#and I love randall flaggs appearance

[impuretale]

Look, I am super excited that Mike Flanagan is going to be in charge of a Dark Tower TV series, love everything horror related or even mildly King-flavored that he touches. I would trust the project with no one else.

Also I hope and expect that Henry Thomas appears somewhere in the cast, hopefully in a principal role because he is amazing and he shocks me every time he appears on camera and he can do no wrong. But Mike. Mister Flanagan. I need you, no matter what else you do, to not cast him as The Man In Black/Walter Padick/Randall Flagg, and this has nothing to do with whether I think the actor could pull him off. He can. He absolutely can. From the bottom of my heart, I need you to understand how certain I am of his capability as an actor.

I still need you to cast him, but cast him as literally anyone else.

And the reason for this is because I, as a Stephen King fan, cannot engage with the notion and the attached implications of Randall Flagg and Jack Torrence as twinners. And because he has already played one of those two characters in your corner of the Kingverse, the other one has to be off the table.

For my sanity. Please.

[justforbooks]

The Stand – the original version of it, something I'll talk about later – was published in 1978. I read it 16 years after that. I can remember the time and place: on holiday in Turkey with my family. I can remember that the copy I had was already falling apart, because it was enormous, and the binding wasn't made to be opened, I don't think. The glue melted as I read the thing; page by page, it fell apart. While I knew I loved King before that holiday, afterwards I'd have followed him to hell and back. It's because of The Stand that I've read all his work, and that I embarked on this series; it's because of The Stand that I'm a writer at all. And because of all this, I don't really know where to start writing about it.

Maybe with Captain Trips. Prior to 1978, King had published three novels under his name that focused on ordinary people ruined or damaged by extraordinary (and inexplicably paranormal) situations. The Stand looked at those ordinary people – the readers of his book – and said: let's damage you all. Rather than the threat being ghosts or vampires, it was a sickness, nicknamed, in the novel, Captain Trips. The sickness was a flu that killed 99.4% of the world's population, and it's terrifying, because we all get the flu. Even as you read the novel, you feel a chill coming over you. (Trust me: I reread this partly on my morning commute, sitting next to somebody with a cough that sounded like death. It's still scary.) Because it's plausible, it affects people in a lasting way. When swine flu broke out in 2009, I lost track of the number of tweets referring to it as Captain Trips. When we're scared we joke; and we joke because of the bubonic plague, because of Spanish flu, and because it feels so wholly reasonable to imagine a virus decimating the world. Worse still? Captain Trips was made in a lab, just like those biological weapons we're all slightly terrified of. The bad guy in The Stand was made by us, and it killed us. That's hubris for you.

I call it the bad guy, but Captain Trips isn't the bad guy. Not really. That honour falls to Randall Flagg. I've mentioned him before but here's where he makes his grand entrance. He's a man of many names: The Walking Dude, The Ageless Stranger, He Who Walks Behind The Rows, The Man In Black, Walter O'Dim, The Dark Man. In The Stand, one character calls him The Antagonist, vague and present and inexplicable. He's bigger than the novel, than the world that's collapsed and torn itself apart; and he only appears when it's done, walking from nowhere, only hazily able to remember who he was before (but that he killed policemen, fought for the KKK, and helped to kidnap Patty Hearst).

Where King's previous antagonists were small fry (or protagonists flipped on their heads), Randall Flagg is never less than pure evil. He has a counterpart, as all evils should: Mother Abigail, 108 years old, who communes with God, and who is the frail good to Flagg's evil. Both have the ability to inspire those around them, but Flagg has an advantage: evil is inherently stronger. It's easier. He's able to gather an army from the weak-minded, the stragglers, finding the darkness that's in us all and using it. He brings out everything awful in those susceptible to him: in his lackey Lloyd, and Trashcan Man, and The Kid, and Harold.

Harold. Poor Harold Emery Lauder, the weakest of the weak. A boy only a couple of years older than I was when I read the book for the first time, and who – like me, as I was discovering – wanted nothing more than to be a writer. And he knew about the same things that I did: being in love with girls who didn't know he existed; wanting to be somebody that he was hopelessly ill-prepared to be; and (the bane of all teenagers) feeling singular, alone. Harold was the crux for me; he presented me with the question that makes the novel so powerful and affecting to so many people. What would I do? If I was suddenly completely alone, if I was given the ability to do anything I wanted with no consequences, would I retain my morality? Or would I, like Harold, naturally skew towards evil because of my baser – albeit human – desires? Do we all have that potential inside us?

As the novel progresses and the survivors of the flu are forced to pick sides – drawn through their dreams to the darkness or the light, to Randall Flagg or Mother Abigail – Harold shows his true colours. In the novel's early stages he is a confused, angry, horny teenager; through Flagg's influence, he loses himself. He becomes a killer, a cold-blooded mess of rage when Flagg persuades him (using sexy schoolteacher Nadine, and the promise of Harold finally getting laid) to detonate a bomb and kill his friends. After succeeding and running away, he ends his life alone, his own hands on the gun, the only time in the novel he's actually offered anything resembling control. I remember thinking how terribly sad this was, because when the book starts he's just a kid. That's easy to forget. Stu Redman feels sad for him as well, and if I most associated with Harold at times, Stu was who I wanted to become.

Why? He's noble. He's quiet and moral and even passionate, and he manages to help inspire the gang of good guys to carry on, despite Randall Flagg's dark temptations. He's the one whom Mother Abigail entrusts to go to Flagg and fight back. He's an authority figure, respected and clever, and he's willing to die for the good of the world and his friends. He doesn't: he breaks his leg, almost as if he's spared, and he watches Las Vegas explode at the novel's close; the threat eliminated, the world ready to rebuild itself. He is able to be the father to Frannie's child.

That's not an accident. Nothing in The Stand is an accident. As much as it's a novel about the battle between good and evil, it's also a novel about fate. These people – the American contingent of the 0.6% of the world's population who survived Captain Trips – manage to meet up in Las Vegas, called from all around by dreams. Did they choose to find each other, or was it chosen for them? Mother Abigail's dreams come courtesy of God; she is his prophet, and she assembles her own biblical-type followers. Pregnant Franny, whose child can assert the human race's survival; the forgiving and ailing Glen; deaf-mute Nick; mentally challenged Tom Cullen, who will save Stu Redman; Larry Underwood, who starts the novel dreaming of Flagg, and is filled with darkness, but somehow finds the light. All the cast are put upon and challenged.

I read once that The Stand was essentially the Book of Job, with the survivors in Job's place: tested by good and evil both; pushed and challenged to see how much they could endure, as if their suffering were a game. There's a little more epic fantasy here than in the Bible, maybe, and it ends not with a war, but with an accident; with the chaos of Trashcan Man finding a weapon, and with Flagg's showing off going to far. But I can still see it. Good wins by default, because evil cannot. Those were the rules in the Old Testament, and they're the rules now.

I've read this book five times in adulthood, by my reckoning, and more when I was a teenager. I know some people read books over and over, but I don't; I'm a once-round-then-shelve-it reader, unless a book really stands out to me. This is my most reread book. I can't think of one that has affected me so much. It scared me and excited me; but more than that, it was the first time I noticed the textures of a novel. The Stand is dense and rich. Every character is full and alive, and they're all in the book with a purpose. They cover every shade of human morality, and that astonished me: the deftness of King's writing in making no two feel alike, and making their deaths – because a lot of the cast die, heroes and villains both, something that almost feels inevitable from the outset – mean something. Everything in the book means something, and nothing is accidental. I can still read it and see the narrative threads, set up to be exploited, revealed or knocked down: and the hints in the subtle stylistic touches (Mother Abigail's side drawn into longer, more florid descriptions of their actions; Flagg's side blunter, more bullish, more exposed).

I don't think I can talk objectively, really.

The Stand is a masterpiece, and I don't use that word lightly. King says in the novel's introduction that he "wanted to write a fantasy epic like The Lord of the Rings, only with an American setting", and that's absolutely what he did.

Important to note, this: there are two versions of The Stand. One was published in 1978, and it's about 800 pages long, and it's set in the 1980s. Another was published in 1991, and it's about 1,200 pages long, and it's set in the 90s. The books are the same story, the same characters; content cut from the early version was put back and the book slightly remastered, as it were, for King's later, more-receptive-to-giant-novels audience. Whichever one you read it's the same book, but for the finality of a single scene at the end of the remaster: where Randall Flagg has survived the novel's endgame, reborn somewhere else entirely, new memories and a new identity, and with a new group of people to try and lead.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[m-o-o-n-thatspellsblog]

Hi ! First I wanna say I’m glad to see you back here on tumblr and hope you’re doing well :) oh and happy Halloween (season)!

In honor of Halloween, I wanted to ask a spooky themed question:

I’ve seen you talk about favorite SK stories, characters, and adaptations, so in the spirit of the season I wanted to ask you for your favorite SK monsters/villains ?

As a bonus question (if you wanna answer it/if you think these are fun), what are your favorite scary/spooky/creepy moments from SK stories? It can be either from the books or from an adaptation.

And I would love if you elaborate (however in depth you’d like) on your answers, I love to hear people’s thoughts—that would be wonderful 😊👻🎃

Hello! Thanks so much and happy Halloween to you as well! :)

Some of my favorite villains:

The Man in Black/ Randall Flagg- Definitely my number one favorite! Any time he pops up in anything, I get so excited. He's definitely at his best in The Dark Tower series; I particularly enjoy his role in Wind Through the Keyhole as The Covenant Man.

Christine- Honestly, I just think she's neat. A fiercely devoted, over-protective, jealous murder car that communicates through rock n roll music? Awesome

Leland Gaunt-I have to admit, it's been years since the last time I read Needful Things, but I do remember Leland Gaunt. I am a collector of many things, so I can relate to the feeling of coming across the perfect piece for your collection and being desperate to get your hands on it. It's interesting to imagine how someone could use a person's passions/ interests against them. It's cool how he just rolls into town and causes mass chaos without having to do any of the dirty work himself.

As for some spooky/scary/creepy moments, these are a few that have stuck with me (CONTAINS SPOILERS):

Books:

Hank Olson’s death in The Long walk

Jimmy Cody’s death ‘Salem’s Lot

Sandy McDougall’s discovering her son’s death in ‘Salem’s Lot

George Stark’s death in The Dark Half

Adaptations:

The animated adaptation of Survivor Type (I can’t really think of a specific moment that stands out, honestly the entire thing is creepy haha)

Laverne’s death in The Raft adaptation from Creepshow 2

The pharmacy scene in The Mist, especially when the one dude falls down and breaks into bugs

Frank Dodd’s death in the movie adaptation of The Dead Zone

[dynatoxic]

I did a version of this post way back before S3 came out but with all the Kas!Eddie theories going around (which I love) I think it's time to bring back Flagg!Billy. AKA: "Here's how Sorcerer Billy can still win".

