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allzelemonz · 2 years

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Dinner Mystery of Love: Rajesh Koothrappali X Male Reader

It’s been three weeks since you and Raj started dating in an official sense. Before that there were instances that seemed quite a bit like dating, but you’d never put any sort of label on it. Your hands might linger when they brush while flicking through comics at the store, you might meet when Sheldon says something odd, or you might navigate to one another to stand close in an awkward situation. It all came together three weeks ago, and you both agreed not to tell your friends right away.

However, recently, Raj had that dinner party itch. The one where he has to throw a themed night full of mystery or he’ll turn to a ball of pure whine. He’ll mope around about how no one ever wants to come to his parties and how he loves throwing parties and you’ll tell him how much you adore the parties and the little mysteries. It’s a whole thing. So, you convinced the group to enthusiastically agree when Raj invited them and to keep their complaints for later on.

In the grad midst of his planning, the apartment looking like a conspiracy theorist with a knack for color coding was let loose, he had an idea pop into his head.

“You know, this would be a perfect time to tell everyone about us.”

Your adorable boyfriend, pen still in hand, says this out of nowhere and nods along as if it’s a new hot take. The cup in your hand nearly slips at the sudden idea.

“What?”

“That could be the final clue!”

He turns back to the papers in front of him and he starts scribbling again.

“Woah, woah, woah. You want to tell them that we’re together through your dinner mystery?” You sit down next to him on the couch.

“Of course, it’s perfect!”

The bright light in his eyes makes your heart melt, but something about telling them this way is concerning. Raj’s pure enthusiasm spreads over to you as he begins to ramble about how the whole dinner can be a subtle love theme.

“As long as you rig it so Sheldon doesn’t find out first, you can do whatever you want.”

Raj launches back into his excitement, planning out every little detail for the Friday night dinner. You have to make him go to bed as he gets so caught up in how fun the night will be.

When the dinner rolls around you arrive at Raj’s to find it decked out in roses and candles. The subtle romance theme has turned into full on romance. His outfit is the most dapper thing you’ve ever seen him in, cane and top hat included. He makes it work.

His excitement spreads to Howard and Bernadette when they arrive. Penny and Amy get wrapped up in it as well. You have to elbow Sheldon to get into things, but he shows his effort with a smile. Penny brings Leonard around after you convince Raj to let them play the mystery as couples.

It’s not as elaborate as some of his other parties. Everyone stayed in the same building at least. It didn’t stop Bernadette from practically picking up and throwing Howard across the room when he got in her way of the next clue. In the end it’s Penny that finds the final envelope and reads it.

“I can't be bought, but I can be stolen with a simple brush of hands. I am shared with many, but most recently, between the two most handsome men in the room. What am I?”

“Well that’s subjective.” Sheldon whines. “You can’t put opinions in a riddle, it ruins the riddle.”

The group is quiet for a moment and you wonder if they’ll see through Raj’s wording.

“Oh,” Penny breaks the silence. “Was this all just to tell us you guys are dating?”

Raj takes your hand in his with a grin on his face. “Penny wins.” His gaze stays on you, and you find yourself almost as lost in his eyes as he is in yours.

“We already knew that.” Howard says.

“What?” Raj turns to the group.

“It was rather obvious.” Amy chimes in.

“Yeah, you guys are always staring at each other and stuff,” Penny says from the snack table, pouring a glass of wine.

“We are not.” You laugh.

“Your eyes might as well turn into hearts when he’s talking.” Howard raises his eyebrows at you.

“I think it’s sweet.” Bernadette smiles.

“Thank you.” Raj nods.

“Sheldon, I think you owe Leonard something.”

Sheldon looks at you with annoyance. “Rats.” He mutters as he gets out his wallet and hands Leonard five dollars.

Two months ago, you overheard Sheldon betting that Raj and Howard would engage in coitus before Raj got into a serious relationship, according to relevant statistics. Leonard challenged, and now it’s paying off.

#rajesh koothrappali #rajesh koothrappali x reader #rajesh koothrappali x male reader #the big bang theory #the big bang theory x reader #x reader #x male reader

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ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years

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Retrospective Review: Casino Royale (2006)

So after thinking about it, I figured that with No Time to Die coming out soon, the Craig Bond era Bond movies deserve a post per film. Casino Royale is the film that got me into Bond. I had seen some of the Brosnan films by then, but they didn't really stick to me much. Perhaps also because I was reasonably young when the Brosnan films came out. But Casino Royale came out during my teen years, where I was starting to get into more dark and gritty movies. To me, this movie and Batman Begins, are cut from the same cloth. Both rebooting characters that had gotten too campy in previous iterations, both brilliant origin stories, and both grounded in reality and gritty. Its no wonder that both version of these characters ended up being my favorite versions. Casino Royale is still easily my favorite Bond film to date.

