#weird moon guy is Waka

[leopardusk]

Saves the world from evil by drawing in the air, stealing food, hanging out with a short guy, and being lesbian. She’s friends with a weird guy from the moon that can see into the future and the short guy hates him and calls him fruitcake.

They kill a fish in the world’s evilest fishbowl and then take a spaceship to another world.

She gets eaten twice and both times has to fight demons in the stomach who were just chilling in there.

She openly ogles the breasts of a woman who is a different species.

She is a wolf.

reblog this with a terrible description of your Blorbo. go

[slapphapp1]

Space Puns Needed

Y'all, I now work at a place where I get to talk about space for my entire shift (I talk about planets, moons, the size difference between large celestial bodies, galaxies, stars, black holes, etc.) which I'm super stoked about. I love this job so much. The only thing is, I want to be funnier and include some jokes and puns and silly-goofy sayings into my presentations but I'm not a comedian so I need help coming up with some. (90% of the ones I've been saying have been stolen from my coworkers)

I've tried googling some but they're all just meh, I found a guy on Reddit that seemed super funny but I don't want to DM random Reddit users for their space puns cuz I feel like that's super weird

So if ANYONE has space puns or jokes or even weird space facts I want to hear them, PLEASE

So far I like joking about (I'll put it under the cut cuz there's kind of a lot):

Cassiopeia is the name of my cat which is why it's my favorite constellation (also that it's a lazy w, 3, or m, and it doesn't make sense that it's the queen of the mythical land of Ethiopia)

The Greeks weren't very good artists in the night sky (look at Canis Major vs Canis Minor, I like showing people just the outline of Canis Minor and having people guess what it's supposed to be)

The Andromeda Galaxy (or other very large objects) are larger than two football fields (this one kind of sucks but it gets some giggles sometimes)

If kids are naughty during the show, they'll get stolen by an eagle just like Ganymede (look up the constellation "Aquila")

How great (terrible) Zeus was

How much a tragedy the story of Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Cetus, Perseus, and Pegasus is (making light of the fact that Cassiopeia and Cepheus sacrificed Andromeda to the sea monster Cetus, which is supposed to be a whale but the Greeks didn't know what whales looked like so they drew it with claws and teeth, and then Perseus saved Andromeda for completely selfish reasons—so he could marry her)

Black holes are not cosmic vacuum cleaners

How terrible the name "Milkomeda" (the name for when the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies collide) is

We magnify the size of the planets to better see them sometimes and if you see the planets that big, you should run because it's the apocalypse

How bad scientists are at naming things (we're very literal) (e.g. Milkomeda, pulsars, dark matter/energy, the "cosmic web", most experiment names)

Not really a joke, more of a fun fact that the Pleiades star cluster in Japan is known as Subaru so when you're out driving and you see a Subaru car, this is where they got their name and logo.

PLUTO IS NOT A PLANET

We have a fun little graphic showing the size of everything in the solar system up to scale and at the end, the sun "turns into pac-man" and eats everything else (I always go "waka-waka" as it eats the planets)

If I mention Betelgeuse I like making a joke about the movie (if you say its name three times, nothing will happen

"I don't know about you, but I've never seen a bear with a long tail" (in reference to Ursa Major/Ursa Minor)

(Some lot of these I don't necessarily like talking about/saying/using because it can derail the conversation or scare the younger kids)

[tamcitrus]

Fire and moon.

pairing: Benimaru Shinmon x fem. reader

genre: nsfw

words: 3,5 k.

warnings: a bit of degradation, public sexy time, orgasm denial, overstimulation, dom/sub undertones.

tam’s notes: Hi miss @writeiolite​ ! I’m you HQC secret santa! ♥ I was so nervous when I got you omg sjkdhas because I admire your writing so much, you’re so talented and an amazing person so I was a little afraid my writing wouldn’t be good enough. I’m so thankful for meeting you and all the beautiful people in the server. Thanks for being so welcoming, thanks for letting me help you and be a part of the staff and most of all thanks for being my friend. I hope you like this ♥

I CANT BELIVE IT’S YOUR GIF BUT HEY YOU HAVE A CLUE WHAT THIS IS ABOUT NOW dsjfhksldjf

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

When you left the Holy Sol Temple and chose to move to Asakusa, you never expected to find a man that attracted you there. The proto-nationalist land wasn't a place where you expected to have fun. You just wanted to keep a low profile and be in peace.

But then you saw this man, flying through the sky and destroying everything on his way down to finally land in front of an infernal and punch right through his chest. And something sparked inside you. It wasn't your pyrokinesis or a fight or flight response. It was something else.

Shinmon Benimaru. That was his name. Fire Force Seventh Company’s Captain. Asakusa’s King of Destruction. The #1 enemy of the Holy Sol Temple, or so they said.

After that destruction scene, you walked through the city trying to get more information on him. But also, just socialicing. It would be weird for a new citizen to ask too much about the same person. More so if that person was the head of the city.

This “king” wasn’t like others you could imagine. He wasn’t unapproachable, living in a castle surrounded of gold and extravagant stuff. He was there, among his people, walking through the streets and greeting everyone by their name. He received gifts, food, and talked to those that stopped him. You could say just by looking that he was recognized as a leader. Even when he didn’t acknowledge that himself.

The stars were on your side because soon after that you met him in the thermal waters. He was there, sitting with his arms stretched by his sides and with his eyes closed. You felt like a sparkle inside you, almost like tickles. You walked in silence to the other end of the pool, going in and sitting very slowly.

Benimaru felt another presence behind him and then felt the water moving as you submerged your body in the warm waters. He opened his eyes for a second to look at you and then closed them again. He preferred to be alone but as long as you wouldn’t talk to him he didn’t mind the company.

You were quiet the whole time you were there. It wasn’t an unpleasant silence. But you were expectant. You tried to not look at him. You really tried but you allowed yourself to observe what was on your eye level.

He was handsome. Not that you didn’t know that, but it was a whole different experience having him in front of your eyes, not even a meter away from your body. And naked. He was naked.

Of course he’s naked, these are thermal waters, you thought.

You were naked too. Suddenly you were self conscious, even when he wasn’t looking. You crossed your arms over your chest to cover yourself and closed your eyes to submerge your whole body underwater and came up again. You sat there in silence again, looking at the moon, the house behind the man, the rocks and everything but him.

Eventually he left. You looked aside but still you noticed he stopped to look at you for a second too long.

You left a bit later, after you were sure he was long gone. You said goodbye to the nice lady in the reception and went home.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

Later that week, you were alone having dinner in a bar and he appeared.

"I don't know you, you're new here," he said as he nonchalantly sat on your table.

"Do you know everyone in this town?" you asked him. 

He sighed. That wasn't the answer he was waiting for.

"I do, actually," he said. 

The waitress silently approached and left him a glass full of something.

"Welcome, Benimaru-san. If there's something else you need you can tell us, the house invites you today," she said and walked away.

"Benimaru-san, nice to meet you," you said, playing fool. You knew who he was.

"And you are…?"

"New in town. I really like Asakusa," you smiled. His face looked more irritated than just a minute before. "You can call me y/n."

"No last name, uh?" he chugged the drink the girl left for him.

"I got rid of it," you said. And that was true.

"That's not a lot of information."

"You'll have to buy me a drink and I'll tell you more about me," you winked at him.

He clicked his tongue and you laughed.

“Just don’t cause troubles in my town,” he said and left.

“I’ll try!” you said as he walked out.

All the people at the bar were looking at you but you didn’t care, you had fun and he came to you.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

Would it be worth it to cause some trouble just to see his pissed face again? As you were thinking of some options for “trouble” you went to the thermal house again. And he was there.