Stranger Things obviously has heavy D&D influences, but also draws heavily from the works of Stephen King. One of those influences is Billy's initial appearance, a nod to Randall Flagg as he appeared in the 90s TV miniseries adaptation of The Stand:

But I'd argue the similarities can and do go deeper than that. Here's a Flagg rundown for those of you who aren't familiar with The Stand/The Dark Tower:

He's a mysterious man who comes from the West.

He's a dark sorcerer who serves the Crimson King, an ancient eldritch spider entity that wants to destroy all of creation.

The primary factor that drove him into the Crimson King's grasp was the hate he was filled with after suffering abuse at the hands of an older man.

Although he was once human he's now a shapeshifter whose true form is something dark and amorphous (Billy did still drink all of those chemicals, just saying...)

Like Kas, his loyalty to the entity he serves is not absolute and he's more self-interested/survivalist than anything. Flagg is one of the big bads of the entire King canon and I don't see Billy being THAT evil, but with some Vecna influence we could have some great monster!Billy potential.

[minaofmayhem]

IMAGINE #39 - Meet the Devil

Here’s the last Randall’s request, asked by anon ! 😍 I absolutely loved writing it and it is really sad that a plot like this will never been seen on screen 😭 I hope this is like you imagined it! Have fun beloved readers! ❤️

Summary : Before the Apocalypse, you were a simple professional pickpocket who tried to survive in NYC. You are send to Las Vegas as a Boulder spy. But what’s going to happen when you suddenly catch the eye of the devil himself ?

Pairing : Randall Flagg x Reader

Warnings : none.

Tag list : @katerka88​ ; @bonnieelizabethparker​ ; @ateliefloresdaprimavera​ ; @anangelwhodidntfall​ ; @fawnbrrry​ ; @flowers-in-your-hayr​ ; @grandpa-sweaters​ ; @bailaycantaconmingo​

The mission seemed simple and was well organized. It consisted of several steps and in theory, everything should go well. First, you had to leave Colorado and walk alone to Vegas, posing as a wandering soul, seeking asylum in the community built by the great Randall Flagg. Then, gather as much interesting information as possible to return to Boulder, safe and sound, with enough to destroy the one who rules like the Devil over hell. But even with a plan, nothing ever goes according to plan right ?

The beginning worked quite well. Passing yourself off as a criminal wasn't too difficult given your background...Before the pandemic, you were a high-ranking pickpocket who became a professional thief over time. A sort of modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. You were even wanted in several states. You never understood why an honest woman, like Mother Abigail, asked you to join the good guys in Boulder? "God has plans for you (X/Y)" she said, but it was still a mystery to you.

Your inglorious past served you to cross the administrative service. At first, they hired you in the cleaning department. And then one evening, by the greatest of coincidences, Floyd recognized you and immediately ordered your release under the pretext that a "criminal of your rank deserved to live among the gods". So you found yourself upstairs, in the devil's den. You were also about to start the most risky part of the plan.

But blending in wasn't as easy as you'd imagined. You soon realized that everyone was crazier than the others. They partied all hours, drank, danced, took drugs, and fucked freely. But despite this, you had to hold on.

Your optimism waned the night you saw Flagg for the first time. Until then, you had not paid attention to the various posters, statues and billboards that decorated the city and the hotel. You were focused on your goal and trying to stay alive. A large spotlight was shining on one of the balconies, illuminating the big red curtain. Rumor said that the great Randall Flagg was going to make an appearance. Intrigued, you waited for the show to begin, sipping your cocktail and opening your eyes and ears.

You were only half interested in the show. Leaning against one of the columns, near the railing of one of the balconies, you pretended to enjoy the party while your mind was focused on something else. You were trying to spot the right-hand men of the grandmaster because only they had important information. Around 12:00 a.m., Floyd's voice came over the speakers, finally announcing the arrival of the great king. All around you, you could see people jostling each other, shouting, stamping their feet in anticipation. As Floyd screamed Flagg's name into his microphone, the red curtain parted and the artist took the stage. His face appeared on two large screens on either side of the balcony. 

Suddenly, time stopped around you. A strange sensation invaded you in the depths of your being. You could no longer hear the shouts of the madding crowd, you could no longer see the men and women gesticulating to be seen. You could only see Randall. You found him extremely charming, irresistible. With his full denim outfit, he looked and acted like a real rock star, waving to the cheering crowd. You watched him move gracefully, letting the crowd drink in his words, and you felt completely entranced. But when you saw him from his balcony suddenly looking in your direction, you felt a fire start inside you. When you felt his two green eyes pierce deep into your being, your heart began to beat faster, pounding your rib cage. How could he have spotted you at that distance? He smiled at you - a corner cocky smile - and you realized, at that moment, that your mission would be far more difficult than expected...

*

Like every night since then, after admiring Randall's show, you go back to your room to spend the rest of the evening thinking of a plan. You had been doing this for quite some time and nothing concrete had come out of it until now. To be honest, it was complex. You wanted to accomplish your mission but you felt so weak, so powerless. Or maybe you were just looking for excuses not to do anything and to stay for him. Your reason was telling you the opposite of your heart which was only beating for him.

Once into your room, you lock the door - which is preferable considering the crazies outside. A chill run down your spine as you realize something is wrong. You still have your hand on the door handle, your palm on the door, your back to the room, ready to leave. 

"Good evening sweetheart", says a male voice that you would recognize out of a hundred. Slowly you turn around, sticking your body to the door. Your body stiffen, you swallow as your heart misses a beat. Randall Flagg is leisurely sitting in the small chair in the corner of the room like if it is a normal thing. Despite the darkness in the room, you could make out the seductive smile on his face. His right leg is resting on top of his left one, his hands together on his chest. 

"Come here...", he adds when he sees no reactions from you. Of course, you are like petrified. You don’t know what to do. Why was he in your room? Is it a dream, is it reality? Had he found out what you were really doing in Vegas? That last thought is enough to make you shake with fear. No need to be a psychic to know what he would do if he discovers that you are a spy. 

“C’mon (X/Y), don’t be so shy...I don’t bite”. He lets escape a small sarcastic laugh before making you sign with the index to approach. How did he know your name ? This is then end then. He knows everything. Your heartbeat is out of control and your mouth has never been so dry before. Tears appear on the corner of your eyes. This isn’t exactly how you imagined your death. 

As if bewitched, your body resigned itself to obey him and you come closer until you reach his feet. Randall then stands up and plants himself in front of you, looking into your eyes. 

“You weren’t so shy in our dreams...”, he whispers with a teasing tone, as if this conversation was private. His left hand caresses your red hot cheek with the tips of his fingers. Even though the situation is strange, you can't help but blush when you think of those famous dreams. Ever since you first laid eyes on Randall, not a night went by without you dreaming about him. Very different dreams, where he talked to you, took you to different places, made you discover new things...not to mention those dreams where you were very close...

He suddenly raises his right hand, snaps his fingers once to make a few candles appear in different parts of the room, lighting it lightly and romantically. Surprised, you blink a couple of times to bring you back to reality. What was that ? Was he preparing some sort of ritual to kill you ? 

“Stay with me baby...”, he whispers as placing his palm on your cheek again,  forcing you to look at him and not to look around you. You can feel his breath on your lips, causing a multitude of shivers to run through your body. You are totally and completely lost. You don’t know what to do or to think anymore, only that you want to taste this delicious lips...But it isn’t for now.

“I know who you are...”, he keeps whispering as turning slowly around you, covering your body with his hands. You close your eyes, imaging his hands on your body’s curves and try to find a normal breath but this is tough. “I know why you come here...”. He stops behind you and sticks his body against your back, his right hand pushes your hair to the side to have an access to your neck. Your body can’t stop warming and you don’t feel anymore fear ; fear is replaced by an intense desire, burning inside of you core. This is a pure torture. No one has ever had such power on you and made you feel like this. But Randall isn’t like the others...

“I’m sorry Mister Flagg...It is true but...”, the words escape from your mouth without you being able to do anything. You just signed your death warrant.

“But...”, he whispers as he leans on your bare skin to cover your neck and collarbone with soft kisses, planting here and there. A moan escape your lips but it was like someone else was pushing you to do it. You don't control anything anymore. 

“I won’t do anything...I promise...I won’t do anything”, you repeat like a chant, closing your eyes and letting go. Randall plants a last kiss and puts your hair on the right this time to speak quietly into your left ear. His hands takes place on your shoulders, one at each side. 

“I know baby...I can feel it in your soul. I can feel it in your heart. I can feel the feelings you have for me”. His voice is mesmerizing and you know that you won’t last any longer. “I know what they want from you...but what do you want ?”.

“I want you”. In a near-secondary state, your head tilts back, resting against Randall's chest. You don’t see it but a proud and devilish smile appears on his face. He gets the answer he expected. As soon as he saw you in the crowd, he knew you were the one he was looking for. With his hands on your hips, he makes you turn around to face him. You open your eyes and looks intensively into his. He places his palms on your cheeks, caressing your skin with his thumbs. This delicate and romantic man could not be the devil. Impossible. This is the last thing you though about before hearing Randall’s sexy voice, feeling his soft lips on yours as you abandon yourself completely to him...

“Then let’s make it happen sweetheart...”.

[azulso]

I finished The Stand comics and I would love that the 2020 version have more hours. So here is my "wishlist", with time onscreen per character:

E1 The End: main characters introduction, including Jesse (Frannie's boyfriend, father of her baby).

Stu: 25 minutes

Frannie and Larry: 15 minutes each one

Nick: 5 minutes

E2 Blank Page: main characters development, including Carla (Frannie's mom).

Nick: 20 m

Frannie: 15 m

Larry and Lloyd: 10 m e/o

Stu: 5 m

E3 The Dark Man: Randall Flagg story, main characters development, Alice Underwood and Peter Goldsmith dying and Stu escape.

Randall: 25 m

Frannie: 10 m

Harold, Larry, Nick, Rita and Stu: 5 m e/o

Or... first movie The Stand: Captain Trips

Frannie: 40 m

Stu: 35 m

Larry and Nick: 30 m

Randall: 25 m

Lloyd: 10 m

Harold and Rita: 5 m e/o

E4 Pocket Savior: Trashcan Man story, main characters development, Stu meets Glen and Rita Blakemoor dies.

Trashcan: 20 m

Larry and Rita: 10 m e/o

Frannie, Glen, Nick and Stu: 5 m e/o

E5 The Dreams: Lloyd in prison, Nick starts to dream about Mother A, Frannie and Harold out of Maine.

Lloyd: 15 m

Nick: 10 m

Frannie, Glen, Harold, Larry, Mother A, Randall and Stu: 5 m e/o

E6 The Nightmares: Nick and Tom meeting, Randall attack them in tornado form, people having nightmares about Randall, new characters introduction, including Ray flashback.

Larry, Nick and Tom: 10 m e/o

Joe, Julie, Mother A, Nadine, Randall and Ray: 5 m e/o

Or second movie The Stand: American Nightmares

Larry and Nick: 25 m

Trashcan Man: 20 m

Lloyd: 15 m

Frannie, Glen, Mother A, Randall, Rita, Stu and Tom: 10 m

Harold, Joe, Julie, Nadine and Ray: 5 m e/o

E7 Hemingford Home: Mother A story, Frannie and Stu relationship starts, Harold fall in the dark side, Stu team saves Dayna, including Dayna flashback, Ray meets Nick and Tom, they arrives in HH.

