#Josh Rand

[natsu12291]

Heya ;3

[jamesroot6456]

These pictures were all taken by Adam Leota at Birch Hill in Old Bridge on November 30, 2002

[in-death-we-fall]

Stone Sour

Hot And Bothered

Metal Edge 48-11, March 2003

By Joshua Sindell Photos by Annamaria Disanto

(google drive link) Murderdolls interview here - Slipknot interview here

Stone Sour’s debut album wasn’t what Slipknot fans were expecting. And that pleases Corey Taylor a great deal. Not nearly as outrageously angry as Iowa, the disc blends Taylor’s passionate singing, rock-solid riffing and indelible tunes, creating a record of downbeat songs that rewards comparisons to the sobering sound of the grunge bands a decade ago. With two other musicians of Slipknot getting involved—guitarist Jim Root’s a fully-fledged member of the band, DJ Sid Wilson adds sonic wallpaper to three songs—and now with a huge radio hit in the song, “Bother,” Stone Sour has begun to take on a greater importance than maybe even Taylor had intended. After all, this was a band that played in the Des moines area for years (‘92-’97) without gaining any attention from record labels. Members passed in and out of their ranks like ants through an anthill, and when Taylor finally gave his band notice, that he was joining their hometown rivals Slipknot, Stone Sour seemed to end with quiet finality.

“By ‘97, I’d been doing it for five years straight,” says Corey. Stripped of his Slipknot coveralls and mask, Taylor is a not unhandsome, stockily-built man, standing about 5’7” tall. His brown hair hangs down to his shoulders, and despite his frequent use of the “F” word, it’s clear that he has a large vocabulary and isn’t afraid to use it. “No one comes to Des Moines to see you play,” Corey continues. “Even Slipknot had to go to Chicago to get fucking noticed. I was sick of working my ass off in Stone Sour and seeing nothing on the back end. I knew that I wanted to make it, and I wanted to try something new. So, the guys in Slipknot came and asked me to join.”

His current bandmates—Root, guitarist Josh Rand, bass player Shawn Economaki and drummer Joel Ekman—have all played in Stone Sour at one time or another. Shawn recalls that Stone Sour were almost the “top dogs” in their small scene. “When we first came out, we had our own little reign in Des moines. Then Slipknot came out and just blew the scene to shit!” he laughs.

Were they furious with Taylor when he deserted them? Joel Ekman shrugs. “When he called me to tell me he was joining Slipknot, I told him good luck and wished him the best. Sure, I was mad. It’s hard to find a good singer, especially in Des Moines. Corey’s voice is just awesome and I wondered how we could replace him. When Slipknot needed a singer, of course he was the one to grab.” Corey sat down with Metal Edge to set the record straight…

METAL EDGE: So, you strike out on your own, after all this success with Slipknot, and then you name your new band after a drink? COREY TAYLOR: It just worked out that way. When me and Joel were trying to find a name, we had all kinds of fucking weird shit that we were thinking about calling this band. You have to remember that we were 19 when we started to put this together. You know, we tried names like Freak Show, but we were clearly not a “freak show.” We were just guys that wanted to play fucking music. So one night, Joel’s at a bar, and he’s reading a drink menu, and he starts writing down all this shit from the drink menu. There was a bunch of shit on there like “Hot Saki,” and “Ocean Green,” you know. Stone Sour was the second to last one, and he brought over the list. He asked me if I liked any of them for names. Stone Sour just stuck in my mind, and I decided that was it, it was perfect. It didn’t mean anything to us other than it was the name. It’s like Slipknot… Slipknot doesn’t mean anything either, it’s just a name for the band.

ME: I wanted to ask you about the spoken-word track on the album, “Omega.” Was that inspired by Henry Rollins’ spoken-word stuff? I know that you recently worked with him on his benefit album for the West Memphis three. CT: It was just something that I wrote. I’ve always wanted to get into stuff like that. Obviously, there wasn’t a platform for me to do that with Slipknot, so when we started working on this, I said, “You know what? I’m not holding myself down to anything. I want to explore, I want to do everything.” So, I just wrote this spoken-word piece, I was on an airplane, too, and it happened quickly, in only ten minutes. I knew that we were going in to do demos for what we were calling “Superego” at the time, which later became Stone Sour. It was more inspired by some of what Rolins had done, but also the “Beat” writers, like Kerouac and Burroughs and Ginsberg. That kind of thing. There’s a different rhythm to it. It’s not just somebody sitting down and just talking. There’s a flow to it, and that’s why I wanted to do it in the first place. I’ve always wanted to get into stuff like that, just from a writing point of view, because if you’re just singing all the time, you get bored. If you can branch out and do different things, why not?

ME: Have you ever done a kind of stand-up poetry reading in the past? CT: No, not yet. But I want to. I want to do it all, dude! I don’t give a fuck. I want to go out and do spoken-word shit, I don’t hold myself down to anything.

ME: What have Slipknot fans thought about this departure for you? CT: Well, I just want to prove a point. I want to prove to everybody that, “a,” I’m not just a guy who screams all the time; “b,” I can do other stuff besides Slipknot, and “c,” I want to show everybody that if you put your fucking mind to it, you can do anything. You can accomplish anything in live, and that’s the whole fucking point. If you’re stuck in a band, no matter how popular it is and how unhappy you are, why not branch out and do as much fucking music as much as you can? I got into music to do music, not just to be a member of a band. I love Slipknot, and I love what I do, but at the same time, if I feel like I’m not getting to branch out creatively in other avenues, then I’m going to fucking do something else. Luckily, the response has been really good, the kids have really dug it. But at the same time, if nobody dug it I’d still be doing it. That’s just the way I am. That’s why I joined Slipknot in the first place, because in the original Stone Sour, I was kind of burned out on what we were doing in ‘97. We had been doing it for about five years, and it was time for me to do something new. The guys in Slipknot came to me and asked me to do it. Now, happily, I’ve been able to come back and do this again.

ME: Is it stifling to be in Slipknot? CT: Kind of, yeah.

ME: That’s going to be a hard thing for Slipknot fans to hear you say, won’t it? CT: Well, here’s the thing. You can listen to Slipknot and tell that we’re creative. We don’t really hold ourselves to one “form” of metal, but at the same time, it’s still metal, man. It’s still very brutal and there’s not much stuff that you can do with it. I couldn’t do a song like “Bother” in Slipknot. It just wouldn’t fit in and it wouldn’t be right. So it was important to me to be able to do that, because I write stuff like “Bother” all the time, and what am I supposed to do? Forget about ever singing those songs? Fuck that. It’s either i write and play and sing, or I die. That’s just the way it is.

