#brandon darrow imagine
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Request Information
We write x reader and x OC stories/oneshots, so don't be afraid to give your character a name, unless you prefer it being the reader!
We typically write the reader as a female, but if you prefer gender neutral, let us know!
We generally write for male people/characters as well.
We write:
Fluff
Angst
Hurt/Comfort
Comfort
We do not write smut!
Feel free to send any request for one-shots/imagines, or if you have an idea for a mini-series, don't be afraid to suggest that as well.
If you request, there is no 100% guarantee that it'll be written, but we will definitely try our best to fulfill everyone's requests!
When something is requested, we will try to get to it as quickly as possible, but we are both full time students and play sports, so please bear with us!
We write for a lot of things, but here is the list if you want to go through it all! If you don't see a specific person/show or anything on the list, still feel free to request it. We might have accidentally left it out, but if not, we can still attempt to write that person for you!
You can submit requests by clicking the link at the bottom of this post or the link at the top of the blog, both will take you to a form to submit your request!
FULL LIST OF WHAT WE WRITE FOR:
Shows/movies:
13 Reasons Why
Clay Jensen
Justin Foley
911 (Lonestar and the original)
Eddie Diaz
Evan Buckley
Judd Ryder
Owen Strand
Paul Strickland
TK Strand
Wyatt Harris
American Horror Story
Jimmy Darling
Kit Walker
Kyle Spencer
Michael Langdon
Tate Langdon
Xavier Plympton
Attack On Titan
Armin Arlert
Jean Kirstein
Big Time Rush
Carlos
James
Kendall
Logan
Breaking Bad
Jesse Pinkman
Cobra Kai
Eli Moskowitz (Hawk)
Johnny Lawrence
Miguel Diaz
Robby Keene
Criminal Minds
Aaron Hotchner
Derek Morgan
Spencer Reid
Game of Thrones
Bronn
Jaime Lannister
Jon Snow
Robb Stark
Goosebumps
James Etten
Lucas Parker
Gossip Girl
Chuck Bass
Eric Van Der Woodsen
Nate Archibald
Grey’s Anatomy
George O’Malley
Mark Sloan
IT
Bill Denbrough
Eddie Kaspbrak
Richie Tozier
Jujustu Kaisen
Megumi Fushiguro
Satoru Gojo
Toge Inumaki
Yuji Itadori
Lab Rats
Chase Davenport
Marvel
Bucky Barnes
Deadpool
Druig
Loki Laufeyson
Peter Parker (Tom’s or Andrew’s)
Steve Rogers
Thor
Wolverine
My Babysitter’s a Vampire
Benny Weir
Ethan Morgan
My Hero Academia
Denki Kaminari
Eijiro Kirishima
Hitoshi Shinsou
Izuku Midoriya
Katsuki Bakugo
Keigo Takami
Shota Aizawa
Shoto Todoroki
Takami Amajiki
NCIS (LA and the original)
Anthony DiNozzo
Eric Beale
G. Callen
Jimmy Palmer
Marty Deeks
Timothy McGee
Nerve
Tommy Mancuso
New Girl
Coach
Nick Miller
Schmidt
Winston Bishop
Now You See Me
Jack Wilder
Outerbanks
JJ Maybank
John B.
Pope
Rafe Cameron
Topper
Percy Jackson
Percy
Pretty Little Liars
Caleb Rivers
Holden Strauss
Jason DiLaurentis
Mike Montgomery
Noel Kahn
Toby Cavanaugh
Shadowhunters
Alec Lightwood
Jace Herondale
Simon Lewis
Shameless
Ian Gallagher
Kevin Ball
Lip Gallagher
Stranger Things
Dustin Henderson
Steve Harrington
Supernatural
Castiel
Dean Winchester
Jack Kline
Sam Winchester
T@GGED
Ash Franklin
Brandon Darrow
Trevor Askill
Teen Wolf
Derek Hale
Isaac Lahey
Scott McCall
Stiles Stilinski
Titans
Dick Grayson (Nightwing)
Gar Logan (Beast Boy)
Jason Todd (Red Hood)
The 100
Bellamy Blake
Jasper Jordan
Monty Green
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Ambrose Spellman
Harvey Kinkle
Nicholas Scratch
The Hunger Games
Finnick Odair
Peeta Mellark
The Maze Runner
Minho
Newt
Thomas
The Middle
Axl Heck
Sean Donahue
The OC
Luke Ward
Ryan Atwood
Seth Cohen
The Originals
Elijah Mikaelson
Klaus Mikaelson
Kol Mikaelson
The Outsiders
Darry Curtis
Dallas Winston
Sodapop Curtis
The Rookie
John Nolan
Tim Bradford
The Umbrella Academy
Five Hargreeves
The Vampire Diaries
Damon Salvatore
Jeremy Gilbert
Kai Parker
Stefan Salvatore
The Walking Dead
Carl Grimes
Daryl Dixon
Glenn Rhee
Negan Smith
Rick Grimes
True Blood
Eric Northman
Jason Stackhouse
Sam Merlotte
Twilight
Emmett Cullen
Jasper Hale
Paul Lahote
Seth Clearwater
Wizards of Waverly Place
Justin Russo
Real people:
5 Seconds of Summer members (all)
Ateez members (all)
Cody Fern
Jamie Muscato
Sam and Colby
Stray Kids members (all)
The Boyz (all)
Tomorrow x Together members (all)
Request form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdf15DK07JIGzKMNPC2FrEgP7ces4KfIxTngYcNwvmusaXxGA/viewform?usp=sf_link
#requests open#bang chan#felix#hyunjin#txt#jeongin#seungmin#han jisung#han#changbin#lee know#eddie diaz#evan buckley#american horror story#911 lone star#13 reasons why#stray kids#the boyz#ateez#supernatural#goosebumps
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
i guess we both made mistakes | brandon darrow x reader
summary: after finding out brandon was the one behind the snake mask y/n is set on staying away from him for as long as she can. when his safety is compromised, though, she can't help but put the feeling of betrayal aside
masterlist
Brandon Darrow and you had been best friends once upon time, that is until he became popular and ditched you for his new asshole friends. You hadn't talked to him in years until this whole situation started and when you found yourself getting closer to him again while looking for clues on king cobra's real identity, you couldn't help but feel a little happy to somewhat be mending your relationship with Brandon. You really felt like the two of you were finally okay again until Rowan broke the news to you.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
You were in Hailey's car as the blonde drove you two to pick Rowan up from the zoo party where the girl had went to try and find out who hid behind the snake mask but when she got in the car, an apologetic look in her face, you couldn't help but freeze.
"What happened, Ro? Who is he?" you'd asked the girl, basically begging for good news, only to be met by her sad eyes.
"I'm sorry y/n/n. It was Brandon."
And suddenly you felt like you couldn't breathe, tears starting to sting your eyes as you tried to remain calm not to worry your friends any more.
"No. It can't be." you managed to mutter between trembling lips.
"I'm so sorry y/n. I know you two were getting closer again." Rowan said taking your hand in hers giving it a comforting squeeze.
"He was so gentle to me, Ro. How could he? How could he do this?" your sadness was being replaced by anger and betrayal. Brandon had been there for you during the past few weeks, comforting you when you needed it most, and even going as far as kissing you on the rooftop of his house. Had it all just been some manipulative way to trick you into not questioning his innocence? Was that all you were to him? A piece in his stupid game? You felt sick to your stomach.
Hailey dropped you off at your house after you guys' visit to the hospital to check up on Ash, who'd been in surgery for being shot. Rowan had stayed with Elisia to keep her company but you weren't sure you could keep it together any longer and so had asked Hailey to drive you home.
As you closed the front door behind you, seconds away from finally running to your bed and letting all the build up hurt go through the tears you'd been holding back the whole night, you heard your phone in your pocket. Picking up the device, already imagining what other terrible news or threats you were about to find, your heart stopped at the texts glowing in your screen.
from: rowan
STINGER JUST TEXTED ME
from: rowan
HE GOT A PING ON DUNBAR'S PHONE
from: rowan
IT'S AT YOUR HOUSE
You looked around, trying to type out a reply as you moved towards your bedroom.
to: rowan
are you su-
"Y/n?"
You froze in your spot once you recognized the voice, accidentally sending your text half-finished. Forcing your body around you were met by Brandon Darrow's eyes.
