#this is the same person as speak-at-every-hazard I just didn't want this love story to be on my depressing af blog

[exchangewritingsandramblings]

The ABCs of Steve and Natasha Rogers-Stark

Happy First Anniversary, Babe. Love, Steve

A is for all my love for you. I know it’s cheesy and you’re probably rolling your eyes by now, but buckle up because it gets worse from here.

Before we started dating, you sort of got on my nerves. I know now that it’s a defense mechanism, your prickly porcupine act, to push people away before they can betray you. You’ve had too many betrayals in life, and I won’t be one. 

Contrary to whatever the tabloids say, we didn’t start dating after the first battle we fought together. At that point, we had at least warmed up to each other more, and I’ll admit, I was crushing pretty hard. I wish I would have gotten the nerve to ask you out earlier, so I could spend more time with you. But after that first battle, we started to text; you provided witty quips while I provided typos courtesy of super-strength, tiny screens, and a complete lack of knowledge of technology in the 21st century. 

I started to fall even harder once you, in all your genius, designed a phone for me, taking into account my previous challenges. I was touched that you would spend time creating something for me, and even more touched that it was to better our middle of the night “I can’t sleep because I’ve seen terrible things” conversations. I was so happy to have someone to talk to who was able to understand the things I’ve seen, but I was worried that you only saw me as a friend, and I didn’t want to overstep. 

Every night we’d text, and I became very glad for the fact that I need less sleep than an unenhanced human because it allowed me to spend more late night hours talking to you. I used to daydream about a time when, if one of us woke from a nightmare, we could hold the other and talk about our fears. It would have beat curling up on the couch cuddling a blanket, for sure. 

Finally, we went on a date. Fortunately, you asked me out while I was still mustering up the courage to do so. I’m sure that if you had waited for me, we would have both been waiting for a few more months. 

Our first date was great. We went to a pizzeria in Brooklyn that I remember from when I was a child, and somehow the place is still operating. Being back there, I felt a little bit less out of my time. Yet I was sitting across from a tech genius, who I knew would drag me kicking and screaming into the 21st century whether I liked it or not. Fortunately, when your crush pilots some crazy armor connected to an AI system, you lose reservations over modern technology.

How did I get so lucky? I’m not sure. All I know is that our first date was a success, then the second, then the third… again, if it wasn’t for you being so direct, we’d probably still be waiting on our first kiss. But at the end of the first date, you pulled me over to you (with a surprising amount of strength, I might add!) and kissed me. I think I saw stars (of the red, white, and blue variety… before you feel the need to say that before me. I know you babe). 

I fell more and more in love with you after each incredible date. Time flew by, and all of a sudden, we had been dating for a month, then two, and eventually six. I knew you were special before we started dating, and each passing day reaffirmed that fact. I knew that one day, I was going to marry you. 

Just as things were going well and we had established a nice pattern of domesticity, we were called into battle again. I heard over the comms as you were shot multiple times, with one shot bringing your armor crashing down. After the battle, I rushed to the hospital to see you. That was one of the scariest experiences of my life, and I fight aliens, monsters, and all sorts of other scum for a living! But you pulled through, because you’re the strongest woman I know, and a few bullet holes weren’t going to stop you.

The day that you were discharged from the hospital, we walked out together into the sunshine. I kissed you, and asked you to move in with me, because if that hospital stay taught me anything, it was that life is too short to be timid, and I didn’t want to lose any time with you. 

You laughed at me, and I was so anxious and confused until you shut my spluttering up with another kiss. “Honeybear,” you said, rolling your eyes, “Of course I want to live together. But you’re moving in with me, not the other way around. I have that whole tower getup, remember?” I remembered that I couldn’t stop laughing, partly from the relief, and partly from your sarcasm. 

Movie nights with you became my favorite way to unwind, a tradition we started after I moved in. You’d put on a movie that you’d claim I was “deprived” for not seeing while I was, in your words, a capsicle, bring out a giant tub of popcorn, and we’d cuddle on the couch and watch the film together. It did certainly beat newsreels. My favorite part, I think, is when you’d fall asleep halfway through the movie on me. I knew how hard it was for you to sleep, and I was honored that you trusted me enough to be able to let your guard down enough to finally go to sleep. By the way, honey, you really do need to sleep more frequently!

Another of my most treasured memories with you was the date when we drove out to a cabin I didn’t know you owned, and laid on the grass under the night sky, fingers intertwined as we saw more stars that I had ever seen in my life. The way that the glow of the moon illuminated your features, and the stars in your eyes… Golly, my heart swelled with love for you. And then, for the first time, we… did things that I’m not going to spell out because you know exactly what they are, and I’m sure you’re going to mock me for the fact that right now, as you’re reading this, I probably have a pink flush up my neck. Just remember that you find it adorable!

Engagement ring shopping was an ominous task for me; you would buy yourself the jewelry you liked, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find anything that you didn’t have but would like. Finally, I decided to get something custom made for you. I wanted something with symbolism, so I got you a pattern of stones that looked like your arc reactor. Cheesy, I know, but I’m forever grateful to that thing for keeping shrapnel out of your heart so that I was able to enter. And yes, Natasha, I know you’re rolling your eyes right now. Just roll with it. 

Planning a proposal was no simple feat, either. Nothing I thought of could ever live up to the idea of a perfect proposal that I had in my head. So instead, I took to carrying the ring with me everywhere, knowing that when the perfect moment came, I would be ready. We were standing on the tower roof, looking over the fantastic New York skyline. The lights of the city reflecting off your face reminded me of the date we had under the stars, and I asked you what the building in the distance was, knowing full well that it was related to some scientific pursuit and that would keep you distracted for long enough for me to get onto one knee.

Once you had finished explaining, there was a period of quiet, where you didn’t realize that I wasn’t standing next to you. Finally, it registered with you, and you turned around. I don’t think I ever saw anything so beautiful, and I sketched it as soon as you went to sleep that night. Check the wall of the living room, when you have a chance. Of course you said yes, and you definitely cried (don’t even try to tell me I was seeing things, Stark).

I didn’t think we’d ever be ready with a planned wedding; wedding planning was worse than I expected, filled with a lot of stress that I didn’t know what to do with. Fortunately, you were already well-versed in planning formal events, and you were the real powerhouse behind our wedding. I just stood there and looked pretty. 

