#shuri joe

[coverpanelarchive]

Black Panther #7 (2022)

[paisholotus]

Meant To Be

Shuri x black reader

Summary: "I'll never leave you again, my love"

Warning Strong Language, Death, Smut.

Translations: Sthandwa(My Love) Ndiyakuthanda ( I Love You) "Ndiyakuthanda, nawe" ( I Love You Too) Ndithathe ukumkanikazi wam ( Take Me My Queen) Umhle kakhulu, Kumkanikazi wam ( You're So Beautiful, My Queen) Shuri ukumkanikazi wam ( Shuri, my Queen) Yintoni eyenzekayo (what's going on) Kukho into ekufuneka uyibone ( there's something you need to see) Kwenzeke ntoni (what's happened) Umntu uhlambe elunxwemeni, uKumkanikazi wam ( someone washed up on the beach , my Queen) Ngaba siyazi ukuba ngubani? ( Do we know who?) Ngu ..... umfazi wakho uKumkanikazi wam ( it is your wife) Umfazi wam ( My Queen) Ukumkanikazi wam omhle ( My beautiful Queen) Uyaphila ( he lives ) Bendikukhumbula, kumkanikazi wam (I missed you, my Queen) Usana lwam ihobe ( My baby dove)

Requested by: @purplecandyocean

A/N: This is inspired by the song Stay Ready & Love Scene by Jhene & Joe. This MF IS LONG! So I'm sorry in advance, but I hope y'all enjoy. 🩵

Narrative

Riri was helping Shuri with a new project, which apparently was to benefit the border tribe. The lab was deafeningly quiet. Riri has been in Wakanda on spring break for a month and will return home in two weeks.

 

She realizes Shuri is acting a little down today; she hasn't spoken anything to her all day. She hasn't pressed Shuri to say anything, but she is becoming concerned.

 

"You ok, bro?" Riri asked Shuri.

Shuri nodded and returned her gaze to the tools on the table. 

Riri nodded hesitantly and gazed down at Shuri's necklace. It was a necklace made of crystal. Riri noted that Shuri always wore it and had never seen her take it off. 

"What's that necklace? It's almost as if it's shining. Is it made of vibranium?" Riri asked Shuri.

Shuri smiled affectionately as she gazed down at the necklace. She squeezed it in her hand, observing the various hues reflecting off her hand. 

 

"Yeah, something like that." Shuri's voice drifted off. 

Riri interpreted this as Shuri's refusal to talk. Riri took the tools and went back to work. 

 

Shuri returned her attention to Riri, saying, "My wife made it for me." She said quietly.

 

Riri looked at Shuri with a surprised expression on her face.

 

"YOU WERE MARRIED!?" Riri screamed.

Shuri laughed at Riri's shocked face and nodded.

"How come you've never told me?" Riri asked Shuri.

 

Shuri frowned again, rubbing the crystal between her fingers. 

 

"It's difficult for me to talk about her. I could go on and on about my family, but Y/N....it just aches." She said, while holding tears in her eyes and looking at Riri.

 

Riri nodded and expressed regret for bringing it up. Shuri shook her head and stated that she was not bothered. 

 

"I apologize for being so distant today. Because it is my anniversary, I've been missing her even more." Shuri informed Riri.

Riri assured her they didn't have to discuss it any more if she didn't want to. 

 

"No, it's fine. "I'd like to tell you about her." She stated. 

 

"She made this necklace for me. I can communicate with her, and the glowing means she's safe. It will change colors based on her mood. When the blip occurred and everyone else came back, she didn't, including my brother and cousin. The necklace is now basically every color. But the glowing gives me hope that she's still alive." 

Riri's eyes welled up as she listened to Shuri. Shuri basically lost everyone she loved.

"Can you tell me some more stuff about her?" Riri asked. 

Shuri offered her a tearful smile as she glanced at her. 

"Of course." 

"She sounds amazing," Riri said, as Shuri finished telling her about Y/N. "I know, that's why I married her" Shuri proudly said, but her smile quickly faded. "I miss her," She said. Shuri didn't want to burden her problems and worries onto Riri, even though they were friends, talking about Y/N was dreadfully painful.

"Well, even though you can't communicate with her anymore, your necklace still glows. So maybe she'll come back one day. My grandmother used to say, life ain't nothing without faith. So you gotta continue to have faith that she'll come back, good things that are made for us always comes back." Riri told shuri softly grabbing on her hand.

Shuri gave Riri a small smile and quietly thanked her squeezing her hand back. Shuri dropped their hands and told Riri she'll finish the project tomorrow. She told Riri to shut down the lab for her, she was going to call it a night.

As shuri walks down the palace halls, heading to her room, it gets quieter, she thought of the happy days. The day Shuri and Y/N got married. It was in secret, Shuri proposed to Y/N on the beach, it was absolutely beautiful. Shuri was the oldest 16 and Y/N 15. Their marriage was in secret because both of their parents would not of approve of them marrying so young, but their love was strong and Shuri knew she would never want to be with anyone else.

Shuri walked into her room, walking straight into the bathroom to do her nightly hygiene routine. After she was done, she lotioned up and put on her pajamas. She honestly felt mentally tired. She was sick of coming to an empty room night after night. She looked towards her closet and walked in, walking all the way to the back, were Y/N's clothes in boxes.

She opened the box and pulled out one Y/N's shirts, bringing it out of the closet, and walked towards her dresser which held all of Y/N's favorite perfumes. She sprayed the perfume on the shirt and held it up to her nose. She smiled softly at the smelled, the thought of getting rid of your belongings has never and will never cross her mind, this is all she has left of Y/N.

Shuri turns off the lights and gets into bed. She places the shirt over one of the pillows, and hugs it, taking in the scent. Oh, how she wishes Y/N would come back to her. She wishes her whole family back. Of course she has Nakia, her nephew, Okoye, and now Riri.

But, it wasn't the same. She lost everyone. Shuri clutched the pillow tighter as she silently cried herself to sleep.

 

-Time Skip-

Okoye dashed through the corridors of the palace, heading toward Shuri's room.

"Shuri! ukumkanikazi wam!" With tears in her eyes, she let out a cry and pushed open her doors.

 

Startled out of sleep, Shuri gazed at Okoye with a worried expression on her face.

"Yintoni eyenzekayo?" She asked Okoye.

"Kukho into ekufuneka uyibone." She says. 

With the Dora Milaje after them, Okoye and Shuri dashed through the palace's halls and out the palace.

Shuri turned on her suit and dashed over to the scene. The shore. 

Though that was not the case, Shuri mistook it for Namor returning.

 

"Kwenzeke ntoni?" Shuri asked, as Okoye stopped her from walking on the beach.

"Umntu othile wahlamba elunxwemeni." Okoye said, lowly.

Shuri nodded and moved aside only for Okoye to move back in front of her.

Shuri showed her face deactivating her suit, looking at the General suspiciously. "Ngaba siyazi ukuba ngubani?" Shuri asked her.

Okoye opened her mouth but nothing came out, she continued to take uneven breaths looking at Shuri who was losing patience.

Shuri took a good look at the General. Her cheeks was wet and her eyes were red. 'Has she been crying?' Shuri thought. Shuri tried to move around the General but Okoye moved in front of her once again.

"Okoye, you tell me what's going on, right now!" Shuri demanded staring the General in the eyes.

"We know who it is. Ngu ..... umfazi wakho uKumkanikazi wam." Okoye said, slowly her eye's tearing up.

Shuri ran past Okoye instinctively. She was running down the beach like a crazy person when she noticed Ayo and Aneka trying to revive Y/N, who was unconscious on the damp sand. 

 

Shuri slid into the sand close to Y/N's body, placing Y/N's head on her lap. 

 

"LOVE, PLEASE GET UP! DON'T DO THIS!" Shuri begged Y/N. She gazed at the bright red kimoyo beads on your breast, which indicated that it couldn't detect Y/N's pulse. 

 

Shuri removed her necklace and noticed that it had stopped glowing. 

 

 "HAYI! NCEDA UNGAYENZI LE NTO, MNTWANA! BUYELA KUM! ANDINAKUPHULUKANA NAWE!" Shuri screamed. Her hot tears fell on Y/N's face. 

 

The kimoyo beads then became green, prompting Y/N to cough up the water.  

 

Shuri quickly turned Y/N over to her side as she violently coughed up the water. When Y/N finally coughed up the water, Shuri turned her on her back again, pulled her up to her chest, and clutched onto her. 

 

Shuri cried into the side of Y/N's neck, thanking Bast for giving you back to her. Shuri moved her head from Y/N's neck and leaned down, pressing a small kiss to her lips. 

 

"My Queen, maybe we should take her back to the palace so she can get looked at." Okoye said. 

 

Shuri nodded and picked up Y/N, carrying her bridal style back to the palace.

-Time Skip-

Shuri observed Y/N, who was still unconscious, breathing steadily. She leaned over and kissed her forehead, brushing back the dark curls in her eyes. 

 

Shuri couldn't believe she was looking at her wife like this. She was still alive and well. Shuri hadn't seen Y/N in two years, and she was experiencing overwhelming emotions right now.

 

Shuri turned to gaze at Okoye, who was walking over from talking with Ayo. 

 

"How did this happen?" Shuri asked.

 

"A couple said that they saw Y/N wash up on the beach but didn't know who exactly she was until they got people to inform the Dora." She said quietly.

 

"When I got there and I got a good look at her, I knew then that was Y/N." She said, while looking down at Y/N and smiling. 

 

When Shuri turned her head and saw Riri stroll into the room in her pajamas, the moment came to a halt. 

 

"What in the hell is going on? I heard yelling and a lot of running. Did something happen?" She asked, concernedly approaching Shuri.

 

Shuri returned her gaze to her wife with a sweet smile. 

 

"Who's That?" Riri asked. 

 

Shuri returned Riri's gaze with tears in her eyes.

 

"This...is Y/N. Umfazi wam." She remarked, happily beaming. 

 

Riri raised her head at Shuri before returning her gaze to Y/N.

 

'This is her?' Riri pondered. 

"She's beautiful." Riri said.

 

Shuri glanced triumphantly at Y/N and Riri, stating, "Yes, she is. Ukumkanikazi wam omhle." 

 

"AYE!" Everyone turned their heads, and what they saw made their hearts drop. 

 

"Does someone want to fucking tell me why T and I just came out of the fucking ocean?!" 

 

Shuri audibly gasped as she placed her hands over her mouth. 

"N'Jadaka......brother." 

 

Okoye smiled as she stared at T'challa through tears. "Uyaphila." She stated proudly. 

 

Shuri dashed over to Erik and T'challa, wrapping her arms around them both and sobbing.

 

T'challa and Erik clung to Shuri as they sank to the ground. She wailed, clutching them even tighter, as if they might vanish again. 

 

They held onto Shuri while she cried till she couldn't anymore, and the only thing that came out were her hiccups. 

 

T'challa and Erik stepped back to get a better look at Shuri. T'challa had expressed her desire to cut her hair while smiling at her with tears in his eyes. While Erik stated that it suited her.

