#like freedom of speech and finding the truth my ass

[ujunxverse]

.

[nyazai-osameow]

btw the take of “Dazai is very remorseful of those he’s killed and his history in the PM (which is why he’s a good person, actually)” is a take that literally spits in his, as well as the whole of BSD’s, face. in this essay i will

its a bad idea to try to make this post right now because MAN disorganized thinking and speech is kicking my ass currently. so heres your warning. but i must speak. the truth deserves to be spoken

first i want to make it clear that the take itself is not inherently wrong or ““problematic”“ (please bear with me accurate and precise words are not in my vocab rn). because i mean... who fucking knows with Dazai and his feelings. he COULD be remorseful of all that. or he could not. i mean more evidence points to the lack of remorse than feeling remorseful, but this post is not about that.

what then makes this take so Bad is when its argued for the SOLE purpose of trying to defend him and convince people that he’s a good person actually and deserves to be where he is.

whether or not Dazai feels remorse for everything he’s done literally doesn’t matter. and trying to put so much importance on this also flies over the point of so much of BSD and its characters. its not a prominent point brought up ever BECAUSE it does not matter. its not supposed to matter. and the watcher/reader must recognize that this is deliberate to help you come to the point that is trying to be made with so many characters.

the message that is trying to be broadcasted is: "it's not about who you are, but about what you choose to do". its about your actions in the present moment. what you are choosing to do NOW is what matters.

and hes choosing to work for the good side and help people. “but that’s only because Oda told him to--” NOPE DOESN’T MATTER! the reasoning does not matter. the motivations for the actions are not supposed to matter. its the actions themselves.

Oda himself’s whole deal was this. the one person that Dazai at that time saw as unarguably a good person. he was choosing not to ever murder people again. not because he felt bad or any remorse for having taken those lives, but because he literally just wanted to become an author. that’s it. that was his sole reasoning. that seems like an absurd motivation to anyone not him, and that’s what makes him such a good character and good guy. he was not trying to atone for his past. he just wanted to be able to write a book.

did this reasoning make Oda’s choice of refraining from killing any less sincere? no, it didn’t! it was still 100% authentic and everyone could see that.

the first major arc of BSD as a whole was about this message. Kyouka, who had been working as an assassin for the PM and had so far killed 35 people, decided “hey, i don’t want to kill anyone anymore actually”, and with the help of Atsushi made the decision that she’d help people from then on and would try not to resort to violence and hurt people again.

then again in season 2 after Dazai encouraged her to not let her past define her, she made the decision to use the last bit of freedom she thought she would ever have to save Yokohama from being destroyed by the Moby Dick.

the antagonists in BSD are the antagonists because they are continually choosing to cause harm in the present moment. even if they were good or neutral in the past. they are doing harm NOW which makes them a problem.

STORMBRINGER SPOILERS

in Stormbringer Chuuya makes the choice to give up what he and everyone else thought was his last hope of finding out for sure whether or not he’s truly human, because it doesn’t really matter as long as he’s continuing to live as himself. he’s Chuuya because he can strap Dazai to a lamppost and spin him until he gets sick. he’s Chuuya because he gets to have tea with Kouyou. he’s Chuuya because he visits The Flags’ graves every so often.

STORMBRINGER SPOILERS END

ok im tired but i think you get the point.

change da world my final message. Goodb ye

[kiss-this]

I love Tommassini style and the way he worked with Måneskin, so when I run into this interview I had to translate it ❤

“I want to dance in heels and with my ass out”.Among the memories that Luca Tommassini has of Damiano there is also this. How it ended up is reminded by the star choreographer, who after dancing with Madonna and Diana Ross, after collaborating with Michael Jackson, among the others, was the artistic director of X Factor until 2018, therefore also in 2017 when Måneskin began to shape their image and the visual impact of their performances. He remembers that experience on the eve of the final of the current edition of the talent show, scheduled for Thursday 9 December, in which the band "comes home" as a super guest, together with Coldplay.

The beginning wasn't easy. "No. They didn't want to go on stage, they refused my staging. Incredible, I thought I was the star of the show. The others told me "teach them a lesson", I asked to talk to them. When I saw them coming I immediately had the feeling that they were stars. I asked what the problem was and they, very young, gave me a nice speech: “We are all together, we have seen, studied, listened to what we need, we have a project and we want to bring on stage exactly what we are. Whatever you have thought will not be in line with this." And for the first time I agreed to design the mise-en-scène together with the artists. I had never done this before. I changed my method thanks to these phenomenal young people. »

It was an important collaboration, the image of the group has gradually changed. «I proposed solutions using my know-how, my team. I was trying to create a "dress" they could wear, make them glam while keeping their identity intact. They didn't have the means to stage themselves as they would have liked and they took the opportunity with me. »

What did you find out about them? «They were the guys who through smartphones and the Internet had already seen the world, while we needed a plane. I used the stage to showcase them, I tried to put in the spotlight what they already had inside, I made it theatrical and explosive. XF was their gym, but they were born for that.»

Arguments? «They didn't last long, there was sincerity and truth in what they said. They did not try to justify what they wanted to do: they strongly supported it. And every meeting ended with Victoria saying "sticazzi" (fuck)».

The hardest choice? «Damiano comes to me and tells me 'I want to dance on heels and with my ass out'. To support the request he pulls down his pants and shows me the tattoo that reads "Kiss this". It was a risk, out of any TV canon, but the music was perfect and that performance has become one of the most beautiful flags of the X Factor: the manifesto of opportunities, a group that screamed for freedom. »

Young, aware and modern? «Today young people are ahead. Better a sixteen, eighteen year old who imagines his life, than an old man who tells me what he has lived through. Of course, not everyone is like the Måneskin: they were hungry for fame and life. Damiano told me “we want the world”. It was impossible to keep their talent at bay.»

[belle-keys]

a stupid, unnecessary thread of me reacting to The Great season 2 because I'm a hoe for this show

THEIR DYNAMIC IS SO CUTE LIKE THEY REALLY DO WANT TO KILL EACH OTHER BUT *I CAN'T* LIKE GIVE THE SCREENWRITERS AN AWARD

"I'd fuck your dead body for days, I hope you know that."

GIVE NICHOLAS AND ELLE AWARDS RIGHT NOW TOO PLEASE FOR THEIR LINE DELIVERY

I want Peter to die a humiliating death but also... sometimes not. Just sometimes.

"The more you toy with me the harder my cock gets. There are softer oak trees." I REALLY WANNA KILL HIM BUT THIS IS SO FUNNY I CAN'T

WHY IS VOLTAIRE BEING SUCH A HOE??? LMFAOOO (I hate how believable it is too, that the Voltaire himself was hoeing around Europe whilst... enlightening it.)

did she ask him if he’s muslim!?!?!??

OH YAYYYY FREEDOM OF RELIGION

omg Peter’s coronation speech was so 🥺🥺🥺

would you kill a dude if he called you dickhead?? idk kinda seems semi-reasonable in certain contexts tbh

seeing Peter get the shit beat out of him was pure therapy idc

“I am fucking charm itself” BRUH I’VE SAID THIS IN PUBLIC ALREADY DEADASS

"The cold blue of her eyes made me shiver in a sexual way I have not known" PETER PLS STOP BEING A SUB ON MAIN

"I find power imbalances wildly erotic. I suppose I'm old-fashioned that way." MEEEEEEEEEEE

“There’s a dragon at court.” “There’s an idiot too and I’m looking at it.” I LOVE VELEMENTOV MAN

Peter is full of so much shit but why do I feel like he’ll be the best dad and house husband in the world

NO CUS WHY IS PETER SUCH A MALEWIFE LIKE-

GDHSJSJSHHS GOD I HATE HOW IM SHIPPING THIS SHIP

“CLITTY BITTY” DAMN IT LIKE GIVE THIS SHOW A DAMN PULITZER WILL YOU

"Let's put that 'heir to the throne' shit to bed" Peter you're undoing your damn redemption and I'm gonna hurt you for this speech.

THEY KILLED THE OLD WOMAN NOOOO IM NOT OKAY THIS IS NOT OKAY I WANT CATHERINE TO HAVE ALL THESE BITCHES PUNISHED

IM GENUINELY HURT AND TRAUMATIZED BY THIS LIKE NOOOO I WANT THESE NOBLEWOMEN HURT

nooooo Catherine don't hug Peter he's a son of a bitchhhhhhhhh

YESSSSS MARIAL SHOOT THAT BITCH IN THE HEADDDDDD DASS RIGHT I LOVE MY BISH MARIAL

ayoooo Gillian Anderson?! Noice

okay I've forgiven Peter again (kinda) AND THE WAY HE TOLD HER MOMMA HE LOVED HER?!?!?!?!

"oh she LIKES my fucking tongue" I CLAPPED LIKE YES IT LANDED IT LANDED I TELL YOU

elle fanning has got to be the prettiest crier I've ever seen omg like she looks like a tormented, weeping deity that you want to save and pitch back up into the heavens in a very British Isles way

now why do I sound like Peter here

one may kill Gillian Anderson? with the nut of pea? holy-

oh wait she's alive!!!

awwwww the solar system that's really cute he really wants to be a dad omg :'(((

NO CUS HIS REDEMPTION ARC IS THE BESTEST OMG I WANNA SOB

did this hoe ass Joanne SLAP HER PREGNANT DAUGHTER WHILE PREACHING ABOUT SAID DAUGHTER'S SAFETY?!,!!?!?!,!

WHY ARE THEY HAVING SEX NOOO PETER THIS ISN'T PART OF THE DAMN PLAN YOU LOST THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE

yo dis bitch deddd... HAHAHAHAHAHA

THAT WAS HILARIOUS THO

well well well… if it isn’t one lf my first curshes ever and top 10 blond dilfs, Freddie Fox. We meet again you sexy son of a bitch.

“A Hail Mary and a handjob” yo isn't that the entire history of that one churchy place inside Italy (you know where)

ANHHH THEY’RE BEING SEXY BUT SHE’S GONNA FIND OUT HE SCREWED HER MOTHER ALSO WHY IS HE KINDA HOT LIKE EVEN MY CAT STOPPED BITING ME TO WATCH THIS SCENE

I blame Skins for every single problem I have ever had in life

yooooooo this scene- imma head out like i feel like i’m INTRUDING this is so shshdhdjjsjaja

YESSSS SHE LEARNS THE TRUTH!!!

Okay but the emotions man- Catherine is like, overloaded at this point :(

AND OF COURSE IT'S RESIDENT BLOND BRITISH DILF OF MY CHILDHOOD FREDDIE FOX THE FAKE SWEDE WHO CHANGES THE GAME DASS RIGHT LET'S RETAKE SWEDEN SEGGSY

"You fucked my mother x5" damn

SHE STABBED THE DOUBLE

wait... so all is good??? Peter doesn't look mad so- he's kinda tender rn actually :')

bruh

WELL MY HOES, 10/10, DID NOT DISAPPOINT

[mannien]

Mornings in Sheffield Park | TH - PROLOGUE

The one with graduation, daisies and carnations, and a hopeless emotional addiction.

Word count: 3.1k

Warnings: some stress and anxiety here and there

Some feelings are addictive. It’s easy to get used to the way something tingles with excitement, warms up with passion, or stings with powerful adrenaline rush. People get comfortable with feelings known and desired and more often than not, they turn them into coping mechanisms. Whatever sticks their wobbly pieces together the longest, is the ultimate solution. Feelings don’t need to be entirely positive or with pure intentions behind them. As long as they cover up the shattered pieces, they stay. They may enhance some experiences, especially when someone decides to stick with something as simple as joy. But some make life more difficult than it seems; they mess up the timeline and allow people to feel so many wrong things before reaching the truth.

An array of emotions weaves through fresh university graduates. A sense of freedom and relief is somewhat clouded by fear or excitement. Someone has an internship lined up, their friends take a year to travel across Europe, a roommate has an apprenticeship at their next job. Others might take things slow and see what the future holds, while some students get prepared to have a fresh start. The overall unknown seems to be the underlying tone in the speeches during the graduation ceremony, but each person in polished shoes and with a rapid heartbeat subconsciously sticks to a feeling that makes them feel more at ease.

Students of each program are called on stage. Every little success along the way is cradled into slippery hats and fitted gowns with the university’s subtle emblem on the front. The audience is sitting on the large balcony above the graduates. People clap with appreciation at each young person walking across the wooden floor and shaking the chancellor’s hand. Some receive a more enthusiastic applause, sometimes even a roar of cheers. As the long queue of journalism graduates makes its way through the hall, the names are listed rapidly. Students walk as if they were a part of an assembly line, trying their best not to delay the process of the nerve-wracking hand-shaking and walking without tripping. The last are always graduates with exceptional results, so the crowds are encouraged to clap vigorously. And that’s what’s heard when the eyes of two women in the audience are focused on the proud figure walking on stage: the loudest cheers of the afternoon so far.

“Remind me, why aren’t we screaming for your boyfriend, and the whole department of journalism is?” A questioning voice surprised Millie so much that she jumped in her seat.

“I’m nervous, Thea. That’s why.”

