#him getting stabbed was a promise to me they would have that scene damn it

[reachexceedinggrasp]

The Killer did come to cinemas here! I had to get my brother to drive me over an hour, but I got to see it!

It wasn't quite what I was expecting story-wise, I had thought it'd be very simple and probably a relentless chase once she was kidnapped and that would be most of the movie, but the plot was actually sort of complicated with more slower, quiet scenes than I anticipated.

The action was certainly everything I expected! Spectacular. I need to watch it again to take it all in. And it was funny (the moment when he's shooting dudes and just casually takes a sip of his latte absolutely killed me, fucking iconique), but it was also way darker than I imagined. It was a lot more grounded and visceral than John Wick, the film it's always being compared to, despite Ui-gang being even more unstoppable and unflappable than John. He's a more realistic and slightly more developed character, which in turn raises more questions about his moral dubiousness when he goes around murdering people fairly indiscriminatingly. It was rated 14A so I was kinda shocked by how bloody the violence was. I've seen 18A movies that felt tamer.

The really big question for me that was never answered was... does his wife Know? And if she didn't before, what's he going to tell her at the end to explain things? He's going to have to tell her something.

Further actual thoughts on the film perhaps later, but right now I'll just note that beautiful man looks somehow even more beautiful on the big screen and I need one of those giant fancy tvs with the true blacks in order to watch him on at home. Because. Oh my God.

#jang hyuk #feeling shame for this post #seriously there would be close-ups of his face and I would be fully no thoughts head empty #he got stabbed and there was no scene of him sewing himself up how dare they deprive me of this #him getting stabbed was a promise to me they would have that scene damn it #it was cute how they played with cliches and references throughout and him slapping a bandaid over it WAS funny but c'mon #how can they skip the shirtless stitching scene it is a pillar of action cinema #that tight black t-shirt tho holy shit #that and the shoulder holster #speechless

[kombuuuu]

miles deflecting is so GOOD he makes me ILL!!!!!! i love ur writing <3 do u think we cld have like a short continuation 4 it?

Deflecting on you.

42!Miles Morales x Fem!Reader

“Would you hurt me?” “Never again.”

continuation to this C:

im infecting people with the 42!Miles propaganda cough cough 🗣️ ly2 pookie (also this is definitely not short)

A few days had passed now, and Miles had stayed his previous level of civil, bordering caring, with you.

He wasn’t glad with how easy he had let the two other kids get off. But when they were reduced to cowering forms in darkened corners whenever he was around, it brought a pinch of justice, pride to his chest. Although, James had a rather decent punishment, in his opinion.

Word had gone around that he’d gone insane, smashed his head against a desk in an old , deserted classroom until he’d passed out. Mangled his own skull, intended to stab someone, but couldn’t get up from the damage to his own self.

A tip to the cops surveying the scene, and the rumour was spread a little wider.

He had been wary with you, from the moment you both sat staring at the city life below you, in his bed.

In his room, his house with his Ma just outside. The domesticity of the moment making the ache in his lungs suffocate his heart. Squeezing and pumping out as much blood as it could, heart rate trying to keep up with the lack of air.

He’d thought back to it too often in the mere days since occurrence for him to simply brush it off, but he sure tried.

—

He tapped the rubber of his pencil along his desk, staring at the page below him. The words being said had been drowned out by his racing mind, something he fully knows would get him in trouble eventually for “lack of effort”. But it was maths, there wasn’t a single thing being told that he didn’t already know.

What had his current attention, was the faint sketch of you on his gridded paper. He hadn’t meant to draw it, he’d just—, spaces out and it was there when he snapped back.

Now he was at a standstill with himself, use the currently tapping eraser to get rid of the drawing, or live with the faint lines hidden between pages. It was obvious, rub it out. But the thing, the most difficult aspect—,

—Was how utterly gorgeous the drawing was.

How your hair framed the page, the shape of your eyes being shaded in led. The soft look you’d given him that night being practically pulled from his mind and placed on the cheap paper. He’d recreated it perfectly, he could feel the apprehension, the uncertainty.

But despite how bitter those words sounded, uncertainty was still consideration.

You were considering him. Not as an enemy, or a nuisance — as a stranger.

You can get to know a stranger.

You can get to know him.

Miles closed his eyes and groaned under his breath, rolling eyes at the hope rising in the back of his neck.

He flicked to the next page, promising to never open to it again.

If it ended up cut out of his book, folded neatly and stuffed in the hidden latch of his desk drawer, no one but him would know.

—

You hadn’t forgive him, of course you hadn’t — you’re not that naïve.

He hurt you, cause you an entire season of torment, sleepless night and stress filled days.

You tried to stay quiet, like you always had. Passing by crowds unnoticed and surfing under the noise with a cotton stuffed ear.

And he’d started a ruining of that.

Trying not to draw attention to yourself, despite him so clearly trying to put you in spotlight.

This whole ordeal was a domino effect from that damn kaleidoscope, and he was just another finger flicking the next tile.

Until he wasn’t.

And he’d near killed a man for you. Taken care of you, feared for your life.

He’d found you, from nothing but a gut feeling.

The way he would stare now, was less vindictive. His gaze no longer that of anger but of a man conflicted. Like he couldn’t tell what to think of you.

You lay over your ruffled sheets, quilt and bedding under you to not overheat yourself. You window was wide open, airing out your humid room. The soft sway of leaves sprouting from the vines crawling over your building was pleasant. Digging their roots in the crevices of your window sill like Miles had been digging into the crevices of your mind.

You put a hand over your head, stretching your back up and listening the the crack that came from it.

Dropping back down and huffing, you continued to watch your ceiling in mild disinterest, trying desperately to reach the essence of sleep, and let the way Miles’ lips curled into a smirk fall from your mind.

He hadn’t realised it, but his small rebuttal to your teasing that night in his room had made a permanent statement in your head, no longer able to forget about it.

“No, just you —,” Your mind hadn’t cared to supply the rest.

Every single thing about that scarring night had burned its way into your temporal lobe. Like giving it a searing kiss with memory stained lipstick.

A small clicking had caught your attention, like fingernails tapping glass. The clinks were rhythmic, had the coordination of a spiders legs.

Your focus on the plain ceiling was now broken, a curiosity replacing it.

You approached the open window without caution, Moonlight spilling through the glossy panes. Placing your hands on the sill, you leaned forward, and felt the small rush of wind over your shoulders, the breeze cooling your heated face. An urge to close your eyes and take it in almost over-reigned that new curiosity, but your self preservation thought better of it. Checking left and right either side as if someone was going to be waiting right there for you. Because that was a completely rational and not at all ludicrous thought. You scoffed to yourself, glancing at the skyline with glistening eyes before turning and heading back inside, to finally — maybe, fall asleep.

—

Miles released a quiet breath, braids swaying from his suspended position hanging from a rooftop. Your rooftop, of your building—.. Where he was watching you. It was coincidence, really. That somehow, running from guys he stole a cure his Momma needed for a patient from. And when grappling from building to building, using clips and hooks and zip lines to get away from them, he’d stumbled into your street.

He’d lie to himself and say it was just the street his Ma’s favourite Paella was made, but the one time he’d seen you, exhausted from school—, drag yourself into an apartment across the street from that very place..

His opinion hadn’t changed, so to speak. But there was an added motive, that’s it.

And he’s hiding, it’s not his fault if your apartment is high up. Or his need to see you is growing at alarming rates, or his heart was beating so loud in his ears that he hadn’t heard you approach the window.

So when your fingers had softly scraped along the sill of your window, he’d pulled himself above you — and prayed you wouldn’t look up.

You hadn’t, thankfully.

He’d watched the way your skin had shone under the city lights, your features illuminated and accentuated by the chaos the streets. You were so unbothered—, so calm, even amidst everything he (and everyone else) had put you through.

Like a stubborn stone keeping the whole wall from collapsing.

His admiration for you had grown, not only from the past months — which he realises is slightly sadistic — but from your tenderness that had only lasted mere minutes. Even the glimpse of a softer you, not the one covered in a satiated rage, hands squeezing lemons until the bitterness dripped not from the fruit broken skin, but from your own. The sting of acid only making your bloodied finger feel more justified.

Not that.

What he saw was a woman free of woes, no need to split her skin when her heart was already so vulnerable.

And he craved for a mere glimpse of that again.

Like old, your anger had satisfied him. Gave him those doses of you he’d fiend for, and had excited him to no end. Now, he’s found something stronger.

He can’t let you go.

He watches you scoff at yourself, his mask retracting from his face. You look towards the city’s edge one last time before turning and making your way back inside.

He sighs, adjusting his position on the buildings ledge, and grabs the waterspout running the side of the building, crawling back to the shadows.

His claws clink, like nails tapping glass.

—

There wasn’t a day of peace in the last fortnight.

You were still suffering the effects of your previous injuries. People knowing that something had gone down between you and James, seeing as he hadn’t showed up in two weeks. And the near-healed bruises on your face were a well indicator of your involvement.

So when you stumbled upon Keith, someone you’d basically owed your still-intact-body too, scrambling out of an alley. Bloodied and bruised, nose broken and face almost as busted as your was that day. Safe to say you weren’t exactly confused to what was happening.

He looked up, eyes meeting yours almost eerily fast, the blood from his nose coating his teeth a deep crimson. A sick chill ran down your spine and you stumbled back. A wet gasp for breath was heard, diverting your attention towards its gruesome origin.

Turning your body towards the darkened alley, vision blurring at the edges. Your breath escaped you.

Keith had started speaking, and over the ringing in your ears he’d begged for your forgiveness, scraping his knees while he clawed to get away from his friends continuous spluttered coughing.

“What—..”

Mathew was lying on the floor, avidly trying to protect himself using only his bare hands. While a figure you could only see the back of punched in a strict, repeated pattern — like they’d done this before.

“Miles?”

The man whipped his head towards you, blood dripping down a cut on his cheekbone, and a snarl over his face.

Said contortion quickly smoothened out, a rather *confronted look replacing it.

Keith was long gone by now, having dragged his bloodied body away from whatever mess you were now a part of.

“Chiquita, don’t freak out.”

The way your lungs seemed to refuse oxygen kind of refuted that command.

You were frozen still, eyes stuck on the barely conscious body beneath the subject of your recent intrigue.

Mathew was barely recognisable, eyes puffed up in bruises and bloodied flesh. Miles had taken near no damage compared to the other men.

“[Name], c’mon.” He was getting up now, shuffling off his opponent with a tone of apprehension.

Only when his movement shifted your frozen eyes, did you see the key details you’d missed.

Braids, Nikes, Jacket, Collar, Claws.

A spray painted logo you’d only ever seen one man branding.

The Prowler.

"No te precipites, Ma."

“Don’t act rash, Ma.”

Right as the endearment left his mouth, you turned on your heel and ran.

"[Name], Por dios — quedate aquí."

“[Name]! Oh my god — stay there.”

He waved nonchalantly to the definitely not-going-anywhere boy on the floor. Shifting his foot back and jumping at a wall, claws digging in and gripping the ledge to the roof, swinging himself over it and keeping the momentum in a run.

Darting through corner stalls and confused pedestrians, you tripped over yourself to get away.

A strong, persistent mantra of ‘Holy fuck.’ was circling through the forefront of your mind, and yet everything else was hyper aware.

Not a fault in your step as your grace seemed to come out in times of dire panic, like a dancer following their cues, every movement made around you was an instructors yell.

You turned into the alley leading to your apartment, a shortcut, when you heard someone drop down behind you. You spun around, fast enough to dizzy yourself, and gave one look to the neon mask of the vigilante before going to run again. A small noise of panic escaped your shaking form.

“No corras, por favor!”

“Don’t run, please!”

Your heart beat fast, reaching the door to your apartment complex, swiping your key card and launching yourself inside, the scuffle of shoes being heard just outside the slammed shut door.

“Please, [Name], let me in. We can talk this out, Ma.”

Miles begged, knocking on the complexs’ back door.

"They were gonna jump you, [Name].”

“I don’t believe you.”

Your voice came out shaking, confused and *scared. You’d known he’d been capable of violence. It was adamant in the way he wouldn’t flinch at a hit, or the scars that coated his exposed skin.

But this? A man who’s killed people? Who was going to do it again had you not been a witness.

“I—“ You whined, voice giving out and tears finally breaking the surface of your waterline. “I’ve seen you—,” The back of your head hit the metal door and you sobbed silently. “,—On the news.”

Outside the thin steel, Miles sighed, guilt weighing his chest down heavy. He got sloppy, and paid the price. His anger, rage toward these men. And what they’d planned to do to you — he’d say it was justified. You’d say it was monstrous.

“You kill people, Miles.”

His heart broke at the tone of your voice, the quiet sniffles and shortened sobs. The way your voice cracked and broke under the pressure of your open heart.

“Ma, I—“

“I don’t wan’ hear it.”

His hands rest on the cooled metal, forehead pressing against it as he sighed.

“Please let me in.”

“I can’t.”

“[Name]. Chiquita, por favor.”

He’d begged, ready to get on his knees and stand out in the 40° (104°) heat, and wait until you opened the door. Even if it took days.

Although,

“I’ll break in.”

“Wha—,” you cut yourself off in a sobbing laugh, rubbing at your tear tracked face. “Miles, That’s not a very good bargaining chip.”

He smiled, closing his eyes and loving the sweetened tone you held. You weren’t scared of him, you were scared of the Prowler.

“‘Made you laugh.”

His accent thickened over the words, dragging them out in a rasping hush. Something only for you to hear.

Your resolve was breaking, lungs slowing to a calmed lull as the adrenaline left your body. You didn’t break though— couldn’t.

“I can’t—,” You looked to the ceiling of your apartment’s ground floor, standing in an empty back room. “,—You’re not good, Miles.”

