#and instead of creating an Even Bigger Threat that is mostly just confusing and ignores all the previous storylines

[femboypussy420]

I know it never would have happened but I would have LOVED TUA s4 to have no apocalypse plot. no powers at all. no death or disaster or world ending. if they'd used these last 6 episodes to explore all the unanswered questions, give the characters meaningful interactions with each other and start to heal from their trauma, and just get a chance to be Normal People, I would have been so happy

[writingpaperghost]

The Power of Our Bonds Will Persevere! (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3: In Order to Protect the Promise We Made That Day and Our Future

There’s monsters to fight and investigating to be done.

This one's a bit long. And we're about halfway, now.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124817/chapters/69331905

It seemed as though the pair of monsters, the statue and the dragon, were waiting for something. They hadn’t been there long, sure, but they hadn’t done anything. The statue monster stood still, almost like it wasn’t alive at all. The dragon monster was less, still, eyes closed, simply wrapped around the legs of the statue monster. For a moment, Asahi wondered if they were even still alive.

Her brothers arrived first, she was following just behind, but the moment they appeared, the dragon’s eyes opening. It watched them for a moment, examining them, then uncurled itself and stretched, with what might have been a small yawn. It had a sort of staring contest with Rosso and Blu, as though it might be sizing them up, determining whether they were threats or not.

Then, after a moment, the statue monster stirs, dark eyes lighting up. It doesn’t move, but even the change in its eyes are enough to show that it was paying some attention to what was occurring now. It’s not entirely clear what it is, exactly, or what it might do, but if anything, that only put the three Ultras more on guard.

Finally, after another few moments of tense silence, a voice rang out, the statues eyes flashing with every sound, “A surprise…” It said, the dragon monster’s tail began to swing back and forth, “Three unexpected guests… You are no monsters, as well.”

“Hey!” Blu calls out, “Are you two the ones causing the monsters to go crazy or whatever?”

The statue tilts its head, “Perhaps we are…” Its hand at its side shifted, raising to rest on what might be the handle of a weapon. It’s hard to tell what it is, though. The statue continues to speak, “Though our actions should be of no concern to you.”

Rosso is the one to talk next, “And why not?” He asked, placing a hand on his hip, “I mean, if you guys are trying to harm the people on this planet, then why shouldn’t we try to stop you.”

“Harm the people of this planet?” The statue echoed, its voice holding a hint of either confusion or amusement, still unmoving. The dragon beside it seemed to be preparing itself, though for what was unclear, though it was most likely a fight. The statue began to speak more, “And what of us? We could very well be of this planet as well… You’d have no way of knowing.”

While the statue certainly had a point, to some extent, there was no denying that it and the dragon that was with it seemed to pose a threat to everyone else. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from this planet or not,” Grigio called out, moving closer to her brothers, who were acting as a barrier between her and the monsters, “If you’re going to harm others on this planet then we’ll stop you.”

With what might have been a chuckle, the statue countered, “And what makes that your duty? You most certainly are not of this planet.” It seemed about ready to pull its weapon, going so far to begin to do so, before stopping, returning the weapon to where it belonged, and turning its attention to the dragon. The dragon looked up, meeting eyes with the statue, and smiled what was certainly a toothy smile. The statue added, “Yes… I believe you have little say in what occurs here. The actions of those of this planet are none of your concern and it would do you best to leave now. Drabestia?”

At what must have been its name, the dragon, Drabestia, turned its attention to Rosso, Blu, and Grigio and shifted its position. The statue slowly moved a few steps away, giving the dragon room to unfurl its wings, which had vines and foliage wrapped around them.

“I think,” Grigio began, “We’re going to have to fight them.”

Blu nodded, “Probably,” The two moved into a fighting stance in front of her, while she moved back a bit, summoning her bow.

Drabestia roared, then with strong flaps of its wings, took off into the sky. Rosso and Blue wasted no time in following, though Grigio hesitated a bit. She wasn’t quite so good at fighting while flying – it was mostly the lack of any sort of solid ground for her to use to keep herself… orientated – and it made it hard to keep track of what was going on, because it could be occurring anywhere around you. She was half tempted just to let her brothers deal with it – they were, after all, better at fighting in the sky than she was – but at the same time, with this statue guy still on the ground and this overall just bad feeling she had, she really didn’t want to do that.

Choice made, Grigio jumps into the sky, gripping her bow ever so slightly tighter. In the small amount of time that she’d stayed on her ground, her brothers had already begun to fight Drabestia. She found them just in time to see Blu counter the dragon’s flame breath with a jet of water. Taking a deep breath, she aimed her bow, preparing an arrow in her hand. Just aim at the dragon and fire, it should be easy.

Unfortunately for her, by the time she’d created the arrow, the dragon had spun itself around, using its tail to knock Rosso and Blu away from it. Then, wrapping its wings in slightly, it changed from simply staying in one place to flying away, closer to her. That… wasn’t good. Bows get a bit less effective the closer your target gets, but she was so close to firing.

The arrow still flew out of her hands, the bow launching it towards Drabestia. It landed on the front shoulder of one of the legs, but seemed to do little. As a matter of fact, Drabestia didn’t even seem to notice that it had just been shot by an arrow. It just continued flying toward her.

Shit. See, this is the sort of situation that tended to slip her up while flying. In theory, she knows all she has to do is move out of the way, but for some reason, it seems all the harder when she doesn’t have some sort of grounding. Still, she does her best to move, barely dodging Drabestia’s open jaw – filled with sharp teeth – and claws – equally as sharp as the teeth.

Though Drabestia flew past her, it was quick to make adjustments to its flight path, coming right back up towards Grigio. At this point, though, Rosso and Blu had wasted no time in joining her, pushing her behind them. There’s a twinge of annoyance at how her brothers did that, but she chose to ignore it, for now. There were more important things to worry about.

Blu flies forward, punching the dragon in its side. In retaliation, the monster turns itself and claws at him, managing to get a few slashes in before Rosso kicks him away. The two continued to fight the monster while Grigio took a moment to collect herself. Flight or not, now was not the time to get flustered, she had to stay focused. She attempts to shoot another arrow, but Drabestia and her brothers are moving around too much and she didn’t want to risk shooting Rosso or Blu.

With a groan, she abandoned her bow, instead choosing to summon her sword. It really wasn’t her preferred method, but it would have to do. She thought for a moment, while she had the time, about summoning one of her Kaijus. Most couldn’t fly, but she had Bemstar and Litra, which both could. They could prove to be helpful… But her brothers weren’t used to fighting with them, she was worried that might cause some confusion. She shook her head, deciding that for now, at least, it was best she didn’t, as much as she might have wanted to.

She dodges out of the way of some errant flames from Drabestia and returned her attention to the fight. Rosso and Blu both kicked Drabestia, causing the dragon to get pushed into some clouds. There was a pause, everyone waiting for the beast to emerge. Nothing. No roar, no wing flaps.

Nothing.

Blu scratched the top of his head, “Did we beat it?”

Somehow, Grigio didn’t really buy that. She looked around, realizing that the bank of clouds Drabestia had been knocked into was a lot bigger than she initially thought. Really, it could be anywhere in there.

“I don’t think so…” Rosso responded, also looking around for the monster, “It must be hiding in the clouds.”

“Wouldn’t we notice it?”

Grigio sees something, movement, in the clouds. It’s off to the side, just out of her brothers’ view. But she was farther away, she had a bigger view, she could see what they couldn’t. Springing into motion, she called to her brothers and thrusted her sword out, hoping she correctly figured out where the monster would be. She can feel that she made contact with something, and that something was moving, not really stopped by her attack.

Drabestia roars, veering off course and ends up flying right past her brothers. It heads towards the ground, for one reason or another. The three of them follow, Rosso and Blu arrive first since they were closer, though their Color Timers began to flash when they neared the ground. They took attacks from the monster, so they unsurprisingly had less time left than Grigio. Drabestia is now at the feet of the statue, an annoyed look on its face. One wing is folded in, but the other is held out, like the way one might hold out a particularly offending item.

It’s clear, now, why it had to land. There’s a rather large gash in the wing, which clearly made flight hard, if not impossible. Grigio must have made it with her sword when she stabbed at Drabestia.

The statue took a moment to examine the damage done to Drabestia, “They damaged your wing?” It inquired, “Hmm… I see.”

Blu glanced at Rosso and the two nod. Quickly, they send out a beam attack at Drabestia, most likely hoping to finish it now that it had been forced to the ground. In a movement far too fast for what the statue appeared to be, it drew its weapon and destroyed the attacks in one movement. Now, in the statue’s hand, it was clear that it wielded a staff of sorts, though it too was covered in moss.

“It is clear to me what must occur now,” The statue mused, though its tone still seemed to hold no emotion, “It is time to do what we did when we first awoke on this planet.”