Truthfully, to me this film is near perfection as an action-thriller. For classic Bond fans who have grown up with the franchise and want specific things like Moneypenny and Q and various gadgets, this film may not be as endearing because it very specifically goes away from being gadget heavy and doesn't give Bond a support staff other than Mathis. I think the most high tech thing in the movie was a portable defibrillator. But this film had me from the very beginning in the black and white sequence and how it showed Bond's two kills to become 007 and how it reimagined the classic opening shot of Bond shooting and the blood red soaking over the screen. I just new we were in for something special from the very beginning. What's amazing is the pacing of this film. This was the longest Bond film since OHMSS at the time. I have watched all prior Bond films and I have felt restless at times while watching them, but not when watching Casino Royale. There is constantly something happening and it keeps you engaged. Not once was I bored in the movie.

The action in the film is absolutely high class. I think its the best Bond action that I have seen. The most classic scene of course is the incredible Parkour chase. Its incredibly exhilarating and major kudos to the guy who did the stunts for the bomb maker. You also get a real understanding of what a brute force this Bond is. While the Bomb maker chooses to jump through the window, Bond will burst through the wall. The Bomb maker will climb construction rods, Bond will just drive a bulldozer and destroy the construction and climb up. When the bomb maker throws the gun at him, Bond just catches it and throws it right back. Little things like that give Bond a personality that is different. But this is only the first great action sequence. There is the Miami airport truck sequence that is also brilliant. You have to love the smug smile on Bond's face when the bomber accidentally blows himself up. There is the staircase fight which is brutal and visceral. Then there is final fight scene in Venice which is emotional and tragic and is the true making of Bond. In between it all, there is the Poker game which is surprisingly entertaining given it takes up quite a chunk of time. There are also some incredibly tense sequences which are laced with humor, like the Bond poisoning scene where Bond almost gets killed and then returns with a classic one liner to leave Le Chiffre dumbfounded. There is the torture scene which is hilarious because of how Bond reacts to the torture and eggs him on in a way. The film never lets up in the action and the thrills.

An enormous part of the success of the film is the casting of Mads Mikkelson as Le Chiffre. I had not known Mads from anywhere before this, but he is immediately compelling and enigmatic. More importantly, rather than just being an all powerful villain to foil, he feels like a human. The tearing blood is a great, sinister gimmick, but you feel like he is on the edge when he loses money in the stock market due to Bond. You feel his desperation in some of the Poker scenes, as well as when the african fighters find him at the hotel, and then when he is torturing Bond to find the location of the money. I am not sure whether I like him more than Bardem's Silva or not, but its telling that the best Bond movies of Craig's era have the best villains. This film put him on the map for me and I loved him as Hannibal, saw him Dr. Strange, and I want see how he does as Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts movie.

However, what elevates this film beyond any prior Bond movie is the casting of Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. She is the best Bond girl ever put to film and the romance between her and Bond is one of the most heartfelt and tragic romances that I have seen. The chemistry between the two actors/characters is electric from their very first scene in the train. The film gives them everything. There are deeply intimate scenes between the two which are not remotely sexual such as the tender shower scene where Bond comforts Vesper after the stairwell fight, many instances of witty repartee, scenes of romance, and then the bitter tragedy of her betrayal and her death. Even her death scene is picturized in a way where you really feel the connection as you can tell that Vesper can't bear to live with what she's done. The film doesn't flinch when showing her drown so it engulfs the audience in the same horror and sadness that Bond is feeling. In general, you experience the same emotions as Bond does as you can't help but fall in love with Vesper and just at the point of happily ever after, it all turns to ash. Its a phenomenal character arc and it also does a great job of establishing how Bond became so cold. Its a fantastic performance from Eva Green, and yet another instance of an actor who put herself on the map in my eyes.

And then there is the man himself. Yet another actor who I knew very little about. At that point everyone thought Craig wasn't good looking enough, not tall enough, not charismatic enough etc... to play Bond. But boy did he just blow expectations away. He is my Bond for sure because his performance is just exceptional in every way. He is built like a tank and is a force of nature, but Craig brings a tender vulnerability, perfectly suited for a young Bond. He looks dapper, is charismatic, is great in the fight scenes, and you genuinely feel he could beat the crap out of people. As I have already mentioned, there are so many touches to his performance that is unique to him. The brutality he brings in the fight scenes, the smirk at the end of the Miami scene, the heartfelt tenderness in the shower scene, the twinkly eyes humor, the rage when he is betrayed, the devastation at Vesper's death, and then the coldness that comes after that. He gets to show a full range, and he delivers every aspect with perfection.

One of the major carryovers from Brosnan era, was Jud Dench as M. And she gets a lot more to do during the Craig era. She is phenomenal as she always is. The dynamic between her and Bond is slightly more stern maternal in the Craig era compared to Brosnan and their interactions are great. Jeffrey Wright brings Felix Leiter back into the fold for the first time since License to Kill and he's a welcome presence as always. Giancarlo Giannini is also pretty great as Mathis and I'm glad he came back in QoS. Jesper Christensen has a quiet presence as Mr. White, who makes recurring appearances in the future.

