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themaribatpit · 3 years ago

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Jasonette July Day 9: Pixie

Written by: The Maribat Pit @jasonette-july-event

Prompt: Pixie

Rated: T

(By popular demand, a slight continuation of Game On @aespades, @certainmuffinbagelcalzone.)

A/n: Edits have been made because I noticed the paragraph errors AFTER posting this.

Marinette was really starting to miss the days of working with Chat Noir at that moment, and that was saying something. “Bugaboo” and “My Lady” were starting to feel more tolerable when she wasn’t being called that every second of the day. Being called “Pixie” regardless if she was Ladybug or Marinette, was really starting to get old, fast. For reasons that she could not understand, that’s what Jason insisted on calling her. Sure, she was a lot smaller compared to him, but that coupled with needing to hang back and let Red Hood and Arsenal deal out the heavier hits was starting to get on her nerves. She was just as experienced as them, she had a mentor just like they did, and had been saving lives for just as long as they had. Ever since she had joined them, she thought that she would be fighting alongside a team again. Now she was either supporting them or using her sewing skills to add improvements to their suits. She was in good hands, some might say hands that were a little too good. All this frustrated her to no end because she liked Jason, she would have thought that someone who had been a vigilante from a young age would understand what it felt like to be constantly underestimated.

“Unbelievable,” she snapped one night as she came home from another mission. She pulled off her pink flats and threw them across the room as she entered her apartment. She didn’t even get the chance to use her Miraculous, she was effectively closely guarded bait on that last mission. She slumped on the bed in frustration and Tikki hovered over to her, her antenna drooping in concern. “Some days I want to wipe that smile off of that stupid face, just to prove I can.” Marinette grumbled into her pillow. She didn’t hate Jason, she knew that there was some good in him. Roy was the more optimistic and cheerful of the duo, like Jason, he had also been mentored by a more experienced hero. Jason was a lot more reserved and cynical by comparison, though he wasn’t a complete Ice Prince like his brother Damian.

“Maybe it’s because they’ve been doing this for a little bit longer.” Tikki suggested, after Marinette complained about it for the umpteenth time.

“Batgirl and Black Bat are only a few years younger than me,” she reminded her, “and there’s no doubt that they could hold their own in a fight. No one gives them stupid nicknames, just shortened versions of their real names out of costume.” Tikki awkwardly scratched the back of her head. “I bet you that he barely remembers what my real name is.” Marinette was getting increasingly furious at the thought “it’s always ‘Pixie this’ and ‘Pixie that’. I know I’m shorter than him, but I have taken on giant robot dolls, literal monsters, and I once rode a dragon!” Marinette yelled.

Marinette throws a pillow at Tikki, only for it to phase through her. “What does he think I do as Ladybug? Create Christmas presents with my Lucky Charm?!”

At this very unfortunate moment Jason happened to return back to their apartment with Roy in tow. “What’s got you riled up, Pixie Pop?” Jason quipped after seeing the frustrated look on her face. This was the last straw for Marinette, “Stop calling me that! Does it please you to demean me? Does it bring you joy to fucking bully me day in and day out?” Jason and Roy take a step back from Marinette’s outburst. Marinette continues “I have kept Paris safe ever since I was 13, I didn’t have the World's Greatest Detective or a Robin Hood cosplayer helping me. It’s always you two off saving the day while I’m the distraction. Do I have to remind you that I’ve beaten Robin and Red Robin?”

“So have we, right Roy?” Jason says look backwards to Roy. Roy meanwhile was slowly walking backwards with his arms up in surrender.

“Don’t drag me into this please.” Roy pleaded.

Marinette continued her rant, “So why do you keep calling me Pixie Pop like I'm some pet or stuffed animal?” She storms up to Jason and pulls him down to her height by the collar.

Roy sensed the tension and wanted absolutely no part in making it worse, “You know what? I’m gonna go get us some shawarma.”

Jason looked over at Roy “Really, Roy?” A slight scowl made it clear he knew Roy was essentially leaving him to face Marinette’s wrath.

“All I know is that they are open at four in the morning and I’m hungry, so I’ll be right back.” Roy said, and he left the room. Just as he thought Roy was out of earshot, Jason heard sprinting down the hallway. Roy had abandoned him to face the burning blue fire in Marinette’s eyes.

Marinette let go of him, she didn’t need them, she had made that absolutely clear.

“I’m done, I don’t expect you to understand what it’s like to be underestimated all of the time.” she muttered harshly, “to always be kept at arm's length, because no one trusts you to do anything right.”

Marinette had no idea just how deep her words cut him, and Jason couldn’t really blame her. As far as she knew, compared to his brothers, he might as well just be ‘the one with the guns and leather jackets’. He hadn’t really told her about what had happened all those years ago, he didn’t even like to think about it himself. Roy was one of the few people who understood what he’d been through. It was true that both of them started out as sidekicks, maybe the red in their costumes helped them stand out from their mentor’s shadows. Their time as young crime fighters had left their scars. They were blindsided when they found someone who had been a heroine since she was 13, and took to it with the same determination they had when they were younger, more innocent, more naïve.

As Marinette flitted around the room, gathering her things, every nerve in Jason’s body was screaming at him to stop her. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, trying not to think about just how small it felt around his hand. “Look, I’m sorry,” he began. What could he say to her? That he knew exactly what that felt like? That the last thing they wanted was for her to end up like them? That every hit they took in a fight was one that she wouldn’t have to, so that she wouldn’t turn out broken like they were? The problem was she didn’t see them as broken, she saw them treating her like glass. If she was put through the same ordeal, Jason had no idea what he would do. If she shattered just like they did, then in a way, they would have failed her. If she came out still whole, still brimming with light, then what did that say about them?

Marinette pulled her arm away, “I’ll show you, then you’ll be sorry” she told him bitterly. With her backpack in hand and shoes on her feet, she pushed past him and walked out the door.

Jason remains staring at the open door, regretting how he had treated her. He grew fond of her during their time together as ‘Red Arse Bug’. She had a cute face, cute voice and she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. “Stupid, stupid” he says to himself, facepalm at each syllable. Even with the now hostile relationship with Marinette, he knew he had to follow her. He had to stop her from making the same mistakes he did, so that she would not become like him. He put on his helmet and left to search for clues as to where Marinette would go and what she would do.

Marinette wandered through Gotham city, unsure what to do now that she stormed out of the apartment she shared with Jason and Roy. She felt like everyone belittled her, Selena did, and now so did Jason. She needed to do something eye-catching, to prove to everyone that she didn’t need their help.

As she wanders past the Iceberg Lounge, she gets a spark of inspiration. If she could take down the Penguin single-handedly, nobody in Gotham would doubt her ever again. With unyielding determination she calls out “Spots On” and turns to Ladybug, ready to take on one of the cruelest crime lords in all of Gotham. Ladybug walks up to the front door and kicks it down, sending the door flying and knocking any unfortunate goons behind it. Penguin’s gang whipped out their guns, tire irons, pipes and anything that could count as a weapon and were now charging in to stop the intruder.

Marinette swings her yo-yo to wrap around one of the goon’s ankles, before swinging him around crashing him into several others. A guard points his rifle behind Ladybug, she spins around, sending her yo-yo towards the gun and pulling it from his hands. As the guards begin to group up together in an attempt to minimise the effectiveness of her yo-yo, Marinette looks up and begins to smirk. She flings her yo-yo upwards and hooks it onto a chandelier. She yanks it down, sending the chandelier crashing onto the unsuspecting guards.

Marinette dusts her hands and proceeds to walk through into the main hall. She proceeds to kick down that door too, she is then greeted by The Penguin surrounded by his gang. “I’m taking you down Cobblepot.” She shouts, swinging her yo-yo as if it was a lasso, preparing for a fight.

The Penguin stands up from the seat of his large chair. “What are all you idiots waiting for?” He shouts all around him. He points his umbrella at Ladybug, and begins shooting his umbrella gun. “Get her!” The penguin roars, at this cue every gangster charges at Ladybug.

Marinette gracefully dodges and weaves around Penguin’s army, knocking each one out one by one. Until only The Penguin remains, she wraps her yo-yo around his umbrella, easily disarming one of Gotham’s most wanted. She walks towards The Penguin, slowly unravelling her yo-yo in anticipation of tying him up and sending him to Arkham Asylum.

The Penguin takes out a little remote control from his suit pocket, “It's not over yet.” he snarls and pushes a button. At that moment the entire building shakes.

“Born on a Monday” a voice groaned, followed by another loud thud. “Christened on a Tuesday.” the same voice groaned. Then a giant hand shoots up from beneath the floor, “SOLOMON GRUNDY” roared the giant as it emerged from the floor.

Red Hood and Arsenal had been watching the fight from a careful distance outside the Iceberg Lounge. “Well, she’s managed to take on Penguins goons just fine,” Arsenal observed through the small pair of binoculars, “she’s certainly had plenty of time to get very creative with that yo-yo”.

Red Hood’s hand was still itching to reach for one of his pistols, ready to jump in at the first sign of trouble. “By the way, how was your shawarma?” he asked sarcastically.

Arsenal looked over at him, raising an eyebrow “Hey, I’m not the one who said the one thing that just made her angrier, you were on your own there.”

“Nice to know you had my back.” he grumbled.

“Oh I do in a fight, you just decided to be an ass and poke the angry girl with a stick.” Arsenal pointed out.

Their banter was interrupted by an earth shattering thud, following a loud groan “Born on a Monday.” At that moment their blood ran cold. Red Hood and Arsenal rushed towards the Iceberg Lounge. Both worried for Ladybug and aware of what comes after that dreadful nursery rhyme.

“What are you two doing here? I can handle this.” growled Ladybug as Red Hood and Arsenal arrived.

Before either Red Hood or Arsenal could answer, they were interrupted by Solomon Grundy smashing the ground where Ladybug was standing. Ladybug gracefully dodged the punch, grappling onto a ceiling lamp to swing towards Grundy with a kick.

The giant grabbed Ladybug while she was mid-air and threw her towards her partners. Red Hood catches her, holding her tightly as the two fly across the room. He shields her from the shock, taking the brunt of the impact as they crash into the wall.

Red Hood groans “You okay?” Ladybug looks up to see she was relatively unharmed, but Red Hood had taken the brunt of the throw. Concern visible on her face as she sees Red Hood’s damaged helmet, and the bruised and bloodied face beneath.

Their quiet moment together was interrupted by Arsenal's cries for help. Every arrow he had in his quiver wasn’t making a dent in Solomon Grundy. Ladybug decides to cast Lucky Charm in desperation, and swings her yo-yo up. The ladybugs converge to form...a polka-dotted stick of dynamite.

“Arsenal!” She called. “Tie this to the end of an arrow, Red Hood and I will keep it busy.” She tosses the dynamite to Arsenal and tells Red Hood to tie Grundy down.

Ladybug using her yo-yo grabs on to Solomon Grundy’s left arm while Red Hood uses his grappling hook to hold on to his right arm. Leaving Grundy exposed and immobile, giving Arsenal the opportunity for a clear unobstructed target.

Arsenal draws and aims the special Lucky Charm Explosive Arrow. The giant zombie growls “Arrow Boy no hurt Grundy.”

“Arrow Boy yes hurt Grundy” quipped Arsenal, before releasing the arrow causing a thunderous explosion into Solomon Grundy’s face. The giant slumps, Ladybug and Red Hood quickly release their hold and watch its body fall back into the hole in which it came from.

Solomon Grundy’s body lays motionless in the basement of the Iceberg Lounge as the three peer over the hole in the ground, “Let’s get outta here before the GCPD or worse, Batman arrive” Red Hood points to the front door, and the three of them leave the lounge to head back to their apartment.

As the three arrive home, they each find a nice comfortable spot to collapse onto. Jason claimed the sofa, slumped down Roy in the middle of the living room floor and Marinette sat at the dining table. “I vote for a week off.” groaned Roy.

“I second that motion” agreed Jason.

“I still have design work to do.” Marinette told them, not really looking at either of them at that moment. She was torn between appreciating their help, and frustrated that she hadn’t been able to handle the situation herself like she thought.

“Still that was one hell of a fight, and hey, you still managed to take on a squad of goons by yourself.” Roy said, “I’m so proud” he said dramatically pretending to wipe away a happy tear.

He nudged Jason in the leg, “um, yeah, good work” he said awkwardly, slightly lost in thought. Marinette smiled slightly, before turning her attention back to her little fairy friend perched on the table.

“So does this mean Red Arse Bug is back together?” Roy asked enthusiastically, Marinette wasn’t really paying attention.

The name still needed work, for one thing. For once Marinette felt like her powers were being used in harmony with their abilities, but she wasn’t sure if it was a feeling that she should get used to. Marinette could still vividly remember seeing Jason’s bruised and bloodied face beneath his helmet. Jason stood up and walked over to the fridge, looking for ice to dull the swelling on his face.

“Not with that name,” Jason grumbled, not entirely sure if Marinette was willing to stay after their argument. Someday, somehow, he would tell her the full story of what happened to him. Right now, that was a whole Pandora’s Box that he just wasn’t prepared to open. Nestled at the bottom of that box was hope, a hope that no one else would meet that same fate.

“...Lucky Shot?” Marinette suggested as she carried Tikki over to the sofa and sat down. Both Jason and Roy looked up, it made some sense, seeing as they both used projectiles and she had her lucky charms. Jason tentatively made his way back to the sofa, ice pack in hand.

“Sounds better than ‘Red Arse Bug’.” Jason remarked, as he sat back down.

“Well, let’s see if our little adventure made the news” Roy said, as he reached for the TV remote. Jason tuned out Vicki Vale’s voice as she reported on the fight that took place at the Iceberg Lounge.

As Roy slept at their feet, Jason knew if they were going to continue working together as a team, they couldn’t keep her in the dark any longer.

“Hey Marinette.” Jason speaks softly. Marinette's ears perk in surprise, hearing speak her name for the first time. “I’m sorry, for what I said and how we treated you. You’re right.” He gestures to the sleeping Roy on the floor, “Both of us started out as sidekicks, we both grew up in the shadows of Batman and Green Arrow. Both old men with impossibly high standards, everything we did was never enough.” Marinette listened intently as she shuffled closer to him on the sofa. “We’ve both been to hell and back, Marinette. Literally in my case.” he explained, Marinette glanced down at Tikki for a moment, as if silently asking if her magic was somehow involved in this. “But always remember, we have each other’s backs, just like The Three Musketeers.” Jason told her, Marinette giggles at his literary reference.

“Roy’s Porthos, you’re Aramis, I guess that makes me D’Artagnan.” Marinette chimes. Jason loved to see that hopeful smile on her face. What scared him the most was the idea that something or someone would try and take that away from her. They couldn’t keep treating her like glass, and they couldn’t keep treating her like a sidekick if they wanted to keep her from making their mistakes. They were all going to fight like hell to make sure this world didn’t break her the way it broke them. Marinette leaned in close and rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her calm even breathing, fanning his neck as she slept peacefully at his side.

#jasonette #jasonettejuly2021 #maribat #ml x dc

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omgitsshrimp · 4 years ago

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[SPOILERS from Manga!!] Attack on Titan Theory/Lyric Interpretation: Name of Love is Eren talking to Historia

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!! IF YOU’RE ANIME ONLY, SKIP THIS POST!!

I wanted to do a little lyric interpretation for the 5th ending song for Attack on Titan, Name of Love by Cinema Staff. I’m aware that the imagery used in the ending was focusing on the 104th cadets, but I wanted to focus on the lyrics specifically and explore other possible interpretations. So please be open minded and just have fun with my little theory!

The english translation of the lyrics I decided to use were from the Attack on Titan Wiki:

https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Name_of_Love#English_

[LAST SPOILER WARNING FOR ANIME ONLYS]

Disclaimer: this is going to step into some shipping territory, but I want to be clear that I am not a shipper or an anti anything, so don’t take this too seriously. I’m just having a bit of fun writing out my theory lol

The theory:

I think the song is from Eren’s perspective, and I think he could be talking to Historia in the song as well. I know many believe it relates to the 104th cadets, but maybe both are true? Anyway, I’m going to explain why I think it could be Eren to Historia.

My Interpretation of the Lyrics (lyrics are in bold):

Goodbye World

Starts with the person saying, “goodbye world”. I take this from Eren’s perspective. I’ve seen this interpreted as Eren dying but I think it could actually be referencing him doing the rumbling and saying goodbye to the world because he’s killing everyone. So this establishes the song in Eren’s perspective, in my opinion.

Our shadows standing side by side do not cross each other.

Reading this lyric I thought about the 104th cadets standing side by side, I thought about the colossal titans standing side by side, but I also thought about Eren and Historia standing side by side during the secret meeting(s), which seem to have occurred at dusk/sunset (possibly dawn) I believe. For shadows to look like they’re standing side by side the sun has to be low; at dusk or dawn. Dusk and dawn have been used to symbolize the ending of one cycle and start of another. Eren only talked about ending a cycle of hate with Historia. (I know this might be a bit reaching, but stay with me)

My hope, my light, and the unknown scenery,

I’m still searching for them

Hope = a future where he (and everyone he cares about) is free

Light = like a light at the end of the tunnel: freedom, Historia and their baby

Unknown scenery = what comes after the rumbling. This line made me wonder if at some point Eren’s future memories stop and he’s not sure what comes after a certain point. Everything has been known to him because of his ability to see future memories, but not this. He stated to Falco once that people keep moving forward because something drives them, and they don’t always know if the end result will be another hell, or not, but only those who keep moving forward will find out. I think that’s the case with Eren. He’s still moving forward searching for the answer to all of this; what happens after the cycle ends with the rumbling. The line, “I’m still searching for them” portrays this I think.

Let’s make one promise

This made me think of Eren saying this to Historia because a promise was also mentioned in Historia’s theme Zero Eclipse (only the later half of the song is related to Eren and Historia):

‘Make a promise that I cannot regret, as long as I can see you but in secret’

So one song from Historia’s perspective and another from Eren’s perspective, both referencing a promise.

To call each other by our names,

To share our happiness to one another,

To connect using our words, to hold on tight to our pain

This sort of reminded me of marriage vows. Not saying I believe Eren and Historia are married or anything. I just got romantic vibes from this. I read it as one person saying it to another, rather than between multiple people. The promise is portrayed as something very personal and emotional (“hold on tight to our pain”, “share our happiness”).

Somewhere in this world, if we meet in the future,

Please don’t forget about me, the truth about me.

