#it could run off to take after its father (misunderstood his stories of childhood abuse as tales of glory)

[potterpasta]

i think one of the major problems when it comes to hypothetical offspring for my ocs is the ones whom it would be most interesting for them to have kids are also the ones who under no circumstances could ever possibly be a parent, much less a good one

[peypeyrantz]

Why I Think 'Billy Stans' Are Irrational And Blind

I am just going to say this right off the bat, I do not give a shit what you headcanon fictional characters to be like. I headcanon all the damn time and that's fine, that's the point of media in the first place.

But one thing that I've seen a bunch of is Billy Stans going around attacking people who say that Billy was a bad person in canon. And I don't think that's right.

First of all, let me state my opinion clearly so that no one is confused.

BILLY IS AND WAS AN ASSHOLE

There, I said it. Now, before you go and attack me in the comments saying that

1. He was abused by his father

2. He did the right thing in the end

and 3. He never actually did anything bad

All of these are points yes (Except the third one) but they do not excuse all the horrible shit he did.

First off let's address point number one, 'He was abused by his father'. This point, in my mind, has the most backing and if Billy didn't also abuse Max, I could see myself using this point. Being abused, especially from a young age, is a horrible situation and I by no means am saying that it had no impact on Billy's actions. What I am saying is that just because he was abused does not give him a get out of jail free card. Being abused is an explanation, not an excuse.

Now, you might say that he didn't know any better because that's what he grew up around. And people who say this forget that he had a mother. He saw how his father's actions affected her. He had a good figure in his life to compare his father too. He wasn't completely alone. Now I'm not saying that this in anyway invalidates the shit he went through, I'm just saying that Billy is not completely isolated. Billy is practically an adult at this point in the story, at some point he has to take accountability for his actions that hurt others.

As someone who is currently going to therapy for childhood trauma, I would never ever talk to my siblings the way Billy does with Max. I would never threaten to run over their friends. I wouldn't run over one of their things just because (Billy ran over Max's skateboard. I didn't catch it at first either, but you can clearly see her taping it back together after she and Billy fought) I wouldn't yell in their face to stop hanging out with a boy (which shows that Billy is also a racist, like its so obvious but I'll get into that later.). I wouldn't burst into a house that they were staying in and push their 12-13 (?) year old friend into a wall and scream in his face. None of that is okay, none of it. That is a fact, not an opinion.

But if for some reason you do think that abuse covers for all of that. Then okay, live your life. Just don't go and attack people for saying otherwise.

Now onto the second point, that he did the right thing in the end therefore all of his previous actions are excused. And to that I say, are you even listening to yourself? Also, I would just like to say that Billy did the bare fucking minimum. 'oMg BiLlY dIdNt SaCrIfIcE a LiTeRaL cHiLd HeS sO nIcE'. Like sure, it was a pretty big deal because he defied the mind flayer and all that but still, the way some people paint it is that he's some amazing person for literally not letting a demon eat a 13-year-old.

(Also, I would like to say that I don't think that Billy is totally irredeemable. Like if he survived the mind flayer I feel like he could have such a good character arc. If he was able to apologize to Max and then help everyone out in the future, I would have been down for that. But no, he got impaled faster than I could say well shucks so rip I guess)

Some people may say that while it didn't totally redeem him it did help his case. And I'm here to say that if you agree with that statement then this post is not about you. This post is for people who say that he was this poor misunderstood saint and then go on to attack other people for bringing up evidence that states otherwise. Like its all fine and dandy to have a different opinion, I don't give a shit, but don't force it down other people throats then get mad when they gag. You are not god's gift, get over yourself.

And if thinking about Billy gets you off then go for it, but don't make me listen or watch or read that shit because its fucking gross (I am also an asexual lesbian so maybe I'm not the best person to comment on sexual attraction towards men but whatever it's my blog and I feel like going off)

I feel like that's a big reason why Billy Stans exist, people think he's hot. Which sure, whatever. Personally, he looks like he would punch me while screaming the f-slur but that's just me. You can think a character is hot while not attacking people who don't (If they attack you though (without prior provocation) then get them bae, no one gets to attack your interests for no reason. Those reasons do include racism, pedophilia, and general shitty behavior like that so yeah. Don't be an asshole and if someone starts it then go off.).

And now the third point, he never actually did anything bad. This point genuinely removes about 36 of my brain cells every time I hear it so let's break down all the shit Billy actually did. Also, all of this is from memory so if I leave a few out sorry. But I really hate watching Billy scenes, he makes me uncomfy.

