#Steinberg am See

[cashmere-caveman]

°

[weneverlearn]

Lost STIV BATORS footage found - made into amazing new video!!

Interview with Stiv solo/latterday Dead Boys bassist, Frank Secich, about how this new clip appeared - featuring exclusive pix!!

"Me and Stiv Bators at record release party for the Orchids in Hollywood in 1979." - Frank Secich (photo by Lisa Secich)

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Frank Secich is an endlessly inspiring rock'n'roll lifer who began his career as bass player for the great early 1970s Northeast, Ohio, proto-power pop legends, Blue Ash.

Later in the decade he hooked up with fellow rust-belter, Stiv Bators, as part of Stiv's ongoing post-Dead Boys projects. That sometimes led to Dead Boys reunions too, of which Frank was the faithful bottom end. -- You can read this full interview I did with Frank a few years ago when he released his wild biography, Circumstantial Evidence.

"Me with Stiv Bators at my old apartment on the West Hill in Sharon, PA, December 17, 1978. I think we (me, Stiv, Lisa and Cynthia Ross) went to see the Talking Heads and hang out that night in Youngstown!" - Frank Secich (photo by Lisa Secich)

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But first check out this INCREDIBLE new video for "Circumstantial Evidence"!

Circumstantial Evidence - Stiv Bators Band

Frank got the video from his pal who made it last week, and when he posted it on Facebook, it led to a goodly portion of classic punk fandom freaking out.

I asked Frank if he could answer a couple of quick questions about the new video, and as it turns out his friend made a new Dead Boys video from found 1979 footage too, which can be seen on Frank's FB page.

For now, check out the interview with Secich below.

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So, who made this video, and this is the first time you've seen it, right?

Frank Secich: The first time I ever saw the "Circumstantial Evidence" video was a few days ago. Filmmaker Rob Luttrell just recently made it with his old film he had found and restored. He sent it to me, and I was stunned and shocked how good it was. It was the first time I had ever seen these old clips in "Circumstantial Evidence" from footage that he shot at the Whisky a Go Go in L.A. and the Heat Club and Town Hall in New York City in 1980. Stiv's solo band at this point was Stiv Bators, Jimmy Zero, guitar, George Cabaniss, guitar, David Quinton Steinberg on drums and me on bass. Also, guest starring in the video is Dee Dee Ramone!

Stiv Bators and Frank Secich recording "It's Cold Outside" at Bijou Studios in Hollywood, CA in April, 1979. - Frank Secich (photo by Theresa Kereakes)

"Frank Secich, Stiv Bators and Greg Shaw (Bomp Records head) recording "It's Cold Outside" at Bijou Studios in Hollywood in April of 1979." - Frank Secich (photo by Theresa Kereakes)

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So Robert had all that original film? Will we maybe see more such footage?

F.S.: Yes, there is one more of "Sonic Reducer" from 1979. Rob and Marty Abrahams made this one in early 1980. We used to use it as a promo film back then, and we would play it right before we took the stage. Rob has digitalized it and improved it, and it is very cool. It features the Dead Boys at that moment -- Stiv Bators, Johnny Blitz, Jimmy Zero, George Cabaniss, and myself. Cheetah had just broken his wrist right before this gig at Irving Plaza, so George was filling in for him. This film was done at Irving Plaza in New York City in January, 1980.

While watching the videos, what are some memories that popped to mind?

F.S.: I was just flooded with memories. Rob really captured the spirit of our chaos back then. We used to have so much fun. It really was a wild ride like that almost every night; and of course you could never predict what Stiv might do. It was an exciting time and we toured North America constantly from 1979 until January of 1981, with slight variations of that band. I am really glad the line-up of the band has been preserved on film for posterity.

Do you have specific memories about any of the shows that are seen in this clip?

F.S.: The fans ripping Stiv's shirt off are indelibly imprinted in my mind. He would also hang himself on stage with a microphone cord which would scare the hell out of me. One time during those gigs we were all flying around on stage, and I turned around quickly and he jumped up and I accidentally knocked him out cold with my bass. He came to pretty quick and said to me, "Did it look cool?" I said "yeah!" The Stiv beer fountain at the end of the film is really cool as well.

"Donna Santisi's cool photo of me and Stiv at the Tropicana Motel in W. Hollywood in early 1979!"

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Anything you want to say at all about these new videos…?

F.S.: It really brought back such great memories of a time and place that was very special and now forever gone. In one day, there have been over 5,000 plus views of "Circumstantial Eveidence" just on my Facebook site, and people's reactions have been amazing. I hope that Rob has more films because these are very special and quite a tribute Stiv and his legacy.

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Hope you will remember those days at the Whisky after seeing the video. I used what I could salvage after 44 years of deterioration (mold and color loss and scratches). These two films were shot on no budget before MTV existed. - Rob Luttrell

"Mick Rock's picture sleeve photo of Stiv and Frank for Bomp's single "Not That Way Anymore" in 1980." - Frank Secich

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All photos exclusive and courtesy of Frank Secich.

[somfte]

"It is genuine and it is complicated, in the way that it's always complicated when you love someone." - Jon Steinberg

(Content warning: please note that this video contains some depictions of blood, violence, and death.)

[video description: a Black Sails fan video set to "Carry You" by Novo Amor.

The video begins with a scene from episode 4.06. There is no music. Eleanor and Madi are hiding from the Spanish in Miranda's former farmhouse. In the quiet, they are having a conversation. Eleanor asks, "One can be happy that way, can't they? A life of isolation and uncertainty as long as it is lived with someone you love… And who loves you back. It is possible, isn't it?"

The scene fades away to a sunrise over the ocean and the music begins with soft, melancholy guitar. The video becomes a montage of various Black Sails characters showing love, affection, and caring in various forms, including romantic, platonic, and familial.

In the first third of the song, voiceovers of Miranda can be heard, saying, "I have known you like no other. So I love you like no other," and "You can't see it yet, can you? You are not alone." The vocals of the song begin after this point. A voiceover from Anne says, "The first thing they said every time was your name. Like we was two halves of the same thing." Thomas Hamilton says, "…and He said, 'It is not good that he is alone.'" At the end of this section, Miranda speaks again and says, "True love shouldn't require suffering."

In the second third of the song, additional string instruments and drums increase the emotional intensity of the music. The scenes from the show are mostly characterized by gentle affection and family and friend relationships. A voiceover from Mrs. Hudson says, "But one thing I know to be true…whatever risk she took… or danger she braved… they were all made out of love for you." Anne says, "But you and I are gonna be partners till they put us in the fucking ground." Silver says, "I loved her. And I believe she loved me." Then Silver speaks again and says, "But I will stay. And I will wait. A day… a month… a year… forever…"

As the final third of the song begins, there is another ocean horizon and Max says, "I will never, ever leave you. I love you." The scenes from the show depict couples kissing passionately as the music becomes more intense and dramatic in an instrumental phase. When the vocals resume, the scenes show more complicated love, including rejected love and love that results in violence. Max says, "I am so sorry for working so hard to protect the wrong things. For failing to see that there is nothing important that does not include you."

As the music fades into its denouement, Eleanor's question from the initial scene is heard again, "It is possible isn't it?" Madi responds, "It is." The video shows the inside cover of the "Meditations" book, with the inscription that says, "James, My truest love. Know no shame. T.H.". The video fades out as Flint closes the book.

/end description]

Thank you @granturn for completely fixing the end of this video. <3 Thank you @jaynovz and @neosatsuma for giving feedback!

[jaybee2000]

Now that Percy Jackson is official renewed I get to pitch my Black Sails inspired brainrot.

So the first half of the second season of Black Sails has a flashback arc in London that explains Flint’s backstory. It’s extremely effective and has some of the best reveals and fascinating dynamics in the show. (Just ask any Black Sails fan about the fucking clock)

I propose that PJO season two use a similar flashback structure to explore how young Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia got to camp led by Grover.

Why?

Oh boy. Play The Tree on the Hill from the TLT musical because I want to be sad.

1 Grover is captured for most of the book and since satyrs age slower than demigods you can have more for Aryan to do. Give the goat screen time!

2 It establishes Thalia more concretely and adds stakes to the quest to save her tree. We care about her and don’t want her to die again. (And you can cast Thalia without giving away the reveal at the end of the book “she’s just there for flash backs 😜”)

3 It gives the opportunity to see Luke’s radicalization on screen. What happened to make him want to betray the gods and how might he yet be redeemed? This could be juicy especially if different characters are remembering at different times in the season. What did Luke see vs. Annabeth vs. Grover and how do they describe it to Percy?

