#anyway another thing i want to point out is that all of this that i said about acting is also very relative

[bellatrixscurls]

group activities iii

part one | part two

pairing : reader x slytherin gang x the golden trio.

warnings : smut - oral (f receiving), teasing, dirty talk, lots of pet names, female reader, draco is an arrogant prick sometimes, talk of virginity, truth or dare games, kissing, voldemort. lmk if i missed any!

a/n : this surprised me as well, i was gonna write some tom x reader smut in this chapter but oh well. hope you enjoy!

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“and what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

ron’s voice was filled with pure hatred, but you couldn’t really react. you stood on the bed, limp, sore. to be fair, you could barely keep your eyes open - and it wasn’t much before they closed and you drifted off.

🤍

when you woke up, which seemed to be quite a while later judging by the darkness piercing through the windows, you spotted tom sitting on your armchair, his eyes carefully scanning the room before he noticed that you had awakened.

“passed out a bit there, have you?” the corner of his lips tilted up, and you couldn’t help but return his smile.

you didn’t know where the others were, but you were grateful that it was him there with you. “is it dinner time yet? i’m really hungry” yawning, you sat up, looking around the room as if still trying to adjust to the artificial light.

and then it happened again. that flicker in his eyes and the way his smirk turned into a soft smile. he didn’t get to say anything, because you decided just then that you’d point it out.

“why do you do that?” your voice came out soft, too soft for your liking. “sometimes you look at me like this and- it sends a shiver up my spine.”

tom was genuinely speechless in that moment, which he never was. he always had some snarky remark or dry chastisement. not now.

he just kept looking at you and not saying a word, which made you go crazy with nerves. shrugging, he looked away for a moment before turning back to you. “i look at you just the way i look at everybody else. it’s nothing special.”

ouch. because yes, you agreed not to speak of these things when you’d entered the ‘group’, but it felt too obvious. you were almost always lost in his eyes, but found a way to see through him. you knew when he would lose composure, and pretend it never happened.

“fine” you cleared your throat, looking at your body and thanking whoever cleaned you up and dressed you, because you really didn’t wanna have to put up with tom’s ‘indifference’. you stood up, brushing a hand over your skirt, before heading towards the door. “i don’t care anyway.”

🤍

after dinner, that was quiet and tense, you all decided to go back to the slytherin common room. nobody was holding hands, draco wasn’t all over ron, enzo avoided hermione’s eyes and vice versa. and to add to it, tom was ignoring you. he never ignored you.

entering the common room, you all sat down, some on the floor, some on the couch, some just leaning against the walls.

you felt guilty.

“i’m sorry we did it without you guys” you looked at the golden trio, and their faces seemed to soften.

ron kneeled in front of you, his fingers grasping your jaw ever so gently. “you didn’t know, peach. it’s tradition at this point, we all want to be there when someone new comes” he turned to glare at the others. “but they knew.”

“i challenged them” you spoke softly, and he continued stroking your cheek, cocking his head to the side as he listened quietly. “can we please forget about it? i feel bad, i don’t want to be the reason you guys don’t speak to one another.”

your ears perked up when you heard someone sigh. theo. “principessa” his eyes moved from your eyes to your lips, then back to your eyes. “you’re right. we didn’t want you guys to feel left out. it just happened so suddenly, and she looked so soft, her skirt had ridden up- you have to understand” whined theo as he looked desperately at harry, leaning his head against his shoulder.

“we understand” hermione was the one to speak this time, and your face lit up when you heard her voice. you had noticed the distance between her and enzo, and you hoped you were not the reason to it. “but we want to be there when she loses her virginity, maybe we’ll even make you watch without touching… you know, as payback.”

wincing at the mention of your virginity, you hid your face into ron’s neck, and his muscular arms wrapped around you instinctively. you felt him laugh, his chest vibrating against your body, making you flush even more. “ronnie” you whimpered helplessly, face beet red.

“oh, look at you, peach” he tsked, brushing a few stray hairs off your face. “let’s not torture the poor girl anymore, we don’t wanna pressure her; how about we play a game?”

the atmosphere seemed to shift for the better once ron mentioned playing a game, and everyone came up with an idea, but at the end, they stuck with the basic one - truth or dare.

“oh i fucking love this” you shook your head at draco as he threw an arm around your neck, keeping you close as he spun the bottle. it kept spinning until it landed on, surprisingly, mattheo.

draco’s grin widened and mattheo pressed his tongue into the inside of his cheek, his lips threatening to tilt up. “truth or dare, riddle?”

“you know me, malfoy. give me the best dare you’ve got.”

“kiss me.”

it all happened so fast, the yearning, the kissing, the biting. their aggressiveness made you weak in the knees - maybe it was the way mattheo pressed his body into draco’s, forcing the older boy to hold himself up with one hand on the floor, or the way draco devoured his mouth, the need to be so impossibly close to one another.

finally, pulling away, they gasped for breath, draco fixing his hair before returning to his spot next to you. you could tell that he was still shaken up, both of them were.

“hot” blaise mouthed to you and your eyes widened, earning a satisfied smirk from the boy.

“my turn” it was mattheo who spun the bottle this time, his eyes glaring at it as if he was trying to control it with his mind.

tom shook his head slightly, giving him a disapproving look. “only i can control it.”

“and i’m an occlumens” he defended, ignoring the bottle that had already landed on you. (occlumens = one who is able to close their mind against legilimency)

“thank merlin for that” his brother scoffed and he rolled his eyes, looking at you for the first time after your ‘argument’, albeit accidentally.

mattheo grinned like a cheshire cat as his eyes finally landed on you, and you bit the inside of your cheek. “y/n/n, i dare you to… make enzo blush.”

the room fell silent. your brows furrowed.

“i didn’t pick dare.”

“i don’t like the tone” he looked at you with mock offense, a hand clutching his chest. “besides, you should thank me. i could’ve made you do it to tommy here” he shrugged and you noticed tom looking at you from the corner of your eye. “merlin knows that one doesn’t have a heart.”

you shrank in your seat, completely ignoring tom’s intense gaze, instead focusing on enzo who was siting right beside you, a sweet, comforting smile adorning his face. “it’s okay, y/n/n. it doesn’t take much to make me blush anyway.”

“ready, then?” you looked at mattheo and he nodded fervently, eyes scanning you whole.

smiling, you leaned in, whispering in enzo’s ear, one hand caressing his shoulders and going up his neck. “and what does it take to make you blush then, sweet boy?” you felt bold, the adrenaline becoming too much. “hm? a kiss? or maybe i could just tease you a bit. tell you what i wanna do to you later.”

enzo gulped and it was almost audible, his hand moving up your thigh, but you still not touching him, nothing more than a hand on his shoulders. “tell me. please, tell me.”

you almost giggled. almost. you felt comfortable around enzo and you really enjoyed seeing him flush. “i want to have you between my legs, to feel your mouth devour me again. i want you to make me so wet for you that when you put it in, i’m all nice and ready for you, baby” you whisper just enough for him to hear, your lips pressing against the shell of his ear before tugging at it, causing the boy to whimper, and everyone reacted to it - gasps and shocked expressions all around, but you didn’t mind. neither did he.

“i bet it would slip right in” you leaned against him, nose against his cheek - his now burning cheek. you smirked.

leaning back against the sofa, you exhaled proudly, and the room erupted into laughter and loud chatter; everyone was either teasing enzo, congratulating you, or both. mostly both.

tom was sitting across from you, and his expression was different than you would’ve believed. he had a proud smirk on his face, his lips twitching as he kept eye contact with you, and your boldness went out the window again. “tease” his lips didn’t move, but you heard his voice in your head. you chose to ignore it until he spoke again. “making him believe he stands a chance at that. you’re so cruel.”

you jolted up, thankful that everyone was still teasing enzo and mocking him. “get out of my head” you whispered dangerously, your heart pounding in your chest.

“you know i could start ignoring you” he whispered too, and this time, his lips moved. “but i’ll still be there. i cannot make you stop thinking about me.”

and there it was again, that damn smirk.

choosing to ignore him, you turned back to the group, your chin resting on top of enzo’s shoulder, the simple gesture making him melt into you, his back resting against you. “that was hot.”

his voice was so small that it made you chuckle before placing a soft kiss on the side of his neck. you didn’t say anything, there was no need to.

everyone went back to the game and after some time it was mattheo’s turn again. oh, merlin.

each of you knew of his intentions, his urge to see all of you pressed up against each other, kissing, biting, blushing. the boy was a menace.

and what was even better? this time, the other end of the bottle pointed at tom, his dear brother.

you could practically see the disapproval on his face after hearing mattheo’s dare. because, of course, when it came to mattheo, the only option was dare.

“i’ll give you a simple one, brother” he smirked, “owl father… and tell him you love him.”

the air shifted and you froze in place. you studied tom closely; his jaw was clenched, and he seemed upset. at least upset. he looked down for a few moments and you could practically see the gears turning in his head. then his eyes lit up.

“surely, brother” he pulled a parchment out of his bag that was thrown under the table, a sign that he had stayed behind studying before dinner. your shoulders released all tension when you saw the way his mood changed. you really thought he would be offended, as tom was not one to speak much of his father.

after a few minutes of writing and paying the owl to send the parchment to his father, the game continued for a few more minutes, before everyone decided that it was too late already and you all headed to bed.

🤍

the next morning was quiet, way too quiet. usually mornings were loud and obnoxious, making you want to make a hole and hide in it until the weekend arrived. only now, you realised that the weekend had arrived indeed.

the clock on your nightstand read 07:34 am, and you groaned into your pillow, cussing you out for not being able to sleep any longer. but after your little drama scene, you decided that it was best to use the time you could’ve been sleeping - studying.

you showered and got ready for the day, then gathered your ‘defense against the dark arts’ books and made your way down to the common room. since mostly everyone was sleeping, you figured you would just study there instead of the library, which was fairly far from the slytherin dorms.

just as you put your books down on the table, you heard shuffling and you didn’t dare raise your eyes towards the sound, you just couldn’t.

the voice that came next made you shiver, your chest warming with relief. theo. “what are you doing so early on a saturday morning, amorina?” his voice was still thick with sleep, leaving you in complete awe when you finally took a proper look at him. he was clad in his quidditch uniform, hair messier than usual and fists rubbing at his eyes in a failed attempt to wake up properly.

you smiled and patted the seat beside you on the large green sofa. theo sat down silently, letting out a helpless whine that made you laugh. "i couldn't sleep, so i thought I'd do a bit more studying," he hummed, fiddling with the hem of your sleeves between his thumb and middle finger. "is draco making you practice early again this weekend?"

theo whined again, clutching his chest, his eyes still only half open. “he is. i’ll give you an even better one. he wanted to start at six, but blaise pretended to feel sick and draco didn’t want his nauseous ass anywhere near his new nimbus.”

the words were emphasised with a dramatic roll of his eyes and you tried your best to keep yourself from giggling, but he was just too cute. “i’m glad my misery is amusing to you” he pouted and you couldn’t help but kiss his pout once. twice. causing theo’s eyes to widen before he grinned dopily, leaning in to kiss you again, this time softly biting on your lower lip.

“blaise was right when he said you tasted good” he licked his lips as he pulled away, his hand still holding you close to his body by your waist. “you know, enzo said that too and-”

“perv” you swatted at his chest and he chuckled, standing up as the other boys appeared as well, a furious draco leading them.

he looked completely exasperated, and judging by the looks on the other boys’ faces, you could tell that he was chastising them again.

“we could’ve been here two hours ago had you not faked being sick” he glared at blaise, who was completely unbothered, and threw his arms in the air. “and you don’t even care!”

“draco, i don’t think waking us before the sun is up is a great idea” mattheo groaned as he fell onto the armchair across from you, his eyes lighting up when he noticed you. “y/n/n! what’s with you here on this fine morning?” he spoke brightly before he turned to draco who was still angry as ever, whispering. “i think my morning just got better.”

you rolled your eyes playfully, softening when draco passed by to kiss your forehead, his arm tightening around your shoulders for a second. “i’m trying to study, but obviously not really succeeding. how many more of you are there?”

“just enzo” blaise shrugged, looking up at their dorm room door as if expecting him to come down any second, which he never did. “but he is a bit under the weather these days.”

“you say under the weather, i say he received a letter from his mommy this morning” mattheo spoke carelessly, shrugging when you gave him a confused look. then his eyes widened the slightest bit. “oh i got one too, i almost forgot” he pulled a letter from his quidditch bag, unfolding it and laying it flat on the table.

then, you got goosebumps. it started speaking in a very distinct voice, one that you knew all too well. voldemort.

“Dear son,

I appreciate the sentiment at the bottom of the letter, which nearly compelled me to fly to Hogwarts myself forthwith and cast a hex upon you.

Pray tell, do you have a fancy for men? As if I didn’t not have enough in my hands already. I beg of you to steady yourself, lest I find you a suitable match in the first gullible pure-blooded young lady I encounter. I trust, however, that you know that she would not bear the name Y/n/n.

Yours affectionately,

Father.”

you gasped and your eyes widened, everyone looking at mattheo as if he had grown two heads. his father’s tone was stern, dry and unamused. whilst the atmosphere was tense, the word affectionately at the end made enzo, who was coming down of his room finally, inevitably snicker. “wow, you win. i thought i had a story to tell, but wow.”

but that did not phase mattheo, who was always about not making his father upset, not really encouraging his unique pastimes either. “how did he find out though? i thought hogwarts was the safest place there is.”

you rubbed his back, as the others tried to encourage him and calm him down. but it was no use, mattheo was determined to find out who was his father’s spy. and you didn’t think he’d actually find out who it was out of a castle full of people with questionable families, including yours. but he did. “tom” he spoke lowly, and you turned, thinking that tom was coming down as well, but he wasn’t.

his eyes were full of rage, fists clenched as he strolled towards his room, draco following closely, ensuring that nothing more than a few words would be thrown around.

one minute passed, then two, then five. you could hear their bickering and mattheo’s furious screaming from the common room, and it went on until it didn’t. until a death silence settled upon the castle, until the door opened and mattheo was carrying draco.

he was hurt. and the worst part of it all? he expressed nothing beyond the occasional heart-wrenching whimpers of pure pain. tom trailed behind them, an unmistakable expression of genuine guilt etched on his face.

you were all aware of what had happened. in that tense moment, silence enveloped the room; the chaos within each of you made it nearly impossible to string two words together. aware of the fact that madam pomfrey would never let no less than seven students into the hospital wing, you finally mustered the courage to call to tom. his steps faltered and he turned to face you, the weight of the situation hanging in the air. “what did you do?”

as he took a few tentative steps towards you, it was evident that his words were caught in his throat. tom riddle was speechless for the first time in his life. the usual confidence he would display was gone, guilt replacing it. “it was a mistake, i made a mistake. i only wanted to cast expelliarmus on matt, but i lost my temper and when he avoided it, it- i- draco was behind him and i hexed him” he spoke so softly that it was almost impossible to catch it.

you could sense the anguish in his voice and, despite his expectations, you pulled him closer to you in a gentle, reassuring embrace. as you held him against you, you felt a few more pairs of arms encircle you both. blaise, theo and enzo had approached you both, offering their support for tom as well, even though he had hurt their friend.

things like “it’s okay, tom. he’s not mad at you” and “you couldn’t control yourself. he knows you care about him” were said, but did close to nothing to soothe tom. he fucked up big time.

