#and i say “yes please here is $5000”

[metalgearsolid3pussy-eater]

if surgeries are being performed electively and "for-profit" they're no longer experimental, that's just straight up not how that works my dude

Sorry I’ll ask my relatives whose lives were saved by organ transplants to take those thangs out because they’re not Mr potato heads

Imagine comparing the elective removal of healthy organs to life-saving organ transplants. I can't fathom misunderstanding a point this hard.

[flower-zombie-rob]

https://youtu.be/GnndBPn77zM

So this is going straight the fuck away in like ten minutes but i made a chase brody inspired short film for a project i was assigned(im a film student) and i just thought it might be nice to share that with the communuty that inspired it, right?

Its nothing special, just me experimenting with filmaking elements and attempting a one-man-crew project just to strengthen my skills(cinematography, lighting, scripting, location recce, pre-production paperwork etc) so thats all to say the moment you start cringing click the fuck away please thank you

[anangelwhodidntfall]

Don't Matter: Lewis Hamilton

Formula One Masterlist

word count: 1k

description: a bad experience while out shopping with Lewis has you questioning your relationship with him.

Today was supposed to be a nice day out shopping with your boyfriend. You guys had been walking around browsing different shops when you came across a jewelry store. Who knew a prefect day could go downhill in ten minutes?

"Why don't you look around while I go grab our drinks?" Lewis had said. 

"Okay." You said giving him a kiss before walking inside. 

You walked inside and went over to the ring section just to look to see if anything caught your eye. 

"Hi there, is there anything I can help you with?" The associate asked as she glanced at your outfit. 

"No just looking around." You said giving her a small smile. 

You continued browsing around as you felt her follow you around, and you let out a sigh. You should've known better than to come in here without Lewis, people like you would always be looked down upon.  You reached into your pockets and grabbed your phone preparing to text lewis when your sleeve fell down revealing your charm bracelet that lewis had gotten you for your birthday. 

"Security! We have a possible theft happening!" The staff yelled as she grabbed your wrist.

"what are you talking about? I was wearing this when I walked in." You said. 

"No you weren't. Nice try though." She said. 

"Yes I was! I never take this thing off, it was gift from my boyfriend! See!." You said showing her a picture of you and lewis. 

"I highly doubt that someone like lewis Hamilton is dating someone like you, let alone buying a $5000 bracelet." She said. 

"Hey! Give me that back! My boyfriend gave me that!" You said as the bracelet was removed from your wrist. 

"I highly doubt someone like Lewis Hamilton would date someone like you, let alone buy you an expensive bracelet like this. If you leave now we won't involve the authorities." She said. 

You grabbed your bag and rushed out of their nearly crashing into Lewis who had just returned from getting y'all's drinks. He immediately set the drinks down and gathered you in his arms worried about you. 

"Sweets what happened? Why are you crying?" Lewis asked gently stroking your hair. 

"Nothing. Can you please just go get my bracelet back?" You asked.

"Your bracelet? Why would I need to go get it back?" He asked you confused. 

"They accused me of stealing it and lying about my relationship with you. They said that you would never date someone like me, let alone buy me a $5,000 dollar charm bracelet." You said as anger boiled inside his chest.

The bracelet you were referring to was a gift from Lewis for your birthday that had charms on it that meant things to you. He had it custom made for you and never thought that someone would accuse you of stealing. How dare they treat you like that based on how you look? How dare you they say those things to you? 

"I'll be back." Was all Lewis said. 

"Lewis please it's not that big of deal!" You said following him into the store. 

"Does someone want to explain to me why my girlfriend was so rudely treated based on her appearance? Please explain to me where you got the nerve to comment on my relationship with her and then accuse her of stealing?" He said. 

"Mr Hamilton we are so sorry, there must have been some kind of mistake." The owner said trying to smooth the situation over. 

"No mistake here, your staff all took one look at my girl at judge her and then accused her of stealing and saying some hurtful things. Give me her bracelet back now and believe me when I say your company will never get my business again." He said. 

The staff member gave you the bracelet back but it was already ruined a few of the charms had fallen off. Lewis didn't miss the way you eyes water upon seeing the state of your bracelet. 

"I'm sorry about the mix up miss." She said. 

"No you're not. Your only sorry because my boyfriend and your boss made you give me my bracelet back. You people always look down on people like me and then try to kiss our ass when you find out we have money." You said giving her a nasty look. 

You two made your way out of the store and into Lewis's car where you guys drove home not feeling up to shopping anymore. 

Lewis hated seeing how much the other day affected you, you had shut down not wanting any gifts from him, and just withdrawn. He had sent your bracelet off to get fixed after that store broke it and it finally came back and he couldn't wait to give it back you. 

"Where's mama Roscoe?" Lewis asked scratching his ears. 

The two of them made their way towards y'all's bedroom where he found you sitting in reading. he quietly knocked and you looked up at him giving a small smile as you closed your book. 

"I got something for you sweets." He said taking a seat on the bed and handing you the box. 

"Lew I couldn't..." You started to say but he grabbed your hand and pulled you into his lap. 

"Sweets I know what happened the other day made you get into your head...but trust me when I say that there is no one else for me, you are absolutely prefect. I don't care that you don't come from money or have a high paying job. I care only about the beautiful, kind girl who given me the  absolute honor of having her as my girlfriend." He said placing a kiss on your lips. 

"I'm sorry for shutting you out the last few days, between the incident and what they said, it just got in my head." You said to him. 

"No need to apologize, I understand. Just as long as you understand, I will always defend and spoil you." He said making you smile as he handed you a box. 

You carefully opened the box and were shocked to see your bracelet that had been broken a few days ago. You smiled as you lifted it up and saw all your charms and been put back on, before throwing your arms around Lewis. 

"Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever, I don't deserve you." You said. 

"It's me who doesn't deserve you." He said. 

"Can you put it on me?" You asked shyly.

"Of course sweets." He said wrapping the bracelet around your wrist before placing a kiss on your knuckles. 

"I love you Lew." You said placing a kiss on his lips. 

"I love you sweetheart." He said looking at you with a smile. 

[mistycreativelilacs]

Can you please write a Bruce Wayne imagine where he catches her singing or something cute like that?

Welp… it only took me -checks watch- three years to respond to this, but uh… here’s a 5000 word drabble I guess.

Kitchen Off Limits

About a year into living at Wayne manor you enacted an (ever growing) list of rules. Originally the list only had three rules on it:

1. Sunday is family day. Baring any Gotham destroying/world ending catastrophes everyone is to be in the dinning room no later than 11am for brunch followed by a previously voted on family activity.

2. Family Activity planning occurs on the first Saturday of the month, activities for the whole month will be decided then.*

*Attendance is NOT mandatory, however those who do not participate do not get to complain when we spend 3 Sundays in a row at the zoo.**

**No liberating animals from the zoo.

3. Monday thru Saturday the kitchen belongs to Alfred. Sunday morning’s the kitchen belongs to Mom*.

*That means no one, not even Alfred can enter the kitchen until AFTER brunch**.

**Yes Tim that includes you. You can wait for your morning cup of coffee***.

***ABSOLUTELY NO coffee pots, mini fridges, microwaves, blenders, hot plates, or dry food storage in your bedrooms or you WILL be personally hunting down every rodent and bug that comes crawling into the manor****.

****You can NOT train an army of cats to hunt vermin as a trade off for a mini fridge.

Certain amendments had to be made to the list with each new addition to the household. The final amendment to rule three inspired the creation of its own rule.

243. If you bring a pet into the house, YOU must personally care for it at all times. This includes feeding, grooming, walking, training and cleaning up after them as well as insure they have a proper habitat to live in*.

*Your bedroom is only a proper habitat for regular domestic animals (ie. dogs, cats, fish, small reptiles, small birds, caged rodents such as rats, Guinea pigs or hamsters and snakes, within reason - no large pythons). Large animals whether native to our region or exotic must be housed in a properly built enclosure on the grounds.

Needles to say the Wayne children kept you on your toes. Which brings us to now.

You awoke at the crack of dawn this morning to prep for the day. In a not so shocking twist, Damien had lied, cheated and outright bribed several of his siblings in order to get a zoo trip in this month. The Waynes were such regulars at the zoo (and contributed so much in donations) that they’d named an entire section after the family. The Wayne Reptile House (filled to the brim with several of the reptiles you’d ‘rescued’ from Damien’s room upon Alfred’s discovery of Damien’s unsanctioned renovation of his closet). It was important to you that the children experienced even just a smidge of normalcy amongst all the vigilantism.

You’re staring into the pantry, debating whether to do pancakes or waffles, when an old favourite song comes on the speaker. This was your favourite part of Sunday’s. Once everyone realized how serious you were about the rules, Sunday morning had become your alone time. If the kids were fighting, they handled it amongst themselves. If someone had a question, they went to Bruce or Alfred for answers. Mom was not to be disturbed.

The word Mom still brings a small smile to your face. You’d never really pictured yourself as a mother but when you’d stumbled your way into a romance with THE Bruce Wayne, he’d already gained 2 of your ever growing hoard of children. You’d stumbled your way into motherhood much the way you stumbled into Bruce’s arms.

You begin to softly hum to the song as you decide to just make pancakes and waffles. With a family full of crime fighters more was always the safer option. No one wants a repeat of Tim and Richard’s destructive fight for the last cinnamon bun. You had to spend a fortune redoing the dinning room after, replacing antiques was not cheap, and your heart still hadn’t recovered from the sticker shock. Needless to say the boys were still working off their debt by assisting Alfred in the daily runnings of the manor. As you got lost in the gargantuan undertaking of cooking for the whole Wayne clan, your gentle hums morphed to soft whispers of lyrics.

Just as you were frying the last batch of pancakes the opening chords of your and Bruce’s song came through the speakers. It would be more accurate to state that you’d unilaterally declared it your and Bruce’s song. During your second year of dating you had slowly begun introducing him to the world of romcoms. One particularly chilly fall day that year saw Bruce catching a cold. You took advantage of that to force him into a binge of some of the best and cringiest of your favourites from the 2000’s. Two particular movies seemed to make the notoriously stoic Bruce Wayne emotional. The obvious one being ‘Two Weeks Notice’, but it was the Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore semi-musical ‘Music & Lyrics’ that would produce the perfect song for your and Bruce’s life together.

As the sounds of Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore came through the speaker you began to sing in earnest.

‘I've been living with a shadow overhead

I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed

I've been lonely for so long

Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on’

Your mind drifted to how you and Bruce met. Recently heartbroken and determined never to let another man hurt you, you’d sworn of men and decided to dedicate all your attention to advancing at work. Your first steps were taking the assignment no one else wanted to touch with a ten foot pole. Being Bruce Wayne’s personal assistant. Those who succeeded at such a gargantuan undertaken seemed to excel through the ranks at Wayne Enterprises, but those who fell short well, you’d heard his last personal assistant had moved back home to small town Kansas and given up the corporate ladder completely.

Your first week had been a cake walk, seeing as Bruce had been away on business meetings in Europe. It’d given you time to get settled in and a system in place. You were determined to be the best personal assistant he’d ever had.

Upon Bruce’s first day back in the office, you’d mustered up all the courage you had and waltz into his office. With barely a good morning you’d launched into a tirade of how things were going to be and that unlike his past assistants you were going to set boundaries. He’d blinked at you slowly, and you were convinced you were about to be fired. His mouth opened and the word okay seemed to unintentionally fall out. You both stood there a moment, seemingly shell shocked at the interaction, before you gathered your wits. With a pivot of your heels you rushed out your own okay before returning to your desk.

Unbeknownst to you Bruce himself had been going through a touch of heartbreak, having had a fall out with his former paramour Selina. His accounts of your first meeting paint you in a much fiercer, more beautiful light. But you’re sure he’s simply remembering the day with rose tinted glasses seeing as you had a poorly concealed coffee stain on your blouse and your hair had definitely begun its escape from the clip you’d rushed it into on the train that morning. Nevertheless he claims it was your fierce determination that stunned him into submission and not his utter exhaustion from sleep deprivation.

‘I’ve been hiding all my hopes and dreams away

Just in case I ever need ‘em again someday

I’ve been setting aside time

To clear a little space in the corners of my mind’

The weeks following your initial meeting were a full of meetings, calls and insuring your boss took proper care of himself. It took exactly three days for you to realize he’d forget to eat, four to realize he seemed to not be sleeping either.

You quietly placed a standing order with the sandwich place down a couple blocks from the building, and then methodically went through Bruce’s calendar and put a two hour meeting blackout everyday around 2pm. You’d also had the couch that sat on the wall just outside his office doors moved into his office proper. The next day you simply waltzed into his office at noon and dropped the sandwich on his desk before returning to your own desk. Two hours later you waltzed in dropping a pillow and blanket on the couch and closed the blinds without a word. As you turned to leave Bruce questioned what you were doing. You simply informed him that you’d place a permanent daily block on meetings between 2pm-4pm and that his office doors would be locked for that period of time as well.

When asked, Bruce will claim that as the day he fell in love with you.

You continued on that way for months, the world seeming to move in a blur around you. Your friends encouraged you to start dating again, but you just weren’t sure you could ever trust a man again. Besides, work was so exhausting most days that you were certain you’d simply pass out at the restaurant if you did go on a date. What a terrible first impression that would make.

It was a seemingly unremarkable Tuesday morning when the world came screaming into focus again.

‘All I wanna do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

Oh’

You’d been tutting about the office while Bruce attended a meeting with Lucius in the lower levels of Wayne Enterprises. You had just started printing off a report for Bruce’s next meeting when your printer ran out of paper. Normally this would be a none issue, except for reasons unknown to you, the night cleaner had developed a habit of putting the box of printer paper on top of the bookcase in the corner. A bookcase that stood nearly three heads taller than you. He’d been doing it for weeks despite your many conversations with him about it. You had tried bringing it up to Bruce, but he just blamed it on the language barrier and claimed it as a non-issue since he could just grab it for you.

It was just your luck that the printer would run out when Bruce was in the midst of a meeting and wouldn’t be back for at least another hour, probably two seeing as his meetings with Lucius always seemed to go over their allotted time slot. You’d been certain the office would have a step ladder hidden around somewhere, but after nearly twenty minutes of searching and being put on hold with maintenance, you’d given up. You could just wait till Bruce returned, but you had only printed half of the first of ten copies of a 40 page report that was required for his next meeting. You’d begun cursing everyone from the night cleaner for his obsession with moving the paper to the head of marketing and research’s assistants for not sending the reports yesterday when you’d requested them. Difficult problems required creative solutions, however the only thing you had that was light enough to drag over to the bookcase while giving you enough height to grab a ream of paper was your office chair. As the head of the companies employee safety committee you knew this was a terrible idea, as Bruce Wayne’s golden assistant the risk of letting your boss down for the first time ever outweighed the risk to your personal safety.

