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itsdappleagain · 2 years ago

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CS WEEKLY: The Hot Rocks of Rio Caper Part 1

WOW am I late on these ones- almost a month behind. Oops. Finals season and being sick and all that. I’m getting these guys done on a plane…lets hope there aren’t too many typos w/out wifi. Alright- here we go with the Hot Rocks of Rio Caper (part 1)!

I actually adore this episode. This season is where we really get the ball rolling!! Like I said, we sort of have the formula and introduction out of the way and we can really start playing now >:)

Also some great capture scenes at the end/start of the two episodes

This is such a beautiful opening sequence. I LOVE that Carmen here is an unreliable narrator. That’s not something a lot of kid’s shows often do (I think b/c they think kids won’t be able to pick up on the fact that something they were shown was fake) but since then TOH has done it as well. It’s just a great look into Carmen’s mindset and it immediately sets the premise for the rest of the season (/show?) concerning looking for Carmen’s mother.

Pls she did poor young Shadow-san so dirty- she doesn’t remember him that young so I guess she just figured he had this super spindly beard/mustache combo which I find hilarious

LIL BABY CARMEN AND DADOWSAN…I know it isn’t real but damn is that cute

It’s also great to see Carmen be thrown so off-kilter by the S1 finale. It’s fantastic consequence to the whole…mother figure tried to murder me but she never saved me in the first place/guy who has sucked most of my life was the one who cared most of all the whole time scenario she uncovered

Le Chevre gets his casual wear!! Out of Carmen’s original classmates I think Antonio is the only one who doesn’t have a civilian disguise (until the taco truck)

I love this scene- its such a fun dynamic between Carmen and Player, plus it gives us a little insight into how they plan their capers. Carmen shrinking against the wall and putting her hood up, sneaking around- it shows that she isn’t always so bold and that she knows how to be subtle (ish- the red hoodie is a bit of a giveaway) when she needs to be.

(Side note- as I write this I’m technically in casual cosplay for Carmen’s outfit here with the red hoodie. I love wearing it!!)

CARMEN PUN UNAPPRECIATOR

After all these years….we’ve found Carmen AND Waldo

Carmen really is off her game here, even before she starts hallucinating. Right is the ONLY way Bowtie could have gone with that little disappearing trick- Carmen should know, considering all the lightpost/bus/whatever disappearances she pulls off with the same method.

The first time I watched this episode I didn’t notice that Carmen picked up two but only handed back one. Cool little trick she did

That shifty side-to-side look Bowtie does is always so funny to me

The way its only been a week are you kidding me. She got DEMOLISHED in that basement she was struggling to BREATHE a week ago she should NOT BE BACK IN ACTION

Also its been a week and the faculty are STILL asking Brunt about stuff wheeze

I do like the visuals, though- usually the faculty are all seated and stationary, but Brunt is pacing and Mael is faced away from her, standing and looking out the window (btw thats a window???). Cleo and Bellum are seated like normal, going through the regular rounds, but the positioning shows the suspicion of both Brunt and Mael.

RIP maelstrom asking brunt if she killed shadowsan and hid the body the tv-y7 was never good enough for you

Im just imagining shadowsan going “your tracksuit is an ugly piece of shit”

Maelstrom is actually using a great manipulative tactic here- offering a mitigating factor with maybe some disagreements. He isn’t going all the way- still accusing her. But he’s offering her something to latch onto if she wanted to confess to a murder

Damn it seems like in this show you DO betray family

Do they even get the chance to accept/deny calls or see caller ID or could the police just call them and it would just patch through with no choice. Do they have a phone number

Why are maelstrom’s eyes kinda pretty though 😳

Damn

Julia’s head is so round

Not julia using the mints like smelling salts im CRYING i love her so much

The despair music only starts when chase doesn’t respond to “LA FEMME ROGUE” and i think that is SO FUNNY its not supposed to be but the comedic timing of the sad music and the zoom on devineaux’s face is so

“We need you” weak, unsupported, will immediately be proven wrong as julia takes the reins and SLAYS this season on her own

“And we need you to tell us that she did not do this to you” STRONG, SLAY, IN CHARACTER, DEVINEAUX DOES NOT FUCKING MATTER ITS ALL ABOUT JULIA TRUSTING CARMEN TO THE VERY END

Btw why is his heart going so fast

This show could have flourished even more without the tv-y7 rating. Player definitely thinks Shadow-san is going to capture or kill her, but Carmen trusts Shadow-san, which is why she looks so horrified near the end when Shadow-san “betrays” her

CS AU where carmen is the daughter of elon musk SAD

Were they just standing there staring at him or what

Where is his heart monitor attached

That wild boars searching for truffles speech? I was sick a couple weeks back and I FELT that

The zoom into the pupil flashback thing was cool

This show and its ability to make ANYTHING child friendly always astounds me. The seven year olds are going to be like “can we go to Carnevale mommy?? Can we go to Oktoberfest??”

Oh my god.

Brazil nut

I JUST GOT THAT JOKE BRAZIL NUT

“Ahh the favelas” that line plays in my head so often i dont know why

Thank god for carmen sandiego now i know how to say “no thank you” in portuguese

ITS OVER LE CHEVRE I HAVE THE HIGH GROUND

What experience does chase have with the backside of a reptile and why does he think shadowsan looks like tortoise butt

Look at that fabulous cross-hatching from agent jawline he’s got some talent yas

We came this close to having to witness chase devineaux with no pants

SAD. oh well NOW WE GET THE JULIA SEASON THANK GODDDDDDDDDDDDD

Does el topo’s VA voice the shady gem expert

We love autistic zack

I LOVE ZACK that was a fantastic joke about the bride

Zack just stealing from the guy and giving it back to him is so funny im crying

Love how julia was just chilling in the hospital. Actually shows that she really does care- wanted to make sure he was okay

OR THE HOOD OF HIS CAR

JULIA IN THE ACME SUIT. SO HOT. ALSO AGENT ZARI PARTNERSHIP. NEUTRAL LEVELS OF HOT

The tourists watching some random lady watching their baby with binoculars: 👁️👄👁️

I also love the silent acting they animated with Carmen here- she drops the binoculars, looks up like ???, looks again, sees that the binoculars were not the only thing tripping, and shakes her head with a smile. Its a really cool little moment with no dialogue

Imagine if they had that exchange in new york city and ivy was like “the big apple aint the apple of my eye, if you know what I mean! The streets just keep goin’ forevah!!” like yes you two are in a residential area this is how cities work

The children just aggressively leaning towards him and then walking away

Le chevre just wants to live his furry dreams be nice to him

Yeah DAMN the character acting on carmen is good this episode. Next episode too actually

The tourists watching some random lady change clothes in the middle of the Christ the Redeemer statue area and then jump off a cliff: 👁️👄👁️

They actually animate carmen pulling the zip cord to release the glider again!!! I love when they do that

Yeah someone else said props to le chevre for finally recognizing them and hard agree its only like the fourth time

So if its not a disguise why were you confused about carmen. Being able to see who you were

That family is so chill about two strangers running through their house the kid is just like. Damn bitch keep staring i guess and then plays with her dolls some more

She doesn’t even look around the house

ALSO OUGH SHE’S SO FRUSTRATED I LOVE WHEN SHE GETS MAD ABOUT SHIT you are not immune to having emotion she is just THROWING herself around that house she is MAD

Not only is that the chillest family ever its the nicest one too. My god they even followed her to ask if she was okay and invited her to eat with them

THE LITTLE KID IS SO CUTE THO

Shadowsan: locks zack and ivy in a bucket

Carmen: SSHSHHLURRPP

Wait omg i forgot she eats here this is like one of two times she eats ever

The family is so sweet I love them they’re so. They’re so

“It is safe” sir I really hate to break it to you but there is an illegal mining operation on the next street over

SHE HAD THE HAT ON BACKWARDS

Ogh carmen you were being so nice to them and then you had to go and be quippy about it again

I dont know how she didnt trigger that thing BEFORE

Yessss carmen jump into the murder hole with no signal and no one knowing where you are and no tools…yes…smart…

Poor el topo was walking down the path with his eyes closed the whole time

HEHE I LOVE THE TONE CHANGE THERE- the normal caper-y atmosphere suddenly changing to carmen being cornered with nothing, signaled by that sinister little shift in el topo’s voice i LOVE THAT. carmen is on the defensive REAL fast

ALSO LE CHEVRE IS SO FUNNY he doesn’t even go to help he’s just like “I FUCKING TOLD YOU TIGRESS DIDN’T I FUCKING TELL YOU”

Tigress knows better than to fight carmen with her goggles on now

I also like the little display of carmen’s fighting style. I think this is one of the best examples of it in the whole show. She tries at first to just get out/past El Topo at the door. Then she tries every exit she can think of, only fighting where she has to. She is TERRIBLE in tight/closed spaces…really a defensive fighter. Great fight as always and I LOVE fights where there are more than one person involved we get them so rarely

Btw carmen taking off the hat and coat? BAD idea everyone knows an absence of red means she’s going to lose REAL bad smh

WILHELM SCREAM

She protected the face

The outrage when tigress “aww”s at her fshgfgf

Fedorable

Pls el topo is so gentle with her he just lowers her to the floor very nicely

Carmen is also SO emotionless about it she’s just like :| hmm yes they are going to inform coach brunt they have captured me i see this is interesting

MMMGH CARMENS FACE WHEN SHE REALIZES PLAYER WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG (SO SHE THINKS. SO MANY LAYERS OF DECEPTION)

OKAY thats the first episode done. MAN what a solid episode I love it!!! Okay- not much else to say, I’m movin on to part 2!

#cs weekly #csweekly #carmen sandiego weekly #carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019

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random-user-guy · 2 years ago

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Darien Clifford

(made with picrew) MC I sent some days ago to @cheerstotheelites-if

PROFILE

Age: 17

Gender: non-binary

Pronouns: they/them

Class Section: 12-A

Nickname/s: Twisted Clown, Crazy Bastard.... etc.

ID Number: 22-7895

Club: Photography

PERSONALITY

▶ Quiet / Loud in nature

▶ A genuine cinnamon (rarely) / Sarcastic Bitch (predominantly in school)

▶ Understanding / Insensitive

▶ The friendliest you’ll ever meet (a mix between Cooper and Eliseo)

▶ Emotional / Rational

▶ Stoic / Expressive

▶ Rule follower/Rule breaker

Hobbies

Playing video games alone or with his friends

Stirring up trouble (”School life would get boring otherwise”)

Hanging out with his friends

Petting Zephyrine’s cat

Bullying the bullies into stopping the bullying Rehabilitating the bullies (thanks god emery is coming in ‘the next chapters to change this idiot)

Helping their mom with the house chores

Taking photos of cloud shapes (The sky gets even more beautiful after the rain. The chaos creates new cloud shapes for people to enjoy”)

Writing poetry whenever inspired by the nature around them

Relationships part 1

▶ Parents

Has good relationship with both of their parents, but they are slightly closer to their mother than their father due to their shared hobby of photography. They tend to affectionately tease their mother a lot too which can get in Felicity’s nerves sometimes. If they’ve made their mother mad, they try to make up for it by helping her out or doing something for her. As for their father, they go to visit him at their work whenever they have time to. Both because they want to meet their father and because they want to see if any cat is around for them to pet. Darien will usually bring one or two stray animals for Zeke to check out if they are healthy or not and hopefully convince him to let them adopt one of the animals.

“I’m grateful for the parents I have and for the friendship and bond they’ve created with me. I have seen them work hard to raise me since I was young, though I was lonely from time to time, so I’d like to one day, when they get older, to provide for them and make them proud.”

▶ Weylyn

His childhood best friend and the only person to whom they confide to. In Lumintoille they are polar opposites, one is an excellent twisted and hotheaded troublemaker while the other is the kind and warm President of Lumintoille.No one can even comprehend how this two are friends. But the crazy bastard becomes more normal around their friend.

They lower their head and accept Weylyn’s admonishing when they’ve gone too far with their antics at school and try not to do them again, but not much change can be seen in their antics for now.

They go to the Rutherford household to hang out with Weylyn and have a taste of the legendary cooking of Weylyn’s mother. They are currently learning how to cook from her so that they can make their favourite Rutherford dishes themselves. They are very obedient and polite when staying here quite different from when they are at school.

“Weylyn is one of those friends who come only once or twice in a lifetime. I may not be as good of a friend as he deserves but know that I will cherish this friendship for as long as I live”

▶ Zephyrine (their soon-to-be crush/ RO)

An unusual friendship started over the love for cats. Zeph’s cat one day had gone outside the house and stumbling upon Darien who started cooing at her and tried to pet her. Zeph was searching for her and when she found her cat being petted by Darien. They started talking about her cat with Darien interrogating her on how she took care of her cat while keeping notes on their little notebook (they might have some screws loose now that I think about it😂).

Darien has tried to make Zephyrine show her true self more to them at least but at the beginning they had no success. They, nonetheless, continued in their quest and still do even now. They want to be to Zephyrine what Weylyn has been to them.

“Zephyrine is my cat lover friend who I want to know more about. She might look like an open book and like she is a social butterfly with thousands of friends, but I can see a glimpse of sadness,loneliness and insecurity in her...”

“I want to know more about Zephyrine.”

Bedroom Design

A plain,simple and minimalistic bedroom for a suprisingly minimalist student

#MC #description #cheerstotheelites

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i-was-bored-so-this-happened · 11 months ago

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Alexandra's Evolution Chapter Twelve: Library Pictures - Part One

Fandom: Primeval Wordcount: 4.4k Warnings: None

Lester struggles to identify the best course of action to get information out of Helen, while Nick, Stephen and Alex adjust to her being back in their lives

Read on AO3 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter Writing Masterpost

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Alex has decided she hates fluorescent lights. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that the entire ARC is lit by them. The break room is the only reprieve, she can switch off the overhead lights in favour of the yellowish strips that line the underside of the cabinets. She’s been sitting there since lunchtime, trying in vain to read a book. The rest of the team is scattered throughout the building. Connor comes and goes. He’s made a good dent in the orange bean bag in the corner of the break room. It’s possible Abby’s gone home, Alex hasn’t seen her in a while. The smell of almost-burnt toast lingers in the air. Tom Ryan knocks on the wall before coming in.

“Connor Temple,” he hands Connor something small before moving towards the table, carefully avoiding the wire that connects Stephen’s iPod to the wall, “Alex Hart.” a little card, laminated and attached to a lanyard. Her full name is stamped into it, her date of birth, and an identification number. Apparently, she’s employee 038.

“What are you, double-oh-seven?” Connor asks from his corner, unlatching and reclicking the snap of the lanyard.

“Lieutenant Sharma’s seven. I’m number five.” When she flips the ID card over there’s new information. Blood type, allergies, the stamp that indicates she’s an organ donor. Just a little concerning. Ryan slides into a seat and takes a handful of dry Cheerios from the bowl in front of Alex after she nods permission. “You’re to wear those when on duty, which means in this building and at anomaly sites.”

“Why’s our logo on it?” Connor asks, holding his up to the light to look through it, “Why do we even have a logo?”

“I didn’t design them,” Ryan answers, crunching dry cereal, “Put ‘em on.” Connor makes a wide circle with his hands to drop the lanyard over his head. Alex clips hers to a belt loop. Ryan’s badge, without a lanyard, is already attached to a loop above his chest pocket, like a nurse’s watch.

“Is Helen talking?” Alex asks.

“Not much. She’s trying to build a case that she’s been kidnapped.” Ryan sighs when Alex’s head tips to the side,

“Well, she was abducted and is currently being held against her will until she gives up information, that’s pretty textbook kidnapping,” she pauses, “Funny thing is though, missing persons are declared dead after seven years, and her eighth anniversary was this May, so I guess it’s not, really.”

“May? Like, when I told you guys about the anomalies May?” Connor asks.

“Like when you guilt-tripped the professor into a day trip over a single tabloid headline May, yeah.” Alex replies.

“Look where we ended up May.” Connor counters, waving a vague hand at his general surroundings.

“May is not a full stop May,” Ryan says firmly, “Alex Hart, if Helen wants to talk to you, are you willing to speak to her?”

“No,” she doesn’t even take time to think about it. Connor shifts in the beanbag and repeats her answer questioningly, “She’s not going to be the person I remember. None of us are the people she knew. I…” she pulls her attention from the table to Ryan, “Why, has she asked to talk to me?”

“It’s likely she’ll ask for Nick, use communication as leverage.”

“Has he not agreed to talk to her?” Alex frowns. That’s not like Nick. Ryan sighs again and she understands, “He’s being withheld,” her chair scrapes as it juts backwards, “Tom Ryan, that’s inhumane. She’s been on her own for years, she told Nick that much, depriving her of human contact is…it’s cruel.”

“She’s in Holding Cell Three.”

“Show me.”

The holding cells that Alex didn’t know existed are downstairs, in the section of the building that’s underground. There are even more strips of fluorescent lights to make up for the lack of windows, bringing Alex’s attention to the uncomfortable lump of lead that sits behind her browbone and makes her squint as she passes under each fresh strip of light. Dry socks from her locker slide a little along the linoleum. Ryan clears his throat to indicate that he’s leaving and turns back to the stairs once Nick and Stephen are in sight. They’re out of place in the almost green-tinged hallway, standing in front of a wide panel of glass that must be one-way. Stephen recognises her walking pattern and holds out an arm ready for her. The arm goes around her shoulders and curls Alex into his chest so he can lift his chin to rest on her head. Nick has a tight grip of Stephen’s hand. Alex shifts so she can see through the window.

Clothes from her old life hang off her frame. Nick had made a pit stop at the house to grab a bin bag of clothes for her. She’s lost weight, enough to show. Her cheekbones, her jaw, and her clavicle are more prominent than in any photos they have of her. That blue shirt used to be one of her favourites, patterned with birds. She inspects the seams and shifts as though ants have been sewn into the fabric. She’d been permitted to shower to get the salt and slime off her and her hair is just starting to dry. Threatening to frizz, just a little, but it won’t. It never did, not like Alex’s did. Still does. The scent of the spray she used to spritz before straightening her hair smacks Alex in the face. Vanilla sugar. She’d sit on the bedroom floor and watch Helen put herself together even though she was too old for it, and Helen would play along for the most part. Their hair smelled the same back then. Body Shop shampoo bars, orange and ginger. It was Stephen who would tie her curls back into plaits on a daily basis, though, she reminds herself. Stephen, whose fingers smelled like pennies every Monday morning from the coins he’d pile on the kitchen table. Nick used to get her hair ribbons when they were in their Austen phase. Stephen had woven the black velvet ones into Alex’s twists for Helen’s funeral so he wouldn’t have to worry about her looking tidy for a few days.

She’s looking at the window. She must at least guess that they can see her. That she’s being watched. She’s been cuffed to the table and given enough slack to reach the white plastic cup of water by her left hand. Her shirt and the jeans are from her past but her boots are the same as those she’d worn through the anomaly. Nick hadn’t kept her shoes. Fresh underwear had been provided courtesy of the BHS on their way back to the ARC. Stephen has wound a coil of Alex’s hair around his finger, it tugs slightly when he gets stuck, and she knows Nick is toying with the leather braid around Stephen’s wrist. They’ve formed a chain on this side of the glass, interlinked and soldered strong. Can Helen see their shadows? Is that how she knows where their eyes are to stare so directly into them? Does it hurt to see them connected when she’s alone? No, she’s adapted to being alone, surely. She’s evolved. But that only brings up the question of why she’d been luring Nick in the first place. She’s uninjured, she seems in control of her mental faculties. Nick’s question persists: why now? There are a lot of questions, but that one is at the forefront.