🤍

in the hospital wing, things were as tense, primarily due to the uncertainty of draco’s condition. mattheo stood by his bedside, gazing at the unfortunate boy who was suffering, all because of a stupid letter. but then again he wondered : how could a simple spell leave evident marks such as blood in its wake?

draco, on the other hand, fought to keep his eyes as madam pomfrey tended to his wound, a concerned frown adorning her face. “if someone stabbed him, you have to tell me. this is serious, mister riddle” she eyed mattheo warily, feeling for the poor boy who was wincing.

“no, madam. he got hexed by… he got hexed. accidentally” his voice came out hoarse, his cheeks flushing under madam pomfrey’s stern gaze. he felt like she knew who it was that had hexed draco.

“this is not a simple hex” she muttered under her breath, wiping her hands on her skirt as she finished bandaging draco. “i insist that you do not walk unaccompanied and refrain from too much physical effort. and yes, this includes quidditch” she asserted, before directing her gaze at mattheo again. “mister riddle, please send your brother to my office” she instructed, exiting with a decisive thud of the door.

“if you don't tell her, i won't either” draco smiled softly, wincing as he accidentally touched his chest.

“have you gone all soft, malfoy?” he inquired, amused, the corner of his lips curving upwards. “besides, the old hag’s figured it out.”

“i am not soft” mumbled draco, avoiding his gaze.

“you’ll be once i’m done with you.”

🤍

some time later, you were still sitting in the common room, worry etched on your face as you continued studying, but you could barely focus, given how clueless you were about draco’s condition.

werewolves, vampires, unicorns…

you read, but nothing seemed to click, nothing but the door as someone stepped inside, the portrait closing behind them.

“still studying, beautiful?” mattheo. he seemed so calm, slightly amused as you basically ran up to him, wide eyes searching for any trace of hesitation.

“how is draco?” he chuckled softly as you absentmindedly tugged at his jacket, seemingly unaware of your actions.

“he’s alright. madam pomfrey forbid him from playing quidditch and even walking on his own, so you can imagine how frustrated he was. but he’s healing.”

you exhaled, melting into him as his arms wrapped around your smaller frame. “oh, thank merlin” you hummed appreciatively when he squeezed you slightly, his hands caressing your hair. “who is with him now?”

“no one” he replied simply, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal.

his words startled you, prompting your warm body to leave his own. “alone? on his own? and not being capable of moving on his own?”

“yes” he replied, not really understanding your point. “he told me he wanted to sleep. what could happen in his sleep?”

“even so!” you exhaled in frustration, forgetting all about your studying as you stormed off to find draco.

on your way to the hospital wing, you remembered that it was still dinner time and you figured you’d stop by the kitchens to gather some food for the both of you, considering he had been sitting on a hospital bed for hours.

with a bag of food in hand, you wandered the hallways in search of the quickest way to the hospital wing. the corridor was silent, the absence of the students allowing you to hear your thoughts for once. you were feeling relieved, content that draco was healing and madam pomfrey was confident that he’d be alright in no time.

finally reaching the door, you took a steadying breath and opened it.

to your surprise, draco was the only student there, and he seemed quite alert when he caught sight of you. but when you closed the door behind you and he noticed that you were alone, his shoulders relaxed.

“you should be at dinner” he remarked, but the amusement in his tone was palpable as you flicked on the lights.

“and you shouldn’t be here” you bit back, his face softening when he noticed how worried you were. it was simple for him to tell; your brows were furrowed, lips slightly pursed and you kept fiddling with your ring. “i’m glad you’re feeling better though” you continued softly, carefully placing the food on his small bedside table as you sat down on the chair by his bed.

he took your hand in his, humming. “me too… kinda. you could’ve told everyone that i died of a broken heart, but pomfrey had to spoil my story” his nose wrinkled as he quipped, a playful smirk on his face.

and of course you were very much aware that he was joking, yet the worry coursing through you made you react on impulse. leaning in, you pressed your lips to his in order to silence his playful banter.

draco responded to the kiss, hand tightening around your jaw as he drew you closer. and closer, and then some more. in the intensity of the moment, he almost forgot about his wound, but not you. supporting your weight on one elbow, you pulled away, gasping for air.

“you do taste good” he licked his lips just like theo had done earlier, and you groaned, causing the boy to smirk.

“i would throw a pillow at you, but…”

draco gestured to his chest, smiling. “i’m a wounded man. have some mercy, y/n/n” he whined, flinging an arm over his head dramatically. how thankful you were that the whining was back.

“alright, alright” you waved him off, “i brought apple tart and some kind of expensive beef, i saw you eat it before” you said casually, as if it meant nothing, but for draco it meant so much - bringing him his favourite food and actually remembering his preferences.

“you’re an angel” he beamed at you, admiring you for a second too long, before he started eating.

you looked at him as well, taking in every detail of his face. and even if he was not feeling good, he looked just as gorgeous. “and you’re really beautiful” you whispered.

“do you think i’m beautiful, doll?” he teased, but you could sense a deeper yearning beneath his lighthearted tone.

feeling your cheeks burn, you shook your head. “you know you’re beautiful.”

“i do” he nodded proudly, biting the inside of his chin to suppress his wide grin. “but it sounds so much sweeter coming from that pretty mouth.”

you smiled, shy but sweet, and soon the two of you fell into a comfortable silence, your mind wandering. why was draco being nicer than usual? had he always been this way and had you been too distracted to notice? was you kissing him too much?

as always, your overthinking bubbled up at the most inconvenient time.

“before ripping me apart, tom actually taught me the art of legilimency” he stated nonchalantly, still engrossed in his food.

you dropped your fork on your plate, your eyes widening in disbelief - was he reading your mind? “Draco M-”

amused, he shook his head, finding great amusement in the effect his words had on you. “i’m joooking” he drawled out, setting his food aside to focus on you.

studying you closely, he raised a hand, his thumb brushing softly against your cheek. “pretty” you pouted, a smile threatening to appear, and draco mirrored your expression, tilting his head slightly. “now that i think about it… do you think what would make me heal faster?”

“what is it?” your curiosity piqued, eager to help him be out of this bed as soon as possible.

with a sly smirk, he pulled you closer, whispering. “tasting your sweet cunt” his icy blue eyes glinted as they bored into yours, and your breath caught in your throat. “it would be like my personal potion.”

sighing nervously, you moved to straddle him, cunt hovering over his face, “tell me if it’s too much” you whisper softly, hoping that nobody could was close enough to hear you.

he grasped your hips firmly, a smirk dancing around his lips as he met your gaze, “i should be the one saying that” he teased, curling one finger just enough to shift your underwear to the side, revealing the wetness.

draco let out a low groan, the sight causing his cock to harden, his pants tightening. “i can’t wait to get out of this stupid bed so i can finally have you suffocate me between your legs. i could die a happy man here” with a deft motion, he used two fingers to spread your arousal, causing you to jolt as he brushed against your hole.

“p-please stop teasing” you stammered, the effect of his teasing evident in your voice. draco reveled in your reaction, your vulnerability only fueling his desire. he was done teasing; all he wanted was to get a taste, especially to get back at enzo for telling him all about how sweet you tasted and how responsive you were.

“i’m gonna give you what you need, pretty” you felt his fingers ghost over your clit, finally beginning to draw slow, tight circles on your clit that had you crying out, more so when you felt his tongue prod at your entrance. “d-draco” you whispered his name like a prayer. “need it, please. fuck me with your tongue.”

he growled upon hearing you talk so dirty, amazed by the words leaving your sweet mouth, and without notice, his tongue plunged deep inside of you, sliding in and out as his fingers only slightly picked up their pace.

you felt empty when, out of blue, he withdrew his tongue, his fingers still working on you. “how about a deal, dolly?”

“anything” you whimpered, desperate to feel him again.

he smirked. “i make you cum and you tell me who did it better. me or enzo.”

as you peered down at him through blurry eyes, you shook your head in disapproval. “everything is a competition to you, isn’t it?”

“a deal’s a deal.”

you let out a scoff. “i don’t understand how that-” but your words got caught in your throat as his fingers moved from your cunt as well, and he raised at eyebrow at you, tilting his head. “okay, okay! i’ll do it, fuck. i’ll even tell him that, just- please- oh, oh my god!” you cried out when he resumed his work on you, fucking you with his tongue and causing you to let out the most obscene sounds, sounds you were not aware you were capable of making before.

it was nothing like you’d felt before. the way he was gripping your thighs, how precise the movement of his fingers was. he was magical.

you started trembling with the intensity of it all, and draco must’ve sensed it, because he moved his tongue, leaving you to clench around nothing before he replaced it with his fingers.

he was moving faster and you felt like you were tipping over the edge, your head thrown back as he made out with your cunt, sucking at your sensitive bud and nosing at it, adding just the perfect amount of pressure that had you seeing stars. “you look gorgeous like this” he mumbled against you and it caused you to cry, actually cry from the overstimulation, your orgasm drawing nearer and nearer.

and all of a sudden, your vision turned white. you couldn’t see him, you couldn’t see anything, but all you could do was pant, cry and whimper the only thing that was on your mind in that moment - his name.

“draco, draco, draco…” spilled from your lips as you grinded your hips against his face, draco happily lapping at your cunt as you started convulsing on top of him, his nails digging into the plush of your thighs to keep you from pulling away.

you were breathing heavily, so heavy that you could hear it and it was the thing pulling you back to reality, your head dropping forward and your gaze catching draco’s.

he grinned like a mad man, cheeks hurting as he didn’t even try to hide it. “i wanna be there to look at his face when you tell him that i am better.”

shaking your head, you felt a pang of guilt now, your adrenaline rush washing off. “you’re cruel, you know that?” catching your breath, you bit the inside of your cheek to keep yourself from smiling, but he saw right through you.

“you didn’t seem to mind one bit when i was fucking you with my tongue just a few minutes ago.”

fair enough.

────── ☾ ──────

[creatingblackcharacters]

Writing Polls Notes #3

This is a long one!

So there were a couple moments where I saw commentary and this meme was my first concern 😅. I say this because I realized that what I thought I was communicating, and what people were understanding, as the question were different.

The original question I asked was "Is [Black Character] well written?" And I provided a rubric of examples to consider, figuring that respecting their narrative and depiction while Black was a given. It seemed like people were struggling with the idea that "well-written" included respecting the character's Blackness (and thus, their Black audience) without having to center that Blackness. I'm like okay, that's on me for assuming, and so the question itself needed to be changed.

And so, the question then became "Did the writers treat [Black character]'s narrative with respect?" Interestingly, I never changed the screenshot of the rubric!

Since her poll was poppin, I decided to use Vivienne's character to see what happened, and-

Now. And this is for everyone! Imma ask you this:

If the character wasn't written with care, how is the character still being written well? What are we defining as "well"?

I'm sure there are happy accidents of characters written well despite their author not giving a shit. This is not me saying that you can write with care and never write poorly. This is also not me saying that you cannot like the character or their potential anyway! I certainly don't think these two ramshackle Tumblr polls are the end all be all determination on this character. But I am asking you to think about it, regardless.

If a Black character's Blackness is unironically used as a joke or bludgeon, or out-of-game important social context is completely dismissed or has to be projected onto the character's narrative by fanon, then I personally take that into consideration when determining the author-ial intent in how a character was written (e.g. was a character's story meant to be a 'freedom fighting' narrative or did you have to say 'well if we take it from the authors-').

Idk guys, I just think this matters a lot lmao, and seeing this difference spooked me. The concept of a character might be great, but if the delivery is only great if you have to allow yourself to be antiblack about it (or ignore that factor altogether), maybe it wasn't created with the experience of a Black audience in mind 😅 We can like anything we want, but we ain't gotta lie about it!

Moving on!

Repeating another point from earlier: "It seemed like people were struggling with the idea that "well-written" included respecting the character's Blackness (and their Black audience) without having to center that Blackness."

There were a decent amount of "well the story doesn't mention their Blackness so I guess not/this question is hard". This is a big one to think about, period. When designing and writing your Black characters, and when trying to dodge stereotypes. When we say "be normal about Black people", that's kind of what we mean. You don't have to go "Black, Black, it's a Black!" for us to know the creator gave a damn, given how we are treated in media and life. You can write a downright horrid person of a Black villain and it still be written with care!

But yeah, I don't have to write a narrative where the Blackness is centered to consider the way Blackness itself is treated with my character. For example, as low hanging fruit, Wyll and Mizora.

Blackness- as we know it- doesn't exist in BG3, and yet the visual of a predatory white woman owning a Black man is a very real thing. Doesn't matter that racism- as we know it- doesn't exist in game and is therefore irrelevant, it exists to the real Black people playing it.

So to treat it crassly (as it seems to have been done) suggests a level of unconcern, and thus the effect it will have on those Black viewers who can see how everyone else's narrative is being treated with care. I'm always telling y'all, it's not the prompt, it's the writer- that could have been one hell of a concept, if the people who wrote it knew (or cared about) what they had and followed through!

Now, if your mindset is "well then this game isn't for those viewers" that's true, but keep in mind that's overtly saying that Black players aren't welcome to consume your content with a character that looks like them without settling for racism (which is part of "did they think about their Black audience").

Lastly, as a reminder, we gotta rise above "see there's a Black character!" as a judgment of a piece of media's inclusiveness. Okay, but did they play a role that had interiority or did they just serve as a device for the nonblack main characters and their stories? I don't believe in giving credit for the bare minimum of "being present" anymore lol. It's okay to have standards, it's okay that everything you like won't reach them, but you don't have to lower your standards for good Black characters to "just having them"!

