#hope you're happy

[fluffypotatey]

hey u know how mk only calls wukong by his title and never his name? and how wukong rarely if ever calls mk "mk," instead usually opting for "kid" or "bud?" and how both of those things are kind of representative of their relationship and how both of them care about each other a lot but they aren't honest with each other or with themselves about the other and how neither of them really wants to confront the fact that the other is a person with flaws and struggles? haha yeah <- normal <- lying about being normal

be glad i have been released from class now :) [narrator: she would later find herself late to her 2nd class while writing this]

so happy you have given me this excuse to talk about— i mean, yes! it is super normal to be thinking about this all the time and be comsumed by it and let me explain why:

i will start by going off on a tangent about names and labels and their narratove importance in stories because i love them and have a problem. (idk the word count here. viewer discretion is advized. i just wrote. it is long. beware)

In the Case of Names: a Sunburst Duo Essay

by Yours Truly <3

In the Case of Names in LMK: a Summary (please for the love of pete be a summary)

Ok, so, let me give y'all a quick overview (i failed. this is you're only warning. i failed, and this became a monster of an essay. run while you still have the chan—) of names in the literary sense. When studying novels and books and shit in your literature classes, you will notice that your professor might discuss the importance or ill-importance of characters' names in the story. For example: in the classic novel Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist's name is fucking Guy Montage to illustrate how he's just some fucking guy, a John Doe, a man stuck and complicit in the dystopian world.

You get me? No? Sorry, you want more examples? Fine then :3 let me introduce you to a story called Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It is an allegorical novel that criticized the utilitarian movement going on in dear old Great Britain in the 19th century thanks to the Industrial Revolution. Some fun characters were Johannes Bounderby and Thomas Gradgrind. Tell me, what images did you imagine when I gave you those names? Did you think of a bouncing ball for Bounderby? Were you imagining something square or maybe a mechanical grinder for Mr. Gradgrind?

Remarkable isn't it. The way choosing a name has on a reader/audience's perception of the character. Names are not just placeholders for a character. Names are the identity of that character. Names can establish their starting arc or their ending. Names can be visual in the sense that they invoke a strong idea of what a character might resemble or what themes they will present the audience with. Removing a character's name also removes their identity.

Remember that.

Anyway, I have talked enough about names in the general literary sense. Let us move on to LMK.

Given that this show is based off of Journey to the West (JTTW), many of the names of the antagonist are already provided, and their English translation is pretty literal (Demon Bull King, Lady Bone Demon, Red Son) with some exceptions (Jing & Yin, the Gold and Silver Demons), but their names all provide a description of what they are and how they should be viewed. Spider Queen is a spider demon and views herself as queen. Pretty solid characterization there. Lady Bone Demon, she's a bone demon and has enough rank to be considered a lady (or that could just be to ID that she is a woman but eh). Princess Iron Fan: she's a celestial princess and wields an iron fan. Got it? Good. These examples are simply here to show that a majority of the JTTW antagonists are still fulfilling their roles as antagonistic characters. What I mean is this: since "A Hero is Born," MK has been fighting against the Monkey King's old enemies from the JTTW book. It's like the moment MK inserted himself into the role of successor, the antagonist themselves were inserted to redo their old role of fighting the "Monkey King." It's almost as if nothing has changed beside the fact that their new op enemy is a "human" wielding the legendary staff.

[hmmmm, wait i actually never put this into words until now and it's fitting very well with the whole "MK's fight against Fate/the Narrative" but we'll just put a pin in that.]

However, when it comes to MK's friends (Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, Mei), they all share different names from their reincarnated/ancestral counterparts (Zhu Bajie, Tang Sangzang (they just give Tripitaka a last name lol), Sha Wujing, and Ao Lie). Their identity is separate, distinctive from who they are meant to reflect to the audience. (But look at how Tang still shares the same 1st name to the blessed monk, see how he's the one whose powers are the most similar, see how he being pulled into the direction of emulating the monk, see how much Tang fights it, see—)

Fascinating huh? But let us move on before I forget myself.

