#We continue through 4.5
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jigrabble · 1 year ago
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After saving throughout 4.4, i took a stab at the 4.5 chronicle banner. Charted the course for WGS, which i got (75 pity) after losing my 50/50 to Skyward Harp (76 pity).
Standard gave Aquila Favonia at 80 hard earned pity lmao
Weapon banner gifted Kazoo's sig at 68 pity... So close to being nice
I wanna start a thread of pulls chronicling my 5 star luck.
3.3
Wanderer banner: won 50/50 at 74 pity
3.4
Xiao banner: lost 50/50 to c1 mona at 77 pity, got him at 3rd pity
Al-Haitham banner: won 50/50 at 30 pity
Gonna keep updating this as we proceed to more patches. F2P btw
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zorthania · 10 months ago
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A piece about survivors guilt.
This comic isn't perfect. I started it back in October 2023, and every time I picked up my pen, I wept.
I bring this to you today, on 9/11, in hopes that you reflect on this day a little differently than how most Americans would. Let it move you to continue to boycott, protest and challenge your family, friends and colleagues. You have a bigger impact than you would believe.
Thank you for reading this with an open heart.
From the river to the sea...
I'd like to bring to attention the fact that the figures depicted above are a gross undercount of the actual number of deaths. I scoured the internet high and low to source my findings and not a single one could break down the devastation that befell an individual ethnicity. Instead, they lumped a bunch of ethnicities together, provided a general timeline, and called it a day, reinforcing the sheer scale of dehumanization propagated in the west. The only consistency between all the articles I looked up was the 4.5 to 4.7 million figure I've included above, and even then, they were all published by western media news outlets... the very same that have been so unreliable and complicit in the genocide of Palestinians today. So I have to take everything they say with a grain of salt.
We are not just numbers.
All of us have ambitions and desires and lives worth living.
With that said, this is your friendly reminder to:
Donate an e-sim
Donate to PCRF to provide Palestinian children aid
Donate to Pious Projects to provide woman with feminine hygiene kits
Donate to CareForGaza to provide food to displaced families in Gaza either through their Gofundme or their paypal
Donate to any of the vetted gofundme campaigns on GazaFunds to help Palestinians trying to flee Gaza.
And if you or someone you know sees or experiences a hate crime and can afford it, SUE. This is a more effective use of your money than most realise. The reason zionists act with impunity is because of the normalization of white supremacy and oppression of ethnic minorities. Challenging that in any capacity tells them that there are consequences to their actions and makes them think twice before engaging in hate crimes and helps raise all of us up against the systems currently in place that let them get away with it.
If you can't donate or spend any money, you can:
Do your daily clicks.
Boycott targeted companies on the BDS list (if you're like me and you don't want a single dollar to go towards anything supporting Israel right now, you can use Bdnaash to double check what products are okay to buy, but the BDS list is sufficient as it is a strategic attack and proven very effective thus far)
Flood your representatives emails and voicemails with how you won't be voting for them unless their politics align with an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Attend a protest, be LOUD.
Challenge your circle of friends, family and colleagues with conversations about Palestine. (THIS IS THE MOST UNDERRATED AND MOST EFFECTIVE THING YOU CAN DO)
and if you're really up to, be disruptive in any capacity that you can think of towards major corporations benefiting from this onslaught. (i.e. halting military manufacturers from production + shipments, sticking boycott stickers on products at your market etc)
And finally, if your country wasn't mentioned in the above excerpt, it was no deliberate omission on my part and I encourage you to come forward and tell your story about the suffering of your people so that this may be a learning opportunity for everyone.
You are seen.
You are not alone.
Thank you again if you've read this far.
From the river to the sea...
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creature-wizard · 14 days ago
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I just went to YouTube to try and search for "evidence against creationism." Halfway through the word "again," the site suggested "evidence against evolution."
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When I searched for "evidence against creationism," let's just say the results were disappointing. Here's a list of the first fifteen videos that came up:
What’s the evidence for a 6,000 year old Earth? (pro-creationism)
The Definitive Guide to Debunking Creationists Part 1: Cosmology/Planetary Science (anti-creationism)
Shortest Scientist vs Creationist debate ever. (stance unclear)
"Creation Scientist Shocks Joe Rogan with Mind-Blowing Evidence Against Evolution!" (presented as pro-creationism)
Why Evolution Is FALSE (pro-creationism)
SIX Biological Evidences for Creation - Pt.1 (pro-creationism)
Richard Dawkins: One Fact to Refute Creationism (anti-creationism)
Creationist Stumps Evolutionary Professors with ONE Question! (pro-creationism)
7 Scientific Reasons why Darwinian Evolution is a Myth (pro-creationism)
Oxford Mathematician DESTROYS Atheism In Less Than 15 Minutes (BRILLIANT!) (clickbait title, video is of a theistic scientist talking about his beliefs)
6 Reasons Not to Believe in Evolution | Proof for God
How old is the Earth --- 6,000 years or 4.5 billion? (anti-young earth creationism, though the creator claims Egyptian mummies are 200,000 years old, so...)
Evolutionary Biologist Reacts to Young Earth Creationist Arguments (anti-creationism)
This Is the Absolute BEST Evidence for Biblical Creation | Ken Ham (pro-creationism)
We Challenge All Evolutionists to Watch This Video! (pro-creationism)
So out of the first fifteen results for "evidence against creationism," only two of them have any actual relevance. Nine of the videos are straight up antiscience propaganda pushing young earth creationist pseudoscience.
The trend continued to hold after this, with some relevant videos here and there but most of the content promoting young earth creationism.
This is bad. Very bad. The purpose of young earth creationism is to turn people into Christofascists and to deny the reality of anthropogenic climate change.
So what do we do?
We make noise.
We make a conscious effort to create and promote more pro-science content and educate people against this chicanery. We intensify any and all activism against Christofascist BS. We get up and kick this BS in the ass, that's what we do.
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novascharms · 5 months ago
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teach please me — tutor!reader x soccer player!rafe
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reader's life is meticulously planned, from high school to becoming president of the country—she knows exactly where she's headed and every step to get there. but her airtight plan hits a snag when the principal ropes her into tutoring rafe cameron, the school’s star soccer player, who’s failing algebra and at risk of being benched next season. the team needs him on the field, and reader needs the principal’s glowing recommendation to secure her spot at her dream school. balancing her ambitious goals with rafe’s chaotic charm might just throw her perfectly crafted plan off track.
word count — 4.5 chapter index — prev. chap. — next chap. masterlist
a.n – this chapter and almost all that follow have adult content so mdni <3
thirteen
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wednesday, february 11th you weaved through the bustling hallways, the hum of chatter and clattering lockers filling the air. one hand gripped the strap of your bag tightly, the other fussed with your stubborn tights, which seemed determined to slip down at every possible moment. the sheer chaos of the school morning swirled around you, but you tried to push through it.
“y/n, i have a banging idea for the next pep rally!” a voice called from beside you, and you glanced over to see one of the soccer guys—ian, maybe? you weren’t entirely sure.
“we have a suggestion box for all your banging ideas,” you replied with a polite, practiced smile, keeping your pace brisk.
ian raised his brows in genuine surprise. “really? had no idea.”
of course he didn’t—it had only been advertised on every floor, in every hallway. why would he know that?
“anyway, this can’t wait,” he continued, now walking in front of you as if to command your full attention. his hands gestured wildly as he spoke. “imagine this: it’s evening on the field, the whole school’s there. a massive, ten-foot-tall trojan horse gets wheeled onto the field. everyone’s confused, a little lost, but they just go along with it, assuming it’s some kind of prop. and then—bam! we start blasting ‘power’ or some other fire ass ye song, and we burst out of the horse! everyone goes wild!”
you blinked at him, exhaling softly. “you want me to green-light twenty-six boys being wheeled into a ten-foot-tall trojan horse?” you asked, your voice flat as you tried to make sense of the absurdity.
“yeah!” he grinned. “i bet we can find one on ebay or something, right?”
you were already mentally checking out of the conversation. “ian. suggestion box,” you repeated with a polite but pointed smile, then quickly made your way toward the office.
“morning, diane,” you mouthed to the older receptionist, who was on the phone. then you turned to sandy at the front desk.
“morning, sandy. is he in?”
they both smiled at you warmly. sandy shook his head. “he’s running late—traffic—but he said you could wait in his office. rafe’s already in there.”
you nodded, murmured a quick thank you, and headed down the hall. as you opened the door to the principal’s office, your breath caught slightly. rafe was by the window, his profile outlined by the soft morning light filtering through the glass.
he turned at the sound of the door closing, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. it was the kind of smile that made your knees feel weak, the kind that pulled you in despite every warning bell in your mind.
“hey,” he greeted, his tone casual but laced with that charm that only he could pull off.
“hi,” you murmured, your voice barely audible as your stomach churned. you shuffled closer to him, like a moth to a flame.
“sleep okay?” he asked softly, his hands finding their place on your waist as your arms looped lazily around his neck.
you glared at him, though the heat in your cheeks betrayed you. “i tell you about one little dream, and you can’t stop teasing me about it,” you complained, your voice a mix of annoyance and fondness.
he chuckled, his nose brushing against yours. “what? i can’t just ask if you slept okay?” his grin widened. “i mean, i’d hate—really hate—for you to not be well-rested.”
“right,” you muttered, rolling your eyes as you tried to shove him away.
“no, okay, sorry,” he said quickly, pulling you back in with ease. his arms tightened around your waist, and your breath hitched as he whispered against your skin, “sorry.” his lips found the soft spot between your neck and shoulder, leaving the faintest kiss there.
your mind went fuzzy, and you knew you had to pull away before you completely lost yourself. “you should be,” you murmured, stepping back. his hands lingered, trailing down your arms until they caught your fingers, and he slowly reeled you back in.
you barely had time to react before his lips were on yours, soft and deliberate. his kiss was slow, like he was savoring every moment, and it sent tingles all the way down to your toes. your heart raced, and for a second, it felt like nothing else in the world mattered.
but just as you were getting lost in the moment, rafe pulled back, his lips brushing your cheek with a gentle kiss. the warmth in your face intensified, and the smirk that tugged at his lips when he noticed your flustered state made you quickly turn away, moving to sit down.
the moment didn’t last. principal oakley walked in not five seconds later, hanging up his coat as he greeted you both. “good morning. apologies for my tardiness,” he said, settling into his chair. “y/n, why don’t you update me on rafe’s progress?”
the meeting was quick—rafe’s recent algebra tests had been promising, his improvement better than expected. there wasn’t much else to discuss.
leaving the office was harder than you expected. you spent the better half of the morning making out in a forgotten classroom, fully aware of how risky it was but unable to resist. your friends were already suspicious, but you couldn’t stop yourself. couldn’t stop thinking about his touch, his smile, the way he made you feel like the only person in the world.
the day dragged when you weren’t with him. history class felt like it lasted seven hours, but when you checked the clock, only fifteen minutes had passed. yet ten minutes with rafe felt like mere seconds. it wasn’t normal.
“stop fidgeting,” hazel muttered, poking your arm.
“i’m not fidgeting,” you whispered back, trying to focus on the lecture. history wasn’t your favorite, and with rafe’s friends walking past the window—topper, cleo, jj, adriana, and cora—it became even harder.
adriana’s gaze flicked to you as though she sensed your eyes on her. she smirked, cold and knowing, before turning away. it left you unsettled, the image of her with rafe at the bonfire resurfacing in your mind. no matter how much you tried to erase it, it lingered.
when lunch rolled around, you were late to the cafeteria, an errand keeping you behind. balancing your lunch tray, you scanned the room for your friends. you spotted devon’s familiar burgundy hair and made your way over.
but as you approached, your steps faltered. rafe was sitting with them. right next to ivy.
your eyes locked with hazel’s, and she gave you a smile that, to anyone else, might have seemed genuine. but years of friendship had taught you better. that was her “what the actual fuck?” smile—tight, strained, and full of unspoken commentary.
“hey.” your voice came out a little breathless, a small, panicked smile tugging at your lips. “i’m so sorry, but i think you might be sitting in my spot,” you said lightly, eyes flicking toward rafe, who was looking up at you with insincere concern.
“oh, right here? this spot?” he asked, playing along far too smoothly. his voice was casual, but his gaze was sharp, teasing.
you nodded, doing your best to stay composed. “mhm, that one. yours is actually about twenty-five steps that way.” you gestured toward the general area where his loud, boisterous friends were sat.
“oh, shit. my bad.” he leaned back slightly in his chair, gesturing to his lap with infuriating nonchalance. “here, though—feel free to take a seat.”
you blinked at him, then shot ivy a glare when she stifled her laugh behind her hand. “seriously. i must be missing something, right?” you asked as you moved to sit next to hazel, directly across from rafe.
“missing something?” rafe echoed, popping a blueberry into his mouth like he didn’t have a care in the world. “nah, just figured i’d sit here. it’s a free country, isn’t it?”
you crossed your arms, leaning back in your chair as you gave him a pointed look. “mhm. out of all the tables in this cafeteria, you just happened to choose this one.”
“exactly,” he replied with a shrug, grinning as if he’d just made a brilliant point. “i like this table.”
you narrowed your eyes, trying to keep your voice steady. “this wouldn’t have anything to do with yesterday’s… altercation that you refuse to talk about, would it?”
for a split second, something flickered in his expression—irritation, maybe—but it was gone just as quickly as it came. instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “you know,” he began, tone mock-offended, “i’m starting to get the vibe that you don’t want me here. and honestly? as the student body president, i expected better from you. this feels like peak himbo discrimination.”
all three of your friends broke into laughter, and you hated that you felt even the tiniest bit proud of him for getting that reaction. he looked proud of himself, too—grinning like he’d just won an award.
you sighed, shaking your head as you tried to rein in your own smile. “okay, well, as a president who stands for democracy, i say we have a vote.”
“excellent idea,” rafe said, leaning back in his chair with exaggerated confidence. “alright, raise your hand if i can stay at this table.”
ivy and devon’s hands shot up instantly, their laughter still echoing. hazel, on the other hand, merely smiled, her hand staying firmly down.
rafe turned his attention to her, his grin widening. “what can i do to win you over?”
hazel gave him an assessing look, tilting her head slightly. “why do you want to win me over? it’s two against one—you’ve already won.”
“because,” rafe replied smoothly, “i prefer a unanimous vote. i’m a man of the people.”
it was honestly unfair how good he looked, even in the terrible cafeteria lighting. you had to force yourself to focus as hazel hummed thoughtfully, twirling her fork in her pasta. then, she smiled—the kind of smile that spelled trouble.
“okay, man of the people,” she said, her tone sweetly mocking. “if you stand up on your chair right now and tell everyone in this cafeteria to vote for y/n as student body president in september, then you have my vote.”
your eyes widened in horror, and you were already shaking your head before rafe could even respond. “no. absolutely not. hazel, stop.”
hazel was laughing now, clearly delighted by your reaction, but rafe looked completely unfazed. in fact, he seemed almost excited. “c’mon,” he said, standing like it was the easiest thing in the world.
your hand shot out, gripping his wrist in desperation as you laughed nervously. “rafe, no. please, don’t. i’m begging you—don’t do this to me.”
“relax,” he said, his tone amused as he gently tried to shake you off.
but you weren’t taking any chances. you jumped up, practically lunging at him to shove him back down into his seat. “rafe,” you hissed, your voice barely above a whisper as you tried not to draw even more attention to the scene you were making. “if you do this, i swear to god, i will burst into tears. please, just sit down.”
he was laughing so hard at this point that he could barely get the words out. “okay, okay, relax. i won’t do it.”
hazel, however, was doubled over with laughter, clearly enjoying every second of your panic. after a moment, she raised her hand in mock surrender. “alright, fine. i believe you would’ve done it if y/n weren’t trying to tackle you. you have my vote.”
you close your eyes briefly, a wave of relief washing over you as he finally sits back down. your shoulders relax, and you slide into your seat next to hazel. "would you look at that? unanimous win. maybe i should run for student body president next year," rafe teases, a crooked grin playing on his lips.
your brows lift, and a smile tugs at your face. "you’d probably make soccer a mandatory class. no thanks," ivy cuts in, pulling a face and shaking her head.
rafe chuckles, leaning back in his chair with that effortless charm. "soccer’s fun, and i genuinely think it’s one of the best games to introduce to kids and high schoolers," he says, his tone light but earnest.
devon grimaces, setting down her drink. "why?"
"because soccer is kind of like spiderman," rafe begins, a glint in his eye. "anyone can wear the mask. anyone can be good at soccer. you can mix girls and boys, or have girls play against boys. you can have younger players against older ones, and none of that determines whether you’ll win or lose. boys aren’t naturally better at soccer than girls. you can be short and still kick ass, you can be younger and still outplay someone older. my friends and i once played a group of thirteen-year-olds, and they destroyed us. like, 13-2. they wiped the floor with us."