She stated the obvious. Millie Beaver was the one to frantically fix the sleeves of her gown as a nervous tick. She got up early that morning, dreading the day full of polished festivities and exaggerated elegance requested upon a bunch of tired, educated enough people. The pride in successfully finishing her studies was yet to come; her body was rather keen on reacting dramatically to the large crowds of scholars, pupils and their families. The dread of participating in an unrehearsed event like this clouded her brain and made her focus solely on not loosing it. Though she wouldn’t dare admit it to the smiling man, who was just about to shake some hands on stage. The confidence he wore on his face was something she was used to seeing, even in the least favourable scenarios.

“I still don’t get it, how some people are born so talented that they don’t need to work their asses off to get somewhere,” she shrugged, making her tight black curls shake with her head, “I mean, the hours we spent on reading and researching…”

“I guess we’re just different.”

“Different? It’s not fair, that’s what it is. Patriarchy at its finest.”

The comment made Millie laugh and release some of the tension. Her eyes followed Franklin into the side corridor, where a little crowd of his friends formed a circle around him – the star of the department - before continuing into their seats. His cheerful stance made her bit her lip in excitement; for a moment, she tried to forget about whatever was said through the speakers. She genuinely wanted to be feel happy for him and his academic achievements. After all, she spent previous months on watching him get to the top of their classes almost effortlessly, as if he was born to be talked about by the teachers.

Millie felt her heart speed up at the thought that he might start searching for her for a little cheer, or even a tiny wave of support. But Frank sat down and continued to enjoy his fame, and Thea started to pull her up from the wooden chair.

“Come on, it’s our turn.”

She followed her friend and attempted to smooth out the heavy gown. Her light brown hair flowed as she walked, making her nervously fix it every now and then. She turned to the very end of the queue to find Jane, who wore a wide smile. They made eye contact and the blonde sent her a half-smile, knowing that they are almost through the tough part. It calmed Millie to know that she had her support system, not only up in the balcony, but also somewhere among the students of literary and media studies. At one point she feared that her nightmare of falling off the stage will become reality, but as a surprise to her and her close ones, clumsy Millie walked gracefully and with pride painted across her face.

Mission accomplished: she made it through college without falling.

The main floor of the event hall once again filled with students, their peers, and families. Loud chatter was heard across the building as people were celebrating the achievements of the year’s graduates. Some of the groups moved outside and took in the chilly London air. It smelled of rain and freedom, clouded with light grey pillows in the sky.

The three girls tried to make it through the crowds of chatting people in search for the perfect spot to take pictures together. Jane wore the highest heels of them all, so she was designated to lead them to the wall with the logo of the university. In a tight weave of pinkie fingers, they rushed through the hall just as they would through a college party. Millie felt dizzy from the sea of the same black gowns surrounding them from every angle. Some people waved at them, so she kept her smile wide and left Thea – with her one hand free – to the waving back duty. Their secure escape led them safely to the back wall on the side of the entrance, where some of the students usually found peace between classes and sat down on the floor, watching over the busy entrance to the building during the semester. The carpet remembered a lot of spilled coffees and teas in the wobbly little cups purchased from the cafeteria inside. Millie let out a breath of relief, seeing that only a couple of students found this spot perfect for keeping the memories.

“Hey, congrats! We’re graduates!” Jane welcomed the group that was finishing their poses in front of the wall.

Thea laughed with them, but desperately waved her hand in front of her reddening face to cool off.

“I hate your speed in heels. That was too fast!”

“Don’t worry, at least you don’t have to run to the Linguistics ever again.” Millie pulled her little bag from underneath the gown and looked for a sheet of paper with old notes. As long as Jane was busy chatting up other students, the other two tackled the makeshift air conditioning to prevent Thea’s makeup from running.

“Okay, are we ready for some iPhone memories?” The sound of a snapshot stopped Millie from frantically fanning their friend’s face.

“You sound ready. Do you have a tripod or a selfie stick, though? I want to have a picture with all of you.”

“We could still catch that group and ask someone to snap a few?”

“I’m not running anywhere, I’ve just fixed my face!” Thea puffed her cheeks and did a few more waves around them, certainly for an enhanced dramatic effect.

“Then don’t run anywhere, I’ll call my mom to come here, she’s probably out for a smoke anyway.”

“You really want to have your graduation pictures taken by your mom?” Thea and Millie chuckled at Jane’s resigned sigh. “Maybe Frank could come here? I trust his steady hands more.”

“He was supposed to go to the student’s office after the ceremony. Honours and stuff.” Millie pursed her lips.

“Right when we need him! What a boyfriend.”

“Jane!”

“Do you need a hand, girls?”

A sudden male voice stopped the rising argument and made the three of them look into the corridor. He welcomed them with a warm smile and soft wrinkles by his eyes. With a small bunch of colourful flowers, he stood out in casual, non-graduate clothes, yet with similar youthfulness to him.

“I’m not my brother but I can take a straight picture in focus.”

“What the fuck?” Millie covered her mouth in shock. Hesitantly, she took one step away from Jane and Thea, afraid of her next reaction. “What the actual fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to my friend’s graduation, fancy seeing you here.”

“I’m serious!” She raised her voice and made her way over to him, meeting his steps somewhere in the middle of the distance. He was smiling at her stupidly and she couldn’t stop herself from mirroring his reaction.

“I’m serious too, you made it! That’s so cool!” He opened his arms and invited her in, with a small encouragement of his waving hand.

One of the most addictive feelings are those of an utter comfort and safety. This teasing sparkle making your insides warm up and encouraging you to be a little more positive. That’s precisely what Millie felt when she was engulfed in a tight hug by her childhood best friend. Tom held her tightly across her back and swayed them side to side, earning a hearty laugh from the girl who was now, shining. She felt a sense of genuine relief once he squeezed her in reassurance; her brotherly figure showed up, so she was finally able to relax. Suddenly everything felt easy and perfect. All of the stress, fear of the unknown, anxiety about the grand event of the day, and the rest of damaging emotions slowed down their tempo in her veins, simply because she was home. Her smile swiftly changed into more prominent and definitely brighter by a shade or two. As he held her close, he could feel Millie’s warmth suddenly radiate through his body, making his eyes twinkle with joy because of this very girl.

“Congratulations, Minnie Mouse, I’m so proud of you,” he whispered next to her ear, cautious of what others may hear from their little exchange. She did not need any more nerves weighting her down, so he decided not to make a big scene – even though he definitely wanted to tease her worrying head and make sure she’s having a good time. “you’re all grown up now, so I got you flowers.”

“Oh, so otherwise you wouldn’t?” Millie shook his head, but accepted a small bouquet of carnations and daisies.

“Nah, I know you hate flowers.” He winked at her and put his arm around Millie’s arms, tucking her into his side a little too tightly.

“Absolutely. Thanks Tom, I’ll throw them out after the pictures.”

“Go ahead,” He tucked her in even more, making her squirm in discomfort. It was one of their things, to squeeze one another too tight. It made them feel connected as if they were siblings. They knew how sibling love worked, Tom having three younger brothers and Millie being the youngest of three sisters, but it was refreshing to have it a little spiced up. She let out a shy laugh and pushed him away before taking the delicate bunch from him. She lost the smell of his familiar perfume and took a breath. Once he extended his hand to Millie’s friends, he was back to his public confidence and charm. “Hey! Thea and Jane, right?”

They took an intimidating number of pictures; some of them good enough to share with people, other more fitting into a private photo album filled with silly, heart-warming memories. The group shared a lot of easy laughs together; Millie’s girlfriends eased into the lightly flowing chatter with Tom in no time. It made her sink into the bubble of comfort and light; she was smiling brightly when they reached the entrance to the building. Tom opened the glass door for all of them. A slightly chilly air hit Millie in her blushing cheeks and slowed down the pinky glow spreading across her cheekbones. Somewhere in the distance she noticed her parents lurking excitedly at the group and waving them over expectantly.

There was this heaviness slowing her down and taking up an excess of space in the back of her mind. As they were making their way across the university’s main square, Millie slowly turned her head to the side. She perked up at the sound of loud cheers and noticed a familiar group of students. Among them, there was Frank—laughing and hugging people from his department—and he definitely enjoyed being in the centre of attention. She was sure he didn’t even notice her walking by, but she didn’t want it to affect her as much as it was going to.

In turn, what she didn’t think of was the attention someone would give to her best friend: the smiling, cheerful young man, who was shamelessly chatting up Millie, Thea and Jane.

“Oh my God, is that Tom Holland?”

This simple question, raised somewhere from the group of journalism graduates, didn’t surprise Tom. However, it definitely rose the hairs on the back of Millie’s neck. Though he brushed it off and sent her a reassuring smile, Millie felt panic flowing through her veins. They both knew it could happen, but Tom seemed to be focused more on making her a priority, rather than fearing being recognized as the famous actor. He watched her reaction, now fully aware of her boyfriend emerging from the crowd and skipping towards them.

“Hey, I was trying to find you earlier,” he brushed his hand through his dark blonde hair and gave her a brief smile, before turning excitedly to Tom. “Hey man, I didn’t know you were coming!”

“We just went to…” she paused, seeing as he was already extending his hand towards her friend. “…take pictures.”

“The girls had a nice little photoshoot back inside.” Tom cut short his smile, raising the side of his mouth only to her. He accepted Frank’s handshake but didn’t allow it to turn into a bro-hug. It was fairly easy to read their body language; Franklin tried his best to seem friendly with his girlfriend’s celebrity friend, but the said celebrity was too kind to allow his cheekiness outshine Millie’s comfort zone. Jane and Thea turned their heads away at the sight of palms squeezing a little too tight for a friendly greeting. Frank’s friends and a couple other bystanders watched the exchange with prying eyes, and Millie let out a frustrated groan at the unnecessary tension.

“Cool, cool. Can I steal my girl for a moment?”

Frank didn’t wait for an answer, but rather just took her hand and pulled her to the side, hiding slightly behind the group of people. He fixed the tinsel attached to her hat and winked at her, giving her his full attention. He looked at her with his gleaming blue eyes and made her smile at the intimate moment.

“You good, sweetie?”

“Yeah, just fine.”

“Good. I’ll see you tonight, yeah?”

“Are your parents here? I haven’t seen them.” She looked around, trying to find his mom’s flowing blonde hair.

“They went to get the table at the restaurant nearby. Wanna join us?” He searched her face and leaned in closer, brushing his nose against hers. Millie laid her hand on his shoulder and allowed him into her little space.

“Why are you asking me to choose between our parents?” She chuckled, but patiently waited for his reaction. “Could we all spend time together, at least once?”

“I told you, it’s not a good idea,” Frank brushed his lips against Millie’s, slowly easing her into him and making her return the kiss. “you can ask Tom to come to the party tonight, it’ll be fun.”

“No promises.”

They shared a few more kisses that left Millie breathless - Franklin wasn’t usually the one to publicly show his affection, so she craved anything he willing to give her. She smiled up at him and let him go, happy that he took the minute to catch up with her.

With one last wave of his hand, Frank joined his party. Although he was instantly pulled into celebratory pictures, he couldn’t help but watch Millie walk away; she joined Jane and Thea in a heart-warming group hug. She was just sweet like this: sticking to her people, making sure everyone’s happy, and embracing all the kindness in the simplest actions. Franklin smiled to himself at the sound of her cheerful laugh and turned back to his friends, but then he noticed the source of her laugh. Her and Tom did a barely-there joyful dance, raising their hands and curtseying to her parents. Alfred, her dad, patted him on the back and shook his hand vigorously, while Millie was being squeezed by her mom.

People from Frank’s department praised him for having any kind of relationship with Tom Holland. Frank watched Tom’s joyous exchange with his girlfriend. Tom was proudly paying attention to his best friend, and Millie’s cheeks were hurting from the smiles. She was content and felt at ease. She was sure that her heart was filled to the brim with love and comfort.

Yes, being addicted to feelings is difficult. It holds people hostage in the arms of the sole premise of positive emotional experiences. It’s also blinding for the addicts, making the loss of certain feelings hurt more than it should. Addiction feeds off the weak, the confused, and the uncertain. It eats them up alive and strives to receive more and more satisfaction. It allows for the illusion of reality, so that the addicts can project certain feelings onto their consciousness. They live in their bubbles of unruly contentment and often forget to look into their souls and perform a regular check-up.

Millie was an addict.

***

Please let me know what you think!

tagged: @peeterparkr @katieraven @kozybear @sunsetholland @hey-marlie @lauras-collection @cunaeparker @constellationsv @heyhihellowhatsup0

[kbstories]

noodle soup (a little KRBK sick fic)

The squad thought they knew their beloved Blasty was a bit of a feral-type mom friend… until Kirishima got sick from one day to the next, and they witnessed the full extent of how overbearing a worried Bakugou can be. At first Kirishima plays up the whining because, well, he’s sick and that sucks, and hogging Bakugou’s attention is nice and makes everything suck less.

It’s a tactical mistake.

Suddenly, absolutely nobody is allowed close to Kirishima ("Or d’ya fools wanna get sick too, hah?!"). Kirishima’s room becomes a biohazard zone guarded by 1-A’s very own Dynamight akin to Cerberus at the gates of hell.

The thing is: Kirishima is still allowed to do everything he wants. He gets away with demanding hugs (even if Bakugou pointedly leans his masked face away when they snuggle up), or marathon his favorite TV series Bakugou insists actively kills braincells. When Kirishima wakes up coughing and groaning miserably, Bakugou is there to force some cold medicine on him as well as the home-made broth that happens to have those noodle letters Kirishima not-so-secretly finds delightful.