I saw this as Eren not knowing if he’ll make it out of this alive. Because, as I mentioned earlier, maybe there is a point where his future memories stopped and he doesn’t know what comes after that point. But whether he lives or dies he asks Historia to remember the truth about him. At this point only Historia knows the truth about Eren because he has only opened up to her so she knows the truth. Eren doesn’t want his horrible act of genocide to change her view of him (like it did/will for many others (his friends); the world sees him as an enemy) so he asks her not to forget the truth about him. That truth possibly being that he doesn’t actually want to kill all these people but has to, or feels compelled to as he believes it’s the only way to end the cycle of hate and gain freedom. Basically I think he’s saying: don’t see me differently after this, whether I’m dead or alive, remember the real me.

Goodnight World

The sunsetting on the world represents the ending of a cycle (which Eren mentioned in his talk with Historia). I think this references the rumbling again. Eren saying farewell to the previous cycle.

Nobody else has to know besides us

Time, please stop

I held back your cold hand

I think this is referring to Eren and Historia’s secret meetings.

Time, please stop = Eren wants to stay in this moment forever, he doesn’t want the future to come (because he doesn’t want to kill all those people). His term (13 years) is running out.

I held back your cold hand = This one was difficult but I think Eren doesn’t want to see future memories either. That’s why he held back her hand. She may have been reaching out to him for warmth. I could be wrong. I don’t think Eren and Historia never physically touched at all (she’s having his baby after all), but maybe they were more hesitant about it because of the memory thing.

An Everlasting dream, a gloomy shadow

Gloomy shadow = the rumbling that he needs to do to get to his freedom

Dream = everlasting freedom

An adventure on a sunny, cloudless day;

Huddling under an umbrella on a rainy day

Scattered tears softly lifted,

Carrying our wounds, let’s move forward

Eren is reminiscing on memories, possibly with Historia. Spending time together, “scattered tears” shows that they probably shared intimate, emotional moments as well (there was a memory shard of Historia crying). Eren is urging someone to keep moving forward with him. If only Historia knows Eren’s plans and motivations, then only she can be the one moving forward with him, because she actually knows what’s going on.

The promise we made in our hearts,

A promise that never fade.

I hear the sound of the wind, beyond the map.

A “promise made in our hearts” has undertones of love to me. The fact that he says it will never fade points to a mutual devotion or commitment to one another.

Sound of the wind beyond the map = I took this as Eren recognizing that it’s time for him to leave the island and start the rumbling.

[Chorus repeats again]

The bell at the start of the day;

The dawn is calling for us,

In the truth, name of love,

Don’t be afraid, move forward.

The bell = the rumbling. In Ch 126, a citizen of Paradis looks on at the last line of Colossal titans leaving the island and says of the rumbling, “It was like the sound of bells, announcing our freedom.”

The start of the day = new day, morning, new cycle for the world

Dawn is calling = the new cycle is beginning or has begun.

In the truth, name of love, don’t be afraid, move forward = I think this is Eren saying to focus on the truth of who they know they are, their love. Even if everyone is against them, they know the truth about each other and are on each other’s side. He’s saying because of this, there’s no need to be afraid. He’s telling Historia to focus on this, move forward and don’t be afraid.

Somewhere in this world, if we meet again in the future

No matter how small, please don’t forget…

Eren asking that Historia remember every little truth about him

The future in our hearts, the promise that belongs to us

Please don’t forget, about me

The truth about me

Future in our hearts = their hopes for the future, freedom, freedom for their baby

The promise that belongs to us = implies the promise is something private and kept from other people. Points to an element of secrecy.

And it ends with Eren once again asking Historia to remember the truth about him.

End of interpretation.

These are just my opinions and I know it could just be about the 104th cadets/scouts, but what makes me think of Eren and Historia are:

-Reference to a promise. A promise was also referenced in Zero Eclipse. We don’t know of any personal promises made between the 104th cadets. We just know of the “devote your hearts” salute, which would’ve worked if the promise in the song wasn’t portrayed as something personal and private, with undertones of love involved. “Devote your hearts” was more of a military salute to devote yourself to the greater mission of serving humanity/Paradis; it’s not an mutual, intimate, personal promise between individuals.

-Eren talking about the rumbling and urging someone to move forward with him in that direction. He never told anyone in the 104th about his rumbling plans except Historia. And we have seen Eren encourage Historia to stay quiet about the rumbling in Ch 130.We’ve clearly seen that Eren and the rest of the 104th are moving in different directions, which is why they are currently fighting each other.

-There are elements of secrecy and love in the lyrics that don’t really fit with the 104th cadets dynamic. (“nobody else has to know besides us”, “a promise that belongs to us”, “a promise made in our hearts”). I always pictured the 104th’s dynamic with elements of loyalty, trust, camaraderie, a precious bond of close friendships. However, Eren and Historia’s dynamic is more aligned with the elements shown in the lyrics.

-The song title is “Name of Love” so personally I don’t think it’s a stretch to theorize that the song has a more romantic undertone in some parts. ‘Love’ is literally in the title.

This song was the ending for Season 3 part 2. I used to think it was fitting because of the imagery used with the song; I assumed it was about the 104th cadets only, but then I had a change of mind when I started to really look at the lyrics. The lyrics sound like Eren from season 4 to me now, but it still makes sense for season 3 because the end of season 3 part 2 is when we start to see Eren change. Especially after seeing the future memory when he kisses Historia’s hand, and sees that his father’s memories were accurate. His last line in the season foreshadows the Eren portrayed in the song: “If we kill every last one of our enemies out there, will we finally be free?”

I think that’s everything. I hope I didn’t forget anything. Feel free to let me know what you think, just be respectful please! If you made it to the end, thanks for taking the time to read through all of it!

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f33itan · 4 years ago

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💛⚜️Pᴀʀᴛ 1: Tᴏʀᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪs Gᴏʟᴅᴇɴ⚜️💛 (From my Wattpad)

A/N: Ok, this was something a mutual of mine said here on Tumblr, and I decided to write a oneshot about it. Might be very VERY slight angst, nothing bad enough to actually be put under that umbrella though, anyways, enjoy this, and ty for the reads! :)

CW: MENTIONS OF RAPE, DEGRADATION, AND MORE FOUL WORDS THAN USUAL. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

B/N: Your Mother's boyfriend's name

M/N: Mother's name

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

"Oi, Y/N! Go get me another pack of beer from the store!"

"Yes father!" Damn that pig looking bitch. I'm just some fucking girl, trying to protect her mom from this demon of a person! Heck, he's not EVEN a person! He's the devil himself!! Man, I wish dad was here...

When you were in about 7th grade, your real father got killed in a massacre a couple cities over. He was not only a police officer, but a great father and husband as well. He treated you and your mother amazingly, and you thought life couldn't get anymore perfect, but soon that all went down hill. After his death, your mother's health depleted and she felt empty inside. She needed somebody else to make her complete. She decided to call an old friend from high school, and next thing you know he moved in. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but soon enough he was beating you guys mercilessly, enough to leave large bruises and scars whenever you didn't do exactly what he asked, in your eyes though, it was more of an order. You hated being ordered around, but you hated your mother getting beaten around even more. It seemed like a blessing that he hasn't tried to rape her, but god knows what he'll do, he's unpredictable

With all of this happening, you decided to tell him you were doing some "extra curricular" classes in college, but what you were actually doing was taking the Hunter's Exam and learning nen. Your biological father was kind-hearted and fun to be around, but he was also strict and sometimes a bit harsh, though he always meant well. Before his passing, all three of you would go out on the weekends to train, exercise, or do something that would enhance your body power and brain power. Because of this, all of you were exceptionally smart, and bodies all well toned. Sometimes your excursions would be going to a park and practicing a sport, driving to the snow and sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and every once in a while going to another state to zip line, try animal encounters, or take a family friendly class in that state's heritage and customs.

Since you were accustomed to hard core training and events, you thought the Hunter's Exam was quite fun, and was a test to your skills. After that, you were scouted out by a strong nen user by the name of Biscuit Krueger. You and her had lots of fun training, and with her pushing your limits to the utmost best, you turned out to be a specialist.

(Whenever I imagine myself in Hunter x Hunter, this is always my nen type and stuff LMAO)

Your power was called, Black shadow. You could have up to 10 weapons on hand, completely subjected to doing your bidding. These weapons were linked to you through blood, and they were surrounded with a substance that appeared to be black mist. The weapons you most preferred to practice with and use were your katana, blood string, and scythe. You could also make a weapon yours by cutting a fingertip and letting the blood drip onto the weapon, altering the appearance then gaining that black "mist", showing that it was now yours. The downside to this technique was that those "shadows and mist remnants" were your sleep. The darkness in your mind and the shadows all around you were taken and used for that power. In turn, you were always tired, yawning, and had bags under your eyes. Another plus side though was that you had a nen created chamber that had every weapon you owned. A girl can have some fun toys, can't she? You had tools for torture (whenever you took an opportunity to try it), many varieties of weapons, and of course, more snacks. But unlike B/N, you didn't have just fatty snacks. You had regeneration potions, healthy snacks, and special nen created "snacks" to help with different things, which all of these you had collected through pulling some strings. Your mother was worried, but you said it was all just college things. Yeah, just college things..

Ill make that pig bitch pay for what he has done to my mother!

Feitan POV -or whats going on with him- :

"What time, is it.."

"8 AM Fei!"

"Shut up, green eyes, too loud."

"Oh Fei don't be rude! It's mean!"

"That's, the point."

"Oh wait, Shalnark, what this?"

"What do you mean?"

"This... gold string?"

"OI SHALNARK, FEITAN, COME ERE' REAL QUICK!"

"Phinks, what, do you, want-" Phinks just ignored his question and pointed to the TV.

This is Channel 12, reporting live from York New City Town Square. People all over the city are claiming to be seeing a string tied to their left ring finger, leading them to some unknown destination! What is this string? Who put it there?-

"AY AY IM ON TV! THE STRING THINGY JUST LEAD ME TO THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL AND NOW WERE DATING! SUPER AWESOME!"-

I apologize for the interference, but this string appears t be leading people to.. partners? Soulmates? Find out tomorrow morning, this is Amy Starwick from Channel 12, signing out.

"What. The. FUCK."

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOODNESS HOLY SHIT FEITAN YOU HAVE A SOULMATE!!"

"Nope-"

"YESS YOU DOOOOOOO"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP CHEERY BITCH-"

"No❤️" Since Feitan was on his last nerve with Shalnark, he decided to stomp over towards Chrollo in the main room, but Chrollo just chuckled.

"Wanna go find your soulmate? See if that things real?" Feitan just stared at the ground, lightly shifting his feet.

"Go ahead, I don't mind."

"Just, doing it, out of, curiosity."

"Mhm, curiosity, go find them." And with that, he was dismissed. Feitan wanted to say it was curiosity, but deep down he had this feeling there was something else, but what was it? It made his stomach tingle and he didn't like it one bit. He tried to ignore all of this, and just shrugged it off...

꧁꧂꧁꧂TimeSkip to Next Day꧁꧂꧁꧂

Your POV + some Feitan POV:

"Alright, today's the day, he'll be at his work, and on his break, i'll set the plan in motion.." Both me and mom don't like him, and I don't know about her, but I sure hate him, every ounce of him. The plan is simple: 1. Capture mom's boyfriend, 2. Take him to an abandoned building, 3. Torture him and get all of the answers I need, and 4. Kill him. His break is at 12, and he usually goes to get takeout every other Friday, what a pig. I'll give him a taste of his own medicine.

Time: 11:30 AM

Ok, I have everything ready. Fully energized to the utmost extent, Elixirs to bring him back in case he passes out too early, and- what? He's leaving for lunch early? PERFECT! You ran behind some buildings and hid in a two-way alleyway, waiting for him to pass by...

Here we go..

One..

Two..

THREE!

You covered his head with a sack, and took his phone out of his back pocket. Before heading over to your post, you laced the inside of the sack with some sleeping powder and pressed it against his nose and mouth. Within moments he passed out, and you typed in what you hoped to be his password, which was correct. Around 12:30, you were going to text one of his coworkers that he would be "going to a restaurant across town, and ditching work for a day, not wanting to see his stupid good for nothing girlfriend or his dumb daughter." You knew he called you both this because of going through his text messages when he wasn't looking or when he was sleeping. Little did you know that somebody was watching you from afar.

"Hmm... So, she, my, what do people, call it.. soulmate? Seems, interesting..."

Time: 12:00 PM

"Jesus, I new he was a fat ass but I didn't know he weighed this much!" You were tugging him from his legs through the back ways of York New. You wanted to find a secluded area, where once you were done with him you could just toss him somewhere for the birds and maggots to eat. After walking for what seemed like hours, you came across a set of abandoned buildings, specifically the one you laid out some extra things. A couple extra weapons, some towels, a change of clothes, a chair and some rope, a couple of flashlights, and of course, some snacks. Lucky for you, the douchebag you've been dragging around like a rag doll was still out cold, so you picked him up and tossed him on the chair, tying his wrists, ankles and neck to the chair.

"Maaannn, this is boring!! When the hell are you gonna wake up?!" As if on queue, you saw his eyes start to flutter open, and you immediately grabbed your box cutter. It wasn't a weapon used by your nen, but it was quite effective.

"What.. who.. wait- Y/N!? WHAT THE FUCK?! UNTIE ME NOW BEFORE I BEAT YOUR ASS!!" you didn't notice it, but Feitan was watching from the building over.

What, the fuck? Why she kidnap him? That pig? Why? Confusing, gotta keep, watching.

You shoved the box cutter into his left cheek, and you bathed in the glory of hearing his screams of pain.

"How does this feel, you bitch? Everything you've done to my dear mother, everything you've done to me, and heck, YOU WERE PROBABLY BEHIND MY DAD'S MURDER DURING THAT FUCKING MASSACRE!!" B/N noticed the tears in your eyes, and took this to his advantage.

"So what if I was? Both of your parents were pathetic anyways."

"NO THEY AREN'T! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY MY MOTHER'S LIKE THIS NOW! YOUR THE FUCKING REASON FOR EVERYTHING SHITTY THAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!!"

"Heh, hehe.. hahaHAHAHA! YOU KNOW GOD DAMNED WELL THAT ALL OF YOU ARE PATHETIC! WANNA KNOW WHY I GOT WITH YOUR MOM!? BECAUSE SHES HOT. AND SHE HAD GOOD MONEY FROM YOUR FUCKING DAD. YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS GONNA DO?! YOU KNOW WHY I TOOK OFF EARLY TODAY?! I WAS GONNA RAPE YOUR MOTHER AND MAKE YOU WATCH, THEN KILL BOTH OF YOU AND RUN OFF WITH ALL OF YOUR MONEY!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S IRONIC?! I DON'T HAVE ONE. SINGLE. FUCKING. REGRET. IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR DAD, YOU SOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE NERVE TO DO THIS, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABORTED!!"

You couldn't handle this anymore, tears were falling down your face rapidly as you grabbed the duct tape and closed his mouth shut.

"I don't give a fuck about what you say.. I'm going to kill you here. This is your grave. Someday, I'll join you in hell, and when I do, I'll torture you again, and the Devil will laugh. You just watch and ducking wait you, you.. PATHETIC WORTHLESS PIG ASS SLOPPY ASS NASTU FUCKING BITCH!" With that, you grabbed a couple super worms in each hand and shoved them into his ears. Even with the duct tape, you could hear his screams of agony as the worms dug deeper into his ears. You then got our your katana and slashed him across the stomach, and shoved even more worms into that open wound of his. Quickly, you poured a large bottle of the elixir you had brought over him to keep him from dying so quickly. Box cutter still in hand, you carved small lines all over his arms and legs, then ripped off the tape to hear his desperate cries. You imagined he wanted to be dead, but you didn't care. His pain and you pain mixed together and you just started laughing. You through your head back and let yourself laugh. all of the pain this man has caused you and your mom will be repayed today.

But the pressure and stress was too much to handle. Your laughing of victory soon turned into screams and more tears, as you let yourself fall to the ground, not even noticing you didn't hit it hard, something had caught you, or someone..

What the shit am I doing?

Am I really going to kill him?

What's wrong with me?

What will mother think?

What would dad do?

What am I doing with my life?

You soon snapped out of all of those negative thoughts though, as you noticed something caressing your face lightly.

"Rest, now. He, won't die, so quickly. I'm, Feitan." You were a sniffling and crying mess, so all you could do was rush into Feitan's chest and cry. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around you and held you close. He had no idea what he was doing, for he had only seen this kind of skin on skin contact in movies. So, he did what those people in the movies did.

"Don't, worry... It's all, going to be.. okay."

Word Count (Including author notes, etc) : 2251

-Wrote February 3, 2021-

Unedited sorry about that lol-

Part 1...

#hxh #hxh oneshot #hunterxhunter #feitan #feitanportor #pov #feitanxreader

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writeanapocalae · 4 years ago

Text

A Guide for Writing Trans People

Written by a Trans Man.

I’ve seen a lot of different posts on how to write trans characters (absolutely none on how to write cis characters and I am so lost on how to do that oh my goodness) but maybe I’ve got a different perspective and maybe I’ve got something you haven’t heard before. Let’s go!

Terminology

There are a lot of different genders out there, not just male and female. Some people think Trans men and women are some outside of the binary extra gender, which is very much not true. While many trans people do fall outside the binary, there are a lot who are strictly male or female. Therefore their genders are male and female. The trans part is not part of the word, it is a definer to state that the person is transitioning, that is all. So when you write trans man or trans woman the words are separate, not transman or transwoman.

A trans man is someone who is transitioning his appearance for society to view him as male.

A trans woman is someone who is transitioning her appearance for society to view her as female.

The reason I am wording it this way is because they were already their genders. They have always been their genders. Transitioning is greatly influenced by the way we are treated by society, the same way that beauty standards influence people to contour and get surgeries and whatnot.

Demi means mostly in terms of gender so a demi boy is someone who is male most of the time and a demi girl is someone who is female most of the time.

Agender is someone who has no gender

Genderfluid is someone who shifts from gender to gender

Genderqueer is someone who’s gender is nondefined by other terms

Two Spirit is a third gender that encapsulates masculinity and femininity (according to Wikipedia) that is only used by Native Americans

Third Gender is a gender that can encapsulate or be a completely different solid gender like male or female

Nonbinary is someone who is somewhere on the spectrum between genders and their gender is defined by them

Pangender is someone who has all genders

Androgyny is not something that actually relates to gender as much as it does presentation. Presentation does not inherently tell you someone’s gender. Being androgynous just means that someone fits right in the middle of societies expectations of male and female and their AGAB cannot be guessed by onlookers.

AGAB AFAB and AMAB mean Assigned Gender At Birth, Assigned Female At Birth, and Assigned Male At Birth. At birth someone will often assign a gender to a baby based on their genitals and parents tend to show off what sort of genitals their baby has with accessories and colors. Pretty creepy if you ask me.

