#saw a post saying that he’s been evil since like birth and my brain went uhhhhh- no.

[dinitride-art]

Some weird things I’ve noticed about one/Vecna/Henry - an incomplete list/analysis (also not excuses for all his shit, I’m just trying to figure him out)

I’d first like to start off by analyzing what we don’t see in Henry’s backstory. First, with Victor Creel, we are shown Vecna’s first attack through a very flawed lense. His father cannot see that his son was the one that killed everyone, not a demon. He doesn’t see Henry as the problem, but we also don’t see any other problems with Henry from his perspective. We don’t actually see much of Henry at all from Victor’s perspective. The thing I find interesting about Victors story is that he says that him and his wife were tormented by memories from their past. We get an explaination for his past, but we never see his wife’s past. Or at least we don’t get an explaination for it.

When we go to Henry’s version of the story, we get a whole lot of stuff that Victor didn’t know or care to mention. Like doctor Brenner, he didn’t come up in Victors story. Whether that be because of the plot reveal of Vecna or whatnot, he wasn’t mentioned. Henry made note of the fact that it was his mother that called in the doctor. Victor described Henry as a ‘sensitive child’ but when Henry said what his parents thought of him he said that they thought there was something wrong with him, that he needed to be fixed. We don’t get any evidence for them saying that, nor do we get them saying anything. Henry’s mother, who is shown more, is still not explained. She called the doctor and Henry described both parents as having dark secrets- but he never gave us his mother’s.

There are many many years we do not see with Henry and doctor Brenner. We can assume that after Henry went into a coma he was taken by Brenner and was with him for all the years until el banished him to the upside down. But we don’t see any of that. When does he get that tattoo in this time line? Is it before he murders his family? After? If it’s after, then what was the final straw that Brenner had that caused him to put that implant in his neck to suppress his powers? We don’t know. We’ve been given a lot, but we’ve also been given nothing. Why does Henry want to destroy everything? If it’s because he’s inherently evil and bad then that’s just boring. It adds nothing to the story or too the plot other than a cardboard antagonist put up for eleven to pour water on.

Henry is the main antagonist. He has been the main antagonist since the first season. The discussion of motivations throughout the series is always the first thing the think about. The why. Characters and trauma and secrets were a major theme in season four. Lies in season three. Deceit in season two. The unknown in season one. If Henry has been the overarching villain this whole time then he’s been connected to those themes this whole time.

Henry Creel isn’t a one dimensional character. His thoughts and motivations haven’t been established yet. Why four as a number, why his mother first, why the library, why not try to manipulate eleven further when she tried to save max, why was he a sensitive kid? Why is he the main antagonist?

A lot of season four was finding out who Vecna was. And they found out that he was Henry. But they didn’t find out shit about his motivations. It’s not Brenner, because Henry didn’t seem to care when el said he was dead. It’s not anyone he’s already killed because they’re dead. His motivations don’t seem to be in line with anything we’ve been shown yet. So, maybe his motivations lie with what we haven’t seen yet, Henry’s secrets.

We’ve only seen the consequences from Henry: His family, the children, the people of Hawkins. He’s manipulative, he’s powerful, he’s a whole super villain. But what is the cause? In everything we know about Henry, we’ve been given what he’s done. But everyone- even Henry- glosses over anything that might have been a cause. ‘I saw what my parents had done’ great, why’d he kill his sister before his father then? ‘He was a sensitive kid’, that’s not enough. Will was a sensitive kid, he didn’t murder anyone. He was different isn’t a strong enough explaination for his actions.

Henry is the way he is because of reasons that haven’t been explained in the story yet. And if his whole thing is absorbing people and their secrets so they can all suffer together, then he’s got secrets too.

[wall-of-history]

BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is Still as Beloved as Fans Remember: A Response to Comic Book Resource and Matthew Attanasio

Hey everyone! I’m James, the guy behind Wall of History. I know I rarely drop the facade of my brand on official Wall of History accounts, but today, I’d like to make a more casual, opinionated post on something that’s been getting a lot of attention from the BIONICLE community on Twitter.

Last night, Comic Book Resources posted an article titled “BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui is Still as Pointless as Fans Remember,” and if you have even a surface-level familiarity with the BIONICLE community, I’m sure you can guess the reaction we had — CBR’s tweet was pretty quickly ratioed by fans, drawing comments like, “Comic book resource [sic] once again proving you do not require a brain to type,” and, “We think that the Vahki would like to have a word with you guys." BIONICLE fans generally agree that Legends of Metru Nui is the best film in the franchise, so claims that we universally “remember” it in such a negative light are completely baseless — I’d like to move past the inflammatory title, however, and analyze the actual contents of the article.

LEGO's decision to focus on prequel material was received as a slap in the face. While fans were ready to see the story press forward, it instead fell backwards to tell stories that held little significance to the ‘present day’ plot of the franchise.

To say that the story of Metru Nui held “little significance” to the plot of the franchise is ridiculous. For three years, fans had been given only vague legends about the origins of the Matoran and their struggle with the Makuta, and after Makuta’s defeat, “pressing forward” meant returning to the world they had left behind following the Great Cataclysm. To introduce us to that world and show us how the Matoran came to be in their present situation was an obvious next step for the story.

That's not to say the various comics and novels didn't deliver interesting stories; they did.

That’s true, they did! However, the rest of this article gives me reason to believe you didn’t actually read them (or, at the very least, didn’t pay attention when you did).

They just weren't what fans craved at the time. Legends of Metru Nui failed to bring anything valuable to the table in this regard, with a sloppy story, terrible pacing and forgettable characters.

There are numerous claims and implications throughout this article (we’ve already glossed over one) that BIONICLE fans generally felt certain ways about this film, as well as this story arc as a whole, but none of these claims are backed up. To blatantly misrepresent the feelings of the community like this is rather poor journalism.

Regarding your claim that Legends of Metru Nui failed to bring anything valuable to the table, I’ll reiterate my point from above — the ending of Mask of Light saw the Matoran take the first steps toward reclaiming their home, a home that had been hidden from us, the fans, since the inception of the franchise. Showing us why and how this home was lost in the first place proved to be a vital step in expanding the scope of the BIONICLE legend. Makuta’s actions in Legends of Metru Nui ended up being the inciting incident for the rest of the story, a story that was largely set in the Matoran Universe introduced by this arc.

