#it feels like it would make more sense if she gained notoriety during her middle school years under her father and then rebelled as

[reco-obsessed]

we know that Reko's father forced her into the industry at an early age, but it's not entirely clear what genre. The idea of it being an 'industry' definitely implies she was more of a pop idol since there isn't really a 'classical' industry in the same vein, though there is still definitely heavy competition and a lot of notoriety to be gained through being very skilled at classical music, especially at an early age, so I wouldn't be so quick to write that off, either. Even so, the plot line of her being 'forced to make music she didn't want to make' and her father being blinded by money definitely feels like it makes more sense in the context of a popstar. In my personal opinion, I like the pop idol route because it really emphasizes the distinction between her current views and aesthetic and the one her father would've been trying to get her to be. A sudden stark rebellion by going super edgy and emo in middleschool contrasts with her needing to be seen as nice, innocent, happy all the time (and probably a fair bit more feminine than she actually felt, too, since alt styles are heavily associated with androgyny). Its also worth noting that she mentioned crushing multiple huge industry offers throughout her later years, which further implies she had a strong reputation already. However logic is pulling on my sleeve and it's telling me that it honestly feels weirder for a 10-13 (this age range being chosen with the logic that it would've had to been *before* or she entered middle school, as per her personal account) year old kid to be a super successful pop idol than a highly successful classical music prodigy. Though, I guess there's the possibility her father actively lied about her age to get her in the idol industry.

[constellction]

andromeda’s past. 

this is going to more similar to a list than it is an illustration of her backstory, because this is just the framework of her story. i’ll elaborate in the near future in a post that is more narrative & less informational.  appearance: andromeda matos is of the xokrien race, akin to a teifling from dungeons & dragons or a zen-whoberis from the marvel comics. she is humanoid, with midnight blue skin and silver freckles. she has silver-white hair in ringlet curls around the shoulders. she has two dark horns that nearly form a full circle above her head. they are a few shades darker blue than her skin.

xokrien traits: very much like teiflings, xokriens have sharp canine teeth and horns. most adult illirian xokriens have a singular, circular horn atop their heads. xokrien horns grow in at each temple or, in some cases, just below the hairline. initially, they grow in as two separate horns. over time, each of the two horns grow into a half-circle shape. a xokrein’s two horns meet, forming a full circle, when are about twenty-five, or thirty years old at the latest. at twenty-three, andromeda’s horns have not yet formed a full circle. because illir is covered almost entirely in water, the xokrien race has developed some aquatic adaptations over time, including three gills on either side of the neck and webbed feet. these are traits andromeda possesses.  

personality: she is kind, passionate, idealistic to a fault. she participates in piracy with a sense of robin hood-esque altruism that hasn’t left her since her days in the rebellion. still, she’s not blind to the immoral side of piracy — she’s just able to make peace with it. she is personable, charismatic to a degree, though her outward optimism is not always agreeable amongst pirates. she has a competitive streak borne from being the middle child of her large family, and a hot temper to match her passion. curious by nature, she makes a map whenever she enters a new area, and enjoys charting stars as well as courses. stargazing is a hobby of hers — though she sees them every day, she never tires of them. fiercely loyal, she won’t back down in a fight, especially to defend a friend. still, because of her reputation on illir, she doesn’t speak openly about her past, preferring to say that she grew up in a small town on illir far from the conflict in mar’lah. she says that she’s looking for her brother, who went on a trade flyer years ago and hasn’t since returned. she offers silly stories about the scarring on her limbs and torso, saying that when she was young, she had many scrapes and injuries while learning to pilot on illir. 

home planet: she comes from a developed planet called illir, whose atmosphere is not too unlike earth’s, save the fact for a colder temperatures overall, even in warmer seasons. illir is mostly covered in icy oceans, affected largely by the planet’s two large moons.  because its civilizations are small and not involved in intergalactic politics, it’s not often traveled to, but it’s known for its extensive resources — such as crude fuel for ships or previous minerals.

family: capitalizing on the rich resources of illir, the matos family specialized in trade. andromeda has a fairly large family: one older brother, castor, and two younger sisters, ara and lyra. her father would help mine precious minerals found in illir’s earth, and her mother would pilot cargo ships from one system to another. this is how andromeda got her start — her mother taught her to pilot large cargo ships. they lived peacefully, a middle-class family of relative insignificance on an equally insignificant planet, until new leadership took ahold of her home country, mar’lah.

