#prevent the creation of more larries

[anticonspiracist]

My introduction to Larry was my introduction to one direction and i fell for it hard. It took me 2 months in the random to realise they're not actually together. I continued to ship them for a few more months.

You've said repeatedly that the aim of your podcast is to prevent the creation of new larries. You did that for me! I found it just before i got too deep in. So thank you!

ah shit, that's awesome! I nearly blocked you when you followed 😂 but something told me I shouldn't!!! cheers!

[gnostotron]

Kleptomania

Warm air flowed between his pinions like threads, weaving a map of the air currents. He floated on an updraft, sensing the world - raptors see the world as only the Gods do; all the breadth of creation and, at the same time, the scurrying of all the benighted beings imprisoned by gravity.

From this height the world was an inverted bowl, sere and mountainous. It was, it always was, clear and unforgivingly bright.  The sun was an inescapable burning - nothing grew below; a land without rain.  He saw however a figure, distorted by the heat haze.

Slowly he circled lower, sidling from current to current with almost imperceptible shifts in balance, the merest adjustment of a flight feather, descending lazily in serene curves until he could see the figure more clearly.  Chained to a block of hewn basalt it waved up at him, as much as its fettered arm could manage.

Eventually he alighted at the side of the figure, shook out his wings and folded them neatly.

“Morning Prometheus.”

“Morning Larry” said the Titan.  He grinned sheepishly at the eagle through a ragged beard.

The stone was dark, uneven, hot from the sun. Larry sighed, knowing how uncomfortable this was going to be on his talons in a couple of hours. But the job is the job; at least it wasn’t his liver getting eaten. He sighed again. 

“So what is it this time?”

“I gave them something called ‘large language models’.”

Larry scoffed - “Christ, not another ‘blockchain’ thing.”

“No no no!” Prometheus made to hold his hands up in denial but the chains at his wrists prevented him,  “this one is actually useful!”

Larry tried not to roll his eyes. He had an odd, begrudging respect for Prometheus - no other being had ever gone up against Zeus so unceasingly and, frankly, so stupidly.  “Fire”, sure, that made sense, but after that it got to be almost a joke - he’d gift humanity whatever random crap he could steal from the gods, from the Bessemer process to something called “dubstep”.

“Anyway, I found it while digging through a box labeled ‘Things That Are Proper to the Gods’ and thought humanity might like it.  They’ll figure out something to do with it, those rascals.”  Prometheus chuckled to himself. “And as always, boom - I’m back here for eternity.”

“Oh come on, it’s only until Thursday.”

“Yeah, well, you try getting your liver eaten - it certainly feels like eternity, believe you me.”

Prometheus frowned for a moment and sighed. “I was really hoping that Zeus would mix things up a bit and give me the rolling-the-boulder-up-a-hill thing, I could really use the workout.  Have you seen Sissiphys lately?  Totally caked up.”  Prometheus shook his head, admiringly.

They both took a moment to consider Sissyphis’s fine, fine booty.

Larry’s mind returned reluctantly to the job at hand.  He felt a rising exasperation - what was the point of all this? “Why do you keep doing this?” he demanded finally, “You give these gifts to humanity and they squander them, or they find some way to demean them. I mean, every gift you give them they figure out how to turn into a weapon!”

“Oh, they also turn everything into porn, or try to at least”, Prometheus added, nodding. “They’re very good at that.”

“They don’t even worship you!” Larry was not going to be sidetracked. “What I’m saying is that, chances are, one of your ‘gifts’ is eventually going to let humanity scour all life from the world.”  He shook his head, sadly. “The things the Gods keep to themselves seem to always be shitty - sometimes I think the reason Zeus locks up all this crap is because he’s embarrassed by it.”

Prometheus was thoughtfully silent.  “Do you have any children Larry?”

Larry shrugged, muttering “I’m more of a metaphor than an actual eagle, you know.”

Prometheus marshalled his thoughts.  “When you first have a child you want to give them gifts, and you want them to use those things you give to create something beautiful.  Eventually you realize that that’s not what parenting is about - you don’t give to your child because they will do something you approve of, you give to your child because you have something to give and they are your child.  I don’t give these things to humanity because I expect them to do wonderful things with them, I give these things to humanity because I want them to have everything the Gods possess.”

He paused, considering. “I admit it’s highly unlikely that humanity can do any worse than the Gods have.”

Larry nodded, conceding the point.

Prometheus raised himself as much as the chains would allow, to better face the eagle.  “But it has to be up to them - they must create their own world, and they can’t do that with the Gods holding out on them. Or even with needing my approval. And who knows - maybe when humanity has gained everything they will become as Gods themselves, and maybe the world that they create will be better than the one that was created for them.”  

Prometheus sighed, sinking back to stare into the empty sky, “or maybe it won’t - maybe it’s just an eternal cycle of flawed beings creating broken worlds, full of suffering and turmoil.  I don’t know.  I can’t know.  All I know is that it’s not up to me to decide - I must give to humanity because I can give to humanity.”

They both sat silent.  A light breeze stirred and died.  Eventually Prometheus stretched, adjusting his back, trying to get comfortable against the rock. “Well, speaking of eternities of suffering, I guess we’d better get this over with, eh?”

Larry nodded, his mind filled with thoughts of necessities and desires and of his own role as divine, if arbitrary, punishment.  He moved up the rock to look Prometheus in the eye, and said “I’m sorry friend - this is not what I desire.  But it is what I must do.”  

Prometheus smiled and shook his head.  “The world is as it is”, he said, “but maybe there will be other worlds.”

The eagle turned. Prometheus’ stomach was hollowed from hunger, tanned from the countless centuries chained under the burning sky, and scarred from the punishment that he seemed fated to always return to.  Maybe Zeus was right that this punishment was eternal - it wouldn’t be the first time he was right about something for the wrong reason.

Prometheus screamed.

[yessoupy]

AO3 tinhat boycott list

here is a list of authors on ao3 who are also conspiracy theorists. for the uninitiated: there is a significant portion of the content-creators in the 1D fandom who believe that their ship, harry/louis (larry stylinson or larry) is real. they are called larries and should be differentiated from larry shippers (those who engage in normal fandom behavior and know their fictional ship is not real). larries are conspiracy theorists, and you will see them referred to as tinhatters. **13 feb 2018** i’ve changed the title from larrie to tinhat and i’m adding more tinhat authors as i find them in other fandoms.

want to blacklist them? here’s a tutorial on using ao3 savior. that link also contains more information about the reasons behind the list and how an author is put on the list or why they are left off. [n.b. the script is case sensitive, use case of name present on the current list.]

wondering if an author is a larrie but they aren’t on the list? send me an ask! i’ll do my best to sort it out.

methodology: i sorted 1D fics on AO3 by h/l and with most kudos first (to prioritize with the fic that would most likely be read by a new reader), english, and completed only, and clicked through. if i couldn’t prove they were larries (no other SM linked to pseud OR nothing glaringly larrie on linked SM) i’ve left them off the list. this is definitely not complete. it is a work in progress. all names are the AO3 pseud, and earlier versions of the list contained additional information about what i found to put them on the list. i have removed that information for streamlining, but if you’re curious, inbox me and i can provide it. 

CT = conspiracy theorist

1d big bang round 5 running list of fics written by larries

larries made a list of larrie authors (and made my job easy).

larries (CT’s who believe the larry ship is real)

0GVButterworth0

100percentsassy

13ways

1Diamondinthesun

5sexualhomos

absolutelynot

aclosetlarryshipper

afirethatcannotdie

alex4968

alivingfire

allwaswell16

allyasavedtheday

andthensusays

Awriterwrites

banana_louis

bandshirtedboybanders

beautlouis

bethaboo

BeyondxLawliet

bottomlinsons (grimgrace)

camiii (reblogging from some toxic larries)

capriciouslouis

Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)

clicheanna

Conscious_ramblings

crimsontheory

darkerwings

dea_liberty

delsicle

dinosaursmate

dogslpdi

eli_ssabeth

EllaO

elsi_bee

embodied

emma1234

eyesofshinigami

FallingLikeThis (Zayniam)

ForAWhileWePretended (Zayniam)

freetheankles

FullOnLarrie

gayporn

gloria_andrews

glowstickLarry

Gotthisniallthang

grapenight

green_feelings

hattalove

Hibkei

hilourry

infinitelymint

istajmaal

isthatyoularry

iwillpaintasongforlou

Jackstylinson

jaerie

juliusschmidt

jwdish98

karamelised

kikikryslee

kittytbh

kenziexo

kiwikero

kotabear24

KrisStylinson

LadyLondonderry

Lainy122

larryandgaystuff (cnd8544)

larrybabes03

larryistakingcontrol

larryslove

larrytale

LasciviousLarry

leavingonatrain

lesbianharrie

letsjustsee

lewieandharrie (thoseshadowsalmostkilled)

lilacsweaters_ivorylilies

Lis (domesticharry)

littlelouishiccups

LoadedGunn

louisandthealien

louisxharry1

loupiter

LucyStarkid

lululawrence

luminescents

Madalynn_Bohemia

makesmewannatsss

MediaWhore

metal_eye

metencephalon

midnights

Mie1412

millionlittletings

NiamJenn1994

nodibs

nooelgallagher

nouiiam

objectlesson

ohsailor

OhSlashy

otpwhatever

patdkitten

phdmama

pliantlouis

purpleeyestelllies

RealityBetterThanFiction

RedOrchid

rippedgloves

rougeandtonic

SadaVeniren

say_thanks

sheawaldenbecks (styleztomlinson)

snowingwhite

Star_Henderson

Star55

stylinsoncity

summerwine

sunshiner

supernope

suspendrs

sweaterpawstyles

sweetkisses

TableForThree

taggiecb

teaandtumblr

TellMeThisIsNotLove

Teumessian

thealmightyavocado

TheCellarDoor

theboyfriendstagram

thecheshirepussycat

thedeathchamber

thepriestthinksitsthedevil (stubliminalmessaging)

Thingssicant

tilthesundies

togetherwecouldbealright

Tomlinsontoes

turnyourankle - also known as peach_passion, sugardares

goodmorningtoyouuniverse 

tvshows-addict

twinks

twoshipsdrifting

Velvetoscar

veronicahague

Wankerville

weddingbells

whimsicule

whisperingwind

whoknows

wildestdreams

wreckingtomlinson (nicknameking)

wubwubnparmaham

xxSterre

you_explode

youcomecrash

yourpricelessadvice

yoursongonmyheart

zarah5

ziam conspiracy theorists

eternallyunleashed

phlochte conspiracy theorists (swimming)

jeahwriting

agape_eternal

if anyone on this list feels they have been added in error, or want it known that they have since rejected conspiracy theorism, send me an ask off anon and we can chat! if you have any authors you think should be added to this list (i don’t care if the author is only a little larrie, conspiracy theorism is the ONLY qualification), message me or send me an ask on or off anon. i am prioritizing the more popular authors first, but eventually i plan to have them all listed. 

this list should not be used for targeted harassment. it exists merely to make it easier for people to avoid reading and providing kudos to people who engage in conspiracy theorism. 

