#gene carson on the left

[changingplumbob]

Foster Household: Chapter 9, Part 7

CW: Mental Health Struggles - Guide to content warnings

The last thing Carson felt like doing on a warm morning was dressing up and getting the ferry to Copperdale, but he had no choice. That’s where the high school was, even if it was covered in several inches of snow. He quickly headed inside to the library to double check his homework. Confident he hadn’t missed anything he decided to go find some friends.

Darwin was in his usual spot, asking the milling students for some homework he could copy. Study was not his priority.

Darwin: Carson! My best buddy. How about that math homework? Can I check your answers

Carson: Math home- we didn’t have math homework

Darwin: You sure? I got a text from Anya reminding me but then I changed topics

Carson: She’s not even in our year Darwin. And isn’t she like best friends with Artemisia?

Darwin: Oh yeah. She must have taken her phone and sent me a bogus text, she takes me flirting with her friend personally for some reason

Nanami: So I’m thinking we should shift you more to the middle and then while you’ve got the flyer-

Onyx: We’ll have more room for tumbling up the left side, got it

Ariadne: Hey Onyx

Onyx: Hmm? Oh hey Ariadne. Have you met Nanami? She’s in cheer with me

Ariadne: I don’t think so. I was actually hoping I could speak with you for a minute

Onyx: Yeah sure. Catch you in math Nanami?

Nanami: Math. The best class for doodling routines in

Onyx: You all good Ariadne

Ariadne: Yeah thanks. I, um... how close are you and Carson

Onyx: Me and Carson? Oh we go way back, best friends since forever

Ariadne: Are you and he... like together?

Onyx: What? No, no. We just grew up together in scouts and stuff, our dads are best friends

Ariadne: So he... he’s not dating anyone?

Onyx: *smiling* Tell you what, he’s over there by the mural project if you wanted to check with him

Ariadne: Oh no, I mean I didn’t-

Onyx: Bye now

Carson stared at the wall. What to paint, what to paint, what to paint? He was deep in thought when he heard Ariadne talking and had to stop himself kicking over a paint can accidentally.

Carson: Sorry what?

Ariadne: Oh, ah... I just asked if you’re... painting anyone-thing at the moment

Carson: I’m trying to paint but *sighs* I don’t know how mum does it. I love art but a blank canvas and I just falter. Maybe I didn’t inherit the right genes

Ariadne: I know what you mean. My grandmother... well she did a lot and I’m not sure I can do any of it half as well

Carson: I’m sure you can, you're brilliant

Carson was busy staring at the mural but that made Ariadne smile.

Ariadne: It’s so much colder here than Sulani, how do you stand the change everyday

Carson: *shrugs* I get by. I mean I have been in snow when we lived in willow creek. Are you cold?

Ariadne: Yeah... a little bit

Carson: You should tell your dads. I’m sure they’d wrap you in furs before you could blink

Ariadne: Oh I like my animals alive thanks. Listen, could we- I wanted to ask...

The bell rung loudly and a startled Carson began to pack up, terrified of being late. If he was late his grade would go down. Or he’d get detention. And if he got detention once he was bound to keep getting it and then he’d be kicked out of school. His parents would probably die from embarrassment. Wait, Ariadne had been saying something...

Carson: Sorry, you were going to ask something?

Ariadne: Nevermind, I better get to class

Carson tucked the paints away and watched her walk off. He liked that they were both wearing green today. It was matching in a way. Not that she was likely to want to match with him. Especially if he got kicked out of school. He ran the rest of the way to class one she was out of view.

Mrs T: Hurry up, everyone sit down. Who can tell me what we did in our last math class

Darwin: Sleep

Mrs T: We all know you did Darwin, we heard you snoring

The class giggled and Darwin tried to look put out but Carson knew he loved being the centre of attention.

Carson: We were talking about how to find x if there’s more than one

Mrs T: Very good Carson. Now, who can tell me our first step to solve the written equation

Carson: Nice job on that last question Paola, it threw me for a loop

Paola: Thanks! I was practising all weekend, no way am I flunking exams this week

Onyx came over and pulled Carson aside.

Onyx: What do you think you’re doing

Carson: Talking to our friend?

Onyx: Dude did Ariadne not talk to you? I think she’s interested. Last thing you want her to see is you talking to someone attractive. Oh quick, look like you’re talking to me so I can watch Zharfina

Carson: Does she... have binoculars?

Onyx: Isn’t it adorable

After eating Carson went to work on the mural again. Every so often he checked behind him to see who was around. He hoped Ariadne would come over and talk again, he was a doofus for not giving her more attention earlier. When she did come in she made a beeline for the food and Carson was sad to see that Artemisia was there talking to her. Stupid. Artemisia was probably busy telling her that Carson was seeing half a dozen girls, or gave terrible hugs, or-

Carson got so worked up at himself he had to leave the mural to chill out upstairs before class. As it was he almost stabbed his book with his pencil several times during science class. Thank goodness he had an appointment with Chad after school.

Previous ... Next

[anjumzm]

Midnight Summer

A Legacy of Gods fanfic

JerCes Daughter x LanMia Son

Chapter 3.

Theodore Sokolov King.

Nearly three days of waiting and no response from the little bird, makes me wonder if the hints I'd left are enough, she seemed like an intelligent person, but I could be wrong.

Judging by her reaction during the Bratva meeting, I thought she'd be here by now, seems like I'll have to up my game a notch. Initially I'd not planned to expose the Volkov's vulnerability at the Bratva meeting, but since Williamson had been making his move after the so called leaks over media, all thanks to yours truly, the news reached the Bratva Headquarters. Williamson threatened to expose the Bratva secrets and try to break other alliances too, due to the fact that the Bratva failed to keep up it's end of the deal. Which is why it became important for me to jump in, you see even if I'm untouchable, the Volkovs net of spys and organization preeceeds anyone else's in the entire US, UK and Russia combined. Sooner or later my involvement with the incident would come up, although personally I couldn't give any fucks about the Bratva business and try to keep away as much as possible, my cousin and grandparents at my mother's side are higher ups in the organization, so it's necessary for both our sakes to keep my name clean, which is why I came upfront to the Pakhan, and made it look as though I'd gotten back the files through unknown sources, shooting two birds with a single stone. Williamson would keep quite for a while now since he might be busy cleaning the mess created before next elections, and the Pakhan now thinks I'm someone who could be relied upon, a fact that doesn't seems to sit well with the Volkovs given the history between my father and Jeremy Volkov, both of whom tolerate each other due to the fact that Cecily Knight or Mrs Volkov is a friend to my Father and Aunt Ava, while my mother , Mia , is a friend to Jeremy and his entourage involves my Uncles Killian and Nikolai. This doesn't lessen the tension whenever the two parties meet for family dinners or so.