war: this new leadership made efforts to militarize, drafting most cargo pilots and forcing them to instead pilot massive warships made with the various metals found on the planet.  since their mother, one of the family’s primary, providers was away from home to train for war, andromeda and her oldest brother became providers for their family, turning to petty thievery to help put food on the table. she learned how to be stealthy, which would eventually aid her in her career of piracy. three months later, the people within her hometown rallied together to form a revolution, intending to overthrow the more militaristic, tyrannical government. andromeda and castor joined the effort wholeheartedly, hoping to give their family a chance to regain the peaceful life they once had. through this effort, she developed her skills in piloting, smuggling, and thievery. she stole from those who had profited off the militarization, instilling within her a sense of justice. soon, andromeda’s efforts earned her a spot alongside those who had founded the rebellion. she became a right-hand to some of the rebellion leaders, quickly rising in notoriety. the “war” lasted no more than a year and a half. the people were ill-equipped to handle such a conflict with the already battle-ready government, and were soon forced into submission by imprisonment or eradication.

post-war: she was separated from her brother in the final conflict. not knowing whether he was dead or alive, she heard that prisoners were being taken to an off-world facility, where other enemies of this power were being held. she decided to stay on-world for five months to secure her family’s safety and stability before setting out into the galaxy to find her brother. because illir is not well-known, few people knew the goings-on about prisoner transport from illir to another planet. despite this, the tyrannical powers that rule mar’lah has some outreach outside of illir, and her involvement in the rebellion against these powers made it difficult to find consistent, honest jobs.

piracy: for the next two years she took odd jobs, trying to find whatever information she could about her brother’s location. it was during this period of wandering that she became more experienced, more level-headed, and began delving into piracy. she stuck with the first crew she joined for about a year, on a ship called the nebula, forming strong friendships and gaining further experience. it wasn’t long before their more criminal activities caught up with them and the nebula was destroyed in a fight. andromeda managed to survive the altercation, but received some scarring on her torso & limbs in the aftermath. she has one horizontal, short scar along the bridge of her nose from a piece of shrapnel. she came upon the ninahva a few months after the wreck, looking for a new crew. she met waelon first. andromeda pilots she ship, and her two years of travel earned her exceptional navigation and cartography skills she uses whilst piloting to chart and stay on desired courses. she still has her own goals, wanting to find her brother and secure a better future for her family, and she feels that the best way she can do this is by joining a crew to see more of the world and continue doing work similar to what she did in the rebellion on her home planet.

[balkinbuddies]

We’re celebrating July 4th with  the ALAN Review article entitled “Where Are They Now? Remembering Our Most Popular Young Adult Authors.”

     An article written by Don Gallo appeared recently in the Summer 2019 issue of The ALAN Review entitled “Where Are They Now? Remembering Our Most Popular Young Adult Authors.” Among those remembered were four authors with whom I worked very closely during my years at HarperCollins and, with Don Gallo's and the ALAN Review's permission, I'm including those remembrances on the Balkin Buddies blog:

     Here they are in  the order they appeared in the article:

Paul Zindel [Tied for first place with S.E. Hinton in 1988]*

    Paul Zindel's death in March 2003 ended the brilliant career of a unique individual. Not only did he win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and an Obie Award for Best American Play in 1970 for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1965), but he was also one of the earliest writers in the field of contemporary literature for young adults. The Pigman, published in 1968, is still one of the most well-known and widely taught novels in the genre. He followed The Pigman with My Darling, My Hamburger (1969); Pardon Me, You're Stepping on My Eyeball (1976), The Undertaker's Gone Bananas (1978); Harry and Hortense at Hormone High (1984); and other novels with attention-getting titles. His writing revealed how well he understood teenagers, believing that “adolescence is a time for problem-solving – for dealing with the awesome questions of self-identity, responsibility,  authority, sex, love, God, and death” (Gallo, 1990, p. 228).

     In addition to Gamma Rays, this versatile author wrote a number of other plays, including And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little (1971) and Ladies at the Alamo (1975), as well as a number of movies and television scripts that include Up the Sandbox (1972), starring Barbara Streisand; Mame (1974), starring Lucille Ball; Runaway Train (1985), starring Jon Voigt; Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass (1985), with a cast of 50 stars that included Red Buttons, Ringo Starr, Scott Baio, and Shelley Winters; Babes in Toyland (1986), starring Drew Barrymore and Keanu Reeves; and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1989), starring Keshia Knight Pullman. During those years working in Hollywood, Zindel associated with numerous movie and television actors and became good friends with Walter Matthau who lived in the house next door.

     In his later years, Zindel, always knowing what would appeal to teen readers, turned from realistic fiction to monster/horror books, such as The Doom Stone (1996), Rats (1999), and Night of the Bat (2001) – all of them filled with suspense and action and all selected as Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

     Zindel reveals a lot about himself in his 1987 autobiographical novel, The Amazing and Death-Defying Diary of Eugene Dingman, except that the fictional Eugene grows up in Bayone, New Jersey, while Paul grew up on Staten Island, New York. Of his teen years, Paul says bluntly: “I was an awkward freak.” More about Zindel's early life, family, and adventures can be found in his autobiography, The Pigman and Me (1992), which was named one of the 100 Best of the Best Books published for teenagers during the last part of the twentieth century.  In 2002, the American Library Association bestowed upon Paul Zindel the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement, and later that same year, he was presented with the ALAN Award for his contributions to young adult literature.