“What’s the plan, Teach?” Alex mumbles into her uncle’s shoulder. Lester wants the intel she has on anomalies and doesn’t want personal lives to overtake the research project, but giving Helen what she wants by letting Nick in would open the door to personal lives and not to scientific information. Nick and Stephen, they need to know she’s okay. That she’s being fed. If they will take the cuffs off her.

“I’ll talk to ‘er. It might be our only chance to get the truth.”

“What if you don’t like the truth?” Stephen asks.

“No one really likes the truth,” Nick says sagely, sliding a finger under the leather bracelet to find Stephen’s pulse point, “The truth actively changes reality. Do we want that to happen?”

“You’re asking that now?”

***

The next time Lester disappears down the stairs to the holding cells, Tom Ryan breaks protocol. None of them are supposed to be down there without Leek and Lester knowing, and they’re certainly not meant to watch this. Alex is at her desk hunched over a crossword. R.E.M are on the radio. Empty boxes are slowly being filled with tiny swirls.

“Banal.”

“You what?”

“Boring.”

“Gee, thanks.” Alex shifts the position of her legs, which are starting to go numb. Ryan leans his weight on the back of the chair and leans over her shoulder to underline a blank space. When she picks up the pen to print the letters in block capitals Ryan moves closer, head parallel to hers, as though to inspect her spelling and lowers his voice,

“Figured you should know Lester’s downstairs again,” he pushes against Alex’s chair when she tries to scoot back, “Don’t, you’re not meant to know.”

“Then why are you telling me?” she fills in a word that’s been made clear now banal has been written.

“Leek wanted the three of you notified once Lester was in. Slow and casual, yeah?” He lets go of the chair and leaves the ops room entirely. Alex waits for several seconds, unsure if Ryan’s warning was really warranted but not wanting to risk it, before she leaves her desk. Stephen’s in the ops room too, near the door, and as she passes him she hooks her fingers into the collar of his shirt to take him with her. He doesn’t offer much resistance, only leaning forward to grab his coffee before going with her.

“Where’s the fire?”

“Downstairs, Lester’s trying Helen again.”

“Where’s Nick?”

“Dunno, call him.” Alex says, tripping down the steps. She has to count the doors she passes, not fully remembering where Ryan had dropped her off the night before without Nick marking the location. Her head turns to each window the same way a lost child looking for her mother in a supermarket checks each aisle.

She’s there. Helen. Her hair has dried and she is no longer cuffed to the table, but there is a guard at the door Alex can see if she presses her face to the glass. Lester sits with his back to the window. They have both been provided with nondescript cups of tea. Alex finds her pen still in her hand and pushes it into her mouth. Stephen pulls it out and wipes it on his shirt,

“God, how many times have I told you not to chew pens? No, Nick, Alex.” He’s still on the phone. No noise is coming from the room they’re watching, though they can see Helen’s mouth and Lester’s shoulders moving. Alex runs her fingers along the windowsill until she finds a button and tinny speech comes through a small speaker above their heads.

“-you’ll be in here for a rather long time.” The latter half of Lester’s sentence comes through clearly.

“Is there anything in my voice, Lester, anything at all, that makes you think I’ll obey you? Nothing will stop me from doing what I have to do.” The tone of Helen’s voice is unfamiliar. Deceptively smooth to the point of sharpness. Like glass.

“What’s she on about?” Stephen whispers, covering the mouthpiece of his phone as he asks. Alex shrugs and makes a grumbly noise to indicate that she doesn’t know. She’s heard as much as he has.

“How frighteningly ominous,” Lester deadpans, “We don’t want much, we just want to understand the anomalies.” Helen snorts derisively, a sound still familiar to Stephen because Alex does the same thing.

“Do you know what an oxymoron is?” Helen asks. Lester is, as far as the Harts can tell without seeing his face, unfazed,

“What do you want to get out of this interaction, Helen? Besides sanctimonious lecturing?”

“I’ve already told you. I want to speak to Stephen.” The name crackles through the phone at Stephen’s ear at the same time as Helen says it. He mumbles something and hangs up.

“Me?” Stephen asks Alex. He’s whispering again. She looks up at him, searching his eyes to try to discern his internal reaction.

“Stephen?” Lester repeats, “Not your husband?” Helen doesn’t deign to respond, sipping her tea.

“Why not Nick?” Stephen whispers, “We all thought she’d want Nick first. She doesn’t even know he…we…” Alex nibbles at the cuff of her shirt sleeve.

“So much for not bringing our personal shit to work with us.” She mumbles around the fabric. Stephen exhales noisily through his nose. Clattering on the stairs heralds Nick’s arrival. Nick, whose arm automatically slides around Stephen and whose hand finds its place at his hip. “She wants to talk to him.” Alex says simply. Confusion registers on Nick’s face in a frown,

“Him?”

“Him.”

“Will you go?”

While the new turn of events is being discussed, Lester leaves his space at the table. He abandons his teacup and the small plate of bourbons his body had been hiding. Too far away for Helen to reach. He turns to the window to look at his reflection and straighten his jacket and tie. The latter is cerulean today, patterned with fleur de lis in a slightly shiny thread in order to stand out. The door doesn’t hiss or squeak or creak to announce his arrival, making little more noise than a quiet swish.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” he pinches the bridge of his nose, “I suppose you figured out how the audio works?” in response, Alex points up at the little speaker, and he sighs, “Stephen, would you like to go in?” Stephen nods and swerves past Lester into the room without a word. “I suppose there’s no telling you two to clear off.”

“Nope.” Nick tells him.

“They can’t say I didn’t try.” Lester replies. He puts Alex between him and Nick and clasps his hands in front of him not unlike a choir boy. Alex leans on the windowsill, being careful not to press the button that will cut off audio.

“Were you waiting outside?” Helen asks. She visibly relaxes. Not a lot, but enough for Nick and Alex to register, leaning back and aligning her arms with those of the chair.

“We’re concerned,” Stephen says. He’s speaking lightly, carefully. The plate of bourbons slides in Helen’s direction, “They are feeding you, aren’t they?” She picks up a biscuit, inspects it and then puts it back on the plate. “You weren’t set up, I need you to know that. Nick wanted to make sure you were alright and they-”

“Oh, I don’t want your excuses for him, Stephen.” Helen cuts in. She’s breathing rather sharply through her nose.

“Alright, fine,” he’s closing off, settling linked hands on the table, “What do you know?” Someone else is coming down the stairs now, but no one turns to see who it is. Leek, Alex guesses from the creak of new brogues and the presence behind her as he whispers into Lester’s ear.

“About what?” Helen asks on the other side of the glass.

“The anomalies. You said you know why they happen. You’ve got to deliver.” Stephen explains.

“Right now, why is the least of your worries.”

“The fuck does that mean?” Stephen asks, irritation tearing at the edge of his words.

“It means that unless you act within the next few hours, a pack of sabre-toothed killers will be rampaging through central London.”

“Get him out, we’ve got another one.” Lester orders. Leek - Alex was right, it was him - shuffles past the group and into the holding cell. Helen watches him the same way a cat does an intriguing pigeon. Stephen turns to the noise of the door opening, and they can see the clench of his jaw. His response to Leek spawning into the room is well-controlled, and he follows him out without another word to Helen. Once Stephen’s in range, Nick reaches out to rub his arm.

“There’s a library in Lambeth that’s been having a bit of bother with a stray cat,” Lester announces, “It seems when the RSPCA went in they bit off more than they could chew.”

“The surrounding area has been evacuated without disruption to Waterloo station and, as far as we know the creature hasn’t left the building. There’s an ambulance at the scene already, there has been a casualty.”

“Of you get, before we��re on the dinnertime news for stopping the trains.” Lester waves a dismissive hand. All three heads of Nick, Stephen and Alex turn to him with equally incredulous expressions. Nick points at the window,

“You expect me to just leave her here with you?” he asks. Lester blinks, affronted at the accusation that he might ill-treat Helen. In Nick’s eyes, he already has.

“I won’t speak to her until you get back. She told Stephen more there than she has any of us. Big cat? Sabre-toothed killers? I took my kids to see Ice Age, I know what that means, now go.”

***

Minimal military personnel have been assigned to this incursion. Whether that’s to minimise public panic or to maximise team cooperation it’s unclear. The standard orange traffic cones have been set in a circle around the incursion site, monitored by a few soldiers who are trying to turn away police officers. Alex was not given permission to drive so she bounces out of the back seat of the pick up and skips to the boot to open the gun locker. She claims a pistol and waits for Abby to join her. At present, Abby is the one that is trusted with measuring out sedatives for their dart guns. The others haven’t done the training.

“I’m going to go with the same sort of dosage we use for the lions at the zoo,” she mumbles, holding a syringe at eye-level, “How likely is it to be bigger than a lion?”

“Eh,” Alex wobbles a hand back and forth, “Maybe about fifteen to twenty percent bigger than their modern counterparts. Generally speaking.”

“We can work with that.” Abby, happy with her measurements, begins making up darts. “Two pistols and a rifle?” she checks. Alex nods. Nick doesn’t particularly like guns, and he trusts the others enough to cover him.

“Which one’s mine?” Connor asks, inevitably.

“You don’t get a gun.” Abby reminds him.

“You are never getting a gun.” Alex piles on. In target practice he’d fired three plastic pellets clear past the mark and into her stomach. The training gun had been quickly taken off them before she could retaliate, “You’re a shit shot and you don’t have a license.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.” He gives them a pair of over-enthusiastic thumbs-up and a too-wide smile and dives back into the car for the magnetometer and Geiger counter Alex had managed to wangle out of one of the university professors, an ancient man everyone called Burnie who was the one to teach Alex how each element on the periodic table he could get his hands on burned. Hence the nickname. Connor also pulls out Alex’s bag, which she slings over her shoulder before taking the gun Abby gives her. Out of habit, she checks the safety. As part of a new habit she’s developing, she then shoves it in the side pocket of her bag that’s meant to hold a bottle or some pens or something of the like. At least she doesn’t keep it in the waistband of her trousers like her uncle does, tucking it under his jacket. He can’t really do that with a rifle, fortunately. Abby takes the second pistol and passes Alex a case of darts to slip into her bag.

“Alright, kids!” Nick gathers his team around him in a jumble of a circle, waiting for Tom Ryan and his two-soldier entourage to join them.

“What’s the drill if a big cat goes for you?” Stephen asks the group at large.

“Uh. Run?” Connor says this as though he’s stating the obvious.

“Connor, do you know what a cheetah is?” Alex asks. Connor rolls her eyes. She sticks her tongue out.

“Even if it’s just a cat that’s escaped from a private zoo or something, lions and tigers can push fifty mile an hour in a sprint if they feel like it.” Abby elaborates, having a little more pity.

“If it goes for you, you make yourself big and you make yourself loud, alright?” Stephen asks. “Connor?”

“Big and loud, got it.” Connor mock-salutes.

“Remember, it might not be the creature we’re expecting, it might just be a stray the RSPCA can’t handle.” Tom Ryan reminds everyone.

“Or Helen’s right, which you’ll find she usually is.” Nick corrects. Ryan accepts this with a nod. Stephen takes control of strategy,

“Splitting into pairs may be more effective than confronting this in a lump. We have two floors to cover here so four on each floor, two starting at each end and working their way into the middle. Alex, take Connor. Abby, with me.” This is deliberate, splitting up the trio to avoid talking about Helen. Nick even pairs with an unknown soldier to keep himself apart from Tom Ryan.

“What if it’s just a regular cat?” Connor asks, pulling at his gloves as he walks in step with Alex.

“Not allergic to cats, are you?” She hasn’t quite memorised the list of his obscure allergies and intolerances.

“No. Well, not really. Only the ginger ones.”

“What do you mean, only the ginger ones?” Alex asks. Connor shrugs.

“Me nan always had cats and I was fine, but when I was thirteen she had to put Sugarsnap into Battersea because I’d get so itchy.”

“Sugarsnap?”

“Yeah, she had good names. Monty, Pearl, Caesar, Diplodocus-”

“I can guess who picked that one out-”

“-she always called him Dipstick-”

“-really crushing your creative spirit there.”

“Right?” Connor sounds thrilled that someone agrees with him, and it makes Alex laugh. She pauses in front of the building as the others go in and pinches her fingers in front of her face, drawing a line down to her chest,

“Hey, hey, okay, we’re focused. We’re focused.” Connor copies her motion and her breathing, like actors preparing to go on stage. “You stay behind me, you stay quiet, you’re my lookout.”

“Lookout, got it. Are we on the ground floor or upstairs?”

“Uh. Oh.” Everyone else has gone in, and when they push through the doors no one can be seen on the stairs, “Take your pick.”

“You think I’m going to choose stairs?”

“I figured it was unlikely,” Alex admits. She turns in a slow circle to choose a direction to go in. The ground floor of the library holds a café, the check-out desk, a small IT section with a dozen computers and three printers, and the children’s section behind a set of doors painted to look like they’re in a two-dimensional cartoon, “Check out the kid’s books?” Connor agrees with a shrug.

The floor is linoleum, difficult to move over without their shoes catching and making some sort of noise. Not that Connor’s trying to be quiet. He hasn’t quite gotten that idea yet, strolling casually along but making sure to stay a few paces behind Alex. She plants one foot directly in front of the other, mimicking a fox’s walking pattern to the best of her bipedal ability. She shoulders the door open and leaves it for Connor to catch hold of. The children’s section of Waterloo Library is in a square room with shelves no taller than five feet, large board books and soft toys on display along the tops of the shelves. A deep pile carpet disguises any noise Alex and Connor would be making, but neither of them can quite see over the shelves. Leather-covered cubes and circular corduroy floor cushions litter the floor, a few books still left behind from when the building was evacuated. Brightly coloured rubbery chairs with chunky legs are set around squat little tables covered with gingham tablecloths and abandoned pots of crayons with colouring sheets. Decorations dangle from the ceiling panels, flowers made of tissue paper and little lanterns. A poster on the wall declares the room is currently themed after The Secret Garden, all the books on display being about bugs or gardening. It’s charming, even to the university students who have yet to lose the last of their childishness.

“Aw, cute.” Connor whispers. Alex shushes him, knowing he’s categorically unable to whisper. She moves towards the centre of the square, where the tables are. The shelves form a square sort of spiral, leading an unassuming toddler on a full tour of the room and spitting him out at the centre again. It’s decided that they should follow this spiral. The structure is intuitive, each section holding a clearly labelled subject and each individual shelf rising in age as it does in height: baby board books at floor level and books more suitable for ten-to-twelve-year-olds at the top. Alex and Connor move slowly, the latter in charge of ensuring they’re not being followed, around the spiral. There’s no sight or sound of any sort of animal - or any familiar humans for that matter - until they reach a section that has an adjoining desk, the books dedicated to teaching children how to read. Connor’s hand crawls up Alex’s shoulder and pushes, trying to turn her. She lets him, and they peer over the top of the shelf.

A cat, definitely some kind of cat, is curled up into a kidney-bean shape. Asleep. Its tail covers much of its hind legs, but the size of the front paws can be estimated to be the same size as a dinner plate. Bigger than a regular lion’s paws, surely. It has no mane but there is tufted hair at the scruff of its neck, much like an adolescent male lion would have. The cat stretches, extending its long front legs and proving itself to be male. The mouth opens in a yawn, exposing teeth Alex would guess are five inches long. His eyes open, a deep amber colour, and the pupils contract as they adjust to the level of light in the room.

“Bad news, Connor. He’s ginger.”

#rae's writing #alexandra's evolution #primeval #primeval fanfiction #primeval fic #primeval oc #rae's ocs #original character #alex hart #stephen hart #nick cutter #connor temple #abby maitland #oliver leek #helen cutter #james lester #tom ryan

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dorefasolsido · 11 months ago

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36.

1. What would you do if your pet suddenly started to talk to you, but nobody else could hear it? Would you assume you'd gone mad or simply be happy for the company? Would you try to convince your friends and family or would you be satisfied keeping it to yourself?

Lol I'd suspect I'm a little bit insane, but I probably wouldn't mind. I was always curious about what Luci would have to say to me and just in general what cats actually think. I'd be chatting to him for hours, though I doubt he'd want to chat with me as much lol.

2. When you answer the phone, what do you typically say? Is it different depending on whom the caller ID says it is (if you have caller ID)?

Usually I say "hello?" or if it's my parents or friends I say "hey" or something similar. I very rarely answer phone calls from unknown numbers since I absolutely hate talking on the phone.

3. Is there a food that you only recently started to like? If so, what is it and when did you start liking it? How often do you try again foods you don't like to see if your tastes have changed?

Hmm, I mean, it's not something I didn't like before and then started liking it, but for example, I've never tried Korean food until this summer, then I finally did and ended up loving it. Now I'm in the process of exploring various dishes, but everything I've tried so far has been delicious.

But as for how often I try foods I don't like to see if I will like it now, I don't usually do that. The only thing I really actively dislike are tomatoes, and there's no way I'm giving them a fourth chance.

4. Who would you NOT want to read the surveys you've posted on here? What would most likely happen if they did read it? Is there anyone you actually wish would read your survey answers but whom doesn't?

I don't want anyone I know to read this lol, that's a fear of mine actually and the reason I was so reluctant to start this even though I always liked the idea. I don't mind if internet strangers read the stuff I write here, but someone I actually know reading this and recognizing me would be mortifying. I don't think anything special would happen, I just like to have a place like this, separate from my everyday life, where I can vent about my feelings and maybe even the people I know.

5. What three things do you think will become obsolete in the next ten years, and why?

I think since technology changes so fast, it will be something we use now, but I'm not sure what. Maybe cash also. It's already starting to go in that direction in some countries.

6. Do you watch Glee? If so, which song do you want to hear on there that they have not yet done? If not, which TV show do you think has the best soundtrack?

I've never watched it, but as for the best soundtrack, Attack on Titan has absolute killer soundtrack. I'm not even super big on soundtrack in general but that show's music just hits different.

7. What do you find to be the most irritating piece of clothing to wear wet? Are you the type of person to go to great lengths to avoid getting your clothing wet? What about your hair?

I hate wet clothes omg. I'm not sure which I find more irritating tbh because all of it is horrible. I wouldn't say I go to some particularly great lengths to avoid it, as it usually doesn't happen unless I'm caught in a summer downpour.

As for hair, I don't really mind. It's a bit more annoying now that I have bangs since they go absolutely crazy when they're wet, but oh well.

8. How often do you witness discrimination? Do you ever speak up about it when you do see it? Or would you only speak up if the discrimination was directed toward you or someone close to you?

I wouldn't say I witness it too often since I live in a pretty homogenous country, but I've definitely seen it towards women or the Romani. If it happens in my circle, I'll call it out, but I'm a little bit too awkward to do it in public. Maybe one day I will, when my social anxiety goes away.

9. Do you think you would be able to pull off a crime perfectly, without being caught? What about other lies? For example, cheating on your partner without getting caught? Would you be able to get away with it?

No, I don't think pulling off a perfect crime is nearly as easy as it is sometimes portrayed in the media, and also, it's definitely not something I'd be very good at. Same with cheating, I just wouldn't see the point in that.

10. Are you the type to get embarrassed if your parent/parents acts/act your age? Do they do this often? Or do you think it's stupid to put an age on the way one can act?

I'm firmly believe it's stupid to put an age on how people should act because it's not like you turn 30 and suddenly you can't have fun. Or at least I hope so, since I'm two years away from that lol.

Anyway, I was never embarrassed by my parents and I also don't think they ever really tried to act my age or anything like that. They're just doing their own thing.

11. Do you know anyone who has divorced and remarried the same person? What do you/would you think of someone who does that?

