#the great jabbar

[mjordan-nba-nhl]

WILT CHAMBERLAIN & KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR Los Angeles Lakers & Milwaukee Bucks, 1970's.

[phantasmicfish]

Just some more Dune Part 2 things that I thought were interesting with a specific focus on Feyd-Rautha:

- just… the way that he’s so very accurately portrayed as a psychopath adds a level of grit I didn’t get reading when the book

- the scenes with him and Lady Fenring got me good. The book mentions that he finds her attractive, definitely echoed in the movie. There weren’t explicitly written scenes in the book of how Lady Fenring slept with him (but this was confirmed through dialogue), so I liked the movie’s interpretation of her luring him using her Bene Gesserit abilities

- I would have liked to see Feyd-Rautha tested by the Gom Jabbar the same way Paul was. In the book (and I think part 1 of the movie?) it’s specified that Paul has endured the most amount of pain anyone can handle from the test, but given that movie Feyd-Rautha seems canonically a sadist + masochist, I wonder how long he would have lasted?

- overall the vibe and aesthetic of the Harkonnen’s was terrifying and great. The black and white visuals, dimly lit rooms, flashing lights… There are a lot of different villains in Dune, especially in Part 2 — The Emperor, Jessica — but the most clear-cut ones by far are the Harkonnens. I think the visuals definitely amplify that. I find it rather interesting that the Harkonnens are portrayed to be evil as an entire house. The fact that they all had bald heads gave them a mass identity, served to make them seem more alien and less human, all capable of committing heinous crimes. Even Feyd-Raytha’s servants or whoever eat human organs

- I think it was an interesting choice to have Feyd-Rautha actually stab Paul during their final fight. We have a character who people think is the messiah. And then we see the blade actually hurt Paul, penetrate his skin, we see Paul gasping for breath, we see Paul struggling for survival. I believe the book made the fight seem more cut-and-dry, that Feyd was a formidable opponent but he didn’t actually stab Paul (though he does draw blood). So I sorta felt the fight was a good contrast between showing Paul as still human while he maintains this cult status. I could see how his ability to survive this fight, despite his injuries, also elevate his messiah status among the Fremen

[importantstudentbusinessspy-blog]

Spice & Secrets

Masterlist

Pairing: Constantine Corrino x (f)reader

Tags: NSFW, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn Romance, Betrayal of Duty vs. Love, Angst, Yearning, Power Dynamics, Politics, reader is a bene gesserit, first time,

This chapter takes place roughly throughout the first episode.

Prologue

You knew each other as children growing up in House Corrino. Back then, conversations of the Butlerian Jihad and the spice trade passed through your ears without a second thought. The three of you were playmates: Constantine, the emperor’s bastard son, his younger sister Ynez, the princess and heir to the throne, and you, the daughter of the household's headservants.

You and Constantine always sought each other. Your parents were well-respected by the Corrinos and established themeselves as head servants of the great House, allowing you to accompany the royal children in their studies.

Each time you heard a funny joke in school, you'd glance at him, eager to see his knowing smirk. Every time the two of you were caught being noisy, his golden eyes would find yours, laughing at your shared trouble.

In your younger years, you loved picking flowers for your mother, always dragging Constantine along to the gardens with you. It’s how you earned the nickname "Flower" from him.

In a way, he had always been your defender. One of the noble boys in the court, a brute named Colin would always victimize you. Whenever the kids played, you'd always say something strange and be the first to get picked on.

One day, Constantine had overheard one such jab coming from Colin and his friends. He stood in front of you, shielding you from them and staring them down, he said. "Leave her alone."

Collin was taken aback, forcing a laugh to make it look like all good fun. Since that day, the teases relented.

Your future seemed secure, bound to the service of House Corrino.

Until one day, an elderly Bene Gesserit named Ella recognized a curiosity in you. A skill that could be honed, refined, and weaponized.

One afternoon, while you were playing in the gardens, your mother pulled you aside. She spoke calmly, telling you not to be afraid. You followed her quietly as she led you through the palace halls. The next thing you knew, you found yourself alone in a dark room, staring at a woman whose face was hidden by robes. Confused, you turned, seeking your mother-

"Face me."

The command rang out through you, and without thinking, you obeyed, turning to face the old woman. Your heart raced in your chest.

"Kneel."

A cold command that your body obeyed without hesitation. Kneeling, you stared at the woman, fear coiling in your stomach.

With the calm tone of authority, she spoke. "Put your hand in the box."

She revealed a small, dark box, and as the room seemed to shrink around you, your mind screamed to pull away, but your body remained frozen.

An hour of excruciating pain later, you were escorted out, trembling. You’d survived the Gom Jabbar trial, but the experience had changed you, though you couldn’t understand how. The pain had been unbearable, but you’d managed to endure by thinking differently. It felt… strangely empowering.

That evening, Constantine noticed you seemed different.

"Where were you?" he asked, sitting across from you at the supper table.

You hesitated before telling him about the ordeal.

He looked horrified by thr time you finished your story. "Did you tell your mother she hurt you?"

"I think she knows," you replied, giving him a look that looked unsure.

"We should tell Father." His eyes flared with concern, his voice tightening.

You bit your lip, trying to calm the anxiety that was growing inside you.

“That woman hurt you!” His words were filled with disgust.

"I think she meant well," you said softly, but doubt twisted. "I don't know why, but I think it happened for a reason."

That night, after dinner, your mother pulled you aside once more. The Bene Gesserit had already made their decision, and you were sent away to the school on Wallach IX, tearing you from House Corrino and from Constantine.

Constantine was heartbroken. For an entire month, he kept asking about you.

"Wallach IX is in a nearby galaxy," he cried, clutching a map. "We can go rescue her!"

"She does not need rescuing," his mother, Francesca, soothed, brushing his hair gently. "She's studying to become a great woman. Who will protect herself. And you."

"But that woman hurt her!" He yelled at Francesca, his young eyes filled with hatred for the unknown woman who had taken you away.

"She’ll be fine," Francesca said calmly. "Trust me."

Despite her reassurances, Constantine couldn’t forget. Every day without you felt unbearable. His heart ached, and his mind raced with thoughts of you. He wished he wasn't a bastard.

He wished he were in line for the throne. Then, he would never let his loved ones be taken away from him. Then, he would be in control.

Meanwhile, you rebelled against your training. You refused to listen, deliberately failing your lessons, hoping they would send you back.

"You need to learn these things, child," mother Tula Harkonnen said after you cursed her out for commanding you to practice a basic mental defense tactic. "To protect yourself."

"I don’t want to protect myself." You crossed your arms stubbornly, refusing to meet her eyes.

Valya, the mother superior, watched you closely. Her gaze pierced you, reading every subtle movement.

"And what of protecting those you love?" she asked, voice steady. "What about him?"

The words hit you like a bolt.

"Young Constantine," Valya continued, her eyes never leaving yours. "The Emperor’s first born. The one you can’t stop thinking about. Dreaming about. The reason you want to return so badly. Do you care for his safety?"

The mention of his name made you worry. You could only blink. "Don’t touch him." You said steadily.

Valya and her sisters engaged a meaningful look before turning back to you.

"Then you must learn." Valya's voice softened, but her command remained clear. "Learn to protect him."

Years had passed, and you excelled at your studies. By the age of fifteen, you had become one of the best in your class. Your motivation stemmed from that day when Valya advised you to protect the ones you loved. To protect Constantine.

One morning, as you sat at the library with your sisters, an imperial delegation passed through the halls. You recognized the House Corrino sigil on the gards uniform immediately.

All motion slowed around you as the delegation walked by. You craned your neck to see behind the guards, trying to make out who was visiting.

You were met with the sight of a young man in imperial royal uniform, his curly brown hair falling over tanned skin. Familiar golden eyes flicked playfully toward the other girls in the room, who flushed and turned away.

Beside him stood a pale, thin girl, her brown hair mirroring his.

Your heart skipped. You didn’t even think before the words slipped from your lips. "Oh God. Princess. Your Highness!"

The delegation halted. The girl, Ynez, turned toward you, her eyes wide with recognition.

"God," She hurried forward, wrapping you in a tight embrace.

Before you could say anything, Valya’s sharp voice cut through the air. "After me, Princess."

Ynez pulled away, clearly annoyed. "This is my childhood playmate! I haven’t seen her in years-"

"We must make haste." Valya’s tone was imperious.

