#don't stab the messenger

[unusual-ly]

Been meaning to post this for so long

#bill 2015 #bill the film #bill the movie #bill shakespeare #gabriel montoya #bill the film ian #crazy in the coconut #don't stab the messenger #six idiots #martha howe douglas #larry rickard #laurence rickard #jim howick #mat baynton #mathew baynton #idiot memes

[leftabit-leftabit]

Is... is it bad timing that I want to watch Bill again, like... ya know... 

#bill #Bill 2015 #them there #the six idiots #idiots assemble #bill (2015) #ian must be protected at all costs #gabrian #don't stab the messenger #laurence rickard #larry rickard #Ben Willbond #Mathew Baynton #martha howe douglas #Simon Farnaby #Jim Howick #Gabriel Montoya #idiot six

[waevrs]

ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴄᴀʟʟ

Pairings: ShieldAgent! Natasha x ShieldAgent!Fem! Reader

Summary: Part two of compromised. Y/N recovers quickly from her injuries but she finds out something about Natasha that could put their relationship at risk. What will happen?

Warnings: Mention of abuse, Injury mention.

Parts: 1 // 2 // 3

My eyes opened and slowly adjusted to the sudden light and the plain walls of the med-bay.

Not dead yet.

I groaned and sit up as someone burst into the room.

"Oh, thank god! I-We thought we lost you." Tony panted and embraced me in a hug. He had become like an older brother to me during my time here.

"Not to rain on your parade or anything but," he pulled away abruptly "Fury said you're off of missions indefinitely."

"What?!" I yelled, despite waking up for the first time in who-knows-how-long.

"He said that you're too reckless and you're always getting hurt so having you on the field is a liability." He revealed, scratching the back of his head.

"What the fuck?!" I growled, throwing my head back into the pillows.

"Hey, I'm only the messenger." He raised his hands in surrender. Just then, Bruce walked in with his clipboard and asked Tony to leave. I jolted up in the bed and swung my legs off of the side.

"I see the way you look at Romanoff." He mouthed to me. I flipped him off and he winked before strutting out of the door.

"Are you alright? No pain or discomfort?" Bruce asked. I shook my head no. I wanted nothing more than the comfort of my warm bed.

"Really?" He asked, unusually shocked.

"Yeah, why?" I chuckled, taking a sip of the water that was on the table next to me.

"You were out for 4 weeks."

"WHAT?!" I spat out the water that was in my mouth. Bruce passed me a napkin and I wiped myself down.

"And during that period I noticed something...off about you." He announced. I look at him confused and he continues.

"Your body seems to have double the amount of cells a normal human has...Maybe that explains why you don't feel your injuries." He started to ramble. Before I can say anything he interjected.

"Do you mind if I do some tests?"

"Uh...Sure." I muttered, unsure as to why he still wanted to test me after finding that out.

In about an hour or so, Bruce wrapped up all the tests he wanted to do on me and was taking them down to the lab, leaving me to drown in my loneliness.

"Hey Bruce, where's Nat?" I asked him before he left.

"Uhm..." He stuttered, surprised by the sudden topic of Natasha "She's on a mission."

"Oh, thank you."

He sent me a small smile and walked out of the room. I sighed and decided to ask JARVIS where exactly she was, seeing as she was injured she shouldn't be allowed to go on another mission.

"Hey JARVIS? Can you find Natasha for me?" I spoke into the air.

"Miss Romanoff seems to be on a stakeout mission with her boyfriend." The A.I replied.

"Would you like me to let her know that you're awake?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I murmured.

Boyfriend? How come I didn't know about her boyfriend? I guessed Tony didn't know either or he wouldn't of said, well mouthed, what he did earlier. There was a stabbing pain in my heart and I hated it. I was actually very much in pain from my injuries so this new pain in my heart made it ten times more unbearable.

"JARVIS, one more thing. Call Tony."

"On it Miss L/N."

"What's up pipsqueak?" I heard Tony's voice echo in the room that I was in. I heard things clanging in the background so I guessed he was in the workshop.

"Did you know about Natasha's boyfriend?" I whispered. It was quite embarrassing that I was asking.

"No, I just found out. Why? Are you jealous?" He pouted teasingly.

"I-No. Did she say anything about me? You know, when I was out?" I asked and tried to hide the smile that threatened to break onto my face.

"Aww is little Y/N is love?" He continued to tease.

"Tony." I deadpanned as a warning.

"Yeah, yeah fine. No actually. She hasn't spoken to anyone but her boyfriend and spent the last 3 and a half weeks locked in her room, a little like you really." He told me, occasionally grunting due to working on something.

"Oh..."

"Personally, I think you should just ask her out." He added and although I can't see his smug face, I can tell he was smirking.

"Riiight. Because you're suddenly the connoisseur of love." I rolled my eyes, sarcasm lacing my voice.

"So you are in love with her!"

"Tony! I am not!"

"You totally are! I can hear the giddiness in your voice!"

"Ugh fine! I am in love with her! Okay?" I gave in and announced. I was a little shocked I came out to him like that. I always pictured it over a fancy dinner or something.

"Wait...you are? I-I was kidding." Tony sounded, utterly confused. He was probably scratching the back of his head, something he did on the rare occasion that he got confused.

"Yes. I like her, a lot." I sighed and retreated to my pillows, stuffing my head in them.

"I don't know what advice to give to you, pipsqueak." He muttered under his breath.

"Don't say anything, I'm coming to you." I decided, pushing myself off of the bed and hobbling towards the door, clutching the stitches on my abdomen. How I got that wound? I have no clue.

"No! Wait! You can't get up-"

"JARVIS, hang up the call."

I sighed and limped my way down to the workshop. Pushing open the door, I said something before he did.

"I know, she's in a relationship and I should of told her before but I don't think she's gay, Tony."

"Ohhh she's gay alright." Tony chuckled.

"No, she told me- How are you so sure?" I asked and took a seat beside him while he was working on a suit.

"Trust me. I have good gaydar." He assured smugly.

"Tony. You have to be gay to have gaydar. You're a straight man in a straight- wait..." I began.

"..."

I looked up at him in shock.

"TONY! WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME?!" I half-yelled, jumping up and down like a little kid.

"I wasn't because I'm with Pep." He mumbled shyly, which shocked me because this was very unlike him.

We talked about how we found out we were gay, well bi in his case, and people we thought were definitely closeted. He brought up Natasha and I immediately brushed that off and told him all the times I've flirted and she completely freaked out.

"Definitely closeted." He nodded.

"Tony." I looked at him disappointed. Why does he think that?

"I'm just saying!" He defended "Maybe she freaked out on you because she realised she has those feelings for you and she doesn't know how to deal with them."

I hummed to let him know that I was listening and he continued.

"It happens to the best of us. Maybe she thinks that the team won't accept her."

"So that explains why every time I flirted with her she went and slept with any random man in the same night." I huffed sarcastically and raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, actually. She could be trying to block out the things she feels for you because she's scared what the others will think." He suggested, finishing up what he was working on.

"The big bad Black Widow? Afraid what other people think of her? Bullshit." I scoffed. I couldn't believe what Tony was trying to say.

"She may seem like a heartless bitch, but honestly she's a big softie." He laughed and I couldn't help the smile that broke onto my face.

"Aww you're smiling." Tony teased me for like the fifth time that day.

"Shut up." I pouted and hit his shoulder playfully.

A comfortable silence set between us. Well, silence apart from Tony's AC/DC music playing in the background while he worked. I sat in the chair swinging my legs until he handed me two bracelets, one that lets me bring up JARVIS' database to help me with cases, and another one that allowed me to equip my new suit with the press of the button on the bracelet.

"Woah, thanks Tony. I don't know what to say." I thanked him and gave him a hug.

"Thank me when you and Romanoff are together." He winked at me and went back to working on something. That man was always working.

"I'll see you later Tony." I smiled and hobbled my way out of the workshop and back to where I was supposed to be, the med-bay. I turned the corner and continued on my way.

"Babe. I told you I'm fine. I dealt with them, didn't I."

My head shot up when I heard her voice. She was battered and bruised and obviously hurting but she was being as stubborn as always. My eyes then travelled to the man who stood next to her.

And I froze.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Natasha was with him of all people.

All the memories came flooding back, what he'd do to me if he didn't like what I said.

I never would have thought that I would end up dating him. It began with passion and excitement, just like any other romantic relationship. The relationship, however, developed down a dark and sinister path that I could not have anticipated.

At first, he was kind and considerate, admiring and flattering me. But he quickly began to show his true colours. He became obsessive and domineering, insisting on knowing every detail of my existence. He shut me off from my friends and family, making me feel like he was the only person I had left. He slowly destroyed my confidence by criticising my accomplishments and making me doubt my worth.

