#donners' company

[marcovaleyeah]

03.10.24

#Marco-Marathon | Deadpool

Film; Name: Deadpool (2016); Production Studios: Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Donners' Company; Director by: Tim Miller; Screenwriter: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick; Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano; Genres: Action, Comedy; Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes;

"Deadpool" (2016) is a daring superhero film with black humor and brutality, where Ryan Reynolds brilliantly plays the sarcastic anti-hero. The film is distinguished by dynamic action, jokes for an adult audience and a fresh approach to the genre.

My rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Dave Grusin - The Goonies - Fratelli Chase 1985

The Goonies is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, and Ke Huy Quan. In the film, a group of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure to an expanding country club and in doing so they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate, while being pursued by the Fratellis, a family of criminals who are after the treasure as well.

The film grossed $125 million worldwide on a budget of $19 million. Critics reviewed the film positively and it has since become a cult film. In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Special anniversary events for the film, hosted by the city of Astoria, have drawn about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors. The home used for the Walsh family has become a tourist attraction, receiving between 1,200 and 1,500 visitors a day during the summer of the 30th anniversary. As a result, in August 2015, the residents and owners of the home, their neighbors, and the city of Astoria took steps to limit public access to the home.

The main theme, "Fratelli Chase", has been used in numerous trailers, such as Innerspace, Scrooged, and Guarding Tess, and was re-recorded by compser Dave Grusin and the London Symphony Orchestra for the album Cinemagic. The score makes liberal use of the Max Steiner-composed theme from Adventures of Don Juan; the character Sloth is seen as an Errol Flynn fan and aspects of his movies are referenced throughout The Goonies as a result. Dave Grusin's score was unavailable for 25 years, until soundtrack label Varèse Sarabande released it on CD in March 2010 for the film's 25th anniversary in a limited edition of 5,000 copies. The company reissued the score soundtrack on CD as a wide release in June 2019, but with the previous CD's four bonus tracks omitted.

87,4% never say die!

[fallout-lou-begas]

The failure of David Ayer's Suicide Squad (2016) might be the biggest turning point in the comic book movie fad besides The Avengers (2012). Existing from the get-go to transparently rip off Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and bombing catastrophically, DC decided that the best response to such a flop (and a generally floundering film department) was to just straight-up poach Gunn himself, and he made his own The Suicide Squad in 2021, even recycling the same actors from before, like the first one just never happened! And it was much more successful. So successful, in fact, that Gunn's just been the guy behind ragtag, colorful, "we're so back bros" ensemble movies for DC and Marvel alike ever since (Gunn's third Guardians of the Galaxy movie came out in 2023!). It's such a strangely singular and powerful course correction for both companies, where they both realized this one guy evidently "gets it." And the numbers don't lie.

That being said, I'll give James Gunn this: the trailer for his Superman movie really does look like the Superman movie that everybody's wanted for years... for better and worse. We're going to get Clark Kent and Lois Lane (looks good! the shot of them making out in the kitchen!! yay!!!) and a bad and bald business tycoon Lex Luthor (finally!). We're gonna get Superman swooping in front of bystanders to protect them and punching big monsters (fun!). But we're also gonna get some absolutely cringeworthy execution on Big Themes about what a Superman can do for such a divided, polarized world, with so much war and strife and conflict over there in some fictional sandy country (uh-oh), and we're gonna get some keys dangled in front of us because Gunn wants to make sure you know he's got his comic book chops so he'll be cramming as many things into the movie as possible. And while it sure looks like a comic book, what are we going to be getting out of this that we haven't seen before, somewhere, some place? Is any scene in this movie going to be as heartfelt, as earnest, or as true as that first scene in Richard Donner's Superman where our hero takes Lois Lane into the air by her hand? I can believe that this movie'll be a fun action romp, but will it make me believe a man can fly?

Admittedly, Guy Gardner did make me glup shitto out a bit though. YEAHHHH YAHOO THAT'S MY GLOAT !!!!!

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 15th December ✨

I listened to so much audio drama this week and have so many thoughts!! 🫨

🌨️ @thewhitevault (15) First off all, PSA: someone has been leaving negative comments on Spotify instead of hitting pause and moving on with their life like a normal person would. I personally love the split focus between Goshawk and Cairo and really feel like we’re getting closer to finding out what is actually happening to the sites. Sure, it’s a different kind of tension, but if the show followed the same formula every season it wouldn’t be the best in the game, would it? If everyone could show some love to TWV this week, that would be good!!

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (177) damn, I’m sorry but I think Mx Wellman needs to teach action-writing because these scenes are so tense but also fluid and easy to follow! I guess we finally know who the quartet are? I think I had been hoping that it wasn’t going to be the people we knew a little as kids but . . . isn’t that just the way in life that people you knew as children grow up and join a corrupt system of oppression that allows them to perpetrate harm!! Shank remains such an interesting character, of course he’s going to go for the Sheriff’s dpt now, why not! And the actual pig memories made my heart hurt a little. 

