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jacoboh · 9 months

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𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨: 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. **

mentioned: adee hayag (@adeehayag), katherine russell (@katherinefms), maya tanaka, mariana rojas (@marianaxrojasx), tucker rivers, toby rivers, julia davis, ruby sullivan, dante kidd

trigger warnings: blood, death, manipulation, stabbing, dismemberment, murder

MAY 21ST, 2023

Just as he expects, everything is going to plan. Somewhere along the line of cleaning Adee’s mess up, Jake notices how unbelievably out of it she was. She killed a man, and she still found a way to look helpless. It conveniently makes forgetting something behind all too easy, even if it was wiped free of any fingerprints or DNA, effectively making the death of Rhys Miller public knowledge following a few days of waiting. He wants to test Adee, it’s the newest obsession in his mind with the end of the school year approaching. She looks perfectly fine after the news of Rhys came out, barely mourning the loss of her dead hookup. Adee was capable of killing someone, even if it was accidental like she’d said, but he wondered if she was capable of more.

He’d risked his entire future for her, and now Jake was feeling as though she owed him something. Her loyalty. He was wondering how far she would go for him, how much she really meant it when she was so thankful towards him a few weeks ago.

Jake was calculated in his decision. He sat at his desk just as the school day finished and pondered the two clear options. Surely, one would be easier. There were three of them, but Jake intended to see if he could be the one to break the trio, and eventually, take the remaining girl away too. As he thought about it again, leaning back in his chair, he nodded to himself, realizing he was right. Maya would be far easier.

After a little waiting, and a little knock to the head after he’d followed her on her way home, Jake set the younger girl down on a chair, finding an abandoned shack just by the shore of Echo Beach, the smell of the sea and sound of the waves the only thing left to fill the silence of the night. He pulled out his phone, pulled up Adee’s number, and texted her.

JAKE: Come see me. I have a surprise for you.

He deleted the text and any following that, thinking that Kat was the kind of girlfriend to go through his phone when he was in the shower. She was a little crazy, a little more so since the news of Rhys, but he liked it. Jake liked the role he played with her, the loving boyfriend who had nothing to hide. Waiting around, he could only really sit with himself, not exactly able to make conversation with an unconscious Maya. Beyond being somewhat of a friend, Jake didn't particularly care for her and felt like the girl’s only personality trait was that she lived in Japan and knew how to use a camera. It was better that she couldn’t talk right now, that way he couldn’t grow annoyed and be vicious towards her.

Jake can’t help but smile as he sees Adee, greeting her at the door and blocking the sight of Maya. He doesn’t bother asking her how she is, what she’d been doing, because none of it really matters to him. What did matter was watching the horror and shock cross over Adee’s face as she realized it was her best friend who was unconscious and tied up. She looks terrified of him, terrified of the possibilities right now, and it only makes him want to laugh. Her innocent act is almost realistic enough, if he hadn’t seen her violently murder a man a few weeks prior.

“Kill her, or I’ll kill you both,” he says sweetly after a few moments, caressing her cheek and looking into her eyes as if she was the one he adored. He takes a seat, handing her the knife that was in his hand, because in all his years of knowing Adee, Jake already knows what she’ll do. It’s a matter of seeing it for himself, gaining a sick sense of satisfaction and happiness watching her kill her own best friend, watching her break piece by piece all because of him. It’s unreal the way he feels at ease, comfortable and relaxed for once in his life. It’s so beyond refreshing that Jake doesn’t want to let go of the feeling, and he wonders if being this in control was the only way he could achieve it.

With Maya’s corpse hunched over in the chair, Adee having taken a step back, he was reminded of how good it felt to tear Rhys apart, to remove the essence of who he was piece by piece. Why did everyone else get to be happy and normal besides him? Why did everyone else get to have something they loved and cherished and it be genuine? He looks down at Maya’s hands. Taking apart a body every time would be too hard, so maybe he can take what they love instead. Her and those stupid fucking pictures. The number of times Jake remembers the younger pointing a camera in his direction, forced to look poised and happy when he felt anything but. She doesn’t deserve to keep what she loves.

So he has his fun, chopping off her hands and discarding them to throw away later, taking his time with making sure his area is clean and free of any evidence. The police are incompetent, but he prefers to not take any chances. Jake doesn’t intend to keep anything that could possibly trace this back to him anyway. It’s late at night, pitch black surrounding the area with the exception of the faint moonlight, dropping Maya’s body by the water before going home unnoticed.

He’ll take care of the other one next.

JUNE 5TH, 2023

Nobody ever liked Tucker Rivers.