The emotional abuse was relentless. He manipulated my emotions, making me feel guilty for his own shortcomings and failures. His words cut like knives, leaving me feeling small and powerless. I became trapped in a cycle of fear, always walking on eggshells, afraid of setting him off.

As the relationship progressed, the abuse escalated to physical violence. His anger would explode without warning, and I would bear the brunt of his rage. The bruises and scars I carried became a painful reminder of the pain he inflicted upon me. I lived in constant fear, never knowing when the next outburst would occur.

Leaving him was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. The process of breaking free from his control was filled with obstacles and challenges. Even after we ended the relationship, he continued to harass and stalk me, invading my privacy and making me feel unsafe.

Rebuilding my life after such a traumatic experience has been a long and arduous journey. I've sought therapy and support to heal the emotional wounds and regain my sense of self-worth. It has taken time to learn to trust again, to believe that I deserve love and respect.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Natasha was dating...

My psycho, abusive ex.

#natasha romanoff #natasha marvel #natasha romanoff fluff #natasha romanoff x reader #marvel #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff smut #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha x you #marvel cinematic universe

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Dave Maass and Patrick Lay’s “Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis”

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

"The Emperor of Atlantis," is an opera written by two Nazi concentration camp inmates, the librettist Peter Kien and the composer Viktor Ullmann, while they were interned in Terezin, a show-camp in Czechoslovakia that housed numerous Jewish artists, who were encouraged to make and display their work as a way of proving to the rest of the world that Nazi camps were humane places.

Of course, it was all a sham. Like nearly all of Terezin's inmates, Kein and Ullmann were eventually shipped to Auschwitz to be murdered. "The Emperor" was never performed during their life, but the manuscript, written on scrounged paper (including the backs of other inmates Auschwitz transfer papers) survived.

In the decades since, "The Emperor" has been mounted a few times, with varying degrees of faithfulness. But those live performances were limited to the people who could attend them during their limited run. Now, a new graphic novel called Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis, brings the work to us all:

https://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/3726/berger-books-and-dark-horse-comics-present-death-s

Death Strikes was adapted by my EFF colleague Dave Maass, an investigator and muckraker and brilliant writer, who teamed up with illustrator Patrick Lay and character designer Ezra Rose (who worked from the Kein and Ullmann's original designs, which survived along with the score and libretto).

The tale is set in the mythical kingdom of Atlantis, where the reclusive emperor has been holed up in an armored tower for decades, directing a forever war, greeting each battlefield report with fresh orders, all the while carefully scheming to maintain his grip on power by prolonging the war footing among his people.

But the Emperor has a problem: he's won the war. Every enemy has fallen. Without endless war, his system of social control will shrivel and he will be vulnerable to his people. So the Emperor declares a new war of all against all, announcing that it is every citizen's duty to make war on their neighbors. Problem solved!

But the Emperor goes too far. In announcing his new war, he directs his messengers – drum-beating automata who march through the streets of Atlantic rapping out his edicts – to claim that Death himself has blessed this new war, and "when the final drum sounds, our old friend DEATH, our flag-bearer, will raise his sword in salute to our great future!"

For Death – a swordbearing skeleton in a soldier's greatcoat and shako – this is too much. The Emperor's endless wars have already tried Death's patience. Death brings mercy, not vengeance, and the endless killing has dismayed him. The Emperor's co-option drives him past the brink, and Death declares a strike, breaking his sword and announcing that henceforth, no one will die.

Needless to say, this puts a crimp in the Emperor's all-out war plan. People get shot and stabbed and drowned and poisoned, but they don't die. They just hang around, embarrassingly alive (there's a great comic subplot of the inability of the Emperor's executioners to kill a captured assassin).

The Emperor will not be denied. He embarks upon a war of wills with Death, to see who will give in first. The surreal tale plays out among the people of Atlantis, the living and the undead, as they struggle to fight a war where no one can die. The tale cuts between these people, the Emperor, and Death, who is in company with Life, a sad harlequin who is even more demoralized than Death by the Emperor's long war.

What follows is a tale of revolution and love and hope snatched from despair.

Maass discovered "The Emperor" through a bargain bin CD of "degenerate music" he found in a suburban Best Buy in the 1990s, which was accompanied by illustrations by Art Spiegelman:

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-music-survives%21-degenerate-music-music-suppressed-by-the-third-reich-mw0000711660

Maass found a six-panel cartoon Kein drew "expressing his frustration with the evolution of his libretto." Over the years, Maass turned this little strip over and over in his head, until he found himself travelling to Prague with Lay, where they were able to handle the surviving manuscript pages. After consulting with experts all over the world, Maass and Lay and their collaborators created this extraordinary graphic novel, updating it, queering it, and lavishly illustrating it.

While this is clearly an adaptation, Kein and Ullmann's spirit of creativity, courage, and bittersweet creative foment shines through. It's a beautiful book, snatched from death itself.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/23/peter-kien-viktor-ullmann/#terezín

#pluralistic #books #reviews #eff #dave maass #graphic novels #gift guide #musicals #nazis #death camps #librettos #adaptation #war #death #absurdism #Peter Kien #Viktor Ullmann #Terezín #zombies #patrick lay

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

BONUS POLL 3

Anti propaganda warning under the cut

V anti propaganda:

"- This man is so undatable, he's barely present in his own route or after end.

- The martyr complex this dude has is legitimately arrogant, taking blame for something you don't have control over isn't noble, it's just self-sabotaging. Taking blame for shit you do have control over and CHOOSING to change nothing makes the apology worthless. 🙃

-How does a man this rich have the balls to be so dumb? Bro, your bestie is also rich af and was gifted a fuckin island as a kid, why didn't you take the abused little ginger boys there for safety instead of shuffling one into a shady agency and the other to your increasingly unhinged gf who is waist-deep in setting up her cult?? Jumin would have had his back and V didn't even give him the chance to prove it!!

- This man chose to pursue a relationship with a woman who is mentally unstable and let himself become her whole world bc he felt guilty for treating his own disabled mother poorly. When you boil it down, this man chose a woman as a project and proposed to her within months instead of getting therapy for himself. 🫠

- V also lied to his and said gf's friends and family, telling them she committed suicide instead of turning her into the police for starting a cult, leading to the severe depression of her younger cousin and allowing her to continue drugging and brainwashing one of the twins he smuggled along with possibly hundreds of other people.

- When confronted over this, he still resists turning Rika into the police. For contrast, the younger cousin who idolized her immediately restrained her, stopped her from slipping party guests drugged wine and got the police on her. He is a 28 year old man and left the task to her 21 year old cousin who has had the emotional whiplash of finding out that not only was he right about V lying, but Rika is alive, AND she is very mentally unwell and has committed some major crimes.

- V is also mentally unstable af. In other routes, not just bad ends, he also returns to HELP HIS GF DO CULT SHIT.

- This is just subjective, but this wet mop of a man is also boring as shit which is why Cheritz kept him mostly vague and stuck to the background. If you want the fucked up relationship dynamics, just get one of the bad ends with Rika tbh, she at least serves lewks with her brand of crazy cunt.

- in short, you will never be in an equal partnership with this man and he won't be held accountable. The one time he tried, he said some pretty obviously triggering things to the crazy gf and got stabbed. He did not have the foresight to come with backup, announce where he would be, etc. He lived only because the gf that stabbed him calls you to come help him while she's still spiraling out of control.

I say this with full respect to the V fans, who are well aware that this man is an absolute mess and needs so much therapy before he's anywhere in the realm of salvaging his friendships, much less being dateable."

Baxter anti propaganda:

"baxter ward has a summer fling with you, which is fine because you agree to date only for the summer. however, when the time comes to break up, he does so in like the most brutal fashion possible. there was no need to be that much of a dick about it. he then proceeds to ghost you for five years.

five years later, when you meet once again, he opts to ignore you at best and continue being a dick at worst for the first half of step 4. there's no reason anyone should desire to get back together with the man. he needs therapy, not a partner."

#v mystic messenger #jihyun kim #mystic messenger #mysme #baxter ward #our life #our life beginnings & always #bonus poll #most datable datable character

[steviewashere]

Return to Sender

Slaps you in the face with this chapter of my new fic, Return to Sender. Which I will update every Saturday, or at least attempt to. Different first meetings, strangers to friends to lovers to strangers (and then endgame). Hope you enjoy, I'll add tags when necessary.

Characters: Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove (A Warning in Itself), Eddie Munson (E.M.)

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

General Audiences (May Change, but Will Not be Explicit)

Tags: Pre-Season 2, Rewriting Canon, Though Keeping to Main Canon Events (i.e. Steve getting roped into finding Dart, Billy smashing in Steve's face, The junkyard, etc.)

Expanded from This Post!

