#a wider bridge

[bsof-maarav]

Date: June 24 - 12:00 pm ET

Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QAyx1OSLQ7S-DhvB9tkOBA#/registration

This webinar is intended for LGBTQ supporters of Israel and their loved ones and will address how discourse can impact an already marginalized community. There will be time for questions at the conclusion of the program, and attendees are encouraged to use the Q and A feature during the webinar.

Corinne E. Blackmer, PhD is professor of English and Judaic Studies and Director of Judaic Studies at Southern Connecticut State University, and an affiliate professor at University of Haifa. She has written numerous articles on a wide array of subjects, from Jewish ethics and pink washing to Jewish women’s graphic novels and modernism. She recently completed a book which won the National Jewish Book Award, “Queering Anti-Zionism: LGBTQ Intellectuals, Academic Freedom, and Israel/Palestine Campus Activism” and also edited (with Andrew Pessin) a collection of essays, “Poisoning the Wells: Antisemitism in Contemporary America.” She is currently completing a memoir about her maternal grandmother, who was a woman’s reproductive health advocate. The title is, “My Grandmother as an Abortionist before Roe.”

Joshua Simmons, PsyD is a Jungian psychoanalyst, licensed psychologist, and clinical supervisor. His past clinical research focuses on cultural trauma and the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience among ethnic minorities. He maintains a private practice in San Francisco, CA.

Support A Wider Bridge

[thebramblewood]

The old Helena can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because she’s dead.

Previous / Next

Thanks to @pxltown for the Social Bunny template I used as a base! HQ under the cut because I had to scrunch the dimensions a bit for the screenshot.

Julia: What am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad?

Helena: Whatever you want. I’m sure you’ll think of something.

Julia: You can’t just run off without telling them goodbye  — or telling me where you’re going!

Julia: [between sobs] Am I ever going to see you again? Will you at least call me? [sniffling] I’ll miss you, Helena. If either of them dies, I’ll never forgive you. But I’ll always love you.

Helena: I love you, too. And I’d do anything to take it all back. But I can’t, so I have no choice but to go.

[fakezircon]

sent here by max. head shoulders knees and toes???

Shit my damn ublock filters got rid of my inbox button again

"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is a nursery rhyme that in Canada (and other places but I am only so worldly) is often sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down" However! There is another tune it is sung to by the name of "There's a Tavern in the Town" which is the version I know it by.

I have yet to find anyone else who sings it exactly the same way I do. Essentially this concerns the second to last line of the song which everyone else has told me goes: "eyes and ears and mouth and nose" (or "eyes, ears, mouth and nose" in the LBFD version). This is at odds with the way I have always remembered it: "eyes, ears, nose, mouth, ankles and elbows"

At this point I have been at a loss for corroborating evidence for my version for so long that I am tempted to say I just made it up myself as a kid? (the "eyes and ears and mouth and nose" line does not fit the structure of the song as well as "my" version, something that would've deeply incensed me as a child) The reason I hesitate to just say that and be done with this whole mystery is that I can vividly remember getting annoyed with the motions to the song, specifically around that line, because it involved a lot of movement to reach from your mouth to your ankles then back up again.

There's no conclusion to this, maybe somewhere out there a music teacher was teaching this to my kindergarten class only or maybe I just got mad at the song structure and sought to better it myself.

[stardustera]

people GOTTA start drawing pete with LIPS i am SO TIRED

[lelianaslefthand]

thats the best i got ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[milfygerard]

sometimes i go thru the gaylor tag to see updates or reactions or something and its so funny everytime. You people are insane i respect literally none of you etc etc

[purpledisastertwin900]

All the cool kids have tooth gaps.

that’s what I’m SAYINNNN

Ty for proving me right

[revacholianpizzaagenda]

So for anyone keeping tabs on instances of extraphysics in the game, between the word itself and its hyphenated adjective it turns up twelve times total... ...all in Final Cut materials (1 fascist quest, 11 communist for obvious Nilsen reasons)

[alistairian]

Once upon a time you could just drive into our little town without encountering any traffic. Now you're bumper-to-bumper crawling at 10km/hr along a single lane highway that has a posted speed limit of 60. All lined up behind the first of 3(total) light-controlled intersections.

I think some factors were overlooked when they decided to build a bunch of new homes and condos at the end(no loop) of a highway in a town with hardly any businesses and no space to expand. It's almost as if, hm, everybody who lives here needs to commute to a different city for work? And they're all driving in the same direction on the same road? The only road leaving town?

But hey it's prime oceanfront realestate just far enough from the city to be "affordable" so fuck it I guess

[troonwolf]

Happy for him and he was definitely exploited but his actions were also instrumental in fuelling the antagonism and laws against trans people in the UK. I’d like to see him take responsibility for that and work towards correcting the misinformation he spread throughout his time as a TERF. Irreparable damage was done to trans rights in the UK and that doesn’t just go away.

You walk into the house, destroy all the furniture, leave, then you come back with “sorry my friends peer pressured me to destroy all the furniture :)” and then sit down in the wreckage not bothering to clean it up.

[thelonelyjew]

Pride banned Jews?!?

So it's that time of year again that I see people circulating stuff that is completely fabricated about what they imagine happened at Chicago Dyke March in 2017.

