#shes not cheating on her dead husk of a husband

[nyaskitten]

Slowly hops on stage, watched by thousands, all murmuring and whispering. I struggle to hold my notecards together and my legs wobble so much that everyone assumes I'm about to dance. "I-I don't think Wusako is as bad as everyone says if you look at canon and how Misako's relationship with Garmadon has drastically changed, as he no longer loves her, and she likely doesn't love him anymore because he's a monstrous husk of who he was... plus it's implied Misako has always liked Wu, but married Garmadon, likely over the letter or whatever..."

The crowd falls silent, then everyone boos, yelling, screaming, throwing tomatoes, weapons, chairs, and even each other onto the stage.

[kandy-sticks-zaza-blogs]

Welcome to the Happy Inn!

What is it about?

It’s about angel arriving to hell name Charlene Magne who wants to rehabilitate sinners to heaven so they wouldn’t suffer in hell.

The elders refuse but God agree to let Charlene redeem the sinners to the path of redemption to Heaven.

But things took time for Charlene since she struggled to understand Sinners emotions and struggles they been through.

Introducing the sinners!

Valerie a vampire squid who died in 2000s New York City being murdered by a dangerous criminal roaming around the streets that choke her to death wanting to go to heaven after being alone for so long since Charlene arrived to help her redeem to heaven.

Angelo a spider hobo drug dealer who died from drug addict by overdoses himself to death 1970s.

Alastor Hyde the radio demon deer who is a radio host to serial killer that died in 1930s New Orleans.

Nifty is a tragic housewife with OCD who is a Japanese immigrant that killed her husband for cheating and killed herself died in the 1950s America.

Husk a gambler and a bartender who became a calico cat that died from the cardiac arrest in the 1940s.

Y|N the Chef of the Inn who died by the betrayal of the friend who planned to steal the money from him than their dead body was thrown in the bayou swamp in 1960s somewhere in New Orleans.

Crymini a broody teenage hyena girl that got killed during the protest against the government in the 1990s England.

Baxter a mad scientist anglerfish that drowned to death being pushed over by a rival and broke his jaw in the 1910s.

Mimzy a werewolf demi human who is a Cabaret dancer died from the abuse of Hollywood in the 1920s being pressured than died from exhaustion and depression.

The side characters & Villains

Cherri Bomb a 1980s Japan sukeban who grew up without parents and died from the explosion triggered when she accidentally put it near to her feet.

Sir Pentious a 1888 Snake inventor who lost his ability to walk after his incident when his machine fell onto his legs died from the death threat of his colleague who shot him in the head when he's alone.

Vox the Internet Overlord who died from electrocution when the water spilled in 1990s.

Mothelia the Mafia Overlord who is the ex wife of the 1940s mafia ex wife & ex girlfriend of Angelo she died from the poison from her husband who planned to use her for the money.

Velvette the fashion overlord who died in 2000s by being pushed off to the edge of the highest building by a college student and broke her bones and blood splattered everywhere.

[randy-inks-writing-blog]

A melody shared together | Radioapple fanfic/Au

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Some fun fanfic idea for mermay, hope you enjoy. I’ll probably turn this into a series I just need to think of a story name

You can now read the fic on Ao3

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Alastor throws the dead body onto the little roll boat; it shakes the boat in the water. The pirate captain carefully gets into the boat and starts rolling away from the empty docks. Normally, he wouldn’t be killing a random elite member of society without a reason. But his ship needs repairs and Alastor, and his crew is low on money. Due to his first matey, Husker gambled away some of it. If Alastor didn’t have the need for Husk, he would probably have made him walk the plank. So, Alastor resorted to his old job of being an assassin for some rich people’s dumb drama. From what Alastor has gathered from the screaming lady, her husband cheated on her with the lower-class servant. Honestly, Alastor didn’t care, but she paid a lot, so who is he to judge? Alastor carefully rolls past some rocks. For a second Alastor thought he saw something move on one of the rocks. Thinking it was just the water crashing into the rocks, Alastor continues to roll the boat. Once far enough, Alastor dumps the body over the small boat, watching it sink down to the bottom of the ocean. Satisfied at getting away with killing another elite member. He then grabs the two paddles and starts to roll back to the mainland, where his pirate ship is held at. As he rolls the boat, the pirate deer starts hearing a soft melody. One of the talks of glory, fame and, most importantly, jambalaya? Alastor stops the boat and scans his surroundings. There around the rocks many ships have crashed into. He sees a humanoid figure. His heart starts to race, and he puts two and two together. He’s in the territory of a siren and there’s little he can do. Even if the pirate plugs his ears, his sensitive deer’s ears would still pick up the siren’s call. He could sing over the siren, but he hasn’t heard it work. Still with no other options, the deer starts singing his own song in hopes the murderous merfolk will go away.

The shadowy figure tilts its head, unsure as to why another voice is playing over its own. The siren listens closely to the voice. Never did it think a human could sound so beautiful, so deep and so smooth. The siren drove back into the cold dark sea, wanting to hear the song closer. Alastor stops his song; he looks around and sees the siren gone. That either means that the siren moved on or want to get closer to eat him. Alastor grabs the paddles about to roll out of there when. The boat started to rock in the water, causing some to spill into the boat. Alastor looks up and sees the siren getting on the boat. The pirate leans back from the silky white merfolk, but said merfolk leans closer to Alastor. It pins the deer man to the boat and moves its face inches away from Alastor’s own face.

            “Sing” The siren commands the pirate captain, who just looks at the merfolk, confused. “What?” The white and red siren moves even closer to Alastor. “Sing” it commands once more. Alastor gulps. Looks like he has no choice but to sing. Alastor opens his mouth and starts to sing a soft little melody. “Louder” the siren commands once again, Alastor complies and sings louder for the merfolk. It pulls away from the pirate deer and listens to the song. Honestly, Alastor was just making up the melody as he goes. The siren, looking satisfied, starts to sing along with Alastor, letting him lead the song. The siren seems pleased with both of their voices working hand in hand with each other. The song draws to an end and Alastor huffs, trying to catch his breath. The siren looks the deer pirate captain up and down, a wide smile on its face. Alastor stares down at the merfolk, unsure of its next move. It’s hard to see the merfolk. From what he can tell, the siren is quite small compared to its kind. Alastor can also see that the siren is a male, with beautiful red and yellow eyes. The siren draws Alastor’s attention to the mainland by pointing at it. “You live in that land?” the siren asks, Alastor nods his head and with that the siren drives back into the water and starts pushing the roll boat. “You don’t have to do that. I can roll the boat myself.” Alastor said, while looking back at the siren. “Beautiful voice should be helped” the siren replies, Alastor blushes and responses back with; “why thank you, your voice is beautiful too… My name is Alastor, Alastor the radio pirate. May I know your siren?” It took a moment but the white siren response back “Lucifer Morningstar.” Alastor thought for a moment. Lucifer Morningstar, the name sounded familiar. Alastor brushed it off, thinking nothing of it.

            Finally, the two reach the mainland. Alastor gets off the boat and turns to Lucifer, and says, “Thank you for the help, Lucifer, will I see you again?” Lucifer thought for a moment and nodded his head. “Meet me here when the sun sets tomorrow” Lucifer says softly, Alastor nods his head and starts heading back to his crew. Lucifer splashed back into the water, his shadowy figure disappearing.

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[awed-frog]

You can't just mention a romance novel about dead teens you found at the bus stop and not tell us more ^o^

Yeah it’s been a few months but here is how that went.