Just when I'm thinking about another way to trap my birdie, a loud and obnoxious presence derails my thought process "What the fuck do you think you're doing motherfucker ?" Punch. "Why, hello to you too cousin dearest" I say clutching my jaw, the uncultured piece of crap almost ruined my masterpiece of a face. "I specifically told you to stay away from Aaron and the Volkovs, this ain't your playground Theo, it's the Bratva where there are incomprehensible consequences to your actions" "Is that concern I hear in your voice, Dommy boy?" "Not even in your dreams, the only thing I'm concerned about is getting myself out of this shit show you've put up, which puts me in a tight spot with Aaron, I don't like this Theo, not even a bit" "Do you want to Fuck him? Aaron Volkov I mean?" "What!! NO! Whats wrong with you man! Why would you even think that?" "Good, it's enough that our little helion of a cousin Jessica is obsessing over him, such a downgrade for being a King, I'd bet the lapse of judgment and lack of taste on the Carson genes" "Wow. Just Wow. How can you be so nonchalant about this entire thing?" "Don't stress, I have a plan" "You better do. And it better be something that won't get us in the middle of whatever fuckery is going on between you and the Volkovs, I'm tired already man. I just wanna ride my bike, rail and maim people for fun, eat sleep and repeat, this ain't something I signed up for." "Trouble in Paradise?" Sean comes in with a wicked smile planted on his face. "You better keep your mouth shut big bro, if only you didn't let your hand loose, we wouldn't have to take this psycho's help" "A Thankyou would suffice" I chime in Sean raises his hands up, as if surrendering "those idiots had it coming for a while, they asked and I served, besides you're the last person who should be giving me lectures on "not letting my hand loose", seriously did you forget all your rendezvous including but not exclusive to an attempt to murder?" " Yes, but we never cross a line, not where our families are involved. Seriously Theo what is it that you're planning, why steal from the Volkovs, knowing you, I bet there's more to this than what meets the eye" "I was bored" "WHAT??, do you seriously think I'd believe that bullshit , "Well if you know me so well, you'll get to know my ultimate goal, have patience cousin dearest" "Whatever, this is the last time I'm taking your side over my friends, the next time you fuck up, I'll be sure to help Aaron dig your grave. Don't worry I'll lend Aunt Mia a shoulder" "Sure thing, Dom" Just when he's about to spew some more nonsense, my assistant and guard, a gift courtesy of my Grandad Kyle Hunter arrives in. "What's the update Shera?" "The plan's executed and met it's goal as expected, my sources reported that Ms.Aanya Volkov just left the property and the drive with the files missing too" "Wait, go back, did Shera just say "Aanya Volkov? as in the Volkov princess?" Says Dom with a murderous expression, "Have you lost it you motherfucker, you know that my Dad is her Godfather and would maim you to death if a single hair of hers is out of place?" "Good thing I have Uncle Brans unwavering support" I add in. "What do you mean the pendrives are gone, you trying to double cross me you twat?" Sean says in his cold tone. I zone out and don't pay attention to the two, my minds already high with all the plans I have to play with the little bird, or should I call her little fox, judging the fact that she easily managed to pull something that would have been a difficult feat for others She's cunning, I'll give her that. "You guys are thinking into this too much, trust me I won't get you guys or our families involved, like I said I have a plan. So please remove your unnecessary presence from my vicinity so that I can concentrate on the issues at hand, the doors to the left. Thanks"

Now that the first phase of the plan is complete, time to set the playground for a new game.

[cinerins]

Another Road – Expedition Overview

This is a general look at the direction and structure of the Atlantis expedition in my AU "Another Road" — I thought I might as well share my own ideas and concepts for a slightly different SGA setting here!

The team embarks on their journey about a year later, August 2005, after a 16 month period of training and preparation, following the discovery of Atlantis.

With an initial count of 200 volunteers, the expedition is comprised of several researchers previously stationed at the antarctic outpost, as well as additional candidates and military personnel approved by the IOA and HWC.

Expectations

Given what they have thus far learned about the Ancients and the experiences gained in the Stargate program, there are a number of potential points of interest and expected risks to consider, before stepping foot into another galaxy.

As an international scientific project, the primary focus of the expedition is the gathering of information pertaining to the Ancients and research of their technological advancements. However, due to the unknown nature of the Pegasus galaxy, the research of any extraterrestrial life and technology is a general goal.

Peaceful, undisruptive exploration may be the ideal direction of such an undertaking, but the International Committee and Homeworld Command have come to agree, that a military component would be necessary as a precaution. Should they find it unwarranted, the selected personnel could simply aid in emergencies and the overall operations of the group.

The 16 month buffer serves to prepare for anything the team might find on the other side of the event horizon — be that a thriving society, or another abandoned outpost left to sleep in a wasteland. All members would've been required to learn the Ancient language (Alteran) and the basics of Gate travel, if they weren't familiar already.

Since the Ancients are genetic cousins, originating from Earth in this setting and have left a grand network of habitable locations throughout the Milky Way, it gives our team the hope of establishing a reliable base, even if they don't find anything alive.

The possibility of no return is a risk they are well aware of.

Composition

Each and every volunteer has been selected and vetted by the agencies involved, either with Weir's recommendation or approval.

Key factors are an extensive understanding of relevant fields (particularly regarding the Stargate and Ancients) and/or the possession of the ATA gene. There is much overlap of expertise among expedition members, the idea being to employ a wide array of knowledge and skills in as few people as possible.

Senior staff manages the overall decisions and is comprised of the representative leader of their given division, with Dr. Weir as head of the expedition as a whole.

The team features seven divisions, color-coded for convenience and each with departments as subsections, covering specific fields.

Cultural Division (red)

Head: Elizabeth Weir

Departments / Fields

Anthropology

Archaeology

Philosophy

Politics

Linguistics

-> Initial numbers: 15

Technical Division (purple)

Head: Peter Grodin

Departments / Fields

Technology & Engineering

Stargate Operations

Computer Science

Robotics

Electronics

-> Initial numbers: 31

Physical Science Division (blue)

Head: Rodney McKay

Departments / Fields

Astrophysics

Quantum Physics

Wormhole Physics

Astronomy

Chemistry

Thermodynamics

-> Initial numbers: 20

Life Science Division (green)

Head: Veronica Weaver*

Departments / Fields

Astrobiology

Microbiology

Biochemistry

Botany & Agriculture

Zoology

Ecology

Genetics

-> Initial numbers: 24

Environmental Division (yellow)

Head: Mercedes Torres*

Departments / Fields

Geology

Hydrology

Geography

Oceanography

Atmospheric Science

-> Initial numbers: 12

Medical Division (white)

CMO: Carson Beckett

Handle primary medical treatment and care, ensuring the overall well-being of all expedition members in the following points:

Medicine

Surgery

Physical Therapy

Anesthesiology

Dentistry

Pathology

Psychiatry

-> Initial numbers: 14

Military Division (black)

CO: Marshall Sumner / John Sheppard (later)

Offer assistance to the other divisions and the expedition as a whole, cover following responsibilities:

Security

Logistics

Emergency Management

Emergency Medical Treatment

Decontamination

Military Operations

-> Initial numbers: 84

*unoffical characters added to fill these positions.

Management

The team is provided with enough supplies to cover each division's general needs, both work-related and personal, for about a year. If necessary, their use of equipment and gear can easily be extended, but water and food production would depend on the environment and resources they're met with.

Complete, long-term self-sufficiency should be possible, with access to the needed materials, but is not the intended goal of this expedition.

An emergency transmitter would've been used to send a signal to Earth, in case they cannot dial back and have found themselves trapped, with no means to support themselves beyond what they brought along. It would've taken a while to be received, but by then the Daedalus should've been fully operational and able to retrieve them, before their supplies run out.

If they are not heard from in any way within their first year (taking communications delay into account, given their distance) Earth would've presumed them dead and the mission a failure. However, if the mission was at least partially a success and they have access to safe food and water, but still no way to return, a number of satellites would've been launched to act as relay stations between the galaxies.

Sending a ship to and fro would be off the table, unless it was really worth the cost of such a long trip — say, if it was to rescue the group, or to transport artifacts and materials of significant value. The IOA would be reluctant to send off one of Earth's limited number of interstellar vessels, while they have more pressing uses among our own stars.

Either way, unless they found more convenient alternatives, the expedition would've expected to rely mostly on themselves.

