#im currently reading A Lonely Broadcast

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

This is my current TBR, I went through and assigned genres. Some of those choices may change when I read the book (you can see some books have two genres next to them, I'm gonna decide which genre fits better when I finish reading it). I realized most of my TBR is queer, which is wonderful, and it was a resolution of mine to read more queer books this year. But like. My whole blanket is gonna be blue with a smattering of black, and the occasional other color. I need to get some more books on here, in a more fun variety of genres. And like I said, some of these might change, but I feel like it's still gonna be majority queer books.

Tell me more about this book blanket? I'm Fascinated

Omg yay!! Okay so I'm knitting two rows per book that I finish in 2024, and each book rows will be a different color based on the genre it is

So here are the books I've read so far. Everything that's in bold is what I've knitted, and the last book on the list is what I'm currently reading but haven't finished yet. So I've knitted everything before Fifty Feet Down, and read everything up to Annie on My Mind, but I'm currently like thirty percent through it.

I'm choosing colors as I finish genres, and I'm trying to do it only with yarn I have (cuz yarn is expensive and I have a lot of yarn. The reason I have a lot of yarn suitable for a blanket is because I took all of this yarn from a blanket I started knitting four years ago and never finished. Like I finished frogging that blanket yesterday and made it into cakes on my new yarn winder!!) I didn't really try to make the colors fit the genres. I just own a lot of navy yarn and knew I'd read a lot of LGBTQ books, and I own a lot of black and know I'll read a lot of horror books. Then for dystopian I just chose a yarn color that I had available, same with mystery.

Here's how it's going so far! You can see the four navy rows for the two LGBTQ books i read, the two purple for the one dystopian book (which is also very good, I highly recommend Debate Kids at the End of the World and that author in general, Alex Nonymous) and then a chunk of black because I read four I. S. Belle books in a row (you can also see all of the ends I didn't weave in, which I'm going to hate myself for when I finish the blanket)

"But Austyn, what if the book is more than one genre?" I'm so glad you asked! Most of these books could be considered more than one genre. Fifty Feet Down is a mystery, but also a romance. So I just consider what genre I believe is more integral to the story, if that makes sense. Fifty Feet Down could be relatively the same if the main characters were just friends, but the story would be vastly different if it wasn't a mystery. Therefore, it gets the mystery color instead of romance. Same with all of the I. S. Belle books. There's romance in them, but if you took out the romance it would still be pretty similar, but if you took out the horror it would be an incredibly different story.

So that's my 2024 book blanket!

[purgatorylord]

Hi! Im PurgatoryLord but yall can call me Purge. So, as the description says, I'm an aspiring writer - currently writing a lil something I plan on posting to R/Nosleep called "I work at Ol' Brigg's diner." I will not lie, it has been heavily inspired by classics such as "my property isn't normal", "Tales from the gas station" and "Tales from a lonely broadcast station"

Each one of these are incredibly well written and I emplore you all to go give those a read if you haven't already and support the original creators.

I discovered these 3 litarary gems during the lockdown and quickly became obsessed. I bought all 4 books for Tales from the gas station and plan on doing the same once the 3rd series of Tales from a lonely broadcast station is published. If any of the original creators would like to speak to me about any issues they have with the up-coming chapters I plan on posting, please feel free to message me.

Otherwise, I will be posting small writing updates as well as my thoughts, music recommendations and anything else that's meme-worthy. Also, please forgive any technical issues, Until then, this is me signing off.

Edit: spelling.

[obscuraxrp]

The smoke settles to reveal CHALUAY JETATIKARN, also known as CJ, a 26 year old yeti-blooded of Sunseong. They are an ex-children’s television personality who appears to be adept with enhanced strength, muscle mass enhancement, size enhancement, and inaudible movement --- but like most things in Sunseong, there must be more to them than meets the eye.

