#it's been 87 years and i'm starting out with this. amazing. no apologies.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 87- Wild N Out

Chapter Summary: Jennie guest stars on the show Wild N' Out with Angelina. Matt Rife tries to shoot his shot with Jennie while he has been in her DMs for weeks.

Words: 8,000+

Author's Note: Wild N Out is one of my favorite shows! If you aren't familiar with it, I highly recommend watching YouTube videos about the show. They have their own channel and have tons of videos for you to get an idea of the different games and banter they have.

This is one of my favorite chapters! It was so fun to write and edit!

If you are easily offended or aren't that into jokes, perhaps this show and chapter are not for you and you are welcome to skip it.

I used some of the lines from the Wild N Out YouTube videos I've been watching to add to the chapter. So I hope you like it! I liked the build up for this. It started tame and then got crazier.

-------- "Your hair~! Finally, she has dyed her hair! You give Justina Valentine a run for her money," Angelina giggled and pulled Jennie in for a tight embrace.

Jennie flew to LA to join Angelina and stay with her for a little while before they flew to Georgia for their Wild N Out recording.

"Haha, thanks sis! I still need to hide my hair from the public. So human hair wigs it is,"

"I'll help you put it on,"

"Jennie! You're here! I've missed you!" Angelina's little brother, Tyrone, pushed Angelina away and went to hug her.

"Rude!" Angelina complained.

Jen laughed. "I'm happy to see you. You're getting taller,"

"I know! I'll be taller than you one day," he grinned.

"I see it,"

"And for the record, she has a boyfriend. So stop drooling," Angelina called him out.

"Still? Aw, when are you gonna break up with him?" he whined, causing Jennie to giggle.

"Dummy, she is not breaking up with him! Nobody is ruining our OTP! Now if you don't mind, we need to catch up, so leave us be,"

"Can you play video games with me later, Jennie?" he ignored his sister who looked offended by that.

"Sure," she beamed. "I'll play some games with you, later on,"

"It's a date!"

"Oh Lord..." Angelina rolled her eyes and grabbed Jennie to drag her to her room.

She shut the door and locked it so her brother wouldn't barge in. Laying on the bed, Jennie joined her and they began to catch up.

"Soooooo, how are the boys? They surviving well without you?" Angelina asked.

"From what I heard, not really. They're struggling a bit," Jen laughed. "But they're doing all right. Just working on the comeback. With Yoongi, Agust D is a huge success. I'm so proud of him,"

"I heard! He has BARS! A to the G to the U to the STD! That song is hot! I heard you played the guitar for a couple of his songs,"

Jen stared at her in surprise. "You noticed?"

"You have a unique sound. It's easy to tell it's you because of how you play. I think it's amazing you're doing that. The boy always has such a soft spot for you. It's so cute,"

"That is true. Namjoon is working pretty hard on the album. A lot is on his plate,"

"Yeah, he told me and kept apologizing for not having much time to talk with me. But it's cool. I get that way when I'm working on new music,"

"To tell you the truth, he's pretty stressed. And so am I. I keep thinking about my song. I just don't think it's going to be well received. Part of me wants to change it but they're not going to do that, everything is set in stone,"

Angelina playfully nudged her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You'll be singing your truth and how you feel. Don't even worry about it or pay attention to any negativity. Focus on performing it when you guys go on tour,"

"Speaking of our tour when it's announced, I hope we get to go to more American dates. Big Hit is underestimating how many people around the world want to see us. K-Pop is getting more attention as the years go by. We need a real-world tour this time. Not just Asia, a few places in Europe, and so on. I want to go everywhere and perform with BTS. So, how is life with you?"

"I've been just doing more shows on TV as a guest star and doing collaborations. Also working on the new music. Things are getting there."

"You excited for Wild N' Out, soon?"

"Oh, you know it! I am always~ on that show! Are you excited? You get to have a chance of getting a belt! I'll have you know I won the belt quite a few times,"

"I expect nothing less from you. And yeah, I am excited, too. I'm not much of a rapper although I'm still learning from Yoongi but I hope I can spit a few bars to win some points,"

"You'll do fine. It'll come naturally. I hope they don't roast you too much. Expect them to come after the boys, though,"

"Mentally preparing. I will defend Bangtan's honor. It'll be a fun experience,"

"I really wish I was a part of the cast," Angelina sighed at the idea.

She had been a fan for years and always felt like she could be a great cast member of the show. She nailed it when it came to the games with her quick wit.

"To be a part of the show, ugh that would be awesome. I love the show so much. I feel so...at home there," she went on.

"Have you thought about asking Nick?" Jennie asked as she pondered about Nick Cannon.

"What? No way. I feel like that'll be too...forward. I mean I like being a guest on the show, so it's all right. And like Justina, she is so damn good at what she does on the show. I feel like I can't compare."

"Angelina, you'd be a great addition. Talk to him,"

"Ah...you flatter me. It's all right, just forget about it, okay? Anyway, let's watch a movie. I'm feeling Waiting To Exhale. What do you think?"

"Yeah, let's watch it. I'll make the popcorn,"

Jennie made a mental note to talk with Nick. Maybe she can help her. Angelina was stubborn and too modest about these things. But Jen could give her that extra push.

As Jennie and Angelina watched the movie, they laughed at the awkward sex scene.

"Grr?" Jen laughed. "Oh my gosh..."

"I hate men who do that. It's so weird. Why you so extra with it?" Angelina cringed. "And what's even more embarrassing is that she ain't even enjoying it,"

"Have you had a bad lay?"

"Oh hell yeah! Oh my God, there's this one guy I met at an after-party of an award show, right? Way before Namjoon. He was flirting it up, saying all the right things. He was talking all this mad shit about him having girls not walk the next day, right? This man lasted like 30 seconds and fell asleep. I was so mad. I pushed him off the bed and cussed his ass out for tryna play me,"

"Yikes~! That's uh..."

"I know! I feel like the guys who don't talk much about their skills are the best ones because they know how to put it down. And a lot of these guys I've encountered like to brag about their size but don't know what the heck to do with it. All talk, no action. It's annoying,"

"Damn..."

"But don't you worry. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to that,"

"You have a favorite part when it comes to that?"

"If anything, I would say that pillow talk is the best part for me after everything is done. You'll love it." Angelina said enthusiastically. "I feel like you and Jungkook will just be vibing and enjoying each other's company after that special moment. Watch you two be talking about video games and then end up playing some video games afterward,"

"I mean, it could happen. I see it," she giggled.

"Is Jungkook a cuddler with you?"

"Yeah, all the time,"

"That'll be the best, having you in his arms. You'll see. I usually leave after doing it but with Namjoon, it's so different. I like listening to him. I can listen to him talk for hours. We go into some deep conversations, too. He's so smart,"

"That he is, sis,"

As they continued to watch the film, they watched as Angela Bassett's character put all of her husband's items on fire. Jen was shocked at how real the scene looked as her character yelled and cussed about him.

She shook her head. "He took all the money and left her with the kids. Ridiculous. Divorcing her for that white woman,"

"I know, ain't it screwed up? Men really ain't shit. Wasted all those years of marriage to end up like this? I'd be so mad." Angelina added.

"You and I both,"

And once the office scene between Angela's character and her husband came about, Jen continued to be speechless at how they shouted at each other.

"Man, I'm amazed at how much rage you can have when someone cheats on you,"

"Can you imagine?"

"I can't even imagine it. And I never want to."

As the movie went on, Angelina chuckled after thinking about Matt Rife, "So...Matt really all in your DMs?"

"Yes! Oh my gosh. And he comments on a lot of my stuff, too. I replied to tell him I wasn't interested but he's still trying to spit game and I've been ignoring the messages. Did you see he's following some of my fan accounts?"

"Wow~! How do you think it'll be on the show?"

"I'm hoping it won't be too bad and that he learned his mistakes from Zendaya,"

"We'll see, sis. He wants you bad,"

"I'll let him down gently,"

"Well, if he gets too much, then make sure you embarrass his ass on TV,"

When the movie was over, Jennie spoke, "Hey, you know how I have occasionally talked about wanting a tattoo? I want to get one before I go back to Korea. Big Hit gave me the okay. I want to get the friendship tattoos with you,"

"Oooh! Let's do it. You still have the idea you showed me on your phone, right?"

"Uh huh. We just need to figure out where we want to get the tats,"

Angelina took out her laptop. "Let's research!"

---------

For the Wild N' Out taping, Nick Cannon had excitedly opened up the show and shouted out DJ D-Wrek and the Wild N' Out girls.

"There are two teams battling head to head to see whose the funniest. And usually, it's my team cause I be cheating. I'm just gonna put it out there like that," Nick joked. "And I changed it up this season. We doing it bigger and better. I want y'all to make some noise for my new squad! It's the Gold squad!"

For this episode, the Gold Squad consisted of DC Young Fly, Becky Robinson, Darren Brand, Emmanuel, Karlous Miller, and Matt Rife.

"And we have a very special guest. She is the reoccurring champion here on Wild N' Out, one of the youngest and most successful up and coming rappers today, and can kick your ass if you cross her, give it up for my girl, Angelina~!"