At least, that’s what Jake thought. For as long as he’s known the older, Jake’s hated him, thinking that he was a two-faced douchebag, and that you’d have to be an idiot to like the guy. Mariana did attend an Ivy League just to get a degree in the arts, but Jake would’ve thought the girl he’d grown up with would've been a little smarter. He can’t even pretend to be surprised by their long-winded talk where he mostly found himself repeating himself for 20 minutes, but he’s already annoyed by the situation. Tucker was a name he only preferred to hear about once a year at most, and suddenly, he was the topic of far too many conversations. Really, he was doing everyone a favor tonight.

Just as he’s discarding the cigarette in his mouth, bud and ashes staining the concrete, a familiar face appears, not that it’s unexpected. “I’ve been hearing about you too much lately,” Jake lets out, leaning against the brick wall a block or so away from Salem Surf. “It’s pissing me off,” he adds. The other smirks and laughs in turn, and though Jake’s face remains unfazed, he remembers why he and the older fought so much growing up. He’s never bothered with a mask of happiness or sincerity around Tucker, because Jake is confident nobody would believe a word that comes out of the lowlife’s mouth.

“Come on, Jakey. You and I have more in common than you’ll ever admit.” He hates that nickname, and he hates it even more coming from Tucker’s mouth. There’s a knife behind his back, concealed until he pushes himself off of the wall and steps in the older’s direction, the glint of the blade coming into view as he holds it to his side. “You’re right,” Jake remarks, looking into Tucker’s eyes before smiling, letting out a chuckle of his own. This is normally the part where he’d throw a punch, their common, juvenile routine coming into play. Except instead of a punch to the face, it’s a knife to the gut that Jake throws, a gentle smile remaining on his face as he spoke again. “But I’m better than you, Tuck. And I always have been.”

He watches as the other falls to the ground, taking the knife out before bending down and stabbing him again. It’s refreshing and though he hadn’t actually killed anyone yet, Adee doing all of his dirty work, Jake was starting to see the appeal. Every cry, every yell of pain that wouldn't be heard by anyone. It was all because of him. So he kept going, until the cries faded out and there was blood pouring out in excess, and Tucker no longer screamed out for help.

Jake reminds himself he’s in public, covering Tucker’s mouth halfway through so his muffled screams weren’t heard by a soul. He wanted to have more fun, but it was late, and he promised Kat he’d make dinner after he stopped at home and showered. There wouldn’t be any time for more, much to his own dismay.

Tucker’s body was discarded in the trash before he headed home, just where he belonged.

JUNE 10TH, 2023

It’s fortunate that nobody truly mourns the loss of the eldest River brother besides his best friend, but he doesn’t mind it. Jake knows what’s best for Toby, and he knows he’s the brother that the other truly deserved. It is a nuisance to see his life-long friend become a suspect and to have his girlfriend be the one to accuse him. If anything, both of them are the only true, non-blood attachments he could never give up. Jake doesn’t want to entertain the thought of taking one of their sides or losing either of them. It frustrates him a bit, so he decides that it’s time to get back to plan, something that would ensure him peace and happiness.

It’s time to get rid of Julia Davis.

As fun as being partially responsible, and at times fully responsible, for the deaths that had the town shaken up, and as fun as being in control of whether someone lived or died was, Jake liked to think there was a worse reality than death. He likes to imagine what it would be like to ruin someone’s life, bend them to his will, and make them lose everything they’ve ever had. He wondered what it would feel like to leave someone hollow and broken, the way he’d felt his entire life. He wondered what it would feel to create the monster his mother had with him.

He wondered if he could do that to Adee.

In the end, Jake was a simple person. He didn’t need an elaborate plan to ruin her, he just needed to take away the right pieces. It was fortunate that a girl like Adee didn’t have much of a brain, and that her loyalties, her true loyalties were obvious. He planned for her loyalties to only lie with him, which meant there were people that had to go.

Jake had his car parked outside the Daily Dose, watching from afar his younger sister get off of work and leave the premises, and then he watched as the few remaining customers filtered out and it was just the girl he was looking for remaining. Julia wasn’t a tall person, nor was she very strong in his personal opinion, so knocking her out and carrying her to his car had been easy, barely even glancing at her face as he dropped her in his trunk. He’d specifically waited for everyone to leave, knowing better than to get caught. It’s why he could practically feel the eyes at the back of his head, the unsure ‘hello’ that’s spoken out, shutting his trunk and going into the driver's seat to grab a knife. It’s a bit dull, and it’s unfortunate that they’ve seen too much. But his plan isn’t finished, and he won’t be caught regardless.

Ruby Sullivan was someone Jake only knew in passing. They made music, not that he’d listened to half the crap any of the self-proclaimed artists in town made. He couldn’t say he felt anything as he twisted a knife into her back, maybe besides a little bit of pleasure. Jake finds it funny that they still fight, even when it’s clear he has the upper hand. He bends down as her body falls to the ground, sending the blade right back into her over and over again. He’s being thorough, taking out a little bit of his frustration on them. Jake is bent down over their body, glancing down to see his gray hoodie has splotches of red all over it, making him sigh. “Look what you did, Ruby. This was expensive,” he lets out, rolling his eyes at her unconscious body before picking them up, tossing her inside the trunk alongside Julia. He wishes they would’ve been a little quicker to pass out, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning his car tomorrow too.

