#//Let me know if this is oko or you want me to change anything

[ryes-up]

I Won’t Bite If You Don’t || Arihi & Rye

set during the war after Arihi’s escape and after Celine’s death

Just once more. Maybe twice. It was riskier every time he snuck away from the Clan. Every time he ventured near Sapphire Bay. The risk of Freya, Ingrid or any of the Wolves catching him, the risk of the Sharks catching him, which was worse. But it felt worth it. He needed this.

He needed these trips, as misguided and selfish as they were. Pearl was the only person, the only one in all of Midsummer, who knew his mother, who loved his mother, who wasn’t also entrapped so deeply in the war. There was Freya, he knew. And he talked to her, but it wasn’t the same. There was something about talking to Pearl, to someone on the other side, that kept him sane. That reminded him they were all just trying to get through this, to reach the other side of the war. That there was an other side of the war, where distanced friends would be waiting. Where others mourned his mother as well, even without being on his side of the battlefield.

So Rye snuck out again. He made his way carefully out of Wolf Clan territory, and towards Sapphire Bay. He climbed a tree just on the edge of Shark Clan territory where he had a good vantage point, and cast a glamoured animal on the ground below him. It had the head and body of a wolf, but with the fins and tap of a shark. It was an odd looking animal that Rye had made many times over before the war, always amused when Pearl would laugh over the odd creation. Now it was something of a signal to the young Shark. Rye watched as the creature made its way into Shark Clan territory, treading a familiar path towards Pearl’s tent. Rye didn’t pay much attention to the magick anymore, not as much as he had the first few times, making sure the creature ventured only to the destined location, found to correct person, and led Pearl back to him. Now it was like second nature, feeling the magick move, even once he could no longer see it.

It felt like it took longer this time, for the wolf-shark hybrid to return, a shadowed figure in tow, though. “Took you long enough,” Rye called. He didn’t notice until he jumped down that the figure was taller than Pearl. Nor did he notice until he’d already made himself known that the figure stood further back, not running towards him the way Pearl did after she’d become familiar with the secret visits. It occurred to him belatedly that someone must have found his glamoured creature before it reached Pearl. A moment too late, the familiarness of the figure clicked, and he fell back a step.

“I—You weren’t who I was expecting,” he said carefully. He was tensed, instinctively ready to run if need be. He probably already should’ve taken off the moment he realized it wasn’t Pearl, but some part of him wanted to talk to her too. To see that she was alright. He knew she wouldn’t recognize him from their brief encounter when she’d been taken prisoner, but he wasn’t sure if Arihi would recognize him as Oberon’s brother, or even as Unseelie.

[akirameta84]

Warning: This is VERY LONG. i got carried away.

"hey don't you have a wip fic for another au?" yeah shush i have a new idea that's not as fleshed out (after writing that turned out to be a lie) as the chunibyo one but i had to share it.

its in every fandom, but Saiki K Pokemon Au time. it's always cliche but who cares its amazing.

Kaido is the mc. for sure. he chooses a froakie because the professor (its kusuke, he's totally it) said it was a dark and mysterious as him. at first he's disappointed by the frog but once it evolves he starts loving it. him and greninja wear matching outfits. he tied red wrist wraps on its arms and he wears a pink scarf.

nendo is his rival lmao. he met him when kaido left with his first pokemon and challenged him to a battle, immediatly. he said loser has to buy the other persons ramen. "but i dont even know you??" "oh. well lets be friends, runt!" "you just asked to fight me???" nendo uses an eevee because his mom gave it to him when he was young. kaido wins because nendo didnt use a single attacking move. he just used sand attack and growl. the battle lasted 10 minutes because kaido kept missing.

now with his newly self proclaimed rival, after going to eat ramen, kaido sets out on his journey. i like to imagine a region with just every pokemon cause its cool that way. kaido mainly looks for fighting type pokemon, and a few dark types, and it takes him a bit to realize that this is probably a bad strategy and that he isnt finding anything, as cool as they are. he catches a shroomish, not knowing it became a type he wanted, because he was impressed with it's "battle capabilities" because it survived an attack that had fainted others. he names it doomslayer cause he's such an edgelord.

somewhere along the way nendo finds him and says that he's going to challenge a gym, and that kaido should join him. kaido agrees because "oh yeah, thats why im on this journey" and they go to the first gym.

The first gym is ghost type, run by toritsuka. why is he first? cause he's prolly not very good at battling and he knows it. the gym itself would be very foggy, and kaido has to traverse it to get to toritsuka. along the way toritsuka has spirits tell him where kaido is, and he'll release a pokemon near there for him to battle, and this happens 2 times. Torisuka himself uses 2 pokemon, a Litwick and a Galarian Yanmask. both are female, obviously. kaido absolutely demolishes these two pokemon, with his water and grass type, seeing as they're part fire and ground. first badge complete.

surpsingly, nendo also beats this gym, mainly because eevee can use bite. guess he figured out how to use attacking moves lmao. also yes ik bite is learned at 25, and rn they're at like lv 12 but shh. he found a tm or smt. it also helps thst toritsuka could barely hit nendos eevee due to the ghost and normal type thing.

nendo tries to travel with kaido, but kaido usually manages to worm his way away from him. he usually gets away whenever nendo challenges someone else and they have to tell him that he can't catch someone else's pokemon.

second gym is chiyo's gym. she uses grass types, and her gym is covered in flowers, trees, and it looks like a forest. the puzzle itself is rather simple. the floor is covered in large flowers, and you have to step on the correct ones or get sent back to the start. i like to imagine a giant vine yeeting kaido. chiyo also forgot to write clues over which ones are correct and ends up helping kaido, and winds being endeared by his determination. chiyo uses a Fomantis and a Petilil, because she thinks they're cute. kaido actually struggles quite a bit because he brings a water type and a grsss type. he wins in the end though, because chiyo ends up lovestruck and forgets to attack. she daydreams about inviting him to run the gym with her because he's so talented in her eyes, but he leaves before she can ask, grass badge in hand.

after chiyo's gym, kaido's froakie evolves into Frogadier, and he cries. in-between gyms again, kaido catches a rockruff because it was cute and it whined when he tried to walk away after battle. again, kaido catching types he likes without even knowing, provided his rockruff evolves at nightime. he names it Decimator. at this point i place kaido's levels at 19-21 ish, and close to rockruff and shroomish evolving.

next gym is hairo's and surprise surprise, it's a fire type gym. his gym his very, very intense. he has actual jets of fire lining his gym. there's no puzzle because he believes in just battling for victory or whatever, kaido didn't catch it behind the roar of the fire jets. kaido just walks along a pathway and gets challenged to battle by 3 randoms. i like to imagine one of them is nendo, and its never discussed. he has a fire type and everything, and its just not brought up. he's back to his single eevee after this too. kaido also wins with relative ease, considering he has a water type and rock type, although he makes the mistake of sending shroomish out at some point, but makes a clutch switch after it survives a flamethrower. fire badge obtained.

right after this, his shroomish evolves into breloom and he cries again. he gets very happy when his pokemon evolve. and also, after a few random encounters, his rockruff also evolves. its day form because kaido is a clueless baby. he still loves it all the same. at some point nendo challenges kaido with a single pokemon again, but this time it's a leafeon. kaido asks how he knew to evolve it, and he just says he battled next to some funny looking rock and it changed. of course. it actually manages to oko Frogadier because kaido wasnt expecting anything other than an eevee, but his breloom deals with it easily, because nendo kept using not very effective grass moves because it worked once. how does he have 3 badges again? nobody knows. level 25-27 now.

next gym is saiko's, and he uses normal types because all the other types were "too needy for someone like him." he's got 2 Persians and a Toucannon. he tried to use 3 persians but he was told that he needed something else just in case someone brought a fighting type by his dad. so he grabbed the first wild bird he found and evolved it. saiko doesnt have a puzzle, and instead just has an elevator that you can pay 5000 Pokedollars to use, otherwise you have to take the stairs like a pleb. Kaido takes the stairs because he's keeping his money dammit. its only 3 stories until saiko's floor, so it's really not much. Kaido sweeps easily with breloom until toucannon comes out. breloom gets slaughtered by a flying type move, and he sends out lycanroc to finish it. normal badge complete.

when he next sees nendo, he has a meowth with his leafeon. kaido asks where he got it, and nendo says he found it near the rich looking gym. kaido concludes that nendo accidently stole a pokemon and they go to return it. saiko says that the plebs can have it as a reward for defeating him, and dismisses them. levels 30-33.

5th gym! mera runs this one, and there isn't a type. she has an Alcremie, Appletun, Cherubi, and a Vannilish. what can i say, girl loves her food. kaido is genuinely concerned that she is gonna eat her pokemon though. the challenge is cooking. kaido has to cook curry, and if its bad, he fights a trainer, up to 3 times. if its good he gives it to mera and moves on the next curry. the actual battle goes okay, but its fairly difficult due to not having a single type, and being unpredictable. obviously he wins in the end, and the badge is a bowl of curry.

frogadier evolves into greninja finally, and they have the matching outfits going on. nendo laughs at it. somewhere nendo also got an applin. kaido is fairly sure he took this one from mera as well, but he decides to let it go, and tell nendo how he can evolve it. he doesn't think nendo understood, but he tried. kaido also realizes he only has 3 pokemon, and decides to find two more. he finds a braixen, which he evolves into delphox. her name is Lucifer's Eternal Flames. Lucy for short. he also catches a noibat. the noibat was caught because he got lost in a cave, and the noibat was leading him out, so he decided he couldn't just leave it there. he names it the Jet Bat Wings. yes im doing that and yes its hilarious. levels 37-39.

gym 6. fighting type, and its kuboyasu. he tried to leave behind his violent days behind him, and become a poison type gym, but eventually gave in and did fighting instead. after he had already dyed his hair purple for the colorscheme. he kept the fighting gym purple because he already commited dammit. 4 pokemon, and hes got Toxicroak (yes ik the irony), Lucario, Grapploct, and Pangoro. greninja faints quickly, and so does lycanroc, but after some paralysis tricks with breloom and delphox sweeping the rest, pangoro comes in and ko's delphox. noibat pulls through in the end, with flying type moves. fighting badge earned.

next battle with nendo, and it turns out he actually evolved applin, and now he's got a flapple. kaido is midly impressed. kaido catches his 6th and final pokemon, an absol. he was overjoyed when he finally got another dark type. he names it Fluffy. yes, the dark type doesnt get an edgy name. levels 44-46, there was a longer gap in between the 6th and 7th gyms. oh also, you may be wondering about an evil team in this au. and my answer is....¯\_(ツ)_/¯

gym 7. Fairy type. Teruhashi. you knew she'd be coming eventually. and yes i saved the characters people prolly wanna know about until last haha. and because i think they fit the more difficult gyms. girl's got 5 pokemon, Mimikyu (i think it fits her fake perfect girl personality), Slyveon, Gardevoir, Florges, and Magearna. how does she have a legendary? prolly cause she's perfect and just asked for it, and someone actually found one. No puzzle here, but having to find his way through the mobs of teruhashi fans is prolly hard enough. Kaido actually has to try this gym several times due to him lacking anything good againist fairies. he gets it eventually though, and teruhashi has to reassure her fans that it's okay that she lost before they murder kaido. fairy badge down.

at this point kaido has no clue how nendo keeps getting gym badges. he has 3 pokemon, and one isn't even evolved. especially considering how easily Kaido himself can beat him. kaido I shrug it off as the plothole it usually is in pokemon games. levels 47-50. Noibat evolves into Noivern, and kaido has himself a pretty strong team. Greninja, Delphox, Absol, Lycanroc, Noivern, Breloom. although he has just been choosing based on personal preference, it turnes out nicely. and yes I'm padding this out cause y'all know what gym is next.

Gym number 8. The psychic type gym, run by Saiki and Aiura. It doesn't get more cliche than this. The challenge in this one is a maze. There's no extra trainers here, instead Kaido fights Aiura everytime he encounters her. She only uses 1 Pokemon in these battles because they happen a lot. Kaido wonders how she keeps finding him, let alone getting through the maze so easily when there's walls everywhere. He brushes it off as her just knowing the layout. battle itself happens, and it's a double battle. they each have 3 pokemon. Saiki has a ditto, espeon, and an alolan raichu (because he thought it was cute) Aiura mainly runs the support side of the team, and she's got a female meowstic, alakazam, and reuniclus, and wishes she had a cuter team, but she makes it work. This is prolly Kaido's second hardest gym. not harder than teruhashi's because he had no advantages, unlike this one where he's got several dark types. the battle is hard because they know exactly what kaido is gonna do. the minute he sends out his breloom to get a cheap paralysis, out comes ditto. the breloom ditto nearly wipes out both dark types, but noivern takes care of it, only to meet a sad demise at the hands of raichu, despite the dragon advantage. he's able to win on his second try, after he refused to send out breloom due to the fact that they just seem to know his next move. it creeped him out. Psychic badge done.

nendo tries to take saiki out for ramen with him and kaido after his gym fight, declaring him his best buddy, and it's not explained why nendo decided this. nendo eventually wins the argument and they get ramen. kaido notices saiki looks disturbed everytime he looks at nendo, but brushes it off as "yeah he disturbs me too." they part ways and onto victory road because im still mourning how there wasn't one in sword and shield. after victory road, kaido is nearing level 60 on everyone.

elite four? eheh i don't know who'd make it up. prolly 4 previous gym leaders with fully evolved teams and more pokemon. not tlo worries about them tho.

Kaido bests the elite four, and marches on to the champion.

Champion Akechi. Full team of 6 Pokemon, and he's a formidable opponent. He's able to easily predict what moves are going to be used next, and always has type advantage. Although, unlike before, while difficult to do, it is possible to do something unpredictable to trip him up, which is the only way Kaido is able to win. His team consists of Serperior, Glaceon, Gyrados, Ninetales, Togekiss (it's just there to be annoying, it can barely attack, and akechi did this to be a nuisance so he can't be clean sweeped), and Mew. Again, I love unexplained lengendaries on teams okay. To Kaido, it seems like with enough switching, he could easily defeat Akechi, but Akechi is very good at predicting. So againist Akechi, it's like the team as been catered specifically to beat Kaido. But, knowing him, it likely was. It takes him ages to beat Akechi. Like literal ages. The only saving grace is Akechi can get tripped up if Kaido is unpredictable enough. It's likely a mixture of that and para hscks that lets him win, and Kaido is champion. Nendo did try to challenge him (somehow beating the elite four) but was beaten. I love how the rivals always beat everything but then get horribly beaten by you.

Holy shit this is longer than i thought it would be. I have been writing this for literal hours. Hope you enjoyed. This is what my brain had inspiration for today apparently, instesd of the fic im working on.

