#on my page full of tormented men with dark hair and tired eyes and the 60 yo frontman with thick ass

[shu-bullshit]

you might like Monster, a manga/anime by Naoki Urasawa. It has this talented brain surgeon who is put into some really very unpleasant circumstances, and a variety of detectives and crooks who prey on him and each other. There is also a blonde boy.

I love that you specifically added that there is a blonde boy. Like any of the nonsense on my blog here hinted that I'd like to see a blonde boy.

[thewhumperinwhite]

B&BE Bonus: How the Beast Tamed Herself (1/2)

Just for fun, here’s Karya and Ridian’s Backstory, as I imagine it gets told in, like, Andry’s time, 100+ years later.

Part 2 will be more like my regular style and i swear we will finally get to Actually Hear From Karya.

TW for: minor character death, animal death (sheep), threat of violence to a minor, dehumanizing language about a sapient nonhuman creature. Also... people getting eaten? I’m not sure how to tag for that exactly. It’s not cannibalism exactly but many people definitely get eaten.

----

Once upon a time there was a beast, and she was very, very hungry.

The beast had left her mother’s den, where she had lived among her sisters, because they were unkind, and had come upon a strange land, filled with strange people, of whom she had heard little, and whose ways she did not know. The winter winds blew very cold, and drove the animals underground, and so for many days the beast had eaten nothing but little things that flitted back and forth over the snow, and her belly ached with emptiness.

Then she came to a wide snowy field, and it was full of something she had never seen before—animals, nearly half her size, and covered in soft fur like clouds. If she had not been so hungry, she might have wondered at their wooden enclosure, and whether that meant they belonged to someone, but she was hungry, and so she leapt right over the wooden fence, and she caught three of the soft animals and she ate them all up, so that not even their bones were left behind. Then she took a fourth animal up in her claws, and she ate the better part of it, and then she was so full and warm that she curled up in the soft fur of the animal she had killed, and she fell into a deep, happy sleep.

But the animals were sheep, of course, and the sheep that were left in the pen were so frightened that they burst through the wooden fence and ran into the town, bleating with blind terror, and when the shepherds ran to see what had happened, they found the beast sleeping peacefully in the sheep pen, covered from her head to her feet in sheep’s blood.

The shepherds were very frightened, for they had never seen such a beast before, and two of them were so frightened of her claws and her teeth and her tall curling horns that they could not move at all, but the third, who had once been a soldier, was brave enough to draw his bow, and shoot a single arrow, straight at the beast’s heart.

But the beast’s sharp ears heard the bowstring twang, and she opened her eyes, and the arrow missed its mark and struck her arm, instead, and the beast was hurt as she had never been hurt before. And pain made the beast angry, and she fell upon the shepherds and she ate them all up, until not even their bones were left behind.

Then the beast took hold of the arrow in her arm, and tried to pull it out, but she was so angry that it broke the arrow’s shaft, and the arrowhead stayed deep inside the beast’s arm, and it burned there, hurting her most sorely.

The people were afraid that the beast would eat their livestock, and they would surely starve, and so men in the town all took up arms against the beast. The soldiers took up their spears, and the farmers took up their pitchforks, and the butcher took up his butcher knife, and the barber brought his straight-razor, and even the baker took his rolling-pin to the sheep field to drive the beast away.

The beast did not know what sheep were, and she did not understand why all the Little People were angry at her. And the arrow in her arm hurt her so badly, and she was so angry, that she fell upon the people and she ate them all up. She ate the soldiers and their spears, and she ate the farmers and their pitchforks, and she ate the butcher and his knife, and the barber and his razor, and she even ate the baker and his rolling-pin. And then she laid down in the sheep field, and she began to weep.

The beast’s tears were so bitter that they burned the earth black where they fell, and they turned the grass dark and brittle, and all the sheep who ate it died, and the land turned fallow.

