#Tus Milton

[graceandtheidiotsquad]

You (WROEF Oc)

A/n: This was originally written as a vent piece for some stuff going on in my life right now-but I loved how it turned out at least so here it is-

The first few weeks were the worst.

That’s how Eliza remembered it, anyway. The first few weeks, when someone goes missing, were always the worst.

She still remembered every detail of that day, right down to the beaten up sneakers she’d been wearing. She remembered rushing towards the tower-carelessly letting her stupid cardboard birthday hat fly freely from her head. She wouldn’t need it-she never needed it. 

Sometimes she forgot it had been her birthday. That felt so trivial now..

Had it been her fault..? Had she just-not pushed hard enough..? She still wondered about that. If she hadn’t been at the party that night-could she have talked him out of whatever he had done..? Would-would he still be here if anything had been different..?

Hell. This was hell-this felt like some sort of perfect, Inescapable hell. And that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was the waiting. 

During those first few days she had hope-maybe he’d change his mind, maybe he would come back. Maybe this was some big misunderstanding and he’d just needed a break..! ..But then the days turned to weeks. And the weeks turned to months.

And the months turned to almost 20 years now.

And the worst-the absolute worst-part of it was she still had hope. She still, somewhere deep inside her-hoped he was still out there, that one day he would finally come home. The other parts-though she felt guilty for even the idea of saying it-..hoped she’d hear he was dead in a ditch somewhere. It was nothing against him obviously, just-..at least she would have some kind of closure. But as it stood-..there was still nothing. Just this empty, reeling pit of the unknown that made her feel anxious, it made her feel empty.

And it wasn’t like she didn’t have friends anymore. She had her support system, she had wonderful friends and family whom she loved.

She felt so guilty for still being upset. Why should she be, she still had friends-! She still had a loving family..! It’s not like she was alone-! ..but sometimes it felt like it. It felt like a whole piece of the gang was just..gone, and never to be replaced. She wondered if the others still thought of him, or worried-or if they’d forgotten, if they just wanted to move on and for her to shut up about it and save them all the griping.

But for now-..all she could really do was wait. 

Eliza Krolik..the girl who waited.

”..Hey Milly…” Eliza’s hands softly ran across the interior of the old tower. It still felt so strange coming back here-it felt empty, like a castle without a king. 

“I brought you something today..! Something really cool I found-“ the artist gave a weak smile, fishing around for something in her cluttered satchel-she never really did bother to organize the many layers of art supplies and whatever trinkets she could stuff in there. Maybe she would someday, but-not today. Today was more important.

Today she’d found a heart shaped rock on the beach. ”I know, I know it’s not much but-“ she spoke to thin air-she knew there was no way in hell he’d hear her-..but it felt natural at this point. “It’s a Heart shaped rock..! How cool is that..!” 

Minutes of painful silenced passed-a joke with no answer, no laughter or reply.

“..Anyway..” she sighed, her face falling a bit. “..I hope..I hope you know out there that someone misses you, Milton. All of us do..! And I know you may not believe me-but they do. In their own ways..! ..and then there’s me-“ she gave a weak, untrue smile. “..The idiot sitting in your old tower, talking to thin air like you’ll actually say something back.”

After another round of uncomfortable silence-Eliza sighed, gently setting the rock down onto the floor in front of that old door painting. It had been the last thing he ever painted-a cryptic, concerning message left behind that never got explained-and likely never would at this rate. “..I love you, Milly..” she muttered as she slowly backed away-turning to leave through the window she’d clambered in through. “..Maybe someday..”

Maybe someday. That sounded like a good summary of how she felt.

Maybe someday, he’d come home. 

Maybe someday, there’d be some sort of answer-anything..

Maybe someday.

[odetarifunk]

Monroe and Milton Finch

[hannahhook7744]

Queenie and Milton Finch Edit;

(Song: Peter Pan).

(Reason: Seems fitting).

[tacos-biggest-fan]

I knew the unfinished swan as its own standalone game for years. I’d heard of what remains of Edith finch before but only recently learnt the two are connected. I’d like to talk about the best character (spoilers under cut)

Milton finch/the king is so interesting to me istg. The fact Milton escaped the curse by going to his own reality/creaton, being the unfinished swan is such an interesting way to connect the games. Pretend this was a longer post, but have a redraw of a scene from wroef

[zer0cyanz]

Some of Nico Collins songs fit Milton so good it’s almost uncanny, and no I will not explain in great detail but check out ‘The Unfinished Swan’ to get a general idea ;))

Here is some examples I think you should check out to see what I mean:

“Honest”

Okay so I’ll admit. Milton is one of my favorite characters and I tend to turn my favs into unhinged lunatics but in all honesty (😏) if you were to imagine the relationship between Milton and The Queen who we don’t have a name for, I think this song suits more than perfectly. I am aware she wasn’t interested in him but that doesn’t mean the song still doesn’t stand. And yes, I’m also aware that Milton might have been a little obsessed which goes against the premise of the song but when we take into account that he is canonically a bit of an asshole I think we can excuse it a little.

Hate me

See, if “honest” doesn’t sit quite right due to the dynamic feeling flipped I think you would enjoy this song more. Hate me is basically about a toxic relationship where Nico express that he will do ungodly things to himself if they don’t stay together. He expresses that he loves the way she hates him. TW for suicidal ideation tho- still a banging song imo and suits more than perfectly but should probably at least mention that. :))

Stranger

I’m not sure what to comment on this song. It only works if you believe that Milton didn’t die in 2003 and rather ran away from home (and lived till adulthood). I mean, I guess it could work but still. If you don’t want to imagine that though, know that this song is also a really good Lewis song :)) Honestly almost better for Lewis but I’m keeping it in the list.

Don’t wake me up

Now, for this song it doesn’t matter much if you think Milton died in 2003 or if he ran away from home, it works in both cases. Again, I should mention, this too is a great Lewis song^^ I believe a song could work for several characters at once which is why I’m including them.

Having written this I now realized that a lot of Nico’s songs works great for Lewis too. Just because of that I’ll add that ‘Set me free’ is a good song for him also and I think one look at the lyrics will explain why. This mfs are doing stuff to my brain and I am aware not everyone will agree but sometimes I just got to let the ‘tism win. If only I had the motivation to turn these into animatics 😞

[lobuenodepuertorico]

Finca Hydromas: un sueño de vida

Milton Seda y su esposa Yarileen Álamo buscan promover la alimentación saludable a través del cultivo hidropónico

Las montañas del barrio Santa Rosa II de Guaynabo custodian un proyecto de cultivo ecoamigable, cuyo propósito es promover la alimentación saludable a través de un sistema que no utiliza maquinaria.

Se trata de Hydromas, un concepto de hidropónicos que nació en el 2003, de la mano de Milton A. Seda Díaz y su esposa Yarileen Álamo Reyes, quienes fueron desarrollando una infraestructura que les permitiera trabajar de una forma natural, sin impactar el medioambiente.

Allí cultivan variedad de productos, entre estos, lechuga, kale, albahaca, hierbas y otras especias que distribuyen a clientes de la zona metropolitana de San Juan, Carolina y Guaynabo.