First of all, in pretty much all of the Max and Billy scenes you can see how upset she is. When he grabs her wrist and yells in her face you can tell she is close to tears. She is upset and scared. Hell, that scene made me upset, and I watched it through a screen. When Lucas showed up to her house and she straight up told him that he shouldn't be there. She knew that Billy was going to hurt him if he saw Lucas. Also, when Billy shows up to Will's house you can tell that she was scared. She was scared that Billy was going to hurt her and her friends. That doesn't exactly scream fond sister/brother relationship to me, hun.

Now, let's address the blatant racism Billy showcases. But, first, I would just like to state that if a person of color says that they don't think Billy was being racist, then respect that. Personally, I do think that he was. But I am just a little white girl on the internet. I am not some commentary god who is always right. But anyway, on to my point.

I swear you'd think that some people didn't hear Billy say, "There are some people you learn to stay away from, and he is one of them" (Loosely paraphrased I'm too lazy to look up the quote) in reference to Lucas. I don't know how that line could be so clear like damn, its right there. Also, when Billy shows up to Will's house, who does he attack first? Lucas.

And some people like to say that oh he was just being protective and to that I say, why wouldn't he go for Steve first? Steve being the most danger to his sister and also the oldest one there. But no, he directly goes for Lucas time and time again. When I first watched the season, I just assumed that it was a known fact, that's how goddamn obvious it is. Like my mother, who grew up conservative and is still semi-conservative, completely agrees with me on this.

Also didn't the Duffers say in an interview that Billy was racist, like they wrote him to be like that? I don't know fam seems kinda sus to me.

(But also remember I am white so take that whole point with a grain of salt. Not trying to talk over POC's and shit. Just stating my points.)

But anyway, there is more shit I could probably bring up but I'm tired. You're probably tired. We're all fucking tired of this shit.

If you made it to this point and want to comment, supporter or not, put a % in your text. I want to see how many of these fuckers read the title and decided to go off :)

Also if you would like to respectfully (Keynote: RESPECTFULLY) argue about the morality of Billy in the comments either with me or someone else you are welcome to. I'm not trying to gatekeep my posts, just don't be an asshole and we good.

Have a nice day, drink water or whatever else the body needs to like function or something. I don't know it seems kinda overrated to me but sure, live your life.

[disgraceddogstar]

Sirius Orion Black III

birthday: november 3rd house: gryffindor blood status: pureblood loyalty: order of the phoenix clubs: astronomy, astronomy homework, dueling zodiac: scorpio mbti: enfp-t (campaigner) alignment: chaotic good

✓ Humor ——- “Did you like question ten, Moony?”

He is barking laughter and poorly timed jokes, puns upon puns - seriously. A grin as wide as the day is long, carefree and easy. Light in the black of war; white sheep in the Black family. His good humor has covered him and carried him through all that he’s seen. It’s as much a shield for himself as it is those with whom he surrounds himself.

✓ Loyal  ——- “Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!”

He is fierce, heart full for those he holds dear. Not many are kept that close, but there is no hesitation when asked to give his life. Warmth and comfort, in the crook of his smile and the corners of his eyes. Brilliance and steadfast companionship: a dog is man’s best friend.

✓/✕  Strong-Minded | Judgemental ——- “Besides, the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside us.”

He is a tree rooted to the earth, tall and proud. Unmoving and firm against the hailing storm. Beliefs, unwavering, unwilling to hear. Opposition is wrong, and he knows it as well as he knows the stories written in the night sky. He is strong-willed and stubborn; a brick wall would be more receptive. He thinks himself open-minded, but it is only another belief.

✕ Impulsive ——- “What is life without a little risk?”

He is snap decisions made in the heat of the moment. Turbulent and emotional, judgement shifts as easily as debris caught in the tide. Words, biting, leaving scars as easily as laughter erases them from his mind. Passing thoughts in an endless stream of chaos - why waste time paying mind to outcomes when you can just act?

✕ Rebellious ——- “There are things worth dying for!”