"Get out." you warned holding up your phone in a threat to call 9-1-1.
"Just listen to me." Brandon pleaded taking a step towards you.
You were quick to step back running into your bathroom, Brandon tried to catch your wrist to get you to stop but only managed to knock your phone out of your hands. Before he could reach you you had already locked yourself inside the bathroom.
"Please just let me explain myself, y/n." he pleaded, wiggling the door handle.
"You're trying to kill us!"
"No i'm not! C'mon y/n/n please just listen to me!"
"Don't lie to me! Rowan saw you wearing the mask!" you screamed back at him once again before letting yourself slide down the door to sit on the floor.
"Just listen to me okay? A couple of years ago i logged onto the zoo website to talk shit about my dad, and i met monkey man." Brandon began to explain. "We bonded over our shitty dads and i gave him advice about his bullies." he continued before your smack on the door interrupted him.
"God, you're a liar!" you shouted trying to keep your tears away for the second time that night.
"No i'm not! I thought it was all your fault. I found Dunbar's phone at Nicki's party. I was going to get my bags back before the cops came and... look i was so pissed off because i thought it was all your fault he killed himself, okay? That's why i took his phone, and i sent you that message about the blood balloon."
"God, you're an asshole." you sobbed, covering your mouth with your hand.
"I felt so guilty, okay?" Brandon said. "That's why, when I got the phone, I logged onto MonkeyMan's account. I told them all that we should make you suffer; that we should make you pay. We came up with this stupid hunting idea. When Hailey got out, I texted you all. But when I saw Hailey's face after her audition, I felt so guilty, because I was just trying to make things better, and she was so scared and all I do is make things worse... Y/n i tried to tell them to stop online, you have to believe me, i did, but King Cobra... he was telling them to do really bad things to you. I tried to make it better. I tried to stop everyone, but it was too late."
"You were wearing that fucking mask, Brandon." you said. "Rowan saw you."
"It was a trick," Brandon insisted. "I wanted to find out who he was. Y/n, I started it, but I... I can't stop it." Brandon said, his voice shaking.
"I should've stayed away from you," you cried out, resting your forehead against the door. "Everyone warned me about you and how i shouldn't trust you, but you seemed like you'd changed. You seemed like my Brandon again, my best friend. I should've known it was too good to be true." you stated, a sob leaving your body.
"I'm sorry." Brandon whispered from the other side of the door before finally leaving you.
The next time you heard from him it was through Rowan. The brunette had called you a few hours after your fight with the boy, letting you know that he'd been arrested by the police.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Weeks had gone by and Brandon had finally been freed. You'd made a promise to yourself that you wouldn't go anywhere near him ever again, and you'd been successful at the task, that is if you count crying yourself to sleep over how much you missed him multiple nights a week as successful. It'd been hard to keep him away from you though. He'd called multiple times and even knocked at your door a handful of times. Rowan had insisted that you talked to him, but you always refused. The brunette, though, kept in contact with Brandon through her recently acquired step-brother, Trevor, who'd pressured her into looking after you for his best friend's sake.
One day as you got home from The Brew coffee shop, you received a text.
you better take a closer look at your boyfriend's little investigation before he gets hurt.
You felt a breath catch in your throat as you read the message, a picture of you and Brandon taken weeks ago attached. No, it should be bluff, Rowan had been keeping you updated on what Brandon was up to and she hadn't talked about any investigating. You hated that you still cared about his wellbeing but you couldn't just make your feelings disappear. Eventually you decided to lock your phone and move on with your life. A few hours later you received another text. You looked in horror as a video of Brandon tied up in a car with tape over his mouth filled your screen. look what i found. the text read. i warned you, bitch. now he pays.
You struggled to find your car keys, ready to leave for Stinger's place, when your phone started ringing and you swore you'd never accepted a call so quickly in your life. It was Rowan.
"We got the video too. Stinger has the location. Trevor is on his way to pick you up." Quickly thanking your friend you made your way out of the house just as the car pulled over, taking no time into getting on the passenger seat.
Once you got to the location you pushed your way through your friends before coming to a stop. On the wall of what you recognized as a freezer was some code: MrMT 113634 and right below it the words open me. You reached for the handle but the door didn't budge. "Shit" you muttered under your breath before picking up a broken brick from the ground and hitting the lock with it. After a few hits the door opened and you and your friends took no time into entering the freezer despite the cold. You pulled your jacket, (Brandon's jacket, you were yet to notice) tighter around your body as you looked around in disgust at all the animal corpses that filled the container. You finally pointed your lantern down to the floor, trying to avoid the carcasses that'd surely plague your nightmares later that night, when you spotted a shoe. Lifting your eyes from the ground your jaw dropped as you laid your eyes on an unconscious Brandon. His wrists were tied by a thick rope, his skin paler than you'd ever seen it and his lips almost just as blue as you remembered his eyes to be. You dropped to your knees before the boy as you screamed for help from your friends. You could tell Brandon was alive but you weren't sure if he'd stay that way for much longer if you didn't get him out soon enough. With the boys' help, Brandon was placed in the backseat of Trevor's car where you joined him shortly, carefully pulling the boy's freezing t-shirt over his head to replace it with your, well his jacket. You layed his head on your lap running your fingers through his icy hair. "You'll be okay, i'm right here." you told him, not bothering to keep your tears from falling when suddenly Brandon's eyes fluttered open, a relieved sigh leaving your body. He looked up at you, lifting up his hand to cup your cheek. "Don't cry, baby. You saved me." He said with a sad smile before starting to close his eyes again. "No, B, don't fall asleep on me, not now." you told him, grabbing his hand with yours before placing a kiss on its back. "Please stay with me, we're almost home." The boy in your lap opened his eyes again and you could tell it was hard for him to do so. "You're doing so good, love. Just hang in there." you pleaded, your voice trembling with fear.
It felt like it'd been hours when you finally goby to Stinger's. Once inside it was like your body was moving on its own as you went looking for blankets while the other girls went to make some tea and the boys placed Brandon on the couch. You crawled in the sofa next to him, wrapping him in the covers you'd found as he rested his head on your shoulder. You realized then that all the anger you'd felt towards him during the past weeks had dissipated the moment you saw him in that freezer.
"Are you okay?" Brandon asked noticing you drift off.
"You almost just froze to death and you're asking me if i'm ok?" you asked back letting your head fall on top of his.
Eventually Rowan and Elisia got back, handing Brandon the mug of tea. Everyone discussed the recent events until they decided to run to the train station to try and open the luggage locker. You got up from the sofa, Brandon following behind before you interrupted his movements.
"You're not going." you warned him, his mouth opening up in protest before you continued. "You almost just died, Brandon. You need to rest." the boy sighed in disappointment.
"You can stay at mine tonight. My parents aren't home. Do you think you can drop us off there on your way to the station?" you asked Trevor, receiving a nod from the boy.
"Woah, you sure you'll survive a night in my presence?" Brandon asked in a mocking tone.
"Shut up before i change my mind."
You got home not long after, moving to the kitchen to heat up some soup as Brandon took a sit on your couch. Leaving the kitchen you let your feet drag you back to the living room before handing him the bowl.
"Thanks." he muttered, starting to shove spoonfuls of the hot liquid into his mouth. Suddenly you were reminded of something quickly making your way up the stairs and into your bedroom before returning to the couch with something in your hands.
"What's that?" Brandon asked, his eyes moving to whatever you were holding behind your back as you sat down next to him, your hands moving to your lap as you revealed Fishy.
"I meant to give this back to you a while ago but then everything happened..." you began. Brandon interrupted, placing the now finished bowl down on the coffee table.
"I'm sorry." he said, his blue eyes locking with yours. "I'm so sorry i began all of this. I was just mad and i thought i was getting revenge for Dunbar but i just ended up hurting more people." You could sense the genuine guilt in his voice and your heart broke all over again. You looked down at your lap where your hands played with the stuffed animal.
"You know i tried to be mad at you, B, i really did. But at the end of the day when i got home from school all i wanted to do was curl up in bed with this stupid frog and cry. I missed you so much Brandon. I hated myself for it but i did." You confessed as the boy reached up his thumb to wipe away a tear you didn't realize was rolling down your cheek.
"I guess we both made mistakes uh?" he joked as you chuckled through watery eyes.
"Yeah i guess we did." you sighed getting up from the couch, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand. "You wanna take a shower or something? I still have one of your hoodies and my dad must have some sweatpants around."
