#churches and slaughterhouses

[sailinhaze]

afternoon with @etherealcry

[jewish-sideblog]

I feel like people have such a limited view of the Shoah as something that killed religious Jews living in Eastern Europe. Certainly, that’s the majority of Jewish deaths from a raw numbers perspective. But that narrow view erases so much suffering.

Imperial Japan was allied to the Nazis, so Jews in East Asia and the Pacific forced to flee or die as Japan expanded their empire. Fascist Spain was sympathetic to the Nazi cause, and it’s not like the Sephardic Jews could easily flee into France after 1940. The Axis powers had colonized Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia at that point, so North African Mizrahi Jews weren’t spared the horrors. While the US government didn’t directly kill Jews, they denied us refugee status during the Shoah, and they did nothing to prevent the spread of multiple US American fascist parties and white suprematist groups. The Vatican, unofficially allied with Fascist Italy, handed over the names and locations of Jews they had converted to Catholicism decades or centuries prior. Families who didn’t even know they were ethnically Jewish were dragged out of Catholic Churches during Mass and sent to slaughterhouses hundreds of miles away. There were precious few diasporic communities throughout the world where Jews were safe in the 30s and 40s.

The Holocaust spanned entire continents. The Holocaust was global.

Edit 04/02/24: This post wasn’t written about Israel, and you shouldn’t make it about Israel. In either direction. The Shoah should not serve as a justification for the unnecessary abuses of the Palestinian people by the Likud government. Simultaneously, the Shoah was not a “lesson” to be learned by Jews, you cannot make a reasonable comparison between the Shoah and Gaza. This post is not about Israel and Palestine. Do not make it about Israel and Palestine. The deaths of our ancestors are not a tool with which you can make your argument.

[loveemagicpeace]

Astrological Life Events🌠

Fire venus -feel fun, drive at the beginning, but if they don't feel the same energy over time and if you don't stimulate them, then they usually lose interest. They need constant passion and playfulness. Especially from the beginning (because they want the person to show interest in them). They like more dramatic love and a relationship that is more spontaneous and interesting. They will never think you are too much for them because they like the energy when someone is more direct with actions and shows emotions.

Earth venus- they are initially cooler and observe the situation and think. And later they become more fixated on the person and then they become really devoted to that person. They don't like to rush into something because they are afraid that they will be hurt again later. So they do things more slowly and carefully. But when they really care about someone, they will really invest a lot in that relationship.

Leo rising people choose a spouse who usually does not suit them as much as they thought at the beginning. They can go into something very quickly and then regret it later. They can go very recklessly into something.

Capricorn rising will always test you before going into a relationship with you. They actually spend a very long time thinking about whether the person is right for them. They are very deliberate and make very deliberate moves. You think you know them, but you really don't. They observe your movements in silence all the time (similar to scorpio rising). They will always be one step ahead of you.

One of the reasons why fire moons are not compatible. The moon represents emotions, home, comfort, safety, care, etc. Fire signs don't feel so comfortable in water energy by themselves. Fire Moons often grow up independently and feel more distant from their family even in childhood. They can do many things on their own and the mother can be quite alienated. Especially with (aries moon and sagittarius moon). Therefore, these people are looking for someone who understands them emotionally, accepts their feelings and will be able to open up emotionally and be able to rely on someone and feel that the person will really be there for them. And when two fire moons are together, this creates emotional distance in the long run and not dependence (reactions are often similar) and emotionally the two people may not be able to complement each other because they both want a safe space for their emotions. Therefore, fire moons would be more compatible with water moons, because these give them the feeling that they can open up emotionally and make them feel that they can be vulnerable.

A balance between starchy and acidic foods is important for people born under the sign of Libra. They need lots of fresh air and moderate exercise. They should be careful about what liquids they consume.

The places ruled by the scorpio are: slow and muddy streams, calm ponds, swamps, vineyards. They also rule slaughterhouses, operating rooms, garbage disposals. As for food, people born under the sign of Scorpio should be careful to eat a lot of cooling food and fruit. Spicy and meaty food can bring them negative qualities.

Sagittarius is an optimistic sign and their health often depends on the mental attitude they have towards themselves. Sagittarius is connected by open places for exercise such as tehnis, horse riding. Therefore, people who have Mars in Sagittarius need to relax with a way to have fun: for example, jumping on a trampoline, rollerblading.

Capricorn is a dark sign in itself and rules places such as: tombs, cemeteries, morgues, dungeons. It also rules cellars, dark holes, abysses, frozen places, monasteries. They are supposed to rule even old churches, dark forests. Capricorn rules the skin and skin diseases, such as eczema, rashes.

From a medical perspective, Pisces rules the feet, the psychic mechanism of the mind. The bones they rule are: knuckles, ankles. The sign of fish also rules the veins of the feet. Problems such as colds, excessive sweating, dropsy, infectious diseases are also the result of the negative influence of fish on the soul. Most people with this sign are hypersensitive to medications and should avoid them. Pisces can be very sensitive to things and their environment affects them a lot. Whereas virgins are just the opposite. Virgos are actually very resistant to certain things and can heal quickly if they so desire. But they can be obsessed with overdoses of medication and can overdo it.

The ascendant shows your personality, how you behave, how you express yourself, how people see and perceive each other. The sun shows who you are and what your mission and inspiration is. The moon shows how you express your emotions, where you find comfort, your home. Mercury shows how you express yourself, communication, mentality, thinking, intelligence, your first impressions of childhood and environment. Venus shows your experience of love, how you look at love, how you behave in a relationship and what kind of partner you are. Mars shows your anger, energy, competitiveness, possessiveness, sexuality, and since Mars rules the first house, it also shows part of your personality.

Aspects in Astrology:

✨A conjunction is when there is no distance between the two planets, but the planets are equal to each other. It has the characteristics of the sun, for it represents strength and dynamism.

🍓The sextile is an opportunity complex and we associate it with Venus. It symbolizes harmony, harmony, love and lightness.

🚀The square is a destructive complex that the individual causes himself, either consciously or subconsciously. He has the characteristics of Mars, so he is more energetic, intense and determined. But it can also cause conflicts.

🎯The trine is a luck complex and is always auspicious and also has an auspicious nature. It has the energy of Jupiter, which means that it acts as an aspect that offers opportunities and lucky coincidences. In the synastry chart, it can show a chance / fateful meeting with a person.

🪼Inconjunction is a stress complex, it is considered an uneasy aspect. But it has the energy of Saturn, which means physical or mental illness or a strong sense of guilt.

🌙The opposition is a disturbing complex. It symbolizes duality. It has the energy of the moon (although many people think it has the energy of saturn). It is an aspect that causes a dual emotional energy that oscillates between one energy and another.

Mercury in Scorpio - they have a need for analysis, secret communication. They are bright, cunning, sarcastic. They are secretive and good at keeping secrets. They are susceptible to the weaknesses of other people, they are critical, doubtful and suspicious. They make quick ends of things. They don't forgive, they don't forget and they don't trust. As a child, you were privy to a lot of other people's secrets and you weren't allowed to tell them.

Mercury in Sagittarius - they need open, free communication. They are generous, know how to help, honest, independent and do not care about other people's opinions. They have an expressive way of expressing themselves, they like sports, they like authority. They are interested in philosophy, religion and law. Quickly earns the trust of others.

Mercury in Virgo - they have a need for stable and realistic communication. They often criticize others and notice small things. They have a good sense of detail and judgment.

Mercury in Cancer - the need for careful, personal communication. They are tactful, discreet, flexible, pleasure-loving, friendly. They are emotional and like their comfort. They are interested in home, family, security and sometimes they can depend on the opinion of the family.

Mercury in Leo - the need for creative, fun and joyful communication. They tend to be self-centered and domineering. They are sociable and popular and sometimes consider the opinions of society. They are fiery, quick to anger, stubborn, persistent, compassionate.

Mercury in Pisces - the need for idealistic, inspiring communication. They are often artistic, spiritual, and have rich intuition. They are imaginative, prone to absorbing other people's emotions. They like music, poetry, water. They are strongly influenced by the environment because they are hypersensitive. They are easily hurt and resentful. They tend to abuse alcohol and drugs. They are often more concerned about others than themselves.

Mars in Taurus -these people are jealous, possessive, combative and persistent. Sexuality is important to them. At first, they don't show much energy outwardly, but the energy shows later. They know how to appropriate people and secretly want them to be theirs. Maybe they don't feel that way at first, but they don't like to share someone with another person. This is often the case with earth signs, that the energy is not noticed immediately but later.

The Sun in the first house indicates a person who is more egotistical, has a strong personality and is confident. The individual is generous, talkative, independent. The Sun in this house brings problems due to haste, quarrelsomeness or recklessness.

The Sun in the 5th house brings small families. It can sometimes mean that there are no children (the individual does not want them), there can be problems with conceiving. The individual tends to dominate. This position often brings spiritual inclinations, artistic and creative talents.

Sun in the 6th house - makes a personality that feels good when serving others. They are interested in health, both personally and publicly. The individual is usually careful, orderly. Since this is a descending house, the individual may miss many opportunities that arise in the early years of his life.

Sun in 8th house- The individual is quietly ambitious to achieve a powerful position in life. He is usually fearless. Problems can arise due to lending money. The financial situation can improve after marriage because this is where an individual can gain the most from marriage. This position also indicates long life. People with this position can be careful of straining their bodies, especially the heart.

