#None of them have the face and morals to ask for votes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mayhenclairs · 9 months

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al amanecer

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Pairing: Miles Morales/Gwen Stacy

Rating: General Audiences

Description: Gwen really doesn’t like the fact that Rio doesn’t like her. Why not try learning Spanish?

Warnings: None, pure fluff

Word Count: 1,587

A/N: Miles speaking Spanish but written by an actual Spanish speaker so it doesn’t sound stupid 🫶🏽 Comments and reblogs are the loves of my life.

Masterlist & Read on Ao3!

The sky was shaded in different shades of pink, yellow and orange as the sun set over New York City on Earth 1610. Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales sat on the side of his apartment building, mostly in silence, simply admiring. It had taken quite a while and a lot of work for them to get to the place they are right now, with Miles trusting Gwen again enough to stay over in his dimension. Speaking of…

“In the spirit of honesty,” Miles spoke, interrupting their comfortable silence as they looked over the setting sun, “my mom really does not like you.”

Gwen’s head popped up from where it was resting on his shoulder, her expression shocked as she turned to face Miles. “What? Why not?”

“Well, for one, when you met her, you called her by her first name-”

“I helped save your dad’s life!” Gwen interjected, the pout on her face making Miles want to lean in and kiss her, but of all the things they had shared with each other in trying to mend their relationship, their feelings for each other remained unspoken.

“Yeah and you called him Jeff in the process!” Miles chuckled, wrapping his arm around Gwen’s shoulders as Gwen rested her head on his shoulder once again, still pouting, and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Okay, what else?” Gwen questioned, dreading the response. She hoped there wouldn’t be anything else, but Miles’ response was almost immediate.

“She says you look old enough to vote,” said Miles. Gwen didn’t miss the way he pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing, but she decided not to comment on it for the simple reason that she did not want to know what he found so funny about the situation.

Though she was slightly offended, Gwen’s reply came easily. “You should tell her time is relative.”

Miles barked out a laugh, not expecting that response. “Okay I’ll tell her,” he said, dropping his head on top of hers and allowing himself to bask in their closeness for a moment. Then, he added, “She doesn’t like that you can’t speak Spanish.”

Again, Gwen’s head shot up, but this time the look in her eyes was determined. “So teach me!” she instructed. She looked like it was the best idea she had ever had (which Miles seriously doubted). Her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm and her smile was unbearably wide. Distantly, Miles thought about how glad he was that the two of them could smile that way with each other again.

“No,” he responded, shaking his head but smiling privately at her sudden excitement.

“Come on, Miles, I really want your mom to like me. Pleeease,” Gwen begged, eyes wide and pleading and donning an over-exaggerated pout.

“You know I got a ‘B’ in Spanish, right?” Miles questioned, remaining wholly unconvinced. He watched as Gwen clasped her hands together pleadingly and jutted her bottom lip out even more and gave her a playful shove.

“Are you fluent?” Gwen asked, eyebrow arching as she saw him open his mouth to respond.

“... Yes,” Miles admitted begrudgingly, unable to keep his smile to himself. Gwen’s radiant smile was payment enough for how much work he’d inevitably have to put into teaching her an entirely new language.

“Then I don’t care what you got in a high school class. Those classes teach the colonizer’s Spanish-”

“How much time have you been spending with Hobie recently?” Miles snickered at her argument. Gwen waved a hand in front of her face as if motioning the question away.

“- and I wanna learn your Spanish,” Gwen continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. “Please, please, please, please - I’m not gonna stop until you say yes - please, please, please pl-”

“Fine! Fine! Just stop it!” he laughed, tensing for a moment as Gwen threw herself into his embrace. Her soft blonde hair tickled the side of his face as she buried into the crook between his neck and his shoulder.

“Yes! Thank you!” she yelled excitedly, unaffected by Miles’ sudden stiffness, though she smiled to herself as he relaxed and allowed himself to wrap his arms around her.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he whispered to her, burrowing his nose into her hair, “This is gonna get really annoying really fast. How much do you know?”

