#Nana On-Sha

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At Last: Part One

Summary: Patrice returns home to celebrate a birthday and a new beginning.

Pairing: Terry Richmond x Black!OC

Word Count: 6.7k

Warnings: None

In a little corner of Wilmington, NC, tucked behind towering Spanish moss trees and sprawling acres of lush green grass, the Habersham family were monarchs on ancestral turf. 

Enslaved Sierra Leonean men and women had tilled this land long before Patrice was a twinkle in her mother and father’s eyes. They hoped, prayed, and danced for a future where babies far down their lineage could have a place to visit for a connection to their love and guidance beyond the physical realm. According to some, their spirits still roamed the fields once holding them captive in great triumph.

Long-held West African customs preserved and passed down over time had transformed into the uniquely rich Gullah culture that still governed the eldest generation of Habershams and their children. While much of the language patterns had been lost, Sybil Habersham-Lewis and her baby sister, Rosalyn, worked tirelessly to keep the family home tidy and traditions alive. 

They never hesitated to tell stories of how their great-grandfather rebuilt the big house with his bare hands to rid his offspring of a torrid legacy from a man he reluctantly called father. They sometimes laughed about how he, a fair-skinned man with green eyes and a mean streak, met and married a slender songstress with blue-black skin within six months of laying eyes on her. Paul and Efua produced eight children in that home. Those eight children created a line of movers and shakers that stretched far and wide. 

One of those movers and shakers stared out of the passenger side window with eyes wide as saucers and a smile that rivaled the sun, watching trees donning brown, red, and orange leaves whiz past on the way to her favorite place in the world. Patrice was itching to get out of the car and kick her shoes off to feel the soft tickle of damp Bermuda grass between her toes. She longed to see her uncle’s horses, eat fresh seafood until her stomach ached, and recap moments in her girlhood with her cousins. She couldn’t wait to kiss Nana's face 95 times for her 95th birthday. She needed to smell the blue hydrangeas in her auntie’s garden. She needed to be home.

Terry stole glances at Patrice, finding joy in her enthusiasm. She hadn’t slept a wink the night before or in the nearly two-hour ride from Fayetteville. He knew she’d tucker out eventually, but seeing her brimming with unbridled happiness made his heart swell. 

“God, I hope my auntie made okra. Oooh and crab cakes. I haven’t had any in so long!”

Terry listened to the way her accent slurred and shortened words in rapid succession with a smile. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to understand you by the end of the weekend.” 

“You’ll be lucky to keep up past tonight.” she laughed. "My granny ‘dem Geechee tuh de bone."

“Y’all make everything sound like music. I like it.” 

“If you tell Moon Pie that, she might try to take you from me.” 

“You gon’ let her?” 

“Hell nah. I’ll whoop her ass. She ain’t crazy.” 

The thought of having to put hands on her cousin behind her man made Patrice scowl while Terry let off a loud, shoulder-shaking cackle. Though she was serious as a heart attack, she laughed along with him to release the tension building in her muscles. 

Terry reached across the center console to gently rub her arm before playfully caressing her chin to pull a smile from her lips. 

“No way I’d let you fight as pretty as you are. Plus, we’re celebrating all weekend. If you aren’t smiling from tonight ‘til Sunday, I didn’t do my job.” 

Patrice’s mouth twisted into a suspicious smirk. “And what’s your job? You know, if someone were to ask for a friend.”

“Keeping you happy.” His cheeky quip made her eyes roll as she kissed her teeth. 

For over a week Terry had been tight lipped about something Patrice couldn’t put her finger on. She’d tried to catch him in a fib or make him slip up and share whatever details existed behind hushed calls and unmarked deliveries. But, Terry was notorious for keeping secrets under lock and key. Whatever he was planning would sneak up on her like a thief in the night. 

“You nervous to meet everyone?” Patrice questioned to change the subject.

“Nah, I’m good.” He cut his eyes in Patrice’s direction and smiled when he found her already eying him skeptically. “Think I’m lying?” 

“Yeah, I think you’re full of shit. Either that or you’re truly unaware of how crazy my folks are. No way you aren’t a little concerned.” 

He shrugged. “I’m not too worried. I love you, so I know I’ll love them. We’ll figure out the parts in the middle.” 

Everything Terry knew about Patrice, in his mind, was a beautiful amalgamation of those who had a hand in raising her into the woman she’d grown into. He knew her mother and how the two shared the same heart for community service. From her father, she’d inherited an uncanny ability to stop a whole room from speaking with only a raised eyebrow. Though he’d only heard stories of her grandmother, he could tell that her independent nature was a founding feature. And, if those things could make his heart turn flips with one look across a crowded room, he’d have no trouble making space for his bonus family. 

Patrice tried to formulate a counterpunch to Terry’s levelheaded assessment of the situation but had a change of heart as smooth asphalt transitioned into the familiar crunch of gravel beneath her car’s tires. 

Black iron gates adorned with an ornate H were pulled open, giving anyone casually walking by a peak into an almost mythical land. Terry’s eyes darted from place to place, lingering on the hanging moss trees lining their path, then on the children gleefully chasing each other through fallen leaves around a small white gazebo, before landing on a magnificent wrap-around porch serving as a gathering spot for elder men taking inventory of fishing equipment for an early morning trip to catch the evening’s meal. The Big House, as Patrice affectionately called it, was a modern marvel, an oasis for every hue of black man, woman, and child with Habersham blood in their veins to feel like they were somebody in an otherwise cruel world. 

“Beautiful, ain’t it? Auntie did her thing with the last renovation.” Patrice asked, beaming as she started to unbuckle her seatbelt.

“Incredible. Is this al-” 

Whatever was left of Terry’s awe-inspired sentence was swept into the wind as Patrice hopped from the passenger seat and onto the concrete driveway before the car could come to a full stop. 

Like a child finally released from the confines of their classroom onto the playground for 30 minutes of recess freedom, she hit the ground in a slight jog to greet a woman about her age skipping down the porch steps to meet her halfway. 

“Imani,” Patrice hollered, her arms already outstretched in anticipation of a hug. 

Imani called her name back with equal excitement until the two women were joined in a tight embrace. Terry watched from afar, a warm smile tugging his lips to one side as he shut off the engine and exited the vehicle. 

The two women rocked side to side until they’d had their fill of one another. Imani pulled away first to get a look at her favorite baby cousin. 

“My girlfrieeend,” she sang, imitating the theme song from the only show they watched for a full summer in their teens. “You look so good. The skin, the hair, the body! It’s all working right now.” 

“Me? Look at you! I know for a fact this caftan is from like Paris or Bali or somewhere crazy.” 

“Oh you know, just a little somethin’ custom from London. Not too much, not too much.” 

“How you stand it there with that nasty looking food is beyond me, girl.” 

Imani laughed. “That’s for them other folks. People that look like us know where to get a good meal. You oughta come see me sometime. Book a flight and let me worry about the rest.” 

“Next summer?” 

“I’ll throw it on my calendar. Bring Mister Man, too.” 

Patrice didn’t need to turn around to know that Terry had made his presence known. She could feel the warmth of his hand on her lower back as he joined her side. 

If he hadn’t known her for nearly two decades, Terry would have easily gotten Patrice and Imani confused. Both women wore glowing deep dark skin like a badge of honor, soaking up rays of sun and reflecting them in the way that only ethereal beings could. Wide noses and plump, pink and brown lips complimented impossibly high cheekbones. Beauty marks at the corners of opposite eyes might possibly be a tell-tale sign if one could fight being lulled into a trance by the sheer grace they both possessed. The only difference was Imani’s slight height advantage and low, ash blonde haircut.

“Wow,” he whispered, the words catching him by surprise. He shook his head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I just - y’all are damn near twins.” 

“Don’t I know it,” they spoke in unison. 

Patrice took over after a chuckle. “They used to call us Frick and Frack. Mostly because they couldn’t always tell who was who.”

“Which Petey over here never wanted to use to our advantage.” 

“Petey?” Terry questioned. 

“Wait, she never told you her nic-” 

“And, that’s enough,” Patrice hollered, purposely eclipsing Imani’s voice to keep her cousin from going further. “Terrence, this Imani. Imani this is Terrence, my man.” 

Terry could feel a bolt of lightning surge through his body as he reached out to shake Imani’s hand. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what Patrice might call him in a simple introduction. He’d always given her a treasure trove of titles - his lady, the love of his life, maybe his wife one day if the Lord willed it so. He’d introduced her so much that they never explored how the inverse would work. But hearing himself be proudly referred to as her’s was a shock to the system that he hadn’t prepared for but welcomed all the same. 