🔎 @224bbaker (13) Had a relisten this week for the general release and, my god, there are too many banger lines in this ep to list them all but no context giggles include: “Push that down, James, it’s probably nothing.” & “balancing the egos of the hogs, you get it”. ALSO thank god for the transcript because tell me why I initially re-evaluated McMurphy as a character when I thought I was referring to his ex: “Joe Caster” 😭😂 Oops. I love Madge’s arc so far this season - so interesting to have a female lead who has some growing to do in the equality department. And a great gentle reminder for us all to stop appeasing the people holding us down xo 

🦋 @remnantspod (19) Another fantastic ep! That heart sinking feeling moments into meeting the teacher! Damn, that’s good writing!! Also, if we’re weighing in on whether someone should be judged on their own terms if they make those terms clear and exacting - I don’t think it is actually possible to judge someone without your own bias affecting your judgement. Now, the current almost-clean-slate of the Apprentice makes this interesting but immediately Sir asks him to compare Adelaide to Sid. Can one judge without comparison?? I don’t think so? Maybe the poor Apprentice was just relieved to have someone finally give some guidance on how to measure a soul. I also found it veryyyy interesting that the Apprentice chose to discard this remnant. It did come across a little bit churlish to me, as though he chose to do that to piss Sir off. But it did remind me of his reaction to Jonny in ep 2. Clearly murder is a touchy subject. . . 

🎙️WTNV (258 & 259) Listening to Night Vale is always such an easy little treat for me. Sounds like Steve is about to bite off a bit more than he can chew with a car company that’s literally called detour. 

🧋 @hinaypod (25&26) Ooough spooky dolls are spooky! My heart just about tied itself in knots hearing Donner and Mari reconnect and him realise she already had a Halloween Date. Then it froze hearing Mari sob 😭 she’s MY goodly witch and you need to stop making her cry!!! 

🗺 @tales-from-the-low-city (13) Absolutely gripping!! It might just be me, but I feel like this season is much darker in tone compared to last and this tale about a Fallen assassin fits right in. I adored the music, it added so much to the tension of the writing without being distracting. Loved it. 

🍾 @ameliapodcast (38) I love the fantastical eps as much as the plausible ones!! Truth serum, eh? I can’t wait to find out how this goes wrong 😂

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (Q+A part 1) so lovely to hear Hero AND Matt answering the questions. The chat about working to deadlines and making peace with producing lots of work that is good but, most-importantly, finished is …. Really something to think about… I also definitely noticed when Óli disappeared from the polls 😂 it was fun to make the choices more mysterious!! 

Have a good week, everyone!!

[forthecutelittledeer]

When SOS Fessée comes to call...for you!

"Are you Charlène? I'm here to give you a spanking..."

"Yes. My parents warned me it would be today..."

"And did they warn you that you were supposed to be waiting with your nose to the wall? I'm going to have to give you a hundred extra for that, you know."

"Aieee! That many!? It's because my little brother was teasing me, that I said I'd wait out here and get the door...He pinches, the little shit!"

"..."

"Well, it hurts!"

"You DO understand what we're going to be doing today, right? I'm not here to have you write lines..."

"..."

"Anyway, is he, by any chance, the one who's standing witness today?"

[lowers her eyes] "yes..."

"And how old is your brother?"

"17..."

"Hmm, old enough, just barely...could you send him here? I have some paperwork he needs to look at...where is this going to take place?"

"I don't know...the salon, maybe?"

"Well, I guess that's up to him, since he's in charge, but why don't you go there anyway, and try and stand properly for let's say...20 minutes? And I'll set the penalty you've earned at 50, o.k.?"

"But it wasn't my fault!"

"75, then..."

"I'll go fetch him!..."

Quand SOS Fessée viendra vous chercher… !

"C'est toi Charlène ? Je suis là pour te mettre une fessée…"

"Oui. Mes parents m'avaient prévenue que ce serait aujourd'hui…"

"Et ils t'ont prévenue que tu devais attendre le nez au mur ? Je vais devoir t'en donner cent de plus pour ça, tu sais."

"Aieee ! Tant !? C'est parce que mon petit frère me taquinait, que j'ai dit que j'attendrais ici et que j'ouvrirais la porte… Il pince, le petit con !"

"…"

"Eh bien, ça fait mal !"

"Tu comprends bien ce qu'on va faire aujourd'hui, non ? Je ne suis pas là pour te faire écrire des lignes…"

"…"

"D'ailleurs, c'est lui qui est témoin aujourd'hui par hasard ?"

[baisse les yeux] "oui…"

"Et quel âge a ton frère ?"

"17…"

"Hmm, assez vieux, à peine… pourrais-tu l'envoyer ici ? J'ai des papiers qu'il doit regarder… où cela va-t-il se passer ?"

"Je ne sais pas… le salon, peut-être ?"

"Eh bien, je suppose que c'est à lui de décider, puisqu'il est responsable, mais pourquoi n'y vas-tu pas quand même, et essaies de te tenir correctement debout pendant disons… 20 minutes ? Et je fixerai la pénalité que tu as méritée à 50, ok ?"

"Mais ce n'était pas ma faute !"

"75, alors…"

(French translation by Google(with a little help from me), in honor of the French origins of my favourite imaginary company...)

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

ALEX WINTER

ALEX WINTER

17 July 1965

THE LOST BOYS

            Alex Winter is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for playing Marko in The Lost Boys (1987), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) & Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey 1991).