“I take Spanish in school,” Gwen started to explain, but she was cut off by Miles holding up a hand.

“That means nothing to me. How much do you know?” He had seen plenty of people cheat their way through a Spanish class. It was as easy as hiding their phone under their thigh and going on Google translate while the teacher had their back turned.

“I know some! …On paper,” Miles gave her an unimpressed look which clearly told her to tell him the whole truth. “I know how to introduce myself,” she admitted begrudgingly.

“Okay, do it,” Miles ordered, waiting patiently and mentally preparing himself not to laugh at what was sure to be the worst Spanish had ever heard.

“Hola, me llamo Gwen,” she mumbled, not daring to meet his eyes. Miles had not prepared himself enough. Still buried in Miles’ arms, Gwen could feel his chest shaking with contained laughter and swatted his back.

“It’s not funny, asshole! I’m trying!” she insisted, trying and failing to contain her own laugh as Miles’ burst from his lips. “You try learning a whole new language, see how smart you sound!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Miles responded, though he didn’t sound sorry at all. His words could hardly be understood through his boisterous laughter, and one of his hands unraveled itself from around Gwen and instead clutched his own side where he was getting a stitch from laughing so hard. “I hope you’re not tired because we have to start from scratch.”

Gwen was tired. Reluctant as he was, Miles was a very dedicated teacher. It was still the same night, or rather, morning as it was now sometime around five a.m. She was now lying on his bed, her head hanging off the side with the pink tips of her ponytail tickling the ground.

“Give me a break, Mi! I didn’t ask to learn the whole language in one night,” she groaned as Miles took both of her hands in his and pulled her into an upright sitting position once again. “I wanna go to sleep!”

“Come on! Do you want my mom to like you or not?” he urged, sparing Gwen a grin when she glared at him.

“‘Course I do! It’s really important to me! But it’s so late.” As she ended her complaint, she slumped forward, her head resting in Miles’ lap. Her next statement was muffled by the material of his pants. “This is pointless, she's never gonna like me! She’s too overprotective of you!”

“She might like you!” Miles pressed, pushing her back up. At this point it was a bit like fighting to keep one of those inflatable tube men from the car dealerships to remain upright, as she flopped backward into her original position.

“Oh yeah, how’s that?” Gwen questioned, her hands covering her face, palms rubbing tiredly at her eyes. Behind her, through the window, thin beams of sunlight began shining through the window and basked Gwen in warm yellow light.

She looked so beautiful, he spit it out before he could even think about it. “Because I like you.”

This time, Gwen did not pop up. Instead, she rose slowly, her eyes searching for any sign that he might have been joking. “I like you too, Miles.”

She felt as though they were moving in slow motion as their faces moved closer together. Just as they were about to kiss, Miles pulled away. “How do you say it in Spanish?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Gwen deadpanned, sending him an icy glare directly in contrast to the pleasantly happy look in her eyes.

“How do you say it?” he repeated incessantly.

“Me gustas,” Gwen relented, her smile brilliant as she began leaning in again.

“How do you say I love you?” Miles murmured against her lips the moment before they touched.

“Te amo,” Gwen whispered, nuzzling her nose into his.

“Te amo, mi tesoro,” Miles whispered in return, placing a hand on her face and finally pulling her into a kiss. The kiss was far from perfect, neither of them had ever kissed anyone before, they were both abundantly nervous, and Miles was pretty sure that at some point he bit her, but it was perfect to both of them.

Miles broke that kiss for one second and breathed, “Hermosa.” Kiss. “Linda.” Kiss. “Reina de mi corazón.” Kiss, kiss, kiss.

They stayed that way until they fell asleep, Gwen’s head cushioned on Miles’ chest, their breaths rising and falling peacefully.