Sun in the 9th house - makes a personality that is noble, idealistic, enthusiastic. However, a person can be capricious or changeable and show a dual nature. It makes a personality that tries to maintain its position in life. Relationships are often very important. Success is usually far from the place of birth. It also indicates living abroad. The person loves art, music and literature.

People who has neptune, jupiter & uranus 1st house makes them very special and different from the rest. Because all planets stand out in their own way. Neptune gives a person a magical and special appearance. The person looks like they are not real. Emphasize their eyes, which look hypnotic and dreamy. Jupiter gives the person visibility and luck in appearance. Many people notice them quickly, they also look spiritual and fiery. Uranus makes a person different from others, their beauty is more outstanding and special. They can wear something that will look good only on them. They know how to wear things in their own way and thus stand out.

-Rebekah🍓🧚🏼‍♀️✨

[thatnightlamp]

WEDDING WITH KONRAD CURZE. part 2 of Konrad courting gifts

a little husbandry AU if you squint. Thank you for 50 followers hehehehehee

You didn’t have the heart to do anything that day, or the day after. Of course you didn’t. Would you do something knowing you were about to be married off to what looked like a corpse that look like a serial killer and had all the charm of a wet dishrag dragged through a slaughterhouse?

No. You paced. You bit your nails. You Googled “how to break off a wedding with a cryptid.” (No helpful results, by the way.)

And when the sun began its slow crawl toward the horizon, you did what any reasonable, terrified person would do.

You locked every single door and window. You barricaded the porch with your entire living room set. You made a crude weapon out of a broomstick and a steak knife. You were ready.

At least, you thought you were.

It started with the bat. Hundreds of them, shrieking, wheeling in the sky above your house like a omen. Then came the fog, thick and unnatural, slithering in like a living thing. The air got cold. Unreasonably cold. Every breath was a cloud.

And then, he arrived.

Konrad Curze.

Because of course it was Konrad Curze.

Tall as a nightmare, draped in his grotesque leathers and armor that seemed to drink in the light. His eyes, glowing in a face like a skull stretched too tightly over something far worse. You hadn't noticed before, but now - now you did. He wasn’t alone.

Figures emerged from the fog. Towering giants, each one cloaked in darkness and etched with runes of terror, their armor decorated with skin, bone, and the symbols of the Night Lords Legion.

You watched, slack-jawed, as the entire warband of actual, for-real Astartes gathered on your lawn. Your poor neighbor, Mrs. Maurine, peeked out her window, saw many seven-foot-tall murder cryptids polishing a flensing blade, and promptly fainted, her Slamander carefully watching from her window. You couldn’t blame her.

You did the only thing left to do.

You ran.

You launched yourself out the back window like a startled raccoon, hit the ground, and sprinted for the woods. Heart hammering. Blood thundering. You didn’t care where you ended up, Canada, Alaska, anywhere but here.

Behind you, you heard a sound. A low chuckle. A voice that could make bones shiver.

“Ah… the chase. Nostramo's traditional rite.”

No. Nope. NOPE.

Branches whipped your face, thorns tore your clothes, but you didn’t stop. Not until the ground was ripped out from under your feet and you were hoisted into the air like a sack of potatoes.

He’d caught you.

Because of course he had.

You dangled helplessly over his armored shoulder as Konrad trudged back through the forest like this was all perfectly normal. You beat your fists against his back, which, you quickly realized, was about as productive as trying to punch a cement wall covered in knives.

“LET ME GO!”

“You are excitable,” he observed, his tone almost... pleased? “It will make the ceremony lively.”

You screamed something very rude in response.

“Many attempt to flee,” he continued as though you hadn’t just cursed out his ancestors. “It is the way. The bonding hunt. You honored tradition.”

“Oh my god, it wasn’t a ritual, I was just trying to survive!”

He paused, then turned his head slightly, letting you see the faintest flicker of what might have been amusement behind the horror.

“That too.”

By the time you were brought back, someone had fashioned a crude arch out of bones, chains, flowers and stolen church candles. The choir? Screaming servo-skulls and a very off-key Vox recording of the Imperial Hymn, sung backwards.

It was, in short, the worst wedding ever. Or the most metal. Hard to say.

You were dropped in front of the arch. Konrad stood beside you, radiating death and weird possessive pride. The other Night Lords loomed in a loose circle, watching with impassive curiosity, like this was the strangest tea party they’d ever attended.

A servo-skull floated forward, holding a rusted book and a jagged, ceremonial knife.

Konrad turned to you.

“Speak your vow.”

You opened your mouth to protest-

He tilted his head. “Say it, or we begin the bonding scarification in silence.”

You said it.

You absolutely said it.

Because you’d rather be fake-married to a corpse-goth warlord than find out what “bonding scarification” meant.

Konrad smiled.

It was awful.

And thus began your new life: married to a Primarch, hunted for sport by his sons when they got bored, and forced to sit through meetings that usually ended with someone losing a limb. Possibly you someday.

You really should’ve just ignored the dead rats.

[xjulixred45x]

PLEASE GIVE US ALUCARD X YUI KOMORI READER IM BEGGING YOU!!!

My boy alucard deserves someone so heavenly and my girl yui deserves a good vampire lover ��

Alright!

Alucard Tepes x Yui Komori! Reader

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: female

Warnings: typical canon violence of Castelvania, Reader has the background of Yui Komori, so this may content like abuse of power, violence, Harrasment, mistretment, etc. Alucard has His own PTSD problems. Fluff, hurt with comfort. This is set between Castlevania and Nocture.

• Living in a town in the middle of nowhere had its advantages. Like, for example, you don't usually get into the dramas of big cities, everyone is independent, and best of all, it's so remote that no one would think of attacking or robbing there.

• That was the life that reader had known most of the time, since she arrived in that village, she was able to know a lasting peace. She had been born somewhere else, but had been abandoned in a church by her parents, leaving nothing behind.

• They were hard times after all, when Valakya was being rebuilt from the ravages caused by vampires. Reader's parents probably didn't even have where or how to take care of her thanks to that, it was the best they could do for her, give her a better life.

• Despite everything, reader wanted to live life with positivity, having been raised by a loving father, she was always willing to help in the church she lived in, being recognized in the village as a young woman not only of great beauty, but of a big heart and an unwavering faith.

• Faith that would be put to the test, when one night everything changed.

• reader could remember that night, the screams in the early morning, the doors of the church breaking, a group of vampires entering, covered in blood.

• It was easy for a relatively small group of vampires to take control of a tiny village. It seemed that they intended to use the village as a kind of slaughterhouse, so that they would always have food available. Since the village didn't really have neighbors, they were stuck with these monsters.

• They always demanded a young woman as a sacrifice every month (which in the best case they never saw again, in the worst, they found their mutilated bodies days later), or else they would kill the entire family to feed themselves. They were days full of fear, anguish and despair for everyone.

• But none of that compared to when they demanded a sacrifice from the church.

• A part of the reader didn't want to have to do it, but she didn't want to imagine what would happen if any of the other girls from the church (younger, with a chance of surviving) were handed over, a difficult decision had to be made. And so it was.

• They were the worst days in the reader's life, she could hear the echo of her father's crying, telling her that he was going to save her, find a way, while she was tortured by those monsters.

• The reader could never fully understand how she held on for so long, only that one day her father had arrived with the necessary reinforcements to kill the bastards, seeing it with her own eyes, something that seemed like magic.

• She wasn't even aware of when she fainted during this time, only that when she finally woke up, it wasn't in those vampires' lair, but it definitely wasn't her house. It was much bigger, older…

• Her father was beside her bed, sleeping peacefully, reader didn't feel brave enough to wake him up until she noticed there was another person in the room.

• A man, with long blonde hair, wearing fine clothes, seemed to be cleaning something (bandages, reader noticed she had them all over her body, it seems that was the man who saved their lives).

• When reader was about to speak, the man turned around. A part of reader was alert, there was something familiar with this man, but not something familiar good.

• The man introduced himself, Alucard (That sounded familiar too), he explained why they were there. It turns out that reader was really bad from the blood loss, and he had more medical resources here, in his castle, than those in the village had, so reader's father (who was finally waking up) insisted.

• Reader almost felt embarrassed by her father's behavior. Doesn't he know how to have a little more manners? As she lightly reprimanded him, apologizing on his behalf for the inconvenience.

• Alucard, surprisingly, smiled amused at this, saying that it was okay, and that he was actually calm knowing that she was alive and well (after everything her father said about her, she seemed like someone very dear to her people).

• Reader stared at him for a few seconds, not knowing what to answer. As Alucard left, Reader realized why that man looked so familiar to her... his teeth.

• (a good portion of the morning was reduced to reader asking her father why the hell she was allying herself with a vampire after everything that happened, reader having a panic attack thinking she was going to be vampire food again, and her father trying to explain to her that TECHNICALLY Alucard was only half vampire - there was nothing to worry about! And so on)

• Alucard probably managed to hear at least a little of the fuss, and honestly can't blame reader for being cautious. I mean, after going through that hell with vampires? It makes sense (he was like that with humans for a while after all, he understands it just fine).

• The surprising thing, though, was that Alucard ended up running into reader watching him from afar, as if she was making sure he wasn't going to do anything. Although she wasn't against talking to him, asking him questions, and helping out with certain chores (not too heavy, obviously).

• But at the same time, he couldn't feel any hostility, he just watched as Reader's fawn eyes followed his actions closely and with great curiosity. It was kind of adorable, how she tried to stay away, but at the same time she was so expressive that it gave away her real intentions.