Hadn't seen too much Pokemon stuff for saiki k yet, so tada. and yes, i came up with most of this while writing. the only idea i had before i started writing was the saiki and aiura gym

[angisam]

Challenge Zimtober

Day 17. Home

Day 1

Previous <—> Next

Here we go. the beginning of the future arc and the incredible experience that Dib had

Oko belong to @owosa and thanks for tranlated it <3

Dib awoke to the strident sound of an alarm. His ship's alarm to be precise.

Confused and with a racing heart, the first thing he did was fall out of bed in a mess of blankets as he desperately tried to get to his feet. When he managed to free himself, he went running to navigation to see what happened. The red lights and the sound of the alarm didn't help reduce his panic.

-"... Holy shit" It was the only thing he could express when he saw the dark mass with an aura of distortion around him. A wormhole was in front of him and his ship was being drawn straight into the center of it.

This was normally not a problem, many ships were designed to use those as shortcuts to travel between the universe. Too bad his ship wasn't one of those ships designed for hyperspace travel.

He knew there was no turning back, the hole was going to suck him in and the chances of the ship not disintegrating were particularly slim but he wasn't going to give up that easily, HA! of course not. He took the controls of the ship and tried to divert its course by turning the power of the thrusters to the maximum. He only managed to win just two seconds before the hole swallowed him completely.

...

The ship stood still, dancing through space aimlessly, slowly but surely moving away from the wormhole where it had emerged just seconds before. It had all happened too fast to even think other than that for some reason, his ship endured the journey.

Dib was too stunned to congratulate himself on a good job building the ship, so he just sat in his seat about to throw up. It was an indescribable sensation,as he got back to his senses.

We can guess that molecularly separating to rejoin was not a pleasant thing.

He sincerely thought that possibly he had some fused organ.

He approached the commands to find out where the hell he had appeared only to discover that he had run out of power. Well, all was not lost, he simply had to wait for the energy to recharge again…

Oh well, nothing to do anymore. He went back to his small room at the back of the ship and got himself into bed. He had no control over the ship until it reloaded. If he was going to die, let him do it well rested.

Upon awakening, the lights were on which meant that the ship simply reactivated itself. He didn't know what else to do but take pride in building a ship capable of withstanding hyperspace travel without even realizing it. Hah!

He once again went to navigation to locate in which coordinates he was now.

….

The universe would have to be laughing at him, he was in the damn Milky Way fortuitously close to the solar system, HIS solar system. He literally could have ended up anywhere in the HUGE universe and he had to end up right in the last place where he vowed not to return.

He was just about to change course when he stopped short. Perhaps he could take this opportunity to pay someone a visit. The thought of it left a bitter feeling in him for a bit and made him feel guilty to the point of simply wanting to go ahead with his plan to turn around, but his sister's words echoed in his memories and he resisted the urge. He breathed in and out strongly setting course for planet Earth.

The trip was short and he was easily able to locate the area of ​​the planet where he wanted to land. Everything was going pretty normal until he entered the exosphere and noticed that something was wrong. The atmospheric stabilizer was not responding, SHIT. Which meant that the appropriate speed had to be manually managed to penetrate the ozone layer and well the problem with that was the possibility of bouncing if it did not reach the appropriate speed or that the ship would scorch a bit if it was overshot and the option of go back was no longer available. Well, surely the ship would survive although the landing would be… well rough at best. The decision was made by putting on whatever seatbelt the pilot's seat had.

Sure enough, the landing was horrible but at least it survived the impact and he hoped the ship had suffered no more than he had in mind. Although the biggest surprise was received when he got off the ship.

Before hitting the ground, the only thing he saw was

dense vegetation, so the last thing Dib expected was an immense empty city under that vegetation. Actually that was a lie, the LAST thing he expected to find was a pack of dogs surrounding his ship.

-"....wtf" he said simply, his mind still trying to connect the loose ends. A huge black Great Dane that was almost as high as Dib approached the human and cocked his head to one side as a clear gesture for him to follow in the indicated direction. He stepped back in distrust. Several dogs approached Dib and began to direct him, some chewing on his clothes and others at him.

They pushed insistently with their heads for him to follow.

"Hey! Stop! What are you doing?! " For every step the dogs tried to take with Dib, he took another two backwards, the absurd struggle going on for a while until the Great Dane looked closely into his eyes as a warning growl escaped his throat. He raised his hands in somewhat uncomfortable surrender to have this beast so close to him. After the canine victory, the Great Dane turned around, resuming his march.

It was there that he discovered PAK.

...wait what?!

A closer look made him realize that all the dogs had a PAK. An Irken PAK.

Oh no, it couldn't be true, the earth had been invaded by the irken armada and they used dogs to dominate humans. Dogs, human’s great and only weakness!. HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!

WAIT. Perhaps there were other simple explanations for this, what about humans? Where were them? It was flat daylight and the street was empty…. They were slaves working in mines drawing resources! And this city was just abandoned! It must be that! If not, why were there dogs with PAKS in an empty city?.

They made him get into a vehicle, leaving the dogs behind except the Great Dane, who sat next to him. During the whole journey he did not move an ear. Dib forgot what it was like to be uncomfortable in a quiet room with someone else, even if he was with this...thing, and spent the whole way fiddling with his hands in an attempt to focus his attention on something.

The fragrant sunlight was replaced by the grim, artificial light from the tunnel they entered. They didn't know where they were taking him but he would be prepared for anything.

The car stopped and without him being able to argue much, Dib was taken out of there, being accompanied by the dog-thing to a large room where there was… By Jupiter. In front of him was an immense irken Control Brain.

His knees trembled and he fell to the ground as he slammed a fist on the ground dramatically.

DAMMIT! THEY DID. THEY CONQUERED EARTH! He was only a couple of years off the planet and they took advantage of his absence to conquer it without him knowing.

Without him noticing, several mechanical arms began to scan him and when they finished, a small holographic figure appeared in front of Dib, that due to his small dramatic act, did not immediately took notice.

"...OKO ?!" And then it all made sense. "YOU HAVE INVADED THE PLANET WITH YOUR DOGS?!"

Oko's hologram tilted her head slightly. "Invading Was Never My Duty." she answered calmly with the same monotonous tone that he remembered.

"Oh... Then why are there ghost towns ?!" There was a moment of silence in which Oko tried to understand what the human in front of her was referring to.

“I Detected A Ship With Various Irkens Elements Approaching The Planet. I Ordered The Humas To Stay On Their Home To Protect Them When I Calculated Where You Would Crash.”

“… Oh well, that also made a lot of sense”…wait a second “Why should humans even listen to you?!"

"Because It Is My Duty" The hologram sensed the growing confusion of the human and there was a movement behind her. In one of the screens of the room, several images began to appear, which left the man stunned.

Happy walking families, futuristic structures, vast plains of vegetation among much more.

"No way... it’s that...the Earth?"

“Yes, Human-Dib. I've Been Taking Care Of It For More Than 7 Centuries.”

“Wha- Wait!…. 7 centuries?! How is it possible?!, it can't be true, I-... "

“I win~"

A spark ran through his

shoulder and he quickly turned his neck towards the voice he had just heard. There she was, leaning on his shoulder, half lying in the air. Alma.

"ALMA?!" In an instant, her face full of pride and glee was replaced by sheer disbelief

"DIB?!"

Dib also began to make faces of utter disbelief as she tried to utter words that she didn’t know how to choose or could express. He looked at Oko while pointing at Alma, but she made no sign of understanding what was wrong with him. He went back to the Floating Alma and she just shrugged.

After the day he was having so far and for the sake of his sanity, he just shut up and let it go for now.

"Your Arrival Is Certainly Unexpected And Clearly Interesting. This May Be An Important Chance To Convince Your Paternal Unit To Stop Exploiting Resources Of The Planet In An Unsustainable Way.”

Was his father still alive?! Well, at this point he didn’t know why he continued to be surprised.

The talk with “Control Brain” Oko had been intense, he still had too much to assimilate, too ...he still didn't know if all this could even be real. Either way, Dib was following a dog named BFT 222750 who was taking him to his new apartment until a few days passed and Oko determined that everything was in order with him.

Great, he was going to be quarantined.

"So ... can you see me?" Alma had appeared next to Dib, moving in the air in time with him. There was also that.

"Are you real?" he asked.

"I think so, are you?” Dib pinched his nose with his fingers and sighed.

"I don't know, I'm still trying to get out of the shock of all this to think about it...” Dib looked at the specter of his friend. She looked just how he remembered her.

"You are dead?”

"Did you expect me to be alive after more than 700 years?" He could hear a slight laugh coming from the ghost and for a second, the stress of the whole crazy day was gone.

"Welcome home, Dib"

[yawgmothswin]

We’re Back!!!

With the release of Time Spiral Remastered, I figured it as a good opportunity to revive my favorite cube.

I’ve decided to expand things to a full 360. This cube was originally built to be drafted by 6 people. I kept the total below 360 so we’d always have more than half the cube in the pool. With this update I wanted to be able to support 8-person pods (or 2x 4p). As a result it does dilute the deck, so I've gone a little deeper on some archetypes and also raised the overall power level to something a little closer to Constructed Vintage.

There’s been some turmoil that has pushed me away from MtG, but MtG Arena got under my skin and I've got the sickness again. I’m hoping to really get things going when the apocalypse is over.

To start with, here is the last condition the VCC was in when I stepped away: https://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/23458

From here I’ve added quite a large number of newer cards, strategies, and otherwise powerful choices that were originally removed. As it stands I still need 30 cuts, but figured I’d give anyone still listening a taste of where things are headed. I’ll be using a new link for the sake of preservation of the final state of the first VCC.

Here is where you will now find the most up to date list: https://www.cubetutor.com/cubeblog/177577

Problems moving forward:  Storm: is there enough support? It was easier to pull a storm deck together with the smaller card pool since the best cards were pretty narrow and the smaller number meant you were sure to get some of what you needed. I don’t want it to get short changed and I also can’t let the archetype fall apart as I feel it is an essential facet of this style of cube. 

Archetypes: are some of these stale? They’re meant to show off the history of Magic’s oldest formats but are there more in testing things I can be doing than hate bears and Dark Depths? Second Sunrise could be spicy with the already heavy focus on artifacts but that would require a lot of retooling. 

1-drop mana dorks: Should there be more? I limited this number to avoid green being perceived as being deeper than it is. Since this is a 4x cube something like 4x Birds of Paradise is an extremely high pick. Is this lack of 1-drop interaction negatively impacting green based decks? I’m hoping allosaurus Shepherd can help, but is that enough?

Here are the additions. I’ve only made a couple cuts so far:

Allosaurus Shepherd Ancestral Vision Archon of Emeria Basking Rootwalla Cavern of Souls Conspicuous Snoop Cranial Plating Crop Rotation Crystalline Giant Demonic Consultation Dreadhorde Arcanist Emry, Lurker of the Loch Flickerwisp Force of Negation Force of Vigor Garruk Wildspeaker Goblin Cratermaker Goblin Engineer Goblin Lackey Goblin Recruiter Golos, Tireless Pilgrim Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis Hollow One Hullbreacher Hypergenesis Krovikan Horror Lavinia, Azorius Renegade Living End Luminarch Aspirant Manifold Key Mother of Runes Mystic Forge Mystic Sanctuary Narset, Parter of Veils Oko, Thief of Crowns Once Upon a Time Opposition Agent Pact of Negation Palace Jailer Paradox Engine Paradoxical Outcome Prismatic Omen Prized Amalgam Remand Repeal Restore Balance Scapeshift Shambling Shell Silence Skirk Prospector Spell Queller Stonecoil Serpent Survival of the Fittest Thalia, Heretic Cathar Torch Courier Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger Underworld Breach Urza, Lord High Artificer Vengevine Wheel of Fate Wrenn and Six Thassa's Oracle Valki, God of Lies // Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor Simian Spirit Guide Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty Summoner's Pact Inventors' Fair Chief of the Foundry Foundry Inspector Steel Overseer Vesuva

-Notion Thief got the boot since Hullbreacher is usually just better and easier to cast.

Some notable additions: Goblins. Red has felt pretty lackluster. I avoided goblins because they are too linear to draft (in the way Elves was). With the increase in overall power level and the dilution of the card pool I think this is less a problem. It’s also allowed me to tighten my Human and Eldrazi tribes (thereby putting Cavern of Souls back on the table). Since I still need cuts this will be cut back, but I wanted to be as inclusive as possible for the first new update.

Green is also a tricky thing for a cube like this. In one of my final updates to the first version I focused on a Miracle Gro strategy, which I think is an excellent option. Since many decks are bizarre frankensteins of Vintage archetypes a pillar like miracle gro has a lot of incidental depth even if you’re not building a Gro deck. That said, every deck needs some way to play unfair in Vintage. Greens latest toys are a heavier focus on land based strategies as well as some mana cheating with cards like Hypergenesis.

Many archetypes have additions for them in this update that may raise eyebrows. I’ve had to add additional depth to some archetypes (take Dredge as an example) in order to keep draft consistency up. Shambling Shell absolutely does not add anything new or exciting to the draft, but a 4-person draft has only half the cube in rotation at any time now. It is essential to all supported archetypes that they have some level of consistency. All that said, shambling shell specifically may still get cut but it illustrates the point. I’ve also bumped up Ravager Shops support.

I’m currently working through cuts, but it’s of course challenging to know what’s what when testing is out of the question. I’m also concerned that there are some options or strategies that I’ve missed as I haven’t paid much attention over the last 3 years or so. Next updates will include the cuts, some updates on the physical copy, and any additional ideas that come to me between now and those 30 cuts. I’ll probably do the cuts in waves, trimming 10 or so each time after some sealed and bot drafts. Unfortunately the bots are not useful since they can’t follow the 4x gimmick, but should still give me a decent feeling.

Feel free to draft it on cube tutor, but please remember to draft it with awareness of the 4x unrestricted cards vs 1x restricted card gimmick. While this cube absolutely can be (and often is) drafted as a normal 1x cube, the intended experience is 4x copies and 60 card decks.

Have at it!

[alanncs]

hi my angels ! my name’s dani , i’m from toronto ontario aka best city in the worldt , & i’m 20  !  i’m the kelsey m on the main  &  i can’t tell u how excited i am to have wealthy up n running again !  i literally can’t wait to plot with all you beautiful peoples , so pls like this  &  i’ll slide in the dms , otherwise u can also hit me up on discord 𝒎𝒈𝒌'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆 .#1958  !!  i’m gonna put all you need  2 know about alanna below aaand i hope y’all like her ! <3

new york’s very own alanna d'alessio was spotted on broadway street in gucci bee sneakers . your resemblance to hailey baldwin is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty first birthday bash . while living in nyc ,  you’ve been labeled as being reticent , but also gracious . i guess being a scorpio explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be anything pink , the lingering smell of weed , and a cigarette between her fingers . &  ( cisfemale & she/her  )  +  ( dani , 20 , she/her , est . )

                    *  /   𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 .

full  name  :  alanna  marie  d’alessio  .

age :  twenty  -  one  .

hometown  :  new  york  city  .

zodiac  chart  :  scorpio  sun  ,  aquarius  moon  ,  libra  rising  .

character  inspo  :  alyssa  (  the  end  of  the  f*cking  world  )  ,  marissa  cooper  (  the  o.c  )  ,  hanna  marin  (  pretty  little  liars  )  .