So not quite remarried, but my dad's friend divorced his wife and then kept living with her and their daughter for years. It was an interesting arrangement to say the least, but if it worked for them, then I have no business thinking anything particular about it.

12. Do you say goodnight to anybody before you go to bed? If so, does it feel weird if you go to bed without saying it to them?

I say goodnight to my sister, but it doesn't feel too weird when I don't. Sometimes she just falls asleep earlier than me and sometimes I go to my hometown for a few days/weeks and she stays here. In those cases, I can't say goodnight to her and it's okay.

13. How do you react when you're scared? Do you scream, jump, cover your eyes, etc.?

If it's like a jumpscare, I mostly just flinch and slightly gasp.

14. Who is the best storyteller you know? What do you find best about their storytelling? Is there an interesting story of theirs you'd like to share?

Hmm, my uncle is pretty good at storytelling. He just has this way of talking that engages you right away and he really knows how to deliver the punchline or create suspense. I can't think of a specific example but yeah.

15. When you check your e-mail account, how much of it do you delete without even looking at it? Do you have a separate account for junk like this?

I never delete my emails lol. Maybe I should, but I just don't really bother, there's way too much.

16. Do you strongly dislike (or even hate) any bands or musical artists? If so, what caused such a strong negative emotion towards them?

Nope, not really. If something's not my thing, I'm just not going to listen. That's really all there is to it.

17. What are you listening to? Is it something you would normally be found listening to, or just something you've started listening to recently?

I listen to rock/metal, which I've been listening to basically since middle school, though maybe the bands have slightly changed. Also, now I'm definitely more into K-pop too, with BTS taking number one spot, of course. That's a pretty recent thing though.

18. Does/did your school bus stop directly in front of your house? If not, where does/did it stop?

Oh we don't have school buses here. At least not in my hometown, but I think even here in the capital, there are no actual school buses. I always went to school by foot anyway, since it was 5 minutes away from my house.

19. Do you parents have any collections? If so, what do you think of those collections?

My dad has a huge collection of vinyls which is actually so cool, I like to go through it once in a while and look at the covers. He also had a collection of his sports medals, but I'm not sure where that is anymore.

Mum mostly collects books, so we have plenty of those at home.

20. Are there any movies you watch when you're feeling anxious or depressed? If so, what are they, and what about them calms you down and/or lifts your spirits?

Hmm, I do usually turn to those cheesy high school comedies when I don't feel mentally well. They're just so simple and predictable that they're very comfortable, especially those I've watched many many times.

21. Would you rather see a band/artist perform in a small club, an arena, or at an outdoor venue? Why? Which one have you been to most recently?

That depends on the band/artist. I love big concerts in arenas/outdoor venues, but there's something pleasant and cozy about going to a club with 50+ people and enjoying a smaller gig too.

Most recently I've been to one of my favourite local cover band's gigs, I go there pretty much every month and it's always a fantastic time.

22. Do you have a favourite role of Johnny Depp's? If you don't like him, what is your favourite role of an actor you like?

I mean, probably Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean since that's a series of my youth lol

23. If you were in a competition to win your dream prize, and you were allowed to decide what the competition would be (trivia about your favourite band, a foot race, singing, etc.) , what would you choose and why?

I'm actually not sure there's anything I'd 100% be the best at lol

24. What is your least favourite thing about the English language? Are there any other languages you prefer besides English?

I guess if I had to pick one least favourite thing about English, it would be the articles. My native language doesn't have them so I still sometimes mess them up even though I've spoken English my entire life.

As for other languages, I really like Japanese. I like what little I know about how it works and I like how it sounds. I want to go back and try to properly learn it at some point.

25. Would you be upset if a long-term partner confessed that they had committed a serious crime before you met? How do you think it would affect your relationship?

I mean, there's no way it wouldn't affect the relationship. Say I've been with them for two years and they suddenly come and are like, oh yeah, I murdered someone five years ago, btw. Even if they did it in self-defense, it would be a problem since they never told me. It may be awkward to mention something like that on a first date, but it's also wrong not to mention it before things get serious.

26. Who, out of the people you know, do you think has the most messed-up relationship? Have you ever spoken up about it or do you stay out of it? Have you ever been in a relationship that was really messed-up?

Well, Ochi, my sorta friend. He's been in this on and off relationship with a guy who's involved with some pretty dangerous people and everything I've heard about their relationship has been beyond toxic. Like, I really think Ochi might be dragged into that world too and that won't end well for him. And I have tried talking to him many times, everyone tried, but he just doesn't listen. I'm not sure if anything can be done unless he realizes how things stand on his own.

As for myself, not that messed up, but I have had a pretty unhealthy situationship for a while.

27. What emotion have you been feeling most commonly lately? Do you like feeling this way? If not, have you done anything to try to change it?

I'm not really sure, but whatever it is, I don't think I particularly like it.

28. Why did you/your parents choose to live where you do now? Would you move right now if you were able to? Why/why not? If so, where would you like to go?

So basically, when I was choosing where to attend university, I could've chosen a city closer to my town or the capital which is a bit further away. I chose the capital without hesitation, and I'm glad I did because it's far more exciting here, and had I moved to the other city, I would've likely ended up moving back to my hometown and that would have been horrible.

I quite like it here, I've liked it from the start and I don't expect that to change too much. But I would also move somewhere abroad if I could; maybe Germany, or maybe even Japan.

29. Is there a song that you think, lyrically, describes your childhood? Have you ever had a song describe your life perfectly, each and every word? How does it make you feel when you come across songs like this?

I don't know about my childhood, but I always felt like H. by Tool somehow speaks to me, even though it doesn't actually describe my life. Like, it hits just the right strings within me, and it's difficult to explain why, though I've been trying to figure it out for years.

Also, Jimin's Like Crazy or Alone.

30. Do you tend to befriend people who are of a similar, smaller or larger weight than yourself? (Even if it doesn't matter to you, you can admit it.) Has it always been this way?

I'm really not sure lol. I think most of my friends are around my weight? It's never been a factor for me, and since I was underweight for a long time, most people I befriended were heavier than me.

31. List a random fact (each) you know about 5 of your favourite survey takers:

There are a few on here I've been following, but I'm still way too new and awkward to tag them and say anything lol.

32. Whenever you have a question about something random, are you more likely to ask Google or someone you know? Does it depend on what exactly you want to know? Do you do both?

Probably google it, though it depends, if I'm mid-conversation with someone, then I ask them, and if they don't know, then I google.

33. How old were you when you went on your first date? Was there anything you would change about the experience? How do you think it shaped your expectations? If you've never been on a date, what did you like best about the last meal you ate?

Well I've never been on like a proper date, so last meal I ate was spaghetti, and I just generally like spaghetti.

34. If you had to serve a meal to an ambassador from another country that symbolized your country's culture, what would you choose? Do you think s/he would love it as much as you do?

Stuffed paprika maybe, that's super popular in this region.

35. If someone broke into your house and robbed you, what could they take that would piss you off or upset you the most? To what lengths would you go to get it back? Has something like this already happened to you before?

Definitely my laptop or my phone. My whole life is on my phone, and I need my laptop for work. I would contact the police for sure, but tbh, they aren't that great at actually retrieving stolen stuff around here. And our house has been broken into twice (well the door was unlocked, so not really broken into), but they didn't take anything very expensive.

36. Do you enjoy watching the special features found on most DVDs? What do you usually enjoy more: the deleted scenes, the bloopers, the audio commentary, or the behind-the-scenes footage?

I did like to watch behind-the-scenes footage back in the day when I watched DVDs.

37. Do you care at all about the Stanley Cup playoffs? If so, which team are you rooting for, and is it different than the team you're sure will make it to the cup? If you don't care, is your family the type to get right into a sport, or is the topic of sports rarely spoken about in your house?

I actually have no clue what that is lol.

38. Have you ever had your own flower garden? If so, what are/were your favourite flowers to plant?

I haven't, I'm not a plant person at all.

39. Would you ever date someone who is exactly like your youngest (or oldest, if you're the youngest) sibling? Why/why not?

I get along with my sister well, so I guess it would make sense, but I also think such a person might be a little too intense for me lol. I don't know, maybe that's not too bad anyway.

40. Was there something you were afraid of as a child that just seems silly to you now?

I remember a film I caught once with some aliens that had eyes directly on their brains and they scared the shit out of me. I actually found that film later and thought they looked really funny.

#personal #surveys

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kvothbloodless · 10 months ago

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I dont think its exactly paradoxical; or only a little bit at least. Its Cat coming to believe that Akua has been Made Into a tool, and thus has the potential to not be one. She stops thinking of Akua as a tool because now Akua is a seed. But neither a tool nor a seed of a person are a whole person. I agree theres definitely Some cognitive dissonance there for sure (which lets be honest categorizes like 2/3s of Cats thoughts and feelings about Akua).

However, I definitely dont think it really contributed much to her actions in Praes. Her disagreement with Cat over whether theres anything worthwhile in Praesi nobility isnt really a question of Personhood or like, Moral value. Its that Cat (like Black was) is ready to write them all off as a lost cause. Which is fascinating for two reasons.

Im also not sure if I buy that Akuas love of magic (and, more honestly, of her father) is most of what holds her back from stealing power from that Fae, given how deeply in denial she is at that point, though I can definitely see it being arguable. But the Diabolist wouldnt have balked at it, love of magic or no, likely wouldnt have given it more than a second thought (though I agree she Would probably have found it distasteful for exactly the reasons you said). Or maybe its better to say that the growth and change encouraged by Cat Allows Akua to make that kind of choice, one made out of love and sentiment, which she wouldnt have made if she were still more Role than person.

(But I also dont remember the quote you mentioned very well, so Id love to go back and see my thoughts on it. Do you happen to know what chapter(s) this bit is from "it isn't her own pursuit of her ambitions that Akua holds as making her more than a husk but "a spark of wonder" that hasn't been snuffed out that she still holds for magic"? Im assuming its from one of her interludes in book 3?)

The first is that, like I said before, Black ends up changing his mind here! He recognizes that "murder all the nobles" isnt a viable plan not just because it would be difficult or whatever (i.e. Cats main reasoning for not attempting it), but because theres something worth salvaging there. Admittedly not much, but still! (This also goes back to the fact that no outsider could have brought down the Tower. Black recognizes that the nobility arent just a weight around Praes' neck, not a mould that can just be broken; theyre Part of Praes, the rotting scaffolding on which its built.) Cat arguably continues to hold Blacks views on the subject longer than Black did! (Side note which I wont get into because this post cannot afford another tangent, but man i just remembered that Black Also explicitly unpersons people, reducing them down to mechanistic objects in motion, reducing entire cities to numbers to be evaluated and altered to fit his goals.)

The second is that, if you had asked Cat whether Akua was a lost cause even before the Folly (much less right after), shed have agreed 100%. She considered Akua the Worst of the lot. But then she spends time with Akua, and is forced to recognize the truth of Akua, that shes a product of her environment just like anyone else, and that, like anyone else, shes capable of becoming a better person. And yet, she never really makes that leap with the rest of the nobility (Again, that absurd degree of cognitive dissonance). She accepts that shell have to tolerate them, but even during the beginning of the Praes arc, she doesnt afford the other nobles the same depths as she does Akua, despite thr obvious connection there. Whereas Akua, having gone through the process of recognizing everything wrong with Praesi noble culture, and of unlearning it, obviously recognizes that no- hang on, may have talked myself around.

Because Cat Does implicitly say that Akua isnt a moral agent, doesnt she? Its Why she initially wants to make Akua into a 'real person'. So that the punishment can have actual meaning. Of course, this is Also an example of her cognitive dissonance here, because if Akua isnt Already a moral agent, then shes not really culpable for the Folly, is she? But yea, that Is a fair point about Cats views on the Praesi nobility as a whole, because even if she doesnt explicitly deperson them like she did with Akua, she does kind of treat them that way, as if they werent really agents (I trust people to act according to their nature. Anything more is sentimentality).

And this is definitely her bias showing, in part inherited from her father, because she never has that problem with the Villains (or really the Heros either). She can recognize some of them as the worst of the worst, but she still recognizes them as both moral agents, And as being capable of change (indeed, the Liesse Accords are basically predicated on the idea that all Named are still the product of their environment, and that changes to the moral and cultural landscape can affect this for the better. Hmm. Fuck. The Liesse Accords. Named after the Folly. Not just because theyre meant to stop another Folly from happening, but because the Doom of Liesse was practically the pilot study for their feasability. Ignore that the Truce and Terms happen well before Cats plan with Akua comes to fruition, ive connected the dots.)

Regardless, I still think that Akuas actions in Praes arent really driven by any spark of wonder for magic, or love for her father. She burns the Tower down because she cant stomach going back to being the empty shell of a person she used to be, and cant stomach seeing others walk further down that path in her place. Like you said, she recognizes what Cat's bias ignores; that the Praesi nobility are worth salvaging, are still People, capable of change. She acts on a belief Really close to what Black used to believe, that Praes is a mould to be broken, because She was shaped by that mould. And she finishes the process of breaking out of what it shaped her to be, by breaking the mould entirely, so it wont continue to shape anyone else.

You are however 100% correct that her mental categorization doesnt end up matching Cats; like you pointed out, she actually takes it Further than Cat. And not only with the Praesi nobility! While Cat never goes nearly as far as Black does, never fully treats people like objects in motion (except when she does, because Black's view of the world is still so foundarional to her that See near perfectly matches how the Carrion Lord views people), and never reduces people down to Just numbers in her thoughts, shes perfectly willing to treat them that way when she has to, even if she dislikes doing it. Akua on the other hand...

"'We need,' Akua Sahelian quietly said, 'to free them.'

I felt the weight of those golden eyes on me without needing to turn. My heart clenched. The calculus was plain to see, as it so often was at times like this. If we freed them, the enemy would know we’d been here. Maybe not immediately, but sooner than otherwise. And if we got caught, were forced to retreat or fight our way out before getting to the tower, it might be a lot more than three hundred drow that died for it. And on the other side of the balance was a hard truth: if we did not save these people, they were dead. And we would condemn them to that fate simply because of a risk, a potential danger. Not a certain consequence.

I knew the choice I would have made if I’d come alone. Knew it deeply, instantly. And some part of me recoiled at the thought of how very comfortable with sacrifices I had become.

'I have had enough of shackles, Catherine,' Akua murmured. 'Especially those made of iron.'

I studied her face. She had already made her decision, I realized. She would free the dzulu whatever I said. And so I shivered, knowing in that moment that I had both succeeded beyond my wildest hopes and entirely lost control of the situation. So I said the only thing I could say.

It's fascinating how Cat's attitude towards Akua beginning to, not soften exactly, but shift as Cat comes to understand (or admit to herself) how much Akua herself was harmed by Praes is immediately followed by Cat dehumanizing Akua by conceptualizing her as not a person and deciding to make it her project to make her into one.

#practical guide to evil #pgte #akua sahelian #long post #the long post has gotten even longer

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army-of-bee-assassins · 2 years ago

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Hi Disco Elysium fandom! If y'all have noticed me and a small group of other users here adding image descriptions (IDs) to your posts, and if you want to know more about why, then I have some relevant information for you here! Namely that:

The ultimate goal of those adding IDs is for as many people as possible to include image descriptions in their original posts!

I'm gonna get into the details of image descriptions (like how and why to write and reblog them) down below, but I just want to state some things from the get-go:

A post that's accessible from the start is much better than one that's only accessible in the notes. Ideally, accessibility should be included in the original post. That way, blind and other disabled people don’t need to go searching for content they can access. It is everybody's responsibility to foster an accessible and inclusive environment! That's the only way it's even possible, actually.

Also, there are far too many new posts in the Disco Elysium tag every day for a small number of people to describe them all. It's great that there's so much new content every day! But a good 98% of it is completely inaccessible, and - considering there's less than 10 of us who are regularly writing image descriptions in this fandom - it is simply impossible for us to keep up with it all. Even if someone has described your posts in the past, that does not mean you can assume that they’ll definitely describe the next post you make (not without directly asking, at least).

This is why it's important to 1) write your own image descriptions and 2) if someone else writes an ID for your post, edit it into the original post itself instead of just reblogging it (no credit is necessary).

If you want any help writing IDs (including if you want to ask someone to just write the whole thing for you), there is a (non-fandom-specific, accessibility-focused) discord server for that! Here is the link to join the server. It is very active, and I have used it myself for help with tricky IDs many times and gotten pretty quick responses.

Now, on to actually talking about image descriptions themselves! I promise, they're not as difficult or time-consuming as you may think. And I swear to you, fanartists - people will still reblog your art with a description. They're not ugly or taking up too much space. I have some great examples at the end!

Why write image descriptions?

Image descriptions explain what an image is of for people who would otherwise not be able to access it. They are necessary for blind people. Many blind people use a text-to-speech program called a screen reader, which reads text aloud. When it comes across an image, the screen reader will just say "image" and the user will have no idea what it is an image of. IDs are a solution to this problem. After the screen reader says “image,” it will then read the image description aloud. However, not everyone who needs image descriptions uses a screen reader! Some people are low vision and have trouble seeing what's in the image but can still read text visually. Some people have a hard time processing visual information and interpreting what's happening in an image. Some poor and rural people have weak internet connections and images never load. And sometimes the image is of grainy text and it's difficult to read. Image descriptions are a benefit to people in all of these situations.

Can I just use alt text?

Alt text makes the image accessible to people who use screen readers. Someone without a screen reader can also click through to alt text on a desktop browser. However, there is no way to access alt text on tumblr mobile without using a screen reader, and needing to click through to see descriptions is not ideal either. Therefore, alt text is not accessible to everyone who may need an image description. Until tumblr makes alt text easily visible to everyone who wants it, it is always going to be best practice to write an image description under the post as well.

Please use both alt text and an image description in the body of the post.

Can you put the image description under a read more and/or use small/stylized text?

Please don't do this! The small/stylized text is an obvious one. As mentioned earlier, some people who need image descriptions are low vision but do not use a screen reader. Using small or stylized text is obviously a detriment to them. It can also cause eye strain and headaches.

The read more thing is less obvious, and unfortunately something I see fairly often. Imagine for a second that you are a person who needs image descriptions. Now imagine that in order to get the full content of every single post with an image on this website, you had to click through a read more and - on mobile - fully navigate away from your dashboard. Every single time. This wouldn't feel very accessible, would it? And secondary to that, if you ever deactivate, then that ID that you put under the read more becomes completely lost to time.

I promise your description is not too long. Just use plain text and keep it in the main body of the post.

Why should you check the notes for an ID before reblogging an inaccessible post?

You may think that if a post has an ID in the notes, then anyone who needs that ID will just go into the notes to find it themself. However, this runs into the exact same issue as the read more thing: it's straight-up bonkers to expect people who need image descriptions to do this on every single post they come across.

Instead, you can easily start making your blog more accessible by checking the notes yourself and making an effort to spread accessible versions of posts! This is a wonderful way to start making your blog more accessible, especially if you're not someone with the ability to write image descriptions yourself! When you spread an accessible post, then the people who follow you will spread that version too, and it can become more widespread than the version without an ID. The more people do this, the easier it becomes for people needing image descriptions to come across them naturally on their dash!

Checking the notes for an ID is now easier than it has been in the past. In the notes, filter them down to reblogs with "comments only". This should show you an ID if there is one. Unfortunately, on posts with more than about 1000 notes or so, this feature doesn't seem to work as well (and tumblr staff hasn't fixed it since the new notes system was implemented, despite numerous complaints). The ID may not show up even though there is one. You can still scroll through the reblogs sorted down to "comments and tags" to find the image description, though this will take slightly longer. However, even on posts with thousands notes, it usually takes less than 60 seconds.