In the Case of MK's Names: a Paragraph (DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT GO OFF THE RAILS)

So, in the English version, there is a running gag about how MK's "real" name is long and complicated, and we don't actually know it. All we know is that MK switched it long before the pilot. And even before MK has that talk with Master Subodhi in s4ep7 (or 6? 8?), I would chuckle at how on the nose his name was. MK the Monkie Kid... how silly of the show writers....ahaha, what a funny little decision to make :)

Do we know why MK changed his name? Other than his original one being long, no. Do we know why MK specifically? We don't know. Maybe, in his fanboy brain for all things Monkey King, MK thought it would be cool to have a name that identified close to his idol. A name that identified with someone he wished to emulate and be as powerful as and felt so connected to. But what do I know? I am a mere local gal who feeds off of metas and theories and all things relating to my beloved sunburst duo.

Then, we have MK's many titles: Monkie Kid (IDs him as the new generations Monkey), Successor (IDs him as the one who will succeed Sun Wukong in both the title of Monkey King and power), Noodle Boy (pronounced "New-dle Boi and IDs as the boy who works in his surrogate/adopted dad's noodle shop), Delivery Boy (his actual job for the noodle shop), and last but not least, Harbinger of Chaos.

What makes a harbinger? What is chaos? What are their intentions? Are they good? Bad? Neutral?

So, I've already defined harbinger before and many others have as well, but to sum up: a harbinger is a being/person/thing that announced the coming of something be it good or bad but most of the time the focus is bad. A "Harbinger of Chaos" then, would be the one to announce the coming of Chaos™️ and the disruption of world order. Is this a bad thing? Well, the show presents it at the moment as so, but that doesn't mean it will be. Honestly, the show has shown order and fixed structures more in a bad light and promotes free will and choosing a destiny that fits you as the good thing 👀 (another thing to pin in the MK might to go war with Fate)

But now I have established MK's names and must shut up and move on before I no longer can.

In the Case of Sun Wukong's Names: some Paragraphs (STAY ON TARGET PLEASE)

I will admit that my knowledge of names in China is very low, and by low, I mean I know nothing (most of what I do know comes from asking friends and informational sites). So, let me begin this segment with an excerpt of Sun Wukong gaining his name from the book itself :) and break it down with my interpretation and how that is applied to LMK.

When the Patriarch heard this, he was secretly pleased, and said, “Well, evidently you have been created by Heaven and Earth. Get up and show me how you walk.” Snapping erect, the Monkey King scurried around a couple of times. The Patriarch laughed and said, “Though your features are not the most attractive, you do resemble a pignolia-eating monkey (husun). This gives me the idea of taking a surname for you from your appearance. I intended to call you by the name Hu. If I drop the animal radical from this word, what’s left is a compound made up of the two characters, gu and yue. Gu means aged and yue means female, but an aged female cannot reproduce. Therefore, it is better to give you the surname of Sun. If I drop the animal radical from this word, what we have left is the compound of zi and xi. Zi means a boy and xi means a baby, and that name exactly accords with the fundamental Doctrine of the Baby Boy. So your surname will be ‘Sun.’” When the Monkey King heard this, he was filled with delight. “Splendid! Splendid!” he cried, kowtowing, “At last I know my surname. May the master be even more gracious! Since I have received the surname, let me be given also a personal name..." ..."You will hence be given the religious name ‘Wake-to-the-Void’ (wukong). All right?” “Splendid! Splendid!” said the Monkey King, laughing. “Henceforth I shall be called Sun Wukong.”

What a fucking cutie <3

So, what can we gather from this excerpt? Sun Wukong just gained his official name. No longer is he a monkey with descriptive titles, no longer is he a monkey without a surname to be referred to as and respected for. He now has both a surname and a personal name. And while I don't fully understand everything Master Subodi listed when naming Sun Wukong, it is important to note the importance of it and how happy Wukong is to receiving it.

