#tw mass shooting threat

[pumakaji64]

Had a particularly awful day at work today... [tw mass shooting threats]

After we left yesterday one of our coworkers, the assistant manager, started making threats that he was gonna 'blow up this whole building' and didn't care who was inside- My mom and I only found out about it this morning when we got there and our manager told us. Our co-worker was scheduled to work todday day at 7:30, our manager told us he was going to be fired as soon as he arrived but the police would be there in case things went bad, but he ended up seemingly taking it well and left- he is also now blacklisted from stepping on the store property and will get in trouble if he's caught back here...

but I just feel so fucking sick to stomach over it... the whole day I was terrified- as if him just being prohibited is gonna matter if he does decide to follow up on his threats against the store- we don't even have a reliable exit close by in the deli! The closest thing is a door with an alarm system but it only opens after being pressed on for 15 seconds! Neither my mother or I go in tomorrow, but she goes in on Sunday alone and then we both go in Monday-Thursday and neither of us feel safe there anymore.

Like, fuck man- another coworker of ours whose known this guy longer then either of us said that he once told her "Don't worry [name], I'll message you before I do it."- idk when this was- could've been years ago- Yesterday, I noticed several of our large bowls were leaking and we told our co-worker about it and even then I noticed his tone was oddly calm but I brushed it off as him just trying to be level-headed about it only to learn today he was stabbing the bowls in anger with his personal knife and that's why they began to leak... like........ I don't want to go back there but we have to- I can't believe we have to go through something like this AGAIN after last years threat at the other area we worked at... I want to quit so fucking bad and just say 'fuck the money' but I know my mother won't and I can't bear leaving her there alone.

And God... it's just another sucker-punch I'm dealt with... My wrist is losing all mobility and there is no cure, I'll likely have to get surgery that will ease my pain but only for 10 years, I might have fucking cancer, I need to get a biopsy done and won't know the results for up to like 2 weeks, I just spent 800 dollars on a CT scan, and all my other medical issues I haven't gotten started with dealing with..... now this as well... knowing any day in that store I could die, my mother could die, some other poor person could die... all cuz we were in the wrong place at the wrong time...

I just don't know what to do anymore... I feel so defeated........ but, tomorrow is my birthday... so- today I'll worry and give-up, but tomorrow I'm gonna act like nothing is wrong and try to enjoy every second of that day..................................

I really, truly, and deeply hope I'm wrong about all of this, and no one will get hurt. I'm just really scared you guys...

[yuvon-augold79]

The number of deaths being reported is up to 21 now, and may rise further. Might have risen further by the time I post this.

14 people have been hospitalized so far, to my knowledge. 11 of those were children. None of those kids over ten years old.

I have been screaming into the void for five fucking years trying to do ANYTHING to stop this bullshit. Petitions, protests, donations, everything plausible in my area.

What have all of us gotten for all our efforts and struggles? “Thoughts and prayers.”

I didn’t hide in a corner for an hour and a half, too terrified of what might be outside to risk texting my parents goodbye, to get told “my thoughts and prayers go out to you, anyhow I’m accepting yet more donations from the NRA.”

I didn’t call my parents in a blind panic to check that they weren’t in the path of a pair of mass shooters to get told “our thoughts and prayers are with you right now, anyhow let’s do nothing about this epidemic of mass shootings.”

(Keep in mind, I live in a state with one of the most restrictive gun policies in the country. And it still. Isn’t. Enough.)

Until your “thoughts and prayers” can stop a bullet, shove it up your ass.

[cursedvideogamesfromaperson]

This is something I don’t do because I am sometimes a bit nervous on the internet, but my personal anger over this has overpowered those thoughts, so here we go.

-Alright, this is something that has been bothering me for weeks now. So yall know Youtube? And how they absolutely suck at enforcing their rules in about every single god dang way imaginable? Within the past few months, this has been exposed in such a big way, yet their stubborn ways has caused them to continue their awful decisions.

To recap the situation: There was a youtuber named Quantum TV, he was a problematic figure from the start. He has made openly transphobic, homophobic, and racist posts on his social media. He told people to go kill themselves and told some people that he wished they were a pulse victim, a nightclub shooting that killed and injured many people. It all started when Quantum TV posted a video reviewing the game Elden Ring, and he criticized it for many reasons. This review was bashed by many content creators for good reason, Quantum TV began to attack these creators. The youtuber The Act Man, who is the main target of Youtube’s corruption as I am typing, eventually stepped in and made his own video reporting on the situation. There were 2 videos made, 1 was taken down. The first one was named “Copyright Abuse on Youtube - Featuring Quantum TV.” It recaps the situation and as of this post, is still up. The 2nd video I cannot for the life of me recall the name, but was shot down because of “sexual content” that wasn’t present. It is more of an overreach of Youtube, who is attempting to suppress people who are reporting on the situation. This video fully recapped Quantum TV’s situation, on how he doxxed people, and even called the Act Mans mother over the situation, along with how Quantum had been ban evading for years.

This whole situation has started to attract a much bigger audience than it really needed. It could have ended if Youtube had listened to the Act Man, yet Youtube chose the absolute worst response, which was completely demonetizing The Act Man’s channel, removing him from their partner program, and deleting his videos on the situation. This is not just for the Act Man, many other youtubers are facing various punishments, according to some, getting terminated. The Act Man has around 1.5 million subscribers, meaning this punishment could be very broad. This is just corruption at this point, there are many other factors that I do not have the motivation, confidence, or time to explain, I hope you take your own research and do with it as you will.

The way Youtube has handled the whole thing sets a dangerous precedent and future for the platform if it isn’t reversed very soon. The only way to really fix it is to spread awareness. I know I couldn’t do a whole lot, I am just ranting and getting my thoughts and opinions out, but I do hope someone sees this and spreads awareness or becomes aware. The fact that Youtube supports Quantum during pride month is even more shocking.

Thank you for reading this little rant, I hope you have a good day, I hope Youtube fixes their actions.

[biphbia]

i havent posted abt it here but uvlade is absolutely horrifying

[brokensticks]

The fact someone threatened to bomb every school in a neighboring district, the district office, and superintendent's home over a gay book "ruining the innocence of children" but didn't stop to think the threat of mass murder would is genuinely fucking infuriating and just goes to show conservatives don't give a flying fuck about children or their safety what-so-fucking-ever

[siffrin-enthusiast]

hello! I don't follow you but I've seen your post about the fact Tumblr is banning trans women, black people and censoring posts about palestine for no reason float around, I had no idea that was happening, so thanks for pointing that out, but also, do you have more info on that? This might be a huge ask but this is such a strange and sad thing to hear about and I want to know more about it if that's okay.

hi anon! i would like to point out that i'm not one of the marginalized groups being censored by tumblr (as i'm a white, american transmasc) and i recognize that i'm very privileged to not have been censored and have the ability to speak on this, with resources predominantly gathered by trans women and people of color, so in future i would reccomend you ask someone who is a victim of transmisogyny/racism by the tumblr staff. that being said, i'll do my best to educate you and point you in some good directions. if anyone else wants to add anything that i missed to this, or correct any mistake i've made, feel free to do so!

tw for transphobia and screenshots of explicit calls to violence (there will be a clear TW so you know where it is.)

if this gets my account exploded, it’s been real.

the most recent example that made site-wide news was banning the transfemme user predestrogen (also known as rita) who was undergoing transphobic harassment and mass false-reporting for sfw pictures (here's a second tumblr user i found undergoing the same kind of harassment and here's a second account of rita's experience with photomatt from a friend of hers). she reported these threats and false reports, to no avail (as a post here details matt's response to terfism), and got pissed off and made a VERY obviously joking post about the site's ceo mattphoto’s car being exploded with hammers. this was very clearly one of the absurd joke threats tumblr is known for. this resulted in predestrogen getting banned, with matt nearly calling the police on her, and furthermore, followed onto twitter by matt.

here is the tumblr post in question that started everything.

here's one of MANY tweets of matt's to rita, and to do your own research a post i found with multiple more of them.

following users to a platform without them mentioning you? IS REALLY BAD. he deliberately searched for that account and sent multiple replies back to predestrogen. and hey, while we're here, he also..stalked the tags for a little while LMAO and kept replying to random users.

as you can hopefully see, this is very obviously a joke threat. "i hope your car is covered in exploding hammers" is not a credible threat of violence. all of this over..this post.

you don't even need to take my word for it. here is a dropbox folder of screenshots of his that you can personally look through.

please note that this is ONE recent example of a disabled trans woman being banned without violating the tumblr terms of service in the sea of many trans women and people of color who have likewised been banned despite not violating TOS, unlike a few that i can find within about three clicks from my post that went viral. i have reported both of the below replies openly calling for violence against immigrants in the comments of this post already yesterday, and they have not been removed.

tw: explicit calls for violence.

scroll past this section if you do not want to see them.

these are not joke threats. i don't think i need to explain why talking about shooting immigrants is really fucking bad. i’m aware that tumblr has to deal with a large number of reports, but i hope you can recognize the absurdity of exploding hammers being banned and having the threat of a police call and followed on a different platform while actively calling for death to immigrants remaining unchanged at the time of posting this.

tw ends here.

while we're here, have some receipts of matt being not exactly pro-palestine.

to show that this is not a one-time thing, here's him following a zionist on this platform. funnily enough, from math that i could be wrong about..

the right screenshot says transmascpetewentz reblogged with the pro-isreal comment eleven days after its original date, feburary 12th, which means feburary 23rd. which happens to be the same day photomatt followed petewentz. i am not saying matt followed petewentz because of this post, i just noticed a coincidence.

i encourage you to do your own research, ask trans women and people of color on this site, and come to your own conclusions, anon. i hope this could help point you in a helpful direction.