Then there was no one left in the town except the women, for the beast had eaten all the men. And the women wrapped their hair in black cloth, and they wailed, and they began to walk, and they walked for three days without resting until they came to the King’s castle, and they begged the King to kill the beast.

At first the King did not believe the women when they told him what had happened, for he had never seen its like. So the women all sat before the castle gate and wailed until the King could not stand their wailing any more, and he sent all the best of his knights to ride into the sheep field, and bring back the curling horns from the beast’s head.

When the knights reached the town, they found that all the sheep had been eaten, and that all of the buildings were empty, and there was no green thing left in the whole town. The beast had been sleeping in the empty field, and the knights tried to creep up, so that she would not hear them. But one young knight drew his bow too early, and the beast heard the bowstring with her sharp ears, and the sound made her angry, and she was so angry that she ate up all of the King’s best knights, and she ate up all their horses, and she ate up all the pages and the standard-bearers, all except for the very smallest one, who climbed very quickly into a tall tree and waited there, as quiet as a mouse.

Then the beast was full, and that made her tired, and she laid down in the center of the ruined town and fell into a deep sleep. Then the smallest page climbed down from the tree, and he ran all the way back to the King’s castle to tell him what had happened.

Now the King was a wicked and fearful man, suspicious of all those around him. He was afraid that if he could not drive the beast away, the people would rise up against him, and so he dressed himself in common clothes, and he hid his face, and he made a visit in secret to a wise man who lived in the woods nearby.

“A great beast ravages my lands,” he told the wise man. “It has eaten my farmers, and my soldiers, and all of my best knights. Now the women weep and wail on my doorstep for their lost husbands, and they will not go away until I have killed the beast. What must I do to save my Kingdom, and myself?”

When the wise man heard that the farmers had shot at the beast with arrows, and the knights had slashed at the beast with swords, he was very angry. “Don’t you know that a Faery’s rage can bring the very stars down from the heavens? The Fae are very proud, and they carry grudges, and in their anger they are stronger than the gods. You cannot kill a Faery once you have roused its anger.”

Then the King covered his face with his hands, and he wept and wailed until the old man took pity on him and said, “Put away your tears, for all hope is not yet lost. You cannot kill the beast, but you may yet appease it. Give to the beast an offering, a sacrifice of true value, and it may yet leave your lands before it burns them to the ground.”

The King was about to ask the wise man what any man could offer a beast more powerful than a god, but then he thought for a moment, and he thought of a wicked plan, that might kill two birds with a single stone.

For the King had fathered no children, and his Queen was aging beside him, and he would not be King forever. But his brother, the Duke, had fathered a son, a pretty youth now in the midst of his boyhood. The King had no love for his brother, who was his superior in every way, but without a child of his own, his brother’s son would one day sit on his throne.

“Surely, an Heir is a thing of true value,” the wicked King said to himself, and he returned to the castle, and sought out the Duke.

“I have sought the counsel of many wise men,” the King told the Duke. “And they have told me of a way to calm the anger of the beast. But it is so horrible that I cannot ask it of you, my brother.”

But the Duke was a strong man, and brave, and begged the King to tell him what must be done. “There is nothing I would not do, to save the people,” the Duke said, and the King smiled in his heart.

“Then you must offer up your own little son to the beast,” the King said, and he shook his head like he was sorry to say it. “The beast will swallow him whole. Then it will leave these lands, and torment the people no longer.”

The good Duke’s heart was deeply troubled, for he loved the people and his son in equal measure. But the little Prince had been listening at the door, and he came and stood before the King, and asked, “Is there no other way to save the people, my King?”

And the King lied with a smile on his face, and said, “There is none.”

“Then,” the Prince said, “I will go.”

Then there was nothing the good Duke could do but suffer the King to mount the little Prince on his horse, and ride with him to the ruined village, to meet the hungry beast.

[mitchmarnier]

semi charmed life | chapter six |  2.2k | teen |

“You guys have kept in contact this whole time?” Bill asked, brow disappearing underneath hair line as he looked like his old friends in amazement. “And you guys are.. what? Room mates?”