            Alexander Winter was born in London, England, his mother a New York dancer and his father founded the first modern-dance company in London during the 1960s. His father Ross Winter is an Australian who danced with his mother’s troupe. His father has English ancestry and his mother is Jewish, of Ukrainian descent. When he was five his family moved to Missouri, US and then moved to New York City in 1978; they lived in Montclair, New Jersey. Winter trained as a dancer as a child and started acting when he moved to New York, initially performing on Broadway. He attended New York University in 1983 where he met aspiring filmmaker Tom Stern; the two collaborated on making short films. Winter dropped out of film school and Stern and himself moved to Hollywood, where they continued making films and music videos. Winter looked for work as an actor, including gaining his role in The Lost Boys.  Winter was a film student when he auditioned for The Lost Boys, casting agent Marion Dougherty introduced Winter to Joel Schumacher and Richard Donner. He met the filmmakers whilst dressed in 80s punk rock style clothing, during filming they had him wear hair extensions.

            Winter has an interest in the internet which inspired him to make the documentaries Downloaded (2012) and the Deep Web (2015).

            Winter has been married twice and has three children. In 2018, Winter revealed when he was aged 13, an older man sexually assaulted him whilst he was acting on Broadway. He has spoken publicly how it has affected him and how he has suffered from PTSD since he was a teenager.

#alexwinter #thelostboys #thelostboys1987

[bekaterrier]

For Audio Drama Sunday, I wanted to share the piece I made for the podcast I was re-listening to this week, and that kept me company for most of May: @hinaypod!

This was an audio drama that I had been wanting to listen to for a while (especially wanted to support another creator based in Canada), but I was hesitant as I am not a big horror fan. After some reassurances from several people, I gave it a shot (during the daytime)! I am so glad I did! Even with the horror (see the listening during the daytime), or maybe because of it, I was immediately invested in Mari, Laura, Donner and Murphy, and then eventually Evelyn and Ashvin, and DJ, and really everyone we meet just trying to survive the horrors. I love this found family, and the way they draw on their cultures and family history to fight for the safety of the city. I've also really been enjoying the overall mystery of the horrors and how they came to be. I can't wait to hear what happens next!

It also turns out that Mari and I have something in common. In her words, we both "consider Michael’s to be a magical place"!

[miki-13]

Helluva Boss season 3 speculation: Family and Addiction

Loooong post (and several opinions) underneath

Blitz Buckzo

There’s no way Blitz’s shiffty sperm donner Cash isn’t gonna try to mooch off of him. There’s just not. And I will bet money he’ll try to guilt-trip Blitz into giving him money because he was “the one who burned our livlihood”. (Stolas overhears this)

But Blitz is able to hold his ground and cut Cash out of his life.

As for if Barbie Wire shows up… she could be strong-armed by Cash into coming with him because she needed money; we also don't know how her relationship with Cash is. And while she’s still mad at Blitz, she does see that he’s changed so much, especially if/when he says he won’t go after her anymore.

Stolas

Stolas’ alcoholism has been talked about enough already, as well as potential addiction to smoking,so I see no need to add that.

I will however be speculating a different addiction he could have:

Anger.

I speak from experience: anger can feel so good, can make you feel so powerful. But it harms so much more than it helps when you immediately turn to it as an excuse not to feel despair, sadness or depression

I have been prepared for Blitz to be the more affectionate and romantic one since Stolas lost everything,

But it is nothing compared to the hype I have to see Stolas more bitter and closed off. The fandom has a habit of infantilizing one half of Stolitz, but Stolas takes the lion’s share of this. So this makes me so excited to see Stolas lash out and act and react in anger that can’t be infantilized.

Hell, Stolas could see Blitz acting so gently around him and protecting him could make him even angrier and lash out, which contradicts his fantasies of being protected by someone he loves.

“Are you trying to patronize me?! I am not a child that needs to be constantly coddled!”

Similar to Sebun/Seven from Beastars, both are furious at being protected/ stood up for (albeit the context is different) due to pride and their protector able to do so much more easily than they can.

And it doesn’t help that he’s working for an assassination company and has knowledge of (potentially) poisonous plants.

sidebar:

Stolas: Aren't you tired of being nice?! Don't you just want to go apeshit?!

Blitz: Aren't you tired of going apeshit? Don't you just want to be nice?

Moxxie+Millie

The fanart for these two’s potential child has been in the fandom for as long as I can remember. But I’m gonna be honest… I will be VERY surprised if Moxxie and Millie decide to abort this child.

HEAR ME OUT

1. Both the M&Ms have issues with their families: Moxxie with Crimson’s expectations in doing what he says, and Millie with her family’s expectations of having a family of her own. These issues alone would give pause to them both and wonder if they were ready for this.

2. Their lifestyle is incredibly dangerous, given they’re assassins. If they chose to keep the kid, that would mean that they’re down an incredibly capable warrior in Millie. This could always be a reason for Loona to go on more missions, but they’ve still got people gunning for them (Andrealphus, Stryker, Crimson, DHORK, etc.) and Millie pregnant would be a massive target on her back whether to attack or abduct.

3. Moxxie and Millie have only been married for a year since Ozzie’s. They’re still very early into their relationship, and a baby is a massive responsibility even for couples who’ve been married for years.

All of and even just one of the reasons justifies potential abortion.

And even if they do abort this one, nothing is stopping the M&Ms from trying for another child once things settle down.

Sallie Mae and Crimson

That’s not something I thought I’d write. But it branches off from the above.

Sallie Mae coming in to cover for Millie during her pregnancy is a realization I had only very recently, and it’d be pretty cool to see that. But it could also be her trying to get away from the family as well and try something new in life.

It could also lead to her bonding with her brother-in-law Moxxie, as he is her family as well.

Crimson being involved is all but inevitable considering Millie’s pregnant. He has no true heir, and he’s got a helluva grudge against Moxxie for standing up to him.