FTM and MTF has been deemed problematic but many still use them. They mean Female to Male and Male to Female. The terminology states that the person’s AGAB is their initial gender and they are becoming the opposite when, as stated before, it’s more that they were always their gender and now society has to catch up.

Gender Nonconformity can be practiced by anyone regardless of gender. It just means that they do things that aren’t expected of someone of their gender like men wearing skirts (for some reason?) or women growing beards or a nonbinary person not being androgynous (for some reason that’s become an expectation)

Intersex is not a part of the trans umbrella, even though it is often lumped in and people who are intersex can also be trans. It is a sex (different from gender) in which different parts of genitals and chromosomes and hormones are produced in a way that deviates from the norm. Many intersex people undergo genital reconstruction or reduction surgery when they are infants (and can’t consent) in order to fit the mold better. Intersex people can be cis.

Cis just means that someone agrees with the people who assigned them a gender when they were a baby and how society treats them.

Slurs: Don’t use them. There are a lot. If you see it in a porn category you probably should stay away from it.

Pronouns

Pronouns are highly personal and can be a myriad of things so I will not be going over all of them. They do not always match presentation (a long haired man with breasts is still a man) and many people will use multiple sets of pronouns or fluctuate between them for what they feel most comfortable with.

Common pronouns are: they/them, he/him, she/her

Less common pronouns are: xi/xir, fae/faer, it/its, e/em, per/pers, ve/vir, zie/hir

Neopronouns: People make up pronouns all the time since they are personal and these new pronouns are just as valid as any others. Someone made up his and hers after all. When making neopronouns the main thing to be aware of is consistency. You want the different forms of conjugation to make sense and you want to spell them the same way every time.

Appearance

As has already been stated, there’s no correlation between gender presentation and gender and many trans people are unable to present the way they want to due to the economy, genetics, health, or community. Still, people do what they can to pass or feel comfortable in their body and these things need to be in mind during descriptions. People tend to think of the slight things that make people not pass are unattractive and will point out a woman’s 5 o’clock shadow or a man’s high pitched voice as flaws. These things do not necessarily need to be skipped over but they can be described in a way that doesn’t distract from the characters gender.

Try to stop thinking of an hourglass shape as an intrinsically feminine trait and height as an inherently masculine one. There are cis women with full beards and cis men with round jaws. Exploring different features, combining them, and seeing how they meld will give your characters more depth and help with differentiating them from one another. A good rule of thumb is, if you mention something that people don’t immediately clock as the characters gender, describe it as gender accurate.

Misgendering

This is another one that I would say don’t do but there are characters who the writers don’t always agree with. Misgendering is extremely harmful, puts trans people’s lives in danger, and can out them without their permission. The narrator should never misgender a character unless the character does not realize they are trans until the story is underway but this should be rare. The trans character would have no reason to ever misgender themself and may talk about how they presented in the past but will, most likely, still refer to themself with the correct gender. The POV character may misgender a trans character upon meeting them but after being corrected should fix their behavior unless you want your audience to dislike the POV character. Friends of the trans character should not misgender the character unless they are in a situation in which being correctly gendered would bring them harm, otherwise they’re not good friends. Family may misgender the trans character if they are not out or if the family members are terrible people.

Dysphoria/Euphoria

Dysphoria is when there’s a painful discrepancy between mind and body, like when someone knows they are one way but they don’t look the way they feel. Misgendering can be a large cause of dysphoria, as can hearing a recording of their voice, reflections, binding and tucking not hiding what the individual may want to hide, height, muscle structure, bone structure, etc.

Euphoria is the exact opposite of this. It is an extreme sensation of peace and joy in personal gender presentation. This can be caused by hormone replacement therapy, correct gendering, presenting in a way that feels natural, and acceptance.

Dysphoria is not necessary for being transgender.

Social Groups

Look around your friend group. Notice anything eerie? Notice how most of your friends are similar to you in a lot of ways, especially IRL friends? They’re people that you trust and expect to keep you safe while having a fun time with because you share interests and experiences with. Same for trans people. This is why, if you look at my friend group there’s 2 genderfluid, 1 agender, 1 nonbinary, 2 trans women, 1 trans man, and 1 cis man (who’s a cousin). If you have just 1 trans character in a group of friends it is going to read as a need for diversity points and that character is less likely to feel safe with discussing trans issues due to no one around them being able to relate.

Outing

This is one that a lot of people have a hard time with and even trans writers mess up a lot. We all know the infamous scene of someone walking in on a trans person changing and, hopefully, we know that this is not only cliche but actually harmful as it tends to lead to the idea of “lying” when it’s really just not anyone’s business and that trans bodies must be on display. I would say that you shouldn’t have to out your character because coming out is dangerous for real trans people in a lot of situations and it normalizes the idea that trans people must doxx themselves at any moment but due to the lack of representation and the nature of novels, you pretty much have to out your characters. No amount of subtext will be as beneficial to a trans reader as cementing the fact that there’s someone they can relate to in canon. Luckily outing a trans character is a lot easier than people think.

Some of us can’t shut up. A lot of trans people will hint at it a lot and just flat out say it if they’re in similar company. If we see people who we feel confident are also queer we often drop hints that we understand we’re safe, they can come to us (especially in a retail setting), because we want a community. The amount I bring up my masculinity is very very often, to the point I’m surprised people aren’t annoyed with me. I don’t pass very well so I wear a lot of brightly colored buttons that explicitly state my pronouns. There’s also this very strong urge to correct people who use gendered language for things that don’t need gender (like sexual organs and menstrual cycles). There’s nothing wrong with just saying that a character is trans.

Resources

The best thing you can do for your story is research. The trans people you know are not google and they do not deserve to be treated like google. You can use google. Here’s some stuff I found on google:

Dummies | Transequality | EverydayFeminism | Scriptlgbt

But no matter how much research you do it’s not going to be as useful as a sensitivity reader. Once your story is complete ask people to read it as beta readers and sensitivity readers and listen to the people that fit your minority characters.

Some musicians to check out for inspiration

I have to recommend music. I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t.

Agender: Angel Haze | Mood Killer

Androgyne: Florian- Ayala Flora |

Genderneutral: Grimes |

Pandrogyne: Genesis P-orridge

Two Spirit: Tony Enos | Cris Derksen

#writing advice #transgender writing #queer writers #trans writeblr #trans writing

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shadow-scenarios · 4 years ago

Note

Omggg how you wrote out my request certainly surprised me but I totally enjoyed what you did with it!! And you said that you'd love to write a second part? Well, may I perhaps request that? 👀👀 (P.S.: I'm really relieved that you liked the idea haha, I've been sitting on it for awhile)

Hey again, simulationone!! I’m happy you like the direction I look it in. I was going to have the Reader become Akechi’s Navigator but I think that was a better direction to take it. Also, I tried a different style with this one, so I hope you like it!!

I loved the idea, it was so unique! If you have anything else that you want to request, you’re more than welcome to. By the way, this is suuuper angsty. If you don’t like that kind of thing, skip this post!!

Link to Part 1 here!!

- Nexus.

Trigger Warning: Major Character Death ;; Blood ;; Violence ;; Injuries ;; Swearing

Dance With Justice [2] | Goro Akechi

Perhaps there was a reality where she never had to hurt anyone. A world in which the Phantom Thieves never existed & justice was never an issue. Everyone could simply be happy without any concerns. However, thus was not her current fate.

This was never supposed to happen. She was going to die here, stuck in Mementos until she bled out.

{ Sat, 23 / 10 / 20XX }

Akechi had laid the plan out to her on this day: He had been given an opportunity to meet with the Phantom Thieves at the Shujin Academy. In particular, there was a panel in which a Q&A style show was being held. All they had to do was attend & imply they knew the identities of the Phantom Thieves before he ‘ inconveniently received a phone call ’. Afterwards, the group would be forcibly assembled in the Faculty Room & there they would unfurl the evidence. The photos the both of them had gathered & the video of them disappearing into the Metaverse.

As a result, they would be forced to stop committing their crimes after they took down the Palace of one individual in particular: Sae Niijima. He did admit that he was afraid for the life of his colleague because she was investigating the Phantom Thieves. If they were the perpetrators behind the metal shutdowns, she might be targeted next because she was seen as a threat.

However, there was one thing they were not to be informed about. The additional plan to arrest their leader as a warning of sorts. Additional police forces were to be sent out into the Metaverse & they would corner him when he was alone. It was quite simple but effective. All they had to do was cooperate with them.

This was all communicated to her over lunch in the school rooftop & she nodded, steeling her resolve.

{ Wed, 26 / 10 / 20XX }

Alas, the school festival came too quickly. The first day was ‘ unimportant ’, according to Akechi { although he did look rather embarrassed when she asked what happened with the Phantom Thieves... }.

It was about 20 minutes before the panel was due to start & she had already taken a seat somewhere near the centre. People were already gathered at this point because the Famous Ace Detective: Goro Akechi was going to be answering questions. Frankly, she found it quite creepy the levels most fans went to in order to see him.

Eventually the debate began. Makoto Niijima, student Council President, was hosting & essentially demanded answers related to his detective work reguarding the Phantom Theives. It was immensely impressive how he managed to dance around the answers, giving something vague yet satisfying. Was this is the life of a celebrity?

The question about the identity of the mysterious group soon came up. As her cue came, she texted him & there was the sound of Akechi’s ringtone going off. Silence spread through the auditorium in a strange mix of disappointment & comedic timing. After making a remark along the lines of not wanting to be trolled online, he quickly requested that a break be tacked on.

Quietly, she moved her way across the row & slipped out before the crowd could congest any corridors. The PE Faculty Office was easy enough to find, with many students easily offering directions. Slipping in before anyone else, there he stood.

“ Akechi. Are you ready for this? There’s no going back after we present the evidence. ”

“ Of course. The Phantom Thieves are a menace to society & by getting rid of them, people will finally feel safe in Japan. That’s what you want as well, right? ”

“ Yeah. Murderers aren’t welcome. ”

Once they had all entered, she presented the photographic evidence & introduced herself. Ryuji was in shock. Makoto seemed to be struggling to process the information. Explaining how both herself & Akechi had met, she pressed onto the point: Sae Niijima. She had to be saved from the mental shutdown culprits. An agreement of sorts was made by their rather stoic leader Akira. They would all work together to solve the cases.

{ Wed, 16 / 10 / 20XX & Thurs 17 / 11 / 20XX }

After the initial investigation into Sae’s Palace, keywords & location, these were the days of infiltration, so to speak. The Casino of Jealousy was vibrant & full of money. Coins were messily spread around on every single surface, posters containing snappy tag lines about how winning was key to survival. It was all so decadent. Cognitive shadows lined up for a chance to participate in the game known as the legal system. What a sick way to look at justice.

Despite the crimes they had committed, the Phantom Theives were very casual. They showed no symptoms of guilt nor doubt & insisted on these strangely flashy moves such as the All-Out Attack or the Showtime, in which they would defeat a bundle of enemies all at once. Although they were powerful, did they really feel the need to show off that much?

The other problem was their leader, Joker. He was tenaciously gripping onto both herself & Akechi { or Crow, was it? She never understood the need for the ridiculous code names... } to remain on the front lines to see what they could both do. Despite having bounds of energy at the beginning & regular breaks, it was quite tiring to keep having to constantly battle. Perhaps that was why she ended up being held captive by a Shadow.

It demanded Yen & safety. It was not a substantial amount of money & the Palace’s supposed ‘ Security Level ’ was not particularly high. She had seen how Akira had been picking through remains of the corpses of these beings, as they contained Yen. For some unknown reason during the negotiation, he simply refused to part. Apparently Joker, the supposed leader of the just Phantom Thieves believed some money more important than an ally.

Even as the shadow tore through skin & left almost fatal wounds, it hurt more to reaffirm her belief that the Phantom Theives were merciless.

Waking up was a surprise to be sure. To be greeted by Akechi in the nearest Safe Room asking if she was okay? It was very much a shock. He offered to patch up the wounds that were unreadable by her own hands & scolded her for being so reckless on that battlefield. It was good that both Queen & Mona were on hand, otherwise she would have died. Despite the presence of the other members of the group, this felt like a rather intimate moment.

The two of them kept having these strange moments: Delicately & intimate but as though something was missing.

A touch that lingered for longer than it needed to; Comforting words on a cool evening when she felt upset; Sitting within close proximity despite there being more space for the two of them than needed. Small signs that seemed to be hesitantly trying to convey something.

Even now as she paused to take in his appearance, it was startling. Dressed up in his princely regalia that was his Metaverse outfit, he looked rather charming. With golden tassels & a red cape, something about him seemed to just ooze noble. Though at times he could be slightly extra with the poses he pulled, Akechi was kind.

That was why she never saw it coming.

{ Thurs, 18 / 10 / 20XX }

Signaling for a meeting, Akira explained that they were going to write & send the Calling Card today. The debate about where to send it was long, strenuous & boring. After they eventually decided to be direct by mailing it to the Niijima residence, everyone disbanded for the day.

Aside for Akechi, who invited her to play Darts in Kichijoji. What a strange request.

The atmosphere was actually rather calming. At night, there were few around to disturb them. Handing over 800 Yen to play, the game began. It was nice to simply be able to talk about something unrelated to the Phantom Thieves for the both of them & although Akechi’s aim was unerring, she found it rather difficult to hit the tiny target, let alone land it in a specific place to score as many points as possible. After a while & with some expert advice, there was definitely some improvement.

By the time night struck, she had barely noticed until he had pointed it out. Everything was moving so swiftly. Offering to walk her to the train station, he was ever so polite. Until it rained.

It absolutely poured down with rain as the two of them descended the stairs of Penguin Sniper. Luckily, she had packed an umbrella into a crevice in her bag. The detective next to her? Not quite as fortunate as he sighed. Feeling bad, she offered to share & he accepted with reluctance after realising that it was better than the alternative of running home in the rain.

Being this close was both enthralling & embarrassing. Something about being forced this close to him was killing her. Akechi seemed to be doing alright, staying underneath to avoid both his hair & briefcase from becoming drenched by the cascading water. After a while that was in some respects a long time but in others not long at all, they reached the train station, parting ways when they had a difference in train line.

She knew exactly what she was feeling: There was no use in denial. Repressing such feelings would be more painful in the end. However, now was not the time to tell him. Catching the Phantom Thieves & saving Japan was more important than a high school romance. Filing the secret away for later, it was kept close to her heart.

{ Fri, 19 / 10 / 20XX }

It was almost too easy how quick everything was to fall into place. Putting on her best acting face was difficult but it was a believable lie, especially when most of the stress was based around getting Joker out alive. All their valiant efforts were for nothing. Similar to a spider spinning a web to catch prey, they had fallen victim.

After facing down the shadow of Sae Niijima herself on this strange roulette like battlefield, her desperate desire to achieve victory at all costs was her downfall & as she fell to her knees, clearly defeated, Queen went over to comfort her. Skull took Fox with him to steal the Treasure & once they discovered the numerous police forces that had made their way into the Metaverse, everything was taken up a notch.

Whilst Joker agreed to take the Treasure, thus becoming a distraction, everyone else would take the time to escape back to reality. A makeshift plan but one that would work in both her own & Akechi’s favour. Dashing along the protruding walls of the casino was thrilling as the group moved in sync, grappling along & weaving through like a natural born instinct.

Inevitably, he was captured. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, put behind bars. People would be safe from the mental shutdowns, they would no longer have to worry about having a psychotic breakdown. Without the branch that held them all together, there were no roots. As to not arouse suspicions, everyone parted ways until Akechi stopped her.

“ I... Know it’s rather late & we’ve just been to the Palace but there’s something I need to warn you about in the Metaverse. Will you join me in Mementos tomorrow morning? Preferably before school, if that’s okay with you, ” was all he requested with a ghost of a smile.

“ Sure, I don’t mind. Is there something else dangerous I should be worrying about? ”

“ It’s nothing too urgent but I thought I’d bring it to your attention since we are working on this case with the Phantom Thieves together. After all, we still need to hold the others accountable for their actions. ”

With that, she left. Akechi had always been a reliable source of information, so why would he lie?

{ Sat, 20 / 10 / 20XX }

It was the early morning. Despite the cold, she was in warm spirits as she approached the Shibuya line. Waiting there for her was the Detective Prince himself. Overnight, there was a decision made that once Akechi broke this bad news to her that she would change the mood by confessing. After all, it would be difficult to keep under lock & key.

Fading into the background as other students filtered in, they talked for a short period of time before getting down to business. Typing in ‘ Mementos ’ to the MetaNav was easy enough & there they were, standing at the dusty entrance.

Together, they fought their way down into a few floors below the surface. Although it took longer for them to traverse these levels due to not having a method of transportation such as the Mona Car, the Shadows were easy pickings for the two of them. At least, that is what she thought until two laser blasts from a ray gun burnt into her back.

Standing over her was a very different Goro Akechi to the person she had preciously known. What was once a charismatic smile that could charm anyone become a psychotic grin that looks unnaturally wide. Though she had once thought of his eyes as a storm of emotions, worries about the future & the safety of Japan, they were most definitely a typhoon, pulling victims in to tear them apart without a trace of mercy. Even as he called her a blind fool for trusting him & berated her sense of justice, the burning pain of the wounds that burnt through the Metaverse outfit were clouding her vision. She could have sworn there was the sound of someone walking away but there was too many sensations for her to clearly tell.

No one was going to find a dead body in the depths of Mementos. She found it morbidly ironic that her last thought was that she would never be able to tell Akechi how she truly felt.

Word Count: 2.3k

Publish Date: 06.10.20

#{ crow }#{ oh boy did I want to name this Dance With Justice 2: Electric Boogaloo }#goro akechi x reader #akechi x reader #goro akechi #persona 5 royal x reader #persona 5 x reader #persona 5 imagines #persona #p5r #tw: death #tw: blood #tw: injuries #tw: swearing #tw: violence #{ why is this my longest work what the heck }

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thoughtsdying · 4 years ago

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The procces of realising you’re aroace: a tale by me version 2

Realising you’re aroace is suddenly comprehending why your few friends (with one exception) have always turned out to be in the queer community at the end. Like. That fenomenum of “queer radar only you don’t realise it’s there and you end up gravitating together anyway?” yup- It happens too. Only most of the time you think you’re an allied cis-het weirdo who cares too much about something that doesn’t have anything to do with you, and who cares if you feel weird when other people assume you’re hetero (or that you have a orientation at all), you sure aren’t attracked to your same gender either. Nor are any kind of trans.