Imani waved his outstretched hand away and pulled him in for a hug. “Boy, we family. Come here and get this squeeze.”

Like an old friend, Imani pulled Terry into a welcoming hug. Patrice looked on with a silent thanks to God. If what she knew of her cousin still held weight, they’d be fast friends and thick as thieves by the end of the weekend. 

Pulling away, she lightly tapped his chest and looked at Patrice. “I can’t believe I finally get to meet Terry Richmond in person. You’re basically her Nelly!” she laughed, recalling Patrice’s near obsession with St. Louis and their hometown hero after Hot in Herre debuted. Patrice rolled her eyes while Terry and Imani held on to each other through loud laughter.

“Got damn, Moanie, hold ‘em hostage why don’t you! You ain’t the only person they know ‘round here.” 

“Hey, Daddy!” 

“Hey, Baby Girl!”

The perfectly timed distraction took Patrice’s attention away long enough for the newest tandem to exchange hushed conversation.

“Yeah, but I’m the best!” Imani hollered back before winking at Terry and Patrice. “Go on. I’ll have the boys get y’all’s stuff. Make sure you get to the kitchen. Think Mama’s got some pound cake cut for you.”

The mention of other family members awaiting their arrival was a quick reminder that Terry had barely scratched the surface of new faces and connections. Every direction he turned presented another opportunity to be pulled into a spirited handshake or warm hug. 

With the men in her life, he was immediately received with masculine equivalents of praise for his physical form.

“Son, you look like ya 'bout tuh buss out dat shirt 'round ya arms. Petey, you don’t have to worry ‘bout no protection, huh?” was Uncle PJ’s way of saying he was confident in Terry’s ability to keep Patrice safe. 

“You comin’ out fishin’? Country boy like you probably catch catfish with your bare hands!” 

“Where you from?”

“Where your people from?” 

“They white? How you get them green eyes?”

“You got kids? You sure?” 

“You know you got some ears on you, don’t ya!”

Patrice’s father, Leon, interjected to save Terry from an increasingly invasive dive into his personal history. “Don’t answer none of that. But I would like you to come out on the water with us. Have a beer or two so we can finish that conversation from the other week.” 

“Y’all talking about me behind my back?” 

“Hell, I do,” Junior laughed. “She aggravating, bruh. You can say it. Go ‘head.”

“You better not.” 

Patrice playfully poked a perfectly manicured finger into Terry’s chest to force his silence, earning a chaste kiss on the forehead. Junior scoffed and sipped from his half-empty bottle of water.

“T, you grown now. Your big ass don’t have to let her boss you no more.” 

“That’s my favorite part,” Terry answered, finally speaking up for himself. “She sweet when she wanna be.”

“I ain’t seen it.”

“Because I don’t like you, Junior. How many times do we have to go over this?”

Terry tried to contain his wide grin from watching the siblings bicker like old times. He’d been in the middle of many a verbal tussle between them, always stepping in as the voice of reason. He still held the role of peacemaker all these years later. 

“She loves you, man. Still keeps your room up and everything.” 

Leon shook his head at his children’s antics. “Good thing you here. I couldn’t take that shit this weekend.” He pointed at the passenger seat of his truck and the open lunch box resting in it. “So, you comin’. Got food for you if you wanna ride.” 

“Uh, yeah,” Terry started before looking toward the house at the small audience of women crowding at the kitchen window. They scattered when he caught their gaze, making him laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. “Give us a few minutes. I think there’s some people inside I gotta meet first.” 

“Good luck, man. I would say you got five minutes but we both know that ain’t happening. We’ll wait a bit.”

With one trial by fire ending, another began. In their short walk to the front porch, Patrice had given Terry opportunities to gracefully bow out of the incoming circus and take her father’s invitation as a get out of hell free card. He’d refused every effort with a kind smile and unfounded reassurance that everything would be okay. In his mind, he’d hug a few necks, kiss a few cheeks, and be out of dodge before anyone could hold him long. 

Stepping into the home’s foyer felt like being in a museum. Photos of Habersham descendants living and passed on to Glory lined the hallway as a reminder of their history on this land. Eyes that carried an array of stories looked back at him, leaving goosebumps across his arms. Especially once he landed on a young woman with a familiar half-smile encased behind an antique picture frame. 

Patrice noticed him stop short to give the photo his full attention. 

“My great-great-great grandma,” she informed, adding extra emphasis on the final ‘great’. “Efua. Nana says she was barely bigger than the kids but ran this place with an iron fist. I believe it. She look like she don’t play.” 

“She looks kinda like you and Imani.” 

Patrice tilted her head to get a better look. “Hm. I guess you’re right.”

Clamoring in the kitchen pulled them away from Efua’s watchful eye and around the corner for their grand entrance. 

Women of every age, size, and shape filled the room from wall to wall, each one participating in the cooking process. On one side, a small group of teenagers huddled to inspect bushels of greens for bugs and cut them in preparation for a proper wash. On the other, small girls shelled black-eyed peas and giggled amongst themselves over TikTok videos. But in the center of the room, where spices and fresh ingredients intermingled for an almost intoxicating aroma and conversation was the loudest, all of the cornerstones of the family gathered to share gossip and wisdom alike. 

Terry’s appearance, tall and muscled with a winning smile to match, sent a hush over even the loudest woman present. 

“Oh God,” Patrice mumbled to herself, preemptively embarrassed by the storm she knew was sure to follow. 

Someone whistled. Then came a low “mm-mm-mm” from an auntie fighting hard to contain herself. Terry let every sound and look fuel his ego for just a few seconds before speaking. 

“Hey, ladies.” 

“Hey, Terry.” 

Every voice greeted him in unison like the Angels speaking to Charlie over that old speakerphone. Patrice screwed her face and pinched his shoulder. He’d been given strict instructions the night before, but being in the moment called for an audible that immediately made him a shiny new toy to be paraded.

Before he could have any say so, Patrice’s mother was ushering him around for every aunt and cousin to say a personal hello. He charmed each woman who met his acquaintance like a seasoned politician. If nothing else, they could all hang on to the memory of meeting the long-fabled Terrence Richmond. 

But, for all the pomp and circumstance, every breath hitched once Rosalyn led Terry to matriarch. 

She wore 95 years on Earth well. Chestnut skin covered in beauty marks crinkled around her eyes as she smiled back at him. Even as she sat in her wheelchair more slight and fragile than Patrice remembered, Terry could see her inner strength shining through.

Patrice watched her mother lean down and speak something into her grandmother’s ear before directing Terry to crouch down to eye level. He did as he was told, gingerly capturing her much smaller hands in his. 

“Hi, Ms. Ida. I’m so happy to finally meet you. My name is Terrence.” 

The softness in his voice ignited a chorus of heartwarming sentiments from every corner. Patrice had become so enraptured in the meeting she never thought would happen that she nearly missed her mother directing her to join Terry’s side. 

Ida didn’t say much back to him. Instead, she slid her hand from his grasp and traced her fingertips along the perimeter of his face. She examined him from all angles with a nostalgic look in her gaze. Terry tried not to let confusion come through in his expression, but Rosalyn caught the sliver of uncertainty. 

“You remind her of somebody close, that’s all. Same eyes.” 

He’d inadvertently sent her back to her childhood, bringing back memories so deep in her mind she thought she might never get them back. Even with slightly darker skin and broader features than Paul could boast back then, Ida still saw him clear as day. And that, all those years later, made her feel more alive than ever on her 95th birthday.

Ida tapped his jaw lightly and laughed. “Mhm. Petey, this him?” 

Finally joining Terry’s side, Patrice mimicked him and knelt by her grandmother’s feet. 

“Yes ma’am. He wanted to be here for your birthday.” 

“Nice looking boy, ain’t he?” 

Patrice giggled. “He cute, I guess. I heard he got you a gift for tonight, but he won’t tell me what it is. Can you believe it?”

“Well, hell, this all the gift I need. Give me anything else and I might not make it to 96!” 

“Mama!” 

Sybil hated when her mother made jokes about death, but Terry couldn’t help but laugh. He wanted to joke with her, see what else she might say knowing that no one in the house could tell her what to do, but the loud blast of a car horn in the front yard reminded him that he’d made a prior commitment. 

Gently, he squeezed her knee and spoke loud enough for her to hear. “Now, I go gotta go catch you somethin’ for tonight. You gon’ be here when I’m back?” 

“Oh yeah,” she answered, reinvigorated and saucy like her younger self. “I’ll be dressed up real nice too. Might leave here with two gals on your arm.” 

“You know I never been the sharing type, Nana.” 

