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themonkeycabal · 4 years ago

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Wandavision Ep 5 Spoilers

Wherein I watch Wandavision at a stupid hour of the morning because I do not sleep like a regular human being, and sometimes I have things to say.

Previously on Wandavision, we all discovered that Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo were the BFFs we never knew we needed and now can't live without. Also Wanda reminded us that she's really scary.

We should be in the 80s now, right? Ahh the 80s. Leg warmers, Aquanet, and MTV.

Baby shenanigans with crying twins. Wanda tries to magic them to sleep and it doesn't work. "Maybe we just need some help." And in pops Agnes without waiting for them to answer the door. As you do in a sitcom hell. She's got a headband and leg warmers on and is on her way to jazzercise. Of course. Is the point of Agnes to really anchor us in a decade? Asking for real. She's very "this is the era, and these are the tropes, let's all play along now."

Vision is very protective of the babies, to such a degree and with such intensity that Agnes literally forgets her line and nervously asks Wanda if she wants her to take that again. Well, then. Agnes very super a lot does not want to be wished to the cornfield.

The babies stopped crying during the whole "should we do this scene again" interlude. Vision noticed the weirdness and is trying to figure out what's going on, Wanda is trying very hard to pretend everything is normal. Agnes is being super duper bizarre in the background. And suddenly the twins are like three years old. Agnes has given up and got into the liquor. I don't blame her.

Opening credits. Okay, I'm sorry, 'baby' Vision is almost more stupidly funny than I can take. Like … what? I think I want that as my new icon, though. Also the credits are too long. I think they were very proud of their theme song, so we have to hear it all. These are my least favorite so far. Very 80s, but meh.

In the real world, Monica is getting x-rays and giving a report on being yeeted from Wanda World.

Jimmy Woo and Darcy are there to greet her at the end of the exam. "This is Doctor Darcy Lewis." Yes, she is! Still very proud. She's also the doctor of encouraging people to wear pants, shoving a pair at hospital gown-clad Monica. Erik's no-pants phase was very scarring.

The medic comes back and says the medical tests didn't work or something. The medic wants to do x-rays again because the first came back blank and also she's going to have to do another blood draw. Hmm. Monica is still somehow affected by Wanda World? Unclear on how that would work. Some sort of weird witchy radiation-like energy? Monica says 'no' to more needles and also wants to put pants on. Just let the woman have her pants.

Now we're on to a briefing with the acting Director of SWORD whose name I don't remember. He's very "government suit" bland, I have a hard time caring about anything he says. Also, does anybody else pronounce the 'w' in SWORD in their head when they read it? Like I cannot make my brain stop doing that. "s-WUH-ord'.

"Our initial theory had Wanda Maximoff as one of many victims. We now know she is the principle VICTIMIZER!" Settle down there, acting director guy. Why not say 'subject', 'suspect', 'perpetrator', or boring old 'cause of the anomaly". VICTIMIZER! Geez then. I'm going to guess his solution will be a tactical nuke or some such rot.

Jimmy gives background on Wanda.

Acting Director Guy: "The twins were subsequently radicalized, volunteering at Hydra." Jimmy Woo: "That's an oversimplification of events, but yes." I'm giving you heart-eyes Jimmy Woo.

"After unspecified experimentation with the mind stone, Maximoff gained telekinetic and telepathic abilities."

Then a weird aside where the Acting Director — who shall now be known as Acting Director Dick — wants to know if Wanda had a code name or a something, seeming to imply that not having one made her a bad guy?, and then he points out how the first time she used her powers it was against the Avengers. He totally just ordered a tactical nuke from "overreacting-government-douchebags r us". I hate this particular character trope, the government heavy who never listens to anybody and is always ready to napalm the suburbs because reasons. It's so tedious.

Jimmy points out that Wanda earned the Avengers trust and then became an Avenger herself, thank you very much. Acting Director Dick doesn't care, he's decided Wanda is a terrorist and he'll turn half of New Jersey into a glass parking lot to get rid of her. Sure am glad he's in charge of some sort of mysterious and powerful agency.

Jimmy Woo is not a fan either, and he walks back over to his new bestie and tells Darcy that while he tries not to speak ill of anybody … Darcy interrupts "then allow me", and she has no trouble saying that Acting Director Dick is, in fact, a dick. That's my girl.

Elsewhere AD Dick is blathering on about how they don't negotiate with terrorists. Well, since Wanda hasn't made any demands, or released a manifesto or anything …. Monica also points out Wanda is not a terrorist. AD Dick twists her report to make Wanda sound as terroristy as he can. I'm bored with him now.

Monica argues with him a bit and say she doesn't believe Wanda World is a premeditated act of aggression. I vote Darcy, Jimmy, and Monica wait until AD Dick is alone, and then they shove him in a locker for the rest of the season. If anybody asks he had to run back to sWUHord for meetings or something, "Darn, you just missed him. I'll tell him you're looking for him. Great. Buh-bye now".

AD Dick needs to make his big jackass point that Wanda is the most terroristy terrorist who ever terroristed, so he shows off footage of Wanda breaking into a SWORD facility to steal back Vision's body. Because that seems terroristy and not at all like some sort of emotional breakdown. As far as I can tell, she just busted open a few doors, but didn't hurt anybody. I think AD Dick doesn't know the meaning of the word terrorist.

And, yes, then she resurrected Vision in an idealized sitcom world in a small city in New Jersey. That's exactly like something a terrorist mastermind would do. Mmmhmm. Is it nice for the people trapped there with them? No, clearly not. Agnes and Herb in particular seem aware and are scared. They need to be rescued and Wanda needs LOADS of therapy. But Director Nuke the Site from Orbit over here isn't going to make anything better. Darcy, sister, shove that asshole into a locker stat.

Jimmy notes that stealing Vision's body is a violation of the Sokovia Accords. And while I appreciate his dedication to maintaining the Accords … well, I mean, look, it's body theft and all. It's not a great look; I absolutely allow that. But you can just sort of stop there. Though, that's very the Sokovia Accords "if this guy dies, his body must go to a shadowy government agency. for safety. yep."

Also Vision had a living will, where he didn't want to be used as a weapon. Sure, okay. Because I'm sure SWORD was just totally not doing anything at all with his body. Nope. Look, I'm totally a SHIELD girl and even I wouldn't necessarily trust SHEILD with that. So, who is SWORD to me? Pfft. I'd give him to Thor or something and ask him to be buried far far away. I'm just saying. I'm supposed to trust Johnny-Come-Lately S-WUH-ORD?

(In my head now is an inter-agency rivalry where SWORD is like "We have rocket ships!" and SHIELD is like "lol, our lead scientist got eaten by a rock and survived on an alien world for like six months". "But rocket ships?" "We've traveled through time a dozen times in the last year alone. We're a bigger chaotic disaster than you can ever hope to be".)

AD Dick undermines his own "SHE'S A TERRORIST!" thesis by saying she acted out of grief. And then he dismisses everybody. "Work the problem!" Uh … whut? Fine? What is the problem? That she's a WILD MURDERY TERRORIST who must be stopped! or a grief stricken woman who stole her technologically advanced boyfriend's body and probably should be talked down? Acting Director Lack of Clarity.

Jimmy wants to know how Wanda could have resurrected Vision without the Mind stone and Darcy wants to know what Vision will do when he figures it out. Fine questions, friends, fine questions. Monica is just like "acting director dick used to be a buddy but now I kind of want to punch him and am very conflicted. oh and wanda kind of freaks me out but also i feel bad for her" only she says all that without words.

Tommy and Billy are now about like 5 or 6 or something. I'm terrible with kids ages. They're up to shenanigans. Oh, they found a lost puppy dog and they're giving him a bath in the sink. It's all super adorable.

Vision wanders in and greets his family all formally and in his human face. He says he has a premonition someone might pop over. He's not a fan of sitcom neighbors either. And there's Agnes now with a dog house. How does she know whether to enter through the front door or the back door?

The dog tries to burn the house down by licking an electrical outlet? so they name him Sparky (harr harr) and Wanda magics him a collar with Agnes right there. Vision's all "wtf darling?" and she points out Agnes didn't even notice when the boys went from babies to five-year olds, she certainly didn't notice the magic collar. Agnes is trying very very hard not to notice anything. Poor Agnes.

Wanda says she's tired of hiding her abilities and Vision is Very Concerned. He's starting to figure things out.

They tell the boys they can't have a dog until they're 10, so the boys grin at each other and age themselves up to 10. That is all very unsettling. Agnes "Let's just hope this dog stays the same size." as she screams internally "save me!"

Real World. Jimmy's hustling back to the science room with coffee for Monica and Darcy. Monica is asking for some sort of wild mobile bunker to help her get back into Wanda World and Darcy's like "well, yes, but also no". But Monica knows an aerospace engineer who'd totally make it for her.

"I can't guarantee the Hex won't just mind wipe you as you go in." "What's the hex?" "Oh, it's what I'm calling the anomaly because of it's hexagonal shape. It's starting to catch on." Darcy's so proud, but Jimmy's like 'not so much' but he's too polite to say.

Monica's determined to go back in. Jimmy wants to know who the kids are, if they've id'd them or the babies and Monica's all "oh, no, those are legit Wanda's." Darcy says if she can make stuff with her mind, and all the props and whatnot in the Wanda World are real then she's wielding an insane amount of power. Monica is sure she could have taken out Thanos if he hadn't cheated and snapped her. Jimmy thinks Captain Marvel could have done it. Monica very much doesn't want to talk about Captain Marvel.

Monica has an Idea!

Ah, she wants to see her outfit from Wanda World, which is now in the real world. So, is it real matter Wanda created, or is the perception field bleeding over to make them all see that outfit in the real world. That would have been hella awkward if Monica got yeeted out of her clothes.

Monica confirms they're real then steals Jimmy's gun and shoots them. Ahh, she was wearing a kevlar vest when she went into Wanda World, and that changed shape to be her super fly 70s outfit. "Wanda is rewriting reality." Changing things to fit the hex. So they'll send in something that doesn't need to be changed. Um. Sure. Fine. I don't know what that means, or how that would help in this context, but I'm sure I'll find out.

Meanwhile, Vision is at work, and all his coworkers are amazed at the actual computers. Golly shucks. Computers. Hey, so, computers have been around since the 40s. ANYWAY.

"Should we surf the internet?" We're progressing rapidly through the 80s. Oh, lol, Darcy sent an email. And the whole office creepily reads it out loud. Vision is very weirded out. As well he should be. He wipes the computer with his glowy synthezoid powers and then he glowies Norm when Norm tells him 'none of it is real'. Norm wakes up "please help me. what day is it? how long has it been?". Oh dear. Poor Vision. This is all going to go so very badly. Norm gets very freaked out begging Vision to "stop her". Vision resets him.

At the house the boys wonder where dad is, and Wanda tells them it's Monday and he's at work. Except the boys are all "um, no, it's Saturday". Wanda, your house of lies is tumbling down! You shouldn't have let them grow up so fast. Babies don't ask inconvenient questions about why Daddy needs some space from Mommy and her questionable choices for their shared reality.

Wanda takes the opportunity to impart the 80s family sitcom trope of the weekly life lesson about how family might fight, but they still love each other and family is forever. One of the twins asks if she has a brother. She does. He's far away. But, Sparky goes barking at the door. Wanda looks far away herself. She goes to open the door and Sparky runs out.

Monica has sent in a drone from the 80s. Well that wasn't really a thing. But, how does the 1980s rc plane look more high tech than the 2020s drone they sent in first? Talk to your design team, SWORD.

Anyway, Wanda spots the drone, but she's keeping it out of the broadcast, because she's the editor and director and producer of Wandavision, of course.

Monica announces herself and tries to get Wanda to acknowledge her. Whoops. Wanda's eyes go glowy. AD Dick says "take the shot" and Monica's all "what? no, the drone isn't armed." Except of course it is, because AD Dick is a monumental dick, and he's got a backup drone pilot who takes the shot. Wandavision goes off air. And, oh no, there's a breach at the Hex!

Lol. It's Wanda coming through, dragging the mangled corpse of the drone with her. That was entirely deserved, AD Dick. I hope she shoves it up your ass, dick.

"The missile was just a precaution". AD Dick backpedals quick, like a coward. You gave a three second attempt to talk to Wanda before you pulled the trigger, I don't like you. "You can hardly blame us."

Wanda warns him to stay out. "You won't bother me, I won't bother you." Okay, well, he does kind of have a point, in that there's a whole town of people who are stuck as bit players in Wanda World. That's not very nice. I mean, surely she could have found a nice empty spot somewhere and created her sitcom utopia. That's at least a fair criticism.

Monica tries her best to talk Wanda down. It doesn't work particularly well.

"What do you want?" "I have what I want and no one will ever take it from me again." And she mind controls the soldiers training their guns on her, to turn them on AD Dick. Whoops. And Wanda goes back to her world. The Hex glows all red as she goes.

And we go to commercial. Lagos Brand paper towels. "For when you make a mess you didn't mean to." Wow, so that was brutal. Wanda's not mad at you, Monica. She's just carrying a lot of guilt. Ouch.

Back in Wandavision, the boys are looking for their dog. They find Agnes hiding in the bushes with the dog. Poor Sparky apparently ate some azalea leaves and died. The boys are very sad and Wanda warns them not to age up. They can't run from their feelings. Oh Wanda. "It's too sad," Billy says. "You can fix anything mom," Tommy cries, "Fix the dead". Yikes.

Wanda "I'm trying to tell you there are rules in life." Poor Agnes is trying not to have a total meltdown. "We can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Some things are forever."

Billy and Tommy try to talk her into bringing back Sparky. And Vision turns up. Well, this is just brutal.

Vision is entirely outside of Wanda's control. "I spoke with Norm. I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and I spoke to him free of your oversight." Yikes. "He was in pain, Wanda."

Okay it's kind of funny they're arguing over the end credits. Vision is very very pissed. "I'm scared." Aww.

Wanda insists she's not in charge of every life in Westview. "I don't know how any of this started in the first place." Huh. Is that really true? Because she's pretty sure of it now. Somebody or something convinced her into a sitcom world and now she's just like "yeah, this is good"? really asking.

Ding-dong.

"I didn't do that."

Vision: *doubt*

DING DONG

Wanda goes to answer the door.

In the real world, alarms are blaring but Darcy notices a new revelation on Wandavision.

Wanda Word — and it's Pietro at the door. See! I knew it had to be Pietro who'd be the surprise guest thingy. I mean it's hilariously X-Men Pietro (Evan Peters, like @lewstonewar suggested), but Pietro nonetheless. There's nobody else it could have been.

Darcy be all WTF? "She recast Pietro?" lol

Okay, Wanda seems legit shocked. I don't think she did that. And I super really don’t think she’d make him sound like a NYC cabbie.

And end.

Well. I mean, I'm not sure what to think. Wanda insists she's not controlling everything. I don't think she created Pietro. But, she totally stole Vision's body and created the kids and seems mostly happy in her sitcom universe and she can traverse the Hex, which obviously suggests its her doing. Dunno. I have questions about Agnes and her convenient timeliness here and there.

The mystery continues.

Disney wants to know if I want to watch Age of Ultron next. How poorly you know me, Disney.

#wandavision #wandavision spoilers #long post #didn't mean for it to get all long #wandavision liveblog

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chase-the-ladybug · 4 years ago

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For @fast-moon, happy holidays! It’s your one and only lovely secret santa here for the @noragamisecretsantas event! Here I am on Christmas day to proudly present: your 🕺🙌gift! The prompt I was given for your present was also wonderfully full of potential, perfect opportunities for some fluff AND angst aha… with that, I hope you enjoy reading this. At the very least, I certainly enjoyed writing it x

It only took once for him to want to use his ability again. Then again. Then again. He felt he had to test and see if it really was true, the power he’d discovered. Even still, he couldn’t quite believe what a difference it had made, what it can make right now, what it could make in the future. There was so much potential to what differences he could make.

He could do so much good.

Hagusa had never had much presence while he was alive. That tends to happen when you come from a poor, abusive, broken family; people tend to ignore realities they can’t handle. And yet, with his newfound ability as father’s shinki, he discovered an astounding ability: he could influence people’s actions.

That first encounter at that restaurant is almost like a dream. That poor little kid was getting so much verbal smack from his dad for some pathetic excuse. He was arguing with his son over the change he carried, and that it was not enough for him to drink himself into an even steeper drunken mess. He was already pissed as it was, and the surrounding servers and patrons could only judge and watch as they struggled to intervene.

God, it reminded him so much of his memories of when he was alive, he wanted to puke. But somehow, the room’s atmosphere suddenly changed, like a switch flicked on in the minds of all the bystanders. The waitresses snapped down on him, the customers all defended the poor boy; before he knew it, the drunkard was thoroughly sobered by the audience he’d acquired, with the kid looked after by the rest. They had wanted to do so from the beginning, really: they just didn’t have the courage.

Hagusa, he had discovered, could give the people courage to act. And he just did so for the sake of a poor bullied kid. If he had an ability like this, there was no way assholes like his dad could get away with the way they acted. He could oust every abuser out there, track down exactly where he’s hiding, and finally confront him for the wrongs he committed.

He had to keep going.

The next opportunity he found was outside a convenience store. There was a high school girl who was wearing the uniform belonging to the establishment, being harassed by an apparently frequent customer. He kept insisting on walking her home, much to her adamance that she was fine. Anyone could tell he was not a trusted acquaintance of hers in any sense. Hagusa could feel the unease of passer-bys, latched onto them, and cast them into play.

Next thing you know a co-worker took a moment to step outside of the shop and ward him off. Another bystander, a woman who was passing by, offered to share her cab so she’d get home safely without a chance of him catching up to her. There was a nearby group of other schoolgirls too; they suggested commuting together anyways, since they recognised her from the same bus stop and finish their club activities at a similar time to her work commute.

Another opportunity occurred in a similar time frame: a working-class man was being extorted by his landlord for money. You could tell it was a common occurrence by the way he struggled to turn her away. Even still, the landlord started making a racquet, as entitled as a baby, it seemed. All the neighbours were getting increasingly frustrated, but mostly, just feeling bad for the neighbour. He wasn’t exactly made of money, none of them were in that apartment block.

