#baptizing the audience

[rubbish78]

thanks Frank—

[andi-kook]

DEAD KIDS ✦ Chapter 2

SUMMARY: A group of university students kidnaps their rich batchmate for ransom. However, things take a darker turn when the new recruit grows a dangerous obsession with the captive and all hell breaks loose.

PAIRING: Jungkook x Fem!Reader

GENRE: Slow burn Yandere, Crime AU

WARNINGS: Not suitable for audiences below 18. Please do not engage with the story if you are underage. WATCH OUT FOR: dark and morally corrupt characters, foul language, mention of Catholicism, slut shaming and objectification of women, mention of inappropriate relationship between professor/student, mentions and depiction of “rape” and “rape fantasy” throughout the story, masturbation, threats, MC has an NSFW blog with hard kinks and fantasies, non consensual touching. Overall, this is a disturbing chapter – based on my standards – so if you are not comfortable with these topics, do not proceed. Inspired by the film, Dead Kids (2019).

TAGLIST: @hopeworldsupremacy @aliajomarie011 @ackercute @tatumrileyslover @ane102 @jjk174 @dontcallmeelle @merrygo1427 @taekritimin123 @r1r111 @gguksfilter @coralmusicblaze

If I didn’t tag you – either your blog doesn’t exist according to Tumblr or because you did not show your age in your blog. Thank you!

ANDI: I send my love to the beautiful souls who sent me asks about Dead Kids as well as these equally beautiful souls – @.taekritimin123 @.hellbornsworld @.tinytangerineangel @.namjesusdaughter – for commenting on Chapter 1. I cannot express just how much I appreciate your words. I would have tagged you directly, but I wasn’t sure if you would want that. But I wanted to show my appreciation.

WORD COUNT: 3K

“Why did you really want to take her?” Jungkook asks Namjoon as they sit and eat the ramen he cooked around the living area. Beside him, Yoongi and Hoseok are fast asleep, the latter clutching onto the former’s arm like it’s his plushie while the former has his head thrown against the headrest.

Namjoon, who is seated on the other makeshift sofa, gulps down the soup from his ramen before letting out a satisfied sigh and wipes his mouth with the back of his mouth. “How many times do we have to say that we kidnapped Y/N for ransom?”

“I’m not stupid, Namjoon,” Jungkook says. “We’re already tied to this shit until the ransom drop. The least you can do is be upfront on why you did this in the first place. I’m not taking a bullet for you or anyone.”

The buzz-cut haired man leans his back against the sofa, which unlike his premium one, is built from scratch by Jungkook using old wood and cases of beers around the warehouse. He gazes at Jungkook for a while, studying him while swimming in his own thoughts. The tattooed man wonders if Namjoon is contemplating telling him the truth. He wonders if the two sleeping men beside him also knew the truth.

They claim to have been friends since the fourth grade, but does time really make you know a person inside out?

“My father didn’t used to be the way he is now – corrupt. Growing up, I looked up to him because of how honest and upstanding he was as a cop. I knew he did some off-the-books shit, but he still had a moral compass, still had lines he didn’t cross. But then he met Y/N’s father, Kim Seokjin, when I was ten. Suddenly, everything changed,” Namjoon narrates, letting out a scoff as he shakes his head and rubs his palms on his baggy jeans. “He went from being a great husband and father to my mother and I to a complete asshole. We didn’t have religion but after meeting Kim Seokjin, we were suddenly Catholics, attending church with his family every Sunday. I was baptized and Kim Seokjin became my godfather. But the worst part was seeing him erase all the lines he drew and swore never to cross when he began to use his position as a detective and then eventually sergeant to now the chief of the entire police force in Seoul to protect Kim Seokjin and his criminal empire.”

Jungkook inhales deeply. “So, kidnapping Y/N is you taking on revenge against Kim Seokjin for corrupting your father? It is personal. It’s never about the money?”

“Of course, the money is important and integral to the plan. But yes, you are correct – I want to avenge my father from Kim Seokjin by hitting him where I know it will hurt the most: his only daughter, Y/N.”

“You promised that we are not going to hurt her,” Jungkook counters immediately.

Namjoon doesn’t say anything.

“Namjoon,” Jungkook clicks his tongue. “If you do that – what makes you different than Kim Seokjin?”

“Why are you so protective of her?” Namjoon asks pointedly. “What? Just because she gave you a boner, you’re suddenly fucking in love with her? Don’t think I didn’t notice. We all did. Yoongi is right – drop the morally upright act, Jeon. You’re just as demented as we are. The moment you agreed to this plan, you’re just as fucked up.”

The sudden call out makes Jungkook turn crimson and Namjoon smirks, placing his leg over the other. “Don’t worry – unlike you, I don’t judge people. To each our own. If shit like that turns you on, then that’s on you. Why don’t you take the opportunity to act on it?”

His eyes widen, shocked and disgusted. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Jungkook knows exactly what Namjoon is talking about, but he is completely aghast at the insinuation.

The de facto leader only widens his smirk, pulling out his packet of cigarettes and lighter from the front pocket of his large, oversized coat. “You know what I’m talking about, Jeon. A pretty naked girl tied to a chair in your warehouse – it’s perfectly normal to feel aroused by such sight. We won’t judge you if you just get it over and done with.”

“You’re more than fucked up,” Jungkook hisses, face flushed and veins popping out on his neck. “I’m not going to fucking touch her.”

Namjoon lights the cigarette in between his lips. Then, he inhales, and smoke leaves his lips as he replies, “Why not? Y/N is a dirty slut who fucks her married professor with kids her age after church and dinner every Sunday night and more – I bet you all my cut that she’s not going to resist you because she’s probably into fucking someone having their own way with her. No, in fact, I can tell you she’s going to enjoy it.”  

Jungkook feels hot. Images of your naked trembling body and whimpering pleas filling his mind and ears.

“She has a blog, you know? A secret blog where she writes these fantasies and kinks she has. Posts her nudes on there too. Do you wanna know what is one fantasy she keeps on writing about?”

“No, I really don’t,” Jungkook says through gritted teeth.

“It’s a rape fantasy, Jungkook. What a fucking dirty slut she is, right? I bet she’s fucking wet right now at the thought, at the anticipation that one of us or all of us are going to have our ways with her. I bet she’s aching to be touched. I bet she wants you to rape her, Jungkook. So, why not just do it?”

He stands up in a jolt, hitting his knee on the makeshift table he made from old tires and steel roof and stammering some excuse that he needs to go the bathroom or air – he can’t remember. Jungkook finds himself in his room, back pressed against the door. His shirt sticks to his skin because of the sweat, and he takes it off, leaving it discarded on the floor. Namjoon’s words mixed with the flashing images of your perky nipples, smooth skin, sound of your whimpers, pleas, your smell – it makes him hard. Harder than he’s ever been.

Before he knows it, Jungkook is unbuttoning his jeans, pulling it down along with his boxers, his erection springing free. He spits on his palm before he begins stroking his length, shuddering at the touch, making his mouth dry. He presses the back of his head against the door, eyes closed as he imagines you on your knees – like you were with the professor – those lips around his shaft, head bobbing as you suck him dry. He imagines hearing your moans, imagines his dick hitting the back of your throat as you go deeper and beg him to fuck your mouth like a whore. Jungkook’s stroking himself faster. He imagines hearing you gag as he fucks your mouth, not stopping even when you’re clearly suffocating. Then, he cums, toes curling and a guttural groan escaping his lips.

As he comes back from his high, Jungkook stares at the white sticky substance covering his hand and cock. He just jerked off to you, a girl they kidnapped, and he knows it won’t be the last time.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Yoongi hisses at him the moment he comes back from his room, showered and changed into more comfortable clothes.

Jungkook deliberately ignores the stare of Namjoon and flops on the seat beside Hoseok who is eating the remaining ramen. “Why the fuck do you care?”

“I’m going to punch this kid, I swear to God,” Yoongi grumbles, rolling his eyes. “We’re making the ransom call, you dumb fuck. Or rather, you are.”