Mother A: 20 m

Frannie: 10 m

Dayna, Glen, Harold, Randall, Ray and Stu: 5 m e/o

E8 My Life for You: Trashcan Man story, Mother A, Nick and Tom have a dinner, Stu team try to do a surgery.

Trashcan Man: 25 m

Frannie, Harold, Lloyd, Mother A, Nick, Stu and Tom: 5 m e/o

E9 The House of the Dead: Nadine flashback, Larry team development, Judge Ruth Farris introduction, including flashback, she acts as confidant for Larry, Trashcan Man arrives in New Vegas, he's forced to help Lloyd to crucifix a man, Larry team arrives in Boulder, Mother A is suspicious of Nadine.

Larry, Nadine and Trashcan Man: 10 m e/o

Frannie, Judge, Lloyd, Mother A, Randall and Stu: 5 m e/o

Or third movie The Stand Soul Survivors

Trashcan Man: 35 m

Mother A: 30 m

Frannie: 20 m e/o

Stu: 15 m e/o

Harold, Larry, Lloyd, Nadine and Randall: 10 m e/o

Dayna, Glen, Judge, Nick, Ray, Tom: 5 m e/o

E10 Worms Inside Him: "Harold vs Stu" story. Overcome with jealousy, Harold schemes to murder Frannie and Stu. Mother A and her committee encounter a Vegas escapee with crucifixion wounds, who warns them of Flagg. The committee votes to send three spies across the mountains to assess the threat from Flagg.

Harold and Stu: 10 m e/o

Frannie, Joe, Larry, Mother A, Nadine, Nick, Randall and Ray: 5 m e/o

E11 The Betrayal: development of the committee before the spies travel to New Vegas, Frannie and Stu with Dayna, Larry with Judge Farris, and Larry and Nick with Tom. Nadine has more visions of Flagg beckoning to her, he orders her to kill Mother Abagail and the committee. She seduces Harold and convinces him to help her. While stealing explosives for this purpose, Nadine kills Teddy Weizak, one of Harold's few friends.

Dayna, Frannie, Glen, Harold, Judge, Larry, Nadine, Nick, Randall, Stu, Teddy and Tom: 5 m e/o

E12 The Vigil: Frannie breaks into Harold's house and finds his surveillance-room and explosives. Harold finds her and tries to trap her, but she manages to escape. Harold and Nadine activate the explosives just as Frannie arrives to warn the committee. The blast kills Nick.

Frannie, Harold, Nadine: 10 m e/o

Joe, Larry, Mother A, Nick, Ray and Stu: 5 m e/o.

Or fourth movie The Stand Hard Cases

Harold: 25 m

Frannie, Stu: 20 m e/o

Larry, Nadine, Nick: 15 m e/o

Glen, Joe, Mother A, Randall and Ray: 10 m e/o

Dayna, Judge, Teddy and Tom: 5 m e/o

E13 Fear and Loathing in New Vegas: Dayna Jurgens arrives in New Vegas where she secures a position as one of Lloyd Henreid's girls. She finally meets Flagg, who offers to let her go on the condition that she reveal who the "third spy" is. Dayna kills herself to avoid revealing any secrets. Judge Farris is spotted at one of Flagg's checkpoints manned by Bobby Terry, who follows her. He have strict orders from Flagg to don't kill her, so she can be tortured and force her to reveal the last spy. After exchanging several shots with Farris, Bobby eventually manages one direct hit to the Judge's head. From her hospital bed, Mother Abagail reveals God's will to Stu, Larry, Ray, and Glen: they are to travel to New Vegas by foot, and that "one will fall" on the way there. She then dies peacefully. 

Dayna and Judge Farris: 10 m e/o

Bobby, Frannie, Julie, Lloyd, Mother A, Randall, Stu and Tom: 5 m e/o

E14 The Walk: Harold and Nadine leave Boulder on their motorcycles. Harold loses control on a curve and is badly injured. Nadine finally meets Flagg in the desert, but she has a belated epiphany that he is a terrifying demon, leaving her traumatized, catatonic and pregnant. Transported back to Las Vegas like a trophy, Nadine is installed in Flagg's quarters. Trashcan Man discovers a nuclear warhead, he attaches it to his sandcrawler and begins to drive back to New Vegas. Stu team encounter Harold's remains and Larry reads his journal before covering his body. While climbing out of a washed-out area Stu falls and breaks his leg; Larry, Ray and Glen recognize Mother Abagail's prediction and go on without him.

Glen, Harold, Julie, Larry, Lloyd, Nadine, Nick, Randall, Ray, Stu, Tom and Trashcan Man: 5 m e/o

E15 The Stand: Glen, Ray and Larry are given a show trial in front of a large public gathering. Glen mocks Flagg, prompting Lloyd to shoot and kill Glen. Realizing that she was never meant to live after giving birth, Nadine throws herself out of the window to her death. Larry and Ray are sentenced to be drowned in a swimming pool. Trashcan Man arrives with a nuclear bomb. A mysterious storm-cloud, "the hand of God", forms above the hotel and emits bolts of lightning that kill everyone present, then detonates the nuclear bomb, obliterating all of New Vegas and everyone in it. Tom finds Kojak and follows him. Stu is rescued by Tom and they witness the nuclear explosion together. Tom states that God "fixed" Flagg for what he did to Nick and the Judge. In a dream, Nick comes to Tom and tells him which medicine to give Stu, Tom saves Stu's life by treating his pneumonia and spends several weeks nursing him back to health. Stu recovers and the two of them return to Boulder in a snow storm via a Snowcat. Stu finds that Frannie has given birth to a daughter, whom she has named Abagail. The baby has contracted the superflu, but she is able to fight off the virus. In the jungle, Flagg appears floating before the primitive tribe. He kills one of their warriors with his dark magic and demands their worship. The tribe falls to their knees.

Stu: 10 m

Frannie, Glen, Julie, Larry, Lloyd, Nick, Randall, Ray, Tom and Trashcan Man: 5 m e/o

Or fifth movie The Stand Nobody's Land

Stu: 20 m

Julie, Lloyd, Randall, Tom: 15 m e/o

Dayna, Frannie, Glen, Judge, Larry, Nick, Ray, Trashcan: 10 m e/o

Bobby, Harold, Mother A, Nadine: 5 m e/o

Total time onscreen in the whole saga:

Frannie and Stu: 1h 40m e/o

Larry: 1h 30m

Nick: 1h 25m

Trashcan Man: 1h 5m

Mother A: 55m

Harold and Lloyd: 50 m e/o

Randall: 45m

Glen, Nadine, Tom: 35 m e/o

Ray: 30m

Dayna, Judge, Julie: 20 m e/o

Joe, Rita: 15 m e/o

Bobby, Teddy: 5 m e/o

[houseofglass]

Some thoughts on The Stand, 2021 version on Amazon Prime. There’s spoilers, but dammit the book was released ages ago so buckle up.

I haven’t finished the series yet, I have two episodes left. But this was burning my fingertips so I had to type it out.

I read The Stand by Stephen King back in the late ‘80′s. It was released in 1978 and re-released somewhere around 1990 as an ‘uncut’ edition. The editor had decided to trim the book so it could sell better. My mom looked at the uncut version and said, “If the editor cut 150,000 words, there’s probably a reason.” I agreed with her - Stephen King’s best work was his novellas, not his long novels.

A television series was released in 1994. I thought it was earlier because the character Randall Flagg has a mullet, but nope, IMDB tells me that the above date is correct.

I remember most of the details of the book and series, although the series helped me to see the final battle properly. King didn’t describe it in a way I could understand at all and was confused until the show came out. I felt similar when reading The Handmaid’s Tale. I had no idea what the costume looked like and those hats were nothing like what I imaged from Atwood’s work. I try to keep these examples in mind while writing my own novel.

So when this new iteration of The Stand appeared on my radar, I made a point of watching it. But, alas, there are some problems.

1. Nadine must remain a virgin until she can meet up with Randall. Really? It’s 2021. A person’s virtue is not determined by the use of equipment between their legs. How does remaining a virgin make someone virtuous? Why is she allowed to participate in any other sexual act but not penetration? And why does this only apply to women? Is a man’s virtue intact if he doesn’t insert his penis into someone? No! Why? This also tangles the issue of nonbinary people. What if a woman has a penis but hasn’t used it? Is she virtuous? If a man with a vagina hasn’t used the equipment, is he virtuous? Does this stem from the ancient, outdated idea that people with penises masturbate because they ‘can’t help it’ and people with vaginas don’t because they ‘can help it’?

This might have been okay in 1978, but that was 43 years ago. I need to pause here and clutch my aging heart because I can remember 1978. Whew! Okay. 

This virtue bit is core to the show because Nadine must carry Randall’s child. But I feel like this could’ve been tweaked to better represent the times. Especially since the book takes place in the future, not present.

2. Las Vegas features rampant sex. This, in and of itself, doesn’t bother me. I’ve watched Netflix and HBO. I’ve seen sex, both integral to the plot and gratuitous. What bothered me was twofold:

A) The sex featured was public (in a nightclub, but still public) and people wore what could be described as BDSM gear. Lots of belts, black leather, fishnet stockings, lingerie, that kind of thing. This bothered me because they’re portraying ‘nightclub sex’ as something that ‘sinners’ do.

These people are in Las Vegas, on Randall’s side, therefore are the antagonists to the plot. Randall represents the Devil, where Mother Abigail in Boulder represents God. So people who enjoy public sex in a safe environment are sinners? In 2021? Similar question, so people who enjoy BDSM are sinners? In 2021?

B) The implication that if this kind of sex is allowed in Las Vegas, it wouldn’t be in Boulder. There, people have ‘vanilla’ sex, right? Not much is featured, but what is (or what I noticed) was hetero sex. I don’t recall seeing any poly couples in Boulder, or same-sex couples there. Why not? If they are there, why aren’t they more obvious? I tend to notice and am thrilled whenever I see nonbinary people in relationships or two men holding hands, but I didn’t notice it in Boulder.

3. There's a whole lotta white people. Other skin tones were sprinkled in, but not in the quantity I’ve become accustomed to. Since the diversity rider appeared for Canadian shows, I’ve noticed a much wider range of actors and it’s been delightful. I love seeing a First Nations person played by a First Nations actor. I love that I’m shown wonderful hairstyles for kinky hair. I love the intermingling of skin tones in relationships. This has become so normal to me that when there’s too many white people I notice, and not in a good way.

Here’s a sticky point to consider too: if I can’t see the difference in tones because the overall filming filter makes everyone look similar, this is a bad thing.

The main cast of characters is fairly diverse, but the background extras are not. Are they trying to convey the idea that mostly white people survived this plague? That would be insane. If I strain my brain I can recall some extras being on the lighter side of dark tones, but why should I have to strain to remember that? And if my mind is remembering the sea of whiteness, why? Because I’ve set my brain to glance at the background to ensure there’s a nicely diverse crowd, that’s why.