The empathy was distinct among the neighbours, so it was easy to get a hold of their feelings, and with those he spurred them to do something about it. The residents all headed to the door of the victim, where the landlord had been looming, and pushed him down the hall. One of the people next door threatened to call the police, another claiming to have recorded his previous excursions to extort money unjustly. He was gone in less 5 minutes. The residents all discussed investing in a recording camera to put around the complex, so they’d have a defence if he were to continue coming back.

It carried on throughout the night. For every misdemeanour that he could find, Hagusa could always find at least one other person who wanted to help, to act. And often even, it wasn’t just one person, but many nearby who had wanted to help. The volume of people with the desire to help was simply a marvel!

To be honest, he wishes he could share this discovery with Yato and Hiyori. Knowing them, they’d be so proud of his discovered power, born of the desire to help people. But he shut down the thought. Hiyori wouldn’t approve of it coming from the means of Father, someone who apparently is the enemy of all. It was something he had heeded, cautiously, but also doubted. Afterall, would someone so bad really allow him to inflict this much good? And Yato... He would only be a distraction along his path right now. In this situation, he just can’t see them at this point. Even if he does miss them a whole lot. Father is the only one he can rely on to realise his path now.

Upon seeing these abilities, Father had given him encouragement; he was somewhat expectant towards his newfound power. And still as supportive as ever towards helping him find his dad, it seems. But he doesn’t oversee the entire extent of it, either he’s too busy or it just seems to bore him so. Hagusa almost couldn’t understand why- these continuous acts of good was reaching a phenomenal scale, and yet they never ceased to amaze him every single time. There’s nothing, to him, that was unremarkable about saving people, even if it was occurring so often by his help.

I guess, from his standpoint, Hagusa could understand what it meant. To be helped. In a way, he has been helped by the people around him since he became a shinki, and that’s something he’ll always be grateful for. But, he also started to think about his time before that.

He doesn’t remember a lot from his past yet, but from what he does remember- he was generally neglected. He could’ve come across any kinds of people in his day-to-day life: neighbours; store clerks; teachers; anybody really. If he somehow had this power when he was alive, maybe he could’ve gotten the help he needed. He would’ve been ok. He would’ve been free from his dad, and possibly able to reconnect with his sister. And he definitely wouldn’t’ve winded up where he is now-

He started to shake off his train of thought, which was beginning to wind down an impossible fantasy. That’s all it was: a fantasy. He was dead, he always would be.

The present is what was more important. Closure is something he can achieve, and these abilities help him with that. He could find his dad among all the abusers, the wrongdoers and perpetrators, all the people being confronted for their misdeeds. There is no chance he can’t be found, considering the violation that he had committed. Even if it is a past discrepancy, Hagusa knows that there is no chance he wouldn’t act just as vile as always. He must do, he was sure of it.

He can’t even tempt the idea that he’s not. If he’s dead, there’s no way he can get answers. If he’s changed, if he’s become someone capable of good… that means he can’t be found. And worse, he always was capable of being good. And that is a reality Hagusa truly cannot face. That would only be a reality of despair.

He can’t think about it.

Not in the slightest.

Not at all.

…

He senses a new encounter, ready to be turned around into a better outcome. He follows it. He doesn’t look back.

#noragamisecretsanta2020 #my writing #short but satisfying (I hope)#anyways Merry Christmas!#I was gonna post this later today...#but it’s barely been an hour into 25/12 in my time zone- And I have no patience #anyways enjoy :)#@other noragami fans; hello! I love this manga and would love to tell about it!#@my other followers: I hope I have wowed and bamboozled you simultaneously by my random change of content #since I’ve literally never posted fic on tunglr.net in my life #noragami #hagusa #noragami spoilers #sort of

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molachaka · 5 years ago

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bonding (1/3) - pillars (crack)

When the pillars decided to have a slumber party; everything became... questionable.

"Oh my kami." Muichirou couldn't. He couldn't. Who is this person in front of him – this is not natural. This is disrespect.

He silently dragged his fingers down his face - the make-up not even moving an inch away from the beautiful woman that he’d stare at for a dead minute in front of that mirror.

The way his long hair pinned in a shimada style made his head ache, but it ached even more at the sight of the proud motherly look emanating from the insect hashira besides her. That, and the whole set of eyes staring (judging) him down at this transformation.

"Everyone." The mist pillar hid his face with his kimono sleeve; denying others to see the glorious flower he’d finally become. "Please, don’t."

"Muichirou have finally accepted who he is." (Name) dried her tears with a handkerchief - too genuine to even call her reaction as fake. "Beautiful, isn't he?"

Everyone, except for the few males in the room, nodded in agreement. The poor mist hashira's temple bulged a vein at her statement.

"Why do I feel violated?" He blurted out loud, wanting to break down at this mockery he's forced to be in.

"Yeah, no shit." Obanai remarked besides the boy. The snake pillar put a hand on Muichirou's shoulder, making the poor mist jump on his seat at the sudden contact. "We will celebrate your loss."

Muichirou was this close to punch his comrade but he stopped himself when he realized wasn’t even looking at him, but rather – below him.

Why... why is the snake pillar staring at his groin like that.

"He was so young--" Tengen cried besides Obanai, tears streaming down on his face as he cups his mouth in despair. "Now, he'd became a beautiful-" pause, cue tear falling down dramatically; "-flamboyant girl."

"Uhm…"

"They grew up so fast." Gyomei stated in the background, he too, drying his never-ending tears. "So, so fast. I pray for his soul in their safe descent."

"HAhahahHahhahHahahaHa!!!!" @ Sanemi.com.

"Q-quit acting as if I've died!” Muichirou’s embarrassed form flushed in anger, before turning to Sanemi and throwing a sake battle at the wind pillar – who dodged it miraculously by rolling on the floor chortling. “And stop laughing!"

He defended himself, stubborn crystal appearing at the edge of his lids - capturing every girl's attention in the mess hall as they rush towards him as if they're mother hens trying to protect their gender-confused chick.

"Don't bully our beauty! That's unkind!" Mitsuri berated the men in the room, pouting as she does. Tengen want to say shit, but Shinobu raised an ominous glowing lipstick in warning, shouting him up.

Everyone would shut up in the face of a glowing lipstick, mind you.

Muichirou looked up at his female companions in epiphany, the torture they have bestowed on him slowly being forgotten as they protect whatever dignity is left on him.

Could they be? A trail of tear fell on the floor from shaky mint eyes. Are they really concerned for him?

"You…" The mist hashira sniffled in joy, feeling protected despite the condition he's in. (Name) came by besides their jeweled geisha and dried his upcoming tears with the handkerchief she used before.

It was stupidly wet, but the boy couldn’t argue about it as he hugged her daintily – the woman squealing inside her mind as her heart kept plunging down a nonexistent knife in her chest.

She took him in her hands and patted his head – careful not to ruin the wonderful hair style that matched the goddess in her arms.

"Shh, my baby girl, don't cry." Okay, the mist hashira want to cry because of that. "Your beautiful make up would be ruined."

Muichirou was about to let his tears flow like unbridled waterfalls, but only managing to choke at the loud voice announcing that his back.

Kyoujurou bursts in the room with a steaming bucket of large sake bottle in in his hands - hair unruly as his yukata, which is falling off from his frame – exposing almost everything if it weren’t for the obi tied snugly on his waist. Beads of sweat are rolling down on his chiseled frame, almost as if he just got out from a work out that consists of fetching alcohol from the kitchen.

Tengen choked on his sushi at the sight while Obanai made sure to cover Kaburamaru’s eyes – of which the snake just slithered around to stare at the hotness that entered the room.

(Name) gasped loudly before hugging Muichirou to her chest, making the poor hashira embarrassed beyond compare from being squeezed in the valley of nirvana. “Have some decency!” She cried, throwing her haori on the glistening man who caught it with his head. “We have a maiden in here!”

The flame hashira just chortled at that and used the haori like towel around his neck.

"Whose thirsty?!" Kyoujurou screeched happily. (Name) raised her hand in lightning speed, but the expression her face was another term for being thirsty – and it was soon replaced with a sheepish laughter when everyone gave her a gloomy look.

“That’s the spirit!” Kyoujurou pumped, giving (Name) a bottle of steaming sake but what’s steaming is her resolve not to touch that fleshed masterpiece, damn it. “Who else’s thirsty?”

Hunched with his abs defined like that, Tengen couldn’t help but stare with a sharp expression, slowly raising both of his hands to which Sanemi and Obanai quickly slapped down.

After the alcohol was evenly distributed to everyone – except for Muichirou because his innocence must be protected always - the scream of Kyoujurou’s father shook the frame of the house, echoing on the walls of the Rengoku estate as the little Senjurou shouted to his father with words of crying comfort.

“Where did you get the sake from Kyoujurou-san?” Giyuu appeared in the corner all of a sudden, giving half the room a scare: Mitsuri holding on Shinobu with a frightened scream and the insect pillar grabbing on the love hasira’s boobs in reflex and was about to use it to throw on the intruder (until she realized that this is not a weapon of war but a weapon for bed) and just groped it instead. Sanemi did not let out a girly scream, he’s pretty sure Obanai did.

Obanai is looking at Sanemi and is pretty sure that girly scream came from the wind pillar. Tengen is staring at the both of them down with a look of constipation because he just heard the two pretty much scream like a girl.

"These?” Kyoujurou raised the half-empty bucket. “I got these from my old man's reserve so they're bound to be good!" There was not even an ounce of guilt on his face. Everyone gave him undivided respect, except for those who fear the wrath of the older and uglier Rengoku.

"That's really bad Kyou-kun!" Mitsuri stated with both hands on her hips – Shinobu’s hand is still latched on her boobs - not reading the atmosphere of the room looming at the act of theft. "Do you even regret stealing from him?"

Kyoujurou blinked at the love pillar with an eerie grin - making her uncomfortable - before laughing boisterously at the question. "Nope!" He then added with a broken stare, "Why would I when these sake came from my allowance?"

"..."

…well, no one should complain about the free drink in the first place.

"Wait." (Name) gestured at Muichirou - putting a blanket around his shoulders – whose pretty much nose bleeding. "Do you want some alcohol, baby girl?"

“He’s too young to drink.” Giyuu reminded everyone because the poor mist hashira pretty blanked out from getting boobified. Kyoujurou let out a gasped akin to a katana scratching glass. “We got an Okama entertaining us?!” He then turns and looked at the area where the male hashiras gathered. “You all got weird tastes!”

Sanemi raised his hand and threw an empty cup at Kyoujurou’s head, Obanai and Tengen joining. Gyomei coughed out his sake, Giyuu on the other hand, missed his mouth and ended up drinking with his eyes.

“What?” Mitsuri crouched besides (Name) and grabbed unto the unconscious hashira, nose still bleeding as she tried shaking him awake. “He’s our entertainer?”

“Tengen was supposed to hire some courtesans to entertain us.” Gyomei soured his expression. “We don’t need any of that.”

“Exactly!” Tengen turned to Gyomei and pointed at the four female in the room. “We have pretty girls to stare at,” He gave them a charming smile. “Don’t you say so ladies?”

Of course, (Name) and Mitsuri giggled happily, but Shinobu and Muichirou is having none of it. The former knowing that Tengen’s just a cheapskate while the latter's waking up from the absurdity of the flamboyant man.

“You’re just pretty damn cheap.” Muichirou sneered, to which (Name) hushed. “Sh, you don’t talk to the adults like that, baby girl.”

Muichirou pretty much lost his face at that.

"You have a child, (Name)-chan?" Warm wide eyes of the flaming hotness landed on the transformed lad, brightening at the sight of them and effectively making the mist hashira blush away from the stare.

Kyoujurou basically forced his face on the mist hashira and nodded. “I like this new lipstick trend they have on!” The Rengoku pointed at the trail of red below the mist’s nose. “Boy, the Shimabara’s growing fetish is pretty wild huh?” Tengen wheezed, but nodded nonetheless. “It’s a new trend called despair.”

Kyoujurou looked down at the boy-turned-girl and put his thumbs up like a life motivator. “Pretty accurate!”

Muichirou choked on his nose bleed and asked the lord, why.

“Don’t joke about my child like that, Kyoujurou.” (Name) scoffed, slapping the man’s ass because that’s what they’ve been staring at for the last few minutes. Giyuu raised his hand on his mouth from that ministration, blushing on his corner. “O-oh.”

“Don’t ‘oh’ that stupid stunt, scum” Sanemi bashed, throwing his palm behind Giyuu’s unmoving head. “It’s disgusting – right Obanai?!”

Obanai was nowhere on his cushion beside Sanemi, but rather, kneeling down besides (Name) with his ass up. “Do me next, Mitsuri. (Name).” He turned his head towards the two female.

“I don’t know.” Mitsuri sighed and patted the presented bum and patted Kyoujurou’s thick one. “It’s pretty flat…”

“Slap me!” Obanai screamed with resolve, a battle cry that is more fitting on a love hotel than Kyoujurou’s mess hall.

“Well… a butt is a butt.” (Name) was about to do the honor in Obanai’s excitement but of course, Shinobu took the prestige away by kicking that pancake away from them. “We’re not your damn mother, fool.”

Gyomei is literally questioning what’s happening in this room right now…?

Kyoujurou laughed, before turning to Muichirou and (Name). “Is he really your child?”

Muichirou shook his head, and she nodded hers. Of course, flame hashira is biased so he took her agreement over Muichirou’s dejection. "They're as beautiful as you! They must have taken their features from their father!"

The mist hashira is asking the Buddha what earthly sin have he committed to face this injustice.

"Oh, you!" (Name) could not help but put both her hands on her cheeks, gushing at that compliment. "Of course, they'll take their beauty from me!"

What is it so he can repent.

"Please." Giyuu spoke up in the corner of the room; his expression looks akin to one bearing the death of a loved one’s pet. "This is unbecoming of us."

“Why didn’t you say that when (Name) slapped Kyoujurou’s ass.” Uzui scoffed as he sipped on his drink with a knowing smirk to the water hashira.

Giyuu’s cheeks turned pink, but it ended when Sanemi gripped his stomach and started laughing like an escaped mental. Something inside the water pillar snapped and looked at his companions in utmost seriousness.

"It's unbearable to watch."

"No one asked you." Shinobu snapped. Giyuu was quickly forgotten by everyone. Invisibility seeped in his body as he committed 'depression'.

Kyoujurou kept on gushing about the beauty of Muichirou and how great of a mother (Name) is even though she's really not the mother because of how young she is what the fuck is wrong with this.

"Can you shut up, dimwits." Obanai palmed his face at the repetitive exchange while Mitsuri gasped in the background. "Obanai!"

The snake pillar ignored her in favor of correcting what must be corrected. (Even if he felt guilty that he ignored his number one waifu. (Name) being number two, but that because he liked bullying her as Shinobu does with Giyuu.)

"Kyoujurou, that's Muichirou."

The way the flame pillar's reacted was too much - it's as if you told him that his father finally became a good man - it was full of utter disbelief.

"And (Name) can't land a boyfriend much less a child." The (hair color) woman broke down at that statement. Being called out like that broke her nonexistent pride. "Let me dream, you fool."

"Holy kami above." Kyoujurou stared at Muichirou in new light, his eyes basically twinkling. "Is that really you, Muichirou?"

"Yes." The mist pillar replied with a sniffle - blowing his nose at the kimono sleeve of the woman crying on his lap. "Regretfully."

When Kyoujurou did not answer or even reacted - the room fell silent at the sudden shift of atmosphere. Even Sanemi passed out from laughing all of the comedy he just ingested. (Giyuu’s pretty sure he also ingested something else because the wind hashira is foaming on the mouth.)

Their host raised himself up from the tatami mats and stared at his comrade with a serious expression, striking fear in their soul.

Giyuu didn't want to say he didn't warn them but…

"Do me next." Kyoujurou started stripping much to Uzui and (Name)’s delight and everyone else’s horror. (Gyomei is just looking at each direction of the room confused.)

Giyuu did warn the- what. No.

His face paled. What the fuck is that shining between the flame pillar's legs?

part 2 of the bonding trilogy

#kny x reader #kny crack #muichirou #obanai #kyoujurou #shinobu #sanemi #tengen #giyuu #xreader #mitsuri #bonding trilogy #gyomei #pillars x reader #pillars kny #kny pillars x reader

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trensu · 5 years ago

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Episode 27: The One where I Want to Punch Basically Every Sect Leader in the Face. Repeatedly. With a Chair.

And we start off back in the rain, AKA OUR ENDLESS TEARS

Wwx is like, do you remember our promise?

And lwj flashbacks TO THEIR LANTERN SCENE FROM THE ONE WHERE LWJ FINALLY SEES THE LIGHT

WE GET TO SEE LWJ’S PRECIOUS BABY FACE AS HE FALLS HEAD OVER HEELS IN THAT FLASHBACK

IT HURTS SO GOOD

Wwx: i wished to stand with justice and live without regrets. But tell me now, who’s strong, who’s weaker? Who’s right and who’s wrong?

Lwj: wei ying!

Oh god, his voice! HE’S DISTRESSED

Wwx: is this the promise we pledged our lives to keep?

THEY BOTH LOOK SO HEARTBROKEN RN

Oh, look, lwj is doing the deathgrip of gay yearning on bichen again. We haven’t seen that in awhile AND I WISH WE WEREN’T SEEING IT NOW

Okay, but for real, how can lwj look so hurt here when the actor is literally doing nothing with his face??

I know i’ve mentioned that before, BUT C’MON, HOW?? HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK??

Wwx: my only regret is that i didn’t stop the jin clan who took living people as bait

I REGRET YOU NOT TAKING DOWN THE JIN CLAN TOO

WE COULD’VE AVOIDED SO MANY PROBLEMS IF WE’D JUST KILL OFF 90% OF THAT CLAN, OMG

And now wwx is all, i missed my chance to protect wen ning before so now i MUST leave to save him

BC WWX IS THE BEST MOST HONORABLE PERSON IN THE WORLD

Oh no

Oh noooo

He’s pulling out his demon flute. We’re gonna get THAT SCENE

Wwx: lan zhan, if i finally have to fight them, i’d prefer to fight with you

Wwx: if i am doomed to die, at least i can be killed by you. That would be worth it.