[night-dark-woods]

tagged by @villanevehaus :3

9 people you'd like to get to know better

last song: unfortunately. c'est la vie by bbno$ yung gravy and rich brian. its been stuck in my head for three weeks now.

fave colour: most jewel tones, but i love a good pthalo green.

currently watching: finally finishing person of interest bc i could never bring myself to finish the last season. also bob's burgers.

last movie: THE THING 1982. MOVIE OF ALL TIME. technically Bottoms but given that i left the room 15 minutes in since i'd just been sitting there plugging my ears bc i can't handle secondhand embarrassment. i don't think that counts.

currently reading:

see when i was a kid i was always like HOW is my mom in the middle of a bunch of books at once. however. here we are:

the archive undying - emma mieko candon

the bright ages - matthew gabriele and david perry

shadow and claw - gene wolfe

into the planet: my life as a cave diver - jill heinerth

and then technically, though i havent picked these up in a few months:

gardens of the moon - steven erikson

kushiel's avatar - jacqueline carey

antigonick - anne carson (going slowly since im reading it with carson's actual translation and then also got a copy of the greek to reference to see what's up with specific really fun word choices)

sweet/spicy/savoury: savory!

last thing I googled: george costanza (needed to check that i was identifying him correctly for an image id lol)

current obsession: memorizing the entirety of the unveiling lore book from destiny 2! ive got the first chapter down and the first paragraph of the second, but i mostly do it when it's slow at work and im on register lol so that's longterm.

also putting native shrubs in the yard since the landlord said i could do what i want.

currently working on: eris/ikora lyricstuck set to curses by the crane wives! ive got... 3 of 10 pages done, each of which have 2 illustrations on them.

okay lets see. tagging: @planet4546b @mxsovereign @siyurikspakvariisis @oystermustroom @prismaplex @whatwwwwwww @37q @shawsbear @sotvrna also hi any other mutuals if i didnt tag u pls consider yourselves tagged.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Okay things are going a little too fast right now with a response is about project 2025,

First about Biden I saw this post that was saying that project 2025 is already here and Biden is already moving those goals and you did criticized Biden for being an enemy to LGBT+ by radicalizing him and I kind of got the impression that he shouldn't explicitly support the movement.

https://www.tumblr.com/decolonize-the-left/745588100726734848/i-saw-your-post-about-the-leopards-eating-faces

Secondly I kind of felt the same way with it not being talked about anywhere. Not even like popular people that like covers politics at times don't even bring it up like not even as like an offhanded comment.

3rd verify this a little bit more there are people that kind of sounds like they support it and is that that people from Trump's administration like Jonathan Berry; Ben Carson; Ken Cuccinelli; Rick Dearborn; Thomas Gilman; Mandy Gunasekara; Gene Hamilton; Christopher Miller; Bernard McNamee; Stephen Moore; Mora Namdar; Peter Navarro; William Perry Pendley; Diana Furchtgott-Roth; Kiron Skinner; Roger Severino; Hans von Spakovsky; Brooks Tucker; Russell Vought; and Paul Winfree support it.

Yeaaaaah a racist they/them with a cashapp link in their bio is exactly the kind of outrage hustler I'd expect to be propping up something like Project 2025. That's exactly why it's bullshit. Nobody but these people are talking about it. They're the QAnon of the left.

So I'm going to roll your previous question about Biden (now that I know what you meant) in with your question about Trump, since my answer is the same in both cases. So here we go. Project 2025 is a very detailed proposal that touches on literally every single aspect of politics. Just by the law of averages, you're going to find politicians in every party doing something outlined on the Project 2025 website solely because there's so much there. And similarly, you're going to find a lot of good ideas and a lot of bad ideas solely because there are so many ideas and proposals presented. There are hundreds of pages of PDFs on that site. I have not read them all, not even close. But I did randomly skim to get an idea of what they're putting out there, and there's a lot of common sense stuff in there. Like shrinking the bureaucracy and dismantling Homeland Security entirely. There's stuff about eliminating security flaws in certain government offices and ending the department of education and putting the states back in charge of their own schools. Most of these things I'm reading with my random skim are pretty mainstream modern conservative/libertarian positions. Again, I'm not reading the whole thing, and I won't because I'm not insane, but I'm not seeing anything in what I'm reading, or in the headlines of each different chapter, that warrants the kind of pearl clutching panic the fringe left seems to have for this thing.

As for the endorsements, the site has a list of 100 organizations that they claim support the Project, but they link to no statements or even to the organizations themselves, so I have no idea how legit the endorsements are or where you're getting your info about the people you listed above. I'm going to guess it's from a left wing website unless you personally went out and found statements from these people supporting the Project, and I'm gonna tell you right now, if you did get it from a far left website I'm just going to assume they're lying, just like I'm going to assume they're lying about everything they're saying about Project 2025 since that's what sites like that tend to do. Lie to keep people scared, keep the clicks coming, and keep those cashapp transfers going strong.

[miss-wanna-draw96]

The Beginning of a Cursed Fate - Original story

CHAPTER 1: I'LL BECOME GOD

The shadow cried again, wondering why this had to be the end for its kind. Its kin were not evil. They were only brought back from the shadows to show the humans their deepest and most treacherous sin. So why were they attacking its brethren? It wouldn't know, nor understand.

In a terrible moment, it saw its father, its caretaker, get ripped away from it. It called out, "Verak Toma!" The father screamed something out, something in a language it didn't understand, what did he just say? It was too frantic, too angry, too much for a little creature with no mother. And in that moment, no father.

A shadow being, a shadow of a a lady who was consumed by her envy. So the little child labeled her as "Envy", but that's not her name. It's kind do not have names. They weren't allowed to have them, it was deemed so by their flesh husks. And it had broken the rules. And yet, it didn't know that.

The shadow shrieked as a flesh husk grabbed its arm and started to pull it. The flesh husk screamed something at the child, but it didn't understand. Finally, the flesh husk pulled it to the chest and called out to other husks. The shadow of envy's wisps of smoke grew, knowing that she could not save it. She couldn't save the rule-break. Nobody could.

The chunks of flesh spoke words to each other, their mouths moving with ease and quickness. It was almost graceful in a way. One was barking orders at others in blue suits, face were masked. They held weapons. The child wept, silky tears of red ran down the shape of it's face, or what should of been a head, the absence of a head shape. The ones that held it began to match towards a large metal box with wheels and smoke emerging from a long metal pole. The stench of something unfamiliar hit what should have been its nostrils. Thr smell was burnt, dark and left a bad taste in its mouth. Gas from fire and a liquid it couldn't identify.

It shut its eyes tightly, and turned away from the flesh husks. The monsters whom took it away from its kin.

It never saw them again. Forever trapped in a laboratory with no contact with the outside world, or its kind.

---------

In the near future, the present, a boy with dark skin winced as a more fair tanned girl, his age, brushed his hair out. The girl let out a groan of frustration as the comb got caught in his hair again.

She shook her head and said sternly, "Maxwell, you gotta start taking care of your hair better. Every single goddamn time that I do this, the comb always gets stuck in your knotted hair." The way she spoke made Maxwell want to curl up into a ball and cry. She didn't know what he had to do to become who he was today. She didn't know the cost of the surgery, nor the pain he felt when it was over. Or when it began.

The boy named Maxwell replied, slightly upset, "Paige, I'll have you know that my genes make it hard for me to do anything, especially since my eyesight has gotten worse. As for my hair, I'll do better. Just next time you're in town, you get me the... 'Clean Bean' honey and milk hair products. It works well with my hair."

Paige managed to wrangle the comb out of his hair as he spoke, but she sighed quietly. She gave a smile to herself as she replied, "Yeah, I can do that for you. But you owe me for this." She teasingly punched his shoulder, he chuckled. At least they had each other, and her older brother of course.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He paused before asking, "How is Nathaniel doing? It has been awhile since we've seen him." The smile from her face drifted away, then she looked away from his curious gaze.