And then you discover asexuality in your late teens and it feels weirdly near you, but you think you’re trying to make it so you’re special, so you dismiss any ace feels as you being a late bloomer, and only take care of including it in discussions about queer issues, and then you feel strangely hurt when a professor dismisses it as “some self descriptor weird lonely japanese men in their 40′s created who only care for 2D” which. You don’t have to tell me all the problems in that sentence. Believe me, I know. And you can’t come with arguments except well if people feel like using it, then we should respect it, bc you don’t have the words to explain asexuality except that internet in english told you it was a thing and you still don’t know except in a nebulous way what even is aromanticism, so you didn’t bring that up in the discussion at all.

And a pair of years after that you start using demisexual bc it feels less scary and very reasonable except you’ve never felt attracted to anyone, how do you even tell it? And relationships scare you, and you still don’t have any idea of what is aromanticism except it scares you and you don’t want to contemplate a life being aro. You love romances after all

(except when you have to look the other way in any kind of profound kiss, bc it’s private people, which makes you feel wiedly homophobic when you’re watching a lgbtq+ media or your best friend with her girlfriend even if it’s the same with hetero, except then it’s just that sex is weird in film and kisses with tongue are still private people!)

and obviously you still don’t want to have sex with a girl (Except perhaps those emotional dreams of touching with a friend that aren’t sex but almlost and are very comfortable anyways it could be nice you’re sure but nice isn’t desire is it?) so even although guys make you nervous and any thought of doing anything romantic-sexual with one is a “yikes” you suppose you find some really pretty in a different way you do with woman and that must be ~attraction~.

And a friend tells you that a guy tried to sound her to see if he could date you and she told him you were ace and uninterested in any kind of relationship, and you go “why?” confused and a bit elated bc holy shit what a relief you won’t have to confront him, but also a bit of panic (that’s how i come across? it isn’t my imagination, im so obvious oh no) and she tells you, “well you are almost one and you don’t have any intention of dating anybody right now so i thought it best to cut any feels on his part right now”. And it gives you things to think about.

And another two years pass except this time you’ve started to educate yourself on aromanticism bc too many relatable posts on tumblr looking into the ace tag made you “holy shit yeah this makes more sense than just asexuality” but also you keep loving romance stories except now you’ve started to recognize you’re starved of friendship in all the ambits of your live and you’re also a young adult who still doesn’t want a relationship, what do i do? And maybe you’re not demi, you’re ace and you can think sex sounds a nice activity to do with intimate friends (aro aro aro) but not something you’re into, and you’re still ace, you’re not attracted to anybody not really. What a relief. (you still can’t try on the aro umbrella)

And you question yourself bc a fantastic guy has become your friend, and your minds vibe inmensely well, and you talk during quearentine, but he gives you some weird vibes sometimes, and makes you gifts which you ignore bc holy shit a best friend! And he has money and he’s lonely! I would also give gifts to my besties if I had money! And then he confesses to you on wassap, and you realise he has put you on a pedestal and has cofessed but already said himself he doesn’t want a relationship with you bc he would corrupt you or something and anyway, he’s not really in love with you he’s using you as a mental crutch to try to not be depressed, he knows that noe but he hates psycologists. Also, can i have some time apart from you?

So you tell him you feel flattered but that you see him as only a friend, and please can you not put yourself so below me? Search professional help. I’ll stay away as long as you need.

And you start feeling uneasy, but you think it’s only that he’s a weirdo and really you’ve dodged a bullet of course you wouldn’t want to go out with him, he’s not really the kind of pretty you like. Except if you’re ace what does it matter? Isn’t it that you feel pretty repulsed by trying a romantic relationship? Or are you just justifying your own aloofness and personality problems that make impossibly difficult to try a romance anyway. People don’t control who they feel romantic feels for anyway.

Except in the following months when you’ve finally reaturned to be friends you’re so relieved to not have that shadow above you and really wouldn’t it be amazing if everybody knew you didn’t want anything to do with them romantically? To be free to be friends and hug them, and walk arm in arm or go to lunch and cinema and still be just friends? To plan your future in a line along with those friends but not be really a committement as much as you just want to enjoy talking face to face with them for a bit longer.

So you go back to read about aromanticism and maybe you cry a little but mostly you’re pretty happy and scared about it. And you tell that friend, bc he’s your bestie right now and you feel him being bi and also being interested in you in the past would make him more likely to react well. It’s not personal it’s just the way I am. And then you start crying in the middle of a starbucks for 15 min. and you didn’t now you feel so much so intensely about being aroace, and how it had impacted you without knowing and how much you hate those expectations. And he hugs you and tells you “nobody has the right to tell you how to live. if you feel like you’re never gonna be in a relationship that’s your business and you’ll be happy anyway” and you cry harder. And then you both have a sincere conversation about sex as he has experimented it and how you feel it pretty strange and weird, but maybe you’d like to try it sometime. Just not a time near now. And if it’s never that’s pretty okey with you too.

So you go home feeling a bit embarrased but also pretty elated except a week later there’s another wassap message from him, saying he feels he still loves you, and that he understands intelectually your nearness with him is friendly but still feels romantic and it confuses me and it pains me and i would prefer to not be your friend anymore, sorry, men are shit and me the worst of them.

“Ok” I write back. I’m furious and hurt and I don’t want to see his liar face anymore. So fuck you, I think. “Thanks for telling me” And I block his number and I don’t talk to him when we met with out mutual friends, and when it’s necessary I talk as if he were a stranger. Kindly but impersonal. Isn’t that what you wanted? To lost a friend? So you’ve lost me forever.

And it became clear to me that I don’t think I’ll ever understand the stupidity of not wanting to see someone just because their lives don’t revolve around you the way you like, even though you’re friends and you can talk to them about anything at all anyway, and be there for help with the shitty parts of life. There are things I’ll never felt or do for another.

And I’m ok with that.

#aromantic #aromanticism #asexual #asexuality #personal #real experiences and problems

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chingonaclawsarchive · 4 years ago

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* Note: Since LOGAN takes place in a dystopian world set in the 20th Century Fox world of their ‘XMEN’ in 2029 -- I’ve had to tweak Laura’s canon timeline to fit in with the MCU. These are my compiled ideas/notes for where Laura would/might fit in, according to the MCU timeline. This can also be amended/altered depending upon who I am writing with & whatever stories we come up with on the sides. I will update/list those verses within this list as well. XO. - Betty.

2012. AVENGERS. ✗ verse: ( mcu 001. avengers. ) i am not my enemy.

2002, Alkali-Transigen aka ‘Essex Corp’ ) conducts it’s second round of the Weapon-X program utilizing children ‘perfected’ in a lab/facility. Laura Howlett ( known as X23 amid the program ) was ‘born’ into the program, the daughter of an unknown Latina woman ( who is more than likely murdered by the company shortly after Laura’s birth ) & James Howlett aka The Wolverine. 2012, a 7 year-old ‘killing dream’ begins her hardcore training under the Transigen umbrella, having grown up within their cage and knowing nothing but life within ‘The Facility’. During the events of ‘The Avengers’, Transigen ( more than likely a subsidiary or sister-company to HYDRA ) attempts to gather knowledge/the power of the alien forces that attack Earth. It is quite possible during this attack, the Xmen join the Avengers. - Transigen utilizes newer technology to harness a killing serum that triggers and strengthens the children’s mutant abilities. Through the years they continue to medicate and test the formula out on the children, including Laura; to which they discover if they choose a specific target, she will stop at nothing until said target is vanquished.

2015. AGE OF ULTRON. ✗ verse: ( mcu 002. ultron. ) i can do anything.

2013, 8-year-old Laura, along with her ‘brothers and sisters’ attempt to escape from the underground jail in Mexico ( where she was ‘born’ ) when given word/hope of a safe haven full of mutant-kind. The children are provided stories with the help of comic books smuggled into the facility. Some of which include stories of The Avengers, while others house a storyline shadowing the truth about the XMEN. Upon their first attempt of escape, the children are unsuccessful, and Essex Corp demands that they relocate to a ‘more secure’ unit in New York City. In 2015, the attack of ULTRON commences, more or less rocking the hard walls of the New York facility to rubble. For the most part, with the help of HYDRA, Transigen is able to gather up their little ‘test subjects’, some having successfully gotten away, sadly Laura not being among them. 2016, an 11-year-old Laura with the help of the nurses, including Gabby, leads the pack to escape once more. It’s here Laura encounters her father ( Wolverine/James LOGAN Howlett ), Xavier & Caliban by psionic-ally following Charles’ guidance. During this timeline she goes on the wild chase, running from Transigen and relying on what remains of Logan’s strength. The climax ends with Xavier’s passing and Logan’s sacrifice, and the children successfully fleeing for the Canadian border to ‘Eden’ aka the safe haven which turns out to be a new school for the gifted, headlined by a group of vigilante mutants ( aka, the plotline of Mangold’s LOGAN. ) It should also be noted that during this time period, the X-men are dwindling/dying out, and going into hiding due to many people either wanting to lock them up out of fear or provide them ID badges and what not ( similar to the plot of the ‘Civil War’ in the comics. )

2017. CIVIL WAR. ✗ verse: ( mcu 003. civil war. ) my choice mine.

At 12, Laura quietly slips from the safe haven ( headmistress at this time being Emma Frost ) , feeling as though she’s really more of a danger than anything else, specifically due to the ‘death’ serum. Laura cannot control herself when injected with it, especially if she’s provided a ‘target’. To think she could end up killing one of her own terrifies her, not to mention the more she keeps running the less likely Transigen is to discover her. During the time of the Avengers’ ‘Civil War’ ( between Tony & Steve ), Laura is only a child but spotted through the streets of New York. A time or two, Tony witnesses the feral child having pick-pocketing or slyly stealing a thing or two of necessity. Unable to confine the child or discover her whereabouts, he becomes aware of the ‘mutant strain’ in DNA, now knowing there is far more to this life than other worlds, planets, Norse gods and experimental projects gone wrong like Banner -- Hydra’s been hiding the secret unit to which not only have they began to suppress the X-gene that creates the ‘mutants’ but that they’ve been testing the effects of their serums and juices and what have you on children more-or-less created in a lab with the specific function of utilizing them as some ultimate mutant army. It is a terrible and harsh reality and one he does not take to lightly. Contrary to the comics’ canon ( & the Xmen’s Civil War ) when Tony discovers she is a mutant child born and raised the way she was, he almost feels an obligation to protect her from others who felt mutants ought to be branded or ID’d and what not. ( A bit contradictory to the Xmen comics, I know, but it makes sense when you think of Steve/Capt America in the comics and how against Laura he was in the beginning, I feel he’d be a little apprehensive in the MCU as well. This could change depending upon whom I’m writing with. ) On the search for a place to help her ‘lay low’, Tony keeps her at the compound, until Pepper insists she just come on home with her. ( Again, this can be adapted depending upon the individual story. )

2018. HOMECOMING. ✗ verse: ( mcu 004. homecoming. ) are you sure i deserve salvation?

At age 13, since Pepper thinks it best that the pre-teenage girl get used to a ‘normal’ life, Laura begins attending public school, where she continues to attempt to ‘lay low’. Of course she does her very best to fit in, though there are many ‘human’ things she’s unaware of such as personal space and certain topics of speech. She basically follows the lead of people she feels she can trust like Peter Parker. Technically since Laura also ages much slower than most everyone, she will be a teenager for a longer period in her life. It is within these confines that she learns more about humanity, her compassion for the human race quite evident and her curiosity ever the more present. She spends a lot of time making up for lost time in her childhood, things she’s never discovered, places she’s never been -- a life she never knew she could have. 2019/2023. ENDGAME. ✗ verse: ( mcu 005. endgame. ) i’m f*cking wolverine.

During INFINITY WAR ( obviously just prior to this timeline ) Laura of course fights along side the team sustaining little to no injury even though she could’ve severed a limb or two, due to her mutation, she recovers rather quickly. Upon the realization that she could lose her family of mutants with Thanos’ plan, she scurries to get back to the school, begging many of the others to fight along side the Avengers. She succeeds in convincing several of the XMEN, including but not limited to Emma Frost, to take part in the battle... but it is only to their demise as her healing is too rapid for his ‘curse’ and rather than fluttering into ash, she witnesses all those she holds dear dissipate having to see, once again, the utter destruction of those she holds dear. It tears her apart from the inside. In 2023, Laura is just about to turn 17. -- Upon Tony’s return from space (2019), and the realization that Pepper hadn’t been taken away, Laura barricades herself within the hope she can have a somewhat normal family. She stays with Pepper and Tony, far away from the compound. She takes up her roll as a sister-figure to Morgan, something she absolutely takes seriously. She’d give it all up for this little girl -- hell, for this family. Tony stands in as an unlikely father-figure, but even moreso, Pepper as her mother. ( Again, these choices can be adapted/tweaked depending upon the storyline/plot we have -- maybe Laura grew up at the compound, or with someone else or with Aunt May... the possibilities/ what-ifs are endless... She could’ve also gone off on her feral way, etc etc. )

When the final battle hits, and those who were taken away appear within the portals, a sudden relief washes over her. She has much more to fight for, and she gives it her all. But it is at the loss of Tony where she feels her world crumble once more, wondering if she should go off on her own and call it good, because it seems no matter where she attempts to land, there is far more loss to be had. She contemplates whether or not Logan had it correct when he was always insistent they stay far away from people, isolate and keep to themselves. Of course that was a much different time in the world and Transigen/Hydra has/have more things to worry about than hunting her down lately -- still, it’s a threat. With Peter Parker’s ( and possibly others ) insistence, she remains close by. 2023/24. FAR FROM HOME. ✗ verse: ( mcu 006. far from home. ) el que con lobos anda a aullar se enseña.

Basically, Laura ( now, tech, post-snap almost 18 ) is hanging out with SHIELD, there to aid Peter where needed, more or less helping to keep an eye on him, along with Happy doing her best to stay out of trouble.

#ooc.#✗ soy yo. ╱ lil messican girl is ooooouuuttt.#( mcu timeline. )#✗ verse: ( mcu ) como se cura una herida.#✗ verse: ( mcu 001. avengers. ) i am not my enemy.#✗ verse: ( mcu 002. ultron. ) i can do anything.#✗ verse: ( mcu 003. civil war. ) my choice mine.#✗ verse: ( mcu 004. homecoming. ) are you sure i deserve salvation?#✗ verse: ( mcu 005. endgame. ) i’m f*cking wolverine.#✗ verse: ( mcu 006. far from home. ) el que con lobos anda a aullar se enseña.#long post #long post for ts #* i cannot express enough how laura is a MINOR in most if not ALL of these verses !!!!! k thank bye. xx #✗ ¿merezco la salvación? ╱ headcanon.

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rwby-redux · 4 years ago

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Deconstruction

Worldbuilding: Geography

Full disclosure: I hated doing this post. Not because the writing was difficult or the topic was boring—far from it. No, the reason I hated doing this was because I got sucked into a wikihole. I started out researching climate zones, and ten hours later I was reading an article about Icelandic hot spring rye bread (which is called hverabrauð by the way and you should absolutely check it out). I only realized what time it was when I looked out my window and saw the sun starting to rise. Try to picture what my sleep schedule has looked like for the last few days, and you can see why I might be just a smidge upset.

Sorry. Where was I?

Ah, yes: geography. The bane of cartographers everywhere. If you’ve ever dabbled in writing stories with a non-Earth setting, you’ll know that one of the most fundamental aspects of worldbuilding is the lay of the land. Even before you’ve started working on the cultures of your fictional people (or hell, even the plot), you need to develop the locations. Any writer worth their salt will correctly tell you that geography dictates who the characters are, what the story’s about, when major actions occur, where the major story beats take place, why things progress the way they do, and how certain steps are achieved.

Want an example of this? Take a look at the geography of Avatar: The Last Airbender and how it influenced the Fire Nation’s culture and resulting imperialistic conquest: [1]

A geographic map of Avatar: The Last Airbender depicting the four major countries: the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Temples. | Source: Imgur.

The Fire Nation, being located on a volcanic archipelago, was able to jumpstart its industrial revolution decades before anyone else, courtesy of access to natural resources such as coal and metal ore deposits (which were disproportionately scarcer in the other countries). This abundance of minerals was reflected in gold being commonly incorporated into Fire Nation royal attire, and the Fire Nation boasting some of the most proficient blacksmiths and swordfighters in the world (like Piandao).

Being an island nation, their culinary staples included aquatic and marine species such as waterfowl, fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, bivalves, and seaweed.

The mountainous regions of the Fire Nation made the land ill-suited for agriculture, which likely influenced the development of an oceanic trade route. This allowed for the import of otherwise-unavailable resources from the Earth Kingdom.

The trade route helped to reinforce a unified state by connecting all seaports, trading outposts, and settlements in the archipelago to the major urban capital. This interconnectivity created economic advantages, and solidified a sense of cultural unity and loyalty to the nation by making communication (via ship and messenger hawk) direct and expedient.

The navy emerged as a natural outgrowth of the oceanic trade route. Martial vessels would have been necessary for protecting merchant ships from pirates, collecting taxes from provincial settlements (because navies have steep operating costs), and enforcing the laws of the central authority. Similarly, as an island country, the only way the Fire Nation could have feasibly been harmed is through a naval attack, which would have given it the incentive to cultivate a naval defense.

At the beginning of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation seized control of the northwestern Earth Kingdom because the region was rich in resources that they would need to sustain themselves if they were going to survive without international trade.

Their technologically-advanced navy and control of the major oceanic trade routes allowed the Fire Nation to orchestrate blockades, quickly transport troops and equipment between places, and limit the tactical movements of the other countries.

To say that geography dictates the story is an understatement—without it, the story wouldn’t exist. Good writing and likeable characters can only do so much to save a story that lacks this crucial component of worldbuilding.

So, how does this apply to RWBY?

In order to talk about that, first we have to address the unusual way that Remnant’s map was designed.

Back in 2012, while out at an IHOP with Shane Newville, Monty Oum had the idea of squirting a ketchup bottle into a napkin, crumpling it up, and then unfolding it to reveal the blotchy proto-topography of Remnant. His reason for doing so, as he explains:

“The philosophy behind [making the map that way] is that, I feel like, as a 3D animator […] utilizing all this technology, our process—all these computers, all these numbers and stuff—our process is so artificial, it’s riddled with so much artifice, that not only for that, but for everything else I do, I try to imbue kind of like an anarchy, an anarchic-like chaos, just to give it some sense of, like, randomness. Like, you need to preserve that sense of chaos because the process we do is so robotic. […] But the important thing was, like especially with everything that we just raise in our production value, that you have to preserve that anarchic energy that influences everything you do.” [2]

The original terrain map created by Monty Oum. | Source: RWBY Wiki contributor user:Sgt D Grif.