…

He doesn’t like when Adee cries. Because there isn’t a moment where he can bring himself to feel bad for her. Jake doesn’t care that she’s breaking over the idea of her unconscious best friend, because 20 seconds ago, she was happy to see Ruby dead right next to her. How is that fair? Maybe it was Julia who he was doing a favor, having her killed so she wouldn’t have to deal with a psychotic best friend. She pleads and says no, and lets those ugly tears stream down her face, and all Jake can do is admire the shiny knife in his hands, much sharper compared to the one he used on Ruby. He repeats those same words he did when it was Maya’s body next to them. And because he knows Adee, he knows she’ll do this.

For the second time, he sits back and watches as Adee kills another of her best friends, destroying her world because of him. He almost would’ve kissed her, knowing that she was dying for a sign that he cared beyond their sick and twisted secret. But honestly, she looked ugly with all that crying, and maybe it would be better to save it for another time. There was a high he got watching her kill, but for now, he’d save his afterthoughts of pleasure for Kat. Maybe on her kitchen counter this time.

As for his fun, what he would take this time, the fingers felt like an obvious choice. Ruby would never be able to play another chord on the bass, and Julia would never be able to type up an unfinished novel again. Left for the creative, musically-inclined one, and right for the do-gooder, book-smart one.

JUNE 23RD, 2023

It doesn’t surprise him to see Adee cozying up to Dante at the festival a week ago. Jake remembers hearing something about them hooking up in the bathroom of Medusa, but it’s not all that surprising to see her latch onto a guy who’s clearly looking for a rebound. Jake doesn’t like the way she looks so happy at the festival, that the tears she shed over killing her best friend weeks ago have been replaced by a lovestruck look in her eyes. Maybe a part of him is glad that she’s so desperate, because it makes things easier for him.

Adee is someone he’s known for a good part of his life, and if there's one thing he knows for certain about her, it’s her desperation for love. Best friends would come and go, but love? It was something he’d watched her chase her entire life. Before her parents got arrested and her life went to hell. Truthfully, he’d been waiting for a sign. The final part of his plan to take away the things she loves. He almost considers letting Dante live a little longer, until he acknowledges that a murderer like Adee doesn’t deserve to be happy. She looked at Jake like he was everything, until some guy with a guitar and shitty rock music came along, and there was a big part of Jake that didn’t like that. After all he’d done for her, she was still looking for something better.

It was nice living in a small town, it was easy to find people and follow them without looking suspicious. Nobody was even looking when he’d taken Dante, knocked him over the head and thrown him in the backseat of his car. You’d think after the police were aware of a murderer being on the loose, they’d be a little more diligent. He grabbed Dante’s phone from his pocket, chuckling as a notification from Adee came up.

On the drive over to Royal Cove beach, Jake wondered if he’d be able to make her do it. If it came down to it, would Adee really kill off her last hope at happiness? There was a part of him that doubted it, especially seeing her almost hesitate killing Julia. He decided he’d do them both a favor tonight, and kill Dante himself. Jake leans back in his driver’s seat, pulling out his own phone to text Adee.

JAKE: Want to come see his surprise?

He’d have an hour or so before security made their way around the beach, which gave him plenty of time to get in and out. Admittedly, he got bored waiting for Adee to show up, kicking Dante’s unconscious body around and thinking about the possible repercussions of killing a nice guy like him. Jake knew he was close with Kat, but maybe it could work to his advantage. She’d be upset, which gave him the opportunity to be there for him. Being her boyfriend was harder than he imagined, mostly because she was so headstrong and dominant in public. But with people dying around them, he got to be the strong one between the two of them.

Watching Adee approach through the darkness made him feel excited, knowing her reaction was half the fun. He held the knife in his hand, rested right under the man’s chin as he propped up Dante’s unconscious and bloodied face for her to see. “Surprise,” he says, a light but wicked grin forming on his face. Jake lets go of Dante’s hair, letting his body fall to the group as he lets out a sigh. “I’m hurt, Adee. I thought we had something special,” Jake says, walking towards her. He paints his expression to be soft, almost as if he’s concerned about the state of the two of them. “Wasn’t it always supposed to be us in the end?” he asks, cupping her cheek gently. Jake smiles, and if there wasn’t an unconscious body between them, and if you ignored the fact that he had a girlfriend at home, you’d almost think his words were genuine. He sighs again, letting go of her and walking back to where Dante was, raising the knife that was in his hand before looking back at Adee. His eyes returned back to their normal state of coldness, looking at her even as he plunged a knife into Dante’s chest, ripping the knife out before stabbing him again. Jake didn’t like to take any chances, he wanted to make sure when he dropped his body down by the shore, that he’d really be dead.