Jungkook furrows his brows. “What? Why me?”

“Every one of us here has already encountered Y/N’s father at least once. The man remembers everyone he encounters. You’re the only exception,” Namjoon explains as he hands you a black phone. “It’s a burner phone, untraceable. I took it from my dad. And this is what you’re going to say – make sure you sound intimidating at least. Put it on speaker too.”

Namjoon places his phone on the makeshift table and Jungkook clicks his tongue. “The deal was you only use my warehouse. So far, you got me doing far more than that.”

“Do you want 25 million or not?” Yoongi asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Cos if you do, you better start calling Kim Seokjin.”

I’m going to punch you soon, Jungkook tells himself before he unlocks the phone and goes to the contact list where Kim Seokjin’s name is the only one listed. He takes a deep breath, going over the script on Namjoon’s phone before clicking on the contact and putting the call on speaker. The ringing sound echoes throughout the warehouse. The tension is palpable again, like it was back in the car earlier that night.

After a few more rings, Kim Seokjin’s voice fills the warehouse. It’s light but a hint of roughness and irritation is noticeable right away.

“Who is this?”

Jungkook licks his lips as he read the script in front of him. “We have your daughter. If you want to see her alive, prepare 100 million won and bring it to 2020 this Friday night. Otherwise, the next time you’ll see her is on the news, dead.”

Hoseok covers his mouth to keep himself from laughing while Yoongi stares hard at the phone. Namjoon, on the other hand, is relaxed on his seat, smoking.

“You sound young, boy,” Seokjin remarks. “You are not the first person to call me in the middle of the night asking for ransom. Do you really have any idea what you’re doing?”

Namjoon motions for him to repeat what he just said.

“If you want to see her alive, prepare 100 mill—,”

“Don’t you think I would be able to find my daughter faster than you could ever imagine? Do you know who you’re talking to?”

That triggers Jungkook. He’s been hearing that question – that discrimination his entire life and he’s sick of it. He’s fucking sick of it.

“I don’t give a fuck who you are. Either you give us 100 million in exchange for your whore of a daughter or I will personally make you watch as we do everything we want with her, make you watch as she begs you to make it stop, make you listen as she takes her last breath before I fucking slit her throat so deep her head nearly decapitates. You have until Friday night – and you better make sure the police don’t get involved. Don’t fucking ask me who the fuck you are again.”

He ends the call, gripping the phone tightly.

“What the fuck was that? Why the hell didn’t you stick to the script?! Are you trying to get us all a one way ticket to prison?!” Yoongi exclaims.

“Did you not hear what he’s saying? He caught on that we are fucking amateurs. I saved our asses – you should be fucking grateful,” Jungkook snaps, clenching his jaw. “If you didn’t want me to do the call, maybe the three of you should have done it yourselves. Fucking useless bastards.”

“Hey! What did you say?” Hoseok stands, pushing Jungkook by placing his hands on his chest. “Who are you calling useless, huh?”

“Who do you think?” He scoffs.

“Let’s fucking kill this son of a bitch, Hobi.”

“Gladly.”

“Enough,” Namjoon says sternly. “No one is going to kill anyone. Not amongst ourselves. What Jungkook did is right, Yoongi. Jungkook saved our asses. And you,” He turns to the long-haired man, glaring at him. “Mind your fucking tone and language with us. We’re not fucking useless. Remember that we recruited you. Not the other way around. If anyone should be grateful to someone, it’s you. We’re the reason you’ll get out of this shit hole.”

Nobody says a word.

“It’s getting late. Let’s gather here tomorrow after our classes. Just go about your usual days until the drop. Don’t be suspicious,” The de facto leader reminds. “Jungkook, keep an eye out, okay? Don’t forget to check in on our little friend from time to time. Make sure she’s still breathing.” He smirks as he pats his shoulder on his way out.

Yoongi and Hoseok follow suit. Once Jungkook hears Namjoon driving off his – rather his aunt’s – property, he resigns to the sofa behind him. He buries his face into his hands. Five days. You’ll be stuck with him at the warehouse for five fucking days. Granted, he has classes to attend to, so he won’t be at home all day, but he’s sure you won’t leave his mind wherever he goes.

The phone in his hand buzzes and he stares at the new notification on the screen – a text message from an unknown number. Jungkook unlocks the phone, goes to the messaging app, and clicks on the new text.

avirgins1ut on tumblr if you wanna read some things tonight

“Fuck you, Namjoon,” Jungkook mutters under his breath. However, when he goes to his room, grabs his shitty phone and opens his data – he installs the app despite knowing it will consume almost all the remaining gigabytes he has left.

Jungkook lies down on his bed and creates his profile. He doesn’t bother customizing it, going straight to your blog which is all black and hot pink. Instantly, he’s drawn to your profile picture – a simple mirror shot of you hiding your bare chest with your arms, head tilt slightly to the side and a black panty covering your cunt. He swallows the lump in his throat as he scrolls down, reading your pinned post:

“Hey. You can call me Angel. I’m 23 years old. This blog is filled with all my fantasies and kinks, sometimes my nudes. Feel free to send me yours too.

My kinks: cnc, free use, somnophilia, spit, slapping, marking, choking, daddy, and more.

My favorite fantasies: rape play, kidnapped, kept as sex slave, knife/gun play, forced gangbang, and more – why don’t you help me unlock those? DMs and asks open for all your threats and nudes.

Update: already got myself a master/daddy. Asks and messages are off.”

As he scrolls further down your blog, Jungkook doesn’t even realize he already has his hand wrapped around his dick as he masturbates to your the latest fantasy you wrote albeit months ago.

I can’t stop masturbating to this dark fantasy of mine – being raped by someone so brutally after they kidnap me. How they would keep me chained to the bed, always naked so they can easily rape me whenever and however they want. They would mock me whenever I would tell them to stop (“You shouldn’t have worn those skirts if you didn’t want to be raped. But you did. So, this isn’t rape. You were clearly asking for this like some depraved filthy bitch in heat. You’re fucking loving this, don’t you? Isn’t this what you want?”) and choke me as they pound into my wet and clenching pussy relentlessly. They would slap and spit on my face, abusing my cunt for hours until I’m full of theirs and their friends’ cum whom they called to let them have a taste of their new toy.

They would rape me day in and out until my body gets so used to it that I start asking for it – crying and begging to be fucked. “Shh, angel, daddy’s going to fuck you, okay? Don’t cry.” Slowly, I would forget all my autonomy and identity, wholly submitting myself to them because I was never my own in the first place – I was always theirs.

“Fuck, Y/N!” His entire body shakes as he cums again. Jungkook can’t stop – he wants to read more, see more as you posted a picture of your cum covered cunt at the end of the post and he imagines it’s his. But he gets a notification that he is out of data and Jungkook slams his phone on his bed, frustrated beyond bounds. He is still hard. He still wants to see more of you, read more of your fantasies.

Namjoon’s words echo in his mind. I bet she’s fucking wet right now at the thought, at the anticipation that one of us or all of us are going to have our ways with her. I bet she’s aching to be touched. I bet she wants you to rape her, Jungkook. So, why not just do it?”

And before he knows it – he is standing across from your limp body. You’re still unconscious – sack over your head, tied and bound on the metal chair. Jungkook walks towards you, gently touching your shoulders to see if you would react but you don’t. He bites his lower lip as his eyes fall on your naked chest. He reaches down to trace its curves before ultimately cupping one breast in hand, fondling, squeezing, twisting the nipple and pinching it. No response.

He begins to stroke himself as he continues to fondle your breasts. This is wrong, but why does it feel so good?

“F-Fucking slut, you’re asking for this,” Jungkook hisses through his teeth. He’s not going to last any longer – not when those perky nipples are so inviting and moments later, he cums all over tits. He’s panting, an exhilarating feeling he hasn’t felt before rising within him as he stares at your cum covered chest. He swallows, breathing heavily. Should he stop now or keep going? He doesn’t have data anymore, but he does have the real thing right in front of him. But you twitch and he jumps in surprise. Suddenly, the realization of his actions washes upon him. He feels a coil in his stomach. What has he done? He scrambles out of the room and dash straight to the bathroom where he extensively washes his hand and splashes cold water on his face. Then, he throws himself on his thin mattress, staring at the ceiling as he pants. Namjoon is right – he’s just as fucked up as they are.