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Thunder Couple ⚡ | Bucky Barnes

Marvel Masterlist

note: Just saw Thunderbolts* today in theaters and all I can say is Marvel cooked with this one. It's the best MCU movie in a while (up there with GOT3 post-Endgame) and the overall theme/messages throughout the film were portrayed so well. And I nearly jumped out of my seat during the second post-credit scene I mean I literally almost lost it. Anyway, I'm might even see it again tomorrow and y'all already know I'm sat for Fantastic Four First Steps. Get ready for some Thunderbolts* headcanons these next couple chapters.

content warnings: spoilers for Thunderbolts*!! (scroll if you haven't seen it yet!) overall major fluff

-------------------------

Being in a relationship with Bucky Barnes while also being a Thunderbolt* would look like:

Having been a CIA operative turned rogue hitman for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, you were 'a guest' in her little cleanup operation that ultimately resulted in your unorthodox team-up with fellow anti-heroes that in turn became the Thunderbolts*/New Avengers. Falling in love with former Winter Soldier turned Congressman Bucky Barnes was not in the plan, but hey you can't help what the heart wants.

The others constantly tease y'all and will be like "uh oh, mommy and daddy are fighting again," whenever you two argue during a mission or while planning an attack. Bucky is headstrong and stubborn, but you're the only one who can really get through that hard head of his. He respects you so much that honestly, there's no point in arguing, he's gonna do what you think is best. 

Couples that throw hands against bad guys together, stay together. The two of you are an unstoppable duo when it comes to missions--watching each other's six, throwing weapons for the other to catch, throwing each other if it's necessary. "Babe, I know you're a super soldier and all, but can you try to be a little gentler when I ask you to toss me across the platform?" 

Staying up late in the tower's penthouse going over files which just ends being you two cuddled on the couch watching a Met's game if it's on or catching Bucky up on another movie he missed out on. Star Wars, the Godfather, The Matrix, the Equalizer, Grease, etc. He's got so many questions and anytime you watch an action movie the man is criticizing the fighting technique. 

You train together most days although the man tends to hold himself back because he's afraid of hurting you with his strength. and he's not available then you usually train with Yelena and Ava while he, John and Alexi do their super soldier showdowns. At that point you three just watch and take bets on who wins. Of course, your money is on Bucky. 

Bucky will put his arm in the dishwasher to clean and you'll discover it when you go to load the dishwasher. "Bucky! Is your arm clean to your liking or do you want me to give it another spin?" "Another spin, darling, thanks!"

If his hair gets too long, you'll offer to give him haircuts because he's too damn lazy to do it himself or go to a barber saying, "We've got more important things to worry about than my hair."  It gets to a point that after his millionth complaint you simply grab his arm and push him into the chair yourself. "Your ass is staying here until I'm done and if you get up while I'm working then it's your fault for the fuck ass hairdo you'll be rocking from here on."

Expect harsh kisses filled with relief after a job completed. Especially if there was a close call involving you. Bucky will grab your face in his hands and practically push you off your feet by the force of his lips claiming your own. And he doesn't give a fuck where you are or if his political reputation is reprimanded, that man is kissing you like it's his only way to breath. "Don't ever--." *kiss* "--scare me like that--." *kiss* "again, L/n."

[magickizu]

Shop Repairs

Crossover dp x dc. So I've got this time line in mind, for my crossover AU and this is a snippet of it. Will post more of it; will make a master post soon.

Jason has to find a solution, quickly: during the last mission his bike received more damage, than he had planned. Bringing it back to the cave will take too long, not to mention the repair time, that he can't make time for! And here's another thing: for like the past week or so, the pits have been acting extremely weird. Bubbling and flaring up randomly, like this pissed off but not revenging rage, if that makes sense?? What is going on???

Jason absolutely hated his luck: not only did these bastards get away, not only was it a pain in the ass anyway to hunt them down, not only did they take their goods with them as they fled after, not only kicking Hood's ass- ohohoho no! Of course his sweet baby had to be pulled into it! They used his bike as shield!! HIS FUCKING BIKE-!!!

The silvered raven groans annoyed, the pits are flaring up again too! He can't even get to the bat cave and fix her up, because he needs her by tomorrow and he does not have the right parts. Let alone the time, since he's got this meeting with this building company to talk over the plans for the Alley's new community gardens he wants to build. So naturally he's on his way to bring her to the only guy he trusts with her, when suddenly the pits flare up again!- right, rightrightright... Of course that wasn't enough, since the pit seemed to have even more problems in the past week, with him feeling like he got run over by trucks. The constant whispering and screeching and hissing about an intruder in his territory, inside his head- ...at this point it's just tiring.

Red Hood was deep in thought, in fact he was so deep in thought, that his feet have carried him all the way to the little mechanics shop and maybe, just maybe, he could be a little lucky today? Please? And they have everything and the damage wasn't as bad as it seemed? The pit is rumbling and gurgling disgustingly and he can see the green tinge slowly creeping into the corners of his eyes. Panic floods him, there's not a single one of the birds or bats around to help him now-

Hood tried his best, to take deep breaths. Steady his thoughts and fight back, imagining Dick would be there helping him concentrate. The mental image of his family just being there for him, helped a little, lately their bond has gotten better and Jason can definitely tell- snap out of it! He can't have a panic attack in the middle of the road! Not as the Red Hood at least... With one last, deep breath Hood's feet begin to move again, as he rounded the corner and pulled into the open garage door or the workshop.

"Ah-hah! The Red Hood," the old man behind the little counter laughs and stands up, Hood's shoulders relax at the sight and sound of him. "Tell me, tell me niño, what can I do for you? Have not seen you in a while, eh?" Mateo, the owner, shakes the vigilante's hand with a big smile and a small hug.

"Hey Tío," he greets back, hugging back briefly and gently. "My bike got... Involved in the action... Please tell me you can fix her by tomorrow, Tío." If it wasn't for the modulator in his mask, Hood would have sounded tired, which Mateo must have known, as he started to laugh out loud before answering.

"Alright, alright. I'll take a look, eh? But no promises." Mateo leaned down slowly with a huff and a grunt, until the man kneeled in front of the motorcycle. He called out for someone, after trying his best to look at the machine. Hood couldn't hear what Mateo said, he was too distracted with suddenly being confronted by Mateo's high age. Neither Jason, nor Red Hood have been here in a while and he mentally scolded himself for it. Jason helped out here and there, ever since he came back, ever since before Bruce... Mateo has always been there- been right here. Hood just wasn't ready yet; Jason wasn't ready. He hadn't realised how old the man was really getting, until now. Now that he sees him squinting at the details, sees him having trouble with finer motor skills of the machinery and now even so much as getting back up again after kneeling down. Hood forced himself back to reality, when Mateo tried to get back up but only grunted, he was about to take a step closer, help, something when-

"¡¡Tío!!" Suddenly a young man was faster. Analysis; same blue overalls as Mateo, just that the upper part is tied around his waist, dirty white t-shirt, work gloves, steel toed work shoes and one black sleeve, seemingly some kind of compression cuffs, on his right arm covering it completely- must be working here, well enough acquaintaned with Mateo, was in the back probably does the work now. Pale skin, dark raven hair with a few snow white streaks- good style! Hehe... And bright blue eyes, that are full of worry and- "Tío, how often did I tell you, just say something! ¿¡Eres estúpido!?" The young man scolded the older, grinning and chuckling one, but Hood didn't listen he was just staring... Jason couldn't look away from these electric blue eyes, that reflected in a strange neon green, that he just knows. The pit was bubbling over, growling and screaming at him and panic rose up like a lump in his throat, nearly clogging it and slowly suffocating him, as his vision is tinging green, bit by bit. This is not happening now, not now!! Shit!! What is he supposed to do!?

Suddenly the same voice breaks through to him; "...fuck, it's you..." And they both look at each other for a moment, then Hood reached for his gun immediately, the second the other man moved- He is the intruder! Shred him... "Wait! I-I'm so sorry! Ancients... I had an offering, but I forgot it at home. I swear, I do not mean any harm, to your haunt nor people nor you! I never meant to be disrespectful." The man held his hands up in surrender and the green subsided slightly from Jason's vision- how?? "-look; if it's good for you, I'll have her ready by tomorrow, as you asked, free of charge. Can that be my offering? Would that be acceptable for you?" And the pits calmed down... Hood stood there, frozen in place, overwhelmed and absolutely shocked, yet strangely relieved. The man also didn't sound hysterical, just calm enough to make it believable that... He wasn't scared... Against every bit of sanity left in his brain, the Hood nodded, his hand no longer hovering over his gun's holster. He straightened up.

"Explain." He growled, shocked by himself how much venom there was in his voice and how deep the rumbling of the growl was... As if it's coming from his chest. But moreover: what does this guy have to do with the pits!? And why the F U C K can he calm it down by T A L K I N G!?

"Okay, listen..." The man sighs, then contemplates something, looking Hood up and down, asassing him. "Alright, uhm... Name's Danny, my siblings and I just got here. We won't make any trouble and just need a place to stay, for now. The only reason I'm entering your haunt is because I work here and it's the only place that would hire me. Again my offering of doing a full round up on your bike still stands. If you don't wanna accept, that's your choice and I'll find something else, somewhere else. Okay?" Hood did listen; the man's alone, apparently desperate for money or else other places would do, he takes care of his siblings and cares for people seeing his instant worry about the old man, peaceful indeed with immediate surrender... And even a useful offering. ...what?

"Fine." Hood sighed, the other man, Danny, also sighed probably from relief. Wait... Where the hell did Mateo go?? Upon realisation, the larger one looked around,

"...Mateo's in the back office. I just... I just sent him back. Uhm..." He fidgeted a little, then stuck his hand out awkwardly. "How about this: Hi, I'm Danny. I take care of the work here now... And you're the Red Hood, that's kinda cool- I mean you are cool, like,... Sorry, I'm new to Gotham." Then Danny smiled awkwardly at him, as if he didn't just threaten to get shot. Hood stared but slowly reached out to grab the hand and Danny's smile widened, revealing the smallest hint of fangs. Hoods guard should be up but for some reason... This somewhat aggressive friendliness was welcome, somehow. "Right! The Ducati!" Danny reminded himself and moved his attention and body to the machine straight away.

"...and you'll be able to get her ready by tomorrow?" Hood asked after a moment of watching him looking through his bike. Danny perked up, seemingly ripped from his focus;

"Huh? Oh, uh... Yes, definitely! Seems like nothing too vital got hit. The tank is still good, the engine and the battery are also unharmed; a blessing in disguise, it's just...maybe a handful of tubes and a couple cables. I'll get you a round check, change the oil and clean up the painting. Be back at..." Danny thought about it. "Would five sound good?" He offered and that was admittedly fast, yes. Hood hummed in agreement.

"Make it six, deal." The vigilante held his hand out to the mechanic, who shook his hand for the deal and then made a little surprise yelp, as he got hoisted back up. Surprisingly light, but lean built. No directly visible muscles, but Danny still holds up strong. With one last look at his baby, then a warning glare at Danny, who ironically seemed to understand as he lifted his hands in surrender again and a small smile.

"I promise, I'll take good care of her. Will make her purr like a kitten." Because if not... What is he talking about? That guy has his family waiting at home and can't even change locations properly. As Hood walked out and began to his closest save house, it suddenly clicked in his mind, when he realises one fundamental thing, as he listened to the streets in Crime Alley and nothing else... That's exactly it, for once Hood didn't hear anything from the pit... As if it's completely gone. The static sensation in his mind, only picked up again slowly, the further away he got.

So this Danny guy has something to do with the pits and Jason will find out how...

"Ta-da!" Danny grinned proudly, as he showed Red Hood his bike, looking brand knew right out the factory. His eyes grew wide under the mask,

"Holy shit..." Hood rounds the machine, softly gliding over every visible surface. Checking even some of the nooks and crannies, after all he has to make sure it's all in proper order. Danny crossed his arms, sure of himself. "... I'll admit, that's good work." Danny nods, his smile widening in appreciation for the man's work.

"Rev her." The smaller man instructed, Hood for once did what he was told without hesitation and it paid: as he ignited the engine and let her reel, the machine simply purred. Litteraly just purred. Low, menicing bass and silent efficiency...

"Holy shit!" He shut her off again, for now. "That..." Hood gestures in slight disbelief, "that's real good work. Thanks man." He holds out a hand, Danny looks down at it, less smiles and a little more perplexed but nonetheless, the shorter one grabs it. What he seemingly didn't expect was for Red Hood to haule him in shoulder bumper- ey, he may be the Red Hood, but he's still from the hood. Danny just starts smiling again. "I mean it, damn fine. I'll bring her around more often, when she needs it. How much?" He reaches for his wallet, cash only of course, but he got waved off.

"Nonsense. Is the least I can do." Danny made his way already around the counter, typing away at the computer and scribbling something in a black book.

"For what? You did the work-"

"-Woopsies! Looks like I already started closing our only register! Oh man, I'm such a dummy! Urgh! My clumsiness...!" Danny exaggerated dramatically, then leaned onto the counter with one elbow. The other hand on his hip, "forget it, the register's closed, we don't take payment anymore." That smug little bastard then had the audacity to start grinning and daringly lift an eyebrow. ...and honestly, the vigilanty couldn't help but smile at this. Danny can be a little shit, apparently, just as he himself which by all means is entertaining. Hell, even the pits began flairing up in an unusually positive way, almost like a low but friendly rumble in his rest.

"Okay, fine... But I can't let this stand unattended." Danny, yet again, waved him off. But there, just for a brief moment, the way his eyes sparked like an idea, he rushed to scribble something out. Then Danny came over.

"Alright... when you're done with your mission, shoot me a message. There's something I'd actually like to talk about..." The mechanic said, shifting a little nervously, but never loosing the hint of a smile on his lips. The pits gurgle a little shrill, almost like dieing chirping... Oh!- uninted, but good one, heh. But now Hood was definitely intrigued, for the lack of better words.

"...Sure." He agreed, with that he swung himself onto his sweet baby and nodded the other bey, who mirrored the action as response and took a few steps back, to give Hood enough space to start up. As he did right in that moment, then he was gone again, into the night.