His hands were a little bloody as he dropped Dante to the ground, walking back up to Adee and cupping her cheeks again, not caring that it was her now dead ex-boyfriend’s blood that stained both his hands and her face. Jake stepped closer to her, and he ignored her tears this time, ignored how pathetic she looked and how he’d rather be kissing the girl he loved right now. But plans weren’t about feelings, and he was a master at pretending.

So after looking up and down her face, as if he was admiring her beauty, Jake brought his lips to hers, closing the distance between the two and embracing her frame. It was gentle, and tender, and sweet, and everything he truly wasn’t, taking his time to open up her mouth a bit before holding back a smirk as she kissed back. He could feel the change in her, satisfied at his own doing and because she’d been so good about following his plans, Jake gave her what he knew she wanted. Just as he’d been there for years to be her rebound, to be the one she sought comfort with after his best friend had broken up with her, he was here again. Lips heavy against hers just as they’d been years ago, and for a moment, Jake remembered why he was attracted to her again.

She was still as helpless as ever.

#jacob / paras #oopsie again #death tw #murder tw

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bedbellyandbeyond · 4 years

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Lore 100

That’s right. This is the 100th chapter in Bed, Belly, and Beyond. This is not including flashbacks however, so we’re a little further than that. I figured, I’d do a bit of a ‘Where are they now’ type thing, and visit most of our characters for one night. I didn’t create any art for it as too many circumstances and characters are involved. I hope you like it. That night, all was well. Dari and Fay had another Happy Day. But this one was a little different with Rheni around. As soon as Fay explained the situation, the Arrhenius man insisted on taking care of the kids that day. He solicited Milo's help with the ins and outs of a Happy Day, but mostly took on the responsibility himself. Fay was able to spend the entire day alone with Dari and they mostly just hung out in the bedroom watching movies and eating food Milo brought up for them. While he loved being with the kids, Fay really did miss these kinds of days alone with his husband. It felt like Dari was the only person he had to worry about and he had been so lonely before without him. Dari had expanded his world they had so much to look forward to together.

Lino and Vi went to a club for date night. Fay had informed his friend of a club that had just opened up run by and for non-humans. It wasn't exclusive, Lino was still allowed in, but it was like being straight at a gay bar. Vi was nervous about it, but Lino insisted they should try it since they'd hardly ever been to any outings like that. When they'd first met, the idea of a club like this seemed impossible. Everything about Vi's very existence was completely clandestine. They spent three weeks talking online before agreeing to meet and Fay had to give him clearance into APID, which involved a lot of security measures, and after descending what felt like a mile into the ground, Vi still tried to hide his true face under the human one he'd been working on. He wasn't very good at it yet though and Lino saw through it immediately, insisting on seeing his real self before they even started talking. He wasn't one for fairytales, but when spikes and horns grew from his dates face, Lino fell in love immediately. To think several years later, they'd be sitting at a club downtown, bopping their heads to a synth tune from Proxima Centauri, surrounded by unmasked extraterrestrials, like Han and Greedo at the Mos Eisley Cantina; they would've never thought it possible. Lino invited a young Pelavian to their booth. His name was Derris. Vi and Derris danced. Lino bought a round of drinks. Derris had a hotel room. Lino bought room service.

Dante watched Kidd while they were out. He didn't have Grey that day, so it was just the triplets and their cousin. Ruben and Yori did some Hanukkah shopping during the day, so Dante took the kids out to a movie so they had time to hide the presents. It was late when everyone got home so it was straight to bed. Dante called Dusty to say goodnight to Grey. In bed, Yori complained about how he wouldn't be able to transform once his pregnancy progressed further. Dante and Ruben were less sympathetic, considering he'd done it to himself. But they couldn’t help but give him belly rubs anyway.

After getting the herd to bed, Rheni started texting Camilo to see how he was doing. Camilo was awake and studying for his exams, but he welcomed the distraction and called Rheni to talk. He asked if Rheni was still keeping up with his online courses and if he was getting any work. The slime man admitted he’d fell behind work and learning for about a month after Camilo had left. He was working now though, and thankfully he was freelance and picked up a new project, he was just a little bit broke at the moment. More than anything, after Camilo, Rheni wanted to know how the baby was doing. Anything Camilo knew about her, he wanted to know it too. Camilo shared, but he didn’t think there was much to say. He sent over his ultrasound pictures, talked about how healthy she was every time he got checked up at the doctor. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be getting health care for his pregnancy from APID, since none of the parties involved were non-human, so he’d been seeing his family doctor for check ups, but he still occasionally was seen by an APID doctor, Dr Gardi before and now Syd, just to continue the research into Rheni’s paternity. One annoying thing he learned was that in pregnancy communities online, if he searched ‘ftm pregnancy’ in any forum, it didn’t mean ‘female to male’ like he’d assumed, but instead ‘first time mom’. It didn’t do well to help him feel welcome, but he’d manage to find some information on other media, like YouTube and blogs, where pregnant transmen had done their own documentation, as if just for him. He couldn’t imagine being that open about it with the world, so he was very thankful for them and even reached out to them if he had any questions. After a bit, they got bored of chit chat and decided to stream the same movie together. Camilo loved sci-fi so they watched Spaceballs and went back to messaging while it ran. After the credits rolled, they were both very tired, so they said goodnight and got to sleep.

