#Rambo Lawson

[callthefruitsquad]

If anything happens to Rambo I’m going to kill everyone in this room and then myself. He’s perfect your honor

[clinttbartton]

sometimes a family is an autistic robot father, an autistic human son, an autistic vacuum, an autistic murderbot nurse, and an autistic android with no memories

[honeysunspots]

“You were made to bring happiness. You are alive in ways we are not. You are soft and fragile. But you are complex and disturbing and sometimes foolishly brilliant.”

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

[i-read-words]

Just read In The Lives Of Puppets by T.J Klune. I love Nurse Ratched so much, and I never expected to find myself emotionally attached to a roomba with anxiety. Also, does anyone else think Victor is autistic-coded, or is that just me?

[sharry-arry-odd]

"I a-am H-hap." "Why?" Dad asked. "Why do you want to be Hap?" Hap said, "In my head. Words. Whispers." "And what do they whisper?" "Victor," Hap said. "Nurse Ratched. Rambo." And: "Hysterically Angry Puppet." Three words not uttered since they'd returned from the City of Electric Dreams. "Do you know me?" Vic asked. Hap said "no" and "yes" and "You are human, you have human blood and human thoughts" and "I dreamed. I dreamed you kissed me in a room of screens and butterfly wings. You're a ghost in my head. I want to know why. I want to know you." With a bittersweet ache in his heart, Vic said, "Hap. It's a good name. I like it. Fits you." Though it was faint, Hap smiled.

In The Lives of Puppets, by TJ Klune

[azurejacques]

I loved in the lives of puppets so much, but I do just have thoughts! Like idve loved to have seen more development of their new home at the end, but also it wasn’t a bad length. I think the thing I’d really have liked to see would be a longer journey in the first half. What do they discover on their trek? More fleshing out of the world would be neat. More time for Hap and Victor to develop a relationship maybe? I’m not gonna say I dislike how it actually was written, I’m just musing. I do, however, quite like the way the ending leaves things open; especially since one of the big things Victor decided for himself is that he isn’t the savior of mankind or god or anything like that. We can assume they eventually start to engineer more humans, but he doesn’t make it his burden to remake humanity, he just focuses on being alive and with those he loves and being human and all that. Will he fall victim to the same mistakes as his blood before him? Maybe, maybe not, but he wants to be better than those that came before him. Alright I’m gonna end this tangent here. All in all, loved it, totally recommend it. Are there bits where I’m like “hmm idk if I love the pacing/plot choices here” but it’s not early enough to break my immersion.

Edit: I am once again shifting some opinions and I do actually agree that I would’ve liked to see more about what happened to like,,, all of robot society after the Big Ol’ Wipe, like I kind of went with the way it was written like sure but also like,,, a little more even just like thought on it from victor might’ve been nice? Like there are a lot of implications there and like he does weigh that decision like was that right of him to do, but I think it’d’ve been worth taking more time to explore.

[mercerislandbooks]

Book Notes: In the Lives of Puppets

Those of you who have had the pleasure of coming to our bookstore in person may have noticed squares of cream-colored cardstock crammed full of scribbled writing, fluttering about on the shelves and attached to books via bright orange strings. These are our recommendation cards. When we love a book so much that we need everyone to know about it, we write a recommendation card. This is what happened when I finished Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, shortly followed by The House in the Cerulean Sea, both of which became two of my favorite reads from 2022. As his new book draws close to its release day (Tuesday, April 25), I knew I had to share what a delight it was with all of you.

In the Lives of Puppets is a futuristic Pinocchio retelling with robots. One of the things I love most about TJ Klune's adult novels is the eclectic mix of characters finding a home and a family in one another, characters who are real and quirky and heartfelt. In the Lives of Puppets is no different.

There is a house in the woods. In this house lives a family. An odd, pieced together sort of family, but a family nonetheless. Giovanni Lawson, inventor and android. Nurse Ratched, a caring nurse robot with a sadistic streak. Rambo, a small vacuum full of love and in need of attention. And Victor Lawson, Giovanni's human son. Their life in the woods is small, but good. Giovanni tinkers while Victor leads Nurse Ratched and Rambo on hunts through the Scrap Yards. It is on one of these hunts that they find HAP, an android in terrible condition. When Victor brings HAP home to be fixed up, he unknowingly kick-starts a chain of events that will dredge up Giovanni's dark past and lead to the destruction of their small world as he knows it. Populated with quirky characters and small kindnesses, this book left me itching to dive back into a reread.

With all of the important hallmarks of a proper Pinocchio retelling—the Blue Fairy, a circus (of sorts), a great big whale, and, of course, a wooden puppet—this book was both not what I was expecting and more. A warm hug in trying times, it is full of compassion, understanding, and forgiveness (while often being hilariously irreverent). In the Lives of Puppets comes out on April 25, 2023 and is available to preorder here. TJ Klune's other books are also available in paperback and are just as delightful. We will have copies of In the Lives of Puppets on its release day, and you can expect a recommendation card to show up shortly after. Happy reading!

—Becca

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb: In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe. The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans. When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming. Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached? Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and like Swiss Family Robinson meets Wall-E, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful stand-alone fantasy adventure from the beloved author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.