“You again?” he said without even opening his eyes.

“It’s a small town,” you casually said.

“Are you following me?”

“Says the guy who showed up on my table out of nowhere,” you answered as you rushed to get into the hot water.

He remained silent again. It was the same as the last time, you sitting in front of him under the moonlight in a comfortable silence.

Even if you were comfortable, you were itching to bug him some more. Still, you just chose to keep your mouth closed. You rested your back on the rocks behind you and found a comfortable position to rest your head too, so you had to do the minimum effort to hold your body. You opened your eyes again when you heard Benimaru getting out of water, you felt drowsy and rubbed your eyes to force yourself to be fully conscious again.

"Don't drown here, this is my favorite place," he said as he walked away.

You looked at him and were about to give some sarcastic answer but then you saw his bare back and his ass and ate your words.

Holy Sol, that body. It had to be illegal to be so built and so handsome.

Before you fell asleep in the water again you got up and left too.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

"So you did cause trouble."

Same bar, same table, same man appearing out of nowhere in front of you. You huffed.

"I defended myself," you explained.

"That's why you beated up some guy?"

"If someone fights me I'll fight back," you explained.

"Which company sent you here?" Benimaru asked.

You laughed out loud.

"I'm not a fire force member."

"You have powers. The Holy Sol Temple sent you here?" he insisted.

"I left the Temple a long time ago," you smiled.

He stared at you, you supposed he was processing the information you just gave him.

"Well, have a nice day, Captain. I might see you later," you said and left him there.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪

That night you were the first one in the thermal house. It was weird to be there without Benimaru's big chest in front of you, distracting you from the beautiful full moon that shone over your heads. You positioned yourself again in that way that let you just be sitting without any effort and closed your eyes.

"You again?" you said when you felt the water moving. You knew it was Benimaru.

"This is my town," he answered, ignoring your teasing.

"Right, I'm sorry, your highness."

He clicked his tongue. He thought about what Konro said earlier. Maybe she just wants to provoke you, Waka.

"Are you trying to provoke me?" he inquired.

"Who knows," you smiled.

"I wanna know," he said and closed a little the distance between your bodies.

"I told you you had to take me out first if you wanna know more about me," you licked your lips.

"I could just make you tell me in some other way," he threatened.

"Maybe if you fuck my brains out…" you battled your eyelashes as sweetly and innocently as you could.

He was over you the next second, his hand pulling your hair and making you throw your head back. His body felt warm against yours, even inside the hot water.

"I know you want it too, Captain~" you chirped. "Just stop thinking for a second and let your body take control…"

Yes, he did want it. It was weird to find someone that didn't fear him or admire him as if he was a royalty member. Then you appeared and you gave him all these contradictory signals. It was frustrating. He wanted to erase that cocky smile from your glossy lips… 

He kissed you. His mouth was demanding and the hand holding your hair guided your movements at will. You locked your legs around his hips, holding him close to you, and tangled your hands on his long hair. His hands went underwater to squeeze your ass and thighs and you moaned inside his mouth. You felt his leg under your body next and with little effort he walked out of the water with you clinging to him. He walked to the changing room and let you down over the bench that was there. You were about to sit and take his erection on your mouth but he pushed you back down.

"Who told you you could move?" he asked. The answer was implied in his voice. The atmosphere changed, he was in control now. Your teasing wouldn't affect him anymore. You rubbed your thighs in expectation.

You observed him as he slowly walked to close the doors -the one that gave you access to the reception and the back door you just crossed- and then he kneeled between your legs. The fact that you two were already naked saved some time.

He started circling your clit with his still wet fingers. You started whimpering after a minute, his calloused hand was doing wonders on your body. He pushed his middle finger inside you and kept rubbing your clit with his thumb. He moved his finger in circles inside you, enjoying your moans and your walls clenching his digit. He added his point finger in and sucked your clit on his mouth one time after another until you were almost screaming.

"Fuck, that feels so good," you whined.

If he just moved his fingers a bit faster you would…

He stopped and pulled his fingers out to stand up. When you looked at him he took his fingers to his mouth and sucked your juices from them slowly and pumped his dick with his other hand, putting on a show for you.

"Suck," he said as he pushed his fingers with precum on your mouth.

You obliged. You hollowed your cheeks and suck his fingers, moving your tongue around so you cleaned them perfectly.

"You'll have to do much better than this if you wanna cum," he said like he was disappointed.

He was over you kissing you again, his tongue took your breath away. You could feel his dick against your belly, it was so hot and leaking a bit. Your mouth watered at the thought of having it on your mouth. Subconsciously your hand moved to grab his dick but he stopped you.

"It seems you don't understand you can't move unless I say so," he said. He took a belt from a bathrobe and tied your hands together with it. You whined at the restriction and pouted at him.

"Bad girls don't deserve a nice treatment," he said. "And you're a bad girl."

"I'll do better next time," you said with a pout still on your mouth.

He pulled from the belt to make you sit. Your mouth was an inch away from his cock but you stood still. You had to be a good girl.

"Suck me off," he ordered.

It was almost a relief to have his dick on your mouth. You felt the bitterness of precum at the end of your throat and the salty taste of the waters you were in minutes ago. You could barely fit it in -it was logical that such a big man had a big dick- but you still tried. You bobbed your head back and forward and twirled your tongue around his length. He cupped your breasts and pinched your nipples, your muffled moans caused a nice tickling sensation on his penis.

"This is what it takes for you to shut up, uh?" he thrusted into your mouth a few times, going deeper each time.

He growled when he pushed just a bit further than the back of your throat. You resisted your gag reflex and deepthroated him as tiny tears formed in the corner of your eyes. It wasn't unpleasant, it felt good and despite his size he was being careful, which only added to your overwhelming sensation of arousal.

You needed some kind of relief. You needed to be touched or to have Benimaru inside you, but considering his dick was still on your mouth that wasn't an option. So you touched yourself, lucky you had your hands tied in front of your body. It didn't take long for him to realize and take a step back. He sighed and looked down to you, his long hair covering most of his face. You froze as soon as he looked at you.

"On your hands and knees," he whispered.

You obeyed and smiled to yourself at his bored tone. Because his eyes were lit up, he was having fun.

You positioned yourself as you could in the little bench and waited. His big hand was over your ass just rubbing it and squeezing. Then he raised his hand and slapped you.

"Fuck," you moaned.

"I thought you would be able to take orders given your past," he said as he rubbed your skin again. "I guess not."

He slapped your ass again and you moaned. He used one hand to rub your abused skin and the other to tease your entrance. You cried at his touch, your walls were clamping around nothing.

"Ple-please," you cried when he slapped you again.

His fingers were on your clit now, circling it and his thumb was going up and down on your pussy but not inside.

"Do you think you're in position to ask something, you slut?" he bent down to talk to your ear and you got chills.

He slapped your ass again and he could see his palm marked on your skin on a little prominence. He used his fingers again to stretch your pussy and you moaned, his fingers felt good but you weren't full, you needed more.

"More, please," you asked for it. You could talk now that you didn't have his huge dick on your mouth.

He made you turn around again so he could look at your face as he finally gave you what you wanted: his dick inside you. Your face and moans were a mixture between pleasure and relief. And he was having fun. Real fun and enjoyment, not like other times he met someone to satisfy his needs.

He felt your legs trembling and your hips were moving frantically, not matching his movements anymore. So he stopped. You whined and wiggle your hips to get him to move again.

"If you don't stay still I'll walk out through that door right now," he warned.