Next Part is Out! ------>

Enjoy <3

------- Steve picks up a little piece of paper that somebody shoved inside the grates of his locker door. It's folded, crumpled, creased and stained. He glances around. If the messenger just left this, they must still be around, right? At the bathrooms, nobody stands. Or at the narrow opening that floods into the main hall of Hawkins High. Or even peeking from under the stairwell. He runs his thumb over the paper. It's soft, most likely worn down from being held onto for so long. From being in somebody's pocket. Pressed up against the radiating warmth from their naked thigh. Possibly held between their fingers, twirling and folding in the gaps.

Does he open it? He's curious, he should. But what if it's another one of Tommy's pranks, which have increased tenfold since they stopped being friends. What if it's Carol giving him a fill-in on gossip he no longer wants a slice of? Or...What if it's Nancy apologizing? He shakes his head at that. What does she shave to apologize for, he questions himself. If anybody should say sorry, it would be me.

Basketball practice is in ten minutes. He's got his sweatbands on. Retied his sneakers. Changed into shorts and a particularly revealing muscle tank. Slathered on deodorant, lip balm, and baby powder to prevent chafing on his thighs. He's ready to go. Gotta go, he hastily thinks.

But...

The note. Somebody left it just for him.

Oh, but what if it's to tease him? To poke fun at the fact that he lost his girlfriend to somebody the whole school deems as his rival. To laugh at the new cut near his hairline, pink and puckered, laughing at his inability to fight back (parents teach their kids the damndest things). From that insufferable guy, Billy, that's barreled in through town from California and shoved him on the spikes of his King Steve crown. From that band girl with choppy strawberry blonde hair that's always too observant. From somebody else...somebody who wants to see him bend over, gasp for air that's too sharp and fleeting, and cry with nothing else to do.

He blearily thinks, Fuck it. He thinks, Men don't cry. Though the voice is his father's and they're almost the same in intonation, does it matter who's ridiculing him? He thinks, I just want to go home and rest.

It unfolds without him willing. The paper still soft, not yet agitating his palms. Gently torn around the edges. Blue pen glowing up at him. He takes a breath and reads.

"You seem haunted. But you're lovely. I hope you find peace soon, Steve. -E.M."

Steve's watch beeps at him. Time to shoot some hoops. And all the while he will think, Who the hell is E.M.?

---- He's at the three point line practicing his free throws. Back wet with sweat. Hair drooping over the sweatband around his forehead, the prickly ends threatening to stab his eyelids. The ball is in his grip just under the tip of his nose. He gives it another couple dribbles for luck. Poises to shoot.

Just as his arms flex, he goes tumbling down to the ground. A thump across the waxed gymnasium floor. His head misses, thankfully, but the rest of him is in a gigantic sore heap. Limbs splayed out around him. The basketball bouncing off somewhere to his right. And the impact scared him into shutting his eyes. Opening them, blearily and blinking fast, he realizes he's now nose to calf with that asshole, Billy Hargrove.

The guy—broad, tall, muscular with an ugly shaggy mullet and a permanent sneer to his lips—has been consistently knocking Steve down. Whether it be on the court, as it is right now. Out on the track in gym class. In the hallways, slamming Steve's left shoulder into the closed locker doors, enough he swears it dislocated at least a couple times. Even once in the parking lot; leaving a ding on the trunk of Steve's BMW. It's one of the nicer things he owns and it made him see red the way the metal was dented in. He'd tried to fight back against Billy, but that ended up with him and a blood nose. He's retired all efforts in making this guy leave him alone. Too pussy to be the first to throw a fist. Too smarmy to confront a teacher.

Steve groans and tries to sit up, but is promptly shoved back down by the bottom of one of Billy's sneakers. He hears from above, "Fucking stay out of my way, Harrington." And then his presence is gone. Footsteps, heavy and quick, making their way away from Steve's supine, sweaty, adrenaline leaking body.

He successfully sits up with the next groan and gasp from his lips. Rubs a firm hand on the small of his back. And decides, Fuck this. Rising from the ground is no ambitious feat. And choosing to barrel past his coach, give him the finger, slam the locker room door behind him, take a quick hot shower, and reclothe himself in a usual school outfit—none of that is ambitious either. It's freeing, in a way.

Sure, he loves basketball. Loves gym class. Loves working out in general. He's been on a basketball team every year since he was seven years old. Watches games from the middle cushion of his parent's three-seater sofa. Skims through Sports Illustrated every chance he gets. Has assisted with little league teams and the junior varsity tryouts annually since freshman year—always there to encourage and uplift nervous players, because he had been one once, so he gets it.

But, also, the amount of running up and down the basketball court. The amount of watching from his peripherals. Dodging and very nearly hiding away from other players. It all just reminds him of...Of that stupid flower-faced motherfucker that tumbled through the Byers' place. All the trouble for wanting to apologize. Now he's more scarred than a pink eraser some distracted kid uses in math class—puncture wounds in his brain where the images of blood, snarling saliva, and twirling some weaponized bat are permanently flashing. All the time. In his waking existence and in his sleep.

Playing on the sports teams also comes with expectations. Not from his peers. Or friends. Not even the coaches. But, rather, his parents. And damn it, if being bullied off the court is a way to try and get them off his back, then he'd fucking take being roped by his ankles and shook like a can of pop for his lunch money. He thinks, Fuck what they think. Fuck what the coach thinks. And fuck Billy Hargrove.

When he's finally out of the locker room and back at his everyday locker, he notices another little white paper making a minor appearance. It's a fresh piece. From the way it's bright in the light and sharp around the edges in his hands. Even the blue pen marks are smeared slightly, as if the person—E.M.—was in a rush to get away. To not be caught.

It reads now:

"I'll charge that dickwad more for his weed. It's fucking stupid that he thinks he rules the school now. Hargrove gave one of my friends a swirly last week. Tried to dump my lunch earlier today. Don't worry, Steve, I'll drain him for more than he's worth. -E.M."

His hand falls away, note still gripped, and slams against his thigh. Runs a hand down his damp face. And becomes dizzy with the implication of the last line; or at least, his interpretation.

Now, Steve's smoked before. Came home one time from the quarry smelling like it and knew what it was like to be caught by a ring on the face when he'd walked through his front doors. But...that had been weed that Tommy's cousin brought around during the summer they were in town. Steve isn't aware of anybody in Hawkins who would be dealing. And, if he's honest, marijuana isn't a top choice for unwinding. He prefers a beer or a cigarette, something that won't leave a trail of evidence behind.

So, now he's aware that somebody—a stranger—is watching him from a distance. Somebody who goes to school with him. Somebody who deals drugs, maybe even does them. And...their initials are E.M.

He almost wants to shout out for the person to make themself known. But the mystery behind it all is intriguing, to say the least. Like they're playing hard to get. And, Steve doesn't usually go after people that make anything—friendship or romantic relationships—hard on him, but the lack of info, the observance, the knowing somebody has their eyes on and out for him...

Well, that makes something stir in his gut.

And he doesn't know what that says about him. To be swooning, slightly, for somebody without a face. Somebody who could be a stalker if he thinks about it. They're protective, though. And that's not something Steve usually gains from somebody else.

It's frustrating, though, not knowing who this person is. Maybe if he can ask around, maybe get Billy to slip up about his smoking habits.

He wants to put a face to this mystery person.

Wants to...see if they're just as attractive as their instincts.

--------

Next Part is Out! ------>

#stranger things #steddie #fanfiction #steve harrington #eddie munson #pre-season 2 #different first meeting #passing notes #canon divergence

[oh-hell-help-me]

Day 4: Blood

He didn't expect to be stabbed.

Everything seemed to be going so well, before that.

He WAS able to help Bowser, slowly going over each mineral, ore, and alloy they knew, and somehow built a plan for industrial-based jobs.

He HAD been able to make friends -or at least acquaintances that don't immediately associate him with his brother. And yes, the Head Cook (a Shyguy named 'Guy Fury') and a barista (a Koopa named 'Talla') counted!

Heck, he SOMEHOW had made good headway with his main job as an Ambassador, even gaining a bit of a reputation as someone to de-escalate the more rowdy politicians.

It should have been enough of a warning, with his track record of bad luck. But the WEEKS leading up to it had been nice! More than nice! It was-

It was good enough to fool him, to think that it could last.

Even though it was only Clawthorne and Dagby accompanying him to the town square, he hadn't felt a bit lonely as they opened up a little about themselves -where their families loved to gather, what is the best cafe to visit, how to find the better food carts...

Maybe it was also why the unknown Koopa was able to get so close.

Maybe it was his fault, in the end, that he hadn't done a thing when that cloaked Koopa got too close and-

He didn't expect the way it burned.

Luigi knew there was a commotion right after -his guard friends reacting too late and the crowd being sent into a frenzy- but the world just seemed to shrink on him-

The -knife? It was out, and the large gash in his stomach was heavily bleeding red- it hurts to try closing his hand around it hurts to breathe ithurtsithurts--

He's looking at the ground, maybe sitting, but he's focused on how something in his stomach shifts and how his hand couldn't grip anything hisbloodistooslippery---

His memories afterward were a blur, a flash of images and sensations that were hard to piece together.