CHAPTER 3 is coming soon.

TAGLIST: Wanna be part of Dead Kids’ taglist? Fill out this form and don’t forget to read the short note in order for me to tag you.

ANDI: I do not condone the behaviors exhibited in this story. The characters of Jungkook, Namjoon, Yoongi and Hoseok do not reflect who they are in real life. Fanfiction is just fanfiction. I have no schedule in writing – I write whenever I can. Please try to refrain from sending asks about updates (or at least be kind and polite about it) and let me know your feedbacks instead as they help a lot in motivation and inspiration! 🦉

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © ANDI-KOOK 2024. NO PART OF THIS STORY MAY BE REPRODUCED, TRANSLATED, MODIFIED, EDITED, REPOSTED AND THE LIKES WITHOUT THE AUTHOR’S PERMISSION.

[chimielie]

i swear that i will hate you 'till forever

summary: Yaku x F!Reader. sometimes divorce is what you really need to strengthen a marriage

word count: 1.2k

cw: angst, alcohol, pr marriage gone extremely wrong, yaku is older by six years, reader is a socialite with no life skills or healthy coping mechanisms, yaku also has no healthy coping mechanisms, no one in this story is doing well, The Judgment of God Himself, also blasphemy

a/n: heeey long time no see. i actually genuinely don't know when i wrote this, i'm just emptying my drafts of all the half-written fics i have locked in jail. i do still like this concept a lot so shoot me an ask if you want to know more about what i had planned for the full thing :)

Morisuke hates weddings.

He stares up at God, who is trapped in a little circle in a bigger circle, surrounded by gorgeous, centuries-old paintings of angels and saints and little red devils. Everything is gold, the flickering light of hanging chandeliers shining down to gild a rapt audience, even as the real people seem to pale in comparison to their artistically rendered counterparts. Standing here, surrounded by ornate displays of divinity, Morisuke has never felt so wealthy in spirit and physicality. He wasn’t raised in this religion, nor was he ever baptized into it as an adult, but he doesn’t find a seed of objection in himself he’d though he would. The icon he thinks is God looks both mournful and benevolent. All the shining things make Morisuke feel as though he’s looking into a mirror.

The people rustle, whispering among themselves. A stray string instrument sounds, alone and twanging into a silence far greater than itself, and Morisuke almost misses it when the orchestra starts up moments later. He has a headache, the kind that gets worse because he’s so irritated that he has one at all.

He looks down and away from God, straight into the blinding flash of a camera. His only reaction is a slight narrowing of the eyes, the closest he’s come to flinching in years. When the spots clear from his vision, you’re there, an angel from the fresco come to life, a goddess in the church.

Morisuke folds his hands. It feels only right to pray, the way he’s seen it on television, the way some of his teammates do before matches. You stare at him as you walk down the aisle, light playing over your dress in shining bursts that make his head throb harder. He can’t find any bridal tears in your eyes.

He shifts in his dress shoes, fights not to run his hands through his carefully-styled hair. The air-conditioning is too strong, meant to keep a thousand pressed-together people from overheating, or perhaps it’s the winter air leaking in through the great doors. You reach the stairs to the altar, wobbling a little on your first step up, though the movement is so minuscule anyone but him wouldn’t have noticed. Without thinking, Morisuke reaches a hand out to steady you. Your fingers press hard into the flesh of his palm, gripping him bruisingly tight. He can barely pull his hand away fast enough. The music stops, and Morisuke takes in a deep breath, while your chest doesn’t move to inhale or exhale. This is the last moment before you are knotted together irrevocably for life. A groom who hates weddings for a bride who doesn’t cry.

one year, eight months later

If you tilt your head up and almost close your eyes so that you’re looking through your lashes, you can pretend that you’re floating among the stars. You do so, walking backwards, tipping champagne down your throat as you go, trying to envision yourself as a constellation. You’re pretty sure you are one—Morisuke’s gift to you on your birthday, the first one after you’d married. The tabloids had eaten it up. You, watching him board a plane through the social media stories of your so-called friends, hadn’t felt quite as romanced as your picture in the news claimed.

You had forgotten about the constellation. Perhaps it had stuck in your subconscious, though; it was awfully romantic. Perhaps that’s why you had chosen the planetarium as a venue for tonight, though in the light of day it had been the midnight blue velvet and shadowy, domed ceilings that had cinched it for you. But you throw a lot of parties, and you don’t need any more sentiment in your life than what you’re currently suffocating under. You’ll come back on your own, you decide, finishing off your glass and plucking another from the nearest hand to you. You like being lost amongst your guests, freewheeling in space even without oxygen to breathe.

You stumble as you continue your backwards, meandering path through the party. You kick off your shoes, lab-grown crystals chipping off as they bounce. You don’t notice. You’ll buy more. You could buy the whole stupid world, with your husband’s money that he throws at you so he doesn’t have to come home and face you. Your husband who leaves you alone to do whatever you please. Alone, dancing among the stars.

Morisuke was twenty-eight when he proposed to you; you had just turned twenty-two when you said yes. You had been officially seeing each other for three months and acquaintances for nearly a year prior.

The story of your first meeting the interviewers knew was one you and your husband had told many times. A mutual friend had introduced you at a high-profile event and said, blatantly, that the two of you should “make babies.” Morisuke was smooth; you were flirtatious. The story played out like a romantic comedy, ending in a fairytale wedding.

You and he had kept the real story for yourselves, to take out and admire in times of trouble, to tuck away in your pocket like a note between secret lovers.

You were running through a rose-garden maze, eyes over your shoulder, hands fisted in your skirts. He had been walking a perpendicular path to yours (looking for someone else, another lover, you’d later learn) when you had tripped right over him, tumbling head over heels through the flora and into a new sector. Your breath knocked out of you, it was all you could do to stare up at the sky and try to laugh.

“Miss?” He’d called, ducking through the opening, pushing stray rose canes away. “Miss! Are you alright?”

He sounded so formal. You accepted his hand up, but only pulled yourself into a sitting position, trying desperately to catch your breath. He was so handsome, it was making things much harder. Inconsiderate of him, you thought

“I’m fine,” you managed, eventually. “Are you?”

“No more bruised than usual,” he’d returned, teasing. You cocked a brow. “I’m an athlete. I dive face-first onto hardwood floors all day."

For reasons you couldn’t recognize, you’d taken his hand, pushing up the sleeve of his shirt. His forearm toward the elbow had a nasty bruise, as he had said. You ran a careful finger over the discoloration, and he hissed.

“How was my form?”

“Awful,” he said frankly. “But—“ He’d seemed to get lost there, watching the way the sunlight filtered through the clouds and played across your features. With all the raw honesty of someone saying something they hadn’t even known they were thinking, he opened his mouth and said: “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

On a slight breeze, the petals you’d knocked off drifted around the two of you, catching on his shirt, in your hair. They pooled between you, and when you ducked your head down they were all you could see.

You fell in love during that first meeting.

He never fell in love with you at all.

[nordleuchten]

I finished watching Franklin the other day and I had to comment on the portrayal of La Fayette throughout the series – while there were some things that I disliked, the show did a really good job portraying La Fayette. I have a lot of notes and screenshots because the show actually included a great number of sweet details. Therefore, I hope you are interested, because we are going into detail.

Franklin – Episode 1

There are two important things happening in this episode with regards to La Fayette: La Fayette’s first meeting with William Temple Franklin and their visit to the club.