With what might have been a grand sweep of its hands, were the movement not so stiff, the statue declared, “The inhabitants of this Earth shall fight to decide who shall live. And this time,” There seemed to be a pointed sort of look, though it was unclear who it was aimed at, “We shall not let a ‘compromise’ come to pass.”

There’s some sort of flash, it’s not clear what exactly happened, and the two are gone. “What?” Blu startled, “Where’d they go?”

But Grigio couldn’t help but echo the statue’s words, “A compromise?” Whatever could that mean? And what did it mean when it said that the inhabitants would have to fight to decide who would live? And what was that about that happening when they first woke up?

If Grigio recalled correctly, Kaijus had always been on Earth, but around a few hundred years ago, they woke up, resulting in the way Earth was now. That was what was known as “The Awakening”. But there was something else, wasn’t there? Something she’d read about in one of Tomomi’s books and meant to ask him about but never did. But just what was it? She couldn’t precisely recall, it had been months ago, after all.

Rosso sighed, seemingly unaware of Grigio’s ponderings, “Let’s just… Go back to that base, yeah?” He stretched slightly, “We’ll figure out what to do from there.” He has the right idea, really, there’s not much to be gained from sticking around, especially with Rosso and Blu’s timers flashing.

Blu and Grigio nod and the three siblings return to their human selves.

---

“So, do we even know what that guy was talking about?” Isami inquired, watching idly as footage of the conversation with the statue and the fight with Drabestia played on screen. “That statue guy, I mean,” He clarified, though it was likely everyone knew what he meant.

Katsumi watched the screen for a moment, before saying, “They said something about doing what they did when they first woke up?” He tilted his head, “That they’d make everyone on Earth fight each other to decide who’d live and that they wouldn’t allow for a ‘compromise’ like before.”

“We heard,” Fuyuko frowned, crossing her arms, “As a matter of fact, it seems like nearly everyone in the country did, if not the entire world.”

“It does kinda pertain to them,” Rin notes with a tug of their scarf and a neutral tone, “Although I’m more curious about the implication this has all happened before.”

It’s then Tomomi speaks up, walking over with a book. Asahi thinks she recognizes it as one of the books in his apartment, but she’d not entirely sure. “It’s not so much an implication as a fact,” He says, opening the book to a page with a scrap of paper between the pages. “It was an event known as ‘The Terrible Fights’. A couple decades after The Awakening, when Kaijus awoke on this planet, there were many reported instances of Kaijus suddenly attacking humans and human settlements, as well as humans suddenly trying to attack the monsters.”

“They didn’t always do that here?” Inquired Isami, a certain light of curiosity in his eyes.

Tomomi shook his head, “No, when they first appeared, they were peaceful, much like they are now. At that time, though, no one had ever really heard of a Kaiju attack. So the suddenness of them all starting to occur caused quite the commotion, on top of the attacks themselves.” He flips the page of the books, “While it’s rather recent history, a lot of the details aren’t entirely clear. No one ever learned why the attacks started happening. But we do know how things came to be like they are today, to some extent, at least. Those involved in the matter didn’t really give a lot of specifics.”

“What happened?” Asahi prompted.

“A group of humans came together and somehow managed to speak with the monsters to calm them down.” He explained, adjusting his glasses with his free hand, “Like I said, we don’t really know the details and those humans should be long gone…”

“I feel like there’s going to be a but in there.” Jun noted in a sour tone, arms crossed.

After seemingly debating with himself for a moment, Tomomi tentatively spoke, “Well, there’s something of a rumor… Or something like that. Anyway, some people think that one of those humans wasn’t actually human, that they were an Alien and that’s how they were able to communicate with the monster.” Quickly, he added, “Although, that’s just a rumor and there really isn’t any evidence to support it.”

There’s silence, “So what you’re getting at,” Asahi began, “Is that these monsters might be the cause of The Terrible Fights before and are trying to start them again?”

“Yeah,” Tomomi nods, closing the book, “Or something like that.”

It would certainly make sense, at least given what the statue had said. Not that knowing that did them a lot of good, all it gave them was an idea of what the statue was planning. Regardless, they needed a bit more to go off of if they were going to try to do anything other than to wait for the statue and Drabestia to show up again.

Fuyuko stands, “Well, now all we have to do is figure out what to do next,” She seems contemplative, drumming her fingers on her desk, “We don’t have a lot to work with, which makes it hard to determine a course of action.”

Though he may have been quiet the entire time Tomomi was relaying information, Matsuoka chose now to speak up, “While there isn’t much we can do,” He said, nodding slightly, “I believe there are a few things we’ll need to do. One, we’ll need to look into the connection between those two monsters and The Terrible Fights. Two, we’ll need to look into the possibility that one of those humans wasn’t actually and may still be alive. Three, we mustn’t forget what brought Asahi and her brothers here, even if they are able to help us with these two Kaijus.”

“In that regard,” Isami begins, “There isn’t much we can do until Kenshin shows himself, we have very little idea what his plan is.”

Asahi pipes in, “Yeah, all we really know is that he wants revenge on at least Rosso and Blu, if not Grigio as well.”

That statement sits there for a moment, before Tomomi sighs, “We’ll need to do something about those two monsters before they can actually cause damage. Directly or indirectly,” He glances out the window, “But if monsters start rampaging, we’re not going to be able to stop them all at once, even with the help of Ultras.”

“So then,” Rin said, their expression a bit more serious, “We can’t waste time in trying to stop them.”

Tomomi nods and Matsuoka begins to speak again, “I think we’ve figured out enough of a course of action, then. Tomomi, you’ll look into the two monsters’ involvement in the past,” He looked at Katsumi, Isami, and Asahi, “I’d like you three to look into this possible Alien, since you’re not known as a member of KPaRS, other Aliens may be more willing to talk to you. Fuyuko, keep an eye on the going ons in the city, we need to be able to know if humans begin to become agitated. Hisoka will be keeping an eye on known Kaiju, Rin and Jun will stay here in case there’s a Kaiju attack. Chikako and Katsuhito, along with the rest of their team, will be on standby for any needed emergency repairs.”

Everyone nods and sets about to do their job. Tomomi left the room to do his research and Fuyuko also left, though for different reasons. Asahi smiles and calls for her brothers to follow as she begins to leave the room. The best place to look for Aliens is among Aliens. There’s a few places in the city that are essentially Alien neighborhoods, those would probably be the best place to start. She relays such to her brothers, glad to be able to do something with them to help.

They were out and about the city, now, a bit outside of the first of the neighborhoods. If they were lucky, they might find some lead or another, though it was pretty unlikely on the first try. “Well, it’s great you have an idea where to start looking, Asahi,” Isami began, tentatively.

“You didn’t get too hurt during that fight, right?” Katsumi finished, “If you did it’s fine to stay behind…”

Asahi stops in her tracks, turning to look at her brothers, her lips arching ever so slightly into just the smallest form of a frown. “I’m fine.” She said, “You two are the ones who were actually getting hit.”

It hadn’t avoided her notice how quickly they’re Color Timers had began to flash when fighting Drabestia, at least compared to hers. Nor had she missed how they seemed to be a bit sore – and she imagined were it not for their sleeves and shirts, she’d be able to see plenty of bruises. She could actually see a few on Isami, as his shirt had a bit lower neck than Katsumi’s button up. She understood their concern, but as far as she could tell, they should be more concerned about each other, or her about them.

“We’re fine, a little sore but we’ve had worse.” Katsumi responded, though she knew he was fudging the truth. Yes, they had been through worse, but they were certainly more than “a little sore”. They were trying to make themselves seem better off than they were.

With just a slightly irritated sigh, Asahi fought to keep her ever so small frown from growing any bigger. “Sure, a little sore. But you don’t need to worry about me too much, I’ve fought monsters on my own before, or with my Kaijus, I can take a few hits, if I have to.” She didn’t miss how both Katsumi’s and Isami’s lips formed into a frown. “I’m an Ultra too, after all. You don’t always have to worry about me.”

“Well, I mean, yeah, but…” Isami had a bit of a habit of stumbling his words a little when he was getting a bit worked up. It usually happened when he and Katsumi got into a disagreement about how to do something. That made it odd to hear directed at Asahi. “You’re our younger sister, of course we’re going to worry.”

Deep breathes, Asahi had to remind herself, they’re allowed to worry. Though their worry wasn’t really what she had a problem with. What often happened was that they wouldn’t let her help much, because they were so worried about her getting hurt. But she was just as capable as them, just in different ways. Not to mention she had her Kaijus. She just had to figure out how to explain that to them, which was always harder than knowing what she the point she wanted to get across was.

“That’s fine,” She said, steeling herself, “But please, let me help. With these two monsters, with Kenshin. I’ve protected this Earth before so let me do it again. I know you worry but that doesn’t mean you can try to keep me from helping.”

Katsumi tilted his head, “Asahi, fights are dangerous and you don’t have a lot of skills that are good for actual fights.” Asahi’s expression most certainly held a not so small frown, now. “I know you’ve protected this planet before, but maybe you should just leave it to us, this time.”