Even with the chair you needed to climb the bookshelf to actually reach the shelf the paper was on. Ream firmly in your grasp you moved to step back into the chair. As your foot touched the chair your hand slipped from the shelf and you felt yourself go backwards. You closed your eyes and braced for impact but it never came. Instead you felt arms wrap around your back and hip, securing you to a firm chest. You opened your eyes coming face to face with Bruce. Had his eyes always been that blue?

“What the hell were you doing.” He was angry, his blue eyes tightening with worry. A warmth flitted through you at the thought that he cared about your safety.

“Grabbing the printer paper.” You gasped out, bending to grab the ream that had fallen to the ground when you’d lost your grip.

“You could have injured yourself if I hadn’t shown up in time.” Bruce was still in your personal space and it was starting to overwhelm you. ‘Had he always been this… large?’ He seemed to tower over you.

“Yes, well I wouldn’t have needed to do all that if the cleaner would stop placing my printer paper up there.” You’d stepped back from Bruce, needing something to keep you from ogling your boss, you began fiddling with the printer.

“You could have waited for me.” He got in your space again, his voice softer now as he took the paper from your shaking hands.

“Do you understand how ridiculous it is to have to wait for the CEO of the company just to load a ream of paper into my printer?” You huffed out, turning back towards him now. The two stood there, chest to chest just staring at each other. You didn’t want to be the one to back down first, but you weren’t sure how much longer you could keep from blushing while staring into to his eyes.

‘What was with you today? You’d never had a problem going toe to toe with Bruce before. Now suddenly your acting like a horny school girl, daydreaming about climbing this man like-

“Fine.” Bruce stalked off to his office, an indiscernible glower on his face, leaving you to ponder what the hell had just happened. And why you seemingly out of nowhere had very inappropriate thoughts about your boss.

That night marked the first of many failed blind dates, agreed to only after having decided that it was your lack of a love life that had you daydreaming about your boss.

The next morning the box of paper was on the bottom shelf of the bookcase.

‘I’ve been watching but the stars refuse to shine

I’ve been searching but I just don’t see the signs

I know that it’s out there

There’s gotta be something for my soul somewhere’

Things between you and Bruce changed after that day. You’d never realized how comfortable you two had become with one another until you suddenly weren’t. You’d taken to communicating with him almost exclusively through emails and his calendar due to how awkward everything had become. He’d try to ask you about your life and you’d just clam up, not wanting to tell the object of your recurring lusty dreams about your string of failed dates. Failed because after less than two minutes you’d start comparing all of them to Bruce. The whole thing was getting so out of hand, you’d started seriously contemplating putting in for a transfer.

You’d been so lost in thought it took Bruce loudly clearing his throat for you to notice him standing in front of your desk.

“Yes, Mr. Wayne?” You’d resolved that complete professionalism was the only sure way to put everything back to normal. Or at least it will hopefully allow you to cling to some semblance of normal until you stop chickening out and put in for reassignment.

“I was wondering,” he seemed nervous, fidgeting with the snow globe I kept on the edge of my desk. “Do you have a date to the Christmas Gala?” Oh. He’s not? Is he? He couldn’t possibly-“I was just thinking if you didn’t have one, we could go together.” He was- “just as friends. We are friends aren’t we?” n’t.

“Yes, Mr. Wayne I suppose I’ve come to regard you as a” the word friend seemed to catch in your throat “friend over these last few months. But, to be quite honest with you, I wasn’t planning on attending the Christmas Gala.”

“You have too. In fact, I’m making it a mandatory requirement of your job that you have to be there. I’ll pick you up at 7pm.” He didn’t even give you time to respond before waltzing back into his office. It took all of 30 seconds for you to follow after him.

“You cannot force me to go to the gala Mr.Wayne.” You’d stopped in front of his desk, arms crossed over your chest.

“Why not?” He leaned back in his chair, smug smile glued to his face.

“Because I’m a human being with free will and, according to the Wayne Enterprises Employee Handbook, attempting to force me to attend would constitute harassment.” The smile slowly dropped from his face as he rose from his chair.

“If you truly don’t want to attend, I won’t push the matter.” He took slow, deliberate steps towards you, halting just far enough to be considered proper, but still close enough for you to catch the scent of his cologne. “However, it’d mean a lot to me if you did attend.” You’d been so distracted by his eyes and the seemingly sincere look on his face that you hadn’t even noticed he’d reached for your hand. You stood there utterly unmoored by the events of the past few minutes. You mentally shook your self out and opened your mouth to once again decline his invitation.

“Okay.” You were stunned with utter disbelief at the disconnect between your brain and your mouth. Bruce smirked.

“Perfect, like I said early I’ll pick you up around 7pm. If we’re going together, I really should match my tie to your dress. What colour is it going to be?” He’d started heading back to his desk.

“Mint.” You mumbled out. If you were going to be photographed on Bruce Waynes arm, even as just a friend, there was only one dress in your wardrobe that was even close to passable. Turns out you would get a second wear out of the bridesmaids dress from your sister’s wedding.

‘I’ve been looking for someone to shed some light

Not somebody just to get me through the night

I could use some direction

And I’m open to your suggestions’

The Christmas Gala was a disaster. The gala itself was wonderful, decorated to the nines, wonderful little hors d’oeuvres being passed around on trays that looked suspiciously like real silver. You however were a disaster. After entering the gala on Bruces arm, to the flash of what seemed like a million cameras, you’d been immediately pulled away to solve a crisis for the marketing assistants. The crisis turned out to be nothing more than a minor tear in her dress. One strategically placed safety pin later and you found yourself in the midst of the gala uncertain where Bruce had wandered off too.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing standing alone?” Oliver Queen. You’d had several run ins with him whilst working for Bruce.

“Oliver, not that it’s any of your business but I’m looking for Bruce.” You didn’t even bother glancing at him, lest you encourage his flirtations. “You haven’t seen him recently, have you?”

“Does Brucie really have you working on Christmas? He truly has no shame. If you were working for me-“ You cut him off before he could descend into what was sure to be a thinly veiled innuendo.

“We’ve talked about this Oliver. I’m not interested in you, professionally or personally.” You levelled your iciest look at him.

“Sheesh, can’t even give a guy a shot in the spirit of Christmas?” You harden your glare. “Fine, fine. I can take a hint sometimes.” He raised his hands in surrender before placing them on your shoulders turning you in a full 180. “Your beloved Brucie is right there, and it seems he’s decided to use the spirit of the season to rekindle an old flame.” You were met with the sight of Bruce and Selina Kyle in an arch way locked in a kiss.

“Oh.” Logically you knew you had no right to be upset. Bruce had made it abundantly clear the two of you were just friends. But if that were true, why did this feel so much worse than any breakup you’d gone through in your near 25 years of life. “Excuse me, I need to- I should check- I…” You left Oliver standing there as you rushed from the ballroom.

‘All I wanna do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart again

I guess I’m hoping you’ll be there for me in the end’

You wrote your two week notice on the train ride back to your apartment. You were sure you looked quite the sight, shivering in your evening dress, makeup running down your face from the tears you couldn’t hold back. It took an hour longer than normal to reach your corner of Gotham, it gave you time to compartmentalize. Due to the Holidays you’d only have to work out one week of your two weeks notice, but that was still one week of having to see the man who had unintentionally shattered your heart. The worst part is you couldn’t even be mad at him. He’d done nothing to lead you on or imply that you were anything more than friends. You’d simply allowed your imagination to get the better of you and now here you were crying because you’d broken your own heart. You were so lost in your own heartbreak you failed to notice the man standing outside your apartment building until you literally walked into him.

“I’m so sor-“ you began to tumble out an apology as you lifted your eyes to the face of the torso you’d just slammed into, only to be met with achingly familiar blue eyes. “Bruce?”

“You left.” He looked upset, almost as if he were the one heartbroken. “You didn’t even say goo- Have you been crying?” His hand lifts to your face, thumb trailing under your eye. You have to repress a shudder at the feeling of his warm hand on your cold cheek. “Was it Queen? Did he say something again? I’ll have him bared from the building.” You step out of Bruce’s embrace.

“No, it wasn’t Oliver Mr.Wayne.” Professionalism, detachment, that was the only way you were going to get through this final encounter with the man you’d come to love. “It was a personal matter and it’s been handled. But since you’re here I might as well do this face to face. I’m resigning from my position as your personal assistant effective immediately. I’ve already emailed HR and-“

“No.”

“No? This isn’t a yes or no, situation Mr. Wayne. I’m not asking your permission, I’m telling you. I quit.” You’re astonished at the level of strength in your own voice.

“No, you don’t. And while we’re at it you’ll stop with this Mr.Wayne nonsense and go back to calling me Bruce.” He’s agitated now, angry at you.

“Mr. Wayne once again it’s not up to you. I’ve already sent my notice to HR, and accepted a new position elsewhere.” A small lie, but a seemingly necessary one seeing how hard of a time Bruce seems to be having with grasping the concept of your departure from his life.

“Then I’ll buy this new company you work for.” He’s invaded your personal bubble once more.

“Mr. Wayne you can’t just buy a corporation to stop me from quitting.”

“Bruce, and yes I can. I’m a billionaire if you’ve forgotten.” You’re nearly chest to chest at this point. “If this personal matter is the reason you’re quitting, then let me help. I’m sure with your brains and my money we can figure out a solut-“

“I’m in love with you, you idiot.” You push at his chest, anger fuelling your every movement now. “I’m in love with you and I didn’t relish the thought of having to sit in that office day after day watching you moon over Seli-“ He’s kissing you. Bruce Wayne is kissing you. Your to stunned to do anything other than let him.

‘There are moments when I don’t know if it’s real

Or if anybody feels the way I feel

I need inspiration

Not just another negotiation’

When he’d finally pulled away, self satisfied look on his face, you began to berate him. It was his turn to be stunned into silence while you cursed him out in the middle of the street (unbeknownst to either of you, one of the teens from your apartment block filmed the whole thing. It went viral by morning and Wayne Enterprises PR team had to work overtime to spin it in the companies favour). It would take the better part of a week for him to convince you that what’d you seen was Selina’s last ditch attempt at winning him back. It’d taken him another two months of failed wooing attempts to finally get you to agree to be his girlfriend.

‘All I wanna do is find a way back into love

I can't make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart to you

I'm hoping you'll show me what to do

And if you help me to start again

You know that I'll be there for you in the end’

The song fades out and your left standing in the middle of your kitchen lost in thought when a gentle chuckle penetrates your subconscious. You whirl around to find Bruce leaned against the entryway, smile lighting up his face.

“How long have you been standing there?” You could feel a blush beginning to bloom across your cheeks.

“Does it matter?” He advances on you, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“Yes, I need to gauge how embarrassed I should be.” You sink into his embrace, wrapping your own arms around his neck. He bends down and plants a gentle kiss on your lips.

“What were you thinking so intently about?” He gently sweeps an errant strand of hair behind your ear. It was your turn to plant a distracting kiss on Bruce’s lips, the last thing you needed was to inflate his ego. “Ah, so you were thinking about me.” He smirks when you break for air.

“I was not.” Your blush deepens, as if thinking about your husband was the most scandalous thing in the world.

“Mom’s always thinking about you. It’s kinda gross actually.” Jason sat atop your counter eating a cinnamon bun. “What do you even see in the old man anyway? You’re young, attractive and funny. You could do a lot better than Bruce.”

“Off my counter.” You pulled out of Bruce’s embrace to admonish your son. “And put that down, those are for brunch.” You swat his hand away from the fruit tray. He hops off the counter planting a kiss to your check, as he grabs the fruit tray and starts carrying it to the table in the adjacent dinning room.

“It is brunch though mother.” You startle a bit at the sound of Damians voice coming from beside you, nearly 15 years in and you still got startled by the way they all seemed to move in utter silence popping up from seemingly nowhere. At 5’4” your youngest was nearly eye to eye with you, a few more years and he’d tower over you like his brothers.

“Did you all collectively wake up and decided today was the day to disregard all of mom’s rules?” You move to turn off the speaker, mourning your few hours of peace and beginning to mentally prep for the chaos of having all 7 of the Wayne children in one dinning room. “Tim you better be putting that coffee into a cup.” You had a sixth sense for Tim’s caffeine habit and, unbeknownst to him, had been taking steps to curb it. Your most recent ingenious plan was slowly mixing decaf into the regular coffee. Your current batch of grounds was 60% decaf and only 40% caffeinated.

“Of course mom. I wouldn’t dream of breaking your rules.”

“Bullshit.” You whisper under your breath. “Aren’t you all currently breaking rule number 3?” The boys had the decency to at least feigen sheepishness.

“But it is brunch.” Duke, Stephanie and Cas shuffle into the kitchen together.

“Technically the wording of the rule does state that we’re not supposed to enter the kitchen until after brunch, which is why I entered the dining room through the hallway.” Richard leaned his head through the entryway between the two rooms.

“We get it, your mom’s favourite little suck up.” Jason slaps the back of Richards head on his way back into the kitchen. He loads his arms with various platters from the counter before turning back to his siblings. “Well come on half-wits, if you’re gonna break mom’s rules might as well make ourselves useful.”

“Jason, don’t hit your brother.” Your admonishment is half hearted at best, knowing full well your second eldest was likely to simply pretend to listen, while waiting till you turned your back to strike his older brother once again. “And Richard don’t even think about retaliating while he’s holding those platters.” You lean against the back counter running a hand through your hair, releasing it from its haphazard bun. You watch the other kids with the eyes of a well seasoned mother, fear for your antique dish-ware seizing you. You really should just invest in plastic dish-ware at this point, or perhaps you can commission Lucius to develop a line of indestructible dish-ware. There has to be a market for that, right?

Bruce comes to stand beside you, placing a mug of tea in your hands. You lean your head against his shoulder, a content sigh leaving your lips.

“No regrets?” He asks, as the sound of a squabble erupt from the dinning room.

“Not a one.” You smile. No, you wouldn’t trade this for anything. CRASH Okay, maybe you’d trade out whichever child just broke- CRASH - TWO plates. “Boys what did I just say about fighting with my antiques in your hands!”

[mothwingwritings]

E and Y for Chifuyu please!

Anon I want to kiss you directly on the open mouth for this one, I LOVE Chifuyu so let's get it. ▼ω▼

(Also yes, I am the worlds slowest human that takes 5000 years to respond so sorry about that I am still here and still answering I am just a little turtle typer ^^;)

WARNINGS: Yandere, mentions of stalking and hints at future kidnapping, Chifuyu being just a liiitle too invested in you, mentions of suicide if you squint.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

From the get go, they bare their entire heart to you. It’s one of the things that drew you to Chifuyu in the beginning, how open and honest he was with you. You were a little scared of him at first, his status as First Division Vice-Captain in one of the biggest delinquent gangs in Tokyo was off-putting, to say the least. Despite that, Chifuyu was never anything but kind to you. With all the things he would so willingly and eagerly do for you, some people even joked that he was maybe too kind. Chifuyu would go out of his way to take you to and from work/school (he always seemed to know your exact schedule, despite the fact that you don’t remember ever sharing it with him), and he was always conveniently nearby whenever something went awry, ready to step in and save the day. Chifuyu was also inclined to bring you daily little gifts and treats just to see you smile, regardless of the fact that you never asked nor expected anything of the sort from him. It was all a bit much, but it was so endearing when he would offer these things to you that you always found yourself unable to deny him.