Ynez shot you one last glance before reluctantly following the mother superior.

"Flower," a familiar voice called softly from behind you.

Your heart raced as you turned.

"Constantine," you whispered, your voice breaking slightly.

He stood there, taller, sharper, his boyish charm now replaced with the beginnings of a handsome young man. But his golden eyes still carried the same pain.

"You look... changed." His eyes roamed over you in wonder. "Can we go somewhere private?" he asked, his eyes sweeping the room, offering a smile to the girls surrounding you.

Outwardly, you projected a demure smile, but inwardly, your pulse quickened. Your skin itched with the urge to touch him, to hold him close in a hug that could convey all the apologies and confessions you’d carried with you over the years.

"Yes, please come with me." You stood from the lunch table and led him away, hearing murmurs and whispers rise behind you as you walked.

Down an empty hall, you reached for his hand instinctively. His fingers interlaced with yours, and the contact sent a jolt of warmth through you, like sparks of electricity. You couldn’t help but squeeze his hand, a small giggle bubbling up inside you, threatening to escape.

Once in an empty classroom, Constantine told his guards to stay outside, then turned to face you. Before you could react, he pulled you into his arms. You hesitated only for a moment before wrapping your arms around him tightly. He towered over you, and you fit perfectly beneath him, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest against yours.

"I missed you," he whispered, his breath uneven, the words tumbling out in a soft, desperate rhythm. "I missed you, I missed you."

You swallowed the lump in your throat, pulling away just enough to look at him. His golden eyes were full of intensity, affection pouring from them as he gazed down at you, still holding you close.

Your hand lifted, brushing gently against his cheek, your fingers tracing his face. "You grew your teeth back," you said softly, a fond smile tugging at your lips as you remembered his funny smile when he was still losing his baby teeth.

A playful glint sparked in his eyes as his brow quirked. "You learned to clean up your boogers," he teased.

A laugh bubbled out of you, and your body shook against his chest. "I missed you, Costa."

He pulled back just enough to look at you more seriously, his eyes scanning you for any signs of distress, as if looking for the aftermath of the pain he knew you'd endured. "How have they been treating you?" he asked, his tone laced with concern.

"I'm alright," you reassured him, your voice steady. It was true enough. The training had been difficult at times, but now you were learning to control your emotions and nerves, just as all Bene Gesserit were trained to do. "Really, I'm doing very well."

His hand cupped your wrist, pulling your fingers back to his face, and he leaned into your touch. "I want you back home," he murmured, his voice soft yet heavy with something more. Something desperate, you could feel it in the way his breath hitched, how his grip on you tightened. The happiness in his voice mirrored your own. You wanted to go home too, more than anything.

Your chest tightened, a hollow ache in your stomach. You wanted to ask him everything. To tell him all the things you hadn’t shared in years. "I graduate in a couple of years," you said, swallowing against the tightness in your throat. "Then I’ll be assigned to a great house as a truthsayer."

"Can you choose where?" His voice was laced with hope, but also something darker. Possessive, perhaps.

No. You couldn’t choose. But they would assign you based on what they thought you were best suited for. The Mother Superior would decide.

You shook your head. "The Reverend Mother chooses for us."

Constantine’s jaw tightened, his frustration flickering. "I want you home," he repeated, this time with more force. The command in his voice sent a shiver down your spine. "By my side."

You felt the weight of his words press against you, pulling at your chest. "What happened, Costa?" you asked softly, trying to make sense of the change in him, hoping his response would give you some clarity.

He sighed deeply, and you could hear the weariness in the sound. "It's nothing," he said quickly, but there was an edge to his words. "Just... watching the world move on around me as I do all the work while my little sister is raised to inherit the throne."

Ah. His vulnerability stemmed from his illegitimacy. The realization came quickly, but before you could give it more thought, you caught yourself. You were thinking like a Bene Gesserit again, analyzing him clinically. You pushed the thought aside.

"Perhaps you should look at it differently," you suggested gently, meeting his gaze. "Enjoy the freedom that comes with your birthright."

He blinked, his golden eyes considering your words in silence. You could see the wheels turning in his mind, but you didn’t yet know the weight those thoughts would carry, how much they would shape his path in the years to come.

"But for now," you added with a smile, "someone needs to look out for your sister."

That seemed to break through his thoughts. Constantine smirked, that familiar, easygoing smile returning. "Just promise me one thing," he said, his voice light but serious.

You nodded, waiting for him to speak.

"Don’t value the Sisterhood above all else."

You froze. His words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. It was a request you weren’t sure you could fulfill. A promise you didn’t know if you could keep.

But you didn’t answer right away. You only gazed up at him, the weight of his words pressing against the boundaries of your heart.

You blinked at him.You could feel his presence in a way that was deeper than before, his warmth radiating into your chest. Your hand lingered on his cheek, your thumb tracing the contours of his face as if memorizing the feel of him.

You caught the crease of his forehead - worry lines.

Then youd picked up a hunch to his shoukders - a courtecy of spending lots of time writing, or reading, or strategizing.

There was a slight bulk to him and caluses on his palms - he's intensified his combat training.

"When did you become such a grown up?" You asked.

He broke into a chuckle. "I’ve missed that sharp wit most of all," he murmured, his voice breaking the silence.

A soft laugh escaped your lips. "I’ve missed you too, Costa. More than you know."

The sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. Constantine stepped back, his hands reluctantly leaving your body. You couldn’t help the pang of disappointment in the absence of his touch.

"I should go," he said, his voice losing a bit of the warmth it had held just moments before. "They’ll be expecting me."

Chapter 1

Years had passed again. Your duties as a Bene Gesserit trainee had been demanding, but you fulfilled them with perfection.

At twenty-one, you were now a full-fledged Bene Gesserit sister.

Your transformation was striking. The soft, girlish features of your youth had been replaced with sharp, elegant lines. Hollowed cheeks and a refined jaw gave your face a mature look. Your movements were careful and deliberate. Each step, each turn of your head, is calculated to command attention. The art of cosmetics and aesthetic was second nature now, and your training in the weirding way had honed your body into a lithe, disciplined instrument.

You accompanied a delegation of Spacing Guild representatives to Seleusa Secundus. The great houses gathered hosted by House Corrino to celebrate the princesses' betrothal. The celebrations of the first night were in full swing.

The occasion called for blending in, and your attire reflected it. You wore a sleeveless black gown with a structured corset of shimmering silk, its golden threads weaving spice-inspired patterns down the bodice before cascading into skirts that swirled around your feet. A high slit revealed glimpses of toned legs as you walked. Your hair was braided and pinned like a halo, with loose tendrils framing your face. Gold-dusted shadows and dark liner enhanced the sharpness of your eyes, and your lips glistened with a subtle, golden sheen. Long gloves stretched past your elbows, completing the picture of poised sophistication.

Playing your role, you walked through the grand halls with hands folded and chin high, a display of both power and vulnerability, a subtle invitation to admire the curve of your neck and the gleam of your collarbones. Your half-lidded gaze swept the crowd, offering brief flickers of attention that hinted at intrigue.

The palace was just as you remembered—its Greek-inspired architecture and opulent displays of fountains, tapestries, and priceless artifacts all a testament to House Corrino's wealth and pride. You scanned the crowd, your eyes catching a glimpse of your mother speaking to a servant. A pang of familiarity struck, but you couldn’t approach her now. You had a mission to complete.

At your sister Lila's subtle hand gesture, you slipped away from the delegation, descending into the palace's lower levels. This was where secrets were whispered, and it was your job to listen.

The revelry below was a world apart from the formal elegance above. Young royals and aristocrats surrounded themselves with exotic animals, dancers, and indulgent laughter. Music filled the air, its rhythm almost intoxicating.

You spotted Princess Ynez first, entwined with a man whose face you didn’t recognize, one thing you knew for certain was that he was not her betrothed. The softness of her gaze and the closeness of their bodies spoke volumes. Your curiosity piqued, and you strained to catch fragments of their whispered exchange.

But then you heard a laugh familiar and full of mischief. Your sister Hera.

You turned, ready to ask what's so important that she left her post when your gaze followed hers.

Your composure slipped.

Constantine Corrino lounged on a golden bench, radiating effortlessly. He was surrounded by young nobles, some familiar and others new. Among them, Colin, his old training partner who had once tormented you, laughed loudly, a drink in hand.