Eddie avoided looking at Richie as he answered. “Yeah, uh… room mates. Something like that.”

[or: the adult!losers reunion, done 2000s sit-com style, just like we all deserve.]

PREVIOUSLY ON SEMI CHARMED LIFE: “ At the start of next week, Richie would be switching over to the late show at his radio station. It was going to mean many more late nights, working until 2 or 3 in the morning depending. | “Why are you sitting on the side of the road?”“I’m considering quitting my job and moving here,” Ben said, only half joking. “But it’s not very comfortable.” |  You made it through a day with Spencer Pearsons, which is more than can be said about the mass majority of new hires. So what’s it’s going to be? Are you going to sink… or are you going to swim?” “They’re right,” Stan interrupted. “You’ll either get the hang of it or quit. So, Mike Hanlon, I guess you gotta chose. Are you going to at least try to stick it out or are you going to go back to Derry with your tail between your legs?” |  We’re going to have to change things. You know I love your writing, Bill, but hopes and dreams won’t pay for a baby.”

Goooddd evening New York! According to my time, we’re settling into a deep dark night here in our great city of large apples. So, my dear listeners, I know why I’m here, awake, at midnight on a Wednesday? It’s my job to be awake and annoying at midnight- so what’s your excuse?

Stanley Uris reached out and clicked off his desktop radio. Dead silence in the middle of the night was better than being tormented by Richie Tozier’s voice all night.  Sighing, Stan marvelled once again at how there was no reason for their branch to be open this late at night. In what world would a person be needed financial advice in the dead of the night?

Proving once again that Stanley Uris didn’t seem to know anything, there was a knock at his office door. Startled, Stan looked up at the pretty dark haired girl who seemed as surprised to find herself standing there as Stanley was to see her. “Hi…” she said slowly. “I was told you might be a good person to help me.”

“That might an matter of opinion,” Stan said back with a soft, tired smile. “Most people seem to mis-understand what it is I do.”

“I just wanted to talk to somebody who understands money,” she said lightly. “Because I don’t. At all. I never had to…” The woman came into the room and sat down in the comfy chairs. This office was one of the nicer ones in the branch, Stanley was only allowed to use when he was working the night shift. More often than not, he was stuck in one of the overflow rooms and spent the day playing Solitaire on the computer. Which, yeah, was also what he did when on the night shift but… at least he got to sit in the nice office and do it.

The woman rubbed her hands together awkwardly, giving a forced smile. “But now I�� I’m pregnant and I guess I could just go to my dad’s accountant and bankers- they took care of my money my whole life, but…” She pressed her hands over her stomach. “This is the start of my own life, you know? I should do this myself.”

Stan nodded. “There’s nothing wrong with keeping the same accountant and bank as your parents, you should know. You don’t have to do it completely alone, but we can look at some of your options.”

“I just…” the woman shrugged. “My boyfriend… the father… I’m not sure if he’s the smartest. He’s an amazing boyfriend, I love him so much. But I’m sure if I can rely on him, when it comes to money. I have some stuff from my father, inheritance and whatnot. I guess I’m just wondering if it’s a good idea to maybe have my own bank account, and keep it separate from him.”

“It’s always a good idea to have your own account,” Stan said, nodding. “Especially considering you’re not even married. You’re not obligated to share anything with your boyfriend, no matter how pregnant you are. If you’re looking to open up an account, then you’ll need to go into your bank during operating hours. At least to make an appointment, we don’t do that kind of stuff here. We can advise, of course, but I do believe that having your own account is a very good idea if you don’t already.”

The woman nodded. “I’d like to come back and talk to you. You’re pretty much the first person who hasn’t told me to just marry my boyfriend because I’m pregnant.”

Stan smiled blandly at her. “How about this? I’ll take down your name and put you into our system as a taxes client? Then you can come back and request to talk to me whenever you’re struggling with your financial decisions? Can I have your name?”