• Reader's father and her were going to stay in the castle for a few days, at least until Reader was recovered enough to leave, which didn't seem to be soon, both due to the great loss of blood and the injuries caused during her captivity.

• Fortunately, Reader was more curious about Alucard than scared at this point, so this leads to several interesting interactions.

• If we go by the relationship in general, it's quite a cute thing.

• Reader is definitely very, VERY interested in braiding Alucard's hair, I don't make the rules (IT'S SO LONG AND NICE--)

• It's no surprise to anyone, what Alucard loves most about his partner is their positive attitude, it's probably where he applies the opposite poles a bit, no matter how bad things are, reader always sees the positive side, it's something that puts him in a better mood.

• They both have PTSD from their respective traumas (it takes Alucard longer to open up about his, but it happens), and they are honestly each other's best support, precisely because they KNOW what the other is going through.

• The sleepless nights, the nightmares, the scars, are things they have in common, they have a level of understanding that no one has. United by love, united by pain.

• Angst aside, I think Alucard would be especially cuddly and clingy with such a partner, simply because he can't help but find her adorable, it's like a Cute Agression attack, he just wants to be able to hug her and squeeze her (without hurting her of course).

• Reader definitely ENJOYS the educational materials that Dracula's castle has, she always wanted to learn more than what they taught in her village, and now she can! There are times when she comes to Alucard just to dump all the information she learned that day, while Alucard just listens happily, glad that reader is enjoying the resources at her disposal

• (wait until she sees the Belmont lair, she's going to faint from excitement. Much to Alucard's fear).

• Let me tell you this, Alucard would never, ever, ever, ever try to drink reader's blood. Number one, WHY THE HELL WOULD HE DO THAT?! The literal thing that traumatized her possibly FOR LIFE—

• Even with the kind of life she leads, Alucard doesn't pressure reader to get over her phobia of vampires, he just assures her that he'll always be there to protect her from now on (and that if she wants, he can always turn her into one and even the game)

• Reader is somewhat naive, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, Alucard likes to have a different vision of the world, beyond the pain and misery he may have, but he definitely makes sure to get defensive when someone tries to take advantage of said vision.

• He knows that Reader isn't stupid, that she's a grown woman who can take care of herself well, however, it's something like an instinct that comes out on its own, he wants to take care of one of the few good people he has left. He takes protecting his partner very seriously. Don't test him.

• I like to imagine that reader probably didn't have a lot of clothes the first few months she moved into the castle, so Alucard lent her some of Lisa's dresses (or clothes of his that were big enough that reader choked on fabric. He still laughs about it to this day. No, he won't let her forget it)

• Did you see that Yui can canonically play the organ piano? Considering there used to be one in the castle, it's not surprising to think that reader probably plays when she's really overwhelmed. It's nice to have noise in the castle again.

• Of course, sometimes said noise is Reader falling off a shelf, or down the stairs, at this point Alucard developed a sixth sense for when Reader is going to have an accident and catches her before she falls (it definitely makes reader a little dizzy when he moves so fast, but she appreciates the concern)

• he is like a mother hen in that aspect, scolding (with love) Reader for not taking care of herself, for not eatinf enough iron, for the bruises that appear out of nowhere. He takes it so SERIOUSLY that is kind of funny.

• reader would be super touched to see Alucard’s childhood room, even if it’s trashed, you can hear her talking quietly about how nice it would be to use that room for her future children. But that’s a topic for the future~

• Overall, two tormented souls who found the right person to spend all Eternity with.

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

[kagecreep]

Til Death (VxMC)

(Killer Chat)

Description: (Spoilers for KC) Accosted constantly by the police, V has little choice but to go into hiding. You want to go with him. A wedding seems the appropriate way to go.

Notes: plotted by some friends on rosesrot's server (:< a lot of fluff and humour of the slaughterhouse losers gathered together IRL WC: 3k

━─━────༺༻────━─━

Despite being a spur-of-the-moment decision, you had never been more sure about anything else in your life. You made the plans quickly; somehow, everyone in the server was able to attend. Misaki happened to have a hit in your town and would be there for a decent duration of time; both Vince and Angel were free for the weekend, and Ronin––well, Ronin was hardly ever busy anyway. Getting Felicie and Luca to come was a little more difficult, but you managed it through some convincing, and an offer for them to stay free of charge at your house for their trip.

The two of you had chosen a prime spot, secluded away from society deep within the woods. It was close enough to his home that it wouldn't take long to return, but far enough away that, those who didn't already know where he lived, wouldn't be able to find it. An abandoned cabin perhaps wasn't the most romantic spot to hold a wedding; Ronin found it absurdly amusing. You didn't care. The forest surrounding you was in its' early bloom, the cool vestiges of winter clinging to the buds of spring.

Recently given to the woods, the structure had yet to grow dilapidated, with the insides still well-preserved from the elements. Vines and thorned leaves had just barely begun to crawl up the edges of the outer walls. With a little sweeping and dusting, preceded by a little breaking-and-entering, it was a suitable place for you and V to dress in your respective outfits.

Valentin, as much as he proclaimed to be happy, had the most miserable look on his face.

"Y'know, traditionally, the bride n' groom aren't supposed to see each other before the ceremony," Ronin drawled from the next room.

"No one said anything about this being a 'traditional' wedding, Ronin," said Angel, her voice quieter and more muffled from the wall between you. 

"Indeed. This is quite an untraditional ceremony, in fact," said Vince.

"Pff. You guys are no fun. Personally, I'd love to get them apart. Dig into their little brains on this 'special day'," Ronin said, and you could imagine his pouting lips at the end.

Then came his voice––clear and deep, like low pipe organs echoing in an empty church.

"Why do you bother yourself with listening to them?" Valentin asked.

You turned around from the wall, facing V, who was looking at himself in a large, floor-length mirror. His suit, like everything else about him, was well-manicured and fit precisely for him. The black of his coat was a rich shade and accentuated his waist and shoulders, while his trousers fit perfectly around his hips, and cut off just above his ankles. Just over his shoulder you could spy his face in the mirror, and the way he fixed his bowtie with long, nimble fingers.

"I'm curious," you said. "Ronin seems to be rather critical of the whole ordeal."

"He would be," V growled. 

He pulled one end of the bow too tight, and set the whole thing off balance. He groaned, arms falling to his sides in a show of exasperation.

"Let me help," you said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He turned round and his expression softened, a quiet smile appearing as he warmed himself on your glowing face. You smiled in return and set to work correcting his tie.

"It's very nice of you to let everyone attend," you said.

"I didn't let them. They all invited themselves."

"Well, you allowed it to happen anyway," you chuckled.

"I cannot believe that... abomination walking in human skin is going to be the best man for my wedding," V seethed. "Not to say he will be in the same area as you. I loathe the mere idea. If my wish were truth the two of you would never meet."

"If that were so, I wouldn't meet you either," you pointed out. "And besides, Ronin is the closest thing you have to a friend."

"Ronin is a criminal and a pollution upon the earth. To consider him a friend is to consider my life a failure."

You couldn't help but laugh.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I said he's the closest thing you have to a friend, not that he is your friend," you said.

"Regardless, it isn't an accurate statement. You should know better. You are my friend. My... 'best friend', as they say," he said softly.

You smiled up at him, finished with fixing his bowtie.

"You're my best friend, too," you said.

Even now on the verge of a marital ceremony, he blushed at your words, his face blooming into a warm colour.

"I am pleased we can agree on that," he said with a smile.

The final touches of Valentin's outfit were ones you insisted on. He had, at first, assented to them, but upon realizing that Ronin would be attending, quickly rescinded his agreement. It had taken a lot of convincing to get him to accept once more.

He sat, facing you, as you placed flowers along his braids, tucking the stems in so only the petals showed. Atop his head you styled a garden, filled with rosebuds and blooming white daisies. Rows of white, gold, and crimson.

When you finished, he looked properly fantastical––as though he had stepped out of a dream, glowing in the rays of sunlight stretching through the dusty windows. He spun in front of the mirror, checking each piece of his suit, flattening his lapels before puffing out his chest. As traditional as his outfit was compared to yours, you couldn't help but stare enamoured at him.

He turned to you with a smile, his hands folded neatly behind his back.

"Are you ready, my love?" He asked, tilting his head toward you.

"Ready as ever," you breathed out, grinning.

"Very well. Luca will come for you when we are ready. I shall go now, and... see to things. Try not to listen into our conversations, alright?"

You chuckled and nodded.

"I'll do my best," you said. 

The door hinges creaked and the wood groaned as he opened and shut the door behind him. The silence he left you in was near deafening. 

When you were young, you had imagined your wedding and who your partner would be. Out of all the different variations your mind had supplied you with, you had never pictured getting married to a vigilante serial killer in an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods. You supposed life was funny like that. Still, you wouldn't want it any other way; your marriage would be as strange as you were, so you considered it a fitting end.

A few minutes later, Luca knocked at the door, and with your permission locked arms with you.

"Ready for your big day?" He asked, wiggling his brows.

"I'm dressed, aren't I?" You chuckled.

"Yeah. You look great, by the way. Can't believe you're getting married before me and Felicie," he said.

"You did say you wanted to take things slowly," you pointed out.

"Yeah, but not so slow that you and V, who got together after us, may I point out, would get married before us," he joked.

"Such is life, my friend," you laughed. "Now are you going to walk me down the aisle or not?"