It’s fun until it gets a little claustrophobic. Kirishima is used to working out daily, and hanging out with most of 1-A in some shape or form throughout the week. Being locked in his room is making him antsy in a way that even the virus wreaking havoc on his body can’t dispel.

"Bakuuu", goes Kirishima on day three. "You know I love you, right bro? And that hanging out for all eternity is like, manly as hell—"

Bakugou’s eyes narrow over his mask. He aggressively folds a wet towel and shoves it — deceptively gentle — against Kirishima’s brow. "But?"

"I miss the others, dude! Have you seen Denks blowing up the group chat? This is giving him separation anxiety and stuff."

"Sparks isn’t a fucking dog, he can deal."

"And what about Mina? She needs our combined intel or her gossip operation will suffer!"

"Gossip?! I don’t gossip, you do."

"Fine but like, Sero—"

"Just say you’re tired of me and go!"

Only when Bakugou yells those words does Kirishima realize he’s been actually keeping his voice down when around him. And sure, Kirishima’s aching head had appreciated that — the volume is all the more jarring now.

"Huh?!"

With a glare, Bakugou puts pressure on the towel until Kirishima gets the memo and holds it himself, watching the other get to his feet and start to pace.

"Or— Fucking don’t, your stupid ass is still sick. I’m going. You stay in that bed, Kirishima Eijirou, or so help me—"

Kirishima sputters, "But, dude! I meant like, letting the squad in, not— I wouldn’t get tired of you, I don’t think I can."

"Save it", hisses Bakugou, whirling around on his way out. "Fuck you! And there’s lunch in your mini fridge!"

Then he’s gone.

Continuing to dutifully hold the towel to his too-hot face, Kirishima gapes at his closed door. It takes him a good minute or two to one-handedly text the others not to cross Bakugou’s path.

Then he sits in the sudden silence and misses his best friend.

*

Bakugou stays away for the duration of Kirishima’s sick leave.

It’s a little dramatic, admittedly, especially because (a) they live next to each other, and (b) food seems to magically appear at Kirishima’s doorstep for every meal. His bro is sneaky when he wants to be, though, so Kirishima knows it’s pointless to try and catch him in the act, or even attempt an apology.

(That doesn’t stop him from doing it anyways or from hoping he’ll succeed, of course.)

Guilt keeps Kirishima from using his new-found freedom for anything other than watching TV, finding the comfort lacking even from episodes he knows by heart.

By the time he’s back on his feet, Kirishima has a plan to hunt down the ever-elusive Bakugou and clear things up. And by 'plan' he totally means camping out in front of Bakugou’s room until he shows up. So what if Kirishima is feeling a bit wobbly from residue sickness? He’s a man on a mission, and once Kirishima has made up his mind about something, there is no turning back.

Even when the Bakugou that finally shows up around midnight is looking about as exhausted as he feels. Leaving the fact aside that it’s hours past Bakugou’s bedtime, he looks… weirdly subdued. In actuality, he doesn’t even seem to realize that Kirishima is on the floor, back against Bakugou’s door, until Kirishima pipes up with an uncertain:

"Bakubro?"

Bakugou damn-near startles, blinking and letting his gaze roam until it falls on him. The immediate frown that follows makes Kirishima wince. Yup, alright, Bakugou is still pissed.

"The fuck d’you want?" asks Bakugou in the same moment Kirishima offers, "You good, man?"

Another awkward moment of staring. Kirishima gets up to level the playing field a bit, the elaborate speech he’d thought up blown away by how hazy Bakugou’s eyes are. Oh no.

"You look a bit pale there, Kats. Sure you’re feeling alright?"

"Fine", comes the predictable reply. Bakugou shoves Kirishima aside with half the force he usually would and okay, uncharted territory here.

Because Bakugou definitely caught the virus from Kirishima.

"How about we, dunno, skip the part where you pretend I didn’t manage to get you sick and you let me help you out too?"

There’s hope in Kirishima’s voice. In retaliation, Bakugou’s glare is double as venomous (even if his flushed cheeks maintain a certain softness there too).

"How about you go hang out with the rest of the idiots and leave me alone?"

Yikes. Kirishima shuffles on the spot a little, "You didn’t deny it, though", wanting to reach out but kind of enjoying having un-exploded limbs, as well.

"Kirishima."

Hrghh, definitely still hurt, too. Kirishima whines and leans against the frame of Bakugou’s door, not standing in his way but not letting him go without a fight, either.

"I’m sorry, bro, seriously, I am! I didn’t mean to complain when you were working so hard. Didn’t mean to sound like I don’t appreciate you having my back, either, but I did and just… Couldn’t ask for a better friend, y’know? You being all overprotective about me and stuff, I’m really honored!"

"Kirishima", Bakugou grits out.

Kirishima grins. "Just tellin' the truth."

Huffing out, "I’ll show you truth", Bakugou scowls at this own threat. Probably not murder-y enough. "Whatever. You done? I’m fuckin’ beat."

The worry in Kirishima’s heart returns with a vengeance. Bakugou, openly admitting he’s tired? He must be feeling pretty bad already.

"Okay, yeah, I’m letting you sleep. Just— Lemme get you some of those pills before you do? And like. I’m totally bringing you breakfast in bed, Kats, just a heads-up!"

That gets a scoff out of Bakugou, undeniably amused. "Do me a favor and don’t burn anything, will ya?"

Kirishima beams at the unspoken go-ahead, saluting before rushing to grab the meds Bakugou got him not too long ago. There’s no way he won’t ace this rare chance of taking care of Bakugou.

He learned from the best, after all.

[curligurl0896]

So getting to read @thejakeformerlyknownasprince 's FMA AU reminded me of my own ideas for a FMA/Animorphs fic. A crossover, in this case, a Megamorphs of sorts (complete with rotating narration) because I really want an excuse to have the Animorphs interact with the characters of the FMA universe. I don't have enough ideas worked out to confidently write a whole fanfic yet, so I think I'll just share some of my ideas so that at least they don't stay inside my head forever like the vast majority of ideas that I either never finish enough to post it or just never get around to at all, especially when my brain is always generating new plot bunnies instead of focusing on developing the ones I already have, it's so distracting lol

(Also maybe y'all could give some suggestions if you wanna, I'd definitely appreciate it lol)

Anyway, here it is:

First off, the answer as to how exactly the Animorphs end up in the FMA universe: I was kicking around a few ideas for this, and was originally thinking something along the lines of like, a freak accident that somehow results in them ending up in front of the Gate of Truth, but I think a better idea would be for an alchemist (or perhaps even several alchemists) to end up in the Aniverse, get Yeerkified, and the Yeerk (or Yeerks, as it may be), intrigued by the memories and knowledge of an alternate Earth where you can manipulate matter and shape it according to your will with nothing more than a well drawn chalk circle (or even less than that if you've been through the Gate, as the Yeerk(s) will eventually discover), lured in by the idea of a legendary object that supposedly can be used to circumvent a pesky little law known as Equivalent Exchange, decides to pull something of a "Tom's Yeerk and his Yeerk buddies a la book 52" deciding to start their own colony in the FMAverse where they won't have to answer to the Council of Thirteen or the Visserarchy (well, at least the ones higher ranked than the Yeerk in charge, who, I imagine, would have to be a Sub-Visser at the very least to have the power to arrange all this) in addition to being able to use alchemy, which, much like the morphing power, can be used for a massive variety of things, ranging from merely convenient to pretty damn useful in a pinch to OP as fuck to even just downright terrifying.

It takes a lot of time and meticulous planning, of course, as they have to find a way to transport the Yeerks, their ship, and all the other stuff they'll need to thrive over there through the Gate and into the FMAverse-- all while in a universe where alchemy flat out doesn't work. The Yeerks have to figure out how to get around that issue, and it takes at least a year of research and using their new hosts' alchemical knowledge to work out a solution, but they work it out, and soon enough they get everything set up and ready to go. At some point, the Chee find out about this secret unknown project going on, inform the Animorphs about it, and Jake decides that they should at least check it out on the off chance that it's something big.

That's where the story officially starts: with our team of traumatized teenage shapeshifters at the location where this thing is being set up (haven't figured out the where yet). They've spent the past several days spying on these Yeerks, but still aren't sure what exactly is going on-- they keep talking about opening a gate-- and aren't sure if it's worth it. Marco's convinced the whole thing is ridiculous, especially after overhearing a human Controller mention something about a "Philosopher's Stone" ("What is this, Harry Potter? Are they gonna wave wooden sticks around and yell in Latin?") . Rachel is bored at this point, and just wants to kick ass and call it a day-- they were probably up to no good anyway. Cassie isn't particularly keen on the asskicking part, but she's been having a bad feeling about all this that she can't shake, and Tobias agrees that something fishy is going on and says they should wait a few days-- after all, from what they've gleaned, whatever plans these Yeerks had would be set in motion very soon. Ax, being Ax, declares as usual that he'll just go along with whatever Prince Jake orders, though when Jake presses him about his opinion, he just says he isn't sure what to make of it. In the end, they keep it up for a couple more days, and sure enough, the time comes for the Yeerks to "open the gate", whatever that means.

After all the time they'd spent spying on the Yeerks, it is conveniently now, when the Yeerks are about to do their thing, that they're discovered. It quickly turns into a fight, and the Animorphs attempt to bail as they're soon overwhelmed-- and then the Gate is opened.

None of them had any idea what to expect next. They certainly weren't expecting the blue lightning that erupted around them in a massive circle, seeming to originate from the curving lines that had been so painstakingly carved into the floor. They aren't expecting the atmosphere to turn dark and purple and creepy, or for a giant grey eye to suddenly appear beneath them, or for wavy black tentacle arms to come out of that eye. And they definitely were NOT expecting to abruptly find themselves in the white void of Zerospace.

Only they aren't in Z-space, exactly. Surrounded by it, sure, but somehow they stand there, as if on solid ground, surrounded by the eerie blankness that had once nearly suffocated them to death.

Each Animorph is utterly alone, with nothing and no one else in sight. That is, until they hear a voice, one that sounds like several voices speaking in unison, and suddenly they see a figure-- or, more accurately, an outline of a figure, with only shadows to mark where the figure ended and the void began. The figure is shaped like a human in all but Ax and Tobias's case: the figure Ax sees is shaped like an Andalite, and Tobias's version takes the form of a bird.

Truth gives the whole "I am God, I am the world, and I am also you" speech, then informs them they can't pass through the Gate without payment. Suddenly, there's a huge gateway where previously there was nothing. Truth is unconcerned with the fact that these "A-ni-morphs" have zero clue what's going on-- it simply takes the required toll and sends them on their way.

Except the toll is literal body parts-- which, even then, isn't usually a big deal for an Animorph, but in this case it absolutely is a big deal, because, as they'll soon discover, there's no way they're going to just replace their lost limbs through morphing. It's expressly forbidden for one to simply have nice things in this universe; in other words, Truth isn't letting them off the hook that easily.

The discovery that they're not able to replace their lost body parts through morphing is especially horrifying to Ax, because, well, y'know... book 40. The one that every Ax fan, and really anyone who otherwise genuinely enjoys Ax's character, would like to pretend never fucking happened.

In fact, given Truth's precedent for irony when extracting payment from people who've opened/been through the Gate in the series, I have no doubt in my mind that Ax would end up suffering the exact same fate as Mertil. Andalites, after all, place high value on their tail blades, especially the warriors; it's their number one go-to weapon when shit hits the fan. Ax himself is such a warrior, in fact it's a huge part of who he is as a person. Needless to say I think yeeting Ax's tail blade would be the exact kind of twisted irony that Truth would employ.

He gets over himself eventually-- well, sort of. However, it takes him a long time to truly come to terms with it-- instead of accepting that the attitudes he'd been taught his whole life regarding those who aren't fully able-bodied are actually shit, I feel like he'd be more likely to double down on them, internalizing them, and actually go into full-on self loathing as a result.

He holds his metaphorical tongue, though, upon seeing that Tobias has suffered a payment that is arguably far more cruelly ironic-- given that Tobias is a bird, given that his initial attraction to the morph that eventually became his default body came from the sense of freedom and escapism only provided through flying, I think it's fairly obvious what Truth would take: his wings.

As for the others: Rachel has lost her arm (for basically the same reason Ed did), Cassie loses her hands (which she uses to, you know, help injured animals and stuff), and as for Jake... well, it was a bit of a struggle, the best I could come up with is the idea of him going blind much like Mustang did after being forced to open the Gate (though maybe not for the same reason, though... idk. If anyone has any better suggestions, please let me know lol, I couldn't think of any solid ideas for what body part would be ironic for Jake to lose). Marco is the only one who doesn't lose any outwardly visible body parts-- what he loses is his voice.

At some point, they are discovered, taken into custody by the Amestrian military, and eventually they end up in Colonel Mustang's office. Mustang listens to their story with a massive dose of skepticism. He isn't sure what to make of these bizarre barefoot children, nor their claims of fighting bodysnatching slugs from outer space by turning into animals, nor their wingless pet hawk, nor... well, he could only assume the other creature was some sort of chimera, although he had zero clue what animals could have possibly been used to make something with blue fur and extra eyes.