HE SAYS THAT BC HE TRUSTS VIRTUOUS LWJ TO STOP HIM IF HE REALLY IS IN THE WRONG

AND I AM SCREAMING IN PAIN RN

BC LOOK AT LWJ’S FACE

HE’S LISTENING TO HIS SOULMATE TELL HIM THAT HE WANTS HIS DEATH TO BE AT HIS HAND

Oh god, he’s doing the bichen deathgrip again

He tears his gaze away from wwx and turns to the side TO LET THEM ALL GO PAST

EYES LOWERED AS HIS HEART BREAKS INTO A MILLION PIECES

HE’S CRYING OH GOD HE’S CRYING

THERE ARE TEARS GOING DOWN HIS FACE, OH GOD WHY IS THIS HAPPENING

HE DIDN’T EVEN CRY WHEN HIS HOME GOT BURNED AND HIS FAMILY WAS MISSING AND/OR DYING

And now he drops his umbrella to the ground AS HE TRIES TO DROWN HIMSELF IN THE RAIN

*HYSTERICAL SOBBING*

THEY PACKED ALL THAT HEARTBREAK INTO THE FIRST 6MIN OF THE EPISODE, WTF, SOMEBODY STAB ME

And after all that emotional torture we get Plot Stuff happening

Blah blah wwx at the burial mounds blah blah sect leader banquet blah blah

Ugh, gross, they’re letting the idiot sect leaders talk again

They’re all blah blah wwx is evil blah blah he murders ppl blah blah we hate him blah blah

SHUT UP YOU BUNCH OF WALKING HUMAN-RIGHTS-VIOLATIONS

This whole part here is so difficult to watch. They’re literally just trash-talking my PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY

Jc, lwj, and lxc look visibly uncomfortable with what’s going down and they kind of sort of tried to defend wwx but they didn’t present a united front or hold their ground

Instead they let yao and ouyang run their stupid mouths

Anyway

Here’s little itty bitty bits of almost wangxiantics in the middle of this mess

Jgs: yeah, jc, i know wwx is your trusted bro and all but idk if wwx actually respects your authority. Do something about it, maybe

Lwj: *subtly glares at jgs*

And then everyone joins in on dragging wwx’s name through the mud bc apparently that’s the hot new thing in the cultivator world

If you look closely while this is happening, you can see that lwj legit GRINDS HIS TEETH with how much he’s holding back. MY POOR BB HAVING TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO EVERYONE DISPARAGE HIS SOULMATE

Jgs: wwx totally doesn’t respect you, jc, my bro. Everyone here heard him say how much he thinks you suck or whatever

Lwj: No I didn’t.

OOOOH, LWJ IS ANGRY AS HELL

HE’S OUTRIGHT GLARING AT JGS

Jgs: what??

Lwj: i never heard wei ying say that, nor did i see him disrespect clan leader jiang

HANGUANG-JUN I LOVE YOU, LOOK AT YOU DEFENDING THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, I’M SO PROUD OF YOU

And ugh, disgusting, jgy steps in to be all “oh, well, wwx said so many awful things that day, who can possibly remember the specifics?”

Lwj visibly swallows here, as if he’s choking back a response, and his lips are all pursed.

HE’S FURIOUS. HE’S ROILING WITH IMPOTENT ANGER, WHICH IS THE WORST KIND OF ANGER, TBH

That’s all the wangxiantics we get from that terrible awful sect leader banquet

THOSE SECT LEADERS NEED TO GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE

LIKE, A LOT

WITH A CHAIR

OR A TABLE

YOU KNOW WHAT, LET ME JUST TAKE BICHEN AND BEAT THEM ALL WITH IT

OR BETTER, YET, I’LL USE BAXIA. I WON’T EVEN CUT THEM UP. I’LL JUST BEAT THEM WITH THE BROAD PART

*ANGRY YELLING*

Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute!

This isn’t a wangxiantic

But it is an EPIC MOMENT that should be commemorated.

Because here we get…

*drum roll*

MIANMIAN BEING A BOSS

Jz: blah blah wwx kills our people indiscriminately blah blah

Mm: not indiscriminately

Mm: indiscriminate is not accurate

And everyone around her is like, confused and offended because they’re assholes

Mm: in this specific case, if the overseers did abuse the Wen prisoners and kill wen ning, then what wwx did was not “killing indiscriminately”

Ouyang: nah, the overseers said they never abused/killed anyone

Mm: OF COURSE THEY’D FUCKING SAY THAT. THEY DON’T WANT TO FACE PUNISHMENT, YOU IDIOT

(okay, she didn’t call him an idiot outright or swear, but it was totally there in her tone of voice and also ouyang is an idiot so there)

Mm: you all think you’re so smart and voice your opinions so loudly

Mm: I SECEDE FROM THIS BULLSHIT. FUCK THE JIN CLAN AND YOUR STUPID CLAN POLITICS

And she throws down her jin robes and mARCHES RIGHT OUT OF THAT SHITHOLE WITH HER HEAD HELD HIGH

MIANMIAN PLEASE MARRY ME

Lwj watches her do that and two seconds later follows her out bC HE RECOGNIZES BADASSERY WHEN HE SEES IT (and also she defended the love of his life)

And that badass moment ends

But the banquet of idiots keeps going

The jin clan needs to learn how to shut the fuck up

God, they just go on and on and on

Why are they torturing me like this

OH WAIT, WE’RE OUTSIDE THE BANQUET HALL NOW

We see lwj and mm standing together on a terrace, talking to each other

BUT WE DON’T GET TO HEAR WHAT THEY SAY TO EACH OTHER AND THAT HAUNTS ME TO THIS DAY

WHAT DID THEY SAY

TELL MEEEEEEE

Oh, side note to let you all know this direct quote from nmj - “that girl really has a backbone.”

Okay nmj, i’m slightly less angry at you now. I won’t try to beat you with bichen or a table or a chair.

(but now i kinda wish mm would join the nie clan. I think she’d do well there and also i want to see her carry a gigantic saber)

We get some chitchat with the Official Bros™ but idc let’s move on

(tho i do appreciate the look nmj gives jgy, like, HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME lolol)

Ooooh, now we’re getting lan fam time

ANGRY lan fam time, uh oh.

Lqr: lwj, have you regretted it? I didn’t punish you when you broke into the Forbidden Chamber bc i thought you’d self-reflect

Lqr: you shouldn’t have gone to qiongqi way and let wwx go. Should you make one mistake after another?

And lwj is kneeling in front of him this whole time with a blank face

Lqr: what’s the use of getting you to memorize the Great Big Book of Lan Fam Rules?? Tell me, what is rule 52?

Lwj: No association with evil

He answers immediately and without any inflection to his voice.

Lqr: did you forget what happened to your father???

AND WE FINALLY GET A REACTION HERE

Lwj practically gasps and lifts his gaze to meet his uncle head-on

Lwj: my mother, she…!

Lqr: hold your tongue!

And just like that, lwj shuts down again; expression flat and gaze lowered

GOD, THIS CLAN HAS HURT HIM SO MUCH THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE

I MEAN, THEY MUST’VE, FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO JUST DISCONNECT LIKE THAT

THAT IS NOT THE BEHAVIOR OF A NORMAL WELL-ADJUSTED PERSON

Basically the entire lan clan needs to go to therapy, like, STAT

Oh, i just noticed, lwj has his fists clenched at his sides. He’s clenching them hard, too. I think they’re trembling a bit, actually…

Lqr: i’ve been taking care of you since you were a kid; you’re like my son.i was strict bc i wanted you to stick to the right path and avoid your father’s tragedy

Lqr: that’s what i wanted to say to you. I hope you choose the right path. You may leave.

Lwj still bows respectfully before taking his leave

And i’m sure y’all are wondering, hey trensu, why did you make us endure that angry lan fam time that hurt us deep in our soul?? That wasn’t wangxiantic at all!

That’s where you're wrong, my friends!

It’s actually SUPER wangxiantic bc lqr kept drawing parallels to lwj’s dad the practically whole time

You know, the dad that married their mother who murdered some guy and had the whole world turn against her.

(Sound familiar?)

The same mother that dad loved with his entire being and did what he could to keep her safe from the ramifications of her actions? By marrying her? And hiding her in the cloud recesses?

YEAH, HE’S EQUATING WANGXIAN WITH LWJ’S PARENTS’ TRAGIC ROMANCE

Bc, you know, that’s a totally hetero comparison to make lol

Oh, now we get to see our favorite Disaster Het be less of a disaster

We’re not going into detail here bc we’re not here for hetero shenanigans, yuck (actually, i’m apparently weak to Pining Idiots of all kinds bc this whole jzx/jyl scene is giving me tender feelings)

BUT

I do want to add that OMG FOR REAL LWJ AND JZX HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR LOVE LIVES, IT’S FANTASTIC

I NEED 10 MILLION FICS OF THEM COMMISERATING OVER THEIR SHARED DISASTER-NESS

Also, how the HELL did jzx end up being the one who was able to express his intentions clearly? He was all “please don’t go to the burial mounds, stay here with me so i can protect you from all who would want to hurt you”

DAMN IT LWJ, IF YOU’D JUST SAY THAT TO WWX, HE’S UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING ON.

YOU CAN’T JUST BE ALL “COME TO GUSU” WITH NO EXPLANATION

Jzx accomplished this before you did, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.

Huh, okay, i guess i did go into a bit of detail with that hetero nonsense. Oh well.

Now we’re at the burial mounds again with wwx

AND WE SEE A-YUAN PROPERLY FOR THE FIRST TIMEEEEE!!

ANY A-YUAN MOMENT IS BY DEFAULT A WANGXIANTIC, GUYS, TRUST ME.

AAHHHH, WE SEE A-YUAN DO THAT LEG-GRABBY THING HE DOES!!!

HE’S SO CUTE. TOO ADORABLE.

I LOVE YOU A-YUAN

Lol, wwx is all if you don’t let go i’ll plant you like a turnip

And a-yuan plops himself down in the dirt like YOUR THREATS DON’T WORK ON ME, OLD MAN, I LIKE BEING IN THE DIRT

Then he asks wwx for 3 elder brothers and 2 elder sisters, awwww. He thinks wwx can grow them in the garden (like cabbage patch kids!!!)

Plot stuff happens

Blah blah wwx and wq share moment blah blah jc shows up blah blah

Lol

Jc sees that glowing talisman door thing and is like THAT SIGN WON’T STOP ME BC I CAN’T READ

And then whips it down with zidian

Now we get some feelings-laden Yunmeng bros time

A-yuan shows up and leg-grabs jc and it’s ADORABLE

But jc yells at him bc he’s a JERK

Wwx scolds jc and then is a Dad to a-yuan: don’t put your hand in your mouth, you were just touching dirt!

Awww, we get to see jc fight back a smile at this! HE WANTS TO BE AN UNCLE, I JUST KNOW IT.

Plot plot plot stuff happens

More plot stuff happens

And the episode ends with us still in the burial mounds with the yunmeng bros

And you know what, i’m just gonna focus on our BAMF mianmian moment bc quite frankly the rest of the episode either had me in tears of anguish or spitting mad. There was no inbetween.

I’m gonna end up having blood pressure problems at this rate.

I’m too poor young to have blood pressure problems.

The Jin clan better pay for any medical bills I get because of them, I'm just saying

Return to Masterpost

#WangXiantics #wangxian #the untamed #cql

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artofaboythatoncewas · 4 years ago

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Structural Isomers 3

Libra: 2,2,4-Trimethylhexane. <The familiar bell to mark someone’s entrance into the library chimes again. Yellen, after rubbing her magnifier for a comically lung time, peers up to greet whoever’s there. However, a striking intuition splashes her mind, which results in an aftershock of total disgust that needs to be disguised for the sake of etiquette> Oh, hello… you. «Good morning, granny. So, what’s new here?» <Yellen thinks to herself:> Goddamn Inez again. And here I was thinking he’d never come back! «Still holding onto all these worthless texts? You of all people should know by now that there’s nothing valuable here… Actually, I don’t want to be that harsh, but still: Necessity calls!» These works still hold considerable weight to our modern world, young man. «Keep up with the times; we’re on the edge of it being ‘postmodern’ now, which means everything here will become even more antiquated.» <Yellen thinks to herself again> Ugh, he’s put on this completely fabricated hatred of literature to justify his intentions of buying up the property here. So shallow, but at least I’m getting closer to knowing who’s paying him. The transition into a new world makes preserving older knowledge all the more worth it in my eyes <Yellen grips her wrinkly flesh around her pens.> «Heh, you seem aggravated by my progressivism.» Yes, because you’re violating one of the rules <Yellen pulls out a pristine paper, in which the second rule states “no political discussion”> I’d hate to be rude, but I think you’re overthinking and making up a ‘political issue’ again, and that leads you to discussing it loudly on the premises. That isn’t tolerated, as the politics (like everything else contentious) remains in the books here. «Oh, but the politics are happening right outside as we speak!» <Arduous and nonsensical conversation can be heard mumbling through the front door. Promptly, Yellen claps her hands once and the door becomes reinforced with sound-proofing, intimidating Inez> But this space is a different world with different rules, dear Inez.

Cancer: 3,3,4-Trimethylhexane. Time for a flashback way back in medical school. You know what you remember the most fondly? <Springe takes a puff from his cigarette: An almost disparate drag. He holds on this moment for dramatic effect and resumes speaking> Learning how to treat patients. <The lounge around him stares silently, thinking how out of character this was for him, and they were waiting for the inevitable fake-out> I’m serious, guys. Normally, I’m not an empathetic person, which makes you wonder why I got into this, but those instructors really beat those flaws out of you. They take the flaw you had before and make it into an entirely different character flaw, actually. «You went from not caring to caring too much?» Precisely, Luna! Passion took its cold, meaty hands and frightened the criminal in me. «How do you know my-» In anatomical dissection, the words of “you’re special because you’re human” kept banging in my head. It made me realize the place I was in while slicing through the fetus’s flesh. [,] Oh, it’s in my head with a permanent residence. <Luna mumbles to herself> «He’s way too cheery today; he must be manic again.» “You have quite a lot of sympathy for that pig you just dissected, Springe. We have all of those bones to protect that which is most vulnerable inside of us: The gross and mushy stuff.” To which I responded with “shouldn’t you be describing this in a more professional manner?” But I was the fool there, <Springe takes another puff from his cigarette> and the teacher said “toss it in with the rest.” That’s when they threw everything into a biowaste basket and I automatically passed that assignment. Thank God it’s that wonderful education that stopped me from becoming a shrink! <A nurse interrupts Springe, stating he has a patient to see> …What’s their history of cleft palate surgery again? Let me see here… Oh poor thing, it’s her first time.

Virgo: Nonane. It's blah, like my personality. «What about this one?» No, you don't understand; I want something deliberately tacky that we can all wear through the parking garage. «Bluma, there’s nobody here to see us; why do you care how we look?» It’s about how we look to ourselves! «So, you want to wear something you dislike? …I don’t get you.» I’m an expression you can never solve, Jouka. «Ah… Science has enabled man to split the atom and explore the cosmos, so one day, we’ll be able to solve the mystery of you.» Maybe you can solve this mystery! <Bluma playfully lifts the ephemeral capes from her studded leather boots, stomping them to the ground in a way to assert spatial dominance and showcase their fragrance> «H-holy shit! Where have you been keeping these, girl?» They’re imports. <Jouka ogles her boots while thoughts of how their previous goth fits were never truly complete because they didn’t feature boots like these. A mix of envy and pride fills their heart.> «Imports: How much did you pay?» Well- <skateboards can be heard echoing from the top of the parking garage: They indicate sharp and swift movement alongside a disregard for the physics of the structure> We’ve got company. «Ah yes, those skateboarders must be a threat.» No time for sarcasm, Jouka. «…I’m in agreement with you.» <Crumpled cans fall from the top floor, landing with a light grace and a hollow pang> They’re already attacking <Bluma quickly pulls out a retractable baton hidden in the new boots, making an intimidating clang.> Oh shit, I didn’t think you took that as that big a threat. «You agreed, didn’t you?» To a degree, hon. <Brandishing her boots once more, Bluma readies her legs to begin rushing into the building> «What’s the holdup: Are you not confident enough?» You let your worldview get shaken by what the books say: How are you more confident than me? <The cans from before explode violently, leaving a hazy smoke cloud in their wake. What happened to the two?>

Sagittarius: 2,2,5-Trimethylhexane. <Rossouw wipes the sweat off her brow and tries to avoid the pain she’s receiving from both the sunlight-induced headache and the memories plaguing her thoughts> Two parallel assholes in my life: Unbelievable! After everything I’ve been through, I’m at the end of the road again. I keep going at it, thinking things will change this time in an epic twist of fate, but fate always wins! The songs I sing, the art I make: All things I do to spiritually reinforce a positive ending get flipped on me. The mystics tell me it’s to learn a lesson, but I think that’s what they say to soothe the suffering. <Rossouw keeps monologuing to herself in a self-repeating way, constantly wondering what went wrong. This continues until she’s at the brink of realizing something life-changing, only for it to be interrupted by someone asking for directions> «Hey, do you know where these roads diverge?» <Rossouw communicates almost automatically> Yeah, they diverge about four miles down from this station. <Afterwards, she is utterly dazed at the fact that talking with this white man in a jeep completely erased her newfound knowledge. A great insecurity overtakes her, feeling like the opportunity has already left her, she tries to compensate immediately for the otherwise profound grief this would bring her> Hey, do you want to hear a story? «I got five more days here, so go ahead.» During my time where I was stationed in Uganda, I met a petite woman: She looked like someone suffering immense grief, like a massive opportunity was taken from her. I approached her and asked what was wrong, and she replied “my daughter’s gone: They took my daughter away from me!” I was immediately worried and replied “was it the terrorists?” And she replied “no, it was the American couple who came and took my baby!” Turns out, their child was stolen from them because of international adoption policies. That's fucked up, huh? «Uh, yeah. You know, I was expecting a more… wholesome story?» Right, right. I’m so sorry, holy shit. «Thanks, goodbye.»