"Of course. Jus' had to get a few of my thoughts in first."

"Of course."

You smiled and the door opened, revealing the green meadow just beyond the cabin, where all your friends stood in waiting. At the end, beneath an archway entwined with vines and flowers, stood Valentin in his suit, his hands folded in front of him and a soft smile beaming in his eyes. Standing at his side was Ronin, smug as ever in fitting attire. Angel, Felicie, and Misaki, the maids of honor (and wrath, as Misaki requested they be referred as) stood on the other side of the arch. In the center was Vince––still hiding his identity behind a mask.

Angel pulled out her phone, tapped it a few times, and music began to play. Some quiet piano piece. Something V had likely picked out. Luca took you down the faux aisle of flowers, and upon delivering you to the altar, took his place standing beside Ronin.

You stared up at Valentin, heart pounding, and took his hands. For a moment the world seemed to fade into the early sunset, veins of gold and red speckled through the forest leaves like freckles on his face.

"Dearly beloved friends," Vince began, his voice uncharacteristically deep and rough for the speech, "we are gathered here, for the first time, to celebrate the union of two of our... slaughterhouse losers. It is a joyous occasion and I am honoured to be officiating. While this may, in some way, be a marriage of convenience, we have all watched the love grow between V and (Y/N) over the last few months. I am sure they will have many happy, bloody days ahead of them."

Valentin pursed his lips in irritation, but said nothing. You giggled.

"Now we will listen to their vows, which I know will be as titillating as they are romantic. You may proceed."

V sighed roughly, straightening his jacket subtly.

"I do not wish to speak my vows aloud in front of the present company. However... in the interest of ceremony..." he groaned, pursing his lips again, "... I will say... something."

You gave a small nod, gently urging him on.

"... I... love you, (Y/N)," he said as though it was painful. 

Behind him, Ronin was positively beaming.

"This, to me, is no marriage of convenience. I fully intend on pledging my life and soul to you." He paused. "That is all."

Quiet giggles sounded from behind you.

"Ever the romantic," you said, earning only more laughter from your friends. "Indeed, we are surrounded by people whose names we do not fully know. Who do not know our names, either. And, indeed, this ceremony was hurried. For that we have the police and their idiotic search to thank. But... it is brought forth by your kindness, V. You spared the server––people you claimed to hate––and sacrificed yourself to this. I hope that my presence with you as you go into hiding is solace––some consolation in return for your act of selflessness. Each day in your presence is a gift. I look forward to our many years together as I do each second that I am able to stand with you, in peace, content to know the sensation of true love. That is to say... I pledge my life and soul to you, too."

In the presence of the server members, V kept his composure quite well––but the shine in his eyes, apparent only to you, gave away the loving turmoil within. He slipped a pale golden ring over your finger––you settled a diamond-embedded ring over his. You barely processed Vince's final words before the two of you came together, soft touch upon softer lips, spirit intermingling with body as you kissed. He pulled you in, passion brimming at his fingertips but never released. You kissed and pulled away, and stared into one another. Therein was your home.

A crackling gunshot bolted through the air and you jumped, hand whizzing up to grip V's upper arm.

"What the fuck?!" Misaki yelped.

"Ronin!" Angel yelled, fists at her side.

"What?" He said, still holding a smoking gun pointed towards the sky. "'S a shotgun wedding, ain't it?"

"Technically speaking, a shotgun wedding occurs when the bride is pregnant before marriage, and the bride's father threatens the groom with a gun to marry the pregnant daughter," Vince said.

Ronin shrugged.

"Close enough," he said.

"Not close enough," Angel said, storming over and yanking the gun out of his hand. "Don't pull any more bullshit or I'll shoot you in the foot."

"Pff. I don't have anything else planned. Besides, I think it made the day more... special," he said, smiling at you.

V held you tighter.

"The sun has almost set. Now is the time to throw your bouquet," Vince said.

"Oh, right," you mumbled.

You turned, taking the bouquet of flowers from Angel. It was a smattering of wildflowers and exotic flowers V grew in his bunker, creating a palette of dark green leaves and pale purple, white, and blue petals.

Misaki, Angel, and Felicie excitedly gathered behind you. 

"Ready?" You asked, grinning all the while.

"We are ready!" Felicie said.

With that you threw the bundle of flowers behind you, squeezing your eyes shut in hopes of a more blind throw. A few gasps sounded around you. When you opened your eyes, you found the bouquet stuck in the branches above you. Your eyes widened. Then, with a gentle breeze, the branches stirred and dropped the bouquet. It fell through the air and landed directly on Luca's face, falling into his arms as he spluttered from the pine needles and leaves.

Silence settled over the entire gathering for several seconds before everyone devolved into laughter, Ronin's cackling sounding about it all.

"Oh my God," Luca said, spitting out the last pine needle. 

"Ha!" You laughed, "looks like you'll be getting married after all, Luca."

"No," he said, "looks like Felicie will be getting married."

With a dramatic swoop of his arms, he knelt down in front of Felicie, and with faux tears in his eyes offered the bouquet to her.

"For you, my dearest beloved," he said, clutching his heart.

"I hate you," Felicie said in a pained voice.

"You love me."

"You wish."

You watched them bicker with much delight, returning to lean against Valentin's sturdy frame. His arm wrapped around and settled his hand on your waist–-a comforting warmth in the cool of the coming evening.

The rest of the evening was spent around a fire eating less than lavish food, the former courtesy of Ronin and V's teamwork, and the latter supplied by Misaki and Angel. You considered going to a restaurant for the last time before going into hiding, but all of you together was a mite suspicious, especially considering Vince's reluctance in taking off his mask. V mostly kept quiet and stayed dutifully at your side, socializing little and eating even less. At times a snide remark would slip out of his lips and delight the surrounding company. Such moments were especially entertaining for Ronin, who took a special joy in teasing V. Otherwise, you enjoyed your last day of socialization, imprinting each moment into your memory for safekeeping. It was likely the last time all of you would gather together.

In the end, they all parted in separate directions. Only when the last of them had gone did V deem it safe to return home, carrying you bridal style to his car. The drive was short enough, and he decided to carry you further into your now-shared home, only setting you down when he reached the couch. He quietly locked the door before returning to you.

Some of the flowers had fallen out of his hair, but the majority of them remained, partly wilted but still bright in colour. For a little while the two of you sat in silence staring at each other.

Then he broke the spell, gaze falling to his lap as he spoke.

"I, um... I did prepare my true vows. I just... did not wish to speak them in the company of serial killers," he said quietly.

"I understand," you chuckled. "You want to say them now?"

"If you are not too tired, I would like to, yes," he said.

You nodded. He gave a curt nod in return, and pulled a folded piece of paper out of his breast pocket. His eyes flickered from the paper to you, and he cleared his throat, nerves ringing in the silence.

He began.

"My dearest love... there are a great many evils in this world. Each person one meets carries this within them––the mark of failed morality, and we are, each of us, in some way tainted by our decisions. Long ago I lost hope for humanity. We are an animal species, untamed by our supposed society. Feral despite our religion, our understanding; and our connection to both divinity and impiety, our free will to choose, has proven without fail that given the opportunity, humans will choose to fall. Why this is I cannot say. It is only what I know to be true." 

He paused, glancing up to make sure you were still paying attention. 

You were. He continued. 

"Just as all creatures do, you, too, have faced such decisions; the choice between goodness and cruelty, oppression and kindness. Just as all creatures have, you have experienced cruelty against you––injustice and wickedness from the blackened hearts of humanity. It is all too easy to mirror such actions when they are done unto you. Yet despite that you have chosen kindness, even when it is more facile to turn to brutality. Trust when it is more comfortable to doubt. And... love, when it is easier to abandon."

He reached out, fingers barely touching your hand. You reached the rest of the way and held his hand in yours. He swallowed thickly.

"It is an odd phrase to thank you for loving me. Still, it feels appropriate. I am not an easy man to love. I scantly admit it but I am, indeed, a killer––even with my just reasonings and my logic, I have committed myself to a lifestyle that has marked me both an outcast and a criminal to common society. I long ago gave up the ideal of having a beloved. Such is the cost of justice." He set the paper down and looked you in the eyes, taking your other hand in his. "You are my revelation. My salvation. You are some divine gift, some salve to my poisoned way whose justice comes at the price of my life. But no longer. You are my life, now. Above all it is my duty to protect you. As the ribcage protects the heart, I will shelter you from harm. As compassion safeguards life, so shall I keep you. A beacon of hope. Hope that... perhaps... humanity is salvageable. That my bitter contempt was wrong. It is my wish thusly to be with you, as long as you will have me, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death do us part––till we meet again in our next life, to love one another once more."

You could barely breathe. As you expected, his vows were long, the words meandering. He often spoke like that when it met his fancy. But the sincerity behind it, coupled with the shining, stray tears brimming his eyes––it broke you down into your purest parts, shattered about the floor till only the glowing soul remained seated in his hands.

You wrapped him in your arms and did not let go.

[sugarglider-s]

We are brothers in the same way a slaughterhouse is a church

[ID: a digital sketch of mokuba and Noa, noa being in an older android body closer to a late teenager. The two of them sit together on a couch, and Mokuba clings to Noa with his eyes screwed shut. Noa looks conflicted, but is hugging back Mokuba. End ID]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Song of the Day - “Compared To What”

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the recording of this fantastic track.