First, Dyke March is not Pride. It is not meant to be apolitical or single-issue. It is explicitly anti-imperialist, anticapitalist, and, yes, antizionist. It's not the big mainstream pride Parade that has corporate sponsors (and ads for gay tourism in Israel), it's a small radical grassroots demonstration.

Ok now that that's out of the way, they did not "ban Jews". I was there. They did not "ban Jewish symbols". They did not ask anyone to leave because of their Jewish pride flag.

What actually happened was three women who turned out to be employed by Israeli pinkwashing operation A Wider Bridge participated in the march with a rainbow flag that featured a blue star of david in the center. I remember seeing it and disliking it bc it gave me Zionist vibes but neither I nor anyone else bothered them about it.

After the march there was a cookout in the park. The women were asked to leave by a Jewish member of the Dyke March Collective after several hours of hanging out at the cookout because they were harassing other marchgoers.

Immediately publications like Forward, Tablet, JTA, as well as more mainstream publications started running stories making wild untrue claims which you can still read if you Google it because none of these were ever corrected or retracted. It's clear that these AWB agents had press releases pre-written and ready to fire as soon as they managed to provoke any reaction that they could spin into a controversy.

The photos that ran along with these headlines were also misleading. One of them showed a photo of a rainbow flag with a white star in the center. The star on the flag I saw was blue, and the shade of the star has specific political connotations. Showing a different flag with the politically significant color removed is extremely misleading. The one that was carried in the march (and which, again, wasn't banned!) looked like this:

Another banner image, this one in a New York Times article, showed a young woman with dark curly hair holding a sign that says "this is who we are". She was clearly chosen to feature because of her stereotypically Jewish features. The article implies that she is one of the supposedly banned Jews. This is false. You know how I know? Bc that was the friend I was there with that day! She does not identify as Jewish, she looks like that bc she is Italian, and she had no idea she was being photographed!

I had a hat decorated with red and black stars of David, and the following year a bunch of us wore Workers Circle sashes with Yiddish text (which uses the Hebrew alphabet) as well. No one who wasn't employed by a Zionist organization was asked to leave or even questioned about anything related to Zionism or Jewish identity.

I'm resigning myself to the fact that this is going to get dug up and passed around every year and people will believe what they want to believe, but if you hear claims that some queer group "banned Jews" or something similar, please look at the source for the information and if possible try to talk to actual Jewish people who participate in the community events being discussed. And if you hear this about Chicago Dyke March in specific, please correct people. I feel like I'm going insane when this many people are insisting that what I saw and experienced wasn't real and pointing to the barrage of misleading articles as what I should believe over my own experiences.

[orcelito]

watching episode 5 of trigun 98 was useful for intl chapter 8 reasons too. bc as much as ive analyzed that part of the manga, it's still kinda hard to know wtf is going on during early action scenes lol

[roosterr]

if ur requests are open, could we have like 141 falling asleep on the reader??? like different scenarios for each of them like price falls asleep accidentally and so does ghost while gaz and soap are like cuddling or laying on the reader :) i love ur writing so much <333

the 141 falls asleep on you

wc: 2.1k

hello!!! been struggling to love my writing for like the last month so i really hope you enjoy, and i'm sorry in advance lol its mostly fluffy but i just couldn't help myself with a lil bit of angst :)

price

✹ when you hear the front door open in the middle of the night – or, technically, early morning – the first thought your sleep-addled mind comes up with is that you're being robbed.

✹ with your heart in your throat, you sit up in bed and stare wide-eyed at the bedroom door, but your fear is short lived when a dull thud meets your ears, followed by a familiar curse that has you breathing a sigh of relief.

✹ your husband, coming home at last from a night of drinking with the other members of the taskforce, presumably stubbing his toe on the sofa that hasn't moved an inch since you put it there all those years ago.

✹ with a deep yawn, you get back under the covers and let your eyes fall shut again, the knowledge that it was john downstairs and not a burglar putting your racing heart to rest.

✹ you don't react when he clumsily slips through the door, fighting the laugh that threatens to give you away when you hear him swear under his breath after bumping into yet another piece of furniture.

✹ the cold air sends goosebumps rippling across your skin when he lifts the covers to clamber in beside you, but the chill is quickly chased away by his hands bringing you into his chest and his enveloping warmth.

✹ "and what time do you call this?" you tease in a whisper, opening your eyes to see his guilty ones looking back at you. the slight flush in his cheeks and his half-lidded gaze gives him a boyish charm that you can't even pretend to be mad at.

✹ "sorry darlin', didn't mean to wake you..." he murmurs in return, a sheepish smile pulling at one side of his lips.

✹ "well, i'm glad you had a good time," you punctuate your reply by placing a light kiss on the bridge of his nose, which prompts his smile to grow wider as he hugs your body to his own.

✹ "i'm havin' a better time now, love." he ghosts his lips over yours as he whispers, earning another tiny chuckle from you, his fingers tracing patterns into the skin of your back under your shirt.

✹ you can smell the whisky on his breath as he leans even further into you, and taste it when he closes the distance to devour your lips in a passionate, if slightly messy, kiss.

✹ he sighs into your mouth, his lips falling from yours when he rolls you onto your back to lay his head on your chest, and like a switch, he's dead asleep.