 

T'challa gazed around, noticing the Dora, Okoye, Y/N on the medical bed, and Riri, whom he didn't know. But who he didn't see was his mother.

 

T'challa returned his gaze to Shuri and asked where their mother was.

 

Shuri's lips quivered as more tears streamed down her cheeks. She started telling them everything. Everything down to the smallest detail. When she returned from the blip, the three of them didn't. 

 

She told them about Namor and what transpired in America, as well as her attempt to bring Riri to Wakanda and her capture by the Talokan. She told them of their mother's death and that M'baku is now King of Wakanda, and she is Queen and Black Panther. 

 

She told them everything that had transpired up until tonight. 

 

T'challa and Erik couldn't find the words to say when she finished. They were experiencing too many emotions at the same time. 

Erik had lost his aunt, and T'challa had lost his mother. M'baku reigns as King on the Thrown. And Shuri T'Challa's younger sister, Queen and Black Panther, has grown up. 

In the last two years, their country has experienced both triumph and tragedy. Erik and T'challa couldn't help but cry as they clutched Shuri. 

T'challa and Erik did express their admiration for Shuri's ability to handle things so well. Shuri thanked her brother and cousin with a warm grin. 

That is everything she has ever desired to hear. 

  -Time Skip-

"Oh my god, Shuri!" Y/N squealed, caught off guard, as Shuri effortlessly lifts her off the ground and twirls her around, cradling Y/N's body in her embrace as she walks down the palace halls. With a playful gesture, she plants several kisses on Y/N's cheek, eliciting another burst of laughter from her. “Shuri, put me down!,” she manage to utter amidst Shuri's genuine laughter, even though her pleads for her to let her go.

“Not a chance, nkoszana. Do you know how long I've waited for this moment?” she tells her sincerely placing her gently back on the ground. Y/N looked shuri in her eye's with love and admiration. After Shuri told Y/N what had happened, she was heartbroken that Shuri had to go through all that. And she felt even more guilty about what happened to Queen Mother. Because maybe if she was there Ramonda would be alive, but Shuri assured her that it wasn't her fault, what happened was out of their control.

Shuri kissed Y/N, trapping her between their bedroom door as her mouth traveled back to that sweet spot on Y/N's neck. Y/N's hand made its way to the back of Shuri's head, gently grasping her soft curls as her passionate kisses, making a moan come from her lips. Shuri's hands creep down Y/N's body, caressing her curves before her fingers slowly find their way between her legs again, causing Y/N's knees to buckle for a split second, from not being touched in so long.

Shuri was delicate in removing Y/N's clothes from her body, allowing her clothes to fall down to her ankles. Her slender fingers graced the sides of her panties, she was not so gentle with, hooking her fingers underneath the lace that hugged Y/N's hips and ripping them, causing a shiver to go down her spine.

"All I want to do right now is love her down (Ooh)

I don't give a damn about who hears the sound (Ooh...)

We'll be in the groove until the sun comes up (Yeah)

Together we'll get lost inside the love"

“Mmm... I smell how wet you are, Sthandwa.” Shuri pressed into Y/N's clit once more, pushing loving circles into her before she made her way down to her clenching hole. Y/N felt drenched, desperate for her wife's touch but Shuri desired to savor this moment as if it were a rare occurrence, shuri was going to please her wife tonight. She's going to make up for the two years she's lost with her love.

"Let's make a love scene, steamy and blue

Erotic memories for an audience of two

And we'll make a love scene, let the foreplay begin

And replay each moment again and again and again"

She traced her fingers over your Y/N's entrance, feeling the way her pussy chased after her in desperation of release. The relentless teasing Shuri subjected Y/N to was unbearable, driving her to the edge of exhaustion as Y/N's impatience mounted, begging Shuri to put an end to it.

"Take it off, take it off, take it off till you get enough

(Whoa... whoa... whoa... whoa...)

Anyway that you like, it's okay, come and get my love

(Whoa... oh... ho... ho... yea...)"

Y/N yearned, craving Shuri's touch with a deep hunger, and Shuri desired her wife just as much as she did. For a moment, Shuri got off the bed, allowing herself to become entranced with the way Y/N's slick glistened her inner thighs, doing all this as Shuri unbuttoned her dress shirt and rolled up her sleeves, her Necklace glowing, and her Panther Grillz glistening against her ebony skin. Shuri was so beautiful and the sight of her only heightened Y/N's arousal, her core pulsing beneath Shuri's gaze.

"All I want to do right now is love her down (Love her down)

I don't give a damn about who hears the sound (Hears a sound)

We'll be in the groove until the sun comes up

(Ooh... ooh...)

Together we'll get lost inside the love (Oh, yeah)"

Shuri got on the bed, resting herself on her knees before motioning Y/N to lay on her back and she obliges, spreading her legs, her arms cuffing under her legs. Shuri's fingers lingered above Y/N's clit, grazing them along her folds.

"Let's make a love scene (Make a love scene), steamy and

Blue (Ooh)

Erotic memories for an audience of two

And we'll make a love scene (We'll make a love scene)

Let the foreplay begin (Oh... ho...)

And replay each moment (Mmm) again and again and again

Ooh, I'm gonna keep lovin', I'm gonna keep lovin' you baby

(When the curtain drops) Oh

We won't stop (We won't stop), we won't stop"

Shuri wasted no time sinking her eager fingers through Y/N's folds, Shuri's digits getting lost in her thick, swollen pussy as Y/N feels the coolness of Shuri's rings up against her. She occasionally brushes over Y/N's clit causing her flinch every time, still sensitive from Shuri's lingering touch.

"Baby lyin' on the bed

Exotic fantasies goin' through her head

She's staring at me with those bedroom eyes

(Take four) Honey sippin' on some Chardonnay

The sex is even better when she's feeling that way"

"Are you going to be a good wife, and let me pleasure you?" Shuri asked, in a sultry tone.

Shuri's words make pounding of Y/N's core intensify, aching to be taken care of. Shuri licked a long stripe up her entrance, eliciting a sharp inhale from Y/N as she licked her lips at the taste.

"Tell me what you want, Ukumkanikazi wam?" She asked, kissing her clit.

"Ndithabathe ukumkanikazi wam." Y/N moaned out, pressing Shuri's head closer to her entrance.

That’s all Shuri needed to hear. She lowered her head to the heaven between Y/N's thighs. She swirls her tongue around her clit, moaning as she sucks gently.

"Umhle kakhulu, kumkanikazi wam." Shuri whispered, lapping Y/N's juices as she clenched around Shuri's tongue, feeling her climax approaching.

“Bast!” Y/N cried out, throwing her head back with eyes glued shut.

Any attempt at hiding Y/N's need for Shuri was long gone now. Shuri flicked her tongue rapidly over the sensitive bundle of nerves, admiring the way your legs clamped over her ears as she did.

“Shuri-yam,” Y/N whined, Shuri's name dragging over her lips.

“Yes, my darling?” Shuri mutters, kitten-kissing Y/N's clit. “P-Please, k-keep going.” Y/N begged.

“Fuck! Right there, mama. Don't stop....A-almost there!” Y/N utter, releasing her grip on the sheets and replacing her grasp onto Shuri’s dark curls.

Shuri's name continued to vibrate off the walls when Y/N's release erupted through her vessel, her body shaking as she rode it out.

The queen lapped up Y/N's essence, sucking every drop that threatened to fall from her center as she moaned at the taste. "You did such a good job, my Queen." Shuri praised, leaning up to kiss Y/N's lips, so she could taste herself.

Y/N reaches her hand out to her Queen, "your turn. Let me taste you, Panther-yam."

Shuri straddles Y/N's stomach, moving her wet core back and forth.

Y/N's hand grazes through Shuri's slick folds as Y/ N's mouth waters at the thought of tasting her mama, "My face. Sit on your throne, my Queen." Y/ N insisted.

"Bendikukhumbula, kumkanikazi wam." Shuri moaned, out softly.

Y/N doesn't respond, instead gripping Shuri's hips and bringing her pussy down to within her mouth's reach before going to town. Y/N start by licking a flat stripe up her folds, collecting as much of her essence on her tongue as she possibly can, moaning at Shuri's taste, "You taste so good, Mama." Y/N raised her other hand up and parting Shuri's folds to wrap her lips around her clit and suck.

"Girl, I'm down to take a sip from your cup

If you drink from my fountain of love (Oh, ho)

Girl I'm down to take a sip from your cup (From your cup)

If you drink from my fountain of love

'69 was a very good year (Do you remember, girl)

If you know what I mean, my dear (Ooh, baby)

'69 was a very good year (I could remember)

If you know what I mean, my dear (Let's do it over and

Over again)"

Shuri throws her head back, a loud moan falling from her lips as she begins rocking her lower lips against your face "Bast! Yes, don't stop! Ndiyakuthanda." Moaned loudly, looking down at Y/N

"Let's make a love scene (Let's make a love scene)

Steamy and blue (Let's do it on the floor)

Erotic memories for an audience of two

And we'll make a love scene (Alright)"

"Ndiyakuthanda, nawe" Y/N responded, spitting onto Shuri’s clit. Making Shuri scream Y/N's name.

 -Time Skip-

 "We do not exist in

Any other instant"

“What’s on your mind, sthandwa sam?” Shuri's voice held Sincerity.

Shuri laid on Y/N's chest looking up in her eyes.

"Nothing, I just can't believe everything that has happened in the last two years." Y/N said, looking up at the ceiling.

Shuri turns over, sitting up on her elbows, looking down into Y/N's eyes.

"Sthandwa-Sam. I know you blame yourself, and I'm telling you not too. What happened, what I've been through was not something you could have fixed." Shuri said, pressing her forehead against Y/N's.

"Here in this dimension

You and I are meant to be"

Y/N's eyes watered as she began to cry a little. "Yeah, but you had to do it all alone. I mean yeah you had Nakia and Okoye. But you've waited two whole for me. If didn't come back I would've wanted you to move on. Find someone other than me to make you happy."

"If you just give me 24

Man, all I need is 24 hours

I promise you'll want plenty more

You'll probably be with it forever

So how does it sound, us on the ground

Giving you my love?"

“Ssshhh, Usana lwam ihobe. I was never alone I carried you with me everywhere I went. Prayed to Bast every day that you would come back to me, never giving up hope or faith. And look what happened, you came back to me. On our anniversary at that." She said, smiling down at Y/N. Making her cry even harder.

"Come to me

Come, come to me

what you've done to me

You put a gun to me

Then you brought the sun to me"

"And as for moving on. That's something I could never in my days do. I love your sense of humor, how you’re always laughing and it makes me laugh. Puts a smile to my face when I have no smile to offer. I love your strength and your capability to love even though the world has not been so kind to you."

"Shine like blood diamonds

Learning to have patience only 'cause you are timeless

The universe energy doesn't lie

And this chemistry is infinity at a million times

I wrote a million rhymes describing your star power

And after 24 bars, you get 24 hours"

“You reminded me everyday of what it is to be happy. And I want nothing more than to spend the end my days, waking up to your perfect face every morning. I loved you every second of my life, and that's never going to change." Shuri finished tears sliding down her cheeks.

