

“There are things I haven’t told you, about my family, people we don’t talk about, and I should have told you, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She fell to the floor at his feet, he slid down to join her.

“Whatever it is, it’ll be okay, you can tell me.” Bucky insisted. She was quiet for a while, Bucky could almost hear the cogs turning in her head.

“My mother is Sokovien by birth,” she stuttered out. “Her maiden name was Zemo, her father was Petrov Zemo, her older brother was Machev Zemo and her nephew…”

“Helmut Zemo.” Bucky finished for her. Nancy looked away, nodding.

“I only met him twice, my mother didn’t agree with their criminal dalliances, so she lived a very separate life after she married. He came to England once with his mother, they stayed with us, he was older, a moody teenager at the time.” She chanced a glance at him, still he appeared unreadable.

“And the second time?” he said.

“My grandfather’s funeral.” She said finally meeting his eyes.

“And Kit, did he know him any better?” Bucky asked, encouraging her to continue.

“Not that I knew, but who else could he know who hates the very idea of super soldiers enough to kill those who made a serum?” He agreed with her there.

“Nancy,” he placed his palm against her cheek. “thank you for telling me.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“I couldn’t hate you if I tried.” he sealed his words with a kiss to her cheek. As he stood up he brough her to her feet as well. He linked their fingers together after taking the knives from her hand. “That was impressive.” he nodded towards the target. “Seems like Shuri’s theory was correct.” Nancy nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder. “We don’t choose who we’re related to Nancy.”

They left the training room together and walked together, they walked through the city in silence, Bucky’s thumb drawing patterns across her knuckles. He planted kisses on her head at seemingly random intervals. As they got to the city’s outskirt Nancy figured out where he was leading her, down to the lake again. The sun was high in the sky this time lighting up the water. Nancy’s forehead was shiny with sweat and her feet ached from the walk. Despite this she felt calmer hearing the gentle lapping of the water. They stood together breathing in the fresh air.

“I suppose I’ll have a fair bit of explaining to do when we get back.” Nancy said, breaking the silence and turning to face her soulmate. He stared at her, taking in the way the light set fire to her hair and how her eyes seemed to glow green and gold.

“You don’t have to explain anything if you don’t want to. But I think you know what we are going to have to do next.” his eyes squinted against the sun whilst his hands sat on his hips.

“Yeah, time for a family reunion.”

“You don’t have to come, me and Sam can do this ourselves, report back to you.” Bucky tried.

“No, I have to do this, I have to come with you.” Bucky knew better than to argue. He brought his arms around her looking down into her eyes.

They’d speak with Shuri later and arrange a visit to The Raft.

[unchartedterritoria]

Dangerous (Sam Drake x OC) - Chapter 28

*NEW CHAPTER*

Previous Chapters: Chapter 1 * Chapter 2 * Chapter 3 * Chapter 4 * Chapter 5* Chapter 6 * Chapter 7 * Chapter 8 * Chapter 9 * Chapter 10 * Chapter 11 * Chapter 12 * Chapter 13 * Chapter 14 * Chapter 15 * Chapter 16 * Chapter 17 * Chapter 18 * Chapter 19 * Chapter 20 * Chapter 21 * Chapter 22 * Chapter 23* Chapter 24 * Chapter 25 * Chapter 26 * Chapter 27

As always, you can read the story thus far on A03  HERE

Tags: @jodiereedus22, @shambhalala, @missdictatorme

Reviews and comments are always appreciated!

You are a Mudd after all.

The words fell like cement bricks and with each word, crushing and taking the life out of anything she had ever known about herself. Her only solace, the unwavering loyalty to her mother that expanded well beyond Susan Spencer's death. Surely her mother would have told her if she was related to a person mixed up with one of the most famous assassinations in history. Being the adult she was, Faith responded to the suspicious accusation with a solid opening argument.

“Am not!”

"I may be many things Miss Spencer, but I assure you a liar is not one of them," Jasper informed her, his hands clasped together solemnly in front of him.

Faith shook her head.

“Not possible.”

Jasper circled her chair, bending down to grab the item on the floor behind Faith. Once in front of her, he held it in front of her face.

"I'm sure by now, you're familiar with this little piece of history here."

 The Bible she had found in her mother's hope chest. The dull gold lettering still carried enough luster to glint in the late afternoon sun. Faith stared at it her jaw set tight. That little book that had led up to now, to everything that had come to pass in the last 38 days. She couldn't decide if she coveted it or despised it.

She turned her cold glare to Jasper.

“I'll take that as a yes then,” He said, cradling the book in his lame hand while he flipped through the aged pages with the other.

"Did you know Miss Spencer that Bibles served as a family ledger? Marriages, births, deaths, all recorded right here," Jasper patted the open pages gently. Without waiting for her reply, he flipped casually to the back cover. Faith drew in a nervous breath as Jasper produced a small penknife from the pocket of his pants. With the delicateness of a heart surgeon, he ran the sharp edge along the seam. The substance holding the page against the back gave way, emitting that crackling sound only old glue can make, revealing the true last page of the Bible.

“Now my dear, what was your father's name?” Jasper asked.

No, I'm done. I'm not playing this game, Faith thought stubbornly. She hated when anyone brought up her father. It made her body feel like hot, heavy, angry steel ready to singe anyone that broached the topic with her. So the last person on this earth she was going to let bring her to that level was her captor.

Jasper rounded Faith and slammed his hand around her forearm, gripping it tightly to the arm of the chair. Holding the penknife, he brought the point to the soft hollow under her arm atop her elbow. Faith felt the zing down her arm as the knife tip hit the tendon lying beneath her skin.

“His name dear,” He asked again, his face close enough to her ear that he need only speak in that soft southern drawl barely above a whisper.

Faith muttered under her breath.

Jasper slid the penknife into her skin, not with a quick jab of a person only looking to get a response but with a slow, deliberate push, he meant not only inflict pain but to relish in the pleasure Faith's scream gave him.

She bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself.

“His name?” He asked, his voice taking on a breezy, lithe tone.

"Everett. Everett Spencer," She acquiesced. Her eyes screwed shut to stop the tears brought on by the searing pain in her arm.

"Everett!" Jasper said with a flourish, snapping the little blade closed and turning his attention back to the book.  

"You see my dear, not only do we have a list of genealogy here but also a line of ownership. Did you know that you were the only firstborn girl in the Mudd family in almost 150 years?"

Jasper held the Bible's last page open for Faith to see.

The men back then had such pretty penmanship, she thought. The list of names started in such an elegant script, the names leaving the swelling dots and faded trail of ink that only a fountain pen could produce. The line of names progressed as the sophistication of the signatures declined. The last two names made her stomach churn. Her mother did always say her father had the handwriting of a kindergartener.

Samuel Alexander Mudd

Thomas Samuel Mudd

Spencer Thomas Mudd

Alexander Spencer

Everett Alexander Spencer

Faith Evelyn Spencer

"Do you see the pattern? The firstborns received their father's name as their middle name, to honor the family lineage no doubt," Jasper spoke with the certainty of knowledge that Faith wished she had.

"Then your grandfather, after years of having generations of his family the target of persecution, casually dropped the notorious last name. From himself on, they were simply Spencers. As you can see, though, the tradition did continue. I'm sure having a girl did throw a wrench into the works, but Evelyn is a very fine replacement for Everett." Nox clicked his heel against the other one as his pacing drew to a stop quickly in front of her. "Am I being clear enough, Miss Spencer? I know timelines and names can be difficult to follow," Jasper concluded, talking as a person would to a slow child.

Faith balled her fists, her thumbnail cutting into the skin of her fingers.

“I got it,” She said flatly, her far away stare fixed on the sand that dusted the concrete floor.

"So, as I have said, just tell me where I can find the Booth diary and the confession, and I will be on my way."

“I can't tell you what I don't know,” Faith spat at him. Jasper pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his thin nose.

"My dear, you are tryin' my patience," He said with his eyes shut. He produced a monogrammed linen handkerchief for the pocket of his white jacket. Lavender initials stitched into delicate the fabric that hung heavily with dampness and emitting a strange, fruity aroma.

"My father's been dead over ten fucking years, how could he tell me where it was?" She yelled, her frustration reaching its peak while Jasper wiped the head of his cane, the smell coming from it growing more pungent.

Jumping the cane up in his hand, he grasped the shaft and swung it across Faith's face. The eagle top slammed into her cheek, the beak tearing her skin as her head snapped to the side. The jagged cut welled up immediately with blood.

Faith began to tremble as she hung her head. Tears of pain bloomed in the corner of her eyes and threatened to flow.

Jasper plucked at the front of his pants before hunkering down in front of Faith.

"Now what did I say about language?" He said mildly, tipping up Faith's chin with the head of his cane to make sure that her eyes could meet his. Her tear-streaked cheeks served as a suitable answer for Nox.

"Whether you love them or hate them, my dear, family is important and back then all a man had at the end of the day was his good name to hang his hat on. And once that good name is thoroughly sullied, it could take years, decades to bring it back into the good graces of society. Repentance be damned," Jasper spat angrily, turning on his heel towards the ocean, his fury clamped lips disappearing under his red mustache.  

Only family can make someone that angry, Faith recognized. Her brown eyes crinkled with realization, “You're an Atzerodt.”

Jasper turned to face her. "While some families had to live with the dirt that stained the pages of their legacy, some just removed the pages entirely. Gave themselves a new last name," He continued with contempt but without acknowledgment of her statement. "It may have taken over a century, but my family name will be cleared, I will not have a Mudd get in the way yet again. Now please, I implore you,"  he said as he wiped the head of his cane again, "tell me where it is."

"I don't know. I wish I did! I would tell you. I don't know. Sam doesn't know. We don't know!" Faith pleaded.

“We? We? Has this become a permanent partnership?” Jasper gasped, his eyes green and alight with a renewed excitement and sounding very much to Faith's ears like that of a teenage girl at a slumber party.

“None of your fu-freakin' business,” She said, catching herself.

Thwack.

“I said freaking!”

"Too close, Miss Spencer and I will take that as a yes." He said, putting his cane back by his side. I must know," Jasper continued, bringing his face close to hers, "Are you in love with Mr. Drake?"

Faith remained silent while the blood dripped steadily from her nose.

Jasper Nox began to howl with laughter, the randomness of it making Faith start in her chair.

"Now this is just too rich, too rich for words!" He said delighted, his hands clenched to his chest. "And I thought Mrs. Lincoln to be a forgiving woman. You take the cake on this subject, my dear."

Faith's eyes darted quickly towards Jasper, giving away her position of confusion, even if just for a moment, before staring back at the growing ocean waves.

Jasper's gaze softened as he knelt in front of her. With his good hand, he took her chin between his fingers.

“You have no idea who he is, do you?” He said softly.

[apothecaryforwearysouls]

Fallout OC interview (My first fallout 4 character)

1. What is your name?

“Alice Everett, but you’ll call me Queen if you know what's good for you.”

2. How old are you? “30.”

3. What do you look like? “shaved head on the side, long red hair on the top. I'm pretty built and average height.”

4. Where are you from? Where do you live now? “From Vegas, the first one. been to New Vegas since love the atmosphere hate the military that hangs around. the Silver Rush had this robot though.....anyway what was the question? ”

5. What was your childhood like? “Shit, what do you think? you don't come from white picket fences and how was your day honey and end up a blood-soaked killer”

6. What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions? “Operators and Disciples know their place if that counts.  Mr. House, maybe he did like what I could do with a fission battery and his power module. The institute I guess, don’t talk with them much being their leader was boring as hell.”

