#or advising him on what to do

[eru-iru]

ive been thinking about an smt au for bedman or like a world based on smt with all the demon summoning and having a comp... maybe bedman made a special version for himself hmm. or he's like stephen and thats how he got his powers... he can fight with his own powers but reserves it for those who are worthy to fight him. he mostly lets his demons fight for him, mainly the oneiroi with it's leader morpheus who he's closest to. i was thinking morpheus is the kind of demon that takes on the form of its summoners as to reflect them but still look different. in this morpheus is color 20 bedman definitely but ofc his true form is different. or maybe he has no form at all. only romeo and morpheus' brothers know ahaha he changes form when he fights based on what his opponent is weak to edit: also because of romeo becoming a multidimensional being he achieved transcendence

[straight-to-the-pain]

I don't know if anyone else in the whump community has read 'A Constellation of Vital Phenomena' by Anthony Marra but it is genuinely a really good book and also has some of the best depictions of torture and its aftermath that I have read in fiction.

I wanted to share some of my favourite quotes, hopefully without too many spoilers as it is out of context, but maybe skip this post if you don't want to know anything at all going in.

To give a brief summary, the book centres around the lives of people in Chechnya during the first and second war between the Russian government (Feds) and the separatist rebels. The main story focuses on a man (Akhmed) who is trying to save his neighbour's daughter from being killed by the Feds after her father is taken away in the middle of the night. He does this by taking her to a hospital where he then volunteers. One of the people in his village (Ramzan) becomes an informer for the Feds after being tortured, and this is explored in the excerpts below.

‘Information the Feds would torture them for was written here on the walls for all to see. It was well understood among the men that the Feds had as much sense as two bricks smashed together. It was also understood that pain, rather than information, was the true purpose of interrogation.'

'During his first detention in the landfill, in 1995, in the first war, he had refused to inform. They had wrestled down his trousers, shown him the bolt cutters, and still he had said no. Screaming, thrashing, with his manhood half severed, he had said no. He had done that, and now he was ready to start saying yes.'

'He would have confessed everything, but they didn't ask, weren't interested, threatened to cut out his tongue and put pliers to his teeth if he spoke one more fucking word. Electric wires were wound around his fingers. A car battery was drained into his bones. God might have been watching, but it wasn't God's finger on the battery switch. The interrogating officers didn't speak. Instead he was an instrument they played, performing a duet, and in their own way they conversed through his sobs. They both wore very shiny shoes. That was all he would remember.'

'He had trouble walking, He had forgotten torture could be so exhausting. The new interrogator, the one with less shiny shoes, held him upright, using his whole body as a crutch, and helped him walk. He carefully wiped Ramzan's forehead with a handkerchief before opening the door to the next room.'

'The interrogator with less shiny shoes crouched behind him. His hands were wet. Ramzan promised everything, and the interrogator, like the parent of a child too old to believe in ghosts, watched him with disappointment, his clear eyes saddened by Ramzan's sincerity. The interrogator took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, laid the live wires on Ramzan's chest and mapped the border of their shared humanity. Ramzan offered his soul. He begged to be enslaved. The known universe contracted to the limits of the cement floor, and on it, the interrogator was both man and deity, prophet and god. By ten o'clock the interrogator with less shiny shoes asked his first question. By eleven the electrical wires were unwound from Ramzan's fingers. By noon he was allowed to dress. By one he was on the FSB payroll. He kept thanking the interrogator with less shiny shoes.'

‘Greed didn’t motivate his informing, at least not primarily; primarily he informed by necessity, to survive, for his love and hate and above all awe of the power wielded by the interrogating officer with less shiny shoes.'

'That was his greatest fear. Could he stay silent? Could he withstand what awaited him? He told himself that his love for the girl should fortify him against any torture, but this, like so much of what he told himself, was a lie. After all, he was squeamish at the sight of blood, what would he say when lying in a puddle of his own? But he saw no other way. He would pray for the strength to stay silent, for a quick heart attack, and leave the rest to God.' (This is Akhmed POV)

'When they threatened to beat me, I said nothing, Akhmed. When they threatened to beat me, I said nothing. When they threatened to electrocute me, I said nothing. When they threatened to castrate me, I said nothing. I said nothing, Akhmed. Whatever you think of me, you remember that once I said nothing when a wiser man would have sung. And the interrogators, they couldn't believe it. They called in others to examine me. I was there on the floor, and above their faces were dark ovals silhouetted by the ceiling lights. They had beaten me hard and I couldn't hear right, but I kept saying no, with every breath I had. The main reason they let me go, the only reason they didn't shoot me right there was out of perverse respect, some sort of professional courtesy. But I wish they had shot me, Akhmed, because the good part of me died there, and all this, everything since, has been an afterlife I'm trying to escape.'

‘I knew what was coming. I knew it never stops. They put a shame inside you that goes on like a bridge with no end, the humiliation, the fucking humiliation of knowing that you are not a human being but a bundle of screaming nerve endings, that the torture goes on even when the physical hurt quietens. People treated me differently when I came back the first time.'

[mccoyquialisms]

even though the time quangle live show stuff is technically not canon, my Adaine and Fabian as inseparable besties agenda lives on ❤️

[ceoofhelaegon]

Aegon sends this to Dragonstone after B&C

If be war you seek, send the full weight of your army and dragons.

For a lone, cowardly assassin will not topple this King Aegon second of his name that you so underestimate.