"There's no place quite like here

There's no better time than now

You gotta stay ready

There's no place quite like here

There's no better time than now

That's why I stay ready"

"I love you Shuri." Y/N said, kissing Shuri's lips.

"We do not exist in

Any other instant

Here in this dimension

You and I are meant to be"

"I love you more, Sthandwa."

[acupofqueercoffee]

“With her sweetened breath and her tongue so mean”

Andromache the Scythian x Witch Reader

gif ▸ queen-shuri ( i don’t know how to link a gif ㅠㅠ )

request ( found here ) by @nightly-polaris

i left her powers to your imagination though i did play around with the idea of them being soulmates. wow it did take me a while. this was harder to write than i thought. frankly, i’m not very pleased with it. i went too long without writing and i feel like i’m getting rusty. i just hope that i managed to do your idea justice 🥹

(=^･ω･^=) leonora the cat made a cameo appearance

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Myriads and myriads of millennia. That was how long the Scythian had been walking the earth. There was not a corner of this world where her soles had not touched. Many a time had the sky borne witness to her downfalls, and thereupon, her immediate beginnings. Throughout her journey as an immortal, she had seen it all, privation, plenty and everything in between. The wonders and weirdness of the world could no longer provoke in her a sensation that would otherwise have six thousand years ago.

Regardless of her very old age that could have her certified as a living fossil, and the boundless knowledge that she had collected throughout her very long life making her a walking encyclopaedia, there existed many mysteries that even Andromache had yet to see. Amongst them, magick was a concept that still remained foreign to her; therefore, a threat. Unfamiliar though it was, it was not entirely unheard of. After all, she herself had been caught in the crossfire while trying to free the accused from the witch trials. In the end, they were just that: accused. There ended the extent of her experience regarding witchery or anything supernatural for that matter.

The only occult phenomenon that she knew to be bona fide was their immortality. The rest was sham. That was, until her team notified her of the all too familiar dream. Until a family of four bar Quynh and Booker, became a family of four, plus a hazardous, peculiar individual.

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

The arcane parts of you that had remained concealed for the better part of your life had only recently come to light when you unfortunately faced your demise.

The cause of your death had been as good as silly, slipping on a wet tile and cracking your head open on the edge of your bathtub, but it had shed light on an important piece of information nonetheless.

One second, you were dead, and the next, you woke up in a pool of your own blood. To you, who had been revealed to the bombshell of an information about a week ago, that you were a witchling, you were just in assuming that it was part of your newfound identity.

However, on the following day, with the arrival of a mysterious woman on your doorstep, your life was turned upside down. Going with her had not been of your own free will, having been meticulously knocked unconscious and finding yourself on an unfamiliar bed upon awakening.

The root of your sudden perturbation stemmed from the absence of Leo, a majestic Somali cat with gorgeous red mane that resembled a smaller version of a fox. She had been your greatest companion long before you had been made aware that she was your familiar. It appeared that the bond between a witchling and her familiar became only stronger once a witch unlocked her true potential. Only when a fluffy ball of scarlet hopped onto your bed could you calm.

In addition to, quite frankly, the charismatic complexity of a woman that you eventually learned named Andromache, you met three other people; Nile, who looked the closest in age to you, Nicky who had the kindest face out of the four, and Joe who appeared the most laid-back. All five of whom, four who you had just met, and the remaining one who, as explained by them, was away to carry out his punishment, were not entirely unfamiliar to you. You had seen them in the dream that had sought you right after your very first’s death.

Regardless of your non-involvement in being here, the decision to remain here was done of your own free will, reached by not only your instinctual feelings but also the support of Leo. Growing up alone, you had no one to miss you, and no one to be missed by you. It seemed sound to stick with those as peculiar as you were, than to stick out like a sore thumb amongst the ordinaries, or so you had believed.

Oh, how terrible of a mistake you had made by assuming that being immortal would make you the same as them, or them the same as you.

Although the others welcomed you warmly, making you feel at home as best as they could, your confession about your true being was not received kindly by Andy as the others called her. In fact, even the nickname was a privilege that was beyond your reach.

“That’s Andromache to you.” so she had corrected, lips the very picture of a straight line, when you had made a slip of your tongue.

Being forced out of slumber one night by a curious dream, similar in kind to the one you had on your death’s day, led you to seek the group with a question in mind. No sooner had you set foot in the room than the Scythian made herself scarce without so much as acknowledging you.

“Andy, albeit not being the most open person, can be ridiculously protective of her team. You are now one of us which means that she cares.”

“Humans harbour fear of the unknown. Even Andy cannot be entirely immune to it. Give her time.”

“She’ll come around. Take me for example. I had been killed once, beaten to a pulp, and had my bones broken by that woman, all of which transpired within the same day.”

Despite the reassurances from Joe, Nicky, and Nile, you would rather she kill you than disregard your existence altogether. Her aloofness stung you all the more for you felt oddly, albeit rather profoundly, connected to her.

You wanted to believe that it was time she needed, and time, you gave her, but when you were being actively avoided by her like you were the very plague, it only made sense that your tolerance would eventually run thin.

Unlike the Scythian along with Joe and Nicky who had been protecting humanity for centuries, and Nile who used to be a marine, you lacked experiences when it came to being a warrior. Additionally, being a witchling meant that you were a complete novice in magick. During one of your first missions, due to an error on your part, you had hindered your team by causing their unnecessary deaths.

You were not oblivious to the fact that the Scythian’s immortality had reached its end. In fact, it was by dumping all your attention onto the woman that you had not a dot to contribute to your part of the task. Although the mistake was borne of your all consuming concern for the Scythian’s safety, appreciation was the farthest thing from which you ended up receiving.

“Andromache, I keep having this dream of a drowning woman. Is she someone like us?”

When you had brought the question to her with a flimsy hope of instigating communication, sapphire green eyes had coldly held your soft-eyed gaze.

“There is no us.”

Such had been her words, thickly laced with venom that it rendered you absolutely crestfallen.

Thereafter, you were left alone in the room along with your question neglected. The answer to which was being delivered to you presently in what you could only describe as the most unkind fashion.

“You wanna know who that woman in your recurring dream is? That’s Quynh and if I could, without question, I would trade you for her. You should be the one locked up, not her. Quynh isn’t a witch. You are!”

“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“Every day, I worry over whose immortality will be stripped away next now that you’re in existence. What use are your abilities when you can’t even make good use of them? A hazard to the team. That is what you are! Nothing but a liability.”

Razor-sharp and poison-bitter, her frankness certainly did a splendid job of maiming you.

Despite not only being shunned, but also having your sorry little heart wounded by the very kingpin of the team, withering was the last thing that befell you. If it did, you were doing a good job of putting up a front, fragility hidden behind a tough facade.

You trained more. You smiled more. Always so cheery, always so carefree until one day, a relatively trying mission brought about the shattering of the mask that you had painstakingly put in place.

“Have I done something wrong? Why does she loathe me so?”

Having been bursting at the seams with bottled up emotions, it was no wonder that your heart reached its breaking point.

“I can’t. I can bear it no more.”

An endless leakage of tears marred your features as you came apart at the seams, revealing to the team the depth of the wound the Scythian’s coldness had burned into your psyche.

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

You were different as they were but at the same time, you were different from them altogether. The Scythian had her suspicions to begin with when, after swiftly sketching the picture of the one who had visited their dream, Joe had handed her the book in which a familiar face stared eerily back at her.

Losing her immortality meant that she was no longer privy to these interconnected dreams. However, there was no mistaking the face that had been plaguing her dreams for years. Andromache did not know what it suggested for them, and it was disconcerting to say the least. Then, once the fact was made known that you harboured powers beyond immortality alone, with her suspicions solidified, you were deemed a threat.

As was with Nile, there, too, was a strong possibility of you coming to be at the cost of one of the veterans’ immortality. The staggering awareness that it could very well be Quynh was a bitter pill to swallow. It did not make it any more palatable that Quynh was unfairly accused of being a witch, and locked up in the bottom of the ocean for centuries upon centuries only for a real witch to take her place.

If her rationality had not been muddled by stress, and the deeply rooted guilt and resentment of having to lose Quynh, she would see that her judgement about you had been done with extreme unfairness. Cruelly subjective instead of reasonably objective.

In the end, Joe and Nicky had to play the role of an eye-opener.

“What’s wrong with you, Andy? You’re being unreasonably cruel to the kid.”

“She proved hazardous to the team.”

“She is a part of the team!”

“She’s not entirely like us.”

“That’s absurd!”

“I lost my immortality upon Nile’s arrival. Quynh is next in line. What if she-” Brushing her palms over her face, a sigh was heaved into the cocoon of her hands. “The innocent has to suffer while the guilty takes her place? Don’t you think it’s unfair?”

Joe levelled her with a glare that screamed incredulity while both of them sounded truly disappointed.

“My god, Andy, are you hearing yourself?

“Where is the Andy I know who’s endlessly caring to her people?”

“Your anger is dreadfully misplaced. It is those pea-brained bastards that should be rightfully crucified, not an innocent kid.”

Even amidst being chastised, Andromache could not help but be awed by the couple as they effortlessly supported each other.

“You’ve been nothing but, to be brutally honest, a heartless bitch towards her, and yet, she’s always been heedful of your safety. Despite her lack of experience, the kid’s been tirelessly pushing herself. Can you not really see? Or, did you blatantly choose not to?”

“The way you treat her is cruelly unfair. You know it to be true. You can’t tell me otherwise. Whether she is a witch, or- or say, a vampire, or whatever the hell she is, she’s irrevocably one of us.”

“Poor kid’s devastated by your actions. You would do well to own up to your mistakes and ask her for forgiveness.”

Slowly but surely, the Scythian was beginning to see the errors of her actions, but it was only after having been knocked some sense into her by her very family could she truly grasp the extent of her callousness.

And thus, she came seeking you, a mission that was accomplished rather swiftly.

The sight that she had walked in on forced her to a stop. Keeping herself hidden behind a wall, she was caught off guard by a pang of…perplexity, she decided to name for now, that started pounding against her ribcage.

You were locked snugly in Nile’s arms, face buried in her chest as you dissolved into tears. Seeing you so broken, and knowing that she was undeniably the culprit behind your suffering did something inexplicable to her, but when the pang only intensified, her mind was transported back to a period of time many many moons ago. She had found the amour who she was particularly fond of mingling with someone else, and needless to say, it had not sat well with her.

The green-eyed monster had taken possession of the Scythian then.

Now, the same monster was knocking on her door, bringing with it an unpalatable sensation.

Confused and overcame with labyrinths of emotions, Andromache who had never, in her immortal life, willingly backed down from a challenge experienced her first surrender. Incapable though she was to approach you, the Scythian’s night was spent fruitfully as she dissected her puzzling reaction.

