#divya & melissa

[imdelulu]

INTRO: CHAPTER 2

Let’s introduce the Girl contestant THIS IS THEIR LEVEL AND RANKING AFTER THEIR SOLO AUDITION The ranking is decided by public votes and their Levels are decided by the judges

1, DEMI (Japanese & Korean) 2.CHAE-YOUNG (Chinese)

BIRTHDAY: JULY 18. 2000 BIRTHDAY: APRIL 28, 2001

HEIGHT: 5'6 LEVEL: A HEIGHT: 5'6 LEVEL: A

3. KYI (Haitian American) 4, YARI (Dominican American)

BIRTHDAY: APRIL 3, 2003 BIRTHDAY: NOV 22, 2001

HEIGHT: 5'7 LEVEL: A HEIGHT: 5’7 LEVEL A

5. EUN-BI (Korean) 6. JADE (Cambodian American)

BIRTHDAY: MARCH 20, 2000 BIRTHDAY: DEC 12, 1999

HEIGHT: 5'4 LEVEL: A HEIGHT: 5'6 LEVEL: A

7. AKARI (JAPANESE) 8. NAIJA (NIGERIAN KOREAN)

BIRTHDAY: MAY 6, 2004 BIRTHDAY: OCT 22, 2005

HEIGHT: 5'3 LEVEL: B HEIGHT: 5’3 LEVEL D

9. AOI (AFRO-JAPANESE) 10, LIA (AMERICAN)

BIRTHDAY: JANUARY 1ST, 2003 BIRTHDAY: AUG 13, 2004

HEIGHT 5'6 LEVEL: B HEIGHT 5'6 LEVEL: C

11. INDY (AMERICAN) 12. DIVYA (INDIAN)

BIRTHDAY: FEB 21, 1999 BIRTHDAY: JUNE 8, 2009

HEIGHT: 5'5 LEVEL: C HEIGHT 5'4 LEVEL: D

13. HANA (KOREAN) 14. GIA (VIETNAMESE)

BIRTHDAY: MAY 24, 2009 BIRTHDAY: FEB 19, 2001

HEIGHT: 5'6 LEVEL: D HEIGHT: 5'5 LEVEL: C

15. EMEILIA (AMERICAN) 16. MIA (AUSTRALIAN)

BIRTHDAY: MARCH 17 2005

BIRTHDAY: NOV 2ND, 2001

HEIGHT: 5'6 LEVEL: B HEIGHT: 5'8 LEVEL: B

17. GABRIELLA (MEXICAN AMERICAN) 18.MELISSA (FILIPINO)

BIRTHDAY MAY 15, 2006 BIRTHDAY JAN 5, 2001

HEIGHT 5'6 LEVEL D HEIGHT 5'7 LEVEL D

[divya-koshal-x]

@msmelissalin

CLOSED STARTER.​

The echoes of Divya’s steps protrude through the hospital entrance, she was once again a lap dog for Jonathan; assisting his psycho ex wife whilst in hospital. She would rather be out there scouring Hackney after the French-assholes who left her in pieces but instead she glides into the elevator, fingers scanning for the correct floor as the doors shut to a close. 

Of all the people he could’ve called and he chose her. At least he still has some trust for her, Divya is grateful for a second chance to prove her worth, even if she has to play nurse for her higherups'. She will not be needing a third chance. 

The elevator dings pulling Divya out of her thoughts, the scent of bleach filling up the elevator as she walks outs. She lets out one last breath, deep and long before knocking on the hospital door.

[bookclub4m]

Episode 131 - Cyberpunk

This episode we’re talking about Cyberpunk fiction! We discuss the aesthetics of neon and grime, cultural fears and xenophobia, techno-pessimism, survival and revolution, noir fiction, and more! Plus: When cybernetic implants meet body horror!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | RJ Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott

Dreamships by Melissa Scott

Cyber World: Tales of Humanity's Tomorrow edited by Jason Heller & Joshua Viola

SP4RX by Wren McDonald

Imago by Tristan Alice Nieto

Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers edited by Cat Fitzpatrick

Pay-what-you-can version of the ebook

Samurai 8: La légende de Hachimaru, Tome 1 by Masashi Kishimoto and Akira Okubo

Other Media We Mentioned

Max Headroom (Wikipedia)

Judge Dredd (Wikipedia)

2001: A Space Odyssey (film) (Wikipedia)

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

Blade Runner (Wikipedia)

The Matrix (Wikipedia)

Existenz (Wikipedia) 

Hackers (film) (Wikipedia)

The Terminator (Wikipedia)

Akira (1988 film) (Wikipedia)

Ghost in the Shell (1995 film) (Wikipedia)

The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow by Cory Doctorow

Feed by MT Anderson

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Serial Experiments Lain (Wikipedia)

Johnny Mnemonic by William Gibson

Shadowrun (Wikipedia)

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Episode 082b - Bonus *Punk Fiction Spreadsheet Discussion

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

Black Mirror (Wikipedia)

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz 

The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken 

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology edited by Bruce Sterling

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

The Girl Who Was Plugged In by James Tiptree Jr.