You’d be hard-pressed to disagree with the artistic merit of this design approach. There’s a simplistic elegance to be found in a creator forfeiting a degree of their control over a project, in order to watch how it might organically evolve.

But here’s the thing: this isn’t like leaving slime molds in a petri dish and letting them network until they resemble Japanese subway lines. While anarchic chaos can work for some disciplines of art, it creates glaring issues when applied to worldbuilding. Nature, although it appears outwardly random, is actually rather ordered. The reason why we don’t leave our houses every day carrying umbrellas is because we don’t have to—we have meteorologists that can anticipate the forecast days or weeks ahead. Plenty of natural phenomena can be predicted: weather systems over vast areas, environmental selection pressures converging on similar traits…

And, of course, plate tectonics.

You see, the problem with Monty’s method is that it didn’t account for the movement of Remnant’s continents. Because the planet’s continents were born from artistic randomness rather than methodical and deliberate forethought, we have no reliable access to certain information, like atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, or plate boundaries. All three of these planetary subsystems—the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere—and their dynamics shape the geography of a planet.

Without this information, we can’t answer certain questions.

Was Lake Matsu formed by glacial retreat?

Are Vale’s mountains sitting on a convergent plate boundary? Or are they more like the Appalachians, which are the remains of the Central Pangean Mountains?

If Vale’s mountains were formed by convergent plate boundaries, then why don’t we see evidence of it in the forms of volcanism and earthquakes?

Is Vacuo’s interior desert formed by a rain shadow?

If Solitas’ geography is based on a polar ice cap, then how did early settlers survive long enough to excavate the Dust? How would they have dug through the ice and permafrost?

Has climate change ever resulted in changes in sea level that submerged or exposed the continents? Did early humans and Faunus move between continents by land bridges? Have rises in sea level ever hidden continents (like Earth’s Zealandia)?

Does Mistral’s capital rely on meltwater from the surrounding mountains for irrigating crops?

When the Younger Brother shattered the moon, did the lunar debris alter the landscape when it fell to Remnant? Was it like the Chicxulub asteroid that caused the K-Pg extinction? Did the lunar debris leave craters on the planet’s surface, or cause phenomena like impact winters and ocean acidification?

It bears mentioning that these questions pertain to real-life geographic concepts. This isn’t even touching upon fictional geographic concepts that RWBY introduced, like largescale Dust deposits altering the local environment in such a way that it functionally becomes its own ecosystem (like Lake Matsu’s floating islands). We’re also assuming that RWBY’s continental plates are capable of drift, and weren’t magically glued in place by the gods during the formation of the planet.

Given the scale of these problems, I think it’s safe to say that—while I can appreciate the artistry behind Monty’s design philosophy—the way he designed Remnant ultimately did more harm than good.

While I could spend all afternoon debating the pros and cons of condiment cartography, there are more productive things I could be doing with my time. Instead, I want to discuss Remnant’s geography as it currently is. Specifically, there are three questions I want to test:

How well does the geography hold up?

Does the geography have a realistic influence on society?

How well does the show integrate foreign geographic features into its worldbuilding?

As a quick disclaimer, I’m not an expert on any of the aforementioned subsystems. And because I don’t have any canonical information on Remnant’s atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, or plate boundaries, it becomes impossible to prove or disprove the realism of its geography. For now, we’re going to err on the side of caution and assume that Remnant is a planet with a functionally-analogous lithosphere to Earth’s, and that Remnant’s features are byproducts of such a system.

The current geographic map of Remnant. It boasts five major continents (of which only four have been named) and multiple islands. | Source: World of Remnant, Volume 4, Episode 1: “Vale.”

How Well Does the Geography Hold Up?

To answer this, I used the Köppen-Geiger climate classification to categorize Remnant’s main landmasses (with the exception of the unnamed continent). This model organizes areas into distinct climatic regions based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The results I cobbled together are based on approximate latitude, ecosystems that we’ve seen in the show, canon maps, and comparisons between the continents and their real-world sources of inspiration (Asia for Anima, North America for eastern Sanus, Australia for Menagerie, etc). Here’s what I came up with:

SANUS: Tropical savanna (Aw/As), cold desert (BWk), cold semi-arid (BSk), hot-summer mediterranean (Csa), warm-summer mediterranean (Csb), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), warm-summer humid continental (Dfb)

ANIMA: Tropical rainforest (Af), area of tropical monsoon (Am), tropical savanna (Aw/As), desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), subtropical highland (Cwb), hot-summer humid continental (Dfa), warm-summer humid continental (Dfb), subarctic (Dfc), Mediterranean-influenced subarctic (Dsc)

SOLITAS: Tundra (ET), subarctic (Dfc), ice cap (EF)

MENAGERIE: Tropical savanna (Aw/As), desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), humid subtropical (Cfa, Cwa), temperate oceanic (Cfb)

VYTAL: Subpolar oceanic (Cfb)

This isn’t perfect by any means, but I think it satisfies some lingering doubt about the credibility of the geography. Sanus’ interior desert, for example, could easily be a cold desert climate. The exterior band of foliage on the northern and western sides appears to be indicative of a rain shadow effect caused by a mountain belt (the conditions necessary for creating this climate type). We have evidence of there being nearby western mountains courtesy of the earthquakes in Vacuo, [3] as earthquakes often occur near mountain ranges created by subduction boundaries. Similarly, oases (like the one once found in Vacuo) tend to form in cold desert climates as the result of rain shadows (similar to the el-Djerid oases near the Atlas Mountains).

All things considered, I’m inclined to give the climate regions a tentative pass. Like I said, they’re not perfect, but they seem to be holding up so far.

Does the Geography Have a Realistic Influence on Society?

Ehhh. It depends. With Vale it’s hard to say, given how little we’ve seen of the areas outside the capital (like the Emerald Forest and Forever Fall), and the fact that we haven’t visited any other cities in the kingdom. We know that Vale makes use of a massive port for trade and travel due to the nearby body of water. But there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly unique about the capital’s culture that can be directly attributed to its geography. Despite being a coastal city, it doesn’t have any signature delicacies derived from the abundant seafood. The architecture is largely generic urban-Western, and doesn’t incorporate the mountains in any way. Vale’s geography is little more than a convenient buffer against the Grimm.

Mistral, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by the geography. All of its houses and shops are directly integrated into the mountains, with an emphasis on vertical building to accommodate the limited space on the cliffs. Stairs, bridges, and electronic lifts are used for getting around the city. Unlike Vale, Atlas, and Mantle, which use motor vehicles, Mistral doesn’t have the space to accommodate modern roads, and instead relies on railroad transport (like the Argus Limited) to move around the continent. Compared to Vale, Mistral is a vast improvement on how well the writers used geography to influence the culture of a city. However, I still think the show could’ve done more to strengthen this connection. For instance, we see evidence of cave systems in Mistral, which briefly appear on-screen and are never brought up again. [4] Talk about wasted potential. Additionally, the show never addresses how the Council keeps its citizens from falling to death. No joke, the only place in the city that has railings is the safehouse where Qrow and the kids stay. What the hell do people do in the winter when the stairs and paths ice over? How do they not slip and fall and plummet to their deaths? And while I’m thinking about it, why doesn’t the city have a system of ziplines or ski lifts for getting around? Are native-born Mistrali people adapted to the lower oxygen found at higher elevations? And what about Mistral’s agriculture? Do farmers live outside the capital? How do they protect themselves?

Like I said, Mistral is better than Vale in this department, but it could still do with more worldbuilding.

Atlas and Mantle are more akin to Vale when it comes to noticeable geographic influence—or rather, a lack thereof. While the technology accommodates its residents via the heating grid, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of how the geography shaped the people of this continent. You’d expect a circumpolar indigenous group to have very distinct cultural traits, but there’s none of that. It’s just rampant technological growth. Now, you could argue that any aspect of geographic influence on culture was wiped out around the time of the Great War. But if the show wants me to believe that, it needs to show me proof. Whether it’s a conversation between two characters, or a political movement spearheading cultural revitalization. Something—anything—that might hint at how geography influenced pre-industrial Mantle.

And forgive me if I don’t feel like speculating about Vacuo, given that it’s only appeared in After the Fall and Before the Dawn. When the show decides to unveil it, then I’ll have more to say.

As for Menagerie? Another resounding meh. The inherent intrigue of a settlement that shelters aquatic Faunus is never fully explored. We get to briefly visit the Shallow Sea district of Kuo Kuana, but the scene is too focused on Blake’s and Sun’s conversation to let us fully explore the area. Which is a shame, because a concept like that could easily be taken to some really cool extremes. Like, what about entirely underwater settlements that are built on coral reefs? How cool would that be for Faunus that have gills, webbed appendages, or caudal fins? I’m not expecting Zootopia or anything like that, but it’d be neat if settlers had gone to creative extremes to accommodate the wide variety of Faunus traits.

How Well Does the Show Integrate Foreign Geographic Features into Its Worldbuilding?

In Volume 5 we’re introduced to Lake Matsu, an area rich with naturally-occurring superterranean Gravity Dust. What makes this place so intriguing is the fact that the Dust is in a constant active state, causing the islands to float in the air. Given that Dust is usually inert unless activated by an Aura, the existence of this place is frankly astonishing, and for the life of me I don’t get why the show treated it as little more than set dressing.

This phenomenon—which I’ve taken to calling a Dust vortex—has so much worldbuilding potential. What if Remnant had pseudo-ephemeral lakes created by concentrations of Water Dust? Or how about a cave system with an abundance of Electricity Dust that causes magnetic charges in the surrounding minerals, creating a place similar to Unova’s Chargestone Cave? Maybe Sanus’ southeastern desert has large pockets of Steam Dust that enshroud the area in permanent fog?

Dust vortices wouldn’t just be aesthetically cool, either; they’d have important implications for the lore. Let’s use Lake Matsu as an example.

If the Dust vortex has been there for a long time (upwards of thousands of years), then the organisms in this ecosystem would’ve adapted to it. You would have endemic wildlife—agamid-like gliding lizards, plants with wind-dispersed fruit, lianas and mosses draped from the underside of the islands, diving birds that nest on the outcrops, microbial detritivores found exclusively in the islands’ soil. Maybe Lake Matsu is an important stopover for migrating birds. Maybe the shadows from the overhead islands are important for predatory fish, which hide in the shade to ambush flying insects. Because the wildlife would be endemic to this ecosystem, perhaps the Mistrali government would designate it a protected area and prevent Dust companies from excavating the site. What if there were fishing towns on the shore that depended on tourism to sustain the local economy? Would they ever come into conflict with Dust companies that lobby the government to open up the area to selective mining?

I’m sure I must sound like a broken record at this point, but the worldbuilding possibilities on display here are nothing short of incredible. And the failure of RWBY to explore even a single one feels like getting repeatedly kicked in the stomach by a feral horse.

We’re now 3,000 words in and I didn’t even get to include ideas for tautological place names. It sucks, but sometimes you have to compromise and go with the idea that make sense to include, rather than the idea that exists just to be novel.

Sound familiar?

[1] Hello Future Me. “Avatar: A Study in Worldbuilding — the Fire Nation [ The Last Airbender ]” YouTube video. October 26, 2019. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa2BD13VzxY&t=3s]

[2] Rooster Teeth. “RT Podcast: Ep. 191.” YouTube video. November 14, 2012. 7:52 - 12:01. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymVnsIUWLY]

[3] Myers, E. C. RWBY: Before the Dawn (Book 2). Scholastic Inc, 2020. Online preview. “The city of Vacuo had some order to it, with different districts for residences and businesses, and a wide street down the center for the market. But the outer edges of it were periodically wiped out, because of sandstorms or sinkholes or earthquakes.”

[4] Volume 5, Episode 1: “Welcome to Haven.”

#deconstruction #worldbuilding #writing #geography

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lumaejin · 4 years ago

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Happy Halloween?

↬ Rating: General Audiences

↬ Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

↬ Genre: Fluff. Halloween themed BTS housemates AU

↬ Category: M/M

↬ Relationship: Sope (Jung Hoseok x Min Yoongi)

↬ Word Count: 3.6k

↬ Summary: The maknaes are once again playing matchmaking by sending Hoseok and Yoongi to a funfair. On Halloween. While it's raining. Oh, and Yoongi totally doesn't want to kill them at all. Who would have thought that it would have actually initiated something between the two of them?

gif made by me - story written in 2020

(cross posted on AO3)

The rain clouds loomed overhead, darkening the sky and obscuring the sun from view. Aside from a few lone cars passing by, the roads were completely empty. Not that it surprised Yoongi; no one in their right minds would be driving to a funfair on a stormy day. Specifically, on Halloween.

"We should have never given in," Yoongi said, his hands on the steering wheel.

Hoseok glanced at the downpour, his eyes moving up to the ever-darkening sky. A frown appeared in place of his usual smile, though he covered it up quickly.

"Come on, don't be like that. It'll be fun!" Hoseok said, "Besides, they would have never stopped bothering us if we didn't agree. It's better to suffer now than for the rest of our days."

"We're going to a fair. In the rain. Because the maknaes forced us to. And you're telling me it's going to be fun?"

"They weren't the only ones forcing us to go..."

"Missing the point."

"Right," Hoseok said, "What I mean is: make the best of the situation, you know? We both know what's going to happen if we come back earlier than planned."

There was a moment of silence. Both of them did know. Very well in fact. They had had enough of Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung's devilry to last them a lifetime. Their plans of revenge were feared by all (Hoseok, Namjoon, Seokjin and him) and could last weeks on end. Of course, Yoongi felt some sort of affection for the three and all their "punishments" weren't really punishments. That still didn't stop their behaviour from being a right pain in the butt, though.

This time, however, it wasn't just the maknaes they needed to be worried about. Seokjin and Namjoon had been hell-bent on making them go too, and Seokjin, especially, had more power in the household than all the others combined. To have him somewhere in the equation made everything so much more dangerous and Yoongi could already see the mountain of dishes he'd have to wash. Every day. For five weeks.

"We're not risking that," Yoongi said with a sigh, "But I might or might not beat them up once we get home."

"No objections," Hoseok said, "Um I mean, don't go too hard on them."

A roar of thunder interrupted their conversation and Hoseok shuddered at the sound. His eyes once again found the darkening clouds, his eyebrows furrowing. Rain was okay, but thunder and lightning though...

"They really had to pick today," Hoseok said, shaking his head. Not only was it Halloween (a festival he disliked simply because it was rather... frightening), but the weather was at its worst. They hadn't had a storm like this in weeks, not since the thunderstorm which had nearly blown away half of the country.

Yoongi grumbled in agreement, catching sight of a neon sign at the side of the road. So this was it... Seoul Fun Fair? He'd never heard of it before, which, in itself was rather unusual. After all, Jimin had claimed that this fair was pretty popular.

"What are the chances that they have a tracker on this car?" Yoongi asked. He had half a mind to continue driving -- maybe to a nearby village -- but the thought of being found out loomed over his head like a dark rain cloud.

"Do you even have to ask?" Hoseok said.

He was right, of course; both of them knew the maknaes well enough by now. In fact, Yoongi would be extremely surprised if they didn't have a tracker on the car. Shaking his head, he exited the motorway and stopped the car at the traffic lights.

The sky had darkened considerably, causing an unnerving feeling to settle in the pit of his stomach. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he looked back towards the main road.

"The rain's getting worse," Hoseok said.

"Do we have an umbrella?"

"Yeah. I think there might be one in the trunk... but um... I think it's that small and pink one."

Yoongi raised an eyebrow at this. Typical of the maknaes. Typical. It was one of their many "grande" schemes and he knew for a fact that Jin and Namjoon had become a victim of this one in particular before.

"Those three boys are unbelievable," he muttered, starting the engine of the car again.

Another 15 minutes passed before they arrived at the funfair, during which Yoongi swore that he felt the temperature drop by at least 20 degrees. The trees rustled wildly, casting large, ominous shadows on the roads, which most certainly did not help to ease the feeling of dread. In short, Yoongi very much felt like punching the three maknaes in the face. For real. No joke.

The parking lot was empty when they arrived (surprise, surprise!), though pumpkins of different sizes and shapes had been strategically placed on the lawn. Hoseok had to admit that they fulfilled their purposes well; he was much more scared than he would like to admit. It didn't help that the sky was almost completely dark now, meaning that the candles inside the pumpkins were one of the only sources of light.

After coming back with a parking ticket, the two of them decided to walk towards the fair in search of warmth. Neither wanted to budge, but it turned out that the car they had taken -- Jin's to be precise -- was the one with the broken heating system. (Hoseok had to give the maknaes credit; they seemed to have gotten better and better at planning. Though, at the moment, he'd rather they were terrible at it.)

As they walked towards the gates of the funfair, Hoseok was very much aware of how close the pink umbrella forced them to be. He was terribly aware of how their arms touched more than usual, how he could smell the light hint of cedarwood. He knew one of the maknaes had given them that umbrella on purpose, and while he did curse them, he also felt slightly, just slightly, grateful. It wasn't every day that he got to walk this close to his crush- no, roommate.

A mantra of "I don't like Yoongi this way"s started playing in his mind, well, because he definitely didn't like Yoongi that way.

Nope.

He totally didn't sometimes stare at Yoongi in his sleep. And he absolutely didn't hang on to every word the latter said. Oh, and he most definitely did not want to cuddle him. Not at all. No.

It was simply a light slip up, one which didn't mean too much. It was normal for friends to occasionally find themselves in a dangerous zone, right? Though now that he really considered it, these thoughts never seemed to surface when he was thinking about Namjoon or Seokjin or Jimin or Jungkook or Taehyung... No- he needed to distract himself. This wasn't a topic to ponder on and he was bound to overthink it.

"How did the maknaes even get Jin and Namjoon involved?" Hoseok asked, grabbing at a random question in his head. Anything was good, as long as he was distracted.

"Probably by threatening. Or Jin and Namjoon just felt mischievous. Though they most likely told Jin that they were gonna cook something in his kitchen."

"They're not that terrible at it. Jungkook makes food every now and then," Hoseok said.

"It's not that. It's when they're together that they make a massive mess," Yoongi said, "Once, I walked into them having a food fight and it took Jin 5 days to scrub the kitchen clean. This was before you moved in."

They stopped at the gates of the fair, looking beyond it sceptically. A few lights were on, but most of the booths seemed to be closed. That wasn't the concerning part though because neither of them had expected large crowds anyway. What was surprising and slightly off-putting, was the fact that all of the stands and the attractions looked worn down and old. *What type of fair was this, if they didn't make sure to repair their equipment? *

Come to think of it... he hadn't heard about this fair before the maknaes mentioned it. Hoseok had always been under the impression that he knew Seoul well and if this funfair was as popular as they said it was, he should have heard of it at some point, right? The thought made him unconsciously step closer to Yoongi.

