#like personally. i'm not sure how big the country of england really is

[lovevalley45]

it wasn't until i spent like ten minutes staring at a map of the uk that i realized how far up north newcastle (n thus john's manor) really is and so i think ava was kinda crazy saying they'd just go grab a time courier from london. like lowkey an american mood but also my sister in christ IT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY BASICALLY

[t3a-tan]

Under His Eye

Wrote the scenario I mentioned with Ryker seeing giant Cody and recognising him. Goes along with this drawing! Enjoy ^^

---

It was a perfectly normal day on Earth for all intents and purposes. Ryker had given Sammy and Tanner something to eat and filled in his journal with any notes for the day. It had only been weeks since he took the children and he needed to take regular breaks to avoid breaking down at all.

That was what he was doing then, going for a walk to clear his mind and try to rid the awful guilty feelings clawing at him. He had to be strong for the sake of everything, no matter what acts of evil were necessary.

The sun blotting out from the sky didn't catch his attention at first; in England it was fairly normal for the sun to come and go without warning and he had grown used to it the past year he was living amongst humans.

Then the screaming started.

Ryker jolted to attention, eyes wide with panic, his immediate thought being that there was a bombing and instinctively running towards the nearest building, the memories of raids ripping through homes and people like paper fresh on his mind. He came to a sudden halt when he noticed that he was the only one moving…and everyone else was looking up.

Slowly he cast his gaze towards the sky and his blood ran cold.

A giant eye. Large enough to fill the entire sky even when it was high above the cloudline. Ryker's legs felt weak at the sight but he was frozen stiff, staring silently with mouth agape in terror. How else could he react? Whatever creature was looking down at Earth was so incomprehensibly large and powerful that screaming would just be a waste of breath.

His blood rushed in his ears and made the screams of those around him nothing but background noise. Ryker only became aware of how he was not breathing when he suddenly gasped in air, his hearing returning and eyes darting about in a panic. Sammy and Tanner— gods, I can't leave them there. If I die they will starve.

As much as he tried to get his legs to work they wouldn't, tears pricking the edge of his vision. The immense overwhelming terror of being watched by something so large was extraordinarily potent, flooding all of his senses and making it difficult to breathe.

Does it even know there are people on this planet? Surely not. How could it? We are all going to die.

He looked up again for some sign of understanding in the behemoth's gaze only for his breath to hitch at the realisation that he recognized that eye. It was unmistakable. Only one person in the world had such unique looking eyes; and it was undoubtedly the worst person to recognise.

The eye had a deep black sclera, like the void of space. His pupil was bright green, almost radiating in colour. And what set the eye apart most was how the pupil, rather than being black or even white like he had seen in other beings; his pupils were red. A warning sign. An omen.

Ryker had seen what this man was capable of and was terrified enough at the same scale, let alone with him many times larger than the very planet the doctor was standing on. His legs finally gave out and nausea overtook his senses. He clamped his hands over his mouth, heaving in laboured breaths through his fingers and trembling.

Oh gods… I-I'm going to be sick…

His vision blurred in a blind panic, and he only faintly noticed that everyone in the streets had broken free of their frozen states and were now running; aimless, because really…where could you run to? Ryker was sure based on the size of that eye, one of Cody's fingers would be big enough to reduce a small country to nothing but rubble.

The eye almost seemed to be looking for something in particular, and Ryker's panic only grew.

Does he know I'm here? Does he know what I've done..? Ryker had after all, accidentally or not, gotten the god’s daughter killed and was now keeping her children locked up in an underground lab. He had been assured Cody wouldn't find out, but the person he got that information from wasn't exactly reliable, Ryker had just been desperate and believed it anyway.

He couldn't bring himself to move anymore or to look away, waiting with bated breath for the eye to lock onto him. Shuddering and trying to come to terms with his own impending doom, he continued to start up at the gargantuan eye of a child he had once taught and done medical checkups for. A child he had seen kill an entire room of people or regrow a head with ease.

“Hmmm…”

A sound rumbled overhead like thunder, like a hum of thought. Ryker's heart continued to pound in his chest, his stomach churning at the loud and almost indecipherable noise. It sounded more like the beginnings of a raging storm than a person.

“She’s…not here…”

The voice that filled the air was impossibly vast, shaking the very ground beneath Ryker’s feet. It wasn’t loud, not exactly—it was the sheer size and presence of it that made every syllable reverberate through Ryker’s bones. It was a voice that no human throat could ever produce, and yet it was unmistakably Cody.

For all of Earth, Ryker was the only one able to understand the ‘she’ being referred to. Guilt only added to his nausea as the haunting image of Charlie bleeding out on the ground came to his mind. He had been too late to stop the situation from escalating, and one of the thugs he had hired to retrieve Charlie got trigger happy instead, aiming for the children that had shown up out of nowhere.

Of course she jumped in the way of the bullet. What parent wouldn't? It had been an accident— Ryker hadn't wanted any death to occur, and he had even been hoping for Charlie to agree to help him with his experiment since she knew the severity of the war. Now everything was a mess, and he had no way of fixing it…he just had to keep going.

Ryker knew that he would deserve whatever death Cody gave him for killing his daughter, but that didn't make him any less terrified of it. The terror was all-encompassing, filling his throat like smoke and leaving him breathless, tears spilling over but unable to make a sound.

Please please…just leave…

“Oh I know, little ones… Sorry, my expression probably looked scary, but I was just focusing. It's alright…” That familiar but now overwhelmingly loud voice rumbled overhead again and Ryker grit his teeth at the sound. It was loud enough that it was on the edge between uncomfortable and outright painful. All of the words seemed to blur together with the ever present screaming surrounding him.

“Shhh… I'll leave you be now, okay little humans..?” Ryker almost sobbed in relief as those words rang in his ears, though his terror didn't dissolve at all. Regardless of whether he was there or not, the knowledge that at any point in time a being larger than Earth could just turn up was…horrifying.

The sun returned, but Ryker didn't move at all, still staring up at the sky as if that eye would return any moment. The city was still loud with panic, and so was his mind as he shakily pushed himself to his feet, heart racing and gasping for breath.

What did I get myself into?

[fantomette22]

The Dogs in Bloodborne!

So @bobbyzombiegg you wanted some headcanons on the dogs right? Following this post. Alright I will, but first i’m gonna recap all the dogs we can see in Bloodborne!

No I'm not talking about the weird beasts. Even the ones we're not sure if they have animal or human origins, I will stay focused on dogs only.

Rabid dog (Yharnam and found in most of the locations of the game)

They seems to be cream coloured but I saw people said it could be brown. It's the dog ennemies we encounter the most often. The chimera in the Nightmare of Mensis are made with them too.

Grey Rabid dog (grey/silver version found in Yaha'rgul & chalice dungeons)

Same breed as the light coloured ones but they have darker fur (grey/silver)

Some might already know but for the ones who don't know this dog highly ressemble the Irish Wolfhound Breed

It's one of the biggest dog in the world. Typically used to hunt wolves (that's how all the wolf in Ireland disappear), deers and big animals.

The breed almost disappear in the 19th century but it was restored into the one we know today with mixing the last ones with the Great Dane, Scottish deerhound, borzoi and even Tibetan dog.

It also highly ressemble the Scottish deerhound, the too breed being very similar and link.

I personally call the ones in Bloodborne just wolfhound because there's no guarantee it's a real breed and again Bloodborne, like dark souls is not our world so I don't think Irish and England exist XD there's equivalent maybe. (And Yharnam would be closer to this universe version or Poland or Czech).

If you are attentive they aren't presented in the hunter's nightmare (see below the old hunter's hound) With the scourge of the beasts becoming worst and huge beasts appearing more frequently the hunters and citizens turn themself to bigger dogs to hunt bigger prey.