Dusty took Grey that day to visit Sydryn. It had been a couple months since Grey had seen the dragon and he was very excited when he saw them again. Syd had assisted in the delivery of Grey in their home and had helped Dusty (although very reluctantly) to raise the child for his first three years of life. In a way, Syd was like a third parent, and they made sure he was fed and cared for properly, despite their constant desire to be completely child free. They didn’t like children and they liked babies even less, but they were good with them and the only thing they had been particularly strict about was colour coordination and noise regulation. This was likely how Grey had become so quiet; Syd hadn’t encouraged speech development and questions as much as they probably should have. But they’d come to realise this now, and apologised to Dusty for it. Dusty forgave them and assured them that Grey’s time with Dante and the triplets had really done good to help him open up. Dusty was of the mind that Sydryn should consider raising their own children when they came because he was sure they’d be a good parent, but Sydryn banished the thought, reaffirming that they preferred to be alone, and even preferred the company of humans more than that of dragons, the latter of which their children would obviously be. In fact, they said, they’d rather raise one hundred children of any other species, than seven dragon hatchlings. They wished they’d never said that though since Dusty was able to use it to trap Sydryn into babysitting for him in the future. They stayed over at Syd’s for the night, eating a smorgasbord of meat cold cuts and fruit, before watching Pretty in Pink to get to sleep.

Dr Reid Gardi was recovering, but he still needed a lot of rest and without Köbi’s assistance, he was not able to wake up. When he was awake, he was delirious and didn’t think straight. He muttered things about faces and angels and dreams, but getting him to answer basic questions was difficult. The strangest thing was that his heartbeat had slowed to no more than a single beat per minute. He shouldn’t have been alive. But he lived. Sydryn considered he might’ve been like a vampire, but Nari was consulted and he assured them that this was not the case. Reid was never bitten, and those this state he was in was similar to the transition to a vampire, it was taking too long. He would’ve died already if he was turning into a vampire. He hadn’t gained any of the characteristics either, save for the paleness. It was still beyond them what was happening to him.

Nathan and Dax took the night slowly. Nathan prepared like he usually would for his transformation; he locked all his most important belongings away in the steel cabinets he’d been provided, ate as much as he could beforehand to help sate the wolf’s appetite, and used a hook to remove the lens caps from the surveillance cameras in the corners. Dax was a bit apprehensive about being surveilled at night, but he understood that Nathan gave consent to be observed while he was the wolf so that APID could intervene in case anything did go wrong during his transformation. Sydryn provided him the paperwork to sign to give his consent as well, and he just tried to ignore the cameras’ existences. The transformation occurred slowly that night. Nathan and Dax were talking about classes and how Dax was restructuring the French immersion programs for students with parents from off planet who might not be able to vocalise the same as a human. It started off as excessive hair growth and once he realised it was starting, Nathan asked Dax to help him undress then get as far away as possible. Dax obeyed and retreated to a corner of the room to watch. When the transformation was done, Dax was simply in awe, thankful to finally see the beautiful animal he'd roomed once before. The wolf was weary of him at first but he knelt down before the creature and stayed still. The wolf approached, sniffing and nudging at his clothes. Finally, the wolf laid down before him and lowered its head. Dax smiled, slowly offering a hand and placing it gently on the wolf's head. The animal whined and let Dax pet them gently. The pregnancy was less noticeable in this form, but the swell was there and the wolf allowed Dax to rub their stomach gently. Whether it was Nathan in control or a spirit of some kind, Dax didn’t know, but he knew that they were going to be alright that night.

#lore #lore 100 #Dari #Fay #Rheni #Camilo #Dusty #Grey #Dante #Ruben #Yori #Sydryn #Reid #Köbi #Nathan #Dax

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firstdraftpod · 5 years

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Ep 187: Will Hines

First Draft Episode #187: Will Hines

Will Hines, improviser and actor, host of the podcast, “Screw It: We’re Just Going to Talk About the Beatles,” and author of How to be the Greatest Improviser on Earth joins me to talk about using his Tumblr to test audience engagement; the delicate nature of writing about a community you are a part of; his thorough approach to making the self-publication process as professional as possible; and his next (fictional) book about improv, co-written with fellow improviser Billy Merritt, Pirate Robot Ninja.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

Josh Simpson, an improviser and teacher at the Upright Citizens Brigade training school in Los Angeles, and co-host of The Meat, an improv podcast

Jimmy Breslin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and journalist, who wrote The Good Rat, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, and The World According to Breslin, and more

The Upright Citizen’s Brigade, the improv group and school founded by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts.

