#necessary evils

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Characters, book, and author names under the cut

Tara Boone/Penny - All That Consumes Us by Erica Waters

August Mulvaney/Lucas Blackwell - Psycho by Onley James

Ariadne O'Neill/Elena Quesada-Cruz/Chikondi Daka/Jack Vo - To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers (sorry hit the character limit which cut off the name in the poll)

Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish - The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

[batwynn]

Felix Navarro of the Necessary Evils series

(A Patreon request!)

[couldntbedamned]

August Mulvaney: I need to show Lucas that I’m the guy for him and not just an unstable psychopath killer.

Also August Mulvaney: I should break into his apartment while he’s not home so I can figure out his love language.

Also August Mulvaney: “I like the way your atoms are put together.”

[poisindonottouch]

Queer Reads: Onley James

Recommendation #18 brings us my favorite morally gray protagonists. 

Onley James’s Necessary Evils is about a family of vigilante psychopaths who murder terrible people in the name of justice. Think Batman except with way more gay sex and fewer morals. Also, the villains aren’t supervillains, they’re just horrible people who slip through the cracks of the justice system. 

Preceding the Necessary Evils books are two other series: Elite Protection Services, about a company of bodyguards who have the unprofessional tendency to fall for their charges (it’s romance, so that’s part of the genre), and Time Served, which is a trilogy about ex-cons. Following the Necessary Evils books are two more series: Jericho’s Boys, which follow characters you meet in Book 3 of the Necessary Evils books, and The Watch, which is about a secret government project where they train assassins. 

It seems like for each of these books, James thought “What is the worst thing people do and how can they suffer and die for it?” The villains in these books do things like human trafficking, child molestation, and serial killing. It’s very cathartic to see these guys pay for these crimes, especially knowing that these are real problems in the real world where far too many people do not pay for their crimes. Like seriously, human trafficking is a huge problem. Modern day slavery is happening and thriving, and it’s very satisfying to imagine the perpetrators of such things being taken down by vigilante killers. 

Everything Onley James writes is dark, and definitely read your trigger warnings, because she doesn’t pull any punches. But that’s balanced out with dark humor, lovable characters, and very well written spice.

[kayetaz]

all my murder babies 🖤

necessary evils series || onley james

[hippolotamus]

tagged by @wikiangela @hoodie-buck @jesuisici33 @tyfinn to share my top nine characters of the year 😘

Evan "Buck" Buckley (aka baby boy)

Eddie Diaz (aka baby girl)

Tim Laughlin

Hawkins "Hawk" Fuller

Nick "I'm bi actually" Nelson

Greta Gill

Carson Shaw

August Mulvaney

Image credit to Mulvaney Media

Moth

Image courtesy of winterscosplay

no pressure tagging @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @stereopticons @blackandwhiteandrose @giddyupbuck @vanillahigh00 mi amor @disasterbuckdiaz @statueinthestone @jamespearce9-1-1 @apothecarose my love @lizzie-bennetdarcy @spotsandsocks @buddierights @monsterrae1 @heartshapedvows @thewolvesof1998 @watchyourbuck and anybody else who wants to play along 💞

[greenbergsays]

For anyone interested in original m/m, Unhinged by Onley James free today across multiple platforms along with a few other ebooks.

The full list is here

Unhinged is the first book in the Necessary Evils book series, one my favorites bc it’s a whole series dedicated to the psychopaths in love trope

10/10 do recommend

[critical-skeptic]

The Necessity of Darkness: Why Eradicating Evil is Neither Possible Nor Desirable

The concept of light and darkness, in its literal and metaphorical applications, reveals an uncomfortable yet irrefutable truth: the existence of one depends on the other. This duality is not just a poetic observation but a functional reality across disciplines—physical, psychological, sociopolitical, and cultural. Attempts to eradicate "evil" not only reveal the futility of such a goal but also risk creating new evils in the process, as history and contemporary events repeatedly demonstrate.