[chongoblog]

WHOA CPUKERFUFFLES POPPING OFF SO LETS TALK ABOUT IT

Quick post to both A) Sum up what CPUKerfuffle is for those who don’t know and B) Review last night’s Kerfuffle because things went crazy and we’re leading up to a climax

I’m putting it under a readmore since oops turns out I made this long as hell

CPUKerfuffle is a biweekly stream series where I make Level 9 CPU’s in Smash fight in tournaments. Kinda like that one guy on Youtube (who canonically does not exist in the universe of CPUK). I bring friends on as commentators and I give each player a name, along with a sort of character of their own that is in time defined by both improv acting and the actions in the tournament. Over time, characters become fan favorites and many return for future tournaments, and sometimes overarching narratives begin to form. And right now, we’re at the peak of one, so I’ll try to talk about The Plot of CPUKerfuffle as it stands right now.

So right now at the moment, the tournament has been subject to a hostile takeover by Red F!Wii Fit Trainer, also known as Doctor Order, a character submitted a few tournaments back when it was realized many characters have a backstory of being created by some experiment. Her goal seems to be to create the ultimate fighter, but it would appear she’s after something else. The Guardian of Time, Chartreuse (sister of what appeared to be the Guardian of Dimensions, Crimson which wreaked havoc on a previous tournament). Doctor Order has a tendency to create fighters meant to be clones of other fighters, such as Google the Green Roy acting as a clone of Bing the Green Chrom. Google would go on to attain sentience and despite being intrinsically built with an instinct to desire nothing but victory, learns humility and defects from Doctor Order. Other characters affected by Doctor Order’s many experiments are characters such as

Larry the Florida Man, who can shapeshift due to her influence (picking Random for every battle, but whose base form is a White-Coated Joker)

Perfect Spriteman, who used to simply be Spriteman (Green/Yellow Mega Man) who loved Sprite until Doctor Order corrupted that love into an inhuman obsession (Now manifesting as a Green/Yellow Piranha Plant)

Google Plus, a Green Marth made out of spite after Google defected who is nearly robotic in nature, using logical patterns to attain nothing but absolute victory (but still defected and is now kind of on a rampage)

Captain Quadratic, a Green Captain Falcon and a clone of Captain Valentine (Pink Cpt. Falcon), the champion of love and long-time face of CPU Kerfuffle. Corrupting his ideas of love, Doctor Order entered a doubles tournament with Captain Quadratic, revealing him to be a creation madly in love and deathly loyal to Doctor Order, seemingly physically unable to speak two sentences without drowning Doctor Order in compliments

So now that you know about Doctor Order and some of the characters in play, last night’s tournament consisted of eight fighters: Therapuppy (Teal Isabelle), Folk (Black Wolf), Google (aforementioned Green Roy), Geico Gecko (Green Ridley), Gamecube Controller (Purple Rosalina), Seachu (Aqua Pichu), Chartreuse (Teal Pyra/Mythra), and Sephiroth (Sephiroth)

This post is long enough as it is (I took too long talking about Doctor Order and the related characters lol) so here’s the relevant bits of the tournament:

Doctor Order promises anyone who can humiliate Google a free trip in a time machine

Therapuppy immediately humiliates Google but doesnt choose to ride

Seachu is the last remaining remnant of Team Aqua and is trying to recruit members. It’s unclear how effective this is

Chartreuse, being the guardian of time, is trying to call off the tournament since Doctor Order is having each battle feature Timer Items, which damage the fabric of time. It doesnt work, but she expends some of her power to at least not have any timer items during battles where she takes place

Folk also manages to humiliate Google, and upon requesting a time machine ride, Doctor Order says “sorry! One per person!”

It is then revealed that Folk is actually Therapuppy from a Bad Future where Doctor Order has taken over the world, who used Therapuppy’s one ride to return back to this time with a few Important Things To Help

Chartreuse is knocked out of the tournament and exposes her true power to prevent Timers from spawning to protect the fabric of time.

After some reconciliation with his past self, Folk enters Grand Finals against Sephiroth, who is working alongside Doctor Order.

Doctor Order kidnaps Chartreuse to attempt to steal the power of the time guardian. Folk tries to stop her, but is blocked by Sephiroth.

Folk, knowing what happens next, tells everyone to evacuate the arena as he faces down Sephiroth, eventually losing, leaving Sephiroth tournament winner.

I didnt even explain what the hell is going on with Spirits, but basically Google goes Super Saiyan and charges Doctor Order to try and save Chartreuse.

It doesnt work since she can also go Super Saiyan.

Chartreuse as a last line of defense, envelops the entire arena in a bubble of frozen time, giving everyone two weeks to prepare for one final charge

And that’s the current plot of CPUKerfuffle. Again, last night’s episode was absolutely insane. A few of the plot beats were predetermined, since while the improvised nature of these are fantastic, having a general thread helps immensely. But seeing everyone fall in love with some of these characters has been incredibly heartwarming and I’m so overjoyed with the response. I got some REALLY neat things planned for the kerfuffle in two weeks, and I imagine there’ll be even more things that don’t go as planned.

Until then, I guess CPUK characters have sorta become kinda my OCs. Weird how that happened.

[larrythefloridaman]

Y'all like your deities with or without the shell?

Under the readmore is aaaaaaaaall color god observations and musings based on them, because I am studying to become the world's Premiere Chromatheologian and RGB Understander so under the cut is pretty much Oops! All Spoilers! up to the most recent episode of season 3.

Apparently Universal Color God Attributes:

Damage to their domain hurts them, but fixing the issue, or lashing out by using their powers destructively, can help them to repair the damage.

If they sustain enough damage, it can temporarily paralyze them and send them into a strengthened but 'exposed' state (chartreuse's spirit activation in the last fight of 19) and further damage after that will activate a failsafe, which is unique by domain but seemingly designed to give them the chance to balance things, but can get… very out of hand or backfire depending on circumstances. (see: cobalt’s failsafe sending mark's universe into a never-ending apocalyptic war because word of the cure for death became too widespread for the killing urge failsafe to affectively balance anything because every side could simply revive their fallen.)

Chartreuse's failsafe is something of a stopped time bubble quarantine where processes that require the passing of time cannot complete, allowing her the time to wear down the offending party to beat them to death or plan around finishing them.

Cobalt's is inciting war, the casualties serving to balance the scale. I'm not sure we know Crimson's yet- he's never taken enough direct damage without doing damage to compensate in order to trigger it, although i dont remember season one well enough to recall if any of the universe stuff in it tracks with the pattern bc season one is a bit fucky

Connected in a fashion that allows them to simply Sense the overall status of the others to some extent, although they don't know Why theyre in the state theyre in without asking (chartreuse [and by extension, folk, presumably on her information] confronting crimson via crimsonaut for pretending to be dead, Cobalt confronting both his siblings about how they are handling their duties improperly but not knowing about Folk. He knew about the constants deaths because hes a death god, duh, but he didnt use their names like crimson did, possibly implying they're erased upon death so thoroughly that only crimson and the constants can really recall a shattered constants' existence, not even the other guardians.)

Abilities of the guardians can be replicated by mortals through three apparent methods- through machines (dimensional bus, the time machine, presumably J0hn's part in Sephiroth's resurrection,) simply through advanced enough individual skill (Home MD curing death, potentially Dantoinette's universe portal travel, maybe Genwun's sped up time bubble that evolved them into Genfour? although that could very well have just been an illusion and theyre just like, a fuckin theater kid that was doing pretend character development for the Bit or something given GenFive turned out to be a zoroark) or through stealing some of the power of the relevant god (Dr. Order stealing Chartreuse's power, Dani maybe having stolen some of Crimson's when she beat his ass. Dani's one woman universal travel is like, wicked ambiguous)

Cobalt:

Can seemingly perceive or act through any living material. (The Tree. Cobalt instructed Larry to slap his hand on that tree, that shit glowed and he had a new deal tattoo without Cobalt ever having been physically present)

Can influence the resurrected by giving them a killing urge. Represented by an aberrant brainwave and a ringing in the undead's heads. This doesnt appear to be direct control- as the Grunk could clearly restrain himself from killing people that genuinely didn't deserve it (like nightly and cha cha, who WERE grunk event targets but not fatally so. Nagito was a crimson thing so it really doesn't count here. God poor grunk his life really is just a constant plaything in the hands of the gods huh) and Sephiroth very much had personal motivation to want to kill Folk. failsafe activates this ability on the scale of war.

Deals. The extent of what Cobalt can do with these is unclear but Iggy's god powers were taken from him as his part in the deal so what he can take isn't limited to physical things or things obviously related to his domain.

Weaknesses:

Deals. While this ability is impressive his preference for making deals for those that offend against his domain is potentially very exploitable- Larry's knowledge of the cure for death is, if word of it were to ever get out beyond Larry, wildly dangerous for this dimension, so technically the safest thing for the iron-fisted cobalt to do would be to nip the problem in the bud and get rid of him. But, fascinatingly, that wasn't even put on the table, the first thing Cobalt does is threaten J0hn, prompting Larry to make a deal. While Cobalt enforces death, he also doesn't like unnecessary death, and Larry demonstrably knows how to keep a secret for the good of the world even at great cost to himself and Cobalt is aware of this- easily clarifying to Larry the aberrant thing endangering the universe wasn't his timeloop business. So while he's clearly not letting his resurrection fuckery go unpunished, he's being pretty merciful when he doesn't have to be and from a strictly, brutally pragmatic perspective probably shouldn't be.

His control over the undead manifests as a ringing and an aberrant brainwave trackable by J0hn's equipment, and could probably therefore be accounted for and circumvented? J0hn has, wisely, largely sworn off fucking with people's brains after the sephiroth fiasco went So Wrong, So Very Wrong, Oh God Oh Fuck Someone Cool Almost Died, but if he hadn't, and if J0hn let his dislike for authority and keeping Larry safe outweigh reason like he let safety, spite and comedic value outweigh good ethical sense when reprogramming sephiroth, in theory Mr. 'hacked a time machine for breakfast?' could. y'know. probably do it. what is a god's authority to an anarchist, what better to challenge life and death than the cold and eternal machine, you get the point its a fun scenario

Olive Garden Breadsticks and Small Cute Dogs, apparently

Chartreuse's:

Time Clones: taps into parallel timelines to retrieve alternate versions of herself to utilize.