Constantine commanded your attention. He had grown into a man who seemed sculpted by the gods themselves. His open shirt revealed a broad, muscled chest, and his powerful legs were clad in tailored trousers that accentuated his athletic frame. Gold adorned his hands and neck, catching the firelight and making him appear otherworldly.

He leaned back, his golden eyes fluttering closed as his head tipped against a pillow, his fingers randomly strumming the strings of a balliset. The sight of his tongue darting out to taste the lips of the girl on his lap sent a strange warmth through you. Her lack of wardrobe made her job obvious, but it was the slow, deliberate kiss they shared that held your gaze.

You pressed your thighs together, your breathing shallow. His hand moved to her waist, his fingers gripping her with an intimacy that made your cheeks burn.

Then you saw it.

A small pill balanced on her tongue as it dipped into his mouth.

Your eyes widened, and before you could think better of it, you stepped toward him.

"Your Highness!" Your voice cut through the revelry, louder than intended.

The couple broke apart, both sets of eyes turning to you. The surrounding nobles followed suit, their gazes heavy with expectation.

Recognition dawned in Constantine’s eyes, followed by a flicker of surprise and something deeper as his gaze roamed your figure.

You forced yourself to focus. "Your Highness, that woman wants to drug you. She's hiding a pill in her mouth."

The courtesan laughed. Then Constantine joined her, his voice deep and mocking.

"This would be the fourth time tonight," he drawled, his smile a sharp blade.

"You knew," you whispered, the realization hitting you like a blow.

"Of course." He smirked, leaning back lazily. I’m not as defenseless as you think."

He turned to Colin. "Do you remember little Y/N?"

Colin’s drunken grin widened as he took you in. "Holy shit, flower? Where have they been hiding you?"

You ignored him, offering a respectful bow to the emperor's bastard. "Forgive my interruption."

You turned to leave, but Constantine’s voice halted you.

"You’re not dismissed." His tone was sharp, commanding. You paused, turning back slowly to meet his gaze. The playful air around him had shifted into something heavier, darker.

The courtesan curled herself around him, trailing her lips along his neck as he stared you down.

"With all due respect, Your Highness, is there something you require of me?" Your voice was sweet, but the steel beneath it was unmistakable.

Constantine pushed the woman off his lap and rose, his height forcing you to tilt your chin to meet his eyes. He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming.

"Walk with me."

You swallowed hard. "As you wish."

You followed Constantine down the hall, your ears straining to catch snippets of conversation from the crowd you’d left behind. Each whisper and muttered word held the potential for valuable intel, and though you knew rumors would spread about this moment, you also knew Constantine’s reputation would absorb most of the shock. His scandals were too numerous to surprise anyone anymore.

A subtle hand gesture behind your back signaled to your sister, who was stationed across the room, that she shouldn’t follow. Whatever this was, you’d handle it alone.

The hall narrowed, the opulent sounds of revelry fading into muffled echoes. You’d barely taken a step into the darkened space when his hand circled your waist, pulling you abruptly against the cool stone wall. The unexpected movement forced a gasp from your lips.

Before you could react, his mouth was on yours.

The kiss was a confession—desperate, hungry, and unrelenting. His hands framed your face, his body pressing into yours as though he could anchor himself in your presence. Your training told you to push him away, but your heart betrayed you, your fingers finding their way to the nape of his neck.

For a moment, you let yourself burn in his fire.

But it couldn’t last.

"Constantine," you breathed, pulling back just enough to break the kiss. Your face ws flushed, and your thoughts were in disarray. "I’m working."

"I don’t care." he said, his voice thick with intoxication. His golden eyes searched yours, raw and unguarded. "You stopped writing to me. Why?"

Your lips parted, but the words caught in your throat. How could you explain? How could you even begin? You thought of the courtesan on his lap mere moments ago, her hands all over him, and jealousy flared hot in your chest. But before you could reply, his lips found yours again, more insistent this time.

"Who taught you how to kiss?" he murmured against your mouth, the question both curious and accusatory.

You hesitated, your silence more telling than any answer could be.

His voice darkened. "Was it one of your sisters?"

You didn’t respond, but the truth hung heavily between you. Bene Gesserit taught everything. How to seduce, to manipulate, to control. And intimacy was no exception.

His eyes narrowed, his gaze searching. "Are you a virgin?"

A shy shake of your head was your only answer.

His shoulders dropped, his breath hitching. "Your first time was supposed to be with me." The admission was low and hoarse, as though dragged from the depths of him by whatever drug coursed through his veins. His lips brushed your neck, and his hands slid down to your hips, pulling you impossibly closer. His body was a furnace, his heat searing through the fabric of your gown.

"I was supposed to show you pleasure," he whispered, his words half promise, half regret.

A soft moan escaped your lips despite yourself. "If… if you were, you’d be the first," you confessed, your voice barely above a whisper.

He froze, his gaze snapping to yours. "You mean… you’ve never?" His voice was filled with both disbelief and something far darker.

You shook your head again, a blush creeping up your neck.

The look in his eyes turned molten, a hunger you’d never seen before consuming his features. It made you shiver.

Slowly, he lowered his lips to your neck, kissing your throat. The sensation both tickeling and deliciously sensitive. His lips painted your neck with kisses. Instead of hunching lower to reach your collarbones, he picked you up, holding you above himself against the wall the two of you fitting like a puzzle. Your fingers curled around his locks as you whispered. "Dont leave marks."

He snorted. "There are women who'd consider it a privelige to have my 'marks' on them."

"You didnt offer me privilege." You whispered, as your hands glided over the ridges of his muscular back. "You offered me pleasure."

He snorted at that. "Oh its like that." Before his free hand lowered to the slit in your skirt, cupping your sex, and applying preassure on your clit. Your breath hitched and you grounded your hips against him. He obliged you with more pleasant strokes before releasing you back to stand on your feet. Before you could ask why, he kneeled in front of you, wasting no time and setting aside your skirt and tasting you. His tongue played a game. Circling your clit in slow moves before eagerly licking it woth more pressure. He did this again and again, occasionally dipping into your opening. You held your moans, suppressing them to a volume only the two of you could hear. "Costa, please-"

He moaned against you. The vibration sent a delicious shudder throughout your body. You felt the start of a warmth in the pit of your lower belly. Never recalling such a feeling before, you enjoyed the new sensation. "Costa... I... I feel -"

He silemced you without saying a word. His finger sliding into your core, brushing your nerves inside as his tongue continued its assault. You shook with the overwhelming sensation you'd read about so many times. Many emotions stormed within you. Disbelief, ecstasy, guilt.

That's when your vision went red. Burning. All you could feel was burning. A suffocating pain all over your skin. And a pair of blue eyes staring at you as you died.

"Y/n... Y/n!" A voice urgedn, anchoring you back to reality.

You blinked, you vision showing you a worried Constantine watching you. He cupped your face in his hands, his eyes searched yours, widened with worry.

"Flower, what's wrong? What just happened to you?" He asked, and for a moment, you saw the boy you once knew. Filled with honesty and love.

"It isn't safe here." You breathed, coming down from your vision. "Where are you guards, you must go to your room."

"What?" He asked in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me? What just happened to you? Was it one of those weird bene gesserit mind tricks?"

"I can't explain right now." You shook your head, running your hands over your dress, smoothing it. And cleaning up your hair. "I have to go."

"What? Back to your sisters? The ones drugging you and fucking up your mind?"

"Constantine-" You began, urging him to see the seriousness of the situation.

"No, go on." He waved you off, already walking out into the party. "You're going to do it anyway."

[bizarrebazaar13]

FL-inspired book recs!

brought to you by hotel wi-fi

Locations

The Royal Bethlehem: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Room in the Tower” by E.F. Benson. these are short stories, not novels, but they are fairly quick reads and are about locations where reality becomes twisted. the yellow wallpaper deals with mental illness and medical neglect, while the room in the tower is more about the overlap between dreams and the real world.

Port Carnelian: Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ok, hear me out on this one. if you’ve ever thought port carnelian would be great if it actually dealt with British colonialism and racism in a meaningful way and also had a murder mystery, you might like this book. a much younger Mycroft Holmes goes with his friend Cyrus Douglas to Douglas’s home in Trinidad to investigate a series of mysterious deaths.