He is 2 am, leather, and a mess of discarded liquor bottles scattered about the floor. Blood-kissed knuckles and knuckle-kissed jaw. Smirks and sighs toppling from carved lips. Caught in a tempest, winds whipping his hair about his face, unable to see, blindly stumbling along, deafening roars threaten to consume him - one foot in front of the other. Raw magic crackling in the air, electricity against your skin; a beautiful sight when it implodes.

headcanons: (tw: mania, depression, alcohol, slurs, mentions of dysphoria, mentions of abuse)

Patronus: It’s commonplace that a Patronus will match a witch or wizard’s Animagus form, if they happen to be such, and Sirius is no exception. His Patronus takes the form of a dog, matching that of his Animagus counterpart: a bear-like German Shepherd. German Shepherds are known for being intelligent, loyal, and fiercely over-protective. Any close friend of his would attest to the fact that Sirius exemplifies those qualities. He is a bright wizard, and he would do anything for those he cares about.

Wand: As badly as Sirius sometimes wishes his wand was made from Dogwood (think of the irony! the puns! the beauty of the universe!), he was chosen by a Cypress wood wand with a Dragon Heartstring core, 15 inches, rigid.

“Cypress wands are associated with nobility. The great medieval wandmaker, Geraint Ollivander, wrote that he was always honoured to match a cypress wand, for he knew he was meeting a witch or wizard who would die a heroic death. Fortunately, in these less blood-thirsty times, the possessors of cypress wands are rarely called upon to lay down their lives, though doubtless many of them would do so if required. Wands of cypress find their soul mates among the brave, the bold and the self-sacrificing: those who are unafraid to confront the shadows in their own and others’ natures.”

Sirius won’t think about the wandlore behind cypress wands and their masters dying a heroic death until the fleeting, infinite moment in which he begins to fall in the Department of Mysteries. He will think it ironic, then, that his death is hardly heroic at all; that, naturally, James and Lily had far more heroic deaths than him. (He will also think about finally, finally reuniting with them again, and he will think of how sorry he is for leaving Remus and Harry behind, but James, here I come.)

“As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.”

It is of interest to note that dragon wands tend to be easily swayed towards the Dark Arts. Sirius thinks it should be noted, and then he will tell it to fuck right off, thank you very much. He knows that, had things gone just a little differently, he wouldn’t have had any difficulty using Dark Magic; in fact, he’d have been rather adept at it. Sirius laughs at the notion - and would like to tell the Dark Lord that he can fuck right off, too.

Sirius is a very quick learner. He is intelligent and, when he puts his mind to a task, he is able to stay determined and focused. Magic runs strong in his veins, so it’s only natural he be paired with a wand that is able to keep up with him and his raw power. That being said, however, Sirius’ magic is - too often - unpredictable. It has been since he was a child, and he still experiences outbursts of unintentional magic when his emotions get the better of him; the dragon wand nurtures his accidental magic, at times.

    &--------Little Lion Man

He is named for the Dog Star, the most brilliant star in the sky, visible from anywhere on Earth - an actuality he embraces and carries with him from the moment he is able to understand its meaning. Ancient namings signify he is scorching, sparkling, bringing destruction and rebirth. He is important, and his name informs everyone of such.

But he is the point of Canis Major, a hunting dog, ever looking towards his master, Orion. Later, he would think it ironic that he was intended to obediently follow the hunter across the sky. When he was young, though, he did follow his father, his master, with wide eyes and a thirst to learn, to emulate. He did, after all, carry his father’s name as one of his own. He thought it only right that he be his hunter. He learned quickly enough to leave Orion Black be.

His name embraces the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black - a reality he despises when he is older. He is taught to believe that to be a Black, to be a Pureblood is to be royalty. He believes it.

He spends the majority of his childhood being trained to be the perfect Pureblood heir, to be the perfect Black. He attends many Pureblood-only balls and events, and is taught the proper way to mingle with other Purebloods. He learns manners and etiquette, and he is expected to be a proper child. There are never many other children at the balls, but he is reminded that it is improper to run about and make a fool of oneself like ordinary children; he is, after all, anything but ordinary.

How could he be? His name attests to his brilliance.

    &--------My Manic & I

Sirius is living with undiagnosed Bipolar 1 Disorder. It won’t ever be diagnosed or named in-game since they’re living in the 70s (it’s still fairly misunderstood now), but it definitely affects him. I feel like his upswings are pretty intense, and it usually results in him wanting to be out all the time and doing things, and he feels infallible and invincible, and he’s a lot more likely to be reckless (even more so than what is typical for him) and make snap decisions. He definitely has a tendency towards dangerous ideas that he thinks are absolutely brilliant (see: the Prank with Snape). On the other end of it, though, Sirius’ lows are very low, and he self-medicates with alcohol when he’s suffering from the worst of his depression (see: pretty much all of Order of the Phoenix). But I don’t think that Sirius recognizes the depression as such. It’s a lot easier for him to acknowledge when he’s feeling great and on top of the world as opposed to when he’s feeling like shit and struggles with getting out of bed in the morning. He’s a lot more likely to hide that side of himself, too, and play it off with a smirk and light-hearted joke at someone else’s expense. He became an expert at hiding his emotions at a young age, after all.