Your claim that the film has forgettable characters is, like your claim that fans generally remember this film negatively, demonstrably false. Vakama is widely regarded as one of the best characters, if not the best character, in the franchise (the last post on this very blog is evidence of this), and Nidhiki proved to be so popular that his origin story was later relayed to us twice, in the short story “Birth of a Dark Hunter” and the novel BIONICLE Legends #4: Legacy of Evil.

These new heroes are Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Whenua and Nuju, Toa of Fire, Water, Air, Stone, Earth and Ice, respectively. Whereas Mask of Light's Toa Nuva were already fan-favorites, the Toa Metru were a mixed bag, and this film did nothing to help their image. In truth, all three of the main Bionicle films failed to highlight how awesome the Toa could be, which is a shame.

BIONICLE is not the story of the Toa. It’s the story of the Matoran.

In the behind the scenes featurette on the Legends of Metru Nui DVD, the narrator makes the odd claim that both Mask of Light and Legends of Metru Nui are “all about the Toa.” This claim is odd not just because Mask of Light literally isn’t about the Toa (it’s mostly about two Matoran), but also because the Matoran have always been the heart of the franchise — a fact that Legends of Metru Nui comments on.

Many fans feel that Mata Nui: The Online Game is the best BIONICLE media, and it’s a story that largely focuses on the Matoran. You play as a Matoran, you primarily interact with Matoran, you solve Matoran problems… and until the very end, the Toa are mostly off doing their own thing. This makes for a really compelling story, precisely because the Matoran aren’t “awesome” like the Toa. It’s cool when the Toa unite their elemental powers to make the Makuta explode into a pile of scrap metal, but it’s compelling when the Matoran armies, whose leaders previously seemed preoccupied with their own problems, unite to save the ragtag Chronicler’s Company from what would have been a deadly Rahi attack.

The Matoran have always been the emotional heart of the BIONICLE legend (the Toa’s stories do focus on saving them, after all), and Legends of Metru Nui understands this. When Lhikan tells Vakama to “save the heart of Metru Nui,” the Toa Metru immediately assume he’s talking about himself… and that kind of makes sense! Lhikan is, after all, the last Toa, a fearless, noble hero, and the last bastion of light in a city being consumed by shadows. Of course he’s the heart of Metru Nui! The Toa Metru spend most of the film searching for Lhikan, but when they find him, he’s not the hero he used to be anymore — he’s a small, frail Turaga now, and he berates Vakama for seeking out him instead of saving the true heart of Metru Nui, the Matoran. This is a great twist, not only because it finally delivers on some of the spooky foreshadowing from earlier in the film, but also because it sends a clear message to the audience that the Matoran are the heart of this legend.

The plot revolves around Vakama's (voiced by Alessandro Juliani) inner struggle to realize who he is. If that sounds familiar, it's because that was basically the plot of the first Bionicle film, which handled these themes in a much stronger way.

While it’s true that Takua and Vakama both struggle to accept their destinies as Toa, I feel Vakama’s struggle is the stronger of the two, as his is based in the very relatable anxiety of impostor syndrome.

That's largely because Vakama, along with just about every other character in the film, is incredibly boring.

This is one of the comments I mentioned above that makes it hard for me to believe you actually read the comics and novels that tell the rest of the Metru Nui story. Vakama’s character arc is undoubtedly the most complex in the franchise, based in relatable anxieties, and actually has a clear beginning, middle, and end (contrast this with the more repetitive character arcs of the Toa Nuva, who have to learn about the importance of unity several times over before they finally internalize it).

Despite being the protagonist, Vakama has an incredibly erratic and unfocused arc, while Whenua (voiced by Paul Dobson) and Nuju (voiced by Trevor Devall) receive next to no development at all.

This latter statement regarding Whenua and Nuju is true, but I don’t think it works as a criticism of the film, which is clearly meant to focus on Vakama, Lhikan, the Matoran, and the Makuta. Rarely does a film with an ensemble cast give a complete arc to every single character, and if it keeps the film more focused, that’s a good thing.

And whereas the antagonistic Makuta had a consistent, threatening presence in Mask of Light, he's an absolute joke here.

He eats people in this movie!

However, much like Mask of Light, Legends of Metru Nui maintains the problem of poor editing to the point of being laughably bad. There are transitions and cuts that make absolutely no sense. The movie struggles to let scenes settle and develop, with many in the middle lasting no longer than a minute, which is extremely jarring to watch.

Alright, I’ll give you this one — the editing could stand to be a bit more polished. It’s a film that’s trying to juggle quite a few plot threads, though, so I think its ambition makes its editing shortcomings forgivable.

For example, in the comics, writer Greg Farshtey explains why Vakama experiences visions of the future. But in the film, there's no explanation for this at all, making it seem like Vakama has clairvoyant powers out of nowhere (not that his vision [sic] do anything substantial in the film).

This is an extremely odd comment, because it’s just not true on either count. Vakama’s visions are never explained in the comics, but they are explained in the film, barely fifteen minutes in: “Visions can be a sign of madness, yes, or messages from the Great Spirit.”

The claim that Vakama’s visions contribute nothing substantial to the film is also objectively false, since his visions are what compels the team to go after the Great Disks, from which Vakama crafts the Mask of Time.

There are plenty of other small lines and instances that ignore the continuity, like Whenua commenting on how he went from being a Matoran archivist to a Toa fugitive in a day. That's obviously not how it works -- the disk hunt alone takes a while in both the comics and the film, so Whenua's statement makes no sense.

Whenua’s line is, “When I woke up, all I worried about was cataloging.” He does not explicitly claim to have been a Matoran when he woke up. All this line does is show that Whenua thought he’d be able to return to his life as an archivist now that the Morbuzakh and Krahka had both been defeated.

Of course, nowadays, many Bionicle lore scribes have properly allotted the film in the larger Bionicle timeline. But at the time of release, it felt like Legends of Metru Nui was blatantly going against everything that was already happening in the canon, which was upsetting and/or painful to watch.