Time Travel: what it says on the tin. Travel to the past creates painful splits in the prime timeline, but through careful action and traveling back into the past, these can be weaved into a time loop. A split from the timeline is a wound, and a successful timeloop is the surgical scar it can become with attentive care, to use a medical metaphor. Carefully closed and healing. Keeping Folk here is essentially akin to chartreuse pulling out her stitches on the initial incision.

Time Stopping: creates a space wherein things that take time to complete cannot complete, where things can move, but everything within is in a perfect unchanging stasis until the bubble drops. This is the form her failsafe takes.

Timeline Creation: can create timelines from scratch.

Can fuse alternate timeline versions of the same individual to allow them to coexist. (Ryan's confirmed in the discord that Dantoinette experienced both failures in 20, because Chartreuse fused the two instances of her to save the post-raid instance from fading. Could... theoretically do this to Folk and save herself the pain, but while Folk and Therapuppy are the same person, there's seven years and untold amounts of difference deriving from the time and circumstance between them and the inherent cognitive dissonances that would result from attempting that would be wicked fucked up to inflict, and that's assuming there isn't some reason that it wouldn't be possible anyway. while the two Danis had like. A day or so's difference between them, so she could be safely fused with the only dissonant thing being that she remembers both being too slow to prevent order's time escape and beginning to dissipate post-raid, AND losing that fight to her pre-raid. RIP Dani, that perfectionism must be kicking her ass)

Weaknesses:

Unwilling to use her powers destructively in her pursuit of domain repair and thereby much easier to damage to the point of paralyzing her, making her particularly vulnerable to Power Theft

Morally Optimistic. At one point in 19, she briefly justifies Crimson's shitty evil actions to herself after experiencing for herself how Wack the kerfuffleverse is firsthand, ("and all he did was kill a couple people!" Chartreuse. Honey.) and when she fights Crimsonaut she seems to actually believe for a second that he's actually worried about her when Crimson asks if she's okay after he beats her. Additionally, as D+, she concerns herself with trying to understand doctor order's motive, and after Larry defeats Order, he makes a point of confirming she feels no remorse before making his request for what Chartreuse does with her, and appeals to the idea of letting Order fulfill her desire to be a god in a way which isn't a problem for anyone and Chartreuse is more than happy to oblige under these conditions after what Larry's done for everybody. Then immediately threatens to evaporate him for playfully teasing her about having a crush on folk. Fucked up a little bit

Crimson's:

Universe Shifting: Travel between universes.

Universe Correction: appears to replace an aberrant individual with the 'correct' version of themselves for that universe, presumably sending them back to their own. (Mario from super mario was universe corrected, but still seemingly exists in wario form as evidenced by smashup kerfuffle, and was simply temporarily replaced with his corrected universe counterpart. But like. The dimensional bus system is still active crimbo doing the Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me routine aint gonna work if they can come back with a shrug and bus fare. you're fighting the symptoms without treating the problem)

Universal Constants:

Three individuals per universe that serve as the pillars which stabilize said universe, created by absorbing red orbs Crimson creates. Becoming a constant grants power, but also makes the constant fragile, and death wipes them from the face of the multiverse, only crimson, those he's possessed and the other constants seemingly able to recall they ever existed, although some physical evidence is still left behind (Larry's record of Nagito's death, which is just as redacted as everything else relating to him but still is very much something Larry has. Kind of a Voidfish adventurezone type beat ironically enough? Taako really has seen all this shit before no wonder he peaced tf out)

To counterbalance the weaknesses the constants have, they have a sort of spidey-sense to alert them to danger, and an intrinsic bonded connection to their fellow constants, and additionally, Crimson apparently doesn't suffer any pain from the death of constants or the structural instability of a universe.

Possession: what it says on the tin! Seemingly can only be done with permission to living things- none of crimson's direct hosts seem to have entered that agreement unwillingly, Valentine lost a bet, Hamburger and Crimsonaut have been by all evidence intentional allies to Crimson- but electronics are fair game, as seen with The Guy's suit. Kinda curious how that rule applies to bitches that are half and half, like J0hn or the clonebot gang, as its unclear whether The Guy's suit was yoinkable without permission because it was mechanical or because its not sentient. could go either way but if it's the former that's potentially very frightening

Fusion: Two individuals from alternate universes can be fused into one shared body which can take on aspects of either depending on which is currently in control. (possibly allows someone who traveled into a given universe to become a fixed resident there without it being an issue for Crimson, whose job is to prevent interdimensional travel?) Monday Mark and possibly T.O.M. are our main examples.

Corruption:

Unpleasant As Hell and can even kill you instead of changing you if you cant handle it.

turns the corrupted individual into a twisted exaggeration of themself, allows them supernatural control over their shape, and makes them very difficult- if not impossible by traditional means- to kill, based on Garfield.

Subjects them to control by Crimson, but can be exorcised of this influence just like crimson's direct hosts can, although the supernatural changes to their physiology are seemingly permanent, judging from Shantae.

Notable Weaknesses:

Exorcism can be performed to free a possessed or corrupted individual of Crimson's influence. Its unclear how exorcism works/is learned in CPUK, but confirmed exorcists: dantoinette and yung papaya's snake dad, confirmed non-exorcists: folk

The universal constant orbs are physical objects so they are Very Stealable and they grant a power boost so theres literally an Incentive to beat his ass for anybody who wants to be strong and either doesnt know or doesn't care about the whole 'getting erased when you die' part

Crimson has lots of tools to create pawns, but all of them have drawbacks. Corruption could kill a potential pawn, possession generally seems to require permission, and he has no control over the constants' choices and actions

Manipulative bitch's highest stat is charisma and it shows. This motherfucker is selling snake oil. If he was mortal rather than a Whole Entire God he'd make an excellent ineffectual saturday morning cartoon supervillain and i think everyone, including him, would be happier for it, ngl

Something interesting ive realized that likely wasnt fully intentional, is that a lot of Dr. Order's creations, considering her motive, can kind of be sorted by a color god it appears to be a crude attempt at mimicking the abilities of. My Grunk is a poorly executed resurrection, the clonebot gang vs chartreuse's timeclones (this one deserves special mention because Chartreuse used this shitty attempted mimicry to her advantage with D+, very smart and ironic play, excellent job Treusy,) spirits are somewhat similar to universal constant orbs (orbs which can be absorbed to grant power, but which have physical repercussions- key differences being that spirits require activation and grow stronger while attuning to a user without being used, and having far less severe drawbacks, taking a heavy toll on the body, but only once they've worn off and without the risk of wiping yourself from the face of existence,) and she also augmented Perfect Spriteman and Larry, which kind of track as crude imitations of Crimson's corruption!

Garfield was an acerbic cat who loved food and hated mondays, now its an actively malicious ever-hungry amorphous entity whose only weakness is monday and whose only consistency in form is 'cat-like.'

Shantae was (to my extremely limited understanding of shantae,) a friendly heroic type who had to introduce herself often, and she became something akin to a biblically accurate angel that can *only* introduce herself.

The Grunks a tough but sweet and supportive single dad with stage presence and a tendency to fly off the handle when he or his family are slighted, and now he gets so hype in the audience when his son does well that he bursts into flames and ascends and we get random grunk events along with the associated murder charges when he gets mad and the target sucks enough that he doesn't hold himself back from killing them.

Perfect Spriteman and Larry fit the trend of exaggeration of already present traits- Spriteman fucking loves sprite and became something that only thinks about sprite, and Larry the Florida Man, characterized from minute one by unpredictability and who spent his first matches in the series pre-shapeshifter transformation staying alive keeping stocks for Shockingly Long even despite getting seventh, became literally physically random as well as developing the ability to regenerate, albeit with the ability to feel pain normally very much intact, unlike Garfield just... Soaking up damage like its nothing in his pursuit of Jon. The fact that Arbuckle legit defeated Garfield, even temporarily, is terrifyingly impressive honestly that dude is fucking built different for being so chronically bland

i dont think they're actually corrupted in any meaningful way we have to worry about, to be fully clear, Spriteman was cured with fucking antacids, i simply think they could be a fucked up attempt at making something that kind of seems like it from a functional standpoint, from the wannabe god doctor that brought us green clones whose only fundamental association with time was accelerated aging and who thought an actively rotting corpse thats just reanimated enough that it can throw hands was as good as curing death

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Political economy vs inflation

As Biden lays out ambitious plans to stimulate the US economy and fight inequality with new money creation (spending) and money destruction (higher taxes on corporations, capital gains and the right), a firing squad of economists assembled to issue dire inflation warnings.

They're repeating the economic doctrine of the pasty 40 years, an austerity doctrine that focuses on the inflationary risks of "deficit spending" (when governments don't tax as much money out of the economy as they inject in the same year).

It's a doctrine that made a pretense to being a science, going to far as to create a fake "Nobel Prize" in economics in a bid for scientific credibility (the Nobel administrators eventually folded the economics prize into its administrative remit).

The "neoclassicals" used abstract equations to "prove" a bunch of economic truths that - purely coincidentally - made rich people much, much richer and poor people much, much poorer.

Tellingly, the most exciting development in economics of the past 50 years is "behavioral economics" - a subdiscipline whose (excellent) innovation was to check to see whether people actually act the way that economists' models predict they will.

(they don't)

It's this vain, discredited and shambolic group who have assembled behind leaders like Larry Summers to decry Biden's stimulus spending plans, insisting that we are flirting with hyperinflation and the collapse of the USD as a global reserve currency.

But economists aren't the last word in understanding stimulus and inflation. If you're trying to figure out whether Summers is right and inequality, poverty and crumbling infrastructure are the price of American stability, it's worth checking out the *political* economists.

Here's a great place to start: Brown University economist Mark Blyth's interview with The Analysis, available in audio, video, and as a transcript:

https://theanalysis.news/interviews/mark-blyth-the-inflated-fear-of-inflation/

Blyth doesn't dismiss Summers' inflationary fears out of hand, but he does say that Summers is vastly overestimating the likelihood that stimulus spending will trigger inflation - Summers says there's a 1-in-3 chance of inflation, while Blyth says it's more like 1-in-10.

To understand the difference, it's useful to first understand what we mean by inflation: "a general, sustained rise in the level of all prices."

It's not a short-term spike (like we saw with GPUs when everyone upgraded their gaming rigs at the start of the pandemic).

It's also not an asset-bubble. House prices in Toronto are high, but that's not inflation. They're high because "Canada stopped building public housing in the 1980s and turned it into an asset class and let the 10 percent top earners buy it all and swap it with each other."