Literal and Physical Implications: Light and Darkness as Interdependent Realities

In the physical world, light cannot exist without darkness. As mentioned, without contrast, light ceases to be meaningful. A universe flooded with uniform light would be indistinguishable from absolute void. This principle of duality applies universally: up requires down, cold requires heat, and light requires shadow. Such contrasts are not flaws; they are features of existence. Similarly, human concepts of "good" and "evil" derive meaning only through contrast. Without one, the other collapses into irrelevance.

This isn't just a philosophical musing; it’s a law of perception and cognition. Darkness defines light. Similarly, "goodness" is only comprehensible in the context of what it opposes. Strip away the concept of evil entirely, and what remains is not perfection but a hollow neutrality—an amorphous existence where the struggle, growth, and triumph that define humanity no longer hold meaning.

The Historical Cycle: Evil’s Role in Sociopolitical Balance

History repeatedly teaches us that attempts to eradicate "evil" often give rise to new forms of oppression or extremism. Look no further than the horrors of utopian experiments. The French Revolution sought to purge society of aristocratic tyranny but devolved into the guillotine’s bloody reign of terror. Communism’s promise to abolish class exploitation birthed Stalin’s purges, Mao’s famines, and the surveillance state. The American push to end segregation and achieve civil rights—a noble and necessary cause—has, in some cases, metastasized into forms of self-parody, where moral policing and public shaming fuel resentment rather than progress.

Evil is not a singular entity to be destroyed but a hydra: kill or cut off one head, and two grow in its place. Even when the moral high ground is held temporarily, the attempt to purge evil often lays the groundwork for new evils born of stagnation, hubris, rigidity, and overreach.

The 1990s: The Last Plateau of Balance

The mid-1990s arguably marked a zenith for progress in many ways. Liberal democracies seemed ascendant. The Cold War was over. Civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ acceptance had made remarkable strides. Science and technology were flourishing, with optimism for a connected, globalized future. But this golden period may also have been a false peak. Why? Because we failed to recognize that progress must coexist with imperfection. Instead of consolidating these gains and allowing society to stabilize, we pushed further, harder, and often recklessly.

Identity politics, while initially a tool for empowerment, became a cudgel for division. "Woke culture," rooted in well-meaning awareness, devolved into performative virtue signaling and cancel culture, alienating vast swaths of people who saw their legitimate grievances dismissed as the whining of oppressors. Hyper-self-criticism in the West, particularly in liberal democracies, turned into a flagellation so severe that it emboldened the very forces it sought to suppress.

The Rise of Trumpism, Populism, and Anti-Intellectualism

Into this vacuum stepped Trumpism and its ilk. These movements are not just reactions; they are backlashes—symptoms of a society that overreached in its quest for moral perfection. By alienating large portions of the population through condescension, censorship, and moral absolutism, progressive culture created the perfect conditions for a populist resurgence.

Trump’s appeal lies in his ability to embody the "darkness" that progressives thought they had banished. His shamelessness, his weaponization of grievances, and his rejection of intellectualism resonate with those who feel left behind or vilified by the new cultural norms. He and his movement are not anomalies; they are inevitabilities in a system that sought to erase opposition rather than engage with it.

Worse, the progressive overreach has given legitimacy to older evils—white nationalism, misogyny, and xenophobia—that should have been relegated to history’s trash heap. These ideologies now claim victimhood, arguing that they are the oppressed voices silenced by the tyranny of wokeness, making you look like the opressors.

The Counterproductive Nature of Perfectionism

The attempt to eradicate evil ultimately creates a new form of tyranny. The more we push for a utopia free of darkness, the more oppressive our methods become. Dissent is silenced in the name of moral purity. Rationality and debate are stifled under the guise of protecting marginalized voices. And in the process, we become the very evil we sought to destroy: intolerant, authoritarian, and blind to our own flaws.

Good only holds meaning in the context of struggle. If we eliminate evil—or convince ourselves we have—then goodness loses its luster. Without adversity, there is no triumph. Without opposition, there is no progress. The absence of darkness is not light but a blinding void.