4. The religious aspect is troublesome. Yes, I’m aware that the book was written with religion in mind. The whole story is good vs evil shown by God vs Devil using humanity. I get that. But the Christianity irked me. I’m not religious, but I do know there are more religions out there besides Christianity. None are represented, that I could see. Instead, these characters dream of Randall or Abigail and go to where they feel the greatest pull. Good people go to Abigail, bad people to Randall. And yes, this was fairly well represented by having selfish people go to Randall and those who want a community go to Abigail.

But this is also a problem. No matter how good or bad you are (or think you are), you can change. You can decide to be different. This show pigeonholes people in a way that rankled me, with the one exception of a main character, Harold. He didn’t dream of either person, and was neither good nor bad. He just hadn’t found ‘his people’. I could identify with this facet of his personality because I know my behaviour is weird for some and not normal enough for others. It’s been difficult, trying to fit in to workplaces and friend groups, and is a measure of my neurodiversity and mental illness.

So here’s Harold, trying to be good, but has had a lifetime of not fitting in and not being included. He’s tried and failed. His behaviour is shown as someone who ‘just doesn’t get it’, and people around him tolerate him more than enjoy his company. He tries to be bad, mostly because he’s angry at the world, but he’s also good at heart. When the plague hits, he travels with Nadine to Boulder and joins the body removal crew. He even makes a friend. This tentative, tenuous friendship is torpedoed when Nadine kills the guy.

Harold is neutral, but he discovered the world can be decent. Rather than resolve this and show that there’s a place for everyone, Harold is killed. This bothered me a lot because there are people out there who just need a friend, they need someone who understands them and wants to be around them. Everyone wants that, and some people are gifted with the natural ability to make friends, but some really aren’t. For them, they spend most of their time knowing they’re disliked but not knowing how to fix the problem, or if it can be fixed. Killing this character off felt like a cop-out.

Back to religion. Imagine that you’ve been dreaming of a kind woman named Abigail, so you go to her only to discover that your religion isn’t represented in the imagery, symbolism, or icons. Instead, it’s another religion, equally good, but not yours.

Oh my, also, Las Vegas has no religious imagery that I can recall off the top of my head. There’s no indication of religion other than people nailed to crosses as you enter the city. Does this mean that if you’re religious you’re good and if you’re not you’re bad? In 2021?

This entire debate could have been avoided by not using religion as a base. Yes, it’s faithful to the book to include this aspect, but like I’ve mentioned, it’s 2021 now. Rather than good vs bad = God vs Devil, why not have: people who want to try to live peacefully vs people who want to take over and rule the world? This would be effective when done well.

To conclude, overall the show is not bad. It resembles the book and previous television mini-series quite well. The storyline is a bit current, what with a plague and all, but a lot of it feels so dated that I cringed away from my screen while watching.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading my rant.

[alexskarsgardnet]

New Alex Interview with Esquire from his Q&A at their London Townhouse event (October 19, 2019)!

Alexander Skarsgård Isn’t Afraid Of The Dark

The Swedish actor won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his work on ‘Big Little Lies’, next up he takes on Stephen King’s infamous villain Randall Flagg, and tries to get Meryl Streep on board for 'Mamma Mia 3’

BY OLIVIA OVENDEN 23/10/2019

When Alexander Skarsgård was 20-years-old, he left his native Sweden and moved to Leeds, in the north of England. “It was important to avoid London because I was travelling with a friend and we wanted to get the quintessential English experience,” he revealed, during his on-stage talk last weekend,at the Esquire Townhouse in St James’, London.

If there was any doubt in the room as to how suited the Swedish heartthrob was to living in the student area of the city, it evaporated when they heard the joy with which he talked about Leeds’ most notorious pub crawl. “There’s this famous thing called the Otley Run,” he said, his voice warm with nostalgia. “I loved it.”

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård grew up in Vällingby, Stockholm, the eldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, and spent his early years fantasising that his bohemian father was a regular dad who drove a Saab and worked a desk job.

At 13, his father’s friend cast him in the TV series Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled), a fairly small Swedish production, but one that everyone he knew watched because of the few TV channels available. Skarsgård became uncomfortable with the level of fame it afforded him and decided to quit acting.

His father never pushed him to keep going or to capitalise on being recognised, something he is still grateful for. “He just said it was up to me, and that if I wasn’t loving it to do something else,” he says. “I would have listened if he’d said to stay in it, but that could have turned me off acting.”

Earlier that day, we meet at a private member’s club in London, where he arrives dressed in a cosy, walnut-coloured roll-neck, selvedge jeans and Clarks desert boots. The 43-year-old now lives in the East Village, New York, but flew here from Vancouver where he is currently filming The Stand, a TV adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.

It took seven years, a stint in the Swedish military and another stint mastering the aforementioned Otley run before Skarsgård returned to acting. His first big break came in 2008 when he played a 1000-year-old vampire in HBO’s True Blood, a show adapted from The Southern Vampire Mysteries novel series by Charlaine Harris. It was the height of vampire fever – the same year the film adaptation of Twilight was released – and Skarsgård’s portrayal of pallid, aquamarine-eyed Eric Northman spurned him legions of fans. Searching 'Eric Northman fan-fiction’ on Google brings up 81,500 results.

It was also the start of a fruitful partnership with between Skarsgård and HBO, a collaboration which hit a home-run when he was cast in Big Little Lies in 2017. The series, based on Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name and starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz as three women living in Monterey, California.

Skarsgård plays Perry, the emotionally and physically abusive husband of Kidman’s character Celeste. To the outside world a handsome, sharply-dressed, romantic husband, but behind doors a monster who skulks around their house after her.

The show was widely praised for its nuanced and compassionate portrayal of domestic abuse, with Skarsgård’s performance going on to win an Emmy and Golden Globe amongst other plaudits for the series.

“The character had so much depth and inner turmoil that I never hesitated because it was dark,” he says. “I find it less interesting when an abusive husband is turned into a caricature: someone in a wife-beater with a beer on the couch screaming at his wife. It makes for more interesting story-telling if there are moments where you can see the person she fell in love with.”

He stayed with friends in Los Angeles while filming Big Little Lies, grateful to come back to a family’s home for dinner after shooting something so dark instead of returning to a lonely hotel room. After a run of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at a theatre in Sweden early on in his career, he learned how to leave dark characters behind at the end of the day or else it “would just suffocate you”, saying that as a result he finds playing dark characters “quite cathartic”.

There is a kind of Nordic gloom to some of his characters, something that might be responsible for his being cast as Stephen King’s demonic villain Randall Flagg in The Stand, due to be released next year. Skarsgård says he grew up afraid of St. Bernard dogs after reading Cujo and still remembers going to see The Shining.

King’s writing is enjoying a rich second life in film and television at the moment, with books such as The Dark Tower and Pet Sematary released recently, and Doctor Sleep soon to follow. There’s also It, the Warner Brother’s reboot which features Skarsgård’s younger brother, Bill, as Pennywise the clown. Are they competing for who can terrify children more? “Randall Flagg is a very different character,” he says diplomatically. “He’s such a delicious villain [and] it’s fun to play someone who has that exuberance.”

He is strongly rumoured to be appearing in The Northman, teaming up again with co-star Nicole Kidman. He’s coy about the project when I ask, though says of Kidman that he, “can’t think of another actress I’d rather work with”, and later on stage speaks highly of Northman director Robert Eggers most recent film, the trippy The Lighthouse,

Whether or not it will return for a third season, Big Little Lies seems to have drawn a line under Skarsgård’s character, though the actor does have an idea for getting more time on set with Meryl Streep, who played Perry’s mother Mary-Louise in season two.“I think they should do season three and it’s all about Perry and his mother. Dad worked with Meryl on Mamma Mia 1 and 2 and had an amazing time,” he says, adding that he would ,“one hundred per cent” do Mamma Mia 3 for some more time on-set with Meryl.

Which leaves one more important matter to discuss: whether he’s familiar with the 'skarksbrow’, the internet’s fixation with him raising his eyebrow into a perfect arch. “No, no. This?” he says, before cocking it and smiling. “I’ve never heard of that.”

Alexander Skarsgård is an ambassador for Clarks

Sources:  Article:  Esquire.com (x), Photos:  Esquire.com (x),  jessejimzbrand instagram (x) and elisehamer instagram (x).

[theyearoftheking]

Book Twenty-Four: The Eyes of the Dragon

“His mother pointed from GOD to DOG. “These are the two natures of man,” she said. “Never forget them, because someday you’ll be King and Kings grow up to be great and tall- as great and tall as dragons in their ninth moltings.” 

I don’t really have much of a process when it comes to this blog, except reading all the books in chronological order, and making sure I have at least the next two books on my shelf. Abibliophobia... the fear of running out of books... it’s a real thing, kids. 

I was surprised to find a new(ish) copy of The Eyes of the Dragon on my bookshelf. I had never read it... the husband hasn’t read it since grade school... neither of us could remember buying it. But there it was, with yellowed pages and an un-cracked spine, just waiting to be devoured. Or something. 

I would not say I devoured this book. And I have a friend who is going to light me up for this review (sorry, WP); but I thought The Eyes of the Dragon was a watered down GRRM novel. Like, suuuuper watered down because the mass market paperback was only 380 pages with fairly large text.

The only thing that was remotely interesting about this book was the Dark Tower seeds it sowed. First, you’ve got King Roland, even though he’s a far cry from Roland of Gilead. King Roland is pretty much the Robert Baratheon of Delain. He’s fat, bowlegged, usually drunk, super into hunting (he killed a dragon once!), and shitty in bed. As far as being a king, he’s neither impressive nor a total snore. He just is. Much like this blog, he’s a solid C+.

In GOT, Baratheon had a pretty questionable small council: Grand Maester Pycelle, Petyr Baelish, and Varys to name a few. Likewise, Roland has Flagg. I don’t know if it’s Randall Flagg, or some other guy who just shares the same last name; he’s only ever referred to as Flagg. But he’s a wicked magician. Imagine Qyburn, except younger and craftier. My apologies, I didn’t mean for this to devolve into a Game of Thrones discussion, but here we are! 

Roland was married to Sasha, and they had two sons: Peter and Thomas. As far as we know, Sasha was NOT having sex with her brother, so the GOT comparisons end here. But Sasha was murdered during childbirth with Thomas (two guesses who murdered her); and Roland becomes even more ineffective after that. 

Peter is the golden son everyone loves, and they can’t wait for him to succeed his father. Thomas is as mediocre as his father, and wah-wah-wah... Daddy never loved him as much as his perfect brother. Eye roll. Flagg sees his opening and goes for it. He shows Thomas a hidden room in the castle where he can spy on his father’s chambers via (wait for it) “the eyes of the dragon”. Roland had killed a dragon in his youth, and had it mounted in his chambers. You could go into this hidden room, and spy via the eye holes. Clever, right? 