“You helped them, before.” Your brows furrowed, not of anger, but of betrayed desperation.

“You.. You just watched—“

“I know, baby, I know.”

He opened his eyes again, staring at the door like it had attacked you.

“Go upstairs, yeah?”

“Why—“

“Just go on, Ma.”

You huffed out a slow breath, fight draining from your being. You wanted to yell, to scream at him how wrong of a man he was. How he couldn’t risk everything he had for you, not now. Not as the estranged people you were.

You wanted to show the anger you never could, reach that brink of anguish until you’d finally given him what he’d wanted since your moment of meeting. But he no longer wanted that.

He’d always wanted you to break, now he just wants you.

“Okay.” You were breathless and tired, coerced.

He lifted his head quickly, hands splayed against cooled metal curling into fists, an excitement running through him like that of a promise.

—

A minute later you were opening the door to your apartment, and locking it behind you. Anxiously making your way to your bedroom, worried to see what was inside, When you stepped inside, you weren't exactly surprised when your eyes landed on Miles' face, what had surprised you though — was that he was hanging off your window sill with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Now will you let me in?" His voice muffled through the glass and you breathed out a quick gasp, "You— Miles, get down!"

"Down?" He smirked, letting one of his hands drop from the wooden sill. "Oh my god!"

You rushed towards your window, discarding your phone on your bed carelessly. You slid your window up, as Miles laughed, swaying from his one hand. "Jesus Miles— are you trying to kill yourself?!"

He crawled through and you grabbed his free hand, dragging him inside. "Get—.. get." Giving up on your scolding half way through, you quickly ushered him towards your bed and turned to close your window.

"When you said 'Go up.' I didn't think yo—"

"I'm sorry.'

Your hands were left floating above your windowsill, shaking in still air. Miles had come up behind you, hands resting over your hips, toying with the hem of your shirt. His face lowered towards your ear voice dipping with it.

"I know you're mad— hate me, all that. 'S okay. I know—,"

He slowly moved his arms further around your waist, watching your breath hitch and the feel of your pulse under the blow of his breath.

",—And I'm sorry."

"I don't hate you."

"You don't hate anyone."

You relaxed into his hold, tears brimming forth again.

"You keep—" "Scaring you." "Yeah." He dragged his left hand down, trailing his fingers over the skin of your arms and watching as the bumps rose along your flesh. You were entrancing.

"Are you scared now, Mami?" He grabbed your wrist in a gentle hold, swiping his bloodied thumb over your smooth skin. Your hand twitched, and his thumb stopped.

"No." You flipped your hand into his, linking your fingers together, careful to not agitate his bruises.

"Would you hurt me?" He reciprocated, closing his fist over your own, the flick of pain felt like nothing— not when the aching in his chest was finally being calmed.

"Never again."

—

DUDE MY PHONE IS FUCKING BROKEN LOLLL

no ending image today im on my laptop (fucking cries)

translator (bbg) @sataraxia

taglist!! @red-riot-rat , @stvrfir3 , @erensbbg , @umawooma , @wisteriaflowersss , @inejsknifes , @meowsannie , @manduse , @rainy-darling , @riya1161 , @key-zee , @toasttew , @em711 , @starsval , @gemma42 , @lovelymiaablogs

#miles morales x reader #spiderverse x reader #earth 42 miles morales #earth 42 miles morales x reader #miles x reader #earth42!miles x reader #earth42!miles #miles morales x you #miles g

[oz00ms2]

I bet Shanks in the Firebug au has asked Firebug to come with him at least several times. Since their departure here is on way different terms than canon (even tough getting to Firebug that it was indeed an accident is probably gonna take a while. But I do believe it would be easier to get trough to him than canon as well) Shanks still holds out a little hope that he can set things right. Firebug holds a dagger to the dreaded redhaired pirates troath and snarls at him for any last words, only for his opponent to grab his arm in a flash and violently twist it behind his own back, managing to pin him to the wall behind him.

If Sharks had any mercy he would kill him quickly, slit his troath, run a sword trough his back, even killing him with his own explosives would be less cruel than him leaning in so close that he can feel Shanks breath against his neck. “Buggy…sail with me again. Let’s see the world like we always said we would when we were kids! The whole grand line is gonna know your name! We’ll have our own ship and our own crew like we’d always wanted and they’d adore you! I’ll let you design all the weapons you can think off! Please Buggy, let’s make Rodger prou-“

The elbow to his stomach hits Shanks hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs completly for a second and Firebug screams loud enough for his ears to ring and it makes avoiding Firebugs frantic stabbing towards him with his holdout weapon a bit of a challenge : “I DON’T NEED CHARITY FROM THE LIKES OF YOU! HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT ME LIKE YOU STILL KNOW ME!? HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU STILL KNOW ABOUT WHAT I DREAM ABOUT YOU RAT?!”

If Shanks was a merciful man he would have shouted back at Firebug or at least try to reason with him. If he wasn’t as utterly cruel as Firebug knows him to be he maybe would have looked hurt by those accusations, trying to tell him that this is not true, that he still believes in the young boy he knew years ago. Even just looking slightly remorseful would have been better than this. But Shanks doesn’t yell and he doesn’t try to argue, the smug bastards face instead bearing an expression of complete and utter understanding as he says “I see. You have your own dreams now.” Before the oncoming footsteps alert them to more marines coming and Shanks disappears.

Captain Firebug replays that scene over and over in his head. It’s disgusting. Utterly absurd. Sailing with Shanks again. Trading his secure post for a life of danger and uncertainty. Damn Idiot has lost his marbles. Like their time together as kids meant anything. Like the promises between two dumbass kids in the middle of the night mean shit to the world. Like Shanks hanging down from his Hammock and extending his pinkie towards him was akin to a blood pact when he promised him they would be the greatest pirates who ever lived (“The most amazing.” -“The strongest!” -“ The absolute FLASHIEST and COOLEST” “The most feared pirate captain duo in the world!”). It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t…

In the middle of the night, Buggy smothers his face with a pillow to muffle his anguished screams of rage and frustration.

hey anon, real tears in my eyes. 🥺😭💔💕

#one piece #buggy the clown #captain fire bug #buggy au #shuggy #oz answers

[timotey]

Ficlet: Believe You Me

The Sign. Phaya/Tharn. Missing scene from ep 5. Unbeta’d.

Promise me you won't die on me...

(Pseudo-medicine. I use it. Hand-wave all inaccuracies. Artistic licence is my motto!)

***

“Can you get up?” Phaya asks quietly, squeezing Tharn’s shoulders gently.

“I think so, yeah,” Tharn replies and tries to get off the floor. He’s aching all over and the coldness of the concrete seeping into his bones really doesn’t help.

In the end, Phaya has to help him because his abdomen really hurts now, little tendrils of pain spreading out from the stab wound, forcing his muscles to seize. Tharn grits his teeth, because, damn, it hurts.

“Hey, hey, easy,” Phaya says anxiously when Tharn leans heavily against him. He pulls Tharn closer, letting him rest against his chest for a while, rubbing his arms and back.

“The guys are on the way,” Yai says as he steps closer, pocketing his cellphone. He stops and frowns a little when he sees them standing there like this, Phaya propping Tharn up, Tharn a little pale and with his eyes closed, breathing in and out, slowly, deeply. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Phaya looks over Tharn’s head at Yai. “He got stabbed,” he says.

Yai’s eyes widen. “Stabbed?!” he exclaims in dismay and reaches out to turn Tharn around and check for himself. He freezes though when Tharn hisses in pain.

“Easy there!” Phaya snaps at Yai, glaring, and pulls Tharn back into his arms, hand on the back of Tharn’s neck as Tharn swallows convulsively, eyes tightly shut, and continues breathing in and out through his nose.

“Sorry, sorry!” Yai apologizes, raising his hands as if in surrender. “Sorry, didn’t mean to!”

After a moment, Tharn lifts his head from Phaya’s shoulder and straightens up, and though he pushes away a little, he doesn't let go of Phaya’s vest, gripping it tightly with one hand. He looks at Yai. “It’s okay. It’s not…” He presses one hand to his stomach, feeling the rip in his vest under his fingers. “It’s really not that bad.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Phaya says, still a little anxious, a little shaken, but with one clear objective in his mind now which is letting him find his feet again: take care of Tharn. “I’m taking you to a hospital.”

Tharn looks up at him; his eyes are clear even if a little pinched around the corners with pain. “That’s not necessary.  It’s not even bleeding much, look.” He shows them his hand, devoid of any red stains.

Yai leans down a little to look at the hole punched through the vest, squinting a little. “Yeah,” he drawls when he straightens up again. “And next you’re going to tell us that it doesn’t even hurt, though you look ready to keel over. Brother, you are going to the hospital, Phaya is right.”

Phaya nods firmly and his grip on Tharn’s shoulders tightens. Tharn is obviously not getting out of this one.

Tharn sighs a little, closing his eyes for a moment. “How about a compromise?” he offers. “The infirmary at the headquarters. I’ll let them look me over and if they think I should go to the hospital, I will. But let’s keep that as a backup plan, alright? Going to the emergency room is a pain.” He really doesn’t feel like spending hours upon hours there, waiting for his turn. Especially when it really isn’t that bad. It just… hurts, is all.

Tharn can feel Phaya and Yai exchanging glances over his head as if he's not there. As if he got punched in the head instead of his stomach and somehow lost the capacity to decide for himself. It annoys Tharn a little. Even though he, well, he did kinda hit his head at one point or another, and pretty much every other part of his self, too, but… let’s not add fuel to the fire.

In the end, they agree to his plan despite their reservations. They’re worried - actually, Tharn can almost feel the waves of anxiety still rolling off Phaya - but they agree. Tharn’s relief is almost overwhelming. He’s tired, unusually so, and he doesn’t think he would have the strength to fight them on this if they put their foot down.

Phaya helps Tharn up the stairs with one hand around his shoulders, the other holding his arm, staring down at Tharn with such intensity as if Tharn could collapse on him and die any moment. Or maybe simply vanish into thin air. 

Yai stays behind to coordinate the proceedings at the crime scene, calling after them to let him know how it goes.

They make it out of the cellar and into the bright sunlight - and then Tharn can’t hold it in anymore. With a hand pressed against his lips, he mumbles, “I’m going to be sick.” 

The wave of nausea that overcomes Tharn is so strong and the muscles in his abdomen are suddenly cramping up so badly that he barely registers Phaya helping him to the side, towards a row of bushes where he can have some privacy and there he holds him up, rubbing his back, while Tharn throws up. Which makes his stomach hurts even more. He groans.

When Tharn’s done, shaky and sweaty and drained, he looks up at Phaya who pulls out a tissue and wipes Tharn's lips for him. Tharn wonders what he must look like. Because Phaya wears a distressed, unhappy expression on his face and he’s propping Tharn up altogether too gently for someone who just a few hours ago wanted to punch him. Unhappy Phaya makes for an unhappy Tharn.

That’s why Tharn tries to smile, despite aching all over, and pats Phaya’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to die on you.”

Tharn's flippant words make Phaya’s unhappy face even unhappier, though. His eyes look suspiciously shiny. “Tharn…” he breathes out.

Pulling himself up with Phaya’s help, Tharn tells him, “It’s just… he packed a helluva punch, is all. Made me feel queasy.”

Having been on the receiving end of many more of their culprit’s punches than Tharn, Phaya has to concede. “Yeah,” he says, leading Tharn towards the car. “Still, we should take a look at your wound. Maybe it’s worse than you think and you should be going to the hospital, after all.”

Leaning against the car door that Phaya opens, Tharn accepts the offered bottle of water and rinses his mouth, shaking his head a little. “I would rather not,” he says, resting his hand on his wound. “It still hasn’t bled through and I’m thinking that the vest is keeping pressure on the wound, you know? Better to keep it that way.”

Phaya drops his eyes to where Tharn’s hand is resting on the torn vest and reaches out, running his fingertips over the back of Tharn’s hand butterfly light. For a moment it seems that he’s going to argue but then he just nods and helps Tharn into the car. Phaya does it as gently as possible but it still hurts and Tharn has to breathe through it, slowly and deeply.

Phaya slides into the driver’s seat but instead of starting the car, he just sits there, gripping the steering wheel tightly, and stares straight ahead at the green wall of trees in front of them.

Tharn looks at him, turning his head slightly on the headrest. “Phaya?” he whispers quizzically.

“Do you promise?” Phaya asks hoarsely, swallowing hard.

Tharn furrows his brows a little. “Promise what?” He keeps his voice soft.

“That you won’t die on me,” Phaya says a little harshly as he turns towards Tharn with an intense look in his eyes. “Do you promise?”

Tharn stares at him, his heart breaking a little. Because he knows that no one can promise such a thing. He knows that, very well. And yet…

He reaches out to rest his hand on Phaya’s thigh and squeezes gently. “I promise,” he lies.

Phaya drops one hand from the steering wheel, turns Tharn’s hand around and laces their fingers together. And though he hears the lie in Tharn's words, he says, “I believe you.”

#the sign #the sign the series #my fics #my the sign fics #mé

[scrollll]

Lemme leave this here.

Nuth, nope.

I echo @ppeonppeonhan post, and don't trust Nuth AT ALL anymore. I was willing to trust him. I really was. And a small part of me still is.... But. There's something wrong.

Not only in his stories, but above all, in how he portrays Nant.

Let's look at the facts i gathered in between breaks and working hours:

Who all had flashbacks with Nant or contact with him?

Soong (when he raped and attacked Nant),

Teena (when he saved Nant from Soong),

Jump (got a bj from Nant, more on that later),

Prom (of course),

The baddie bunch (Zouey, Captain, Porsche, First)

and Nuth

Did I forget anyone? I don't think so.

So, because I am insufferable, let's go through these flashbacks and pay attention to how Nant is described.