[piffany666]

Ok just one more punk progeny won't hurt~

Chapter 6: the double standard

(Trans ftm Bright eyes - he/him pronouns)

TW this Chapter contains an accurate not so positive view of alexis, regardless of your opinion of alexis please don't send death threats to either me or my proofreader.

Bright had been staying in the solaire mansion for a while now, so he wouldn't refer to what he is doing as "moving in", no, more like.....unpacking.

But alas, that's what William called it. Moving in.

He hadn't told anyone else that he'd made his decision, William reassured him that he wouldn't have to and that he was planning on getting everyone together for a "family meeting".

Bright was clambering over the mass amount of boxes he had scattered around the room in an attempt to organise his things.

Tank had recently given him a bunch of their old things, clothes, CDs, DVDs, comics all that good shit.

But he only now decided to actually get out the stuff they gave him and place it around his room.

Mabye that was because it wasn't HIS room till recently.

Suddenly, while looking around for a spot to dump one of the empty boxes, there was a knock on his door.

Bright had always lived with other people, granted it was never for very long, but within all his years of living, not one of those people ever knocked before entering.

So Bright was, understandably, more than a little startled when he heard a knock on his door.

"W-whos there?!"

Despite Bright's defensive tone, William responded sweetly.

"It's just me, Bright eyes, may I come in?"

Bright relaxed at the sound of his voice.

"O-oh yeah sure just gimme a sec"

"Of course~"

He continued frantically looking for somewhere to put the box down.

Eventually he chucked it onto the bed and went to open the door.

William slithered into the room and closed the door behind him, but not all the way.

"Good evening Bright eyes, how are you settling in?"

Every time Bright heard William speak his guard went down, his defensive nature was challenged and he felt safe.

At first this scared Bright and while he still hadn't gotten used to it

He didn't mind as much now.

"Yeah, I'm just kinda trying to put my stuff away....I mean....yeah"

Bright sheepishly gestured to the colossal mess he'd made of his room.

Despite Bright's new found comfortiblity with William, he still didn't know exactly how to interact with him.

Bright's almost bashful nature made William smile as he held back a giggle.

"Well that's good"

There was a moment of silence between the two that felt.....awkward.

William coughed.

"Well I'm glad your settling in, but admittedly, I didn't just come in here to check on you"

Bright raised an eyebrow as he waited for him to continue.

"You know that later on tonight I plan on getting the whole clan together for a meeting, and that during that meeting I intend on informing them of....you, but until then I will be out for a meeting with a friend, I'll introduce you tonight, Vincent and his partner will be making preparations for the solstice and Fred, Sam and his mate are staying at their cabin

So what I'm trying to say is-"

"Ill be home alone for the day?"

William gave Bright a smile that looked almost....painful...?

Like he was being stabbed but didn't want to cause a scene.

"Weeelll...not exactly-"

At that moment, the door he had left partially ajar, swung open to reveal somone Bright had only heard cautionary tales of

Alexis.

Alexis was a tall, pale woman. Her hair covered one eye and had a gentle curl. The eye that reminded seen was sharp and silver, not unlike William's, however while his eyes shined with a warm comforting glow, her gase was cold and penetrating, as if looking at her was the equivalent of being stabbed with ice.

Bright felt several chills shoot through him. He felt like he was being tazered.

William sighed as his excruciating smile dropped.

"Bright, this is Alexis, you and her will be the only ones in the Manor tonight"

Bright's head turned towards William as he shot him a look of pleading confusion.

"Alexis, this is Bright eyes"

The eyebrow that was visible raised

"So THIS is Sam's little underling?"

She looked Bright up and down

"Yeah, that tracks"

Alexis didn't know about Bright being taken in by William, that snarky comment alone confirmed that, which did make Bright feel a little smug, but that didn't mean he appreciated the audacity of this b*tch.

He scowled at her

She scowled back

And for a moment the two just stood there unblinking, scowling at each other.

William was glad that no one present could mind read particularly well, as they would both be able to hear him breathe out the words

"Give me strength!...actually no, if whatever cosmic force that is out there gave me strength, these two would be dead......give me patience!"

He breathed in heavily as his smile from before returned to his face.

"Well I better be off! Please have the Manor still standing by the time I get back!"

Before Bright could protest he "woodshed" out the room.

And he was left alone.

With the woman who turned the man who turned the boy who turned him.

A convoluted and yet overly simplistic way to put it

But it wasn't an inaccurate description.

Luckily, Bright had years of experience dealing with snobby older sisters so he took a moment to compose himself after the initial shock of coming face to face with the resident solaire clan's scapegoat.

And simply said.

"Look, I have a lot of unpacking to do and you seem like you have better things to do than babysit me so why don't you get out of my room and go do whatever it is you do when left unsupervised?"

Alexis scoffed and folded her arms as she leaned against the door frame.

"I'm sorry, YOUR room? What? Is Sam's cabin not good enough for you kid?"

Every word she said felt like it was being spat out at Bright.

He smirked.

"Aww well I'm sure you'd love to have an open invitation there~ but I personally can't think of anything worse than being stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with Sam and my maker, so I'm gonna stay here and unpack, thanks"

She looked flabbergasted that this kid she had only just met could muster up the courage to speak to her with such audacity.

But she wasn't about to let Sam's progeny get under her pearl-like skin.

So after what looked like her swallowing her rage, she brushed it off and retreated into the darkness of the hallway.

Bright chuckled softly to himself as he went back to his boxes.

She is certainly in for a suprise later tonight.

So will everyone else but Bright felt more smug about this one.

He didn't know anything about alexis, he could admit that.

All he knew was what she did, not who she was.

That and he knew what everyone thought of her.

Which prompted him to label her as the resident scapegoat.

Exept that's what HE had always been.....in every family he'd ever incorporated himself into, he was the scapegoat.

If he took that away from her when he became William's progeny.....what would she have left?

Or would she continue to play her part despite him?

If that would be the case then....what would he be?

These thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of.....music?

More specifically a piano, exept it was.....off

The tempo was too fast which caused the pianist to constantly slip up and hit the keys all at once in frustration.

While the Manor did give the impression that it was haunted, Bright could safely assume that the culprit for such musical crimes was alexis.

Part of him wanted to go downstairs to shut her up.

There was a lot of the Manor that he still hadn't seen anyway so this could be an opportunity for exploring.

But another part of him reminded him that his curios nature was what got him here in the first place....

Then he said "f*k it, you can't die twice!"

And went searching for the location of the instrument who's screams of pain echoed through the whole Manor.

While searching, he made a note of the decor that dawned the halls of the Manor.

It all looked....tacky but also in its own way decadent, as if the whole building was trying too hard NOT to look like a stereotypical vampire Manor.

Paintings, ornaments and various trinkets were dotted around in no particular order.

It was nice to look at, but it distracted Bright from his goal of finding the piano

And frankly he was getting sick of hearing the damn thing!

Or more accurately he was sick of hearing HER play it.

Eventually he finally found it.

The double doors were wide open, as if she wanted her music to reverberate throughout the whole Manor.

Bright stuck his head through the doorway and saw that not only was there a piano but also various instruments covered with white cloth and dust.

It was safe to assume that this was a music room.

Alexis still hadn't noticed Bright standing there in the doorway, gazing in awe at the room's beauty.

Bright decided to approach her, though she still remained engrossed in her frustrating attempt at playing.

Bright leaned against the piano as somthing dawned on him.

If alexis is supposed to be this big bad vampire then she must be like....SUPER OLD.