#Zodipunc #Zodiaccupuncture #Libra #Cancer #Virgo #Sagittarius

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amarauder · 5 years ago

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Fonzo, the Alleged - Peter Parker x Reader [ Part Two ]

001. fatso, the alleged

PAIRING; Peter Parker x reader

DATE; 12.26.19

WORD COUNT; 8891

WARNING; Bad words, bad writing, fighting, smoking and bad tendencies mentioned, etc.

A/N; I apologize in advance. I really don't like the ending but I have rewritten the ending so many times and I can't seem to get it right. But here it is. So... Also, I did not get Peter's personality right at all but I kind of imagined he would be nervous around her at first then kind of get used to her presence in his house, but then I realized as someone who literally is a girl version of Peter Parker that if someone was that rude then I would never get used to them. But I don't know and I tried to get their chemistry right and tried to make their relationship seem natural but it was rather difficult figuring out a reason to hate Peter and have them gradually start to crush on each other when they haven't even met each other at the very beginning and half way through is when I reveal that they hate each other. But whatever. Let me know what you think and also a big shout out to pparkerwrites for giving me the motivation to start my own. Guys go read hers they are so amazing like I can't even describe how good they are! I couldn't stop reading it and you know it's good when you binge read. Jesus this is a along A/N.

TRAILER; In which Peter Parker accuses Fatso of eating his science project, even though he should have known better to choose a mouse instead of a frog.

It was late in the night, almost morning and she had pushed off her final History project until the very last minute. It was a usual occurrence for Y/N, something that happened way too often but she never seemed to learn from.

It wasn't like she meant to procrastinate though, it's just so many things pile up on her to do list: like watching Netflix, driving her new car, reading fan fiction, reading more fan fiction until it was almost midnight and she realized she still had to do the work that was due the next day.

It was a routine, an unhealthy one, but a productive one nonetheless.

Yawning into her hand, she glanced at how many slides she had left and decided to take a quick break. It wasn't like she could concentrate anyway with the commotion Peter made next to her.

When she had first moved in, all of his moaning and groaning had made her wonder what he was really doing up there and whether she should interrupt his special time to get some sleep or not. But then minutes turned to hours and she realized, or more like hoped, that no one could go on doing the dirty for that long.

She found out later that Peter suffered through night terrors just like her.

Accidentally stumbling over Fonzo as she got up, she cursed her way to her bed and grabbed her phone. The only light on was the lamp on her desk and considering the time she doubted any other lights would be on in the apartment. Using the flashlight on her phone was a must.

She grabbed Fonzo along the way, smothering the poor thing in apologetic kisses despite that Y/N could only guess that food would be the best apology for a cat.

She passed Peter's door on the way to the kitchen. It was quiet inside there, almost too quiet. Despite her debating, she decided to go in. Whenever she had gotten up to get a midnight snack or just was not able to fall back asleep after a rather brutal nightmare, more often than not, she would always hear some sort of noise coming from Peter's room.

She set Fonzo down and covered part of the flashlight with her hand as she opened the door. She was just making sure he was okay, it's not like it's a privacy violation or anything. He could be dying in his room for all she knew and she just needed to check he was doing alright. The light from her phone shone into a tiny sliver of his room, she felt Fonzo brush against her calf but thought nothing of it.

She peeked over towards Peter and saw his eyes shut tightly. Her brow furrowed, a hair was out of place and Y/N reached out to brush it back into place until a hissing noise startled her. She spun around to see Fonzo about to pounce on Peter's bed. If she weren't snooping around and was about to get caught, Y/N would have enjoyed seeing Peter's startled expression. She was tempted too but Y/N knew Peter was too smart to buy any of her excuses and she had already had enough embarrassing encounters with the boy earlier, she didn't feel the need to add to the list.

Just as she took off, she saw Fonzo bounce off the carpet. Her heart leapt into her throat as she hit his dresser, knowing she probably woke him up from the sound she ran faster and did not stop until she reached the kitchen.

She slammed the lights on and walked towards the cupboard that held the cups, her heart was still banging around in her chest and she was having trouble getting her breaths and thoughts together.

What had she even been doing in there?

Reaching out to touch the dumbass' hair?

How tired was she?

Was she on her period? Y/N always seemed to become delusional with wanting a boyfriend whenever she was riding the crimson wave, but really out of all the boys at her school, her hormones chose Peter? He basically didn't even count as a boy.

She had heard him shriek like a little girl a few days ago and Y/N would bet anything that he was scared of spiders.

She heard cursing upstairs and a loud bang. Y/N sighed and decided to grab two mugs instead of just one, she had a feeling it would be a long time until she got to finish the damned assignment.

She had been right. Peter stomped down the stairs holding Fonzo at an arms width, she had never seen him mad before and she was suddenly scared that he would throw her beloved cat across the room.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had raced across the room and took Fonzo back in her arms and was glaring at Peter with distrust, as if it was his fault that Fonzo was with him. "Do you not know how to carry an animal? Are you seriously that scared of Fonzo?"

"In case you've forgotten, which obviously you have, I am allergic to cats." Peter is not in fact allergic to cats and Y/N knew that for a fact, he had a habit of reaching out for Fonzo too many times. The poor boy never learned to wait for Fonzo to come to him and to never ever grab him off the ground or if he was sleeping.

"What a pity," Y/N said with pursed lips ignoring his lie and instead held Fonzo out towards him, "Are you deathly allergic?"

Peter rolled his eyes and Y/N was expecting a snarky remark back but was interrupted by the whistling of the boiling pot. She winced and quickly took it off, worried about waking up May and her Mother. She poured the water into two mugs and placed tea bags in them. "What are you doing up?" She asked him as innocently as she could muster when she grabbed honey and lemon.

"I could be asking you the same thing."

Y/N stopped cutting to give him a look from over her shoulder, "Sorry, I forgot you were five and still pout like a baby."

"Well, you must be pretty dumb to be in the same grade as a baby."

She let her knife hover over the lemon for a second before putting it down, she was a bit concerned for Peter it wasn't like him to be picking for a fight. That was her job and she wasn't about to get replaced. "Alright. What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"W-what?" Peter blanched and looked at her like she had grown two heads which would be pretty cool in Y/N's opinion.

Sighing as if her explanation was going to take a lot of energy that she didn't want to waste on him, "It's an expression, Parker. I thought you were smart enough-"

"No, I know that. I've just never actually heard someone say it other than my Grandfather."

"Fine, what's gotten you so upset? Does that work for you or do I have to word it different for you, millennial?"

Peter snorted and rubbed his eyes, "Your stupid cat woke me up."

"Ya, no shit. He's nocturnal Parker. That was bound to happen eventually." Y/N said and slid the tea towards him.

He mumbled a thanks before taking a sip, he blanched and Y/N raised an eyebrow. "It's hot." He protested weakly and blew on it.

"I know." Y/N said and threw away the lemon remnants and picked up her mug. "Come on, I need to finish a stupid assignment and I am guessing you didn't bring your phone or flashlight down?"

Peter shook his head and shut the lights off in the kitchen. The walk to their bedroom was silent. She hadn't expected anything more or less but she had been thinking about Peter a lot lately- a horrible habit of hers that she loathed more than anything- she just couldn't get him to stray away from her thoughts.

Ever since the stupid car ride from earlier that day, she couldn't stop thinking about him. He had just blatantly admitted he was having nightmares in front of a girl who had been rude to him for the start. And there had been the fact that he had let the dancing go. And there was also her stupid thought that was really the worst part of it all. Did she really think he was cute?

His hair was always in messy curls that drove Y/N crazy, along with that stupid eyebrow. But that was just her OCD right?

He was always late to everything and always looking out of breath as if he had just finished saving the world or something. Sometimes he would never even show and would just come up with some lame ass excuse that it seemed everyone else but her would buy!

He was ridiculously nerdy and would go into rampant rants about science and Star Wars even though he knew she would never answer back.

And that was another thing, he was too nice! It drove her mad. Even after months of poking fun at him and trying to at least get one reaction out of him, he finally lost his temper tonight and to her cat no less! It was absolutely ridiculous. Right when he is starting to grow on her is when-No, she stopped herself, he is not starting to grow on her and she needs to stop thinking about him now. He was annoying and made her move her and she hated him.

"Goodnight," he said curtly and stepped into his room before popping his head back out the doorway, "And say goodnight to Fatso for me."

Y/N laughed, "I thought you were allergic to him?"

Peter turned red and scratched his neck awkwardly, "Just, umm, ya, still am obviously."

Y/N smiled softly and rolled her eyes. He was such an idiot sometimes.

—-

One of the best things in the world were naps. They were just so very convenient. In a bad mood? Take a nap. Tired? Take a nap. Peter blames Fonzo for eating his science project? Take a nap.

It really worked wonders and Y/N couldn't help but be thankful for them. She had just woken up a few minutes ago to Fonzo curling up to her wanting to join in on her afternoon slumber. She sighed, she knew she should get up. It was already dark outside and she had missed dinner.

Peter was hopefully asleep by now, not like she was camping up in her room hiding from him or anything. Y/N merely just was really enjoying her lazy day.

She sighed and stared at the wall a bit more, before getting up. She cringed and shut her eyes tightly willing the dizziness that came from getting up too fast to go away or maybe from hunger. She really needed to eat, in the fridge downstairs there was some leftover pizza from two nights ago that was calling her name.

But what if Peter was still awake. Sure, it was dark outside but thanks to his Peterness he had lost his rat and had blamed it on poor Fatso. She grabbed her phone and scratched the cat behind his ears, he mewled and she checked the time. He was most likely still up, she sighed but still decided to brave her future.

She grabbed a protesting Fatso for extra bravery and put the flashlight on, she was overwhelmed with flashbacks from a few nights ago. She shook her head and wondered when Peter had become such a big part of her life. They had had the biggest fight they had ever had, just a few nights ago. Y/N insisting that Peter's unmistakable unorganization had caused him to lose his experiment while he blamed poor, innocent Fonzo. They both had been stubborn and Peter had even gone far enough to take the subway.

It surprised Y/N how much she missed him.

Stumbling over air, she cursed and realized she had fallen right in front of Peter's door. Lovely, someone up there must really love her. She peeked inside to see Peter hunched over a computer and what seemed like a wreath of papers surrounded him. He looked deep in thought and guilt coursed through her veins. She chewed on her lip and double checked the time, it wasn't too late, she could easily heat up the pizza and then grab her own finished product of the same project and maybe help him.

But what if he didn't want her help? He loathed her enough to not ride with her, and it is your fault the rat is gone something whispered inside of her. She shook those thoughts away, it was not her fault. Except it was, Peter had lost the rat the same night Y/N had accidentally let Fonzo into his room to check on him while he was sleeping, and miraculously the cage had been knocked over that same night. Y/N knew she had crashed into the dresser that night but she couldn't quite remember where the cage was.

During her thought process, Fonzo had wandered into the room and snuggled up against Peter's leg. Her eyes widened and she hurriedly hid behind the wall and peeked over. He cooed at the animal and scratched him.

It was all she needed to sprint to her the kitchen and to her room to grab her project.

——

She walked into the room shyly, with the papers behind her back. Peter hadn't noticed her presence yet and it wasn't until Fonzo got up from his place between in Peter's lap to come towards her did he look up. A flash of what looked like guilt passed through his features before he continued his work.

She sighed and sat down next to him, she threw the stack of papers onto his lap before picking up his analysis. It didn't make much sense and she had a feeling that Peter had forgotten to fill out the chart everyday and had accidentally left it to last minute only to lose the damn thing.

She glanced at Peter to see him looking through her papers with interest and she decided to pipe up, "What did you name the rat?"

Peter looked up in surprise, "What?"

"What did you name the rat?"

He looked at her as if she was crazy, "Um," he glanced at his computer, "Test subject number one."

Y/N started to giggle, "You didn't name it?"

"No!" He cringed at himself before lowering his voice to a softer tone, "No, I mean, we are going to have to dissect it anyway. I just didn't want to get too attached to it."

"Oh," Y/n said surprised before sporting a smirk and poking his cheek, "Didn't know you were such a softie, Parker."

"Didn't know you harbored such a malicious murder in your house, L/N."

Y/N scoffed but lied nonetheless, "For the last time, Fonzo did not eat him. He is way too picky to eat your disgusting lab rat. Besides, you should just be happy that I am helping you, Parker. Judging by your analysis and empty table you did not check it's well being everyday which would cause you to lose points even if you didn't lose the rat."

"I don't believe you."

Y/N rolled her eyes, something she seemed to do a lot more since she met him, "Ya, well you should."

"Why? Because you are helping me? I personally think it's the guilt that is eating you alive knowing that Fonzo probably did eat my lab rat is prompting you to help me finish your project."

"You mean the project that you still would have failed if you still had Test Subject # 1?" Y/N said as she laid down on her back.

Peter sighed but laid down beside her, his ceiling was covered with flying Star Wars models and those cheesy glow in the dark star stickers that she had when she was young. He was such a child, she loved it. "Well, he's in a better place now, anyway."

Y/N rolled her eyes, "You're so dramatic."

Peter didn't answer, he only continued to stare up at the faintly glowing star stickers as if there were real stars. He reminded her of those movies where the soon to be couple would go out and star at the starry night and contemplate life.

"What do you think happens after we die?"

Oh no, now they were those people in the movie. Damn it, Peter.

She sighed wistfully, she had had many conversations just like this one many times before, "Are you sure you want to go down this path? Because once you go down you can't go back."

Peter laughed but nodded nonetheless. And so, Y/N indulged Peter onto her views of the subject. She talked about how the idea of forever freaked her out and how she hoped that reincarnation exists or how she didn't believe in the idea of a God but did believe in science but there had to be something up there. Some kind of magical being. But the idea of a god did not appease her, she believed that if there was a so called God then they would have the will and strength to end world hunger, global warming, cancer, and have people love each other freely.

Everything was quite bizarre to talk about to someone else about but she found herself enjoying her time with Peter. He was a good listener, he nodded at the right moments, looked generally interested in her views, and even agreed with some parts.

After agreeing that Gods were overrated (oops, sorry Thor and Loki), it was silent for a while. She heard Peter's breathing even out and wondered if he had fallen asleep when he spoke in a hushed tone, "I hope Flash goes to hell."

They looked at each other for a moment, Peter a bit scared for her reaction, when they both burst into laughter at the same time. Peter knew his reaction was more out of nerves and he couldn't help but laugh when she did. He had been ready to go into a ramble about how it seemed to just slip out, and did you know that you become more honest when it's late which makes sense considering it's around 2 in the morning.

Once Peter started to calm down, and finally got his mind back to normal which had seemed to always turn to gush around her, he noticed that Y/N was still laughing. She was almost crying but seemed to realize that Peter was looking at her oddly and put her hand up while trying to say something before turning into a giggling mess again.

Peter had never seen her this happy before, he liked it.

She finally stopped when she started to hiccup. She was clutching her stomach and moaning, "I think I just got a six pack from laughing so hard."

Peter snorted and looked at her with an amused smile, "You know it wasn't that funny."

"I know. I think I am becoming delusional from lack of sleep. I mean if I start to laugh at something you say, you know there has to be something wrong." Peter rolled his eyes and shoved her laughing self. He almost thought his hand might go right through her, she looked too pretty to be real. "Alright, alright, I'll stop. My stomach can't take more of your comedics, Parker."

Peter rolled his eyes, grumbling about how much work they had to do in such a limited amount of time if they wanted to finish in time.

——

Y/N always had a hard time waking up. Her Mother would tell stories about how even when she was young, she would always seem to fall back asleep whenever she tried to wake her and even if she did wake up without falling back asleep it would take her at least an hour to be able to register what was going on. Which was why it was so strange that Y/N woke up with a start and a clear head. She looked around almost panicking. Her phone was nowhere to be seen, which only made it worse. Sunlight was pouring out of the windows and Y/N wanted to cry. They were so late. She was still in Peter's room, who was still sleeping on the floor probably drooling all over the project they hadn't finished, and somehow ended up on the bed.

She raced over to Peter, ignoring her dizziness, "Peter," she said and shook him, "Fuck, wake up. We are so late. Fuck me. Ugh, where is a damn clock?!?"

She paced around as Peter groaned before shooting up and whacking some papers off of his face. He looked at Y/N with blurry eyes before checking the time on his watch. "Oh, fucking hell. We should be just about to end Fourth Period."

Y/N looked as if she was about to cry before she sprinted to her room. She raced around throwing clothes on as she listened to voice mails of her friends. Her partner explained how she had turned the project in and how Mr. Collagen had hired a sub for today.

She stopped mid way of cursing at her stupid bra strap for being so difficult to get on before just kind of standing in the middle of her room laughing. Maybe God was real and was trying to prove it to her, because there was no way in hell that she had gotten so lucky.

She squealed and did her dance, while throwing on the rest of her shirt and hopping her way to Peter's room as she put on her ugg boots. "Peter," she yelled gleefully, "You are never going to believe this."

He looked frazzled as he gathered as many papers together as possible. Some were in his mouth, some were stuffed down his pants which Y/N couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at but decided not to question, "Collagen never showed today, he hired a sub. We are fine."

He stopped in his tracks for a second before racing around and grabbing more papers, "Very funny, L/N. But I don't have time for pranks."

Y/N rolled her eyes and played the voicemail as he listened, his expressions changed so fast Y/N couldn't tell what he was feeling until it ended, he whooped before crashing into her body with a hug and spinning her around, "I am so happy, I could kiss you."

Y/N laughed before gaping at the corner of Peter's room. He froze also and let her down with a bright red face about to ramble thousands of apologies. He turned away from her with clenched fists and tightly shut eyes and deep breaths. How could he have just openly announced his feelings when he had just realized them as he blurted it out?