“Yet you let me help so we can become Grube?” She asked, clenching her fists. “You let me help when the two of you are still doing most of the work.”

Katsumi reached a hand out as Isami tried to begin, “That’s not-“

With a groan, Asahi cut him off, “That’s not how it is? Sure it’s not.” She turned around, knowing this wasn’t a conversation she was going to be able to continue. It seemed like her brothers weren’t moving on the matter. “How about we stop wasting time? You two want me to stay safe? You can go and ask around.”

There’s silence for a moment, she thinks she can hear Isami begin to speak again, only for Katsumi to whisper something to him. They whisper back and forth for a bit, before she hears their footsteps going away from her. At least some work would be gotten done.

Asahi plopped down on a bench and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

“Are you, uh… Are you alright?” A voice asks, sounding like it belongs to a child. Opening her eyes, Asahi is greeted with a young, but concerned face. It belonged to a  girl, probably no older than twelve – Asahi was still bad at guessing children’s ages – with brown hair held in pigtails, glasses over her dark brown eyes. She wore a button up shirt with a little bow around her neck and a red hoodie, with a pattern on the hood – the same pattern seemed to be present on her skirt as well. “You, uh, well, I couldn’t help but notice, that you, uh, had a bit of an argument there.”

The girl sat next to her on the bench, peering at her. The girl examined her, waiting patiently for her to respond. Asahi took a moment to think. She didn’t know this girl, but she felt as though she needed someone to talk to right now. It wasn’t like she hadn’t spoke to people she didn’t know when things were bugging her before. A stranger showing concern wasn’t necessarily trustworthy, but not knowing them didn’t make them untrustworthy, even if it was hard to tell.

After that moment of thought, Asahi sighed, “My brothers and I had a bit of an argument, that’s all.”

Beside her, the girl frowned, “I see… I don’t know much about siblings, I don’t have any of my own… But I have some friends who are siblings… They argue sometimes too…” The frown deepens, “I’m sorry. I’m trying to be helpful, but I’m afraid emotions like this aren’t exactly my strong suit. I’m more of a science kind of girl, rather than feelings.”

“Oh! Don’t worry about it!” Asahi waved her hands, “You don’t have to worry about me. Arguments are normal and my problems aren’t a big deal for you.”

The girl takes a moment to think about Asahi’s words. She looks around, as if in thought, “I see… Oh, um… You can call me Starry,” She said, looking over again, “And I have to ask, what brings you around here? This isn’t exactly a place that humans tend to be. Unless you’re not human…?”

It takes Asahi a moment to process Starry’s words. Frankly, she hadn’t really thought about anyone questioning why she was here, really, she just figured everyone would either keep to themselves or assume she was an Alien. With a name like Starry, she could assume that this girl was an Alien herself – it would certainly explain her presence here. But Asahi still had to figure out what exactly to tell Starry. Or maybe she could just be honest, or something.

“My brothers and I, we’re looking into some rumors about stuff that happened at the end of The Terrible Fights,” The truth it is, it seemed. “So we thought this would be a good place to, well, ask around.”

Starry is contemplative, for a moment, tilting her head as she hummed in thought. “I see,” She muttered, then her eyes brightened, ever so slightly, as a smile formed on her face, “I’ve also been doing a bit of research into The Terrible Fights. Perhaps I can help you?”

That was… a surprise. “Oh, well, uh, I don’t know…” Words stumbled out of Asahi’s mouth at the unexpected offer. “I, uh, I suppose? We’re trying to figure out how exactly the humans and monsters were able to reach a peace.”

“Well, while I don’t know that, I think I can point you in the direction of someone who might,” With cheer, Starry supplied her information, “You see, I happen to know of the existence of an Alien who lives in a town not too far from here. He lived through The Terrible Fights, from what I’ve heard. Maybe he can help you?”

Asahi contemplated Starry’s words, it was curious that she knew this and Asahi wondered how. Still, she found herself replying, “It might,” Starry beams, seeming inordinately happy at providing such a small amount of information. Asahi continues, “I guess we’d have to look into it.”

“Happy to help!” Starry chirps, then pulls a cellphone out of her pocket. The screen lights up and she frowns, “Ah, sorry, I have to go. My friends will worry if I don’t get back soon.”

Standing up, she runs off with little else said, leaving Asahi to watch her leave. Asahi can’t help but wonder how accurate the information she’d been given was. It came from a child, after all, though that has never really mattered before. She figured she wait and see if her brothers found anything, then she could relay the information to them.

With a sigh, she tilts her head back again. Now she just had to wait, hoping that they’d be able to find a way to deal with everything. Then there was Kenshin – who knows what he’ll try to do. If they’re lucky, it’ll wait until these two monsters were dealt with.

[alphacenturian4]

Catholics destroying Statues: Hypocrites or Theological Sound Activist                         Or On Christian Freedom, the Liberation from Cultural Taboos, and The Unrightful Judge

                                  By: Ramon Aguilar IV

           So, on Oct 4th, Pope Francis witnessed an indigenous performance at a tree planting ceremony in the Vatican gardens. The presentation was performed by Amazonian people holding hands and dancing in a circle around a wooden statue of a nude pregnant indigenous woman, said to represent the Virgin Mary. Participants sang in honor of the Feast of St. Francis and danced in manner similar to traditional South American Mother Earth festival rites. Pope Francis remained seated in a chair away from the ceremony bored, not amused, and not paying attention throughout most of the performance. The ceremony included bowls that held dirt from different places around the world, representing different ecological issues. The people set up a net on the ground that held pictures of martyrs for Catholicism and Christianity in the Amazon, mostly women and priests who have died to bring the faith to an otherwise polytheistic nature worshiping culture. Most scandalous was what appeared to be an old wise woman, which is coded language for medicine woman or witch, who approached the pope and presented him with a black ring, and seemed to gesture her own blessing. The black ring is a popular symbol in Brazil and Latin America of Liberation Theology, a movement that tried to marry Catholicism to Socialism. A movement many, North American & US, Catholics consider heretical.

The event was organized by outside parties including the Ford Group. The woman referred to the statue as "Our Lady of the Amazon." And the Pope seemed to bless it. The Pope then prayed an Our Father, and skipped his prepared remarks like any good politician would do when he realized a photo op went sideways. Then he left the performance without comment after the tree was planted.

           The bigger scandal is how Catholics then acted following this event, especially American and Canadian based youtubers and twitter users who claim to be Catholic. At first sounding like Savonarola at the Bonfire of the vanities, and then like fundamental Protestants railing against idols in the Church, and then finally like Muslim fundamentalist screaming for their religion, here Catholicism, to be the Prime religion of the world and calling for an end to religious freedom. The reaction made us look worse than the event which was already egg in the face for a church that has been rocked by one too many scandals in recent years, including unforced controversies concerning backlash from Ultra-Traditionist Catholics, people who literally want to bring Latin back into vogue, against Pope Francis whom they see as too liberal.

           Now, after watching the ceremony a few times and doing some research I’ve come to some conclusions. First, the supposed pagan ritual doesn’t seem to be one. I’ve done a fair bit of study on Pagan and Neo-Pagan rite and rituals and that was not one. Though it did seem to be stealing back or appropriating elements of native Amazonian rituals. Which is something the Church does allow, as some tribal African Catholic Churches do have dancing and rhythmic chants as elements in their celebration of Mass. And this is something I am familiar with as a Hispanic and someone of Native American decent. As we allow Mariachis, clapping, and hand holding at Spanish Mass. In fact, this performance looks very reminiscent of folklórico dances that might be performed around a religious theme such as the Virgin Mary whom is very popular among Hispanic and Latin American Catholics. While some might smear this as Folk Catholicism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church does give license for the Church to incorporate the customs of the cultures it assimilates.

           But there is one other aspect to this event that I am leaving out, that is the conspiratorial accusation that these statues were not of the Virgin Mary as Vatican official claim, nor even of a generic non-divine “mother earth” as some liberal apologist defend, but were actual pagan idols of the goddess Pachamama of the Andes Mountains and Incan civilizations; which would be odd but not impossible for Amazonians who have their own pantheon to be worshiping. Let alone self-professed Catholics, including a Franciscan brother, who would know better. And if it was a pagan rite dedicated to Pachamma it was done horrible incorrectly as her religion still exists and videos of her ceremonies can be watched on YouTube dating back to 2011. Her rites use a collection of fallen leaves, sacred fire, and a collection of stones. None of which was part of the performance at the Vatican.  

           Regardless of the legitimacy of the accusation, this led to some supposed Catholics, and two men in particular, to enter the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina on Oct 21st, and steal the wooden figurines and then throw them into the Tiber River to “destroy’ them. Showing us Catholics to be reactionary, impatient, and petulant; if not simply short sighted to the precedent we are now establishing of it being acceptable for people to enter a Catholic Church and remove items that offend them by the example we are showing to the world who is watching. As the video of this crime (trespassing, theft, and destruction of Church property) has 60,244 views as of this writing.