At this point, they're about to do a morphing demonstration to prove to the Colonel that they aren't completely batshit, when suddenly the door is slammed open, and a teenage boy with blond hair and sharp golden eyes comes sauntering in, accompanied by a hulking giant covered head to toe in a suit of armor.

The boy immediately starts shouting at Mustang, calling him a bastard and accusing him of wasting his time, to which Mustang responds by merely rolling his eyes and sighing, as if this sort of thing happens all the time (spoiler alert: it does). After a moment, the kid stops as he takes notice of the other kids standing in the room.

"So," he says, calmly, as if he wasn't yelling at his superior just a moment ago, "what's the deal with these fuckers?"

The casual use of the kind of language that would have surely landed them in hot water back home was quite shocking, but they don't comment on it. Instead, Rachel says, in a voice sweet as honey, "Oh, look, Marco. He's just as short as you are."

Before Marco could turn to glare daggers at her (come on, it wasn't like he could argue back in that moment), the boy goes absolutely ballistic, and the armored guy has to physically restrain him as he screams obscenities at Rachel ("The fuck did you just call me, you freakishly oversized bitch? I'll show you too-fucking-short-to-fucking-sit-at-the-fucking-table-without-a-fucking-booster-seat! Call me short one more fucking time, I fucking dare you to! You think I give a shit that you're a girl? I'll fuck that pretty face of yours right up, just you fucking wait--")

"Brother!" The armored guy cries. "Calm down!" Then, to the Animorphs: "I'm sorry about my brother's behavior. He's, um, a bit sensitive about his height."

"A bit sensitive" is the understatement of the century, but none of the Animorphs call him out on it. They're too dumbfounded by the sound of his voice, which sounds sweet, innocent, and, despite his size, sounds like it belonged to a boy no more than nine or ten years old.

And that's where I'm going to leave it for now, since I've spent way too long on this post already. I have a few other ideas, but mostly in bits and pieces, not really any more comprehensive plot points beyond this point. Please do let me know what you think!

[weaselbeaselpants]

That Krispy Cat: A Warning, part 3

The last of the images cause I don’t want this bitch on my computer anymore. 

Knowing tumblr I kept the images hidden JUUUUST in case no one reads the fine print and can’t tell I’m being critical of this and gets me in trouble.

VVV ((Just in case you thought the JewishGriffon piece assured everyone that Crispy couldn’t POSSIBLY hate people of color, some of her earliest Nazi art had her character Klaus beating up Amigo Bear. She also made Amigo into a liberal strawman. )) VVV

((Dialogue to one of her TROLLARIOUS pictures that featured Amigo:

Amigo Bear: *muttering* "Your leader was a !@#$% little #@%^!@$^*!, you fascist feather duster..." General Klaus: "Fräulein, Ich vant you to cover your ears und shut your eyes as tight as you can." Crispy: "How come, General?" General Klaus: "Klaus ist about to say und do very bad sings zhat he does not vant his little Edelweiß to see or hear." Crispy: "Alrighty!" General Klaus: "WHO SAID ZHAT ABOUT DER FÜHRER? WER DIE FICK GESAGT? WHO'S ZUH SCHLEIMIG LITTLE COMMUNIST-SCHEISS SCHWANZLUTSCHER DOWN ZHERE, WHO JUST SIGNED HIS OWN DEATH VARRANT? NIEMAND?! GOTTVERDAMMT STALIN SAID IT! HERVORRAGEND! VHICH VUN OF YOU VANTS TO BE ZUH FIRST TO FIND OUT ZUH HARD VAY VHY MEIN FEINDE CALLED MIR DER BUTCHER BIRD?" ))

^^^ ((BUTOPHERARTISGOODSOYOUCAN’TCOMPLAIN

also the disc. for this pic before it was deleted had a ‘joke’ about cooking Jews in ovens. Oh and yes, that IS Hitler she’s giving that ugly ass cupcake too.))

^^^ (( - Thanks dA I never would have known I had a notifications unless eclipse blah -

This is one of her rants about how #Triggered she is that Starlight be compared to the Nazis when she runs a communist cult. Because A) that’s the real problem here and B) I too get upset when people say my OC is based on Jeffrey Dahmer when he’s so CLEARLY based on Ed Gein, Bwwwaaaah D> D> D> !)) ^^^

VVV ((Ugly art of her friend’s awful OCs.)) ^^^

VVV ((Crispy showing off why no one wants to be a patriot in our country.)) VVV

((FYI, Crisp, that attitude will make the Hamilton fans stronger so just keep that SJW-flinging coming you little SJW.

WHAT?! Social Justice is a broad term and as Crispy’s plainly demonstrated, you can circle it around and make a majority-class sound like the real underprivledged if you have enough fancy frou frou know-how and furries. Also, if a Social Justice Warrior constitutes someone who takes their cause soooo seriously that they’re annoying/petting/cruel/stupid about it....idk I think Crispy qualified.))

^^^ ((Crispy and her friend muse about what other races occupy the world of MLP in her headcanon. This, more than any other dA disc. and picture shows you her brand of “Segregationist-Nationalism is OKAY” thinking, cuz the art of these different races isn’t super offensive or cruel and neither are the characters. BUT if you scratch under the surface you’ll find that Crispy really likes these different people staying in their place and not in “someone else’s” country.

THEN, this same kind of thinking is used to convince you any mix of cultures is just cultural appropriation, again acting like she and her Nazi-stans are the only ones standing up to actual bigotry.)) VVV

^^^ ((Crispy makes the world a worse place by bringing up actual decent points; like how Americans dress Thanksgiving up as progressive and for the natives when we all know that’s not true...all to better her worldview.

fyi, GET OUT whenever you see a selfproclaimed Nazi fawn over Native Americans, because: Nazi Germany had a deep fascination with American Indians and used their struggles about their land being taken away from them to justify their eugenic genocide.)) ^^^

^^^ (( Crispy laughing it up on Furaffinity how she couldn’t be banned from her Furaffinity and then mysteriously never using her site there wowie.)) ^^^

^^^ (( Crispy complaining about SOPA cause her freedom of speech and blahblahblah.

Freedom of Speech is important. Unfortunately what people like Crispy don’t understand or care for is there’s no freedom of consequence. )) vvv

VVV ((LOL Joseph Mengele was such a stinkah let’s tell blithe jokes about him. At least WE AREN’T LIKE HIM!!!)) VVVV

VVV ((Early onset eugenic BS from her Spyro stuff that would be easy to miss if you didn’t know what this woman was talking about)) VVV

((Crispy admitting she thinks gays are pointless cuz they don’t reproduce but apparently loves them anyway. Also big shock Crispy’s seen Hetalia.)) VVV

VVV ((Crispy probably wanting Weeaboos to attack her cuz aren’t Japan’s animations so laaaaaaazy?!!?!? GUUdd think’ I’m a naziaboo! Germany’s never made any shitty animation evah. You know what, I lied. She doesn’t deserve Hetalia. She just doesn’t.)) VVVV

VVV ((Crispy dragging Brazil down with her as the apparent “Best South American Country”. Yikes.)) VVV

VVV ((More “it’s trolling ergo it’s not harmful” shit. Bulgarians probably do deserve their own Care Bears, but they certainly don’t want yours Crispy.)) VVV

VVV ((Disc. for her Richard Spencer bear art)) VVV

------

I know, I know...this isn’t what you wanted to read today, guys. I know it’s offensive and I’m sorry if it made you ill. I also know I’m putting my own blog under fire by showing these images here but I think that should say something about dA’s bad policies that this art gets a filter slapped on it and nothing more when the artist is blatantly pro-fascist.

Crispy resonates with me so much - and no it’s not cause I DARED to be “triggered”.

It’s because, for one, she was talented. I MEAN I HAVE EYES! That’s some nicely drawn digital stuff I’m not gonna deny. She had some cool rewrites and sequel ideas that, had it come from someone else I would have eaten up and faved to hell and back onceupona2012. But I didn’t, where a ton of MLP and furry fans did because they undervalued their own talents and would say “well it’s pretty who cares about the message?” 

Unlike so many commercial+published artists, it’s REALLY hard to separate the art from the artist here because the artist is so connected and a part of her art and storytelling. If you fav her art, even if you didn’t like her, that was telling Crispy she’d won. It’s so defeating to have other artists say their gonna ignore their gut for the sake of prettypretty-Don-Bluth style art. And yes, that stigma DOES affect my view on 2D purists btw.

Crispy was so holier than thou’, and that attitude also was appealing to dA folks, not to mention her knowledge of art history by the time she dropped off the radar. Crispy was the kind of person who’d make long, detailed, justified rants against the design and color choices in Hazbin Hotel and then a bunch of antis would eat her redesigns up only to learn the awful truth later and embarrass themselves cuz they were so taken up by the craft they didn’t know they were reblogging a fucking Nazi.

Not to underplay Viv’s wrongdoings of course, but I’m sorry; the two aren’t comparable on the problematic artist meter. THAT’S HOW BAD CRISPY WAS.

If this somehow was just a faze and she’s come to her senses or doesn’t really think this shite she preaches...I don’t care. She said some vile shit and fuck no I’m not forgiving her. It’s like KenDraw or Shadman. You’ve changed your life around and realized you’ve done/drawn nasty shit that’s done real harm? Cool....I’m still not talking or ever promoting you, ya dingbat. You ain’t no Roman Polanski or Doug Tennaple. You’re a singular internet artist and any support of the project has to go to you - and you suck!

ThisCrispyKat was a wakeup call that showed me these people not only still exist but will be allowed to get away with it. I was very touchy bout this kind of thing back in the day. Fuck, I STILL AM TOUCHY. The rabbit holes I found thanks to Crispy opened up to reveal communities where people think my hair color’s going extinct. People would detail how much they wanted to rape me - a natural blonde - and kill my friends and family for not looking like me. That they want to jerk off in my naturally curly hair and see me in glowy German princess gowns preparing them dinner.

Crispy and other Nazistans would look at me; a blond-haired blue eyed Polish/German American woman and think I need to be “fixed” because I DARE to repeat propaganda that the Nazis were bad. They’d call me a traitor for thinking that celebrating the Nazi party ISN’T German pride.

HOW DARE YOU TELL ME THAT’S GERMAN PRIDE! I’LL SHOW YOU GERMAN PRIDE YOU EGOSTROKING-LIMPDICKED ATTENTION WHORES.

People like Crispy make it 1000x harder to actually show interest in German things. Because I AM interested in German shit btw.

Like for real: it’s a country I’d love to visit one day (at least the black forest, which is where my mom’s fam comes from). I love German art and German fairytales slap. I really do want to explore my heritage through art and stuff.

But guess what? Much as Crispy would argue to the contrary I DO know my WWII history and beyond and FUCK YOU if you honestly think jerking it to cuddly Nazi-furs is empowering or just “showing your interest in history”. Take your own advice and read a god-damn book.

TL;DR: I DO NOT have to be proud of Nazis to enjoy German culture and if you think otherwise, FUCK YOU. It’s a slap in the face to everyone even if you are ‘just trolling’ and it in no way values actual German’s feeling on the matter. It’s annoying how people undervalue real people just for the sake of fan art.

The Nazis were evil. They were racist, eugenic-genocidal idiots who killed over six million Jewish people, Romani, Slavs, Jehovahs Witnesses, disabled people, Poles, homosexuals and prisoners of war. They would have killed my dad’s side of the family if they were in Poland at the time. They made bullshit tanks that killed the people making them and didn’t work on the battlefield. Their leader was a fat, farting one-testicaled bastard who preferred animals to people.

They ruined everything for everyone and then took the easy way out, leaving the Germans that were left in the hands of the also-genocidal Soviets and Americans. Germany is still paying their war debts and now, 70-80 years later everyone else wants to laugh off this dark period of history with memes and forget what they did, and as such, are forgetting the victims of the genocide.

I have 0 tolerance for Nazi things for the sake of HUMANITY, let alone the individual groups they target. I don’t have to have German ancestry or know a single Jewish person to tell you any of this. It’s fucking history.

Eat shit.

[debbierhea]

proximity - chapter 5

wc: 1624 / tw: alcohol mention / msr, ust, season 4, cancer arc

summary: they don’t do this.

(chapter 1 / chapter 2 / chapter 3 / chapter 4)

i love constructive criticism or just comments in general! feel free to message me here or find me (and my other writing) on ao3 here and leave me a comment. xx

Their rooms were on the third floor - 312 and 314 - side by side and linked together by a door. Scully often thought of their adjoining hotel rooms as an apt metaphor for her and Mulder: physically separate, functioning individuals, cordoned off from one another. That is, unless both doors were unlocked, then opened at the same time. Throughout their partnership, she thought she had heard the lock on his door, on his heart, rattle. She even thought it may have wholly unlatched once, but it was never quite in sync with the turning of hers and she was always too afraid to open the door. Now, it was too late to get the timing right and her room was full of termites and dry rot - nasal cavity full of malignant tumor and veins full of free wheeling cancer cells - and she had no idea why she was letting herself lean into him like this on the elevator.

The elevator car shook as the door screeched shut. The silence that followed was more deafening. He was radiating heat at her side but she felt frozen. Scully didn’t know what to do, what to say. She wants to turn and shove her tongue down his throat again, run her hand under his rumpled collared shirt, or maybe just run.