M. E. Kerr [Tied for fourth place with Robert Cormier and Katherine Paterson in 1988]*

     Writing under the pseudonym of M. E. Kerr, Marijane Meaker was one of the earliest authors to gain notoriety in the YA publishing world with Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!, published in 1972. Among her 20 popular novels are Is That You, Miss Blue? (1975), I'll Love You When You're More Like Me (1977), Gentlehands (1978), Him She Loves? (1984), Night Kites (1986), the Fell series (1987, 1989, 1991), and Deliver Us from Evie (1990). Kerr has always chosen to write about differences in people, “understanding them....trying to make sense of it all, never losing sight of the power love lends.”

     In an interview published in Teenreads, she explains her motives: “I was very much formed by books when I was young....I was a bookworm and a poetry lover. When I think of myself and what I would have liked to have found in books those many years ago, I remember being depressed by all the neatly tied-up, happy-ending stories, the abundance of winners, the themes of winning, solving,  finding – when around me it didn't seem that easy. So I write with a different feeling when I write for young adults. I guess I write for myself at that age” (“M. E. Kerr).

     Marijane Meaker began her career in publishing after she was unable to sell any of her stories to magazines. She presented herself as Ms. Meaker, a literary agent with six clients, and sent out her own work under various pseudonyms, male as well as female. One was a middle-aged female teacher writing true confessions (at $300 a story); another was a young college woman selling to magazines, such as Redbook and Ladies Home Journal; a third “author” told a story, titled “I Lost My Baby at a Pot Party,” about her child wandering from a house where a saleslady was pitching Teflon pots. Along the way, a Gold Medal Books editor convinced her to write a novel about sorority life, for which she earned $4,000 a book at a penny a word. This very resourceful writer also published two or three adult mysteries a year under the name of Vin Packer, and other novels were penned as Ann Aldrich and Laura Winston. Her books for children are published under the name Mary James. “A lot of my stories,” she says, “sold well enough for me to enjoy trips to Europe, an apartment off  Fifth Avenue in New York City in the 90s, and a Fiat convertible.”

     M.E. Kerr's novels for teens have won multiple awards, including a Christopher Award in 1978, a Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in 1981, a California Young Readers Medal in 1992, the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1993 for her lifetime contribution to young adult literature, the Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile and Young Adult Literature in 1991, the ALAN Award in 2000, and the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for her groundbreaking works in the field of lesbian literature in 2013. In 1996, Long Island University awarded her an honorary doctorate.

     A collection of her short stories for teens – dealing with dating, love, race, bigotry, homosexuality, self-love, and  acceptance – titled Edge,  was published in 2015. And Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s, a memoir recounting Meaker's relationship with famous mystery writer Patricia Highsmith, was published in 2003. Still writing at the age of 91, Meaker recently completed a novel about gay life in New York City during the 1940s and how she became a literary agent for her own work. It's titled Remind Me, based on the lyrics of an old song from that time written by Jerome  Kern and Dorothy Fields (1940): “Remind me / Not to find you so attractive / Remind me that the world is full of men.

Katherine Paterson [Tied for fourth place with Robert Cormier and M. E. Kerr in 1988]*

     Born in Qing Jiang, China, in 1932, the middle daughter of missionary parents, Katherine Paterson has lived in a variety of places, from Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, and New York City to China and Japan, where she was a Presbyterian missionary. She now lives in Montpelier, Vermont.

     Her highly regarded novels include The Sign of the Chrysanthemum (1973), Of Nightingales That Weep (1974), Master Puppeteer (1975), and Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom (1983), but she is known best for Bridge to Terabithia (1977), which won the Newbery Medal in 1978; The Great Gilly Hopkins (1978), which won the National Book Award in 1979; Jacob Have I Loved (1980), which won the Newbery Medal in 1981; and Park's Quest (1988), which made The Horn Book Fanfare Honor List in 1988. Published in 1996, Jip, His Story won the Parents' Choice Story Book Award and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 1997. In 2006, Bread and Roses, Too won the Christopher Award and was a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, a Parents' Choice Gold Medal historical fiction book, and one of Voice of Youth Advocate's Top Fiction for Middle School Readers.

     Paterson has also authored several autobiographical books about her writing, including Stories of My Life (2014), and is a coauthor of Consider the Lilies (Paterson & Paterson, 1986), a nonfiction book about various plants of the Bible that she wrote with her husband, John.