The woman nodded excitedly. “Yeah, yes! That’s perfect. It’s Audra Philips.”

→  →  →

As night falls over this not-so-great city, you really do have to wonder. What am I doing awake when I could be asleep? I know I am, even for 12 hours an hour, wondering why I’m not just at home, instead of sitting awake in a 4 by 4 booth, more likely than anything talking to myself. Because really- unless something has gone terribly wrong in your life, you’re asleep at quarter to one in the morning.

“Man,” Kay laughed as she walked into the staff room.  Mike Hanlon was seated on the floor, surrounded by half finished plans for the new Ancient Greece exhibit, with Richie’s voice filling his ears. “That guy doesn’t hold back, does he?”

“It’s not exactly in his fashion, no.” Mike chuckled. “Richie has always been that way.”

“Richie? As in, Kaspbrak?” Kay asked, looking at the radio as though it had personally offended her. Mike blinked up at her, mouth opening slightly. “His husband’s a dick. They got a cute kid, though.”

Mike simply blinked at her. There was a lot to unpack there- possibly Kay thinking Eddie was an asshole being the oddest part of what she’d just said- and Mike knew he didn’t have the time or willpower to do it just now. “I… Pearsons told me that I’m not allowed to leave until I figure out the how to run the new Greek exhibit”.

Kay raised her eyebrows. “Spence is letting you take lead on the Greek exhibit? He must really like you.”

“Like me?” Mike burst out laughing. “I’m half convinced he’s trying to work me to death.”

Kay shook her head, sitting down crossed legged in front of him. “No, Spencer has literally never willing given up the lead on anything ever,” Kay took several of the printed pages and pulled them towards her. “If he gave you this exhibit in particular, he really fucking likes you. Ancient Greece is Spencer Pearsons’ passion.”

Mike groaned. “You’re just making me more nervous that I’m going to fuck this up.” Mike shook his head. “I have a million ideas and each one is probably worse than the others.”

“You have too many ideas,” Kay said with a soft laugh. “Why are you making it so complicated? It’s easy. If you want to impress Spence, make it simple. Give the information, give an easy layout and get rid of the extravagant bullshit. It doesn’t need to be fancy, it needs to be factual.”

Mike huffed out an annoyed breath, and clicked Richie off.

→  →  →

Nearing on 2 am, I’m still here. You’re still here too, if you were ever here at all. I could probably say anything right now, nobody would be any wiser. The earth is flat, all cats are aliens, men in suits make me nervous… whos’ even listening?

Ben Hanscom chuckled as the radio stopped as he turned off his rental car. He opened the door and walked out, looking at the three story houses at the edge and shaking his head. They all looked the same, of course, as the style grew throughout the world. He tucked his hands into the back pocket of his jeans and walked over to the fenced in area. Beverly Marsh was leaning up against the door, and Ben’s heart raced in his chest in a way it hadn’t since he was a teenager sneaking out.

“Ben Handsome,” Beverly called happily as she moved towards him, becoming more and more visible through the dark air. “And here I thought you’d lost my contact.”

Ben smiled to himself, remembering throwing her email into the trash… and remembering stumbling into his apartment drunk after hanging out with Bill and finding it stuck to the bottom of his shoe when he woke up in the morning. “I was just picking the right time to reach out.”

Beverly hummed. “We always have had the worst timing, haven’t we?”

Ben nodded in her direction and walked into the fancy living area. Beverly was looking at the houses with an air of familiarity that he felt in his bones. “You’ve been here before?”

“Yeah, Tom and I looked into this houses when they started going up,” Beverly said. “But we figured out pretty quickly that there was no way we could afford to live in them.”

“No average person could afford to live in them,” Ben said wisely. “That was the point. I should know- I designed them.”

Beverly slowed to a stop and looked at Ben with wide eyes. “You… I thought you said you were just an intern?”