"Yeah that'd be nice" Brandon said trying to ignore how happy he felt that you'd kept not only Fishy but also his hoodie and jacket.
"You know where the bathroom is, make yourself at home.." you said before leaving to your bedroom.
30 minutes later Brandon knocked on your door, already back from his shower.
"Okay you can sleep in my bed and i'll just sleep on the floor-" you started, already in your pajamas, before the boy interrupted you.
"No way. I'm not letting you sleep on the floor."
"Okay then i can go sleep in my parents' room..." you stated before picking up your pillow.
"Oh c'mon y/n/n i know you hate not sleeping in your room." he sighed taking a sit in your bed. "We can share the bed you know? It's not like we haven't done it before." he suggested looking up and you swore you could see a hint of hope in the blue of his eyes.
"Okay" you agreed just above a whisper as the boy began to settle in the bed. You layed down beside him, the both of you staring up at the ceiling where the glow in the dark stars you'd put up as children shone.
You took a big breath in before turning your head in his direction. "You know before i got the video of you i received a message..." Brandon turned to you encouraging you to keep going. "Mr Empty was threatening to hurt you if i didn't stop your investigation. He- I thought it was bluff cause Rowan had been giving me updates on you and she said you weren't investigating anything so i let it go. You almost got hurt because i refused to talk to you myself and i-"
"Hey it's ok." Brandon reassured you with a hand to your cheek, his thumb caressing your skin to try and get you to calm down. "You couldn't have known. Besides, you had valid reasons not to want to talk to me." he stated, a sad smile adorning his face.
"I just wish we could go back to before all of this started happening." you told him taking his hand in yours. "Before we drifted apart and when our only problem was making sure we were home on time for dinner." You smiled at the sweet memories that flooded your mind.
"It's my fault. I was the one who pushed you away and i'll never be able to apologize enough for that."
"It's ok, Brandon. I guess we both made mistakes..." you said repeating his statement from just a while ago, a sigh leaving your body. "We should probably get some sleep."
"Yeah. Goodnight y/n/n."
"Goodnight B." you replied before turning your back to him and drifting off.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
You opened the door to the freezer and got inside, your flashlight illuminating the way. Your feet led you through the container before you came to a stop. Before you layed a lifeless Brandon. You fell to your knees screaming for help as you pulled the boy up as well as you could, hugging his freezing body to yours, trying to somehow bring him back to life. You kept screaming for help as you cried but no one would come. You were alone.
You woke up gasping for air as tears streamed down your face. You looked to your side to try to find some comfort on the sight of an alive Brandon only to find his side of the bed empty. Panic ran through your body as you struggled to get out of bed. What if they took him again? You thought to yourself as you ran down the stairs. What if he's really dead?
Reaching the end of the staircase you came to a stop as you locked eyes with a confused Brandon putting a cup of water down. Without thinking twice you threw yourself into the boy's arms, holding his body tightly against yours.
"Woah what happened?" he asked, concern filling his voice, as he hugged you back with just as much need.
"I had a nightmare and you were dead and then i woke up and you were gone and i thought... i thought..." you struggled to finish through broken sobs.
"It's ok. I'm right here, I'm ok. You saved me, remember?" he reassured you pressing a kiss to your head, but noticing you hyperventilating he held your face in his hands pulling you away just enough to rest his forehead against yours. "Hey, i'm safe y/n but i need you to breathe for me ok? Just take a deep breath." you did as he said breathing in slowly before breathing out. "Yeah just like that, baby. In and out." he kept reminding you until you finally started breathing normally again. He hugged you again muttering into your hair a low "Let's go to bed okay?" before leading you back to your bedroom. You layed down in your bed, resting your head on Brandon's chest. "Is this ok?" you whispered looking up to meet his eyes. "Yeah." he replied with a smile holding you tighter against him.
That night you both slept better than you'd slept in years. Brandon happy to finally have you in his arms again and you listening to his heartbeat, the steady rhythm a constant reminder that the boy you loved was safe and sound.
-
-
-
-
a/n: this is my longest fic yet so please be gentle with me :') i'm not expecting a lot of people to read this at all, since the show isn't popular, but i figured this would be put to better use on my tumblr than forgotten on my notes app. so if this flops look away haha anyways for anyone who read: i truly hope you enjoyed. thank you for reading and treat people with kindness <3
#t@gged#brandon darrow x reader#brandon darrow one shot#brandon darrow imagine#brandon darrow#trevor askill#lukas gage#braeden lemasters#rowan fricks#elisia brown#hailey jensen#stinger#tagged#tagged show#t@gged show#brandon darrowxreader#t@gged x reader#t@gged imagine#t@gged one shot#brandon darrow one shots#brandon darrow imagines
127 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tagged by @roifernandez & @esterexpositio & @polo-benavent (thanks for the tag!)
Top 10 ships of all time (in order of whatever ship I thought of first)
1. Cayetana Grajera Pando x Valerio Montesinos Hendrich x Leopoldo Benavent Villada – Élite
2. . Simón Álvarez x Ámbar Smith – Soy Luna
3. Rocio x Vera - Desenfrenadas
4. Nico Minoru x Karolina Dean - Runaways
5. Eva Kviig Mohn x Noora Amalie Sætre - Skam
6. Tess x Simone - Sweetbitter
7. Iago Nogueira x Roi Fernández – El desorden que dejas
8. Midge Maisel x Lenny Bruce - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
9. Rowan Fricks x Brandon Darrow – T@gged
10. Marianne x Connell - Normal People
Tagging: @you-are-important-nina @hide-in-imagination @loquenomedices @silver-inked @remainforeverroyal
#i was going to include kiara x sarah cameron from outer banks but there are no gifs for them apparently?!?#an outrage#i barely ever talk about over half of these ships but i love them with my whole heart#also i kept this to tv shows because i'm too indecisive to narrow down ships from movies too#tag game#Elite#Soy Luna#Desenfrenadas#Runaways#Skam#Sweetbitter#El desorden que dejas#Wayne#T@gged#Normal People
62 notes
·
View notes
Text
Brandon Darrow x Reader
Summary: Brandon notices you haven’t been sleeping lately.
Word count: 1,859
Warnings: underage drinking, mention of drug use
a/n: Just a little something I couldn’t get out of my head so I decided to post the first bit I wrote.
It's been weeks since anyone has heard from King Cobra. But when the sun goes down, I still expect to hear my text tone, and see a Flash. Awake every night, With every notification sent my heart racing.
Tonight was no different, I was sat on my bed, with my legs pulled up to my chest, staring out the window. Something across the street caught my eye.
Someone had climbed up a ladder and was sitting on the roof.
I searched for my glasses, needing to make sure they weren't wearing any mask. To my absolute relief, it was Brandon. Just Brandon looking up at the sky.
A sense of "why not" came over me as I slipped my feet into some shoes, and ducked out my window. He didn't notice me until I had walked across the street into his yard, and called out his name.
"Oh... what are you doing?" He asked.
"Wondering why you're not on a plane to Switzerland or something."
He chuckled, "come on up and I'll tell you."
Shakily, I climbed the ladder, grabbing onto Brandon's outstretched hand once I reached the top, and settling down next to him, "so what happened?"
"I was supposed to leave late Friday night. But my dad started drinking at like noon. By the time it came for my flight he was passed out on the couch." Brandon wasn't looking at me, he was lazily looking up. That's when I noticed the bottle of vodka next to him.
"So what's gonna happen?"
"Rowan's dad convinced the school district that I was framed by Zoe, since my computers history shows that it was all uploaded at once they had to take me back." He held the bottle to his lips and I snatched it from him.
"It's bad luck to drink alone," I shrugged and took a swig, "so I guess everything did work out in the end." Silence fell over us as we passed the bottle back and forth.
"So," he finally said after a while, "Why are you sitting on a roof with me at one in the morning?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"That seems like an over simplification," he pointed out.
"Honestly?" I asked.
"If you want, I won't make you."
I took a deep breath and a long gulp, "I'm waiting for more instructions from The Zoo. Mr Empty and Zoe are locked up, but they still have my secrets. Which means they can pass them onto the next King Cobra or whoever.
"Is you're secret really that bad?" He asked.
"Compared to Rowan's and Haileys? No, not really. Like no one would go to jail for it, but I don't want that video out."
"Do you want to talk about it? We all know each other's secrets."