I feel not enough people give Martin Cambell credit for what he has done. Twice he has launched Bonds successfully. GoldenEye was really good and Casino Royale is just outstanding. I have never paid much attention to the Bond song but the song for Casino Royale is pretty great. Again its telling that the two songs that I remember from Bond movies are from Casino Royale and Skyfall. Anyways, Casino Royale is a near perfect movie, especially for someone who is new to Bond. It really launched Bond into the modern world and got him away from the cold war era type plots. If I had to quibble about something, I would say some of the scenes in the Bahamas are a little slower and maybe 5-10 minutes can be edited down but even those scenes are great character scenes and we get a new origin of the DB5. A 9.5/10 for me.

#casino royale #martin campbell #daniel craig #eva green #mads mikkelsen #jeffrey wright #judi dench #giancarlo giannini #007 #james bond #le chiffre #vesper lynd #felix leiter #mr white #jesper christensen

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chibivesicle · 4 years

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Golden Kamuy chapters 251 and 252 - rumble in the brewhouse

These chapters show the beginning of the mess that is happening inside of and outside of the Sapporo brewery. Or as I’d like to colloquially call it Abashiri 2.0. Chapter 251 is a color cover page featuring Tsukishima and Koito. Let’s just take a second to look at this page. I personally love this cover page and as the manga has continued many of you know that I’ve warmed up to Koito since Karafuto.

Both men a surrounded by items related to them. For Tsukishima there is the bag that Edogai made, his bathhouse supplies, one of Koito’s trunks, various firearms, a grenade like the one he threw at Abashiri, a bayonet and lots of shells and military packs and bags. On Koito’s side there are his menko, umbrella from the circus, his childhood motorbike, saber, an anpan and his photos.

What I find interesting is that some of Koito’s items are from his past and are related to Tsukishima as one of his kidnappers while other items are present Koito. In contrast, all of Tsukishima’s items are from the current timeline and events in the manga, but not from his past, e.g. not hair from his fiancee.

One of the question posed on the cover is asking if ‘love’ is found on the battlefield which really gets back to Tsurumi’s epiphany about the power of love and how he uses that to create his super loyal men on the battlefield. Looking at both of them I read it as Koito looking forward to perhaps finding his own ‘love’ and purpose as he stands in a stiff and serious pose. Meanwhile, Tsukishima looks down, his eyes shaded and his hands in his coat pocket. It seems that Tsukishima may be reflecting on all of his past deeds on and off of the battlefield. This makes sense to me since Tsukishima has much more experience than Koito.

We also know that since both me disobeyed Tsurumi’s orders in regard to Tanigaki and Inkarmat, they have tied each other together in their independence from being total Tsurumi loyalists. Well enough about the cover, let’s get into the action.

The chapter starts with Sugimoto leading Asirpa and Shiraishi towards Ushiyama, Kadokura and Kirawus. Sugimoto boldly claims that they need to hurry since Kadokura and Kirawus are unreliable and useless. Burn.

Noda quickly updates us on everyone’s locations while Usami meets his match in Ushiyama.

It is clear that Hijikata’s group is now at a disadvantage as the other groups are running opposite of Jack. Sugimoto comments on Usami trying to fire a rifle at Ushiyama, and the others rush even more quickly to the location.

Usami, quickly realizes that Ushiyama is no man to be trifled with and he drops the rifle in favor of judo. The situation only becomes worse as Ushiyama has a moment of thought in the heat of conflict to ask Kadokura to confirm Usami’s identity. Good job Ushiyama!

Kadokura of course confirms he’s working for Tsurumi and at that point Tsukishima, Kikuta, Koito and Nikaido arrive. Again, Kikuta is the one in charge as he orders them to step away from Usami. Tsukishima has his rifle already drawn and Kikuta has his pair of revolvers ready. This really shows that the 27th is ready for action.

The next page has Koito taking charge, telling the others to stand down so that he can attach with his saber and prevent the chances of friendly fire hitting Usami.

I don’t think Koito is being an idiot rushing in without thinking in this instance. Instead, he’s thinking of the best course of action with the ‘safest’ option to try to help Usami without harming him. The fact that he makes his order and then gives a rational reason tells me that Koito is becoming more mature in how he thinks about things. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know that Ushiyama is no some normal guy. It is Nikaido who advises against close combat and Koito doesn’t even manage to get that close as Tsukishima tells him to dodge as he can see that Usami is about to get tossed into the air.

The next page is a repeat of Ushiyama’s ability to toss people long distances. Recall that back when Hijikata first recruited him to join his faction, he tossed a naked prostitute through the air in a similar fashion. Tsukishima’s warning is enough for Koito to show his athletic abilities and we are even given a slow motion panel of Koito looking at Usami’s face.

I think this shows that Koito and Tsukishima have reached a better level of communication between the two characters. I think if this were back before Karafuto, the timing would have been off and instead of avoiding the UFO (Usami Flying Object) Koito instead would have been taken out by Usami. But he doesn’t get hit by Usami, he’s able to dodge and they are able to quickly recover to pursue Ushiyama, who smartly jumps into the brewery to escape knowing he’s outnumbered since they have rifles and revolvers. This was a situation that could have backfired, but it worked out well as there is good cohesion between Tsukishima and Koito.