Will’s Tumblr, Improv Nonsense, which gained traction and has been featured on Vulture and elsewhere

Truth in Comedy by Charna Halpern, Del Close, and Kim “Howard” Johnson, considered one of the premiere books about long-form improvised comedy

Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual, the UCB training manual

Improvise: Scene From the Inside Out by Mick Napier

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions of Writing and Life by Anne Lamott, a writing advice book that Will read as a young computer programmer

Andrew Sullivan, a conservative author, editor, and blogger who featured Will’s post, “Improv as religion,” on his site, garnering lots of attention

The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Repetition exercises as a part of the Meisner Technique study of acting

Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders

“A Lack of Order in the Floating Object Room,” by George Saunders, a silly and slightly sci-fi short story that typifies his early writing and is the kind of humor writing that inspires Will

John Hodgman, author of Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches

In writing, Will is concerned about what he calls “The Kevin Smith Problem,” where every character sounds the same (a la Clerks, Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)

Jason Mantzoukas, an actor, writer, and seasoned improviser who Will saw constantly improving his craft

Offset printing, a style of printing on the page that is “the way to make your book look beautiful,” according to Will, but it is more expensive, and requires a minimum print run

Artist Maëlle Doliveux, who drew the cover of Will’s book

Chip Kidd, a well-known book designer of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton; Dry by Augusten Borroughs; and Naked by David Sedaris (he also has a hugely popular Ted Talk!).

Daniel Clowes, a cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. His work is collected in the solo Eightball project.

The Pirates, Robots, Ninjas theory, coined by Billy Merritt, a fellow UCB alum and teacher

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; and

“Carry On, Jeeves,” by P.G. Wodehouse; and

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams are some of the funny books Will recommends

Without Feathers by Woody Allen, a collection of his writing which Will read and enjoyed as a masterclass on comedy before we knew all that awful stuff about Woody Allen

Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D.H. Lawrence by Geoff Dyre, a meta novel about a man who wants to write about D.H. Lawrence but finds himself wanting to focus on anything else

Steve Martin, who blurbed Geoff Dyre’s book and has written his own, Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life (nonfiction) and Shopgirl: A Novella (fiction)

Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni

Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works.

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oculiaperticlausi · 6 months

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Sawyer 📱D

sawyer: you know nothing is worth this.

#sawyer marshall — texts.#texts— dante kidd.#— demidevildiva.#verse — marina murders.

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oculiaperticlausi · 5 months

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kidd's records — @demidevildiva

Sawyer stands up from her desk, grabbing her bag. Somehow the hours seemed to go by quicker than she thought they would with the looming we should talk about something conversation was dropped in the text messages. She did what Dante told her too though and didn't worry about it. At least until the clock struck five and it was time to face the music. She waits by her desk, moving some things around to make it more tidy when she sees him from the corner of her eye. The butterflies instantly fly around in the pit of her stomach, her lips press together into a tight lip smile. "Hi," she clears her throat. "Ready?"

#sawyer marshall — threads.#threads — dante kidd.#— demidevildiva.#verse — marina murders.#i'm so addicted tooooooo.....

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bedbellyandbeyond · 5 years

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Dusty to Do

Story Post

“What? Dude, just use one of Vi’s eggs. That’ll get it done.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, let me know when you want to do it, and I’ll get you a fresh one.” When Dusty came home with the groceries, Lino and Yori were hanging out in the kitchen talking. He hadn’t a clue what they were talking about but they stopped anyway when they saw him and smiled to him as he set Grey down so he could put the groceries away. “Hey, man,” Lino said. “Did you get my text about the eggs?” “I did, I got them,” Dusty said pulling a carton out of a grocery bag. “Sweet, you're aces, dude,” Lino said.