     Over her long writing career, Paterson has also received a long list of awards for her body of work. Among them are the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota (1983), the ALAN Award (1987), the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Writing (1998), the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2006), the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (2013), and the Massachusetts Reading Association Lifetime Award, along with writing awards from Germany, France, and Sweden. In 2000, she was declared A Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and for 2010-2011, Paterson was the US Ambassador for Young People's Literature. She is also the recipient of more than a dozen honorary degrees, including ones from Vermont College of Fine Arts, the University of Maryland, Hope College, and Washington and Lee University.

     Paterson's latest novel is My Brigadista Year (2017), set in Cuba in 1961 during the literacy campaign that made Cuba a fully literate nation in  one year.

Robert Lipsyte

     The author of The Contender (1967) turned 80 years old this spring, as his ground-breaking novel passed the 50-year mark in print. Lipsyte is also the author of One Fat Summer (1977), Summer Rules (1981), The Brave (1991), The Chemo Kid (1992), The Chief (1993), and Raiders Night (2006) for teens, and for young readers, The Twinning Project (2012). Lipsyte's list of publications for teenagers isn't especially lengthy when compared to those of some authors who have been writing for the same length of time, but that's because writing books for and about teenagers is only one kind of work he has done especially well. He has also published a number of short stories, essays about sports issues, and biographies of several sports celebrities, such as Muhammad Ali, Jim Thorpe, and Michael Jordan, as well as several nonfiction books for adults, including Nigger, with Dick Gregory (1964), the African American satirist; Sportsworld (1975/2018); and Idols of the Game (1995). As the author of The Contender, one of the very first realistic novels about contemporary teenagers, Robert Lipsyte was honored with the Margaret A. Edwards Award by the American Library Association in 2001.

     And that's not all. Among other things, Robert Lipsyte has been a highly respected columnist and prize-winning sports reporter for The New York Times, a correspondent for the CBS television program Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt; the host of his own award-winning television interview program, The Eleventh Hour, on New York City's public television station, WNET Channel 13; author of a television documentary series about sports; and the Life (Part 2) series for PBS-TV on subjects of interest to older people. He is also the author of an entertaining memoir, titled Accidental Sportswriter (2011).

     In addition to speaking at a lot of high schools, Lipsyte recently has been flying to North Carolina for a week at a time to teach at Wake Forest University, which he says he enjoys very much. He continues to write a monthly column, mostly on local politics, for his hometown weekly, The Shelter Island Reporter, which he says “gives me as much pleasure as the old Times' column.” He also occasionally writes about sports and politics for a site called Tomdispatch, which distributes to a batch of leftish publications like The Nation and The Guardian. If that's not enough, after his cameo on the O.J.: Made in America documentary film (Edelman, 2016) that won an Oscar, he gets called often to pontificate on various TV documentaries, most recently on one about Sonny Liston, three on  Muhammad Ali (including one by Ken Burns), and another on that “hard year” 1968.

     Meanwhile, this very busy author has been promoting the film, Measure of a Man (Scearce, 2018), starring Donald Sutherland, based on One Fat Summer, Lipsyte's 1977 novel about a bullied teen. View the trailer at https://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/measure-of-a-man/. “I have toyed with a new YA novel,” he claims, but where will he find the time?

     *Based on the list of 169 authors' names Mr. Gallo sent to 41 present and past officers of ALAN in 1988, asking them “to identify the most important and popular YA fiction writers of the time and to add other names of writers they felt were as important.” Due to space limitations, he “limited this investigation to the top 30 authors included on that 1988 list.”

     The ALAN Review   Summer 2019

     Reprinted with permission from the ALAN Review and Don Gallo.

     I hope you enjoyed this excerpt and get to read the entire article. Personally, I feel honored to have worked with such incredibly talented authors as well as with all the amazing people at ALAN.

     For information on Balkin Buddies, be sure to visit our website or blog.

Catherine Balkin, Balkin Buddies

[himbimhohum]

The Carver - Part 2

From this point on, there is a general trigger warning for death, blood, and weapons. Please be advised that there will be few, if any, graphic descriptions, but if you are bothered by these topics at all then proceed with caution.

This should be read while listening to Burning Pile by Mother Mother and Body by Mother Mother.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carver meandered his way through the city streets until he came to a stop before a storefront. The windows had paper taped to the inside and a “Closed” sign hung from a peg on the door. Disregarding the sign, the lanky man got out his keys and unlocked the door, making his way inside. It was barely warmer in the store than out but that would soon be fixed. A counter stood next to the left wall with floating shelves making a wooden backdrop behind it. Small tables were stacked in the back corner next to another door which led to a storeroom and a set of stairs leading to the second floor. 