Hunting dog (Hemwick Charnel lane & chalice dungeons)

Don't ask me what breed it is I have 0 idea. Greyhound? A mixt breed? Idk. They are principally found in Hemwick too. They have been equip of weapons to hurt beast better I supposed. A hardcore version of the collar of some shepherd dog 😅 The ones left almost in completely autonomy with a herd and half collars with spike to not get hurt by wolves.

Keeper's hunting dogs

Found in the chalice dungeons and are weird mutated fire dogs. They follow their master, the keepers. I suppose they were normal dogs before.

Watchdog of the Old Lords

Idk if that was a dog before. Could be a keeper who transformed or something for all we know. But well it's literally called a "watchdog" so-

The corpses of dead dogs in the chalice dungeons

(I know it looks great but please imagined it's a dog 💀 it's the only screenshot I found)

Sometimes you can see corpses in the chalice dungeons and sometimes there's dogs ones as well. They seem rather "normal". And not really the breeds we already see.

Old hunter hound /rabid dog (Hunter's Nightmare-Yharnam/ The Old Hunters dlc)

So those are probably Dobermann. Used as guard dogs and for protections. During old hunter's era, most beasts were beast patients / human size not huge scourge beasts. So this type of dogs was ideal. With the beast growing bigger having more scourge beasts around the poor dogs become too insufficient. And that's why Yharnam adopt bigger bred like the wolfhounds.

Dobermanns are born with long falling ears and a tail. The tails was cut so they don't got hurt into fight or hunting and the ears because they often got affections. Many countries have forbidden it because with modern standard of life it donees't have any real use now. Contrary to what people think "attack dogs" are not born agressive. It's just that if they aren't trained well and develop comportement issues and agression it's going to be a bit more of a problem than a chihuahua who would have the same issues.

Fish dogs (Hunter's nightmare-Fishing hamlet/ The Old hunters dlc)

Don't ask me please. there's no idea of knowing what they were before. But their fish's head apparently ressemble a viperfish's head, also called a chauliodus, deep sea fish from the Stomiidae family. Not putting pictures here for people who are sensible, I put a link above. Their body as slimed and long (30cm), they lived between 200 and 4000m of depth (3300-13000ft). Those types of fishes (their genus) were discovered in the very early XIX/19th century.

Now my headcanons on why most of wolfhounds in Yharnam have light fur and why the one in Yahar’gul have dark colored ones.

Objectively the most possible answer is simply that the dog’s population of this two area weren’t mixted together. When you have a small portions of individual who don’t mixt with more exterior individuals they tend to end up with similar traits because of dominant & rececive genes (and if it last a LONG time, that’s how new species appears. But it take thousands if not millions of years and generations).

Well my headcanons is much simpler than that and basically for fic purposes. I just thought it would make sense that Yahar’gul hunters kept the darker ones because they need to stay discreet (they themselves have black clothes) etc. And the other would have kept the lighter ones because they are easier to see and recognize at night.

At the beginning of the introduction of the wolfhound races in Yharnam it was probably mixed individuals of different fur coats. With a bit with time, selection and breeding they would end up with most of the dogs being light light colored for the hunters/citizens and church. And Yahar’gul doing the same would ended up with the darker ones.

And bonus headcanons:

I imagined a younger Paarl possibly taking care of the first generation of wolfhound in Yharnam (they were introduced to replace the dobermanns because beasts grew bigger). And i like imagining Gehrman to had help with training and had one of his own :3 a white one (yes I draw it I should do that again) (because you see, to have survived that long and have will to live after Maria passed away and the old hunters dying one by one i imagined it would have been nice for him to have a companion for a time).

[hibiscus02]

I just read Legoland and I decided to compile some helpful tidbits about Penny's character, for all your fanfic writer needs!

If you want to write RTC fanfic using her canon personality and backstory, this is the place for you. I apologize if someone has done something similar!

•Let's start with her basic introduction in the play;

"PENNY is a young woman wearing French braids and a private school uniform; she has a bright smile." "PENNY: Hello. My name is Penny Lamb, and I am an aspiring animal conservationist." "PENNY speaks at an incredible speed, being an immensely nervous and self-conscious teenager. She literally trips over her words -- a volcano of passion and eloquence."

Now I'll give you some backstory and character info without getting into Legoland's plot. This is so people who don't have an interest in the story itself can still grasp the basics of Penny's character.

Both Penny and her little brother (Ezra) were homeschooled. They grew up on the Elysium Community Farm, just outside of Uranium City.

When Penny turned 13, she was already getting "itchy" to see the outside world (kids were not allowed to leave Elysium until they turned 16). She thought she knew what to expect after reading 'Anne of Green Gables'.

The Lambs snuck out to a Walmart and found out it was very different from what they thought it would be. They tried to strike up conversations with people but everyone seemed weirded out by them (they snuck out several times to try and "strike up friendly chats")

Eventually the manager called the police who drove them home. That's when "all that trouble happened"

Penny's parents got 15 years in prison for cultivation and trafficking of narcotics. Her and Erza were sent to Saint Cassian Catholic School (which as I'm sure you all know is the same school that the choir members attend, obviously, since Uranium City isn't big enough to have more than one school). It is stated to be a boarding school in this so that's some extra lore for us I guess.

"PENNY: The instant I see the boys staring at me like gaping fish with their heads cut off… and the girls looking at me with those Queen of England smiles… Oh, little Penny wasn’t in Kansas anymore… Uh-uh… I was sent to the charred black bowels of everlasting Hell!"

Despite her homeschooling education Penny is actually very smart, but the values taught to her don't really go over well with a catholic school system. She also likes to use 'big words'.

Penny gets sent to the school psychiatrist, and allegedly diagnosed as Bipolar and manic depressive (to me it seemed implied that the psychiatrist was a crook, but maybe I'm reading too much into it. Do with this information what you will).

She does go through a depressive episode though, or what sure looks like one; "PENNY: Like, sleeping in my room all day… tearing my hair and throwing up, kind of suicidal and depressed and everything… So, one day a bunch of girls were setting fire to my school bag -- second time that week -- and I wasn’t even crying anymore… because, you get to a point… when you’re waaaay beyond crying."

Penny can play the ukulele and she also composes songs (or, she writes at least one during the play, but y'know)

She seems to be very against cussing, just as much as Ocean is, and reprimands Ezra whenever he cusses throughout the play.

Penny is a pescetarian.

She goes on this insane cross-country trip with her brother to the US, and whenever they get to a new state she always recites how many endangered species they have there. I just thought this was cute, and very Jane-like.

So yeah, without getting too much into it, Penny throws hot coffee on this guy and uhhh, bites him? Apparently? The assault charges get dropped and she gets extradited back to Canada, but the story was leaked to the media and she was famous for a little bit.

The way Penny and Ezra got money to travel to the US in the first place was by selling his ADHD prescription meds, so she goes to trial for drug dealing, and gets probation (they don't specify how long she's on probation for in the play).

At the very end of the script, Penny states she'd like to say something about true love. I wanted to include part of what she said because it's quite lovely (and oh y'all can make so much fanfic with this); "In a world where we are ultimately alone, and die in our own arms, love is the closest you come to another person… because it is the closest you come to being another person. So be very careful what you love."

*this quote is apparently also in some versions of rtc, I assume as an easter egg of sorts.

Sorry this is so long. I love Penny Lamb a lot and I also think she's insane <3

[thommi-tomate]

Interview with Lee PT.2

By: GQ Deutschland

You lived in Manchester for a long time. What differences do you see in terms of public and media reactions between Germany and England?

In both countries, there are media - and people - who like to pigeonhole others. That's certainly not the majority, but you have to accept it. In England, however, people find it easier to compliment you on an outfit. I do the same myself. If I like what a person is wearing, I tell them that - even if I don't know them at all.