Psychological and Sociocultural Dimensions

Humans are wired for conflict and contrast. Psychologically, we thrive on challenges. Removing all adversity leads to stagnation, boredom, and even despair. This is why even in the safest, most prosperous societies, people create problems where none exist. It’s not enough to be good; we need to define ourselves against something bad.

Socioculturally, the eradication of "evil" would homogenize society to the point of sterility. Diverse ideas and perspectives often emerge from conflict, not consensus. Ironically, the very movements that claim to value diversity often suppress dissent, reducing society to an echo chamber of approved thoughts and behaviors. This intellectual and moral monoculture becomes its own form of evil—one that stifles creativity, innovation, and growth.

Conclusion: Wielding Darkness with Purpose

Evil, like darkness, cannot be eradicated because it is integral to existence. Without it, good loses all meaning, and humanity loses its drive to improve. The quest to eliminate evil is not only futile but dangerous, as it often births new forms of oppression under the guise of righteousness. Evil.

But the solution isn’t to fear or suppress darkness—it’s to wield it with purpose. Instead of stifling progress and silencing debate in the name of virtue signaling or placating the delicate egos of donors, shareholders, or corporate overlords, we must embrace the "dark" sides of our humanity—our capacity for dissent, confrontation, and raw, unfiltered honesty—as tools, not weapons. This controlled chaos, applied surgically and without hesitation, can excise the sociocultural cancers that fester when left unchecked. Evil. It is a darkness of our own, guided by principle, and aimed not at destruction but at transformation—a force for necessary disruption that ensures progress without succumbing to stagnation. EVIL...

The light we seek does not come from banishing shadows but from mastering them.

Numquam dormias in pace.

[franticvampirereads]

Hello 2024! For January I’m gonna try to keep up the reading momentum that I had in December. I might have been a bit ambitious with my TBR picks but I’m really excited to see what this year has in store! So, here’s what I’m planning to read this month:

Daja’s Book & Briar’s Book -currently reading

Us -currently reading

Gearbreakers

The Dragon’s Betrothed

Headcase

Fake Dates and Mooncakes

Last Courtesan of Olympus

I’m Kinda Chubby And I’m Your Hero

Omega’s Forever Home

Psalm For The Wild Built

Here’s to a new year! 😊

[weneverlearn]

From The Distillery to Eternity: A Tale of Lost Recording Tapes, Found on eBay

Red Aunts / Two Tears guitarist/singer Kerry Smith was just putzing around eBay when she saw a tape she made 20+ years ago which was being sold by some rando -- along with lots of tapes by other regional L.A. trash rock acts. A facebook post about it, copious comments, and a surprise good samaritan followed.

KERRY SMITH rockin' with the Red Aunts at a club near The Distillery studio, sometime in 1993.

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

As we all regularly ponder what the hell social media is good for, a major piece of proof for the answer of “Nothing” are the comments sections on Facebook. The vitriol and vague “arguments” that can ensue (should you actually still use Facebook) get stupid and depressing very quickly.

But for every 100 like that, there are posts that actually conjure up a stable discussion, interesting connections, and maybe even some useful info.

Case in point, a recent post from Kerry Smith – Red Aunts and Two Tears guitarist/singer and all-around hilarious, life-affirming gal.

Essentially, she came across an eBay listing that was selling off a studio reel tape of an original master recording she made in 2000. After Kerry’s FB post, a number of people clicked on the link and a few realized their own tapes or someone they knew were also listed for sale.

I contacted Kerry about the situation:

“I recorded a bunch of songs there hoping to put them out as the first Two Tears record," said Kerry. "Lesley (Ishino, Red Aunts) and Danny Hole (Necessary Evils) played some drums, and I played everything else. I forgot about this all until this post was brought to my attention, and I feel sad, angry, violated, ripped off. I demo’d them all on my 4-track and worked hard in that studio. I paid for it all myself, no label help. Lots of people offered to buy them for me, and someone thought they were doing a good deed and bought it, though I had the post taken down. I don’t know why it bothers me so much, until Gar wrote from SD saying it’s an intimate and personal experience, and he said do you feel like you’ve been audio art raped? And I do."