You sighed, tears threatened to fall from your eyes again. He traced patterns on your thighs with his fingers and observed how you put your tied hands over your eyes. It was taking all of your will to not move. He was stretching you so nicely, you swear you could even feel the shape of his veins on your walls, you felt full and almost satisfied. When he no longer felt the insistent clenching of your walls on his dick, he bent down and took one of your nipples on his mouth. You cursed out loud when he took your bud gently between his teeth. You never expected a tough man like him to be so gentle. Your climax was gone again but it wouldn't take much to build it back up. Benimaru put his mouth to work on your other nipple and gave a gentle thrust that caused you to moan again. How could he stay still being balls deep into you? How could he resist the urge to just chase his climax?

He thrusted again and you felt tight, like your pussy was accustomed to him not moving. It felt good, you fit on him like a glove, just like the right amount of pressure to not fall off. He circled your clit with his fingers again and you locked your legs embracing his hips again to have him deeper inside. He kissed you again and put his arm around your waist to hold you up against him and then your back hit a wall. You throw your hands behind his head to use his shoulders for support and adjust your hold on his hips before he started to thrust again. But this time he wasn't so gentle. He was going fast and strong, his tip touched your g spot every few times and you bit his neck to muffle your moans.

"It will take more than that to mark me," he said in an arrogant tone.

You huffed. You would be all marked up tomorrow with shapes of fingers and hands: on your waist, on your thighs, your ass. You heated your wrists enough to burn the belt restricting your movements and scratched his back with force. Your walls clenched when you heard him growl. That much will do to mark him, so you'll do it again.

His thrusts were reckless and he changed his angle from time to time. He held your waist with one arm and the other was on your leg, spreading it apart for him to get liberty with his movements.

"I'm so so close," you cried in his ear.

He knew it, he could feel it. His dick was being pressed hard in your pussy and it felt better than ever. It wouldn't take much for him to cum either. He kneeled and let your body down on the floor in front of him to take your legs and put in on his shoulders so he could thrust in a different position. Your back arched out of sheer pleasure and you moaned his name again. You couldn’t even warn him that you were on your climax before it happened, you just took his arm and scratched him even harder than before. Fucks and oh-s left your mouth each time his dick rubbed your cervix. You notice he was slowing down and you knew what he was thinking.

“Fill me up,” you said in a lustful voice. “Fill me up, please,” you used your heels to push him back to you.

He didn’t doubt anymore. He was back with his merciless thrusts, balls deep into you again. His dick was a bit harder to take after your orgasm but you couldn’t complain. You just wanted him to cum inside you and you even might be able to cum again just from the thought of if it. He found an angle in which both were moaning and he kept going strong. Your legs were trembling again and he felt tiredness on his muscles too. So he buried his cock on you a few more times and the little hold he had on his body snapped. He cummed inside you and you had another orgasm when you felt his semen filling you up.

After a minute he pulled out and collapsed by your side, both of you were struggling to catch your breath. You could just fall asleep there, or maybe in the warm water? As you weighed your options, Benimaru got up and walked outside and back. He kneeled by your side and cleaned you up.

"Oh, aren't you a gentleman?" you teased him. But you were grateful he wasn't a jerk as he looked he could be.

"Shut up," he said.

He cleaned himself and got dressed. You heard him talk with the old lady manager, asking for water and something to eat.

"There's a private room, you can stay here tonight if you're tired," he said as he observed you get dressed.

"Will you stay with me?" you smiled.

"Who knows," he answered and left.

You followed him to the private room where he was already sitting and eating. You took a seat in front of him and ate too. With a bit of teasing and other bit of luck maybe you could get a second round.

☪ ☪ ☪ ☪ ☪  

[yeetedintoouterspaces]

☁️💫 Night Sky- Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader ☁️💫

Watching Y/n stare up into the pitch black sky that glittered with stars was like watching a kid get a new toy. The pure joy of looking at they sky was something Ushijima couldn't understand. Afterall, volleyball is on his mind 25/8. Him watching her this happy looking and appreciating the small things in life made him stop to appreciate those things too.

Her eyes twinkling just like the stars was adorable. "Waka-chan! Look at the stars! Aren't they just so beautiful?" Y/n asks as she points into the night sky. The cooling breeze from the wind was refreshing and a rare feeling. Ushijima looked at the girl and nodded, "indeed, they are beautiful." Ushijima wanted to say, "just like you," but the man was too shy.

Y/n smiles, the night sky was reflecting off of her eyes as she turned to look at Ushijima. She suddenly pulls him into a hug and stayed silent. Ushijima hesitantly wrapped his arms around her smaller waist, finally returning the hug.

"Why the sudden hug Y/n?" Y/n shook her head muttering out a soft reply, "no reason."

Ushijima pulled her into a tighter hug, his arms engulfing her in, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck. He took in a deep breath, smelling her sweet yet warm scent of caramel ( or whatever you want lol ). Y/n gently stroked his hair, whispering sweet nothings to him, telling him how much she loves him.

Y/n placed a gentle kiss onto the man's forehead, usually it would be the other way around because Y/n was too short to reach it. Ushijima is not one to express his feelings, let alone let it out clearly so having such an intimate time with him was quite rare yet always worth it.

Y/n pulled away from the hug, holding onto the man's hand tightly and leaned onto his shoulder. "Toshi I love you, more than I love the moon and stars, more than anything in this world." Y/n grinned widely, it was like she was confessing to him for the first time all over again.

Ushijima was quite shocked by her words. Sure he heard her say I love you on the daily but he never really realised how impactful those words mean. Ushijima returns the smile and looked at the girl in the eyes. "I love you too," he says ever so softly.

The two just gazed at each other as the wind brushed against their skin. Moments like these were so intimate and serious yet so heartwarming. It's not everyday that Ushijima's home and it's not everyday that Y/n was free from work. Although they don't have a lot of time together, they try to make every single moment together memorable.

This moment felt so magical and beautiful, Y/n couldn't help but to fall for Ushijima all over again. I mean who wouldn't? This dorky man is adorable yet blur and Y/n learnt to love every single one of his quirks, whether is was adorable, gross or weird.

He was just so special and different from every other guy she knew ( not like she was comparing but u get the jist ) Ushijima had always stood out to the girl. He was harworking, a trait she found extremely admirable. He never gave up on his dream to be a volleyball player and he was never distracted from his goal.

That's one of the few things Y/n loved about the man.

What about Ushijima? He loved how supportive Y/n has been. She has been there with him through every step of the way. The journey to get to where he is at now wasn't pretty and Y/n would know that above everyone. She never complained about it once and she has always loved the man and supported him.

"Look Ushijima, isn't the sky beautiful?" Y/n asks as her eyes glitter once more.

"You are beautiful too." He replies bluntly, not realising he just said that outloud.

Y/n's face was tinted pink, she genuinely didn't know what to say. "T-thanks Waka-chan." Y/n stutters out, slightly embarassed. Ushijima looks at the girl as she pressed her lips into a thin line and continued to gaze into the night sky. The two just stood there in silence. It wasn't awkward one bit though, it was comfortable and relaxing actually. "Waka-chan, you remind me of the stars. In this dark world, you never fail to make it brighter. Each and every little trait of yours is another reason for me to love you." Y/n says as she beamed.

Now it was his turn to blush, that was super cheesey yet adorable. Ushijima held onto her smaller hands and gripped it tightly, gently interwining his fingers in hers.

"Thank you Y/n. I love you dearly as well."

"Love you too~"

The two strolled off, hand in hand, as they stared at the specks of glitter in the sky.

How beautiful~

[hildagirl99]

The wrath of Winter

Part 5

They all go out and before them stood the chief of the Ojibwa tribe. Tall, skinny with a crown of white feathers.

"Hau, Wakicuza." said Lorelei, lowering her head in respect.