Links, Articles, and Things

20 Minutes into the Future (TV Tropes)

Tech noir (Wikipedia)

The Future Is Noir (TV Tropes)

Japan Takes Over the World (TV Tropes)

Lost Decades (Japan) (Wikipedia)

Orientalism, 'Cyberpunk 2077,' and Yellow Peril in Science Fiction

Fear of a Yellow Planet: Why We Need to Actually Understand Cyberpunk

33 Best Cyberpunk Books of All-Time (2021)

Cyberpunk derivatives (Wikipedia)

Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics (Wikipedia)

"A Better World is Possible" - Cyberpunk 2077 (Waypoint Radio: Episode 365)

LexisNexis (Wikipedia)

Anna’s tweet about messaging Matthew

Leet (Wikipedia)

Manic Pixie Dream Girl (Wikipedia)

Cybernetics Eat Your Soul (TV Tropes)

Ecofiction (Wikipedia)

17 Cyberpunk books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha

Runtime by S.B. Divya

The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai

Warcross by Marie Lu

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Neon Empire by Drew Minh

Nexus by Ramez Naam

Red Spider White Web by Misha Nogha

Infomocracy by Malka Older

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo

Want by Cindy Pon

Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow

Rosewater by Tad Thompson

Robocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, August 18th we’ll be talking about media we’ve recently enjoyed not related to the podcast!

Then on Tuesday, September 7th we’ll be talking about the format of Flash Fiction.

[islahvnt]

Finally. Something more worthy of her time than funneling drunken information from the Venue patrons and goading secrets from sleezy assholes with wandering hands. It piqued her interest almost immediately. Whatever it was that Melissa was doing, Isla was in. Anything that might warrant getting her hands dirty after what felt like years. Admittedly, maturity hadn't been something she'd carried with her all that well as of late, a lackluster response from being sidelined until the heat of her prison release had been dulled just enough. Perhaps not everyone had forgotten the callous viciousness that saw Isla rising through the ranks as quickly as she had since the moment Divya had offered her a place among them. Fingertips turn the folder upright, though she doesn't seek to open it just yet, "Discreet, I can manage.. - maturity," she snorts - a sound rather uncouth had it not been Melissa in front of her, "I'll dig deep for that one," and even though there was an air of amusement to her tone, it didn't light a candle beside the gratitude that emanated the blonde now. "Whatever you need, it's already done." The tip of a finger flips the cover of the folder open, and already she's picking apart small details from the file that lies on top. Kerem. Her mind spins, piecing together all the information she already knows about him. His connections, his business... - "I've definitely heard the story once or twice.." The corner of her mouth shifts just slightly, the folder closes with a quiet snap. "I know him already, it shouldn't be too difficult. What should I be digging for?"

Melissa's brow raised. "Then Alex knows what's good for him." Gesturing to the seat that sat in front of her desk, already slipping her reading glasses back into place.

"Important enough that I didn’t want it in an email," technology, while encrypted, wasn't exactly safe when she was making moves: something she'd been more careful with recently. She'd needed to be. There were lines hanging in the balance, ones she wasn't sure she should, or could, cross when it came to her relationship to the Rutherford Organization, and the family themselves.

Sliding the folder towards Isla, edges worn from being tossed through a few too many times by Melissa in the last three sleepless nights, she'd been going over it like it was her last will and testament. "This requires a certain level of maturity...and your promised discretion." tongue darting out to swipe over her bottom lip. It was a tell, a show of the control she didn't possess right now. Melissa was nervous, and that was good for no one. None of them.

Everything she did right now was a risk.

Chocolate orbs found the window where the city moved on without any idea of what might follow should this go south. It was easy to corrupt peace, as it was a fickle thing. Although, had they even truly known what that meant in this city? Peace was an illusion. It was about being powerful enough to command it, not wait for it. "There’s a man I need you to keep an especially close eye on...be-friend him, if you must." she paused, head cocking to the side. "Might be hard. We executed his dog. I'm sure Benjamin relayed the information."

[mobscene-london]

All right, as I’m getting a lot of nominations for the same pairings twice or more, I’m going to post the Mistletoe list now, and update it as more come in. That way you know what already has been chosen, and can pick something else.

Please remember this is not a comprehensive list. Plenty of people haven’t nominated yet. If you’re not on here yet, don’t panic. 