So how long had she been playing a song that she simply can't play?

He decided to find an answer to that question.

"How long have you been playing that thing?"

This sudden announcement of his arrival made alexis jump, which caused her to hit the keys with both hands again.

"God f*king damn it! What? What is it!? What do you want?!"

Once again she gave the impression that her words tasted bad and as such she wanted to spit them out.

But Bright was unfazed.

He just put himself back in the mindset of having an older sister.

"Didn't you hear me? I said 'HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING THAT THING?"

She hardened her gase.

Before answering, she hesitated.

"More years than you've been alive, kid"

Bright scoffed and did his best to hold back a full belly laugh.

"Damn you've been playing this thing for YEARS and thats the best you can do? How much longer will it take for you to realise that mabye this just...isn't for you?"

Bright felt as if he was poking a bear.

She shot him a look of unbridled fury, the red tint of her eye located around her sharp iris grew as she rose from her chair, causing it to topple over.

"If you think you can do better than be my guest!"

Bright went in front of the piano nonchalantly and began to play the opening to "bat out of hell" a notoriously hard piano solo.

Alexis was flabbergasted and enraged.

Bright turned his head towards her once he had finished playing.

"You know....it really doesn't matter how long you play it for....its about the tempo, the skill and most importantly you have to actually enjoy playing it! I mean arnt you tried of playing this old thing and not getting any better at it? Are you playing it cos you enjoy it or cos you've been playing it for so long that you've forgotten how to play anything else?...."

He got no answer from this.

Consider this bear poked and pissed off.

Bright saw her face go dark and knew that he needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

Once one if his step sisters made the same face at him after he was caught reading her diary.

Bright still has the scar even after death.

"Weeeelll anyway I have some more unpacking to do so I better--!!"

Before he could get away, he was cut off by alexis pulling him back by his hair.

She spun around allowing herself to be infront of him as she pulled him down across the piano

Bright struggled but she was strong, very strong.

She had him pinned, the keys wincing in pain as his body slowly hit them as his head was pulled backwards.

"G-get of me!"

Alexis found herself almost pitting him.

"Shut up. I don't know what your....deal is, but for some reason William has taken a liking to you, despite you being Sam's progeny. I have an idea of what's going on but I really don't want to belive it. Now I sincerely hope that what I think is happening isn't happening. I mean why on earth would William want a washed up, snarky, bratty disrespectful little sh*t when he already has me and Vincent?"

Bright's face dropped into a scowl.

By this point he had stopped struggling.

"But in any case, if you are going to be William's next project then I guess we'll be seeing more of eachother, so tell me.....

What do you think of me? Your Sammy's progeny so I'm sure you've heard all about me hmm? I'm sure you think you've got me all figured out....well? Answer me"

Bright knew when it was his turn to talk.

But he took a moment to look her in the eye

Just to get used to the feeling.

Then he began.

"You know....maybe everything that everyone says about you is right

Mabye you are just a selfish b*tch that couldn't have what she wanted so she decided to take it

By force.

But if all that is true....then....then why dosnt everyone treat Freddy the way they treat you?"

Bright looked down as he said this, as if it actively hurt to say while looking her in the eyes.

Alexis was confused upon hearing this.......then she understood.

Once she did, she loosened her grip on him and backed away, allowing him to get up from the piano.

She studied his face for a moment then her expression hardened.

"Listen to me kid. I did what I did to Sam because I wanted him. It's up to you to decide wether or not the way I get treated around here as a result of that is fair.

But what Freddy did to you wasn't out of malice or selfishness.

It was out of fear.

Because you where, and now will always be, a couple of scared kids who had no idea what they where doing"

Bright couldn't tell if this was supposed to be words of comfort or torment.

Either way he didn't agree with her.

So ge continued to scowl at her.

"I do think the way you're treated is fair. What isn't fair is that if turning without consent is supposed to be this big taboo then why isn't Fred treated the same way you are!?.....what's with the double standard huh?"

Alexis looked bored and fed up with whatever this conversation was.

She had said her piece.

So she left.

Bright was alone in the dusty, dark music room.

He went over to the white sheets and whipped them off, each revealing a new instrument.

One of them was a slightly piano.

It was white as opposed to the burgundy one alexis seemed to obess over.

He smiled softly, then went back over to the piano stool to pick it up.

He dragged it over to the slightly larger white piano and once he was sat down he began to play.

The sound reverberated through the Manor just as it did before.

Exept the music was less harsh and more melancholy and oddly comforting.

Alexis heard it.

Her face sofend for a moment.

Then she shook it off.

Taggs: @darlin-collins @anexistingexistence @you-think-i-care-mate

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

Whumpril 2023 - Day 24

Let's just see what Mariano was so convinced he should've been strong enough to stand up against, and why, perhaps, his prison psych said what he said about trauma and forgiveness.

TWs: Abuse of power, threats of death, discussion of mass murder, burning, knives

Secrets | Under Duress | “What have you done?”

"What did you say to me, Ortiz?" Luis leaned in close. Dark eyes bored into Mariano's as he backed him into a wall of their briefing room. Their noses were almost touching.

Mariano swallowed hard, breaths coming out in trembling, silent huffs. His expression didn't waver. He could smell the cigarette that Luis had just been smoking.

"Answer me." Luis didn't growl, exactly. Luis never growled. He didn't lose control, or yell. He purred. "What did you say to me?"

"I said..." Mariano started. His back was flat up against the wall. "I said that we can't do that to those people. They're civilians. We shouldn't kill them. Or destroy their homes." Luis' eyes hardened. "They haven't done anything wrong."

"Do you think you're smart enough to know what the right thing to do here is, Ortiz?" Luis asked, tilting his head just so. "I didn't know I had a prodigy on my team. Only eighteen, not even attending bigwig strategy meetings with me, and you know better than my boss."

"I--I just remember that, in training..."

Mariano was cut off by Luis' favorite knife slamming into the drywall, hardly a millimeter from his throat. It lit up with the same burning magic that they all used. Mariano felt his skin starting to crawl and sear. He didn't know his heart could beat this fast.

"Does your basic training trump your leader's current orders?" Luis asked. "Do my words not matter if some nobody from basic who doesn't even remember you told you otherwise?"

Mariano opened his mouth to answer, only for Luis to pull his knife from the wall. He brought it to Mariano's face, the horrible tip pressing to his cheek. "Shh." Luis said, cutting him off as Mariano tried to cringe away.

His other hand snapped up to Mariano's forehead, bracing him against the wall and holding him still. "That was a rhetorical question, Marito." Luis slowly dragged the tip of his knife down. It traced over the curve of Mariano's jaw, leaving a searing cut that had already stopped bleeding.

The smell of burning flesh filled the room, as Luis continued the line along the underside of Mariano's chin. "I could slice you open here and now. Nose to toe." Luis said, one thumb stroking Mariano's temple as he trembled against the wall. "I could take you to the training room and keep you there for a week. I could take out my gun and shoot you. None of them would stop me." Luis said, tilting his head backwards to motion to the rest of the team.

Dimitri, Manuel, Laredo, and Izan were still seated around the table. None of them looked particularly concerned. No one was even looking at them.

"I could do any of that." Luis pulled his knife away and released his magic. "Or you could shut up and do what I tell you to do. Do you understand?"

Mariano had to try twice before he could make his voice work again. "I understand." His knees shook. If he tried to take a step, he'd wind up on the floor.

Luis grabbed his chin, bruising fingers giving Mariano's head a fond little shake. "Good." He patted Mariano's shoulder and sheathed his knife before turning and starting to leave. "Let Manuel look you over, then go gear up. We leave in an hour."

Manuel stood once the others had filtered out, guiding Mariano to slowly sit down on the floor before he went to get the first aid kit. Smooth fingertips touched his face when he crouched back down, not commenting on how Mariano flinched away. "He...he can't kill us." Manuel said. He never met Mariano's eyes. "It would be hard to cover that up. There's...a lot that he would have to do."

Mariano didn't believe him. There were plenty of ways to kill someone during a firefight. If no one spoke up about the circumstances, it would be unbelievably easy for Luis to just shoot Mariano and ship him home to his parents with a sad story about how he just couldn't save him.

"Yes." Mariano said, voice steady despite how he trembled under Manuel's gentle swipes of disinfectant-soaked gauze. "He can't kill us."