For inflation to happen in the wake of the stimulus, the spending would have to lead to too much money chasing not enough goods. Blyth gives some pretty good reasons to be skeptical that this will happen.

Start with the wealthy: they don't spend much, relative to their income. Their consumption needs are already met (that's what it means to be rich). You can only own so many Sub-Zero fridges, and even after you fill them with kobe beef and Veuve Cliquot, you're still rich.

What rich people do with extra money is *speculate*. That's why top-level giveaways generate socially useless, destructive asset bubbles. Remember, these aren't inflation, which is good, because everyone agrees that inflation is hard to stop once it gets going.

They're speculative bubbles. We have a much better idea of how to prevent bubbles: transaction taxes, hikes to the capital gains tax, and high marginal tax rates at the top bracket.

Okay, fine, so the rich won't be able to spend us into inflation after a broad stimulus, but what about poor people? Well, the bottom 60% of the US is grossly indebted, suffocating under medical debt, student debt and housing debt. A *lot* of that will disappear.

That will transfer a lot of stimulus money from poor people to rich people (who own the debt), which is why we need high capital gains and top-bracket taxation. But it will also sweep away a vast swathe of the financialized economy.

The point of long-term debt isn't to get paid off - it's to generate ongoing cash-flows that can be securitized and turned into bonds. Securitization converted "advanced" economies into shambling, undead debt-zombies.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/02/innovation-unlocks-markets/#digital-arm-breakers

It's securitization that led to the 2008 financial crisis, and it's securitization that sustains Wall Street's speculative acquisition of every single-family dwelling for sale in America as part of a bid to turn every home into an extractive slum.

Blythe explains that if the rich have nothing to buy and the poor use most of their stimulus to get out of debt, it will likely reorient the US economy to useful things: creating jobs to make stuff that people want to buy.

But what about the dollar's status as a global reserve currency? Won't all that stimulus send other countries scurrying around for another form of national savings? Blyth's answer is pretty convincing.

First, because there aren't any great alternatives: the European economy is growing at half the rate of the US. The Chinese economy is booming, but if you buy Chinese assets, there's a good chance you'll never be able to get them out of China.

Gold? Bitcoin? Leave aside the deflationary risk of pegging your currency to an inelastic metal or virtual token, leave aside the environmentally devastating effect of cryptocurrency (cryptos consume enough energy to offset the entire planetary solar capacity!).

Instead, think of the volatility of these assets, with their drunken, wild swings - countries that dump USD due to inflationary fears are hardly likely to switch to a crypto that can lose 20% of its value in a day.

And remember how much of that volatility is driven by out-and-out fraud, with major crypto exchanges and gold schemes imploding without warning, taking hundreds of millions of dollars with them. This is not a stable alternative to the dollar!

Beyond the lack of an alternative, there's another reason to believe that the USD will remain a global reserve, as Blyth elegantly explains.

Think of a Chinese company supplying the US market. Chances are, that's actually US company's subcontractor, getting paid in USD.

These end up swapped with the Chinese central bank for Chinese money, because Chinese companies need to pay salaries, rent, and other expenses in Renminbi, not dollars. The Chinese central bank holds onto the USDs, using them as a national savings, a reserve currency.

If China were to dump all its USD holdings into the world economy, it would tank the US dollar - which is to say, it burn China's own national savings. China's central bank needs to do something with those dollar savings, so they buy 10-year US T-bills.

Same goes for Germany - net exporters depend on a net importer to buy their stuff, and primarily that's the USA. They are stuck in a form of "monetarily assured destruction," and a crisis of confidence is unlikely "because you’ve got nowhere else to take your confidence."

Next, Blyth takes up is the proposed increase in the corporate tax rate, and he says that investors are actually surprisingly okay with this - he reminds us of Buffett's maxim, "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."

A hike in the corporate tax rate has the potential to reveal which of the "great" firms "are just really good at tax optimization" rather than efficient production. It'll smash those unproductive firms to pieces that can be bought by good firms for pennies on the dollar.

The final issue that Blyth takes up is an excellent one for this May Day: the relationship of higher wages to inflation. When the US had large, centrally managed industries with large, centralized unions, there was the risk that higher prices would trigger higher wages.

But the US doesn't have a unionized workforce with guaranteed COLA inflationary rises - there's no "wage-price spiral" risk of higher prices leading to higher wages and then higher prices.

The neoclassical theory of wages is based on the "marginal productivity" and "higher than outside option" theories: wage-levels are the product of how much money they stand to make from your work, and how much someone else is willing to pay you to work for them.

But economists like Suresh Naidu describe how high-tech surveillance can disrupt this equilibrium: you can spy on workers instead of paying them more, can impose onerous conditions on them that wring them of everything they can produce.

This kind of bossware was once the exclusive burden of low-waged, precarious workers, but thanks to the shitty technology adoption curve, it is working its way up the privilege gradient to increasingly elite workforce segments.

Digital micromanagement went from the factory floor to remote customer-support reps to office workers who are minutely surveilled by Office 365, all the way up to MDs and other elite professionals:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware

This has led to increased profits for firms - firms now take a larger share of their productivity gains, and workers see stagnant or declining wages. That excess profit represents slack in the system.

It means that even if companies' costs go up, they can hold prices steady - all they need to do is reduce their retained profits.

We've had 40 years of price stability at the expense of a living wage for working people.

Higher wages are only inflationary if we assume that the 1% will continue to extract vast sums from their investments and use them to kick off destructive asset bubbles.

Image: badsci https://www.flickr.com/photos/7941730@N06/8625213990/

CC BY-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[killemwithkawaii]

So kind of a little (HA! Lol. Nothing I do is little) add on to the literal Angel AU-

The four horsemen are ACTUALLY the four horsemen. Sal is death (obviously,) Todd is pestilence, Larry is war, and Ash is famine. (It’s why she so skinny and we never see her eat- not cuz she’s pretty and doesn’t like food, just cuz none of the food really affects her somehow, and she figures out she doesn’t really need it, so she usually only eats it in public settings like parties)

They were reincarnated, and it was actually prophesied they would help the cult. But Beelzebub stepped in at last minute to prevent this, because all his creations would be destroyed with the Revelation! (That and he’s pissy at God, and he also adopts Sal. I’m just saying. I alway HC that’s WHY he appeared to Sal, family issues being similar with the whole Heaven Hell split thing) By the time the battle rolls around, Sal is officially the son of Beez, (for short) and the other three know of their powers. (Maybe have horses on their collar bones or something? Have a literal horse imagery included) Todd is still kidnapped, but the demon can’t enter him, so Travis gets infected instead.

They get the demon out of him, and Travis manages to use the demon’s powers to plunge his father and him into oblivion. (Have him actually be his son, and have his father be Michael/another Angel) (Also, cliche, but shadow sword. Shadow. Sword.)

S/O is sleeping when the literal apocalypse horsemen (in scary form) appear to them. “Oh. Oh. You’re Travis’- oh no.”

S/O is so devastated, the horsemen are now forced to care for them so they don’t end up insane with everything they’ve seen. (Larry is killed in the fight and reincarnated by Sal to a random reality in desperation to keep him alive somehow, and are now looking for him) Sal and S/O end up bonding through their healing grief.

S/O falls in love with Sal, and they eventually settle in Purgatory when they die, with the only rocky point being the guilt they feel regarding Travis.

(Bonus to the AU! being that Episode 2 would probs be more eventful, and the story pacing would probs be a little faster at some slower points, with the hook for the story also probs being a little more interesting- feel like Episode 1+2 were a little underwhelming, but also that introductions would be more memorable- I low key thought Todd was a background character until 3 came out)

Thoughts:

>Not sure how I feel about Ash (as the only presumed-AFAB in the group) being famine, but she was the only person eating a salad in the lunchroom scene so I guess the shoe fits lol

>Bubs: ‘Fuck you and disregard for my stuff, God- Death is my son now and we WILL fight you’

>the gang has cutie marks aljrlgier but really there should be more horse imagery/symbolism within the whole game, what with the importance of the glitter pony in ep 1

>Todd: ‘I’m literally Pestilence do you really want to inhabit this shit’

Demon: ‘U rite (posses Travis)’ 

>Angel!Travis dragging his father down to hell with him is just *chefs kiss* poetic I love it

>Falling in love with your friend-turned-legendary-eldritch-monster over your shared grief in witnessing the death of millions and slowly healing before spending eternity together in an unfathomable void: Now thats what i call ‘Delicious Angst’ 👌👌👌

>Chapters 1 and 2 may have been a little underwhelming because Steve was just starting out with making games etc.- this would have definitely given them more of a hook!

[antoine-roquentin]

The early signs are not auspicious. Almost lost in the welter of top economic jobs leaked to the Times, Post, and Wall Street Journal by the transition staff on Sunday (the Prospect reported most of these earlier in the week) was an unfamiliar name, Adewale Adeyemo, known as Wally. He is to be Yellen’s deputy Treasury secretary.

Who is Wally Adeyemo? If he is typical of what’s coming, we can expect that what the Biden team gives progressives with one hand, they may take away with the other.

Adeyemo, 39, came to the U.S. as a child from Nigeria with his parents. He excelled in school, graduating from the University of California and then Yale Law School. While at Yale, he worked in the Obama campaign. He joined the administration while still in his late twenties, working for then–Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Among the red flags for progressives is the fact that after leaving government, Adeyemo followed a well-worn path of Obama alums seeking to cash in, and went to Wall Street. And not just anywhere on Wall Street—he went to BlackRock, the world’s largest financial firm with $7 trillion under management, where he served as a political adviser and for a time as chief of staff to CEO Larry Fink.

So Adeyemo begins with a conflict of interest, since Fink’s top priority is to prevent BlackRock from being designated as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI), which would subject it to a higher level of regulatory scrutiny. The Treasury is the key player on this decision, and scores of others that affect BlackRock’s business model.

And there are more red flags. Before joining the Obama administration, Adeyemo worked at the Hamilton Project. That’s the outfit housed at Brookings and created and underwritten by Robert Rubin to promote a very centrist and Wall Street–friendly brand of watered-down liberalism.

Adeyemo subsequently worked for Treasury Secretary Jack Lew as his deputy chief of staff in 2015. Lew is another Rubin protégé. In between Lew’s two stints in government (Clinton, then Obama), Lew was chief operating officer at Citigroup, where Rubin was a top executive.

(Why does Rubin turn up just about everywhere in launching and promoting the careers of the wrong kind of Democrat? That’s not just a rhetorical question but a deeply structural one, if you want to understand the corruption and political failures of the Democratic Party.)