4 Tiny Baby Annabeth and an explanation for her fear of Cyclopes. Might add a bit more tension to the quest for Cyclops island, am I right? Her relationship with Luke is also extremely important and seeing them interact pre-betrayal will help set up latter seasons (looking at you Titan’s Curse and Last Olympian)

5 I, personally, could point at the screen and say look they are doing Black Sails again! (Which I know you are capable of Steinberg and Shotz! I saw your 4.09 sword fight in PJO. I noticed. Nothing gets past me.)

[paleio]

dude.... DUDE...... DUDE

OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY

FIRST WATCH HIGHLIGHTS/GENERAL EMOTIONS

> the attic looks IDENTICAL to how i imagined it in my head. i literally screamed and punched the arm of my chair

> every single thing percy says to the oracle. the halloween decoration line made me go hee hee.... that is my boy :)

> OH AND THE VOICE CRACK...... IM GONNA THROW UP HES SO PRECIOUS TO ME

> love love love the way they split the prophecy into 2 scenes. fucking cinema

> annabeth trying to hide her excitement when percy immediately picks her. the quiet pride in her eyes. this twelve year old girl really does think shes THE shit

> GROVER TALKING TO..... BLACKJACK???? I KNOW NOT EVERY SINGLE BLACK PEGASUS HAS TO BE BLACKJACK BUT LIKE. WHYD THEY MAKE THE HORSE SPECIFICALLY BLACK WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY COLORS A HORSE CAN BE. YA KNOW

> grover not believing percy actually chose him and then how much it affects him when he realizes its not a joke... oh boy... i will be making multiple posts exclusively about my beloved g man. aryan you CANT be doing this to me you are irreversibly altering my brain chemistry

> "that's bees" GROVER!!!!!! 💖💘💖💖💕💕💖💘💘💖💕

> different monsters being able to smell different aspects of a person FUCK THATS GENIUS. THATS GONNA BE RELEVANT FOR THE REST OF THE GODDAMN SERIES. i wonder if it will connect to the fatal flaws thing..... i wouldn't be surprised but i would be delighted

> consensus song 🥺🥺🥺🥺 and... like.... the way all of them interact with each other. the way you can see their entire personalities, the way they were raised, their weaknesses, just in the way they talk as a trio. im really emotional thinking about

> every second of annabeth in the gas station. you know what im talking about. yeah. fuck you and your evil mean fucked up foreshadowing mr richard riordan and jonathan e steinberg

> the babygirls!!!!!! (furies) (im so faceblind i cant figure out which is which

> the second she started talking to annabeth i fucking CLOCKED IT. i was like OHHHH.... this is a SHOW. these are EPISODES. they have contained ideas and conflicts. there are episodic arcs WITHIN the seasonal arcs WITHIN the series-long arcs. goddamn it now i have to personally kiss every writer and producer and director on the mouth

> im in love with the trio dynamic because it fucking sucks. there weren't many communication issues or interpersonal conflicts between any of them in the book. even percy and annabeth got along for the most part, despite the awkwardness and bickering. here, though, annabeth is bossy as FUCK. she's acting like this is her quest. percy is whiny and impatient and he deflects every time he's questioned. grover is an ineffective mediator and is clearly uncomfortable being around both of them at once. the vibe feels so beautifully off the whole time and it makes the eventual reconciliation SO much more impactful and compelling

> medusa hot. awooga and all that.

> i like that they all realized immediately who aunty em was. im sad they abandoned the pseudonym so quickly but it makes sense that they'd understand seeing as they all know a good amount of mythology. i think it would've been a scream-at-your-tv moment otherwise

> this is exhausting why am i doing this on my phone

> the plan they came up with is fantastic. i audibly gasped. once when the hat came out and once when i realized they were gonna kill alecto with the head. SMART AS FUCK even though it's not quite a perseus reference anymore

> grover crying over uncle ferdinand.... i can't decide if im sad they didn't make it a funny moment because it's so iconic in the book, or if im glad they played it straight because it gave us a SAD GROVER MOMENT AND ALSO FORESHADOWING. not that i like seeing grover sad... i just like seeing him. i like to look at his haunted eyes and go damn boy... you are one sad boy. good luck with your feelings of inadequacy and trauma repression <3

> writing this is draining my sanity. cmon almost done

> HE SAID THE LINE HE SAID THE LINE HE SAID THE LINE!!!!!!! i am impertinent. top 5 percy jackson quotes of all time. i feel sick just thinking about the other 4 in that list.... im not gonna survive

> cue drive from tlt musical as they leave aunty em's

> oh hey thats lin manuel miranda. im sure he wont be crucial to the overarching plot of the series

> i will be honest the vibe IS kinda perfect. he does look like an emotionally immature divorced dad who complains about his job all the time but constantly works overtime for no reason. its just that he also looks like lin manuel miranda

> love the song choice for the credits

> i will talk about the ep4 preview in a different post im too tired

FINAL (very sleepy) THOUGHTS:

best one yet by far. the more screen time our trio gets the better. grover is a dork and id die for him. its so cool that we get to see the story and characters from a slightly more omniscient perspective, even though i do miss percy's narration. i cant fucking believe this show is real and that they made it just for me

I AM IMPERTINENT!!!! AND IM ALSO GOING TO BED!!!!!!

[phykios]

Review: "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher"

It was a long wait for the Black Sails reunion tour–but it was worth it!

Jokes aside, I first started to really get excited for Percy Jackson 2023 once I saw the news that Jonathan Steinberg had been tapped as showrunner. (This is the first weekly plug to go watch Black Sails if you haven’t, btw.) Despite a rough and rocky start, Black Sails surpassed the usual limits of a “boobs, blood and sex” costume drama and pivoted into some seriously excellent character-driven drama, and I’m hopeful that Percy Jackson can do the same. Awkward preamble completed, allow me to jump right into the good, the bad, and the as-yet-unquantifiable: 

(Because I know this fandom has a tendency to get, uh, wacky, let me preface this by saying that these are my opinions, and they are just opinions. Any comments on acting, writing, directing, etc., are not attacks on the people behind them, and should not be treated as such. I firmly believe critique is an act of love, and that the best reviews don’t change minds, but treat readers to another point of view instead.)

Percy Jackson opens in a dream. Slowly, against the backdrop of thunder and french horns, our hero emerges from the storm, walking slowly to the foreground. This dreamlike quality continues as we are treated to a minute and a half of flashback, the diegetic noises of the world muted in favor of Percy’s narration, and further into the beginnings of the adapted book content. Percy is, of course, immediately drawn to the statue of his namesake, but it’s a motivation more deeply underpinned by Sally, played by the frankly phenomenal Virginia Krull, before the warm, golden memory is rudely interrupted by the present, and the first real glimpse of the mythological world.

As Percy force-shoves Nancy Bobofit into a fountain (the CGI is pretty bad, honestly. But CGI has been bad everywhere, so I’ll let it slide), Megan Mullally’s Mrs. Dodds makes her grand, 30-second appearance. This little encounter–it feels like an overstatement to call it a “fight”–is over almost before it begins. I would have liked this scene to have a little more weight to it, given that it is the first encounter with the mythological world… but at the same time, I think the understated nature works in two ways: first, I am so, so glad to see something other than bog standard action flick fight, and second, the way she moves through the crowd without them noticing her adds to the feelings of isolation and “brokenness” that Percy struggles with. No one else even notices the monster making her way towards him. I think it’s a direction that speaks on multiple levels, recalling particularly the underlying theme of useless/abusive adults in the books. 

Which makes it all the sadder when Grover briefly turns on Percy and gets him expelled. I have to commend Aryan here for this scene–he’s clearly struggling with the decision to get Percy out of there, keeping him safe at the expense of their friendship. I really like how Aryan plays Grover’s more anxious side, but also as someone who can step up and push down his fear in order to do his job. It would have really been easy to play him as a one-note, terrified sidekick, and I’m glad Grover has some spine. 

And speaking of one note–Gabe. I understand why they downplay some of his more blatantly abusive aspects, and I think they make up for it with the surrounding shots, especially Percy sighing in the hallway as he hears him yelling, and Eddie the plumber apologizing for putting him in a mood, but I’m not sure I’m sold on it, yet. Right now, he doesn’t come off as someone who deserves death-by-Medusa-head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they dial him up later on. 

Also, Virginia Krull is incredible. She was, far and away, my favorite performance of the premiere, particularly in the scene at Montauk. Krull’s Sally has the toughness that the books always implied, at least in the early days, but never really demonstrated until much later in the series, layered beneath an easy sweetness that makes it really, really easy to forgive her for keeping secrets. Ironically, Krull’s performance makes Gabe somewhat more palatable, as it seems like she can go toe-to-toe with him, instead of acting like a more stereotypically “docile” battered spouse. 

The Montauk scene is easily an episode highlight. Whether it’s Sally forcing out her unbelievable truth, or visibly crying while Percy pours his heart out to her about being broken, Walker and Krull are fantastic together, even in an exposition-heavy scene like this. 

