Violence - Blog Posts
The Monster Bride by devilgirl4116
A Horror story I made about a girl who’s Happily Ever After was cursed from the start... pls check it out!
would you still love me if i posted nightcore leverage video edits
i’m not an edit creator usually so it’s not amazing but i really liked this idea so i gave it a shot
I wish there was a Eliot Spencer video edit put to 'I Need a Hero' by Bonnie Tyler. Please it would be epic.
The Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the people affected
NO.1
20 years ago, the U.S took action and invaded Afghanistan after the events of 9/11. No Afghan person was involved in such events, and have been victims themselves to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda prior to 9/11; for 20 long years, innocent Afghan civilians have been suffering, displaced, and killed in a war the U.S incited. Now, as reports came in two weeks ago, President Biden has finally pulled the U.S troops out of the country, the Taliban, now stronger than ever, stormed the capitol of Kabul, declaring it under Taliban rule now.
NO. 2
How was the Taliban and Al-Queda created? Who formed them? By the U.S, during the Cold War Era! The C.I.A, at the time, entered the country to fight against Russia/communism. Once the Russians left that side of the country, so too did the U.S, leaving heavily armed militants with American weapons with nothing to fight against except civilians. ‘‘The CIA gave birth to Osama Bin Laden and breastfed his organization during the 1980′s. Former British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, told the House of Commons that Al Qaeda was unquestionably a product of Western intelligence agencies. Mr. Cook explained that Al Qaeda, which literally means an abbreviation of “the database” in Arabic, was originally the computer database of the thousands of Islamist extremists, who were trained by the CIA and funded by the Saudis, in order to defeat the Russians in Afghanistan. America’s relationship with Al Qaeda has always been a love-hate affair. Depending on whether a particular Al Qaeda terrorist group in a given region furthers American interests or not, the U.S. State Department either funds or aggressively targets that terrorist group. Even as American foreign policy makers claim to oppose Muslim extremism, they knowingly foment it as a weapon of foreign policy.’’
NO. 3
‘‘Pashtana Durrani, the founder and executive director of LEARN, a nonprofit focused on education and women's rights, said she had run out of tears for her country. "I have cried so much there are no more tears left in my eyes to mourn. We have been in mourning the fall of Afghanistan for now quite some time. So I'm not feeling very well. On the contrary, I'm feeling very hopeless," she said. Durrani said she'd received text messages from boys as well as girls, who despaired that years of study were "all for nothing." She said the Taliban kept talking about girls' education, but they hadn't defined what that meant. Islamic studies are assumed, but "what about gender education? What about professional education?" she asked. "If you think about it, it makes you hopeless because there's no answer for it."
NO. 4
In fact, in the 1990’s, the Taliban had a strong hold on the country, forcing women to into arranged marriages, banning them from school, and executing those who were not wearing their full-face veils, not to mention banning women from professional careers. The Taliban supported Al-Qaeda to plan terrorist attacks on Western nations. Now that the U.S has left, ‘‘some Taliban members want to address local grievances, others wants to return to the brief period prior to 9/11 when the Taliban controlled Afghanistan in the late 90’s, and the establishment of a caliphate.’’
Mean World Syndrome
NO. 1
Mean World Syndrome is a theory the sociologist George Gerbner, creator of the Cultural Indicator’s Project, where three quarters of Americans believe in high level of crime, even though statistics show it is low. In the media, there is too much sex and violence, more so than the average person will ever see a day in their lives, and it has become repetitive, too routine, as the storytelling of violence seem ‘normal’. Since 1995, the demand for guns to ‘protect themselves’ has been at an all time high, and so is the fear, fear that everyone in the world is a suspect. But most importantly, is the image of the bad guys coming to get them. 2/3 of Americans get their information from the media, mostly the news, which creates negative stereotypes of minorities, who are seen as violent and aggressive.
NO. 2 Take for instance, Latina’s, who make up 15% in population in America, are portrayed by the media as aggressors, seen as ‘rapists and gangbangers’ or ‘murderers’. They are also the subject of illegal immigration, which all together creates dehumanizing effects. Then, there’s the vilification of Arabs and Muslims, as bloodthirsty terrorists, that are linked to violence and terror, and the subject of torture/ing of these people is ‘okay as long as it’s a good guy doing it’’. 39% of Americans actually believes that American-born Muslims are not loyal to the country’s ideals, and so not loyal to them. And finally, African-Americans are twice as likely to be seen as perpetrators. In the media, it is harmful showing black people as great middle/class, successful people, then as violent and aggressive in the next slide, as if to say some people choose that type of lifestyle, that they are simply a product of their environment. White people are five times more than likely to be criminalized by whites than black people, yet it’s not white people being shown almost everyday on the news for braking crimes.
The result of all this is the active fear in everyday Americans that makes us less likely to be compassionate, and more hardened to anyone and everyone. It also increases a high demand for national security, and believing that we have to lock these ‘criminals in cages where they belong.’