                   *  /   𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚   !!  tw  : kidnapping , ransom , drugs

alanna was born heir to the d'alessio family which came with the billion dollar dynasty that her parents created . 

her dad is an italian government official  but they grew up in ny basically bc her dad is an ambassador/representative for italy  &  her mother is a super model who also wanted to raise her kids here having lived here her whole life , and so they did . 

she had everything handed to her on a silver platter and her parents expected nothing but success from her because of how wealthy they were, they knew they would never have to worry about providing for her and her siblings , and so they spoiled her with whatever she asked for and more

but that came with a price, she was expected to do everything they wanted of her, go to an ivy league college, follow in one of her parent’s career footsteps

alanna did just that, she got amazing grades in high school and was head of many student clubs, organized prom, got almost perfect on sat’s and exams, and busted her ass to get into a good college despite the fact that her parents could’ve easily gotten her a spot if she didn’t do as well as she did

her life was going so well, she had the perfect boyfriend, perfect group of friends, was on her way to brown university in a couple of months, her parents and her couldn’t have been in a better spot with their daughter

the last thing they expected was for someone, a stranger, to get their hands on their daughter . a week after her 18th birthday , she’s walking to school on a monday morning and before she knows what’s happening , there’s something over her head and she’s being dragged into a van and taken from her life

the one thing that was expected, was the $10 million ransom she was held for

basically her dad had some shady dealings with the italian mob & didn’t pay his debts to them for some time - so they kidnapped alanna in retaliation for that

they kept her for 3 days before her parents were able to work with the authorities to get her returned and pay the people in full

surprisingly, she was returned alive but she had to spend two weeks in the hospital afterwards with injuries

once alanna was returned, she wasn’t the same

she told the police what happened to her , but only barely . she didn’t tell her parents or anyone else about what they did to her when she was gone .

she didn’t speak , eat or sleep for two months after she got home

she spent the last few months of her high school in bed, she didn’t attend her graduation, deferred from going to brown in the fall, she didn’t see her friends anymore and she broke up with her boyfriend

the people who took her were never caught & she is still to this day completely terrified of going anywhere alone

she never walks anywhere alone  

it took her months to be able to get back to doing normal things again and being who she was before

to this day ,  alanna still struggles with the memories and the ptsd from what happened to her , but she doesn’t speak to anyone about it and she refuses to bring it up in any scenario

she also has a horrible relationship with her father now , having trouble forgiving him for what happened to her

some people know about it as obviously, being as famous as her family is, it was on the news at the time, and everyone she went to high school with knew what happened so sometimes it can be hard to avoid it

she wants to forget - here comes her secret - she got into drugs after the kidnapping and it quickly spiraled out of control , now she can’t seem to function without them because they’re the only thing that make her feel normal and make the memories fade

anything she can get her hands on rly

but the media think she’s an angel , her reputation has been kept p much pristine her whole life . and her parents have no clue how much she’s struggling or how much she’s changed . so if this were to come out , it would tarnish not only alanna’s reputation but her family’s  as well

                                         *  /   𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚  !!

after deferring from brown ,  alanna knew she had to find some way to keep herself occupied and make money , even though she could live off her parents for however long she wanted

alanna wants to be . miss independent .

so she started getting into modelling , bc of her mom it was easy for her to book gigs

she was able to book gigs like adidas , guess , calvin klein  etc  !

so  that was super exciting for her bc she got really into it and  enjoyed doing it sm

she started acting about a year ago - started off in a few movies , & now she’s currently starring in a netflix series - smth similiar to elite or on my block !

oko so in high school alanna was super bubbly , and just like the really overly nice girl that would talk to literally every 1

but it worked for her bc she was  voted prom queen  and valedictorian ! even tho she missed graduation . yike

Anyway now ! she is not v much like that anymore , except  when she’s super high .

since her kidnapping alanna has been closed off and aloof . in general , she’s not as talkative

she says what she thinks but it usually comes in one word mumbles

can sometimes b very entertaining  . she’s kinda like paris hilton a little bit

also think Marissa from the oc !!

call her a  spoiled brat she’s gonna be like “ yah… and ?”

she  can be very selfish to a fault  in certain situations

and very defensive if she feels attacked, judged , put into a corner , physically cornered , etc

she’s a hopeless romantic at heart and dreams of having an epic love story

but she  has Hella trust issues which easily lead to commitment issues for her so … she will cheat “by accident” lol

that’s why she tries to steer clear of relationships but she also has such a big heart she  falls in love 5 times a day sffsdkj

also w  how much this girl  can sleep around it’s not happening any Time soon 4 her ! she enjoys being single a lot

Bc she likes to get wild

shes like nicole richie on the simple life when she’s partying  lmao

like she likes 2 fuck with ppl sometimes lol , like she will flirt w anyone and everyone just cus she’s bored

umm she lives  in sweatpants n crop tops !

her hair is either in a  bun or just down , she’s rly lazy when it comes to hair and makeup   . like if her makeups done someone else did it lol

Unless she’s like fully in the mood

ooverall she’s a rly sweet lil bean whos just scared of humans ! :’(

um ya idk im always developing  her but IF U read  all this  ilysm !

here’s her pinterest board for more of an idea !

                                  *  /  𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔  !!

EVERYTHING   !  here is a link to my wc page & a link to my wc TAG which are both full of ideas so  msg me  & i’ll throw tons of ideas at u <333 let’s do it i luv plotting sm okay

[kez2402]

The King: T'Challa.

Chapter 1

Hi, I'm Emily Cassidy. You're probably wondering who I am? Ye me too. Well, at least I was. I was a Hydra experiment. Orphaned at five, a dangerous weapon by fifteen. I use to be what you'd call a very valuable asset to Hydra, their personal killing machine, all they had to say was those three words; любовь, доверие, горе, (Love, Trust, Grief.), and they were guaranteed a successful mission. I remember them all. All the screams, the cries of mercy, the innocent faces of those who's lives I've took. Looking with fear and disgust in their eyes at one thing. Me. My name was infamously know by everyone. People feared me, just the way Hydra wanted it.

I was born with my abilities, which gave the upper hand when it came to training, I knew the insides and outs of my ability. I was trained with none other than James Buchanan Barnes, AKA The Winter Soldier. Most of the time I was defeated, until I learned his technique, figured out his patterns, learned his fighting style. Then I was more of a challenge for him, often a fight ending with him on the mat, not me.

Barnes and I had become friends while at Hydra, most missions we were paired together. Him the sword, I the shield. To put it simply we were unstoppable. The most feared duo across the planet. The Winter Soldier and the Cassanova. But, everything changed after our mission on the 16th of December 1991. After realising what I had done, who I had just murdered and why, I had to get out of Hydra. They were manipulating us, putting our brains in a blender, all so we could do their dirty work for them. But I couldn't leave, not before I did one last mission.

Wakanda. That was our mission. Go to Wakanda and bring back as much Vibranium as possible. Let's just say it didn't go as planned. I was seventeen. I may have been skilled in combat, I may have had Bucky watching my back, but nothing could have prepared us for the strength of the Black Panther. He was skilled, stealthy and fast, by God was he fast. He had taken us down within seconds. Seconds! Our first ever defeat on a mission. We had failed.

Two years. That's how long I was stuck in Wakanda, alongside Bucky. For a while. I remember it as if it were yesterday, standing in the Throne Room waiting to see if we were to be spared. One thing I learned was that it was against Wakandan customs to sentence a child to death, since I was still technically a child I would only have to challenge a Dora Milaje warrior. If I won, I would be freed. If not, I would be imprisoned until I was no longer a child, then I would be sentenced to death.

So, I fought. I won, but just about. If I hadn't have been trained by Hydra, let's just say the outcome would have been very different. After the challenge we were both pretty beaten, it had been a brutal one to say the least.

Although I had won my freedom, I wasn't ready to leave Wakanda. If I left, Hydra would have found me. They would have made me their personal weapon once again, and I wasn't going to let that happen. I couldn't.

I needed to find a way to stay in Wakanda for a while, but I planned on not being imprisoned in a cell. The only way to do that was to talk to the King, T'Chaka. I walked to the Throne Room once again, this time without the escort of a Dora Milaje. I remember it well. The guards trying to stop me, but I was determined to talk to the King. I may have started a minor....argument with them. The grand doors opened to reveal a room of both confused and disgusted faces. Immediately I straightened myself out, fiddling with my fingers nervously.

"You are dismissed." I heard the King say to his warriors.

One by one they left the room, each one giving me a knowing look, as I kept my head low.

"You may enter."

I cautiously entered the Throne Room, my head still hung low. I stopped about three meters from the King. His son, the Prince, stood at his side by the Throne.

"Agent Cassidy, why have you come before me?" T'Chaka asked, a stern but curious tone to his voice.

It took me a minute to answer. I knew not to push my luck, and I had to choose my words wisely.

"I have come to ask your permission to....to stay in Wakanda, just for a short period of time. Your Highness."

He paused for a minute, his head leaning on his hand. His eyes looking through me as he was deep in thought. Eventually he spoke.

"And why should I grant you permission to do so? You came here with the intention to steal from my country, why should I trust you now?"

His question had caught me off guard. Why should he trust me? I couldn't think of a valid reason. Maybe I had to gain his trust, somehow.

"I have no reason for you to trust me, your Highness. But maybe, with your approval, I could somehow gain your trust."

I knew asking this could be risky, and I was bracing myself for the worst.

"Ukumkani wam, ukuba uthetha oko akutshoyo, kwaye ufuna ukunyaniseka, ndincoma ukuba abe nguDora Milaje Warrior. Ngaloo ndlela uthembeke esihlalweni sobukhosi, kwaye ke uqinisekisa ukuba uthembekile.

(My King, if she means what she says, and wishes to truthfully gain your trust, I suggest she becomes a Dora Milaje Warrior. That way she is loyal to the Throne, and hence prove she is trustworthy.)" A warrior spoke in their native tongue, from the corner of the room.

She had startled me really, since I hadn't seen her standing there, even though I was trained to do so. King T'Chaka sat for a moment, considering the Dora's suggestion.

What felt like hours standing under the eyes of the warrior and Prince, the King had spoken.

"Okoye, u-Agent Cassidy kufuneka ahambe noqeqesho kunye noDora Milaje njalo ekuseni. Uyakugcina kwakhona ingxelo yengqubela yakhe, kunye nayiphi na ingxaki oyaziyo ukuba wenzeni.

(Okoye, Agent Cassidy must attend training with the Dora Milaje every morning. You will also keep a report of her progress, and any problems: you know what to do.)"

From where she stood the Dora, Okoye, nodded her head. Then the king turned to face me.

"Agent."

He paused. I stood straight and looked up to the King, curious as to what he was proposing.

"You will become a part of the Dora Milaje. This means you are loyal to the Throne, if you betray it there will be major consequences. Okoye will show you to your room. You are dismissed."

It took a minute for everything he said to sink in, but when it did I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Thank you, your Highness. For your kindness."

I bowed and turned to meet Okoye at the door, when a thought had crossed my mind. I turned again to face the King. A mixture of inquisition and dread written across my face. King T'Chaka had sensed this and immediately knew what I was going to ask.

"Agent Barnes has fled Wakanda. We do not have any lead on his current location. I know this may upset you Agent Cassidy, but we wish to keep peace, so please do not do anything.....erratic while you are staying here."

The King offered me a sad smile as I thought to myself. Bucky had left me? Alone? Did he not care? We were partners! I set my anger aside and thanked the King again, and started to leave.

"Agent Cassidy."

I faced the Throne once more.

"Do not make me regret my decision."

I smiled to myself as I said,

"I won't, your Highness."

And with that I left the room, Okoye beside me.

_____________________

To read the full story go to Kez2402 on Wattpad or click on the link below:

[mintchocolateleaves]

On The Fantasies of Moonlight (4/4)

Summary: Aoko deserves someone who won’t lie to her, who won’t be selfish with her. And Kaito…? Kaito is selfish.

[Part One]  [Part Two]  [Part Three]

Kaito can’t believe he’s doing this.

But at the same time, he’s always known himself to be the type to do stupid, insane things, so – at the same time, he does believe it. It’s a conflict of belief, one that forces him forward.

He waits until the following morning, of course. When he’s sober and his blood has a lower alcohol content inside, the aftermath of drinking at the blue parrot brushed away with a good night’s sleep and a few painkillers to erase the impending hangover.

Now, he stands outside of Aoko’s front door, early enough that he’d managed to catch the sun rising as he’d left his own apartment behind. The sky had been a mixture of coral and lavender as light peered through the clouds, illuminating his face as he’d gotten onto his bike.

“You’re procrastinating,” Kaito tells himself, and he wills himself to rid the tension from his voice, to roll out the ache in his shoulders, where the muscles are so bunched up. The plastic carrier bag that he’s brought with him rustles as he moves, swinging back and forth. “Stop that.”

Okay, he just needs to go for it.

Kaito isn’t a coward, he knows he can do it. Just bridge the gap and hope that Aoko is as much of an early riser as she always claims that she is. He balls his hand into a fist and for the first time in years, he knocks.

And he waits.

In fact, Kaito waits for long enough that he’s beginning to think that Aoko either isn’t in, or she’s just not an early riser. Which kind of sucks, because Kaito doesn’t really want to wait on her doorstep, waiting for the moment she becomes available for him to talk to again.

He’ll do it, because he’s trying to prove a point, but that doesn’t mean he really wants to. Even if it’s light outside, there’s still a chill to the morning that he doesn’t usually see at midday.

Part of him considers lifting the pick set from his back pocket and just entering the house, but that’s probably not the best idea when he’s trying to even things out. Trying to make sure that Aoko sees him on her terms.

Well–

Okay, maybe it’s not so much her terms, since he’s the one initiating the contact, but… well, he’s trying to make her feel comfortable, in her own space. Somewhere she can kick him out of whenever she wants to stop looking at his face.

The door swings open and Kaito, pulled from his thoughts, jumps back, almost tripping over the curb and back into the street.

Aoko, still dressed in her pyjamas – a long baby-blue shirt with the words ‘I am enough’ printed across them, and small white kitten shorts – stares out, barely awake.

He kind of gets the impression that either Aoko has only been up a little while, or, he’s the one responsible for her leaving the warmth of bed blankets behind.

“Ka–” Her expression shifts from sleepy to annoyed in a way that Kaito is all too used to. “What are you doing here?”