The show naturally puts the two Franklins at the center of all the action and this is – with regards to La Fayette, one of the “problems” it suffers from. La Fayette’s departure for America and the whole politics behind it are oversimplified, the show omits his visit to his uncle-in-law in England and its also omits Silas Dean. Dean played a very important role in getting La Fayette to America – arguably more important than Franklin’s role and definitely more important than Temple’s role. La Fayette and Temple knew each other, they exchanged letters and these letters were polite and friendly, but there are none of these overenthusiastic declarations of love that we see in letters to his family, to Adrienne, to Washington or Hamilton for example. In fact, the first letter I could find between the two of them was written by La Fayette on September 14, 1779 – so long after La Fayette’s initial departure. As I already said, the letter is friendly, but not overly so. There might be other letters, that did not survive and many things could have happened, that can not be represented by letters and what is written in them – but I nevertheless think it is safe to assume that the show depicts a deeper friendship between them then there actually was.

With that out of the way, we meet La Fayette for the first time in de Vergenne’s anteroom where Temple is also currently waiting for an audience. When I was watching the show, especially in later episodes, I am not quite sure if it was made clear, that de Vergennes and La Fayette actually had a very warm relationship. Sure, de Vergennes sometimes needed to reign La Fayette in a bit but they were still very affectionate with each other. I saw their interaction in the show always as a mentor-son-thing or some friendly banter but I am not quite sure if you got the same impression when you have not read their letters for example.

Anyway, the real star of this scene was La Fayette’s uniform. This set probably won me over to watch Franklin – because the show actually managed to put La Fayette in the right uniform at the right time!

Here he is wearing the uniform of a Captain from the Noailles regiment. He joined the regiment in 1775 and his commission was a “wedding-gift” from his father-in-law who owned said regiment (although La Fayette had to wait until he turned eighteen to actually be commissioned a Captain). La Fayette wore this uniform in a painting by Louis-Léopold Boilly – although the painting was only done in 1788.

And of course, there was no way the show could do without a scene about La Fayette’s many first names.

I was baptized like a Spaniard. (…) But it was not my fault. And without pretending to deny myself the protection of Marie, Pauls, Joseph, Roch and Yves, I more often called upon Saint Gilbert.

Then we have this absolutely delicious scene of La Fayette dressing Temple up – something very much on brand. @my-deer-friend and I once had a conversation about La Fayette doing something along these lines with John Laurens as well if I am not mistaken.

Next we are taken to a club where La Fayette introduces Temple to his friend Ségur and de Noailles – I really liked it that they were included as well:

And in the course of the conversation there were many interesting aspects raised. For example, there is a reference to La Fayette’s “country-origins”, something that was perceived by his peers back then as way more significant, to the point where he was ridiculed for it, then we today might believe it to be. There was also a spotlight shown on La Fayette’s pursuit for glory and fame, a strong factor in the crafting in his public image and something that was very important for him. I made a post about this here.

We also have La Fayette express his distaste for the British and relay the story about his father’s death. And while I appreciate the background information and motivation, I think that “We hate British” is a bit of an oversimplification – as I said, La Fayette had recently visited his uncle by marriage in England, he was the French ambassador to the British court, and by his own accounts, La Fayette had a blast of a time while in England. I also would like to one day look a bit deeper into the connection La Fayette felt towards his father and his passing, because I believe that he might not have felt quite so strong about the matter.

Lastly, La Fayette comments about his distaste for court rituals. While this was his general opinion, there was one especially notable incident were he purposefully insulted the future Louis XVIII, younger brother of Louis XVI, in order to avoid an appointment to the royal household. I wrote about his little stunt here. He also mentioned that the King at the time, Louis XVI, had forbidden him to sail to America. The logical conclusion: La Fayette bought his own ship.

[elposting]

I JUST GOT BACK FROM SEEING BOOK OF MORMON ON WEST END AND IT WAS THE GREATEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD

little debrief/me chatting/face reveal???

My dad surprised me with first row center tickets last night and I’ve been begging him to see the show for so long I was sooo freaking excited

I was literally grinning ear to ear through the entire thing. Easily makes my top three best things I’ve ever been to (Taylor swift concert, snl barricades are the other two lol).

This was my first time sitting front row at professional theater and it was so worth it. Its literally magical and I hope everyone gets to experience it at some point

Rest of post below the cut! Somewhat long post sorry i have a lot to say lol (pics and vids too! and ill reblog this with the curtain call video i got)

OK now to the show

- colin was so fucking funny as mckinley I was literally dying and turn it off was so good. I tried to squint through the darkness to see the quick change but I couldn’t lol, guess that one video is the only way ill ever see them actually doing it lol

- baptize me was the best and funniest thing I’ve seen in a long long time. the entire audience was dying laughing the entire time. and the detail of naba’s shirt being wet after the gets baptized. wonderful

- idk how long they’ve been doing this for but after price comes into the mission hut with blood all over him the other elders start freaking out until poptarts just screams, silences everyone, and does the turn it off motion and all of them get calm and it was so fucking funny oh my god

- mckinley trying to stop the play in the middle of it. just starts clapping and trying to step in front of naba. colin!mckinley I love you so much

- the guy who played church looked identical to rory o’malley and i kept getting distracted by that so i missed McKinley’s enterance in smhd and the build up to price’s “fuck him” bc I kept looking at him 😭

- conner/cunningham is so fucking good. He is so funny I could not stop laughing. one of my favorite cunninghams ever. he made me love arnold sm more now. and he is SUCH a great singer like genuinely fantastic

—

STAGE DOOR TIME!!

- stage door culture for west end is so much different than broadway!! I forgot to bring a pen (on Broadway everyone has their own sharpies) so I shared with this one girl and her mom from Mexico, they were the only other people there

- my dad told conner he was better than josh gad and he was like who??? we don’t talk about him!! It was so funny lol

me and conner this vid is so goofy I love it

here's me and my best friend in the whole wide world colin burnicle (who looked at me weird when I told him all I wanted to do for the rest of my life was watch turn it off over and over again)

me and blair who was so good and he told me he recognized me from my shirt in the front row lol told me I looked like I was having a blast. love u blair 😘 tall king

charlie barnard cutie patootie

and my absolute fave pic of the night me and richard/mafala i love this man

oh and finally I got sm signatures and if (when) I see it on broadway and tour everyone else will be signing the book and if i meet matt and trey (or anyone in obc) i will beg them to sign it too

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[beanghostprincess]

Buggy Girl Buggy Girl Buggy Girl WOMEN

Imagine for a moment that Buggy is CRUSHING HARDCORE on Mihawk and Crocodile. Imagine she is crushing on them. Imagine she is in LOVE. IMAGINE OKAY.

Alvida, like the bestest bestie to ever best, is just like "bet, let's get your manses." She kidnaps Buggy for Plotting and A Makeover. Swordguy and Sandman are oblivious to this happening (they also love her but are Not Making Moves).

Then Buggy announces a small event. Maybe it's the anniversary of the Guild starting, maybe it's a celebration for a bug bounty being brought in, maybe maybe maybe idfk, but it's A Party. The squad all orchestrates performances, food, good music, etc. Alvida plays announcer, and the main act is Buggy on silks.

Crocodile and Mihawk, attending solely for appearances sake, are suddenly Looking. She's in a leotard, tights, hair elegantly tied up, makeup different but still very much Her Brand. She looks majestic, graceful, weaving her body and limbs around the silks like she and the fabric are the same, movements fluid and confident. There is absolutely NO devil fruit involved, it's All Skill.

And then she tumbles, transitioning from silks to a dragon staff, music shifting from sweet, bouncy and yet sinful to something a bit harder, a bit faster. She twirls and moves, flames lighting her features in a way that's breathtaking even without the prior attraction. It's like the spotlight has fueled her, baptized into a new being who is in her element. The audience is left breathless.

Maybe it wraps up with the music hitting a climax, her dancing and twirling growing and growing and growing until she finishes with a fire-breathing move, much to the cheering of her audience.

Just.... talented performing women and their absolute LEGION of simps.

I don't have to imagine shit, what do you mean Buggy isn't in love with them???????? That is canon to me. What are you talking about??? And the only reason Crocodile and Mihawk aren't making moves although they like her back is because they're both socially inept idiots who don't know how to flirt. People keep saying they know. They don't. And Alvida doing her a makeover is just so real to me. I'm sure she'd actually love fem Buggy way more than canon because, y'know, women.