Review:

Wall-E meets The Adventures of Pinnochio with a touch of Swiss Family Robinson in this story about the last human on earth and his makeshift family consisting of a sadistic nurse macine, a neurotic vacuum, a robot father, and a new mysterious android labeled HAP. Victor Lawson is the last human on earth, he is the son of Gio Lawson, a robot who has raised him. Victor loves repairing things and when he discovers and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “ HAP” he soon discovers what his father has been hiding from him this entire time: that Gio was tasked with creating machines... and that Hap was one of them... and he was programmed to hunt and kill humans. Yet Hap has no memories of his past and now he is something new When Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams and Victor must stay hidden or else the other robots will kill him. Victor now must go on a journey with his family and new android in order to save Gio while discovering what it means to love and if he can love someone who could betray him. This was the most adorable, sweet, and fun story ever. I adored Nurse Ratched (nurse machine) and Rambo (vacuum) so much, they were such a fun pair to read about. The story itself was sweet and such a gorgeous read. The romance was light and the story also really focused in on the love we have for our family. it honestly was such a touching read and I would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a fun read with a funny and quirky cast of characters who go on an adventure!

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC DNF Review: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

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Publication Date: April 25, 2023

Synopsis:

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots--fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe. The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled "HAP," he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans. When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming. Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached? Author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.

My Rating: ★★

*My Review below the cut

My Review:

This was a miss for me. I was wondering at 5% if I should DNF because I was bored, didn't care about the story, and found the too-quirky characters to be incredibly annoying (especially the middle-school bathroom humor that undercut every interaction). I was wondering the same thing at 12%. At 35% I realized I still felt exactly the same about it and decided to cut my losses and say that this book isn't for me. Part if it may have been the narrator, as the voices he chose for each character tended toward the whiny and irritating. He also tended to overdo the drama. He also voices Vic very young, and he is written very young, and I have to keep reminding myself that it says in the text he's 21 because he seems about 14. It's disappointing because I think I *could* have loved Rambo and Nurse Ratched if there hadn't been quite so much middle-school bathroom humor in their every scene. And they had a lot of scenes. I actually still don't have a very good sense of Vic, and he's the main character. But his extremely quirky robot companions get most of the lines and page time which is weird. I read through the big twist / reveal and I think it was supposed to be heartbreaking, but I didn't really feel anything? I didn't feel Gio was there enough as a character to make me care about what happened to him. Which is the same thing I feel about Vic, now that I'm thinking about it. Since my feelings about the story haven't changed from 5% to 35% I think I can safely say that they aren't going to and it's just not for me. *Thanks to NetGalley, Tor/Forge, and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

[wahlpaper]

In the Lives of Puppets Review

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

CW: Discussion of Sex, Described Panic Attacks, Genocide, Described Killing of an Animal, Violence, Murder, Blood, Xenophobia, Kidnapping and Imprisonment, Suicide, Betrayal of Trust, Classism, Totalitarianism, Arson, Grief, Dementia

5/5

If TJ Klune's other books have taught me anything, it's that I don't have to read the description before putting his work on my TBR list. In the Lives of Puppets was my first experiment with this. I put it on hold at the library as fast as I could. I only picked up from others what it would be about. All I got was that it had something to do with Pinocchio. That was plenty for me, I knew Klune would make his own magical and moving story from the material. I know the library hold lines for this book are long, but the wait was worth it.

In the Lives of Puppets is about Victor Lawson, human son of the robot named Giovanni Lawson. These two live in the forest with two other robots named Rambo and Nurse Ratched. Everything starts to change when they bring back a decommissioned robot from the local scrap yard. They give this robot the name Hap and a mechanical heart. Soon, the outside world catches up with Giovanni and takes him from his family and home. Victor, Rambo, Nurse Ratched, and Hap set out into a world they know nothing about, determined to get their father and friend back.

This is a highly emotional tale with a lot of twists and turns. Some ideas were predictable, like the idea that it would all work out in the end, but it still kept me on the edge of my seat. I was just as clueless about the world of this story as the main characters were. It's a rescue mission, a romance, a found family story, and a mystery all wrapped into one. The elements of Pinocchio are pretty obvious, but this book was moreso inspired by its source material than adapted from it. There are characters with familiar names, such as The Blue Fairy and The Coachman. Quotes from the original book are used at the start of each section. There are overarching themes of free will and what makes someone human. I have not read Carlo Collodi's book, so perhaps there is more pulled, but the story Klune wrote was magnificent and unique!

I was ecstatic to discover that the main character, Victor, is asexual! I have mentioned in previous posts (on my website) that we desperately need more representation in books and other media for asexuality. I was able to see some of myself in Victor, and that's why representation is important. Victor found romance and wanted kisses, cuddles, the feeling of knowing another person extremely well, and to share his life with someone. He was shown to be uncomfortable with sex jokes and discussion of what he does in the bathroom. Proven through his love interest, he also experiences aesthetic attraction, something I've found allosexuals confuse with sexual attraction. Although this book takes place hundreds of years after when we readers are alive, it takes the time to address modern misconceptions about asexuality. I hope we will get to a point where these aren't happening, but I am immensely grateful for this sort of representation while we still need it.