Ladybones Road: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. Nathaniel Steepleton finds a gold pocket watch in his bedroom one day, but he cannot open it or even hear it ticking. six months later, it opens on its own, and an alarm goes off at the precise time that a bomb explodes in Scotland Yard. he then goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, who claims the watch was stolen from his shop. Mori has a gift for elaborate clockwork, and though he seems kind and relatively harmless, Nathaniel is sure he is hiding something.

Ambitions/Major Storylines

Early Light Fingers: The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. it’s a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but it can still be understood and enjoyed even if you don’t share my Sherlock Holmes autism. I specified early light fingers, because the mystery of what exactly the house of silk is, and the theme of corruption in highest levels of society, reminds me a lot of exploring and learning about the orphanage. just a heads up, this book is centered around a murdered child, and deals with the systemic abuse and neglect of children in victorian london. its biggest content warning is also its biggest spoiler, so I won’t give it here, but feel free to ask me. I had it spoiled for me on accident and still liked the book a lot.

Late-game Nemesis: “The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Pierce. another short story, it recounts in three parts the murder of Julia Hetman, as told by her son, her husband, and Julia herself. it specifically reminds me of the dreams of the dead section of nemesis.

Evolution: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. Tory Stewart becomes obsessed with mermaids after her sister Anne’s disappearance. Anne was filming a mockumentary about mermaids in the Mariana Trench, but the ship she was on disappeared, and was recovered weeks later with no trace of the crew. footage was found that appeared to show the crew being murdered by mermaids, but it’s largely believed to be for the movie, not real. seven years later, Theodore Blackwell recruits Tory as part of his mission to return to the Mariana Trench and capture a live mermaid. it hits sort of the same spot for undersea survival horror that the diving bell section of evolution did for me.

Exceptional Stories

The Bloody Wallpaper: Sign Here by Claudia Lux. hell is an office. literally. Peyote Trip sold his soul while he was alive, and now works in hell, convincing other people to do the same. he’s one deal away from a big promotion, and all he needs is the soul of one last member of the Harrison family. normal laws of space and time don’t apply, the real hellscape is capitalism, and secrets don’t stay hidden forever… sound familiar? in terms of violence and body horror, I don’t think it gets much worse than the text of the bloody wallpaper. one of the main characters does have a pretty brutal backstory involving christianity-related child abuse though.

Totentanz: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. set in late 1920s Mexico, the story follows Casiopea Tun and the Mayan death god Hun-Kamé on a journey across Mexico and eventually into the underworld. Casiopea finds Hun-Kamé’s bones in a chest in her grandfather’s house, and when she cuts her finger on one of the bone shards, Hun-Kamé becomes bound to her. together, they must find the rest of his body, which has been scattered around Mexico by Hun-Kamé’s brother Vucub-Kamé, who took over control of Xibalba from him. Hun-Kamé intends to retake Xibalba, but he and Casiopea must face sorcerers, demons, and twisted family dynamics- and that’s before they even get to the underworld.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: The Mind Killer

Denis Villeneuve: hey frank what if we put a giant rubber bondage spider in dune Frank Herbert: [snorting space cocaine] sounds great!

David Lynch: what if i taped a cat to a rat and then you had to suck the cat titties to get a poison antidote Frank Herbert: [snorting space cocaine] top notch work, guys Herbert: love how you're all really making the story your own

Frank Herbert: anyway there's politics happening on dune Poe: i thought we already did this bit King: yeah frank you said if we sat through the political intrigue we'd get to see the worm Herbert: YOU'LL SEE THE WORM WHEN I'M GODDAMN READY OKAY

Barker: WORM Herbert: no no Barker: WORM! Herbert: not again Barker: c'mon everybody! say it with me! WORM! Poe: King: Lovecraft: Koontz: Koontz: worm Barker: Yeah!! now you got it! Koontz: WORM Koontz: WORM!!!

Barker: that's the spirit! now steve King: WORM! Barker: howard Lovecraft: WORM! Barker: edgar Poe: Barker: c'mon edgar bro don't leave me hanging Poe: Poe: okay fine Poe: WORM! Barker: now we're cooking!

Herbert: look i know you all like the worm but here's something even better than the worm Herbert: so the Bene Gesserit have this special box Edward Lee: haha hell yeah bro Herbert: see, you gotta put your hand in the box Lee: haha hell YEAH BRO

Angela Carter: hey everyone what's happening King: frank was just telling us about this special box that you put your hand into Carter: oh yeah i know all about that King: what? Carter: nothing Carter: just Carter: nothing, never mind, just go on with the story

Herbert: ok see you put your hand in this box and it's the worst pain a man can endure Carter: oh yeah the pain A MAN can endure Carter: cuz we all know the incredibly high threshold of pain that men have Herbert: Herbert: well, it really hurts ok

Herbert: it's literally the worst, most unendurable pain Mary Shelley: i bet i could endure it Herbert: um no you couldn't Shelley: yeah but i could endure it Herbert: NO you couldn't Shelley: Shelley: bet i could

Shelley: i'm not scared of some fuckin nerd box Shelley: i'd stick my hard in that box so hard Shelley: like, ALL the way into that fuckin box Patricia Highsmith: [immediately inhaling cigarette down to ashes]

Herbert: but if you take your hand out of the box you get stabbed w a gom jabbar Shelley: anyone tries that and i'd fuck em up Herbert: you don't even know what a gom jabbar is!! Shelley: i don't need to know Herbert: [to King] she doesn't even know what a gom jabbar is

[melintowriting]

The first Empress-Chapter 2

Hello everyone! Chapter 2 is finally out. I hope you'll like it!

Warnings: arranged marriage, smut (+18), virginity loss, blood, corruption kink, breeding kink

Word count: 2.528

ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE

Kaitain, a few days later

Their wedding took place a few days after their first meeting on Kaitain.

The ceremony had been lavish and the young Na-Baron and his wife had become husband and wife before the eyes of all the lords and ladies of the Landsraad.

Monique had been watching her daughter attentively throughout the whole banquet. Her Bene Gesserit eyes, trained not to miss anything, had looked beyond the young woman’s apparent calm to see some agitation. The idea of sending her to Giedi Prime, to that horrible planet, tormented her. But she could not fight against fate. She found peace in her torment only when she reminded herself that Jeremy would go with her, that she would not be alone, that her twins would not be separate.

Monique looked at her, sitting next to Feyd Rautha, observing the guests.

She was studying them in the Bene Gesserit way.

Monique almost smiled: her daughter’s training had been a success.

"You taught her the Bene Gesserit way impeccably." commented Lady Jessica, sitting next to her.

"We both trained our offspring well." confirmed Monique "Paul… is he the Kwisatz Haderach?"

Lady Jessica remained silent for a few seconds before answering: "There are signs. Soon the Reverend Mother will test him with the Gom Jabbar and we will know."

Monique immediately noticed the apprehension in Jessica’s voice.

"He will succeed." she reassured her, smiling with maternal solidarity.

Jessica turned to look at her sister-in-law, unsure whether to ask her the question she had been thinking about for hours.

“And Megan? Is she the Chosen Woman?"

Monique remained silent while the prophecy about the First Empress repeated in her head. 

-One day, the Empire will know the power of a young woman. - 

The prophecy of the First Empress was the first that was taught at the Bene Gesserit school, along with the one of the Kwisatz Haderach. Both would have been the result of the complex and intricate breeding plan that the Bene Gesserit had carried out for centuries. 

The prophecy continued with -Loved by the peoples and feared by the powerful, born by a Bene Gesserit sister and an honorable man from an adverse and distant land, she will be the first woman to sit on the throne. - 

Megan had shown signs of great intelligence and power from an early age. The way she spoke, studied people, showed mercy for the weak and ruthlessness for the oppressors... everything had always made Monique believe that she would be the First Empress.

"I think so." she replied to Jessica "Or at least everyone thinks so.”

At the age of ten, during a dinner, Megan asked the Emperor why the people outside the palace died of hunger and while they always wasted their food. He looked at her in shock, opening his eyes slightly, especially when Megan added, "We should feed them too. We have enough food for ourselves."

Since that day the signs had been irrefutable. Her greatness and nobility of mind were known to everyone on the planet. The kind way she addressed servants, the way she always fought with the Emperor, even to no avail, to try to improve the living conditions of the people... everything had led people to love her, to the point of whispering "Empress" at her passage.

Everyone knew about the prophecy, everyone was waiting.