Soong:

Nant was on drugs/alcohol,

they slept together (without consent)

aaaaaaand Nant stole Soong's drugs. Bad idea in general. (Side note, what's up with that? Was this an attempt by Nant to retrieve the discarded drugs?)

Welp, anyway, Soong got angry.

Nant was crying, he was panicked, he was scared. And here lies a nice underpoint:

! He didn't even try to fight Soong. He was freaking out, but not aggressive. He was fucking desperate !

Teena:

Held Nant in his arms to protect him from Soong.

Nant clung to him, still full of panic and fear.

! He tried to find protection with Teena instead of attacking or freaking out himself !

He clung to the first thing that promised safety, no matter how foolish it may have seemed at this moment (bc fr, if one guy is beating you up, there is no guarantee that his flatmate/friends are not the same brand of asshole)

Jump:

Encountered Nant in the same situation as Teena and Soong (he hold Soong back)

BUT then one more time where they had sex or at least oral sex since he commented on Nonts bj skills at the party as "Twins are just so fucking identical"

(side note: could this be the point he brought up with Porsche? About not wanting to get in anyone's sugar daddy's way?)

Okay, but to get things straight ('cause these guys ain't):

! Jump encountered Nont without flinching or faltering, suggesting that at least Nant didn't bite him in the dick ! (still, very little is known about the encounter of these two)

Prom:

Confirmed to Nont that Nant loved aftercare, so mostly the cuddling and hugging and talking afterwards.

He also told Nont that Nant never became violent or manipulative towards him.

! Further evidence for the statement is that Prom was very shocked when Nont took out the knife in their first scene. So SM contractually, injuries are also taboo. !

The baddie bunch:

They liked Nont.

They were worried about him, missed him. (Btw does Zouey just strike me as having a damn guilty conscience?)

Captain took advantage of Nant, yes, but none of them seem to have had an active fight.

! They were more shocked at Nant's hurtful behavior when Nont had acted him out. !

So. After this long text, a little brain training, what impression do we have of Nant?

=> He's solid as a soft-boiled spaghetti and seems to have the aggressiveness of a teddy bear.

Except with Nuth.

Only with Nuth does he seem to have been violent.

And that makes me wonder, is that true?

Is the scar really from Nant loosing himself and stabbing Nuth?

Or would it make more sense, if Nuth himself held the knife and confronted Nant about sleeping with other people, like in the dream frequence with Phop we saw already?

That Nant tried to avoid Nuth with the knife and ending up stabbing him on accident? And this ending in Nant apologizing in his "suicide"-video, because he felt guilty for it?

So yeah, lots of more questions than answers but still... Nuth you are yet to come clean my bro.

Edit:

Don't read this as excuse for abusive behavior, if Nant turns out to be an asshole... welp, gotta admit then that I was wrong XD

I just have very much space to think about Nuth and although he seemed like a red herring... whyyyyy the dog mask??? Where is the corpse??? Who stopped the video??? And why are you not talking Nuth???

(Can't get over him being the bad guy, the writer framed him too well for this XD)

#liar liar pants on fire #playboyy the series #playboyy #playboyy theories #nant #let me go insane for a bit #also be prepared for an honest fucking apology if Nuth really is a cool guy #and for an applause for the writers because oh lawd they had me fooled...

[s0ym1lk]

Y'all seemed to like my analysis of the horse scene in Captive Prince, so let's do another one. This time we're going to look at chapters one through three of King's Rising.

Note that Pacat leads with the battle in which Laurent and his forces are absent. This gives the reader the chance to doubt Laurent's intentions. Damen even gives voice to it: it would be clever for Laurent to bait his enemies into destroying themselves by promising aid and then leaving them to die. Only after this do we find out that Laurent's been kidnapped.

Thus, after the battle we get that guilty knowledge when the herald shows up, on a pure white horse with a beautiful steaming banner, to announce that Laurent has taken Fontaine and will be receiving Damen there. We know that Laurent actually wanted to be at the fight. What we don't know, now, is why Laurent is being such a little bitch about it to Damen and his forces. He makes Damen ride to him. He sends an insultingly clean herald. He puts up gleaming, neat rows of tents (the line here is killer: "Did you exert yourself at Charcy? I have been here examining my nails."). And then when Damen meets Laurent, Laurent doesn't offer any explanation whatsoever. Damen literally has to reinjure him before Laurent gives any hint that something happened, AND THEN HE STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN. At no point in the chapter does Laurent say, "oh yeah I got locked in a cell with Govart, and he dislocated my shoulder, tortured me for several hours, and stabbed me in the shoulder. I had to brain him with a chair and then blackmail Guion into giving me the fort." Why???

My theory: what happened is incredibly damning to Laurent's reputation with the Akielon forces, and Laurent has frankly no faith that things can be recovered. He makes Damen ride to him because strategically it's a sounder decision; if he rides to Damen, he's putting himself in danger. The showboating is a way of ensuring that Damen is not ambivalent or vague about his feelings when he finally meets Laurent. In addition, Laurent /knows/ Damen is temperamental. If he's going to think Laurent betrayed him, Laurent has better leverage of the situation bringing Damen's exhausted forces to his defensible doorstep and then goading Damen into a misstep. Laurent is controlling the situation in the assumption that it will go wrong.

Laurent is all in on the idea that Damen's going to believe the worst of him, which is why Laurent is described as "staring at him, his eyes oddly wide", after Damen shows he knows something else happened by reinjuring Laurent's shoulder. Laurent's been figured out, embarrassingly fast, in a way that he's suddenly not in control of.

What makes this next part so charged is not just the absolute banger of a twist finding out that Laurent has known all along who Damen is, but that Laurent is finally on the back foot and is seeking, desperately, to regain control. Laurent doesn't LIKE being known by Damen. He doesn't like the trust Damen is giving him. Look at what Laurent chooses to say about Damen's identity: 'I knew when you showed up a slave at my mercy. I knew when I almost had you killed.' Laurent brings up every BAD memory again. Laurent choose these things because promoting anger in Damen staves off that vulnerability. And Damen cuts right through it to: you knew when we went to bed? Damen is pivoting back to the good parts of their relationship.

Once again, Laurent tries to sully their relationship, to debase it in order to not show weakness. Yes, he knew when he let Damen fuck him. It was a calculated move so Damen would help him retake Charcy. It was something Laurent simply endured but did not want. Damen then calls bullshit.

I won't go through every example to the end of the chapter, but look at the different interpretations Laurent and Damen present. Laurent's always bends away towards violence, distance, hatred. Damen's bends towards vulnerability, trust, and love. Laurent is fucking SCARED of being vulnerable to Damen, and when he's backed into a corner like this, he throws out everything he can to sabotage their relationship. The only thing that allows Laurent to end the chapter with some success at sabotage is that until now, Damen and Laurent truly haven't been on equal ground. Laurent is right to say Damianos the king is not the same man to him as Damianos the slave was. Damen takes that challenge and says, then from here on out, you'll parley with me as a king. The rest of the book is spent supporting that relationship on equal ground, so this last hold out of Laurent's against vulnerability no longer has credibility.

What's interesting is how we can apply this back to the Charcy/Fortaine situation. I talked about why, strategically, it makes sense for Laurent to be an ass about not showing up to Charcy, and how that forces a real and possibly stupid reaction from Damen in the case that he doesn't believe Laurent. But it also reflects their characters. In coming to Fortaine and in trusting that Laurent had a reason, Damen bends towards vulnerability and trust. In goading Damen and his forces and in hiding what happened, Laurent bends away from it. He tries to provoke the worst outcome and justifies it through logic to prevent having to make himself vulnerable to trusting others. The fact that Damen continues to see through his ruses no matter how provocative Laurent tries to be is what eventually makes him give in.

#captive prince #captive prince spoilers #heavy spoilers this time all the way through the third book

[itsdappleagain]

It's time for the end of season 2- The Deep Dive Caper!

What an absolutely showstopping finale!! I'm so thrilled to liveblog it. This episode gets serious like no other episode really does before or since. Lets get started!

Late, as usual. Buy a lottery ticket the day I do one of these on time. Notes under the cut as always!

right off the bat this episode is pretty much unlike any other. they try to have a caper setup- the vile drive- but it's not long before we realize that EVERYTHING is gone. even in the last finale the sort of "caper" of the episode was rescuing devineaux. this episode is all about answers.

"all on my own. the only sure way i know." hrnnrgh carmen

their boat is being so nice and stationary in the middle of a raging storm and waves taller than they are

"MY FIST IS GOING TO MAKE YOUR GUTS EXPLODE" ivy never change

its ALLL GONE

rip vile island we hardly knew ye

the cs team is just showing off their background artists 😌

ah would you like some mashed shadowsan with your steak

maelstrom your plan sucked babygirl sorry. should have sic'd brunt on her on the train like a rottweiler

interesting plan though. if shadowsan really had killed dexter, what would carmen have done? beat him up? sent him to acme? just thrown him out? she promises to hunt him down if he runs but like what were you going to do after that? murder for a murder?

malestrom: maybe she'll show up in botswana ✨ carmen who's been out for the count for half a year and has no reason to have even shown up in botswana as early as she did:

the teddy bear <3

in love with cleo's boob straps. that safety harness does not even clip in the front its like if a backpack was securing you to a car

that explosion animation is so good though its so impactful

its a damn good thing devineaux showed up when he did he could have been blown to the gates of hell in one second flat and no one would have been any the wiser

chase drinks so much disrespect women juice the first two seasons that he blames julia for an impression of her that his own mind dreamed up i love him for that

angry carmen is so babygirl to me. go bestie show emotion. get so mad about that shit

mmm and theres the shot i used for our title card! and what a fantastic one it is. shadowsan's motif playing in the background as carmen pauses at the oni, but the show itself telling us that he is still on her side with that gigantic, massive symbol of him framing carmen in a circle of red. if you pay attention and learn the colors the team likes, you don't even have to worry about this ep its all cool

you know what the dominant color in this entire scene of carmen trying to find out the truth is, though? blue. even when she's in the server room or staring at shadowsan's oni, the water isnt tinted green like they easily could have made it. its. all. blue.

obsessed with how zack wakes up he's being exorcised and the demon was the peppers and onions

agree it would have been hilarious if devineaux finally gets rescued and it turns out to be a really, really pissed off carmen sandiego

roundabout has the air of a theater kid who always got the leads but had to act surprised about it

evil ihop

i love how confused roundy looks its so funny

devineaux stabbing himself and the scream makes me cry laughing every single time

devineaux really goes ↘️↗️↘️↘️↘️↘️↘️↘️↘️

i would watch a series about devineaux being left to fend for himself on the island and slowly losing his mind

his supervisor was so excited about firing him

okay here we go it all gets real now

carmens realization going from my dad was a cop -> my dad was literally the exact opposite of a cop and neither of those things being things she is happy about

i love the realization hitting her face (even if it was animated. a touch blandly)

shadowsan's face s just animated fantastically here. his eyebrows are up- he realizes carmen is there, maybe confused about why she isnt saying anything. then his eyebrows drop, his face falls ever so slightly. he knows the jig is up

also. yes. "your silence is like thunder" is just. ough its such a good line

he isn't even surprised by the question he knew it was coming eventually

"if you run, I will find you." its not a threat its a damn promise. for older viewers its easy to draw the connection between the famous i will find you and i will kill you. it doesnt have to be said.

mm and carmen rejecting the offer to sit and be comfortable around him. she just can't

even in the flashbacks your can see so much of carmen in him its so great. its dishonorable, and everything carmen stands against, but she is undeniably her father's daughter

the plot for this flashback is so sophisticated its so so good. they treat the audience really well about it

also young faculty designs <3

the red on the inside of dexter's jacket to symbolize his secret with carmen im sobbing

also the decision to make carmen have his eyes is. hrngh.

already been pointed out but the way the music softens when shadowsan says "you" HURTS

THAT BABY IS A SNITCH. carmen. snitchdiego

the heartbreak when present carmen speaks again gfgrgh

i like the new mask he hangs behind him before carmen confronts him, by the way. its green and white- the shadow of vile and his past looming over his shoulder, maybe- but also the mask of vile he had to put on to lie about what really happened to wolfe

BABY CARMEN CRYING AS DEXTER TRIES TO HIDE HER :(((

the dolls rdhg im not crying you are

anyone have any thoughts on a dexter voice claim btw?

also also i sprang this on rueitae already but "dexter" while referring to dexterity and his skill as a thief can also mean "the one who dyes" which. jesus. it refers to dying cloth but the double meaning is ouchie

he locks her in gay baby jail!!!

i gotta stop making jokes about the most serious part of the entire series sorry

there's a little bit of a pink panther hint to his theme as he sneaks out the window which is interesting

rue's also already covered it but what WAS this man's plan for just leaving baby carm in there. like shadowsan says desperation i guess

god young chief shooting and killing an unarmed dexter wolfe and presumably orphaning her is the twist. of a fucking lifetime

the despair in the music cue when it reveals it was only his car keys

the matryoshka dolls getting burned in that fire ahrhgfrdshgsghds

love that shadowsan not only sets the house on fire while he and a baby are still in it but gives said baby an object that just got set on fire

also vile protocol dictating that he should have just burned a baby alive?? what the fuck!

bellum's apathy, mael's mild interest/concern, and cleo's disgust towards baby carm shdfjads

little tiny baby carmen shunting her butt at cleo is hilarious

faculty: omg she's a real natural thief she stole that thing without anyone noticing baby carmen in broad daylight five seconds earlier:

btw bb carm is so cute she's so round

carmen finally just sliding to the floor under the weight of all of that information. now that she has at least the idea that shadowsan was not the one who murdered her father, even if she still needs proof

"why would you make me find out on my own?" is one of the most heartbreaking lines in here. she had to go through this realization almost completely alone. her trust in the man she was coming to see as a father was shattered and he could have just told her. he could have just told her

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shadowsan crying theyre so family

you can just hear the regret and fear and sadness in his voice paul nakauchi is literally so good

REAL CHIEF!