[herzgeist-writes]

14) It Takes Two To Tango

Pairing: Law x fem!reader | Word count: 3.6k | Warnings: Cussing, suggestive content, minimal use of alcohol, TW abuse

Dividers by cafekitsune

With painstaking effort you try to keep up with your Captain who pulls you to the dancefloor downstairs. The current song is coming to an end and the dancers build up to a showdown. The people surrounding the open area cheer and clap their hands as the music stops, at the exact moment you two merge with the crowd. Law's expression is exceptionally determined and his gaze switches back and forth between the band and the dancefloor.

„Captain, you're not falling for this stranger's mockery are you?" - „Don't be ridiculous, (Y/n)-ya.", in a short and snappy reply he still holds out for the band's coming up number and slings an arm around your waist. Where is the point in this? Too many questions pop up in your mind and yet here you are, in the arms of your Captain, him intending to dance with you?

The masses around you whisper and become restless, waiting for the next act, as a small man enters the stage, calling out a proud greeting into the hall: „Señoras y señores, I am pleased to welcome you to Golden Barrel! The night only has begun and I say with great honor, we have special guest tonight." Chills run down your back as you see who is announcing the coming events. It's no other than the gangster, who has you on target since that charming first meeting you shared with him.

Your face grows pale, unfortunately your Captain notices your backlash and leans down at you: „You know this man?" - „Y-yes. He has an eye on me since I entered this place. I have a very bad feeling about him." Law furrows his brows by your statement and looks up to the man on stage again. Asking you carefully if you had met him and if he done something that left you freezing up, you nod subtly and explain lowly: „If it weren't for Roronoa, he would have taken me away to god knows where..."

It doesn't take all too long for Law to fully understand, why you decided to stick with Zoro. He saw you dance with the swordsman, when he leaned against the upper floor's railing. Just the thought of him inching in closer to you makes him want to tear this place into a million pieces and shoot them at the pirate hunter without remorse. But nonetheless, he kept you safe from the more concerning threat, which stands right up there on stage.

This man is obviously the owner of this establishment. Talking all big, wearing flashy and fancy clothes. No doubt. Could there be a possibilty that he is the source of information Law seeks? A man of his calibre looks like he can afford to sell information without getting killed, given the fact that he owns a whole bar and a team of henchmen, securing his gateways. It's a booming business, one can tell. Then this must be Alberto „Gold-Tooth" also known as „the rat". That's the man the surgeon of death wants.

„Please welcome Señor Hernandez, god of violins!", after the big announcement, the piano rumbles and rises up a dramatic melody through the hall and a violin joins in shortly after, inviting the crowd over to dance. „(Y/n)-ya, do you know how to Tango?" - „Tango?! I- kind of...I-", the Captain takes you along with him, holding your hand and turning to the open space.

„Just remember the things I told you on our way here.", he hums next to you, making you feel things you wish you wouldn't right now. In hopes, Law tries to gain the attention of the mobster, so he can have a word with him, after all this nuisance.

Swinging you onto the dancefloor a few meters away from him, you turn to face him and he holds his hand out to you, beckoning you to join this dance. The band begins to fully embrace the song's harmony and fervent beat. As you put your hand in his with hesitance, he instantly pulls you closer to him with a strong tug, so your bodies press against eachother. Taking long steps, he pushes against you. You mirror his moves just as dramatically and go backwards.

As he dips you he supports your back gently and you let yourself fall, trusting he holds you in place. Oh and how he held you. While you lean your head back into the dip, your diamond cut out cleavage gets exposed before Law's misty eyes.

Your chest heaves up and down towards him, for him to see the delicate skin between your plump breasts. Not only his thoughts, but also his heart, start to race. It's difficult not to take in the view unfolding infront of him. Thus, his hand that held yours now glides along your arm, closer to your upper body. Letting his trembling fingers hover over your torso. This gesture earns him a soft moan coming from your agape lips.

This incinerates something inside the surgeon, lifting you up to face him again. Steel orbs stare into your soul and you feel yourself shrink away from his intimidation. To your surprise, his digits grab onto the back of your thigh, and now he is the one leaning slightly backwards, letting you flow like a wave into his frame. Faces only inches away. Your leg slides up along his, as Law's fingers still hold onto your muscle.

The doctor can't help but smirk at you, seeing you following his lead: „Look at you giving in to me." - „I'm just obeying my Captain's orders." The both of you give eachother a knowing simper, with a glint of temptation and lust in your eyes. He tears you out of trance once more by straightening the stances back to your original position.

Treading sideways, you two look at the same direction your headed, your heels stepping loudly onto the wooden floor. To the rhythm of the ardent music, you come to a stop, turn your heads at eachother and he gives you a full spin in place. Feeling yourself getting excited and riled up, you let go of your inner restraints and enjoy this feverish dance.

One foot after the other you step in place elegantly, swaying your hips subtly to the beat of your shoes. Law takes back to observe your every move, seemingly savouring every curve, which crashes like a wave, and all just for him. The world around you is practically standing still. Nothing intrudes you and the Captain, this moment engulfing you entirely.

Next, your lead pushes you away, beginning a daunting stare off with you. He encircles you like a predator, looking you up and down with starving eyes. You stay on the spot, but still you find a way to glide along with the rhythm, dancing by yourself. Gracefully you let your hands explore your own body, giving of an alluring aura. Law curses under his breath, thinking: „Fuck, she's enjoying herself way too much."

With long strides he walks over to you theatrically and presses himself against you from behind. You feel the utmost care in his touches on your waist. This man casts a spell on you as he mirrors your steps, grinding along with your shaking hips. Every breath he takes you feel on your back, his chest expansion gracing onto you in his hastened air intake.

„So, do you prefer the swordsman or the doctor, Wolf?", he mumbles against your ear, tantalisingly close with his lips to your lobe. It would only take an inch until he could envelop it, letting his soft skin caress one of your most tender spots. If only he would, leaving you breathless. You lean into him, soaking in the deep vibration he sends off. Again, your hand rises up, but this time it's his head you hold on to. Nothing but pure bliss fills your heart, gliding through his raven hair. Déja-vu?

Is this even happening? It really is. Chuckling in delight after hearing his voice asking you in curiousity, you wriggle yourself out of his embrace and spin dramatically to face him, shooting your hand at him, acting as a dance move to hit him. He immediatly copies you and your palms slam onto eachother with a loud slap. Now two predators encircle one another, hand in hand. You stare into his eyes, so does he into yours.

„Why does that matter to you, doctor?" - „You have peaked my interest, remember?", you muse as he shoots the next question at you with a cocky sneer. Oh, so he can recall the teasing fight at the inn in Antra Town. It warms your heart to know he plays that kind of card against you. Fluttering your eyes at him you pull yours and his arm down and inch terribly close to his face: „What if I told you it has to be you, Snow Leopard?"

A shock wave curses through the Captain's veins by hearing those words coming from you. Uncontrollably, his hands shoot to your sides and he spins the both of you over the dancefloor, knocking the air out of your lungs.

Law realises he is trapped. Trapped in the deep pit of feelings towards you. It's unnerving, but he can't hide it from himself anymore. This admittedly pulls on his heartstrings, seeing you like this. How you keep yourself, you worrying for him, your kindness, sweetness. Your god damn appeal. Nonetheless, he still has a goal to accomplish, and he'd rather die than bring you along, possibly loosing you to the dangers ahead.

For now, it's enough to have you as a part of missions like these, though this one wasn't intented with you coming along in the first place. But it surprised him rather positively tonight, even if the thought of amputating your head off your body has crossed his mind. This dance enlightens him immensly, opening his eyes, letting him come to a point where he wished he'd never be, until now.

The music comes to a climatic finale, thus the Captain mumbles a low: „Jump!" So you do. Jumping into his embrace he twirls you a few times in the air, one arm hooked under the crook of your knee, giving you the appearance of levitating like an ethereal creature.

To the piano's and violin's abrupt stop, Law takes you along with him to the ground, making you both kneel infront of eachother as a finishing pose. Cupping your cheek with his inked hand, you do the same to him, your tiny palm pressed against his stern face. As the music fades out, the crowd grows silent around you. You only hear your Captain's strained breathing and your exhausted huffs.

Cheers and claps fill the hall and echo through all the corners. Zoro stands at the upper floor railing. He watched you dance since the beginning. A wry grin spreading over his face: „Interesting."

Clearing his throat, Law gets up on his feet and reaches out to you, offering you to help you get back on yours. The atmosphere changes as he discovers Alberto closely observing the both of you in the distance. That's right, take a good look, rat.

„Let's get going, (Y/n)-ya." - „Right behind you, Captain.", he motions you to follow him and you do as told. Tired you let out a sigh and stretch those sore muscles of yours. You can't help but chuckle softly and ponder inwardly: „Since when can he dance like that?"