By morning, the puzzle was solved, and her feelings, understood. The pang of perplexity, as it so happened, turned out to be a pang of jealousy, followed closely by guilt and something else entirely that she was not yet ready to admit out loud.

The question however was, had she been too late in realising her mistakes, and thereupon, her feelings?

She had every intention of talking things out with you, but the sudden emergence of a mission compelled her to put it on hold.

Joe and Nicky took care of driving, and as much as she disliked seeing you stick to Nile the entirety of the ride, she knew that she had no rights interfering. For that, she had but herself to blame.

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

Raining down around Andromache in a violent downpour were bullets. None of them were offered a chance to reach her, for as she fought with her foes, her team had taken it upon themselves to guard her. They were playing defence while she did the offence. Although at first, their strategy was working remarkably well, as the troops multiplied on the opposing side, their stance faltered.

Being a burden to her team was the last thing she wanted, and having had enough of her team suffering in her stead, she took off from the formation, aiming instead towards the enemy line with her beloved labrys in hand. At her lead, her team followed suit, coming to grips with the enemy team. They covered her, as one after another, the opponents were annihilated by the Scythian’s effortless execution.

Everything had been working in their favour until, all of a sudden, Andromache found you planted firmly in her way. Although, if only for a moment, she was confused, she learnt just as quickly that a bullet had found home in your flesh. A moment later, and her axe, too, found sweet purchase directly between the eyes of your aggressor. Together, you made light work of defeating your opponents. As you kept them restrained with the help of your powers, she delivered finishing blows.

Between using your powers to assist her in combat and taking damages for her should the assaults were to prove lethal, one too many times had you use yourself as a shield. As a result, your body was riddled with many an injury which the Scythian noticed were taking longer than necessary to heal. Through the wounds leaked blood, and it made Andromache nauseous with worry.

What she perceived next, she heard it first, before she saw it. A loud bang of a gun that sounded from behind you.

Almost instinctively, her hands found home on your hips, soft flesh yielding beneath her calloused fingers as she quickly did a swap of positions. If a bullet were to hit, it would be her instead of you. The inevitable pain, which she was bracing for, never came. She understood why by the time her eyes fell on you. Tendrils of glowing green were dancing to your fingers’s desire as a protection was conjured around the pair of you.

The mission, once again, accomplished, she took the time to admire the delicate blossom of a smile on your lips. A feeling that quickly dissolved into worry upon hearing the little whimper that escaped them. By the time your eyes slipped shut, and your legs gave out, with her heart in her throat, she caught you in her arms.

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

The shock Leonora the familiar felt upon seeing you in the Scythian’s arms only continued to crescendo when you were carried not into your room, but, hers.

“She isn’t healing. Why isn’t she healing?”

The question was evidently for her, and so, she answered.

“Immortality doesn’t grant her immunity to damage done by her mate. A mate’s rejection to a witch is quite possibly the most harrowing form of torture. It leads to deterioration of the body.”

Her response took a while to come. “How can I find them?” Leonora eyed the Scythian curiously as plethora of emotions flashed across her face before the words were hissed through gritted teeth. “Her mate.”

“A witch’s familiar cannot be understood by just anyone. Only her true mate can.”

“What are you implying?”

“You’ve been seeing her in your sleep, have you not? Long, long before her immortality came.”

By the way she was looking at her, sage green eyes shimmering with shame, she almost felt bad, emphasis on almost, because in the end, she did not shy away from rubbing salt on her wounds.

“Given your time on this earth, I had surely believed that you would know better than to jump to conclusions. I’ve overestimated you, it seems.”

“My time on this god-forsaken place is precisely why I can’t trust people outside of my team. On more than one occasion have I been led to plight by pity and my sense of duty. Some of which have caused me my comrades.”

“And you thought it wise to reject one of your own?”

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

“I fucked up, I know. But I don’t want to fuck up any more than I already have.” The Scythian’s voice was laced with genuine upset as she pleaded with your cat, eyes desperately beseeching. “So, tell me, please. How can I fix this?”

“There are quite a few things you can do. That said, physical contact with her mate is the easiest and the most effective way for a witch to replenish her energy. I would strongly advise cuddling.”

Thus landed the Scythian into her bed that was presently housing your unconscious frame.

Only now, as she was lying face to face with you, did she realise how little she had looked at, let alone appreciated, you.

Tentative fingers touched a cheek so soft to unveil your face curtained by a few strands. Battle-hardened though they were, they executed the task with tremendous tenderness.

The scars that her eyes discovered upon wandering down your neck had the effect of jogging her memory. With the long forgotten memory now dug up and on the forefront of her mind, she was transported back in time.

During one of her travels, she had chanced upon a house on fire. Even though, normally, she would avoid involvement in fear of exposing herself, and consequently, her secret, she felt compelled to enter the roaring flames. What, or rather, who she found was a little girl trapped inside a room. Instead of crying as any child in such predicament most likely would have, she was busy murmuring reassurances to the little kitten that was cradled protectively in her tiny little arms. There was no doubt that she was in intense pain if the wound that had been leaking blood on her neck was any indication.

Now that she thought about it, the familiar dreams began on the very same night. It had been so dark in the house that she did not get a chance to properly see your face. Nevertheless, your cat was right. Andromache should have known. If she had only taken the time to think carefully instead of rushing to conclusion, all the suffering would have been spared. After all, in all the dreams that she had of you, you had never so much as harmed a hair on an ant’s, let alone, a person’s head. How big of a nitwit had she had to be to harbour the thought that you would be capable of intentionally sabotaging them.

With your face as sweet as Baklava and your heart so golden, you had to be the quintessence of innocence, pure, unsullied white, sent into her life to remind the Scythian, who was tainted with darkness and death, that the world was not only teeming with war and wickedness. In contrast, she had to be the wickedest of them all to be able to trample a delicate little bud without giving her a chance to prove herself.

She had, Andromache admitted, oh so cruelly, snuffed out the little shimmering ray of light. Come hell or high water, it was now the Scythian’s duty to chase away the heavy, stormy clouds that were threatening to devour the little sunshine.

If you were to allow it, she would, in fact, declare you her sunshine.

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

Meanwhile, feeling rightfully smug, Leonora the cat revelled in having her head scratched as the ginger fur-ball lounged in Nile’s lap.

She might have made a drama out of a crisis while playing cupid, but what she had said, in her defence, were not entirely incorrect. She would be a fool not to make the most of a stellar opportunity if it meant making her best pal happy. After all, unlike you who was annoyingly upright, she was a firm believer that if used wisely, trickery always bore the sweetest of fruits. Plus, if you finally found someone to cuddle with, then, she would hopefully, thankfully be spared the odds of being squeezed to death.

And viola! If love was on your side and luck on hers, you would win yourself a girlfriend, while she got to experience freedom. It might just be the best example of killing two birds with one stone, if Leonora did say so herself.

━━━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━━━

Waking up to a muscled body pressed against yours, and strong arms cocooning you, you had half a mind to believe that it was a by product of your sleep-ridden mind.

Only when you heard Leo’s voice in your head did you realise it was in fact not a hallucination.

“You really don’t have to do this.” Unlike your utterance, your actions suggested otherwise. As if possessing a mind of its own, your face had sought solace in the warm dip of her throat. When you spoke again, it was but a murmur. “I’m aware that you love Quynh.”

Her reply came a moment later in the form of a merciless stab to your heart. “I won’t lie to you. I do love Quynh.” Your endeavour to escape from her embrace was doomed to failure. “But, it is no longer the kind of love that I felt once upon a time. Loving her doesn’t equal falling in love with her.”

“It was hard, losing Quynh, and I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself.”

You were wounded, and thereupon, healed by her words. The choice, essentially, lay in her hands.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself either if something were to happen to you.”

She coaxed your face out of its little haven in favour of her soft-eyed gaze roaming over the planes and hills of your face.

“You must have felt scared. Lost. I was supposed to be there for you.”

In addition to the collapsed eyebrows, her voice had a sad lilt to it as a thumb gingerly caressed your cheek.

“I know a simple sorry cannot fix all the pain I’ve caused you, but if you’ll let me, I truly wish to earn your trust.”

Since the mood had been too gloomy to your liking, you opted for a lighter, more benign route with your response.

“Now, now, Andro-“

“Andy, please. Call me Andy.”

“Andy.”

Her name tasted sweet on your tongue.

“You were saying?”

“-someone might think you’re trying to woo me.”

You came dangerously close to disclosing your desire, and if you were being honest, you had been entertaining the idea of confronting her after your facade fell in front of the team. It was an all-or-nothing decision.

After everything she had said and done, you would be lying if you said you were not hoping for her to ruthlessly reject you. At the same time, saying that you were not foolishly hoping for her to miraculously return your feelings, too, would be a downright falsehood.

“What if I am?”

In the end, it was neither foolish nor impossible, though, it did feel miraculous all the same.

You liked her. Tremendously. And although it was true that she had hurt you, you knew for a fact that her reason for doing so was not ill-intentioned. It was done out of worry for her team, and blaming her for it would be ludicrous. You did admit that she had been terribly unkind to you, but you knew that she was altruistically caring at heart. Not only could you feel it, you liked her too much to deem the errors of her way irreparable. Mistakes came to be in the first place as an opportunity for one to learn from them. You were all to willing to give her a chance.

“Well then, Andromache of Scythia, luckily for you, I’m not very hard to please.”

“Kiss me as much as you’re sorry, and I’m all yours.”

You watched, giddy and gleeful, as a smile bloomed on her handsome face.

“With pleasure.”

Fanning the flames of heart palpitations by bombarding one with kisses, as sweet, and soft as soufflé, should be included in the ever-growing list of ways she knew how to kill a man. Of course, she was allowed to use this delightfully tantalising technique on you and you alone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

this is how i imagine leo would look like as a cat

[talkingparrotkee]

I just want to say this, and yes, you know who you are:

Don't use Tenoch's allegations as a way to advance your shipping or character bias. Do not take advantage of a serious, divisive, and delicate case to claim moral superiority in fandom. Do not use this as your fandom whacking stick or fandom cancelation plug.

I am starting to notice anti-nashuri or Namor haters conflating fictional work and the character Namor with Tenoch Huerta in an asinine hope to:

A) carve remaining fans out as "problematic"

B) find an insidious way to justify their controlling, immature desire to have fans stop producing work they always had a hate for

Separate the actor and reality from the character and fiction, first and foremost. That's your problem now.

Who cares if there is a Nashuri week (which has been in progress before the allegations)? Who cares if fans still leave their stories up? Who cares if people still like Namor or Nashuri? Who cares if people still make Nashuri, Namor, or just Namor + Shuri edits? Who cares if some people still write and draw art of Namor rooted in their appreciation for Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole's writing? No one sane should or would care. It's not "daring to have a nerve" or problematic. It isn't immediately them "defending" Tenoch.