Angelina walked out excitedly, wearing a Gold Squad hoodie, and gave Nick a big hug.

"How you feel!?" he asked.

"Elated man, elated! This my happy place, I love it here!" she beamed, earning loud cheers.

"It's good to have you back. You ready to get down, today?"

"Hell yeah, always,"

"All right, that's what I like to hear!" he replied as she went over to her team. "I can't even front, we got a little bit of competition this episode. It goes down. Y'all make some noise for the team with the dream, it's Platinum!"

The Platinum Squad walked out consisting of Timothy DeLaGhetto, Justina Valentine, Chico Bean, Hitman Holla, Conceited, and Charlie Chips. Nick then proceeded to announce Desiigner as one of the co-captains of the team. 

After shouting him out, he went to announce Jennie. "Now we have another special guest here to represent the Platinum Squad as the co-captain. Someone here to try to take my belt. Not only is she singing in Korean but she is also sticking to her roots and bringing it down in the K-Pop scene! Y'all make some noise for my girl Jennie~!"

Jennie walked out with a big smile, waving at the crowd as everyone cheered. She had on a curly human haired wig that resembled her natural hair to hide the comeback color. Along with ripped jeans, she wore a cropped Wild N' Out platinum hoodie.

"Jennie, today you get a chance to take my belt, how you feeling? You ready?" Nick asked after embracing her.

"Born ready. Let's do this!" she said happily.

"Confident! I like that! Let's get to it then! Platinum squad y'all make some noise for your team captains over here!"

As things settled down, Nick went on to announce the first game. "This is a classic game we like to call Let Me Holla. It's real simple. We bring a Wild N Out girl to the stage, and each cast member gets the opportunity to holla at her. Now if it's funny, it gets a bell. If it's not funny, it gets a buzzer. The team with the most bells wins. Y'all know how we do. Y'all ready? Let's wil' out,"

Once the Wild N Out girl arrived on the stage, Darren Brand suddenly made a dive over to her, sliding on the floor. He then got back to his feet.

"I just slid in yo' DMs," he said, making everyone laugh.

DING

Gold Team- 1 Point

Platinum Team- 0 Points

Next up was Conceited and Hitman Holla to represent the Platinum team as they approached the Wild N Out girl.

"'ight watch this. What's up, baby?" Hitman Holla greeted her with a charming smile, making her giggle. "You remind me of the 20 letters of the alphabet,"

"There's fuckin' 26 letters of the alphabet," Conceited called him out, making everyone laugh.

"Silly me. How could I forget that U, R, A, C, T," he flirted as everyone cheered.

"Okay, that was smooth," Jennie said, impressed with his game.

"No, no, hell no, that's only 25!" Conceited brought up to DJ D-Wrek. "He still missing one! He can't count!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Silly me," Hitman Holla apologized before moving in close to the girl. "You can get that D later,"

That statement caused the crowd to go wild along with the cast members who were shooked.

DING

Gold Team- 1 Point

Platinum Team- 1 Point

DC YoungFly strolled over to the girl next.

"Come here shawty," he called out but she didn't budge. "Oh, she tryna play hard to get. Come here shawty. Bring that ass here, girl!"

DING

Gold Team- 2 Points

Platinum Team- 1 Point

Chico Bean pretended that he was ordering something. "Let me get a number two...one three and the rest of them digits,"

The girl didn't seem too impressed and neither did the crowd and he was met with a buzzer.

Angelina casually wandered over to the girl with a smile. "What's up, baby?"

"What's up?" she smiled.

"Now, if I wasn't buying this drink, would you still check me out?" she revealed a can of lime-a-rita which made the girl laugh.

DING

Gold Team- 3 Points

Platinum Team- 1 Point

'Okay, I think I got one,' Jennie thought and stood up, walking over to the girl.

For this, she pretended to look disappointed. She let out a sigh and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Man...I'm so bummed," she said.

"Why is that?" the Wild N Out girl asked.

"I wish we could go to the movies together. But they don't allow snacks in," she replied as she was met with giggles and cheers from the crowd.

DING

Gold Team- 3 Points

Platinum Team- 2 Points

Matt Rife chuckled softly at her pickup line as he gazed at her.

'Man, you are cute...' he thought to himself.

Ever since she walked on the stage, his eyes were on her. He was definitely getting distracted.

With Jennie, she felt that someone was watching her and glanced over to catch Matt staring. He quickly looked away, trying not to make it obvious but she knew what he was doing.

And so it begins.

The question on her mind was, what was he going to do?

As the game progressed, the teams went on to give out the smoothest pickup lines, with Platinum and Gold being tied at five points. Matt Rife approached the stage and the crowd cheered for him, anticipating what he was going to say.

"Wow. You are beautiful," he complimented the girl. "Now, as much as I would like to shoot my shot at you, there is someone else in this room that I've had my eye on for a while now and I want to holla at her instead,"

The crowd and cast got hyped up, anticipating his plan once Matt turned around and put his attention on Jennie.

"Ohhh shit!" Desiigner yelled as Jen's stomach dropped.

"Oh, word!?" Nick shouted.

"Wait! Wait! This is against the rules!" Conceited complained. "It's supposed to be the Wild N' Out girl! Not our co-captain! Leave her alone!"

"Give him a chance!" DC Young Fly defended him.

"He gon' embarrass himself! Zendaya 2.0" Hitman Holla claimed as that made the crowd laugh more.

"No, he not!" Darren Brand spoke.

"Yeah, so chill! I want to see this!" Emmanuel replied, hushing everybody.

Matt had made it very clear ever since Jen was announced to be on the show, that he was quite fond of her and wanted to shoot his shot. He had to at least try to flirt with her. He also wanted to redeem himself from the whole Zendaya fiasco.

"Um, are you serious?" Angelina complained. "She is wayyy out of your league,"

"Aye! You're supposed to be on his side, we're a team," Nick pointed out.

"Here he go," Justina Valentine chuckled while Matt's team cheered him on.

Jen felt her face flush at the commotion. She wasn't expecting to be put on the spot this soon. It was only the first game!

After the commotion died down, Matt went up to Jennie and gently grabbed her hand. He watched as she stood up to face him. His gaze on her grew more intense as he gave her a charming smile.

Yeah, Matt is a handsome guy. But in Jennie's eyes, no one could compare to her man, Jungkook.

"Jennifer Walker...wow..." he checked her out. "Damn, you look so beautiful today,"

She smiled politely as he released her hand. "Thank you,"

"I watched American Hustle Life. I heard you're into older guys,"

Ah, he must have watched the clips of her gushing over Tony.

"I have said that, yes,"

"Now, I'm single and I'm a few years older than you so that's a check off your list. And I hear you have this thing called an ideal type...you talked about what you want in a man,"

"I have," she agreed, surprised at how much research he put into this.

"All your reasons are valid. And I fit the description. But I couldn't help but wonder about your ideal type in a more physical way. I bet you want a man that has experience. Somebody that knows exactly..." he leaned in close. "...what he's doing and how to take care of a queen like you. Somebody that can handle all that. I'm that man,"

His statement caused the crowd and both teams to go wild. So much commotion surrounded Jennie as she processed what he had said. She became amused at his bold statement and maintained eye contact. He was not going to fluster her. No way. 

Oh, how she wanted so badly to say she had a boyfriend on National Television. But she refrained and decided for this game to let Matt have his fun. She'll think of something to embarrass and shut him down in one of the next games. This won't be the last of the flirting.

'Ooooooo he about to die~,' Angelina thought with amusement, thinking about what Jungkook and the rest of Bangtan were going to think of this when this aired.

This was getting juicy. She thought about Jungkook's reaction, how Jennie was going to handle Matt during the show, and if Matt was going to flirt more later on. She decided to let nature take its course and not get involved. Since the Amity days, Angelina would always come to her aid in situations. But over the years, she has seen Jennie hold her own and was interested to see how she was going to handle this Matt situation during the recording. If she could have some popcorn to go with this entertainment, she would as she watched Jennie laugh softly and gently push Matt away since he got a little too close.

He took a few steps back from her light push and asked, "You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"

"And if I do?" Jennie replied smoothly.

"If you do?" he ran a hand through his hair, "Well, I can confidently say that he won't be your boyfriend for long,"

'HA! He is so thirsty! How delusional can you be!?' Angelina thought as she snorted at his response.

Jen couldn't help but chuckle at that. He really thought he had a chance? If he thought she was going to leave Jungkook for him, he was sadly mistaken.

"And what makes you so confident?" she asked.

"You may not hear a lot about the girls I've had and I may not have as many as some of these guys on stage but just know my satisfaction rate is higher. And you can find all that out later if you let me have your number," he offered with a soft smirk.

The crowd hollered at his words and a series of dings were heard.

"Yes! That is what I'm talking about!" Darren Brand praised with Nick.

Once Matt heard the bell for his team, he smiled victoriously and grabbed her hand to give it a soft kiss. Releasing her hand, he sent her a wink and went back to his team, high fiving Nick and some of the other cast members.