So, Flagg poisons Roland with a glass of wine, and Thomas happens to see it. But he also kind of talks himself out of what he saw. He’s a weak ass bitch. Flagg is smart enough to make it appear Peter had poisoned his father in an attempt to take the throne. Peter is arrested, convicted, and stashed up in The Needle, a tall ass tower where the convicts are held. 

Thomas becomes king, has no idea what the hell he’s doing, and begs Flagg to be his advisor. 

Flagg convinces Thomas to tax the hell out of farmers, which Thomas does, and everyone pretty much hates him. The stress of the job is getting to him, so he drinks too much, and can’t sleep at night. Thomas and I are pretty much the same person these days.

Meanwhile, up in The Needle, Peter finds a locket and a note from a former inmate, claiming Flagg also set him up for a crime he didn’t convict. Peter is pissed, and decides to plot his escape. He takes several threads out of his napkin at each meal, and uses a tiny, doll-sized weaving loom to weave them together. 

Several. Threads. At. A. Time. 

This takes him years. Literal YEARS. He’s far more patient than I am. I would have just kept the napkins, tied them together and used them to repel down the side of The Needle. But Peter was too worried people would notice the napkins were missing. He shouldn’t have worried; there was an entire room filled with napkins. No one would have noticed. Sweet irony. 

While Peter spends his days using a dollhouse sized weaving loom, and his brother drinks his way to cirrhosis; Peter’s friends and allies are convinced of his innocence, and work to free him from The Needle. Two of his allies are Ben and Naomi... named for Steve’s daughter Naomi, and Peter Straub’s son Ben. So that was kind of fun. The book ends with them married... which did not happen in real life. 

The book ends in a climactic chase where the allies and Flagg are in a race to either free Peter from The Needle, or kill him. It ultimately ends in two tons of irony. Or napkins. I’ll let you decide. All and all, it ended much happier than any GOT book/episode ever did. So there’s that? 

While Flagg’s true identity was never revealed (Randall or Random), the book ended with Thomas declaring, “He’s out there somewhere. In this world or in some other, he’s out there. I know it; I feel his poison in the wind. He got away from us at the last second. You all know it, and I do, too. I would find him and kill him. I would avenge our father and make up for my own great sin...” So, that’s a pretty sweet way to tie Flagg into all the other villainous roles throughout the Steve universe. 

One other Dark Tower reference... there’s mention of Rhiannon the Dark Witch of the Coos. Um. Anyone who has Wizard and Glass memorized knows all about Rhea of the Coos. So there’s that. 

Obviously no Wisconsin mentions, but that’s cool. 

The book was solidly okay. At least it was short, and I got to show my true nerd skills by comparing King Roland to Robert Baratheon. This little lady would be supes proud of me...

The best. Truly. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 16

Total Dark Tower References: 19

Book Grade: C+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

Next up is Misery, which my aunt pointed out is a terrible book to read during quarantine. I disagree, it makes me appreciate my roommates more. Even if I have to put headphones on and force them out of the house so I can get writing done. 

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights,

Rebecca

[robbyrobinson]

Stephen King Villains: Most Evil to Least Evil

Stephen King is considered the master of horror best known for his prolific writing career that in itself takes place in a multiverse of sorts. Besides monsters and supernatural beings, there are also very, very evil humans that also antagonize the protagonists. 

Most Evil

Most Evil would go to Randall Flagg. He is probably the closest thing to the Devil that exists in King's works, though Nyarlathotep is also said to be one of his many titles. He appears in several of King's novels sowing chaos wherever possible. He was apart of many violent tragedies such as race riots, lynchings, you name them. In The Stand, he sets himself up as some sort of god for those who also had penchants for violence. In The Dark Tower series, he works alongside the Crimson King and gets into even more acts like destroying a city and driving a woman insane by having a dead man recount to her what he had seen in the afterlife. Ultimately, his plan is to topple the Dark Tower itself which would spell destruction for the multiverse. 

 Bronze goes to It. An ancient, primordial evil, It was originally from the Macroverse before crash landing to the area that would eventually become Derry, Maine where it establishes a cycle of awakening every 27 years to kill and devour Derry's children even though it is implicated that It doesn't need to consume the flesh of its prey as it could live off their fear alone. But it is their fear that makes their meat tastier to It. It is an egotistical, narcissistic being who views itself as being superior above humans and its archenemy Maturin the Turtle. It is first defeated by the Losers Club back in the 1950s after it had killed the young brother of Bill Denbrough only to return 27 years later to settle the score.

Silver...it's a tough one, but I ultimately decided that William Wharton from The Green Mile earns this spot. He is not the most powerful being in the books nor is he anywhere close to the first two's level. Simply put, he is a disgusting piece of human garbage that should've gotten fried to death in the electric chair for what he had done. He is first taken to the Mile after killing two people, one of which was a pregnant woman. When he arrives, he pretends to be in a near-drunken state only to then attempt to strangle one of the wardens. That in itself is bad, but what pushes him further is the fact that he was the one who raped and killed those two girls that John Coffey is being sentenced to death over. He used the sisters' love for each other to coerce them not to scream lest he kill one of them before leading them out of their house.

Patrick Hockstetter. A pure solipsistic psychopath, Patrick was a member of Henry Bowers's gang but he was especially nasty. He took perverse delight at killing animals but that is not his main claim to infamy. As a solipsist, he believes that no one exists aside from himself...essentially the world revolved around him. When he learned that his mother had given birth, Patrick felt threatened. So much so, he smothered the baby to death with a pillow.

Norman Daniels, the main antagonist of Rose Madder. A corrupt cop, he domestically abuses his wife Rose and in one instance sexually assaulted her and later caused her to suffer a miscarriage. When she leaves him, Norman pursues her, murdering and torturing those in his way his preferred method being biting them to death. 

Leland Gaunt of Needful Things sets up a novelty shop in Castle Rock where he has his victim's greatest desires in stock, but they had to pay a sum and additionally stage a prank. A magical charm that drives the residents to madness one instance being when two women killed themselves in a madness-inducing stupor leading to a young boy killing himself. 

Rose the Hat. A little lower on the list. A True Knot (quasi-immortal vampiric beings), she feeds on steam, as in the dying breath of children who have "the Shining." This is of course done through torturing children to death. Despite committing serial murders, plausibly in the hundreds depending on how long she and her clan were operating, she nevertheless greatly cares for her fellow True Knots and becomes increasingly incensed by Danny Torrance and Abra Stone killing them.

Going to King's first novel Carrie, we have several trash. Chris Hargensen bullies Carrie White relentlessly climaxing in her staging a terrible prank where she drops a bucket full of pig's blood on Carrie's head at the prom after forging fake votes for Carrie. Following her is Margaret White , Carrie's mother. An insane religious zealot, she emotionally and psychologically abuses her daughter as she saw it as her fault that Carrie received telekinetic powers because of her perceived mistake. After the massacre, Margaret attempts to kill Carrie.

The Overlook Hotel. At first it seems odd that I would include what is basically an inanimate object. But in the book The Shining, it is made apparent that the hotel is alive and is greatly evil. It drives those who visit it to madness ultimately resulting in them killing their families and then themselves. Once it completely possesses Jack Torrance, it fully has its malevolent intentions out in the open. 

The Shawshank Redemption. Kind of more leaning towards the film adaptation, but here goes: Samuel Norton is the warden of the Shawshank prison. Initially coming off as a kind man with that rich Southern Christian rhetoric, Norton is truly a greedy man ruling Shawshank with an iron fist allowing rapes and other evils to happen on his grounds. He uses the prisoners for cheap labor in a money laundering scheme which he forces Andy to assist him with. Unlike in the book, when Tommy has information proving Andy's innocence, Norton sends for Captain Byron T. Hadley to kill Tommy. 

Next would be Bogs Diamond. The leader of a group of men called The Sisters, he enjoys violently raping his victims one of his favorite being Andy. But it isn't because he's gay, but more because he derives disgusting glee from raping them when they were at their lowest state. 

Henry Bowers, the secondary antagonist of It, is a racist, Anti-Semitic, misogynistic, fat-shaming lunatic who graduates to murdering his own father before deciding to go to kill the Losers Club when they enter the sewer system to face off against It/Pennywise. But it is shown that his father was abusive and he likely learned a lot of his prejudices from him. But he also stands as a trope of King's where you have insane bullies.

Lastly, we get to Percy Wetmore the secondary antagonist of The Green Mile. Somehow coming off as more reprehensible than the real villain of the book, Wetmore is a low-functioning sociopath who primarily came to the Cold Mountain Penitentiary to watch the death row inmates die. 

Especially despising Delacroix, he kills Mr. Jingles by stepping on him out of spite, and he later deliberately leaves the sponge dry leading to Delacroix's excruciatingly botched, prolonged execution where he literally cooks in Old Sparky. He's kind of lower on the list mostly because of his film counterpart looking horrified. Something tells me that he probably was only thinking that by not wetting the sponge it would give Delacroix a little more pain, but he wasn't anticipating for the events to ensue the way they did. Though him being forced to watch is cathartic as was what became of him in the ending.

Least Evil

Cujo takes the first spot. All he wanted was to be a good boy, but all that changed when he was bitten by a rabid bat. Now he kills those that he miscontrues as being responsible for his pain. 

Carrie White was the protagonist of Stephen King's first book. Born with telekinetic powers, Carrie was bullied by her peers; mistreated by her fundamentalist mother...ultimately she was driven insane when that horrible prank at the prom befell her. She committed horrible acts, but ultimately, it is understandable. It was only a matter of time for her to snap. 

Jack Torrance: While he tries to kill his wife and son, part of it largely falls on the Overlook corrupting him. He was abused by his father ultimately becoming an alcoholic who unwittingly dislocated Danny's arm. At the least before the Overlook's destruction he had a moment of clarity. 

Christine: A sapient possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury vintage vehicle who acts like a envious girlfriend when it comes to its owners. Worse, it is fully able of numping people off if need be.

The Wendigo: In Pet Sematary, it is a wendigo that is responsible for the cursed grounds that whatever was buried in its soils, an evil, undead version arises. This happens to Church the cat and especially to Gage. However, the Wendigo is presented more as a force of nature than truly evil.

Annie Wilkes: After saving Paul, it seems at first Annie was a kind woman...at least until she found out that Paul killed off her favorite character and becomes hellbent on forcing him to rewrite the ending where she was alive again. She holds him hostage and even breaks his legs as punishment (though it's much worse in the novel). Worse, it is revealed that Annie is a serial killer with a body count in potentially the 70s with multiple infants dying under mysterious circumstances while under her care. More patients end up dying but they were mostly ignored as the patients were already deathly sick prior. But with all that being said, Annie does have severe mental issues to the point where she is unable to discern reality from fiction. 

[impuretale]

Alright - Headcanon Asks yeah?

All of them! Every last one for a character in the Stand. Which character for each headcanon up to you.

Okay [cracks knuckles] I can try that! I may wind up going back to a few more than others but it just tells you which ones I do the most thinking on. Also by and large this is specific to the 2020 miniseries but will figure in wider canon sometimes.