With Ushiyama’s escape, Kikuta takes charge again. The fact that Tsukishima has been working with him on and off for a long time likely means that he respects Kikuta as a strategist. We’ve seen indications that Kikuta thinks quickly on his feet and has good basic urban combat knowledge. The failing of Tsukishima, Koito and Kikuta is an inability to reign in Usami.

They saved him fro Ushiyama and ran into the brewery while he gets up on his own and with his bayonet targets his favorite tanuki, Kadokura. It is clear that Usami’s obsession with Kadokura goes completely against his current orders from Tsurumi to catch Jack. For a man who was dedicated to catching him to show his worth to Tsurumi to receive his love, it is clear his love of Kadokura overrides that. Could it be that Kadokura is Usami’s Tsurumisexuality kryptonite?

The adrenaline filled chapter continues with our dapper convict approaching the wee babe Kantarou. Hijikata’s aura is strong enough (indicated by that intense screentone action!) that Jack turns and Kantarou stands up to slow down his escape.

Kantarou is slashed by him, but by slowing him, Hijikata is able to pull up his Winchester and aim at the killer. As a result, Hijikata proves to be an accurate shot hitting him in the left shoulder and takes a few more shots before he escapes around a corner. Hijikata orders Nagakura to launch their firework. This is similar to Abashiri where an artificial light source leads to downstream effects for various players. First off, the result is confusion. Sugimoto is confused and Shiraishi wonders what is happening. Boutarou asks for clarification for the direction of the killer and Toni makes it clear that the gunfire was Hijikata’s, he suggests that they split up. The firework also shows us the location of Vasily.

He’s on a roof with his mosin-nagant ready and looking through his binoculars in search of Ogata. The next page is a dramatic zoom in on a fire watchtower. Thanks to @goldenkamuyhunting updating me on the information from @osomanga that this is a fire watchtower. I had been looking for what it was and the best guess I had come up with was an early grain elevator due to the double roof and the location near the brewery. I thought this was a decent guess since most of the agricultural development was driven by Americans in Hokkaido and the wooden grain elevator was once a hallmark of a huge portion of North America. Noda uses classic manga techniques to zoom in on Ogata’s location from Vasily’s point of view to show that he’s spotted his target.

This creates dramatic tension indicating that Ogata is potentially in trouble as he’s been spotted by Vasily and he’s instead paying attention to the action on the ground. Gasp! Ogata is in danger! Of course, I wasn’t worried since, well Ogata is a main character and Vasily isn’t exactly fighting fair for their ‘rematch’ that Ogata isn’t really even aware of.

Hijikata checks in with Kantarou, as he quickly bandages his forehead to stop the blood from running onto his face. Hijikata is proud of him and gives him words of encouragement that he isn’t the type of man to turn his back in battle. Of course he tells him to follow him and Kantarou is beaming in pride and excitement!

We don’t see enough of Kantarou, but I’m honestly proud of him here. He’s a capable gangster, and is becoming more than just a gangster. I mean his eyes are almost sparkling and the screentone behind him is sparkling. I hope Kantarou doesn’t meet an unfortunate end, he’s a solid guy.

Sugimoto, Asirpa and Shiraishi catch up to Kirawus finally who must have hung back and wasn’t noticed by the 7th. Sugimoto of course charges into the building with Asirpa following close behind as indicated on the next page. Sadly, Kirawus isn’t fast enough to get Sugimoto and Asirpa to pause and he only is able to finally tell Shiraishi that there are five soldiers in there.

Of course Shiraishi is concerned and by time he enters, he’s become separated form Sugimoto and Asirpa as he tries to find them and warns them the 7th is inside. Only after some time does Asirpa realize Shiraishi is missing. Yep, excellent leadership skills there Sugimoto. You can’t even keep your party together!

Sugimoto has his rifle ready as he thinks perhaps he’s found Shiraishi. But of course not! It is Nikaido and he’s ready to kill Sugimoto as Sugimoto aims his rifle with his eyes white with murder intent.

All in all this was an epic failure of so many levels. Shiraishi the brains of their team is lost, Asirpa blindly followed Sugimoto and now he’s up against a man who is beyond obsessed with killing him.

Tumblr started to be weird so, I’ll have to split this meta into two parts. Sometimes it can’t deal with images . . .

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #ASIRPA #Shiraishi Yoshitake #hijikata toshizo #nagakura shinpachi #kantarou #kirawus #kadokura #Usami Tokishige #ushiyama tatsuma #nikaido #warrant officer kikuta #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #ogata hyakunosuke #vasily #boutarou the pirate

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burtlederp · 4 years

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Writing Blurb 7

Based off this post. I got..... a little carried away.

TW: blood, gore, torture, death.

He'd done it. He'd actually, really, legitimately done it.

Sitting slumped and unconscious in a chair in a dark room, was Sidekick. It had been easier than Villain had anticipated. A simple drive-by, a bottle of chloroform, a rag, and boom! Sidekick was tied up in Villain's lair. Villain was ecstatic.

"I did it! I DID IT!" He giggled gleefully, watching through camera feed the sleeping kid, the villain's sole henchman sitting in the corner, scrolling through his twitter feed.