On June 21st, 1969, Les McCann and Eddie Harris laid down their superlative version of this standard tune, in concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. ...

Written by Gene McDaniels, “Compared To What” had been covered by some 270 artists…

But THIS is the version…

With Les McCann on piano and vocal, and Harris on tenor sax, backed by Leroy Vinegar on bass, Benny Bailey on trumpet, and Donald Dean on drums, they tweaked the lyrics a bit to reflect the current angst with the Vietnam War. … see the lyrics below in comments…

A great track… best played pretty loud…

Resonates profoundly today…

(Mary Elaine LeBey)

I love the lie and lie the love A-Hangin' on, with push and shove Possession is the motivation that is hangin' up the God-damn nation Looks like we always end up in a rut (everybody now!) Tryin' to make it real, compared to what? C'mon baby!

Slaughterhouse is killin' hogs Twisted children killin' frogs Poor dumb rednecks rollin' logs Tired old lady kissin' dogs I hate the human love of that stinking mutt (I can't use it!) Try to make it real, compared to what? C'mon baby now!

The President, he's got his war Folks don't know just what it's for Nobody gives us rhyme or reason Have one doubt, they call it treason We're chicken-feathers, all without one nut. God damn it! Tryin' to make it real, compared to what? (Sock it to me)

Church on Sunday, sleep and nod Tryin' to duck the wrath of God Preacher's fillin' us with fright They all tryin' to teach us what they think is right They really got to be some kind of nut (I can't use it!) Tryin' to make it real, compared to what?

Where's that bee and where's that honey? Where's my God and where's my money? Unreal values, crass distortion Unwed mothers need abortion Kind of brings to mind ol' young King Tut (He did it now) Tried to make it real, compared to what?!

Tryin' to make it real, compared to what?

Donald Dean, Leroy Vinnegar, Benny Bailey, Eddie Harris

[richardmurrayhumblr]

COMPARED TO WHAT I love to lie and lie to love I'm hangin' on they push and shove Possession is the motivation That is hangin' up the goddamn nation Looks like we always end up in a rut Everybody now Tryin' to make it real compared to what Slaughterhouse is killin' hogs Twisted children killin' frogs Poor dumb rednecks rollin' logs Tired old ladies kissin' dogs I hate the human love of that stinking mutt I can't use it Tryin' to make it real compared to what President he's got his war Folks don't know just what it's for Nobody gives us rhyme or reason Have one doubt they call it treason We're chicken feathers All without one nut goddamn it Tryin' to make it real compared to what Church on Sunday sleep and nod Tryin' to duck the wrath of God Preachers fillin' us with fright They all tryin' to teach us what they think is right They really got to be some kind of nut I can't use it Tryin' to make it real compared to what Where's that bee and where's that honey Where's my God and where's my money Unreal values a crass distortion Unwed mothers need abortion Kind of brings to mind old young King Tut He did it now Tried to make it real compared to what Tryin' to make it real compared to what Songwriters: Gene Mcdaniels. The first song on roberta flack's first album is the song above, don't let the haters lie to you, Roberta Flack is pure black https://aalbc.com/tc/events/event/204-roberta-flack-born-1937/

#rmaalbc

[sepublic]

Acknowledging that I may be missing the point by trying to figure out the in-universe explanation and logistics, rather than focusing on the metaphor and symbolism behind Emesis Blue;

I think the Plague Doctor might be Fritz Ludwig from the future, possessed and/or under control of his alter ego (Hence the uncharacteristic act). There’s the obvious fact that Jeremy treats Fritz with hostility and fear, and Fritz’s own hallucination of killing Jeremy’s mom. He has the gouged-out eyes and smile, which Fritz receives at the end of the film after crashing.

At the end of the film, Fritz is brought back in the respawn machine, amidst a bunch of fire. In Archibald’s PSA to newly-respawned mercenaries, there’s an inexplicable fire that enters the room just offscreen, so I think there’s a deliberate connection. The only other possibility is that Fritz respawns as the Conagher Slaughterhouse burns down near the end of the movie (note that this would require someone to perform the manual input on the respawn machine, possibly the Plague Doctor). The abrupt fire at the end of the PSA feels too deliberate of a detail to otherwise ignore. Note that right after the video ends with fire, we cut to some photos taken presumably around that time, including of a burning Fritz…

Likewise, we have an example of time travel being an actual thing, and not just a Diazepam-induced hallucination (note Soldier claiming to have never taken any of the pills, only to later interact with his future self). This would explain how Fritz is in two places at once, which he needs to be, given we see him drive past Soldier in his ambulance, followed by the Plague Doctor’s hearse arriving just moments afterwards.

Now Fritz normally would have no reason to kill Jeremy’s mom, but that’s assuming it’s him in control; More than likely, it’s his alter-ego. Now I’ve watched TheWhat Show’s video on Emesis Blue, so I’m inspired by a lot of what he suggested here. But if we go with the idea that Fritz is being possessed by the spirit of the Tenth Class, this may explain a bit...

Dell’s Bar seems to be the limbo, the purgatory, the waiting room that the mercs and others who go through respawn wait in. And we know the respawn machine creates a fresh duplicate of one’s body, meaning respawned mercenaries can interact with their previous corpses; Hence the motherload of identical dead bodies all over the place. 

There’s also the hallucination Fritz has, where he’s trapped in a casket inside the church, while the Plague Doctor watches; Foreshadowing both the church he kills Pyro in, and later his own funeral assassination. But it could also symbolize Fritz’s mind/soul being locked away in his body, or perhaps in a briefcase/limbo, while the Plague Doctor takes over...

If we go by the theory that the Plague Doctor is the vengeful ghost of the Tenth Class who has possessed Fritz, I think things begin to come together. After crashing at the end of Emesis Blue, Fritz’s soul is stuck in limbo, awaiting his next respawn. Due to time loop shenanigans, he is respawned in the past as Archibald records his PSA, possibly with only the Tenth Class’ soul inside; Fritz’s soul may have been left behind in limbo, which may be located within the briefcase. Either way, the Tenth Class in total control now.

The fire is an interesting detail; Did the respawn machine malfunction? And this malfunction caused both the flame and the retrieval of future Fritz, instead of his current self? Or maybe, and this is a bit out there but I just want to say it; Maybe the Tenth Class’ soul was plucked straight from Hell, and in doing so brought some hellfire with him that burned the Conagher Slaughterhouse, the first time. We see an apparition of the Tenth Class when Soldier is about to jump over the chasm leading to ‘Hell’, after all; Maybe the Tenth Class went there.

Something I find interesting is that the Plague Doctor seems to be working with BLU Heavy, Pyro, and Zed and Maynard Conagher. Somebody else was holding up Mama Scout’s head when Pyro kidnapped Jeremy, and it appears BLU Heavy was supposed to pass the briefcase to the Plague Doctor near the start of the film. The Plague Doctor’s hearse is a convenient vehicle to transport BLU Heavy’s body to the Conagher Slaughterhouse, to later be revived by RED Medic into a Mr. X reference.

We know Maynard was the one to lock up Jeremy, “according to specification” as he tells Zed. And the Plague Doctor’s hearse is seen right outside the Conagher Slaughterhouse, burning just as its driver did when he first arrived in the past... Obviously the Plague Doctor isn’t being totally honest with the Conagher brothers, since he presumably gave the key to Jeremy’s casket to Fritz; Zed is confused as to how Jeremy escaped.

If the Plague Doctor is a possessed/evil Fritz from the future, that could explain how he has the key; That, or there's a second copy of the same key that Zed and Maynard don’t know about. Maybe there’s only one key and they threw it out, only for the Plague Doctor to retrieve it behind their backs... OR, Fritz held onto the key after freeing Jeremy, bringing it with him all the way to the film’s end; So when he respawns in the past, he has the key with him. And he slides it under his past self’s door near the start of the film.

What puzzles me is what the Plague Doctor’s goal and motive is; Did the Emesis Diazepam lead to memory loss, meaning he doesn’t realize he’s reliving the same events, just from a different role? Is he trying to end the cycle? Set up Soldier to arrive at the Conagher Slaughterhouse, learn the truth, and kill Redmond and Blutarch, breaking free? How did he convince BLU Heavy, Pyro, the Conagher brothers, and presumably RED Sniper into working with him? Is Archibald aware of and working with these guys? Being led to believe they’re helping him lay low, when in reality he’s just bait for Fritz, BLU Soldier, and BLU Spy? 

RED Sniper asks Soldier if he wants to die for something worth dying for, after deriding Archibald; Indicating he’s knowingly a part of some plan to end the Gravel Wars. But why try to kill Soldier at the start? Was that just Plan A, and Plan B was to inspire him to end it? Is BLU Heavy even collaborating with the others after being revived, or has his undead state turned him into an uncontrollable monster on nobody’s side? 

[randomnameless]

It's still wild to me that people will go to bat for the nothing characters that are Randolph and Fleche as proof of Dimitri being bad; we know next to nothing about them, they have miniscule screentime, what little we do know of Randolph paints him as human scum who'd do horrific things if it meant a chance at a promotion, and Fleche illogically only ever holds a grudge against someone for killing her brother if that someone is AM!Dimitri, with her completely vanishing from the game in every other route.

Eh,

I'd say they play the same purpose than this random child in TS in Roland's story - at this point, both lords want vengeance, and they have to face someone who also wants (misdirected!) vengeance at them, smth smthg like war sucks because people die.