Instead, she decides to remain pressed to his side and say, “We should have taken the stairs. I’m scared to think of how long it’s been since this elevator has been inspected.”

She can feel him turn his head and look down to her.

“My feet are killing me, but three flights of stairs may be preferable to this death trap.”

He’s smirking. She’s rambling.

There’s a pause when his fingers grip her waist.

“If we had taken the stairs, then I couldn’t do this.”

He’s leaning down now, and she wants to roll her eyes, because what a line, but there’s not enough time because their lips meet and her eyes are closing instead, just as he closes the remaining space between their bodies, just as she closes her mouth around his tongue.

He tastes like dark wine and orange slices and when she runs her tongue over his bottom lip she can taste his sweat. Mulder breathes deeply, not quite panting, as he smooths both hands from her waist down to cup her ass. They kiss and kiss and kiss, Scully’s hands roaming his back, his chest, and finally land at the waist of his slacks. He inhales sharply when her nails slide against bare skin, untucking his shirt. They’re making out like teenagers in the backseat of an old Cadillac DeVille at the drive-in, instead of two thirty-somethings standing in a hotel elevator with shag carpet that almost surely hasn’t passed a safety inspection since the Reagan administration, and Mulder feels like the luckiest person in the entire world.

She bites at his lip and he grabs two handfuls of her ass, hard. Scully moans at the neediness in his grasp, at the pinch of pain it causes. She hopes he leaves bruises. She wants him to leave something behind, some evidence, some quantifiable proof she can discover tomorrow, perhaps in the mirror while stripping for her morning shower, like dusting for hidden fingerprints at a crime scene. She is a scientist after all.

Her moan turns to a breathy laugh as he grabs for her again, apparently choosing his need of her touch over balance, and they both tip backwards and hit the wall. Mulder’s head cracks against the fake wood paneling and their lips separate. His eyes are still closed, face scrunched up, as he lifts one hand from her body to rub the back of his head.

She huffs another laugh when he finally looks down to her and widens his eyes. “Ow.”

His glance catches on the curve of her lips as she laughs, high and goofy, so antithetical to the Scully she projects to the world. Her prim suits and glares as sharp as her stilettos send a clear message to most - “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” He’d said that to her once. She had been in top form that day, white blouse pressed and tucked snugly into a black pencil skirt that fit like a glove. The police sergeant in Round Top, Texas had been referring to her as Little Lady and variations thereof since they had graced his front door five days earlier. Her speech was level and succinct, but there was fatal venom behind it as she laid into Mr. Misogyny after a buccal swab from the crime scene had been contaminated. She sent him home with a bruised ego and his tail between his legs. The daggers she’d thrown Mulder’s way at his whispered comment made him want to turn on his heel and follow in the sergeant’s footsteps. Maybe the message she sent the world was more like, “Fuck you.” The next day, the sergeant extended a coffee, a powdered donut, and his hand with a mumbled, “Apologies, Dr. Scully.”

That Scully, the no-nonsense FBI Special Agent née Medical Doctor with the clipped but prompt email responses and sleekly tamed bob, was for everyone else. His Scully, Mulder’s Scully, was a different creature entirely. She bantered and argued and threw soft smiles his way. She made him get a side salad or steamed vegetables at least once a day on the road and leaned into him when discussing a theory. Her eyes shone with excitement when she spoke about a new article she’d read in one of her medical journals and she scowled when he flicked sunflower seeds onto the floor of their rental car. She had wavy hair and flannel pajamas and talked in her sleep. She was his toughest critic and his fiercest ally and she let him rest his hand on the small of her back as they roamed the country in search of the truth.

This is the Scully blinking up at him now, cheeks flushed, lipstick smeared, dark bags under her eyes. She is beautiful. Heart-achingly beautiful. And there’s that goofy as hell giggle again, the giggle that makes him crack a smile just thinking about it. They are opposites in every way except those that matter and he can’t take his eyes off her smile. This time it’s Scully that leans in, his Scully.

She sighs quietly at the meeting of their lips, gentle this time, soft. It’s tender and it’s delicate and it’s heavy with emotion and the weight of four years’ worth of struggle, pain, and heartache. Scully thinks for one indulgent moment that maybe it isn’t too late, maybe they’re just in time. But then, there’s a soft “Ding!” and a loud, metallic screech and suddenly they are not alone.

Bodies in sync, they both turn their heads toward the sound. A man, woman, and two young children stand at the now open entrance to the elevator. Mulder is suddenly very aware of his hands on her ass. Her face is scarlet.

Scully decides she cannot take the embarrassment and buries her face in Mulder’s chest. So much for “Fuck you,” he thinks. The two children are having an animated conversation about the latest episode of Scooby-Doo as they enter, none the wiser. The parents, though, seem to be sizing them up. Mulder sees the woman raise her eyebrows, widen her eyes, and realizes he’s still gripping Scully in a not-so-family-friendly place. He slides his hands up to her waist and then continues to move the other to the middle of her back, making small comforting circles. She shakes her head into him, her arms wrapped around his torso, grabbing the back of his shirt underneath his suit jacket.

The couple stay near the front of the elevator. The man punches a button and then looks over his shoulder to Mulder.

“What floor?” The man is smirking and Mulder’s eyes go wide as he glances up to the arrow still pointed at the letter G for Ground Floor.

He clears his throat. “Three.”

The man punches that button too and soon the elevator doors are squeaking shut. The children continue their conversation, their parents silent and stiff as boards beside them.

Scully whispers so quietly he feels the vibration in his chest more than hears it, “We forgot to push the button?”

He huffs out a laugh into her cinnamon hair and nods. He can feel her smile.

There’s another off-key “Ding!” as the elevator jerks to a halt. Third floor. Mulder grimaces as he realizes they have to walk past the family to gain their freedom. Hand reaching for Scully’s he strides forward, passing between the two children and their parents. Scully’s head is down and her steps quick and wobbly as he pulls her behind him.

As they finally leave the most pleasurable and embarrassing elevator ride of Mulder’s life, the man gives a sharp clear of his throat, as if trying to grab their attention. Scully plows forward, not looking back, but Mulder turns his head and receives a sly wink and a-okay hand gesture from him. His wife swats at his hand as the doors close.

Their hands are still tangled together as they turn to face each other. Scully has a death grip on his left hand and throws him a look of sheer horror, the likes of which he’s only seen in the presence of Flukemen and Jersey Devils. The expression on her face, one reserved for the aberrant and anomalous, is so desperately out of place in the hall of this grungy, though unremarkable hotel, he can’t stop the laugh from escaping his lips.

He squeezes her hand and then she’s laughing too.

[realllllfangirllllll]

Beyond Lovers || Chp.4

{More Than Friends Sequel}

Masterlist

Chairman!Jaehyun AU x CEO!Reader AU

Summary: You find yourself falling deeper and deeper in love with the former CEO after overcoming your fear of love. Although there were rough patches, both of you are now stronger than ever. However, you realize that maintaining a relationship and a company at the same time can be very difficult, especially if someone is out to destroy the both of you.

{ Previous / Next }

You were in awe as you walked through the building that was now lit up with purple, pink, and blue neon lights. It seemed it was only yesterday that Jaehyun proposed to have you as NCT’s CEO. You blindly accepted his offer not knowing how stressful it would be to weigh both online college and a company on your shoulders. Your eyes have almost gone blind from staring at a computer all day. From doing online courses to mapping out designs and promotions for NCT. You wouldn’t have been able to get through even half of it if your friends weren’t there to support you.

For the past few weeks, Soyeon and Mark have stayed up at the crack of dawn studying with you in hopes of finishing the courses required for the three of you to graduate on time. It’d be an understatement to say that the workload is difficult. At times, you even considered going back to college to learn face to face with a professor. However, Soyeon and Mark have always toughed it out and helped to make sure the three of you had the time for NCT.

When you have finished the crazy college workload for the day, you were faced with another workload from NCT. Photoshoots, coordinating, and managing the company left you absolutely no time to relax. You were just thankful your friends were suffering along with you. Soyeon, Soojin, Lucas, Winwin, and Ten were the models of the company. Since they were already professionals, half of the stress was taken away from you, not to mention that Ten’s ability to design saved the company so much time and money. Photoshoots also go smoothly with their professional opinions for improvements. On the other hand, Mark and Johnny were of great help behind the scenes. Mark was in charge of contacting future partners and other human resource duties while Johnny and you took charge of photography and video contents. The whole company was surprised, except for you and Jaehyun, that Johnny decided to retire from modeling. You and Jaehyun have always known Johnny’s passion and skill for photography. Plus, Jaehyun has always told you how guilty he felt to have made Johnny model with a “playboy” image back in SM. Taking both their thoughts into consideration, you used NCT as the perfect opportunity to settle both their concerns and wishes.

You walked through the crowded building remembering the countless nights the nine of you spent decorating and making the building look like what you all have envisioned for it to be: a place of creative freedom and a place that held no boundaries nor anyone to force a fake image upon others. With a big smile on your face, you greeted the people who congratulated you and had small talks with the guests of tonight’s grand opening event. You saw your friends enjoying their time eating, taking pictures, and just happily talking to other people. An ooze of happiness burst from inside of you. Although it was beyond difficult to start the company you and Jaehyun dreamed about, the endless efforts the nine of you put in resulted in a great outcome. 

You scanned around the room and stopped when you saw a particularly well-dressed man staring back at you with a bright smile on his face. Returning the smile, you subtly motioned for him to come.

“Hey there beautiful stranger,” the husky voice said.

You rolled your eyes at him as he wrapped his long arms around your waist. He stared at you lovingly and dove forward for a long kiss. 

Pulling apart, he said in a breathless whisper, “Congratulations Ms. CEO, this all happened because of you.”

Giving him a quick peck, you smiled and whispered next to his ears, “Well aren’t you lucky to be dating her.”

Smiling with his dimples exposed, Jaehyun tucked your hair behind your ears and gazed at you with loving eyes. “I sure am.”

Suddenly, you heard a buzzing sound in his pocket as he walked away to answer the call. You weren’t sure if it was because of the strobe lights or if you were just imagining things, but you saw a slight change in Jaehyun’s eyes. He seemed angry at first, maybe even furious, but when he made eye contact with you, his bright smile returned. You quickly brushed aside the doubtful feeling and walked toward him. 

Gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, you asked him softly, “Everything alright?”

With a light chuckle, he grabbed your hand and placed them beside him. As to assure you, he rubbed soft circles into the back of your hand and said, “I just got a call from our collaboration’s department chief. There were some problems with the contract.”

Pouting, you asked him, “So you have to go? I didn’t even do my welcoming speech yet.”

Jaehyun chuckled, pinching your cheek lightly, “I’ll see my famous girlfriend on youtube later. I know you’ll do great, but don’t forget to mention the handsome man who funded this whole project.”

You scoffed as he gave you a wink and started heading towards the exit. You saw him grab a glass of champagne before waving goodbye to you, disappearing into the elevator.

Sighing, you, too, took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and gulped it down. You tried to calm your nerves as you gave yourself a mental pep talk. Truth be told, you were a nervous wreck on the inside even though you seemed poised and calm on the exterior. Memorizing your speech wasn’t the difficult part, after all, you planned to speak your immediate thoughts instead of drafting out a speech. This way, the people will understand your genuine appreciation toward them and the company. However, what made you break down with anxiety was the gossip and drama that surrounded you in the past. Although your dating scandal with Jaehyun became less of an interest to the public, there were still many people who doubted you and the position you carry. It took you a lot to fight down your insecurities to even get dressed for the event and show up. You didn’t want to disappoint your friends who all counted on you, so you shallowed down your fears and dragged yourself to the event with forged confidence, hoping nobody will notice your nervous breakdown.

You felt someone lightly wrap their arm around your neck and you turned around to see Soojin. Your best friend gave you an assuring smile and told you, “It’s going to be ok y/n. If anything happens, which it won’t, you have the eight of us to back you up.”

You returned a forced smile and replied, “It’s seven now.”

Looking at you with confusion, she asked, “Seven? Who left?”

“Jaehyun did. He had to deal with one of the department chiefs.”

“Tsk tsk Leaving his girlfriend on one of her most nerve-wracking nights. What a shame,” she shook her head and looked at you with a straight face, “I disapprove.”

You chuckled and lightly shoved her, “Shut up Soojin. He wouldn’t leave me if he saw how nervous I am. Plus, he has important business to attend to. It’ll determine all nine of our futures.”

Raising her arms up in defeat, she said, “Fine, fine. I’m just salty he took my beautiful girlfriend from me.”

You saw her pout as she leaned closer to you, and you pressed your hand on top of her mouth, shoving her away. “Please, you had countless boyfriends and now you try to claim I’m yours?” You looked at her with fake shock, “How dare you! You cheater!”

You both laugh, feeling better already that Soojin was there to shake off your nerves. Soon after, you saw the rest of your friends come over, encouraging you that you’ll do fine. You must say, it was nice to always have the seven of them by your side. Everything felt like it was in place as long as you and your friends were together, indifferent to the media, dramas, and gossips that could easily separate you all.

“Please give a round of applause for NCT’s very own CEO, y/n y/l/n!”