You have been living in Germany again since 2020. How have you developed since your return?

I get a bit more attention here than I did in England - and that can be both positive and negative. In England, I was considered a talent and was just one of many players at Manchester City, so everything was a bit more relaxed for me there. Here I'm a German international. On the whole, though, I'm very happy with how everything has developed.

The public mood towards the national team has not been particularly good in recent years. With the test match victories against France and Belgium, this has changed completely. How are you looking forward to the tournament?

Especially now with the successes in preparation, my mood is good and the anticipation is great. That has a lot to do with the fact that it's a home European Championship. You can only take part in something like this once in your football career, if at all. In sport, everything happens very quickly. If you lose, everything is bad, if you win, everything is great. We can put that into perspective. National coach Julian Nagelsmann always makes sure that the mood in the team is good and that we get on better and better with each other on the pitch. That's how the European Championship can take on a very special dynamic with the fans and those around us and take us a long way - hopefully all the way to the title.

Unfortunately, you yourself were suspended for the games against France and the Netherlands. Were you still able to get involved?

Definitely. It was very important for me to be with the boys again. The atmosphere within the team was already good beforehand and the coach always managed to ensure that we were relaxed and extremely focused at the same time. I'm very pleased that this has been reflected in the results and that we now have new momentum. This will hopefully carry us through the entire preparation period and well into the European Championships.

Especially at such a big tournament, it is important for success that the structure in the dressing room is right. At the age of 28, you are no longer one of the young guns. What does that mean for your position within the team?

As you get older and more experienced, you look at how you can help and support the young players. Especially in my position as an attacking midfielder, there are lots of opportunities. I'm certainly not the one who always speaks up. But I try to be a leader on the pitch - a player who brings momentum and who the others can follow. We have a very good mix of experienced and young players, from which both sides can benefit.

One big change is that Toni Kroos has returned to the national team. His qualities on the pitch are well known, but how important can he be for the team in the dressing room?

In the dressing room, he is someone that all the other players look up to. He has achieved so much that his successes give him a special status. He's incredible on the pitch, he doesn't let anything get him down. Even when things aren't going well, he's always focused. You just look at him and you know you don't have to worry. He shows us that we always have it in our own hands to turn a game around. What's more, he can really intimidate the opposition with his presence. He helps us a lot and is just incredibly good for the team.

You mentioned that you yourself are more of a quiet type. You can also see that on the pitch and it's something that critics sometimes accuse you of. Is that something you're working on?

It's in my nature to focus on myself first. But now I try to show more often that I always give my all. As an attacking player, I have less of an overview of the pitch than someone in defensive midfield. As a result, I can hardly intervene in an orderly fashion. But I can lead the way and get the others involved.

What do you expect from the European Championships?

Just being able to take part in a European Championship and represent your country is an extraordinary experience. The fact that it is taking place in your home country only makes the whole thing even greater. It's a good opportunity to be carried away and pushed by the euphoria. Of course, there is a risk that the pressure will be particularly high, but I'm just really looking forward to the tournament. I have great expectations of myself, of the team, and of course the greatest thing would be to win this title with the national team in my own country.

This euphoria can inspire a team, but a setback can quickly turn the whole thing on its head

We shouldn't start worrying now about what will happen if we are eliminated. In the past, we've seen that the fans were euphoric and grateful even when the national team was eliminated in the semi-finals - because the players always gave their best.

That was the case at the "summer fairytale", the World Cup in 2006, which also took place in Germany. You were ten years old at the time and played for Schalke 04's youth team. What memories do you have of the tournament?

I can still remember it very well. No matter where you were, people would gather and watch the games. When Germany played, the streets were empty because everyone was cheering in front of the screen or in the stadium. As a young boy, I dreamed of being on the pitch when something like that happened. So I'm in the process of fulfilling a big dream. And of course my - our - biggest goal is to give people another great summer like this.

[yourlocalegotisticalqueerishere]

15 questions for 15 friends

Thanks for the tag @random-jot !!!!

1. Are you named after anyone?

I don't think so? Murky situation there

2. When was the last time you cried?

Ummmmmmmmmmm. I'm not sure. Oh wait! I had a bit of a breakdown the other month and cried for like 45 minutes. All good now though 👍

3. Do you have kids?

Nooooooo

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

Nothing currently, but I have previously done: softball, baseball, archery, ballet, netball, judo. I want to go back to archery though

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes. Love it, love sarcasm

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Idk, I don't meet new people a lot, maybe their face?

7. What's your eye colour?

Brown

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both for different reasons. I like a happy ending when it's satisfying. I like a scary movie because I'm gay. I like a scary movie with a happy ending because it feels like victory

9. Any talents?

Does bad violin playing count? I know all the European countries, and African countries, and US states?

10. Where were you born?

England

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, chronic glee obsession right now

12. Do you have any pets?

My cat who is listening to Beyoncé with me as I speak

13. How tall are you?

Short

14. Favourite subject ever?

I really liked anthropology. We just talked about how the world is fucked because of power structures

15. Dream job?

Big time movie director. Or very rich person. Whichever works.

Tagging: idk, are we mutuals? You've been tagged. Like my posts a lot? You've been tagged. I'm tired.

[andyfire122]

Fictober23 day 31: "It's not your fault."

(Original fiction. Continuation from the events of day 30)

Sarah had been talking to that grave for hours. It was a lot of life updates she wanted to talk about. Unlike most who talk to graves, she knows where the messages are sent. Her dad does hear what she says. Even if she can never see his spirit in the heavens.

"Ok, guess it's time to go. I have one last place to visit, but I'll update you later Dad."

I always hate this next part. Ironic...it’s just memories. Memories that taught me to hate in the first place.

"Let's go, Aki."

The redhead just followed her. Ready to give support on the next leg of the journey. First they visited the town. It's changed again. Now it's more like a rustic town on the fringes of England. She could smile at this visit.

A place that grew and evolved. Despite the horrors of the past.

She continued to walk until she found the hill where her house used to be located. For some reason, no one changed anything with it. A lot of the burnt wood has been stolen over the years. Plants have overgrown the area, but this was the place where she used to live those peaceful days.

Sarah just sits a box down in the middle of the foundation and walks away.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Aki just looks at her with those big puppy eyes.

Sarah sighs. "I'm fine. There are only really good memories of this place. I promise you that."

It was the next place that was harder. It was an abandoned complex. Some people believe it's left over from one of the old wars. Sarah knows better. It's where hunters took whatever wasn't human to them. The place where others like her went through hell.

Where she went through hell. The kind of hell that teaches a pure soul how to hate, how to hurt, and how to kill.

She just sinks into the snow to watch the building as the memories play in her head. Aki already has an arm wrapped around her. “There has got to be something wrong with me to keep wanting to come back here.”

“You're still the strongest person I know."

Sarah just looked at Aki almost terrified. "How is this strong? I come back here every time we visit this country to torture myself on what made me this. I wasn't capable to fight or be mad at anyone before this place. Hate is a poison but it was that hate that made me survive. It's how I lived to meet you."

I have changed again since then. If I lose what it's like to hate or be mad. Then I'm going to lose what keeps what I care about safe.

"Pain wasn't what made you. Love made you who you are." Aki just pressed her forehead to the Nephilim. "You love so much that it killed you inside when it was taken. You broke out your human side because you loved life so much you just didn't want to lose it."

Sarah just closed her eyes and took in her partner's presence. "You tell that to your angelic brethren next time they evaluate how much danger my existence put things in."

I was conceived out of love. That same love is why people die. Why I'm constantly told I should even be alive?

"It's not your fault. Not all of them up there think that. You should have been something to be celebrated. I know I do. Every day since I first met you." Aki just looks at her with those eyes. The eyes that only gave love and adoration.