When coordinating wedding attire, we decided to wear our suits. How perfect was that to symbolize us, and the pictures of us shoving cake into each other’s mouths while in our superhero costumes were truly the highlight of our wedding album. 

We got married on a Thursday, because that was the one year anniversary of the battle we first fought in together, when we met each other. It was sappy and cliche and perfect, and both of us cried reciting our vows. I have photographic evidence to prove it, Natasha, don’t even try to deny it. 

For our honeymoon, we decided on a tropical getaway to some island that you owned. I really, at that point, should have not been surprised that you owned an island, yet I still was. As we laid under the stars, I thought back to that date, the one I mentioned earlier that makes me blush, when we did… things… for the first time together. And then we did the same, uh… things, again. This was the first time we did that as husband and wife, and as we stood in the sea, your legs wrapped around my waist, your arms around my neck, and the moonlight reflecting off your perfect skin… I think I fell in love all over again. 

I am a very lucky man to be your husband, Natasha, and I’m reminded of that every day, with little things such as the way your nose scrunches up when you’re working on calculations, or the way your tongue pokes out of your mouth when you solder. The way that you aren’t fully alive until you have your morning cup of coffee, and the way that you play with your bots when you don’t know I’m watching. 

There are endless more ways that I am completely in love with you, and every day we share together fills my heart with wonder. When I was thawed from the ice, I thought that any of my chances at love had disappeared with time. I’m so glad to have been so wrong. 

[scorpionyx9621]

I don't know if anyone has made this post or this analysis yet, but Resident Evil Village is a story about love. Not necessarily a love story so to speak, but the key theme and central tenant of the story is about love. Be it familial love, idolizing love, love for humanity or community as a whole. That is the key theme of this story and each and every character is shaped by love as a concept. (Does contain spoilers for RE7 and RE Village)

Lady Alcina Dimetrescu's character is shaped by her love of her daughters. Through the gift of the Cadoau Lady D. has been given the ability to live much beyond what would be normally capable. When given the chance to experiment on three of her maids and they turned into flies and insects, she took them in and loved them as if they were her own daughters. We see Lady D. break down and get enraged at the loss of her daughters to Ethan.

While Donna Beneviento is a bit harder to pin down in terms of how love plays into her story and character, she is more than willing to use the love that Ethan has for Mia and Rosemary to manipulate, misguide and terrify Ethan. Exposing the unwanted truth and opening the secret that Mia is hiding a dark secret from Ethan that he doesn't know about. However the manipulation doesn't break Ethan and his own resolve prevails.

Salvatore Moreau is blinded by his love of Mother Miranda. Basically seeing her as his own mother. Doing anything she says up to the point he allows his own Cadoau parasite to take heavy control over his physicality to the point it's hard to even consider Moreau a human anymore. Blindly following her every word to experimenting on villagers and creating the Lycans to forcing himself to mutate time and time again.

Karl Heisenberg subverts the trope because he has no real love for Miranda. He understands that he's nothing more than a tool to her. Instead he chooses to devote his love for a chance for freedom. A possibility to end this cycle that Miranda has been perpetuating for almost, if not more than a century at this point. It's this love of himself and his dream to finally be free that eventually acts as his demise. As he was willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to be free.

Mia Winters in many ways is one of the true villains of this story. Yet as much as she has a hand in the blame, she is paralyzed by her fear. Mia genuinely loves Ethan and Rosemary and doesn't want to lose them. Mia hides the fact that she knows Ethan is just a collection of mold that reanimated Ethan and took his personality, not because she knows the hazard and power he holds, but because for all that she knows despite Ethan for all intents and purposes being dead. This is very much the same Ethan she fell in love with, the same Ethan who rescued her from the Baker Mansion back in Louisiana. The same Ethan who didn't give up on her. Mia had no idea what would have happened if she told Ethan the truth. Would he have left her? Would he have taken Rose? Would Ethan's psyche have become so fractured and so damaged that the mold would have caused him to mutate? Mia had no idea and honestly I don't blame her for trying to hide her knowledge of it to Ethan and Chris as long as she did. Yet it was her inaction that caused the whole series of unfortunate events in Village to transpire.

Chris Redfield has been fighting Umbrella, Bio-Terrorism, hordes of infected and undead for more than half of his life at this point. In that time Chris has lost so many people and has experienced so much pain. He watched almost his whole police unit die in the Arklay Mansion. He's witnessed unspeakable horrors all because of greedy and omnicidal individuals committing unspeakable atrocities against humanity out of corporate greed, ravenous power-hunger, or complete sociopathic desires to force evolution upon the world or to even end it. Chris watched Jill sacrifice her own life to save him (thankfully she didn't actually die.) Chris watched as Merah Biji sacrificed herself to save him and Piers. Chris watched as Piers forced himself to take a highly mutagenic strain of the C-Virus and mutate himself all so he could save Chris. Chris has seen so many innocent people die in the past two decades and the one time he has a chance to make it right with the Winters's that fails as well. Chris keeps Ethan in the dark because Chris believes that would be what's best to keep Ethan safe. Only to have it completely backfire and Chris watches as Ethan has his heart torn out of his body by Mother Miranda. Chris is pulling a heavily infected and basically falling-apart Ethan only for Ethan's final dying wish to have Chris look after his family as Ethan decides to kill himself and destroy the Megamycete. When Chris is forced to tell Mia that Ethan sacrificed himself to stay behind and finish the job, we finally see Chris Redfield, The Chris Redfield, that boulder-punching asshole finally cry and break down. Despite seeing the absolute very worst of humanity, Chris still chooses to keep fighting and keep living. That in itself is one powerful act of both defiance and love.