But it's completely wasted in FE16, because, as you said, Randy isn't a random or a civilian or a war orphan, he is a general leading an attack on refugees/civilians/randoms to gain more fame, and dies in the process.

Now, can we say Flèche's anger and death are ultimately directed at Randolph, who died for nothing and took his sister down with him in his quest for "muhrit" ? Or are we supposed to think that this scene is important because Dimitri, the Blue Lord, isn't supposed to fall as low as the Imperial Army - something he comes close to (apparently?) ?

And yet again, it completely fails.

Because for one Randolph - who also had a family and loved ones - we have 50 Waldos and Baldis, whose lives aren't given any fuck about.

We don't see a war prisoner, or an Adrestian civilian accusing Supreme Leader of having sent her/his wife/husband/daughter/son to death with a conquest they never asked and trying to off her.

Only Dimitri receives this backlash from - invaders who wanted to invade and suddenly remember they have loved ones so are very sad when their loved ones dies - Flèche, but not Claude nor Billy, as you rightfully pointed out.

And Supreme Leader never receives any backlash - or wake up call - from a real third party/civilian/casualty who could have done the exact same thing.

Emile mentions how, during her attack, the Holy Grounds near Garreg Mach were turned in a slaughterhouse, why don't we have any civilian who survived from that try to take a jab at Supreme Leader? Waldi's best friend? Baldo's mother? A war captive from Leicester/Faerghus or a conscripted Adrestian?

I laughed about it with friends earlier, and again with the teatime paralogue, but it truly feels as if only 1/3rd (since the church doesn't count) of the cast will face consequences for the war and suffers backlash from the constant fighting (they didn't even start!).

Whenever you have to deal with serious stuff in Fodlan, it'll be for the BL members.

The rest? Will sip tea, talk nonsense, try to solve "mysteries" and live as if nothing is happening in the background.

Just imagine how both deer routes could have been much more impactful and interesting - instead of being a recycled Billy route with a different infodump at the end - if Raphael's sister popped up to a War Council, asking Claude to stop coddling the Empire because their lands were invaded, her grandfather put to Aymr and her inn destroyed by the Imperial Army, or how Ignatz's older brother discovers how Adrestia is burning pieces of art and history and every material related to Leicester and Faerghus history because they want to push an "Adrestia Eternal" narrative. Heck, Claude could even discover more "lore" by picking a Leif route, sort of rescuing the people "handpicked" to become new Baldos and Waldis, discovering the secret of the artificial crest stones and maybe having an infiltration map where, lo, instead of receiving an info dump, they maybe witness Rhea being turned in a relic or used to "produce" artificial crest stones.

War BaD, but only when we can make the BL suffer for it, for the rest, it's just a bgm.

And even then, it can't be too critical of Supreme Leader, because she was made to sell alts in FE heroes or dubious Cipher Cards.

"Supreme Leader", "cute girls" and "I want to see how Faerghus and its knights will deal with the aftermath of the Tragedy while defending against the invading forces".

Tl; dr : Flèche and Randolph are named, which is a cheap way to make people care for them despite their role in the plot, but the demonic beasts and the civilians dying aren't mentionned nor talked about.

Hell, why do you think I gave names to the artificial demonic beasts? The game doesn't want you to think too much about them, but if I talk about Baldo and Waldi, maybe the fandom will?

[birchbow]

How did the Abattoir get titled? That’s such a gruesome but wicked cool title!!!

For people who aren't familiar with the word (because I hadn't encountered it in English more than once or twice) an abattoir is a slaughterhouse! I actually designed the appearances for several of the Ringmasters before I ever came up with names for most of them, Judgment, Waspclaw and Behemoth being the exception; I designed the Abattoir with the thought in mind of knights and chivalry, and when I found the word Abattoir in my collection of promising eight-letter titles, the contrast of "this person is very polite and civil and only subtly unnerving, but their title implies ruin and mass death" was very fun to me.

Especially with the deeper context that it's not just mass death in a warfare sense, it's a slaughterhouse, a place of work and industry where the output is death. That's such a chilling vibe, for the person in charge of the church fleet's trade/industry flagship. Honestly, she probably came up with a heavy hand in like.... the less noteworthy and individualized culls of the empire. Not every troll killed for blood/paint is worth the grand highblood's personal time, and the vast majority of trolls who the empire deems executable aren't going to be shipped to the flagship and killed one on one.

It's a pretty gruesome title with some pretty scary implications! I love him dearly but she's high up in the chain of command in the Alternian Empire so like. Never let it be said any of my troll characters don't have copious amounts of troll and alien blood on their hands. @_@

[carlsdarling]

Playlist

Ok this is probably the weirdest combination of songs you’ve ever seen… there is a reason none of my friends wants to listen to any music with me. But it’s what I listen to when I write and I get a lot of inspiration from it… (yes a lot of 80’s, I just love the spirit of 80’s music a lot, and also some German bands)

Tags: @enid-rhees @wh0reishslxtsstuff

Ease My Mind - The Faim Scorpions – Send Me An Angel Don Henley – The Boys Of Summer The Hunna – Flickin‘ your hair Nightwish – Bless the child Nightwish – End Of All Hope Sirenia – The Path to Decay Sirenia – Lost In Life Blue Oyster Cult – Don’t Fear The Reaper America – The Last Unicorn U96 – Love Sees No Colour Alter Bridge – This Is War Alter Bridge – Open Your Eyes Seether feat. Amy Lee– Broken Pharao – There Is A Star Republica – Out Of The Darkness Bryan Adams – Summer of 69 Thirty Seconds To Mars – This Is War Genesis – In Too Deep Blackmore’s Night – World Of Stone The Cranberries – Zombie Good Charlotte – Life Changes The Killers – Run For Cover The Killers – When You Were Young Biffy Clyro – Black Chandelier Low Shoulder – Through The Trees Madonna – Live To Tell Whitesnake – Is This Love Ronan Keating – Iris Papa Roach – Feel Like Home Guano Apes – Living In A Lie Johnny Cash – Hurt Def Leppard – Hysteria The Naked And Famous – Young Blood The Naked And Famous – Rolling Waves The Naked And Famous – Punching In A Dream Breaking Benjamin – Diary Of Jane Fury In The Slaughterhouse – I won’t forget these days Prime Circle – Ghosts Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill My Chemical Romance – Helena Sunrise Avenue – Little Bit Love Rea Garvey – Can’t Say No Kings Of Leon– This Sex Is On Fire Steven Tyler, Red, White And You Churches – Leave A Trace Eddie Money – Take Me Home Tonight ASP – Ungeschickte Liebesbriefe RIVO DREI – Wie Flugzeuge Max Giesinger – Legenden Silbermond - Symphonie Oomph – Augen Auf Eisblume – Eisblumen Echt – Du trägst keine Liebe in dir Unheilig – Geboren, um zu leben Avril Lavigne -Losing Grip White Lies – Bigger Than Us Mumford & Sons – Ditmas Bryan Adams – Run To You U2 – City Of Blinding Lights Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Face Down The Fray – You Found Me Lifehouse – Hanging By A Moment Lifehouse – Everything Lifehouse - Broken Kim Petras – Can’t Do Better Placebo – Every you, every me Counting Crows – Colorblind Puddle of Mudd – Blurry HIM – Heartache Every Moment HIM – Venus Doom HIM – Behind The Crimson Door HIM – Poison Girl Creed – Higher Sum 41 – Fat Lip Lee Ann Womack – I Hope You Dance Angels And Airwaves – Surrender Staind – Outside Staind – So Far Away Whitney Houston – It’s Not Right But It’s Ok (Thunderpuss Mix) Incubus – Wish You Were Here Disturbed – Prayer Blink-182 – What’s my age again

[jackals-ships]

I hope when I die, you'll barely survive it

2.6k words of me putting dog in a blender bc of @almostourgalaxy 's depiction of how the orphaner dies <3

[warning obvs for character death and some written gore + bachus being terrible. your honor this story is about the worst ppl alive (affectionate)]

[song title is from Rot Next To You by fox + hound]

sometimes you wish you were like your siblings more. the ones that had just enough foresight to be able to pivot out of the worst spots, just enough to get home in mostly one piece. or your siblings who could connect the threads that were right in front of your fucking face. (but then sat- orph- the violet. he hid some of them from you. was he scared? that you would stop him? scared you wouldn't?)

you wouldn't have left home. (would he have, would you be) you hadn't left much anyways since the Signless’s little cults kept popping back up. (it reminded you of dealin with him in some ways. when ya spent months at Bachus’s side shaking.) your brother was on edge and Saturn wasn't much better.

you kept interceding snapping snarling calls, cuffing your diamond round the horns while hissing at your spade that you weren't gonna play clubs with you assholes. fuckin quit it. (you should've been kinder. should've told him.)

and they were slowly gettin worse. Saturn was gettin worse. and all you could do was watch because he wouldn't tell you what was wrong.

and then.

and then he dropped off the face of the fuckin planet. you couldn't get ahold of him, couldn't get ahold of Korrie. message upon message ignored. you were working yourself up into a panicking spiral when your brother sent you on an easy job to clear your head.

it worked.

you kept your phone off because you woulda been checking the thing every two seconds. and was bitterly disappointed when all you received was notifications that bachus had been sendin you the usual sappy shit over that week's span.

but then; one from sati. poppin up just as you were about to close your phone. a simple I lovvwe you, Jackal.

your heart stopped even as you felt it climbing up in your throat. something was wrong.

you just hadn't realized how wrong.

you'd called your brother again and again with shaking hands when Saturn didn't reply to your frantic returned texts (Saturn?? wtf you never use my name) (Saturn what's wrong) (Saturn answer me) (Saturn i swear to fucking GOD ANSWER ME???) (Saturn don't do this) (please please don't do this) but his phone was off or he was away from it or or.

you tried to tell yourself you were just panicking. but you felt it in your bones.