Sarah just finally smiles. The memories of the past can't find her with this woman by her side. "Who am I to argue with you when you make that face."

Once again she shatters any doubt I’ve ever had. No wonder I fell in love with her.

[the1975attheirverybest]

They are very much part of my upbringing and my culture whether I like it or not. It's a very intricate subject and I did a poor job at explaining it, but I get what Matty means.

// omfg @steel-elle (cant tag but holy shit, do I get you)

As a Croatian I can relate to all of your experiences, to the point where my dad is a non-believer (I believe he would say he's an atheist, but imo he is more in the pursuit of understanding and knowing instead of belief/religion). And my mum is a believer but on a very mild level (we go to church for the big holidays, mostly as a tradition nowadays).

But I myself have been saying I'm culturally catholic in the sense of upbringing and basically everything that surround me. Religion as class in school (from ages 7-15; then I took ethics in high school), religion all around, and I just started rejecting it very early on (I was about 10-11) - becauseee basically I was going to get the first communion sacrament (fancy), and at the age of 9 to be allowed to do this i had to;

Go to religion classes once (maybe even twice my memory is hazy) a week IN SCHOOL (secular state my ass)

Go to religion classes in church once a week (after school)

You HAD to be present at both, you couldn't opt out at school and say I'm going to church things. It had to be both.

Sing in a choir - even though choir practices coincided with my acting classes I had to alternate for a whole year (surely God would have wanted me to). And wasn't even a type of child who would sing solos, I was one of 20ish others just singing in the background. My acting on the other hand - spectacular (for a 9 year old at least).

I wasn't allowed to miss choir practice without a valid reason.

Had to go to specific Sunday mass even if I had volleyball games, or if we were out of town my mum had to explain we were idk on a family trip and I would have to go to another time-slot in the week.

So that was the academic from age 9-10. And of course once communion has been squared away I wanted to not go, like this was it for me. The bs that started it all was me having to miss my drama classes. And I wanted to stop going to religion classes in school, my parents supported me, but thw nun(!!) who would come in to teach saw me in school hallway twice within first two weeks of school and basically said she was "disappointed in me" and idk implied goinf to hell. So I went back home distraught and asked my mum to like get me into religion classes bcs it was the better option.

Anyway, I've got a weird religion/catholic kink now so the jokes on them.

Best religious experience was that I went to a full on catholic kindergarten and that was amazing. (probably did not help the kink tho). But it was very light and easy going, we had funky lil childrens prayers, and listened to stories about how we can do kind deeds n shit.

(sorry this is so long but I read the words religious discourse or see the word catholic and my brain just... needs to join)

Don’t apologize at alllllll!!! This is really really interesting for me to learn actually. And it’s a way for all of us to collectively expand and explain the notion of culture vs theology or religious practice that Matty hinted at.

And I think it varies so much from one country to another too! Like you guys (Italy and Croatia) have a different experience than me/ in the US. I was talking to Ambrose @bookish-strawberry about it last night, but I feel like England is very chill about atheist and it feels like the norm whereas in the US, even though the constitution says “freedom of religion” and separation between church and state, government is VERY fearful of atheism AND tons of Republican lawmakers use the Bible as a justification. (Which is the opposite of what the country is supposed to be founded on but that’s a whole other thing.) so my experiences with religion and culture here are very very different from y’all. And then my own personal beliefs as a Muslim existing in an Islamophobic country. All of this is super clarifying and interesting to hear how others around the world have experienced this stuff! I love it when you all chime in!

[goose-onthe-loose]

Random ppl are really out here going "don't forget there can never be a peaceful version of Israel! Every single zionist is an inherently bloodthirsty genocidal maniac!! The only way to achieve peace is to dismantle an entire country!!!"

I can't think of a single other country in this world that gets this treatment. Not America, not England, not China, not South Africa. No matter how many heinous acts a country has committed and continues to commit, the solution is never to burn the whole thing to the ground. (And yeah, I'm sure some of you have a "Death to America" poster on your wall or whatever. Not the same as a global political movement.)

But Israel, for some reason, is different.

Personally, I'm curious about what a peaceful dismantling of a country full of people who have been oppressed all over the globe is gonna look like. Seems like some of these people are conveniently forgetting a big part of why Israel was founded, which was because the world didn't want to take in survivors of genocide.

And yes, changes need to be made. Yes, the Palestinians need their rights restored. There needs to be a two-state solution. There need to be reparations and repercussions for the mass killings. But you can't broker peace by obliterating one side.

[zerobaseonefics]

so basically i applied to 4 in england 1 in poland and 1 in france since i dont want to live in germany anymore and yes im still fighting over my scholarship or something so its pretty stressful

NO FAKE SISTERS ANYMORE😜😜😜

valid reason. make sure to tell me about such things next time tho🙄🙄

yes i just had a lot of nail polish but thank you🤭

NO I UNDERSTAND YOU SO MUCH OMG LIKE NO CUZ I DONT WANNA SAY ANYTHING BUT CHOOSE ME PICK ME CHOKE ME STEP ON ME (im sorry) but real talk im so happy that you love enhypen and seventeen too😭🫶

IM NOT SO SURE BECAUSE IVE LITERALLY SEARCHED EVERYWHERE FOR IT AND I ONLY FIND FAKE ONES.. i think i eill buy the weverse version cuz at least then i will get heeseung or jake 👲

HSHSHSGSHAG THAT SOUBFS SO TRAGIC IM DORRY FOR YOU BSHSHSH IM word for not spending MONEY NOW FOR THE FACTIRY!!!

omg yes youre so smart like i didnt think about it😮😮😮😮 lovu so much u dont even know;;;;; i hate tutoring them tho they are so stupid

HSHSHSHA AND YES IM ALREADY TEACHING HIM WHAT YHE BEST MUSIC IS AND ALL THE CLOTHES HE HAS ARE FRIM ME🤭🤭

my heartbreak is magically leaving me now cuz youre so right about hes not heejayke🤪🤪🤪

NO CUZ YES LIKE HOW ARE THEY DOING IT😭😭 THIS IS SO WTF CUZ YOU ARE SO RIGHT AGAIN

HAHAHA I ALSO NEVER VOTE FOR THEM OR ANYTHING LIKE WHY SHOULD I DO THAT LOL THERE ARE PLENTY OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THAT SO EHY SHOULD I??

YES HSHSHSGS ALL THANKS TO RICKY

I NEED TO LISTEN TO IT SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW MEEEEE AND I NEED TO SEE YOU WAACKINH ONE DAY

i like big feet in shoes inly cuz it makes me feel petite😭👍 i have a shoe size 36 (eu) (at about 168cm height) (btw how tall are you i didnt ask i think) and i think that im too tall so i like everything that is bigger than me👲👍 btw i hate feet like they disgust me so much you dobt even know (but i like feet in shoes)

me so interesting and funny 😂!!😂!!😂!! everything aside::: thank you😜😜😜🫶🫶🫶 lovely to hear that icl…

AY FR LIKE HOW DOES JAKE LOOK SO GOOD WTF?? I FEEL LIKE IM DROOLING EVERYTIMR I SEE HIM.. not normal man

wait until you see this😂!!😂!!😂!!😂!!😂!! (btw 2 of ! mean the red !! emoji i just cant find it)

about 10000 pins with enhypen

WDYM THEY WONT LISTEN TO POCS???? BRO I HATE THE POLIVE THERE (btw in paris there was such a hot black police officer like maaaan bro was stunning)

YES TELL ME EHY YOU STARTED WAACKING I BEGGGGGGGGGGGGG🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

happy to see that you also love p1harmony!!!!!!!!! whos your bias???? mines are intak and theo🤭🤭🤭

ohhh that's so cool that you're going overseas!!! do you know anyone in these countries? (except for poland since u told me your family lives there)

BYE PURE STAND UP THESE ARE MEN YOU CAN'T BE DOWN BAD LIKE THIS FOR MEN

ngl i learnt that recently too 💀 but fr random things like that can be put on your resume, they also appreciate knowing you do things like sports or music, or caricative actions... so yeah even small works like this count!