The whole thing about Buggy's show??? Okay. Wow. I died. But also Crocodile and Mihawk would not fucking hesitate. They might not know how to flirt but they knovw what they want and they can't hold themselves back after THAT. Just saying the three of them have a very fun night right after that show and they leave the party way earlier than expected. Alvida winks at Buggy and Buggy probably thinks she's being taken to another room to get murdered or something. Little does she know.

[streda]

Conrad Veidt

Actually Hans Walter Conrad Veidt, was a German-British actor, born on 22 January 1893 in Berlin. initially became famous in Germany, thanks to films such as: "Different from the others", "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari" or "The Hands of Orlac". After a career in silent films, he became a best-paid star UFA.

As a child, he lived in the family home at Tieckstraße 39 in Berlin with his mother, Amalie Marie, and Philipp Heinrich Veidt, a former military man who became a government official. his father was strict unlike his mother who was caring and sensitive. He came from a Lutheran family in the Lutheran Church and was baptized on March 26, 1893. He also had an older brother, Karl, who died in 1900 of scarlet fever at the age of 9. two years after Karl's death, his father became seriously ill and required heart surgery. As Conrad's family was not wealthy and could not afford such an expense, the doctor only demanded the fee that the family could afford. Young Veidt was delighted with the surgeon's kindness and swore to follow the example of the man who saved his father's life, from that moment on he wanted to become a surgeon. Niesetu's dream of becoming a surgeon was thwarted when he graduated in 1912 without a diploma and placed 13th out of 13 students, and was also discouraged by the amount of study it took to get into medical school. However, a new career path opened up for Conrads during a Christmas performance in which he delivered a long prologue before the curtain rose. The performance was bad, but the audience thought that Veidt did really great. Conrad became interested in actors, but his father considered stage artists to be outcasts and often called them gypsies. Thanks to part-time work and pocket money from his mother, Veidt was able to afford to attend theaters in Berlin. After each performance he stood in front of the Deutsches Theater waiting for the actors or hoping that he would be mistaken for an actor. At the end of the summer of 1912, he met a theater porter who introduced him to the actor Albert Blumenreich, who agreed to give Corad acting lessons for six marks. He was given 10 lessons before auditioning for Max Reinhardt reciting Goethe's Faust. Reinhardt offered Veidt a contract as an assistant for one season from September 1913 to August 1914, with a salary of 50 marks per month. During this time he played episodic roles as spear carriers and soldiers. His mother attended almost every performance of her son. After a successful career, they decided to extend his contract for a second season, but World War I broke out and on December 28, 1914, Conrad was enlisted in the army. In 1915 he was sent to the Eastern Front as a non-commissioned officer and took part in the Battle of Warsaw. In the meantime, he contracted jaundice and pneumonia and had to be evacuated to a hospital on the Baltic Sea. While convalescing, he received a letter from his girlfriend Lycie Mannheim informing him that she had found a job at the Front Theater in Liepāja. This news prompted Veidt to apply to the theater. because his condition was not improving, the army allowed him to join the theater so he could entertain the soldiers. While working in the theater, his relationship with Lucie ended. In 1916 he was examined by the army again and found unfit for service; On January 10, 1917, he was granted full parole. Conrad returned to Berlin where he was accepted back into the Deutsches Theater. There he played a small role as a priest which earned him a favorable review - the reviewer hoped that "God would save Veidt from the cinema" but luckily this did not happen.

One of his first and most important films was the role of a sleepwalker in "Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari" (1920) directed by Robert Wiene, which became a classic of German and expressionist cinema. The film also changed a lot in cinematography and was quite controversial for its time, but now it is well known to us and appreciated by every fan of cinematography. he also first starred in the film "Anders als die Andern" (1919) in which Conrad and Reinhold Schünzel played the main roles. All copies of the film were corrupted by the Nazis because the homosexuality depicted in the film was considered a disease at that time. Currently, only a small part of the film can be watched, that is, the part of the film that was saved. In 1924, he played in the film "Orlac's Hands" based on the book by Maurice Renard. It's time for Conrad's great success outside Europe. In 1928, he played the role of Gwynplaine in the film "The Man Who Laughs" based on the book by Victor Hugo (I recommend watching the film, it's really great. Conrad's role in this film influenced culture, Joker's appearance is inspired by the Veidt. Of course, it is worth mentioning roles in horror films, e.g. "Der Student Von Prag" (1926) and "Das Wachsfigurenkabinett" (1924). He also starred in the first German film with sound. "Das Land ohne Frauen" (1929). At the end of the 20s he went to Hollywood where he played a few roles, but with the advent of sound in films he had to give up acting in America and returned to Germany. During this time, he became a teacher for many aspiring artists, including Lisa Golm.Interesting fact: the role of Dracula was written specifically for Conrad, but Veidt was afraid that his English was too poor, instead the role of Dracula was played by Béla Lugosi, whose English was not better.

Veidt did not support the Nazi regime and sent funds to help the British during the German Blitz bombings. Shortly after the Nazi Party took power in Germany in March 1933, Joseph Goebbles purged the film industry of political opponents and Jews. In April 1933, a week after Cornad's wedding to Prager, a Jewish woman also known as "Lilli", they emigrated to Britain before any action could be taken against them. Goebbles imposed a "race questionnaire" in which every actor employed in Germany had to declare his "race" in order to continue working. When Veidt filled out the questionnaire, he answered the question about his race by writing "Jew." Veidt was not of Jewish origin, but his wife was, and Veidt would not abandon the woman he loved so much or cooperate with the regime, as many others did. Veidt was against anti-Semitism and showed it publicly and said it loudly. he supported Jews who were deprived of German citizenship in the spring of 1933. Conrad was informed that if he got a divorce and declared support for the new regime, he would still be able to operate in Germany, which he rejected because, as he claimed, nothing could cause him to divorce Lilli. After arriving in United Kingdom, Veidt improved his English and starred in the original anti-Nazi films The Wandering Jew (1933) and Jew Süss (1934). On February 25, 1939, he received British citizenship. During this time, Conrad made films in both French and English.

I think these are the key and important moments in Conrad Veidt's life.

Trivia

Conrad, through his lawyers, gave children locked in shelters in London 2,000 tins of sweets, 2,000 large packets of chocolate and 1,000 gift envelopes in the form of British currency. all to improve their mood during the Christmas :)

Veidt helped his parents-in-law from Austria get to Switzerland and in 1935 he managed to obtain permission from the Nazi government for his ex-wife and their daughter to move to Switzerland. He also offered to help Felizitas' mother ( his ex-wife's mother), Frau Radke, leave Germany. but she refused, saying "no damn little Asutrian Nazi corporal will make me leave my house." Apparently she survived the war, but Corad never saw her again.

"There are two different kinds of men. There are the men men, what do you call them, the man's man, who likes men around, who prefers to talk with men, who says the female can never be impersonal, who takes the female lightly, as playthings. I do not see a man like that in my mirror. Perhaps, it is because I think the female and the male attract better than two men, that I prefer to talk with females. I do. I find it quite as stimulating and distinctly more comfortable. I have a theory about this - it all goes back to the mother complex. In every woman, the man who looks may find - his mother. The primary source of all his comfort. I think also that females have become too important just to play with. When men say the female cannot discuss impersonally, that is no longer so. When it is said that females cannot be geniuses, that is no longer so, either. The female is different from the male. Because she was born to be a mother. There is no doubt about that. But that does not mean that, in some cases, she is not also born a genius. Not all males are geniuses either. And among females today there are some very fine actresses, very fine; fine doctors, lawyers, even scientists and industrialists. I see no fault in any female when she wears slacks, smokes (unless it is on the street, one thing, the only thing, which I don't like), when she drives a car... when men say things like "I bet it is a woman driving" if something is wrong with the car ahead - no, no. These are old, worn out prejudices, they do not belong in today"

~°~

Conrad died on April 3, 1943 from heart disease.