7. Tell me about your best friend. "Only one I can really trust. Keeps my bed warm and knows what love means, no one could replace him. isn't that right Dogmeat?”

“Bork Bark”

8. Do you have a family? Tell me about them! “Husbands dead, Sons dead, anyone else ever knew or loved was atomized when the bombs dropped. Next question.”

9. What about a partner or partners? “I’ll occasionally get with Nisha. That is more of a physical thing though. don’t know how something serious would work out these days. Maybe one day.”

10. Who are your enemies? And why? Preston Garvey. He and his Minutemen love to take shots at the men I send out their way. Pretty much anyone, to be honest, raiders don't make many friends.

11. Have you ever heard of the Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? "Brotherhood are raiders with better equipment. Just like the Gunners, they parade around with their rules, regulations, and uniforms. they're just as bad as us maybe worse at least we’re honest ”

12. What about The Enclave? “Who?.”

13. How do you feel about Super Mutants? “A pain in the ass mostly, they are dumb as rocks yet think they're the next step in evolution.”

14. What’s the craziest fight you ever been in? “I’ve been in a lot of fights, a lot of them worthy of retelling but it has to be that damned Hallucigen building. Whatever gas they cooked up is worse than any chem trip. I know the Gunners were there but once that shit hit my system i saw ghouls, mole rats, family, friends, nightmares... I shot until I didn't have any more rounds. I cut through anything else with my knife. Normally being covered in blood and gore doesn't bother me but that..that is a feeling I never want to feel again.

15. Have you ever fought a deathclaw?

“Plenty they’re the wastelands apex predator, hinting them really gets me going. Gatorclaws, on the other hand, I can’t stand they hide in the water just waiting like lazy Brahmin for prey to walk by. Deplorable.  ”

16. Do you like fighting? “Oh, I love it there is nothing better! The feeling of power and fear mixed together is unlike anything else.”

17. What’s your weapon of choice? “a sharp knife is always good, but the feeling of an automatic Handmade. The sound, the vibration, the way it rains lead. unbeatable. ”

18. How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) “Skills mostly, I was a Surgeon before the war. Once I entered the wasteland it all slowly came to me. Learning how to survive was actually a lot like med school now that I think about it. struggle, pain, and in the end a vast amount of knowledge that can save a life or end one. ”

19. Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think of them? “I've been in enough to know they're sadistic death traps. don't get me wrong I kill people for fun but Vault-tec chose to experiment on people before the world went to shit.”

20. How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you? “I have easy access to Radaway but a few years back I got exposed pretty bad during a rad storm and had to take cover in a cave full of this fungus that glows in the dark. I didn't know that they radiated radiation too ate a few out of desperation and all that radiation mutated my optical nerves, I can see in the dark now. cool huh?”

21. What’s your favorite wasteland critter? “Radscorpions, their vicious nature and lack of fear is so badass. Plus they’re really cute!”

22. What’s your least favorite wasteland critter? “Bloodworms. End of story, it is just the way they wiggle. Makes me gag just thinking about them. I send men to take out their nests regularly.”

23. How do you feel about robots? “They have their uses but I don't find them very reliable in the field. The only ones I really care to use are those Assaultrons. ”

24. How many caps do you have on you right now? "uh I think I have around a thousand but I have a ton more around the place.”

25. Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? “I run Nuka-World I think my choice is obvious. Sunset is just gross how anyone drinks it is beyond me.

26. Do you do chems?

“Pycho/Med-x on occasion but only when I think the fight is going to be difficult. They get in the way in most situations.”

27. Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? “Some nights ill think about it. About Nate, about my family, the world before but its gone and nothing can change that. I like who I am now I know that the world can’t be saved and people are not worth charity. ”

28. What’s your biggest regret? What would you do differently? “God that's a long list. Despite what you may think its really simple. Going into that damn lounger thing in Goodneighbor, reliving my husband's death and the theft of my son all over again and have someone else see it firsthand along with me was the worst. I'm glad Kellog died slow.”

29. What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve? “Honestly I want to love someone again....”

30. What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? “Get richer, maybe retire old but if that doesn't work die for something worthwhile.”

Tagged by @baphometprince​ (thank you, sorry for the way late reply it has been a hectic few weeks.)

Tagging @illumimommy​ and anyone else who actually read through and wanna do it.

[hillnerd]

music shuffled meme

agged by the lovely @weasleyismyking540​ and @headcanonsandmore​

Rules: write the first 10 songs that come up on shuffle (no skipping) and quote your favorite lyrics from each song, then tag 10 people.

1) “Firework -instrumental version” by Salt Lake Pops Orchestra

technically there are no lyrics to this version- but my fave lyrics are prob

Do you know that there's still a chance for you 'Cause there's a spark in you You just gotta ignite the light And let it shine Just own the night Like the Fourth of July

2) “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime the Musical

there are so many good versions of this song- including the Gay Men’s Chorus singing it to Westboro Church protesters.

one of the most powerful songs about social justice in America ever written, imo. It’s beautiful and and moving, and completely apropo for what we see in our nation every day.

IF YOU CHOOSE ONE SONG FROM THIS LIST TO LISTEN TO, HAVE IT BE THIS SONG.

like... I can’t choose just a few lyrics from this. it is just such an incredibly powerful song.

How that justice was our battle and how justice was denied. And say to those who blame us For the way we chose to fight That sometimes there are battles That are more than black or white. And I could not put down my sword When justice was my right

----

Go out and tell our story To your daughters and your sons.

Your sword can be a sermon or the power of the pen Teach every child to raise his voice and then my brothers, then Will justice be demanded By ten million righteous men. Make them hear you. Make them hear you 

3) Schuyler Sister - from Hamilton the Musical

You want a revolution? I want a revelation So listen to my declaration:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident That all men are created equal" And when I meet Thomas Jefferson (unh!) I’mma compel him to include women in the sequel

4) Seventeen from Heathers the Musical

People hurt us Or they vanish And you're right, that really blows But we let go.. Take a deep breath Then go buy some summer clothes

5) Wait for it from Hamilton

Life doesn't discriminate Between the sinners and the saints It takes and it takes and it takes And we keep living anyway We rise and we fall and we break And we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm still alive When so many have died Then I'm willin' to—

wait for it 

6) Long Live the Chief by Jidena

Mama put a little money in the mattress Taught me how to make a silver spoon out of plastic You can either sink, swim or be the captain Get the last word I'mma get the last laugh in Now they say "Jidenna why you dressing so classic?" I don’t want my best dressed day in a casket

7) All my Loving from Across the Universe Soundtrack (by The Beatles) 

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you Tomorrow I'll miss you Remember I'll always be true And then while I'm away I'll write home every day And I'll send all my loving to you

8) I want to do bad things to you by Jace Everett

When you came in the air went out And all those shadows there filled up with doubt I don't know who you think you are But before the night is through I wanna do bad things with you

9) Jambo by Kamau

I am the killer in the grasses I am the kid in the corner with the glasses I am the specter, you should respect-ah I don't expect it Special ain't special I don't expect nothing

10) Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra

Hey you with the pretty face Welcome to the human race A celebration, mister blue sky's up there waitin' And today is the day we've waited for

tagging @pasiwate @vondrakenhof @thesilencedmasses @burgundydahlia

[rohdutch]

I don’t know anything about movies so do it. :-D answer as many as you can from 1-60

Oh my gooooodddddd. Soph this will be my death. Okay, okay, I got this.

1. A movie you’ve seen most times in the cinema.

I’ve never seen a movie more than once in theater, but I kind of wish that I would’ve gone to see Gifted more than once bc crying in the theater is an e x p e r i e n c e.

2. Your most rewatched movie.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

3. A movie you quote on a daily basis.

I just quoted Mean Girls earlier today.

4. Favorite movie soundtrack.

The Greatest Showman.

5. Top 5 films of your favorite actor and actress.

I’ll choose Sebastian Stan for this (even tho Richard Armitage is my favorite):

-the Bronze

-I, Tonya

-the Martian

-the Captain America trilogy

-Gone

Meg Ryan:

-Fan Girl

-Anastasia

-Sleepless in Seattle

-You’ve Got Mail

-City of Angels

6. Top 5 performances of your favorite actor and actress.

Seb’s are the same except replace Gone with Political Animals, his performance as TJ is iconic and I’m so sad they ended that show. Meg’s are the same too.

7. A movie storyline you wished you had actually lived.

I’ve always dreamt of being apart of the Fast & Furious movies soooo

8. A movie that reminds you of your mom.

Any of the Star Wars.

9. A movie thar reminds you of your dad.

Grease.

10. Favorite movies from your childhood.

My parents didn’t care what I really watched as a kid so a lot of my favorites consist of actual kids movies and horror movies. Disney movies like Robin Hood (I loved both Disney’s version and Prince of Thieves), Mulan, Cinderella, Aladdin, Lion King 2. And then other movies like Underworld, Van Helsing, Halloween, and Resident Evil. I had a strange obsession with the third Resident Evil.

11. Favorite quote(s).

I can’t remember the exact line, but “that kid from Brooklyn who didn’t know how to walk away from a fight, I’m following him,” which Bucky says to Steve in the first Cap film. And obv any Mean Girls quote.

12. Top 5 female performances.

-Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter-Emilia Clarke in Me Before You-Helen Mirren in Winchester-Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2-Michelle Pfeiffer in Stardust

13. Top 5 male performances.

-Martin Freeman as Everett Ross-Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange-Sebastian Stan in the Bronze-Leonardo DiCaprio in the Departed-Jack Nicholson in the Departed

14. Favorite year for movies.

I don’t think I have a specific year? Although 2018 has been a fantastic year for movies so far. I do have a preference for movies from 90s and early 2000s.

18. An underrated actor.

A year ago I would’ve said Sebastian Stan, but he’s recently been doing a lot of big things and has like four movies he’s doing that he plays a main character in. Now I’ll shoot for Blair Redford.

19. An underrated actress.

Emilia Clarke. People need to appreciate her more.

20. An underrated director.

Taika Waititi.

21. An overrated actor.

I’ve never cared for George Clooney tbh.

22. An overrated actress.

I love her, but Scarlett Johansson.

23. An overrated director.

Woody Allen. Not even sorry.

24. A film you wish you had seen on the big screen.

Every MCU movie besides Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther. I watched Black Panther with my sister and saw Guardians at a drive-in. I had to wait to see all the others :(

25. A movie you’ve seen that you think no one else here will have heard of?

Like Sunday, Like Rain. Please watch it. It’s absolutely amazing.

26. Favorite movie characters.

Oh my gosh. Okay. Doctor Strange. Bucky Barnes. Thorin Oakenshield. Lance Tucker. Everett Ross. Jason Bourne. Owen and Deckard Shaw. There’s more, but that’s who I can think of rn.

27. A film that was better than the book.

I personally prefer the Hobbit movies over the book, but the book is great too.

28. Best Remake.

The Goodbye Girl!