The doctor on the other hand seems to be back on track again, seemingly unfazed by the show you two just delivered. But what seems on the outside, isn't what's taking place on the inside. Planning the next step to meet the mafioso, he counts the odds and lays all the cards on the table in his mind. All that while also dreaming about the dance that just took place, slightly disturbing his train of thought.

Making your way to the upper floors again, Law lets you go first, mumbling a low „After you". It makes you smile, seeing him all focused and composed. Softly you coo back at him over your shoulder: „Since when is a leader behind his subordinate?" - „A good leader always has his team's back." This gave you a warm and fuzzy feeling all over, remembering the time back when you wore his coat in Antra.

As you two reach the end of the stairs, you bring yourself to ask him a cheeky question, bumping into him: „Talking about having someone's back. That woman who pressed herself oh so snuggly against you, was she your personal waitress?" He can't bring himself to roll his eyes to that question and only musters a snort of amusement at you. „Why does that matter to you, Wolf?"

Always with the backfiring, he keeps you on your toes. Sighing softly you tell him in all honesty, that he tickles your fancy. Oh how he loved hearing that coming from your sweet voice, trembling a little in uncertainty. The Captain sneers and huffs a low chuckle. As you reach the bar counter where you met this evening, the doctor leans on it casually and you take a seat on one of the stools.

Taking in your calm energy, he soaks in your bright smile. „She was pretty, but way too noisy and bratty. I prefer the more tranquil and innocent kind." - „That's more interesting anyway. Still waters run deep, am I right?", he states while glancing at you deviously and you let your thoughts slip unguardedly. As he deciphered the words you mistakenly threw at him, he only narrows at you. It's pure entertainment for him, listening to your rambling, embarrassing yourself.

But you must be careful, or else the Captain will take advantage of that. Just like this instant for example. „Are you implying you have more to hide from me? Maybe I'll have to buy you some drinks, then perhaps you get all talkative and, how did yo call it, oh so snuggly with me?", smooth as butter his deep voice fires up your heart and unmentioned lower regions. To your luck, the fact he got to you gets vacant on your bubbly face.

You splutter in disbelief, waving it off and shaking your head, not noticing how the man inches closer to you: „Psh! That's bizzare! You would never!" - „I mean, I could, we're in a bar. So..." How you hate that man. So many cards have been played against you this evening and you don't believe he's about to stop soon. Wanting to protest you suddenly hear heavy footsteps coming your way. The Captain noticed as well: „Stay calm and just play along." - „What-"

Two men the size of bears stand behind you, asking you and Law to follow them. Of course, the doctor isn't tagging along so easily and demands an explanation why his Rendez-vouz has been disturbed. He indeed called it like that to your wonder. „Gold-Tooth wishes to talk to you and your esposa, Señor." - „What is his precise request, if you don't mind me asking?"

Annoyed, one of the two henchmen snaps at your Captain, but the other stops him in his tracks: „Perdone señor, but I believe he said it's about the señora." Law doesn't like where this is going, but he knows exactly how to avert the danger and punch the information he needs out of the rat. Hopefully you play along. With a subtle nod, he asks the men to lead the way. He takes your hand and intertwines his fingers with yours, leaning in close to you: „Whatever happens, let me do the talking and always keep your eyes on me. This will be over before you know it, I promise."

Following down a dark corridor, engulfing you into blackness, you see a dimmed light at the end of the hallway. A giant heavy wooden door withholding the seemingly chambers of the mafioso. One of the huge men opens it and politely gives you entry. Stepping into the cold atmospheric room, a shiver runs down your spine. Nervous you take a look around you. All kinds of stuffed animals and renaissance pictures hang on the walls. In almost every corner stands a golden candle holder and the flames enlighten the scene with their unrhythmic flickers. The furniture is either made of genuine leather or solid wood, embellished with various flourishes.

It appears that the Captain preceived your uneasiness and squeezes your hand tighter. A feeling radiates coming from your chest, which you can't fully put a finger on what it actually is.

„Ah, mi amigo! I see you made it!", the small man gets out of his throne like oversized chair which stands on the other side of the room behind an enormous desk, greeting you with open arms. As the rat's eyes land on you, it automatically freezes your blood in place, so he continues: "And I see you brought your hermosa mujer with you. Te envidio." - "Es mi prometida, Diente de Oro". The mafioso is taken aback by his own native tongue coming from your Captain. You as well are astounded and try your hardest not to be too obvious about your amazement.

Laughing at him with a deep rumble in his voice, Alberto takes his place next to the tall doctor and pats his back: "Took me by surprise, you surprise me mi compadre. Can I offer you cigar? Perhaps wine, have a fine vintage in the house." So far so good, the gangster doesn't realise who he's offering a drink to, it makes you tremble to the core. Law shows his gratitude by nodding at the small man: "A wine will do, I stopped smoking for my fiancée, since she didn't like it. Got to give in to them once in a while." Almost choking your head lifts up to him in hyperspeed. Did he just call you fiancée? Is that what he said in that foreign language? Calm down. Be cool, you are playing a role here.

Let's just ignore the fact, that your acting skills haven't completely matured yet. The only thing you could muster is a overly sweet chuckle to his comment, as you hug his arm and squeeze yourself smoothly against him. You feel the Captain's body stiffen to your touch, like you're about to rip off his limb or of sorts. This is not what he expected, though he instructed you to play along.

Once more, Gold-Tooth rumbles while huffing on his cigar, asking for the doctor's name in all earnesty, while preparing the drink. The man next to you takes a moment, before he answers: "Travers Lawrence." Hearing him say this obviously altered version of his real name, you struggle to keep in a giggle. Cold steel orbs stare you down, nearly threatening you to stay quiet, or else. Pressing your lips together as a fine line, you mute your childish behaviour.

"Laurencio! From hombre to hombre si? Be careful with your muchacha.", Alberto's voice booms, pointing a fleeting finger at you as he hands over the tall glas of wine to Law. A thick cloud of smoke wafts against your face, for the mafioso explains to your Captain, how he observed you being with the swordsman, even going into explicit details as you were practically jumping into the green haired man's lap out of fear. Your "fiancée" lifts an eyebrow at you, giving you a tense cocky smirk: "Ah, si? Qué lástima."

This isn't supposed to turn you on, but gods does that make you swallow hard when he speaks a foreign tongue. You learned to never question his intelligence quite early, he withholds alot of surprises, which makes him even more dangerous. "Follow me, viejo", the Gold-Tooth demands your Captain as he leads him away from you.

The two men engage in a discussion that becomes increasingly heated after a while. Words like "chica" and "price" are the only things you can pick up from the conversation, the rest is unintelligible, but it doesn't take a genius to debunk this subject. Your eyes are fixated on the doctor, who's body language tells everything. This is all according to his plan. Trafalgar Law, you son of a gun, you spell in your mind as you shake your head incredulously.

The mafioso slips behind his desk and rummages in a cupboard, fishing out a yellowed old pergament scroll. "These are coordinates to Punk Hazard. Now to payment?", Alberto furrows at Law, making a beckoning gesture with his one hand. Your Captain turns to you and pushes you into the gangster's direction, whispering a "Eyes on me" after you.

Bumping into the desk you look back at the doctor in terror. His gaze softens, mellow steel orbs seemingly trying to calm you down. "There she is." - "Laurencio, am glad doing business with you, mi amigo.", the mobster gets up, leans over the table and grabs you by your chin. A malicious grin spreading over him, which disgusts you tremendously. "She will be fine addition to my collection.", the small man muses. In the corner of your eye you see Law taking the scroll, opening it to read the information on it.

Suddenly the mafioso decides to go full on rampage on you, pulling you closer to him, calling you names and praising your appearance. Trying to touch you in places you cringe away from, holding in a cry of fear, all while you see the Captain standing in the corner, rage overcoming him. A light blue hue hovers over your frame, could that mean? The rat looks up at him questioningly: "Is there anything more I can do for you, Señor Travers?"

[strokes-of-everything]

I probably need to put a trigger warning on this, I guess?

TW: Mass shootings, school shootings, Parkland.

Hey, so, remember my whole, “The FBI sucks eggs and they’re releasing the documents to prove it” spiel?

Look what got added to the Vault recently:

Proof the FBI had credible information about Nikolas Cruz being a threat to himself and others months before Parkland happened and that they did absolutely nothing about it.

Also: the fact they added these under the “Public Access Line Probe” FOIA instead of being honest about how it’s all about them totally letting Parkland happen despite receiving public tips trying to prevent the attack is really, really shitty.

In case you want to read the documents for yourself.

The US government, on the whole, is not your friend.