He responds with a nod.

"Uhg great chef!" said Bill, raising his hand.

"Taku? (* What?) Wasicu (* white man) weird." said the chief, narrowing his eyes.

Lorelei nudges Bill.

"Do you want to lynch us or what? Say the same thing as me!"

"Sorry, um ... Hau, Wakicuza, are you okay?"

"Alkoun Na ... you came back." said the chief, smiling.

"Ya, but my name is Lorelei, great Wakicuza."

"Lo-re-lei? Mmmh… Alkoun Na, better."

"Okay, hehe…"

"Why did you pass through our territory?" he asks.

"We have to go to town for my ... for Penny, wife Peta! Because she's having a baby."

"I see…"

"Um ... why did you save us?" she asks.

"You love that Wakayaja Waniyetu freezes you and your pale faces friends?"

"Waka ... what?"

"Wakayaja Waniyetu means the winter child! It is he who is the winter season." said Aiyanna, next to her.

"Has he been causing the cold for months?" Lorelei asks.

"Ya ... because he got mad at white men. That's why he attacked you."

Lorelei feels uncomfortable.

"But ... what have we done?"

"Oh, neither you nor your white friends hurt. But the other white men."

"One of yours has kidnapped Wakayaja Bloketu (* the summer child)! Wakayaja Waniyetu will lead the Wasicu to eternal winter!" said the chief in a loud voice.

Lorelei and Bill look at each other. They were asking the same question.

"But how do we stop this?"

"No choice but to sacrifice wife Peta to Wakayaja Waniyetu, to appease her anger."

This sentence freezes Lorelei and Bill's blood. Do they sacrifice Penny to quell the wrath of a season?

"Wait wait wait? Are you going to kill her? But she is pregnant! Bunch of madmen! You will have to beat me over the body!" Said Bill.

"Calm down, pale face! You will pass first, if you wish! At the full moon!"

"Huh? But ..."

"Shut up! My brothers! Watch him before the sacrifice!"

Some Indians lead him far from Lorelei, under another teepee.

"Wakicuza! Wait! He's a friend! He, Penny and I had nothing to do with the summer kidnapping! There is bound to be a solution other than death!"

The chief looks at her attentively and turns his back on her.

"You know death, you will be spared." he says.

"Huh? But why not kill us all? I'm a pale face too!"

"You are sacred in the tribe, courageous, fearless, divinity, respectful of the kingdom of the dead."

"I am not a goddess ... you cannot kill them, they are innocent, Wakicuza, please ..."

The chef took a deep breath. But without response. Lorelei stands before him.

"Let me find those who kidnapped Wakayaja Bloketu."

"Would you do that?"

"Give me a deadline, the full moon is in two days, I will bring back the summer and punish the thugs."

"And if you fail, sacrifice will happen."

"I'm just asking you to treat them well in the meantime, especially wife Peta."

"Ya Alkoun Na. Deal?" he said, spitting on the ground.

Lorelei does not hesitate, she does the same.

"And we will treat wife Peta well in the meantime."

"As for the pale face, treat him well too but have a little authority over it, it is a bit ... crazy, but it is nice."

"Ya, Alkoun Na. But beware anyway! He has a thunderbolt on him."

"Don't worry, it is used only rarely." she said as she returned to the camp.

She comes back to the tipi where Bill was taken.

"Lorelei… tell me it's a joke! They won't sacrifice us! Huh?"

"I made arrangements with him and you will have to accept this deal too."

"What deal?"

"I told them that I will find the thugs who kidnapped the summer child, if in two days I fail, they will make the sacrifice, you and Penny. In the meantime they will take care of you two."

"What ?! But you're completely crazy! Would you dare sacrifice your loved ones if you fail? Have you thought about Penny and the baby? Have you thought about me ?!" said Bill, hysterical.

"They believe in me to bring back summer, they think I am a god. I prefer to go alone."

"Alone ... selfish as usual ... and what am I going to say to Penny? She'll be even more stressed!"

"Bill… believe me, it's better for you to watch Penny. And you won't tell her anything."

"Is that it ... to wait quietly for someone to execute us?"

"She won't stay alone! You stay with her! That's all!"

Bill is silent, looking contemptuously at Lorelei.

"Tell me you won't fail ..."

"You trust me ?" she asks.

"Of course…"

"I'll do anything to get you out of there."

"I would have done better to be frozen, instead of ending up in the hands of the Indians."

"Bill ... don't take it like this, please."

He leaves the teepee, annoyed.

"Are you angry?" asks Aiyanna, before him.

"No, I'm super happy to hear that I am being sacrificed ..." said Bill with a forced smile.

"I heard everything ... the sacrifice will not be."

"Huh?"

"Alkoun Na is not going to fail, I am against that, it's a horrible sacrifice."

"So much the better! I'm sorry she abandons us!"

"You can speak correctly with me, don't be bloza (*idiot) Are you mad at Alkoun Na?" Aiyanna asks insistently.

"Leave me alone… I'm going to see Penny." he said as he left.

The young Indian girl follows him to the tipi where Penny still seemed to be in pain.

"Penny… is everything all right?"

"Her work has started." said the shaman next to her.

"Huh? She lost the waters?"

"Baby moves a lot! Lots of contractions."

"Gnnnh ... it's getting common." said Penny, reaching out.

"At 8 months? It's a bit early. Don't worry, I'm here."

"And Lorelei? Where is she?"

"She's chatting with the chef ..." said Bill, not wanting to stress her out.

"Why are you lying?" said Aiyanna.

"I told you to leave me alone! Go back to your tom-tom and leave me alone! Shit!" writes Bill.

Aiyanna felt hurt, she went out crying.

"But what's wrong with you?" asks Penny.

"I ..." Bill regrets his words. He went too far.

"I hope you're going to apologize and right away."

"I was planning to do it ..." he ran out and soon found her.

"Eh! You! Uh ... you! Excuse me, I ... I got a little carried away." he said arriving breathless.

"I don't want your apologies." she said, fleeing from her gaze.

"No, sincerely ... I am ..."

"You, Wasicu (*pale face/ white man)! Don't come near!" says a man who appears as a sudden shadow.

A fairly tall, heavy-bodied Indian steps in front of him, crossing his arms.

"Huh ... I can't compete. Look, buddy, we're not going to fight, I just want to talk to the girl behind you."

"Don't come near Mitaka ki (* my little sister)!" he said, still looking threatening.

"Okay, okay, I'm going ..." said Bill, stepping back.

"Wasicu ape niye?" (*white man hit you?) asks the Indian to Aiyanna.

"Hiya (*no) ... Just nervous Wasicu… need to be alone. Pilamaye Ciye (*thank you big brother)."

After dark, the Indians invite Bill and Lorelei to eat. Lorelei went from time to time to the teepee where Penny was still resting there.

"Can't you get up?" she asks.

"No ... my legs hurt, I'm not talking to you about my stomach, I feel like it's going to happen." replies Penny.

"I will stay with you tonight, tomorrow I will leave."

"Huh? Leave? Why?"

"I'll explain everything to you…"

After 5 minutes of explanation, Penny held her breath.

"Lorelei… I want you to be careful. Tracing a child should be easy, but escaping the kidnappers is risky."

"Don't worry Penny, I'll hurry. Bill will look after you." said Lorelei, kissing her hand.

However, she didn't tell her about the sacrifice, she didn't want to worry her any more. Outside, Bill was away from the tribe on a rock, he wanted to isolate himself. Aiyanna watched him from a distance, having pity on him, she took a few pieces of meat and joined him.

"You are hungry ... so take talo (*meat)" she said, keeping her distance.