"Peter," Y/N said breathlessly, her hand fisting the back of his jacket. He turned around awkwardly when he realized she wasn't even looking at him, she was instead gaping at the frazzled rat in the corner of his room.

#peter parker x reader #peter parker #spiderman x reader #spiderman #marvel #mcuspiderman #avengers #tom holland x reader #tom holland

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camillemontespan · 6 years ago

Text

mind over matter [interview with drake walker]

I am rolling about laughing at my attempt to make a magazine cover for Drake. God bless Hugh Jackman as a body claim. Bahahaha.

On a serious note, this covers mental health. I’m not sure how many of my followers suffer from anxiety, depression and everything in between, but I was thinking about writing something different about Drake and it occurred to me that yeah, maybe he could have suffered from depression at some stage in his life.

This piece is inspired by a time when I was with my male friends, we had been drinking and they all got really emotional and started talking about how they were actually feeling and Jesus Christ I didn’t realise how sad they all were. Because they don’t talk about it normally. It took alcohol to get them to open up. So, this has shaped this ‘interview’ with Drake. Just something a bit different. This is part serious, part fluff.

@pug-bitch @jovialyouthmusic @moonlightgem7 @sirbeepsalot @drakesensworld @iplaydrake @dcbbw @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @ifyouseekheart @carabeth @notoriouscs

******************************************************************************************

I am sat outside overlooking the mountains of Valtoria, waiting patiently for the Duke of Valtoria to arrive. I've managed to secure an interview with the notoriously private Drake Walker and honestly, I have no idea what to expect. He often looks serious in paparazzi pictures. He's been known to grumble and not exactly offer a winning smile. I've heard he is fiercely protective of his wife and their daughter and I have also heard that he hates the press. Great news for me.

'Hey there!'

I look around and see the man himself coming out onto the terrace holding two glasses of water. He hands me one and settles down opposite me. 'Sorry for the delay, I was trying to settle Lily down to watch a Disney film.'

He looks.. happy. Smiley. He has a kind face which is a complete contrast to the paparazzi shots that everyone is used to. Drake Walker is wearing jeans, a red Henley shirt and brown boots. Broad shouldered, with a wide chest span and veins that stick out of his arms, he is rugged and handsome, which I think is the reason why so many nobles and commoners alike were laughing when he was named the new Duke of Valtoria. He doesn’t look like a typical Duke but I get the feeling that suits him just fine.

I'm here interviewing him today because he has launched a campaign to promote men's mental heath, which has been named Mind Over Matter. When he first announced the campaign, which centers around men in Cordonia meeting up - Drake included - to go trekking up mountains, kayaking, abseiling, it was dismissed as just an excuse for men to get outdoors and away from family life - Cordonia is very traditional and some might say stuck in the past with emphasis on family and structure, but with King Liam and the Duke of Valtoria at the helm, its becoming thoroughly more modern. That includes encouraging men with depression, anxiety and all mental health issues in between, to get together.

'It's a safe space for men to open up while still enjoying themselves. It's not like therapy where you're stuck in a room talking for 60 minutes about feelings. This is different. While we are trekking up mountains, we talk openly. You forget that it's therapy. It's very freeing. Anyone can sign up and it pushes you to confront your emotions. When you abseil down a cliff side, you feel such adrenaline, like you can do anything. You have to place your initial fears in a box, unpack it then jump off the edge. It’s a symbol and also literally what we do. It's mind over matter.'

The press have wondered what Drake actually knows about mental health. He sighs, clearly used to this question. 'I had depression when I was younger,' he says. 'My dad had died, my sister left, my mother abandoned me and I was left in the palace with no actual role or identity. I was only known as the prince's friend and honestly I felt I had lost who I was. I had no family and I felt very, very alone. I built up these walls and never let anyone in. I tried to protect myself in the worst way.'

I ask how he got out of it. He smiles sadly. 'I still have my dark days,' he admits. 'days where I think I don't deserve this life, this role, this family. I used to rely on whiskey, I used it as a crutch. I still drink whiskey but definitley not at the rate I was drinking it two years ago. Anytime I felt a hint of doubt or anxiety, I would block it out with drink. It was a dark period. I'm better now but I do still struggle. I try my best to pull myself back from that, you know? I have to. I have to for my girls.'

His girls are his wife, Duchess Camille, and their four year old daughter Lily. He married Camille, a New Yorker, four years ago and their daughter followed soon after. The Duke and Duchess have proven to be a breath of fresh air for Valtoria, in that they host an Open House every month for their citizens to meet them to discuss issues. They are young and eager to make a difference, which is in stark contrast to other dukes and duchesses who don't seem to do much for their duchies.

I ask if Camille has helped him with his mental health. 'Definitely,' he answers instantly. 'It's weird, on paper, we shouldn't work as a couple. I can be grumpy, pessimistic, sometimes even rude. A dark cloud on the horizon. But she is all sunshine and positivity. God, the amount of times she's been talking to her girlfriends who are having a crisis and she's like, 'Right come to mine, I’ll get the bottle of wine and we'll just unpack everything you're feeling and talk.' Everyone needs a person like Camille in their corner. I'm lucky I have the genuine article.'

Does she encourage you to talk? 'All the time. She broke down my walls and if she sees me going to a dark place, she tells me she is there and I end up just telling her everything. She's really supportive.'

Has family life changed him? 'Definitely,' he answers, blushing. 'I didn't realise how overprotective I can be. I never visualised myself ever sat down with a child - my own child - watching Peppa Pig but hey, it happened. I know all the kids TV shows now, I know the theme songs. Baby Shark literally plays in my head when I’m trying to get to sleep, its so annoying.. '

Drake is notorious for being overprotective. He went to court to ask for a restraining order against the press when Camille was pregnant, as they kept hounding her. He has ensured that paparazzi are not allowed within 8 feet of his daughter, after photographs emerged of Lily playing in the playground. 'That was a complete violation of her privacy,' he says quietly. 'I was sick to my stomach when those pictures were published. We're trying to bring Lily up as normally as possible and when she sees herself on the front of newspapers, she does get confused because she isn't aware of how well known she is.' He sued the newspaper who printed the images and now if the family are photographed in public, pixels are placed over Lily's face.

Basically, you don't mess with family man Drake Walker.

'I like to think most fathers in my position would do that,' he tells me. 'There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect my family.'

We are interrupted by a small, dark haired girl with big brown eyes. It's Lily. She is wearing a pretty red summer dress embroidered with flowers. 'Daddy, I miss you,' she says quietly.

Drake chuckles. 'Do you mind?' he asks me. I smile and watch as Drake lifts her up onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head.

I bring the conversation back to his campaign. 'The King is involved, as is his brother. Leo loves outdoor things, he's been travelling everywhere. Give him a mountain to climb and he'll happily do it.' Drake is grinning now, his eyes lit up. Lily snuggles into her father and looks at me warily with those big eyes. She is very delicate and pretty, I must say.

I ask if he has raised money for the campaign so far. He nods enthusiastically. 'So far, 2000 euro and the campaign was only announced last week. Many people have donated and the money is going to be split and given to Cordonian charities who advocate mental health support. You can donate when you see what events we have planned. We’re planning to vlog the things we do, not everything, but say if we’re going to go kayaking, we’ll vlog it on the official website and people can watch and donate. It's a big deal.'

I suggest he creates his own charity. Drake smiles. 'Maybe in the future - ow, Lily, did you just bite me?'

He looks down at Lily who is smirking. She actually has his smirk. Drake holds out his thumb to me. 'My daughter bit me for no reason!'

He nudges her playfully then says seriously, 'What have I told you before?'

Lily sighs. 'Biting is bad..'

'Thank you. Let's remember that from now on, shall we?'

He still pulls her in close and gives her a hug. It's obvious he is wrapped around her little finger.

'Who's the bad cop and good cop between you and Camille?' I ask him, gesturing to Lily. Drake laughs. 'Camille is 100% bad cop. Poor woman. She's so lovely but she always adopts the bad cop role. She complains about why she always ends up as the bad cop and I tell her, ‘Babe, you actively put yourself into that role!’ I'm the good cop. I'm a cool fun dad, huh Lily?'

Lily giggles. Drake winks at me. 'She definitely agrees.' I melt.

'I do tell her off though,' Drake continues. 'I don't want her to be a brat. No, if she does something wrong, I will pull her up on it. It's just Camille is the one who tends to take away Peppa Pig privileges.'

'How do you maintain a normal family life when you've got this world of titles and nobility?'

Drake considers the question. 'You just have to stay grounded and remember where you came from. I think everyone assumed that as soon as Camille and I were made Duke and Duchess, we would become tyrants! No way in hell was that gonna happen,' he chuckles. 'Honestly, we're pretty chill. We have a small household of staff and we have assistants to help with our diaries, but really, we do try our best to just be Drake and Camille. We treat it like a working day. So from 9-5, we're noble, we’re the Duke and Duchess of Valtora. From 5pm onwards, we are ourselves. Camille gets changed out of her usual Duchess outfits and into jeans and an oversized sweater. If the cook has made dinner, she leaves it in the kitchen for us to help ourselves. We are very self sufficient though, I hate the fact we actually have a cook but sometimes it gets so hectic, you need that sort of privilege. In the evening, Camille and I sit out on our balcony, me with a glass of whiskey, Camille with a glass of sauvignon blanc, and we just laugh and talk.'

Do you do normal couple things, I ask. He stares at me, dumbfounded. ‘Well, yeah. We’re a normal couple, of course we do!’

I can’t visualise them on date nights or watching box sets. Drake laughs, a deep hearty laugh that is so unexpected. ‘Oh god, we love a box set. We’re re-watching Stranger Things at the moment before the new series starts again.’

‘You watch Stranger Things!’ I exclaim and Drake nods. ‘Yeah! We love that show! Camille adores Will, he’s like her TV baby.. ‘ I try to imagine the two of them sat on the sofa watching the show. It’s hard to see. Drake continues. ‘It’s hard to watch anything during the day though, Lily commands the TV when she’s home from nursery. She’s obsessed with The Greatest Showman right now, constantly sings the songs and has the album on repeat. She wants to have her own circus.’

He looks down at Lily and his face softens. 'We want to be normal parents for Lily. We don't have nannies, we are not going to send her to a boarding school when she's older and she was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Yeah, she was born into privilege but I really want her to grow up aware of the world. You see so many kids who think chauffeur driven cars and fancy houses are the norm. I want her to be a child first, daughter of a Duke and Duchess second.'

Drake is originally from Texas while Camille is New York born and bred. Do the family visit the States often? Drake nods. 'We've got a brownstone in New York and we see my mom every summer. Texas is really important to us.'

Drake and Camille got married at the Walker ranch in Texas and although the press wasn't allowed, a photograph was released, with Drake and Camille's permission. It showed the newlyweds at their first dance and Drake has dipped Camille down near the floor and kissing her. It's a candid, beautiful moment that was caught on camera forever and published on the front page of The Valtorian Herald. 'We allowed that photo to be released because we wanted our duchy to see us as actual humans, not these stuffy nobles. It was kind of like an introduction to us.'

It is clear that Drake isn't comfortable with being a Duke. Not that he doesn't like the role, he stresses, 'with my position, I can use my platform to reach out to people about things that matter and they will listen,' but the fancy title and the trappings that come with that don't seem to sit right with him. I've interviewed many dukes in the past who show me their yachts and horses, keen to show a life that I could only dream of. Drake doesn't do that. ' I'm not materialistic in the slightest,' he admits. 'I would be happy living in a cabin in the woods with my wife and daughter if given the chance. Hell, maybe one day..'

His wishful thinking could come across as ungrateful, except the way his eyes light up when he talks about living in cabins and being outdoors actually makes you smile. He may be a Duke by name but underneath, he is still Drake Walker.

I ask him where Camille is today. He smiles proudly at the mention of her name. 'She's visiting the children's hospital this morning. She adores children, honestly.'

I joke that maybe she is planning to add to their small family. Drake smiles bashfully and holds Lily a little closer. 'She wants a whole brood,' he says. 'Maybe soon, who knows..'

He looks like he's gone into a daydream so I clear my throat to bring him back to earth. He turns red and runs a hand through his hair. 'Sorry!'

Lily clambers off his lap, repeating the word 'cookie...' Drake stops her. 'Have you finished your breakfast?'

She nods. Drake raises an eyebrow before saying, 'Fine.' Lily beams and runs back into the manor. I ask Drake if the King will be climbing mountains for the mental health campaign. Drake nods, amused.

‘All the guys I know are getting involved. I've even got the Beaumont brothers taking part. Maxwell has told me he's packing every kind of snack he can fit into his rucksack and Bertrand.. Oh god, Bertrand.. I imagine he will be like an army captain shouting orders and telling us we've had enough rest. Or, he will be a baby and crawl up the mountain. There will be no in between with Betrand. Leo and I have a bet on to see how long he lasts.' He chuckles, showing he's just teasing the Duke of Ramsford.

They are a close knit group. Many paparazzi shots have been taken of Camille and her friend Hana Lee walking down the street grabbing coffee to go. Maxwell Beaumont has an Instagram account which boasts 1 million followers, which shows images of his everyday life - Drake and Camille are rarely in his photos as the couple are so private, but Maxwell does occasionally post photos of Drake and Camille when they are attending royal events, captioning them with descriptions such as 'I LOVE Camille's dress here!' or, the photo that went viral a year ago showing Camille talking to the King and Drake was just looking at her with a dopey smile on his face. Maxwell captioned it, 'THE FEEEEEEELS!!' and the photo was posted everywhere. Drake groans. 'It trended on Twitter. It became a meme. Memes saying: Find a guy who looks at you like Drake looks at Camille.' Camille was laughing so much, she thought it was sweet.'

I assume Drake doesn't like to show off his tender side. He stiffens and bites his lip. 'I only really show that side of myself to my wife. That's what I need to work on and try keep my walls down. That's why I need this mental health campaign too, to show me its also okay to be open and it's okay to talk about feelings. Men are taught that they have to be macho all the time and it's unhealthy. It needs to change and men need to talk about how they feel otherwise they will feel alone and that's why suicide rates in young men are so high at the moment. I hope I can change this and also learn from it myself.’

We are interrupted by the appearance of Lily again. She comes out onto the terrace holding out three cookies. She hands me one shyly then gives one to Drake, before climbing back onto his lap. Drake grins at me.

‘See, my daughter may bite people but at least she’s got manners and gifts you cookies.’

He brings her into a bear hug and I decide to wrap up the interview there. He stands up to give me a hug and I try my best not to inhale his woody, masculine smell. He walks me back to my car. ‘Thank you for interviewing me,’ he says. ‘I don’t usually have interviews but since Mind Over Matter was launched, I want to get it out there. So thanks.’ He shoots me a bashful smile and waves me off as I pull away from the drive.

As this issue goes to print, Drake has raised a further 4000 euro and the group of men signed up to the campaign has doubled in size. Maxwell Beaumont videos the group as they hike up mountains, kayak down rivers, abseil and build campfires. Drake is in the middle of it all, getting stuck in and talking about his mental health. He looks at peace and you can tell he is in his element. This is the Duke of Valtoria but more importantly, this is Drake Walker.

#drake walker #the royal romance

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snapheart1536 · 6 years ago

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Logic IV

(Philippa Gregory Special!)

Incest

Richard III, a man in his thirties, has an affair with his adolescent niece.

Philippa Gregory: "Oh it's SO BEAUTIFUL!!! How romantic! How sweet! They shall bring the Golden Age of Camelot again!"

Anne Boleyn sleeps with her brother George.

Philippa Gregory: "OH DEAR GOD THE HORROR!!! OMIGOD HOW LOW CAN SHE SINK!!! PERVERT!!! EEW LOOK AT THE MUTANT FŒTUS!!!"

Makes sense.

Adultery

Mary Boleyn claims to practically worship Katherine of Aragon, yet delights in sleeping with Henry VIII.

She has two kids by him (including A Precious Boy) and has the brass neck to expect her husband to take them as his own.

Philippa Gregory: "Yes, but she Respects Katherine, so that makes it okay. At least she didn't hold out for marriage, which would be morally indefensible. Only whores do that. Good girls know their place."

Anne Boleyn won't sleep with Henry until he's left Katherine.

Philippa Gregory: "FILTHY DIRTY WHORE!!! SHE DEFILED A SACRED UNION!!! SHE WANTED MARRIAGE LIKE A SLUT!!!"

Makes sense.

Deception

Katherine of Aragon lies about her marriage to Arthur so Henry will marry her.

Philippa Gregory: "How noble to consider only herself when she's suffering! How gracious to lose her True Love and yet remember her own interests! Don't you understand she is the Chosen One? God Wants Her To Lie, so it doesn't count. She MUST do this to build the Earthly Paradise she and Arthur planned. It's for the Greater Good."

Anne Boleyn lies about a marriage to Henry Percy so Henry will marry her.

Philippa Gregory: "Can you believe some people lie to get what they want? She LIED. It's like totally the same as genocide. Hah, but wasn't really a queen was she? Ha! At last I have invalidated the bitch! Would you credit that she had the nerve to expect marriage pretending to be a virgin? What kind of diabolical old trollop would do that? Saint Katherine the Martyr would never do such a thing."

Makes sense.

Child Murder

Margaret Beaufort murdered the Princes in the Tower so her son could be king.

Philippa Gregory: "VILE OLD CRONE!!! WHORE OF SATAN!!! SHE DRANK THEIR BLOOD!!!"

Elizabeth Woodville is a witch and curses her enemies' children, meaning the daft bitch kills off her own descendants.

Philippa Gregory: "Isn't she just the best? I love her!"

Makes sense.

Accuracy

Philippa Gregory likes slandering people she hates.

Gregory's Fangirls: "Oh for God's sake! It's FICTION!!! Nobody expects it to be totally right. Is it her fault the public are too STOOPID to know that?"

Five minutes later:

Gregory's Fangirls: "What you defending Anne Boleyn for anyway? She was A TOTAL BITCH to her poor sister. I know because the book told me and Dear Pippa wouldn't lie to me because she wouldn't."