[cosmicwitchcourtney]

I did not sleep last night. What happened in Lewiston has me all fucked up. I cannot believe this is an hour away from me. I always thought my state was safe but if we’re honest it was only a matter of time. I marked the tags but just in case, tw gun violence, mass shooting.

I just need to say a few things real quick: First, I dated someone who was abusive and put me in the hospital. when he was on probation he lived at his dad’s who had two huge lockers of illegal firearms. my ex and I got together for a minute after the assault (that’s another story) and he made it a point to show me he knew the codes and opened to show me what was inside. it was an implied threat and I didn’t know if it was @ me or himself. I called the police and they told me I was being vindictive after he was arrested (again my dealings with the cops during this time here are another story) Second, I called the police not even a week ago because there was a man with a gun in front of my building like I do not even live in a rough area. He was gonna shoot a woman but somehow he freaked out and ran off. Anyway so I called the cops freaking out saying please get over here— the station is a whopping one whole minute if that from where I am. It took them 20 mins to even show up. So like, don’t expect help here. Lastly, two kids I went to high school were shot and killed by their land lord right after I graduated. The police went and investigated and the students begged the cops to do something but they just left. Then soon after that night their landlord murdered them over a parking spot.

SO, sorry to have to share this but like. I really cannot today. There’s just too much pain in the air, my heart hurts terribly for the families that witnessed it and were harmed, for the loved ones of them, for our country that is too busy being enraged by abortions and masks to do anything about this actual very real very fucked up problem.

I can believe the state that felt so safe is now the 8th deadliest mass shooting in the US. I am so, so scared of other people feeling empowered by this and doing the same 😥

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

Writeblr Battle Royale - Ophelia versus Lyra!

Round 3 of the event @writeblrbattleroyale put on by @your-absent-father! It's my alien elf Lyra fighting against @the-arigen's Ophelia (same Ophelia that killed Kashi)! Oddly I feel like Kashi and Ophelia actually got along better despite the circumstances 😅 (Ya'll, Lyra is getting pissed) You can read Lyra's round 1 here/Round 2 here and Ophelia's round 1 here/Round 2 here! Remember you can follow all the action here OR by following #writeblrbattleroyale ! Follow some awesome fellow writeblrs, fall in love with others OCs and then watch some of them beat the shit out of each other!

Anyway. TO THE DEATH MATCH!!

WC: 2,330 Tw: death

Round 3 Intro

Lyra watched as the fortune teller was ejected, mind snapping around the bit of information presented. Can't hurt him. Does have a weakness. Good to know. The cheers were still loud as M announced the start of the next fight, Lyra slapping her ears against the sides of her head once again in both an attempt to drown it out and also as a show of annoyance. She turned to see the new adversary, pulling an arrow and sliding it into place, but keeping it low for the moment. Ready. Not aimed.

"I would like to avoid pain for us both as much as possible," she called out, watching the new opponent to see how she would react. "I don't want to fight if I do not have to. How bad is your desire to fight me?"

"I'm not terribly enthused by the prospect," Ophelia responded, slowly. She knew that the possibility existed to do something M- things tended to have weaknesses, even if they were difficult to exploit- but an inability to physically do much meant that she wouldn't be personally able, except as a distraction. "but I also somewhat doubt the possibility that we get through painlessly. I've already died once for this insanity, it would not surprise me if it happened again."

That took Lyra by surprise. She could have sworn the rules were...well, that didn't seem to matter. Her momentary confusion ended in her shaking her head and shooting a glare at M, ears still pinned to the sides of her head.

"Aimoupon!!!" You piece of shit! Shook her head again. Focus. Win. Kill him. Or exploit whatever weakness he had to make him pay for this. "I agree," she said to her adversary, loosening her ears in order to better pay attention. "And I am sorry. Both for the death you've already suffered...and the death I hope to bring about in this round."

"'Hope' may be operative, in this case. I am quite difficult to kill." Ophelia said, beginning to plan things out in her head. The arrow was one thing, but with visible wings... there was a chance some other kind of magic was available to her opponent. That meant there might actually be a threat on the table, so she would have to separate out…

Ophelia nodded, once, and allowed the silver to take over her skin, though she maintained her human shape, for the moment. It wouldn't do to give away the whole game before it had even started.

Lyra watched for a moment. But the change was enough for her to pull her arrow up and readied it. "I have killed difficult things before. Growth to the strong, Adversary." She had the opportunity and took it, aiming for the center of the silver humanoid mass and letting her arrow fly.

Ophelia was watching carefully, but it just looked like a normal arrow. So she didn't bother to dodge. The resulting spike of pain was familiar, the arrow sticking out of her torso with sliver shoved out of the way around it, barely hanging on the the rest of her mass in places. Then, Ophelia grabbed the arrowshaft, shifting herself out of the way as she pulled it out and fixing the hole left behind.

"My apologies for the confusion; I did not mean to imply that you were weak. Simply that the number of things that can actually kill me is... limited." Having finished that statement, she finally split. One copy forward, carrying most of her mass, while a second, mostly hollow, backed off to observe. Wings usually meant flight, which meant a difficult fight at best.

Lyra did her best to backpedal, but she worried suddenly about being overwhelmed too quickly. She knew she would have problems  if she wasn't quick. Her wings snapped out, giving her a boost as she leapt into the air backwards to try and gain speed in her retreat. Her arrow had done practically nothing, and she doubted that any sort of grappling would do any better.

"Good to know," she answered, "I don't suppose a fall from very high up is one of the limited things?"

"Unfortunately not," the copy at the back responded, while the one chasing Lyra around on the ground tried to get into a position where she could actually attack. "That would just be blunt force, the same as anything else in the category. Denaturation or destruction, everything else is ultimately somewhat meaningless. It's what makes me almost curious to see how M would enforce my participation." The copy closer to Lyra shifted, hollowing itself out to launch a spear into the air and leaving behind a hollow shell to take up space. It was possible that she would need to land, which would tilt endurance in Ohpelia's favor. Eventually.

"Unless he has plans for you and wanted to use this tournament as a testing ground of sorts–

" Lyra's words were cut off as she twisted away from the spear and continued into a spiral for a moment before she felt the wall brush against her back. Placing her boots firmly against it, she pushed off hard and used the motion to help propel her higher into the air. This opponent could split and morph, then. She wondered how high the opponent could go with such an ability. It couldn't hurt to test it. "Denaturation? Destruction? I understand one of these. What is the difference between the two?"

The spear had missed, hitting the wall behind Lyra, but that didn't mean it had stopped being a threat. Allowing the rigidity to fail and the mass to pile up against the wall as it hit, Ophelia turned from a spear into a wide, thin mesh, launching herself out again as she did. There weren't any updrafts to ride in the relatively small arena, but she could still glide somewhat in the air.

"Acid and fire don't destroy anything, just change their form. Those are denaturation, instead, and they would still work to kill me. Destruction involves things like void magic or particularly poorly designed teleportation, things that annihilate or turn to energy."

Lyra did her best to keep just out of reach, not wanting to use all her energy on zipping from one spot to another. She wanted to try and draw her opponent as far up as possible, and just flat-out running from her wouldn't get the job done. It was a gamble, but one she was okay with for the moment.

"Then this will indeed be difficult." But maybe not impossible. Her first adversary hadn't been killed, only made unable to continue the fight. Perhaps she could replicate the same situation. A test, then. "Perhaps this will make an appropriate alternative!" she called out, pushing to get away from the silver mesh and clearing her throat before beginning to call upon her magic.

She reached out, made a connection with the ground her opponent was standing on, and yanked a piece out from directly under the silver one that had been speaking. The ground responded and cracked, breaking apart rapidly and creating a hole big enough to swallow her opponent.

Ophelia watched the hole for a moment, then decided that that copy wouldn't be able to get back, even if it weren't destroyed, and started speaking from the one who had launched the spear. "I wouldn't be able to tell. It depends on what's at the bottom of that hole, probably. Logic says it might be, especially because M must have some expectation that he could force, or kill, me in person."

The drifting mesh was starting to pick up speed, and pulled in its shape to fall faster. She really didn't have that many options, with her target flying around, so she had to come up with something... at least on the ground she could actually control her direction, instead of floating around and hoping.

Well that seemed to have worked for the most part. Lyra was hoping this was a controller-puppet situation...but evidently not. At least the one that fell didn't seem to be raising up or crawling out. But if copies were to be a factor, she realized she may need to go bigger than her test run. She flew down a little, to get back within a possible range. She needed to ensure her opponent would be held to a single spot long enough and not given the chance to split or change once Lyra started with magic again. "If he was the one that brought you here, the same as he brought me, wouldn't he know who and what he was bringing?"