     &--------I Want to Break Free

If someone were to ask Sirius his gender and sexuality, he would quirk a brow and scoff and let out a bark of laughter because what sort of daft question is that? But, secretly. he enjoys the company of both men and women.

Sirius doesn’t remember the exact moment when he realized that he was attracted to men. Maybe it was sometime in his third year, when he had accompanied James to watch the Quidditch team practice. Maybe he had caught himself staring at one of the seventh years - a boy with shaggy brown hair and a strong jaw - as he flew around the Pitch. Maybe he had felt the distinct swoop in his stomach as he had watched, and maybe he had imagined what it would be like to kiss the older boy.

But Sirius only really remembers being too afraid to say anything to James, Remus, and Peter, being afraid that it would change everything and they would think him a freak that they didn’t want to be friends with, anymore. Especially after his “prank” on Snape in 5th year, Sirius doesn’t want to do anything that could again alienate him from his friends. They’re all he really has.

Something else he would never admit to is the many times he has passed frilly shop windows and imagined being able to wear whatever clothes he wants that he sees, or wished he could be as comfortable in his own skin as David Bowie, or Freddie Mercury. Sirius doesn’t always feel exactly right in the body he has, and he doesn’t understand it even a little bit. After all, it’s hard enough to deal with the war; he doesn’t want to even begin to focus on the whole gender bit.

In modern terminology, he would identify as gender-fluid demiromantic pansexual, but that’s too fancy and way ahead of his time, so all he knows is that he’s queer - just another way in which he would have disappointed his family.

     &--------The best thing that has ever happened:

“I know that you will make us proud, Sirius.”

No one ever expected Sirius to be a Gryffindor; he certainly hadn’t when he had stepped up to the stool to be sorted his first year at Hogwarts. His entire family had come from Slytherin. He even knew that, somewhere in his lineage, he was related to Salazar Slytherin himself. But as Sirius’ attention had drifted to the far table of green and silver, he had felt a tug in his stomach that he hadn’t really understood.

….“GRYFFINDOR!”

He ignored the shouts and jests coming from the Slytherin table to rightfully take his place amongst the lions of Hogwarts. He was joined, thankfully, by James and the redhead he had met with the greasy boy (he was grateful - and always would be - that the greasy one ended up in Slytherin).

It wasn’t before he was whisked away to his dorm and he got to know his fellow dormmates: one sickly-looking boy named Remus and a short, ordinary boy named Peter. Sirius thought he could do without Remus and Peter. Who needed them when he had James, his best friend? But Remus and Peter did prove themselves when they turned the greasy boy’s hair a bright shade of pink for a week. That, Sirius decided, was enough to earn his respect.

The four of them quickly became inseparable, and Sirius decided that being a Lion was worth the consequent Howlers he received, even if meant returning from the Christmas hols with bruises hidden beneath scratchy sweaters.

    &--------And the worst:  "Blood traitor! Filth! Scum!“

He tried not to cry out as his mother punished him one final time for being an insolent disgrace; he wouldn’t give her the pleasure. He was worse for the wear, however, when she finished with him and sent him off to think about his disobedience. Again. Sirius sat, on the edge of his bed, trembling; it was out of his control. He thought, but it didn’t take long for him to realize what he must do.

He needed to leave.

He hastily threw what belongings he could into his school trunk, gathering up anything he deemed important. He was able to perform a simple expansion and levitation charm - he decided he could deal with the Ministry later - and led his trunk out of his room. But he knew he needed to stop at his brother’s room before he left.

Sirius loved his brother and he has always loved his brother, but Regulus was not like him. He was weak-minded and bent to the wishes of their parents. Sirius always wanted to keep Regulus safe from them, from Mother, but he went to school and was sorted into Gryffindor and it changed. He became the disgrace, and it had been up to Regulus to be the perfect son. Sirius never wanted that for him, and he didn’t want that for him now. So he tried to bring Regulus with him. He wanted to ask, wanted him to leave and escape the hell they had grown up in.