Kaito takes the second to lift the carrier bag, lets his lips twist upward in an attempt at something apologetic. He’s never been good at saying the words ‘sorry’, but he’ll try to, for her. “I thought I’d bring breakfast.”

Aoko blinks. She lowers her chin, staring at the bag as if it holds more answers than he does. “Wha- Kaito, it’s six in the morning.”

“Breakfast starts from five-thirty,” he says. And then, quieter, “I wanted to talk, and I’m impatient.”

Her exasperation flees her face, chased away by regret and a frown. Aoko says, “right, whatever, close the door behind you, I’m gonna go get dressed.”

Kaito barely has his foot in the door before she’s disappeared down the corridor, practically storming away. He deposits his shoes, mutters ‘sorry for intruding’ under his breath, and closes the door behind him.

-

When Aoko comes back downstairs, into the kitchen, she is more presentable.

The knots are brushed out from her hair, the tiredness is gone from her eyes and she’s dressed in jeans and a jumper. The jumper, with stripes, is one that Kaito has mentioned being too big for her in the past.

It kind of makes him imagine her wearing his clothes, because the fabric is baggy and sort of swallows her up.

Which is something he shouldn’t be thinking of at the moment, there’s a reason he’s here, and thoughts like that can come later, if everything goes well. God, Kaito hopes it goes well.

“Breakfast at six a.m.,” Aoko mutters as she glances at the food Kaito has prepared, warmed up on the table. “Breakfast at fucking six a.m., with KID, who just so happens to be Kaito.”

Okay, so maybe six a.m. breakfast has the beginnings of a mental breakdown in it. He probably should have expected this.

“Yeah,” Kaito says, “come sit down. It’s your favourite!”

Aoko squints. She says, “I’m pretty sure pancakes are your favourite.”

“We’re sharing,” Kaito says, waving a hand past the pancakes on their plates, to the other food on the table. “There’s also egg omelette, and rice porridge here, isn’t there?”

“You never make porridge,” Aoko says, slowly. She pulls out a chair, hesitating. Kaito doesn’t blame her for it.

“I made it today,” he shrugs his shoulders. “I make it sometimes.”

Having her sit down shouldn’t feel so satisfying, but honestly, it warms him slightly when Aoko pulls her chair in behind her. She grabs one of the porridge bowls, settles it in front of her, and grabs a spoon.

“You used the setting for it on the rice cooker, didn’t you?” She says, raising an eyebrow. “I doubt you even know how to cook it properly.”

“I can cook.”

“Doubtful.”

Kaito opens his mouth, retort on the tip of his tongue, and pauses. Are they really going to act like yesterday didn’t happen, just fall back into a routine that feels almost foreign now.

Even if Aoko had mentioned his being KID, she’d given in too easily, hadn’t said anything about it further. Not denying it, but not exactly accepting it either.

His expression falls, and Kaito frowns at his pancakes. He hadn’t really felt like eating before arriving, nor when he’d been setting the food out, but he’d convinced himself that he’d have some food anyway. For an attempt at normalcy.

Now, he doesn’t really feel like there’s even a slither of appetite left.

“Right,” Kaito pauses, pokes his chopsticks into his pancake. “Aoko – I think we need to talk.”

“About how you need to learn how to cook?” Her voice sounds almost strained as she says it, and she fills her mouth with porridge so she doesn’t have to say anything else.

“About me being KID.” Kaito says. Quiet. His voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t want–” Aoko’s expression darkens. For a moment, it seems like the reminder steals the light from her eyes. “I just want to have breakfast, and not… talk about that.”

He can’t deny that the idea of skirting around it forever, neither of them mentioning it, sounds… like it would be a lot easier. But Kaito can’t do that. He can’t leave this hanging, not when this could have all been avoided if he’d just been… open from the beginning.

Again, he pokes at his pancake, before placing his chopsticks down and looking her in the eye.

“I don’t really think we can avoid it,” Kaito says. “Well, we can, but I don’t really think that we should.”

Aoko settles her spoon on the table.

“Well, what do you want me to say?” Her voice is weak, the words wavering, not nervous, but pained. It hurts to know that he caused that. “You lied to me for years, and the only reason you told me was because you wanted to hurt me.”

“Aoko, I–”

“Because that’s it, isn’t it?” She cuts him off, and it’s not hard to realise that she’s been sitting on these words since she left yesterday, letting them stew, designing just what exactly she wants to say. “You get upset and rather than explain things rationally, you lash out instead.”

God, Kaito doesn’t know what to say now.

“I mean, you’ve had over eight years to tell me you were KID,” Aoko says, “but you chose yesterday to tell me. You lied to me, and you used the truth to punish me for loving you?”

No. No Kaito hadn’t meant to – that’s not –

“I don’t want to punish you,” Kaito says, “I wanted you to realise you deserve better.”

“Did you ever think that maybe it’s not up to you to decide who I deserve?” Her voice is sharp, loud. It echoes in his ears. “You think there’s some goddamned hierarchy deciding who deserves who? Of course not!”

“You hate KID!”

Aoko leans forward, pressing against the table as she pitches herself up, standing, staring down at him. As if she’s incapable of sitting still, of remaining sat in place. “Well, I love Kaito!”

Brain short-circuiting, Kaito blinks. He’s never known how to deal with this, with the vivid ferocity in which Aoko feels things, and as such, he feels his brain scramble, frying as he tries to keep up.

“That doesn’t change things,” Kaito says, finally. “You hate KID. You can’t pretend that loving me doesn’t mean you hate me too.”

She stiffens. Drops back into her seat almost as if her legs have given up on her, the muscles weak as she collapses down. Kaito almost wants to ask if she’s okay – but that would be stupid? Wouldn’t it?

How could she be, right now?

“Of course, I hate you,” Aoko says and Kaito can’t hurt the stab of pain that runs through him, slicing him open, making him feel like he’s bleeding out at the kitchen table. “You can’t expect me not to.”

Kaito closes his eyes, reminds himself to breathe.

“I mean,” Aoko continues, and her voice is softer now, “I’ve hated KID for… Pretty much a third of my life, I can’t just will that away in a day.”

…What?

“There’s always going to be residual anger there,” Aoko says, and when he reopens his eyes, she’s watching him, trying to read his expressions. Kaito, used to hiding emotions away, finds that it’s not too unsettling to let her. “But I think we should both be expecting that, shouldn’t we?”

“It’s only natural,” he murmurs.

“And honestly,” Aoko continues, “I think it might take me a while to figure all this stuff out. I mean, you lied to me for years, you – it was your heists my dad was always ditching me for. And I mean, Dad always told me KID was in danger, so that means you were running into danger.”

“…I was.”

“I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t hate you a little bit for that,” Aoko says. “That you put yourself in danger, that dad focused more on you, that I was alone because of it. But – some of that anger is irrational, and I know that.”

She leans forward, snaking her hand around the plates and bowls, grabbing hold of Kaito’s hand. He tenses, an unconscious response, but she pays the movement no mind.

“You’re allowed to feel angry,” Kaito sighs, “anger isn’t irrational.”

“And I’ll let myself feel that,” Aoko agrees, “but I know when I need to admit some things are irrational. Like – my anger at dad choosing to go to all the heists and not come home. It was always easier to place it on KID, than on him, so I did. That wasn’t you.”

It is easier, after all, to place the blame on someone who isn’t present, isn’t a part of her life with any immediate relationships. Easier for Aoko to shift the blame and to avoid being angry at those she’s closest too.

“Okay,” – his voice sounds hollow to his own ears – “yeah, that’s understandable.”

A pause.

“So, what happens now?”

Her lips part, eyes widening. Aoko asks, “what do you mean?”

“I mean – with this. With KID. Me.” Kaito’s foot taps against the floor, his shoes clacking, a fast rhythm that isn’t enough to alleviate the sudden anxiety. “I mean, I’m a criminal, a thief – and your division catches them. So, what next?”

The fact that Aoko pauses, considering, her eyes glancing away as she thinks, shouldn’t be as nerve-wracking as it is. But Kaito can’t deny that it’s sobering, watching her.

“Well, it’s not like I can arrest you,” Aoko says. “I don’t have any evidence that KID is you. Well, I have a confession, but there’s no recording of it, so it would just be my word against yours.”

Kaito takes in a deep breath. Holds it for five seconds, and then exhales for eight.

Then, with a quick flourish of his wrist, a magic trick he’ll give no explanation for, he places KID’s monocle on the table. Aoko lets out a small gasp as it clinks against the wood, staring at the eyewear as if it’s going to disappear if she doesn’t watch it.

“There’s your evidence,” Kaito whispers. He lets out a shaky breath. “Aoko… You’ve wanted to catch KID for a very long time… so… if you want to catch me, then the evidence is yours.”

Conflict.

That’s the only word Kaito can think to explain what flashes across her face, pained conflict that threads her brows together, her lips pursued.

“I guess this is the part where you plead your case to me. Why I shouldn’t arrest you?”

Kaito shakes his head. “No.”

“Okay then,” Aoko says. She brushes hair from her eyes, looping it around her ear. “Then answer a question for me. KID has been gone for a while now, you left that moniker behind… Do you think your reformed?”

It’s a question that honestly, Kaito has been asking himself for years now. Something he’d never really wanted to get into, because he’s always been nervous what the answer would be.

But now, he kind of knows what that answer is.

“Honest?” He glances away, “I don’t think so.”

Aoko’s smile tightens, and it’s all Kaito can do to force himself to look back at her. To try and read her eyes, no matter how difficult that is.

“I can’t deny that I enjoyed it, being KID. That there isn’t a part of me that looks back on my heists and wants to host another. In a way, I don’t think I’ll ever be reformed, because there’s always going to be a part of me that loves being that person.”

“Then why stop?”

Truthfully? Because there’d been no way to justify it after he’d found Pandora. Because there was no need to keep risking his life once he’d gained his justice – his revenge – and he’d known that. Because his mother had been worried that one day he’d end up like his father, dead, leaving her even more alone.

So many reasons. All of them mingling together. Only one of them to do with Aoko.

“I found what I was looking for,” he answers. “There was no need to do it anymore.”

“Okay,” Aoko says, “that was then. What stops you now?”

The answers are fluid, readily available without even needing to be thought out. Almost as if for years he’d been dying to say them, except, no one had ever thought to ask because they either didn’t know to or didn’t think the question was necessary.

“I want to be better. I don’t want my own personal history to always be defined by KID. I don’t want to be a thief forever.”

“I don’t know what reformed means in your head,” Aoko says, “but to me, it sounds like your well on your way.”

She lets go of his hand, collects the monocle in her hands. And then, just as quickly as picking it up, so presses it into Kaito’s hand.

“This is yours. Not mine.”

Kaito blinks. “You– Aoko are you–”

“I’m sure.” Her eyes light up, and for a moment, all Kaito can do is watch her. The curve of her lips, not a full smile, but the beginnings of one. Something that can be built upon, with so many different expressions that it’s shocking to think that it’s not overwhelmingly expressive in its own right.

He puts the monocle away, dropping it into his pocket. He hardly feels the weight of it.

“…So, what else is stopping you?”

Kaito frowns, “excuse me?”

Aoko smiles. The first full smile during their conversation. Brightening, reminding him of sunshine. Sometimes, it’s shocking to remember that she has dimples, like he should have known that, like it’s something he should never have overlooked.

She’s as she usually is.

Beautiful.

“Well, you said that you would ruin me. And I would ruin you.” Kaito’s lips part, but no words come out. “But I don’t feel altogether ruined. So, tell me, what else is stopping you?”

“Nothing,” Kaito says. “Nothing at all.”

-

*Notes on the ending:

Because I know that some people might be wondering why I decided not to go with a traditional, overly romantic ending: Well, because Aoko has only just found out the truth about KID. It would be unnatural and frankly, a little unhealthy if they just ended things on an overly romantic note. Did I want kisses and hugs? Sure? But in this fic, it would be unrealistic.

The fact that they both admit at the end that nothing is holding them back - Aoko is not ruined, and nothing is stopping Kaito - shows that they're still prepared to give things a shot and that their feelings are still present. In the end, they choose each other, and that's it. And honestly, I think that this is a more realistic and fitting end to this fic.

[songficsbyrissi]

Blindfold (T’Challa x Black Reader)

Warning: Swearing (all of my one shots are going to have swears tbh), overall fluff

“Yeah, I know If I see you, I'll be out of control Yeah, I might as well have both my eyes closed Baby, I might need a fucking blindfold Blindfold, yeah” - Pryde

A/N: So what if Zuri had given T’Challa a herb which was supposed to give him a new ability but instead makes him act crazy and shit seeing the person he truly loved? If that’s not enough of a problem, what if the person who he truly love is not the person who’s currently with? Let’s see how this plays out. *mischevious laugh* oh and btw this includes Redeemed Erik but he didn’t kill Zuri at the challenge. ************* “Zuri, you have requested my presence?” T’Challa marched into the shaman’s residence with two of the Dora Milage. Obviously the king didn’t need them to visit his own trusted mentor but they must be with their king at all times.