Even the pits have massively quieted down again, after deeming the young mechanic non-threatening. Yeah, he still needs to figure out, what that guy has to do with the lazarus pits, but right now he's got one real big fish to catch, fillet and fry for what he did and did to his machine.

@georgiefreddie0829 @shirasorin

[whateversawesome]

About the New Garden Arc

It's been a while since I've written a chapter analysis. I've been busy writing my new Royal AU Twiyor fic. Lucky for all of us, after chapter 115 came out, so did many fantastic analysis!

Anyways, I've been thinking about the things we could see in this new arc and I'd like to share that with you 😊

First of all, I have observed that before a big arc, Endo sort of foreshadows what the arc will be about by showing us the character's state of mind or even things that happen around the character.

Example: Right before the cruise arc began, we have chapter 43, which starts with Franky and Twilight mentioning the Garden. In this chapter, Yor uses her strength to save an innocent creature (a cat.) The arc turned out to be about the Garden and, later, in the arc Yor saves Olka and her baby.

On chapter 44, when she runs into Yuri, we get a glimpse at her state of mind: Yor wonders if there's a point in continuing her work as an assassin.

We see that Thorn Princess seems without a purpose. I think she hesitated because she wanted a "normal life." Later in the arc, she rediscovers her purpose and decides to keep on doing her job to protect her family's happiness.

Everything that happened in the cruise arc was brewing way beforehand.

Knowing this, let's review previous chapters to learn Yor's state of mind:

Kissing, kissing, and more kissing: Yup, kissing is all over Yor's mind. It was mentioned when she went out for dinner with her colleagues, when she arrived home drunk, when she met the Authens, when she went to see a movie with Anya, Martha, and Becky. See? 😏

Yor, the protector: Yor's mentality has changed; from someone who wanted to solve things murdering people (remember when Anya was in the waiting list for Eden?) to someone who wants to protect. This was recently mentioned in the chapter when they went skiing and again when after that movie.

Her childhood: Specifically, the way Yor was affected by war as a child. This was mentioned when she was at that charity bazar with the office girls and those women were bullying Millie. It was mentioned again when she had dinner with Yuri.

Those are the biggest three topics I have noticed. So, what are some topics we could see in this arc? What should we expect given the previous information?

Yor's Past: Yup, the time has come. Why? They are going to the south, where Yor is from. She's already been thinking about her past, it's been mentioned several times. So, yes, I think we'll see at least part of it. My guess is that just like with Twilight's past, we will see how Yor joined the Garden.

Yor as a protector: Not only as an assassin. The arc began with Yor protecting an innocent ladybug, so it will probably end with her protecting another innocent creature. And my guess is that this will make her clash with Hemlock, who seems to be very much in super assassin mode. Bonus: We will probably also find out why Hemlock dislikes Yor so much.

Yor's realization of her feelings for Loid: My twiyor brain wants this to happen so badly!! But out of the three, I'm not so sure about this one. Given all the mentions about kissy kiss, it's definitely coming, however, I'm not sure it'll be in this arc. It depends on the direction Endo wants to go. At the moment, it doesn't really match but this arc could help her get closer to this realization.

Other things that we could see: McMahon's past (I would love to see that!), Yor's childhood home, Yor's parents, Yor's first 'client', the teacher-student relationship with McMahon, Yor's training.

Hopefully things will be clearer withing the next couple of chapters. I'm thinking this will be a long arc, packed with action, but also valuable information about Yor.

[casscainmainly]

Hi

i wanted to ask, in canon, cass is able to speak normally and fluently but struggles with writing and reading and dyslexia right?

From what i've read that seems to be true, but i haven't read modern cass stuff besides bg 2024 where she seems to be able to read and write aswell

She does indeed have a language disability! From Batgirl (2000) #67:

Important part is that while she does struggle to read and write (more than speaking), Babs points out the she "can learn". We know from Gabrych's earlier issue (#58) that Cass has advanced significantly at this point in her reading skills:

It's still a struggle, but I think at this point her skills are speaking > reading > writing (and speaking is not completely fluent). Another thing we know from Batgirl (2008) is that Cass attended ESL lessons and got tutoring from Alfred. Beechen was trying to explain evil!Cass though, so whether you accept this explanation for her sudden fluent English is up to you. I think this is a copout since we didn't see this progression, and it's immediately followed by N52 anyway. But to answer your question about modern!Cass, honestly it's all over the place. We can start with Tynion's Detective Comics (2016), which remains the modern run that focuses most on her disability. Basil's Shakespeare lessons improve Cass' language ability, to the point where Babs says:

This is markedly different from pre-52, in that Cass seems to be a better reader than a speaker. So modern!Cass is reading > speaking > writing in terms of skill. This is supported by Batgirls (2022), where Cass is seen to be a huge bookworm and reads Steph's letter in #14. I think Batgirls overshoots this a bit because we don't see her struggle with reading at all, erasing her disability to an extent - this is my qualm with the current Birds of Prey run as well in regards to Cass' dialogue. Modern comics are hit or miss in terms of how they handle, or if they even address, Cass' disability.

Writing is the field least explored both pre- and post-52. We know from Batgirl (2000) #2 that Cass does practice writing, or at least she did at one point. As far as I recall we don't see her write again? Cass can type - as far back as Batgirl (2000) #30, we see that she can use a keyboard. We also know from TT's Nightwing that there's a family group chat, though Cass mostly sends emojis. Typing with a keyboard reduces the cognitive load of making sentences, so it's likely Cass is a more confident typer than she is a handwriter.

In general, modern comics have focused most on the speech aspect - Tynion's 'Tec, Batman and the Outsiders (2019), Batgirls '22, Batgirl '24, and Mariko Tamaki's story in Festival of Superheroes generally all focus on speaking over reading/writing (in contrast to Batgirl (2000) which touched on all three areas). The preview of Batgirl #7, though, has Cass listening to an audiobook as she reads, so Brombal is highlighting Cass' reading disability! Even if it's not all that visible in Cass' modern appearances, her disability is still a huge part of her character!!!

If you want a fairly in-depth look at the history of Cass' disability (until 2023), check out @dailycass-cain's post!

[ro-is-futile]

Which I really appreciated on Coogler’s part because horror movies don’t have to have good/satisfying endings, and I’m so used to seeing a callous approach to violence against Black people from film and tv.

So when it’s revealed that the Klan always intended to kill them all, that it was always going to be a slaughterhouse, it felt less like random violence against Black people for violence sake. Black owned businesses faced the risk of being targeted by white terror groups. Whole towns burnt down or bombed, Black Wall Street burnt down and destroyed. Because anytime Black people excercised financial autonomy, it was a real threat to the status quo and white people’s cultural dominance.

So instead of the juke joint burnt down, all of them killed by the KKK, and no real consequences for the racial violence, we get Smoke gunning down the KKK terminator style then rejoining Annie. Which was a satisfying ending.

Rarely are film/tv depictions of racial violence met with justice, because historically, there wasn’t justice for Black Americans (still isn’t but…). Of course Smoke gunning down the KKK wasn’t really justice, nothing could’ve made that situation right. But it felt like justice, at the very least he got his lick back.

So then for people to be playing the blame game with characters of color, is just odd. Like did we watch the same movie? The only thing to blame is the racial hierarchy and its perpetuators. And I feel like Coogler made that pretty clear. The only thing that would’ve saved them was bowing down to their subjugation, and even then, there’s no guarantee that they wouldn’t be subjected to racial violence anyways. Like the story of Delta Slim’s friend being lynched by a group of white people for having money that another group of white people paid him.

Ryan coogler wanted the audience to see that the racial violence perpetuated against Black people was never justified, they were never to blame. Black men weren’t lynched for raping white women, they were lynched for things like having a competing business, daring to open a business, daring to resist. Racial violence/terror always served the express purpose of racial dominance, getting Black people to fall in line with the status quo.

People will blame anything but a system lol.

Also my friend pointed out that Smoke and Stack always anticipated being targeted by the KKK, which is why they had the trunk in the first place. It was just in the joy and the rush of the grand opening, a night of freedom, that they forgot to bring the trunk in.

They were always aware that racial violence was the risk for resisting.

really annoys me that there are ppl who've seen Sinners (2025) trying to play the blame game over who let the vampires in, or who's responsible for the vampires' carnage. Crazy how there are people who will blame the Choctaw men, Mary or even Grace. As if it's people of colour who are to blame for racialised violence committed against them. But also a lot of people seemed to miss the point that regardless of whether the vampires came or not, the Klan showed up in the morning to burn the place to the ground. The true horror is not the vampires, not who let them in either, but who was always going to benefit from their violence. The true horror of Sinners (2025) is that at least a vampire has to trick you for an invitation to kill you, but the Klan don't need one.

[whatever1728]

barca fluff

summary: Pau and Hector have to deal with the double pressure of being defenders at 18 for the club of their dreams and sitting exams to go to uni. Marc and Lamine notice what most of the team fails to see, that being how exhausted Pau and Hector are.

notes: joao and marc didn't leave barca in this, cause I can't deal -nor do I want to deal- with their absence, the afformantioned four are all 18 in this

warnings: first ever fic (constructive critisism wanted), english ain't my first language

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Anyone would say that it was just another normal week for the barca players. And for the most part it was. The only relatively different thing was that the team had organized to have a bbq at Dani's backyard on Thursday afternoon. Back to Tuesday, Lamine woke up like every other morning, got dressed and headed out to go to training. Upon his arrival at the parking lot he saw Marc getting out of his own car. After parking he got out and greeted his friend.

"Hey bro, what's up?" asked Marc, with the energy that at this point defined him.

"Nothing much, hermano. The basic really. Keyne being energetic and mum trying to calm him down. You?" Lamine replied easily.

They started walking towards the locker room.

"I don't have anything new going on either. On another note have you heard from Pau or Hector?" Marc questioned

Lamine was left confused, he didn't know anything but lately he had a weird feeling around these two, like any moment they would colapse. He didn't phrase those thoughts. Not yet, anyway.

"No. What did I miss?"

"Nah, you didn't actually miss something that's the thing. I've been worried about them. They are both so stressed lately I thought maybe you spoke to them. My messages have been left to delivered since Friday." Marc admited truthfully.

Lamine verified Marc's worry with what he said next.

"I haven't spoken to them either. But I understand your worry. Maybe the were just sudying during the weekend and didn't pay attention."

"I guess, let's keep our eyes open though, si?" Marc suggested

"Si" Lamine agreed

By now they had reached the locker room. Loud greetings were shouted back and forth as per usual. They went and sat by Pau and Hector who had just finished getting changed.

"Hey..." Pau greeted them, less energetic than usual.

A quiet 'hola' came from Hector who was on his phone going through messages he hadn't seen.

"Sorry I didn't reply to you Marc. I was busy with school work during the weekend" Hector informed him.

Marc, not missing a beat replied:"Don't worry 'bout it. I was just checking in on you."

After they chatted for a while there came the voice of the coach. Hansi at this point was more of a strict -during training only- father rather than a coach. He explained to them what the would be doing for the day and they all headed out to the training pitch.

..............................................................................................................................

Training came and went, with nothing quite outstanding happening. The only different thing was the energy and that wasn't something few realized. Pau and Hector both seemed to go through drills just fine, their teasing attitude was what was missing. Lamine and Marc exchange a couple of glances because of the particular matter.

..............................................................................................................................

Wednesday was much the same, nothing extreme happening, if you count out how Felix and Ferran managed to trip eachother and went tumbling to the ground and the whole team laughing.

When Thursday evening finally rolled around everybody was getting at Olmo's place for the bbq. Dani, with the help of the 'adults' (aka himself, Araujo, Frenkie, Lewa, Tek and Hansi) cooked the meat while the rest helped set the table. Gavi, being his usual self felt that he had to get involved with the grilling and ended up almost setting himself on fire. (Thank God for Pedri who managed to solve that crisis.)

After a while the food was ready. They started chatting while eating, about anything and everything. Like a family would. Because in the end of the day that's what they were. When Flick arrived he was weirded out because of it. He always went out of his way to state how much he liked those familial bonds this team shared. These connections that go far beyond that those on the pitch. With the main course over, Dani went and fetched some desserts that were diet-appropriate. The 'party' was moved to the firepit. Everybody sat around in the pillowed couches, getting comfortable. They tried, keyword being 'tried', to make marshmallows but failed miserably except from Frenkie. Though in the kids books he didn't count because:

"You have done it before" and

"Not fair..."

Frenkie obviously laughed but promised to teach them.

Two voices hadn't been heard for a while. Lamine and Marc turned towards their best friends, only to find the passed out cold, cuddling against eachother calmly, their breaths even and steady.

They exchanged a glance and kept staring at the two asleep forms. Concern and worry written all over their faces.

Gavi was the first to notice.

"Hey kiddos", like he was that much older, "why are you staring at Pau and Hector like they are going to vanish?"

At this, the whole vibe shifted. Marc spoke first.

"It's just... I don't know how to express this. Lamine and I have been worried." Marc confided

"Don't get us wrong. They have both been absolutely brilliant. They've been getting progresively more stressed by the day though. On top of UCL, the leaugue and the Copa, they also have to balance school and homework because they are sitting the exams for uni." Lamine continued.

The rest were left stunned. Fermin, having sat the exams himself, understood perfectly. Gavi, too, understood since he helped Fermin study sometimes but mostly helped him calm down.

"That explains many things." Gavi stated. The 'adults' looked at him weirdly. They all knew that Gavi was close to all the Masia kids. Feeling responsible for them quite often and helping them out whenever and wherever they needed. What they didn't know though was just how perceptive he was.

"What do you mean?" came the question everybody wanted to ask, from the lips of Joao.

"Remember how this past week something seemed that was missing. I noticed Hector and Pau lacking some energy and not teasing me like usual but didn't say anything. I thought that they were just having a rough week. Now that these two" motioning to Lamine and Marc with a nod of his head "mentioned I put two and two together and realised that it has been getting worse."

That short speech left them all feeling heavy. They were supposedly a family, a team that did everything together, brotherhood being the only word good enough to describe it. And yet most felt like they failed to see the two sleeping defenders getting anxious. The next to speak up was Pedri.

"The million-dollar question is how can we help them. Fermin, what do you think? You are the only one who might have some experience with this." he expressed.

"Maybe we should organize a day to help them chill a bit. Whenever I was stressed I just told Gavi and we went for a walk." Fermin admitted.

"Yeah, I remember. Sometimes we stayed out there for quite a while. There was even a time that we fell asleep and the whole Masia was searching for us." said Gavi with a smile on his lips.