I’m going to gloss over the drive and the Minotaur fight scene, because otherwise I’d just be repeating stuff I’ve already said, namely that Aryan and Krull are great actors, and the CGI is pretty ugly. Instead, I’ll just briefly touch on the fight–very well directed, and I appreciated that they were able to have both the visual of the sword with all its associated gravitas, and also the more visceral stabbing from the book–and point out that we end where we begin, in a hazy, dreamlike state, with the mysterious, shadowed figures of Chiron and the gang welcoming him to camp. 

This series feels different than a lot of TV. It definitely has a more cinematic feel, and the tone is much, much less jokey than I had feared. The books have a lot of humor to them, but ironically, the show leaning into the more “magical realism” which Riordan almost studiously avoids in the books helps to keep it balanced and un-cartoonish. Visually, I think the lighting is really emotionally effective, but only for the daytime, and suffers from the same “can’t light night”-ism that plagues modern television. Compare in particular Percy before and after Grover, Percy with his mother at the Met, and then the three of them running from the Minotaur at night. 

All in all, a really solid premiere. A little exposition-heavy, which is unfortunately something that carries over into the next one, but when it’s delivered with some excellent performances, it’s easy to overlook. 

Stray thoughts:

I need more Mythomagic. I need more Mythomagic

The marble statues are pretty ugly imo, but that might just be because I am currently spoiled for marble statues in my day-to-day

Percy and Grover swap sandwich fillings 🥺 Percy takes Grover’s lunchmeat

Sally bullfighting with Percy’s red coat… so good

Thalia’s tree with lightning crashing overhead!

Hopefully I can get the next review up tomorrow? And I’ll talk more about Walker in that one, along with some other thoughts on costume, set design, and other more technical stuff

[training4theapocalypse]

Pushover (Jeffrey Steinberg x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit - 18+ only

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: SMUT, Rough sex, Degradation, Dub-con, Dom!Jeffrey, Sub!Reader, Breeding kink, Vaginal Fingering, Oral Sex M receiving, PIV

Summary: It's the apocalypse and you're stuck in an ecosphere with the last nine other people in the world - including Jeffrey Steinberg. If he could stop talking down to you for one second you could show him how useful you'd be to him.

A/N: Just be aware I wrote this in a day because I needed to get some feelings out my system. I've never written for an in-progress piece of work before so if Jeffrey turns out to be an even worse person than we already know I am sorry. This takes place roughly at the end of Ep4 of Evergreen.

Masterlist

Join my tag list: @pretendfan, @countlambula, @chiaraanatra, @stainedpomegranatelips, @navs-bhat

Chapter Text:

“Hey, second fiddle! Get in here.”

“Don’t call her that.”

You open the control room door where Hannah and Jeffrey are staring at the screens. He leans back in his chair to look past Hannah, standing next to him, to get a good look at you when you enter. His dark curly hair is messed up like he’s been stressed out and running his hands through it.

“So, Finn’s assistant's assistant -”

“You know she’s not my assistant, Jeffrey. She’s Finn’s second assistant,” says Hannah scathingly.

He waves his hand dismissively. “Hannah says you actually might know something about this firewall?”

“Yes.”

“How does Finn Gorale’s second-favourite pet know how to get past the firewall?” He raises his eyebrow.

“I know how to code. Finn let me work on the firewall for my professional development.”

“Ugh.” He rolls his eyes. “He really had you all lapping up the big happy corporate family thing here, didn’t he?” Jeffrey rolls his chair back from the control panel. “Go on then, show me.”

“Jeffrey,” Hannah warns. “Don’t let him speak to you like that,” she adds to you. 

“I’d be happy to show Mr Steinberg anything he wants to see.”

The corners of his mouth turn up in a wry smile. He liked that. And he has dimples. You’re stuck in an underground ecosphere with the billionaire AI mogul who you’ve had a ridiculous crush on for a long time. Of course, he has dimples. As if he couldn’t be any more perfect.

Ever since he gave the commencement speech at your graduation ceremony a few years ago, Jeffrey Steinberg has been the subject of your fantasies. Obviously, you applied to work for Jeffrey’s company straight after graduation but without success. You suspected that Jeffrey was kind of a misogynist - his executive assistants were all exclusively men. Finn, for all his flaws, at least didn’t seem to care about your gender. 

“I’d better go help Axel and Aida with the harvester,” says Hannah, she pauses on her way out. “Don’t let him push you around.”

You keep your eyes on him as the sound of the door shutting and locking itself electronically beeps when Hannah exits the room.

You’re not sure what you wouldn’t let Jeffrey Steinberg do to you. You’d be more than happy for him to push you around, bend you over the console, fuck you any way he wanted to. Your so far one-sided feelings for him have only intensified while you’ve been stuck in this hellscape of an ecosphere with only nine other people for company. 

As an executive assistant, normally you can hold your own around egotistical men. Put them in their place with your sharp tongue. But something about Jeffrey’s disdain towards your very presence here makes you crumble. You’re desperate for him to notice you. Notice how useful you could be to him. Even if he were to decide your only usefulness amounted to you waiting in his bed for him on your knees every night.

You flush, embarrassed by your own lewd thoughts. It’s your ninth day down here. Not only are you socially starved but you’re also way more aroused than usual. Your girlfriends used to joke that you needed locking up during this time of the month when you were ovulating. Like a werewolf at full moon. You feel feral.

“Er, hello?” Jeffrey’s voice snaps you back to reality.

You clear your throat and teeter on your heels over to the console. He doesn’t deign to give you his chair, instead, he rolls it back to watch you lean over the keyboard.

“I just need to look up when Hal-9000 was last rebooted,” you say, clicking around, and searching for the date.

“You can say it’s name. It can’t hear us in here.”

“It can hear everything. It’s everywhere.”

“I disabled it in this room. Cortex, can you hear me? Cortex? There’s been an accident, Cortex, Finn’s assistant is choking to death in the control room. It’s the cute, innocent one, not the bitchy one, so you’d better hurry!” You glance at him over your shoulder to see him smirking. “See?”

You turn back to face the screen quickly before he can notice your smile. Cute. You open files on the screen, checking the reboot data.

You can feel his eyes on you. You’re not sure if he’s staring at what you’re doing on the screen or the way you’re bent over in front of him. Either way, you like it.

“You said when I first got here that we’d never met before. But that’s not true, is it? I know you from somewhere.”

“Not likely. But you gave the commencement speech at my graduation a few years ago.”

“You graduated from MIT?”

“What, like it’s hard?” You discreetly pick up the pace of your searching, keen to show off how quickly you can crack the firewall issue.

“MIT… I’ve got it.” He snaps his fingers and points at you like he’s just realised something. “You applied for a job with me. Does Finn know he was second choice? Or is that why he made you his second choice?” His sudden revelation isn't convincing. You have a feeling he's been sitting on this information for a while.

“Finn might be a shitty boss but unlike you he actually hires women.”

“Woah, woah, woah - who says I don’t hire women?”

“Your last five assistants were all men. None of them have lasted as long as I have with Finn, by the way.”

“Look, I’m not Finn. I can’t spend my day around a fuckable assistant without doing something about it. That means all the applications from the pretty ones go straight in the bin, no matter if they went to MIT.”

“That’s a textbook example of misogyny.”

“Well, what are you going to do about it? Call the EEOC? It’s not like they exist anymore.”

You say nothing. You hate that he didn’t hire you. But at least you know it’s because he thought you were pretty - so that’s something, right? And could you honestly say you wouldn’t have tried to fuck him at the first opportunity, even if he was your boss? Maybe he was on to something.

“Cortex hasn’t been rebooted since the day before doomsday,” you say, finally finding the data.

He brings his chair forward to look at the screen. You shift uncomfortably on your feet in your high heels. 

“Sit here,” he says, nudging the back of your knee with his. You pretend to hesitate, only so he can’t tell how eager you are. You sit down on his lap. “Good girl. See, this is the type of shit I’d be pulling if you were my assistant. Anyway…” He reaches around you to grab the mouse and is quiet for a moment while he takes in the information. His other hand rests on your upper thigh.

“You said Finn was a shitty boss. But are you still loyal to him?”

He tilts his head, scanning your face for any indication of dishonesty. You meet his gaze, glad for an excuse to look into his green eyes.

“I’ll be as loyal or disloyal as you want me to be.”

“Very good answer.” He says, his fingertips on his free hand brushing the inside of your leg. “As it happens, that’s exactly what I want. Out there, I want you to pretend to be loyal to Finn. But in here, I want you to help me locate Finn’s private servers.”

You bite your lip before throwing caution to the wind. “I have conditions.”

“Let’s hear them, then.”