"13-2? jesus!" ivy blurts out, laughing in disbelief.
rafe grins, wide and unashamed. "and i swear on everything i love, we didn’t let them win. they were just so damn fast! we thought we’d go easy on them for the first five minutes, but then—" he shakes his head, laughing. "then we realized they were just… better. like, so much better."
hazel scrunches up her face, leaning forward. "okay, but one time i took a soccer ball to the head, and i swear i died for, like, five minutes."
you can’t help but grin at the memory, biting your lip to keep from laughing.
devon throws her head back, laughing loudly. "you were saying you saw the light!" she teases, and hazel groans, shoving her playfully.
the laughter feels too brief as the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. the table scatters, and soon it’s just you and rafe lingering by the door. it’s painfully obvious that neither of you wants to leave, but the hallway is too crowded for anything more than a shared glance. you almost lean in, almost kiss him goodbye right there in front of everyone, but common sense wins out. still, the way his lips twitch into a knowing smile nearly undoes you.
he leans in close, his voice soft and quiet. "bye, baby."
your heart stutters, and you pray no one heard it. partly because you're not exactly going public with your..situationship but also because you never want those words to belong to anyone else but you.
the rest of the day drags painfully, and you find yourself counting the minutes since you last saw him, like some sort of lovesick fool. when the final bell rings, you dawdle on purpose and take the longest route possible to the bicycle parking station. the field comes into view, and there he is—running, shouting, doing whatever it is that soccer players do.
you slow your pace, pretending to be interested in anything else, but your eyes can’t leave him. his hair sticks to his forehead, damp with sweat, but somehow he looks unfairly good. he moves with a kind of grace you didn’t think soccer players had, and for a moment, you forget yourself.
when you finally make it home, the quiet wraps around you like a comforting blanket. it’s exactly what you need after the long day—and what you need to focus on the mountain of work waiting for you. three assignments, a full day of classes to review, and preparations for the valentine’s day event still loomed.
you fix yourself a cup of tea, savoring the warmth as it steadies your nerves, then settle at your desk. for almost two blissful hours, you work uninterrupted, a rare miracle in your chaotic household.
you're knees-deep in your second biology assignment of the night, the one you’ve been chipping away at for hours but that keeps morphing into something harder every time you think you’ve got a handle on it. the diagrams blur together, and your notes feel like they’re written in another language. every ticking second reminds you of how much more you still have to do, and the pressure starts to coil tighter and tighter in your chest.
the gentle knock on your door barely registers. "mom, i'll eat later tonight," you call out, voice clipped but trying to stay calm. it’s the third time you’ve said it, and the second you hear the door open, frustration prickles at your already frazzled nerves.
except it’s not your mom—it’s rafe. he stands in the doorway with his gym bag slung over one shoulder. “later tonight, huh?” he murmurs, an easy smirk tugging at his lips. with a gentle thud, he drops the bag just outside your door and steps inside, nudging the door shut behind him with his foot.
for a moment, your stress falters. the weight in your chest shifts, replaced by something lighter—relief, maybe even the hint of a smile. but it’s fleeting. you shake it off, glancing back at your biology book. “i have a lot to do,” you mutter, your tone softening despite yourself. “how was practice?”
he doesn’t answer immediately, just walks over to your bed, sits down, and kicks off his shoes. when he finally speaks, it’s in that low, casual drawl of his. “sweaty.”
you glance up and notice it now—his slightly damp hair curling at the ends, the faint sheen still clinging to his skin, and the subtle, clean scent of soap that lingers between you.
when you don’t respond, his brows pull together slightly, and he shuffles closer to you. instinctively, you tuck your knees to your chest, resting the weight of your textbook on your thighs to give him space.
“you should eat,” he says, his voice quieter now, laced with something tender. “you’ve been at this all day.”
he’s probably right, but the thought of pausing—of stepping away when you’re so far from finished—feels impossible. your pen moves almost mindlessly across the page as you scribble out another note, your lips parting to respond. but before you can, your notebook is snatched from your lap in one smooth, effortless motion.
“rafe,” you snap, reaching for it immediately. he holds it just out of reach, his grin soft but teasing.
“rafe, i’m not joking,” you warn, leaning forward. before you can try again, his lips meet yours, cutting off your protests with a kiss.
“you’re gonna burn out,” he murmurs against your mouth, his tone gentle but firm.
you pull back slightly, just enough to glare at him, though the frown on your face is more instinct than true frustration. “you haven’t even seen me during exams,” you mutter, the memory of those sleepless, frantic weeks flashing briefly in your mind.
“not looking forward to that,” he says with a quiet chuckle, still pressing faint, featherlight kisses to your lips.
you don’t stop him this time. instead, you find yourself watching him—watching the way his face softens as he leans into you, the way his eyes flicker between yours and your lips, the way his touch feels so deliberate, so careful.
“want me to help you destress?” he asks softly, his voice low and warm.
you blink at him, curiosity flickering in your eyes. “help me… destress? how?”
his hands trail down your legs, his touch light and teasing. “you had tights on this morning,” he notes, almost absentmindedly.
you nod slowly, your voice barely above a whisper. “they weren’t staying up… i took them off.”
his gaze lowers, and before you fully register what’s happening, his hands are gently parting your legs. your breath hitches as the air shifts between you.
he starts slowly, pressing soft, lingering kisses to your thigh, his lips warm against your skin. you let out a deep, shaky sigh—a sound that seems to rise from an exhaustion you hadn’t even realized you were carrying. each kiss feels deliberate, a quiet offering of care and something deeper, something unspoken.
he works his way lower, inch by inch, his lips grazing the sensitive skin of your thighs until he pauses. his eyes lift to meet yours, and his voice comes soft, almost reverent. “can i?”
you nod, breathless, unable to form words. the need simmering in his gaze feels like it could burn right through you, and the anticipation makes your skin hum, every nerve alive and aching for his touch.
his eyes drift down to your cunt that you know is drenched right now, before he’s even done something and the thought of him having you this undone before he’s even touched you is really sad.
when he tugs on the sides of your panties, you freeze for a moment—quiet realization of what’s about to happen and for a second, you’re afraid, afraid of something this new. his gentle eyes are immediately finding yours. “you trust me?” he asks and you know the answer is yes because you say yes without even thinking about it.
“good cause i won’t hurt you, sweetheart..” he’s lightly tugging on your panties, pulling them over your legs until they’re at your ankles and then he’s tossing them to the side. they’re simple white cotton ones and you find yourself wishing you atleast had those sexy, lacy ones.
“you promise?”
“cross my heart,”
he’s properly buried between your thighs now and the first lick along your folds has you gasping and fisting your freshly washed sheets. “you’ve got the prettiest pussy i’ve ever seen, baby..” when his tongue flicks against your drenched cunt, you let out a moan that is downright embarrassingly loud. before the noise can travel, rafe’s hand is flying to cover your mouth and you’re left muffling against his palm.
“as much as i’m dying to hear you moan my name, that’s a risk we can’t take right now, hm?” he murmurs and you assume that’s a sign that he’d go easy on you, you assume that since your parents are currently two floors below you and rafe cares about what they think, he wouldn’t go overboard.
you assume wrong.
“rafe!” you cry out against his palm, head tilting back as he shoves his tongue between your lips. your back is arching off the bed as your one hand holds onto his wrist that’s covering your mouth while the other is gripping rafe’s hair for dear life.
you were completely under the impression that the way his tongue was kissing and flicking your hole and folds was the pinnacle of all of this and you could imagine yourself cumming from just that in the next five minutes.
but then he’s licking from your hole to your clit and the moment his tongue makes first contact with your clit, your eyes fly open and your brain goes completely fuzzy.
“that’s it, baby, lemme make you feel good..” he’s muttering, mouth still right on your clit and you can hardly focus on his words, can hardly focus on much else but the pleasure that seems to be intensifying with every second that passes, “p-please..! i’m..i—“ you’re stuttering, eyes glossy in this almost fucked out state and you’re not even sure what you’re trying to say, what you want. you want something, need something.
“i’ll take care of you. i got you, babygirl.” you want to move, want to push against his mouth or push your hand against the back of his head to pull him in but your body feels too weak. all you can do is let out these muffled, shaky cries against rafe’s palms as he ate you out like it was his very last meal.
your whole body is trembling, a thin sheen of glistening sweat covers your forehead and you swear you can see stars right on the ceiling of your bedroom. rafe’s tongue is relentless, tirelessly lapping and licking at your clit, sucking it into his mouth and you’re losing focus, can’t think straight anymore. your eyes are rolling back as you attempt to push your mound against his lips.
you shudder when the pleasure only intensifies, “gonna cum for me, pretty girl?” rafe’s murmuring against your clit and you’re nodding frantically, “mhm! m’ gonna cum…gonna c-cum..!” you know it’s coming, can feel something pushing against you, pushing you over the edge and you’re about to spill.
rafe doesn’t stop, doesn’t even slow, just devours you no matter how hard you’re pulling on his hair because you’re about to cum and it’s gonna be all over him and the humiliation of that would kill you.
“rafe! s’ too much!” you gasp and somehow, rafe knows just what to do, just which way to flick his tongue because not a moment later, your toes are curling, fingers tightening in his hair, back arching off your sheets and you’re coming all over his face, slick gushing out as you cry so loud he has to stuff your mouth with his fingers to keep you quiet.
he only removes his fingers after a second and then he’s rising up from between your legs while you lay there, head on your pillow, in this almost dream-like state, trying to catch your breath.
“all good?” his voice is soft, slightly out of breath but steady compared to your shallow pants. you nod, still catching your breath, as he leans over and grabs a tissue from the box on your nightstand. his movements are slow, careful as he cleans you both up, the gentle press of the tissue against your skin making you hyperaware of the moment.
it’s only when you shift slightly that your eyes flicker downward, catching the unmistakable bulge in his sweats. a rush of heat floods your cheeks, and you sit up slowly, your movements hesitant. “you—”
he follows your gaze and shakes his head immediately, cutting off your words before you can finish. “nah, don’t worry about me,” he says, his tone easy but resolute. he leans forward, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead, the warmth of his lips grounding you even as your thoughts spin.
still, your eyes drift back to him, lingering a second too long. the idea settles in your chest, insistent and new, and before you can second-guess yourself, your hand starts to reach for him.
he catches your wrist gently but firmly, halting you in place. “no.” his voice is low, the single word laced with finality. his thumb brushes against the delicate skin of your wrist as he holds it, his gaze steady on yours. “go eat.”
you blink up at him, torn between frustration and a quiet determination. “i want to help you,” you murmur, your voice soft but unwavering, the words carrying more weight than you intended. your eyes meet his, defiant, even as your pulse races.
he exhales a small laugh, tilting his head until his forehead rests against yours. his lips brush yours, featherlight, a whisper of contact that leaves you yearning for more. “not today,” he says softly, his voice dropping to a near murmur. “go eat.”
his words leave no room for argument, but the tenderness in his tone eases the sting of his refusal. reluctantly, you shift off the bed, your legs unsteady as you make your way toward the door.
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chapter index — prev. chap. — next chap.
taglist — @rafeysworldim19 @my-name-is-baby @pogueprincesa @fveapplestall @chalametlover444 @slutglimreqpers @uarmyhopeworldwide @junxe3 @bakuhoethotski @wintercrows 
let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist & interact with post to remain tagged <3
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muniimyg · 2 years ago
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4.5: say it 》 series m.list
note: some feelings, some banter,, some smut at the beginning of the 3rd scene <3 have fun,, enj !!! do we like yuna and tae? vibes on... the jealousy? lmk what u guys think !!!mwah <3 updating sooon
taglist request: send a request with the title of this fic “c2u” // DO NOT comment here or on the masterlist . it gets confusing and i prefer answering and tagging through asks !!!
🏷️ permanent taglist: @joonsjuice @taetaecatboy @pb-n-juju @miss-rainy-days @firesighgirl @whoa-jo @vantxx95 @pamzn @kakixaku @casspirit0705 @tae165 @prdshobi @sopebubbles @leefics @ggukkieland @bebebutbetter @yoongimentita7 @boraength @era-genius @4ksj @vampcharxter @miss-jupiter @floweryjeons @taegijns @jeonqkooks-main
fic taglist: @mint--yoongs @ellesalazar @bloopkook
//
Soccer was something Jungkook was known for on campus.
It never occurred to you just how well-known he was until now… Yet, it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Jungkook had quit the team out of boredom and curiosity only to be begged back in as if he’s their ace.
Okay, fine. 
… He probably is the ace. 
Jungkook comes off as too perfect. It’s quite irritating, actually. He has decent grades, a fun friend group, and a well-balanced lifestyle. You can’t help but hate that being a part of his routine for the past few weeks has you in this emotional state: needy. 
You’ve never felt this way before. 
Before the arrangement between you and Jungkook was made, you two barely saw each other. His life consisted of school, soccer, and friends. You only ran into him at parties or friendgroup outings. Having one class with him every other semester has to be the closest you two have ever been. 
You’ve never missed anyone before and although there’s an underlying warm feeling—your feelings of frustration and annoyance have never been stronger. His absence may have gotten your heart to grow fonder of him—but your anger and resistance to him continue to linger. 
It’s almost like a haunting feeling. 
As much as you want to carry on with your day and act like you aren’t waiting for his clingy text messages; you can’t help but itch and wonder what he’s doing and who he’s with. Though his text messages yesterday provided you with some sort of comfort and assurance, you can’t help but feel uneasy about all of this. 
About him. 
“Earth to ____?” Yuna waves her hands in front of your face. Snapping out of your thoughts, you offer her a warm smile. “Geez, you’re so out of it these days… Are you feeling sick?”
You shake your head. 
For a moment there, you were so lost in thought you forgot where you were. For a brief moment, you look out the window and notice the gloomy clouds before turning back to your space. The library is fuller than usual and Yuna is sitting in front of you with her laptop and notebook. She’s been talking for the past 20 minutes about… 
Something. 
You can’t recall.
Maybe you should start listening to her more… You’re truly the worst friend ever. 
“You look worried… Do you have an exam you didn’t study for or something?” Again, you shake your head in response. Yuna hums as she taps her fingers on her chin. Thinking to herself, she creates a solution. 
“Do you wanna come with me and see Taehyung?” 
You raise an eyebrow at her. “Why would I want to see Taehyung?”
She shrugs, putting her hands up in defeat. “…. Was just suggesting.”
Leaning towards her, you cheekily ask; “fess up. Do you have feelings for him?”
A gasp escapes her lips as she covers her mouth with her hands. Yuna furrows her eyebrows together and looks at you in panic. “Is the ____ interested in my love life? For the first time in forever? When did you get a nose job? You’re so nosy!”
You cover your nose and glare at her. 
“Shut up! Jungkook just mentioned that—”
“Jungkook, huh?” Yuna switches her hand placement immediately. She leans forward to you, putting her elbows on the table, and rests her chin on the palm of her hands. “What’s up with you two? I must’ve been wasted as hell that night at karaoke because if what I saw was true… Boy, do you owe me a girls night…”
Gulping, you keep your chin high. “What do you mean? What did you see that night?”
“He’s into you.”
“Jungkook is into everyone—”
“Yeah, right!” Yuna disagrees passionately, earning a few hushes from other students nearby. In a whispering tone, she continues. “Jungkook barely pays attention to the guys—his own friends! He does what he wants, shows up when he wants, eats what he wants and maintains his slutty figure, and parties when and with who he wants—I think… He wants you. He kept giving you fuck me eyes all night… And you! Don’t act all innocent. I saw you sulking like a little bitch! Which.. Is new? I’ve never seen you clingy before… Not with any of your exes... Not even with me."
You roll your eyes at her. Though her words rang true, you refuse to yield. If Yuna, the densest human in the world, can figure you out... You're fucked.
“You’re right.”
Yuna’s eyes light up. “Really?”
“You were sooo wasted that night.”
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After a few hours of studying, you and Yuna pack your things up. She practically begs you to come with her as she meets up with Taehyung. In all honesty, it didn’t take much convincing. For some reason, you say yes with the tiniest bit of hope that Jungkook would be with him. 
Although, you don’t ask.
Hurrying out of the library, Yuna instantly spots Taehyung. With a toothy smile, he waves and picks up his pace. He greets Yuna with a pat on her head and you by nudging your arm. 
“Where’s Jungkook?” 
Shrugging, you look around as if you could spot Jungkook. Shyly, you answer, “thought he was with you.”
“He came home late yesterday…” Taehyung says as if it mattered for you to know. “I assumed he was with you.”
In response, you shake your head at him. “Nope. I haven’t seen him in a while… Last time was when we got coffee—”
You wince at the memory. 
“You okay?” Yuna’s face falls concerned. Taehyung looks at you rather confused. She hits his arm and confides in him. “See what I mean? She’s been like this all day.”
Taehyung tightens his lips as he gives your odd behaviour some thought. “Maybe she’s sleep-deprived. Are you sleepy, ___? You look a little tired.”
“Maybe the break-up is finally hitting her. Do you miss him, ___? Is that it?” Yuna suggests rather passionately. “You know, I miss him! He was a good boyfriend and you seemed happy—”
You huff, feeling defeated. “I’m just tired. I guess I’m more tired than I realize. I think I should just head home… I’ll catch up with you guys next time.” 
Yuna shoves Taehyung away and pulls you in a hug. She sways you two side to side and cries; “my poor baby, ____! Feel better, okay?”
Laughing, you ask Taehyung to help you peel your best friend off of you. When Yuna lets go and gives you space, her eyes suddenly squint as if she has just seen something unpeculiar. Then, she rubs her eyes to be sure.
“Is that Jungkook?”
You turn your head and feel your heart clench.
It feels conflicted. 
Yes, that was Jungkook.
… But with whom? 
Before you can escape or avoid eye contact with him, Taehyung has already waved them over. Jungkook nods, acknowledging you all. He crosses the street and you turn around, keeping your head low. You do this because for some reason you feel all shy… Like you didn’t just have sex with him a week ago—in front of a mirror. 