"Our Bene Gesserit sisters have been at work on Giedi Prime to spread the word of her imminent arrival. We’ll see."

The two women looked at each other in silence, almost in a hopeful way. If it was true that their children were the chosen ones... there would be enormous challenges and dangers ahead of them.

"Tell me Jessica." Monique then changed the subject, "My brother hates being here, doesn’t he?"

The two women’s eyes rested on Leto talking to some of the Lords of the Great Houses.

"He hates being in the same room with the Harkonnens. But he would never miss his granddaughter’s wedding." 

Jessica’s words made Monique smile.

Her brother, so stubborn but kind-hearted... 

He was the only real man in that room.

The two ladies were not the only ones observing the Duke though: Baron Vladimir was also looking at him with prying eyes.

-That damned Atreides- he thought -It will have to be eliminated sooner or later. -

******

The celebrations continued until late evening.

The newlyweds had little conversations during the festivities: they had exchanged a few fleeting words on trivial topics but nothing more.

Feyd only looked forward to the end of the dinner. He could no longer contain his impatience to spend his wedding night with Megan.

He wanted to see her, to explore her, to claim her as his. A mischievous and perverse smile had been printed on his lips for the whole evening; a smile that Megan immediately understood to be a sign of desire.

If until then she had tried not to think about it, the idea of consuming the wedding began to frighten her. The way he looked at her, like a predator looking at his prey... almost terrified her. 

Was he going to be gentle? Probably not. Was he going to hurt her? It was easy to see how much Feyd loved pain.

As soon as the banquet was over and the couple got up from the table, Megan’s eyes searched desperately for her mother’s.

Monique looked at her, hinting at a comforting smile. She had explained everything she needed to know about a man and how to give him pleasure. She knew she was ready. Yet seeing her like this, almost seeking help, made her heart clench in her chest.

Jeremy clenched his fists as he watched his sister and Feyd leave the room.

- If he dares hurt her, I swear I’ll kill him.- he thought, barely finishing his glass of wine.

******

The door to the room closed behind them with a slight creak.

-It’s done, now I have no way out.- she thought.

She could feel them, she could feel his icy eyes staring at her incessantly. 

She hated being afraid, fear made her feel stupid and vulnerable. Normally she would be able to hide it with forced confidence but at that moment nothing seemed to work.

"Are you afraid of me?" 

Feyd’s hoarse voice made her wince. 

"No."

"My Na-Baroness, you know what I absolutely hate?"

Megan turned slowly, trying to remain impassive.

"What?"

"Liars." He took a step towards her, passing his tongue over his black teeth. "So I will ask you again and I want you to tell me the truth this time: are you afraid of me?"

-I won’t admit it so easily. - she imposed herself, thinning her eyes.

"No."

-She keeps lying. - Feyd thought, caressing her cheek with one finger. He then whispered: "Such a stubborn pet, I will change that."

Megan shuddered, her heart beating faster.

-Pet, I’m not your pet- she thought but remained silent.

Feyd knew she was a virgin. The idea of taking her innocence, of corrupting her... it was enough to make his cock twitching from impatience.

"I’ll be gentle with you this time." he promised with a perverse smile, "Does that reassure you a little?"

The girl felt her stomach tightening with terror. -This time- she repeated in her mind, gulping.

Feyd shook his head, pretending to be disappointed: "It’s rude not to answer when someone asks you a question, pet. Answer me."

Megan struggled to nod. How stupid she had been. How could she not be afraid to marry him? Thinking back, she should have been. She could have used the Voice, but for what purpose? The wedding night had to be consummated anyway and using her secret weapon this quickly wasn’t wise.

"Yes, it reassures me." she lied again.

When Feyd kissed her, Megan made it seem casual. She returned the kiss with the same intensity he was kissing her with, making her tongue touch his. The kiss was intense, rough, wet. 

She slowly began to undress, sliding the straps of the dress along her arms and making it fall to the ground with a slight thud.

Feyd took his lips off hers to admire her. She was just as he had imagined her to be. Her body was harmonious, perfectly proportioned. Her skin was pale, her breasts were abundant and perfectly round, her hips wide. He laid his hands on her butt and then squeezed her flesh, feeling desire growing inside him. 

"Lay on the bed, pet." he ordered, grinning.

Megan obeyed, sitting on the fresh silk sheets. 

It was all new to her. Being seen naked, having sex... she wondered if it would hurt.

"You’re so beautiful and innocent." 

Feyd looked at her with growing desire.

"Now I must prepare you to take me." he explained, unbuttoning his jacket to reveal a muscular and sculpted abdomen "Otherwise I’ll break you, pet, and I don’t want to ruin you. Not now."

Despite the anxiety, the fear, Megan could not deny how beautiful Feyd was.

His body, his shoulders, his strong arms... everything was a pleasant sight.

Feyd approached her, ravenous. He was so close to her that he could feel her agitated breath. Megan’s dark eyes watched him, studying his moves.

"Spread your legs," he ordered, kneeling before her.

Megan obeyed and Feyd almost grinned, eager to find out what she tasted like.

As soon as his tongue touched her sensitive bud Megan could not hold back a moan of pleasure. Feyd’s mouth was tasting her, exploring her already wet folds.

"You taste good, little pet." he said in a hoarse voice before putting his lips back on her.

The girl shuddered, throwing her head back from pleasure. It was a sensation never felt before. Strong, overwhelming, intoxicating.

"Do you like it, little pet?"

Megan couldn’t help herself and moaned again. Feyd’s mouth was experienced, passionate, and she never thought she would have liked it so much.

"If you don’t answer me, I’ll have to stop." he warned her, raising his icy blue eyes to meet hers.

"Yes, yes." she nodded, out of breath "I like it."

Feyd smiled widely, showing his black teeth: "How much?"

"So much."

There was one thing Feyd was particularly proud of: his ability in giving pleasure to women. He knew how and where to touch them, how to make them responsive to his touch, how to make them moan and scream until their voice was lost.

He eagerly licked her intimacy and then started to tease her entrance with one finger, sliding it up and down her wetness. When he inserted it slowly he felt her become stiff, almost retracting from the sensation.

"Don’t run away from me." he said while grabbing her by her thighs to hold her steady.

It took her a few moments to get used to the feeling and to find it pleasant.

When he inserted a second finger, instead of retracting, Megan groaned even louder. She was ready now. Ready to take him.

"Now you’re ready, little pet." he announced to her, getting up.

The girl caught her breath, watching him getting undressed.

The way he was pleasuring her... she wanted more. She watched him take off his pants, revealing his manhood. It bounced as soon as he freed it, already hard at the sight of her completely naked in front of him.

He was so big that Megan wondered how she could take him. It was as white as alabaster, with some bluish veins starting from the base to arrive at the tip, already glistening with precum.

Feyd crawled on the bed, sliding the tip against her wet entrance.

Megan held her breath as soon as he pushed it slowly into her. He began to move inside her, watching her muscles twitch at each thrust.

"If you contract it will be worse." he said in a deep voice, placing a hand on her breast, squeezing it.

At first it was pain, just pain. He was too big for her... he was stretching her at every thrust, her walls tightening around him from the pain.

But after a few moments the pain turned into pleasure, to the point that she could no longer hold back her moans.

"So tight" Feyd muttered, slightly increasing his speed.

-She’s so beautiful, so delicate... I’ll ruin her as soon as I get her used to my cock- he thought, looking intensely into her eyes.

"Feyd." she whispered, feeling his tip hit an unknown spot inside her at each movement.

The way she had pronounced his name with a mesmerized look of pleasure, almost in a whisper... sent him completely over the edge.

Her tight walls tightened, milking his cock as he came inside her, hard. 

A long and guttural moan escaped Feyd’s lips as he could feel his cock twitching.

He slowly came out of her, looking at his cum dripping from her. He bred her properly. 

"You’re bleeding, pet." he said, seeing blood on the sheets.

Megan looked at him again as if she was bewitched, still panting.

The sight of his seed mixed with the blood of her virginity made him feel insatiable.

"But you haven’t come yet." he pointed, kneeling again "Let me make it right."

His lips kissed her clit again, eating her out like a starved man. The ferrous taste of blood mixed with both of their juices was divine. Feyd continued unabated until he heard her tremble, moaning louder and whining.

"Cum for me, darling." he ordered, inserting two fingers, "Don’t be shy."