ME: Your fiancee she says that she’s been listening to “Bother” for almost three years. And all of a sudden, it’s strange for her to have the rest of the world hearing it. CT: It used to be that I wrote stuff like that for myself. I write on an acoustic guitar, not on an electric. I wrote it in ‘95, and it was one of those songs that I’ve always, whenever I had a moment to play my guitar, I would always start to play it. It took a lot… I think I was actually kind of scared to do anything like it before. When we were doing the demos for the Superego stuff, I thought, “You know what? I’m just going to record it and if we don’t use it, then at least I’ve got it for myself. I can listen to it whenever I want.” And, luckily, when people started listening to it, they were like “Holy shit!” I flew out to L.A. to record it for the Spider-Man soundtrack, and people have been really digging it.

ME: Is it a relief to reveal the person you are beneath your Slipknot mask? CT: Yes. It really was starting to feel like I was a character that I was having to play. I wanted to get away from it, I wanted to get back and just do something so that I could come back to Slipknot and feel the same love that I had for the band on the first album.

ME: Were you nervous about going without your mask? CT: I was a little worried about it at first, but then I thought about it and decided, “This is who I am in Stone Sour.” I shouldn’t be worried or ashamed of that. I did Stone Sour for five years without a mask on. It was just “me.” And people liked it then, so why wouldn’t they like it now?

ME: What’s the reaction that you’re getting from Slipknot about the music that you and Jim are doing now? Have you talked to them? CT: I haven’t even talked to them in a whole. They’ve been doing their own thing, I’ve been so busy with this. I’ve talked to Joey [Jordison, Slipknot drummer] a couple of times. Joey’s doing the Murderdolls and he’s having a good time with that. I feel that if they can’t be happy with the fact that I’m happy right now, then why are we doing it in the first place, you know? If anybody wanted (sic) in the band wanted to branch out and do whatever they wanted, I’d be like, “Fuck yeah. Go for it!” I would never try to hold anybody back, and I don’t think that they’re trying to do that with me.

ME: Do you anticipate seven other solo projects from Slipknot? CT: [Laughing] Probably not! I mean, [DJ] Sid [Wilson]’s got his DJ stuff, and [percussionist Shawn] Clown [Crahan]’s got his hand in a bunch of cookie jars, obviously! [Guitarist] Mick [Thomson]’s involved in some shit… It’s just them basically doing what they can’t do in Slipknot, and that’s the whole reason that me and Jim are doing this.

ME: What did Clown say? CT: Clown said some shit about me and Joey and Jim, you know, that “they’d better realize that it’s all fun and good to do this side-project shit,” which pissed me off, because Stone Sour is not a side-project. It’s an actual band. But he said that if our fucking side-projects get in the way of Slipknot, that we’re going to have to answer to him. He’s just talking shit. You know the Clown! He loves to start shit.

ME: Can you still relate to some of the older songs on the album that date back a few years, as if you wrote them last week? CT: Yeah, it’s the same me. Half of the stuff on this album was written prior to us getting back together. It’s just a different perspective. You know, with Slipknot it’s very much about purging the bullshit and everything that I had to go through as a kid. With Stone Sour, it’s much more general, much more accessible and much more confident. These are issues that everybody thinks about. Stuff like relationships, religion, politics… All kinds of things. It goes back to the music question. I’m not going to limit myself just because common popular knowledge has me cast in one fucking role. Fuck that. I want to be the guy who’s known for doing it all and not giving a shit.

ME: There’s a lot of emotions that seem to come out of depression on this record. “Bother” definitely comes out of that dark frame of mind. CT: Yeah. A lot of the stuff, like “Monolith” and “Take A Number”... “Monolith” is a case study of about (sic) what our potential is. All of us are fucking animals, and the people who think that they’re above being animals are the ones who are more susceptible to snapping in a fit of stress and taking a gun and shooting people. And a song like “Take A Number,” back in the scene as popular as we were, there was always the hot new thing that was going on, where people were buying all the bullshit that somebody was saying. That song’s kind of about personality cults and finding out too late that someone’s full of shit. It’s about being burned by somebody that you really believed in. “Bother” is just about people who take and take and take, until you feel like you can’t give anymore, but they still take and keep on taking.

ME: I wanted to talk to you about “Blotter,” as well. Is that about taking acid? CT: No, no… It’s about a chemical imbalance, about obsession. It’s about being that guy that chases a chick all over town and sits outside her house for six hours a night, calls her time after time when he knows she’s not home. About being that guy who scares the fuck out of you, the template for all women who worry about strangers in dark corners.

ME: And that was never you? CT: No. I came really close with my jealousy. I used to be a very jealous person. But I realized how fucking ugly I was with my jealousy, and a lot of my truth wasn’t reality. Every man has been burned by at least one woman in their life, and for a long time after that you really base your opinion of women off of that experience, unfortunately. It’s just about really wanting to be with someone after being in a situation like that. Meeting someone who has the potential of being that “chemical,” very perfect, very forever, and having your own psychosis get in the way of having that, and losing it. It’s kind of about that.

ME: In addition to Jim, Sid plays on this album. CT: Yeah. Sid does some spinning on three songs, yeah. Sid does what he wants. He doesn’t give a fuck. He never has. The only thing he really worries about is whether his coveralls are all intact, and if he’s got a burn on his leg! I asked him to come down, and he was like, “Fuck yeah, man.” He came down and did all his songs in one night. I didn’t want to make what he did integral parts of the songs, I just wanted something for “ear candy,” and that’s what he’s perfect at. A lot of DJs want to remix everything, they want to start everything over again at ground zero. But Sid comes in, asks what you want him to do, and I told him what I was thinking about. He goes into his albums, his bag of tricks, and fucking pulled it off. It was awesome.

ME: This album was done inexpensively? CT: Very inexpensively. We recorded in Catamount studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa with a guy who Shawn and Jim had worked with before on one of their other bands. And we just got along, he knew that we wanted to make something and we knew that we wanted to do it the way we wanted to do it, and not fuck around with a lot of production and a lot of producers. We wanted to produce it ourselves, and it just worked out fucking great. We ended up going in and spending less than $10,000 to record the album. And then we had Toby Wright set up to mix it. I’d wanted Toby Wright to mix it since day one, and it worked out. A lot of things were really smiling on us, you know?

ME: Did Toby Wright’s name come up from your admiration for his work with Alice In Chains? CT: Yeah. Chains, plus I’d also worked with Toby when I did a song with Max Cavalera for the second Soulfly album. We had hit it off really fucking well. He knows what he likes and he loves great vocal performances, and I really wanted to play with that.