A roar of applause was heard through the neon-lit floor and you felt your nerves rising. Giving a small smile, you walked to the front of the podium as gracefully as you could. 

Taking a deep inhale, you let out your words loud and confidently, “Thank you for the warm welcome! I am so pleased to finally introduce to you, NCT.” Another round of applause stroke and a few cheers were heard. “Our company has been working endlessly to introduce to you all our wonderful models and designs. I would like to first, thank all of our NCT models for bringing this collection to life: Soyeon, Lucas, Soojin, Ten and Winwin,” through your anxious eyes, you saw your five friends waving to the crowd. You gave them a warm smile and continued, “These models are the center of NCT and my most precious friends. Please give them your utmost love and support.”

You continued through your speech with no mistakes and applauses were heard throughout the room. You started to feel at ease as you finished your speech with the words you wanted to say the most, “Last but not least, I would like to thank this one very special person. He has been the light of my life and the most supportive and helpful person to both me and NCT. Unfortunately, he had some matters to attend to so he won’t be here to introduce himself and talk to you all. Nonetheless, I would like to thank Jaehyun with the bottom of my heart. I love you and will continue to lo-”

A cold liquid flowing down your head caused you to freeze before you can finish your sentence. You tried continuing to speak but your eyes started to see red paint drip down from your hair to your face. You felt the crowd’s eyes stare at you as more paint fell down your body. Suddenly, you heard a few people push their way to the front of the crowd and curse at you.

“‘Love’ my ass!”

“Nice way to kiss your way up to the top!!”

“You’re nothing but a slut!”

Once again, fear and anxiety took over you. You didn’t know what else to do but stand there dumbfounded. No matter how hard you tried to muster up your courage to speak, nothing came out. The people just continued to shout threats and throw all sorts of foods at you. The room started spinning and your vision started to get blurry. You saw a swarm of security running towards the shouting people and Mark coming up beside you to call an end to the event. Just as you were about to lose yourself and fall to the ground, Johnny caught you by the waist.

You heard him whisper by your ears, “Hold it in, stay composed. Don’t let these idiots see you fall.”

Johnny’s words made you get a hold onto reality a little better as you stand up straight, acting as if nothing was wrong. You clutch onto his arms as the both of you walk towards the exit behind the backdrop.

———

• Sorry I’ve been MIA & S U F F E R I N G •

• I have too much work and I’m just a tiny girl so pls have mercy on me 🤕 •

• I’m also hella frustrated bc my card charged me for SuperM albums but I couldn’t place my order on the website like wtf does that even make sense to u •

• ANYWAYS HOW WAS JOPPING YALL LEMME HEAR UR REACTIONS •

• STREAM JOPPING 💎 •

[molliehaswords]

I just got really emotional thinking about a speech I will need to write for my “sole” survivor in my planned long fic Nate & Nora’s Sanctuary for Wayward Wastelanders with Nate and Nora essentially telling Shaun to kiss their asses because he’s not their son.

Their son is a young man who gained the courage to lead a group of survivors from the ruins of their lives to a new home.

Their daughter wrote her way out and never backed away from the truth.

Their son looked past his fears and did everything in his power to find a cure for his baby boy.

Their daughter fought for her freedom from slavery both literal and chemical.

Their son finally embraced the truth: that he is a Good Person who is worth loving and has saved more lives than he has destroyed.

Their daughter worked hard for years to learn everything she could to cure a disease and then took on a whole new life just to keep learning.

Their son had his world turned upside down and every belief he held dear shoved into his face like a pie and is still trying to help people.

Shaun might be their child, but he is not their son.

[butdidmarlenacomebackhome]

okay so I'm probably going to make an unpopular statement, above all considering the platform I'm sharing it on but I feel like Tumblr is one of the places on the net where one should raise awareness the most considering the popularity of this topic. frankly, I don' t care about the repercussions because this is a serious matter I'm really passionate about. I've already talked about it on Twitter, where a few days ago this was a hot topic & I collected a lot of data from various point of views. let me just repeat my own stand one more time:

please, do not romanticize the mafia in any way, shape or form

I think a lot of misconceptions have been spread all over the world about what the mafia is all about and let me tell you that as an Italian citizen well-studied on the matter, fancy lifestyles and hot-ass possessive mobsters ready to romance the fvck out of you is not it. it's quite disrespectful to picture this romanticized version of a real world-wide issue through media (official and unofficial) and I will proceed to explain why. a lot of people on Twitter think they have every right to treat the matter as something (and I quote) "meaningless" so I went ahead and made a thread about the "meaningless" crimes committed by the Italian mafias.

mind that the articles I've linked as well as their titles contain some pretty graphic descriptions and/or pictures, I recommend refraining from reading if those may trigger you

here are some of the most cruel and well-known atrocities that make up the mafious history (past and present) to better understand what we're talking about. I guarantee that everything you know about the mafia (from the concept of honor, to that of familial loyalty and union showcased into the media) is wrong:

The Forgotten Story Of Giuseppe Di Matteo, A Boy Dissolved In Acid By The Mafia

Three-Year-Old's Mafia Death Shocks Italy

Mafia in Naples is still going strong – and we must not forget how it affects everyday life in the city

Italian Prosecutor Fights the Mafia—and Fears for His Life

How the brutal murder of an anti-mafia hero altered Sicily

Italian politicians and police among 300 held in mafia bust

7 Major Mafia Murders [Warning: Gruesome Photos]

‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system

Outrage as deadliest ever mafia boss, 86, who ordered 150 murders and a boy to be dissolved in ACID is set to be freed from jail so he can ‘die with dignity’

Paolo Borsellino: the massacre in via D’Amelio twenty-eight years ago

Lea Garofalo was killed by her Mafia family. Now she's the face of anti-mob protests (this one to show you mafia has no fvcking honor, kills men, women & children alike & if you get in their way not even family bonds can save you)

Italian mafia boss suspected of trying to buy a baby for €10,000

Meet the Sicilian Mafia Hitman Who Killed 80 People and Will Be Free in 5 Years

The shadowy world of Mafia boss Diabolik who strangled a pregnant woman and murdered 50 others

How the Mafia infiltrated Italy’s hospitals and laundered the profits globally

[ tw for graphic images ] 'My photos are just blood, blood, blood': Cosa Nostra's brutal murders in 1970s Sicily are revealed in images taken by female photographer who defied Mafia death threats to cover their crimes

[tw; graphic images] Children murdered by the Mafia as Italian mobsters sink to new low

Italian mafia groups are cashing in on COVID-19 by exploiting the social and economic crisis

Revealed: Mafia’s prime role in human-trafficking misery

Italy remembers general killed by mafia

How the mafia is causing cancer

adding this one too, which is a list of victims killed by the Sicilian Mafia ONLY, countless others have been brutally and unjustly murdered by the other Italian mafias too

in conclusion: people have died, people still grieve the losses of their siblings and friends and co-citizens, people are still fighting and people have died trying. to create fictional works or tiktok videos or whatever people are doing these days twisting the very cruel and very gruesome reality of the mafia is and will forever be disrespectful to its victims, past present and unfortunately future. this doesn't mean one shouldn't be free to create a fictional work based off the world of criminal organizations, but to do so while being unproblematic requires two possible solutions:

1. to respectfully treat the issue through a realistic depiction of the mafia, based on documented research and actual facts

and/or

2. to satisfy your need for a criminal/mobster love interest WITHOUT attributing the scenario to the mafia, for example by simply calling it a criminal!au instead than a mafia!au - this is really an easy and accessible solution, it costs literally nothing to change this habit

keep in mind that in no way am I intending to bring forward any sort of "cultural appropriation" speech as the mafia is in no way part of the Italian culture, nor should it be treated as any cultural asset: it is rather an on-going historical plague. I want to clarify (as many of the people who have spoken up about it have been accused of this) that I am not asking to attribute it to Italians, but rather to recognize the gravity of this deeply-rooted problem.

Mafias are not an aesthetic.

choosing to ignore this crucial fact is to serve as an accomplice & to debase its crimes against humanity.

"We need restless consciences in our country, we need citizens who will say they've had enough! We've been talking about mafia for ages."

— Father Luigi Ciotti, deeply involved in the fight against illegality and organized crime, as the Mafia

"I never asked to deal with the mafia. I got involved by accident. And then I stayed because of a moral issue: people kept dying all around me."

— Judge Paolo Borsellino, killed by the Mafia in the Via D'Amelio bombing because of his investigations against the mafia and his Antimafia Pool which brought to justice 475 mafiosi

"The fight against the mafia must become a cultural movement which accustoms people to appreciate the beauty of the fragrant perfume of freedom opposed to the stink of moral compromise, indifference and therefore of complicity"

— Judge Paolo Borsellino

p. s. one of the scariest parts about the post I've written has been searching for English quotes about the mafia: the only ones you'll find are some kind of inspirational phrases & other famous quotes by world-wide known mobsters which, by the way, are in no way truthful and/or realistic. the Italian testimony has practically been erased in foreign media & is only accessible to Italian speakers. therefore I need to specify that the quotes I've used in this post have been personally translated by me from the Italian source.

"Nobody will avenge us. Our pain has no witness."

— Peppino Impastato, Italian journalist and activist who spoke up his entire life about the mafias, denouncing their crimes, assassinated by Cosa Nostra

[patheticwithanem]

Living on the Edge

Because I have to throw in some Survivor reference at some point, right?

Much like Survivor’s Edge of Extinction twist, the year sucked. And 7 months in, it still continues to be this supermassive black hole, sucking you in, eating you alive (not sure the metaphor works but whatever). Week after week when you think there’s no way it could get any worse, 2020 continues to outdo itself. I think it’s fair to compare it to living on the Edge of Extinction where you’re still very much alive but there’s this creeping stench of death that will consume you from within. You’re out of the game (of life for a while) but you still have a chance to get back. You’re thrown to this place of nothingness that could either make or break you; you don’t have a lot going on, you’re basically just waiting for your chance to get back to the game and while waiting for that shot, you’ll have to dig deep for a lot of your inner strength because the anxiety will inevitably deplete you the longer you wait. While this is probably the worst metaphor I can use about my favorite TV show and life, it’s the sad and exhausting truth.

I can whine all day but to put matters in perspective, here’s a quick recap of what has been happening in the country and the world the past couple of months: a volcanic eruption in January that killed the livelihood of hundreds of families and businesses, earthquakes, wildfire in Australia, the US-China trade war turning to be more sour than ever, and to top it all of, the coronavirus pandemic. I’m sure there’s still a lot I missed out but for 7 months, that’s a lot to take in. And to be quite honest, these catastrophic events only made the cultural and political divides more apparent than ever. It doesn’t help when The Powers That Be are more keen on protecting their own interests rather than actually helping proactively solve our problems. From closing a major broadcast network, arresting and killing journalists, jailing the Opposition, a mockery of our rights for freedom of speech masked as an “anti-terrorism” bill, accumulation of national debt (to be paid by our generation and the generations to come), selective justice as the government’s alliances are exempted from the law, friends becoming richer and more powerful cronies, rampant extra-judicial killings, propaganda machines hellbent on misleading the masses, a culture of fanaticism that’s become rabid and toxic, corruption, abuse of authority, lies... I mean, I could go on and on.

Man, that got political really quickly. I’m sorry but my frustration’s at an all time high it’s become more personal to me now.

As for me, plans were put on a halt. I came in declaring that 2020′s gonna be my best year yet, and that I plan on making the most out of it and that I’m gonna MAKE THINGS HAPPEN (and for once, I actually meant it; I mean come on, I now have a planner and a journal!). But the world spit right in my face. And I still feel grossed out. I had this plan laid out for 2020: I was gonna be taking responsibility for my life, holding myself accountable for everything I did, I’ll do and refuse to do. I was ready to take bigger leaps and was gonna stop procrastinating (finishing what I started!). And as cliché as this sounds, I really wanted this year to be about me really finding myself. But the curveballs got me. I got really entangled with the same old (and some really bad habits from the deeper pasts). Instead of making quarantine my bitch, I became its bitch by getting caught up with bingeing TV and movies more than I probably should, eating more than I probably should (WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NEW AND SEXIER YOU IN 2020 BROTHER) and spending more than I probably should. I was even arguing with my family more than I probably should (totally embarrassing). I got in a huge fight with my dad about differences in political (and cultural) opinions and I decided to let my ego swallow me in entirety. We weren’t in speaking terms for about a month, in a really tiny house while we see each other 24/7 on quarantine. And then an intervention and a surprisingly refreshing meltdown (which I haven’t done in YEARS, in my defense lol). Old habits.

And the pandemic really took its toll on us financially too. Our incomes were significantly cut to the point that we have to move to a new place because we won’t be able to sustain this lifestyle. I personally have been really averse to change that the prospect of moving and having to start all over again overwhelmed me. And I hated the idea of losing our place because I really got emotionally attached to it - not just the house but the community and the memories too. I mean, the young community here made me feel a lot younger for the longest time (lol)! And the thought of losing that was a tough pill to swallow. So the past few months have been a slow burn, from setting up to sell the condo unit to having all these potential buyers viewing the house to also making all these ocular visits on potential places we’re gonna move to, all while going through all stages of grief. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. All down.