Cultivation Theory is the examination of the long term effects of television. Media cultivates a set of values, meanings, expectations, understanding, etc. which is the culture now in the modern century. Mass media replacement of community-based storytellers, it advances corporate interests (increasing profits and sales) since Americans spend a lot of time with the media. The effects are becoming more systemic and all encompassing. We need to start asking questions, like who is being represented in the media, who is the victim, and who is in the cast, and what are their fates. Who is generally casted as the good guy, and who is casted as the bad guy. We can look to the Media Database (IMDb) to see who is making the cultural object, and what is the main subject. Mean World Syndrome relates to this theory, through intersections of race, gender, ethnicity, criminal justice and the international border. We need to understand who is creating these TV shows/films, since America has such a global reach, it attracts the largest audience. Sociologists are not condemning media, but the constant repetition of ‘happy violence’—where in the film, show, or media, the good guy faces has a challenge, fights and action and explosions reoccurs, he stops the evil doer, saves the damsel, and the day is saved! It’s boring, cliché and the same story over and over again— and the various franchises and storylines springing from these corporations because it slows down progress and keeps negative stereotypes alive, some of them extremely damaging.
Jeeja Yanin in Chocolate (2008).
I am curling up with chocolate and Chocolate. Because sometimes the only cure for what ails you is watching Jeeja Yanin fuck some people’s shit up.
Martial Arts Files-Yanin “Jeeja” Vismitananda ญาณิน “จีจ้า” วิสมิตะนันทน์
Style: Muy Thai,Tae Kwon Do,Jeet Kun Do
Vismitananda was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Her mother Prasita Vismitananda and her father Pawadol Borirak is a businessman and died when his daughter was 17. She has an older brother, Nantapong “Jeed” Vismitananda. She is mainly of Thai descent with some English and Burmese ancestry.
She holds a 3rd Dan black belt in taekwondo.
She was discovered by Prachya Pinkaew in 2003.
Her film debut was the starring role in the film Chocolate (2008), and her second movie was Raging Phoenix (2008).
Filmography:
Chocolate (2008)
Raging Phoenix (2008)
Jak Ka Ran (2011)
The Kick (2011)
This Woman Does a Pretty Convincing Batman-Style Beatdown When it comes to bringing action found in popular comics, anime and video games to life, the Thousand Pounds Action Company sets a pretty high standard. They’ve done videos based off of DC Comics, Naruto Shippuden and Street Fighter and now they’re adding the Dark Knight’s latest video game to their portfolio. The young lady in the clip is Mickey Facchinello and she really makes me want to see a Batgirl kicking ass in the Batman video game universe. Folks familiar with Arkham City’s combat moveset will see a bunch of familiar moves and camera tricks. Sure, there are no costumes but, with fight choreography this good, who needs ‘em?
Holy badass, Batman! Batwoman in Arkham City anyone?
Il y a dans toute relation le risque de la perte, de l'abandon. Ce sont les blessures du lien qui s'inscrivent en nous le plus durablement. Et c'est aussi ce que nous en ferons qui ouvrira ou fermera les portes de la tendresse.
Quand est venu le temps de se séparer, de s'éloigner ou de se perdre, la tendresse, s'elle n'est pas tuée par le ressentiment, par la violence de la souffrance (sur soi ou sur l'autre) permet de garder la trace du meilleur de l'autre et de nous même.
Je crois que la tendresse est un mouvement qui nous entraîne à suivre un chemin bordé de sensations et de sentiments où se trouvent mêlés bienveillance, acceptation, abandon, mais aussi confiance, stimulation, étonnement, découverte. Pour suivre ce chemin, peut-être faut-il accepter de dépasser des peurs, de sortir des préjugés, d'affronter l'inconnu d'une rencontre.
Peut-être faudra-t-il plus simplement, plus difficilement aussi, accepter d'entrer dans le cycle de la vie. La tendresse est une naissance à soi-même qui nous fait pénétrer dans le ventre émerveillé de l'existence.
-Jacques Salomé
Sam Nordquist Is Not The Only Black Trans Person That Died This Month.
Do Only Some Black Trans Lives Matter to You?
there's no clever way of saying it. people in our community, in general, do not care about Black trans female sex workers or their lives.
117 original posts on tumblr about Sam Nordquist, multiple in the hundreds of notes, not even counting posts memorializing Lisa or Tahiry too. more needed, but comparatively a lot of coverage when you consider:
6 original posts about Tahiry Broom, a 29 year-old Black trans female sex worker that was killed five days earlier and reported on at the same time as Sam. two of those original posts are memorializing all trans people that have passed this year, and only one has more than 30 notes.
(link to more awful evidence on how ignored Tahiry's passing has been in comparison to Sam's and in general)
how can we be so cruel as to create and perpetuate a hierarchy when it comes to how worthy of care a Black trans death is? to validate the oppressive systems that ended her? this community's transmisogynoir and disregard for the lives of sex workers is sickening. and it's the exact reason her murderer called 33 Black female sex workers (including other trans women) and eventually Tahiry when he was looking to lure someone to her death. it's the exact reason this young woman died 12 days before her birthday.
Say Her Name.
Share Her Funeral Fund. (Service on 22nd)
Tell Her Story.
Donate to Help Black Trans Sex Workers, Black Trans Women's Freedom of Movement, Homeless Black Trans Women, Black Trans Rental Assistance and Gender-Affirming Care, Black Trans Activism, Identification of Missing and Murdered Trans People, and Black Trans Women's Nourishment, Freedom, and Safety.