"I've been assuming so." Ophelia responded, as the version of her closer to Lyra changed again, turning to a person after she hit the hit the ground for only a moment before shifting to two bolas flung through the air, trying to limit mobility. "It's possible not, but I consider it unlikely. Especially given that my first matchup killed me."

Lyra tucked her wings immediately and fell like a stone, her instinct telling her to duck under instead of fly over. She spun in the fall before twisting, flapping her wings back out when she was sure she had gone under the weapon and pushed forward hard in both an effort to regain her advantage and not smash into the ground. "He is cruel to bring you to this place again after death," she called out, angling up and trying to push for the skies, assuming that this arena would allow her to stay out of reach.

"It's hardly the first time that's happened." The bolas had landed, shifting together again as they did and then into a four-legged form to run after Lyra, while the Ophelia that was speaking started to run as well, trying to be unpredictable. There wasn't much she could do to actually make up the distance, and flight required more strength than she had. "It is somewhat my job to die first. It usually doesn't stick."

Lyra was taken off-guard trying to keep her eye on the one talking while remaining aware of the one chasing. This wouldn't do. She was going to get caught and lose the only advantage she believed herself to actually have. She turned her dive into a heady climb, as sharply as she could manage and higher than before. High enough that she should have been well out of reach before spinning and taking a moment to breathe.

Her opponent went up, and Ophelia watched, slowing. As high up as Lyra was, the only way to actually hit would be to find a hold on the wall. Without at least something to push off of, she was helpless to get all that far off the ground.

Lyra began to summon her magic. This last effort would either get her victory or it would be her downfall. She did what she could to concentrate while attempting to keep her opponent unaware of her building magic by continuing the conversation. "Then I am truly sorry. I understand the responsibility of being the one to die first, I simply chose to leave that responsibility behind me. And I hope that one day you will find proper rest."

"Perhaps one day... but I expect my final death to be on the front lines. I don't age, can't be permanently injured, and have some ability to fight the end of the world; how would I ever justify retirement?"

"Forgive me," Lyra called down. "I did not mean insult. I simply meant..." she searched for the right words before remembering to concentrate. "Back home, high-borns are expected to stand between death and those under them. It was our duty, I was told. I rejected the idea, but not to lay down my weapons. Instead I argued that our duty to those below is better served by seeking life as a companion instead of simply accepting the hand of death. But our people do not come back from the seas - from death - unless summoned by magic...so perhaps our worlds are different. Either way..." There. She had it. Could feel the build up of her magic. Could feel it curling around her, her connection to the earth steadily growing. "...I am still...so very sorry."

She reached forward with a scream, the center of the ground bucking and twisting before starting to sink. The hole formed began to grow, wider and wider at the fastest pace Lyra could make it, with her aim to create a hole so large it would reach to the edges of the arena and swallow her opponent, forcing her to be unable to compete in these death games.

Ophelia felt the ground moving below her, and a cursory examination of the earth around her showed the simple reality that she wouldn't be able to escape. A quick formation of a wide set of wings bought her a moment to speak, but she could see the yawning abyss waiting to take her once again. Part of her wanted to fight it, to somehow attempt a way out of this impossible situation, like so many others... but the only life under threat was her own.

"Do me a favor? Make him regret this." Without even waiting for an answer, Ophelia pulled those wings in, plummeting into the nothing below.

"I will do all that is possible!" she called out, unsure if her opponent had heard. She solidified the ground once again, pulling with all her strength to close the hole enough to give her a safe landing spot, directly over where her opponent had fallen. She landed. Knelt and placed her hand on the earth. "Geparmh, Eronh," she whispered. Travel safe, warrior.

She turned with a glare towards M before flying back to where she began and making sure the ground was steady here as well, landing and sitting. Waiting for the next. And meditating on what lessons she had of death magic. 

[none-shall-caricature-me]

If Yosano is Forced to Heal People When She Doesn't Want to, Could Fukuzawa Restrict Her Ability to Avoid Cheapening Lives Like in Her Backstory ?

(TW mentions of s**cide since it's Yosano's backstory

Spoilers for chapter 60 onwards)

Lol sorry if this is a weird confusing mess

Yosano could previously heal even small injuries without having to half - kill her patients. But after her soldier friend's death, she started half - killing people in order to heal them. In my opinion, which I justified in my Yosano analysis, this won't always prevent her comrades from turning into dispensable cannon fodder - because if idealists like Kunikida intend to sacrifice themselves (as in chapter 62 when he s**cide bombed the Hunting Dogs), or their mission mandates a death charge if necessary, or someone powerful like Mori with the soldiers forces her to heal them - even the threat of agonising pain won't stop such events. (Instead, she does this because she never wants a repeat of someone committing s**cide or despairing under suffering. Abilities reflect the soul. Through her trauma - modified soul and thus changed ability, she symbolically inflicts her soldiers' terror and pain on her comrades, and then heals them to show that their lives can improve anytime, so they should never go into despair and depression.)

In her backstory, we see that Yosano did not want to heal the injured soldier despite Mori's justifications and orders. It was only when Mori fatally shot him that Yosano did it to save his life. This makes me think - if Yosano is unwilling to heal someone, and is not manipulated into a situation where she HAS to heal them, will her healing still work on them ? If yes, then can she be made to touch someone to heal them even when she doesn't want to?

It is clear that Ranpo and Fukuzawa knew how Yosano's ability was misused. Moreover, as I speculated in the 4th paragraph of my previous analysis, Fukuzawa can control his employees' abilities - which must mean that he can sense their ability's power, stability and unique nature too . Since abilities symbolise the soul, and the soul is intensely affected by trauma, strong emotions and complexes (look at how Yosano's trauma changed her ability), this means that Fukuzawa may be able to sense his subordinates' deep - seated trauma and issues too.

So now that we have established that Yosano's current ability could still be misused and that Fukuzawa may sense her lingering trauma, the question is - if in the future there is a risk of her history repeating, could Fukuzawa restrict her ability so that it cannot be used en masse and cause mass suffering ? For example - modifying her ability so that it can only be used when SHE wants, and if there is another situation like Mori shooting the soldier to force her hand, her ability will not work, rendering it futile to force her.

DON'T DARE TO PLAGIARIZE / REPOST / REUPLOAD MY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS / THEORY.

[rainbowsky]

Lest We Forget

Religious items and Uyghur language exercises confiscated by police as “illegal” contraband.

Some of you might remember the big discussion that happened around the treatment of Uyghur minorities in China as the Xinjiang cotton controversy broke out last year (when DD was forced to break with Nike and delete all of his Nike-related posts, including the sneakers and ice cream one). 

Just a reminder, a year later, that the genocide continues.

And due to recent developments there is now more proof than ever of the atrocities being committed in this region.

CW/TW - discussion of state violence and human rights abuses against a population

Disclaimer: Everything I say about these issues is a reflection of my own personal opinions and understanding based on my own research and exploration. It is no reflection whatsoever on GG or DD’s beliefs, ideas or political positions on these matters.

For those who feel politics don't belong in the fandom, here are my thoughts on that.

Hackers who managed to access police computers and databases in Xinjiang were able to obtain a great deal of highly secretive information about the internment camps in the region. The leaked documents and photos have revealed a lot more detail on the mass incarceration, enslavement, abuse, indoctrination and sterilization of religious and ethnic minorities in the region. They also reveal a lot about the mindset and rationale of government officials involved, and show some of the policies, activities and infrastructure that shape this genocide.

Instructions and orders given to police and administrators within the system have been revealed, including a shoot to kill order for anyone trying to escape.

Photographs of inmates show a broad range of people, including elders and some youth. The youngest photographed was a girl only 15 years old.

Documents reveal some of the charges and sentences imposed upon the inmates. One man was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for growing a beard (which was treated as a sign of religious affiliation/defiance). A photo of him from the camp shows that his beard was shaved at some point during his arrest and imprisonment.

Other inmates have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for no declared cause. Many appear to have been swept up in mass-arrests, or arrested because of associations with others who are believed to practice the Muslim faith. Family members of those deemed 'a threat' are arrested and sentenced as though they are equally 'threatening'.

I won't belabor the point, here. I think the evidence speaks for itself. Here are a couple of news reports on the hacked files that do a good job of outlining the significance of the information in terms that are easy to understand.

What can be done?

While there's little that can be done by the average person, it's not 'nothing'. There are actually some things that we mere mortals can do to help the situation. I remain utterly cynical about any change ever actually happening around this, but dismay/despair isn't a good reason not to do the few things we are able to do to try to help.