"Yeah, maybe something like that could help." Lamine decided, never taking his eyes of his two tired friends.

Pau and Hector started to stir awake. They immediatelly looked back at Marc and Lamine.

"For how long have we been passed out?" Hector asked.

"An hour or so." came the answer from Marc.

"Why is everyone looking at us like that? Did you use my face as a canvas again Lamine?" teased Pau, after seeing the other playing with a pen.

"No, nothing like that." Came a calm reply from Araujo.

"Then what's going on? 'Cause something is up, I can feel it. What did you lot discuss while me an Pau took our beauty sleep? " Hector questioned lightly.

Surprisingly, the one to respond was none other than Hansi.

"Everyone has been expressing that they feel worried about you too."

"What do you mean coach? We are both fine aren't we?" responded the one.

"We are fit, focused and calm. No reason for worry" stated the other.

Lamine however had other thoughts."Excuse my language" he said while addressing the older ones "are you two for real? You are exhausted all the damn time. Wtf guys? Why won't you two just speak with the rest of us?"

The tired duo let out a sigh. It took only a glance between them to decide that they were coming clean about their feelings.

"Okay. Yes. We have both seen better days."

"Balancing football and school has gotten tiring. By a lot lately, if we are being honest"

Lewa at this point felt like he was failing these kids as a father figure.

"Why didn't you confide in us sooner? I've told you how much I love you, at this point it feels like you are my own sons. Why didn't you speak up about this?" he asked, punctuating his words as not only to not get twisted by the younger two, but also to make them open up more about this.

Hector spoke up first. "It hasn't been easy. Never really was to begin with. But lately... lately everything has been too much, the expectations from the world of football together with the pressure for school... it's been a rollercoaster without an ending."

"I second that" came a tired statement from Pau, who even though awake he kept shrinking himself close to Hector.

Hansi was the next to address the two teens.

"I think you are in need of a break."

The protesting was immediate and loud. Pau and Hector both on their feet.

"Coach don't do this please... don't bench us..."

"Yeah coach please don't do it, not again..." Hector mumbled the second part to himself.

"Oh my God you two! Coach didn't say that he was benching you. When we were talking earlier we thought of organising something to help you calm down. Nobody ever even considered what you just said." Inigo stopped the two teens.

At this the two sat back down.

"We were thinking about organizing a day at the beach. Swimming, playing volleyball and messing around. How would you feel about that?" Dani asked calmly.

Hector and Pau were left stunned for a bit but agreed. It was left in the hands of Pedri to plan it out with the help of Lamine and Marc who both knew the beaches of Catalonia like the back of their hands.

After some calmer conversations, people started to fill out. Hector, Pau and Gavi stayed for a bit more, while Dani started cleaning up. The truth is that Gavi kept the two younger put. Said he needed to talk to them before they left.

"Does it help when you talk about it?" Gavi asked thoughtfully.

"Like we did today? Yeah, more than I like to admit." came a reply from Hector.

Pau agreed easily with his best friend.

"I need the two of you to know that you can confide in me. Don't bottle up how you feel. Don't let it get to the point where you are this tired again. I know that talking about it with everyone is not always easy nor wanted. But you have Marc and Lamine by your sides. And me. Always." Gavi told them in earnest.

Hector and Pau understood what their older brother (figure) was saying. They wanted to show their understanding in the older's love language, physical touch. So they hugged him tight. Gavi held them close. He didn't have brothers by blood or younger siblings. If anything though this two plus Lamine and Marc felt quite like it. And Gavi has always been loyal. He swore right there and then, while he held the other two close to him, he wouldn't let them suffer through this, or through anything again. He vowed to always be by their side whenever needed. Asked or not.

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

A/n:thoughts???

[sablegear0]

We need a manga/anime in the hobby-interest subgenre that’s a love letter to fibre crafts.

Let me explain. Stuff like My Dress-Up Darling and Negative-Positive Angler fall into a subgenre I’m calling “hobby interest.” They have a broader overarching genre (romance and slice-of-life, respectively) but base their character interactions and initial draw gimmick around appreciation of a specific hobby (sewing/cosplay and fishing, respectively).

And don’t even get me started about the million-and-one cooking anime out there, a number of which (significant to this proposal) are isekai or I-cant-believe-it’s-not-isekai (those fish-out-of-water generico fantasy series that are one pre-opening-credits flashback about the protag’s former life away from being actual isekai).

And so I circle back to my main point: we need one of these that’s about traditional methods of fibre farming, processing, and crafting.

An isekai actually works well as a purposeful framing device here, as our speculative protag (let’s make them a woman as fibrecrafts are “traditionally” women’s work and I want that gender stuff genuinely acknowledged and appreciated) could have a point of reference to modern fibrecrafts - perhaps she was a hobby knitter herself, - and draw comparisons for the benefit of the audience.

We could call it something generic like “Weaver’s Apprentice in Another World” to really fit the trash isekai appearance.

The focus should be on highlighting the entire process of fibre-creation. From the start of farming, with episodes about sheep and silkworm husbandry, about flax and cotton farming. To processing; carding, extracting, spinning - silk farming in particular has a huge history that would be interesting to delve in to. The many methods of creating; the titular weaving (of which there are many methods and styles!), knitting, crochet. Obtaining, processing, and using dyes…

All this being a great way to appreciate different cultural textiles too! A Japanese audience may have a base appreciation for all the work that goes into a handmade kimono, but what about hand-painted fabrics and batiks? What about a highland tartan? An isekai framing works well here too, using the idyllic multiculturalism of a fantasy world to access different analogues to real-world cultures.

You see the potential here, right? And all through this the protag can be comparing what she’s seeing and learning to how a lot of this has been relegated to hobby status in the modern day, how synthetic fibres and automation and fast fashion have distanced people from the cloth they wear. (Not all of which is a bad thing; automated weaving is an amazing technology, etc. We can even get a little history lesson about the very real apprehensions surrounding the automated loom as well!)

Anyway this is all just me vamping - I think it’s a great idea but I hardly have the resources or skills to do anything with it. If you’re someone out there that has a way to run with this concept, go for it. I’d read/watch the hell out of something like this.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam

Welcome back everyone to Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam... in the middle of spring. I had stated this somewhere else, but the reason I'm not doing these Analyzer posts (or the fanfic chapters) as often as I probably should was because of some health issues and while I feel better now, I'm still dealing with some stuff, so thank you for your patience. I can also assure you that the next chapter of Sonic Cyber Revolution and maybe even With Light In My Heart will be coming out this week.

Of course, if you guys aren't interested in an AU where Sonic and his friends are digital anomalies based on their video game counterparts and saving the day from all kinds of threats or a Sonadow story taking place Post-Frontiers/Post-Sonic X Shadow Generations, that's also fine, because we have a fun story ahead of us. X3

We kick off with Eggman staring at his monitor, with Orobot and Cubot noting how he's been working for days...

...watching reality TV?

Well, I guess that's a way to spend your time. God knows how much time I spent in front of the TV watching Takeshi's Castle... and now I want Sonic and his friends go through an episode of Takeshi's Castle. Thank you, Iasmin Omar Ata, for writing this.

Anyways, speaking of reality TV, we also find several characters showing up on the monitors, such as Barry, the Conductor and his wife (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog) and Gadget and Ian Jr. (Sonic Forces). It's nice to see them have the time of their lives for once without being menaced by Eggman's robots.

Unfortunately, we don't know Eggman's opinion on reality TV, but we do know what Orbot thinks of them. He believes that the people in them compete over useless things and how Eggman's been obsessing over them, which means that he and Cubot have their work getting piled up... Okay, is it just me or is this the most menacing, raw emotional that Orbot has ever looked? Because that one panel of him stewing in anger is pretty cool.

Cubot then points out how Eggman told them that this was ''research'' to break Sonic, with Orbot noting how he won't leave that chair until he's satisfied. Ah, so Eggman's suffering from writer's block (or is it mad scientist's block?). I can relate to that.

Also, hi Mecha Sonic Mark III. We haven't seen you since Sonic Adventure.

Orbot and Cubot then take a look at some of the ideas Eggman put on the wall, having a Pinky and the Brain moment as they get inspired by them.

We then cut to Green Hill, where Sonic is relaxing with Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Big, Rouge and Omega.

It is all fun and games, until a Giant Chopper shows up, with Sonic nervously pointing at it.

The Giant Chopper then promptly eats them and swims off into the distance.

Roll credits.

Jokes aside, they're not dead, although that was a pretty novel way to kidnap all of them. Instead, they get dropped in some kind of dark room, having no clue what's going on.

The lights turn on, blinding them, with Orbot and Cubot announcing how they have been kidnapped to participate in Orbot and Cubot's Winter Jam.

Side-note, I love how Cubot taped eye-brows, it's really hilarious.

As the Badniks cheer them on, Cubot continues the speech about how the contestants will be put through trials, with the winner taking an amazing prize:

It's a Chaos Emerald!

Also, I may have lost the count, but I believe that so far, we only saw three Chaos Emeralds being found since the whole Metal Virus fiasco - one being taken by Rouge when Rough and Tumble teamed up with her and Tangle, the other being taken by Sonic and Tails and this being the third one. You may correct me on this.

Sonic and co. are not too thrilled about this, wondering if this is another trap, and Omega is about to blast his way out. Orbot and Cubot have an ''Oh, no!'' moment, and quickly quell Omega's bloodthirst by promising that he can fight against a brand-new, big, bad Badnik. Omega finds this acceptable, and I'm already laughing my ass off. This is promising to be good.

Cubot wants them to break into teams of three, probably as a reference to Sonic Heroes, but Orbot reminds him that they lack two members.

We then get a brief flashback of Shadow just glaring at the two when they attempt to ask him whether he'd join the competition and another flashback of Knuckles throwing them off Angel Island Team Rocket-style. I really wish we could've seen how that conversation went. I guess it's no wonder they outright kidnapped the rest of contestants.

In any case, after a short break, we everyone divided into teams of two - Team Sonic, consisting of Sonic and Tails; Team Dark, consisting of Rouge and Omega; Team Rose, consisting of Amy, Cream and Cheese; and Team Big, consisting of Big and Froggy.

I also love how there's a disclaimer about how all of the cast members agreed to filming. Sure, kidnapping the cast members is a-okay, but we draw the line at filming them without their consent.

We start of with Scene Jam!, where the contestants have to create a chill holiday party vibe. Tails has already the plans out to make this perfect, but Sonic decides to use his super speed to get it done quickly, getting caught in Big's fishing hook and just stumbling all over the place getting caught in the fairy lights. Love how Tails is just done with his brother's hijinks.

Rouge and Omega have better plans, with Rouge deciding to just steal the Chaos Emerald, while Omega serves as a distraction. Omega crafts some really neat wreath pieces... then promptly locks on Orbot and Cubot, with Rouge getting blown away by the explosion from behind.

Their side collapses, leaving them all buried in the rubble after Omega's antics. Meanwhile, Team Rose is doing quite well for themselves, making pastries and a cake... out of veggies? I don't think I'd want to taste that, but hey, it does look nice. Okay, let's just give these two the win and move on.

During the interview, Sonic does feel bad about costing him and Tails the win. Rouge is annoyed that Omega cost her stealing the Chaos Emerald with his antics, while Omega gives her the most deadpan response about her judgement possible. Cream is promising that she will make a whole feast just like that cake, with Amy just giving everyone a nervous look. As for Big, he's just happy that he can have fun.

Next is Snowball Jam!, with the goal being to get an Eggman Doll to the finish line without it getting damaged by the other teams. We get a brief comment from Sonic on how creepy they look before turning to Team Rose as they attempt to escape the barrage of snowballs Omega is sending after them, managing to damage the Eggman Doll.

Next we have Team Sonic, with Sonic being confident that his super speed can get them the win, and while he avoids the snowballs, the Eggman Doll still get shredded because it can't handle his super speed. Team Big just gives up, not even wanting to deal with this, giving Team Dark an easy win.

We go back to the interview room, with Sonic slowly losing his mind over losing the competition and Tails asking Orbot to cut this part out. Orbot's like ''Nope!'', and let's be honest, if there's one thing that viewers like, it's the drama behind the scenes. That, and it's always good to see Sonic show more raw emotion.

Rouge and Omega are happy about their victory, Cream and Amy are fine since they gave their best, while Big notices that Froggy is kinda acting strange.

We have a time skip through several other challenges, with everyone being exhausted and completely done with this nonsense. The next challenge is Sculpt Jam!, where they have to create the best ice sculpture.

Sonic and Tails, despite being tired, still give their best, creating a really cute sculpture of both of them, being a reference to their Classic versions. The issue they run into, however, are the fact that they also sculpted the noodle limbs, causing the legs to crack and the whole thing to break down.

Sonic can only stare in shock as he falls on his knees, completely defeated in both mind and spirit. Orbot then comments how Eggman may have been onto something with this reality TV stuff if Sonic can break down like this.

While Team Dark and Team Rose are doing their own thing, Big is still confused by why Froggy is acting strange, only to for the frog to suddenly fire a laser blast at the ice block, creating a sculpture of a rather shapely Dr. Eggman holding the Chaos Emerald.

Orbot and Cubot panic, because let's be real, I doubt that Froggy should be capable of doing this.

They then reveal that Froggy is actually a production plant, much to everyone's shock (and Sonic's exasperation, although that may be because Amy's hugging him), while Rouge is trying to quietly sneak away. I do love how even the Badniks are shocked by this.

Cubot explains how Froggy wasn't captured, so they had to improvise and how this is the ''big, bad Badnik'' they used to bait Omega, which I find hysterical that they get called out on it.

Omega immediately locks on and just destroys the entire arena, while Rouge swipes the Chaos Emerald.

Eggman appears, pissed off about the ruckus, while Orbot and Cubot turn to the ''PRESS IF HECKED UP'' button.

This button launches all the contestants out of the Egg Base straight back into Green Hill, with Sonic once again face-planting and getting hit by the Chaos Emerald.

Eh, at least Big is happy that he found the real Froggy.

Tails notes how all's well that ends well, which makes more sense to be said in this kind of environment than a flooded Station Square, while Rouge notes how this was the most annoying way of getting a Chaos Emerald. Honestly, I thought it was hilarious.

Amy figures it was worth it, as we see Green Hill covered in snow and decorated. I assume that those are the remains of the Winter Jam, sent flying along with them. Sonic doesn't care, wanting to enjoy the moment while it lasts.