Philippa Gregory keeps names the same so it's clear who you're meant to hate.

Gregory's Fangirls: "Oh honestly! I'm sick of this assumption that Dear Pip's books are made up. It's a complete misconception. Us clever people rise above this populist nonsense. I mean, there actually WAS a woman named Anne Boleyn and she DID get beheaded! What more do you want? The effort it must've took to include such weighty facts! The sacrifices she made just to please you pedants! Where's her Victoria Cross?"

Makes sense.

Adaption

Philippa Gregory changes history for her novels.

Philippa Gregory: "No I don't, it's word-for-word what happened. I'm famous for it you know. Don't come to me with your so-called 'evidence', you tiresome oik. Don't you know that I am a Visionary? My Art speaks to a truer Truth than your supposed 'sources' ever could."

Philippa Gregory's novels are changed for film and television.

Philippa Gregory: "OMIGOD I feel violated! They changed it? They tampered with its beauty? THEY RAPED MY BABY!!! It's my ART damn you! Some things are sacred! ART!!!"

Makes sense.

#Philippa Gregory #Tudors #Tudor History #Logic

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dukeofriven · 6 years ago

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Let Boys Love Girl Things

For a deeply depressed, angry, and vitriolic bisexual 20-something who stumbled out of a toxic 2-year intensive college program confused as fuck about his gender and hurting everyone around him, it is with no exaggeration that I say My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic’s low-key stakes, warmth, humour, kindness, and utter lack of cynical irony was my first step on the road not only to recovery but coming even sort of close to having an accord with my identity. So I quite frankly I am exhausted that I have spent nine years being judged on the behaviour of a fandom group from 4chan. Nine years ago there was a gross perpetuation of toxic masculinity where men were ridiculed en-masse for liking a “girl’s show,” a campaign of derision that only intensified as the worst elements of 4chan gave everyone the evidence they seemed to want to justify their snap-judgement that boys liking girls shows was fundamentally weird, gross, and worthy of censure. We like to clap ourselves on the back for how woke we are now. There’s no discourse that says it is “skeevy” that men enjoy She-Ra, and petulant MRAs on Reddit getting upset about the show’s new ‘feminist’ agenda is considered to be representative of nothing other than petulant MRAs on Reddit, not the She-Ra fandom as a whole. Steven Universe is triumphed everywhere as a victory for better masculinity - without anyone ever noting that Steven would love every single moment of My Little Pony: FiM. He’d cry at the wedding, and he’d weep at the destruction of the library, and he’d think the Storm King was an effective villain while Connie rolled her eyes and tried and failed to point-out the weak characterization. Steven would cheer and cry every time a villain was redeemed through the power of love and friendship. Because he’s Steven, and he loves schmaltz, and it’s okay for a boy to like schmaltz. If we truly believe that, as we say we do, it’s time let the habit of shaming boys who liked a cartoon show go. It’s been a decade. Yes: MLP: FiM had a disgusting contingent of its fandom. You know what other franchise has that problem? A little film series you might have heard of called Star Wars. A contingent of Star Wars fandom was so racist it drove actors of colour off of twitter because it piled hate upon them. It was so misogynistic that somebody out there recut the entirety of The Last Jedi so that men save the day and all the women get reduced to bit parts. And yet if I see a Star Wars avatar my first assumption generally isn’t “oh you like Star Wars, so you must therefore be a misogynistic racist.” Because statistically speaking, you aren’t - just like, statistically speaking, the men who liked My Little Pony weren’t 4chan users. Not that most people bothered to find that out, because - shockingly - the worst elements had loud voices and got all the press, and the standard we applied to them was so entrenched in patriarchy that none of us wanted to accept that men could like the girls show without it being some gross violation of the proper order. I’m tired of that. The show’s been on nine years - long enough that kids who grew up watching it are old enough to start entering “The Discourse Space,” and what kind of example do we want to set for them that a show that might have meant so much to them growing up is given a defacto label of deviancy? ”Adult males like this show about the little kiddie ponies - that’s so creepy.” There’s a point I want to make here that I think really needs to be said so I am going to make it large

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a show for children; it is not a show about children.

What do I mean by this? Adventure Time is the story of Finn, a 12-year-old. Steven Universe is a show about Steven Universe, a 12-year-old. Ok K.O. is a show about K.O. a 6-11 year-old. Avatar: The Last Airbender is about a group of kids aged 11-14. She-Ra is a show about Adora who is… 16-ish? 17? And so on.

MLP:FiM is a show about 20-somethings. It’s a show about a grad student, a small business owner, a baker, a farmer, an environmental technician, a… trust fund baby?*... and, later, a former dictator. Yes, there are some kid characters, but the primary cast are all young adults who’ve reached adulthood and found themselves having to learn over and over again all sorts of shit they really ought to have known by now but don’t. It is, in short, a story about Millennials: an entire generation who reached adulthood not knowing what that meant or how to cope. Every time you laugh at the characters and go “how do they not know this [obvious thing that is obvious to adults]” you do so while watching a children’s cartoon rather than paying your taxes because you’re still not sure how to do that properly and are just low-key freaking out about it and hoping the problem goes away on its own. I speak from experience. The list in endless: we might ridicule the ponies ignorance at social graces, but i’ve been on this hellsite long enough that I’m pretty sure most of you are social-anxious neurotics who cock-up just as often and just as spectacularly as any pony on the show.

I’ve grown up in-sync with these characters. I’ve seen them go from floundering at 20 to sorta getting their act together and coming to grips with adult life as they reach 30. I’ve seen them become successful, get new jobs, start new careers. There have been episodes about how to deal with parents who embarrass you, how to get your parents to understand that you’re an adult now and want to be treated that way. There str stories about how to handle deadbeat older brothers who won’t stop mooching off your emotional labour, and how to mourn parents who’ve died. There are also stories about the byzantine nature of school regulation. (If next season is all about Twilight Sparkle reforming the Equestrian tax code it will be entirely in keeping with the adult-life-trend the show has been on for a while.)

My point with all this is that the “liking the kid’s show” narrative is disingenuous in the way it frames fans as creepy. To get tu quoque about it all I could raise my hand and point at all you adults gushing about all these kid protagonists in your favourite cartoon shows and go “Isn’t that CREEPY and GROSS you DEVIANTS” and on and on and on.

But I won’t.

Because it was never really about that, was it? It’s never been about that.

It was, at first, about what it was and wasn’t okay for boys - for men - to like. As a kid who’d been mercilessly bullied for being even the tiniest bit effeminate, openly embracing the fact that I liked this show about the colourful cartoon ponies felt like painting a target on my back. As for the boys younger than me - the boys still in high school in 2010 and 2011 who openly embraced this show? Braver than any US marine. When this all started it was about policing what was ‘appropriate’ for boys - nobody gave the adult Transformers fandom the same kind of shit, I assure you. It was about patriarchy - and how unwilling we all were to let go of it, no matter how progressive we told ourselves we were. Just like any moral panic, it developed a far more disturbing tone of disapprobation because if a handful of fans on 4chan were creepy than surely all the fandom was creepy. I’ve had plenty of fun mail in my inbox as people with cartoon avatars told me my opinion was invalid because I had an avatar from a different cartoon show. If I had an MP avatar that made me a “brony,” which made me a creepy MRA edgelord. Never mind that I don’t even use the term, and haven’t since… well, since the grossest elements of 4chan got it tattooed on their phalluses and trumpeted it to the heavens as the calling card of their misogyny.

There was a moment, I think, back in the halcyon days of 2010 and 2011 where we could have taken this another way. Where, socially, the rise of boys watching ‘the girl’s show’ was treated as a breakthrough, as a paradigm shift, as something to be celebrated and nurtured instead of something to revile like an anti-homosexual PSA from the 1950s. “Can’t let the adult men near that children’s show, who knows what might happen. They might repeat the trends that all fandoms have done for decades upon decades - the horror!”

We could have been better - but we weren’t. We mocked, and clutched our pearls, and looked appalled, and in doing so we fed the trolls all the ammunition they’d ever need to turn themselves into The Poor Oppressed Babies who just wanted to be left alone to watch their ponies and belittle women in peace. So the gender-questioning bi boy trying to feel good about himself got rounded-up with the usual 4chan suspects because we both enjoyed the same television program.

Patriarchy is not an external force with its boot upon our necks: it is a collaborative social effort, reinforced both consciously and sub-consciously every day. The internet of the early 2010s was a very different place, and the decisions we made then still live with us today. If we want to stop the perpetuation of toxic masculinity, we have to ourselves cease to perpetuate it. There’s an entire generation of queer boys and non-binary boys and non-bro cis-boys - the kind who cry and care and give a shit about kindness - who have grown up on Steven Universe and Adventure Time and yes, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. These are boys who deserve to have a better place prepared for them than I had, one that isn’t still littered by the baggage of all the dumb stupid crap from 2010 and 2011.

It’s time to let the ghost of Toxic 4chan Fandoms Past go already, and let this show about cartoon ponies be free to entertain and delight without incurring a moral inquisition. Life is so bad right now, the news is so dire. Curl up with My Little pony: Friendship is Magic and let all its goodness, and kindness, and laughter, and caring carry you away and remind you that we can still tell stories about worlds in which those virtues are treasured. Let the show stand on its actual merits, and not the cultural lodestones of long-gone reprobates. And stop granting the phantoms of 4chan the power to say anything meaningful in 2019.

_________________ *Serious question: what does Fluttershy do for a living? Like, as her job? For most of the series? She’s the only one who doesn’t have a meaningful career, and after meeting her enabling parents you just know she’s been living off pre-existing savings for years (she’s thrifty like that).

[Note: this post was originally posted in this thread. It has since been re-edited and slightly modified.]