FACECLAIM: (Tina) Suppanad Jittaleela, actress

APPEARANCE:

(HUMAN) CJ is mostly human in appearance with the exception being their canines are notably pointed and slightly longer than most humans, and can extend into full on fangs when they are angered or engaged in a fight. Due to the slow speed at which Yeti age, CJ tends to look quite young despite being in their late twenties. Furthermore, the muscles beneath their skin tend to harden (like ice) when in motion or even just flexed a bit. It’s a pronounced enough feature that they’ve learned to side step others when walking or move to catch clumsy folks at arms length in an effort to keep the unsuspecting (read: humans) from running into their body like it’s an ice wall, and getting knocked unconscious.

(YETI) CJ can shift at will or accidentally when distressed into a tall erect furry, clawed and fanged giant “abominable snowman” being. However their fur grows almost continuously so long as they are out of range of cold climates. If not vigilant with daily clipping, they’ll grow a full on flowing silky dark brown fur pelt within a couple of days time (as the “undercoat” fur is also a natural health defense response to the higher heat found of non-mountainous regions).

BIOGRAPHY:

With icy mountains and fury in their eyes, and the shadow of a fur pelt covering flesh, they tore their career to shreds.

Fiction and reality collided on the busy sound stage that day. Even they don’t know why they did it, or what was the final crack that had caused it. But everything came crashing down all at once. It could have even been the way they could barely keep their eyes open in the make-up chair after pulling three weeks worth of multiple back-to-back “Green Tea & Biscuits” merchandising fan meet appearances for Lotte stores. Could have been the painful crooked row of half healing razor nicks on their legs that a lifetime of intense shaving had only made more tender. Maybe it was the way Manager wouldn’t take any their calls, wouldn’t come home even though they had IMed 119 so many times that day and yesterday night, that their thumb was now sore. Could more than likely have been the fact their credit card had been declined twice that day. Perhaps it was even the mean way some strange woman pretending to be a coordi lady had showed up in their dressing room and shoved an evil sickly yellow envelope in their hands with a hissed “you’ve been served”.

Or maybe…

Maybe.

They were just too damn hot…

There was no air. There was always not enough air, but on that day it was so much worse. The “sticky riceball” dance bit was a distant incoherent haze in their memory as the bright camera lights cooked them over done in sweltering quilted cotton and itchy stiff felt. They hated the “sticky riceball” dance bit. At twenty-six years of age they should not have to still sing about being a lonely brown rice ball waning to be be “friends” with toasted seaweed, when neither was even that tasty to begin with. They would have rather been singing about some real food. Why did no one dance about juicy chops or steak? On ice.

It was still too hot. Thinking of food made the heat even more unbearable. Suddenly they didn’t care. Not about Manager’s demands that they sing happily always–because–business. Smile. Be cute. Make the live audience kids laugh.

Manager wasn’t there.

There was no reason care.

They didn’t want to be “cute” anymore. Didn’t feel like being a “good” little trooper. They weren’t a trooper. They were too damn hot! They missed mountain slopes frosted over with cold and snow, where humans were far apart. Anger edged out duty and with spite in the flurry of their movements they snapped. They’d make their own cold. Somewhere things were shattered and claws marks appeared on the len of Camera A. Why did it feel so good? Tiny people running to, fro and screaming. So much screaming! They ran too, because finally getting to chase all little meaty things felt so good. Felt right! The screams almost sounded like music, the jagged red sad kind, which somehow fit since their vision was red and inside they been jagged and sad for a long time.

When it was over, they were alone but for the team of suits that had gathered. Poor thing. The suits could only do but so much. Manager had done so many things wrong, so many bad things and they were so young. It was a lot of money to bribe so many mouths to stay shut after an episode like that–but there was pity too. After all look what that scum had done to them? Seventy-five percent of all their earnings? No taxes paid ever?

It was decided stress had to be the deciding factor. Of course. Yes. Stress, mismanagement and definitely not something else. After all it was a kids show. They had never been anything but the most professional host before that day. Except now no one would ever trust their kid on the same stage with them ever again. They had threw a person into the audience (among other things), annihilated the set and everyone had seen. They had made all the kids cry. The suit thought it lucky if no one sued.

It was over. A punishment to fit the crime: never return to Seoul, never show their face on children’s broadcast again. It was the suits who suggested Sunseong, and since they know of nowhere better at the moment–Sunseong it would have to be.