We then get a nice image of everyone playing in the snow, before cutting back to Eggman, who is annoyed that this was the culmination of all of his research.

He calls it garbage, deletes and destroys all of his ideas and Orbot and Cubot give each other a thumbs up, happy they got him to be more productive than just stare at the TV the whole day.

All in all, Winter Jam was pure hilarity and I loved seeing Sonic and co. being put through reality TV challenges just to see how they'd handle it, with a special shout-out to Sonic's nervous breakdown after losing his challenges.

With this, we end The Misadventures Arc, and while technically Fang the Hunter should be next on the list, it technically serves as a prequel to Sonic Superstars and I want to, for now, go through the main story instead of the Classic one.

In other words, our next arc is The Phantom Rider Arc, and I am excited to get into that one!

See ya!

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

[hyperpotamianarch]

As of late, four new people have elected to reblog this post, showcasing their enjoyment. In general, this is great to hear: I'm glad you enjoyed my little piece. However, some of them indicated they wished me to continue - which showcases that they didn't see the original tags or the replies to the post. Which is fine, and is to be expected. I will, however, reiterate here before continuing: this story isn't expected to ever be much more than what you see here. My projects tend to end up in a limbo, so I think it's best to just leave it be. This is all to lower your expectations, because I do have a vague additional idea.

I might be attempting to pull of a Howl - managing to do something only because I pretend not to do it. Even it I am, I don't expect to succeed. With that in mind, allow me to share the point:

So, lately, I've been thinking of one of the oldest antisemitic libels. A thankfully dead one - the Onolatry libel, accusations of donkey-worship. It dates back to Hellenistic period Egypt, where it (and the Leper colony legend) were used as an Egyptian answer to the story of Exodus. I'm not completely sure about all the details, but there may have been a thing where the Egyptian god of the desert and storms, Set, had some connection to donkeys, and the Egyptians assumes Jews worship him for some reason - possibly because the concept of a god with nothing like a body was so alien to them.

Anyway, the basic idea is to play on this trope. I'm not sure how well it'll work with the established relationship between the Egyptian Magicians and the Tanach, but it can possibly fit. The idea currently is along the line of: Jewish child discovers the magical locker (might be descended from Moshe or something. Blood of the Pharaohs is harder when you're a member of a group that tends to marry internally). Child's parents probably don't approve of them going to the 21st Nome, but they want to go on a journey of self discovery. In attempting to still connect to their Jewish roots even as a magician, they follow the path of Set - which is still stigmatized even with Amos' whole deal, and people only trust the Chief Lector with that kind of things. For some reason going to the 1st None to talk to Amos isn't a possibility - Still need to work that out - so the Jewish child find themself wandering around various mythical groups (possibly). Maybe they're declared Typhon legacy in CHB (long story, but it actually has precedence in the writings of Greek historians), they bump into the aforementioned Chaldean school in New Jersey (should've been in Manhattan, what with the whole "land of two rivers" thing, but the Olympians had it reserved), until they eventually find Camp Nephilim.

Another reminder: this isn't a promise for a future story, just a vague outline of a possibility.

Pleasant music playing. The logo of Camp Nephillim appears on a sky-blue background. The logo is a tilted Star of David in which all the points are stylized as wings, with the words "Camp Nephilim" above and the Hebrew equivalent - "מחנה הנפילים" - below. Underneath the logo is a tagline - a quote from the Tanach.

The logo & background slowly fade. The music also fades, though a bit later than the logo.

[Setting: Int., an office of some sort. The back wall is covered with book shelves, with many of the books being in Hebrew - the Talmud, multi volume edition of the Tanach and such books. There's a table in the middle of the room. Behind it sits Tuvia Rosenbloom, an adult Jewish man with curly dark hair, a short beard and sharp green eyes. He wears a blue Camp Nephilim t-shirt, with a Tzitzit under it and a yarmulke on his head. He sports a friendly smile.]

Tuvia (with a noticable British accent): Shalom! Hello, and welcome to Camp Nephillim. I am Tuvia Rosenbloom, the camp councelor, and I'm here to explain to you about what this camp is and why you're here. Your journey here was likely shaking, so in the meanwhile take your time to relax and drink a cup of water while you're watching this orientation video. Please remember to say the blessing before!

[He lifts a cup of water, says the blessing and drinks before continuing]

Tuvia (cont.): So, first thing first: you should know that many thing that you may have thought were merely myth are, in fact, quite real. This includes angels and demons - though they aren't exactly the same as you might've imagined them. No, the whole "Biblically Accurate Angels" meme wouldn't prepare you enough either. Angels can also sometimes appear differently than their natural form, and can even seem like regular humans. They sometimes fall in love with humans, which is how most Nephilim come to be.

[Tuvia's office disappears, to show instead a Chumash opened in the Book of Genesis, chapter 6]

Tuvia (cont.): What are the Nephilim? Well, as the Torah says,

"It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth—when divine beings cohabited with the human women, who bore them offspring. Such were the heroes of old, the men of renown."

[Setting returns to Tuvia's office]

Tuvia (cont.): So, those are the Nephilim, then: children of Divine beings and humans, who are heroes and men of renown. And you are likely one of them.

[Tuvia takes another sip from his cup, then sets it aside]

Tuvia (cont.): You might need some time to digest that, feel free to pause the video for a few minutes. Getting back on topic, though: you are, likely, the child of a divine being. If you always grown with a single parent who only rarely reminisced of another parent you don't know what happened to them - you are likely a Naphil. It may grant you certain abilities relating to the position your divine parent served in the universe. Note, however, that those divine beings aren't gods. We do not worship them or offer them sacrifices, even as mediators between as and G-d. Some of those Divine Beings do like to consider themselves gods and were worshipped by old civilizations - the Greek and Norse pantheons, for example. That doesn't make them any more gods than the Angels known in Jewish lore - they are merely forces. Powerful, but not omnipotent.

[Tuvia pauses for a moment, letting that sink in]

Tuvia (cont.): There are other types of people who might find their way to Camp Nephilim, however. Perhaps you were training in magic under the Egyptian ḥartumim of Per Ankh and felt uncomfortable during Passover; maybe you studied under the tutelage of the Chaldeans in New Jersey, and they were harsh on you during Tisha b'Av; or maybe you were either born with the Re'iyeh, the Sight, or were granted it by an experiment gone wrong. I, personally, am descended from one of the few Jewish bloodlines that inherited the Re'iyeh from one of our ancestors. We can see the hidden world, and the threats within... and they tend to look back. Which leads us to demons.

[Tuvia leans back in his chair, putting his hands together]

Tuvia (cont.): It is important to remember that Demons - or Shedim, as they are known in Hebrew - aren't what you've come to expect from beings with such a name. They aren't evil monsters, hell-bent on tempting you to sin. Rather, they are... adjacent beings to us, not dissimilarly to elves or goblins in modern popular media. However, they are nothing like you may have come to expect from elves of the Tolkeinian kind. They are wilder than them, and prone to hurt humans. They aren't always murderous or impossible to reason with either. Some of them, like our lore instructor Yonatan Shida, are rather friendly. Many of them crave blood, though, and nothing is tastier to them than the blood of the Nephilim, or other humans capable of seeing them. They live in the edges of society and can feel when someone is looking at them. And when you do... when you acknowledge seeing them... you become fair play.

[Tuvia returns to his previous posture, lifts his cup and takes another sip]

Tuvia (cont.): You likely had a significant encounter with Shedim, or maybe other types of monsters, on your way here - but it probably wasn't your first time seeing them. It might have been a man who, upon a second look, had chicken legs. Perhaps you could've sworn that a weird stranger who seemed to follow you had two heads. You may have seen a horse fly on the horizon, or encountered a tall person with an umbilical cord tying them to the ground on a field trip. They were less of a threat to you back then. But yo have grown, and your powers and abilities grew with you - along with the Shedim's ability to sense you. They will be coming for you - which is why you're here. Camp Nephilim is a place for Jewish Nephilim and Ba'alei Shem to train. To get used to the powers granted to us by virtue of our parentage or via other means. We're not the only place for such training; Camp Half-Blood in Long Island offers training for children of entities from the Greek Pantheon, while the 21 Nome of the House of Life in Brooklyn offers training in Egyptian magic, and the Chaldean school in Jersey City will train you in the Mesopotamian vain. None of those, however, is built with Jews in mind: the worship of pagan gods is common in all these places. They don't supply you with Kosher food, tend to not care for our holidays and often enough rife with latent antisemitism. We offer a Jewish alternative - no matter what is your level of observance or what congregation you belong to, you can be sure we have here at least one synagogue you can daven at and one you'd never set foot in. We do not worship any god but G-d here - you can honor your parents in ways fitting the traditions of the Torah, but even if a divine parent asks of you to worship them you are not required to. Another difference between us and the other Camps and Schools is that you aren't trained to slay Shedim here. You're trained to keep them at bay, imprison them if necesarry. Unlike other monsters, Shedim die like humans do, and so killing them should be only taken as a last resort: if your life are in danger you should kill whoever threatens you, but otherwise killing Shedim is like murder. We would ask you to refrain from doing that unless necessary.

[Tuvia gets up]

Tuvia (cont.): That is it for the orientation video for now. Further explanations on your sleeping arrangemnt and schedules will be given to you when you exit the room. Welcome to Camp Nephilim! We hope you enjoy your time with us.

[Outro music playing, the picture of Tuvia's office is replaced by the blue background with the Camp's logo to the side while the credits are shown on screen]

———

Writer wishes to note he knows nothing about writing stage instructions.

[charcubed]

I watched Sinners in IMAX a few days ago.

I saw it after a long work day and basically had a religious experience.

My friend and I talked about it in the parking lot for an hour, and then I got home at 11:30pm and fell asleep with my phone in my hand at 1AM while writing down my thoughts about it in a doc (at the request of another friend). I took a half day off of work the next day to sleep in and wrote for 4 more hours, then finished cleaning up the doc a couple days later.

So here's about 4,000 words (?!?!) of my thoughts on this incredible fucking masterpiece of a movie.

Certainly not expecting anyone to read this but I do want to put it here for myself :) Because this is how I have fun for some reason!

Disclaimers:

I’m not Black so I’m obviously discussing topics outside the realm of my experience / culture and could be completely off the mark on anything. Apologies in advance if I am. I also assume I’m not the first to say any of this analysis.

These are my initial thoughts and interpretations before deep-diving or Googling or reading interviews about this movie! (That's my rule.) Just from my brain’s first watch and my limited knowledge of history and sociology.

---------------

-I cannot fucking wait to rewatch this movie with subtitles someday because I know for a FACT I missed some things.

-I liked how Stack drove the red car and Smoke drove the blue truck :) so cute. I was like yaaayyy, hammer home this visual separation so I can get a sense of them as individual people before we keep going, thank you <3 so many good framing and color and lighting choices throughout this movie that foreshadowed things too!

-Lowkey I totally get why people probably want sequels and spinoffs of this universe to learn more lore, but I felt very content with where it left us. The themes/subtext are so strong and so well-executed that the story feels fairly complete in that regard to me because it had things to say and said them well. Not to say the metaphors couldn’t be continued in more storytelling and worldbuilding, obviously, and I’d eat it up if they did decide to do it… But I also think what we got feels fairly satisfying to me.

-However: WHERE IS MY CHOCTAW NATION VAMPIRE HUNTERS SPINOFF. GODDAMN!!! Also love how we get them for literally 3 minutes and they embody every aspect of this movie’s messaging perfectly. Insanely cool shit

Okay anyway

-The opening intro makes such a bold claim about how the music we’re about to hear that’s so incredibly beautiful. It talks of music that transcends time and holds so much power it attracts outside dark forces. And then… when Sammie first plays and opens his mouth to sing… Stack’s reaction is our reaction in the audience, because that claim is immediately upheld as believable. You immediately believe the folklore’s validity because of his skills. Astonishing feat. Holy fucking shit. God I love blues music

-The opening sets up the unsubtle thesis, but then Slim’s story in the car (and its beautiful sound design!!!) after they see the slaves take encouragement / heart through music underscores it all. It felt like a powerful tool to further set up a grounding for the supernatural we were about to see play out, and a reminder of its intended metaphors. Slim’s brother was a blues player who was lynched for the crime of simply existing in his Black joy and trying to get to make a bigger life for himself, and (as Annie later tells Smoke) money was no true power that could save him. In fantasy and reality, when people of color are just living with authentic joy by enjoying their own unique culture and music and lives, it attracts white supremacists who want to gleefully, hatefully leech from or destroy all of it.

-And then Ryan Coogler really was like, “Just in case you missed this movie’s unsubtle messages, we are going to be loud.” The way the vampire fight isn’t the final violence or the point… God. Instead, we end on the justified KKK slaughter. The real klan, the actual reason all of this happened because they set it up, the start of it all and the white supremacy that fuels the darkness. It says, These are the true monsters, and don’t you fucking forget it.

-But, our plot’s main monster is REMMICK. He’s no Southern white man. He’s specifically Irish! I fucking love that they did this. So much nuance here. Remmick has been isolated from his own people, heritage, and language through colonialism and the rise of the Baptist Christian church. Cornbread tells him (and the 2 Klan members…) that there are plenty of other spaces for them and their banjo music, and while of course he’s right – Black people (and POC in general) deserve their own safe spaces of expression, and too often white people are trying to encroach on those – for Remmick, there’s sadness here too. Those other white spaces are not his spaces either. He’s Irish and Celtic; they’re not his culture. He’s adrift and has no place, disconnected from his home, Othered by being an Irishman and a vampire, and the loss of his own culture and family has him desperately seeking attachment to others’ – but in the worst way. His fate is what he now violently forces onto others. While he ostensibly hates the KKK, he aligns with them indiscriminately in search of connection and his own survival, and he essentially helps them achieve their goal of destroying Black people – a mirror to how, in history, Irish people benefitted from white supremacy for their survival at the expense of Black people. (And a mirror, of course, to how white people broadly try to steal from Black culture daily.) Remmick’s message is basically “just assimilate and be free,” simultaneously asking them (especially Sammie) to assimilate into his culture for his sake because it’s what he needs, yet assimilation is clearly its own form of entrapment and death. It’s a tragedy that it was what Remmick was faced with as an Irishman, but it’s a larger inexcusable tragedy that he turned around and decided to perpetuate the same cycle of violence onto others in alliance with white supremacy.