Do you have a source confirming that fans felt this way at the time? As I briefly discussed earlier, this article is filled with implications that BIONICLE fans in general feel the same way about Legends of Metru Nui that you do (this is even made explicit in the title), but none of these implications are backed up, and this is simply not the case.

For the true fans out there, revisit this film if you want. Just don't expect anything special.

I watched it just the other day and had a great time! And the last time I hosted a stream of it, we all had a great time! And this brings me back to the core issue with this article: the baseless claim, in both the title and contents, that BIONICLE fans generally dislike Legends of Metru Nui. Perhaps it’s odd to write a response like this for what’s probably a pretty harmless article. Perhaps it’s an overreaction. But to see a huge site like CBR publish an article like this, that's not just full of factual inaccuracies, but also misrepresents the feelings of most of this community, is upsetting. To ascribe this kind of negativity to a generally friendly community, a community that so genuinely loves what we love, flaws and all, for some clickbait ad revenue… is upsetting.

[floosies]

Series: La Munenca del Barrio

Warnings: NSFW, Blood, violence, smut, strong language, and drug use

Rocio Cruz lives in a Brooklyn block best known for its vibrant and ignored community. What she always ignored though was the underground scene in the borough, the evils that lay in it and its people. That all comes to an end when she’s introduced to those things she ignored.

(LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK: Hey guys, just curious. Should I tone it down on the amount of spanish? I don’t mind writing in both languages I just want to make sure you guys are enjoying reading it)

Chapter 7: It’s Okay (You Don’t Love Me Anymore)

Series Masterlist

Rocio noticed how happy her mama had been since the mail came a couple weeks ago. Steve had called her, letting her know the date was set for the hearing, but when she asked him if he had told her mom, he got quiet. Somehow she’d found out before he could tell her. In fact, when he called Maritza, she answered with joy and said she’d meet him at the court when the day came.

Steve was interested in finding who the hell found out something that only he and a couple selected few knew. This was supposed to be a secret project. To Rogers, Rafael was a man who represented lost morals. He was loyal and worked hard taking the long meticulous way instead of risking a fuck up with short cuts. Most of Steve’s men now were arrogant, just because they worked for him. They used violence over brains. This is why he needed Cruz back, he needed a man who knew the work and had the methods to do it right. 

When Steve was still new to all this, it was Rafael who showed a him how to shoot. If it hadn’t been for that man, Steve would never have become into the man he is now. So wasting no time, he planned a meeting with Maritza, making sure that it would be soon enough as the day after the call but with the discretion that neither Rocio or the younger kids were there.

She was kind, which was odd. The only other times he’d talked to her she always acted indifferent or upset. He didn’t understand how she could have birthed someone as kind and forgiving as Rocio. Or how Rafael ever saw her as some sort of angel. Nevertheless, he explained the situation to her.

Maritza felt betrayed somehow, knowing what she knew now, “what do you mean Quintero hasn’t worked for you in years?” She could see the stress on the young man’s face, “he sided with Federico. After Rafa got arrested, he started acting sketchy. After a while, I found out he was making plans to start a new base with the man who ratted us out.” She sat there for a second, trying to understand how her husband’s closest friends, the ones she knew for decades, suddenly could betray him.

With a quick scoff she spoke, “no me sorprende, i’m not surprised at all. You can’t trust anyone in that lifestyle.” Her eyes scanned his face, all he did was shrug. He couldn’t disagree with that statement, “you think I don’t know? Since I was kid people who worked with Blue Eyes wanted me dead. That’s not why i’m here though.” He paused taking a drink from the mug of coffee she’d given him. “I’m here because, we need to talk about what’s going to happen after he’s out.” 

Now she started looking like herself. She was mad, of course she was. Steve figured she probably daydreamed about getting the wealth back. Moving back to the nicer side of New York and having Rafael do something civil like, like working in an office or something. That’s not how any of that worked though, Steve was still in need of guidance whether he liked to admit it or not. With herself now angered at this she rose her voice, “so what exactly is going to happen when he get’s out? You’re going to cage him like some animal? He has children! He has me!” Of course he was expecting this from her, sighing he tried to reason with her. “Calmate, he’s going to be in safe house to protect him. Or did you forget what I just told you about Quintero? Someone wants him dead the minute he is out.” That shut her up. She hated when he had a point, “you know all this would never have happened if he just quit when I begged him too. He would have been here.” 

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing, that just pissed her off more though, “I didn’t hear you complaining when your wedding ended up being half a million. Or when Blue Eyes got you the apartment in Soho. You know he used to talk about how you never complained when he came dripping in blood. No complaints of blood on the carpets ,what did he say instead? Ella solo dice, ‘compramos otra’. So don’t try to act like you weren’t having the time of your life.” She had to rebuttal of course, “do you know what my family went-” he cut her off, “your family came begging me to do something about you when Rafael went in. Your father said he’d even take the money for you and get you out of his home. They had more common sense than you. If you’d been smart and taken the money you wouldn’t have been living like this. You could have given Rocio and the other two a good life.” There was silence after, but it wasn’t that kind of silence after you know you’re wrong. It’s the kind that’s left before a storm brews.

He fucked up, he mentioned her name. There was this unspoken rule, he was allowed to know about the kids but Rafael never mentioned their names. Not to Blue Eyes, not Steve, not even to any of his friends. When Steve called to make the meeting, he steered clear from mentioning Rocio’s name. Now he’d let it slip and Maritza was waiting to see what else he’d say. When he didn’t speak, she did. Fear came over her first, “how do you know her name?” He didn’t speak. Now came anger, “why do you know her name?” He still didn’t answer her. Then came frustration, “me vas a decir como chingados sabes el nombre de mi hija, ingrato!” As she uttered out that last word of that sentence she tried to lunge at him but it didn’t really work. He caught her before she could, “si te calmas Maritza, te voy a explicar.” So she tried to calm down. 