COMMANDER!!!! oh shittt i missed the one and only canon commander caturday rip...

ivy violently hitting the cash register is a mood

the little reveal even in the music as it pans to ivy in the starbucks uniform

chief nailed the good natured but a little exasperated "hmm" when dealing with people who have no idea what they are doing

ivys little look as she sees carmen walk in. the smile drop off her face as she walks away

carmen's theme ahrugdhjdsg the music in this show is so good

what is her hand doing

oh chief no honey

the deadpan "i wouldnt drink it"

i love the little nod/head bow thing of acknowledgement of carmen's efforts

the sinister music as carmen ever so casually pulls off her little trick is GREAT

i didnt know chief could open doors 🤨

congrats on being gay agent argent you did it again

player hack chief so bad the logo goes off of the screen

"somethings wrong" yeah no shit julia

chiefs oh shit face is so funny shes like aohhhhhhhhhhhh noooooooooooooooooo

little guy

im so mature

we love digging up graves

that dawning apprehension on carm's face as she realizes there's a chance she might be about to see the decayed corpse of her twenty-years-dead mom in there

carlotta being modelled after old carmen was a cool choice. lots of fan theories about old carm being her mom this day 🫡

"are you with me?" "to the end of the line." grgfhgjhsdhjsgds im shaking them violently in my teeth if i ever got a cs quote tattoo or something it would probably be that line

the only thing i dislike about this cliffhanger is that in s3 they kind of try to deliver on this big wide promise that this finale gave us and then give up until the last episode of the entire series. like. isk. i feel like they should have either gone harder on the carlotta mystery or left it alone although they did leave me the opportunity to write a 66 thousand word fic series on the concept so i guess i cant complain

half clean shaven half very unshaved chase is so funny its cursed. he shouldnt have no hair but he shouldnt have that much worst of both worlds

devineaux's theme mixing in with that iconic action/danger soundtrack as he grins devilishly is just fantastic shit

chief waiting for a response as chase just silently smirks into the mirror

anyway GOODNESS GRACIOUS i cannot believe we're already through season 2????? what???? tis the end of my favorite season :( but s3/4 are nothing to sneeze at, either!! im super excited to get into more. (plus tsonts? are we doing that?)

#cs weekly #csweekly #carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019

[bluesylveon2]

Kalim and 98??

I am so sorry for the wait! I have been so busy with my clinic rotation and writing other stuff but it is here! I hope that you enjoy it, anon :)

Prompt: 98.  I’ve been hired to kill you, but you don’t seem that concerned??? 

Note: Modern au, aged up characters, some fluff and angst. Akh means brother in Arabic (someone let me know if I used this right) and jallab is a type of middle eastern drink.

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: not beta read and possible OOC characters

Masterlist

"Is everything set?"

"Yeah. I will make sure to distract Jamil, Jade is ready as backup, and Floyd will be on the lookout. You focus on getting the work done."

"On it," Yuu replied, changing into more appropriate clothes. 

"Oh, and Yuu?" 

"Yes, Azul?'

"Good luck. You're going to need it."

---

Kalim ran as fast through the gigantic halls. According to his father, a new servant was coming in today who was Kalim's age. Kalim, being the kind person he was, wanted to show the new person around and potentially make a new friend. He was so excited that he forgot to even mention it to Jamil. Kalim had made it to the entrance, where he saw a girl staring at the house in awe. 

"Ah! Welcome to the Asim Palace! You must be the new maid! My name is Kalim Al Asim and you are?”

"Yuuka Crowley." She replied with a smile, "Thank you for welcoming me. Your house is so beautiful." 

Kalim smiled so brightly that it could rival the sun. "Thank you! The fun thing about this place is that it is not only a home but can be used for government functions, ceremonies, and more!"

Ah, that's right. That's one reason Yuu had to assassinate Kalim; because of how much power his family holds in the city. Yuu had heard about the Asim family before. They were known for building the Silk City economy and making background bribes for their heir, Kalim, to live luxuriously. Yuu scoffed at the thought. Kalim got everything at his beck and call, and what did she get? Fighting for her life to survive until the Headmaster, her boss took her in. That was where she met people like Azul and made a living killing the rich. Yuu knew this would be challenging, especially with the means they took to remove Jamil from the way. 

Suddenly, Yuu felt a tug on her arm, and she was being pulled in an unknown direction. 

"C'mon! Let me show you around the place! Let me show you the way around before you start working." Kalim's smile grew even more. Little did Yuu know that her heart skipped a beat at the sight.

---

Yuu patted down her dress as she trailed behind Kalim. The two have been up, down, and all around the Asim Palace, which started giving Yuu a headache. How someone could live in such a grand house was something Yuu would never know. The girl did not have time to ponder on the thought. She had a mission to finish. Her eyes wandered to the boy, blissfully unaware of what was happening as he rambled about the history behind the house. Yuu's skin brushed on the knife hidden inside of her sleeve. All she needed were a few seconds to pull it out and stab the heir for an instant kill. It was a shame, an innocent life like Kalim about to meet his fate when he had only shown her one-fourth of the house. 

Damn, rich people and their confusing palace-like homes. Yuu thought bitterly as she moved her arm to expose the knife. She just needed to get into position first and-

"THERE HE IS!"

"Wait-oof," Kalim exclaimed while falling as a pair of kids jumped on him. Yuu immediately jumped back and expected the scene. She thought it was so cute that she hid her laughter behind her hand. "What are you doing here?" Kalim laughed and gently pushed the kids off of him. 

One boy, who looked like a mini version of Kalim, pouted. "Akh! You promised that you were going to play with me today!"

Kalim opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by a little girl with the same red eyes. 

"No, he was supposed to play with me!" She replied, causing the other boy to glare at her.

Kalim scratched the back of his neck. "Omar. Aisha. I promise that I will play with you later. I am giving my friend, Yuu, a tour."

Two pairs of eyes turned to Yuu, and suddenly, she felt like she was being exposed. It was like their glares would reveal all of the hidden weapons under her dress. 

"Are you his girlfriend?" They both asked, causing Yuu and Kalim to blush.

"NO!"

"WE JUST MET!"

"But you're both red?" They tilted their heads cutely, almost causing Yuu to squeal and try to pinch their cheeks. 

Kalim somehow regained his senses and sighed. "Why don't you two stay in your rooms, and I will come by after I'm done, okay? We can play together with Yuu."

Both children pouted. "You promise?"

Kalim smiled and kneeled down. He extended a pinky out, "I promise." The children giggled and locked their pinkies with Kalim's. 

Yuu watched the interaction and smiled sadly. She only knew a little about her childhood besides training next to Azul and the Tweels daily. They were the closest she had as brothers, and they rarely played or acted like normal kids. Their childhood was taken away the moment they entered NRC. 

"Yuuka?"

Yuu jumped and looked at the smiling Kalim, who was now alone.

Seriously, that boy always had a smile. She had never seen him make another face the entire day she knew him. 

"Did you need something?"

Kalim grinned before grabbing Yuu's hand. "There's a place I want you to see. You're going to love it!"

---

The first thing Yuu noticed when she entered Asim Park was the large fountain with a peacock statue in the middle.

"Woah…" She said in awe and ran up to the crystal clear water. The water shined brightly like diamonds, and it looked very different from the ocean her best friends were fond of. She would gladly show them this fountain if this were a regular trip. She could even see Floyd jumping in for a swim.

"Beautiful, huh?" Kalim's voice was close now and had a hint of amusement. Yuu jumped and looked away; her face was dusted with red. 

"Yeah. It is gorgeous."

Kalim smiled and looked up at the large statue. "This whole fountain was inspired by the Princess of the Scalding Sands' fountain. Every hour, water shoots out so the peacock looks like it has feathers. In fact, it even glows with many colors at night."

"Maybe we could see it later tonight?" Yuu looked to Kalim. Internally, wanted to laugh at herself. There was no way she was going to see herself. 

Kalim turned to face Yuu. "You should! We can watch it together."

Yuu smiled brightly for once in her life and nodded. If only it were a perfect world…

"Some treats for you, Kalim." A new but recognizable voice entered as Jade (while wearing a disguise) set a tray with two glasses of ice-cold jallab down on the fountain's ledge. 

Kalim stared at the treats and laughed nervously. "Thank you, but I only take what Jamil makes and serves me. It is nothing personal."

Jade smiled his butler-like smile. "None taken. It was Jamil who wanted me to give these to you anyway, but he is too occupied at the moment too."

Kalim paused for a moment before replying. "Alright. I trust him." He grabbed a nearby cup and brought it up to his lips. Yuu felt sweat form as the liquid moved closer and closer. Her goal was getting closer and closer, yet she felt herself feel sad. The thought of seeing Kalim's bright personality go away did not sit right in Yuu's chest. The liquid was only a centimeter away from Kalim when he stopped. He threw the contents on the ground and looked at Yuu. Yuu's breath hitched when she saw the hint of disappointment in his eyes. "You know, this smells very familiar."

Yuu froze at Kalim's calm tone. She and Jade did not know what to do but maintained a calm facade. 

"Many people have been targeting me since I was young because I am the heir to the Al Asim name."

"Kalim, I-"

Kalim raised a hand to stop her. "You don't have to apologize. I knew something was up when I noticed Jamil not trying to find me and when this servant-" He pointed at Jade. "-even brought me two glasses of jallab. He claimed it was from Jamil, but I never told Jamil I would give the new servant a tour. Despite my suspicions, I still wanted to show you around the place because-" Kalim slowly placed his hand on top of Yuu's, holding it gently. Yuu did not move away but blushed instead. "I saw a light in you and wanted you to be my friend."

Yuu looked down at their hands and then at Kalim's garnet-red eyes. There was no hint of hate or anger in them. Instead, they were filled with happiness and something Yuu could not describe. It was an unfamiliar feeling. Maybe she had yet to experience it, or she just started feeling it after meeting Kalim. 

BANG

Yuu could not figure out the feeling because the door to Asim Park opened, and standing there was a young man with long black hair. Yuu recognized him from the debrief report; he was Jamil Viper, Kalim's closest retainer. 

"Get away from him!" Jamil yelled and quickly made his way to the two.

It felt like time slowed down for Yuu, and she was stuck. Jamil's appearance compromised the mission, and who knew where Azul was? Yet, Kalim's eyes were pleading for her to stay.

Who had the most priority? The mission of Kalim?

Yuu's eyes landed on Jade's heterochromatic ones, and he nodded like he knew what she needed to do. Yuu looked away to hide her watery eyes. She placed a hand inside her pocket and firmly grasped a round object. "I'm sorry, and thank you for everything, Kalim."

"WAIT!" Kalim yelled, but smoke filled his vision, causing the boy to close his eyes and cough on instinct. Kalim fell to the ground as multiple voices were yelling around him. 

"We need to go now!"

"What about Verde?"

"Worry about yourself first!"

"KALIM!"

He could hear Yuuka (if that was even her name), the suspicious servant, an unknown male voice, and Jamil happening simultaneously. His head hurt from the chaos around him, but his heart ached with despair. 

"Kalim! Are you okay?" Jamil's voice called out, now close by.

Kalim opened his eyes, and Jamil now stood where Yuuka(?) once was. The smoke and girl were gone, and Asim Park was quiet. Kalim's hand still tingled from her touch. Kalim felt tears in his eyes.

One of his newest friends was gone like she was never there in the first place. 

A/N: What did Azul do? Set out a lot of bugs for Jamil :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.

©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-23. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #twst x reader #kalim al asim x reader #kalim x reader #kalim x yuu #kalim al asim #thank you for the ask! #bluesylveon 500 follower event

[thepalaceofmelanie]

Martell Week- Day 3: Favorite moment.

Tag: @elvinaa @adriennegabriella @wingsoftheangels @morby @tashastrange89 @candycanes19

(A/N: The unnamed OC/ Reader!Stark is back again, cause we love to see it! Well, let’s hope that guy did get some medical attention. TW: Minor PTSD episode.)

Day 3: Favorite moment.

When Oberyn stabbed a mfer!

Song Inspired: “Brand New Numb” by: Motionless In White

I froze up hearing that damn song. “The rains of Castamere” always struck nightmares or daymares into me. Tears started to fall from my eyes as I remember that night. The night the Lannisters came for my Father, the night I became the Bloodwolf.

“Father…” My voice cracked.

Oberyn had enough already; his head turned the sound, looking from Olyver. Ellaria’s head popped up, knowing that Oberyn was going to probably kill someone. Oberyn exited the room. Ellaria and Olyvar not sure what to do at first; but they opted to check on me.

“Love, you need to come back to us. It’s okay, you’re safe.” Ellaria’s voice pleaded.

“My Lady, you need to stop Prince Oberyn.” Olyvar spoke up.

I, thankfully snapped out of it. I grabbed Ellaria’s hand and start to run after Oberyn, Olyaer following behind. I threw Ellaria at Oberyn and the two of us skid to a halt; one arm from each of us, trying to stop him.

“Come back to bed, Lover.” Ellaria spoke.

“My Sun, it’s okay. They’re not worth it!” I pleaded.

Oberyn brushed us away and the brothel workers ran for it; we all knew Oberyn’s reputation as the Red Viper after all. The two Lannister guardsmen watched Oberyn.

“Do you know why all the world hates a Lannister?”

He moved past us and the two Lannister guardsmen got up. Both Ellaria and I were really worried and Olyaer went to get help before this turned ugly. Oberyn made it to one of them.

“You think your gold and old lions, and your gold lions make you better than everyone else.”

The one man Oberyn was in front of only blinked.

“May I tell you a secret? You’re not the golden lion, you’re just a pink little man who’s far too slow on the draw.”