He couldn't help but feel guilty at the panicked faces of his guards it wasn't their fault and feel dizzy and cold as they desperately tried to haul him- somewhere?

He said something to them, something that seemed to distress them more (he was told, later, that he asked them to tell his brother he was sorry).

He knows there was a commotion at the gates, and maybe some other Ambassadors (recess wasn't over quite yet, but a few had been loitering along the halls anyways) screaming for help.

He swears he saw Bowser, looking- looking scared? Why would... (he wasn't given an answer for that, but he wasn't told he was hallucinating either).

And then it was black.

He wouldn't say it to anyone, especially Mario, but it was a comforting sensation to fall into......

...

His first bouts of consciousness were with the feeling of being too cold, too sluggish, but always succumbing to sleep anyways.

Once, he swore he felt large, familiar hands stroke the back of his hand.

Other times, he swore he heard his brother.

By the time he truly 'woke up', he was alone on a white-sheeted bed, the room generally warm and lined with medical tools that he couldn't name.....

He doesn't feel anything -until he tries to sit up.

It's a twinge -something that, in hindsight, meant medical care even magic- but that and the weakness around it sends him back down gasping into his bed and reality.

He- he just got stabbed.

He could have died -he almost did die, didn't he? Why...?

Did.... did he do something wrong? He thought he was doing good, that he was helping, but.......

Did that mean that his efforts didn't mean anything after all....?

Bowser wouldn't say that Greenie..... no, Luigi was ever an enemy.

Before he became an Ambassador, he would admit that Luigi wasn't even much considered anything, other than a potential messenger for more 'private' letters to Peaches.

And then he denied him.

Sure, Bowser had proposed the idea in jest -especially to see the scandalized looks of the other attending Ambassadors at the time- but he wasn't expecting the way Luigi had seemingly grown a spine in the second he locked eyes with him.

The way he held himself in assurance, how his blue eyes burned so brightly with indignation, how he firmly (without stuttering at all!) yet politely told him to shove it?

Compared to his usual meek demeanor, the way he let his own presence be overlooked and let others look down on him?

It was interesting to Bowser.

But that was all it was, an interest!

And then there was the need for his help.

He would have found some charm in having his own plumber-hero to call on- in sharing something with Peach that no one else could claim to have, but...

All he could feel was despair, then, and a buried awful feeling of helplessness.

THE KOOPA KING WAS NOT HELPLESS DAMN IT! BUT- but...

It didn't mean that he wasn't feeling desperate to find help -not when neither Kammy, Kammik, nor the people in charge of manufacturing couldn't come up with any ideas. Not when there are still many people still pissed off with him and his kingdom right there in his halls.

But Luigi? The one he remembers to have seen cobbling together materials into parts and mods for Karts? The one who is known to be the more tech-savvy of the two Mario Brothers?

He took a bet, confiding in the green bean, but he would rather die than admit how relieved he was for him to not only accept to help him but to prove him right.

To prove to Bowser that he could trust him.

It was more than most people (everyone outside his family) could say they had.

And.... he wasn't sure when they grew close, exactly, but he does remember the man asking quietly, in the middle of another all-nighter, if they were friends.

The question was barely processed when Bowser agreed, and immediately surprised himself when he realized that he meant it.

When was the last time he ever had a friend...?

Regardless, they had definitely become friendly, with the latter being comfortable enough to lounge with him on their spot (the blanket was incredibly comfy). It was nice, in the way few things were for Bowser outside the moments where he wins in the Olympics and spends time with the kids.

It seemed things were getting brighter as they seemed to finally have some answers -even a plan of action for some immediate relief efforts!

And then Luigi was stabbed.

How the fuck could he expect that? Expect that some bumbling idiot got it into their head to stab Luigi -the one guy who actually gives a shit about Bowser's people?

How in the Underwhere was he supposed to expect him to arrive at the gates, bloody and bleeding still and hurriedly dragged in by his guards -WHY THE FUCK DID THEY LET THIS HAPPEN-

What was he supposed to do when Luigi, somehow still awake, looked through him with such empty eyes...?

Kamek was his lifesaver -and Luigi's as he took him with a pink 'poof'.

He hated that he was left there to stare at the blood trail though.

He was quick to snap out orders after that, making the castle have a lockdown (who knows if it's just Luigi that is targeted), and have the staff clean the hall before heading towards the Medical Wing.

Bowser wouldn't be able to tell anyone what he was feeling, to see the aftermath and see his stomach-

But he was aware of making a call to Kammy, to help with the tonics for blood replenishing.

He was aware of the way his blood pounded in his ears as he registered the metallic smell, even after magic has closed up the skin (and put things back).

He was aware of eventually contacting Peach and Mario (not leaving the room, not when-) and getting a sequence of distrust, panic, shock, and even anger (mostly Peach; Mario had still been in a trance looking just as empty as-) and not reacting as he usually would.

He's... not sure how the conversation ended, but he does know that Mario will be coming here and that -for once- neither of them were exactly angry with him either (maybe it was because he offered the offender's head?).

He was aware, after he finally retired to his rooms, that Luigi would likely wake up within a few days -that the magic may have repaired him physically, but........

The day that Luigi woke up, he had been able to down half his breakfast before rejecting a morsel more, and couldn't concentrate on any paperwork before leaving for the Medical Wing.

It was maybe a blessing to have been there, when he heard crying from that room.

He didn't run, but the door slammed open anyway -enough to have the sole occupant of the room squeak -and then whimper in pain.

It didn't help that he saw those blue eyes, red and swollen from crying, scrunch up in agony. It didn't matter that it wasn't physical pain he was feeling -his friend was...

He defaulted to hugging him -if it helped the Koopalings, it would help Luigi too, right?

But having the human curl up into him? Lean in and take shelter as he started to shake in painful sobs? To feel each sob accompanied by a flinch, to hear how desperately Luigi was trying so hard to muffle himself?

It didn't feel like it, not when his friend was falling apart (not when he was smaller and more fragile than he ever was), but Bowser knew he will weather it out anyway. He might have failed in helping his people right away, and failed in making sure this didn't happen at all....

But like hell would he fail Luigi in this.

#bowuigi #KAIJUNE Prompt #HAPPY PRIDE MONTH #also INJURY WARNING #WITH BLOOD #AND LIKELY SOME MEDICAL STUFF #also cursing from Bowser #this was cut short but will continue next prompt

[bunglegaydogs]

Dazai's relationship with pain.

it's another Dazai rant, what the fuck did you expect

Anyways, I've always thought about this and I've been thinking about it a lot more as of recently. This one I can definitely relate to, me and pain also have a bit of a weird relationship lmao.

(Spoilers for Ch. 107, 55 Minutes, The Time I picked Up Dazai, basically just don't read if you haven't like read any of the novels or the manga or any extra content :) )

Firstly, I just wanna talk about his obvious dislike for pain (valid) and the fact that he has verbally stated on multiple occassions how much he really really does not like feeling pain, and there's such a heavy thing on how he wants a quick, easy and painless death.

It's just common knowledge that he has a strong distaste for pain, as he's announced many a time.

But what really gets me is his reactions to it.

He has none.

When Dazai is experiencing pain, he shows absolutely little to no reaction, except when it is shown for comedic relief, like during the Cannibalism Arc when they're in the back of the truck and he's like "Owowowowow don't move around so much, I'm wounded" to Atsushi and Akutaguwa. Or during season 1 when he's in the oil drum, despite him saying "I'm not at all interested in pain and suffering." "This is more a method of torture." and how much it hurts. But other times, he just has no reaction. Monotonous. Stone faced. There are certainly times when he does show how much pain he's in for very valid reason. When Fyodor gets the sniper on him, you can clearly see he's in pain. In the Azure Messenger episode whilst he's being fucking strangled against the window, we obviously see him in pain here. There are so many instances of this. But it also always just seems a bit... underexaggerated. In 55 Minutes, he gets stabbed, and whilst anyone would be like "fuck, this hurts, I've been stabbed through the chest clean through" he was smiling because he was happy, despite him not liking pain. Like??? I can't be the only one who finds it all sus can I? He literally has the most calm reactions to pain ever. In Ch. 107, he's grimacing a bit and is cracking jokes after HE JUST FELL IN A FUCKING ELEVATOR AND BROKE HIS FOOT LIKE HELLO?

The only thing I will say about this is that he looks away and clenches his jaw (I'm guessing that's what the 'clench' means, not his foot) when like assessing whether his foot is broken or not. But, not going to lie, I think that's the most emotion we've seen from him when he's in pain. In Dead Apple, he gets stabbed, and is like "haha sweet I'm dying" (common occurence fr). This is probably just a deluded and sleep-deprived rant but I can't keep this shit in any longer, it's baffling.