What was she supposed to think, her daughter was dating a narco. Steve never considered himself that kind of man, but everyone else did. They sat there, he’d never seen her this quiet looking, almost as if she was trying to decide something. Instead, she kicked him out. He knew Rocio wasn’t going to be safe after this, Maritza was the kind of women who believed in petty acts when she felt wronged. He wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

Rocio waited for her siblings at the front of their school. She was happy, her client was an old friend from high school and she tipped generously. Even though her siblings were brats, she was gonna take them out to eat. It was a pretty chill afternoon, she was surprised her mama hadn’t called her to ask where they were. When she entered the apartment something felt off, then saw bags with her things in them, “mama we’re home.” Out of her room Maritza came with another bag of her daughter’s things. 

Maritza wasn’t looking at Rocio like her daughter at the moment, all she was seeing was anger and pettiness. Somewhere deep down she felt wrong for doing this but her pride always controlled her. “Angel, Marcos. Go to the room, pero ya.” The kids knew better than to argue with their angry mama. They sat in the room, they swear they heard something break and screams of pain coming from their older sister. Marcos looked out of the corner of the door frame to see his sister’s face bloody and covered in tears. His mama went back to hit her again, that’s when he went back inside the room. 

Steve picked up Rocio with no time to waste, he’d waited around with his men. What he didn’t expect to see was how swollen her right eye was. She didn’t talk at all the whole drive through. There wasn’t anything he could tell her, except that she was never going back to that place. He had his personal doctor come that very night to his home in Brooklyn. While his girl got fixed up he made some calls and had things arranged. The kids who didn’t deserve that kind of mother, would be watched over carefully. He personally called her grandparent’s, let them know what their daughter/daughter-in-law had done. Then asked his eyes and ears to let the neighborhood know what Maritza had done, the kind of woman she really was. 

Rocio didn’t really sleep that night, the pain was dull but still there. The doctor had given her the heaviest dose that was available but she still felt the pain of the beating she’d gotten. She never believed her mama was capable of that kind of violence but she just didn’t know her like she thought she did. As the silence continued to spread through the room where she waited for Steve to come to bed, her phone began sound off. Messages of apologies and encouragement, people linking her to social media posts with pictures of her face. She didn’t know how this got out to everyone but she figured he was behind it. 

[royallyprincesslilly]

Late (20.3)

Chapter Warnings: Angst, Plot, Blood

Word Count: 3640K

Note: Wheeew, I know, I know, I know. This took FOREVER. I’m sorry, truly. I told you guys I wanted to make this perfect especially because we are at the end and I don’t want to put out half-assed work and I wanted to make the necessary connections. I hope you guys enjoy this. I also have been going through a writing drought and haven’t felt the want to write. I know my issues and not yours, I’m sorry. Without further a due, ta-da!

***Loosely edited/proofread

******Interactive Chapter(KINDA, PICTURES COUNT :) )***

Thank you guys for reading. I appreciate it. If you enjoyed this, please LIKE and REBLOG. ❤️ ❤️ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wakanda was abuzz with the latest gossip of Ma’Uchi, Nakia, Tandra and W’Kabi and the attempted coup. No one could believe the lengths Nakia went to and no one could believe the fate the group shared and how T’Challa had went from one side of the spectrum to dropping the full weight of Wakanda’s rule upon them.

Everyone was now wondering when the king would finally give into his love for Y/N. In truth Wakanda was ready for the dawn of the era the king had promised.

You sat in the garden watching the sun set behind the Jabari mountains and smiled. You now had more of a fondness for the Jabari and their leader Lord M’Baku and you were excited about the potential for not only Wakanda’s growth but also the Jabari. You’d decided to finally unite all the tribes for a stronger Wakanada, all that was left was to reason with the king and help him see the logic of your words. You didn’t think it would be a hard task especially after he knew of the details of today.

You took a deep breath in and slowly released it. As you did you felt the stress and anxiety from the last few months dissipating. As you took another deep inhale you felt a sort of freedom you hadn’t felt in months. You closed your eyes hoping to relish the feeling for as long as you could. You didn’t know how long you sat there but by the time you opened your eyes you saw the queen mother sitting next to you. You jumped in shock before she placed a soothing hand upon your knee.

“It is just me,” Ramonda calmly voiced.

You smiled and nodded, relaxing yourself. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains and the sky was filled with hundreds of stars. The same stars that always made you think of T’Challa. You smiled to yourself.

“By yourself?” Ramonda asked.

“Yes.”

“Hm, interesting. I did not expect you to be by yourself. In fact i expected you and my son to be deep in conversation at this time,” she continued.

“The king is a busy man. After the debacle of today i am sure he had a lot to see to,” you reasoned.

“I am sure he did, but I didn’t expect anything to be more important than you.”

You sighed and looked to Ramonda’s face. She had a sly smile on her lips as she stared up into the star speckled night sky. After a few moments she looked to you and smiled wider.

“Unless it is you who is hiding,” she finished.

She’d guessed it, hit the nail right on the head, stolen the cookie from the cookie jar, pieced it together. You doubted it was a hard puzzle to put together. You looked down to your hands and entangled your fingers together before untangling them only to do the action again and again.

“Why are you hiding?” Ramonda asked when minutes passed of silence and her careful observation of your face.

You didn’t know the right words to speak, you didn’t even know what to say.

“Y/N?” Ramonda urged.

“A lot has happened. The last forty-eight hours have sped by like a tornado and in it’s wake everything has changed but quite possibly nothing. All that is certain is there is so much uncertainty,” you rushed out in one breath.

“You are right, a lot has happened. A lot has changed because of what has happened, but the only way to shed light on the unknown is by addressing it,” Ramonda counseled.

You knew what she was saying was true, still when the chance came you ran away.

“Wakanda owes you a debt Y/N. I owe you a debt.”

“You owe me nothing. I did this for Wakanda, for you. You all deserved to know the truth, you deserved some form of peace. I only hope that by dredging up the painful past I have not disrupted T’Chaka in the ancestral plane and I have not broken your heart all over again,” you confessed.

Ramonda took your hands within hers and firmly squeezed them as she turned to face you.

“Y/N, T’Chaka blesses you. I have been consulting with the ancestors and they are forever indebted to you for your actions. For rooting out the evil within Wakanda. What you have done is no small feat, but it’s benefits will spread across the land. As for my pain, it will never go away, never but you have lessened it by shining light on the truth. A grave injustice was done to our family, an injustice that broke us down, but you are the piece that will mend us and build us up, starting with the king,” Ramonda spoke.