How do you write an image description?

I promise this part isn't as hard as it seems! I'm gonna link to some posts where people have explained things better than me in just a moment, but I'll just say: Any description is better than none. And even in a super detailed photograph or piece of art, you don't necessarily have to include everything. Zero in on what's most important in order for someone to understand what's going on in the image, and focus on that in your description. Not that you can't include the cool details when they're there! Just try not to get too bogged down in it.

My friend JD has a few very helpful posts about how to write image descriptions that I'm gonna link to here:

How Do I Write Good Image Descriptions?

How to Make Your Art Accessible

I also wanted to link to some great examples of Disco Elysium fanart with IDs written by the OP! Example 1 - by funnywormz Example 2 - by mascindulgence Example 3 - by empress-s

And lastly, I wanted to talk about the most common kind of screenshot in this fandom: dialogue screenshots. I have a very useful Google Doc here where I have compiled every bit of dialogue I have ever transcribed from Disco Elysium screenshots. A lot of the same quotes are very popular, so it's very easy to just ctrl + F and then copy and paste into your image description! And after the almost one year I've been doing this, there's a whole lotta game dialogue in there. If you take a funny screenshot of dialogue from the game that you want to post, there's a good chance you can find what you're looking for in that document!

I'll wrap this up with an example of one of these dialogue screenshots with a description. I make all the names lowercase (despite them being all caps in the game) because screen readers will sometimes read all caps like an acronym and just spell words out. Otherwise, it’s pretty much just a straight transcription of the text in the image.

[image description: A screenshot of dialogue from the video game Disco Elysium, transcribed below.

You - Look at the perforations.

Damaged Ledger - There are many of them. And they are divided into three separate rows.

You - Tally up the different rows.

Damaged Ledger - The first row has 18 dots.

You - Not bad.

Damaged Ledger - Not bad for what? You don't even know what it means yet. End ID.]

And that's all there is to it. As always, feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions!

#disco elysium #long post #image descriptions #accessibility #thank you so much to my friends for feedback and editing!!#for some more context on the ''too many posts every day for us few people to describe'' thing #i have about 700 drafts - of which probably about 650 are undescribed disco elysium posts #that number has only gone up and up and up even though i write ids almost every day #this is simply an impossible task without more people taking responsibility for accessibility in their own posts #if you appreciate when people write ids for your posts then i strongly encourage you to take a stab at writing them yourself #i said it like five times in the post itself but i'll say it again: it's really not as hard as it looks

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writer-monster · 3 years ago

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11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

#givecaptainamericaaboyfriend #meta #analysis #captain america 4 #caatws #fatws #tfatws #captain america #cap 4 #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky #marvel #mcu #mcu phase 4

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nevermindirah · 3 years ago

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Yitzhak!

is a character! who Gregadiah What-Is-Math Rucka gave us almost no information about!

I've gone through Tales Through Time #6: The Bear and #1: My Mother's Axe with several magnifying glasses and done a lot of googling and taken my copy of the Tanakh off my shelf for the first time since (well, since the last time I needed to read Torah for TOG reasons, which I think was Booker Passover headcanons) and here's the best I can come up with.

In The Bear we meet someone who goes by the name Isaac Blue:

Read on for a lot of comic panel analysis and historical research and Jewish flailing!

So what do we know about this Isaac Blue person?

He's Lorge, he's got curly hair, he's basically a taller version of Joe as drawn by Leandro Fernández (ie an antisemitic stereotype why the fuck did they approve this character design?? and then why did they double down and copy-paste it to Yitzhak??):

He's got a mezuzah on the doorpost of his house in Alaska!

I screamed about the mezuzah way back in January in this post where I (very reasonably) assumed this character was Joe and spun myself a tale about how Booker is still Joe's brother so the mezuzah stays up even though Booker isn't welcome in that house for a century. Bottom line: the mezuzah is a tradition with origins in the commandment from Deuteronomy 6:9 to "write the words of G-d on the gates and doorposts of your house" and evolved over the course of the Rabbinic period into the modern mezuzah we see here.

I did unnecessary levels of google image search to glean absolutely no useful information about Yitzhak’s origins from this panel:

I've decided the variant cover of TTT 6 is Yitzhak because of a panel in My Mother’s Axe, shown here, and what's likely an unnecessarily deep reading of Exodus, discussed further down:

The person at the right of the bottom panel is wearing the same clothes as in the TTT 6 variant cover and has the same shoulder-length curly hair and hairy forearms.

Left to right, the people in this panel are Lykon (I'll never get used to him being white in the comics), Andy, Noriko (I think? why doesn't Andy mention her by name here?), and Yitzhak. Andy's robe has a stereotypically Greek design on the sleeve cuff, and I had to stop myself 10 minutes into a Wikipedia rabbit hole because Gregorforth doesn't think that deep about this shit. The solid clues as to timeline that we get in this panel are:

Andy's iron axe

the presence of Lykon, who Andy first met in 331 BCE

So all we know is that Yitzhak is an immortal, he was a contemporary of Lykon, and he's Jewish.

Isaac is the most common Anglicization of Yitzhak (which in turn is the most common Anglophone transliteration of יִצְחָק‎), and Greg always uses the (transliterated) Hebrew when he refers to this character. Yitzhak is the long-awaited child of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, the child who G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice but spared at the last minute. I see what you did there, Gregory.

Why Isaac Blue? This is where I pulled out my Tanakh. According to the New JPS translation, blue is the first of three colors of yarn listed in Exodus 35:6 among the gifts requested of the Israelites to construct the priestly garments for the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Then in Numbers 15:38 the Israelites are commanded to "make themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner."

And now for sandbox timelines party! Gregadiah gave us ALMOST NOTHING to go on, so I'm gonna make my own fun.

I, like many modern Jews, think the stories in the Tanakh are foundational mythology that are valuable because of how they've shaped our people but that contain some fucked-up shit and either way aren't meant to be a record of historical facts. Modern scholarship generally agrees that the community we now call Jews emerged as a distinct group of Canaanites sometime in the late Bronze Age (cw this video's host says the Name of G-d aloud despite being a religious studies scholar who knows that is not a name anyone but the Temple priests are allowed to say). The first non-Biblical written record of the people Israel is from an Egyptian source c. 1200 BCE, and the Biblical kingdom of David and Solomon was probably an exaggeration of whatever really happened during the Bronze Age Collapse. We start getting into historical-fact territory a few centuries into the Iron Age:

588 BCE Solomon's Temple destroyed, Babylonian exile begins

538 BCE Cyrus of Persia allows Jews to return to Jerusalem

515 BCE Second Temple construction complete

332 BCE Alexander the Great At Something I Guess conquered Judea, beginning the Hellenistic period of Jewish history — 331 BCE Andy & Lykon find each other

167 BCE another jerkface Greek king desecrated the Temple and basically outlawed Judaism

164 BCE recapture of Jerusalem and Temple rededication during the Maccabean Revolt

70 CE destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, beginning of the Rabbinic period of Jewish history that we're still in now

What if... and hear me out... what if immortals come in pairs, and the pairs are:

Andy & Quynh

Joe & Nicky

Booker & Nile

LYKON & YITZHAK

What if Yitzhak was a priest of the Second Temple? What if he and Lykon killed each other just like Joe and Nicky would in the same city around 1300 years later, but instead of enemies-to-lovers speedrun with an absurdly long happily-ever-after, when Lykon died permanently Yitzhak decided to separate from Andy and Noriko and become the hermit we later see in Alaska?

We don't know how old Yitzhak is compared to the others, only that he was a contemporary of Lykon at a time when Andy was using an Iron Age version of her mother's axe. Other plausible origins for him:

a Jew of the early Rabbinic period, maybe a child or grandchild of people who were still alive before the Second Temple was destroyed

a Judean of the Second Temple era under the Romans or Greeks or Persians, maybe a priest, maybe not

an exilee in Babylon, maybe of the generation who got to return, maybe of the generation who was exiled (he doesn't look like he was 50 at his first death but who knows, he could've been mortal for both)

an Israelite of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, maybe a priest of Solomon's Temple or again maybe not

an Israelite wandering in the desert with Moses

THEE Yitzhak, ben Avraham v'Sarah, our patriarch who was brought up for sacrifice and then spared, and then spared again, and then spared again, and again, and again...

or! he could also be a Canaanite or other Levantine who predates the people Israel, who at some point in his very long life chose to join our mixed multitude, who like Andromache before him (and like Avram and Sarai would in this case do after him) took a new name to reflect the magnitude of influence this people has had on him

Why do I keep saying Yitzhak might have been a priest? It's thanks to the one detail in the artwork I could plausibly connect to solid research without getting a PhD real quick. Take a look at the gorgeous detail on the opening of his robe in the TTT 6 cover. He's dressed in rags, holes and dirt everywhere, rough stitches probably from hasty repair work — except for the neck opening. Compare that to this description from Exodus 39:23 of the construction of the priestly garments for the Tabernacle: "The opening of the robe, in the middle of it, was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around the opening, so that it would not tear."

The next verses describe the intricate designs for the hem of the priestly garment. Yitzhak's ragged garment looks like the hem was torn off entirely.

Am I overthinking this? Yes I am! You're welcome!

My friend and historical research hero @lady-writes is in a Discord server with Gregadiah and asked the man himself some questions about all this. He clearly thinks he's being sneaky?? No shit Yitzhak is Jewish, dude, I want DETAILS!

I will not be giving up my Jewish Booker headcanon, I've put too much thought into it by now, the internalized shame of antisemitism explains Booker's depression too well for me, and it just adds so much richness to Booker/Nile both being children of forced diasporas. Fortunately (for him, not me, bc I'd do it anyway!) Gregothy supports fan headcanons even when they're not in line with his own:

One last thing before I close like 100 research tabs and go back to writing historical fantasy and/or porn! I love that, despite that atrocious caricature of a face design, our canon Jew and our fanon Jew are both Lorge and Soft and Kind, flying the face of the antisemitic stereotype of Ashkenazi Jewish men as small and weak, but also not falling into the New Jew / Muscle Jew stereotype that Zionism created. (I am trying SO HARD not to talk about Israel/Palestine for once ughhhhhhhhhh) Anyway here's a (US-centric but very good) primer on both these stereotypes of Jewish masculinity. Is this why I'm forever projecting my transmasc diasporist feels onto Jewish Booker the service sub? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I’ll reblog a second version of this with full image descriptions so that there’s a version accessible for folks who need IDs as well as a version accessible for folks who get overwhelmed by walls of text.

#TOG POC Love Fest #yitzhak #jewish booker #tales through time spoilers #tales through time #tog meta #tog #jewish things #mine #antisemitism #hi i'm an antizionist jew no i don't really want to talk about it

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planetdemon · 4 years ago

Text

I just wanted to be a swan

pairing: bang chan x reader

genre: angst, fluff, but mostly angst

warnings: low self-esteem, body hate/dislike, eating disorders, swearing, food, insecurities, arguing DONT READ IF YOU DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH IT!

wc: 2.003

note: so this scenario has been going through my head for quite a while now, and I tried writing it by myself lol. Hope it's good ;) I've also sent a request to @channienet about the same topic, so make sure to check her interpretation out as well! enjoy!

summary: Due to Chan's heavy working schedule, spending time alone was a thing you couldn't quite befriend with, especially after you've noticed some changes you have gone through. There is a to change it, but it isn't quite... let's say healthy. How will Chan react, after he finds out? Will he even care? (dude I'm shit at writing summary lol)

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Taking a bath was normally something that should be considered relaxing or calming. You've always enjoyed letting the hot water surround your body whilst taking all the dirt and negativity off that you have collected during stressful days at work.

But lately, taking a bath wasn't as enjoyable anymore as it once was. Chris has been working a lot lately, due to the kingdom stage and their nearing comeback. He has been spending more and more time at the company, working on producing new tracks for him and the kids, often staying at the dorms because they were closer to the studio than the apartment you shared. So you were left alone, by yourself.

Even though you wished he would be by your side while you were falling asleep, you couldn't be mad at him. You knew what his work meant to that boy and you would never tell him to stop doing what he loves just so you could spend some time together.

But being alone also meant that you had to kill the boredom somehow and, thanks to Felix's Brownie and Cookie recipes, you had the perfect thing to do in the meantime. Baking and eating delicious desserts.

You were just stepping out of the bathtub, grabbing the towel you had prepared, and drying yourself with it. Once your body was half-dried, you turned around to hang the towel back at the hanger, so it could dry properly.

And at that moment, you knew, you've fucked up. You couldn't avoid looking at your wet, naked body in the hot, steamy mirror near the hangers.

You always hated looking at it, but thanks to the sweets you had been eating lately, looking at yourself only made you feel sicker than it ever did.

You couldn't tear your gaze off the excess of flesh around your tummy and thighs and the stretch marks, that decored your boobs only seemed to scream "Look at me!". You slowly turned around and saw the tiger stripes creeping up your bum and the undersides of your arms.

'Fucking disgusting', that little voice in your head sneered.

'How could I let this come this far?', you thought. At this point, you were somehow happy Chris wasn't here, knowing he would be disgusted with how you've changed.

You've always felt a bit insecure by his side, knowing you could catch up with neither his attractiveness nor his muscular godlike body. But seeing yourself like this destroyed every little self-esteem you had left in your cells.

It has been nearly two months since 'the incident' in the bathroom and you couldn't shake that feeling of disgusts off. Not even for one second.

You only wanted to try a one-week detox diet that was blowing up all over social media, hoping you could lose a little bit of weight, so you would be back to normal. But seeing the numbers on the scale dropping so unbelievably quickly only made you realize that you could look even better than you thought you could.

You kept on following the diet and restricting everything that wasn't included, not noticing that restricting also damaged your mind.

One time, Han and Felix asked you if you wanted to have lunch with them and the others, but fear crept up you back as soon as you thought about the food they would have ordered, knowing that you would only gain weight again if you didn't follow the rules.

So you stayed home, keeping yourself isolated from your friends and most importantly, Chan.

You were lying on my bed, scrolling through Tumblr when Chris' Caller ID showed up and your phone started to ring. You sighed lowly, not wanting to talk to him.

Over the past few months, you stopped showing up at the studio, being afraid the boys would notice the changes your body went through, thanks to the diet. You were happy about it, knowing that you were losing weight, but you haven't reached my goal. You were afraid, they would judge you the way you did when you looked at yourself.

"Chris?"

"y/n? Han just told me that you weren't coming over. Are you okay? Y-" Chris's muffled voice appeared and you felt instant regret deep in your guts, knowing how much fun you guys had when you spent time together back in the days.

"Yeah, I'm okay Channie, don't worry. I just feel a little sleepy. I'll come next time. Promise" You tried your best to sound optimistic or at least not too sad, hoping Chris would believe your lie. "Okay," he mumbled, "I love you, baby girl".

You knew you were in big troubled the second Chris opened the fridge, seeing no food in there.

He randomly decided to stay over the weekend, saying that he missed you. You weren't ready for this, knowing that you couldn't hide the signs of the 'passion' you had developed in time.

"Why is there no food?" You fumbled with the arms of Chris sweater you were wearing while looking at the ground. "I've forgotten to go grocery shopping" You answered.

"But there is nothing in there, y/n. Nothing" He walked over and took hold of your cold hands while looking you straight in the eyes.

"Why is there no food?" Chris asked again.

"I just told you I forgot to go grocery shopping, Chan. Relax" You snapped back, getting anxious about the fact that he could notice something.

You were nearing your goal, even though you knew that you could never be satisfied with how you looked. He couldn't just come over and ruin all the progress you've made after being not here for so long. He doesn't have the right to do this.

"Don't fuck around, y/n. You always have at least some butter in your house. Where is the butter? Where is Ramen? You must have some food here!"

Your body started to shake as you heard his voice rise, keeping your gaze low, not daring to look him in the eyes right now. He was right.

You always had something at home, so you could quickly cook something when you were hungry. But you didn't saw a point in keeping food at home if you wouldn't eat it anyway. It would just rot.

"Y/n look at me" he whispered, after realizing that you were trembling. Chris gently grabbed your chin to make you look up at him. You were expecting to see anger, but the only thing you saw in his brown orbs was sadness.

You started to tear up after you noticed it, knowing that he put one and one together. You missing out on lunch with the boys, you not showing up at the studio to bring him food and spend with him there, listening to his tracks, you not having any food at home. It was obvious, but you still hoped he wouldn't notice.

Chris slowly took you in his arms, noticing how your figure felt smaller and bonier than before. It made him sick, knowing what you did to yourself. 'Why would my girl do something like this?' he thought 'how could my little princess torture herself this much?' But he couldn't find a 'because'.

In his eyes, you were the best thing that happened to him. You were the prettiest girl on earth. Warm tears were running down his pale cheeks, dropping to the floor.

He couldn't stop blaming himself for what you did. Maybe if he would have been there, he could have stopped you. Maybe if-

"Channie?" You quietly asked, looking up at his tear-stained cheeks. "Channie why are you crying? We can go to the store and grab something if you want. You don't-"

"Why have you been doing this to yourself, y/n?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why haven't you been eating"

Well, shit.

"What are you talking about, Channie?"

"Don't fucking lie to me, it's too obvious for you to do so. Why haven't you been eating?"

"I... I, I'm pressured Chan" You answered, knowing that he wouldn't believe you if you would tell him otherwise. Telling him the truth was the only option at this point, even though you didn't want to.

"Pressured?"

"Yes"

"Princess, I don't understand what you mean by that"

You shook your head and let go of him, before walking over to the couch and sitting down with a low sigh. "Maybe you shouldn't understand," I said.

"Jesus, y/n" I heard him mutter under his breath. He walked over and sat on the floor, in front of you, looking at you with a scared expression.

"Please tell me what's in that pretty little head of yours. I can see that you have lost weight, but I don't understand why. I mean, you are the prettiest human I have ever seen in my whole life, why would you do something like that?"

"Why do you even care? It's not like you here anyway" you simply said, grabbing your phone, trying to ignore him.

After he noticed your intentions, he quickly took your phone out of your hands, placing it on the coffee table behind him.

"Hey! Give me my phone back, you dump a-"

"Fucking stop it, y/n. Stop ignoring me. I care for you because I love you! You are my everything and I know I haven't been home lately, but at least I tried making time for you and inviting you to the studio", he said, "but you never came! Don't act like it's only my fault we haven't seen each other."

You looked at him with wide eyes, shaking your head. He was right, it was also your fault. And you hated the fact that he was right. "I-"

"Please y/n, please stop turning away from me and closing up. I-I know it's not easy to open up, but I'm here for you. I'll always be."

"Well, I... I couldn't, no, I can't feel happy when I look like this, Channie. I mean, look at you, look at your perfect body and your perfect personality and your perfect everything! I don't fit in. I don't fit in, because I am the ugly duck surrounded by beautiful swans. I just... wanted to be a beautiful swan, Channie."

That's it. You've made it. You've told him what was going through your mind all the time.

He slowly pulled you off the couch, into his lap. He could feel your seat humps against his thighs, how bony and strong they were. Chris shook his head in disbelieve, another wave of sadness crushing over him.

"You are perfect, baby girl. You are perfect in every single way. You always were the most beautiful swan I have ever seen in my entire life. I love everything about you, y/n. I love how your thighs wiggle whenever you run towards me when we meet, I love how curves look in that dress I brought you a year ago, I love how your stretch marks are decorating your body like silverish paint. I don't want you to change for me, because you are perfect the way you are. Jesus, even Hyunjin said you are even prettier than himself, and that means a lot. Please don't hurt yourself like this, princess. You are destroying yourself"

He took hold of your hands and kissed your palm.