I also went deeper down the rabbit hole in another rant I wrote on a fucking WordPad document (that is where all of my rants start, I'm not joking) and likened Dazai to Q and their relationship with pain too. Q obviously has a very high tolerance for pain due to their ability and all, but they still have a fucking limit. They're a child. Strapping them to a tree and making it feel as if they're being sawed down about 600 times at once and stood and stepped on and chopped up is obviously not going to feel fucking great. But, they still have bizarre reactions to pain, such as (TW) having countless razorblades strapped to their arm and smiling as they lift their sleeve up to reveal it, not even batting an eye. Like, I have a really high pain tolerance, but goddamn. That shit is strange. But, they're like Dazai in that regard. During Dazai and Chuuya's first meeting, he literally beats the shit out of him.

Ah, right, okay, so I'm going to explain the three different versions of this, because there's the anime, the manga and the LN. LN of course goes into more detail, but the manga visualises it easily. The anime doesn't go too deep into it, but Chuuya is much more hostile towards Dazai in the LN/Manga.

(ngl love how Chuuya basically calls him 'cool' here, also him realising that Dazai has a personality after saying that? I can't lie, not many people would go along that line of thinking, they'd go the opposite way; I'm fucking definitely going into this in more depth in a different post but anyways)

In the LN, this is obviously their first meeting. Dazai literally fucking soars through the goddamn air, crashes through buildings and debris, rolls down a fucking hill, then gets stomped on by Chuuya. Then his deadass response, "It hurts. I don't like pain, you know." Motherfucker is stone cold. "Dazai's voice remained flat despite being attacked by the enemy and hitting the ground and buildings."

Listen, even Asagiri acknowledges it.

When Chuuya first steps on his fist, he literally is like "yeah this is fine" he literally looks at it "like it was someone else's". This motherfucker-

Also, emphasis on the "full of wounds". Chuuya is stepping on already fresh wounds and crushing them and his fucking bones beneath his foot, yet Dazai's like "mhm".

The next bit though is like finally. "Dazai sounded like he was in pain." Astute observation fr. Anyways, Chuuya fucking boots him and this is like one of the only times we see a normal reaction to pain as he "cries out". And then him "grimacing from the pain" which is once again a valid reaction. What's not valid is that despite Chuuya telling him he's prepared to kick him over and over again, and Dazai saying "yeah I don't like pain" and having a visceral reaction to being kicked like that, but still messing with him regardless knowing that it'll just end up with him in more pain. I fucking can't with this guy.

Mans got booted so hard that he fell and crashed into a fence, yet still is fucking with Chuuya and messing with him. Then, whilst he's been booted again, he STILL fucking taunts him, earning him a swift kick to the face that makes him bleed. He laughs at the pain. This is also a common reaction to pain that we see from him. Remember when Chuuya punched him in Dead Apple during the Dragon's Head Conflict and he just laughed?

Like, he's clearly in a lot of fucking pain from the last sequence of events that just occured, yet he still taunts Chuuya, and ends up getting hurt multiple times like?

Then, in the manga;

His deadpan face, not assed, no emotion.

Like, look at how violent that is. Mans literally winds his fucking leg up for that stomp, and the effect is literally "smash".

We all know how fucking violent and harsh Chuuya's kicks on. Because, despite his gravity not being able to work on Dazai, he can still build momentum to prepare for that kick against him and make is legs faster. I was reading up on how much a kick to the head would hurt/damage you the other day, and there were a lot of things saying "a kick to the torso/back/leg is scary because you need to care more about injuries than pain" and someone was saying that their friend was out of commission for fighting for a year due to a particularly fesity kick to the head that she received, and his other friend was out for six months, and that was martial arts fighting matches where they lessen their impact of their attacks so as not to severely damage their opponent. Apparently, a taekwando spinning back kick has been reported to hit at 1500lbs of force. For reference, a sledgehammer hits at just under 1000lbs of force. So, in a street fight or in a situation where the person attacking is doing so out of malicious intent, this could cause some serious fucking damage.

Yet this man bats not a single eye. He gets kicked, we clearly see him react with the "cough" and his facial reaction, but then, even whilst he's keeled over on the ground, his face returns to it's normal stoic, stoney faced reaction.

Chuuya here kicks him in the face again, and he literally just says "That hurt." with the deadest look in his eyes.

Then, when the Mafia surround him with guns and Dazai's just chilling there, motherfucker just boots him across the face again and knocks that bitch out.

He kicks him so hard that blood is fucking spilling out.

Take note of the kicks I was on about before.

THEN THIS MOTHERFUCKER IS JUST GETTING BACK UP AGAIN IN THE BACKGROUND AND HOLDING HIS FACE LIKE "Ow, that kinda hurt." LIKE NO SHIT?

Once again, absolutely fucking clocked in the torso by Chuuya's kick and is just casually explaining it.

Then, of course, in the anime;

At this point, we do see him kind of grimace before he reverts to his normal deadpan state, to be fair.

Again, stating his disapproval for pain.

Very much so a hard kick, the fucking impact just sounds scary.

You can see the damage from it, yet this motherfucker still just remains as deadpan as ever in the face of pain and adversity.

Amongst all the other differences, this is one of them. In the anime, Dazai sounds more in pain and is shown to be affected more by when Chuuya kicked him than in the manga or the LN.

In the anime, it cuts out a lot of Chuuya just beating the shit out of Dazai lmao.

Like, this entire scene just gets me like "huh?" across all the different media's. We know how strong Chuuya is now, because he's honed it in the mafia and has gotten stronger. However, we also know how strong he is here. The fact that he's the strongest in the Mafia and the most skilled martial artist just shows his sheer strength, and despite him being only fifteen here, he's still fucking powerful, with or without his ability, which we see by when each time we see him fight against Dazai and how he easily overpowers him with sheer strength alone, it's just that Dazai outsmarts him in a battle of wits.

This is most certainly not me calling Chuuya dumb or Dazai weak, it's the fucking opposite and I hate people who deny it. Chuuya is not fucking stupid, he's so smart, he's a Port Mafia executive for a reason, it's just that strength is his strong suit. Dazai is not weak, he's just not as strong as some of the most skilled martial artists in the series. Dazai is fucking strong, again, he wasn't a Port Mafia executive for nothing. He can protect himself. Anwyays, sorry, it just irks me lol.

Anyways, my point is that Chuuya is fucking powerful, in my opinion, the strongest in the series. It shouldn't really be up for debate, not only is his ability powerful, but his physical strength surpasses almost all of the characters. Physical strength alone, he could easily beat Kunikida, Hirotsu (as we've seen), and any combat based character, maybe with the exception of Fukuzawa and Odasaku, however with his ability (again, exception of Odasaku) maybe he'd stand a chance. Because Fukuzawa's ability doesn't help him in combat, it helps him to be a leader. It's just that he is exceptionally proficient in martial arts. Anyway sorry this has turned into me just swooning about how powerful Chuuya is (I still stand by the fact that he wouldn't be able to beat Odasaku, simply because he can literally see the future. However, Corruption is literally OP as fuck, so maybe Odasaku's only option would be to run. Or just wait it out. I don't know, sorry anyway-)

MY POINT IS, CHUUYA IS FUCKING STRONG.

He literally is beating the shit out of Dazai, yet the only reactions we've seen from Dazai are him grimacing, or yelling out in pain when he kicked him real hard in the torso. All other reactions are just him with a stone cold expression in his monotone ass voice.

This was a bit long winded for one scene, I'm so sorry, I just fucking love this scene sm.

Anyways, I've always found Dazai's relationship with pain exceptionally bizarre, simply because of his underwhelming reactions to it, despite him exclaiming his distate for it multiple times over the course of the series. No other character has outright gone "you know I don't like pain, right?" except him. Why? It should be a natural human reaction/instinct to not really enjoy pain, except for when you do (you know what I mean obviously I hope) and so I just get confused when he announces it, yet doesn't move an inch or show any hint or trace of emotion. Pure baffles me, and I love to look into more.

Another scene of note, is when he's captured by the Mafia. Once again, he is provoking Akutaguwa into attacking him. Why? Why the fuck? I've literally always thought this since I watched that scene for the first time; just why? Why, for a man who goes on and on about how much he hates pain, does he provoke anyone and anyone who will clearly hurt him? When he's fighting against that big dude, he once again is provoking him, despite knowing the shit he'll go through. He provokes Chuuya, Aku, Kunikida, Fyodor, like? He goes into the situation with Fyodor knowing that he'll be fucking shot. He literally (fucking redacted my god) the nurse despite having a gunshot wound? Goes into the car knowing it will crash? Saves Sigma and crashes in an elevator? Even his fucking suicide attempts like, that shit's obviously not painless despite how much he wants it to be. In the BSD Drama CD, he literally fucking hangs himself in the room? He actively seeks out pain and puts himself in these situations and has self-destructive behaviour and tendencies despite his suicide. Anyways, sorry, the scene I was on about. When he gets captured by the mafia, and is literally getting smacked the shit out of by Aku (bear in mind that we didn't see that full scene from after Aku punched him, and whoever else went there to him, or whatever else happened. What happened when Kyouka took him, when he was chained up, etc. Also, the fact that it is a place used for torture, like. Anyways) yet still provokes him. For about three or something days that motherfucker was chained up and suspended like that's gotta hurt. Yet, he still provokes absolutely everyone around him and they end up inflicting pain on him. It just like... huh?