You allowed her words to seep into your brain.

“How can I mend anything. I am not Wakandan.”

“Like hell you are not. Do you think you are Wakandan just by being born here, by being born with the blood in your veins? If that were the case all of the world is greatly mistaken of their heritage. You are not merely Wakandan because of blood, or birth but because of your heart, your soul. You were Wakandan when you put the happiness and prosperity if its people before your own happiness and prosperity. You are Wakandan when you embody the ways of our practices and teachings, you are Wakandan being true not only to the spirit of Bast herself but by being true to the land. All of which you have done since the day you got here and every day you continue to do so. You are Wakandan because even when your heart broke you chose the ways and people over your own wants, your own love. My child you are Wakanda,” Ramonda finished.

You smiled to yourself and looked up to the sky.

“But, you must stop running. You must forge ahead.”

You nodded and sighed again.

“You’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” Ramonda teased. You snorted and let out a laugh. A laugh you didn’t recognize. It had been so long since you last laughed—too long.

“Now, I am going to tell my son to stop pacing a hole in the floor of his office and to follow his heart and senses to you and you are going to sit here looking as beautiful as ever and forge ahead,” she ordered. You smiled and nervously nodded.

Ramonda stood and gently touched your forehead before she walked away back inside the palace leaving you alone again in the garden. You took another deep breath realizing your heart was not pounding at a maddening pace.

“Relax Y/N, relax,” you calmly recited.

You sat there running through the endless possibilities in your head at break neck speed. You went through tens of scenarios all ending differently, but all evoked the same feelings in you. You felt as if you were going to pass out from the anticipation and the unknown. You wondered if he still felt the same way, wondered if any part of him still wanted you. You wondered if everything had changed for him. You worried about so many of his feelings or lack there of that after ten minutes you began pacing the stone walkway in the garden obsessing over it all.

“Y/N.”

You quickly spun around with a distressed look on your face to see Okoye standing there.

“Okoye.”

“Was I interrupting?”

“No, no. Well yes but I'm grateful. I was going down an endless rabbit hole of what ifs and it had to stop, so thank you,” you said as she approached you.

“Are you all right?” You nodded only lying partially.

“Okoye, i wanted to thank you for today, thank you for all you have done in this crazy scheme of mine,” you began.

Okoye smiled a rare smile that paused you.

“I was happy to help Y/N. I should be thanking you for saving me from a fate worse than death if I had married W’Kabi,” she said with a look of disgust on her face.

“I still can’t believe his part in all this,” you added.

“Neither can I, I never suspected and I feel like such a fool,” she continued. You took her hand gently.

“Okoye, you are not a fool. He was simply good at covering his tracks, they all were. So if you are a fool so is the rest of Wakanda, the king included,” you teased.

Okoye smiled again.

“Well I have always been convinced the king was a fool, and was further proved right watching him these last years,” Okoye laughed, a laugh you joined in on.

“Speaking of the king, I have something for you,” she said holding out an envelope with the Wakandan king’s seal.

You took the envelope and stared at it.

“The staff have prepared your old bedroom for you,” Okoye informed. You nodded and watched her turn and begin to walk back inside the palace. Before she walked inside she stooped and looked back to you.

“Y/N,” Okoye began. You looked to her.

“He is lucky to have you.” Okoye said then the corner inside the palace.

You stood there for a few more minutes before you decided against opening it. Instead you walked back inside the palace toward your bedroom contemplating what he’d written in the envelope.

Once you were safely behind your familiar doors you looked around and took in your surroundings. Everything looked the same as if nothing had been touched. The walls were still the way you’d requested, as was the decor. You leaned your back against the door and pressed the envelope to your chest willing your heart to slow.

After a few moments, you walked further into the room toward the window at the moon shining in. You stood there and unsealed the envelope to open the king’s stationary.

“Wakanda owes you a debt.”

Short and simple, short and mysterious in meaning. You looked at the back of the card bu there was nothing else written. Confusion began to rise as you realized he was most likely not going to meet you tonight.

You put the card down on your desk and looked around the room again. You walked to your bed and softly traced your hand along the patterned duvet to one of the posts. You walked around the room taking in everything. You didn’t know how much you missed this until just now. You’d missed it greatly. you walked into the bathroom and began filling the copper claw-foot tub. You’d missed this tub. While it was old fashioned it was decked out with modern luxuries. At the touch of a button it could be transformed into a luxurious whirlpool, jetted spa escape filled with over fifteen massage patterns. This bad boy was the reason you’d been changed to a bath lover again after nearly a lifetime of preferring showers. Now you spent hours upon hours sitting in this tub.

You began undressing out of the Dora uniform and filled the tub with the luxuries you loved, essential oils, flower petals, bath salts, a special blended soap that produced the most exhilarating bubbles that some how worked to easily melt away any stress leaving you and your body in the most amazing state of relaxation. You couldn’t wait.

As you walked around the bathroom preparing things for your bath you did your best to not think about anything or anyone. If you thought anymore your head would burst. Once you’d freed yourself and only had your bra and underwear on you swirled your hand in the water to test the temperature was right. Smiling you began to rise but was struck back down by a kick to the back of your calf. You dropped back to the hard floor. Before you could turn to see who or what it was the mystery intruder grabbed your head and pushed it into the tub submerging your head under the water. You screamed in the water which produced no sound. It only brought water into your nose and lungs. You flailed your arms around behind you trying to grab the person. Every time your hand made connection to a garment of clothes they pulled away and sunk your head even further under the water.

After a minute of struggle your actions slowed, your head became heavy, your vision became speckled with bright lights. Your logic told you that you were running out of time. You tried your best to think about your immediate surroundings. You stopped trying to grab the intruder and began to reach for the retractable shower head that was attached to the tub your plan clear in your head. It was difficult to maneuver as your actions slowed more and you felt yourself begin to involuntarily convulse. In the recesses of your mind you knew you only had seconds. Your hands grasped the shower head but it was stuck. You yanked as hard as you could freeing the retractable cord. Gripping it you swung it back behind you and heard an enraged grunt. The action gave you a few seconds of reprieve. You pulled your head out the water and gasped for the precious commodity you desperately needed.