As long as that's just what it is, fans can still be fans. Fans can still appreciate the characters and their relationships. Fans can still have escapism. Fans can still be happy and produce content that makes them happy. You have no right to impede on that, but you do have the right to feel uncomfortable or not want it on your feed. If that's the case, act accordingly: block, mute, press "uninterested," and curate your space. Not run and post these fake ass high and mighty spiels where you clearly concern yourself more with fandom (reporting fanart? Be for real) than the actual situation, trying to rile up a crowd and drum up negativity.

I have seen shaken fans of nashuri or Namor who have been victims of sexual violence and assault catching strays.

I have seen vulturish anti-Namor or anti-nashuri fans immediately taking this news as, "So this means you should finally stop doodling and liking a pairing/character I do not!"

I have seen gross anti-fans rub it in fans' faces, being the awful bearer of bad news and "watch dogs" hoping to gleefully observe them crumble.

I have seen immature Shuri (and other variants) stans who had it out for Namor or nashuri since day one, using this as a way to justify their hate and hateful behavior. It's almost as though they were waiting for something, anything like this to make a chess move (some of them admitting as much).

Do you know how manipulative, deceitful, and twisted this all is?

This isn't even accounting for the fact that Tenoch's situation is a difficult one to pinpoint as the story progressed, to say the very least. You'd know that if you truly gave a damn and followed the story or at the very least alleged victim. It's shrouded in specifics and unwinding stories.

There is ample information that later emerged and details (from Mexican politics to confirmed lies) that makes this case a very scary gray. I have seen many nashuri and Namor fans express dismay and sorrow over the news. People immediately weighed into the alleged victim's testimony and had serious conversations about where they wanted to go from there. Some pulled back their Namor content out of shock. People were torn and took this very seriously with a "blackout" period. It was only until further information that complicated everything came out that some decided to take different positions, while others still wanted to remain cautious and neutral, but still enjoy the little fandom haven they curated with their friends.

This is no light matter. There are real people and their livelihoods, lives on the line. People were distraught and, unlike most of these fake ass pearl grippers posting memes in the same breath, made an effort to initially follow the alleged victim (ready to renounce Tenoch) and dig for the truth. Fans even stressed to take the victims' words into consideration, rather than being blinded by celebrity worship.

So... To see anti-fans being utterly disingenuous and trying to villify a whole group whose crime is just liking a normal fictional property is insane. It's gross. It's sick. It's malicious. It's low.

It makes me livid, and I hope you reap what you sow. I am five seconds away from listing names and putting them on blast for this outrageous (continous) behavior. Someone liking a character Tenoch played or said character being shipped with another should be the least of your problem.

[namor-shuri]

Marvel Studios Assembled & Wakanda Forever Podcast: Namor/Shuri + Tenoch/Letitia Moments

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Wakanda Forever [available on Disney +] [w/ time stamps to follow along]

▻ The whole cast comforted and gave Letitia a group hug at San Diego Comic Con as she broke down [Tenoch kissed her shoulder] [0:27]

▻ “We know what Black Panther is but what makes it a Black Panther movie? If we were to do another one….how would audiences recognize it?” - Ryan Coogler [Director] [5:44]

▻ We learn that Namor’s character was discussed to be in Black Panther 2 while the first movie was being written. “In the comics, the two worlds have a great rivalry” - Joe Robert Cole [Screenwriter] [13:25]

▻ Ryan was interested in Meso-American culture for the Talokanil and “…upon research it became more clear that the people of the Yucatán made a ton of sense.” - Ryan Coogler [Director] [14:40] They wanted to give Namor a culture/background different from the comic book version [a white man]. “Their [Mayan] artwork and their advanced agriculture…all of these things that they accomplished, it was a perfect palette for us to delve into.” - Joe Robert Cole [Screenwriter] [16:40]

▻ Namor’s costumes and headpieces are curated from post Yucatec Mayan culture roots. “We used a lot of kelp and things to make the headdress and hand wove his cape, but we kept it pure to what he looked like in the comics.” - Ruth Carter [Costume Designer] [17:50]

▻ Ryan and Hannah Beachler [Production Designer] show us the set of Namor’s cave and explain the time/labor that went into creating this elaborate set. Ryan points to the mural painting of Namor and the Black Panthers fight. “This one’s my favorite one” - Ryan Coogler [Director] [22:25] We learn that the style of art is “Bonampak”

▻ Letitia had to learn how to swim for her role, along with the majority of the cast. “I struggled with it. Ryan called me and he was like ‘Tish, can you swim?’ I was like ‘Sir, sir, I’m in the lab. What more do you need from me coming out of that lab?” - Letitia Wright [Shuri] [26:06]

▻ All of the water scenes were half filmed under water, called “wet for wet”, and filmed outside of the water, called “dry for wet” scenes. The exosuits [Shuri is shown wearing one when exploring Talokan] were real suits that were also filmed underwater and were about a million and a half dollars each [explained by Chris Denison, Stunt Coordinator] [29:40]

▻ A clip of Letitia Wright’s “Screen Test (2016)” from the first Black Panther is shown [41:54] and we learn that Dominique Thorne [Riri Williams] also auditioned for Shuri’s role a while back

▻ The cast had differing emotions/opinions than Ryan about the decision to kill Queen Ramonda [played by Angela Basset]. “When I read that Ramonda was going to die by the hands of Namor, I was very upset. I think I almost cried on the phone to Ryan.” - Letitia Wright [Shuri] [43:43] Ryan and the writers felt her death would be a big “motivator”/ transformative moment in Shuri’s development and the eventual break down of her character to become the Black Panther [her arc]

▻ Ryan supported and pushed Letitia during the whole process of becoming the Black Panther to do her best work and continuously reminded her of who she was and what she was capable of when stepping into the role. Letitia wished Chad could have passed the torch to her himself to do it [46:02] + [55:03]

▻ [Referring to the making of Shuri’s Black Panther suit] “We were working with the design language of silver being representative of T’Challa, gold being representative of T’Chaka, and the little bit of where Killmonger’s coming from…We’re essentially taking those two elements and combining them.” - Ryan Meinerding [Head of visual development] [46:58]

▻ “Shuri vs Namor. We put alot into that fight.” - Aaron Toney [Fight Coordinator] [49:59] We see that a lot of the BTS of their big fight on the desert were shot with different individual sets with Tenoch, Letitia and stunt actors, separately and together. “I’m so proud of it. Shuri’s looking amazing, Namor’s looking amazing.” - Letitia Wright [Shuri] [50:27] Their fighting styles are explained to be very different, where Shuri is more calculated and Namor is more in his body. “With Namor, when it came to fighting styles, I pulled from….cultural aspects like Lucha Libre…asian cultures…I pulled from a style called Baji.” - Aaron Toney [Fight Coordinator] [50:49]

▻ “Processing in a way of expressing her pain and fury towards Namor, she thinks that’s going to be satisfying to her soul and it’s not….I think that’s a beautiful way to complete that arc, to realize that my brother wouldn’t do this, my mother wouldn’t want this for me….We see Shuri become a woman in her own right.” - Letitia Wright [Shuri] [53:00]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast [Hosted by Ta-Nehisi Coates]: Chapter 5 w/ Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta, Dr. Gerardo Aldana [available on Spotify]

▻ “What does it mean when Wakanda and Talokan give us a beauty created not to justify enslavement but to celebrate freedom?” - Ta-Nehisi Coates [Host]

▻ Tenoch continues to put the spotlight back on indigenous communities/culture and does not claim to be apart of their experiences. “I don’t practice the culture so it is impossible to name myself indigenous….I’m not pretending to be something that I’m not…I’m just trying to honor my ancestors.” - Tenoch Huerta [Namor]

▻ A fan went to the movies with his Mayan grandma and she began to translate scenes herself while watching the film with him. “The Mayan group in LA said it [the character’s Mayan in the movie] sounds beautiful. You have an accent, it sounds good! They were happy with it.” - Tenoch Huerta [Namor]

▻ “Why are these two groups [Wakandans and the Talokanil] fighting each other? Why can’t they get together and go beat the colonizer?…I am a huge Black Panther fan but I was sitting there and found myself rooting for the Talokanil!” - Ta-Nehisi Coates [Host]

▻ Letitia was bullied in school for her appearance when she was growing up (ex. her size, being African, etc) “I kind of let that go…I talked myself out of the idea that I should be like anyone else.” She found comfort/ amusement in going viral on TikTok. “It’s definitely flattering but I’m really shocked…I’ve never been crushed on before in school…As a black woman, I’m moving into a space where I’m finally being called beautiful but I didn’t wait for them [the media/world] to tell me that at first. I told it to myself.” - Letitia Wright [Shuri]

▻ “This is the highest grossing movie with the lead character as a black woman and it’s you [Letitia]. How does that feel?” - Ta-Nehisi Coates [Host]

▻ “The love that Shuri has for T’challa is the love that Letitia has for Chadwick and that’s intertwined.” Letitia shares her initial hesitancy about doing the film without Chadwick after his passing and taking on the mantle as Black Panther. “I see it as I’m a vessel. I’m a trusted vessel that’s here to honor my brother.” - Letitia Wright [Shuri]

▻ Letitia laughs about fun moments they had on the set of Wakanda Forever. “He [Ryan Coogler] would say Namor and the Black Panther are having a conversation. It’s a big movie. Turn your phones off!” - Letitia Wright [Shuri]

[kudouusagi]

Note from Utsumi

The reasons behind the location choices revealed for the first time!?

For the location where they receive the "S" sticker, when we were location hunting we heard there was a street called "New Paradise Street" and that location was on a nearby street so we chose it because we liked the name "Paradise Street".

For Joe's restaurant, it was originally found by the producer, Mari Suzuki, from BONES. We were looking for an Italian restaurant in the Shuri area and we happened to find one. We just went to the restaurant for dinner during location hunting, but since the interior was so stylish and the food so good, we immediately asked "May we use your restaurant as a location in our anime?"

Incidentally, an acquaintance of the owner was sitting at the counter at the time, and Sakurayashiki just happened to end up sitting in that same spot in the anime. Seeing them talk in such a a friendly manner at the counter was so wonderful, and so I'm glad that we were able to recreate that in the anime as well.

[imthataliensuperstar]

I’m so happy the writers , Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole didn’t hide from the truth of how death and grief affects everyone differently and gave her safe space to allow Shuri to be vulnerable, and allowed Shuri to take her time to grieve in her own way. I lost someone who’s basically my mother a few months ago to the same type of illness that was rare and no cure for it so i completely understand the heartbreak, her pain, the guilt, her frustration and anger of not being able to save the person you love so damn much. I’m still grieving and processing Chadwick Boseman’s death, it hurt my loved one’s heart when she found out about him passing, she enjoyed Black Panther and it was even more touching and meaningful for me to watch Wakanda Forever for her since the next day was her funeral. “All the Stars” was her favorite song from the soundtrack and now she’s with the ancestors 🤍🌸🌹

[kingofthe7sins]

Oh I love Monarch Spider's colors! I had my own Spidersona back when that was popular Spider Spot, they where in a all white suit with a ink blot spider across their chest. Their webs where black and had the same portal opening powers as the Spot.

I never seen someone with a batman oc before love the vampiric vibes!