In The Lives of Puppets also has great representation of several different disabilities, both mental and physical. Hap has a stutter and needs wooden prosthetics, but he and his family never see it as a problem. These things are just a part of who he is. Victor's mental health issues are never labeled, but it is clear that he has anxiety and gets panic attacks. He also does not strike me as neurotypical, but if he knows no other humans, perhaps that term becomes irrelevant. These are not the only disabilities that Klune has included. Each one is written well, handled with care, and contributes to the beauty of the book.

The top complaint I hear about Klune's books is that the pacing is too slow. The sub-genre Klune is working in, emotional fantasy that focuses on person-stakes, is meant to be like that. I have always enjoyed the pacing, preferring these books to take their time. It's possible that this story goes a little faster than The House in the Cerulean Sea or Under the Whispering Door. The stakes for In the Lives of Puppets go beyond the main characters, it affects the whole world, but that's more of a side goal. Getting Gio back is what matters most to the main characters. I found myself with a few questions about the world state at the end of the novel, but realized they were things that did not matter to Victor and co. They didn't need answers. If you need your books to be fast-paced, this won't be the book for you, and that's okay.

If you're looking for a story about love of all kinds, humanity, and accepting yourself for all that you are, In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune is the book you should read. It has robots, butterflies, jazz music, and more. This story is much more than a new version of Pinocchio, but you'll have to find that out for yourself!

[queerographies]

[Nella vita dei burattini][T.J. Klune]

Una rivisitazione queer della favola di Pinocchio, nel cuore di una foresta particolare e nello straordinario viaggio di una famiglia "assemblata" da pezzi di ricambio.

In una foresta antica e sperduta, in mezzo ad alberi maestosi, c’è una curiosa casetta in cui abitano tre robot: Giovanni Lawson, detto Gio, androide inventore; l’Infermiera Ratched, macchina per l’assistenza sanitaria dolcemente sadica; e Rambo, piccolo aspirapolvere ansioso. Insieme a loro il giovane Victor Lawson, unico essere umano della famiglia. La vita scorre tranquilla finché un giorno…

[letterboxd]

Third Language.

With her debut film Farewell Amor out now following a successful journey on the festival circuit, Tanzanian-American writer and director Ekwa Msangi tells Selome Hailu about the third language of music, growing up on knockoffs of the Rambo franchise, and her favorite African filmmakers.

There’s a subtle musicality central to the way Ekwa Msangi carries herself. She finds melodies in her words: “You hum the ‘m’,” she says when asked how to pronounce her last name. “Mmm-sangi.” And perhaps to a more subconscious degree, she speaks with rhythm, too: “I do think, and I know, and I can see…” she trails off, ruminating on how much hope she feels for the future of Black filmmaking. Naturally, this musical quality meanders into her work.

Farewell Amor is a quiet film, except for when it isn’t. Three Angolan immigrants revolve around each other in an awkward orbit, each trying to make sense of their dynamic now that they’ve left their home behind. Kept apart for seventeen years by the bureaucratic intricacies of war and paperwork, Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) is finally joined by his wife Esther (Zainab Jah) and daughter Sylvia (Jayme Lawson—soon to be seen as Bella Reál in The Batman) in New York City. But they don’t know each other anymore and spend much of their time in silence, until music and dance burst forward as a chance at common ground.

Msangi’s screenplay never dwells on the technicalities of the family’s struggle against the American immigration system. Instead, it plunges into softer, more personal after-effects of dreams deferred. Walter’s walls bear a faded calendar with Barack Obama’s face on it, even though his empty apartment complicates the “hope” the president promised people like him. When his family arrives at long last, Esther wears a silver cross pendant, having made sense of these years as a married-yet-single mother by drawing closer—almost too close—to religion. Sylvia barely speaks at all, caught between a faith that isn’t hers and a home that isn’t either.

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine and Nana Mensah in ‘Farewell Amor’. / Photo courtesy IFC Films

The film’s triptych structure emerged after Msangi spent months grappling with how to create a feature-length screenplay out of her original short film. “Having just come off of the short, I was focusing on Walter’s story. But [I] didn’t think that was the most original story I could tell,” she says. “And then, out of indecision between whether I should make it Walter’s or Sylvia’s story, I decided to just do both. Initially it was two perspectives that I was looking at. But I realized that Esther’s story was really the linchpin for both of their stories, and it wouldn’t make sense not to have hers.”

Giving Walter, Esther and Sylvia their own chapters makes Farewell Amor a stronger film than if it had followed a singular, traditional protagonist. Extreme conservatism in one chapter is revealed as a desire to avoid pain in another; one character’s cramped living room is another’s space to dance freely. Writing on Letterboxd, Tabby points out how the three-part narrative structure grants meaningful subjectivity to characters who deserve it: “It’s so easy for Westernized perspectives to steamroll over films that deal in cultural disparities and thematics, but Farewell Amor takes important steps in showing all sides of the story,” she writes. “It was refreshing to see [the characters] each given the space to exist.”