Our hero (who’s totally not what the writer wishes she could be and is instead a normal person like other normal persons you can meet every day) is a Top Scientist who works for a Top Police Department and is also possibly the Head of that Top Police Department and does important stuff that helps grieving families to find peace but! somehow everyone considers her job irrelevant and boring 😔 and sadly that job doesn’t pay anything 😔. We’ll call her Sue Mary. 

Sue Mary is married to Himbo Jack, who’s a Top Security Expert and works out 13 times a week 💪 and doesn’t have an office because not only is he a Top Security Expert and works out 13 times a week 💪 (abs you can grate your M&S parmesan on!) but he also looks after Sue Mary’s two children, Moody Jane (14) and Little Jack (8). 

He also doesn’t make any money, and that’s why he and Sue Mary are stuck in their modest 8-bedroom house in Quaint British Village-on-the-Cotswold during Easter break 😔 which is the Inciting Incident.

See, Sue Mary and Himbo Jack met in uni and are still friends with everyone they went on pub crawls with because that’s what happens in real life and all of their friends (four women: Himbo Jack has history with all of them) went on to have wildly successful careers, bag hot husbands and have wonderful children because did I mention this is like real life. So one of them, Big Shot Lawyer, is all “I know we said we’d all go to Barbados for Easter, but poor Sue Mary can’t afford that 😔! So I’ll invite everyone to my Provence villa instead 😄! That’s a tactful way to say we don’t care if she’s poor 😍!”. 

So everyone goes to this 44-bedroom, 3-pool house in the South of France. They all love one another, and everything seems so great, except! Sue Mary looks at her husband’s phone by mistake 😫!!!!! because of course she loves him 😥!!! and trusts him  😭!!!! so she’s never going to go through his phone 😉 !!! it was a mistake 🥺!!!! BUT there’s a message there from some woman like ‘I need to see you again’ and ‘We’ll tell her in France’ so! one of her oldest friends she’s loved and never fought with and still sees every week despite the fact they’ve all grown into wildly different people is SLEEPING WITH HER ABSY HUSBAND oh no.

And then you think the entire novel is about that. Sue Mary is in a terrible mood throughout (I should confront my husband, Which friend is it, I’ll just divorce him and go home, Maybe go home and divorce him, What if I throw him in the pool, I know it’s stupid but I’m proud my husband is the prettiest and himboist of them all 🖕 and everyone wants to smooch him, But also someone did smooch him and now I’m sad 😭). Everyone else is having a grand time, which mostly consists of walking to the Petit Village next to the villa and buying real food they can’t find in England like bread and olives. We also discover: 

friend 1 is stuck in an unhappy marriage but it’s her fault because she’s Whiny and her husband is actually not that bad

she’s also about to become a billionaire!

friend 2 is married to a pedophile

who’s actively grooming Moody Jane (14)

friend 3 is possibly a lesbian because she’s been to Indonesia on her own, doesn’t have children at the ripe age of 36 and has short hair

there is a friend 4, I think, but I can’t remember anything about her

all the children are creepy, weird and unsettling af

which is bad for Little Jack, who almost burns to death😔

none of that is relevant to anything.

As Sue Mary ponders if she’ll ever grate M&S parmesan on her husband’s abs again and buys a superdeluxe parmesan grater on Amazon just out of spite amidst vengeful divorce fantasies (‘My friend right here is the best divorce lawyer in the UK! I’ll RUIN him! But oh no - what if she’s the one sleeping with him? I know I stole him from her back in uni and she’s now married to a pedophile, but what a bitch’), both her children are being abused and half the forest around the villa is burning down.

(Where is Himbo Jack, you may wonder? So did I. Himbo Jack, despite living in an isolated house with ten other people, is never seen again. He swims, once. Runs, once, while little old French women dressed all in black shake their heads at the fool running in the searing Provence heat. And possibly buys 2 (two) jars of olives from Petit Village.)

In the end, everyone almost dies because forest fire and friend 3 actually dies, confirming the fact she was indeed a lesbian (her bereaved girlfriend shows up later and everyone is like 😲). As they all huddle around a thermos of hot Pinot Grigio supplied by Petit Village’s baker and olive churner (who’s also Head of the Fire Department), Sue Mary suddenly realizes what’s going on: Himbo Jack loves her! He’s not cheating, he’s being blackmailed! Friend 2′s evil twins - who’ve been bullying her son all week, but she still doesn’t know about that - killed someone two months ago! And Moody Jane knows about it, so that’s why she’s been moody! My poor baby! I’ve been yelling at her because teenagers are scaly and disgusting and instead she’s TRAUMATIZED! It’s ironic because as a Top Scient working with crime witnesses it was my job to know and yet I didn’t notice 🤓! How droll 🤓🤓!

At that point, Himbo Jack saves the day. This ineffectual, invisible husk of a man who - it turns out - has known about his daughter witnessing a horrific crime for months and did nothing about it suddenly turns into Himbo GI Jack - he whisks his family away from the horror villa, breaks into friend 2′s house back in the UK, wipes every computer he can find so her daughter won’t be implicated in the bloody murder she’s not implicated in anyway (he’s a Top Security Expert, did I mention that), places an anonymous call to the police about something or other and possibly rescues three small kittens while grating M&S parmesan on his own abs because he’s a Strong Man Who Doesn’t Need No Woman (hashtag cheese power hashtag you are enough hashtag you are grate).

Friend 2 - who tried to kill a child but didn’t actually succeed and really, didn’t do anything wrong apart from that - goes to prison. Her pedophile husband (her former psychologist, which raised no red flags whatsoever) goes on with his creepy life. Her twin sons (who actually did kill someone) also go on with their psychotic lives because she took the blame. “I guess you being a cop did come in handy,” Himbo Jack says, huskily opening a jar of olives with his big strong hands. “I’m not a cop. I’m a Top Scientist who works for a Top Police Department and is also possibly the Head of that Police Department,” Sue Mary purrs. They watch their damaged children sit in silence by the front door. In the dark. Fuck the French, but their olives are delicious.

[rhodochrosite-love]

I'm just super curious! I keep seeing your pretty Beetlejuice OC floating around my activity, and I'm absolutely in love with her design and the small snippets of backstory I've read---but have you posted her entire backstory anywhere yet? I would LOVE to read it! <3

NO ONES ASKED DTXCFVYGBHJNKML,;

ur super nice ;; tysm ill post it right here

okay! Adellum Ithuriel Thrones.  She’s what they call a ‘Halo-Born’, or basically an angel fvghbjn.  Her mom is Adelphi and her dad is Zarall and she has a bunch of brothers and sisters cuz angels have kids in litters cuz i said so :)

Fun fact, Adellum is the runt of the group (3 big sisters and her) and she’s always fighting for scraps at the dinner table.  More so when Dad has more kids (Zarall was the one that gave birth, Adelphi never wanted to and it was one of their relationship problems) (also angels have both parts so jot that down)

Adelphi was always a very strict, very ‘no fun allowed’ but could lighten up with her kids and her husband (moreso husband) and Zarall was very laid back, fun loving parent who would chaperone all the field trips if he were human.

Fast forward some years and little Adellum encounters a little feral boy about her age and they have a lot of fun together.  He’s bigger than her but he’s scared of everything, he steals and hits and it’s not very nice.  Adellum shows him what being nice is and he discovers both how to be rewarded for good behavior and they promise each other they’ll be friends forever.

That boy was Beetlejuice.  

Juno punted him to Saturn to get eaten by sandworms (unsuccessfully) and he never saw his angel friend again.

fast forward a little more and she’s entering her Trizero age (in her early 1000s) and she’s being taught about the human world, now knowing the basics of herself and the history of angelkind.  