-Of course, we see this most in the contrast between the music ensembles (and holy shit, SHOUT OUT TO THE ASPECT RATIO CHANGES IN THESE!!! Religious experience!!!). Sammie’s “I Lied to You” blues music is transformative and joyful, inspiring multicultural connection and appreciation that honors history and genres. It’s filled with warmth and life, and is perhaps even a hopeful depiction of the true melting pot of America. But Remmick’s “Rocky Road to Dublin” song with the vampires he’s turned has everyone washed out, looking and sounding homogeneous in a sinister way, blending together in the perfect terrifying depiction of what assimilation does. Individuality and different cultures are gone; there is now only this, powered by the violence of whiteness. Remmick’s supposed position being “We believe in equality” is of course a farce, and though he’s not motivated by racism (like the KKK), he has no qualms with aligning with its results. More importantly, his enforced assimilation in the name of supposed equality brings to mind the harmful modern adages of “I don’t see color” and other similar positionings which erase differences in culture rather than honor them. Add to that the moments where Remmick showcases having the memories and skills of people he’s turned, who are now all “connected” to each other but in a way where they’ve lost all individuality. When he speaks Chinese, it’s a moment of horror because it’s a language he didn’t learn for genuine connection but rather stole for cultural appropriation, and then he specifically uses it as a tool of violence (and threats of sexual assault!) against Grace.

-ANNIE. I find it fascinating how she kind of embodies the movie’s critique of the Christian church and evangelism as a tool of white supremacy to placate Black Americans and encourage or enforce assimilation. Annie practices (to my knowledge) hoodoo, occult magic from African culture and a form of spirituality that Christians would obviously deem evil and sinful. But here, her mojo bags and ancestral knowledge are the only things that keep anyone safe. (Notably, Christian crosses did nothing for protection.) She’s another layer to the concepts of being in touch with your culture and ancestors… and she chooses death rather than turning/assimilation or losing her sense of identity. I couldn’t help but think about the history of African slaves jumping overboard from ships because they chose to die on their own terms rather than live in enslavement.

-SLIM. He’s the Black elder who’s seen and experienced and survived horrendous, evil things. Yet despite it all, he’s the comedic relief of the movie. While Slim drinks to repress the trauma (which is objectively not the most healthy decision and it’s constantly pointed out), it doesn’t compromise his connection to his music or to his people. Despite everything, he’s still filled with joy and good humor and wisdom – something that feels very true to life in regards to the fortitude of so many Black elders. And when push comes to shove, he puts his life and body on the line to be ripped to shreds (not assimilated!) by the destructive forces coming for his culture and his people in an attempt to protect them. I fucking loved him.

-MARY. She’d be considered Black by the One-Drop Rule / Jim Crow laws, and she’s grown up in this community, but… she’s not really Black. She feels Othered by that, yes, and it was a natural continuation (to me) to know that was going to result in her becoming a vampire in the plot. Of course there’s a level of sympathy to be given to her and her situation, in the sense that she’s also a victim of segregation, as anyone in an interracial relationship was. She just wanted to live with the man she loves but society wasn’t structured to allow that. But at the end of the day, she still had safety in the ways she was able to move through the world as a white woman — and power. (Stack tells Sammie not to look at her at the train station; if white people claim a Black man looked at a white woman the wrong way, it can turn into a lynching.) It’s notable that Mary is able to go speak to the white people/vampires with less perceived risk to her in ways none of the Black people could… and then she’s also able to be metaphorically turned to their way of seeing things. It’s not an accident that she’s the first turned, then them letting her in and Smoke fucking her is what kickstarts their collective downfall. Mary was a “safe” white person for her Black family all their lives, until abruptly she wasn’t. A too true-to-life tragic possibility.

-PEARLINE. She’s a bold, unapologetic Black woman connected to her culture who chooses her own freedom and authenticity vs Christian traditionalism. A sinner through “infidelity” – a word which can mean being unfaithful to a partner, or unfaithful to religious/Christian belief. And she dies because of it.

-[Side note: super interesting to see the scene of Pearline’s musical beats being timed with the violence of Smoke and the other men killing a guy who was threatening the haven of solidarity and community they’d built. A commentary on being distracted by in-fighting while the real enemy and evil of white supremacy is on the move]

-GRACE. The embodiment of how, when shit is going down, POC solidarity can crumble. At the start, we see her and her family being on “both sides” with the white and Black stores, and able to cross between those 2 stark worlds/realities with ease. “We didn’t sign up for this,” Grace says, when the evil white people come for the Black people; the fun and the culture, but not the fight. Then she makes the selfish and individualized decision to let the evil in at the expense of everyone else. And yet… Her name. Grace. Does the story want us to grant her a little bit of it? I’d argue Smoke gives her grace, because he includes her and her husband in his fond and motivating memories of the earlier parts of the day. Is what Grace does defendable? No, but perhaps it’s meant to be understandable. In the moment, she’s not thinking of saving her own skin or uselessly trying to save her husband; she’s thinking of wanting to protect her daughter and the rest of the town, so instead of choosing passivity, she opts to protect them by addressing and destroying the monsters head-on so they can’t continue their evil mission. But unfortunately, in another example of lack of solidarity, she goes straight to destroy her husband and her fight stops there regardless of everyone else’s fight. Her vindictive revenge turns into mutual destruction because she burns up with him. And she’s perhaps also an example of how when someone is so focused on being combative with a person who broke their tradition they forget to focus on what they still have to protect.

-Speaking of names… lol. CORNBREAD. Obviously there was intentional comedic relief happening in the scene where he’s pissing in the woods and monsters are hidden around him whispering “Is that cornbread?” lmaaaooo but also… Not just silliness! Cornbread is historical food for survival and resilience that has roots in several different cultures. It stems from making something from very little under the forces of oppression and enforced famine, and it’s what the Indigenous people, Black Southern Americans, and the Irish all made. Something that should be or could be a source of connection and a way to let each other in (as he was the doorman!), but instead becomes another tool of violence and of a right vs wrong way to be.

-SMOKE. Violence as protection, and a burden to be shouldered for tenderness and love. He killed his father to protect Stack. He killed Annie because she asked him to. He sent Sammie away to face and kill the KKK men by himself, knowing he might be killing himself in the process. I think of the scene where he’s dying and Annie in the afterlife is watching him while holding their child. As Smoke unloads bullets into the dying klan member, she doesn’t flinch at his violence, and neither do we as the audience. It’s righteous and justified, and in the very next moment, he holds his daughter softly. The violence stands in contrast to his connection to his brother and lover and daughter, but it’s not antithetical to it or a threat to it. Defense of Black culture – and Black masculinity itself – is not inherently violent. Smoke is not his violent father; he broke that cycle too. He is tender and loving, and it’s the reason for his protectiveness and informs his violence that’s directed outward in defense of his family, and especially at the vampires and white supremacists. There’s also something to be said for how Smoke has these violent skills and weapons because he was a soldier in WWI. He served a country that treats him and his people as less than human. And Grace even tells him, “Aren’t you a soldier?” Yes, he was. He shouldn’t have to be at home. And yet, this too is a war, with him and his people being constantly besieged when all they want is peace. Along those lines: At first, Smoke thought that money could be a form of power, to the point of nearly slipping into valuing it more than community when it came down to payment for drinks at the juke joint. But he internalizes and learns especially from Annie that money can’t save you; money didn’t save Slim’s brother who was lynched, and the twins throwing money at a Klan member for the juke joint didn’t stop them from pulling up to their door. Smoke comes to fully learn that All we have is family, community, and our traditions, and we can’t let them take that. Perhaps that’s also part of the reason why he couldn’t kill Stack in the end, instead killing Remmick (as he killed their father) to give Stack his best chance at freedom.

-SMOKE & STACK. The older brother looking at his now-wayward younger brother who suddenly feels like a different person. The twin who looks at his mirrored self and doesn’t recognize who he sees anymore. Who is Stack now? Did Smoke fail him? But there’s something in Stack that is still him, even though he’s forever changed, and ultimately Smoke can’t destroy that. From one sibling to another, it’s the thought of “I can’t abide by or agree with what you’ve become but I can’t destroy you either.” There’s no me without you in the sense that we’re forever tied, but also in the sense that we were instrumental in making each other who we are, for better and worse.

-“ELIJAH MOORE” VS “STACK.” Names are powerful. Smoke’s real name is used in the end as a nod to the connections to his history and roots, and also to his truest self, which he reunites with just as he reunites with Annie, their child, and spirituality in death. Contrast this with Stack, who is going by his nickname in perpetuity – a half name that’s forever cut off from Smoke as the other half, and a disconnect from his old self he’s buried. In the end credit scene, STACK is seen on his ring and visually tied to stacks of money under his hand, aka empty power at high cost. It’s a sad reversal of Stack’s prior thoughts on community and people being more important than profit, when he and Annie were united at the juke joint in pushing back against Smoke’s pursuit of “American dollars.”

-SAMMIE and “This Little Light of Mine.” My goodness. At the start of the movie, Sammie’s preacher father wanted him to sing gospel as a way to lead others in the church, but he never gets to in the context/timeline of the movie. We only hear the choir singing it in the opening instead without Sammie’s involvement. But then, the final credits scene: Sammie has his guitar, which we know doesn’t exist anymore because it’s the guitar he used to fight off demons (literal and metaphorical), and now he’s singing it as a blues song. Did he sing it in church at an earlier point before the events of the movie? Who knows. Doesn’t matter. What matters is this: Sammie’s preacher father tried to give him an ultimatum. Put down the guitar; put down the blues music and the dancing and the sex; put down the sinning. It all attracts darkness, so come back to church and return to the Lord. Be pure. The Christian church, explicitly used as a tool of oppression that benefits white supremacy. But even after the horrors and trauma Sammie experiences – some of which he even draws in through his music (and metaphorically his “sinning”), which is not his fault – Sammie won’t let it go. He can’t. It’s who he is, and it’s his culture and connection to his ancestors, and there’s nothing sinful about any of it. The music, the dancing, the fucking, or anything else. It’s all beautiful, and the embracing of it all then necessitates (because of his father’s ultimatum) a level of rejection of the church in order to continue to live. But despite all of that… The church (and perhaps some redefined aspect of faith) is still a part of him and his culture too. He carries it with him, which is a relatable notion for many people who were raised religious and either chose to walk away or were forced to because of the inherit ultimatums in its restrictions. And so: Sammie had been told to lead and use his music to shine his little light all around the world. It may not be for the church or in the way his father wanted, but by God, he still went out and did just that. In his way, on his terms, without forgetting where he came from.

-Sammie stands in church at the start of the movie. His pastor father has been pushing, Give me the blues guitar. Rejoin our congregation. Sing gospel. Sammie stands in church and it’s intercut with flashbacks of Remmick attacking him. Give me your music. Join our clan. Sing Irish folk songs for me. And yeah, Sammie’s grip on that blues guitar stays real tight.

-[Side note, mostly kidding: all vampire stories could do with a bit of queerness. As merely a fun exercise, if I was choosing to make one aspect of this movie queer in a way that naturally further services the themes… I’d make Pearline a man. Have Sammie be a “sinner” in another dramatic sense by making him queer. What if on the best day of his life in the juke joint, he connects with another man through music and then fucks a man? Much to think about. But there’s a lot going on in this movie already of course, in a specific historical context. And people would’ve gotten too distracted from the various core messages about race and culture (because no one can be normal about seeing queer stuff and understanding intersectionality). But hey, that would’ve hit! And would’ve fit. Just an interesting and extremely unnecessary what if in the privacy of my own mind.]

-STACK (& MARY). Still alive, but dead inside. How good is the life they lead? Stack, when trying to convince Smoke to join the vampire clan, referred to the assimilation they were experiencing as a form of freedom because of the (tangential-to-whiteness) power. But not only is that freedom untrue and filled with conditions, it also comes at a high cost. Eternally separated from their family, divorced from culture, their old selves and lives dead and gone, with no one but Sammie left to remember who they really were. Frozen, adrift, unable to move on or grow. But here’s the thing: was it their fault? Both Mary and Stack’s turnings were nonconsensual. Their disconnection from and erasure of their culture was nonconsensual, and they became Different before they realized what was happening. Remmick is killed and they’re free of his influence and control now, but where does that leave them anyway? They’re still ostracized and left out in the cold, and can’t be let back in unless someone lets them in, which no one is inclined to do – except for Sammie. In Stack and Mary, we see the cost of leaving your cultural roots behind, or (more accurately) having them taken from you violently, forcefully, or through the inescapable encroaching influences of colonialism and white supremacy. As foreshadowed by Sammie’s question to Mary in the juke joint: what are they now? They’re something Other, trying to make their space in the world, and dressed not dissimilarly to the genres of music seen when Sammie’s blues transcended time. So maybe they’re trying to make their own spaces work. But in particular… Stack can’t fit with the white humans, and he can also never go home. Yet he and Mary long for home and for culture, and make an attempt to reconnect with it – which, incredibly, Sammie allows. Sammie is now (visually) the elder who lets the wayward young people back in. He literally embraces Stack – and I think it’s key that he doesn’t embrace Mary. Stack and Mary may be together, but the ways in which they’ve been changed and the disconnect they’re experiencing is undeniably different, because Stack is Black and Mary is not. Its relevance can’t be ignored. This moment and this culture is not hers in the same way. Sammie takes a last parting shot at that point and hammers the themes home by changing the lyrics of his “Travelin’”: I don't know why in the hell I'm here, because the woman I'm lovin', you know she really don’t care. Fully justified? Slightly unfair to her trauma? Maybe mostly the former and a tiny bit of the latter, and heartbreakingly understandable regardless.

[cccakessslicemeee]

I think it would be really funny if Sklonda dies, peacefully from old age. Maybe at like the hospital and Riz is holding her hand as they talk about the life she lived. She did incredible things and he loves her so much. She tells him she loves him just the same and that love isn't going anywhere she just won't be able to tell him anymore for a while.

Anyway she passes.

She dies.

She's at the gates of heaven and the guy with the name list is like... Huh. You ARE indeed Sklonda Gukgak.

And he tells her they just need uh... A performance review. Sklonda is like... Okay? Unnecessary. They ensure her it's just a formality.

They review all of sklonda's choices and actions. They question her on her methods and whenever something "questionable" comes up she's like "haha I forgot about that" or "oh really? I could have done worse to that bastard" and of course "oh? Sorry? No I'm not fucking sorry I'd do it again."