LITERALLY THIS IS HOW I THINK WHY WOULD I DO THAT??? OTHER WILL DO IT ANYWAYS. plus im sorry i don't need to be doing all that for my favs like... they provide me music i provide them money by listening, i don't need to be giving them more..........

tutoring really is hell especially when you suck at explaining things 😭 you can be very strong in something but have no clue how to teach it, and you also have to be patient cuz the person might not understand right away.. yeah i hate it

here's my cover of over me!! it's with my big sister. just so you can know when i sing, i'm the one who starts the song and i have the deeper voice. she's not very confident with her singing and that's my i sing most of the song and do all the adlibs 💀

I'LL SHOW YOU MY WAACKING THE DAY I'LL BE GOOD ENOUGH AT IT ‼️ I'M STILL A BEGINNER YK

ofc i love p1h 🤭 my bias is keeho

[rinadragomir]

Julie Plec and convenient diversity 🙃

Okay so when I found out they chose a British guy to play Dimitri I was a bit upset but in a super chill way cause 1)he looks fantastic 2) British accent kinda reminds me of Russian so I thought they not gonna have any problems with working on it.

Then my Tumblr friend made a post and I found out they erased that part of him. TV show Dimitri is not Russian anymore. I was kinda confused cause 1)then why would he have a Russian name👀 2)what about the fact that Rose spends the whole book in Russia, what about Roza, what about half of their jokes😟

BUT TODAY 🤡I FOUND OUT 🤡WHAT THAT PIECE OF HUMAN 🤡SAID ABOUT THAT CHANGE 🤡

Okay it's not a literal quote but it's almost it:

Dimitri is not Russian anymore, you'll be fine with it when you learn more about that amazing man playing his role.......It was important for us to convey the spirit of modernity, to show today's world with all the diversity of its cultural idiosyncrasies. Accent, origin and race do not matter because we are all part of the same community.

That clown living her clown life 🎪

Okay let's see

So she put 1) diversity is important, we all different and it's cool to show it AND 2)why diversity if we're the same person? 🥺 IN ONE FUCKING SENTENCE?!?!????!

Julie Plec literally said: OF COURSE diversity is important, we have Black Americans! Latins, Chinese guys...or not Chinese, I mean asian people = only Chinese right? And of course ...*whispers* I can't remember more..... um.....what? Turks? what is it? Turkey? Like ...Turkey on Thanksgiving day?🥺Yeah? Russian? Russia... sounds familiar where is it👀ugh nevermind some white dudes, they sound like British anyway

I forgot to mention I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THE CAST they're babies and they do the best they can, their acting is the reason I watched that trailer✋they just do their job and do it perfect

I have BIG ISSUES with creators of this show

⚠️Before some of you start with your American "um bitch u know dat black people live in Turkey and British people live in Russia and Latin people live in Romania" I'll say: they definitely MIGHT live there, tho I've never seen anything like this in any of these countries (I live in one of them and I've been in two others

But after Dimitri being a British announcement, there's no way Rose is Turkish. No fucking way. No one actually cares about the diversity. Diversity is a thing ONLY when it comes to people who live in America.

When people from Turkey, Russia, Romania even slightly open their mouth EVERYONE SHUTS THEM UP with "um....white dudes talking again 😴we have Black and Asian people, others don't actually exist👁️👄👁️)

If you think that "WOW we have a cool beautiful black girl as a lead, finally some good fucking food, finally a WELL WRITTEN WOMAN OF COLOR"

no think again😍you really believe that a woman who thought "ugh....idk all of these Turkish and Russian....ugh language, traditions are so hard🥺" will MAKE AN EFFORT?! To write a proper black lead girl? Seriously? I have some news

If you look at the cast and think "we have a proper diverse cast! That's so great! Different cultures were so important in the books, I'm sure tv show creators will explore this topic even deeper" you're poor innocent silly soul, that's who you are.

👉🏻IT'S NOT ABOUT AN "AdApTaTiOn" IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE BOOKS AND THEY DON'T WANT TO, BUT THEIR LITTLE DAMAGE BRAINS CAN'T COME UP WITH THEIR OWN NEW UNIQUE STORY (and even when they can, it's so fucking bad, no one wants to watch it), SO THEY TAKE A POPULAR TITLE AND MAKE THEIR OWN SHIT PRETENDING IT'S ALL THE SAME CAUSE THEY DIDN'T CHANGE CHARACTERS NAMES. 👈🏻

And a little reminder how people look outside of England and the USA for my beloved Julie Plec and people saying "real diversity is here, who needs these white guys on the screen" (Turkish, Romanian, Russian)

[stirringwinds]

hey, love your art and all your headcanons, I was wondering if you think all the nations smoke a little bit or if most have stopped the habit except from Yao... Like do you think Kirkland, Kiku and Alfred smokes? Idk why I care, but I'm just curious ^^ There are people in my country for example, but not many statistically

hey! glad you like my art. and heh, that's an interesting question. as i see it, most of them today don't smoke as much as they do in the past.

sir lord arthur bloody kirkland: was an addicted serial chainsmoker until after WWII where he got a kick in the arse from the newfound NHS to get healthier in all ways, including cutting back his liquor. it wasn't overnight for sure (a lot of the drop is from the 70s onwards), but i think by the present day, he doesn't smoke as much (which mirrors how much smoking has declined in england). probably still enjoys an expensive cigar now and then, but he is trying to go clean, with nicotine gum and all. universal healthcare is very convincing.

alfred: similar story, i reckon! so many people used to light up— i see him as smoking a fair bit, but being nowhere as much of a chainsmoker as his father—a lot more of a social smoker. like you'd always find him cigarette in hand in the 1940s when chatting with someone. he's also cut back nowadays; i see him as the sort of person who really gets into all kinds of health kicks. now you're more likely to find him guzzling some kind of fancy new bottled water rather than holding a cigarette, lol, because hydration is IN!

kiku: not as big a smoker as 50 years ago too (it was a whopping eighty percent for men at one point) but he does light up a bit more often (the govt owning a huge share of japan tobacco is kind of a conflict of interest in how smoking culture has evolved; cigarettes aren't as pricey as in other countries). japan is one country with a fairly big gender divide re: smoking too with a lot more men doing so then women. i think that like alfred, he's more of a social smoker nowadays though, and he can be fairly disciplined about limiting it personally.

yao: ah. my great grandpa. 100% a lost cause right now. he goes through so many packs of zhonghuas. it's a habit he should kick he knows, but he isn't too fussed right now. it's still far more ingrained in socialising; offering people cigarettes at a social gathering, or as gifts to show appreciation, in a way it's really not so in say, england nowadays. so that's why i see the old man still being a heavy smoker.

[writingwithcolor]

I have a surgeon character in a 25th century sci-fi setting (Star Trek), working on a spaceship, who is Cuban. She was born in Cuba and lived there until she was 7, then moved to California, and may or may not have moved back to Cuba before she became an adult.

Right now, she could be ""any other"" ethnicity/nationality, but she's supposed to be Cuban.

There's 400 years of fictional history (now - 2400s) that no one has come up with, and since history to some extent impacts culture, I feel like I'm at a loss. I found a specific city that has a yearly parade that's a big thing, but beyond that I don't have much.

She's also autistic, and most autistic characters are kids, white men, and sometimes white women. She doesn't fit the typical Hispanic/Latino stereotypes, but that "defaults" her to white in the common perception.

I hope this ask makes sense, thanks!