Pay Attention by keeping up with News Outlets and Orgs that report on Black Trans Women and Sex Workers (like Blaque Out, pghlesbian, NBJC, etc.) by following their social medias and subscribing to their newsletters—
esp pghlesbian who works in tandem with Trans Doe Task Force and therefore is usually the first to report (btw, consider donating to her legal defense and blog expenses as she's too disabled to work and has been sued by transphobes)
ID BELOW
[ID: A cropped screenshot of an online article by Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. The article's title says "29 Year Old Black Trans Woman Tahiry Broom Killed in Detroit" with smaller text below it saying "February 14, 2025 by Sue". A photo below shows Tahiry, a young woman with a soft face and warm brown skin. She has a short, straight, sleek black bob. Her baby hairs are laid down. She has a filter that makes her thin eyes a grey-blue underneath her long false eyelashes. Her medium-to-wide nose turns up at the end, and her thick, glossy lips seem to be puckered for the photo. Her eyebrows are black and thinned out, and she seems to be wearing a black salon cape buttoned over her multicolored blouse. A chest tattoo of what seems to be a dark green vine peeks out from under the cape. She is beautiful. Below the photo, text reads "Tahiry 'Tokyo' Broom via family". End image description.]
No sé,pero leer esto escuchando Family Jewels de Marina no fue buena idea :,,D*llora*
I don't know, but reading this while listening to Marina's Family Jewels was not a good idea :,,D*cries*
CHAPTER 34: Pancakes and the Puppy
WELCOME BACK! Here is our first returning chapter, and boy did we set off nice and intense ya’ll. We worked so hard on this and are so pleased to bring you something fresh and improved to this blog. We hope you enjoy it, and hope you continue to stick around for the new chapters to come.
(Sorry for the long post btw. Unfortunately we can’t add multiple ‘Keep reading’s, else we would 😅 )
Thanks for being so patient all these years!
Storyboarding/drawings, flats, effects & writing- @wiggybe
Lineart, shading/lighting & writing- @self-made-madman
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Once-ler: *The next morning, Oncie decides to cheer the Warden up with a surprise breakfast activity. Pancake making! He loved it the first time, and he’s been some time since they had a chance to do it again, so maybe a bit of relationship baking will put him in a good mood and remind him how much the Once-ler loves to be with him. He walks into the Superjail kitchen with the Warden following behind him. The cooks have been informed about the Once-ler’s and Warden’s arrival and so are cleaning up their stations. After gesturing for them to hurry up and screw off, he looks into some cupboards and takes out a bowl and ingredients* Righty~ *Smiles at the Warden*
Warden: *Looks like an excited child, biting his lip and bouncing on his heels. He’s had a great day so far, even if he is a little uncomfortable at their dancing around the use of the word ‘love’ earlier.* Great! What do I get to do? *Makes grabby hands for a bowl. He’s done this on his own before-he feels confident that he can do it now.*
Once-ler: Well, do you want to make some together or do you wanna try on your own again?~ *Hands him the bowl and takes another one out.*
Warden: *Blows air through his lips* Pfft. 'Try’? I already did it once! *Takes the bowl gleefully* But just so long as we get to eat them at the end we can do it however you want~ *Prances over to one corner and takes an apron, then prances back, much like he did before going on his date with Hunter.*
Once-ler: Alright. Tell you what- why don’t we have a little race?~ First one to make 5 pancakes each wins? *Grabs an apron himself and puts it on*.
Warden: *Scoffs* No fair! You’ll totally win. *The apron ties itself around him as he returns to the stove.* But fine~ Consider it on!
Once-ler: Awesome!~ *Goes up to his own stove and grabs his bowl* Ready? GO! *Starts pouring ingredients into the bowl and mixing it into a batter. It’s obvious that he’s an expert at this. His whisking is fast and nothing is spilling over the edge. But he never stated any rules.*
Seguir leyendo
Creo que la imagen ya les doy un gran contexto de como es la relación del Once-ler y Warden que presente en el capítulo 7 Realmente es una relación de violencia y maltrato,es algo que iré tocando conforme los capítulos de "Dimensiones" avancen.
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I think the image already gives you a great context of what the relationship between Once-ler and Warden that I present in chapter 7 is like. It really is a relationship of violence and abuse, it is something that I will touch on as the chapters of “Dimensions” progress.