Seda Díaz de 52 años, recordó que, cuando decidió emprender el concepto, no contaba con el conocimiento ni experiencia en el campo. Esto más allá del ejemplo de su madre, una educadora de profesión y agricultora que, desde pequeño le inculcó su amor por los cultivos.

“Yo me crie aquí, viendo las matas de plátano y, lo que mi madre quiso hacer. Y, me quedé con eso, con todo lo hidropónico y lo empecé, era como un part-time para mí. Entonces, como vendía todo, decidí hacerlo para acá arriba”, explicó.

Así las cosas, Milton y su esposa adquirieron placas solares, cisternas y otros mecanismos ecológicos, que introdujeron a la modesta estructura que utilizan como centro de operaciones. Esto para que el proyecto fuese “fructífero y lo más natural posible”.

“Esto es salud, lo que hacemos aquí es salud”, manifestó la fémina que es tecnóloga médica de profesión.

De esa manera, transformaron el lugar en su proyecto de vida, en un terreno de, aproximadamente, dos cuerdas.

Así seleccionaron las áreas para la producción de hierbas ricas en nutrientes y de alta calidad. En total, cuentan con unas 30,000 plantas.

“En este cultivo hidropónico se siembra lechuga, albahaca, cilantrillo, perejil, arúgula y la lechuga tricolor; una lechuga un poco más gourmet. Todo es hortaliza, pero el fuerte nuestro son las hierbas”, expuso Álamo Reyes.

Asimismo, Milton reveló que, sus productos le han merecido buenas críticas de especialistas en la materia, como resultado de su dedicación diaria.

Para lograrlo, han tenido que trabajar los siete días durante muchos años.

“Nosotros sembramos, semanalmente, un nuevo producto que tarda entre 10 a 13 días en el semillero y como 28 a 30 días para la cosecha. Entre una y otra cosa, son casi 40 días, aunque la lechuga se tarda un poco más porque depende del clima. En época de sol se nos atrasa y hay que inventar la sombra”, acotó Milton.

“Cada siete días, sembramos y recogemos la cosecha, la preparamos, distribuimos y entonces se lavan los huertos, se desinfectan y vuelves a sembrar. Todas las hierbas son frescas, se cortan y el mismo día las entregamos”, mencionó.

El matrimonio está en proceso de reinventarse a través de la adquisición de otros productos para cultivar.

“Estamos desarrollando un rancho nuevo, nos estamos modernizando con tecnología que cumpla con las nuevas reglamentaciones”, concluyó.

Para detalles: 787-627-2215.

Fuente: Primerahora

[kurosaaki]

what is happening in Valencia (Spain)?

More than 200 people have died and 2000 people are missing since the catastrophe that happened in Valencia, Spain, a couple days ago.

Valencia is one of the most popular and beautiful regions in Spain, often visited by lots of international — and national — tourists to have a great time in the summer.

Meteorologists said a year’s worth of rain had fallen in just eight hours in parts of Valencia — specially, in small towns — this Tuesday. In Spain, this phenomenon is called “Dana”, which is basically a “cold drop”, which causes saturated air to rise rapidly, leading to heavy rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes to happen.

For reference to americans: hurricane milton caused 27 dead, these massive storms in valencia caused more than 90 deaths in a region that is much, much smaller... the weather services warned about the danger, and political authorities still did nothing to send people home from their jobs. the civil alarms reached our phones at 8pm, when many were already trapped in cars, basements, malls, factories. the loss, especially human loss, is incalculable (from: @/woundposting on tumblr)

People who worked overnight for big companies were not even able to go back to their homes and ensure their safety — some of them, lots of them, even lost their lives in that same night. It has been three days now and there are still more reports of disappearances and deaths, and the government is NOT acting like they should. This is a tragedy, which could have been avoided if they only did one thing right, and no one is taking responsability — not the government, not the big companies who didn’t let their workers go home, no one.

It is always the working class people who help the working class people.

Since this is a situation that has took the whole country by surprise and horror, I will put more info under the cut if you want to know more, and if you want to donate to some gofundme’s.

Horta Sud is a county in Valencia that has been the most affected by the floodings. People are leaving their houses because they're scared of the infrastructure getting damaged and even walking by foot to Valencia capital to get food.

Letur (Albacete) is a town that has been destroyed by the floods. You can help rebuild it by donating to this gofundme that's directly coordinated with the town hall.

Hambre Cero is a Spanish food bank non-profit that was founded after the earthquakes in Indonesia. They're currently active in Palestine and Lebanon but they'll also be giving food to those who need it in Spain.

El Refugio de María a dog shelter in Sueca (Valencia), is completely flooded, leaving the dogs visibly distressed and without a proper place to sleep. You can donate to their PayPal: maria.g.may@gmail.com

Protectora San Antón is a shelter for cats and dogs in Jerez de la Frontera. It's flooded and the animals don't have a comfortable place to sleep in. If you live in Spain you can bizum them @ 635011715. If not, PayPal protectorasananton@hotmail.com

Help Sara and her family rebuild their home in Valencia:

there are many more links in twitter. the ones i have put here in this are from a thread posted by @ diangneylo. you can find the link to the thread here, with many more links: https://x.com/diangneylo/status/1851960706536534104?s=46&t=xf1Z6STThFP3w_mF4ugamA

[polisena-art]

tu já pensou em fazer personalidades brasileiras famosas como personagens do universo do Zé?

Raul Seixas, Elza Soares, Milton Nascimento, etc (eu falei só cantor porque tô num pique Chico Buarque ultimamente e ouvir "Homenagem ao Malandro" e "Até O Fim" com o Zé em mente foi uma experiência.)

Admito que já pensei sim! Até pq essas aparições especiais acontecem até nas histórias oficiais do Zé, então porque não?! Essas ideias estão aqui guardadinhas pro futuro no entanto- O máximo que eu fiz foi o Zé interagindo com umas subcelebridades XD se vc contar o Richarlison pombo e a Canarinha Guerreira KKKKKK

Muitas vezes eu acabo me inspirando mais em músicas específicas e prefiro fazer um desenho inspirado nelas ao invés de desenhar os cantores em si interagindo com os personagens. Mas acho que o Zé ficaria maluco de conhecer qualquer um dos ícones q vc mencionou🥹 Vc falou do Chico tbm e eu tô a séculos com a peça Ópera do Malandro marcada como assistir mais tarde no youtube... bem lembrado....

[cuenta-mis-pequitas]

llevo como dos días buscando tu blog y me enteré que te lo eliminaron de nuevo ;-;

Siii pero no me importa por que siempre vuelvo con más fuerza como el huracán milton 🌪️ 🐄 💋💋💋💋💋

[carsonian]

Cap-IM Rec Week: Golden Oldies Thursday

@cap-ironman, Thursday, I don't care about you. . .

"The Last Love Song of Anthony E. Stark" by jibrailis

After contracting an Asgardian virus, Tony starts forgetting things. And people. And Steve.

jibrailis is an all-time G but still underrated to me. Super well-written with achey breaky core. It's like a very fudgey chocolate-chip cookie.

"Love among the Hydrothermal Vents" by DevilDoll (@devildoll)

In which Namor has a thing for Steve, an octopus has a thing for Tony, and Steve and Tony eventually have a thing for each other.