           But my opinion aside, I decided to see what the bible, and what more specifically St Paul, had to say on this issue. So, I looked at what to me were the most relevant passages. Those being in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, chapter 5, & chapter 6. I have read these epistles many times over the years, and every time I do I find them eye opening, this time was no different as it changed my position and stance on this topic.

To understand this following interpretation of Paul’s writings we must remember that we are interpreting the bible spiritually, allegorically, morally, and analogically. Not strictly literal or historical, but instead metaphysical and theological, and for me personally with a philosophical lens. Now let’s continue.

So, let’s start off by looking at the performance and the gifting of the ring, and let’s say for arguments sake that it was a pagan ritual performed within the Vatican garden. What then?

1 Corinthians 10 verses 6-15 says this: “These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. And do not become idolaters, as some of them did, as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel." Let us not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell within a single day. Let us not test Christ as some of them did, and suffered death by serpents. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, avoid idolatry. I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying.”

These verses serve as a warning that we are not above temptation and that we too can fall if we are unwise and not carful. But it also shows that all worship is sacramental; even false worship. St Paul also confirm the point, that an idol is nothing, as we can see more clearly in the verse that follow.

For then at verses 19-22 the theme continues with: “So, what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I mean that what they sacrifice, (they sacrifice) to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger? Are we stronger than he?”

This passage makes several strong but quick and glossy statements. It reaffirms that God created everything, thus everything is clean, only sin perverts it. It is only the offending of sensibilities and the confusion it can and does cause that is the problem. For a person can no more change God than move a mountain with our bare hands or change the direction of a hurricane with the wave of a finger. And while we do have rights as humans which were endowed by our Creator these inalienable rights ought not to alienate us from the other. This is a caution against over confidence.

But I will take umbrage with a plan and simple reading here. For then we get to the mystical and metaphysical concept of demons. But I will take a conceit from Saint Augustine and assume that idols being of demons, or a gate way to them, has more to it than just the literal meaning. I think here the word, or threat of, demons seems to be a warning to the bronze age audience against the nondivine realities of sin, that there are temporal corporeal consequences and not just the moral, ethical, or metaphysical consequences we think of and seem to concentrate on as spiritual and religious people. So, the principle Paul sets up here is that you, that is we, must operate in regard to others, we must avoid what might cause scandal and confusion to others who do not know what we know and who do not understand what we understand and instead we ought to prefer what is beneficial and edifying to that which we may find tolerable, enticing, or entertaining. In that way we seek the good and wellbeing of the other person and not just the good of ourselves.

Through this we can acknowledge that idols of any kind are at best neutral representations, at worse a temptation to error for the uninformed, ignorant, unenlightened and fools among us. The strong should consider the weak. For, if idols can provoke God to wrath and passion; how can we mere mortals claim to be immune to their effects or presence. But the problem here becomes what we define as an Idol. As Catholic Churches are full of statues of the Virgin Mary and many other saints and even of art that contains devils, demons, and even Satan (even if they are of those evil spirits being cast out, defeated by our saints and angles). And again, I will steal from St Augustine and other Church fathers. Evil desire is the root of idolatry, not man-made things (that is the work of human hands). For the goal of a good Christian and well catechized Catholic is always to maintain koinonia that is “fellowship” and that fellowship, or unity, is more important than expressing already attained liberty. It also shows that God always provides a way to reject polytheistic rituals. For me, this was done, at the situation we look at today. When the pope said the “Our Father’ instead of his prepared statement.

           But this passage also looks at the other side of the coin on this issue.

For at verses 23-33 we read “"Everything is lawful," but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is lawful," but not everything builds up. No one should seek his own advantage, but that of his neighbor. Eat anything sold in the market, without raising questions on grounds of conscience, for "the earth and its fullness are the Lord's." If an unbeliever invites you and you want to go, eat whatever is placed before you, without raising questions on grounds of conscience. But if someone says to you, "This was offered in sacrifice," do not eat it on account of the one who called attention to it and on account of conscience; I mean not your own conscience, but the other's. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake thankfully, why am I reviled for that over which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Avoid giving offense, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

Here we get to the nitty gritty of the issue. Liberty is not an end in itself, but a condition that must be maintained against the condition of slavery. St Paul and indeed the Bible itself calls on us to be faithful in difficult times; especially after being liberated from superstition and irrationality. Which for St Paul, superstition and irrationality, are a type of slavery to sin. On the other hand, he also acknowledges that narrowminded scruples are shackles for those who internalize others’ weaknesses, that internalizing of another’s folly is in itself an inclination to the temptation to sin. And here I agree with St Paul whole heartedly, as I think this applies to the situation both during and surrounding the ceremonial performance, its objects, and the gifts given to the Pope by its participants. But some might say that allowing such things is a violation of old testament law and precepts. And I, and St Paul would retort, but there is only one “Law” for Christians, that is Christ, that is the law of Pure True Love.

And here is where the Ultra-Traditionalist and Conservative Catholics get all relied up and call me a liberal. But St. Paul wrote a letter to respond to this inclination for outrage and indignation as well.

In 1 Corinthians 5 at verses 9-13, he writes: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people, not at all referring to the immoral of this world or the greedy and robbers or idolaters; for you would then have to leave the world. But I now write to you not to associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber, not even to eat with such a person. For why should I be judging outsiders? Is it not your business to judge those within? God will judge those outside. [Therefore] "Purge the evil person from your midst."

Here we get the command not sit with the immoral people within the church, that is fellow Christians who are immoral, that does not mean that you must remove yourself from the world that you live in. For: nonbelievers are not expected to be saints; non-Catholics are not expected to live by Catholic Dogma; and non-Christians are not expected to behave as Christians. In fact, Christians have an obligation to reach out, interact with, and be an example of a good person to a nonbeliever.

I would think that it could go without saying that this principle should also apply to the newly converted as they transition from pagan-heathen-polytheism, to Christian-Catholicism, for as that happens and the synthesis that has occurred with all other Christian communities occurs for them, we must tolerate the folk Catholicism that arises at the fringes of conversion as our expands in region or communities that do not understand our sensibilities and when they get it wrong this is our opportunity gently correct and instruct with temperance and patients. This how Christmas gets placed on the 25th of December, the date of the winter a solstice a holiday dating back long before the advent of Christianity, and this is how Halloween gets placed on Samhain.

As someone who likes a Christmas-trees on Christmas, I have no problem that they have their origin tied in with Zeus’s Oak or Thor’s Tree, and I don’t have a problem having All Souls day take on some pre-Christian Gaelic influence and traditions.

           As for the rest, as it relates to pagans, heathen, polytheist, and nonbelievers. It is the baptized Christian who should refrain from the scandalous sins inherent of mortal human nature. Scandal being the key word here. For it is impossible to avoid contact with sinners and thus avoidance of sinners should not be a goal nor should contact with sinners be feared by rightly formed Christians. But instead the goal should be to maintain inner purity within the Christian community. This is a warning against the perception of impiety, from the outside looking in, a warning not to look as if you are condoning sin.

           And it is here that my view on the actions taken by those two Catholics who stole and threw out those figurines changed slightly. While I do not agree with the fanfare and celebration by other Catholics at this action, for that in itself is scandalous and looks unchristian, the act of removing a temptation to sin from within a church, even if you know it is not a temptation for you, when others do not understand its nature and could be scandalized by it, as many many Catholics clearly were. Then yes getting rid of those two images, regardless of rather they were representation of the Virgin Mary that many Catholics found offensive because it went against their sensibilities or if they were actual idols of some mythical and very frictional mother goddess then yes they should have been removed from within the physical Church.

           But, what about the people who participated in the ceremony and performance at the Vatican garden, well St Paul writes in this too. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 6 at verses 7-12

“Now indeed (then) it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor . . . prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves [baptized], you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. "Everything is lawful for me," but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is lawful for me," but I will not let myself be dominated by anything.”

This is a warning that teaches that the love of litigation is the love of greed, while love of persecution is the love of arrogance and self-pride. This teaches that litigation and persecution of a fellow Christian are forms of retaliation not justice. Instead, Christians should possess generosity, mercy, and forgiveness toward the sinner and toward themselves. Turn the other check, after all. For it is faith and grace that saves us from the very worst of our own sins. While, self-persecution and the persecution of fellow Christians is something that St. Paul was indignant against and was loath to do. Better to be wronged or sinned against, than to do the wrong and sin against another.

[mintchocolateleaves]

A/N: Am I coming back as meme trash with some crack based on this video? Yes. But I’m not alone! @detectivegeekshin created art for this too, so it’s alright! Does this mean we’re now the memers of this fandom?

It’s a zombie AU. Please enjoy it. xD

-

The streetlight is flickering.