This was how Rio found them when she checked on them after getting for work. Despite her initial dislike for the girl, she couldn’t help but smile at the small smile gracing her son’s face even in his sleep. Feeling an intrusion, Gwen stirred, barely lifting her head from Miles’ chest and squinting blearily at the door, relieved to find only his mother standing there.

“Buenos días, Señora Morales,” she muttered tiredly, eyes fluttering back closed as she rested once again.

“Buenos días, Gwen,” Río replied quietly, smiling down at the couple. Later in the morning, Gwen swore the kiss she felt on her forehead was in her dream, and decided not to mention it.

#across the spiderverse #ghostflower #gwen stacy #gwiles #miles morales #miles morales x gwen stacy

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shrublike · 1 year

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Oh, hey! I was the one talking about Lesson 16 like a month ago. I got memory problems and forget usernames the second I close a tab, heh. Just rediscovered your blog after clicking on the salty Lucifer pic and realized you responded to my ask.

I think that while Barbatos agreed with Diavolo's actions, he knew that it wasn't going to lead to a happy outcome for the prince (earns the respect of the Devildom, but loses his most trusted friend, and either has to harden himself in a way he doesn't want to or be haunted by the question, "did I do the right thing?").

Diavolo didn't want to kill Belphegor, but he couldn't just let him leave without appearing weak or like he considered his inner circle above the law every other demon followed on pain of death.

If he freed Belphegor, the demon would actively inspire other demons to rise up against him and try to overthrow him or launch genocidal attacks on innocent humans. Humans are like hunter's game to demons, and many demons don't want their delicacy becoming a protected species or a moral dilemma ("these creatures are innately less valuable than I am, and therefore it is reasonable to sacrifice them for my needs" vs "this person is worth the same as I am, so is the pleasure I get from killing them worth their life?").

It's easy to forget because he is so laid-back and friendly, but Diavolo lives in a strength-based hierarchy (hence why Satan is the 4th oldest when he is younger than Belphie, the 7th oldest). If he appears weak, then he will become prey to the opportunistic. Aside from challenges to his power, he could potentially face civil war as all of the demons begrudgingly following him, no longer consider him strong enough to respect and want to return to the ways of his ancestors.

While I believe the idea to send MC back in time was Diavolo, Barbatos's permission to use his powers to find a peaceful solution was likely given a broad interpretation by the demon, and he arranged the timelines on his own. Diavolo likely intended for MC to return with the revelation that they were related to Lilith, but it still wasn't an ideal outcome for him because Belphegor would resent him for locking him up without even considering his views.

So Barbatos adjusted things and found a solution that left Belphegor with the most favorable attitude towards Diavolo that they could hope for and pushed that nasty bit of attempted-treason under the rug where none but the prince's most trusted could find it.

Diavolo trusts Barbatos implicitly, so if the butler said "this is the best way", he would agree without hesitation and allow him to tidy up and cancel the timelines as he sees fit.

Diavolo: *doesn’t want it to seem like his inner circle is above the law*

also Diavolo: *sweeps his bestie’s brother’s first degree murder charge under the rug*

he’s lucky the mc doesn’t have the option to hold a grudge cause they could single-handedly start their own civil war with that lmao

I like that you mentioned the civil unrest tho, I’d be so interested for that sorta thing to be shown!! beyond Mephisto just being all “ugh stinky human peasant >:(“ only to warm up a lesson later 🙃

Diavolo literally made his government out of fallen angels - which we know people like Mephisto don’t approve of - only to chuck a human in the mix further down the line, seemingly all without a public vote!! their qualifications are that they’re his buddies, that’s it!!!

can you imagine if that happened in reality?? there would be uproar, and I wanna see that!! I wanna see how the public reacted to the brothers and how they’re reacting to the mc!!!! GIVE ME THE RIOTS!!!!!

p.s. are you a fic writer, nonnie? something about your typing style gives me writer vibes 👀

#this is what you get when you put a himbo in charge #disclaimer: this is a diavolo loving household #i simply crave chaotic realism #ask #obey me