You've gots to laugh. I mean, read the summary. YES, it's that fun. Like...c'mon. You either get the vision or you don't. FYI, I do.

"almeno tu nell'universo" by silkspectred (@silkspectred)

Tony drives off. Well, he wants to. But he can’t. Because. Steve Rogers is in front of his car. Steve fucking Rogers. Is in front of Tony’s fucking car.

This fic is a love letter to Italy and I'm hanging onto each word down to the proverbial postscript. THE reconciliation fic. Crazie to realise how long ago CA:CW and the accompanying fandom wankery was, but this fic is the gift that keeps on giving.

"Power and Paradox" by The_Kinky_Pet (@ms-meredith-milton)

“Billionaire, genius, engineer, philanthropist, submissive.  Yeah, submissive.  Any questions?” OR Yet another BDSM-AU.

HUGE fic. Worth every word. Coffee, Star Trek, world-building. Oof. This fic has it all. It packs a punch. A spiked punch. You'll be tipsy and dancing with your crush in no time.

"A Cabin in the Woods" by nightwalker

It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, a chance for them to spend some time as a couple and work out some of the kinks in their relationship. That was before everything got weird.

Horror junkie here and yeah, um, the best horror fic ever. I ate this up and would eat it up again. The tension is inescapable and the writing is superbly subtle. Genuine mastery of the form.

"If You Never Say Your Name Out Loud To Anyone" by theladyingrey42 (@thefangirlingrey)

Sometimes, Steve has panic attacks. Or at least he used to. Nowadays, he mostly just has conversations with Tony Stark.

Thursday, you will forever be the middle child but today I give you respect, I give you love and most importantly, I give you fic.

Go forth: SteveTony lovers, fuckers, ambassadors, champions, perverts, freaks, losers, dreamers, legends! Read, re-read, kudo, comment, spread legs and spread love.

[bracketsoffear]

End Leitner Reading List

The full list of submissions for the End Leitner bracket. Bold titles are ones which were accepted to appear in the bracket. Synopses and propaganda can be found below the cut. Be warned, however, that these may contain spoilers!

Anderson, Jodi Lynn: May Bird Andreyev, Leonid: Lazarus

Basye, Dale E.: Precocia Bierce, Ambrose: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Bunin, Ivan: The Gentleman from San Francisco

Christie, Agatha: And Then There Were None Christie, Agatha: Curtain Cook, Eliza: Song of the Worm

Enriquez, Mariana: Alguien camina sobre tu tumba (someone walks over your grave)

Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book Godwin, Tom: The Cold Equations

Hill, Joe: The Black Phone (from the book 20th Century Ghosts) Hurley, Tonya: Ghostgirl Huxley, Aldous: After Many a Summer Dies the Swan

Ibbotson, Eva: Dial-a-Ghost

Kedzie, Robert: Shadows from the Wall of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers King, Stephen: Pet Sematary Klune, T.J.: Under the Whispering Door Kraus, Daniel: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch

Lovecraft, H.P.: The Alchemist Lovecraft, H.P.: Cool Air Lumley, Brian: Necroscope

Márquez, Gabriel García: Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a death foretold) Maugham, Somerset: An Appointment in Samarra McGovern, Kate: Fear of Missing Out Moore, Christopher: A Dirty Job Moreno, Gus: This Thing Between Us Morris, Jonathan: Festival of Death

Ohland, Emma K.: Funeral Girl

Piven, Joshua & David Borgenicht: The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook Poe, Edgar Allan: Annabel Lee Poe, Edgar Allan: The Raven Pratchett, Terry: Mort Pratchett, Terry: Pyramids Pushkin, Alexander: The Queen of Spades

Sebold, Alice: The Lovely Bones Shusterman, Neal: Antsy Does Time Shusterman, Neal: Scythe Spark, Muriel: Memento Mori Stine, R.L.: Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel Stone, Jon: The Monster at the End of this Book Stoppard, Tom: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Stroud, Jonathan: Lockwood and Co. series

von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang: Erlkönig Vonnegut, Kurt: Slaughterhouse-Five

Webb, Catherine: Mirror Dreams Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray Wolff, Tobias: Bullet in the Brain

Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief

Anderson, Jodi Lynn: May Bird

"Shy, precocious May Bird wants nothing more than to be accepted. One day she falls through a lake into the Ever After, a world of ghosts. As she journeys through fantastic lands, she gathers an unusual group of new friends who join together to overcome the chillingly evil Bo Cleevil and find their way home."

Andreyev, Leonid: Lazarus

The story picks up where the biblical story leaves off-- what happens to Lazarus after he is brought back to life? There's no attempt at a description that's gonna give the story justice, it is something you need to experience for yourself. Link: https://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Laza841.shtml

Basye, Dale E.: Precocia

"Dale E. Basye sends Milton and Marlo to Precocia, the circle reserved for kids who grow up too fast, for their latest hilarious escapade in Heck.

When Bea "Elsa" Bubb, the Principal of Darkness, tells Milton and Marlo Fauster they've gotten too big for their britches, she sends them to Precocia, the circle of Heck for smartypants kids who grow up too fast. There, the children learn adult jobs. William the Kid teaches bill collection. Mozart teaches commercial jingles. And all the students are forced to act, dress, and talk like little adults. Soon, the Fausters realize that Precocia's vice principals Napoleon and Cleopatra want more than to hasten adulthood--they seem to want to eliminate childhood altogether. Can Milton and Marlo figure out their plan in time to stop it?"

Includes depictions of a horrifying alternate reality where people want to age and wither as fast as possible!

Bierce, Ambrose: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

We learn that a man is about to be hanged by a Union captain in the middle of a bridge over raging water in Northern Alabama. After learning how he ended up there, the man is awakened by the cold current of the river, having lost consciousness after the noose broke and he fell from the bridge. His executioners are firing at him from the bridge, he suffers a gunshot wound, comes up for air, dives back under, only to see a cannonball land within two yards. He thinks he's doomed, but then seems to be ejected from the river onto a bank, out of sight and firing range. But then he hears gunshots, escapes through the forest, taking backroads to return to his home. He seems to greet his wife, but then feels a sharp blow on his neck, sees a blinking white light, and all falls to silence and darkness. The end of the story reveals that Farquhar's broken body is still swinging from the side of Owl Creek Bridge, where he died, after all.

Bunin, Ivan: The Gentleman from San Francisco

A 58-year-old American from San Francisco, having acquired a great fortune, sets off with his wife and daughter on a world tour. After a luxurious cruise, they arrive in Naples, where he is dismayed by the unusually bad winter weather and finds that the city does not meet his expectations. They then go to Capri, where he abruptly dies in the lobby of his fancy hotel, causing a stir among the rich clientele. The second half of the story is concerned with the change in the once-deferential staff's attitude towards the gentleman, and in the dehumanizing way in which his body is treated as it makes its journey out of Italy.

The Gentleman From San Francisco is a great reminder that death can come anytime, anyplace. The Gentleman could be anyone, which is why I believe the character remains unnamed throughout the story.