Ida smiled at Patrice, nodding in approval. “That’s my girl. Keep that up.”

A second and longer beep let Terry know that time was running out. He quickly bid the group farewell, ending on Patrice with a simple kiss on the cheek and a promise to be back soon. 

While she became swept up in a whirlwind of who, what, when, and where, Rosalyn and Sybil slipped away to speak with Terry on his way out of the door. He’d become the center of attention, even long after his scent had faded. 

“Is he the one from high school?” 

“What’s he like?” 

“Is he always this nice?” 

“Y’all shackin’ up?” 

“When y’all getting married? What about kids?”

More questions, more prying, more assumptions than she could handle. Short, vague answers weren’t enough for them. They wanted the full scoop from the young lady they once knew as a shy girl who only focused on her studies. 

Patrice answered every question with enough detail to satiate their curiosity and maintain some level of privacy in her relationship. For a moment, that was enough. They’d unveiled the mystery of Petey’s other life and could move on to more pressing matters.

They quickly shifted to discussions of other people’s business. Who’d had a baby? Who was divorcing? Who’s kids were raising hell in the community? They took a winding road filled with chats about celebrity news and politics, nonsense about music, and, Patrice’s personal favorite, the old days. 

Those chats, full of lore and laughter, always took place in Nana’s parlor. A room covered in powder pink wallpaper and situated in the corner of the home where natural sunlight welcomed any guests that had the privilege of visiting. 

The older women sat side by side, crammed on expensive armchairs and soft couches, to convene at their leisure. Patrice stood by her favorite spot beside the window with Imani sitting on her right and her grandmother positioned in front of her. On her left stood a small table holding hair grease, a fine-toothed comb, and duck bill clips to help her pincurl Ida’s shoulder length silver hair. Her favorite pastime. 

“Everyone of y’all was bad,” Sybil laughed, referring to the crop of children that came up with Patrice. “Y’all came here every summer acting a damn fool.” 

“Not me and Petey!”

“Especially you and Petey. The worst of the bunch. Just sneaky and sassy!” 

“I don’t know what you talkin’ about. All I did was read and sit up under Nana.” 

Patrice’s highly inaccurate recollection of her time in the country every year made Ida laugh in her wheelchair. “Don’t let ‘em lie on you. I never saw my baby gettin’ in no trouble.” 

“Oh yeah right!” Sybil exclaimed. “Ros, wasn’t you there when these two let all the chickens out and had us chasin’ them ‘round out back.” 

“Sure was. They had all the grown folk out there huffin’, puffin’, and ‘bout to blow the house down!” 

The room fell into laughter watching Sybil imitate the group of adults fighting to capture livestock. Patrice remembered that afternoon and tried to defend their actions. 

“Okay, that is true, but I remember that being your daughter’s idea. I was only helping my sis.” 

Imani shrugged and sat back in her seat. “You raised an activist. Those animals were in captivity.” 

“Moanie, you eat meat,” Moon Pie commented. 

“I never said they didn’t taste good. I said we were holding them captive. The circle of life is different. Now let’s talk about how Moon had us sittin’ at the eating table all night because she wouldn’t finish her Frogmore stew thinkin’ there were real frogs in it.”

“Heaven forbid a girl need proof!” 

More laughter. The kind of laughter that healed deep emotional wounds. The kind that seeped into the walls, keeping the home full of love and light. The kind that made Patrice happy to not only be home but to share a piece of her heart with the man she loved. 

While she wished he could hear the silly stories and witness the exaggerated retellings, Terry was fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for Patrice’s father to meet him at the back of his truck. 

Across the way, the other men sat in small clusters, chatting their way through a midafternoon lunch break. As much as he wanted to talk shop with them about the fate of the Carolina Panthers, there was a more meaningful matter on the table. 

Leon grunted as he closed the driver’s side door and rounded the truck’s cab. “Let that down, will you?”

Terry sprung into action quicker than he meant to, nervousness making him move at hyperspeed. Leon laughed and lifted himself onto the truck bed before handing over a small cooler. 

“Grab whatever you like. We got plenty.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

“Just Leon. Kinda weird to call your father-in-law sir, ain’t it? Plus that’s that fool’s name over there and he ain’t worth a damn. Lazy sumbitch.” 

“I got you. Won’t happen again,” Terry chuckled as he pulled a piece off of his turkey sandwich and popped it into his mouth. They sat in silence for a few moments to enjoy the sound of nature around them until he reignited the conversation. “I appreciate y’all agreeing to all this. Especially so quickly. I hope things don’t feel rushed.”

“You ain’t doin’ nothin’ I wouldn’t want for my girl. She need somebody willing to go above and beyond for her. I know you always have and I don’t see you slowin’ down no time soon.” 

Terry nodded, smiling. “Couldn’t if I tried.”

“I know. Moanie got the ring, right?” 

“Yeah. We worked it all out a couple weeks ago. She’s hiding it for me and keeping Treece distracted. You know she’s nosey.”

“Her mama said to call it inquisitive.” 

“Hm. Inquisitive, huh?”

They looked at each other and spoke at the same time. “Nosey.”

“That’s her,” Leon remarked. “Time’s flyin’, ain’t it? I remember when it looked like you was drowning in your clothes. Now look at you. Big as a damn tank. What they feed y’all in the Corps?” 

“Shit, nothing but slop and a hard time seasoned with a dash of casual racism from some crazy white boy outta one of the Dakotas every once in a while.”

Their shared laughter disturbed a cluster of nearby birds, making the rest of the men look in their direction. Sir threw his hands up in the air. 

“Well, damn, Leon. Gone ‘head and fuck up the catch!” 

“Or I can fuck you up instead.” He looked over at Terry struggling to keep his face neutral and shook his head. “I can’t stand his ass. Or his daughter. Or his wife. All of ‘em get on my nerves. C’mon, so we can finish up.”

As high noon gave way to early evening and the sleepiness of fall pushed the sun into the west earlier than usual, Imani and Patrice sat alone in one of the guest rooms engrossed in conversation. 

Imani was the only sister Patrice had ever known. It didn’t matter what portion of the world they occupied or how long it’d been since they last talked, they always picked up right where they left off when they were reunited. 

Patrice focused on the vanity mirror to examine Imani’s careful twists and twirls to place her thick natural hair into bantu knots.

“You think I can grow my hair out like this by January? I’m going to Ghana and I wanna switch it up a little bit.” 

“Of course. Manifest it, my sister!” 

Imani laughed as she parted out another section. “If I ever need somebody to follow up my foolishness, I know I can count on you.” 

“What Whitney said on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack?” 

Together, they broke into song, harmonizing to breathe life into the final track from one of their favorite movie soundtracks. Imani hugged her cousin from behind and kissed her cheek. 

“I love you, girl. I miss you so much. It gets so lonely being away from home all the time.” 

“I love you, too. Life be life-ing, don’t it?” 

“All the time. I gotta make my way out to Fayetteville and spend more time with y’all. Maybe learn some more about Mister Man.” Patrice tried to hide her bashful smile, making Imani squeal behind her. “So…tell me about Terry. I know you said something downstairs but I wanna know the real scoop.” 

Patrice sighed at the mere thought of their romance. “The way I love that man, girl, I can’t even explain it. I feel like I’m going crazy.” 

“Oooooh! Swept you clean off your feet, huh?” 

“Threw me over his shoulder and hasn’t put me down since. Never in a million years did I expect to end up here with him. I mean I hoped for it, but to be here is mind-blowing. He’s so sweet, Moanie. So, gentle. Kind. More affectionate than I think I was ready for. I don’t know. I’m just in love. I’m happy.” 

“It’s all over you. I see the glow.” 

“Well, that’s from other things,” she added, a cheeky grin spreading across her face.

“Not the choir boy!” 

“Please, don’t let him fool you. Can’t keep him off me or keep his mouth closed when he gets to talking.”

Their shared laughter spilling out into the hallway became a beacon of their location for Terry as he dragged his tired legs up the stairs in search of Patrice.

His knuckles rapping against the closed bedroom door halted the private conversation until they gave him permission to enter. He slowly pushed the door open before poking his head into the room. 

“Everybody decent?” 

“Mhmm. Come on in.” Imani invited over her shoulder. She looked back at Patrice through the mirror as her cousin adjusted her clothing and sat up a little straighter in anticipation of Terry’s avalanche of affection. 

His eyes seemed to close beyond seeing clearly from the sheer force of his smile. 

“Hey, pretty.” 

“Hey, love. You have fun?” 

Terry released a dry chuckle. “Yeah. A real hoot.” 