Crimson is already addicted to his need for control and anger, leading him to pursue revenge… and what better way to get revenge than to take M&M’s child and raise it to be his heir?

And this would lead to Sallie Mae clashing with Crimson as well to protect her sister, brother-in-law and potential niece/nephew.

Octavia Goetia

OCTAVIA COULD BECOME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT POV CHARACTERS FOR THE THIRD AND FOURTH SEASONS

Think about it: Vivz said we’d be getting more info on the Ars Goetia come next season, and I realized that that would mean Octavia would get a front row seat- along with the audience- on just what the duties of Ars Goetia/Stolas are meant to take on.

(SIDEBAR: I am so fucking excited for Ars Goetia Lore, be ready for posts of hcs regarding the lines coming soon I have so many theories on how the Ars Goetia are separated by caste and Andrealphus being a dick is him trying to climb the ranks since he’s almost at the bottom of the Marquis caste. Vassago is not only a prince, but he’s the highest ranked prince which explains him being in Stolas’ corner here- at least rank-wise)

(Also have a theory Goetias have recursive immortality but that’s neither here nor there)

That said, Stolas shielding her so much is gonna backfire HARD as she enters the treacherous world of Goetic politics and plans.

Vassago is mostly likely gonna be Octavia’s greatest ally in this cesspool and is the one who is able her to weather to the worse truths that she’s going to uncover.

The likelyhood of Octavia being all but immediately married off is high, but Vassago offering to be her fiance as a way to shield her from other worse suitors could happen. OBVIOUSLY, THEY’RE NOT GONNA END UP TOGETHER, AND VASSAGO REMAINS A MENTOR FIGURE TO OCTAVIA

After all, he is known for being “just and true in all his doings” as well as revealing hidden treasures. He’s already on the track to finding the truth behind Stolas’ “trial”, but he and Octavia could both be working together to find the truth behind Stolas’ life and why he did what he did.

(I know there’ve been a lot of hcs and theories that Vassago is older than Stolas, but it’d be really interesting if he was actually younger. I’m good with either, just wanted to throw that out there. I will also say I am very worried about the “inciting the love of women” detail in Vassago’s entry, because I’m certain Stella is gonna try to hit on him.)

And to cope with this all, Octavia starts taking the leftover happy pills to cope with her new life. As more and more pressure mounts, she takes more and more each time.

On the note of Stella, the reason for Octavia not reacting as much to Stella showing more and more of her true self is pretty simple: Octavia assuming that her mother changed due to her father’s affair.

How many times have we seen an argument where one party is incredibly angry and screaming? What possibility of the argument comes to your mind first? That the screamer is acting irrationally, or that the quieter of the two did something to provoke such rage?

For me at least, who grew up in a dysfunctional household post-divorce, the assumption of the screamer being the one provoked into such a state and that they were right to be angry was normal. It’s what made me try my damndest to make sure that the screaming never happened, even if it meant forcing others to behave a certain way.

That is not normal. None of that is normal. But it’s all we both knew, and we both assumed it was because of the other parent who brought it on.

Octavia has yet to realize that Stella didn’t need a reason to act the way she did to Stolas, because she always acted like this towards him: the only difference is that Octavia never noticed until the affair.

But I have a feeling that when she learns the full truth, that will be THE breaking point for Octavia… and it causes her to overdose on the happy pills.

Stella+Andrealphus

If you know me, you know what’s coming

I have already made my case for Stella’s backstory: she’s the product of her mother having an affair with someone not of Goetia nobility. Not only does this mean Stella does not have Goetian powers, but it also alienates her from other nobility as a bastard and affair product. This leads to her anger issues seen in the photo little Stohls was shown.

(Also just realized that if the above comes to pass, Stella and Octavia have in common a parent that made things harder for them to interact with Goetian Nobility)

And the reason she is so close with Andrealphus is because he saw her as someone useful to him. Stella was happy to have someone who gave her the time of day and didn’t immediately look down on her. She was happy to help her brother, the only one who cared about her.

Which made her despise Stolas all the more, because how dare this meek owl have higher standing than her perfect brother? And considering that he was pacifistic in nature, this meant that despite not having powers, Stella had much freer reign in the household.

Andrealphus meanwhile is driven by the pursuit of power. He was nearly born a count but was lucky enough to be a Marquis, albeit near the bottom of the caste. I assumed he targeted Stolas through Stella due to thinking he was an easy mark to take what he has…

But frankly, the idea that that is also a reason, but that Andrealphus set them up so he could be Stolas’ hero and take him into his arms to protect him from his evil sister is absolutely something I can see happening.

And I will be extremely tickled pink if Andrealphus catches lust for Blitzo as well (That pull of his robe was not needed but very appreciated) and tries to take them both for himself. Obviously, he’s going to fail. (On that note, I do not like Andralphus x Vassago. The angel parrot deserves better than the icy cloaca)

Lemme know what you think!

[speaksleazy]

⚠︎ ⟮ Names & Titles ⟯ ... Murder_drones.mp3 ⟩ Serial Designation N

﹫ ❲ Requested by anonymous ❳

「 NAMES 」

N, En, Nathan, Nick, Nicholas, Oliver, Felix, Elliott, Elias, Buddy / Buddie / Bud, Freddy / Freddie, Finn / Finley, Cody, Captain, Pilot / Pilotte, Bentley, Bailey, Otto, Max, Cooper, Denny / Dennie, Mobile, Android ( Andy ), Remy, Paws / Pause, Goldie, Fritz, Rufus, Buzz, Buddy, Doodle, Scribble / Scribblie, Crayon / Crayonne, James, Rocky¹, Rocket, Romeo, Michael / Mikey², Bowtie, Bowie, Sam / Samuel / Samuelle / Sammie, Charlie, Zero, Benjy, Puppie / Puppy / Pup, Joshua / Josh / Joshie, Donner / Donnie, Dasher, Mickie / Mickey

¹ After Rocky Rickaby, who is voiced by the same VA as N! ² After Michael Kovach, N's VA.