"I'm probably just drunk enough to talk about it," I took another drink, "But you can't judge me."
"I literally started all of it and almost got Rowan and Elisia killed. Trust me, I have no room to judge."
I was the only one of the group who was still holding on to her secret, so it was only fair.
"When I was fifteen I went through this rebellious phase, and I thought it was a good idea to make a sex tape with two other people, snorting coke and taking body shots off each other."
"Okay I can see why you don't want that getting out. I always saw you as this uptight Virgin."
"That's because I haven't had sex since that summer. Like I've refused to have sex with people. I clench up and start freaking out over what people might think. And It's literally child porn because we're all under age, plus we sure as hell shouldn't have been drinking like we were."
"Well we really shouldn't be drinking now," Brandon pointed out, "But here we are,"
"I don't know how Mr Empty found that video, but now I'm so terrified of it getting out. And all I want is for my parents to hold me like they did when I was just a kid with nightmares and tell me everything is going to be okay," my throat tightened up, and my voice cracked, "but they'd send me off to catholic school if they ever saw that video." I avoided his eyes, desperately trying not to cry.
Brandon wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his chest, "The Zoo is dead, everything is going to be okay."
I hugged him back, breathing in the scent of peppermint and liquor, "I'm just so scared to be alone and fall asleep because what if what happened to Nicki happens to me."
He pulled back slightly, moving his hand to cup my face, "Babe, babe, calm down shhh shh they can't get to you anymore." His thumb rubbed soothing circles on my cheek, "You look so tired. When was the last time you slept?"
"I don't know... a few weeks? Maybe. Since before the bombfire. I take naps when my parents are home, but never at night or when I'm alone."
Brandon pulled me up onto my feet, "Come on, you need to sleep, we both do." One at a time, we made our way down the stairs and through his bedroom window. "You take the bed, I'll be on the floor right next to you."
"No no Brandon," I panicked, "You don't understand, I don't want to be alone. I can't-"
He pulled me into his chest once again, cooing and stroking my hair softly, "okay, okay, then I'll lay right here next to you. And I'll lock my door and window so no one can get in without making noise. Is that okay?"
I nodded, unable to speak now.
He slid my glasses off every to gently and set then on his bed side table, "Go ahead and lie down, I'll be quick."
Listening to him, I crawled under his blanket, positioning myself as close to the wall as I could get while on my back. I listened as he walked from one side of the room to the other, a little relief coming with the sound of each lock turning. When He laid next to me, he didn't crowed or put his arms around me. He simply settled down facing me, and placed a hand on my stomach with the promise of, "I'll be right here."
For the first time in weeks, I had a proper nights sleep.
The next morning I woke up with my head on Brandon's chest and one of his arms wrapped around me. Well I was woken up by my phone ringing. The caller ID showed 'mom' and I sat straight up. I started rolling my r like they taught us in Spanish class, trying to warm up my vocal chords. A Trick I learned for when you don't want to sound like you've just woken up.
"y/f/n! Where are you?" My mother shouted, "We woke up and you were gone."
"Sorry momma, I got up early to say goodbye to Brandon from across the street. Remember you told me he was going to boarding school? I didn't want to wake you up so I just walked over." Brandon himself was propped up on an elbow rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
My mom let out a sigh of relief, "Sweetheart you scared the crap out of us. Next time leave a note or a text,"
"I'm sorry, let me say goodbye to Mr Darrow real quick and I'll be back." I hung up quickly.
"That was a quick lie," Brandon smirked, his morning voice sounding like velvet to me.
"I've gotten really good at lying recently,"
He reached up and moved a strand of hair from my face, "How'd you sleep?"
"Really good, actually. Thank you for doing this."
He rolled his eyes, "Please, I did this just to tell the whole school I slept with (Y/n) (Y/l). Imma be worshiped!"
I pushed him playfully, "I'll kick your ass."
"Come on I'm kidding. I slept with a shirt on for you,"
I scrunched my face, "What? Why?"
"So I didn't make you uncomfortable. Ya know, for the sex thing."
My heart felt full as I came to understand what he was saying, pulling him into a tight hug, "I really appreciate that."
He dragged his hand across my back, rubbing soothing circles before saying, "you better go before you're parents get suspicious."
I pulled myself out of bed and into his bathroom. I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled it into a ponytail. Swished mouth wash around for fake fresh breath. And splashed cold water on my face a few times. Brandon watching me from his place on his bed.
My parents completely bought my act. Telling me how sweet I was for wishing the best for a childhood friend and laughing at my middle school crush on him.
The day was one of my best in a while. I didn't feel like a zombie, just going through the motion while looking over my shoulder. I felt like a human again. But as night fell, all of these feelings came back, and I took my position on the floor between my bed and the wall, eyes on the window.
The minuets ticked on, and even though I was almost positive The Zoo wasn't going to come after me, I couldn't bring myself to sleep. But I didn't exactly try either.
Sometime just after midnight, movement outside caught my attention. Fear coursed through me like a river. I contemplated moving under my bed, to hide like the coward I am. Before I could move, I got a text.
Brandon: open up its me
Followed by a few taps on the glass.
I let out the breath I was holding, almost crying in relief.
"What are you doing?" I said when I opened the window and he started climbing through it, "My dads going to kill you!"
"Yeah, I've heard that before," He chuckled.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, already imagining the worst.
"I don't know is it? I saw your light was on from my room. Came to check on you." He turned and latched the window.
"Yeah I'm fine, just couldn't sleep." I sat down on my bed.
"Again?" He sat close to me, pushing my hair behind my ear, "Still scared?"
I nodded, not wanting to speak.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" He asked.
"Please," I whispered.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, positioning us so I was under my covers and he was over them. Once again, Brandon just placed once comforting hand on my stomach.
We didn't say anything after that, just laid there in silence. I fell asleep tracing swirls into his skin, listening to the sound of his breathing. For the second night in a row I slept perfectly.
Every night after than, Brandon climbed into my room. At first he made excuses. Wanted to make sure I felt okay. Didn't want to watch a movie alone. Wanted to study a little because he missed school. But after a while, he just slipped in and got comfortable. Cuddly and affectionate until we actually lay down to sleep, then its just a hand on my stomach or side. Never wanting to make me feel uneasy in my own room.
This is how my stupid crush on Brandon Darrrow resurfaced.
This is how it started.
106 notes
·
View notes
Photo
So, Recode reported today that Twitter was tinkering around with the idea of expanding its 140 character limit to a number a bit higher….10,000 characters.
But what, you ask (and I’m glad you did), does 10,000 characters look like? Well, hey. Let’s find out.
Soooo, did you see the Warriors game last night? Crazy, right? It was nice to see Harrison Barnes back and the entire crowd cheered when he entered the game. Steph Curry is probably not human, because he shoots the ball from the parking lot and it swishes like butter. How many characters am I up to now? Lemme check, so hold on….
597.
Anyways, then it started raining today and my dogs don’t like rain so it’s really difficult to take them outside to do their business in the morning when they don’t want to deal with the rain. I try to talk them into the fact that they’re actually getting a bath and pooping at the same time, kind of a two birds with one stone thing. They don’t buy it. Speaking of rain, it didn’t rain on my wedding day like the weather people thought it would. How do they keep their jobs when they’re wrong all of the time? It’s almost like they could do my job. Wait, I didn’t mean that how it sounded. Where are we at now?
1194.
OK. So anyways. Here’s a favorite quote of mine from Bill Clinton:
If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.
I think what he’s saying is that you can make mistakes, but you have to learn from them. I’ve made a bunch of mistakes, how about you? My dogs made a mistake this morning because they didn’t want to go out in the rain. But that’s cool, I don’t get mad. Life’s too short, you know?
Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit.
2507.
Did you see the President speak about gun control today? It’s important. Probably the most important problem of our time and we have to solve it. Here’s what he said today:
THE PRESIDENT: Happy New Year, everybody. Before the New Year, I mentioned that I had given the charge to my Attorney General, FBI Director, Deputy Director at the ATF, and personnel at my White House to work together to see what more we could do to prevent a scourge of gun violence in this country.
I think everybody here is all too familiar with the statistics. We have tens of thousands of people every single year who are killed by guns. We have suicides that are committed by firearms at a rate that far exceeds other countries. We have a frequency of mass shootings that far exceeds other countries in frequency.