But Regulus didn’t leave with him. He wasn’t like Sirius. He was an idiot, and he didn’t leave. So Sirius goes. But not before he watched as his mother blasted his name from the family tree.

(Sirius will always regret not making Regulus leave with him.)

[drawsndrabbles]

I’ve seen this prompt idea floating around but I don’t think anyone’s actually written something for it yet so maybe you’d be interested. In which Bruce gets really anxious when the Avengers argue because it low key gives him flashbacks of his abusive father, but he doesn’t want to ask them to stop and make a fuss so he just avoids the yelling. Thor notices though, and when Bruce explains he gets protective and tries to make the others keep it down. (P.S. Your writing is awesome 😎)

Oh shit boooooi I’m back if you’re even following my blog anymore wonderful anon I am. so sorry. But I really liked this idea ‘I hope you enjoy! Took a bit of a dark turn though. 

Tw for implied physical and emotional abuse (nothing explicitly detailed) and the description of a panic attack

Bruce wasn’t confrontational by nature.

I suppose a childhood under the care of a monster wouldn’t allow someone to be so. The heated flesh and bruised skin of a word said out of line would silence a loose tongue with little conditioning. And so Bruce became compliant, though the pain often remained unchanged.  

The bullying of other children and degradation both at home and in the schoolyard only made a quiet boy silent in his suffering. And lo the anger and frustration of those wrongdoings twisted a righteous fury within him, but lest he became his father, it lay behind his defenses for fear he may become the monster his father claimed he was.

And so Bruce stays out of conflict, where ever it may be. He shied away from those being picked on in the locker rooms, would speed walk past arguing couples and cover his ears to block out the cries from the next room over.

And life went on.

Until the accident.

It was a curse that the misunderstood called a blessing, a tool, and a weapon. The hulk was everything his father told him he was, a monster, and a mistake. The amalgamation of his frustrations in a cruel and unjust world that swung it’s fists as carelessly as his father. And Bruce hated him.

But, sharing their bodies, their lives, hate is an uncomfortable feeling to hold to someone who knows you as well as you but is not “you.” And so they’d come to an uneasy understanding.

And life went on.

Strangely, it wasn’t so bad anymore. Bruce returned to Stark Towers with Thor and hundreds of Asgardians in tow and was welcomed back with open arms.

When they’d arrived Thor slung a comfortable arm around Bruce’s shoulders and offered him an encouraging smile as the elevator doors opened to the reveal the waiting faces of their comrades.

The reunion was a happy one, with Thor being the boisterous one as Bruce smiled tiredly while they were swarmed with questions from their friends. But as Bruce looked around he noted everyone looked a bit older, haggard and grim rather than the youthful faces he remembered. Even Tony, whose childlike exuberance seemed unending, looked worn, with deeper bags under his eyes and more lines to was the product of a little more than insomnia.

Not only that but when otherwise unoccupied he would glance to Steve every now and again with a grimace that seemed to be mirrored back at him by the captain.

Suddenly a large familiar hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling the scientist as he turned and found himself face to face with Thor.

“Friend Banner, may I request your presence for a moment?”

“Oh, yeah sure. What’s up Thor?”

The god of Thunder smiled lightly before taking Bruce’s hand and leading him out to the balcony. “I-Is something wrong?” Bruce murmured.

Thor’s upper lip curled a bit as he shrugged too mechanically to be nonchalant. “Not presently, however, I wished to ask for your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

Thor nodded. “Is it just me, or does our team seem to be divided down the middle?”

Bruce exhaled, feeling strangely relieved but newly apprehensive at the same time as he glanced back to see half their friends on one side of the room and the other half at the other. “No it’s not just you, but I get the feeling they won’t tell us the truth about it if we ask.”

Thor nodded grimly before turning and offering Bruce a bright smile. “I’m sure they will come together again soon. Loki and I have managed to reconcile our brotherhood so I’m certain the rift will mend with time.”

Bruce gave Thor a small smile and nodded despite the unease knotting his stomach. “I hope you’re right…”

-

Thor wasn’t right.

It had been about a month since their return but it felt like years had passed and Bruce was exhausted.

It seemed like each day brought new reasons for his team to be at each other’s throats, whether it warranted an argument or not. Not only that but with Thor having an entire kingdom to run and educate on the ways of earth, Bruce found himself alienated from his comrades in the time past. So he couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy without a certain God by his side after all that time together in space.