'Celebrate while you can Matt. This is far from over,' Angelina thought to herself as she anticipated what Jennie was going to do.

"DJ D-Wrek! Who won that?" Nick asked.

"Gold team got the most bells," he announced as the Gold team celebrated.

-------

"For this next one is a classic game I like to call talking spit. You know how it go. We gon' have some Wild N' Out girls bring out chairs, some water, and some buckets out here. Myself and Miss Jennie are gonna sit down in chairs, fill our mouths with water and each team member is going to get the opportunity to make us laugh so hard that we spit our water out. The team that makes you spit the most, wins the game! Real easy! Y'all ready? Jennie, come on up here, please,"

Jennie smiled and got up from sitting with her team. Taking a seat across Nick, she sipped some water, holding it in her mouth. All she had to do was try not to laugh that much. Hopefully, she can win for her team this time. She wanted that belt.

"Gold squad wil' out!" DJ D-Wrek announced.

Angelina decided to go first, smiling mischievously at her best friend. Jen knew what was up and narrowed her eyes.

"Yo, Jen, I ain't even gonna hold you...I may need to steal a few of them smart-"

Quickly spitting out her water, she shouted, "Hell no!" which made everyone laugh.

DING

"Ha-ha~! Works every time!" Angelina said victoriously.

"It's on sight after the show," Jen added and was answered by Angelina sticking her tongue out at her.

Gold team 1 Point

Platinum team 0 Points

Chico Bean stood behind Jennie and began to make an improv song, dancing while she joined in, dancing in her seat, "A wha-a wha-a wha-a wha. I said I'm chico bean, yeah you heard what I said. Me and Jennie both got some big ass heads!"

She chuckled as she threw her head back, keeping the water in.

"...yeah you know what it is. No, I ain't gonna stunt, mine big in the back, hers big in the front," he went on as Nick was struggling to keep the water in. "Hey, uh, water wet wet and when we put our shirt on we make the neck stretch. I say uh, hey, the water wet wet and when we put the shirt on we make the neck stretch!"

Once DC Young Fly jumped in to do the shoot dance, Nick couldn't help but spit out his water and laugh. Jennie high fived Chico Bean for getting the team the point.

DING

Gold team 1 Point

Platinum team 1 Point

Emmanuel stood behind Nick and waved at Jennie. She politely waved back and listened eagerly to what he had to say.

"I've been thinking about this. This is all curiosity. I've seen some photos and I want to know what you think," he went on as she watched him curiously at what he was getting at.

He took out a printed photo of the BTS members and their "coconut" haircuts. "I don't know how you do it, Jennie. Do you ever just stare at BTS and be like, damn! What is with them and that yee yee coconut ass haircuts they got on?" he said, causing her to immediately spit out her water, turning to the side.

Nick spat out his too while she covered her mouth, laughing wholeheartedly.

DING

"Why he do them like that?" Angelina asked, cracking up with the rest of the cast members.

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 2 Points

After wiping her mouth with a Wild N' Out towel, Jen put more water in her mouth as Tim DeLaGhetto went up to get Nick to laugh.

"Nick, when I listen to a Nick Cannon album it gives me a special feeling y'know," Tim began. "Like when you wake up feeling good, right? You get in the shower you all fresh, you feelin' nice. And then you gotta take a shit right after?"

The audience laughed while Nick spat out the water.

DING

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 3 Points

DC YoungFly walked up behind Nick and pointed at her.

"I will make you laugh, little girl!" he said, making her smile in amusement.

The two battled in a stare down for a moment as everyone watched in anticipation.

"FIRE~!" he suddenly shouted, making her widen her eyes. "FIRE~! FI-RRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE~!"

As she heard him sing Bangtan's song, she struggled to keep the water in her mouth.

"You didn't spit, yet? Man! That's the only lyric I know. It seemed to be working so FI-RRRRRRREEEEEEEEE~!"

Thinking on his feet, he thought of the other English that he heard from the song. "Everybody say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! Say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! I do-ont know the rest of thee-ee woor-oor-oor-ords!" he said on beat for Jimin's part.

Nick pointed at Jennie and it looked like she was about to spit as she covered her mouth, leaning forward. He stomped his feet at a rapid rate while pointing as he stood up. But in the end, they both kept the water in their mouths.

Charlie Chips stood behind her next.

"Keep the water in your mouth if you think Angelina is real..." he said to Nick as Nick nodded and kept the water in his mouth. "Keep the water in your mouth if you think Justina is real...Okay, come over here," he asked for the Wild N' Out girl, Teresa Top Notch, to join him on stage.

"Keep the water in your mouth if you think everything about this is real." he went on, gesturing to Teresa, as Nick continued to do so.

Jennie watched as Teresa spun around and posed, looking as beautiful as ever.

"You see Nick? This is my whole thing," Charlie ended up snatching the wig off Teresa once she began walking away.

She was left in her wig cap which caused Nick to spit out his water and run out of his seat while loud laughter and screams surrounded Jennie.

DING

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 4 Points

Jennie covered her mouth, laughing while Teresa started to playfully hit Charlie. Miss Bangtan was glad she didn't get her wig snatched off. That would have been disastrous since she was trying to hide her new hair color for the comeback.

"You shut up! Sit down! It ain't funny!" Teresa laughed and pointed at Nick to get back in his seat.

"Wow...I was not expecting that," Nick said on the mic once he got back in his seat.

As the game continued, both teams were tied up yet again, and this time with Gold catching up to the Platinum team, 4 to 4. 

Matt Rife took the stage and stood behind Nick. Everybody was wondering what he was going to do after the stunt he pulled on Let Me Holla. Anything could happen.

"Now this is a win/win situation for me. So, it's all up to you on how you want to do this, baby girl," he announced, making her confused.

PAUSE!

One, did he call her the nickname Jungkook likes to call her?

And two, what the hell did he mean by win/win situation?

Jennie raised an eyebrow while Angelina began freaking out in her head that Matt called her baby girl.

"If you want me to kiss you, keep that water in your mouth," Matt requested.

Jennie snorted in amusement while making an effort to keep the water in her mouth. Meanwhile, the audience and cast were shooked at his boldness and started freaking out.

"Kiss who?!" Conceited shouted.

"Kiss where!?" Chico Bean added.

"Not this again!" Karlous Miller laughed.

"Matt really got some balls today, huh?" Desiigner laughed.

"She has a choice! If she keeps the water in her mouth, that'll let me know she wants me to kiss her and I'll kiss her," Matt explained. "Spit it out, well then that's one extra point for my team. Like I said. Win. Win,"

Angelina covered her mouth. She mentally saw Matt's grave get dug deeper. She already thought about Jungkook wanting to beat his ass when he watches this episode. Oh gosh, Jungkook. When this episode dropped, she wanted to get all the tea on Bangtan's reactions.

Jennie continued to process what was happening. She felt like Matt was bluffing. There was no way in the world. Not after Zendaya. Another thing was she wanted to win. She did not want to lose this game. Her eyes were on that belt. To take it back to Big Hit and place it in her studio. 

She watched him as he began to walk over to her while the crowd was cheering in anticipation.

"Jennie, spit out that water!" DC Young Fly shouted. "Spit it out, now!"

"Spit it out!" Becky Robinson joined in.

"No~! Hold that water in! We need the point!" Charlie Chips said.

"Hold that water in! Hold it! We need the point! We need the point! Take one for the team!" Tim yelled.

"You sure you want to kiss him, baby?" Justina asked her.

The constant yelling of the teams made the pressure in the situation rise as she continued to keep her water in.

"Don't do it! Resist!" Hitman Holla shouted. "This white boy is not going to win this game! Keep it in the mouth!"

Matt kneeled in front of Jennie. "Make a move, quickly. You gonna accept my kiss or spit that water out?" he teased, raising an eyebrow.

'So, this the game you playing? Bring it. Come closer...I dare you,' Jen thought, narrowing her eyes.

Angelina bit her lip in anxiousness as she watched the scene unfold.

'Girl, what are you about to do?' she thought.

As Matt inched closer to her face, puckering his lips, Jennie ended up slapping him in the face to block his advances. That caused Nick to spit out his water and laugh with the rest of the studio. 

When he got slapped, Matt stumbled to the floor and held his cheek in surprise.

"GIRL!" Angelina laughed out loud, holding her stomach. 

Miss Bangtan never ceased to surprise her. This was hilarious and a perfect reaction.

DING DING DING DING

"REJECTED~!" Platinum squad hollered and jumped up and down in excitement and laughter.

"Damn, can you slap me again? That was hot. Playing hard to get, I see," Matt laughed and got back up on his feet, rubbing the side of his face. 

Jennie looked taken aback by his reaction.

He...liked the slap?

She swallowed the water and spoke in Korean with a smile, saying that he was an idiot for trying that cheap stunt and she was going to punch him if he ever did that again.

"I dunno what she just said but it was hot," he replied with a chuckle.

"Y'all make some noise for our girl, Jennie! Thanks for being such a good sport!" Nick praised and went to high five her once the Platinum team won the game.