Christie, Agatha: And Then There Were None

Undoubtedly Christie's scariest mystery, the novel represents a countdown for ten murderers on an island, as one by one they all die according to the dictates of a creepy nursery rhyme.

Christie, Agatha: Curtain

"Arthritic and immobilized, Poirot calls on his old friend Captain Hastings to join him at Styles to be the eyes and ears that will feed observations to Poirot's still razor sharp mind. Though aware of the criminal's identity, Poirot will not reveal it to the frustrated Hastings, and dubs the nameless personage 'X'. Already responsible for several murders, X, Poirot warns, is ready to strike again, and the partners must work swiftly to prevent imminent murder."

It's a book that was meant to be published posthumously whats more End-like than that?

Spoilers: The main villain tricks and manipulates people into killing each other(An End avatar, perhaps?). 'X' is so good that he almost makes Hastings into a murderer and makes Poirot into one. Poirot also dies in this one.

Cook, Eliza: Song of the Worm

Banger worm poem. https://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/content/song-worm

Enriquez, Mariana: Alguien camina sobre tu tumba (someone walks over your grave)

This book brings together a series of very particular travel chronicles around the world. The author travels countries and continents to visit something very specific and perhaps unusual: cemeteries. Famous and history-laden cemeteries such as Montparnasse in Paris, Highgate in London or the Jewish cemetery in Prague, and other hidden, decrepit, remote or secretly beautiful graves of famous people -Elvis' in Memphis, Marx in London- extravagant epitaphs, mourning sculptures, sensual angels and an inexhaustible string of legends and stories.

Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book

It tells the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens, who is adopted and reared by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard after his family is brutally murdered.

***

The boy gets raised by ghosts.

Godwin, Tom: The Cold Equations

The story of a pilot who finds a girl stowed away on his spaceship, which is delivering lifesaving medicine to a distant frontier world. The fuel had been carefully measured out, the weight precisely calculated -- and none of it accounted for the stowaway.

Hill, Joe: The Black Phone (from the book 20th Century Ghosts)

Thirteen-year-old Finney is kidnapped by a man named The Grabber. Trapped in a basement room, the boy's only hope may lie in a mysterious disconnected black phone hanging on the basement wall. The phone rings at night with the whispers of the kidnapper's previous (and now dead) victims.

Hurley, Tonya: Ghostgirl

The book is about high school senior Charlotte Usher, a young teenager who dreams of becoming popular in school, but before she gets the chance of that or asking her crush Damen out, she dies from choking on a gummy bear. What follows is a Tim Burton-esque story in which Charlotte is admitted to Dead Ed (a special education class for newly dead teens who have unresolved issues they must confront before they can move on), befriends a goth girl who can see ghosts, Scarlet, and comes to terms with her own death.

Huxley, Aldous: After Many a Summer Dies the Swan A Hollywood millionaire with a terror of death, whose personal physician happens to be working on a theory of longevity - these are the elements of Aldous Huxley's caustic and entertaining satire on man's desire to live indefinitely. With his customary wit and intellectual sophistication, Huxley pursues his characters in their quest for the eternal, finishing on a note of horror.

Ibbotson, Eva: Dial-a-Ghost

The Dial-a-Ghost Agency finds good homes for ghosts. And Fulton and Frieda Snodde-Brittle are looking for a few frightening ghosts to "accidentally" scare their young cousin and heir, Oliver, to death. The ladies at the Dial-a-Ghost Agency have the perfect match: the Shriekers, two bloodstained and bickering horrors. But thanks to a mix-up at the agency, the Wilkinsons, a kind family of ghosts, arrive instead. Can they put a stop to the Snodde-Brittles' schemes before it's too late?

Kedzie, Robert: Shadows from the Wall of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers

The book warns of the dangers of once-commonly used arsenic-pigmented wallpaper. The book also contains 86 samples of said wallpaper. Due to the dangerous amount of arsenic in the work, only five of the original 100 copies have survived. Most copies were destroyed by the recipient libraries. Doesn't even need to be a Leitner to kill you.

King, Stephen: Pet Sematary

Louis Creed, a doctor from Chicago, moves to a house near the small town of Ludlow, Maine along with his wife Rachel, their two young children, Ellie and Gage, and Ellie's cat, Winston Churchill ("Church"). Their neighbor, an elderly man named Jud Crandall, warns Louis and Rachel about the highway that runs past their house; it's used by trucks from a nearby chemical plant that often pass by at high speeds. A few weeks after the Creeds move in, Jud takes the family on a walk in the woods behind their home. There, a well-tended path leads to a pet cemetery (misspelled "sematary") where the town's children bury their deceased animals.

After Church is run over while the kids are visiting their grandparents with Rachel for Thanksgiving, Jud leads Louis beyond the deadfall to an ancient burial ground that was once used by the Mi'kmaqs, a Native American tribe. Following Jud's instructions, Louis buries the cat and constructs a cairn. The following afternoon, the cat returns home. However, while he used to be vibrant and lively, he now acts ornery and "a little dead", in Louis's words.

Before long, the Creed family suffers an unfathomable tragedy, and Louis is forced to confront the enormity of his grief and ask himself just how far he's willing to go to make his family whole again. In that quest, Louis will discover the truth of Judd's chilling advice: "Sometimes, dead is better."

***

The premise of this book is that there is a place out in the woods that if you bury a dead animal, it will come back to life - but it comes back Wrong. And if you were to do it to a person, something else would come back, in their body, in their place; something eldritch and evil. I'm sure someone else has already done a better submission of it with a more fleshed out synopsis but I actually want to nominate it because of this thing Stephen King does where he makes your blood run cold by dropping, in the middle of a completely innocent paragraph, "And now Gage, who had less than two months to live, laughed shrilly and joyously." It's chilling and inevitable and you don't have any way to stop it.

This book deals with death in a lot of ways, some of them positive and healthy but most of them /definitively not/. It's very Leitner because of how it makes you think about death conceptually from a lot of different angles, but in the end appreciate its finality. Because the alternative is worse.

***

When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son-and now an idyllic home. As a family, they've got it all...right down to the friendly car. But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth-more terrifying than death itself-and hideously more powerful. The Creeds are going to learn that sometimes dead is better.

Klune, T.J.: Under the Whispering Door

Welcome to Charon's Crossing. The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.

But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.

Kraus, Daniel: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch

Synopsis: May 7, 1896. Dusk. A swaggering seventeen-year-old gangster named Zebulon Finch is gunned down on the shores of Lake Michigan. But after mere minutes in the void, he is mysteriously resurrected.

His second life will be nothing like his first.

Zebulon’s new existence begins as a sideshow attraction in a traveling medicine show. From there, he will be poked and prodded by a scientist obsessed with mastering the secrets of death. He will fight in the trenches of World War I. He will run from his nightmares—and from poverty—in Depression-era New York City. And he will become the companion of the most beautiful woman in Hollywood.

Love, hate, hope, and horror—Zebulon finds them. But will he ever find redemption?

Propaganda: As stated in the synopsis, Zebulon is killed and, for no apparent reason, comes back to life. It is more like in death, though; he is essentially a very-slowly-rotting corpse who walks. He discovers that he has the power to look at people in the eyes and show them their last moments, which traumatizes them. Finally, in both books Zebulon is surrounded by and responsible for many deaths.