Following his post at Treasury, Adeyemo took a version of the key international economics post once held by Rubin protégé Mike Froman, serving on both the NSC and the NEC as the international economics chief. He was a key negotiator on the late and little lamented Trans-Pacific Partnership, the brainchild of Froman, and the quintessence of the corporate brand of “free trade” deal.

From there he went to BlackRock. After two years at Black Rock, Adeyemo became the first president of the Obama Foundation.

His trajectory offers a perfect rendition of the Washington–Wall Street revolving door. Can we imagine Adeyemo urging tougher regulation of BlackRock?

But here the plot thickens, for there is one anomalous green flag in Adeyemo’s career: his cordial relationship with Elizabeth Warren.

After the Dodd-Frank Act passed in 2010, it included Warren’s creation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Warren was designated as the interim chair. Geithner assigned Adeyemo to work with Warren as the bureau’s executive director.

Warren and Adeyemo have maintained a good relationship, and I have confirmed with Warren’s staff that she will support his nomination to Treasury. So we will likely get a number two at Treasury on close terms with two opposites—Larry Fink and Elizabeth Warren.

as the american prospect already pointed out, this is going to be the blackrock administration - so much so that the people who actually gave up their own political capital to bring biden his victory are complaining that he’s not giving their choices enough consideration. meanwhile “progressives” are nowhere in the picture

If investors were once wary of the single-family rental business, they aren’t any longer. The share price of American Homes 4 Rent was up 40 percent between August of 2013 and August of 2018. Investors such as Morgan Stanley and BlackRock increased their holdings in Invitation Homes in the third quarter of 2018. By December, the eight ratings firms covering the company had each given Invitation a “buy” rating, indicating that they believe it’s undervalued.

Single-family rental companies are now “darlings” of the real-estate sector, according to Haendel St. Juste, an analyst at Mizuho Securities who covers the industry. “You have this proof of concept now,” he told me. “They’ve exceeded expectations.” When I reached out to Sam Zell, the Chicago real-estate investor who had been skeptical of single-family rentals in the past, he, too, had changed his tune. “Technology has disrupted the real estate industry,” he said in a statement, “and the single-family rental sector may be a case in which resulting efficiencies have a big impact.”

Single-family rental companies are continuing to expand, suggesting that, rather than a temporary response to a generational crisis in the housing market, institutional ownership of single-family rentals may be a new fixture of the real-estate industry. Invitation Homes spent more than $200 million on new homes in the first nine months of 2018. As the supply of cheap homes for sale evaporates, American Homes 4 Rent has started building new homes to add to its stock.

[meanstreetspodcasts]

Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing

“I rarely leave my house. I do like it here. I would be an idiot to leave this chair, made to fit me.” (Rex Stout, Before I Die)

Nero Wolfe made his first appearance in 1934, and his adventures are still being enjoyed nearly eighty years later in books, TV shows, and - beginning on April 10, 1943 - radio dramas.  Not bad for a man who hated leaving his house more than nearly anything in the world.

Wolfe, the eccentric genius who weighs a seventh of a ton, was created by writer Rex Stout.  Stout made a tidy sum inventing a system to track the money school children saved in their accounts, and he used his earnings and royalties to travel the world and embark on a career as a writer.  His first Wolfe novel, Fer-de-Lance, was published in 1934, and Stout would go on to write 33 novels and 39 stories featuring Wolfe until his death in 1975.  Over the course of the novels and stories, Stout fleshed out the character, who enjoyed fine food and good beer, tended to his orchids, and solved mysteries when he had to earn a fee, always with the aid of his assistant (and the narrator of the stories), Archie Goodwin.

Stout’s brilliant stroke was to combine two archetypes of detective fiction into one duo.  Nero Wolfe was a classic refined detective in the mold of Sherlock Holmes, right down to his eccentricities, anti-social personality, and acute agoraphobia.  He could listen to clues as they were presented to him in his drawing room and deduce the solution to a crime without ever leaving the chair especially designed for his massive weight.  At his side was Archie, a more streetwise sleuth in the mold of (though not nearly as hard-boiled) Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe.  Archie carried a gun and had an eye for a blonde like his brethren, but he drank milk instead of bourbon and he had a playful demeanor - particularly with his boss and their frequent foil on the police force, Inspector Cramer.

Wolfe came to the screen in 1934 and 1937, but it would take almost ten years for the character to make his radio debut.  From 1943 to 1944, ABC aired The Adventures of Nero Wolfe which starred J.B. Williams, Santos Ortega, and Luis Van Rooten as Wolfe during various points in the run.  A falling out between ABC and Stout’s representatives prevented the series from continuing, but a new version would premier on the Mutual Network in 1946.  Francis X. Bushman starred as Wolfe, with Elliott Lewis, a veteran radio actor who would soon take the director’s chair on Suspense, as Archie.  

But it is the 1950 NBC series The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe that is most fondly remembered and which came the closest to capturing the essence of Stout’s stories.  First and foremost, they found an actor who could fully embody Wolfe’s larger than life persona - Sydney Greenstreet.

A longtime theater actor, Greenstreet’s big break came as Kasper Gutman (“The Fat Man”) opposite Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon in 1941 at age 62. After receiving an Academy Award nomination for the role, Greenstreet appeared in films like Casablanca, The Mask of Demetrios, and Across the Pacific.  At age 71, he was cast as Wolfe, and his trademark characteristics - arched speech, droll laugh, deliberate intonation - perfectly fit Nero Wolfe’s larger than life personality.

Over the course of the series, no fewer than six actors were heard as Archie Goodwin. Each of the first three episodes featured a different Archie: Wally Maher (October 20); Lamont Johnson (October 27); and Herb Ellis (November 10). Beginning on November 24, actor Larry Dobkin assumed the role.  Dobkin had previously been heard as Louie the cab driver on The Saint and as Detective Lt. Matthews on The Adventures of Philip Marlowe.  After eight episodes, Dobkin left and his old co-star Gerald Mohr voiced Goodwin for the next four episodes. Mohr was on a radio detective roll; he had just wrapped his two-year run as Marlowe and would return for a Marlowe summer series a few months after his gig as Archie came to a close.  Harry Bartell, a veteran of Escape and Dragnet as well as the Petri Wine announcer for The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, stepped into Archie’s shoes for the final ten episodes of the series.

Why so many Archies to one Nero?  There’s no definite answer.  Some have said it was because Greenstreet was difficult to work with; others speculate the revolving door of co-stars was a sign of retooling to see if the ratings would improve.

And while the series was well done, with even Rex Stout praising Greenstreet’s performance (he was less complimentary of the program itself), it did not fare well enough in the ratings to earn a second year.  The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe wrapped up its run on April 27, 1951.  Fortunately for fans, the entire series run are available in great condition.  One can listen to the full run and hear Greenstreet lend his one-of-a-kind voice to Wolfe, and even with so many actors playing Archie Goodwin, none is sub-par.  Each brings his own style to the character while staying true to Stout’s creation.  And backing up Greenstreet and his Goodwins every week are a great cast, including Bill Johnstone as Inspector Cramer, Howard McNear, Betty Lou Gerson, Peter Leeds, and Barney Phillips.

Since the radio era came to an end, Nero Wolfe has continued to entertain fans outside of the books. Several TV shows have aired, including one single-season program starring radio veteran William Conrad as Wolfe and an absolutely delightful but criminally short-lived production on A&E with Timothy Hutton as Archie and Maury Chaykin as Wolfe. And for fans who want more audio adventures of the pair, the CBC mounted an impressive series of adaptations in 1982.

Check out this episode!

[anticonspiracist]

I just wanted to say that I really like your blog and I've learned a lot from the non-larrie stuff too.

I totally agree with what you said to an anon yesterday, who suggested that you ignore them. Larries seem to be immovable. Ignoring them doesn't work, challenging their theories doesn't work, (not because they win arguments but because they keep dancing around the questions posed with their stock phrases) and mention of their problematic behaviour by both Louis and Harry in the media doesn't work. For this one, they refer to their playbook of the fictitious forcible closeting as being the reason these men say these things, ("They're being forced into it)". Sadly, because of the huge egos and narcissistic personality traits involved, these people will probably never stop and I can't even imagine what Harry or Louis would need to do or say to make them stop. The only positive for me is that the worst of them hold court here on Tumblr which is far from mainstream in the UK.

Antis' presence here really serves more to prevent the creation of more larries.

[rjzimmerman]

Beautiful video, song, movement, passion......all here for 5 minutes of your time. You’ll hear Native American chanting and prayer, and Bonnie Raitt and the Indigo Girls singing, among other sounds.

Description from Rolling Stone:

Bonnie Raitt and the Indigo Girls are among the many voices featured on “No More Pipeline Blues (On this Land Where We Belong),” out on Earth Day (April 22nd) via Rock the Cause Records.

The track supports the ongoing fight against Minnesota’s “Line 3” tar sands oil pipeline, which cuts through more than 200 bodies of water, including the Mississippi River. The resistance is heavily led by indigenous women, including activist Winona LaDuke — who has spent the last eight years trying to prevent the construction of Line 3.

In addition to Raitt, the Indigo Girls, and LaDuke, the song also features the first Native American poet laureate, Joy Harjo, as well as Waubanewquay, Day Sisters, Mumu Fresh, Pura Fe, Soni Moreno, and Jennifer Kreisberg. It was produced and composed by Larry Long.

The accompanying video, directed by Keri Pickett, shows indigenous peoples protesting on the front line, holding signs, and confronting the police. Proceeds for the song will be donated to Honor the Earth, a nonprofit founded by LaDuke and the Indigo Girls.

” ‘No More Pipeline Blues’ beautifully illustrates in music, singing, spoken word, and images the threats of a totally unnecessary tar sands pipeline at the end of the age of Big Oil,” LaDuke said in a statement. “But it also illuminates the sacredness of our environment, and yet more destructive, historical impacts to indigenous culture. Still, the song and the music video are also like prayer offered in ceremony, asking for strength, justice and preservation.”

“I’ve been involved with Honor the Earth and their work protecting Native lands and water since the early Nineties,” added Raitt. “With the climate crisis beyond its tipping point, the movement to stop these destructive and unnecessary fossil fuel pipelines is crucial and deserves more attention than it’s getting. We can join the worldwide shift to developing renewables, ensuring the protection of our environment, the creation of thousands of jobs, and lessening the risk and trauma to both Native communities and the whole Great Lakes region. I’m hopeful ‘No More Pipeline Blues (On This Land Where We Belong)’ will bring more awareness about the need to stop Line 3 and capture the attention of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as well as President Biden, who have the authority to stop construction of the pipeline until ongoing environmental litigation is settled.”