------

"Y'all ready for the next game? It's a fun one, it's called Now You Wild Out. We gon' drop the beat, we gon' bring both teams up and DJ D-Wrek is gon' give us some topics and we wild out and improv about it right on the spot. The team with the most bells wins the game. Y'all ready? Gold team step up. Platinum step up. DJ D-Wrek drop the beat!" Nick announced as an instrumental of 50 Cent's In Da Club came on. "Uh! Come on y'all, uh! Now you wild out!"

"Your topic is going to court," DJ D-Wrek announced.

"Now you wild out!" everyone chanted.

In a whiny voice, Nick started, "I don't wanna go to jail, I don't wanna go to jail, I don't wanna go to jail, now you wild out!"

Pretending to get handcuffed, Chico Bean shouted, "You goin' to jail! You goin to jail! You goin' to jail! Now you wild out!"

"My lawyer's white! My lawyer's white! My lawyer's white! Now you wild out!"

"You bout to be in the cell! You bout to be in the cell! You bout to be in the cell! Now you wild out!"

Scared by his statement, Nick covered his butt and shouted, "Not with you! Not with you! Not with you! Now you wild out!"

"Pause! I'm going out!" Chico Bean quickly walked away, making everyone laugh. 

DING!

Gold Team 1 Point

Platinum Team 0 Points

"Your topic is the zoo!" DJ D-Wrek announced as Emmanuel and Hitman Holla went at it.

Playing the part, Emmanuel began to act like the animal as he announced, "I'm a monkey with it, I'm a monkey with it, I'm a monkey with it, now you wild out!"

"Well I'm a bird with it," Hitman Holla flapped his arms like they were wings. "I'm a bird with it, I'm a bird with it, now you wild out!"

"I'm a lion! I'm a lion! I'm a lion! Now you wild out!"

Hitman hesitated and that allowed the Gold team to get another point.

DING!

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 0 Points

"Your topic is the club," DJ D-Wrek announced as Angelina and Justina Valentine went up.

"I'm in VIP, I'm in VIP, I'm in VIP, now you wild out!" Justina said.

"I'm gettin' free drinks, gettin' free drinks, gettin' free drinks, now you wild out!" Angelina replied, pretending to be given drinks.

"I'm dancing on yo' man!" Justina got close to her, twerking. "...dancin' on your man, dancin' on your man, now you wild out!"

Thinking about Namjoon, Angelina replied, "And I'm beatin' your ass, beatin' your ass, beatin' your ass, now you wild out!"

Her statement made everyone laugh and she got the point for her team.

DING!

Gold Team 3 Points

Platinum Team 0 Points

"Your topic is being rich!" DJ D-Wrek announced as Tim and Darren went at it.

Kicking his feet up, Tim shouted, "Shine my shoes, bitch! Shine my shoes, bitch! Shine my shoes, bitch! Now you wild out!"

"You want a latte? You want a latte?" Darren pretended like he giving out drinks, "You want a latte? Now you wild out!"

"I'm Nick Cannon! I'm Nick Cannon! I'm Nick Cannon! Now you wild out!"

"I own this! I own this! I own this! Now you wild out!"

Tim fumbled his words and Gold received another point.

DING!

Gold Team 4 points

Platinum Team 0 Points

The Gold team was truly kicking some tail with their quick wit. Wanting to try to get a point, Jennie stepped up.

"Oh, Jennie? You want a shot at this?" Nick looked surprised as the crowd cheered.

"Yeah! I'll go!" she answered with a smile and danced to the beat.

"Oh, then it's my turn, now!" Matt stepped up.

"Oh, here he goes, about to get embarrassed again," Hitman Holla said, making everyone laugh. 

"I got this. I got this," Matt reassured everyone.

"Would you leave my girl, alone? She's not interested!" Angelina called out.

"Chill~. Don't be a cockblock,"

"She don't want you, dumbass,"

"Your topic is relationships," DJ D-Wrek announced.

"Now you wild out," the audience said while both teams danced to the beat again. "Now you wild out!"

Matt looked directly at Jennie with a flirty smile. "You into white boys? You into white boys? You into white boys? Now you wild out!"

Shrugging, Jen waved him away. "I am but not you, I am but not you, I am but not you, now you wild out!"

Her comment made everyone laugh wholeheartedly while Matt continued to remain persistent.

"Give me a chance!" he replied while his team backed him up by looking like they were begging her to say yes. "...give me a chance, give me a chance, now you wild out!"

Dancing to the beat, she remained unbothered. "No way, no way, no way, now you wild out!"

"You know you want this," he flexed his arms. "...you know you want this, you know you want this, now you wild out!"

Looking around confused with her team, she stated, "Who lied!? Who lied!? Who lied!? Now you wild out!" she pointed at him.

"I still smashed," he shrugged and jumped to the beat, causing the Gold team to look at him in surprise and get hyped. "...I still smashed, I still smashed, now you wild out!"

Thinking quickly on her feet, determined to not stutter, Jennie dropped it down low, balancing nicely as she moved her hips, knees, and ass up and down to the beat of the song, distracting him as both teams yelled. Laughter around the studio rose in volume when she spoke. "Was it in though? Was it in though? Was it in though? Now you wild out!"

"HEYYYYY, MISS WALKER!" Angelina shouted, loving her performance as she watched Jennie get back up, awaiting Matt's response.

Almost fumbling with his words, Matt managed to say, "M-my dick can definitely hit it right! And my tongue is better, my tongue is better, my tongue is better, now you wild out!"

Putting him out of his misery, Jennie grabbed onto Desiigner, letting him wrap an arm around her while she rocked to the beat with him. With Jungkook on her mind, she replied, "I've had better head, I've had better head, I've had better head, now you wild out!" 

As soon as she pulled that stunt, everyone freaked out, while Matt couldn't think of a comeback for it.

Angelina smiled proudly at her. 'That's my girl!'

DING!

Gold Team 4 Points

Platinum Team 1 Point

"Man! We had that!" Nick complained.

"So, I really can't get your number or something?" Matt whined to her.

"No, dumbass!" Angelina smacked him upside his head as the crowd laughed.

Desiigner high fived Jennie. "That was good! Good shit, good shit!"

Desiigner went on ahead to represent the team while DC Young Fly went up.

"Your topic is graduation," DJ D-Wrek announced as the energy in the room heightened with them both dancing.

"I fucked my teacher today!" Desiigner jumped on beat with his team following his movements. "I fucked my teacher today! I fucked my teacher today! Now you wild out!"

"You didn't make it!" DC pointed at him with his team. "You didn't make it! You didn't make it! Now you wild out!"

"I put my grrrrr on the desk! I slap my grrrrr on the desk! I slap my grrrrr on the desk, I slap my grrrr on the desk!"

Yelling and moving his body wildly, DC answered, "A KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA! A KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA! A KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA! Now you wild out!"

Jennie laughed along with the entire studio. What the hell was going on?

Getting hyped like he was in the studio when making music, Desiigner began to do his one of signature adlibs with his team backing him up.

"EEEEEEYAAAA! KI KI AH! EEEEEEYAAAA! Now you wild out!"

Jennie loved that no one questioned it and went along with what those two were doing.

Moving his body vigorously with his team following him, DC shouted, "BOOP-BOP-BOP-BOP! BOOP-BOP-BOP-BOP! BOOP-BOP-BOP-BOP! Now you wild out!"

Determined, Desiigner crossed his arms. DC was speaking his language and he was not having it. He was going to win this battle.

Moving in rhythm, he responded, "Whoop-de-scoop, whoop-de-scoop, whoop-de-boop! Now you wild out!"

"You stupid! You stupid!" DC walked away, allowing the Platinum team to get the point although Gold had won the game.

-----

Their time on Wild N Out began to come to an end as they went on to the final round. Wildstyle. Jen had a blast and hoped that one day she could come back with better rhymes and play different games.

"We got Jennie and Desiigner holding it down for the Platinum squad while we got Angelina on the Gold squad, give it up! It's time for the bonus round and it's called the?" Nick announced.

"Wild-Style!" the audience shouted.

"Yep. Freestyle rapping here at Wild N' Out. We focus on them jokes so each punchline is one point added to your total score. So, the game can go either way. It's anybody's game, right now. Gold squad step up. Platinum squad step up. DJ D-Wrek, drop the beat!"

Once the beat started with both teams on stage, everyone moved to the beat while Nick encouraged the crowd to clap their hands.

"Uh. Clap your hands, y'all. Clap your hands, y'all. Yo, Miss Jennifer Walker, you a real big talker. After you left Amity, we forgot who you are. But don't worry, I'm sure Angelina can still make you a star,"

DING

Gold Team 1 Point

Platinum Team 0 Points

The crowd ooohed at his statement while Jennie kept her composure and let out a chuckle. When Angelina heard what he said, she widened her eyes.

He was not holding back today.

Nick continued. "You left one group so when you leavin' the other one? You tend to do that when you not having any fun."

DING!

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 0 Points

Speaking her mind, Jennie went off. "Coming for me you must have a death wish. Bangtan is charting, where you at on the charts, bitch?"