ME: How much time have you set aside for Stone Sour? CT: This is something that, depending on how big it gets, I’m going to tour with this up until we get together to do Slipknot. Maybe even past that, because the rest of the guys can work on the music, and me and Jim can come out and we can still be doing this while they’re working.

ME: Things are comfortable? CT: Me and Shawn and Josh have all known each other since we were kids, and I’ve been with Joel since ‘92. Jim we’ve known forever, just because he’s the most popular guitarist in town with all the bands that he was doing. I don’t know what it is, man, we just work really well together. We play off of each other’s ideas, we have carte blanche to do whatever we want musically, and vocally. It’s a good feeling when you’re working towards a goal instead of working for your own means.

ME: So let’s play word association for a second. If Slipknot equals metal, and People equal Shit, Stone Sour equals…? CT: Melody and freedom. It’s everything to me. It’s the first real band I was ever in, it’s the first band I’ve played live with. It’s the first band I ever recorded anything substantial with. It’s the first band I’ve ever felt proud of, where it wasn’t just me and a couple of guys playing what I wrote. It was all of us really working to do something very cool.

ME: This album seemed to come out of nowhere. No one knew you were off the road long enough to make this record. CT: Fuck yeah. This thing was recorded in thirty days, man. I think Stone Sour is different from what’s out there. It’s melodic and catchy, and it’s got soul and life. I think that it’s going to make people re-evaluate how they look at music. I think that this is the needle that gets shoved in the eye of all the corporate bulshit! Everything is cookie-cutter nu-metal crap! Everybody thinks that they have to have the big rap breakdown, and it’s fucking pathetic! What happened to songwriting, what happened to storytelling? Show me something before you ship a million-plus copies! It’s bullshit, man!

[gameofthunder66]

'Dune: Part 2' (2024) film

-watched 5/31/2024- 3 [1/4] stars- on Max

92% Rotten Tomatoes

[nodynasty4us]

From the November 8, 2023 article:

The Missouri senator cited a recent report by The New York Times that TikTok engineers based in China have accessed the driver’s licenses, addresses and photos of TikTok users despite the repeated assurances of TikTok executives that China would not have access to Americans’ data.  

...

And he noted that young people are especially vulnerable to data collection by the Chinese-owned social media app, which he called “a back door for the Chinese Communist Party to track the keystrokes, the information of every American who has the app on their phone.”  

...

“Banning TikTok, a social media app used by primarily young Americans, is a recipe for electoral disaster for Republicans,” Paul said, noting that 71 percent of young women and 53 percent of young men voted for Democratic candidates for Congress in last year’s midterm election.  

...

“The banning TikTok strategy … comes while the GOP simultaneously complains of liberal U.S. social media companies canceling and censoring conservatives. So without a hint of irony, many of these same, quote, conservatives now agitate to censor viewpoints they don’t like,” Paul said.

...

Halwey has criticized the app for handling pro-Hamas propaganda since the outbreak of war in Israel. He recently noted that 51 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 believe Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians was justified.  

[ncfcatalyst]

Congressional opposition to TikTok finds testing ground on Florida university campuses

On Apr. 4, the New College of Florida joined other state universities in banning TikTok, WeChat and other “dangerous” apps from devices and networks owned by the campus. Students are no longer capable of accessing TikTok on their own private devices through campus WiFi. The ban list also includes Russian cybersecurity giant Kaspersky, Russian social media platform VKontakte, Chinese IM platform…

[heroesyoulove]

HEROES YOU LOVE. ( an independent multi muse for comic book heroes with a smut / erotica focus. ) mun is 25+ / minors will be blocked. muses under the cut. ( dark themes possible )

All muses are bisexual. I'll write m/f or m/m, no issues whatsoever.

MARVEL Steve Rogers / Captain America ( FC: Chris Evans ) Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier ( FC: Sebastian Stan ) Luke Cage ( FC: Mike Colter ) Danny Rand / Iron Fist ( FC: Luke Mitchell ) Matt Murdock / Daredevil ( FC: Charlie Cox ) James Howlett / Wolverine ( FC: Hugh Jackman ) Peter Quill / Star Lord ( FC: Chris Pratt ) Clint Barton / Hawkeye ( FC: Max Thieriot ) Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver ( FC: Aaron Taylor Johnson ) Scott Summers / Cyclops ( FC: Theo James ) Frank Castle / Punisher ( FC: Jon Bernthal ) Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic ( FC: John Krasinski ) Johnny Storm / Human Torch ( FC: Jesse Williams ) Flint Marko / Sandman ( FC: Alan Ritchson ) Alex Summers / Havok ( FC: Alexander Ludwig ) Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto ( FC: Michael Fassbender ) Peter Rasputin / Colossus ( FC: Josh Seggara ) Remy Lebeau / Gambit ( FC: Fabien Frankel )

DC Bruce Wayne / Batman ( FC: Pedro Pascal ) Clark Kent / Superman ( FC: Henry Cavill ) Oliver Queen / Green Arrow ( FC: Stephen Amell ) Barry Allen / Flash ( FC: Matt Barr ) Hal Jordan / Green Lantern ( FC: Oliver Jackson Cohen ) Roy Harper / Arsenal ( FC: Richard Madden ) Slade Wilson / Deathstroke ( FC: Jason Statham )

[kudzucataclysm]

instead of ronald reagan everyone blames ayn rand

researching early 20th century american political parties this morning it seems

[ells-18]

- the one where she surprised him while filming -

SWIPE RIGHT, baby - Calfreezy

“Babe!” Callum shouts, walking into the living room to find my sitting on the couch cuddled up into a blanket watching some tv.

I turn my head to face him walking into our shared living room, leaning on me elbows. “Yeah?”

“Where’s the car keys?” He asks, looking at me from a few feet away. He’s ready to go out filming with the boys- but usual Cal loses the car keys.

I sigh, shaking my head. “Did you check your jacket pocket?” I ask.

He frowns, his hand leaning into his stripes/square jacket pocket. Automatically I hear a jingle sound.

I laugh. “There they are”

He shakes his head, grinning. He walks over to me and kneels down beside me.

“Are you alright?” He asks, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear gently.

“Yeah I’m good, gonna miss you though. The guys always keep you for so longggg” I groan and he chuckles.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, love. Do you want me to bring you anything in?” He asks, caressing my left cheek.

I shake my head lending against his hand “just you” i smile, pushing his glasses further up his face.

He smiles back, and pulls his jiggers at his knees so he can stand up comfortably. “I’ll be back soon..” he makes his way to the front door. “Love you!” He shouts. He won’t close the door until he gets a response.

“Love you, cal” I say, smiling even though he can’t see. I then hear the front door close, meaning he has gone.