What the hell does that mean?! I look at Ellaria who was looking at the scene, my eyes go back to Oberyn and I felt my heart pounding hard. Ellaria’s hand pulled me over to her. Before the man could draw out his longsword, Oberyn stabbed him in the wrist; the man allotting a loud scream!

I couldn’t help but to laugh; in a way I took some pleasure and happiness; Ellaria looked shocked at me and how I was reacting. Well, they deserve it...after what the did to my family and Elia, I would love nothing more than to kill Tywin and Cersei. The other Lannister guardsman went to pull his sword out but hesitated to. I couldn’t help to laugh when the man screamed in agony.

“Long Sword is a bad option in close quarters. When your friend starts bleeding quite a lot, I’m afraid, so many veins in the wrist.-”

Oberyn’s face looked one of madness and I was enjoying it.

“-He’ll live if you get him help straight away… So decisions.”

If the other guard even moved; I’ll have him down on his back faster than light. Ellaria looked worried about me for a moment.

“Prince Oberyn, forgive the intrusion-” Tyrion Lannister started to say.

Oberyn pulled the dagger from the man’s wrist. The man screamed loudly and I laughed louder.

“Trouble…” He finished.

The two Lannister guardsmen ran off to get a healer.

“Apologies my loves.” Oberyn said.

Oberyn started to kiss Ellaria and I turned to see Tyrion standing there.

“Tyrion?” I asked.

He was shocked to see me. It had been a while since we last saw each other. I leaned down and hugged him, catching attention from Tyrion’s friend and my two lovers behind me.

“How are you?” He asked.

“I’m well, how is my Sister?” I asked.

“She’s safe for now, I promise.” Tyrion told me.

I nodded; I missed Sansa badly. Tyrion looked up at Oberyn and, I stand back over with the them. Tyrion’s expression changed to one of surprise.

“Them? Really?” Tyrion asked.

“It’s a long story, I’m married to Oberyn but I see Ellaria as my wife.” I admitted.

I feel them both take my hands in theirs. Ellaria is my equal, I’ve always saw as such and to hell with what others think. I felt her worry start to vanish, I’m glad. Poor woman looked like she was probably going to faint for a second. But it’s Ellaria Sand, one of the toughest women I know.

“Tell me, something.” I hear Tyrion asked.

“Yes?” I answered.

“That night, what happened to you?” Tyrion asked.

I froze again and tried to keep calm; I have to keep myself in check or a certain secret will be blown. I just shake my head. Oberyn pulled me into his arms.

“She hasn’t even told us yet.” Oberyn told the man.

Tyrion nodded.

“Understandable, I apologize. Prince Oberyn, we need to talk-.”

Tyrion looked at both me and Ellaria.

“Alone.”

“Fine.” I said.

I was just glad to get out of that scene; Ellaria and I go back into the room and I fell onto the bed. She joined me and I hold her. My body was shaking a bit from just the thought of that night. Ellaria kept her eyes on mine.

“Love, are you okay?” Her honey voice asked.

“I’ll be okay, with you two of course. I’m sorry Ellaria, I’m not ready to talk about that night. It was just...painful, okay, very painful!” I tried my best to keep calm.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, take your time. You know me and Oberyn are here for you.” Ellaria hushed me.

Her hand playing with my hair as Oberyn walked in. A look of hurt was on his face knowing that, I was in pain. A look knowing, that in the end, he might not be able to help. I give him a very weak but trying to be okay smile.

I just hope one day I can tell them.

#martell week #oberyn martell x reader x Ellaria Sand #The bi trio #The one where Oberyn stabbed a mfer #TW: the Stark has a minor PTSD episode

[rahonn]

Remember me (1/2)

Eustass Kid x GN!Reader (third person POV)

Warning! Heavy Angst / Graphic Description of Corpses / Medical Procedures / Hurt No Comfort / wound fetish / Blood Fetish / Injury Fetish / Blood and Gore / Murder / Blood / Violence / Sexual Violence / Domestic Violence / blood and guts and stuff / there's also a penis / Not Suitable/Safe For Work / Dead People / Corpses / Torture / Blood and Torture / Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

_____________________________________

Heavy footsteps echoed through empty, white hallway. Quick, hurried steps stopped as the man struggled to breathe, looking at huge metal door. Stomach content still burned his throat, he felt bile riding again, but forcefully pushed it down, swallowing hard. His reputation would be flushed down the drain if he dared to vomit here. Doing it near the scene of a crime wasn’t that big of a problem, he could easily explain it, but not here. Especially not when he was about to face his nemesis.

He put hand up, palm pressed against cold steel door. Without even knocking, he pushed it and took a step inside. Cold grey eyes looked up at him from darkness, shining slightly behind round glasses. Swallowing hard, he pushed his chest out. He was the one with sheriff’s title, not this wild thing hiding behind the desk, under long white coat, like a wolf in sheep’s skin. But even if he knew that, it took a lot of mental strength for him to just part his chapped lips. “We have another body. It’ll be here in two hours.” His voice unnecessarily loud made the thing frown. He waited for usual snarky remark about his incompetence, because he did fuck up catching the perp last time, but nothing came. The thing sighed, put its freakish looking, tattooed hands on the desk. Chair scraped painfully against cold concrete floor as the thing stood up. He felt shivers competing with cold sweat running down his back as the thing stretched a bit, cracking its joints and yawning.

“You have photos this time, right?” there it was, the tone he loathed. He always felt like a child talking with this freak of nature. Like he had to know that it would want to see photos of a crime scene. As if it couldn’t just go and work with its colleagues on the site.

“Yes, I mailed them to you” his voice got quieter as he noticed the thing moving towards him with unsettling smile, excited twinkle in its eyes. He remembered suddenly why exactly they didn’t want it to go into the field where dogs with cameras waited patiently for any crumb of sensation. And this deranged look on coroner’s face was exactly what they needed.

“Let me guess, you also called up Trafalgar, hm?”

He nodded, regretting deeply not sending any of newbies to deliver the news. The thing smiled even wider, two silver dots on either side of its mouth glinted in dim light and he shuddered again. Why did it have to come so close to him? He could almost hear all loose screws rattling around in its brain.

“Tell him to come here too. I’d love to catch up. We haven’t seen each other in years.”

He muttered something, he didn’t really remember what, anything to respond to it and he was already back in the hallway, speedwalking away from that damned place. Why? Why did it have to choose this particular town where he was sheriff? He didn’t notice his own legs working faster, his body feeling imminent disaster coming. As soon as he fell out through main entrance, cold January air hit him, millions of tiny needles stabbing his sweaty skin. Panting heavily, he wobbled down the path to his patrol car, but his stomach couldn’t handle all of the stress. He lost this battle too, muscles contracting violently to bend him down so he could vomit in the bushes with the force of thousand suns.

Trafalgar sighed, wanting nothing more than to just go back home. This wasn’t quit and easy job asshole of a sheriff promised, but once he got into the suit and actually saw the crime scene, he couldn’t refuse. He knew they had to act fast to not let clues get buried under fresh layer of snow. They didn’t really have a choice, it was either him or- Another heavy sigh escaped his lips. Warm, moist air clung on the inside of surgical mask.

“We’re done here!” he heard Penguin call somewhere behind him. With a grunt and audibly hearing his knees crack, he got up, plastic disposable suit rustling quietly. Last piece of material he could find in this damn snow laid safe in small string bag, packed away in much bigger, heavier evidence bag. If the snow was white, he wouldn’t have so much problems. Unfortunately, the ground was red all over.

He didn’t take the news good, Trafalgar really wanted to go back home with his husband. Instead, he marched down the hallway of partially closed hospital to meet his rival from college. His former best friend that introduced him to Bepo in the first place two years before disappearing from the face of this Earth. Now, after almost ten years after they graduated, he’d see human he once knew. Human that everyone referred to by ‘it’, never by name. At first it infuriated him. How dare they all reduce his best friend to an object? But they explained that no, god no, they weren’t treating it like an object.

“It’s a monster” they whispered, looking around as if mere mentioning it would spawn it into existence.

Law saw dim light seeping from under solid metal door and stopped. Something was not right. Body should be in there, already on the table, ready to be analyzed for any possible trace of perpetrator’s DNA. Lights should be turned on to full brightness.

As soon as he pushed the door, the confusion only grew. Body indeed laid on the table. Doctor indeed worked on it. But the singular source of light, lamp similar what you’d find in dentist office, was positioned to shine only on one spot where coroner worked, meticulously taking sample after sample. “Hey” he spoke up, ready for bubbly personality to take over, to feel breath being forced out of his lungs by impact when he’d inevitably would be crushed in a hug. But doctor only straightened back and looked at him. Due to mask covering lower half of the face, he couldn’t see if there was any smile at all. Because the eyes definitely weren’t smiling.

“Hi, Law. It’s good to see you.”

The voice, cold and emotionless, shook him to his core. Who was that? The name was the same, but stories and now mannerisms didn’t match what he remembered.

How much could one person change in ten years?

“Cut the bullshit. What happened for you to suddenly want to meet me?” Trafalgar let the burning question escape him finally. He pondered for so many years why there was no contact, why only the person right in front of him didn’t attend his wedding or even reach out to congratulate him? This wasn’t the same love-obsessed idiot who wanted to be his best mate whenever he decided to marry.

Unknown stepped away from the table, leaving body alone in circle of light, and pointed at the counter to the right. Law looked. Bunch of folded cloth laid along there along with box of gloves exactly in his size. He wanted to protest, demand answers. Yet he put on clean lab coat along with two pairs of nitril gloves and stepped to the table. Two top students of their year entered circle of light, this time on opposite sides of the table, feeling so unfamiliar yet right in that moment.

“Look here” quiet voice sounded like a gunshot in silent, cold room as long gloved finger pointed to the mess of guts on the table. Law did look and at first he remembered how snow looked at the scene of a crime – bloody patch against whiteness of the ground. Now red open stomach contrasted similarly to blueish white skin of the deceased. Stomach’s skin hanged on both sides of the body, torn to shreds right in the middle. It was miracle any of the guts were intact. But where finger pointed there was a hole in small intestine. Trafalgar bent down to see better. Hole looked as if it was cut. “Now, look here” other gloved hand moved source of light to shine on massacred face. Nose was broken in such a way it laid sideways under left eye. Or lack of left eye. Blood, already dry, was flaking off the skin, uncovering large, purple bruises. Upper lip, split in two, looked like that of a cat and showed lack of few teeth and few more broken. But once again, gloved finger pointed at the eye socket where eye should be, but now resided white and red mess. “Here” it moved to the neck, wound only a couple inches wide right under the chin. Injury created another way into the mouth from under the tongue, ripping it slightly from the base. “And here” light moved again, to the chest, where two ribs were clearly broken by unknown object being forced between them, ripping muscles.

Trafalgar saw a lot in those ten years, at first working as a surgeon, then as a coroner. But whenever he saw body torn to shreds like this one, people assumed it was a bear or mountain lion. This time it couldn’t possibly be the explanation. At first, he had his doubts about what officers were muttering between themselves about it being work of a human. Now, under this light with gloved finger of brilliant coroner pointing out injuries that couldn’t be inflicted by wildlife without completely destroying the body, he was convinced.

“It’s fifth body like this in a span of five years. Every year it shows up on the same date around this town, never in the same place twice” voice told him what he already knew in the same emotionless tone. It didn’t match what sheriff told him – this supposed monster didn’t enjoy the case in a way they all thought. “And I have an idea who and why.”

Law looked up at his once best friend, for the first time this close, and he froze. There was no light in those eyes, as if life got sucked straight out of them. There was something else that bothered him. Scar right above left eye went through an eyebrow in clean, straight line just to suddenly turn ninety degrees and as a jagged mess end in the middle of the forehead. Injury had to bleed a lot, hurt too.

When their eyes met again, he knew whatever information and speculations were cooking up in that brain would turn his world upside down.

“Who? Who could do something like this?” Trafalgar asked, feeling like he should just turn around, leave and never come back, forget he ever knew whoever this person turned into.

“Question should be – why did I point out those three specific injuries” coroner clicked tongue against teeth and sighed. “Think, Law, and look closer. What do you see here?”

Trafalgar gritted his teeth. What kind of game was it? “Can’t you just tell me? Do you have to turn this in some kind of gruesome charades?”

But the finger just pointed at the injuries. “Look closer. If I tell you what I know, you wouldn’t believe me. No one would.”

That’s why he was called here. All anger, disappointment, resentment, sadness. All of it evaporated, leaving behind only cold, empty realization – once this was over, he wouldn’t be the same man that walked into this hospital.

He leaned in again, inspecting wounds with ridiculous precision. In the meantime, other doctor continued working where the light pointed, not even uttering one word. Law looked into bloody, meaty mess. Body was already cold, muscles tightened long ago in rigor mortis and it’d be another two to three days for it to pass. But as Law looked at all the blood, torn skin and muscles, organs ripped out of the abdominal cavity that his crew had to gather directly from snowy ground, he still didn’t know what was he supposed to find out.

“Forceps” he instinctively said reaching across the table as if he was in his own autopsy room. Before he could add something however, instrument landed on his outstretched palm as if the supposed monster anticipated this demand. Law had to fight years of nostalgia building up, push memories down to focus. This wasn’t the time nor the place to be reminiscing about the past and all those years lost forever. He pulled the light towards abdominal cavity and put tip of forceps into small hole in the intestine. Something about that hole was weird. Sure, it was definitely cut out with a pair of scissors or something similar, but something else bothered him. Why did it look like the wound was stretched? “Do you have a flashlight or something?” he asked and once again, whatever he needed appeared quickly right in his hand. Armed with precise lighting, he leaned in even more. He stretched the hole a bit, trying to look how big of an object had to be to cause intestine to become so loose around the wound. It had to be more than two inches in diameter at least. As he moved intestine around a bit, he noticed something shiny covering it from the inside in one particular place. Just as he was about to ask about swab to take a sample, gloved hand appeared in front of his face with test tube already labeled. Squinting hard and turning his head to the side, he cursed at almost indecipherable writing. Only thing he knew for sure was first letter – S.