Megan felt the orgasm coming hard and fast as she shook in pleasure, screaming his name. 

"Feyd, yes!" she screamed as she came against his mouth, rolling her eyes back.

Their panting breaths united to become a unison as their eyes met. 

All the fear that Megan had felt seemed to be gone. Willingly or unwillingly, Feyd had ensured that she would also enjoy herself, trying to be as gentle as possible. She knew it wouldn’t happen again but she would always remember that moment, beautiful in an unexpected way.

-And now? Now what should I do? What should I say? - she thought as her husband laid next to her -My mother did not instruct me on this. -

Megan, who always tried to explain everything with reason, understood that rationality wouldn’t have been useful to her at that moment. She understood that she had to improvise and to follow her instinct.

She did not expect any other kindness from him: he had already tried hard enough. And then it wasn’t necessary. They’d just gotten married and most likely never going to love each other. They just had to generate heirs and bear each other for the rest of their lives, nothing more.

She could live without love.

In the silence of the room Megan also laid down, staring at the ceiling as she tried to breathe regularly.

After a few minutes it was Feyd who broke the silence with his hoarse voice, saying: "Sleep. Tomorrow we will leave at dawn for Giedi Prime. You must rest."

Megan nodded, her stomach squeezing with anxiety.

Tomorrow she would have left her past behind. Tomorrow, her new life would have begun.

Tag list: @mamawiggers1980 @avidreader73 @pomtherine

[sam-keeper]

The Visitor aka STRIDULUM (1979)

Ha ha yeah, wooo YEAH

da daaaaa dadadaDAA DAAA DAAAAAAA DADADAAAAA DADADADADA DA DAAAAA YEAH!!!!

This is the most prog rock movie I've ever seen in my life. This is spiritually being painted on the side of a van. Does it have a good plot that makes sense? I don't know, asshole, does Emerson Lake and Palmer's seminal classic Karn Evil 9 part 2 have a good plot that makes sense? I'm telling my kids The Visitor (1979) is Star Wars.

I noticed a pattern when looking at other reviews of this film: they fall back on comparisons, as a slight. Well, it's sort of The Omen, and it's sort of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and it's sort of Carrie, and a little Battlestar Galactica and maybe The Birds... which all sounds very derivative, I suppose, until you actually a movie smashing all those things together, and realize, wait a minute, that's bonkers. It feels like critics grasp for these comparisons while foundering in The Visitor's psychedelic sea, desperate for a point of stability. None of these references offer stable landmarks, though, if you hope to predict where the film will veer next in its crazy pursuit of cool ideas and weird setpieces.

Not that the comparisons are totally off base, mind. This IS the story of Katy Collins, a Wicked Little Kid in the vein of the Omen's Damien or Carrie's... Carrie. It's just that this generic convention of the Bad Seed gets set up at the beginning of the film with a bizarre cosmic encounter between an old space wizard and an apparition of the devilish little girl in what looks like a blizzard on mars, followed by a whole ass monologue by "A Jesus Figure" about cosmic psychic spirits of good and evil dueling it out across the planets, delivered to a bunch of bald, white robed children. Hell yeah. But! But. Katy Collins is otherwise a classic, average evil psychic kid who kills people with telekinesis. And uses it to rig professional basketball matches for her shitty step dad, possibly at the behest of the satanic businessmen he answers to who are REALLY giving some serious drone hive vibes what with the way they all turn their heads at the same time. Oh and she's got a pet hawk that murders people at her behest. No, trust me though, it's a really derivative movie. Not like the movies we have now like uhhhh

[sweating] uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Better touchstones than typical blockbuster fare might be the mind-expanding chaos of paperback epics--Clive Barker's Great and Secret Show, King's Dark Tower, Morrison's The Invisibles. Here's some other fun facts: it was directed by Giulio Paradisi (it's a heavily italian production) but he directed it under the brilliant name "Michael J Paradise". The italian title was "Stridulum", which I guess is latin for something like a harsh or shrill sound or shriek, which fits the whole repeating War Between Birds motif and the use of bird cries in the soundtrack. Oh, and one of the guys playing basketball in the first scene with Katy is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, actual famous athlete. It's sort of a bizarre and improbable movie!

But I don't think I'd be nearly so dazzled by all the crazy shit this film throws at the audience if not for Katy herself, played brilliantly by a young child star Paige Conner. She's written and performed in a way that suggests malice, yes, but a childish malice, a bit of a put-on, a belligerent front that gets more and more petulant and uncontrolled as John Huston as the space mystic Jerzy (yes) Colsowicz (get it) confronts her with the limits of her own powers. There's this sequence where Jerzy and Katy play pong against each other. Jerzy, smiling, accuses her cheating by speeding up the game with her powers. Katy, giggling genuinely, gloatingly informs him that no, she sped up the game using a switch on the game console. Later in the film she tries to drop a fire escape on his head, of course. In that conversation, though, there's this charming chemistry between them, the chemistry of a smart young person and an older adult willing to treat her, not as a peer exactly, but as a thinking being, not just a Thing to be smacked into shape. This dynamic is crucial to the climax of the film and its ultimate conviction that no matter how ghastly Katy is, there's more than just evil to her, which might not be the most seasonally horror-forward message but is honestly pretty damn refreshing. Like I don't know if The Visitor is as good a film as The Omen (ok, I know that obviously it's not) but on balance it's probably got its heart more in the right place. Perhaps notably along those lines, one of the horror subplots of The Omen involves possibility of a woman getting an abortion, whereas The Visitor explores the possibility of a woman being impregnated against her will. While it may lose out on form, The Visitor might just win the long game on its politics.

Also some shitty teens get thrown through a plate glass window, and there's a whole sequence where a big truck's lights are treated exactly like an approaching spacecraft, and it's awesome, I don't know what to tell you, I love this shit.

Read more horror reviews like this all season on my Patreon

[lady-phasma]

How did Feyd treat Lady Margot like what was your sense of the scene onscreen? Like do u think he may have assaulted her in his own way even if it wasn't shown or did she have him do what pleased her physically using her powers? I've got questions lots!!! Do u think he knew of the successful pregnancy or was he like I don't care? Love ya!!!

What a great ask! I am so flattered and excited that you asked me! All that love right back at you!

So much here to discuss and I have had a few conversations about one of these questions with various people in the past couple weeks so I've definitely been thinking about it. I don't want to get too serious and heavy but I will talk about consent a bit.

All this makes me want to write a breakdown of Margot's assessment (and maybe that's something people would be interested in).

So, The Voice. I've read various opinions that he followed her and knelt willingly. I have the movie audio I could upload to support my perspective but I won't bother with that here. I don't think she says "put your right hand in the box" with the Voice but I know the other commands are not with his consent.

The following is conjecture/headcanon. I think he would have had sex with Margot without the Voice and her Bene Gesserit tricks, but he wasn't given the opportunity to make that decision. I think he is very promiscuous, but discerning. Having said that, "desire and humiliation" are his weaknesses. So would he have wanted to humiliate her for using the Voice on him? Perhaps. I have yet to decide whose humiliation is his weakness: avoiding his own or causing it for others.

I think many of us can agree that Feyd isn't going to be the nicest guy in intimate situations no matter how we imagine him. I can't believe that he has had time to fall in love with Margot, but, just like Paul, he has had dreams of the Bene Gesserit who was sent to test him. There may be some intimacy present already. However, we know he passed the Gom Jabbar test, would Margot have needed to use the Voice again after he passed? If he had failed he would have died and if he passed he might have enjoyed the pain so much that he needed very little convincing.

(Fun note: in the book the Reverend Mother says about Paul's test "We seldom administer this to men-children" so did they have to wait for Feyd's coming of age?)

Here's where I'm of two minds: I want to indulge in my little hyperfixation and imagine him being autonomous and having rough, fun, raunchy sex because he chose to. I also don't believe he had much choice in the matter. He was part of the Bene Gesserit breeding program and few people from these great houses have had much choice in that in the last 90 generations.

Cognitive dissonance is the answer. Both conflicting beliefs can be held at the same time. That's probably the most unsatisfactory answer ever, but hear me out. One scenario paints him as an unwilling victim and the other as an amoral psycho. I like either of those options. I'm actually having some fun ideas about a Feyd x Margot short fic I could write about the unwilling victim personality as I type this. That is why cognitive dissonance is fine with me in fandoms. I can eat my cake and have it too.