Amélie Castaignède & Olivier Fontaine

Adriana Amaro & Konstantin Vorshevsky

Adriana Amaro & Olivier Fontaine

Azra Yavuz & Aviv Kasyanenko

Azra Yavuz & Francisco Vidal

Cecelia Hathaway & Jean Palfroix

Delphine St. Clair & Gideon Rutherford

Divya Koshal & Elaina Halévy

Divya Koshal & Francisco Vidal

Elaina Halévy & Yves de Metz

Elaina Halévy & Varden Lefebvre

Eleanor Shipley & Damon Rutherford

Eleanor Shipley & Elijah Nabirye 

Emilia Lefebvre & Anatoly Veselov

Emilia Lefebvre & Olivier Fontaine

Jessica Reyes & Maksim Kurylenko

Jessica Reyes & Théodore Chaussard

Kathleen Zhao & Étienne Canet

Kathleen Zhao & Francisco Vidal

Lara Rutherford & Henry García

Leyla Yılmaz & Konstantin Vorshevsky

Leyla Yılmaz & Yvonne Rutherford

Lisette Marseille & Maksim Kurylenko

Lyudmila Korshunova & Aviv Kasyanenko

Lyudmila Korshunova & Konstantin Vorshevsky

Lyudmila Korshunova & Laurent St. Pierre

Melissa Lin & Johnathan Parsons

Melissa Lin & Konstantin Vorshevsky

Melissa Lin & Varden Lefebvre

Melissa Lin & Viktoriya Kurylenko

Nevra Erdoğan & Damon Rutherford

Nevra Erdoğan & Emine Yalaz

Nora Berkeley & Alexis Larsson

Nora Berkeley & Aviv Kasyanenko

Nora Berkeley & Damon Rutherford

Nora Berkeley & Francisco Vidal 

Nora Berkeley & Gideon Rutherford

Olivier Fontaine & Laurent St. Pierre

Olivier Fontaine & Roman Baranovsky

Ophélie Redgrave & Anatoly Veselov

Ophélie Redgrave & Théodore Chaussard 

Ophélie Redgrave & Varden Lefebvre

Peyton Harrow & Ophélie Redgrave

Sofie Dekker & Laurent St. Pierre

Svetlana Vorshevsky & Anatoly Veselov

Viktoriya Kurylenko & Anatoly Veselov

Viktoriya Kurylenko & Roman Baranovsky

Viktoriya Kurylenko & Théodore Chaussard

Yana Kurylenko & Adriana Amaro

Yana Kurylenko & Damon Rutherford

Yvonne Rutherford & Olivier Fontaine

Yvonne Rutherford & Thierry Vendroux

[elainahalevyx]

“Miss Halévy.” The driver opened the passenger door for her and the woman slid in. She was wearing all black; black jeans, black combat boots, black trenchant, black leather gloves, and her eyes were covered by big sunglasses. There was nothing left to chance, not when the mission was as important as this one. 

London was in an uproar, even though the civilians did not know it or feel it. Every man had been in the streets, looking to make others pay. They were right, at this point, none of them were able to get to the Russians - not if they wanted Évelyne to live. Perhaps if she had not been so important, they would have said fuck it and captured the Vorshevsky’s wife. After all, she had always been an easy target - especially as she tried to disassociate herself from the rest of them so much. 

“Pierre, take me to central London.” There was no need for further explanation, as she liked to brief her driver before as well. He wasn’t used too much, but certain things required a capable man who was bred for this purpose only. 

London flew in blurry images through her window as they drove. By this point, Rutherfords had to have known what had happened. Elaina truly wondered if once again, they would play the card of ‘it wasn’t them, so they shouldn’t be touched’. They were still such a weak power. How did they not realise that aligning themselves with the Russians would not bring them anything at all?

Right, inexperience.

Well, Elaina had a perfect plan - one made to shoot two sitting ducks with one bullet. 

The car stopped, and with a gloved hand, the Frenchwoman indicated the man to sit in place; ready for when she needed an escape. Pierre was going on a little drive. 

“Bisous.” She grinned as she opened the car door and got out. The sun was shining, as if on her. She looked sleek, ready for battle, but at the same in a way not to attract attention to her - her sister had taught her that, amongst many other things, including the one she was holding in her pocket. 

Not one hour ago, Elaina got one of her soldiers to send a text to a Russian. One that they knew was easily distracted - he was new to their organisation - someone not fully trained, and she got one of hers to get close to him, pretend they were a Russian in London, looking for a friend as not everyone had to be in the mob. Sometimes, a friend was all it took for them to be made use as dogs. Now he was there, she could see him looking around the crowd looking for one of hers, a person who would never turn up.  

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” 

The other target was there, too. This day, Elaina did not want to go small; countless times, they took small steps towards them, exercising their boundaries. It was how Divya had gotten away without a scratch. Elaina Halévy did not do the same mistakes twice. 

Melissa Lin and Francisco Vidal had no idea what was about to hit them.

With her hand in her pocket, Elaina started walking towards them, slow in step, not drawing a single eye to her. She was a ghost in the streets of London; she was a shadow moving between the people. 

Five metres till target.

Elaina took out her gun with the silencer already attached to the end of it. 

Two Metres till target.

The safety of the gun was removed.

Target ahead.

Holding her gun next to her ribs, Elaina aimed at the stomach and shot the bullet, knowing exactly where it would hit. This wasn’t a murder, well, unless they wouldn't play for time and let her bleed out. But no, this was the first warning and the first part of the many things that were still to come. 

She continued walking and finally approached the Russian guy and handed him the gun. “You better run, otherwise you know what Kosta might do.” The poor man was too confused to really listen in to who was talking to him, who handed him a gun, and why did he even take it in the first place. To her pleasure, he took off, running as fast as his feet could take him. But apparently not fast enough, as the Rutherford began the chase. 

There, soon they would find out it was a Russian who threatened the life of their second in command. Soon, they would begin to see how fragile their alliance was. Soon, they would begin to reconsider their choices. 

