#but ultimately the ‘poor louis sabotaged louis’

[cloudslou]

why do ppl want to create a victim complex around louis SO MUCH

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics with strong humor and banter in them. Happy reading!

1) Like An Animal (I Want To Feel You From The Inside) | Explicit | 4466 words

Harry and Louis get a little stuck. Literally.

2) Spice Up Your Life | Explicit | 9501 words

After a conversation with his Uni friends, Harry worries that his relationship with Louis has lost it's spark.

3) Maid In The A.M. | Explicit | 9118 words

“You’re not supposed to be here.” The lad frowned at him.

“Sorry,” Harry said automatically. Which, wait. No, that wasn’t right. “Um, actually, I sort of live here?”

Okay, that came out less firm than Harry would like, but it was still true.

The guy rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

Harry had absolutely no idea what was happening.

4) Keep Holding Me This Way | Explicit | 13747 words

An English grad student, a frat jock, and an unimpressed rich boy walk into a bar. No one walks out.

5) Sweeter Than Wine | Explicit | 15339 words

When Wizard!Louis goes to a muggle club for a change of pace, his one night stand ends up being much more than he bargained for.

6) Friendly Neighborhood Spideypool | Explicit | 18705 words

“Don’t fuck with me, I’m not in the mood.” Louis’ got the urge to punch him in the face, but he knows deep down that if anything it’ll just add fuel to Harry’s innuendo fire.

“You know I only fuck you, not with you. There’s a difference. It’s slight but still there.” He’s joking, but it’s sincere in a way that only Deadpool could make it. It gives Louis a strange mix of emotions, his body doesn’t know whether to fill with butterflies or to knee Deadpool in the balls again for insinuating them fucking.

7) Let Me Make a Thing of Cream and Stars | Explicit | 24914 words

It doesn't explain why he's lying on the floor, with Harry Styles, of all people, planking on top of him.

As in, seventeenth most influential person in London, pop-star-turned-rock-star Harry Styles. The same Harry Styles who has had countless model girlfriends, left, right and centre. Also  the same Harry Styles who has been the subject of Louis' wet dreams since he was about eighteen.

8) A Whole New World | Not Rated | 24967 words

Louis has moved into his new apartment to start his new job as a teacher. Things would be great. If only his arsehole neighbour didn’t wake him up every morning by playing piano.

Shenanigans ensue. Like a very inadvisable kissing bet.  

9) Up To No Good | Explicit | 26525 words | Sequel #1 | Sequel #2

Harry doesn’t think of himself as a womanizer, not at all. Sure, he enjoys sex, enjoys how women feel underneath him, and by some people’s standards he has sex with quite a lot of people, but that’s no reason to tell him that he can’t have a female PA anymore.

It’s especially no excuse for giving him a male PA who’s possibly the most gorgeous boy in the world who won’t even let Harry look at him for too long.

Sometimes Harry hates his life.

10) The Forest For The Trees | Explicit | 28250 words

Louis and Harry had the ultimate roommates and best friends with benefits relationship until Harry suddenly ends the benefits part, shocking and hurting Louis in the process. He’s fallen in love with Harry, but is too scared to tell him the truth because he just does not do first moves. In the spirit of unrequited love and with a little help from Harry’s mother Louis decides to set Harry up with a series of horrible blind dates hoping his roommate will see dating is too much trouble and come back to him. In the end things don’t go as planned and Louis ends up sabotaging the one date he shouldn’t have, and it turns out Harry’s a bit of a sneak too.

11) Always Come Back To You | Explicit | 28862 words

“I’ll do it,” Harry offers brightly. No one even blinks. “I’ll do it?”

Louis sighs irritably. “Shut up,” he orders, tossing a pillow in the general direction of Harry’s face. This is a terrible time for jokes, especially Harry’s lame, old people ones.

Not that it was an old people joke. Just that most of the time Harry’s jokes consist of knock-knocks or terrible puns. The type of jokes old people like, Louis’ pretty sure. His nan always finds them hilarious when Harry tells her one.

Harry bats the pillow out of the air without even blinking. “Be reasonable, Lou,” he says in his most reasonable voice.

Louis is perfectly reasonable, thank you very much, and he’s also frustrated and upset and tired and he really wants to punch something. Maybe he should have held on to that pillow a little longer.

“You’re not gonna fucking do it,” he snaps. “That’s the last thing I need.”

12) Have You Coming Back Again | Explicit | 31086 words | Sequel

It’s five o’clock in the morning. Louis has a lecture at half eight. He could be using this time to study or to do his readings or to go to the gym, but - well. He doesn’t have any exams coming up, he’s not going to his seminar today anyway and he hates the gym.

Instead he’s using this time to fuck with Harry Styles’ poor little brain.

Louis jogs across the street and jabs the key into the car door. It opens easily, not that he was expecting anything else. He copied the key for a reason, after all.

He’s got Harry’s schedule memorized, more because the guy keeps following him around than anything, so he doesn’t bother looking around before climbing behind the wheel and setting his bag on the passenger seat. It’s a Monday, which means that Harry doesn’t even get out of bed before noon unless he’s planning on harassing Louis.

13) Blind From This Sweet, Sweet Craving | Explicit | 31170 words

“So, I guess we’ll go?” Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind. We could make it an adventure.”

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He’s fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry’s gaze–he probably knows that Harry’s mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he’s not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he’s also Harry’s best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he’d still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He’s got Harry’s back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they’ll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. “We’re going,” he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

14) Mine Now | Explicit | 32254 words

This is the story of how Harry finds himself pouting in Louis’ passenger seat with a raging boner on the way to seduce his ex boyfriend.

15) Cupid’s Chokehold | Explicit | 35326 words

Louis is a Cupid who tries to match up Niall and Harry. It doesn't work out as planned.

16) Is This Seat Taken? | Explicit | 35507 words

Louis makes a bet with Zayn that he can sneak into a music awards event without getting caught, and when he ends up posing as a seat-filling member of staff he runs into superstar Harry Styles and sparks fly.  Que the music.

17) The New Romantics | Explicit | 36100 words

After being blindsided and dumped by his boyfriend Isaac, Louis does the only thing he can do: wallow and mope. But when Harry tells Louis that karma’s going to get Isaac eventually, Louis decides karma isn’t moving fast enough. He takes matters into his own hands, and if he has to drag Harry into his schemes and seduction plans, then so be it.

18) Tangled Up In You | Explicit | 45152 words

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn’t want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

19) Don’t Tell the Gods (We Left a Mess) | Explicit | 71556 words

Note: Mention of BH.

After a misunderstanding with Liam’s mother, Louis agrees to accompany his best friend to a family wedding and pretend to be the world’s best boyfriend. But their simple plan goes awry when he learns that Harry, ex-boyfriend/ex-love of Louis’ life, will also be in attendance. (aka: fake!boyfriends with a twist ft. bromance, romance and cake.)

20) Waiting On You | Explicit | 76575 words

“Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby.

 Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look.

 “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes.

Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

21) You Drive Me Crazy (But It Feels Alright) | Explicit | 102036 words

“Harry is not short for Harold,” he corrects, his voice as thick as molasses. He lowers his eyes to Louis’ sequined lapels, rubbing one between two fingers. “Is this small or extra small? It looks lovely.”