Bill does not react, blowing smoke from his cigar and says:

"I'm not hungry…"

She approaches him, putting down the plate and grabbing the cigar.

"Not good for your lungs ..." she said, throwing it away.

"Shouldn't I have been away from you? After all, we are two different species." said Bill, turning his back on her.

"Do you think us, Indians, are savages?"

"No… just a little not civilized enough."

"You are very closed to the Indian world. You have the same vision as other white men, but you don't think what you say ... I feel that you, very different." she said approaching.

"We shouldn't have met." said Bill, still turned around.

"Do you think I'm wild?" she asks.

He discreetly turns around and looks at her.

"No ... no. Just ... you ..."

"Different from you?"

"No… you and me… we are the same but raised differently, perhaps."

She smiles and takes his hand, sticking it on hers, on the 4 fingers.

"See? Do you see any differences?"

"Huh… no." said Bill who felt himself blushing.

"You, me, the same."

He withdraws his hand, looking her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry for a while ago ... I don't know what to say when I got angry, I had quarreled with Lorelei and I ..." she puts a finger on his mouth.

"You forgave. You might be bloza but you'd be a funny cowboy."

"Hehe… it is true that I can be funny but I am not just any cowboy, I am a bandit."

"Thief? Showdown Bandit ?"

"Huh ... yes? How do you know this name?"

"You known for being a good lonely bandit who saves the poor by stealing a golden house?"

"Yes, It's bank, that's it."

"You good heart."

"Excuse me, but what is your name?"

"Aiyanna. How about you?" she said smiling

"You can just call me Bill." he said, smiling back.

"So eat talo, it's going to be cold." said the Indian, rising.

"Before leaving, who was the big guy with you?"

"Oh, Him Sukawaka Oha Ko!"

"Huh ... and that means?"

"Him my big brother! His name mean Fast Horse"

"I'm going to call him Suka, it's going to be fine."

"Hahaha! You funny! But why not love him on the other hand. He is very protective."

"Pfff I'm not afraid of that." said Bill with a wink.

"Join us after eating, sungmanitu (* coyotes) roam the night." she said as she left.

When he arrived, his brother was waiting for her.

"Where were you ?"

"I communicated with the ancestors." she says.

"Don't lie! You were with the white man!"

"Sukawaka… he's not who you think he is. He's Nice and funny!"

"Tricky and clever white man, you beware. Keep your distance from him."

"Stop being protective and suspicious."

"Ate (* father) wouldn't have died if he hadn't approached Wasicu. Me still responsible for you." said Suka, placing his hand on her little sister's shoulder, dragging her to the gathering.

To be continued...

Part 4 :

[photon-bytez]

1000th Post Y’all!

Well how ‘bout that? 1000 posts of my random and ridiculous shenanigans! It’s been a wild ride folks, and I couldn’t be more happy for all of your support! (And to this, that I started this blog for fun back last summer) To celebrate, here are my top 10 favorite posts!

10. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/177268053221/diosmiles (by @diosmiles)

This mash-up of “Interior Crocodile, Alligator” and the SSBU version of “Gangplank Galleon” was made when King K. Rool was revealed as one of the game’s newcomers. When it may be short, it does have a nice rhyme to it. Seriously thou, the updated version of the Kremling King’s theme is fitting for his long awaited return in Smash Ultimate.

9. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/178806537791/amtrax-squigglydigg-new-bendy-and-the-ink (by both @squigglydigg and @amtrax)

Another music one. Out of all the fan-made BATIM songs out there, “Welcome Home” might be my all time favorite of the bunch, with the lyrics, voice acting, etc, Hailey, Austin, and the gang really outdid themselves with this one, especially at the last verse of the song.

8.https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/175851041991/cookievampiress-mrultra100-asked-me-to-draw (By @cookievampiress)

Behold ladies and gents (If you remember this one) the very first art request I ever sent! (And also the first V-Twin request at that) Since the first time I since “Fangs a Lot Johnny” (A Johnny Test  season 5 episode), the Vampire Twins (Especially Vampire Mary) have climbed onto the ranks of my all time favorite characters. There’s just something I love about evil goth-like versions of certain cartoon characters, and since I love vampires, this ain’t no exception. 

Though I don’t like to share personal info or complain, for some reason, Cookie decided to block me shortly after the request was done. I could have upsetted her over something, and I wish in the near future, I can speak with her again to see what happened. Again tho, I’m not big on controversy, but I wanted to point that out. Let’s move on!

7. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/179708341611/mexican64-so-two-major-things-happened (By @mexican64)

This piece was made towards Piranha Plant’s reveal as a fighter in Smash, and our first meeting with Alastor in Hazbin Hotel. If there’s something that the 2 have is common, that would be those sharp smiles they have. More points for adding the visual elements of the Radio Demon onto the carnivorous flora, Especially the ears!

6. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/178498693031/bogleech-i-didnt-even-give-gooseworx-any (Made for @bogleech by Gooseworx)

As you may know, “Awful Hospital” happens to be my favorite web-comic, and that’s coming from a guy, who’s not big on stuff like “Homestuck” and all that. Nonetheless, AH could always used it’s own theme that captures the twisted and bizarre feel of the series, and what other that the extremely talented Gooseworx? (Goose also does music for the aforementioned Hazbin Hotel btw) As Bog stated, this this also count as Dr. Phage’s personal theme, very fitting for him as he is my favorite AH character.

5. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/182018074106/seriously-tho-its-been-lil-more-than-2-years-at (By yours truely!)

Outdated meme aside,not to be rude, Did anyone noticed the similarities at all? Guzzlord basically what happen if you feed Vaka-Waka some experimental steroids and throw him in a another dimension. And to make this more loco-crazy, the Mixel came a little more than a year before the Pokemon (Mixels Series 6 was released on October 1, 2015, and Pokemon Sun and Moon was released on Novenber 18, 2016), weird, right?

4. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/180606173256/retrograde64-art-request-for-mrultra100-heres (By @retrograde64)

At the time of this one, I was getting a lil’ tired of sending V-Twin art requests, since there’s now so many of ‘em, so I figured, why not “stretch” (I ain’t sorry for that pun) the boundaries of what I sent as art requests, and try new ideas? If you’re wondering, my favorite of the Flexers (and the Mixels in general) is Tentro.

3. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/182991618561/here-is-it-the-favorite-character-bingo-that-no (By me again, of course, and this was created by @ trash--senpai )

This was created by a good friend of mine (@trash--senpai) and might count as the weirdest request I ever sent. When I asked her to create this one, she was a bit confused by it, considering that she’s a artist, this was strange to her, nonethless, she not only got mine done, she also made one for herself. (I told her that she can make one for herself when she worked on mine)

2. https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/182810505846/kirby-after-the-events-of-world-of-light-this (Done by me, based on @terminalmontage)

This is the only drawing of mine on this list, cuz let’s face it, my art skills suck donkey dongs! (More on that later tho) This one was made for Valentine’s Day, and as well all know, celebrating Valentines is killing world-destroying gods together with your loved ones. Sigh... Kirby makes that part too easy!

https://mrultra100.tumblr.com/post/175498459271/draculabrides-fangs-a-lot-johnny-you-can (By @draculabrides)

To finish this list, let’s go back to where it all began. One summer night on July 3, 2018, a certain fella in his mid-teens (I.E, me!) want to create a fandom based blog on a website notorious for feminazis whining about Steven Universe and “political correctness”, Eugh. Anyways, the first post (Or reblog if you will) was a collection of gifs featuring a certain sparkly undead duo who went on to becoming the mascots of said blog.