「 TITLES 」

( Prn ) with a golden gaze, The pilot ( of the landing pod ), ( Prn ) who sent the landing pod in a tailspin / ( Prn ) who crashed the landing pod, The worst pilot, ( Prn ) with a love of canines, ( Prn ) who is made of stainless steel, The most ( lovable / rebellious / kind ) disassembly drone, ( Prn ) who rebels against the company / JcJenson, ( Prn ) with wings of steel, ( Prn ) vampiric / vampyric form

[demi-shoggoth]

2023 Reading Log pt 7

31. Rare Trees by Sara Oldfield and Malin Rivers. OK, so apparently that whole “less books about plants” pledge didn’t take. In my defense, this book is really pretty. It’s also very good; it’s about efforts for tree conservation around the world, and is published both as a public report and a fundraiser for the Global Trees Campaign. If you want to know what boots on the ground conservation work is like, its successes and its challenges, this is an excellent resource. And, like I said, the photographs are very pretty. The first chapter is about the overall history of forest conservation, and then future chapters discuss trees categorized by uses and by phylogeny. Honestly, I kind of wish they had picked one or the other of those organization schemes instead of splitting the difference, but that’s a quibble.

32. How To Survive History by Cody Cassidy. I’ve recommended some of Cassidy’s other books before (Who Ate the First Oyster? and …And Then You’re Dead), so I’m happy to report that this is his best yet. The theme is, what does science and the historical record tell us about how you could survive various catastrophes, or just hostile environments? I knew I was going to like it from the first chapter, How to Outrun a T. rex, which treats dinosaurs as just animals rather than kill crazy monsters. It also does an excellent job of summarizing Very Bad Times like the Donner Party expedition and the Magellan circumnavigation, and I learned a lot (like about how Magellan’s slave Enrique was the first person to actually circle the globe, having been captured by slavers in the Philippines and then being brought back around… and getting his revenge when he wasn’t freed as Magellan’s will proclaimed).

33. Snakes in American Culture: A Hisstory by Jesse C. Donahue and Conor Shaw-Draves. I didn’t expect this to be a searing indictment of the American medical profession of the early 20th century when I started the book, so that was a pleasant surprise. The first half or so is the story of how (white, upper class, male) “experts” denied that venomous snakes in the USA were really all that dangerous, while people (mostly poor, ethnic minorities and children) were dying in large numbers. Antivenin was only developed in this country as a side effect of the United Fruit Company’s desire to keep laborers from dying in the fields from snakebite, and the development of said antivenin was mostly done by volunteer labor and then marked up for tremendous profit by pharmaceutical companies! The back half, unfortunately, isn’t nearly as good, although it doesn’t go full conversion with its fairly sympathetic portrayal of snake handlers (which is something I’ve run into before). My biggest complaint is that this was written by humanities professors, and they needed a trained biologist to go over their draft. For example, they can’t format scientific names correctly, and don’t know enough about the history of science to understand that “virus” and “venom” were used interchangeably by some authors in the 19th century.

34. Marvelous Microfossils by Patrick De Wever, translated by Alison Duncan. Worst book I’ve finished this year? I think so. This book was originally written in French, but I can’t blame its problems on translation issues. It’s about plankton and other microfossils, what they can tell us about geology and how they’ve influenced art and culture. To start with the good, the book is gorgeous; each page is well organized, and it has lots of electron micrographs, photos and engravings by Ernst Haeckel. And that’s the first problem. The author seems to be a modern devotee of Haeckel’s science and philosophy, when both were full of garbage (Haeckel is the “ontogeny recapitulated phylogeny” guy, and one of the codifiers of scientific racism). His use of terminology is stuck firmly in the 19th century, and he doesn’t seem to care about modern cladistic phylogeny at all. And he has lengthy quotes from architects and philosophers instead of, you know, modern scientists, including lines specifically about how “we understand all there is to know” about plankton from like 1910. So I get huge “reject modernity, embrace tradition” vibes from this author, and that makes my skin crawl.

35. Nicole Angemi’s Anatomy Book by Nicole Angemi. Another “searing indictment of the American medical system”, only this one is more modern. The book is a loosely A-Z collection of pathologies, with case histories and photos. So this one is super gross, just a head’s up. Why I say it’s a searing indictment is that about 1/3 of the case studies talk about how the patient was ignored by their doctors initially, and had to spend time seeking second opinions taking them seriously, and how a number of things that could have been fixed more easily turned into huge, life altering (or ending) problems. The book is written by a pathologist’s assistant, and the introduction/biography would make a good “see, you can follow your dreams and get a career that you love later in life” inspirational story. I’m keeping a copy of this for my classroom, because I have plenty of students who are interested in medicine but not necessarily medical school, and because teenagers love gross pictures. Seriously, some of the descriptions of cysts and tumors made even my stomach turn.