(Sorry for any mistakes, remember I'm not from an English-speaking country, the information comes from Wikipedia and various websites that you can easily find :)

[catwyk]

ok listening to silt verses 44 right now

NARRATION !!!!!! MY BEAUTIFUL NARRATION

the description of the city uprooting itself is so evocative i LOVE it idk why but im imagining birmimgham lmaooo

carpenter holding haywards hand :(

"i feel like ive been... baptized"

i love cross so much hes like one of those plushes designed to sit down but is too top heavy to actually sit

WELCOME BACK FUN CREDITS

WELCOME BACK SISTER SORE AND BROTHER BOIL

"good old fashioned religious hijacking" shes back where she belongs 🙏🙏🙏

pilot talking about overfeeding the wind gods mmmm mmm MMM delicious worldbuilding

im gonna explode carson with a mind beam.

"turn the cls into her personal mommy issues playground" in all fairness he got her there

carson just. deciding the cls was involved too ??? i love satire

okayyyy switching from carson twisting the narrative to suit himself to rane doing the exact same thing okayyyy parallels

"im speaking to you on behalf of a tall, very angry woman" 1) love you cross xx 2) SHES CANONICALLY TALL WE WON TODAY

carpenter refusing to say whether she can see the maiden..... i know this means we as the audience arent given any premature idea of haywards fate but i prefer the implication that she didnt get on the plane and shes just fuckin pelting i across the peninsula so she can meet them where they land

the plane crash confessions broke my heart

ARE THEY FUCKING DEAD???? NO THEY CANT BE

holy shit setting up faulkner and carpenter remeeting in the wreckage???? something something returned from the garden below

"you killed carpenter. the honour of that achievement sits with you" oh rane baby you are just not getting it

remembering faulkner is maybe 2 years older than me really puts his brokeness in a completely different light

faulkner invites rane into the water. i remember the drowning warning in the episode description. i remember @pinkelotjeart being really sad. uh oh

this is the scariest faulkner has ever been

"if i was so much better than katabasian mason, i wouldnt have killed him" MY FUCKING FACE WHEN

charlie?? CHARLIE????

oh my god hes actually fully lost it

that was insane im going insane im gonna be sick i wanna go home

[drewsbuzzcut]

More thoughts about girl dad Andrei!

He would be a sobbing mess when baby girl svech gets baptized

If baby girl svech is sick, Andrei never strays too far, always wanting her in his arms or sight at all times

When baby girl svech is around 3, she joins a ballet class and Andrei enjoys watching her do something she’s so passionate about even at a young age

The day after you told Andrei you were pregnant, he comes back from practice with a couple of canes onesies and a little stormy plushie

Andrei sobs so much when baby girl svech is born

Andrei gets baby girl svech’s name tattooed on him

When Andrei saw baby girl svech’s baby jersey that said “daddy” on the back for the first time, he had to hold back his tears

When baby girl svech attends her first game, Andrei was so happy, like he couldn’t stop telling people that his daughter was in the audience

There was once a roadie during baby girl svech’s birthday and Andrei was extremely sad. You had to fly to whatever city he was in, so he could be with his baby girl on her birthday

Baby girl svech loves her stormy plushie, but when she gets to meet stormy for the first time at a family skate, she freaks out and clings to Andrei the rest of the day

He skates around the ice, holding her tiny body in his large arms, and you just admire your two favorite people

Andrei loves watching you breastfeed, he thinks it’s so magical

When baby girl svech is 3-4, she gets in a stage where she frequently has nightmares, and most nights she wakes up crying and Andrei wastes no time in bringing her into your shared bed

Baby girl svech loves holding Andrei’s cheeks and kissing his forehead

[waterparksdrama]

I listened to blonde for the first time in months and I just can’t believe how bad their music has gotten. It makes me mad tbh cause I feel like Awsten had so much potential like what happened?? I don’t really have any hope for the band anymore like I truly don’t see them coming out with a hit. I mean the fact that Awsten is saying Funeral Grey should’ve been their “espresso” just shows me that there’s no hope for them bc thats one of their worst songs imo. He needs to be honest with himself like I’m sorry but “I know your dying wish is to be baptized in my spit” is something a teen would write in a wattpad fanfic not a 30 year old in a song. Do y’all see them actually releasing something that can make them blow up or how many years do y’all think they have left as a band?

i think once awsten reaches his mid thirties the clock will be ticking for this band just as it naturally does. awsten really needs to overhaul what they've been doing rn bc it's clearing wearing on everyone including his audience especially with trying to fend for scraps using streaming games for songs no one cares about.

like awsten genuinely needs to return to his roots not in the sense that he tried to with ip because those could have pretty shallow lyrics and questionable music parts but like in the sense that he wants to actually say something without making it sound stupid to catch your attention. i mean i've said it time and time again that the only lesson awsten learned from their 15 seconds of virality with imhs was that shocking attention grabbing lyrics = success and that's been a theme in most parx songs afterwards but my god i still wish awsten had something to actually say because there's only so much in an instrumental i can appreciate before i want to turn a song off because he says something stupid.

but even then i'm not sure awsten really has much to say anymore and i feel like anything he could say would require a lot of introspection on his part and perhaps even be kind of uncomfortable to say but he's written about things that aren't love or the industry so i'm sure he has the capacity to write without thinking of the metrics of it as a song - iz

[goldenteaset]

So unlike my other posts for @tristampparty , this one is focused on two things that are connected but not directly. But they are about the twins, who are Plants, so it fits the theme. XD

I have so many thoughts about Vash's panicked/drowning reaction in the Plant fluid and Nai's reaction to it. "Breathe, Vash." It's another unexpected reminder that for all he projects onto Vash, he does genuinely care for him (which makes everything worse). As, well, erotic horror as the tentacles right afterward is, I can't help but read it also as Vash trying to fight off a life preserver...

And now, we get into what I like to call "I'm Biased Toward A Specific Sort of Antagonist And Unfortunately I'm Also A Writer", aka a fic idea poorly disguised as analysis. And also a post about how attractive(ly scary) Nai is. XD;

Every day I thank Studio Orange for Nai, and also hope desperately that at least some shred of what I'd like to see with him actually happens.

Look at him. What a wonderful smile! And it's so deliciously jarring compared to the corpses that are all around him and Vash. Episode 3 and that "Does it cure the loneliness?" line were the creators preparing a lure, and then by episode 9 they cast it with That Smile to younger Vash in this exact spot, and here they hooked me and never let go.

My favorite antagonists deeply care for the protagonist, often in very complicated ways that offer up a hundred interpretations, but the most common one is love. Nai loves Vash--the memories of him, the idea of him, the saint, the sinner. And in this moment, he almost comes to love him as a person, too. "Join me, and we can save our kind." (Also of note: I love how this is framed so that the audience can see this side of Nai as well. It's a very compelling moment and wouldn't be out of place in an otome game.)

I was so excited for more of this: more Nai gently denying Vash his autonomy, lovingly indoctrinating/baptizing him into his cult as a fellow Angel and what that might mean!

...And then I realized that this scene happened only a few minutes in and oh. Oh no.

Don't get me wrong: I love/am horrified by the Tesla scene, and the desert and Rem scenes are amazingly done. But they're forceful, like Nai is embodying that "Gentle Persuasion" meme, and that just isn't scary to me. I would've mostly kept them as they are, but maybe leaned more into the "Everything I did was for you/a paradise for us" lines. Because yes, Nai is being a manipulative slimeball here, but I also think he has 1000% chugged his own Freudian koolaid so much that it's leaking out of his pores.

So I'd do it all mostly backwards, is what I'm saying: show the scene with Rem first, then the desert, then Tesla, then combine the "Join me~" + geranium garden scenes into one. It can convince Vash and the audience. Vash is now worn down, and more importantly he sees Nai as both a savior and, like the other Plants, someone who needs him.

Have there be visions of Vash's companions in the geranium garden (but conveniently far away) happily interacting with the Plants. Show Rosa and her baby! Wolfwood and Livio with the other orphans! So many knife-twisting ways to make this all seem like the best of all possible worlds. Have Vash mindbreak himself.