If they don’t kill each other first. 

It was their fault for bringing the Russians in, thinking they would somehow have the upper hand in this game of mobs. Perhaps, once they began to taste the medicine of war, they will finally realise the game they are playing. 

With a smile, Elaina walked away from the scene as people started to rush. Pierre was already waiting for her on the other side, in the car, as instructed. 

Once inside, she removed her gloved and placed them on the side. 

The first job was done. 

[franciscovidal]

FMK free-for-all edition

F - Adriana, Alexis, Azra, Cassandra, Cecilia, Charlene, Diana, Divya, Eleanor, Honor, Isla, Jessica, Lara, Leyla, Melissa, Nevra, Nora, Peyton, Revati, Sofie, 

M - Adrian, Johnathan - open marriage. 

K - Rachel, Delphine, Sveta, Ev, Vika... You get the drill, the French and Russian.

[castillo-adrian]

Rutherford HQ

29 December 2020

Status: @divya-koshal @mobscene-starters​

Index finger to his temple, Adrian sat behind the desk, with immense weight suddenly on his shoulders. The day had felt longer than it actually was – between Yvonne’s panicked phone call, taking Johnathan to the hospital, waiting for him to wake up, and accepting the role as the acting boss of London, it felt like too much for one day.

With only a couple of hours of sleep, Adrian had returned to work. It wouldn’t be too long until Théodore would inform his superiors that the Rutherfords were vulnerable, and it was crucial that Adrian didn’t let them seize the moment. After consulting with Melissa, he’d called a meeting with lieutenants, assassins and more seasoned members of the organisation.

Before the start of the meeting, though, he wanted to speak to one person in particular, and when he heard the knock on the door, he knew exactly who it was.

“Come on in,” Adrian didn’t look up from the map he was looking at. “And close the door behind you.”

[lararutherford]

Most trusted people to least trusted.

I’ll just list Rutherfords and relevant neutrals otherwise this would be insanely long:

Adriana, Damon

Gideon

Henry, Medea

Adrian

Dev

Melissa

Johnathan

Spencer, Eleanor

Andrew

Silas

Divya

Jessica

Yvonne

Olivier

Constance

[4-rivers-royalty]

Four Rivers Royalty Prologue

The story thus far:

For hundreds of years the royal families of Simestata ruled over their lands receiving both love and devotion from their subjects. However, these families often did not always love and adore each other. After the late King Howard von Windenburg signed a controversial document, a document that was lost to time when the royal Goncharov family raided and put an end to the von Windenburg lineage...or so they thought. Nearly ninety years later a man and his wife stepped up from the distant Sulani kingdom and admitted that they were the heirs of Windenburg. King Cecil and his wife quickly won the favor of their lost kingdom and took the throne much to the dismay of the Goncharov family. And so it began with a kingdom being claimed, hatred being rekindled between generations and the birth of a daughter. Now that you are caught up, let's meet the royal families! 

Ruling over Windenburg is the von Windenburg royal family. King Cecil and his Queen Adelaide sit on the throne. The King and Queen had three children: Cecelia, Melissa and Vincent. The von Windenburg royalty spend their time creating noble and royal connections in order to strengthen their role in the Kingdoms. King Cecil requested his dearest friend from college to be his advisor and thus his family became the first nobles of the new Windenburg. More often than not, the von Windenburg family place their trust in many and distrust few. The royal political games have not yet shown itself to the family and thus they live in a blissful denial. 

Across the great river is the royal Goncharov family, a prideful lineage claiming to have ruled Willow Creek since the earliest days of the world. Tsar Ivan Goncharov married a politician's daughter, a beautiful woman named Nadia and they had two children together: a strong headed daughter, Larisa, and a wide eyed son, Dmitry. The hatred that their ancestors felt for the von Windenburg family still reign strong.

At the end of the great river is the Ahluwalia dynasty which was ruled by the late Pharaoh Varun and his wife Divya. The royalty of Oasis Creek had three children: an heir named Hasan and a pair of twins years later in which they named Fatima and Ardesh. Unfortunately for the desert Kingdom, King Varun passed of old age before his youngest children could age into toddlers. His eldest son Hasan took reign of the kingdom while the widowed queen continues to raise her children in the late king's name. 

On the opposite side of the great river rests the kingdom of Sulani and the start of the river that runs through the Kingdoms. This tropical paradise is watched over by King Chaisai Sulani and his lovely Queen, Bun Ma. The couple had two children: first a daughter they called Chaisee and later a heir called Chao Fah. The royalty of Sulani remain very neutral among the families and are notoriously known as the kingdom that assisted King Cecil in regaining his throne. Because of the help the royal family of Sulani gave, King von Windenburg promised their daughter would marry the heir of Windenburg and thus become queen. This has enraged the Goncharov family but created a stronger bond between Windenburg and Sulani. 