Louis breaks away from his grip with a petulant huff and pushes him back with two fingers.

“You’re mocking me. Again.”

Harry smiles and it's a real honest swoop of his lips this time. Louis’ stomach swoops with them.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[tkmedia]

Dougie’s Friday Mailbag (Fire and Ice, Fury-Wilder3, Canelo-GGG3)

Dougie’s Friday Mailbag (Fire and Ice, Fury-Wilder3, Canelo-GGG3)

Fernando Vargas is one boxing's best "Hotheads" of the last generation (and one of Dougie's favorites). Photo by JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images 16 Jul by Doug Fischer BOXING’S ICEMEN AND HOTHEADS Some folks are like fire, some are like ice. Several boxing matches have been promoted like that: “Iceman vs Hothead”. My question is: Who do you think is boxing’s ultimate Iceman? Who is boxing’s ultimate Hothead? P.S.: Some mythical matchups for you: Kostya Tszyu vs Carlos Ortiz Benny Leonard vs Roberto Duran (at 135) Gene Fullmer vs Jake LaMotta Miguel Cotto vs Oscar De La Hoya (at 154) George Foreman vs Sonny Liston Canelo Alvarez vs Joe Calzaghe (at 168) Thanks. – Gregory Interesting question about the Hotheads and the Icemen of boxing. I think tomorrow night’s undisputed 154-pound championship features a potential star who represents the “fire” – being fueled by emotion with a tendency to rage – in Jermell Charlo and a live underdog who represents the “ice” – possessing steely focus and staying cool in the face of adversity – in Brian Castano. I’m generally attracted to the passion of the Hotheads, but I’ve always respected the Icemen. Who’s the ultimate Iceman? It’s hard to say. The best of the past generation are Lennox Lewis, Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Ward. The best active Icemen are Canelo Alvarez, Gennadiy Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez. My favorites include Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Mike McCallum, Winky Wright and Miguel Cotto.

Joe Louis (here hammering poor Arturo Godoy) was a seek-and-destroy specialist but he was always cold as ice. Photo from The Ring archive. A few of the all-time best Icemen include Gene Tunney, Joe Louis, Archie Moore and Salvador Sanchez. Some were boxer-punchers, some were stick-and-movers, some were all-around technicians, but they were all unflappable. The Ultimate Hothead? Again, it’s hard to isolate a single fighter. But if I had to choose just one it would probably be the prime version of Roberto Duran. He was the epitome of controlled rage, which occasionally boiled over.   The best Hotheads of the past generation include Erik “El Terrible” Morales and “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas. The best right now are the Charlo twins and David Benavidez. My favorite hotheads include “Terrible” Terry Norris and “Merciless” Ray Mercer. Some famous hotheads from previous eras include Jack Dempsey, Rocky Graciano and Bob Foster. Of course, I think the greatest boxing talents are able to combine the traits of fire and ice: Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., and Marco Antonio Barrera. Your Mythical Matchups: Kostya Tszyu vs Carlos Ortiz – Ortiz by close decision (in a 12-round bout); late TKO (in a 15-round bout) Benny Leonard vs Roberto Duran (at 135) – Duran by close decision. Gene Fullmer vs Jake LaMotta – LaMotta by close decision. Miguel Cotto vs Oscar De La Hoya (at 154) – De La Hoya (the 2001-2002 version) by close decision. George Foreman vs Sonny Liston – This is a fascinating ATG heavyweight toss-up. I’m going to reserve opinion until I’ve read a feature article on the Dream Fight submitted by Ron Lipton for upcoming issue of The Ring. Canelo Alvarez vs Joe Calzaghe (at 168) – Calzaghe by close decision. FURY-WILDER3 & CANELO-GGG3 Hi Doug, Hope you the family and team are well and staying safe. What is going on?? Fury Vs Wilder 3 postponed, after all the BS leading up to AJ Vs Fury non-event. Ok, you can’t blame the guy for getting COVID and I wish him and all in his team a full and speedy recovery. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but Fury has not defended any Heavyweight belt, ever, won from either Klitschko or Wilder. With all the fights over the years falling through for one reason or another, and postponements now, I feel it will hurt his legacy ultimately IMHO. Especially when compared to AJ whose CV simply cannot be argued with. Considering the inactivity for a “lineal champion” over 6 years, does he really deserve a spot on the P4P list above AJ? Social media doesn’t seem so sympathetic to Team Fury either. After testing positive for COVID pictures with fans are surfacing stoking the rumour mill. I really think after all the AJ negotiations BS fans have had enough and feel we’ll never get Fury Vs Wilder 3 and forget Fury Vs AJ. What’s your crystal ball saying? And where is Wilder??? You would have thought he’d be either shouting off the roof tops about how Fury is “trying to get away” or calling out AJ saying he’ll take Usyk’s place to have a “real” fight. Either way just making some noise to promote yourself and stick it to the other guy??? I think Hearn is correct and Wilder’s not mentally in the right place. All joking aside, has a fight ever been called off due to the mental state of a fighter? And if not should it be if behaviours warrant it? Are we getting Canelo Vs GGG 3? Ok, deep breath! However you scored them, the first two fights were amazing! Two future legends at their best! Why would you not want to see a third, right? Again the Twitterverse is pouring scorn over this possibility also. Firstly I’m a fan of both. I had no problem with the first fight being a draw, and could see arguments for it going either way. Thought the second one was closer than then official decision but not a robbery. My issue, mainly with Canelo, is that he is in danger of doing what Floyd is guilt for through his carrier with this GGG fight, and that’s stacking everything in his favour. Mainly because the guy is almost 40 now and there’s no way the fight will be fought outside Texus or Vagus. And why not people will say? They’s why boxers of yester year will always be held in higher regard then sadly most to today’s fighters. It’s a real shame these 3 fights didn’t happen years ago. I hope this fight gets made and I feel we’ll get another classic. MM: Danny Garcia Vs Adrian Broner 140 & 147 Prime Thurman Vs Spence Prime Thurman Vs Crawford I know not exactly mythical but humour me: Cap Vs Wolverine, Adamantium Vs. Vibranium Keep up the good work. – Tabraze, London I’ll go with Garcia by close UD at both weights (147 closer than at 140), The Thurmanator by come-from-behind late-rounds stoppage, Crawford by close UD and Captain America by SD (if he’s allowed to bring his shield into the ring). What is going on?? I have no f__king idea. I’ve all but given up on previewing big fights in Ring Magazine, let alone featuring upcoming showdowns on the cover. Fury Vs Wilder 3 postponed, after all the BS leading up to AJ Vs Fury non-event. For selfish reasons I’m not upset about Fury-Wilder 3 moving to October 9. I have a family engagement on July 24 that would have prevented me from watching the fight live had it happened on this date. Ok, you can’t blame the guy for getting COVID and I wish him and all in his team a full and speedy recovery. Actually, you CAN blame Fury for getting COVID-19, but I wish him and team a speedy recover just the same. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but Fury has not defended any Heavyweight belt, ever, won from either Klitschko or Wilder. That is correct. With all the fights over the years falling through for one reason or another, and postponements now, I feel it will hurt his legacy ultimately IMHO. Especially when compared to AJ whose CV simply cannot be argued with. That might be true if Fury were to retire tomorrow and never fight again, but if he beats Wilder in October and then defeats Joshua at least once in 2022, many will consider him to be the best heavyweight champ since Lennox Lewis and some will even view him as one of the best heavyweights of all time.   Considering the inactivity for a “lineal champion,” over 6 years, does he really deserve a spot on the P4P list above AJ? Neither he nor Joshua are in The Ring’s pond-for-pond rankings. Fans are free are decide who they think is the better heavyweight. It won’t truly be decided until they share the ring. Social media doesn’t seem so sympathetic to Team Fury either. Boxing Twitter always needs somebody to dump on. Fury is currently the focus of all that angst, anger, cynicism, and misery. In a few days someone or something else will take his place. After testing positive for COVID pictures with fans are surfacing stoking the rumour mill. And don’t think of one moment that Fury isn’t aware of this or isn’t loving every minute of it. He’s a master at manipulating the media and fans’ emotions and I believe he relishes it and uses this “gift” to get into his opponents’ heads. I really think after all the AJ negotiations BS fans have had enough and feel we’ll never get Fury Vs Wilder 3 and forget Fury Vs AJ. I can’t blame or fault fans for being cynical. What’s your crystal ball saying? To paraphrase the Beastie Boys (from Sabotage): “My crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear.” And where is Wilder??? In his nest, still rebuilding from that disastrous rematch. You would have thought he’d be either shouting off the roof tops about how Fury is “trying to get away” or calling out AJ saying he’ll take Usyk’s place to have a “real” fight. I’m sure he did shout off the rooftops when he got the news about Fury’s COVID result, he just didn’t share his anguish with the public, and that’s OK. And I don’t think he has any desire to replace Usyk as a challenger to Joshua. Either way just making some noise to promote yourself and stick it to the other guy??? Wilder clearly isn’t concerned with promoting this third bout with Fury and I think he knows it’s a lost cause to try to beat the Englishman in a battle of words. I think Hearn is correct and Wilder’s not mentally in the right place. No s__t! You don’t have to be Sigmund Freakin’ Freud to figure that out. All joking aside, has a fight ever been called off due to the mental state of a fighter? Not to my knowledge but I wish certain fights in the past were cancelled because of the mental states of the boxers who WON the bouts (Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jimmy Doyle and Emile Griffith vs. Benny Paret 3). And if not should it be if behaviours warrant it? I think so. I don’t every want to see an emotional meltdown like we witnessed with Oliver McCall’s rematch with Lennox Lewis. The man stopped trying to fight – let alone win – after two rounds. All he did was clown around in Round 3. He was in tears during Round 4. He wouldn’t return to his corner after Rounds 3 and 4, and there absolutely should not have been sent back into the “fight” for Round 5 (when the fight was finally, mercifully stopped). With what we now know about mental health and brain injuries, I believe this fight would have been stopped after Round 3, but I wish training teams and management would recognize when their fighters are not mentally fit to be in the ring. Are we getting Canelo Vs GGG 3? Bro, I just told you my crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear. However you scored them, the first two fights were amazing! I agree. Two future legends at their best! Facts!