"Um Yoongi," Hoseok said, "Have you ever heard of this fair before?"

"No," Yoongi said, "Why the sudden question?"

"Don't the booths look a bit run-down to you? It just feels like they're gonna fall apart at any moment," Hoseok said, pausing for a second as he looked around anxiously.

Silence.

"Where did those three discover this fair anyway?" Hoseok asked, "They said it's really popular, but it doesn't really look that way. It seems more like business hasn't been good for years or something."

"They wouldn't send us somewhere dangerous," Yoongi said.

"Not on purpose," Hoseok countered.

Yoongi scanned the fair again with caution, before abruptly turning back to Hoseok. "It's fishy. But we should stop worrying before it drives us crazy. Let's just find somewhere warm to sit and wait it out."

He had a point of course. The rain was relentless as it pounded against their small umbrella and though they tried to stand close enough to prevent it, at least half of their shoulders were already drenched. If they stood here any longer, their shoes and trousers were bound to get soaked as well.

Yoongi reached out, opening the rusty gate and wincing slightly as it creaked loudly. Even though Hoseok tried to get his mind off of it, the way everything looked worn down continued to bother him. The paint was fading and there was rust everywhere; it honestly creeped him out. Or maybe it was that, paired with the fact that it was Halloween.

Or maybe it was Hoseok's sneaking suspicion that they were the only customers the shopkeepers had seen in years. Something about the way their eyes glinted just seemed off...

"I think that booth over there has a place to sit," Yoongi said, "And there's a fireplace behind the counter so it's bound to be somewhat warm."

"Sure," Hoseok agreed.

As the two of them crossed the lawn -- still followed by the stares of the funfair staff -- a peculiar shape caught Hoseok's eye. It looked sort of like the shadow of another person, maybe of someone walking towards them. As he turned to point it out to Yoongi however, it was gone.

It must have been a trick of the light, Hoseok thought as he shook it off. He had a tendency to imagine things when he was paranoid and even though Yoongi had told him to pay it no mind, he really wasn't succeeding. After all, everywhere he looked, something or someone creepy seemed to stare back.

Reaching the shelter of the awning, Hoseok put down the pink umbrella and greeted the lady behind the counter. He sighed in disappointment; the booth didn't offer coffee. Instead, the two of them ordered two cups of hot chocolate and sat down.

Even as the warmth of the booth simmered out towards them, Hoseok couldn't stop shivering from the cold. It was like sitting in a pile of snow and even the hot chocolate couldn't do much to help.

It was so cold in fact, that his tongue stopped perceiving the sweetness of the drink, leaving only an unappetizing blankness in his mouth.

"Do you think Namjoon and Seokjin will kill Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook if we come back home with a cold?" Hoseok asked.

"They won't. The brats will feel bad enough on their own, so they won't need reprimanding."

Thunder and lightning interrupted their conversation and Hoseok turned back towards the stands and booths opposite them. The sight made him freeze, his cup pausing by his lips. A shadow had appeared... the same shadow he had seen while crossing the lawn! It was lurking in front of the two, before making its way towards them slowly.

Once the initial shock of having seen the shadow of another person had subsided, however, he'd managed to calm himself down quickly. After all, it was normal for someone to come towards this booth; he and Yoongi couldn't be the only ones at the fair.

Just as he was about to turn away, however, the shadow started morphing. Morphing, and not in a normal way. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, Hoseok stared avidly at the monster-like form.

"Yoongi," he whispered, his voice trembling as he pointed towards the lawn.

He glanced sideways to see Yoongi's eyes widen in shock and confusion. Hoseok had no idea what to do. Was this some sort of supernatural thing that only happened in movies? What were they to do in a situation like this? Shadow-monsters or whatever that thing was didn't exist in real life, right?

It seemed, however, that Yoongi had the answer. In the blink of an eye, he had started dragging Hoseok by the arm, not caring about the rain or the way both of their clothes were starting to get soaked. He fumbled around for the small umbrella, only to find that he had left it behind. His heart pounded heavily as he turned around; the shadow was still there.

It was following them.

He tapped Yoongi again, but the latter only looked ahead. He was moving the two of them forward at a constant speed and Hoseok really didn't mean to notice the way his hands gripped Hoseok's wrist tighter than ever before. Or the way he felt Yoongi's shallow breaths on his face. Or the fact that his t-shirt was starting to become really see-through. It really wasn't the time to worry about things like that, but sometimes, Hoseok couldn't help it.

"Yoongi," Hoseok said breathlessly a few minutes later. They were mindlessly rushing around the fair, looking for a place to hide. But the shadow was hot on their tail. Every time Hoseok looked back, it was there. Was this how the main characters in those goddamn horror movies Jungkook liked to watch felt like? He'd never appreciated being forced to watch them, and he certainly didn't appreciate the experience either.

"Come on," Yoongi said, tugging at Hoseok's hands. He had stopped to scan the area around them, his eyes finally landing on a small shack in the very centre of the fair.

Then, just as he was about to turn around again, a funny feeling made him stiffen. Was something behind them? Of course, the shadow was... but had it come nearer? He automatically looked towards Yoongi for reassurance, but the expression on the latter's face didn't help one bit, nor did the way Yoongi was staring at the ground behind Hoseok, or the way he was muttering something under his breath (something which sounded oddly like "Maknae" and "Kill").

Hoseok opened his mouth to ask, but before he could even form a word, they were running as fast as the muddy ground would allow them. Mud was splattering all over Hoseok's trousers and shoes, as they raced towards the small shack Yoongi was pointing at. The shadow was falling behind, but neither of them dared to slack off. In fact, though Hoseok had always been a hard-working person if he did say so himself, it felt as though he had never been this diligent before.

"Hide," Yoongi said, panting heavily. His hair was matted to his forehead as he pushed the door open, moving behind one of the many crates.

Hoseok stepped in behind Yoongi, nearly tripping over a long piece of fabric on the ground. Clown costumes were carelessly placed over the crates and straps of silk littered the floor. It creeped Hoseok out, though he tried to hide that as best as he could.

"How are we supposed to hide from a shadow?" Hoseok said, forcing out a shaky laugh. His heart was pounding against his ribcage like a hammer. His attempts to push the fear aside and lighten the mood were unsuccessful. "I think I've seen enough of Jungkook's horror movies to know that shadows can never be outrun."

Yoongi ignored him in true Yoongi-fashion, but Hoseok didn't mind. He hadn't expected a reaction or a reply, and he had most certainly not expected his half-assed attempt at a joke to actually elicit some type of reaction, especially when the atmosphere was as tense as it was.

As the two of them huddled behind their respective hiding places, Hoseok tried to keep still. It was hard. Really hard. How was he to control his shivering? Or the loudness of his heartbeat? Or the raggedness of his breathing? He was afraid the shadow could hear it. Or maybe even scent them. Or maybe it was already in the room. Maybe it had already found them, but they didn't know?

What if they were caught by this shadow? What if it killed them? Devoured them? Turned them into beasts? Ghosts? Undead? He shuddered as the idea of never being able to live normally again engulfed him. His heart accelerated and all fears, which had been ignored initially, surfaced. He gasped for air frantically, his senses going numb.

He and Yoongi were going to be turned into monsters. They would hunt their friends down, they would do horrible things, they would-

A cold hand grasped his shoulder and Yoongi's familiar presence appeared behind him. Hoseok was turned around slowly, his eyes catching Yoongi's warm brown ones. It brought him so much comfort that he almost forgot about the whole situation altogether. At that moment, only the two of them existed. No one else. No ghosts, no shadows. No monsters, no Halloween.

"We've lost the shadow," Yoongi said.

Hoseok snapped back to reality.

His breathing was slowing down, the pounding of his heart was starting to calm. It was as if Yoongi had flipped off a switch in Hoseok, as if he alone had the power to do so. As they sat in the same position for the next few minutes, Hoseok was very glad indeed that Yoongi was with him. Otherwise, he was sure that the bout of anxiety would have been much more nerve-rattling.

"Thanks, Yoongi," he said, as his breathing returned to normal. He noticed only then how close the two were... and how Yoongi's hot breath was caressing his neck. His cheeks warmed immediately.

"It's no problem Seok," Yoongi replied. His gaze lingered on Hoseok for another moment, before they looked back to the door.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know," Yoongi replied, "I just saw a door and ran."

"It could have been locked," Hoseok said.

"It could, but it wasn't."

"Well thank god for that. I don't what I would have done if we hadn't been able to enter," Hoseok said, his voice still slightly shaky. He was doing his best to keep it steady, but it was easier said than done. "How long do you think we should stay here?"

"I don't know," Yoongi replied, "But what I do know is that Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung are dead."

There was a dangerous glint in the older's eyes, one which hadn't been there before. In fact, Hoseok had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with his anxiety attack. He blushed even darker as he imagined how horribly embarrassing it must have looked.

"They didn't know there was going to be a creature lurking here," Hoseok said carefully. He was annoyed at them, sure, but he couldn't just let them suffer a sure death without protesting at least a little. Yoongi's threats before had been mild, serious, but mild. Right now, however, Hoseok was sure that they were very much dangerous (loud-telling-off-and-death-glares-for-the-rest-of-the-year-dangerous and doing-all-chores-for-the-rest-of-their-lives-dangerous). He could already hear the shitstorm the maknaes would be subjected to as soon as he and Yoongi arrived at home.

"But you had a panic attack because of them!" Yoongi burst out angrily.

"It's fine... They couldn't have known," Hoseok said.

"It's not fine! They should have checked that this place was safe!"

"Once we tell them what happened, they'll regret it enough. There's no need to make them feel even worse."

Yoongi huffed in response. For a moment, the two of them just sat there unmovingly. Thunder was booming outside and lightning illuminated the room suddenly and repetitively. The world around them was both loud and silent; it made the hairs on Hoseok's arm stand on end.

"I care about you," Yoongi said, "and it hurts to see you in that state. I..."

A small bit of hope surfaced within Hoseok, but he did his best to push it down again.

"I would hope you did, we are friends after all," Hoseok replied, forcing a small smile.

They were friends, nothing more.

"No, I think I should have told you this a while ago," Yoongi said. He was still staring at him with an expression Hoseok had never seen him wear before. Yoongi was biting his lip and avoiding eye contact. And then, Hoseok saw the blush. Min Yoongi was blushing. "I'm sorry if this ruins our friendship, but I can't hold it in anymore."

"You're scaring me," Hoseok laughed nervously. Lightning flashed behind him, It made the situation seem much more unbearable than it was.

Behind all the joking, however, his whole body reacted to the words. Was it really possible? Did Yoongi really have some sort of non-platonic feelings? As quickly as that hope surfaced, however, Hoseok let it go. It was never going to happen.

Yoongi hesitated, his mouth opening and closing every few seconds as Hoseok tried his best to concentrate on the sound of the rain. He tried desperately to distract himself from the scene playing out in front of him. Yoongi was giving him too much hope. Too much hope. He was going to fall. He was going to fall and crash down if he didn't control himself.

"I- Seok, I like you a lot," Yoongi said, stumbling over his own words, "And not in a platonic way."

The world seemed to stand still as if had been captured by a camera and all Hoseok could do was stare at the photograph. The patter of the rain disappeared and he stopped registering the lightning or the thunder. This was the moment he hadn't even dared to dream about.

Yoongi had just confessed to him.

He had... right? This wasn't some sort of hallucination? No... this was real, very much real. And all he could do was blankly stare. Then, as if he had been freed from a spell, he lurched forward and hugged Yoongi.

"I'm sorry really," Yoongi said, "For ruining our friendship."

"Oh god," Hoseok replied, "you don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

Hoseok pulled out of the hug, holding Yoongi's shoulders tightly. He was scared that if he let go, everything would disappear, that he would wake up in his room. With a deep breath, he pulled himself together, "I like you a lot too..."

They were close enough for their noses to touch. Yoongi's eyes flickered down to Hoseok's lips and Hoseok really couldn't help it. The urge to lean forward was strong, and then... he just gave in. Their lips met in the span of a millisecond. It was as if they had been made to fit together.

If it hadn't been for the overwhelming need to breathe, they might have stayed like that forever, heck, Hoseok was ready to give up the rest of his life to stay like th-

Click.

Flash.

They froze in their rather compromising position. Had that just been a camera? Who was there taking pictures of people kissing... More importantly, who was at this fair, on Halloween, standing in the downpour to take pictures outside the storage room of a haunted house?

Hoseok dreaded turning his head and when he did, he had to suppress a scream. What looked like a massive monster, at first sight, turned out to be three people. Three people Yoongi and he knew very well. His dongsaengs were standing in the doorway, dripping wet and smiling like madmen.

"What are you three doing..." Hoseok began, before trailing off as he looked down to the ground. Their shadow looked awfully like...

His head snapped to Yoongi. He could hear the growling and the older's quickening breathing.

This was going to be a massacre.

"Happy Halloween?" Tae said uncertainly.

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dherzogblog · 4 years ago

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songs/20

Happy Holidays Everyone! I started making these yearly playlists in 2001 as an attempt to connect with friends in the wake of 911. It was just before the dawn of ITunes, and way before social media. We were not in touch like we are today. I burned dozens of individual cd’s one at a time, printed up customized jewel case covers and snail mailed them all out. It was an annual month-long labor of love. Over the past few years, streaming music has made it much easier and faster to compile and distribute, and frankly much more fun. I still look forward to putting the playlist and blog together and sharing it with all of you. Particularly this year as it gives me a chance to connect with so many friends I haven’t seen in quite some time. It was a tremendously challenging year for all of us. I was grateful to have had my family here in LA the entire time, we remain healthy and well. The west coast Herzogs know just how lucky we have been. The next year will not be without its own challenges, but I'm hopeful we are able to move past this pandemic and the exhausting events of the past 4. More than that, I look forward to seeing each and every one of you in 2021. Until then, be safe, be well, and be good to one another. Enjoy the music.

ox peace, dh

Los Angeles CA. December 2020

Khruangbin - Time (You And I) Don’t ask me to pronounce the name of this eclectic trio from Texas, but this dubby disco tune had me returning to its chilled out groove often during the last few decidedly “un-chill” months. Dreamy and funky, the groove takes me back to NYC’s early 80′s club scene and Ze Records releases from the likes of Kid Creole and Coati Mundi.

Anderson .Paak- Lockdown Scenes from the front, June 2020

Bill Withers (1938-2020)- Use Me The legendary Bill Withers left the playing field at the top of his game in the early 80′s, hardly heard from again. And while he didn't pass from Covid, his healing pop hymn Lean On Me seemed to be everywhere as people found music to help them cope with the challenges of the pandemic. Withers left behind a legendary and enduring group of hit songs that moved easily from soul to folk to pop, not to mention the subtle rolling funk of this one.

Black Pumas- Fire Strong debut from an unlikely Austin duo that garnerd both buzz and grammy nods. The critics are calling it “psychedelic soul”. Not quite sure that nails it, but like the artists coming up next, they’re carving out new ground while drawing inspiration from classic sources.

Gabe Lee- Babylon

Marcus King- Wildflowers and Wine

Charley Crockett- Welcome to Hard Times

Three artists that are literally changing the face of Country and Americana music. Soulful, authentic and diverse, reaching back for inspiration but always looking forward. If you like this sort of stuff they are all worth checking out. Each album is filled with quality songs.

Low Cut Connie_ Private Lives Philly’s Low Cut Connie are back at it with a double album that plays like the soundtrack to a boozy night at your favorite bar. Sweaty, funky and not a little bit messy. If Peter Wolf and Bruce had a kid it would be this blue eyed soul boy. Adam Weiner grew up in the shadow of the Jersey shore and can't help but have a bit of that E Street hustle.

Willie Nile- New York at Night One of New York’s beloved adopted son’s dropped this love letter right into the jaws of a battered metropolis driven to its knees by the pandemic. It was heartbreaking to listen as the “city that never sleeps” came to a full stop. Somehow I still found myself coming back to it, imagining night’s ahead, when NYC is back on its feet and I’m roaming its streets. Looking for music, a beer, or maybe just a slice, and fueled by the irreplaceable energy and promise of the greatest city on earth.

The Long Ryders- Down to The Well Americana pioneers the Long Ryders reunited last year for a surprisingly solid album. This single sounds like it could have been recorded during their 80′s heyday featuring their trademark Byrds like jangle and harmonies, but the lyrics mark this song as unmistakably 2020.

The Speedways- Kisses Are History UK power pop outfit reach back to the the 60′s on this sweet slice of retro pop perfection.

Billie Joe Armstrong- That Thing You Do

In the early days of the pandemic we had all our kids (+ a significant other) at our house for a few months. It worked out great and we were luckier than most. The biggest issue was keeping enough food, weed and wine around. There were some great nights with amazing meals, followed by gathering around the TV together. We re-watched The Sopranos, binged Billy On The Street, and revisited some of our favorite movies. One night we went back to a old family favorite, Tom Hanks’ underrated love letter to the one hit wonders of the post Beatles era, That Thing You Do! I’ve seen the movie several times and it never fails to please. A true feel good film and a perfect Kodak snapshot capturing a simpler time in American pop culture.

While we watch the unlikely chart topper’s The Oneders fizzle as fast as they rose to fame, its not really the point. The movie is really an old fashioned love story. Playing like a perfect hit song you can listen to over and over, full of both hooks and heart. I always thought the title track, written by Fountains Of Wayne leader Adam Schlesinger (who we lost to Covid), brilliantly captured the British Invasion sound every group wanted after The Beatles stormed America. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong must agree. During the pandemic he cut an album’s worth of cool covers including a faithful version of this one.

Gerard Way (W/Judith Hill - Here Comes the End A tale of discovering music in 2020: Heard this on a Netflix trailer for the series The Umbrella Factory. Turns out it is performed by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) who also writes the comic book the series is based on. (got all that?) He’s joined on this searing garage/psych rave up by the talented and versatile Judith Hill doing her best Merry Clayton.

Hinds- Spanish Bombs I’ve been following this Madrid based, all female outfit of punky garage rockers for a few years now. I think they are pretty great. This track, recorded for a Joe Strummer tribute bursts with an unbridled joy the stone faced and politically minded Clash could never muster. I bet Joe would love it though

The Secret Sisters- Hand Over My Heart Have enjoyed their harmonies for some time now. This one gives me vague Wilson Phillips vibes and I don’t really mind.

Tame Impala- Breathe Deeper I know I’m supposed to like this guy, all the cool kids do, I’ve even seen the band at Coachella. Over the years very little of the music has stuck to me, but the pandemic offered a bit more free time to dig into this funky dubby, chilled out jam, and it stuck with me. Not to mention that 2020 was all about deep breaths.