He wasted no time in getting to know you, and was quick to share the secrets of himself most people would try and keep hidden away. Not long after meeting him, every tragic, harrowing, fucked up occurrence that had ever happened in Chifuyu’s life had been relayed to you in excruciating detail, his guts spilled through late night conversations and wordy text messages. Hearing all he has suffered through at such a young age is heartbreaking, and it kills you inside when you see the tears wavering in his eyes as he weaves his harrowing tales. It makes you want to embrace him, hold him close and protect him from any harm which may befall him, shield him from any pain the future may hold. He melts into your touch, clinging to you shakily when you wrap him in your arms, desperate for your warmth and affection. His vulnerability only makes you feel that much closer to him, privileged that he trusts you enough to share his weakness with you.

But after some time the initial attachment you felt with him begins to waver. His stories go from heartrending to downright threatening, the focus of them shifting from all the sorrow he has endured to all the harm he has physically inflicted on others (and still can, should the need arise). These dark conversations most often happen after you hang out in a group setting or when you give someone besides him a little too much attention. When it’s the two of you alone he’s always been a very calming presence, but the moment there are others among you he instantly becomes on edge-even if it’s his closest friend surrounding you. It unnerves you, the stark contrast in how he presents himself when it’s the two of you alone enjoying each other’s company, versus when others are around.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Chifuyu is a slow burn kind of guy, so he has the capacity to wait for a very long time before he makes any kind of move. He wants to observe you first, take his time getting to know you and how you operate before he makes his move to claim you.

Though he was quick to become enraptured with you, he doesn’t want to rush anything. He prefers taking his time learning everything he can about you, savoring the time it takes to pick up on all your eccentricities and quirks. Each new caveat he discovers about your personality is like a goldmine, and he takes careful note of each and every thing he learns about you, committing them to memory. Should you find yourself staying the night at his home, he’s already picked up on your favorite body washes/shampoos/perfumes through your scent alone, and has stocked up accordingly. Whatever food or drink you prefer he memorizes so he can surprise you with them later. Your favorite color, animal, book, artist-he knows them all and then some.

Chifuyu is more invested in you than he is with anyone, himself included, and he takes pride in being the one person who knows you better than anyone else does or ever could. He may even know more about you than you do yourself, it certainly feels that way sometimes.

He bides his time as he considers the ideal way to confess his deep, all-encompassing love for you. He wants it all to be perfect. The place, how he presents himself, the timing, it all has to be something that will take your breath away, make you feel for him just as strongly as he feels for you. However achieving perfection takes A LOT of planning and he unfortunately has other obligations he can’t ignore that take his time away from you. As much as it upsets him, he doesn’t have the means to just pluck you off the street and make everything work out for the two of you, so he has to do a lot of juggling of his responsibilities that ends up impeding his progress.

Unlike other yanderes, he actually wants you to stay as ‘you’ as possible for as long as possible, not wanting to upset your way of life more than is necessary. He wants you to be happy and thriving without compromising your normalcy, but even more than that he wants himself and your relationship with him to be your primary focus, the one thing that makes you happier than anything else in the world. He will do everything he can to please you, his ultimate goal being to bring you to the same lovesick state he has been resorted to in your presence. He couldn’t bear the thought of you feeling any other way, nor could he live with someone besides himself making your heart race.

That being said, if someone were to insert themselves between the two of you and monopolize your time, attention, or (god forbid) love, he would need to rethink his whole course of action. Whatever trash has you fooled enough to feel such a way doesn’t deserve to be in your presence, nor do they have the right to have even an ounce of your affection. Chifuyu can’t understand why you are even bothering with them, can’t you see how they’re stringing you along, using you for their own selfish gain? Each time they touch you he wants to scream, every time you laugh at his stupid jokes it makes him want to hurl himself into the sun.

He doesn’t understand why you are doing this to him… Wasn’t his companionship enough? Are you trying to upset him? Chifuyu would never hurt you, never betray you, but if you keep spending time with some other jerk… He won’t be able to live with it. If you don’t love him, if you prefer someone else… he can’t really see much purpose in hanging around. Maybe he should just get it over with and remove himself permanently from the picture, that way you can be with whomever you want and he’ll stop being such a burden to you. That is the power you have over him, to decide his fate on a whim, no matter how misguided that whim may be. He prays that you open your eyes and see how wrong what you are doing is, before he is forced to do something drastic you both regret.

The choice is up to you.

[kylorengarbagedump]

Playing Soldier: Chapter 7

Read on AO3. Part 6 here. Part 8 here.

Summary: The longest stay you've ever had from home is about to become much longer.

Words: 5000

Warnings: Medical trauma

Characters: William Tavington x Reader

A/N: Cowritten with @bastillia <3

Off we go into the field! We are loving your comments, your thoughts, your excitement and engagement in the story - truly, we are so lucky. I hope you continue to enjoy what we have planned for the future!!

Please credit all of Grace's letter to Bastillia and her genius. Also, please thank Bastillia for her newly formed fixation on the American Revolutionary War - it's because of this we can't help but bring in actual historical figures like they're our blorbos as well, HAHAHA. It's been a lot of fun learning about history and integrating it into the fic (even if The Patriot was not always hyper-concerned about this LOL)

Love you so much! <3

The letter was crisp, addressed in handwriting that swirled across the page like fairy dust. Grace’s penmanship, for certain—something you’d always envied when comparing it to yours, which bore more resemblance to cresting waves in a storm than anything meant for man’s eyes. It had been dated for a little over a week prior.

“Thank you,” you said to Goddard. “You said this was given to you by whom?”

“Major Ferguson,” he said, stepping further into the kitchen. Then, upon glimpsing your expression and perhaps realizing you couldn’t have possibly known who in God’s sweet Holiness that was, he continued bashfully, “The Major, er, commands another unit that was deployed into the backcountry. Lord Cornwallis ordered most of us to return here to Charleston about a day ago.”

You nodded, turning the paper over in your hands. “I see.” What you wanted to ask but didn’t: Does that include Colonel Tavington, then?

It’d been about two weeks since you’d last seen him in his office. You supposed he’d made good on his intention and set out from Charleston that evening. But he’d been in the field since then, and the status of your parole hung in the balance. Ghoulishly, a part of you had hoped he’d been killed in action. Perhaps even more ghoulishly, another, hungrier part of you had wished for him to return.

You’d tried to sate that part with nightly hand-feedings proffered between your legs—but still its appetite rose anew and greedy every morning.

“Who is it from?” said Lottie. “Your sister?” She peered over your shoulder, her red curls bouncing into her face.

Goddard gave a playful frown, running his hand through hair that matched his sister’s in color and texture. “I suppose I’m not offered a greeting?”

Lottie laughed, moving around you and throwing herself into his arms. “Welcome home, Benny.”

You grinned. “Yes,” you said. “It’s from Grace.” You peeled open the wax seal and started to read.

June 10 1780

My Dearest Sister,

Though I write this on only the sixth day since I bade you farewell, I feel it has been a lifetime. You will be glad to know that I was yesterday evening delivered home in most agreeable fashion by the company of a Major Ferguson, who attended to my utmost comfort and happiness the whole journey from Charlestown ; a great improvement, I say, upon the accommodations granted to me thence.

It has been made plain to me that the disruptions we endured, Sister, were the most unfortunate results of misunderstanding. A pity that though I beseech God to upend time, He does not heed me. Impossible notions vex and bedevil my sleep night upon night—would that I might stay Death’s hand before he took Mary and Nathaniel and Elijah and Adam. I can hardly bear to think of them, yet it is with shame and difficulty that I place my thoughts anywhere else.

In my most fitful hours on the road—

“I hate to interrupt,” said Goddard, very irritatingly interrupting. “But I fear the hospital may soon be teeming. We skirmished with militia on the road, and our field medic couldn’t attend every man.”

“Oh!” Lottie looked at you, her brown eyes wide with concern. “We should certainly go and help, then.”

You frowned. You were already feeling a little concerned about Grace’s inclination to Loyalist sympathy in the letter. “Can I not have ten more minutes?”

Goddard shook his head. “The colonel already wishes to depart this evening and needs every possible man made fit.”

So Tavington was back in Charleston. For now.

“Out again?” Lottie said. “But you all only just returned.”

“Yes.” Wincing, Goddard stepped past you both to grab a cloth hanging from the stove. As he wiped his face, he sighed. “Lord Cornwallis is holding a council of war. Colonel Tavington is in attendance with the other commanders, but he hopes to gather more cavalry and depart again by nightfall.” He looked apologetic. “You know how he is.”

You pursed your lips, folding the letter and stowing it in one of your skirt pockets. You know how he is, he’d said, as if everyone in the room all had the same experiences with Colonel Tavington, and everyone in the room all held the same opinion about his demeanor, body, face, hair, hands, and eyes.

And mouth.

“A council of war?” you asked, pushing thoughts of all of William Tavington’s body parts to a corner of your mind that you’d revisit in the evening. “What ever for? I thought the Continental army had left South Carolina.”

“Most of them,” said Goddard, plucking a peach from a bowl on the counter. “But they aren’t the problem. Evidently there’s been a disaster involving a group of Loyalists that the General sent north.” He bit into the fruit and sighed, savoring it.

“What sort of disaster?” Lottie asked, her eyes great dark pools of worry.

Goddard shrugged. “Men died,” he said around a mouthful of peach flesh before swallowing. “Lots of them. Don’t know the specifics. I expect we will be receiving new enlistment quotas, though, especially with these militia pestering us now.”

Lottie frowned. “Perhaps we should—”

“Have you had many encounters with militia?” you asked, your pulse picking up. “They seem to have amassed rather quickly.”

“Putting it lightly,” said Goddard, sighing. “Even with Charleston back under the Crown, it seems the rest of the colony remains determined to resist. We even found a small holdout of Continentals up the Santee.”

“Continentals?” you pressed, struggling to maintain a neutral facade. “I query why they would not have rejoined their forces in North Carolina by now.”

“Seems they received a dispatch following the Waxhaws battle, and stayed.” Goddard shrugged and took another bite of peach. “Tenacious, those men, I’ll admit as much.”

“I’m sure it’s all very interesting,” Lottie said, waving you toward her. “But if the hospital—”

“Did your forces engage them? How many were there?” You spoke just a little too quickly, but you were finding it harder to restrain yourself. “What was in the dispatch they received?”

Goddard raised a brow and glanced at Lottie. You consciously corrected your posture so that he might not think you liable to lunge at any moment. He relaxed.

“I, er, I can’t be certain what it said,” he replied. “I never saw the message.”

You exhaled in frustration. “I imagine you were unable to capture the messenger himself, then.”

“Actually, we were able,” Goddard said. Your heart leapt into your mouth. “Colonel Tavington became nigh on feverish in his pursuit.”

Your next question hung like a noose from your tongue, your body rigid as a gallows. “Who…” You swallowed. “Who was the messenger?”

Goddard furrowed his brow and shook his head, like he couldn’t fathom why you were so interested. “Some boy.” He waved his bitten peach through the air. “A… ‘Martin?’”

You nearly sagged in relief, instead bracing a hand against the kitchen table and affixing a passive expression to your face. “Oh.”

“The colonel made a…” Goddard winced, “compelling example of his family.” He paused, grimacing again. “And of their property.”

“I don’t want to hear of such dreadful things,” Lottie interjected. “Anyhow, we really must be off.” She grabbed your wrist. “Let us not stay the King’s men their care.”

“Yes, of course,” you said, forcing a nod. Though your worry was assuaged, your curiosity was very much not. You had, however, pushed both too far. “Let’s be off, then.”

The morning air was already ripening with heat, sticking to your tongue as you breathed it in. You were glad to be rid of your sling, sweltering thing that it was, before the summer’s wrath descended in full. In the smallest of ways, it was freeing. Even if your shoulder did still twinge with pain from time to time, it grew stronger each day. One less restraint upon your body. And one less reason for anyone to insist you couldn’t be of use.

You had welcomed the introduction of hospital labor into your routine. It hadn't been necessary, but staying in the Goddards’ home on your own only chafed your invisible shackles. Without a distraction, you imagined yourself as an anxious dog pacing in a barren cage. Working in the hospital also gave you the opportunity to collect information while wearing one of the most innocuous disguises available.

And besides all of that—you were good at it.

“I hate that the colonel keeps Benedict away so frequently as of late,” Lottie said as you followed her on the cobblestone. “I worry about him.”

You nodded. “I'm sure he worries about you, too.”

“I’m sure he does,” she said, sighing through her lips in a blubbering sound. “He knows I languish in his absence. It’s so difficult. The loneliness, I mean.”

“The loneliness?” You frowned. “You don’t keep busy?”

She laughed. “Of course I do! But it’s no replacement for companionship. Especially of family. You know as much.” With a playful smile, she added, “Benedict tells me it’s all the more reason for me to be married.”

“Is he pushing you to marry?”

“Not in so many words,” she said. “He does seem invested in introducing me to his fellow officers as often as possible.”

You couldn’t imagine doing the same to Grace. She had been your primary companion in life since your mother had passed—in some ways, more your responsibility than your father’s. After all, for those first few years, you were the only one able to tend to the animals or the crops, you were the only one able to make the meals, or sweep the floors. You would climb into bed with her, hours after she’d fallen asleep, after your father had emptied his glass of gin and you’d gotten him to his room.

Thankfully, your father eventually put down the gin. You didn’t think it was possible to put down responsibility. You didn’t even know if you wanted to.

“I see,” you replied. “Are they kind, at least?”

Lottie snorted. “No,” she said. “Most of the Green Dragoons are utter villains.” She folded her arms protectively over her chest. “I’m much more inclined toward Major Ferguson’s corps. He only oversees men of honor.”

There was that name again, said with the same dreamy insistence that Grace had tried and failed to conceal in her writing.

“Major Ferguson,” you said, as if recalling a long-forgotten acquaintance. “I keep hearing that name today. Do you know much about him?”

“Oh, I dream of it.” She giggled with all of the secrecy of a girl with a crush on a church boy. “I think—besides my brother, of course—he might be my favorite officer of all His Majesty’s soldiers.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Truly?”