Purchase this issue from The Ring Shop. Why would you not want to see a third, right? Maybe you don’t want to see GGG lose a clear decision, take undue punishment or get KTFO. Again the Twitterverse is pouring scorn over this possibility also. Both Canelo and GGG trigger the worst in certain segments of fandom. It’s best to ignore these people. My issue, mainly with Canelo, is that he is in danger of doing what Floyd is guilty for through his carrier with this GGG fight, and that’s stacking everything in his favour. Canelo’s aim is Caleb Plant. It’s not his fault that Golovkin is past his prime. GGG is a backup plan but the future hall of famer doesn’t have to play along if he doesn’t want to. He can chill for the rest of the summer, report to camp in the fall and take on Ryota Murata in Japan on New Year’s Eve if he wants. It’s a real shame these 3 fights didn’t happen years ago. I hope this fight gets made and I feel we’ll get another classic. Perhaps their styles, skillsets and mentalities will always make for a close and entertaining 12-round fight, but GGG’s age and his effectiveness at super middleweight (against the current version of Canelo) are major X-factors in the potential third match. Email Fischer at . Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live every Sunday. GET THE LATEST ISSUE AT THE RING SHOP (CLICK HERE) or Subscribe

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Dougie’s Friday Mailbag (Fire and Ice, Fury-Wilder3, Canelo-GGG3)

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[theathenszinebibliotheque]

AZB @ SIKINOS VOL.3 — Join us this year as we return to Sikinos island for the third time (check 2018 & 2019 past events). During the weekend of the 17th and the 18th of July 2021 (from 19:00 to 22:00), AZB will present at the yard of the old school of Kastro village all the zines that were added to the library since summer of 2019. Also, on Saturday the 17th of July we will hold an open zine workshop (at 19:00) on how to make an one-page zine.

Free entrance. — The event is sponsored by the Municipality of Sikinos and is supported by the SNFPHI (The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative at Columbia University). — List of zines (in alphabetical order) participating at the exhibition "AZB @ Sikinos VOL.3":