[7r0773r]

The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, translated by Larry Korn, Chris Pearce & Tsune Kurosawa

Recently people have been asking me why I started farming this way so many years ago. Until now I have never discussed this with anyone. You could say there was no way to talk about it. It was simply—how would you say it—a shock, a flash, one small experience that was the starting point.

That realization completely changed my life. It is nothing you can really talk about, but it might be put something like this: “Humanity knows nothing at all. There is no intrinsic value in anything, and every action is a futile, meaningless effort.” This may seem preposterous, but if you put it into words, that is the only way to describe it. 

This “thought” developed suddenly in my head when I was still quite young. I did not know if this insight, that all human understanding and effort are of no account, was valid or not, but if I examined these thoughts and tried to banish them, I could come up with nothing within myself to contradict them. Only the certain belief that this was so burned within me. 

It is generally thought that there is nothing more splendid than human intelligence, that human beings are creatures of special value, and that their creations and accomplishments as mirrored in culture and history are wondrous to behold. That is the common belief, anyway.

Since what I was thinking was a denial of this, I was unable to communicate my view to anyone. Eventually I decided to give my thoughts a form, to put them into practice, and so to determine whether my understanding was right or wrong. To spend my life farming, growing rice and winter grain—this was the course upon which I settled. (pp. 4-5)

***

This line of reasoning not only applies to agriculture, but to other aspects of human society as well. Doctors and medicine become necessary when people create a sickly environment. Formal schooling has no intrinsic value, but becomes necessary when humanity creates a condition in which one must become “educated” to get along. (p. 16)

***

Human beings with their tampering do something wrong, leave the damage unrepaired, and when the adverse results accumulate, work with all their might to correct them. When the corrective actions appear to be successful, they come to view these measures as splendid accomplishments. People do this over and over again. It is as if a fool were to stomp on and break the tiles of his roof. Then when it starts to rain and the ceiling begins to rot away, he hastily climbs up to mend the damage, rejoicing in the end that he has accomplished a miraculous solution. 

It is the same with the scientist. He pores over books night and day, straining his eyes and becoming nearsighted, and if you wonder what on earth he has been working on all that time—it is to become the inventor of eyeglasses to correct nearsightedness. (p. 18)

***

The fundamental question here is whether or not it is necessary for human beings to eat eggplants and cucumbers during the winter. But, this point aside, the only reason they are grown during the winter is that they can be sold then at a good price. Somebody develops a means to grow them, and after some time passes, it is found that these vegetables have no nutritional value. Next, the technician thinks that if the nutrients are being lost, a way must be found to prevent that loss. Because the trouble is thought to be with the lighting system, he begins to research light rays. He thinks everything will be all right if he can produce a hothouse eggplant with vitamins in it. I was told that there are some technicians who devote their entire lives to this kind of research.

Naturally, since such great efforts and resources have gone into producing this eggplant, and the vegetable is said to be high in nutritional value, it is tagged at an even higher price and sells well. “If it is profitable, and if you can sell it, there can’t be anything wrong with it.”

No matter how hard people try, they cannot improve upon naturally grown fruits and vegetables. Produce grown in an unnatural way satisfies people’s fleeting desires but weakens the human body and alters the body chemistry so that it is dependent upon such foods. When this happens, vitamin supplements and medicines become necessary. This situation only creates hardships for the farmer and suffering for the consumer. (pp. 97-98)

***

Lao Tzu, the Taoist sage, says that a whole and decent life can be lived in a small village. Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen, spent nine years living in a cave without bustling about. To be worried about making money, expanding, developing, growing cash crops and shipping them out is not the way of the farmer. To be here, caring for a small field, in full possession of the freedom and plentitude of each day, every day—this must have been the original way of agriculture. (pp. 111-12)

***

“If you did nothing at all the world could not keep running. What would the world be without development?”

“Why do you have to develop? If economic growth rises from 5% to 10%, is happiness going to double? What’s wrong with a growth rate of 0%? Isn’t this a rather stable kind of economics? Could there be anything better than living simply and taking it easy?”

People find something out, learn how it works, and put nature to use, thinking this will be for the good of humankind. The result of all this, up to now, is that the planet has become polluted, people have become confused, and we have invited in the chaos of modern times. 

At this farm we practice “do-nothing” farming and eat wholesome and delicious grains, vegetables, and citrus. There is meaning and basic satisfaction just in living close to the source of things. Life is song and poetry.

The farmer became too busy when people began to investigate the world and decided that it would be “good” if we did this or did that. All my research has been in the direction of not doing this or that. These thirty years have taught me that farmers would have been better off doing almost nothing at all.

The more people do, the more society develops, the more problems arise. The increasing desolation of nature, the exhaustion of resources, the uneasiness and disintegration of the human spirit, all have been brought about by humanity’s trying to accomplish something. Originally there was no reason to progress, and nothing that had to be done. We have come to the point at which there is no other way than to bring about a “movement” not to bring anything about. (pp. 158-59)

[the-master-cylinder]

SUMMARY Project Questor is the brainchild of the genius Dr. Emil Vaslovik, Ph.D., a Nobel laureate. Vaslovik had developed plans to build a superhuman android. A team of the world’s foremost experts is able to build the android even though they do not understand the components with which they are working — they are only able to follow the instructions and install the parts left by Vaslovik, who has disappeared. Attempts to decode the programming tape were worse than merely unsuccessful—they also erased approximately half of the tape’s contents. They decide to substitute their own programming, over the objections of Jerry Robinson (Mike Farrell), the only team member who had actually worked with Dr. Vaslovik. He is overruled by the head of the project, Geoffrey Darrow (John Vernon). When the android’s body has been finished, the new tape is loaded, but with no apparent results. In desperation, Robinson persuades Darrow to allow Vaslovik’s tape — what remains of it — to be loaded. Again, the team is disappointed, as there appears to be no response.

Once left alone, the android comes to life. It adds various cosmetic touches to a previously featureless outer skin, transforming itself from an “it” to a “him”, and he (Robert Foxworth) then leaves the laboratory to visit Vaslovik’s office and archives; it is there that he first identifies himself as “part of Project Questor”. The android then seeks out Robinson, whom he forces to accompany him in a search for Vaslovik, with Darrow in pursuit of both, following a minuscule datum in his original programming.

Questor (who becomes more “human” as the story progresses) only knows that it has something to do with an “aquatic vehicle” — a boat — and that if he does not find Vaslovik before the end of a countdown, the nuclear generator in his abdomen will overload and explode. Vaslovik had programmed this into him to prevent his creation from being misused, and time is running out. The pair, traveling to England, escape from custody and travel to the home of Lady Helena Trimble (Dana Wynter), who had known and worked with Vaslovik. (Her name was an homage to Bjo Trimble, who had led the fan campaign to keep Star Trek on the air.) After Robinson refuses Questor’s naive suggestion that the scientist seduce Lady Helena as a way to get information, Questor announces that he will make the attempt, adding, “I am fully functional.”

Just as Questor deciphers the clues and tells Robinson that he knows where Vaslovik is, he is shot by British soldiers, and returned to the laboratory. Robinson repairs Questor, and Darrow gives him two options: If Robinson puts a homing transmitter inside the android, they will be given a plane to go find Vaslovik, but if Robinson refuses, the android will simply be flown to a safe location where the explosion will not endanger anyone. Robinson implants the beacon, and they jet off to Mount Ararat; the “boat” imperative, as Questor had realized just minutes before being shot, had referred to Noah’s Ark.

Robinson and Questor reach a cave concealed inside Mount Ararat with seconds to spare. Questor’s timer is made safe, and he has found Emil Vaslovik (Lew Ayres), who tells Questor and Robinson that he, too, is an android. Questor is the last of a series, going back to “the dawn of this world,” left there by “Masters” to serve and protect mankind. They functioned by a law which Vaslovik quotes to Questor:

“We protect, but we do not interfere. Man must make his own way. We guide him — but always without his knowledge.”

Each of the Masters’ previous androids had a lifespan of several hundred years, at the end of which each assembled its replacement. The unexpected, rapid advent of nuclear physics and the radioactive fallout from above-ground nuclear testing had damaged Vaslovik. Questor’s design corrected these failures, and finally Vaslovik is able to die in peace, after asking Robinson to help Questor learn about humanity.

Darrow, having followed the pair, has heard enough to know how important it is that Questor be allowed to fulfill his mission. Unfortunately, he has brought the military with him to destroy the android. The cynical Darrow believes that this is proof that humanity does not deserve Questor’s help. Questor convinces him otherwise.

Deciding to sacrifice his own life for Questor’s sake, Darrow takes the transmitter and leaves, telling the military commander that not only Vaslovik had gone insane, but also that the android has escaped, and to send in jet fighters when the beacon signal is picked up. He then takes off in the jet that Questor and Robinson had used, turning on the transmitter as he goes so that they will think that the android is aboard.

Robinson and Questor, now outside the cave, look up into the sky. Robinson tells Questor that he cannot see anything, to which the android replies, “I wish that I could not.” This is notably his first verbal expression of emotion, Questor’s first visual expression of emotion had occurred when his timer had been made safe; he had then regarded Robinson with a smile. The plane is then destroyed, killing Darrow. Questor and Robinson begin their mission together.

DEVELOPMENT The Questor Tapes was a pilot for a television series. In fact, a 13-episode go-ahead was given for the series before the television movie was aired, with both Foxworth and Farrell having signed to reprise their roles. Joining the actors behind the scenes were producers Michael Rhodes and Earl Booth and story editor Larry Alexander. The green-lighted series was slated for Friday nights at 10 p.m. on NBC — the “death slot” where the final season of the original Star Trek had withered.

Roddenberry’s Best Since “Star Trek” Gene Roddenberry’s The Questor Tapes premiered on January 23, 1974. It has proven to be his best work since Star Trek. The show received solid ratings and favorable reviews on its Wednesday night telecast, it was opposite an ABC movie with William Shatner, and became an immediate success. Fans were thoroughly impressed and hoped the pilot would lead to a series.

But by that time it was already shelved. The original story, titled Questor, was written by Roddenberry three years earlier. Universal and NBC read it, liked it and Gene L. Coon was hired to write the script.

He handed in the first draft on November 29, 1972. It made the rounds and a revision was called for. Gene fulfilled their request. finishing the new pages on December 12.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy9XCtAkNEM Roddenberry talking about The Questor Tapes

The project was approved, with a few changes:

Contessa Ignacia Valenti Comara Calassi became Lady Helena Alexandria Trimble and her estate was moved from Italy to England.

The sight of Project Questor was moved from Geneva, Switzerland, to Pasadena, California.

The kidnapping of Questor and Robinson by the French was thrown out, as was the now (in)famous scene of android seducing cortesan. Roddenberry objected most heavily to that.