Mother Miranda is the progenitor of the entire franchise. Every single atrocity caused by Umbrella, every viral outbreak, every innocent life so mindlessly taken and either turned into a shambling, walking corpse or forcibly mutated into horrific biological nonsense all falls back to her. She was the one who inspired Oswell E. Spencer to research and look for the means to create immortality. Spencer created Umbrella because of Mother Miranda. Yet Mother Miranda only wanted one thing. To resurrect her daughter who died during the Spanish Influenza outbreak after World War I. When Eva, Miranda's daughter died. Miranda was in such abject anguish and mourning she wandered off to the caves surrounding the Village as a means to end her own life. She could not live without her daughter and the hole in her heart caused by her passing was so great that she had resigned to giving up and dying in the cold of exposure just so she could see her daughter again. That's where Miranda happened upon the Megamycete and became infected with The Mold. Finding out that the Megamycete catalogued and stored the consciousness of all those that died in the vicinity of its roots. Miranda became obsessed with the ability to potentially bring her daughter back from the dead. Directly causing hundreds if not thousands of deaths over at least a century of torture, maiming and mutating. And indirectly led to deaths of millions of people through those she inspired. Miranda is so blinded by her love for her daughter and is so devastated by her loss that she allows herself to commit atrocities for upwards of a century.

And then we finally have Ethan Winters. The man who went through hell twice for the ones he loved. Both his wife and daughter. Ethan isn't a superhero, nor is he some zombie-apocolyse survivor. He's just an average engineer from California in his late 30's. While Village is very much about how Miranda is so corrupted and so wicked after a century of abject unadulterated grief. It also is the story of Ethan's unwavering love for his family. This man literally is killed in the events of Resident Evil 7 and when resurrected by the mold he has the strength of his love for his wife get him past about every obstacle and mind control he faces. This continues in Village. When Ethan finds out the truth that he's been dead for 3 years at this point and is basically a molded zombie, he rejects this notion and retains his form just long enough to kill Miranda and save his daughter. Ethan goes from a scared, shaking, crying survivor to a literal doom slayer over the prospect of saving his daughter. The love Ethan has for his own family is so great it overpowered Eveline and even the Megamycete when Ethan himself was just a creation of both at that point. We don't get to see Ethan in third-person (well not until October tehe) so we don't really have an idea of what's going on with Ethan but The Duke mentions after gathering Ethan's body from Miranda that when he wakes up, Ethan is basically falling apart physically. Imagine black tarry tears oozing from his eyes. His pulsating innards oozing a black, viscous fluid, synonymous with advanced mold infections, but Ethan doesn't care. The only thing he feels is anger and love for his family. The mold is on its last legs and it wants so desperately to mutate Ethan into a monstrosity to better defend itself, but Ethan is just so powerful in his resolve to save his loved ones that it forces him to keep his original form. A father's love for his daughter is able to overpower an apocalyptic strain of mutagenic mold and a century-old threat hell-bent on destroying the world just so she could see her daughter again.

And that is why Resident Evil Village is a story about love.

[sehnsuchts-trunken]

hello! can I request a matchup for shadow and bone? i'm a straight girl (she/her), enfp, libra. if I were grisha, I would probably be a squaller (but in all honesty I doubt I would even have powers because me? with anything that requires restraint and discipline? a safety hazard.) people think i'm smart cause i can do math, speak several languages and know random shit about astronomy and history but i'm lowkey a himbo. in my free time i love playing the piano, writing, reading, stargazing, playing videogames, and annoying the hell out of my cat (i'm actually a dog person but don't tell him that). i'm enthusiastic and optimistic, always cracking jokes and ready for adventure and a good party! I can't cook to save my life but I'll try my hardest :') because i'm so hyper and bubbly all the time, it's pretty difficult to see me in my vulnerable state. as a result i'm kind of awkward with physical touch or like deep, personal words. i typically display my love through heartfelt written words, quality time, or gifts. i write poems about the boys i fall in love with like some kind of nerd <3 also i'm not half bad at archery and would love to get my pilot's license someday! anyway thank you so much if you write it! have an amazing day 💜

you wanted to change this to a what if if i didn't misinterpret, so ofc that's what you'll get! (based on the series, once again, all my s&b things are)

also wtf are timezones, how is it the 24th for everyone already 

What if...

You were in Shadow And Bone?

- There’s two wonderful stories going on in this universe, and you just so happen to be on the less glorious side of them. Not that you’re complaining. It could be worse, really. You could be in Helen’s possession the way Inej is. But you’re not, you’ve simply met the wrong people and somehow ended up with the crows in a really strange way. It was Pekka before it was Kaz. You were quite a young girl when you stumbled upon him. He took you in for some years because you’d shown enough talent with a bow, taught you how to use a gun and then threatened to murder you with the latter had Kaz not come along and saved you. It had really been a strange situation, more of an accident, and Kaz surely had not intended to be stuck with you after that, but he’d seen the opportunity to hurt Pekka and taken it. Now you’re with him, with Jesper and Inej, and you don’t mind it in the slightest. It’s a bloody job sometimes, but the one with Pekka had been worse, and at least you have a room to sleep in safely and enough meals to fill your stomach with. 

- It’s Jesper’s job to shoot the guys and you have to admit that he’s a ton better than you in every way, despite your training, and so the bow is what you wield. It’s more of an ancient weapon in the eyes of everyone else, but it’s really as efficient as a gun, with the slight advantage that you can and will take your arrows back once they’ve hit their mark. All in all it’s often underestimated, you with it, and that’s even better than the weapon itself. 

- You’re closest with said sharpshooter, though you do value Inej and Kaz just the same. The latter of course on a whole other level for he was the one to get you out of the problematic situation with Pekka - which he’s recited multiple times he did for his own sake and not yours, but at this point all he says is a shitshow and there for the dramatic effect of it, and from the soft stares you get as much as Inej does, you can guess that you have grown to have some sisterly value to him. He often gets protective of you and it can be as annoying as it’s sweet, but you know that it’s one and only way he can express some kind of fondness for anybody, so you take what you can get.  But Jesper you match perfectly. He’s funny and ironic and always laughing, and you too seem to have that same energy. Although you’re far more optimistic than even he is, more bubbly and daring and enthusiastic, and the two of you always wind up in trouble if left alone, so Kaz makes sure not to. Ever. 

- When tasked with crossing the Fold, while Kaz gets the goat and Inej jurda and Jesper supposedly 20 pounds of alabaster coal, it’s your job to keep an eye on the guy whose name you’ve forgotten. He calls himself the Conductor, which is a shit title in itself, and has a weird aura, so you abandon that plan and follow Jesper through the streets, also abandoning the “no detours” part, and ending up in an alley losing all of the money Jesper was handed for the coal to some people that were not too happy about you taking it back by force. And additionally the coal. You've got yourself in sure trouble, but hey, you have both coal and money and are standing safely in whatever the hell that trainweck is that’s supposed to get you through the darkness, all in one piece and with the full outcome of 36 pounds of alabaster coal. 36 because despite the looks of it, you’ve got more braincells left than Jesper and, reading that the pack he’d grabbed only had 16 pounds in it, took hold of another with more. 