• _Brut — Álvaro Fernández • 15. August 2020. A day in the life — Various • 1998-2018: 20 years making zines!/20 anos zinando! — Julie Albuquerque • Abnormal — George Tourlas • Abrasion — Kati Akraio • Airlines on paper — Tefra90 • An illustrated guide to insta-emotions — Kati Akraio • Anartchy — Jens Besser & Shlomo Faber • Another day in the office — Sophia Tolika • Armarolla, issues #1-4 — Stelios Hadjithomas • Around Labor, Art, and the Auratic Condition (This is Not a Love Song) — Various • ArtSexDrugsRevolution.gr — Θείο Τραγί • Atomphysik — Philip Joa • Autobioskat — Georgios Plastok • Berliner Mortis Zine — Livor Mortis Zine & Berliner Mauern • Bernd — Daria Rubisch • Blurry territory, notes for a topography of curiosity — Georgios Plastok & Alfred Fabricius • body / struck, issue 1 — Ifigeneia Ilia-Georgiadou & Angelos Kalogerias • Boys! Männer! — Michalis Pichler • Camila — Julie Albuquerque • Carousel #4 — Various • CcBnC issue[1]: prall — Prall • Cheesyphus — Dennis Muñoz Espadiña • Choose your fighter — Jovana Ćubović & Nataša Mihailović • Claustrophobic Tendencies — Never Brush My Teeth • Cockroach Milk — Never Brush My Teeth • Confused Jack — Inés Ballesteros • Crucial Zine, 2019/20 Winter Holiday Special — Various • Crucial Zine, issues #8-11 — Various • Crucial Zine,The CB1 years/MMVIII-MMXI — Various • Dadatek: a manifesto against techno — filtig • DCIM — Κυκλοθυμία & το σφάλμα • Deadiario — Julie Albuquerque • Desired landscapes, issue #3 — Various • Divine Furies Trilogy: The Oracle, The Rescue & The Wedding Night — Nikos Kachrimanis • Do polaroids dream of instant cameras? — Nikos K. Kantarakias • Doors of Athens — Death Vallée & Tarta Ross • Doors of Kypseli — Eleanor Lines • Dotter — Aimilia Balaska • Enterprise Projects Journal, issues #1-4 — Kostas Stasinopoulos, Evita Tsokanta, Myrto Katsimicha, Panos Giannikopoulos • Faces n' Chases, vol.01 — RTMONE & Nadia Stasinou • Finding New Problems — Andromache Kokkinou • Footnotes, issue C — Various • For the love of God — Sinde Butler • Garm zine — Ιωάννης Καρμανιώλος • Giant-size Holy Shit Comix! — Tasmar • Goodbye Horses — Mass Control Superviolence • Graffiti from an American Refugee — Pockets • Greatest hits — Michalis Pichler • GRIP — Aidan Frere-Smith • Gutzine — Various • Hallow Zine — AUB Zine Society (various) • Haras 2nd class — Sarah Maria Schmidt/Haras (Ananas) • Have some change — Mass Control Superviolence • Help — Andromache Kokkinou • Herbal healing: Making Fire Cider — J Henry Hansen • Hibernation — Fred Afraid • Holy shit comix!, issue #3 — Tasmar • Home Is Where The Heart Is — Aidan Frere-Smith • Hotfoot Terrors — Never Brush My Teeth • How to exist at the beach as a non-conforming body — Asparagus Plumosa • How to make your own one-page zine / Πως να φτιάξεις το δικό σου μονοσέλιδο ζιν — The Athens Zine Bibliotheque • I wonder if they could hear me jerking off and other closet fag tips — Unknown • Imaginary Memories, coloring book — RTMONE • Indie music: From fans to professionals — Athanasia Daskalopoulou, Alexandros Skandalis, Maria Dianellou, Fay Daskalopoulou • İşkembe çorbası - Χαϊκού για γερό στομάχι — Χάρης Αλεξίου • Kavourakia Ta — Queer Ink • Kiefer on dirtbike — Tefra90 • Let's talk about feelings — Unknown • Lethargic Punch — Never Brush My Teeth • Light your future bright, 2nd edition — Barba Dee • Livor Mortis Zine #1 Hype in the Hypogeum — SBF Ruttley • Livor Mortis Zine #13 Mo Honey Mo Problems — SBF Ruttley • Livor Mortis Zine #2 Party Hits Vol.2 — SBF Ruttley • Livor Mortis Zine #6(66) The Number of the Beast — SBF Ruttley • Lord — DED2: APESK, ΗΓΗ • Lost in the city — Inés Ballesteros • Lung-Independent music fanzine, issue #6 — Various • Manual — Leifur Ýmir Eyjólfsson • Map of Santorini, Greece — Lila Ruby King & One Quarter Greek • Mercury Retrograde — Asparagus Plumosa • Moan, issue one — Various • Modern savior — Marianna Papageorgiou • Monsanto Company Earnings Call Transcript — Michalis Pichler • Moth. — Asparagus Plumosa • My first bike touring adventure — J Henry Hansen • My pen won't break, but borders will. — Parwana Amiri • Neo Mythological — The Krah • Neptune Square Neptune or my midlife crisis — J Henry Hansen • Networking with an attitude! — Julia Evans • NEW YORK POST flag profile — Michalis Pichler • Newspaper from the American West — Antonis Theodoridis • Not Dead Yet, vol.1 — Various • Nothingness — Manuel Hernández Ruiz • Official Portrait — Lewis Bush • Parental Leave — Anne-Laure Franchette • Peach + Eggplant — AUB Zine Society (various) • Perzine Prompts, Power to your voice — Andromache Kokkinou • Peza vs. Noir (NAC 1st Year Zine) — Neo-Apollonia Crew • Poor Appetite — Folded City • Pour Une Nouvelle Nouvelle Sculpture Grecque — Stamatis Schizakis • Pro-typos, fiction newspaper, Design Walk 2012 — pi6 • Psychedelic Art — AUB Zine Society (various) • Quasar — Ctin • Queer Ink DIY zine — Queer Ink • Queer βίωμα τραύμα και μνήμη — Mochi & Smar • Quotidien — Georgios Plastok • Room around a page — Chloë van Diepen • Self important — Kati Akraio • Soft cake — Sarah Maria Schmidt/Haras (Ananas) • Solo : A broad, issues: #2 & #3 — J Henry Hansen • Solo Diver — Solo Diver • Some call them balkans, 6 acts/books — The Ground Tour Project • Some fallen umbrellas and something else — Michalis Pichler • Sonic Urbanism — &beyond • Street Crawler, issues #1-2 — Aidan Frere-Smith • Summer Time!!! … And how to survive it! — Asparagus Plumosa • Sunny Days, the A-dash issue — A-dash (various) • Swimming outside the stream (vol.I-IV) — Karan Reshad • Talk to me — Born, Think & Yiakou • The adventures of Betty X — Krista Raisa • The Architect is absent — kyklàda.press • The Athens Zine Bibliotheque People — Nadia Stasinou • The bugbook! — Stefania Patrikiou • The cemetery is a forest — Olga Vereli & Katerina Markoulaki • The dreams of Charlotte — Charlotte & Inés Ballesteros • The Feminine Sublime — Rakel McMahon, Katrín Inga Jónsdóttir Hjördísardóttir & Eva Isleifs • The Gum Issue Magazine, issues #1-3 — Various • The international pop no.1, La Sabotage — Dominik Leitner • The Krah illustra zine (1997-2020) — The Krah • The Krah sketchbook, issue #1 — The Krah • The lioness only swims when she has to — Margarita Athanasiou • The Olive tree and the old woman — Parwana Amiri • The search for what doesn't exist begins — Leifur Ýmir Eyjólfsson • The space in between — Chloë van Diepen • The Ultimate Book Coat, User's Guide—Dah Yee Noh • The urban encounters zine — Various • The Urge — Tairis Dimitris • The worst street journal, issue #4 — Dimitris Mitropoulos • Things we don’t talk about — J Henry Hansen • This is my b. world — b. • Tinted window, issue #1: Hervé Guibert — Various • To make radical poetry from home: zine & catalogue — Various • Tomorrow Land — Jana Jarosova • Torso: The Athens Zine Bibliotheque issue — Andrew Nicholas • Torso: IZM July 2019 issue — Andrew Nicholas • Torso: Wild (16 issues) — Andrew Nicholas • TRAINS (FTBTP) — Livor Mortis Zine • Tunnel Up/Tunnel Down, a zine about virtual private networks — Mara Karagianni • Unlimited Card Zine — Noam Assayag & Nick Splendorr • Until the darkness was gone… — J Henry Hansen • Untitled — Stefania Patrikiou • Untitled — Kunstlerexemplar • Untitled — Michael Oskar Wlaschitz • Untitled, vol.1 — Aidan Frere-Smith • Untouchable!! Unreachable!! — Cara Farman & Cameron Lynch • Versifier — William Lee a.k.a. Shannon Flegel • Vielleicht Schwammerl — Kati Akraio • Von Eisen Und Wind — Klára Zahrádková • We are Stefan Werc — Tiny Hand Collective • What I wore yesterday — Asparagus Plumosa • Why do bunnies need to go to therapy? — Queer Ink • Writing new titles for an unfinished novel — Esther Kempf • You stay at home all day and daydream about shoulder dislocations — Never Brush My Teeth • You were born naked and the rest is drag — Amor de Primas • Zine 02 — Various • Zine of zines: "Pause" — Emily Randall • Zine-Ception! A zine about zines — Asparagus Plumosa • 7 αγαπημένα μέρη στη Σίκινο — These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things • 7 θρεπτικές ουσίες που πρέπει να προσέξεις σε περίπτωση αιφνίδιας χορτοφαγίας — Margarita Athanasiou • 90 ίχνη — Αλέκος Κοάν & Φώντας • Άτιτλο — Liz Papadaki • Εδραιωτικό τετράδιο φιλίας ε#1 — Maria Paneta • Εμβοές, Πεταλούδες της λήθης — Νικόλας Μαλεβίτσης • ένα προς δύο (1:2) — Nikos Staikoglou • Εξομολογήσεις — Various • Η πρώτη τελευταία και παντοτινή Μπιενάλε του Ψηλορείτη, Παναγιώτης Λουκάς & Μαλβίνα Παναγιωτίδη — Stamatis Schizakis • Η πρώτη τελευταία και παντοτινή Μπιενάλε του Ψηλορείτη, Ρένα Παπασπύρου — Stamatis Schizakis • Η πρώτη τελευταία και παντοτινή Μπιενάλε του Ψηλορείτη, Φοίβη Γιαννίση — Stamatis Schizakis • Θα βγαίνω θα πίνω — Asparagus Plumosa • Θέρως — μ² • Καλοκαίρι από απόσταση — Νίκος Καπετάνιος • Λένα Λεπιδόπτερα — Eloish Leigh • Λίπος Άλμπατρος #6 — Joanne Alexopoulou • Μια εποχή στον χαρτοπόλεμο — Αντώνιος Βάθης • Νεωτερισμοί — Χάρης Αλεξίου • Ντελίριο — Μαρία Κωνσταντοπούλου • Οι παγωμάρες μέρες του Πηλίου — Αναστασία Δαφερέρα • Πευκόραμα — Christina Karavida & Louis Bitsikokos • Ποιήματα για Πόκεμον — #TextMe_Lab • Πολιτικά χοντρέλες — Σοφία Αποστολίδου, Hodan Warsame, Φωτεινή Κάκκαρη & Βασιλική Λαζαρίδου • Πώς να φτιάξεις χαρτί στο σπιτάκι σου και να τυπώσεις διάφορα πράγματα ανάλογα με την όρεξή σου και το budget σου, εγχειρίδιο part 1 — Νέλλη & Χριστίνα • Σαντορίνη: μια σύντομη εισαγωγή — Θάνος Ν. Στασινόπουλος • Σαράντα δύο — Silent • Σεμπρία, τεύχη #1-3 — Κύριος Φλανέριος • Σου 'χω πει ποτέ — Tango with lions • Τα θερινά — Χάρης Αλεξίου • Τι τρώνε οι κότες; — Νικόλας Φαράκλας • Τρυφερά υφαίστεια ως το μεδούδι χωρίς επιστροφή — Αντώνιος Βάθης • Φούιτ, τεύχη ΙΙΙ, ΙV & V — Various • Χαίρομαι που είσαι φίλη μου — Asparagus Plumosa • Χαμένο σαν σταφίδα σε μωσαϊκό — Never Brush My Teeth • Ψηφίδες / Pixels (12 books) — miss dialectic • Ψωμί — Paky Vlassopoulou