CHARACTERIZATION:

–“Manager” bought CJ from a Thai exotic animal smuggling outfit when they were a toddler and smuggled them into South Korea. Manager also trained them to be a child performer once they realized what they had was actual “halfway to human”.

–Before the “incident”, Chaluay, was very outgoing and friendly (playful even). As a children’s television host they had been trained right from childhood by Manager to be charming, engaging and “fun”. They’ve always followed the unwritten rule that all kids show hosts, must act excitable and zany, if not downright bonkers on air.

–Off-air CJ was never really “allowed” to be out of character either(which is why the “incident” has really damaged their self-confidence over all). They’re not even sure who they are anymore after a lifetime of being turned “on” for cameras and people mostly not over the age of seven.

–Children still remember CJ, and unless they wear a hat and shades in public they will usually attract a crowd of leg hugging preschool kids rather quickly (as “Green Tea & Biscuits” reruns are still currently in syndication and quite popular). Even elementary and middle schoolers (who don’t think they are “too cool”) still hit CJ up for selfies and autographs.

–The network censored delayed and then edited out CJ’s in-studio Yeti meltdown before it went live and promptly cut in old footage of cartoons and puppet skits to cover the parts full of studios destruction. The kids that were in the studio audience, Biscuit’s human suit actor and the child extras who played the “Tea Pals” on the sound stage that faithful day were paid off handsomely and slapped with gag orders to not talk about what happen with press.

–CJ feels really truly terrible about throwing and hurting the human actor in the “Biscuits” suit. “Biscuits” actor was the only human injured in the rampage, mostly cause they tried to talk CJ down from the shift and got in the way. The older actor and CJ had been long time partners right from the beginning of the show. He was the closest person CJ had to being a friend.

–CJ is still paying off an income tax evasion judgement, a breach of contract fines, property destruction fines, Biscuit’s suit actors medical bills, credit card debt–and all the other mess Manager left them with. Not to mention the slew of supernatural friendly lawyer fees and the ungodly large bribes it took to keep the meltdown from leaking into the press and keep CJ out of the radar of DSEM and The Aequitas Guild. The debt is significant enough that CJ will probably spend the rest of their life and future endorsement and/or licensing royalties to pay it all off.

SPECIALTIES:

Supernatural Strength RANK II. (40 points) CJ like a Yeti is glaringly, obviously super/unnaturally stronger than a human being. At the moment they are a “Type I” strength category and can hoist a maximum of about 18-20 tons (i.e 36000 lbs or 16329.3 kg), so roughly they can pretty easily flip a city metro or Type D yellow school bus over on its side. 

Muscle Mass Enhancement RANK I. (20 points) CJ can increase the muscle mass (across their chest, arms, and legs) by flexing of their muscles and joints. It in essence allows their muscles to solidify with an ice like strength, stamina and durability. 

Inaudible Movement RANK I. (20 points) Like their Yeti ancestors, CJ can strike or stalk with complete and absolute inhuman silence and speed, allowing them to move around, attack, hide or stand without disturbing most beings (humans in particular have a hard time following their movements). 

Size Enhancement RANK I. (20 points) Full blood Yeti are recorded to possibly be between sizes of eight and 15 feet. A fully furred out CJ can shapeshift at will from a small 170 cm to much more Yeti like 214 cm. 

Ice Generation RANK 0. (Innate ability, 0 points) CJ can reduce the kinetic energy of liquid atoms by concentrating on it, thereby lowering total substance temperature, and effectively making it colder, ranging from slightly chilly levels to slight crystallizing into frost. Mainly useful for making their own slushie drinks and cocktails. 

Montane Adaptation RANK 0. (Innate ability, 0 points) CJ is able to thrive and adapt to very cold elevated conditions where the air is thin and the climate consists of frost or even blizzard like conditions, as they possess adjusted breathing capacity, high air-pressure tolerance, sub-zero immunity and an immunity to the effects of vertigo or similar disorientation as well as the ability to move on the mountains without artificial help. CJ is far more tolerant to the direct and indirect effects of scaling inhospitable high peak locations like Mt Fuji or even Mount Everest than humans or animals. 