- The “random knowledge” you’ve picked up during the years turns out very, no, gravely important to your quest. You cannot only throw in unrelated pieces of history and events that have passed in the places you stay in, but you can actually converse with all the people you meet. You speak flawless Ravkan and Fjerdan (and Kerch, of course), and paired with Inej’s Suli and Jespers Zemeni, you’re able to woo even those tourists and natives that or whose families do not hail from Ravka. Which often makes you the talker, but you don’t really mind.

- When it comes to the circus taking you with them, you’re more than happy to oblige and offer some of your piano skills. You haven’t played in years so you’re a bit rusted, but other than that it still sounds amazing, and you reassure the guy that you’re sure they’ll have a piano in the Little Palace too. There is one, actually, but you’ve really just gambled and won at a high risk. 

- Sadly a bow is too obvious to walk around with, so while Inej can strap her knives to her body, you’re tasked with the distraction. Which you do fine. Nobody’s played the piano at the Little Palace in a long, long time, and everyone is charmed once again as you do, right on that same stage the oh so important sun summoner has presented her whole show. Once you’re done, there’s hands to shake and curtsies to make, as even the Crown Prince of Ravka compliments your wondrous song. You notice out of the corner of your eye that Inej and Kaz separate, and as desperate as you are to help them out, you know that you have to keep to your strategy, so you offer to play another song just for the Prince. Pretentious slug, with that smug look on his face and the fact he’s not even half as handsome as he makes himself out to be. 

- When it’s all over, you can’t complain. It’s the way again that it was at the beginning, or close to it at least. The dynamics have changed just a bit and Inej still seems inclined to leave as she was more than once already, but you’re optimistic everything will turn out great. Just the way you always are, and the way it always did. Kaz is a mastermind after all, Inej has learnt how to take a life and Jesper is... well, Jesper. The same he’s always been and always will be. So there’s zero chance it won’t end grand, right?

[bedbellyandbeyond]

On the topic of why Jeffrey's behavior is a focus, at least for me, it is a bit less succinct but the same root as the response I saw. We have very little information on the personal details of Wano's past so it is far easier to make assumptions for the why of his behavior that give him the benefit of the doubt. As the other response included, his apparent willingness to try at all works in his favor in that regard. Jeffrey, on the other hand, we have more backstory on. I am in it for the long hall of the narrative, but I can honestly say I have never had such a hard time trying not to hate a character. Not in any sense of quality writing, but in hating his actions and values. He had help and support that so many people would do nearly anything for yet he still chooses repeatedly to be reckless, narcissistic, and downright dangerous. He seems to have no measurable empathy, an overinflated sense of entitlement, and a delusion that he lives in a narrative centered on him and everyone else is a supporting character at best. Wano seems stubborn, ignorant, and confused. Jeffrey seems like a parasite at best and a danger to everyone around him at worst. There is also the manner of responsibility. While it takes two to tango, Wano (to our knowledge) has no children. Who knows how much he even understands about what he has done. Who knows if he will make any effort to better things if the realization begins to hit. Jeffrey, however, has been through this. His last baby daddy thrust his life into a chaotic crime drama. He got support from family and new friends alike and seemed to learn no lessons. Time and time again we see him maintaining an environment that is a massive drain on those around him and full of hazards for his child and each time he feels fully justified in what is going on. Now he has endangered others close to him too and still plays the victim. Despite his experiences before meeting Wano and knowing what he did about him he still decided to create a scenario where he is likely going to be a single parent to a second child when he can't even take care of himself. I can't speak for anyone else but there are too many parallels to people in my own life whose stories ended in tragedy because they refused to change. I often have to wait to reach chapters I see he is in until I am sure I am in a good enough place mentally to handle the emotions it brings up. When he was first introduced I loved him. He was a kid who didn't necessarily know better but was an interesting concept and had so much room to grow. Now it has festered as he hasn't made progress that we as the readers get to see. Now he is a poison. I want to believe he will get better. I want to love him like I do so many other characters here and abroad. With every post he is in I lose more faith that he will ever change and I fear for how it will damage and endanger his children and anyone who dares to try and help him. I find myself abandoning hope that he will better his life for their sake and his own, instead I begin hoping someone will find cause to remove them from his care before it is too late. I imagine I am not the only one placing parallels on his behavior to toxic people in my real life. You're an amazing writer. People relating to his behavior shows that. It is just hard when the people, actions, and behaviors he causes me (at the very least) to find parallels in are the ones I wish to every force in the cosmos had never played out at all.

Whether it's a good or bad thing, the end of Jeffrey's story is not near. That's all I can say.

[adampage]

Face the Facts | Sami Zayn

Pairing: Sami Zayn x Reader

I’m going to type the anon’s request at the bottom of the story because it gives away too much and I just want you guys to read it.

Word Count: 3,690 I GOT CARRIED AWAY BUT FOR GOOD REASON OK

Author’s Note: I’m taking requests!!!!  THIS REQUEST IS WAS SO CUTE AND SO HEAVENLY AND JUST. JUST READ IT. PLEASE. Please leave comments I love y’all <3 (And for the love of god i need to make a legit tag list so please send me an ask if you’d like to be in it, even if i already tag you bc i just tag whoever comes to mind at this point)

Tagging: @llowkeys / @unabashedwwesmut / @hardcorewwetrash / @roman-reigns-princess / @the-geekgoddes / @xxmaddhatter39xx / @reigns420 / @xstylesxclashx / @crowleysqueenofhell / @wrasslin-x / @wrestlewriting / @sjwrites22 / @wwefluffandstuff / @wrestlingbabe / @helluvawriter / @helluvaclash / @squirrel666 / 

It had started out very innocently. One evening, she sat at a table in the catering room, nibbling on her dinner. There was no one around, which was just the way she liked it. She held the book upright, just shy of her plate, as her other hand fed her forkfuls of spaghetti. It was a particularly harrowing situation, given that [Y/N] disliked getting food stains in her books, but it was a hazard of her addiction. Fact books were her life.