This layering of voices happens in the camerawork, too. Each section of the narrative is marked with a visual language of its own, complete with specific color palettes and cinematographic techniques. Msangi thinks fondly about the work she put in with cinematographer Bruce Francis Cole to make the chapters distinct. “For Walter’s, it’s sort of a slow cinema, where there’s a lot of still framing. It’s almost like he’s stuck, you know? Stuck in the frame between two surfaces, two hard surfaces, a window frame, a door frame. And in Sylvia’s, we wanted to have it reflect her livelihood, her restlessness. All handheld cameras, all movement. And then for Esther, she’s very observant. She’s been taking everything in, almost in an investigative style, but also a little bit romantic. She’s romanticized this setup, so a lot of close shots, a lot of soft lighting.”

Jayme Lawson as Sylvia in ‘Farewell Amor’. / Photo courtesy IFC Films

Music gives Farewell Amor a cohesion across the different storylines. “Music is, for these characters in particular, and for me, kind of a third language,” Msangi says. “It gives you a glimpse under the covers, what’s under the sheets.” The soundtrack underscores strong performances from Mwine, Jah and Lawson, lending depth to their quietude and vibrance to their movement. Msangi also notes how sound became a cornerstone of her collaboration with the actors: “As I was writing from different perspectives, in order to help me get into each character’s skin, I would listen to the music that they would be interested in.” She later shared these playlists with the actors, using the songs to communicate what words couldn’t.

Msangi has a good laugh as she tries to think about the major films that inspired her to become a filmmaker. “You know, I don’t have that. Well, I do have that, but not for the reasons that most of my film peers have,” she says. Growing up in East Africa in the ’80s and ’90s, little to none of the programming on television was local. What did kids watch instead? “We watched Rambo for probably ten years straight, and then Rambo knockoffs for another ten years after that. I decided to become a filmmaker because of horrible Rambo knockoff films.”

“I grew up surrounded by such colorful and delightful and interesting and funny people,” Msangi says. “And none of that was reflected anywhere in the media.” As she grew older, she sought out African films she couldn’t access in her youth. Now, they’re some of her highest recommendations. Ousmane Sembène is the first African director whose filmography she ever got the chance to dive into. Sembène’s 50-year career has garnered him the affectionate title of ‘Father of African film’ among many critics and scholars, who laud him for his dramas, including Black Girl and Camp de Thiaroye. Msangi, however, finds herself taken with his unique sense of humor. She has also been inspired by Safi Faye, another Senegalese director, who became the first sub-Saharan African woman to attain commercial distribution in 1975—and whose film Mossane portrays sexual intimacy with an openness Msangi hadn’t seen elsewhere.

Writer-director Ekwa Msangi. / Photo courtesy IFC Films

In Farewell Amor, Sylvia’s chapter reads like a compacted coming-of-age film. Msangi points to South African director Darrell James Roodt’s Sarafina! as an influence in that regard. “It was showing for two weeks in Nairobi, and I lined up for four hours to watch,” she says about the film, a drama about youth involvement in the 1976 Soweto uprising. “Even though it’s from a different part of the continent, I’d never seen young African teenagers on a screen before.” More recently, she has loved 2011 TIFF breakout and Oscar contender Death for Sale by Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, and Radha Blank’s The Forty-Year-Old Version is her favorite film of 2020. She’s hopeful about the future of Black American cinema: Ava DuVernay and Ryan Coogler are two of her favorite working directors.

Msangi’s selections are wide in range, but there’s still one thing holding them together: themes of vulnerability, community and celebration of identity, across different decades and genres. In fact, her approach to watching movies isn’t far off from the way she made her own—Farewell Amor maps concurrent experiences of disparate people, and Msangi’s tastes seem driven by the same balance of vastness and specificity.

“I’m a filmmaker who really abhors working on the same kind of story over and over again, the same genre, the same kinds of characters,” she says. “So I’m not going to make my career just telling stories about immigrants or about, you know, their wretched troubles,” she laughs. “I don’t want to do that.”

Msangi’s next project will be an African-American period piece; beyond that, she hopes to make films in several locations: the Caribbean, Europe and all over the African continent. “I really would like to just have a lot of fun with my career. You know? Because it’s a fun and magical industry that we work in! The work that we do in creating these stories and hopes and dreams—we create magic, so it should be fun.”

Related content

Adam Davie’s Black Life on Film list

Shachar’s 20 Films by Black Directors 2021 Challenge

Screenpaige’s list of Black Women in Film

Follow Selome on Letterboxd

‘Farewell Amor’ is out now in select theaters and on demand through IFC.

[greektrgcdy]

Under the cut you’ll find 414 MASCULINE NAMES all compiled by me !! I will most likely be updating this and my other lists at some point and would be more than willing to post more specific lists if anyone wants them !! Please like or reblog if this was helpful !!

Aaron, Abe, Abel, Achilles, Adam, Adler, Adonis, Aiden, Ajax, Albie, Alden, Alexander, Alexei, Alexios, Alfie, Alec, Alessio, Alexander, Alistair, Amos, Anakin, Andre, Andreas, Andrew, Anderson, Angelo, Angus, Ansel, Anthony, Anwar, Apollo, Aragon, Aramis, Archer, Ares, Argo, Arlo, Asher, Asa, Atlas, Atticus, August, Augustus, Axe, Axel, Aymes.