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

One of the commenters on Kerry’s post was Larry Hardy – head of In The Red Records, the legendary garage rock indie label from L.A. He added a few shocked comments, which led to a comment thread discussion of legality, ownership, old stories, etc.

Given how many bands Hardy has worked with and albums he's released, I thought he’d be one to dig into this strange, ephemeral side of life as a recording musician…

Here's a Two Tears song from that era, though not recorded at The Distillery:

So how did you first hear about this? I assume you saw Kerry's post…

LH: Yes, that’s when I first heard about this. I recognized the writing on the PQ sheets and could tell the tape originated from a recording studio called The Distillery in Costa Mesa, which is where a lot of In The Red records were recorded. I checked the eBay seller’s other auctions and discovered a number of my reels were being sold too. 

When you first saw Kerry's post, what was your first kind of emotional response?

LH: My first response was I knew exactly where the tapes came from. A few years ago another person posted a photo of some master tapes he had saying he was trying to find the bands. One of the bands was the Strange Boys, and they contacted me and said the guy had a bunch of ITR masters. I got a hold of the guy and told him my connection to the tapes, and he said he’d gotten the them from Mike McHugh and had been holding them for him, but Mike had gone AWOL. I never did get the tapes back from this guy.

Can you tell me about Mike McHugh and The Distillery, and how tapes from there might’ve ended up in this eBay seller’s possession?

LH: Yeah, [the studio] was owned and operated by Mike McHugh. He was a brilliant engineer with really good gear – the mixing board came from Muscle Shoals! And he was really down to do weird, unconventional things in the studio. He also actually liked the music. He was my go-to guy for many years. Unfortunately a combination of mental illness and substance abuse got the best of him, and he went downhill really fast and REALLY bad. One of the last sessions I had there was for the band Cheap Time, and he flipped out in the middle of the session and pulled a gun on them!

Anyway, he wound up losing his studio, and we had all the tapes still in there. Lots of other bands kept their tapes there too. I know a number of people tried to help him and tried to save all his gear but, sadly, he was beyond help. I guess a bunch of the stuff from the studio wound up in a storage locker and the bill didn’t get paid – so it all went up for auction. That’s how the guy who is selling them on eBay came into possession of them.

Are the things he's posting for sale original sessions or mastered reels?

LH: The reels being sold are the two-inch master reels. The bands would track on two-inch tape and then mix down to half-inch tape and the record would be mastered from that. Many times we would only take the mixed tape with us as that was what we’d master the record from. The studio had a room where they stored tapes, so we figured we’d leave the two-inch reels there for safe keeping.

In a way, the fact that these are original master tapes, pre-mixed/mastered tapes is even worse. These are unmixed tracks, right? 

LH: Correct. These tapes being sold are the basic tracks on two-inch tape. You could take these to a studio and remix the record with them. We would mix down to half-inch tape so the versions on those are what you hear on the record. Mastering is a separate step done in a mastering lab. This is why once the mixing was done you kind of felt like the two-inch tapes were done too. They already served their purpose.

Yeah, we all sort of leave things in the rearview mirror once the album comes out, as far as where recordings and master tapes end up.

LH: Yeah, some bands are really good about keeping track of their tapes, and some don’t really care. I know the Cramps kept all of their master tapes, but I don’t think most bands do that. I do still have a bunch of master tapes here at my house. I imagine a lot of people took their tapes with them when their session was done. They’re expensive. I did sometimes, but I was at this studio so often I just figured they were fine where they were… until they weren’t. I didn’t have any place to store them at my house anyway. Two-inch tapes take up a lot of room.

Beyond that particular story, when bands record in studios there is a kind of “gentleman's agreement” – especially amongst indie labels and smaller studios – to at least let the bands or labels know they've got their tapes before just selling them off or tossing them, right? My understanding is, if you paid the studio their fee and paid for the actual tapes, they are your's. Though I suppose if they've been sitting in a studio’s closet for 20 years, maybe there's an argument for ownership on the studio's end?

LH: We did have a general understanding when we left the tapes behind that they’d be looked after by Mike. There was also a window of time when I could’ve gone down there and gotten them all; and I didn’t want to deal with him so I just kind of let it go. The only use they would be is if you wanted to remix the record, which I guess is something that could come up.