So as she cursed herself for splattering just a teensy bit of tomato sauce on page sixty five, All About Mosquitos, dabbing failingly at the spot, who should catch her in her own personal bubble of embarrassment but Sami Zayn? "Hey, [Y/N], mind if I sit?" She nodded in response, motioning to the chair in front of her with her fork, wincing when another stain hit the page. She gave the spot one last swipe before replacing the bookmark and swatting the book shut, settling it down on the chair to her right. His animated ginger brows expressed a flicker of mild amusement before his body settled in his seat. He was having the chicken salad. Of course he is, she thought. That would've been the better choice, given her own circumstances. Also, it was healthier. "What were you reading just now?" He asked amicably, the crunch of his salad hitting her ears as he took a bite. "Oh, um, that? Just a book." "I can see that," he said, smiling, "but about what?" "Uh..." [Y/N] mumbled. It wasn't something she liked to talk about. The few times she ever mentioned her fascination for the useless, guys and gals everywhere were immediately turned off. She could hear their voices change, the intonation in their mhm's differing slightly, monosyllables becoming more frequent replies. Their eyes would glaze over, no longer entertained by the conversation. And she never recognized it, until one day an old boyfriend broke up with her, his excuse being, "you just never shut up about that dumb, useless shit." So she never spoke of it aloud to anyone ever again. "It's nothing. Just dumb stuff." She could feel her body drawing back into itself, and she wondered just how much more of her spaghetti she would have to eat in front of him before she could make the excuse that she was full and leave. Sami gave her a wide smile. "Well, whatever it is, I bet it's interesting. When you're done with it, you mind if I borrow it? Most of the others don't really bring books along with them on the road, and I've been craving some new reading material." He took another bite of his salad. "You know, there was a study recently that said people who read are two and a half times less likely to get Alzheimer's?" It was like [Y/N] snapped back into reality after aeons of living inside her own mind. "W-what did you say?" "Yeah," Sami continued, "they said that even though reading doesn't outright prevent you from getting the disease, they proved that reading and Alzheimer's had a kind of correlation. Pretty useless, in the end," he chuckled. "But interesting to know all the same. I'm not going to take my chances." Suddenly, [Y/N]'s mouth went dry. The anticipation was killing her. "Do you know any other useless information? Anything else, ya know," she gestured with her hands, "interesting?" Chewing on his leaves, Sami thought long and hard. After about a minute, he remembered something. "Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates when he was in his twenties and held for ransom. When he heard the price, he told the pirates that it was an insult to his value and demanded they raise it. Once the ransom was paid and he was free, he tracked them down and executed them." [Y/N] giggled in response, hand reaching to cover her mouth. "Oh my God. That's amazing." "I wouldn't say amazing so much as arrogant, though," he argued gently. "No, I know," she replied, "but it's amazing that you know that." And that was it. The start of a budding friendship. He looked at her for what seemed like a year, biting his lip in contemplation. "Do you want to hang out later? Grab a smoothie or something, after the show?" [Y/N] flashed him a brilliantly beautiful smile. "I'd love to."

Weeks passed, and [Y/N] and Sami became the best of friends. She still kept her book and her useless facts to herself, but she knew that if it ever came up again, she wouldn't be afraid to tell him about it. Something about the way they'd spoken that day in catering gave off this vibe, this instinct to trust him. For the most part, they talked about movies, shows, work, politics. She was glad to find out that they had similar lines of thinking with pretty much anything, and they remained pretty much inseparable. It must've been the politeness, the kindness with which he spoke to her, that sealed that deal. She had a gentle, quiet nature that seemed to mirror his own. They were two sides of the same coin, as it were. One night, after a particularly grueling match with Natalya, in which Natalya actually spat in her face to the reception of boo's from the crowd, [Y/N] was feeling exceptionally down. She knew it was coming. She had told Natalya to give it her all. And it was only a storyline. It really shouldn't have affected her as much as it had. As much as it did. Sami had been right behind the curtain throughout the whole ordeal. He handed [Y/N] a towel to wipe off her face. "Really put the spit in spit-take, huh?" She wiped herself off with the towel, and threw it back to him. "No one laughed." "Good. That means they love you as much as I do." Sami slung the towel around his neck, and an arm around her slumped shoulders. "Guess you can sleep easy tonight knowing the entire WWE universe is probably writing hate tweets to Nattie as we speak." She looked up at him as they walked towards the locker rooms, placed a hand on his scruff and scratched it adoringly, before giving him a light slap on the cheek. "That's not nice, Sami. I wish they'd send me love tweets instead of sending her hate tweets." "Now that is a very noble and sweet thing to say. But, the heel makes the face, so..." "Did you just quote Glow at me?" "Who? What? Me? That wasn't Glow, that was..." He snapped his fingers, the bullshit answer coming to him. "...Vince McMahon." "Sami Zayn, you dumb, lovable idiot." "I'll take that as a compliment."

She couldn't sleep. That nightmare couldn't have taken more than a couple minutes for her brain to concoct and perform, and yet it had kept her awake for hours. It was Nattie's face, and yet it wasn't her face at all. It was warped, like the mirrors in a funhouse. Actually, now that she thought about it, the nightmare might have been about Nattie chasing her through a never ending hallway of funhouse mirrors, but it was hard to tell at this point. It had freaked her out. She had woken up in a cold sweat, and now she couldn't fall back asleep. She checked the time. 1:27 am. Fuck me, she thought, biting her thumbnail. Everything in the hotel was probably locked up or closed by now. The gym, the pool, the bar where she might've been able to drink herself to sleep. She didn't want to do it, but...at this point, she had no choice. Grabbing her phone off the nightstand, swallowing down every thought she had to deny herself this small ease of her soul, she opened up her chat with Sami. It took her a solid, oh, fifteen minutes to decide on her factual opener. Did you know mosquitos are most attracted to the color blue? It was about another minute or two before she saw the tell-tale chat bubble appear on the screen, signaling that Sami was typing a response. I didn't, actually. Remind me never to wear blue when we visit the south in the summer.