List of zines that we forgot in Athens (will be presented in 2022 at "AZB @ Sikinos VOL.4"): • 38°32’S 143°58’E — Mirella & Arur Kokk • Berlin Love Me — Αντώνιος Βάθης • Do I have self esteem? — Alex Schauwecker • freedom machine — Mirella & Arur Kokk • Kerozine, issue #1 — The Shop Lifters Collective • Tabloid, issue #1 — Various • διαχωρισμός — Mirella & Arur Kokk • Η πρώτη μου βαβέλ — Tasmar

[gadgetsrevv]

Should Man Utd sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or should it be Ed Woodward who goes? Big Debate | Football | Sport

Manchester United suffered defeat to Newcastle this weekend leaving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the brink of the sack.

Solskjaer has overseen an horrendous start to the new season with United now just two points above the drop zone and already 15 points behind Liverpool.

Fans are calling for his head and pundits are questioning his techniques. David de Gea admitted performances weren’t good enough and Marcus Rashford has made a public statement calling on the players to pull together and improve.

So should Ed Woodward sack Solskjaer, or should Woodward in fact be paying the price for United’s poor start to the season?

Big debate

Josh Peck

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may not be the man to get Manchester United out of this mess, but sacking the Norwegian and appointing a new manager will put the Red Devils back to square one.

Solskjaer needs to be allowed time to grow into the role, build a squad and prove that he is the right man for the job.

A combination of Sir Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly, Pep Guardiola and Alf Ramsey couldn’t get United out of this mess at the moment.

It has to be accepted that the season is going nowhere. Focus on the cup competitions to try to get some silverware and then rebuild.

The problem ultimately lies with Ed Woodward with plenty of empty promises to Solskjaer and the Manchester United faithful.

Where is this director of football? And where are the bundles of cash that Solskjaer thought he could use?

If anybody needs to go, it’s Woodward with wrong decision constantly followed by wrong decisions.

Man Utd news: Should Ed Woodward sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? (Image: GETTY)

Manchester United could be forced to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Image: GETTY)

Stuart Ballard

Given the injury crisis Solskjaer’s has had since the start of the season, yes he is still the man. But he needs to somehow inspire the players currently at his disposal because he has seemed almost apologetic for the players in the media.

Understandable that he’s taking pressure off the players, but that doesn’t help in this current situation. Show you mean business by showing your frustrations and getting a clear message across to the players as his current approach hasn’t worked, but there’s still time.

And should Ed Woodward be trusted to lead the ship after another – seemingly – failed managerial appointment?

This is probably more to do with the recruitment process and no clear plan of attack in terms of transfers and previous managerial regimes.

Louis Van Gaal to Jose Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been a bizarre string of managerial appointments, largely due to their differencing styles of play.

Solskjaer seems intent on trusting youth – and that will need time – but Ed Woodward now needs to help the United boss out in the transfer market to bring in the right players to help the core group. If he can’t do that in January then surely he needs to be the one in the firing line.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is on the brink at Manchester United (Image: REUTERS)

James Walters

Solskjaer is in a tough situation because his United players simply aren’t good enough to challenge for the title – and arguably the top four. However, nine points from eight games won’t cut it at Old Trafford.

The Norwegian impressed when he took over from Jose Mourinho and injected much needed confidence into his squad.

However, bizarre decisions such as letting Lukaku and Sanchez leave without securing replacements could cost Solskjaer his job.