Original Cuban character in Star Trek fanfiction, Futurist Country

We don’t have active Cuban mods right now, so we are going to pass this along to Cuban and Cuban-diaspora followers, especially Cuban-American. Please respond in the notes.

How to write a country in the future

The good news is that you are writing science fiction, which is inherently speculative fiction -- so you get to speculate! Read some history and get some ideas. 

Cuban/Cuban diaspora followers --

What are some things that would both make you happy or annoy you if a sci-fi writer had it happen in Cuban history over the next 400 years? 

If someone didn’t really make up any future history and just had a character in space who grew up in Cuba without going into detail about what it was like, would that be all right with you or bug you?

(OP, hopefully you’ll get a multiplicity of answers because no group is a monolith.) History does impact culture -- for example, back in the early 2000’s my college roommate has suggested that Jean-Luc Picard (who is French) speaks with a British accent because England colonized France in the future -- but if the focus of your fanfiction is something else especially if it’s in space, personally I don’t think you have to make up an entire future history just to make her Cuban. Disclaimer that I am just one opinion and naturally I defer to Cuban/Cuban diaspora followers here.

Choice of backstory

Some information that you might find useful -- according to the 2010 census, around 1.26 million Cuban Americans live in Florida compared with 98,000 in California. That’s almost thirteen times as many. However, you can still write what you described, because 1. Those 98 thousand people exist and matter too and 2. Even if they didn’t, I understand that Starfleet Academy and other important Star Trek things are in California, so there’s always a way to write things that aren’t the most common combination in real life. (Anyone from anywhere has to go where Starfleet is; I understand that.) The lived experiences might be different for Cubans in California vs Florida because of the size of the community, so make sure you're specifically researching what it's like to be part of the Cuban disapora in California.

In other words: why California? Is it because of Starfleet? That’s fine. Is it because Cuban is a form of Latin and California has a large Latin population? That’s still okay, just be aware that the Cuban diaspora population isn’t what it is in Florida.

Defaulting to white because of not fitting stereotype

“She doesn't fit the typical Hispanic/Latino stereotypes, but that "defaults" her to white in the common perception.“

I am uncomfortable with this line. So you’re saying other characters perceive her as white because she doesn’t fit present-day, 21st century stereotypes of what it means to be a Latina? I’d change this detail if this were my story. Also this is Star Trek; far away in space they don’t seem to treat individual human ethnicities as crucial as the fact that we’re from Earth anyway. Why would they just not take her at face value as an Earth person who says she’s Latina?

If you are using Trek fanfic as a way to write out your own experiences of being hurtfully defaulted to white by others, by the way, that is obviously fine.

--Shira

Edit: There’s great answers in response to this post. Please check them out!

[dxsole]

This guy liked to talk, it's becoming clearer. That was fine with Philo; he could be a chatterbox when he had something to talk about or if he knew the person better. "It's true! It's one of his funny movies...which is pretty weird 'cause I think everyone knows him as, like, a cowboy or a cop. Think he's been type casted a lot..." But Clint Eastwood wasn't important.

What was important was how Kevin seemed to lift, eyes brightening. He doesn't know what he's done or asked, but apparently it was a good thing! And while Philo's mask doesn't allow for much expression, his lips are, thankfully, still exposed.

So he smiles. He's a new guy! Philo wouldn't really consider himself new to the country anymore, seeing how long he's been here, but it always nice to meet...technical Americans with British accents. "Complicated sordid story and it's not interesting? That's a little hard to believe." He chuckles, head tilting at Kevin.

"Well, your scene has certainly changed. I don't know for sure, but I don't think England has taco trucks as good as this one." Or masked men roaming around either. "Never been to England. Hope I get to go one day— Wanna see what the fuss is about Big Ben." It's a big clock, isn't it?

"I'm not a technical American— I mean, I am one now, I guess, but I wasn't before." Chomp, chew, swallow. "I'm from Canada. Also have a complicated, sordid story I think. But that may have been obvious." Thumb hooks towards the mask. "It doesn't bother you, does it? Some people get the heebie-jeebies."

Philo's head swivels, a crooked smile appearing on his lips. The other had a point— Philo thought he was a nice person, but he can imagine any of the people he's had to hurt would think otherwise. In his defense, he would like to remind them that he was paid to do so, that it was nothing personal...although, maybe that would just make it worse. "Alright, fair— maybe you can tell me if I'm nice or not. Eventually."

The eventually confuses him, even if he was the one to say it. Eventually? He's not even sure what the other came over here for, outside of seeing the strange man in the mask. Philo doesn't know if they'd ever see one another after this, let alone if that was even a possibility; who would want to see him again, after all.

"Well, now you have—" I like it. That little compliment (? Could such a small thing be considered one?) gets a titter out of him. His blush is seeping down to his chest. "Thanks— I was named after a Clint Eastwood character, apparently."

Kevin. "Kevin's a nice name too—and I don't know many Kevin's personally so...you're not so common to me." Leg jogs excitedly. "What brings you here? I mean, minus lunch; like, in the area? I think I would've remembered seeing you around before."

[the-lake-king]

Hi! I followed your username from Men of no Country to here and right to your fic questionnaire, where you've said one of your strong points is writing OCs (and, considering Peter is '90% of my own devising', as you said). So as a fellow writer I wanted to ask you: how do you go about making your OCs? I always make them too bland, personally, but that might just be lack of practice.

Wow, what a question! Sorry for not seeing this earlier; I don't check Tumblr very often these days. I think coming up with characters is a process that varies wildly from one author to another, and there is no 'right' answer. Also, it's something that's always been fairly organic for me, so I don't know that I'm the best person to actually give advice if that's something you have trouble with. That being said, I'm flattered you would think to ask me, and I'll try to break down my process.

First, what is this character for? I don't mean this in a big, existential way, more of a 'what do I need this person to do in the story?' I pretty much constructed the Peter of Men of No Country while writing the first chapter, so let's start with that. I wanted to have someone who would ultimately be kind of an opposite to Thomas, so what does that mean? I came up with some things that I thought this person could be:

outwardly anxious

free with his emotions

awkward

Okay, that's enough to start with. From canon, we have that he's:

an artist

an aristocrat

he has a good relationship with his cousin

he's run off to Tangier

heavily, heavily implied to be gay

This stuff could just as easily be things that you or I came up with for a character that was 100% out of whole cloth, but we have it here so might as well use it. So, we're going to have a hyper-visual, somewhat flamboyant escapist, who, idk, doesn't like the cold?

At this point when thinking about a character, I like to step into their shoes for a bit. This guy is back in England for his cousin's wedding. Let's start on a minute alone with him. Maybe Bertie is coming to meet up with him in London so they can go north together, and he's waiting by himself. What is he doing? What is he thinking about? What is he looking at? Maybe he's cupping his hands around his tea for warmth. Maybe he's looking out the window, people-watching. Maybe he's worried that somehow he'll mess things up. Maybe he's excited to meet his cousin's fiancée. A lot of the specifics don't really matter in themselves. The point is that I try to become this person in my head for a while, and understand how it feels.

I find that at this point, for me, the character will start to get a voice and a life of their own. This is the part where I really couldn't tell you how to do it. Peter capitalizes Certain Ideas in his head. I didn't exactly decide that he does that. I didn't decide that he counts backwards to calm himself down, either. I can only say that I find it's a bit like starting a snowball and rolling it down a hill. If you get a big enough core packed properly, it just picks up more snow and adds to itself. The only sensible notion I can pluck out of it is not to just stick random quirks in where they don't naturally come up, and instead let the little things flow from the big things you decided at the beginning.

The last thing I do is steal. Peter gets extremely nauseous on ships, a little on trains, but not at all in cars speeding through winding city streets. That's someone I knew in school. Peter's hands shake so much sometimes that it interferes with his work, and it freaks him out even though he's dealt with it for a long time. That's me. Those are my hands, and that's my ruined drawing. They feel real because they are. Simple as that.