Robert Foxworth was under contract to Universal at the time, as was Mike Farrell. Both were miserable and turning down parts. The Questor script was handed to them. They both loved it and were hired for the parts of Questor and Jerry Robinson.

A production schedule was set, the other parts cast and sets were built. By the end of the summer of ’73 the pilot was finished. At this time, NBC was beginning to falter even more in the ratings. The execs viewed the pilot and were enthusiastic over its prospects. NBC liked it, Universal liked it, Gene Roddenberry liked it. Mike Farrell liked it…everyone liked it. NBC gave the go ahead; make it a series.

Several time slots were considered, with NBC finally choosing nine to 10 on Friday nights, directly following their new series (and hit) The Rockford Files.

Gene drafted the series “bible,” the guide to go by. In it. Questor and Jerry were based at Robinson Enterprises Ltd. a multimillion dollar corporation established with financing raised by Questor on the stock exchange.

Hidden inside the headquarters was the Information Center, with which Questor could monitor world events as they took place. Viewing screens surrounded the room, on which Questor could tune in to any meeting, merger or convergence-with no regard for secrecy. He could watch Congress, or the Soviet Defense Command or even the bedroom of a world dignitary.

Also hidden inside the corporate headquarters was the cosmetology/repair lab. Because Questor could be damaged (or even killed, with a sufficient injury to the head and bionic plasma contained therein), the repair facilities were mandatory. With the cosmetology lab, Questor could re-mold his features in order to impersonate any (presumably) male person. A new device, a personality implanter, would allow him to take on the voice, reactions, mannerisms and habits of the individual. It also allowed him to simulate emotions, under the right circumstances.

Two new characters were added: Candi. their secretary, and Balfour, their business manager, Candi was to be a beautiful, naive blonde–hired for these very qualities. It was hoped her naiveté would blind her to the true identity of Questor, and his mission. She was also to be a constant distraction to Robinson, her beauty getting in his way. However, she was determined to keep her virginity until marriage.

Balfour, their personal business manager, was a crippled Vietnam veteran, confined toa wheelchair. He used his G.I. loan to invest heavily in the stock market, and made millions overnight. He lost it as quickly. Questor found him, penniless and depressed, recognized his remarkable talent for business and hired him on the spot. Asthe series was to progress, Balfour was to grow, recognizing his injury was not the end of his life. Jerry was to play an immense part in helping to regenerate Balfour, through his sensitivity, empathy and caring qualities even Jerry did not know he possessed.

Scripts were to be of high quality, “well thought out.” No “monsters trying to conquer man” or “mad scientists threatening to destroy the world.” One plot suggested by Roddenberry involved a cancer research scientist. His upcoming marriage, to all indications, would stifle his career. There was a good chance he would succeed in finding a cure for cancer-but only if he did not marry. It was up to Jerry and Questor to break up the couple, which (with great difficulty) they did.

Conflict between Roddenberry and both Universal and NBC over the content of the proposed series doomed it, most notably ignoring the revelation at the end of the TV movie and eliminating the key character of Jerry Robinson. These changes were too much for Roddenberry, who abandoned the project. No episodes were produced.

The Questor Tapes was one of a series of television movies in which Roddenberry was involved, which also included Genesis II, Planet Earth, Strange New World and Spectre. All were intended as pilots; none led to a series.

MUSIC SCORE The music for The Questor Tapes was scored by Gil Mellé, who was a jazz musician as well as a saxophonist, composer, and also noted as a painter. (Some of his music for The Questor Tapes later made its way into Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Both properties were developed at, and produced out of, Universal Studios.) Mellé also was known for scoring My Sweet Charlie, That Certain Summer, and Frankenstein: The True Story. His most well-known film score was The Andromeda Strain.

CAST/CREW Created by Gene Roddenberry

Written by Gene Roddenberry Gene L. Coon

Directed by Richard Colla

Robert Foxworth as Questor Mike Farrell as Jerry Robinson John Vernon as Geoffrey Darrow Lew Ayres as Dr. Emil Vaslovik, Ph.D. James Shigeta as Dr. Chen Robert Douglas as Dr. Michaels Dana Wynter as Lady Helena Trimble Ellen Weston as Allison Sample Majel Barrett as Dr. Bradley Walter Koenig as Administrative Assistant

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY STARLOG#30 STARLOG#51

The Questor Tapes (TV Movie 1974) SUMMARY Project Questor is the brainchild of the genius Dr. Emil Vaslovik, Ph.D., a Nobel laureate. Vaslovik had developed plans to build a superhuman android.

[yessoupy]

"They stigmatize his fans as being teenage girls who fantasize about a relationship with him, and therefore are obsessed with his sex life – when this is frankly an insulting and gross overgeneralization. It is off-putting that fans are shamed for behavior they do not demonstrate" from huffpo article, Larries constantly talk about harry fucking louis, can't they see that counts as interest in his sex life lmao. This article isn't written by a huffpo writer btw it was a user submitted piece

Look, I recognize it’s a user-submitted piece. I understand how that works. But I’ve also seen plenty of well-meaning friends and family sharing around articles from similar sources without realizing that what they’re sharing hasn’t undergone the fact-checking and scrutiny that real journalism sees before it’s published. 

idk if you’re American or not, but I’ve watched conspiracy theorism infect both sides of the American political spectrum. It’s just as rife in the left as it is in the right, and it’s perpetuated by stuff like this – has the patina of legitimacy because it’s Huffington Post (even though it’s really not) and plays into the confirmation bias of its intended audience. For what? Clicks. Clicks and positive affirmation.

Just spreading that conspiracy theorism all over the place. After bullying Brittany Spanos into making her twitter protected, the larries get to pretend that they’re such great people.

[krinsbez]

GI Joe: Remixed, an Introduction

For some time now, I’ve been working on a collaborative worldbuilding project based on GI Joe. I have now received permission to share it with you.

OK, disclaimers out of the way, let's get into it: the purpose of the project was A: to create a modern-day version of GI Joe: A Real American Hero, that reflects today's more multipolar world, with the idea that GI Joe is joined in the fight against Cobra by the Special Missions Forces of other nations and blocs, and B: to syncretize the Larry Hama-penned comic with the Sunbow cartoon, as well as select elements from later iterations of the franchise.

So basic premise:

In 2005, the man now known only as Cobra Commander began a MLM scheme. This transformed into first a cult, and then a paramilitary group, following a populist, anti-democracy, quasi-fascist ideology. This organization, Cobra, remained more-or-less under the radar until 2008, when the unrest and turmoil brought on by the financial crisis allowed it's recruitment efforts to explode and go international, bringing it into partnership with the notorious arms dealer James McCullen, who in turn introduced Cobra Commander to an array of internationally feared mercenaries and terrorists-for-hire. For the next several years, Cobra grew at an exponential rate, establishing footholds in many of the world's poorer regions, while quietly infiltrating governments, corporations, and NGOs in the developed world. In 2012, they began launching their first attacks against the "First World", who proved unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with the seemingly sudden emergence of a terrorist organization with the resources of a first-rank military power and the logistical means to bring that power to bear against previously thought sacrosanct regions such as the American heartland, leading to months of chaos, as Cobra was seemingly pushed back, but remained very much in the game. Their success also led to the rise of several similar "megaterrror" groups, such as SKAR, the IRON Army, and a revival of Red Shadows, which had plagued Europe in the '60s and '70s. In the wake of this crisis, US Army Generals I. B. Austin and Lawrence Flagg, and Gen. Joseph Colton (ret.) proposed that this extraordinary threat required an equally extraordinary response, the creation of a Special Mission Force drawn from the best-of-the-best of the entire US military, modeled on the "Adventure Team" Colton had led against Red Shadows decades earlier, but on a grander scale.

(thanks to ForumViking for this next part):

GI JOE special operations recruits soldiers from other other services.   Some are serving for a limited time or even on a mission only basis.   They are not issued code names (however they do not use their names and do not carry idenification) or specialized gear.  These are our green shirts. Others are recruited for the duration.  They are issued code names to make it harder for COBRA and other enemies to strike at them through living family members or even find information on them, additionally they are allowed to use non-standard gear as they are recruited as specialized in what is an extremely unconventional war.  Hell, GI JOE might have been founded because they have to operate on American soil so often. As a result Joe's likely have 2 ranks, their standard military rank and their Joe rank.  Duke may be an Army 1st sgt but he's the Joe XO and when operating with GI JOE, that's the rank that's more important. Think about it, when fighting COBRA, they are fighting an enemy with extreme penetration into the US economy and political set up, that holds territory covertly in the United States while operating on a global scale.  COBRA is able to deploy fully equipped modern armies anywhere at anytime.  They have attacked inside the US using armored units.  Seized entire cities but for reason have managed to keep their own logistical and production facilities utterly secret from the world at large.  This would be terrifying in the real world.  It makes real organizations like Al'Qeada look like the Boy Scouts!  The conventional military and law enforcement wouldn't be able to counter this. A side thought, the individualized uniforms may also be for proganda reasons, by giving the public real, visible heroes fighting against COBRA, it helps prevent the panic from reaching levels that are unmanageable and encourage cooperation with GI JOE operations.  You're much more likely to trust Roadblock and Lady Jaye then a pair of faceless government troops with rifles after all.

The success of GI Joe in fighting Cobra inspires other superpowers and regional power-blocs to follow suit. 

Our current thoughts are that the following definitely have a Special Missions Force: -USA (GI Joe) -Russia (Oktober Guard, named after a Soviet version of Colton's Adventure Team) -EU jointly with the Commonwealth (Action Force) -China (People's Liberation Army Special Missions Force) -India (Mongoose) - Egypt and the Gulf States (Mu'aqqibat) -Israel (?) -Iran (?) 