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meadow-dusk · 2 years

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I don't even know how to begin this, so I'm just gonna start writing. I owe so much of making it through the past two years to this group of humanitarian activists who happen to be talented musicians. It might be maturity, the cultural climate, or some combination of both, but I feel confident in saying that I have never felt as much solidarity with a group as I do with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (affectionately, CSNY 💕), musically or otherwise. That goes a long way, apparently, because hanging onto hope and shared beliefs becomes so important when it feels like everything else is crumbling away. I've gone through a lot of changes lately, but so has everybody, and that's just...the way it goes. Through grace or through chance or through something in between, we sometimes find something to cling to in order to get through it and give it meaning. I don't know what the meaning is yet, but I'm so grateful I had them around to help me learn how to ask the right questions.

When this started out, I used to marvel at them technically: I'd listen to the intricate intervals between them and follow along with my own made-up harmony line, then fall out of the chord and stumble right back in, eager to get it right the next time (sometimes I even did!). A novice, I'd pick up my guitar and try to recreate their magic in a small but meaningful way, and sometimes I'd feel it physically, growing in intimacy with the music they'd created. I'd memorize their voices and accents and mentally assign adjectives to their timbres and tones to be able to identify them more easily (that didn't take too long). I'd take them each for a solo spin and try to feel out their songwriting for what they were each "all about." I would have moments of immediate connection, lyrical epiphanies, and self-realization over and over again. At some point, it's not a coincidence.

A big factor was that, for the first time, my own political sentiments were being echoed in the music I was immersed in. Their observations on their own times resonated with mine: maybe the names and faces were different, but the issues largely the same. In the modern-day, they still stand up for their beliefs, champion their causes, and set strong examples for us (I remember Graham's Songs for Beginners and CSN's debut both displaying a "VOTE" sticker on Spotify for all of October 2020. As of this post, none of them are even on that platform anymore, of course due to their moral stances on misinformation and the responsibility of public figures & corporations for the greater good of public health). In the months that followed those initial encounters, I felt them slowly beginning to replace the standing champions of my musical soul. I all but handed it over entirely when I found out they could do the electric stuff just as well as the acoustic (a guitar/guitar "call and response" is the stuff of dreams for me 😍). I held out officially, but as month after month ticked by, the interest didn't fade, it only grew and deepened.

And now they're my favorites. I can't even call them a proper "band," because they aren't. They're a glorious mess of complicated interpersonal relationships and [in]compatible personality dynamics that yielded consistently fantastic music. They're the dysfunctional nexus of great tributary bands and interwoven offshoots. They're a supergroup of super singer-songwriters with complementary messages and means of expression. They're the inflection point for Neil, who became my companion in emotional awareness, self-discovery, and self-acceptance (a story for another day, or perhaps one I've told before 😉). They're the musical expressions of natural human desires for justice, simplicity, peace, and love.

So for the next month, I invite you all to celebrate with me the 3rd annual installment of "CSNY July," as it has been known in my heart and soul since I first opened my life up to them exactly two years ago today. I'm gonna be pretty obnoxious about it, so thanks for being with me on the journey. And thanks to David, Stephen, Graham, and Neil for starting it all and showing me that it's good to shake things up every once in a while.

#yaaaay tagging all of them 💕#David Crosby #Stephen Stills #Graham Nash #Neil Young #CSNY #Crosby Stills Nash & Young #CSNY JULY

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crimsoncircle2 · 5 months

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Losing Sensation / Shisa / Trial 5.3

"Gia! What are you doing?!"

The moment he sees her expose her hand, Shisa practically trips over himself trying to get to her as fast as he can, paying no attention to anyone else in the room.

"You don't - you don't have to show them anything! It's not - "

But as she poses that question, the realization creeps up on him quickly - it's too late. They've seen it all. His breath quickens and he can feel the edges of his vision start to blur. If it weren't for the fact that he had heard a certain something, he would have lost his grasp on reality altogether. Ah, but he hears it so clearly…

"Little sister?"