Imani watched the young couple flirt back and forth, her hand outstretched to pass a small black velvet box from a drawer in her vanity to Terry while he kept Patrice occupied with short kisses. He secured it in one of his cargo pockets before pulling away. 

“You stink,” Patriced joked, half lying.

“I know. I still have some set-up work to do, so I’ll bring your stuff. Don’t want you to get behind on account of me.” 

“Thank you, baby. You’re so sweet.” 

Patrice captured his chin with her fingers and pulled him closer for another kiss. 

Terry lifted an eyebrow in concern. “You sick?” 

“No. I just love you.”

“I love you, too.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The way she softened her gaze to scan his face. The way the gloss on her lips caught the sun. The way every one of her perfect features was on display with her hair pulled up and away from her face. He’d never been more confident in a decision in his life and, if not for the promise he’d made to half of her immediate family, he would’ve done what he drove all the way out to Wilmington for right then and there.

Knowing time was of the essence, Imani cleared her throat and gave Terry a look to urge him along behind Patrice’s back. 

“Well, Terry, think you oughta get down there and set up a table or something, right!”

Snapping out of his trance, Terry stood to his full height to look down at Patrice. “Yeah, you're right. See you a little later?” 

“It’s a date.”

He wanted to give her one more kiss to take with him, but a final reminder for him to scram was the catalyst to push Terry out of the room and leave the ladies to readying for the evening. 

She was all he could think about as he toiled away setting up tents and placing tables exactly how Rosalyn wanted them, sometimes several times over. Even as he casually sipped strong moonshine with Junior and the younger men under lantern light, all dressed in his most pristine white to fit strict instructions, he thought about Patrice and what might look like in the dress she’d chosen. He needed to see her.

His hands were sweating inside of his pockets. He casually caressed the velvet of that small black box, occasionally flipping it open to touch the cold metal inside. Time moved painfully slow. Hunger gnawed at his empty stomach. His mother’s constant phone calls for updates and reassurance didn’t help. Nervousness made his chest hot with anxiety. 

“You gon’ be alright,” Rosalyn assured while adjusting his collar on one of her many trips around the backyard to adjust the tablescape. “Breathe. Won’t be too much longer.”

He thanked her for her kindness and prayed she was right. Or he prayed for the dream he’d written down on a random Tuesday in his creative writing journal to come true. He wasn’t sure anymore. But, when he opened his eyes and lifted his head to check that sliding glass door for the umpteenth time, there she stood amongst the Habersham women as they escorted the guest of honor arm in arm. 

Angelic was the only way he could describe her. Cosmically beautifully and capable of bringing the strongest man to his knees just by batting those long lashes. A toothy grin helped him bare each one of his teeth as he watched her saunter down the decorated pathway to the event tent with Imani in tow. 

“Happy Birthday to you,” the group sang once Ida and all her ladies had made it to the long communal table packed to the brim with food and decorations. 

They serenaded the woman responsible for much of their existence until their faces ached from the singing. She bobbed her head along to the song with a smile on her face then quieted their loud applause with a simple wave of her hand. 

“Ninety-five of those and you’d think I’d be used to it by now,” she laughed. “Thank you. Each of y’all are beautiful. Young and strong. Blood of my blood and I’m glad to have you here with me. Even the ones who just came along to spend some time with an old lady. I love you. Eat, drink, and dance ‘til you bust out your clothes. That’s alright with me! We got a lot to celebrate.”

Teary-eyed and full of gratitude, Patrice reunited with Terry at the dinner table as soon as she ensured her grandmother was comfortable. He worldlessly dabbed at her waterline with his thumb and kissed the top of her head. 

“You okay? Need to step inside for a second?” 

“No,” she answered, laughing at herself for her dramatics. “I’m just really happy. C’mon. Let’s eat.”

Eat, drink, and be merry had a whole new meaning under the soft, warm light wrapping variations of black skin in its embrace. Loud pockets of conversation and laughter made for a melodious cacophony of sounds while music played in the background. 

Patrice clung to Terry the entire time, always staying connected by a hand on his thigh or their fingers laced together beneath the table. Every once in a while, they’d break from separate conversations and catch each other’s eye and smile like schoolyard crushes sitting at the lunch table together. 

The romance in the air between them was palpable enough for Imani to pull out her phone and covertly shoot Terry a quick text. 

Dessert’s out. Do it now or they’re gonna start dancing. 

Now?

NOW!

Terry eyed Imani across the table. She urged him to do something with a sideways nod. He chewed his lip and fiddled with the box in his pocket. The music was starting to pick up as a few small children hit the dancefloor. Imani gave Rosalyn the signal to make a video call.

Now or never. 

He nervously clinked his knife against his wineglass and cleared his throat. 

“Nigga, you gone break it! That’s Big Mama good crystal.”

“Shut the hell up, Sir! You ain’t pay for none of this.” Rosalyn’s reprimand came with visual daggers sent to her baby brother at the far end of the table that only softened when she looked back at Terry. “Go ahead, sweetheart.” 

Terry stood to look at every confused face in the vicinity while he waited for one of the teenagers to turn the music down. 

“Sorry, y’all. I just had a few words to say. I won’t be before you long. In the real way, not the pastor way.” His attempt at a joke fell flat. Patrice tried to keep him motivated with a smile, but her eyes begged him for answers that he couldn’t provide. “Um, I know I’m the odd man out around here. Y’all have been incredibly kind and welcoming. I really appreciate it because you didn’t have to. Especially you, Ms. Ida. Happy Birthday, again. You look beautiful.” 

“Thank you, baby.” 

He nodded his appreciation and continued. “I also wanna thank Ms. Ida and everybody else who gave me permission to ask a question of somebody really important to me. Because I know being here with all of y’all is really important to her. Can you stand up for me, Treece?”

Patrice allowed Terry to help her to her feet before whispering through her teeth. “What are you doing?” 

“Something I’ve been wanting to do since I met you.” 

There wasn’t time for Patrice to process his statement. Terry slowly dropped to one knee, not caring about the dust below him. He kept his focus on her the entire time, even as quiet whispers turned into fervent murmurs. 

“When we were kids you told tell me that, if you ever got proposed to, you didn’t want a big speech or any of the stuff they did in movies. So, I promise not to do that. What I will do is tell you how much I love you. And I’ll do that today, tomorrow, and every day after that if you allow me the privilege of being your husband.” 

“Terrence,” Patrice huffed out as she tried to contain her mess of emotions. He reached up to grip her hand. "Don't make me cry in front of my people."

“Too late. Patrice, I’m askin’ you scared as hell in front of all these people, will you marry me?”

Everyone watched as Terry presented Patrice with an open ring box and a sparkling diamond illuminated by the small light tucked into the inside.

“I knew it,” Patrice whispered, losing the battle against the happy tears pouring from her waterline. 

“No, you didn’t, girl! We got you. Answer that man,” Imani hollered.

Her heartbeat pulsed in her ears. The cheering from her family began to muffle. Her body temperature skyrocketed. She felt faint. The people were waiting. What would she say? 

Just as reality began to slip away, Terry’s eyes looking back at her quieted the external and internal noise. 

Driven by pure love, Patrice met Terry in a squat and grabbed his face with both of her hands. 

“What you doing tomorrow?” 

“Hopefully saying a couple vows to this pretty girl I know from way back. I brought a tux with me just in case she wasn’t too busy.” 

“From way back, huh? I think I talked to her and she has a little time on her books.” She took another look at the ring before plucking it from its box and placing it on her left ring finger. She examined it for a bit then leaned forward to kiss her betrothed with enough passion to send the crowd into a frenzy. Pulling away, she smiled and wiped gloss from Terry’s lips. 

“Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”

----

TAGS: @planetblaque @wvsspoppin @thatone-girly @avoidthings @slutsareteacherstoo @eilujion @amyhennessyhouse @yaachtynoboat711 @jenlovey @pinkpantheris @blowmymbackout @onherereading @hrlzy @becauseimswagman1 @thiccc-c @urfavblackbimbo @blackburnbook @ashanti-notthesinger @xo-goldengirl

[apothecaryscript]

“Counter words” in Japanese

According to the information on the Internet, there are about 500 counter words in Japanese, of which only about 100 are actually used. Here are some of them which we frequently use in daily conversation.

*Green-colored words are used especially often.

個（こ/Ko）… Something small for a person to hold with.