It looks like United’s stars don’t respect the Red Devils hero, who is still an inexperienced manager.

Best case scenario for United is Tottenham decide to axe Mauricio Pochettino if their poor run continues. Ed Woodward can then save himself £30m and snap up the Argentinian for free.

Pochettino would command respect at Old Trafford as his record speaks for itself. Yes, he’s yet to win silverware in north London, but his work at Spurs on a limited budget has been nothing short of remarkable.

His time at Tottenham may be up with rifts in the dressing room set to sabotage their season. United would be stupid not to step in and land Pochettino.

Solskjaer may be labelled the scapegoat for United’s downfalls this season, however, Woodward could easily take the blame.

The Red Devils executive vice-chairman must get his next managerial appointment right otherwise the former banker could see his time at United come to an end.

Tony Banks

It looks as though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is running out of ideas at Old Trafford.

But it has to be said that the Norwegian has not been helped by an abysmal transfer policy in recent years. This United squad has been allowed to deteriorate, with top quality players replaced by inferior imports.

How a top class centre forward like Romelu Lukaku can be allowed to go without a decent replacement coming in is hard to fathom.

That points to problems further up the line at Old Trafford – as does the appointment in the first place of Solskjaer.

It is the fourth successive appointment since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson which has not worked.

Ole’s appointment, of an Old Trafford hero, a darling of the crowd, was initially successful.

But the Norwegian now looks lost, his team seemingly lacking in inspiration, even motivation.

But no manager can be expected to succeed at the top level if his squad is not good enough – and that has been Solskjaer’s major problem.

So the club needed to back him with big spending last summer and an overhaul of the squad – which they did not do.

Or they need to promote their youth players, as Chelsea are doing with Frank Lampard. But to do that you need enough good young players coming through at the right time.

A tricky one to get right. It takes nerve and patience.

It also takes the right man being in charge on the field to bring those young players in and coach them.

Right now, as evidenced by the dismal defeat at Newcastle, Solskjaer does not look like that man.

It may well be time for a change, with a more experienced man brought in – maybe a Max Allegri – with that man handed the funds to do the job properly.

But if he goes, Ole’s head should not be the only one that rolls.

Jim Holden

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not, and never has been, the right manager for Manchester United, under-qualified on his previous record, and without an identifiable playing strategy and philosophy. The surprise is not that he is struggling, but that so many people thought he was a good choice by a club clearly wallowing in self-delusion.

It’s incredible to me that even now some wise observers still think he should be given more time in the job. Manchester United’s decline will only accelerate if that happens.

Who should take over? The obvious choice from within the English game is Mauricio Pochettino, if he can be lured away from his current troubles at Tottenham, and if he is willing to step into a club that has lost its way so badly. Pochettino is an outstanding football manager, and would be ideal for the major work required at Old Trafford. If not him, then former Juventus boss Max Allegri is waiting in the wings.

The parlous record of Ed Woodward on the football side of life at Old Trafford is also plain to see. The executive vice-chairman may be brilliant at landing commercial deals, but his judgement in selecting managers is as hopeless as his naivety in the transfer market.

United should appoint a football director to take charge of these matters. The obvious man with links to the club is Edwin Van Der Sar, proving his worth beyond question right now at Ajax.

Man Utd news: Ole Gunner Solskjaer is under pressure at United (Image: REUTERS)

Bruce Archer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not the right man for Manchester United. He was the right man to flush out the misery the toxic Jose Mourinho had brought in, but he should have signed off after that and never should have been handed the reigns on a permanent basis.

Whether there is anyone else who can offer a similar rise in performances over the short term is the big question facing Ed Woodward, but the answer must simply be yes. It could be anyone from Mauricio Pochettino, Brendan Rodgers or Max Allegri – all three would have the strength of conviction to get this team back to something resembling what it should be.

The squad – plus one decent striker in January – should still be capable of getting into the top four. But they currently look on course to be battling in the bottom half. A defeat to Liverpool in their next manager will surely spell the end for Solskjaer and offer the next man in two and a half months to plan for January. Bring in a forward, a central midfielder and a reliable left back and this should look a half decent squad again ready to get the fans back onside.

Woodward’s big problem is his flip flopping on the director of football. He seemed to want one then went cold. They’ve been linked with a handful of names, but haven’t been able to appoint anyone. Maybe Woodward is unable to close the deal, or maybe he actually wants to keep a firm grip of the recruitment business. Either way he’s failing at his job and should really pay with it, but the fact is he seems teflon in the eyes of the Glazers meaning things are unlikely to change unless he finally gets a managerial appointment correct.

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[redknight3996]

A Summer Shanty, Part 3

~3~

Gregory Louis Morgan stumbled on his front porch. His ears were still ringing and he blinked tears from his eyes. His breathing was heavy and he couldn’t even hear it.

“Why is this happening to me?” he finally moaned, clutching at his racing heart. His skin felt hot. 

Good God, why was this happening to him? He just wanted to relax. He earned that, hadn’t he? He–

There was a limousine parked in front of his house, on his lawn. That...wasn’t possible. He lived on top of a hill. There was a gate! He hadn’t let anyone in! This wasn’t fair!

“P-Please...please just leave me alone,” he murmured, trying desperately to ignore the blinking of his watch. He knew, if he looked, it would say 3AM. “I’ve...I’ve learned my lesson! I-I’ll...I’ll donate to charity! Many charities! All over the world! I can hold fundraisers a-and take care of orphans and send money to...to welfare states! I can do that! I-I have the money! I don’t-”

There were two men standing in front of the limousine. Both were in black suits and were wearing black sunglasses and both of them had gray skin. 

“...Please. I don’t want to do this. You can’t just make me!” He looked back at his house and of course it was gone. All he could see was the night sky. 

He tried to steady himself and looked back at the two men. One held up a sign between his hands. It was white, and it said ‘Morgan’ in perfect, black cursive.

“...I-Is this really necessary? I’ve learned my lesson. I have. Please.”

The other man opened the limousine door. He had a ‘W’ printed on his forehead. The other man had an ‘I’. The man by the door gestured towards the limousine’s interior, all entirely pitch-black.

“...” Was that it then? But, God, what choice did he even have? He couldn’t run from these things. They would hurt him. He was sure of it.

With heavy steps, Morgan walked to the limo. He entered it, and sat in the lush seats, sinking back into the startlingly comfortable cushions as the man closed the door behind him.

The interior of the limo was surprisingly comfortable all around, and it had an actually quite pleasant mix of blacks, dark violets and indigos lending it a very cozy, pleasant feeling. But that wasn’t what really caught his eye.

Sitting directly across from him, right in front of the window separating the driver from the passengers, was yet another woman. She was...startling.

The woman’s skin was a pitch-black, darker than any he’d ever seen, like petroleum or vantablack. She was closer to the white woman than the red one in that regard. Everything about her body, from her tightly braided hair framing her narrow face to her long nails to her completely black eyes were all the same shade but startlingly defined. She looked so real, but so impossible at the same time…

The woman crossed her long legs, her feet wrapped in stiletto heels, and leaned back, allowing him to stare at her like she was a queen to be awed over. And she did look stunning…

A long, flowing evening gown covered her body from the neck down, baring her shoulders and slit at its sides to leave her legs unbound. Black earrings dangled from her ears, black lace gloves covered her arms up to the elbows...she looked so different from the other two. Where the others had been disconcerting and terrifying, she seemed to radiate grace and beauty, wealth and taste, immeasurable poise that put her a far step above either of those horrors.