“Out there I want you to show me some respect. No more talking down to me in front of the others.”

“Alright, that’s fair en-”

“But inside here -” you feel butterflies in your stomach. “- I want you to disrespect me in every way you know how. And I want you to do it now. As a show of good faith.”

Jeffrey exhales deeply and you feel something hard pressing against your hip. 

“God, you would have been a fucking terrible assistant” He shakes his head. 

Oh shit.

“I never would have gotten anything done,” he says, looking at you with an unmistakeable glint in his eye. From the sideways position you’re sitting on his lap, he draws your leg up onto the armrest, spreading your legs apart and forcing your minidress to roll up, exposing your underwear.

Oh shit.

He runs the back of his hand across your pussy through the fabric before suddenly yanking your underwear to the side so he can draw his fingers along your slit, finding the swollen bundle of nerves at the top. 

“Fuck,” you whisper and turn your head, bringing your lips close to his - almost touching. He smells good. Expensive.

“So wet already.” He rolls his wet fingertips around your clit. “What a wet, fucking desperate little slut you are.”

“I’ve been like this every day here,” you confess.

“So I should have trusted my instincts and let myself into your room after those drinks on the first night?” Jeffrey keeps circling your clit, making you squirm in his lap.

“Yes, fuck yes.”

“What would I have found, I wonder? You fucking yourself like this?” He slides a finger inside you. 

You part your lips panting at the intrusion, feeling his finger curl up inside you. He sucks on your neck. Fuck - there’s going to be a bruise there tomorrow. His mark on you for everyone to see.

“No - wait! The others will notice if I have a hickey.”

“So?”

“I - I want them to respect me out there.”

His finger moves in and out of you and you feel you pelvic muscles tighten under the pressure. You might want the others to respect you but he knows you want nothing of the sort from him in here. And he’s taking your request seriously.

“So put some fucking makeup on it to cover it up. I see you wearing it out there - the world has ended and you’re the only one still bothering with makeup. I wonder why?”

He knows why.

“Fuck, and this tight little dress. Who’s that for?”

He knows who it’s for.

“And those ridiculous shoes. I mean, for God’s sake we’re living in a ecosphere.”

He slips another digit inside you, and you welcome it gratefully as he keeps crooking and stroking his fingertips against you g-spot. Every movement he makes inside your soaking wet cunt pulls a helpless little moan from you.

“Fuck, Jeffrey, I -, I -” Pleasure ignites up low in your abdomen. The increasingly wet sound of his fingers fucking you, giving away just how turned on you are, threatens to push you over the edge.

“You’re not seriously about to cum already, are you? Fuck, you really are a desperate little whore.”

“I am,” you choke. “Fuck, and I’ll do any- anything you want.”

You’re tumbling headfirst into your high, the beautiful way his fingers are pressing into you is too much. He feels your pussy clench around him and starts drilling into you with unprecedented speed. From the way he holds you you can’t move, can’t do anything except just accept your impending climax.

“You’re damn right you will. Come on, be a good little assistant and cum for me. Or is that too big a task for you?”

It’s not. 

You’re so pent up you wail - the noise you make for him sounds like something from a shitty porno. Everything seizes up around his fingers, tight, hot and burning - and then it releases like a spring. Jeffrey keeps finger fucking you through your orgasm, draining every last ounce of bliss from your body until you shudder into a quivering mess on his lap.

“That was a decent start. You sound fucking great when you do that by the way. Do it louder next time.”

You nod, blinking stupidly at him.

“Right, enough with the Bambi eyes and stand up. I need a good look at you.”

Legs trembling, you get off his lap with difficulty and smooth out the front of your dress. He sits up straight in his chair and makes a circle motion with his finger, instructing you to turn around. You feel your cheeks burning as you turn on the spot slowly so he can he observe you.

“Don’t get shy on me now. Do it again. But this time I want to see all of you.” He leans back in his chair. “Take everything off.”

Steping out of your heels, you feel relief as your feet meet the the cool tile floor. You grab the hem on your dress and lift it up over your head before throwing it aside. You pause for a second, standing in your lingerie.

He locks eyes with you. “Everything.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I’m more interested in seeing what I asked for. Maybe you’re used to Finn letting his assistants take liberties but I expect you to do as you’re told.”

You unhook your bra and slip off your underwear, tossing them at his feet. He raises an eyebrow with impatient expectancy and you remember to turn again.

“You know, I’ve thought a lot about what would happen if Nico’s work in the DNA bank couldn’t proceed.” He says, and you hear his desk chair roll towards you and he grabs your hips from behind. “And I’ve decided you’d make the best breeding stock. I mean, God, these hips.”

He spins you back around to face him and you bite your lip.

“Purely scientific of course. And obviously, I’d be the one to do it. We’d need to calculate when you’re at your most fertile and I’d cum inside you say… three times a day.”

“And what use would you have for me the rest of the month? Just help you with the servers?”

“I’m glad you asked… Kneel.”

You sink to the hard tile floor and watch him as he undoes his belt buckle. 

“Do you know what to do? Or do I have to give you detailed instructions for every simple thing?”

“I know what to do.”

You crawl towards him and slide your hands up his thighs. They’re more muscular than you would have guessed under his expensive, tailored suit. Unzipping his pants, you pull his cock out. You knew he had big dick energy but at the back of your mind you wondered if he was over compensating.

He’s not.

He’s rock hard. And thick. As you run your hand up his cock, a single bead of precum leaks from the top making your mouth water.

You look up at him and present your tongue before slowly dragging it along the underside of his cock. The critical look he’s giving you falters when you flutter your tongue across his head, tasting the salty liquid.

Jeffrey threads his fingers through your hair, getting it out of your face as you swallow as much of him as you can, drooling all over his length.

“Oh fuck, look at how sloppy you are,” he says with a sharp inhale when he feels the head of his cock touching the back of your throat. You suck and swirl your tongue around him and you pull back up, meeting his eyes again. He’s looking down at you with his lips parted in awe of the way you’re working him.

“Did Finn ever get you to do this?”

You shake your head, your mouth still full. Never.

“He was a fucking idiot. You’re going to be doing this every day from now on.”

God, the way he bosses you around makes you moan around him as you set a pace, sucking up and down. You accidentally take it too deep and gag a little.

“Don’t stop. Come on, yes, fucking choke on it.”

Desperate to prove you can, you keep going, gagging and panting as your head bobs up and down, every so often touching the base with your lips, burying your face in the neat smattering of hair.

“Yeah, you like this, don’t you? Gagging on my cock like this? You submissive little slut.”

You whine, choking on his cock as far as you can take it. You look up at him again with tears in your eyes.

“Right, breathe. Get some air,” he says, with a surprisingly gentle tug of your hair. You pull up, gasping and he grips his cock with his hand and starts pumping his fist up and down. He stands up and you sit back on your knees, looking at him towering above you.

“Open your mouth, I’m going to cum all over that pretty litte face.”

“I’m ovulating.”

He stops tugging at his cock. “What?”

“It means I’m fertile right now.”

“I know what it means. God, you have no idea what you’ve just let yourself in for. Get up.” He extends a hand to help you to your feet. Your knees ache from kneeling on the floor. Jeffrey walks over to the console and presses a few buttons. 

“Bend over,” he says, gesturing to the console. You look at it apprenehsively.

“What if I press something?”

“You just watched me lock it. Are you sure you went to MIT?”

You’re not thinking straight. You lean over the console in front of him and you hear him moving behind you. You’re not sure what he’s doing until you feel two hands on your hips and a soft, warm heat gliding between your folds. His tongue slides over your pussy, and obscenely, you feel it pushing at your entrance. 

Jeffrey pulls back and delves his fingers inside you so he can gather your slick. He stands up, coating his cock with your your juices and presses his head against your aching pussy. You inhale deeply as he guides himself slowly into you, stretching you even more than his fingers did.

“Shit, you’re so fucking tight,” he groans as he bottoms out, filling you up completely. You clench around his cock deep inside you, every nerve ending below your waist lights up brighter than the console underneath you.

He starts thrusting into you, setting an urgent pace that you’re barely ready for. You let out a long, low whimper, made uneven by each thrust of his hips into the flesh of your ass.

“Fuck, Jeffrey…” Is all you can manage to moan as you feel the familiar tension building in your pelvis, squeezing around him as he mercilessly buries himself into you.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so fucking long,” he says through gritted teeth. His hands slide around under your body and he grabs your tits, anchoring himself even deeper into you.

“It’s - it’s only been nine days,” you pant over the wet sound of his flesh smacking yours.

“You really think I binned your job application?” He brings one of his strong arms to wrap around your stomach and uses the other to find your neck and pull you close to his chest, still ramming his hips against your ass. “I agonised over it for weeks - fuck - I almost brought you in for an interview just so I could fuck you over my desk. Hire you to be my little fucktoy.”