Brain connected the dots and before he could even realize it, his body moved with new source of light to look at the eye socket. White and red. Red was obviously blood.

“No” he muttered, shining light into the mouth through small opening where teeth were supposed to be. “God, no.” He moved one last time to take a closer look at the hole between ribs. More than two inches in diameter. Again. Circular. Again.

“Unfortunately, yes” the voice finally spoke up and Law just looked at whatever was left of his best friend. Doctor took off the mask, revealing another nasty scar going from right under right eye, through upper lip, making half of it permanent scar and ending in the middle of left side of the jaw. “And I have an idea who might be behind it.” Doctor lifted up head. Another scar. Injury would create another way into the mouth from under the tongue. Lab coat got unbuttoned with fingers too steady for this type of revelations. Left hand pushed coat to the side so the right hand could lift the shirt up.

Trafalgar saw many injuries throughout his career as medical practitioner, but he never saw ones with this context, because the scars matched perfectly with the body laid out on the table. Not only that, there were far more scar tissue than he anticipated after seeing what the face looked like.

His once best friend lowered their shirt, pointing to the tube. “It is exactly what you think it is. And he did that because I left him exactly five years ago.”

Second chapter:

#one piece #op #eustass kid #one piece eustass kid #eustass kidd #eustass kid fanfiction #op eustass kid #fanfiction #eustass kid x reader #eustass x reader #I had so much fun writing this omg

[krikeymate]

For the scene between Tara being thrown over the sofa by amber and Tara shooting amber I’ve always thought that Gale and Sidney would go to help Tara after the amber BBQ. Like Tara took some pretty hard hits to the head, I doubt she would’ve gotten up completely alone without Sidney and Gale going to help her, helping her on the sofa, checking her over for injuries and giving her the gun to protect her self. Gale and Sidney hear stabbing and struggling in the hall, they give Tara her crutches promising they’ll be back for her and making sure she protects herself and STAYS STILL “we have no idea how serious this bang ti the head could be”. Sidney and Gale leave and Tara knows she should stay put but upon hearing the gunshots Tara panics, painstaking dragging her herself over to the hall with the gun in one hand and a crutch in the other, when Tara sees amber running to Sam she loses all restraint and composure, pulling the gun out on Amber and shooting before she can even think. It all hits her at once, the shock, the pain of her broken leg , the thumping and searing in her head as everything becomes static noise and blinding light until she finally regains awareness as Sam’s arms hold her and she knows she’s safe and just collapses in Sam’s arms.

See now, I have no concept of the layout of that damn house. I wish movies would release layouts of the locations they use. For fun. (Please, I'm begging someone, give me the layout of that house, I'm terrible with conceptualizing spaces).

Here's the one thing I know for certain: Amber's bedroom is downstairs. Here's something I think: the kitchen is directly right off the front door.

So. Here's a problem. The room Tara attacks Amber in and gets thrown over the sofa in is the same one Mindy gets attacked and Liv gets shot in (and both of their bodies are missing, Liv confirmed alive when /jk). But that room is attached to the kitchen. So how the fuck does that work? The people in the kitchen should be able to see Tara in the room. Amber would have to have walked right past her in there, or Tara somehow managed to sneak past Amber walking out of that room and into the room she ambushes her in, but that still doesn't change the fact she would be visible from the kitchen. Richie even starts to head through to that room when he hears fighting. It's the room Amber comes from when she throws Tara over the sofa.

It's really confusing. The whole scene is treated like they're not conjoining rooms that you can literally see into. You can see the sofa from the doorway.

Anyway, I'm just imagining them poking their head into the room and going "you alright kid?" and Tara, lying on the floor face down, giving them a thumbs up. (Tara had to lie there and listen to Amber being burned alive. That's fun to think about.)

Also! The gun Tara uses is the one Richie had, it gets flung down the hallway a bit. You can see it when Sam straddles him and starts stabbing. Although how the fuck Tara bends down to pick it up is a miracle. Nobody in that house can be bending down, they all have abdomen wounds.

#/mp #ask box #ethan-nestor-owns-my-heart #Scream #Scream 5 #Tara Carpenter

[cometcon]

I know this is generally supposed to be a Transformers focused blog, but I've been a little obsessed with Helluva Boss characters lately, and pre-'Western Energy' Striker in particular. (Ed Bosco did a great job picking up the role after they couldn't get Norman Reedus again, but I still much prefer sinister seductive Striker with Reedus' awesome performance voicing him. And while I'm sure the writers had their reasons for where they want to take the character, I'm much more of a slut for the competent, non-undermined villains lol).

I recently saw someone (in a YouTube comment somewhere I think) mention offhand how it seemed like Striker was trying to frame Moxxie rather than outright kill him in Harvest Moon and I think that person was right in their general point of 'strangling is an odd way to go about it when he could have just stabbed him to death or snapped his neck and been done with it.' I agree that was definitely interesting but there's actually more to support this argument and speculate further, I reckon.

(It's a long waffle so I've put it below a read more line.)

Hopefully they'll be added soon but atm there aren't proper subtitles* for the episode so I can't easily screengrab the lines, but basically Moxxie has this adorable nerd-out about angelic weapons, so Millie's family knows from that point on that he knows a lot about them.

Blitz takes an instant shine to Striker (I went brrrr on that during the conversation too but I'll save that for another time lol) and it can be assumed during all of that juicy but unfortunately offscreen interaction when he was inviting Striker to I.M.P that Blitz would have told him more about his current employees, with or without prompting, since he thought Striker was going to join and Blitz would be thinking to show off his employees as a positive draw because he doesn't know at this point that Striker is a supremacist asshole. ie: He probably would have said Millie is a vicious badass and Moxxie the weapons specialist and it isn't much of a stretch to assume he probably would have mentioned the little angelic weapons nerd-out Moxxie had before Striker got there as part of talking about how much Moxxie knows about his job. And then it doesn't take much observation to see Millie's parents love, trust and respect their daughter and think very lowly of Moxxie (I'm going somewhere with this, I promise lol).

The biggest factor for me though is exactly how the scene where Moxxie finds the gun is set up.

First of all, the gun case is in full view on Striker's bed, open, and glowing magenta light so bright it easily leaks out beneath the door. And while again, the auto-gen subtitles take a second to cover the line properly, Moxxie says "Well that's troubling" before he even touches the knob, indicating he already strongly suspects what that glow is being made by before he even opens the door, which is what draws him to open it in the first place.

And while I know there's clearly a whole dramatic appearance timing thing going on because animation, there still has to be some level of believability for Striker to suddenly be there, meaning he literally had to be lying in wait nearby to appear that damn quickly from the moment Moxxie starts entering his room to the rapid pan 'empty door space/boom Striker's there now' shot we get.

And he's not at all fazed by Moxxie's discovery. Unlike when Blitz barges in unexpectedly and catches him off-guard later (I'll explain my reasoning for that in a second) he's completely ready for this. He's not bothered in the slightest. Almost like he planned it.

How perfect would it be to frame Moxxie, an imp already looked down on by the townsfolk here as essentially an annoying city kid who annoyed Millie's parents further by showing off his angelic weapon knowledge, for the murder of a Goetian Prince via blessing-tipped rifle?

And then of course there's that original point the YouTube commenter made that it would have been even easier for Striker to off Moxxie in pretty much any other way besides strangling if he needed to silence him quickly, and the second time he catches him makes it look even more like he might be trying to make him lose consciousness rather than kill him (fun fact: it's actually a lot harder to knock people out with a whack on the head than they make it look in the movies and Striker is also clearly intending this as a power trip for himself as well. Getting to overpower Moxxie helps feed his whole 'stronger superior imp' bullshit that is essential to his character and which he's been lording over Moxxie the whole episode with Millie's family at his back. You could argue that's also a reason to use it as his killing method but there's still that little thing of Moxxie having shown off his angelic weapons knowledge and not being popular with the Wrath crowd and using the gun to trap him in the first place.)

Unfortunately, Moxxie manages to do something unplanned in smashing the vase, alerting Millie to the situation. But Millie was not in Striker's game plan. Easy to take out? Apparently. Easy to frame? FUCK. NO. XD

Millie is her family's darling daughter, and while Striker has clearly developed a decent rapport already with the family (presumably to get the lay of the land and establish some support from the family for himself beforehand to help cover his ass during an inevitable investigation, before Moxxie turns up and gives him even better cover options), there's no way they would choose to believe him over their own very much beloved family member, no matter how good a rapport he's established over however many days or possibly even weeks he's been there.

So now he has a problem. He's not only lost the option of framing Moxxie, he has to somehow keep Millie - someone her family will instantly believe - from dobbing him in. Sure, he could kill them both and just go back to Plan A, but as he points out himself, he would have to deal with cleaning up after it well enough to avoid shit for it and cover himself for Stolas' murder. Also he has multiple stab wounds to potentially have to hide or explain. That's a lot of shit to deal with without help... Which is where the line "there's more leverage with your Rodeo clown of a boss if I don't" becomes relevant.

He's switched tactics. Plan A was replaced with a better Plan B, which got destroyed by Millie turning up. Plan C now involves using Blitz by threatening to kill the M&Ms if Blitz doesn't cooperate in helping him cover up Stolas' murder. But he also has one more card in his back pocket which he's created over the time he's observed how Stolas treats Blitz plus his own interactions with Blitz where Blitz clearly is already at least somewhat into Striker (I'll analyse that another time. I've run out of Tumblr pic limit unfortunately).

So now I'm up to how Blitz definitely wasn't expected during the assassination attempt. We can tell by the expressions we see but Blitz can't:

And then Striker clearly changes tack again.

He's actually caught off-guard here and is thinking on the fly, though with how quickly he does switch into confidence and calm again I don't think the card he plays was entirely improvised; it's a back pocket card he had ready in case.

Time for 'Plan D: Operation Seduce Blitz/Point Out How Much Your Life And Transactional Relationship With A Royal Sucks And Wouldn't It Be So Much Better If You Just Teemed Up With Me, The Guy You Like Who Is Oh So Relatable, Hot And Really Cool Actually Don't You Think?'

He clearly believes he can get through to Blitz after their time bonding over however long they've all been there (I'm assuming it was also at least overnight since they were taking the hog for dinner and the Pain Games look to be like an all-day kind of event that started the next day but that's definitely an assumption idk how time works in Hell XD ). And with that lighting and frame change

it definitely looks like he might have been at least for a few seconds, before Moxxie comes in and Blitz apparently regains his senses and remembers they're trying to stop Striker (Now it's Blitz's turn to seem like he was expecting Moxxie. I'm assuming Moxxie found him first and they went to stop Striker together with Blitz as bait, considering it would be really fucking stupid for Moxxie to try to take on Striker alone after what happened last time, and it would be really weird for Blitz to randomly go into the house and into what I'm assuming is Millie's parents' bedroom in order to just coincidentally find him.) So unfortunately for Striker, while he might have once been able to manipulate Blitz at some point prior to the whole M&M problem and Moxxie telling Blitz what was really happening, Blitz already knowing what he did to the M&Ms and his plan to use them against Blitz pretty much ruined that card's potency, which is why the small sway didn't last long even with all of Striker's time spent getting Blitz to bond with him and trust him. Again, older pre-established ties will always win out no matter how good a manipulator the antag is.

So yeah, that's why I think the whole thing was planned pretty early on, Moxxie finding the gun on the bed was a carefully laid trap to frame him all along, and my thoughts on what was likely going on in all the off-screen things we didn't get to see and have to put together ourselves.

(I don't watch the livestreams and haven't seen this covered anywhere else outside of the short offfhand knocking Moxxie out to frame him comment, so if this isn't remotely new, well it is to me and I had so much fun nutting it out. XD )

*Thankfully the auto-generated subtitles are better in this episode than the previous ones, but there are still many lines completely missing my friend had to help me decipher, and the previous episodes are pretty much impossible for me to watch properly because way too much shit is missing or mistranslated to the point it's an incredible drag even with help. Always put proper subtitles on your videos please, especially if your videos are animations/complex stories with necessary dialogue. The auto-generated ones are not always as helpful as you think they are and even the better ones still don't always pop up for lines and are far more exhausting to keep up with than proper ones even if they are mostly accurate. Please try watching your videos with the sound off and the auto-gen on a few times to get some idea of what it actually feels like - remembering also that you know what's happening as the creator while we don't - before you decide that's good enough for people who need them. It really isn't and I need my friend's help to understand what's going on in many parts of the first season before they put proper subtitles on the very last ep and then Season 2. It's exhausting. On the plus side I got to fully appreciate the second season entirely on my own without help and it was fucking EPIC getting to just watch and enjoy without having to do mental gymnastics keeping up with and guessing or having to ask my friend what was said because the fucking auto-gen flaked out for the umpteenth time.