Got anything you want to share about them?

That's pretty cool actually! Fascinating even.

Well let's see...

For NightScream, he was Gotham's first Vigilante, under the name SilverMane, a cat themed Vigilante. He is Selina Kyle (Catwoman) Older Brother Sylas Kyle. Raised in the streets, Master thief at a young age. Became friends with Bruce Wayne after going to a Gala at Wayne Manor. Witnessed the murder of Bruce's parents and helped save Bruce and slow Joe Chill long enough for him to be arrested. When Bruce Leaves for his "training" Sylas is given control over Wayne Enterprises and is known as "the Silver son of Gotham" he establishes many projects that help clean up Gotham. Meanwhile he became the Vigilante SilverMane and had been operating for 12 years before Bruce return and Batman appeared. Their relationship as Vigilantes was similar to the one Batman has with Catwoman, but they eventually become full crime fighting duo.

As for Monarch, his name is Anansi. He was adopted by the Wakandan Royal family after he saved a young Shuri from some muggers. After proving his skills he was made the Royal Secret Keeper and later Advisor to King T'Challa, he knows all of Wakanda's secrets, even those the King or the council of Elders don't know about. "Control the Spider, control the Throne" is what Killmonger says about him. He would later travel to New York where he meets Peter and become close friends and a crime fighting Duo.

If you want to know more about them, just ask. Can't spill all the details in one go. 🤫

[babybubastis]

I saw somebody comment that they hope the next Black Panther movie makes the villain white because they’re tired of seeing black and brown people as the villains and I have thoughts (when do I not lol)

Because, truly, Namor wasn’t the villain of this story, he was an antagonist. An antagonist in a narrative context is a character who serves to oppose, challenge, or contrast against the protagonist. Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole did a fantastic job of illustrating this. The stark contrast in Shuri’s and Namor’s approaches in reaching their goals are highlighted so well. But not only that— the film also draws very clear and poignant parallels between Namor and Shuri as people, and also between the nations of Talokan and Wakanda. Both Shuri and Namor want the same things: safety, peace, and prosperity for their people. Everything that they do is borne out of the desire to preserve their respective cultures and ways of life, and protect their people. They just go about achieving those goals very differently, and the other forces around them that are at play end up pitting them against each other.

I think the film makes it fairly clear throughout that the real villains are the western powers that are depicted; specifically the French and the US government. Ross is the only one painted in a favorable light, as he points Shuri and Okoye in the right direction when they come looking for information. But even he is a bit… not hostile… I don’t know what the right word would be. Reluctant? Exasperated? He initially assumes the attack on the CIA’s drilling operation was executed by Wakanda, and he’s openly accusatory, pointedly telling Okoye that he lost two “good people, friends of mine”. It’s only after Okoye sternly insists that Wakanda had no involvement that he thaws and concedes to help them. Shuri has to remind him that he owes her his life before he finally gives them the info they need. (To be fair, the fact that he was committing treason was also a reason why he was so hesitant). But the rest of the CIA and the US government as a whole are portrayed in a very villainous light, openly discussing aggressive action against Wakanda in order to destabilize the country.

Wakanda Forever does, I think, a pretty excellent job of demonstrating how easy it is — in the fight to dismantle colonialism, white supremacy, racism, etc. — for communities of color to get bogged down in our differences and subsequently be manipulated into tearing each other down by the people and institutions that are oppressing us. The film reminds us that we have more in common than we’ve been made to believe (T’Challa’s speech at the UN at the end of the first film sets this up beautifully: “more connects us than separates us.”), and that we are infinitely more powerful when we come together to work through differences. That message is one of the reasons this movie is so powerful.

[abbatoirablaze]

AOD, All For You, Chapter 2

Word Count: 934

Bucky stared at the wall, unable to process anything beyond the sniffling of his sisters and his mother. 

“C’mon, punk…”

His silvery eyes snapped to that of his best friend, “not now, Steve…”

Steve sighed and looked up to his own father who was standing at the door of the hospital room.  Their eyes met, and Joe Rogers shook his head at his son, muttering a quick ‘no.’

“Dad?”

“Let the kid grieve, son…” Joe Rogers said in a gruff voice, “old man’s not even cold…give em some time, yeah?”

“But dad-“

“Steve!” his father warned firmly.  Steve’s lips closed and he sighed, “Now’s not the time son.  There’s too much to do.”

“Thanks for being here though, punk…” Bucky said as he looked to his best friend. 

“Til the end of the line, Buck…”

“James-James I-oh, fuck…”

Bucky grunted against her ebony skin, his hips driving deep into her core.  His eyes closed as he buried his face in her neck, taking in the soft smell of shea butter and cinnamon, “Shuri…I love you baby-fuck…you take me so well…”

“Right there!”

“I need you baby!” Bucky purred, his hips keeping the same rhythm they’d been going at for nearly half an hour, “so close.  So-So close baby!  I’m gonna-”

Her back arched, pressing against his muscular chest, “I love you, James…”

Bucky came as she said the magic words.  Her legs locked around his waist, her heels digging into the firm flesh of his ass, pushing him impossibly deep into her.  Bucky’s breathing became ragged as his hips stuttered.  Her soft whimpers filled the room as her pussy fluttered around his cock, milking every bit of him from the point of their connection.  A warmth filled Shuri’s womb as his seed spilled into her. 

“I love you, Shuri!” Bucky gasped, placing a series of light kisses along her jaw and down the column of her throat, “I love you, Shur…wanna marry you one day, baby…make you Shuri Barnes…we’ll be so good together…”

The young couple came down from their highs, and Bucky pulled his girlfriend close to his chest while his still hard cock kept her plugged up with his seed. 

Her hands reached up and she cradled his face.  His silvery eyes met her chocolate ones.  Their lips brushed momentarily, before she leaned her forehead against his.  She giggled when a shiver ran down his spine as her thumb grazed over his slightly swollen bottom lip. 

“Mrs. Barnes, huh?” she teased, “I think I like the sound of that.”

“Have you dripping in stones as we make babies and rule this city together!” he promised. She bit her lip again and he chuckled, “Bite any harder when I make love to you and they might be stuck like that…”

“I want a future with you more than anything, Jamie!”  

Shuri leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss.  Bucky felt his heart lurching in his chest as he told her how he felt, “I love you more than anything, Shur…”

Her smile faltered when she heard the phone chime a few times in a row. 

“That better be work!” she said firmly, their sweet intimate moment broken. 

Bucky paled.  He knew that it wasn’t work judging by the four synchronous buzzes.  There was only one woman who did that, “Baby….I-I can explain…”

“Is it something that requires an explanation before you’ve even checked your phone?”

Bucky frowned, “if it is what I think it is…then I owe you more than an explanation…”

Shuri’s expression changed in an instant as she pushed him away from her, her own heart falling into the pit of her stomach, “you’re still fucking that whore!  Aren’t you?”

Bucky sat up from his bed, too ashamed to answer the question.

“JAMES!”

“Shuri…sh-she means nothing.”

“If she meant nothing then she wouldn’t be in your phone!  You told me that you were done with them…that it was all just because of your dad passing…that you were acting out.  But you were lying, weren’t you?  This was all just some sick game!” Shuri growled as she began to collect her clothes and put them back on.  Bucky started to get out of the bed, and attempted to grab her clothes, in order to try to stop her from leaving.  When he grabbed her top, she reached for it.  But when he wouldn’t release it, she punched his arm, “Let it go.  Let me go, James!  I’m leaving!”

“Shuri…baby, you can’t leave!” Bucky began, not giving a damn that he was naked, arguing with the woman who he was just cumming in moments ago, “you can’t leave me.  I-“

“Watch me!” she hissed, cutting him off.  When he still didn’t let go of her shirt, she released it, and chose to grab the one that he’d been wearing.  Throwing the button-up on, it nearly swallowed her, but she didn’t care, “you want to fuck someone, it should be your girlfriend.  It should be the one that you were just promising a future to!  Not a whore on the side too!”

“Shuri-“

“NO!” she said firmly, “I-I’ve dealt with this for two months…I’m not saying that losing a parent is easy…nor is taking over the family business…but I won’t sit on the sidelines and watch you do this.  I won’t support it.  I’m a Wakandan…I deserve a man who would burn the world for me…not burn my world so that I fit into his.  We’re done, white wolf…I-I don’t want to hear from you again!”

And before he could argue, she had rushed out of the room, slamming his door behind her. 

[themculibrary]

Fics With Titles That Start With G Masterlist 2

part one

Gala (ao3) - arianapeterson19 tony/thor E, 1k

Summary: Really, Tony should have just worn underwear to the gala.

Gamora, You're a Fine Girl (ao3) - Meraki_fics gamora/peter G, 4k

Summary: Gamora has never been good at emotions, being raised by a genocidal maniac does that to a person. Emotions are a weakness, at least that's how Thanos raised his borrowed children. Emotions were not something she ever spent time on or paid any attention to. However, in her new home with her new family, emotions were something to be aware of.

Geriatric Road Trip, 2015 (ao3) - what_alchemy steve/bucky N/R, 4k

Summary: Bucky was the eldest of four.

Gets Me (ao3) - ClaraxBarton bucky/clint E, 8k

Summary: During an Avengers debriefing, Clint strikes up a conversation with an attractive stranger. On Grindr.

ghosts of christmas memory (ao3) - scifigrl47 clint/phil, steve/tony T, 11k

Summary: There were three Christmases that Phil Coulson and Clint Barton spent together that altered their relationship. They were tied together by a song, a job, and Clint’s ability to become injured in just about any situation.

Christmas is a time of giving, friendship and love.

G.I. Joes and 2AM Diners (ao3) - OhCaptainMyCaptain steve/bucky E, 100k

Summary: They look nothing like what they used to. Time and life have completely changed them. But as they sit there in silence, eating two halves of one cupcake, letting Brooklyn remind there where they came from, and enjoying a sky full of stars… They are those same little boys, somewhere deep down. For just a second, you’d be able to see them again.

And Bucky thinks to himself that maybe it’s little moments like these – fleeting as they may be – that remind him why life is still worth living.

Giving You Hope (ao3) - skysofrey clint/natasha G, 4k

Summary: Clintasha centered Endgame Fix-It where they exchange the soul stone for Nat's life. Emotions and reunions ensue.

glass windows, steel blues (ao3) - fangedangel (clockworkqueen) bucky/t'challa, bucky/alexander N/R, 9k

Summary: T'Challa is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Bucky is his new assistant.

glitter in the air (ao3) - haveufoundwhaturlookingfor bucky/steve/sam G, 1k

Summary: Steve volunteers him and Bucky to watch Peter when Tony needs to go to an important business meeting for Stark Industries. Bucky’s only been back for a few months, and doesn’t quite trust himself around others, let alone a child.

god loves everybody, don't remind me (ao3) - napricot M, 70k

Summary: N’Jadaka didn’t believe in the gods of his people. But belief was not a prerequisite of the gods’ attention, and the blood of the Panther tribe ran in N’Jadaka’s veins. Bast took hold of his soul in her mighty jaws and lifted it free of his body. She gave him a warning shake, just as she would a misbehaving kitten, and set him back. With one careful claw, she tweaked his path through time into a twisting loop. Wayward and abandoned though he was, N’Jadaka was still of her tribe. He could set things right, if given the chance.