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 6 years ago

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CSUAVS prt 39 update

Taking the Telula from the Atlas to New Altea, via direct wormhole, Lance had missed his girl. He was up on his feet and on crutches... after the wheelchair they tried to stick him in mysteriously ended up taking a trip out the airlock at Lance's earliest convenience. Crutches weren't without their problems, like the way they irritated his shoulder and his even more fucked up left hand, but there was no way he was parting with them. He was out of the miserable medical room, and off the Atlas... A free man with the whole universe at his bare feet. Shoes were too much effort. Besides, what was the point of forcing himself into shoes when he was going straight to the hospital after they landed on Altea. Coran now knew about his drug problem... in detailish. Not just that the red liquid helped with pain, but that it was a combination of medications he'd been using to cope. They'd talked a little when he'd seen Daehra giving him injections before he was moved up to the Atlas with that stupid chest infection. It would have only hurt Coran to know that he'd been raped repeatedly for vargas at a time, so he'd smoothly told him that they addicted him while torturing him, which was the real truth of it all. Coran had still cried. Wailed hard enough that the nursing staff on the floor had thought something was wrong and sent Keith in to investigate. Keith, who finally reunited with Kosmo. Kosmo having been in his mother's care to keep him out of everyone's way while both Lance and Keith recovered. Lance had suggested that Keith take him for a walk so he could rest without his head getting stupid again. Landing the Telula in the area designated, Lance stared out at the splendour of New Altea, Allura's statue glowing beneath the golden sun as a beacon of hope for all the planets inhabitants. Lance could find no hope in it. All he could find were bitter memories, and reminders of how weak he was. Besides, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen enough of Allura since she died to have accepted she was never coming back. Turning away from the sight, Lance made his way forward on the crutches. It wasn't like his legs were busted, or the pain between his legs hadn't healed, he was simply too weak after spending four movements in bed to go far without support. If he'd asked, Keith would have been by his side in an instant, but he wanted to do this alone. He wanted to get up and move his body, feel the ache from his protesting wounds and tender sides. He wanted to feel something more than a patient and a burden... "Are you ready, my boy?" Nodding at Coran, Lance moved on. Steps were a bit of bitch, but again, he stubbornly wanted to do things himself. He'd been forced to rely on everyone around him for far too long. All of this... "Voltron family thing" wasn't him anymore. So while he'd racked up a debt to Shiro that he had no idea how to ever pay back, he wasn't able to mend any bridges between him and Hunk. Or Shay... and definitely not with Keith's team. When the initial upset of having Shiro invade his privacy had faded with laughter and a shower with the most amazing man he'd ever met, had passed, it'd all reared its angry head again when he had time to process it all. The fact that Shiro had sent someone to go through his things, his private things, and his ship, make him feel violated all over again. The Telula was his sanctuary. His safe space. The troubles of constantly living in fear of someone who'd raped him magically still being alive and after him, faded away when he was in his quarters. He knew his ship. He knew she'd protect him, like a lion of his making. Now he had to live with the knowledge she'd been violated too. People wouldn't understand if he told him. To them she was just a hulking lump of metal and wires, but to him... she was as good as any flesh and blood person. She'd seen him, night after night, as he cried. She'd listened to him venting over and over, caught his fist when it all became too much and snapped, and helped him build a new family against the evils of the space they shared. It didn't matter that she wasn't the newest or fastest ship out there, because he wasn't the smartest or greatest commander. He loved her for all she was. Leaning heavily on his crutches, Lance decided that going down the ramp was definitely worse than going down the stairs, especially when your boyfriend had a solid bite on his bottom lip and a worried gaze the whole time. How was he supposed to regain strength and all that, if everyone kept doing things for him? He would have felt a tiny bit proud of himself for making it down, if Keith hadn't moved to wrap an arm around his waist the moment the tips of the crutches touched the gravel of the landing area. Staring at his feet, he ignored the feelings of eyes on him. His gaze slowly shifting up to his left hand, which felt like it'd started bleeding again. Like the stupid idiot he was, he'd had a panic attack in the shower, slipping and smacking his left hand into the white tiles... all because he'd heard the steps of one of the nurses delivering something for him and Keith to eat. It had not been his finest varga. He'd lost it completely, back handed Keith, then torn out the cannula from the back of his within a few ticks of slipping. His little finger taking the worst of the damage as he wanted the feeling around his wrist to vanish, and yanked the bandages too hard. After being cleaned up by Daehra, he'd decided his left hand was as good as dead to him for betraying him and not healing fast enough for his own liking... or like it previously would have, had he not turned himself into a walking wound. "Mijo!" Jolting at the familiar voice, Keith leaned in to whisper "Your mother's here..." She was what now? No one had told him about this... Why had they even bothered too? He was supposed to be going straight into surgery, then into a pod, then disappearing in the middle of the night so he could go find out more about those connected to Kre'el. Shiro might have benched him, but that didn't mean he was giving up on finding out answers for himself. He had but a few ticks before his mother was wrapping her arms around him "Mami?" "Oh, my baby. Why didn't you tell me how badly injured you were?" "Mami..." "Veronica let me know all about you being transferred out here for surgery... Your poor shoulder. Your poor hand... oh, my baby boy" Standing stock still, Lance felt like he couldn't breathe. He was making her worry again. He didn't want her to worry. He didn't want to tear his family apart again "Mrs..." Releasing him, Lance's mother drew Keith into a firm hug "None of that, call me mami. It must have been so awful for you too, my dear boy. Thank you for getting my Lance out of there" "Uh... um... Lance was the one who saved me... its my fault he was injured" Keith stuttered out his reply, obviously not knowing how to accept the hug from his mother-in-law "Veronica told me how you made those calls. I don't know what that Kolivan was thinking, not sending help immediately" "There was a miscommunication. Because the address for the comms was unknown, he wasn't able to confirm it wasn't a trap for other Blade operatives. And I don't know what Veronica said, but it was Lance who saved us. He got me out of my cuffs and helped me subdue our captors. It was him who took their comms, and him who stopped us from ending up in the middle of nowhere with a psychopath... I only wish I'd been stronger..." Releasing Keith, his mother looked to him "You did that? You saved both of you?" Hesitantly, Lance nodded "Oh, Mijo... you've always been reckless and impulsive, but you've always known the right thing to do. I might not understand the details, but you did a good job, my son. We can discuss your grounding once you've been through your operation..." Dabbing at his eyes, his mother's words didn't feel real. He'd done a "good job". He. The man who kept fucking up. The one Veronica thought a burden... had done a "good job" "He did more than a good job. He saved a lot of people with his actions" "Spoken like a proud boyfriend. You two did finally..." Lance spluttered, his cheeks dusting red "Oh my god, mami! You can't just ask that" "Why not? It is so good to see you with someone who treasures you for who you are. You've always had such a kind heart, despite your antics. I can't say I approve such dangerous work, but I do sleep easier knowing Keith is there with you" This was a dream. He was freaking dreaming. He'd probably fallen down the ramp and smacked his head or something "And what have I told you about taking our Lord's name in vain" Nope. Not a dream. At least not at she smacked his arm lightly, and scolded him over saying "god" like that "Sorry, mami" "That's better. I'm sorry, Coran. You must be tired from dealing with these two. Both as bad as each other from what Veronica tells me" "Keith isn't as bad as Acxa. She's just upset that she's not the only one in the family dating someone part Galra" "She's quite taken by Acxa, but I didn't know it was all official. She didn't mention that they were finally dating. They're as bad as you two" Keith laughed. Both Lance and his mother looking to him for an explanation "You totally dobbed your sister in" Lance huffed. It was the same at all "So what? She apparently gives running reports to our mother. At least she doesn't know where dating" "That's because we're still working us out before we make everything official. Though with the amount of people in on the secret, I'm sure it'll be everywhere in no time" Clearing his throat, Coran bowed towards Lance's mother "It's an honour to see you again. I'm afraid it seems Altea is to blame for all of this. Lance and Keith were both very brave and carried out there mission with courage" "That's good to hear. We do worry for them both. Oh dear me, Lance. Should you really be on crutches?" "No, he's supposed to be in a wheelchair..." Lance elbowed Keith harder than he intended "Dobber" "I'm not the one who put the wheelchair out the airlock. Don't think I don't know what you did" Lance gaped, before quickly recovering "I was setting it free. You know, releasing it back to the wild. It's happier out there" "It's happier, or you're happier?" "Can't it be both? I'm fine on the crutches. I hurt my arm and my hand, not my legs" Lance's mother gave a light laugh, Coran gave more of a nervous chuckle "We really should be heading into the medical centre" "It's ok if you've got things to do Coran, I know where it is. Plus, someone needs to show my team around. Daehra is particularly interested in Altea" "Are you sure, my boy?" "I'll be fine. You already sent everything through ahead of time. Go tell Allura I'll stop by to see her later" "Alright. Have them call me if there's any trouble at all" "I will" Hobbling away with Keith on one side and his mother on the other, Keith shook his head at him "You totally threw Daehra under the bus just now" "I don't know what you mean" "I didn't hear her say anything on the trip here" "That's because she was in shock. Trust me. She's internally nerding out. Plus, I'm hoping Coran will have something to keep Zak busy. I don't my girl blowing up" "Always the schemer" "When it comes to escaping being smothered. Speaking of which, what else did Veronica tell you?" Looking to his mother, his mother sighed at him "She's just worried about you" "No. She's being nosy" "You were hurt" "And? Did she tell you we had a fight? That she wants me to come back home and stop getting in the way?" "Not in so many words..." Veronica was definitely off the Christmas card list this year "She worries for you" "There's worrying and then there's treating someone like they don't know how to do their job. The only reason she's got to be cranky is the whole heap of bad guys we dropped in their lap" "She said your nightmares came back" "Mami, its fine. I mean, yeah. But I'm having less of them, and I've got Keith now. I'm not coming back home because Veronica says I have to. I'll come back when I feel like I'm ready to. You understand that, don't you?" "Unfortunately. You spent half your life looking up at the stars. I know how lonely you've been not being out here. I just wish you'd take more care" "I know, mami. But it's not just me out here. The people my teams been helping are the like how Earth was under Galra control. They're still scared. They don't know how to help themselves or who to turn to. It feels good being out there" "It's alright to help mijo, but you can't help anyone if you're dead" "I know, mami. I know. Keith's been doing a good job keeping me alive" "I'm most grateful he has. Though I wish you'd fattened him up a bit. You're too thin, my love" "I know. Space doesn't have your delicious cooking" "Then you should come to Earth. Not to stay, if you don't want to, but for a family dinner. Let your father meet Keith properly and let me cook for you" "Mami" "Don't "mami" me in that tone. You always used to give me that tone when I was intruding" "Because you are. Everything's been so busy, we haven't had the time to just sit down and breathe. You know the moment papi sees how strong Keith is, he'll have out there working" "Come now, Lance. Your father isn't that bad. You've missed the junipers blooming, it was beautiful" As if being back on New Altea wasn't enough, now his mother was bringing up the junipers. As far as he was concerned, the whole lot could go up in flames. Not literally, of course. They were a source of income for his parents, who's farm had been struggling before the invasion of Earth. He regretted planting so many, knowing that each plant he'd planted was a silent prayer for Allura to return. It didn't sit right with him to be talking about it all in front of Keith. Keith was his future, and Allura was his past. That was how things needed to stay, and that was how he wanted things to stay. He was now with someone who understood him, all his bad points, who stood on their two feet and wouldn't... hopefully wouldn't leave him. If he'd loved Allura, then he had no words for the depth of love he felt for Keith... Keith who knew his dirtiest secrets, and stayed for some reason. He couldn't quite believe it... part of him didn't believe it, but it was easier to hide that now. It was easier when he was one there for Keith. To calm him. To soothe him with soft whispers after a nightmare. When Keith would get flustered over "not having the right words". Things were easier when the focus wasn't on him... and he felt equal in their relationship... or rather, not a useless burden like he was at the moment. "That sounds nice. How are things on Earth? It's been a while since I went back" "Busy. There's still a lot of cleanup, and organisation of those migrating there permanently. Thanks to Veronica's position on the Atlas, we're still kept in the loop. I ran into Katie while I was waiting for my shuttle. She says "hello, and tells you to call more often". Something about the both of you "flaking from Hunk's party"?" "She doesn't even remember Hunk's party" Mumbling under his breath, Lance was grateful that Keith was covering for him by talking to his mother "What was that?" "Nothing, mami. Keith and I were there" "I know you were dear. Still, you all went through so much together. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I can't believe it" "It was a lot, but we couldn't have made it through without Lance. You raised an amazing man" Lance blushed, his bare feet suddenly exceptionally interesting "I can't take all the credit. Still, you must come for dinner. When you two are ready. Rachel will no doubt pester you. She has a had of riling Lance's feathers. Then again, he's always given as much as he's gotten. There was this one time when she convinced him mud pies were real pies" Oh god. It was date night with Allura all over again "That might explain his love of mud mask" Noooo. Keith wasn't allowed to join in with this "Guys. I'm right here" Leaning in, Keith kissed his cheek "I know, babe. But I'm not going anywhere, ever, so isn't it better if I get along with your family?" Increasing his hobbling speed, Lance threw back over his shoulder "I hate both of you" Sharing a look, Keith and his mother seemed to instantly be on the same wavelength. For someone who couldn't find the right words, Keith had managed to completely whoo his mother over... but then again, he knew they'd talked before... but how many times had Keith called her? Would it be weird if his accidental-husband was secretly best friends with his mother? Oh god... they both had more than embarrassing story they could share... Even affectionately, he couldn't handle it right now. His anxieties were starting to bubble up, because it wasn't like he was having surgery that damn day and was nervous as hell about that. Nope. As long as those two were content picking on him, he stood no chance. * Almost the moment they reached the hospital reception, a nurse was ushering Lance into a wheel chair, a second carrying a holopad as they started walking somewhere. Keith had expected a wait. There were all kinds of aliens in the waiting room, even with Lance being scheduled, Keith felt like they were cutting the line or something... Lance's mother seemed to think the same as she carried the crutches Lance had been using with a growingly worried look on her face. His boyfriend had grown quiet after he'd limped off in front of them. Keith hadn't meant to overstep, he knew how anxious Lance was over the sudden arrival of his mother, he could smell wafting in the air and taste it on his tongue. Neither of them expected her to be there, but it wasn't like they could simply send her home. She was Lance's mother, and she was clearly worried for her son. Wanting to take the pressure of Lance, he'd stepped up the best he could, semi-terrified that she was going to yell at him for Lance's injuries, thankfully she hadn't... but the surgery was still to come. "Alright Lance, we can take you straight through. Coran has sent through the data on your injuries. A few more scans and then we'll be good to go" What now? Blinking at his boyfriend, Lance was tugging on the fabric of the loose shirt he was wearing. His nerves getting the better of him "Sorry, do you mind if I come in with him?" The nurse looked down at the holopad "You're listed here as his emergency contact and have been given authorisation over his medical decisions. I'm sorry, but we can only bring one of you through" Hanging his head, Keith was sure that had to have hurt Lance's mother to hear. They were acting like she wasn't there at all. She should be there for her son. She'd probably worried herself sick night after night, after hearing Lance had been wounded, after disappearing again. Feeling a warm hand on his shoulder, Lance's mother had a soft smile on her face "No need to feel guilty. Heaven knows you've been by his side out here" "You're his mother..." "And he trusts you. This has been a traumatic time for both of you. Just make sure you let me know what's going on" "Between the scans and the surgery, am I going to get see both of them?" Lance's soft voice interrupted them. The nurse tapping on her holopad "Yes, for a few doboshes" "Then I'll go for the scans alone please" Lance's mother's expression told Keith she wanted to object "Mijo..." "Mami, it'll be ok. It's just scans. Why don't you get Keith to call Veronica for you? So you can tell her you've arrived safely" "I'd rather someone be with you" "It's only scans. We both know all they're going to say is that my shoulder's stuffed and needs operating on, then it's off to the pod for my beauty sleep. It's not like they're going to steal my absurdly good looks while neither of you are looking" Keith groaned, but Lance's mother gave a smile "Then you have to tell us both everything they say" "Yes, yes. Now, can we get this done?" Keith felt like he should say something. Lance was nervous. What if he had a panic attack? Or the scans revealed something that Daehra hadn't picked up. What if Lance was sicker than he was letting on? Or hurt worse than what they knew "Babe, are you sure? I don't mind" "You two are as bad as each other. You're making me nervous, everything will be fine... I love you two, so go away already" "Are you sure?" "Yes. You heard the nurse, scans, then a quick visit and off to surgery. There's a plan" "Ok... I... uh, love you" "I love you too. Mami, can you make sure he doesn't get too cranky while he's waiting? He gets cranky when he has to wait" "If raising you lot hasn't taught me the meaning of patience, nothing ever will. We'll be waiting here for you" "Right. Let's go!" Giving them a wave, Lance let himself be pushed off towards a set of white doors. The nurse with the holopad lingering "If you'd like to please wait in the waiting room, I will come and collect you once the scans are complete" Lance was right, Keith hated waiting. Lance's mother insisted that she didn't need to check in with Veronica, before asking if he needed anything. A question she repeated half a dozen times as they waited. The half-Galra felt like he should be in there, his gaze firmly fixed in the direction of the hall they'd parted in. Though unfair to the Altean species, Keith couldn't help it as he mentally blamed them for Lance's trauma, wondering if relations to Kre'el existed on the planet. Each Altean could have been working for her... Each of the aliens in the waiting room could be working for one of her associates... Yes, he knew he was being ridiculous. His mind often jumped to worse case scenarios when forced to wait. He knew it stemmed from waiting for his father to come home, only to learn he was dead and that no one out there wanted him... The memories of standing in front of his father's grave morphed with the idea of Lance being dead... His eyes tearing as he was pulled into a warm hug that felt more comforting than he wanted to admit "Lance will cry if he sees those tears. My son will be fine" "I'm sorry. He's right about this waiting thing. I'm not made for it" "Keith, can I ask you honestly, what happened out there? Did you catch the people who hurt my son? Who hurt both my sons?" Both her... oh... she meant him as well as Lance "Yeah. Yeah, we caught the person behind it all. He was... betrayed by a friend who wanted him for his Altean marks. He's been pretty down because he's been on bed rest instead of participating in the investigation..." "They hurt him?" "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... I was right there and I wasn't enough for him..." "You stop that. Lance is hurting, but the look on his face when he looks at you. You mean the world to him. I know we've teased him his whole life, and I know he's taken it upon himself to always be there to support other, but he's let you. And I thank you for that. Allura was sweet, and very pretty, but after hearing everything that happened, I can't help but feel she didn't understand Lance like you do" "I don't know what I'd do without him. I'm sorry. I'm not normally like this" Crying on a woman who was still pretty much a stranger... How lower could he get? Lance wasn't going to die. Coran would have ensured Lance got the absolutely best care he could have. Lance's mother patted his knee "You're worried for him. I am too" "How are you so calm?" "I don't know how much Lance has told you, but there's always children in and out of our house. I can't count the number of times it's been trips down to the emergency room for something or other. We might not be on Earth, but I have no doubt Lance will be just fine" Keith nodded, sniffling lightly "You're right. He's going to be alright... Like you said, it was a lot. And I'm still worried about him. I know it's been hard on him after his fight with Veronica" "Veronica has loved Lance from the moment she first held him. Many times when he'd hurt himself playing as a kid, he'd go to her so I wouldn't find out" "He did mention the pink slipper" Laughing, Lance's mother rubbed his arm "He mentioned that?" "He says he still lives in fear of it" "Oh my... I doubt it'd have much affect on him these days. Veronica was at a loss when you were all missing. She didn't believe he was dead, then when he returned, he held himself with the aura of someone who didn't need to rely on others. He was our boy, our good boy, who missed watching growing into a man. I know she worried, I may not have helped there. Did he tell you how he was after Allura?" "Yeah... all of it" "So you know he had troubles?" "Yeah. We're working through things. We had been until... our mission went sideways" "Then you know he is strong. All these fancy machines, he should be done before we even know it" Nodding, Keith had no idea how he was going to last through the surgery if he was this nervous right now. Lance probably would cry if he saw he'd been crying. He didn't want Lance heading into surgery worrying about him "Is it ok... if we just stay like this for a little longer?" "Of course, my boy. You're already part of the family" The scans took roughly half a varga, before they were finally called through to a white room where Lance was laying on an examination bed. His shirt had been swapped for a white gown that sat nestled under his right arm as to expose his shoulder, and everything below the waist was covered "Hey guys. You're just in time" Shoved forward by Lance's mum, Keith stumbled over his feet as he made his way to Lance, taking his hand in his. Squeezing firmly, Lance met his eyes "You've been crying, Mullet. Don't tell me you interrogating him" "No, your mum was really nice. What did they say about you?" "Oh... shoulder's stuffed and they're kind of amazed I'm still using it. It's a pretty simple procedure, a varga at the most, then into the healing pod. They don't know how long I'll be in, until I'm actually in there" "So... nothing else major?" Keith asked, although he knew Lance wouldn't answer anything more in depth with his mother in the room "They're going to tidy up my finger a little more... anything else will be healed up by the pod. There's probably going to be a couple of scars, like this bad boy" "Mijo, how did this happen?" With his eyes on Lance, Keith hadn't heard his mother moving to stand just behind him "It was a blaster shot, only grazing. It got a little infected. Daehra took really good care of it. Stitched it up all be herself. It wasn't her fault it got infected" The inch long pink wound was mostly a scar now, with a small sliver of unhealed greeny scab in the middle of it "Of course. You and those guns. You do know you're supposed to be shooting them, not being shot" "I know, mami. They'll clean it up too. The rest of the scans were all ok. So you don't need to worry. There going to be here in a tick, so this is where you tell me you love me" Leaning in, Lance's mother kissed the top of his head "I do, my boy. I'll let you and Keith have a moment" "Thanks, mami. You should make the most of being on Altea. There's supposed to be a day spa around you" "And what am I going to do there?" "Spoil yourself? You deserve it, mami. You came all this way, you should make the most of it while you can" "You know I've never needed anything fancy" "That's why you need to take the chance. Plus, I'm sure you need the rest" "I will think about it" Lance beamed up at his mother "Good. I'll see you really soon" "I hope so, mijo" When the door to the room closed, Keith gently kissed Lance's forehead "How did it really go?" "Alright. Daehra would love their scanners. If you thought hers were scarily intimate, you haven't seen the ones here. They show you every single scar, and tell you how you got them" "Wow..." "Yeah... mami would have had a heart attack if she was there. Now, tell me why you're crying?" "I wasn't crying... much. I was just worried about you" "I'm fine... mostly. But you knew that" "Is there anything I should know, about your scans?" "I have amazingly high quintessence? And some scars and stuff... the pod won't take them away" "You know I don't mind your scars, don't you?" Lance looked to his lap "I want to say I do... but I'm really fucking nervous... they're going to knock me out for it... then into the pod... I... I'm scared I won't wake up. Or if I do, you won't be here" "Babe, no. You're going to be fine. I promised you a date, remember. And your mum wants us to go to family dinner" "The scans..." Cupping Lance's cheek, Keith rubbed at the soft skin under his thumb "Babe..." "They knew what had happened. There was some kind of scarring internally... apparently I don't heal as well as I think I do... or maybe it was because it happened before I really got into the drugs... that... yellow stuff mixed with the herbs speeds up my flow quintessence... which is already running faster than it should. That's why I heal faster than I should. It's not how it works on normal people. They... said it was fascinating..." Mumbling at him, Lance seemed to shrink before him. He suddenly seemed that much more frail than he'd realised "Babe, we're going to get through this. You're going to come through this surgery, then have your beauty nap in the pod. When you come out, we can have that bath together. Bubbles and all" Lance nuzzled into his touch, pressing a kiss to the heel of Keith's palm "Thanks... I don't feel that great about it. Knowing that I'm going to lose more time again..." "I know... I'm not going off planet without you" "I'm really... fucking scared" Leaning in, Keith kissed Lance gently. His hand still resting on Lance's cheek as Lance drew in a shaky breath "I know. I know your mum being here wasn't planned, but you did so good. She loves you, and I love you. We're going to be here" "You... can go you know. If you have to, or if I'm going to be in for phoebs. I don't want you to be stuck again" "I'm not stuck, and even if you think I am, I'm not" "But what if Shiro needs you?" "He can wait" "No. You should go if he does..." "Lance, I want to be there the moment that glass lid slides back. So you're not waking up alone" Stealing another kiss, Keith was confused as Lance deepened it. Slowly it morphed into one of the deepest kisses they'd shared. If it wasn't such a bittersweet moment, Keith would have been over the moon. Yet, he knew the kiss was Lance's way of saying goodbye on the off chance something went wrong. Lance wasn't ready for kisses like this. They were still working their way up to it. When the kiss came to an end, Keith rested his forehead against Lance's, staring into his ridiculously blue eyes "You're going to be fine. You're going to come through this and you're going to be fine. I love you, babe" "I love you, too. So much... so much, babe" "I know... I'm so proud of you" "I don't feel like you should be" "Then it's a good thing I can think for myself" "Someone has to be able to think. We'd be screwed otherwise" Nodding, Keith sighed softly "I wish I could trade places with you" "I'm glad it's me, and not you. I couldn't keep sane if something happened to you" "Since when have you been sane?" Lance let out a soft laugh "Touché..." As the nurse had said, they only had a few moments to themselves before they came in to collect Lance for surgery. Walking by the side of the bed, Keith stayed as close to Lance as he could until he was told he couldn't come through with them. Forced to stop, he watched Lance be wheeled away from him. His whole body shaking with fear that he wouldn't se his husband again. Coming up behind him, Lance's mother wrapped her arm around him "Come mijo. They will call us with news when there is news" "Yeah. You're right. I don't know what to do now" "We can wait in the waiting room, maybe you'd like to go for a walk?" "No. I'm not going anywhere until I know his surgery went alright" "Then would you like to humour this old lady, and get a cup of tea with me in the cafeteria" "You do know my mother's much older than you, don't you?" "Good answer. I'd like to know more about her, if you'll tell me" Bringing up his tragic past wasn't appealing. He wanted to find somewhere to sink down and hide until Lance was out of the pod. Nodding glumly, he let Lance's mother guide him. It was strange how close to Lance's scents hers was, her entirely different at the same time... like something was wrong with it. She was calming and soothing in a "mum" way, but wasn't what he wanted right now. This was going to be a long day.