Again you felt the intruder trying to overtake you. You swung your head back connecting with their head. In an instant you felt dizziness ring through your head. Now you were righting two battles, lack of oxygen and dizziness, the odds were definitely stacked against you. You tried to get up but slipped on the flooded floor and dropped back down. You slid and spun around seeing Nakia standing there.

“Nakia?” you spoke in complete shock and confusion.

She dove to you but you ducked instead grabbing her calves and hoisted her up and over your head. You heard a loud crash and a scream. You spun around and saw Nakia splayed on the floor atop the broken the shards of the glass shower door. She groaned as she slowly rose to her hands and knees. She looked to you, blood dripping from several cuts on her face. She looked like pure rage.

“How did you get free?”

“I’ve lived in this place longer than you. I know every hidden tunnel and path. I’ve always known how to get in here. I could have killed you any time I wanted but a Queen doesn’t dirty her hands. She watches as other do her bidding, but now you have pissed me off and if you want something done right you have to do it yourself,” Nakia spat before she dove for you. She landed on top of you tackling you to the wet floor. She drew back her hand and landed a blow to your face. You struggled with her trying to overpower her. You rolled on top of her and punched her three times before she rolled to reclaim the upper hand. She managed to get her hands around you neck and began to squeeze.

“You thought I would just let you win? Did you really think I would just give up and go to the island? You are even dumber than I thought. You will never have him, you will never have Wakanda.”

You gagged and pushed your hands between hers and pushed them apart forcing her to release your neck. A move T’Challa showed you in one of your many sparring matches. You wasted no time grabbing her wrists and twisting them. She screamed loudly and you kicked her off of you over your head into the wooden panel along the wall. You rolled to your knees quickly watching her every move. It was past reasoning with her. There was no reasoning with her. No granting her mercy, nothing would work. Nakia stood up wiping the blood from her mouth. You stood and stared at her, expecting the worst, preparing for it.

Nakia took up a crystal candle holder and charged to you attempting to strike you. You evaded every attempt recognizing she was no longer strategizing, she was attacking on pure rage. She was at her weakest. You took the opportunity to punch her, but she pushed you on the wall and returned the hit. You sunk down and slid through her opened legs. You turned in time to see her coming for you, you kicked out the vanity stool to her forcing her to trip over it. You hurried to the door but saw it was locked from the outside. Nakia wrapped her arm around your neck placing you in a choke-hold.

“No escape, only through death.”

You elbowed her feeling your anger rise to the dangerous level. You turned and kicked her in her gut. She staggered backwards and tried to unsuccessfully evade your onslaught of hits. Each of your hits landed with precision. You felt stronger than you had in a long time. You took a deep breath in and charged Nakia. She landed on the hard floor with a loud thud. You wrapped your hands around her neck and squeezed with all your strength. She gagged and tried to pry your hands free. The fear in her eyes rose and it filled you with even more strength, it was intoxicating. You heard your Kimoyo beads ring from across the room. In the commotion they must have fallen off. In your distracted stare Nakia managed to grab a sliver of the broken glass and slash your collar. You drew back from the pain, she took the opportunity to roll on top of you and inch the glass closer to your jugular.

Every second she inched closer and closer, you struggled back and forth with her strength. When she gained an inch you pushed her back an inch only for the cycle to continue back and forth. You groaned as you saw the glass mere centimeters from your skin. Nakia smiled sinisterly as she kept her eye on the prize, your neck. You felt the sharp edge of the glass puncture your neck, pain rang through you and alarm filled you. You fought against the urge to panic, instead you released one hand to reach for the large shard you saw to the side. The action gave Nakia more leeway to sink her shard further into your neck. You gagged tasting your blood in your throat. You quickly lunged to the shard allowing the glass to sink a few more centimeters into your skin. It was the only way. You grabbed the shard and quickly slammed Nakia to her back and rammed the glass into her chest. Nakia gasped out in shock, but her actions into stop. She reached for a smaller piece of the glass and stabbed it into your abdomen. You gasped and convulsed taking in the impact and the pain of the object.

“You—will not—have—him,” Nakia stuttered out.

You raised your mouth into a vindictive snarl.

“Neither will you!” You shouted and pulled the glass from her chest to ram it into her chest again. You repeated the action two more times, on the final stab you sunk it into her heart. Nakia gurgled her blood oozing from her mouth as she stared at you, all her actions seized. You heard her cough and release her last terrorizing breath.

You sat atop her waiting for her to spring back up like the horror show she was, but after almost thirty seconds of no movement you let go of the shard of glass still sticking from her chest. Your bloodied hands violently shook and weakness overtook you. You toppled of her to the blood covered floor and began gasping for air. You reached your hand to your neck and felt the glass still protruding from your throat. You heard pounding at the door but it was too far for you to make it there. You’d never make it. Your hand slowly traveled to the second piece of glass sticking out from your abdomen and felt tears sting your eyes as reality crept in. Reality was you were dying, reality was Nakia had finally gotten what she wanted, reality was you’d now killed two people. Reality was that these were your last moments. You stared into the ceiling at a replica of the Wakandan night sky and saw a bright light creep in from the corners of your eyes. You heard a loud snap and shrieks of horror before scuffling footsteps. You heard your name as if it was someone far away and it was then T’Challa dropped to your side with a haunted look on his face.

Everything moved in slow motion and you heard nothing but muffled voices. T’Challa hesitated touching you as he examined your body. When his eyes landed on the glass protruding from your neck the look on his face spoke of fear. Your reality had finally registered with him. T’Challa looked away from you and shouted. You felt the trickles of his tears drip on your cheek and a deep sorrow filled you. You slowly lifted your hand to his face. You traced your bleeding hand along his cheek, down to his jaw. There was so much to say but no time, you opened your mouth to speak but no sound came out.

Fresh tears streamed down your face as you realized this was your last moment with him. T’Challa clasped his hand over yours and nuzzled his face into your palm, but you didn’t feel it. You’d read somewhere that when you were dying your senses would slowly fade. You could not smell him, you could not hear him, nor could you taste the blood you knew filled your throat and mouth. You saw his lips move but the light that was at the corners of your eyes now took over and with that, your sight went.

To Be Continued...