"Yes, yes you did." He praised lazily, completely uninterested. He was very aware how bad his boss was at his job. But somehow his boss had money, and was willing to fork it over, even in Henchman did nothing but show up most days.

"Henchman, ask me what I'm going to do with them! Ask me!" Villain pressed, looking at Henchman like an adoring child to their parent after they'd gone down two steps on their own for the first time. Henchman sighed, putting down his phone.

"What're you going to do with them?" He asked, not worried about hurting his boss' feelings, as he was already spinning back around to face the camera feed.

"I'm going to torture them!" Villain grinned, and Henchman had to hold back a snort.

"...What--How will you do that?" Henchman asked, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Villain? Torture? Really? The same man who had hung Henchman's daughter's drawings on the fridge? The same one who refused to touch spiders because they scared him, but didn't want Henchman to squish them because it would be mean? The same one who had accidentally stole a bag of frozen vegetables from the grocery store but later went back to pay for them because they felt bad?

"I'm going to--!" Villain started, and stopped, mouth agape, finger raised. Henchman could see the gears turning in their head. "Um. Well… Uh…"

"You… you do know how to torture someone, right?" Henchman inquired slowly. Oh for the love…

"I do!" Villain snapped. "I just… um… I have so many ideas, I don't know where to start!" Henchman let out an involuntary scoff, which made Villain frown. "I do! I'll go start! Right now!" Villain stomped out of the room, leaving Henchman alone. He rolled his desk chair across the floor to the screens displaying the camera feeds, interested to see if Villain could prove himself.

Villain entered the room where Sidekick was fastened to the chair, swinging the door open so fast it slammed into the wall. Sidekick jerked awake, and Henchman chuckled as he noticed Villain jump, startling himself with it too.

"Oh, shit…" Villain breathed to himself, pulling back the door from the black-painted wall to see a massive indent on the drywall. The landlord wasn't going to like that.

"V-villain?" A shaky voice behind him drew his attention, reminding him of what he was here to do.

"Sidekick!" Villain swept up in front of the kid, trying his best to look intimidating, feeling a small sense of satisfaction as Sidekick flinched. "Do you know where you are?"

Sidekick looked around, swallowing nervously. Their head was pounding, and soon matched time with their heartbeat. "No, no…"

"Yes! I have captured you!! I have you here in my evil lair!" Villain cackled.

"What're you going to do with me?" Sidekick's eyes were wide with fear.

"I'm going to torture you!" Villain flashed a sharp-toothed grin.

"N-no…!" Sidekick said breathlessly. "No, please!"

"Oh, well, I can hold off, if…"

"If what??"

"If you tell me where yours and Hero's secret base is!" Villain was pleased to see Sidekick trembling, white with fear. "Well? What'll it be, Sidekick?" He spat out their name like a bad word.

"I-I won't! I won't tell you!" Sidekick stuttered. Henchman was a bit impressed, snacking on trail mix. The kid was obviously terrified, but was resisting. But then again, Villain was an idiot, so it wasn't that impressive.

"Fine! Then I shall have to torture you!" Villain held up his finger, pausing. How do you torture people? He thought, maintaining his pose. His mind had gone completely blank. "Um, first! Uh, Henchman!" His voice echoed down the hall, to where Henchman sat, barely ten feet away through the walls.

"Yeah?" Henchman's voice called back.

"Bring me!" Villain paused again, mind racing. "The thagomizer!"

Henchman face palmed. You have got to be kidding me.

"...Where did you leave it?" Henchman called back, face in his hands. This was… embarrassing. The kid wasn't going to be scared of a made-up word from an obscure newspaper comic strip…

"Th-the what?" Sidekick asked, shaking. Henchman looked up, upon hearing it. You have got to be kidding me! He thought. Not only his boss, but the kid was an idiot too!

"The thagomizer!! It's--It's, uh, on my desk!" Villain lied. "And hop to it!"

"I'm going, I'm going…" Henchman grumbled, getting to his feet. Maybe he isn't stalling for time. Maybe he actually has something he's made called the thagomizer. Maybe my boss isn't actually a pussy. He thought, hoping and praying and then arriving in the office to find nothing. There were no obvious torture devices anywhere within the small room. There was a heavy bookend on a shelf. An umbrella hung on a coat rack by the door. Henchman considered bringing the chair.

"I couldn't find it." He said a moment later, poking his head into the room where both the Villain and Sidekick were.

"Y-you what? You couldn't find it?!" Villain said in fake anger. "Th-then! Bring me…. The Bells...dapper! The bellsdapper!"

"The…? Okay." Henchman muttered something under his breath, walking away.

"W-what's the bellsdapper?" Sidekick asked, almost too afraid to do so.

"Oh, well, the bellsdapper… Well, it's horrible, is what it is!" Villain began, searching for words. "It's brought men, powerful men, more powerful than Hero to their knees!"

"No!" Sidekick objected, straining against the zipties that bound their hands together.

"Yes! Oh, it's-it's-it's just awful! You can't even imagine it!"