Saturn was dead.

—

you were right of course. but you had thought it was going to be by his own hands.

walking into a slaughterhouse wasn't even on your radar.

you had been numb yet panicked by the time you returned, the disarray around you barely bringing you back to yourself. something was wrong here too. something you could sort with once you found-

once you found. the. source of the purple. a trail of it leading off leading to.

your walking turned into a jog turned into a run once your legs felt like yours again. your lungs were burning when you came upon the church house, the doors lookin like they were ripped off and.

you'd skidded to a stop. almost slipping in the puddle, puddles, of blood under your feet.

and now. you're staring into a gore covered church. panting as you try to make sense of it all. purple painting the floor, the walls, the fucking ceiling.

a distant part of you is impressed. a less distant part of you is starting to tremble. because it's mixed with a darker shade that has to be a trick of the light.

and there is. she is just a head now (jauqel. where is where is jaekel oh. you are faintly comforted by the twins not being separated.) an somehow that is one of the less horrifying sights.

your eyes keep skippin over each sibling turned corpse. taking them in and not registering a damn thing as you walk. the wet sound of your shoes in slowly congealing blood turning your stomach. (you will have to comfort your brother. loved and loved you always still feel an outsider. the deaths burn but they will wound him even deeper.) you're looking for, where is.

oh.

Bachus is in the middle of it all, your still living siblings trying to talk at him while his chest heaves in great pants. an ya think for a second he finally snapped under the weight of all this stress. that's what this is. but ain't nearly enough blood on him for that, don't explain the fuckin carnage fuckin.

eyes slidin over him now that you know he's seemingly okay, settlin on the thing on the ground next to him. your brain don't wanna make sense of what it's seeing for several awful moments. might be seconds, hours, years you stare at it unseeing.

trick you learned real fast was to turn prey into Things. corpse ain't a person so why feel bad about it? same for a will be corpse.

but this ain't. wasn't meant to be. (was supposed to be you first. fact you hated and were soothed by in equal measure. least it wouldn't be you dealing with the hurt. selfish thing you are.)

distantly you wonder if there's a wriggler in the blood soaked church. funny that outta all the things to survive it would've escaped.

it's only when your brother's head whips round to stare at you wide eyed you realize those awful noises are being pulled from your own throat.

he tries to step forwards, tries to reach for you.

you recoil, worse shrieks of <no!> <no!> <please!> escaping you unbidden. Bachus still tries to reach for you. tries to soothe you. “Brother, love, c'mere, it's okay-”

it is not okay. it will never be okay again. your best friend is splattered with violet blood, his neck is half ripped open, his club is drenched in gore and.

it's only then that you register the jaw on the floor. it's only then that you start laughing. a high, manic thing that bubbles up from your chest and makes you shake harder than you already were.

the corpsething that wears half your beloved hated’s face stirs as you cackle. shock and revulsion punch through you in quick succession. even more so when it makes a gurgling drowning noise. a wrigglers refrain of helphurtshelpscared.

you are by it’s, his, side before you can think. cradling it's, his, head in your arms, blood soaking your hands through your pants where you kneel. your brother is saying something you can't understand through the ringing in your ears. the corpsething makes more wounded noises and you half hysterically think im hurting him.

you try to readjust, try to find a space that is not slicked with cool blood where your shaking fingers won't dig in. your face is pressing between his horns, horn, against his hair, choking as you smell only iron thick in your throat instead of the sweetrot of him. “Sati, Sati, Sati.” it is not fair, he cannot leave you. he fucking promised.

“Please, Sati, please, no, god no.” the gasps are thick and wet, yours and his. your voice coming out more frantic as you beg, “Bachus, get, get help, please you need- I need, Bachus he's hurt.” (he did this. you know that and still you beg. save him save me help help please! you always help me!)

Saturn is jerking in your arms, weak and scaredpained noises growing weaker. you are pressing your face harder against the base of his still remaining horn and you have never wished more in that moment that you knew how to comfort.

you feel the way he jerks harder against you rather than see it, his hand reaching for you or. no, past you.

lifting your head you see where he reaches, spastic jerking scrabbles. (he's missing it's yet more wounds yet more blood you had caught sight of his guts hanging in gorey ribbons but this hurts worse somehow) you don't want to let go of him but you do. gently placing his head on the floor to grab the necklace.

choking back wounded noises as your hand wraps around the seahorse, thumb stroking over a sharp crack as if to soothe it. it's okay I'm here it's okay. (you will have to repair it later, and you will have to restring it. sati is missing fingers and it will be harder so you will have to help.)

you think moving him will hurt too much so you curl up next to his head his shoulders. taking his less wounded hand and wrapping his fingers around the seahorse. around your own.

there is blood soaking into your shirt. into your hair, on your cheeks. his hand is trembling or perhaps it's your own making it shake. “it's okay, I have her, it's okay, I'm here, it's okay.”

moving adjusting you kiss his cheeks kiss (the first time you kissed it was a clumsy thing. impulsive too. he had you pinned and you surged up wrapping your hands in his mane, tugging, biting. his size made it difficult.)

(the fact he wouldn't stop trying to lick the inside of your mouth didn't help either. but you learned.)

you kiss him. you try and pour all the love and hate and affection you have for him into that gesture.

but he is not moving. you are shaking so hard you don't realize it at first. but he is not moving. “Sati?” the cracked thing that emerges cannot be your voice. “Sati?!” the frantic thing that moves cannot be you. it cannot be you sitting up shaking his limp head, panting as you hope the pain rouses him once more.

“Sati, Saturn, Saturn wake up. Wake up.” you're shaking so hard now you can barely keep a grip on him, blood soaked fingers digging into his mane as it slowly grows harder to breathe. “The, there's a doctor coming, the Highblood is.” your brother makes a punched out noise from somewhere behind you. but he called (he did not and even if he had your hated love was long dead before you arrived. a corpse that still drew breath) he had to have because you begged.

“Saturn please.” he doesn't respond to you. how cruel to ignore you now that you have the courage to say it. “No, no, I love you, Saturn please, I love you, isn't that.” you're half bent over him, forehead pressed against his, the tears are choking out your voice. “I love you, I love you, wake up, wake up! Please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't leave me! You can't! You swore!”

(til death do us part.)

(I am yours, eternal to death and entropy.)

(hm. think I like yours better.)

he doesn't respond.

your brother's hands are on your shoulders. blood slicked. you round on him, releasing Sati long enough to slap-claw at him. howling with grief and rage that he, "Murdered him! You took him from me when you had no right!” (“Love, calm down, Jackal please-”) “No! No no it's not fair!”

the feral thing that you have become lunges at him. it takes Bachus off guard or perhaps he's letting you try to kill him.

either way you're no longer aware of yourself. (first time he soothed you was when you attacked another sibling. ain't that funny) just aware of the pain, the knowing that he's gone and never coming back and it's not fair.

you're kicking and yowling when a sister tries to pull you off, drops you startled when you bite. when you lunge again he catches you this time. your grief does not change the fact he towers over you. does not change the fact that when he realizes gentling you will not calm you that he can simply hold you down til you tire.

it takes a very, very long time for you to tire.

–

it is hours later when he comes to speak with you again. he'd tried to get you out of your blood soaked clothes but you had not allowed it. (let him see what he has done. you will not allow him to forget.)

Bachus himself has changed, has cleaned the blood from his hands and face, has bandaged his throat. and yet you can still see it when you look at him.

“...Dog-”

“How could you.”

your voice is raw from screaming yourself hoarse. from sobbing and howling. vacillating between I'm sorry I'm sorry Saturn wake up I'm sorry please! and how could you! I hate you I hate you!

there is a posture Bachus takes when he knows he's gonna have to argue with you. it's one he takes now. “Saturn started it.” (how dare he speak his name.) “He came in lookin to kill, he already had. What was I supposed to do, Dog? Just let him?”

ah. so that is where he thinks your anger fully lies. (it does there as well. but only in part.)

you do not answer him quick enough because your snake tongued brother speaks again, “He killed-”

“I saw who he killed.”

“And you ain't mourning-”

“Do not attempt to turn this around onto me, Highblood. Do not act as if because one grief is larger than I do not mourn.” you are gratified when he flinches as if you struck him. good. let it hurt him. let him see the full level of what harm he's done. you hope it kills him. “You killed him. But you didn't do him the good grace of doing it quickly. You allowed him to suffer. To choke to death on his own blood. It was a cruelty, even for you.”