After leaving them behind that long ago it makes sense they could end up almost anywhere. Now you have a guy selling them on eBay who doesn’t even know who the bands are.

Under Kerry's post, a person commented: "No judgement! But you own the IP [intellectual property] on these tapes as they are independent recordings. You should reach out to the seller!" Is he right?

LH: That’s true. The eBay seller rightfully owns those tapes, but neither he or anyone else who buys them can do anything with the music without the artist’s permission…. Unfortunately this guy did buy them fair and square. I’m sure Kerry paid for that tape and the recording session, but the tapes were left behind all those years ago, and they’ve been passed around a bunch since. These tapes weren’t stolen, they were left behind. It should’ve been on us to get them back if they were important to us. Of course no one could’ve predicted Mike was going to go off the rails as badly as he did. The eBay seller did nothing wrong or illegal.

Lisa Pallow, Haunted George’s wife, contacted him explaining that two of the tapes were her deceased husband’s music, and that she would like to buy them. And the way he responded to her tells me the guy is an asshole. Really the person at fault for all of this is Mike McHugh.

I'm assuming if Rocket from the Crypt tapes are involved here – there were some for sale in that listing – someone's going to take some shit for this, because they were on a major at one point, though I've no idea which RFTC recordings are on those tapes in that eBay post.

LH: Yeah, that was the one tape I saw in there that I thought would probably go for the most money and also could turn into a hassle for the seller if he hears from [RFTC leader] John Reis or an attorney. I don’t think there would be any legal recourse against this guy though.

John Sellers from ‘90s trash-punk band, the Countdowns, commented on Kerry's post, concerning The Distillery: "It was the original board from Muscle Shoals.....Mike told me that [the Rolling Stones’] Sticky Fingers was recorded through it... it had these red and green square buttons to push... totally sixties mod... he LOVED that board!!! Chris... maybe? And I forget his last name but, he had a studio in the same complex as The Distillery and would tour with JSBX selling merch back in the '90's... he told me the whole story about Mike buying that board... how he flew out and it was sent by train upon purchase and how he accompanied it from start to finish... and how Chris would walk in and Mike would be passed out... not by drugs but by obsessive inspiration and no sleep.... with a clove cigarette in his mouth... under that board... working to make it work.

I THINK that The Countdowns were one of the first to record through that board at The Distillery but... well... memories and remembering shit these days... I always referred to Mike as 'The Mad Scientist. He was an absolute thrill of an experience to work with AND... did you ever hear him play drums? FUCK ME!!!”

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

LH: We did have some great times in that studio and before it all went bad. We hailed Mike McHugh as a genius. He was! It’s all very sad to me now. I have some great memories of that place. Andre Williams recorded with the Blues Explosion and Steve Mackay of the Stooges there! Good times.

Any other recording sessions at The Distillery that you remember?

LH: The wildest sessions I remember at that studio involved Andre Williams. He would get pretty drunk over the course of the session, so you had to get him on tape before he was too drunk. He had amazing stories and he was hilarious. He was also brilliant when he was lucid. He had produced records for Motown, and now he’s in Orange County with miscreants like us! 

I watched the Hunches vacuum up nails and screws off the floor while Mike recorded it so the obnoxious noise could be included on the band’s cover of the electric eels’ “Accident.” Not many engineers encourage this sort of thing. 

I went down to the Distillery for the final night of mixing the Black Lips’ Let It Bloom. The band had booked a show that night at a club directly across the street from the studio. The band left for their show, but I stayed behind with Mike while he continued mixing. I finally went over to the show and went up front. Cole Alexander had urinated into his own mouth, as he was wont to do back then, and spat the mouthful at the audience. I walked in late and went up just in time to get a face full of urine. I was now in business with the Black Lips.

My fondest memory of that studio is probably when the Necessary Evils recorded their second album. I know we were in there on New Year’s Eve. Those guys were all good friends of mine, as was Mike McHugh. The band didn’t have enough material to fill a full length album and were scrambling to cobble stuff together on the spot. It was a wonder to behold. Every one of those guys was hilarious. R.I.P. Steve Pallow.