“I promise you,” she said, “you have never met a man with greater wit, charm, or passion.” She laughed and gave a teasing smirk. “I think he could convince General Washington himself to throw down his arms and pledge allegiance to the King if given half a chance.”

“I will take your impressions under advisement,” you replied, grinning. You suddenly had an idea who was likely responsible for Grace’s shifting sentiments.

When you arrived at the City Hospital, Lottie dipped off to check on the sick she’d tended to the day prior. You, personally, didn’t see the purpose in conversing with those you had no duties to and decided to sit and read through more of Grace’s letter.

In my most fitful hours on the road, when grief seemed to me a dark and terrible ocean without shore, I was sought by the gracious Major Ferguson, who told most diverting stories and drew from me laughter of a mystifying source. I query whether he may be adept with some beguiling magick to have so oft performed a vanishment of my tears. He is a clever and skillful man as well as kind.

You, I am sure, would think more highly of him than you did Nathaniel, though I fear I am now far ahead of myself, Sister, and must stay my pen lest my flights of fancy make off with me, as you know they are apt to do. I am besieged now by shame to even write it, and know that were you here, Sister, you would soothe me by turning my mind to practicalities. As such, and to ease the pain of your absence I feel again coming upon me, I shall address them. I know the welfare of our home indispensable to your peace of mind, so let me assure you of it.

Despite your growing suspicions surrounding Ferguson, a smile crept over your face as you read Grace’s report on the farm. She listed every crop that had needed tending on her return, the condition of each chicken and goat by name, and included an effusive exaltation of your neighbors who had kindly fed them in your absence.

I do not wish to be alone. Major Ferguson is to depart with his men two days hence—

The delicate clearing of a throat resounded from somewhere to your side.

You snapped from the letter, looking up to see a bashfully pleading Lottie leaning around a doorframe. This version of Lottie was becoming all too familiar given the short time you’d worked alongside her. You let out a sigh.

“Now?” you protested, raising the letter to emphasize that you were occupied.

“Please, oh please,” she stepped into full view to clasp her hands in adjuration. “There’s so much blood, it’s horrid, and the bone is broken, and—”

“All right, Lottie.” You couldn’t help yourself. You smiled. “I’ll help.”

Down the hall and into the ward, a dolorous assault slammed your senses. Injured men groaned out in chorus, and the scent of blood hung in the air like coppery vapor. Lottie ducked her head and led you over to the hospital physician—Dr. Moore—who was hovering over a badly wounded man. From what you could tell, he was a young infantry soldier, his coat removed and head wrapped in bandages. Blood smothered his face, dirt smattered his legs, and his right arm was stripped of clothing.

At least, you believed it was his arm. In its current state you couldn’t imagine it being of much use for any purpose other than occupying a dog’s mouth.

“Go on,” Lottie murmured, urging you forward. “I—I’ll be ill.”

Moore caught you both approaching and adjusted the spectacles over his nose. “Charlotte,” he said, testing with his fingers what some might call flesh, but you’d probably call meat. “Where were you? I need your assistance setting the bone.”

“Oh, I’m afraid I, um, I…”

He frowned. “He doesn’t have all day, Miss Goddard.”

She elbowed your ribs, and you hopped forward with a wince. “Actually,” you said, “I’ll assist in her stead, doctor.”

“Hm?” He looked up, squinted at you. “Poultice girl?”

You nodded, even though you'd introduced yourself multiple times. “My name is—”

“Fine, yes. Come now. Hold this for me. Just there above the wrist.”

As you stepped to assist, Lottie quickly backed away, turning pale beneath her freckles as she watched you support the bloodied, blue-mottled limb. “Oh, yes, thank you so much,” she said, turning away, “I’ll be right, ah, right down that way, so, not too far!”

“Hold on, Charlotte,” said Moore. “We still might need you.”

She whinged. You weren’t fully sure how she served in medicine when she halfway lived in fear of it.

Standing by Moore, you propped up the soldier’s wrist and elbow. He stiffened and groaned through his teeth, seeking out reassurance in your eyes. Why yours, you didn’t know—you had no words of wisdom to offer him and didn’t particularly care to think of any, especially when he was impeding the work with his wooden limbs. Lottie swept to his side and patted his other shoulder, keeping her focus on his face.

“It’s all right, sir, we’re going to take care of this quickly, I promise.”

He winced, nodding, and loosened in your grip. You glimpsed her for a moment, her gaze like a deep, warm embrace. This part came as naturally to her as yours did you.

It ached, how much she reminded you of Grace in that moment. The last line you’d read of Grace’s letter—I do not wish to be alone—pricked your heart like a needle. You did not wish for her to be alone, either. You did not wish to be here, in Charleston, spending time gathering scraps of information when you knew she waited as the tender, vulnerable center of your home.

Moore started to work, and you stood still, bracing the soldier’s arm as he wiped away the blood. Even if granted leave, however, you were uncertain if you wanted to return home. The threat of the British grew greater in South Carolina, and under the supposition that both Grace and you were Loyalists, you could maintain a semblance of safety. Especially with your father’s condition still unknown and Tavington still itching for the opportunity to wring all of your necks.

Behind you, the clicking of heels. “And this is our most esteemed physician, Dr. Henry Moore.” It was the matron of the hospital. “Dr. Moore?”

“A bit busy right now,” Dr. Moore said. The soldier groaned as Moore palpated the skin on his forearm, coaxing the severed halves of bone together beneath.

“Can you take a moment?” she asked, before walking toward the other end of the ward. She tossed over her shoulder, “Colonel Tavington wishes to speak with you.”

Your eyes widened. You turned, met Tavington’s gaze and flinched, jerking the soldier’s arm. He howled in pain, and you grumbled, grabbing a wad of unused bandages and stuffing them in his mouth. He whimpered into them. Dr. Moore sighed, manually readjusted your grip, and got back to work on his sabotaged bone setting.

Tavington, meanwhile, regarded you as you imagined he might regard a body climbing to its feet after he’d gutted it. His right hand flexed absently at his side. All you could do was stare at him completely normally and not at all like a bolt of excitement had zipped through you at the sight of him.

He cocked a brow, his focus flicking over you before he turned to Moore. “Dr. Moore—”

“Busy.”

“—the British legion requires your services immediately.”

“I’m sure you believe your needs to be of great importance, Colonel, but—”

“The field medic I’ve currently retained is indisposed.”

“—as you can see, Charleston keeps me preoccupied as is.”

“You should be prepared to depart as early as this evening.”

Moore paused with a sigh, and turned to face Tavington. “Colonel, I make no assumptions regarding the frequency with which you hear this word, but no.”

Tavington’s eyes fluttered as if the doctor had clapped in front of his nose. “Perhaps you believed me to be making a request, doctor,” he replied. “I was not.”

You pinched your lips between your teeth. Moore had stopped his work on the soldier’s arm entirely. Silent, you caught Lottie’s attention from the corner of your sight, and found her face flush with anxious warmth.

“Colonel,” Moore said, with even more exasperation than the previous time, “I am the only physician in Charleston—perhaps all of South Carolina—at present. I cannot abdicate my duties here to ride with cavalry all night.” He stared at Tavington, who did not move or even shift his expression, like Moore was a fussing baby. “But I can—all right. Listen.” Moore looked at Lottie, then back to Tavington. “Miss Goddard here will be able to serve your needs adequately, and she has the added benefit of having no additional responsibilities aside.”

Lottie tensed, her gaze darting between Moore and Tavington. “M-me, doctor?” With a nervous smile, she said, “Of course, it would be my honor, but�� would it be possible for my friend here to join me?”

“Your friend?” said you, the doctor, and Tavington at the same time.

“Please,” Lottie whispered, looking at you. She turned to Dr. Moore. “She’ll be a great help to me.”

Moore sighed and grabbed two splints, lining them up along the man’s forearm. You didn’t blame Lottie for wanting you there. But this would mean you wouldn’t return home. It would mean more time Grace would spend alone. You pinched the splints together, and the soldier whined, muffled by the bandages. As he twisted his head, blood trickled down his cheek, right in Lottie’s line of sight. She choked, turning to try and cough away her clear growing nausea.

“If you insist, Charlotte,” Dr. Moore mumbled as he started the bandaging process.

Tavington, who was watching with winnowing patience, looked at you. “Unfortunately,” he said, “your friend’s freedom does not extend beyond the borders of Charleston.”

You frowned. “But my intelligence was valid.”

“Yes,” he said, “but it did not produce the promised results.”

“A dispatch rider was found and detained, was he not?”

Tavington’s brows raised fractionally. “What was not found was a certain Captain Michael—“

“I am not my father’s keeper,” you growled, shifting more to face him. The soldier whined again and you shot a leer at him. “Shall I next beseech the pagan gods to divine his location, Colonel?”

Lottie glanced at you wide-eyed, alarmed at the tone you were using with a colonel of the British army. “She’s overworked from all of the injured we need to treat,” she offered. “She doesn’t mean that, Colonel Tavington.”

“She does,” he said, still focused on you. He stepped forward, voice lowering. “Divine? No. Reveal—given the insight you possess—yes.”

You snorted. Moore grabbed another roll of bandages and started using it to constrict the soldier’s arm. “If you are still unable to locate my father after everything I’ve told you, I hardly—”

The man groaned in agony, and you realized you’d started tightening your grip as you spoke. You relaxed, and he groaned louder.

Tavington sighed. “Do shut up, Private.”

Your face scrunched, almost amused. The man settled, and you took a breath. “I hardly believe that’s an issue with which I need concern myself.”

“I would say your investment in your father’s life concerns you a great deal,” he replied.

“Alas, but I cannot serve as your prophet, though you flatter me with the notion.” You shrugged. “All of those men under your command, and no success. Perhaps there’s a deficiency somewhere you need to address.”

Lottie hissed your name under her breath. “Please don’t make this harder on me.” Then, turning to Tavington, big brown eyes pleading, said, “I beg of you, Colonel. She’s simply tired. I’ll vouch for her myself!”

“Do you want to take them or not, Colonel?” Moore was tying off the second round of bindings. “If not, I’ll ask you to kindly and politely depart the ward so I can continue getting work done. You may have noticed this, but we’ve a couple dozen of your men here who need my assistance.”

Tavington’s tongue rolled in his mouth, and his eyes met yours. There you found the curiosity you’d spied while in his office, familiar glimmers of interest as he studied you. You swallowed, holding his gaze, wondering what exactly was going through his mind, wondering if he could see your speeding pulse. His head tilted, his chest fell in an exhale.

“And you… You wish to come.”

That really was the question. Your participation in this war had already dumped guilt onto your back as you unceremoniously condemned strangers to suffer and die. The thought of going along with Lottie brought a new deluge of emotions, some of which you worried would war fiercer than the soldiers in the field.

A terrible guilt for abandoning Grace. An even more terrible sadness that you wouldn’t know when you next would see her. And perhaps the most terrible excitement at the thought of waking daily and sleeping nightly within the domain of the most despicable bastard you’d ever met.

Despite it all, you knew that if you kept up the Loyalist facade, Grace would remain safe at home. Your father was the one in danger. And if you were out in the country with his primary—and deadliest—pursuer, you had the highest chance of protecting them both.

All you had to do was stay alive.

“I do, Colonel,” you replied.

“Both of you,” he said, with some amount of dread.

That wasn’t a question, but Lottie nodded anyway. “She’ll be an asset to you, Colonel. A great asset. I promise!”

“I somehow doubt that very much,” he mumbled. “Very well.” He turned to Dr. Moore, who still couldn’t be bothered to look at him while he wiped off the remaining blood from the soldier’s hands and face. “Send them along to the barracks at once. They’ll need to be briefed and supplied before we depart.”

Moore nodded. “Right away, Colonel,” he muttered.

Tavington’s eyes found yours a final time. Whether there was want or warning within them, you couldn’t discern. He turned on his heel and left the ward.

Your shoulders sagged, weight dropping to the ground that you hadn’t known you’d been carrying. Lottie provided you an expression you would’ve described as contrite if there wasn’t so much relief hidden behind it.

“Thank you so much,” she whispered. She rubbed the soldier’s back as he stood and swayed, his arm properly stiff at his side. “Off you go, sir. Get yourself a bed.” Turning back to you, she frowned. “I’m not sure if I can put my appreciation into words, really. I know how badly you wished to return home.”

“Thank you, Dr. Moore,” you said as he stood and moved to the next man. As expected, he did not reply. You shook your head and shrugged to Lottie. “It’s better for me to be doing what I can to serve His Majesty.” You hoped that didn’t sound as contrived as it felt leaving your mouth.

She pursed her lips, waiting for when Moore was out of earshot to whisper, “You have a funny way of showing it, the way you speak to Colonel Tavington!” The horror of your conduct had pinkened her cheeks. “Were you trying to get yourself hanged?”

You frowned. “Of course not.”

“Well, be more careful, then!” She huffed, crossing her arms. “I won’t always be around to rescue you.” She shook her head and brushed her hands down her dress like that would shoo the gore from her person. “Or perhaps he just favors you.”

Your next breath lodged in your throat, and you coughed. “I’m sorry—” You coughed again, straightening. “He what?”

She laughed, nudging you gently. “Oh, you are funny. Imagine, Colonel Tavington favoring anyone,” she said through giggles. “If you’d seen your face…”

“Right,” you said, bizarrely disappointed.

With a sigh, Lottie adjusted her sleeves. “I’ll tell Mrs. Smith that we need to be departing. Oh!” She gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth in delight. “This means that I’ll be in the field with Ben!” With a smile, she skittered over to the matron as she attended an ailing woman.

You tried to grin, but strained your cheeks, deciding to settle into the seat where the soldier had been instead. If you were to be departing with Tavington’s legion tonight, you needed to finish Grace’s letter. You pulled it from your pocket.

I do not wish to be alone. Major Ferguson is to depart with his men two days hence and I must admit that I dread his absence. Already once he has made a most welcome visit to certify my welfare. I told him I was indeed well, but that I should like very much to know the condition of my dear Sister. Though I with most indocile nature demanded his intelligence on the matter, he remained to me gentle and courteous. He wishes it was in his power to oblige me but it is not. He suggested however that should I wish to write you, that he may deliver you my Letter when next he is called to Charlestown. A gallant and charitable offer indeed!

Despite Papa’s endless grievances of the British army I believe he construes them all unkindly. Perhaps every one he encountered was akin to that murderous devil we so unfortunately met. In that case I should understand his misgivings.

A sense of irritation grew in your chest. You decided you didn’t particularly care if this man Ferguson was in fact Jesus Christ himself rose from the dead. The fact he was busy using your sister’s naivety to his advantage made you want to crucify him despite it.

Murderous devil, perhaps, but at least Tavington…

You paused. You couldn’t think of anything he’d done that wasn’t, in fact, worse.