SO

Headcanon meme ask list is here.

☾ - Larry Underwood's dreams and visions, even those alluding to Mother Abagail, are as disturbing as they are at the start of the series because he's still taking coke. Hence why his vision of her calling him to come and see her is intermixed with that of his dying mother.

★ - Joe/Leo Rockway still has dreams about both Larry and Mommy Nadine as he grows up.

☆ - Kojak the dog fathers puppies and lives a good, long dog life.

☠ - Lloyd Henreid's gold tooth that appears after arriving in Vegas, is not purely cosmetic. One of the first people who wound up on the telephone poles didn't understand the pecking order yet and thought he was an easy target to take a swing at, and while Lloyd scrapped back, Flagg finished the matter by establishing that he picks his soldiers and they are off limits.

✿ - Flagg is very accustomed to his partners passing out before the end and tends to hit such a devastatingly huge dip in adrenaline afterward that he could probably benefit from aftercare, which never happens because his partners are out. When your mind is open to the eldritch horrors and arriving leaves everything exposed and unguarded, you don't experience post-nut clarity so much as post-nut disparity. This is not a big enough deterrent to warn him off from the practice itself, but then it is very canon that he finds this kind of exposure necessary, even if unpleasant. Wizards, amirite?

■ - Glen Bateman tends to live in clutter. Where he puts something down is just where it lives which means his home dwelling can contain a lot of organized piles of stuff -- it looks like a mess and on occasion he will be very "shit I need to clean I'm out of surfaces" but he knows where everything is.

♡ - Lloyd Henreid is in love with Randall Flagg and doesn't really expect anything from it -- he isn't afraid of him as Julie thinks he is. What he's afraid of is the notion that Flagg only tolerates him. This leads to him trying too hard to be accommodating, on occasion.

♥ - Fran ignores or rebuffs Harold's romantic advances because even if her feelings go beyond "kid I used to babysit that I thought was annoying when I was a teenager" it is not romantic in origin -- she also projected a lot of her little brother onto him, who died when he was little. So him making it after Trips was bittersweetly important because he has always been the younger sibling that made it. Even if it is something she distanced herself from because childhood trauma is hard to deal with as a kid and a teenager, and her friendship with his sister made it a quietly kept secret. She recognizes that's unfair and not something he asked for, but she didn't ask to be the object of his unrequited affections either.

☮ - On the way to Boulder, Glen went fishing a few times with Stu, which seemed to relax him. They would usually catch things and Glen would joke, if they did not, that his loud speechifying scared the fish away.

♦ - Stu cannot play any instruments and his singing is for the shower and the radio only.

☯ - Harold loves PayDays (canon) but absolutely hates fruity candies. After trick or treating he and his sister would barter for their favorites and his willingness to let go of higher-value candy like chewing gum for chocolate meant it was a largely pleasant experience where neither sibling had much reason to steal from each other's stashes.

▼ - Fran hates swimming and can only do it because her parents made her take lessons when she was a kid.

∇ - Assuming my New Game+ theory re: the 2020 miniseries and Flagg holds water, Mother Abagail is also just as aware that events have transpired before and is less ruffled by Flagg because she's literally had these conversations with him multiple times.

♒ - Flagg has a sweet tooth (book/TDT canon) -- with a fully stocked kitchen and permission to fuck around and find out, Lloyd discovered this when he made deep fried oreos and then almost didn't get to have any.

☼ - Lloyd Henreid's XIX tattoo is an easter egg but he got it because it was his first tattoo, on his 19th birthday, and he couldn't think of anything else cool to get.

ൠ - Randall Flagg has no pop culture memories from after 1994. His car has a tape deck because it doesn't occur to him that cars wouldn't have one. He keys into new music pretty quick but all his favorites and the ones that get stuck in his head are from well before that and come from a variety of places.

[gardenofedenuniverse]

Alexander Skarsgård Isn't Afraid Of The Dark

The Swedish actor won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his work on 'Big Little Lies', next up he takes on Stephen King's infamous villain Randall Flagg, and tries to get Meryl Streep on board for 'Mamma Mia 3'

When Alexander Skarsgård was 20-years-old, he left his native Sweden and moved to Leeds, in the north of England. "It was important to avoid London because I was travelling with a friend and we wanted to get the quintessential English experience," he revealed, during his on-stage talk last weekend at the Esquire Townhouse in St James', London.

If there was any doubt in the room as to how suited the Swedish heartthrob was to living in the student area of the city, it evaporated when they heard the joy with which he talked about Leeds' most notorious pub crawl. "There's this famous thing called the Otley Run," he said, his voice warm with nostalgia. "I loved it."

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård grew up in Vällingby, Stockholm, the eldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, and spent his early years fantasising that his bohemian father was a regular dad who drove a Saab and worked a desk job.

At 13, his father's friend cast him in the TV series Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled), a fairly small Swedish production, but one that everyone he knew watched because of the few TV channels available. Skarsgård became uncomfortable with the level of fame it afforded him and decided to quit acting.

His father never pushed him to keep going or to capitalise on being recognised, something he is still grateful for. "He just said it was up to me, and that if I wasn't loving it to do something else," he says. "I would have listened if he'd said to stay in it, but that could have turned me off acting."

Earlier that day, we meet at a private member's club in London, where he arrives dressed in a cosy, walnut-coloured roll-neck, selvedge jeans and Clarks desert boots. The 43-year-old now lives in the East Village, New York, but flew here from Vancouver where he is currently filming The Stand, a TV adaptation of Stephen King's novel.

It took seven years, a stint in the Swedish military and another stint mastering the aforementioned Otley Run before Skarsgård returned to acting. His first big break came in 2008 when he played a 1000-year-old vampire in HBO's True Blood, a show adapted from The Southern Vampire Mysteries novel series by Charlaine Harris. It was the height of vampire fever – the same year the film adaptation of Twilight was released – and Skarsgård's portrayal of pallid, aquamarine-eyed Eric Northman spurned him legions of fans. Searching 'Eric Northman fan-fiction' on Google brings up 81,500 results.

It was also the start of a fruitful partnership with between Skarsgård and HBO, a collaboration which hit a home-run when he was cast in Big Little Lies in 2017. The series is based on Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name and stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz as three women living in Monterey, California.

Skarsgård plays Perry, the emotionally and physically abusive husband of Kidman's character Celeste. To the outside world a handsome, sharply-dressed, romantic husband, but behind doors a monster who skulks around their house after her.

Playing Perry alongside Nicole Kidman in ’Big Little Lies’, a role which won him an Emmy and a Golden Globe

HBO

The show was widely praised for its nuanced and compassionate portrayal of domestic abuse, with Skarsgård's performance going on to win an Emmy and Golden Globe amongst other plaudits for the series.

"The character had so much depth and inner turmoil that I never hesitated because it was dark," he says. "I find it less interesting when an abusive husband is turned into a caricature: someone in a wife-beater with a beer on the couch screaming at his wife. It makes for more interesting story-telling if there are moments where you can see the person she fell in love with."L

He stayed with friends in Los Angeles while filming Big Little Lies, grateful to come back to a family's home for dinner after shooting something so dark instead of returning to a lonely hotel room. After a run of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at a theatre in Sweden early on in his career, he learned how to leave dark characters behind at the end of the day or else it "would just suffocate you", saying that as a result he finds playing dark characters "quite cathartic".

There is a kind of Nordic gloom to some of his characters, something that might be responsible for his being cast as Stephen King's demonic villain Randall Flagg in The Stand, due to be released next year. Skarsgård says he grew up afraid of St. Bernard dogs after reading Cujo and still remembers going to see The Shining.

King's writing is enjoying a rich second life in film and television at the moment, with books such as The Dark Tower and Pet Sematary released recently, and The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep soon to follow. There's also It, the Warner Brother's reboot which features Skarsgård's younger brother, Bill, as Pennywise the clown. Are they competing for who can terrify children more? "Randall Flagg is a very different character," he says diplomatically. "He's such a delicious villain [and] it’s fun to play someone who has that exuberance."

He is also strongly rumoured to be appearing in The Northman, teaming up again with Big Little Lies co-star Nicole Kidman. He's coy about the project when I ask, though says of Kidman that he, "can’t think of another actress I’d rather work with", and later on stage speaks highly of The Northman director Robert Eggers' most recent film, the trippy The Lighthouse.

Whether or not it will return for a third season, Big Little Lies seems to have drawn a line under Skarsgård's character, though the actor does have an idea for getting more time on set with Meryl Streep, who played Perry's mother Mary Louise in season two."I think they should do season three and it’s all about Perry and his mother. Dad worked with Meryl on Mamma Mia 1 and 2 and had an amazing time," he says, adding that he would ,"one hundred per cent" do Mamma Mia 3 for some more time on-set with Meryl.

Which leaves one more important matter to discuss: whether he's familiar with the 'skarsbrow', the internet's fixation with him raising his eyebrow into a perfect arch. "No, no. This?" he says, before cocking it and smiling. "I've never heard of that."

https://www.esquire.com/uk

[ninety6tears]

king-of-exchanges letter

Wooo kingofexchanges is happening again! 

I’m a big fan of SK but only somewhere in the middle of my consumption/obsession; with King being heavy on self-referencing and crossover-friendly treatments, I’d be happy for you to mix and match any of my requests, as long as you can see from my goodreads page that I’ve read the relevant stuff.

Basic preferences: I read everything from G-rated to explicit PWP. I love pastiche for lit fandoms but something that feels more off the beaten path of the original style can also be fun.

I love: Angst, pining, subtle UST, first times, or established relationships with some level of conflict to be resolved. Intense friendship stories. Protectiveness in close relationships as well as in those that wouldn’t obviously appear to be protective at first. A character or characters experiencing a type of attraction that isn’t the status quo for them. Relationships that had a falling-out and neither of them ever really got over it. Characterization that focuses on the nature & nurture of who people have grown to be and the unique ways they take care of or need other characters. Insecurity/hangups over worthiness. AUs of all varieties.

I can handle: underage, dubcon, noncon, torture and incest. Character death. Love triangles. Infidelity.

Do Not Want: Fix-its without sacrifice/troubles. Soulbonding/magical soulmate tropes. Disputes centered around marriage as a show of commitment ("If you were really serious you'd have proposed by now rather than just wanting to live together" and all that). A/B/O, mpreg, or any body fluid kinks. More than a mention of Alzheimer’s/dementia.

Christine ‘83 (FIC):

Arnie/Dennis

Arnie/Christine/Dennis

---NOTE - The movie is more fresh in my mind for prompting purposes but I have read the book, so feel free to run with this request for either version. I do like the dark humor Carpenter brings to adolescence without mocking the angst of being a teenager, not that King isn’t morbidly funny in his own right.