Lovecraft, H.P.: The Alchemist

The story is recounted by the protagonist, Count Antoine de C, in the first person. Hundreds of years ago, Antoine's noble ancestor was responsible for the death of a dark wizard, Michel Mauvais. The wizard's son, Charles le Sorcier, swore revenge on not only him but all his descendants, cursing them to die on reaching the age of 32.

The protagonist recounts how his ancestors all died in some mysterious way around the age of 32. The line has dwindled and the castle has been left to fall into disrepair, tower by tower. Finally, Antoine is the only one left, with one poor servant, Pierre, who raised him, and a tiny section of the castle with a single tower is still usable. Antoine has reached adulthood, and his 32nd year is approaching.

His servant eventually dies, leaving him completely alone, and he begins exploring the ruined parts of the castle. He finds a trapdoor in one of the oldest parts. Below, he discovers a passage with a locked door at the end. Just as he turns to leave, he hears a noise behind him and sees that the door is open and someone is standing in it. The man attempts to kill him but Antoine kills him first. His dying words reveal that he is none other than Charles, who actually managed to successfully fabricate the elixir of life, enabling him to personally fulfill the curse generation after generation.

Lovecraft, H.P.: Cool Air

The short story revolves around an unnamed writer who moves into a dodgy apartment building in New York. Over time, he befriends his mysterious upstairs tenant, an old, reclusive physician who never leaves his room, which he keeps at a perpetual 55-56°. In spite of this newfound friendship, the narrator nevertheless finds something unsettling about the peculiar old man, who has a rather disconcerting obsession with the subject of death...

To say much more would spoil the plot twist. The story can be read online here: https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/ca.aspx

Lumley, Brian: Necroscope

“DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES…

Except to Harry Keogh, Necroscope. And what they tell him is horrifying.

In the Balkan mountains of Rumania, a terrible evil is growing. Long buried in hallowed ground, bound by earth and silver, the master vampire schemes and plots. Trapped in unlife, neither dead nor living, Thibor Ferenczy hungers for freedom and revenge.

The vampire's human tool is Boris Dragosani, part of a super-secret Soviet spy agency. Dragosani is an avid pupil, eager to plumb the depthless evil of the vampire's mind. Ferenczy teaches Dragosani the awful skills of the necromancer, gives him the ability to rip secrets from the mind and bodies of the dead.

Dragosani works not for Ferenczy's freedom but world domination. He will rule the world with knowledge taken from the dead.

His only opponent: Harry Koegh, champion of the dead and the living.

To protect Harry, the dead will do anything--even rise from their graves!"

Main character power is communicating with the dead very End-coded

Márquez, Gabriel García: Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a death foretold)

A man returns to the town where a baffling murder took place 27 years earlier, determined to get to the bottom of the story. Just hours after marrying the beautiful Angela Vicario, everyone agrees, Bayardo San Roman returned his bride in disgrace to her parents. Her distraught family forced her to name her first lover; and her twin brothers announced their intention to murder Santiago Nasar for dishonoring their sister. Yet if everyone knew the murder was going to happen, why did no one intervene to stop it? The more that is learned, the less is understood, as the story races to its inexplicable conclusion.

Maugham, Somerset: An Appointment in Samarra

It's literally only a paragraph long, just read it

McGovern, Kate: Fear of Missing Out

Everyone has a fear of missing out on something―a party, a basketball game, a hangout after school. But what if it’s life that you’ll be missing out on?

When Astrid learns that her cancer has returned, she hears about a radical technology called cryopreservation that may allow her to have her body frozen until a future time when―and if―a cure is available. With her boyfriend, Mohit, and her best friend, Chloe, Astrid goes on a road trip in search of that possibility. To see if it’s real. To see if it’s worth it. For fear of missing out on everything.

Moore, Christopher: A Dirty Job

Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. They're even about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay—until people start dropping dead around him, and everywhere he goes a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher, it seems, has been recruited for a new position: as Death.

It's a dirty job. But, hey! Somebody's got to do it.

Moreno, Gus: This Thing Between Us

It was Vera's idea to buy the Itza. The "world's most advanced smart speaker!" didn't interest Thiago, but Vera thought it would be a bit of fun for them amidst all the strange occurrences happening in the condo. It made things worse. The cold spots and scratching in the walls were weird enough, but peculiar packages started showing up at the house—who ordered industrial lye? Then there was the eerie music at odd hours, Thiago waking up to Itza projecting light shows in an empty room.

It was funny and strange right up until Vera was killed, and Thiago's world became unbearable. Pundits and politicians all looking to turn his wife's death into a symbol for their own agendas. A barrage of texts from her well-meaning friends about letting go and moving on. Waking to the sound of Itza talking softly to someone in the living room…

The only thing left to do was get far away from Chicago. Away from everything and everyone. A secluded cabin in Colorado seemed like the perfect place to hole up with his crushing grief. But soon Thiago realizes there is no escape—not from his guilt, not from his simmering rage, and not from the evil hunting him, feeding on his grief, determined to make its way into this world.

Morris, Jonathan: Festival of Death

Synopsis: "The Beautiful Death. The ultimate theme-park ride. For twenty galactic credits, you can find out what it's like to be dead.

But something has gone wrong. Visitors expecting a sightseeing tour of the afterlife have been transformed into mindless zombies, set on a killing rampage.

The TARDIS arrives in the aftermath of the disaster and, to the Doctor's baffled delight, he is immediately congratulated for saving the population from certain and terrible destruction. The only problem is, he hasn't actually done it yet.

Aided and abetted by a drug-addled hippie lizard, a hard-hitting investigative reporter and a suicidal ship's computer, the Doctor has no choice but to travel back in time and discover exactly how he became a hero.

And then he finds out. He did it by sacrificing his life."

Why it's End: A theme park ride that simulates the experience of being dead. Wow. And something went wrong? Crazy. But yeah, there's a lot to do with death and fate in here -- the Doctor is apparently fated to die at the end of his adventure, the crew of the ship being fated to die

Ohland, Emma K.: Funeral Girl

Sixteen-year-old Georgia Richter feels conflicted about the funeral home her parents run--especially because she has the ability to summon ghosts. With one touch of any body that passes through Richter Funeral Home, she can awaken the spirit of the departed. With one more touch, she makes the spirit disappear, to a fate that remains mysterious to Georgia. To cope with her deep anxiety about death, she does her best to fulfill the final wishes of the deceased whose ghosts she briefly revives.

Then her classmate Milo's body arrives at Richter--and his spirit wants help with unfinished business, forcing Georgia to reckon with her relationship to grief and mortality.

Piven, Joshua & David Borgenicht: The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook

A handy little manual that shows all the ways that you can survive the worst possible situations. And now that you have the Leitner edition, you'll be putting those skills to good use almost constantly, as every deadly thing described in those pages begins to manifest in your life.

Poe, Edgar Allan: Annabel Lee

Like a lot of the Edgar Allan Poems, this is heavily concerned with the death of young love, and a desire to be reunited in the tomb. Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44885/annabel-lee

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Raven

"The Raven" A narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe. Published originally in January 1845, the poem has a musical quality with stylized language and a supernatural atmosphere. It speaks of a mysterious talking raven's visit to a distraught lover, depicting the man's slow fall into madness. The lover is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of "Pallas", the raven seems to have a purpose of further instigating his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". This poem makes good use of a number of folk and classical references.