And so Bruce was left to deal with the uncomfortable tempers of his teammates alone.

Now while Bruce himself wasn’t confrontational, he also avoided confrontation whenever possible. Though being strong-armed into the Avenger’s team did little to allow him to lead a peaceful lifestyle. Either way, some of his companions blood ran a little hot compared to his, and many of them refused to back down from a challenge.

He did his best to avoid it under the best of circumstances, and at worst, he had to either find an excuse to leave the room or sneak back to his room or the lab while whoever was arguing was occupied.

It seemed to work well enough for a while, but one day it all came to a bit of a head.

Tony and Bruce were doing business as usual, slumped over their desks and testing new results of different experiments before the sliding door opened and Steve walked in, his eyes downcast on a piece of paper.

“Hey Bruce did you manage to make any progress on-”

Steve paused as he looked up from whatever was in his folder and made eye contact with Tony from where he’d risen from his seat. “Ah, I see your busy.”

Tony bristled slightly and inclined his head in Bruce’s direction. “Yeah, we’re busy. We always are. What’d he ask you to work on Bruce?”

Bruce froze as a familiar feeling of dread began to knot his stomach and the onset of a panic attack cost him his breath. “I, well, That is-”

“Something I asked him to look into. Privately.” Steve interrupted.  

“Oh yeah? Are we not a team Cap?” Tony sneered.

“Why don’t you ask yourself that question.”

“Why you-”

From then on it was just white noise as both Tony’s and Steve’s voices rose with the tension in the room and Bruce did all that he could to try act nonchalant. But as the argument grew more and more heated Bruce felt the pull of hysteria gnawing at his psyche as random splashes of color flashed behind his retinas.

Tony and Steve didn’t seem to notice the chair clatter backward as Bruce bolted out from his desk and stumbled into the hall, using the walls for support.

Bruce managed to get to his room thankfully without encountering anyone else and curled up in the far corner of his bed, grabbing his blankets and encasing himself as he did so.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there in the dark, attempting to calm his frayed senses. He must have been quite out of it, however, he didn’t notice that anyone had entered his room before he felt the bed dip gently.

He reacted violently, nearly jumping out of his skin as he whipped around to see Thor, now standing, with his arms up in a manner that said Bruce had scared him as much as he scared Bruce. But when Bruce registered who it was in the dark he let out a pathetic whine and Thor closed the distance again, sitting close to the trembling scientist and nearly pulling the other man into his lap as he hushed him and rubbed soothing circles into his back.

They stayed like that for quite a while. The sun was setting through the windows when Bruce finally pulled back to look Thor in the face.

The God smiled gently down at him and brushed a stray curl from Bruce’s forehead. “Feeling better?”

Bruce felt his face heat as Thor’s hand lightly brushed his head before returning to its previous position on his hip, but when he tried to pull away Thor just hauled him closer. “I-I, yes? Yeah, I’m sorry you had to see that. After you, uh, yknow, you finally got the time to come to visit. Not, not that running your kingdoms not important, and then teaching everyone earth stuff and-”

Thor shushed the rambling scientist gently. “It’s quite alright, I’m pleased to have been here in your trying time.”

“Oh yeah… that.” Bruce replied, crestfallen.

Thor waited for a few moments before prompting; “May I ask what happened to upset you so?”

Bruce flinched ever so slightly and turned to tell Thor no, but when he looked into his eyes, there was something there, that made him want to talk. “I. It’s a long story.”

“I’d wait years.”

“I-It’s not a pleasant one either.”

Thor placed his hand over Bruce’s squeezing tightly. “I know.”

-

Thor was quiet for the duration of Bruce’s story, his face remained unchanged for the majority of it but at certain cruel and difficult parts, Bruce noted the slight clench to his jaw. And when he finished Thor let out a soft huff like he was scared if he was too loud Bruce would run away.

And Bruce, almost felt better at the end of it all. It was like something exceedingly heavy had been lifted off him, and since he’d grown accustomed to the weight he felt like he could float away.

These things wouldn’t solve themselves overnight, but it was more of a start than he’d had in his entire life.

Bruce smiled at Thor and when Thor glanced at him, his pensive expression melted as he mirrored his expression. “I’m glad you told me, Bruce. I know this was not easy, but I do hope you feel that you may call upon me any time for anything, and I will return to you.” Thor squeezed his hand around where it was resting on Bruce’s and the scientists cheeks reddened but his smile didn’t fade.