One of those things is how they ‘defeated’ demons, ‘sending them back to hell where they belonged’ in a ‘very proud and dutiful way’ (they fuckin genocided them and they’re all dead, actually)

Adellum is being taught about humans in a church in the 400s and meets a dead monk apprentice named Cecil, a ghost who is haunting the church and his father, the pastor.  Cecil and Adellum are forbidden to speak to each other but they do in secret, exchanging curious kisses and affectionate things.  It’s when Cecil gets exorcised that Adellum and the angels have to flee.  Adellum was Cecil’s first love but it wasn’t so vice versa.  She still misses him and thinks of him fondly and with sorrow.

fast forward and Adellum is in her 2300s, a ripe young woman ready for ahem... breeding.  her sisters and brothers have recieved suitors and have kept them, but she does not find any angels suitable.  her mother and father are distressed.  Adellum is work focused and ends up being assigned a job to collect lost angels-- husks of what an angel used to be, and she’s supposed to bring them to her superiors.

this is when she meets this ghost peasant girl, Lorelai, and she is unlike anyone she’s seen before.  she’s reckless, she’s stubborn, she’s kind of a lunatic-- Adellum fell head over heels in no time.  She was stubborn too, bc Lorelai found out how much these dead angels were worth and was using them.  Cut to some years later and Adellum and Lorelai have gone from enemies lovers to enemies again, bc Lorelai cheats on her and neglects her once she becomes a demon... 

Adellum is upset beyond belief bc Lorelai was everything to her and what with her job in danger from how much time she had spent with her, she was in jeopardy.  it was only working before bc she was collecting the angel husks as she was asked...

cut some time later and she meets this guy.  this disgusting, dripping, clown asshole grossman (surprisingly not beetlejuice, i’m rooting for @tesazombie‘s Guts here but idk) and she begins to corrupt herself, what’s the point anyway? she rebels from heaven to continue on this path and destroys everything.  she knows how to be scary, bc she begins to get terrified of herself and she scares to cope.  she’s dressing up like some sexydoll clown bc of the crowds she hangs with and it’s one of the only things that make her feel like she’s a part of something.

This goes on for *years* and then she pisses off an angel.  The wrong angel you want to anger and he goes to one of the archangels, Anahel, and yknow what he does?

He saves her.  Anahel sees a lot of promise in Adellum now that she’s learned so much and he takes her under his wing and redeems her... but uh.  he has a lot of ulterior motives.  and he’s not a good person.  when he and adellum are alone he makes that very apparent (no sexual assault, he’s a megadick and he’s ‘purifying’ her with torture methods to have a perfect attendant.  he’s a maniac like that)

ya wanna know how she remeets beetlejuice? if this post gets 30 notes ill post a pt 2! tysm for reading this far omg <3

[fuckthe10essays]

Othello portrays human relationships at their very worst

Othello the play portrays many things at their very worst, the ability to hurt people, the consequences of spreading rumours and of course human relationships. Throughout this play we can very clearly see the results of exploited relationships and people only being kept around because they’re useful. This play acts as a warning of people willing uses others for their own gain without a second thought and just how dangerous it can be to let certain emotions, namely jealousy, overcome you.  

Throughout Othello we can easily see romantic relationships at their very worst, but it is through Rodrigo and Iago that we can see a friendship clearly broken down to its bare essentials and where its only purpose is to serve one person and abuse the other. Iago easily uses Rodrigo’s love for Desdemona to convince him to come to Cyprus and therefore fund Iago’s schemes. ‘put money in thy purse, follow these wars.’ Iago has no intention to set Desdemona and Rodrigo up, despite all of his promises to his ‘friend’ that Desdemona would eventually bore of Othello. All Iago wanted was Rodrigo’s money, that’s all he meant to him. There was no real friendship just a continuous using of Rodrigo for his own gain. We can see this especially when Rodrigo finally confronts Iago about all of his lies ‘For your words and performances are no kin together.’ and Iago easily brushes him off and insists that if he does not sleep with Desdemona tonight that Rodrigo can kill Iago, but only if Rodrigo helps him kill Cassio. Iago has no use for Rodrigo’s justified complaints and immediately sets about using him again just after lying to him. But the biggest betrayal is when Iago doesn’t even go ahead with Cassio’s murder and just injures him instead, blaming the incident on Rodrigo and then murdering him. Iago has no use for Rodrigo now that his plan had gone through and he planned on tying up any loose ends, namely Rodrigo. This blatant disregard for Rodrigo, his friend who has funded his exploits and followed him to Cyprus in a hapless expedition for Desdemona is showing of how bad Iago can treat people and how Othello can portray not only the worst in romantic relationships but in ‘friendships’ as well.  

Iago seems to be the constant in the portrayal of relationships at their worst, and it is no different for his marriage to Emilia. From the moment we are introduced to Emilia we can see her bickering with Iago after the long boat journey, this does not spell marital happiness. But even worse Iago suspects that Othello has slept with Emilia ‘It is thought abroad that he hath done my office.’ and it is one of Iago’s main motives for enacting his plans. Their marriage however is a one-sided affair, with Emilia willing do anything to gain Iago’s affections and him having none to give. Emilia would even go as far as to betray Desdemona and her friendship in favour of trying to get some appreciation or love from Iago. She does this by delivering the handkerchief, Othello’s first gift to Desdemona, to Iago knowing that he wanted it but that its loss would severely hurt Desdemona. ‘Poor lady she’ll run mad with the lack of it.’ Emilia is so desperate for anything, but cruelty form her husband that she’s willing to betray Desdemona, a woman considered to be worldly wise willing to betray a friend for an unloving husband, but she does it anyways. But once Emilia realized what Iago had done to Othello and his perception of Desdemona, she immediately started to renounce his claims and declare that Desdemona was in fact pure. While all of this was too late as Desdemona was already dead it does show how Emilia was also willing to betray her husband in favour of someone else, and Iago killing Emilia for speaking up just adds to how false their relationship was, how unhappy and twisted their marriage was. Iago’s using of his wife to further his revenge plot and then killing her for revealing all his lies just proves in the end the true depth of his revulsion for his wife and just how bad their relationship was.

To move away entirely from romantic relationships and friendships Brabantio and Desdemona’s relationship is a fine example of how this play portrays the worst in even the most pure of bonds, a parental one. Brabantio, in his eyes, has been cheated out of his own daughter by Othello. At first the thought that she went willingly is impossible and black magic must have had something to do with it. ‘Or with some mixtures powerful o’er the blood or with some dram conjured to this effect. But when Desdemona reveals that she herself fell in love with Othello of her own volition it is like a knife to the back. His only daughter has abandoned him for the black general the Brabantio had trusted enough to invite into his own home. And so, in his rage he does something unthinkable to any parent who loves their child, he disowns her. ‘I had rather adopt a child then get it.’ To him Desdemona has chosen another man over him, an unforgivable act given his reaction. Brabantio would rather his own child dead than to elope behind his back with a black man. The father daughter relationship has completely broken down and Brabantio can think of nothing else to do but get one last jab in at Othello before he leaves, in retribution for stealing his daughter. He says to Othello ‘Look to her moor, she hath deceived her father, and may thee.’ and thus sowed the initial seeds of doubt into his mind that Desdemona could ever be unfaithful. This vicious act brought on by an understandable feeling of betrayal will go on to have much dire consequences that I hope Brabantio as a father would never have intended, but if Othello teaches us anything it's that feelings of jealousy and betrayal can bring you to do things otherwise unthinkable in the heat of the moment.  