Anyways, I have so much more to say about this, but it's quite literally 4am and it's getting lighter outside. I have so so SO much more to say on this, though.

I just say way too fucking much lmao.

This is not going to make any sense to anybody else but me and for that I am sorry, and I apologise for me not being very concise or articulate. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask me and feel free to add your own brainrot to this :)

Have a lovely day/night! Thanks for taking the timr to read this bullshit fr <333

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #osamu dazai #chuuya nakahara #oda sakunosuke #akutagawa ryunosuke #fyodor dostoevsky #dazais one kinky bastard that i cannot deny #whys he denying liking pain but then just letting every motherfucker and his dog beat the shit out of him and smiling about it #bsd brainrot #bsd analysis #analysis but not really its just a rant #rambling

[unusual-ly]

Ian Taylor was always a rambunctious child, and a bit of a troublemaker, no different than any other boy his age in Croydon. When he is hired as the earl’s new servant, all he thinks will come of it is money for his struggling family, new friendships with the other staff, and a chance to see what life is like for the wealthy. What he gets, however, is broken.

Prologue: Ian learns something about his time working for the earl; he was doomed from the start

Ask to be tagged in future updates!

Please reblog/review/comment/tag~!

#such sweet sorrow fic #bill 2015 #bill the film #bill the movie #six idiots #bill the film ian #gabriel montoya #bill shakespeare #the earl of southampton #Gabrian #(prologue only) #larry rickard #laurence rickard #jim howick #mat baynton #mathew baynton #ben willbond #crazy in the coconut #don't stab the messenger

[leftabit-leftabit]

Oh, you know, just watching two people - who don’t interact with each other in the entire film - fall in love... 

#bill the movie #bill (2015) #Ian #Gabriel Montoya #gabrian #the six idiots #idiots assemble #laurence rickard #larry rickard #jim howick #don't stab the messenger #crazy in the coconut #gabrian my beloved #Ian my beloved #otp

[purplehanfu]

Rising Feather: Episode 1

notes: Spoilers! Master list of all recaps

We start with… oh my.

Have not seen this before in a cdrama.

But we don't have time to dwell as we need to keep the story moving- we only have 12 minutes per episode, after all.

We meet our male lead Yun Huan who is out in the woods, exterminating Princess Huai's rebels. Just as he finishes the fight, a messenger arrives with a letter. It must be important to be delivered in the dead of night in a remote wooded location, right? Not really- it's Yun Huan's father-in-law Lord Mu announcing that he's taking in a new concubine. Yun Huan heads home immediately as instructed.

And when I say home, I mean a brothel where the concubine-to-be is dancing a solo. Tonight's lucky lady is the female lead Qing Que, who has a complicated past, if all the flashbacks are anything to go by.

Qing Que begins to make meaningful eyes at Yun Huan as soon as he arrives, and tries to incorporate him into her act.

Yun Huan shoves her away but steals a sachet from her as they tussle.

Later as she walks back to her room, Qing Que has a flashback where we find out Que is an assumed name and she's targeted Lord Mu's family on purpose. The ultimate goal: assisinate Yun Huan. And speak of the devil, he's in her room waiting for her.

He tells her he knows there is poison in the sachet. Instead of turning her in, he gives it back to her and essentially says good luck murdering your new husband. He also makes the following observation:

(This will become important in less than a minute.)

After she returns to the party, Lord Mu grabs Qing Que and starts to remove her veil.

The veil comes off and Lord Mu recognizes Qing Que. So does Yun Huan. Cut to flashback!

It's snowing and no one is wearing a coat but everyone has an umbrella that they can dramatically let fall to the ground at just the right part of the OST.

We find out that Yun Huan and Qing Que had a relationship.

A relationship that ended when Yun Huan found out that Qing Que was Lord Huai's daughter.

Oh noes, those are the rebels he was fighting back at the start of the episode! This level of betrayal merits a stabbing.

oof, right in the ovary

Yun Huan lets Qing Que slide gracefully to the ground and sadly makes the following promise:

Naw dog, I'm good. Qing Que is still alive, but Yun Huan roots around her clothes and steals a broken jade ornament.

Then he walks to where his current wife is waiting for him and they leave.

Cue the single tear. End episode.

why do I keep switching directions?

Final Thoughts This is either a masterpiece of non-linear storytelling or a hot mess.

Master list of all recaps

#rising feather #li jiu lin #青雀成凰 #Xiao Yu #just the first episode #sleazy good fun

[archiveikemen]

"Black Wedding" Story Event: Premium END

William's Route

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by playing their games and buying stories. Not 100% accurate, expect mistakes.

read this before interacting with my posts

This story is in William's POV

William • Kate: I don't.

The air in the church instantly turned ice cold.

(... I expected her to hesitate a little.)

(Such a firm declaration. As expected of Kate.)

I gazed lovingly at my partner in her black dress, then turned my eyes to the man who was to be judged for his sins.

William: Founder — I mean, Mister Amor.

William: You've killing the couples who vowed their love here, haven't you?

Amor's shoulders trembled and he tried to argue, but I had no intention to accept any of his excuses.

William: Ah, save your breath. We have already ascertained that you're hiding the bodies in the basement of his church.

William: Your motive for committing those crimes is...

William: Before you started this organisation, you were betrayed by your fiancee whom you loved so much...

William: You lost all your money and honour, you were at the brink of death.

Amor: H-How did you know that...!?

Cultist: What does that mean, Father*?

*I chose this word because in a church, the pastor is addressed as "Father", right? Feel free to let me know if there is a better alternative.

Cultist: Didn't you receive the divine relevation to become a messenger of love...?

William: Did you do it out of good faith to prevent others from suffering the same fate as you, or was it out of jealousy?

William: Honestly, I'm not so interested in whatever motives you may have.

Amor: All of that is untrue! Silence this man!

William: You brainwashed all your believers into becoming your obedient servants and killed those couples who were free to love each other.

William: That's a fact that will not change.

The blood drained from Amor's face upon being confronted with his sins.

However, no amount of fear, crying, or begging for mercy meant anything.

William: It's up to the individual to decide their form of love and how they wish to prove it.

William: We won't just watch from the sidelines as you take the lives of innocent people because of your selfish ideals.

William: Therefore, my verdict is — you're guilty.

Amor: *gasp*...

William: "Stay there and don't move".

After stopping Amor from fleeing, I turned to look behind me.

His believers who stood there dumbfounded were also victims of having their freedom stolen.

William: "Get in a single file and leave this place quietly. Follow the man waiting outside who identifies himself as Victor."

At my command, the believers left the church like puppets.

Amor trembled at the sight of that bizzare spectacle.

Amor: ... Wha... what was that...

Amor: Why!? All of you are supposed to only obey me!

Amor: Obey me! I... I'm the only one who's right! I will never forgive you for your betrayal!!

William: "A domesticated animal"...

William: "Docile, as a man tamed it"...

William: Very tasteless of you to decorate the beautiful garden with anagrams of sheep and your believers.

William: Nothing bad about creating an ideal place, but you should do it alone.

I placed a knife in Amor's trembling hand.

Standing next to me, Kate silently watched the scene unfold.

The villain who was to be punished for his sins — and the villain who will punish him by committing the same sin.

(Make sure to properly burn this moment into your memory.)

(And write my sins down in your reports.)

William: "Stab your heart, and sleep forever".

...

I went outside after condemning Amor for his sins, and saw Victor leaving with the believers in a carriage.

Kate: What's going to happen to them...?

William: They'll be put in the Royal Hospital for some time.

William: Some of them will wake up from this nightmare and return to their original lives...

William: While the rest will search for something else to rely on.

Kate: ... Is that so?

Kate watched as the carriage left, perhaps wishing that there would be hope for their future.

(... How beautiful.)

Kate was dressed in black, like she were attending a funeral possession.

Her eyes didn't look like she was bidding farewell to the dead, but instead looked like they held a light that believed in rebirth.

(Even when you're shrouded in darkness, your radiance never disappeared.)

She was willing to become evil for the sake of others, and yet wished that there would be a day evil would vanish from this world.

How could I possibly not love a woman this foolish and kind?