"Boss, I couldn't find it." Henchman's voice was flat as he informed Villain, who had turned to face him.

"Oh." Villain glanced between Sidekick and Henchman. "Then, um, bring me the Spinesnapper!" Villain grinned, balling his fist and holding it in the air, evilly.

"The what?!" Sidekick's voice was shrill in terror.

"On my way…" Henchman rolled his eyes. This was getting annoying. He'd be pacing this hallway for hours at this rate, going to find increasingly ludicrous, fictitious instruments of torture.

Fortunately, it was only an hour. Unfortunately, it was because Henchman had finally lost his patience. Walking back and forth between the damn room and the office for so long had given him time to think, Sidekick too. Sidekick had, around the fourth item, started to lose a little fear, and had gotten less and less intimidated with every new word. Henchman had gotten to think of the numerous, numerous instances in which he'd been beaten, captured, made fun of, and embarrassed by his boss while working for him. He'd gotten to think of the pay that, while it was consistent, it still wasn't amounting to much. He got to think of how his wife didn't look at him with much respect anymore, his daughter either, nor his friends or his parents or anyone he knew. With every trip down that hall, Henchman's anger became hotter and hotter, until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Henchman, bring me the Ragarusse!" Villain ordered at length, and Sidekick yawned in their chair, wondering when Hero would get here to save them from the boredom. Henchman didn't walk another lap, but instead stepped into the room, hands clasped behind his back.

"Villain," He said, his voice soft and gentle. "What if I try?" He asked. Villain blinked, and laughed.

"Oh, Henchman, you're so silly! I'm the bad guy here, so I do the torturing!" He waved him off. "Now go get me the ragamuffin."

"No, I don't think I will." Henchman said quietly. Before Villain could even react, Henchman's fist collided with his cheek so hard he didn't feel himself falling, just landing on the hard floor, stars swirling in his vision.

"It's my turn." Henchman hissed.

"H-Henchman…?" Villain whimpered, raising a hand to their face, their eye already squinted. They could feel something trickling down their cheek, and could taste blood. Henchman didn't pay them any mind, turning to Sidekick, who sat in his chair, not looking so bored anymore.

"Sidekick, Villain was asking for the location of Hero's secret base." Henchman began, hands again clasped behind his back, voice soft, staring down at the kid with narrowed eyes.

"I'll n-never tell--"

"I don't care about that." Henchman cut them off. "Secret bases are not homes. They are replaceable. So I don't care about that. I want to hit harder than that." He crouched, reaching up and running a gentle hand through Sidekick's hair, who leaned away from his touch. Their heart was beginning to thump in their chest again.

"Kid," Henchman spoke so softly that it was barely above a whisper, almost like he was trying to comfort them, but it didn’t feel right. "Tell me Hero's real identity, and where he lives. Tell me about him. Is he married? Does he have any children? Does he have a dog? I want to know all about him."

Sidekick remained silent, but was slightly trembling. The air had changed. It was colder, somehow. Villain stared at him, eyes wide, glancing between Henchman and Sidekick, still lying on the floor with his hand to his cheek. What was happening?

Sidekick’s thoughts were interrupted as Henchman's knuckles slammed into their face. Their head jerked to the side, their vision swimming, feeling like their neck hadn't been too far from snapping. They let their head fall forward, dazed, aware of blood in their mouth. A rough hand took hold of their head, yanking it back so they were forced to look up into the cold, glittering eyes of Henchman.

"Sidekick," There was an edge to his voice now. "Tell me about Hero."

"No." Sidekick replied, red trickling down from their lips.

"Very well." Henchman punched them again. And again. And again. He punched them in the face, breaking their nose. He punched them in their gut, driving all the air from their chest. When they opened their mouth to try and breathe, Henchman uppercut them, slamming their mouth closed so hard they felt their teeth shatter.

"Henchman, H-Henchman--!" Sidekick heard Villain's voice distantly, their head swirling, a sharp, cold, harsh pain in their jaw but hot blood filling their mouth. They watched, head tipped forward to let the blood dribble out so they could breathe, their tooth piece softly clinking on the floor as Henchman turned to Villain.

"What?" Henchman growled, lip twitching, glaring down at Villain.

"S-stop!" Villain ordered, trying to sound brave. "I did not give you permi--" Henchman grabbed them by the face and smashed their head into the wall, making a dent much more sizeable than the one the door had made earlier. Villain sunk to the floor, where Henchman kicked them in the chest. Villain let out a pained cry, and curled up, hands raised in defense. Henchman turned back to Sidekick, who now looked up at the large man in fear.

"P-please…" Sidekick breathed.

"Sidekick." Henchman's face was a shadow from this angle, the light behind their head to make them an even more terrifying monster.

"Henchman, please, no," Sidekick felt tears burn in his eyes.

"Tell me about Hero, and I won't make you hurt anymore." Henchman cracked his knuckles, making the kid wince. They could hear the blood rushing in their ears, still feel the pain of their broken tooth, the nausea of the punch to their stomach. They were terrified. They wanted to go home. They didn't want to be punched again. But they couldn't give up Hero.