“Whose that?” Yuna asks, disregarding the fact that the two were practically a three feet away.
“Who knows,” Taehyung scoffs. “Secret girlfriend? Sneaky link? Who knows with that kid.”
Yuna gasps. “No way! I thought he was into ___—”
“Hey,” Jungkook greets brightly. Taehyung and Yuna greet him with the same energy. He offers a big smile as he stands beside you and pinches your waist. You itch away and avoid eye contact. From the corner of his eye, he catches your behaviour and feels confused.
In a low tone, only loud enough for you to hear; he mutters, “Don’t ignore me. That’s fucking annoying.”
You don’t move. Still, you ignore his seductive words.
He tilts his head at you but figures you’re just in a mood. Shifting his focus, Jungkook breaks the ice. “Where you guys going?”
“I just met up with them like a few minutes ago,” Taehyung explains. “We were gonna grab dinner but I think—”
“Hi, I’m Yuna!” your best friend interrupts Taehyung. She stretches her hand out for the girl to shake. She takes Yuna’s hand and shakes it. “This is Taehyung and my best friend ___!” 
You raise your head and offer a short-lived smile. A simple, “hi,” is all you manage to choke out. 
Mina has short brown hair and pretty eyes. She’s a little shorter than you and has Jungkook’s towel hanging on her arm.
You feel sick.
“Nice to meet you guys! I’m Mina, Jungkook’s friend…” she pauses and lets out a shy laugh. “Actually, I’m more of his fan than I am his friend.”
Like a groupie? Ew.
Jungkook joins her and laughs. “She usually sits around with her friends on bleachers and watches our practices. We’ve been catching up since I got back in with the team. We were going to get dinner too.” 
Taehyung and Yuna nod, taking in the information. “Well, do you want to join us?” Yuna suggests. “___ isn’t feeling well so she was going to go home. It’d be nice to have better company! ___’s been so out of it today—”
You shush her. 
“You okay?” Jungkook brings his attention to you. 
It feels like you’ve just been kicked in the stomach. When did Jungkook’s gaze ever feel this… weird? It’s difficult to describe but it’s like you’re nervous or something. All you can really do is nod in response. 
“I’m okay,” you assure him. 
“You sure?” he presses, taking a step closer to you.  
He’s much closer to you this time and your body betrays you by staying still. You don’t move. You don’t even flinch. If anything, you take a deep breath and inhale his scent. It’s comforting after all the days you’ve spent away from him. From the corner of your eye, you can see Yuna begin to get excited to be witnessing this moment. When you can sense that she’s about to explode in best friend behaviour, you make your move. 
“Can I talk to you?” you blurt. “Please? It’s about that thing…”
Jungkook blinks. 
“Sure,” he doesn’t hesitate. “I’ll catch up with you guys later. Text me the address. I’ll just drive ___ home so we can talk.”
You're thankful he says this. You're thankful he goes along with your request without question. For a second there, you weren't sure if he was on your side.
Rather, you worried if he liked you enough to choose you regardless of the mix-signals and thus far constipated interaction.
Mina offers a warm smile in return, but you can’t help but notice the disappointment in her eyes as Jungkook takes your tote bag off of your shoulder and carries it. He assures Mina that he’s leaving her in great hands and that he’ll be there no later than 30 minutes. 
“I parked my car that way,” Jungkook points towards the end of the street. “Let’s go?”
“Yeah,” you almost stutter. “I’ll see you guys next time. Nice to meet you, Mina.” 
“You too! Feel better,” she says sincerely. “See you in a bit, Jungkook?”
“See you in a bit,” he promises. Mina takes his word for it.
Jungkook bids his last goodbye before grabbing your wrist and practically dragging you to leave. As he does so, you watch Mina, Taehyung, and Yuna wave you two goodbye. Even a few feet apart, you can practically hear Yuna begin her gossip session. 
“See? He’s so into her!”
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Unlike last time, there was no issue. 
Oh, it was up. 
Jungkook hisses at your touch. 
As you take his cock out, you run your thumb across the tip. You pump him, feeling his velvety skin follow the way you move your wrist. He’s thick—practically two hands on deck kind of thick. In fact, he looks even bigger in your hands. Maybe it’s the LED lights in his car or the fact that he hasn’t cum since your last meet-up—but he was bigger than usual today. If anything, it made you drool. 
Dipping your head low, you stick your tongue out and move his cock with your hands. You slap it against your needy tongue before closing your mouth and sucking on it. 
Bobbing your head, Jungkook can’t resist. He grabs a fistful of your hair and begins to push your head up and down. He holds your head close, making sure his dick touched the back of your throat. You gag and he takes that as a sign to let go. Pulling away, you take a quick breath in before puckering your lips at him. 
He shifts from his laid-back position and leans forward. Jungkook wraps his hand around your neck and brushes his thumb against your puffy lips. 
“You know how I like it,” he utters. “Missed this fucking mouth. Begging for kisses?” 
With hopeful eyes, you nod. 
“Anything my girl wants,” Jungkook leans in and kisses you slowly. He pulls away after just three kisses. “... My girl gets.”
“Kiss me lots,” you whine. 
Jungkook’s stomach turns. If it could do flips, that’s what it does. He would be an idiot not to know why you were acting this way… Yet, he still wanted to have fun. 
“Make me cum and I’ll kiss you all you want.” 
With that, you get back to it. 
You spit on his dick as you pump him at a slow pace. His hands travel to your shirt, pulling at the neckline to see your cleavage. You let go of him to lift your arms. Without hesitation, Jungkook helps remove your shirt and admires your breasts in a plain black bra. 
Suddenly, you shift your position. The passenger seat is extremely uncomfortable considering you’re giving him head… But this part must be the hardest part. You lean your body towards him more, prioritizing your breasts. Somehow, you manage to bend a certain way and slip his dick in between your tits. 
“Holy shit—” Jungkook cries as he begins to lose it. 
You bite your lip, trying your best to make this work. You hold your breasts closer together as he begins to pump himself. Every time Jungkook lifts his hips to dig himself deeper in, you can’t help but like the way the head pops up.
It’s almost cute. 
The position doesn’t last very long. You begin to cramp and Jungkook misses your mouth. So, you switch back to giving him a blow job. Then, that doesn’t last very long because Jungkook can’t do it anymore—he can’t hold it in. His breath hitches as you suck his dick. He throws his head back and hisses your name. 
“___,” he cries, “fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Then, he cums. 
He spills himself into your mouth and you swallow. As he empties himself, you take it upon yourself to lick his dick clean. Today, his cum tasted sweeter than usual. You wonder if his diet changed or if you just haven’t tasted him in a while.
Jungkook stares in amazement as you finish him off. He can’t help but let his mind spin as his body tingles from the sensation you caused. When you finish, you straighten yourself out and he hands you your shirt. Putting it on, you sit yourself back properly in the passenger seat and sigh in relief. Jungkook tucks himself back in.
“Good talk,” you joke, attempting to lighten the mood. 
Oddly enough, you feel awkward. What were you supposed to do now? After you two got into his car, it didn’t take much time before you threw yourself at him. Happily, he received your kisses and took it upon himself to drive towards his place. Parked outside his home, the coast was clear. You gave him head and now you feel stuck. 
Jungkook notices the panic in your eyes and reaches his hand out. He places them on your upper thigh, causing you to look at him. 
“What’s up with you?” Jungkook can’t help but ask. “You miss me too much?”
You scoff, “as if.”
He laughs, moving closer to you. Jungkook rubs your thighs innocently and squeezes it. It’s comforting for some reason… You like the way he touches you. 
“Spit it out, pookie.”
You shrug. “Nothing. Just wanted to give you head. You can take me home now.”
“Ha!” Jungkook taunts you. He then removes his hand from your thigh and reaches for his phone on the dashboard. Looking at the time, his eyes widen. 
“Shit!”
“What?”
“It’s been an hour? Mina called me like five times. I’m late—no, I missed it.”
Giving him head didn’t take an entire hour.. No, it was the flirting and the clingy talk that took majority of the time. Convincing him to let you give him head? That wasn’t even a conversation that needed to be done. It was always yes for you. So, you took your time.
Flirting.
Kissing.
And giving him a sloppy blowjob that completed the 1 hour mark of stalling.
Your lips curve into a small smile. Looking away, you feel a sense of relief. You aren’t proud of yourself but… This was something you could live with. As you stay silent, you think of what you could possibly say in this situation without coming off suspicious. 
But, your silence lasts a second too long.
“Wild guess but… Did you give me head so I’d miss the dinner?” Jungkook theorizes. 
You turn to him, eyebrows knitted together and your head slightly tilted to look confused. “Are you blaming me for missing the dinner?”
“Are you gaslighting me?”
You’re tongue-tied. For the first time in forever, you have no come back. Your brain can’t think of any words. Slowly and then all at once, you felt like a stupid idiot sitting in his car. Had you gone too far? You’ve never seen yourself act upon jealousy like this… You have no excuse. You have no explanation. You don’t feel like yourself. 
“Mina’s pretty. Is she your type?”
Jungkook doesn’t answer your question. Partly because he didn’t want to entertain whatever you had stirring up in your mind and partly because he didn’t want to feed tour ego.
“___? What’s up with you?”
“I don’t know.”
He sighs, not knowing whether he finds this irritating or cute. Why would you sabotage something so meaningless? Dinner with friends? It’s not like you weren’t invited either… His thoughts lead him to one question: “I think you’re acting jealous. Are you jealous?”
Unsure of what to do, you decide to give up. “Are you going to be mad at me if I admit that I am?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Is this you admitting that you are?”
You reply in silence. 
“___?”
“Give me a fucking minute, okay? I’m trying to figure out if I should lie or not,” you groan. Taking a moment, you look into his eyes. “Am I supposed to lie, Jungkook?”
Now, he feels choked. “Maybe.”
You blink at him. 
Before you can stop yourself from the words that have been spiraling through your head all day—you confess softly; “I’m jealous.”
His head begins to spin. Is this what post-orgasm depression is? The pit of his stomach feels weird… 
Taking a deep breath, you shift your body to face him as best as you can. Fidgeting with your fingers, you push yourself to admit the ugly truth: “I don’t think I can lie about it… Jungkook, I don’t like it. I don’t like seeing you with other girls and I’m annoyed you have a little fan club. So, yeah. I sucked your dick so you’d miss your little date. I’m sorry, it was selfish of me… So, go catch up with her if you want…. I was out of place. I don’t care anymore—”
“Yes you do,” he cuts you off. 
You gulp, noticing the way his eyes have lit up. 
“Say it,” Jungkook insists. “Say it and I won’t go.”
With shifty eyes, you ask, “really?”
In all honesty, he wasn’t looking for a specific word or phrase. He just wanted you to say it. Say something. Make this fuck session mean something.
Jungkook breathes, “I’m all yours if you want me to be.”
��Yikes…” 
He shoots you a glare. You’ve ruined the moment. 
Jungkook reaches over and unlocks your door. “Fine. I gotta get going. You can walk home from here, right? Mina won’t mind me being a little late—”
You hit his chest with an annoyed look on your face. 
He smirks, “say it.”
“Jungkook,” you begin. “Don’t make me feel this way, okay? The second you continue this vibe, I’m going to expect more from you and that’s not what we—”
“Then expect more,” Jungkook scoffs. “It’s simple, ____. If you’re jealous, tell me. If you like me, tell me. If you hate this and want out—give me at least two weeks’ notice so I can emotionally prepare.” 
A part of your heart feels like it’s being tugged. Was he always this good with words? For some reason, you find it humorous. “You bring up confessing a lot… Are you trying to tell me something, pookie?”
“Please,” Jungkook laughs. “I’m not here to play stupid games and win stupid prizes. I’m not confessing until I have you absolutely in love with me… Pookie, this jealousy thing? It’s just the start. Just a little longer and you’ll be standing outside my window in the pouring rain, begging for me.”
In response, you make a puking face at him. “Shut up. The minute you get jealous, I’ll make you eat your words.”
He leans in and puckers his lips. “Why waste your time getting me to eat my own words when I can eat something else?” 
You cup his face and squish his lips together. Pressing your lips against his, you pull away quickly with a cheeky smile. “Keep entertaining your little fan club and you’ll be eating nothing.”
He rolls his eyes at you. “It’s not my fault they watch while we practice—”
“Jungkook.”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
He does just that.
Jungkook buckles your seatbelt and then his. Turning on the engine, he pulls out of his driveway and begins to drive you home. It’s a short 15 minute ride, but it’s filled with your rambling and constant shuffling of songs in his playlist.
As he stays silent, half-assed listening to you; he soaks in your presence and can’t find a single fibre in his body to be mad at you. He knows that what you did tonight was unacceptable. You had caused Mina to look like she got stood up and jeopardized a perfectly peaceful night by earning him a place on Taehyung’s hot seat of questions later tonight… But it’s okay.
With the smile on your face and the way you hesitate to reach for his hand as he drives; he can’t but help to feel like it’s worth it. Your hand will take his without a second thought one day. One day, you’ll be a part of the little fan club you hate so much. One day, it’ll work out because it has to.
If he never goes through these exact moments with you, maybe he wouldn’t have known his feelings for you… But, he does and it’s so clear to him.
Jungkook will wait for you.
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unhonestlymirror · 1 month ago
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Giedrius Sakalauskas:
"Hello, Gazaphiles. You are the ones who tirelessly defend the "civilian residents of Gaza", explaining that Hamas is simply a response to injustice, occupation, "decades of oppression". You are the ones who, on Facebook, at seminars or standing with Arab headscarves in the center of Vilnius, talk about "civilians who simply want peace", but "Israel does not allow them to do so".
You are consistent, emotional, often convinced that you are defending the weak. And this text is for you.
For those who, back on October 8, 2023, were able to write that "the reasons are deep and complex". Today we will remind you of them. So that next time you do not say "both sides are guilty".
2005: Israel leaves Gaza
In 2005, after the second intifada (in Arabic انتفاضة - uprising, meaning against Jews), Israel completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip. It army, evacuated its citizens, demolished the settlements. These were not negotiations - this was a unilateral decision that, although not ideal, was supposed to open the door to change.
The international community welcomed this. US President George W. Bush spoke at the time of the possibility of turning Gaza into an example of self-rule and peace for all of Palestine - "Singapore on the Mediterranean". The EU, the UN and many others repeated the same.Support: billions for peace.
A huge financial aid began: billions of dollars for humanitarian purposes, infrastructure, education, health care. The West believed that if the Palestinians were given a chance, they would choose peace.
But they chose Hamas. After the 2006 elections, and even more so after bloody clashes with the Fatah movement in 2007, Hamas established itself as the only force in Gaza. At a time when they could have built bridges to the future, they began to build tunnels into the past — literally. The accumulation of weapons began, the creation of military infrastructure, the transformation of humanitarian aid into military power.
The world continued to pay. The world continued to send money. In 2014–2020 alone, the UN spent $4.5 billion in Gaza. In 2022, the largest donors to UNRWA were the United States — $343.9 million, Germany — $202.1 million, the European Commission — $114.2 million. Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 2020 provided about $4 billion, including UNRWA programs. Qatar from 2012 to 2021 — about $1.3 billion.
All this financed a system in which “civilians” became human shields, and aid — tunnels and missiles.
The vision of 2005: the plan was great: a modern seaport, an international airport Dahaniya, a Mediterranean resort with tourism, trade with the world, jobs, schools, hospitals. This could have become the prototype of a Palestinian state.Instead, Hamas chose to be a military force dependent on Iranian money and ideology. Not to build Gaza, but to destroy Israel. Not to create a civil society, but to rule through blackmail, propaganda and corruption.
Corruption. By corruption, we do not mean simply “inefficient allocation of funds”. Hamas leaders — Ismail Haniya, Khaled Mashal, Musa Abu Marzouk — lived in Qatar (Haniyya, by the way, was liquidated in 2024 in Tehran), managed a billion-dollar financial empire with real estate, construction companies (Sidar Company, Anda Company, Agrogate Holding), banks, investments in Cyprus, even in the gold mining sector.
They laundered money through Turkey, Lebanon, the Gulf countries. And the people of Gaza? They did not live in luxury at all. While Haniya had palaces in Gaza, he himself lived in Doha. The fortunes of the three leaders are about $12 billion. Billions! And this is at a time when ordinary Gazans were receiving $100 checks from Qatar.
The illusion of peace. This whole system was based on the illusion: that you can negotiate with those who do not want peace. That you can help civilians while turning a blind eye to how the authorities spend this money on rockets. That you can not notice tunnels under schools or Hamas headquarters in hospitals.
And this illusion exploded - literally - on October 7, 2023.
2023: Bloody massacre. That day, Hamas carried out one of the bloodiest attacks in Israeli history. Thousands of rockets. Armed terrorists crossed the border. They killed children, women, the elderly. They mutilated bodies. Young people at a festival were shot. The whole world — even those who believed in “contexts” — had to wake up.
This was not a “response to the blockade.” This was a strategic operation that had been prepared for two years to disrupt the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Yes, there was a political motive: to maintain the influence of the “axis of resistance” loyal to Iran. But the method was as simple as possible: to kill as many civilians as possible, as brutally as possible, as provocatively as possible.