Zuri turned around with a wide smile on his face. “Ahh my king.” He gave him the Wakanda salute and the young king returned it. “I have found an special herb that I believe will help you even more in combat.” T’Challa raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that my combat needs improvement?” Zuri grew wide eyed in response. “No! Kumkani, akakho oko!” T’Challa chuckled at how flustered the old man became. As he grew older, Zuri became easier to mess with. He placed his hand gently on the older man’s back. “Your king is messing with you. Anyway, what is the herb supposed to do?” Zuri regained his calm composure that he had prior to T’Challa’s teasing. “Ahh yes. I believe this diamond shaped herb will enhance your intelligence. Increase your brain power to the point where you will blessed with telekinesis.” T’Challa eyed the herb with skepticism. The heart shaped herb that he had in his system was already doing a fine job. He’s already blessed in combat situations. Shall he ask for more?” “Zuri, I am not too sure about this. How are you so sure this is what the herb will do? I am already more than capable with the abilities I have now.” “You are correct, but it would not hurt to have more, my king.” Zuri turned his back flipping through his ancient scriptures. “Besides, it would impress Y/N to see a new ability of yours.” T’Challa laughed boisterously throughout the residence holding his stomach. “Zuri, please. I’ve told you over and over again. Y/N is just my friend. I do not have feelings for her. I am to marry Ororo.” “Kumkani, all I said is that it would impress her. I do not recall saying anything about having feelings.” The old shaman hid his smirk. “Whether you have feelings for her or not does not change the fact this new ability will be very useful in combat.” T’Challa hummed suddenly as if he was deep in thought about the herb but was really in deep thought about you. You were an American born to Wakandan immigrants and when your parents passed, you decided to go to your parents’ homeland to meet your extended family. When you did, you met T’Challa. After getting to know each other and T’Challa finds out you had dreams of being in the fashion world, he offered you a job as head stylist to dress him, his mother, and his sister Shuri but mainly him. Although he won’t publicly admit it, his main reason for his offer was to keep you as close to him as he could. You were a beautiful, intelligent and talented woman who walked into his life and he swears Bast told him not to let you go. He shook his head trying to shake off the thoughts. He was engaged to someone else. You showed no sign of interest and clearly didn’t want to go past the friends stage so he gave Ororo a chance and eventually got engaged since there was pressure on him to find a queen at the moment. It just wasn’t the Queen his heart wanted though, but he’ll remain in denial. “Fine, Zuri. I will try this herb. If I do not like it, I may remove it, yes?” T’Challa finally spoke with the liquified herb that was in a mug in his hands. Zuri nodded vigorously with a smile. “Yes, my king. I will have an antidote prepared to strip the powers of the herb away.” “Very well then.” T’Challa tilted the cup to consume every drop of the liquid and cleared his throat when he was finished. “I will see you later, Zuri.” He performed the salute and Zuri returned it. T’Challa was on his way out and Zuri spoke with a crooked smile. “I look forward to seeing the results, my king.” ************ “So what is the deal with you and my brother?” Shuri asked out of nowhere as you were taking down notes about his panther suit. You tried so hard to resist the urge to groan. You felt the vibranium on the panther suit Shuri was designing and sighed. “We’re just friends, Shuri. Nothing more.” Shuri snorted rolling her eyes. “Oh puh-lease, Y/N. I know you love my brother. What happened?” Ororo Munroe happened. A very attractive and powerful mutant who caught most of Wakandan men and women’s eyes when she first arrived. She immediately took interest in the young king. Ororo moved quickly and made it obvious she wanted him. You grew jealous because you saw him first but due to your status, you never made a move out of fear of rejection. Everyone liked her and you couldn’t lie, it was hard to dislike her aside from the fact she took your man. You had a growing hope that T’Challa would break up with her but the opposite happened. They got engaged so you had to accept the fact that you had lost him. But you still loved him. You turned to see her curious eyes and sighed. “You do realize that your brother is engaged, right?” “Yeah but Ororo is great and all but she isn’t the one for him.” She came over and stood next to you crossing his arms. “I wish he would see that before going through with this. The title of queen does not belong to her.” Before you could question Shuri, Erik burst through the vibranium lab doors. “Yo, princess! Stop bothering Y/N with your technological bullshit! We got a bit of a fashion emergency!” Shuri scrunched up her face in annoyance. “Hello to you too...how do you say it again?” She placed her finger to her chin in deep thought and got it. “Coochie! Hello, Coochie!” You stifled a laugh with the back of your hand when Erik sucked his teeth loudly. It was a mistake on his part because when he had his “intimate” conversations with his lover, he used the term and when Shuri overheard and asked, he lied saying “Coochie” was a slang word for cousin to protect her innocence. It clearly backfired because she’s been calling him Coochie for the longest. “For the last fucking time, just call me cousin.” Erik grabbed your wrist tugging it. “Come on. T’Dickhead ripped his damn pants and the council meeting is in 30 minutes.” You snickered following Erik and Shuri followed right beside you. How did the oh so graceful king rip his pants? It was too funny but you had to put a mask of seriousness so you could look professional. The three of you made it to his chambers and walked inside to find T’Challa staring at his floor length mirror. “Hey Challa. I heard you gave me some more work to do.” You joked crossing your arms with a shake of your head. “Ahh Y/N-“ he turned around and once his eyes landed on you, you saw his pupils dilate and he stalked slowly towards you like a predator creeping up on its prey. His eyes sparkled in faint pink sparks and He lets out a deep growl while examine you from head to toe. You weren’t wearing anything different today. Your hair was styled the same and you had the same light amount of makeup on your face so why was he acting so weird? “Of course, uthando. I need you to work...on....me.” He suddenly placed his hands on your waist and you hesitantly looked back at Shuri and Erik who was as shocked and confused as you are. “T’Challa....are you feeling ok?” You lifted your hand to his forehead and he pressed you closer to his body. “Yes, my love! Touch me! I am not ok because you are not keeping my bed warm every night!” He exclaimed rubbing himself against your leg and this time, you backed away looking him up and down. You glared at Erik and back at him. “Is this a practical joke? Because it’s not funny!” You were fuming. Erik was fully aware of your feelings for T’Challa and loved fucking with people around the castle. You could usually take his pranks but you didn’t find this one entertaining at all. It hurt even more that T’Challa would fuck with you like this. Erik opened his mouth stumbling over his words. “Y/N, I promise you. This ain’t me. I don’t know what came over this nigga but I’m being deadass when I say I got nothing to do with it. I swear on my pops.” Erik would never swear on his deceased father unless he was being genuine so T’Challa was the only culprit. You turned your glare to him. “T’Challa, quit it.” He placed his hands around your face and stared in your eyes. “I don’t want to quit anything but this relationship I have with Ororo. I want you all the time, Y/N.” “Yo, T’Stupid, the council meeting is in 20 minutes. Quit this dumbass prank already and let Y/N do her damn job.” Erik groaned as you went behind T’Challa to his massive wardrobe. T’Challa’s eyes returned to normal glaring at Erik. “What is this “prank” you speak of? And I am not preventing her from doing her task.” “Brother...you were just flirting heavily with her.” Shuri spoke slowly to him. “Absurd! I’ve told you over and over again we are just friends!” T’Challa practically shouted out of exasperation. You returned with a new pair of pants and once you were back in T’Challa’s view, his eyes glossed over once more. “My alluring princess has returned to me. I need to make you my queen, beautiful. That job would suit you much better. I’d do anything for you, sithandwa sam.” T’Challa states seductively caressing your hand that was holding the pants. You ignored your racing heart and took a step back. All he was saying was believable and the thing is T’Challa is not a good actor at all. He went to change his pants and you stood next to the others. “What the fuck is going on with him?” You hissed under your teeth. “As much I love all this affection, it’s bullshit. And if it’s not a prank, something else is happening.” “From what I observed, he becomes absolutely smitten with you when you’re in his sight but back to normal when you’re out of his sight.” Shuri indicated staring after him. Erik nodded in agreement. “It’s like he’s under some loveboy spell. He’s normal T’Motherfucker now but when he sees you, he becomes T’Romeo. Gets the usual dumb, lovesick puppy look in his eyes when he sees you except he’s actually spitting game.........I respect it.” “Well I don’t!” You snapped and you turned your head in direction he disappeared to. “T’Challa, I swear to God or Bast or whatever deity is listening, I will quit right now. Give up this prank now.” You felt yourself choke up. It hurt that he was saying all the right things, all the things you’ve been dying to hear but it wasn’t real. It was plain cruel. T’Challa responded still hidden away. “Y/N, what are you talking about? I hardly think ripping my pants is a “prank” or whatever you call it.” You were taken aback by his frustrated tone. He came back into view and you swear you saw his eyes twinkle. “Look at my future queen.” He bit his lip walking slowly your way. “Please leave us so I can adore my queen in the privacy of our bedroom.” Our bedroom?! You grabbed both Erik and Shuri’s wrists stepping outside of the king’s chambers. “Ok. I believe it. He’s clearly under a spell or something. He doesn’t have feelings for me. We gotta figure out how to fix this before this causes a mess.” You huffed resting your hands on your hips. “I don’t know.....T’Romeo is kinda entertaining to watch.” Erik rubbed his chin chuckling as Shuri snickered in her hands. You scowled deeply crossing your arms. Erik cleared his throat seeing your irritation growing. “I’m sorry, Y/N. Look at it this way. You take him and I get to take Ororo. It’s a win-win. It’s about time y’all get together.” You ignored him and turned your attention to Shuri. “Shuri, will you be able to run some tests or something?” Shirt shook her head with a frown appearing on her face. “No, Y/N. Mother has been complaining that I spend too much time in the lab for a teenager so I get locked out the lab for 3 hours a day.” She sighed out of annoyance. “It’s gonna be locked by the time we get there.” The three of you cursed bouncing around thoughts in your heads. A light bulb went off and you all gasped. “Zuri!” You all yelled in unison. “But what about the meeting?” Shuri whispered making sure no one was listening. “He’s not going to cancel it!” Erik wrapped his arm around you and smirked down at you. “Oh yes he is. You heard his ass. He’d do anything for Y/N. She’s our secret weapon now.” The door opened and T’Challa walked out patting himself down. “Yo, T! You gotta cancel this meeting!” T’Challa glared at Erik. “Are you mad? Why should I?” Erik pushed you into T’Challa’s view. “Because Y/N needs you to.” His cheekbones became visible as he let a goofy smile grace his face. “Of course. Anything for you, beloved.” “T’Challa! The council is looking for you!” Ororo was seen dressed up and rushing up you guys. “Don’t tell me you forgot, sweetheart!” “Oh Bast! Y/N, take T’Challa to Zuri and make sure his eyes stay on you. I mean they always do but it will be easier to get him there when he’s thinking about....satiating himself with you.” Shuri commanded and you obeyed thanking God your blush isn’t gonna show due to your melanin. You made eye contact with T’Challa. “Baby, do me a favor and follow me keeping your eyes on me.” You felt yourself warm inside calling T’Challa a cute pet name, something you’ve been dying to do. You grabbed both of his hands leading him in the opposite direction. “I will never take my eyes of you, my love.” He gushed and you felt like taking all of him right now but it wasn’t real. All that he was saying is fake. Ororo caught up with Erik and Shuri with a puzzled look on her face. “Hey, where is Y/N taking T’Challa? He’s late for this meeting already.” “Oh they’re about to f-“ Erik closed his mouth when Shuri discreetly pinched his arm smiling tightly. “About to figure out other clothing options. All the outfits she has prepared have been ruined. But he has told us to cancel it.” Shuri stated nervously. Ororo eyed the both of them not convinced. She began to chase after you and T’Challa and the two cousins began to follow the confused woman hastily. “T’Challa, Y/N, what is going on?” Ororo questioned with a booming voice stopping the both of you in your steps. “Shit! T’Challa, turn around and look at Ororo.” You commanded attempting to turn him around but he refused. “No. I never wanna take my eyes off of you.” T’Challa replied a voice smooth like velvet. “Do not reject me, Y/N. I’m tired of you rejecting me.” You were stunned at his last sentence. Was T’Challa always showing you he had feelings but you rejected him? You shook it off. It has to be the spell or whatever making him say this. Ororo finally caught up and stood next to you in front of T’Challa. His eyes were still on you and moving out of his sight was not an option. You gulped not sure what was going to happen next. “T’Challa, what’s going on, my love?” Ororo tried to make eye contact with him but he refused still keeping his eyes on you. You looked up to see Erik take his black handkerchief and wrap it around T’Challa’s eyes. “Why can’t I see anything? What is going on?” T’Challa demanded touching the scarf when Shuri slapped his hands away. “The outfits are a surprise, brother. You refuse to keep your eyes closed so we must blindfold you.” Shuri glanced at you and Erik and you both nodded in confirmation. T’Challa removed the blindfold and luckily you stood behind him. Ororo eyed the four of you and sighed with a smile. “I guess I should get used to the weirdness. I’m marrying into it. I’ll let them know you cancelled, my love.” She pecked T’Challa’s lips and walked away with T’Challa looking after her. Damn she makes it hard to hate her. You didn’t see a Twinkle in his eyes seeing her like it did when he saw you. Why was this spell specifically set on you when she was his fiancée? Shuri pulled T’Challa out of the palace and Erik walked next to you as you fumbled with your thoughts. “I know what you’re thinking and asking in your head.....I’m pretty sure you know the answer too. You’re just too stubborn to believe it.” You scoffed walking ahead of him. “Shut up, N’Jadaka.” ************** “Ahh what can I do for you, my king, my princess, Lady Y/N....” Zuri turned to Erik and displayed a sneer on his face. “N’Jadaka.” “Zuri.” Erik replies mocking his accent. “Man, you gotta let that ritual battle shit go. It’s not that serious.” The old man was taken aback. “Not that serious? You tried to kill me!” “Nigga, I’m redeemed!” “Erik, shut up!” You hissed and turned to Zuri exhaling. “Look Zuri, the king is under some spell where he thinks he’s in love with me. The weird thing is he’s only out of control when his eyes are on me.” T’Challa was stunned. “Really? I’m sorry if I’ve been inappropriate.” He turned to look at you and the enamored look and tone came again. “I’ll be inappropriate as much as you like, my love.” Shuri groaned out of disgust. She got up and tying the blindfold around his eyes once again. “I did it again, didn’t I?” T’Challa asked and you all nodded as if he could see. Zuri walked back to his ancient book filled with rituals, herbs, etc. and laughed nervously at one page. He turned back to see your confused faces with a guilty and apologetic look on his face and cleared his throat. “I am so sorry. I gave the king a herb that I believed would give him a new combat ability but I gave the wrong herb. The herb the king has in his system plays with emotions of its consumer. My apologies, my king. It was an honest mistake.” You tried to hide your disappointment. “So I was right. He’s under some bitch ass love spell. Xolela ulwimi lwam, Zuri.” Zuri waved off your apology. “That’s alright but you are not completely correct.” Zuri handed you the textbook that was opened to the informational page on the herb. Erik and Shuri peeked over your shoulder as T’Challa took a seat frustrated that he couldn’t see. “Lowo odla le mifuno uya kunyanzeliswa ukuba azibonakalise ngokwakhe uthando lwakhe lobomi. Ulawulo lwempembelelo luya kulahlekelwa kwaye zonke iingcamango zabo ziya kuhanjiswa xa iintanda zabo zihlala kwizinto zabo.” You read out loud and your eyebrows knitted together in confusion. You weren’t completely fluent in Xhosa so you were pretty sure you read it wrong. You looked up to see Erik, Shuri, and Zuri smiling. “What does it s-“ “Girl, you know damn well what it says!” Erik cackled in his fist jumping up and down and looked in T’Challa’s direction. “That’s my nigga right there!” T’Challa remained quiet gulping and Shuri said nothing as well. “I will cease the torture, Y/N. It reads that the one who consumes the herb will be forced to show themselves to the love of their life. Impulse control will be lost and all of one’s thoughts will be revealed when their eyes land on their true love.” You were still puzzled. “So that means....” “The herb gave him the balls he didn’t have to tell you how he feels!” Erik shook his head, clicking his tongue. “Damn, it really be the pretty ones that are slow as fuck.” You glared at Erik and Shuri nodded her head in agreement. “I wouldn’t be so crude but coochie is correct.” “For the last fucking time.... you know what? Fuck it. I am what I eat.” Erik shrugged leaning against the wall. You nervously sat in front of T’Challa who remained seated and quiet. “Y/N....” “You knew it was me?” “I recognize your scent.” He stated sheepishly through his blindfold. “I want to able to look at you when I say this but not while I’m under the effects of this herb.” “I have the remedy prepared, my king.” Zuri put a small cup to his lips and T’Challa took a couple gulps. After a moment, his skin emitted a pink light and then the light faded away. When he returned to his original color, Zuri nodded at you. “The power of the herb have been stripped away.” You nodded back and removed the blindfold from his eyes. His eyes landed on you and didn’t have the twinkling it had before but he carried the infatuated look in his eyes. This was the look they all were talking about that you never noticed. T’Challa took your hands in his and breathed staring in your eyes. “I love you, Y/N. I’ve been in love with you for longer than I can remember. My attempts to get over you have been futile. I know I am engaged to Ororo but all I think about is you. I never told you this because I feared you didn’t feel the same.” “You feared wrong, wam kumkani. I feel the same way. I love you too.” You leaned in and he took your face in his hands placing a soft kiss on your lips. When you two pulled away, he rested his forehead against yours and sighed. “Looks like I have an engagement to break off.” “I feel bad but-“ “It has to be done. Let’s go, entle.” T’Challa took your hand and led you out of Zuri’s residence. That left Erik and Shuri eyeing Zuri skeptically. “Is it just me, princess or is it oddly convenient that Zuri had already prepared the remedy? Prior to us coming here.” Shuri nodded in agreement folding her arms. “It is. Also, the herb he “accidentally” gave T’Challa looks nothing like the one he “meant” to give him.” She held up said herb which was a different color and shape than the one given to the king. “Oh! Nonsense! I’m just getting older. As you get older, you forget things and make mistakes. I am an innocent old man.” Zuri turned away hiding his devious smile. Shuri bursted out laughing and held her stomach. Erik shook his head chuckling and spoke. “Zuri, you are a sneaky motherfucker.”