Before this, the book would simply refer to Wukong as Shihou (stone monkey) or the Handsome Monkey King. Both of these are descriptive titles that just inform you what Wukong is rather than who, just like with the other demons met in JTTW. But now, we get to know him as Sun Wukong, someone more than his titles and such. There's even an explanation in the preface how Wukong's own personal name has significant meaning or relation to Buddhism, but I won't get too much into that since my knowledge is of that is 0 and I want to try and stick to LMK.

Now then, let us examine Wukong's name in the LMK sense. Literally everyone in the show call him either Monkey King or "simian" (and if he really pissed them off, Sun Wukong). The only people to refer to Wukong by his personal name is Nezha, Macaque, and Peng. It is literally just these three. And while we could argue all say it like "Wukong (derogatory)," I believe Peng's the only one who means it. Meaning, I think Macaque says Wukong because he was the closest friend of SWK, thus that's the only name Macaque would ever call him (sure, he said Monkey King and shit in s1 but that was when he was duping MK soooooooo). Nezha calls him Wukong because after the whole Havoc in Heaven and journey stuff, he is the new oldest member to befriend Wukong and not be enemies with him (yes, he will get annoyed and aggravated by him, and he will not always believe Wukong's intentions are great, but he still cares and is his 2nd closests living friend).

Peng, on the other hand, does not give a shit. I fully believe that guy never cared for Wukong. They only joined the brotherhood because of Azure (they even offered for Azure to be the brotherhood's leader). I do not think Peng cares for formalities when it comes to people they dislike. We could argue that maybe Peng cared for Wukong in the beginning, but I do, honestly, not believe it. The only reason Peng even felt betrayed was because it messed up Azure's plan. Not because the two were sworn brothers.

But yeah, very few characters actually call Sun Wukong by his name, and when they do, it establishes not just how close they are/were, but also how long they've known each other. It's the same thing with how Wukong refers to others. He barely calls Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy by their names. He will give people nicknames and shit just to place a safe distance from them because of his own very unhealthy attachment issues.

In the Case of MK and SWK's Names for Each Other: the Actual Sunburst Duo Essay (you are free now.....)

Speaking of attachment issues, let's talk about the Sunburst Duo and how much these two need to sit down and talk.

So, we have discussed how names are integral to identifying a character's purpose, thematic journey, description. We have discussed how a person's title can clue in on certain characterization, present or future, and how they demonstrate the way others view them. Now let us apply this to our beloved sunburst duo.

As mentioned in your ask, @gumy-shark, both MK and Sun Wukong barely call each other by name (MK never has as far as I am aware, and SWK has done so only a few). It's "Monkey King" from MK and "kid," "bud," "buddy" from SWK. Rarely do the two ever think to say each other's name.

In the beginning, I originally thought MK only calls Wukong "Monkey King" as a way to be respectful, and with Wukong, I assumed he called MK "kid" simply because MK was very young to him. However, as we get into s3, and especially s4, MK and Wukong have grown a lot closer. Neither of them see each other as just a mentor or student but as friends. And yet, they cannot seem to stop calling each other by their title or nickname.

Thus, the distance is still there. S3 ends with Wukong promising to do better as a mentor and be more honest with MK, and we do seem him attempt this. He gives out more praises, he's more open about his feelings and then gets sucked into the memory scroll. But here's the kicker: the two are doing a reverse in their dynamic.

When it starts out, it is Monkey King who establishes the line between the two. He will simply be MK's mentor and teach him all the kid has to know in order to succeed him. MK is ecstatic to even be near SWK. This is his idol, the guy he's had a special interest in for years probably. He now gets to train under the Monkey King. He wants to do good. He wants to kickass. He wants to be just like him.