Perhaps not the worst thing about this night, since they’ve already been chased halfway across Ekoda by half-alive humans. Shinichi hates the idea of calling them zombies, it seems too cliché. Why would he believe that the zombie apocalypse has finally occurred–

It’s probably best not to think about it. Shinichi just needs to keep moving, head towards the checkpoint that had been mentioned in the emergency broadcasts around the district.

“We’re almost there,” he says, finally, glancing between the three who’re part of their group. Hattori, having fought ‘zombies’ before when they’d been on a case together, seems slightly terrified, as if remembering how he’d ‘chopped’ someone’s head off.

Kuroba had started off worried, but somehow, along their travels towards the checkpoints, he’d gone from worried to exasperated. Then, to amused. Humour has started to tinge his eyes, almost as if he’s finding the entire thing amusing. On the other side of Shinichi, Hakuba looks like he’s one second away from a mental breakdown.

Shinichi lets out a small sigh as they turn to look at him. “We’re almost at that military checkpoint. Just a few more miles, a little further.”

The boys nod.

“Maybe we could hotwire a car or something,” Kuroba suggests, pointing towards one of the cars at the end of the street. The door has been left open, and so it doesn’t seem like getting nearer will set off any alarms. “You can drive, can’t you Kudo?”

Shinichi hums, acknowledging. He says, “I don’t have a license, but I know how.”

Hakuba flashes him a look that says this is outrageous. He must remember the fact that a withering, old age pensioner has recently tried to take a bite out of his arm though, since the look slowly fizzles away and is replaced with horror.

“We could perhaps overlook the lack of a license.” The blonde mutters, concluding that they have more important details to look into.

“Carjacking with a bunch of detectives during the apocalypse,” Kuroba mutters, shaking his head. “What kind of hell is this?”

Shinichi decides not to answer. Instead, he throws himself into a slow jog, making their way towards the car.

The… zombie… pulls itself up from the car bonnet when they’re a few yards away. Long, slick hair frames a face without any expression. The strands are silver, and Shinichi feels a bristle of terror run down his spine as he realises that the man is all too familiar.

“Not this fucking guy again,” Hattori growls, as they come to a stop. They’re a few feet away, and Shinichi takes the time to look at the man who ruined his life years before. He’d poisoned him once, and if Kuroba is right about the whole zombies thing, then the man can easily poison him again.

“We should kill it,” Kuroba suggests, shrugging his shoulders. “Do either of you guys have a weapon or something?”

“We can’t go round killing people Kuroba,” Shinichi protests, “that makes us no better than him.”

“I’m sorry,” the magician snarls, “but it’s a fucking zombie. Can’t we just stab him a little, so he’s doesn’t go around eating our eyeballs like it’s fucking takoyaki?”

“Shut up,” Hakuba hisses, “you’re not helping.”

The zombie lets out a snarl. Animalistic and feral, it makes each of them jump. Hattori squints, takes a second to break from the group, stepping towards the zombie.

Now that Shinichi looks closer, he can see that flakes of blood have dried beneath the zombie’s fingernails. The trench coat and the shirt the zombie wears beneath him is stained red. It’s all together, a chilling experience.

Hattori seems to ignore the fact that this is chilling, because he raises his arms up, and makes a noise that sounds like a mix between a strangled cat, and a lion’s roar.

At the confused squeak Hakuba makes, the Osakan turns back. He raises his shoulders into a shrug and turns back to the zombie. Then, he says, “Listen. It seems pretty animal like, ya know? So, how do ya deal with animals, ya prove to them you’re a bigger threat, right?”

“Hattori,” Hakuba breathes, and Shinichi turns just in time to watch his composure crack. Gone is the detective Shinichi met at a gathering on a private island, now, he’s face to face with the teenager Hakuba really is. “That’s what you do with things like bears. This is a fucking zombie, you imbecile.”

Hattori shrugs. Repeats what is meant to be a roar as he tries to intimidate the zombie. The zombie repeats the roar, tries to be act equally as intimidating.

Shinichi’s not going to lie, he’s quite intimidated.

“Hey,” Hattori turns back again, takes a step back almost intuitively as the zombie shuffles closer. “I think it’s mimicking me.”

“Hattori, quit messing around.”

The Osakan does not in fact, stop messing around. For a moment, he stills. Then – he starts to perk up as he glances at the shirt that is beneath the zombie’s trench coat.

Shinichi isn’t sure whether it is hysteria or disgust that rises up his throat. Either way, he is looking at an old t-shirt, frayed and covered in blood, with the face of Britney Spears on it.

“I have an idea,” Hattori says, and before Shinichi can ask what it is, he begins to croon Britney Spears, singing along to the tempo.

‘Oh baby, baby – how was I supposed to know?’

Hakuba’s lips purse. Kuroba squints, shaking his head as he looks at the scene. For a moment, there is no possible thought that Shinichi could think that would make sense of this.

‘That something wasn’t right here–’

“Hattori,” Shinichi breathes, “what are you doing?”

Beside him, Hakuba mumbles a quiet, ‘what?’ His eyebrows raised as he tries to fully understand what’s going on.

‘Oh baby, baby – I shouldn’t have let you go..’

Hattori lifts his hand up, as if to reassure them that everything is totally fine, and that he’s in control of the entire situation. Despite this, Shinichi doesn’t feel very reassured. The zombie, at least, hasn’t ripped them to pieces yet.

‘And now you’re out of sight, yeah.’

For a moment, it’s just Hattori singing. Then, the zombie starts to bounce its head, echoing the lyrics back in a croaky, almost demon-like voice. Perhaps the discovery of knowing that zombies can sing should have gone unknown. Shinichi doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to properly process the knowledge.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Kuroba shrug his shoulders, mutter ‘fuck it’ and take a step forward.

‘Show me,’ a chorus of two humans and a zombie echoes in the empty street, a croon of Britney Spears, ‘how you want it to be–’

Everyone has clearly gone insane. The apocalypse is here, and everyone is losing their mind, obviously. Because there’s no way that…

“What are you doing?” Shinichi hisses, only to receive a listless shrug from Kuroba. The thief even seems to be bouncing on his toes a bit, small dance moves as they continue to sing.

It’s completely outrageous.

‘Tell me baby, cause I need to know right now, because–’

The three seem to be so involved in the song that they don’t notice Shinichi as he turns to Hakuba, raising a hand and throwing it up, a silent question. Hakuba responds with a frown that seems to say that he doesn’t have a clue either.

‘My loneliness, is killing me.’

Kuroba breaks off, quite invested in the song and adds, “and I–”

‘I must confess, I still believe–”

“Okay,” Hakuba says, raising a hand up, as if trying to force the words out. He turns to Shinichi, makes eye contact for a few seconds before turning back to the two men and the zombie. “Did Kuroba drug my water again, or are they really singing Britney Spears with a zombie?”

Shinichi has no words. He simply shrugs his shoulders and tries to process what’s going on. He’s pretty sure, that he’s gaping – especially since both Hattori and Kuroba seem so intensely into their song, their arms jerking in some resemblance of a dance.

‘When I’m not with you, I lose my mind. Give me a sign–”

Hattori claps his hands along to the rhythm, tapping his foot. Since the zombie seems invested enough to sing the song, it almost seems like it would be unwise to interrupt.

So, Shinichi stays quiet.

‘Hit me–’

Even if his friends are fucking idiots.

‘Baby one more–’

The zombie crumples to the floor before they can finish the song. The air cracks with the loud burst of gunfire, a bullet penetrating through the skull. Blood does not spurt out, simply dribbles.

Not that they should have been expecting something different. It seems that the zombie doesn’t have a heartbeat, making bleeding unlikely. As long as it doesn’t fall face first, the blood will remain inside the body, keeping the virus contained.

Hattori and Kuroba both let out something not unlike screams. It catches in their throat, and maybe later, when they are telling the story to their respected girlfriends, they will leave this part out, but for now, the sound that emits from their mouths is nothing short of shrill.

Shinichi lets out a small sound too, an exhale of air that is mostly from adrenaline but also from shock. He zips around, just in time to hear Hakuba swear under his breath, staring across to where the sound has come from.

Sat on a motorbike, with a gun raised, a boy watches the four of them. He lowers the gun, clicks on the safety and then, very slowly, lifts up his visor.

Shinichi lets out a small breath. He knows those eyes, that androgynous figure. Not a boy then, but rather, a girl.

Masumi Sera.

[starkcontrasts]

Or basically a quickwrite i did in response to that scene in AoU after they’ve just been attacked and they find out Ultron destroyed JARVIS

Includes: Tony-whump and reader insert(but not in the romantic sense) bc I’m a mess and this shiz was unplanned and is somehow an even bigger mess than the actual author

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

You can see the pieces falling into place. Only, they’re falling all wrong. This wasn’t how any of it was supposed to happen.