He felt the need to do something with his hands. Carver picked up the broom that had been leaning against the stacked tables. He began sweeping up some of the sawdust and debris left by the contractors during the build. As he swept, he let his mind wander a bit, mentally making a list of the orders he would have to place in the coming days to make the shop functional. A cash register, at least a thousand flowers, some watering cans; the list seemed to grow by the second.

The expense of opening this little flower shop didn’t bother Carver. He had plenty of money saved away from his main job. He was a contractor, of sorts. Carver took on the dirty work that few people were brave enough to do. Helped into the field by some of his contacts from the army, Carver had found some “friends” in the various mobs that ran the underbelly of the city. 

During the Great War, Carver had become one of the best shots in his regiment and had been noticed by his superiors. At the ripe old age of 19, he was sent on special missions to take out some of the enemy’s higher-ranking officers. Carver preferred knives to guns when it came to these missions. It was easier to ensure the enemy would never get back up if he watched the light fade from their eyes.

Now, back home in Port Stepper, there was no shortage of work for a hitman with a penchant for stealth. He had been home for only six months when he was offered his first hit. Two rival, small-time gangs, one with men from his former regiment, had crossed paths and had a tense situation in need of resolving. Carver had been asked by his former comrade to take out the leader of the rival group. 

Despite the unfamiliar environment, Carver had easily gotten past the thugs and guards into the boss’ office. The hit was swift, nearly silent, and instantly fatal. Lying in wait, Carver had been able to quickly come up behind the man, slit his throat, and stab him in the liver. He didn’t hear any sign of alarm on the other side of the door so he decided to invent a calling card for himself.

Carver, who was not a very creative person at the time, quickly decided to carve a “C” into the back of his victim’s hand and tuck a note between his fingers.

“The Carver sends his regards.”

In the moment, Carver was quite pleased with himself to have come up with a “clever” name to inspire fear. Every time he thought back to that night however, he cursed himself for not coming up with something different. Carver is a fairly unique name and any detective with more than two brain cells to rub together would probably make the connection sometime.

But two years had past and no nosy police officer had ever come knocking at his door. That was a positive, perhaps, of taking jobs from crime rings: no one was eager to call the cops.

Carver had begun to gain more confidence after his third job. His work was being noticed by more important figures and his calling card was feared across Port Stepper’s underbelly. Surprisingly, the men from his regiment who ordered the first hit agreed to “forget” his name and face and only referred to him as “The Carver” after that.

The anonymity he had been afforded made keeping his day-to-day life unobtrusive far easier than he had expected. He had been able to rent a mailbox in a post office across town and had bribed the postmaster into removing his name from the record. Anytime a crime family had a hit they wanted, they’d have to find out which box he owned and send him half their offer upfront with the name of their target.

His private life did not stay private for long, however. About a year and a half after his first hit, Carver was singled out by Elgin Canmore, the father of the Canmore family. The Canmore family controlled five major ports in the harbor and were one of the four major crime families in the city. Canmore had sent Carver an official invitation to the family’s dinner table and had assured his cooperation with fifty thousand dollars.

Since then Carver’s work had mainly been directed by the Canmore Family who fully recognized that they did not own his allegiance in any way. He had been trusted with some knowledge of the family’s operations, under the agreement that Carver really didn’t care to tell anyone about the plans. It wasn’t hard for him to hold true to the promise; he rarely spoke to anyone and indeed rarely spoke at all.

Carver didn’t particularly care about who the targets were specifically. Some of the names he recognized, like a minor leader of the Galley Boys who controlled one of the city’s many commercial ports. Carver was able to fill his savings quickly with his unique skills since each hit cost about four thousand dollars. To keep his small fortune hidden, he had taken to opening accounts in several banks around the city.

Shaking himself back into the present, the fiery-haired young man brushed a drop of sweat off his brow. Carver shucked off his coat, laying it on the countertop. Rolling his sleeves up to reveal lean, muscular arms, he swept the small pile of dust into the corner and made a mental note to buy a trash bin. 

At some point soon, he would need to find out what was so important last night that he wasn’t allowed in the backroom of St. James’ Tavern. The Canmores controlled that territory and often held emergency meetings there. Carver was merely curious as to the goings-on, barely more interested than he would be in finding a dollar on the ground.

Carver finished cleaning up the store before setting out the tables, arranging them carefully. He imagined the flowers he would soon have spilling from baskets, bouquets, and pots. He allowed himself to smile. His guilty pleasure had always been gardening, especially flowers. Helping something beautiful grow had helped the confusion he felt growing up.

At some point during his years in middle school, Carver had realized that he always felt fuzzy around the edges as though he was only mostly what people thought he was. Of course, he was a man but why did he feel so detached from it at the same time? During the war, he had found comfort in the fuzzy feeling. His secret missions had garnered notoriety among the ranks and more than once he heard his comrades praise the hitman.