His head slowly turns, his eyes fixating on Transgressor in sheer disbelief.

"You're trying to make this about family?"

As if he wouldn't be the first to know what that would feel like. It's almost laughable - he can't help but wonder what people think when they see him and Gia together. If they think it was just some easy little thing for him to let her into his life, as if he hadn't spent the past 10 years clawing his way out to her side. He has to wonder - do they really think she means less to him than their relationships mean to them?

"You - you're delusional, do you know that? You're the last person who should be talking about 'the right decision'. If it's so easy to admit to something and let yourself get executed, why haven't you done it yet? Tell me. You could have killed the person you hated the most here and confessed to it, then Murphy would still be alive. Right? So why didn't you?"

It's all hypothetical, of course - even now, he never would have thought this to be the correct course of action. But if they're talking morals -

"None of us should have to do that. You've been saying it yourself - the only person who's actually responsible for this is Leviathan. What happened? Does it change just because you like Murphy more than everyone else?!"

There's no good in antagonizing anyone. Maybe he could still win them over if he put on an act pitiful enough, if he cried and sobbed and begged. But as he watches the votes tally up, the pressure in his head keeps building - Why them? Why them? Why them? - and he feels every awful, nasty thought tear its way out of him.

"Was I just supposed to leave her there then? Murphy - she went down there by herself, and she did it knowing what could happen. But - but if I had let her go down herself and let Jasper kill her, it would still be my fault, wouldn't it? What did you want me to do?! If you all wanted to die for her so bad, then where WERE you?! Why does Gia have to be the one to pay for it?!"

He squeezes his eyes shut, not wanting to see the way Gia might be looking at him now.

"It's - it's not fair! MURPHY was the one who started attacking first! The SOS message was never even from her - it was from me!"

…there's a silence that follows, in that stillness, he realizes what it actually is that hurts him the most. His face pales and fades into a hollow stare.

"Ah…"

He feels every sensation leave his body.

"Gia…"

His hands reach up and grip the edge of her sleeves, his fingers trembling as they curl into the fur of her coat. If he had never sent the distress signal, if he had never asked for her help -

"Gia…what did I do? I…I'm going to get you killed…I…"

He goes quiet now, the strength visibly leaving his body as his arms go slack and his head hangs from his shoulders.

There's no more anger, or sorrow. Just the numb acceptance of knowing that he will soon lose everything, and it will be his fault.

#submission #shisa #trial #ch5

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perfectimperfectionblog · 2 years

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What People Think of me is None of my Business

Strong, capable, self assured, resilient, inspiring - these are the adjectives to which I aspire to be described. Victim, weak, inept, naïve, incapable - all adjectives that I’d never want to hear from my mind, my thoughts, or the lips of another. Doesn’t mean I haven’t. However, what people think of me is none of my business. I’m not a victim, I will never claim to be a victim, and frankly where there is ever a ‘sob’ story on a reality TV show that person will never get my vote. We might not have control over what happens to us, not completely, but every action or inaction creates a consequence - positive or negative - to which we then ascertain full control over how we respond. We all have our issues, our demons, our ghosts, our shadows, our challenges - who’s to say that any one persons problems hold more weight than another? Most of the time we don’t know what another person is truly going through, and unless we are perfect (hot tip no one is), then we really have no right to judge. As Jordan B Peterson puts it, ‘Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.’

Here is a philosophical scenario for you. You’re on a Country road and it’s dark as night with not a single car in sight. You come up to a set of traffic lights which have turned red, indicating that you need to stop for all intents and purposes - abiding by the rules of the road. No one is around. You’re practically deserted. There’s no red light camera - so what do you do? Do you stop for the red light and wait patiently for it to turn green, or do you continue on? No one gets hurt right? So what’s the harm? Here is another, deeper, philosophical consideration. 4 hikers get caved in and are without food for 7 days. As they grow weaker and weaker they discuss ways in which they could survive and the only likely probability is to eat one of them. The 4 eventually agree, but who makes the ultimate sacrifice? In this story the group decides who will be killed and thus successfully executes the plan. They eat one of their own and survive, however when they’re eventually rescued they are charged with murder. Is that fair? Is that just? They were going to die anyway, so isn’t it better that in this scenario 3 out of 4 survived? But who were they to ever make that judgement? Why did they get to determine who didn’t survive? So in this very situation, ask yourself, what would you do?