Erik gets a do-over. Erik gets a lot of do-overs. Or: Erik Killmonger's own personal version of Groundhog Day, only with a lot more murder, dying, trips to the ancestral plane, awkward family conversations, and divine intervention.

Gods and Gravity (fanfiction.net) - i-prefer-the-term-antihero G, 12k

Summary: What's more fun than making Loki, Peter Parker, Wanda Maximoff, and Shuri interact within the MCU? Forcing them to live together at the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls!

God's Righteous Man (ao3) - FoxyAtlas M, 232k

Summary: A story in which the serum doesn't affect Steve's size, the shield goes to Bucky, and they reunite years before the Battle of New York. Also, Steve is a punk, but that's canon.

A timeline starting with the Howling Commandos and going all the way to Pre-Infinity War.

Go Fish (ao3) - notlucy steve/bucky M, 2k

Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man stuck in an airport, in possession of an iPhone, must open Tinder.

Gone (ao3) - nonna T, 57k

Summary: In the final fight scene of Captain America Civil War, Tony's helmet breaks off the armour after the relentless clashing it receives.

What if the harsh hits to his head create serious complications for Tony, and he loses his sight?

Good Boys Don't Gamble On Love (ao3) - thelittlestpurplecat steve/bucky E, 79k

Summary: Bucky couldn't remember a time when he hadn't been involved with the STRIKE fraternity on campus. They were a bunch of assholes, but they were really all he had, and they'd wagered a bet for a prize Bucky couldn't refuse. But in order to win, he had to be the first to fuck the tiny, gorgeous, blond freshmen, and he was competing against every other guy in the fraternity.

It was just a bet. A stupid bet.

Sure, it was mean, but no one was gonna get hurt...right?

Good Things to Those Who Wait (ao3) - Annie D (scaramouche) steve/tony E, 10k

Summary: Tony assumed that after he and Steve got together, his heats would be more fun. He’s right, but he’s also wrong.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait (ao3) - memorizingthedigitsofpi leo/jemma E, 12k

Summary: Mr Fitz and Miss Simmons are back again, and this time the focus is on pleasure instead of pain. Fitz has read up on something that strikes his fancy and Jemma is just as eager to try it out.

Go Slow Go Slow - Wakanda Princess Remix (feat. Shuri) (ao3) - AllWhoWander (phobean) G, 20k

Summary: Two years after the Battle of Earth, Shuri gets ejected from her lab and crashes Sam and Bucky’s cross-continent road trip.

Go Ugly Early (ao3) - just_another_tinker steve/tony, clint/phil, bucky/natasha E, 252k

Summary: He’s The Captain?

This was not good. This was so not good.

There were theories of course, of what The Captain would look like. Most followed the typical Hollywoodesque belief that he was some version of the Godfather, sitting in a dark room with a cigar, commanding his forces with a flick of his wrist. There were even some that even thought that The Captain was not one person, but a whole network of people with eyes and ears everywhere.

The blonde Adonis in front of him was definitely not what Tony was expecting.

Of course, in the end it didn’t matter.

There was a reason no one knew what The Captain looked like.

Because anyone who saw his face never lived to tell the tale.

Green Tea Panna Cotta with Cookie Crumble and Brûléed Plums (ao3) - derevko_child phil/melinda G, 3k

Summary: They both smell like they just came out of a coffee shop but Coulson smells like coffee and May smells like tea, and if twenty years ago, someone tells him that one day, he’ll be sitting in between the two of them, eating Chinese takeout for dinner, knees touching, watching tv and bantering like old friends, he’d probably think they’re crazy

Agent Jimmy Woo gets a surprise visit from old friends.

[sweetsmellosuccess]

Black Panther Live: Philadelphia Orchestra

Five thoughts on a fabulous Sunday afternoon with the orchestra at the Kimmel Center in downtown Philadelphia

The Kimmel Center is a wonderful place to hear the orchestra, but needs a larger movie screen. So much was wonderful about the experience of seeing Ryan Coogler’s 2018 film, which remains one of the high-water marks of the entire MCU, accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world’s finest ensembles, along with world-renowned tama “living drum” master, Massamba Diop, that the one glaring downside  —  the Kimmel’s movie screen feels more than a tad small for the space its filling  — stood out. The acoustics are grand, the seats comfortable, the space itself inviting and spectacular, so the lone weak link in the production was the screen, dwarfed, as it was, by everything else around it. It certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker by any means, but one could easily see how much more impact a larger image might have on the whole enterprise. I understand it’s not something the Kimmel does on a very regular basis, but still well worth looking into. 

The film has aged powerfully, if not steeped in the tragic. There is much to love about Coogler’s film  —  so many scenes one could look forward to with anticipatory glee  — but every scene, even the goofy camaraderie between T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his kid sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright)  —  becomes shaded in somber tones due to Boseman’s tragic death back in 2020. It’s difficult to watch the film, even as joyful an expression of multiculturalism as it is, and not feel the weight of that loss (very much well-covered in the film’s sequel, Wakanda Forever, in which the loss of Boseman permeates every moment). All leading roles are designed to be central to a film’s focus, but Boseman’s generous warmth and decency powers the entire operation in such a way that you can’t imagine anyone else in the role (as evidenced in the sequel’s difficulty in trying to fill the Panther’s be-clawed boots). As good as Coogler’s film is  —  and, in the writing and storytelling, specifically, it’s among the very best of the MCU  —  it doesn’t work half as well without Boseman’s presence. I spent much of the film’s first act with tears welling in my eyes. He remains a tremendous loss. 

Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue is a fabulous villain, but Killmonger remains king. If the MCU indeed has a #villainproblem, Panther managed to offer not one great baddie, but two, and for totally different reasons. It’s easy to hate Klaue  —  a gregarious mercenary, filled with evil bonhomie and ruthless skullduggery (helpful that Serkis himself appears to be having such a blast in the role), who makes his nefarious living stealing precious items and selling them to the highest bidder, the world be damned  —  but Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger is a whole other story. Ruthless, brutal, and terrifyingly focused, he is, as Martin Freeman’s character Agent Ross informs us, doing things exactly as he’s been trained to by the U.S. military black ops division. Killmonger’s point, that after centuries of suffering, it’s time for the racial hierarchy to be upended with black people on top, actually makes perfect sense, in any sort of just world, even if his methodology is aggressively savage. He’s such a compelling character, in fact, with pride, menace, and swag veritably dripping off of Jordan’s skin, it’s pretty clear Coogler, along with co-writer Joe Robert Cole, had to tip the morality scales a wee bit with Killmonger (having him threaten an innocent gardener, burn the sacred flowers to the ground so there can’t be any more panthers, and gut Forest Whitaker’s Zuri in cold blood, all while sneering contempt for the ancient ways of the Wakandans), in order to make the audience actually want him to lose at the end. To balance that balance, the screenwriters see fit to give him a hero’s sort of death, defiant, significant, and on his own terms. A lot of other actors would have withered against the powerhouse charisma of Jordan, but Boseman is well up to the task, which creates a spectacular dynamic between the two dedicated actors. 

Having the live orchestra, along with Massamba Diop, adds an element to the excellent soundtrack. Honestly, I’m not normally one who terribly much notices a film’s score  —  at least, at first listen  —  unless it’s dramatically amazing or frustratingly distracting, even one as solid as Ludwig Göransson’s work for Panther, but having it performed as a separate entity, in harmony with the film, but not directly of it, sets it off from the screen just enough to allow iit hit with that much more force, enhancing the entire experience. On top of that, with the master showman Diop front and center of the orchestra, set off in his own booth, facing the audience, and leaping to his feet at key orchestral moments, it sort of bridges the gap between film and theater. It’s a spectacle that crackles with energy. 

Seeing the film with a packed house of rabid devotees was a singular experience. The crowd was amped for this event, and I mean, they were loud, hype, and effusive. They cheered when the orchestra sat down, they cheered when the first violinist took the stage, they cheered when conductor Damon Gupton swung out, and they cheered wildly when Gupton introduced Diop, who came out in a shimmering orange robe/pants ensemble. They kept cheering throughout the film  —  when Okoye (Danai Gurira) answers as to whether she would cut down even her beloved (Daniel Kaluuya) in defense of her country by hissing “Without question!” the audience erupted in thunderous approval  —  and they kept a deep, respectful silence during Killmonger’s death scene. You didn’t hear any chattering. You didn’t see people checking their texts, or basketball scores. Everyone was there in respectful reverence to the film, which made for a glorious communal experience. This is why having an 85” flatscreen still can’t compare to watching a huge film in an enormous setting, amongst a throng of equally devoted true believers. There’s simply nothing else like it. 

[talkingparrotkee]

Personally, I think there's too much about "Ramonda did this" and "Namor did that," but not enough people realizing how the two characters are just two sides of the same humanity coin. It honestly reeks of media illiteracy and shallow takeaways.

You're not supposed to demonize either of them. What they did was out of their responsibilities as leaders and love for their children. Not only that, but they were at a breaking point after years of torment. They finally snapped after vainly clawing to hold themselves together because they had to be a pillar everyone needed them to be. Everyone around them could fall to their knees in anguish, but not them. They couldn't afford it. Fate was unkind to them, and destiny unjust.

Neither is perfect, but they are human.

That is what makes them relatable, tragic, and compelling characters. While you can find fault in some of their actions, their motives were completely understandable, as is correct.

It's a beautiful tragedy carefully woven by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole. Consequently, hate seeing surface-level, dumb takes bashing one or the other. It's even worse when these characters get unceremoniously raked across the coals over something as dumb as shipping.

I'm making a case for both Namor and Ramonda for the people in the back.

In the case of Ramonda:

Ramonda is a character who experienced tragedy after tragedy since her debut in the MCU, getting no break for breaking as the sovereign leader of a nation.

She couldn't break when T'Chaka, her husband, died.

She couldn't break when she saw T'Challa, her baby boy fighting to potentially death with a Jabari (what were the odds).

She couldn't break when she discovered her husband kept their nephew a secret and killed his own brother.

She couldn't break when T'Challa supposedly died, being hurled off of Warrior Falls right before her eyes.

She couldn't break when she was run out of her own kingdom by Killmonger being forced to beg the Jabari for refuge.

She couldn't break under her fear as the Jabari closed in on them, having to remain strong, shielding a Shuri.

She couldn't break when she saw her son barely alive, beaten and shrouded in ice.

She couldn't break when her children and therefore the rest of her entire family gotten snapped for five years. She still had to rule and lead "a broken nation through a broken world."

She couldn't break when T'Challa died for real this time from an unknown illness he hid (until it was too late).

She couldn't break seeing Shuri break, wailing for her other half who was ripped away from her.