一個（いっこ/Ikko）, 二個（にこ/Ni-ko）, 三個（さんこ/San-ko）, 四個（よんこ/Yon-ko）, 五個（ごこ/Go-ko）, 六個（ろっこ/Rokko）, 七個（ななこ/Nana-ko）, 八個（はちこ、はっこ/Hachi-ko, Hakko）, 九個（きゅうこ/Kyu-ko）, 十個（じゅっこ、じっこ/Jukko, Jikko）

玉(たま/Tama) … Spherical foods such as cabbage and onions can be counted with Tama. It’s also used for boiled noodle for one person such as Ramen and Udon.

錠(じょう/Jo) … Tablets or pills of medicine.

粒(つぶ/Tsubu) … Very small things such as grains of rice and beans.

箱（はこ/Hako）… Boxes, such as luggage, boxed items, cigarettes, etc.

本(ほん/Hon)… Long, thin objects such as carrots, umbrellas, pens, spoons, bottles etc. Shots or home runs in sports, movies, and numbers of trains or buses of public transportation are also counted with Hon.

一本（いっぽん/Ippon）, 二本（にほん/Ni-hon）, 三本（さんぼん/San-bon）, 四本（よんほん/Yon-hon）, 五本（ごほん/Go-hon）, 六本（ろっぽん/Roppon）, 七本（しちほん、ななほん/Shichi-hon, Nana-hon）, 八本（はちほん、はっぽん/Hachi-hon, Happon）, 九本（きゅうほん/Kyu-hon）, 十本（じゅっぽん、じっぽん/Juppon, Jippon）

膳（ぜん/Zen)... A pair of chopsticks. 一膳（いちぜん/Ichi-zen) means 二本（にほん/Ni-hon) of chopsticks.

台(だい/Dai)… Vehicles such as cars, bicycles, and electrical appliances such as television and computers.

機(き/Ki)... Airplanes, Helicopters, Rockets, etc.

杯（はい/Hai）… Water, drinks or foods served in cups or bowls, such as coffee, tea, rice, Udon, Ramen etc.

一杯（いっぱい/Ippai）, 二杯（にはい/Ni-hai）, 三杯（さんばい/San-bai）, 四杯（よんはい/Yon-hai）, 五杯（ごはい/Go-hai）, 六杯（ろっぱい、ろくはい/Roppai, Roku-hai）, 七杯（ななはい、しちはい/Nana-hai, Shichi-hai）, 八杯（はっぱい、はちはい/Happai, Hachi-hai）, 九杯（きゅうはい/Kyu-hai）, 十杯（じゅっぱい、じっぱい/Juppai, Jippai）

皿（さら/Sara）… Dishes. Foods served on a flat plate.

枚（まい/Mai）… Thin, flat objects such as papers, leaves, photos, plates, etc.

一枚（いちまい/Ichi-mai）, 二枚（にまい/Ni-mai）, 三枚（さんまい/San-mai）, 四枚（よんまい/Yon-mai）, 五枚（ごまい/Go-mai）, 六枚（ろくまい/Roku-mai）, 七枚（ななまい/Nana-mai）, 八枚（はちまい/Hachi-mai）, 九枚（きゅうまい/Kyu-mai）, 十枚（じゅうまい/Ju-mai）

部（ぶ/Bu）… Publications such as newspapers and leaflets.

冊（さつ/Satsu）… Books, notebooks, albums etc.

通（つう/Tsu）… Letters, postcards, and e-mails.

人（にん/Nin）… People, humans.  Please refer to my past post for further detail.

組(くみ/Kumi)… Couples, groups of people, pairs of items such as gloves

匹（ひき/Hiki）… Small animals such as cats and small dogs, or insects.

一匹（いっぴき/Ippiki）, 二匹（にひき/Ni-hiki）, 三匹（さんびき/San-biki）, 四匹（よん��き/Yon-hiki）, 五匹（ごひき/Go-hiki）, 六匹（ろっぴき/Roppiki）, 七匹（しちひき、ななひき/Shichi-hiki, Nana-hiki）, 八匹（はちひき、はっぴき/Hachi-hiki, Happiki）, 九匹（きゅうひき/Kyu-hiki）, 十匹（じゅっぴき、じっぴき/Juppiki, Jippiki）

頭（とう/To）… Big animals such as cows and horses, or dogs that are too big for a person to hold with.

羽（わ/Wa）… Birds

着（ちゃく/Chaku）… Clothes (But underwear and thin shirts may be counted with 「枚（まい/Mai）」.)

足（そく/Soku）… Shoes, socks, and other items worn on the feet.

件（けん/Ken）… Incidents, accidents, matters, cases, etc.

軒（けん/Ken）… Houses, shops, and small buildings

棟（とう/To）… Large buildings such as apartments and warehouses.

校(こう/Ko)… Schools(It means its’ organizations, not its’ buildings.)

社（しゃ/Sha）… Companies

か所（かしょ/Kasho）… Places. In Kanji 「箇所」, in Hiragana 「か所」, or in Katakana 「カ所」「ヵ所」「ケ所」「ヶ所」. Any of them is okay.

か国（かこく/Kakoku）… Countries. In Kanji 「箇国」, in Hiragana 「か国」, or in Katakana 「カ国」「ヵ国」「ケ国」「ヶ国」. Any of them is okay.

面（めん/Men）… Flat surfaces, grounds, tennis courts, etc.

階(かい/Kai)… Floors.

回（かい/Kai）… Times

曲（きょく/Kyoku）… Songs, music.

話（わ/Wa）… Stories of TV dramas, anime, manga, novels, etc.

作（さく/Saku）… Artworks, cultural works of creators.

We don’t care if foreign people use wrong words as we recognize it’s so difficult. But still, please note that using “個(こ/Ko)” or “匹（ひき/Hiki）” to count people is very rude, and it must be always “人（にん/Nin）” for humans.

[cringefaillosersummit]

Pathetic Woman Showdown!!

The bracket is out! Here are the 32 lovely cringefail and pathetic women!

The poll will begin July 31st at 12:00 P.M. EST. They will run for a week.

The match-ups are below the cut!

Side A

Group 1 Minamoto Sakura (Zombieland Saga) Misaki Shiki (The World Ends With You) Group 2 Operator 6O (NieR:Automata) Marie (Persona 4 Golden) Group 3 Abe Nana (THE iDOLM@STER) Yua Serufu (Do It Yourself!!) Group 4 Clementine Kesh (Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN) Hanasato Minori (Project SEKAI) Group 5 Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place) Natalie Scatorccio (Yellowjackets) Group 6 Yaegashi Yasuko (Akiba Maid War) Honda Hanako (Asobi Asobase) Group 7 Alphys (Undertale) Jessie (Pokemon) Group 8 Gwen Stacey (Spiderverse) Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb)

Side B

Group 1 Egokoro Nao (Your Turn to Die) Kiryū Nanami (Revolutionary Girl Utena) Group 2 Kikimora (The Owl House) Surge the Tenrec (Sonic the Hedgehog) Group 3 Deandra "Dee" Reynolds (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) Gotō Hitori (Bocchi the Rock!) Group 4 GLaDOS (Portal) Vriska Serket (Homestuck) Group 5 Eva Heinenmann (Naoki Urasawa's Monster) Perona (One Piece) Group 6 Liliana Vess (Magic: The Gathering) Higuchi Ichiyō (Bungo Stray Dogs) Group 7 Bart (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) Sha Hualing (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System) Group 8 Lilith (Public U. Art Club) Goromi (Yakuza)

[ofa-on-crack]

Incorrect quotes with the One for all vestiges

'Can I copy the homework?'

Yoichi: I can help you with it!

Second: Yeah, sure.

Third: Bold of you to assume I did the homework.

Hikage: lol nope.

Banjo: Wait, we had homework?!?!?!

En: *Read 5:55pm*

****

Izuku: Dumbest scar stories, go!

All might: I burned my tongue once drinking tea.

Nana: I dropped a hair dryer on my leg once and burned it.

Hikage: I have a piece of graphite in my leg for accidentally stabbing myself with a pencil in the first grade.

Banjo: I was taking a cup of noodles out of the microwave and spilled it on my hand and I got a really bad burn.

En:

En: I have emotional scars.

Also En: I also got the scars from AFO-

****

!Bonding time!

Yoichi: On a scale from “damn Daniel” to “fre sha vaca do”, how are you feeling?

Izuku: In between “it’s an avocado, thanks” and “how did you defeat Captain America”, but as a solid answer I would say “I don’t need a degree to be a clothing hanger”. How about you, Second?

Second: Probably “road work ahead”.

Third : I speak many languages, and this is none of them.

****

During the rebellion years:

Third: Why are Yoichi and Second sitting with their backs to each other?

Kid!Hikage, drawing: They had a fight.

Third: Then why are they holding hands?