29. Your first favorite actor.

I wanna say it’s Josh Hartnett? Maybe Paul Rudd?? I loved the Halloween movies as a kid and Josh was in H2O while Paul was in the Curse of Michael Myers and I loved them both. As a kid I didn’t really care much about the actors, but I’ve realized a lot of people I liked in movies as a kid are now some of my favorites.

30. Your first favorite actress.

Like I said, loved the Halloween movies. Jamie Lee Curtis. Also Milla Jovavich.

31. Favorite animated film.

I will always, with my entire heart, love Lion King 2. I still have the VHS tape.

32. Your most anticipated films.

Ocean’s 8. Robin Hood. Solo. Ant-Man and the Wasp. Incredibles 2. I wasn’t that into Venom, but after seeing the trailer, I’m pumped.

33. Last movie that disappointed you.

The Apparition was made a while back, but i didn’t watch it til recent and I really didn’t like it whatsoever.

34. Last movie that surpassed your expectations.

Like the Apparition, Dance of the Dead was made a while ago, but I watched it about two months back and oh. My. God. It was glorious. Watch it. It’ll be worth it.

37. Share an unpopular film opinion you have.

I love romance and I don’t mind seeing it in movies that don’t necessarily need it. I mean, of course I draw the line somewhere, but for example, Kili and Tauriel’s romance in the films? I know it wasn’t in the book, and a lot of people didn’t like it, but I loved it.

38. Favorite Oscar win/speech.

This is a tie between two speeches that happened right after one another at the 2017 Oscars. Gael García Bernal’s speech before presenting an award, and the Zootopia directors’ speech when they came up to accept that award. It’s truly a wonderful thing and I remember watching it and being so grateful for people like them.

39. Biggest Oscar snub(s).

Literally. Every. Time. Leonardo. DiCaprio. Lost.

40. Who do you think is overdue for another Oscar nomination/win?

Tom Hanks.

41. How many movies have you seen (rough estimation)?

Close to 1,000, I’d think.

42. A movie that made you go ‘wtf was that’.

The Apparition and The Shape of Water. At least The Shape of Water was actually good 👀👀

43. A film that scarred you.

Oh my god, I don’t know the name, but it was something that was on tv at like 2 am when I slept in the living room one time as a kid and it terrified me. It was something about werewolves and made me question my love of werewolves for days.

44. Most movies watched in a single day.

I once watched 7 of the Fast & Furious movies in one day.

45. A film that always makes you cry.

Gifted. I cried three times when I saw it in theaters and I cry every time I rewatch it.

46. A film that always makes you laugh.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

47. Movies that you think everyone should watch (not necessarily your favorites).

The Jason Bourne series. 10 Things I Hate About You. Blended. Back to School.

48. A movie that took you a couple viewings to appreciate.

Princess & the Frog. Now it’s one of my favorite Disney movies.

49. A book that you want to see adapted to the big screen.

Either I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson or Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco.

50. A book you really, really, really don’t want to see made into a film.

I love the third Percy Jackson book so so much, and I’d kill to see that scene where they’re all on Apollo’s sun chariot on the big screen, but if it turned out like the other two Percy Jackson movies I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself.

54. Favorite coming-of-age film.

Like Sunday, Like Rain.

55. Favorite superhero film.

The first Captain America just bc it’s nostalgic for both me and those characters, and Doctor Strange. I love the Winter Soldier too so I might as well include it.

57. Movies you know you should watch, but can’t bring yourself to do it?

Thor: Ragnarok. That’s the only one I’m absolutely sure that I need to watch.

58. Favorite genres.

I’m a big rom-com and action geek tbh.

59. Least favorite genres.

Not a huge fan of paranormal type horrors, but once in a while I’ll find one I like (like Winchester).

60. Biggest movie pet peeve.

I’m not too picky, I guess? I just don’t like when they don’t give enough details so the story doesn’t make sense or they mess up and the facts don’t match up.

Yep. It’s official. Sophia, I’m dead.

[martywurst]

15 Minutes in Spokane

Amber Scalzo and I are hitting the road. Santa Cruz, Coos Bay, Seattle, Spokane. Maybe Boise, Grass Valley, San Francisco and Bakersfield on the way back. It's a long haul for only a couple of shows and whatever open mics we manage to get on. Is this a tour or a very long drive?

I feel bad about it, but it wasn't for lack of trying. I've been down many rabbit holes the last couple of months, searching for mics and shows, trying to put the puzzle pieces down and creating a schedule that makes sense. Hitting up bookers and friends of bookers. Some of my LA friends tried to help and they came through. Some bookers asked for our stand up clips and never got back to me. Damn. It hurts that we don't have stand up clips that are current, I think it's blowing our opportunities. Then my new laptop died on me, so now I can't even edit the recent stand up footage I got of us. Great timing. When I load up my Macbook Pro it looks like an 8 bit video game that gets stuck on the apple boss.

I think the uncertainty of the trip makes me nervous too. We have two shows that are spread out and a lot of breathing room. Will we hit this mic, can we make the drive in time, should we just go here instead and meet up with these people or power it out and drive through the night? Boise or Everett? Portland or Grass Valley?

Fuck it all. This is what I love. To go on the road. This is an adventure. I'm super lucky to be able to do this. I'm unemployed and my girlfriend is letting me take her car so I can drive 2,400 miles. She knows I have to do this and she understands the difficult world of comedy that I've chosen.

 So why feel bad about it? I'm already going on my 2nd trip, with only 4 years into comedy. I'm going to see some cousins and Amber and I have multiple places to crash. All we have to do is drive, try to get some sleep and do some stand up comedy. Yeah, there are some nights where it's just impossible to get to a mic without killing ourselves to get there, it's not worth it, we need our sleep. Sometimes the days and mics are not going to align perfectly. I guess that's when those pop-up mics come in handy, I gotta get my own setup like Johnnie Flowers.

Claire is carpooling and taking the bus while I'm gone. She lives close to work, but I still feel like I'm leaving her life in shambles. She's totally fine with it and only encourages me. I started feeling lonely last night and I'm missing her already. There's always Facetime and consoling emojis I suppose.

I'll be able to feed our cat Tune with this handy Kittyo app that I have on my phone. We have a Kittyo machine (it looks like a blender) that shoots kitty treats and has a laser pointer- so I can interact with the cat remotely. You know, the necessities in life. It barely works, but it gives me a cheap thrill. It was a Kickstarter project that was 2 years late on the delivery date and then it took me a year to get the damn thing working. Some things are worth waiting for. Now I can shoot treats at Tune's dumbfounded face!!!

I told my mom about the trip and when she found out I was going with a woman there was a long pause.

"Oh...that's nice. So Claire is okay with that?"

"Yeah... I mean Amber is a comedian too, we're just friends."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"No."

It was pretty uncomfortable and I even started to question myself. Wait, am I doing the right thing? Is there something wrong with this picture?

Claire was listening and she quickly pointed out that my mom must think I sleep around. Yeah...what the fuck? It's not like we're getting motels together or sharing a fucking sleeping bag. We're crashing on friends couches and driving a couple thousand miles to do less than an hour of comedy. And what does that say about Amber? Single people just hopelessly fuck out of desperation? It doesn't matter with who, where, or when, as long as it's a "plump delicious cock"? That's a Norm Macdonald description, sorry.

I'm no skank and besides, Amber likes men, not comedians.

The last time I hit the road was almost a year ago. Tom Allen, John Parr, and Casey, our video guy, hit Arizona for 5 days. We were extremely lucky. We had 7 booked shows and a couple of open mics thrown in the mix. A paid hotel, courtesy of my Aunt Dorise and Uncle Marty- incredible gesture. I was expecting to crash on their floor with a bunch of cats next to me, but they were happy to do it. To top it off, my Uncle passed away after the trip, so it was the last time I got to see him.

Casey filmed nearly all of our sets and some great behind-the-scenes footage, but we never saw it. Weeks after the trip, he said all the stuff he filmed was lost and then he abruptly moved back to Colorado. It's really a shame, our first comedy trip lost, so we'll just have to go by memory:

We did a backyard show, a dive bar, an upscale restaurant, a pizzeria, a blackbox theater and a comedy club. Every night was totally different and kept us on our toes. I had my first drunk woman rush the stage and blather at me,

"Wurst Wurst!"

Tom had the lights go out in the middle of his set at the Firehouse space. The outdoor crew rushed to fix it and 5 minutes later the spotlight came back on and Tom picked up right where he left off. We also watched Tom go into a sports bar no less than 3 times to ask a bartender out, but he would make a B-line for the bathroom every time because he was nervous. He would return to the parking lot, looking defeated, and John would start to build him up again until he reluctantly caved in and marched right back. Goddamn it was funny. We got invited to a coke party after a show. We ran into Arizona's Mike Enders EVERYWHERE. He almost became a parody of himself- the shit-eating grin, the warm greetings around the room, drunker and drunker every time we saw him. I'll have to write about Arizona in a separate entry.

Anyway, I guess we'll never see that footage. I'll just have to film these experiences myself from now on. Arizona was one of the best experiences of my life and now I have another trip to look forward to....tomorrow!

 Got some good playlists. Going to have the blackest coffee, blacker than the souls that frequent The Blacklight District Lounge. I've got the right partner in crime. We have shows. There are mics to be had. No swanky hotel this time, just couches and floors and maybe a bed, but I might as well thank everyone in advance.

THANK YOU.

You want to do this some day? Here's Ron Babcock's helpful guide:

Ron Babcock's Do-it-yourself Standup Tour Guide

Something that really helped me is going through my Facebook friends and writing down a list of every state and linking my friends to the state and city, so I could map out a trip and know where my contacts are. I asked for places to crash or just invited them out to a show. No shame in it. I have family all over, so this is a good way to connect, even if it's incredibly brief. We gotta hang out when we can and help eachother out!

I also wrote down all my phone numbers in a notebook in case my phone decides to die on me. I guess I could write down all the directions too, but I'll just trust that one of us will have a working phone. Or use a handy Thomas Guide! (blows the dust off) *cough cough*

  I'll be back kitty. I should take that Medieval Times crown out of my suitcase.

[ethanalter]

MVPs of Horror: 'World War Z' mastermind Max Brooks rates the best zombies in pop culture

Zombies on the march in Dawn of the Dead (Photo: Everett Collection)

Once upon a time, kids were introduced to the wild, wonderful world of horror through slender volumes like the immortally terrifying Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (the version with the original Stephen Gammell artwork — not the significantly toned-down drawings glimpsed in contemporary copies). These days, they’re more likely to get their early scares from immersive experiences like Minecraft, the ubiquitous multiplatform video game that’s been a sensation since it first launched in 2009. While it may seem like an innocent adventure on the surface, there’s plenty of scary stuff to mine in Minecraft, from rivers of lava to skittering spiders to slow-moving, but still-deadly zombies.

The latter element particularly appealed to zombie expert — should we call him, zombert? — Max Brooks, who literally wrote the book on the walking dead in the form of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. The author recently expanded Minecraft‘s trans-media footprint by penning Minecraft: The Island, its first officially-licensed tie-in novel. Adopting a first-person perspective, the book, like the game’s Survival mode, drops the reader onto an island where they confront strange creatures, creeping starvation and the body horror that comes with suddenly being transformed into a figure made entirely of square boxes.