"N-no." Sidekick looked up at Villain. "No." Their voice was so small. Henchman took a gentle hold of Sidekick's jaw, tipping their face up towards them a bit more.

"How sweet. You're trying to look so brave. Shame your trembling lip gave you away." Henchman smiled. Sidekick swallowed, unable to hold back the fearful tears that slipped down their face. They whimpered as Henchman brought his own face close, his pungent breath filling Sidekick's nostrils. "I'm afraid if I keep using my hands, I'll kill you before you can be useful."

"Villain," Henchman let go of Sidekick's face, turning to the pathetic mess on the floor. Villain flinched as Henchman stepped closer, his powerful hands once again returned to their place behind his back. "I want you to bring me the thagomizer." Villain looked up at them, hands shaking.

"The-the what?" Villain gasped. Henchman smiled darkly.

"The thagomizer. Now, yes, I wasn't able to find it. But I want it. And you're going to find it for me. Right?" Henchman asked, his voice sweet.

"B-but, I made that up, it doesn't--" Villain wasn't able to finish as Henchman suddenly lifted him off the ground by the neck, pressing him against the wall so tightly that he couldn't breathe.

"I don't care if you made it up. I want it. And you're going to bring it to me, or else I'll rip the bones from your arms and use those instead." Henchman snarled, and threw Villain to the ground. Villain scrambled to their feet, gasping for air, fleeing down the hallway. "And Villain," Henchman called. "If you so much as think of getting Hero, rest assured that Sidekick won't be the only one ending up dead tonight."

Henchman turned back to Sidekick, whose breathe kept catching in their throat, a door slamming shut far away. Henchman pulled a knife from his pocket, Sidekick flinching as it flicked open.

“Please, Henchman, please, no, don’t hurt me, please!” Sidekick begged, their speech weird with the blood that kept getting in the way. Henchman just smiled, pulling out their phone.

“Y’know, my sister, when I was younger, liked to write stories. She especially liked to hurt her characters in these stories. Now, she grew up, and didn’t become a serial killer, no, she actually turned out to be a rather fine doctor. She lives in upstate New York with her wife, a high rise apartment. But she showed me this interesting part of the internet, where writers ask all sorts of strange, dark, and twisted questions like, I don’t know, ‘where can you be stabbed and not die?’” Henchman stood in front of Sidekick as he spoke, his tone as casual as if he was relating an old childhood story. “And believe it or not, there are people on the internet who answer these questions. So even though I’m not a doctor, I can find out that a really good place to stab them and not kill them, just cause them pain, is…” He tapped on something on his phone screen and smiled. “Oh, would you look at that. Lower abdominal area, below the bellybutton.” He looked Sidekick up and down. “Well, that won’t work well when you’re in the chair, so we’ll start with your arms first.”

Henchman started cutting, and Sidekick started crying. Deep gashes were inflicted on their arms, blood dribbling down and pooling on the ground at their feet as Henchman stuck the blade into their knees, prompting them to scream. Tears flowed down their face as freely as blood down their sides as Henchman cut away their clothing, not trying to be careful, and cut through to their skin as well. Sidekick struggled to rip themselves free of the zipties, but it was useless. Henchman hung over them, leaning on the back of their chair, completely blocking all paths of escape, even if they were able to work their hands free of the binds.

“This pain will stop as soon as you tell me about Hero.” Henchman murmured in Sidekick’s ear as he carved lines into their gut, prompting shrieks of agony. They were shaking, violently, every cut and every gash and every nick in their skin burning.

“I c-can’t, I… I w-won’t…” Sidekick sobbed, head thrown back, trying to stay away from Henchman’s breath.

“I think you will. Doesn’t this hurt?” Henchman took hold of Sidekick’s ear, yanking them forward. Sidekick’s whimper turned into a screech as the knife passed through the soft cartilage, and their head fell back, ear still grasped firmly in Henchman’s hand. Hot blood spilled down their neck, trickling down their back, into other open wounds. He tossed the ear aside.

“Does it hurt, Sidekick?” Henchman hissed, jabbing their thumb into a gash on their shoulder. Sidekick again shrieked. “Does it?”

“I-it does, it does!” Sidekick nodded, breath catching on every sob. “P-please, please, stop! Stop!”

“I will as soon as you tell me who Hero is,” Henchman shoved his finger deeper into Sidekick’s cut, prying into the muscle underneath. Sidekick flailed, trying to pull away, but they were trapped.

“AAAHHH!!” They wailed. “PLEASE, PLEASE, STOP!” They begged.

“Who is Hero?” Henchman, fingers still deep in the one shoulder, buried the knife’s blade into Sidekick’s other. “Who is he?!”

“AAHH! Ahh, stop! STOP! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” Sidekick screamed, cuts on his face stinging as his salty tears fell into them. “I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you… I’ll-I’ll…” Henchman’s finger was removed from the cut, and the knife taken out of their shoulder. Their large, warm hands gently cupped Sidekick’s face in their hands as they crouched before them, smearing blood across their cheeks.