Kid!Hikage: They get sad when they fight.

****

How One for all was really transferred

Third: Why are your tongues purple?

Yoichi: We had slushies. I had a blue one.

Second: I had a red one.

Third: oh

Third:

Third: OH

Kid!Hikage:

Kid! Hikage: You drank each other's slushies?

[bnhaobservation]

Why does Endeavor keep freezing when it comes to saving his family?

Hum...

... we've 2, maybe 3, stretching 4 cases in which this canonically happens.

Enji gives his explanations for each of them.

1) Chap 251, he froze and failed to save Natsuo.

Enji's explanation is:

‘Warukatta…! Isshun kangaete shimatta ore ga tasuketara konosaki omae wa ore ni nani mo ienaku natte shimau node wanai ka to’ 「悪かった…! 一瞬考えてしまった俺が助けたらこの先おまえは俺に何も言えなくなってしまうのではないかと」 “It was my bad…! I thought for a moment that if I helped you, you might not be able to say anything to me from now on.”

The implication seems to be he wants Natsuo to continue telling straight to his face how much he messed up but that, if he had saved Natsuo, Natsuo would have felt obliged to keep his feelings for himself.

2) Chap 293. Tōya is trying to cremate Shōto (and himself).

There are two implication here, the first is what Tōya says, Enji is broken, discovering the truth was traumatic to him.

Even though he said originally he couldn't believe his son died, at the same time Enji can't believe his son is Dabi.

It's not just that he has grown to accept the idea Tōya died, the real problem is who Tōya became (and how it was due to him). I've discussed about it in another post but having a family member who's a murderer it's the end for a Japanese family.

Remember how Gran Torino was angry because Shigaraki was 'trampling all over Shimura's memory'?

That's why, even if Shimura Nana is dead, it's still socially terrible she has a relative who's a murderer.

But there's also a second implication done later on in chap 300.

'Ore wa ikinobi temo... ENDEAVOR wa shinda. Tairyō satsujin-sha (read: musuko) to tatakaenai.' 「俺は生き延びても... エンデヴァーは死んだ。大量殺人者（むすこ）と戦えない」 "Even if I survive...Endeavor is dead. I can't fight against a mass murderer (read: my son)"

What's the problem here?

Enji was raised into the idea that Heroes fight Villains, there's no something like 'saving Villains'. Heroes normally shouldn't kill Villains but considering how Hawks went for the kill with Twice and how Enji tried his hardest to murder Shigaraki and he probably wasn't the only one.

When they find Shigaraki, Mirko attacks the tube saying Shigaraki can't be released into the world, then urges the others to finish Shigaraki and Garaki off, claiming they can't let Shigaraki wake up.

When X-less discovers Shigaraki isn't breathing and his heart isn't beating and Garaki explains the capsule would have revived him, they don't try to revive him themselves giving him CPR.

Present Mic tells X-less to take Shigaraki away, but they are clearly in no hurry to give him medical care, X-less even waste time thinking he has to destroy the machines around them.

In order to save Shōto Enji should fight (and likely kill) Tōya... and he can't. He doesn't want to hurt his son, he doesn't want to attack him with his fire aware that Tōya isn't even fire resistant. He can't think any other way to deal with Tōya and he just can't bring himself to attack it, we'll see it even when Tōya is threatening to nuke Japan.

But he can't think of anything else he could do that could stop the situation, like, for example, trying to talk to Touya. After all, he never did it and he has no idea how to deal with his son turned Villain.

Villains were just something Heroes would beat.

Hence he froze.

We've two more possible cases, though in them he didn't exactly froze... or, if he did, we don't know about it.

3) Tōya 'died' because Enji avoided going to see him, and therefore got on Sekoto Peak too late to save him.

Enji's explanation is:

'...Maki wo kubete shimau dake da to... Iya... Nanto koe wo kaketara ī no ka wakaranakattanda 「...薪をくべてしまうだけだと... いや... 何と���を掛けたらいいのかわからなかったんだ」 "...I thought I would just end up burning more firewood (inside him)... no... I didn't know what to say."

The whole 'burning more firewood' implies that he believed he would just encourage the fire inside Tōya of which Tōya kept talking about through the two chapters, in short that he would encourage him to continue... but then he admits the more relevant reason, he has no idea what to say.

Enji (and Rei) never knew what to tell to Tōya beyond stop, they didn't want to tackle their responsibilities in Tōya's situation nor wanted to offer real support, they just wanted him to accept what they told him and stop. Hence Enji doesn't face his son but avoids him, telling himself this is for the better.

4) While the story doesn't really tell us if Enji froze, the implication of the scene seems to be he didn't act when his father fought a Villain, but remained there frozen on the scene.

It's something I've discussed in the past here and it's not super well explained by Horikoshi but it can be the root that explains all the other times Enji remains frozen.

Enji is not a natural born Hero because, differently from Midoriya, he doesn't have inside himself the instinct to save people even when the situation could be fatal to him.

He does it out of duty, raging against himself to give himself courage but, when push comes to shove and a situation becomes emotionally very difficult for him, he doesn't want to face it and freeze.

It's not so much the fear of death, he doesn't hesitate at all when facing Shigaraki even though the latter could murder him, but the fear of being emotionally hurt.

Even All for One will try to exploit it by attacking him on an emotional level.

When his family and his emotions toward his family are on the table he doesn't know how to handle them and his option is to avoid things, which is something he'll admit through the story.

Enji is an evolving character so ultimately he'll face things but I think it's a good guess to assume that the times he froze were due to this.

Of course though, since there's not a canon explanation, this is just my guess and I might be wrong. Still thank you for your ask!

[makeitinkorea]

Découvrez aujourd'hui l'intrigue principale de HOW TO MAKE IT IN KOREA !

TW : MENTION DE TRAFIC D'ÊTRES HUMAINS ET SUICIDE

19 décembre 2011, 10:36. Gonghwa-dong, Hyanggi-gu, Hanseo, Corée du Sud.

A l'approche de Noël 2011, alors que les rues de Hanseo sont déjà illuminées par les décorations, l'attention des résidents est détournée de la préparation des fêtes de fin d'année. Sous les lumières des flashs des appareils photos et les cris des journalistes, une jeune femme frêle avance, tête baissée, visage dissimulé sous un masque et une casquette. Elle est escortée depuis chez elle par une armada de policiers. Malgré les appels incessants des journalistes qui tentent d'obtenir une déclaration de la jeune femme, celle-ci reste silencieuse.

Il s'agit de la première apparition publique de Seolbi, et de la première occasion pour les habitants de Hanseo de mettre enfin un visage sur ce pseudonyme qui fait tant couler d'encre. Depuis quelques années, Seolbi fait trembler Hanseo en révélant anonymement les secrets les plus sombres de ses résidents dans sa chronique. Chaebols, célébrités, hommes politiques, et même simples citoyens ; personne n'est à l'abri des dénonciations. L'affaire récente des Seok qui a défrayé la chronique en est un exemple.

Les Seok, l'une des familles chaebols les plus puissantes de la capitale, ont vu leur empire s'effondrer après que Seolbi ait révélé leur implication dans un vaste réseau de trafic d'êtres humains. Si les accusations portées n'ont pas tout de suite été prises au sérieux, la vérité a fini par éclater, et, après confirmation par enquête policière, la famille Seok s'est retrouvée ruinée, leur réputation entachée. Quant à l'entreprise familiale, elle a rapidement été déclarée en faillite, précipitant dans sa chute plusieurs autres familles influentes associ��es. Humilié par le scandale, Seok Dongwon, père de famille et dirigeant de la société, a mis fin à ses jours.

Si Seolbi a été appréhendée et emprisonnée pour diffamation, atteinte à la vie privée, diffusion d'informations privées et incitation au suicide, certaines personnes ont bien tenté de poursuivre son œuvre, mais aucune n'a réussi à l'égaler ; et les familles influentes, craignant de subir le même sort que les Seok, sont parvenues à faire taire ces dénonciateurs émergeants.

***

Le 20 juillet 2024, Hanseo tremble à nouveau. Lors de la soirée commémorant les 650 ans de la capitale à Nokcheon Park, une coupure de courant géante plonge la ville dans l'obscurité pendant une heure et demi. Cet événement, qui porte aujourd'hui le nom de Hanseo Jeonja Honjap Night (la "nuit du chaos numérique") a poussé certains perturbateurs à profiter de la situation pour commettre de multiples infractions : cambriolages, vols, dégradations. C'est à ce moment qu'une notification anonyme est apparue sur tous les téléphones portables de la ville : "Nana & Yuko" se sont présentées comme les nouvelles Seolbi et ont annoncé qu'elles révéleront tous les secrets que les habitants de Hanseo tenteraient de dissimuler.