And although it is my strong belief that for us to get our complete arm around the problem Congress needs to act, what I asked my team to do is to see what more we could do to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands to make sure that criminals, people who are mentally unstable, those who could pose a danger to themselves or others are less likely to get them.
And I’ve just received back a report from Attorney General Lynch, Director Comey, as well as Deputy Director Brandon about some of the ideas and initiatives that they think can make a difference. And the good news is, is that these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they’re also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American people, including gun owners, support and believe.
So over the next several days, we’ll be rolling out these initiatives. We’ll be making sure that people have a very clear understanding of what can make a difference and what we can do. And although we have to be very clear that this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, it’s not going to prevent every mass shooting, it’s not going to keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal, it will potentially save lives and spare families the pain and the extraordinary loss that they’ve suffered as a consequence of a firearm getting in the hands of the wrong people.
I’m also confident that the recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and people’s lawful right to bear arms. And we’ve been very careful recognizing that, although we have a strong tradition of gun ownership in this country, that even though it’s who possess firearms for hunting, for self-protection, and for other legitimate reasons, I want to make sure that the wrong people don’t have them for the wrong reasons.
So I want to say how much I appreciate the outstanding work that the team has done. Many of you worked over the holidays to get this set of recommendations to me. And I’m looking forward to speaking to the American people over the next several days in more detail about it.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Regardless of where you stand on the matter, we have to change some things.
Back to tech. Are you at CES? I’m not this year. Mostly because there’s a lot of germs and I shouldn’t be around them if I can help it. I’m pretty sure my dogs would have liked it though, because there’s a lot of tech in Vegas for all kinds of people (and pets). If you were a dog would you want a phone? Or a self-feeding thing? Of course you would. You’d have to sit around all day watching your parents use technology while you sit around and lick yourself. What kind of existence is that? I know, right? I hope there’s some dog tech that comes out of the conference, otherwise it’s a wash.
6294.
Time for another quote. JFK this time:
When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
I think what JFK meant was just because things aren’t going your way doesn’t mean that it won’t eventually. You have to play the long game, you have to stick in there and see things as far as you can possibly see them. It’s like Twitter . People are worried about whether Twitter can weather the storm of lack of growth. I think it can. What about the character count? Well, I personally feel like asking people to keep their thoughts shorter make them more powerful. They’re easier to share. Repeat, etc. What will happen when people can put this much text in a tweet? I don’t know. I do know that I don’t want to spend hours reading tweets because I like the fact that I can glance at the app and figure out what’s going on pretty quickly.
If I wanted to write a book, I’d do it on Facebook.
But maybe people want more characters. I’m not sure who, though. I’d like to meet them. Maybe they have dogs, too. We could chat about that.
What are your favorite movies? I have a top 10 and it changes sometimes:
– Rocky – Forrest Gump – Cast Away – Fantastic Mr. Fox – Signs – Lars and the Real Girl – Superbad – Spaceballs – Shawshank Redemption – Jackie Brown
Share yours in the comments if you want.
7657.
Here’s another quote, this time from Maya Angelou:
The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God – if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.
Being a blessing to someone is a great way to be. Have you been a blessing to someone lately? I feel like we could all do a better job of that, even if it’s in small ways. I feel like people always want to do something great and massively huge, but forget about all of the little things along the way. Making someone smile, holding the door for someone, giving someone a hug when they really really need it. Those kinds of things last forever. Don’t hold back on doing a bunch of little great things to do something huge that you’ll get overwhelmed with and not follow through on.
8614. Wow, this is a lot of characters.
I feel like Kurt Wagner did a good job of talking about the ramifications of expanding tweets to 10,000 characters:
The design aspect is key. Making Tweets bigger by adding more content or bigger pictures has diminished user engagement in the past, according to one source. That makes sense. If tweets take a long time to consume or take up more space on your screen, it’s likely that you’ll view (and engage with) fewer of them. So Twitter is trying to add more content without disrupting the way you currently scroll through your timeline.
How can Twitter become more like Facebook without becoming Facebook? There’s too many words on Facebook, something the company itself is trying to get away from by introducing all sorts of new media, like 360 degree videos. There’s always a place for long form content, and just because you have the space doesn’t mean you have to fill it. But still, a lot of people will try. Spammers will definitely try. In fact, can you imagine getting spam tweets that are over 140 characters? Ugh. It’ll be like reading SPAM in your EMAIL!@$#!@#!@#
One more quote, this one from Clarence Darrow:
When we fully understand the brevity of life, its fleeting joys and unavoidable pains; when we accept the facts that all men and women are approaching an inevitable doom: the consciousness of it should make us more kindly and considerate of each other. This feeling should make men and women use their best efforts to help their fellow travelers on the road, to make the path brighter and easier as we journey on. It should bring a closer kinship, a better understanding, and a deeper sympathy for the wayfarers who must live a common life and die a common death.
Maybe Twitter should just acquire Medium instead.
Oops, I went over the “limit.”
1 note
·
View note
Text
April 2020 Wrap Up
Sooo I read a hell of a lot... I needed the distraction.
1.- The Girl in the Tower (The Bear and the Nightingale #2)- Katherine Arden
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK. It left me shook, everything felt rich and woven perfectly into the story. Vasya gets so tested as a heroine, and comes out with more understanding of her own abilities and the world of the chyarti. It was such a magical and immersive story.
2.-Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archives #2) - Brandon Sanderson
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
:00000 this is my review, it was so good. This world is being crafted so perfectly with such a care for the political situation and the different species with their culture. I am dying to read the next one.
3.-Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) -Pierce Brown
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Pierce Brown broke my heart again!!! I was so happy on how things ended on Morning Star, like I imagined at least Darrow would have some peace... well nope he is still fighting and has a lot of conflict with the new government they set up and the Ash Lord is still giving trouble. I really loved the mentorship between Cassius and Lysander it felt good for Cassius. But darn I was not ready for this , the political stakes are as high as always in this universe and can my son Darrow rest pls 😢😢???
4.- City of Night (Frankenstein #2) - Dean R. Koontz
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This book didn't move the plot that much but holy shit was it intense. We follow all our storyline were we left them in book 1 (Randal was scary but at the end I did feel for him) Victor Helios still thinks he has the upper hand even when all evidence points to the contrary, the members of his New Race keep having mutations and failures and it is only a matter of time before Deucalion finds a way to kill him.
5.- One of us is next (One of us is lying #2) - Karen McMannus
🌟🌟🌟🌟
I think I might like this one better than the 1st one (I still love Addy tho) it reminded me a bit of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars (the text messages and gossip stuff) and I am a sucker for those, the characters were pretty great and even if I did guess who was the Simon Keller copy cat it managed to shook me in other ways. My only pet peeve is why does everyone has to end on a romantic relationship??? So wierd. But I still enjoyed it a lot .
6.-The Queen of Nothing (Folk of Air #3) - Holly Black
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
It was sooooooo good. I really loved this one, my favorite in the series I think. Jude really comes strong in this one. I was crying like a fool at the very end, it was a very satisfactory ending though I wish Tamryn had been more developed and had her own narrative arc instead of dropping everything in this book. That ending was so heart warming and cute.
7.- Petals on the Wind (Dollanganger #2) - V.C Andrews
🌟🌟🌟🌟
The drama. Gosh had I witnessed any of this I would have called the Police on everyone (yes Dr. Paul included). Cathy has the worst coping mechanisms ever. Like I understand wanting to get back at her mom (she totally deserves it no matter how she tries to justify herself) but bitch u don't have to base all your life on that or she wins. This fool getting into relationships with trashy ass man instead of pursuing her dreams earnestly. Like it could have been so easy to denounce her (you had proof you were her children and Carrie's medical records) and boom her money would be gone but instead she chose to be a dramatic ho and ruin all her life and the life of others (also fuck Julian, it wasn't Cathy's responsability to fix his needy ass or fix Dr. Paul's mopey ass he was her guardian yet he abused her gross)
8.-Oligarchy - Scarlett Thomas
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was a heavy read, it deals a lot with mental health and eating disorders, and it's so so dark. I really enjoyed it though I would have liked it if it went deeper with some stuff like the ending felt a bit rushed, there should have been more build up for the final reveal but all in all it was great.
9.-LifeLik3 - Jay Kristoff
🌟🌟
I just couldn't . I never got used to the slang, the story seemed so predictable, there wasn't worldbuilding to speak off and the romance was the deal breaker for me, insta-love I can't handle.