“There’s an element of fear to Minecraft, definitely,” Brooks tells Yahoo Entertainment. “That comes from the first time I played the game. There I was all alone, trying to survive. At first it was kind of cool, and then the sun went down and the zombies came out. I was like, ‘Great, I’m right back to where I started!'” We chatted with Brooks about the art of writing zombie horror for kids, his favorite zombie movies and where he stands on the movie version of World War Z.         

Yahoo: Minecraft: The Island could be a gateway into horror fiction for a lot of kids. Did you have that in mind as you were writing it? Max Brooks: Oh yeah. I was trying to create that feeling of being vulnerable, of being physically mortal, which is something I got in touch with earlier being a neurotic human being. I hear other people talk about the invincibility of youth, but I never had that. I think I jumped right into middle age at the age of 8. [Laughs] What I love about Minecraft is that when you play on Survival mode, there’s an element of horror that I think reflects the real world. It doesn’t matter how witty and cute and awesome you think you are: the zombies are coming for you and you’d better protect yourself. You’re also going to starve if you don’t get up off your square butt and get some food. What a great metaphor for life! What a book allows you to do is present all the sense that a video game doesn’t. Basically, all I had to do was take the horrifying scenarios of the video game and bring a more sensory experience to it.

Author and zombie expert, Max Brooks (Photo: Getty Images)

What were the first horror stories you were exposed to? For me, being dyslexic, I came to reading later in life. I wasn’t one of those young kids curled up in the corner with a Judy Blume book. That was one of the reasons I felt vulnerable; all the other kids could just sit down and do something, and I couldn’t. I grew up during the golden age of horror movies in the late ’70s and early ’80s when even the trailers were scary. I remember the trailers for movies like Jaws 2 and Silent Scream. I also remember all the faux-documentaries. Talk about fake news — we had fake news: we had In Search Of…! When Leonard Nimoy tells you that the Loch Ness monster is real, you believe him. I would get together with my friends and go, ‘Did you see In Search Of… last night? You can really spontaneously combust!'”

How about your earliest memory of seeing a zombie? I was about 12 or 13, and I was doing what all 12 or 13 boys did in the mid-’80s: trying to find boobs on TV. My parents [Hollywood legends Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft] had cable [in their bedroom] and when they would go out for dinner, I would sneak in and wait to find something. I remember seeing this movie with ridiculously gorgeous woman who was way naked, and I thought, “This was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.” What I didn’t realize is that I had accidentally wandered into an Italian cannibal zombie movie! Not even a George Romero-style zombie movie. It was hardcore, with people being torn apart and a dead woman in a wheelchair with a cat jumping out of her stomach. If that doesn’t mess you up when you’re 12 or 13, I don’t know what will. The irony is that when I saw Night of the Living Dead a few years later, that actually gave me hope. Because Romeo set down rules: those zombies aren’t invincible and you’re not guaranteed to die. There are ways to defeat them and survive — the challenge is figuring out those ways.

What’s sort of crazy is, with the exception of burning at dawn, the Minecraft zombies are a lot closer to the classic version of zombies than are in a lot of other zombie media now. What scares me about the George Romero zombies is that they’re relentless. Every other creature in Minecraft give up on chasing you after a while, but the zombies will never stop. And those are the zombies I’ve always been afraid of. Thirty years after seeing my first zombie and 10 years after writing World War Z here they are again, except they’re square. [Laughs]

(Photo: Penguin House)

If Minecraft and Minecraft: The Island proves to be a child’s first brush with zombies, where would you recommend them going next? It depends. If you’re a little kid, like 10 years old, don’t go anywhere near anything else. When you become an adolescent, I would recommend Night of the Living Dead and then jump right to Shaun of the Dead. Then, in their 20s, they should go to the original Dawn of the Dead, which is easily the greatest zombie movie ever made. The film’s social commentary is shockingly profound. It’s very rare that any artist in any time in any medium can encapsulate their entire generation journey in to one work of art, and Romero did that. As a baby boomer, he took his entire generation and encapsulated the death of their ideals and their surrender to materialism in one single movie. That fact that we could look around in the ’70s and watch the dream of the ’60s die and put that in a movie is beyond brilliant — it’s profound. I’ve always said that Dawn of the Dead should be released in a box set with Easy Rider, and it should be called: Baby Boomers: The Beginning and the End.

Is there any contemporary zombie movie that you’d put on that level in terms of social relevance? Shaun of the Dead is brilliant. What it did was encapsulate the British Gen-X culture in terms of, “What now?” Britain had centuries of empire, which then came crashing down and then they had this sort of slow, fake renaissance in the form of the swinging ’60s. They were like, “We don’t need the empire! We’ll just have free love!” It was all bull crap and they knew it, so 10 years later, they had something genuine, which was the angry punk movement. Then you had this right-wing renaissance with Thatcher, and when that went away it was the ’90s and there was this giant shrug that set in. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg took that and put it into a zombie movie. Here’s a whole generation of young Britons who have survived all these revolutions, and they’re like, “Where do we go from here?” That was Shaun of the Dead.

Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead (Photo: Everett Collection)

Even that film is over 10 years old at this point. Has there been an even more recent zombie movie that rises to the level of Dawn of the Dead for you. What happened after Romero is that we got a lot of hangers-on who are not ambitious enough to try and do anything intelligent with their zombie movies. They just focus on heads being blown off. I’m hoping there’s somebody out there who is trying to do something smarter, but I haven’t seen it yet. People are just riding the wave and making a buck because zombies are popular. And that’s just the way these things work. Someone comes along with a genuine vision, and then the people who aren’t as talented and ambitious pick up on that and go, “There’s some nice coattails I can ride.” You saw that in the ’70s and ’80s. The Italian cannibal zombie movie that I saw as a kid was a coattail rider; it was literally just boobs and blood. What I worry about is that the zombie genre is so saturated, a genuine vision will get lost in the flood. It may have already happened! I’m the world’s biggest zombie fan and I literally don’t have the time or patience to wade through all the mediocrity. There may be an unbelievably brilliant piece of zombie literature or comic book or film that happened and I missed it.

Where do you stand on the eternal “slow zombies vs. fast zombies” debate? The movie version of World War Z went with the former, while your book features the latter. I’m a slow zombie guy. But then again, I’m also the world’s worst businessman! If I had any notion of how capitalism works, I’d be writing World War Z Part 2, 3, 4 and 5. I appreciate the financial incentive of the fast zombies. Let’s be honest: they’re more attractive. If you’re going to make a $300 million zombie movie that plays around the world, young people don’t have the patience to sit there and watch slow creeping dread. They want action, excitement and thrills. I don’t write for that, so fast zombies don’t do anything for me. If you’re attacked by a fast zombie, you’ll be dead before you know it. It’s having the time to imagine and worry about your death that does it for me.

Are you kept up to date on what’s going on with the World War Z sequel? I know what I see on Yahoo and that’s about it! [Laughs]

Is it hard ceding control of something you’ve created like that? It’s never easy, but at the same time you have to be a grown-up about it. The truth is that I made a conscious choice, and when I make a choice I have to accept the consequences. If I have a problem with how the movie turned out, that’s my problem, not theirs.

Did you like the movie version overall? I liked it, because it had nothing to do with my book! People always ask, “Did they ruin your book?” And I say, “No they didn’t ruin my book, they ignored it!” As a writer it was easier to watch a movie that was a complete departure versus a movie that was close, but not quite. It was actually harder for me to watch The Hobbit, because those movies were still The Hobbit, but they weren’t. It was the same characters and basic story, but the changed enough to change the basic theme and message of it. With the World War Z movie, I didn’t invent Gerry Lane [played by Brad Pitt]; he’s not my character, so he can do whatever he wants as far as I’m concerned. Once the title sequence went by, I was just watching 28 Days Later on crack.

Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos in World War Z (Photo: Everett Collection)

They did one thing in the movie that I thought was brilliant, and I wish I had thought of for the book, and that’s when that scientist accidentally shoots himself. I’m pretty familiar with firearms and firearm safety, and when it comes to the gun debate, that’s a very big deal. We don’t talk about the amount of accidental shootings in this country [that happen] because people don’t treat guns with the same respect they treat their cars. So to have this brilliant scientist accidentally keeps his finger on the trigger and shoot himself I thought was brilliant and true.

If a studio decides to use The Island as a basis for a Minecraft movie, do you hope they adapt it faithfully? When you make a conscious choice to play in someone else’s sandbox, you also have to make a conscious choice to be okay with whatever happens. I already consider myself phenomenally lucky because the game company, Mojang, didn’t mess with the book. They would have been within their legal rights to change anything they wanted, and I would have to have been okay with that. But the book you’re reading is pretty much the story I wanted to tell. So if for some reason this becomes a movie or some other medium, at least I got this right. I also made a conscious decision to stay true to the game, so I don’t see how they would mess with their own game. If they did that, they’d have bigger problems than upsetting me!

Minecraft: The Island is now available from online and retail booksellers. World War Z is available to rent or purchase on Amazon, iTunes, and YouTube.

Watch the trailer for World War Z:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

MVPs of Horror: Danny Boyle discusses inspiration for speedy zombies in ’28 Days Later’

MVPs of Horror: Corey Feldman on how he used stolen ‘Gremlins’ fur to ward off bullies

MVPs of Horror: Jennifer Tilly reveals the spine-tingling, head-rattling secrets of working with Chucky

[newagesispage]

                                                              JULY                               2019

PAGE RIB

If you care what people think, you’re their prisoner. – Heidi Fleiss

*****

The Stones are back and opened in Chicago on June21. The reviews were great, they mostly stuck to the hits and Mick was in top notch form. Monkey Man and Sweet Virginia are back!!! Woo Hoo!!

*****

Satellite images show the complete deployment of 4 Russian made S-300 missile defense systems.

*****

Comedians in cars getting coffee will start season 11 on July 19. This season will bring us Eddie Murphy, Barry Marder, Bridget Everett, Melissa Villsenor, Sebastian Maniscalco, Seth Rogan, Ricky Gervais, Matthew Broderick, Jamie Foxx, Mario Joyner and Martin Short.

*****

Law and Order: Hate Crimes is coming.

*****

NRATV is no more. Hooray!! The NRA’s second in command Chris Cox has resigned after he was implicated in a plot to oust Wayne La Pierre. Cox calls the charges, “offensive and patently false.” There are also multiple lawsuits from ad firm Ackerman McQueen that claim the NRA is in violation of contracts.

*****

Republican representative Duncan Hunter is headed to court in September for charges that he and his wife illegally spent more than $250,000 in political donations. Prosecutors want to list details of his many affairs.

*****

NBC is bringing back Who Do You Think You Are?

*****

Police in Hong Kong are beating protesters.

*****

Sexual harassment news of the month: George Nader, part of Trump’s transition team, was arrested in New York on child porn charges.**Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged in NY with forcible touching. His lawyer says that the incident is on tape and will prove he is innocent.** Trump has been accused by the 22nd woman, this time of rape, but most of the media seemed to be playing it down. The victim, writer E. Jean Carroll says she will cooperate 100%.

*****

The Supreme Court ruled that the government can’t stop us from running a business with a scandalous name.

*****

Stop the cash bail system. It is costing us money every day.

*****

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger have wed.

*****

Joe Sestak is running for President.

*****

I always think of Meghan McCain as the Rosie O’Donnell of the right. She seems to have a big heart and her childhood and parents seem to have made a huge influence. Somehow she always brings everything back to her and she freaks on certain talking points.