Ben pursed his lips. “I am. One of my first tasks was to come up with a design for some high end townhouses. Next big meeting, my higher up was displaying my design and taking full credit. Told me to suck it up, and that I’d understand when I got higher up that the idea of the many was the idea of the one. I’m still not sure what that means besides fuck you.”

Beverly took to look at the houses. “They… they are beautiful.”

“They’re…” Ben exhaled hard. “Yeah. But all I want to do is burn them down. You know?”

“Destroying things won’t make you feel better,” Beverly said. “Trust me. I destroyed my whole marriage then walked out of it without a word. And I don’t feel even close to better.”

Ben scratched at his cheek, annoyed at the hair beginning to grow as it always was between his beard days and post-shaving. “I’m not sure that’s exactly the same thing here, Bev.”

“Sure it is,” Bev said simply, beginning to walk once more. “Discontent with your life is discontent with your life. Whether it’s your job, your relationship, it’s the same. You can’t just push away the thing making you discontent… you’ve got to find something that makes you happy to replace it.”

Ben sighed softly, nodding. “You’re right. I know you are… but I worked so hard to even get the internship I have. If I leave then what do I have to show for my whole life?”

Beverly nodded. “Yeah I get that. After I left Tom I sort of realized that I put everything into the marriage? I let being Tom’s wife be my everything but sometimes you’ve got to start everything. Find a new you.”

“I still want to design buildings,” Ben said, looking back at the fancy houses he didn’t think he’d ever be able to afford. “And even though I think I resent these stupid houses, they still make me proud? Like that’s mine, I created that, no matter who tries to take that away from me. And if I stick out these internship, I’ll move high and I’ll never take credit for something else does. I can make the system better for somebody else.”

“But is it really worth it if you’re miserable the whole time you’re getting there?” Beverly said lightly. “Maybe the reason all your higher ups are such dicks is because they were miserable, too. A brutal cycle.”

“I can break that cycle.” Ben said firmly and Beverly smiled at him sadly.

“If anybody can do that, it’s you Ben Hanscom.” She said softly.

Ben turned to her and brought out maybe the first genuine smile he’d had sober in weeks. “You know I liked you too, right? In high school, and… before that. Pretty much the whole time I lived in Derry.”

“I suspected but I don’t think I ever knew for sure,” Beverly said. “Richie was always saying you did- but I never really listened, you know? Because you were my best friend, so if you liked me then I don’t know what I would’ve done. High school me was an idiot, and if I’d ever done anything about you liking me then… we probably wouldn’t be standing here together now.”

Ben took Beverly’s hand in his and looked deeply at her. “Beverly…”

“I just left my husband,” she said almost brokeningly. “I’m living in Eddie and Richie’s spare bedroom and I don’t even have a job. I’m a mess, you don’t want me like this, Ben.”

“I’ve always wanted you.” Ben said openly. “and I will always want you.”

Beverly cupped the side of his face and brought their lips together.

Our time is coming to a close as we near 3 am. The sun is preparing to rise, and we’ve yet to set. You know? I think we all need to take a chance to think through our life choses. What has gone so wrong for us that we’re all sitting awake at three in the morning? Where did we go wrong? But if you’re still out there in the world, I have some advice for you: No good decision is ever made after 2am.

Bill Denbrough was debating lighting up his first cigarette in seven years when the man slid into the booth across from him. The man leaned forward and raised his brow at Bill. “I hear you’re looking for work.”

Bill cleared his throat awkwardly and praying he didn’t stutter. “I… I’m a writer, b-b-b-but my girlfriend-“

“She pregnant?” The man chuckled. “You’d be surprised how often that what we hear ‘round here. So, let’s make it pretty clear right now. I don’t care about your pregnant girlfriend, and I don’t care ‘bout why you’re here. I just care that you’re here and what we’re going to do about it.”

Bill nodded quickly.

“So tell me, good pal,” the man smiled, giving him a golden toothed grin. “You wanna pack or deliver?”

This is Rich Records signing off saying:  Go home. Find somebody you love and be with them. That’s what I’m going to do.