And then there was her mouth. The first woman had been missing her eyes. The second woman had been missing her ears. The third had her mouth sewn shut. Black threads looped through her lips, sealing them shut in a permanent smile.

But the woman didn’t seem bothered by her disfigurement. She was just staring at him with completely black eyes, smiling.

“...Ah...hello.” Morgan shifted slightly in his seat. The car had started pulling out at some point. He could feel it moving around as the drivers maneuvered their way off of his lawn.

The woman remained silent. Of course she would, she clearly couldn’t speak.

“A-Ahem.” Morgan cleared his throat. “You would be Famine then, correct?”

The woman nodded.

“Of course. Of course, I did put that together...the first one was Pestilence, the second was War, and that must make you Famine. The fourth is Death. Will I...Will I be meeting…’her’ as well?” God, he hoped not.

Famine shrugged, tapping idly on an armrest.

“...So, what now then? We just...You can’t speak. What sort of torment am I supposed to go through now then? I can’t listen to you lecture me.” He glanced out the window for a moment. They were driving now, down some road. He couldn’t see much out there, just passing streetlights. Were they on a highway?

He looked back and blinked. There was a scale next to Famine. The armrest was wider, more like a table, and there was a large balance measuring scale next to her, two small bowls hanging from chains on either side of it.

“...What is that supposed to be?”

Famine ignored him, reached into a bag in her lap that hadn’t been there before, and pulled out a handful of seeds. Sunflower seeds.

One by one, she dropped seeds into the further bowl of the scale, the left side. Seven seeds dropped and she let the rest spill onto the carpet of the limo before she sat back. 

The scale was drooping to its left side now.

Morgan blinked. That seemed oddly familiar, like something he’d seen in a documentary once.

“What is this supposed to be then? I know you can’t speak, but just presenting me with a scale doesn’t help me.”

Famine tilted her head, her eyes creasing upward in amusement, then she tapped her mouth with two fingers. She then pointed both at him, moved them back and tapped her mouth again, then pointed at him again.

“You want me to talk?” She nodded. “I...about what?”

She just shrugged.

Morgan’s brown creased. “I...fine, I think I can understand what you want here. The first woman, Pestilence, she was rambling on about healthcare and pharmaceuticals, then War was...er...she was talking about...freedoms, and oil, and...the military-industrial complex. Of course. So then you would be agriculture and food, right?”

Famine seemed to smile a little wider.

“Fine then. Agriculture…” There was a way out of this. He was the one setting the pace of the conversation this time, so he just needed to say what she wanted to hear. “Hm. Well, I can admit the food industry as a whole is irredeemably horrible. They, er, keep animals in terrible conditions and slaughter them in inhumane-”

The empty side of the scale dropped slightly.

“-condi...why did that just...Ah, no, um, what I meant to say was that they’re horribly wasteful. Did you know they throw out thousands of pounds or...tons, or something of food every day? Often for minor issues with appearance! And then there are the restaurants, particularly fast food, that just throw out so much food instead of...giving them to the homeless! It’s despicable when you think of all those poor orphans in Africa going-”

Morgan stopped himself and looked out the window. He saw something. Something out of the corner of his eye.

“...Ah. My point is, um...their standards are...you understand, a good deal of it is due to issues with government regulation-”

The scale dropped again. It was still higher than the one with the seeds on it but it was visibly lower.

“I-What? It-Look, you have to admit the government has problems! You can’t trust it, every ‘aid’ program they have is ultimately just designed to give them more power over us! Over the natural citizens-”

It dropped lower.

“-of-What?! I’m just-I’m telling you what I think! I’m sharing my damn opinion! Do you hear those people who insist on building themselves a damn nanny state? They want to be catered to for doing nothing! Things like education and health aren’t rights, they’re–No, no, I know what-I am not going to fall into some stupid trap and say something to...It’s not true. They...They’ll say that we, my party, the men I fina-support, that we deliberately sabotage the government to prove ourselves right but it’s not true!”

And the scale dropped lower. It was still high, but so close to halfway mark.

“I-I can-Fine, I can talk about other things! I can prove that I learned my lessons! You-War said that...She was talking about how war is-no, not-My point is that yes! Yes, the military-industrial complex, the defense industry, the private military contractors, they’re all bastards! Every last one of them is a greedy sadist looking to profit off of the abuses of American soldiers and the deaths of foreign civilians! They pump out propaganda, Hollywood works right alongside them, all so they can pretend war is heroic! They’re dragging this country through the mud so they can indulge in their fetishes for glory! So why aren’t they here?!

“Why am I the only one being punished like this!? What have I done that’s so wrong?! All my life, I worked to get where I-”

It dropped lower, hit the halfway mark and Morgan choked like a drowning man.

“That-Th-That...That wasn’t-I’m not lying! Is that-Is it supposed to be dropping every time I lie!? I haven’t-”

There it was again. Out in the dark and he looked this time and saw things out there. Humanoid figures. He couldn’t see any part of them. They were completely covered in shadows, except for their eyes, and their mouths. Their open mouths, baring teeth as they stared at him with bloodshot eyes. 

“W-What? What are...What are those things…?”

There were buildings all around them now, and he could see the creatures standing on the sidewalks, just staring. Some seemed to smile, some stared in visible disgust, others in pure hatred and all of them were baring their teeth.

Morgan looked back to the black woman, tried to stare straight ahead and ignore what lurked outside. “I-I...I can...ph-pharmaceuticals. Yes, I...D-Did you know they keep raising the prices of life saving medicines like insulin? They’re willing to let people die of completely...c-completely…”

He slowly swallowed. Famine still smiled. “I-I...They, um...Reagan, he let...s-so many people die. We just...th-the news media, it’s all...same broadcasting companies, just...They glorified him after the fact, a-acted like he was the perfect man when he was a shill and crook and God in heaven would have hated him-”

He shook his head, tried to breathe. Were they getting closer? “A-And...I can admit, I can admit, that the...the anti-vaccination people, they’re all idiots, they believe a discredited quack who wanted to sell his own version of it, killing their own children at the word of a snake oil salesman so they can–A-And the NRA, they’re all vile, they just take bribe after bribe to discredit restrictions and I know the men who bribe them! I can give you their names! I could give you-I could give you the name of every man and woman you could ever want! The most-The richest people on the planet! They’re all-I’m not like them-”

It dropped past the halfway point.

“N-No, no! P-Put that back up! M-Move it back up! I’m not like them! I-I-I’m learning! I’ve learned, I’ve-I’m not just saying this-”

It dropped lower. He could see teeth in the corner of his eye.