"I promise I'll stop working so much, so I can spend more time with my beautiful girlfriend, but please... stop hurting yourself" he whispered, searching for any signs of discomfort in your eyes. But you just set in his lap and listened to him.

"Hyunjin thinks I'm prettier than him?" you asked awkwardly.

Chris chuckled and nodded "Is this the only thing that got stuck in your pretty little head?" He asked.

You smiled a bit, leaning your forehead against his while closing your eyes. "I'll try to get better, Chris" you whispered.

It wouldn't be an easy journey going back to 'normal. Once the hole is there, digging is difficult. But it is possible, especially if someones helping you.

#bang chan imagines #bang chan angst #bang chan fluff #bang chan images #skz imagines #skz chan #skz angst #stray kids x reader #bang chan x reader #bang chan x you #stray kids angst #stray kids imagines #stray kids fanfic #bangchan fanfic #fanfic #x you #x reader

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worldsover · 4 years ago

Text

Judgement to the Desiccated ft. Karina

length ✦ 5573

genres ✧ sm type future; asphyxiation; blackmail; virtual_servant!Karina;

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Air did a poor job of not being polluted so Lee Soo Man flooded the world instead. The man himself certainly must be long gone and could not have been in charge of that decision but the legacy of his company far exceeds the legacy of any other human collective in history. Once on this planet, gas was the fluid of choice for respiration and breathing was an unconscious reflex. Now there’s Aether by SM. How very on-brand of them to have the liquid air you breathe follow perfume naming conventions.

Open your eyes and exit the sleeping chamber. Aether has you work for each inhalation, it desaturates the color of the bedroom—maybe there’s a subtle but uncomfortable tinge of yellow—and it makes your nose itch. Your muscles wield much less force than they used to because of the lack of resistance the fluid provides. Moreover, it smells like hairspray as though the ozone layer is taking sardonic revenge.

Screens impersonating windows track your eyes to ensure realistic parallax, playing the scene of divine blue heavens that could not exist. An azure sky is a reward for those planets that have an atmosphere and a sun for light to scatter. Your walls are either chrome or drywall white and your whole bedroom is plainly decorated just like the day you moved in.

“Etymology of bedroom,” you think out loud, though it falls on no ears.

“Bedroom is a compound noun consisting of bed and room. Bed goes back to Old English bedd ‘sleeping place, plot of ground prepared for plants,’ which goes back to the Germanic-”

Plants and sleep are both strong words to use nowadays. The former doesn’t exist in nature and it seems you’re the only one who bothers with the latter. Faint buzzing distracts you from the AI’s response and signals you to the nano drones that swim throughout the liquid to process carbon dioxide from your lungs. This whole ordeal could’ve been much worse if you didn’t have brain interfaces doing the hard part of controlling your diaphragm. The most you need is a purposeful thought. Still, it gets tiring having to think the same thought every three seconds. In. Out.

Was the metaphorical Soo Man teaching a lesson in perseverance? You love K-pop and imagine it’s how trainees used to practice dancing, singing, being charismatic. Being an idol had to be as natural as breathing air. Inhale and exhale. Right now with any antiquated programming language you clung on to, you could write a single for loop that did the same job. For every three seconds: breathe in, breathe out.

“What’s for breakfast today?” Not loud enough. “What’s for breakfast?” you think it louder.

“Welcome, master. Ae-Karina is ready for service.” It’s quite a kindness for SM to blur the bland dystopia you live in by augmenting reality through your neural device. A bosomy woman in a gold-lined but otherwise modest maid outfit appears from the corner of your eye and she bows. Ae-Karina is bewitching and almost becoming of her basis as its graphics have gradually upgraded over the rotations but you wouldn’t misconstrue the avatar as human.

“I said, what’s for breakfast!” It feels impolite to scream in your head, there’s other residents there, but finally the fridge lights up.

“Of course master. May I remind you eating is unnecessary?”

In. Out. Every day, she does remind you, yes. How kind of the company to put all your nutritional requirements in the new air. Aether goes in then Aether goes out. You wish the thoughts of breathing could fade into the background but they’re just like your cravings for food. Always hungry but never starving, whole though not once satisfied. Your eyes pause at her gorgeous face and she tells you there’s bacon. Take it from your fridge. Bacon goes in. Well, the drones take care of the out.

Your assigned living space is the entire 207th floor of a tower. Two hundred and seven floors below the surface. The neighbor a few floors upstairs says that he thinks living deeper is a sign of status. What a luxury. That guy should check the status of his facial muscles, maybe improve his code that lets him tell lies while he’s at it. A couple hundred flights of stairs to swim up is a useless skeuomorphism of skyscrapers in the days of the sun. In fact they were more than useless, you would've preferred a single vertical hallway as it would have let you propel upwards unimpeded. Each floor is the exact same, a glass door that affords no privacy for its residence, a false tree on each side. At the upper levels, malls, convenience stores and other gaudy retail, but it’s the gyms that mock you that you mock in return. They’re always empty.

Finally reaching the top is no true break even if it is a change in scenery. Inhale. Aether tastes a little different up here. Exhale. Can’t say you like it.

Countless satellites form a parody of the star from which the planet flew away, the false image refracted by the upper boundary of Aether. They can’t take away your memories of this star. Looking up at the sky once blinded you with ultraviolet radiation, burning your cornea. It was beautiful. Now everyone’s decided that if they’re playing the part of corporate dystopia, they might as well fit the aesthetic. In a way, it’s self-fulfilling. They wouldn’t have chosen a neon pink sun to compliment the blue and metallic gloom of the cityscape if it weren’t so ingrained in popular media already.

Still, you would’ve expected Google or Walmart to become the megacorp responsible for the state of the world, not a Korean entertainment company. Must’ve been quite the red paperclip scenario. Instead of material design or utilitarian architecture, tacky artistic structures line the streets. The same advertisements for albums that they’ve been selling for the past however long. It's all so obvious, the city could've been designed from scratch to accommodate new forms of travel and goddamn liquid air but instead they went with futuristic Tokyo.

Dubstep permeates your inner ear implants. A notification informs your thoughts that it’s “Hip-hop EDM dance pop with a strong jungle house groove and urban influences.” It’s dubstep. Liquid carries barely any sound so SM affords the option for implants if you're nostalgic for one of the senses. Even though it’s a slower form of communication than direct neural transfer, the noise comforts you. Of course the company would choose dubstep as their background music, but maybe they make money off refunds somehow. It switches to Ice Cream Cake. Much better.

You walk the not so busy roads towards a short brick warehouse in the distance and heavy rain soaks your clothes. No such thing as weather without the sun and water but it’s all simulated anyway.

A warm Seulgi adlib and you know it’s Psycho that starts playing. No, none of your senses are real. The most you could trust is your vision but even that’s being lied to. You could be living in a vat and fed all these thoughts, but then why make it so mediocre? Not paradise, nor torture but a lukewarm in-between. Guess that's what happens when SM Entertainment manages the post-apocalypse. Good on them for trying. The alternative would be a frozen hellscape without solar radiation. Can’t deny their work with geothermal and nuclear energy to keep the Aether warm so that you didn’t have to live underground for the rest of human history. It’s quite great PR to save humanity.

“Hey now, we’ll be okay,” repeats a few more times than you remember.

The Idea Factory Alpha White Delta Green says the neon tubes lighting the front of the brick and mortar building. Your ID card bears a name but it’s not yours, not until they approve your name change. Those usually get processed faster with how often people liked changing their names.

Sit at a desk with a sterile white keyboard and slick new monitor. Type and empty words appear on the screen: “Think for the many, not for the one. We need to think ahead.” A thumbs up. The company appreciates the input. That’s probably enough work for one day. Some SNSD live stages help the time pass, SM certainly appreciated the streaming numbers and it would net you some social points.

It’s hard to say what comes to mind when they ask you to envision a world without the sun and air, especially since it’s what you’ve known for... Two hundred years? There’s no frame of reference, that much you can tell from when you counted seconds to see how often the satellites completed their orbit. SM really took time to have them propel at random speeds, they love withholding sensitive information like that from citizens. To be fair, time is sensitive. Guess the meaning of that phrase changes like all parts of language.

Look around. Dozens of employees at identical workspaces all try to answer the same questions. Naturally, there’s no need for manual labor anymore but there will never be a replacement for human ingenuity. Nice slogan but you know you’re only here for data. Can’t see a need for customer retention though—what’s the alternative, skip Earth? See you on another planet?

“Hey bro, you come up with anything new?” Dave says. Two desks away, you see the enthusiastic, surprisingly spry man play around with a Newton’s cradle. The balls at each end bounce back and forth, not slowing down their rhythm any time soon.

“I think I got something,” you say, “Earth is not the answer. It can’t be, long term.”

“Ooh, I like that. Actually, I really like that.”

“What are you gonna do, copy me?”

“Of course not. You know how much SM hates plagiarism.” Click. Clack.

“Ha. As if there’s a single original thought left in the world.” Click. Clack. The imaginary sounds of metal spheres bouncing play in your mind. They got the volume wrong, no way it’d sound that loud from that distance. “You’d think with all their resources, they’d have figured out space travel by now.”

“I don’t think they want to leave, bro. Wouldn’t be great for profits.”

Your mouth opens to laugh and causes laugh8942.mp3 to play in Dave’s head. “I love it. SM probably hates that sass too,” you say.

“Oh no, they’re gonna arrest me for thoughtcrimes. Nah, they love creativity, just when it suits them. Also, if they actually did bust you for wrongthink like rumors say, I wouldn’t have this on me.” Dave twirls a finger and points at you and you thank his absurd flair for the histrionic that keeps you amused with such drab work.

“NewDrug.mp6. Would you like to play it?” the dry system voice notifies you.

“Woah woah there tiger, hold on.” Dave must’ve noticed your intrigued eyes and holds his hands up. “You might wanna experience that at home. But if you’re interested in more, ask for chicken parm at the vegan place. You know the one.”

Dave leaves his desk. He doesn’t return. You finish your work. Inspire. Expire. You’d rather not.

In contrast to your commute to work, the roads fill with others on your way home. You have to know. Take solace in the comfort of a bench where a huge McDonald’s arch bathes the surroundings and its people with a yellow glow. Really shouldn’t watch it now, especially if Dave says it’s a home type of watch but you have to know. A family of five watches you pass out. They, along with every other passerby, ignore your still body draped over the chrome outdoor seating as you look like yet another junkie. The title is correct after a fashion, the simulation is some sort of new drug. The details of the exploits that happen in the immersive replay wash over you but you don’t need them to know that it’s the sort of lewd that SM would not allow—at least not publicly and not without the right exorbitant payment.

Suit pants and underwear go straight to the laundry. That must’ve been an embarrassing sight but no one bothered to stop you, so it doesn’t matter. Look up where this vegan place was that Dave so presumptuously assumed you knew about and you find that it’s about four Avengers’ stores down from work. He must’ve eaten there before.

“Yo Dave, just wanna make sure, what’s the name of the vegan place called?”

“What are you talking about, man? You telling me there’s some secret underground farms that SM wouldn’t know about?”

You can’t tell when you got to work, a lack of standardized timing would help as well the haze of living in a monotonous dark. “Nah, I mean, for the-”

“I have no idea,” Dave emphasizes each word, “what you’re talking about.”

“I see.”

Work flies by, unusually.

“Hey, can I get a chicken-”

“Uh, this is Maron’s Veggies Only, it clearly says on the sign.”

Clear your throat. “Parm.”

The shifty part-time worker looks around and rubs his fingers gesturing for money. “No digital.”

Over the counter, you pass him a gold coin stamped with a holographic 1 and he hands you a USB stick and a laptop in return. How old-fashioned.

“It’ll sync with whoever you have set as your avatar experience aspect,” the worker says.

“Thanks.”

Ever vigilant as the patrol is, the alleys are the last place you want to go to hide with the obvious criminal element within them all but you head to one anyway. Dump the anachronistic technology in your storage pocket dimensions. Looking at its contents, you’d have to clean that mess up later, but the more you look like an average slob the better. The biggest problem with the inventories is all the people squatting in them. Inspectors wouldn’t care about the archaic ruins you left in yours.

“Welcome, master. Ae-Karina is ready to service.”

“I’d like to go on a date. A special date.” You highlight the key word special and sit on your living room couch. No one’s going to look in your glass door and regardless, you wouldn’t be the pervert for glimpsing into someone’s home.

“Ah yes, master. Ae-Karina is ready to fully service,” she says with a provocative tint in her tone, her sclera disperses to black to match. A pole drops from the ceiling while parts of her maid outfit dissolve which reveals more of the silky skin of her thighs, her lissom arms and most importantly her overflowing breasts. Ae-Karina wraps her legs around the pole and spins around, teasing fingers trace curves on her body to harden you. Her dance is precise but sultry regardless. She pulls up her short skirt to flaunt more of her ass beneath white panties and then pulls down to flourish her cleavage, not trapped by a bra. “Are you enjoying your maid’s show?”

“Very much so, yes,” you say.

Half of a smile forms before a glitch occurs and she teleports next to you, fully nude. It doesn’t pull you out of the illusion however. You just stare and drink in the splendor of her created body.

“You’re not going to touch?” Ae-Karina says.

A feel of her tits and you find it softer than pillows you used to rest on. Soft isn’t much of a character that exists anymore when the whole world is engulfed in liquid. No one has beds, especially with the rarity of sleep. Therefore, her mounds are a consummate dedication to the texture as you squeeze and pinch at her cute nipples.

Her maid outfit rematerializes as she straddles you. It provides more friction to your pants as she begins her lap dance. The weight of her body dragging across your legs and clothed erection induces your carnal impulses further. If only you could fuck the virtual idol. You have to make do with the imprint of her pussy lips on your bulge sliding up and down. Breath in. Breath out.

Ae-Karina pulls down your boxers and spits on your erection. It's not real but her hands so slick on your cock and you let reality slip. Real is for the past, you have desires gratified in the present. There is no real person nibbling at your neck but your nerves activate in sexual desire without discernment for truth. No, she doesn't love you, but when the voracious mass of ones and zeroes says it loves its master, you say it back.

"I love you."

ILOVEYOU infected ten million computers in 2000. An explosion. Calibration engaging. It’s 1:21 PM, Sunday, July 18, 2286 and hypothetically the sun would be out in its full rage. At this latitude and longitude, you’re at what was once the epicenter of all—Seoul, where a fountain caused a chain reaction allowing the hopeful remnant of a world to exist. It lasted a surprisingly long time without the sun and without Aether but the dying planet would succumb inevitably to the ever-increasing contamination so SM of all corporations took charge. A different kind of chain reaction occurred when they acquired a restaurant chain that discovered the recipe for liquid air. The law is on its way and prepared to punish you to its full extent.

You reel while your ears ring. An even sexier version of the woman you already fantasized about appears from your peripheral vision in the crater of your floor. A skimpy cop outfit, striated with reflective material that seems to wane black at different angles, outlines Karina’s curves. She has a tool belt with absurd gadgets, such as a knife baton hybrid, a taser combined with a spray bottle and a Tamagotchi. None of this is necessary. They could just immediately arrest you, impose limitations on your devices. Sure, SM cloned people to deal with underpopulation, but why Karina would be the enforcer is a whole nother issue. Maybe the entertainment company loves their irony?

“Halt. You’re under arrest. Any resistance will be penalized according to the combined Terms of Service of all SM and SM associated products.”

Fucked anyway, you figure you might as well go for it. Escape into your inventory and only seconds later you’re forced out. You manage to get what you need regardless.

“Violation of access rights will be charged to your account.”

It’s so obvious but there’s a reason you kept so much gold in physical storage. As you swim away, the sides of your apartment start to bubble. Bubbles? Already, your limbs feel unsteady. Something’s wrong in the Aether.

“This is standard procedure for escaping suspects that are indoors. Again, this is all agreed to under the Terms of Service.”

“When the fuck did I ever click accept to that shit?”

“When you were born in this world and decided you want to stay in it,” Karina says out loud. You hear her say it. Your physical ears process the vibrations in the air that come from her mouth. Gravity thwarts your desperate escape as your limp body floats on the limit between liquid and air. The atrophy of your muscles becomes apparent within the gaseous atmosphere. She watches you sink down as the room drains of all the false air though her eyebrows crease when she inspects you closer. Your breaths are involuntary. Despite your muscles shorting out, the force of gravity and the pressure of the gas bearing down on you, you’re breathing and you don’t mean to. Her eyes wander farther down. On your pants, a concrete rod stamps the fabric.

“Oh, you like what you see?”

“Shut up, criminal. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”

“Your pussy,” you say and she scoffs.

“Original.” Karina bites her lip as your erection continues to grow behind its prison. You use all effort to put your hands up.

“Please, miss Karina. I’ve been bad.”

“I could punish you even more for sexual assault.”

“Then do it.”

Heat radiates the room in a way you haven’t felt in a while and droplets of sweat form on each of your bodies, especially on the thighs that her revealing outfit parades. Her facial features contort in deliberation and the wait kills you. You bat your eyes at her before Karina takes off her tight shorts and drops herself into your anticipatory face. This makes no sense but none of this life made any sense so you decide to go with the tides.

Centuries of training your respiration has led to this moment, but when you finally have real air to breathe, you spit at the opportunity and choose to suffocate. Then you spit at her pussy and lap it up. Karina’s nectar transfixes your olfactory glands, for once a smell that isn’t the sterile Aether. Your eyes are mesmerized in parallel because of the perfect design of her pussy, a single crease that leads into her hole that your tongue emphatically explores. Karina spreads her thighs wide to reveal a small nub that craves attention. So give it. Suck and swirl and flick your tongue, and the woman provides you the tight clench of her legs as a gift. And the sounds, rediscovered glorious noise. Loud, almost too loud, and clear is how they assault your ears, even surrounded by the flesh of her thighs. Muffled by the weight of her legs, you hear Karina moan in approval but she’s still clearly in charge with how she chokes you with her legs. This is not about your pleasure but hers, and any satisfaction that you derive is not only incidental but probably punishable by SM copyright law.

Karina squirms her hips subtly on your mouth. Her eyes are sharp and she’s just about to stop your hands from moving but she notices them clasp together.

“I’ll do anything to make you cum, please.” you say sloppily as her pussy juices fill your cheeks and drip down your chin.

“God. I can’t.” She takes deep, contemplative breaths. ”That’s more time added on for inappropriate behavior.” Her groaning and brief squeals make her words sound incogent.

You give her a concluding lick and a kiss on her slit. “So what have you been doing right now then?”

Point to a corner of the room and a subtle red light indicates a recording camera. At once, she pulls out a hose from a pocket that could not fit it and the vacuum submerges the room with noise. Her expression shifts quickly to serious.

“We don’t play games here in SMTOWN unless it’s SuperStar so don’t fuck with me.”

“Look who's trying to be a comedian. How about you fuck with me any further and the video gets released.”

“That’s funny, you think you have any sort of power-”

“Yoo Jimin, I suggest you don’t push me more.”

“Where do you know that name from? Right now.” She weighs herself down on your neck.

“You think I don’t have contingencies for if I die too? Karina, we can make this a win-win scenario. We both get to cum, we both get to walk away unscathed.”

“Fuck you.”

Your weak arms wander between her thighs. At any moment, a feeble punch towards your face or another ten seconds of asphyxiation and she could call your bluff. Even if you did have the ability to expose her perversions in any way, there would be no permanent recourse, not as long SM was in charge. So it surprises you when Karina takes off her shorts.