But as the story goes on, we see SWK open up to MK more and care for him deeply and want to protect him, and we see MK uncover the skeletons in SWK's closet and feel so alone and learn that the power he used to wish for is not what he expected. And in the aftermath of s3, it is now SWK who is opening up and trying to help kindle and safely guide their friendship in a healthier path(ish). It is SWK who is placing his own protege on a pedestal because "loook at him! isn't he so great and powerful! he will help this world a lot more than i did". It is SWK who is disregarding th original rules he placed. But now ,it is MK who is keeping the distance more than SWK. It is MK is trying to force some kind of distance. He feels like he shouldn't burden SWK with his doubts and worries. He is terrified of his own powers and their capabilities and worries his actions will make the same mistake as his mentor.

With s3 and s4, SWK has called MK by name quite a few times. Especially in s4. It's not a lot, but it's definitely more than before. And yet, MK cannot call Wukong by name. Personally, I think he might still feel like he's under Wukong's shadow. As his successor, there is a legacy that he will carry when Wukong actually retires and gives his title to MK (which is what I assume Wukong will do??? It is still unclear what exactly MK's succeeding SWK of). And that legacy is quite the burden. I would not be surprised that MK is unable to place himself as being worthy of taking Wukong's place just yet (if ever).

This guy was his idol for a long time. And with that, you tend to place a high pedestal for those people. MK has given Wukong such a high pedestal, and Wukong is very aware of it. It's why the guy even keeps his distance in the first place, and why he's scared to disappoint him. But, MK has learned so much, has been told of the tales and pain his mentor inflicted on others in the past (a past SWK greatly regrets), and yet cannot find it in himself to lower that pedestal or even allow himself to think about it. Because if he does, then he will have to acknowledge his own pain and his own disappointment in someone he not only admires but has come to love like family. And it is very hard to reckon with the hurt and pain caused by someone you consider family.

So yeah, they are silly monkeys who cannot communicate to save their life and need to just sit down and talk or else this will continue to boil and explode and we'll have a SWK and MK showdown (fuck yeah! i will be crying so hard).

[end of essay]

#was late to my next class because of this #got lost in the sauce that my friend had to text me for me to remember i have CLASS #sigh #hope you enjoyed my scholarly account on names and how they pertain to the sunburst duo #also barely anyone even refers to Tripitaka by name #it's always 'the monk this' or 'the monk that' he only gets called by name if someone is being very formal about it #LITERALLY TRIPITAKA ISN'T EVEN CALLED TRIPITAKA AND IDK WHY #WHY ARE YOU HOLDING OUT LMK EXPLAIN #EXPLAIN YOURSELF #WHY IS TANG'S ANCESTOR BARELY REFERRED TO BY NAME #anyway #there you go #hope you're happy #i used all my brain energy for this #this took me 2 hours to write in total #and that was simply because i chose not to include screencaps from the show itself out of self restraint #lmk #lmk analysis #lmk sunburst duo #lmk sun wukong #lmk mk #lmk qi xiaotian #qi xiaotian #sunburst duo #asks #read more #long post

[andorshitdaily]

During the last episode there was a flashback of Clem that really resonated with me as someone who lives in a third world country. It's kind eclipsed by Maarva's speech (which is phenomenal in every way) but that little speech really struck a cord with me

"People don't look down to where they should. They don't look down, they don't look past the rust. Not us though, eh? Eyes open, possibilities everywhere."

Oh Clem. We hardly knew ya but we love ya

#alright now i'm crying over my lunch #hope you're happy #asks #anonymous #clem andor

[secretsivekept]

[in doofenshmirtz' voice] why hello secret >:] didn't think i'd see you here but now that you're here aND TRAPPED! you're probably wondering what i'm up to today. but first let me tell you a tragic backstory.

when i was a little boy all you got was light kind boops from the neighbourhood cats. i very much wanted to give you some bigger boops, but didn't have the knowledge back then :( well it's about to change with tHIS! THE BOOPILYBOOPINATOR 3000!

it is calculated as such, so every boop i send you will count as 100 boops. i initially wanted it to be 1000 boops, but as you can see in that giant hole in the wall and this little hay straw that is all left from the test dummy- i went a little too far.

now, time to test out this bad boy on you!

BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP kae how many was that? 7? okay BOOP BOOP.......... BOOP!

huh – wait-wait-wAIT WAIT WAI–

#good job anna #ya killed me #hope you're happy

[franklespine]

Saw a tiktok of that mitski song with the lyrics "if you need to be mean be mean to me, I can take it and put it inside of me" with sam as the mean one and dean being the one who can take it and put it inside. logging off. did you even watch the show. are you that psychologically damaged. i have had a long day and the algorithm shows me this. do you hate me god.

#i enjoy the edits but boy do people on tiktok have the worst opinions on spn ever #or just anything really #sick of debating the morality or whatever of the brothers so im not saying that this should be the other way round but you cannot sit there #and tell me sam was the mean asshole to dean and dean was the one who internalised it all like the damaged saint he is #yeah ok Mr sam you having agency was a personal offence to ME never do that again #whatever opinions subjectivity blah blah whatever #i get it #i do #whatever #i too interpret only through the frame of my personal existence #but like if i have to see one more tiktok about how sam was the favourite son I'm going to have to stage an intervention #see an edit of sam and all the comments are haha cool can you make a dean one?? #loosing the idgaf war rn because of you tiktok spn community #hope you're happy #tho tbf i probably wouldnt bother having a little rant to the void abt it if it wasn't so horrifically late at night

[astudyincontrasts]

Imagine silco fucking reader with the handle of a knife 😳

Imagine I actually participated in those five sentence NSFW prompts.

Psyche, its five paragraphs bc you know I don’t fuck with brevity.  

With Pips, the reader OC from Partition:

“Nnnngh!”  You ground down upon the knife, riding both it and the swipe of Silco’s thumb across the swollen torment of your clit, kneeling upon his desk before him, fucking yourself on the knife buried blade down into his blotter, bound hands before you holding your short skirt up for him and bared breasts spilling over the cups of your bra bouncing gently with each little bucking thrust.

It was always this way between you two; needling at each other until one of you broke and let temper get the better of you, and then the real fun began.  You’d overstepped mightily this time, though.  He’d managed to get ahold of one of your knives in your enraged tussle, cut the panties off you and drove it hard into the desk.

Beneath you a puddle had begun to collect, turning the pale green paper of the blotter you knelt on into a slick, dark verdant shade.  The rippled and ridged hilt of the knife with its gently curved pommel, cold when you’d first lowered yourself onto it, now felt molten hot as you rode it.  Silco’s thumb picked up its pace as he watched you in veiled amusement while you gasped and shuddered out the third orgasm he’d managed to wring from you.

He tsked as he eyed the spreading damp upon the blotter and leaned forward to spread your dripping cunt, ready to take up the work of his thumb with his mouth next.  Thighs were trembling with the effort to keep going, and you were sure the second you felt the warm lick of that tongue on overstimulated, throbbing nerves you’d break.  He wasn’t having it, though.

“Don’t stop now, pest.  I told you, this doesn’t end until you’ve soaked that entire paper.” 

#asks #pips #silco #knife play #overstim #pips x silco #mdni #dirty dirty anon #hope you're happy

[epickiya722]

Season 1 - 5: There may have been some hard times, but there was still fun.

Season 6 - onwards: DISASTER, TEARS, WOE, LOST, CHAOS, DESTRUCTION, bit of character backstory, MORE TEARS...