She couldn't break when feeling the vulturish pressures of other nations trying to destabilize Wakanda and plunder them for their riches, preying on their moment of "weakness."

Shuri, the last and youngest fruit of her tree closest to her bosom, was dangerously dangling over an edge in her immense grief.

This is why Ramonda refused to let her go on field, telling Okoye that "she isn't ready" (the girl was talking about burning the world for crying out loud) and that Namor was dangerous.

No lie was told.

Even so, she hesitantly relented, entrusting Okoye. She also entrusted Shuri and Okoye again when they decided not to fork her over to Namor mid-mission.

What did that get her? A beaten up general and a missing child. It isn't like Ramonda knew Shuri demanded Namor's audience (this was cut from the movie), and her kimoyo beads were not on her for contact.

For all she knew (Namor didn't show her otherwise, let alone build rapport with her), Shuri was in immediate danger. It doesn't matter that we know that Namor wasn't going to hurt her. That's dramatic irony. What matters is, Ramonda didn't know.

There is no wonder as to why Queen Mother snapped.

Was it recklessly instigative to lure out Namor and send a war dog into his home with an "any means necessary" order? Yes. Was it not the best choice to spend precious time getting Nakia and involve her into something she was retired from? Sure. However, you must consider her circumstances. She was in a place of desperation and went to her last resorts.

Again, the first and rightfully lasting impression she got from Namor was that he is dangerous.

The first meeting with this man was him shaking the table, demonstrating his pure audacity by making demands or giving threats ("I have more soldiers than this land has blades of grass"), and being scarily ominous. He breeched their security and was not alone.

Namor had his warriors ambush them at the bridge, despite them (seemingly) retrieving the scientist as he demanded. While it is true they planmed to "break" the "agreement" (I use that term loosely) after meeting Riri, he wouldn't have known that unless he actively spied (doubtful) or just made the assumption of suspicion. This act resulted in Okoye, Wakanda's best warrior and general, frazzled with a taken Princess.

Ramonda didn't know what to expect, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to expect the worst in him. Ramonda wasn't going to play Russian roulette with her daughter. This is the one time where she finally broke out, knees buckling from all of the weight, and acted as a mother above all. She also acted in part as a queen, because Shuri is not only the princess, but the apple of Wakanda's eye in many regards. As Shuri told Namor, "Wakanda will not rest" in the darkness of her absence.

What Ramonda knew now when speaking to Namor on the beach (Shuri was safe, Shuri asked to see him, trying to fetch her-breech their waters would be met with an iron fist, blah blah blah) wasn't known then when she made the call (one she couldn't exactly take back here). She couldn't predict a young handmaiden weakly holding Shuri hostage and Nakia having to make the split-second decision to pull the trigger, in far too deep.

The second time she acted as a mother was when saving Riri Williams. Yes, it is true that she could've survived if she didn't swim down for Riri. However, there is a point behind this. It also took her character arc full circle.

In the first movie, Wakanda and its leaders were fine forsaking the lost tribe. They turned their backs and blinded their eyes to the rest of the world. They sacrificed others for themselves. In the second movie, per the choices and changes made by T'Challa, Wakanda and its leaders took a turn for the better. As Letitia Wright said in an interview, Riri was a reflection of T'Challa's choice.

Refusing to have another case of the N'Jadaka, Ramonda, the Queen of Wakanda, broke the cycle. This time, Wakanda sacrificed herself for the lost tribe girl as "if she were one of her own."

In the case of Namor:

Namor is literally just the other side of the same coin. Namor has since lost his immediate family, and at a young age, no less. His father died before he was even born by smallpox (he is the man we see Fen putting jade in the mouth of). His entire village and mother were killed by the same colonial diease before being reborn as Talokanil. He witnessed his mother mourn her homelands and die in her life-long grief. Since he took his first breath, his life wasn't his own. The bracelet Fen was given was a promise of his birthright. He was the first son of the new civilization, destinied to lead it before he could make that decision or understand its weight.

Not only did he have to act as king, but he was viewed as a god. That is so, so much worse when it comes down to expectations or responsibilities.

To add insult to injury, he officially ascended to the throne at such a young age. This all happened during the same day when he:

had to bury his mother

discovered Conquistadors' theft of his ancestral lands he never got to step foot on until then

witnessed slavery

was shot and shouted at in a foreign tongue

was cursed out by a Conquistador priest, interrupting his mother's burial, deeming him a "boy without love" and "son of the devil"

Since then, he didn't have a connection to the surface world. He had no love or trust for it, which only cemented itself as he aged. He spent his life strengthening Talokan, nurturing it, protecting it, trying to experience-revive culture-history deprived from him, and constantly moving it away from the danger of surface man.

Namor's audacity is confirmed partially rooted in the belief that Wakanda should take responsibility for what is and will happen all because they decided to reveal the power of vibranium. It put them all at an immense disadvantage (which is what T'Challa was warned of by Ross in a removed scene). Additionally, Talokan is also more vulnerable than Wakanda and has suffered everything Wakanda feared but never experienced (e.g., colonialization, genocide).

After centuries of moving and preferring to be kept hidden (in other words, he actively chose "peace" and avoiding the problem until he was backed into a corner), the vibranium detector was his last straw. The machine, as said by him, was the sign of the times. They couldn't risk that in any way, hence his extreme actions. There is no disputing that Namor technically was the instigator and a repeated offender at that, but at the same time, you need to look at the context. His hand was forced.

"They came while you spoke to the Queen? We should have never trusted her!" - Namora to Namor in Yucatec-Mayan

Ramonda not only purposefully drawn him out (she tells Nakia that was exactly what she was doing, before giving her the orders) of his home, but sent an "assassin" that took a national threat away while killing two of his "children." One of whom was about Riri's age: a child. She wasn't even a warrior. Namor had to helplessly craddle her as she died. He couldn't do anything as her godking-"father," despite her putting hope and trust in him. That especially makes it more egregious.

If you want to consult the script too, Namor vowed to his mother not to have another Talokanil murdered again. Even if you don't want to take Tenoch's and Ryan's answers in interview questions, it's made amply clear that Namor's attack on Golden City was his form of punishment-retribution, not in his original plans or desires.

From the script,

To the actual cut we had.

Namora is heard stating how much of a risk they were now put in. They have no ensurity Wakanda wouldn't attack them. Shuri has seen their home, equipped with dangerous knowledge. To them, Ramonda-Wakanda has shown capable of killing and going "under the table" while offering a drink above. Let's not even mention how Wakanda has been in contact with other nations and Ramonda threatened to leak their existence.

This realization all happened as Namor was practically having a PTSD trip. We see him hardening, with the same death whistle that played in his flashback, playing then.

Namor snapped.

On the throne, he admits that he was "hypnotized by the panther's tail" that he was blinded by the hope of partnership, an alliance. He endangered all Talokanil and that he seeks to right this wrong. He also says that they will not "move again." At this point, with all of had happened, he-Talokan finally decided to stand up and swing back.

[laviejaguardia]

Seven sentence tag game! tagged by @mieraspeller thank you love!

Joe makes his way to him and sits right as the panel moderator appears on stage. He gets an excited smile as he arranges his coat. “Sophie,” he replies to Nicky’s unvoiced question. “Everything okay?” his green eyes look concerned. Joe grimaces. “Honestly I don’t know.” He shrugs in perplexity and turns back towards the stage.

This fic has been fighting me a lot, but this is the last part i fiddled with.

Tagging @queen-shuri @sindirimba @falyakonmp3 @lakesofdesire if you guys got stuff to share <3

[tinyreviews]

Cool but not epic. The final battle is like, five guys fighting on a ship. The packaging and marketing are top-notch though. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a 2022 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Black Panther. Directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, the film stars Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther, alongside Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Angela Bassett. 

[alkaysani]

Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line (or a few), and share it! Then tag 10 people.

tagged by @oneawkwardcookie - thank you !

1. love finds a way

He feels a soft touch against his hand then, and he blinks, turning to find Eddie smiling at him. His hand is on his hand, and Buck gulps, before he’s moving his hand under, and he watches as Eddie’s eyes flicker for a moment, unsure.

Until he realizes that Buck’s not pulling away, but opening his palm up, intertwining their fingers together. Eddie’s breath hitches then, and he smiles.

2. to watch someone you love (come home)

“Yeah? Well, it was your girlfriend that didn’t want to eat my food,” Eddie returns with a shit-eating grin, putting the food on the coffee table, as Buck lays his head back with a sigh.

“Ex-girlfriend,” he mutters uselessly and Eddie snorts, sitting beside him finally, his thigh pressed against his.

“Thank God for small blessings.”

3. what we deserve

“You okay for us to stay here? I gotta work on the deck, while these two have fun without us,” he says, side-eying Chris then, and making him giggle. His dad blinks only once, before nodding.

“Of course,” he says, and there’s a smile on his face that Eddie is still not used to seeing. At least, not directed at him in his adult life. He can’t help but wonder if they’ll continue to be good the way they are when they’re alone. What if it’s just the momentum of seeing each other for the first time since El Paso? What if it’s just this first day and then it’s back to how it was before? Did his dad mean any of it so far, or is he just placating Eddie? But before he can get too deep into it, he feels a nudge on his knee and comes back to Chris is calling his name.

4. this heart of mine

Joe knows he’ll be stuck on that for a while, so fundamentally entrenched in the pain the betrayal caused. Because there is always a choice. There is always a choice for people, to do good. To do the right thing. To do what is kind, and generous. If he digs into his very own memories as a child, he can feel the teachings of his mother and father: that in our hearts light and kindness we can give to the world, it is up to us how we choose to share it.

5. to forget is to remember, to cherish

Andy takes him by the arm then, and with promises to be back within a month’s time, they go away together, and Joe lets himself be swept away in his sister’s presence. Let’s himself drown in it, because he knows one day, she’ll be a memory. And if their life were to continue beyond more than what they have already been blessed with, then one day, he’ll forget her face, her laughter, her joy.

6. let’s right, these wrongs, together

“You made me believe you were gone. My whole family. Our friends. They all—Fuck, Nicolo, how could you?” he whimpers, and Nicky deserves it. He deserves it all.

7. in parts, i fall, in love

“Here, let me hold that for you.”

Joe hands over his glasses with his only free hand, the other clutching the ever-melting ice bag over his face as he walks.

“’Dank you.” Great, now he sounds like Kermit the frog. He glances at Nicolo who gives him a weak smile, walking beside him, one hand on Joe’s elbow, the other holding the rest of their things.

8. hand-shaped bruise

They are afraid of anything they cannot understand, even if benefits them. So they stay away and leave the Prince alone in his castle.

9. beautiful, i see you

“I’d be staring at myself too if I had your face,” he says, smoothly, and Joe’s mouth drops open and he swears his face is going to fall off it feels so warm. Then the man’s own face flushes red then, but instead of being frozen like him, he steps forward and tilts his head at him.

10. baby immortal research

"I could survive this drop."

tagging: @queen-shuri @nilefreemans @catdadeddie @polarcell @rafael-silva