✹ "john?" you whisper, in a sort of disbelief that he was actually asleep just like that, but he doesn't even flinch when you gently poke his cheek. "oh my god…"

✹ once the morning rolls around, you both share a laugh about his drunken state from the night before, and he makes you promise not to tell the boys he passed out in the middle of kissing you.

✹ you just laugh and file it away for future blackmail.

gaz

✹ the two of you were watching a movie late one night, the first time you've had time to yourselves in months thanks to the never-ending workload you both seem to be under.

✹ the dim mood lighting of your flat combined with the comforting feeling of finally being alone with kyle is nearly enough to send you to sleep already, but your want to spent time with him keeps you awake.

✹ kyle watches you stifle a yawn as he presses play on the movie, and tugs you to lean against him with an arm around your shoulders and a teasing grin. "promise you won't fall asleep this time?"

✹ you look up to him from where your head rests against his collar and huff, a smile of your own playing on your lips as you nudge him lightly with your elbow. "maybe i should be the one asking that."

✹ the bags under his eyes leave no question about how tired he really is, but he was the one that insisted the two of you spend time together tonight, despite the exhaustion you knew he was hiding.

✹ "and leave you all by yourself?" he chuckles, "never, love."

✹ a comfortable quiet settles over you while you watch the movie together; kyle's choice, something action-y you've never seen before, but you know he's seen it a million times. he occasionally adds commentary to make you laugh which he, naturally, manages to do every time.

✹ as the movie plays, you gradually migrate to laying on the sofa on your back with kyle between your legs and his head on your sternum. you absentmindedly run your nails over his scalp, gently massaging his head while he hugs your waist.

✹ it's about two-thirds of the way through the movie that you realise kyle hasn't said anything in a while. you pause your ministrations, smoothing over his curls as you turn your gaze from the screen to where he lays on top of you.

✹ a soft smile lights up your face when your eyes land on his blissfully relaxed features, sound asleep and breathing in time with the steady rise and fall of your chest.

✹ you continue to watch the movie in silence, occasionally petting kyle's hair when he grumbles in his sleep. he deserves the rest, you muse, and something about how peaceful he looks means you can't even entertain the idea of disturbing him. and you would definitely tease him that he fell asleep like he said he wouldn't.

✹ even once the movie has finished, and your back has started to ache from the position against the armrest, you still don't dare wake him. tomorrow was an off day for both of you, so there was no need to go anywhere – as if you would ever want to, intertwined with your boyfriend and surrounded by his warmth.

✹ you close your eyes, give him one last squeeze, and whisper into the silence, "sweet dreams, kyle."

soap

✹ it wasn't supposed to happen like this.

✹ everything was supposed to go smoothly, you'd get what you came for, and you'd be home in time for dinner.

✹ but it hadn't happened like that  of course it didn't. you were on your way out, with johnny by your side, when a sudden noise from behind you caught your attention.

✹ you spin around to see a dishevelled soldier aiming their gun at you, but you noticed just a second too late. you can do little more than watch as they pull the trigger, a sick sense of horror travelling up your spine as time seems to slow down.

✹ there's a split second where you brace to feel the bullet lodge somewhere in your body, but that impact never comes.

✹ with a speed you didn't know he possessed, johnny tackles you to the ground and out of the path of the bullet, landing on top of you and pushing the air from your lungs.

✹ you lay winded underneath him, the sound of him returning fire vaguely reaching your ears but it takes a second for your mind to catch up.

✹ it’s quiet by the time you come back to your senses, johnny already pulling you to stand with a strained grunt.

✹ "johnny?" you frown, taking note of how he favours one side when he urges you to start walking again, "you okay?"

✹ "fine, darlin’, let’s just–" he winces, stumbling ever so slightly and trying to play it off by pushing you in front of him, "let’s just get home, aye?"

✹ your frown deepens. you turn around and stop him with your hands on his shoulders, and it's then that you notice how laboured his breathing has become.

✹ "you're not fine, soap!" your heart sinks as you watch the patches of blood on his leg grow steadily darker, "why didn't you tell me you were hit?"

✹ he doesn't flinch at the anger in your voice, or when you haul his arm over your shoulder and resume dragging him the rest of the way to the helo. he mumbles incoherent that sounds like an apology, but your only focus is getting him to safety and stopping the bleeding.

✹ the others are already waiting for you as the exfil site comes into view, and the moment they spot you shouldering johnny's weight they spring into action to help you.

✹ johnny is dragged up the ramp and made to lay on the floor as gaz and ghost make short work of packing the bullet wound in his thigh with gauze.

✹ you lift his shoulders and head to rest in your lap, grimacing at the pained groans he lets out when ghost puts his weight on the wound.

✹ "why didn't you tell me?" you utter, tilting his head back with your hands on his cheeks and meeting his distant gaze with your brows knitted together in concern.

✹ he musters a weak smile and lets his eyes flutter shut, the muscles in his face visibly relax. "i’m fine… ‘slong as yer okay, bonnie…"

ghost

✹ sometimes you wondered if ghost ever slept.

✹ he would always volunteer himself for the first watch, and he was up before you without fail every morning. on base he always seemed to be in the gym before everyone, and in his office after everyone else has left. he was frustratingly elusive.