#bet you wish you had the school festival arc now huh #nothing but pain now folks #hope you're happy #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #just kiya's thoughts #bnha s6 #bnha season 6 #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers

[maestro-of-miscellany]

there are people out there who got to witness phoebe bridgers, boygenius, phoebe and taylor singing nothing new AND a speak now tv announcement and I just want to say i'm really happy for them

#NASHVILLE YOU WON #HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY #seriously though what a night #nashville eras tour #eras tour nashville #taylor swift #ts #swift #speak now #speak now taylors version #speak now taylor swift #speak now tv #taylors version #phoebe #phoebe bridgers #boygenius #not strong enough #nothing new #the eras tour #international dates WHEN

[hella1975]

if u think it's not empowering being a woman who watches anime then remember halloween night i not only kissed a boy dressed as uzui tengen (i am the fourth wife) but i also saw a guy dressed as an attack on titan scout in the smoking area and all i had to do was go 'eren jaeger' in the dumb voice for him to literally look me in the eye grab me by the shoulders and go 'marry me'. and they were BOTH hot. 'anime has a bad reputation for sexualising women!' 'female rep in anime is very poor!' and? i think it's worth it

#you guys get political im getting dick #THIS IS A JOKE BTW KJSDHGKJSDHG #all that did actually happen though #still cringing at myself for immediately telling tumblr about the tengen thing when it happened but oh well #didnt even finish my jagerbomb before i told you guys #hope you're happy

[nuppu-nuppu]

still thinking about the bkdk manga cover and shaking and crying

#help me my children #i can say that because i am 21 now #should i start twitch streaming #that has nothing to do with this post #i am just saying things #i watched the violet evergarden movie yesterday and cried a whole lot #hope you're happy #can u tell i have adhd #commissions are still open babies #i am MOVING in like two months fglkjdngkdjrfng

[dyrewrites]

Get to know me tag

@illarian-rambling tagged me for this one. I dunno if I will be tagging fifteen people, but I'll answer the things. >.>

Absolutely no pressure tags go out to: @starbuds-and-rosedust @stesierra @kaylinalexanderbooks @rmgrey-author @angie-j-kay @aziz-reads @pb-dot @desastreus @deanwax @ranpd @jezifster

Are you named after anyone? My middle name is my mother's middle name, but spelled differently. Otherwise I'm named after a fantasy series not a person (The Chronicles of Amber, specifically)

When was the last time you cried? Yesterday, I am a weepy baby

Do you have kids? Yes, one teenage son who is frequently informed at how glad I am that he's an only child.

What sports do you/have you played? I box, but it's for exercise and other than accidents when my son pretends to punch me and gets floored...I do it alone.

Do you use sarcasm? Oh no, never.

What's the first thing you notice about somebody? Eyes. I might forget a face or a name, but I never forget eyes.

Eye color? Hazel

Scary movies or happy endings? Both, obviously. There are even scary movies with happy endings. A lot are bittersweet, but I'm counting them.

Any talents? I can wiggle my chin in such a way that no one who sees it can avoid laughing. It's fantastic and I use it as a way to diffuse uncomfortable situations. Oh, did you mean skills? Well, you should have said that.

Where were you born? California. I do not live there anymore.

Hobbies? Hobbies are the things we do for fun and don't plan to get paid for, right? Then I will say video games, reading, dancing, puzzles (any sort of puzzle), watching horror shows and movies in languages I don't understand because I love seeing how other cultures do horror...ooh, sculpting. I'm sure there's more. (art probably counts, since I'm not paid for it anymore)

Any pets? I have two cats. One giant tuxedo senior baby named Mr. Nefarious and one giant black baby named Spook. They hate each other but like to make me into a couch. It's great.

Height? 5'4" - I are short

Favorite subject? English, or History...depended on the teacher

Dream job? Author. Which means I am actually doing it. So, go me. ^.- (success notwithstanding)

->blank under cut<-

Are you named after anyone?

When was the last time you cried?

Do you have kids?

What sports do you/have you played?

Do you use sarcasm?

What's the first thing you notice about somebody?

Eye color?

Scary movies or happy endings?

Any talents?

Where were you born?

Hobbies?

Any pets?

Height?

Favorite subject?

Dream job?

#writeblr #get to know me tag #tag games #now you all know too much #hope you're happy #=P #i have done this one before but i tried to answer differently for the ones i could...