If there was ever a more toxic, twisted and tragic relationship it has to be that of between Othello and Iago. Iago only has one goal from the beginning, to bring down Othello and extract his revenge. He believes that Othello has slept with his wife and Iago is very angry that he was passed up for a promotion he felt he deserved, this has all accumulated into a driving desire for revenge and a need to poison Othello and all he holds dear. Iago successfully does this by driving a wedge between Othello and Desdemona by insinuating that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Othello wholeheartedly believes Iago taking him to be the only source of truth even when his wife outright denies the claim of infidelity. Othello ends up murdering Desdemona on the word of Iago that she was unfaithful, of course she wasn’t by Othello finds this out too late and commits suicide instead of dealing with the guilt. It is this misplaces trust that Othello has in Iago, born in the idea of their ‘friendship’ that brings out the worst in Othello. That makes him so jealous and violent that he would go as far as to publicly assault his wife and then murder her. Iago’s insinuations outright poison Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, he was never Othello’s friend but used him in his revenge plot without care for who he hurt along the way. It is Iago’s control over Othello, something so deep and powerful that he has influence enough to suggest how Othello should kill his wife ‘Do not do it with poison, strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.’ It is control that is violent it sends Othello into a full-blown epileptic fit. Iago’s influence has stretched beyond the imagination of relationship ending and has graduated to physical attacks. This is how Iago uses his friends, this is the effect that Iago relationship with him has on Othello. Their friendship is pivotal to the creation of the tragedy of Othello and to do it their relationship must be portrayed as the very worst.

Out of all of the toxic relationships in this play perhaps the most saddening one is Desdemona and Othello’s marriage. This is because we have seen how their relationship was in the beginning. When they seemed to be the perfect, well matched, truly in love couple of the whole play, not exactly difficult when your only competition is Iago and Emilia though. We have seen Othello and Desdemona happy together which is why their eventual marital breakdown and tragic ending is especially painful. They could have been happy together and knowing that makes their downfall by Iago even worse. Iago used Othello like a puppet, completely changing him from the calm, competent, loving man in the beginning of the play to the jealousy ridden husk of a man at the end. It is through this change that Othello comes to believe that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him. Which of course is not true, but it leads to Othello assaulting Desdemona and eventually murdering her for her supposed crimes. What makes this tragic sequence of events worse is how Desdemona reacts to the sudden change of character in her once loving husband. When he hits her, she apologizes ‘I will not stay to offend you.’ she blames herself for his mood changes. When he accuses her of being a whore, which she denies, she immediately begins to blame herself and assume that she has done something wrong, something to deserve this violence and rage. Even on her death bed she tries to absolve Othello of the blame for her death and says she killed herself ‘Nobody, I myself, farewell.’ Their relationship has been completely changed and it is seeing that transformation, up close and personal, is what makes this relationship so much worse than the others. Because we know how happy they could have been. The portrayal of this relationship from pure happiness to utter jealousy and regret is striking and reminds us that this play is in fact a tragedy of which Othello and Desdemona are victims.

Last but certainly not least is Iago’s relationship with every character. A misogynistic, lying, racist murderer Iago is in it completely for himself. Not once does he stop to consider that maybe what he’s doing is wrong or the impact his actions could have or the consequences of insinuating an affair, never mind the ethics of it. Iago has only his motives and nothing else, to him every other person exists to serve his needs and he has no issue using them to get to where he wants to go. There is no line anymore, what could have once been considered as ambitious is long gone and has been replaced by a someone who hates every other character. Iago despises everyone, his wife, Othello, Cassio one could even say that despise is too strong a word, Iago is so apathetic to the suffering he causes, to the people he hurts that it goes beyond hate and disdain and is now at complete uncaring. His only relationships with people are there to benefit him, he is the worst in every possible definition of the word. All of his relationships are portrayed at their worst because there is no alternative way to portray them. He cares for no one bar himself and for nothing bar his own desires. As he says himself ‘I am not what I am.’ Other people do not see him as this. Othello believes that he is genuinely trying to help him with Desdemona and her ‘infidelity’ Cassio believes that he is honestly trying to help him win back Othello and his reputation when Iago tells him to ask Desdemona about it. Desdemona goes to Iago after Othello accuses her of being a whore for advice and thinks he’s helpful, yet all of these instances just serve to further his plot for revenge and bring him closer to his desires. Iago cares for nobody but himself and his relationships mean nothing to him beyond delivering on his needs. It is the ultimate portrayal of human relationships at their worst.  

In conclusion Othello portrays human relationships not only at their very worst but also at their best, and then goes on to show us how easily it is to tear down happy relationships with only a few words. ‘I like not that.’ This play shows us a variety of relationships, none of which are very healthy, and the only surviving member of which is Iago, which is not ideal. But Othello delivers on its portrayal of human relationships and the willingness inside of all of us to get what we want, despite the reservations of others. It also gives a wonderful portrayal of the effects that jealousy on the mindset and how we interact with others. This play most certainly shows human relationships at their worst and, although not very often, at their best.

[dafukdidiwatch]

The Happening

When titles like “The Event” were already taken.

tw: will mention different types of suicides, will start/end paragraph with tw

So....that happened. Ha, I’m hilarious.

I don’t know if this is cheating or not, but for a while I would watch reviews of movies I haven’t seen or read the wikipedia plot for movies I don’t care to see to get the story without actually seeing the film. And The Happening just happened to be one of them. So I knew from the beginning what the twist was.

But what I forgotten from those reviews was how dead and robotic the actors where.

Overview: In New York City and all over the Northeast of the U.S, people are performing mass suicide in a daze. Fearful for his family, high school teacher Elliot flees with his wife, friend, and friend’s child to avoid the catastrophe, unaware that the danger is all around them.

Let’s get the elephant in the review out of the way first otherwise it’s gonna be on my mind all the time.

Plants did it. I knew that the Plants did it. It was the only thing that I actually retained from my review watching habit. And you know what, when I heard it I knew it was going to be stupid. They came up with some psudo-science bullshit about plant pheramones being so so strong that it affects the self-preservation part of our brains to make us want to kill ourselves. Like, this is just so easy to pick apart with basic scientific and logic.

The thing is that I don’t care.

I’ve seen bad anime with worse logical reasoning for having the plot happen. Like evil virus that only affect men so there’s like 10 guys left on the planet filled with women. Or waking up on an island via LOST style and having to fight off against giant insects. So I get it. The reasoning of “who did it” or “how did this happened” doesn’t really matter in the context of the movie. The plant thing is dumb, but it is something that I can understand people ignoring it to just enjoy the movie.

The Problem is that the rest of the movie is boring as shit.

tw The beginning of the film, Very Beginning, it was interesting. It had me by my seats. People are killing themselves, that’s pretty fuck up. And the movie doesn’t hold back in how fucked up it was. Seeing people just calmly in a daze just stab themselves in the neck with their own hair pin? Like, I had to take a step back. Was not expecting that shit at all. It certainly sets the mood, though I don’t know why they do this...backwards walking thing before they die. To show them being rewired? But my favorite part was with the construction workers dealing with people jumping off the building. That was really emotional to me. You just see the heartbreak during this slowburn of one person jumping, then another, then just 30 in one go. It went from sad to horrific in a great way. tw

TOO BAD it was freaking undercut by Matt Wallburg’s science class which killed ALL MOOD that was set up.

You CAN’T set up a thriller movie with the actual scary thing happening, only for the main character to just....completely ignore it/not know it for a long ass time! It ruins the whole thing!!

Like, HINTS!!! HINTS ARE A THING!! I thought you were supposed to be good at subtly Shyamalan! 