But enough of wars and men. Never have you and I been apart so long, nor our home so reminiscent of a cavern. How clamorous the sound of my pen in this silence, dear Sister. Pray write me when this letter finds you. Until then I shall look each day to the South road and hope to see you return. Do not fret that I am well. Mrs. Jones has called upon me to come for supper and company, she insists, whenever I feel the pangs of solitude too keenly. For this I am grateful.

Ever, ever I remain

Faithfully and Lovingly Your Sister, Grace

P.S. I am sorry for the words herein whose inking is damaged. Mr. Mouser trod upon this Letter and entreats me now with uproarious meows to attend him.

You smiled as you finished the letter. But your heart wilted. You weren’t sure when you would be coming up the south road, or when you’d be able to unburden Grace of solitude. You knew only that you were making the choices you felt were right to keep her safe. Just as you’d always done.

Dr. Moore had left some parchment out on the table with the medical supplies. You grabbed a few pages of it along with his pen. The letter wouldn’t be long, but you could at least let her know that she did not need to worry. That you wouldn’t be returning home, but you would promise to find her, to see her soon.

You dipped the nib in the ink. You started writing.

[gmanwhore]

Hello all! Would you, yes you, like to have a fanfiction written particularly for you? Well you have come to the write place. I need money. So, I am doing writing commissions! My rate is $5 CAD per 100 words, and my cap for writing is 5000 words (a $100 dollar commission). I currently have a goal of $200 for phone bills, and I would really appreciate the help!

References: 1 2 3 4 5 and my AO3

Things I will write:

x Readers/OCs

Shipping (legal shipping)

Family relationships

Angst

Gore

Actually pretty much anything I can write smut now!

Things I will write for:

That's Not My Neighbor (Nightmare Mode included)

Half Life (characters from all games)

Portal

Team Fortress 2

Danganronpa

Hatchetfield trilogy + Nightmare Time

Classic Dr. Who

OCs

Rules for requesting:

Say please and thank you and be respectful.

Please explain what you want as thoroughly as possible. I want to be as accurate to your vision as I can be.

I would really prefer if you want an x Reader fix to provide me with a s/i to work with, that makes writing easier.

If your commission is taking longer than three days contact me.

I will not take requests for: Any ship involving Angus, anything involving Wheatley, or Valhoun. This is for my comfort.

Here is where you can pay me, I also take e-transfers. Please DM me if you are interested!

[oddvanilla]

PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT "SKIBIDI" AND "SIGMA" MEANS I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR A WEEK AND IT KEEPS POPPING UP IN YOUR BLOG AND I'M SO CONFUSED 😭😭😭😭

AAAA I love people who ask me open ended questions,, you're basically allowing me to yap 🫶🫶🫶

It all starts with Gen Z, you could say. The thing with Gen Z is that we're so sarcastic it's CRAZY. I mean, we got lots of terms that millennials can barely wrap their head around. It's like only we can understand this dumb humour. Like obviously, we say "rizz" (short for charisma: a charm) and "GYATT" (usually popular in African-American environments, short for goddamn),, but the thing is, we say that stuff ironically (in a sarcastic manner).

But there's Gen Alpha, basically people who are born after 2010 (until 2025, starts gen beta). And these kids are like brainrotted to the EXTREME. Keep in mind, brainrot usually means people who are too chronically online and sometimes can only speak in internet slang...weird. Gen Alpha is responsible for creating or popularizing some terms. These include a LONG list, I'll try to explain as much as I can here...

Sigma: the equivalent of alpha, an individual who's viewed as dominant.

Skibidi: short for Skibidi Toilet, a series made up of short videos created by DaFuq!?Boom! On YouTube.

Cap: a lie. Usually used in phrases like "No cap!" (No lie) Or "That's cap!" (That's a lie)

Slay: Something done impressively or greatly. Usually used between females but it's NOT restricted to that. used In phrases like "you slayed that/you ate that!"

Sus: Suspicious, unsettling

GOAT: abbreviation for "greatest of all time". Like in "Ronaldo/Messi is the GOAT"

Clout: popularity. Example— "I did that for clout"

Flex: to show off

Bop: Bae of plenty, someone who is seen as a player

Cancel: Cancel culture is pretty much getting celebrities banned off social media platforms. For example, many people want to cancel Andrew Tate.

Noob: newbie, someone who is a rookie. Either new to a game or bad at a game.

Drip: how cool your outfit looks. Like seeing a kid with a hoodie and saying "Damn, that kid got drip!"

Dope: The equivalent of Rad, something that's cool.

Dupe: yes, there's a difference. Dupe is like a knock off or a fake.

Lit: the same meaning as dope. usually something fire, as in it's awesome.

Stan: to be a huge fan of someone. Others can interpret it as a stalker fan, but the first definition is more popular.

Fanum tax: popular streamer Kai Cenat is friends with another streamer known as Fanum. Fanum often appears in Kai's streams to steal food from Kai. Fanum tax has become a popular term between fans indicating someone is stealing your food. Sometimes used in percentages. For example, my best friend casually fanum taxes 85% of my lunch every other afternoon.

Mewing: a technique used to sharpen your jawline, where you put your tongue at the roof of your mouth—often not allowing you to speak.

Edging/gooning/surfing: (Sorry asexuals..) a sexual practice involving controlling your 0rgasm.

Glazing: to over-hype something or give something so much compliments and attention it has gotten cringe worthy.

Tweaking/tripping: to act energetically or even unintelligently under the influence of crack/drugs, used sarcastically.

Aura: an imaginary calculation method of how much power or reputation you have. For example, falling In front of a group of teens means you have lost aura, or power. You can say that's -500 aura (points). Or maybe helping a homeless man. That's +5000 aura. Memes go around like "the golden dog", a card that makes you immune to losing aura.

Of course there is MUCH more. and Gen Alpha creates new terms every other weekend that it's starting to get tiring keeping up with these trends. Unless you're on the internet 24/7/365, then you'd surely know all of these and spontaneously use them. But I don't, so there's a lot I missed here, at least i believe so😭😭

The problem is, gen alpha uses all these different words and terms UNIRONICALLY. Meaning that they're actually serious. And oh, trust me they will look at you weird when you use an outdated word like "lol", "yas", or "YOLO".

So... Who can we blame for this ridiculous behaviour? Obviously, no other than millennial and generation Z parents. In my personal belief, Gen Alpha being on the internet from such a young age is seriously a bad idea. I mean, I have not one, but TWO (2) gen alpha siblings. You can imagine how hard it is from me... My 5 year old cousin goes to kindergarten and he says that he "rizzed" a girl at his class, which got him +10000 aura. Yeah, even I can't believe what this world has come to.

But from another perspective, we can do nothing about it. Maybe it's a good thing to let gen alpha on the internet? After all, we can't keep taking steps back, saying we need to quit phones and cellular devices in general. All we can do, really, is just let the future unfold. A few decades away from now, Generation Gamma or Delta or whatever, is gonna be laughing at gen alpha saying they're as old as time, probably holding a portable toilet in their hands. we never know what the future brings us🤷‍♀️

So that's it, sorry for answering your silly little question with a whole essay 🙏 thank you all for coming to my ted talk.

[t0ast-ghost]

S3 EP23 (All Our Yesterdays) this one sounds romantic, hoping for some good McCoy, Spock, and Kirk encounters

Getting on with it:

- Starting with McCoy, Spock, and Kirk beaming down to a planet

- I have a feeling that “people going” means dying

- Why does Spock take off his tricorder and hand it to McCoy?

- Oh wait a minute this is the magic library

- McCoy don’t mess with shit

- Oh shit Kirk got transported. And his boyfriends went after him!

- Kirk gets to immediately sword fight. Nice.

- “Leave me here, Spock.” “We go together or not at all.” I swear to- oh my goodness- what is wrong with them

- Ohhh so this is where they got the idea for that Odo and Quark episode

- “Unfortunately, he is the doctor, not I.” Spock taking care of McCoy omg omg omg

- Spock’s ears frosted at the tips, I love details <3

- Can’t believe I have to say this, DO NOT KISS HER SPOCK

- This is just a normal winter???

- Kirk getting condemned as a witch was not something I’d expect

- Deforest is defrosted (I am so sorry. I am so sorry. Oh my goodness I am sorry)

- McCoy is more worried about Jim 🥺

- How does she have less clothes on right now

- Spock has to choose between his boyfriends and is getting emotional

- Hi guys. What is this?

- Kirk not afraid to knock out a bitch

- “Then I’ll repeat it for you. Get this through your head. We can’t get back. That means we are trapped, here, in this planet’s past, just as we are. And we’ll stay here for the rest of our lives. Now do you understand?” Intense…

- OMG THIs is crazy

- “Now you listen to me you pointed eared Vulcan!” “I don’t like that. I don’t think I ever did, and now I’m sure.” “What’s happening to you, Spock?” “Nothing that shouldn’t have happened long ago.” I agree with this and think McCoy should back the fuck up

- Literally thought they were gonna kiss for a second

- Kirk not afriad to attack an old man

- MR. ATOS NOT AFRAID TO SHOOT KIRK

- “Do you know what it’s like to be alone? Really alone?” “Yes. I know what it is like.” “I believe you do.” Okay but this episode with the idea that Spock does not find companionship with anyone on the crew, even if he is close with Kirk and McCoy, he is still alone. This is sadness.

- Spock with that rizz (please delete this) (edit: nope)

- I love his smile so much oh lord

- HE TRIED TO SHOVE KIRK THROUGH THE PORTAL ON AN IKEA CART LMAO

- Kirk will NOT mess around when it’s his boyfriends

- “Are you trying to kill me, Spock? Is that what you really want?” I don’t care what’s happening right now just kiss holy shit

- Spock leaving her to go back with McCoy >:)

- Normal way to hold your first officer and CMO

- “But it did happen, Spock.” “Yes it happened, but that was 5000 years ago.” Okayyy.

‘McCoy and Spock arguing again. Fuck about it I guess, just shut the fuck up’ had that in my drafts for awhile but it fit plot of the episode

Masterpost

Episode written by Jean Lisette Aroeste

[nonjewishzionist]

History of Jews in a nutshell (please correct me if I’m wrong):

Canaanite people like: fk I’m starving, there is no food, but I heard the Egyptians acros the street (border) have tons of food, maybe they give us some

*gets enslaved*

- fk, this did not go as I planned

*fast forward 400 years*

- hey my fellow hebrews, you know what? I’m tired of this shit, I’m going back home, who’s with me?

*jews arrive in the promised land*

-ah nice, im finally home, you know what? I’m building a kingdom here or something

*Israel and Judea enter the chat*

-ah, I love this man, having a country for Jews and stuff, where Jews can more or less feel safe and all, I say more or less because there is constantly war day in day in so…

*Romans enter the chat*

- Veni, Vici and this shit is all mine now

- hey you mf Italians go back to where you came from, tf are you doing in my country?

- like I said this shit is all mine now, you can go and fk off somewhere else

- ima fight you and turn you into pizzas since you like them so much

- hahaha you lost, now fk off outta my land, and as punishment ima name this joint Filistine in honor of your arch enemies the filistines around the corner

*rinse and repeat during 5000 years of Jews trying to come back to their home and being kicked out of wtv the place they are, left with no choice but to spread all over the planet*

*fish and chips enters the chat*

- you know what Otomans, you lost ww1 so this joint is mine now

*brits watching in first row how Jews and Muslims beat each other arse just because*

*ww2 enters the chat*

*jews try to flee to British mandate but get told once more to fk off*

*ww2 exits the chat*

*Jews and Muslims fights in the Mandate escalate*

- you know what people? You can kill your selves all you want now, I’m outta here back to England

*fish and chips exists the chat*

Jews: so, you getting out of here right? Can we finally have, like, our land back, like officially? I know Jews have been living here for 5000 years and shit but I would like an official country where the Jews that have been living in diaspora for 5000 years can come back to, you know? To avoid things like ww2, you know? Yeah that would be nice.

Brits: wtv take this piece and give this other piece to Muslims, at least that way you people stop fighting.

*its 48 Israel is born a second time*

- fina fricking lly, hey Jews you can come back home now

*Arab league and other extremists enter the chat*

- ima bomb your ass off, you mf infideles come here steal my shit?

Countries that did an Expellijews after Israel independence: yeah yeah right these mf come from Europe and steal our land, let’s bomb them to dust (yes I know some of them were expelled by me and my homies but who cares?)

*Arab league and friends start a gazilion of wars with Israel, loose them all and get butt hurt from it*

- ya know what? We can’t beat those mf by bomb let’s beat them with marketing, after all those naz1 did it back in ww2, why can’t we?

*1967 enters the chat*

- yeah so, I got high as a kite last night and I decided that yall people within this line and no longer Jordanians and shit, now yall Palestinians, that will make those mf infideles gtfo… and we can drop a bomb or two just so we don’t loose the practice

*Arab league and friends start another gazilion of wars, and loose them all again*

*Iron Dome, checkpoints and other technology enter the chat*

Arab league and friends: those mf dare to defend them selves? What a nerv! I’ll show them, hey marketing! What’s taking you so long? Start with those dumbfucks in some murican universities…

*marketing works*

Israelis like: dear hashem, wtf Are you doing up there? Taking a nap? Look at this shit! Just send another meteor because… look at this!!! These people are dumber than dumbness! It took me 5000 years to get my fking home back, 5000 years man!!!! And now, I got my fking home back and the neighbors are a bunch of crackheads that only know how to explode shit, act worse than kids in the kindergarten, don’t go to therapy and to make things worse, the people from other countries are getting dumber and dumber by the day. I don’t know what is worse!!!! If you don’t do nothing I’m building a rocket to Mars and leave these idiots here…

[blazeofnight]

PotO Italy (Trieste) review - Act 1

Disclaimer: I apologize in advance if I sound a bit defensive, but honestly, the amount of badmouthing the show is getting based on a few unofficial pictures and videos is astonishing and it gets old quickly (but I admit some of the memes are gold and I am enjoying them).

I have not seen other replica productions in full, only pictures, but I have seen the West End production in March. I do consider using Broadway/West End/replica productions as the one and true standard to judge non-replicas unfair in general, but I think it's fair to use them as a comparison to try and understand how these changes affect character dynamics and stuff like that, and to help in trying to understand the reasoning behind the choices made.

My visual memory is VERY poor, so if you've seen the show too and notice I remember something wrong please tell me so I can correct it!

This is almost 5000 words long, so please make sure you want to read it before clicking in the read more. Also please forgive any typos.

The one for Act 2 is here.

THE LOCATION

Il Rossetti was built in 1878 and is typical of the time, with a large stalls area on a gentle slope surrounded by open boxes, and two rows of balconies. During modern renovations they "opened" the boxes at the back to extend the stalls area, and these last rows are raised and angled to give you a better view of the stage. I have to say it is a good compromise to make an older structure more suited to modern audiences.