He sloppily licks your neck and jaw and you turn your head to kiss him. Your tongues barely touching from this angle. He pulls out of you with a frustrated groan and turns you round to lift you onto the console, your bare backside pressing on a dozen different buttons.

Jeffrey pulls off his own shirt and you can barely contain the mewl that escapes your lips when you see his toned chest. You hardly have time to appreciate it before he sheathes himself into you again making you arch your back in pleasure.

He kisses you once - deeply, needily - then puts all of his weight on you and fucks you - hard. 

“Taking my cock like such a good little slut. I knew you’d be like this.”

Everything pulls up inside you, tight and molten hot. You sob and clutch his muscular shoulders, wrapping your legs around his little waist as he keeps pounding into you. It’s exactly what you always dreamed it would be. Hot, rough, degrading.

“Jeffrey, fuck, I’m - fuck - so close.”

“You feel so fucking good,” he moans, pushing his face into the crook of your neck, ramping up the pace of his hips fucking into your open legs - you barely notice the console digging into your back, every plastic button leaving indents on your soft skin. You squeal, trying to grapple with the orgasm flashing brightly deep in your abdomen. “Such pretty noises.”

Electricity floods your body, sparking up in your brain like an overloaded circuit board. 

“Are you going to cum for me? Come on.”

You cry like a woman possessed as your cunt twitches and releases all over him, your orgasm ripping through your body as he fucks you remorselessly through it.

“God, you get so fucking tight when you do that,” he shudders, feeling your pussy contract involuntatrily around him.

“Cum inside me - please,” you whisper, your instincts telling you that this is what will set off his own relief. “Please, Mr Steinberg.” Your sweet murmur in his ear makes him burst. His groan jumps up a pitch as his teeth find the juncture of your neck and he bites down, cumming hard inside you. With a last few shuddering jerks of his hips, he comes to a stop.

He lies there on to of you, his heart hammering in his chest as he heaves breathlessly, the last spurt of cum coating your insides. The numbness fades and you realise just how uncomfortable this is, with him on top of you on the hard surface.

“Shit, the console was a bad idea,” he sighs eventually, pulling out of you carefully and cupping your leaking pussy before his cum can spill out over the unit. 

He reaches over your head and grabs some tissues from the box on top of the desk and does what he can to mop up the mess you’ve both made. You slide off of the surface, holding onto his shoulders for balance.

Jeffrey drags the abandoned desk chair over and sits down, pulling you onto his lap again. His curly hair is even messier than when you first came into the room. He lifts his head up to kiss you gently.

“You’re not really fertile right now, are you?”

“Unfortunately. I’ll get a morning after pill from David though - discreetly.” 

“Good. There’s no way we’re actually going to repopulate this hell hole.”

“We could have a lot of fun trying though.”

He smirks and you see those dimples again. God, those dimples.

“Right, you’d better get back out there before anyone realises how long you’ve been missing.”

“They have no idea how long breaking through a firewall takes. They probably think we’re in here mashing buttons like those hackers on TV.”

“Well, the buttons are certainly mashed,” he says, looking over your shoulder at the sticky surface.

You brush his curly hair from his face. “Do you… would you want to do this again? Same time, same place tomorrow?”

“Absoltely not. What a mess. We’re lucky the whole place didn’t go into critical failure. Come to my quarters. Tonight.”

“I’m busy tonight.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ve got several hours scheduled in for contemplating my existence as one of the last human beings on the planet.”

“Don’t you manage diaries for a living? I’m sure you of all people could find a way to squeeze me in.” He looks at you expectantly.

“Maybe...” You get up and step into your underwear. “Make it my room. And bring a strong drink.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says, handing you your dress and watching you pull it over your head as he buckles his belt again. You put on your heels and walk over to the keypad on the door. You open it.

“Will that be all, Mr Steinberg?” You ask.

“Yes, thank you.” You step out the door. “Wait.” You turn to look at him over your shoulder. “You would have been a fucking great assistant, by the way.”

“I think you were right the first time. We’d never have gotten anything done.”

Chapter 2: Nice Guy

[teeth--thief]

I’ve likely flooded your inbox by now. Tell me about Medvedev?

-R, (Rodka).

Hi hi hello Rodka! Hell yeah, let's get into that mf-- man. I mean man.

He's the author of The Truth about Chernobyl aka Chernobyl Notebook and No Breathing Room (it takes a masochist to read that, which I am not. It's in the Drive regardless, just in case someone out there is). The general consensus goes that he was more or less a mouthpiece for the government, spreading their narrative further. The book, being one of the first ones about the disaster, was meant to ensure that the general public blames all the convenient people, overlooking the ones that truly mattered and were to blame in this story.

In the preface of very own his book, one S. Zalygin (I don't know who you are and do not care to find out) describes him as such:

The author is a nuclear power specialist who worked for a time at the Chernobyl AES and knows it well, just as he is personally acquainted with all the principal participants in the events. By virtue of his official position, he has attended many of the crucial conferences concerning nuclear power plant construction.

Worked for a time at Chernobyl AES is one way to put it. I mean... sure, he did. According to Steinberg at least, he even was the first Deputy Chief Engineer. For 6 months. In 1973. According to Dyatlov, Medvedev was in Chernobyl from 1972 until 1974 - whichever the case may be, that's either 5 or 3 years before the launch of the first unit. Now, time for a little conspiracy theory... Guess when Dyatlov, who was very well known for tolerating nothing but absolute professionalism and discipline, started working in Chernobyl? In 1973. And guess who the first author (if I'm not mistaken) to spread the narrative about Dyatlov basically being The Devil and so much more was? Medvedev. Listen, I'm not saying these two things are related... HOWEVER...

Nah, I'm kidding. If that was the case, A.S. Dyatlov would have mentioned so in How It Was, in which he does talk in length about Medvedev and his book, mainly in chapter 9. He is mean to him in the best, most professional way possible. Example being this bit:

“I arrived at the construction site of the nuclear power plant in the village of Pripyat directly from the Moscow clinic, where I was treated for radiation sickness. I still felt bad, but I could walk and decided that, working, I would get back to normal faster.”

I don’t know how he felt - bad or good, but according to the 6th hospital (A.K. Guskova and A.F. Shamardin), G. Medvedev did not have radiation sickness and the dose was minimal.

He really said I went to the idiot village (got the most important staff from the hospital in Moscow on record) and everybody there knew you (they said you were fine, you fucking liar).

I'm not too sure where I heard this (maybe from Kupnyi?), but the general opinion of the people in the nuclear field, people from ChNPP of Medvedev is that... well... they don't see him as a professional at all, really. He was deemed untrustworthy, a liar and first and foremost - someone lacking the technical knowledge he always presented himself as being in possession of.

Additionally, this is what Nikolai Steinberg - one of the people on the INSAG-7 commission, a ChNPP worker (a book of his is on the Drive, too, by the way) - had this to say about him in this incredibly long interview with not only him but quite a few other interesting people... like the one and only, Stolyarchuk: bless whoever clipped it so that I don't have to look for the right part in a 3 hour long video! (Yes, there are subtitles! And there's also part two) Safe to say - nobody in the professional field likes Medvedev :)

[slashersgirlypop]

Grilled Cheese Chapter 6.

TW: NON-CON AND NON SEXUAL SPANKING

(September 1st, 1978)

            I huffed, bored out of my mind. Yes, I was still scared of the big, strong, stabby man, (who I just started to call Mask-Man), but I also was locked in the closet for a great majority of the day. If I had to guess, I had been in this closet for maybe five or so hours? Maybe more? All I knew was that when I knocked on the door, asking for at least some food, a slice of cheese was shoved at me. He only let me out today twice to use the restroom. I heard him leave about maybe an hour after locking me in the closet and then come back four hours later through the back door.

            Some point during the day, before he left, I heard Miss Petunia come down the stairs. I don’t know what happened, but it didn’t sound like there was any sounds of pained meows. I did hear her begin to eat food, so thankfully the stoic and silent Mask-Man does have decency to at least feed her.

            “Excuse me? Sir? Mr. Mask-Man-Person? Are you, uh, just planning on keeping me in here forever? You know, I got a job and friends who might be wondering where the hell I am. Also, it’s really boring in here. I counted all the brush-hair-things on the broom in here fifteen times. I’m worried I’ll go crazy, so, can I be let out?”

            As expected, I got no response. I groaned, slumping against the door, sliding down until my butt hit the floor. I began to light bonk my head against the wood. Alright, time to use the annoying-hostage-girl approach.

            “Let me out please.” Bonk.

            “Let me out please.” Bonk.

            “Let me out please.” Bonk.