Lastly, in my headcanon, Feyd has a breeding kink so he would have cared but I don't think he knew in the movie. That's just speculation on my part. I definitely read and (will) write fics with breeding kink for this psycho because he would love to pass on his genetics. As many of you know, I rarely write breeding kink but for this man, I am making an exception.

[mjordan-nba-nhl]

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR & LARRY BIRD Los Angeles Lakers & Boston Celtics, 1985.

[icedsodapop]

Imagine being Matthew McConaughey and having a Latino wife and non-passing Latino children and going onto Russell Brand's podcast to piss on leftists and advocate for centrism 😑 Interracial marriage and having Brown children will not stop White pple from being racist.

Anyways, here's Kareem Abdul Jabbar's great response to this bullshit:

McConaughey claims the solution to political divisiveness is being “aggressively centric,” to meet in the middle. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was one such “meeting in the middle” in which Congress decided to admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. That was peachy for Maine, but the slaves in Missouri couldn’t appreciate being so “aggressively centric.” Compromise is what allowed slavery to continue in the United States long after it was abolished in most other countries. Meeting in the middle is fine when you’re the one giving up a little, but when you’re the one sacrificing your health, your life, your freedom and your vote, that middle is simply like slightly loosening one’s handcuffs, but leaving them on.

[natlacentral]

As ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Debuts To Strong Audience On Netflix, Creative Team Looks Ahead To Expanding Live-Action Adaptation

The results are in, and Netflix‘s Avatar: The Last Airbender seems to be a hit. 

The live action adaptation topped the streamer’s weekly English-language TV list with 21.2M views in its opening weekend. According to Netflix, it reached the Top 10 in 92 countries. It was edged out as most-watched title of the week by the Swedish natural disaster film The Abyss.

That’s a strong showing for the eight-episode series, which was another big swing for Netflix as it continues to dip its toes into anime-inspired content. In fact, Avatar managed to surpass One Piece in its debut weekend.

As with One Piece, Netflix was firing on all cylinders to launch the series, partnering with Serena Williams and even taking over the Las Vegas Sphere. So far, the Avatar global social campaign has reached 1.53B impressions, which is on par with both One Piece as well as Netflix’s hit series Wednesday. The main trailer alone has amassed 85M views to-date, while the #AvatarTheLastAirbender hashtag has generated 1B global views on TikTok in the past week.

Avatar marks Netflix’s second successful live-action anime adaptation, after a rocky start in the genre with its adaptation Shinichirō Watanabe‘s anime classic Cowboy Bebop. While die-hard fans of any animated series are likely to have a few things to say about their live-action counterparts, the streamer appears to be finding a groove when it comes to how to bring these stories to life on the small screen. 

“We’re trying to make a show for the most viewers possible. That doesn’t mean that there’s anything we’re gonna leave behind from the animated series. There’s not more purposeful deviations in order to make it acceptable for a broader audience,” Avatar executive producer and director Jabbar Raisani told Deadline. “I think it’s really attempting to be as faithful as humanly possible to the animated series, but also knowing that we have to fit it into this eight-episode, driving narrative that keeps us streaming.”

Other than missing story elements, which are obviously necessary when adapting from a 20-episode animated season of TV, one of the larger changes audiences might notice is the tone. 

“There inherently has to be a tonal shift as you’re moving towards live action, because things that work in anime won’t necessarily work with real people,” Raisani explained.

While animation can often boast a more exaggerated tone, that isn’t as possible when it comes to live action. 

“One of the things I did, specifically thinking of directing, was just working with the actors on different versions of the take. So with Sokka, with his humor, for example, we would do a version that was the flattest read, and then we would get more and more big and campy and over the top,” Raisani said. “Ian was great at giving a range. That allowed us in post to say, ‘Okay, let’s go funny’ or ‘We can go bigger’ or ‘Oh, man is now starting to break the tone and it feels cartoony. It doesn’t feel like he’s in the same show as everybody else.'”

Something viewers may notice remains faithful to the animated series is the dynamic camera movements, many of which came directly from the source material. 

Raisani described an Episode 4 scene where Aang backflips over a boulder. Not only does the scene come from the animated series, so does the shot used to capture it. 

“I literally just looked at the animated frame [and said], ‘Okay, we want to make this literal frame but with real people,” he said. 

It’s a bit preemptive to say whether the series will end up among Netflix’s most popular, since the series will have a 91-day premiere window and would need more than 83M views to achieve the feat. However, it certainly bodes well for a renewal. The good news is that the creative team appears to be chomping at the bit to expand the story and address anything that might have been missing from Season 1. 

“There’s stuff that we filmed that I love that isn’t in the show. There’s stuff that I love the idea of that we filmed and it just didn’t fit,” Raisani said. As a fan of the original animated series himself, he knows that audiences might be yearning for more than what they were able to fit into the first season.

“If we get another season, then we will certainly have those things, because I know what we missed now and I know how to do better the second time around,” he said, adding: “The animated series is a really good guide…for where the show can go.”

More specifically, Raisani said he’s already exploring new ways to shoot scenes that involve bending that would give the actor more agency on set and, in turn, make the final product feel more organic. He pointed to fire bending as one of the trickier elements to master, explaining that each actor had a light on their hands to emulate the fire, but they weren’t able to manipulate it themselves, which presented some restrictions. 

“If they could trigger their own bending… I think we would have a more seamless product,” he mused. “So stuff like that you’ve just got to try it and then you learn and then you do it again, but better than last time.”

[darkmaga-returns]

Consider these European and American binaries.

On December 20, 2024, a terrorist, Taleb Al-Abdul Mohsen, rammed his SUV into a Christmas crowd in Magdeburg, Germany. He killed 6 pedestrians and injured 299 others.

Eleven days later, on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans, Louisiana, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar smashed his pickup into a festive crowd. He murdered fifteen and hurt over 35.

Germany’s fertility rate is scarcely above 1.4—about average for a shrinking European Union. About 20 percent of the country is now foreign-born, a record high.

American fertility has precipitously dived to 1.6. The foreign-born now represent 15 percent of the American resident population, the highest in both actual numbers (50 million) and percentages in history.

The German military is a shell of its former self, with fewer than 200,000 soldiers and a shortage of almost all types of weapons.

The U.S. military, after being humiliated in Afghanistan, is currently down some 40,000-plus recruits. It faces shortages of anti-tank weapons, artillery shells, ships, and logistical support.

Germany may finally manage to spend 2% of its GDP on defense; the United States is heading downward below 3%—the lowest in over 80 years since the Great Depression.

Last year, the German economy shrank; this year, it will scarcely grow, in part because of shortages of affordable fossil fuels.

[tearssmith]

LeBron James turns 40: Ranking the top 40 highlights from the King's legendary career on his birthday.

LeBron James has been a dominant force in basketball for over two decades, amassing a legion of awards, trophies, medals, and records. We try to narrow his incredible resume down to a top 40.

LeBron James isn’t just a basketball player—he’s a living legend. For two decades, he’s redefined the game, shattered records, and silenced doubters while cementing his place as one of the greatest athletes of all time.

As he turns 40, we celebrate the King’s unparalleled legacy by revisiting the 40 moments, records, and stats defining his incredible journey. From winning Olympic gold at Paris 2024 to setting the all-time NBA minutes record, here’s how "LeBron James" became a name synonymous with greatness.

A stunning NBA debut & Oldest player to average 30 points per game in a season.

James' was the most hyped NBA prospect coming out of high school in history, so it only makes sense that his professional debut would be equally seismic for the NBA and indeed the sport itself. Thankfully an 18 year old James gave a taste of what was to come, stuffing the stat sheet with 25 points (on 12-of-20 shooting), 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in a 106-92 loss to the Sacramento Kings on 30 October 2003.

James is the oldest player to average 30 points per game in an NBA season, doing so at age 37 in the 2021-22 campaign. James averaged 30.3 PPG in 59 games.

James' skill on the court is so elite that he could seemingly play any position, but 'officialy' playing as a forward has seen him rack up 11,261 Assists - The Most in League history by a clear margin.

With 119 (regular season) triple-doubles and counting, James holds the record for the most by a forward in NBA history.

I would Choose the Los Angeles Lakers for my future Basketball's Team.