Dusty set the groceries down on the counter and started unpacking them. “Yori, it's good to see you. Is the family around?” “No, it's just me,” Yori said, smiling. “Ruben has work and Dante took the kids to his parents for a visit.” “Oh, I haven't seen the Mannans in so long,” Dusty reminisced. “Not that we ever properly met... How are they?” “They haven't changed,” Lino said. “Mama's just greyer and Papa's moustachier.” “Is your father still in sales?” Dusty asked. “Yeah, but higher up in management now.” “Good for him.” “Have you told Dante yet?” Dusty frowned and glanced at Yori. “No.” “Don't worry about Yori,” Lino said. “He knows. He won't tell.” “You told him?” Dusty snapped. “Lino—” “—I didn’t tell him. Fuck off,” Lino retorted. “Yori's like a small god. He knows and senses shit.” Yori nodded as he ate a spoonful of icing from a tub. “We're talking about Grey, right?” Dusty sighed. “You're not mad, are you?” Yori shook his head quickly. “If anything, I'm a little jealous. I've wanted to have more of Dante and Ruben's babies for a while now but they won't let me.” “I say just do it,” Lino said. “They'll accept it when it happens like the first time.” Yori just shrugged. “I wouldn't,” Dusty said. “While I love my son more than anything, the circumstances of his birth aren't what I would've wanted for him. I hate all these lies and secrecy...” “So just tell Dante,” Lino said. “I-I will,” Dusty said. “But I need the right time. And...And what then when he knows? He'll hate me... I know for sure Ruben will hate me too.” Yori shrugged again. “Ruben already hates you.” Dusty pouted. “I know.” “So what?” Lino asked. “Ruben hates me too. That's what’s fun about it.” “But that's different,” Dusty said. “You're not an ex, you're Dante's brother. You're allowed to be near him. You're family. And you're not lying about anything.” “I'm lying about a lot of things,” Lino said. “All the time. I'm seeing someone about it. That's a lie, Vi wants me to see someone about it, but I haven't had the chance. That's a lie, I just don’t want to.” Yori chuckled and stirred his icing. Dusty sighed. “Honestly, I don't want to talk about this right now...” “Okay, okay...” Lino yawned and rubbed the back of his neck. “God, I'm so fucking tired these days.” “Well, you were sick last week,” Dusty said. “You humans take a while to recover your energy.” “True enough...” Lino shrugged. “I can't wait for December when we get to just fly away and chillax.” “You fly away?” Dusty asked. “Where do you go?” “Cuba,” Lino said grinning. “Vi can't handle the cold so we up and fly away like a bunch of snow birds for a family vacation.” “What about Kidd? They have school,” Dusty said. “Kindergarten ain't fuckin' mandatory,” Lino scoffed. “Besides, my Kidd's too smart for their age anyhow. They just go to learn social skills.” “Oh...” Dusty frowned. “You just leave like that? What about...you know...here? Your brother and family? You guys do the whole holidays thing, don't you?” “Yeah, we do...” Lino said. “Typically though we just get their gifts ahead of time and leave ‘em in a storage locker and give Dante the key. He's too goody two shoes to let them open it ahead of Christmas.” “But what about the get together part? Don't you want to have dinner with your family?” “We do that almost every night,” Lino said. “And we'll do it in Cuba too. On the beach with my family: Vi and Kidd.” Lino shrugged. “Heck, this year you're here. You're family too. You can come with us.” “Oh, um...” Dusty shook his head. “I can't... I can't actually travel that far away from here.” “What?” Lino frowned. “Why? Look, money's not a problem.” “No, it's, well... I'm Dante's demon,” Dusty said. “I can't go that far from his hometown.” Lino huffed. “That's ridiculous. What if he travels somewhere?” “Well, I mean, if he travels, I still have to stay near his home area unless he invites me... Though, when he leaves, I do feel it. It hurts a bit.” “Let me get this straight,” Lino said, crossing his arms. “So you're saying for like twenty years, you avoided seeing Dante but still had to live here in this city and every time he decided to go ‘find his roots' in Florence or whatever, you had to stay here and suffer?” Dusty rubbed his arm and looked down. “I mean, I was used to it. When you put it like that, it sounds pretty bad...” “Jesus, Dusty,” Lino huffed. “You need to break that fucking bond, dude.” “It's not that simple,” Dusty said shaking his head. “The only way I've ever seen a bond broken before was when the human died.” “There has to be another way,” Lino said. Dusty shrugged. “Syd's the most knowledgeable person I know and they love research, so they told me they'd look into it when they took me in, but it's been so long... They probably didn’t find anything.” “I wouldn't rely on someone who dumps you as soon as they decide to go on vacation,” Lino said. “Syd’s not on vacation,” Dusty said. “Then where are they?” Dusty looked away, realising he'd slipped up. “...I can't say.” “What's the big deal? You can tell me,” Lino said. “No, I'm not even supposed to know,” Dusty said. “It's incredibly private.” “Geez, now I just want to know more,” Lino said. “I won't tell anyone.” “No, Lino. I really can't tell you,” Dusty said. “I trust you, but you can't ever be sure who's listening.” “Ughhhh,” Lino rolled his eyes. “Fine...” He checked his watch. “Fay's coming soon. I'm gonna check if Vi's done his bath.” He waved and headed off upstairs. Dusty finished putting