"Nathaniel is still at his job at the family shop where mom and dad make him work to death and barely pay him anything! I'm trying to convince him to take a job at the local store near here, the bird shop, the one where Carson works at, but he refuses to because he's stubborn. He keeps saying that our parents need his help and I should help him too, but helping them is a total nightmare, Maxwell. He loves them too much to see the abuse that they put him through in the past and now. He just doesn't that they're using him and emotionally abusing him." It took her a moment but she caught her breath and continued her rant. "Carson and his manager, slash friend, James, are better than them and they pay better since they have a bigger shop and need new employees. I'm going to work there myself and I know that you're going to try to get a job at the daycare, which is fine because I heard that the other workers there are nice and the pay is fine. Just don't let anyone hurt you like my parents hurt Nathaniel." Maxwell had stayed silent throughout the entire rant she just told, because he wanted her to get her troubles and worries out. After all, roommates do that, and so do friends.

"I won't if you won't. Is that a deal?" Maxwell asked, his voice soft and comforting while trying to lighten the grim mood. And it miraculously worked. Paige held out her pinky and he took it in his own.

"It's a deal. Now, for the love of God, help me with your hair this instant before I lose my shit on you and your messed up, tri colored hair." Maxwell had burst out into a roaring laughter, and Paige followed quickly in his loud laughter. Their friendship was like no other where they lived. After a while, Maxwell and Paige had settled down besides she said, "I'm serious. Today is your first day working at the daycare and I want you to make a good first impression on them."

"Paige, I understand. Let's just pull my hair up into a low ponytail, okay?" A minor suggestion but Paige agreed to it. She took her last hair tie and started to brush his hair once more in soft and slow motions, until finally, she took his hair and slipped the hair tie on. She gave it a final brushing and stepped back.

"You're ready." She confidently stated as she stepped back from the metal stool he was sitting on. And like that, he stood up and glanced back to see her face.

"Thanks, I owe you big time for this." Maxwell took his sunglasses and sat them on his head. "I'm going now. Have fun convincing your bro to quit, I believe in you."

And like that, he left the dormancy, leaving Paige alone.

Well, for eleven seconds at most.

Paige turned around only to yell at a disfigured humanoid creature hybrid on her kitchen counter. The creature was terrified, eyes wide like a dog. The creature had a chain around its throat and around its wrists. That's when Paige noticed the scars on its body. The inside of each wound was a rich shade of black. Definitely not human. A shadow being had broken loose from its confines from a laboratory the government hid from people like Paige.

In perfect English, it whispered, "Are you... Paige Lockhart? Kin of Nathaniel Lockhart?"

-----------

A/N: Chapter name comes from the song "Shadow's Art" by Vane Lily. Give it a listen to mostly understand the entity in Paige and Maxwell's dorm room.

Notes: I do hope you enjoy this chapter and my story. This is no longer connected to TMC or anything like that. I pulled a Plushstarfever and made the characters OCs because you know what? I can do that. And each chapter will be as long as I want. Now, I'll outright say this: I'm inspired by @/mustangs-flames and @/missr3n3 on Tumblr. If it wasn't for them, this story wouldn't have existed, nor the reboot of the story. So, if they're reading this on Tumblr, thank you both for being so talented and amazing. You both have given me the strength to write more and to just write whatever I want in general. Thank you.

I have given both Nathaniel and Paige designs that I'm proud of and I'll post them in a new and separate art book (and on Tumblr). Love y'all ^-^]

[antihell]

An excerpt of Twisted Stitches (Chapter One)

by @antihell

AUDIENCE: NA POV: 3rd person limited STATUS: writing first draft TW: body horror, homophobia mention WORD COUNT: 938 or smth

There is no way in Hell Oliver Kaito is going to make it through this semester.

Oliver is seated at his desk in his dorm room as he bites at his cuticles, tearing each one from jagged hangnail to root, while his mother incessantly yaps at him over the phone. He spaced out a long time ago, but that’s not unique to his mother. After a long time without sleep, it’s a lot easier for Oliver to coast between that shaky period of sleep and wakefulness. That place is where Oliver calls the shadows, but only to himself. Nobody else really knows the extent of his insomnia. Truth be told, he does not remember the last time he slept.

“Attendance is the easiest grade to get, Oliver! There’s no reason for you to miss points because you skipped class. Oliver? Oliver, this is important! Are you listening to me?” His mom drones on, not waiting for any sort of acknowledgement from her son. “Go to class, Oli. I know you’re struggling. Just- Just go to class, okay?” It’s as if she’s calming herself, collecting her chakras or whatever they’re called before Oliver can even complain. Maybe all those spiritual retreats have been beneficial after all.

“Yeah, okay Mom,” Oliver sighs. “I’ll go to class. Just don’t tell dad about me missing, okay?” His desk is littered with bloody tissues from trying to stop the blood leaking from his fingertips, but to no avail. His finger draws a sticky dot of red on his phone screen as he presses to hang up.

As if on cue, his roommate Carson comes in, surely ready to set into motion some scheme he has come up with to get Oliver laid. Oliver isn’t sure why Carson is so obsessed with his sex life, but he won’t stop Carson from having his fun with it. “Alright,” Carson begins, taking a deep breath, and Oliver is ready to nod along to whatever plan he has cooked up. Nodding along is about as much you’ll get out of Oliver as a response these days. “There’s a girl in my philosophy II class you’ll love. She’s really smart with all that metaphysical science shit you’re into.”

Oliver can’t find it within himself to tell Carson that metaphysical science is kind of an oxymoron. He still hasn’t bothered to tell Carson that he’s gay either. Oliver doesn’t want to spoil the fun for Carson.

“Alright, what’s her name?” Oliver says, pretending to be interested, collecting all his bloodied tissues from his desk and tossing them in the trash bin beneath his desk. He rolls his desk chair around to where Carson is, combing still-bleeding fingers through his hair, getting much too long even for his own standards. His mom would throw a fit if she knew he had not gotten it cut since he left home in the little town outside Spokane for the summer semester 300 miles away.

“Kayla Greene,” Carson replies, as if Oliver should already know who she is. Carson’s eyes are dead focused on his laptop as he looks her up on social media and pulls up her page. “Okay, I know she’s white but…” Carson tells him, trailing off. Oliver has not once said, or implied, that he wouldn’t date a girl that’s white. His mom is white, for God’s sake! Still, Oliver looks more Japanese than his genes, and Carson gets so excited that Oliver doesn’t want to interrupt and trip him up.

The dreary pace of the dorm internet is pretty infuriating sometimes. Her page finally loads, and Oliver is alarmed at first to see how much skin is showing. And he hates how that trips him up. Hates it. He hates how he seems to have inherited some signs of bigotry his dad has always displayed. His dad would probably call Kayla Greene a trollop from what little clothing she is wearing.

“She’s cute,” Oliver says, convincingly enough. Carson seems pleased.

“Yeah? Total stunner, right? And brains, too. I know that stuff matters to you, and shit.”

Oliver, again, hasn’t even had enough time to tell Carson that he wants someone smart to date. Carson just gets those vibes from him. Oliver is frankly comfortable knowing that.

“Also a sophomore,” Carson begins reading off her supposedly attractive traits. “20 years old. Does gymnastics. Philosophy major. Eh? Eh?” Carson finally looks at Oliver to gauge his opinion. Oliver laughs to make his smile appear more genuine.

“Yeah, she’s cute,” Oliver repeats, nodding with fake enthusiasm.

“Just cute? Come on, roomie.” Carson insists on calling Oliver his roomie, even giving it as a nickname, on a regular basis. “She’s into all that mindful crap you’re into.”

This time Oliver’s laugh is genuine. “Alright, I’ll give her a chance.” He tilts Carson’s laptop up so he can see the screen better. She looks like a nice girl. Oliver just is not into girls. He considers telling Carson now. It would save a lot of time and effort. But Carson always gets so excited when he’s setting Oliver up on these potential dates, none of which ever follow through for obvious reasons. Maybe he should just put his sexual orientation up on his profile. But the risk of Oliver’s parents finding that out is far too great. So, Oliver will let Carson have his fun.

“You know dating is not all that important to me, right?” Oliver asks him.

Carson laughs, shutting his laptop. “I know.” He doesn’t seem too upset about it.