Uncensored on www.johnabb.com
www.instagram.com/johnnyabbate
In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings, pundits, parents and media have jumped on video game violence as a possible scapegoat. Right after his tête-à-tête with gun rights advocates, Vice President Biden convened meetings with video game industry leaders. Then there was a "Videogames Return Program" run by a group called SouthingtonSOS, based in a community neighboring Newtown. The notion: On a designated day, anyone could redeem their old copies of “Thrill Kill,” “Postal 2” and “Call of Duty” for gift vouchers for more family-oriented, non-lethal entertainment. (In the end, that program was cancelled, likely due to fears of negative publicity.) Now, even as President Obama announced Wednesday four major legislative proposals and 23 executive actions to curb gun violence, suspicion still clouds the gaming industry. Even the National Rifle Association blames violent video games for this nation's blood lust. Perhaps violent video games aren't only "not so bad," but actually help keep the real-world killings where they belong — in our imaginations, as harmless fantasies. Remember rock 'n' roll? Comic books? Heavy metal and rap music? Dungeons & Dragons? We've all been down this clichéd road before. For now, anyway, we will not see the repeat of what often happens when our well-meaning citizenry seeks to demonize the latest scourge on America's youth. So erase the image of mountains of XBox and PS3 cartridges and discs set afire by angry mothers. Still, the search for for cause and effect remains a noble pursuit. If only we could stop our troubled young men (and so often they are troubled, young and men) from being exposed to X, then we wouldn't be asking ourselves, again and again, "Why?" In the case of Newtown, gunman Adam Lanza was a gamer. But he didn't fit the profile of the typical first-person shooter fan. He liked non-violent games such as Dance Dance Revolution. Yes, a game that teaches you how to dance, not how to blow apart the chest cavities of other dancers. Amidst all the soul-searching and finger-pointing, video game industry spokespeople are quick to note that no credible study shows a direct relationship between TV, movie or video game violence, and aggression. And, as those opposed to restrictions or bans on video games frequently cite, the youth violent crime rate is at an all-time low. Paradoxically, could it be that violent video games are an important outlet for aggression? That, on the whole, these games and "play violence" let us express anger and aggression in a safe way? Perhaps violent video games aren't only "not so bad," but actually help keep the real-world killings where they belong — in our imaginations, as harmless fantasies. It may seem counter-intuitive to suggest this. But in my experience, gaming — be it video games, or live-action role-playing, or D&D, or the greatest war game of all, American football — offer relatively safe, participatory narratives where we get to play good or evil, the aggressor or the defender, the killer or the killed. We engage in the fight. Our hearts race and our blood pumps. We have an emotional stake in the action, even if that action is largely make-believe. There are bangs and bruises from foam-rubber swords, and yes, concussions from errant tackles. But for men (and some women) who need to run and hunt and hit, I'll take a broken rib or swollen ego over actual carnage on the battlefield or playground. The vast, vast majority of players don't let their violent fantasies get the better of them, or others. We have perhaps civilized ourselves more quickly than our psyches know what to do with. Not long ago in our nation's Tame-the-Wild-West mythology, any trouble with the neighboring tribe was settled with tomahawks and shotguns. Centuries prior, in other eras, we settled scores with battle axes. Our species still craves action. They offer a hunt/shoot/kill scenario as a way to solve problems because, well, our psyches seem to need these visceral, adrenaline-rich experiences. Our most violent video games are another expression, another evolution of this same phenomenon. They're simply another way to feel the fear, scare away the zombies and save the day. They offer a hunt/shoot/kill scenario as a way to solve problems because, well, our psyches seem to need these visceral, adrenaline-rich experiences. That's why they sell so well. Vision quests, ropes courses, and roller coasters offer similar thrills. But we can't very well go deer hunting or jump out of airplanes every weekend, can we? In response to the Newtown deaths, a better question to ask might be this: Why does our culture continue to fail young, vulnerable men like Lanza — men often described as "intelligent but withdrawn," who disengage from society so completely as to become mass killers? In Lanza's case, he was described as "smart but shy," a "genius" and a "Goth." A skinny kid estranged from his father. A nerd. If some of these men are hopelessly mentally ill, then we need to do all we can to prevent their access to real guns. But sane or depressed, many men feel powerless. Many feel angry. Many feel disengaged. They just want a stake in the action. Video games might be the best outlet they've got.
Ethan Gilsdorf in ‘ Why We Need Violent Video Games ‘
This article is an all-time favorite one of mine. The man makes some good points!
Four Brothers
The first movie I labelled as a “favorite” was Four Brothers with Mark Wahlberg and a very young and missed Sofia Vergara. It was extremely violent, focused on vigilante antics by underdogs, and portrayed a different part of family love. I loved it for all of these reasons, the brothers were hectic and loud but for the most part stood by each other—as with the friend saying of how you can pick up right where you left off, even after a decade. They called themselves degenerates, but really only in current US society. In past generations their take charge and gruffness would made them things; and you have to appreciate the brotherly love they gave to each other, openly, in 2005. Finally, there is the note of four siblings that when close together in age usually have a particular set of strong bonds with each other, four brothers more than four siblings or four sisters.
This movie isn’t the favorite it used to be, but for all the reasons I listed I still love it, and can still watch it from the beginning, right after just finishing it.
The Gift of Fear
Not all books can be comforting, not all books are make-believe, not all books are heart-racing suspenseful; Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear is all three. Gavin De Becker, the author, shares with us the stories of his clients who were raped by strangers, celebrities stalked by ‘regular people’, obsessed coworkers and more. He dissects them to show them, and us, where and when we should trust our gut and how it really isn’t our gut, but our logical mind setting off warning flags that society has told us to ignore.