Baden, Basil, Bates, Banks, Baxter, Beckham, Bear, Beck, Beckett, Beau, Binx, Bishop Blake, Bodhi, Boston, Bram, Bravery, Braylon, Brett, Brecken, Brennon, Brock, Brody, Bronx, Brooks, Bryce, Bryson.

Caden, Caesar, Cade, Cador, Cage, Cain, Caius, Caleb, Calix, Calum, Carlisle, Camden, Caspar, Caspian, Cassian, Cassius, Castor, Cecil, Cedar, Cedric, Chaplin, Charles, Charlie, Chase, Christopher, Claymore, Claude, Clifton, Clinton, Clive, Clyde, Coen, Coleman, Colin, Colton, Cooper, Corbin, Corey, Cortez, Costas.

Dallas, Damian, Damon, Dane, Dante, Dashiell, Dawson, David, Declan, Diego, Diggory, Dimitri.

Edison, Eduardo, Edward, Edwin, Eiro, Elias, Elijah, Elio, Eliseo, Emilio, Emmett, Enoch, Enzo, Ernest, Eros, Ethan, Evander, Ezekiel, Ezra.

Fabian, Felix, Fenton, Fenix, Finn, Finnick, Floyd, Ford, Forester, Francisco, Franco, Franklin, Freddy, Frederick.

Gabriel, Gavin, Gareth, Garrick, Gaston, George, Gideon, Giorgio, Graham, Gray, Grayson, Griffin, Gus.

Hale, Hanson, Harrison, Harry, Hayes, Hector, Helio, Helios, Helix, Hendrix, Henrik, Henry, Hermes, Hiram, Holden, Holmes, Houston, Howard, Huck, Hudson, Hugh, Hugo, Hunter, Hyde.

Iago, Ian, Icarus, Idris, Ilario, Ilian, Isaac, Isaiah, Israel.

Jace, Jack, Jackson, Jadon, Jagger, James, Jasper, Javier, Jax, Jaxon, Jeremiah, Jett, Joel, Jon, Jonah, Jonas, Joshua, Josiah, Judas, Jude, Julian, Julius.

Kace, Kaden, Kairo, Kahlil, Kaleb, Kamden, Kanan, Kasper, Keaton, Kellen, Kieran, Keon, Kent, Keyon, Killian, Klaus, Kol, Koby, Koda, Kohen, Knox, Kyson.

Lamar, Lancer, Lander, Landon, Lawson, Lazarus, Leandro, Leith, Levi, Leo, Leon, Lincoln, Lochlan, Locke, Lorcan, Lorenzo, Louie, Louis, Lucian, Luca, Lukas.

Maddox, Magnus, Malcolm, Mason, Major, Marlon, Mateo, Mathias, Maxon, Maxton, Merlin, Michael,  Miller, Milo, Miles, Monty, Myles.

Nasir, Nathan, Nathaniel, Neels, Nicholas, Nico, Niles, Nike, Nikos, Nixon, Noah, Noble, Noel, Nolan, Norton.

Oberyn, Octavian, Octavias, Oliver, Olson, Onyx, Orpheus, Orion, Oryn, Oscar, Oswin, Otis,  Otto, Owen.

Pablo, Palmer, Parson, Paul, Pauly, Paxton, Pearce, Pierre, Percival, Percy, Peter, Philip, Preston, Prince.

Quinten, Quincy.

Radley, Ralph, Rambo, Ramone, Randall, Rafferty, Rainer, Reginald, Reggie, Reid, Renly, Rex, Rhett, Rhys, Rhydian, Ricardo, Richard, Rider, Roman, Ronan, Roran.

Sadler, Salinger, Samuel , Sebastian, Sean, Seth, Shane, Silas, Skander, Stefan, Syrus.

Tanner, Tate, Teddy, Theo, Theon, Thiago, Thomas, Tirion, Titus, Tobias, Tomas, Tommen, Torin, Trey, Trueman, Tudor, Tyson.

Valour, Vance, Victor, Viktor, Vince.

Wade, Walder, Walker, Warren, Warner, Watson, Waylon, Wilbur, Wilde, Wilder, William, Winston, Wyatt, Wylden.

Xander, Xavier, Xenos, Xylon.

Yates, York, Yuri, Yusef.

Zacharias, Zach, Zane Zavier, Zeke, Zeus, Zion.

[nemesisbinxartifactseries]

Artifact Series J

J. Allen Hynek's Telescope

J. Edgar Hoover's Tie

J. McCullough's Golf Ball

J. Templer's Wind-Up Tin Rooster *

J. C. Agajanian’s Stetson

J.T. Saylors's Overalls

J.M. Barrie’s Swiss Trychels

J.M.W. Turner's Rain, Steam and Speed-The Great Western Railway *

J.R.R. Tolken's Ring

Jack-in-the-Box

Jack's Magic Beanstalk

Jack Daniel's Original Whisky Bottle

Jack Dawson's Art Kit

Jack Duncan's Spur *

Jack Frost's Staff

Jack Kerouac's Typewriter

Jack Ketch's Axe

Jack LaLanne's Stationary Bike *

Jack London's Dog Collar

Jack Parson's Rocket Engine

Jack Sheppard's Hammer

Jack Sparrow's Compass

Jack Torrance's Croquet Mallet

Jack the Ripper's Lantern *

Jackie Robinson's Baseball

Jackson Pollock's "No. 5, 1948"