This is not a fight for freedom. This is a cult. A cult that does not believe in the state, peace, or the future. Only in blood. And you, dear Gazaphiles, every time you defend the “context” of Hamas, you become useful idiots of this cult.
Because the context is simple: Hamas chose violence, having a chance for peace. It chose billions in Qatar, instead of schools in Gaza. It chose massacre, instead of negotiations.
When you talk about “two sides”… The next time you are again inflamed with the desire to “explain your position”, remember the photo of Hamas militants. These are not freedom fighters. These are not civilian authorities. These are armed fanatics for whom human life is an instrument. Even your own people are a living backdrop for propaganda.
And you help them. Sometimes – out of naivety. Sometimes – out of ideology. But you still help. That's enough. Really. Enough."
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razzberrycorner · 4 months ago
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hii!! firstly i just wanna say that i adore your fics and hcs, theyre really really cute ^_^ and secondly, i was wondering if youd be up to doing a lee!shelly and ler!tisha fic? /nf your hcs about them are super adorable and i just think a fic would be even more so,, :3
"See? You're all giggly again!" (Dandy's World tickle fic)
A/N: This is a platonic fossilcleaning fic (though you can see it as ship if you like!) and there's some angst at the start so uh... look out—
-🐚🧼-
It's been another day. Yet another day of not getting any attention.
It hurt.
It was another day of being ignored by all her peers. Well, not that much. But who cares?
At least Tisha was there for her.
At least Vee gets it.
And everyone else? They just understand too. It's just hard. In fact, it's so hard, tears form on her face.
It's too hard for her.
All she wants to do is to state some dino facts.
Won't anyone stay with her?
She thought that as she flipped to another page, not letting the tears get through. "Iguanodon was a large, bulky herbivore, measuring up to 9–11 metres (30–36 ft) in length and 4.5 metric tons (5.0 short tons) in body mass..." The ammonite mumbled as she read. She closed the book, put it aside, and sighed.
And then the door opens. Tisha strides inside of the room her best friend was in, seeing her clearly discontent and tear streaked face. "Shell..."
Shelly looked back. For now, she'd prefer to be left alone. But then again, company is good
She grumbled as Tisha sat down next to her. She put her head in her shoulder. The blue tissue box aimed to cheer her up just right, without being too overbearing either.
Looking clearly at her, the ammonite's expression would soften. At least she was there again. "There we go. I care about you. I just want to see you smile."
"Thanks Tish. You know, I can tell you about... The... Brontosaurus?"
"Yeah, sure!"
With those words, Shelly got right up in giddy excitement.
"So!" Shelly started. "The Brontosaurus was a large sauropod, a group of typically large dinosaurs with long necks and long tails. It lived during the Late Jurassic Period, from about 156 to 145 million years ago!"
Tisha smiles widely, and as she listens intently to her rambling, she can't help saying "That's really interesting!"
Despite not being a dinosaur expert like Shelly, she sure was impressed. Shelly smiled back at her, her grin practically matching the tissue box's. But then, Tisha thought of something, and she would smile widely.
"Well, now that you're feeling all better... how about this?"
Tisha makes a quick jab to her ribs, causing her to squirm. In instinct, Shelly curled up and rolled down in the floor. "Hehehe! Tishaha! S-stahap!"
Shelly desperately tried to shove her hand away but it was no use. Tisha was persistent. "Aww, look at you! All giggly!~", the tissue box teased as she decided to go down to her sides.
Shelly metaphorically exploded. She shrieked as Tisha decided to slightly increase the speed of her tickles. "NOHOHO! TIHISH! NOHOT MY SIHIDES!"
"See? You're all giggly again!" The ammonite rolled up into a ball again. "EHEHEHEHEHE! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I really like your laugh. It's super cute." Shelly's face reddened slightly as she said that. "NOHO IHIT'S NOHOHOT!" The ammonite tries to push the tissue box away, but she's unstoppable in this state. After all, her laughter was giddy and bubbly—just the right amount of sweet to make anyone continue.
"You're a bit squirmy here. Maybe I should doo... this?~" And Tisha goes ahead to blow a raspberry on her side. She squeals. The kicking from Shelly was overdrive, it bordered on sheer madness.
"T-TISHAHAHAHA! NOHOT THOHOSE!"
"See? Giggly~"
After a few moments the tissue box finally relented. Shelly let out a relieved sigh. "So.. wanna say anything else?" Tisha asked her. Shelly replied, "Sure.."—albeit being taken out.
She picked up a book of hers, and went to a random page. She then started reading the facts to Tisha.
"Triceratops is a large ceratopsian, easily identified by its frill, horns, and love of fresh fruit..."
-🐚🧼-
I really hope you enjoyed! Thanks to my goat Google for the facts, wouldn't have managed to complete this fic without them
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lover-of-mine · 2 months ago
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What’s your opinion on imbd ratings? Do they matter or do they don’t matter? I know some people say that imbd ratings don’t matter, which is fair, to network’s they really don’t matter. But to me, they do matter some when you take into account that other ratings networks go by don’t consider the audience’s honest reaction to an episode. Yeah you can say 4.8 million people watched the previous episode, but you can’t say if those 4.8 million people who watched that episode actually enjoyed that episode and will want to watch the next. Because of this, Imbd in my opinion is usually a precursor to what viewership of a show will look like. Before a sudden change of viewership, positive or negative, you can go usually onto imbd an episode or two before and see what caused the change. Maybe I’m putting to much weight into random’s peoples opinions, but oh well lol. Very curious on your opinion on this though.
Also since people are saying that imbd ratings don’t matter I’m going to say that Key demo ratings also don’t matter as it’s an outdated system that doesn’t really take into account for for how modern television works lol.
I mean, they don't matter as an isolated thing, but when you look at a show that has a confirmed next season, in a lot of the shows with a complete decline on the ratings in comparison to the rest of the show, the problem episode is in the final season so it doesn't matter much. The thing here is how the next 2 episodes are gonna perform overall. A lot of people said they would only watch the funeral and they were done, given the ratings and reactions, I believe them. They are gonna have to do something to hold the audience, or this will be like bones and the decline of the show will continue on from here. 911 was being allowed to do what it does because it was the most watched scripted show in the us. If they lose that spot, they're gonna shake things up to try and make the interest on the show to pick back up. Personally, I think that Tim thinks the buddie will they/won't they will retain enough of the interest, since we stayed through everything so far, but it's not gonna retain nearly enough. The ga of this show is the wine moms who like to look at Peter Krause, it's why lone star got away with being lone star, the biggest part of the ga just wanted to see Rob Lowe do whatever for an hour. One episode rating that low when it featured the death of a beloved character is expected. The thing here is if the show will stop having that 4.5 to 5 million views per episode average or not.
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fantasylandbitch · 1 year ago
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Summary: Ethan tries to force an apology out of you, however, with your friends nearby to protect you, would they stand a chance against him or will Sam have to take matters into her own hands? 
Warning: Long Chapter, Hallucinations, Cussing, Fluff, Blood, and Manipulative Ethan.
Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 Chapter 9 (Chapter 9.5 Coming Soon)
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When you turn your head, you see the little version of you standing by the front door wearing clothes that looked damp as if it had rained the night before. Your eyes then followed the blood that covered most of your shirt and some that spilled onto your pants before catching the loose white gauze dangling from your neck in contrast to the color red. The gauze leads your eyes up to the large laceration that Ghost Face left across your throat. It was like seeing a film that depicted body horror for the first time. It was scary and jarring, and it made you feel sick to your stomach. Your skin suddenly has a pale-ish tone to it and when the little version of you steps forward, you instinctively step to the side almost hip-checking yourself at the corner of the island. Your heart beat rapidly in your chest as you tried to make sense of everything from supposedly attacking Ethan and now seeing yourself across the room. You are afraid of yourself and you don't know why. 'Why are you here?' you thought to yourself 'What do you want?' then just as Danny passed through your vision, the little you disappeared. You felt a shiver run down your spine but your breathing never slowed down as you continued to move across the island before accidentally bumping into your girlfriend Sam “I am so sorry Sam” you said to her sincerely yet quickly as she turned around.
“You don’t have to be. Wait wher-?” Sam asked you as you quickly walked past her, her hands instinctively reaching for your waist, before you saw Ethan and then Chad get up from the couch. With the boys getting up quickly you bend down to reach for your phone that was charging on the side table before rushing between Mindy and Tara, eventually turning around. Your eyes immediately make eye contact with Ethan's, and you both stare each other down before you look away from him to look over at Chad whose eyes seem mad yet sad to you. A part of you wanted to reach out to him to explain that you would never hurt a fly without a reason but you couldn’t even understand the situation yourself. Then your phone buzzed causing you to pull your eyes away from him so you could look at your phone to see if it was your sister-in-law who had texted you, but it wasn't. It was just a notification letting you know about the next new thing for phones.
A sigh leaves your lips making Tara and Mindy look over at you briefly, before looking over at Chad who was standing only seven feet in front of them while Ethan on the other hand was only six feet away when he decided to move from his spot. “Back off Ethan. We both know that Y/n didn’t mean to hurt you” Mindy says to him as he gets closer to her and Tara, causing the two girls to move closer to each other acting as a barrier for you if push came to shove while Chad stays near the couch, Sam staying vigilant by the island, and Danny filling his time cleaning up the kitchen.
“Are you sure? Because what happened earlier seems pretty personal to me.” Ethan says to Mindy, his voice a little agitated before looking over at Tara as he walks a little closer to her, causing Mindy to square her shoulders before stepping in front of her. “I want you to apologize, Y/n,” Ethan says, demanding you to apologize to him, a tone that Sam doesn’t take lightly when it comes to her family causing her to look over at him, it reminds her of someone she doesn’t care for.
“You know you can’t demand an apology, Ethan. That's not how that works.” Tara interjects as she looks over at Ethan from behind Mindy. Then Tara looks over at her older sister only to find an angry look on her face while she throws daggers at Ethan’s head. Tara knows that look from her sister. It’s the same look that Sam wore when she opened up to her for the first time about how their mother was drunk on rare occasions and taking blows at her when she least expected it. When their mother would hold her own money over her head, acting like she did everything to provide for her. It’s that very look that her older sister wore that says she is ready to kill anyone who thinks they hold any power over either of their heads. That very thought caused Tara to take a deep breath for what was about to come as she squeezed Mindy’s arm causing her to look over at the older Carpenter sister from the corner of her eye. 
“Listen shy and dorky,” Mindy says shifting her eyes from Sam to Ethan. “If you know what’s good for you then kindly back off or this might escalate into something a lot worse.” She says hoping to get Ethan to back down. 
“No way, she has to apologize now,” he whines, taking a step forward to push her out of the way causing Mindy to stiffen in her spot as she moves her hands up to stop him and causing Chad to step forward preparing himself to defend his sister as he looks over at Ethan. However, before Ethan can push Mindy out of the way Sam steps away from the island to stand between them. 
Like a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye Chad freezes for a moment even though he wants to run away a response he developed from being attacked by Ghost Face two years ago before he realized it was just Sam moving quickly to defend his sister. Chad can tell that the situation that is taking place has pissed off his biggest supporter, Sam, and by the look of her shoulders, they’re pulled back a little like she was getting ready to fight. He knows she’s pissed and the tension in the air causes him to speak up for his roommate that he feels responsible for. “Sam, all he’s asking is for an apology,” he says speaking up for Ethan while expecting Sam to reconsider what she’s about to do. 
As Sam steps in front of Ethan, you notice that she is angry and it causes you to look away out of shame. You’re in your head now. 
“Back off Ethan,” Sam says, her voice deep with irritation for the boy as she narrows her eyes at him causing him to step back for a second before Ethan challenges her by stepping back into her space. 
“Why should I, Sam?” Ethan asks calmly as he narrows his eyes back at his roommate's caregiver and his brother’s killer. “Y/n left physical evidence on my body, just take a look,” he reminds her, pulling up his shirt to show the damage you had inflicted upon him an hour ago. 
“I’m aware of your injuries Ethan. But I also know that Y/n wouldn’t have done that to you had she not been targeted back at her apartment. Something that you could have prevented” she spat before continuing her thought. “And getting in Mindy and Tara’s face won’t help you at all,” Sam says with a growl hidden at the back of her throat as she tries to keep her cool while staring into Ethan’s cold eyes trying everything in her power not to swing on the boy as she watches him, Puff. Up. His. Chest.
“Oooh wow, you don’t think I wanted to try and defend her? Sam had she given me the chance I would have done something but did you forget that she hit me over the head with a bat?” a puzzled expression crossed your face as you lifted your head to Ethan's inquiry. You still don’t understand why you would have hit him over the head with a bat but his inquiry acted as a catalyst, unlocking a dormant memory in your mind “Or are your feelings toward Y/n clouding your judgment?” Ethan spat dropping a hint of venom in his words because he knows.
Then Chad spoke up “Ethan what do Sam’s feelings toward Y/n have anything to do with what is happening right now?” Chad questions, getting mad that his roommate would question Sam’s relationship with you.
“Well, Chad don’t you think it’s a bit weird that Y/n just walked into your lives?” Ethan questioned turning his head to look at Chad “Like actually think about it for a minute, Y/n had been going to Blackmore University before you, and then gave you a tour around campus and then integrated herself into your lives. Does that not raise any red flags at all? Or how she would come by the apartment sometimes when Tara was sick to give her her homework when Tara could have asked you or Mindy to get it for her?" he questioned before turning to look at Sam. "Did you ever find it strange Sam that you never once had to question her character when you have done that to me, Anika, and Quinn?" Ethan continues, making her slowly ball up her hand. 
Sam thought about what Ethan had said to her, making her try and recall every moment she had with you. But what Ethan doesn’t realize is that it's only making her angrier by the second, while her knuckles slowly turn white. Because she knows what Ethan is trying to say, he's trying to imply that the entire time you've been in their lives that you've been manipulating every one of them. Her sister Tara and her friends Mindy, Chad, Anika, and herself. Sam acknowledges that she may not have been actively forthcoming with interrogating you in front of her family, but god did she find it easy to connect with you. You were patient, considerate, and sweet with her, despite Sam giving you a hard time. Sam finds it hard to believe that you would go out of your way to fuck her over. She can't even get over the part where you are incredibly fucking loyal to her, laid back, and bubbly, parts of your personality that plays so well with her own. It's those rare qualities that you have that allow her to feel like a kid and teen again. It's those feelings that she would kill to experience once again, had she not found out who she was and had Ghost Face never entered the picture so despite what Ethan has said, and amid her anger she punched him square in the face.
Ethan’s body hit the ground faster than he could say economics. “Okay, really Sam!?” Chad yells, shaking his head as Sam turns her back on him to check on Mindy, Tara, and You. Because Chad thought punching Ethan in the face was unnecessary which caused him to turn to help his roommate off the floor but before Chad could help, Ethan got back on his feet. 
Then Ethan took his hand and brought it up to feel his face to make sure nothing was broken. Before his eyes started to water with aggravation from trying to convince everyone in the room that you are a threat and that he's not making shit up. The turn of events made his own anger wanting him to make a move, as his hands itched to kill something and anyone in Danny's apartment.
This causes Mindy to look at him from the corner of her eye, she could tell that Ethan wanted to let loose because she could see it on his face. It’s there, she just doesn’t know what the real reason or reasons behind his actions are yet. 
However, he’s clenching and unclenching his jaw making it tight before going slack like he wasn’t sure how to act at that moment, like if he should attack while Sam has her back to him or continue the script that he so wants to rip to shreds, but has to follow for the sake of bringing down the Carpenters and honoring his brother's name. But out of impulse, he went for it, Ethan threw caution to the wind and walked up to Sam just as he balled up his hand ready to hit her back while Mindy was about to open her mouth. But as Ethan turns Sam around to punch her, he sees that her anger from before never left, in fact, he watched as Sam narrowed her eyes at him like a threat needed to be taken out. Before Sam shoved him away, Mindy cut in front of her to protect Sam from Ethan while Chad jumped at the opportunity to hold his roommate back. 
“You want to go Landry!” Sam yells as Mindy puts her hands up to stop her from getting close to Ethan while Tara is trying her best to hold her sister back from punching him repeatedly. 
“I’m telling you that bitch is a danger to everyone in this apartment!! She’s just playing innocent!” Ethan yells as his face got red, making his eyes further water in frustration that Sam isn’t getting it. Appearing like he knows you better than anyone in the room, it's only making the older Carpenter sister angry, while in reality, he knows exactly what he's doing. He was slowly putting a seed in everyone’s head that you are the bad guy here and not him, a seed that only takes a few words to question your credibility if not now, then certainly later.
“Whoa!” Mindy says aloud as she leans her hands off Sam's shoulders as she stretches her arms to continue to make herself a barrier between her and Ethan while Tara continues to use what little strength she has left to hold her sister back. “You're on thin ice here Landry!!” Mindy yells behind her before looking back at Sam when her eyes catch something red developing behind Tara and on your shirt “Sam?” she whispers before Sam pushes past her.
But Sam didn’t make it very far even though she was keen on beating Ethan’s ass. It's because Danny intervenes knowing very well that Sam could take him out if she pleased but is relieved to know that when he put his hands on her to stop her from going any farther, that she didn’t harm him. “Sam, Samantha baby you don’t want to do this right now,” he says with a gruff voice to snap her out of the state she was in, Sam shakes her head, while her hands wrap themselves around Danny’s forearms. Sam was almost at her tipping point of wanting to murder Ethan, “Think about it baby, maybe this is what Ghost Face wants you guys to do. To fight each other so he can get everyone alone” he tries to reason with her.