[radiojamming]

AUGH FINE

---

The first time is memorable, to say the least.

He doesn’t tell Goncharov about it, because the last thing he wants is his boss to look at him like he’s grown a second head. Goncharov never questions Sascha’s methods, simply remarking in his usual way that as long as the job gets done, then there’s nothing to ask about.

Katya, on the other hand, laughs like a goddamn maniac.

“Bagpipes?” she wheezes. She has to set down her champagne glass, giggling too much to hold it. “How in the hell—“

He blushes despite himself, quickly stuffing his face with the tapenade she’s brought along. He talks with his mouth full, hoping she doesn’t make out what he’s saying, “If’htuck n’ifepick im f’pipef.”

“You stuck an ice pick in the pipes?” she repeats, perfectly clear. Her grin is catlike, pleased as if he’d dropped a mouse right in front of her. “They’re called drones, Sascha.”

He swallows down the tapenade, quickly taking a swig of water to wash away the saltiness lingering in his mouth. “It worked, at least,” he says at last.

Katya just grins and elegantly swoops up her champagne, eyes glittering in the dim lights. “I’m sure it did,” she replies.

---

Goncharov vetoes the wedding cake idea, but Sascha decides that if Goncharov doesn’t see it, he can’t complain about it.

Leo thinks it’s a good idea, and if Leo thinks so, then Sascha knows it’ll be fine. He even watches Sascha’s back as they slip into the executive kitchen, skirting around racks of shining copper pots and dodging baffling displays of desserts that Sascha couldn’t put a name to if he tried. The wedding cake is out of the way, tucked in a corner where someone can’t accidentally bump into it and ruin thousands of lira worth of pastry.

He chooses his favorite thin knife, a carving implement left over from his days in the butcher shop. With the exactitude of a surgeon, he slides it neatly underneath the frosting at the base of the cake, hiding the tip of the handle with a dollop of frosting. Then, he stands back and admires his work.

“Does it look good?”

Leo looks over his shoulder, surveying the cake top to bottom before his eyebrows go up. “Where is it?”

Sascha grins and pats Leo on the shoulder, leaving a smear of frosting.

And when Sascha saves Goncharov’s life by opening that bastard of a double-crosser’s throat with a carving knife covered in buttercream, he feels all the better for it.

---

“You can’t— Sascha, that is blasphemy!” Leo practically groans.

“It’s not,” Sascha retorts, shoving the sculpture of Jesus with one hand so it gives a hollow wooden thunk. “It’s just wood, Leo.”

“That’s Jesus Christ!”

He looks up at the beatific face of the lord and savior himself, and then shrugs. “Jesus is made of wood?”

“He’s not— Sascha, you can’t use a statue of Jesus to hide a gun. You’re going to—” Leo’s hands start moving at an incredible rate, apparently spelling out in gratuitous motion the sort of journey to hell that Sascha’s guaranteed to take for this act.

Sascha gives him a look. “I’ve killed people, Lyova.”

He doesn’t miss Leo blushing at the nickname. But Leo turns all the more red as he gets flustered. “Why can’t you hide it in one of the angel statues?”

“That’s better?”

“It’s not Christ!”

Sascha rolls his eyes, then walks by the statue of Jesus to one of an angel raising his hands to heaven. “Next time,” he says. “I’m picking a less devout partner.”

---

Once again, Goncharov gives him a negative.

To be fair, Sascha doesn’t know how he would have pulled off hiding the gun in the focaccia, but a knife is not a gun. And a knife can be baked into the base of a focaccia by a very clever baker.

Leo nearly loses his mind at the suggestion, tugging at his already wild hair until it’s a bird’s nest on one side.

But once again, it pays off in spades when Sascha expertly throws that same knife (now coated in olive oil for a very slippery throw) into Vercelli’s face. When he retrieves the knife, he waits until Goncharov’s turned away to wipe blood off his face before he sniffs the blade. Sure enough, Vercelli’s blood smells pleasantly herbal.