[dedkake]

5 fictober 5+1 october 2022 challenge drabble sets + 1 extra drabble

iii. october 13-18 | fictober | angstober | who we once were, t, .6k

“I don’t want you to do that,” Sumner says, as if John needs to be told he’s worthless to know it. He’s not about to forget a single one of his failures, not even out here in the unknown.

below or on ao3: five au teams that messed up and one that got it just right

-

“I don’t want you to do that,” Sumner says, as if John needs to be told he’s worthless to know it. He’s not about to forget a single one of his failures, not even out here in the unknown.

“Don’t do that,” Elizabeth says. Rodney knows he’s useless in all the ways that matter out here. His brain’s only going to get them so far when they abandon the city.

“Stop it,” Bates says. Aiden understands that he isn’t experienced enough for this, not yet. Out here in Pegasus, he’s never going to have the chance to prove himself, either.

- -

Ronon puts his hand on his blaster. It’s been years, but he still remembers how Teyla had been so still, lifeless on the floor of Michael’s lab when they’d found her.

But here she is again, beautiful, confused, cautious, alive where she sits.

Sheppard’s as far back from the replicator bed as possible when he says, “Teyla.”

“Colonel,” Teyla says. She sounds like herself. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Sheppard says, but shakes his head, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “No. I don’t know.”

This mistake is going to bite them in the ass, and Ronon bets it’ll be soon.

- - -

“What are you doing?” Sheppard asks, his head rolling to track Rodney.

“It’s okay,” Rodney says, his throat tight.

There’s a Marine at the door, Lieutenant Forbes maybe, but Rodney isn’t about to leave.

Sheppard winces as his blood is drawn. “What’s happening?”

“You have unique genes, Mr. Sheppard,” Carson says, but Sheppard’s still looking at Rodney.

“The President just needed to ensure your cooperation,” Rodney says, stepping forward. He places a hand on Sheppard’s shoulder. A month ago they’d been sharing a bed, but here he is, party to Sheppard’s detainment.

Ford raises his gun. “Hands off the prisoner.”

- - - -

Teyla’s in the infirmary and despite Lorne’s assurances, John knows it’s his fault. He shouldn’t be on missions. He should never have left Earth at all.

McKay pulls him closer, but it makes John’s stomach turn.

“You’re looking, but you don’t see,” John says.

“I told you not to talk to the Wraith,” McKay murmurs, kissing him too gently.

John closes his eyes, imagines the Wraith sliding between his thoughts, imagines how it would feel to have his life drained, imagines lying in the desert, waiting to die. The Wraith is the only one who knows exactly what John’s worth.

- - - - -

“Are you serious? Twelve percent?” Rodney shoves the ZPM unceremoniously into his case. They all know that won’t be nearly enough, not with the Enemy on the doorstep.

John has his gun on the priest by the door. Once, they might have bartered for the ZPM, worked with the people of this planet to reach a mutual accord. Maybe, someday, they’ll be able to afford such niceties again.

“We are not who we once were,” Teyla says, switching positions with John, letting him take point for their retreat.

Ronon pushes Rodney past her. “Yeah, well, we ran out of time.”

+

Rather than the peace and quiet she’s looking for, Elizabeth finds Sheppard in the lab.

“I don’t know how they did it,” Sheppard says, glaring at the whiteboard.

“John,” Elizabeth says. “I don’t think this is your problem. Not anymore.”

Sheppard doesn’t look at her, keeps staring at the board. “He should’ve died,” he says, like he’s angry at Rod for returning.

He’s not really angry, of course. Elizabeth isn’t either. She doesn’t know how they would’ve survived the gap Rod left behind.

“Go to the party,” Elizabeth says, steering Sheppard toward the door. “Maybe you’ll find some answers there.”

also on ao3

[lboogie1906]

Project 2025 is a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican candidate win the 2024 presidential election. It proposes reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers as political appointees to replace them with those who are willing to enact the wishes of the next Republican president. The president will have absolute power over the executive branch. Critics have characterized it as an authoritarian, Christian nationalist plan to transform the US into an autocracy. It would undermine the rule of law, the separation of powers, the separation of church and state, and civil liberties.

Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts said, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” Paul Dans, the director, said the project is “systematically preparing to march into office and bring a new army, aligned, trained, and weaponized conservatives ready to do battle against the deep state.” It proposes deploying the military for domestic law enforcement.

its partners employ over 200 former officials from the Trump administration. Notable authors of the project’s Mandate for Leadership include many officials and advisors from the Trump administration, including Jonathan Berry, Ben Carson, Ken Cuccinelli, Rick Dearborn, Thomas Gilman, Mandy Gunasekara, Gene Hamilton, Christopher Miller, Bernard McNamee, Stephen Moore, Mora Namdar, Peter Navarro, William Perry Pendley, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Kiron Skinner, Roger Severino, Hans von Spakovsky, Brooks Tucker, Russell Vought, and Paul Winfree.

Former president Trump has never publicly endorsed it, and his campaign downplayed it in November 2023 as mere “policy recommendations from external allies.” He disavowed it in July 2024, days after Kevin Roberts’s remarks. Several critics expressed skepticism of his denial.

The leaders began recruiting people for future government posts in the event of a Republican victory. #knowledgeispower #votelikeyourlifedependsonit #trumpsproject2025

[tvguidancecounselor]

TV Guidance Counselor Episode 652: Irene Bremis and Frank Conniff

February 26 - March 3, 1972

RETURNING guests to the show comedians Irene Bremis (watch her special Sweetie) and TV's Frank Conniff join Ken this week.

Ken, Irene and Frank discuss growing up in New York, the horrors of Staten Island, good pizza, racism, Mary Tyler Moore, Sherlock Holmes cigarettes, Doral Cigarettes, True Cigarettes, killing women, Rain Barrell, questionable protein stains, fabric softener, The Old Man Who Cried Wolf, movies vs tv series, where Irene and Frank met, Brian Denehy, the map of Ireland on Frank's face, Maureen O'Hara, psychic detectives, Saturday night death slots, MTM productions, strong women, Maude, how awful Bill Cosby is, dying on stage, Bob Hope, Dana Gould, Bing Crosby and Friends, women's lib, Ear Stoppies, wigs, Rowan & Martin, Gene Hackman, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, comic comradery, Sid & Marty Kroft, Hart to Hart, the show with the woman, James Garner, Left Behind, Kirk, Christians, losing your mind, cycle cell anemia, Greeks, Cannon, William Conrad, MeTV, It Takes a Thief, Carson, Serling, meeting Dick Cavet, Adam 12, Dick Clark, Hellzapoppin the TV series, Dom DeLuise, George Wallace, working on Sabrina, That Girl, Cannonball Run, Eddie Murphy, Red Foxx, Sandford and Son, Soap, Room 222, and watching MeTV at 2am. 

Check out this episode!

[manwalksintobar]

Gloves on! // Anne Carson

So,​ your life. There it is before you – possibly a road, a ribbon, a dotted line, a map – let’s say you’re 25, then you make some decisions, do things, have setbacks, have triumphs, become someone, a bus driver, a professor of Indo-European linguistics, a pirate, a cosmetologist, years pass, maybe in a family maybe not, maybe happy maybe not, then one day you wake up and you’re seventy. Looking ahead you see a black doorway. You begin to notice the black doorway is always there, at the edge, whether you look at it or not. Most moments contain it, most moments have a sort of sediment of black doorway at the bottom of the glass. You wonder if other people are seeing it too. You ask them. They say no. You ask why. No one can tell you.

A minute ago you were 25. Then you went ahead getting the life you want. One day you looked back from 25 to now and there it is, the doorway, black, waiting.