(he is distraught but he wants revenge and no matter how, he will get it...for his son, for his wife, and for himself)

[moregraceful]

I name all of my snake plants after Baltimore Orioles players because...I don't know why I do that.....anyway Adley (she/her pronouns according to my parents) and Adam Jones are making the trip with me but Chris Davis is TOO BIG FOR THE CAR and I'm so sad now. That was my emotional support snake plant through my FMLA leave. He has seen the worst of me (mental illness, forgot to water him for a month) and survived. Now he's like four feet tall and I have to leave him behind because he is so big that he takes up more than a third of my luggage space in the car 🥲 I took such good care of him that now he has to live independent of me. Goodbye Chris Davis I will think of you fondly as I encourage Adley to grow big and strong.

[tswwwit]

do yhink theres like a life where bill accidentally 'kills' himself and isnt able to get to Dipper in time?

so dipper is just there thinking like no one will love me 😔😔💔 with no memories anf bill is just floating around pissed off

then BAM dipper remembers and comes to bills rescue somehow. then it cuts to dipper making fun of bill 🤭

A Fine concept! Alternately: A Dipper who still doesn't have his memories stumbling across Bill, and the subsequent shenanigans.

[robotsafari]

“you insolent little bitch.”

-ansem, seeker of darkness (he definitely said this)

[kenjirose]

I treat my kinger plush like my actual lover this is so sad

[termagax]

u know at the beginning i kind of thought kfp4 was gonna do something with shifus whole. deal. but they didnt like at all which is a shame

[royaltea000]

reporting in to the "hyperfixated teenager with an ill-advised iron cross" squad ✌️

Hima did us so dirty with this one I will never forgive that man 😭7

[so-called-quail]

'Trapped in the end!' said Sam bitterly, his anger rising again above weariness and despair. 'Gnats in a net. May the curse of Faramir bite that Gollum and bite him quick!' 'That would not help us now,' said Frodo.

Sword in hand Sam went after him. For the moment he had forgotten everything else but the red fury in his brain and the desire to kill Gollum. But before he could overtake him, Gollum was gone. Then as the dark hole stood before him and the stench came out to meet him, like a clap of thunder the thought of Frodo and the monster smote upon Sam's mind.

Now he tried to find strength to tear himself away and go on a lonely journey – for vengeance. If once he could go, his anger would bear him down all the roads of the world, pursuing, until he had him at last: Gollum. Then Gollum would die in a corner. But that was not what he had set out to do. It would not be worth while to leave his master for that. It would not bring him back. Nothing would.

Sam and vengeance in today's entry

[viric-dreams]

⚠️ for them ALLLLL!

- @zeebreezin

Warning:

Ockham: Holds long grudges.

Roberts: Has shrimp neuroses.

Nite: Will sell you to January for one corn chip.

Tamara: Will agree to what you say with no intention of doing it to avoid hurting your feelings.

Jones: Utterly useless in a high-stress situation.

Rubbery Barber Surgeon: For the love of fuck do not try to pay in amber.

Graham: Girl, run.

[catastrxblues]

—

[beanmaster-pika]

Ragnvindr bros angst is fun but it’s also very important to remember that these absolute dorks still hang out with each other despite the Everything. I’m oversimplifying here but it’s like fighting with your sibling but then texting them a meme twenty minutes later but ramped up to 11 and more emotionally fraught.

[skitskatdacat63]

This is not really a question but just popping into say that I am OBSESSED with your boy king Seb au.

Is this partially because Seb is my favourite driver? Yes. Is this partially due to the fact that history and by extension, historical fiction one of my favourite things ever? Yes.

This is a really random tangent but when you mentioned the AU being loosely based on the Spanish War of Succession, I was like I recognise this but from where? I looked it up and realised that I learnt a little about it when I studied Louis XIV. This also reminded of how much I used to love making fun of Louis XIV as well.

This just struck me as I was writing this but since Fernando is based on Philip and if I remember correctly comes from Renault (basically) in this au, would that make Flavio Briatore the Louis XIV in this universe...

Sorry for the really long text - I got carried away lmao

Nooooo don't apologize!! I absolutely love long asks, and I'm so glad you like the au so much!!!! That makes me so haopy to hear 🥹 But you're so real, this au does in fact stem from my obsessions with my f1 boys and history. I'm very happy to have found a way to combine my two major interests into one thing 🤭🤭 But as I said to someone earlier today, it often feels like this AU is just a way for me to force-feed people niche history trivia LOL

Imagining Flavio as Louis XIV gave me a heart attack sjkfkflf, that man cannot and should not have that amount of power 😭 Flavio is Fernando's top advisor!! I think he works better as someone working behind the scenes, in the shadows, the little devil on Fernando's shoulder. I like to imagine he's some merchant who gained enough reputation and favor, that Fernando's father or smth was like, yeah sure you can be my son's advisor....not knowing he'd become king later on.

I think he obviously genuinely really cares for Fernando and makes decisions in his best interest but uhhhhh is not upset when it also happens to put a bit of money in his own pocket. I imagine he was like, super gung-ho about the arranged marriage, and giving fernsndo all these platitudes like "don't you think this is your best chance at being King 🥺 maybe you can find true love 🥺" but then is also making deals behind the scenes sjkfkv. Just constantly doing mental arithmetic, weighing out and balancing how much he's benefitting Fernando, and how much he's benefitting himself. Also lol, I like to imagine he tries to be all schemey with Seb, but then can't help but become endeared with him(reminds him of a younger Fernando 🤧)

[kimjunnoodle]

sent my best friend my recent art and he's ... always been my number one critic to help me grow/learn more but ah today hit too hard