I’m reminded of an SVU episode wherein thinking she’s just being racist, a young white girl allows a big black guy into her apartment to help her unload her groceries—she didn’t need the help, and she wasn’t being racist, there was something about him that she knew was off but told herself she should ignore it and then got raped. There are people who are racist, this book nor I ignore that, but just as women have been taught to smile, we have all been taught to be kind and understanding—even when we shouldn’t be. Sometimes it doesn’t matter much, but sometimes it means the end of our lives. He reminds us, me, of the phrase “look at someone’s actions, not at someone’s words”—he reminds us that people choose to be nice, charming—it doesn’t mean they are. He gives a list and more descriptions about Pre-Incident Indicators: methods used by those trying to get something from you that they are used to people ignoring:
Trying to make you two a team
Making you feel sympathy
Locking you down and trying to force a connection
Making a situation where you feel it’d be rude to not speak to THIS COMPLETE STRANGER
Trying to get you into your debt
Trying to make a deal with you, when really they could just leave
Refusing to hear the word no
People say this book could save your life, no. It reminds you that you already have the power to save and fight for your life, you just have to recondition yourself to listen to yourself and trust what someone is showing you. The aspects of this book being real and harrowing are obvious, the issues of comforting is how it allows us to trust ourselves again. This book isn’t just for young women, mothers, or the elderly. I’ve shared this book with managers, coworkers, friends and more. Share this book, read it’s tales and learn how you can survive. It’s awful, but as we know have work-place shootings as part of our fire safety, and the access the internet provides others with our personal details, this book is only becoming more important
Teddy Lupin: New Generation
We know nothing about Teddy Lupin (except he’s a Metamorphmagus like his Mum and is a fan of PDA). But while we know very little, he is such an important character. Another child like Harry alone in the world because of a war (and a main reason why we got the Epilogue) he represents, and reminds us of, the continuous and generational effects war, violence and inaction have on individuals, families and society. But also, the impact that we can make when we make changes to those evils in the world.
I originally chose February 19th as the day for this entry as with other entries whose birthdays aren’t available, as it is the birthday of the actor who portrayed (or in this case was cut from portraying them. So the timing for the rest of this piece, related to the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School) is somewhat a coincidence, as in the States we would always be coincidentally close to a school shooting.
The students from Stoneman Douglas High School have had enough, and regardless of age are refusing to be bystanders or that these are things outside of their control. It reminds me of the old Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference
now includes Angela Davis’ quote
to change the things I cannot accept
I didn’t expect Teddy’s post to be more than the first paragraph about how there are always unexpected tragedies of war, and how far those tragedies spread.But JK Rowling and Harry Potter taught us, reminded us that anyone can be a force for change, for a better world and with that, I am just simply loving this younger generation, I am in awe of their strength, courage and high moral standards
hope my fellow USAmericans are having a good this!
WLC 6.G: Magic Duel 3v3
L: The first rule of magic duels is don't get into magic duels. The second is to remain calm; if ya lose your s***e, ya soon won't have s***e left to lose.
The first to move is Tanglepork. Dodging an opportune swipe of Ioana's claws as she runs away, she reloads her gun. She quickly turns and fires, but her nerves betray her and the bullet barely misses the lycan's head.
Ioana's fierce gaze remains locked on her prey as she commands the air to twist around her. It becomes like a miniature tornado as she chases after the gnome.
Gudrun locks eyes with the minotaur. "Obey me," she says, her eyes alight.
L: The third rule of magic duels is to know what your opponent can do and prepare to counter it.
"Not this time, b***h," says Honeycrisp, shaking off the force trying to insert itself into his mind.
Gudrun pulls out a silver wand. "Fine."
Honeycrisp focuses and magic courses through his body, accelerating him. Sparks dance upon his horns.
L: Corollary: Know what your opponent knows ya can do and don't do it.
Ling raises a wall of ribs, splitting a third of the room away, isolating the lycan and the deputy from the rest of them. The massive ribs connecting ceiling to floor have gaps too small for most of the room's occupants. "This way, Porky," commands Ling, as she positions herself by the passage to the portal room.
J: How many wall of bones spells do there really need to be?
"Ling," whines Zingiber, "You're supposed to be fighting me." She releases a blast of glittery fire into Ling's face, but the gex licks her eyes clean.
Tanglepork takes a liking to the idea of people not seeing things and turns invisible, then attempts to sneak around Ioana to reach the bone wall. Her steps are calculated to match the rhythm of the other fighters.
Ioana sniffs about and detonates a burst of fire where she believes the gnome to be hiding, but by some gnomish trickery (possibly breakdancing), the deputy remains unharmed.
Gudrun fires a purple beam from her wand, but Honeycrisp defects it with his horn. "S***e," she says, calmly. Foreseeing the sheriff's next move, she conjures a shield in front of her.
Honeycrisp charges forward, his horns smash open the shield. While his target is unharmed by that, the hook to her face makes quite the impact, knocking free a tooth, which explodes. The shrapnel then defies physics and embed themselves in the dwarf's neck.
Ling conjures a facsimile of a dryad -a type of tree nymph- that wraps her arms around the elf. "Hey there, cutie," says the dryad with a wink.
L: Preventing your opponent from casting at all is the strongest option. A lot of magic requires somantics.
Zingiber forces an arm free. "Getting off on this, Dr. Ling?" She gestures wildly. "Then check this!"
Unfortunately for Zingiber, her spell fails for multiple reasons: Tanglepork is out of the area, Honeycrisp (bull) and the dryad (plant) don't have the targeted anatomy, and Ling, because of her experiences in Wizard School, always begins the day with protective spells like Genital Mirror Shield. Thus, the caster herself is the only affected person.