Jackson Pollock's Pack of Cigarettes

Jackson Pollock's Paint Cans

Jack's Regisword

Jack Vettriano's "The Singing Butler"

Jack's Wrench

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Kinder- und Hausmarchen

Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian's Otoscope

Jacob Kurtzberg's Belt *

Jacqueline Cochran's Brooch

Jacques Aymar-Vernay’s Dowsing Rod

Jacques Cousteau's Goggles

Jacques Cousteau's Diving Suit

Jacques-Louis David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps *

Jade Butterfly

Jadeite Cabbage

Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar's Smoke Pipe

Jamaica Ginger Bottle

Jaleel White's Hosting Chair

James Abbot McNeill Whistler's Whistler's Mother *

James Allen's Memoir

James Bartley's Britches

James Ben Ali Haggin's Leaky Fountain Pen

James Bert Garner’s Gas Mask

James Bett's Cupboard Handle

James Braid's Chair *

James Brown's Shoes

James Bulger's Sweater

James Buzzanell's Painting "Grief and Pain"

James Buzzanell’s Survey Books

James C. McReynolds’ Judicial Robe

James Chadwick's Nobel Prize

James Clerk Maxwell's Camera Lens

James Colnett's Otter Pelt

James Condliff's Skeleton Clock

James Cook's Mahiole and Feather Cloak

James Craik's Spring Lancet

James Dean's 1955 Prosche 550 Spyder, aka "Little Bastard"