Pratchett, Terry: Mort

"‘YOU CANNOT INTERFERE WITH FATE. WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE WHO SHOULD LIVE AND WHO SHOULD DIE?’

Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.

Death is the Grim Reaper of the Discworld, a black-robed skeleton with a scythe who ushers souls into the next world. He is also fond of cats and endlessly baffled by humanity. Soon Death is yearning to experience what humanity really has to offer, but to do that, he’ll need to hire some help.

It’s an offer Mort can’t refuse. As Death’s apprentice he’ll have free board, use of the company horse – and being dead isn’t compulsory. It’s a dream job – until Mort falls in love with Death’s daughter, Ysabell, and discovers that your boss can be a killer on your love life . . ."

Pratchett, Terry: Pyramids

"Being trained by the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork did not fit Teppic for the task assigned to him by fate. He inherited the throne of the desert kingdom of Djelibeybi rather earlier than he expected (his father wasn’t too happy about it either), but that was only the beginning of his problems..."

A prince taught in the school of assassins goes to claim the throne of Djelibeybi. A country that is extremely End-coded culturally, and in reality ruled not by its kings but by Dios who is an End avatar if there ever was one.

Pushkin, Alexander: The Queen of Spades

Hermann, an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, constantly watches the other officers gamble, but never plays himself. One night a friend tells him a story about how his grandmother, a countess, lost a fortune at faro, and then won it back with the secret of the three winning cards. Hermann becomes obsessed with obtaining the secret.

Herman gains access to the countess' (now 87 years old) home through an acquaintance, Lizaveta, and there Hermann accosts the countess, demanding the secret. She tells him that story was a joke, but Hermann persists and threatens her with a pistol. She dies of fright. Lizaveta helps him flee the crime scene.

At the countess' funeral Hermann is terrified to see the countess open her eyes in the coffin and look at him. Later that night, her ghost appears to him and names the secret three cards (three, seven, and ace). It tells him he must play just once each night and then orders him to marry Lizaveta. Hermann takes his entire savings to gamble at faro for high stakes. On the first night, he bets it all on the three and wins. On the second night, he wins on the seven. On the third night, he bets on the ace—but when the cards are shown, he finds he has bet on the Queen of Spades, not the ace, and he loses everything. When the Queen appears to wink at him, he is astonished by her remarkable resemblance to the old countess, and flees in terror.

In the end Hermann goes mad and is committed to an asylum. He answers no questions, but merely mutters with unusual rapidity: "Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!"

This story has the end's favoured motifs: gambling, death, dreams, ghosts. Hermann tried to cheat fate but failed.

Rulfo, Juan: Pedro Páramo

A masterpiece of the surreal, this stunning novel from Mexico depicts a man’s strange quest for his heritage. Beseeched by his dying mother to locate his father, Pedro Páramo, whom they fled from years ago, Juan Preciado sets out for Comala. Comala is a town alive with whispers and shadows—a place seemingly populated only by memory and hallucinations. Built on the tyranny of the Páramo family, its barren and broken-down streets echo the voices of tormented spirits sharing the secrets of the past.

Sebold, Alice: The Lovely Bones

It tells the story of a young girl named Susie Salmon who is brutally murdered. From her unique perspective in the afterlife, Susie watches as her family and friends struggle to cope with her death and unravel the mystery surrounding it.

Shusterman, Neal: Antsy Does Time

Fueled by friendship and sympathy, Antsy Bonano signs a month of his life over to his dying classmate Gunnar Umlaut. Soon everyone at school follows suit, giving new meaning to the idea of living on borrowed time. But does Gunnar really have six months to live, or is news of his imminent death greatly exaggerated? When a family member suffers a heart attack after donating two years to Gunnar, Antsy wonders if he has tempted fate by playing God...

Shusterman, Neal: Scythe

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a Scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Spark, Muriel: Memento Mori

In late 1950s London, something uncanny besets a group of elderly friends: an insinuating voice on the telephone reminds each: "Remember you must die." Their geriatric feathers are soon thoroughly ruffled, and many an old unsavory secret is dusted off.

Stine, R.L.: Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel

Choose Your Own Adventure books are inherently End-coded; your choices drive your fate along, and no matter what you choose, you will eventually reach an ending. I think that goes double for a CYOA book about murderous ghosts.

Stone, Jon: The Monster at the End of this Book

Grover spends the story dreading what lurks at the end of the book, much like many of us spend our life dreading its end. Grover tries in vain to stop us from bringing him closer to the book's conclusion, but for him the pages pass as inevitably as time does for us. At the end of the actual book the monster turns out to be Grover all along, but in the Leitner version Grover's fear would turn out to be justified.

Stoppard, Tom: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

"Hamlet told from the worm's-eye view of two minor characters, bewildered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Echoes of Waiting for Godot resound, reality and illusion mix, and where fate leads heroes to a tragic but inevitable end."

Two guys hanging around till the only relevant thing about them, their death, happens. And they will keep dying forever.

Stroud, Jonathan: Lockwood and Co. series

Death permeates the alternate British society of the Lockwood and Co. series. Beginning five decades before the events of the first book, the existence of ghosts became undeniable as an epidemic of deadly hauntings began. Dubbed “The Problem”, it has only gotten worse with time, with the number, strength and range of the hauntings continuing to escalate. Only children are able to detect these dangerous visitors from the other side, who can kill with a single touch. This psychic Talent fades to nothing as they age, leaving adults basically helpless when it comes to detecting and avoiding ghosts until it's too late. As adults hide inside during the night curfew, children as young as 8 are forced to act as Night Watch or as Agents who risk their lives to fight off ghosts. Mortality rates are high and those who do survive often go on to become supervisors of younger Agents, forced into the position of sending children into mortal danger and being powerless to help them. This is a society dealing with basically the aftermath of an End Ritual and/or being in an End Domain, where death and the fear of death is the major driving force for most people. This fixation on death isn’t just only fear for some; there is also a thriving black market for Sources - objects (usually human remains) that a ghost is tied to and allows them passage into the living world from the Other Side.

MASSIVE spoilers for the final book. Seriously, don’t look if you plan on reading this series (which you absolutely should and also check out the incredibly well done TV adaptation):

*Turns out that the origin of this ghost epidemic was caused by the actions of the supposed “Hero” of The Problem, Marissa Fittes, who was the first one to figure out and codify (and profit from) most defences against ghosts. Her expeditions to the Other Side caused the dead to stir and make their way to the land of the living. She was obsessed with the potential properties of ectoplasm, the substance that ghosts are made of and what makes them so deadly, including immortality. Her frequent incursions into the Other Side to harvest and utilise ectoplasm, continued to greatly escalate The Problem, which only served to increase her wealth and fame as the head of the prestigious Fittes Agency. Despite these constant trips to the realm of the dead rapidly ageing her, her experiments with ectoplasm allowed her spirit to possess the body of her granddaughter on her so-called deathbed. Now posing as her granddaughter, she continues her quest for immortality, escalating The Problem even further, which only increases her fame, fortune and power, giving her more resources to exploit both the dead and the living for her personal gain.

von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang: Erlkönig

A haunting poem about an anxious young boy who is being carried at night by his father on horseback. To where is not spelled out; the German word Hof has a rather broad meaning of "yard", "courtyard", "farm", or (royal) "court". The opening line tells that the time is late and that it is windy.