Ok, so here’s a quick sidebar. Train to Busan. Great movie. Go watch it. Same director as Parasite. It’s about surviving the zombie apocalypse on a train. Highly recommended. But the thing with THAT movie, is that we get Hints that the zombies exist in the beginning. We get some information that there could be danger, but we don’t SEE the actual zombies until it is too late.

HERE, we SEE people literally off themselves in some very realistic ways. You can’t expect me to mood shift that fast to Matt Wallburg just casually teaching about the death of nature and bees! That kills the mood! And makes the main cast look like an idiot because WE know what’s going on, but THEY DON’T!! It’s hard to feel connected to the main characters when we know more than they do.

And these characters SUUUUUUUUCK!

Matt...you stink. If I have to judge your acting career based on this movie, I will never watch anything with you in it again. He’s just so boring! And Dull! Everything he says sounds like a blank empty husk of a man. He has the worst reactions to Everything around him. Like a woman accuses him of killed her in her sleep (which is a bizarre scene anyway) and we get THIS

God he’s the worst! And this dull-ass line-reading bleeds to every other character!

Apparently her name is actually Alma. And here I thought that it was Emma. Doesn’t matter, did not give a shit about her. I really couldn’t give a shit about the romance. At all. Like, not one ounce. I was actually rooting for them to get a divorce that was so how uninvested I was in them. They are both bland. The whole thing hinged on them working things out and not emotionally cheat I guess, but it just seemed like Emma was getting worked up over Nothing. She ate cake after work with a coworker. Alright. You see her getting calls from him and when she does answer saying “no I love my husband it was just cake we had nothing between us” except it was just the guy talking about all the bad shit happening in whatever area he was. So, again, she just blew things up all out of proportion here.

Then the children....the little child Jess gets a pass. She’s not the greatest, but she’s a tiny child. There’s a lot more things to worry about than her acting. Like the other teen boys they meet while escaping, Jake and John. They have them randomly show up as part of their small group. Only for the Next Scene for them to be killed. Like, what the fuck movie? There’s dramatic tension, then there’s just bad writing.

Most of this is just a bunch of bad tiny plot decisions like....why the fuck did they add this in the movie? Just a lot of them trying to add in characterization...but it falls flat so so bad. Humor of Matt talking to a plastic plant? Lame. Trying to distract a person from horrors with a math problem? Possibly could have worked if they actually had any personality of a rock. Matt talking about how he...I guess was thinking of emotionally cheating on his wife with a pharmacist but was just lying.....just why??

Hotdog Man who first said it was the plants to begin with? He actually gets a pass. The hotdog thing is weird as fuck but he seems like the ONLY genuine actual human in this movie. I like Hotdog man. He was just trying his goddamn best.

Then different moments of trying to add tension when there shouldn’t really be? Like...some random ass hyper tension of Matt walking into a room that just has a doll? And I guess it is to...MAYBE imply that the old woman is nuts and thinks the doll is actually her daughter? That’s a bit of a stretch coming from me, but that’s all I got for why that scene exists. But that was soooo unneeded, unnecessary, no purpose to the plot for ANY REASON! Like, just....it’s shit like this that’s bad.

Look, Disaster Films need 2 things for it to work: A) showing the destruction that the disaster is causing, and B) Showing people trying to survive through said destruction. The Happening has a decent pass for the 1st part, mostly. The suicides are creative and disturbing. Just seeing people randomly grabbing the nearest thing to passively kill themselves does make you step back. Like driving through a street where people hung themselves. Or watching 30 people jump off of buildings. Or a guy sees a nearby lawn mower and just lays down before him. (The one where a dude just sits down casually to cut himself with glass, really fucked me up).

It’s the second half that needs work. None of these guys seem to give any actual human responses to that’s going on, whether it was the main cast or any of the side characters. It was like the movie was trying to make everything high tension and that comes off forced, boring, and bizarre.

Overall: I was not a fan of this movie. Did not like this movie one way or another. There was so much bad in it, but not in the fun bad. Just bad bad. The only two good things I liked were the Hotdog Man and the beginning scene with the construction workers. That’s it, and it does not save the movie.

If you want something similar to this that is a little better, try Cell by Stephen King. Instead of Plants it was Cell Phone reception. Just as ridiculous but a lot more heartfelt and frightening that whatever this mess was.

[sapphicdepressionn]

I don't have an idea sorry, but I'd love to see more Katie x Reader

A/N: TRIGGER WARNING!!!!!!!! DOMESTIC VIOLENCE! PLEASE DON’T READ IF THIS WILL NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH!  also… this one will probably be a multi part story. 

Your back was pressed against the outside wall of your trailer as your boyfriend had you trapped against it.

He was so angry.

He had shown up about 10 minutes ago accusing you of cheating on him with Katie because apparently you had been too handsy with her on one of your snapchats earlier.

You went to explain that you were just teasing fans with re-enacting an upcoming scene on that nights new episode. Katie was your girlfriend on screen and the two of you tended to be handsy with each other because honestly, your characters were touching each other more than they weren’t.

It was just commonplace for the two of you.

But he didn’t like that.

You had your head bowed as he yelled at you, calling you every name in the book.

Whore.

Slut.

Good for nothing.

Cheater.

Worthless.

You would do anything to just be in Katie’s arms like you were in the Snapchat.

Anything but this.

He slammed a fist against the metal of the trailer right beside your head and you jumped at the proximity to your head.

“Look at me when I’m fucking talking to you, bitch!”

He grabbed you by the jaw and yanked your face up to look at him. The bruise was already forming under his vice like grip.

You were thinking of excuses to tell the make up department and the cast.

He’s done stuff like this before. He’s hit you before, but never so publicly.

Definitely not on your own studio set.

You really pissed him off this time.

Suddenly, your left cheek lit up in a white hot pain as your head flung to the side.

He had slapped you.

Hard.

You knew there would be more bruising there in the next few hours that you wouldn’t know how to explain.

“What did I tell you about looking at me when I speak, you worthless whore!”

“What do you want me to say?” You whimpered as you looked up into his fiery eyes.

“I don’t want you around her anymore, Y/N. I know you’re a fucking slut and you screw anything that gives you attention but you could at least not embarrass me publicly with your cheating!” He spat at you as he pressed harder into your body.

“I’m not cheating-”

“Don’t lie to me! She probably had her hand down your pants while you were on her lap.”

His hands were wandering over your chest and you felt so embarrassed and helpless.

“Please stop-”

“Did you like it? Huh? Did you like being treated like a dirty slut? Having that woman touching you when that’s my job.” He seethed as he leaned in and bit down hard onto your neck.

He was now getting off on this and you felt nausea hit you in a sudden wave.

You shoved him back only enough for his eyes to see yours.

“Maybe I like how she treats me better than how you do!” You screamed back.

You fell silent as you saw the way his eyes went dark and you knew you had just signed your death warrant.

“You cheat on me with that McGrath bitch! You embarrass me in front of everyone on social media! And you still have the audacity to look me in the eye and tell me that?” He roared as his hand grasped around your throat, tightening around it and cutting off your airway.

His grip tightened impossibly tighter and your toes were barely scraping the asphalt at this point. You were clawing at his forearm begging for purchase and begging for him to loosen his grip so you could breathe.

You didn’t understand.

He had been so angry that you weren’t looking him in the eyes.

Okay, maybe you worded that wrong and now he was dead set on the idea that you cheated.

Or maybe… you didn’t word it wrong after all.

And then- as fate would have it- the entire fucking cast was walking out of the building together to witness the horrors playing out outside.