D'abord accueillie avec beaucoup de doute, cette déclaration est finalement prise au sérieux lorsque, une semaine plus tard, Nana & Yuko dévoilent des preuves irréfutables des activités illégales de Sha Donghwa, dirigeant du groupe Nexara Solutions, accusé d'extorsion et de blanchiment d'argent. Nana & Yuko semblent déterminées à poursuivre l'œuvre de Seolbi, et peut-être même à la surpasser.

Qui se cache derrière ce duo mystérieux ? S'agit-il d'un individu opérant seul, ou d'un groupe de personnes ? Ces personnes sont-elles basées à Hanseo, ou se cachent-elles à l'étranger ? Quoiqu'il en soit, à Hanseo, il devient difficile de préserver ses secrets let il faudra désormais redoubler d'ingéniosité pour ne pas être dénoncé par les héritières de Seolbi.

[swampcowboy]

song tag

rules: pick a song for each letter of your url, then tag as many people as there are letters in your url

@criticalyaclaimed thank you for the tag!

sparks by nana grizol we should fight by ezra furman ana ng by they might be giants my sister in jesus christ by slaughter beach, dog pale green things by the mountain goats cowboy like me by taylor swift ohio tpke by jeff rosenstock welcome to eden by samia birth of serpents by the mountain goats oom sha la la by haley heyndericks you are loved by defiance, ohio

tagging my beloved mutuals, but no pressure: @strinak @rachelkiiid @rasgullababy @izzyathena13 @redredrunning @lyrifaun @calculated-oddity @againstpollutions @srirachafilledbees @nillial @ladylightning !!

[pinknredbracket]

THE BRACKET IS HERE

THIS TOURNAMENT WILL HAVE 6 ROUNDS IF I COUNTED CORRECTLY!! Round 2 Part 2 will begin April 15th at 6PM EST!! there will be 4 Parts to Round 1, mostly for my sanity, then 2 parts for Round 2, and then the next rounds will all be one part each. Most of these match ups were random, but I switched them around as I saw fit. 

Matchups and links to the rounds under the cut!

PRELIMINARY ROUND 1: TRIO TURNED DUO

Dirk Strider and Dave Strider VS Roxy Lalonde and Dave Strider

Amy Rose and Knuckles VS Sonia and Knuckles

Diona and Diluc VS Diona and Klee

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Kagami Tsurugi VS Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Tikki

Kirby and King Dedede VS Kirby and Kirby’s Shoes

Princess Bubblegum and Marceline VS Princess Bubblegum and Peppermint Butler

Ty Lee and Mai VS Ty Lee and Azula

Kairi and Sora VS Kairi and Axel/Lea

PRELIMINARY ROUND 2: FANDOM FIGHT

Princess Peach and Mario VS Toadette and Toad

Feferi Peixes and Aradia Megido VS Dirk Strider and Dave Strider

Kouyou Ozaki and Chuuya Nakahara VS Teruko Ōkura and Tachihara Michizou

Nora Valkyrie and Pyrrha Nikos VS Neo and Cinder

Ochaco Uraraka and Katsuki Bakugou VS Mina Ashido and Ejiro Kirishima

Olivia and Sully VS Mae and Celica

Hilda and Silvain VS Lapis and Diamant

Ryan and Stephanie VS Ella and Sammy

Cure Dream and Cure Rouge VS Cure Peach and Cure Passion VS Cure Heart and Regina

SECRET FUCKED UP 3RD PRELIMINARY ROUND

Kirby and His Shoes VS Mettaton and Papyrus

ROUND 1

PART 1

Princess Peach and Mario VS Kirby and King Dedede

Pinky and Blinky VS Tohru Honda and Kyo Sohma

Susie Campbell and Audrey Drew VS Waka and Amaterasu

Zane and KAI VS Knuckles and Amy Rose

Valentines Heart Candy VS Pig and Mooshroom

Utena Tenjou and Anthy Himeyama VS Aerith Gainsborough and Tifa Lockhart

Mangle and Foxy VS Cure Heart and Regina

Kouyou Ozaki and Chuuya Nakahara VS Diona and Klee

PART 2

Draculaura and Kieran Valentine VS Angel Dust and Alastor

Ella and Sammy VS Nora Valkyrie and Pyrrha Nikos

Haru Okumura and Ann Takamaki VS Megaera and Zagreus

Pink and Red Rangers VS Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz

Bandage Girl and Meat Boy VS Isaac and Willis

Danganronpa Blood and Blood VS Pink and Red Amonguses

Emily and Clifford VS Doremi Harukaze and Pop Harukaze

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Kagami Tsurugi VS Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales

Part 3

Dirk Strider and Dave Strider VS Paula and Ness

Cherry Cookie and Cherry Blossom Cookie VS Kujo Tenn and Nanasa Riku

Ty Lee and Mai VS Mina Ashido and Eijiro Kirishima

Liu Mingyan and Sha Hualing VS Kusuo Saiki and Kineshi Hairo

My Melody and Hello Kitty VS Alvin and Brittany

Kirby and His Shoes VS Coco Atarashi and Tsugumi Matsune

Minnie and Mickey VS Diavolo and King Crimson

Rose and Jake Long VS Candy and Dave the Barbarian

Part 4

PB & Marcy VS Isabella & Phineas

Shellsea & Bea VS Webby & Huey

Blossom & Brick VS Lela & Butchy

Nene & Tokiwa VS Nana & Cooro

Bocchi & Kita VS Ashley Williams & Commander Shepard

Olivia & Sully VS Hilda & Silvain

Nico & Maki VS Kairi & Axel/Lea

Chika & Kaguya VS Madoka & Kyoko

[stellato-17]

Happy Easter!!! :3 🐰

[yummycrummy]

everytime i hear that one bit from et by toybox all i can think of is parappa the rapper and vibri from vib ribbon for some reason?? probably because they were made by the same team (nana on-sha)

but yeah i thought about this bc i watched your et is an alien dude post like 3 times hehe

love the art •u•

AWWW I love vib ribbon, that tutorial(?) song is my fav ❤❤❤ it does remind me of them too, maybe cuz of how bouncy the songs r

[awesomelybadjmusicvideos]

Thanks again to everyone who attended this year's Awesomely Bad show at Animazement! Your hosts, Tarogo, and the Kewpies are all going back to their long slumber until next time. Here is the playlist from this year's event. Stay tuned for the After Dark playlist to be posted soon!

"S.H.R. Sexy Hero Revolution" - SEX MACHINGUNS

"Tarako Tarako Tarako" - Kigurumi

"HEARTBEAT" - TENDOUJI

"Keep Your Head Up" - SEIKIN

"Eien no Space Cowboy" - Daigo Stardust

"Madan~Der Freischutz~" T.M. Revolution [Badulator]

"LET'S GO" - The Nuggets

"MEGA SHAKE IT!" - Kyuso Nekokami

"Enjo G's Sha Sha Sha" - BUBBLE-B Feat. Enjo-G

"YELLOW YELLOW HAPPY" - Pocket Biscuits

"Benkyo no Uta" - Chisato Moritaka [Badulator]

"Aishite Night!" - Kishidan

"Dai-senji Bocchi Sensou" - Zekkyou suru 60-do (Screaming Sixties)

"Dance My Generation" - Golden Bomber

"Pompara Pekoluna Papiyotta" - Go Go Nana Ni San Ni Rei

"One Day" - Shintaro Sakamoto [Badulator]

"Shingo Mama no Oha Rock - Shingo Mama

"Green Eyed Monster" - Lindberg

"#ahcoi" - tricot

"Ne ni Mottemasu" - Zainichi Funk

"Vanity Angel" - Rebecca [Badulator]

"Kimi ni Mune Kyun" - Y.M.O.

"Metal wa Hajimemashita" - Sendai Komatsu

"POWER SPOT" - AKKOGORILLA

"Ray of Light" - Koochewsen

"Rock in the Kingdom" - Seikima-II [Badulator]

"MTR Baby" - Roman Porsche

"The End of Shite" - YUKI

"Be My Baby" - Complex

"GALO SENGEN" - POLICEMAN

"Spiderman" - DJ Ozma

"Fish Fight!" - Yaen

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

I'm late to the party today but it was worth the wait. Love a bit of angst on a rainy English Monday, I do.

Hannlove and Nana cuddles aside, Matty on his own, without his guys buffering him, is quite the tragedy. I don't often want to hug him, but I'm softening a bit. He's really struggling with his boys having different things going on that he's not part of.