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Author’s AFTER-NOTE: Are y'all OK?

[almightygodismydependence-blog]

Relying on God: It is Possible to Get a Good Job Without Flattering People

By Fangxiang

In summer this year, the Christian Zhang Li began work at a large children’s amusement park. There were many job posts and different personnel were responsible for each post. Confronted with this kind of working environment, Zhang Li thought to herself: “No matter where I work, interpersonal relationships are the hardest to handle. For the sake of their own interests, people either engage in jealous disputes and scheme against each other, or they flatter each other and try to curry favor with each other—they live by satanic life philosophies in everything they do. I am a believer in God and everything I do and say must accord with God’s words. I must fear God and shun evil, not engage in any satanic life philosophy and not do anything that would bring shame on God’s name.”

One day, an exhausted Zhang Li finished work and went home, and she couldn’t help wondering to herself: “Some jobs at this amusement park are easy and some are strenuous. Everyone works at the same place, so why is it that some are allocated to the easy posts and some are allocated to places where there’s a lot of work to do?” Later, Zhang Li remembered what a colleague had said to her, that they were allocated to good posts only because they gave their manager gifts and said lots of nice things to them … Just then, the words “Those who do not flatter accomplish nothing” floated into Zhang Li’s mind, and she began to feel an idea coming: “So I’ll flatter my manager too and maybe then he’ll arrange an easy job for me. Should I buy him a present, or present him with a cash gift? Should I give him 200 yuan? No, that’s not enough. But if I bought something for him, what would I buy? If it’s too cheap, he’ll look down on me, but I can’t afford anything too expensive …”

Just as Zhang Li was pondering this, suddenly a passage of God’s words sprang to her mind: “Imagine asking someone who has been active in society for decades the following question, ‘You have lived in the world for so long and achieved so much; what famous sayings do you live by?’ They will say, ‘The most important one is “Those who give gifts to officials are not struck by them, and those who do not flatter accomplish nothing.”’ Isn’t such speech representative of his nature? His nature is not to spare any means for obtaining position; being an official is what gives him life. There are still many satanic poisons in people’s lives, in their handling things, and in their conduct and dealings with others—they are almost without a shred of truth—for example, their life philosophies, their ways of doing things, and their maxims are filled with the poisons of the great red dragon, and they all come from Satan. So, what flows through people’s bones and blood are all things of Satan” (“How to Know Man’s Nature”).

God’s words woke her up immediately, and she thought: “Yes! ‘Those who give gifts to officials are not struck by them, and those who do not flatter accomplish nothing’—is this not a life philosophy of Satan?” Zhang Li hurriedly found this passage of God’s words and diligently read it. As she contemplated these words, she thought of how she had made a resolution when she first started her job that she would practice God’s words and not live by satanic life philosophies. She never imagined that, as soon as something involved her own interests, she would consider using these satanic philosophies—flattery and giving presents to her manager—to wangle an easy job for herself and to reduce her physical discomfiture. She thought of the unbelievers and how they either gave gifts to get in through the back door and establish connections or they engaged in flattery, did all manner of dirty deals and complied with all manner of unwritten rules to win promotions, get rich and get a good job posting. In order to obtain the profits they desire, many people have no choice but to degrade themselves and curry favor with their superiors, they are incapable of taking a stand and conducting themselves properly, and they live very exhausting, painful lives. Some people use all the means at their disposal, even selling their own bodies, for a price, they live without a shred of dignity or integrity, and they abandon any standards of conduct. At that moment, Zhang Li finally saw that Satan was using these philosophies and axioms to corrupt and fool people; it was making people feel like they had no choice but to follow evil social trends in order to make a profit, and it was making them become increasingly corrupt and wicked. Gradually, mankind was heading little by little into degradation, and they would utterly lose all conscience, reason, integrity and dignity. Just then, Zhang Li realized that, if she really tried to flatter the manager and buy him gifts, then she would be just the same as an unbeliever; everything she did and said would then be built upon the philosophies and axioms of Satan, and God would hate and loathe her. “God requires that our speech and actions be open and aboveboard, that we speak truthfully, that we be on the level and honest, all so that we can live in the light and so that we avoid being fooled and harmed by Satan,” she thought. If she relied on Satan’s way of life to flatter, fawn on and suck up to the manager, so that the manager would give her the green light, just for the sake of satisfying her own physical interests and to swap to an easy job, wouldn’t she then be jumping into the quagmire in which Satan makes a fool of people? This was a disreputable way to do things, and it did not accord with God’s will and with His requirements for man. By reading God’s words, Zhang Li came to understand that Satan was using all manner of life philosophies to corrupt people, and she no longer wished to follow evil social trends or live by these life philosophies.

But Zhang Li still felt somewhat perplexed, and she thought: “If I don’t flatter my manager, will I be allocated to an even more exhausting place to work in the future?” Zhang Li’s heart was in turmoil, and she just didn’t know what to do. Just then, she read these words of God: “Your temperament, caliber, appearance, stature, family in which you were born, your job and your marriage, the entirety of you, even the color of your hair and your skin, and the time of your birth were all arranged by My hands. Even the things you do and the people you meet every single day are arranged by My hands, not to mention the fact that bringing you into My presence today is actually My arrangement. Do not throw yourself into disorder; you should proceed calmly” (“Chapter 74” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning). Zhang Li came to understand that God is the sovereign of all things and that all things are administered within God’s hands. What she encountered on a daily basis and what time she would be working in what post was all ruled and orchestrated in God’s hands—they were not things that she could change with her own efforts. Zhang Li’s heart then filled with light: She knew that she was a Christian and that she should pray and entrust this matter to God, let God take charge and arrange it all, and she knew she should not try to make any plans or arrangements relying on her own abilities, much less worry too much or become overly concerned about it. Even if the manager really did arrange for her to work in a strenuous job post, that would happen by God’s permission and there would be lessons there for her to learn—everything God does is good, and she knew that she should learn to obey. After reaching this understanding, Zhang Li wished to rely on God to experience her current situation and she wished to entrust her job over into God’s hands. No matter what job she would be allocated to, she wished only to submit to God’s sovereignty. She made a resolution not to live by Satan’s philosophies and axioms, not to flatter the manager using any underhanded means, and to perform the job she was supposed to perform well, with her feet planted firmly on the ground.