Before you can react- before you can even think- Thor’s striding forward, one hand around Tony’s neck. You push off the table in response, opening your mouth to tell everyone to calm down. Steve talks over you but Tony’s feet are on the ground now and the air comes into your lungs a little easier. It had felt like you were being choked alongside him.

The conversation continues around you but you make your way towards Tony and Bruce. You hesitate to touch him because something’s definitely up and suddenly Helen’s asking questions at the worst possible time and there’s Tony’s “why can’t you people understand” laughter. Internally, you ask every higher being in creation where it all went wrong.

“We weren’t anywhere near close to a successful interface.” Tony says and you corroborate this when Bruce refuses to.

You don’t restrain the urge to throw him a glare. Intelligent as he is, he couldn’t recognize the signs of his supposed best friend falling apart in front of him.

“Oh, what so now you fall belly up.” Tony calls out.

Bruce retorts something about murder bots and it physically hurts you because the three of you know that’s never what Ultron was. What he was never supposed to be. Whatever he is now, that doesn’t change the fact that his original purpose had less to do with harming the Earth and more to do with protecting it. Tony explains as much and the derision in Steve’s voice is enough to make you scoff.

The good captain gives you what is meant to be a withering look. It’s a look of clear disapproval, rife with glaring notions of moral superiority and you squint your eyes at him. There’s a divine shiver of pleasure at the slight flinch you draw from him but mostly he keeps on talking and this time you don’t hesitate to place a gentle hand on Tony’s forearm. Brown eyes, clearly distressed to someone who knows how to look, turn to you and there’s a distinct sensation of your stomach hitting your toes. God, Tony. He looked wrecked.

Your face crumples watching him, and the hand that was on his arm rises to rest on his cheeks instead. The room doesn’t notice the two of you and the feeling is mutual. Tony looks like all he wants to do is crawl into a ball. He’s so tired of trying to explain to people who won’t listen, why a system of instantaneous planet-wide protection is more reliable than a group of seven people. Still is reliable.

“Breathe, Tony, I need you to breathe.”

You can feel the moment Bruce’s attention suddenly flicks over to you but you can care less.

Tony’s breathing isn’t any better than before. In fact, it’s practically inaudible, meaning it’s essentially not there and you resist the urge to throttle every single person in this room.

“Antonio, listen to me. Breathe.”

It takes a while but a glowing chest begins to rise and fall in normal intervals and you smile weakly in an attempt to steady the both of you, mentally and emotionally.

“You’re doing wonderfully. Keep going for me, okay?” Tony nods imperceptibly and you glance over at the now silent room.

Steel settles itself into your gaze and cold eyes focus on the God of Thunder first.

“Try something like that again, Thor, and you’ll find not even Heimdall will be able to get you out of here fast enough.”

The crimson-clad blonde furrows his eyebrows at you, as if confused as to how he had garnered your wrath.

“You don’t wrap your super-powered hands around the neck of someone suffering from anxiety and PTSD, you insensitive asshat.”

“Langu-”

Your head comes flying to face Steve.

“Tell me to watch my language, Steven. I fucking dare you.”

“Okay, why don’t we all just take a chill pill, Y/N.” Clint interjects from near your left.

“Barton so help me…”

“Alright then, never mind.”

The archer lowers his hands in surrender and you turn to Bruce, embittered.

“Science bros stick together, numbnuts. Don’t you dare think you can throw Tony to the wind like that ever again because trust me, I’ll make any wreckage the Big Guy’s done so far, look like a kid throwing a tantrum.”

Bruce flinches hard and you nearly sneer in satisfaction before turning back towards Steve and taking a deep breath.

“Since no one is willing to fucking listen to Tony, I’ll do the explaining instead and we’ll just see what happens if someone tries to cut me off with weakass statements like ‘together’.”

Steve opens his mouth to reply but you cut him off.

“That was not permission to speak, soldier.”

He swiftly closes his mouth.

“I’m going to try talking to all of you like you’re adults but if you don’t start using your heads like the mature, capable-of-thinking-for-themselves human beings that you are, then I will make it so your physical state matches your childlike temperaments.”

It’s very clearly a threat and you can see each Avenger(sans Tony) openly bristle and twitch to grab their weapons. Bruce wrings his hands together. The witch glares at you and you smile at her, all teeth and mock-sweetness.

“My abilities are stronger than yours, so I wouldn’t even try, Miss Maximoff.”

Pietro, beautifully complex Pietro, shoves a hand in front of his sister to keep her from surging forwards, all the while fixing you with an indecipherable look. From the beginning, as much as everyone seemed to focus on Wanda, you could tell there was more to the older Maximoff twin that meets the eye. You were glad to be right.

You take another deep breath.

“The Avengers aren’t infallible, don’t even pretend like that isn’t the case. What Tony- and Bruce included because he was very much included- what they were trying to do was create an artificial intelligence much like JARVIS that could fulfill JARVIS’s primary directive taken to a global scale.”

Confused looks all around. Tony shivers behind you and you grasp his hand, holding tightly to try and keep him grounded.

“For those of you who don’t know, J’s primary directive was to protect Tony. Ultron’s primary directive was intended to be the protection of planet Earth from outside forces seeking to enter our atmosphere and wreak havoc below. He was the brainchild of our science geniuses here, in an attempt to prevent anything similar to the fight with the Chitauri from happening ever again.”

You lick your lips, swallow down your earlier anger, and continue.

“Thor said it himself when Loki first arrived. SHIELD’s experiments with the Tesseract showed to the rest of the Universe, specifically to other, advanced races, that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war. Sooner or later, the rest of the Universe is going to come knocking and believe you me, not very many of them will be here to ask for a cup of sugar.”

“The Avengers can handle whatever comes at us. Advanced alien race or otherwise.” Natasha drawls from beside Clint.

The amount of conceit in her tone is almost laughable considering how much training had been invested to make sure she was above displaying her innermost thoughts so easily. In front of friend or foe, she was always to appear unbothered. Mayhaps, if Barnes had been trusted to teach her that aspect rather than just combat skills, the Widow would have been better at it.

“Come now, Natalia, I thought you were cleverer than that. Have you grown so lax in your training so as to believe you cannot be stopped?”

The statement gets a rise out of more than just her, and you can feel the anger in Bruce’s gaze at your neck. Clint and Steve narrow their eyes at you but otherwise don’t respond. The Widow tries her damndest not to throw a knife at your throat and its times like these that you miss Winter’s ability to disassociate. The Captain was going to be in for such a surprise when next he met Barnes. His best friend was less Bucky and more something in between Hydra’s Fist and the exemplary soldier, less the charming man from Brooklyn and more the damaged transitional phase.

Even then, he was still far better at feigning indifference than the redhead in front of you.

“I don’t care how super-powered some of you are, you’re still so very human. With a single thought from my head, I could disseminate your insides throughout the stars. I’ve trained with mutants and titans alike, and they’re nowhere close to how terrifying the races out there are. If I could kill you in a second, what makes you think Earth could survive more than a meager few moments against the might of the worst the Universe has to offer?”

Steve turns towards Thor, uncertain and hoping he can corroborate or contest your claim. The demi-god furrows his eyebrows, his grip on Mjolnir shifting.

“Y/N does not lie. Even I have yet to experience a vast number of the Universe’s most feared warriors. My Father has kept the nine realms, most of all your Midgard, sheltered from the rest of the starways for centuries.”

Tony breathes out shakily from behind you and you tighten your grip on his hand. Thor nods at you to continue and you stare at Steve right in his shadowed blue eyes.

“What Ultron was meant to be versus what he ultimately became was the result of ignorance on all our parts, least of all Tony’s. Firstly, you were all ignorant for believing yourselves unstoppable, and secondly, you were ignorant for believing Wanda Maximoff to be less spiteful than she is.”

“Now hold on, I think, at the very least, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the Witch and I think she’s pretty spiteful.” Clint interjected.

Both Maximoff siblings bristle from the edge of the group and you don’t miss the glint of red filtering into Wanda’s eyes.

“You so much as attempt to fiddle with any of the minds in or out of this room and I’ll turn you into a pile of red leather.” You state matter-of-factly, in her direction.

Wanda narrows her eyes and hisses while Pietro stiffens, legs vibrating with the desire to not be here. You can’t blame him, you don’t want to be here either. But someone has to say this shit and goodness knows, no one was going to listen to Tony if he did it instead.

“As I was saying, Miss Maximoff over here had a bigger part to play in Ultron’s genesis than you all previously believed.”

You state right into her hateful, hopelessly child-like, eyes.

“Wanda put the idea into Tony’s head that the faster Ultron came to be, the better.”

“And what does that mean?” Steve bit out.

You feel physically ill thinking back on it and it takes a great deal of effort not to will Wanda into non-existence.

“Miss Maximoff worked her third-rate sorcery on Tony’s head during the fight at the factory. She played alphabet soup with his head and showed him a vision of the world ending, everyone dying at his feet. And Tony? Tony felt what Tony always feels.”