Loud hollers were heard around the studio while Nick was taken aback that she had that energy in her. The way she put emphasis on 'bitch' threw him off.

'Suga is creating a monster,' Angelina thought as she dropped her jaw, impressed by how she fought back.

DING!

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 1 Point

"I left for better opportunities, ones that SongStress couldn't give me," she went on. "I auditioned for something I love and Big Hit chose me,"

DING!

Gold Team 2 Points

Platinum Team 2 Points

"That's my girl! Tell em!" Justina praised with the rest of the Platinum squad.

"'ight. 'ight, excuse me, Miss Walker," Nick backed off and turned his attention to Desiigner, who stood next to her. "Yo Desiigner, you my man you know that what. But why every time you rap you sound like you bustin' a nut?"

DING!

Gold Team 3 Points

Platinum Team 2 Points

"I got the 44 hangin' from the baseline. Beat you like the iPhone 4 with no facetime," Desiigner dissed.

DING!

Gold Team 3 Points

Platinum Team 3 Points

Angelina stepped up. "Ayo Desiigner let me talk to you real quick. Look, your energy is great, it's really unrivaled but every song you sing need to come with subtitles. I mean I'm glad that you came to play but no one understands what the fuck you say,"

DING!

Gold Team 4 Points

Platinum Team 3 Points

Next up was Chico Bean and he called out Nick. "Ayo, this what y'all do not know. Nick makes three hundred thousand an episode. When he get the bread, he go and buy some clothes and spend the rest of the money on Amber Rose!"

DING!

Gold Team 4 Points

Platinum Team 4 Points

"Hey!" DC called Chico out after the laughter died down. "What you talkin' 'bout Nick! I don't like hearing that shit!"

"Yo head look like a microphone! I can't believe you got a scar on your face. You still live at yo' momma's place. And you ain't got no house of your own. Nick keep spendin' yo money on phones,"

"You talkin' bout owning a house. Listen that's funky! I know somethin' bout you! You stay with yo' aunties!"

DING!

Gold Team 5 Points

Platinum Team 4 Points

"Yeah, I stay with my auntie, fool! What you think I'm supposed to do!? Nick ain't paying us no damn cash! I'm out here on my ass!"

DING!

Gold Team 5 Points

Platinum Team 5 Points

"Karlous, how you doin?" Justina called him out. "You look like old dirty bastard. A little bit dirtier, less of a good rapper. They said you fly? Well, I don't wanna lie. You look like chlamydia personified,"

DING!

Gold Team 5 Points

Platinum Team 6 Points

"Hol' up. You betta get the white girl cause she already dead," Karlous responded. "She got the red hair but what about the head? Is it fly? Do you know?" he turned to one of his teammates.

"I don't know," Emmanuel answered.

"Is she freaky?" Karlous went on.

"I don't know,"

"Is she a hoe?"

"Maybe so!"

"Well, then you will never fuckin' know," Justina answered as the audience went wild.

Jennie laughed out loud and high fived Justina. She aspired to be so quick to turn the tables like that. She had some thick skin.

DING!

Gold Team 5 Points

Platinum Team 7 Points

Becky Robinson stepped up to represent the Gold team. "Jennie, sweetheart, get over here. Let me talk to you," she gestured to her as Jennie went back in front of her team. "Little miss high and mighty, the one that likes Nike. You say you can rap but I doubt that's likely."

DING!

Gold Team 6 Points

Platinum Team 7 Points

Jennie grabbed the mic and spoke, "Correction, it's Miss Bangtan and yeah I'm the girl that loves Nike. I'm rapping right now and the chance of you winning ain't likely,"

DING!

Gold Team 6 Points

Platinum Team 8 Points

"BTS, BTS, go back to them weird Asian boys. How the heck you go from Amity to trashier noise?" she questioned.

DING!

Gold Team 7 Points

Platinum Team 8 Points

"Whew~!" Nick spoke up, thinking that was the end of the face off while the crowd responded in surprise that she went there to talk about her group.

"Weird?! Weird Asian boys!? BITCH!" Tim called out, ready to get involved in the freestyle. "Jennie, you got this or do you want me to go?"

Jennie turned to Tim and smiled in reassurance, telling him she got this, and turned back to Becky. "Bitch, I'll go back to my amazing Asian boys after I win this belt. You got three seconds to get the hell out of my face before you get a welt. Trashier noise? Girl, be for real. Compared to you, our music brings more appeal. You wouldn't last a day in Bangtan's shoes, let's make that clear. Bangtan is selling out venues faster than your career."

Everyone cheered loudly at her response while Becky broke out in laughter and nodded. Jennie high fived Tim as he cheered her on.

DING!

Gold Team 7 Points

Platinum Team 9 Points

Now Jen had some unfinished business and turned her attention to Matt who was standing behind the Gold team, quiet as ever.

"Matt. Get over here," she called him out.

"Uh oh! Uh oh!" Nick hyped up the confrontation. "This gon' be good!"

Matt laughed and stood in front of her.

"Matt, your game is tired like Advil PM. I know I am desired but do me a favor and stop sliding in my DMs," she announced.

DING!

Matt nodded and spoke up, "Okay, I slid in your DMs but stop with the front. Stop being in denial with this reject Matt publicity stunt. I guarantee that after the show you'll be calling my phone. I meant what I said on Let Me Holla, so let me make your mind blown,"

DING!

Jen rolled her eyes. "Face it, just face it. You brainless, you brainless. You said your tongue is better but I think that's outrageous,"

"Outrageous? You know you want a demonstration! After that, you'll be asking for a bae-cation," he smiled confidently.

DING

"Cute. DJ D-Wrek, can you cut the beat, real quick?" she requested as a series of oohs were heard. 

Angelina placed a hand over her heart, in surprise. "Nani!?" she exclaimed.

Oh, he was done for. Jennie was getting mad. She could tell by the annoyance on her face.

"Hm. Okay..." Jen prepared her thoughts and looked directly at him. "Matt, get it through your thick skull that I don't want you. I am not Zendaya from Disney, I can punch the shit out of you," 

Angelina continued to have her hand placed over her heart as she stared at her best friend in astonishment. She had leaned back as her reaction was priceless and was about to become a new meme.

Out of nowhere, Jennie began to speak in Korean, which made Matt look at her in confusion. She had talked about what a joke he was and turned to the camera to give Bangtan a shoutout and that she would be back in Korea soon.

Switching back to her native tongue, she put him out of his misery once and for all. "You ain't the first, you ain't the last but just know you will not be the one to smash. You might as well give up just like the others. All hot and bothered cause you can't get me under the covers. You only think with your second head so think of a new plan. But let's face it, Jennie don't want you, one minute man,"

After she finished, she dropped the mic. The studio was filled with loud hollers and laughter while Matt's face became flushed as he chuckled.

DJ D-Wrek repeatedly pressed the bell, indicating that it was all over.

DING DING DING DING DING DING DING

Angelina had cheered with the cast and she ended up falling dramatically on the floor during the commotion. Meanwhile, Desiigner got excited and patted Jennie on the back, praising her.

"Yo! DJ D-Wrek! Who won that!?" Nick shouted after everyone calmed down a bit and Angelina got back on her feet.

"I got to give it to the platinum squad! Make some noise for the platinum squad, yo!" he announced over everyone's cheers.

"Woo!" Jennie jumped up and down, excitedly as she celebrated with her team.

A Wild N Out girl came on stage with the belt and presented it to Jennie after she went to hug Nick.

"She came through and took my comedy championship!" Nick announced as she happily accepted the belt and raised it up in the air in victory. He then shouted out Desiigner and Angelina.

Jen let out a content sigh. This was awesome. She was glad she was able to do this, today. And now she got to take this title home. Another award for BTS.

"What do you want to say?" Nick asked her as he gave her the mic.

"This has been such a fun experience, thank you so much for having me! And shout out to BTS and BTS ARMY, I love y'all! Thank you!" she said.

She then switched to saying thank you in Korean for the boys and reiterated that she missed them and would be back very soon. After bowing, she was then hugged by Angelina and had her hand raised in victory.

"That's what we talkin' about! Everybody on they feet! And make some noise for Desiigner~!" Nick announced as he closed the show with a performance.

-----------

After recording, Jennie hung out with the cast to take pictures and discuss the show. The vibe was full of high energy as they laughed about their favorite moments and roasted Matt for being rejected. What Jen loved about it was that there were no hard feelings and people didn't take any of the disses seriously. If only more people could vibe like this.

"You did well! Great job, today!" Nick Cannon praised her.

"Aw, thank you! It's harder than it looks to think quickly on your feet. You guys got that," Jen grinned.

"It is but you held your own. Especially on wild style," he laughed at the memory of her calling Matt a one minute man. 

That was the utmost disrespect and a huge blow to his ego.

"Ha! Had to hit him where it hurts. Can we take a selfie?"

"Yeah, let's do it,"

Taking out her phone, she gave it to him so he could raise it in the air for a quick photo of them smiling happily. She'll make sure to post it after her little social media break is over.