Callum and I are 22 and 24 now- we got together at a very young age and haven’t looked back since. We met when he lived in Scotland, then I eventually moved to London. We are still young, but I genuinely can see us together forever.

What a boring day ahead. I’m off work, cal and I were originally going to be going away for the weekend but Josh needed him for the video. So unfortunately, our weekend away has turned into me staying at home myself.

I felt my phone buzz beneath my arm, I sigh and try to find it. I was so comfortable!

I unlocked my phone to reveal a text from Josh.

- hey, y/n. You busy? I’m sorry for the short notice but one of the girls has pulled out of the Tinder IRL and I really need someone to help out. I thought you’d be a suitable option. You up for it? Was planning not to tell the boys and callum- a nice surprise for them.😀

I think for a second. This could be fun..

- hey Josh. Of course I’d love to help out. Is it far? Because cal took the car.

- it takes about 20 minutes- not to worry I’ll pick you up. Gonna bring Freya too she was complaining how she missed you. Is 15 minutes okay?

- see yous then. Xx

I hurry up and get up off the comfy couch. I was so unsure on what to wear.. though I don’t have a lot of time I decide on a pair of baggy jeans and a cute low cut crop. I threw a baggy leather jacket on over it and chucked on white converse with red hearts on them- to match the same ones cal is wearing today.

I brushed out my already curled balayaged hair, quickly putting on some blush, concealer and mascara with a bit of lip gloss.