“Vindication?” The Widow mocks.

You look at her blankly.

“You mistake him for you, Natalia.”

That shuts her up quickly.

“No,” Tony’s hand was clammy in yours. “He felt guilty.”

Several sets of eyes widen.

“He felt guilt and so much regret, I picked up on it even though I was here at the Tower.”

“Why would you feel guilty, Tony?” Maria questioned, tone delicate where no one else’s had been.

You turn back to see Tony visibly shaking, one arm wrapped around his trembling frame.

“Because I wasn’t dead. I had to watch as I was the only one left.”

And hell if that doesn’t do some serious damage to the sizeable egos in the room.

But that still wasn’t the whole story, so you finish where Tony couldn’t.

“And you, Steve, you asked him why he didn’t do more.”

The super-soldier practically deflates before your very eyes, lean frame going slack where he stands.

“Jesus, Tony.”

[mattymattymerduck]

Into Infinity (Pt. 2)

Summary: Imagine randomly being pulled through a portal. When you awake, you find yourself in the Marvel Universe. More specifically, Tony Stark's lab. Guess this is what happens when Tony Stark 'examines' an Infinity Stone.

Part 1

Warnings: None

Word count: 1800

A/N: There’s not a lot in this one, but I hope you guys like it regardless! The next chapter has a bit more plot to it, and things’re gonna ramp up from there :D

"I'm sorry, the last time you fooled around with alien technology you created a blood-thirsty robot, and you didn't learn anything from that?" This scene was looking terribly familiar to you, except there were so many more people in the room than when Tony announced his plan to create Vision, and this time you were actually in the room with them. It was ultimately nerve-racking, having all these superheroes you daydreamed about glaring at you like some sort of alien pathogen ready to infect their society. You couldn't help but nervously raise your hand - there was no way you were gonna be a smartass under this pressure without permission.

"What?" Bruce asked, distrust and wariness edging his normally soft tone. You slowly brought your hand down and glanced around the room.

"Well it's just that, in all fairness, Tony also made Vision - more or less - and he turned out pretty worthy. Also, Ultron was a genius, the only flaw there was that he had his own identity. If he hadn't gone rogue because of his individual thoughts you all would have seen peace in your time. Like, just imagine what he could have done if you implanted say, Steve's moral code." You wanted to continue, but their glares weren't getting any softer and you just accidental diluted your first point by siding with a villain. Oops.

"The point is, we don't know who she is or what she's capable of. And you just teleported her straight to us?" Steve clarified, staring hard at Tony and making you pray Civil War wasn't about to unravel right before your eyes.

"Technically, no. It was the Infinity Stone, while I was out of the Tower, and we don't think it was a teleportation device, she's from a completely different universe."

"Or so she'll have us believe." Natasha's eyes never left you for a second; her voice just as distrusting as her gaze.

"I'm sure I can prove it." You blurted out before you had the chance to think about what you were saying. Every pair of eyes fell on you again and you regretted opening your mouth to begin with.

"I mean, in my universe or whatever, all of this is fictional. Like, comics and movies and whatever. I can tell you guys all about every moment of screen time you've had - mostly Steve and Thor and Tony though. Bruce maybe a little bit, but they recast you for the Avengers so it's a little iffy. We're still waiting for the Black Widow movie to be put in production, the Russo brothers said they'd love to make it but Marvel's not really on board yet so..." You trailed off again when all you were getting back was raised or furrowed brows and disbelieving gawks. You turned to Steve, knowing it could prove something if you could recount all his misadventures from the 1900's.

"Ask me something about you before you were frozen. If it was in the movie I should be able to answer, but choose something that wasn't recorded in the Smithsonian or somewhere where I'd be able to find it if I were from here." Even if Steve didn't quite trust you, he couldn't say no to your pleading eyes. He took a moment to dream up a question you shouldn't have been able to answer.

"Where did I first meet Howard Stark?" He felt a little intimidated when a broad smile cracked across your face.

"Well the first time you really met him was when you were getting injected with the serum, but the first time you saw him was the hovering car exhibition with Bucky and those two girls the night before he was shipped out. That was the same night you got recruited by Dr. Erskine I think." Steve's jaw dropped open and Tony stuck his arms out to you in a gesture that screamed, see?

"That was easy, someone give me something harder." It was like playing a trivia game, and suddenly you were having fun instead of being intimidated and starstruck.

"My brother, is he in these movies of yours?" Thor boomed effortlessly and you spun around to meet his blue curiosity.

"Loki? Oh yeah, he plays a bigger part than Odin or Jane."

"Then tell me where he is right now." Your mouth went dry. Of course you knew that he was impersonating Odin on the throne in Asgard, but Thor thought he was dead. You didn't know how telling him that would affect this world, but you could guess altering the timeline wouldn't be good.

"Well, I-uh," You were struggling to word it in a way that wouldn't allude to Loki being healthy and whole.

"She has no idea. This is ridiculous Tony, she'd just some crazy history buff."

"That's not true, I can answer it's just, well, spoilers." They weren't catching on though, so you huffed and said what you knew Thor knew.

"You think Loki's dead. There was a bunch of fake betrayal where he pushed you down a hill and pretended to cut off your hand, Jane was super confused and he ended up sacrificing himself for you. The last words you said to him were about telling Odin about it but he said it wasn't for him and then he died in your arms. His body's still there somewhere." It wasn't actually, but you weren't about to go meddling in matters that you had no part in.

"What about the rest of us then?" Natasha spoke up again, still not entirely convinced that you weren't a really well informed Hydra agent.

"I can tell you that when Wanda used her magic on you you saw the Red Room, dancing and going through 'initiation'." You frowned a wordless apology and turned to the others.

"Steve saw Peggy and all the other soldiers he fought with. Thor was back in Asgard with Hiemdall telling him he doomed them all. Tony saw all of you dead because of him,  and Clint wasn't touched by it. Nice job by the way, that was an awesome scene."

Bruce sighed because this was insane, but you had an answer for every question and there just wasn't any other possibility. The other members of the team shared a glance and seemed to unanimously agree to believe you. That didn't mean they had to trust you though.

"So where you're from, we don't even exist?" Tony clarified, still trying to wrap his head around that thought.

"Well, your actors do. and your characters, but no, not they way that you exist here. Do you think our worlds have the same timeline? Like, I've already been here for four hours, have I been gone from my world for four hours or do you think everything paused and it'll just pick up where it left off when I get back?" The worst thing about all this was that it was literally all grey area. The most you knew about dimensions, alternate universes, and time travel were from the various movies, shows, and books you'd read. There was no actual science to back any of it up, so in a way you were in uncharted territory.

"You know about as much as I do at this point, but I'm sure JARVIS and I can crack this whole thing open with a bit of time." Tony shrugged and you felt your stomach drop a little, like there were a bunch of wires suspending it and one of them spontaneously snapped.

"Okay. I guess I should find somewhere to bunk until then. How hard do you assume it'll be to get a job when I haven't technically existed for more than a few hours?" You ran a hand through your hair a zoomed through all the things you'd need to do if you were going to be around for a while.

"You want to get a job? What for?" Steve asked, clearly not trying to hold back his confusion.

"Well yeah, I'll need to be able to pay the hotel I crash at. Plus, I only have one pair of clothes and food isn't free. If I'm gonna be here longer than a day I'll need a couple bucks to my name."

"There's tons of room here, you're welcome to hole up on one of the billion floors if you want." Tony offered and for once, you were the one sporting a confused look.

"Really? But I'm a stranger. What happened to not spreading my crazy germs around your Tower?" Obviously there was nothing you wanted more than to get settled in the same building as all the Avengers, but you didn't want to impose, and you could only begin to comprehend how weird it must be for all of them, having a living wiki page walking around, knowing a great deal of their past and their secrets. Then again, maybe that's why they didn't want you wandering the streets.

"It's not all that crazy anymore. I mean, it is, but now you're an anomaly instead of a genderbent Norman Bates. And it'll be easier to run tests if you're only an elevator ride away."

"Makes sense I guess. But only if you're all okay with it." You looked around the room and saw nothing but nods and shrugs.

"Looks like you're in kid, just don't try to cut any throats while we sleep, you won't make it to morning if you do." Clint was entirely serious in his threat and you laughed nervously under his heavy stare.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, but I got it. I promise I won't try to assassinate you."

"Okay, now that the threats are over with, I'll have Pepper get you settled." You slapped a hand over your mouth to keep in an excited squeal.

"Pepper Potts? I get to meet The Pepper Potts?" You were practically bouncing and it made Steve laugh seeing someone so utterly happy.

"Yeah? Maybe I'm getting the wrong message here but you seem more excited about meeting her than you were to meet us." Tony mentioned incredulously and watched you bite your lip in anticipation.