As the poem unfolds, the son claims to see and hear the "Erlkönig" (Erl-King, lit. 'alder-king'). His father claims to not see or hear the creature, and he attempts to comfort his son, asserting natural explanations for what the child sees – a wisp of fog, rustling leaves, shimmering willows.

The Erl-King attempts to lure the child into joining him, promising amusement, rich clothes, and the attentions of his daughters. Finally, the Erl-King declares that he will take the child by force. The boy shrieks that he has been attacked, spurring the father to ride faster to the Hof. Upon reaching the destination, the child is already dead.

Vonnegut, Kurt: Slaughterhouse-Five

Mostly it's about the non-linearity and the time-fuckery, especially experiencing death well before it actually happens.

Webb, Catherine: Mirror Dreams

"Every dream you've ever had, and every dream yet to come, exists in the Kingdoms of the Void. Every nightmare, too. Because there has to be balance; it's the rules. But the Lords of Nightkeep aren't big on rules; only Conquest, Fear, and Eternal Darkness for All. It takes a powerful wizard like Laenan Kite to keep them in check. But Kite has other worries, and Nightkeep is growing strong. Its Lords hunger for power. And they've turned their gaze towards earth."

Dreams are extremely End-coded and this book takes place in the dreamland. Also certain revelations about one of the characters make this even more End related.

Spoilers: Renna a dreamer turns out to be in a coma in the real world facing the very real possibility that she will get taken off life support.

Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Upon seeing his own striking portrait Dorian Gray is bewitched and offers his soul if only the painting will age while he remains eternally youthful. Believing himself incorruptible, Dorian indulges in a life of pleasure and excess. But what has become of his portrait?

Wolff, Tobias: Bullet in the Brain

The story is about an angry and bitter book critic trapped at a bank during a robbery; when he ridicules the robbers, they shoot him fatally in the head. The rest of the story takes in place in the last few moments before he dies.

Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief

This book is narrated by death. Not a god of death, not some kind of herald of it, the abstract concept of death itself. And death permeates the entire story. The book begins with our protagonist, a young girl living smack-dab in the middle of Nazi Germany name Leisel Meminger watching her younger brother Werner die on their way to their new foster home, and it only gets worse from there. Leisel continually strives to save herself and others from the inevitable destruction and end that awaits them, predominantly, of course, by stealing books, but also eventually by harboring a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg, and it is consistently not enough. I'll spare you most of the details in the hopes of you reading it yourself, but the book ends with our protagonist's home being bombed and the deaths of her foster parents and the boy she loves. Leisel herself dies of old age decades later, and death's final words to her (and arguably to the readers themselves) are "I am haunted by humans".

[diariodeltrompetista]

Naima (tercera parte)

Naima había ideado varios planes antes de verse con Pedro. Tenía experiencia con artistas ególatras, y Pedro, aunque le gustaba, no era una excepción. Le gustaba tanto que se permitiría un romance casual, algo que rara vez hacía. Amaba lo que había construido: su paz e independencia, y no le permitía a nadie irrumpir en ese mundo que tanto disfrutaba. Lo que no sabía era que esto estaba a punto de cambiar.

Todo esto lo pensó antes de verlo esa noche. Pero cuando lo tuvo delante, con la cara bañada en lágrimas, llorando como un niño desconsolado, todos sus planes se hicieron humo. Si esto era una treta para ligar, era la más perversa que había visto nunca. Pero ese pensamiento pasó rápido. La verdad es que Naima se moría de ganas de abrazarlo y decirle que todo estaría mejor.

Lo miraba, intentando reconciliar al hombre frente a ella con la figura que vendían los medios: agresivo, ególatra, drogadicto, misógino, genio, rebelde, incomprendido. Nada de eso encajaba ahora. Estaban caminando por la calle, a las casi cuatro de la mañana, en silencio, sus manos rozándose cada tanto. Pedro había esquivado torpemente el tema del llanto, y Naima no insistió.

Empezaron a hablar de cine. Tenían gustos muy diferentes. A él le encantaban Tarantino, Kubrick, Coppola y toda esta onda. Ella prefería el cine de autor, el cine latinoamericano, el nórdico, las películas antiguas que rara vez se encontraban en cartelera. Sin embargo, ambos compartían un amor por las películas de Studio Ghibli. La emoción fue mutua al descubrir que La princesa Mononoke era su favorita.

A medida que hablaban, la conversación fluyó hacia su amor por los animales. Naima tenía un gato enorme, Shere Khan, que, para suerte de Pedro, lo había aceptado sin problemas la noche anterior. Pedro era de esas personas a las que los animales aman, lo que siempre le había dado un aura de druida. Las historias sobre sus mascotas los condujeron a hablar de su infancia. Sorprendentemente, Naima comenzó a abrirse más de lo habitual, contándole sobre sus padres, su infancia en Brasil, y lo presentes que siempre habían estado en su vida.

—Mi casa estaba llena de música, —dijo—. Mi papá era un fanático de Milton Nascimento.

Mientras ella contaba su historia llegaron al apartamento de Naima, Pedro no dejaba de mirarla. Cada palabra era un pequeño destello de una vida que él nunca había tenido. Entonces, como si hubiese leído su mente, Naima fue directo a su colección musical.

—Escucha esto, —dijo, mientras sonaban los primeros acordes de “Tudo o que você podia ser” de Milton Nascimento.

Pedro amó la canción, pero más aún, la forma en que Naima la cantaba. Al cabo de unos minutos, se sumergieron en un viaje musical que incluyó “Volver a los 17” de Mercedes Sosa y Milton. Pedro la miraba con asombro. El portuñol de Naima tenía una suavidad casi hipnótica.

—¿Tus padres aún están en Río? —preguntó él, sin saber muy bien por qué.

Naima lo miró a los ojos, y el brillo de su mirada se apagó un poco.

—Se me fueron con la pandemia.

El silencio se volvió pesado. Pedro se arrepintió de haber preguntado. Ella miró al piso por un instante, y cuando volvió a levantar la cabeza, él sentía que sus ojos eran una represa que se rompe. Había abierto una puerta que no sabía cómo cerrar.

—¿Y vos? ¿Tu familia? —preguntó ella suavemente.

Pedro respiró hondo y le contó todo: su padre y la música, los discos, los cassettes, las notas que le dejaba sobre música, su abuela que lo crió hasta que falleció cuando él tenía 17, y la ausencia de su madre, incluso cuando él ya era famoso.

La noche se desvaneció, y para cuando amaneció, Naima se dio cuenta de algo: no habían ni siquiera llegado a un beso. La cita había sido tan emocional que el sexo, aunque planeado en su mente, se desvaneció con las primeras lágrimas de Pedro. Esto la hizo sonreír. Había elegido una lencería que combinaba esa noche, y se sintió divertida por la ironía de la situación.