I have tons of great memories from this studio. It’s really painful for me to think of Mike ending up like he did. Truly heartbreaking. 

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

Like any Facebook thread, the mass of names and rushed, emotionally punched-out comments can make for an intriguing read. Hell, a good pal of mine and Kerry’s posted that he put in a bid and would give the tape to her if he won it. He did get a couple of the tapes in the listing, but as Kerry stated earlier here, her tape was taken down after she reported it; and my friend got a cancellation message from eBay.

For Kerry though all this is definitely not legal chit-chat, but a loss of something dear, intense, and loved. It’s the kind of mini-nightmare anyone who’s recorded in a studio and then left it for “safe keeping” always has lurking in the back of their mind.

“I feel like crying all day today because of this,” said Kerry. “I don’t know why. Mike is so talented and I really want these tapes back. I used to hang out there a lot with Ronnie when I lived in Long Beach still. So many happy memories there – grateful for the scene ! Le sigh.”

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

After having wrapped up this piece, I heard from Kerry again with a possible happy ending to this story:

“I reported it as stolen, and it was pulled, and some punker dude in Costa Mesa went to get it for me," she explained, "but I didn’t ask him to. I don’t want the [eBay] guy to get the money. So the Good Samaritan kinda fucked it all up, and is supposed to mail it to me. And he paid $150 for it, so now I feel obligated to pay him back. Lots of people offered to buy it for me. And he bought RFTC and Haunted George."

Kerry asked said Samaritan (who shall remain annonymous) how he was able to get the tapes. He responded:

"Hi, thanks for getting back to me. I purchased the tapes directly from the guy... who bids on storage units. I bought a bunch of friends bands tapes and got them back to them. I knew going in that I'd lose money and I'm ok with that. Please let me gift you your tape back. Years ago I lost all of my... master reels in a storage unit that went unpaid while I was in rehab. I hate seeing strangers getting these tapes. Mike McHugh is the one to blame here. Although it’s hard to blame him with all of his mental health and addiction problems. I got my Distillery reels back from him several years ago after he lost the studio.... Anyway... I can get the tape to you or whoever you’d like me to. Larry Hardy maybe. No charge for the tape. Big Red Aunts fan by the way."

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Characters, book, and author names under the cut

Blythe Melbourne/Delaney Keating - Black Iris by Leah Raeder & Elliot Wake

Mackenzie (“Mac”) Shepard/Archer Mulvaney - Lunatic by Onley James

Barney/Logan/Asmodeus - Deadendia by Hamish Steele

Alex Claremont Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor - Red White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston

[allylikethecat]

I just finished reading my 54th book of 2024 and I know I don't know what to read next 😭 I *should* read something from my "October spooky fall reads" pile... but my heart says I should reread Unhinged by Onley James...

[couldntbedamned]

“Asa leaned against his father’s desk. “Yeah. I have to tell you something, and I need you to keep an open mind.”

“Christ, Asa, whenever you say shit like that, my eye starts to twitch.” He crossed the room to the mini-bar in the corner, opening the whiskey bottle and pouring himself two fingers full, throwing them back like a shot. His father’s day drinking was a relatively new endeavor. “You and your brother have been apart twenty-four hours and already you’ve both lost your goddamn minds—”

Headcase (Necessary Evils, Book 4)

by Onley James

The way Thomas has been THROUGH IT because of Asa and Avi is hilarious to me.

[blackandwhiteandrose]

So, I’m trying something new. I’ve become obsessed with the Necessary Evils series by Onley James and I just had to write about them. Turns out this is the first fic on A03 for the series, which is nerve-wracking. 

If you were feeling adventurous, I’d appreciate your support to go check it out!

READ IT ON A03.

Needing a distraction while Adam is taking care of family business, Noah turns to Google image search. The results are ... inspiring.

2.4 k words || explicit

[nedeljkovicsaysno]

i do not hope for a better world for anyone

[asherlockstudy]

+++