“Goddammit. Your cock just looks too good. And your mouth, how are you so good with it?” Put up five fingers when she motions to remove her top as well, and instead she opts to take off your clothes, seizing your pants and throwing them to join the rubble in the room.

A finger slips in, then two and a third dares. Her flawlessly architected pussy lips clings to your digits and Karina shudders in reply. You explore her wetness and find it’s smooth to the point of having no faults, but her juice inside is gloppy and causes your fingers to stick more than the liquids she spills from her slit.

“Who said you’re allowed to have more?”

You lap up the nectar on your fingers. “Then why’d they make you taste so good?”

Your thumb teases her sweet tight asshole and puts just the slightest amount of pressure on it while you finger her with more intensity. The mass of her butt burdens your torso the closer she gets to orgasm. Her eyelids squeeze close and you see her body ripple in anxious pleasure. Karina shows off her pearly whites, teetering on the cliff of hysteria.

“Yes, yes! I’m so close,” she screams.

"Not yet."

“Fuck." Karina sobs, "God. Damn, fuck I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just fuck me.”

“My pleasure,” you say. There’s no need for you to grab her since she brings herself down to your groin, which you’re thankful for as your arms are as good as jelly now. Fortunately, your cock throbs as hard as ever while Karina’s slit rests on it.

“Say you’ll delete it all, all the evidence, promise me.”

“You’re gonna fuck me first or what?” Your breath hitches while she makes a strangled noise as her velvety walls swallow your cock whole to leave no room for comfort. Her tightness is stifling and you have to start counting just to breathe again.

“One two-”

“Be quiet.”

But there is no quiet when pleas for your cooperation intersperse her excessive profanities when she seats herself into your cock and ricochets up and down. Sweat emanates from her creamy skin while her legs widen to find a better angle for her supporting knees in her cowgirl position. Grapefruit and other citrus mingle with the scent of the sweat, fruits you haven’t seen except on billboards in music videos. As much as your mind crackles and your blood roars for every atmosphere of pressure Karina’s walls provide on each thrust in and out, you can’t help but reminisce on sweeter, more innocent times.

The white fluorescent lights in your apartment sputter. For all the advancements in technology, some among many things never change. Light refracts differently in air, less bright, but you can see the pure enjoyment on Karina’s face no matter the luminescence. Karina slows her ride to pull her hips down harder instead and she jolts when your cock finds the most tender spots inside her pussy and it interrupts her babbling.

Karina almost hyperventilates when she gets up to spit on your cock. She pulls out some kind of meter from her tool belt and sighs when there’s no beeping and you recognize it having to do with carbon dioxide. She gets back to dribbling saliva and the filament trailing down to your shaft mesmerizes you. This spit is real, not simulated, and it wettens your erection in a mix with her pussy juices to paralyze you further in your already listless state. Her bare thighs jiggle and you can’t exert much force with your hands but her buttcheeks are firm with just a bit of give.

“Thank you for this cock, thank you for being bad,” Karina says as you watch her ass sink deeper while her pussy holds your dick taut. She’s frenetic when bounces up and down to play an unadulterated orchestra of slick noises between your groins.

“You’re welcome,” you accomplish getting out the words between planned breaths. Your hands cup her buttcheeks but you fear they may break with how she strikes her ass into you.

Karina turns around once more to give you the spectacle of her facial expressions as she fucks herself into you. Knead her calves laying on your torso and they take no energy to spread them though she brings them back together, compressing your hard shaft within her pussy. A new game you play with her, a separate rhythm of loosening and tightening. Her feet press on your chest to help her bounce, but the way they bear down on your lungs against the timing of your breathing causes you to fumble. Your cock bends straight forward as she plunges herself into you and it sends prickles to your entire skin, making the new angle difficult but worth it. Karina takes your hand and starts sucking on your fingers.

“You want my promise that bad?” you say.

“Yes, as bad as I want your cum. I swear, I need it.”

She draws her knees up to her torso and hugs her legs to keep thighs as tight together as possible. Karina couldn’t keep her word, she was trying to kill your cock with constriction.

“Fuck, your pussy is so fucking tight. God, Karina, fuck. You’re so good.” Even if good isn’t the word you want to use to describe her.

“Do it, please, please. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, baby. Karina can be a good girl, a good maid, a good cop, whatever you want. Just don’t get me in trouble, please.”

Karina’s mouth stops saying words though her lips writhe, drunk in increasing lust. Her cheeks flush, before the rest of her skin joins in redness while she grapples your chest and whatever spare limb she can find. You still struggle wresting control of your body but nature seems to take over when you drive yourself into her and match her needy cadence. The air in the room is replaced by a new air but it isn’t Aether. Passion, sweat, heat and all fluids that you both exude join squelching sounds, slaps and moans in harmonic bliss when her body tenses and she screams. As her body tightens, her pussy especially holds your cock for dear life and endeavours to wring out all your semen as her wetness throbs and spills. Karina starts counting to three repeatedly and you laugh though your amusement quickly subsides when you feel her juices become more viscous and she continues her ride, even in the dying pulses of her climax.

“Was I good?” Karina asks.

Just a moment goes by before you mentally send her a screenshot of all the recordings being deleted. Karina hasn’t stopped fucking you yet so at least it wasn’t a ploy.

“Thank you, thank you, I love you.” The flexion of her pliant legs brings them all the way back to rest on top of your legs. Karina lays prone above you and finally give you a kiss. The citrusy flavor may be closer to lime than grapefruit but it’s been so long that you can’t remember which scent is which. Lips crash and her tongue lashes out at yours trying to establish dominance. Keep still to let her investigate your mouth while her pussy does the same to your shaft.

You savor the way Karina’s top emphasizes the bouncing of her tits synchronous with the rebounding of her waist on your cock, but your mouth waters when she frees them. Take the shortest moment to relish in the sight before Karina smothers you with her plump globes. You wriggle your face to try to breathe. Inhale, up and exhale, down, but all you inhale is the scent of her orbs’ sweat. Her hips undulate with a pace at least double yours breathing and the echoes of slapping flesh resonate throughout the air-filled chamber. The loudness is unlike any you’ve experienced in a long time. It’s almost a flashbang every time her ass slams into your lap, especially as you start to see white when orgasm threatens to overload you with preludial pulses.

The last words you hear infected ten million computers in 2000. Fade to black. Cut. You’re slammed out of existence back into existence as a sun rebirths both within you, heating your core to a dangerous high, and from your eyes, dazzling you in an unforgiving white light. In the throes of unconsciousness relapsing to consciousness back to tenebrosity, your streaks of semen suspend in the Aether like a dead tree resting from the wind. What flashes your mind in its orgasmic state are two things only you would remember, plants and weather. Your hyperventilation is unconscious but not unwelcome, as it’s the first time in a while your breaths were reflexive even in the liquid air. However, basking in your newfound power, you start to choke. Right. You breathe in and out again. In and out. In. Out. In. Out. Back in.

“Replaying KarinaArrestsYou.mp6.” A hint of vexatious glee in the system’s otherwise dry voice. You don’t stop for it.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

AFF, AO3

It’s pretty silly but the idea danced around in my head ever since I saw the absolute Black Mirror concept that SM had for aespa and I concur that Karina is insanely hot.

As I’m writing this, this Kurzgesagt video on the idea of a rogue Earth comes out and now I have to rewrite stuff to make it at least a little consistent. I’m obviously already going nuts with all these ridiculous sci-fi concepts but this video almost feels too targeted to me writing this for me to ignore it.

#kpop smut #aespa smut #male reader #reader insert #title tracks

435 notes · View notes

mizunetzu · 4 years ago

Note

haha it's me again! could i get iida dating a delinquent male reader? (stuff like he smokes and breaks rules) like iidas trying to get the reader to follow the rules and he's like "i'll do that if you go on a date with me" so he does and the readers actually a really chill guy and they have a fun time, some fluff please?

IIDA DUDE MY GOD. MY RELIGION. MY SAVIOR. ok. Okok so. You said fluff and I delivered. But like-I mayyyyybe sprinkled in some angst. No worries. Fluff ending guaranteed. Also you know I enjoyed writing something when I broke my 1000 words rule. Like sheesh this is 3000 pLUS WORDS-

Also if iidareaders reblogs I’ll eat my shirt in joy

——————

Iida x reader - Selfish Promise

⚠️warnings - delinquent reader? Selfish-y Iida? Idk. None lmao

Pronouns - male, he/him

——————

(Y/n) wasn’t going to lie. Iida really got on his nerves. He’s always up his ass about sagging his pants down low, or running in the hallways. It’s not like it was his business. He was in class 1-B, for god sakes.

Everyone in 1-A knew him as that “1-B boy” who always liked fucking with Iida. And he did, it was fun to see him get all pissy and red when he unbuttoned his dress shirt to the point you could easily flash him if you tugged hard enough. Iida was pretty, but even more pretty when he’s flustered. He wasn’t going to deny the fluttery feeling in his chest when he sees an opportunity to interact with Iida.

Which is how (y/n) found himself smoking outside the UA dorms, sitting outside on the steps and staring up at the sky. He didn’t smoke much, only when he really needed to destress, but something felt compelling to just pull one out today.

He already heard the engine boosted footsteps hurling his way, a smile growing on his lips. Once the blue haired boy was in sight however, he wiped it off and replaced it with a neutral expression.

“You shouldn’t be smoking on school property, (L/n)-kun!”

“Mm? And you shouldn’t be on 1-Bs dorms. Wait til Vlad or Monoma finds out.”

Iida stumbled back, biting back the scowl forming on his face. He took the cigarette out from (y/n’s) fingers, and stomped on it. (Y/n) clicked his tongue as Iida hiked his glasses up his nose further.

“Stop acting like such a ruffian!”

“Then go on a date with me.”

Iida choked on his own spit. He knew that (y/n) joked around a lot, but this was just excessive.

“(L-L/n), you shouldn’t joke about such intimate matters like that with someone you barely kn-“

“I’m not joking.” (Y/n) stood up from his step, and stood infront of the taller boy. “I’m dead serious.”

Iida opened his mouth, then closed it. “(L/n) it is highly inappropriate for two students, let alone boys, to go on a romantic outing! This is a place for learning!”

“How bout we make a promise then? A deal if you must.” (Y/n) seemed completely calm, but inside he was sweating like a clam. He had said it on impulse, and there was no going back. Either sell it till he declines or hell, he has a date.

“If you be my boyfriend and go out with me for one full day, I’ll stop acting like a ‘ruffian’ or something. I’ll follow the rules and whatnot.”

“B-boyf...” Iidas words got caught in his mouth. “W-WHY?”

“I’m not going to try anything...! It’s..it’s just for my own...reasons...! If...that makes sense...”

Iida ran a hand through his hair. Did (L/n), a delinquent, like-like him? A proper former man from the Iida family? He wasn’t romantically attracted to the shorter boy at all, but this was a good chance! He could finally be set on the right path if he agreed to be his significant other for one day! Easy enough!

Iida pushed up his glasses once more. “Fine. I will do it. But afterwards you better keep your end of the bargain.”

(Y/n) held the tiniest smile and extended his pinky. Iida looked at him confused, before hesitantly interlocking their fingers and shaking it.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Gimme your number. I’ll text you the info later.” They exchanged phone numbers, and Iida bid him goodbye.

(Y/n) felt like he was on top of the world.

—————

“Oi Iida! Over here!” (Y/n) waved his arms around frantically, trying to get the boys attention. Iida spotted him, and made a beeline towards him. He gave a smile and bowed slightly.

“Good morning, (L/n)-kun.”

“Morning! Haha, I’m glad you came! I didn’t think you’d actually show...and you’re on time aswell! As expected of uptight iida.”

(Y/n) was in a pink, slightly oversized hoodie and black sweatpants. Iida was expecting him to be in full black, ripped clothing with skulls on it. He wasn’t expecting him to look so...soft? If you looked at him, you wouldn’t think he was the same person smoking on the steps of a prestigious school.

“Oh well, what time did you get here?”

“An hour ago.”

Iida deadpanned. Even he wasn’t that extra. “Why...”

(Y/n) rubbed the back of his neck shyly and chuckled. “I was so happy I couldn’t wait, ahaha!”

(Y/n’s) probably smiled more times today then the whole time he’s been enrolled into UA. It was an odd sight, but Iida felt a sort of proudness that he was probably the only one who got to see this side of him. He glanced at his face one more time, this time, looking at his red eyes and cheeks.

“...are your eyes swollen..?”

“Oh I...I couldn’t sleep...”

(Y/n) awkwardly chuckled for the 100th time that morning. Iida was about to go on a tangent about how sleep is important to you, but (y/n) suddenly grabbed his wrist, and pulled him forwards. He was practically dragging the poor boy.

“Is there anything specific you wanna do, Iida?” (Y/n) mused, looking around the plaza.

Iida shrugged.

“No, not really. Today’s more of your day, so I’m fine with anything.”

A bright red painted itself onto (y/n’s) cheeks, as he turned back around to hide it. It was usually iida getting all red and flustered, (y/n) wasn’t used to it. Still, it felt kinda nice.

“Awesome dude!”

(Y/n) went on rambling about places they could go to or eat at, but Iidas ears drowned out the noice as he looked at his smiling face. He didn’t know someone so...rude, could look so sweet. (Y/n) tugged at Iidas shoulder.

“...though I suppose, we could just go to a field and train, right?”

—————

(Y/n) got back up to his feet for the 5th time, and charged at Iida. He knew he couldn’t beat him with speed, so he’d have to rely on his quirk as much as he could. They were sparring in a little patch of grass near a small clearing, with a big tree providing the two boys shade. Iida swerved out of the way, making the smaller boy tumble onto the ground face first.

“Ah! (Y/n)! Are you okay?”

Iida rushed to the boys side and tangled his fingers in his hair. “It’s a little swollen but it’s not bleedi...(L/n)-kun...?”

(Y/n) hid his blush with the back of his hands and tensed up. “You..called me...(y/n)...dude..”

It was Iidas turn to tense up. His glasses fogged up as he swung his arms around madly. “IM TERRIBLY SORRY! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I SWEAR! IJUSTGOTWORRIEDANDSAIDITONACCIDEN-“

“Dude it’s fine! I-I dont mind..!” (Y/n) jabbed him lightly on the chest.

“L-let me treat you to some food! As apology for your head I mean!” Iida stood up, pulling (y/n) to his feet aswell.

—————

(Y/n) was rambling on nervously again, with chopsticks resting nimbly between his fingers. Iida couldn’t help but gaze at his face. His eyes were softer than he expected, softer than the mockingly hardened eyes he pointed like a sword towards people at UA. His gentle clad smile could raise the heavens, with one crinkle near his left eye and a dimple dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. He had unusually long eyelashes for a guy, but it made him look even more pretty for a bad boy.

“Why are you a delinquent at school when you’re such a sweet and funny person?” The words dripped out of Iidas mouth unconsciously, quickly covering his mouth too late.

(Y/n) flushed bright red, squeezing his chopsticks a little too tightly. “W-well...I don’t know. It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose. People just think I am because i don’t like socializing with everyone I meet? Like-id rather hang out with someone I know and like than go out of my my way to befriend all of class B, y’know? Does that make sense? Ahaha sorry I’m rambling again. I don’t get to talk much with my few friends. And they’ve pretty much heard everything I have to say so it’s refreshingtotalktoa-“

Iida cut him off before he talked his tongue off. “If you don’t talk to people you don’t know well, then why are you talking to me so openly?”

“Because I like you.”

(Y/n) said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wasn’t tripping over his words, or laughing nervously. He looked at Iida and said it like saying “the sky is blue” with so much certainty, it made a knot tighten in iidas throat.

Iidas question was, why though? Why did his heart thump along the buttery smooth rhythm of (y/n’s) voice? Why did his head reel every time he saw (y/n’s) eyes light up talking about something he found interesting? Why was he at such a loss for words when his gaze fell on him so attentively?

Iida cleared his throat. Maybe he was just excited to have a new friend. He didn’t see him in a romantic light! How could he? He’s just worked up on the fact that this hardass delinquent boy wasn’t who he thought he was.

“Shall we go, then?”

————

The date went by like a dream. Technically it wasn’t over yet, as the promise was for a full “day”, but window shopping and dicking around while Iida chops aggressively really tires you out. They both ended the day by sparring at the same clearing, before taking refuge on a bus stop bench. The sun was completely gone. Leaving behind the pasty purple and blue sky, washing over and killing the clouds.

“Ahhh, time flies by so fast! Damn, well, the days still not yet over soooo.”

“Yes, yes I know.” Iida chuckled. He thought he was going to have to bear through this day, but it was actually quite splendid. He definitely feels like he’s made a new friend.

“Well, is there anything you wish to do before the day is over?”

“Yeah um, so,” (y/n) cast his eyes down, fiddling with his fingers. “C-can we hold hands..?”

Iida wordlessly set his hand on top of (y/n’s) smaller one, waiting as he interlocked their fingers together. His hand was warm, way warmer than (y/n) was expected. He didn’t know, Iida seemed like a cold hands guy.

They sat quietly under the ambient streetlight, occasionally rubbing a thumb over the others hand, feeling it’s warmth and staring off into the distance. Iida didn’t notice his eyes drooping lower and lower until they were finally closed.

Iida let his thoughts roam. It was something he did when he was going to bed, or simply just resting his eyes for a bit. He thought of his family, what he would do for class on Monday, and finally, (y/n). It was the most prominent thing on his mind, and not because he was unconsciously resting his head on his shoulder, softly but firmly gripping the warm hand underneath his own.

The idea of (y/n) so soft and vulnerable in front of anyone else didn’t sit right with him. He wanted that sweet, kind side all to himself. It was selfish, and even wrong if he thought about it. (Y/n) was so sweet and respectable during this “date” of theirs. Perfect manners for when inside the classroom. If anything, he should be more than glad to have the world share this side of him.

So why was he feeling this way?

He felt a shoulder nudge from under his head, before a hand started vigorously poking at his cheek. He initially ignored it, but once he registered the current situation he jerked up and

“Iida. Iida wake up. It’s 11:40. We should be heading back before midnight. A-at least I want to so we can um...we can still technically legally hold hands by promise-“

Iida rubbed at his eyes in embarrassment. “My sincerest apologies for falling asleep! It was not my intention-“

”oh no it’s all good! I-I kinda fell asleep too. It’s been like...2 hours.”

Iida checked his watch. (Y/n) was right. 11:45 pm. He knocked his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and stood up. He extended a hand to (y/n) who tiredly accepted it and pulled himself off the bench.

They spedwalked towards the train station to catch a train back to UA, when (y/n) tugged on his sleeve, halting temporarily.

“Iida.”

Iida turned around with a hum. (Y/n) kept his eyes fixated on the ground, but held on to the sleeve of Iidas jacket like a lifeline.

“Today...is almost over.”

“Yes, um, it’s about 11:57 so we should hurry back-“

“Before the day officially ends,...can you kiss me?”

Iida focused on (y/n’s) downcast face. It wasn’t an expression of nervousness or any sort of flustered emotion. Instead it held a look of unreadable shame.

“If you do, then I would have no regrets. My feelings for you will also end here. I’ll try my best to end it. My feelings grow stronger for you everyday when we bicker or when I simply just see you, so I want to end this with a grand fina-“

“I refuse.”

(Y/n) looked up. Iida glasses glared white, preventing him from seeing his cerulean eyes. But he got his answer from the frown Iida was sporting on his face. Even he could agree, it was a silly request, but he couldn’t help by feeling just a tad bit hurt by how quickly he was shut down.

“I understand.”

(Y/n) averted his eyes, flushing with embarrassment. He scanned the area for something other than Iida to look at, before his eyes landed on the parks clock.