Temperate Fur Generation RANK 0. (Innate ability, 0 points) CJ generates dark brown fur over their entire body, giving resistance to high temperatures, and even some physical damage. They have almost no control over their fur as it is a natural camouflage and defensive response to environmental, emotional or external temperate stimuli. 

 Fangs/Claw Retraction RANK 0. (Innate ability, 0 points) Like CJ’s fur, fangs and claws are natural defensive usually triggered by adrenaline. Ancient Nyalmo Yeti are in most cases were carnivorous and predatory. 

 Enhanced Hearing RANK 0. (Innate ability, 0 points) CJ hears with amazing clarity, distance, and even frequencies outside normal range. A high predator species, Yetis can decipher layer upon layer of differing sounds/conversations, locate the source of noise and detect slight prey movements. 

 Night Vision RANK 0. (Innate ability, 0 points) CJ has excellent night vision, and that is a left over adaption from their cave dwelling heritage. It’s not quite as powerful as a full blood Yeti might have, but it’s leaps a bounds better than a humans. With that said their eyes do reflect back pin points of eerie blue light in the dark much like a cats might.

[trendingnewsb]

Yes, Donald Trump can be removed from the US presidency. Heres how | Jonathan Freedland

There are a lot of people hoping hell be turfed out of office soon but first the Democrats have to start winning elections, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

The bar is set so low for Donald Trump that every day he doesnt trigger a nuclear confrontation with a distant adversary is seen as a bonus. Today was one such day, as Trump signalled that he would not, after all, tear up the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, as many including his closest lieutenants once feared he would.

Sure, he disavowed the accord, slamming Tehran as a rogue regime, imposing fresh sanctions on the Revolutionary Guard and refusing to certify that Iran has complied with its terms, but he did not feed it into the shredder. Instead, he kicked the decision on its future over to Congress. That certainly puts the deals survival in jeopardy, but it does at least live to see another day.

Thats a cause for relief, because the international agreement that put severe, if not watertight, constraints on Tehrans nuclear ambitions had looked set to be the latest victim of an emerging Trump doctrine. Distilled, that credo amounts to: In the absence of a vision of my own, Ill destroy everything Obama did.

The day before the Iran decision, Trump made two moves, one involving the gutting of subsidies, designed to wreck Obamacare. Having tried and failed to get Congress to repeal it altogether, Trump is now working to render it unviable, thereby denying millions of Americans affordable healthcare. Whether its health or the Paris accord on climate change, Trump is bent on dismantling every last achievement of his predecessor whose legitimacy as president, whose legitimacy as a US citizen, he never accepted.

But the Iran decision also stands as the latest instance of a strategy of containment. Normally that term is used by diplomats to describe policy towards an enemy state. This time, the one being contained is Trump himself.

Those doing the containing are the highest ranking officials in the administration, handily abbreviated as MMTK: national security adviser HR McMaster; defence secretary James Mattis; secretary of state Rex Tillerson; and chief of staff John Kelly. Three are former generals, who have concluded that it is their patriotic duty to save America from their president.

Republican senator Bob Corker, chair of the senate foreign relations committee, describes Kelly, Mattis and Tillerson as the people that help separate our country from chaos. As he put it, I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, its a situation of trying to contain him.

The fudged decision on Iran seems to be their handiwork. It fits a pattern in which Trumps most senior officials work to thwart, defy or deceive him. When Trump was railing against the Iran deal, Mattis told Congress it was in the US national interest. When Trump was taunting North Koreas little rocket man by tweet, Tillerson was opening up a secret back channel for talks with Pyongyang. When Trump tweeted his decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military, Mattis quietly ignored him, ensuring that it remains the militarys decision who can and cannot serve.

All these moves, coupled with the sight of Corker a conservative Republican from conservative Tennessee breaking ranks have led to fevered talk and hope that things might be coming to a head, that the Republican dam might be about to break.