#striker #striker helluva boss #helluva boss #striker x blitzo #helluva boss blitz #moxxie #helluva boss millie #blitz #blitzo #blitzø #harvest moon #helluva boss harvest moon #m&m #helluva boss m&m #ive been going brrrr on this episode and these characters for a couple of weeks now lol #not transformers

[othunderous]

welcome to my ted talk about the damn scene

thanos made a show of killing loki. he could have made it quick and simple, nothing personal-- but he didn't. he made it personal. he looks very smug while he's killing loki, and looks at thor like he wants him to know he's enjoying it, and-- as thor could never hide the pain of that moment-- wants him to know he'll get a kick out of any reaction.

this is also how i know thanos acting like his mission is genuinely just for the betterment of the universe, no hard feelings, is a bunch of bullshit. (confirmed by the fact he says he'll enjoy it in endgame you big bald loser)

anyway, also important to note he kills heimdall by stabbing him through the heart. cuz we all know the first half of thor's detrimental decision at the end of the movie is aiming for thanos' heart. aiming for the head was the smart, obvious choice. there was way too much at stake to even consider anything else. but thanos made it personal. thor didn't want it over in a split second. he wanted to make a show of it, make thanos feel it, just like he'd done to him. he wanted thanos to feel every second of it. he wanted to savor killing him.

which isn't like thor at all. and i think even in the moment he knows that, but for 2 movies straight he's been nothing but traumatized. too much shit to even list iykyk but also, might i add, we don't even know how bad the fight with thanos was. we don't see it. it's bad enough that thor is just laying there bleeding. thor, who never stops fighting unless he's on the brink of death. so i think it's understandable that he's a little unlike himself. but anyway, he doesn't particularly care that revenge is rotting his brain because what else does he have left at that point? of course he clings to it. but as all revenge stories go, it doesn't make him feel better. at all. he thinks he'll enjoy killing thanos, and sure, part of him does, but look at his face here.

he's getting what he wants, one of the only things he's thought about since thanos attacked the ship. he's taking his time-- you see how slowly he's pushing the axe in. and he's watching, making sure he remembers it, but he doesn't look satisfied. he looks furious, sure, but he also looks emotional. he almost looks like he's on the verge of tears. his chin literally quivers. having killed thanos here would have been nice, and it would have felt good for maybe a few minutes. but then what? i think, even in this moment, he's recognizing that once thanos is dead. . . his people aren't coming back, his best friend isn't coming back, his brother isn't coming back. (edit: i also think he may be staring hardcore at thanos, but he is seeing the asgardians & heimdall & loki) it can't be undone and he will still have to sit with that. but enacting revenge is the one thing he has and he made a promise, so he's gonna fulfill it.

except that he doesn't. in choosing the objectively selfish method (and though it's absolutely justified, it is at its core still selfish), he gives thanos enough time to do the very thing people died trying to prevent. so not only does he lose his one very flimsy attempt at satisfaction, he's personally doomed half the universe, and he went to a very deep dark place + his best friend & brother died for basically nothing. all the anger and the vengeance was for nothing.

the devastation of the snap alone is unimaginable but it follows so much. and you know what! anyone, i mean anyone could have become a villain after this and it would be so understandable. if the fates are hellbent on ruining your life and laughing in your face about it, why not just be evil. but he stays good and that is everything 2 me. he is still severely traumatized and it annoys me every day that the movies either don't acknowledge it or treat it as a joke. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

#people say it was a really stupid thing to do #and i get that. but also #i can't say i would've done it differently! oop #𝙜𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧. study #girl i'd become an alcoholic too #no i wouldnt i'd *** #the fact he kept breathing is a testament to his strength #im yapping no one cares but i have many feelings about thor #choking tw

[fallrimxreader]

How would companions react to John Wick as SS?

(Warning! Mentions/scenes of extreme violence because it's John Wick.)

Cait: She's got the biggest crush almost immediately after meeting John. He's handsome so that's the first tick on the list of good qualities. He's also kind and considerate.

One day they get into a fight with some raiders and John takes them out bare handed, using his suit jacket to confuse the raiders and obscure their vision as he punches them. He then puts his jacket back on like it's not covered in blood. Cait's heart flutters like mad.

"Damn darlin'. You really know how to show a girl a good time." She asks him to teach her how to fight as good as him, since she usually just uses a gun. He's happy to show her and together they become and unstoppable, deadly team.

Curie: She enjoyed how kindly he spoke to her and how he was happy to help. She found him very dashing and such a delightful person. Then they get into their first fight. Ghouls start to attack them, so John grabs a steel bar from the road and proceeds to beat them with it. With the final ghoul he sticks the bar through the ghouls chest and sticks into into the wall. John turns around the find Curie covering her eyes.

"My apologies, that was just a bit much for me monsieur. I never thought I'd see such things outside." Curie never experienced much violence in her vault. It takes some time for her to get use to more physical violence. For a while John just uses guns to attack so that Curie is more at ease and doesn't have to witness anything too bad. She is grateful for how kind John is, so decides to stick by him. For his personality she can get used to his extreme fighting techniques.

Codsworth: He finds John very polite and a pleasure to work with. So it was a complete surprise to see him take out enemies with such violence. How could someone so nice be so deadly?

"Could you perhaps tone down the violence Sir? I'm glad you're getting things done, but it is starting to upset my circuitry a little." Codsworth then makes an obvious gag sound. John finds this entertaining, he agrees and tones down the violence to just guns. He'll use knives if an enemy gets a bit too close though.

Dogmeat: John Wick gives the best belly rubs, so this makes Dogmeat very happy. He's a good leader and protects Dogmeat so he will follow John to the end of the world.

Danse: When he first met John he wasn't expecting much. John was soft spoken, and gentle. But Danse tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and tagged along for a mission. Then Danse watched John use one axe to take out a tower of super mutants. Danse is just in complete awe.

"My goodness soldier. What kind of training have you had?" Danse enjoys fighting alongside John because he is efficient, and only uses extreme force when necessary. He also asks John for some shooting lessons. John is a master of headshots and Danse thinks he could learn some things from John.

Deacon: John was able to spot Deacon immediately when he started to follow him. None of Deacons disguises work on John. Deacon was going to wait a little longer before taking John to the Railroad, but he's impressed that John recognized him so took him sooner than planned. Deacon decides to tag along after hearing some rumors that John was a machine in the battle field. Finally he gets to see the rumors were right. John takes out a pack of raiders with a brick attached to a rope, and Deacon just watches on the sidelines.

"I'm not sure if I should kiss your ass because I respect you or because you terrify me. Maybe a bit of both." John laughs and pats Deacons shoulder. Deacon makes a promise to never get on Johns bad side.

Hancock: John Wick enters Goodneighbour, and before Hancock can get a chance to stab the guy that's being a nuisance, John puts the guy into a choke hold and puts him to sleep. Hancock is seriously impressed and a little scared.

"Man, you just gave yourself one hell of a first impression. I think we are going to get along just fine." Hancock likes John, he's a good guy. A little violent but that never stopped Hancock. He likes joining him on quests and just admiring the way John Wick fights. Hancock starts to make a list of all the different ways John can kill a guy.

MacCready: John Wick entered the back room of The Third Rail and watched two goonheads threaten MacCready. John listened to MacCready's story and offered to help him take out the people who were bothering him. Together they make their way to the Gunners hide out.

"Wait here." John said. MacCready was confused but did as he was told.

John then proceeded to take out the entire gang of Gunners, single handedly, using a mixture of guns and throwing knives. When he returned MacCready was dumbstruck, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"I mean you didn't have to go that hard but I appreciate it nonetheless." No one has ever taken out a gang for MacCready before. From that point on he is super loyal to John. He also really enjoys how soft spoken John is, they get along quite well.

Piper: "Well look at you Mr. Dapper." She comments seeing him for the first time outside Diamond city. She thinks he's too nice and quiet and is definitely going to get crushed by this dangerous world. So she offers to tag along with him. Then they get into a fight and she watches John take out some ghouls using his belt. Piper is shocked, and reminds herself to never judge by appearances again. If John does something a little too violent for her she'll turn away. But otherwise she is fine tagging along. It's the commonwealth she's seen some worse things.

Preston: He was happy to accept help from anyone, even this new guy coming along in a nice suit. After John helped out a bunch of settlements Preston decided he wanted to tag along with him. They get into a fight with some raiders and start a gun fight as normal. Then one raider gets too close, John breaks the raiders arm, steals his knife and throws it into another raiders eye. Preston has to try very hard not to throw up. After that Preston doesn't follow John anymore.

Valentine: Nick was pleased to be rescued. He admired his savior in their nice, though a little bloodied, suit. The pair make their way through the goons in the tunnels and finally get face to face with Skinny Malone. John is more of a quiet guy so Nick does most the talking. When Skinny Malone makes the orders to shoot John is already ahead. He takes out Darla and the goons in the back with his gun. With only Skinny left he finds he's out of ammo. John tackles Skinny to the ground and with ease and hits his head to the floor.

"That's a bit much don't you think?" Nick comments while grimacing, he knows violence is often necessary to survive in this world. But he doesn't think it needs to be so severe. Nick let's John know he isn't keen on the extreme methods he takes, which John takes into consideration. John doesn't really want to fight and only does it to survive, so he does tone down and tries to only focus on using close combat in really desperate times. Nick appreciates this.

Strong: He likes John a lot. Any time John takes out a raider in a particularly violent way Strong applauds him.

"Human fight good. Human would make good super mutant." Strong said, giving John the best compliment Strong could think of.

X6-88: He is incredibly happy that he gets to work with John. John Wick is smart, thorough, and gets the job done efficiently. Everything X6 could possibly want in a leader. The way John can take out a whole group of raiders with one pistol, all headshots. Well X6 is probably his biggest fan. He likes that John is very no nonsense, he wants to know what the job is so he can get it done and move to the next one. This is the way X6-88 likes to work and the fact that John is the same makes X6 happy.

#John Wick #fallout 4 #ask #mentions of violence #cait #curie #codsworth #danse #deacon #dogmeat #hancock #maccready #piper #preston #valentine #strong #x6-88

[starlightshadowsworld]

Danganronpa 3 Future Arc episode 8

Thonks.

Oh shit time rewind.

So we're back in the past seeing former teachers fight the Remnants.

Cool.

I guess this is the recruiter guys backstory? Koichi.

... Well at least we know the bloods red.

Back to the present and yup yikes Hiro is still on the roof being shot at.

Say what you will about Hiro but man has managed to singlehandedly avoid being shot while being fired at from all sides.

That's impressive.

And the cavalry is here!

Byakuya my dude, great entrance.

You wouldn't leave him you caaareee you can't deny it Byakuya you carreee.

"Somebodies gonna die because of me"... Oh yeah, straight back to Makoto having a crisis.

Fun.

Awwh shut up no, he promised Komaru he'd come back.

I know Makoto's not one to go back on his word but given he started this whole arc about to be arrested for life and or executed.... He erm... Wasn't gonna be keeping his word.

Well I doubt Kyoko or the others would let it happen so there's that but yeah.

It's sweet seeing Komaru give Makoto a words of encouragement, a hope speech if you will.

He needs one.

And the smile.

I forgot no one told em Gekkogahara was a robot, probably should've lead with that.

Confirmation that Makoto can run in classrooms.

.... Annnd straight into Munakata standing ominously with one eye.

Oh no.

Okay but the stabbing the sheath into the ground, pulling the sword out and in it's reflection is Asahina and Makoto.

So cool.

Words I don't usually use for Munakata.

And Gekkogahara is still functioning and just fighting Munakata.

Oh we're finally gonna find Kyoko, heck yes.

Speaking off, right back to her trying to investigate who killed Izayoi, aka the knife guy.

You know, I appreciate Kyoko for her dedication to her craft. There are no class trials but she knows how this games work.

Everyone wants to leave cos they might get murdered, nope they'll leave when she's done.

I admire her for that.

Idk if Ruruka tripping on some stuff means anything but Koichi says he's glad she just tripped and isn't trying to mess up the crime scene.

So, making a note of that.

Ah fuck Juzo's here.

Man I didn't care about Izayoi either but wow how flippant you are about his death.

Especially in front of his girlfriend.

Byakuya giving off the vibes of a man who's just so tired but he's got a job too while Hiro annoys him.

So they're stashing boxes with a danger sign on them.

"Don't you dare die before I have a chance to rescue you."

He totally cares.

Uh huh yeah sure like you're gonna be able to kill Kyoko Kirigiri, Juzo.

You can pretend to be a main character all you want, you sir are just a loud ass side character.

Koichi throwing something at him should've have made me laugh but here we are.

Oh! Oh he figured out his forbidden action, damn Koichi really pulling his weight this episode.

So Juzo can't throw a bunch, that's why he's fighting with a knife.

Despite being the former ultimate boxer.

That is quite interesting. And I love the idea that someone who talks down to people without a ultimate talent is now prohibited from using his.

Making him just no better than a talentless normal person.

Koichi is just ripping into this man that punching is probably the only thing he's good at.

Ah I love this, good shit.

Koichi sharing his forbidden action, which is opening his left hand.

Sure why not, makes for an interesting fight which I think is coming given how he's egging on Juzo who has the temperament of first game Byakuya.

"You are not even worthy of speaking that man's name."

... Munakata, Munakata, Munakata, Kyosuke Munakata.

Man you and Chisa have like 0 self respect, it's kinda concerning.

WAIT what was that, flashback for like a second of Junko on him and he's on the ground... Did Junko beat him?

That's a story, can't wait for that.

Nice, Koichi used the booby trap to get him. I don't think he's dead though. I love that it was just an accident too that's amazing.

Dumb luck man, never underestimate it.

AH HECK! Ruruka did mess shit up, fuck Kyokos going down.

Oh no... Koichi had to open his hand to save her... Fuck, that's good that's so good. Awh and he was bring poisoned and still got her to safety.

Man... Dude really honoured his promise to her father.

Aww baby Kyoko is so cute.

And she'll never know why he saved her.

Devastating.

Oh no Juzo got an energy boost from sweets.. Ruruka I know your doing a bit but I never needed to hear Juzo get called big boy.

I don't think she's the spy even if she's helping him rn, it just doesn't feel that satisfying.

Monaca being Gekkogahara, amazing twist didn't see that coming.

But Ruruka's been sus from the start, I feel like this is just so she can survive and get on Juzo's good side so he doesn't kill him.

Maybe?

Watch me be completely wrong.

... If that chocolate can actually mind control people I am suddenly very concerned for Izayoi and glad Seiko couldn't have any.