*****

Let’s keep an eye on U.S. transportation secretary Elaine Chao. The shipping dynasty of her family is benefitting from industrial policies in China.

*****

2 deputies were fired for inaction pertaining to the Parkland shooting.

*****

People were horrified at the image of Scary Clown with graves in the background on foreign soil as he talked of “Nervous Nancy” and called Mueller a fool. We were outraged when he told us that he would want to listen to dirt on others and wouldn’t see why he should tell the FBI before he walked it back. He does not fucking care. When will we all understand that?

*****

The President is being urged to cancel his speech at the Lincoln memorial.  Many of his own people think it might appear to be a campaign stop paid for by the American people. He did that already when he made ads for himself while at his golf course in Scotland.** I suppose he will pretend to be all about America again when he gets back from smiling with North Korean and Russian dictators.

*****

New York has banned declawing. Meow!!

*****

It is looking like Sam Little, in prison in California, may turn out to be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history.

*****

The Tony’s came and went. Big winners were Bryan Cranston, Elaine May and Bob Mackie. Ali Stoker was the first wheelchair bound winner and Hadestown won the most awards.

*****

Some schools are trying out yoga instead of detention.  Teaching children how to control their feelings and help it to dissipate seems to be work.

*****

The Catholic Church has stomped on the rights of our Trans brothers and sisters. They decree that people should stay the way they are born.

*****

The movie,’ The Dead Don’t Die’ sounds great with Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Adam Driver, Danny Glover, Tom Waits and Steve Buscemi.

*****

Trump and Pence seem pretty pleased with themselves for not allowing the rainbow flag to fly during pride month. They really hate progress, don’t they?  Luckily, some brave souls are finding ways around it.

*****

Scary Clown has signed an executive order to increase transparency of hospital costs and info of medical professionals.

*****

On July 17 Bob Mueller will testify. **A comic book publisher is turning the report into a graphic novel.

*****

JB Pritzker has signed legal weed into Illinois and they will look at releasing low level drug offenders and putting money back into hard hit communities that were affected by the drug war.

*****

Maple Vale is suing because they say big chicken companies have colluded to hike prices.

*****

Absolut has been a proud supporter of the gay community since the 70’s.  

*****

Jim Gaffigan is in the new film, ‘Being Frank.’

*****

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is out. Many reporters tell us that she and other WH staff can be very different behind the scenes. They have been known to be very helpful and personable at times. The bluster and the lies are mostly for show for the boss.** Acting US customs and border protection commissioner John Sanders is out.

*****  

Scary Clown really put his foot in it with his Stephanopoulus interview. From little wise guy to taking help from foreign powers to the look on his face after ‘the cough’ it was quite the show.** Chuck Todd really soft balled his interview with our Pres. Shame on you.

*****

So, of course Manafort is going to a Federal location instead of Riker’s Island after AG Barr sent a letter to state prosecutors.

*****

One day it is announced that ICE is throwing millions out of the country. Another day they will round up 2,000 illegals that haven’t shown up for court etc. then that is on hold. Iran is going to be hit then it isn’t. It seems like real panic time in the WH. Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian has explained in her double talk that kids without toothbrushes, soap and proper sleep is fine. Concrete floors in cages seem like a good idea to Trumps WH. Sarah Fabians phone number of 202-532-4824 was released to the public and she got an earful but I am sure she has changed that # by now.** ICE won’t even allow anyone to donate items to the kids in cages except for one in Deming, NM.

*****

Roy Moore is running for senate in 2020. These pompous, narcissistic pigs will not just fade away.

*****

I really hate this way the media lumps all the ‘rest’ of the Dem candidates as interchangeable. At least give everybody a chance to tell us who they are until the debates. All should have an equal chance because there are some good candidates there. Each one is unique and has at least one good idea. Would they all make a good President? Probably not but let’s hear them out!! People wonder why we never have enough choices and then they try to thin the field right away.  Andrew Yang wasn’t even included in some of the advertising for the debates and he is polling 8th. ** Seth Macfarlane and Bill Maher suggest that we do away with the audience. Great idea!!

*****

The first night of debate went well. I went in loving Inslee and went out the same way. He didn’t get much chance to talk what with the moderators asking Elizabeth Warren questions about 4 to the others 1. When Jay did get to speak about climate change and calling out CEO’s,  I thought he was dynamic. He really puts his money where his mouth is. I wish more people would research him. He had the best answer of what this country’s greatest threat is when he answered ,”Donald Trump.” Colbert made fun of Inslee for interrupting Warren about the rights of women. I must say that as a woman, that never even occurred to me because I was looking at her as a candidate. He has also been raked over for trying to interject with that finger in the air. Hmm.. so polite. DeBlasio got in a great line about not blaming immigrants for their problems but blaming the corporations, otherwise he seemed like a bully. Warren and Booker were competent. Klobachar, Gabbard and Ryan should call it quits. I like O’Rourke but he just seems too sweet. I loved his close because he referenced current events like the kids in cages and student protests which didn’t seem like running for student council Pres. I was impressed with John Delaney who I hadn’t known much about.  But Julian Castro won the night. He still wouldn’t be my first choice but he did everything right. He was truly Presidential and seemed to resonate with everybody. He was forceful, down to earth and seemed to know what he was talking about.

*****

Night 2 of the debates was a bit more lively. Hickenlooper will probably impress a few conservatives with his insistence that the Dems shouldn’t identify so much with socialism. Gillibrand seemed like tonight’s bully and it is time for her to go along with Bennet, Swalwell  and Williamson. Now, Marianne got a lot of shit but I agree with her on some basics. Preventative medicine and love being the answer is not stupid. These are things we don’t put enough stock in so why laugh it off? She is right about the chemicals and climate and why we are so sick in this world. She is right about state sponsored crimes and child abuse at the border. I thought Gillibrand repeated herself too much but she is right about putting too much money into private prisons. Buttigieg had a great point about the ‘free college for all’ thing by looking at the reality of those who don’t want college, a decent minimum wage and the rich paying for their own schooling.  He is also quite perceptive about republicans using religion while separating families which gives them no right to use God’s name. He was a bit sweaty but poised and measured all the way through. I am a big Andrew Yang fan and his money to all every month is something I have thought a solid idea for years but he is not Presidential at this point. He should be in the cabinet because he is an idea person but he sort of nervously choked on his first question about his signature piece. I loved that he didn’t wear a tie and his closing statement was awesome. Bernie gave us no surprises but the red, white and blue reflected in his glasses was fascinating. I did love his line about a hemisphere problem that we have and called out the Yemen crisis.  Like the night before, Biden seemed to get more time than the lesser knowns. He started out smooth and easy and ended serious and defensive because of the jabs he received. Kamala Harris stole the night with some of those. She jumped on Williamson’s mention of reparations to explain to Biden why his recent rhetoric of segregationists was so painful. This is why I love debates, it can change everything. I can’t really imagine anyone else taking on Trump at this point. She had some great lines like calming the boys down about no food fights but putting food on the table. Her close was a bit halting but she fired up the crowd as if she was already President.

*****

The after shows zeroed in on the flaws which will unfortunately define some of them.  The way we loop ‘Bookers look’ or ‘Williamson’s love not fear for political purposes’ can belittle the progress we can make. I am right in there watching it but it gets old. Trevor Noah said that many try but it was the Right time for Harris to play the race card. Race is already playing a part as some birtherism is erupting eluding to her Indian mother and Jamaican father.  Don Jr. got the wheels in motion by retweeting some garbage about Harris not being an “American black.”She raised about 2 mil after the debates.

*****

I will never understand why people always bring up this ‘elite’ business when talking about the Dems. Most of the people I have personally known who had a lot of money and looked down their nose at others have been republicans. Perhaps it is all about where one is from.

*****

Teens are evolving bone spurs on the back of their heads from looking down at their phones so much.

*****

Succession will be back on August 11.

*****

A little political hocus pocus seems to be ok with the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 ruling they have barred challenges to partisan gerrymandering.

*****

G20 countries make about 80% of global CO2 emissions. They had agreed to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels. Reports show that in the years since , they have nearly tripled subsidies to coal plants.

*****

Trump is schmoozing with Kim Jong UN saying, ”I would invite him tight now to the WH.”** There was a brawl with new unofficial  WH press secretary Stephanie Grisham and Kim’s people.

*****

The Travers film fest will honor Lily Tomlin with a lifetime achievement award.

*****

The ex- governor of Michigan Rick Snyder, who is responsible for the Flint water crisis, will now have a fellowship at Harvard.

*****

“Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered.”- Jimmy Carter, former President and international expert on election fraud.

Toy Story 4 is big box office.

*****

Mythic Quest is the new series produced and written in part by Charlie Day and Rob Mcelhenney.  The show will be about a video game development company and will star F. Murray Abraham and Danny Pudi.

*****

Melissa McCarthy may play Ursula in the live action  The Little Mermaid.

A hacker stole the latest music from Radiohead and threatened to release it if they didn’t pony up $150,000 in ransom. The band released a statement declaring. ”We’ve been hacked” , released it themselves for 18 days and the money went to charity. Rock on!!

*****

In Cape Coral, Fla., a parent forced a kid to walk around with a sign of  their wrong deeds. Oh bit.. this stuff is back again.

*****

ICS in Springfield, Illinois’ fired Joe Crane from his broadcast for his honesty. Corporate was insisting on using a ‘CODE RED’ alert for weather even when the weather wasn’t so bad to keep the paranoid watching. After numerous complaints and Crane apparently not able to talk corporate out of it, he went to the public and let them know how much he disagreed with the policy but his hands were tied.  Of course, corporate let him go.

*****

The FCC is giving the phone company more power to fight robo calls.

*****

Archeologists found some weed in China inside some ceremonial cannabis bowls from 2500 years ago.

*****

Rapper Scarface is running for city council in Houston.

*****

20,000 Christians have petitioned Netflix to cancel Good Omens. I am sure the Amazon show is loving the publicity, they were probably looking for something just like this to happen. Oddly, just before I heard this story I saw the first couple of episodes and thought it was pretty good.

*****

Don’t judge someone because they sin differently than you.

*****

The fight to end robo calls has been named ‘Operation Call it Quits.’

*****

OJ Simpson opened a twitter account on the 25th anniversary of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

*****

The 71st Emmy’s will be held on Sept. 22 and may not have a host. This no host thing seems to be catching on since it saves money and controversy. The noms will be announced July 16.

*****

If you get the chance, read the Vanity Fair article about Col. Jennifer Pritzker. The cousin of Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker is the world’s only known trans billionaire.

*****

Refineries, Chemical plants and plastics are giving our fire fighters cancer and cities are often not compensating them.

*****

Jordan Klepper used his mug shot as the pic to headline his show. He was arrested with pastors for their rally n support of immigrant students.

*****

Do you wonder if the Trump kids and Melania have so much power and money that they don’t mind that Trump is a laughingstock?

*****

I saw that Seth Meyers used the term bummer camp to explain a kid who gets sent to camp because their parents need to work on their divorce. My friends and I always used that term when our summer camp music festival gets ruined by endless rain.

*****

R.I.P. Roky Erickson, Leon Redbone, Dr. John, Franco Zeffirelli, Leah Chase, Zarious Fair, Elliot Roberts, Alan Brinkley , Troy Chisum, Oscar and Valeria Ramirez, Edward Gallardo and Gloria Vanderbilt.