It has been fuelled by Tillersons failure to deny that he had referred to the president as a fucking moron. (Apparently Tillerson was incensed by Trumps desire, expressed during a White House briefing, to increase Americas already massive nuclear arsenal tenfold as if the ability to destroy the world several times over is not enough.) This week another Republican senator asked Trump if he was recanting his oath of office, in which he had promised to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Hours earlier, Trump had trampled on the first amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, by saying: Its frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write. Trump then called for broadcaster NBC to be stripped of its operating licence. Never mind that such a thing does not exist: its the thought that counts.

The notion that Trumps own party is about to turn on him is not solely wishful thinking by his opponents or the liberal media. Steve Bannon, who exited the White House in August, is said to have told Trump he had only a 30% chance of serving out his full term. Bannon warned his undoing could be the 25th amendment to the constitution. To which Trump naturally replied: Whats that?

Its the section that provides for a situation in which the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. If the vice-president and a majority of the cabinet declare Trump unable to do his job, and Congress agrees, they have the power to remove him. Which is why the question of Trumps mental capacity has suddenly gained traction.

Note this weeks depiction of Trump by Vanity Fair as unravelling a lonely, increasingly unfocused figure, raging that he hates everyone in the White House. Note too the comments of Trumps ghostwriter for The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, who tweeted this week: I know this man. Hes out of control and its getting worse Trumps grip on reality is spiralling down into paranoia and delusion.

As a fantasy, the 25th amendment has tremendous appeal: who wouldnt want to end this presidency, swiftly and cleanly? But it is itself a delusion. Can you imagine the current US cabinet, stuffed as it is with sycophants and billionaire know-nothings, turning on their patron for the sake of the country and the world? Several are in trouble for billing the US taxpayer for the needless use of private jets; one is currently being taunted for insisting that, in the manner of Queen Elizabeth, a flag be raised whenever he is in residence. Selfless patriots they are not.

Even if they did turn on Trump, would the invertebrates who make up todays Republican party in Congress do the same? Corker has spoken out but only after he announced hes quitting the Senate. The rest barely dare raise a whisper of protest against Trump, even when hes soiling the flag they claim to revere. If, by some miracle, they did find their spine and remove him, the Trump loyalists would not just swallow it. There could well be street violence, even civil war.

No, the only way to remove Trump is for Democrats to do the hard graft of organising, campaigning and winning elections starting with the midterms of November 2018. So long as Republicans control the House and Senate, Trump is safe.

Im glad that Mattis, Kelly and the others are there to grab Trumps wrist should he reach for the nuclear button. But even that is only a small comfort. A democracy that relies on a group of generals to frustrate an elected leader is in a bad way. The president does indeed pose a clear and present danger to America and the world. But democracy is what put him there and only democracy can get him out.

Read more: http://ift.tt/2wUCEkv

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2zavxd5 via Viral News HQ

[trendingnewsb]

Yes, Donald Trump can be removed from the US presidency. Heres how | Jonathan Freedland

There are a lot of people hoping hell be turfed out of office soon but first the Democrats have to start winning elections, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

The bar is set so low for Donald Trump that every day he doesnt trigger a nuclear confrontation with a distant adversary is seen as a bonus. Today was one such day, as Trump signalled that he would not, after all, tear up the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, as many including his closest lieutenants once feared he would.

Sure, he disavowed the accord, slamming Tehran as a rogue regime, imposing fresh sanctions on the Revolutionary Guard and refusing to certify that Iran has complied with its terms, but he did not feed it into the shredder. Instead, he kicked the decision on its future over to Congress. That certainly puts the deals survival in jeopardy, but it does at least live to see another day.

Thats a cause for relief, because the international agreement that put severe, if not watertight, constraints on Tehrans nuclear ambitions had looked set to be the latest victim of an emerging Trump doctrine. Distilled, that credo amounts to: In the absence of a vision of my own, Ill destroy everything Obama did.

The day before the Iran decision, Trump made two moves, one involving the gutting of subsidies, designed to wreck Obamacare. Having tried and failed to get Congress to repeal it altogether, Trump is now working to render it unviable, thereby denying millions of Americans affordable healthcare. Whether its health or the Paris accord on climate change, Trump is bent on dismantling every last achievement of his predecessor whose legitimacy as president, whose legitimacy as a US citizen, he never accepted.