“Didn’t you hear? There’s someone taking out officers on the other side! They’re certainly making our job easier.”

“I wish I could shake their hand. They must be incredibly brave to go on those missions. Or at least they’re too reckless to feel fear.”

Carver had heard himself referred to in a detached way, as an entity rather than a person and it was surprisingly pleasant. He didn’t know what to call it exactly, but just knowing that he could feel comfortable in his own skin at all was nothing short of a miracle in his eyes. After becoming The Carver and being discovered by Elgin Canmore, Carver had decided to have a little chat with the father.

He had approached the man in his office. Elgin’s short muscular frame was stationed behind an ornate desk. Thick, pale fingers covered with heavy rings drummed a steady cadence into his desk. He only looked up from his work when Carver cleared his throat.

“You’re aware that The Carver’s identity is a mystery to nearly everyone besides you, correct Mr. Canmore?” Carver began. “I’d like it to stay that way.”

“Well of course dear boy, I would never think of sharing our little secret with my enemies,” Eglin replied cooly. “Why are you bringing this up though? No one knows your name.”

“You see, sir, if people were to find out that The Carver was a man with special skills that are usually found in the military, they might be able to track me down. I assume that is how you found me after all.” Carver was treading carefully here, speaking without an accusing tone. He didn’t need Elgin thinking he was angry at being found out.

“But suppose someone thought I was a woman. They might think she came from a prominent family, one that had plenty of people to train her. Personally, my sense of honor wouldn’t allow for a girl to be pinned with my sins. It just wouldn’t be right.”

“Get to the point, son. I respect your skills but your rambling is trying my patience.”

“I want you to tell your men that they can only refer to The Carver as “they” from now on. The Carver is an entity, a mysterious being who comes in and kills without a trace. Threaten them if you have to. Say I’ll come after whoever says the wrong thing. Just make it known that The Carver is not a man, not a woman, but a threat to their lives.”

Carver delivered his demand without breaking eye contact with the kingpin. If this were to work, he couldn’t show a flicker of weakness or doubt. His resolve had to be absolute.

Elgin took his time deliberating this. He didn’t like Carver threatening his men, but he respected the anonymity required to be a successful hitman. After several long, silent minutes, he agreed. There was no need to upset his most prized asset after all.

Carver didn’t dare take a breath of relief until he had completed the twenty-minute trek from the Canmore’s home to his apartment. He was shaking slightly; nervousness, excitement, and relief all tangled in a ball of emotions he was too confused to sort out.

He pulled himself out of his reverie and decided that if he was going to be zoning out and daydreaming about the past all day, he’d much rather do it at home. At least there he would be able to lose himself in a warm mug of coffee and listen to his favorite jazz radio station. Carver pulled his sleeves back down, put on his coat, and casually walked two blocks west and one block south. His building was an unassuming brownstone that was two stories tall and nearly as old as the Port Stepper itself. An acceptable place to call home while he waited to move in above his flower shop.

[morganbelarus]

Meet the Porn Star Running for President in 2020

Cherie DeVille reasons that if a reality TV personality with zero previous political experience can be voted into office, then why not her? She feels just as qualified, if not more. The physical therapist has firm opinions on immigration, education, environmental reform, and how to handle the war on drugs.

Shes also a porn star.

The 39-year-old caused a bit of a stir when she, during a press conference, announced her bid to run for President of the United States in 2020. She was joined by her running mate Coolio, the rapper of Gangstas Paradise fame; Press Secretary Alix Lynx, herself a porn star as well; and DeVilles bodyguard, the WWE wrestler Virgil, who will serve as head of security.

Virgils familiarity and relationship with Donald Trump can help smooth over the transition process when Cherie DeVille is named President, the announcement read, alluding to the fact that Virgil and Trump crossed paths a few times when the 45th president hosted WrestleMania in the aughts, including his infamous Battle of the Billionaires with WWE owner Vince McMahon. DeVilles campaign, sponsored by the mens clothing brand Fucking Awesome, isnt the first time a porn star has announced a bid for U.S. public office. In 2003, adult actress Mary Carey ran for governor of California in the recall election (then lieutenant governor in 2005), and in 2009, Stormy Daniels launched a brief bid for Louisiana state senator. While Carey ran as an independent and Daniels a Republican, DeVille is representing the Democratic Partywhich makes sense, given the GOPs aversion to porn.

DeVille, meanwhile, considers the notoriety shes gained working in the adult entertainment business for the past six and a half years more of an asset than a hindrance.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, DeVille explains how serious she is about her run for the White House, and that this isnt just another desperate bid for attention. The slogan for her 2020 presidential campaign: Make America Fucking Awesome Again.