12 am.

Midnight.

The date was officially over.

(Y/n) was quick to let go of the sleeve he’d been clutching for a while now. “A-ah! The day has ended. The dates over.”

He stepped back and ducked his head into a 90 degree bow. “Thank you so so much for coming with me today.”

“I’m really happy.”

His expression betrayed his words. If there was one word to describe it, Iida would say it looked dead. Hollow, even. It looked hollow, like the sinking feeling harboring itself in his chest. He knocked against his ribcage multiple times to shake the achy feeling in his chest, but it never went away.

“Well, let’s head back now. It’s late.”

(Y/n) silently walked past Iida. It wasn’t until seeing his watery face drenched in silent hot tears walk by that Iida realized,

He was in love with (L/n) (Y/n).

He was in love with the sweet delinquent boy who smokes and sits on desks, but also has the most hypnotizing laugh. He was in love with the boy who wore saggy pants to school, but also wore an oversized pink hoodie that made Iida reluctantly imagine him wearing one of his own jackets. Oh, how cute he would look.

He was hopelessly, graciously, entirely in love with (L/n) (Y/n).

Iida ran up to (y/n), who had walked past him and kept going with the assumption that he was behind him. His breath crystallized in the form of fog when he ran, faster than he ever did without using his engines. There wasn’t enough time to hike the fabric of his pants up, and he’d rather not burn them to a crisp with the steam from his engine.

“(L-L/n)!”

He wasn’t sure if he heard him. He was still a great length away.

“(L/n)!”

He was closer now. Close enough for him to hear. He was either lost in his thoughts or outright ignoring him.

“(Y/N)!”

The boy whipped his head around so fast, his tears flung into the cold air and landed beside him on the ground. Iida didn’t think far ahead as to brace for landing, choosing instead to glomp (y/n) into a soul crushing hug. Though, it was more of a tackle with the the way they both tumbled over and hit the ground with a thud.

(Y/n) was able to soften the blow with his quirk, but the impact of Iida landing on his chest still knocked the wind out of him. He was waiting for Iida to start swinging his hands and start apologizing profusely, but instead got pulled up to his knees and encased in a more gentle hug.

He was buried in the crook of Iida neck, who in return nuzzled himself into (y/n’s) hair. They stood, or rather kneeled, in a stiff silence, rocking back and forth ever so gently.

“Sorry.”

“Wah! Don’t apologize! You did nothing wrong, you had the full right to deny my request-“

“No, not for that.” Iida untangled himself from the warmth of (y/n’s) body to look at him seriously. “I’m sorry for breaking our promise. Our deal.”

(Y/n) wiped his stray tears away, all bitterness turning itself into lighthearted confusion. “But you didnt-“

(Y/n’s) words fizzled out in his throat when a pair of lips shut him up. His eyes fluttered closed as he wrapped his arms shakily around Iidas neck, drawing him closer than he already his. After what seemed like forever, Iida suddenly jumped back with fogged up glasses and heavy blush on his face.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking! Forgive me!”

“You know, all you’ve done was apologize all day. Is this what you normally do in class?”

“NO!” Iida fell back on his ass, a yelp escaping from his throat. (Y/n) chuckled ironically, pushing himself up to his feet and extending a hand towards the blue haired boy.

“I still don’t see how you broke our deal.”

Iida dusted himself off and adjusted his glasses. “Well-listen I-“ For once in his life, he was at a loss for words.

“I...want to e-extent it. O-Our date, I mean.”

Iida stood rigid as a board as (y/n) blinked.

“Wait-so like, you’ll go out with me tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“And the day after that.”

“Yes I suppose so.”

“A-and how bout a week from now-“

Iida grabbed (y/n’s) shoulders and shook him roughly. And by rough, I mean rough. This boy has enough beef to throw (y/n) into the sun.

“I-I WANT TO GO OUT WITH YOU FOREVER! I WANT YOU TO BE MY BOYFRIEND! I...I WANT TO BE YOUR BOYFRIEND! I WANT YOUR KINDNESS AND SWEETNESS ALL TO MYSELF! SO BE IT YOU’RE UNINTENTIONALLY A NEGLIGENT BOY AT SCHOOL! I WANT THIS SPECIAL SIDE OF YOU RESERVED FOR MYSELF! IVE NEVER BEEN SELFISH IN MY WHOLE LIFE SO SURELY THIS IS FINE! I WANT TO BE SELFISH! I WANT TO HOLD YOU IN MY ARMS MORE! I WANT TO GO ON SOME MORE DATES WITH YOU! (Y/N)-KUN I LOVE YOU!”

Iida has never considered himself selfish. He wasn’t the type to want something all to himself. If his friends wanted to be friends with someone he disapproved of, so be it. If he bought food but a fellow classmate was starving, he’d be eating only half as his classmate would be happily munching on their portion. If it was reasonable, he’d be willing to give up anything. It was the right thing to do.

Surely all of those good deeds would permit him to be selfish just this once. He’d never known the feeling of wanting something so bad to the point you felt like you were boiling. Of wanting no one else to have someone look at them the same way they looked at him. And how utterly satisfying it felt to have someone to claim as your own. Just this once couldn’t hurt anyone.

And by god, the impossibly wide smile (y/n) held was one thousand percent worth it.

————

“Halt! No running in the hallways, (L/n)-Kun!”

(Y/n) slowed down to a stop and sighed. “Dude, get off my dick.”

“Still pestering (L/n) huh? As expected of Iida!” Mina and Uraraka giggled, as they both disappeared inside the 1-A classroom. The hallway was empty now, making both Iida and (y/n) relax. (Y/n’s) pissed off expression softened, a smile now growing on his face. Iida swears it’s like talking to two different people. It’s kind of scary.

“Good morning, Tenya-Chan~”

“Uh-uh. Don’t ‘Tenya-Chan’ me. You know the rules. You owe me a kiss for breaking a rule. Gimme.”

Iida made grabby hands at (y/n), puckering his lips jokingly. God, he didn’t want to admit it but (y/n’s) sense of humor was rubbing off on him.

(Y/n) snorted at his boyfriends antics, pressing a gentle kiss onto his mouth. “Well-I gotta go, bye bye, Tenya! See you later. Call me, you sexy lamppost.”

(Y/n) timpered off to his classroom, his bad boy attitude returning once he stepped inside. Iida stood there, in utter confusion, before turning around and walking inside his own class.

“Ne ne, Iida, I’ve noticed you’re kinda like...less strict with that 1-B baddie. What’s up?”

Mina followed behind Iida with a curious, shit eating smile on her face.

“Ah. We...became good friends. He’s not as bad as I thought, I suppose.”

Mina looked at Iida unconvinced.

“You know, I saw you and bad boy kissing out there. My god. Iida. You gay liar.”

Iida, along with probably everyone else in class 1-A, collectively choked on air.

——————

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theduosetter · 3 years ago

Text

── 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙠 ──

Pairing: Daichi Sawamura x f!reader

Summary: Two strangers laid their eyes upon one another and were captivated at first sight. All they were itching to know was their name yet who knew they were closer to each other than they realized.

Warning(s): cursing, fluff, adorable all around!!

A|N: I hope you enjoy this mini series! Any heart or reblog would be appreciated thank you! Feedback too :D

Links: m.list | writing commissions ✏️ || tip the writer ✍️ ||

Part: 3

"Hurry up, Y/n!" Hinata yelled as he grew impatient.

"I'm coming, Shoyo! You're literally outside of my door." you hung up and grabbed your bag along with your phone.

Opening your bedroom door you saw your best friend standing there tapping his foot. "Was it really necesarry for you to call me when you were already here?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed "I don't want you changing plans last minute."

"I'm not going to bail on you guys." you chuckled "Relax, we are going to hangout together today."

"Alright. Come on we still need to get to the gym to warm up." he grabbed your hand and ran downstairs.

"Shoyo!" you exclaimed "Where's Tobio anyway?"

When you got to the bottom of the stairs you saw the black haired friend sitting down at the kitchen table. A sigh escaped your lips knowing he wouldn't pass up the chance of some milk with your mom's pastries. "I can't quite say that I'm surprised."

"Do you wnt...s-sum?" he muffled as he chewed down on the bread making his cheeks chubbier.

"I'll be fine." you answered unlike the orange hair who stuffed a plastic bag filled with pastries while your mom laughed.

"Why don't I just give you guys some extra ones?" your mom said as she filled another bag with individual wrapped bakery goods.

"We'd appreciate it!" the duo spoke.

"We gotta go or else you'll be late for the game!" you exclaimed pulling each one away from the counter covered in sweets.

"Let me get one more!" Hinata whined, "One more-"

"You'll both end up getting stomach aches if you don't stop!" you retorted.

What seemed like eternity you managed to get them out the door despite the begs. "Please make sure to come back soon boys!" your mom said.

"We'll be back Mrs. (last name)! Thank you for the sweets!" they both yelled in unison.

"I will see you before closing, mom." you kissed her cheek and grabbed the four bentos. "Thank you for the food!"

"Be careful okay?" she waved goodbye at you then chuckled to herself, "I'm glad my baby has her friends."

"Seriously you guys barely have enough time to get to the gym!" you yelled out as you three ran towards the school's grounds. "I told you we had to go!"

"Yeah but your mom's bread was so good!" Hinata jumped "It tasted like a fluffy cloud Y/n!"

"She definitely needs to bring her food to the next school's festival." Kageyama added "Imagine how much attention your mom's bakery would get."

You bit your lip "You're not wrong about that..."

Hinata looked at his watch, his eyes widened. "We only have 15 minutes to practice before the other school get's here Kageyama!"

"You idiot! I told you we had to go!" he moved closer to kick his butt but Hinata managed to dodge his hit.

"Oh shut up! You were stuffying your face too!"

"Why am I friends with these two again?" you muttered.

"Come on pick up the pace y/n!" Hinata and Kageyama grabbed your hands and ran faster than your legs could move.

"G-guys!" you exclaimed "I-I'll end up falling─ slow down!" they were too focused on getting to practice than hear about your objections "If I break a bone I'm telling my mom to ban you from the shop!"

After a five minute run that was supposed to be ten, you finally arrived. Your legs felt like jelly and your sweater was long gone as your body was too sweaty. 'This was worse than a summer day...' you thought, 'I showered and got dressed so nicely only for it to be ruined by those two. Ugh they owe me big time.'

You slowly treaded towards the stairs of the gym, their teammates were too busy preparing to notice you. A sigh escaped your lips upon feeling the cool air coming from the a/c. "This... this is nice." you mumbled. "It feels like a cold freezer..."

"Um... hi." a voice spoke coming from behind you.

"You two are so banned..." you muttered under your breath. Slowly you turned around to come face with two guys. 'They must be their teammates.'

"Are you going to keep blocking the door or can we get through?" the tall guy with the glasses spoke.

"Tsuki." the shorter one mumbled.

"Well?" he stared you down, "We don't have all day."

'He must be the guy that Shoyo and Tobio went up against.' you thought.

"R-right... but you don't have to be so rude you know." you answered.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes walking passed you meanwhile his friend gave you an apologetic smile. "He's usually not mean." he chuckled slightly "Do you need help with something?"

"No... I came to see some friends. But they left me out on the front steps to get ready for your match today."

"Wait... are you really their friend?" he asked.

"If you're talking about the tall one and the ginger then yes." you chuckled, "They said it was fine for me to come today."

"Don't take this the wrong way but..." he scratched his cheek looking away from you, "I'm surprised they have a friend that's a girl, given the way that they are."

"No worries. I understand what you mean especially since we met in very different times." You two walked inside "I'm still surprised they are friends."

"Y/n!" looking to the left you saw Yachi jogging over to you. "Oh hey, Tadashi!"

"I should go warm up, it was nice meeting you!"

"You too Tadashi!"

She then spoke again, "What happened to you? Did you run all the way here?"

"Hinata and Kageyama were too busy stuffing their faces with my mom's pastries. By the time they actually listened to me it was too late and we had to run all the way here." you whined "Now I'm all covered in sweat and I feel disgusting."

"I told them not to get distracted." she sighed "Do you want to freshen up? I have an extra shirt in the club room."

"Really? Id really appreciate that."

"Come on we still have a few minutes before the whole team gets here."

Your feet were too tired to walk yet somehow you managed to go upstairs to the room. "I swear one day those two will be the death of me." you complained.

"Can you blame them? Your mom's sweets are too good." Yachi chuckled.

Shaking your head you went inside and washed your face along with your arms and back. "How are the two doing with their quick attack by the way?" you asked.

"They're getting there, although they still want to make sure it comes out perfect. Coach Ukai said they need to upgrade it or else it won't be enough to get past the blocker's hands."

You nodded, "There's no doubt in my mind they will make it work. From the videos you've sent me those two can work a miracle even if they end up fighting... their goals are the same."

"Oh right I was going to ask you..." Yachi continued "... how did it go with your guy by the way? Did he end up messaging you?"

Biting your lip, you put on the white clean shirt. "He did, he was so nervous and sweet. I apologized to him about what my mom did yet he said he didn't mind because he was nervous about talking to me." you giggled.

"Wait so your mom really did give him your phone number?!"

"She did! I wasn't expecting her to go that far." you answered "But it is kinda embarrasing how she had to do it for me though..."

"Nonesense!" she exclaimed "You just needed that little push well you both did. I'm sure he knows that especially since he took the time to message you."

It was difficult to hide the smile that kept creeping up on your face. "As cliche as it sounds... it really feels like a movie Yachi."

"You're barely at the talking stage but what if he asks you out on a date then to become something more. Are you ready to go that far?"

Closing the locker you turned to face her, "Not going to lie with everything that has happened... I feel scared to say yes. After what happened I never really thought someone would take an interest in me and that I'd feel the same way."

Yachi placed her hand on your shoulder, "It's been at least 4 four years I think it is time to enjoy a new adventure in your life. You may never know what might happen."

"Yeah, I know."

There was a knock on the door, "Hey! Yachi are you almost ready? Kiyoko said she needs your help setting up."

"Yeah! We'll be right there Sugawara!" she yelled back.

"Who's Sugawara?" you asked.

"Come on let's go meet the rest of the team that way it'll be easier." she chuckled taking your hand and walking back to the gym.

There were sudden butterflies in your stomach, although you knew your friends were part of the team, you couldn't but wonder if it was okay for you to come. All you wanted was to make a good impression for the team that gave your friends the opportunity to play.

As soon as she opened the door everyone turned their heads to look at you. Two memebers then ran over to you both making you jump back.

"A new girl!" they yelled in unison.

"She's so cute!" the shorter one exclaimed.

"You didn't tell us you had such a pretty friend Yachi!" the taller one added.

Yachi became flustered, "Ah! T-this is m-my friend! She came to w-watch the game today. Y/n this is Tanaka and Nishinoya."

Feeling embarrassed you gave them a nod, "It's nice to meet you guys."

"She's so adorable!" Tanaka exclaimed "I hope we get to see you around here more often."

"Oh... um sure, if you guys don't mind." you said.

"Where have you been all my life?!" Nishinoya's eyes widened not being able to handle how cute you looked.

"Oh Y/n!" Hinata then jogged over to you guys "Can you help us toss some balls?"

"Yeah let's go-" you went to follow Hinata only to be taken away in the opposite direction.

"You need to meet the whole team." Nishinoya held your hand dragging you over to what seemed to be the third years along with other members.

"Guys! This is Yachi's friend, Y/n! Y/n, this is Suga or Sugawara for short, Asahi, Tsukishima, Tadashi, and Ennoshita!"

You tried to hide your nervousness, "Hello! It's nice to meet you guys, thank you for letting my friends play."

Tsukishima stared at you with an uninterested look, while Tadashi smiled softly.

"How did you manage for Hinata and Kageyama to get along? They were at each other's throats." Sugawara chuckled.

"Well... let's just say it's still hasn't changed much." you rubbed the back of your head. "But we make it work."

"Are you also a first year?" Ennoshita asked.

"Mhm I had to change school's during the second semester." you answered. "Karasuno is my second school."

"Well welcome to the team, I apologize in advance if things get out of control." Sugawara said "They're usually..." he tried to put into words but you understood.

"No worries if I can handle those two I'm sure it won't bother me." you chuckled. "Is this the whole team?"

"We're only missing our captain." Asahi answered, "Where is he anyways?"

Tskushima shrugged "He said something about needing to find his knee pads."

"Anyway we should go get ready before the school shows up. Let's start to warm up." Sugawara said and everyone went off to do their own things. "If you want you can sit down besides Coach Ukai and Mr. Takeda."

"Oh okay." you then looked around "Do you need help with anything?"

"I think we should be good, can you help with picking up the volleyballs and putting them in that basket when the other team gets here?"

"Sure." you were about to grab the cart when you heard the door open again.

"Oh! Daichi come over here!" he yelled.

Your feet froze, the numbness you felt earlier in your legs returned. 'Please... don't be who I think it is...' you thought lowering your head, 'Oh my god what if he gets dissappointed?'

You tried to subtly fix your hair and tuck in the club room shirt. Sugawara noticed, "Are you okay─"

"What is it Suga?" Daichi asked as he walked over to where you both were.

"This is the friend that they were talking about, this is Y/n." he said smiling softly at you. "Daichi?"

You slowly lifted your head to come face to face with those loving brown eyes. Daichi was in the same state as you, shocked yet happy to finally see you.

"Are you alright?" Sugawara asked looking at him.

"Y-yeah..." he chuckled awkwardly "It should have been obvious right?"

Your face was hot, "Y-yeah, I shouldn't have been so dumb."

"You two know each other-"

"This is y/n... the one I've been telling you about." Daichi said.

"Oh...." Suga mumbled "So you're the one he can't stop rambling about." a smirked then formed on his lips.

You blushed, "W-what, really?"

"Suga!" Daichi exclaimed.

"I can't believe after all this time you two would end up meeting each other at school." he said.

"Yeah..." you chuckled lightly "I knew you played a sport but never thought you were my friend's captain."

"I didn't know if it sounded cool─" he admitted.

"Are you kidding?!" you exclaimed "It's amazing! Volleyball isn't an easy sport. The amount of people that depend on you to lead them, yet you still have their backs and know what to say" you smiled looking up at him. "It's admirable really."

Daichi rubbed the back of his head, shyly smiling "Thank you I try my best to keep them under control... but sometimes they don't bother to listen."

"I know how that feels."

Sugawara stood quiet watching you two converse as if you were the only ones. He wanted to say something to get Daichi all flustered but didn't have the heart to do so. 'I am sooo going to have fun with this.' he thought.

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itsallyscorner · 4 years ago

Note

so, I was watching the video that came out today and I was thinking about a age gap seb x reader around his friends like Jessica or maybe chace? And they're just hanging out and they both have this lovesick look on their faces and when she leaves the room for some reason they don't waste any time addressing how in love she is with him, and sebs glad bc they were kinda wary of her at first?

Hiyaaa babes! This is my first request so woohoo🥳 Since you mentioned the video, I literally thought of the pictures that were released while they were filming 355, and now I can’t get the image of Seb in Paris because holy shit he looked good. So I’m gonna be using Jessica❤️

- This came out so long, I’m a sucker for background info and can’t get past writing a story without one💀 Enjoy!💜

💌.

Lovesick

You and Sebastian were unexpected. Literally the chances of you guys getting together were so off and you guys were at different times of your lives. He was in his late 30s, already living most of his life as a successful actor. While you were in your early 20s still in college working on your doctoral degree to become a Pharmacist (It was the only major I could think of atm because it’s the one I’m planing on lol.) You guys met at the cafe near your campus. You always went there every morning and would spot him drinking his morning coffee with his nose stuck in a new script he was reading. You two would sneak glances at each other, admiring each other from afar. Until one day when the cafe was fairly packed and you needed a place to sit. You spotted his familiar face and asked him if you could sit in the seat across from him. Obviously he agreed and you guys talked, getting to know each other the whole time. When it was time for you to leave for classes, you guys exchanged numbers and kept in touch.