Pedro despertó abrazado a Naima, con Shere Khan en sus pies. Se levantó con cuidado, dejó una nota en la mesita de noche, le dio un beso en la frente y salió.

La nota decía: Chao, gatiña. Te veré pronto. Gracias por la terapia.

Lo que Pedro no sabía es que tardarían meses en volver a verse.

[christian-dubuis-santini]

Covidioclimatisme: extension de la posture perverse

Prétendre agir au nom de Dieu ou se croire au service du Bien, cela revient strictement au même, vouloir le bien d’autrui ("protéger les autres", "sauver la planète", blablabla..) — voilà la posture perverse par excellence…

Dans son exposé sur la "banalité du mal", Hannah Arendt avance qu'Eichmann n'était pas un "pervers sadique", or cette considération reste pré-théorique, encore prise dans une représentation de sens commun où le mot "sadique" désigne quelqu'un qui inflige et jouit des souffrances qu'il fait subir aux autres…

Or Lacan insiste: la structure perverse se reconnaît à une attitude radicale d'auto-instrumentalisation, le pervers se faisant lui-même pur objet-instrument de la jouissance de l'Autre, ce qui implique que la dimension fondamentalement perverse est toujours d'abord celle du masochiste…

Quid alors du sadique?

Le pervers sadique apparaît dès lors comme l’opposé de la figure romantique passionnée d'un "mal diabolique", c'est plutôt un exécutant dépersonnalisé, un "bureaucrate du mal", sans profondeur psychologique, sans complexe spécifique, sans motivation d'ordre traumatique…

Loin d'un esprit extravagant à la Milton ou du Méphistophélès gœthéen, le quidam qui obéit et s'abrite derrière un "devoir" abstrait, donnant prétexte à sa lâcheté: voilà la vraie figure contemporaine du Mal.

L’une des leçons de la psychanalyse, c’est qu’il n’existe nul devoir, nul grand Autre, nulle circonstance qui puisse dispenser ton sujet de sa responsabilité pour chacun de tes actes, chacune de tes paroles… Dura lex sed lex. Voilà la loi découverte par Freud, qui fait que la Loi et le désir refoulé sont une seule et même chose.

Dès lors, que faire? Déchiffre l’inconscient qui est le tien, c’est le seul bout de savoir, le seul réel auquel tu as accès…

[fangomusic]

Jpegmafia: I Lay Down My Life for You [AWAL] Jack White: No Name [Third Man] Killer Mike: Michael & the Mighty Midnight Revival, Songs for Sinners and Saints [Loma Vista] Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin [Blue Note] Beabadoobee: This Is How Tomorrow Moves [Dirty Hit] Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding: Milton + Esperanza [Concord] Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus [Milan] Tinashe: Quantum Baby [Nice Life] Fontaines D.C.: Romance [XL] Jónsi: First Light [Myndstream] Laurie Anderson: Amelia [Nonesuch] Ty Segall: Love Rudiments [Drag City] Hinds: Viva Hinds [Lucky Number] The The: Ensoulment [Cinéola/EarMusic] Nilüfer Yanya: My Method Actor [Ninja Tune] Joan as Police Woman: Lemons, Limes and Orchids [Play It Again Sam] Manu Chao: Viva Tu [Radio Bemba] Sophie: Sophie [Transgressive/Future Classic] Laura Marling: Patterns in Repeat [Chrysalis/Partisan] Pixies: The Night the Zombies Came [BMG] Soccer Mommy: Evergreen [Loma Vista] Primal Scream: Come Ahead [BMG]

[rafaelmartinez67]

Cuando las oportunidades no llamen a tu puerta, construye una.

Milton Berle

[ashleygraceworld]

6 Most Underrated Al Pacino Movies

Al Pacino made awesome movies, but some really good ones didn't get enough attention. Here are the 7 underrated gems of Pacino that deserve more love.

From classic movies like The Godfather, Heat, to The Irishman, Al Pacino has been a big deal in the movie world for a long time. He's been in some of the best movies ever, and fans really love him.

But because he's been in so many movies, there are some that didn't get much attention or didn't get praised by critics, even though they're actually pretty good. So, here are some Al Pacino movies that not many people talk about, but you should definitely watch.

1. Donnie Brasko

Even though critics liked it when it came out, not many people talk about the movie "Donnie Brasco" these days. It's about a guy named Donnie who works secretly for the FBI and hangs out with a mafia hitman named Lefty, played by Al Pacino. As time goes on, Donnie becomes really good friends with Lefty, but he has to decide whether to tell on him to the FBI or go against them.

The movie is well-written, well-directed, and Al Pacino does an amazing job playing Lefty. Some folks say it's one of Al Pacino's best but doesn't get enough credit.

2. The Devil's Advocate

"The Devil's Advocate" is a movie where Keanu Reeves plays a lawyer named Kevin Lomax who joins a famous law firm in New York, led by Al Pacino's character, John Milton. The story gets pretty dark and confusing, but overall, it's a well-written movie with great acting. It also teaches us a lesson about how chasing money can make people forget about doing what's right. Even though it has some supernatural stuff, a lot of it is about real-life problems like greed, desire, jealousy, and anger.

3. Insomnia

Insomnia, a movie directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino, is often overlooked but deserves more attention. It's about a detective named Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino) who goes to a small town in Alaska to solve the murder of a 17-year-old girl. As he investigates, he starts facing his own inner struggles and has to juggle both the case and his declining mental health. Insomnia is a lesser-known film by Nolan and is a must-see for fans of Al Pacino.

4. The Insider

The Insider is a gripping psychological drama that fans of this genre will really enjoy. Despite getting positive reviews from critics, the movie didn't become a big hit in theaters. It stars Russell Crowe and Al Pacino, who give outstanding performances that make it a must-watch.

The story of The Insider revolves around Jeff Wigand, a former employee of a big tobacco company, who turns to Lowell Bergman, a CBS journalist, to expose the shady practices of the tobacco industry. What follows is a nail-biting and intense series of events, with Wigand facing threats and warnings from the tobacco company. All in all, The Insider is a very well-crafted movie, featuring a standout performance by Al Pacino.

5. Panic In Needle Park

"Panic in Needle Park" is a movie about a guy named Bobby (played by Al Pacino) who's addicted to heroin and lives in an area full of other addicts. One day, he meets Helen, a homeless girl from the same area, and they fall in love.

Unfortunately, Bobby introduces Helen to heroin, and their love story takes a dark turn. They start doing bad things like stealing to get money for drugs. It's a really sad and tough movie to watch, but it's also a great film. Plus, it's the first movie where Al Pacino played the main character.

6. Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon is a really intense movie starring Al Pacino. In the film, Al Pacino's character, Sonny, and his two partners try to rob a bank in Brooklyn. But things go south fast when Sonny gets a call from the police, telling him the bank is surrounded. So, the bank robbery turns into a situation where they're holding people hostage, and Sonny is trying his best to figure out how to get out of there.

Even though the basic idea is simple, the story takes unexpected twists and turns. The movie is well-written, and Al Pacino and the rest of the cast give fantastic performances.

Go ahead and watch these if you haven't and let me know in the comments how you find them!