“Speak.” Henchman’s voice was again soft, but the order was still there. Sidekick closed his eyes, their whole form shaking as they opened their mouth and spoke. Their heart hurt as much as their body as they told Henchman everything: Hero’s name, his address, his birthdate, his job, about his wife and his young son and the beautiful koi pond he had out front. He told Henchman about how he would come to their house after school most days and help them with their homework, how on days that they missed the bus that Hero would drive them to work or to school. How they’d go to the secret base on the other side of the city and watch movies and eat all sorts of junk food and make jokes and play videogames and spar and train together every Tuesday night. Sidekick told him everything.

“Good.” Henchman said softly as Sidekick’s voice broke, unable to draw to mind anything else, their shame finally becoming too much. Henchman’s hands patted Sidekick’s face as he straightened up. He walked from the room, but didn’t leave Sidekick alone for long, returning with a gun in hand. Sidekick’s eyes widened.

“N-no, please!” Their voice was strained, cracking mid-sentence.

“Oh hush, I’m not going to shoot you,” Henchman placed a gentle finger over their mouth as he bent down again, shoving the gun into his belt. His eyes looked the miserable kid up and down, thinking. And he smiled. He pulled out his knife again, taking hold of Sidekick’s jaw. “Open your mouth.”

Sidekick didn’t, fresh tears spilling from their eyes. Henchman’s fingers pressed down hard on either side of Sidekick’s jaw, working in-between the bone and the skull, forcing their mouth open. Their other hand dug sharp fingernails into Sidekick’s tongue, pulling it forward, beyond their lips.

“Hold still, or I’ll cut you in the back of the throat, and then you’ll die and never see Hero again,” Henchman said coldly. Sidekick stopped pulling against him at this threat, whining, eyes closed, tears dripping off their face as they felt the knife brush past their lips. Then they felt it. The knife, still warm and wet with Sidekick’s blood, piercing the soft flesh of their tongue. Sidekick flinched, but tried to hold as still as possible, pained yelps escaping as the tongue began to come away. The final cut that separated it from their body was the worst, letting their head back so fast they hit the back of the chair. Henchman sat there, eyes glinting, holding Sidekick’s tongue between his fingers as blood poured from Sidekick’s mouth.

“Very good. Let’s go see Hero now, shall we?”

It was cold outside that night. Sidekick was more acutely aware of this now, with almost no clothes left, and significantly less blood to keep them warm. Henchman shoved them into the street, catching them by the neck before they could fall. His head was turned to the sky.

“He has to be here soon.” He said quietly. “He is always so good about that timing.” Sidekick’s eyes watched the sky too. They knew Henchman had the gun drawn now. If they couldn’t keep from telling Henchman everything, the least they could do was to try and warn Hero of an incoming bullet.

They didn’t have to wait long before that familiar whistling of Hero’s flying was heard. Before they could see him, Henchman forced Sidekick onto the ground, onto their knees, and ran out of the street, disappearing into the shadows. Sidekick’s heart skipped a beat as the glow of Hero’s powers became visible in the sky. They screamed, trying to stand, but finding themselves too weak to do so without someone supporting them. Still, they tried, and suddenly, Hero was landing in front of them.

“Sidekick!” He shouted, his face white. He ran towards them, arms outstretched. There was a sudden bang! And Sidekick crumpled.

Hero screamed now, catching the kid before they could hit the pavement. He looked around wildly, pulling Sidekick in close to himself, but saw nobody else, no trace of where the bullet could have come from. Sidekick whimpered, their weak, bloodied hand reaching towards his face.

“I got you, I got you Sidekick, I got you,” Hero breathed, cradling the small body in their arms. Sidekick was sobbing, but not speaking, and Hero saw in their open mouth no tongue, just a mangled, bloody stump. His blood turned to ice, rage boiling in his stomach.

“I’m going to find who did this to you and I’ll kill them, Sidekick, I’ll kill them!” Hero hissed, and softened as Sidekick’s wide, teary eyes looked up at him, begging, pleading silently. They didn’t want to speak of death, nobody’s, when it hovered so close. Hero wanted to leap into the sky, to carry them to the hospital and make them alright, but he knew, he knew in his gut, they wouldn’t make it.

“Sidekick,” Hero’s voice caught in his throat, eyes burning with tears. “Sidekick, no, please, stay with me,” Sidekick’s eyes were growing dull, their tight grip on Hero’s arm and hand becoming weaker. “Sidekick, no, please! Please!” Hero tried to shake them, gently, keep them here, keep them awake. He couldn’t lose them. He couldn’t. Sidekick’s hand reached up, and Hero took it, pressing their hand to his cheek.

“Sidekick, please,” Hero whispered. “Stay with me,” But they couldn’t. Sidekick’s eyes closed, their cold hands going limp in Hero’s, their last broken breath slipping from their lips. The most awful, crushing loneliness fell on Hero, who buried his face into Sidekick’s bloodied, matted hair, his sobs echoing down the empty street.

---

@whumpqhs

#tw: blood #tw: torture #tw: knives #tw: death #whump #whump community #whump writing #whump prompt #wow this got dark really fast

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