The interior is painted a rich lapislazuli blue with cream and gold trim, and the domed ceiling has some nice painted clouds. They have installed small lights that resemble constellations, the effect is very nice and they had the good idea of using it during Masquerade to great effect!

The foyer is also very nice, and there is a bar with good spritz at an affordable price.

We were seated in the second row of the raised stalls area, on the right side, and the view was great. Of course some details and expressions were lost, but unless you are aiming for a close and personal experience, it's a good view. There are some columns as you can see in the picture, bu they are thin and don't really obstruct the view in a significant way.

The audio control station was at the back of stalls, too, on the centre right (next to where I was seated), this meant there was a bit of light coming from them but it was low enough to not be a distraction.

I personally found the music to be a bit too high at times compared to the singers' voices, but it's something I think every time I see a live musical and when listening to the audios I take the voices are perfectly clear, so it's likely it's just me having some audio processing issue. The orchestra is 16 instruments, so reduced from the original but it still sounds nice.

There were subtitles! Two screens at the side of the stage with Italian subtitles, and also an app you can download on your phone for subtitles in English, Italian and German. I saw some folks using the app nearby and it looked like it was well synchronized, also since it was white subtitles on a black background the light was not really an inconvenience.

I saw the afternoon show on June 8th.

OVERTURE

The auction scene is pretty similar to the standard, the only difference is the attendants are seated with their backs to the public. Old Raoul is seated in the row closest to the audience, and he turns towards the monkey for his lines so we can see him in profile. The auctioneer activates a big lever switch on the wall to light up the chandelier, which raises over the centre of the stage instead of the audience.

Let's address this immediately: yes, the chandelier is smaller. It still looks nice, and if you're someone who never saw the show seeing it rise and move around is still a very good effect to open the musical with! The flashes of the chandelier's lights turning on and off at the beginning of the overture were timed to the music, which is a nice touch.

A cool idea that I think could use being improved was having the crash accident be replayed in reverse and slow motion during the chandelier rise! The idea is cool, and by using strong white back lighting it looks almost in black and white, reinforcing the idea of a flashback. BUT. This was done, I suspect, because during the chandelier crash you don't really see Christine and the other actors standing below it, which means that if you don't already know what happens it risks being confusing.

I think it could be easily be solved by having the auctioneer add a couple of lines when talking about the accident to make clearer that's what we are looking at and helping people who have never seen the show before connect the dots. It is a cool scene though! This is where the rotating stage-in-the-stage is used for the first time, and you get to see Buquet laughing maniacally while holding the fake lasso, dangling from a metal stair on the "back" of the stage.

HANNIBAL

We transition into the Hannibal rehearsals! I liked the ensemble costumes, they did remind me of actual early '900 opera costumes and the teal+gold combo is nice. Also, a couple of the soldier extras were ensemble actors wearing their regular suits with capes, fake armour and helmets on top of it, I loved it because sometimes rehearsals are just like that!

Image credit, via cdaae

Anna Corvino is a delightful Carlotta, her fake Italian accent is a delight and I loved how she incorporated some stilted acting that is very typical of early '900 Italian opera. It's a small detail but a very nice bonus for opera aficionados. You could really feel her exasperation when the background drop accident happened, overall she felt arrogant but not as entitled as other actresses I've seen in the role.

Piangi (Gian Luca Pasolini) arrives on a litter and stomps on a ballet girl (who understandably yelped loudly) when dismounting, I liked this detail to show he's a bit clumsy. The litter is also used instead of the elephant at the end, with Pinagi getting on it and the bottom giving out comically. Piangi was also suitably snarky towards Reyer in the Rome/Roma bit, and he did say "Amateurs!" while leaving with Carlotta.

Monsieur Lefèvre was dressed in a snazzy cream suit and he was quite funny, his anxiousness in leaving the theatre behind was palpable from the beginning and the little pause before changing topic when André and Firmin ask him why he's leaving was perfectly timed.

Ear Carpenter is clearly having the time of his life as André, and Ian Mowat is a suitably snarky Firmin with a likeable practical, no-nonsense attitude.

A special note for Rober Ediogu, the male dancer in this production: the scene was a bit cramped, but his grace and elegance are absolutely undeniable and he really gave the vibes of a consummate professional who has Seen Things while working at the Opera.

When Meg (Zoe Nochi) suggests Christine (Amelia Milo) for the main role, she physically pushes Christine to centre stage rather forcefully! Megstine fans will be happy to know this Meg is definitely the proud founder of the "Christine is awesome" fan club.

I agree that the Elissa costume could use a bit more oomph, but it was not bad at all. I think adding some vertical decoration to the skirt in a dark gold tone or big fake jewels would elevate it without making it feel too busy, but under stage lights it looks sufficiently nice and the teal fabric has a lovely shine to it that doesn't feel cheap.

An interesting change is that Reyer does not appear! You hear him speaking from a small orchestra pit on stage, and the actors are similarly looking at it, but he's not seen so you have this extremely annoyed voice coming from the depths of the stage.

THINK OF ME

If you were wondering if Amelia Milo can sing: yes she does, and quite well! In this song it's noticeable that her upper register could use being a bit stronger, but she's still quite young and I trust her voice will mature beautifully, Right now it has a very light, airy quality to it, very angelic. She can and does put more force behind it when needed later in the musical, but I think it suits this song beautifully. You really get why she gets to be a replacement on the spot!

The rotating stage is used again, this time with better lighting, and we get our boy Raoul (Bradley Jaden) being adorable and fangirling over Christine. For those interested in the brava/bravi discussion, Bradley says "Brava".

I don't have much more to say about this scene, I admit it isn't one of my favourites so I tend to get a bit distracted and just listen to the song.

Image credit, via cdaae

ANGEL OF MUSIC

Christine's room is extremely essential: one of the short sides of the rotating stage has been decorated with wallpaper and the mirror, hanging above Christine's vanity and chair. It is very simple but it works and the vanity has a nice lived-in feel to it. Christine has a nice white nightgown that looks similar to the original one, probably in plainer fabric but I wasn't close enough to notice. It's white, it has flounces, it's pretty, so close enough for me!

This is a very Megstine moment, they stand very close and touch a lot and Meg sounds genuinely worried but also happy for her friend. The vocals were very nice and I think Amelia really nails the hypnotized/transfixed aspect of Christine towards the Angel/Phantom, she had some great expression in this song.

Image credit, via cdaae

There is no Madame Giry (Alice Mistroni) rebuking the dancers for being sloppy before this scene, so when she comes to pick up Meg it feels more as if she's purposefully making it so Christine is alone. Meg leaves quite upset, stomping her feet and yelling "Rehearsals, rehearsals, ALWAYS REHEARSALS!" which I found quite funny.

LITTLE LOTTE

No managers bit, Raoul just arrives while Christine is reading. It took me a while to warm up to Bradley's Raoul but I ended up liking him a lot! He's going for a more adult portrayal, still enthusiastic and loving but a bit more level-headed. In this scene he's clearly leaning more into the enthusiastic side and it's a very nice and sweet interaction.

It is very clear that the memories he has with Christine are very dear to him. In this production it's Raoul who says "Those picnics in the attic" and he had a super tender, fond expression that was just the best. Just a very sweet scene overall, I really enjoyed it.

THE MIRROR

Oh boy, I loved this part! Christine had a suitable mix of awe and fear, the Phantom sounded extremely angry, almost growling "My triumph", and then becoming soothing and welcoming after seeing Christine's scared reaction.

Do you remember how the mirror is ABOVE Christine's vanity? It means that when the Phantom appears, he is literally towering over her (especially since Christine is kneeling on the floor), it makes for a very imposing entrance! The mirror is a bit opaque so when it comes up and suddenly you see the bright red of the cloak's lining it is a very nice effect. Christine has to climb on the chair and table to reach the Phantom, and then they disappear in the darkness, almost engulfed by it. It was all very pretty to watch and made for a great first impression of the Phantom.

Image credit, via cdaae

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Ok, onto the bad part. Unfortunately, they didn't find a way to give something to do to the characters in this scene. The scene is quite dark, they cross the stage, then get out of a door and cross it again, disappear for a bit and reappear on a box on the upper level of the fake stage and sing there for a while, then a catwalk is lowered and they walk on it, then a very short boat ride. No candles, they used a holographic fake flame effect for the boat ride that resembled will-o'-the-wisp fires burning just on the "surface", and while I liked the idea it could be implemented better.

They definitely have to find a way to make this feel more like a descent into a dungeon, cave, whatever, and better effects to transmit the otherworldliness that Christine perceives. As it is now, it just doesn't work.

ETA: I forgot to mention, a lot of folks remarked how this song sounds played faster than usual. I suspect it might be because as I said they don't really know how to keep the actors busy, so shaving off 20 seconds or so is good for them. This is just a guess, though.

THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT

This has a lot of issues, too. The set is pretty sparse: the boat on the left, the pipe organ at the centre, and the Phantom's bed on the right, plus a nice background suggesting the passages and mazes that lead to the lair. I think a more gothic-looking bed and a couple more props could complete it nicely, but not too bad.

Unfortunately, once again they have to find stuff to do for the actors. The piece starts with the Phantom sitting at the organ and Christine standing a bit far away, looking at him. This isn't bad per se, it gives you the impression that Christine is trying to get a feel for the situation and what's going on and it makes sense, but... it goes on for too long. It becomes boring, the worst crime for a musical.

FINALLY he gets up and Christine starts getting nearer, they kinda circle each other and then the Phantom blows a candle in Christine's face after "Only then can you belong to me" and suddenly we're back to a more traditional choreography with the classical embrace pose. I really don't like it because it's pretty clear from watching that the candle blowing makes Christine suddenly change her attitude and behaviour and... it makes me think of a roofie, sorry. She's suddenly less scared, more agreeable, and at the end she loses consciousness. Nope nope NOPE.

On the good side, when Christine faints we get the catch and carry! All that crossfit Ramin is doing paid out! The Phantom gently lays Christine on the bed and covers her with her cloak, despite the unfortunate implications of what happens just before it is a sweet moment.

In general, Ramin played the Phantom as very gentle in this scene, you get the feeling of a genuine care and not wanting to scare Christine (magid drug candle apart). It reminded me a bit of the book, where the Phantom kidnaps Christine with the idea of having her spend a month or so with her, and then when she's got to know him reveal her his face because by then she knows him as a person and he hopes she'll stay by her own will.

Despite the issues, this scene got a BIG applause because Ramin did display an awesome vocal control, since his voice is on the warmer side I think it's a song that suits him a lot.

I REMEMBER/STRANGER THAN YOU DREAMT IT

In this version, the Phantom is aware of Christine being there and he lets her touch him, which makes the unmasking feel even more as a betrayal of sorts.

There is no Mandarin robe and no crawl, but the scene is suitably pathetic nonetheless. The Phantom is angry at the beginning, but it quickly turns more into a kind of sad resignation. I was really hit by the delivery of "now you cannot ever be free", it didn't sound like a threat but more like a sad realization that Christine has sealed her fate and thing will not go the way the Phantom hoped for. Immediately after that, the pleading in "fear can turn to love" is honestly heartbreaking. You get the feeling that he's trying to reach Christine, to make her understand, through the pain he's feeling.

At one point Christine falls on the floor, petrified, and scuttles away when the Phantom tries to get nearer, she does keep her distance a bit longer than I expected but then when the Phantom crumples on the floor she gets closer and tries to return the mask. the Phantom turns towards her, reaching out, but at the last moment turns away saying "No", and then gets the mask back while looking away from Christine.

The "come, we must return" bit is softer than I expected, too. He's clearly upset but tries not to show it and does not manhandle Christine, guiding her offstage gently.

Very pathetic, lots of self-loathing, 8.5/10 but only because there's no crawl, otherwise it'd be a solid 9 despite the staging.

MAGICAL LASSO

Man, this Buquet (Matt Bond) is unhinged! He clearly loves scaring the dancers, he has a WONDERFUL manic laugh. Madame Giry is her usual scary, ominous self. I did not mention it yet, but one of the high points of this production is the lightning. They use it quite effectively, especially to set the mood, and in this scene it was fantastically gothic and doomy. It's a short scene but it worked well to remind us that we are in a story with gothic elements, people will die, etc.

NOTES I/PRIMA DONNA

The rotating stage is slightly ajar, so you can see Meg finding a noose in box 5 (which in this production is at ground level) and playing with it during the scene before joining the others for her part. This means that a part of the stage is occupied by the fake stage, so unfortunately there's less space for the actors to move around.

This is just a minor quibble, everyone is very good in this scene with the usual amount of funny moments, over-the-top reactions, Raoul not understanding a thing, etc., Piangi was very supportive of Carlotta, Anna Corvino hits some very nice notes, the usual.

Carlotta's dress was way less snazzy than the original productions, but it did look nice (a dark-ish green with very dark velvet trimming) and fit well, also the train did take up a lot of space which fits the character and her large ego.

I loved that when André says "your public needs you" there is a longer beat than usual with Firmin saying nothing, then Carlotta turns towards him with a "weeell?" expression, and only then does Firmin rushedly say "we need you, too" with ZERO emotion, it was great! He was so DONE.

I also loved how they ended it: everyone went on the stage while it was slowly turning towards the public, ending up in the usual line facing the public and with the stage lights completely open, giving the impression they all really just stepped on the Opera's stage. It worked very well and did give me a beautiful moment of immersion and a reminder that the Opera, too is a character of sorts.

IL MUTO

I liked the staging! Overall it's slightly over the top, and the dresses are less glitzy, but the Rococò meringue-like look is still there and it works well. There is no bed but some decadent couches and ottomans instead, the background is on fabric with a big window showing a balcony and a nice garden. When the husband fakes his leave, he gets out of the door and behind the background where the window is, and then they change the lighting so it looks like he's standing on the balcony. It's simple but it adds some nice physical depth to the scene.

They do take a page from the movie here: when the performance gets interrupted by the Phantom Carlotta calls for her seamstress (with a super loud "SARTAAAAH!" we all enjoyed), who appears with a big perfume-like glass bottle and sprays Carlotta in the mouth, then everything resumes. Instead of croaking, Carlotta is more gasping for air as if her voice isn't coming out at all.

You can see the managers sitting in their box (there's no madame Firmin here) and André enjoying a nice bottle of wine, when Carlotta runs away in shame he jumps on the stage and does his bit as if tipsy and not 100% "there". I can see why Earl wanted to play the role, he's clearly suited to slapstick comedy and enjoying every moment of it!

So, André jumps in without a plan but knowing he has to do something, then he turns and sees they have a full house.. and no Countess... He manages to salvage the situation, mostly thanks to Firming feeding him suggestions from the box (I could clearly see him mouthing "ballet ballet BALLET!"), there's the usual ensuing confusion and then the male dancer LIFTS André to move him out of the way, while he's looking completely and utterly lost. It's great.