✹ it worried you, that perhaps he had trouble sleeping. it made sense, however saddening, that someone like him wouldn't sleep well, but it was even worse that he brushed off your concern for him with practised ease.

✹ he made sure to take care of others, but wouldn't let you try and do the same for him. perhaps he thought you were joking, or that you were only being courteous, but your mind always goes back to one thing; the theory that, for some people, it's only possible for them to fall asleep when they feel safe.

✹ you wanted to be that for him, like he was for you.

✹ you do your best to forget about your rejected concerns for him, and the thought all but slips your mind until a mission two months later.

✹ it was long, drawn-out, and gruelling, and all you wanted to do was get home and have a shower hot enough to melt your skin. it had been almost a week since you've had a moment to catch your breath, and you were more than thankful to be on the way home.

✹ even if that meant being squashed into the back of an suv with soap passed out on your left and ghost on your right. gaz called shotgun and wouldn't give it up for anything, so here you were, shoulder to shoulder with the lieutenant you may or may not harbour feelings for.

✹ the five of you have been on the road for a couple of hours now. the conversation has died down by now and and the quiet hum of the radio was the only sound, besides soap's intermittent snores.

✹ you're on the verge of passing out yourself when a weight drops onto your shoulder, and you have to fight yourself not to jump with the start it gives you.

✹ your tired eyes look to the source and to your utter surprise, they find the dark fabric of ghost's balaclava resting against you, and when you tilt your head you can see the blond of his eyelashes against his cheeks.

✹ the sight brings a smile to your face. as subtle as possible, you shift as much as the limited space of the backseat will allow so his neck isn't bent at such an awkward angle.

✹ he fell asleep on you. perhaps it was just because of the exhaustion this mission left him with, but you like to think back on your theory from weeks ago as you admire the restful expression he wears.

✹ your stop fighting your own exhaustion and let your eyes fall shut, and with your last thread of consciousness you file this memory away for later, and hope that it really does mean that he feels safe with you.

[shiny-jr]

I’ve just had a vision, what if a yan (e.g riddle or vil because they are most princess-ish) was a trapped in a castle away like in one of those stereotypical fairy tales and the reader decides to save them because they are a ‘damsel in distress’ and reader is like a hero… only to realise there is a reason why they were locked away (because they were batshit crazy)

Warning: Yandere. Gender-neutral reader.

Characters: Vil Schoenheit.

Summary: You are a thief with freshly stolen goods. Chased and hunted down, you avoid capture by finding a castle hidden in gloom and fog. Locals told legends of this place, saying a royal had been trapped within. Of course, you don't quite believe such tall tales. That is, until you discover the royal and learned that they were purposefully sealed inside...

Note: I think I'll call this one, not your valiant savior. It's just a placeholder name for now. Just a quick post, so sorry if it's bad.

It was too easy. What did they expect when they left out a priceless object owned by the royal family and estimated to be worth a fortune? Of course a famed thief on the loose such as yourself, would just be itching to snatch the relic. And snatch you did, living up to your reputation of thief. Each member having unique abilities to assist in stealing. Your mother had speed to outrun anyone in a chase, your grandfather had the talent of picking any locks, your great-grandmother could sweet-talk anyone then rob them blind. And so on and so forth.

And of course, you had your own talent. As quiet as a mouse and with fingers that stuck to valuables like glue, stealing became like second nature. Literally. However, it wasn't exactly a talent valued by the wider community, and if you stole enough you could end up on terribly drawn wanted posters. Which is why staying in one place wasn't wise.

From place to place, you went taking and claiming anything of worth. When you got very low on cash, you set your sights high: on the vault that stored the royal's priceless treasures. There was bound to be endless riches stored within, if only you could get your grubby hands on them. Well, after careful planning, you had. It wasn't a giant gem or sack full of gold.

Time was short, so you had grabbed the closest thing you could before guards could find you. A golden box encrusted with jewels. Who knew what was inside? Maybe some family heirloom, a magical artifact, or something else of high value. And with the box, you bolted, and the chase had begun out of the city and through the woods.

As fast as you could, you ran through the mystic woods, a forrest travelers and locals alike were all wary of. It was the safest place you could go when chased by frightening palace guards on horseback that would do anything to take back what you stole and drag you back to the gallows. Even the woods heavy with fog and dark from the clouds overhead, had deterred your pursuers enough for you to slip out of their reach and deeper into the forrest where there was no way they would be able to track you. Here, you would have to wait until tomorrow and depart early. Then, you'd be home free and rich beyond your wildest dreams.

After what felt like hours of walking, you stumbled upon a bridge over a gloomy lake. In the middle, sat an old castle of gray stone and dark windows. A castle once said to hold a royal captive, but of course, you didn't believe such stories that were so old they were told to your own grandparents. This castle would be your sanctuary for the night. And maybe, just maybe, you'd clutch the jeweled box and dream of simpler times when you were told fairytales of locked away royals waiting for a savior.

The castle was exactly like those set in spooky tales, haunted by vengeful spirits and claimed by ghosts. It appeared abandoned, that much was obvious by the crumbling stone bridge and the battered old wooden doors that once protected the inhabitants.