[lonelychicago]

Hotshot lawyer Buck!

aliii!! i'm so happy you're asking for hot shot lawyer buck!!!

i haven't really started writing the fic but i have the doc full of ideas, so!!!

buck used to be this really rich and succesful lawyer working a corporate job, with these really high profile cases for companies. but he hated every minute on it and mostly he was doing it to make his parents proud! :(((

he leaves all of that behind and opens a little office just for him. he starts taking only cases he's genuinely interested in, cases he feels passionately about. and! one of them it's for a desperate single father fighting for the custody of his son against his own family!!! they think he's not fit to take care of a kid and when buck hears him out his story breaks his heart.

he takes the case pro bono and his client eddie diaz insists on having donners with him as a compensation. strictly platonic profession client-lawyer dinners ofc!!!!

[whistle-nouveau-bah]

WAIT WAIT IM SMART WAIT

oc duo again inspired by those wolf in sheep's/sheep in wolf's clothing art? the wolf appears rugged but is the victim, n the sheep appears innocent but is the perpetrator.

🪐

Under the cut because there's two of them!!

Name: Shepherd, Conri, Lupus, Lowell, Odin, Remus, Romulus, Todd

Pronouns: They/Them, He/Him, Xe/Xem/Xeir/Xeirs/Xemself, Claw/Claw/Claws/Claws/Clawself, Woof/Woof/Woofs/Woofs/Woofself, Weird/Weird/Weirds/Weirds/Weirdself, Ro/Rot/Rots/Rots/Rotself, Crypt/Cryptid/Crypts/Cryptids/Cryptidself

Age(s): Chrono 21, Transage 13

Species: Anthro Wolf

Gender(s): Transmasculine, Wolfmonsterboyic, Lupusgender, Canisanguilunian, Abhorcoric, Horrorgender, Caninagender, Genderhoarder

Orientation(s): Greyromantic Demisexual, Bisexual

CisIDs: Anthro Wolf, AFAB, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Semi-Verbal, black fur, gray fur, red fur, red eyes

TransIDs: Transage (OtY, 21 to 13), Transsmoker, Transnicotineaddict, TransAAM, PermaAAM, Perma1980’s, TransSH, TransSHScars

Paraphilias: (Trans)AAM, Fictophilia, Autobiastophilia, Autoaptophilia, Vigiliaphilia, Hybristophilia, Apagophilia, Oplophilia, Cordophilia, Masochism, Hybriphilia

Source: Brainmade, but inspired by Cult Of The Lamb

Proxy/Signoff: [Name]:text, 🐺:text, 🚬:text, 🥩:text, 🌓:text, [Any combination of 🐺/🚬/🥩/🌓]:text

Roles: Trauma holder, Anchor

Personality: They are oftentimes silent, rarely talking while not in the company of [Sheep]. He struggles with feeling like a “complete person,” and relies on [Sheep] more than would typically be considered healthy. It goes along with xem though, so it can't be all that bad! Claw is a fan of horror movies, especially 80’s b-horror. Woof also enjoys musicals, and classic horror novels like Frankenstein and Dracula. Weird enjoys the aesthetic of smoking, but is too scared of addiction to transition. Ro also longs to be just like the victim in rot favorite movies, a strange desire ro still doesn't understand.

Appearance:

(Picrew by Melsteras, colors by us!)

Name: Dolly, Farley, Donner, Roslin, Fleur, Ram, Caoraich

Pronouns: They/them, It/It’s, Lamb/Lamb/Lambs/Lambs/Lambself, Sheep/Sheep/Sheeps/Sheeps/Sheepself, Ram/Ram/Rams/Rams/Ramself, Ba/Bah/Baa/Bahself, Fluff/Fluff/Fluffs/Fluffs/Fluffself, Swe/Sweet/Sweets/Sweets/Sweetself, Pa/Pastel/Past/Pastelself, Candy/Candy/Candies/Candies/Candyself Cake/Cake/Cakes/Cakes/Cakeself, Cu/Cute/Cutes/Cutes/Cuteself, Lae/Lace/Las/Lacey/Laceself 

Age(s): 22

Species: Anthro Sheep

Gender(s): Nonbinary, Lovecoric, Lovegoric, Deathcute, Obsesscoric, Fatalgender, Crecutian, Cutemonsteric

Orientation(s): Polyamarous Pansexual

CisIDs: Anthro Sheep, lavender wool, black skin, horns, yellow eyes, Autistic 

TransIDs: Transharmful, Transrapist, Transcultleader, Transmurderer, Transprogrammer, Transserialkiller, Transkidnapper, Transstalker, Transcuteharmful, Transabuser, Transfangs, Cakescentian, Diromanceaddict, Transcocaineaddict, Perma1960s

Paraphilias: MAP, Sadomasochism, Biastophilia, Somnophilia, Aptophila, Traumaphilia, Vigiliaphila, Apagophilia, Narkobiastophilia, Autogratiophilia

Source: Brainmade, but inspired by Cult Of The Lamb

Proxy/Signoff: [Name]:text, 🐏:text, 🩷:text, 🔪:text, 🫀:text, [any combination of 🐏/🩷/🔪/🫀]:text

Roles: Persecutor

Personality: They might appear cute and innocent, but they’re secretly a huge freak! It's favorite person is [Wolf], and it has no problems indulging in his dependency, turning it into more of a codependency. Lamb loves anything cute- Sanrio, frilly dresses, ribbons- everything! Sheeps favorite food is cake, and sheep has quite the sweet tooth. Ram also loves anything horrific, blood, gore, and every gross horror movie ram can get rams hands on- ram hides that part better. Ba also hides that ba wants to be just like the villains in bah favorite films.