The dancers are not wearing separate outfits, just the "standard" white tutus. This is a clever way to have one less set of costumes to make, since they have moved up the ballet all of a sudden it makes sense for the dancer to not have changed yet, they probably were doing warmups and the like.

Instead of the Phantom shadows, we get the Phantom swinging wildly twice from one side of the stage to the other while laughing maniacally. It does work, because the third time it's the hanged Buquet that swings in instead, so when you see the rope for the third time your brain needs a second to register that this time something's different. My only complaint is that Ramin is clearly having a lot of fun and so his laugh isn't the most menacing xD

The scene ends the usual way, with more confusion, screams, Firmin trying to calm down the audience, and Christine and Raoul escaping to the roof.

WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?

For this scene a walkway gets lowered to represent the roof, you can see the beams below which is nice. The background is a bit too dark and you can't really see it clearly, I think it's meant to show a dark night sky and the Paris skyline but it really is too dark to see what it should be, which makes it hard to understand they're on the roof. I hope they change it because it's the one blemish in an otherwise really nice scene. Christine has no special dress or cape for this scene, if I remember correctly she's wearing her Il Muto clothes + the nightgown but the rooftop scene had a lot of more interesting stuff to notice so I might be wrong.

Amelia really makes you feel how what just happened plus the kidnapping plus the revelation that her Angel of Music is a murderous weirdo is hitting Christine like a ton of bricks. She sounds so anguished at times! But luckily Raoul is there to help, which leads us to...

ALL I ASK OF YOU

Ok so, this is where this production starts to REALLY diverge character-wise. Are you ready? (Trigger warning: discussion of suicide, and mention of depression, if this might upset you please skip to the next song)

So, this song is no longer a lovey-dovey 4-minute long "I love you!" "I love you more!". It's Raoul talking Christine down from attempting suicide by jumping off the rooftop.

During the previous number, Christine grows more and more distressed, especially after hearing the Pahntom's "Christine", and she ends up at the very edge of the roof, clearly debating if it'd be better to jump. Why? you might be wondering. My theory is a mix of her getting depressed after her father's death and now having that final connection to her father severed, plus feeling responsible for Buquet's death. I did come out of this musical thinking that, the way it is in this production, the Phantom works excellently as a physical representation of Christine's depression. More about that later.

Raoul notices what's going on and backs off a little, giving Christine space. He sits on the edge of the roof, still giving her space but within arm's reach. Meanwhile, Christine has barely moved. She's standing on the edge, her shoulders hunched, hugging herself spasmodically, her hands white, her face turned down looking at her feet, or maybe at the pavement many, many floors below.

And Raoul starts the song, but now it hits differently. This time he's telling a girl feeling alone, depressed and suicidal that he'll be there for her, that he'll do what he can to make her feel safe, that he'll turn away the darkness. Not just the Phantom's darkness, but depression, too. He's seeing her at her lowest and saying "I still care for you, I still love you". Especially since at this point Raoul isn't really sold on the whole "the Phantom of the opera is real" thing, so from his point of view the real issue is Christine's depression, not a magical man in a cape.

And this gets through to Christine, and slowly, timidly, she starts to answer. "Turn my head with talk of summertime", she asks. Show me that there is a future filled with light instead of darkness for me, that I can get better, that I can live without this fear. Tell me that your promises are true, tell me that you'll stay at my side even when things get difficult and ugly, like now.

Yeah, it really got to me. This song is when I forgave this production (almost) everything.

When Christine starts singing, she's still completely still. She really looks like a statue, it's impressive the amount of anguish and desperation she projects by just being so still as if rooted in place, closed off to the world. Then, she slooowly starts to break her pose, first by looking at Raoul, who extends her a hand and... after a few seconds, she takes it and goes to sit beside him. She gets more animated as the song progresses, they hug, then the big kiss at the end.

I just realized as I was writing, this scene parallels Christine giving the Phantom his mask back, even the positions of the one offering help (Christine/Raoul) are the same as the one who has to accept it (the Phantom/Christine). It might be a coincidence, but I hope not because it would be beautiful. Where the Phantom rejects Christine's hand and help at first and accepts only to get up, close off completely and be separated from Christine, here Christine is much happier to receive help and this then leads to her and Raoul getting closer both physically and emotionally.

So everything's well, they lived happily ever after, etc., right? Right?

ALL I ASK OF YOU (REPRISE)

Ah, yes, the Phantom's turn to break our hearts.

The rooftop raises, revealing that just below where Christine and Raoul had their loving moment there's the chandelier... and the Phantom upon it. As he's singing he gets down from it, stumbles among the rooftop beams, and finally collapses on the floor holding his head in his hands when Christine and Raoul's happy voices echo in the distance. It's a very nice Phantom's breakdown, very vulnerable despite him having just killed a person. It really makes you feel sorry for him despite the situation (of his own making) he's in.

He then gets back to the chandelier, the roof rises again and the chandelier with it, the chandelier catches fire (well, not actual fire, it's a nice red smoke effect), the lightning changes to a nightmarish red, and you suddenly realize that there are red LEDs all around the stage's frame that are lighting up and making everything even more oppressive and quite infernal. The Phantom saws away at the chandelier's rope, until it comes crashing down.

Yes, the crash is less impressive than in the original. Yes, it's less clear exactly what is happening (I mean, that it's falling down on the Il Muto's bows). It's still a nice effect, the chandelier swings down towards the orchestra while the lights go on and off. If you've never seen the original, I think it can still make an impression.

I also think that this is less of a focal point for this production. For me, at least, AIAOY stole the show and in general, the emotional twists and developments were the real star of the show. It feels more like the chandelier's crash is there because it has to be, both for plot and marketing reasons.

Overall, the first act started a bit rocky, the two "big" songs have some major issues that need to be addressed, but once they got the characters going it picked up steam quickly. At intermission I was already feeling I got my ticket's worth back, to be honest.

I am working on part two, which covers the second act, the actors' performances, and some general/final thoughts. It'll be longer than this one, so I'll need at least a couple more days to finish it.

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Lead By A New Heart

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ Romans 12:13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

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SUBJECT: Lead By A New Heart

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM GIVING

I AM USING DISCERNMENT

I HAVE A NEW HEART

I AM FILLED WITH LOVE

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READ TIME: 7 Minutes & 40 Seconds

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THOUGHTS:

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    We must always try to help others even if we feel they don’t need it; we can't judge others on what we think, but what  we can do is use our  discernment to help us through our uncertain feelings; it is always good  to bless others and to comfort others when they are lost or in need, a lot of times someone could be going through something and don’t want to say because it’s embarrassing, I know a lot of people don’t want to let someone know when they are in need but  when we are having the mindset of Christ we will have a longing a desire to help people and see them through a hard time, yes, it’s some people out there that wants to trick us and just take from us 

But this is when we ask God to help us to see the people we need to help. USE DISCERNMENT.

 Ezekiel 18:31-32 Put all your rebellion behind you and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? 32 I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!

  We must ask God for a new heart, which is a heart that wants to help and love. It is hard to love everyone, but when we trust God, we should know God will not allow us to get hurt. He is always going to point us in a new direction; we can find our new heart in God, and we can always find our new spirit in God, but it takes time to get this heart; it takes learning his word and applying it and allowing him to change us, and it takes us being willing to change.

  The Lord desires for us to turn from our ways of doing things , like being unthankful and ungrateful; he wants us to be people who long to be like him and to be molded daily; change is a daily thing; God sees who we are, and it’s okay to be afraid of change, afraid to help, but we must be willing to be different so when we see someone. We are led to help; don’t hesitate to help them, but as we grow, our discernment grows, and for it to grow, we must use it too.

     Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

The Bible tells us not to neglect doing good; we must share what we have. If we look around our rooms or in our houses, we can see we have an abundance of things we aren’t using or could give to someone else, but a lot of times, we don’t because we like to keep things to say we have it or keep things because we feel that the more we have it makes us rich or that the more we have we won't ever be without but friends I can tell you I have been without and I have had a lot but that doesn’t mean anything, but what has meaning is when we give and love others

 1 John 3:17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

   God's love doesn’t abide in us when we disregard someone in need; we are losing out on so much more than they will when we do this. God can't bless us with our hands closed, but he can bless us when we open our hands up to others, always helping the people around us. He fed over 5,000 people with just five fish and two loaves of bread; he had the power to feed, and he did.

   We might not feed 5000, but what about feeding people experiencing homelessness that’s around you? I used to try to feed people experiencing homelessness and do things to help them. That's my heart to help the ones in need, and I would love to open a cafeteria to feed people experiencing homelessness one day because I know they are in need. To help someone less fortunate is something we all should do once a week or every day.

  Even if you can’t give, give your time, and go somewhere and volunteer. I know this is taking up time, but we never know which soul we can save if we place time into ministering to others. “Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

  It tells us here to serve one another humbly in love; that could be anything: holding a door open for someone, giving someone we know a ride to work, maybe making a sandwich for everyone at work, even giving things we don’t use to the goodwill, but like the Holy Spirit said earlier all this must be done through discernment, we always want to be led by God and not just do.

  *** Today, the Holy Spirit wants us to see that helping others is what we are supposed to do, and a lot of times, we won’t because we feel it’s taking away from us, but it’s not; we could even read to a older person , a lot of times people are afraid to ask for help because they know someone will say no, allow your discernment to lead you to help more.

 Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.”

  This week's verse is even telling us to help, and God will reward those who help others, but we shouldn’t look for a reward; we should do it because that is being generous; if we look for a reward for everything we do, we won’t do it because a lot of time our reward isn’t riches, it could be anything but when we stay focus on doing it because God asks us to we will be rewarded when we least expect it.

 If you are struggling with giving to others, ask God to give you a new heart and discernment, and he will ask God to help you be led by him and not by what you want. Always give and do your best, and God will be pleased. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, thank you for today, thank you for life, health, and strength. Lord, help us be more like you and have a Christ-like mind. Lord, we give you our everything. We praise you for everything; lord, give us more discernment of spirits and help us to hear you when you speak. Lord, we want to give, but we are scared to be tricked and mistreated, and we ask you to lead us to the right people, lord we give you our mind and body; we ask for a fresh anointing today in Jesus' Name Amen

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REFERENCES

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 + Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

+ Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others

+ Matthew 10:8  “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”

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FURTHER READINGS

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 Proverbs 10

Psalm 105

1 Chronicles 25

2 Samuel 17

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[ba-matorangirl]

A Bionicle Question About Matoro

Hey to anyone out there... do you think it was Matoro's soul that saved Mata Nui when he sacrificed himself to save him?

Because when Kopeke asked Hahli if Matoro was truly dead, she said this: “He is. But his life force brought Mata Nui back from the endless dark. So you could say that Matoro is a part of everything now – the sky, the waters, the sunlight, and every living thing that walks or flies or swims or crawls. Matoro is dead… but never truly gone… not as long as the Great Spirit Mata Nui exists.”

I've been wondering what that meant ever since I first read that part of the story. At first I thought it meant his soul was now a part of everything. After asking a few fans, one of them said it was up to interpretation, because not everyone believes souls exist, that some people believe life-force and souls are the same thing, but others believe they're completely different, that life-force is a presence/energy that gives life while souls continue to exist after death. They didn't believe in souls in the religious sense, so he thought Matoro's presence, energy was a part of everything.

The idea of Matoro's soul being everywhere made me feel better, because he may have been dead... but he was still truly there. The idea of his energy being everywhere... I don't even want to think about it, because he was never truly there, it's not really him, just the energy that radiated from him.

It was so horrible, soul-destroying, seeing what happened to Matoro. And the idea of Matoro not really being there... made me feel so much worse.

And lately I've discovered more and more evidence that it's not up to interpretation, and that he was turned into life-force rather than soul, both in the story, and in a few of the chats Greg Farshtey would answer questions to.

So if anyone has anything to say to object that, please do.

Here's some of the things I discovered in the Q@A chat logs with Mr. Farshtey. The red texts are the questions; the orange texts are the answers.

This one's an excerpt from the offical Greg diologue on February 1 2008. Toa Nidhiki05's Question: 1a. "Could the Ignika in theory bring several masks to life, than create bodies for them and have his own 'Toa' team?" 1b."If not, why?" Greg's Answer: 1) "No. While it is possible for the Ignika to bring things like rays of light to life, it cannot give something a mind. The Hau, for example, has no mind. So if you bring it to life, all you have is something that hungers, but it isn't going to think or go out and fight for right. It will be like a zombie, just driven by primal instinct"

These are all excerpts from the official Greg discussion. First one's from January 7 2006. Khote's Question: 12)"If the Nuva (Or another Toa team) succeed on finding the Mask of Life, it would just help to keep Mata Nui alive, but it wouldn't awaken him, right?" Greg's Answer: 12) "Right"

Second one's from March Second 2006. The Captain's Question: 6. "Can the MoLi actually take life away from a organism? Or can you not tell us yet?" Greg's Answer: "ANSWER: Yes, it can"

Third one's from June 9 2006. Code Name: Raven's Question: 1.) "Zaktan mentions that every 5000 years or so the MoLi is donned by a Toa, who is then incinerated from the energies released. Is this sacrifice needed to keep the universe from going crazy?" and 3.) "Is that what the Toa of Magnetism's team was doing?" Greg's Answer: 1) "Yes, although Zaktan is also buying into legends. The Mask does not get worn anywhere near that often, but as with most things, exaggeration sets in." and 3) "Yes"

Fourth one's from July 26 2006. Toa Lhikan Hordika's Question: 1) "Are the following actual powers of the Ignika: Future sight, hovering (more of an ability than a power), fusion, enlargement of other beings." Greg's Answer: 1) "Yes, along with other powers related to life, such as accelerating plant growth, healing, and who knows what else I will come up with. Think big picture -- eliminating the idea of resurrecting the dead (which it can't do), what else could the power of Life do?"

Fifth one's from October 16 2006. Little Zivon's Question: 3) "Could the Mask of Life help Makuta to get a physical body again?" Greg's Answer: 3) "Not directly, no. The mask can evolve existing things and give life to inanimate objects, but it cannot create life whole or create life with no spirit. Makuta needs a living or mechanical body with no spirit already in it."

Sixth one is from October 26 2006. Toa Haomin's Question: 8."Will we discover the mask of life's original purpose?" Greg's Answer: 8) "I can tell you that now -- the mask exists to regenerate the life energies of Mata Nui. That is its only purpose."

Seventh one is from October 28 2006. ToM Dracone's Question: 8. "The Mask of Life cannot bring inanimate objects to life, correct?" and 9. "If the above is the case, then I have a hypothesis as to why the Mask can't bring the dead back to life: firstly, after, say, a Matoran dies, his spirit lingers for a little, and then it disappears. Even if the Mask could give life to inanimate objects, it still couldn't call back the Matoran's spirit, and so without the spirit, the Matoran can't be revived. Is this right?" Greg's Answer: 8) "Yes, it can. What it cannot do is bring the dead back to life." and 9) "Exactly. And if your spirit is not there, you aren't back to life, you are just parts moving."