“NO! No, no, no, I can-Please, I could-You don’t understand! I’m a billionaire! I have-I have more money than any of those idiots out there could ever dream of! The homeless, the middle class, the, uh, the working poor, whatever they call them, I could buy all of them! The entire population! I have more money than there are people in the US! I could-I could buy every castle in Europe and have money left over! I could-I could do so much more! You can’t just-I can’t-

“PLEASE! You don’t understand! I’m a-I’m an important man! I matter-”

It dropped even lower, further than it had before.

“Ghk-! P-P-Please! I could-I can-What do you want?! You’re-You’re someone who wants money, right!? You-I can-Pollution! Fine, I can admit that! I can admit, I’m in oil, I’m in coal, I KNOW! I know we’re killing the planet! We pretended that it was all a hoax! We profitted because people were convinced we had to be right! We suckered a succession of idiots into thinking they need life-ending jobs in terrible conditions because of tradition! Because it was all they ever knew! They made it mythical, glorious, important because we convinced them that’s the way it had to be!

“I know, I was there! I was there, along the way, I know just how-We’re not evil! We’re not! Why is it wrong to try to help yourself!? It’s not my fault if people buy what I sell! I-No, if anything, America’s the damn con man to begin with! The land of the free is bullshit! We all know it! We play along because it benefits us! We play along with everything because it benefits us! That’s how it is!

“Do you really think there are anyone out there that actually believes in religion?! Do you really think anyone believes in race?! In sex, in purity, in anything!? NO! We all play along because that’s how life fucking works! Only the stupid actually fall for these platitudes we pump out day by day and we have the GODDAMN RIGHT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT!”

And the scale clattered against the table.

Morgan was standing over Famine. He’d been shouting down at her, spit flying from his mouth. She was spotless. He was soaked with sweat as he stared, woodenly, at the scale. The empty bowl had dropped fully.

“...N-No...N-N-No, w-wait-”

Famine stood and he fell back, landing hard on the floor of the limo, a splash coming up around him. The black liquid soaked into his clothes and clung to his skin, the sharp reek of tar filling the air as Famine loomed over him.

She took the seeds from the scale, the bowls staying perfectly in place, and crushed them in her hand. When she opened her palm, dust poured from it.

Morgan just stared at Famine, who stared evenly back, silent as ever. Then she leaned towards him and extended a hand. 

He didn’t want to take it. He wanted to stand on his own feet, but the tar was clinging to him, holding him down. He couldn’t get out of it, he couldn’t even sit up, so-

He took her hand and she pulled him up easily. And then her smile seemed almost kindly and she petted him. Her dark hand ruffled his hair, then caressed his cheek.

“W-What...what are you doing?” he asked, his voice quiet and hoarse. His throat hurt. He’d expected something. Some horror up close. 

But no. She was the same as before. Black as pitch, her eyes shining as deep pools of tar, and her mouth sewn shut.

Famine patted his cheek, her touch light and affectionate, then she placed a dusty hand on his stomach and roughly shoved him back. This time, when he fell, he sunk.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics where Harry and Louis are roommates. In most of these, they’re roommates in the traditional sense, but in some, they’re unofficially roommates (meaning they’re living together on a temporary basis or something along those lines). We specified that detail if it was applicable for the sake of clarity. Happy reading!

1) Just Like Live Wires | Explicit | 5427 words

Harry climbs into Louis' bed when he's cold. Louis pines.

2) Like You Hate Me | Explicit | 6541 words

“You have poor taste for someone with the last name Styles,” he says, turning to show the back of his pants to Harry—the pants Harry had just stitched his name across last night to keep this type of thing from happening again.

Of course, he’s accomplished nothing but indirectly making himself pop a stiffy over Louis fucking Tomlinson.

3) Bite the Bullet, Feel the Rush | Explicit | 7750 words

The one where Harry can't stop wanting Louis, they see each other naked a few times too many and showers are a magical thing.

4) Where Do We Go From Here | Explicit | 10617 words

Louis goes off to college ready to start a fresh life away from the oppressive alphas of his pack. The odds aren't in his favour when his new dorm mate turns out to be an alpha.  Louis hates alphas.

5) Rather This Than Live Without You | Explicit | 10715 words

Note: In this fic, they’re unofficial roommates.

Harry decides to give it all up. Louis refuses to be left behind.

6) No Bleeding Hearts | Explicit | 12651 words

“I’m going to come out,” Louis says abruptly. His grip on the controller is tight, knuckles whitening. He doesn’t look at Harry when he says it.

“What?” Harry says. Louis sucks in a breath through his teeth.

“When we re-negotiate our contracts. I’m going to come out.” Harry fumbles with the controller and manages to set it down on coffee table without cracking it in half.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Harry says. Louis is still pointedly not looking at him.

“I’m not having this argument with you again, Harry,” Louis tells him. He leans forward and deposits his own controller on the table beside Harry’s before standing up. “I’m gonna go to the hotel.”

7) Truth In Your Eyes | Explicit | 15378 words

"...I found it half spilled over by the loveseat not too long ago.” Louis eyed him imploringly with a slight curl to his lips. “My mate gave it to me as a gag gift. He bought it during his gap year from some novelty shop in Belfast. I never did get to try it. I was always sort of intimidated by the label.” Louis twisted the bottle in his hand, revealing the label written in gold, and only now visible to Harry’s sober eyes. Truth Serum.

8) Carried Away Like Butterflies | Explicit | 17234 words

It was probably a huge mistake for Louis to let his former One Night Stand move into his spare room, especially when said One Night Stand doesn't seem to remember him.

9) No Place Without You | Explicit | 19089 words

Harry's in love with life and he's in love with the world.

Louis' in love with Harry and he doesn't think there's any way he can possibly compete.

10) The Forest for the Trees | Explicit | 30283 words

Louis and Harry had the ultimate roommates and best friends with benefits relationship until Harry suddenly ends the benefits part, shocking and breaking Louis' heart in the process. He’s fallen in love with Harry, but is too scared to tell his best friend the truth because he just does not do first moves.

In the spirit of unrequited love, and with a little help from Harry’s mother, Louis decides to set Harry up on a series of horrible blind dates, hoping his roommate will see dating is too much trouble and come back to him. In the end things don’t go as planned and Louis ends up sabotaging the one date he shouldn’t have. It turns out that Harry's a bit of a sneak too.

11) Promise You’ll Remember That You’re Mine | Explicit | 34654 words

Note: In this fic, they’re roommates at a summer camp.

What he doesn’t expect is to see Louis in their bathroom wearing panties. Not even like standard panties, they’re fucking black and sheer so Harry can see Louis’ full arse and there’s even lace trimming the edges. He nearly has a heart attack.

Harry’s face probably looks like a bright red tomato, and if not then the only other option would be that all his blood is going to his dick, because Louis looks like a fucking wet dream.

“Oh, you’re back.” Louis looks as nonchalant as ever, when Harry is over here freaking the fuck out.

12) Some Things Take Root | Explicit | 50269 words

AU. Louis' ex doesn't get jealous of anyone besides Harry. Harry helps Louis use that to his advantage.

13) Somethin’ Bout You | Explicit | 59855 words

Note: In this fic, they’re unofficial roommates.

Of all the government agents in the world, Louis had to go and land the most charming one.

14) Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices | Explicit | 126082 words

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.