She let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to ask, then. Why she was still up. Her respect for him grew with every passing moment. I will. Also, don't wear black in the summer. Or anything dark, for that matter. Dark colors absorb all colors of light rays, as well as heat. You sure know a lot about colors, don't you? She bit her lip, holding back a smile. Eh, well, you know. I dabble. Dabbling is good, haha. I enjoy dabbling, now and then. I am quite the dabbler. Really? Oh, yeah. I've dabbled in marine biology. For example, did you know that a whale's penis is, ahem, scientifically called a dork? The only dork here is you. No way that's its scientific name. Also, leave it to the man to start talking about penis in a little light hearted, dabbling conversation. Ouch, that hurts. You got me, I'm not sure if it's scientific. Did you know that a male giraffe's penis is approximately four feet in length? That's about the size of an emperor penguin, or about the average height of a seven year old child. Oh my god. Now who's talking about penises? (Penisi?) I hope Finn and his stuffed animal giraffes stay far away from me for the next few weeks. I won't be able to stop thinking about what you've just told me. I feel so emasculated. [Y/N] burst out laughing. She was glad she didn't have a roommate this week, or else they totally would've cussed her out by now. All that tossing and turning, and now she was giggling uncontrollably at her phone screen. Emasculated? Come on. I'm serious. I will never, in my life, have a penis that large. That's upsetting. It truly is. The common shrew's penis is only a fifth of an inch long, on average, but relative to its body size, they're well endowed. So don't feel too bad. I am absolutely in awe at how much more you know about penises than me. My hope is that you don't know any of this from experience. Christ, Sami, NO. Omg, ew. I have definitely NOT dabbled in bestiality, thank you very much. Hahahaha, okay. Just making sure. ...So is that all you got? 😉 [Y/N] stared at the bright screen. She'd already woken him up, and it was nearing two thirty in the morning already. They'd probably be awake in the next three hours, since the gym opened up at 5:30. At this point, sleep wasn't much of an issue. She looked up at the ceiling, then back at the clock. 2:25. ....Boy, I'm just getting started.

So you're telling me that a superstitious pope is to blame for the Black Death? Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you. So if this pope had just, left these cats alone, and not told people that they were the devil's brood, that the Black Death probably wouldn't have happened, because cats kill rats. The rats, of course, being the cause of the plague. Absolutely. And that he is the reason people, to this day, are so put off by cats. Which is stupid. Cats are amazing. I'm totally in agreement. Gucci is a fine example. Gucci is probably the best example, imho. She's the paragon of all feline kind, if you ask her. Oh, speaking of cats. Did you know that cats were highly revered in Egypt I had heard about that, yeah. Yeah, pharaohs would be buried with their pets, mainly cats and dogs, along with their families and concubines. The cats were supposed to help guide their spirits to the afterlife. Is that why people say that cats can see ghosts? Sometimes Gucci yowls at the wall. OMG, are you serious? 😂 Yes. I'm totally serious. You might need to have her checked out, tbqh. Absolutely not. My Gucci is perfect. Okay, then.... So I've got a useless fact for you. In the nineteenth century, there was a construction foreman named Phineas Gage who, after some miscommunication or malfunction with explosives, got a metal rod shot through his brain, and lived. He fucking LIVED? Yeah, he lived. For another twelve years. That's just...that's insane. Twelve years? Christ. Yeah, crazy isn't it? Extraordinary. Now, I'm going back to animals because animals are fun. By all means. Did you know that bloodhounds are the only animals whose evidence is admissible in court? Really? Must be why Sherlock Holmes had one. Yeah. Apparently their noses have forty times the amount of receptors that human noses do, so it's easy for them to connect blood at the scene of a murder with the suspect who may have committed the act. Commit murder, stay away from dogs. Duly noted. Sami. Sami, no. I'm kidding, lol. Do I look like the type of guy who could kill someone? [Y/N] dropped her phone on her lap, incredulous. She sat there, head leaning against the headboard for a good long while. Could she imagine him killing someone? The answer was only too obvious. Sami, you wrestle for a living. The only reason you haven't killed someone yet is because you and the other person know what they're doing, and it's professional. Imagine yourself fighting someone who has no training whatsoever; you get mad one night and fists start flying. To me, you don’t look like you could hurt anyone. But you could hurt someone if you wanted to.

Why would I be fighting them, though? I feel like if I killed someone, it would have to be a very good reason. Not that I'm saying murder is justifiable. But. You know. The conversation had taken quite a turn. It was morbid at best, revealing at worst. She typed a response. Let's say they hurt me. Badly. On purpose. Would you kill someone for that? His response was static. It was like she'd accidentally pressed "scan" on the radio and nothing came up but noise. She was glad of it, though. It meant he was taking his time to think about it. If he said yes too quickly, it meant he really, honestly, couldn't give a fuck about human life, which she knew was untrue. If he said no too quickly, it meant he really could give a fuck about her. It was a selfish, loaded question. But she had typed it out anyway. I'd probably beat them to near death, if I could get away with it. Make sure they never hurt you again, or at least that they got the picture. An exhale of breath. Phew. Best answer, in her mind. Why is that so....sweet? Lol. I do consider myself sweet, so I'm glad to hear you say that. She dropped her phone on her chest with a smile. It was getting brighter, all of a sudden. Only then did she realize that soft light was glowing through the window shades. She checked the clock on the nightstand. 5:59. Sami, it's six o'clock in the morning. The gym's been open for a half hour! I know, [Y/N]. She stared at his answer. Why didn't he say anything? Why didn't you say so? I was having too much fun texting you. There they were. The butterflies that came to assault her tummy once every thousand exchanges. Sure, they toed the line of flirtation more times than she could count in a day. But sometimes, she could tell there was something different about the way he said certain things. That's all fine and great but we gotta go! Let's go, Sami, get ready. Gym time! 🤗 All right, [Y/N]. Give me ten minutes, I'll be knocking at your door.  