Now when Vash transforms and starts consuming July/impregnating the Plants, it's not just happening because he's just an empty vessel: Vash earnestly thinks it's the right thing to do.

(To twist the knife, I'd also bring back the "I can hear you. Don't be afraid" line at this moment. Heck, maybe it can all even sound triumphant from his POV, with tender piano music or similar. And then we cut to Meryl, desperately trying to reach him...)

[aliasknives]

wip wednesday!

thank you to the lovely @elinorbard for the tag!

on sunday i finally finished and uploaded Favored, so i'm working on completely new fics now. this snippet is from a wip i've tentatively been calling Chosen, but it's in such early stages who's to say if that will stick.

it's currently divided into two parts, the first of which centers around Isoldt's relationship with Orin, primarily, just after being named Bhaal's Chosen (there are *some* early durgetash crumbs, but that isn't the main focus)

i'm always so late to these (and i'm in the eastern timezone), so definitely no pressure on anyone i tag (but feel free to consider it a wip whenever tag should you choose to join). tagging @collegeoflore @nullcanary @threeofswrds @rowanisawriter and @lamortwrites. apologies for double-tapping anyone!

excerpt:

The blood-baptized Chosen of Bhaal rides a pale horse through the Undercity ruins.  A half-tenday ago, Isoldt’s Father appeared to her in a dream. There he proclaimed her his flesh, his favored, his Slayer. His Chosen. Now, his devotees bow and scrape at her feet. They anoint her in oil. They whisper prayers when she passes, they offer their own flesh to take and eat.  As she passes through this sea of the faithful, Isoldt realizes that she is their Chosen, too. She is to be the lifeblood of their church, the proof of their god's eyes upon them. And now their eyes are upon her, too. After her Trial, Isoldt was supposed to speak with Sarevok alone, but their meeting had an audience of one.  When Isoldt first came to the temple as a frightened child of one and ten, Orin watched her every move from the shadows. A pale little girl dressed in red, unbound blonde hair swinging at her waist. Isoldt always thought it was suspicion that drove her to stare.  Now, it is clear enough: it was fear.  They shared a bedroom for a time, though they both slept fitfully. Orin talked nonsense in her sleep, and cried and cried. Cried for her dead, disgraced mother. For her grandfather. For her god.

[apenitentialprayer]

May 11, 2023

Earlier today, Pope Francis declared that 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians, who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya in 2015, would be added to the Roman Martyrology. Francis made the announcement during an audience with Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The “21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya,” as they are called, were martyred on February 15, 2015. Less than a week later, they were declared saints in the Coptic Orthodox Church by Pope Tawadros. The Copts celebrate their feast on the anniversary of their death, February 15, and it appears that this will also be their feast day on the Roman calendar.

The world was shocked in February 2015, when a 5-minute video was uploaded to the internet by ISIS militants. The video showed the 21 kidnapped men in orange jumpsuits being beheaded on a beach near the Libyan city of Sirte. 20 of these martyrs were Egyptian Copts who had gone to Libya to do construction work. The last member of the group, Matthew Ayariga, was a fellow worker from Ghana. It is said that he told the executioners, “Their God is my God. I will go with them.” There has been some question over whether he was already Christian or whether the witness of his 20 coworkers led to his conversion, but nevertheless, his Christian witness and solidarity are inspiring. It was reported that as they died, they chanted hymns and prayed aloud.

The deaths of these men as Christian martyrs is undeniable. The extraordinary photos of Blessed Miguel Pro, a Catholic priest who was executed by the Mexican government in 1927 during the Cristero War — taken just moments before the he was shot by the firing squad — are perhaps the only other photographic images recording a Christian martyrdom as it happened. And yet the recognition of the 21 martyrs as Catholic saints is unprecedented for several reasons.

The primary reason, of course, is that the Coptic Orthodox Church is not in full communion with Rome. The Copts are Oriental Orthodox (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox), because they split from the other Christian churches in the year 451 at the Council of Chalcedon due to differences over the nature of Christ. They are also referred to as “Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches.” This means that they recognize the first three ecumenical councils, whereas the Eastern Orthodox recognize seven, and the Catholic Church recognizes 21 ecumenical councils.

After more than 15 centuries, our hope of reunion may seem remote. After all these years, the two Churches have independently developed their own traditions, theologies, forms of worship, and prayers. Yet some things have remained the same. Both Churches have maintained apostolic succession and the sacraments: Pope Francis is the successor of St. Peter and Pope Tawadros is the successor of St. Mark. In recent decades, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church has become closer. For example, in 2017, Popes Francis and Tawadros made a joint statement indicating mutual acceptance of the validity of baptism in both Churches.

Pope Francis has praised the Martyrs of Libya many times, and today he recalled our shared baptism, as well as the blood of martyrs that enriches the Church. He said, “These martyrs were baptized not only in the water and Spirit, but also in blood, a blood that is the seed of unity for all of Christ’s followers.” In the past, the pope has discussed how we must realize that we, the baptized, have much more in common than what divides us. This shared recognition of sainthood between the two Churches is a significant step towards Christian unity.

This sets a new precedent. In 1964, when the Ugandan Martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI, St. Charles Lwanga and the other 21 Catholics among his companions were declared saints. The 23 Anglicans who were martyred alongside them were mentioned briefly in the pope’s homily, when he said, “And we do not wish to forget, the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, met death for the name of Christ.”

Another reason why today’s announcement is unique was that Pope Francis did this by an official act. The Roman Martyrology is the official list of saints officially recognized by the Latin Church. Many Eastern Catholic Churches have their own processes for canonizing saints according to their traditions. Historically, when groups of Eastern Catholics have come into full communion with Rome, they will bring along their saints and prayers and traditions. Many of these saints aren’t officially canonized by Rome, and they are usually only venerated in their own tradition. By inscribing the names of these martyrs in the Roman Martyrology, Pope Francis has made it clear that these martyrs are to be venerated by Roman Catholics as saints.

Finally, in declaring them saints today, Pope Francis sidestepped the typical canonization process. They are saints, without having passed through the usual stages of Servant of God, Venerable, and Blessed. This “skipping” of steps is commonly referred to as “equipollent canonization.” Essentially, when a pope declares someone a saint by an official act, that person is recognized as a saint in the Church. This is not the first time Francis has moved a case along in this way. For example, when he canonized Popes John XXIII and John Paul II in 2014, he waived the requirement of a second miracle for John XXIII so that the two popes would be canonized on the same day. In 2013, he elevated the Jesuit Peter Faber, whose status had lingered at “Blessed” since 1872.

Perhaps the most interesting case is that of St. Gregory of Narek, an Armenian monk venerated as a saint in the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Unexpectedly, Pope Francis named him the 36th Doctor of the Church in 2015. Living from in the mid-10th century through the early 11th, St. Gregory lived at a time when the Armenian Church was not in communion with Rome. After several failed attempts at reunion, the Armenian Catholic Church was officially recognized as an Eastern Catholic Church in 1742. Interestingly, the Armenian Catholic eparchy of Buenos Aires (established in 1989 by Pope John Paul II) is called the Eparchy of Saint Gregory of Narek. Perhaps this is how Pope Francis became familiar with the saint.

We Christians are blessed with a wide variety of saints from all sorts of backgrounds. They help make up the beautiful tapestry of the people of God — praying for us, interceding for us, and inspiring us. This is something worth celebrating.

21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya, Pray for Us!

Mike Lewis. Bolded emphases added.

[nightswithkookmin]

"We gotta throw artists in Jail for making these diabolical songs"

Cool. No. It's cool. I'm not mad. I just want you to be thrown into the adjoining cells with them just for being brazenly dumb. You shouldn't wear your ignorance and artistic ineptitude on your sleeve so bravely. Like I'm actually embarrassed for you.

If you know nothing about something JUST SHUT UP.

You're gonna sit there and dissect a highly artistic piece like this with your untrained ears and your 1.5 gigabyte brain capacity. Cool.