            “Let me oOF-,” I huffed, falling on my back once he opened the door. I stared up at him, my head between his shoes, him looking down at me. Even though I couldn’t see his face, I hoped he looked annoyed by my successful antics.

            “Mra?” Miss Petunia chirped from Mask-Man’s shoulder, looking down at me curiously. My mouth slightly opened in betrayal at my cat. While I was locked in the dusty old closet, my beloved pet was buddying up and getting all cozy with my captor. The audacity of pets, I swear.

            “Alright. So, are we just gonna have a staring contest, Mask-Man? Am I allowed to come out? If you’re planning on a staring contest, it’s not really fair on my end because you could be blinking and I’d have no way to tell with your mask and all.” Shrugging, I looked up at the man. He just stared at me before walking away, leaving me on the floor.

            Groaning, I sat up, feeling my joints cracking in my back. I hoping he wasn’t planning on locking me in the closet tonight, because that would not be comfortable to sleep in. Speaking of which, where did he sleep last night?

            I turned, jumping as he just stood behind me.

            “How are you so fast and quiet, pal?” I asked. Wordlessly, he thrusted two objects into my chest. It was a notepad and crayons. Did…did he want me to draw or something? Then, Mask-Man pushed me not too gently into the family room, where the TV was on, playing cartoons. He shoved me into a chair before walking over and plopping down on the couch. Miss Petunia mewed softly at him as if the gently chide him before hopping off his should and walking over to me. She laid at the bottom of my chair, her head on my foot, and she began to purr quietly.

            Mask-Man said nothing, only focusing his attention on the animated figures. Honestly, this is not how I would imagine a kidnapping or hostage-taking-thing would go. It could be worse; I could be dead. At least my only reason to be alive is that I make him food.

            I began to absentmindedly draw on the paper, getting lost in my thoughts. I didn’t want to be his cook forever, and eventually someone other than Mr. Steinberg is going to wonder what happened to me and come check on me. Mrs. Gracie most likely will send one of her boys to check on me, like she did when I was sick with the flu and had to take off work. Until then, I have to figure out how to play my cards right and not piss off this guy to the point of killing me. Despite my numerous other escape attempts, I knew I could get out and get help. But how is the question? He’s always there, he’s quieter than an ant, he can kill me probably with one hand, so what would I do-wait. My crayon skid to a stop on the mane of the badass centaur I was drawing

            Does he know I have a gun?

            Earlier, when I thought he was just some kid pulling a mean joke, I did mention it, but I don’t know if he thought I was bluffing or not. I hope he does think I’m bluffing. I could use the gun and force him to let me out, or even kill him. I frowned at that idea. I don’t really like the idea of taking a life, even if he did kill people, but if I must…

            I stood up, stretching my arms, his head turning to me. He began to stand up as well before I sighed.

            “I’m just going to make myself some food, Mask-Man. No need to patrol and act as my guard. I’m not dumb enough to try to escape again,” except that I was, “so just, chill out. I’m just hungry because all you gave me was a slice of cheese.” He paused before slowly sitting back down, his head still pointed at me. Then, he slowly turned his attention back to the screen.

            Taking deep breathes as quietly as I could as I walked kitchen, my eyes zeroed in on the drawer where the pistol was. Casually, I approached the pantry, which was near the drawer, but unfortunately in sight of the family room, meaning Mask-Man could see me. It also just occurred to me that I had no idea how to use a fucking gun. It couldn’t be that hard, right? Just aim and shoot. I mean, I think it was loaded, although I wasn’t sure.

            After pretending to peruse the pantry, I took a deep and shaky breath before yanking open the drawer and grabbing the gun. I gripped it with both hands and pointed it at the man, who now was staring at me, standing up.

            “You know what this is, buddy? It’s a fuckin’ gun. I didn’t wanna do this, but I had no choice. Let me go,” I ordered, trying my best to look intimidating despite the man practically being a giant compared to me. He merely stared at me, before taking a step in my direction, which I yelled at.

            “H-HEY! No! Don’t take any steps towards me, you mask-guy-man. Stay there! I will shoot! Don’t try me!” He proceeded to take several more steps, despite my warnings. When he was within five feet of me, I closed my eyes and aimed the gun at his head.

            “I’m sorry, but I warned you!” I pulled the trigger, wincing and bracing myself for the inevitable fact that I will be staring at a corpse when I opened my eyes.

            Click. My eyes whipped back to the gun, wide. It’s in that moment I realized that it, in fact, wasn’t loaded. Fuck.

            He grabbed the gun and wrenched it out of my hands, throwing it aside, staring down at me.

            “Shit, oh shit, I’m sorry, please don’t kill me, I’m sorry! PLEASE!” I pled, shrieking as he grabbed my hair, no doubt pulling out strands as he dragged me to the living room, my scalp screaming in pain.

            He sat down on the couch, yanking me over his lap, making me lose my breath. He grabbed my jeans and yanked them down along with my panties, exposing my ass to the open. I began to writhe, desperately trying to get off him. He was going to rape me, he was going to fucking rape me-

            I gasped in pain as I felt his big hand come down of my right cheek, the pain bursting out. I didn’t have time to process what he was doing though because he continued to spank my ass, no doubt leaving bruises at a relentless pace. I began to sob around thirty, dangling miserably from his lap.

            My ass felt like it was on fire. He didn’t stick to a pattern, he just spanked. I never had felt so humiliated in my life.

            By the time he was done, I was a sobbing mess. Snot was dribbling slowly out my nose onto the carpet below, tears also staining the carpet.

            I choked on air when he cruelly gripped my left cheek, digging his nails into the skin. I just let him, feeling defeated. I didn’t know how to react. I was just grateful he was done.

            He shoved me off his lap and onto the carpet. I yelped, before continuing to sob, my rear exposed to the air still.

He just ignored me, as he normally did.

~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪~🔪

ye, sorry if you aren't normally a crier, (y/n) got a bit of a traumatic experience. I was basing her reaction off what I would do in this situation, and I would just fuckin sob and feel weak. MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HANUKAH/ HAPPY WHATEVER YOU CELEBRATE!!!! See ya, my fellow slasher sluts.

[mtaartsdesign]

Mara Held’s “El in 16 Notes” (2002) at Hewes St (J,M) station is a meditation on the qualities of light, filtered through overlapping forms in vibrant colors. Inspired by cut-out dress patterns, the shapes repeat in unpredictable ways, creating asymmetric, abstract compositions. Held paid particular attention to the colors and role of natural light to animate and illuminate the work, through which one can see the skyline in the bright daylight.

Held is currently featured in I AM THE PASSENGER at Mother Gallery, alongside fellow #MTAarts artist Rico Gatson. On view through July 29.

Photos: Tamar Steinberger, Tara Foster

[dweemeister]

My Alternative 96th Academy Awards

This is an exercise that has not appeared on this blog since 2019 for the 91st ceremony. But I wanted to revive it. So what would tomorrow's Academy Awards ceremony looked like if I determined all the nominees and the winners? This is my ideal world, my alternative universe, if you will. Prepare for controversy, and my ambivalence towards Poor Things and The Zone of Interest (which doesn't get nominated at all here).

It's been a while since I've done this, so there might be some quirks newer followers are less familiar with. Most notably, if you see a three letter abbreviation anywhere, that indicates a movie not in the English language and indicates the country/countries of origin based on their three-letter FIFA code of all things.

Without further ado!

96th Academy Awards – March 10, 2024 Dolby Theatre – Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Host: Jimmy Kimmel Broadcaster: ABC

Best Picture: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Anatomy of a Fall (FRA), Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion (Neon/Le Pacte)

Barbie, David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley,  and Robbie Brenner (Warner Bros.)

The Holdovers, Mark Johnson (Focus/Universal)

Killers of the Flower Moon, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese, and Daniel Lupi (Apple/Paramount)

Oppenheimer, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan (Universal)

Past Lives, David Hinojosa, Christina Vachon, and Pamela Koffler (A24)

Robot Dreams (ESP/FRA), Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, Sandra Tapia, Jérôme Vidal, and Pablo Berger (Neon/Bteam Pictures/Wild Bunch)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg (Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia)

The Taste of Things (FRA), Olivier Delbosc (Gaumont)

20 Days in Mariupol (UKR), Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Derl McCrudden, and Michelle Mizner (Associated Press/Public Broadcasting Service)

Am I nuts? A documentary (there's nothing in the rules that say they can't be nominated for Best Picture)? Why not? TWO animated features? Let alone a movie that almost nobody outside of Europe has seen? Well I've seen Robot Dreams, and it is one of the best 2023 release I saw all year.

My full thoughts on my favored film, Killers of the Flower Moon, can be found in my write-up here.