Do you have any background in politics?

Cherie DeVille: I dont. I grew up in the Washington D.C. area so Ive been somewhat surrounded by it but Ive never held political office.

All of my skeletons are on the internet for all to see. If you discount porn I have zero moral scandals. Id be a breath of fresh air.

Cherie DeVille

Why run for President?

It began when Trump was elected president. I always took it for granted that whether the Republicans or the Democrats won, someone reasonably appropriate was in office even if they werent my choice. Until this election cycle. I was incredibly disappointed in the political processand thats when I realized Trump basically won because hes a celebrity. It made good television. If Americans are going to vote based on celebrity and scandal, well, I can give them that.

What would you change if you were in office?

Im most passionate about health care, education, and immigration.

How would you handle the health care issue?

Im an adult actress and a physical therapist but Ive spent more of my life as a physical therapist. Over the seventeen years Ive spent as a physical therapist, Ive seen the repercussions of poverty and middle class Americans with staggering health care bills making choices about their bodies based not on their health or their needs but money. Health care is a basic human need that should and can be met.

You mentioned being passionate about education, what would you change about it?

Im not like some hardcore Democrats that feel all higher education should be free. I think college is the new high school. If we want our country to be competitive with the rest of the world, then our state-run educational institutions should be free. Im not suggesting we socialize all educationwe can still have private schoolsbut high school today is not the minimum; its not what our citizens need to succeed in the current economy.

How do you expect people to react to you as a porn star running for POTUS?

Negatively. Im not saying this to insult myself or my profession. I did my first scene as a personal larkit was something I wanted to say Ive done. Even if I dont win the bid for Democratic candidate I hope that my run can at least make enough of a splash to get some of my ideas out there, for people to see me as a sex worker and a human being. I want to expand the perception of sex workers.

What do you say to critics out there who are concerned with your lack of experience in politics? And your background in porn?

If Trump hadnt won Id have said no one without political experience can run for office, it cant be donebut clearly we as a country have decided you dont need political experience to run for the highest political office. Negative expectations? All of my skeletons are on the internet for all to see. If you discount porn I have zero moral scandals. Id be a breath of fresh air.

What would you try to legalize if you were voted into power?

I know this is controversial but I feel complete drug decriminalization is important. In poor communities, doing illegal things is the only chance some people have for advancement and they choose it, which forces them outside of the law. I think we could decrease the violence in underserved and poor communities by decriminalizing all drugs, not just marijuana. At the end of the day, not everyones going to start using heroin. Lets be honest: if someone wants to use heroin in any part of the country theyll find a way to get it. Decriminalizing it will keep the people who started selling drugs as a way to survive out of jail.

What about porn? Would you want to legalize filming everywhere?

Its absurd that its not legal in every state, but at the same time the adult community has to centralize somewhere. There are only a few hundred people making porn for the world, so wed congregate somewhere anyway.

Why should people vote for you?

Because I really do want to make America great again like Trump said, but in a way that helps all of the people. Every politician says they will help the middle class but few of them have ever been middle class. Ive actually lived my life as a middle and upper middle class citizen, and Coolio has grown up in poverty, so we understand what its like not to have decent health care or educational opportunities handed to us in a way most politicians cant understand. How can we ask the ultra-rich to make choices about something they dont have a handle on? They cant comprehend how the American people really live.

What would you do differently?

I have faith in the American people to do the right thing. Certain choices should be left up to them.

Do you really think people are that responsible?

Weve been pampered. We are a society of entitlementlook at our youngest millennial generationWe need to engage, we need to feel responsible for ourselves and the world, we need to get in the game. We cannot be passive and allow the Donald Trumps of the world to step all over us. We do have power and we need to wake up. I do have faith in people. We created this problem and now we need to snap out of it.

Do you think its cultural or generational?

Its a cultural thing. These kids are not at fault they were raised like thisthis is the advent of technology. Society has changed and we need to help the new generation of workers be strong and responsible. We need to help them, not roll our eyes at them.

What are your opinions on the sexual harassment allegations in the media?

Its disgusting. If youre an actor, actress, singer, or comedian in Hollywood it happens and I know people in all of those professions at the highest levels. When I go out with friends who are in those various professions, Im the only one whos never sucked a dick for a job and that is ridiculous. My comedian friends, my mainstream actress friends, and absolutely my fashion model friends have all felt pressure or been directly asked to perform sexual favors in the direct or indirect promise of work, and its disgusting. The male culture in Hollywood is disgusting to me and Im thrilled that these ladies are speaking out. I want those men to know we wont take this anymore.

Youve named the rapper Coolio as your running mate. How did you decide on him?

I knew I needed to do something crazy to get the American peoples attention. I needed someone that was passionate and well-known but it was also for shock value.