Appearance:

(Picrew by Melsteras, colors by us!)

I hope you enjoy them both!!!! This was a super fun duo to work on!!!

[cozza-frenzy]

Systober Day 6 - "Problematic Alter" - Morpheus (he/it/they) So this wasn't the easiest prompt for a number of reasons... first of all, it was kind of hard to draw what Morpheus looks like. His form has been somewhat unstable since he made himself known, and it's nocturnal to boot, so half the system hasn't even met them face-to-face. But we're using systober as an excuse to do things outside our comfort zone, so me and Vivien hashed this out over the course of a couple hours. And second - we don't exactly have too many alters who'd be considered problematic. "Donner", who was an introject from a source widely considered problematic and tended to cause problems by accident, would have been the most obvious choice... but he fused with Velocity a while back, to help stabilize her existing fusion with Radeon. So, choosing Morph for this is pretty firmly tongue-in-cheek. In their own words they're "dangerously unsocialized" and "probably shouldn't be allowed in polite company", but besides one (1) incident where he was making Legion uncomfortable, he's been pretty chill. It's nice to have a "new" alter around who kind of knows us already, even if it's only through viewing our dreams. - Terry

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode nationale, specimen, 1 decembre 1885, Paris. No. 1. — Toilette de dîner. Modèle de la maison de l'Opéra, 20, avenue de l'Opéra. Bibliothèque nationale de France

No. 1. Robe de dîner en broché grenat de Syrie. Le corselet lacé à l'Agnès Sorel et les parements de la manche en velours grenat tréflé d'or, avec bordure de grosses perles d'or en ourlet. La guimpe froncée est en satin et colletée de velours.

No. 1. Syrian garnet paperback dinner dress. The Agnès Sorel laced corselet and the sleeve cuffs in gold-trefoiled garnet velvet, with a border of large gold pearls at the hem. The gathered wimple is satin and trimmed with velvet.

Notre Programme

En prenant pour titre: La Mode nationale, nous avons voulu affirmer hautement nos intentions de ne donner place dans nos colonnes qu'aux modes vraiment françaises. Sans vouloir faire ici de politique et sans témoigner d'un chauvinsime exagéré, nous ne pouvons pourtant nous empêcher de constater les prétentions de nos voisins, qui, surtout depuis 1870, se sont mis à nous disputer le privilège de la mode, lequel nous a appartenu, sans conteste, pendant des siècles.

Certains gravure de modes nous viennent de l'étranger, sous prétexte que la main-d'œuvre est là-bas meilleur marché que chez nous: de là un tort réel apporté au commerce national, parce que ces gravures sont la reproduction de modèles qui ne sont pas les nôtres.

La Mode nationale maintiendra très haut le drapeau de l'industrie française. Notre journal, confié à nos meilleurs artistes, n'empruntera rien aux étrangers. C'est dire qu'il est destiné à devenir le modèle du bon ton et l'organe accrédité de la bonne compagnie.

La Mode nationale paraîtra réguilièrement le 1er et le 15 de chaque mois, à dater du 1er janvier 1886.

La Rédaction.

—

By taking the title: La Mode nationale, we wanted to strongly assert our intentions to only give space in our columns to truly French fashions. Without wanting to get political here and without showing exaggerated chauvinism, we cannot help but note the pretensions of our neighbors, who, especially since 1870, have begun to dispute with us the privilege of fashion, which has belonged to us, without question, for centuries.

Some fashion engravings come to us from abroad, under the pretext that labor is cheaper there than at home: hence a real harm to national trade, because these engravings are the reproduction of models which are not ours.

La Mode nationale will keep the flag of French industry very high. Our newspaper, entrusted to our best artists, will borrow nothing from foreigners. This means that it is destined to become the model of good tone and the accredited organ of good company.

La Mode nationale will appear regularly on the 1st and 15th of each month, starting from January 1, 1886.

La Rédaction.

[annabethandpercylove]

“So it’s starting again?” she says. “Like before?”

I’d like to see Sunrise of the Reaping focus on the “before” Mrs. Everdeen and Haymitch are alluding to when they talk after Gale’s whipping.

Haymitch was a significant player in the Games’ history. He used the arena to win (the second act of survival by a District 12 victor that would have sparked rebellion; he was the first victor (at least that’s what I interpreted from the text in Mockingjay) that was propositioned by Snow; and he was likely the reason for the “before” I mentioned. I’m sure propaganda and manipulating the history of the past increased after his Games, which would go along with what Collins has said about the theme of SOTR.

I never post here and I am not an experienced theorist on this platform, but I figured I would try my hand and share some possibilities that have come to my mind about how this story might play out.