“Now then,” Thor began as he reluctantly moved Bruce from his lap. “There is something I must discuss with the team. Though I assure you nothing you’ve told me will be heard from outside ears.”

“Y-You’re not mad are you?”

“Of course not.” Thor answered with a smile as lightning flashed outside. “I just need a moment.”

Thor left Bruce where he was sitting and went out into the main part of the tower, but it only took about 15 minutes before his curiosity got the better of him. Bruce snuck into the hall outside the living room and managed to catch the tailwind of what must have been a massive lecture.

“-peoples lives are at stake due to your childishness. If we were to get attacked now there would be no way you all would be able to act as one and would most likely make things worse rather than better. I’m not telling you to erase the problems nor am I expecting things to be fixed by morning, however, you are obviously all here with the intent to work together again. But that cannot be done if you won’t put the effort towards it. Meet in the middle as Loki and I have done or else you will bring everyone else down with you. Act like the adults you claim to be and cease your useless fighting lest I take Bruce on a holiday and leave you all to do his work by yourselves.”

A chorus of “no’s” had Bruce stifling a laugh from the shadows, but Thor’s wink in his direction had him grinning.

[jaiellesnorthkoreanlitblog]

Ten Interesting North Korean Novels.

1). FREIND

Paek Nam-nyong’s Friend is a tale of marital intrigue, abuse, and divorce in North Korea. A woman in her thirties comes to a courthouse petitioning for a divorce. As the judge who hears her statement begins to investigate the case, the story unfolds into a broader consideration of love and marriage. The novel delves into its protagonists’ past, describing how the couple first fell in love and then how their marriage deteriorated over the years. It chronicles the toll their acrimony takes on their son and their careers alongside the story of the judge’s own marital troubles.(Googlebooks)

2). THE KOREAN WAR: A HISTORY

For Americans, it was a discrete conflict lasting from 1950 to 1953 that has long been overshadowed by World War II, Vietnam, and the War on Terror. But as Bruce Cumings eloquently explains, for the Asian world the Korean War was a generations-long fight that still haunts contemporary events. And in a very real way, although its true roots and repercussions continue to be either misunderstood, forgotten, or willfully ignored, it is the war that helped form modern America's relationship to the world. With access to new evidence and secret materials from both here and abroad, including an archive of captured North Korean documents, Cumings reveals the war as it was actually fought. He describes its start as a civil war, preordained long before the first shots were fired in June 1950 by lingering fury over Japan's occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. Cumings then shares the neglected history of America's post-World War II occupation of Korea, the untold stories of bloody insurgencies and rebellions, and the powerful militaries organized and equipped by America and the Soviet Union in that divided land. He tells of the United States officially entering the action on the side of the South, and exposes as never before the appalling massacres and atrocities committed on all sides and the "oceans of napalm" dropped on the North by U.S. forces in a remarkably violent war that killed as many as four million Koreans, two thirds of whom were civilians. In sobering detail, The Korean War chronicles a U.S. home front agitated by Joseph McCarthy, where absolutist conformity discouraged open inquiry and citizen dissent. Cumings incisively ties our current foreign policy back to Korea: an America with hundreds of permanent military bases abroad, a large standing army, and a permanent national security state at home, the ultimate result of a judicious and limited policy of containment evolving into an ongoing and seemingly endless global crusade. Elegantly written and blisteringly honest, The Korean War is, like the war it illuminates, brief, devastating, and essential. (Googlebooks)

3). WITHOUT YOU THERE IS NO US.

Every day, three times a day, the students march in two straight lines, singing praises to Kim Jong-il and North Korea: Without you, there is no motherland. Without you, there is no us. It is a chilling scene, but gradually Suki Kim, too, learns the tune and, without noticing, begins to hum it. It is 2011, and all universities in North Korea have been shut down for an entire year, the students sent to construction fields—except for the 270 students at the all-male Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), a walled compound where portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il look on impassively from the walls of every room, and where Suki has gone undercover as a missionary and a teacher. Over the next six months, she will eat three meals a day with her young charges and struggle to teach them English, all under the watchful eye of the regime. (Googlebooks)

4). THE ORPHAN MASTER’S SON.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs a work camp for orphans. Superiors in the North Korean state soon recognize the boy’s loyalty and keen instincts. Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do rises in the ranks. He becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.” Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love.(Amazon)

5). THE GIRL WITH SEVEN NAMES.

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?

Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.(Googlebooks)

6). THE ACCUSATION

Authored by an anonymous writer and smuggled out of North Korea, The Accusation is the first work of fiction to come out of the country and a moving portrayal of life under a totalitarian regime.

In 1989, a North Korean dissident writer, known to us only by the pseudonym Bandi, began to write a series of stories about life under Kim Il-sung’s totalitarian regime. Smuggled out of North Korea and published around the world, The Accusation provides a unique and shocking window into this most secretive of countries.

Bandi’s profound, deeply moving, vividly characterized stories tell of ordinary men and women facing the terrible absurdity of daily life in North Korea: a factory supervisor caught between loyalty to an old friend and loyalty to the Party; a woman struggling to feed her husband through the great famine; the staunch Party man whose actor son reveals to him the theatre that is their reality; the mother raising her child in a world where the all-pervasive propaganda is the very stuff of childhood nightmare.(Googlebooks)

7). A CORPSE IN KORYO.

Against the backdrop of a totalitarian North Korea, one man unwillingly uncovers the truth behind series of murders, and wagers his life in the process. Sit on a quiet hillside at dawn among the wildflowers; take a picture of a car coming up a deserted highway from the south. Simple orders for Inspector O, until he realizes they have led him far, far off his department's turf and into a maelstrom of betrayal and death. North Korea's leaders are desperate to hunt down and eliminate anyone who knows too much about a series of decades-old kidnappings and murders---and Inspector O discovers too late he has been sent into the chaos. This is a world where nothing works as it should, where the crimes of the past haunt the present, and where even the shadows are real. A corpse in Pyongyang's main hotel---the Koryo---pulls Inspector O into a confrontation of bad choices between the devils he knows and those he doesn't want to meet. A blue button on the floor of a hotel closet, an ice blue Finnish lake, and desperate efforts by the North Korean leadership set Inspector O on a journey to the edge of a reality he almost can't survive. Like Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy and the Inspector Arkady Renko novels, A Corpse in the Koryo introduces another unfamiliar world, a perplexing universe seemingly so alien that the rules are an enigma to the reader and even, sometimes, to Inspector O. Author James Church weaves a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart after decades as an intelligence officer. This is a chilling portrayal that, in the end, leaves us wondering if what at first seemed unknowable may simply be too familiar for comfort.(Googlebooks)

8). THE TWO KOREANS.

Ever since Korea was first divided at the end of World War II, the tension between its northern and southern halves has riveted—and threatened to embroil—the rest of the world. In this landmark history, now thoroughly revised and updated in conjunction with Korea expert Robert Carlin, veteran journalist Don Oberdorfer grippingly describes how a historically homogenous people became locked in a perpetual struggle for supremacy—and how they might yet be reconciled.(Googlebooks)

9). ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA.

From the world’s most repressive state comes rare good news: the escape to freedom of a small number of its people. It is a crime to leave North Korea. Yet increasing numbers of North Koreans dare to flee. They go first to neighboring China, which rejects them as criminals, then on to Southeast Asia or Mongolia, and finally to South Korea, the United States, and other free countries. They travel along a secret route known as the new underground railroad. With a journalist’s grasp of events and a novelist’s ear for narrative, Melanie Kirkpatrick tells the story of the North Koreans’ quest for liberty. Travelers on the new underground railroad include women bound to Chinese men who purchased them as brides, defectors carrying state secrets, and POWs from the Korean War held captive in the North for more than half a century. Their conductors are brokers who are in it for the money as well as Christians who are in it to serve God. The Christians see their mission as the liberation of North Korea one person at a time. Just as escaped slaves from the American South educated Americans about the evils of slavery, the North Korean fugitives are informing the world about the secretive country they fled. Escape from North Korea describes how they also are sowing the seeds for change within North Korea itself. Once they reach sanctuary, the escapees channel news back to those they left behind. In doing so, they are helping to open their information-starved homeland, exposing their countrymen to liberal ideas, and laying the intellectual groundwork for the transformation of the totalitarian regime that keeps their fellow citizens in chains.(Googlebooks)

10). YOUR REPUBLIC IS CALLING YOU.

Your Republic is Calling You  is a Korean novel written by Kim Young-ha. Borrowing the title of René Magritte’s series of paintings, Empire of Light, Bichui jeguk is about a North Korean spy stationed in South Korea and the day he is summoned back to North Korea. The novel both overviews the societal changes that Korea went through from the 1980s to the 2000s and follows the fate of a man whose fate becomes wholly unknown to him.(Wikipedia)