Explain Mozart to me then bitch. Bet Beethoven makes your head spin. Can't take you out to a fancy restaurant cos your tongue stuck under their boots huh. Bootlicker. Why don't you lick these clean

And for heavens sakes

Leave 👏🏾the👏🏾 review 👏🏾to 👏🏾the👏🏾 experts👏🏾

Hmm? How about we do that instead?

What credentials do you have?

WHAT QUALIFIES YOU TO DETERMINE THE QUALITY OF A MUSICAL PIECE OF THIS NATURE WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL A WHISTLE FROM A FART. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Just because you own a free channel on a free platform don't suddenly make you the academy. Get over yourself and please THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. You're just spewing out gibberish and you sound dumb as fuck.

Untrain your ears. Stop eating up microwaved over the counter music and I promise you you will develop a richer taste and palate for music. I PROMISE YOU.

IF ALL YOU KNOW IS JIMIN'S ANGELIC VOICE AND ALL YOU EXPECT FROM HIM IS YET ANOTHER FILTER OR PROMISE EVERY SINGLE TIME HE RELEASES A NEW SONG GET A NEW HOBBY. YOU ARE DONE. WORN OUT AND STRESSED.

HE IS AN ARTIST NOT A PARROT

HE MAKES ART WITH HIS VOICE FOR A LIVING

AND HE'S NOT IN FOR A QUICK MONEY GRAB EITHER.

But you can't tell cos you're used to being USED AND MILKED BY TALENTLESS FAVES.

I can see how this level of artistry can be intimidating for some people especially the inexperienced members of the audience.

The Light is always too bright for those in the shadows.

Yall been comfortable listening to crap but don't worry Park Jimin is going to change that. He is baptizing yall by fire and raising the standard for what good music actually is. HE IS MAKING MUSIC GREAT AGAIN.

The era of cheap repetitive music vomited out for easy money in KPOP IS OVER. TALENT IS TAKING OVER.

YOU MIGHT NEED A DEGREE TO UNDERSTAND KPOP FROM NOW ON. SORRY NOT SORRY.

Catch up with him. Ain't nobody got time to baby sit your slow ass. You dumb mcdummy.

Music is Poetry and Poetry appreciation is a skill in and of itself.

Hone that skill at least bitch

[bookish-bi-mormon]

Hey there. I had a question for you. I was wondering what kind of resources someone might look into if they were interested in learning more about Mormonism, particularly if the person is LGBTQ+ and also has a witchy spiritual side too? Not sure if the latter is relevant, but I thought I'd mention it anyways just in case.

oh boy oh boy this is quite a question. I do feel like both the LGBTQ and the witchy stuff are relevant because it kinda changes how I would approach it.

This is long so I put it under the cut

So, the official way to get to know more about the LDS church is to contact the missionaries. These are young adults who are dedicating 18-24 months of their lives to teaching people about the core aspects of Mormon doctrine, with the goal of baptism (usually within a month). They give out free copies of the Book of Mormon, as well as pamphlets that explain basic tenets of our religion.

That's not necessarily the path forward I would recommend to an LGBTQ person, or someone interested in the potential witchy/folk magic side of Mormonism. Most missionaries are young, and although some of them are queer themselves (I was a missionary and out as bi) most of them will be deeply steeped in the homophobia that is unfortunately all too common and perpetrated by our leaders. If a queer person wanted to get baptized into the LDS church, they would have to repent of any past queer activity and promise to live a 'chaste' life moving forward (no sex outside of a heterosexual marriage.) A lot of missionaries also will never have learned of the folk magic that Joseph Smith and other early saints practiced, because those things have all but been erased/denounced from church culture. Most missionaries aren't even comfortable acknowledging that Heavenly Mother exists.

That's not to say you shouldn't try if you feel called to the LDS church. We can use all the queer members we can get if we're gonna fight for change. But I just want to acknowledge that it is an uphill battle.

I would recommend reading the Book of Mormon, which you can access free online, plus there's an app you could download.

Saints Unscripted is a youtube channel run by members of the LDS church, where they talk about doctrine, culture, and all things mormon. Some of the videos get into some of the more controversial aspects of our history/doctrine, while other are just fun conversations about Mormon culture. I think it's a great place to go if you just wanna get to know some mormons.

Beyond the Block is a podcast run by a gay convert to the LDS church (like I said, it does happen!) and an African-american member of the church. They're on a hiatus right now but they have over 100 episodes so you'd have plenty to listen to. The LDS church has a curriculum called "Come Follow Me" where each week we are assigned certain chapters to read out of our scriptures (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants). Brother Jones and Brother Knox talk about the reading from each week specifically from a perspective of marginalized identities. Although they are speaking for an audience who is already familiar with Mormonism, I think it's a good example of what we believe, and the Mormonism that I personally strive for.

Queer Mormon Theology is another personal favorite of mine. Although also intended for a familiar audience, I think it provides enough background information (and sources you can look at to learn more) about what Mormons believe, AND it explains how these core beliefs include queer identities, and why the current queerphobic policies should be abandoned.

Witchy stuff is more difficult to find resources for. I started with Early Mormonism and the Magic World View by D. Michael Quinn, but that's a hefty book and I don't know if I would necessarily recommend it if you are new to Mormonsim.

Most resources I have found online that explore Mormon folk magic are made by nonmembers, or exmembers, in an attempt to discredit or make fun of our founders. I've also discovered a few off-shoot groups that attempt to blend Mormon beliefs with Kabbalah (which seems like cultural appropriation to me) or psychedelics (drugs scare me idk man).

That being said, two resources I could point you to is this wikipedia article that is just like, an overview of some of the folk magic the early saints practiced. And this website which collects information about some of the less often talked about aspects of our history/culture/practices.

Most members of the LDS church don't know much about this stuff, or they just don't care. It doesn't really impact the typical LDS life, but as someone who is trying to expand my spiritual practice to include more magic/witchy stuff, it's interesting to me.

OH I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT. There's this music artist named Marcie Dawn who is a Mormon Witch. She has an instagram and here she is on spotify . She doesn't talk a whole lot about her personal beliefs, it's mostly ~vibes~ but I love her and I love her music so I had to give her a plug.

And that's what I've got for you! I hope this is helpful, sorry it's so long. Please feel free to send more asks/messages about this!

[claygoestothemovies]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oz Perkins’ LONGLEGS is the Feel-Bad Movie of the Year, and I loved every second of it. From the opening frames to the moment the end credits rolled, I felt like all happiness had drained from the world. I mean that as a compliment.

LONGLEGS follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she pieces together clues to track down a mysterious serial killer known only as Longlegs (an unrecognizable and chilling Nicolas Cage). Imagine if SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and SE7EN had a baby that was baptized to Satan, and you’d end up with this film. If that sounds upsetting, it’s because it is.

The performances across the board are magnificent. Monroe, as always, is excellent. People who have forgotten how brilliant Cage can be (people who missed PIG) will be harshly reminded of his talents when they won’t be able to sleep after seeing what he does here. Alicia Witt was the surprise, though, as Lee’s fragile mother, Ruth. I genuinely didn’t know she had this in her as an actor. Kiernan Shipka also makes a memorable appearance in a scene that made my blood run cold.

The film is dark, oppressive, and unsettling. There was one moment of respite, and it lasted only a second, and it was just out of solidarity out of Monroe’s Lee being forced to awkwardly interact with her partner’s (Blair Underwood) child that I let out a small giggle. Otherwise my (full!) theater was so silent you could have heard the proverbial pin drop at any given moment during the runtime. The mood walking out of the screening was somber. If the rest of the audience was feeling anything like I was, they were probably too stunned to do much more than quietly trudge back to their vehicles.

Once in a while, a film comes along that just feels, well, evil. You can feel it seeping off the screen and into your bones. You can’t explain it, but you know it when you see it. A dark communion takes place when you look it in the eye. In the case of LONGLEGS, you’ll feel it looking back at you from the dark long after the credits are over.*

*Double feature with THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER for a truly bleak night.

5/5