Welp, guess that all of them, and that’s only 10 posts out of 1000 posts and reblog that I made in almost the last year. To all of my friends and the followers who were crazy enough to follow a fella who’s obsessed with cartoon vampire girls like me ( @good-guy-is-alive , @naty-js , @odreiwa , @captain-animatordreamer ,etc) thanks for everything! Also, I plan to start digital art sometime in the near future, and I might leave this blog to start anew after some practice (and with a whole new name AND look to boot) Don’t get me wrong, I’m not leaving here, I might keep this blog as a memory. I’m Mr. Ultra, the Fandom Jacka** of the Digital Blue Hills of Hell, and I hope you have a nice day. See you later, and “Stay Ultra Folks!”

[photowizard17]

I like when someone wants someone else to ask him/her so, would you like to answer these questions? I don't like the 'short answers' so you can say anything you want, the questions are: 2/4/9/13/16/21/22/24 especially( 27). :-)

HI! Ok so I knowthese asks were sent like a week ago and I apologies for the late response, butI wanted the answers to be accurate and in depth because you guys took the timeto ask! All of them are in the same post because a lot were duplicates.

So, thanks for asking... here we go!

Thank you again @lightning1999, @argentis and @glowing-coils-of-the-universe

1.    if someone wanted to reallyunderstand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to? So if someone really wanted to understandme and my strange little brain they should probably read my fanfiction. Myfanfics show them my writing style, parts of my personality and my interests.They would of course have to watch the Thunderbirds because I swear it is all Italk about, well that and funny animal videos! I got my dad watching them lol.As to that they would have to listen to… probably everything. Like peopletalking around them, the sounds of birds, cars, electronics. I am a veryobservant person so when I am out in public I pay attention to everything. Itend to notice things others don’t.

2.    have you ever found a writer whothinks just like you? if so, who? I did a while back, sadly I don’t remember theirhandle, the plot was well thought out and detailed, which I enjoy. And I havemet people who think like I do. They see things differently. It is veryinteresting.

3.     list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with. Well fandoms, guess what’s first!Thunderbirds: Virgil. I feel like I identify with Virgil because he is verycaring and artistic. Which I would like to think I am. He would give anythingfor anyone, he is also very detailed oriented which I am as well. And I love him.

Anotherfandom would be The Flash, and I probably identify with Caitlyn most. She hastwo sides of herself, one side no one really knows, and the other dominant sidewhich everyone is familiar with.

A third fandom is Pacific Rim and I think Iidentify with Mako the most because she is underestimated and sets up tochallenges presented to her. She is very loyal and very a very independent thinker.

My fourth fandom would be MARVEL and I mean thereare so many characters how do I chose? Well if I had to I would choose either CaptainAmerica or Lady Sif. Both underestimated and want to do the right thing. Evenif they are not sure what the right thing is anymore.

4.    do you like your name?  isthere another name you think would fit you better? I do like my name. I find it veryfitting. Although I have always liked the name Mel, not Melody or Melony, justMel. She was a character in Digata Defenders and I loved her when I wasyounger.

5.    do you think of yourself as ahuman being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do? Kind of confusing but I will tryto answer… I believe for now I am a human being, just because I am young I havenot come to realize how I change and become a doer. I do stand by the things I do,if someone is being rude, I fight back, someone needs help, I help. I don’tbelieve in hiding who you are because you won’t have the full life experience youwant if you always have to hide a part of yourself.

7.    do you care about your ethnicity?I don’treally care, but I do care. I know what background I am, but I don’t know muchabout the history of my people (French and Scottish). I know more about my Scottishside because I Highland Dance, and I know a bit about my French side because I usedto live in Ontario, but to me it is not the ethnicity that makes my familyimportant, it is the people in the family. I actually rarely think about myhistorical background, and I only mention it when it is privy to aconversation.

9.    are you an artist? I would like to think so… Idabble in computer generated art and I try to draw, but mostly I do little claysculpture and tiny meticulous things like robotics. And if writing counts as anart than I am an avid writer and take great pride in my work!

11.  describe your ideal day. An ideal day to the lazy teenager inside me would beto get up and do nothing… but I guess I would wake up late morning, have a hotchocolate, scroll through my feed, email, messages, etc, then I would probably havesome lunch and spend the afternoon doing something with my family. In the eveningI would then do Sculpey (clay) or write or attempt to draw.

13.  inside or outdoors? I do enjoy both. I grew up where in the summer you would go swimming andhiking and in the winter you would ski and snowmobile and go snowshoeing. So Ido enjoy being outside doing things, doesn’t matter what. Although I do likethe idea of sitting inside wrapped in a blanket with a hot drink and a show orfanfic.

15.  five most influential books over your lifetime. Sadly I don’t read that much…but I would have to say Meg Cabot’s School for Teenage Spies series was veryinfluential. It taught me how a young woman could accomplish great things withthe proper training.

Other than that Goodnight Moon, the kids book,still influences me today. When I lived in Ontario my grandmother lived inAlberta, and every night she would phone me and read me this book. Then whenshe was in hospital I read it to her, and she read it to me when I was in thehospital. Even today, because my grandma grew up in a household that didn’treally say ‘I love you’, we say Goodnight Moon whenever we hang up or I leaveher place.

16.  if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d haveturned out the same? If thisquestion means like nature environment, I think personality wise I would be thesame, but I don’t know if I would enjoy the same things. Like the freshlyfallen snow in the morning or those cold frosted trees, or the heavy rain thatmade you realize how weird and wonderful the world is.

17.  would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”? Yes, I can honestly say it doesbecause everyone knows that on Tumblr there are no boundaries. You get toexpress who you are with no shame. Although to be fair I don’t hide who I am onany of my social media sites. You can see by these answers :P

19.  which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle? I don’t know Harry Potter but Ihave been called a Hufflepuff? And I just like that name.

21.  do you love easily? I do… I am a very naive person and I am very caring so I tend to investeverything I have into relationships, hoping to keep them alive, only to find outmost of the time the other person doesn’t feel the same way. Relationshipsbeing friend or potential love interest seeing as I have never had a bf. But there are those few who care just as much as I do

22.  list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.

1.Daydreaming, by far the thing I spend the most time on.

2. Probablythinking about or doing something pertaining to the Thunderbirds, kind of fitsin with the daydreaming thing.

3. Creating, either writing or sculpting ordrawing.

4. Watchingvideos… I have a lot of spare time on my hands

5. Mostlikely doing something else on my phone.

23.  how often would you want to see your family every year? With my immediate family (mom,dad, grandma) I am very close, so I would want to see them as often aspossible. I see my grandma about once ever week or so but I talk to her a lotmore than that and I would like that to continue if  I ever decide to moveout. :P

25.  could you live as a hermit? If that means alone… probably not for long. I enjoycertain human interaction, so as long as I am with the right people. Other peopleannoy me, most people annoy me… anyway...

27.  do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the“real you”? Yesbecause I don’t wear certain cloths to fit in, I don’t wear makeup to look overlyattractive and I don’t pretend around people. I dress for practicality and eventsand I don’t change who I am to feed the needs of the people around me. To quotePeggy Carter from Agent Carter, “I know my worth, anyone else’s  opinion doesn’t really matter.”

28.  three songs that you connect with right now. I don’t really feel like Iconnect to music, I just like music. If that makes sense. I don’t feel and emotionalattachment with music other than the odd motivational songs or just reallyupbeat songs. So I guess those songs would be Warriors by Imagine Dragons, WhoDo You Love by Marianas Trench and Waka Waka by Shakira.