Contact your political representatives at every level of government and put pressure on them to put pressure on China and on companies supporting this genocide. Push for policies and measures against imports from the region. Demand change.

Take action against companies who do business in Xinjiang, and pressure them to cut ties and divest their business from any connections with forced labor in the region. Companies like Urban Outfitters, Apple and Coca Cola have been implicated in these regions. 20% of the cotton used in garments globally comes from these regions, so even brands that claim to have cut ties shouldn't be let off the hook until they can absolutely prove their supply chains are free from the spoils of forced labor.

Inform yourself and speak up openly about what is happening in the region. Don't let the issue get swept under the carpet. Continue to shine light upon what is happening, and demand action.

If anyone has other suggestions on actions that can be taken, feel free to comment.

I welcome people's thoughts, feelings and perspectives on this topic, but remind everyone to be respectful and thoughtful in their responses. Any hate messages will be deleted and the user blocked.

[venusararara]

TW gunz

I don't think that I would exactly call it "love",

But it's dripping down my consciousness as you're slipping down my lungs.

HERE'S GATH AND STACY AND BRESKLYN

Stacy and Bresklyn look somewhat similar, and Bresklyn is a lot like what Stacy used to be like in school.

Stacy used to be very sweet before Stacy went to reform school after she was permitted to enter Valhallia, so they could teach her how to be "the perfect angel". It's basically like a boot camp to make angels act as similar as possible, and lasts about a year. It aims to train angels to behave, love other angels, and hate the depraved. Angels like Stacy who are more cynical are the main target of these schools, since they're unlikely to pass the "angelic morality assessment". Said assessment can get an angel a get out of jail pass for the schools. Sal passed this AMA test with flying colors. He was so pure before he entered Valhallia, it really ruined him haha

Reform school made Stacy bitter and tough. She's taught to protect herself on the inside and the outside from any dangers. She's a seraphim, so she's supposed to be a good role model. Stacy became so abrasive, she managed to become one of the main leaders of Valhallia. She's pretty relaxed as a ruler, but that quickly changes during her character arc.

☆☆☆☆☆

Demon weapons cause angels many injuries. That weapon is made specifically for demons, because of their anatomy. It's called a blast configurate, and can shoot out almost anything that's put in it. The tools angels use are very light and sharp, and a demon's tools will be heavy and have a lot of pushback. They build the blast configurates like that so young demons can bring more muscle mass. Angels who use demon weapons often break their arm or get thrown back, causing other injuries. Some angels, like Stacy, are very likely to be inclined to attempt usage because of their own feelings of inadequacy. Angels and omioso both share that same experience with their own strength, being so afraid of injuries and death.

Bresklyn looks so concerned because omioso and monsters are deathly afraid of weapons. They're very aware of their mortality, to the point where even the ones with B.C training will start to shake and sob when they're holding one. They are also terrified of loud sounds, like the ones blast configurates will make. They shoot out electricity and energy at a very high velocity which rips through the air.

Untraumatized demons and angels aren't afraid of weapons, since their classes in Infernum often have some weapon training. For example, most angels are skilled in fencing. By extention, they are immaculate with a handheld weapon. And, most demons are skilled in operating more advanced systems, like programming their own blasters. They have better aim than demons, if their eyes aren't bad. A demon may know how to disarm a weapon.

Gatherine tries to teach Bresklyn about blasters and long range tools, but her instincts are too severe to ignore. After she realized Stacy wasn't a threat to her relationship with Gatherine, Stacy taught her how to swordfight. Bresklyn is pretty okay at it a few months after starting, but still needs a lot of practice. She's semi comfortable with handheld weapons, and is beginning to warm up to the weapons demons usually have. Gatherine wants her to be able to stop her if she attacks her on a bender, because Bresklyn's fragility scares her.

[painprns]

Horror & Edgy Neopronouns

CW: Illegal activity. TW: Violent actions, murder, stalking, body parts, weapons, and religious themes. A lot of the content in here triggered me so be careful if you want to look at this list. (And before you ask, yes, I am fine. You learn to cope.)

Of course, I don't approve of anything in this list, and this list isn't meant to glamorize those who have mental issues or violent tendencies. I have issues with violence and mental issues. Sometimes, it just helps. If there are any words you think should be added (or removed) feel free to send in an ask.

Note: Try putting a suffix on some words, like -ful or -less. Gives you plenty more options. Also, every new beginning letter will be bolded and with a new color for reading ease.

Pronouns (including emojis, not including extras like parentheses or alternatives): 443

🖤 🕷 🦇 🗡 ⚔ 💣 🔪 🕸 ⛓ 🥀 💀 ☠ ⚰ 🚬 🪦 🔥 😈 👿 💉 ⚠ 👻 🦴 🧠 🫀 🫁 🦷 👁 👀 🪝 🔨 🪓 ⛏ 🩸 💊

abandon

abyss

accelerate

again

alive

alley(way)

anarchy

anger

apart

apocalypse

arm

arson

ash(phalt)

attic

away

awful

awry

axe

back(alley/rooms)

bait

bat

beast

beat(down)

beg

belittle

behead

bet

bite

blade

blaze

blood

body

boil

bomb

bone

boo(m)

brain

break(down)

breath(e)

brick

brittle

bug

bullet

burn

bury

buzz

cannibal(ize)

cap(ture)

car(cass)

carnivore

cat(ch)

caught

cause

chain(saw)

chaos

chase

cig(arette)

claw

clown

coffin

corvid

concern

concrete

consume

control

copy(cat)

core

corpse

corridor

cover

coward

cower

crawl

creature

creep

cremate

crimson

critter

cross

crow

crime

criminal

crumble

crunch

crush

cry

crypt(id)

curse

cut

dagger

danger

dark(ness)

daunt

dawn

daze

deflate

disease

disgust

dissect

dizzy

dead

death

decay

demon

destroy

devil

dice

die

dirt

disappear

disease

disgust

doll

done

drac(ula)

drain

dread

drown

dull

eat

ecto(plasm)

edge

edgy

eerie

elbow

empty

evil

eye

facade

face

fail(ure)

fall

fang

far

fatal

fear

fight

final

finger

fire

flame

flesh

follow

freak

fright(en)

fury

gain

gargoyle

gas(h)

gauze

gaze

ghost

ghoul

gimp

glee

gnash

god

gore

gouge

grab

grain

grasp

grate

grave(yard/stone)

grease

grim(ace)

grime

grind(er)

grip

grit

gross

grotesque

grunge

guard

grue(some)

gun

gut(teral)

hail

hammer

hand

harbor

hard

harm

hatch(et)

hate

hatred

haunt

havoc

head(stone)

heart

heat

hell

hidden

hide

high(way)

hilt

hit

hook

hollow

horror

hound

hunt

hurl

hurt

ice(pick)

ill(ness)

immolate

immortal

imp(ale)

incinerate

inflammatory

inhale

inhalation

instant

intense

irritate

jab

jail

jam

jank

jostle

joke

joy

junk

kill

kilter

knee

knife

lank

last

lather

laugh(ter)

leak

leg

lich

lim(inal)

linger

link

little

lung

lurk

macabre

maim

malicious

manslaughter

marrow

mask

mass(acre)

maze

meat

melt

mime

mince

misery

monster

morbid

moss

murder

mystery

nail

nausea/nauseous

night(mare)

noise

nowhere

necro

off

one

omen

open

over(power)

pail

pain

pale

panic

phantom

phobia

piece

pill

plead

poison

poltergeist

power

prey

puddle

purge

pyre

question

quiet

quiver

rabies

rage

rail

raid

rain

rake

rat

raw

restrain

retch

rip

road(kill)

rock

rot

run(away)

rust

saw(dust)

scare

scary

scent

scratch

scream

search

seize

sewer

shadow

shake

shiver

shock

shoot

shove(l)

shred

shriek

sick(ness)

silent

sink

sin(ister)

skin

skull

slash(er)

slay

sledge(hammer)

small

smash

smell

smoke

sob

somber

some(body)

someone

slip

spider

spirit

spike

spook

stab

stain

stalk

start(le)

steal

step

storm

strain

strange

stun

suffer

sunk

survive

sword

syringe

teeth

tense

terror

thorn

threat

tinge

tomb(stone)

torn

torture

tooth

trail(cam)

train

trigger

trip

turn

tyranny

undead

unknown

vamp(ire)

venom

vicious

villain

violent

void

wary

weak

weapon

weep

weird

wick(ed)

wicker

whir

whiz

whisper

will

wilt

wither

wound

worry

wraith

wrath

wreck

wring

wrong

wrought

yank

yell

yelp

zero

zombie