But it was no use “Get out of my way Danny” she said to him in a low voice with a growl almost evident to Danny’s ears a new sound he'd never heard of before as she strengthened her hold on his forearms. Sam’s actions cause Danny to feel something clammy and wet on his skin so he looks down to see why that is out of curiosity.
But just as Sam was about to try and push Danny out of the way Danny’s eyes widened at his left forearm “Samantha..” he said in a whisper because he couldn’t believe what was on his arm while Sam was breathing more heavily, she's so close to letting loose. 
‘Just a little more’ Ethan thought to himself. 
“S-Samantha whose blood is this?” he says nervously while checking her over to make sure it’s not hers, making Sam calm down just a little as she looks down at his arm. Her eyes widen at the sight before her, the color red that stains Danny's forearm as she steps away from him. 
The sudden discovery of blood on Sam’s hand that now stains her own forearm brings her back to Stu Macher’s house where she was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend and how her blood was everywhere from her shirt, to her hip, and then her pants. Sam can feel herself starting to hyperventilate until she remembers the feeling of your body against her palms and the soft texture of cotton at her fingertips causing the killer in her to cease while she turns around to slowly look at you.
When you feel eyes staring at you, you look up, finding your friends looking at you with widened eyes and shocked faces. It was uncomfortable for you because you didn’t like being the center of attention, but what made your brows furrow in question was the look on your girlfriend's face. Sam wasn’t looking at you directly, you realize that none of your friends were, they were looking at something on your stomach so you slowly follow their gaze. You discover that on the left side of your stomach, it was bleeding and pooling onto your shirt and the wound causes you to breathe more heavily as you start to panic. 
“Y/n look at me,” Sam says searching for your eyes as she tries to get your attention and eventually she does, because you look away from your wound and at her eyes frantically. Sam can tell by your eyes alone that you are trying to remain calm but it’s not working so she slowly walks over to you, passing Mindy and Tara on her way over. “Come with me to the bathroom,” she says calmly as she takes your hand with her clean one and guides you to the bathroom before noticing that your back also has blood on it, causing her to take a much-needed deep breath in “Let me clean you up.”
When you both walk to the bathroom, Sam walks ahead of you to open the door, allowing you to walk in first before entering so she can clean her hands and forearm. After washing the blood off, Sam bends down so she can open the cabinet underneath the sink to retrieve some gauze, ointment, and medical tape for your wounds. “Sam” you call out to her but she doesn’t respond. Instead, she sets the medical supplies on the bathroom sink before sitting down on the covered toilet, getting ready to patch you up before looking up at you.
When her eyes met your own, you noticed that the panic that had set in earlier had suddenly disappeared from your body, leaving you a little tired. But despite that, you notice that there is something so comforting about gazing into Sam’s big brown eyes that makes you soften at the sight, they also make you wonder and reflect. Silently, Sam asks from her position on the toilet if she can lift up your shirt and you nod in a silent response before helping her by keeping your shirt above the wound so she can work on cleaning the laceration. 
While cleaning Sam glances at you, she looks up every now and again to make sure she's not hurting you but she’s also looking up to see if you would talk to her not that she didn’t like the silence. In fact, she secretly enjoys the moments when you two would share the silence in her apartment together just catching up on episodes of different animals on the Discovery channel before asking you questions about said episode like you were the expert. But at some point, while cleaning Sam nicks your wound causing you to flinch. “Sorry about that” she quickly apologized, feeling bad for hurting you even a little bit “Got distracted” she admitted as she felt your gaze land on her.
“Oh yeah? What are you thinking about?” you asked, causing Sam to look up at you as she held your gaze for a minute, finding herself appreciating the view from where she was sitting, before shaking her head and focusing on your wound.
“Nothing really” she answered at first thinking about what Ethan had said as she heard you hum in response before Sam took the time to think about everything that you went through with her, “How did you remember that you needed to make a tourniquet for Gale’s thigh? I mean we only watched Keep Breathing once and that was a while ago” Sam asked and her question made you laugh lightly.
“I don’t know. I guess the situation made me remember.. Or that particular scene is what I found super interesting, you know? The man was bleeding out” You answered your girlfriend as you went on a rant making Sam’s heart feel a little lighter and unknowingly making you step out of your own head.
“Mhm” Sam hums out loud letting you know that she was still present in your conversation “Liv should have taken his clothes,” she says smiling to herself. “I think I would have if I was in a situation like that” she explained as she got up from the toilet so she could attempt to take off your shirt but she stopped herself. Her right hand hovers over your skin while the other is on your hip as her eyes slowly look at the mirror in front of the both of you, waiting for you to look up, while her fingers itch to touch you.
When you feel Sam’s hand hovering over your back like a sixth sense the feeling causes you to look up where you catch her gaze in the mirror as you respond to her previous comment. “That wouldn’t be a great idea because let's say if you did Sam and someone knew who those clothes belonged to, you would be fuc-” You stopped mid-sentence when you noticed her eyes in the mirror were a bit different. Their not worried or angry but softer than usual, they make you look away out of shyness.
“Hey don’t look away from me,” Sam said softly to you with a smile as she kissed near your ear then your jawline, and then your neck making you look back up at the mirror with a smile of your own, a giggle eventually leaving your lips. “That’s right don’t hide that smile from me, baby,” Sam says to you as she gazes back into your eyes once again, her smile growing in size before giving you space.
“Sam?” You called her as your smile slightly faded as you both looked at each other in the mirror again. “Did I really hit Ethan over the head with a bat?” you asked her as Sam stayed silent “Why would I have really done that?” you say aloud not feeling safe around your people, while not noticing that Sam is touching your waist.
After your question Sam turns you around, her hands move up to cup your cheeks as she stares deeply into your eyes before capturing your lips. She hears you hum against her, the vibration from your body making her hum up back. Sam just wants to make your worries and hers disappear. She doesn't want you to think you have done anything wrong and she doesn't want to believe that you would do anything to hurt her or her family. However, as Sam's kisses slowed down she leaned her head against your own, finding your skin soothing even though she wanted more. Before asking “Permission to take off your shirt?” so she can take care of your other wounds and she makes you laugh, not realizing that Mindy is outside the bathroom door until you both hear someone yell.
“Hey, do you guys need a stool to sit on?! I know you're heights might be different so I was just wondering!” Mindy says from outside the bathroom causing you and Sam to jump before your girlfriend goes to open the door while you stand far behind her, checking out her handy work in the mirror before looking over at her.
“Hey Mindy,” You say aloud as you quickly wave at her making Mindy look over at you to wave back when she gets quiet. It was because she didn’t realize how big the laceration that Ghost Face left on you was until now while you examined yourself in the mirror. But while looking at yourself in the mirror you find yourself hearing water splashing around you like you were at sea before hearing distant screams calling for you and suddenly it felt like you weren’t in Danny’s apartment anymore “Sam” you try to call out but it came out low. 
“You guys need to knock on the door instead of yelling to get our attention,” Sam told Mindy without trying to out her relationship with you before turning around to tend to you when she was cut off guard by your pale complexion, the way you were slightly hunched over the sink, and the way your hands gripped the corners of the counter. “Y/n?” Sam called out to you as she slowly walked over to you with a concerned Mindy behind her not realizing that Mindy had called her little sister over. 
“Okay I brought my chair, did something happen?” Tara questioned Mindy before following her gaze towards her sister when she also got distracted by your pale complexion, “Sam is Y/n okay?” she asked her older sister.
“I-I don’t know Tara. Y/n” Your girlfriend calls out to you again but instead of hearing her, you hear a phone hit the ground with cars honking in the background while hearing two voices one of them is your own. ‘Sam I don’t have much time..’ you heard hurried footsteps and gunshots ringing in your ears before hearing the other voice screaming ‘NO, DON'T TOUCH HER’ You slowly recognized Sam’s voice, and then you heard a door slam at the same time Sam touches your arm. Your instinct was to swing on your girlfriend which caused Sam to quickly grab your wrists and twirl you around where she now has your back against her front and her arms crossed against your own. “Easy Y/n, Easy…come back to me baby” Sam whispers into your ear before leaning her head against your own as she feels your heart beat rapidly before she slowly feels you calm down in her embrace “Hey Tara?” Sam calls for her sister.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Tara chimed at the mention of her name.
“I need you to get my sweater from my backpack for me and Mindy?” Sam calls out to Mindy making her step off the stool she was sitting on “Can you get me one of your brother's shirts?”
“Yeah I can do that for you, give me a minute I’ll be right back. Come on Tara” Mindy says before bringing her best friend with her to get the supplies.
Now that Sam knows it's just you and her in the bathroom alone for the moment, she voices her concerns “Baby you’re cold…” she whispers into your ear before rubbing her face lightly against your own “Where did you go Y/n?” she continues knowing that you were trying your best to stay grounded in front of her before she stepped back while rubbing your arms with her hands.
“I-I don’t know...Sam” you call her name before turning around but not looking directly at her just yet “It didn’t feel like I was, here, at the apartment it almost felt like I was out at sea maybe a pier but there were sounds of a busy street. I remember hearing myself say that I don’t have much time as if I might have been dying and then you screaming ‘Don’t Touch Her’ before a phone hit the ground...But also the slam of a door?” You tell your girlfriend as you shiver before looking up at her when you notice that Sam is shocked and a few tears have fallen from her eyes. “Sam? Sammy, did I say something wrong?” you ask before reaching out to her to caress her face and when you brought her closer to your body she shook her head and then left the bathroom in tears.
“Sorry it took so long but we have the sweater you asked for and Mindy had to fight her brother for ownership of his shirt” Tara joked as she got closer to the bathroom with Mindy before they both stopped because they saw Sam leave the bathroom in tears. “Sam, are you okay?” Tara called out to her older sister as she kept walking away before walking over to the bathroom to interrogate you but before she could she saw that you looked confused and upset while leaning on the bathroom counter.
“Tara…all I did was tell her that I remembered something from that night. What did I do wrong?” you asked your best friend while Mindy stood near her with her brother's shirt in hand.
Tara shakes her head with a deep sigh “Nothing Y/n, I don’t think you did anything wrong. I’m sure my sister is happy to know that you’re getting your memory back..” She pauses before looking at your side where Ghost Face had injured you on before looking at your eyes “Sam is just…going through a lot that's all” she continued while in the back of her mind, she’s wondering how being attacked this badly by Ghost Face would affect your mental state, would you change for the better or worse?
You shift your eyes away from Tara before nodding at her explanation while Tara places one of her sister's bigger sweaters down on the counter before leaving to find her sister while Mindy follows her figure until she disappears behind the wall. “Hey Mindy?” you called out and Mindy shifted in her spot to look over at you. 
“Yeah what's up?” she answered while trying to stay focused on your eyes but her mind made her look at your wound that Sam did her best to clean up instead. The images from the video as well as photos that Ghost Face sent to Sam’s phone that night still linger in her mind, and she knows you must have suffered a great deal so she understands to a degree but a part of Mindy wonders what you had to have done to piss off Ghost Face.
You clear your throat making Mindy look up at you “Do you think you can handle some blood?” you ask her before looking over at the mirror to see that you have blood near your shoulder blades and Mindy slowly nods.
“Yeah…I think I can handle some blood” Mindy says nodding confidently before stepping into the bathroom with you as she places her brother’s shirt on top of Sam’s hoodie. “Okay let’s lift that shirt shall we?” she says with enthusiasm as a smile graces her face while you turn around before looking over the clothes being offered to you.
“Hey, Mindy do you think it’s wise that I wear a white shirt under the hoodie? Don’t you think maybe a Red or Black shirt might be better?” you say to Mindy with concern as she hypes herself up to lift your shirt. 
“Unfortunately my brother’s shirts are limited Y/n” Mindy replies to you as she takes a deep breath while her fingertips touch the hem of your shirt “Chad is not that cool unless I go shopping with him.”
You lightly laugh at Mindy’s jab at her brother's wardrobe before joking around with her. “You know if you're having a hard time pulling my shirt up Mindy, just think in your head that maybe it’s Anika’s shirt you're pulling up,” you say to her before laughing again as Mindy groaned while holding back a laugh and then slapped your back “Agh I’m sorry!” you yell back at her.
“OH I forgot you're injured,” Mindy says after slapping you “I’m sorry,” she says sincerely before continuing her thought “Damn..you're a little too cold Y/n,” she says worriedly “Like ice..” she trailed off as she realized that the temperature of your skin reminded her of when she pulled you up on to the dock with her brother.
“Don’t worry about it, Mindy. Please just patch up my back?” you ask your movie buff for a friend before you shiver and she nods quickly.
When Mindy pulls up your shirt finally, she sees that your skin has a pale-ish tone to it “Mmm.” She hums at the unusual tone on your skin before she pushes your shirt further up your shoulders. Then her mouth hangs open before saying “Oh my god? What type of Ghost did you piss off?”
Tara overhears Mindy making her stop in the hallway before turning around with furrowed brows. 'Should I check on them?’ she thought to herself before shaking her head ‘Naw Mindy's got this' she continued her thought even though a part of her felt curious about what Ghost Face had done to you. Then she turns around and steps into the living room seeing Chad and Ethan walking over to sit in front of the island before overhearing Danny talking to her sister in what she assumes is his bedroom.
“Samantha, you didn’t know that would happen. I don't see how you could blame yourself” Danny says calmly to Sam as he sits next to her before putting his hand on her knee to comfort her.
Tara watches as her sister gets up from sitting on the bed with tears running down her face “Y/n didn’t deserve to be put through that. That should have be-” Sam was going to continue her thought when she caught her little sister by the door with glassy eyes and a little scowl.
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence” Tara says to her as she walks into the bedroom making Sam quietly turn to Danny asking him to leave the room for a minute so they can talk to each other alone.
“Alright, I’ll be on the couch if you two need me, okay?” Danny says to Sam and Tara before getting up to leave while Tara stares at him, her eyes following his figure out of the bedroom before the door closes.
“Sam, you know what happened wasn’t your fault, none of us knew that Ghost Face would go after Y/n,” Tara says to Sam but Sam shakes her head before sitting down on the bed.
“You don't get it, Tara. I should have known because Y/n has been protecting us, all of us. She protected you from Ghost Face at the bodega, got Mindy and Anika across the ladder, saved my ass from falling several stories, and stopped Gale from bleeding out.” Sam says before finishing her thought "Ghost Face said he would butcher anyone who gets between us" with tears in her eyes while Tara walks over to her, her thinking face evident to Sam for a moment as she sits down next to her.
"Then why would Ghost Face go after Y/n with the intent to kill her, only for him to let her live?" Tara questioned out loud before looking away from Sam like she was going to get scolded but she wasn't, Sam just turned to look at her. Tara knows how much her older sister cares about you so she rephrases "..What I'm trying to say is..based on the audio in the car from that day it sounded like Ghost Face wasn't at her apartment to scare her even though her wounds looked otherwise. It seemed like he was there to shut her up, like Y/n knew something about him" Tara says, trying to get her thoughts in order before looking over at Sam.
When her eyes met Sam's she noticed that she had tears streaming down her face but also looked like she was trying to recall something. Sam's brows furrowed in thought as she went over the events in her head from being pushed up against your couch to actually sitting down to eat with you at the little alcove in your apartment.  'I did think it was weird that he knew how to use a shotgun…maybe he’s a hunter?' she remembers saying to you before she replays what you said to her in her head. 'He would have shot my leg off with no problem in the alleyway' and 'He had to be a professional he held the gun close to his body, maybe a cop?' Your words kept repeating in her head 'he held the gun close to his body, maybe a cop?'...' The gun close to his body'...' maybe a cop?'
"Sam?" Tara called out to her before laying her hand over hers as Sam came back, slowly collecting herself. "Sam, are you okay?" Tara asked with concern as she reached her hands up to cup Sam's face, inching closer to her on the bed. Tara's gesture made Sam refocus her eyes on her.
"Yeah," Sam said, closing her eyes with a pause, her silence making Tara sigh while closing her eyes as they leaned into each other, foreheads touching. Instinctively, Sam brought her hands up to Tara's face to caress before kissing her forehead. "I don't want you guys getting hurt because of me, you guys have suffered so much already," she says to Tara while her heart aches for what she might have to do, lie to her sister so she can end Ghost Face herself.
But Tara saw through her words "No, Sam you're doing it again. You wanted us to stay together before traveling on your own to the police station and here you are trying to do things alone. AGAIN." Tara started, getting mad that Sam would low-key suggest she try and sacrifice herself for everyone. "I would go through the attack in Woodsboro again, minus the leg injury to keep you safe.." Tara says, trying to find the right words that meant she was her sister's ride or die "..it's our turn to protect you, Sam" Tara declares as she locks eyes with her sister, causing Sam to laugh with delight even though she was surprised. But the sound that came from Sam's lips never ceased to warm the little Carpenters heart, after all those years that separated them.
However, after Sam laughs she looks down at her little sister only to find that Tara's eyes are starting to get glassy. A look that has Sam wanting to reach for her own heart to soothe with her hands because the pain there feels a little too painful underneath her flesh. The type of pain and sorrow that if she allowed herself to feel all at once, that it would kill her, so Sam brings Tara in for a tight hug. "Then don't stray too far from me Tara and I won't stray too far from you, promise?" Sam asked her little sister in her arms, as she felt Tara nod her head while on her shoulder before separating from one another. Then Sam brings her hand up with her pinky extended, a sign Tara knows all too well so she hooks her pink around Sam's before bringing her thumbs up so they'd touch, a stamp of approval, acknowledging the promise they're making to each other in that very moment.