[dippedanddripped]

A skinny, gap-toothed kid gesticulates wildly in the parking lot of Mike’s Drive-In in Oregon City. Short dreads stick up on either side of his head, like antennae to some alien planet. His friends, in the deep background, hang out of a silver Honda, goofing on one another. But it’s nearly impossible to take your eyes off the skinny kid, with his awkward dance moves and urgent facial expressions. He commands your attention. He needs it.

This is the video for Aminé’s persistently catchy “Caroline,” a half-sung, half-rapped summer anthem that went viral in 2016—the video has more than 200 million YouTube views, and the kid front and center is the artist himself. It’s Aminé’s best-known song, and for most music fans both within his home city of Portland and beyond, it represented the MC/singer/director’s colorful first impression.

Aminé—born Adam Amine Daniel, son of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants to Portland and a graduate of Benson High—had been around awhile before “Caroline” hit. His debut album, Odyssey to Me, appeared in 2014, though it has long been expunged from the commercial internet. It begins with a low-key prophecy: “I’m headed to my next show / I gotta go / Headed to that Madison Square / 25,000 fans in the air.” Then an accented female voice repeats “Adam, wake up.” It’s Aminé’s mother, coaxing him back to Portland obscurity. But it’s too late. The dream has taken root.

Aminé hasn’t played Madison Square Garden just yet, but he has definitely found a bigger stage. In 2017, the hip-hop magazine XXL included him in its influential Freshman Class, which functions as a sort of critical watchlist of stars in the making. Billboard and the New York Times both weighed in favorably, the latter calling his major-label debut, Good for You, “one of this year’s most intriguing hip-hop albums and also a bold statement of left-field pop.” The album sold 13,000 copies in its first week, debuting at no. 34 on Billboard’s US charts. After a set at Lollapalooza, Daniel posed for photographs with his arm around a new fan, Malia Obama.

Through sheer will and a catchy song, a colorful dream world became Aminé’s reality. From the outside, it’s like he came out of nowhere. That’s intentional. To become the next big thing in the music world of the late 2010s, you have to let the world in on the ground floor. That can sometimes mean recalibrating, or even erasing, your pre-fame history. All the way along, Aminé—who, through manager Justin Lehmann, declined to be interviewed for this piece and did not respond to requests for comment on this story—had boosters and collaborators. Some have come along for the ride. Some were left in the dust. This is the years-long story of Aminé’s overnight success.

Born in 1994, Aminé grew up in Northeast Portland. He’s said his biggest aspiration back then was “to be Kobe Bryant,” a dream dashed when he was cut from the Benson basketball team as a freshman. But he also grew up in a musical environment—he’s told interviewers his parents listened to everything from Ethiopian music to John Mayer—and music eventually became an obsession. In his first recorded performance, he told Vice in August, he rapped about girls and rival high schools over Waka Flocka Flame’s “O Let’s Do It.”

Josh Hickman, a thoughtful and soft-spoken 26-year-old, is three years Aminé’s senior. He also went to Benson and both ran track, but the two barely knew each other then. Three years after high school graduation, as Hickman began his senior year at Portland State University, he connected with Daniel, a PSU freshman, who messaged him about music.

“My first impression of Adam was that he seemed older than he was,” says Hickman, who spent his college years composing and producing rap music under the name Jahosh. “There was a determination, or a focus, that resonated with me. It probably goes back to track and field at Benson. We would work out six days a week. It really instilled me with this work ethic and discipline. So when I met Adam, I was just like, ‘Man this is dope. He’s just like me.’”

I was screaming to the moon, ‘Check out Aminé! He’s doing the thing! Are you guys paying attention?’

Daniel loaned Hickman money to buy a microphone and portable vocal booth, and they began writing and recording on a relentless schedule. “He would come over in the morning and he wouldn’t leave till night,” Hickman says. “But it didn’t even feel like work.” Daniel would give Hickman input on the beats; Hickman says he helped with song concepts and even lyrics. Together they created the first DIY Aminé release, a mixtape called Genuine Thoughts.

With help from PSU music students whom the charismatic Daniel had recruited along the way—including multi-instrumentalist Irvin Mejia, who would go on to produce “Caroline” and other songs on Aminé’s major-label debut—Hickman went on to produce the bulk of Odyssey to Mein his windowless recording studio in East Portland in late 2013. The album’s songs run from vulnerable, confessional slow-burners (“My Emotions”) to explicit sex jams (“Feelin’ Like”). It’s ambitious both sonically and conceptually: The cover art adapts the poster from Richard Ayoade’s 2010 cult film Submarine, about a small-town 15-year-old named Oliver looking to lose his virginity. The album echoes the film’s plot in places, and references its protagonist throughout.

By Odyssey to Me’s 2014 release, Aminé had picked up a few key supporters in Portland, including Fahiym Acuay, an MC and writer (under the name Mac Smiff) for the popular regional hip-hop blog We Out Here. Meeting Aminé for a video interview, Acuay remembers a funny, slightly shy kid who seemed unusually driven. “He knew that he was a little bit different,” Acuay says. “He had a really different sound—kind of playful—but he also had these really deep melodies.” Acuay became an evangelist for the young artist: “I was screaming to the moon, ‘Check out Aminé! He’s doing the thing! Are you guys paying attention?’”

IMAGE: COURTESY MARCUS HYDE AND REPUBLIC RECORDS

While local acts like U-Krew, Five Fingers of Funk, Lifesavas, and Cool Nutz have made some waves, Portland has never spawned a true national hip-hop star. Instead, we have a closed rap ecosystem with its own set of references, stylistic tendencies, and small-town kingpins. Portland rap artists tend to be judged more on their lyricism and verbal ability than on their melodic instincts or pop savvy. And on those fronts, Acuay notes, Aminé is no match for local mainstays like Illmaculate and Rasheed Jamal—battle-tested MCs with dense, intricate rhyme delivery. In fact, if Aminé had emerged a decade earlier, there’s a good chance he’d figure in the Portland hip-hop story as an eccentric side character, selling mixtapes out of his trunk at rap shows. But Aminé was born in a new era, where the home-burned CD has been replaced by lightly curated “mixtape” download websites that connect artists directly to a national audience, with no middleman and no local-cred hurdles to clear.

And Daniel knew how to work that system. He spent $1,000 of his student loan money to secure Odyssey to Me a spot in the featured albums section of Datpiff.com, a popular hip-hop mixtape-sharing blog that has served as a bellwether for artists like Drake and Chance the Rapper. By the end of summer 2014, Odyssey had reached 20,000 downloads. Daniel and Hickman found a promoter to take a punt on them—Ibeth Hernandez, who offered them a show at Peter’s Room in the Roseland, opening for critically acclaimed California hip-hop trio Pac Div. “It was so sweet,” Hernandez remembers of Daniel and Hickman. “They got me a thank-you card afterward, and it had, like, a Starbucks gift card inside.”

But the biggest payoffs came from shows Aminé and Jahosh booked for themselves. A few days after Christmas 2013, they threw a show marking Odyssey’s imminent release, hit social media hard, and drew 250. A party the next year drew 400, among them Blazers star Damian Lillard. His presence alone hinted that Daniel and Hickman had sidestepped most Portland hip-hop rites of passage. Not everybody would be happy about it.

But Daniel was making connections outside of Portland, too. In summer 2014, after landing internships with Complex magazine and Def Jam Records, he connected with a young, unestablished New York City manager named Justin Lehmann. To Hickman, something about the new arrangement set off alarm bells.

“I was with Adam from day one,” he says, “thinking, his success is my success and my success is his success.” Though he won’t dive into specifics—and allows for miscommunications—Hickman says he decided to get his handshake deal with Daniel into writing. Daniel refused. Hickman “got even more weirded out.” The partnership slowly unraveled, taking the pair’s friendship with it, and Hickman would later pull Aminé’s first album and the subsequent En Vogue EP from the internet, asking social media outlets and blogs to do the same. “It was my assumption that he would have most likely taken the music down himself, had I not,” says Hickman.