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a symptom particularly mortifying to me was that my handwriting disintegrated. I used to take pleasure in writing in notebooks, shelves of them, day after day, year after year. Now the upright strokes bend or break or go in all directions, vowels shrink to blobs, slant loses its smooth smart angle, it all looks embarrassing. I scrub out whole paragraphs in shame.

Hard to describe or explain the shame of bad handwriting.

Bad handwriting is ugly. Also it is inauthentic. In the sense it is not you.

Parkinson’s is a disease that turns off certain genes in the cells of the brain, no one knows why. Many physical actions, and some cognitive actions, are thereby inhibited or mangled.

In The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge writes:

Each cell in our body contains all our genes, but not all those genes are turned on or expressed. When a gene is turned on, it makes a new protein that alters the structure and function of the cell. This is called the transcription function because when the gene is turned on, information about how to make these proteins is ‘transcribed’ or read from the individual gene.

So the brain has its own handwriting. Which depends on a certain protein. I can imagine my poor brain throwing up its hands in dismay to find all the good handwriting protein gone or a mess.

Entering the shatter zone. Hands within hands. Metabolic and metaphorical vectors overlap. Is this confusing? Yes, it is confusing.

What a difference there is between Keats’s handwriting in letters or notes for a poem and his ‘fair copies’ made for publishers or friends. I study this difference. I say to myself, it’s just a matter of attention; turn the page, pay attention, try again. I try again; I am wrong. Life slips one more notch towards barbarity.

Life is no longer fair!

Handwriting is a mark from inside me that I put outside me, often with a view to showing, telling, communicating. It carries what Gerard Manley Hopkins calls ‘the inscape’ out. (Note: Hopkins meant several different things by ‘inscape’, which I don’t know enough about his psyche or his poetics to represent here, but those Dublin notebooks – wow!)

If your writing slants to the right you are a person strongly influenced by your father; procrastinators dot their ‘i’s to the left, etc. Graphology is the study of handwriting as a clue to character analysis. It’s hard to believe it isn’t a good clue.

Scriptural disintegration: also scary as an image of the cognitive breakdown that is another gradual effect of Parkinson’s disease. Vagueness, forgetting, discontinuity, gaps and fissures, slowdowns, stops. When critics talk about the ‘late style’ of Beethoven or Baudelaire, do they mean marks on paper as well as, or as a clue to, hauntings in the brain?

‘In the history of art, late works are the catastrophes,’ Adorno writes in Essays on Music.

Graphologically speaking, the art of Cy Twombly poses an aberration. His paintings feature handwritten words inscribed in such a way as to avoid offering any clues to him or his character or his inside state. Scribbled, scrawled, gauche, idle, unlovely – the hand is no one’s, or everyone’s, or mythic, or just a stain left behind by something written there before. A mark with no person in it. No shame.

Neurologists now seem to believe that the brain is plastic and that certain activities can rewire it, by generating new neurons to replace lost ones or by exciting neurons that have gone idle or slow. Boxing is recommended. I go to a boxing class three times a week. Everyone in the class has Parkinson’s, various degrees of damage. At a certain point in each class (after stretching, shadow-boxing, drills, strength training) the instructor yells: ‘Gloves on!’ We rush to the lockers for our boxing gloves. Putting on your first glove is easy. To don the second glove you have to get help. ‘Don’t use your teeth!’ the instructor calls out. Interesting fact: it is impossible to conjure the black doorway while someone else is putting a boxing glove on you.

Tremor, what is it? Uncontrollable shaking of a limb, identified by the English surgeon and apothecary James Parkinson in 1817 as one of the first symptoms noticeable in people suffering from what he called ‘the Shaking Palsy’.

When I try to produce a complicated movement like a one-two-four-five combination in boxing (left jab, right cross, right hook, left uppercut) I can feel the neurons in my brain struggling and striving. Yes, I can feel it. Now you think I’m crazy. Sorry, neurologically diverse.

Let’s say a tremor is produced by electricity flowing along a nerve path at a speed I don’t like and can’t control. For example, when I am brushing my teeth, which I do with my right arm and hand, where I have a tremor, the toothbrush whams up and down at a savage pace, colliding with lips and gums. But a nerve path has a plane of action. If I concentrate and change the plane – by moving my arm up or down – I can interrupt the flow and still the tremor. Concentration is key. I have to think into the motion.

A man called John D. Pepper has discovered something similar in managing his problems walking. He addresses his problems with walking by walking: fifteen miles per week in three sessions of five miles each at a pace of four miles per hour. Four miles per hour is a faster pace than I naturally want to walk. It is a struggle. I have to pay attention to the motion. That is, motor movements that another person might perform automatically require conscious attention from me. By engaging this conscious-movement technique, Pepper enabled himself to tame the tremor and other motor symptoms. He probably got Parkinson’s in his thirties (although it wasn’t diagnosed at the time) and is now in his nineties. Intensely, he thrives.

Righting oneself against a current that never ceases to pull: the books tell me to pay conscious, continual attention to actions like walking, writing, brushing my teeth, if I want to inhibit or delay the failure of neurons in the brain. It is hard to live within constant striving. It is hard to live within the word ‘degenerative’, which means that, however I strive, I do not win.

Of course everyone is striving all their life. And no one wins against mortality. But there is a difference between striving to (say) learn ancient Greek or do the vacuuming and striving to pay microscopic attention to every instant of a physical act. Studying his own way of walking in Reverse Parkinson’s Disease, Pepper analyses it into nine segments of action and six targets of attention for each step he takes. Check it out. The man is intense.

Writing this essay in a notebook with a ballpoint pen has been a chastening exercise. The handwriting is maybe 60 per cent legible. I do not achieve any Twombly-like liberation from the husk of cliché or the shackles of my personality with this scrawl. The hand is all too much me. And, frankly, a bit loathsome.

But let’s keep it light at the end. Quoting Barthes may lift the tone.

Describing the gaucherie of Twombly’s hand Barthes remarks on its lightness, its inclination gradually to erase itself and fade away in a vapour of innocence. He admires the impulse ‘to link in a single state what appears and what disappears; [not] to separate exaltation of life from fear of death [but] to produce a single affect: neither Eros nor Thanatos, but Life-Death, in a single thought, a single gesture’ – a single tremor?

[goddamnwebcomics]

My Not-so-Brief Review of Gene Catlow (Part 5)

In this part we'll talk about the villains and first half of Matt's group.

Characters (Part 4)

In terms of non-redeemed antagonists, you’ve got arguably the biggest one in form of Furry Unity group, they’re relevant in the first arc, acting as the other extreme to Michael Alan Avariss. Mason is their leader and I’ve already talked in length about him and his shitty would-be redemption in the hands of Masonite. Honestly Furry Unity should’ve been the main antagonist of this comic after Avariss exits the scene, as they’re shown to be quite dangerous, even if their existence and how every character treats them is murky, when humans have shown to have done much worse things to furries. Speaking of, let’s talk about the first villain of this comic, Michael Alan Avariss. He is a brutal furryhating corporate executive, but he is also shown to have depths, especially when it comes to his wife and son. While an intimidating antagonist, his defeat and lack of effect in the plot really make him more pathetic and pathetic on retrospective. His existence is also the biggest proof Albert didn’t always intend the comic to become World of Friends propaganda as even with his questionable moments of humanity, he is still an irredeemable monster who’s killed hundreds if not thousands of furries with his influence. That makes his defeat even more pathetic, as Cotton mocks him and then he gets arrested. He doesn’t even bail himself out of jail, he just stays in the shadows for the rest of the comic with occasional flashbacks. I’ve already talked about the Hosts and how they failed spectacularly as a concept, so let’s talk about the villain of the second arc, the faceless original animen, also known as Evil Stagglers. We never see their faces but they are stated to be hideously ugly. Their plan with Gene and Catwhis is also questionable as they don’t really do anything. Then Crendall and Elder Mother show up, Crendall punches one of them in the face and then Cotton wipes them out. The last irredeemable villain I can think of are the “Evil Children” of the Amphibians, that Matt gives physical bodies to in form of his puppets, we learn nothing about them but they seemed to be the Final Boss of the Entire Comic, being able to wreck Tane’s cat utopia and even fatally damage the Amphibian homeworld’s leaders, but due to Albert’s death it’s likely we’ll never learn anything else about them, and what exactly was their relationship with Matt.