Eighth one is from March 1 2007. Kraahlix's Question: 3. "Can the Mask of Life take away life as Zaktan stated? "And with power over life also comes the power over death" or something..." Greg's Answer: "A. Yes"

I had found all these with the source of Ignika - The Great Archives

And here are more that I discovered regarding life-force and soul in the Bionicle world.

This first excerpt is from the official Greg dialogues. First one's from March 20 2008. Makuta Desaima's Question: 6- "What sort of things can the Toa Ignika do with its powers? Sap life, mutate beings, kill them, empower them etc?" and 7- "Is it possible for the Toa Ignika to bring any inanimate object to life? Can it reanimate dead beings?" Greg's Answer: 6) "And evolve them, and devolve them" and 7) "It cannot reanimate the dead, no. It can bring life to objects providing those objects have some organic molecules in them."

I found this with the source of https://biosector01.com/wiki/Ignika

And lastly, from the sources of https://biosector01.com/wiki/Life are these excerpts from the official Greg dialogue and official Greg discussion. The Shadow Makuta's Question: 6) "What is Toa Ignika's Nuva Blast effect?" Greg's Answer: 6) "Pretty much the same as what you would get if you shattered the Mask of Life -- everything -- EVERYTHING, rays of light, rocks, equipment, armor -- would come to life."

And from Takuta Nui: Q: "In MoL, all we saw of Takutanuva's powers was a revival of Jaller's life. I'm sure that was just a fraction of his full capability. Do you have a list of his powers, or at least an idea of the full extent of his strength?" and "Wait, so if part of Makuta's life-force was used to revive Jaller, then does that mean it was " poured " into him, or just " used ", then returned to Makuta's life-force?" "If those are the powers he has, then can he combine them into new powers, or all of them into one land-shaking blast?" Greg's Answer: A: "Actually, that was not so much a power as it was using part of Makuta's life force to bring him back. Takutanuva had all of Makuta's powers, including the 42 Rahkshi powers, and all of Takanuva's powers." and 1) "You can't give life force to someone and then have it flow back into you. If it did, the person you gave it to would drop dead."... 2) "He can't combine them into new powers, no. It's possible he could use more than one power at once, however."

These were all the quotes that stood out to me, that made it seem that Matoro not only wasn't turned into soul, but that whatever he was turned to isn't up to interpretation at all.

...ALSO THIS ToaOfPlastic on X: "The original backstory legend, (from the matoran's perspective of course) with more papu and rangi info. https://t.co/URw0LxnoNA" / X (twitter.com) It comes from a story bible from 2002. I think it's supposed to be a concept for the actual stories that would come.

If he really was life force and not soul... that would also mean that not only Matoro was turned into life-force, but that when Makuta died with the Great Spirit Robot, then as all the energies of the now dysfunctional robot would escape into the ether, including Matoro, meaning now he is truly gone.

I really do want to believe that Matoro's soul saved Mata Nui, that it's his soul that's everywhere now, and a part of him, but after discovering all of this... I don't want to give up hope or accept that he isn't but... I think Matoro is completely fucked.

[abyssal-cryptid]

More Tears of the Kingdom thoughts (SPOILERS)

You hunt koroks again lets goo and yes there is new puzzle types

Them being in different locations implies canon version Link hunted all of them down

PAYA IS CHIEF OF KAKARIKO

The chasms are terrifyingly deep. Nope. Scary. I dont even want to know

Every single shrine has outsmarted me

WHERE IS HESTU I NEED MORE INVENTORY SPACE

The Koroks who go "I need to find my friend" require you to bring them to their friend. Reward for each is several korok seeds

Zelda keeps appearing in her Zonai fit and then disappearing. Rude. But as I said, Skyward Sword vibes.

HYRULE TOMATOES

Also Golden Apples for some reason???

Great Fairies have Moved Away

Still dont know how to get a camera please I need to return to photography simulator

Ascend is best ability

WHY IS THE STEALTH GEAR 5000 RUPEES EACH PIECE

Why is making money here so hard

I recommend visiting the shrine of resurrection. Thats all Im going to say. Its entirely overgrown

All traces of sheikah machinery is gone everywhere. I still expect to see shrines but no

I admit I am still afraid of guardians while I run around Hyrule field

I hate the transportation machines as a game mechanic

Blood moons still exist

Havent seen any of Ganondorf after the beginning cutscenes

The new map towers just straight up launch you into the sky

OH MY GOD THE MEMORIES YOU FIND

Found Hestu. Does a little dance for you WITH KOROKS. Best day of my life

You have a profile on Purah Pad for every main npc btw

REMEMBER THE DARK SKINNED WOMAN WE SAW IN TRAILERS WHO LOOKED LIKE ZELDA? SHE'S QUEEN SONIA, RAURU'S WIFE AND THE FIRST QUEEN OF HYRULE

I love her look and voice

I wonder if she and Rauru are looking for a third I am in love

I cant wait to what kind of fucked up creations the furry porn community makes with the Zonai

Also please someone write a 300k word fanfic about Rauru and Sonia, I will give you my soul

I miss Revali's gale and my armor sets so much

Tulin is adorable

There is so many new enemies and I hate them all

All my weapons are shit because I avoid fighting because I die instantly

BOTW was post apocalyptic, TOTK is during an apocalypse and you can tell

My jaw hurts. Ive played this game for like 9 hours straight now. Havent done anything much other than explore

This feels more old Zelda games than BOTW did, its a mix of them and BOTW

Gloom is scary and I need to make porridge

You can make food that makes you glow

I miss having Majora's mask

Why are Yiga still a thing

Honing in on target arrows are amazing

KANELI IS DEAD BTW and Teba is new chief. I wept

[dzthenerd490]

I have some complaints about certain things in the SCP:HMF. In your au, you explained to me that there were “foundationist” basically immortal fascists of the foundation. I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t like the “foundationists”. Like it is so strange to have the staff being immortal and being huge jerks against regular humans, it feels so out of place, it feels like they belong in a different canon of your AU. I also don't like how it is achieve so easily, yes there probably is a SCP that easily do it but I don't like how 05 just easily does it like you said they really don't care but they should because there is literally a canon where the foundation realizes that death is a necessary part of life. The cannon is called “The End of Death” if you are wondering. 

This brings me to my second problem, which is the portrayal of the global occult coalition. Like you portray the GOC as just typical genocidal maniacs that want to kill all anomalies in the world. Like the foundations are supposed to be the protagonist of the HMFverse, however because of the Foundationist thing of them wanting to recreate a SCP-5000, like how can I root for them? I support the GOC more because of those “facists”.

I don’t blame you for just portraying the GOC as “KILL ALL ANOMALIES” it's that how they were written back in the early days of the SCP wiki. Nowadays, GOC should be a professional, elite organization as the anomalous wing of the UN and essentially a global organization with the governments of world powers supporting it and should be as powerful and well equipped (if not moreso) than the Foundation. 

 The GOC are anomalous themselves (literally made up of 108 paranormal organisations, religions, and other groups), their leader is D. C. al Fine, a shapeshifter, thaumaturgist, and ontokinetic. Heck in the canon UNFOUNDED (basically a canon where the SCP Foundation doesn’t exist and the GOC are the protagonist) she is a grown up version of Sigurros.  

And to the extent of which they destroy anomalies. In most cases when said anomalies are inherently dangerous and can't be reasoned with. As a matter of fact they are pretty cool with people with powers living normally as long as they don’t use said power to hurt people.

Woah! Okay let's get to work I'm going to chop down your main points to answer them but please be aware I am in no way disregarding any of the details of your points I'm just organizing my answers.

Your Point on Foundationists - I actually forgot about the "End of Death" Scenario when I was coming up with the immortality thing. I just didn't want time to be a hinderance since I do have a timeline in SCP: HMF and figured it was stupid that the Foundation had so many ways to strengthen and rejuvenate the vitality of its employees, yet it was only ever reserved for the O5. That was mainly my own frustration in manifest.

HOWEVER, I also have other things planned for the Foundationists which is why I won't be getting rid of them or the immortality concept, sorry.

But you made a good point though, and it has got me thinking about how I should potray the Foundationist's form here on out. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks!

Your Point about the GOC - ... Okay I have a confession to make I don't like the GOC. I know you're a GOC fan, but I don't like them I actually hate them. since there with the UN I think of them as politicians and Bureaucrats that waist time, not focusing on the real issue, and often make things worse for everyone even themselves.

Yeah, I know the GOC has anomalies within it, I've made it a rule that they make exceptions for SOME anomalies (mostly more human looking ones). I've been trying to find something or think of an OC SCP that could possibly work with being allies with the GOC instead of the SCP Foundation, but I haven't got much except for some Resident Evil characters (minor spoiler, though I won't say who).

The main reason I made the SCP Foundation describe the GOC as a bunch of gun nuts is because in the Foundation's eyes they destroy opportunity. YES, the GOC doesn't destroy every anomaly the come across but for those they DO destroy the SCP Foundation feels as though it's a loss in potential anomalous science. In the eyes of the O5 even dangerous anomalies can be useful, therefore they want to contain everything anomalous. That's why the GOC calls them Egg heads that send good soldiers to die for suicidal science... or they call them SCP Fucks like everyone else.

I haven't made this clear as of late, that's my fault and your right. I'll try to make more tales in the future where the GOC and the Foundation can have actual conversations and talk about their organization's philosophy to each other rather than just insulting each other.

My overall Response - The Foundationists and the Global Occult Coalition. These are problems I actually already had planned to deal with; HOWEVER, that is not an excuse. I thank you for giving this criticism because one you have actually pointed out a few flaws I didn't consider like the immortality problem which I'll be sure to make a few more tales that will be specifically about that issue. two, now I'm sure to which tales and files to put a rush on after my break. Though I still have the queue so it will take a while... sorry.

But seriously though, thank you so much for your criticism. I know everyone wants to be told their writing is flawless and amazing which I'm guilty of that too but that's just now how it works. For creativity to thrive it must go through new experiences and criticism is quite possibly one of the best experiences as it helps it grow the strongest under criticism. Also being told what works best, that works too... actually I think both works great together. I'll be sure to use yours to make my writing better. Again, thanks!

[tooti-fruiti]

TOUGH LOVE [CHAPTER EIGHT]

Getting to know you

"Why are you guys under here anyway? Can't you just...you know...climb out?"

Papyrus stopped and stared at you.

"WE CAN'T JUST "CLIMB OUT". THERE IS A BARRIER THAT TRAPS US DOWN HERE. A BARRIER THAT WE ALONE CANNOT DESTROY. WE NEED THE STRENGTH OF SEVEN HUMAN SOULS TO BREAK THE BARRIER."

"THAT'S WHY I INTEND TO CAPTURE YOU. BECAUSE WE ONLY NEED ONE MORE SOUL, AND THEN WE WILL BE FREE."

"How long have you all been trapped down here...?" You asked.

"WELL, MONSTERS HAVE BEEN TRAPPED DOWN HERE MUCH LONGER THAN SANS AND I HAVE BEEN ALIVE. BUT IF I HAD TO GUESS, I WOULD SAY AT LEAST MORE THAN 5000 YEARS. I HAVE TO RECALL MY HISTORY LESSON FROM SCHOOL."

"You went to school?"

"OF COURSE I DID, BEFORE THE UNDERGROUND WENT INTO CHAOS, I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH SANS. ALTHOUGH HE WAS A FEW YEARS AHEAD OF ME."

"Wait, Sans is older than you???"

"YES. IS THAT SURPRISING?"

"Well, with the way you talk to him and with how you practically tower over him, I assumed you were older."

You and Papyrus had both stopped walking at this point and stood still to talk to each other.

"FIRST OF ALL, I TOWER OVER ALMOST EVERYONE. SECOND OF ALL, JUST BECAUSE I ORDER HIM AROUND DOESN'T MEAN I'M OLDER, IT JUST MEANS I'M MORE RESPONSIBLE."

"Okay...Well, earlier you said 'before the underground went into chaos'. What did you mean?"

"THAT IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN." He glared at you and stared walking away again.

It looks like you hit a nerve.

You hesitantly followed him to the next puzzle.

The next puzzle was another "turn the x's into o's" puzzle, but this time, it was on ice.

"GO AHEAD HUMAN, TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF."

You put your foot on the ice and attempted to walk across, but you ended up slipping and landing flat on your face.

Which earned a loud evil laugh from Papyrus.

You rubbed your nose and tried to balance yourself.

You knew you couldn't walk across, you had to slide across.

So you did.

And you slid off the edge, which made Papyrus laugh again.

You landed in an area underneath the puzzle with a "snow papyrus" and a lump of snow with the name "Sans" written in ketchup.

You walked back up to the puzzle and saw Papyrus smirking at you with his hand on his hip.

"HE'S QUITE HANDSOME, ISN'T HE?"

He was probably referring to the snowman.

"He sure is." You said sarcastically as you attempted to complete the puzzle again.

You slid onto an x and turned it into an o, but then you tried sliding up towards onto another x.

You ended up losing your footing and fell over the edge again.

When you got back up to the puzzle again, Papyrus was obviously waiting for you to ask him for help.

You wanted to try to complete the puzzle one last time before asking him for help.

So when you failed for a third time, you finally gave in.

"Can you help?" You asked.

Papyrus hummed. "I'M NOT SURE, WATCHING YOU FALL DOWN AMUSES ME. IT'S QUITE FUNNY."

"Please?"

"ALRIGHT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEG." He chuckled.

He walked past you and ran onto the ice, sliding around with ease and grace.

It was even more incredible because of the heels he was wearing.

You watched in awe as he completed the puzzle in a few seconds flat.

He finished with a bow as a bridge was built between the puzzle and the next area.

"Show off." You mumbled.

"I BELIEVE NOW YOU SAY, THANK YOU."

"Thank you." You groaned.

"YOU'RE WELCOME." Papyrus said, walking off the ice and onto the bridge.

You attempted to follow him and stepped onto the ice.

You slid but then you lost your balance again.

You expected to hurt your nose again, but you never hit the ice.

Instead, Papyrus summoned a red bone and caught you with it.

"HOLD ON." He ordered.

You immediately grabbed onto the bone and he moved it so fast so you slid across the ice and it flung you into the snow ahead.

Papyrus chuckled as he made the bone disappear.

You lifted your head and spit out some snow. Then Papyrus walked over and picked you up by the back of your shirt.

"COME ALONG HUMAN, THE NEXT PUZZLE IS JUST UP AHEAD." He said as he set you down before he started walking away.

You brushed off some remaining snow and caught up with him, shivering.

[Hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for more and have a good day]

<-Chapter Seven

Chapter Nine->