away the rest of the groceries and collected Grey who'd started looking through the bottom cupboards. He'd found a wire potato masher than was now his favourite toy. Yori finished his icing and tossed out the container. “So, are our kids siblings then?” “I suppose, technically just Grey and Marco,” Dusty whispered. “But I don't really like talking about these kind of things around Grey.” “Why not?” Yori asked. “It's just... Listen, it's just not something I've gotten into with him,” Dusty explained. “He's only three. I don't want him worrying about parentage and things like that just yet.” “Hmm... Alright then,” Yori said. “Thank you.” The doorbell rang and Dusty perked up. “Must be Fay.” Dusty's palms started to sweat. “I haven't seen him since... Well, his wedding I suppose...” “I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you then,” Yori said enthusiastically. “I know I would if I hadn't seem someone in so long.” Dusty smiled looking at the dog spirit. “I'm sure you would.” He looked down to Grey and then offered him to Yori. “Could you watch him while I answer the door?” “Sure.” Dusty handed him over and went to the front hall to answer the door. When the door opened, Fay was standing there with a tablet in arms waiting patiently. When he saw who answered the door, he looked a bit confused. “Um, hello. Is Lino there?” Dusty blinked then realised why Fay looked a bit perplexed. “Oh, Fay! It's me, Dusty.” “Dusty?” Fay asked. “That's you?” “Yes, the last time you saw me, I was presenting female,” Dusty said. “This is my male look.” “Oh, I see,” Fay said. “It's been how long?” Dusty scratched the back of his head. “Four years...” “Wow, yeah,” Fay said. “What happened? I thought we were becoming good friends. You were at my wedding.” “Yeah... Stuff happened.” Dusty opened the door wider. “You can come in. Lino and Vi are upstairs.” Fay stepped in and looked around. “So, what are you doing here at Lino's?” “I live here right now...” Dusty said. “You live here?” Fay raised an eyebrow. “Weren't you living with Sydryn?” “I had to move out,” Dusty said. “Why?” “Don't worry about that... This is temporary until I can get a job.” When they got to the kitchen, Fay smiled when he saw Yori with Grey in his lap rearranging the shakers and dispensers on the table. “Hello Yori. And who's this little sweetheart?” Fay asked, beaming down at the child. “This is Grey,” Dusty said walking over and petting Grey's head. “My son.” “Really?” “Yeah, he's grey like Dusty and his name is Grey too, so it should be obvious,” Yori said. “Right. Thanks.” Fay bent over to Grey's level, hands on his knees. “And how old are you, young man?” Grey looked up at him and held up three fingers. Yori smiled. “That means three.” “Wow! Three? You're such a big boy,” Fay said. “I have a little boy your age too. Actually... No wait, I have two three year old sons, I think... Well, anyway they're all pretty close in age. If your father ever visited us, I'm sure you could be friends.” Dusty took Grey from Yori and hoisted him on his hip. “I've been meaning to visit again... I just... I decided to focus on Grey.” “You sound like my husband,” Fay chuckled. “While I love my children, I never really understood the desire to dedicate oneself to their children completely and solely... Everyone needs a little ‘me' time to relax and recuperate.” “Grey is really attached to me,” Dusty said. “He has separation anxiety.” “Does he? Or do you?” Fay asked. “It's Dusty,” Yori said. “Or both.” Dusty sighed and rubbed the back of Grey's head. “Listen, Grey is all I have now... And he's everything to me.” “Alright...” Fay crossed his arms. “You said you needed to find a job... Have you considered applying at APID?” “At APID?” Dusty scratched his cheek. “I don't think I'd be qualified to do anything there...” “Nonsense,” Fay said. “Are you good with technology?” Dusty shrugged. “I'm good with my phone.” “Well, I need a new assistant,” Fay said. “I'm no good with all the new updates and tech they keep trying to integrate into my job...” “You want me to be your assistant?” Dusty asked. “Me working with you?” “Yes, I don’t see why not,” Fay said. “Usually, those jobs are reserved for university students doing internships, but I'm sure I could get them to make an exception for you. Name dropping Sydryn would help too.” “Really?” Dusty lit up. “Fay, it would really help me out.” Fay waved it off. “Don't mention it. We're both benefitting. Since I lost Camilo, I've been a lot more disorganised...” “Do you hear that, Grey?” Dusty said taking his son's hand. “Daddy's gonna make some money for us. We're gonna have our own home soon.” Grey smiled and snuggled his Dad. Fay grinned. “Well, I should get to the point of my visit. You said Vi and Lino were upstairs?” “Yes, the bathroom, I think,” Dusty said. “Thanks.” Fay headed on upstairs. Dusty couldn’t contain his excitement. He gently tossed Grey in the air. “Daddy’s getting a job!” Grey squealed and giggled, reaching for his Dad in the air. “Daddy!” Dusty brought him back down and hugged him. “If this works out, we'll be set...” “Boo.. If you get your own place, you'll move away from us,” Yori whined. “I'll be around. I promise,” Dusty said. “And we're not there yet anyway.” “Alright... Just get an apartment really close.” “I'll try... Rich neighbourhood.” “Then save a lot of money.” “Right...”

#lore #Dusty #Lino #Yori #Fay #Grey #demon #dog spirit #merman

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