[andykoons]

CHAPTER 8 - ATHENS (part 2)

“That’s going to make a lot of noise.” I said with my nose stuck up god’s ass.

“Is it?” She asked. She turned the stone upside down. It had a flat, smooth surface underneath with a plastic cover. She slid the cover off and a key fell out. I felt like a dipshit.

“I hope this key isn’t too loud.” She said with a shit-eating smile. “Don’t want to wake the neighbors with my extremely loud key.”

“Just open the damn door, smart ass.” I said.

“Or we could go back to kicking stuff, that shouldn’t be too loud.”

“Waiting on you, Hoss.” I said. She slid the key into the deadbolt and turned. The wonderful clicking of brass turning and the deadbolt receding back into the door was pure joy.

The door creaked as it slowly swung open. Addy took the first step into the abandoned house. It was dark and musty. We took slow, deliberate steps. The door led us into the laundry room and from there, into the gut of the house.

It was the kind of quiet that made your skin crawl. It heightened every other sense you had. You could hear your heartbeat, you could feel minor temperature differences, and you could taste the dust in the air.

The dining room, living room, and kitchen were all one in the same, each creating three parts of a large square room with a single load bearing wooden pillar in the center. There were two doors on the north wall and two on the south wall. The two on the north wall of the living/dining/kitchen room lead to two of the bedrooms. Both were empty, save some clothes on the floor. Sammy and I walked into the third door which was on the east end of the south wall. It was a third bedroom, master, I assumed. In that bedroom was another door which lead to a bathroom with a pretty impressive shower. It didn’t have a door. Just a half wall, tiled with smooth rock and swivel shower heads on both sides of the shower. The guy had taste. The toilet was just a few feet past the shower and faced the corner. There were two windows with no blinds that met at the corner of the bathroom so you could birdwatch as you took a shit, I guess. The walls were painted an earthy brown and the whole house was finished with maple stained trim.

Sammy and I emerged from the fourth door and back into the large central room, where Addy stood and stared at a massive steel grey safe with a softball sized numbered dial. We walked up behind her and gazed at the heavy iron box. Resting on top of the safe was a teething toy and a pacifier, which I found very odd. Addy would have mentioned if he had kids.

“You remember the combination, right?” I asked.

“Yeah.” She said. We were silent for a second.

“Are you… ya know… gonna do it, or what?” Sammy added.

Addy rolled her eyes and placed her hand on the dial, it turned silent and without effort. It was well oiled and high quality.

“Isn’t it weird that the place isn’t dusty?” Sammy said.

Guns. I thought. These will get us to Alamo. These will cut through anybody that stands between us and our goal. It’s literally just a matter of walking there. A day’s walk and I can see Heather and Wilson and Everett and Lucas. My boys, my perfect little boys. I miss them so goddamn much. I just want to hold them as close as possible and tell them how much I love them. Those four faces are the only things I see when I close my eyes.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard the familiar crack  and click of the hammer being pulled back on a shotgun. It was followed by a deep and angry voice that asked one question.

“Now just who in the holy fuck are you?”

[boatsofgoats]

The Meadows 2017

The Meadows Music and Arts Festival took place September 15-17, 2017 at Citi Field in Queens, New York. VIC Radio was insanely blessed with receiving two media passes to attend the entire festival, and attend we did! The Meadows has only been around for two years now. In 2016 it hosted the likes of Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, and J. Cole, and 2017 saw just as impressive of a lineup. Only one New York City subway line serviced the venue, the 7 train, and the energy all the way to the second to last stop of Mets-Willets Point was positively infectious. The Meadows is put on by Founders Entertainment, the same company that also organizes the Governors Ball Music Festival on Randall’s Island every June. Myself (Haley Goetz, VIC’s Program Director) and Ariella Ranz, VIC’s Promotions Director, had an absolutely stellar experience at The Meadows and here is our in-depth recounting of it.

We started out on Friday, September 15 by catching the tail end of 21 Savage. 21 Savage emerged into the modern rap scene in 2013. Since then he has released two EPs and most recently his first album. His set took place from 3-4 on the Shea Stage. It was quite crowded and filled with a raucous energy. A lot of people had been really looking forward to his set, so it was unfortunate to hear that he arrived nearly a half-hour late to it due to traffic. People started funneling out soon after he started performing in order to get good spots for Migos, who were due to perform at 4 on The Meadows Stage.

Next up to see was Joey Bada$$, playing a set from 5-6 at the American Eagle Stage. Hailing from Brooklyn, Joey has been making music since 2010. He’s released an EP and two studio albums (the most recent one, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, having been released in April). Joey has an inspiring story to success, having begun writing poems and songs as early as eleven years old. It’s wild to see how far he has come, as he is only twenty-two years old. His set was electric, getting everyone to move around as dusk approached. We also almost got run over by him when he was being transported to his set on a golf cart in the media area backstage!

Tegan and Sara were playing at the same time as Joey Bada$$ over on the Shea Stage. Canadian twin sisters who have been making music for more than twenty years (they became active in 1995), Tegan and Sara brought a very feminist-forward set to Queens. The hit duo have released eight studio albums and they have a plethora of awards and nominations. It was really exciting to see a prominent VIC group perform at a music festival of this scale, and I know that Ariella (a long-time Tegan and Sara fan) was energized by their set.

I caught a (very) brief glimpse of Two Door Cinema Club’s set at the Queens Boulevard Stage from 6-7:15. Coming all the way from Northern Ireland, Two Door Cinema Club have brought forth three studio albums to the world since their debut in 2010. I was a huge fan of their music all throughout high school so it was very cool to finally catch them live. Even more wild was the fact that they had just played the State Theatre of Ithaca the previous night! From what I could see, Two Door Cinema Club have some amazing visuals to accompany their live performances. I’d love to actually catch a full set of theirs one day.

Run The Jewels played The Meadows Stage from 6-7:15. Formed by El-P and Killer Mike in 2013, the hip-hop duo has attained great commercial success from their three studio albums and multitude of guest appearances. They interjected some political comments into their set while also being quite feminist-focused, and the vibe for them was lovely and safe. Killer Mike himself said that he would beat up anyone who non-consensually touched another person. Someone threw a pair of their Jordans onto the stage, to which Killer Mike put them on and said that he would give his pair of shoes to whoever threw theirs in the first place. So overall Run The Jewels was great.

After this it was time for the performance of the night. Jay-Z was set to play The Meadows Stage at 8:15. Ariella and I jostled into position and got funnelled right to the front of the crowd. We met a group of four adults who have been big fans of Jay-Z since his 1986 beginnings. They were from right down the street so it was really exciting for them to see someone as big as him perform in their area. This group referred to themselves as “The Circle,” as they all linked hands and stayed in a circular formation before Jay arrived so as not to get separated. They never broke the circle once while waiting for him to come on stage. They helped us promote VIC Radio by handing out station stickers for us. Around 8, a giant balloon dog made by the artist Jeff Koons took shape on the stage. It was almost time.

Jay-Z, otherwise known as Shawn Carter, is a Brooklyn legend. The rapper has released thirteen studio albums and been involved in many collaborations. He opened his Meadows set with “Run This Town,” getting everyone jazzed up and moving. Then he launched into a lot of throwbacks before playing some tracks off his latest album, 4:44, which was released this past June. Damian Marley joined him on stage for a few songs, and towards the end of his set Jay-Z threw out a tribute to the late Chester Bennington before launching into “Numb/Encore.” The people up front kept screaming for Beyoncé to come out, to which Jay even responded that that was “coming later.” That moment never came, however, as Jay-Z ended his set fifteen minutes early with “Young Forever.” Riding the 7 train back to Manhattan, Ariella and I encountered a Meadows security guard who said that Beyoncé was in fact backstage.

Saturday, September 16 arrived and with that another day of The Meadows was to be had. Ariella and I began our day by seeing Flatbush Zombies play The Meadows Stage. A hip-hop trio from Flatbush, Brooklyn, the vibe at this set which lasted from 2:15-3 was aggressive but happy. Flatbush Zombies performed a few of their classics along with a few new tracks which was very fun. After this we caught the end of BADBADNOTGOOD’s set at the Queens Boulevard Stage. They were playing at the same time as Flatbush Zombies and their jazzy performance got the small but upbeat crowd dancing. Hailing from Toronto, BADBADNOTGOOD have been involved in many collaborations with prominent hip-hop artists along with releasing music of their own.

Erykah Badu took to The Meadows Stage from 4-5. At 46 years old she is positively killing the game with her activist-inspired soul, hip-hop, and R&B. For her set she brought out a full band to accompany her which was very cool. I traversed over to the Queens Boulevard Stage after a bit to go see LL Cool J performing alongside DJ Z-Trip. Watching both of these legends perform was pretty awesome. LL Cool J, on top of acting in the NCIS television series, has released thirteen studio albums. For his performance he brought out such prominent names as A Tribe Called Quest, DMC, and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five before announcing that he had to get going in order to work on the next season of his show.

A-Trak was on the Shea Stage from 5-6. I first heard of him through his great remix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll,” and he’s certainly been on a roll since then. Ariella and I speed-walked past him as he played Shea, and I noticed that he had a lot of neat visuals to go with his set, including a video that notified those in the crowd as to when to put their hands up. Our first course for the night of the 16th was to see Future perform on The Meadows Stage from 6-7:15. The 33 year old Atlanta-bred rapper has released six albums, two of which (FUTURE and HNDRXX) were released in 2017. The vibe was intense right before he was set to perform. Ariella and I met a wonderful man by the name of Jungle who has been an ardent Future supporter since his early days. Soon it was time for his set to begin.

The energy for Future was absolutely incredible. All-in-all it was definitely one of my favorite sets from The Meadows. Everyone was dancing and moshing around. Future performed “New Level,” the A$AP Ferg song he has a cameo in, along with bringing out prominent musical guests such as Young Thug, Yo Gotti, and even Nicki Minaj. The crowd went wild when he played “Mask Off,” his hit song from over the summer. I witnessed about three different mosh pits break out around me for that. Following Future’s set, Ariella and I went our separate ways. She stayed at The Meadows Stage to see Gorillaz perform whereas I went off to the Queens Boulevard Stage to see M.I.A.

Based on what Ariella told me after the fact, Gorillaz’s set was great. They had a lot of great accompanying visuals along with bringing out a plethora of big-name guests such as Pusha T, Peven Everett, D.R.A.M., and De La Soul. Consisting of four main members, Gorillaz is a truly innovative alt-pop group with fictitious personas attached to their real-live selves. They have released five studio albums, with Humanz coming out this year. At The Meadows they played such hits like “On Melancholy Hill,” “Rhinestone Eyes,” “Feel Good Inc.,” and “Stylo.”

Meanwhile, M.I.A. slayed on the Queens Boulevard Stage. I was right up front for her entire set and I completely felt the love there. M.I.A. has been a prominent female rapper since her 2007 hit single “Paper Planes” was released off her second studio album Kala. She’s brought forth five studio albums since her 2004 debut, with the most recent being 2016’s AIM. M.I.A. prides herself on her lyrics which inspire social change as she takes about issues such as immigration, refugees, and women’s rights. Her set involved a lot of visuals regarding the topics she raps about. It was a very lively performance with great lights and a celebratory vibe. At one point M.I.A. brought out someone from the crowd to dance on stage with her. She opened with “Borders” and “Go Off,” the two title tracks from her latest album, before moving into a good amount of throwbacks.