And then we get to my favourite group of the entire comic, Matt’s crew, the Family that is loyal to Matt. I feel like the strongest incarnation of this group is when Stuart and Tassy were still part of the group as it feels like the group just turned into a mess after they left. This group is formed after the old Family Power loses it’s energy, and a new Family Power kitten is formed to fight the Hosts. Oddly enough we never see this kitten after its first appearance. Did it die when Big Cats took away Matt’s powers? That would be cruel. Either way, the part of Matt’s crew who we didn’t get to see backstab him includes Burke, the accountant of the family, Carson, Matt’s “Legal Muscle”, Taria, the group’s receptionist, Clay, goblin cat who constantly wants to fight people and Cydnee, Matt’s matagot partner in crime. I think that Taria is the most nothing member of the group, she was obviously gonna backstab Matt next, but she also does have a fierce side to her with her calling out Carson, and also being genuinely angry that Stuart and Tassy left Matt’s group. Clay is a petty little shit, and I don’t think he was well established enough outside of getting his ass kicked by Matt. Then we get to characters I have a lot to say about. Carson went from being somewhat untrustworthy of Matt to being very loyal to him, an issue with him is that he is perhaps a bit too loyal to whoever is in charge, and he doesn’t tolerate criticism of any kind. I feel like he’s kinda self-sabotaging the group with his behaviour. However it all changes when he begins to get tormented by Forzoi. Once fierce and threatening lion is reduced to a nervous, anxious wreck under Forzoi’s fierce mindrape. You really gotta feel bad for him, and is it really a redemption if Forzoi was trying to FORCE him to redeem himself? Carson really had no option or Forzoi would have literally killed him. And then we have Burke, sweet, lovely, relatable Burke. Burke is too pure for this hellish comic. He starts off with his homosexuality being strongly hinted at, and he even has a crush on Matt. However he starts becoming a much deeper character, the Big Cats almost kill him due to his bad immune system forcing Matt to call the help of his traitors. Even when the group falls apart, Burke is immensely competent and a workaholic to the max. We really learn more about him when he takes a vacation but happens to share a plane with his ex-boyfriend, Sulfur. The scenes between Sulfur and Burke are deeply emotional and some of the best written dialogue in this entire comic. Sulfur doesn’t really want to throw Burke under the bus even if he’s with a group he obsessively hates. Burke and Sulfur, even with their dysfunctionality, are the best couple in this entire comic.

[gyerangyeran]

I don’t draw a lot of variation in sizes and shapes so when revising my old oc’s i decided to try it out. It’s wild that I have finally have an oc that doesn’t have the middle part hairstyle 

[glennk56]

Top 10 character actors in the 1940s.

This list is of top chubby character actors of the 1940s, based on number of films and number of times their name appeared on Movie Posters and Ads and if they were most often in A pictures or B pictures. These are the actors that most often played secondary or tertiary roles or sidekicks, but not listed alongside the star’s names.

1.       Smiley Burnette Thoughout the 1930s, Smiley Burnette played comic sidekick Frog Millhouse, with trademark black floppy hat and frog croak imitation, to country/western star Gene Autry.  In the early 1940s he continued playing sidekick to Autry until Autry left for WWII service. He was then teamed up with cowboys Roy Rogers, Eddie Dew, Bob Livingston or Sunset Carson, playing Frog in 30 films. In 1946 he continued playing the sidekick, now under his own name, Smiley to cowboy star Charles Starrett. He co-starred in 34 films with Starrett in the 1940s. In all his name appeared on all 64 movie posters of the movies he appeared in, most often 2nd billing, sometimes first, as co-star. Smiley was also a singer/songwriter, singing in many of the movies. Some may remember him in the 1960s TV comedy Petticoat Junction, as Charlie the engineer. These Westerns were B pictures but I can’t discount the 100% on posters.

2.       Gene Lockhart. Gene Lockhart was a respected stage actor before becoming a film actor. Gene appeared in 50 films in the 1940s and 48 times his name appeared on the posters. He often played a man in a suit, but was versatile. He seemed to enjoy playing characters who were not white collar, city-dwellers.  He was usually billed in the 2nd or 3rd tier of names and most often in A movies. Some of his most notable films of the 1940s were His Girl Friday, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, One Foot in Heaven, Meet John Doe, All That Money Can Buy, Going My Way, and Miracle on 34th Street

3.       Edgar Buchanan, with his gravelly voice and calm demeanor began his movie career in 1939 at age 36. It didn’t take him long to become a fan favorite after he played Apple Jack in the Cary Grant/IreneDunne film Penny Serenade. He was often used to lighten the mood. He appeared in 41 films in the 1940s with his name on 34 posters, 8 times as co-star.

4.       Eugene Pallette was the go-to guy to provide comedy with his large presence, grouchy demeanor and foghorn voice in the 1940s RomComs. He was in 35 films in the 40s and his name was almost always on the posters.

5.       Thomas Gomez. His name appeared on 30 posters of the 32 films he made in the 1940s. Unlike most of the names on this list, he was not a comedic actor. He was Nominated for an Oscar for Ride The Pink Horse in 1947. His most popular movies in the 40s were Key Largo and Force of Evil.

6.       S.Z. Sakall known to friends as Cuddles was a comedic actor with a cherubic face and a heavy German accent. He a flair for mixing American slang phrases. He appeared in 33 movies in the 1940s and his name appeared on 25 of the posters.

7.       Billy Gilbert, excitable and overly loud, did mostly B movies in the 1940s. He appeared in 39 films, his name appearing on 29 posters, 4 times starring or co-starring. Thrice he co-starred with Shemp Howard. Billy always seemed to be a comic in search of a partner. He also starred in 4 comedy shorts. His best role in the 1940s was as Herring in Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.

8.       Lloyd Corrigan appeared in 77 films in the 1940s, but his name appeared on less than half of the posters. He was usually in B comedies and often played the proverbial nice guy.

9.       Edward Brophy appeared in 38 films in the 1940s. His comedy was in his Brooklyn accent and he often played as comedy relief in Detective Movies. He appeared on 23 movie posters in this time.

10.   J. Edward Bromberg was a dramatic actor that would’ve played leading roles if he wasn’t short and stocky. His best attribute was to take mundane roles and make them sympathetic. He appeared on 22 of 29 posters.

[ragingpancake]

The Drought

A/N: Hello again! So, trying to get back into the swing of things so I searched for some fic prompts and came across this one! Prompt at the end. Feel free to drop prompts into my ask! I'd love to write more! Here’s what’s frustrating: out of the entire Atlantis expedition, approximately three quarters of them are ATA gene carriers, all thanks to Carson’s finely tuned gene therapy. Awesome. Great. They now have an entire plethora of people to pick from for ‘light bulb duty’ down in the ancient labs, but the problem is, while there are plenty of people to choose from now, Atlantis and her ancient tech just refuses to work for anyone as well as she works for John fucking Sheppard. It’s infuriating, honestly, but Rodney supposes he shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Captain Kirk has managed to practically sleep his way across the Pegasus Galaxy and if Atlantis was a person, of course she would be a she, so of course she would line up with the rest of hussies and--. Hmph. Maybe it’s John that’s the hussy. Lieutenant Colonel Hussy. Okay, that’s almost funny.