THEORIES

Multiple POVs: I’ve seen a lot of people suggesting that SOTR won’t be from Haymitch’s POV and I agree… to a certain extent. I am not the biggest fan of books with multiple POVs (I feel like the stories are often stretched out too far and can be a disservice to the story) and I know we haven’t seen Collins do this with a THG book, but I think it would be a useful tool to show the effect of propaganda. So here are the people I think we should hear from and why: 1. Caesar Flickerman — propaganda from the source 2. Mrs. Everdeen — propaganda witnessed by an audience member 3. Haymitch Abernathy — victor that caused a new influx of propaganda and government control

The Plot Now that I’ve introduced the POV idea, I’ll do a play-by-play for how I might make the story go: We start from Caesar’s POV. It’s Reaping Day, the first big moment for the Games. Through Caesar, we would see all (or at least ones that are most relevant to the themes of the book) the districts’ ceremonies. There would be a range in the style of the ceremonies and the audience reactions especially between Career and non-Career districts. (I don’t want to make things too cluttered so I don’t think I would do an audience perspective for the Reaping, too. If there was, I’d want Mrs. Everdeen to see her reaction to Maysilee Donner being chosen, but that’s a personal hope to see her and it may not be a service to the theme really.) Still with Caesar, we cut to the beginning of the Games. I don’t think it’s necessary to see the trains, training, or interviews, necessarily. I think things would’ve transitioned from what we saw in TBSOAS to something more akin to how things work with these things in THG. So Caesar is prepping for another Games. Maybe we hear some conversations he has with Gamemakers and sponsors in addition to his own personal dialogue. Is he still becoming the charismatic host that we know in THG? Does he have any moments where he questions what he’s doing? But he gets to work. The announcements are made, the bombs go off, and the Games begin. Disclaimer: I’ve been debating this POV since the announcement for SOTR came out. Like I said before about multiple POVs, this might stretch things too far (unless we’re lucky to get a book that’s 1,000+ pages!!), but I thought I’d put it out there. Mrs. Everdeen lives in horror watching her best friend fight for her life in a death arena. While she’s watching we could see Capitol commercials promoting sponsors, bets, and special promotions for different companies that are themed on the Games (like seeing commercials that are themed for the Super Bowl or Christmas). We would witness what an audience member would be seeing (not just the glimpses we get of Snow watching out for his tribute for his own selfish reasons). Now this might be a distraction from the plot, but I’d love to see some Mrs. Everdeen/Mr. Everdeen/Mr. Mellark moments. From what we’ve heard and seen, they’re all against the Games. But I think it would be interesting to see Mr. Everdeen’s little acts of musical rebellion, Mrs. Everdeen’s fear of his being caught and her fear for Maysilee, and maybe show a contrast between Mr. Everdeen’s behavior and Mr. Mellark’s. I think there’s a multigenerational theme that could be explored here with Katniss/Peeta/Gale and the parents. We could see how Mr. Everdeen was Seam like Gale but compassionate like Peeta; Mrs. Everdeen didn’t see a way to change things like Katniss; Mr. Mellark was content to settle with Town life and endure the Capitol’s threats but maybe lacked Peeta’s passion for the preservation of personal morality. Different responses to the earlier mentioned commercials, etc? (I’m Team Everlark/Peeta all the way, BTW!) This would happen after Mrs. Everdeen’s POV (or maybe another audience members POV from a Career district) or right after Caesar’s. Cut to Haymitch’s POV. It’s his final fight in the Games. We see him bleeding out, throwing the axe, and becoming the victor. He goes home and has to face Snow’s propositions, the deaths due to his refusals, and the resulting depression and the beginning of the jaded drunk man we meet in THG. Witness what “like before” entailed, an erasure of Haymitch’s “act of rebellion”, radical people on the Victory Tour if we go that far, etc.

I know that was a bit long-winded and not necessarily the clearest plot, but those are some thoughts I’ve had. I’m no author, just a passionate fan of The Hunger Games series and the lessons it seeks to teach its readers. Suzanne Collins will create an amazing story that will be profound and special and I can’t wait to witness it.

[demons]

Love your blog and your work so much. Which books would you recommend for studying War in general? And how to start studying History? I mean, which books should I search for.

look, y'all, I'm not dead; I am simply working on another degree and teaching full-time (and coaching!! I am a coach!!) so I am no longer so active as I am reading and writing all the time.

anyway, to answer your question anon: what are you interested in?

If you don't know the answer to that question, go directly to a library and start looking. Or open up Wikipedia and do a deep dive. You gotta find your interest and then follow the line down to your niche.

I found quickly that I was not as interested in the maps and movements of troops as I was in the actual people. Can I explain, in detail, the events leading up to the Battle of Midway like a military textbook? Yes, but I'm more interested in individual perspectives of that event. Generals and big moves are exciting and crucial to study, but I am more interested in reading memoirs or books on individuals who were cogs in the machine. History is human.

But, if you're interested in the 20th century (and mainly WWII because that's my bread and butter) here are some books I've been able to read recently or reread:

All The Frequent Troubles of Our Days, Rebecca Donner

Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb, George Feifer

Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS, Johanna Voss

Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Killing Fields, Wendy Lower

Rape of Nanking, Iris Chang

The Forgotten Soldier, Guy Sager

The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt

Brave Men, Ernie Pyle

Parachute Infantry, David K. Webster

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II, Svetlana Alexievich

Band of Brothers, Stephen E. Ambrose

Easy Company Soldier, Don Malarkey

Ordinary Men, Christopher R. Browning

The Light of Days, Judy Batalion

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand

All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel, Erich Maria Remarque

Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary, Alvin York

The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men, Eric Lichtblau

Donner's book was the most recent, and I can't recommend it enough. She is the great-niece of one of the Red Orchestra founders and does a great job weaving a narrative that has been disjointed for such a time with a human touch an ordinary researcher probably would have never found. I knew where the story ended; there are few, if any, happy endings in wartime, but I had to finish it. It's stuck with me.

Find something like that, a piece of history you can carry with you, and you'll know when you've found your niche. You won't stop then.