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greek-arete · 6 years ago

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American Girl by Tom Petty I wrote a short story (in 2015) in response to a song title name challenge issued by @lucille-balls. I chose American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Note: There are “International Schools” all around the world. They offer an American or European style curriculum and mostly cater to the children of diplomats, local politicians, celebrities and anyone with money who wants their children to have that style of education. Story continues after the cut (sorry for my poor prose):

The American Girl (or the New Girl)

Mrs. Salazar brought the new transfer student to Mrs. Mercado’s eighth grade Asian History class in the International School at Manila, in the Philippines. Mrs. Mercado had been discussing the finer points of the Meiji Restoration in Japan when Mrs. Salazar opened the class door. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Mrs. Mercado,” Mrs. Salazar said. “I’d like to introduce you to one of our new students. Her name is Rebecca Porter and she just transferred from our sister school in Jakarta. She is originally from Billings, Montana.” “Welcome Rebecca,” Mrs. Mercado said with a cheery expression. “Class, please say hello to Rebecca.” “Hello Rebecca,” the class said in sing-song unison. “Hello everyone,” Rebecca said, somewhat gingerly. “Please take the seat between Helene and Maureen,” Mrs. Mercado said while pointing at the seat. Gabe, who was dating Maureen, regarded the new girl. Her bangs were a little long and in need of a trim. But her brown hair was splendid. Her clothes suggested that she was a bit of a tomboy. But she had lovely brown eyes. Overall, Gabe thought that Rebecca was a nice looking girl. *** As weeks passed, Rebecca grew to be well liked by both students and teachers. She had a strong sense of humor, and the teachers who could be severe with other students often engaged in friendly banter with her. “Class, you know that the culture you live in affects you in many ways. Rebecca, for example,” Mrs. Mercado exclaimed, “is developing a Filipino accent.” “What?” Rebecca replied. “I don’t think so.” Her reply prompted Mrs. Mercado to start laughing as did the rest of the class. Gabe wondered what other people thought of Rebecca so he posed the question to a number of people: “I like her a lot.” said Helene, the daughter of a French diplomat. “She is in Band with me and in the Glee Club.” “I think her chipped tooth gives her character,” said Mark, the son of a UK diplomat. “She is in my Latin class.” “I have a big crush on her,” said Roger, the son of an agriculturist who worked for IRRI [the International Rice Research Institute] [x]. *** One day in Asian History class, Gabe noticed that Rebecca was upset and arguing with a boy named Jonathan, who was the son of a prominent local businessman. “What you did was rude,” Rebecca said softly yet angrily. “We were just curious,” Jonathan replied somewhat apologetically. When lunchtime rolled around, many girls were crowding around Rebecca, including Maureen. Gabe, who was sitting with Roger and a few other boys at their lunch table, glanced at the commotion over at the other table. At times, Rebecca seemed to be on the verge of tears and at other times, she had a sullen expression. “I wonder what’s going on over there,” Roger said, looking concerned. “I’ll find out from Maureen after school. I don’t want to talk to Jonathan just yet until I hear what Maureen has to say,” said Gabe. After school, Gabe sat down at a bench with Maureen and tried to slip his hand into hers. She quickly unclasped her hand from his. “It was your stupid friends who did it,” she began. “Did what?” “They followed Rebecca as she walked home from school so they could see where she lived. It was Jonathan, Bobby, and Oscar.” Gabe was quiet at first and then he asked, “Were they harassing her?” “They were harassing her by following her without her consent.” “Yeah, you’re right, I get that.” “No,” Maureen continued. “You don’t know the whole story. Rebecca’s father is out of the picture so it’s only her and her mother. Her mother isn’t rich; she works for a charitable organization that helps victims of natural disasters and people in refugee camps. Her work often mandates that she has to travel to other countries in Asia.” “Wait, so who takes care of Rebecca when her mother isn’t around?” “Her mother made an arrangement with an affiliate of the charity she works for to give Rebecca room and board nearby so she could attend I.S. [International School]. Rebecca has a small room to herself and that’s it. It’s not like me [Maureen’s father was a German diplomat] and other diplomats’ kids who have a normal home life. And it must have been incredibly mortifying to Rebecca to have three guys following her (who live in huge houses staffed with lots of servants) to see where she lived.” “Do you think that she was afraid that they might try to do her harm?” asked Gabe. “Maybe that crossed her mind. Manila can be a dangerous city, after all.” “I don’t think they would actually do her harm. Bobby is kind of a jerk but that’s all. Oscar and Jonathan are normally nice guys so I think they were being egged on by Bobby to follow her.” “What they did, Gabe, is violate her personal space and her right to privacy.” “What do you want me to do, Maureen?” asked Gabe. Maureen took Gabe’s hand which made Gabe feel relieved. “You’re not guilty by associating with them. You didn’t know what they did. Maybe you could convince them to apologize to her.” Later Gabe talked to all three of the boys. He first spoke to Oscar and Jonathan. “We did try to apologize to her but she was cold to us,” Jonathan said. Then Gabe spoke to Bobby. “We didn’t actually hurt her. We just wanted to see where the American girl lived. So there’s no need for me to apologize,” Bobby rationalized. Throughout the rest of the school year, Gabe tried to make friends with Rebecca and she did try to reciprocate (mostly for Maureen’s sake) but Gabe always felt that Rebecca maintained a certain amount of distrust of him. *** Years later, Gabe thought of Rebecca and decided to google her name. He came across a blog kept by Rebecca’s mother. She was justifiably proud of her daughter. Rebecca had graduated from Notre Dame and had finished medical school. She was practicing family medicine (along with her husband) and serving an underprivileged area of Michigan. There was a picture of her husband holding his and Rebecca’s baby daughter. “You go girl,” Gabe quietly muttered to himself.

#american girl #tom petty #international school #life at an international school

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kitsunebellproductions · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on Voltron Season 7

SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY! Things that annoyed/angered/saddened/frustrated me: *Kuron still being treated as though he was nothing more than some evil monster and convenient spare parts for Shiro. I am still nauseated by the whole thing. This poor precious baby boy deserved so much better. *Shiro’s hair -I mean come on, his fringe was pure white before but now it’s grey? What, did the whole process leach colour from the rest of his hair yet restore some to his fringe?! I will just assume it’s meant to be white but they felt this particular shade of white/grey worked best aesthetically with his outfits etc. *Too little Shiro for too many episodes. *Too much Keef. (Sorry, fandom has completely ruined this character for me, he’s not a bad character but I am repulsed by his mere name thanks to the toxicity in this fandom. I wish I could go back to the beginning of watching Voltron when he was just another decent character that I felt neither yay nor nay about, but it is what it is.) *That weird game show -if it was some magical space mage mumbo jumbo thingy that just transported their consciousness, why wasn’t Shiro there? And the whole ‘comedy family’ shtick with the Galra... I mean, it was a bit funny but... mostly weird tbh. The funniest parts were the commercials. *Way too little background/interaction with Shiro and Adam. *Also Adam’s design -like, why do you make an entirely new character that looks a lot like a mix of two other characters who are father and son (Matt and Sam)? You could have done literally anything to his design but you went safe and way too familiar? I mean holy moly did you see Kinkade? Fuck yeah what a gorgeous design, that is exactly what my hopeful heart pictured for Shiro’s boyfriend but nope. Give us generic floppy-hair glasses boy with a generic medium brown palette, it’s so fresh and new and interesting. Not. *Adam FUCKING DYING before Shiro even got back to Earth. You could have at least let the poor boy have a reunion with someone waiting for him on Earth before burying some more gays, but no. He must suffer. *Shiro getting like three seconds to mourn Adam.

*Speaking of burying your gays... (not to mention a delightful dash of the ‘evil lesbians’ trope): Ezor and Zethrid. Yayy on their relationship, nay on them being presumably killed off (I mean killing 3 out of 4 queer characters while keeping the straight characters safe is not a good way to show how queer friendly your show is. And no the ‘we had to show how dark and dangerous war is’ excuse doesn’t work when the only characters you kill are the queer ones. There were plenty of characters back on Earth we’d have felt just as deeply about -or more even- considering we’ve heard about the other paladins’ families back on Earth but we’d never heard of Adam until now. Just imagine if Veronica had died -that would have been intensely emotional and really had gone to show all that you wanted about the dangers of war -especially as I don’t doubt for a second that Lance would have gotten an entire episode at least to mourn her while Shiro got like three seconds. Because Shiro is apparently not allowed to mourn). *And isn’t it funny how the most alien-looking Galra women are the evil ones, while the ‘good’ ones look more or less like lavender-skinned human women (and are also very pretty, petite and with slender, ‘sexy’ bodies.) Like, seriously... *Not to mention how creepy it is that Keef’s Galra mom and the other ‘good’ Galra woman (Acxa, who for whatever reason the show tried to force some out-of-the-blue yucky heteromance together with Keef) look disturbingly much alike (and they look to be the same age too more or less. So sick and tired of the ‘hot young-looking mom’ trope in media but especially animated shows. And especially when the kids end up banging girls looking to be more or less the same age as their mom). *Shiro not reacting when Ezor and Zethrid went for Pidge -he’s consistently been shown to be very protective and self-sacrificing, yet here he barely bats an eye. I get it was a scene framed to lift Lance, but it felt extremely ooc for Shiro to not at least try to help. *Ezor and Zethrid’s relationship being honestly way more explicitly stated than Shiro and Adam’s (which was the relationship hailed as the big lgbtq+ rep for this season). No, they definitely didn’t need to get back together for Shiro to still be considered lgbtq+ rep -you don’t need a partner to be lgbtq+! But when you wave a specific relationship around as a big banner of glorious lgbtq+ rep to come and then barely even hint at it in the show... well... not so much of a rep then, is it? *Not showing Shiro in that worldwide message of ‘these are our beloved brave heroes from Earth’. Like, this boy was kidnapped by aliens, spent a year being tortured, brainwashed, cloned, dismembered, pretty much violated in every concievable way, then immediately after escaping (with a shitload of PTSD in the baggage) he was sent back out into space and chosen to lead some war against seemingly impossible odds, a war that really wasn’t his war to fight, a war he still fought bravely and selflessly despite his physical and mental issues, a war he died in, but meh I guess he wasn’t worthy of mention. (And I don’t know why Keef wasn’t mentioned either, but maybe being half Galra makes you too much alien to be considered part of the world you were born and grew up in *heavy sarcasm*). *Shiro’s bond with the Black Lion and his role as the Black Paladin being pretty much erased/retconned -it’s like Keef gets to sit his ass comfortably down in the seat Shiro shed blood sweat and tears for and struggled so hard for, easily just gliding along on what Shiro has paved the road for but without acknowledging the huge role Shiro had in it all. Shiro was the one who brought out the wings for Keef in the end of the last season because Keef was unable to do it himself, because Keef had never bonded with her the way Shiro did -Shiro and the Black Lion found and saved each other in so many ways, and the Black Lion loved Shiro so much she saved his ‘essence’ inside herself, yet now we’re supposed to just accept that Shiro is old news and no longer worthy of being considered part of the ‘mighty Paladins of Voltron’. Myeah, did not like the feeling I got of this saturating this entire season. Keef can still be a big hero -or even your new main character- without grinding Shiro down into the dirt on the way. *That arm... it’s so big and clumsy-looking it makes him look weirdly lopsided. The comically large arm works for Sendak, considering his ‘evil sadist who loves crushing people with his alien prosthetic’ shtick, but for Shiro it just looks too big to be practical. If it was intentionally meant to imply that Allura just grabbed a prosthetic modelled after someone bigger than Shiro and remade it, and that’s why it’s so big on Shiro, that’s fine. But it feels impractical for anything other than fighting evil alien generals. *Shiro not getting to fulfil his arc as the abused victim and underdog by overcoming and defeating the evils pushing him down, but instead being forced to take the backset to a character forced into a leadership role for what seems like nothing more than a desperate clinging to nostalgia. It is mindboggling that everything Shiro has worked so incredibly hard for, everything he’s struggled and fought for is being taken from him and he’s supposed to be satisfied with a consolation prize. Yeah, Shiro going full Magical Girl Princess was amazing but he didn’t even get to deliver the final blow in any fight -not even his personal fight with Sendak- because apparently Shiro is not allowed any victories at all. *The whole sense of Shiro being punished for choosing his life’s dream over becoming the obedient house wife of his ex -he had only a short few years left to fulfil his dreams, and yet he’s painted as the bad guy for ‘abandoning’ his boyfriend (who was the one that left Shiro, actually). Yes, Adam had the right to choose to not want to separate for so long -during what was likely the last few years Shiro had enough mobility to do all the fun things couples dream of doing together- he had the right to say ‘I’m sorry but I can’t put my life on hold, and I wasn’t really prepared to go straight to caring for someone with a debilitating disease without a few more years of fun in between, I want to break up’. That still doesn’t make Shiro’s choice to follow his dreams any less valid than Adam’s choice to not wait for him. I bet Adam had an exciting bucket list waiting to start ticking off as a consolation when Shiro was denied the role of pilot for the Kerberos mission -I doubt he’d expected Shiro to actually be allowed to go and that probably seriously stumped him- but it’s incredibly cruel and selfish (and ableist) to expect a person to sacrifice their last few years of being able to fulfil their dreams just so their able-bodied partner can fulfil their small dreams and wishes of things they want to do for the last few of that person’s fully mobile years. And yet everything about Shiro’s arc paints a very very grim and ableist story of ‘you chose your own dreams over bending to your partner’s will, now let us show you what a horrible decision that was by torturing you relentlessly throughout the rest of this series without ever letting up. You will never be allowed happiness again because this is your punishment.’ I agree with other people that the way Shiro’s been treated throughout this series -constantly tormented without ever getting a single break or getting a real chance to fight and overcome his demons- seems way too much like torture porn. *The feeling that Shiro’s Magical Girl Moment was only there to blind us to the fact that him being probably the only one able to transform the Atlas means he’ll be conveniently grounded next season, forced to stay on Earth to ‘protect his home’ while the rest of them get to go off being the ‘amazing Defenders of the Universe’, leaving both Shiro and his legacy behind, unsung. I hope I’m wrong, but I get an overwhelming feeling that Shiro is being pushed into the background because they never intended for him to be the hero of the series but by the time they realised that’s exactly what they’d created with him it was too late to take it back, so now they’re trying their hardest to push him back into some mentor/backseat role in a sneaky enough way that they hope people won’t notice because they’ll be dazzled by the shine of his ‘new role’. ... Things that made me happy/excited/pleased: *The animation level. I mean holy mamacita Shiro is so beautiful he glows in like every single frame. *HUNK. Love this big gentle boy and love that he got to show more of who he is and what he has to give this season. *Seeing the families we’ve heard so much of. Seeing them reunited. Seeing flashbacks to happier times with the families. *Pidge finally getting her entire family back together. *The designs of all the alien/Earth tech. Gorgeous. *The design of some of the new characters <3 *So many new Galra characters with faces and personalities even if we only saw them for a few seconds. *All the ‘Earth preparing for alien invasion’ scenes/episodes. *Finally getting to know more about Iverson and who he is as a person. *Sam and Colleen. *Shiro being the new Princess of the new Castle ship. *Shiro fucking transcending being the Princess and transforming the entire Castle ship Atlas into a new Voltron type battle robot. *The Atlas being this beefy paladin type knight on top but t h i c c femme legs on tippy toes/high heels on the bottom. 10/10 what a beauty. *White Lion Shiro... I mean, I’m certainly not the only one thinking it, right? *Just Shiro. Wow. What a strong, beautiful, good person who cares about everybody else above himself. Someone give this poor traumatised boy hero a fucking vacation with the softest bed surrounded by therapy animals. Perfect cinnamonroll too pure for this world. *Shiro fighting Sendak hand-to-hand on top of a fucking space ship free-falling (read: CRASHING) to Earth instead of trying to escape I mean this boy *Keef fucking anime-slicing Sendak in twaine for daring to try to hurt the person he loves like a brother (bloodless and nice for the young’uns of course, but still). *Hunk carrying Shiro. *@ anyone claiming Lance ‘never gets screentime or development’ -fuck you. Look at this brave, strong boy who started out as a self-centered antagonistic jerk yet has grown into such a good and mature person. I may loathe the Lance I see portrayed in the fandom, but in the show he’s still such a good character. *Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man <3 *The mice and Kosmo the space wolf for MVP *Kaltenecker, most chill character in the entire universe. *Shiro’s prosthetic not being attached -at first I was like ‘noooo’, but then I realised... fuck yeah this is exactly what people in fandom need to stop erasing disabled characters. It is way too common for people in fandoms to claim that a person having any kind of high-tech or magical prosthetic that makes their disability less visible (For example Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist) isn’t actually disabled at all ‘because it’s like they have normal limbs’. Having a prosthetic arm that has a big void between itself and the shoulder attachment makes it impossible to ignore the fact that Shiro is missing a whole arm. (And maybe, just maybe, people will finally stop with the shitty ‘he’s got a full sleeve of tattoos instead of a missing arm in this AU fanfic because erasing disabilities is super cool’ trope.) *The entire Shiro/Atlas transformation scene -ugh so beautiful <3 ... Phew, that got long! (=A=;;) I’ve probably forgotten a lot of things -but it’s been a few days since I watched it so it isn’t as fresh in my mind as I’d have liked, however I don’t have the time to rewatch it right now to refresh my memory so it’ll have to do. These are just my personal thoughts -things I found negative might be things someone else found positive, and things I found positive might be things someone else found negative. This isn’t meant to be a debate or attack -just a way for me to put my thoughts down and remember them for the future. And one last thing -please remember to be kind to each other -and don’t go attacking cast or crew -most of them have no real say in what happens on the show anyway, and harrassing and threatening castmembers to the point where they’re scared to even show up at cons is not the way to make the higher-ups listen to your complaints -however legitimate they might be. Now I guess we’ll just have to brace ourselves for season 8...

#voltron spoilers #both negative and positive thoughts on this season #voltron season 7 #takashi shirogane

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