‘As Hamlet said to Ophelia, “god has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” The battle between these two halves of identity... who we are and who we pretend to be, is unwinnable. “Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every person. One that we reveal to the world and another we keep hidden inside. A duality governed by the balance of light and darkness, within each of us is the capacity for both good and evil. But those who are able to blur the moral dividing line hold the true power.” Can we control who we fall in love with? I suppose the answer is subjective, but ultimately if the innate answer is no then surely we can embody the willpower to not act on our thoughts and feelings? When of course, separating thought from action is merely what separates man from beast. Why do people step out on a significant other? I’ll let you in on the simplest answer out of a multitude of complex one’s - it’s a breakdown in communication. We are all emotional beings who want to be heard and the moment we feel as though we no longer are is the moment the relationship crumbles. When people fail to communicate effectively, suddenly the respect starts to diminish and all of a sudden too much love is lost. Sometimes it’s repairable, other times things get to a point where the people in question are merely too far apart to be able to come back together and salvage what they once had.

The only constant in life is change. Even if we were in a position to be with our sweethearts for the entirety of our lives, the relationship would still change along the way. Sometimes this change happens together, sometimes it can’t possibly. Despite our brains having fully developed by the age of 25, we are still susceptible to influence and impression. We can still change our minds - and this includes what we want out of life - which is where the term ‘mid life crisis’ comes from. So here is some food for thought... why do we deem this to be a bad thing? Who decided it was a ‘crisis’ and marred it with such a negative connotation. Change is uncomfortable, sure. But this is only at the beginning and if we don’t take steps to grow into the person or people we want to be, then we will stay stuck in an unhappy situation and a mundane life will be our reward. More often than not, if you aren’t moving in the direction of growth then the universe will orchestrate a way to make sure you do. We have the answers and the tools within us already, but too often it’s fear that holds us back. We pretend, we put on the other face and we tell ourselves the biggest lie of all - that we are doing the right thing, but ultimately.... says who?

I am guilty of losing myself to my emotions more than I care to admit. Blurring that moral line and being two people is something I have been guilty of in my past. Compartmentalising and understanding that nothing is as it appears on the outside has been a recurring theme in my life and frankly, who even decided what is right, wrong, black, white, good, bad or otherwise as human beings anyway? True alignment is when you find the balance between chaos and order. There has to be order or else there would be hell on earth. But if something feels right, even if the ‘action’ is perceived as wrong, then we need to trust that we know what ‘our’ right means. A good person can do a bad thing and still be a good person, the point is being able to determine, and live with, which one you are. Too often lack of trust is what breeds fear which is what results in bad behaviour. Lack of trust further breeds insecurity and not only leaves you doubting someone you love, but worse, it leaves you doubting yourself. We are incredibly complex creatures and we always will be, but no one gets to decide who you are. Personality is who people ‘think’ you are. Your character is ‘who you are’ and it’s only you who gets to decide who that is.

You think you know me? How could you possibly know me when I’m still learning who I am? I learn new things about myself every day, we all do if we are awake enough to pay attention. Each and every one of us has the ability to be a better person than we were yesterday... and if we were our best selves yesterday, we can still find a way to be better again tomorrow. So who do we need to be better for? Sleep in Peace when day is done is my favourite line from Michael Bublé's classic, ‘Feeling Good’. It’s only us, and whatever god we prescribe to, who knows our karmic ledger and being that karma is a human invention anyway, if you go to bed at night knowing in your heart that you’re a good person with good intentions, then no one should be able to convince you otherwise. No one other than you walks in your footsteps, feels the rain on your skin and knows what truly lies in your heart. We cannot know with complete certainty the intentions of another, which is why it’s so important to have conviction over our own. It’s never nice to hurt someone, but we should always be choosing honestly. We need to hurt people with the truth over choosing to comfort them with a lie! Perhaps this lie comes with good intentions because we know it would break our heart to hurt someone that we care about, but all we are really doing is lying to them and lying to ourselves… in conclusion, nobody wins.