Several days later, the manager once again reallocated Zhang Li to yet another post. Only after she had begun this new job did Zhang Li realize that it was the most exhausting job in the whole amusement park. She had to stand all day long, without hardly any time to sit and take a break. What gave her even more of a headache was that this job involved dealing with money and, if she lost concentration for a moment, then she would tally the accounts up wrong, and then being criticized would be the least of her worries, as she would also have to make amends. Therefore, her brain had to be in a constant state of alertness, and the colleague who was teaching her this new role took a bad attitude toward her as well. This job was way too much for frail Zhang Li to handle, and she felt very stressed.

When the first day at this new job was over, Zhang Li asked the manager whether she could be swapped to another job, but he didn’t respond. Disappointed, Zhang Li returned home and lay on her bed, limp and motionless. She felt full of resentment toward the manager: “How could he arrange for me to work in such an exhausting area? This is what happens when I don’t give him presents. Maybe I should give him a little gift…?” Just then, Zhang Li suddenly remembered the resolution she had made just a few days ago to God, that she wished to obey in any situation and that, no matter what area she was allocated to, she would always be an honest person in accordance with God’s words, and would not conduct herself by satanic philosophies. She had made a resolution to God and she couldn’t allow her words to count for nothing or allow herself to cheat God. She thought that, since it had been arranged that she should work in this environment, then it must be happening with God’s permission, and therefore she must seek the truth more in this situation and experience it by relying on God and praying to God more. Thinking this, Zhang Li felt much calmer. And so, Zhang Li carried on living through this situation.

One day during her spiritual devotions, Zhang Li saw a passage in Sermons and Fellowship that said: “If the environment in which someone grows is all plain sailing, without any suffering, pain or setbacks whatsoever, can such an environment train that person to be strong of character? When one’s environment is entirely favorable and one grows like a flower in a greenhouse, what is the downside of this? (One becomes fragile.) And what are fragile people prone to? They become prone to dying young, to failing, to falling, to failing to flourish in life, to having no get-up-and-go about life. When your environment is too comfortable and easy, it really doesn’t do you much good. … So, what is the best environment to have? As far as anyone is concerned, the real environments arranged by God are the best, for it differs from person to person, as everyone is different” (“Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God Himself, the Unique III’ (VIII)” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (XIII)). After reading this passage from Sermons and Fellowship, Zhang Li had a better understanding of God’s will. As it turned out, God arranging for the manager to allocate her to the most exhausting job had God’s good will behind it. After pondering this for a while, Zhang Li understood that she was so young, and that she had only just entered the world of work and was lacking life experience. She had no ability to endure any of life’s hardships, and she became dispirited and weak the moment she encountered failure, or frustration, or something that was not to her liking. She was like a flower in a greenhouse that knew nothing of wind or rain; she was fragile and couldn’t stand a single blow. Only by experiencing many kinds of difficult environments and suffering could her willpower and her resolve to suffer hardships be strengthened, and only then would she be able to grow sturdy and strong. God allowing her to experience this difficult environment was so greatly beneficial to her. Moreover, God was using this environment to expose her corruption, to enable her to see how deeply corrupted by Satan she was and that, when she encountered a situation that did not tally with her own ideas, she complained and rebelled, she wanted to handle things by relying on the life philosophies of Satan, she was unable to persist in practicing the truth and her God-fearing heart was too weak. Zhang Li also came to understand that God’s will within this environment was that she pray and rely on God more, that she forsake her flesh, consciously practice the truth, not live by Satan’s life philosophies or life axioms, and be someone who could practice the truth and conduct herself with dignity. After she had understood these things, Zhang Li no longer felt bitter about her situation, but instead she wished to obey, to pay more attention to experiencing God’s words and God’s sovereignty and to learn to experience life. No matter how pained or exhausted her flesh would become, she wanted to practice in accordance with God’s words. At that moment, Zhang Li’s heart felt liberated at last.

Afterward, Zhang Li’s job continued to be very strenuous, but she no longer complained in her heart, and she was able to face it calmly. After a few days, a new colleague came to work alongside Zhang Li. Since the day her new colleague was allocated to her area, she never stopped complaining. She didn’t want to work in that area anymore and said that the other staff member was always miserable to her and kept telling her what she’d done wrong, and so on. After hearing her colleague’s rants, Zhang Li couldn’t help but recall her experience of how she herself had gone from feeling resentful to submitting in this job post, and she thought to herself: “If it hadn’t been for God’s words guiding me and leading me and enabling me to understand God’s will, I’d be like this colleague, unwilling to face up to this situation and living every day in a state of resentment, feeling incredibly depressed and unhappy. Only because my colleague doesn’t believe in God and has never read God’s words nor understood the truth does she live so painfully. Perhaps I should tell her of my own experiences.” And so, Zhang Li recounted her experiences of several days ago to her colleague, saying, “We’re still young right now and suffering a little hardship is a good thing. We have to experience all situations. We can stay in good environments and adapt to bad environments, and this is a kind of training for us. This is great and it will benefit us in the future …” When she’d finished, Zhang Li’s colleague started smiling and she nodded, saying, “Yes, you’re right!” After that, Zhang Li and her colleague began to encourage each other, and their hearts were no longer occupied by their previous worries.

Unexpectedly, not long after Zhang Li had had her change of heart about her job, she was reallocated to a relatively easier job post. Zhang Li felt both surprised and delighted, and she couldn’t quite believe it. She knew that everything was ruled and arranged in God’s hands, and she continually thanked and praised God. Although this matter may have seemed insignificant, after her experiences, Zhang Li truly came to appreciate that God’s good will is behind all things; God knew how much she could endure, He knew when it was appropriate for her to learn lessons in what places and, after she had learned the lessons she was supposed to learn, God then arranged a new environment for her to experience. At the same time, Zhang Li understood that flattery and living by life philosophies were not the only ways to get a good job. She came to understand that, no matter what job we do, it all rests with God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and that the most important things are to submit to God’s sovereignty, seek God’s will in all things and practice in accordance with God’s requirements. From the bottom of her heart, Zhang Li thanked God for guiding her.

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