I grab my bag and house keys, ready to leave as Josh has just text me that he is downstairs.

~~~

“You ready, y/n?” Randy asks, standing beside me as I’m due to ‘meet’ the boys.

“I don’t know why I’m nervous, Rand”

“Hey don’t be nervous” he pays my shoulder. “They love you. It’ll be such a laugh”

I chuckle. “Yeah it’ll be good. When am I on?”

He looks at his watch. “Right.. now” he gently urges me into the studio. “Good luck” he whispers.

I walk in and see all the boys lined up, callum was near the back. Harry was at the front and gasped like a child when he saw me. This caught the attention of JJ.

“No way!” Harry points. Callum is still clueless.

Ethan covers his face, and lays flat on the floor pretending to faint.

I stand infront of Harry and can’t stop laughing at their reactions.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Cal asks Ethan.

“Yo cal. Are you not seeing this?!” JJ asks.

“Yooooo what!” Callux laughs, covering his mouth in shock.

“Hi I’m y/n, I’m 22 and I’m from Scotland”

“Huh?” Cal says, poking his head around the boys to see me.

“I’ll explain later..” Josh pats his back. “..Now hurry up!”

Harry composed himself and looks at me, and then looks down to the book in his hands. “Hello, I’m Harry. And-“ he drops the book. I look at him confused.

He bends down to pick it up. “I think I dropped something” he stands back up. “My jaw” he says, with his mouth wide open.

The boys burst into laughter at his silliness.

I laugh, shaking my head. “Oh, go on then Bog” I swipe to the right earning cheers from the boys.

Stephen approaches. “Hi. We’re a perfect match. Cos I like being pegged and you’ve been fucking an arsehole for a few years”

Everyone gasps and laughs.

I sigh, and swipe left. “On you go Stephen”

“What!!” He groans like a child, huffing away to the left corner.

JJ is next, Josh is behind them and then it’s my Cal.

JJ smirks as he approaches me. “Hi. I’m JJ I’m 26. Chicken is my second favourite thing to eat in bed.. wanna know my first?”

“Sure” I engage.

“Your pussy” he points at me.

The boys all gasp- Cal looks pissed off though he knows it’s just jokes.

“JJ you know that’s another man’s job” I fire back, and swipe left.

“Ayyyyy!” All the boys jump around Cal. He laughs along with them.

“Hi. I’m Josh. Did it hurt when you fell from the vending machine?”

I look at him. Trying not to laugh.

“Because you’re a snack”

…..

“Freya.. how do you put up with him!” I swipe left.

“Hi I’m Callux. Your tits are fake but our love would be so real”

“They’re not even fake, Lux” I roll my eyes. Swiping left.

“Are they real mate?” Ethan asks.

“Mate.. so real” cal says as he approaches me.

I couldn’t hide my smile.

He smiles and winks at me before speaking. “Hi, I’m Cal. Rock paper scissors- I win I shag you..”

“Cal!” JJ gasps, laughing as the other boys gasp.

“You win you swipe left. Up for it?”

“Go for it”

“3,2,1”

Cal has paper. I have rock.

He places his hand over mine and holds it there for a sec. “Swipe right, baby” he smirks.

“Go on then” I gently push him to the right.

“You’ve got an exciting night ahead with those fake tits” Lux laughs.

“Lux I swear to god!”

“I’d like a try on those” Stephen smirks to Lux.

I approach Harry, standing beside my boyfriend.

“Harry, can I borrow this book?”

“Yeah sure” he hands me it, a bit confused.

I make my way over to Stephen and Lux and hit them on the head with the book.

Everyone laughs at their reaction.

“Ouch, y/n” Stephen rubs his head.

Lux laughs. “You’re jokes, y/n”

“Who invited you here?” Cal jokes, wrapping his arms around my waist holding me closer to him.

“Josh- very last minute” I chuckle.

“Glad he did” he kissed my head, holding my head in his hands.

“Can we go home?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Of course. Wanna stop off for food on the way home?” He asks, tucking hair behind my ears.

“You read my mind” I smile, grabbing his hand as we exit the studio. Saying our goodbyes as we leave.

[blamemma]

I’m so intrigued about this because him being in the business or even shares makes sense but why did my brain jump to ‘he’s doing to to get free stuff’. 🤣

honestly, maybe he is, i'm just throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks. i'm just going on what i know with my job and just general knowledge, what rand knows with her job, and meshing it all together and going welllllll this happens too often for it to not be a side-deal that's going on in some sortttt of way. or maybe, josh just LOVES enchante that much. but way too coincidental that he just happened to show up in the enchante sherpa at the coldest match of the season.....but thats just me

[general-sleepy]

Watching The Collection, and man, do I hate this guy, meaning the Collector. Like, yeah, the atrocities and stuff; I'm not a huge child murder fan. But, even for a slasher villain this guy sucks. He's so smug. "Ooh, look at all my little traps, isn't that cool? I made them all by myself, look at me." And then he's just some pervy weirdo watching teens bang and stabbing topless ladies. Ooh, la di da. Really breaking new ground there, chief. Makes me appreciate Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers. They're just doing this 'cause it's what they do. They're not here to impress anyone. Ugh. This guy. At least have an objective, like John Kramer and his whole Ayn Rand girlie deal. Worship Satan or try to make a Frankenstein or something. (For the record, I really do like these movies, I'm just joshing this fuckin guy though).

[jamesroot6456]

[just-your-average-tangerine]

Song of the day: August 8 2024

Through Glass by Stone Sour

About Stone Sour:

Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals, guitar), Josh Rand (guitar), Christian Martucci (guitar), Johny Chow (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman (drums, percussion) and Shawn Economaki (bass guitar) left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitarist Jim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.

(Via Wikipedia)

About Through Glass:

“Through Glass” is the second single on the album “Come What(ever) May” by American rock band Stone Sour. The track was published online through Yahoo! on July 22, 2006. The highest peaking of “Through Glass” was in the United States, on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, at number one, followed by number two on the US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. “Through Glass” was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA.

The corresponding music video for “Through Glass” was directed by Tony Petrossian.

“Through Glass” has also integrated itself into pop culture and appeared in the 2012 horror film, Grave Encounters 2.

The song was inspired by frontman Corey Taylor’s frustrations towards the music industry and how he felt that there had been no musical revolution at all. He had been quoted saying:

"I remember exactly where I was. It was 2004 and I was on tour with Slipknot. I was sitting in a European hotel room watching a music video channel, seeing act after act after act of this insane, innocuous, plastic music. They were plastic, bubbly, gossamer-thin groups where it was really more about the clothes they wore and the length of their cheekbones than it was about the content of the song they were singing. It really made me mad. I was like, “Is this it? Have we just gone full circle? Did the singer/songwriter revolution never happen? Is it just the same drivel from the same replicate over and over again?” … “Through Glass” is really a very angry song. It’s me basically calling bullshit on pretty much everyone involved with the American Idol-type shows. It has its place, but when you’re basically cornering the market and making it very hard for anyone who actually writes their own music to get ahead, then it’s wrong and that’s really why I wrote this song."

(Via genius.com)

[kingarthurtournament]

Meet our contestants!

Seeding is in progress, the bracket should be done by tomorrow and Round One will begin! In the meantime send propaganda in the ask box!

List of the nominees under the cut:

Adora from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Aragorn from The Lord of the Ring

Ari Helix from Once and Future

Arthur from Code Geass

Arthur from Arthur King of Time and Space

Arthur from Shrek 3

Arthur from Disney’s The Sword in the Stone

Arthur Boyle from Fire Force

Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker’s Guide of the Galaxy

Arthur King from King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

Arthur Kingsmen from Mystery Skull

Arthur Liebowitz from Fairy Odd Parents

Arthur Lester from Malevolent

Arthur Pendragon from BBC Merlin

Arthur Pendragon from Kaamelott

Arthur Pendragon from Seven Deadly Sins

Arthur Pendragon from The Mechanisms “High Noon over Camelot’’

Arthur Read from PBS’s Arthur

Bob from the Minion

Dave Strider from Homestuck

England from Hetalia

Excalibur from Soul Eater

Firestar from Warrior Cats

Fjord Stone from Critical Role

Flynn Carson from The Librarians

Jack and Annie from the Magic Tree House

Jim Lake Jr from Trollhunter Tales of Arcadia

John Uskglass from Jonathan Strange and Mr Nobell

King Arthur Baking Company from real life

King Arthur from Gargoyles

King Arthur from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

King Arthur from Quest for Camelot

King Artorius from Wizard 101

King from The Owl House

Ky Kiske from Guilty Gear

Larry the cat from real life

Link from The Legend Of Zelda

Little Josh from the Josh Figh

Lord Foog 2nd from internet meme

Lucille Kensington from Where the Stars Fell

Magnus Burnsides from The Adventure Zone

Martin the Warrior from The Redwall Series

Merric from Fire Emblem

Mario from Nintendo’s Paper Mario

Peter Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia

Poptropica Player Character from Poptropica

Prince Marth of Altea from Fire Emblem

Queen Elisabeth II’s ghost from real life

Rand Al’Thor from The Wheel of Time

Richard Campbell Gansey III from The Raven Cycle

Roland Deschain from The Dark Tower

Saber Artoria from Fate/Stay Night

Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon

Simon Snow from Carry On

Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic and the Black Knight

Sora from Kingdom Heart

Stabby the Roomba from real life

Tedros from the School for Good and Evil

The lettuce who outlasted Liz Truss from real life

The little swedish girl who found a thousand year old sword in a lake from real life

The Luidaeg from The October Day Series

Thomas the Tank Engine from Thomas King of the Railway

Wart from The Once and Future King

Zagreus from Hades

[garudabluffs]

"Trumps Criminal Associates from A to Z”

Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump; >>> Greg Abbott, Ali Alexander, Samuel Alito, Rick Allen, Brian Babin, Jim Banks, Steve Bannon, Kathy Barnette, Bill Barr, Tom Barrack, Maria Bartiromo, Glenn Beck, John Bennett, Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop, Christina Bobb, Lauren Boebert, John Bolton, David Bossie, Kevin Brady, Mike Braun, Mo Brooks, Taylor Budowich, Ted Budd, Aileen Cannon, Madison Cawthorn, Tucker Carlson, Matthew Calamari, Kenneth Chesebro, Andrew Clyde, Jeffery Clark, Robert Cheeley, Chris Christie, Chris Collins, Susan Collins, James Comer, Kellyanne Conway, John Cornyn, Thomas Bryant Cotton, Kevin Cramer, Dan Crenshaw, Steven Crowder, Raphael Edward Cruz, Ken Cuccinelli, Warren Davidson, Louis DeJoy, Carlos DeOliveira, Ron DeSantis, Betsy DeVos, Lou Dobbs, Byron Donalds, John Eastman, Larry Elder, Jenna Ellis, Michael Ellis, Tom Emmer, Boris Epshteyn, Julie Jenkins Fancelli, Nigel Farage, Tom Fitton, Harrison Floyd, Michael Flynn, Matt Gaetz, Bob Gibbs, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Louie Gohmert, Sebastian Gorka, Paul Gosar, Trey Gowdy, Lindsey Graham, Charles Grassley, Mark Green, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ric Grenell, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Alina Habba, Harriet Hageman, Misty Hampton, Liz Harrington, Nikki Haley, Scott Hall, Sean Hannity, Josh Hawley, Jody Hice, Hope Hicks, Thomas Homan, Richard Hudson, Duncan Hunter, Laura Ingraham, Kay Ivey, Ronny Jackson, Jim Jordan, Mike Johnson, Ron Johnson, Alex Jones, Fred Keller, Keith Kellogg, Mike Kelly, Bernard Kerik, Charlie Kirk, Kim Klacik, Kenneth Klukowski, Jared Kushner, Trevian Kutti, Tomi Lahren, Kari Lake, Cathleen Latham, Bill Lee, Mike Lee, Stephen Lee, Mark Levin, Corey Lewandowski, Christopher Liddell, Mike Lindell, Billy Long, Barry Loudermilk, Cynthia Lummis, Nick Luna, Nancy Mace, Paul Manafort, Roger Marshall, Thomas Massie, Douglas Mastriano, Angela McCallum, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, Ronna Romney McDaniel, Kayleigh McEnany, Johnny McEntee, Mark Meadows, Molly Michael, Chris Miller, Jason Miller, Stephen Miller, Barry Moore, Steven Mnuchin, Rupert Murdoch, Greg Murphy, Heather Nauret, Waltine Torre Nauta Jr., Peter Navarro, Carl Nichols, Kristi Noem, Ralph Norman, Oliver North, Devin Nunes, Bill O’Reilly, Candace Owens, Stefan Passantino, Kash Patel, Dan Patrick, Rand Paul, Ken Paxton, David Perdue, Scott Perry, Rick Perry, Mike Pence, Judge-Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Mike Pompeo, Erik Prince, Vladimir Putin, Sidney Powell, Kim Reynolds, Karrin Taylor Robson, Michael Roman, Chip Roy, Marco Rubio, Anthony Sabatini, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, George Santos, Steve Scalise, Dan Scavino, Rick Scott, Tim Scott, Jeff Sessions, David Shafer, Ben Shapiro, Bill Shine, Kyrsten Lea Sinema, Ray Smith lll, Victoria Spartz, Sean Spicer, Todd Starnes, Elise Stefanik, William Stepien, Shawn Still, Roger Stone, Jason Sullivan, Clarence Thomas, Virginia (Ginni) Thomas, Tommy Tuberville, Mike Turner, James David (JD) Vance, Herschel Walker, Kelli Ward, Jesse Watters, Allen Weisselberg, Matthew George Whitaker, Susan Wiles, Ben Williamson, Chad Wolf, Lin Wood, Todd Young…Just to name a few. “Vote Blue in November: In numbers too big to rig, in numbers too real to steal….

381 Comments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY8rIL3xUKc

[phasmophobie]

Die Fahrt verlief weitestgehend ruhig und ihre Mutter empfing sie mit reichlich Sorge und einem betäubend starken Geruch von Patchouli. Sie stellte zwar Fragen, erkannte aber ähnlich wie Josh, dass diese bis zum Anbruch des Tages warten mussten.