Away from the great river and in the valleys of inner land is a city ruled by the vibrant del Sol family. Due to their position away from the great river, King Felipe never truly has been interested in the political games of the river families. The del Sol family pride themselves in producing splendid films, beautiful art and beauties beyond compare. However, King Felipe is not a loyal man and often sell their loyalty to the highest bidder. This was evident even in the marriage of Felipe and his wife Letizia which was a political set up to gain more trade from Sulani. King and Queen del Sol had a pair of twins: a son named Felipe V and a daughter named Christa. 

With the birth of Cecelia von Windenburg, the tides of events in the kingdom took a turn. For the eldest daughter of Cecil von Windenburg fell in love with the eldest Goncharov son. Much to the dismay of both royal houses, Cecila married Dmitry. 

With such a inconvenient bond of rival houses, Cecil realized he needed allies. And fast. King Cecil met with the late Pharaoh Varun and arranged a marriage between their teenaged children, Hasan and Melissa. Although it was an arranged marriage, the pair grew to love each other deeply when Pharaoh Varun passed in his sleep. Melissa supported the emotions of Hasan and cares for his toddler siblings as the new king and the widowed queen mourned. It was this act of kindness that created such an unbreakable love between Melissa and Hasan. Currently, they are the first generation of royals to have gotten pregnant with their own child. 

Understanding that Cecil von Windenburg made a very strategic move by joining forces with the Ahluwalia household, Tsar Ivan promised his daughter to marry the heir of the del Sol family. This created a bond between Felipe and Ivan that led to a secret plot.

 Little did Ivan Ivan that it was going to be much more complicated than that. For his daughter loved Prince Vincent von Windenburg. However, Vincent was in love with a maid of the von Windenburg house and arranged to marry the Sulani princess. As King Cecil and Tsar Ivan grew into their later years, it was obvious that one of them needed to make a move to get power. 

Tsar Ivan made the first move: he called for King Felipe and a noble from Windenburg to join him in his castle. Both were more than happy to plot the death of Cecil von Windenburg and his heir. King Felipe promised to supply the posion while Marquess David Gauthier continued to gather intelligence on Cecil and the royal von Windenburg family.

To be Continued.....

[divyakoshal-blog]

Divya’s connections page has labels for each listing, which are archaic or at least not commonly used in everyday conversation. They relate to how she thinks of the characters, somehow. I made little definition graphics for the ones done so far, in order:

Alexis Larsson

Damon Rutherford

Gideon Rutherford

Isla Hunt

Johnathan Parsons

Melissa Lin

[msmelissalin]

elainahalevyx​:

“Ah, yes. Miss Lin.” Elaina smiled as she approached the woman not always did she attend events such as these, but Elaina figured it was something she had to make an appearance for. Due to everything that was happening. The nice progress was that there was not a single Russian in sight. Had things really begun to change? It was a point to their organization. “The color looks great on you.” Elaina continued to wonder how much would the French get entangled with the Rutherfords. At the very least, Elaina still wanted Divya’s head served on a platter. 

“How close are you with the birthday woman?”

.

‘‘We women who dress well know how the real games are played, isn’t that right?’‘ Voice loud enough so that only Elaina would be able to hear the words echoing.

Melissa's crimson painted lips curled into a knowing smile, quickly sizing up the woman before her. They’d had their run ins over the years, and yet, it’d always remained cordial despite being snake tongued. She had always been adept at deciphering hidden motives and agendas, that was something Melissa could tell about the woman before her. She possessed a skill that had served her well in the dangerous dance of high society. "Oh, you know how it is," Melissa replied, her tone dripping with casual charm. "Adriana and I have a certain...understanding. Shall we say, mutual interests."

Always careful with her words, even with a drink in hand, she half smirked giving Elaina a once over. ‘’Are you two...close?’’ She asked, taking a sip of her champagne, while her eyes never left the woman before her. Always keep one eye open, her subconscious warned.

[artandfeminism]

2019 WIKIPEDIA EDIT-A-THON SATURDAY, MARCH 2 AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART WITH HUNDREDS OF EVENTS INTERNATIONALLY THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF MARCH

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACT: MOLLY KURZIUS, molly_kurzius@moma.org

New York City -- Art+Feminism’s sixth-annual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, an all-day event designed to generate coverage of gender, feminism, and the arts on Wikipedia, will take place at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Education and Research Building, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 4 West 54 Street, on Saturday, March 2, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The much-anticipated event features panel discussions, workshops, tutorials for the beginner Wikipedian, ongoing editing support, reference materials, childcare, and refreshments. People of all gender identities and expressions are encouraged to attend.

“This year we focused on growth, both in people and in focus,” said Art+Feminism lead co-organizers Siân Evans, Jacqueline Mabey, McKensie Mack, Michael Mandiberg, and Melissa Tamani Becerra. “We welcomed Melissa Tamani Becerra as lead co-organizer, we now boast thirteen of Art+Feminism regional organizers from Accra to Taiwan, and we’ve brought on Community and Communication Fellows with the goal of training the next generation of activists in the arts. And, in focusing our 2019 campaign on editing about non-binary topics, we made public our personal commitment to an expansive understanding of gender. This way, we can better represent the gender identities of Art+Feminism organizers and participants."