(She seems to agree that marriage vows are unnecessary.)

(Being addressed as the "bride", choosing a wedding dress, and putting it on...)

(She found the wedding process itself enjoyable.)

Formalities weren't important to her, she was instead open to having color in her life and enjoying herself.

William: Kate.

Kate: What's the ma— mmph.

I pulled her close and stole her lips in a kiss.

Kate's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before closing to receive the kiss.

Standing in front of the church with blood on my hands, I unreservedly cherished my bride who was raptured by the kiss.

Kate: Mm... haah... what's the matter, all of a sudden?

William: We haven't had a "memorable, blood-stained promise kiss" yet.

Kate blinked in surprise and chuckled.

Kate: Fufu... that would be a great memory.

William: Wonderful.

William: While we're at it, shall we go on a honeymoon, my bride?

Kate: ... Huh?

...

I left the church with Kate still in her wedding dress, and we were now seated in a carriage that swayed lightly and rhythmically.

Kate: It's so dark outside.

She looked stunning in her black dress, like a single black rose.

Kate: But I was surprised by your sudden suggestion to go on a honeymoon...

William: Looking at you made me want to whisk you away.

William: I wanted to enjoy the sight of you in your wedding dress a little longer.

Kate's cheeks turned red.

(Ah, I want to see her wearing a red dress as well.)

I had a sudden whimsical thought.

Kate: ... Hey, Will.

William: Hm?

Kate: I've always thought that wedding vows were a very serious thing, it was the goal of two people deeply in love.

Kate: But when it was our turn to say our vows... it felt so trivial.

William: ... Fufu.

Kate: Why are you laughing?

William: Pardon me. It's because of how serious is the look you have on your face right now.

William: Everything is trivial compared to what you've sworn to me, Kate.

There was nothing that could be greater than Kate putting her life at risk by swearing her love to me.

Kate: I mean...

Her slightly pouty lips were adorable, she looked like she was feeling embarrassed from being laughed at.

(I could stare at her like this forever.)

Kate: Regardless of whether we're married or not...

Kate: We have a special relationship whereby we've both sworn our love to each other.

Kate: Today's mission... it made me really happy.

William: ...

The sight of her carefree smile made my heart ache.

I knew that when I lost her one day, that pain would eat me alive.

William: ... So, have you lost interest in having a real wedding?

Kate: … Huh?

William: I just thought it’d be enjoyable to have a real wedding with you.

Kate: …

(This face she makes is adorable too.)

William: You looked so happy to be in a wedding dress.

William: Being called my bride, choosing your dress… and of course, you look happy right now too.

I touched her cheek and looked into her face.

William: Ah, I won’t tie you down with marriage.

William: But if it means I can see your happy face, I don’t think having a “ceremony” is a bad idea.

Kate: … Will…

William: We can have multiple wedding ceremonies if you wish.

William: Next time, we’ll have you wear a dress of your choice.

William: When you wear a red wedding dress, let’s have a wedding with just the two of us. No one else will be there to see it.

(Someday, her smile, warmth, and flame of life would disappear forever.)

(Until that moment comes, let’s make many happy memories together.)

Kate innocently blinked and then narrowed her eyes.

Kate: … Alright, then let’s hold 10 ceremonies.

Kate: I, too, want to see you in both black and white tuxedos.

William: ... Fufu, 10 times, huh?

William: You’re such a greedy bride.

Kate: … My bad, that was false. Actually, let’s have 100 ceremonies.

William: Ahahaha!

I burst out laughing, and Kate joined in the laughter.

Hearing her laughter in the darkness brought me more joy than any sacred vow could.

William: If we have 100 ceremonies, that means we’ll have 100 promise kisses.

William: But for now…

William: I want to give my one and only bride a kiss filled with my love.

(We’ll vow to each other as many times as we want.)

(Until the very end, when this happiness turns into a poison that will kill me.)

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil story event #niki translates

[jellybeanium124]

so theoretically ofmd s2 takes place in like, late december 1717? imagine if it was christmas themed lmao

~~~

2x01: Ed: Get suited up, we have a record to break! Fang: But Blackbeard, it's Christmas. Ed: It's December 10th!

~~~

2x02: Stede: Zheng! Can I borrow one of your messenger birds to mail my Christmas cards? Zheng: What? Bonnet? No, you may not use my messenger birds to mail your fucking Christmas cards. Stede: But I didn't get a chance to mail them before we were hired... 🥺

~~~

2x05: Lucius: EAT MY FUCKING SHIT BLACKBEARD! Ed: Do you feel better Lucius?? Can you have a merry Christmas now? Lucius??

~~~

2x06: Izzy: 🎶 Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland 🎶

~~~

2x07: Stede: Really? You're going to stab me in the back right in front of me? That's not very in the spirit of the season of you, Zheng. Zheng: Bonnet, I don't celebrate Christmas...

~~~

Other things:

Frenchie, Jim, Archie, Fang, and Izzy all wearing santa hats while eating that bird in 2x03

2x04 becomes an awkward holiday party. Mary or Anne could get tied up in a garland

2x06 becomes an office holiday party. Imagine Stede yelling "You completely ruined Christmas!!" with tears in his eyes to Ned lol. And they could even repeat the "December 10th" joke and make it into a running gag with Ned being like "Stede, it's December 19th" or something lmao

The 2x08 plan thing set to a really badass version of "carol of the bells"

#ofmd #our flag means death

[pukner]

Baz | part one

a steddyhands twt thread turned oneshot

|| Rated Gen || Stede and Ed take a brief vacation to visit Stede's family, and find a surprise.

part one / part two

They decide to visit Mary. Well, Stede decides to visit Mary.

Or, Stede gets a letter by extremely confusing means (why is fucking Jackie playing messenger) and receives word that in his absence (read: death), his wife's gone and married some bloke named Doug.

Ed doesn't feel anything about it either way, really. Stede's gone and worked himself into a tizzy (heh, like Izzy. Wait no, don't think about Izzy) and he's all guilty for ignoring his kids or whatever.

Ed doesn't get it. In his experience, the best dad is one you don't have to see.

He's a bit antsy about leaving the crew behind, to be honest. Not the most functional lot, this. Not without-- Well. Not without Iz.

Stede doesn't get it. "Honestly," he says, mouth pursed in that unhappy way of his, "Izzy was hardly the only competent member of our crew."

"Besides Oluwande and Jim," Ed says, flatly, "Yeah, he was."

"Lucius can write--" Stede offers.

"So can that molly we ran into last week. So can--"

"...molly?"

"The-- he tried to sleep with you? Asked you for a drink and then I stabbed him?"

"Oh, goodness--he was a courtesan?"

"Mate, don't say--"

Alright, so the conversation gets a bit derailed. He imagines Iz standing between them and snapping at them to Fucking Stay On Track or something, but they wouldn't be having this conversation if he was here, would they? If he hadn't slipped away unnoticed the second Stede returned--

if Ed had just paid attention, if Ed hadn't gone so profoundly off the rails in those last days before Stede showed back up, if he hadn't--

Ed tastes blood when he wakes up some nights. He wonders if Izzy does. He wonders if he's dead. He talks to Stede about it, some nights.

And he understands, is the bizarre thing. Stede looks at his worst moments, the tar leaking out his mouth, the I Maimed My Dearest Friend And Also Tried To Kill Lucius of it all, and says, "Alright, that's fine. You're terrible but so am I. We can be less terrible together."

They end up going to Barbados, in the end. He talks about Iz again, as they walk. It's a nice island. Very breezy. Sunny. It's like he's hemorrhaging all his feelings.

Stede listens, and murmurs, "I don't miss him like you do, dear, but I miss him all the same."

Then, because Stede's fundamentally a bitch, he adds, "Even though he was an irritating little man."

Ed doesn't like that. Not the thing about Iz, he absolutely is irritating and little, but the fact that he's talking in the past tense. Then Ed realizes that he did the same.

They meet Mary and her Doug. They're great. She's kind of a bitch, and Ed thinks immediately that he can never let her meet Jackie, or Anne, or Mary (the other one, Read). He also meets some broad in an eye patch that he immediately clocks as a threat.

The kids aren't home.

"You just let them run around with some stranger?" Stede says, appalled.

Stede gets appalled a lot. It's his whole thing. Ed's sort of wandering around and picking at stuff they have lying around. Paintbrushes, cushions. A doll lying on some fancy sofa.

Place looks nice. Dying was a good parenting move on Stede's part.

"He isn't a stranger," Mary's saying, in that patient tone that all women have when they're thinking of murder, "He's our neighbor--"

"Well," says Doug, coughing into his hand.

"Alright, so he lives in the woods, but he's a perfectly nice--"

"He watches the children when I'm having showings--"

"What on earth are you showing?" asks Stede, sounding unreasonably baffled.

"...my art, Stede."