10.-Tiffany Sly lives here now - Dana L. Davis
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I cried multiple times reading this book. It was beautiful and so real. Tiffany's struggles with her new life and this family she is just getting to know that come with all this inflexible rules on top of her mental health and coping with her mother's death.
11.- A Trick of light - Stan Lee
🌟🌟🌟🌟
It was a cute story, really with TONS of cómic vibes. The characters were pretty good , they did have depth and the powers were cool. The plot twist left me shook. Super enjoyable I really recommend it to any superhero fan.
12.-Infinity Son - Adam Silvera
🌟🌟🌟
It was okay-ish. I mean it wasn't a bad story but it was full of clichés and predictable. We don't get much on worldbuilding and honestly that last "twist" pretty much ruined the whole thing for me. It was an intresting premise but the execution was not great.
13.-Alex and Eliza - Melissa de la Cruz
🌟🌟
It felt so disconnected, maybe because Melissa de la Cruz usually writes Contemporary and tried to use the same tone for this one, but it just didn't work on this historical fiction romance, it felt too juvenile for me. I will still read her other books cuz she knows how to write cute romance but this series is not for.
14.-Family Life - Akhil Sharma
🌟🌟🌟
As someone who has had to care for a incapacitated family member some of this book really hit me hard. Still I think it moved to fast towards the end. It was a good story but the ending was kind of bland.
15.- Dreamland - Nancy Bilyeau
🌟🌟🌟🌟
It was a pretty fun read. I always enjoy a good mystery and this one is pretty fun, yes it is predictable but I don't think that's necessarily bad in this case, because it was more about the privilege and the Police being onto an immigrant because they are so prejudiced.
16.- The Princess of Cleves - Mme. De Lafayette
🌟🌟🌟
This is a classic about the court of France during the Dauphin's reign, there is lots of romantic drama and anguish very intresting because it depicts a very complicated and ultimately doomed relationship. But also it is tremendously intrincate on the factions between these powerful woman and the political drama. I super recommend it.
17.- Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
🌟🌟🌟🌟
All this vignettes were lovely. They are interconnected with one another showing us the life of all this color full characters living on a small town of England during the Industrial Revolution, all their moments sad and happy, their ambitions modest as they may be are reflected beautifully in here.
18.-John - Annie Baker
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I miss doing theatre a lot, and when I come back I hope I can do something as great as this. This play is complex and emotional, when it's setting and characters seem so simple and first. It made me laugh and cry and even be scared and unnerved. I really recc it.
19.-Angelina o el Honor de un brigadier - Enrique Jardiel Poncela
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Una obra muy ingeniosa y divertida. Una lectura increíblemente placentera,la historia es simple y fácil de seguir, los personajes son bien definidos y poseen una voz propia.
0 notes
Text
WHERE WE LIVE BENEFIT ANTHOLOGY CONTRIBUTORS ANNOUNCED
LG: This is text of image comics press release:
On October 1, 2017, Las Vegas, Nevada suffered the worst mass shooting in modern American history, resulting in 58 deaths and over 500 injured. It broke my heart. Las Vegas is my home. I felt like something needed to be done to help in a unique way.”
—JH WILLIAMS III, Artist & Curating Editor
PORTLAND, OR, 03/27/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to announce the list of WHERE WE LIVE: LAS VEGAS SHOOTING BENEFIT ANTHOLOGY contributors.
Curated by JH Williams III, Wendy Wright-Williams, Will Dennis, and Image Comics’ Publisher, Eric Stephenson, one hundred percent of the proceeds for the WHERE WE LIVE anthology will be donated to
an existing GoFundMe campaign
for the survivors in Las Vegas.
The WHERE WE LIVE anthology contains over 70 stories from over 150 different creators and clocks in at around 300 pages total.
“It's a strange place, this time and this country, in which having tools that can only be used to murder is seen as human right. I wanted to write something to help raise funds for the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting and for their families,” said Neil Gaiman, bestselling author and a contributor to the WHERE WE LIVE anthology. “It's about wounds and healing, about death and forgiveness, about pain and childhood and the dark. I hope it helps make people think, and I'm honoured to be part of the conversation.”
The book will include a variety of perspectives with key themes exploring gun violence, common sense gun control, value of a compassionate society, mental health stigmatization, aftermath of tragedy and how individuals and communities persevere, and an appreciation of Las Vegas as a vibrant community.
The WHERE WE LIVE anthology is a riveting collection of both fictional stories and actual eye-witness accounts told by an all-star lineup of the top talent working in comics today as well as Las Vegas locals. All the creators have graciously volunteered their time and talent to help bring some sense to this senseless act and, in the process, raise money for the survivors and their families.
WHERE WE LIVE ANTHOLOGY contributors:
Michael Allred & Laura Allred
Henry Barajas, Isaac Goodhart & Kelly Fitzpatrick
Jennifer Battisti, Geof Darrow, Dave Stewart & Bernardo Brice
Jennifer Battisti & J.H. Williams III
Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Oeming, Taki Soma & Bernardo Brice
Haden Blackman & Richard Pace
Haden Blackman, J.H. Williams III & Todd Klein
Jeff Boison & Tyler Boss
Ivan Brandon, Paul Azaceta & Bernardo Brice
Ryan Burton, Tony Parker, Dee Cunniffe & Bernardo Brice
Kurt Busiek, Andrew Maclean, Lee Loughridge & JG Roshell (at Comicraft)
Amy Chu, Gabriel Hernandez Walta & Alexander Chang
Rachel Crosby, J.H. Williams III & Bernardo Brice
Al Davison
Kelly Sue DeConnick, Joelle Jones, Dave Stewart & Bernardo Brice
J.M. DeMatteis & Mike Cavallaro
Gustavo Duarte
Aaron Duran, Joe Mulvey, Jules Rivera & Bernardo Brice
Joshua Dysart, Pere Perez & Bernardo Brice
Pierce Elliott & Monica Gallagher
Joshua Ellis, Jeff Lemire & Bernardo Brice
Lucia Fasano, Tess Fowler & Bernardo Brice
Ray Fawkes
Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon & Bernardo Brice
Neil Gaiman, J.H. Williams III & Todd Klein
Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Dee Cunniffe & Clayton Cowles
Brandon Graham
Justin Gray & John Broglia
Lela Gwenn & Matthew Dow Smith
Matt Hawkins, Aaron Campbell, Dee Cunniffe & Bernardo Brice
Daniel Hernandez, Moritat & Casey Silver
Talia Hershewe, Jock & Bernardo Brice
David Hine, Brian Haberlin & Geirrod Van Dyke
Joe Illidge, Ray-Anthony Height, Andrew Dalhouse & Deron Bennet
Van Jensen, Eric Kim, Chris O'Halloran & Bernardo Brice
Scott David Johnson, Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, Mark Englert & Bernardo Brice
Justin Jordan, Tom Fowler & Taylor Esposito
Jarret Keene, Craig Cermak, Marissa Louise & Taylor Esposito
Neil Kleid & Nick Pitarra
Greg Lockard, Tim Fish, Michael J DiMotta & Sal Cipriano
Ollie Masters, Jason Harris, Sina Grace & Shaun Steven Struble
Mariah McCourt, Ariela Kristantina, Bryan Valenza & Bernardo Brice
Mike Mignola & Dave Stewart
Mark Millar, Alex Sheikman, Marissa Louise & Bernardo Brice
Gary Spencer Millidge
Fabio Moon
B. Clay Moore, Kelly Williams & Chas! Pangburn
Greg Pak, Triona Farrell & Simon Bowland
Alex Paknadel, Chris Wildgoose, Triona Farrell & Aditya Bidikar
Curt Pires, Matt Lesniewski & Alex Petretich
Christina Rice, Richard Pace & Bernardo Brice
Darick Robertson, R. Eric Lieb & Christopher Crank
James Robinson, Dean Kotz, Stefano Gaudiano & Casey Silver
Robert Rose & Matt Strackbein
Chris Ryall, Gabriel Rodriguez, Nelson Daniel & Bernardo Brice
Rafael Scavone, Rafael Albuquerque, Patricia Mulvihill & Bernardo Brice
Erica Schultz, Liana Kangas & Cardinal Rae
Alex Segura, Marco Finnegan, Kelsey Shannon & Janice Chiang
Gail Simone, Ryan Kelly, Giulia Brusco & Bernardo Brice
Matthew Dow Smith & Michael Gaydos
Matt Sorvillo & Sean Phillips
Jason Starr, Andrea Mutti, Vladimir Popov & Bernardo Brice
Cameron Stewart
Larime Taylor & Sylv Taylor
Paul Tobin, Dustin Weaver & Bernardo Brice
David Walker, Damon Smith & Motherboxx Studios
Malachi Ward
Rob Williams & Javier Pulido
Scott Bryan Wilson & Cliff Chiang
Chris Wisnia, Bill Sienkiewicz & Jeromy Cox
Wendy Wright-Williams, J.H. Williams III & Todd Klein
Warren Wucinich
And more!