He was building this full package for himself. He didn’t just focus on Portland.

Aminé’s second full-length album—the excellent, world-music-inspired collection Calling Brio—proved that he was capable of making great music without Hickman. That too has been scrubbed from the web post-“Caroline,” along with videos and articles from 2014 and 2015, as has become standard practice for many indie artists who take on a major-label rebrand. Around the same time, Daniel texted Acuay to ask him to remove all the pieces We Out Here had written about Aminé from the site. Acuay reluctantly agreed. Later, when he saw a national piece on Aminé billed as “the first interview” with the young artist behind “Caroline,” Acuay admits, “I was kind of salty for a second. I had the first interview.”

Two years after Josh Hickman and Adam Daniel parted ways, Aminé struck gold with “Caroline.” The single and video led to a deal with Republic Records, a Universal subsidiary home to artists from Ariana Grande to Black Sabbath. While Daniel moved to Los Angeles in 2016, his official label bio still begins with “Now, Portland isn’t traditionally referred to as a hotbed of hip-hop like Brooklyn or Compton is, but Aminé could very well change that perception.”

For a moment, it appeared that Aminé might force the issue. In November 2016 on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, Aminé performed a striking and minimal version of “Caroline” with a string section. At the end of the performance, the yellow stage lights switched to red, white, and blue, and he delivered a message to the incoming president elected just days before. “You can never make America great again / All you ever did was make this country hate again.” It was a bold choice, one the Times and other outlets focused on. But Portland music fans noticed something else: two vocalists backing up Aminé were established players in the Portland scene, earthy R&B artist Blossom and inventive MC the Last Artful, Dodgr.

Acuay was watching that night. “It was so very Aminé. ‘I’m not going to do what everyone expects me to do.’ I was really proud of him. I remember thinking, he’s making us look good. He’s really holding it down for Portland right now.”

Publicly, “Go Aminé” is the party line in the Portland hip-hop scene, as well. But there is grumbling behind closed doors. A handful of artists and music scene staples contacted for this story declined to be interviewed about Aminé, or did not respond to requests. One artist formerly associated with Aminé indicated a reluctance to be seen as a hanger-on. A polite decline came from Nikolaus Popp, the prolific Portland director credited as the cinematographer and editor behind the “Caroline” video. Popp sent a somewhat cryptic statement: “Respect is everything in this world and that really goes for any human being. People will try to minimize you, but you always have to know your worth. Money doesn’t pay for respect, no matter the amount. It’s about how you treat people.”

In his first big national profile in the New York Times, Daniel used the phrase “super depressing” to describe his path through the Portland music scene, which the article’s author further characterized as “dead.” Aminé’s lyrical take on Portland has been bittersweet since his earliest songs. And on Good for You, he raps about coming home to find kids who bullied him calling him a hero. In the song “Turf,” he details the city’s gentrification in a mournful chorus: “I look around and I see nothing in my neighborhood / Not satisfied, don’t think I’ll ever wanna stay for good.” Another lyric speaks to those mixed emotions with even more clarity, and perhaps provides an explanation for the artist’s systematic eradication of the old Aminé: “I used to have dreams / Now I dream.”

I asked Vursatyl, one-third of the Portland crew Lifesavas—they released their debut, Spirit in Stone in 2003—if his group experienced a Portland backlash when they surfaced on the national radar. “The difference is we were really trudging it out in the local scene for a long time,” he says. “There were a lot of us trying hard to make it. Some of it was friendly competition, and some wasn’t. But everybody wanted to be the guy to put the city on the map.”

That city—before the gentrification of its North and Northeast quadrants—was a place where the black community was still somewhat centralized, and Aminé’s family home, off NE MLK and Dekum, sat at its heart. “There’s less of a sense of community now,” Vursatyl says. “And I think that, in the long term, Aminé would have benefited from what was the black community still being fully intact. He’s had an awesome journey and he’s doing great, but I feel like there’s a disconnect in terms of local pride in him. And you want that groundswell. You want to play to your base.”

But for Hernandez—who also booked Aminé’s first South by Southwest performance (“The whole showcase fell apart. It was a disaster, actually.”)—the fact that Aminé’s dreams were bigger than his hometown is exactly what made him stand out. “He didn’t make the rounds like other artists, but that’s OK,” she says. “He was building this full package for himself. He didn’t just focus on Portland. A lot of artists put themselves in a box, and that’s cool, but at some point you have to expand. I saw him expand at such an early point, and he’s still expanding.”

Where Aminé is expanding to is an open question. In interviews, he’s low-key and likable—the right mix of confident, humble, and self-deprecating. Critics praised Good for You as “honest” and “carefree.” Its impressive breadth spans from the floaty Frank Ocean-esque Auto-Tune ballad “Hero” to a curious diss track laid out over progressive, minimal electronic music, “STFU.” If anything, the album seems built—albeit on a solid pop-rap foundation—as a showcase for Aminé’s versatility in both sonic approach and personality. He’s a sensitive, brutally honest outcast on the molasses-slow “Sunday,” and a bitter ex-boyfriend on “Wedding Crashers.” Album closer “Beach Boy” spells out the MC’s thoughts on his own mutability: “Who knows what the future holds / I don’t, if the truth be told / They say play it safe, young soul / Fuck that, I’mma take control.”

Two years ago, taking control meant parting ways with Josh Hickman, now studying software development in Los Angeles and making music as a hobby. When he won an $18,000 scholarship for making a tutorial video about sampling, Hickman used a song he built for Aminé as the video’s source material. “I took it as a message from the universe or God that, hey, I got what I needed out of that situation,” he says. He hasn’t spoken to Daniel in years, he says, but he’s not bitter about the experience. “We had all these doubts,” he remembers. “We’d be in the studio just talking, saying, ‘Man, are we crazy?’ And it’s dope to see those doubts were unfounded.”

In October, Aminé posted a new video to YouTube, this time for his playful song “Spice Girl.” It hit one million views in three days. The video features a cameo from a childhood hero, from the first concert he ever attended: the Spice Girls’ Mel B. Like every artifact of Aminé’s newly rebooted career, the video is colorful, cinematic, and dreamlike.

The video also makes obvious what should have been clear all along: Aminé never had Portland dreams. He saw himself, a first-generation American-born citizen living in an unlikely corner of the country, playing Madison Square Garden. He saw himself in the company of stars.

Something familiar about the particular inflection Daniel gave the titular “Caroline” suggests she’s the same character André 3000 sang about 15 years ago, on Outkast’s smash-hit “Roses.” In Aminé’s later song “Veggies,” from his 2017 so-called “debut” album Good for You, he refers to himself as “André’s prodigy.” These tributes to the eccentric vocal genius and fashion icon who got every wedding party in America dancing to “Hey Ya” are rare signposts from an artist who seemed, to most fans, to “come out of nowhere.”

Just one year after he uploaded the “Caroline” video to YouTube, Daniel posted a street-corner selfie to Instagram. On the left, wide-eyed with his mouth forming a stunned “ooh,” is Aminé. On the right, Outkast’s André 3000.

Adam Daniel used to have dreams—now he dreams. And his most compelling characteristic seems to be that he’s living out his fantasies in the public sphere. But dreams, by their nature, are not collaborative. They are personal. One dream lived is always another deferred. It’s been clear from the moment “Caroline” hit YouTube that the skinny, gap-toothed kid in the front was going to stay there. It’s still anybody’s guess whom he’ll take with him.