"Yeah, I mean I love you guys but Pepper is like, your whole world! She's amazing, and she's perfect for you. Like sure, Darcy's a good match too, and I've seen so much FrostIron it makes my head spin, but Pepper's a whole other level. She tops Stony a million times over."

"FrostIron...?"

"Stony?"

"You really don't want to know; believe me." You chose to ignore the strange look both Thor and Tony were giving you and stuffed your hands into your pockets anxiously. "So, Pepper, can we do that now?" There was too much raw hope in your eyes for anyone to deny you, so Tony called his girlfriend up and sent you on your way.

"Oh, one last thing." You called down the hall before getting into the elevator. Tony spun around on his heel to see your raised eyebrow.

"When are you gonna tell Fury about this?"

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[taafka-invisible]

BLACK AND BROWN WOMEN CONFLICTED ON THE WOMEN'S MARCH ON WASHINGTON

I just watched Senator Kamala Harris' speech during the Women's March On Washington get cut off mid-sentence in favor of interviewing everyday white female citizens on the street. That irritated me. And it reminded me that more than a few women of color have expressed feeling less than enthusiastic about the Women's March On Washington. It would be easy to assume that black and brown women are just tired of white women claiming to want intersectionality when plans go south (Hillary Clinton losing to The Deranged Cheeto) It would be easy to respond to these black and brown women by saying, "Okay. More important things are at stake now. Let's put aside our differences and move forward." But the thing that's easy to see from where I sit is that a bunch of black women already did that. Black and brown women already put aside some major bullsh** and ignored white supremacy in order to move forward. Somewhere between 93% to 94% of black women voted for Hillary Clinton Black women voted for Hillary Clinton despite "Super Predator" comment, despite Bill Clinton's caving into republican "law and order" chanting in the 90s that put thousands upon thousands of black people in jail forever for damn near nothing -- like marijuana possession that whites go to rehab for instead. Meanwhile, a bunch of white people couldn't put aside the Clinton Team's authentic disrespect for Bernie Sanders during the Democratic Convention; and they probably voted Jill Stein out of revenge which sent Mean Tangerine to his coronation. On social media, I saw some seriously nasty little debates going on among black women. Some may have become so frustrated they didn't vote. 

Too many young black women did not understand that there are differing levels of white supremacy. They also did not understand how much bigger a threat Cheeto Satan is -- and not just based on ethnoracism and misogyny either.

But as little as SOME young black women understand the differing levels of white supremacy, the vast majority of white women have no understanding at all. This is why white racism does not pop up on white female radar as "our collective problem" as opposed to "I feel sorry for black and brown women. We need to listen to THEIR problems." It amazes me that white women wanted to go to March on Washington to speak truth to power instead of speaking truth of lack-of-solidarity to one another. 

57% of white voters voted for Trump.

53% of white women voted for Trump

White people are the only ones in denial that "white voters" represent the white adult population. 

White people created a new definition of "working class" so they could newly mint the "white working class" identity so as to move the conversation away from Trump's successful appeal to white supremacy within white people at all socio-economic levels. (Average income of Trump voter 72K-- that wasn't working class on 11-08-2017, but  it was by 11-09-2017 according to Sarah Palin's so-called "liberal media" 

It would made sense for Black and Brown women to LEAD a March on Washington, inviting all women to follow, including white women. We black women battled, argued, and snarled at one another, pulled ourselves together and mostly voted Hillary Clinton -- 93 to 94%. And it would have made more sense for white women to talk to each other before they opened their mouths at ANY SINGLE BODY ELSE. 

This is probably why the white feminist led March On Washington confused me from the beginning.

While doing some research on the true motivations behind this March, I've come to realize that there are a bunch of people claiming that the majority of women in this country are feminist. Well you know what? I don't agree...very much. I know most of the black women getting anything accomplished in high profile places are feminists. I assume that's true for other demographics too. But I'm pretty sure the vast majority of women who are just average citizens are not -- despite some of the polls. Things are changing too rapidly in pop culture to figure out who is who

In 2010 or so Michelle Obama avoided calling herself a "feminist" when asked, likely in order to protect her husband from vitriol. (Googling "feminist" would get you nothing but nasty memes then) By 2016, things had changed. Barack Obama came right out and said they were feminists, that he was raising his children as a feminist father. 

Furthermore, some of the feminists walking around these days only started calling themselves "feminists" after they found out Beyonce or Taylor Swift decided to identify themselves "feminists."

I explain all this to say that some of these new feminist women haven't even read the shortest pamphlet (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's) or book (bell hooks) on feminism. It's a fad for them. For white women who think other white women voting for Trump is a problem, this means a bunch of white women calling themselves "feminists" are perfectly capable of voting for Donald Trump -- because subtler forms of white supremacy, homophobia, islamophobia mean nothing to some of these new and old white feminists. In other words, a little intersectionality could have saved white women from themselves in the 2016 election. If racism, homophobia, islamophobia were seen by white feminists as attached and intermixed with  issues of sexism and misogyny  then maybe white feminists  would have something to talk about  aside from reproductive rights  when talking to non-feminist white women  about the fact that  Cheeto Satan is indeed one of Satan's minions.

I mean what would it look like if a white feminist could actually say it and mean it when she said to a non-feminist white woman, "I may not agree that abortion is murder, but let's say I agree abortion ends life. Racism and forcing a permanent underclass murders and kills too and probably at a higher rate of speed."  

What would it look like if white women saw sexism as one facet of one diamond named bigotry, where racism, homophobia, islamophobia were the other facets of the same diamond? Wouldn't white feminist know the name of Yvette Smith, who called police about an altercation and wound up being shot by police herself as she opened the door by an ON DUTY white policeman carrying his own AR-15 instead of his service weapon?   

What would it look like if white feminists raised Yvette Smith's story along side black and latina feminist websites?  

Would Smith's story have become high profile enough to get national attention.....high profile enough to put her Yvette's murderer on trial instead of just letting him be set free by same judge involved in the Sandra Bland case?

    White women really don't have any ground to stand on to demand women of color show up in solidarity. But more important than that, to white women, is that showing up for black and brown women is probably the path to saving themselves. It's weird to say it this way, but white feminists have to get out of the white bubble where they assume what is central to white feminists is central to all feminists -- in order to talk to the 53% of white women that voted for Trump. If white feminists can't break free of their own bubble they won't be able to talk to the 53% of white women that voted for Trump who are in a slightly different white bubble. 

That is, white feminists should practice putting race and racism nearer the center of their feminist concerns. Once white feminists do that maybe the practice of looking outside the white-feminist-only bubble can enable them to talk to the 53% (non-feminists or ill informed feminists) about some sort of compromise on religious beliefs and abortion, for example. White feminists have to be able to compromise  and engage white women  who aren't feminists  or  think they aren't feminists  because they believe in the stereotypical definition of feminism rather than an authentic definition of feminism

Example: I know women who are atheists who DO want abortion to stay legal, who absolutely do not believe in abortion as a form of birth control. Some of them may have voted for Trump if they are single issue voters.  

If some feminists, especially white feminists could stop screaming "It's my body... It's my body.... It's my body" maybe they could also stop and listen. Maybe they could look at their own children and realize they would NOT have had baby John or baby Jane later if they'd had an abortion when John or Jane was conceived; John or Jane would not be here if they'd put off having children James or Juliette would be here instead.

Abortion may not be murder (in my opinion) but it does end a life. 

The science of that is not debatable in any way.  

How each woman decides to think about that is debatable and should be respected in conversation. 

Black feminists may snarl at each other over things like abortion, but we still came together to vote our common self-interest.....to keep a racist, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic islamophobe out of office. We live at the intersection. That is the basis of our solidarity despite disagreement.   We, women of color as a group and especially black women, absolutely did not love Hillary. We, as black women, voted against Trump whether feminist or non-feminist, pro-abortion and anti-abortion.   White women need to figure out how to achieve this kind of solidarity before they go speaking truth to power in Washington. Again, I think the key for white women (white feminists) is being able to see things from more than one perspective. Women of color (black, brown, asian) don't always see eye to eye on everything But we are often able to come together and achieve differing levels of solidarity on various issues when white women clearly can't. Frankly, white feminists probably need to look to black feminists for leadership at this time.  Because there are still tons of black women that hate "feminism" thinking it's a white thing. Yet, we still come together to keep Don The Con out of Washington.  Even if white feminists cannot bring themselves to look at black women in order to try to reproduce what black women achieved in the 2018 and 2020 elections, white feminists need to find a way to get non-feminist white women on the right side of history. That needs to be priority number one.

The first mental step that white feminists need to take in that direction is to realize that white women benefit from patriarchal white supremacy (and ignoring the subtler forms) more than any other group except white men themselves. 

Or, white feminists can just keep taking national polls where they ask "Are you a feminist?" see the results come in as "feminist majority" and be surprised when Donald Trump wins again. 

http://thankherforsurviving.blogspot.com/2017/01/black-and-brown-women-conflicted-on.html