I had this weird thing going setting a Word of the Month when the year started. January was SEEDS and was about planting them which was an epic fail hence February’s word was RETRY (still was a huge clusterfuck by the way). March was VALUE, April was INTEGRITY, May was ENDURE, June was BREATHE. While I didn’t feel like I was able to really inhabit those words, I did have some moments like reaching my work quota in March and stayed true to a torturous 30-day financial detox (which is no easy feat!).

So July’s CHANGE. So  something’s got to change. As much as I want this year to be over already, I realized there’s still a few more months worth working on. Though easier said than done, I’ve got to let go of things I can’t control. Instead of waiting for the gyms to go operational again, maybe I should start watching my diet and doing home exercises for now. Instead of half-assing work, maybe I should really commit and see what happens. I’ve been trying to adapt to survive, but maybe the change is not just about surviving anymore. Maybe I need to thrive. We’re in this for the long haul (sadly) and reality’s hitting me: whether I change or not is completely up to me. Whether I survive, or thrive, or not, is completely up to me.

So maybe take it from the Edge of Extinction Queen Natalie Anderson (and Chris Underwood, fine). Maybe it’s time to work the Edge. I’ll have my time pushing through with those plans like visiting Bagan in Myanmar and Sapa in Vietnam. But maybe for now, it’s time I work the Edge.

[its-bits-and-pieces]

Fight the World 1

– What's this event about? The shadow of a woman asked, quietly, turning her head slightly towards the shadow standing next to her on the bench facing the museum.

– I've no idea. Why? Thinking to attend? Answered her friend, a smile being detectible in his voice.

A short huff, something between amusement and annoyance left her lips before responding – No, I'm not dressed for the occasion, plus what's the point to attend an event that might not even interest me.

– I assumed that any event that takes place in a museum would interest you, he replied laughing quietly.

– That's why you proposed this place for the meet up, a subtle manipulation to make me more lenient? The woman asked jokingly.

There was no answer; both looked at the people entering the museum, studying their elegant clothes and mannerisms. The man got up from the bench, he bent down and picked a bag from the ground and cleared his throat before speaking.

– Well, I think it's time for me to go. Thank you for your help, you got me out of a tight spot ... again!

– Don't mention it, that's what friends are for, and ... anyway you owe me two favours now, she answered and smiled at him.

He looked down at her, smiling back – you know, you've got that kind of innocent smile, probably the dimples in your cheeks, he added more to himself making a short break in his speech ...  you can fool a lot of people with it, I was one of those fooled in the past, but  now that I know you better I can see that mischievous and sometimes wicked side of you in your eyes and that's why I knew you'll come to collect sometimes in the future.

Her smile widened, the corner of her hazel eyes crinkling – Only if necessary, maybe I'll never need your help in the future so I won't come to collect, I'm not as bad as you make me to be!

The man let out a short laugh starting to leave – Hmmm, you have potential either way, to be worse or better, all depends on your mood, isn't it!?

She remained on the bench looking at the empty square in front of the museum, all the guests were already inside, enjoying the event that was taking place; she felt an urge to attend too, "Maybe he was right, an event in a museum is just enough to pick my interest. Too bad I didn't pack a dress for this trip." The useless and unimportant ramblings of her mind were interrupted by the screams of people flooding out of the museum.

The calm night has become loud and agitated in a few moments, the screams of people running out of the museum were covering the beautiful music that was heard before from inside. The woman got up from the bench but still waited on the side, she wanted to figure out what was the cause of the sudden terror that took over the attendees to that event, she was never one to react impulsively in a dangerous situation, not when she wasn’t emotionally involved anyway, and she clearly didn’t care much for this people, she didn’t know any of them.

Waiting to figure out what caused the mayhem, she saw a tall man with dark hair coming out from the museum. He looked imposing and had a calm demeanour, in fact that was the reason he caught her eye, he was the only calm person in the madness that was taking place in front of him. Keeping her eyes trained on him she saw the way his clothing changed from a black, elegant suit to something else, resembling some kind of leather armour, a horned helmet appeared on his head and the cane he held in his hand transformed in some kind of sceptre with a glowing blue stone fitted in.

She was certain now that this man was the main reason for the insanity that started so abruptly and that he was either a mutant or a sorcerer, or maybe something else entirely that she has never encountered before.

She kept herself in the shadows waiting to see how the situation progressed, making some plans for intervening if case may be.

– Kneel before me! the man ordered, but to no response from the crowd that ignored him and kept scrambling around, trying to reach safety.

All of a sudden the man duplicated himself, appearing in multiple places in the square stopping the fleeing people, trapping them in a field of terror. When the people stopped running the original of the chaos creator boomed over all of them:

– I said. KNEEL!!!

The crowed stopped its frantic movements and the people one by one kneeled, shocked and scared.

This response pleased the crazy man, he smiled opening his arms wide, in a royal and encompassing gesture.

– Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.

The woman observed the crowd and spotted an old man who was getting ready to stand against the would be ruler. Realising that things will get worse, maybe even deadly, she decided that it was time to intervene. She started towards this arrogant man, who had the galls to make such daring claims, passing through the kneeling people. The golden and green clad man saw her approaching, how could he not, she was the only one up on her feet, not bowing her head to him. He squinted his eyes at her, trying to asses her, intrigued by her smile, that seemed so out of place in a crowed of scared faces. She clearly was not part of the group of people that attended the ceremony, she was wearing dark, ripped jeans and a leather jacket that looked like it has seen better days. Her hair, even though it was arranged in a braid starting on the top of her head, wasn't an elegant up do, nor were her shoes appropriate for the occasion, no one would wear army style boots for that kind of event.

– Apparently I wasn't heard in the back, he commented looking her right in her eyes, KNEEL, he added shouting, his voice making the rest of the people flinch.

She kept approaching him, stopping two meters from him. Smiling wider and slightly raising her shoulders she responded – Sorry, sir, I don't know you and you haven't bought me dinner, either, so I would say there will be no kneeling tonight.

For a short second the man was stumped, he definitely didn't expect that kind of response, who in the Nine Realms flirts with someone who's threatening them, but he recovered quickly, anger filling his chest. He pointed his sceptre towards this daring and foolish woman, but he didn't have time to use it, a strong electrical beam hit him square in the chest and sent him on his back.

He got up instantly staring at the woman, not being able to believe that she was the source of that electrical blast, she didn't appear alongside the other powerful beings that he has researched on this planet, that he planned around when he came here with his mission. Now his interest was definitely picked, he didn't want to kill her anymore, he wanted to add her to his army, because if she wasn't part of the team SHIELD would assemble against him she was most likely a rogue maybe even an enemy of SHIELD.

She hit him again with another electrical charge sending him further behind, trying to drive him away from the rest of the people.

– Run, you fools, what are you waiting for, a formal invite towards safety? She screamed at the stunned people who were still petrified in a kneeling position. Her words registered in a few seconds and the people started running with new found vigour and survival instinct kicked to the max.

The square emptied, leaving the two combatants alone in a stare battle. The horned man didn't wait for her to attack again, even though her blasts were not deadly, they were certainly painful. He jumped towards her, swinging his sceptre, trying to knock her of her feet, but she jumped over his swishing staff in a forward motion; she grabbed his shoulders, making a hand stand on them, her body turned in the air and then landed behind him. Even though he caught on fast on her movement and turned again to face her, he didn't have time to stop her kick to his chest. Fortunately for him, her kick was weaker than her blasts, he felt it more like a slight push.

She cocked her head sideways, like a puppy that was trying to figure something out, she was surprised by his strength, that kind of kick should have sent him a few steps back, and to think that she was holding back with her electrical hits, not to kill him.

The man took advantage of her state of surprise and grabbed her by the neck, slamming her to a wall of the fountain from the square. – Pathetic, trying to fight a god, pathetic human, he whispered his face close to hers – but you will be of help and under my command, he added placing the sceptre on her chest. Her eyes changed their colour momentarily, but then turned back to their original hazel hue. One corner of her lips raised in a lopsided smile.

– That's not going to work on me, sir. Mind control is something I'm immune at, so if you want any chance to have me under your command you'll have to persuade me with reason or bribery, I respond to both! But I have to let you know that I am kind of stubborn and not easily bought. She felt satisfaction seeing the bewilderment on his face and took advantage for stumping him the second time tonight and hit him with a stronger beam of electricity, sending him on the pavement.

Even though he was angrier now, his sceptre failing him, he still wanted to subjugate her to him and get her to be under his control. Getting back up, he decided to get her unconscious and find a way in her mind; maybe like that her mental walls would be penetrable.

He produced a knife out and pounced at her, she impeded his attack, blocking his arm with hers, but she wasn't fast enough this time. He managed to swipe her feet from under her with his long leg, sending her on her back. Falling she pulled him down with her, for a short moment thinking that she'll succeed to overpower him, but he was so much stronger than her and ready for the fall so he managed to keep on top, without giving way to her pull to the side in a try to get him on his back.

Pinning her to the ground with his body, he stabbed the knife he was still holding through her left shoulder, right under her clavicle. A grunt of pain left her mouth, making him smile. He was getting ready to get the knife out and hit her head with the pommel, when something hit him hard, sending him on his side a few steps away from her.

Looking back up to see who attacked him he recognised the soldier. Captain America headed towards the woman that was standing up pulling out the knife from her shoulder. – Are you ok? He asked her, kindness and worry in his tone of voice.

– Yeah, no need to fret. She responded, getting the knife out from her shoulder and hiding it in the side of her boots.

The two men fought on the side, not paying attention to the woman who got up shakily. It wasn’t the stabbing that weakened her but the use of electricity, also fighting against the powerful mind control that was attempted on her. Her powers, as great as they were, came with a catch, more powerful the electrical blast she would use, more pain she felt in her whole body. Theoretically she could produce such an electrical charge to light up a big city, but she assumed that might actually kill her.

Steadying herself she threw a quick glance to the soldier and the psychopath fighting and deciding that they were distracted by each other, she got ready to leave the scene. She knew Captain America was working with SHIELD and SHIELD she was trying to avoid; unfortunately her departure was brought to an abrupt stop when a jet appeared with a gun pointed at all three of them.

A woman’s voice sounded in the night: Loki, drop the weapon and stand down!

[tessatechaitea]

Justice Society of America #9 (1993)

I bet Guy Gardner makes a "Wood is your biggest weakness!" joke.

Back in the late 80s/early 90s, there were two stories that every single DC comic book had to tell: the protagonist battles and defeats Lobo and the protagonist puts Guy Gardner in his place. The first one proved that the protagonist could beat the toughest bastich in the DC Universe. The second was just satisfying to a lot of customers. I hated every single one of these stories. Except maybe the Hitman story where they defeat Lobo by taking pictures of Bueno Excellente ass-fucking the unconscious Lobo. I don't think that's using rape in an offensive way because Lobo was a murderous, genocidal psychopath and Bueno Excellente loved to fuck things in the ass. I suppose my love of Lobo and Guy Gardner in my teens and twenties says something unpleasant about me. But you can't deny that Lobo was the character every DC fan most wanted to fuck. And I mean every DC fan. I still find it weird that somebody could create a character that was both super sexy and also looked like a clown. And I just felt sympathy for Guy Gardner. These were the days before you had to account for mental illness and traumatic brain injury when assessing somebody's personality and attitude. But I was there for you, Guy! I knew what you'd been through and how unfairly everybody treated you! If only Harley Quinn could have been around to tell everybody to stop being so hard on Guy because he was suffering from severe brain trauma and couldn't help flying into rages on a near constant basis. Instead we just had Batman to lay Guy out in one punch and "fix" his personality until he was hit on the head again like some amnesiac Fred Flintstone. When we last left the Justice Society of America, the people of Earth were being driven toward hatred due to the unearthing of Kulak by Hawkman and Hawkwoman. It reminds me of something that happened in 2016 but I just can't quite put my finger on it.

I suppose if comic book artists can't help making corpses sexy, I shouldn't be surprised that they're making me think about fucking a seventy year old.

I know Joan Garrick is just a fictional drawing but at least I'm honest about when fictional drawings of old people and corpses give me a boner.

"One cop's nightmare." Yeesh. I'm afraid to ask how this movie ends.

Doctor Mid-Nite relaxes at home listening to the radio while coming up with old man takes to impress his young assistant.

Just wait until he gets a load of Twitter and Internet memes!

Thunderbolt and his dull friend work out that some kind of sorcery is affecting the Justice Society members, causing everybody to despise them. But it doesn't seem super important so Johnny Thunder decides to leave it for morning. I can't blame him for not knowing the whole world can burn down in that time; he isn't outside the story like I am so he can't perceive the whole of it all. Normally I would blame him and call him an idiot but I'm feeling charitable tonight. Thunderbolt does rush off to investigate because he senses something familiar. So at least the Hex Bolt is being cautious instead of lazy. And maybe Johnny isn't being lazy but have you seen the way he's drawn? It's not like he's in a hurry for anything except maybe a nap. Meanwhile, a new program has popped up: Current Affairs Spotlight. It's basically the Kulak version of Fox News, reporting questions that they don't really want to answer but by simply asking them causes their audience to distrust the subject of the questions. On a related note, Sean Hannity is a huge piece of shit.

I mean, they do have "society" in their name. They were just asking for the socialist accusation.