The angel is sweating. Sklonda is so unapologetic and so unwaveringly confident in everything she's ever done they just cannot believe she believes she's correct and good.

"ma'am you shot him in the stomach six times"

"sloppy I know but the cleric needed time to get on scene so I couldn't puncture his lungs or pop his head off. We needed answers."

Anyway she's interviewed. Bonus points if there's a two way window and she clocks it and glances at another angel who panics because 'holy fuck I've been spotted' extra credit if Pok is there just watching his beautiful wife stress the fuck out of everything "she's just so dedicated to her craft" and "there she is..just up to hit bitch shit" -in response to one of the many, awful, terrible things she's done in the past with 0 remorse. Gosh he just wants to smooch her face and run his fingers through her hair. He wants to bully demons with his wife.

Merely some thoughts.

[arottenlust]

cuz im pretty when i cry (the inspiration)

everything started with that edit. i don’t know what it was, but something about it was hard to look away from. ive rewatched it like a hundred times at this point. the song and the smile on his face inspired the first iteration of this story.

spoilers for the series below (kind of? It kinda fucks w the immersion i think. Idk its spoilerish to me)

one where youre desperate for any crumb of his affection, desperate to have your affections returned, and sukuna is willing and happy to enable your sickness. it grew from there to it instead being a misunderstanding of sorts- sukuna is showing his love and dedication the only way he knows how, with action instead of words. you, used to the very hot and cold and emotionally abusive environment you grew up in, don’t know how to pick up on this. it leads to you slowly falling apart more and more, miserably obsessed with keeping your place beside him, lashing out at any perceived obstacles, despite the fact that sukuna never planned to leave, would never want to. And, blinded by your seemingly easygoing nature and the fact that he quite enjoys your increasingly psychotic behavior, knowing that it stems from your love for him, sukuna doesn’t notice anything is amiss until the cracks begin to splinter and break you apart.

I didn’t plan to make you yandere esque, but it seems that the more twisted parts of me leaked into the story. Oops?

im not sure about including smut. I think i might but im still on the fence about that one…. I probably will tho

it has a happy ending. I didn’t want to give it one, I wanted it to just be a sad, horrifically desperate, story, but this route seemed a little more interesting to write. I think I’ll probably write a different version in the future, one where sukuna really doesn’t care.

the relationship is unhealthy in the sense that a well adjusted person wouldn’t frame their entire life around another person the way you do in this story. i.e youre a yandere. in your head, sukuna could keep you locked up and treat you like his dog-servant-thing, and you’d be happy because you’d be the sole object of his attention. (While u may be unaware) He feels the same in reverse, and he wouldn’t do that anyways, because he’s obsessed and he values you more than you value yourself. That’s why it’s unhealthy. And also because you tweak out if he talks to other people at all with anything on his face other than complete and utter indifference…. but hey! You’re working on it. Basically, It’s written um, romantically? Not super heart breaking and depressing. just putting that out there because I get really unbearable hurt when i read unhealthy -> very sad fics instead of unhealthy -> very in love and reciprocated fics

dykwim?

ugh. I’ll need to write a prequel or something. I want you all to see the way you go from normal and unattached to fighting the urge to stick cameras in his room and huff his underwear. You’re so weird. Stop fantasizing about killing the people he talks to, they dont even exist!

i originally planned to make it as gender neutral as i could but a lot of the scenarios don’t make sense if youre not fem, so that’s that. if that changes throughout the course of writing out the series, i shall let you all know.

also. should i make a playlist?

[hungarianshinobi]

Red flag? I'm colorblind - Fushiguro Toji x F!Reader

-Chapter 1

https://www.tumblr.com/hungarianshinobi/781641513633562624/red-flag-im-colorblind-fushiguro-toji-x?source=share

-Chapter 2

https://www.tumblr.com/hungarianshinobi/782361707629740032/red-flag-im-colorblind-fushiguro-toji-x?source=share

Chapter 3

(Y/n)'s POV:

All the while for the next couple of minutes Anna tried to convince me to go and talk to that man. Sometimes he would steal a glance at me, immediately smirking when he sees me looking back at him.

"Come on, just go and talk to him." My friend tried to convince me again. Though I didn't want to ruin our girly night, besides I was a coward.

That guy clearly seems to be the type who could have any woman he wanted, so why would he be interested in me anyway?

The front door of the bar opened and I looked towards it, seeing another man entering. The stranger who saved me on the train also looked to the source of the voice and soon when the new guest reached him, they bumped fists. They clearly knew each other.

At least Anna will leave me alone with her nudging...

"Aw, too bad." She spoke from beside me, understanding the situation.

And so we rather paid attention to each other just as we originally planned. Telling stories, talking about the past when we were smaller and such.

I remember that we used to build forts out of all of the cushions and pillows that were in the house, drawing and coloring everything we could imagine in them. Our parents didn't mind it at all. Even when any of them found us with markers all over our skin they just shook their head and chuckled. We have so many photos of those memories. There was a certain one though which was my favourite. One day, we drew a half heart on each other's thumbs and when we put our thumbs together next to each other, it became a whole one. We decided to make it a tattoo a few years later when we saw that photo of us, and right before Anna moved to Tokyo, we actually went to a salon to have it done after we both became 18 years old.

Whenever I would look at my thumb till this day it makes me smile and recall all those memories. We are best friends and always will be.

Grabbing my glass, I wanted to take a sip from my drink only to notice that it's empty. "Ah, I ran out of (fav non alcoholic drink)." I whined.

Anna just finished her own drink as well. "Me too."

"Let me get new ones. This round is on me." I grinned at her. The previous round was paid by her and we always did this anyway.

"Sounds good to me." She grinned back, so I grabbed our glasses and stood up from my seat. She called out to me one last time thohgh. "Don't forget to talk to that guy~" she chuckled mischeviously.

I rolled my eyes. "Anna... You never change." Flashing one last smile at her I turned away from her, approaching the bar, my heels clicking on the floor. I leaned on the counter and waved for the bartender, telling him I want to order another round of the same stuff. He took the two glasses and I watched him working.

Then I heard a low chuckle from the left. "Aren't you too old to order that kind of stuff, young lady?" He chuckled again. Nor me, nor Anna drank any alcohol. It was not our thing.

I turned my head to the side to look at the giant man beside me, raising a brow at him. "Excuse me? I can order whatever I want."

He rose his hands as if he was surrendering before speaking again with the grin still present on his lips. "Calm down, I was just asking you, I didn't say it as an insult. You have taken it as one, but it wasn't my intention." He said leaning onto the bar more.

"Me and my friend just like these drinks. It's a memory for us, that's all. It's very delicious, you should try it someday instead of drinking umm..." I pointed at his glass. "...whatever it is."

"It's whisky. Ever tried it? If not you should try it someday." he copied my answer taking a sip of his alcohol while looking towards the table whereas I came from.

I smiled a bit. "No, I didn't. Perhaps I might try it someday, but only if you will try my drink too." I smirked and took the two glasses which the bartender handed me since he finished preparing them. "Now if you excuse me. My friend is waiting for me."

However his words made me halt to a stop. "Then it's a date?" He took a sip, closing his eyes while waiting for me to answer his question. "I'm Fushiguro Toji by the way. If you prefer not to be strangers." he then looked at his friend and then back at me. "Also one more thing. This young man here..." he pointed at the man beside himself. "...is crushing on your friend. Mind if he goes there for a few minutes to introduce himself to her?"

I paused for a second. I didn't mean it that way. I didn't mean to 'date him' or whatever his mind made up because of my answer.

And I also remembered all of a sudden that Anna remarked how good-looking his friend is. So I answered, having no idea why I said the next few words. "W-why not. I guess... My name is (L/n) (y/n)." I glanced at the other man, still having no idea why am I letting myself getting dragged into this.

Girly night is over...

"About my friend... Umm, he can go there I guess. But she's a bit shy, I don't know if she would happily talk to a stranger." I informed Toji.

Toji looked over at his friend, nodding with his head after he received a positive answer from me.

What... the... fuck... am... I... doing...

"Take a seat, (y/n). Take his seat in fact since he will steal yours right now." he said, ordering another glass of alcohol for himself right after. "So when should our date start? Now or some other time?"

I glanced at Anna first, hesitating to answer Toji till I would see her agreeing to that man sitting down. It seemed that things are probably going to be okay, so I looked back at the man beside myself. "Well, we can call this a quick date then I guess. Unless you want to beat up a bunch of guys like on the train today." I joked.

"Ah so you do remember me like I remember you. For a second I thought I could be wrong but I didn't miss your gorgeous features." he grinned.

A hint of a blush appeared on my cheeks for a brief second. "Thank you." I mumbled, smiling to myself a bit.

Toji looked at my drink, sliding his own towards me. "So...trading? I try that... whatever that drink is and you try whisky. If you like it I will order you another one."

Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea...

"A promise is a promise." I said and gave my drink to Toji, grabbing the glass of whiskey I got from him. I raised the glass to my nose, smelling it. "God, this must be a strong one. But it's scent is nice I must admit."

Toji looked at the glass and then at me, the grin still present on his lips. "Maybe you should've warned me first with how good your alcohol tolerance is. Because if its bad I don't think you will make it with one glass only." he said, grabbing my glass of (fav non alcoholic drink).

I took a sip from the whiskey which burned my throat even after I swallowed it. Indeed it was a very strong one and I was not used to strong drinks. "Well I don't really drink alcohol, let alone strong ones so I guess one glass of this is enough. Besides, I promised. Now it's your turn to try my drink." I pointed at it and waited for him to drink from it.

Toji took the straw out of the glass and threw it away randomly on the ground. He took a sip and then showed a disgusted face. "Ugh... This is shit."

I raised my brows in surprisement. "Why?" The previous one I drank was quite good so I had no idea what's his problem with it.

"Because it's not whisky. There is nothing special about this stuff. It's crap. Here you go taste it if you would like. There's no way I'm going to drink the rest." he gave it back to me.

"Crap? Well what did I expect from someone like you..." It might sound as an insult but it's not. It's just clear that he prefers alcohol rather than anything that's non-alcoholic.

"Someone like me? Well isn't that insulting..." he chuckled and took his glass back, licking the part where my lipstick left a mark before taking a sip of the strong whisky.

"Ah, no I didn't mean to insult you." I took my drink to have a small break from the embarassment I felt. Looking back at Toji I noticed something red on his lips, so I stole a glance at his glass and noticed that he intentionally drank from that part. "Umm... My lipstick... It's visible on your lips..."

Toji rose his eyebrows, using his thumb to clean his lips to see if its really true. After seeing my lipstick on his finger he licked it off just like his lips and leaned closer to me. "Would you like to leave more of it?" He asked with a smug smirk.

I became flustered all of a sudden by his closeness, his cologne mixed with the scent of the whiskey he drinks reaching my nose. "W-what? What do you mean?" I honestly didn't understand where he was getting at, because the whisky I drank earlier started to hit my head and I didn't even notice that he ordered a new glass for me.

"What do you think I mean? Lipstick on someone else's lips, now how do you do that hm?" He leaned back and ordered another glass for himself. It might be the third or four glass he had now as I counted, but it still didn't make him drunk. Or he was playing it well.

Finally it dropped to me what he meant and I averted my gaze from his, my face turning into a deep shade of red. The alcohol put more into it now that I have finished 2 glasses and my head started spinning. "Oh, so that was your plan all along huh? You want to kiss me?" I slurred a bit on my words, touching his shoulder with my hand.

"Not really but...a kiss would be nice yes." he leaned again towards me. "But. Are you sure you want a stranger to steal your first kiss? Because there will be no returning back in this. It doesn't count as first kiss when you kiss someone after that." He chuckled.

I widened my eyes. "Why are you so sure that it would be my first kiss? Who said that? You couldn't know." I giggled in a somewhat seducing way.

What am I doing again...

He's right, but he doesn't have to know that. The alcohol he made me drink clouded my mind and my judgement. At this point I didn't really care about the consequences. That would last till morning when I would wake up sober.

"Well you had your first alcoholic drink and judging by the reaction you had when you saw your lipstick on my lips and me licking it off I figured you might be a virgin in many ways." he would look back at me and then down at my body, eventually looking back in my eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong."

Shit, I'm starting to see him in two...

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

End of Chapter 3

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-Hungarian Shinobi

[biancadoes1]

I have a theory and I hope I’m wrong.

If, and a big IF, both L and N go to the Met Gala, yes it shall just be them at the event and them interacting together is always amazing!

But, because we know that certAin people like to be everywhere and stay hotels waiting, (seriously, where is the self respect? Never wait around for a man! Especially in a lonely hotel room in another country), both A and J (again, IF they are also there) could get in to the after parties. I googled about whether you have to be invited to the met gala after parties, and this is what a vogue article stated from 2024;

“You have to have clout. But to get invited to a Met Gala after-party? You just gotta know somebody. Which is why every first Monday in May, thousands of New Yorkers get dressed up and go out - all in the name of an event they weren't even guests at.”

This then had me thinking about A’s recent story of being in the studio with S filming her dance video which she posted on Thursday and then the full dance video on Friday to her grid. I thought at the time, wow that’s a quick turnaround for that to be done, from concept, to filming to editing. Why the rush? (I say this as someone who is a video editor as part of my job. I know how much it takes from pre production to post production on a video. Doesn’t matter the final product length, it takes time.)

Could this have been her attempt to showcase her most recent dancing before either the Met Gala or the BAFTAS, so that any networking she tries to do at after parties, they look at her socials later on can see her “work” and dance highlight on her page. Possibly. A smart thing for her to do if she really wants work. But to me, It just screams strategic to me, as she doesn’t seem like she has the “get up and go” attitude when it comes to work. Harsh? Maybe, but that’s the vibe I get from her. I hope that’s not why she has done that to try and get clout at after parties where she doesn’t belong. But who knows and at this point, I don’t know why I care lol.

It would be great to see L and N there, but at the same time, I almost don’t want them to be there because whatever happens at the after parties or whoever also pops up always takes away from N and L, and honestly I’m bored of that. However, I also do get the vibe that they won’t be there either. (I don’t know why I think that).

Anyway, I always enjoy the Met Gala and the looks people do, so whatever happens, I know there shall be some amazing fashion.

As you say Bianca, stay ready so that you don’t have to get ready. Pass the popcorn.

I mean I never thought Luke was going and I’m 50/50 on Nicola attending atp.