“Hey, man! What the fuck? Get the fuck off of her!”

Mechad had been the first to react.

Suddenly, you were breathing again and you collapsed to the hard pavement as your boyfriend was yanked off of you by Mechad, Chris, David, and Jeremy.

You only focused on your breathing- coughing and gasping more like.

Not the fact that the guys were beating your boyfriend up, or the gentle hands of your female cast mates as they got you standing and took you inside and to a quiet room.

“Y/N? Y/N? Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Chyler asked as she squared in front of you and held onto your knees.

Your frantic eyes connected with her own and you reach over to hold her arm.

You held on tight to her forearm, mostly searching for her pulse. You needed something to ground yourself and you knew that feeling her pulse would give you something to focus on.

They were talking to you.

You knew they were, but the ringing in your ears and the heavy panting hadn’t subsided yet so you just closed your eyes and focused on Chyler’s pulse and breathing.

After a minute or so of just breathing, you opened your eyes back up to see Chyler still in front of you, Melissa sitting beside you and rubbing your back, Odette was standing on the other side of Chyler, Flo was kneeling next to Chyler with her hand on your knee, and Katie was back against a wall looking terrified.

You gently released Chyler’s forearm, grounded enough that you didn’t need it anymore.

“Sorry.” You husked out.

“No, don’t apologize, sweetie. You did nothing wrong.” The redhead assured you.

“Are you better?” Flo asked you and you just nodded at her, resting your hand on top of hers on your knee.

“I’m used to it.” You told them numbly.

“Why was he so angry?” Melissa wondered.

Your eyes traveled over to Katie with tear filled eyes. You were scared that maybe she won’t want anything to do with you anymore.

“I.. posted a video of me an Katie on Snapchat for the fans. We always tease them the day an episode airs and-and he saw it and he came here and accused me of cheating.”

Katie’s eyes dropped from yours in guilt as she turned away slightly.

“It’s not- it’s not your fault, Katie. He does this. He’s just never.. he never did it in public before.”

Katie just bit down on her lip and ran her hand through her hair.

You felt your heart break seeing how guilty she felt.

“Well you’re staying with me. I’m not letting you go home to him.” Chyler stated.

You smiled sadly at her and shook your head no.

“Chy, you have three kids and a husband to take care of. I appreciate it and I love you for that but I’m not bringing my crap into your home.”

“Well then stay with me.” Katie spoke up, pushing off the wall and coming to your free side.

“I-what?”

Katie sat on the arm of the couch, turning towards you.

“I don’t have kids or anyone at my place it’s just me and I get lonely sometimes so come stay with me.” Katie looked serious and you couldn’t help the flutter you felt in your heart.

Suddenly, a fear hit you.

If he showed up there, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t hurt Katie as well.

You wouldn’t allow that.

“Katie, if he shows up he will hurt you and I can’t-”

“Don’t. I’ll keep you safe. You don’t have to worry about him hurting you anymore. I’ll get security to stand outside of the elevators and my apartment door. He won’t get to you anymore.”

You just broke down in sobs and fell into her arms as she shielded you away from all of the bad things in life.

You really do like the way she treats you.

[rosheendubh]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltharius

The strange paths this journey takes me on...I'd forgotten all about this gem of Medieval Saga-hood. In uniting Gwen's unique segment to my most beloved of Germanic myths, a clash of two adored heroines I've always dreamt of uniting has finally taken form. Gwen as a young woman, coming of age, educated in a 460-470s era decaying Rome, convent and hospital style, beneath the tutelage of an Alexandrian or Byzantine physician (still need to pump Arthurian Romance for an adequate prototype to borrow on that--and found it. See the Gold Boobs post...and the Lycurgius Cup), and an abbess...who happens to be the retired, incognito version of Gudrun.

~

A Queen Like No Other...

We’re guiessing, maybe some time frame from about 465 to 475 or 480AD...

The last surviving daughter of the Gepids, exhausted of the world, had sought her peace, retiring to a nunnery in the waning decades of Rome’s twilight,  The massacre of her brothers, Gundahar and Hagano, to the combined forces of Atila and Aetius, was a tragedy instigated first by Brunhilde's vengeance, betrayed by Sigfrid, the only man Gudrun had ever loved, and who hadn’t the honor to stand up to her mother on the night Gudrun had been presented to him, and claim his love for wild Brynhilde. The closure had been all Gudrun’s though, serving her butchered sons by Atila, to their own father, lighting his hall on fire, and watching his men roast, drunken in their excess, celebrating the demise of the Burgundi, retching and choking as Gudrun regaled them the  ingredients of their foul feast while they suffocated on smoke and flame. It wasn’t till some years later, when her tears left her dry, no more grief to spare.  Beloved Swanhild, her only daughter by Sigfrid, convulsed, dying in her arms, trampled to death because of a weak husband’s faithlessness. Her daughter’s broken body was a sack of shattered shells. For all the sorrow Gudrun sustained, it was then her heart had turned to a hard, bitter stone.

Harsh and cynical, she’s always attuned to Old Grim, his One-Eyed Shadow following her, even into the cloisters of the convent, the retreat of the Christian God by which she sought to elude Wotan.  Duty still goads though, meaningless distractions the women find to occupy themselves, like taking in the daughters of barbarian nobles. Providing some means of trade, education, or dowry to unfortunate girl-children of widows and orphans, left bereft in the tumult of a dying Empire.

Gwenafyr ferch Edern of the Cawnr.  Aeternus, her father styles himself here, in these old weathered palaces where men still cling to archaic Latin, trying to dilute the jarring utterances of tribal chieftains who now retain titles of legate and prefect. The young girl put into her charge is a tribulation.. Spoiled, barbarian royalty, her people inhabit a rock sitting in gray waters at the end of the earth. She tasks Gwen with the most menial of novice chores in the convent, enforcing a lifestyle the strictest of ascetics would have found withering. And Gwen, lonely, angry, resentful of her father abandoning her to such mistreatment, lashes out.  Which impresses Gudrun, who approves of the girl's spirit and determination.  Her inherent recalcitrance, it seems. She'll need it one day, to face the world she will eventually inherit. For Gudrun--god's rune--can See.

The gifts her Lord of mead, madness, brilliance, and Vision endowed long ago, before she knelt in obeisance beneath a cross, a broken and sorrowing soul back then. What she sees upon this girl is the shadow of her One Eyed Keeper, a fate of darkness, and a hope so bright, of something into the future Gudrun thinks even Old Grim shies back from, just a little. Courage of mind and heart burning from young Gwenafyr's eyes. Gudrun, in her final, parting defiance to the curse Wotan holds upon her days, steals her nights in a deluge of rotten memory, intends, against all odds in this failing chaotic time, to raise this child, just on the verge of her adolescence, a few years short yet, into a queen such as the world will never forget. A woman to leave her mark upon a future. Where others have failed, she might, just might, open up something of hope, a path leading out of the thorns bleeding these dark times.

Where better, than Britannia, when she returns to her island at the edge of the world. "But first...first, girl," Gudrun explains into the furious gaze of this hoyden, "before you learn to serve a land, you must learn what it is to serve beggars."

And so commences Gwen's education in the halls of Rome's old crumbling libraries, and the stench filled corridors of the charity hospitals. Reciting Latin, Greek, the Gothic parlance of Gudrun's tongue, Gwen ministers remedies from the texts of classical physicians long turned to dust, their words and knowledge leap from scrolls crusted and protesting the sun of a world much different than the one once gracing the mirages still glimpsed amid decaying plazas, toppled pillars, and bramble thick fields.