Der Morgen empfing sie früh, gefüllt mit dem Geruch nach frischen Pfannkuchen, Eiern und Speck. Wenn sich Madeline nicht irrte, hatte ihre Mutter eine Dose Kidney-Bohnen geöffnet. Es war ein Wunder und gleichzeitig ein großer Liebesbeweis ihrer Mutter, dass sie derart auftischte — denn eigentlich konnte sie jeglichem Süßkram nichts abgewinnen und “Dosenfutter” schon gar nicht. Aber sie wusste, wie sehr Madeline ein deftiges amerikanisches Frühstück mochte. Charlotte rollte bereits ihren Pfannkuchen in Schokostreusel auf und biss von der fluffigen Röhre ab — dabei floss ihr klebriger Ahornsirup über die Finger — und Joshua saß wie ein mittelalter Vater am Tisch, eine Hand am Kaffee, die andere an einer Zeitung. Verschlafen von der Aufregung am Vorabend, schlurfte Madeline in die Küche und zuckte zusammen, als ihre Mutter sie überschwänglich begrüßte. Sie warf die Arme um sie und zog sie an ihre Brust. Clarice war eine große, schlanke Frau mit dunklen Augen — die leider in den letzten Jahren immer auffälliger hervorstachen, während ihre Wangen einfielen. Die eigene Mutter altern sehen, erinnerte Madeline bedauerlicherweise nur an die verlorene Zeit, die sie mit verdrießlicher Ablehnung verbracht hatte, und an das unvermeidbare, was sie eines Tages alle einholen würde.

“Guten Morgen, meine Süße”

“Guten Morgen, Mama.”, grüßte sie zurück und erwiderte die Umarmung mit loser, morgendlicher Kraft.

“Toll siehst du aus”, lobte sie ihre Tochter und zupfte an dem Nest aus Haar, für das sie bislang keine Motivation aufgebracht hatte, mit einer Bürste zu entfedern.

“Danke, Mama, du auch." Abgesehen vom Alter sah sie wirklich toll aus. Man mochte von ihrer Vorliebe für Edelsteine halten, was man wollte, doch emotional hatte es sie aufgefangen. “Tut mir wirklich leid, dass wir dich so überrumpelt haben.”

Sie winkte beiläufig ab, als sie den Tisch umrundete und ihrer Tochter ein Gedeck zurecht machte. “Du hast genau richtig gehandelt. Ignoranz bringt Leute um” Ein vielsagender Blick wurde Joshua zugeworfen, dessen Interpretation Maddy überlassen war. Josh war nicht ignorant, empfand sie in Gedanken. Unwissenheit war normal, die Bereitschaft zu lernen war gegeben, das wusste sie. Was er letztlich mit der Information anfangen würde, blieb ihm überlassen.

Madeline strich über den Kopf ihrer Tochter und begab sich an ihren hergerichteten Platz. Sie alle warteten darauf, dass sie sprach. Selbst Charlotte bedachte sie mit einem erwartungsvollen Blick, der ihre Albträume erklären könnte. Jedoch war ihre Mutter nicht bereit, darüber zu sprechen — nicht bevor sie gefrühstückt hatte. “Melanie geht es gut”, äußerte sie stattdessen und füllte die lauernde Anspannung mit Ablenkung. “Der neue Job tut ihr gut, sie sah viel entspannter aus als noch vor zwei Monaten.” Ihre Mutter setzte sich mit an den Tisch und lächelte über den Rand ihres Kaffeebechers. Die Sonne schien hinter ihr durch das Küchenfenster und hinterließ ein Makramee-Muster mit weichen Rändern auf dem Tisch. “Das habe ich auch schon bemerkt”, stimmte sie zu. “Ich bin froh, dass sie den Absprung geschafft hat. Wenn sie die Alternative nicht geboten hätte, hätte sie es aber vermutlich nie getan.”

“Veränderungen sind unheimlich”, seufzte Maddy. “Es ist schwieriger, etwas loszulassen, wenn wir nicht gleichzeitig nach etwas Neuem greifen können.”

“Und das, obwohl wir nicht fallen können." Sie stampfte sachte mit einem Fuß auf und lächelte. “Wir haben immer festen Boden unter den Füßen.”

“Wenn es sich mal so anfühlen würde.”

“Die Erfahrung macht den Unterschied, Liebes”, versicherte ihre Mutter. “Beim nächsten Mal wird sie wissen, dass es möglich ist, einen anderen Weg einzuschlagen. Als ihr geheiratet habt, hattest du auch Angst, weißt du noch?” Sie begann schmunzelnd in Erinnerung zu schwelgen und stellte den Becher ab. Joshua schaute hinter seiner Zeitung hervor, die er offenbar sowieso nur gehalten hatte, um nicht in ein Gespräch verwickelt zu werden.

“Unfassbare.” Madeline erinnerte sich genau an den Tag, denn so viel war schiefgelaufen. Bei ihrem Versuch, alles zu perfektionieren, hatte sie eine Reihe unerwarteter Schwierigkeiten hervorgerufen. Wäre ihre Trauzeugin — und Josh — nicht gewesen, hätte aus dem eigentlich schönsten Tag der schlimmste werden können.

In den meisten Fällen hinderte Angst nur daran, etwas Großes zu vollbringen.

Wenige Minuten später schob sich Charlotte vom Stuhl und suchte das Gästezimmer auf, welches im Grunde ihr gehörte. Prall gefüllt mit Spielzeugen, um ihre Enkelin zu verwöhnen. Maddy sah ihr hinterher. Sie spürte erneut die erwartungsvollen Blicke ihrer Familie auf sich. Schwerfällig seufzte sie, als würde die Last des Universums auf ihren Schultern liegen. “Es ist wie damals”, begann sie an ihre Mutter gewandt, ein Schluck ihres Kaffees nehmend. “Jemand ist in unserem Haus.”

Die Falten um die Augen ihrer Mutter strafften sich. “Bist du dir sicher? Was ist passiert?” Sie legte ihre Hand über die ihrer Tochter und drückte diese mitgerissen von der Entwicklung der Erzählung. In ihren Augen fand Maddy keinen Funken Skepsis. Nicht denselben, den Josh auch jetzt unbewusst hegte. “Ich weiß nicht, wie lange er schon da ist, ich habe ihn das erste Mal gestern Nacht gesehen. Wäre Joshua nicht gewesen, um ihn zu überraschen… Ich weiß nicht, ob etwas passiert wäre.”

“Warum seid ihr nicht sofort zu mir gekommen?”

“Mama…”, flüsterte Madeline niedergeschlagen. Sie hatte es selbst nicht wahrhaben wollen. Wie hoch hatten die Chancen gestanden, dass ihr so etwas im Leben zweimal passierte?

“Verstehe”, entgegnete sie nickend und streichelte die Hand ihrer Tochter. “Was hat dir die Gewissheit gegeben, dass deine Sorge berechtigt war?”

“Eine Warnung.”

Entsetzen machte sich in ihrer Mutter breit. Clarice war schon immer eine Frau mit einem lebhaften Gesicht gewesen. Jede Emotion spiegelte sich wider. Manchmal glaubte Madeline, dass ihr Ehemann mehr mit ihrer Mutter gemein hatte, als sie selbst.

“Eine Warnung?”, wiederholte sie atemlos. “Was für ein starker Spuk… Unmöglich, dass ihr ihn vorher nicht bemerkt habt.”

“Wir nicht”, murmelte Joshua schließlich. Der Skeptiker runzelte die Stirn, unsicher, ob seine Wahrnehmung von der Welt mit den Aussagen seiner Familie übereinstimmte. Doch ganz gleich wie unmöglich es ihm erschien, er versuchte zumindest sie zu verstehen. Madeline traten unwillkürlich Tränen in die Augenwinkel. “Aber Charlottes Albträume…”

Madeline nickte. “Ich vermute auch, dass sie ihn schon länger gesehen hat.”

“Arme kleine Charlotte…” Ihre Mutter blickte den Flur hinab zum Kinderzimmer. “Was gedenkt ihr zu tun?”

Joshua verfiel wieder dem Schweigen und er betrachtete seine Frau abwartend. Dies war kein Thema, in das er sich wagte einzumischen. Es war auch keine Entscheidung, die er gewillt war zu treffen.

“Ich weiß es nicht”, gab sie schließlich wahrheitsgemäß zu und zog die Hand weg, um diese um sich zu legen. Die Erinnerung im Kinderzimmer zog einen Schauer mit sich, der ihr eine Gänsehaut bescherte. “Ich frage mich vielmehr, wieso? Wo kommt er her und wieso will er uns loswerden.”