Cautiously stepping over the splintered debris of the front door, you didn’t bother boarding it up since no one would be stupid enough to follow you inside.

There was wreckage and ruin everywhere. If you had to guess, whatever happened here, whether the people were driven away by conflict or time, it was followed by the destruction of time. Time with weather were likely all factors that led to the disarray of what was probably once a grand estate. Strangely enough, there was furniture and decor. Everything coated in dust and grime, but still here. Had people been too afraid to enter the grounds? There were so many valuables that could've been looted!

"I'll definitely have to come back here later." You scoff, turning over a few clothes or broken furniture with your foot to uncover possible hidden goodies. Maybe something as small but valuable as a ring was lost somewhere on the ground.

Proceeding to carry the golden box under your arm, you decide to search for the cleaniest, not-so-moldy room where you could spend the night. On the third floor halls, you see ripped curtains and frames where portraits loosely hung. Every rug was brown with dirt and dust.

There were items left behind, which showcased the life one led here. A piano too big to steal, the skeleton of a chandelier and broken gems hanging from its limbs, empty glass perfume bottles now filled with dust. The place must've been wondrous once, but now it was like a tomb. A setting frozen in time.

When you found moonlight filtering through the open balcony of what looked to be the master bedroom, you paused to see the space wrecked more than the others. As if more than just weather and time had affected this place. The owner of this castle likely slept in this very room, on that very bed where the sheets were ruffled and unkempt.

"I wonder who used to live here..." You murmur to no one in particular, as you approach the balcony looking over the bridge and woods. This would be a good vantage point.

A heavy fog settled over the woods, extending over the bridge like water. Good, an extra layer for cover. You stepped back into the room, analyzing every carved piece of wooden furniture, makeup and brushes stored on tabletops, a separate room as long as a hallway and filled with all types of articles of clothing.

If all this was still here, then was it possible some jewelry was left behind? You scoured the room, looking for hidden compartments while murmuring to yourself to fill the ominous silence. As you pulled back a curtain against a wall, you furrowed your eyebrows when you saw an uneven lump underneath the wallpaper.

Could this be handle leading to a vault of treasures? With that in mind, you ripped off the old wallpaper. A glimmer of gold made your heart soar with hope, but when you caught sight of your reflection, you stopped and stared. A mirror. It was a large mirror, oval shaped, with golden borders so intricately decorated. However, when a hand suddenly appeared on the other side of the mirror, like a ghostly apparition, you screamed and stumbled back.

A hand– there was a hand in the mirror! You stared with widened eyes full of shock, as the hand pressed its palm against the surface of the glass. You couldn't see anything else, no one behind the hand. After a second, the slim pale hand delicately pointed a long dainty finger at the box you were holding in a vice grip.

"What...? This? You want this? But..."

You had worked hard to procure this golden box from the royals. Pursing your lips, you contemplated your options, with so many questions running rampant in your mind. What was that thing? A magic mirror? A magic mirror would be priceless, much more valuable than any gold. However, if it was magic, it would be tricky. Possibly even sentient. So you'd have to gain its favor.

"Alright, alright, the box. You know, I went through hell trying to get this."

You informed the mirror, unsure if it even understood you. You carefully set down the heavy box in front of the mirror, and watch as the hand made a motion with its fingers.

Click!

It had unlocked the box, without even a key or tool. A grin broke out on your face. Had it done it for you? Apparently not, because the box opened on its own and a heavy thick tome floated out from it and into the air. The hand beckoned the tome closer, and closer it came, until it was literally phasing through the glass.

"Hey! Wait––"

The glass shattered, the sound booming and ringing out in the silence like an explosion. You only had a second to react, instinctually using your arms to shield your face from the glass flying out in every direction. When it stopped, you looked around. The mattress was shredded, the curtains torn to shreds, wooden furniture cut as if done by an axe, but miraculously you were somehow unharmed.

A breath, not of your own, caught your attention. Your eyes darted over to the now broken mirror, awestruck at the vision of a figure stepping over broken glass. They were beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, more than any words could convey. Their hair like gold and eyes an alluring shade of purple like two amethyst stones, soft pink lips, and a tall slim pale figure clothed in odd robes. For a moment, whoever this person was, appeared disoriented for a brief moment, but they clutched the tome like a lifeline. The tome that came from the box you had stolen.

"Thank you––"

He breathed, his voice quiet as he attempted to stand tall and upright. When his legs nearly gave out beneath him, you were there to catch his hand and prevent him from falling as he looked at you with appreciation. You were just stunned, bewildered, in pure disbelief.

"You... You freed me. You returned my stolen tome...!"

He exclaimed in disbelief, as he restored his posture. Somehow, he was able to stand in heels, but heels were currently one of the least important details.

What did he mean freed?

There was no time to ask any questions. The loud sound of the shattering must've alerted any of your pursuers that had followed you thus far, because from the balcony you could make out the torchlights weaving their way directly towards the bridge.

The mysterious man from the mirror took notice of your expression of dismay as he glanced at the distant torchlights. Smoothing out his robes, he looked back at you and took in your expression. "Enemies of yours?"

"Yes..." You nod slowly.