"Ah. Well, what about Doug?"

"I work," says Doug, brightly.

"Some people do that, Stede," says Mary, pointedly.

"I work!"

"I doubt that," says Mary, which is fair. Ed doesn't think what they do qualifies as work.

They bitch at each other about this guy. Apparently he watches the kids. He's teaching Alma how to swordfight. And teaching Louis how to sew? What the fuck.

"--sword fight!" Stede says, shrilly, "Mary, that's hardly appropriate--"

"You literally ran away to become a pirate," says Mary, flatly.

"...fair," says Stede.

They hear a lot about this guy over tea.

He helped get rid of a nasty pirate situation, apparently. He's good with a sword, despite his limp, the cane he needs. He grows excellent beets? Has a nice flower garden. Knits up a storm. Kind of a wanker, very crabby, but soft on kids. The kids love him, apparently.

"--Alma's developing quite an interest in sailing, thanks to Baz," Mary is saying, and Ed drops his fork.

Oh.

He looks at Stede, panicked, and then when Stede doesn't give him the panic eyes back he realizes Ah He Doesn't Know. Stede isn't Jack, or old Sam. He doesn't know.

He looks at Mary, just then, and spies out a sly little smile on her face. It's a schemer's smile, this one. He's seen it on Jack often enough. Oh, he can never let her meet Annie. He's already afraid of the implications of her knowing Jackie.

Stede decides, before Ed can say his thing, that he's got to meet this Baz bloke.

Ed can't speak, on account of the phantom taste of blood in his mouth. He looks down at his plate, at all the meat he's pushed to a side.

part two

#my writing #my fic #steddyhands #omfd #steddyhands fic #our flag means death #omfd fic #edward teach #stede bonnet #izzy hands #this is set in a future where they've all had some degree of character development #and healing #also imagining mary and evelyn and jackie all hanging out together and scheming is so fun to me #they have weekly wine nights #iz in the next part xo #i'm storing this here bc i don't want to lose it #if twitter truly does beef it #i'll also post it to ao3 maybe #bazfic #part one

[electric-spider]

Impartial sins

check my masterlist for more! Here

Next...

Warnings: language, death, sexual themes, Mafia, mentions of being drunk, mentions of hypersexuality. If I missed something let me know. If you are uncomfortable with this, don't read!

Stupid fuckin’ Mafia boss thinks he can do whatever he wants… Forcing me to go on late missions.. How annoying.. I sigh and hold up my sniper, load, aim, wait for the perfect moment and… Fire! The next part no one ever mentions, exit the scene.

Ok, now for the next target. I open my messenger bag and pull out his documents, let's see… Roger Flemming, real pervert. Easy target. Meet him next to a nearby bar, ok… it's gonna be raining soon. Let's get this over with.

I wait next to the bar in an alleyway. How slow can one guy be? Damn. I finally see him exit the bar, clearly drunk out of his wits. Man this is gonna be gross. He quickly sets his eyes on me stumbling over to me.

“Hey, what's someone like you doing alone out here?..” he said, his speech slurring. “Waiting for someone Like you” I said, slowly backing into the alleyway. Thankfully, he followed. Man, perverts are stupid..

He backed me against the wall. I quickly pull out my knife and stab him in the stomach. Five… ten… fifteen times. Someone's coming… nowhere to hide.. that air vent.. I climb the wall and quickly wedge myself between the wall and air vent.

Hide…. Conceal yourself… I let out a breath and listen to them. “Ah, it seems we walked in on a crime scene, my lord” one of them said. His aura is subtle but terrifying. I can't sense his emotions… it's all over the place.

The other one laughs, “yes, it seems we have! I wonder who did this.. can you sense anyone barbatos?” He doesn't answer for a bit. Stay calm, stay focused. “It doesn't seem like I can…” he says, sounding rather.. disappointed?

They finally leave the alleyway a few minutes later but I stay up there for a few extra minutes. It's been ten minutes… they should be gone by now… I jump down and run out of the alleyway, get home… fuckin’ rain..

------------

I drop my towel on the floor after drying my hair. I need to do my hair.. Maybe I'll braid it?.. nah, I'll just put in a ponytail today. Braids tomorrow! I think to myself as I put my hair in a ponytail. Alright, I guess I'll sketch some tattoos..

I'm not sleepy right now so yeah, music and sketching! I sit on my bed and I grab my sketchbook and pencil. Where was I… right, what kind of tattoo… hypersexuality, maybe? Should it look like a tramp stamp or maybe a bit more serious..

I'll do both and see which one I want. For the tramp stamp, I'll need a reference. I open Pinterest and search tramp stamps. These two are nice.. “Sage which one do you think?” I ask, holding my phone in front of her.

She meows and paws at one that looks more like vines. I nod and start sketching, instead of a heart I'll use a butterfly with a semicolon. Ok, now for colors.. I'll figure it out after doing the more serious version. Should I use the butterfly again?...

Maybe I'll use a heart with a semicolon?... Fuck it, I'll do both.

-------------

My hands are cramping… I stretch out my hands and put up my sketchbook and pencil. Still not tired, might as well try though. I yawn and lay down turning on my fan as I get under the covers. Something doesn't feel right… Maybe it's paranoia..

A/N: Me and my friend actually made a hypersexuality tattoo for ourselves. I might show it.

Taglist: @cuddlybelphie @doomsday-fae @a-crazy-little-goblin

#obey me #obey me oc #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me original character #obey me mammon #obey me lucifer #obey me asmodeus #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me simeon #obey me luke #impartial sins

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Mais: We have to make war to prove that we are stronger than the Jews.

Student: People love Palestine and they are ready to die for Palestine. I want to fight against them [the Jews] and defeat them in war.

Atif: At school, they teach us that Al-Aqsa, and all of Palestine is ours.

Abed: The Jews lie and say that their temple is under the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It was never there.

Yousef: I hate the Jews.

Nur: They teach us that the Zionists are our enemy, and must fight them.

Samir: They teach us that Jews are terrorists.

Mohammed: At school they teach us about Jews. They teach us that they are bad people. They killed our young.

Arafat: They teach us in school that Jews are fickle, bad people. I am ready to stab a Jew, and drive [a car] over them.

Amin: I will fight. I will ram a car into them [the Jews].

Mohammed: We have to constantly stab them, drive over them and shoot them [the Jews].

Student: Stabbing and running over Jews brings dignity to the Palestinians. I'm going to run them over and stab them with knives.

Mohammed: Right now, I'm prepared to be a suicide bomber.

Nur: With Allah's help, I will fight for ISIS, the Islamic State.

--

Not being an Arabic speaker, I've run the audio through Google Translate to verify the translation. Although the sound makes it difficult to get a full translation, the translation engine reproduced many of the key fragments and words indicated in the subtitles.

--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Mosque

The mosque is located on the southern part of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif, an enclosure expanded by King Herod the Great beginning in 20 BCE during his reconstruction of the Second Jewish Temple. The mosque resides on an artificial platform that is supported by arches constructed by Herod's engineers to overcome the difficult topographic conditions resulting from the southward expansion of the enclosure into the Tyropoeon and Kidron valleys. During the late Second Temple period, the present site of the mosque was occupied by the Royal Stoa, a basilica running the southern wall of the enclosure. The Royal Stoa was destroyed along with the Temple during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple

The Temple was on the site of what today is the Dome of the Rock. The gates led out close to Al-Aqsa Mosque (which came much later). Although Jews continued to inhabit the destroyed city, Emperor Hadrian established a new city called Aelia Capitolina. At the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, many of the Jewish communities were massacred and Jews were banned from living inside Jerusalem. A pagan Roman temple was set up on the former site of Herod's Temple.

--

They're living in a terrorist training camp. If this is shocking to you, I really don't know why it should be.

https://quranx.com/5.82

You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant.

https://quranx.com/5.64

And the Jews say, "The hand of Allah is chained." Chained are their hands, and cursed are they for what they say. Rather, both His hands are extended; He spends however He wills. And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. And We have cast among them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. Every time they kindled the fire of war [against you], Allah extinguished it. And they strive throughout the land [causing] corruption, and Allah does not like corrupters.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-1/Book-8/Hadith-427/

Narrated `Aisha and `Abdullah bin `Abbas: When the last moment of the life of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came he started putting his 'Khamisa' on his face and when he felt hot and short of breath he took it off his face and said, "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets." The Prophet (ﷺ) was warning (Muslims) of what those had done.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-52/Hadith-177

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

--

"Israel is only the first target. The entire planet will be under our law." "The entire planet will be under our law; there will be no more Jews or Christian traitors." -- Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas Commander

#palestine #UNRWA #terrorism #this is islam #islam #al aqsa mosque #martyrs #martyrdom #al aqsa #antisemitism #hamas #hamas supporters #islamic terrorism #religion #defund UNRWA #religion is a mental illness