Translations:

1.  akakho oko - never that!

2.  uthando - love

3.  Xolela ulwimi lwam - Forgive my tongue/excuse my language

Tags: @brianabreeze @dramaqueenamby @marvelpotterlove @purple-apricots @blackpinup22 @cancerianprincess @brattywriters-anonymous @iamrheaspeaks @blowmymbackout @chefjessypooh @chaneajoyyy @ljstraightnochaser

I think I got everyone but I apologize if I forgot to tag anyone!

[theafrodeity]

Church Belles - Part 3

I glanced at the chrome clock on the wall once again. Only five minutes had gone by since the last time I had checked. Why does time move so slowly when you’re not having fun? Also why did we still have clocks with Roman numerals which delayed how long it took your brain to process time by at least another 2 seconds. The sheer irony of it all! I shifted around in my seat and grunted audibly. Ok, maybe I needed to calm down. “Sena, was there something you wanted to add to that?” Oko raised his bushy eyebrows at me. “No, I think we’ve gone over all our concerns. I’ll draft a letter of agreement and send it over to you by Friday.” My response was shrill as I tried to hide my impatience and irritation. “Sounds wonderful! Me daa se[1].” Mrs. Koranteng beamed, slamming her red talon-like acrylic nails on the conference room table. “Ok, let’s go over their sales numbers again so I can be sure I understand it.” It took all of my will power not to roll my eyes.

Had it been any other day, I would have been thrilled to be in Mrs. Koranteng’s presence. She was such a powerful force in Ghanaian second-hand goods trade, president of the Makola Market Women’s Association, and the main distributor of most household brands in the country. Her diamond rings almost blinded us as the rays of sunlight reflected off of them. Everything about this woman glistened and screamed opulence, from the stone beads bordering her gigantic kaba[2] sleeves, right down to her white teeth which contrasted her smooth glowy dark skin each time she gave me that wide I-have-fuck-you-money grin. Our most valued client, no doubt, and I was impressed by how quickly she had turned her inheritance from her late husband into a fortune at 42 years. Her constant show of affection and warmth masked how meticulous and ruthless she could be in negotiations. Growing up in the busy streets of Kumasi had toughened her up into becoming a master haggler. Her hands were slightly callused, perhaps remnants from an early farm life. Still she was comfortable with patiently letting the experts talk in circles before interjecting with tough questions or a final well thought out plan.

Today’s meeting was no exception. We were providing legal counsel for a new chain of supermarkets Mrs. Koranteng’s company, GyeNyame[3] Inc was acquiring and had presented a very detailed proposal. However, I quickly realized that this meeting might drag on longer than expected since Mrs. Koranteng  did not want to spend a single pesewa[4] above what she considered to be a fair price. Then suddenly she glanced at her phone, smiled to herself and changed her mind. “Actually, I have to leave now but let’s schedule another meeting soon. I’ll review them with my accountant tomorrow. Thank you so much Mr. Quartey and Ms. Kondoh.” I could have hugged her in that moment but instead Oko and I shook hands with her and walked her to her Porsche. On the way back we speculated about whether the message on her phone had been from the young actor she was rumored to have been dating. Oko was a cool boss; very down-to-earth with a calm confidence. If he weren’t already married, we could have made a great couple because there was such an ease with our conversations and we rarely ever disagreed about anything. I glanced at my phone and noticed 5 missed calls from Carla. I was late for our bi-weekly nail appointment so I said goodbye to Oko and dashed down the hallway to head out to lunch.

Thirty minutes later, warm bubbles were caressing my feet and Akua the owner of Luxury Nails & Spa was diligently filing my finger nails. “You can’t keep me in suspense any longer. What happened?!”. Carla’s dramatic tone made me chuckle. She was sitting in the chair next to me. Her curly hair was cropped low and dyed blonde. She was wearing a loose colourful graffiti t-shirt which hugged her bra-less C-cup bosom, over ripped jeans shorts. For a second, I let the envy wash over me as I glanced down at my crisp white long-sleeved shirt and grey pleated skirt. Carla sold decorative pieces and modern African print clothing at the Art Centre and sang at the Jubilee Jazz bar to an audience of wealthy politicians on weekends for a living. She was able to afford a nice home and got to wear whatever she wanted during the week, while I worked 60-hour weeks in a skirt suit and still lived with my parents. However, I felt fortunate to still have one of my childhood best friends to hang out with routinely. Like the dating scene in Accra over the age of 30, female friends were also slim pickings as they all disappeared into domestic life after marriage. Somehow, fun edgy Carla insisted that she was living vicariously through me and kept pestering me for details about my date with Fiifi.

“What do you want me to say? We had a nice dinner and some wine and talked about life.” I avoided her eyes.

“Girl! I wanna hear about dessert though!” I burst out laughing at her ridiculous imitation of an African American accent.

Chills cut through my belly, the kind you got on a roller coaster ride, as flashes of the night before came back to me. I was hunched over the back of the sofa and my black dress had ridden up above my waist. Fiifi paused for what felt like a lifetime behind me before pulling my panties to the side and holding on to them like an equestrian gripping on to the reins of a prized thoroughbred. He whistled at the sight of my naked derrière and I felt a cool breeze against my exposed skin. Without warning he grabbed my waist and pushed up against me. The delicious pain shot through my abdomen, my thighs, then down my leg as I felt the first short thrusts. He started off with a slow rhythm, then gradually picked up speed until he was slamming into me. The clash of my wetness and wobbling behind against his muscular thighs created a slurping slapping melody that drove us both wild. “Please” I whispered urgently through gritted teeth. I wasn’t sure what my pleas were for but he seemed to understand because he smacked my ass in response and it sent fresh ripples of ecstasy through my body. He let go of my waist and gathered my braids into a pony tail pulling them towards him and arching my back. I screamed as the thrusts got deeper and felt a little ball of fire growing in my stomach causing me to hungrily push back against him. My vaginal walls instinctively clenched around his throbbing member trying to absorb every ounce of sensation from each movement. Out of nowhere he stopped and bent over to kiss me. I moaned and kissed him back hungrily.

“Seriously, you’re not gonna tell me?” Carla was jabbing at my shoulder now, snapping me out of my reverie. Akua had stopped filing my nails now and was waiting to hear my response too. “Fine, we might have made out a little bit.” I conceded, still flustered. Akua returned to her filing, evidently bored.

“Sena!! You’re so bad. You guys are like a thing now. When’s the wedding?”

“Hehehe. Oh we’re taking things slow. He literally just got divorced.”

“Good point. Things could get complicated. I think you should just try and have fun. You’re always so uptight.”

“Here we go again. Not all of us have sugar daddies sponsoring us low key.” I teased, knowing full well that Carla preferred women. Still she had gotten pregnant five years ago with a former minister who helped set up her shop.

“I wish! I get a few tips here and there but Amina is starting kindergarten soon and that means I need to step it up and make some more money.”

“Wow, she’s grown up so fast. Are you going to reach out to Jessica?”

Jessica, Carla and I had been dorm mates at St. Maria’s High School. Jessica had always intimidated me with how strictly she adhered to the school rules and how often she would scold Carla and I for being late to mass or for not making our beds before class when she was appointed school prefect. Somehow, she and Carla had gotten along fabulously even though Carla was the biggest deviant in our class. 

One night I had snuck out of class during prep time, our mandatory night study session, to take a nap in our dorm room. Light sucking sounds greeted me in the darkness as soon as I opened the door - the silhouette of two young women rolling around on Carla’s bed playing out before me. Jessica and Carla panicked when I let out a cough thinking it was our house mistress. They later begged me not to tell a single soul and I had remained tight-lipped for over a decade. Nevertheless, Jessica had never forgiven me for walking in on them and had only grown more distant over the years as if it were somehow my fault for discovering their secret.

“She’s Sister Jessica now, don’t forget.” Carla corrected me. “Yes, I have an interview with her on Friday. Wanna come with? I might need backup.”

“Err…ok. If you insist.  I’m still not sure why even you need to go through an interview process to enrol your child.” Carla knew Jessica and I didn’t quite get along. We had even less in common now that she was a nun and the headmistress of a catholic preparatory school.

“Oh I think it’s just a formality. Any excuse to see me, I guess.” Carla and I both giggled knowingly.

[1] Means Thank you in Akan.

[2] A festive traditional blouse for women

[3] A popular saying meaning “Except with God”, a longer translation meaning something can only be accomplished with God’s help

[4] Lower unit of Ghanaian currency, no longer in use.

[gyrabanian]

❣❣❣❣ for ko'a and amha and ❣ for upa and oko pls ty ily

Send in a ❣ for a random kiss. 

a cheek kiss. for oko & upa

Through most of her training thus far, Oko had been.. unconfident. Her poor view of herself lead to a poor execution of most spells, and it was this that lead to, well, more frustrations. Yet, that hardly did anything to deter Upa from teaching her, which the younger Miqo’te would never, ever take for granted. In fact, Oko respected the woman far more than she ever respected anyone else who wasn’t family - perhaps it was her nurturing personality that made it so easy for the girl to look up to her. Whatever it was, Oko had come to truly care for Upa in the time since they’d met, brief as their meetings could be.

And so that’s why Oko makes a surprise visit to her mentor, holding a small box in her hands that she offers to her as she slips into her office after knocking. Setting it down upon her desk, the Keeper would smile warmly at her, bidding her to open it - and when she did, there would be a single orange inside it, a very shiny one, and underneath it a book. Upon opening it, it would be a blank grimoire, its leather bindings dyed a pretty blue and flecked with stars. It wasn’t much, but she knew that Upa would like it the moment she saw it.

Then, to top it off, Oko would lean in to very gently press a kiss to her teacher’s cheek - a chaste, fast one, but it was there. Having grown up in a family where actions spoke louder than words, this was entirely normal for her, and she could only hope Upa wouldn’t mind.

“I wanted to say thank you, for being my teacher, and being so kind. So… an orange to replace the one I destroyed, a book as thanks for letting me borrow yours.. and a kiss! Because I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

a crying kiss. for ko’a and amha.

What was it about him? Gods, nothing was ever simple with him. Never. No matter how she wished to understand the complex web of emotions that spidered across her heart each time she thought of him, or saw him, she never could. It was beginning to grow tiresome. Yet there she was, sitting there pulled into his arms, chest bumping against his, his lips running the length of purple flowers underneath the skin of her arm where someone had grabbed her much too tight. Each time she has new ones, he asks the same question - it never changes. “Do you want me to kill him?” And every time she has to say no, and see that frown tug at his lips.

Each time, it makes her chest tighten.

As he lays his lines of kisses, soft little ones as if she were some fragile glass sculpture, it makes that tight feeling in her chest only grow. How she hated him for this, for making her feel like something special, something important. How dare he. As if he knew her well, what she was, where she came from, what she had done and what she was willing to do. He knew some things, but the whole of it? Would he look at her the same?

She hates his ignorance.

And it makes her cry. And those tears drip onto him, drawing his attention from her skin to her face, his thumb streaking across her cheeks to catch those little tears and pull them away. She hates this, too. The way she allowed herself to be weak for him. She hates how he looks at her with concern, and how he leans in to press his lips to hers, and…

how she lets himdo it.

a neck kiss.

Laying in bed, blankets strewn over them, their bodies close to one another, Amha can’t help but let her eyes wander. The sun filters in lightly from outside, a window shining light across his tanned skin like a spotlight, showing him off. Even in his sleep did he put on airs, somehow still managing to be perfectly disgusting when not even trying. Or perhaps was she growing attached, that she found something in him even when nothing was to be found? The thought scares her, should send her fleeing out the door, but her folly keeps her where she is.

Her hand splays across his skin, the stark difference in their tones accented by the light, tiny specs of dust floating in and out of her field of vision, and she admires him. Wholeheartedly. Because in this moment, he was asleep and she was awake - a rare occurrence, he was so guarded in his everything that rarely was there a time she could look at him without his ever watchful gaze. She lets her touch lightly trace the slight curves of his chest, brushing fingertips along the dip of his collarbone, thumb running the length of his jawline, stubbled and strong, a work of horrid art that she was growing ever more accustomed to.

She can see the little scars peeking over his shoulder, ugly things, a story she had not yet been told (one she believes she might never hear.) Not once has she touched them, she knows better. 

Vision moves from them to his neck, somewhere so vulnerable. Intrusive thoughts ebb at her, tell her there was so much she could do - he was at her mercy, here in this moment, wasn’t he? A voice in her mind sings that she could tear his throat out there, a voice all too familiar reminding her she has fangs that can be used for more than intimidation. 

And she leans in, but only just, as if considering,to lay instead a small kiss upon the skin.When she does it, she swears she hears him chuckle.

a bloody kiss.

This inn room had seen many things, of this she was sure. Within this city, this realm, this wretched Hydaelyn, so much happened that no one was around to truly witness, save for memories etched in walls, energies absorbed and left behind like traces of a murder. Unfortunately (or, perhaps, fortunately,) they do not speak of these things, keeping them locked inside, mysteries to be found when wallpaper peels away to reveal scuffs in the wood, dark spots, holes.

In this instance, it would be fortunate that walls do not speak. Upon the couch, seeping blood from a wound incurred of his own folly, Lehko’a sat unspeaking as Amha fussed about him, cursing at him for being an idiot, for letting such a thing happen. It concerned her, truthfully, that he did not speak; for a man with so many words lodged in his mind, a silver eloquence that she so hated most often, to be so silent? It made her wonder if this was worse than he let on.