Hours drag, roll away into months. Months turn with the seasons into years. One, then five. A decade. And finally...finally she may just be ready. To return. Claim a king. Claim a nation.

Gudrun mourns her parting--Gwen, transformed into the daughter fate cheated her when Swanhild was trampled by Eomer's men, rage wrought upon charges of adultery never born truth. Wotan has marked her. A presence Gudrun never hesitated to speak of as their affection deepened in the years. Gwenafyr never seemed bothered. Upon her island, women are goddesses, mortal embodiment of immortal dream. What has she to fear from a shade skulking at the edge of vision?

Merely curious, Gwen's irony and ruefulness have become her defense into maturity, education of reason and science shaping how her student views the foibles of humanity. There's nothing of the virgin philosopher though, Gwenafyr all too aware of the world's temptations and luxuries, and perfectly obliging to hedonism. In moderation. But she would have made a terrible nun. Because there's also nothing of fear in her. What traditions steeped her childhood in that far north country before she'd entered Gudrun's convent, they left an indelible mark, as deep cloven as Wotan's shadow upon Gwen's wyrd. A child of queens before queens--gods and men alike, heroes all of them, to be molded by the guidance of their women. Gwen knows her worth. And she will not be restrained by warlord, priest, bard. Or God. Unless the word of God, a god, rings with truth and compassion.

Gudrun's heart warms with pride, and something she has long denied. That minuscule softening deep inside, where she buried many years ago, the raging grief of so many deaths. Sorrow again, loss, as the ship leavens, creak of oar and plank, its hull buoyed by the current of the Tiber. The price of love.

Gwen approaches the rails, reaching for a final glimpse of her world these last 10 years. Sadness, inevitable at their parting, hangs heavy in Gudrun’s mind. The uncertainty breaking through the excitement animating Gwen’s clean lined face when she seeks Gudrun across the distance of the widening waters eases some of the weight of her sorrow, realizing just then, how much she has meant to her young charge. Gudrun nods to her farewell as the ship glides further from the dock.  Her blessing and confidence in that bow of her head.

It's enough. Her breath catches, the shade about Gwen hovering, cast back by the brightness, not only in the sudden joy shining in the younger woman's eyes, but her spirit. Blazing. To Gudrun's Sight it's a corona that washes out the image of the ship, passengers milling around Gwen--so bright, Gudrun feels the world sway.

She catches herself, shaking her head to clear it, swallow air to still the gallop of her pulse. A small wave of her hand reassures the concerned glance of a food vendor from his stall. So bright, into the threads of the future sometimes illuminated by this curse. Gwenafyr's spirit shimmers, dew drops along spider-silk lit by the sun, her strand dancing with the warp and weft of time. And always, around her, shadow of Grim's talons trying to grasp her light. Until another ray, lancing brilliance, tangles the dark claws away. That second soul always with her, hearts vowed in every life.

Her laugh is purely internal. *Plug it, Old Man. She's never been yours, and never will be.*

His voice isn't sound so much as as sensation. The draft of heat from flame. A wash of fire in the air, heaviness like a brewing storm, pressing thick in the wind. *No. But I am hers, when she wants. And want,* the voice a sigh in the dark, *she will.* Sensuous, it wraps around her, shivering caress down her spine.

Curse the bastard. This ecstasy he commands, how longing not felt for years can awaken her dried husk of flesh, sagging breasts and wrinkled thighs warming with forgotten urge.

*Soon daughter. Soon.* Gudrun hopes whatever passes for his incorporeal eye, the one observing the world, he can see her scowl, plain across her brow.

*Easily. That's why I always favored you over Brynhilde. She worshiped until she hated. You...you hated from the first. My mead deepened your bitterness, Gudrun. But recall, you never denied my gifts. Neither will she.*

*No,* Gudrun finds herself humoring him like they're a pair of old lovers. *But she may take your gifts and turn them into something even you never anticipated, Old Man. She cast Andarvi's Horde from curse to blessing, easing the lives of our poor. And his ring, when finally melted down, became...* At this she does let her dry chuckle escape, hearing, feeling a flabbergasted god's very mortal consternation.

*...became her set of surgical instruments.* Gudrun isn't certain, but she thinks Wotan might not be a little pleased. *Walkryian.*

"She's no harvester of the dead, Old Man. Let her be." Her pointed defense rings sharp in the silence of a deserted square lying along the route she’s chosen. A reluctant fountain bubbles from an eroded sculpture of Venus cuddling Eros in her lap.

*Change, chaos, wrecker of order, I am. Even gods can be no other than what our nature dictates, Gudrun. Her line has always drawn me, at these crossroads of fate. Darkness. Light. She possesses both destruction and rebirth.*

"And she fears neither, Old Man. Nor does she believe in your wyrd."

*Enlightenment,* his utterance, a breeze stirring, sweeping the detritus of the streets in her wake.

"I believe the word she used was...*wealwian*," Gudrun counters.

Silence. So profound, for a moment, she thinks she's actually offended old One Eye. Until, faint at first, a building crescendo of laughter, thunder, waves, and wind in her mind, fills her sense with his joy.

*You’ve done well, Gudrun.* A father, proud of his daughter. She abides his praise, burying her annoyance.  He accommodates the capriciousness of human nature with the ease of a child, even when his acolytes deliberately stray, denouncing him, evading his sight.

*A queen like no other. She will invite the end of an age. And seed a new dawn. Where hovers hope, her dream still waits. But it will take shape, in time.*

The air ripples, waves breaking upon the shore of  mind. Ebbing, a veil thins between universes. Ghostly, coalescing from a fog. A man, lean of limb, hair like russet leaves in autumn sunset, elegant in height, dressed in foreign garb. Shirt and vest, trousers cut to the knee--strange to an eye accustomed still, to the swathes of robes donned by Latin magistrates,   But the trappings of the desk at which he’s hunched, intent upon his writing, a candle burning against shadows, are recognizable luxuries, despite the span of time between Gudrun’s present, and this future she into which she peers. 

His hand, furious as the speed of a river flowing from restless thought. *The tree of Liberty...*  The syllables a garble of incomprehension. She recognizes their rhythm if not their sound. It’s the magic of poetry. Wotan’s gift. Gudrun has known bards in her lifetime. Gundahar crafted verse of such beauty, hearts broke, and serpents sighed in slumber. She knows well, this passion bleeding into ink, soaked into a parchment she’s never witnessed, fine white sheaves, smooth, blank medium where his vision pours from his crippled hand. His ravenous mind.

A door latch releases. Gudrun,  peering into dream, sees a woman, young, slight-built, her apparel too, strange, curves of bust and waist fitted into drab gray, but the trappings accentuate feminine proportions of limb and torso, while skirts, floor-length and layered, conceal the line of leg. What odd tastes must dictate fashion in that foreign time. The woman turns from hanging her outer-wear upon a coat hook.  A cloud of black waves crowns her head, tresses bound into a careless chignon. Her eyes, dark, deepened by her sharp-boned, vivid features, linger upon the man.  Full of a suffering even Gudrun, in her cynicism, far removed from this moment yet to come, finds hard to bear.

The man’s hand slows in its frenzied scribbles. Stills. He leans back in his chair, stealing himself, it seems, to meet the young woman’s gaze.  The look, passing between them, long in its silence, conveys what Gudrun has lived, of yearning, tenderness, and despair.  And she knows, sure in her bones, certain as Sigfrid’s love once filling her lost youth, it’s the woman’s strength and courage which embody everything blooming of hope and truth, testimony from this conflicted scribe. Every bard and poet harbors some tortured secret. Even the intellectuals. That’s the only pearl which Gudrun ponders as the scene dissolves, froth of waves merging back into the vast sea.  Her present, this mundane world, dusk descending upon the abandoned plaza, tucked away in its maze of streets in a city fallen into ruin. Rome. Once the Queen of the World. 