---

Sascha looks damn good in a dress. Just like he thought.

Katya fusses with the slit on the side, trying to find a way to make it lay just so.

“Your thighs are too big,” she complains, not for the first or last time. “I can’t find a single garter that fits.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?”

Katya snorts in a decidedly inelegant way, then throws her hands in the air. “I give up,” she says. “Everyone’s going to see the holster.”

Sascha turns and looks at himself in the mirror, twisting his body this way and that to admire the curves of the dress. Then, he looks down at his chest, reaching up to grip the cotton-filled bust. “Could I hide a knife in here?”

She looks up at him, then down at herself as though assessing and comparing. Finally, she gives a slow, thoughtful, “I think...?”

Sascha walks across the room on his tip-toes, trying to practice walking in heels, then grabs his favorite knife off of Katya’s boudoir. Carefully, he shimmies the knife down into the bustier, shivering a bit as the cold metal presses against his skin. The handle’s small enough that it doesn’t protrude much, and if he angles his shoulders in just the right position, his false bust can hide it.

“Perfect,” he tells himself.

“What a femme fatale you are,” Katya responds, walking around to his front and giving his chest an appreciative pat. “I’m almost envious of you, Sascha.”

He gives her a coquettish wink before the two dissolve into laughter. 

And while he goes over the plan for the night in his head over and over again, the only thing he hopes is that he has enough time to flirt with Leo before blowing his own cover.

---

He’s cold.

Colder than he was in Siberia. Colder than those nights when he lay awake, all alone, listening to wolves howling in the distance and praying that it wasn’t his last night alive. Cold, cold, cold.

He shivers and tries to reach out, but there’s some strange disconnect between his brain and his arm that’s impossible to solve. His hand flops uselessly at his side, fingers touching wet concrete.

Sascha groans and turns his head, seeing the handle of his knife by his shoulder.

No.

In.

In his chest.

It’s holstered all the way into his chest cavity, his body hiding the metal. Yet he can’t feel it. He can only feel the cold, the growing curls of frost running through his entire body, freezing his fingers and toes first before rolling up his arms and legs.

He closes his eyes as his heart thunders in his chest, trying to run those last few laps to keep him alive.

And in his head, he finally sees Venice.

He sees Leo.

#hope you'RE HAPPY #goncharov #goncharov (1973) #sascha the bodyguard

[tiddie-taylor]

@siickwithsadness she got her Maccas

#hope you're happy #inside out #inside out fandom #inside out sadness

[sharkface-daydreams]

rvb needed more hot evil and morally complex women tbh

#no idea who's writing this but the sentiment is strong so into the posts it goes #hope you're happy #now to lie back down and pretend headaches aren't real

[dangerousstarlightcreator]

“Are you doing this on purpose?” she asks quietly. He looks up, confused, “what?” She bites her lip and sighs, “kissing her in front of me.”

“I thought you should know I’m with her now,” he says avoiding her eyes, a single tear running down her cheek.

~ heartbreak is something none of us can avoid, but it helps us finding out who we are ~

MLL 2018/09/16

#broken heart #love #and still i love you #hope you're happy #romance #spilled ink #spilled writing #spilled words #spilled thoughts #things we need to understand #excerpt from a book i'll never write #but i wrote this story today #MLL #RM

[fablethevoid]

So tumblr added an option to the app to add a bunch of options to the dash including turning off your followed tags but not for you? Fucking assholes let me turn off your algorithm bullshit I've never fucking used it before I don't want it.

#tumblr #see what your crab day bought #more shit #hope you're happy

[eldrai]

I hate the ones who bullied me can just go on with their lives and I'm stuck with the effects. They probably don't even remember half the shit they said. And I hate everyone complicit in it too. That sense of isolation never really leaves you.

#i still remember their names #their faces #aaron. dominic. fuck you. #i remember it word for word even now #**** ******** ** ** **** **** ** **** ** **** **** ****. #and here i am years later #hope you're happy