"I promise," Tara says with a smile as she wipes her eyes before Mindy knocks on the door, and enters the bedroom that the Carpenters reside in.
"Apologies for interrupting fellow gays, BUT Tweedle dee and Dum are planning to go to a different bodega with Danny because Tweedle dee you know Ethan, didn't get his favorite snacks that he requested earlier," Mindy informed her best friends considering what has been happening to them and that it's only a matter of time before Ghost Face becomes bolder enough to strike once again.
"Are you fucking serious?" Sam says aloud, clearly annoyed that the boys would want to go out for some snacks as Mindy replies to her with a nod before Sam gets up to go into the great room. Upon entering the great room Sam’s eyes focused on your figure, watching as you moved about the living room in her sweater. A part of her wanted to walk up to you and apologize for her reaction earlier but she knew that her apology wouldn’t be enough, she wanted to make it up to you before she went back to looking for Danny. "Danny" she called out as she saw him by the coat rack while hearing the audible sighs from Chad and Ethan knowing she was about to go into full mom mode. 
"Yes?" Danny answered as he got ready to go out, putting on his jacket before turning his head in Sam's direction and seeing her approach the divider of his open-concept apartment. 
"Why are you taking Chad and Ethan out to get snacks? It can wait till we’re all safe.” She said to him in a low tone so that Chad and Ethan wouldn't hear her as you walked behind her and past Danny to check if the bathroom was cleared of your blood. 
“I know, however, there are three of us, like earlier when we went food shopping. Besides, the bigger the group, the less Ghost Face will want to mess with us.” Danny explained to Sam, feeling confident with his own answer while she stood there a little frustrated.
“Danny this is my family we're talking about, my kids. The only reason why I felt better when we were together earlier is because it was me and you going out with Chad to get food” She voiced trying not to get too angry at him. 
“Oh” was all Danny could say, clearly hurt by what Sam had said to him “Do you not trust me with your kids?” He asked as he searched for Sam's eyes while you watched their conversation from the bathroom, wondering if she would trust you with her family as you looked at your hand. “Sam, please look at me,” he asked her as he watched Sam's eyes dart across the room to look at Ethan before turning her head toward you in the middle of his conversation.
When you heard Danny plead to Sam you looked up from your hand and were surprised to see Sam’s eyes searching for your own. You wondered if she was looking to you for comfort or for an answer to Danny's question. You figured it was the comfort she sought as you started walking away from the bathroom, slowly making your way towards Sam and Danny. But as you walked past Sam again, this time, your fingertips touched her waist for a moment and she grabbed hold of your hand stopping you from leaving her side.
Sam squeezes your hand at the same time she looks into your eyes, a silent exchange is made, you realize that she wants an answer so you give her one. In your silence, you lightly squeeze her waist, and as you do she hears someone quickly walk beside Danny, causing her to pull you further in her body hoping it isn’t who she thinks it is and that it was Chad. But when she looked over to continue her conversation with Danny she was disappointed, there next to him was Ethan. She could tell that Ethan was antsy like he needed to get outside or else he would combust from being in the apartment for too long and it didn't take her long to come to a decision.
“I do trust you with my kids Danny but under normal circumstances…” she told him as she trailed off feeling your body go stiff against her back, her eyes narrowing at the boy who accused you of being Ghost Face. “But this is different Danny, you can take Ethan to go to the other bodega down the street so he can get what he wants but Chad has to stay here with me” she decided as she heard Ethan scoff making her shift her eyes to him.
“Why? Because you’d prefer me and Danny to get killed by Ghost Face?” Ethan asked narrowing his eyes back at Sam just as Danny looked over at him.
“No, because Ghost Face would be least likely to kill you both and..” she paused “either you take this opportunity to stretch your legs to go buy what you want OR no one goes out at all.” She explained as Chad groaned before walking over to lie on the couch in defeat, putting his head on Tara’s lap.
“Fine” Chad huffed in defeat even though he saw reason in Sam’s words “Be careful on your way to and from the other bodega you two,” he said to Ethan and Danny as he grabbed a pillow and put it to his chest.
“Thanks, man and we will,” Danny says responding to Chad, while Ethan sighs nodding his head as he turned around to find Danny opening the front door. “We’ll be back soon” Danny informed Sam and her family while watching Ethan walk out the door before walking out of the apartment himself. But before Danny could close the door to his apartment he made eye contact with Sam for a brief moment while she turned to face you, the scene leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
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“Hey Danny, can I ask you a question?” Ethan asked Danny as they walked down the stairs slowly making their way to the lobby of the apartment building. 
“Uh sure..shoot,” Danny says as Ethan went ahead to open the door to the building for him, allowing him to walk out of the front door first before stopping at the sidewalk so Ethan can catch up to him but also so they can eventually walk in the opposite direction to a different bodega considering that the closest one to their apartment was messed up by Ghost Face.
“How long were you and Sam together before Y/n came along?” Ethan asked as he caught up to Danny before they started walking left to a new bodega.
“That’s technically none of your business,” he says defensively trying to gauge where Ethan is coming from considering he was causing a problem in his apartment earlier while also trying to keep vigilant, making sure that Ghost Face doesn’t surprise them.
“You’re right but don’t you think it’s kind of weird that Y/n just came out of nowhere and took your girl from right under you?” he inquired trying to get into Danny’s head, causing Sam’s ex-fling and love interest to stop in his tracks making Ethan smile behind him. 
“I” Danny started, trying to figure out what to say. “I did find it strange that I started seeing less and less of Sam” he voiced before turning around to face Ethan.
“Then I’m not the only one who thinks this way,” Ethan says before walking ahead of Danny as the neighbor catches up to him as they near the bodega up ahead.
“What do you mean?” Danny asked as he looked over at Ethan trying to figure out what he was trying to say.
“I mean same, we- me, Chad, Mindy, Quinn, Anika, and Tara started seeing less and less of Sam too” he answered “I think Y/n is trying to isolate Sam from her people you know? The people who really care about her,” he says trying to get Danny on his side before stopping near an alleyway.
“..I don’t know about that,” Danny says aloud to Ethan as he walks ahead of him not realizing that Ethan stopped walking a while ago. “Y/n doesn’t seem like she’s capable of doing something like that,” he says trying to keep his head on his shoulders even though Ethan gave him some things to think about.
“Keep walking..” Ethan says smirking at the fact that Danny’s figure is getting smaller and smaller as he walked further away “You fucking idiot” he insults Danny from afar. “Now what do we have here?” he says to himself as he pulls his phone out of his jeans and turns to the alleyway before taking a photo and texting someone after.
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Hallway Between Concrete Buildings by Megan (Markham) Bucknall
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Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 2.5 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 4.5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5.5 Chapter 6 Chapter 6.5 Chapter 7 Chapter 7.5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8.5 Chapter 9 (Chapter 9.5 Coming Soon)
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Stay in my mentions crew: @daddy-jareau @lummaland @screechcat @stickydefendorstudent @stickydefendorpersona @werewolfbansheelove @fanboy7794 @grandpatrolnutt @alphawolfstabs @rainbowmess823 @womenofmarvellover @inactivecabbage @msboules @bowergirlwitch
Scream 6 : A Love so Understanding Playlist
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Sorry for the long wait guys, as some of you may know I had to put down my dog last month so I've been on a hiatus to grieve, even before that, it was due to what was going on with my dog. Since then I've been trying to take each day at a time and hopefully, I can get back into the swing of things again.
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taxreturnslut · 11 months ago
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Just posting this so I have an idea of where all the pieces are at the end of Egghead:
(for real, don't read this if you haven't caught up with chapter 1123)
1 - the strawhat pirates, *Lilith, Bonney, Kuma and the giant pirates are now heading to elbaf.
2 - Trafalgar Law & Bepo are at some unknown location, heavily beaten, the rest of the crew remains at large. Their pirate ship has been sunk.
3 - Eustass Kidd & his crew's current status is unknown, but they were last spotted near Elbaf. (I am assuming they are still alive because this is one piece.) ((Potential reunion with the strawhats incoming?))
4 - the Marines, Kizaru and St. Saturn are at Egghead. (This arc definitely seemed to be sowing seeds of doubt into Kizaru's resolve in the Marines.) They could possibly head to Elbaf, like the fleet is still at Egghead and they know the giant pirates are with Luffy so it would make sense to continue pursuit. But they also may stick behind to clean up Egghead. It is also worth noting that they thought they destroyed the civilian ship that was leaving. I am not sure if this will be brought back up, but afaik they don't think there are any civilian survivors from egghead.
4.5 - SWORD, recovered Koby and left Garp behind. Currently discussing their next steps while Koby resolves to stop Luffy.
5 - Vegapunks. All dead except for Lilith and York. York does not know Lilith is still alive.
6 - The Revolutionary Army is still at Kambakka Island. Sabo has informed Dragon & Iva about the existence of Imu. And VP's broadcast confirmed Sabo's story about Lulusia so they have no reason to doubt him.
7 - the world knows about an ancient weapon, the rising sea levels, the disappearance of Lulusia, & that the void century exists.
8 - Perona was last seen on Hachinosu trying to free Moria but we don't know the results of that.
9 - the Cross Guild is hyping themselves up to find the one piece thanks to Buggy strengthening his resolve.
10 - Shanks, annihilated Kidd and then presumably bounced from Elbaf, whereabouts unknown.
11 - Blackbeard is about to learn a lot of thanks to Caribou. It's unclear if he has returned to Hachinosu and seen the aftermath of the raid. *Blackbeard is confirmed not at Beehive as of 1121, doubtful he's made it there within the last two chapters.
12 - Smoker was last seen leaving the SWORD HQ presumably after talking with X Drake, current destination is unknown. *I take this back up on further review it seems like Smokey is heading towards the hospital/SWORD
13 - it is worth noting that the gorosei (minus Saturn) have returned to Mary Geoise. We also keep getting small frames of the dude with moon shaped hair who's name I'm forgetting. So something will presumably happen with them + him and his other holy knights.
There are so many moving parts and I still feel like I'm forgetting something. If anyone knows something I messed up or knows a person or group I missed pls let me know.
14 - we got a new silhouette a chapter or two ago. Man marked by flames?
15 - CP0. We know Lucci, Kaku & Stussy are still on Egghead. It's unclear but it seems like their loyalty to the WG is starting to waver.
16 - Vivi & Wapol are aboard Big News Morgan's airship. Vivi is wanted by Imu & we learned she is a bearer of the will of D & Wapol witnessed King Cobras assassination as well as the forms of the gorosei. We do not know what part of the world they are flying over.
17 - The Straw hat grand fleet is currently out and about in the world. I mention them because at the end of Dressrosa we were told they are the cause of some historic event, so we shouldn't forget about them.
18 - the og Stussy is on Sphinx island with Marco. We saw Weevil captured by greenbull and it seems like Marco is being pressure to save him.
* Thank you @brookstolemybrand for the help! I really appreciate it!!
** Please read through the comments. I did not remember this all on my own and had a lot of help. I appreciate everyone who mentioned something.
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melliae · 11 months ago
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The Last Boss in Persona 3
This is more of a continuation to my previous post (in Tumblr, here) about the meaning behind the Universe arcana. This post will follow the same main idea of my previous one: to analyze the meaning of final boss within the series through using esoteric and psychoanalitical concepts.
Now, before analyzing everything, it'll be better to first summarize the final boss' lore:
“The mother of all Shadows and bringer of death since ancient times. If she awakens, ‘the Fall’ will occur.” - Persona 3 Portable (I wanted to use the japanese version, but I haven’t found any perfect save for P3P/FES in japanese, or a ISO for Vanilla)
That’s almost everything that the game says in relation to what Nyx is, and it’s just a repetition of what Ryoji explained in December. There’s some interesting comments the cultists give during January, like how it “will change the flow of causality” or is an “Absolute Will” (“普遍の意志”, or “Universal/Omnipresent Will”), but their nature is obviously biased. It’s not until the release of the P3 Club Book that its lore becomes clearer, and which I’m going to summarize as it follows:
Nyx” is not actually called “Nyx”, but it’s a nameless entity classified as some sort of “Star Eater” that, eons ago and in a dormant state, crashed against the hadean earth (4.5 billions of years ago).
Due to both its dormant state and it’s strange material composition, existing between “mass and information” (similar to the Velvet Room), both the earth and the Star Eater survived the impact, but not without consequences: a lot of the earth’s matter came off and covered the Eater’s body, creating the moon – the Persona version of the “giant impact theory”.
However, that’s only in regards to the body, because its psyche got separated from the body and “flooded” earth’s surface, putting at risk the existing, but primitive life (ie. amoebas) on it due to its anathemic nature.
Life, driven completely by its instinct to survive, sealed the psyche within themselves, limiting their lifespan (ie. creating death) as well as allowing their psychological development, ending in both the creation of consciousness and the collective unconscious.
As you can see, there’s a good reason Nyx is called the “maternal entity”: its very own soul is what allowed the birth of humanity and all forms of complex life, explaining why it was named “Nyx” by the Kirijos – just as the greek deity give birth to all sort of deities that shape the human experience, the Star Eater made possible its existence. The same applies to its title as “mother of Shadows”, because its psyche wasn’t only sealed within the depths of the collective unconscious by life’s drive to live, but also became an essential part of the human soul as well: their Shadow. So it’s not that “she” is the mother of Shadows, but that Shadows are Nyx, and we all know how important they are.
“The Shadows we hold in our psyches themselves are not just mere prisoners, but have become an essential part of the inner structure of our minds. Without a Shadow, a mind - especially one as highly complex as that of a human being - cannot function properly and ceases to work, as if it had been lost entirely.” – Ikutsuki, P3 Club Book
“What I released from the Trapezohedron just now was the half of that woman that could not come to life until now: her complexes, her emotional trauma–her suppressed Shadow, if you will. And you learned on the other side what happens should you kill the mind’s Shadow, didn’t you? How ironic that it was all of you who made her this way.” - The Faceless God (Nyarlathotep’s Avatar), Tatsuya’s Scenario (referencing Yukino’s end if her Shadow jumps into the abyss).
“If we erase a Palace, there is no doubt that the person’s distorted desires will be erased as well. But desires are what we all need in order to survive. The will to sleep, eat, fall in love–those sort of things. [...] If all those yearnings were to vanish, they’d be no different than someone who was shut entirely. They may even die if they’re not given care.” - Morgana, Persona 5
The shadow men, apathy syndrome, mental shutdowns, and psychotic breakdowns… All of them are manifestations of what happens when the Shadow of an individual is disturbed or destroyed: the collapse of the individual psyche or soul. That means it’s equally valid to affirm Nyx is the origin of both all Shadows and souls in the series, becoming even clearer when see how the personality module of the anti-shadow weapons, their “papillion heart”, is made out of plumes of dusk, crystalline fragments of Nyx’s body. This is further strengthened by Sho Minzauki’s second personality, born out of the plume implanted on his brain, and Metis as the Shadow of Aigis, bearing the name of Athena’s mother and her Persona being the embodiment of the soul in greek mythos.
It’s easy to see, then, that Nyx is not just “another god” (without the intention to diss Izanami, Yaldabaoth and the rest), but a primordial aspect of the life’s collective psyche (ie. the unconscious). That’s why it’s called the “Universal/Absolute Will”, for “she” is all around life and humanity, being the “ground of being” from which all their potentials come from, for even the very own power of Persona is nothing but something derived from the “small Nyx” acting as the foundation of one’s psyche. Even the capability to alter space-time and reality inherent to life is derived from it, even in Tadashi’s trilogy.
“Mitsuru: These people are Persona Users who appeared in “Megami Ibunroku Persona”, “Persona 2: Innocent Sin” and “Persona 2: Eternal Punishment”. As far as we can see from what’s been shown on television, they seem to be living peaceful lives right now. [...] Akihiko: Still, those guys are Persona Users, right? They have the potential, yet I haven’t heard anything about people like that trying to help out with the things that have been happening here in the Minato Ward… Mitsuru: Well, you have to consider that not all of them might be Persona Users any longer. [...] According to the staff, in our game, the “Value of Life” is defined by the sudden changes in time and space that our wills can bring about. We’ve already explained that Shadows have the ability to manipulate space-time, so the same might be true for those they dwell in, us living beings.” - P3 Club Book
“From the first, people have had a tremendous power in their souls over the flow of reality. [...] Yes… The power that created your world is the same as your inner strength… In this collective unconsciousness, it’s possible.” - Philemon, Innocent Sin.
Even the plumes of dusk, and thus the body of Nyx, have the same properties to alter reality, and emit readings similar to “living beings” despite being deadly to life on earth.
While it’s pretty clear how encompassing Nyx's lore and nature is, it’s important to keep in mind that most of this, at some level, was implied or said by the games. Side material like the Club Book just clarifies what was shown in the Journey, the Answer and even Arena. So now, it’s time to really analyze the beast this eldritch abomination is.
The Golden Egg
Now, it’s just common sense to begin with the mythological foundation of the games: greek mythology, and in particular Orphism, a branch which acted as a mystery (ie.secret) cult mythological founded by Orpheus. It preached, in basic terms, about the findings of the poet after he returned to the land of the living with wisdom about the nature of the world, its cycle of death and rebirth, and how to break from it.