Follow updates on the WHERE WE LIVE project on Twitter:
@WhereWeLive_LV
List of WHERE WE LIVE contributors
GoFundMe where all Proceeds from the book will be donated
###
ABOUT IMAGE COMICS Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.
1 note
·
View note
Text
Response To 'Freethinker' PropagandaPart 2
Dan Barker quotes Clarence Darrow as saying, I don't believe in God because I don't believe in Mother Goose as validation for 'Freethinkers'' holding a naturalistic worldview. Apparently Clarence did not hear the Paul Harvey radio program The Rest of the Story about the existence of the actual 'Mother Goose' who lived in the Massachusetts Colony during the Elizabethan Era. Therefore, given the rationalist/freethinker belief that if a statement is falsifiable it must be rejected, Clarence Darrow, and all who adhere to his rejection of God, must now reject that reason for their dogmatic atheism.
According to Dan Barker; To be a 'freethinker' one must confine reality to what is directly perceivable through the 'freethinker's' natural senses or 'reason'. 'Reason' confines the truth of a statement to the strict tests of the scientific method. To be true, a statement must be testable and have repeated tests confirm the validity of the statement. It must also be parsimonious (the simplest explanation with the fewest assumptions) and be logical (free of contradiction, non-sequiturs and irrelevant ad-hominem character attacks.
To adhere to the 'freethinkers' paradigm, then the freethinkers must reject the scientific method, logic and many other abstract concepts that have no physical, testable presence. They must also reject any and all emotions because they also are immaterial, untestable, and irrational. For the 'freethinkers' to allow themselves to use anything that cannot be subjected to their standards automatically refutes their claims of being a member of that group because it contradicts their standards.
For 'freethinkers' to base their morality on humanism (People who don't subscribe to any religion self-identify as Humanists. Humanism is a worldview that emphasizes the value of humanity and social justice while altogether rejecting supernatural concepts and religious dogma) and/or not hurting others, is not a solid base upon which to build a healthy civilization. The USSR and other Soviet-Inspired states were built upon humanist/scientific secular designs.
On 11/17/10 Brandon Norgaard posted in his website The Enlightened Worldview Project that his phenomenological and scientific reasoning has led me to the conclusion thatpeople have the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While many Americans and others in Western Democracies might wish to mockingly congratulate Brandon for catching up with John Locke or Thomas Jeffeson, they should hear him out. He did not arrive at his conclusion from the Judeo-Christian perspective, but as secular humanist.
According to him, This reasoning is rooted in the realization of the nonphysical aspect of humanity, which is called the soul. There is also an important realization that souls have free will, which is a supernatural concept because there are no natural processes through which all actions of souls, and by extension humans, can be reduced to. Finally there is the realization that the first person experience of right and wrong has a nonphysical aspect as well.
He refutes Dan Barker's position of 'Freethinker's Morality' of reason and kindness by stating, there is no way that morality, and by extension natural justice, can be real aspects of the universe regardless of anyone's mere personal opinion unless they are based on some form of nonphysical metaphysics. Quite simply, if everything that exists is physical, then there is no inherent right or wrong, there is just the way things are. The physical universe is not at all concerned with social justice or humanity per se.
This writer wonders, therefore; How can any atheist that claims to be a humanist even pretend to criticize a theist on the 'morality' of God or religion when such criticism relies on an non-existent cosmic absolute and is done in an unkind and unreasonable manner. The sheer hypocrisy of atheist freethinkers utilizing an objective moral standard (whose existence they deny) to condemn others people, not to mention the Creator of the Universe, is staggering, particularly morality does not exist as a physical, testable entity subject to empirical analysis?
Brandon Norgaard also states, Secular Humanism is not a coherent worldview in essence. A worldview that includes belief in a nonphysical aspect of the self is more rational and I believe more justified given the scientific and phenomenological evidence. While this embrace of a transcendent consciousness certainly not confirm the existence of God as Western Civilization views that entity, Brandon does not rule out some form of Creator. Rather, he requires one when he states, I do not reject belief in anything supernatural because the natural universe is not an explanation for itself. The best explanation is that the natural universe was created by something that is over and above nature, and this is a supernatural concept.
Though Brandon repudiates known mainstream religions when he states, This concept may be called God, but this does not mean that for one to believe this that they must have blind faith in God as a Christian or Muslim does. There is a reasonable justification for believing this and thus blind faith is not necessary. This is one strike against the Secular Humanist worldview.
When Dan Barker claims that morality can be based on human need or 'doing no harm' to any person, it can sound very fine and dandy. However, when real world scenarios are tried, they become capricious and arbitrary. When humans become the masters of the rules, the in group often becomes favored in catalogue of one-way rules such as those seen in any absolute rule society from the dawn of monarchy in the Tigris and Euphrates valleys through socialist dictatorships around the world from 1917 until now.
By basing morality on 'human needs', not imagined 'cosmic absolutes, Dan's essay comes into direct contradiction with Brandon's statements, as well as those of the vast majority of theists. The physiological needs of prison inmates are objectively met. .They have no job and therefore an abundance of free time, free food and drink, free cable and internet, free dental and medical care, etc. According to many activists on the political left, that should equate to paradise. Yet nearly all the prisoners in any jail or prison would take cold, wet, hungry and free over their relatively comfortable life in confinement.
The transcendent human soul, a high melding of intellect and will, has been known for thousands of years to need a purpose. For much longer, each individual human has sought to find their own meaning or goal in life beyond the mere animal drives of survival and reproduction. Their quests have, in large part, succeeded or failed based on how hard each person was willing to work and sacrifice to achieve their goal. The impacts of these goals on human society have depended upon the extent to which they abided within the bounds of both societal written law and the natural law freethinkers as so quick to deny.
According to Dan Barker, Moral dilemmas involve a conflict of values, requiring a careful use of reason to weigh the outcomeFreethinkers try to base actions on their consequences to real, living human being. This writer states unequivocally that such attitudes have been used throughout history to legitimize atrocities. The enslavement of captives and criminals in both Europe and the Americas was legitimized by arguing that their lives were better in bondage than in cells or primitive squalor. The euthanasia movements, both in the past and now, base their arguments on the notion that the lives of the insane, disabled, elderly or terminally ill are a burden both to themselves and others; therefore it is a mercy to all to end their lives. The abortion movement and Planned Parenthood argue that careless, recreational sex is a good thing, and that such activities should be without consequences. After all, burdening an unwed woman with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy is terrible. The fetus would have a life of want and poverty. Therefore terminating the pregnancy is just. For the woman or girl it is a simple procedure and life returns to normal.
Freethinkers argue that religion promotes a dangerous and inadequate morality based on blind obedience, unexamined ultimatums, and pie-in-the-sky rewards of heaven or gruesome threats of hell, Dan Barker argues. That statement sounds like Dan made just the type of absolutist statement of condemnation he accuses religion of making.
Rather than make more cheap hypocrisy points, this author will direct Dan Barker to the sciences and reason he is so fond of. These fields of study were preserved and promoted by the Catholic Religious Orders, both male and female. The Catholic Church has believed for two thousand years that God is both rational and orderly. Those characteristics are discernable in His creations and to learn about these creations is to learn about God. The authors of the renaissance were not the 'protestant reformers.' Rather, they were the Catholic Religious Orders that opened educational institutions for children and adults. They were the monks and nuns who studied reason, medicine, logic, mathematics, genetics and astronomy and shared their findings with the public through institutions of learning, hospitals, orphanages and charity. Galileo did not get into his feud with the Pope over his heliocentric theory. It was because his arrogance led him to publicly break a promise he had made to the Pope.