"Thanks so much for having me. This was a fun time," she beamed.

"Anytime! We hope to see you and Angelina back on the show sometime,"

"Most definitely. And speaking of Angelina, she really is in her element on your show, huh?"

"Got that right. In the last episode, she was in she went off on everybody. It was one of the highest-rated episodes to date. She a real gem,"

"That's Ang for you. One of the best. Have you thought about adding her as a cast member? She'd be a great addition!" she suggested excitedly.

She watched as Nick smiled at the idea and he discussed how well she would hold her own in the games with clever clapbacks and rhymes.

"She really would be a great addition, wouldn't she? I'ma talk to her. You think she'll want to?" 

"Absolutely! She will accept with no hesitation,"

Jen felt pleased that it seemed like he was highly considering having Angelina join the cast. She hoped it went well when he talked with her. She knew how much it would mean to her if she got to be a permanent cast member.

Following some photos and mingling with other cast members, Jen went to hang out with Desiigner who still had a large grin on his face. What she loved the most about him was how positive he was and how happy he looked. His energy was infectious.

"Mama, you funny as shit. You a savage,"

She laughed. "Thanks. It was so fun teaming with you,"

"Likewise, mama,"

"I also think it is so dope and inspiring with what you accomplished. We're nearly the same age and you out here making moves ever since Panda dropped. I hope I can make an impact like that with my music,"

"I 'preciate that. It's all about the music and what we love to do. We both young and hungry in this industry. We gon' make it big,"

"Got that right. Heck, we could even make a few songs together,"

"Oh, hell yeah. For sure,"

The two took photos together and then with Angelina. Desiigner then took out his phone to take an Instagram video.

"Yoooo! With my girls! Beautiful black queens! Jennie and Angelina! You know what time it is! Wild N Out! Stay tuned, it's comin' out real soon! Ya-a-a!" he laughed.

"Platinum squad~! All day!" Jennie stuck her tongue out.

"Err-day!"

"Gold squad!" Angelina repped her team.

"Boooooo!" Jennie and Desiigner playfully said before they all laughed.

"Y'all some haters," Angelina playfully rolled her eyes and walked away from them as the video ended.

Once Desiigner went off to goof around with DC Young Fly, Matt approached her with a nervous smile.

"All right, I got the hint. I apologize for coming all over you like that," he chuckled nervously.

He did look pretty apologetic with his face looking a little pink.

"It's okay," she responded.

"B-but just know I'll still wait for you if you ever change your mind,"

She laughed. "Well, you'll have to wait forever,"

"Damn..." he sighed in defeat and nodded.

"I have a boyfriend, that's why," she proudly told him. "After rejecting you quite a few times as well as in the DMs, I thought you'd got the hint,"

"Wishful thinking,"

"Regarding my man and I, we're keeping things private until we are ready to announce it,"

"Okay, I respect it. Damn, whoever he is he's lucky,"

"Nah, I'm the lucky one," she smiled as she thought of how much she missed Jungkook.

"Man...your boys, especially your boyfriend and fanbase gon' kill me, huh?" he chuckled nervously at the thought, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeaaaaah, they are."

[preventifmedecin]

As timid or, more accurately, uncertain as the Miss-Nanny-turned-synth could be, she was surprisingly forward as she approached Danse. 

“I ‘ave a question for you,” She began, looking up at the Brotherhood of Steel paladin. “You know Monsieur Nate has asked me to accompany the two of you as well, oui? And I ‘eard you two are going to visit a Brotherhood controlled settlement. I need to know: are you going to sell me out as a synth or non?” 

@synthvictoriam​

[by-ethan-fox]

I saw your response to the anon ask about racism. I'm working on a story that involves an American woman in Japan and struggling to adapt, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind elaborating on what you meant by examples of discrimination there?

Hi @jfictitional​, and thanks for the question.

Before I respond, I should clarify that I lived in Japan for years, and the incidents of racial discrimination I encountered were, on the whole, few. The country in my experience was extremely welcoming.

In most places I visited or lived I met Japanese who were both interested in my culture (as a British person) and those who loved to explain their own culture to a foreigner. Similarly, just as you’d expect, I met people who were indifferent. I worked in a role that involved meeting and talking with many people (literally hundreds) so as you’d expect, I met all kinds of folks.

This is a long way of saying that for every negative experience, I could list you a hundred overwhelmingly positive experiences, from funny things kids said when I was the first foreigner they’d ever seen (sometimes humiliating their parents in the process) all the way through to conversations with the elderly.

For the record, I am male, white, cishet as well as British. So with that established, I could probably list a few times where things were a bit unusual.

The very first instance wasn’t actually to me, but rather to a friend, who was American and black. I just mention it because it was very soon after I started living there. Most of the schools in the region had pools, and the teachers would at times use them between student use, if the pool was free for an hour and the teacher had nothing to do - just to swim a few laps. My friend was told, when he asked, that he wasn’t allowed to use it, while other teachers were fine (some Japanese, some white, some of Korean or Chinese descent, etc.). A bit of digging into this suggested it was, purely, a racism thing. It had to do with being more concerned about the students seeing him in a state of undress; but the schools were less concerned about teachers of other races. I don’t actually remember what the outcome of this was; I believe the guy made a complaint, but soon Summer was over, and I don’t think it was ever resolved.

As for myself, I experienced some of the typical things you’ve probably heard about. For instance, some friends and I (of various races, along with some Japanese friends of ours) went to a restaurant in our city which had been recommended to us. We were refused entry, and our Japanese friends were extremely embarrassed; it wasn’t until after we’d found somewhere else that they relaxed and broke to us that the restaurateur had said he didn’t want a bunch of foreigners eating there, even with Japanese people to vouch for us. There were other similar situations too; for instance, a few times I visited restaurants where the place wasn’t too busy, but the waiting staff would sit me and some others… “over there” - like on the other side of the restaurant to all the other patrons. Perhaps even in a private room, like a party room, when the room was clearly supposed to be for ~20 people and there were only 5 of us. The first time this happened at a place, we didn’t think about it so much; we were quite new to Japan, had limited ability to speak the language and understand the etiquette; after some time, you become more aware of when people are acting concerned or seem alarmed at your presence, and unfortunately we did notice this, which made us pretty sure it was a racial/xenophobia thing. Later visits with our Japanese friends saw them confirm to us that even they thought this was unusual.

Of course, these restaurants may have previously had bad experiences with westerners who ate there. Maybe a party got drunk once and wrecked the place? Who knows.

During my time there, a magazine was published by a right-wing organisation that caused quite a stir. It blamed all of the crime in Tokyo on foreigners, and published slanderous, baseless stuff about the habits of foreign “barbarians” that sullied the nation’s streets.

Japan, just like the UK and other countries, has its own right-wing elements. They are a minority, but they still exist, and some of them still espouse the philosophy of Sonnō jōi (apologies to any Japanese reading this who are offended by that phrase) which means “Praise the Emperor and expel the barbarians”. This magazine was discussed at length in my presence, and it was eventually pulled from shelves after complaints - but the fact it got published at all should inform you that openly racist elements do exist in Japanese society, however much of a minority they are.

There’s also some elements of “casual” racial discrimination, or what sometimes gets called “positive discrimination”. Also, Japanese people can sometimes believe stereotypes about foreigners, which are never really disputed as they may never have met any themselves.

There were situations where Japanese assumed that in a group of diversely-raced people, that those who are racially of Chinese/Korean descent understand Japanese, and find it hard to shake that assertion even when they were told otherwise. I had a friend who was white American who spoke flawless Japanese (she grew up with it, and on the phone no-one would suspect she wasn’t Japanese), but if we were in a group, the waiter or server would continually try to address one of our friends who was Korean-American, even after we’d explained that she couldn’t speak much Japanese. This happened multiple times at different restaurants and bars.

There were little things, such as Japanese people saying “you look just like Tom Cruise/Tom Hanks” (for the record, I look NOTHING like Tom Cruise, or Tom Hanks, and let’s face it, those guys don’t like anything alike!). There’s the amazement that you’re white, yet you can use chopsticks to eat, at almost every meal. I once went on a date with a Japanese coworker (really just a platonic thing as I didn’t intend to remain over there for life). Someone apparently saw us, and she received some jibing from some other women in the workplace for being seen alone at night with a foreigner (scandalous!). I don’t know exactly what was said, and it was seen as quite light-hearted (to them, at least) but from the way it was awkwardly described to me, it was as if she’d been seen at dinner with a grizzly bear (for the record, I am not a bear).

People used to assume I was American. I once asked a teacher why he thought this was the case.

“It’s because you’re white… And fat.”

Though that was kinda funny. I mean he was just being honest. I was pretty fat.

Lastly, the social norm in Japan is that foreign people can’t speak Japanese.