Ledisi (feat.Corey Henry)- What Kind of Love Is That Ledisi is back with some slinky, sultry R&B and jazzy vocals

Dinner Party- FreezeTag An R&B/Jazz collective featuring Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington use sweet soul on heartbreaking and all too familiar tale..

Toots and The Maytals- Time Tough I’ve written an awful lot about my love for Reggae over the years. Right after Bob Marley kicked the door down for me, Toots showed me around the house. Ska, rock steady, and roots. He was true reggae royalty and sadly we lost him to Covid, just after he released what would be his last album. Check my Toots tribute blog and playlist.

Mungo’s Hi Fi- The Beat Goes SKA! These clever UK roots reggae collective never fail to surprise. This kitschy Sonny & Cher cover managed to make me smile every time I heard it. No mean feat in 2020

Stone Foundation (feat. Durand Jones)- Hold on To Love Frequent collaborators with Paul Weller (he appears on a track on the album), Stone Foundation are back with another batch of their UK soul revival stylings. This one features Durand Jones ( of Durand Jones & The Indications) on vocals and some great reggae style horns at the top.

The Pretenders- You Can’t Hurt A Fool Can’t resist a good torch song, especially sung by the smokey voiced Chrissie Hynde. Was kind of shocked at how many good songs were on this album.

Shelby Lynne_ Don’t Even Believe in Love Sultry country soul and one of her strongest albums in awhile.

Jaime Wyatt- Neon Cross Outlaw country has a new bad girl. And in case you didn’t think she was serious, she enlisted producer Shooter Jennings (and his mom Jessi Colter on one track) to help make her point.

Daniel Donato- Justice 25 year old guitar prodigy call his music “cosmic country”. Ok, now I’m listening. You should be too.

The Jayhawks- This Forgotten Town 30 plus + after their debut this Twin Cities alt country group led by founding member Gary Louris continue to deliver. They find their inner Neil Young on this one.

Lucero- Time To Go Home God I wish I was in a bar right now listening to this, even if I might be crying in my beer.

John Prine (1946 -2020)- Lake Marie We lost so many this year, but this one really stung. A true American songwriting treasure, who was still making great music against all odds right up to his untimely passing. His songs are known for their simplicity, and economy of words. but this one goes against the grain. I’m still not exactly certain what it’s about. Sorrowful and haunting, yet somehow uplifting and redemptive. I heard him perform it live here in Los Angeles a just over a year ago and it has stuck in my head ever since. There is surely a place in heaven for the great John Prine. He sang about it on his final studio album in 2018. Ironically it became the last song on his last record.

Thanks for making it this far....

***Play the entire songs/20 Spotify playlist HERE!***

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tomeandflickcorner · 4 years ago

Text

Umbrella Academy Recap 2x01

1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10

Season 2 is finally here. And I’ve decided to continue on with my viewing of this series, with a new episode recap being posted each Sunday (unless RL stuff gets in the way, of course.)

Of course, we start off with a reminder of how, on April 1st, 2019, Vanya’s uncontrolled power burst out of her and collided with the moon, causing it to break apart. The large chunks of moon debris then rained down towards the earth, which resulted in a planet-wide conflagration that quickly incinerated everyone in its path. However, the Hargeeeves Siblings, who pretty much all played a role in causing the apocalypse to occur in the first place, attempted to go back in time with Number 5′s ability to time jump in the hopes that they could figure out how to prevent this disaster from happening.

But somehow, during the time jump, the Hargreeves Siblings all got separated. While they all ended up in the same alleyway in Dallas, Texas, they got dropped off in completely different times. Klaus and Ben end up in 1960. Allison comes out in 1961, and is met by a less than warm welcome as she tries to enter a ‘Whites Only’ diner. (Because racial segregation was commonplace in 1961). Luther emerges in 1962, and he briefly has to deal with some homeless guy latching onto him, with the homeless guy joining in when Luther tries to call out to his missing siblings. Diego and Vanya both arrive in 1963, but on completely different dates Diego arrives on September 1st (where he immediately comes to the defense of a woman getting mugged before witnessing a television broadcast of President Kennedy’s famous ‘ask not what your country can do for you’ speech), and Vanya appears on October 12, where she ends up stumbling out into traffic and gets hit by a car a la Marty McFly in Back to the Future. It’s also important to note that some mysterious man had managed to observe each arrival, as he secretly takes pictures of the Hargreeves Siblings from the shadows.

Finally, Number 5 arrives on November 25, 1963. However, he isn’t greeted by the same peacefully idealistic street that his brothers and sisters witnessed when they emerged from the time vortex. Instead, it’s a completely war-torn area with tanks rolling down the street and a group of soldiers all speaking Russian. After a moment, Number 5 catches a glimpse of a discarded newspaper, with the headline announcing that the Soviet army have invaded the United States. Number 5 looks around in shock as U.S. troops arrive to try and fight the Soviets, and he verbally wonders what they’ve done now, realizing that the staggered arrival of the Hargreeves Siblings in the 1960s must have somehow caused this to happen.

No sooner does he ask this, the other Hargreeves Siblings appear on the scene, joining the fight against the Soviet army. And it seems that, during their separation, they’ve all managed to further develop their individual powers. For instance, Vanya is able to stop and destroy a missile fired from a Soviet tank in midair. Klaus has managed to master his new ability to make ghosts solid by summoning up a small group of dead soldiers (and a few civilians) to attack the Soviet soldiers, with Ghost Ben also joining the fight by taking out a few more Soviets with his power. And Allison, who clearly got her voice back, uses her power to cause three enemy soldiers’ heads to explode. Luther and Diego are also there, but they don’t really do much, as Luther is only shown protecting Klaus from getting shot by blocking the projectiles with his own body and Diego manages to dodge a bunch of flying bullets. Upon seeing Number 5 standing there, Diego yells at him, asking where he’s been. Before Number 5 could respond, however, someone else suddenly appears on the scene. It’s Hazel! Only he’s now an old man. The now elderly Hazel tells Number 5 that he can’t explain what happened now, as they have to get out of that time quickly. To emphasize his point, Hazel points overhead at a group of missile smoke trails in the sky. Hazel tells Number 5 that the smoke trails are from nuclear warheads, which will go off in a few moments. Number 5 hesitates out of concern for his family, as they’ll all surely die in the imminent explosion. To this, Hazel states ‘you can’t help them if you’re dead.’ At this logic, Number 5 accepts Hazel’s hand, and they teleport off to some other time, leaving the other Hargreeves Siblings behind to watch as the nuclear explosion overtakes them and the mushroom cloud begins to form.

Hazel brings Number 5 back in time to November 15, 1963, stating that 10 days should give them plenty of time to restore the timeline and prevent this other apocalypse from taking place. Number 5 asks what they’re supposed to do, though Hazel informs him that he’s on his own. After all, he’d quit The Commission. Hazel states he only came back to give Number 5 a hand this one time, out of respect for Agnes. Here, we’re sadly informed that Hazel’s life with her was tragically brief as Agnes ended up dying from cancer. (Well, that’s a huge kick in the teeth! At least they had a good 20 years together.. Suppose we should be grateful for that, at least.)

Unfortunately, Hazel’s conversation with Number 5 doesn’t get much further than that. As they were talking, three white-haired men, all wearing trench coats and backpacks, emerged from a bus parked across the street. The moment Number 5 notices them walking towards them, the three men pull out machine guns from beneath their coats. Hazel quickly shoves his time-traveling briefcase into Number 5′s hands and pushes him out of the way, instructing him to run. At the same time, Hazel also discretely shoves an object into Number 5′s pocket. Number 5, heeding Hazel’s final instruction, teleports away to safety as Hazel is unceremoniously gunned down by the white-haired men. Number 5 manages to get away, but he has to abandon the briefcase, as it got pelted by the gunfire. The time-traveling briefcases aren’t bulletproof, it seems.

Interestingly, as the white-haired men walk off, one of them makes eye contact with a milkman who just happened to be passing by. Wasn’t sure what that was about at first, but it’ll be important later on.

As Number 5 makes good his escape by leaving the scene down an alleyway, he notices the curtains in a nearby window moving, as if someone had just closed them in a hurry. This, along with the sight of a camera tripod set up on the roof of the building (among other things), arouses Number 5′s attention and he immediately decides to investigate. This leads to him encountering a man called Elliot, who freaks out a bit when Number 5 teleports himself directly into Elliot’s apartment. Elliot seems like a bit of a conspiracy nut as he doesn’t hesitate to ask Number 5 if he’s from the Pentagon or the CIA. Number 5 doesn’t acknowledge these questions, simply helping himself to Elliot’s coffee. (Because as the show has well established, Number 5 is a coffee addict.)

As their interactions continue, it’s made pretty clear that Elliot believes Number 5 is an extraterrestrial alien. Number 5 doesn’t contradict this and decides to simply go along with it. Which leads to Elliot revealing that he was that mysterious cameraman who took pictures of the other Hargreeves Siblings appearing in that Dallas alleyway throughout the past few years. With this information, Number 5 is able to confirm his brothers and sisters are all alive, but realizes that he pretty much stranded them there, however unintentional that was. He turns to Elliot demanding his help in finding them, as he only has 10 days to reunite with the Hargreeves Siblings and prevent the turn of events that would lead to the nuclear holocaust he’d previously witnessed. So Elliot gives Number 5 an excerpt from a newspaper, which features Diego’s mugshot. Because Diego went and got himself arrested. (Typical.)

With the information he got from Elliot, Number 5 is able to track Diego down to a mental hospital. He wound up there because he was trying to prevent the Kennedy Assassination, which was scheduled to occur pretty soon. Naturally, nobody believed his declarations. He finally got locked up when he got caught trying to break into Lee Harvey Oswald’s house in order to kill him before he got the chance to assassinate President Kennedy. When Number 5 meets with Diego, he informs him of this new apocalypse that is set to occur in 10 days. At first, Diego seems to be on board with Number 5, but he really has a one track mind, believing that he absolutely has to prevent the Kennedy Assassination, and that succeeding in that would save the world. Diego admits he is also thinking about going back in time to kill Hitler as well. As you might expect, Number 5 is not impressed with Diego’s intentions, informing his brother that he has a hero complex. He then decides to leave Diego where he was, also informing the mental hospital orderlies nearby of Diego’s plan to escape by cutting through the bars on his cell window. With that, Number 5 leaves Diego behind as the nurses sedate him.

As Number 5 leaves the mental hospital, whispering to Diego that he’ll be back for him later, we see where the other Hargreeves Siblings are. Vanya now has amnesia and has been living on a farm with a small nuclear family that consists of a businessman named Carl, his wife, Sissy, and their son, Harlan. Harlan, it seems, doesn’t talk. I think the implication is that he has some form of autism, but I could be wrong. As he leaves to go back to the office, Carl tells Vanya that he placed another missing person notice in the paper, stating someone must be missing her enough to come looking for her.

Klaus, it seems, has been living in San Francisco for the past three years, but has now decided to return to Dallas. Ben isn’t happy about this as he wants to go back to San Francisco. Ben eventually admits he has some unfinished business he wanted to take care of back in California and he asks Klaus if he really expects him to continue following him everywhere. An argument breaks out between them, with Klaus pointing out that Ben doesn’t even have a physical body without him. Therefore, Klaus clams that, while he doesn’t need Ben, Ben needs him. To this, Ben states nobody needs Klaus’ crap, and that is why he’s always alone. Immediately, the two brothers began a physical fight. (Which leads to an amusing moment when some random guy drives by and sees Klaus seemingly wrestling with nobody.) Eventually, they tire themselves out and proceed to start walking, as their car engine overheated and therefore had to be abandoned on the side of the road. An undetermined amount of time later, they make it to this roadside bar. Klaus asks when the next bus to Dallas will arrive, with the bartender telling him it’ll come tomorrow at 3:00 sharp. While he settles down to wait, Klaus gets invited by some other bar patrons to join in a game of poker. Of course, Klaus believes he has the advantage as Ben could let him know when someone is bluffing, and he therefore coerces one of the men to use the keys to his pickup truck as a gambling chip. But it turns out Ben was deliberately lying so Klaus would lose the game. (He was still angry at Klaus for earlier and wanted to prove a point to him.) Klaus, however, tries to make off with the keys to the pickup truck anyway, but failed to be sneaky enough as the pickup truck’s owner noticed. But in the end, Klaus is able to make a getaway in the stolen pickup truck. (Though the police end up catching up to Klaus en route to Dallas and arrest him.)

Meanwhile, Allison has ended up getting married to a Black man named Raymond, who is clearly excited about President Kennedy’s plans to make a stand for the rights of Blacks in America. Allison is unable to completely join in with his excitement, knowing that President Kennedy will be assassinated in a few days time, though she obviously can’t tell Raymond what she knows. We can see she also is feeling a bit melancholy when her husband gives her a pre-anniversary gift- a copy of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon. Which obviously reminds Allison of Luther.

And speaking of Luther, he’s now working in some sort of underground boxing ring. You know, the type where the winner of the fight gets prize money. Although, most of his proceeds from winning the fight end up going to a man that I guess is supposed to be Luther’s manager, Mr. Ruby. Anyway, they seem to have set up this whole ploy where Luther pretends to be losing his fights, only to turn things around at the right moment. Not sure how Luther got involved with this, but it makes sense given his obvious amount of brute strength.

Anyway, as the episode continues, we see Allison and Raymond are involved with a group of other Black people who are fighting against segregation and racism, with them holding their meetings at a hair salon that Allison now runs. At present, their group is planning a sit-in five days before President Kennedy is to arrive in Dallas. Although, the leader of their group makes it clear that it is imperative that nobody behave violently in any way during the sit-in. Whatever happens, they all must maintain dignity and honor. Otherwise, the media will have an excuse to dismiss them as a group of thugs. Of course, the meeting is interrupted when some racist jerk called Mr. Mason pokes his nose into their business, interrogating them on what they’re all doing there after hours. Allison and Raymond are initially able to handle things as civilly as possible. Until Raymond moves to shut the door. Mr. Mason, seemingly deliberately, moves his foot into the way. Which gives him the excuse he needs to accuse Raymond of assault. But when Mr. Mason makes a threatening move towards him, Allison steps in, utilizing the fighting skills she’d developed during her time in the Umbrella Academy in defense of her husband. Mr. Mason then slinks off with his tail between his legs, but you’re left with the feeling that he’s not going to just let this go.

Back at the farmhouse, Vanya can’t sleep and ends up heading down to the kitchen, where she catches Sissy smoking. However, she doesn’t seem bothered by this in the slightest, and Sissy asks her if she wants a cigarette as well. They then head out to the barn to smoke. Which doesn’t seem like the smartest place to smoke, especially with all the hay lying around. As they sit and talk, Sissy confides in Vanya that she has a secret stash of money hidden in a coffee can that Carl doesn’t know about. It seems that, while Sissy thinks Carl is a good man, she knows he’ll eventually leave or die. And when that happens, she’ll need to be able to fend for herself. Sissy also confesses that, before she married Carl, she wanted to work as a counter girl at some big department store, as she always had viewed those counter girls as the height of elegance and she’d wanted to be that elegant, too. Vanya responds by telling Sissy that she’s plenty elegant. Which is a rather sweet thing for Vanya to say to her new friend.

Elsewhere, Diego has woken up from being sedated and finds himself trapped in a padded room. However, he manages to get out of his straitjacket and picks the lock with a pen the orderlies had neglected to confiscate from him. However, his escape attempt his interrupted when those white-haired men show up in a milk truck. Apparently the same one the hapless milkman we saw earlier had been driving. It seems that there WAS some significance to the milkman and one of the white-haired men meeting each other’s eyes in that earlier scene. The white-haired men must have killed the milkman and stole his uniform, like in The Terminator. The white-haired men, who we can now conclude were sent by The Commission, proceed to make their way through the mental hospital, killing the hospital’s administrator and two security guards in the process. They manage to locate Diego as he’s trying to escape with the help of Lila, another patient at the mental hospital that he’d interacted with a few times. After a prolonged chase scene, Diego and Lila manage to escape and give the white-haired men the slip.

We then wrap the episode up with Luther, who is at some nightclub. He’s now filling the role of Mr. Ruby’s bodyguard, I guess. While there, he strikes up a conversation with some cigarette girl called Autumn. Through this conversation, Luther learns that Number 5 was also at the nightclub, having tracked down Luther there somehow. So Luther heads over to where Number 5 was sitting, not hesitating to voice his anger at his brother, as he was stuck in time for a year and had believed everyone else was dead. At this point, Luther notices that it looks as if somebody is going to start something with Mr. Ruby, so he starts to head over to fulfill his duty as Mr. Ruby’s bodyguard. Number 5 stops him, telling him that he understands how hard it is to be stuck in time, not knowing if they’d ever see the people they loved again. Which makes sense, as we know that’s the situation Number 5 was in for a number of years. But right now, Number 5 says they have to focus on finding the others, as another apocalypse is coming. Unfortunately, Luther isn’t swayed, stating that he doesn’t care. He then walks off, leaving Number 5 sitting there.

Closing thoughts/questions:

I wonder if we’ll see Elliot again. Is he going to play a larger role in this season?

Same with Lila. She’s clearly nuts, but is still sane enough to possibly be an ally. Also, I kinda like the dynamic she has with Diego

I wonder what Ben had been up to in San Francisco to make him want to stay.

Vanya seems a lot happier with Carl and Sissy’s family than she did before. I can’t help wondering if it would be kinder to her for her to remain with them.

Does Harlan have autism? If so, I hope they present it in a respectful way.

I feel so bad for Hazel! He deserved so much better than he got! I guess it’s good that he’s with Agnes again, but still!

Luther’s still a little snot. Guess that hasn’t changed much.

Diego is kinda dumb. I realize his intentions are good. But come on! Did it occur to him that stopping Kennedy's assassination might lead to a lot of negative consequences he’d never be able to predict? Maybe he should watch some Doctor Who sometime.

Which reminds me, nice Star Wars reference from Diego. Too bad nobody will get it for a while yet, as the original movie won’t come out for another 14 years, and would be another 3 years before moviegoers will learn who Darth Vader is.

I’m really interested in what Allison’s going to do. Obviously, she can’t stay with Raymond as she’ll have to go back to her own time. Especially since she has Claire to think about. But she seems to have something good going on with him. And if it gets her away from her incestuous relationship with Luther, I’m 100% for it!