What steps have you taken to make your bid for president a reality?

Ive been testing the waters to see if anyone cares, and the past three weeks cemented it for me. It seems like the public is interested in hearing what I have to say, so Im doing this. Im going to find investors, file the paperwork, and do this.

How do you plan to finance your campaign?

Itd be silly to say the obvious. Im not going to take money from big lobbyists, not that theyd give it to me anyway. So Im going to go the grassroots way and start small.

Are you launching this campaign for attention?

My vagina gets more attention than this. Millions of people watch me everyday around the world. Im not trying to be conceited but as one of the few performers that works nearly every day of the week my porn is more prevalent than almost anybody elses. Whether people want to admit to knowing me or not, if youve watched porn youve watched me. My pornography has already and will continue to get more attention than this bid for president.

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[ecotone99]

3 Little Words [SP & R]

It began in the middle of the night as half the world was asleep. After roughly 96 hours every person over the age of 13 on the planet had had their dream. Each dream was a unique and dire warning. As each person was waking from their dream 3 random words were running on repeat through their heads.

Everyone felt an overbearing sense of fear as they thought about their words. Some had the courage to try and say their phrase, but few got past the first syllable of the second word because as they said their first word their hearts would start pounding. As their mouths began to form the second word their pulse rates would begin to border on cardiac arrest. As the got closer to saying it they could feel themselves beginning to lose consciousness all while their hearts beat faster and faster.

Within a week the governments all over the world began to broadcast warnings informing the public that if you forced yourself to say your phrase no matter how random it seemed, it would trigger a massive heart attack that would kill you.

Many argued that the new limits on the public's freedom of speech was proof of God but the leading scientific theory was that some undetectable virus or bacteria rewired some part of the nervous system. This hypothesis also explained why the words effected were usually arbitrary and random. Although a few unfortunate people lost the ability to say a common phrase nearly all of them were able to avoid it without too much effort. Despite humanities new vocal limitations everyone quickly resumed their day to day lives.

Louis was only 9 during the initial wave of dreams and he considered himself lucky. However, word began to spread that when children turned 13 they would receive their dream. As more and more people reported experiencing their dream it was accepted as a rite of passage quickly becoming synonymous with growing up.

Just like everyone else within a month of turning 13 Louis had his dream. He accepted it as a mild inconvenience, but he loved life enough to get over the minor hurdle paced on his tongue. Louis never gave too much thought to what he couldn’t say and didn’t really care about the cause of it either. He moved on with his life and finished school and eventually as most young men do, he met a girl.

Marie was everything he ever hoped for. They got along perfectly supporting each other in all of their endeavors.

As Louis cemented himself as a notable travel critique, Marie became a renowned computer programmer. As Louis gained more notoriety, he was able to take Marie all around the world to lavish destinations and because nearly all of her work could be done remotely she was always looking forward to their next adventure.

A few years and over 50 countries later Louis finally got down on one knee at an ice hotel in Sweden when the night’s sky was lit up by the northern lights. Marie looked down at him with a giant grin on her face and said

“Of course I want to marry you. I was beginning to think I was going to have to ask you first.”

They set the date for 18 months away, despite being infatuated with each other they recognized that many of their friends and family would feel slighted if they eloped.

It was about a month after they got back from Sweden that Marie first lost consciousness. After the second time a couple of weeks later, Louis drove her to a doctor. It took a battery of tests to discover the problem. The doctor was solemn when he told her them that her heart was failing and she likely had less than two years to live. The doctor then proceeded to explain that since the events of the dreams there had been a significant number of heart transplants that had been rejected because even broaching the utterance of your phrase could strain the heart enough into triggering a rejection. This was devastating news because although Marie’s phrase was totally abstract it started with “That” which was common enough that she wasn’t a likely candidate for a transplant. The months rolled by and Louis and Marie remained inseparable although they gradually were spending more and more time in the hospital.

As Marie got weaker the doctors eventually informed her she would be lucky to make it another two weeks. Those two weeks went by in the blink of an eye. As Marie struggled to open her eyes she quietly said to Louis “I can feel it. I am going to go any minute now.” Louis got up and leaned in close to Marie and gently kissed her before fighting every impulse in his body as he whispered in her ear the 3 words he thought he would never say again.

As he fell back into his chair Marie closed her eyes for one of the last times and reflected on all the times Louis had expressed how much he loved her.

During their first trip to Paris, he had said: “You mean the world to me, my love.”

Whenever they would have to depart from each other he would always say “Love ya babe and I’ll see you soon”

Finally, she thought about the night he proposed when he said, “I didn’t know I could love someone as much as I do you.”

Marie could felt herself slipping away and she died realizing that, that was the first time that Louis had ever simply said: “I love you”.

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