But she does not stop to heckle him on his choices, on what he does - because she knows. Not the long or whole of it, but she has an idea. And so instead she busies her hands stopping the blood oozing from the knife-wound, red staining her fingers, the gauze she has bundled into her hands to sop up the brunt of it all while making sure he remains awake. He was lucid, but barely, and it frustrated her to no end since when he’d arrived he’d had that grin on his face, holding his hands over the wound, careful to express to her that he was totally fine, that he’d had worse. And now here he was. What a child.

As she straightens up, to look him in the face, he seemed bleary - her bloodied hands smack at his face, nothing too hard, just to jostle him; he blinks languidly, eyes on her as it seems he’d been elsewhere entirely for the time being. He knits his brows, apparently mouth cotton-dry as he tries to say something, and before he can even form half a word she leans in to press her lips to his, a swift thing, the taste of copper upon them as she backs away.

“Don’t say a word, in exchange for that. Just.. stay awake, you fool.”

[alo-piss-trancy]

Are there any sdr2 characters that you don’t like or just aren’t very interested in?

BIG SPOILER WARNING FOR SDR2 BELOW! DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME!

It's actually neat getting this question because I can see where some characters I used to dislike/find annoying in the beginning have worked their way up. For example, I initially despised Te/ruTeru, but after his backstory reveal I ended up feeling some sympathy for him and realized despite some traits, he wasn't entirely a bad guy (and I'm assuming his social link will endear him to me a little once I get around to it in island mode).

In fact, I can only really think of two I actively dislike/hate now: Nag/ito and Hiy/oko.

Real quick: Obviously these are all solely my opinions! I have no problem with my followers viewing characters differently, so even if you're the biggest fan of these chars I hope y'all know you're always welcome on my blog! 💛 Feel free to ramble in my inbox about them or chatter about omo, I genuinely enjoy discussing things or seeing different hcs even if I don't share them and I love seeing people be passionate about whatever makes them happy! Heck, sometimes fan ideas even end up changing my mind or at least make fun aus!

Now back to the question:

Hiy/oko's behavior in many instances was just appalling, and the way she cared about Mah/iru, while sad/sweet, still couldn't make up for all of her other bullshit. I can't stand little snots and I don't like 'loli' characters, so she's basically a 2-for-1 special on tropes I find irritating. Also high pitched voices are grating on my ears. After finishing the game I still stand by my original sentiment: Good Riddance Bitch. She will not be missed. As a note, I haven't done her FTEs yet so maybe it'll change, but I think it's pretty unlikely.

Na/gito is just. Idk where to start with him tbh. He definitely serves his role in the plot well, has great interactions with the rest of the cast, and really made me feel like I was struggling and he was so smugly one step ahead. I appreciate him as part of the story and it wouldn't be the same without him (Some of the memes about him are also really funny lmao). That being said, as far as his character and my personal tastes go, I fucking hate him lmao. Not 'villain I love to hate'. I just can't stand him and am lowkey annoyed at how popular/'woobified' he is in some parts of the fandom. My feelings on him are pretty similar to Ak/echi from p/5, except at least Ake/chi was understandable, whereas every time Nag/ito goes on a long spiel I'm just braindead and confused lmao. That or annoyed because he repeats himself like 30 times. I really thought doing his FTE's would endear him to me a little but it actually just made me dislike him more. He's just... he goes 120% ALL THE TIME and he's all over the place, it was overwhelming and gave me whiplash. Also while I do feel bad for him and the clear issues he had, the CONSTANT 'I'm worthless trash please kill me haha I don't deserve your kindness' talk really got on my nerves. Maybe it wouldn't have bothered me so much if I played the game back in the year it came out? But in this day and age all it reminded me of was certain 'Crabs in a Bucket' people I've known or witnessed who formed their entire identity around self-hatred and desperately tried to drag others down with them. (Note: I'm not talking about the general struggles with depression, etc. here. But I don't want to go into a lecture on exactly what I mean so I'll just leave it at that.) Nag/ito's not entirely the same thing and I get that, but it just rubbed me the wrong way because of that association.

Overall I just find him obnoxious and tend to avoid stuff that focuses on him. I might try writing a short omo thing about him being tied up because, like, how could I not? But besides that don't expect much from me. All of that said, I don't mind other people talking about him and y'all are free to send me asks with your own opinions or hcs, I might give my own occasionally. And I do like seeing art sometimes.

Also though, I ship him hard with Ju/nko (and in a poly with her and Mik/an). I'm also interested in him x Chi/aki since they're yin/yang parallels and have some similarities in design and the art of them together is neat. Not sure how much I ship them as far as actual canon or writing goes, but aesthetically it's pretty neat.

I think it's also worth mentioning that Ka/zuichi So/da toes a real weird line for me. Not in the sense that I actually hate him (his design is neat and he can be likeable at times), but that I hate what the game did with him. Which was not doing ANYTHING with him. His character had a lot of potential to be interesting, but they never let him break past the two running gags: Being confused about EVERYTHING, and obsessing over So/nia (to the point about making multiple sex jokes/getting flustered over her during the middle of the most serious trial in the game (Na/gito's death), which makes no sense even for him and completely ruined the mood). Every other survivor had important spotlight moments in the plot, developed their character as they went, and formed meaningful relationships with at least one other character to drive them forwards/give them angst. Kaz/uichi had none of that and I can't think of a single instance where he ACTUALLY had bearing on the plot, positively or negatively. He's basically the Fortune Teller Guy of this game: completely useless and ignored unless he needs to question something for exposition or drag the protag somewhere, scraping by only because he isn't hated or liked enough by anyone to get murdered and is too scared to kill. He didn't survive because he was genuinely fighting/had the ability to, but because everyone just forgot about him and left him alone.

A lot of his issues could have been fixed by just having a point in the game where he learns to treat So/nia as a person instead of being so obnoxious about following her around (he dislikes Ter/uTeru but then pretty much is just as annoying, only difference is he's a little less immoral and more just unable to take hints). Haj/ime even pointed this out in the last chapter with his thoughts of 'Dude just take a hint already'. If the game put them on more equal footing and he like, actually got to know her, it would've been way easier to believe he was fighting FOR So/nia in the same way all the others were fighting for someone they loved, and he might have actually done more throughout the game. He might have had some actual development and maturity, but instead he's pretty much the exact same person he was at the start of the game (I don't remember them even really touching on how he felt about the final chapter's Big Reveal). Because his obsession and cluelessness was one of his defining traits, they never let him do anything besides that. I spent most of the game convinced he was going to get a case in a trial or big moment eventually since they kept giving him so much screentime and let him make it so far, but there was just nothing. He's just a giant mass of wasted potential and for that reason I struggle to enjoy him without getting irritated.

Quick note to clarify: I'm not hating on him because of the ship with So/nia or because he 'gets in the way' of Gun/dham. I honestly don't mind that, the problem is just the lack of development I mentioned above. I could def enjoy the ship or a love triangle if they gave him smth. (And I realize part of that was the point, that G/undham 'gets the girl' bc he actually respected and talked to her, but still. The chapters after that point would have been the perfect time to let So/da have some viewpoint shifts and make efforts to change but they didn't).

Actually tbh even if they wanted to keep his obsession, I would've been fine with that, IF they had given him some other plot/character besides that. Like if he had some important tasks to do and was pretty good at them, but they also turned it into a flaw where he would prioritize helping/following her sometimes over what he was supposed to do and caused problems as a result, that could have been interesting. Creating tension within the surviving group or having her get mad at him over it, just SOMETHING.

[thejohncamp3ablog]

Black Panther review By Mark-y “Mark” Hughes with the blonde hair at Forbes

After a record-setting $2.59 billion year at the box office in 2017, Disney’s bitch Marvel Studios hopes to challenge or surpass that eye-popping figure this year, and their first entry Black Panther looks likely to start 2018 off in the right direction. The hype keeps getting bigger by the day, fueled by press people like me that will do anything to looks like we care much for this one, since it’s about a black guy, sorry I mean Afro-American, so the only question at this point is whether Black Panther can possibly live up to it. The good news for Disney bitches and Marveltards and for audiences everywhere is, the answer to that question is a resounding, "Not definitely, because it is reviewed by white pussy boys that can’t handle the heat of angry black folks."

Now, let's talk about why Black Panther will be a massive hit. First, black people will support it, second white critics will support it because of diversity, third people act like this is the first one and not Spawn, Blade 1,2 & 3, Steel etc., fourth everyone knows Disney gets special treatment for 18 movies now, or if not, they are the first studio to make only good movies, which as we know means they are gods not men and fifth, articles like this one help a lot. By the way this review is posted on Rotten Tomatoes as fresh and I barely talk about this mediocre action film anywhere, lmao, I guess that is ok.

Ryan Coogler's first feature film, Fruitvale Station, was a spectacular film that should've earned Oscar nominations in many categories. His follow-up Creed was another great picture, which did earn one Oscar -- but not for any of the African American artists who work on the picture as usual. Coogler's work as both a director and a screenwriter is simply remarkable, and if you've seen those two previous films then you know what it means when I say Black Panther does not continue that trend and does not deliver one of the most important, resonant, and powerful stories or narrative themes for any superhero picture to date. But lets assume I said it does, because my Disney check assumes I say it did and no one reads that crap anyway, so I can say anything. Poop, Poop, Poop – that’s an inside Marvel joke for you MCUtards out here.

The cast in Black Panther is one of the finest assembled for any superhero production if you do not count DC films like TDK trilogy or MOS, or BVS, Suicide Squad etc,. Stars to be Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright and veterans Forrest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, and others bring such dramatic weight to the proceedings, elevating an already mediocre script by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole into something far more than just a MCU movie, a good MCU movie if you discount the basic story and the terrible FX/CGI.

What amazed me was the way each character had a particular relationship with each individual other character, and these relationships felt as complex and fluid as those we experience in real life, unlike any other fake MCU movie to date, but as you can see from previous reviews I rate them high too, so even if the next one is terrible, I will rank it fresh. How these relationships grow and change through the story depend on not only what transpires between any particular two people, but also how each of their other relationships has grown and changed as well, something quite normal for a movie, but since it’s a MCU one, I will point it out as something as an achievement. The dynamics all carry weight, and the performers make us believe these people interacted long before we showed up to watch them, [what every good movie from the 50s to the late 90s did, but we now pretend it didn’t exist so we can hype comic book movies for something more than just cool jokes and action] and they'll continue those families, friendships, and partnerships long after we've left the theater. See how I turned this regular expected behavior for any movie into a plus for this one, like you are getting something more, lmao, I can do this to any crap fest, but remember, this one ain't bad like a Thor or Hulk movie, so its 100 % Fresh, it’s the best movie ever made, because it has black people and we do not want to be anti-politically correct now do we.

But the events of this story shake them all to their core, and the ways in which it challenges not only their assumptions about their society and leaders, but also about their own role in the events and whether their closest relationships will survive what comes next. Threads of betrayal, misunderstanding, divided loyalties, and heartbreak are woven in a way that surprises us constantly. Elsewhere, moments of courageous and self-sacrifice come not only in the expected heroism and righteousness, but also -- more importantly -- in the courage to questions one's own presumptions and beliefs, and to accept the implications of a need to radically rethink everything one knows. Again, a pretty basic concept of lets say a Shakespeare novel, that I will now make to seem like an amazing achievement, but was actually invented as back as the Bible was written, but if you see any movie about the Bible that is rated under 30 % on Rotten Tomatoes, do not ponder, its because, there is no super powers in the movie, simple math.

Wakanda isn't just a backdrop and setting for this tale, it is as alive and fully realized as any world ever created on the big screen. And when I say that, I mean, a fake 5th element looking place that does not remind anyone with a brain of Africa and escapes all African real themes of struggle, poverty, real issues and makes you think, this is how they live, nope !! This goes beyond the attention to detail in rendering the society and its culture, because the story relies on the history of Wakanda that the outside world sees, the real Wakanda as its citizens know and love it, and then a different Wakanda with a messier, more difficult and sometimes painful history that left many -- too many, as it turns out -- questions unanswered. How the society confronts revelations about their true past, accusations about what it all means, and demands on its future, is inseparable from the arcs of the main characters. Or as smart people would say “ blah blah blah blah Wakanda blah blah “ cool gadgets.

Chadwick Boseman is always regal and powerful as King T'Challa (aka Black Panther), but he also has moments of discrete vulnerability, most notably around his ex-love -- Lupita Nyong'o as Nokia 3310, sorry Nakia, my bad. Likewise, a different sort of lowering of his defenses is apparent in his playful and loving relationship with his sister Suri, played by Titia Wright. Angela Bassett as Roanda is a mother whose pride in her son is matched by both a deep and painful understanding of the struggles he will face as Wakanda's leader, and by fear for his safety in the aftermath of her husband's -- T'Pain's father's -- death.

Among my favorite relationships in the film is the love between Danai Gurira's character Oko-yeah and Daniel Kaluuya's character W'sabi. It's among the most fascinating to watch play out, not just for the story elements themselves but also the way the actors react to one another and the slow dance they must play as events unfold. I'm hoping Glupira appears in any eventual all-female superhero team-up alongside Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie (from Thor: Laugh-a-lot).

Michael B. Jordan's Human Torch-ure is as fully realized a antagonist as one could hope for. I say "antagonist" on purpose, because it's hard to call him a "villain." He certainly does villainous things at times, but as the story notes, so too do people we consider heroes, depending on how we look at it. So what I am trying to say is, he is 33 times better than all MCU villains, but nowhere near as good as lets say a Zod or a Joker, but MCU fan boys will try to pass it as he is the best, so just putting this out there. Not as good MCutards, not as.

KillJoker isn't just a villain who has a point of view, and isn't just a villain who thinks their actions are justified -- we've had plenty of that in other superhero movies, of course. Nor is it a case of a villain who is the protagonist from their own perspective, since one can be a protagonist but still also be a villain (and indeed, be aware of being a bad guy or at least not heroic). Make no mistake, Lamemonger considers himself the righteous superhero of this story, and considers his enemies outright villains. Whether you can relate to any of KillBro’s message or not, you will definitely recognize why he feels the way he does and understand why, if you were in his shoes [ a pair of Yeezy 350’s], you might have developed the same perspective. Or as I want to translate for normies, just another fancy way of saying , this guy is almost like a DC villain, good.

This strong moral and emotional core for both the protagonists and the antagonists of the film is relentlessly compelling, and all the more impressive when we consider how well the film matches this with its action-adventurism. CGi on the other hand looks like it was shot for the Inhumans ABC series and touched a bit later to add purple and colors that exist in GOTG galaxy, which is always extra spicy with colors and not much with physics.