Six of the current Best Picture nominees keep their nomination. American Fiction, Maestro, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest are dropped. In their place go Robot Dreams, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Taste of Things, and 20 Days in Mariupol. I strongly considered replacing Barbie, but decided against it. Yes, I believe there were more than ten movies better than Barbie this year. But I richly *enjoyed* Barbie, and appreciate its instant spot in film history. It stays in.

Best Director

Joaquin Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Trần Anh Hùng, The Taste of Things

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall

Folks are saying Martin Scorsese is not nearly as innovative as he used to be. Au contraire, I say. Killers of the Flower Moon exemplifies tons of personal and artistic growth for him... and that extremely risky ending pays off dividends. As a Nolan skeptic, I am indeed impressed with his work on Oppenheimer, but it's not the "best" for me this year.

Those familiar with my affiliation with Viet Film Fest might detect some bias, but hell The Taste of Things was gorgeous, folks.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, Maestro

Colman Domingo, Rustin

Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

It's a toss-up to me. But, having to choose one, I'll go for a man who is probably overdue.

Best Actress

Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall

Alma Pöysti, Fallen Leaves (FIN)

Margot Robbie, Barbie

Emma Stone, Poor Things

The first acting change from the actual Oscars appears here, with Finnish actress Alma Pöysti replacing Annette Bening in Nyad. But this should be Lily Gladstone's, who would justly be making a lot of history here.

And yes, Barbie fans... I relent. Margot Robbie makes my final cut.

Best Supporting Actor

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers

I don't think RDJ should be sweeping the season as he has. I think it's a lot closer between all of these fellows than it actually has been. Disagree with me all you want, but I think De Niro was truly menacing in KOTFM. And he didn't need any deaging this time, either!

Best Supporting Actress

Juliette Binoche, The Taste of Things

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

Penélope Cruz, Ferrari

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Fine, I guess? I think Randolph's character gets cut out of The Holdovers far too soon. But I can't make the case for anyone else this year except for maybe Binoche (whom some people will complain about my placement in Supporting Actress instead of Lead Actress, but that's how the studio campaigned for her).

Best Adapted Screenplay

Pablo Berger, Robot Dreams

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

I'm not going to second-guess the Academy on its placement of Barbie here. It's not winning in this category in any case. American Fiction is a solid, imperfect satire, and finds its due here.

Best Original Screenplay

İlker Çatak and Johannes Duncker, The Teachers’ Lounge (GER)

David Hemingson, The Holdovers

A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One

Celine Song, Past Lives

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall

I was very, very tempted to give this to Past Lives. But in the end, my sneaking feeling that I don't quite buy the closeness - despite having not talked for so long - of the two lead characters wins out.

Anatomy of a Fall is a hell of a balancing act, domestically and legally, and wins here.

Best Animated Feature

The Boy and the Heron, Japan (GKIDS/Studio Ghibli/Toho Company)

Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, France (GKIDS/StudioCanal)

Robot Dreams, Spain/France (Neon/Bteam Pictures/Wild Bunch)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia)

Suzume, Japan (GKIDS/Toho Company)

Stoking the flames, but here we are! I think ATSV is slightly better than Robot Dreams as a whole, but the film lacks a resolution and obviously had access to more resources. Spider-Man will return to this category. I'm not so sure about Pablo Berger. The heartfelt and dialogue-free Robot Dreams takes it, while the Ernest & Celestine sequel and Suzume make it in place of Elemental and Nimona.

Best Documentary Feature

Bobi Wine: The People’s President (National Geographic)

The Eternal Memory, Chile (MTV Documentary Films)

Four Daughters, Tunisia/France/Germany/Saudi Arabia (Kino Lorber/Jour2Fête)

To Kill a Tiger, Canada (National Film Board of Canada)

20 Days in Mariupol, Ukraine (Associated Press/Public Broadcasting Service)

Extraordinary filmmaking and, as you can imagine, brutal to watch. It's freely available online for any American readers out there, thanks to PBS.

Best International Feature

Fallen Leaves, Finland

Society of the Snow, Spain

The Taste of Things, France

The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany

20 Days in Mariupol, Ukraine

I follow Academy rules here in terms of one movie per country.

Best Cinematography

Edward Lachman, El Conde

Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon

Mathtew Libatique, Maestro

Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer

Jonathan Ricquebourg, The Taste of Things

Best Film Editing

Laurent Sénéchal, Anatomy of a Fall

Kevin Tent, The Holdovers

Thelma Schoonmaker, Killers of the Flower Moon

Jennifer Lame, Oppenheimer

Michael Andrews, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Original Score

Michael Giacchino, Society of the Snow

Laura Karpman, American Fiction

Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon (posthumous nomination)

John Williams, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Hans Zimmer, The Creator

The folks who complained that Dial of Destiny was not original enough need to go 1) watch the movie and 2) listen to the score afterwards. There was a distinct lack of older Indiana Jones cues in there, and "Helena's Theme" is the best cue of 2023. Too many people online write about film scores but have little idea about what they're talking about (*cough* David Ehrlich at IndieWire *cough*).

That said, Williams doesn't win here. It's Giacchino, for a score that does a hell lot of the heavy emotional lifting in a grim movie that concludes with its real-life happy ending.

Best Original Song

“I’m Just Ken”, music and lyrics by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie

“It Never Went Away”, music and lyrics by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson, American Symphony

“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)”, music and lyrics by Scott George, Killers of the Flower Moon

“What Was I Made For?” music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Barbie

Four nominees rather than five, because I didn't like much else that was shortlisted. This category has been my personal hell in recent years.

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Barbie

Jacqueline West, Killers of the Flower Moon

Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Napoleon

Ellen Mirojnick, Oppenheimer

Holly Waddington, Poor Things

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby, and Ashra Kelly-Blue, Golda

Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou, and Lori McCoy-Bell, Maestro

Luisa Abel, Oppenheimer

Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston, Poor Things

Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí, and Montse Ribé, Society of the Snow

Best Production Design

Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Barbie

Jack Fisk and Adam Willis, Killers of the Flower Moon

Arthur Max and Elli Griff, Napoleon

Ruth De Jong and Claire Kaufman, Oppenheimer

James Price, Shona Heath, and Zsuzsa Mihalek, Poor Things

Best Sound

Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich, and Dean Zupancic, The Creator

Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich, and Dean Zupancic, Maestro

Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo, and Kevin O'Connell, Oppenheimer

Steven Ghouti, Fabiola Ordoyo, and Laia Picón, Robot Dreams

Best Visual Effects

Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, and Neil Corbould, The Creator

Sanjay Bakshi, Stephen Marshall, Jon Reisch, Junyi Ling, Elemental

Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima, Godzilla Minus One

Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland, and Neil Corbould, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Michael Lasker, Alan Hawkins, Bret St. Clair, Pav Grochola, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Animated Short

Letter to a Pig, Israel/France (The Hive Studio/Miyu Productions)

Ninety-Five Senses (MAST/V42 Venture Studio Fund)

Our Uniform, Iran

Pachyderme, France (Miyu Distribution)

War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (ElectroLeague)

Full write-up on this category by yours truly here.

Best Documentary Short

The ABCs of Book Banning (MTV Documentary Films)

The Barber of Little Rock (The New Yorker)

The Island in Between, Taiwan (The New York Times)

The Last Repair Shop (Los Angeles Times/Searchlight)

Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Walt Disney)

Full write-up on this category by yours truly here. Please don't let The ABCs of Book Banning win, I s2g.

Best Live Action Short

The After (Neon/Netflix)

Invincible, Canada (H264 Distribution)

Knight of Fortune, Denmark (TV 2)

Red, White and Blue (Majic Ink Productions)

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix)

Full write-up on this category by yours truly here. But we all know Henry Sugar is gonna win it due to Wes Anderson name recognition.

Academy Honorary Awards: Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, and Carol Littleton

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Michelle Satter

MULTIPLE NOMINEES (18) Twelve: Oppenheimer Eleven: Killers of the Flower Moon Eight: Barbie Six: The Holdovers Five: Anatomy of a Fall, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Taste of Things Four: American Fiction, Poor Things, Robot Dreams Three: The Creator, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Society of the Snow, 20 Days in Mariupol Two: Fallen Leaves, Napoleon, Past Lives, The Teachers’ Lounge

WINNERS 4 wins: Killers of the Flower Moon

2 wins: The Holdovers, Oppenheimer, Society of the Snow

1 win: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, Godzilla Minus One, Knight of Fortune, The Last Repair Shop, Letter to a Pig, Poor Things, Robot Dreams, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Taste of Things, 20 Days in Mariupol

16 winners from 23 categories. 34 feature-length films and 15 short films were represented.

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Soul Coughing/ Jeff Buckley Rock the House

Great American Music Hall on Thursday

night (May 4, 1995)

By MTV News Staff

May 6, 1995

12:00 AM

Editor's Note: We found a pile of notes on the recent Jeff

Buckley/Soul Coughing concert scribbled by our business manager, Steve McConnell. They were almost unintelligible, but after hours and hours of deciphering, we were able to piece together the following report.