It’s unknown if there’s a cycle of reincarnation in Persona, but we know there may be a similar thing based on Enlil’s quote of how “humans have learned nothing from the cycle of destruction and rebirth” during her second phase. There’s something similar in PQ, where Zen described the “providence of the world” (ie. the collective unconscious), and in the Club Book, about how the unconscious created an archetypal tale between demons and gods to protect the human soul from Nyx’s influence. However, that’s not that relevant, with our focus being more on the creation myth of the cult:
“Similarly, in connection with the raven as the name for this situation, we must consider the creative night mentioned in an Orphic hymn, which calls it a bird with black wings that was fertilized by the wind (pneuma). The product of this union was the silver egg, which in the Orphic view contained heaven above and earth below, and was therefore a cosmos in itself, i.e., the Microcosm.” - Mysterium Coniunctionis.
Within the context of cosmogonical eggs, the hindu hiranyagarbha can also be rescued, described by Jung as “the collective aggregate of all souls”. The relation between these two eggs and Nyx as the “mother of all” is quite obvious, but more important is the fact that its core is a giant, golden egg… cracked – the universe has already been born. But as I wrote in my previous post and as implied by the hiranyagarbha, the universe born out of Nyx is equal to the collective unconscious and thus humanity, harking back to other traditions in which the archetypal man is born out of an egg.
Since we now know what Nyx gave birth to the collective soul of life after “she cracked” or crashed against earth, we must ask what was it like before it crashed:
“The phenomenology of the "child's" birth always points back to an original psychological state of non-recognition, i.e., of darkness or twilight, of non-differentiation between subject and object, of unconscious identity of man and the universe. This phase of non-differentiation produces the golden egg, which is both man and universe and yet neither, but an irrational third.” - Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
Quite self-explanatory, don’t you think so? It even explains why Nyx is an “alien Star Eater”, for its true nature is what lies in the state before the separation of “heaven and earth”, before the divide between unconsciousness and consciousness. This liminal state is even reflected in its body which exists as both information/thought and matter at the same time, in-between the physical moon and the deepest abyss of the Sea of Souls as per Elizabeth’s route in Arena (“最も深淵なる場所だ”), or how even the Club Book describes its main body as “neither organic nor inorganic” ("有機物とも無機物とも判断しかねる外見である") – completely undifferentiated.
Naturally, this brings out to the mind the jewish associations established by the Club Book and the P3xP4 Analyze, about how Tartarus represents both the seven earths Adam wandered after being expelled out of Eden and the Sephirot that comprise the kabbalistic tree of life respectively, the two symbols for the development of consciousness out of the primitive, undifferentiated unconsciousness, which even Soejima noted. The Star Eater, as the one above Tartarus, becomes equal to Paradise and the unconscious godhead, the Ein Sof, from which the tree, synonymous with the archetypal man and universe, grows out, thus being one with the deepest layer of the Sea, as previously commented.
If you remember the confrontation with its Avatar, how “he” uses the narrative of the tree of knowledge to explain the arcanas, it adds another layer to its meaning: the fruit of knowledge is a very obvious metaphor for the birth of consciousness, but also one for the Shadows as well, with both ultimately causing the birth of death (or the awareness about it). This means Nyx, as the sum of all Shadows, is the tree of knowledge and death, which makes it equal to the tree of life and archetypal man, with even Tartarus being compared to the “corpse of god being (hanged) upside-down” in the Analyze book.
“七つの地” は神をシンボライズした “セフィロトの樹” と上下逆向きで対応しており、テベルは根本の基礎部分にあたる “イェンド” に相当する。” “The “seven earths” correspond to the Tree of the Sefirot, which symbolized God upside-down, with Thebel corresponding to “Yesod”, being the root of the foundations.”
And according to the same source, Tartarus is made out of Shadows and the psychic stratum of humanity:
“これは、タルタロスが基本的にはシャドウと同じ精神体によって構成されているからで、言ってみればその場所の記憶のようなものが構造に反映された結果そうなったもの。同様にタルタロス自体の内部構造も精神体からできたもので、タルタロス構造に取り込まれた精神体の記憶のようなものが反映されている” “This is thanks to Tartarus being fundamentally composed by the same psychic nature of Shadows, as if the memories of the research facility were reflected into the structure so to speak. Similarly, the internal structure of Tartarus itself is made up of such psychic substance, and as such it’s as if the memories of that substance were reflected and taken in by Tartarus’ architecture.”
So more reason to think Nyx, in essence, was the preconscious state of humanity and life before it crashed. It’s the unknown, unconscious godhead in which there is no difference between object and subject, acting as its own “universal individual” in a dormant, sleeping state. It’s pure coincidentia oppositorum.
Joining Opposites
“Nyx” means “night, and the night (along with darkness, dusk and many others) is one of the de facto symbols of the unconscious, along with the underworld (Tartarus). The moon being another symbol of the same thing just further confirms the Star Eater is the unconscious or it’s in an unconscious state. However, pure unconsciousness it’s not what only Nyx has to offer, for someone deeply related to it also exists: its avatar, Death, also known as Pharos.
Pharos’ name is a quite interesting, because in japanese is written as “ファルロス”, mixing both the katakana for “ファルス”, or “phallus”, and “ファロス”, or “pharos (of Alexandria)”. There’s no need to comment the masculine nature of the first word, but it has to be done in regards to the second one and its double nature, since the pharos of Alexandria acts as an obvious masculine symbol thanks to its phallic form, and as a symbol of consciousness due to the light it emits. That’s to say, Pharos is the conscious and masculine counterpart to Nyx’s actual state; Ryoji, with his casanova attitude and yellow scarf, reinforces the concept.
Now, all of that means that, just as expected, the original state of Nyx was androgynus in nature – both female and male at the same time. Some remains of this can also be seen in its core, golden and solar in nature despite being within the moon, and obviously harks back to another quote of Jung:
“The moon with her antithetical nature is, in a sense, a prototype of individuation, a prefiguration of the self: she is the “mother and spouse of the sun, who carries in the wind and the air the spagyric embryo conceived by the sun in her womb and belly.” This image corresponds to the psychologem of the pregnant anima, whose child is the self, or is marked by the attributes of the hero.” - Mysterium Coniunctionis.
Such an image is alchemical in nature, describing the nature of “Queen Luna” (a symbol for both the feminine essence of nature and Nyx) as the mother and partner of “King Sol” (the masculine essence, and in this case Death), who ultimately join in matrimony to achieve the “philosophical stone” – oneness with the world. I doubt I have to explain how the Fall acts as the “shadow” of such a process, ending with the death of all living beings. Though it’s also interesting how is related to the Avatar as such, whom only isn’t only found at the top of Tartarus or “tree of death”, meaning it acquired the same dignity as all other mythological primal humans, but it’s also androgynous in appearance – both feminine and masculine natures are necessary for wholeness, be it conscious or unconscious.
By that matter, the protagonist acts as both “Queen Luna” (gray eyes, pretty boy, “death was inside him”, and Messiah being completely white) and “King Sol”, for he, as “Orpheus”, enters into Nyx’s “eye” in an scene eerily reminiscent of what Jung wrote:
“The “eye” evidently stands for the female genitals, as is clear from the myth of Indra, who, as a punishment for his wantonness, was smitten with yonis all over his body, but was so far pardoned by the gods that the shameful yonis were changed into eyes. The little image reflected in the eye, the “pupilla,” is a “child.” The great god becomes a child again: he enters into the mother’s womb for self-renewal.” - Symbols of Transformation.
Yep… But at any rate, returning to the Avatar, his speech about the arcanas returns once again, since it includes all the arcanas from the Fool to Death, passing through the twelve intermediary ones, with each one representing one of the “hours” within a clock. This implies the Fool and Death stand outside of the cycle of time somehow, and since the Fool it’s the “beginning of life” as per Edogawa’s lecture on japanese, it’s not surprising to connect the card with an infant… like Pharos – Death itself.
Within the Avatar and Nyx the entire cycle of life is described, where both the beginning and end life become one to form a ring, a circle that can be described better as the Universe or World itself, as the Analyze book says:
“最後に発現する “世界” あるいは “宇宙” のタロットには、卵のような形のウロボロスの輪に囲まれた女性の姿が描かれている [...] 二ュクスの中心核は、そのウロボロスの形にも似ている透明な輝く卵の姿をしていた” “In regards to the final manifestation of the “World” or “Universe” tarot card, a feminine figure encircled in an egg-shaped ouroboros ring is depicted. [...] The shining, translucent egg acting as Nyx’s core resembles the shape of the ouroboros as well.”
More telling, the core, despite being the cosmic egg and having the light of creation (or “libido”, the name put by Jung to describe “psychic energy”), only uses “Death” to attack.
The Forgotten Godhead
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What you are seeing is one of the first mandalas Jung created during his schizophrenia visions in 1916 or so. It’s called “systema munditotius” or “system of all worlds”, for it represents the psychic activity of all human beings at some level. It’s full of details and the like, but the more important things for now is the vertical axis, beginning with the golden egg with a human at the top, and ending with the lion-headed serpent at the bottom.
The first figure, the egg, represent the future, collective “imago dei” of humanity, the next symbol for the Self that has yet to be born and that Jung called “Phanes”, the primordial being born out of the cosmic egg within orphic myths, embodiment of existence itself and husband, father and/or son of Nyx. The second figure, the serpent or “Abraxas”, represents the past and present “imago dei”, a symbol reminiscent of the Demiurge and a bastardization of the christian god, having both a monster and a caterpillar, the promises of death and life, by its sides, and the tree of life rooted on its head (or mind)
If you begin to think, it becomes obvious what’s the relationship between the Star Eater and those two figures: It’s both. Not only the Eater is both death and a “caterpillar”, since it’s the source of all souls which are represented by butterflies in the series (see the Papillion heart and Psyche), but it’s also the cosmic egg and thus Phanes (see Ryoji). It’s the unconscious self of all humanity, forgotten and fragmented, hanged upside-down, and to which everyone has to obey
“What the god-sun speaketh is life. What the devil speaketh is death. But Abraxas speaketh that hallowed and accursed word which is life and death at the same time. Abraxas begetteth truth and lying, good and evil, light and darkness, in the same word and in the same act. Wherefore is Abraxas terrible. [...] To look upon it, is blindness. To know it, is sickness. To worship it, is death. To fear it, is wisdom. To resist it not, is redemption.” - Seven Sermons to the Dead
For Abraxas, in its primitive and unconscious brutality, is life and its origin, the endless cycle of death and rebirth, just as the Star Eater holds the Fool and the Death as one and the same. They are the flow of time, the drive that created everything from the unconscious as the savage demiurge. They are the endless conflict of life.
But in its role as Phanes, as the yet-to-be born Self, the Star Eater is the promise and realization of all beings – their meaning. However, its core, its egg, is cracked, damaged and divided, and therefore the Self of all humanity is unable to be born yet. For that, the egg must be joined once again and understood, just like Philemon said in IS and Tatsuya’s Scenario, for the egg – the Star Eater – is life.
Such transformation, at an individual level, is masterfully shown with Death’s own journey, going from a shadowy, primitive and savage monster to a kid curious about the world, and then to a teenager which loves everything life can offer from the beginning, all thanks to the journey of the protagonist and all the memories he gained. Yet, such search for meaning wasn’t enough to stop the hopelessness and self-destructivity of the collective, of humanity’s and the godhead’s yearn to return to what they were once… but the protagonist didn’t give up on and, against all possibilities, created a miracle: he was able to give meaning to life and thus to death, instauring hope in the furthest depths of everyone’s hearts.
That’s the true meaning of death within the game. It’s not about merely physical death, but also psychological death, transformation and, ultimately, hope. Death and time are the drives for the endless change within the human soul, equally givers and takers of happiness and tragedy. And with life and light, they make up the totality of the universe we know, for they are one and the same, with the rejection of one meaning the rejection of the other.
Death it’s not only a unknown hunter, but also a part of oneself, and that it’s hopefully treated as a friend even in the worst times. After all, accepting death and life as parts of the whole, to accept that everything will come and go, your sadness and happiness, it’s the first step to break off from the endless cycle of suffering and conflict, of “evil demons and benevolent gods” that are naught but a part of the human soul.
Don’t forget life brims with joy, and that you should bring that same joy to death. Live a good death!
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nomercymaster11 · 2 years ago
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My Master list! (edited as of June 15, 2024)
~~~~RATED 18~~~
In his presence pt.2 - Love deepens as Law and his partner strengthen their bond. (⭐⭐⭐)
In his absence pt.1 - The waiting game when Law is out the sub. (⭐⭐)
Whispers of the Heart - Crew banter interrupts a daydream of a clandestine moment. (⭐)
Delicate Mornings - Law makes amends for a night's slumber. (⭐⭐⭐) ~continuation of tender nights
Harmony in the Icy Depths - Forbidden harmony at sea. (⭐⭐⭐)
Tender Nights - Law's late night affection. (⭐)
Dancing on the Precipice - Secret passions bloom amid celebration. (⭐)
Possession ver. 2.0 - Passionate encounter with Law; jealousy, desire, and unspoken complexities unfold. (⭐⭐)
~~~~NON RATED 18~~~~
My first ever series: HIATUS T_T I'm having trouble with a certain chapter. Sorry
Chapter 1: It’s complicated - Law rejects your confession to him. How will you cope?
Chapter 2: Two-way Dilemma
Chapter 3: Silent Longings
Chapter 3.5: We should talk
Chapter 4: Through Law's eyes
Chapter 4.5:
Chapter 5:
----
Surprises and Smiles - Happy Birthday Penguin!!
Inked Secrets - A playful prank reveals hidden truths, intertwining hearts on the rooftop.
Turbulent Currents - Heart Pirates breaking apart.
Possession - Law's silent declaration against Sanji.
Navigating Bonds: The Heart Pirates' reaction - Heart Pirates embrace evolving ties in uncharted seas of camaraderie.
Silent Tides - unspoken feelings for Law.
I recently rekindled my interest in the One Piece fandom two months ago after watching the One Piece Live Action on Netflix. I decided to rewatch the anime from Episode 1, and I'm proud to say that I've caught up. To achieve this, I committed to watching 100 episodes per week. Admittedly, it felt a bit intimidating given that One Piece has over a thousand episodes, and I had paused my watching right before the timeskip during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. (Currently on Episode 1032, and although I initially didn't plan to be a weekly watcher, I can't help but get more and more into it!)
I used to be a Sanji fan, but it's been around eight years since I stopped watching the anime. Little did I know, I would fall in love with Law. Discovering more about him—his character, personality, dynamics—I thought, 'This man is the standard.' I wish I hadn't stopped watching One Piece back then, but here I am! I'm so happy and fully immersed that I've even started creating a Trafalgar Law shrine in my room.
Regarding the fan fictions I'm working on and planning for the future, they're based on my imagination, some influenced by my experiences and emotions during writing, and inspired by songs I frequently listen to. I have numerous ideas in mind, and I hope to articulate them soon.
So, thank you for reading my fanfiction(s)!
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heywoodsays · 4 months ago
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Top 10 Films of 2024
I’ve written before on how silly the exercise of coming up with an annual “top ten films” list always is. And yet, the tradition continues. One of the things I take away from the experience is the opportunity to parse through the dozens of movies I’ve watched in the past year and try to identify what exactly makes some movies speak to me more than others.
I found that especially challenging this year — not because there were so many remarkable films, or too few worth considering. But other than a few genuine standouts (4.5 to 5 stars), I thought there were so many solid films that I thoroughly enjoyed (4 stars), it was difficult to sift through them to decide “which was better.” In a sense, coming up with a top 20 was easy, but arriving at a top 10 was not.
I have, at times, tried very hard to distinguish between the concepts of “best films” and “favorite films,” but I’ve learned that such a distinction is murky at best. Our personal biases, preferences, life experiences, and so on play an indubitable role in our appreciation of a movie. For most people, those elements probably hold more weight than the various cinematic skills used to bring those stories to life.
But for those of us who have taken a more immersive approach, the trick lies in finding the appropriate balance.
There are films on my list this year that by no means rival the cinematic achievements of films not on the list, in either technique or narrative. And I must admit that some longstanding genre biases I may hold may have prevented me from fully enjoying some of the year’s most interesting work. (Spoiler alert: The Substance didn’t make my list.)
What matters most to me, though, is that ten years from now, I’ll be able to look at this list and remember who I was with respect to the world around me — what inspired me; what brought me to tears; what made my heart smile; what advanced my love for the movies.
I hope everyone had that experience with a few movies this year. Here are the ones that top my list for 2024.
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T10. Dìdi
Dir: Sean Wang
I swear this isn’t cheating, but I’ve selected two movies for my #10 slot as both are coming-of-age stories with vastly different approaches but similar affects (yes, with an ‘a’).
In Sean Wang’s Dìdi, we meet 13-year-old Chris, a second-generation Taiwanese American, in the summer of 2008. We journey with Chris (called “Dìdi” by his grandmother) over the weeks leading up to the start of high school as he struggles with the absence of his father, his strained relationship with his mother, internalized racism, first love, belonging, and — that most heart-wrenching of dilemmas — when your best friend demotes you from their MySpace “Top 8.”