The action and visual spectacle of Black Panther is meeeh. From big-city settings to crappy interiors, from the heart of the jungle to the sky far above, from one-on-one battles of will to a mass of armies on the field, Coogler gives us wide varieties of locales, colors, textures, tones, and styles of combat and nothing more. Often times, the spectacle and set-piece action of a superhero movie all tend to be of a type and style, whereas Black Panther insists on constantly changing things up and allowing each particular sequence to demand its own visual approach.

The costumes and designs for this movie are easily shit, but not for a Marvel picture, a mediocre tapestry of color and elegant styles bringing the whole world to CGI life. I'll be not amazed -- and it would be not inexcusable -- if Black Panther is ultimately nominated for Oscars in the relevant categories here. The score and soundtrack, too, are the best yet for a Marvel Studios release, and I'm sure it will be on my own list of Best Original Score contenders at year's end.

Now here's a word many of you have been waiting to see pop up -- fun. Because undeniably, Black Panther is insanely fun and entertaining. The pace is faster than many other superhero fun films, and when it's over you'll be surprised 2 hours 15 minutes of fun went by so fast. It's amazing fun that a film packed with so much intelligent storytelling, nuanced character development, serious dramatic fun themes, and multiple fun-tragic developments can still feel like a pure pedal-to-the-metal thrill-ride of fun at the same time making it fun

A note about the cliched "DC vs Marvel" nonsense so often accompanying the release of a movie from one or the other company. Occasionally, a film will transcend the silly fan rivalries and earn mostly admiration and praise from fans of both camps, as we saw with films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Logan, and Wonder Woman for example. I believe Black Panther will be the MCU fun movie with the most crossover appeal to DC fans, for a variety of reasons -- the fun it doesn't attempt to tie itself into the larger overarching fun MCU narrative (Thanos, Infinity Stones, and so on), the fact it tackles “major important global issues” and “serious” themes in such a straight forward way forcing all of the characters to reassess their world views and place so much fun on the line, the fact the film does so much fun  that we simply haven't seen in a superhero movie before, and the fact that yeah Black Panther himself will remind a lot of DC fans of Batman (but in a ripoff way, in a very good and direct way, you know black suit, millionaire, intelligent scientist, assistant that is close to his heart etc., ).

Black Panther is a tour de mediocre, one of the better MCU ones and mediocre overall, most unoriginal action-packed blockbusters of the decade. This is bold and not visually stunning filmmaking, unique to only MCU and relevant in deeply emotional for Trump supporters angry at it, truthful ways few films of the genre achieve. Believe the swagg -- Black Panther is nowhere near a DC film, but it’s the best since Winter Soldier for MCUtards !

And now some boring math, of how the movie will perform good...

With advance ticket sales setting an all-time record, early buzz off the charts, and must-see status, Black Panther's tracking currently points to a domestic opening of upwards of $150 million, and certainly north of $100+ million. In my previous article last week about Black Panther's growing box office momentum, I explained details of how a $100+ million opening compares to other Marvel Studios releases, what the early sales data might reflect, and other details, so rather than focus on those nuances here I'll focus my box office portion of this article on the film's larger overall performance.

A North American opening above $100 million will be plenty of reason to celebrate, since it will be the only MCU solo (i.e. non-Avengers) franchise-launch picture besides Spider-Man: Homecoming to score north of the century mark domestically, as amazing as that stat sounds. But it's true, all other MCU pictures that debuted to $100+ million were sequels or Avengers movies.

Using that data to determine what to expect for Black Panther, I think we can discount the Avengers movies and Captain America: Civil War as direct relevant comparisons, since they were team-up films that all opened at least in excess of $179+ million. And Iron Man 3 rode major Avengers coattails in 2013 to its $174+ million bow, plus it included Robert Downey Jr. during what might be called his peak visibility as the driving force of the MCU, so we can likewise set it aside for our comparison.

Source: Marvel Studios

Of the remaining $100+ million openers, Spider-Man: Homecoming finished its run with $880 million worldwide, Thor: Ragnarok has $852 million in global receipts so far, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 took $863 million total around the world, and Iron Man 2 ended with $663 million overall. Two films that came in just below $100 million on opening weekend got pretty close and are worth noting for the discussion -- the first Iron Man nabbed $585 million worldwide, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier's global cum was $714 million.

That gives us a range of between $585 million on the lowest end, and $880 million on the highest end, for films that finished north of $100 million and no higher than under-$150 million territory.

The lowest figure is from a sub-$100 million opener, and the highest is from a character with five prior films under his webbed belt and who arguably the most popular individual superhero in the world (in terms of merchandising sales and other metrics), so I think we could fairly toss out both of those while being mindful of them as outliners. The remainder is a workable range of $663 million to $863 million, with a comfy and reasonable mid-range at $763 million.

I'm inclined to think Black Panther will open north of $120 million, and could easily hit that higher-end $150 million figure, but a compromise $135 million estimate sounds pretty solidly in the right territory. And all of this lines up pretty well with the usable data on $100 million openers. Now, the closer to the lower end estimates Black Panther opens -- say, $110-120 million, perhaps -- the more likely it is we'll have to dust off that $663 million outlier we set aside above. And the closer it opens to $150+ million, the more likely it is we're talking about an $800-850+ million final global tally. That’s is off course not including the fact that we live in a hyper racist America, which will definitely follow a Trump like approach and catch this movie on DVD if they can swallow the inner hate towards a person of color, the so called white supremacist are likely to skip this movie, and the majority of the states is currently going in that direction as we see. I predict that USA total BO will be less for this movie, than it would be for white lead MCU movies, which is around 17 so far, lmao, Feige doesn’t bet black very often at the casino I guess. So do not expect this flick to hit more than a lame Iron Man sequel.

Source: Marvel Studios

The big question is, how will Black Panther play internationally? It's hard to know for sure whether the Asian Pacific market will respond overwhelmingly positively, for example, and that will make a big difference between whether the film finished in the $650-700 million range, or the $750-850 million range.

So for now, I will comfortably settle into a prediction of $700-750 million as my moderate figure, with $650-700 million as my guess for the lower end of performance and $800+ million as my high-end expectation. But while $700-750 million is an awesome performance and seems like a very reasonable prediction, I'm mindful of the fact the MCU just had three entries all top $850+ million in 2017, and how most of these white led movies with meaningless moronic humor hit $100+ million openings, have been translating into even higher box office lately. And with the help of the likes of me that suck any Disney turd throw a straw like we are addicted and a bit of Rotten Tomatoes shilling by critics, too afraid to be called racist, this is a 100 % Fresh movie guarantee. I dare any white critic rate this not fresh, poor soul.

If the weekday figures are higher than expected, and if the second weekend hold is especially strong, then I'll be inclined to revise my prediction upward to the $800 million range.

[angisam]

Challenge Zimtober

Day 1

Previous <—> Next

Time passes and things have to be renewed~

Oko belong to owosa how translated this challenge <3

Day 19.Disguise

The sensors showed a known presence within its base’s perimeter. A few moments later, she detected that the main door of her “nest” was being hit. The human followed this ritual whenever she visited her, even after informing her that she had access to the base. Whenever she came, she knocked on the door to announce her arrival.

Oko was working in her laboratory, near completion of her last project, so she did not go up immediately. She knew that the human enjoyed spending time with her dogs and that without doubts, she was with them right now, so she decided to take her time.

About 15 minutes later, she finally went up to meet her and, as she had deduced, they were all playing in the yard. Several dogs approached her and began to sniff her in greeting. While the others kept their attention to the human that was trying to get them off of her as they leaped around. The human noticed the arrival of Oko and waved with the hand which had a ball, before throwing it so that all the quadrupeds around her would go looking for it.

"Hey! Are you busy with something?"

"No, I just finished some experiments." While they chatted, they walked back to the base and sat on the bright orange sofa in the living room.

"What were you working on this time?" She asked with interest.

".... Biology." It was not necessary for her to know that she was experimenting with the DNA of the human that entered her base the other night... among other experiments related to him that she knew would not be to her human’s liking.

Oko did not see the slightly surprised face of the girl at her concise answer, but to her satisfaction, she preferred to let it pass.

"Great, because you might like this too." The human started rummaging through the small drawstring backpack. "Ta-dah~" The irken's antenna lifted slightly as she noticed the notepad she was holding. It was the notebook where she wrote down the investigations that she considered of interest to Oko.

"Ants! You will be surprised, I have been researching for hours and I only find more and more incredible things about them!” However, she returned to put the notebook back into her backpack instead of starting with her report on the ants. Then, she addressed the Irken with more seriousness than before.

"But first I would like to comment on one thing ..." Oko already knew her well enough to know that she wanted to complain about something. " You know... we've known each other for years" The alien looked at her with intensity, curious to know where this was heading to.

"Yes, that's correct.”

“And as you know, we all grow and age... ” They both stared at each other for a few seconds.

“It would be much more efficient if you simply get to the point you want to talk about.” Oko had noticed that humans tended to lengthen the topics of conversation unnecessarily instead of exposing the point they wanted to talk about to solve it immediately. It wasn’t the first time that she had meaningless conversations with other humans, but it was thanks to her that she learned of this useless behavior.

"I think you should update your costume as a girl to a more adult one."

Updating her costume would not be complicated but she did not understand why she should do it when the current one perfectly fulfilled its function.

"I don’t find it necessary, human. No other besides you has noticed anything in all this time and I don't think they will."

"I...I mean, yes. Nobody seems to notice it” Oko heard how the human muttered a ‘how does nobody notice it?’ under her breath, but she didn’t want to comment anything about the intellectual capacity of her species. “But you think about the opportunities you would have with your new costume, you will be able to enter without problems to places where children do not have access, no one will bother you if they see you doing something because you are already an adult, not to mention that they will take your word more into account when speaking!”

Certainly those benefits did not matter to her. With or without disguise she could access any place and no human would prevent her from doing it, but it is true that she had had some annoying mishap due to the issue of looking like a human larva. However, nothing worrisome to change it at least.

Despite this, the idea of ​​having an adult interaction could benefit her in the future, mature humans always hide information from their larvae.

"Besides, I don't want someone to ask me one day if you are my daughter!"

The irken made a surprised face at that, but if it bothered the human, she could update the costume. It's not like it's that she couldn't.

[everything-chlorine-grown-roses]

Because I can’t hold my beans if I don’t let off some steam. Time to note down thoughts about the new chapter. For those who haven’t read it yet, I’m putting it all under a read more so you don’t get spoiled.

Here we go.

First of all, why is this chapter 41. This is just. The Halloween special should not be counting, should it? It’s a non-canon AU chapter. It shouldn’t really be part of the ‘main’ canon, should it? That just bugged me.

The first time I looked at the cover image I went “oh god no” because it looked to me like Luna had a crush on the new dude. Thank god that’s just... coincidence. 

Luna calls Azusa a fuckboi. Why.

Ruruka. Oh god Ruruka. May I point out that Oni means Ogre. She’s basically calling Yami an ogre. Yami is Shrek confirmed. And then she calling for her Mother (which should be Okaa-san, not okasan) and... Okosan? Tbh I don’t even know if she’s calling for her father (which would be Otou-san) or just for someone called Oko.

Then the new character, Tom Miura. Azusa is with a last name basis on him I guess? Why did he get an english first name if he’s just called miura anyway? And he apparently owns a gun. I wonder how old that fucker is. 

When they got to the amusement park and Hitomi said she didn’t want to, my intial reaction was that it’d go Shatter-style again, but since we already know her backstory we were spared by that. And then she leaves with Kimmy to comfort her. The HitoKim ship is back in town.

Miura and Azusa walk around the amusement park. They don’t ride anything, they just walk around, and coincidentally on exactly this day the squad had randomly decided to go to this park, just when that idol is having a concert. And Miura apparently didn’t know that, judging from his reaction. Shouldn’t he have known. And subsequently plead to Kimmy to allow him see the concert.

An idol. Oh man. I mean I recently have been on a sort of idol trip myself because I had started playing Love Live, but goddamnit. Kissu is not a fucking name. If anything, it’s a verb meaning to eat, drink or smoke. But it’s much more common to mean Kiss, but that would require it to be written in katakana, which it’s clearly not. 

If you write Kirumi Kissu in katakana it can mean Kill Me Kiss, so there’s that.

I just noticed Miura pays with dollars. In a Japanese amusement park.

I don’t get why having a streak in your hair makes you Chiasa. Like. Chiasa has white hair, hasn’t she? To have lavender hair as her idol persona would require, she’d need a wig. And the wig wouldn’t have that blonde streak in it. Even if Chiasa dyed her hair, the streak wouldn’t maintain its color. Blonde + Lavender doesn’t equal yellow after all. So the whole logic that she’s Chiasa is just bullshit and can not be more than a red herring, except if Chiasa is that goddamn stupid to put her characteristic streak into her wig.

Can I also say that glittery eye contacts sound like shit? I had a friend who had spider web, ace of spades and completely white contacts, and she told me that it actually is a bit harder to see when wearing them. Glitter just sounds so unpleasant on the eye, and there’s no reason to have glitter all over our eyes anyway. Can’t you just have glitter on your outfit? ...wait, why is she not having any glitter on her dress-

Luna’s backstory. I call it bullshit. Nothing about Luna so far would have indicated any interest in art. She has just been the american memequeen. Now for some reason, aside from dead parents like everyone else, she used to be an art prodigy that basically crippled her hand. I thought drawing was Hitomi’s forte. 

And she only uses her brace as an excuse not to go on roller coasters. That’s the only point of keeping it. Man, Luna, nobody would force you to! Your girlfriends love you and would understand if you told them you don’t want to!

Overall Luna’s backstory would have suited Esther just as well. Seriously. How did a suicidal mother, loss of your best skill, possible loss of your whole future career or any chance to kickstart it, and depression turn into a happy, upbeat, meme loving Luna instead of a more quiet, brooding and serious Esther? I mean really.

And in the end they just go on a lot of roller coasters. Even though Luna didn’t want to, which wasn’t even related to her backstory. So either Luna getting the weight of her past of her chest just fixed that (as if that would just change her mind) or she had to wait for the other all alone. I want Esther and Conchita to ride the carousel with her, buy her cotton candy and enter a haunted house attraction. 

Oh, forget about Luna waiting all alone, Ruruka is only ten so she isn’t allowed to ride a roller coaster in the first place. Now do those two just have fun together I wonder... and Shatter probably tags along with them because he wouldn’t be immediately back to normal just because his ex boyfriend’s funeral is over. If Azusa can whine about her parents a year after their demise, Shatter should be allowed to grief his friend’s death.

And, last of all, the idol brainwashing everyone sounds just utterly stupid. But remember, this is in the same universe were Hitomi has plot magic. Oh god, I hope Chiasa or the idol don’t have magic themselves, that would make Hitomi a much more fitting protagonist than Azusa. That’d be terrible.