Teal sports bra, black yoga shorts, teal Adidas on her feet. Hair in a high ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe some eyeliner? Nah, just mascara. She rubbed her hands together, shifted weight between her left leg and her right. "Ooh," she shivered. The AC was way too low. Might have been half the reason she couldn't sleep. She grabbed a towel out of her gym bag, and a water bottle out of the mini fridge. A knock. Her mouth widened into a smile as she turned to open the door. She opened it to find a just showered Sami Zayn, ginger curls at the top of his head dripping lightly with moisture. He looked up to meet her eyes, and her heart nearly stopped at the sight. Those lovely dark eyes could melt the most cold hearted bitch. He stood there for a moment, didn't say a word. She wondered what he was thinking. Then, "Good morning, [Y/N]." "Good morning, Sami. How'd you sleep?" She shut the door behind her, and they made their way towards the elevator. "Not well. Some girl kept me awake last night. Kept spewing a bunch of weird facts at me." "Really?" She grinned. "Why didn't you tell her to stop?" A button pressed. The ding of an elevator, doors swinging open. He placed an arm to hold the doors, motioning as if to say, "ladies first." She pressed the button for the second floor, above the lobby, where the gym was. "Well, I don't know. She was really opening my mind about a lot of things. I learned a lot. She's really intelligent." "Nah. I wouldn't say spewing useless information is a result of intelligence. Anyone can remember a couple bullshit facts." He poked her in the tummy. "Well, I think it's endearing." He shifted on his feet, leaning against the back wall of the elevator. "Did you know that most people who die in elevators are elevator technicians? Statistically, it's the safest form of travel." Sami chuckled silently to himself. "Unless you have an elevator technician degree I don't know about, I guess we're fine, then, huh?" The elevator jolted suddenly, scaring them both. She grabbed his hand instinctually, dropping it once the elevator continued its descent to the second floor. He looked at her, and they both laughed awkwardly. "Why were you awake all night?" Sami asked her, finally. "Um." It was getting cold, and she could feel herself beginning to shiver. "You can tell me. You know you can." It was hard to dismiss those puppy dog eyes of his. They bore into her soul, begging her to spill her secrets. "I had a, a nightmare." It sounded like a question. She placed her water bottle on the floor of the elevator, the condensation of the beverage freezing her fingers. "I couldn't go back to sleep, but. I didn't want to say anything." "You could've told me." "I know, it's just," she crossed her arms against her, trying to draw heat from her own body that wasn't there. "I didn't want to worry you." "Hey, [Y/N]." His voice was a mere whisper, hardly audible if they hadn't been standing in an elevator, two feet apart. Sami closed the distance between them. "Yeah?" She whispered back. He cupped her chin, lightly pressing at her jaw. Their eyes met, and the butterflies and her stomach began their fluttering song. His eyes ran over her, studying every line of her face. When they paused a bit too long at her lips, the doors swung open, the sharp "ding" of the elevator indicating they had finally made it to the second floor. [Y/N] looked away from him, towards the open doors, but as she made to move, Sami shifted his body, stopping her for just a moment before he pushed a button. The doors dinged closed, and she looked back at him, confused. "There's something I need to tell you, and I don't think I should tell you in the middle of the gym, where our friends can see us. In fact, we've been lucky so far that no one's stopped this elevator." He scanned her again, the look on his face full of love and adoration. "What is it, Sami? What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" He chuckled. "There's nothing wrong. Everything's absolutely perfect." He paused. Then he continued. "Fact. I'm in love with my best friend and I think she's in love with me, too." What? "You heard me. Fact. I'm in love with my best friend. And I think," he paused again, looking straight through to the dark recesses of her soul, "she's in love with me, too." This was un-freaking-believable. Her mind was spinning. It was like the whole world had been turned upside down. But why? Why was this so difficult to understand? Just moments ago her heart was fluttering. Moments ago, she was wishing this was true and now it was and it was the one fact in the world she couldn't believe. "Believe it, baby. That's one fact that'll never change. I'm in love with you." And then his mouth was on hers like it was meant to be there all along. His body leaned in, begging to be touched. Her fingers ran under his shirt, grazing the ginger hairs of his tummy and his chest, feeling the goosebumps rising from his skin. His tongue flicked over her lips, and she opened them, every one of her vulnerabilities drifting away as he kissed her more passionately with every fleeting second, his tongue searching for hers in longing, and she met him briefly, before pushing him back just an inch to catch her breath. Her eyes looked away, shifting everywhere but to his own. Their breaths slowed and deepened, each passing moment bathing her in serenity. At last, her eyes locked onto his. "Fact. I'm in love with you, too. Now and always." He granted her a smile that would not go away, a smile that felt like starlight and sunshine, all at once. And the butterflies never stopped fluttering.

"If you don't have too many requests, would you be able to do a Sami Zayn one where the reader stays up all night texting texting Sami facts he'll never need to know or use in life. When he asks her why she stayed up all night, she says it's because she had a nightmare but she was too afraid to tell him about it. If you want to do this, thanks!" - anon

[reomanet]