"Now that just won't do. I can't have anyone harming, or even killing my savior. I've yet to even learn your name." Tapping some well-manicured fingers against the spine of the tome, he appeared to contemplate something. When he stopped tapping his fingers, he smiled so sweetly. "I am Vil Schoenheit, prince and prodigy. Here's my proposition to you, my savior: I will destroy your enemies for a small price. You must tell me your name, and I will grant you my protection."

Of course you gave him your name, and almost immediately you saw the fog below turn an odd color. The torchlights flickered out, you no longer heard their encouraged shouts to move forward but instead their screams echoing in the dark woods. All after Vil murmured a few words in a foreign tongue read from his tome, as he continued to gaze at your intently. What exactly was he to cause so much death in a single instant with hardly any effort...? And you were stuck in this abandoned castle with him.

The prince had no plans to abandon you, he's made that much clear when you attempted to casually part ways after thanking him for getting rid of your pursuers. Stay. I can make it worth your while. Once I reach my former glory, you'll be able to bask in it with me. Is what he said as you swore you heard the front of the castle be sealed shut.

The entire time he looked around the castle with disdain, cross as he complained about the state of his home. While helping him clean up some rooms, he told you more about himself. Vil was a prince who once lived in this castle, set to inherent the throne shortly after the death of his father. However, he was widely feared due to being a prodigy in dark magics and genius at brewing concoctions. For attempting to steal the life of a younger kinder foreign prince who specialized in good magic, he was trapped in a mirror with his tome being the only key to grant him freedom.

Vil actually appeared to be much too fond of you, which you attributed to his isolation. If you were imprisoned all alone in a mirror for centuries, you likely would've gone insane. It was a miracle Vil's mind was intact, but maybe he wasn't there entirely. Because what sane person killed people with the snap of their fingers while smiling so kindly at the one who set him free?

Pridefully he listed off his feats and accomplishments. Living prodigy. Most beautiful man in the land. Prince of the land. It felt too much like flaunting, as he wanted you to realize how truly great he was. He replaced your clothes with his own, and while combing your hair he reminded you that what's rightfully his will be returned to him one day, and you would be there beside him that day.

The crown was what he wanted, a crown he believed was stolen from him and passed down to the descendants of the very good prince he attempted to kill. He spoke of a future in the castle restored to its former glory, where citizens would be loyal to him once again, and those that wronged him will receive a fate worse than death. Positions were open for applying once he became king, he told you one day. He was still searching for a vassal, a knight, a jester, or a partner to wear a crown as well.

Was it the isolation that had driven him to become so attached to the one who set him free? It was possible, but you couldn't even be sure. For all you knew, he could've been like this before he became trapped in the mirror. What mattered now was that he did not make any effort to hide his attraction towards you. Vil was offering a thief all the riches he would attain after his plan for vengeance, and his heart in a golden box.

"Keep the knives I gifted you, although I doubt you'll have to resort to lifting a finger. Just allow me to handle it when the time comes. I want to extract vengeance slowly and painfully, make them hurt just as they did to me... And at the end of the day, you will be there, you little thief who stole my affections, to comfort me and drive away those memories of cold lonely centuries in darkness. You'll be there for me, won't you, my valiant savior?"

[bunjywunjy]

Is spider silk being as strong as steel another lie from childhood? Bc you're able to break it pretty easily on accident. Genuinely asking.

spider silk IS actually significantly stronger pound-for-pound than the same amount of steel, but only in one direction! and coincidentally, it's the same exact direction that got a bunch of people killed in a submersible last month.

see, when people talk about the "strength" of spider silk versus steel, they're specifically talking about tensile strength:

which is specifically the measure of the strength of a material when two forces are pulling at it from the ends, like when a steel cable is holding up a bridge support, or crane cargo:

or like when a strand of silk is supporting the entire spider.

that's tensile strength, baby!

but there's another type of strength that's very important to take into consideration when you're actually building things like bridges and submersibles, and spider silk and similar materials like carbon fiber are absolutely garbage at it! and that's compressive strength.

this is basically the inverse of tensile strength, where instead of being yanked at from both ends, the forces are crushing inwards at the material from both directions instead.

you can expect to see these kinds of forces involved in road surfaces, vehicle engines, and again, submersibles.

now steel and its more competent cousin titanium are fucking GREAT at compressive strength! the harder the outside forces are compressing them, the stronger the metals get.

NOT TODAY, FUCKERS

but strand-based materials like spider silk and, again, carbon fiber, are fucking garbage at this. they can take a certain amount of pressure, but each round with compressive forces snaps some of the strands that makes up the material! and those don't grow back, so basically you're just gradually reducing your poor overstressed carbon-fiber hull into a completely useless shell of shattered thread fragments over time as the strands of fiber that actually give it strength die off one by one.

and eventually, something's gotta give! and then people die about it.

this is why, even though spider silk IS stronger than steel in one specific way, we're never going to stop using steel in industrial applications and switch over to spider silk or carbon fiber full time. these materials all have their areas of use, and steel just covers a wider base of applications.

and don't even get me started on shear strength. we'll be here all damn day.

[d4rkpluto]

𝔞𝔰𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔶

♇ my discord chat chose this to be my 9,600 or 9,700 followers post? either way thank you so much for being with me for this path, i appreciate everyone :)

ʙᴜʏ ᴘᴀɪᴅ ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢꜱ ʙ��ꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪᴄᴇꜱ ɢᴏ ᴜᴘ can get a paid venus/beauty/relationship reading from me!

follow for more content!

ᴀʀɪᴇꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

RIHANNA, NIKKI REED, BILLIE EILISH AND KENDALL JENNER.

♇ aries ascendant beauty involves them having long heads, or a diamond head-shape, but they usually have a really nice side-profile. they're usually people who have slanted eyes, or sanpaku eyes, [there could be another proper word for it?], though i noticed that they have a large space of whites under their eyes, specifically rihanna, billie and kendall.

♇ their lower face is sharp, and smaller/thinner than their upper-face. they're women who can suit dark hair, and they naturally have dark and sharp eyebrows. most of the times, their eyebrows are straight. they have a thin nose bridge, and a long mid-face, full and distinct cheekbones along with full lips and an apparent cupids bow.

♇ they have a clear redness on their faces, specifically cheeks, like a natural blush. a pointy chin and foreheads that could be considered as large, or in a "nicer" term, a broad forehead.

ᴛᴀᴜʀᴜꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

MILEY CYRUS, PHOEBE TONKIN, GIGI HADID AND MEGAN THEE STALLION.

♇ taurus ascendants have small heads and very strong cheek-bones, if it doesnt show naturally, it shows a lot when they smile. they tend to have full lips, but the lower lip is usually bigger than the upper lip. the tip of their nose is usually bulbous, i believe taurus rules the nose, if i am correct, especially because it rules the cow! <3

♇ they usually have very arched eyebrows, known as the venusian arch. compared to the aries ascendant, taurus ascendants usually have a wider nose bridge, and a short mid-face.

♇ their eyes could be considered as mesmerising and intense as their stare is usually very strong. their cheek bones are low, it gives them an apple shaped face. while doing my research, i noticed that most of them have wide lips and square heads, but it suits them really well.

ɢᴇᴍɪɴɪ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

LADY GAGA, AMY WINEHOUSE, MADISON BEER AND KRISTEN STEWART.

♇ gemini ascendants usually have a pale undertone, and their lips are usually naturally thin and very straight [also wide] with their upper lip being sharp, it could be deemed that they have a strong cupid's bow as well. the tip of their nose are usually distinct, whether it be big, bulbous, something about it would just stick out.

♇ they look good while wearing winged-eyeliner, and gemini ascendant people are usually individuals who have a long mid-face, and i've noticed that their face tends to stick out and can be very long but circular. one thing i noticed about gemini ascendants, specifically those who have strong mercurial placements, [specifically gemini] they tend to have a long edge at the side of their lips, it reminds me of joker lips since how wide it can be.

♇ their lips are usually very pink and they have slender necks. their eyes are usually colourful or could be considered as very pale. their beauty involves them having square foreheads/or a squared upper head. and if their heads arent oval, they tend to be very structured.

ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

♇ cancer ascendant beauty involves them having big and beautiful smiles, the tail of their eyebrows tend to be long, while the front of their eyebrows are short. as expected, they have the crescent moon face touch, so sometimes their face could be unsymmetrical, specifically the lower jaw, [unsymmetrical does not mean not beautiful].

♇ their nose tip usually are wide, and their eyes are bright, usually looks like its glistening. their upper lip tend to be smaller than their lower lip, and they have full cheekbones and meaty chins. most of the cancer ascendants i have met have clear skins or it could have a lot of freckles or moles.

♇ cancer ascendants usually have strong but soft features, it stands out, especially when they turn to the side. and i noticed they usually have long noses.

ʟᴇᴏ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

MARILYN MONROE, VANESSA HUDGENS, BLAKE LIVELY AND JESSICA ALBA.

♇ very mesmerising beauty here, leo ascendants do well when they have bright coloured hair, specifically golden/blonde, they also have a bronze/golden undertone. their beauty also involves them having a heart shaped mouth and a long nose bridge.

♇ they're normally short women and have a square or rectangular face, and their chins are usually flat or wide, or both. most leo ascendants have feline eyes and full eyelashes. their beauty contains them having prominent smile lines and nice shoulders.

♇ as they have good posture, leo ascendant beauty includes them having a square fore-head and rosy cheeks. they normally have straight or nice teeth, usually because of virgo being in their second house.

ᴠɪʀɢᴏ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

LADAN FARAH, BELLA HADID, MILLIE BOBBY BROWN AND BROOKE SHIELDS.

♇ they sure do love their side profiles! virgo ascendant beauty includes them having pointy chins, sometimes it goes forwards, they have a prominent nose, could sometimes be seen as a "beak nose" as it's usually thin, very structured or bony. their upper face is square and their lips are usually wide.

♇ virgo ascendant beauty involves hem having a thin/narrow face, either doe eyes or feline eyes, either way, their eyes are usually big. they have arched eyebrows and usually a clean look, a structured jaw and sometimes a micro chin.

♇ noted that virgo ascendants usually have a dimple somewhere on their face, specifically their cheek or on their chin. and their figures are very thin most of the time, or they can appear as frail.

ʟɪʙʀᴀ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

BEYONCE, ANNA NICOLE SMITH, DOJA CAT, ZOE KRAVITZ.