James Dean's UCLA Varsity Jacket

James Dinsmoor's Dinner Bell

James Eads How’s Bindle

James Earl Ray's Rifle

James Fenimore Cooper's Arrow Heads

James Gandolfini's Jukebox

James Hadfield’s Glass Bottle of Water

James Hall III’s Shopping Bags

James Henry Atkinson's Mouse Trap

James Henry Pullen’s Mannequin

James Hoban's Drawing Utensils

James Holman’s Cane

James Hutton's Overcoat

James Joyce’s Eyepatch

James M. Barrie's Grandfather Clock

James M. Barrie's Suitcase

James Murrell's Witch Bottle

James Philip’s Riata

James Prescott Joule's Thermodynamic Generator

James Smithson's Money

James Tilly Matthews’ Air Loom

James Warren and Willoughby Monzani's Piece of Wood

James Watt's Steam Condenser

James Watt's Weather Vane

James W. Marshall’s Jar

Jan Baalsrud’s Stretcher

Jan Baptist van Helmont's Willow Tree

Jane Austen's Carriage

Jane Austen's Gloves

Jane Austen's Quill

Jane Bartholomew's "Lady Columbia" Torch

Jane Pierce's Veil

Janet Leigh's Shower Curtain

Janine Charrat's Ballet Slippers

Jan Janzoon's Boomerang *

Janis Joplin's Backstage Pass from Woodstock *

Jan Karski's Passport

Janus Coin *

Jan van Eyck’s Chaperon

Jan van Speyk's Flag of the Netherlands

Jan Wnęk's Angel Figurine

Jan Žižka's Wagenburg Wagons

The Japanese Nightingale

Jar of Dust from the Mount Asama Eruption

Jar of Greek Funeral Beans

Jar of Marbles

Jar of Molasses from The Boston Molasses Disaster

Jar of Sand

Jar of Semper Augustus Bulbs

Jar of Shiva

Jar of Sugar Plums

Jascha Heifetz's Violin Bow

Jason Voorhese's Machete

Javed Iqbal's Barrel of Acid

Jay Maynard's Tron Suit

Jean II Le Maingre's Gauntlets

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau’s Cradleboard

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin's Bubble Pipe

Jean Chastel's Silver Gun

Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin's Pocket Watch

Jean Fleury's Aztec Gold Coins

Jean-François Champollion’s Ideographic Dictionary

Jean Froissart's Mirror *

Jean-Frédéric Peugeot's Pepper Mill

Jean Hilliard’s Earmuffs

Jean Parisot de Valette’s Sword Sheath

Jean-Paul Marat's Bathtub

Jean Paul-Satre’s Paper Cutter

Jean-Pierre Christin's Thermometer

Jean Senebier's Bundle of Swiss Alpine Flowers

Jean Valnet's Aromatherapy Statue

Jean Vrolicq’s Scrimshaw

Jeanne Baret's Hat

Jeanne de Clisson's Black Fleet

Jeanne Villepreux-Power's Aquarium

Jeannette Piccard's Sandbag

Jeff Dunham's First Ventriloquist Box

Jefferson Davis' Boots

Jefferson Randolph Smith's Soap Bar

Jeffrey Dahmer's Handkerchief

Jeffrey Dahmer's Pick-Up Sticks

Jemmy Hirst's Carriage Wheel

Jenny Lind's Stage Makeup

Jeopardy! Contestant Podiums

Jerome Monroe Smucker's Canning Jars

Jerry Andrus’ Organ

Jerry Garcia's Blackbulb *

Jerry Siegel's Sketchbook

Jesse James' Saddle

Jesse James' Pistol

Jesse Owens' Hitler Oak

Jesse Owens' Running Shoes

Jesse Pomeroy's Ribbon and Spool

Jester's Mask

Jesus of Nazareth's Whip

Jesús García's Brake Wheel

Jet Engine from the Gimli Glider

Jet Glass Cicada Button

Jethro Tull's Hoe

Jeweled Scabbard of Sforza

Jiang Shunfu’s Mandarin Square

Jim Davis' Pet Carrier

Jim Fixx's Shorts

Jim Henson's Talking Food Muppets

Jim Jones' Sunglasses

Jim Londos' Overalls

Jim Robinson's Army Bag

Jim Thorpe's Shoulder Pads

Jim Ward's Piercing Samples

Jimi Hendrix's Bandana

Jimi Hendrix's Bong

Jimi Hendrix's Guitars *

Jimmie Rodgers Rail Brake

Jimmy Durante's Cigar

Jimmy Gibb Jr's Stock Car

Jimmy Hoffa's Comb

Jin Dynasty Chainwhip

Jingle Harness

Joan II, Duchess of Berry's Dress

Joan of Arc's Chain Mail

Joan of Arc's Helmet (canon)

Joan Feynman's Ski Pole

Joanna of Castile's Vase

Joan Rivers' Carpet Steamer

Joan Rivers' Red Carpet

Joe Ades's Potato Peeler

Joe Girard’s Keys

Joe Rosenthal's Camera Lens

Joel Brand's Playing Cards

Joséphine de Beauharnais' Engagement Ring

Johan Alfred Ander’s Piece of Porcelain

Johann Baptist Isenring’s Acacia Tree

Johann Bartholomaeus Adam Beringer's Lying Stones

Johann Blumhardt's Rosary

Johann Dzierzon’s Beehive Frame

Johann Georg Elser's Postcard

Johann Maelzel's Metronome *

Johann Rall's Poker Cards

Johann Tetzel's Indulgence

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Prism

Johannes Brahms' Coffee Creamer

Johannes Diderik van der Waals' Gloves

Johannes Fabricius' Camera Obscura

Johannes Gutenburg's Memory Paper *

Johannes Gutenburg's Printing Press *

Johannes Gutenberg's Printing Press Keys

Johannes Kepler's Planetary Model

Johannes Kepler's Telescope Lense

Johannes Kjarval’s Landscape Painting

John A. Macready's Ray-Bans *

John A. Roebling's Steel Cable

John A.F. Maitland's Musical Brainnumber *

John André’s Stocking

John Anthony Walker's Minox

John Axon's Footplate

John Babbacombe Lee’s Trapdoor

John Bardeen's Radio

John Bodkin Adams’ Stethoscope

John Brown's Body *

John Brown's Machete

John C. Koss SP3 Stereophones

John C. Lilly's Isolation Tank Valve

John Cabot's Map

John Carl Wilcke's Rug *

John Crawley's Painting

John Croghan's Limestone Brick

John Dalton's Weather Vane

John Dee's Golden Talisman

John Dee's Obsidian Crystal Ball

John Dee’s Seal of God

John DeLorean's Drawing Table

John Dickson Carr's Driving Gloves

John Dillinger's Pistol *

John D. Grady’s Satchel

John D. Rockefeller's Bible

John D. Rockefeller, Sr. and Jr.'s Top Hats

John Dwight's Hammer

John F. Kennedy's Coconut

John F. Kennedy's Presidental Limousine

John F. Kennedy's Tie Clip *

John Flaxman's Casting Molds

Sir John Franklin's Scarf

John Gay's Shilling

John Gillespie Magee, Jr.'s Pen

John H. Kellogg's Bowl

John H. Kellogg's Corn Flakes

John H. Lawrence's Pacifier

John Hancock's Quill

John Harrison’s Longcase Clock

John Hawkwood’s Lance

John Hendrix's Bible

John Henry Moore's White Banner

John Henry's Sledge Hammer

John Hetherington's Top Hat

John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter's Torture Rack

John Holmes Pump *

John Hopoate's Cleats

John Howard Griffin's Bus Fare

John Hunter's Stitching Wire

John Hunter's Surgical Sutures

John J. Pershing's Boots

John Jacob Astor's Beaver Pelt

John Jervis’ Ship

John Joshua Webb’s Rock Chippings

John Kay's Needle

John Keat's Grecian Urn *

John, King of England's Throne

John L. Sullivan's Boots

John Langdon Down's Stencils

John Lawson's Mannequin Legs

John Lennon's Glasses

John "Liver-Eating" Johnson's Axe

John Logie Baird's Scanning Disk *

John M. Allegro's Fly Amanita

John Macpherson's Ladle

John Malcolm's Chunk of Skin

John Malcolm's Skin Wallet

John McEnroe's Tennis Racket *

John Milner's Yellow '32 Ford Deuce Coupe

John Moore-Brabazon’s Waste Basket

John Morales' McGruff Suit

John Mytton’s Carriage

John Pasche's Rolling Stones Poster Design

John Paul Jones's Sword

John Pemberton's Tasting Spoon

John Philip Sousa's Sousaphone

John Rambo's Composite Bow

John Rykener's Ring

John Shore's Tuning Fork

John Simon's Mouthwash

John Simon Ritchie's Padlock Necklace

John Smith of Jamestown's Sword

John Snow's Dot Map

John Snow’s Pump Handle

John Stapp’s Rocket Sled

John Steinbeck's Luger

John Sutcliffe's Camera

John Sutter's Pickaxe

John Tunstall's Horse Saddle

John Trumbull's "Painting of George Washington"