Loving the playlist and the inclusion of the legendary Sue, I love those XFM playlists a lot.

Obviously don't need to point out how I feel about Unknown being there - ooof! Sha la la indeed!

Jack is really starting to intrigue me, so looking forward to that development and one last thing - tell me if I'm clutching at straws here but:

"Not like George knows Ross also didn’t show. Not like George knows anything about Ross, really." 👀👀👀

November's going to drag, I can feel it now. Good luck with your move ❤

Matty on his own is super duper tragic and I am sorry for any and all heartbreak caused by you having to spend time with him this week

I'm so glad you enjoyed the playlist and the callback to that incredible "your mum" joke

you're not clutching at straws, there is definitely *something* implied with that line 👀

thank you for being patient and kind, wait for me! ❤️

[fishylife]

Alright last two episodes of the Creation of the Gods Training Camp Cvariety show (Episode 6) (Episode 7)

Episode 6

Hou Wenyuan supervising Chen Muchi's singing

This is an ongoing thing, but the narrator in the edited clips has been purposely speaking in a Western accent to mimic Kris Phillips' accent. But it's obvious that they are fluent and just putting on an accent.

Hou Wnyuan wearing the sheer because there apparently wasn't anything else

Historical etiquette class

According to the teacher, if you're kneeling properly, your knees don't even touch the floor and you're leaning entirely on your calves.

First lesson, kneel for 5 minutes

Hell yeah Ci Sha and Li Yunrui also rocking the sheer

Planning mannerisms for the patricide scene and Su Quanxiao's death scene to reflect the characters' states of mind

Practising walking and holding posture in court too. This is pretty interesting.

Now the war dance!!!!

While the hostage sons were practising the war dance, Yu Shi was in Xinjiang filming his scene so he only had a few days to practise the war dance and had to ask for extra help.

The war dance was the hostage sons' first scene filmed. And they got it done in one go.

Now preparation for the first battle scenes.

Yu Shi's horse kept avoiding the hurdles. The first step was to lead the horse to the hurdle and have the horse kick it to go past. And then afterwards they would get the horse to jump over the hurdle.

Hello Mr. Krabbs

The original dance choreographed for the feast was a more typical celebratory dance by female dancers. But Wuershan liked the war dance so much that he wanted to add it in. I agree that it was a great idea. The war dance with the topless hostage sons has kind of become iconic. As Wuershan said, most other movies and TV shows will have a rather generic dance. Giving the hostage sons a chance to dance gives the hostage son characters an added dimension too.

Yu Shi had to go to Xinjiang to film at the time of the war dance practice because it was August and it would soon be harvest time for the wheat fields.

LOL Wuershan laughing at the reaction meme game

Naran can even understand ancient texts in Chinese now :o She's come so far. I wish I could read ancient Chinese texts!!!

熊孩子 >3

Yu Shi tearing up as he talks about this being his first film and how he'll continue to work hard but that his first film will be special

All the actors on set talking about how much they appreciated this filming experience ;_;

Nana had wanted to be an actress from a young age. When she was a model, she felt a little aimless, but now that she's back on the acting route her goal is clearer to her <3

Naxi teared up too. I would imagine that as an "older" person at the camp, it must be such a positive and moving experience to find a new path for yourself.

In addition to the super cute scroll, Wuershan also got some new swag

Height comparison

Episode 7

Lore quiz!!!! This is kinda fun lol

Ji Fa and Deng Chanyu have a battle in water in the second movie :o I wonder if it's combat or like, an actual war with soldiers and horses.

Oh no they have to practise holding their breath ToT That's so anxiety inducing to me

Looks like they're learning breaststroke

Scuba time

Wu Hankun talking big about how handsome he is and then Hou Wenyuan one-upping him with the narcissism which amuses the teachers so much XD

Now they need Hou Wenyuan to make an ugly face and act silly (presumably because to be a good actor you have to pull faces and not always be thinking about your appearance).

The hostage sons discussing why their characters would not kill Daji in the scene where they discover her in the snow

When Hou Wenyuan was practising a part where Chong Yingbiao was boasting, the Jing Niansong was like "guys nobody is hyping up your beifang da-ge and he's feeling very awkward rn" lol

Ji Fa and Chong Yingbiao play fighting XD And then "fighting for real" during rehearsal

Naran dance performance!

Hell yeah girls' fight

Now horseback riding skills demonstration

The group horseback riding skills are pretty cool. I remember when they were practising their formations before, the instructor was telling them that their circle wasn't round enough, etc. which isn't something I'd normally think about but we see now how good their formations are.

Hell yeah group demonstration WITH WEAPONS now. The spear wielders always look so cool to me

Several drum performances (y)

I noticed that Zhang Xuehan (on the far left) has a smaller drum

Doggo on set

WHAT Hou Wenyuan just found the dog and brought it to camp ^^;; They went around town looking for the dog's owner and also all chipped in some money to get the dog to the vet

Hou Wenyuan and Huang Xiyan were kind of in charge of the dog. And they were both considered for Yang Jian so they were like "is this Xiaotianquan" (Yang Jian's dog in mythological canon)

LMAO Kun-babi 坤爸比 (Like Kun-papa)

Apparently the dog is quite a young one

I guess they found an owner to adopt the dog in the end

Tug of war again, but indoors. They're all super competitive about it.

Basketball time. Huang Xiyan was like "we have to take Lin Yunrui out to play basketball or else he'll grow mould" lol

I forgot to mention this before but one of the guys said that they were all growing their hair out for the movie (i.e. so that they could tie up their own hair as opposed to using a wig like in dramas). So that's why all the guys are wearing headbands and sporting buns/ponytails.

Yu Shi is wearing a basketball jersey with "YU" on the back so presumably it was an old jersey that he actually wore when he was still a basketball player

Yu Shi dunk

Yu Shi was helping Ci Shi to get high up enough

And I'm done! Overall it was really fun watching the behind the scenes of the training camp and to finally get to meet some of the cast members. Some of the games were better than others, and the audio quality was bad. But this was still fun.

[wolf-den-daycare]

Masterpost!

Hey! we got some rules at the daycare kiddos!

Introduction for: Mod Wolf!

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This blog is for ALL littles! but esp for the older littles! there are a lot of places for the small littles, but bigger littles deserve a place too!

tws may be present and everything triggering will be tagged and under a read more!

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Agere bots: Made on Jan but due to TOS they're private! they're made on Janitor AI and will be public for 2 days at a time when asked for them or right after making them!

Theres versions on Character ai as well found here!

Sha - The Walten Files

- Now onto the Rules:

For interacting with the blog:

Mod Wolf is 18+, but that doesnt mean you have to be! but sfw posts only!!

cursing is allowed but asked to be kept to a minimum :]

THERE ARE HORROR THEMED BOARDS HERE!! if there is anything triggering(sharp things, bl**d, so on) there are tws and they are under the cut! but many agere blogs and caretakers are not ok with gore and horror themed things! which is totally ok but even when Wolf age regresses he still likes horror :]

This is an accepting zone for: agre, petre, caregivers/handlers, otherkin, otherhearted, therians, disabled people, and so on! this is NOT an accepting zone for: maps, ADLG(you have your spaces, here is not one :] you can have your kinks just not here), zoophiles, homophobic/transphobic people, NSFW blogs(this is a SFW zone only!!)

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For Rps: Aka: Rules in the daycare!

Be respectful and try to keep the toys out of the air, unless that's where they're supposed to be!

the non-sparkle glitter(sand) should stay in the sand box please <3

Please dont color on the walls!(even if you do, its all washable, its just nice to use the paper or other things you're supposed to paint!)

Big feels doesnt mean you can hurt others! if you need you can throw pillows in the nap room/s but not at our friends! you can try to draw your feelings too!

Please use the bathroom in the bathroom, or let someone know you need to get cleaned up or have to use the bathroom!

You can ask for a snack or drink at any time!

Your caregiver can join you at the daycare!! Especially if its to help you!

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Terms used on the blog: Names for cgs: Caregiver, Caretaker, Mama, Dad, Papa, Ma, Pa, Mom, Nana, Gramp/y, Gram/y(Mainly pa/papa/dad currently)

Littles: Kiddo, kid, sweetheart, darlin, bubs, puddin, sugar(Mainly kiddo/kid currently)

(note that Wolf is southern :])

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Tags: Agre: Post about age regression Petre: Posts about pet regression Rp: rp tag! Daycare info: Info on the daycare!! Reblog: just reblogs! rarely have other tags with it,

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Characters that have visited so far:

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Regulars:

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Anons:

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