Listen to Soul Coughing's debut album, Ruby Vroom, and you'd think the New York-based quartet were beat poets messing around with samples. See them in person however, and it is clear that they are from the New York white-boy school of rap (think low-keyed Beastie Boys). That was the most surprising thing about their terrific hour-long performance at the Great American Music Hall on Thursday night (May 4).

"You all don't have to get up," said leader singer/rapper M. Doughty, as Soul Coughing took the stage. "I was kinda digging that campfire thing." He was directing his comments to the nearly 100 people sitting cross-legged on the floor of San Francisco's Great American Music Hall.

Ruby Vroom has received some remarkable (and well deserved) reviews. The New Yorker called it "one of the best records of 1994"; Details noted that "this is some serious boho, Dada shit." Live, the group more than lived up to such praise.

Soul Coughing is comprised of Sebastian Steinberg on upright bass; Yuval Gabay, drums; M'Ark De Gli Antoni, keyboards/samples; and Doughty on guitar and vocals. They emerged from the New York avant garde jazz scene (John Zorn gets a word of thanks in the album credits). Live, the group brought together elements of Morphine (the driving bass and narrative style), Digable Planets ( rap set to jazz samples) and the Beasties. But where Digable Planets come from the rap world and the Beasties arrived via punk, Soul Coughing bring a distinctive bohemian jazz sensibility to the mix.

At the Music Hall, they performed nearly the entire album. Highlights included "Casiotone Nation," "Mr. Bitterness," "Down To This" and the amazing "Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago," which included the line "San Mateo is in the house." After performing that song, noting the enthusiastic response, Doughty said, "I guess San Mateo is in the house."

Headliner Jeff Buckley was in fine form, performing one of the most rocking sets of his current tour (at least according to a fan who saw the last four shows), stretching out many of the songs and improvising. Buckley played a taped-up red Rickenbacker six string guitar; his voice sounded even more beautiful and emotional than on his debut album, Grace. At one point someone from the audience yelled, "Shonen Knife?" "OK," replied Buckley, then played two minutes of a Shonen Knife song while the rest of the band smirked. Half way through the set Buckley played a loud and raucous version of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams."

[leefletcher]

no y’all don’t understand!!! anything good about the show is STEINBERG

i see ppl attributing “i am Sally Jackson’s son” to rick. nah man, that’s steinberg!

i see ppl worried abt the future of the show, nah man, steinberg’s got this.

like okay yeah, rick was involved in the writing process, but i’m hopeful steinberg was able to at least steer him away from egregiously bad decisions

and i can already tell from the themes and characterizations that steinberg is nailing it, maybe not perfectly, but he’s doing pretty well. and we’ve only seen 2 episodes, we don’t know what’s in store

[perfectly-uncapable]

i just finished my reread of the lightning thief and i am watching some interviews and jon steinberg I AM IN YOUR WALLS i see you. annabeth loneliest girl on the planet. annabeth reconnecting with her humanity. "i joined the studio and immediately asked about developing a percy jackson show" ass mf

[audiemurphy1945]

I don’t see people because I have to put on a show of normality, man of wit, eloquent. That’s not what I am anymore, an illusion from the past.

- Saul Steinberg, 1998

[marjaystuff]

Interview with Shaina Steinberg

Under the Paper Moon

Evelyn Bishop and Nick Gallagher Book 1

Kensington Pub

April 23rd, 2024

Under The Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg is a fun read.  Between the scenes of WWII and the murder of someone in 1948 this blends a mystery and thriller. There is love, duty, loyalty, and forgiveness.

The heroine, Evelyn Bishop, has joined the OSS as a spy.  Besides wanting to help the allies she is trying to rescue her brother, held in a German POW camp. Her supervisor is Nick Gallagher.  They become intimate and grow close during the war until he betrays her. 

Six years later, Evelyn is working as a private investigator. After trailing a suspected cheating husband, the suspect is murdered. Evelyn finds out that Nick is also a PI, who was working with the murdered victim. Teaming up for a final mission, Evelyn and Nick begin to uncover the true nature of her case, realizing that the war has followed them home.

The banter in the story adds humor to the story. There is a lot of action with some romance that includes a love triangle.

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?

Shaina Steinberg: This is the first in a three-book deal, but I am hoping that I can continue writing more in the series. I love old movies and I started to watch movies from the 1940s.  These had strong women like Katherine Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman. This is partly why I set it during this period.  Plus, there is a correlation with my grandmother who was a strong and vibrant woman.  She got married and did everything society expected of her. She had regrets because she really wanted to be a doctor or a nurse. She did not have many options in her life.  My heroine, Evelyn, explores what my grandmother could have been. 

EC: How did you get the idea for this story?

SS: I have been fascinated by WWII and my father read bedtime stories written by Elie Wiesel. He always said, ‘it can happen here so we must be vigilant.’  I see this is as a story that delved into the war, but not just that aspect.  It shows what war can do to someone and the sacrifices made, especially what a parent would do to keep their child safe. 

EC: Do you think there is a corollary between being a spy and a private investigator?

SS: Absolutely. Evelyn as a spy was extremely competent.  She was taught to be undetected and how to notice small clues that might lead to something bigger.

EC:  How would you describe Evelyn?

SS:  She is very talented, good with a gun and able to speak five languages. She is a feminist and loves the adrenaline rush. She could be selfish, petty, sarcastic, stubborn but is also loyal, fearless, funny, and brave. She is from a privileged background. But after the war, her eyes are open, which gives her empathy.

EC:  As with many of those in the military who have retired, they miss it.  Please explain how you explored this in the story with Evelyn.

SS: There were two quotes in the book that refer to this.  The first, “There is no place for me. Not here. Not there. Not anywhere.” The second, “Those first week’s home Evelyn felt as if she was under water. Sometimes it felt like sitting on the ocean floor with the weight of the water pressing down on her.” The second quote is like someone grieving and that grief encompasses everything in someone’s life. While later, after the grief is not so fresh, the person can be functional. The weight of the ocean water is the numbness. The first quote refers to how after the war she feels useless. Evelyn does not want to be a stay-at-home wife because she actively saved lives during the war and had a sense of purpose. 

EC:  How would you describe the hero, Nick?

SS:  He was Evelyn’s commander during the war. During the war he felt fulfillment, a sense of purpose, confident, fearless, and self-assured. Now, after the war he feels hopeless with a sense of failure.  He feels rage and anger. The anger is an undercurrent as to when he was abandoned by his family when he was so young, feeling his life was unjust and unfair.  He uses that anger to motivate him.  

EC: What about the relationship between Evelyn and Nick?

SS:  Evelyn gave him stability, hope, and happiness.  During the war they were bonded by danger.  They are in love even though he betrayed her. From Evelyn he saw that she is kind, good, and has a belief in the goodness in people. Nick sees the world from her point of view, through her eyes. Nick gets a sense of purpose from Evelyn. I think she helps him channel all his anger into ways he can help others. After the war when he loses her, he loses his sense of purpose.  I also think the war gave her a sense of purpose. She felt like she was doing something important that could save lives. I think a big part of Nick’s appeal is that he was her partner in that purpose, and he never thought of her as anything less than strong and capable. 

EC:  Is there a love triangle between Evelyn, Nick, and her current fiancé? 

SS:  Yes.  There is a scene in the book where Evelyn describes James, her current fiancé,as “romantic, sweet, kind, and chivalrous.”  Nick sees James as “desperate, needy, and old-fashioned.” If there was never WWII, she probably would have married James when she was twenty-two. Before she went to war that would have been enough because she did not know anything different.  To her James is safe and represents her being home and her innocence as well as her living breathing connection to her brother.  But what he represents is not enough for her anymore. Evelyn does not see a compability between her world before the war and one after the war. Her appeal for Nick is beyond more than their chemistry, but he was also there when she grew into the person she is now. But because of his betrayal she questions everything she saw and knew about him as well as how she sees herself.

EC:  What is the relevance of the song, “Paper Moon?”

SS: Everything she felt about Nick was turned around once she thought he betrayed her. The song represents the way Evelyn sees their love. She thought their love was real and after he betrayed her, she now feels it was hollow. On a personal level it was one of my grandmother’s favorite songs, so it reminds me of her. 

EC:  Next book?

SS:  It will be published in May of next year, with a working title An Unquiet Peace. One of my regrets was that I did not explore Evelyn’s female friendships in this book, but it is part of the second book. There are still conflicts between Nick and Evelyn. It will take place in October 1948 around the Berlin Airlift. Nick also has a case of a woman who wants to leave her marriage.

THANK YOU!!