John von Neumann's Abacus

John Walker's Walking Stick

John Wayne Gacy's Clown Painting *

John Wayne Gacy's Facepaint

John Wesley Hardin's Rosewood Grip Pistol

John Wesley Powell's Canoe

John Wesley Powell’s Canteen

John Wilkes Booth's Boot *

John Wilkes Booth Wanted Poster

John William Polidori's Bookcase

Johnny Ace's Gun

Johnny Appleseed's Tin Pot *

Johnny Campbell's University of Minnesota Sweater

Johnny Depp's Scissor Gloves

Johnny Smith's Steering Wheel

Johnny Weismuller's Loincloth *

Joker's BANG! Revolver

Jon Stewart's Tie

Jonathan Coulton's Guitar

Jonathan R. Davis' Bowie Knife

Jonathan Shay's Copy of Iliad/Odyssey

Jonestown Water Cooler

Jorge Luis Borges' Scrapbook

José Abad Santos' Pebble

José Delgado’s Transmitter

Jose Enrique de la Pena's Chest Piece

Jōsei Toda’s Gohonzon Butsudan

Josef Frings’ Ferraiolo

Josef Mengele's Scalpel

Josef Stefan's Light Bulbs

Joseph of Arimathea's Tomb Rock

Joseph of Cupertino's Medallion *

Joseph Day's Sickle

Joseph Ducreux's Cane

Joseph Dunninger's Pocket Watch

Joseph Dunningers’ Props

Joseph E. Johnston Confederate Flag

Joseph Force Crater's Briefcases

Joseph Fourier's Pocket Knife

Joseph Glidden’s Barbed Wire

Joseph Goebbels' Radio *

Joseph Jacquard's Analytical Loom

Joseph Bolitho Johns’ Axe

Joseph Kittinger's Parachute

Joseph Lister's Padding

Joseph McCarthy's List of Communists

Joseph Merrick's Hood

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier's Wicker Basket

Joseph Moir’s Token

Joseph Pilate's Resistance Bands *

Joseph Polchinski’s Billiard Ball

Joseph Stalin's Gold Star Medal *

Joseph Stalin's Sleep Mask *

Joseph Swan's Electric Light

Joseph Vacher's Accordion

Joseph Vacher's Dog Skull

Joseph Valachi's '58 Chevrolet Impala

Josephus' Papyrus

Joseph Wolpe's Glasses

Josephine Cochrane's Dishwasher

Joshua's Trumpet *

Josiah S. Carberry's Cracked Pot

Joshua Vicks' Original Batch of Vicks Vapor Rub

Josiah Wedgewood's Medallion

Jost Burgi's Armillary Sphere *

Jovan Vladimir's Cross

Juana the Mad of Castiles' Crown

Juan Luis Vives' Quill Set

Juan Moreira’s Facón

Juan Pounce de Leon's Chalice

Juan Ponce de León's Helmet

Juan Seguin's Bandolier

Jubilee Grand Poker Chip *

Judah Loew ben Belazel's Amulet *

Judas Iscariot’s Thirty Silver Coins

Judson Laipply's Shoes

Jules Baillarger's Decanter

Jules Leotard's Trapeze Net

Jules Verne's Original Manuscripts

Julia Agrippa's Chalice

Julia Child's Apron *

Julia Child's Whisk

Julian Assange’s Flash Drive

Julie d’Aubigny's Sabre

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's Wedding Rings

Julius Asclepiodotus’ Shield Boss

Julius Caesar's Wreath

Julius Wilbrand's Lab Coat Buttons *

Jumanji

Jumper Cables

Junji Koyama’s Vegetables

Jure Sterk's Ballpoint Pen

Jürgen Wattenberg's Leather Provision Bag

Justa Grata Honoria’s Engagement Ring

Justin Bieber's Guitar

Justinian I's Chariot Wheel

Justin O. Schmidt's Wasp Mask

Justus von Liebig's Fertilizer Sack

Justus von Liebig's Mirror

[sharry-arry-odd]

"Who are you?" Dad asked. He started to reach for Vic, but stopped halfway, hands falling back to his sides. "Someone who loves you," Vic said. "It might not seem like much to you, but you told me once that sometimes, it's the smallest things that can change everything when you least expect it." And with that, music began to play from behind him. Beryl Davis, singing about how every road has a turning, that she'd cried for you. It filled the air as the voice crackled from Nurse Ratched's speakers. Without a stutter in his voice, Hap said, "You told me I could choose who I wanted to be." "You said I was brave!" Rambo cried. "You built us a home," Nurse Ratched said. "We are here to make sure you remember it."

In The Lives of Puppets, by TJ Klune

[sharry-arry-odd]

"If we can fix what's broken, we should always try." "Why?" Rambo asked. Vic chose his words carefully, trying to find the right ones in the right order. "Because all beings deserve a chance to find out what life could be when they don't have to serve others."

In The Lives of Puppets, by TJ Klune