I don't think it can but weirder shit has happened in this franchise and Juzo has lost it.

Nevermind.

"I'm no ones puppet"

He really just said that didn't he?

I guess he isn't because he is very happy to be Munakata's bitch.... I mean, henchmen? Friend?... No I think I was right with bitch.

I love that Kyoko is just like why murder, when you can solve the mystery.

So true.

Ayy we unveiling cause of deaths, finally some investigation in my killing game.

Confirmation Seiko's dead, sad I liked Seiko.

Izayoi was stabbed after he died to make it look like that was what killed him, clever.

I love that Juzo is just unnerved by her Detective skills that he's just like... Okay explain..

Shouldn't be surprised to be honest, unless I'm remembering incorrectly the Kirigiri's are known for being a detective family.

Even than, you guys still worked together and would know each other's talents.

... Kyoko did you... Did she just lick Izayoi's saliva off her hand, for evidence?

... She did...

Man Kyoko don't mess around.

Reveal of the door!

Rukura killing Izayoi is a lot more satisfying of an answer, brutal.

I mean killing your boyfriend/childhood friend is a lot.

"Wow you really are cold."

Ryota, shut up.

Do not diss Kyoko for trying to move the plot along and saving all your asses.

Besides, you think this is Kyoko being cold?

"I know. I have to be, because I'm a detective."

Badass, and while true you have grown and you care and that's alright.

Ooooo post credit scene.

Byakuya and the gang breaking into the building.

And the buildings coming down..

... What on earth...

#danganronpa 3: the end of hope's peak high school #danganronpa #makoto naegi #kyoko kirigiri #koichi kizakura #yasuhiro hagakure #long post

[goatsandgangsters]

episode 8: hm. interesting. 

here are all the liveblogs together in one place 

I’m going to cry by the end. the only question that remains is, will they be the cathartic tears of a well-done tragedy, or will they be tears of rage because they slandered my man (NARRATOR VOICE AFTER THE FACT: IT WAS NEITHER, THEY DID NOT CRY AT ALL) 

I’m waiting for my dinner to cook rn before I start and saying it now: since the last one ended with Aleksander wounded by the Cut on his back, this episode should open with an upward shot and then younger Baghra coming into frame saying “Aleksander…” and then wideshot reveal of a young boy with his leg almost Cut clean off, soaking wet and unconscious in the snow at the side of a lake. I’m saying it now, so that if it doesn’t happen, you can all be like “oh yeah they totally should have done that” and if my some miracle this does happen, you can all take me to Atlantic City to win my fortune tonight

I’m not going to Atlantic City tonight but I should be, because I’m right

ANYWAY KAZ GIVING NIKOLAI HIS CANE. kaz giving a) a mobility device that he genuinely needs and symbolically even more b) something that is very much part of his persona that he has crafted as a way of hiding anything that would be perceived as a weakness by others, to an injured person he BARELY KNOWS. this is somehow the most strikingly intimate gesture that has ever happened, ever, at any point in the entire grishaverse. Kazolai lives!!!

I REALLY LIKE Nadia and Adrik squalling together!

am I gonna get to see Nikolai deepthroat a shadow tendril at any point in this episode or—

“Make them redraw all the maps” is a really good character-specific line, I like it

this is all happening……… very early in the episode. what, uh, what’s left? WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO?????

“THE WORLD DOESN’T NEED A SAINT TO PROTECT IT, IT NEEDS A MONSTER” THANK YOU!!!!! I HAVE ALWAYS MAINTAINED THAT “MAKE ME YOUR VILLAIN” SHOULD BE READ AS A PROMISE, NOT A THREAT. A PROMISE TO ALWAYS DO THE HARD THING, ALWAYS BE HATED, ALWAYS TAKE THE FALL, ALWAYS BE REVILED. BECAUSE IF HE’S NOT THERE TO BE THE VILLAIN, SOMEONE ELSE WILL NEED TO BE SCAPEGOATED

me, pausing the episode: “make me your villain” should be a promise. me, unpausing the episode: “let me be your monster” oH. SEE. WE’RE DOING THE THING I JUST SAID.

me sitting here in a state of shock because every single word coming out of Aleksander Morozova’s mouth is everything that I have ever wanted him to be allowed to say in canon. HERE IT IS. THE REAL MEAT OF DARKLINA ARGUMENTS. I have written an entire 100k AU of Ruin and Rising juST TO LET THEM HAVE ARGUMENTS LIKE THIS. this is exactly the shit I have ALWAYS WANTED canon to let him say

hold on, I need to pause for a bit. the aforementioned dinner I was cooking has been sitting next to me getting cold because I completely forgot it was here.

after the beginning of episode 6, I asked Kara point blank, how sympathetic is his death scene. and I agree with the answer that I got which was, better on his end, not as much from Alina, and I was sort of prepared to Hate That. but I will say. I liked that more than I thought I would? I am disappointed that I didn’t get Alina stabbing him and then holding him in her arms and sobbing on him while he dies, because I think that is BEAUTIFUL poignant death and frankly it’s a damn shame we aren’t going to get to see these two phenomenal actors do that.

more than that, I’m disappointed I didn’t get to hear “don’t let me be alone” or “someone to mourn me” because those two lines FUCKING DESTROY me every goddamn time. I did quietly moan “nooooo” at the “blue sky” and start to tear up. but I will say, I didn’t cry? and his death in Ruin and Rising DID make me cry. so, could have been more gutting (in a good way) than it was, but I still think it gave him a fair shake about it? mostly because every single line of pre-death dialogue is EXACTLY what I have ALWAYS WANTED and what I have written entire lengthy fics specifically to explore. so that’s my two cents. intellectually I agree with him, emotionally I should have Felt More. it all seemed a little anticlimactic. 

also disappointed that I’m not going to see Nikolai deepthroat a shadow tendril. come on, that’s a VERY necessary part of canon. (my darkolai jokes aside, it IS important though. how’s king of scars gonna…… have scars? what, are they just gonna be METAPHORICAL?)

what the fuck are we doing for the next 50 minutes?????????

I did think for a moment they were going to do the brave thing and leave Mal dead. but I am…… curious to find out what exactly is Off. bc something is Off.

the twins sitting with Nikolai and his broken little “Dominik…” W E H   :((((((((((((

so we really never put Paddy and Ben on screen at the same time, huh. I won as a Dominikolai, But At What Cost

“Once the world stops looking at her with gratitude, they’ll start to wonder if she’s outstayed her welcome” oh my god are we actually doing an “Alina is unfairly vilified despite her trying her hardest, thus causing her to realize what smart people (me) have known all along: That The Darkling Was Right” arc?

OH COME ON WE CAN’T HAVE KILLED DAVID THIS EARLY. WHAT THE FUCK. UNFAIR. but also. like. until I see a body……………. oh, no, we’re seeing Ring Designs, he’s dead. fuck. you don’t gutpunch like that for someone who’s alive. PROVE ME WRONG I HOPE, BUT.

Really thought Nikolai was about to deliver a eulogy, not a motivational speech. Give me a single, single darkolai crumb, I beg of you. Nikolai standing there keeping vigil is ALL I’M GONNA GET I GUESS

THERE’S A BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. IF YA KNOW, YA KNOW!!!!

okay but what the fuck are we doing for the next 30 minutes

SDFGHDSKGJSDFHGKJDSHG I KNOW NIKOLAI HAS SOMEONE ELSE STANDING IN FOR STURMHOND WHILE HE’S BUSY BEING KING, BUT IS THAT PERSON REALLY GONNA BE MAL? oh uNEXPECTED, that’s fun

Mal wanting to go off on a journey of self-discovery without Alina is not something I expected, but I actually like that we’re addressing…. how Mal has no existence in the narrative outside of Alina and we decided to say “what if we actually tackle that and do something with it.” never would have expected it, I’ll be honest I think it’s a good move? I do think leaving Mal dead would have been The Bravest Choice to really drive home the notions of cost and sacrifice, but this is an interesting tact to take

awwwwwww Kaz quietly looking into what happened to Inej’s brother. “MY BROTHER IS NEVER COMING BACK, YOURS STILL CAN” OH I’M IN PAIN. OH SHE PRAYS FOR JORDIE, OH. how is THAT the moment that finally got A Tear To Fall and not. you know. The Death of My Fave or The Funeral of My Fave?

ohhhhh Kaz is trying SO HARD, he is trying! so hard!

I’ve never been on Inej’s side with the “have you without armor” if I’m honest. but they both did that scene SO well. Freddy in particular really is the absolute stand-out actor this season

I CANNOT BELIEVE MAL IS THE FAKE STURMHOND. WEIRDLY I LOVE THAT?? AND INEJ IS COMING TOO?????? OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY, THAT’S A GROUP! That is a GROUP!

I fucking love the jaunty nautical score every time we have Volkvolny things going on

I DID JUST LAUGH MY ASS OFF A MAL IN THAT COAT. he does not suit Gaudy and Camp the way nikolai does. he does not pull off that look 

oooooh Inej on the rigging oOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH MMMMMMM THAT SHOT OF INEJ ON THE RIGGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OKAY NIKOLAI WEARING BLACK WITH THE GOLD SUNBURST TRIM IS. DO YOU HEAR THE COLLECTIVE FUCKING CHEER OF APPROVAL FROM EVERY SINGLE DARKOLAI WHO HAS EVER WRITTEN A SUN-SUMMONER-NIKOLAI FIC??????? THAT IS. OKAY!!!!!!!!!! ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ……I may need to edit the, uh, graphic that I made for my Sun Summoner Nikolai AU whenever I have a solid chunk of chapters finished and can commence publication (currently it’s like 20k words, but I want to have the first five chapters fully finished before I start posting)

Wendy I am kissing you on the mouth. MY ONLY DARKOLAI CRUMB, AND IT’S FASHION.

The Apparat’s robe, however, is an abomination. it looks like a Bruins jersey.

oh he’s so fucking cute I love him, I love him, “a strong opening salvo” Paddy’s been great all season but the way he’s maneuvering through witty charm and an intellectual chess game with the apparat is His Most Nikolai Scene To Date, His Best Performance, Peak Nikolai Lantsovism, I am so proud

oh I see, it’s the wound. alas, no deepthroating required. OH I SEE. okay good, I’m glad we’re still getting some form of demon!nikolai, even if it didn’t require sucking shadow tendrils to achieve it. and so my throat goat nikolai lantsov hopes have been dashed upon the rocks—

AWWWWW THE FIGUREHEADS ARE LEANING ON EACH OTHER FOR SUPPORT

“Genya and Zoya are my escorts” I would not have used the word escort, because I am now…. in a very different place. anyway. the hair colors are wrong, but these three are giving PowerPuff Girls though obvi Zoya should be Buttercup

anyway, saying this very belatedly, but THANK GOD ALINA DIDN’T LOSE HER POWERS. you just CAN’T do that. You Cannot Do That. there is NO way to make that work and not have it be awful so I’m glad they just got rid of it

HDFJGKSDHFG HIS LITTLE WINCE GETTING WHACKED ON THE SHOULDER WITH THE THING. anyway I’m feelings about My Boy, good for him, he looks good as king. I mean, right now he looks like a doofus wearing Sankt Grigori like this and the whole getup, but. you know what I mean.

OH DO WE HAVE A PAREM ADDICT IN THE AUDIENCE, THIS LOOKS LIKE WITHDRAWAL. YEP!!!! WE DO HAVE PAREM!!!!!!

WELL THIS IS A MESSY FUCKING CORONATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOH CUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

literally me watching all these people die: oh god this is such a political nightmare for nikolai, what a headache

ALINA CORRUPTION ARC ALINA CORRUPTION ARC ALINA CORRUPTION ARC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hehgosghoehg oeheehehehehehehh oho oho her heh eh ehehehehehehehhe

that was an anticlimactic episode overall, but GOOD FUCKING SET UP AT THE END THERE FOR MORE!!!!!

I think overall, I’m very happy with this season? in some ways I’m disappointed because they gave me NOT ONE SINGLE THING from what I was expecting/looking forward to? but I also still liked what they gave me instead??

I should have cried though. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t cry. I wanted them to let Ben rip my heart out a little more. “Someone to mourn me” doesn’t... work if Alina’s not crying even though it’s the line that CARVES MY HEART OUT OF MY CHEST, but a “don’t let me be alone” would have set me crying just as much. I DID WANT TO CRY A LITTLE BIT, IN THE GOOD TRAGEDY WAY. and I just didn’t cry. it was still a very sympathetic death scene and I think all of his dialogue was like FINALLY! SAY THAT!!!! but. I mean. I did want a boy, brilliant, blessed with too much power, burdened by eternity. don’t let me be alone. and then he was gone. 

show death = politically and philosophically better. book death = more emotionally devastating, in a good way. trade-offs I guess???? I really did want to feel more. at least it WAS sympathetic at all, I was worried they were going to take away his right to a sympathetic death scene. but it lacked emotional oomph. 

thank fucking christ they didn’t take away Alina’s powers. you just can’t do it. there is no way. that’s the only real part of her book ending that I think CANNOT work. surprised they broke malina up though, didn’t see that one coming. but I like that Alina doesn’t..... abdicate responsibility and fuck off. it just wouldn’t have fit with this story or this version of the character 

I’m mulling it over still. I DO FUCKING NEED A SEASON 3, STAT. I think there are things that I wanted but I did not get. but there were things that I dreaded that did not happen. and there were things that I didn’t know to even want in the first place that I liked? I liked it more than season 1 by a lot, though. I think it was a lot stronger, and the storytelling itself felt sturdier. 

#episode 8 verdict: but I didn’t even cry?? overall an anticlimactic episode but GOOD SET UP FOR POTENTIAL NEXT SEASON #netflix I swear to fuck if the cursed season 2 cancellation bear comes anywhere near this— #grishaverse #shadow and bone #sab liveblog