The 'dangerous and inadequate' morality built on 'blind obedience' Dan Barker condemns seems to be a cartoonish slave state of fundamentalist Islam blended with the worst of Fundamentalist Puritanism displayed during the Salem Witch Trials. It bears no resemblance to true Christianity or any other mainstream Western or Asian theistic religion or philosophy when the true teachings are embodied though the believer's behavior.
In an earlier post, I noted that Dan is making his anti-religious arguments from the comforts of a civilization built, maintained and protected by a Christian ethos. The laws and unwritten expectations were based on Christian morals. Murder and theft, for example, were always wrong. Now, though, as relativism and other 'freethinking' ethics have entered the judicial systems of Western Civilization, the ethical standards are being rapidly eroded away by those unfettered by an absolute morality. 'Laws/Rules for thee, but not for me' has become almost a given in personal, business and social media conduct.
As the population looks back through time to when our civilization exercised the rules of self-restraint and delayed gratification, our civilization was more polite. When criminal behavior and unwed motherhood/fatherhood were both scandalous and rare, what do we see? We see absolute rules, codes of conduct that applied to all in equal measure. For millennia these rules were in place through all cultures, all over the world, in every civilization to some extent. Also, when these rules were flagrantly disobeyed, that civilization (from Babylon to Rome to Pre-Revolutionary France to Nazi Germany and Communist/Socialist regimes) declined and fell, often violently.
The post Response To 'Freethinker' PropagandaPart 2 appeared first on Escaping Atheism.
0 notes
Text
So, Recode reported today that Twitter was tinkering around with the idea of expanding its 140 character limit to a number a bit higher….10,000 characters.
But what, you ask (and I’m glad you did), does 10,000 characters look like? Well, hey. Let’s find out.
Soooo, did you see the Warriors game last night? Crazy, right? It was nice to see Harrison Barnes back and the entire crowd cheered when he entered the game. Steph Curry is probably not human, because he shoots the ball from the parking lot and it swishes like butter. How many characters am I up to now? Lemme check, so hold on….
597.
Anyways, then it started raining today and my dogs don’t like rain so it’s really difficult to take them outside to do their business in the morning when they don’t want to deal with the rain. I try to talk them into the fact that they’re actually getting a bath and pooping at the same time, kind of a two birds with one stone thing. They don’t buy it. Speaking of rain, it didn’t rain on my wedding day like the weather people thought it would. How do they keep their jobs when they’re wrong all of the time? It’s almost like they could do my job. Wait, I didn’t mean that how it sounded. Where are we at now?
1194.
OK. So anyways. Here’s a favorite quote of mine from Bill Clinton:
If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.
I think what he’s saying is that you can make mistakes, but you have to learn from them. I’ve made a bunch of mistakes, how about you? My dogs made a mistake this morning because they didn’t want to go out in the rain. But that’s cool, I don’t get mad. Life’s too short, you know?
Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit.
2507.
Did you see the President speak about gun control today? It’s important. Probably the most important problem of our time and we have to solve it. Here’s what he said today:
THE PRESIDENT: Happy New Year, everybody. Before the New Year, I mentioned that I had given the charge to my Attorney General, FBI Director, Deputy Director at the ATF, and personnel at my White House to work together to see what more we could do to prevent a scourge of gun violence in this country.
I think everybody here is all too familiar with the statistics. We have tens of thousands of people every single year who are killed by guns. We have suicides that are committed by firearms at a rate that far exceeds other countries. We have a frequency of mass shootings that far exceeds other countries in frequency.
And although it is my strong belief that for us to get our complete arm around the problem Congress needs to act, what I asked my team to do is to see what more we could do to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands to make sure that criminals, people who are mentally unstable, those who could pose a danger to themselves or others are less likely to get them.
And I’ve just received back a report from Attorney General Lynch, Director Comey, as well as Deputy Director Brandon about some of the ideas and initiatives that they think can make a difference. And the good news is, is that these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they’re also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American people, including gun owners, support and believe.
So over the next several days, we’ll be rolling out these initiatives. We’ll be making sure that people have a very clear understanding of what can make a difference and what we can do. And although we have to be very clear that this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country, it’s not going to prevent every mass shooting, it’s not going to keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal, it will potentially save lives and spare families the pain and the extraordinary loss that they’ve suffered as a consequence of a firearm getting in the hands of the wrong people.
I’m also confident that the recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and people’s lawful right to bear arms. And we’ve been very careful recognizing that, although we have a strong tradition of gun ownership in this country, that even though it’s who possess firearms for hunting, for self-protection, and for other legitimate reasons, I want to make sure that the wrong people don’t have them for the wrong reasons.
So I want to say how much I appreciate the outstanding work that the team has done. Many of you worked over the holidays to get this set of recommendations to me. And I’m looking forward to speaking to the American people over the next several days in more detail about it.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Regardless of where you stand on the matter, we have to change some things.
Back to tech. Are you at CES? I’m not this year. Mostly because there’s a lot of germs and I shouldn’t be around them if I can help it. I’m pretty sure my dogs would have liked it though, because there’s a lot of tech in Vegas for all kinds of people (and pets). If you were a dog would you want a phone? Or a self-feeding thing? Of course you would. You’d have to sit around all day watching your parents use technology while you sit around and lick yourself. What kind of existence is that? I know, right? I hope there’s some dog tech that comes out of the conference, otherwise it’s a wash.
6294.
Time for another quote. JFK this time:
When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
I think what JFK meant was just because things aren’t going your way doesn’t mean that it won’t eventually. You have to play the long game, you have to stick in there and see things as far as you can possibly see them. It’s like Twitter . People are worried about whether Twitter can weather the storm of lack of growth. I think it can. What about the character count? Well, I personally feel like asking people to keep their thoughts shorter make them more powerful. They’re easier to share. Repeat, etc. What will happen when people can put this much text in a tweet? I don’t know. I do know that I don’t want to spend hours reading tweets because I like the fact that I can glance at the app and figure out what’s going on pretty quickly.
If I wanted to write a book, I’d do it on Facebook.
But maybe people want more characters. I’m not sure who, though. I’d like to meet them. Maybe they have dogs, too. We could chat about that.
What are your favorite movies? I have a top 10 and it changes sometimes:
– Rocky – Forrest Gump – Cast Away – Fantastic Mr. Fox – Signs – Lars and the Real Girl – Superbad – Spaceballs – Shawshank Redemption – Jackie Brown
Share yours in the comments if you want.
7657.
Here’s another quote, this time from Maya Angelou:
The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God – if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.
Being a blessing to someone is a great way to be. Have you been a blessing to someone lately? I feel like we could all do a better job of that, even if it’s in small ways. I feel like people always want to do something great and massively huge, but forget about all of the little things along the way. Making someone smile, holding the door for someone, giving someone a hug when they really really need it. Those kinds of things last forever. Don’t hold back on doing a bunch of little great things to do something huge that you’ll get overwhelmed with and not follow through on.
8614. Wow, this is a lot of characters.
I feel like Kurt Wagner did a good job of talking about the ramifications of expanding tweets to 10,000 characters:
The design aspect is key. Making Tweets bigger by adding more content or bigger pictures has diminished user engagement in the past, according to one source. That makes sense. If tweets take a long time to consume or take up more space on your screen, it’s likely that you’ll view (and engage with) fewer of them. So Twitter is trying to add more content without disrupting the way you currently scroll through your timeline.
How can Twitter become more like Facebook without becoming Facebook? There’s too many words on Facebook, something the company itself is trying to get away from by introducing all sorts of new media, like 360 degree videos. There’s always a place for long form content, and just because you have the space doesn’t mean you have to fill it. But still, a lot of people will try. Spammers will definitely try. In fact, can you imagine getting spam tweets that are over 140 characters? Ugh. It’ll be like reading SPAM in your EMAIL!@$#!@#!@#
One more quote, this one from Clarence Darrow:
When we fully understand the brevity of life, its fleeting joys and unavoidable pains; when we accept the facts that all men and women are approaching an inevitable doom: the consciousness of it should make us more kindly and considerate of each other. This feeling should make men and women use their best efforts to help their fellow travelers on the road, to make the path brighter and easier as we journey on. It should bring a closer kinship, a better understanding, and a deeper sympathy for the wayfarers who must live a common life and die a common death.
Maybe Twitter should just acquire Medium instead.
Oops, I went over the “limit.”
0 notes