“He deserved it.”

you can see in your once diamonds face that he knows he's fucked up the moment the words slip past his lips. it makes you smile, sharp and cruel. “He deserved it. Did I deserve it?” (“Brother-”) “Did I deserve to come home and see my fucking husband bleed out.” a closer step and you can feel your smile edging into manic. “You knew how important he was to me, you held me when I panicked every time he was hurt and I wasn't there, you encouraged my pursuit before I even knew what the feelings were, you were at my fucking wedding Highblood.”

you are trembling again. you are so cold. “You thought of nothing but your own cruelty. You did not think of me. What reason do I have to remain, when your hatred of him eclipses your affection for me?”

there is hurt in his eyes but mostly bewildered shock. “....Dog. Best friend.” he must not enjoy whatever it is your face does because his desperation increases. “Don't do this. Don't ruin this for us, don't fucking walk away from me.”

it is that last part that hits you.

and you are being entirely literal.

there is none of the usual finesse in it, only a whip crack compulsion. you had been midway through turning away when you jerked to a halt. muscles seizing up as you had a flash of a desire to stay you can fix this and.

he must realize the gravity of his error as he's doing it. because it fades quick as it came.

the horror turns your stomach, the knowledge that he would take your beloved beloathed from you, and then in that same day turn your biggest fear against you.

“Dog, Jackal, I didn't mean-”

“You did.” (you cannot even hate him for that. you knew the kind of monster you curled up against at night. you knew the kind of monster he turned you into, the kind that would do the exact same in a heartbeat.) “You did. Just like you meant to make Saturn suffer.”

your back is to him now. you trust him not to strike you even as your mind is singing for him to do it god please. “...I am sorry. But I can't. I can't.”

you flee. he lets you. you hate him for it.

you cannot remain here. you don't know where you can go but you cannot.

(you go back only for the seahorse. shaking hands opening his. pressing a kiss to his forehead as you whisper an apology. as you twist them back together.)

[murfpersonalblog]

Operation Matador: Wolf Killer Lestat

@blueiight FACTS! Lestat represents everything both he & Louis claimed they hated, but secretly admired/envied. Lestat lives for the aesthetic--he grew up just as slovenly and broke as any peasant, in the marquis' crumbling chateau, embarrassed about his brothers' rough manners throwing bones to the dogs at the dinner table & such.

For all Lestat's talk about being the rugged hunter, the Wolf Killer, the first chance he got he booked it to Paris to act the dandy Lelio. He HATED his family, and he admired/envied the lifestyles of the rich & fabulous. Part of why dandies act so flamboyant is because they're putting on airs--an emulation/exaggeration of what they thought the nobility/genteel acted like. The bourgeoisie/nouveau riche/lower & middle class all wanted to be JUST like the aristocratic elite--and the Reign of Terror showed how they became the monsters they were trying to kill. "I wanted to murder the man; I wanted to BE the man." Vicious cycles.

@likethemodel you keep doing this to me--STOP. 😵💫The Wolf Killer's red velvet cloak and the Bull Killer's red flag/cape, DANG.

Lestat got the prized wolf fur cloak, and matadors are awarded the bull's ears (orejas) and tail (rabo) if they perform exceptionally well during the fight. Lestat's family ate the wolf meat, and after bullfights the bulls are sent to the slaughterhouse and sold as beef. THE PARALLELS commemorating BLOODY victory.

@dirhwangdaseul And what's BANANAS is that Lestat is just as controversial as bullfighting itself. Their violence is not all/inherently bad, it's just whether one chooses to see it in a good/bad/neutral light. IWTV (i.e.: Louis & Claudia) is focused on making Lestat look bad. For Louis/Claudia, the "villain sequence" in Ep5 highlights how Lestat (dressed as The Killer (matador in Spanish)) is just like Akasha said in QotD: "so perfectly what is wrong with all things male." But that's not the WHOLE story, that's not ALL of what Lestat is, even though YES, when AR first wrote about him she was speaking from a place of pain & grief & anger about her own life. A decade later, AR had switched gears and gave Lestat his own perspective, as there's 2 sides to every story. In TVL he's FAR more sympathetic, and we see The Killer in a far more nuanced light, described best by Gabrielle (a la a mother's love).

Lestat LOVES Louis & Claudia. But by Ep5 things had gotten so dang BAD that he succumbed to his worst impulses ("my father's temper"), taking upon himself "the burden of murder or madness to be free of this place." Just like the tragedy of Louis was that he was weak/cowardly; Lestat's tragedy is that he's strong/impulsive--he's always been "stronger than anyone else." He's Hercules, killing his wife & children in a fit of madness thinking they were a pack of lions. But the beast was INSIDE Lestat all along. It's classic Gothic Horror.

@blueiight ALL OF THIS, yup! NGL I think Lestat's endless wealth made him an acceptable relic--his privilege saved him from being treated just like Paul. (Like, Paul acting up in public was only tolerated because of the money Louis kept pumping into the neighborhood (the church donations, those storefronts, etc), that made the DPDLs so respected.) There's a lot being telegraphed by Mr Bouillabaisse de Lioncourt partially because he's SO old that he's out of touch with modernity (I NEED to know if he was asleep before NOLA Rolin, PLEASE 🙏); partially because he's foreign and "there's things you don't get about America, Lestat;" and partially because he's white and he has no clue about the rich nuances of black culture until Louis educates him. (And even then Lestat insists he knows best--one-upping Jelly Roll Morton to create the Wolverine Blues (a la white people claiming blues/jazz/rock & roll Monsieur le Rockstar); whitesplaining about the race riots; etc...). And it's beyond hysterical that Louis was like "he ain't white, he's French," like SIR. 🤦 You of all people should be well-read enough about your own city, Mr. Heads on a Pike in Jackson Square, to know French Whites were the big bad wolves of NOLA's history--not to mention French imperialism across Africa & the Caribbean & Asia. 💀 (He's so lost in the sauce, bless his heart.) But Louis doesn't REALLY know Lestat, is the kicker.

@demonicdomarmand Soooooo multilayered. It's 100% satire @blueiight, agreed. Like, there's the IRL history of Mardi Gras flouting social/class hierarchies (turning everything upside down a la the Saturnalia); how Lestat plays into queer history through gender & drag; the Louis vs Antoinette of it all with the let them eat cake and French history; then they wrap it all up in a direct nod to vamps/demons accused of stealing/killing kids.

DIABOLICAL, AMC, please keep going.

@nalyra-dreaming Show of the Decade! <3 IWTV has the best allegorical handling of vampirism I've ever seen, but folks wanna complain about raceswaps & Claudia's age & them not being on a plantation anymore, like HUH?

@greedydemands I'm not LOL. Just living online and talking to all y'all teaches me more than I ever got in school.

@thebarnburn LOL I'm a student, just proctoring--DR. CAROL CUTSHALL is out here with TENURE. 🍎 It's a effing crime the Emmy's snubbed IWTV--if we don't get some roses come S2 the fix is in, officially, cuz their attention to detail has been downright disgusting.

[pink-tiled-bathroom]

only the flame can melt the snow, 20/12/2024, 14:30

i've been drinking water from a whiskey glass, spending late nights in empty bars roaming empty halls--

the echo of your name laminates every thought i have with a resounding murmur of guilt, shame plastered on every corner.

there's a gentle warble of "i'm here, i'm still waiting for you." the days have grown cold, there's no saving within these closed-in walls.

faded colors of the midwest painted on the city skyline, empty calls of hope bounce across the city-country border,

i wonder what we could've been had we gotten a little more time. we were only kids. we were only still sixteen in our hearts.

a streak of luster whips across midnight, neon lights reflecting in moondrunk irises, already buried knee-deep in sacrilegious sanctity.

looking between every pew to find what could make me holy--what won't cure me is drowned in wednesday nights of putting together all my broken parts.

for what i lack in rationality i make up for in letting the bitterness set in from the alleyways of this run-down saint city.

your kiss tasted like warm august afternoons, peppered with auburn autumns and sunkissed friday nights.

i turn to look over my shoulder and i'm greeted with star-speckled sunsets, ancient tales of teenage years lost to love--

i remember the way your skin tasted like salty-sweet innocence. i remember giving you my seventeeth life, in the faded july lights.

your touch was my religion, your breath my confessional, this church was a sanctimonious home for the golden sunset and ivory dove.

but this church is now a graveyard, this church is going up in flames, my love, so what are we to do except pray?

doomed together, doomed apart—we are the flames of the fire, nothing without one another but burning everything in sight once alight again. 

i have a recurring nightmare where your taillights are fading into stars and all i can muster is a weak cry--that you can't hear--for you to stay.

it's not like me to admit that i wanted more. we could have been tied together in golden sunlight, but the singed ends of the ribbon are clear and plain.

tell me darling, would you rather have the truth from all the lies you’ve been told?

would you rather the aching in your chest be cured? would you rather it stay, because it’s the last left of a love already gone?

sweet cinnamon seeping over the scalding sunlight like starfire, daymares crowning through the sunbeams already cold,

i am the lamb in the slaughterhouse, forgiving after every slash. i am the song of the crimson-soaked-ivory, beaten to blue swan.

crown from the neck of the bottle, ain’t nothin left for me here besides the dust your train left on the tracks, sin split in two, splattering. 

everything around me is shattering, every mirror splits into shards of sharp stings, i'm standing in the rubble trying to pull myself together,

this love keeps pulling me in, but my heart knows it's wrong, there has to be a means to an end, a verse to sew the fracturing,

there has to be a good ending to all of this, there has to be some divinity behind this wreckage, some meaning to this pain, whether

it's us or not. this recurring nightmare ends the same--knees to gravel, neck to blade.

there ain't no hope for the beggars. there ain't no mercy for the ones with bloodstained palms.

your irises aglow meet mine. i open my eyes and there's nothing beside me but dust and rubble, the last drops from the bottom of a bottleneck, pin-gone grenade.

we were holy while we were young. we were witnesses of our own cain, the keeper of our misery. we were the prayers, the clasped hands and psalms.