Zingiber clutches her guts as her Ovarian Explosion nearly rips apart her insides. "Mistake."
J: Who even crafted that? Why make that?
"Serves ya right," shouts Ling.
Invisible, Tanglepork sneaks up to the ribs while quietly reloading her weapon and squeezes through. Aiming back through, she takes another shot breaking her disguise. The bullet, buffeted by the wind, glances the lycan's shoulder. "Oh, come on," the deputy grumbles.
If Ioana were the beast she looked like, she'd just run up to the ribs and try to smash through, but the witch is smarter than that. The bones form a fence she can cast through and, with the wind making her a difficult target, she's free to do so. She condenses a suffocating cloud around the gnome. "You can't escape," she growls.
"Help me," demands Gudrun to Zingiber, taking a defensive step away. She locks eyes with Ling and a mental bomb causes her to recoil in pain.
J: How many counters do you have? L: One more than I think I'll need.
"Time to put you b***hes in your place," says Honeycrisp.
"Can you shut your f**king mouth for five b****y minutes!" yells Ling.
"Great idea!" Honeycrisp forms a zone of silence around himself and lunges headfirst into Gudrun, impaling her on his horns and lifting her off the ground.
L: A lot of magic requires incantations too.
Now unable to hear, the false dryad looks to Ling for instruction. Ling gestures for her to keep Zingiber in that area close to the sheriff. Ling then condenses the cloud around the deputy into a shield of water.
Zingiber punches and knees the dryad, bashing onto bark-coated flesh. Breaking free, she scrambles out of the inaudible zone.
Tanglepork peers around the shield (reloading) and focuses on that first bullet, the one that's still in the back of the lycan's skull. The tiny piece of lead becomes hotter, burning its way into the witch's brain.
Screeching with pain, Ioana draws in through the floor as much spiritual energy as she can. The sheriff cannot avoid having part of his soul drained and the dryad wilts, while Tanglepork's fidgeting about causes her to be less effected and Ling avoids it entirely by hopping onto the wall, taking note that Zingiber is casually unaffected.
Gudrun thrashes about, desperately trying to free herself from the horns. Her punches and kicks are not enough, however.
A bright light flashes the room as Honeycrisp channels electricity through his horns and Gudrun's body. He then charges at Zingiber slapping her across the room with her dwarven cohort's charred, but still living body.
L: Anything is a weapon. Everything is a weapon.
Ling takes a moment to think. Two of these witches should be dead now; why aren't they? It must be that contract. She commands the weakened dryad to grab the elf again (which she does). Ling yells, "Porky, we need to leave."
Zingiber once again forces her arms free to aim another spell and then shoves the dryad away. The sheriff collapses as his muscles detach themselves from his bones. Ling recognizes her own spell, Tendon Tearer.
As Tanglepork continues to burn a hole through Ioana's head, she yells to Ling, "How?" She takes another shot from the other side of the shield, sinking a bullet into the lycan's chest. "Eat that!"
Ioana retreats to the entrance door, as if daring her enemies to try to get through her. She stomps on the ground, causing the already misshapen cubes of the room to twist around becoming a series of crude pyramids. Now even just standing here is an issue.
Gudrun pries her body off of the sheriff's horns and pathetically crawls away. Her bleeding, burnt body struggling to cross the threshold of sound due to the floor's sudden shift.
Honeycrisp sends a message via vibration directly through the floor and wall to Ling's ear bones. While she doesn't know the exact meaning, it isn't hard to guess the intent.
J: Why would you keep saving him? L: Because it's the right thing to do. A: Meat shield.
Ling restores the sheriff's ability to move -his muscles reattaching themselves- and orders the dryad to muzzle the elf; the dryad's solution is to shove her hand into Zingiber's mouth.
Zingiber bites the hand and pulls a brown jewel out of her robe. She stabs it into the dryad's ear and detonates it. The dryad's mostly headless body dissipates.
Tanglepork pulls a glass bottle out of her pocket and lodges it into the barrel of her gun. The special bottle is launched by the force of her shot and explodes on impact with the lycan, whose whirling winds erupt into flame. "Give up already!"
Ioana quickly draws the moisture in the air (and the water shield) onto her person, suffocating the fire. Realizing her wind had burned away, she conjures a shield to deflect further gunfire.
Gudrun crawls further from the sheriff and attempts to scramble his brain, but cannot tell what effect she actually has.
Honeycrisp leaps with intent to crush the elf, but his vision is blurred and wobbly like a drunkard, and he smashes his fist centimeters away from her head. She weaves around the following blows.
Ling continues to rack her brain. She kicks off a burst of mental energy, accelerating her thoughts. Zingiber mentioned several construction-related spells and this lair is blatantly artificial, that entity needs mortals to interact with this world, and the witches seemed to have thought that sacrificing children into the portal was the point. ...Maybe they built the portal? So, having them harm it would break the contract?
"Porky, this way," she yells as she forms an arrow of light pointing to herself in front of Honeycrisp, "Pull back!" Ling hopes that the witches will follow after them.
While Honeycrisp is distracted, Zingiber sees an opportunity. The sheriff's horns are covered in her friend's blood. Reaching up and grabbing them, the elf drives the blood like knives into his skin and rips his face off.