But the Iran decision also stands as the latest instance of a strategy of containment. Normally that term is used by diplomats to describe policy towards an enemy state. This time, the one being contained is Trump himself.

Those doing the containing are the highest ranking officials in the administration, handily abbreviated as MMTK: national security adviser HR McMaster; defence secretary James Mattis; secretary of state Rex Tillerson; and chief of staff John Kelly. Three are former generals, who have concluded that it is their patriotic duty to save America from their president.

Republican senator Bob Corker, chair of the senate foreign relations committee, describes Kelly, Mattis and Tillerson as the people that help separate our country from chaos. As he put it, I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, its a situation of trying to contain him.

The fudged decision on Iran seems to be their handiwork. It fits a pattern in which Trumps most senior officials work to thwart, defy or deceive him. When Trump was railing against the Iran deal, Mattis told Congress it was in the US national interest. When Trump was taunting North Koreas little rocket man by tweet, Tillerson was opening up a secret back channel for talks with Pyongyang. When Trump tweeted his decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military, Mattis quietly ignored him, ensuring that it remains the militarys decision who can and cannot serve.

All these moves, coupled with the sight of Corker a conservative Republican from conservative Tennessee breaking ranks have led to fevered talk and hope that things might be coming to a head, that the Republican dam might be about to break.

It has been fuelled by Tillersons failure to deny that he had referred to the president as a fucking moron. (Apparently Tillerson was incensed by Trumps desire, expressed during a White House briefing, to increase Americas already massive nuclear arsenal tenfold as if the ability to destroy the world several times over is not enough.) This week another Republican senator asked Trump if he was recanting his oath of office, in which he had promised to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Hours earlier, Trump had trampled on the first amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, by saying: Its frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write. Trump then called for broadcaster NBC to be stripped of its operating licence. Never mind that such a thing does not exist: its the thought that counts.

The notion that Trumps own party is about to turn on him is not solely wishful thinking by his opponents or the liberal media. Steve Bannon, who exited the White House in August, is said to have told Trump he had only a 30% chance of serving out his full term. Bannon warned his undoing could be the 25th amendment to the constitution. To which Trump naturally replied: Whats that?

Its the section that provides for a situation in which the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. If the vice-president and a majority of the cabinet declare Trump unable to do his job, and Congress agrees, they have the power to remove him. Which is why the question of Trumps mental capacity has suddenly gained traction.

Note this weeks depiction of Trump by Vanity Fair as unravelling a lonely, increasingly unfocused figure, raging that he hates everyone in the White House. Note too the comments of Trumps ghostwriter for The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz, who tweeted this week: I know this man. Hes out of control and its getting worse Trumps grip on reality is spiralling down into paranoia and delusion.

As a fantasy, the 25th amendment has tremendous appeal: who wouldnt want to end this presidency, swiftly and cleanly? But it is itself a delusion. Can you imagine the current US cabinet, stuffed as it is with sycophants and billionaire know-nothings, turning on their patron for the sake of the country and the world? Several are in trouble for billing the US taxpayer for the needless use of private jets; one is currently being taunted for insisting that, in the manner of Queen Elizabeth, a flag be raised whenever he is in residence. Selfless patriots they are not.

Even if they did turn on Trump, would the invertebrates who make up todays Republican party in Congress do the same? Corker has spoken out but only after he announced hes quitting the Senate. The rest barely dare raise a whisper of protest against Trump, even when hes soiling the flag they claim to revere. If, by some miracle, they did find their spine and remove him, the Trump loyalists would not just swallow it. There could well be street violence, even civil war.

No, the only way to remove Trump is for Democrats to do the hard graft of organising, campaigning and winning elections starting with the midterms of November 2018. So long as Republicans control the House and Senate, Trump is safe.

Im glad that Mattis, Kelly and the others are there to grab Trumps wrist should he reach for the nuclear button. But even that is only a small comfort. A democracy that relies on a group of generals to frustrate an elected leader is in a bad way. The president does indeed pose a clear and present danger to America and the world. But democracy is what put him there and only democracy can get him out.

Read more: http://ift.tt/2wUCEkv

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2zavxd5 via Viral News HQ