At one point I was on a train with a friend, and while we were standing up in the carriage, the two high-school girls in front of us were talking quite openly about how western women like my friend have large breasts; even describing her figure to each other in a level of detail that they would never have done if they knew I was able to understand them. It only went on for about 30 seconds; I was about to politely mention to them that I could understand what they were saying, and it wasn’t appropriate - but then one of them said something (I don’t recall exactly what) and I just burst out laughing. The two of them were so embarrassed that they darted off the train at the next station (I could see them standing still as it pulled away; evidently they were just going to get the next train behind us on the Yamanote line).

When I was learning Japanese, I used to get very self-conscious about my pronunciation, because I believed it was very bad - I often had to repeat my questions multiple times if asking for directions, or booking hotel rooms and such. Only when asking other non-Japanese about this did I find out that this something encountered by many foreigners; it’s because when you first speak, plenty of Japanese people don’t actually listen to you. They assume you can’t speak Japanese, and they know they can’t speak English (or Spanish or German etc.) so they assume they can’t understand you. Then, when you repeat yourself, they realise you’re speaking Japanese and they actually listen. This is a minor thing, but if it happens daily over multiple years, it can gnaw at you.

(this all makes me kinda sad that I speak very little Japanese now - years without practicing will do that I guess)

When considering all of this, it’s worth bearing in mind - it’s said that Japan is the world’s most homogeneous country in terms of race. I’m unsure if it’s anecdotal but I was told that approximately 99% of people in Japan are ethnically Japanese, as well as being of Japanese nationality. The split in the UK is about 87% white people, with smaller percentages of other races, but then that 87% is also split into people who are racially “white” but may have varying nationalities and national backgrounds (they weren’t necessarily born/grew up in the UK). 99% of people in Japan are people who are of Japanese race, who were born in Japan, speak Japanese as their first (and in most cases only) language and hold Japanese citizenship.

All this means that if you went to Japan as non-Japanese person, you could have gone to an urban place, even in the 2000s, and to the people you meet, you could still be the first non-Japanese person they had ever spoken to. If you went to a rural place, the chance of that skyrocketed; you may be the first non-Japanese they have ever even seen in the flesh.

(note: This is not the case in the biggest cities, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto - Tokyo in particular, I believe, has the highest concentration of non-Japanese anywhere in the country)

This also means that if you wanted to move to Japan and live there permanently, you are going to face many challenges. This is not “racial discrimination” or “xenophobia” as such; it’s just a result of that homogeneity I mentioned. Japanese immigration law is complex, and gaining citizenship is difficult. Very few institutions (such as banks etc.) cater to any language apart from Japanese, and learning to read Japanese to the point where you can understand specialised things like banking will be challenging. There are some places where English/Romaji will be used (such as on signs at train stations) but these are the exception, not the rule.

I was prepared to accept all this (in the last paragraph) - the bureaucracy and the language barrier, because I made the decision to go there. I didn’t feel as though Japan should cater to me, as a westerner; I did my best to try and integrate into that society as best I could, and I would say that the Japanese friends I made, and the coworkers I had, respected my efforts and were hugely helpful in getting me over some of the hurdles that I could never have passed on my own.

To any Japanese reading this, please be aware that I would never suggest that the actions of some of your people, in some isolated incidents, are representative of your nation as a whole. That would be ridiculous and offensive. These were just a handful of occasions in what were years of happy and fulfilling experiences.

To anyone thinking of visiting or working in Japan, please, please, PLEASE don’t let these things stop you. You’ll be missing out on many wonderful experiences and the chance to live as part of a culture that is truly unique.

If you take anything away from this post, it’s that “racism” in Japan is quite a nuanced issue, and is worth putting in a fair bit of research if this is what you’re writing about.

I hope this is helpful to you.

[rise-up-imagines-blog]

Prompts!