The Lakers have a Rich History and Tradition

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in NBA history. Founded in 1947, the team has a legacy that includes 17 NBA championships, tied for the most in league history with the Boston Celtics. This rich tradition of success is built on the shoulders of legends like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Being part of such a prestigious organization means joining a lineage of greatness and contributing to a legacy that resonates with fans around the world.

Current Star Power

With superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are consistently competitive. LeBron, often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, brings unmatched experience, leadership, and basketball IQ to the team. His ability to perform in clutch situations and elevate his teammates makes him an invaluable asset. Anthony Davis complements LeBron perfectly with his defensive prowess and scoring ability, creating a dynamic duo that can challenge any opponent.

Championship Aspirations

The Lakers are always in pursuit of championships. The organization has a winning culture that emphasizes excellence and competitiveness. As a player, being part of a team with such high aspirations can be incredibly motivating. The Lakers' front office is committed to building a championship-caliber roster, which means that players have the opportunity to compete for titles every season.

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 58: Eyes of the Dragon

This chapter starts with three lead pages before the title page, which I think is a new record for UU. Tozuka's like HERE TAKE THIS FLASHBACK, TOO! WE CAN MAKE IT FIT!

He really makes the best appetizers, too, bc Shen's origin story is guaranteed to be interesting. Unlike some of the other Negators, his life was already rough even before his ability awakened; maybe that's why he relies on his physical strength more than his ability since it's just second nature to him.

It turns out that Shen was once a fighting street urchin with a heart of gold! Notice how Mei is telling him in this scene and the scene from the previous chapter that she already has enough and Shen doesn't have to fight. But Shen isn't easily satisfied!

Little Shen was a streetwise orphan who wasn't content to just exist. Something was always driving him to try to create a better version of himself and the lives of those around him.

Unfortunately, Shen wasn't able to win the tournament. Still, his showing as the untrained-but-incredibly-gifted-kid was enough to gather the attention of someone.

Shen has a Xianxia origin story: A plucky orphan who has some kind of unquenchable drive for strength, plus a dependent sibling and "eyes of the dragon," is recruited by an old master whose current #1 student is poised to become an unwilling rival, and so he joins his mysterious martial arts school to train to become the very best. We're still missing some Chinese magicians, alchemy, and immortal hermits to complete the genre lmao. Tozuka may yet surprise us!

His teacher's ability to sense strong chi/ki/talent will be important to the story later.

But first, the title page:

Poor Shen! He really would've enjoyed training that way! He just can't sleep at night knowing that there might be strong opponents out there.

"Hey, Shen, I heard you're pretty strong!"

Shen's like a little brother trying to get all the JUICY DETAILS about Andy's EXCITING ADVENTURES and TALES OF COMBAT while Andy's like "Actually it was extremely traumatizing. So anyway, about the firework monsters..."

A mysterious staff appears! And is that Summer's core?

The Summer arc has so many gorgeous panels. I really like the white space in the next one.

It's Feng! And he's put the core into one of the Juniors before setting them loose to cause destruction.

The UMAs take off and shoot vertically up the skyscraper. Andy tells Shen to stay back and fight Feng, but Shen's already gone!

Fuuko and Mui both get caught in the crossfire of the guys yelling at each other.

Feng scoffs at Shen because he eagerly chased after the Juniors instead of recognizing that Feng was the greater threat. It seems that Shen hasn't yet mastered the ability to sense a person's strength.

Another zombie fight! Feng's prayer beads produce four jiangshi who take fighting stances. Shen hits that subscribe button right away.

This is finally Shen's chance to fight the great fighters of the past, just like he wanted!! Just look how happy he is!

The jiangshi attack at the same time with a variety of styles, kind of like the enemies Bruce Lee faces as he fights his way up the tower in the movie Game of Death. He also fights Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which is totally worth watching.

Interestingly, Game of Death is an unfinished movie. I believe that fact gives us a clue about the Artifact of the same name in UU, but I'll have to come back to that later.

Shen uses his ability in a fabulous double spread. He's literally punching their faces in! That's our boy!

But something interrupts his smile...

Even though he beat all four easily, both Shen and Mui are unsettled. He has a dark shadow on his face instead of his usual grin, and she's worried what this means for Shen's future.

Holy shit! It's that guy who beat Shen at the tournament in the flashback! And Feng killed him at some point?! If Feng has already killed off Shen's old rivals, then Mui is right to be worried.

This spread is so cool. Feng was testing the waters with Shen, asking if his emotions would affect his fighting. Shen reassured Feng that he was just here to test his own strength and find satisfaction in the battle itself, and Feng grinned right back at him. These two seem like a perfect match!

Masterpost

[dollarbin]

Nickel Bin #29:

Ringo's Latest

The NYTimes wants us all to know that Ringo has a new song out and that it is chock full of a jangly guitars and an unmistakable backbeat.

Bull honky. The song sucks donkey apendages; the guitars are performed by a chatbot; the backbeat beats up my soul.

Do not look up, people. Rather, avert your eyes:

Ringo, the Times eagerly declares, has gone full country with this latest song.

The Grey Lady clearly needs a new fact checker and a new music critic. I'd recommend my famous brother to them; last week the paper presented two "Dylanologists" in an earnest discussion about the new Dylan film (which, for the record, I refuse to ever watch: if I wanted to see Paul Atreides go electric I'd prefer to see him do so with a Gom Jabbar). The two "experts" said nothing of any interest whatsoever. Curse them!

What's more, one of those two "experts" was a nitwit kid who not so long ago interviewed by famous brother for his hipster podcast and was dumbfounded to learn basic facts from said brother about Dylan's output and priorities in the 80's and 90's: dude, go read a book, or, better yet, six of them, before you declare yourself a Dylanologist. As it stands, I wouldn't trust you as my dermatologist. And I'm pretty damn bald.

Anyway, Ringo's Look Up is not a country song; rather it is a piece of tasteless shite. Plus, Ringo already went full country - and we're talking great, real country - 53 years ago.

[ramon-balaguer]

The Happy New Year wasn’t so happy, in fact, pretty sad with the suicide of a Georgia Judge who tried to resign, because of poor voter show of only 6% to replace him and correctly opted to resign in order for the governor to appoint his replacement, which he Wrongly denied and let to Judge ending his career and life tragically in his courtroom office. 😢

It gets worse, with the Tragic Mayhem caused by several (5-6) Crazy IS Terrorist Pigs 🐖 in New Orleans using a pickup truck to ram through police barricades and run over many people, killing at least Innocent Lives, and eventually the driver Shamsud Din Jabbar (born in Texas) getting out and shooting at law enforcement, which returned fire and had a good kill 🤩 in killing the pig 🐽 where he stood. Not sure what the update is on the other Crazy Terrorist Pigs 🐷

This Heartbreaking Islamic Terrorist Attack last night in New Orleans’ New Year’s Celebration, I believe, is a direct result of Leftist Liberal Democrat Open Borders Policies and Lackadaisical view of ILLEGAL ALIENS entering and staying here ILLEGALLY and having babies, automatically making them citizens (like the now dead Crazy Terrorist Murderer) or eventually securing legal statuses for nefarious means. Such a beautiful and great American city and American Citizens. May GOD🎚️ bless the victims and their families and friends, and hold everyone accountable that Justice may Prevail. ⚖️

With #BloodyBiden's, #KacklingKaMala’s and #Dem’s Open Borders, Sanctuary Cities and Crime & Criminal Friendly Lawlessness...

- Terrorists & Violent Gangs and Crazies can just walk across the souther borders and do the terrorist attack themselves.

- Terrorists & Violent Gangs and Crazies can just walk across the southern borders and create sleeper cells all across the country.

- Terrorists & Violent Gangs and Crazies recruiters can just walk across the southern borders and brainwash and radicalize weak minded Americans.

The entire #KaMalaBiden regime are treasonous traitors and Must be Investigated for Truth & Justice. ⚖️ I don’t know about you but January 20th Can’t Get Here Fast Enough 😡🙏🇺🇸#REBTD😇

Georgia Breaking News 🗞️ https://www.foxnews.com/us/georgia-judge-final-day-bench-found-dead-courtroom

New Orleans Breaking News 📰 https://www.yahoo.com/news/orleans-attack-updates-10-dead-171833279.html

Nevada Breaking News 📡 https://www.yahoo.com/news/tesla-cybertruck-explodes-outside-trump-202302252.html