Sunday, September 17 saw the final day of the 2017 edition of The Meadows. Ariella and I had a late start getting to Citi Field but we eventually made it to Nas, who was performing at The Meadows Stage from 6-7:15. A New York City native, Nas has released ten albums and is quite a prolific rapper. He played a lot of his hits during his set, such as N.Y. State of Mind, and the crowd was certainly very happy to watch him perform. Nas doesn’t perform a lot, so a lot of his most ardent fans were present. It was very cool to see their reactions to seeing him perform along with seeing all of the accompanying visuals during his set.

The final two performances at The Meadows were the Red Hot Chili Peppers on The Meadows Stage and Bassnectar on the Queens Boulevard Stage. Ariella and I found ourselves near the front of the crowd for the Chili Peppers after Nas ended. We encountered a lot of people sporting CamelBaks and eating Clif bars. I felt like I was at some sort of event for backpackers. A girl standing near us was telling us all about how much she loves Bassnectar. She wanted to leave her friends to see his set but they eventually persuaded her to stay. At 8:28 (the Chili Peppers were set to come on at 8:30) she announced with finality that she was going to Bassnectar, but a few moments later she started wildly screaming as soon as the Chili Peppers began.

Their set was amazing. Opening with an instrumental jam session, they soon launched into such classics as “Can’t Stop,” “Scar Tissue,” “Californication,” and “Dani California.” The best part for me was seeing Flea, the band’s bassist, really rocking out onstage. My father introduced me to the Red Hot Chili Peppers when I was in kindergarten and he always raved about how Flea was quite possibly the best electric bassist of all time. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have released eleven studio albums, the most recent one being 2016’s The Getaway. Seeing them in their element onstage was so beyond cool, and quite easily the best way to end VIC’s experience at The Meadows Music and Arts Festival in 2017.

[yourwiferuby]

irritated--stardust replied to your post “Quick little reminder y'all. Stan Lee is a parasitic scumbag and...”

Wait wot??

It’s the sort of thing that’s actually an open secret in the comic industry, but is still mostly just ignored in any greater public record. It helps that Stan Lee is alive, and almost all the people who would claim credit over him are dead or in deep isolation and also kind of a jerkass(That would be Steve Ditko) 

There’s literal hours worth of stories and evidence behind why Stan Lee is actually a huge thief, but the short of it (And I mean short by my measures, this’ll still be long) is that he was that he worked as a “cigar boy” for Jack Kirby and Joe Simon and a dozen other creators at Timely Comics, the company that would later become Atlas Comics, and would later again become Marvel Comics. (That name itself belonging to Marvel Comics, an anthology book akin to Action Comics or Detective Comics) Cigar Boy meaning he’d fetch new cigars for Jack and Joe and other writers and artists while they worked and usually light them and clear cigar trays. He got this job because Martin Goodman, the owner of the publishing house Timely and other magazines were under, was Stan’s uncle. This job eventually turned into a writing position when they needed someone to fill in for a prose story in Captain America #3, that being his first credit and also why I get so mad when I see that Captain America: The First Avenger had no mention of Jack Kirby or Joe Simon, the actual creators of Captain America, but Stan Lee got multiple cameos and an executive producer credit. And this image from the 80s too. Don’t worry, Stan Lee didn’t dispute it and made no effort to explain that Jack and Joe made the character without Stan Lee’s help whatsoever. 

Not long after that, Stan Lee rose to the top and became the lead editor of Timely Comics, creating the “Marvel Method” of comics creating. Here’s a breakdown of how it works. That’s from Stan Lee’s own book, by the way. Secrets Behind The Comics. In more detail, Stan Lee would at best come up with a synopsis for what would happen in the issue for the artist to draw the entire book. Then Stan would take whatever the artist had drawn or written, and rewrite it. This synopsis often was two sentences, and many artists claim that they’d come up with the bulk of those two sentences. Steve Ditko claimed he’d often be given those two sentences and then never follow them ever. Had it been up to Stan Lee, the Green Goblin would have been 3 feet tall and awoken from a magic sarcophagus found in the museum after a lightning storm. There are claims that Stan Lee also would have long discussions with the artists over what the storyline was supposed to be, over the phone, in the office, or occasionally in the backseat of a car. These claims are often refuted by the majority of the Marvel Comics staff of the 50s and 60s, and the only known event of any of these longer talks happened because a journalist came in for the day to observe how Marvel got things done. Flo Steinberg, the Marvel Comics secretary, often worked in the “famously packed” Marvel bullpen alone with Stan Lee, and would say that Stan would lie about how the offices were to make it seem showier. What he would write would often times also be completely different from the intent of the artist. In the case of Jack Kirby, this was basically all the time. Here’s one of my favorite examples. So, you know, we can also add in massive sexism to his list of lovely attributes. 

Now, you might be thinking, if he never really wrote anything, that might be bad, but he still created all those characters. The answer to that one is also no. No better case than Spider-Man to prove Stan Lee did nothing. Supposedly, he claims he made up the character by himself and gave it to Steve Ditko, who had minimal input. Steve Ditko claims the two had a long phone discussion where Stan already had an idea of Spider-Man, but it was absolutely nothing like you think he is. Peter Parker wasn’t named Peter Parker, Uncle Ben was a former cop who abused “Peter”, causing him to often seek refuge to an old scientist who lived down the street, who would give him a magic ring so he could become Spider-Man because he was actually an 11 year old boy who would become a strong superhero type looking more like Captain America, had a gun that shot spider webs, did no acrobatics, and had your general assortment of just plain superstrength and invulnerability. Everything we know about Spider-Man was created in that phone call with Ditko and Lee. The reason he looked like Captain America was because he was drawn by Jack Kirby. But at least he had that original idea about the old scientist and magic ring, right? Yeah. Too bad that storyline matches pretty darn close to The Fly, a character created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. But Stan Lee at least had the idea to name him Spider-Man? Nah, because the Fly was originally named The Silver Spider before publication. 

I could go through this basically for every single character. Iron Man is a fun one because Stan Lee at best named the character Iron Man, after Jack Kirby already drew the original silver tea-pot design of Iron Man. Never named the character Tony Stark, never made him a businessman, basically having nothing to do with any part of the character. The character was officially handed over to artist Don Heck because Kirby was drawing 6 books at the time, and writing given over to Larry Lieber. Fun fact, Stan Lee’s real name is Stanley Lieber, because Stan Lee wanted to be a writer and wanted to avoid being associated with Jewishness. There’s no coincidence on those names, either. Larry Lieber is Stan Lee’s brother. So when Stan Lee gets a hug by Robert Downey Jr. for creating Iron Man, and Stan Lee happily accepts, he’s screwing over his own brother, plus Jack Kirby, Don Heck, and Steve Ditko, who was the man who mad Iron Man red and yellow, made him a business mogul, and also gave him some of those flaws that Robert Downey Jr so identified with. Daredevil was created by Lee Everett with modifications by Wally Wood and imput by Jack Kirby. Fantastic Four was comprised by ideas previously created by Carl Burgos and Jack Kirby in the 40s and 50s and expanded upon again by Jack Kirby in the 60s. Nick Fury was created by Jack Kirby with a redesign by Jim Steranko in the 60s. The Hulk was created by Jack Kirby with a redesign by Steve Ditko. 

If the name Jack Kirby shows up a lot, it’s because basically Jack Kirby did everything. Jack Kirby is essentially God to the Marvel Universe. So much so that when the Fantastic Four met God, he looked just like Jack Kirby. He did this along with officially drawing 6-8 books a month, and unofficially drawing 2-3 extras per month (because he had to draw sample comics to show other artists working at early Marvel how they’re supposed to draw comics), because he had a family to feed. He’d work 14 hours a day, every day. If you think that his name not being properly remembered is a sham, don’t worry, Marvel Comics literally paid Jack Kirby and his estate basically nothing and at times exactly nothing right up until Kirby died. In 2012, when the Avengers film came out and the Kirby estate and name were left out of the production and earnings for the film, they sued. In the deposition, Stan Lee made right to the family of his dead friend by saying during that court deposition that when he previously made light of Kirby’s many creative strides for Marvel Comics or made it seem like Kirby did less than he really did that he was actually lying. Kirby actually did much less than that according to Lee, and he only said Jack had any creative input on Marvel comics because he wanted Jack to feel better. When given a chance to finally let Kirby share in the spotlight, Stan Lee doubled down, said he did it all, and belittled the greatest comic artist of all time. 

That’s why he’s a parasitic scumbag. And the fact that the Kirby estate still has to fight to get Jack named as co-creator for things he made himself is the reason there’s no justice. Maybe Stan’s just mad he had to fetch Jack’s cigars. 

[peggydugginsmuso-blog]

Recapping Twin Peaks: The Return: Part 13

While not the most overtly action packed, aside from a gruesome arm wrestling win by Evil Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), Part 13 displayed numerous scenes of utter depression and heart break that ultimately made for an hour of television that felt as emotionally exhausting as an hour of therapy. While one side of the brain is busy trying to tally up all the many ways and instances in which actual cherry pie has had the ability to save actual lives so far in The Return, the other half is occupied with reaching for meaning in clues dropped by Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn), whose performance here was far more vulnerably unhinged than the violently unhinged one given in her return to the world of Twin Peaks in Part 12. Although, hearing her say things like I'm not sure who I am, but I'm not me, and realizing that she's forgotten how to get to the Roadhouse, a place she must have been to at least a thousand times in her young life, you have to wonder if we, even after 13 parts, are right in our assumptions of what she's returned to.

Have you noticed that the town we know as Twin Peaks is the only location in The Return to not be given setting text? Any time we're taken to Buckhorn, South Dakota, Las Vegas, or, in tonight's installment, Western Montana, we're told exactly where we are by text on the screen but not for the location of Twin Peaks. It would be easy to assume that's because we are all very familiar with the scenery of Twin Peaks and don't need a written reminder that that's where a scene is taking place. Or a more complicated explanation could be that Twin Peaks is not now, and has never been a true place in the way that we initially imagined. We could all very well be in the process of learning that Twin Peaks is more of a realm, or an idea, which, given that viewers of Lynch's work are often told not to look for concrete answers in it, but simply enjoy the experience of watching it is some first rate meta shit.

Part 13 begins with the Mitchum Brothers (Jim Belushi and Robert Knepper) along with Dougie/Cooper, doing a conga line through Lucky 7 Insurance in celebration of the Mitchum's getting away with a hefty insurance pay-out, and Dougie/Cooper making it back from the desert alive - thanks to that good 'ol life saving cherry pie. They dance their way to Bushnell Mullins' (Don Murray) office and the brothers give their thanks in the form of three gifts: a box of Montecristo No. 2 cigars, monogramed diamond cufflinks, and the keys to a brand new BMW convertible. Over at the Jones residence, Janey (Naomi Watts) is signing for her family's reward from the Mitchums, an extremely elaborate jungle gym for Sonny Jim (Pierce Gagnon) - who I still firmly believe is the host for The Giant - and a white BMW wrapped in a blood red bow. Looking from the jungle gym to the car and back again, Janey is glassy eyed with love and appreciation for a life that is not hers. The closer she gets to Dougie/Cooper, the sadder it is when we imagine how she'll react when she learns that he isn't her husband, and that her actual husband was turned into a gold marble. I mean, how would *anyone* react to learning that? We barely even know what *that* means. But hey, maybe Janey isn't real either. Maybe none of this is real. Maybe we've all just been staring at a slice of cheese for 13 weeks while hooked up to milky pods and tubes like in the Matrix. Nothing is off the table here.