#umbrella acedmy #umbrella academy 2x01 #tua

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couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 6 years ago

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About your YouTuber! Percy hc, do you think he would actually know everyone subscribed to him because of the weird background shenanigans or do you think that he’s think they all just find him funny?

okay, I actually have made some more Executive Decisions since I posted that, so let’s just make it clear that:

Percy spent maybe half a day thinking ‘wow I knew I was valid in thinking my girlfriend and sister deserve to be famous’ just because he genuinely hadn’t registered the monster-sized dog or nico crawling out from the shadows behind him as ‘weird’ at first, but then he started reading the comments and was like…..ah,

Annabeth wanted him to immediately delete the videos but he was just like ‘nah it’s too late now we might as well commit’ and started planning his next video lmao. he still didn’t think it was gonna get like, Big tho

demigods and technology don’t mix this is true but by this time the Hephaestus and Athena AND Vulcan kids were all very disgruntled by this and collabed on making a line of products that are monster proof, halfblood suitable, and Hephaestus approved. Percy is using a camera in this line, and that’s why mortals watching his videos aren’t getting blocked by the mist, because….shut up, I said so lol

so again, his videos are mostly tame except for just a few small ‘wtf’ things happening in the background, but it’s enough to get people circulating his videos like ‘hey what the fuck is going on with this guy’ and he gets more and more followers impatiently waiting for updates

after about five months, and article gets posted on buzzfeed about the videos, listing a few theories like, a) it’s photoshopped and cgi-d, although they claim they sent a few clips to video analysists that can’t find any thing fake, and b) this boy is being terrorized by ghosts and demons and he just hasn’t noticed them on camera for some fucking reason, and c) Maybe Us, The Viewers Are The Crazy Ones and d) He’s In Danger And Sending Coded Messages And We Need To Rally Together To Help Him

it trends and his followers SPIKE so Percy decides he should probably do a Q&A and everyone gets hype

except

it’s Percy

He’s sitting on his bed in an orange shirt, but the writing on it is mostly obscured by a blanket. You can JUST see the tip of a spear on the wall above him. There’s a large cut on the side of his head. He’s got a clear glass of some golden liquid he’s sipping from every now and then. There’s an aquarium on the table next to him, but all the fish in the tank are huddled in the same side, staring at him??? Annabeth is sitting next to him, but she’s not looking into the camera, she’s reading a book, and you can see the cover clearly on screen but no one is able to figure out what language it’s in??? at one point during the video, you hear a horse neighing even though he’s in his fourth floor city apartment and his stepfather comes in to tell him ‘blackjack’s in the kitchen make him leave’

but other than that, everyone tuned into this video excited to get answers….but all the answers Percy gives are like ‘Oh, Estelle is 10 months old! she’s getting so big!’ and ‘Annabeth and I met when we were 12′ and ‘I’m looking at colleges in California but I haven’t committed anywhere yet’ and ‘my favorite subject in school is math’

In the middle of the video he read a question ‘please what is up with that dude that keeps crawling out of your fucking walls p l e ase’ and he responds ‘Oh! That’s my cousin Nico! :)’ and then moves back to the tame boring questions sdkjnckdvm

The very last minute of the video, he reads a question asking if he’s possessed and he’s like ‘No, not anymore’ and Annabeth fucking snorts, the first acknowledgement she’s given the whole q&a. the video immediately just ends there, he doesn’t do a sign off or anything

people FLIP

and the next day he’s just back to posting his usual content. this time features a shot of him walking in a rainstorm, to hood no umbrella, completely fucking dry

youtube drama channels are covering every single video he posts. conspiracy theorists are going fucking wild.

one of these youtube conspiracy channels is 100% run by Leo Valdez. He’s having the time of his goddamn life throwing bullshit out there

Piper McLean 100% has her own channel dedicated to debunking everything Leo says on his channel. They’ve been doing this dance since 9th grade and all of their viewers think they fucking hate each other it’s hilarious to them

so SHE points out that not only are Leo’s theories stupid, but he’s been spotted in Percy’s videos! And he was on fire in one of them! Hello???

Someone then tweets her that SHE’S been spotted in Percy’s videos, a few of them the same ones Leo was in, and she responds to the callout with a Mariah Carey gif and goes silent on twitter for three months

Leo starts insisting that’s Definitely Not Him In Percy’s Videos, Thank You, How Dare You Accuse Me Associating With Not Only The Demonic Forces That Follow Him But Also Piper McLean

Percy tweets out a picture of the 7, featuring Leo and Piper hugging and looking like best friends. Leo responds with a Joanne the Scammer gif and also goes quiet on twitter but keeps making ridiculous conspiracy videos lmao

On screen: ‘Hey, Paul, the internet thinks I’m in league with supernatural forces. What do you think about that?’ *camera slowly zooms in on Paul’s tired face as he looks up from reading a book on the Greek god Poseidon*

everyone realizes one of Percy’s mortal friends from school is also a youtuber so they BOMBARD him and he’s just like ‘Listen Percy just….fucking lives like this. he’s not planning anything. He disappears all the time and comes back covered in burns. one time I went in his apartment without calling first and he met me in the living room with a shield and a sword. Sometimes carriage horses in the city get loose and just follow him around and he holds conversations with them. I think his dad is in the mob. He just lives like this. We just got used to it’ sjkdgkjldsklsd

Percy posts a video called ‘skateboarding down my camps climbing wall!!’ and every comment is ‘WHY IS THERE L A V A?!?!?!?!?’

A video where he sees just How Much he can annoy Chiron and Mr. D before he gets threatened with dolphin-ism. It doesn’t take long, but everyone ignores the guy with glowing eyes yelling about how he’s going to change him into a sea creature in favor of focusing in on the fucking leopard head mounted on the wall that’s moving, roaring and being fed snacks???

Rachel goes into Oracle mode and gives out a prophecy in the middle of a live stream and Percy just sighs in annoyance while all the viewers are flipping out like hello isn’t she one of the richest people in the world???

the viewers start trying to decipher the prophecy like they think it’s all planned and Percy’s just slowly dropping some lemony snickett bullshit on them

his videos are ALWAYS trending and he’s one of the most popular vloggers and it’s so funny because 90% of the videos are literally just ‘taking my sister to the park!’ ‘date night with my girlfriend!’ ‘swim team awards ceremony!’ ‘I forgot to study for my history exam!’ like just. the most fucking generic but people are sucked in lmao

He does monthly q&a’s but they mostly go the same way the original one did

‘what’s with the fucking guy who’s half donkey???’ ‘Grover identifies as a goat, actually, please be respectful of that in the future’

‘who’s that fucking kid that crying on your couch that you ignored the whole video’ ‘that’s actually the Greek god Apollo, he was upset because I wanted back the Led Zeppelin shirt he stole from me’

‘am I crazy or was there a 7 foot tall guy with one eye walking around the kitchen eating peanut butter out of the jar’ ‘that’s my baby brother Tyson :)’

‘your friend said your dad’s in the mob but we’ve never seen your father on this channel where is he???’ ‘he, uh…….lives with the fishes?’ (Annabeth groaned at that one lmao)

‘you really vlogged getting struck by lightning and not going to the fucking hospital, huh’ ‘don’t worry, that was just my cousin, she was mad because I stole her nail polish earlier but she wouldn’t kill me over it’

COULD YOU IMAGINE HIM POSTING A VIDEO WITH THE PARTY PONIES AND TITLING IT ‘I ACCIDENTALLY GOT DRAGGED TO FURRY CON’

but overall: Youtuber Percy™ is, in fact, the only valid thing that exists thanks for coming to my TED Talk

#percy jackson #pjo #hoo #toa #rick riordan #asks #molly mumbles

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logancreatesworlds · 5 years ago

Text

Black Folks Don’t Do That Shit

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! So I got this idea after seeing a Tumblr post with Lupita Nyong’o and it kinda just spiraled from there. Hope you all like it!

Warnings: Some harsh language and that’s it...for now. 😈😈😈

Disclaimer: None of the images used are mine.

Prologue

You shook nervously as your eyes shot open. Harsh breaths hit your lungs as you tried your best to sit up, your heart drumming as if it were part of a marching band. Something stopped you. You looked down at your wrists to see that they were bound to a bed.

You pulled and pulled with all your might, but it was useless.

Then, the door opened and she walked in.

Your eyes narrowed, “You.”

She smiled, “Yes kitten, me.”

“You drugged me.”

“Yes. To make you more…compliant.”

She sat down and smiled pleasantly.

Her red lips curled upwards like a Cheshire Cat.

It was almost like things were normal, like she was normal…

But she wasn’t.

She ran her clawed hand up your naked thigh, her bright red eyes alight with undead interest.

You should kick her, fight her – do something, but you didn’t.

Black folks don’t do that shit.

“So sad to see you leaving,” Pepper Potts commented as she watched you pack your last suitcase, her red lips sticking out in a thin line of her pale face.

“Yeah,” you agreed, “But I have to be moving on. Can’t stay in the same place for too long, right?”

“Well,” Pepper said, “If your path leads you back to New York, you always have a job here.”

“Thank you,” you replied, giving her one last hug.

Today was your last day over at Stark Tower as the Stark family’s personal chef. Sure, Friday could have done it, but Tony insisted on paying you 15$ an hour to work during the week after tasting your banana pudding.

However, cooking the same healthy ass Californian recipes were just getting too old. You were forgetting why you enjoyed cooking in the first place.

You quietly sat on the next Amtrak train back to your home – New Orleans, Louisiana.

Time to get reconnected.

“Mama!”

“(Y/N)! Oh my babygirl, you’re home!”

You squeezed her tightly as her familiar scent filled your nose.

Pears, lilac, fresh linen...

“I missed you,” you said, kissing her cheek.

“And I missed you too,” she replied, “Come on in. I got your favorite cookin’.”

“Crawfish n’ rice?”

“Yup. And we also have pecan pie.”

“Of which I will be getting the first slice,” a familiar voice said.

While that voice didn’t disturb your mother, it still scared you even now.

“(Y/N),” your mama said, “You remember Sunny, don’t you?”

How could you forget him?

“Of course,” you replied, plastering a falsified smile on your face.

“Good to see you (Y/N).”

“You too.”

A brief, awkward silence washed over the room, but your mother - ever the perfectionist mediatior, quickly ushered you upstairs to help you unpack.

This was going to be a long visit.

You sighed softly as you breathed in through your nose.

The New Orleans air was thick with the scent of car oil, sweat, trumpets and dough frying into beignets.

It smelled like home.

But there was something else in the air.

Children’s laughter, bubbling chocolate, pumpkin rinds...

Halloween, or it would be in thirteen days.

It was fitting, given all the smell of spook in the wind and jack-o’-lanterns on porches.

It was your favorite time of year.

Feeling invigorated, you walked into a farmer’s market and up to a local vendor who was carrying a rather large flower stand with him.

“Excuse me, kind sir?”

“Why hello lady,” he said in that familiar southern accent, “What can I do you for?”

“I’m looking for some translucent orchids,” you said, “Do you have any available?”

“Translucent orchids? Hmmm roses...daffodils...lilac. Nope. No orchid. Sorry sweetie.”

“Thanks anyway.”

You continued to walk, quietly ghosting through the loud and boisterous crowd.

Despite feeling invisible, you could feel someone watching you - like you weren’t alone.

You wish, you though petulantly to yourself.

You looked upon the fruits and vegetables, fitting in between families of black fathers, ebony mothers and swart children.

They all seemed so happy...

Sighing, you got to the other end of the market and looked back.

For a second, it seemed like the world slowed down.

Then...

“Penny for your thoughts?”

You turned around and saw a woman.

Now she stuck out.

Her dark skin stood out against the umbrella she was holding and her black outfit was only matched by her tinted glasses.

She looked like the night itself.

Nevertheless, you spoke to her.

“Just not in the Halloween spirit,” you replied.

“Such a shame,” she commented, “New Orleans is a place of magic. And you seem like you are in tuned with its charm.”

“Me?” You scoffed and laughed. “I’m not much “in tuned” with anything to tell ya’ the truth...”

“Well,” she replied, “Perhaps I can change that.”

She extended her hand to you, and in her dark manicured fingers lied a small card.

You read the mysterious writing.

‘The Udaku Family’

“The Udaku Family huh? Since when do families have their own cards?”

“The couple I work for is a bit...unorthodox. And they need a new cook.”

You furrowed your brow, “How did you know I was a cook?”

She smiled, “You were looking at the fruits and vegetables the most, and you seemed disgusted with the ones that looked too ripe. Only someone who is planning to cook is concerned with such affairs.”

“Well aren’t you observant?”

“I’m trained to see what’s in front of me.”

“So...your boss is looking for a cook. When do you want me to come?”

“Tonight,” she answered, “A black Cadillac shall pick you up.”

“But you don’t even know where I live?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find you.”

You briefly looked down at the card, “Look lady, I-”

She was gone.

You quietly looked out the window, anxiously waiting for that black car to roll up.

Was this a good idea? Of course not.

“They were probably sex traffickers looking for an innocent young girl,” your mother had said.

Still, you were going.

Yes, this is how literally every white girl got kidnapped in all the horror movies you watched, but something pulled you towards that woman at the market today.

There was that intuition in the back of your mind...

‘Don’t go to this weird ass house. Black folks don’t do that shit.’

And yet? You didn’t listen to it.

Soon, a car rolled up in front of the main walkway.

A Cadillac Sixty Special maybe?

Its black coat shined as the moonlight casted a gentle shadow upon it.

You swiftly got up and exited the house, kissing your mother goodbye on the way.

The woman from earlier was in the driver’s seat.

“You made it,” she said with the same silky tone from earlier.

“Uh...yeah,” you said, clutching your pure strap, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

She smiled and nudged her head towards the back, signaling you to get in.

You swiftly obeyed and soon you were riding into the night.

“So...how long y’all been working for these Udakus?” You asked as the car drove with buttery ease.

The woman in the front passanger seat answered, “For a long time.”

“Okay...”

You briefly looked out the window and asked another question.

“Do you guys always fetch chefs from their houses or...?”

The woman laughed quietly, “You are quite curious, little one.”

You raised an eyebrow.

Little one...?

“That’s an interesting accent you got there? Where y’all from?”

The first woman gave you answer, “A place far away from here.”

You were quiet after that.

Your mouth dropped at the black and white house that came into view.

Even though the moon and headlights were your only source of light, you could still spot its modern quality.

“Damn,” you mumbled.

The women laughed, “We get that a lot.”

They pulled in and the three of you got out.

That feeling of attraction from earlier now increased tenfold as you got closer to the door.

The door unlocked and slowly creaked open.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

“Wow,” you commented, “Nice place.”

“We do the best we can,” the first woman said.

“I love the decor.”

“Then you shall make a fine fixture here,” the other answered.

“Now remember,” the first woman turned back to you, “Our employers are a bit strange but they are kind. Don’t let them scare you. Take a seat and relax. They shall be out soon.”

You looked around, “Thanks gu-”

They were gone.

You huffed and sat on the plush roundabout.

What is it with these people and disappearing?

You waited for what felt like hours.

Looking at your clock, you saw the time.

9:45 pm.

Huffing, you laid back and prepared to text your mom that she was right.

This was a dumb idea.

“Nice work (Y/N),” you grumbled to yourself, “You’re in a house owned by some rich ass white folks who you don’t know. And they are clearly too rich and occupied for you. Who do they think they are - Will and Grace?”

“Not exactly.”

You gasped and sprung up, whipping around quickly.

The woman standing there was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen.

She was dark-skinned, with an hourglass figure that would make any model weep.

Her bright red dress showed perfectly under the light of the chandelier.

Her hair was shaven with dark curls atop her head and her eyes...

They were red.

“You must be the chef my girls brought me,” she said, her tongue beckoning you with an African accent you couldn’t place, “I am pleased. They chose well.”

“Oh uh...thank you. Forgve my rambling please. I’m usually not that rude-”

You gasped when the woman quickly pulled your extended hand to her with lightning reflexes.

“It is already forgotten,” she said, her honeyed voice filling your ears.

She held your hand an inch away from your nose and took a big sniff.

Her eyes brightened, “You have a lovely scent.”

“Um...thanks, it’s my mom’s perfume. I wanted to make a good impression.”

She nodded and let your hand go, “Come. It is time for your interview to start.”

“Yes ma’am. I have my resume-”

“That won’t be necessary. All I need is your name.”

“(Y/N), (Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N). And you are?”

“I am called Nakia. My two girls who brought you here are Okoye and Ayo.”

“Those are pretty names.”

“If you manage to impress me, then you might learn where they come from.”

Nakia walked you into a large kitchen.

The cabinets were pure oak, the fridge was stainless steel and the island was marble.

She sat down, “Cook for me.”

“What do you want me to make?”

She smiled at you, “Anything you want.”

You quietly sat your purse down and got to work.

You fished out all the dished and ingredients and whipped up one of your favorite recipes.

Nakia watched you interested intent.

You boiled the rice and fried the shrimp.

You sautéed the peppers and onions to perfection before taking them and the shrimp and setting them on top of the Basmatti.

You then set the bowl in front of Nakia along with a glass of wine and handed her a fork.

“Bon appétit,” you said, standing back, “Enjoy.”

Nakia nodded and ate.

Her face was expressionless for most of the meal and when she was done, she smiled at you.

“You’re hired.”

Your eyes bugged out of your head.

“Really?!”

“Mhmm.”

“Oh ma’am thank you so much. But...won’t hyour husband be upset that you hired me without his approval.”

“My husband is a hermet. But despite that we are equals. And trust me...”

Her smile widened.

“He will like you.”

____________

And that is all for now my lovelies! Hope you stay tuned for the next part. Please feel free to tell me if I should just delete this. I’ve been throwing this idea around for a while now...

@macfizzle @wakanda-inspired @bribrisback @kumkaniudaku @black-is-beautiful18 @weasleyginerva @kissesbooboo @supersizemeplz @chaneajoyyy @dreamingoftchalla @lavitabella87 @pastelpanda19 @chocolatemonkeyrainbows @blackreaders-assemble @blackmissfrizzle @laketaj24 @eerythingisshaka @blackgirloneshots @sisterwifeudaku @destinio1 @pocmarvelworks @black-mcu-imagines @black-is-beautiful18 @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @wakandalivesforever @iwrite4poc @siriuslycollins @wakandas-vibranium @100kindsofblake @muse-of-mbaku @naturally-bri @helperofthenight @dumbchick @sweettea-and-honeybutter @drsunshine97 @pastelastronomy24 @plussizeappreciationfics @royallyprincesslilly @afro-royalty @tenaciousarcadeexpert @shinyanchorface @scarlettlullaby16 @hennessystevens-udaku @stark-red19 @marvelheaux @valynsia

#t'challa x black!reader #t'challa x nakia x black!reader #polyam fics #black panther fic #t'challa x reader #vampire fics #ugh I know there are some grammatical errors SOMEHWERE up in this thing #oh well #I'm writing again!!!#that's what matters

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