“What are we doin’ here again?” Sheppard asks in that nasally, whiny voice he has and it brings Rodney back to the present where they’re currently testing out what very well could be the galaxy’s version of a blood sugar monitor but it only wants to work with John. “I want you to put your finger under the little…. Thing there and think it on,” Rodney says, like it’s the most self-explanatory thing in the world. The duhis left unsaid but it’s there, hanging in the air. He’s also trying very hard not to think about where else he might like Sheppard to put his finger and-- “Why?” It’s infuriating, not only that John Sheppard is the only one that Atlantis responds so easily to, but that he doesn’t even seem to care. Rodney can feel the tips of his ears go red at the annoyance, but there’s that almost smug smile that touches Sheppard’s lips and God, he’s so annoying. And handsome. And smart (not as smart as Rodney of course, but then--) Right. Ancient tech. “It’s not working,” John intones and Rodney frowns down at the tablet. “Well, you aren’t trying hard enough.” “Trying hard enough at what? I’m doing exactly what you said, Rodney.” “Think harder then.” “Can’t we just try something else? Somethin’ cool?” And John honest to God whines and Christ, why is this Rodney’s life? “I just need you to think it on, Colonel,” Rodney snips mostly because they’ve been down here in this lab for the last hour or so and it’s just a couple of them and for the last fifty eight minutes and thirty two seconds, Rodney has been acutely aware of just how close Sheppard is sitting to where he’s working and he just wants to be done. John sighs and screws his eyes shut for all of three seconds before he opens one slowly, glancing down at the machine. Nothing. “I don’t wanna say I toldja so, but--.” “Not another word,” Rodney huffs and he drops the tablet onto the table, lifting a hand to massage his temples. He’s over this. He’s really, really over this and when he glances up at Sheppard to dismiss him, he’s slightly embarrassed to find the Colonel already looking at him, an unreadable look on his face. “I guess that’s it then,” he says, and he sounds annoyed. “We’re done for the day.” “Well, I guess I’ll see ya later then,” John says, standing from his stool and waving lazily at the crew before he slouches out of the lab, Rodney looking after him as he does. It takes all of two seconds before Zelenka speaks up. “Ahem,” he says, feigning clearing his throat. “Perhaps you would like it if I got you a glass of water?” “Not near the ancient tech,” Rodney answers automatically before he realizes exactly what Radek said. “What?” “Clearly, you are incredibly thirsty.” It’s not just Rodney’s ears that go pink this time, but his cheeks burn too. “I have no idea—” “Oh please,” Radek smirks. “The tech works just as well for any other gene carrier here on Atlantis, you know that. We all know you just pretend it doesn’t to give you an excuse to get Sheppard down here and ogle him for an hour.” “First of all, there is no ogling anyone here and second of all, you knowthe city responds best to him! We can’t all be natural gene carriers with the stupid hair and that stupid slouch and--.” “Relax, Rodney,” Radek says and he’s still teasing but maybe there’s something else there too. “For what it is worth, Miko, Simpson and myself believe that the Colonel is just as… parched.” “Wait, wait, wait, you’re saying—No, no. You’re wrong. It’s not possible.” Radek shrugs. “If you say so.” He’s content to let it go and go back to work, and Rodney thinks it really sucks that Zelenka would put such a thought in his head and then just goes back to pretending he hasn’t completely melted Rodney’s brain. Well, what the hell is he supposed to do about this now?

He gives it a few days, lets himself ruminate on it and he’s still pretty certain that Radek is full of it. But then they’re back to the labs, Sheppard back on lightbulb duty, except this time they’re alone and Rodney cannot… well, he can’t quite look away from the Colonel, no matter how hard he tries. Not even when the blood sugar monitor turns on at the slightest thought from Sheppard and--. “Rodney? Something on your mind, pal?” “No,” Rodney answers, perhaps just a little too quickly, eyes snapping down to the tablet in his hand as he catalogs the response the tech is giving John. “Why?” Because he can’t leave well enough alone. “IS there something on yourmind?” John’s response is just as defensive, an emphatic no, and Rodney knewthat Radek was full of shit, that little--. There’s a shrill alarm that sounds for a fraction of a second before the sprinklersthat Rodney didn’t even know existed come on, immediately soaking them both. John curses and stands up from the stool quickly and Rodney very nearly slips in an attempt to get the tablet out of the water, only managing to keep from busting his ass when John reaches for him and suddenly, they’re standing there so close and--. Thirsty. Yes, perhaps he is. “Sheppard, I--.” He doesn’t get a chance to say what he is when John leans forward and crushes their lips together and oh. Oh. This is… this is nice. He relaxes against it, perhaps leaning into it a bit more than he means to and it seems to continue for an eternity before John finally, perhaps reluctantly, pulls away. “Didn’t think you’d ever get with the program, Rodney,” John mutters and he looks a little embarrassed but a lot proud of himself and--. “Sorry it took so long to get the tech workin’,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck and Rodney realizes he should probably figure out how to turn the sprinklers off, but he’s a little dumbstruck right now, to be frank. “I was hopin’ that if we had to try again, no one else would be here so I could--. Well. So I could see if you were maybe just as dehydrated as I am.” Sonofabitch. Zelenka was right. “Absolutely bone dry.” “Well,” Sheppard says, and there’s a hint of an almost devious smile touching his lips. “Let’s see what we can do about quenching that, huh?” Definitely Lieutenant Colonel Hussy. But this time, Rodney’s more than okay with it.

Your prompt: Person B staring admiringly at Person A from across the room. A friend whispers into Person B's ear: 'Why are you so thirsty?'

[ocxees-blog]

The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time

You are what you read. This saying seems an undeniable truth when we picture the impact some books have created on the world. From cracking social boundaries to challenging centuries-old notions, books have played an inimitable role in different segments of human lives. So, which are the books that, along with being a good read, have influenced the way we think? Let’s have a look.

Science

These are the books that pioneered the fundamentals of science taught in schools today. These works left a great and probably a controversial impact on society at the time they were created.

On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin

The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud

Physica, Aristotle

Elements, Euclid

The Meaning of Relativity, Albert Einstein

A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

The Naked Ape, Desmond Morris

Against Method, Paul Feyerabend

The Gene, Siddhartha Mukherjee

What Evolution is, Ernst Mayr

For years, these books are inspiring science enthusiasts to learn newer elements of the universe. That makes it intelligible how millions of students travel abroad to acquire education and stand on the shoulder of giants like Einstein.

Society

Intriguing fiction or rattling real-life stories, many texts have left an unraveling effect on peoples’ views. These books have captured some climactic moments of history and transformed social practices.

The Analects, Confucius

The Republic, Plato

Orientalism, Edward Said

The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank

The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir

The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft

The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli

Native Son, Richard Wright

The Rights of Man, Thomas Paine

Philosophy

Nothing is absolute in philosophy. While pondering over never-ending questions and theories of the universe, dig into the minds of great philosophers of all time through these books.

The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle

On Liberty, John Stuart Mill

A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume

The Discourses, Epictetus

Naming and Necessity, Saul Kripke

The Art of Happiness, Dalai Lama

Letters from a Stoic, Seneca

Beyond Good & Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche

Meditation of First Philosophy, René Descartes

Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant

Reasons and Persons, Derek Parfit

Being and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre

Confessions, St. Augustine

Apology, Plato

Literature

With insightful lines and epic characters, these books in literature offer us undeniable elements to remember for a lifetime.

The Complete Works, William Shakespeare

1984, George Orwell

In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer

The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Beloved, Toni Morrison

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez

The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

In a Free State, V. S. Naipaul

I, Claudius, Robert Graves

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Chronicles of Narnia, CS Lewis

All these books have stood the test of time while telling the stories that needed to be told. Authors’ backgrounds and personal experiences influenced many of these works. And did we mention many authors on the list were actually the celebrated alumni from Oxford University? So, if you are aspiring to change the world through words, Oxford maybe your ideal study abroad destination, where you can learn what influenced these writers to create such timeless compilations of human intellects.

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