♇ i noticed a lot of them have a light undertone, much libra ascendant beauty involves them having an oval face, [but as libra ascendant is a light essence, their other placements can over take, like anna nicole smith's sagittarius sun making her face more chiselled]. they have a lot of beauty moles and have a glow to them, it could be that hera touch.

♇ a thin nose bridge, very pink lips, and lips that could be considered as pouty. usually like to wear light/earthy coloured clothes, and have short foreheads, or foreheads that are medium sized. like to go for the light coloured hair styles.

♇ as they have a short lower face, their bodies can come off as very relaxed, with them having strong stares, they sometimes appear like they have superior looks. they usually wear much accessories.

ꜱᴄᴏʀᴘɪᴏ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

LANA DEL REY, LILY ROSE, EVA LONGORIA AND JANET JACKSON.

♇ scorpio ascendant beauty is them having dark attractive brows, strong cheek bones and a smaller upper lip. they have owl faces, they sometimes bring their faces forward like one, especially with them having slender necks, them looking like an owl intensifies.

♇ their jaw, chiefly the side of their jaws could be long, and their beauty includes eyes that twinkles, chins that are flat, and a low mid face, it makes them look like baby dolls.

♇ could be into having really dark or light hair, but the light hair are usually with scorpio moons. their beauty involves them having curly/wavy hair, and a full face that is still structured. or you can say chiselled. they could have similar thin noses to virgo risings, but it is not as bony looking.

ꜱᴀɢɪᴛᴛᴀʀɪᴜꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

KIM KARDASHIAN, PARIS HILTON, ADRIANA LIMA AND JESSICA ALEXANDER.

♇ their big sultry eyes is apart of their allure, their eyes come off as darty, and sometimes they can be the hardest ascendant to tell, appearance wise. they're people who do well with nude colours, and when it comes to their lips, their lower lip appears to be larger than their upper lip.

♇ with high cheekbones, they sometimes tend to pucker their lips a lot, which is funny because it gives the horse face structure, [im a sagittarius ascendant]. their beauty is their long noses with a buttoned tip, their nose bridges could be thin but as the nose goes lower, it can be very wide in comparison to the nose bridge.

♇ they usually have straight eyebrows, long but square faces, and heavy eye make up compliments them well. sagittarius ascendants beauty involves them having big gummy smiles and having this elf/fairy essence.

ᴄᴀᴘʀɪᴄᴏʀɴ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

KYLIE JENNER, AISHWARYA RAI, ARIANA GRANDE AND MEGAN FOX.

♇ capricorn ascendant beauty has them mostly having short and square faces, doe eyes and eyes that are a light shade, with it being paired with having strong noses, they come off as daring and sultry. their eyebrows are usually arched, almost horn-like. most capricorn ascendants have very light pink coloured lips.

♇ they tend to have a small but pointy chin, somewhat like their sister sign, cancer. capricorn ascendant beauty involves them having most of their features in the middle, and they can sometimes appear like they're fragile, example, ariana grande. with the other capricorn ascendant people i've done research on, they usually tend to do surgery.

♇ their beauty involves them having almond shaped eyes and full eye-lashes, like dolls. they remind me of blythe dolls. most of them have this cold beauty, a type of essence that makes them appear like they're hard to reach, muted colours look good on them as well. and i've noticed they have dimples.

ᴀQᴜᴀʀɪᴜꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

GABRIETTE, ZENDAYA, AURDREY HEPBURN AND AALIYAH.

♇ tim burton kind of beauty, have a specific hairstyle, and like the sign they share the same planet with, capricorn, aquarius ascendants have square heads. compared to other aquarius placements, aquarius ascendants are least likely going to have alien shaped heads in my opinion. on the other hand, their beauty involves them having a ghostly or classic type of beauty.

♇ they have pretty hands, could be the aries in the third house, and are likely interest in thin brows, or could be into styling them. overall, the eyebrows are distinct. they tend to have a big sized nose, and when it comes to their eye shapes, they are usually slender and kind of downturned, or it looks sleepy. red lipstick looks good on them.

♇ tend to have a dimple in their chin, and have sad eyes, the tip of their noses are sometimes downturned. and they have low cheekbones which adds onto their ghostly/ghastly look.

ᴘɪꜱᴄᴇꜱ ᴀꜱᴄᴇɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ

BARBARA PALVIN, ROSÉ, JENNA ORTEGA AND SABRINA CARPENTER.

♇ they look like both baby cows but fishes at the same time, specifically the female fish from fishtales, their cheeks are usually full and puffy, and their beauty involves them having very blue eyes, if not blue, it appears as very watery. when i was looking at pictures of them, most of them had their mouths open...it's a cute fish thing.

♇ they have diamond heads and sharp chins, their beauty involves them having short eyebrows, and tend to have a surprised but focused look. they look good in many colours, but specifically pink.

♇ pisces ascendants tend to have chiselled faces, and big eyes and small figures, if not by the help by other planets. women who are pisces ascendants tend to be midgets, but its a cute look on them.

ʙᴜʏ ᴘᴀɪᴅ ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢꜱ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪᴄᴇꜱ ɢᴏ ᴜᴘ can get a paid venus/beauty/relationship reading from me!