Alan Scott smashes the television and flies off in a rage. I guess I know who else was watching that program and believed every bit of it because his traumatic brain injury causes problems with his ability to assess the validity of facts over propaganda! It seems like I know a lot of people like that these days. I forgot Alan Scott runs a television station until he starts complaining about the propaganda airing on his station. He says, "I don't think that Molly should be censoring programming, but the station should have some standards. And she knows that report is sensational nonsense." Welcome to modern media, Alan! It's no longer up to the standards of the station to decide what bullshit should be shoveled onto the viewing public! Now it's just about how much money can be made on advertising while espousing some kind of freedom of speech fair exchange of ideas nonsense! It's exactly the problem that has been exploited by people who actually want less free speech. You muddy and obfuscate the truth by putting out whatever outlandish bullshit you can come up with and then if a station refuses to air it, you claim they're biased toward the side of the political spectrum you're trying to fuck over with your bullshit. I mean, that's Fox News. The other stations are the ones that have been cowed by Fox News into being horrible both sides news vehicles. Guy Gardner attacks Alan on the way to the television station because Guy was watching the show, of course. Remember, random television news broadcasts was once how super heroes got all of their breaking news alerts! How could they fight crime otherwise?!

A man with a traumatic brain injury has the same general understanding of fascism and political theory as the average Fox News viewer.

Guy Gardner doesn't make a wood weakness joke because he doesn't know about Alan Scott. Len's idea for this battle was probably, "Guy can only beat Green Lanterns because he's cheating using that yellow ring! But now let's see him fight a fair fight against a Green Lantern!" Which is exactly what happens! Alan Scott gives Guy a lesson on how to be a Green Lantern. I'm sure later, when Guy isn't being manipulated by Kulak, he'll process the information and accept it as wise words and valued experience from an old timer. Or he'll just vent and fume and look for an occasion to get even with him. After defeating Guy, all of the normal people on the street begin attacking the Justice Society and calling them fascists and commies. I'll accept their gullibility because it was caused by sorcery. Otherwise I'd be rolling my eyes at, once again, every regular citizen of the DC Universe being bamboozled by some demagogue. Hawkman drives up to save the day but instead just drives everybody right into Kulak's clutches.

I am surprised that Thunderbolt being driven on a stake through his asshole made it into a Comics Code Authority book.

Justice Society of America #9 Rating: B+. Sure Guy Gardner got his ass kicked like usual but at least Guy Gardner was in the comic book! That totally made it worth it to me! Except for how he was portrayed and the lines they gave him and the assumption that everybody thinks he's stupid and the idea that his only redeeming quality is being tough. But he looked like Guy and they called him Guy and he made some yellow rockets with his ring! So cool!

[draconida]

Shance Fic Recs

Well, while I was in my AO3 profile, I realized how many bookmarks I have! So I've decided to make fic recommendation lists.   [This list will have other parts, and I include fics with Kuro and Sven]

1- Black to Blue by PuppetMaster55

Lance, the undisputed (no longer, since he finally got the team to stop questioning his position like a month ago) leader of Voltron finds himself in the absolute strangest scenario: being the Blue Paladin.

Lance, still finding his place on team Voltron, wakes up to the weirdest world: one where he's the Black Paladin.

OR, I take a universe where Lance was always the Black Paladin and have him swap bodies with canon Lance, throwing both sets of teams for a trip.

[This fic is the beginning of a series in process, super recommended]

2- Black & Blue by starboyshiro (this author writes a lot of love to Shiro)

“Something wrong, babe? Did you have a bad day or something?” Shiro asks, plopping down on the couch next to Lance.

“Nothing happened, I'm just looking at all of these cute cats thinking about how much I want one, but can't have one.” Lance frowns, resting his head on Shiro's shoulder as he continues to scroll through Instagram.

Shiro can't stand to see his boyfriend upset. That's been a proven fact since Day One of their relationship. It's only natural that when Lance mentions his disappointment at never owning a cat, Shiro goes above and beyond to cheer him up…

3- I Fold by starboyshiro [Explicit]

“Do you even know who I am?”

“Am I supposed to?”

“Most people around here do.”

An intense poker game turns into a rather steamy night. Can this scrawny grad student handle the force of the famous journalist Takashi Shirogane?

4- Is That A Bowl Of Popcorn In Your Lap Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? by munchiesafterdark [Explicit]

“How many bags should I do?” Shiro called, waving the four unopened packs in his hand at Lance questioningly.

“I think two should be fine,” Lance shrugged. “We can always pop more if… we…” He trailed off, train of thought vacating the station as Shiro turned his back to him to put the remaining packs of popcorn into the cabinets. His hips swayed to an unheard rhythm, defined muscles flexing as he reached up and slid the popcorn into place on the top shelf. Lance’s eyes trailed down to the V of his back, the sweats hanging low enough for him to spot the curve of his round ass. Yet another anomaly of those pants was the manner in which they accentuated his bottom while still remaining baggy around his legs.

The obnoxious ding of the microwave nearly startled Lance out of his skin. His shift on the couch must have been audible, Shiro raised a brow at him over his shoulder, a cocky smirk crossing his lips as he leaned over to retrieve the finished bag of popcorn.

Fuck, he was toying with him! Well, two could play that game!

5- Nasty Smoothie by strawberrylovely

Lance works in a smoothie shop. Twice a week, a certain customer comes in and orders a nasty smoothie. Lance is head over heels.

6- A Hit and A Miss (tletoe) by strawberrylovely

Basically, Lance goes to a party with Hunk and blows his friend a kiss. However, he wasn’t expecting the cute stranger standing in front of Hunk to think the kiss was for him.

7- you should let me (love you) by godsensei

There’s something in the bathtub. Suddenly, Lance is pissed at his past self for watching so many horror movies with creepy shower scenes. He’s certainly too young and beautiful to die like this, right?

Right, totally.

He hesitates, but creeps forward, peeking slowly behind the curtain.

Hm. There’s a hot guy in there.

8- just call me daddy by proletaricat [Explicit and omegaverse]

It's the typical a/b/o story - someone's off their suppressants, surprise heats, bam sex! Except this time Lance escapes capture with the help of Hunk and Shiro has to apologize for his behavior later, interrupting Lance in the middle of his Altean telenovela. Then they bang. It's... it's basically just a PWP with daddy kink and knotting.

9- Sometimes Playing Around with the Occult Can Turn Out Well (Like... REALLY well) by gorgawesome [Explicit]

Lance had the best costume prepared for this Halloween Party. He was totally gonna slay and finally get laid for the first time in MONTHS!

Except it's Halloween Night and he's stuck looking after the family bookstore, because local robberies or something. Honestly? He was too busy pouting to be listening.

Can an awful, boring night turn for the better? Yes. Yes, it can.

10- I found religion between your thighs by KillTheDirector [in process]

He had been topside for over four decades, enjoying the freedom he never had down in the pit. Routines were established then broken then reestablished, but Shiro abided by them because that’s what kept him alive.

Then he met a witch that was more suited to being an incubus than him.

11- One Symbol Off by Silas_Writes [Explicit]

anonymous whispered: Incubus/succubus shiro and witch lance use summoning circles and potions inappropriately

12- To Seduce the Seducer by singtolife [Explicit]

At a college party, Shiro meets Lance, and they hit it off immediately. Only to find out after they have sex that this amazingly sexy guy was a little too good to be true.

13- Blue Skies in Stockholm by Shanced [Explicit, non-con and Kuro]

Lance gets captured by Shiro (who was fused with Kuro by Haggar) and the rest is self indulgent kinky sex. Lance gets raped and wrecked by Shiro and develops Stockholm syndrome, or the likes of it, Shiro can apparently unfuse with Kuro and they have a really good time.

14- Treadmill by kitausu

At 2 minutes of torture in, Lance heard the buzz/click noise of someone’s electronic key activating and opening the door to the gym. And of course, because this was Lance’s life, Hunk had pushed him onto a treadmill with a mirror right in front, affording him an absolutely stunning view of the man walking through the door.

Had Lance loved till now? He was pretty sure that he had never even felt an emotion before seeing the beautiful male specimen reflected beside his face in the mirror.

or, Lance waxes poetic about Shiro's everything, and Hunk set it all up in the first place.

15- Black & Blue & Red All Over by thesynapticsnap

When Lance shows up to the gym with a limp and covered in bruises, Shiro assumes the worst (spoiler: It’s nothing bad! Nor anything kinky, surprisingly).

16- Car Door Blues by ShiekahKami

Shiro never would have expected that accidentally knocking that cute guy out could change his life for the better.

17- Give It a Shance by YonaDawn [in process]

The domestic life of Shance. At least until they become Twitter and Youtube famous. Then it's a wild domestic life.

18- Bowling for Balls? by EllaAniMine

They were just supposed to be bowling... It was harmless fun, or it was supposed to be.

Lance thought he was being funny, but a message that was supposed to be a joke was sent, and now Lance isn't laughing.

19- llévame si quieres by kalakauuas

Shiro takes his dogs to the park and meets the world’s cutest uncle and his niece.

"Lance and his little niece, petting Shiro’s dog, looking soft and serene; it’s like nothing could ever be truly wrong in the world if this is able to happen. What Shiro wouldn’t give to have this sight in front of him over and over again. He scratches Sirius behind the ears, and gets a reassuring lick in return as an act of solidarity. You’ve got this. Man’s best friend, for real."

20- (Mg,Fe2+)2(Mg,Fe2+)5Si8O22(OH)2 by starboyshiro

Lance and Shiro decided to expand their little family and adopt a dog. What they name him is rather questionable.

21- You're Worth More by AbandonedLibrary

Lance wanted to prove his pod his worth after that jackass rolo came in with black pearls in hand.

As the pearl expert in the group he needed to keep his name sake.

Though... Lance learned there are things worth more than pretty pearls.

22- Curiosity Caught a Cat by c0cunt

Shiro has been distancing himself from his friends and family for a long time. All he really has now is Matt's cat, Zekrom. At least, until a man crashes into his balcony to pet his cat.

23- Head Over Heels by saecchii [Kemonomimi and Explicit]

Shiro gains a new roommate, who he is absolutely smitten with.

24- Stray Cats by kitausu

Lance is really enamored with the cute guy who keeps coming into his pet store and buying WAY too much cat food.

or, Shiro moves into a new apartment and sees how many strays there are in the parking lot and just HAS to feed them.

25- Kiss the Bees by kitausu

Lance is smitten with the beekeeper next door.

26- BlueVoice by kitausu [Explicit]

Lance runs a relatively popular voice RP blog and one day hears his own voice coming out of the headphones of the really hot guy next to him at the gym.

27- Change of Plans by kitausu

When Shiro is left at the alter, he decides to go on his honeymoon alone. Enter Lance, the man Shiro had hired to take him and his would-be bride on a month long tour of Europe.

28- To The Grooms by AChapterCanBeABook

There is no better way to celebrate the best day of your life than reminiscing with the people who you love the most and who have been with you through nearly every step in your life. Let's not forget a little bit of embarrassment which goes along with best men speeches, especially if your best man is your brother and the other best man is his accomplice in this whole thing. nevertheless, it doesn't fail in livening up a wedding as well as making in just that much more sentimental.

29- Tell the Truth by thesynapticsnap

Lance is bitten by a 'love bug', turning him into a blushing, stammering mess around his crush- Shiro. Shiro helps him deal with the negative side effects, learning more about Lance's crush and considering his own feelings as they talk.

30- Guess Again by thesynapticsnap

Keith confronts Lance about something he witnessed during a team mind-melding exercise…too bad he’s got the wrong culprit.

31- Smooth by thesynapticsnap

Lance’s first meeting with Shiro doesn’t go as planned – it turns out so much better than he expected.

32- Blind Date by kitausu

“What’s the crisis? I thought you had a blind date? Didn’t go well?”

Lance wailed, collapsing into the couch with a dramatic sigh.

“Yesss, Hunk. He’s too handsome. He’s just so hot. You would not believe what he did to me. I still can’t believe it.”

or, Lance goes on a blind date and can't handle how hot Shiro is.

33- SandMan by Might_suck_but_thats_ok

Shiro goes on a blind date with Lance.

34- Lucky by zombiegardener

Shiro accidentally tells Keith that he's dating one of his frenemies from high school over a Saturday morning phone call, because how is this his life?

35- Boundaries by zombiegardener

It's really hard to keep a relationship secret when you're making out in the middle of a hallway.

36- beauty queen on the silver screen (living life like i'm in a dream) by heavenlyrare

What do you give to someone who already holds the world in their palms?

OR

The sweaters Shiro’s mom knits him every Christmas actually serves a greater purpose for once.

37- Text Me by strawberrylovely

Shiro, trying to get away from two girls who won't stop flirting with him, sits down next to a stranger who he pretends is his boyfriend. The stranger, who has pretty blue eyes, goes along with it.

38- Undateable by strawberrylovely

Lance just wishes someone would date him. Shiro offers to do just that.

39- Black Friday by strawberrylovely

Lance is gonna get that stand mixer. Unless of course a handsome stranger gets to it first.

40- Midnight Tradition by strawberrylovely

Lance goes to a New Years party and meets a guy named Shiro. They may be strangers, but they kiss at midnight anyway. After the party, Lance doesn’t think he’ll ever see Shiro again. That is until the next New Years party when the two meet again and a tradition starts.

Parts 1 / 2 / 3