Over in Western Montana, Evil Cooper catches up to his double-crossing cohort Ray Monroe (George Griffith), who shot and left him for dead in Part 8. He pulls his commandeered black pickup truck into the main entrance and is then instructed via telecom to get in an elevator. Once on the main floor, he's greeted by Ray, and a bunch of other criminal types, including (though he doesn't see him at the time) Richard Horne (Eamon Farren), who is very likely his spawn. Evil Cooper is told that he has to arm wrestle the crew's boss and that if he wins, he'll be boss (which he doesn't give a shit about), but if he loses, he has to follow the current boss' orders or risk death. He tells them that if he wins all he wants is Ray, and then proceeds to toy with the boss for a bit - letting him kind of win, and then kind of lose - before putting the hammer down and finishing things off by basically punching through the guy's face.

Naturally, the crew turns over a now terrified Ray and Evil Cooper puts him down with a bullet to the leg and then wrings him for information. Ray sings pretty quickly and reveals that it was, in fact, Phillip Jeffries (David Bowie) who hired Ray to kill Evil Cooper because he's after something that's inside him (BOB?), and that he was told to put the jade Owl Cave ring on his finger after he died. Pulling the ring from his pocket Cooper makes him put it on his own finger, gets a more specific answer as to where to find Jeffries (some place that's not a real place called The Dutchman's), and then shoots Ray in the head. Once dead, the Owl Cave ring falls off his finger and we see it land on the floor of the Black Lodge, where it originated from and has been a harbinger of death on behalf of ever since. Evil Cooper now has the coordinates he's been after, which a pre-dead Ray produced from his pocket, and a better idea of where to find Jeffries. This is ramping up to a battle of epic proportions. Who's gonna play Jeffries though? No stand-in for Bowie will do.

At the Las Vegas police department, Dougie/Cooper's fingerprints, swiped from a mug he was drinking in the waiting room, come back as belonging to someone who escaped from lockup in South Dakota who's also an missing FBI agent, aka Cooper. Unfortunately for Dougie/Cooper, they take the results as a computer error, crumpling them up and tossing them in the trash. Behind the building, where the dirty cops of Las Vegas take their smoke breaks, Dougie/Cooper's co-worker Anthony Sinclair (Tom Sizemore) asks a cop he's in cahoots with, along with Duncan Todd (Patrick Fischler) in a string of insurance frauds how to poison someone without it being detected. He was given one day to do away with Dougie/Cooper once and for all by Todd and this poison has his name on it. Later, in the lobby of their office complex, Sinclair grabs Dougie/Cooper as he comes in for work and pulls him aside for a coffee at the Szymon. Distracted by cherry pie (more lifesaving pie), Dougie/Cooper leaves his co-worker with the opportunity to dump poison in his mug, but when he returns he starts playing with the huge dandruff flakes on Sinclair's shoulders, which he takes as an act of kindness in the form of a massage, and runs away with the poisoned cup to dump it in, of all possible places, a urinal in the men's room. He breaks down and confesses his crimes to Mullins, who let's him know that he's off the hook as long as he testifies against Todd, which he agrees to do. Something tells me that Sinclair is not gonna be around much longer.

We end in Twin Peaks (or is it?) proper where a series of back-to-back heart aches take place. Shelly (Mdchen Amick) gets a call during her shift at the RR from her distraught daughter Becky (Amanda Seyfried) who is upset that her shitty husband Steven (Caleb Landry Jones) hasn't been home in two days. Shelly starts to brush her off saying it's busy at the diner, but then backtracks and asks her to come in for some you guessed it life saving cherry pie. Also at the RR is Norma (Peggy Lipton), once again going over paperwork in her office/booth; Big Ed Hurley (Everett McGill), who makes his first appearance here, sitting across from Norma; and Bobby (Dana Ashbrook), who came in to see Shelly and winds up eating dinner with Big Ed. We quickly learn that Ed and Norma are no longer romantically tied when a business man with way too white of teeth comes in and kisses Norma. He seems to run the diner's finances (which is now a franchise) and has some ideas to make the flagship store more profitable, which Norma shoots down. Nearby at Nadine's (Wendy Robie) store, Run Silent, Run Drapes, she receives a visit from Dr. Jacoby (Russ Tamblyn), who compliments her window dressing - ahem, one of his own Dr. Amp's shit digging shovels - and it looks like romance might be brewing. And then, it's a banner night at the Palmer residence where we find Sarah (Grace Zabriskie) draining her vodka supply while watching a black and white boxing match that keeps repeating the same series of moves on a loop. Sad upon sad upon sad, and then it gets worse.

Yes, Audrey Horne is still pleading with her husband (?) Charlie (Clark Middleton) to tell her what someone named Tina told him on the phone in Part 12. She's shaking, on the verge of tears, and coming more undone by the second when she breaks and tells him that she feels like she's someone else, and somewhere else. The delivery of the cryptic, almost poetic message is reminiscent of other Audrey-isms; you know, like, Do your palms ever itch? Charlie reminds her that she had intended to go to the Roadhouse to look for her lover Billy, and when she asks him how far the Roadhouse is, we really know something is wrong. I'm not sure who I am, but I'm not me, she says. To which Charlie replies, Are you gonna stop playing games, or do I have to end your story too? Audrey wants to know what story that is, and we're left wondering the same. Is Charlie some sort of sadistic psychiatrist taking advantage of his wife's weakened mental state to use her as a puppet in the play of her own life? A much larger story is at hand here, and it'll be super interesting to see how it works out. Audrey makes mention of the story of the little girl who lived down the lane. Could this be in reference to the little girl in Part 8? The one that the BOB/frog entered? So many possibilities.

To further these possibilities, and give an example for how Lynch's work is like a reflective pool, we see a love sick Ed Hurley at his desk in the Gas Farm as the credits roll. He's eating soup and drinking coffee while staring out the window facing the street, and for awhile, we think that's all that's gonna happen, but then he picks up a small piece of folded paper, sets it on fire, and watches it burn. His face has an expression on it that's a mix of sinister and sad. My editor (who stays up till the whee hours of the morning fixing my typos in these every week) believes that piece of paper to have been a note to Norma that Ed writes and destroys every night, abandoned and forlorn. I never even considered this to be a possibility, never really figuring Big Ed for the note passing type, and focused on the fire. The Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson) has been telling us that there's fire where you are going, and I think we just need to train our eyes and minds to see past the smoke to find it.

DAMN FINE QUOTES

I haven't slept for weeks. I vomited blood. I can't live like this. Anthony Sinclair

Those drapes are completely silent. Nadine Hurley

I'm not sure who I am, but I'm not me. Audrey Horne

NEXT WEEK ON TWIN PEAKS

- Do we ever get more info on Richard and Linda?

- Where's Laura?

- Richard seemed super interested in seeing Evil Cooper in that warehouse. Is there some generationally evil teaming up about to happen?

- Do we get to see what Jeffries is up to?

TONIGHT AT THE ROADHOUSE

Fucking James Hurley with that fucking song.

[kariannebert-blog]

5 bizarre things you didn’t know about Everett De Morier, author of Thirty-Three Cecils

Oh, what fun I had Wednesday afternoon in the kitchen of the Dover Art League interviewing author Everett De Morier about how weird he is. I’m not sure he even knows the depths of his weirdness, but I thought I would do him a solid and excavate some bizarre tidbits for you.

               But first, just in case you need a little background, Everett has written 2 non-fiction books, appeared on CNN, NPR, and ABC. His novel Thirty-Three Cecils won the top fiction award at the London Book Festival in 2015. It was also named book of the year by Heroic Magazine. If that wasn’t cool enough, Hornpin Media bought the rights to make it a film. And if that’s not even cool enough, Hornpin Media is hijacking our WAM Café event on January 14th to make a teaser reel for the movie project, and we will be celebrating Everett’s awesomeness.

               Ok, now you’re up to speed. So on with the list of oddities.

1.       Everett loves to write as badly as possible- and he’s REALLY good at it!

A little out of the box? Yep, but he believes it’s the only way to become a good writer. You have to give yourself permission to write badly and get a bunch of stuff down on the page. Otherwise, you’ll just sit there trying to be perfect. When you get a bunch of stuff down, then you can go back and shape it into something good (and he’s really good at that, too). 

2.       He believes awkward nuggets must be framed.

You’re probably imagining some weirdly misshapen chicken McNugget in a fancy baroque frame hanging above his writing desk. Sadly, you would be wrong. Everett believes that sometimes there’s an idea that just doesn’t fit into a story. No matter how hard you try to make it fit, it will always feel awkward. Don’t “kill your darlings,” in this case, wait for the perfect time to frame it in the perfect story. Just file that little nugget away for safe keeping (hopefully it doesn’t get moldy or start to smell).  

3.      Mr. De Morier dabbles in ritualistic behavior.

Gasp! I imagine all kinds of dark scenes here…human sacrifice? bloodletting? Nope, just some obsessive saving of files. Everett lost an important manuscript back when computers had names like 286, 386, and 486. Ever since that devastating event he saves his work, “like every ten seconds- fanatically”. It’s his only writing ritual.

4.       Everett has two daughters no one knows about.

I mean, they’re actually only the personalities of his two sons transplanted into Walker’s two daughters in Thirty-Three Cecils. Liz is based on his son Nick, and Abby is based on his son Alex. Many of the villains Walker makes up when he tells them stories are actual villains Everett created during story time with his sons. So, everyone can relax, there’s no scandal here…just a super-cool fact that you probably didn’t know.

5.      He was blind when Hornpin Media offered to buy the film rights to Thirty-Three Cecils.

Not literally, it was more a metaphorical blindness. When it happened, Everett said, “You guys are crazy. I don’t see it as a film.” Luckily, even though he was momentarily blind, the people at Hornpin helped him see the amazing possibilities. Now, as he’s working on the screenplay, he’s regained his sight and is very excited (also, I got a peek, and it’s a pretty cool adaptation).

There’s so much more about Everett De Morier than I could ever blog about. He is more concerned with writing good stories than being part of the mainstream “Matrix” that churns out so many cookie-cutter books these days. As an aspiring novelist, I covet his advice and appreciate what he feels is his duty: “to make it worthy of the reader”.  And if you haven’t read Thirty-Three Cecils, put it at the top of your TBR list immediately.

 So, thanks for sharing my dream of pretending Everett is as weird as I am (He’s not, but he’s a really good sport). If you’re in the area, come to The Dover Art League on Saturday (1/14) from 5:00-8:00. We have great poets (Jim Bourey and Sherry Chappelle), musicians (The Inbetweeners), and live artist (Sidney Moore) as well as an open mic and open jam. A film crew will be there for Hornpin Media, and you might just get to be in the teaser reel for the Thirty-Three Cecils movie!  Either way, you can get your art fusion on.