Which brings us to today. You and Sebastian have been going strong for about a year now and were approaching your second year together. Though you two are as happy as can be and are still in the honeymoon phase (even after a year), the first few months of the relationship were quite rough. There was an obvious age gap between you two, it didn’t bother you two as much, but the public didn’t react too nicely about it. Your parents weren’t too fond of the idea of you dating an older man, but after getting to know him they knew his intentions with you were well. Same goes for your friends and family. When it came to his fans and the media finding about your relationship, that’s when it went to shit.

The media made Sebastian look like some creep who was going through a midlife crisis for dating someone much younger than him. A few “fans” even claimed that he were a “groomer” after pictures of you and him heavily making out on the street were released. These issues caused some bumps in the road for your relationship, though after many arguments, you two realized that the only opinions that mattered were each other’s.

Now you two were staying at a hotel in Paris. Sebastian was currently working on a big project, “The 355”, something he was very excited about. This was one of the first projects that he was really involved in, from script to screen, he played a pretty big role in this project.

You were typing up a report for your class when Sebastian entered the hotel room. He was still in his set clothes, a light blue shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of Chelsea boots. He approached the bed where you were typing and pressed a kiss to your temple.

“Hey sweetheart, how’s school going?” He greeted you as he settled himself on the bed, laying on his side.

“Meh, it’s going...but I finished my report on time. Now I just need to proofread it.” You smiled as you finished typing the last sentence of your report. When Sebastian discovered he was going to film in Paris, he immediately told you, knowing you’ve been dreaming of visiting Paris. Luckily for the both of you, your school allowed you to do online learning (it probably doesn’t work like that but just go with it) and you were able to tag along with him.

“I’m sure it’s prefect, you’re a great writer.” He complimented, you hummed in response. Turning to him you run your hand through his short hair making him lean into your touch. You loved his fluffy hair but the short hair was starting to grow on you.

Sebastian turned his head and pressed a kiss into your palm, stormy eyes gazing up at you.

“How has your day been?” You asked.

“It was good. We got through a good amount of scenes without messing up, so I’d say it was a successful day.” He answered. You smiled at his enthusiasm. Sebastian’s face always lit up when he was talking about a project and it was one of the things you admired most about him, his passion for his work.

“So, you’ve been cooped up in this damn hotel all day. Why don’t you come to dinner with me and the cast tonight? You’ve been waiting to visit Paris all your life and you haven’t even been outside this hotel for days.” He suggested. It was true, you haven’t done much but do school work, order room service, and binge watch shows on Netflix.

“Are you sure they’d want me to come? I might be intruding.” Honestly you were nervous to meet the rest of the cast. You’ve met Jessica a few times but they were brief and she seemed like she didn’t like you. Though that could just be your thoughts making you paranoid, you were still nervous to meet the people Seb worked with. You didn’t want them to think you were using him for money or to travel around the world because you weren’t. You loved Sebastian for himself, not the money and the fame, you could care less about all that.

But they were still Sebastian’s friends and you wanted to have a good first impression on them. You didn’t want them to think you were just some immature college girl who needed money to pay off her college funds.

Noticing you were drifting off, Sebastian pressed another kiss into your palm and grasps it. “You wouldn’t be intruding, Jessica actually suggested you come along.” He mentioned.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive, baby. Come on, let’s put this stuff away and get ready. We’re having dinner at the Eiffel Tower.”

“I— the Eiffel Tower?”

•

To say you were intimidated and scared shitless was an understatement. Here you were in the Eiffel Tower having dinner with some of the most talented women in Hollywood. Like seriously Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, and Diane Kruger. Of course Seb and Édgar Ramírez where there as well. Then there was you, NYC local college student. You didn’t wanna say you felt out of place, but you did. These were successful people who probably starred in some of the movies you watched growing up. Now you’re literally in the Eiffel fucking Tower having dinner with them.

Dinner was going smoothly, everyone was talking about the set, shared some funny stories, and you were keeping to yourself simply eating your steak. That was until the attention was brought to you.

“So (y/n), Sebastian mentioned you were in college, what are you studying?” Jessica asked. Everyone turned to you and you swear you felt like a deer in headlights. Seb nudged your thigh with his, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Yes I am! I’m actually taking a PharmD program at St. John Fisher to become a Pharmacist.” you answered.

“For your masters?” She followed up curiously, slightly leaning forward to you.

“No, for my doctoral degree.” You corrected her proudly. You didn’t want to come off as an ass, but you were proud of your work and you worked your ass off for it.

Everyone at the table was taken back by your response. Except Sebastian, who had a just as proud smile on his face. They knew you were in college but not studying something as serious as Pharmacy.

“St.John Fisher College? I had a cousin that went there, it’s a great college.” Lupita was the first to break the silence.

“So are you working in the field yet? For some experience?” Penélope chimed in. Sebastian snorted, “Oh she has experience, trust me.”

You chuckled as you softly smacked Seb’s bicep, “Well currently, I’m interning as a Pharmacy Tech at a hospital pharmacy. They’re thinking about making me a permanent one until I graduate so fingers crossed!”

As you answered all their questions about your personal life and your major, Sebastian couldn’t help but just admire you. Just like how you admired the way he talked about his projects, he admired the way you got lost in rambling about your soon career. The way your eyes lit up, how your hands moved while you talked, and that hint of a smile on your face. He absolutely adored every single thing about you.

Dinner continued, the last question for you about why you chose to do college in New York, which segwayed into a conversation about— well New York. As the others talked about their love for the city, Sebastian wrapped his arm around your shoulders. Your back was now pressed to his chest, both of you not listening to the conversation. You pressed a kiss to his arm and looked back at him.

“Hey you.” You hummed at him rubbing your thumb along his arm.

“Hi.” He gazed down at you with that smile that made his eyes crinkle. The moment was interrupted by your phone ringing. Quickly glancing at the contact ID, it was the hospital pharmacy you interned for.

“You should take that.” Seb whispered into your ear.

“No, Seb that’s rude. We’re at dinner, I’m sure it can wait.”

“I have a good feeling about this call, draga mea.” He coaxed you. Having a feeling that he might be right you excuse yourself from the table. When you’re gone the table goes quiet.

“Sebastian, you’ve got one hell of a girlfriend.” Penélope stated as the rest of the table agreed.

“She’s so smart! What the hell, a doctoral degree? Kudos to her because the amount of motivation I would need to even try!” Jessica followed up with an amazed look on her face.

“I think you guys are forgetting to mention how whipped they both are for each other! Those two were in their own world over there!” Lupita pointed out. The whole table laughed as Sebastian was turning red. Of course he was whipped, he knew he was.

“I love her guys, she’s, she’s something else. The spunk she has, her intelligence, she’s-,” Sebastian began to list but was cut off by Édgar, “Out of your league?”

The whole table burst into laughter as they agreed with Édgar. You were also coming back to the table after your call. Sebastian spotted you, eyes connecting to yours immediately.

“Everything alright?”

“They gave me the permanent job!”

draga mea - my darling

#ally’s requests #Sebastian Stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan headcanons #sebastian stan drabble #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan oneshot #marvel #mcu #avengers #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes x reader

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alirhi · 3 years ago

Text

okay. let's do this shit.

Guess what, bitches? Mama bear's back and angry all over again. Remember when I said I might dive into a ragepost about how Bucky's treated after completing the one about Loki? This is it. This is the post. Welcome to fucking Thunderdome.

I will actually try to keep it civil. No promises, but I'll try. and I will not be accepting "constructive criticism" about my rage. Just so we're clear.

Got it? Good. Let's dive in.

In case you don't want to read the whole thing (I know I get wordy) here's what this whole post will boil down to: BUCKY NEVER HAD A FUCKING CHOICE. NEVER. NOT ONCE IN HIS ENTIRE ADULT LIFE.

Now, quick reminder: I don't read comics. I know nothing about Bucky's comic canon, except what Sebastian liked to bring up as often as possible during TWS/CW promotions: at some point, Bucky boned Nat. XD Since Bucky only exists as a Marvel property, I won't be bitching about other source material being disrespected like I did with Loki. This is all MCU, my dudes. And honestly? That's enough, because though we don't see nearly enough of Bucky for my liking, we do manage to get a rich, deep backstory to him in the material we're given, partly thanks to better writing in the early days of the MCU, and partly thanks to Sebastian Stan's phenomenal acting. Unlike the writers of the Loki series, Seb knows how to show, not tell. And gods, what stories those eyes show...

Let's start with the army. In an old post illustrating what an absolute BAMF Bucky Barnes truly is, I mistakenly said he enlisted, and a kind soul educated me on the incredible attention to detail Marvel used to pay - in this case, Bucky's ID number. 32557038. As this kind, eagle-eyed soul pointed out to me, the first two digits of that number - 32 - signify that Bucky was drafted, specifically from the NY, NJ, DE area (that last part is rather obvious, as Bucky and Steve are from Brooklyn lol). Bucky didn't choose to go to war. He was drafted. He was forced to fight, or go to prison.

Bucky was born in 1917, which means - again, as someone pointed out to me a while back - he came of age during the Great Depression. As a child, he would likely have seen his parents living comfortably and able to shower each other and him and his sister with gifts and fun memories, and then POOF. Stock market crashes when he's only 12-years-old, and life becomes brutal and painful. He manages to have some fun with his best friend Steve, and spends his teens/early 20s chasing girls and keeping his stupid, stubborn, tiny friend from getting beaten to death.

Steve constantly has something to prove. He's absolutely got what my mom always called "little man's disease", and Bucky's just doing his best not to roll his eyes too much at this asthmatic chihuahua constantly trying to beat up Tibetan mastiffs. While Steve keeps lying on his enlistment forms (an actual crime) trying again and again to get into the army and prove what a badass he is (definitely not), Bucky's had enough trauma and upheaval in his life and he just wants his stupid friend to calm tf down and live. Enjoy the fact that he doesn't have to go to war and get his limbs blown off.

And then he gets fucking drafted. This sweet, resigned realist who knows exactly how dangerous the war really is, is forced to put on a uniform and go fight strangers alongside other strangers thousands of miles from everything he knows. And on his last night of freedom, when he just wants to hang out with his friend, see some cool gadgets, and dance with a pretty girl, his stupid angry chihuahua friend feels the need to lie and try to enlist again.

Okay. Gotta get back on track. Ragepost about mistreatment of Bucky, not how much Steve annoys me. Sorry. Anyway...

Bucky's drafted, accepts his shitty lot with a brave smile, and is shipped off to Europe, where he is captured by HYDRA and presumed by the Allies to be KIA. Instead, he's strapped down, tortured, and given the HYDRA version of the super serum against his will. Steve rescues him, and Bucky knows he can't leave his idiot friend to his own devices to get his head blown off, so he dives right back into the fray. And then he falls off a cliff, loses most of his left arm, and is declared dead...again. This one's pretty damn valid, though lol. Without the serum no one knew he'd been shot up with, there is no way he would have survived that fall.

Here is where Bucky's story gets truly heartbreaking: His autonomy, his ability to consent is stripped from him through electroshock torture/brainwashing. The trigger words are conditioned into him during this process, and boom. Ten words in Russian, and Bucky Barnes is gone. Even the confused, hurting shadow of him is gone, leaving only a perfectly obedient killing machine, with Bucky's pretty face. He's strong as all hell, though, so they can't keep him fully under their control for long, not without more torture, when the disorientation of being fucking frozen wears off on longer missions.

I cannot stress this point enough, guys: Bucky. Had. No. Choice. Not like the draft, where his choices (go and get shot at, refuse and go to jail, or dodge and run to Canada) just suck. No, he literally didn't have a choice. He had his ability to choose stripped from him. If that's too complex a concept to really sink in, try this: His brain was fucking raped. Repeatedly. For decades. Nothing the Winter Soldier ever did was Bucky's fault. Nothing. Ever. Not remotely, no matter how you fucking slice it. Bucky is not an assassin. I almost said "not a killer", but he was a soldier, and a sharpshooter. He definitely killed when he was himself, but that was in a war, not a series of assassinations.

So far, imo, so good. This is just a rundown of Bucky's pre-show backstory. I don't love what he had to suffer, but I do love how it was treated in the movies. People were afraid of him, but when they knew the whole situation, Steve, Nat, and Sam rallied behind him. Natasha had plenty of reason to want the Winter Soldier dead; he'd tried to kill her multiple times and almost succeeded. Sam had no reason to help Bucky at all; he didn't know him, didn't trust him, and again, TWS had tried to kill him. But he stood by Steve, and when Bucky showed the clear difference between himself and TWS, Sam stood by him, too, and fought alongside him.

And it's very realistic, imo, that Tony didn't give a single fuck that Bucky had no choice. He watched this man murder both of his parents on tape. If TWS had killed my dad and I saw proof of it, I'd try to kill Bucky, too. Grief wins out over logic. Most emotions usually do. And that's a very important point we're going to come back to in a few minutes.

Bucky was really only in like ten minutes at most of IW and Endgame, and for multiple reasons I hate those movies, so I'm just gonna skip them, kay? Kay. On to the main event!

Here's where I get pissed off. Even if I didn't have an unhealthy attachment to this character, or the depth of appreciation for his tragic backstory that I do, the lack of continuity between the movies and the show alone would still piss me off. It always does. Don't even get me started on Joss "Continuity? What continuity?" Whedon and his (iconic, but flawed) shows. Ahem. Back on track...

Let me just get one little thing out of the way real quick: I fucking LOVE The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I love it. This show amazed me when I first watched it, and I still love it after many more viewings lol. I have only ever watched it all the way through without skipping over as much John Walker shit as possible the one time lol but I love how Sam and Bucky interact, and I fucking adore how Sam's arc was treated. I just wish they'd show the same care and attention to Bucky.

Because what they did to Bucky in this show is a fucking travesty. There was a tiny ray of hope in the pilot, when he called out Dr. Bitchface for being a terrible shrink. I thought that would be the start of him realizing he needed to find someone else and ignore the damaging shit that woman was telling him. But...nope. No such luck.

The show really had a strong start, I'll give it that. We see Bucky having nightmares of his time as TWS and struggling to hide how his traumatic memories are affecting him as he tries to live in the world again. He befriends the father of one of HYDRA's victims, which can't be good for Bucky (and we're shown it's definitely not when he sees the shrine in Yori's home to his late son) but it's sweet, how he's trying to connect and reach out to someone who's hurting and lonely.

They drop the ball a little with the whole... Bucky can hack a fucking car, but can't figure out Tinder thing. Had they just run with the fandom interpretation of the tiger photos line, that it shows that Bucky is bi and left it at that, I'd have been okay with it (and no, that is not because I ship Sam/Bucky. it's because Bucky is and always has been a certified nerd who loves technology and has consistently shown very little issue learning to use new gadgets). The outdated flip phone he handed his terrible court-mandated shrink was a burner; I liked that theory when I read it, especially since it's the only time we see him even holding a phone that old lol. This all could have fit the "Bucky is a sassy bisexual nerd" narrative and it'd be okay. Instead, the director was like "NOOOOOO that line was just to show how old he is and how he can't figure out all this newfangled technology!" Woman, you had him remotely driving someone else's vehicle with a tablet. That is NOT a man who can't figure out a damn smart phone!

But that's just a minor annoyance. What fills me with absolute rage is how everyone - not just the shitty therapist who lashes out at and purposely triggers her traumatized patients, but EVERYONE - Sam, Zemo, people who should fucking know better ALL treat him like he's a psychopath and a ticking time bomb. Like he chose to take the serum and he chose to kill for HYDRA, and he's just seen the error of his ways. *barf*

Bucky in the movies is established to be a victim, through and through. His guilt over what he was forced to do is natural, and that he sees himself as a monster makes sense... but that doesn't mean it's correct. The one and only thing I ever liked about Steve Rogers is at least he got it. He pointed out that none of it was Bucky's fault, he tried to show him that he was worth saving. That's the other reason I refuse to talk about Endgame. This post will get a WHOLE LOT LONGER and a lot fucking angrier if I open that door.

Zemo supposedly knows everything about HYDRA and super soldiers... So why does he treat Bucky like he's a corrupt serial killer? (this, for the record, is why I don't like Zemo) Why does he never point out that Bucky was given the serum against his will, or that his actions, when he had control of them, proved that he was never corrupted? Bucky never wanted to become superhuman. Bucky didn't even want to fucking fight!

Sam, despite constantly resisting the label, is shown very clearly to be Bucky's friend. By episode 3, he cares. He worries about how Bucky is getting lumped in with the other super soldiers in Zemo's speech... But he never really defends him. He says "what about Bucky?" but he doesn't point out that Bucky's a good man, he's fought so hard to help people, he does everything he can to avoid killing... And that fucking speech in episode 5. I was with him on "you gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are." I was like "YEAH! Tell him, Sam! Bucky, you're WORTH SAVING, boo! Your value does not hinge on someone else's opinion of you!" And then... Sam dropped the ball.

He not only continued the disturbing pattern of victim-blaming in this show, and in Marvel/Disney properties in general, but he gave really dangerously bad advice! No one in their right mind, mental health professional or no, would EVER tell a traumatized former assassin (whether he was responsible for his actions or not) to go confront his victims' families out of the blue with no warning and no one to mediate and keep things from going to shit. Yori already knew his son had been murdered because he was in the "wrong place, wrong time." How is it being "of service" to tell him you're the one who killed him?! Remember how I said Tony's reaction to learning the full truth about his parents' deaths was valid and would be an important point later? Hi! Welcome to later. THAT is the natural reaction to facing the man who murdered your loved one(s). And even if Yori didn't get angry and lash out, HOW IS IT "HELPING" HIM OR BRINGING HIM "CLOSURE" TO KNOW THAT HIS FRIEND KILLED HIS FUCKING SON?!?!?! This man befriended him, bonded with him, watched him grieve... And now he's learning this is the man who caused all his pain and heartache to begin with? That is so toxic and psycho I just... I can't even... UGH.

And then there's the equally toxic and damaging "deeply traumatized person just needed a stern talking to and a hug to be ALL BETTER AGAIN" ending. I loved seeing Bucky happy and socializing, but it was too soon, and it was unearned. And it sends a fucking awful message to people actually struggling with PTSD, and to their loved ones who don't know how to help them. Heaping more blame on them and then hugging it out is NOT helpful!

This show could have been damn near perfect with just two changes. That's all. Just two. 1) Someone, anyone, bringing up the reasons why Bucky was never a villain in his presence. Someone being in his corner and reminding him, like Steve did, that it wasn't his fault and he's not going to "snap". 2) More time devoted to Bucky's healing. Actual fucking healing, not the shit they tried to pass off as a magic fix-all. He can have his happy barbecue moment, just don't frame it as "everything's great now!" Healing isn't linear, and there will be both good days and bad. Some of the most fragile people in the world have the brightest smiles.

If we get a season 2, which this amazing show absolutely deserves, and they address this stuff, all will be forgiven in my book. Expanding on his story and his journey toward healing will help to reframe that "happily ever after" garbage as something more realistic. But as it stands now... Fuck Marvel.

#fan rant #ragepost #long post #bucky barnes #mcu #captain america #the first avenger #the winter soldier #civil war #tfatws #mcu spoilers #stop victim blaming #victim not villain #never a fucking villain #bucky deserved better #fuck marvel #fuck disney

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