I don't know how much help this is, or if this is the kind of answer you wanted, but this is just about how I do it. Hopefully, you can pull something useful out of it all. Good luck, and I'm sure that one way or another, with practice, you will find you get better :)

[strawberrymiya]

An unknown darkness (GWSN Miya x Reader) (Part 1)

Historical AU fic set in England in the 1970s (specifically 1976), reader is a middle class executive and ends up hiding from the police with punk Miya. Angst, historical accuracy and plenty of retro English language. Some remarks about sexism and the position of women are included, but I chose to ignore attitudes about same sex relationships simply for ease of writing (title comes from lyrics to GWSN's 'Black Hole').

Pairing: GWSN Miya x Female Reader Word count: 3321

A/N: Shock horror I can write angst too?? So it's not exactly what I've been doing so far but the idea called for it so I gave it a go, let me know what you think! Some research went into this for accuracy, but I'm extremely interested in this time period anyway so a lot is just from memory ^^ A big thank you to my #1 supporter @goldenfxre for your help in many ways, this is for you!

Read on Ao3

Alone at night in a town you’d never been in before was never a good place to be. The hotel you were staying at was only supposed to be a couple of streets away, how had you gotten lost?

You were staying in a whole different part of the country; your company had some important meetings taking place, and had sent you as one of the higher ups to attend them. It was the first day of three, and after the day’s meeting some employees had invited you for casual drinks at the local wine bar. One of the employees told you your hotel was only a couple of streets away from the bar, so you thought it would be easy to find your way back. Now, at about midnight, you were wandering around lost, and the streets were empty.

You weren’t entirely sure what to do; you knew the street name the hotel was on, but none of the signs had what you were looking for. You had seen a police car parked, but didn’t want to resort asking them for help as they were on duty. There was a telephone box you had circled round a couple of times, but you were the only one staying at that hotel so had nobody to ask for directions.

After passing the telephone box for the third time, you decided to try a different turning; a little back street that you weren’t sure looked totally safe, but it was the only option you had left. There wasn’t much down there; a newsagents, a bookies and a grubby looking club. The sign in front was peeling off and barely readable, the walls were covered in graffiti and possibly the odd blood stain, and there was empty broken glass bottles dotted around the car park. It looked like a very different place to the wine bar you had just been drinking in.

During your few moments of staring at the club, the doors opened and the people started to spill out. They all had orange or black coloured hair, dressed in leather or denim jackets covered in spikes and tears. The sound of an army of combat boots soon flooded the empty street, and you soon realised it was a punk club you had found yourself stood outside of. Punks were a very new type of person, and you didn’t have many round where you were from, so you had only heard about them. Seeing them in the flesh; these cold blooded rebellious anarchists, could they really be such dangerous people? Surely one of them would give you directions.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash of glass. You quickly turned your head, seeing a gaping hole in the window of the newsagents, glass scattering the pavement below. Someone had thrown a brick through it.

The punks began to move much more quickly as you heard a police siren, the white car with the bright red stripe you had seen earlier arriving instantly. Was it one of the punks that had thrown it? You’d watched every person that had come out of that club, none of them had even approached the newsagents. With them all beginning to evacuate the area, you had to find someone quick if you wanted directions.

It was then that you saw a woman stood still; she was loading instruments into the back of a Reliant Robin, looking round clearly concerned. She must have been with one of the band members playing in the club. She had a jet black short mullet, and was wearing jeans covered in rips, zips and chains. She wore a denim vest jacket (the sleeves having clearly been ripped off) covered in studs over a black t-shirt, and the same black combat boots as everyone else you had seen walk out of the club. The other female punks you had seen looked different to her; they wore black fishnets and short skirts, this woman blended in with the male punks more.

You decided to go for it, quickly making your way across the road and over to her. She had closed the door of the van before it drove off; you had the perfect chance to talk to her before she walked away. She turned and had began to walk as you approached, and she stopped in front of you in surprise.

“Hello, I’m so sorry, could you-”

“What are you doing?” The stranger interrupted you, agitated. She stayed still in front of you, but was looking round as if she was in a hurry.

You stuttered, “I was just wondering if you knew-” She cut you off again, this time by grabbing you by the arm and forcefully pulling you across the road, her large strides taking the two of you down a dingy alley next to the bookies. As she took you, you feared every scare and rumour about these people were true. Was she going to hurt you?

She stopped walking right at the end of the alley, almost shoving you into the wall as she released you. Before you had a chance to escape, she commanded,

“Don’t move. We’ll have to hide down here, they can’t see us.”

Although her tone was intimidating, she wasn’t threatening you. You were hiding.

“Why do we have to hide down here?” You asked, not fully understanding the situation you found yourself in.

The stranger leaned back against the dingy brick wall, just avoiding the dripping pipe stream that ran from the gutter of the roof to the drain below. She took a cigarette and a lighter out of her inside pocket, casually placing the tab between her teeth as she spoke, “some tosser chucked a brick straight through a window just before we all came out, pigs shown up, they’re gonna take one look at me and put me in the nick, aren’t they?”

This puzzled you, you feared your innocence poking through as you responded, “not necessarily.”

A small laugh of amusement came out of the stranger as she lit her cigarette and stuffed her lighter back in her inside pocket, “yeah, you’re definitely not from round these parts. Round here pigs don’t let people like me just walk past on a quiet night, no, we’ll wait here till they move on.” She spoke with such an air of casualness; hiding from the police was a highly unlikely experience in your world, but to her it seemed banal. It was in this thought that you suddenly realised something,

“why do I have to hide? I don’t look suspicious.” You put in effort to sound headstrong, but were slightly frightened to argue with her. She looked you dead in the eye, letting out a puff of smoke directly towards you. You did your best not to cough on reflex.

“Listen, pigs know we’ve just come out, they’re gonna ask any bugger who’s knocking about questions whether they have serial killer written on their forehead or not,” her tone darkened as she stared down at you, “if you walk out there and they ask if you’ve seen anyone, you know I’m down here, and I am not being grassed out by some posh tart in a business suit.”

Her bluntness was really starting to annoy you, but you bit your tongue, “but you’re innocent. Even if I did tell them you were down here they would have nothing on you.”

The stranger smirked again, her eyes shifting towards the end of the alley, checking for anyone who may spot the two of you, “that’s not how it works, sweetheart.”

You studied her expressions, wondering what she could see, and most of all, if it was clear for the two of you to go. Her face turned to one of frustration, and you knew you weren’t leaving any time soon.

“They’re inspecting the fucking window now,” the stranger spoke with gritted teeth, flicking some ash off the end of her cigarette onto the ground before turning back to you, “looks like we might be here a while.”

Great.

“Well, as long as we’re stuck here we might as well introduce ourselves,” you got the courage to speak again, giving her a small smile to try and ease the tension, “I’m (Y/N)”. You decided against a handshake; she’d probably just stub her cigarette out on your palm.

The stranger gave you another cold look, exhaling another puff of smoke before rolling her eyes and asking, “are we really doing this?”

You leaned back, almost wanting to give up with her, “it’s better than us standing here in silence.”

She paused, and you watched her eyes gaze at the floor; she was possibly considering whether to go along with your polite conversation. She gave in,

“I’m Haruka.”

You gave her another smile, “it’s nice to meet you, Haruka.” She stared you down again, and you dropped the smile. You quickly thought of some sort of conversation to make with her, “so, do you know the band that was playing in that club?”

Haruka sighed, exhaling more smoke, “it is my band that was playing in that club.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” you remarked, trying not to sound too shocked, “what do you play?”

“Bass.” she answered bluntly, again looking towards the end of the alley where the police were still inspecting the broken window, “my mother says only boys are supposed to play in bands but it’s 1976, you know what I mean?”