Burn pit vet's widower says memos show that grave illness didn't need to happen

Burn pit vet’s widower says memos show that grave illness didn’t need to happen

Fox News Investigates Published 1 day ago Burn pit vet’s widower says memos show that grave illness didn’t need to happen By Perry Chiaramonte | Fox News Comments Print Email close Video Memos warned of burn pit usage ,Brian Muller speaks out, believes his wife, Amie died as a result of exposure to burn pits. It was in 2009 when Brian Muller first met his wife, Amie. “We actually met at a music venue. And at the time I was playing music in a band and she had some friends there that were at the event,” Muller, 45, from Woodbury, Minn., recalls in a recent interview with Fox News. “Her friends forced her to go out. I forced myself to go out and just to see some music.” He remembers how they discussed her service with the Minnesota Air National Guard. “We ended up talking about what she does with the military,” he says, “and at that time, she was doing a project to make video memorials for gold star families. Families that lost loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan or any type of war.” “She asked me to write a song for those videos. And that's how we kind of started our relationship, as– friends, and then it developed from there.” Brian has never served in the military but was impressed by Amie’s service — including her two tours in Iraq. “She wanted to fly, and she joined the Air Force. And she got deployed and had her life kind of uprooted there for a while.” Amie was stationed at Air Force Base Balad during both of her tours in 2005 and 2007 and while her active service was already behind her, the effects from her time on that base still lingered. “She didn't really want to talk about her time over there,” Brian says. “Anytime a door would slam or a loud noise, she'd get startled very easily. She had a lot of PTSD [episodes] from just little things.” Amie Muller served two tours of duty at AFB Balad in 2005 and 2007 where her husband Brian says she was exposed to the toxic smoke of nearby burn pits. (Courtesy of Brian Muller) A decade after returning from Iraq, Amie’s physical health also suffered. She was diagnosed with Stage III Pancreatic Cancer. “I still remember Amie getting the call, and she looked at me,” Muller says about the day they found out about her diagnosis back in April 2016. “We walked around the corner just to make sure the kids didn't see. I could tell by the look in her face how scared she was. And I just kind of listening in to the call. And we just started shaking. Both she and Brian believed it was related to her exposure to open-air burn pits used to destroy trash generated on the base. Nearly every U.S. military base in Iraq during the war used the crude method of burn pit disposal, but Balad was known for having one of the largest operations, burning nearly 150 tons of waste a day. The smoke generated from these pits hung above Amie’s barracks daily. “She talked about the burn pits even before she got cancer,” Muller recalls, “and how the fact that they would change the filters on these ventilation systems quite frequently. And every time they'd change it would just be this black soot, so thick that you would think you'd have to change it every hour.” “After she told me what they were burning, you know, all I thought about is all the campfires that we had in our backyard. You don't burn Styrofoam. You don't burn plastic. We all know that, but they were burning all those things. Highly toxic.” Nearly a decade after her return, Muller was diagnosed with stage III pancreatic cancer and died just nine months later. As early as Operation Desert Storm in 1991, burn pits were used on U.S. military bases in Iraq. At the height of the Iraq War in 2005, more than 300,000 troops were stationed there and potentially exposed to the smoke and fumes from burn pits. Thousands of veterans and former contractors returned from the Middle East and have developed rare cancers, respiratory problems, and blood disorders from what they claim are their exposure to toxins from the flaming pits. More than 140,000 active-service members and retirees have put their names on a Burn Pit Registry created by the Department of Veterans Affairs. After Amie was diagnosed and her treatment began, she and her family went public with her story in the hopes that it would bring awareness to the dangers she and countless veterans faced after what they believe was a result of burn pit exposure. Amie succumbed to her illness just nine months after she first diagnosed. In her absence, Brian continued Amie’s work in raising awareness by sharing her story. He also worked closely with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., toward getting “The Helping Veterans Exposed To Burn Pits Act” — a bipartisan bill recently presented in Washington and signed by President Trump – passed. The bill will help fund a new center by the Department of Veterans Affairs that will study the effects of burn pit exposure and eventually assist with treatment plans. He also started the Amie Muller Foundation, which helps other veterans who were diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. “I just hope that our vets are going to get the help they need,” Brian says, “and it's not going bring back Amie, my wife, but it's going to get veterans the help they need.” But recent findings show that the Pentagon was aware of the dangers of burn pits during the height of the war in Iraq. Fox News recently obtained a series of memos drafted by top officials at AFB Balad during the same years that Amie served on the base. The authors of the documents — which include commanding officers as well as environmental officials — stated that the operation of burn pits was a danger to those stationed there and that precautions needed to be taken urgently to improve conditions. “I don’t understand why they didn’t do something. These are people that volunteered to serve our country, and it just disgusts me to see memos like that, from high ranking officers that expressed this concern.” — Brian Muller “In my professional opinion, there is an acute health hazard for individuals,” reads a line from one memo written by a Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight Commander and the Chief of Aeromedical Services at Balad in 2006. “There is also the possibility for chronic health hazards associated with the smoke.” The memo also includes an assessment of the pits in Balad where one environmental inspector said that Balad’s burn pit was “the worst environmental site I have personally visited.” After inquiries by Fox News regarding the memos, Officials for the Department of Defense said that they would look into the matter and explained their procedural policy and that open-air burn pits are to be operated in a manner that prevents or minimizes risk. “DOD does not dispose of covered waste in open-air burn pits during contingency operations except when the combatant commander determines there are no feasible alternative methods available,” reads the statement provided by a Defense Department spokeswoman. “DOD minimizes other solid waste disposal in open-air burn pits during contingency operations. Generally, open-air burn pits are a short-term solution. For the longer term, we use incinerators, engineered landfills, or other accepted solid waste management practices whenever feasible.” Muller finds the memos troublesome. “I don't understand why they didn't do something,” he says after being shown a copy of the memos. “These are people that volunteered to serve our country, and it just disgusts me to see memos like that, from high ranking officers that expressed this concern.” Muller adds that the underlying issue is a lack of accountability. “The issue is they were doing something they shouldn't have done, that they constantly warned was an environmental hazard,” he says. “And our vets are getting sick. Our vets are dying.” “You know, there was a fellow that did a video—‘ Delay, Deny and Hope You Die .’ And that's kind of what's been going on. They're delaying this as long as possible so that they won't have to deal with as many claims, because most of them will die before they do anything about it.” Burn pits, like this one at FOB Marez, were originally considered a temporary measure to get rid of huge amounts of waste generated at bases. The array of material sent to the pits is said to have included plastics, batteries, metals, appliances, medicine, dead animals and even human waste. (Courtesy of John Nelson) Muller also believes that Amie would have never fallen ill if it wasn’t for the fact that she was stationed at Balad. “I don't think she would have gotten cancer. I really don't. Maybe she would have later in life. Maybe it would have been some other type of cancer. I don't know,” he says. “But something caused inflammation — for something to grow in her body for a long period of time before it was ever seen and diagnosed. There was something going on with all of the vets when they got back.” In a recent interview with Fox News, Gen. David Petraeus , the former commander of U.S. Central Command and Multi-National Force-Iraq in 2007, offered an explanation when asked about why burn pits were used on military bases, conceding that the realities of war kept concerns about how to dispose of waste a low priority at that time. “At that time we weren't worried about burn pits,” The general said back in September. “We were worried about just getting enough water for our troops in the really hot summer. We were looking forward to the time where we might get some real food, real rations, as opposed to MREs and so forth.” The general also expressed that the U.S. has a commitment toward helping those veterans. “It's a sacred obligation,” Petraeus said. “But comparing what our VA does to any other country's care of veterans…this is the gold standard. Certainly, a gold standard that can always improve, without question. This is an issue, though, where we have a sacred obligation, and we need to meet that obligation.” Muller believes the general’s recent comments to be a sign of a move in the right direction. “When you start seeing men in uniform, or women in uniform, people higher up in the military starting to voice their concerns, you know we're making progress.” Perry Chiaramonte is a producer with Fox News Channel’s Investigative Unit. Follow him on Twitter at @perrych

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