And Gwenafyr ferch Edern--destined to become a queen like no other other. Whose progeny, whether they thrive or perish, will leave their mark upon dreams undiscovered.

*There once was a dream that was Rome...*

[curiouskrp]

              “WELCOMING APT 2B TENANT, ONG TAEIL !

INFORMATION

age – 27 pronouns – he/him occupation – freelance translator and writer moved into treehouse – one year ago

PERSONALITY: INTP, THE LOGICIAN

positive –

straightforward -  for taeil either things are or aren’t. there’s no middle ground, no in between. and he doesn’t see any reason to not treat things as so. taeil doesn’t like lying, or pretending. if he doesn’t like something, he says so. if he hates someone, he says so. if he doesn’t want to be somewhere, he doesn’t go. even if sometimes he doesn’t know what he wants, but taeil likes to pretend he does. the idea of control, of power. he likes it. some may seem that isn’t a good trait, and most of those would be people who were hurt by his honesty. but one thing can be said about son taeil and it is true: you know what you’re getting, you know your money’s worth. he won’t lie, he won’t pretend. unless he is lying to himself. but that’s a whole other story.

negative –

withdrawn - how many people know taeil? know, for real, deep down. too little, and the ones who do stayed back. at some point in his life taeil had raised high walls around himself, so high he doesn’t even know how to climb them anymore. they are thick, metal made, impenetrable. and it got to the point where taeil doesn’t even know if he knows how to connect with people anymore. which brings us to people believing he is condescending, insensitive. and that is true, really. and it’s not that taeil doesn’t care, he’s just too caught up in his own mind, in his own things. inside his walls, out of touch. out of reach. 

HAUNT

failure.

the word itself is enough to make taeil sick to his stomach. failure. everything about it irks him, gives him pause. but the thing was: he was designed for it, born for it.

look at his family: a drunk construction worker, a mother who was stupid enough to marry the man. none ever amounted to anything. the same could be said for his father’s father, and his mother’s mother. and taeil’s brother, who died being young and fucking stupid. this was supposed to be taeil’s life as well but he fought against it. son taeil spent his whole life running away from failure as best as he could.

and for a while he beat it. he did so well in school and in football that it earned him a scholarship. he moved out of the little village he grew in and went to college. he graduated, he fell in love, he married. son taeil got rich, he bought a house in a small town north because it’s where his wife wanted to live. all that by the age of twenty-five.

but failure, it was a curse. son taeil ran and ran and ran but it caught up to him all the same. because there are a few things he has learned:

you can’t run away from fate.

you can’t run away from who you are.

a curse, truly. he’s cursed. that’s what yena told him time and time again. you’re cursed, she’d say, fingers on his hair, lips against his neck. and taeil could kill her as well as he could love her even more than he already did.

so it shouldn’t be a surprise when he comes back from the army and finds his wife fucking someone else. it shouldn’t be a surprise that this had been happening from even before.

a cheated husband. what a fucking cliché.

failure came and taeil succumbed. he lost control, and once he took a hold of himself it was too late. his friend’s blood on his hands, and his wife cried over another man. he didn’t kill him, no, though he scarred him for life. taeil only wasn’t arrested because they kept it quiet, no one wanted a scandal, his father-in-law was in the police.

but the worst part is: he wanted to kill him. wants, still. does it in his sleep, in dreams, in daydreams.

so taeil leaves. his leave his job, he leaves his house. he leaves before he does anything stupid. he leaves before failure put its cold thing onto even more of his things, his life. taeil runs away again. broken. even further. even worse. even harder.

HISTORY

“tell me about you,” she said, red nails tapping on the table, her light brown hair falling on her shoulders. it made taeil feel uncomfortable - the way the strands were so close to her plate, her food. he didn’t like that.

“i’ve told you,” he replied and the girl smiled in a way he couldn’t read. he noticed her lip was stained, and taeil cleared his throat. “i told you everything.”

the girl scoffs.

what was her name again? something with dam. jidam? for fuck’s sake, he couldn’t remember.

“yeah, you told me something,” she smiled again. “you were born north, your father worked in construction, your mother took care of you and your three siblings. you came to seoul for college. you were married.”

taeil cleared his throat, his thumb touching where his wedding ring once was. an old habit. or a reminder. “that’s about it.”

the girl tilted her head in a way that made her look stupid. taeil was starting to think coming here tonight was a bad idea overall. the girl was pretty, sure. a nice figure, and he guesses that if she went to the bathroom and noticed her teeth stained with lipstick she’d be considerate enough to clean it up. a quick fuck would be it, maybe. but at this point he wasn’t sure anymore.

“but i want to know about you. for real,” she leaned in, though the effect it had wasn’t what she probably intended. taeil leaned back on his chair.

yeah. no way he’d fuck her.

“for real?”

“yeah. a handsome man like you, divorced. you graduated as a computer engineer but works from home. something doesn’t add up,” she threw her hair back and taeil was thankful for that at least. no more hair on top of the table, around the fucking food. “and besides, isn’t that why we go out and meet new people? to know their stories? to know their truth?”

it was taeil’s turn to scoff.

she must be shitting him. some sort of joke or something. because what, what does this girl want? for him to tell her the truth? taeil has learned the hard way that that’s never what people want. no one wants the truth. they want lies and fantasies.

she wants to believe this guy she is going out with is mysterious and interesting. she has no interest in the fucked up asshole that his father was, always too drunk to even be able to be a father. about his mother, or the husk who lived with him, always doing something, anything but thinking, but living. about his brothers - all drunk, all stupid, one dead, even. all bleak-eyed. all worthless.

there’s no way that’s what she wants to hear.

“be honest with me,” he says and she leans her chin on her hand, in an obvious attempt to look interested and attentive. “do you really believe that bullshit? does anyone fall for that?”

she blinked. stupid. “excuse me?”

“why do you want to know about me?” he asks, and she blinks again, now uncomfortable. “you’re trying to tell me you spend night after night in dating apps, finding whoever decides they like you enough to press match to know people? their stories?” taeil laughs. she doesn’t say anything.

he almost can hear yena in his head:

you’re being a fucking asshole.

in all truth, he’s just being honest. but that’s something he never quite understood. people ask for something and then they get angry when you give it to them. take yena, for example.

taeil left his shitty town for college. he fought his ass off for that. he started dating yena on his third year. he married her, because she always said that’s what she wanted. then he moved to her town because that’s what she wanted. he went to the army because she said that’s what made more sense. they should have kids. they should start a future.

and then she fucked his best friend and said it was all his fault.

the girl picked up her purse, pressed it against her chest. “if you weren’t interested you should’ve just said so.”

“i was,” taeil replied, looked at her. “but you made me uninterested.”

“you’re a fucking jackass,” she said, her voice going high. taeil shook his head. typical. truly. boring.

he took a sip of his drink. “you wanted the truth. wasn’t it? to know people? now you know me.”

she stood up and left. the jerk didn’t even pay for her part of the bill.

a shame, really. such a pretty girl, but for nothing. once again. yet again. he looks back to his plate and finds his food almost untouched. he looks around, asks for the waiter to take the girl’s plate with him. oh. nara. that was her name. nara.

the waiter leaves and taeil takes another sip. if he closes his eyes, he almost can hear yena again.

you’ll end up all alone. all alone.

taeil smiles at her. there’s no other way he’d rather be.