You nodded; times were surely changing. You were one of the higher ups in a company full of men, it took a lot of hard work and dealing with sexism, but you managed it legitimately. Why couldn’t a woman play bass in a band?

Haruka looked at you again, her hard exterior slowly beginning to soften as she asked, “so, what do you do? You’re not an MP are you?”

You smiled, shaking your head to reassure her, “I’m in stocks and shares. I’m actually only here on business.”

“So why was it that you stopped me before, and got us stuck down here?”

You ignored the fact she had just blamed you; you wanted to remain polite, “I got lost looking for my hotel, I was trying to ask if you knew where it was.” You admitted, trying to keep your pride in front of this woman who kept staring you down.

“The only hotel round here is the one round the corner from the high street, you can’t miss it if you go up past the Chinese takeaway.” She informed you casually, but you had no idea what she was talking about.

“I… haven’t a clue where that is.” You answered shamefully. It was nothing to be embarrassed about, you’d never been to this town before of course you didn’t know your way round, but Haruka had an air about her that made you feel embarrassed to be clueless. You wish you hadn’t tried asking her for help, then you wouldn’t be stuck down here.

For the first time, Haruka showed a genuine smile, “that’s alright, I’ll show you later.”

You looked at her slightly surprised, and she turned her eyes down to the ash falling off her cigarette, still smiling. Maybe the rumours were wrong about these people.

“So is the band how you earn money, or do you have another job?” You dared to ask.

Haruka smiled to herself, amused, “no, I’m on the dole. You’ve probably never heard of that where you’re from.”

You gave her a look of confusion, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Posh suit, nice accent, by looks of you you’ve probably never lived in a council flat in your life.”

She was beginning to annoy you again now; why did she keep making so many presumptions about you from your job and appearance?

“Don’t act like you know who I am because of the way I look.” You snapped back.

Haruka simply chuckled, “I’m not acting, I know your type. You all drink in wine bars and live on posh roads without a single window boarded up. You’re probably only an exec because your father has contacts, either that or you slept with the boss.”

What you were hearing was unbelievable. You could actually feel your blood boil as you took in the accusations she had just given you.

You couldn’t hold back this time, “you don’t know my life. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, I wasn’t given anything to get me in this position. Yes I drink in wine bars and have a nice job and can afford my own property, but I’m not some privileged tory if that’s what you’re trying to make me out to be.” The words spat out of you with the surge in confidence you had to defend yourself against her. Haruka looked taken aback, not expecting such an outburst from you. It looked like nobody had ever challenged her back before.

“So you’re not a tory then,” she finally replied, her gaze remaining on the ground, “good.”

“No, not that it’s any of your business, but I voted for Wilson in the last election.” You told her truthfully, softening your tone ever so slightly, wanting to ease the tension again.

She raised a smirk, “well it was either him or that Ted Heath, good job he’s out. Who is it they’ve got now? Ah yes, Thatcher the milk snatcher.” She began to sound more amused, turning her head upwards as she took a long puff of her cigarette, and you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at her remarks. Haruka continued, “god forbid she becomes prime minister one day.”

With the tension eased, you were intrigued to understand more about this stranger. You asked, “do you enjoy being in a band?”

“It’s a good way to pass the time,” She answered. Her casual, uncaring front had returned; nobody was in a band just to ‘pass the time’.

“Do you play at that club often?” You inquired casually, just out of curiosity.

“Regularly. Usually a pig free area round here,” Haruka remarked, gesturing towards the end of the alley at how the circumstances had changed tonight.

You suddenly remembered how she had blamed you earlier for your predicament, and you were compelled to give her an apology, “I’m sorry about getting us stuck down here.”

“You’re cute,” Haruka gave you a warm smile, taking the tab out from between her teeth end exhaling more smoke as she assured you, “Not your fault, blame the git who thought it would be funny to chuck a brick through a shop window. It’s just the way it is.”

There was a lull of silence between the two of you. Usually if a conversation died down, you would give a simple “nice to talk to you, I should be leaving now”, but you still couldn’t leave. You had to think of something else to ask her.

“Do you do this often?”

Haruka looked at you, puzzled, “what do you mean?”

“Hide from the police. Do you do it often? You seem so used to it.” You explained, suddenly wary if you had overstepped the mark. You were just interested to know why she was so frightened of authority.

She gave you a small chuckle as she answered, “more times than I can remember. You see, pigs don’t like people like me. They read too many newspapers, think we’re all rough and scum who’ll pick a fight with any of the boys in blue within a mile. Thing is it’s them who approach us most of the time.” Haruka seemed so unbothered; what she seemed to experience on a daily basis was completely incomprehensible to you. The police where you were from protected, they didn’t start fights or harass innocent citizens for the way they dressed. Or maybe you had just never seen it.

“I’m sorry,” You managed to get out, “that sounds awful.”

“I don’t need your pity.”

“No, I know you don’t, but I can say what I want, it’s a free country isn’t it?” You responded. She may have been a tough, cold anarchist, but you were still allowed to give her sympathy.

“At least that’s what they tell you,” Haruka smirked as she flicked more ash off her cigarette, watching it fall to the ground before looking back up at you, “say what you like, sweetheart.”

“I just don’t think it’s right how they target you, or people like you. You’re a nice person, I like you. I trust you.” You stated to her honestly. She could be annoying, but you’d managed to wear enough of her away in this short time that you could tell she was a genuine person. You actually did quite like her.

Haruka looked a little lost for a second; perhaps she wasn’t used to receiving such simple compliments. You swore you could see her face turn ever so slightly red in the dim street light. As you looked at her, she suddenly avoided your gaze, turning her head to the other end of the alley as she put her cigarette back between her lips.

She quickly took it back out again, stating, “hang on, jam sandwich is leaving. We’re in the clear.”

You tried to make sense of what she had just said in your head before asking, “have the police left?”

“Yep, off they go,” She dropped her cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with her boot, keeping watch on the police car as it drove away. She then began to trudge out of the alley, saying, “come on, let’s get you to your hotel.”

You stayed still, all the events of tonight suddenly washing over you. She took a few steps before turning back to you with a smile, raising her eyebrow and asking, “do you need to hold my hand?”

Her light remark brought you back into the present, and you gave her a small laugh before catching up with her, the two of you safely walking out of the alley and down towards your hotel. She was right; you did pass the Chinese takeaway. The journey was short, so you only had light conversation on the way there. Soon you were stood outside the entrance.

“Thank you so much for this, Haruka.” You gave her your gratitude as you retrieved the hotel key from your pocket.

She gave you a cheeky smile, “no problem. Don’t want you getting lost again, do we? You might bump into the likes of me.” You both chuckled.

“I wouldn’t mind bumping into the likes of you again, Haruka.” You responded. Haruka tried to give you another smile, but had become quite shy over your compliment again. You gave her a moment to find her edgy, mysterious persona again, but you knew she was flattered.

Haruka then leaned closely towards you, pushing her hands into her trouser pockets as she decreased the space between you. You could feel her nicotine tainted breath she got so close, and you felt your own face heating up at her proximity.

“Maybe I’ll bump into you again sometime, then.” She spoke under her breath, a slight smirk on her face. Then, she swiftly backed away, turned on her heels and strided off into the night.

You watched her walk away, taking a few seconds to collect your bearings and remember where you were. This woman was so fascinating to you; how you had gone from thinking she was harmless, to being almost unable to stand her, and now she was so charming towards you? You barely even knew her, yet you felt she was something really special. She somehow had took you out of your own little world and brought you into hers, just by chance of you getting lost and asking her for directions.

As you unlocked the hotel door and entered the building, you wondered to yourself,

Is she playing at that club tomorrow night?

Part two

MASTERLIST