Perhaps this resonates so strongly with me as the son of a single immigrant mother, but I find Dìdi to be authentic and warm without wallowing in sentimentality. Wang offers us relatable, vulnerable characters who we can’t help but root for, despite their flaws.
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 4.0/5
Metacritic: 78/100
Where to watch: Streaming now on Prime Video
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T10. Young Hearts
Dir: Anthony Schatteman
On surface level, there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about the Belgian film Young Hearts; it might resemble any other teen romance. But Young Hearts just does it better. The young actors approach the subject matter with maturity and deliver powerful performances. Young Hearts inadvertently follows a lineage of recent movies exploring LGBTQ+ themes in early adolescence, namely 2023’s Monster and 2022’s Close — Best International Feature Oscar nominee and my #1 pick that year. (Lukas Dhont, who wrote and directed Close, co-wrote the script for Young Hearts with Schatteman.)
Young Hearts doesn’t quite match either of its predecessors in cinematic achievement. But while the other films lean in heavily on the tragedy that accompanies navigating complex emotions and relationships, Young Hearts focuses on the joy, which makes it just as important, if not more so. It’s exactly the kind of film I wish I could have seen when I was growing up.
IMDb: 8.1/10
Letterboxd: 4.0/5
Where to watch: Coming to US theaters March 14
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9. No Other Land
Dir: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal
A front-runner for this year’s Documentary Feature Oscar, No Other Land tells the story of Palestinian activist Basel Adra, as he persists in his struggle to save his small village in the West Bank from forced displacement by Israeli forces. He is joined by Yuval, an aspiring Israeli journalist sympathetic to Basel’s cause. We painstakingly observe how the system works against them to bring them down at every point. We are both inspired and perplexed by their resilience, as when Israeli police imprison Basel’s father as leverage or the media paint Yuval as a traitor to his own people. But mostly, we are moved — saddened and angered by the callousness and injustice of it all.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
IMDb: 8.3/10
Letterboxd: 4.5/5
Metacritic: 93/100
Where to watch: In theaters now
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8. หลานม่า (How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies)
Dir: Pat Boonnitipat
How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is classic storytelling with a moral, but with a distinctly modern take. The film’s poignant themes touch on universal truths regarding love, family, and money, while addressing cultural matters, like ageism and gender dynamics within Sino-Thai culture. But at the heart of the film is its meaningful message, highlighted by the stellar performances of newcomers Putthipong Assaratanakul and (especially) Usha Seamkhum, who makes her film debut at age 78. With its harmonious blend of humor and pathos, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is one of the year’s most charming films.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
IMDb: 8.0/10
Letterboxd: 4.3/5
Metacritic: 74/100
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Amazon or Apple TV
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7. Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here)
Dir: Walter Salles
I’m Still Here recounts the true story of the disappearance of Ruben Paiva, a former Brazilian politician turned dissident, and the resilience of his family during the ensuing years of hardship and uncertainty. The story focuses mainly on his wife, Eunice, portrayed by Fernanda Torres in one of the year’s best performances. While the filmmaking itself is exceptional, I’m Still Here is made more compelling by the current relevance of its narrative — the importance of resisting oppressive regimes and seeking the truth, regardless of how long it takes or how dark things seem.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
IMDb: 8.7/10
Letterboxd: 4.3/5
Metacritic: 85/100
Where to watch: In theaters now
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6. All We Imagine as Light
Dir: Payal Kapadia
There were few film characters I cared more about this year than Prabha and Anu, the Indian nurses who feature at the center of All We Imagine as Light. The film paints a vivid picture of life in Mumbai through the eyes of women who face various challenges due to societal norms — a husband from an arranged marriage working half a world away; a Muslim boyfriend sure to be reviled and rejected by Hindu parents; a widow losing her home because her name doesn’t appear on any of the documents. Despite its incredible cinematography and beautiful imagery, there is nothing flashy about this film. It is intimate, subtle, and contemplative.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.9/5
Metacritic: 93/100
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video or Apple TV
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5. Wicked
Dir: Jon M. Chu
No, this is not just because I’m a former musical theater kid. Wicked isn’t even close to my favorite musical and I’m typically very skeptical of film adaptions of popular musicals, which I think seldom do them justice. But Wicked succeeds where others have failed. It is surprisingly cinematic — grand and enthralling, excelling on every technical level. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande give A+ performances and the film really rests on their shoulders. Wicked perfectly balances paying enough tribute to fans of the stage show who have high expectations with crafting a version fit for the silver screen. I did not expect to leave the theater thinking, “This is one of the best movies of the year.” But I did.
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.9/5
Metacritic: 73/100
Where to watch: Streaming on Peacock, starting March 21
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4. Nickel Boys
Dir: RaMell Ross
Nickel Boys is simultaneously the most harrowing film of 2024 and the most groundbreaking. RaMell Ross’s decision to use a first-person perspective to tell the story of two young boys’ experience at a Tallahassee reform school in the 1960s allows us to feel everything more deeply — the deep bond of friendship, the harsh cruelty of racism, the love of family, the dissolution of hope, the power of resilience. Some dismiss this cinematic technique as a gimmick, but I find it ultimately serves the story well and makes Nickel Boys one of the standout films of the year.
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 4.0/5
Metacritic: 91/100
Where to watch: Streaming now on MGM+
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3. Sing Sing
Dir: Greg Kwedar
No other film in 2024 was as moving or heartfelt as Sing Sing, the true story of inmates in New York’s notorious maximum-security prison who find community and healing in a theater troupe. Colman Domingo gives a career-best performance leading a cast primarily comprised of former inmates. Clarence Maclin deserved an Oscar nomination for his strong performance as well.
The film touches on many of the systemic issues that plague our justice system but asks us to look deeper, into the microlevel impacts and personal stories. I was moved throughout, but the closing montage of actual footage of former troupes of Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program was most inspirational.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 4.3/5
Metacritic: 83/100
Where to watch: Streaming on Max starting March 21
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2. Conclave
Dir: Edward Berger
Who would have thought that one of the most thrilling movies of the year would be a film about clergy and voting? Conclave benefits from an outstanding cast — perhaps the strongest of any film this year — and an enthralling screenplay. I’ve seen criticism for the lack of ingenuity in the dialogue, which I understand to a degree, but as someone who lived and worked among clergy for many years, I can vouch for its realism.
And that is perhaps what makes Conclave so powerful. As fantastical as its ending may be, every step along the way feels so rooted in reality, we can believe it to be true. We can feel our own selves sequestered behind the walls of the Vatican. Our bodies feel the tension in the Sistine Chapel during each vote and our minds wander in the same way the cardinals’ minds must.
Conclave is a provocative and riveting drama that effectively accomplishes everything it tries to do.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.9/5
Metacritic: 79/100
Where to watch: Streaming now on Peacock
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And before revealing my top pick for 2024, here are the 9 other films that rounded out my Top 20 (in alphabetical order):
Honorable mentions:
Anora
The Brutalist
Challengers
A Complete Unknown
Daughters
A Different Man
Flow
Ghostlight
The Wild Robot
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1. Dune: Part Two
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Nothing has aggravated me more this award season than the lack of acknowledgement for the masterpiece that is Dune: Part Two. In this epic sequel, director Denis Villeneuve surpasses the incredible achievements he made in the first film. And for those who have read the book and seen previous attempts to transfer its complexity to the screen, the significance of the accomplishment is not lost.
The performances are all up a notch for this sequel, especially Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson. We finally get to see Zendaya make her mark on the series. Javier Bardem is a fantastic light. Austin Butler is menacing and gives what I thought might have registered for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
And as expected, Dune excels on every technical level. Despite its 2.5-hour runtime, not a frame is wasted or presented without intent or without a thought to making it both beautiful and meaningful. All this serves to bring the essence of Frank Herbert’s work with astounding effect.
Dune: Part Two is not simply the best movie of the year, but one of the most impressive films of the 21st century. All that’s left is to see if Dune: Messiah can surpass it. And, I guess, if the Academy will still ignore it.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
IMDb: 8.5/10
Letterboxd: 4.4/5
Metacritic: 79/100
Where to watch: Streaming now on Max
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2024 | TOP 10 FILMS OF 2023 | TOP 10 FILMS OF 2022
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fantumbatcave · 2 months ago
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A Ramble: Skeleta by Ghost
Because I need to ramble or else I’ll explode, here’s my review of each song on the album. Rating with skulls. Five skulls being the highest and one skull being the lowest. These are my opinions. Will contain vulgar language. If you continue, you have accepted the incoherent ramblings of a mad bat.
1. Peacefield
First time I heard it, I thought it was an okay song. The second time around… The chorus is beautiful, like going to church. Well, a Satanic one in this case. It’s a song of reassurance. Yes, these are dark times, but we will get through. And Papa has his hand out for you to hold. The song had me tearing up.
Rating: 5 Skulls
2. Lachryma
Immediate hook. It’s giving so much 80’s horror vibes. I can see people making music videos with horror movie clips to this song. Hell, even Scooby-Doo! Can’t properly explain how much I love this song. I need it injected into my veins. The official music video itself is so hypnotic. I can’t stop watching Papa (I’m fixated on his teeth) and the Ghouls.
Rating: 5 Skulls
3. Satanized
An even more immediate hook, if that makes sense! What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Instant hit. It’s one that can be interpreted in any way, especially with a line such as “I have begged God for the remedy, but I’m no longer sure!” So addicting. I think they somehow put crack in it. I never get tired of replaying it. Need to work on my dance moves for my ritual.
Rating: 5 Skulls
4. Guiding Lights
I may have been influenced by the alleged fact that it was supposed to be for a specific, heart-breaking scene in Arcane Season 2. Sorrow, frustration, a plea for answers, having to watch someone make a choice you know isn’t right. The vocals in the last chorus are sooooooo good! Peacefield is a tear starter, but Guiding Lights has me sobbing. “The road that leads to nowhere is long…”
Rating: 5 Skulls
5. De Profundis Borealis
“The song was always intended to sound, eh, I guess in a way uh kinda like a black metal song. [He faces the camera] I know it’s not a black metal song, so you don’t have to fucking get going!” – Tobias Forge, for Metal Hammer
I have very little experience with black metal, but I think I heard it! As a song about regret, the lyrics sell it. It starts off calmly, then whirls you into a storm. The ending is very haunting. Not sure what else to say. It’s an enjoyable song.
Rating: 4 Skulls
6. Cenotaph
The beginning is definitely interesting. I wasn’t sure where it was gonna go, ha-ha! A memorial song. A reminder that even though those who have passed are gone physically, they still live on within us. I have lost a couple loved ones, so this song is a nice listen when I don’t wanna be sad from Life Eternal. “Wherever I go, you’re always there riding next to me.”
Rating: 3 Skulls
7. Missilia Amori
This song is a literal soundgasm. I don’t care that that’s not a real word. DID I HEAR CORRECTLY? WERE THOSE MOANS??? I need this song to fuck me, fill me. Papa V can come hunt me down and do whatever. If he shows me his, you bet your ass I’m showing him mine. I have nothing but horny thoughts. This is a hate fuck song and I love it.
Rating: 5 Skulls, plus the Eggplant and Water Drops emojis
8. Marks Of The Evil One
This song definitely gives off older Ghost vibes with the lyrics, like if Opus had been done in this time period. If that’s what you’re looking for, this song is for you. With the arrival of the Four Horsemen, there is the fear of the marks of the Evil One. A very catchy song! I find myself bobbing my head to it a lot.
Rating: 4 Skulls
9. Umbra
Alright! We’re fucking again! The intro should sound very familiar to Ghost fans. Didn’t expect to get fucked by two songs on this album! The imagery of the altar, candles, and shadows. The guitar solos coming together as one. Same feelings as with Missilia Amori. “Stripped of sin, deep within, I will make you my angel.” Dear Satan, the chill that went up my spine!
Rating: 4.5 Skulls- I’ll give it a full 5 if Papa can come put his love in me
10. Excelsis
“Go live your lives, god damn it.” – Tobias Forge, for Metal Hammer
At first listen, I thought it was an okay song. There’s parts of it that I felt could’ve been reworked more. I don’t know. I’m not a professional. Now that I’ve had the chance to hear it on repeat… Like Peacefield, I want to tear up. We’re alive now, and we need to live as much as we can. Do as much as we can. Love as much as we can. A song that pulls at my heartstrings. From now on, not a song I’d want to put on repeat in my everyday life, but when I’m in need of a reminder to live. Funny how this is a song about not needing to focus too much on that we’re gonna die, and it’s the last song of the album. “This is the end of the avenue. I am afraid of eternity, too.” Damn.
Rating: A generous 3 Skulls
Overall Album Review
Skeleta seems to be a soundtrack to a play/opera/etc, and I say that as a compliment. Peacefield and Excelsis are a great beginning and ending. Though not so Satanic as what’s expected of Ghost albums, the style for this album works. It’s focusing more on one’s emotional side. Our ups and downs. Inner demons. Huh, maybe it is Satanic after all, ha-ha! Papa V and the Ghouls are the actors and do a phenomenal job. As always, you can hear Tobias’s inspirations in his music, which I always welcome with open arms.
Rating: 4 Skulls out of 5
Thank you very much for reading!
nemA
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wherethegoldenleavesfall · 2 months ago
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Continued....
He won by placing a bet of 0608. His daughter's birthdate. So, we know the date, June 8.
He won 4.5 million won which is 3,172.67 in US currency.
Jungbae and Gihun's interactions are great. Gihun generously giving the attendant 10,000 won is cute.
Gihun giggling is a cute sound and Jungbae being like asshole wait for me. I hope nothing happens to them both.
One friendship goal is lighting your friend's cancer causing stick.
Aww, Jungbae is so happy listening to Gihun's conversation with his girl. Smiling and laughing.
Now, he hums and sings as stims too!!
Oh, the loan sharks are literally closing in.
And now Gihun is running away at least he is politely telling people excuse me, coming through, and sorry.
Oh he collided into Saebyoek. And he fell on his literal ass. Gihun falling counter now: 1. He wants gravity to pound his ass too.
He apologizes, goes to her immediately, and literally puts her straw in for her.
Saebyoek is strong, as I would have died laughing at this point.
And he is running from his life, from loan sharks.
Saebyoek's sneaky look up. What an icon already.
And how does Gihun not have a concussion.
Why did he, run asks the loan shark, I don't know maybe because of past encounters. Where you roughed him up. Or made threats on his life.
Now you are literally cornering him in a bathroom. Just physically assaulted him in a stall, now you are tasting his blood in a creepy sexual kinky way. 😏 and literally saying he does not deserve to eat at all.
Now you will eat his blood in soup, why?
Mr. Kim is committing crimes in broad daylight. Assault x4, threats of bodily harm, and that is likely not a legal contract. As it was made under duress.
Why do people expect other people to be carrying large sums of money with them?
Why no monthly loan payment that he could make to you? You literally expect him to magicked money out of thin air?
At least he is noble is upfront in telling, Gihun I will commit organ theft on you by taking one of your kidneys.
And one one of your eyes.
If I don't get paid all of my money in a extremely crunched, downright impossible time frame.
Unlike a certain other group.
Yes, Gihun what a fantastic idea to ask Mr. Kim for 10,000 won. Sometimes your brain to mouth filter does not work at all.
Oh now he is asking for it back. He is politely doing it so.
10,000 won is literally 7 seven dollars in US currency.
No wonder, he turns to crane games.
Gihun yelling at someone: 1
Gihun falling: 1
This is taking longer than I thought.
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spacetimewithstuartgary · 6 months ago
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NASA payload aims to probe moon's depths to study heat flow
Earth's nearest neighboring body in the solar system is its moon, yet to date, humans have physically explored just 5% of its surface. It wasn't until 2023—building on Apollo-era data and more detailed studies made in 2011–2012 by NASA's automated GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission—that researchers conclusively determined that the moon has a liquid outer core surrounding a solid inner core.
As NASA and its industry partners plan for continued exploration of the moon under Artemis in preparation for future long-duration missions to Mars, improving our understanding of Earth's 4.5-billion-year-old moon will help teams of researchers and astronauts find the safest ways to study and live and work on the lunar surface.
That improved understanding is the primary goal of a state-of-the-art science instrument called LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity), 1 of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next delivery for the agency's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and set to be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed jointly by Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Honeybee Robotics of Altadena, California, LISTER will measure the flow of heat from the moon's interior. Its sophisticated pneumatic drill will penetrate to a depth of 3 meters into the dusty lunar regolith.
Every half-meter it descends, the drilling system will pause and extend a custom-built thermal probe into the lunar regolith. LISTER will measure two different aspects of heat flow: thermal gradient, or the changes in temperature at various depths, and thermal conductivity, or the subsurface material's ability to let heat pass through it.
"By making similar measurements at multiple locations on the lunar surface, we can reconstruct the thermal evolution of the moon," said Dr. Seiichi Nagihara, principal investigator for the mission and a geophysics professor at Texas Tech. "That will permit scientists to retrace the geological processes that shaped the moon from its start as a ball of molten rock, which gradually cooled off by releasing its internal heat into space."
Demonstrating the drill's effectiveness could lead to more innovative drilling capabilities, enabling future exploration of the moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies. The science collected by LISTER aims to contribute to our knowledge of lunar geology, improving our ability to establish a long-term presence on the moon under the Artemis campaign.
Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of 7 of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander.
IMAGE: LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity) is 1 of 10 payloads flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The instrument is equipped with a drilling system and thermal probe designed to dig into the lunar surface. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
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