We get very little of them together before Arnie starts to go all possessed but we can tell their friendship has lasted a lot of changes over the years. That hospital visit over the holiday (which I remember was more bittersweet, less tense in the book?) feels like the last time Arnie remembered that he's supposed to be a big part of Dennis’ life. But even before all that, there’s a nice dynamic where Dennis is protective of Arnie and really thinks highly of him (and huh, maybe sees something in his looks other people don’t) when it’s not socially advantageous for him to retain that loyalty, and I’d like to get more of that. Maybe they’ve fooled around once or twice? Maybe Arnie was the one who got weird about it, afraid of the eventual rejection, or they’re both just too repressed? I like the triangle with Leigh too, if you wanted to get into the confused jealousy/conduit attraction thing, just nothing that completely dismisses any meaning of her relationship with Dennis if it’s referenced at all.

If Dennis was the one Christine got dangerously jealous of (either because something happens between them or she just knows) how would that go down differently? Or what if the car decides she wants to be shared by them, and maybe likes to watch them do things to each other (take that however you want it to mean) and either their closeness makes the two of them eventually snap out of it, or they all just become a weird evil threesome? I'm also into the idea of some other fantasy/sci-fi AU in which Christine is something or someone else entirely but is still threatening in some paranormal/inhuman way.

Crossover Tags (FIC):

Peter McVries & Ray Garraty & The Stand

Peter McVries/Ray Garraty & The Stand

---I’m interested in how these two would fit into a story with such an elemental moral war. Both are reckless but McVries more prone to hopelessness and nihilism; would he be tempted to join Flagg without outside influence? Would he just kind of wander around with no sense of purpose until Ray found him? It could also turn the existential misery of The Long Walk on its head, with them losing their families and possibly realizing too late the preciousness of life that way. You don’t have to get into much philosophy or plot either; I’m kind of into the everyday pain-in-the-ass minutiae of the post-apocalypse and people finding ways to laugh about their circumstances and reach for each other in their grief. Feel free to write it as full-on crossover with some of the canon Stand characters appearing.

Larry Underwood & Richie Tozier

---If you have some other idea of where to put these two together, go for it, but I had this idea of Richie hosting an occasional interview special for up-and-coming musicians and Larry being invited on when the single’s just out and being so nervous to meet this famous personality, and maybe they get drunk or high together before or after the interview (bonus points if Larry can hardly get in an answer cause Richie gives him the giggles). They’re kinda both assholes so they get along? They’re both assholes so they kinda hate each other? I didn’t nominate it as a shippy treatment but if you’re really sad I didn’t, hey, stuff happens when people party.

The Dark Half (FIC):

Alan Pangborn/Thad Beaumont

Alan Pangborn/Elizabeth Beaumont/Thad Beaumont

George Stark/Alan Pangborn

---I thought the surprising friendship and trust that takes hold between Thad and the officer who initially believes him to be a cold killer was one of the better aspects of this novel, and the way that connection is so soon polluted by Stark's insurmountable connection to a part of Thad’s psyche is chilling and more than a little sad. I would love to get a shippy treatment of their immediate companionship and/or the inevitable disturbance of it. If you wanted to make it a poly thing with Elizabeth, with all three of them not really pausing in the midst of all these maddening things happening to question opening their marriage to someone they find comforting, I would be interested in how that might underscore the events.

And when it comes to George/Alan...yeah, I want darkfic, potentially outlining Stark’s role in putting Alan off Thad in a more sinister way, whether it’s poisoning the well of Alan’s (sublimated? not yet acted on?) desire and affection for Thad by being sleazily flirtatious in pointing it out, or going to a darker noncon place with all the mingled disgust and misplaced attraction that might provoke. (In the context of this prompt, I’m not super into the gross-out factor of Stark being at the stage where his skin is falling off, but if you can’t somehow set it at an earlier stage it would be better to just not mention it.)

Also, I realize Alan has a family, but you can deal with that however you want; his wife can just not exist for the purposes of the story, but even infidelity wouldn’t put me off if you’re taking the character that far out of a healthy mindset.

The Long Walk (FIC):

Peter McVries/Ray Garraty

---Since we’re never in Pete’s head, it would be great to get anything detailing how his initial distance from Ray quickly erodes into the protectiveness he obviously can’t help over him, if there’s a spark of empathy there even before the first time Ray saves him, or what he’s really thinking or trying to say at some of his more cynical and cryptic moments. I wonder what it was that Parker said to him to imply he thought he and Ray were “queer for each other” and how this apparently was covered without McVries feeling the need to deny it?

If you wanted to write them both somehow surviving, I would love to see how their relationship remains in the aftermath; maybe they don’t exactly end up together because they associate each other with this traumatizing thing, and they have an essential but troubled friendship because of it (and maybe they end up fucking a couple times but don’t really talk about it).

In the realm of more absolute alternate universes...a bigoted boarding school atmosphere, an aggressive correctional camp, anything where a compulsive make-out might happen in the bunks or the showers and then be stiffly denied later on sounds like a backdrop I’d love for these boys if you want to do something bleak-but-not-as-mortally-bleak.

I prefer to think of McVries as having complicated depression that doesn’t just stem from girlfriend problems; I’d prefer you mention the incident with Priscilla as little as possible, but any focus on Pete’s scar is totally fine.

The Stand (ART):

Larry Underwood/Lucy Swann

Lucy Swann/Larry Underwood/Nadine Cross/Randall Flagg

Nadine Cross

---My attempts to prompt for art for these tags may be unhelpful but I’m really into Nadine’s scary paranormal bond with Flagg, the imagery of her hair and Flagg’s tainted handsomeness and everything haunted about her and her life, and how the love triangle with her and Larry and Lucy is really a quadrangle of temptations and baggage beyond the usual moral pressure of romantic entanglements. They’re all figuratively in bed together whether they like it or not, but I could see that presented more literally in art. I also would like anything associated with the individual permutations (Larry/Nadine, Larry/Lucy, Larry/Nadine/Randall?). Desperate/melancholy embraces, or moments of almost touching. That ghost leering over Nadine’s shoulder in her moments of getting too close to tenderness.

[hopebcrn]

embracedself said: Munday Meme: 9, and 19

9) SIngle or taken?

Very much single 

19) Name 3 favorite fictional characters?

I could take this in the direction of doing three favorite fictional characters from movies and television, but I am a nerd and will be doing literature instead. I do not normally read fiction unless it is Stephen King or classic literature. That being said, here are three of my favorite fictional characters from literature: 

I.  The man, the myth, the legend, Jay Gatsby of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby was born James Gatz until he changed his name and had a classic rag to riches journey. He learned the ins and outs of being rich, served in World War I, and went to Oxford University. But none of that tells you why he is my favorite, does it? His character is complex and far from perfect, after all, he got his money from bootlegging. In the end, he does not survive the novel (though I won’t say why or how to avoid spoilers). He is one of my favorite characters because he is a man who seemingly has everything and yet is utterly alone, and behind his happy-go-lucky façade is a man who is far from perfect. A man who lies and is still searching for the love he lost when he went to war. He seemingly has it all, but his funeral demonstrates how he doesn’t really have anyone he is close with. We see Gatsby through Nick Carraway’s POV, so we see him the way Carraway wants us to see him, not how Gatsby made Carraway see him. But again, why does this make him one of my favorites? Well, because despite the cruel realities of the 1920s’, Gatsby still has hope, hope in his dreams and aspirations. Gatsby’s good and bad qualities are the good and bad sides of what he represents: the chance to start over, optimism, and the dream that things will be perfect. He is a heavily flawed character who does not get the idyllic happy ending, despite having so much money he never gave up the basics of who he was and arguably remained a good, yet flawed man who had hope for love and a better tomorrow. I love him because he is so complex and real, he is not this perfect character that gets the girl or gets the happy ending that one might “think he deserves.”  

II. Nick Andros of Stephen King’s The Stand. Oh boy do I adore Andros with my entire heart. His entire character is a testament to how anyone can be a hero. From the start of the novel, Andros has it rough given that he was attacked and is a deaf-mute. Despite being attacked, he never once lost faith in humanity, despite surviving the titular “super flu” that essentially brought on the apocalypse. He struggles throughout the novel, but never once allows the things that happen to him to make him anything less than a remarkable man filled with kindness and faith that the world can be better. He was such a compassionate character, he saw hope in the world despite facing certain evil in the form of a foe who has appeared in SEVEN, that’s right SEVEN other Stephen King novels by the name of Randall Flagg (his real name, however, is Walter Padick). Whether you interpret Flagg as evil incarnate, the devil, the personification of all the bad things, or whatever, you cannot deny that he is a scary foe. As we all know, Stephen King has a knack for killing off your favorite character, and Andros was not spared from King’s pen and sword. Boy did his death make me cry. He was such a well-rounded character, admirable and brave, a man who did not let the world beat him down. A man who by every right of the word was a true and genuine hero. Even in the face of adversity and cruelty of others, Andros still had faith in humanity and the belief that things could be better, that things would get better. He will always be one of my most beloved characters. 

III. John Coffey of Stephen King’s The Green Mile. Let me tell you all something, Coffey is by far one of the best characters in modern literature and one of the kindest characters you will ever meet in literature. Even though he is in prison, he spends his time crying due to the suffering of others, and if that does not show true and genuine human compassion to you than reread that sentence, my friends! He is a character falsely accused of a crime, and while I will leave it at that to avoid spoilers he is another character that King accomplished in making me cry over. He is literally the embodiment of what it means to be good and selfless, a character who despite whatever life throws at him never ones blames another person. He never raises his hand in his own defense, he only raises his hand to heal (specifics will be left out to avoid spoilers!) others. He is such a compassionate and loveable character, and while there was another character I loved just as much, Coffey remains my most favorite from this novel. People do not need to ask for his help, he simply knows when someone needs help and helps them without question, without being asked. He carries the struggles and sorrows of each individual he meets as if they were his own struggles and sorrows. Despite this, he is still a kind and gentleman who is subjected to cruelties and unfair treatment by the world. Everyone likes to think that they are good, that they would act selflessly in order to help another person, but humans are innately selfish creatures by nature but not Coffey. He is a character that gives and gives without asking for anything in return, a character that never reacts in anger even when the world is cruel to him. He is wholly good, and an example of what true selflessness actually is. 

These three characters are ones that I love dearly, each for their own reasons. Each character has a deeper meaning beyond the surface and stands to represent various things. They are so well crafted that you feel for these characters, even when one (Gatsby) is a man with flaws. 

[minaofmayhem]

IMAGINE #38 - Never tear us apart

Here’s the penultimate request with our favorite bad guy, Randall ❤️ Sorry for the delay but I always want my writings to be as I imagined them so sometimes it takes me time to put in words what I have in my mind 😀 Thanks a lot anon for giving me this idea, I hope you all will like this piece ! Enjoy ! ❤️

Summary : You are his queen, his reason to live, his everything. But this is what could happen if someone dares to look at you or even touches you. He’s going to pay the highest price. 

Pairing : Randall Flagg x Reader

Warnings : violence, mention of blood. 

Tag list : @katerka88​ ; @bonnieelizabethparker​ ; @ateliefloresdaprimavera​ ; @anangelwhodidntfall​ ; @fawnbrrry​ ; @flowers-in-your-hayr​ ; @grandpa-sweaters​ ; @bailaycantaconmingo​

Day 165.