The Edit-a-thon at The Museum of Modern Art will feature a series of programs throughout the day. This year’s event kicks off with a conversation exploring visibility and vulnerability, featuring writer and archivist Che Gossett; performance artist, writer, and educator Alok Vaid-Menon; and Simone Browne, an Associate Professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The discussion is moderated by Danielle A. Jackson, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Media and Performance Art, The Museum of Modern Art.

The Edit-a-thon will also feature Gallery Sessions on feminist art; a discussion of the forward-thinking teaching artists who shaped the development of the Department of Education via materials in the library archives; a workshop on creating boundaries to combat implicit and explicit bias; and a teach-in on deleting and defending articles on Wikipedia. With the intention of making women artists and photographers of the African Diaspora more visible, The Black Lunch Table hosts their Wikimedia Photo Booth. Professional photographers Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Andrea Cauthen, and Adama Delphine Fawundu will be on hand taking portraits for upload to Wikimedia Commons. Communal editing tables will be hosted by AfroCROWD, an organization that increases awareness of free culture movements among people of African descent, and POWarts, which champions the professional lives of women in the art world. Across the street, New York Public Library’s 53rd Street Branch will host Drag Queen Story Hour and offer a zine-making workshop.

In addition to the Edit-a-thon at The Museum of Modern Art, New York City will play host to events at a wide range of institutions, including The Jewish Museum (March 3); Kickstarter (March 3); International Center of Photography (March 9); Interference Archive (March 10); Bard Graduate Center (March 16); Columbia University (March 16); Pratt Institute (March 19); The School of Visual Arts Library (March 21); Hauser & Wirth (March 27). Internationally, edit-a-thons will take place during the month of March at hundreds of institutions such as Impact Hub, Accra; Kunstmuseum Basel; The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; Buni Innovation Hub, Dar es Salaam; Pand P, Eindhoven; Università degli studi di Salerno, Fisciano; MAMCO, Geneva; Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; Cornell University, Ithaca; Musée d’art de Joliette; ICA, Los Angeles; Initiative for Indigenous Futures, Montreal; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Mills College Art Museum, Oakland; Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris; Le Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City; University of Nevada, Reno; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago; Womany Wonderland, Taipei City; Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver; Winston-Salem State University; Material Zürich; and online in a month-long Edit-a-thon led by Women in Red.  An updating list of venues can be found on the Art+Feminism’s website: http://www.artandfeminism.org/find-an-event/

On the eve of the March Edit-a-thons, Art+Feminism announced the release of new artworks from Wendy Red Star and Tuesday Smillie, created under the auspices of the Call to Action art commissions program. Established in 2017, artists are invited to create Creative Commons licensed works to be hosted on Wikimedia Commons; Divya Mehra’s Dangerous Women (Blaze of Glory) was the inaugural commission. Ashkaamne (matrilineal inheritance) (2019) by Wendy Red Star depicts the artist and her daughter, Beatrice Red Star Fletcher, reclining in matching striped shirts and blankets, with the words, “Apsáalooke feminist,” repeated in the background. Apsáalooke inheritance is based on matrilineal descent, tracing affiliation along with the mother-to-daughter line; the image represents a lineage, female empowerment, and the next generation.  Rage/Sorrow (2018) by Tuesday Smillie is an animated GIF. The text “RAGE” appears large, filling the square format from left to right. “RAGE” is quickly obscured by a cascade of rectangles and the text, “SORROW,” repeated in a smaller font. Rage/Sorrow, a born-digital work, suggests the role of technology and the internet in nurturing and exacerbating pre-existing social divisions. The endless loop of the GIF mimics a cycle of anger and anguish produced by the constant stream of horrifying news.

Founded in 2014 by Siân Evans, Jacqueline Mabey, Michael Mandiberg and Laurel Ptak, Art+Feminism is a do-it-yourself campaign to improve coverage of gender, feminism, and the arts on Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s gender trouble is well-documented; in a 2011 survey, the Wikimedia Foundation found that less than 10% of its contributors identify as women. This lack of participation has led to significant gaps in content on the world’s most popular online research tool. Since 2014, over 10,000 people at more than 800 events around the world have participated in our edit-a-thons, resulting in the creation and improvement of more than 33,000 articles on Wikipedia.

The 2019 Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at The Museum of Modern Art is organized by Art+Feminism, led by Siân Evans, Jacqueline Mabey, McKensie Mack, Michael Mandiberg, and Melissa Tamani Becerra, in collaboration with AfroCROWD, Black Lunch Table, Women in Red, the Professional Organization for Women in the Arts (POWarts) and The Museum of Modern Art, New York and with support from Qubit New Music, Inc. and Wikimedia NYC.

Art+Feminism’s Regional Ambassadors are Mohammed Sadat Abdulai, Accra; Marta Delatte, Barcelona; Daniela Brugger, Basel; Walaa Abdel Manaem, Cairo; Medhavi Gandhi, Chandigarh; Amanda Meeks, Flagstaff; Dominique Eliane, Ivory Coast; Stacey Allan, Los Angeles; Amber Berson, Montreal; Linden How, Portland; Taryn Tomasello, Portland; Juliana Monteiro, São Paulo and Jessie Mi, Taiwan. The 2019 Fellows are Keon Dillon and Nina Yeboah.

The Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at The Museum of Modern Art is supported by The Modern Women’s Fund.

The Art + Feminism initiative is made possible by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Education at MoMA is made possible by a partnership with Volkswagen of America.

[ramascreen]

Poster And Trailer For Netflix Documentary BOB ROSS: HAPPY ACCIDENTS, BETRAYAL & GREED

Poster And Trailer For Netflix Documentary BOB ROSS: HAPPY ACCIDENTS, BETRAYAL & GREED

Netflix has released these official poster and trailer for BOB ROSS: HAPPY ACCIDENTS BETRAYAL & GREED Film Release Date: August 25, 2021 Format: Documentary Film Director: Joshua Rofé Producers: Steven J. Berger, Joshua Rofé, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone and Divya D’Souza   Synopsis: Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed brings us the shockingly untold story of the prolific landscape…

[mobscene-london]

Your leadership should have more females. All of the bosses are men.

Hi there, thanks for reaching out with your concerns!

I will be honest, though, and say I’m not entirely sure that’s a fair assessment. It’s a little more nuanced. Over the eight and a half year tenure of this group, I’ve consistently made putting women in positions of power a priority to me.

The current head of the French Organization, the most powerful crime family in the world, Aurélie St. Clair, is a woman. Details can be found on the page. 

Where I include male bosses, they almost always have a female underboss who I tend to imply (sorry to Laurent and Johnno) as being more competent. Melissa Lin epitomizes intelligent and thoughtful leadership. The woman is a literal powerhouse. Évelyne Mercier is professional, level-headed, and immensely well-respected amongst her colleagues; a voice of reason where the men ten to be more knee-jerk in reaction. 

As far as what’s canon in the Mob universe, the head of the Hathaways (both overall with Vivienne Hathaway, and in London with Charlene) has always been a woman. The Auditore family (the most powerful Italian gang in the world) was run ruthlessly by Alessia for over a decade until her death, upon which her sister Lucrezia took the reins. The Cávado Kings in Porto Velho is a gang co-run by a pretty ruthless lady, Catalina. The Emerson Saints were held together by Lee Euna, who was not only a talented diplomat but held that gang together internally when nobody else could. Svetlana Vorshevsky ran Miami briefly, after her mother’s lengthy tenure doing the same, and is as much a voice of leadership in London as Arkady is. Margaux St. Clair, perhaps one of the most formidable women I’ve ever written, ruled Paris with an iron fist for much of the French Organization’s existence.

There are canonically more female Commandants in London than there are men. Divya Koshal, one of the Rutherfords’ most infamous lieutenants, has overcome many hurdles in her journey to earning that leadership title. And, let’s not forget, that Lara Rutherford is being groomed even now to take over from her father one day.

As for other powerful women in established canon (because why not whilst we’re on a roll?) the literal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth Acton, is a woman. The Editor-in-Chief of London’s most influential newspaper, Felicity Woodward, is a woman. The richest person in the entire country, Fatima Dawar, is a woman. The person who arguably has the most power with regards to the people of London and their lives, Diana Sehgal, is a woman.

I will always try my best to include more female bosses where I can, anon. I know they’re a lot of fun to write, and who doesn’t want to see it? I enjoy nothing more than writing a strong, independent, ass-kicking woman to keep things in line on the dash. But until then, I hope you can appreciate the many fantastic ladies we already have. ♥

[ciceroisthefamilycat]

CW Series in Development

SPIN-OFFS

The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: eyed as a companion series to Riverdale and a dark drama in the horror genre, the new project reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.

writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

director: Lee Toland Krieger

executive producers: Aguirre-Sacasa, Krieger, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Jon Goldwater

producers: Warner Bros. TV, Berlanti Productions

Wayward Sisters: tells the story of Sheriff Jody Mills and a group of troubled young women — all orphaned by supernatural tragedy — these “wayward sisters” emerge as a formidable force against the supernatural, under Mills’s training and protection. Unlike the original series, which centers on a biological brothers, Wayward Sisters is about a sisterhood of girls in a foster family.

writers: Robert Berens and Andrew Dabb

executive producers: Berens, Dabb, Robert Singer, Phil Sgriccia

producer: Warner Bros. TV

There are also talks of a spin-off from “The Originals,” featuring Hope Mikaelson

 ROM-COMS (like Jane the Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

Make Divya Great Again: centers on an Indian-American woman, who under tremendous pressure from her traditional parents, bails on her arranged marriage and invents a perfect Indian boyfriend. She then sets in motion an absurd and poignant series of events that derail her life, all while she is trying to clear her name in the darkly comic accidental death of her ex-fiance.

writer: Devanshi Patel (Black-ish, Ground Floor)

executive producers: Patel, Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, Patti Carr, Alex Hertzberg

producers: CBS TV Studios, The Tannenbaum Co.