A rough timeline, created by ForumViking: 

2003- Cobra Commander's brother returns. 2004- Business fails, divorce, CC takes his son and jets. Starts forming and working on the ideology that will become Cobra 2005-2008- Recruiting and organization with some successful but nothing huge 2008- economic crisis happens. Cobra recruting and connections explode, Extensive Enterprises and M.A.R.S brought on board. Cobra Commander expands into the 3rd world. Crimson guard founded. 2009-2011- Operations in the 3rd world, mainly replacing local and regional governments to create safe zones. The Crimson Guard led take over of Springfield and other places in North America creates training and launching areas for Cobra. 2012- First Cobra attacks in the 1st world. Mostly terrorist operations on military targets, Firefly and Zartan emerge has major leaders of these operations. But Stormshadow and the Red Ninjas are also able to win victories. This leds to the first large scale battle in North America since the American Civil War, attacks also occur in India, China, along the Pacific and Europe. Chaos reigns for months until Cobra is slowly pushed back but it's a mixed bag. While Cobra is not openly holding territory (although there are areas in the US, PRC and India where Cobra operates with relative impunity), many Cobra assets are operating throughout the world. 2013- Due to the US military having mixed results due to lack of actionable intelligence and Cobra penetration, a group Senior officers decide that a more creative solution is required. After heavy security measures are put into place the first Joes are recruited and training begins. First deployments are conducted secretly, led by Duke, often spearheaded by Stalker's team. 2014- GI Joe begins operating openly inflicts major defeats on Cobra in full view of the public. Other national/transnational teams are brought on line copying in part the Joe model. 2015-2016- Open warfare. Cobra Commander under advisement from the twins instuties the Viper program which allows Cobra to fight most nations on equal if not superior terms. The Joes and other National teams are able to confront and defeat Viper units and the war becomes at best a stalemate for cobra or a slow battle to victory for the allies. 2017- Dr. Mindbender presents the BATS and they are approved for deployment.

[allspark]

It’s time for our weekly Diamond Comics Shipping List! Check out some great titles IDW has in store for us next week like Transformers, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, My Little Pony, Spider-Man, Star Trek, and more! All coming your way for June 12th!

TRANSFORMERS #7

Brian Ruckley (A) Cachet Whitman (CVR A) Christian Ward (CVR B) Livio Ramondelli

When another body shows up, Chromia and Prowl feel the pressure to get answers. Bumblebee, meanwhile, applies for a new job-as a bodyguard. But first, he has to impress Elita-1.

•   New story begins here! •   A brand-new era of Transformers!

TRANSFORMERS #1 (2ND PTG)

Brian Ruckley (A) Angel Hernandez, Cachet Whitman (CVR) Gabriel Rodriguez

GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO #263

Larry Hama (A/CVR A) Netho Diaz (CVR B) Dan Fraga

As Cobra continues its relentless onslaught on a global scale, G.I. Joe is there to meet them in kind. It’s tyranny versus freedom-heroes and villains will rise and fall, bullets will fly, blood will spill, and who and what remains when the smoke clears is anyone’s guess! Join Living Legend Larry Hama and superstar artist Netho Diaz for another explosive adventure into the action-packed world if G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero!

AMBER BLAKE #1 (2ND PTG)

Jade Lagardère (A/CVR) Butch Guice

AMBER BLAKE #4

Jade Lagardère (A/CVR) Butch Guice

Amber Blake has finally found the person responsible for all of the pain in her life-and there’s no way she’s letting him get away again. But nothing is as it seems, and when the people closest to her betray her, she’ll have to use all of her skills to get out alive-and to get the vengeance she’s longed for.

BERKELEY BREATHED’S BLOOM COUNTY ARTIST EDITION HC

Berkeley Breathed (A/CVR) Berkeley Breathed

The Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of one of the most cherished and fondly remembered comic strips of all time showcases his art in this deluxe oversized edition. You’ve read all the strips, now see the art! This Artist’s Edition features an incredible selection of daily and Sunday comic strips, as well as a selection of sketchbook pages and drawings, published here for the very first time, each and every one scanned from the original art. The dailies are presented at the ACTUAL size drawn, and the Sundays have been slightly reduced but are still bigger and more beautiful than they have ever been presented before! This is the ULTIMATE Bloom County collection by the inimitable Berkeley Breathead!

•   Advance solicited for November release! •   Bloom County returned as a successful webcomic in 2015, with collections published annually by IDW to critical acclaim.

DISNEY COMICS AND STORIES #5

Andrea Castellan, Marco Gervasio, Tito Faraci (A) Andrea Ferraris, Marco Gervasio, Alessio Coppola (CVR) Paolo Campinoti

Three stories never-before-seen in the U.S. await you in another fun-filled issue! In “Mickey Mouse and the Hydrophilic Monsters,” Mickey and Goofy encounter plant life like they-or you-have never seen before! Then, in “Pluto and the ‘Super’ Day,” what happens when Goofy dog-sits Mickey’s beloved pup? Why, nothing less than the unexpected! Finally, in “Shhh,” Peg-Leg Pete and his accomplice encounter more than they bargained for in a robbery gone very wrong!

GLOW #2

Tini Howard (A/CVR A) Hannah Templer

Faced with foes in the forms of the Star Primas-who have real muscles and matching windbreakers-the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling are ready to prove they aren’t unskilled losers. They’re paid television actors! And it’s time to show those Star Primas that paid television actors mean business… Based on the hit Netflix series!

GOOSEBUMPS HORRORS OF THE WITCH HOUSE #2

Denton J. Tipton, Matthew Dow Smith (A/CVR A) Chris Fenoglio

Rosie thought it was bad enough having a witch as a neighbor, but now the witch is trying to take over the whole town! As their parents fall under the witch’s dark spell, it’s up to Rosie and her friends to try and save the day. And they thought algebra was hard…

GLOW #2

Tini Howard (A/CVR A) Hannah Templer

Faced with foes in the forms of the Star Primas-who have real muscles and matching windbreakers-the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling are ready to prove they aren’t unskilled losers. They’re paid television actors! And it’s time to show those Star Primas that paid television actors mean business… Based on the hit Netflix series!

GRAVE TP

Dan Fraga (A/CVR) Dan Fraga

ADVANCE SOLICITED FOR APRIL RELEASE! For fans of coming-of-age stories similar to Stephen King’s The Body; the movie based on it, Stand By Me; IT; Stranger Things; and E.T. Drawn one panel per day over a year, follow the story of three boys who discover a shallow grave while on a weekend camping trip. But that’s just where the mystery begins. The unexpected find reveals a cigar box containing seven mysterious items: a knife, a coin, a pocket watch, a rare baseball card, a gold ring, a silver spoon, and a strange manga comic. How are these items connected? Whose body lies buried? Find out in this once in a lifetime tale of friendship, mystery, suspense, and growing up.

MARVEL ACTION SPIDER-MAN #5

Erik Burnham (A/CVR A) Christopher Jones

Now that Peter, Miles, and Gwen have joined forces, nothing can stop them! Except maybe for homework and an internship at the Daily Bugle. Not to mention being stalked by a most dangerous foe… Kraven the Hunter! All-new web-slinging action in the Mighty Marvel Manner! This exciting new story arc features the Marvel Action debut of Kraven the Hunter! Variant cover by Marvel Action: Black Panther artist Juan Samu!

MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #78

Katie Cook, Andy Price (A/CVR A) Andy Price

The thrilling conclusion to the “Cosmos” story arc is here! With the most powerful ponies in Equestria under Cosmos’ control, do the remaining ponies stand a chance? And whose side will Discord take? Don’t miss the end of what might be Katie Cook and Andy Price’s finest MLP story yet!

MY LITTLE PONY TO WHERE AND BACK AGAIN GN

Justin Eisinger (A/CVR) Various

Adapting the most beloved My Little Pony animated cartoon episodes to graphic novels! My Little Pony comes to bookshelves! Revisit the inhabitants of Equestria and learn about the magic that friendship brings in this adaptation of the television series’ sixth season finale! This volume adapts the two-part “To Where and Back Again” in an original graphic novel.

ROAD OF THE DEAD HIGHWAY TO HELL TP

Jonathan Maberry (A) Drew Moss (CVR) Santiperez

Advance solicited for June release! The five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author introduces the world to the latest chapter of the zombie epic in this over-the-top wild-ride prequel to ROAD OF THE DEAD! The dead rose and are feasting on the living and a young scientist may hold the secret to a cure. Meanwhile, zombies and biker gangs want her dead, so it’s up to a bunch of losers in muscle cars and a hijacked tank to risk everything to save her.

STAR TREK Q CONFLICT #5

Scott Tipton, David Tipton (A/CVR A&B) David Messina

The contest for the ages continues as the Captains race to capture the one exotic creature that Trelane is missing from his intergalactic menagerie-a Borg Queen! But as the Godlike beings revel in the games, the crews are hatching a plan of their own. Don’t miss the penultimate issue of the biggest Star Trek crossover of all time! The crews of The Next Generation, The Original Series, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine come together to face their biggest challenge yet! Written by Star Trek: TNG: Mirror Broken scribes Scott & David Tipton!

STAR TREK VS TRANSFORMERS TP

John Barber, Mike Johnson (A) Jack Lawrence (A/CVR) Philip Murphy

When Kirk, Spock, and the entire crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise investigate problems at a remote mine, they’re met with a explosive battle between powerful warriors who change into vehicles from the 20th century! As the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons rages, it’s up to Kirk to decide-does he violate the Prime Directive and interfere in a war that’s raged for millenia? And how will the Klingons complicate the issue? It’s cartoony fun between two of the most popular science fiction franchises in the world!

•   Advance solicited for May release! •   Four decades in the making, it’s the crossover that fans have demanded! Kirk, Spock, and Autobots! •   Decepticons and Klingons! Optimus Prime and the Prime Directive!

SWAMP MONSTERS

(CVR) Iger Shop

Something’s out there in the mad, murky depths of the fear-filled, sinister swamp… some… swamp… THING is coming for you! And it’s out for mud! The terror team that brought you Zombies, Return of the Zombies, and the petrifyingly popular hit series, Haunted Horror, takes you on an excursion of evil into the dankest, lagooniest corners of your nightmares, and dredge up over 240 pages of icky, drippy, slimy, grimy beasts from the grungy bottom of the Pre-Code comics’ bog. Swamp Monsters includes a fascinating introduction by comics legend, acclaimed artist of Swamp Thing, “Swampy” Stephen Bissette!

V-WARS GOD OF DEATH ONE-SHOT

Jonathan Maberry (A) Alex Milne (CVR A) Ryan Brown

Michael Fayne was patient zero of the plague that exploded into the Vampire Wars. A cult of militant vampires wants to resurrect him. Luther Swann leads a strike team to prevent the rise of a vampire god. New York Times bestseller Jonathan Maberry returns with an all-new V-Wars tale.

Five-time Bram Stoker award-winning author Jonathan Maberry returns to his signature comic book creation in time for the new TV series starring Ian Somerhalder!

Cover and interior art features the return of Transformers: Unicron superstar artist Alex Milne! Watch for V-Wars on Netflix starring Ian Somerhalder in 2019!

  Join the IDW Hasbro Shared Universe related conversation here in our Comics Discussion and Reviews section and here for all other franchises, superheroes, or general comic book discussions! Not a member? Join our community by creating your own free account here! Or jump right into the live chat on our Discord server or our Facebook Group!

IDW Comics Shipping List for June 12th! It’s time for our weekly Diamond Comics Shipping List! Check out some great titles IDW has in store for us next week like…