165 days since the great pandemic broke out on the planet and killed a good part of the humanity. 165 days since the world is now a vast desert where the few survivors are trying to survive despite the chaos. A few have formed a community around Mother Abagail in Boulder - Colorado. A centenarian old woman that some consider as the new Messiah. For the others, a new form of society has been created in Las Vegas under the orders of the most machiavellian couple in human history : Mr. and Mrs. Flagg, the new royal couple of Vegas. Thanks to you, the "rejects" of the old world have found a place in a city where the watchwords are sex, alcohol, debauchery, partying and above all, freedom. 

You and Flagg are two identical creatures with infinite magical powers. You are capable of the best but mostly of the worst. You rule from the Penthouse of the hotel that has been your residence since your arrival on earth. You are both admired and feared because no one knows what you are really capable of. Nobody tries to verify it but without knowing it, they will soon witness it...

*

Tonight you and Randall decided to spend a pleasant evening together in your suite. Randall had planned to make a brief appearance in the evening to satisfy your subjects but no more. They were partying every nights and are waiting for him like if he was God himself. Well, he is, in a sens. But not tonight, he had other plans. He wants to spend time with his beautiful queen, the one he loves the most. And just so, you are sitting on the big couch, your legs resting on his lap while his head is burying in your neck to cover it with soft kisses. Every time his lips settle, he offers you the most beautiful of compliments. Things that really turn you on. His beard is scratching your skin, which is nice. The flaps of your dress reveals your bare skin that Randall's hands keep caressing endlessly. With your head tilted back, your lips open to let out a moan of contentment and delight. You love feeling his soft lips on you and his rough hands caressing every inch of your body. This is a pure pleasure...

His hand were about to move higher, to your hip, when the main door suddenly opens. Floyd enters, accompanied by his eccentric girlfriend and an unknown man who was carrying a body on his back, wrapped in a large plastic bag. Randall grunts ; he hated being disturbed even more in these situations. He had told Floyd that he didn’t want to be disturbed under any circumstances. He hoped it was at least worth it. Floyd steps forward, bowing respectfully to you.

"Mr. and Mrs. Flagg" 

"Floyd...my trusty right hand man...Didn't I specify that I did not want to be disturbed in any way tonight?", Randall states in a sharp voice as he rises from the chair after you removed your legs in a graceful motion. 

As you pull back the edges of your dress, you notice the envious look on the stranger's face as he follow your every move. When you stand up, you could see and feel his gaze trying to guess the body that is hidden under your beautiful white dress. Randall notices immediately. He never miss anything. For a moment, a flash of anger stealthily cross his pupils. He couldn't stand the look of other men on you. He was about to react - you could already feel his rage bubbling up inside him - but stops when he feels your hands around his fore arm. He only had to catch your gaze to understand what you have in mind. You wanted something else, something more...evil. A smirk stretches across his lips and he takes your hand in his to place a kiss on it. He totally understands what you have in mind. Floyd and his cronies watch the scene, completely lost. 

"So Floyd?", Flagg asks again in an impatient voice as turning his head to face him again. Floyd pulls himself together and gives a cut to the stranger placed beside him. 

"Yeah sir...Well Bobby Terry has found the old spy sent by those jerks from Boulder. You were right, she was hiding in a motel out in the desert." Randall smiles at the guest and invites him, with a wave of his hand, to lay the body on the large table.

"Let's take a look" 

He opens the plastic cover and bends down to breathe the body. Floyd and his girlfriend look away in disgust. Still standing by the chair, you watch the scene, amused by Randall's behavior. He is about to start something and you can’t wait to watch the show. 

"That's definitely her but...there's a problem" Floyd bites his lip and looks down. Bobby Terry just looks at Randall, displeased. 

"What problem? There's no problem. That's what you wanted, right ?”.

Floyd and his girlfriend stand to the side, uncomfortable. It was the first time they saw someone dare to contradict the grandmaster. Randall doesn’t take his eyes off Terry, swallowing his anger. He has to stick to the plan you both agreed upon.

"Floyd...Didn't I say I wanted to see the old owl alive ?". Floyd confirmes, confessing his apologies. 

"See, it's not complicated", Randall's voice is almost mocking, as if he is scolding a child for being stupid. 

"I don't care about your bullshit and fucking excuses. I brought the body back so I deserve my reward"

Randall looks at you out of the corner of his eye and catches the very sharp shake of the head you gave him, like a signal. A triumphant but discreet smile stretches across your face. Randall understands exactly what you want most right now. You knew that Bobby Terry had screwed up and that Randall was going to make him pay, one way or another. But why not make him pay for his attitude towards you at the same time? You could count on your husband's ferocity and tenacity. He would avenge you. You find it so exciting and rewarding to watch him play cat and mouse with his prey that it turns you on again. And that unfortunate Bobby Terry who didn't realize what he was doing. Pitiful humans.

"No problem my friend. Floyd, remind me what the promised reward was?"

"500.000 dollars Mr. Flagg."

"Five hundred thousand dollars. Fair enough" Randall steps forward to come face to face with Terry. "How about we change the deal?". 

Bobby Terry raises an eyebrow, curious to see why he would suddenly agree to change the reward. This encourages Randall to step closer to whisper to him, "I noticed the look you had earlier. I can think you feel something for her. She's beautiful, isn't she?". Randall gestures in your direction and Bobby Terry leans over to look at you again from every angle, looking you up and down as if you were a commodity.

"Not bad indeed" he confirmes, running his tongue over his lips in a vulgar manner.

"And again my friend...", continues Randall, in a suggestive voice "You haven't seen everything yet...How about...a night with her instead of the money ?".

Bobby Terry's eyes begin to glow like those of a child who is promised the biggest present for his birthday. It must be say that he had not the chance to be with such a beautiful creature for decades now. Behind them, Floyd and his girlfriend feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. They had figured out the trap, but Terry seemed so engrossed in the enticing proposition that he had forgotten about being careful. 

"Deal" he declares, presenting his hand to Randall who shakes it briskly, a big, hypocritical smile on his lips. Randall takes a step back and extends his hand in your direction to signal you to join them. 

"Come here my beauty" Once your hand is in your husband's, he gives it to Bobby Terry, without skimping on the showmanship. "Take good care of him my love. He deserves all your attention for risking his life for me". 

Bobby Terry smiles proudly, taking your hand. Randall then hands him the key to one of the hotel suites, which he magically made appear. 

"Come with me. I've earned my little reward", Terry says as he pull you a bit sharply towards the exit, without a word. You follow him, already gloating as you think about what would be next.

Once inside the elevator, the doors close themselves and Bobby Terry can't resist on putting his hands on you any longer. No sooner does he take a step in your direction than your crystalline and machiavellian laughter is heard in the cabin. The lights go out and come on quickly, like in a party in a nightclub, but it is more a horror show that is playing in front of him. He sees your face, your demonic smile and your long hair on your face until you disappear completely. Then Randall suddenly appears instead of you, posts against the door, in a casual manner. His smirk does not bode well and when he hears Randall saying “Boo” he realized, for the first time tonight, that he has made a big mistake.

It takes one minute for the elevator to go down all floors. That's enough to destroy a man. After Randall arrived in the cabine, you found yourself on the first floor, ready to revel in the scene that was about to play out before your eyes. In an instant, Bobby Terry's body flies against the walls with a thud, blood spurting everywhere as Randall slams him against the glass windows with all his might. Behind you, you can hear the frightened and disgusted cries of the crowd watching the scene, despite themselves. Smiling triumphantly, you watch the elevator arrive at your level and the doors open up. Shouts of amazement rise again. Some even began to vomit at the carnage. Randall picks himself up from what was left of Bobby Terry's body, his face and clothes cover with blood. Staggering slightly, as if he is drunk, he stands up and looks out at the waiting, frightened crowd. Without a word, he steps forward and puts his hand behind your head for a languidly and bloody kiss. 

"Here’s what you wanted, my love" he says, handing you Bobby Terry's heart. Proudly, you caressed your husband's bloody face as you kissed him lovingly, not caring about the blood covering now your face and beautiful white dress. 

"Show them" you whisper against his lips. Randall smiles and steps back to face the crowd, raising his arm to show them Bobby Terry's still dripping heart.

"My friends...This is the fate that awaits whoever dares to disrespect the most beautiful of queens. Try to touch her or even look at her and I will kill you. I will destroy you. I will tear you apart and feed on your flesh. I will hunt you down wherever you are to eliminate you from this earth. Watchout...I can be everywhere". 

His voice was still echoing in the great hall when he finished his speech. His eyes looks out over the crowd, catching the frightened looks. You can feel their fear and feed on it. Randall turns and finally throws the heart next to the remains of Bobby Terry. He then holds his arm out to you, you put your left arm through it and together you moves in the opposite direction before disappearing completely. Not before Randall declares to Floyd. 

"Floyd...clean up this mess, will you?".

[unofficialfilmcritic]

Deciding to see a movie about a suspicious group of people coming together at a hotel while I’m on vacation and staying in a sketchy hotel probably wasn't the smartest choice. But Bad Times at the El Royale had less of the creepy suspense I was expecting and instead had compelling characters and storylines. I actually really enjoyed the movie, both for the time period and the story and characters.

I certainly expected the movie to be scarier than it was, and to have more of a twist or satire aspect to it, like Cabin in the Woods did. There were a few pretty suspenseful points in the movie, like the scene were Darlene is singing in her room and clapping, and Father Flynn has to time his strikes with the hammer to her claps, all without knowing if anyone is actually on the other side of the glass.

And honestly, just seeing how everything came together was amazing! Spoilers ahead. It was a really great mystery. I loved how each “room” (each character) had their own section detailing how they came to be at the El Royale. I was surprised to find myself liking Emily and the lengths she went to for her sister. I really loved Darlene’s story and her as a character, especially when she just tears into Billy Lee and is so polite and calm while doing it. I actually liked Father Flynn a lot, because the memory aspect just added so much to the character. And poor Miles! I wasn’t a huge fan of him at first but the war aspect of his character really added to him, and I liked how Father Flynn tried to comfort him in the end.

I know a lot of people are seeing the movie for Chris Hemsworth as Billy Lee. I’m a fan of Drew Goddard due to Cabin in the Woods and I thought Bad Times at the El Royale looked interesting, so those were my main reasons to see it, without getting into the actors. But I do have to admit that Hemsworth did amazing as Billy Lee and really pulled off the creepy, cult leader. Side note: I could totally picture him as Randall Flagg from Stephen King’s The Stand. Hemsworth wasn’t the only actor who did a good job though; they all did amazing. And this makes me even more excited for Widows, which Cynthia Erivo is also appearing in, because she was incredible as Darlene, and sounded gorgeous when singing too.

I really liked the movie. It had a good soundtrack, both the songs Erivo sang and those played in the background. The cast all did an amazing job and I loved seeing them play off each other. The dynamics of the film, the acting and story and time period and filming, all just worked so well and came together to make a pretty great movie.