“Schatz”, säuselte Clarice beschwichtigend. Den Kontaktabbruch zu ihrer Tochter ersetzte sie mit ihrem Becher in den Händen. “Die Ursprünge von Geistern sind wahrlich nicht unsere Aufgabe zu enthüllen. Auf der Suche nach Antworten ist schon so manch einer zerbrochen. Wer weiß, was wir dabei zu Tage legen, was wir niemals hätten wissen sollen. Unwissenheit ist dabei ein Frieden. Überlass alles andere den Experten.”

Ein Prusten durchschnitt die Luft und Joshua wischte sich den Kaffee vom Kinn. “Du meinst doch nicht diese Halsabschneider, die mit ihren Kameras von vor 20 Jahren in irgendwelche Lost Places einbrechen und Amateur-Horrorfilme drehen?” Seine berechtigte Kritik verlor wesentlich an Biss, während er amüsiert mit einem befleckten Hemd dasaß. “Die nutzten doch nur die Leichtgläubigkeit aus.”

“Wie vielen bist du bereits begegnet?”, brummte Clarice und schmälerte die Augen. Sie wurde schon mit weitaus schlimmeren Dingen betitelt als leichtgläubig.

“Keinen, ich meinte die im Fernseh—”

“Und du denkst wahrscheinlich auch, dass die ganzen Reality Shows das wahre Leben abspielen, hm?” Eine fahle Augenbraue hob sich. “Die Leute im Fernsehen sind Hochstapler und Tunichtgute. Sie dienen der Unterhaltung.” Sie hob sich aus dem Stuhl und stapfte leicht schaukelnd zu einer Kommode im Wohnzimmer, die sich offen und quadratisch erstreckte. Überall war Schnickschnack zu finden. Die Sammelleidenschaft ihrer Mutter endete nicht bei Edelsteinen. Dabei folgte sie keinem ersichtlichen Interesse. Kleine Gläser mit hübschen Mustern, Holzenten und kleine Elefanten aus Glas, sie besaß sogar eine winzige ausgestopfte Feldmaus, die sie mal auf einem Antik-Flohmarkt gefunden hatte. Madeline erinnerte sich, dass Melanie diese absolut abscheulich fand — und wie es sich für eine große Schwester gehörte, hatte sie sie damit erschreckt, so oft sie nur konnte. Obwohl die Nussholzregale voll mit Habseligkeiten waren, lebte Clarice ordentlich und sauber. Alles hatte seinen Platz. Sie wohnte in Koexistenz mit ihrer Sammlung. Ein absolutes Gegenteil zu Madeline, die ganz das Motto verinnerlicht hatte: weniger ist mehr.

Einige Sekunden des Grabens später, kehrte ihre Mutter mit einem Notizbuch zurück aus dem allerhand Zettel ragten. Verschiedenfarbige Post-Its und ausgeschnittene Schnipsel aus Zeitungen, sowohl Bilder wie auch Textpassagen. Madeline konnte nur flüchtige Blicke auf den Inhalt der Seiten erfassen, doch ähnlich wie im Rest des Hauses, schienen die Seiten aus einer Ansammlung aus Gedanken und Notizen zu bestehen. Collagen und wirre Paragraphen, ein Bullet Journal im vollkommenen Kontrast zu den feinen und erstrebenswerten Vorlagen, die man sonst im Internet fand. Augenscheinlich folgte es keiner Ästhetik außer ihrer eigenen. Auf eine gewisse Art und Weise empfand Madeline Neid und Motivation zugleich. Es wäre ein kleines bisschen Chaos in der sonst piekfeinen Ordnung, die man nach außen hin zur Schau stellte, wenn sie ebenso ein Journal führen würde. Nach einer Weile des hin und her blättern, schien sie fündig zu werden. Ihr Finger fuhr über eine Reihe durchgestrichener Namen und Telefonnummern. Nur eine war in einem zarten Blau umkreist worden. “Da ist sie”, verkündete sie, ohne weitere Erklärungen zu geben, und verlangte mit einer wedelnden Bewegung das Smartphone ihrer Tochter. Nach kurzer Überforderung — und der Frage, ob sie es überhaupt dabei hatte — fand sie es schließlich in ihrer Handtasche. Clarice hackte regelrecht einen Kontakt hinein und schloss daraufhin das Buch, bevor Joshua die Augen aus den Höhlen purzelten. “Ruf bei ihm an, wenn du dich danach fühlst. Harold hat mir damals außerordentlich gut geholfen. Nicht nur war er erfolgreich, sondern hat mir auch wahnsinnig viel emotional beigestanden.”

Madeline hob die Augenbraue und tauschte innerhalb von Sekunden mit ihrem Ehemann Blicke, die er sofort erwiderte, als dachte er dasselbe. Clarice bemerkte es und schlug spielerisch im Wechsel gegen die Schultern ihrer Tochter und ihres Schwagers. “Doch nicht so, ihr Ferkel!”

Das Lachen, das Madeline überraschte, wirkte absurd lösend. Ihre Brust war wie in einem Schraubstock gespannt, gefüllt mit allen Szenarien, die eintreten konnten. Mit all den Erfahrungen, die sie als Jugendliche hatte machen müssen, als man ihre Mutter für verrückt erklärt hatte. Auch wenn ihr Wissen erweitert war, ließ sich das nicht vom Rest der Welt sagen. Sie würde dennoch subtil vorgehen — für sich selbst, Charlotte und Joshua zuliebe.

“Naja”, ergriff ihre Mutter wieder das Wort und warf sich das strähnige, von grau durchsetzte Haar zurück. “Vielleicht ein paar Mal.”

“Mama!”

Ruhe kehrte ein in Madelines Knochen. Zwar lagen ihre Gedanken immer noch beim Haus, so wirkte es dennoch abgeklärter. Wie ein übliches Problem mit einer völlig normalen Lösung. Sie musste nicht in die Welt hinausposaunen, dass sie an Geister glaubte, oder dass sie heimgesucht worden war. Niemand musste es wissen außer sie, ihr Mann und gegebenenfalls ihre Tochter. Noch wollte sie Charlotte davon fernhalten, doch sie war kein dummes Kind. Sie würde ihre eigenen Schlüsse ziehen. Zur gegebenen Zeit würde sie es ihr erklären, jetzt wollte sie einfach nur wieder ihre Familie in Sicherheit wissen — und zurück in ihrem eigenen Heim. Clarice hatte Madeline ein paar Klamotten geliehen, Charlotte hatte immer Wechselwäsche vor Ort und Joshua? Der schien sich in seinen Pyjamahosen nicht gerade unwohl zu fühlen, auch wenn er inzwischen einen Pullover erhalten hatte, dessen Herkunft Clarice nicht näher erläutert hatte.

Lange starrte sie auf den Kontakt des Experten für Paranormalität. Ein Geisterjäger. Ein Profi gegen Spuk und Schreckgestalten. Ein potenzielles Ammenmärchen — Behauptungen, wenn die Zweifel Madeline einholten. Es war nur menschlich, dass auch ein Teil in ihr, ganz gleich wie sehr sie daran glaubte, glauben wollte, dass es doch nur Einbildung war. Es lebte sich deutlich sicherer, wenn man die Existenz leugnete. All die Jahre hatte sie in Frieden gelebt und jetzt sollte ausgerechnet ihr Heim, ihre Zuflucht, ihre Stätte für eine glückliche Familie, heimgesucht sein — bedroht gar. Es barg ein unangenehmes Gefühl von Schuld und Schwäche. Sie hatte ihre Tochter von dem Schrecken nicht bewahren können, jetzt würde sie mit dieser Erfahrung leben, solange, bis Maddy es ihr erklären konnte. Vielleicht würde sie so reagieren wie sie selbst. Vielleicht würde sie ihre Mutter gleichermaßen für verrückt halten und den Kontakt meiden. Bereits jetzt schnürte es ihr die Kehle zusammen. Sie schaute zu Joshua und Charlotte, zusammen auf der alten braunen Couch, ein wenig kindgerechter Spielfilm im Fernseher, den sie wohl kaum verstehen würde — und Joshua erklärte ihr ohnehin jegliche Handlung falsch, um zu überspielen, worum es eigentlich ging. Es war nichts absurd schlimmes, aber zu komplex für eine Fünfjährige. Doch er hatte versprochen, danach Rapunzel einzuschalten, daher ließ Charlotte die vagen Erklärungen über sich ergehen.

Madeline wollte dieses Glück — diesen Reichtum — niemals verlieren. Sie würde keine Risiken eingehen. Wenn es sein musste, würde sie sich einen Schamanen in das Haus holen. Sie würde nichts unversucht lassen.

Also wählte sie die Nummer von Harold Janovic.

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