Near Beth Experience: centers on a cynical young stand-up comedian who survives a near death experience. The former non-believer starts hearing the prayers of people in close proximity to her — forcing her out of her egocentric comfort zone as she attempts to help others in eccentric, funny and begrudgingly heartfelt ways. As described by the creator, Near Beth Experience is not Touched by an Angel. It is more like Touched by a Cynic, or Inappropriately Touched by a Comedian with Issues.

writer: Rob Giles

executive producers: Giles, Mike Kelley and Melissa Loy’s Page Fright

producer: Warner Bros. TV

Bestseller: follows a risk-averse aspiring author who self-publishes an erotic novel under a pen name. When it becomes a surprise bestseller, it complicates her work life and personal relationships, and inspires her to act more boldly as she navigates her new double life.

writer: Abby McDonald

executive producers: McDonald, The Kennedy/Marshall Company (Frank Marshall and Robert Zotnowski), Exile Entertainment (Gary Ungar)

producer: CBS TV Studios

Illegal: a light one-hour about sixteen year old Rafael. He is a charming but bumbling high school student just trying to survive puberty. But when this all-American teenager discovers that he is not American at all, but undocumented, his perfect Honor Roll world is turned upside down.

writer: Rafael Agustin

executive producers: Agustin, Gina Rodriguez, Emily Gipson

producers: CBS TV Studios, I Can & I Will Productions

Untitled Spencer Paysinger Project: centers on a rising high school football player from South Central L.A. When he is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds — Compton and Beverly Hills — begin to collide.

writer: April Blair (Reign, The Shannara Chronicles)

consultant: Dane Morck

executive producers: Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter

producers: Robbie Rogers, Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. TV

 GENRE

After On: centers on a young entrepreneur who unwittingly causes a top social network to become sentient.  Super-intelligent yet riddled with human flaws, it takes on the persona of a “mean girl”.  Our hero and his friends need to tame her before she – or her many enemies – annihilate humankind.

writer: Mark Goffman

executive producers: Goffman, Rob Reid

producer: CBS TV Studios

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It: is based on the 2012 Alloy book of the same name by Iva-Marie Palmer. In the show, when a prison spaceship carrying the universe’s most deadly aliens crashes in Southern California, two millennial women with bigger dreams than working at a kids’ pizza place in The Valley are recruited by a space cop to hunt down the escaped criminals, who have camouflaged themselves as eccentric Angelenos.

writers: Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker

executive producers: Halpern, Schumacker, Rob Thomas, Danielle Stokdyk, Dan Etheridge, Leslie Morgenstein, Gina Girolamo

producers: Warner Bros. TV, Ehsugadee Productions, Spondoolie Productions, Alloy Entertainment

School for Psychics: a drama based on K.C. Archer’s upcoming book series; when an aimless, jaded young woman learns she has powerful latent psychic abilities, she is recruited to join a secret government program for gifted individuals. She must quickly hone her newfound skills to help uncover an imminent threat to psychics that has an unexpected emotional connection to the mysterious murder of her parents two decades ago.

writer: Paul Sciarrotta

executive producers: Sciarrotta, Dan Jinks, Jason Egenberg

producer: CBS TV Studios

Dead Inside: after surviving an explosion that killed her hotshot detective big brother, an underachieving beat cop starts seeing his ghost, flipping their sibling dynamic on its head and allowing her to truly live her life for the first time, as they work together to help crime victims both living and dead, and figure out the unfinished business keeping his spirit on Earth.

writer: Katie Lovejoy

exectuive producers: Lovejoy, Bill Lawrence, Jeff Ingold

producers: Warner Bros. TV, Doozer Productions

Roswell: an hourlong reimagining of the 1999 series; based on the Roswell High book series by Melinda Metz; the new Roswell reflects the realities of its location in a state bordering Mexico. After reluctantly returning to her tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, NM, the daughter of undocumented immigrants discovers a shocking truth about her teenage crush who is now a police officer: He’s an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life. She protects his secret as the two reconnect and begin to investigate his origins, but when a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance.

writer: Carina Adly MacKenzie (The Originals)

executive producer: MacKenzie, Bender Brown Productions (Kevin Kelly Brown and Lawrence Bender), Amblin Television (Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank)

producer: Warner Bros. TV

Hold Fast: is an epic love story told in two timelines, about an injured Union soldier in the Reconstruction-era South who awakens reincarnated in present-day Charleston. With rapidly diminishing knowledge of his past life, our hero must navigate present-day relationships — including a fiancée he doesn’t remember — while uncovering what happened to his past love and searching for her.

writer: Dana Stevens (Reckless)

executive producers: Stevens, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schecter

producers: Warner Bros. TV, Berlanti Productions

Black Rose Anthology: a one-hour horror anthology series written and directed entirely by women, which will explore some of humanity’s deepest fears from a woman’s unique perspective. Classic themes of terror will be tackled via vignettes about guilt, jealousy, repression, paranoia, insanity, sexual obsession and survival through a modern and distinctly feminine lens.

writer: Jill Blotevogel

executive producers: Blotevogel, Alpine Labs (Jamie Denenberg and Kevin Abrams), Flower Films (Drew Barrymore, Nancy Juvonen, Chris Miller, and Ember Truesdell), MasiMedia (Anthony Masi, Nick Phillips, and Lotti Pharriss Knowles)

producer: CBS TV Studios