A: I like this woman. Obviously became a demon.
"You f**king b***h!" Tanglepork's rage cannot penetrate the muted bubble the elf remains in, but her bullet can, barely grazing Zingiber's nose.
"Time to end this," says Ioana, teleporting right behind the deputy. A swipe of her claw slices open the gnome's backside.
"Help me," calls out Gudrun, putting pressure on her bleeding wounds. She tries to lock eyes with the deputy, but the gnome is too wrought with emotion.
Bleeding profusely, Honeycrisp slams his fists into the elf's guts, sparks passing through her organs with each strike.
"Can't get near the k**bhead," Ling grumbles. She calls upon the sheriff's flesh to mend itself, stealing pieces of Zingiber's hands in the process.
Zingiber dodges another swing as she rolls out of the silent bubble and does a wild swinging display spraying her own blood about into floating runes that drive themselves into the sheriff. On contact, the pieces of herself stuck in his face explode, taking his head with them.
Screaming with rage and grief, Tanglepork races toward Ling across the crooked, spiky floor and tries to shoot the blood-dancing elf. The bullet comes nowhere close.
Ioana chases after and commands pieces of the stone floor to erupt as a cage around the gnome, but the agile deputy leaps to freedom.
"Stop," demands Gudrun, but the deputy refuses.
L: But the most important rule of a magic duel is:
"We're getting the kids," yells Ling, ostensibly to Tanglepork, "And then we're getting the f**k out of here." She conjures a massive potato to block the lycan's path.
"No, you're not," yells Zingiber forming further runes. With a great forceful push, the corpse of the sheriff is launched at the doctor, who dives out of the way. The body tumbles into the corridor and explodes, collapsing the tunnel.
L: Never forget why you're fighting.
"Zingiber, you fool!" yells Ioana, but it is too late.
"The final line has been crossed," announces a booming voice, "No simple task was beneath your ability to fail. The violation of the contract has ceded all boons I have blessed upon you."
From the liquid metal in Ioana's brain and the burnt, ruptured organs in Gudrun's body, the two die with no fanfare.
"What?" Zingiber staggers forward in confusion, the blood-loss killing her slowly. "That's not fair."
Tanglepork stops running. Ling and she carefully walk toward Zingiber. "You killed my boss," says Tanglepork, out of breath.
"Whatever," says Zingiber, focusing on Ling, "Going to kill me, Ling? Plenty of ways to make me suffer. You could sta-"
"I'm talking to you," says the deputy.
"I don't want y-"
BANG
The deputy helps Zingiber paint the ceiling a delightful new shade of pink.
"Bl'ell, Porky," mutters Ling, "You didn't-"
"It's over." Tanglepork sits down.
Ling turns to the collapsed passage. "I'll get the kids..." She looks around at the bloody mess that was once three witches. "...And ya... deal with this?"
WLC 5.E: She Tangle with My Sheriff 'til I Pork
Jevoi leans on the railing, looking out on the endless sea of stars. As much as she needs that tome, her mind keeps wandering off. That demon has crawled into her mind like a weevil. Yesterday keeps playing in her mind.
"You're trickier than I thought," says Tanglepork, her gun pressed to Jevoi's back. "Hiring staff to humiliate me, didn't see that coming."
G: Ya're welcome.
"You can clearly see, I-"
"Shut up," growls the sheriff, jabbing her hostage with the gun's barrel, "Where is it?"
"With a horny sea hag," says Jevoi, "That coven's probably used it all already."
"Stop ly~ing~," sings Tanglepork, "If you don't have it, you know what ha~ppens~."
"Diablo mio," a voice rings out; it belongs to Angustias, who is slithering down the dock. "What are you doing?"
"Arresting a criminal," says the sheriff, flashing her badge, "Stay~ back~, de~mon~."
Angustias glares at the gnome. If she's going to do anything, she has to take initiative. She subtly coils her body. As fast as she can, Angustias conjures her six swords and leaps toward the gnome, swinging wildly. One sword cleaves off the gnome's gun' barrel. Another, the hand holding it. One slices open the back. Another, the belly. One stabs a knee from behind. The last, up the butt.
A: A rather unsatisfying fight, I'll admit. After that- J: She died on the spot. L: Is that so? D: That's how the mean sheriff died?
Tanglepork's screams are trapped in the unseen bubble surrounding the trio. For all Jevoi's dismissiveness and daughterly angst, she has learned some of her mother's spells. The sheriff uses her remaining hand to try to hold her organs in as she collapses to the floor.
"A lizard who's a wizard?" Angustias less asks and more blurts in confusion.
"No," says Jevoi over Tanglepork's softening sobbing, "I'm ...an eldritch... trickster?"
"Still sounds like a nerd," says Angustias, reaching down into Tanglepork and pulls an organ up, still attached to a tangling mess of the sheriff's "pork", so to speak. "Let's play a game, the first of you two that identifies each organ gets a point."
"Kidney," says Jevoi.
"Correct," says Angustias, crushing it.
"That's not fair," whimpers Tanglepork.
Angustias drops the kidney and pulls up another. "Liver," Tanglepork tries to yell.