I'm  a new imagines blog! I am open for requests. 1.“Do you want me to leave?” 2,“You are not going without me.” 3.“I can’t believe you!” 4.“I swear it won’t happen again.” 5.“What did you say?” 6.“I’m not jealous.” 7.“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” 8.“We can’t keep doing this.” 9.“Isn’t this amazing?” 10.“I’m going to take care of you, okay?” 11.“Stay the night. Please.” 12.“You can’t die. Please don’t die.” 13.“Run away with me.” 14.“You did WHAT?” 15.“Quit whining.” 16.“Get outta my sight!” 17.“Why are you so annoying?” 18.“Were you ever going to tell me?” 19.“Never in a million years.” 20.“Don’t ask me that…” 21.“I might have had a few shots.” 22.“What’s with the box?” 23.“W- What are you doing?” 24.“Say it!” 25.“I could kiss you right now!” 26.“Are you done with that?” 27.“What’s going on here?” 28.“Stop pinning this on me! You started it!” 29.“It’s your fault we’re in this mess.” 30.“Did you do this on purpose?!” 31.“Kiss me.” 32.“Are you still awake..?” 33.“Excuse you?” 34.“This is all your fault!” 35.“Don’t give me that look! It wasn’t my fault!” 36.“I shouldn’t be in love with you!” 37.“It’s not fair!” 38.“I could kill you right now!” 39.“Knock it off!” 40.“Screw you!” 41.“I can’t be in love with you!” 42.“Make me.” 43.“Don’t tempt me.” 44.“I hate you.” 45.“You are infuriating!” 46.“Just shut up already.” 47.“That doesn’t even make sense.” 48.“Just admit I’m right.” 49.“Just admit you’re wrong.” 50.“You are being ridiculous!” 51.“That’s irrational.” 52.“Listen to me!” 53.“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” 54.“Don’t yell at me.” 55.“That’s it. End of discussion.” 56.“I don’t believe you.” 57,“You shouldn’t have said that.” 58.“Shut your mouth before I shut it for you.” 59.“How dare you?” 60.“I dare you!” 61.“It’s you, it’s always been you.” 62.“Well this is awkward…” 63.“Just pretend to be my date”. 64.“Are you really gonna leave without asking me the question you’ve been dying to ask me?” 65.“You think I’m dumb enough to fall for that stupid move?” 66.“When you love someone, you just don’t stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy… even then. Especially then!” 67.“I think I’ve been holding myself back from falling in love with you all over again.” 68.“You know we’re supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you, and you know it, too. I know you do.” 69.“Those things you said yesterday… Did you mean them?” 70.“I’m not going to apologize for this. Not anymore.” 71.“That’s almost exactly the opposite of what I meant.” 72.“Could I sit here? All the other tables are full.” 73.“You weren’t supposed to laugh! I’m so embarrassed!” 74.“It must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line.” 75.“This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.“ 76.“It’s a real shame nobody asked for your opinion.” 77.“It’s midnight, what do you want?” 78.“I think I know how to use a bed.” 79.“I have something to tell you…” 80.“I think I’m pregnant.” 81.“No, no, no, no, no, we aren’t ready… We aren’t ready for kids yet!” 82.“Your hair is so soft…” 83.“You’re so cute when you pout like that!” 84.“Just relax, I’ll wash your hair for you.” 85.“I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.” 86.“What, does that feel good?” 87.“Are you wearing my shirt?” 88.“You are ridiculously comfortable…” 89.“I’ve had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with…” 90.“You’re so cute when you’re half asleep like this…” 91.“You’re beautiful, you know that?” 92.“Aren’t they beautiful?” 93.“These stars are nothing compared to the ones I’ve seen in your eyes.” 94.“Shooting star, make a wish.” 5.“It’s actually a comet, but I’ll still make one.” 96.“Imagine if it could always be this way, even in the city.” 97.“Wow, you’re hot.” 98.“Keep sweet-talking and this could go a whole new direction.” 99.“Take off your clothes.” 100.“Tell all those other guys/girls you don’t need them ‘cause you got me.” 101.“Don’t give me that face, it’s so cute I might not be able to hold back.” 102.“After everything you did, you’re asking ME to apologize for snapping at you ONCE?” 103.“Are you drunk?” 104.“Are you hitting on her for me?” 105.“Are you kidding me? We’re not ‘fine’!” 106.“Are you okay?” “Why do you ask?” “You’re wearing two different shoes.” 107.“Are you really taking his side against me?”   108.“At what point did you think that was a good idea?” 109.“Come over here and make me.” 110.“Come with me.” 111.“Could you be happy here with me?” 112.“Can I kiss you?” 113.“Come back to bed.” 114.“Be my wife.” 115.“Before I do this, I need you to know that I have always loved you.” 116.“Damn. You clean up good.” 117.“Did I just say that out loud?” 118.“Did I stutter?” 119.“Did you enjoy yourself last night?” 120.“Did you hear that?” 121.“Do you ever think we should just stop this?” 122.“Don’t say that. Not now.” 123.“Do you think she could have loved me?” 124.“Don’t say you love me.” 125.“Don’t you ever do that again!” 126.“Either ask her out or I will do it for you!” 127.“Excuse me, I’m terribly lost. Can you help me?” 128.“Everyone deserves a second chance.” 129.“Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy.” 130.“For some reason I’m attracted to you.” 131.“Frankly, I couldn’t care less.” 132.“Go on then, tell me. Tell me you don’t love me.” 133.“Go then, leave! See if I care!” 134.“H-How long have you been standing there?” 135.“Have I ever lied to you?” 136.“Have you lost your damn mind?” 137.“Hey, have you seen the…? Oh…” 138.“Hey, I’m with you, okay? Always.” 139.“His ego is so visible; I can almost watch it grow.” 140.“Hold me back!” 141.“How dare you?” 142.“How could anyone be that cruel?” 143.“How long has it been?” 144.“I almost lost you!” 145.“I am not losing you again!” 146.“I came here to explain what happened, and I’m not leaving until you listen.” 147.“I can manage on my own.” 148.“I can’t… I can’t lose you.” 149.“I can’t get you out of my head.” 150.“I can’t let you do that.” 151.“I can’t start over again.” 152.“I can’t stop thinking about you.” 153.“I choose you!” 154.“I could never leave you, I love you too much!” 155.“I didn’t ask for any of this!” 156.“I didn’t realize I needed your permission.” 157.“I don’t care what he said, it doesn’t mean jack squat.” 158.“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” 159.“I don’t know why I’m crying.” 160.“I didn’t want to hurt you.” 161.“I don’t want to let you down.” 162.“I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” 163.“I had to see you again.” 164.“I hate you!”  “No, you don’t.” 165.“I just need you to do this one thing for me.” 166.“I just really need to have you here right now.” 167.“I just want this.” 168.“I just want to be alone right now.” 169.“I just wanted you to know that when I picture myself happy… It’s with you.” 170.“I know, but I love him… You can’t give up on someone you love.” 171.“I love you.”   “I know.” 172.“I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you and – Oh, screw it!” 173.“I love you for you! Don’t you dare think otherwise!” 174.“I love you more than anything in this world… which is why you have to stay here.” 175.“I made a mistake.” 176.“I may be an idiot but I’m your idiot.” 177.“I need you to forgive me.” 178.“I never meant for anyone to get hurt.” 179.“I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking.” 180.“I think I’m in love with you and that scares me to death.” 181.“I think we need to talk.” 182.“I thought you were dead…” 183.“I trusted you!” 184.“I waited and waited, but you never came back!” 185.“I wasn’t planning on asking you, but I’ve come to realize that life is short. Will you marry me?” 186.“I won’t give up if you won’t.” 187.“I-I can’t trust you anymore…” 188.“I’ll be right over.” 189.“I’m flirting with you.” 190.“I’m not good enough for you.” 191.“I’m not the only one who thinks that.” 192.“I’m sick of being USELESS.” 193.“I’m so happy you’re alive!” 194.“I’m so stupid to make the mistake of falling in love with my best friend.” 195.“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” 196.“I’m sorry, run that by me again.” 197.“I’m sorry, what were you saying? I keep getting lost in your eyes.” 198.“I’m tired of being your secret.” 199.“I’m up to the challenge.” 200.“I’m yours.” 201.“I’ve been in love with you my entire life. Ever since I met you.” 202.“I’ve moved on.” 203.“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before… and it scares the shit out of me.” 204.“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to seduce me.” 205.“If I ever see you anywhere near her, you’ll have to deal with me!” 206.“If you die, I’m gonna kill you!” 207.“If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t make it to the bed.” 208.“If you walk out right now, it’s over for us.” 209.“Is it really you?” 210.“Is that a challenge?” 211.“Is that an apology?” 212.“Is there a problem?” 213.“Is there a special reason, as to why you’re wearing my shirt?” 214.“Is there something you want to tell me?” 215.“It could be worse.” 216.“It made a difference to me.” 217.“It was just a dream.” 218.“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.” 219.“It’s all my fault.” 220.“It’s okay, I’m here for you.” 221.“It’s okay to cry…” 222.“Just leave me ALONE.” 223.“Just talk to me.” 224.“Kiss me.” 225.“Let me buy you a drink?” 226.“Look at me – just breathe, okay?” 227.“Look, I don’t have much time, but I wanted to say I love you.” 228.“May I have this dance?” 229.“Meet me at midnight. Alone.” 230.“Meet me on the bridge in an hour.” 231.“No one needs to know.” 232.“No one will ever hurt you again.” 233.“None of that matters now.” 234.“Oh, my God! You’re in love with her!” 235.“Please don’t cry.” 236.“Please don’t do this.” 237.“Please don’t leave…” 238.“Please listen to me…” 239.“Please say something…” 240.“Promise me you won’t let anything happen to him.” 241.“Promise me you’ll stay.” 242.“Shit, are you bleeding?” 243.“Shut up and kiss me?” 244.“Somebody’s in love!” 245.“Sorry, I thought I was alone…” 246.“Stop talking about love for a minute and help me with this bullet wound.” 247.“Tell me a secret.” 248.“That came out wrong.” 249.“That guy at the bar keeps staring at you.” 250.“The way you flirt is shameful.” 251.“There are plenty of people out there who love you.”   “Yeah, like who?”  “Like me.” 252.“There’s something I need to tell you.” 253.“Things don’t always turn out how they should.” 254.“Those things you said yesterday… Did you mean them?” 255.“Wait a minute… Are you jealous?” 256.“Wake up! Please, please wake up!” 257.“Wanna dance?” 258.“We could be amazing!” 259.“Well, don’t keep me waiting!” 260.“Well, this is awkward…” 261.“Well, this is where I live.” 262.“We finish it the same way we started… together.” 263.“What are you afraid of?” 264.“What were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself killed?” 265.“When you love someone, you just don’t stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy… even then. Especially then!” 266.“Where did you learn to dance?” 267.“Where were you? Do you have any idea as to how worried I was?” 268.“Who gave you that black eye?” 269.“Why are you lying?” 270.“Why are you up so early?” 271.“Why can’t you see what you’re doing to me?” 272.“Why choose me?” 273.“Why don’t you just kiss me already?” 274.“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” 275.“You deserve so much better.” 276.“You did this all for me?” 277.“You DID WHAT?” 278.“You don’t have to stay.” 279.“You don’t know you the way I do.” 280.“You don’t need to protect me.” 281.“You fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” 282.“You have the most amazing eyes.” 283.“You have to make a choice.” 284.“You have to remember!” 285.“You heard me. Take. It. Off.” 286.“You know, it’s okay to cry…” 287.“You lied to me!” 288.“You look beautiful!” 289.“You make me feel like I’m not good enough.” 290.“You need to leave. Right now.” 291.“You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.” 292.“You shouldn’t have even been there!” 293.“You walked away. Not me.” 294.“You weren’t supposed to hear that…” 295.“You’ll be the death of me.” 296.“You’re not alone.” 297.“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” 298.“You’re the only one I trust to do this.” 299.“You’re too good for me.” 300.“You’ve got to be kidding me!” 301.“Have you lost your damn mind?” 302.“Please, don’t leave.” 303.“Come over here and make me.” 304.“Wait a minute… Are you jealous?” 305.“Is there a reason you’re naked in my bed?” 306.“I almost lost you.” 307.“Wanna bet?” 308.“Teach me how to play?” 309.“Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…” 310.“We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?” 311.“Just once.” 312.“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” 313.“I got you a present.” 314.“It’s not what it looks like…” 315.“Hey! I was gonna eat that!” 316.“I swear it was an accident.” 317.“Knowing you has made me a better person.” 318.“Just hold me.” 319.“I think I love you.” 320.“I’ve loved you for years.” 321.“Kiss me.” 322.“You’re the best part of me.” 323.“You keep me going.” 324.“You mean everything to me.” 325.“I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without you.” 326.“You’re perfect to me.” 327.“I don’t want to think about what I’d be like without you.” 328.“We’re best when we’re together.” 329.“I can’t stop thinking about you.” 330.“Can I hold your hand?” 331.“Do you want to stay over tonight?” 332.“You’re adorable.” 333.“Everything has been different since I fell in love with you.” 334.“I didn’t think it was possible to love a person as much as I love you.” 335.“I didn’t think love existed until I started loving you.” 336.“Let’s move in together.” 337.“Do you want me to leave?” 338.“You are not going without me.” 339.“I swear it won’t happen again.” 340.“What did you say?” 341.“I’m not jealous!” 342.“We can’t keep doing this.” 343.“Isn’t this amazing?” 344.“I’m going to take care of you, okay?” 345.“Stay the night. Please.” 346.“You can’t die. Please don’t die.” 347.“Run away with me.” 348.“Quit whining. It’s just a bullet.” 349.“Knowing you has made me a better person.” 350.“Just hold me.” 351.“I think I love you.” 352.“I’ve loved you for years.” 353.“Kiss me.” 354.“You’re the best part of me.” 355.“You keep me going.” 356.“You mean everything to me.” 357.“I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without you.“ 358."You’re perfect to me.” 359.“I don’t want to think about what I’d be like without you.” 360.“We’re best when we’re together.” 361.“I can’t stop thinking about you.” 362.“Can I hold your hand?” 363.“Do you want to stay over tonight?” 364.“You’re adorable.” 365.“Everything has been different since I fell in love with you.” 366.“I didn’t think it was possible to love a person as much as I love you.” 367.“I didn’t think love existed until I started loving you.” 368.“Let’s move in together.” 369.“Let’s strip down to our socks