"Yes." Angustias sets it back in. As she does, she notices Tanglepork attempting to wiggle something out of her vest pocket. The demon stabs another sword into the gnome, this time, in her shoulder. "I know your kind's tricks." Angustias tries to pull something else out of the gnome, but it's small and buried. "What's this little thing?"
"An ovary?" asks Jevoi, glancing around nervously. "You should stop before we get caught. Just kill her already."
POP-SQUISH
"Just one more," says Angustias, eyeing Jevoi with a mad fire in her eyes. "I'm finally getting why so many demons are into this." She pulls another organ up. "Besides, the gnome can't die from this."
"Please, don't crush my bladder," cries Tanglepork. She clinches her eyes and focuses on her magic. "Optica-"
Angustias punches Tanglepork in the jaw, the force cleaving the gnome's tongue off and shattering her teeth. "No spells!" She shoves the bladder back in.
Tanglepork attempts to speak, but the message is lost in the spray of blood.
Jevoi takes a step back. "I think your game's over, An-Angustias."
"Fine, it's a draw," whines Angustias, "Adios, p**a." She shoves the gnome's severed hand and gun into the open wound and flings her off the side of the ship.
Tanglepork slams into the magic sphere protecting the ship, her cracking against it, and slides down the side, leaving a bloody smear behind her.
Jevoi looks over the railing. "You really think she'll survive that?"
"Yeah," she says, "Gnome's can only die of boredom."
"That's not true," says Jevoi, turning toward Angustias, "That just how they die of age. They're still mortal. If you cut them, they still bleed."
"Oh," says the demon, now licking Tanglepork's fluids off the deck, "Eh."
Jevoi gawks at wild messy display and licks her own eyes.
A: Yes, she died immediately and we disposed of the body. J: Then we went back to Angustias' cabin. L: Yeah, here we go. J: Don't be weird, Mum. We just talked about- L: Then why ya telling me this? D: Did you ever get your book? J: Yes, after the cruise, we- L: One hook at a time. Next yarn: why I killed that old wolf. J: I suppose, you could entertain us over desert. Here comes the cake. D: Oooooooooooooooooooooo! Cake.
WLC 2.8: Violence at Last
L: Several hours of ups and downs and all arounds (mostly downs) later and we'd arrived at Hairy Scary Rock: a twenty meter tall stalagmite which stands in a massive chamber.
"That is an ugly rock, says Maraja, "Its shape is... yonic?"
"Stop gawking and keep moving," says Ling, "We can't stop here."
"Why?" asks Maraja, condensing vapor for her to drink, "What's here?"
"Stop using that spell," Ling pulls a bottle out of her little magic pouch, "Use this."
J: Always with the bottles, Mum. L: Hydration👏 is 👏 important!
"What's the harm?" Maraja continues using her spell almost spitefully. "And what's here?" she asks again, irate.
The ground begins to shake. Ling seethes, "Creatures that are drawn to changes in the air and water." The rumbling nears.
"Iss thhat a giant worm?" Kalyani readies her staff as the tremors intensify.
"Giant worm," Ling nods.
D: Giant worm!? L: Giant worm.
On command, the giant worm bursts from the ground. It's thick dark grey hide etched with purple scars. It is about twenty-four meters long and three meters wide. It's open maw spews forth purple goo which the trio scatter to dodge.
"Strewth, a purple-stuffy!" shouts Ling, "Watch it, that goop is highly basic."
D: What does basic mean? L: Usually it means it's slippery and can burn you very badly.
Maraja draws her sword and readies herself, as the beast slides along the ground. She dodges its maw as it lunges and cleaves her blade through its side. A mix of blood and goop bleeds from the writhing mass. She resists the urge to blast the slime away with water.
Kalyani dodges the worm's venomous stinger tail and fires a bolt of electricity into it. This barely phases it. "Any idea what it'ss weak to?" she asks.
"No idea," says Ling, pulling a tuning fork from her pouch, "But I got this!"
As the creature lunges at the wizard, she slaps it in the side of its face with the fork while rolling past it. The worm's jaw spasms and it begins convulsing.
L: I call that spell "Nervous Veer"; it disrupts the target's nervous system, redirecting body commands all over the place. Try to bend your arm and twist your foot instead.
Maraja runs forth and brings her blade down upon the creature's slack-jawed face. The creature brain oozes out of it's open head. The body continues to squirm about.
D: EEEWWW!
"Shhield your eyess," shouts Kalyani, as she lights the entire area it occupies in holy flames. "BURN! DIE! BEGONE!" In a blink, it's roasted. A bitter aroma fills the air.
In the calm, the trio reunite a safe distance from the corpse.
"Anyone harmed?" asks the priestess, "Do you need aid, dearss?"
"Clean as I came in."
"I'm fine, but- Gross, it's so sticky," says Maraja, using a cloth to wipe her sword clean. "Why was that thing here?"
"These are their breeding grounds," says Ling, preparing to rant.
Maraja began marching suddenly. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"F*****g right" says Ling, suddenly calm again, "We can roast your a**e later."
The Signs As Bad Boys & Girls
Aries
Independent AF, heartbreaker, doesn’t need your approval, plays with fire (both figuratively as literally), reckless/impulsive, trouble maker, loud, won’t back down from a fight.