So who am I? I am someone who doesn’t enjoy being the ‘centre of attention’, yet somehow I find myself in the middle of it all. I have always been, and probably always will be, talked about. Why? Because I’m threatening. I am strong, capable, self assured, resilient and inspiring. Arrogant? No. Confident? You bet. Has this ‘me’, right here right now, been a result from years of people pleasing tendencies, abuse, saying yes to things that I didn’t want to do, loss of friendships, relationships, death, birth... life? All of the above - I’ve lived it all! I wrote a book in high school about the formative years that I was right in the middle of living. The rumours that went around in school behind my back were enough to fill a novel from front to back. Yet somehow, even in mid 30′s, we never truly escape high school. People will judge you before you’ve even had the opportunity to introduce yourself, it’s how we are wired. The key is to learn to take nothing personally.

People will always talk, judge, project, assume, assasinate, ridicule. If you approach me and say it like it is then you have my respect. If you seek to understand then you have my respect. I’ll admit, my receptivity to feedback isn’t always positive as I’m a social introvert which means I need time to reflect, assess and work out how feedback - good, bad or otherwise, sits with me. How is it different to my truth? How much do I respect the opinion of the person providing the feedback? What is the intention behind the feedback? How much weight does the feedback actually hold? What are the facts? So much to consider...! But if your opinions are made up primarily of that of another then it holds no weight in my heart or my mind. If someone you are close to has an issue with another person for whatever reason, you don’t have to be their best friend, but you only have one - very biased - side of the story and I doubt you would like to be judged upon a half truth with no ability to defend yourself.

This past two years I have never been more challenged when it comes to my character. When it comes to my self-worth, self assurance and faith. My morals and my integrity. Did I let the opinions of others in? Get to me? Hurt me? Cause heartache, tears, doubt, guilt? Yes! Absolutely I did. You can be the most resilient, self assured person... but words tend to have an unconscious effect and although I continue to bounce back time and time again, backing myself with the conviction around the person I know myself to be, I feel as though it’s ok to doubt yourself on occasion because it’s indicative of where you are privy to ridicule, manipulation, suggestion and exactly where you are not healed. This kind of doubt will highlight where there’s still work to be done. It’s a gift and it is all dependent on how you choose to see, view and receive feedback. Feedback is feedback. Feedback is everything and feedback is nothing. It’s your decision.

My last blog exposed the red flags of every single partner I’ve endured across my dating life and a good friend of mine challenged the fact that nowhere in that blog did I speak of my own red flags. That, right there, is valuable feedback! It allowed me to see that I was speaking from one side and not one of those men were solely to blame for the relationship breakdown. Not to mention they have no platform to defend themselves. Whether it was my lack of backbone to speak up when I knew someone was cheating, whether it was my cowardess to speak up to my mother, whether it was my incapability to demand respect from someone I was sharing my life with, then I am equally accountable. I know when an action, or inaction, of mine doesn’t align with my true self because of how I feel afterward. It could be fear, guilt, embarrassment, sorrow, frustration, resentment - all of which could have been prevented had I learned how to communicate properly.

Communication is, and always will be, key to any relationship. I am still learning how to master my own communication and use my voice without over communicating. The positive from my learnings is that I realised I needed to communicate better, the further learning is that now I perhaps communicate too much in the sense that not everything has to be addressed when a lot of my thought patterns are purely projections, doubt, fear of lack of trust which are all within my own capability to control and master. I am a person who feels irrevocably deeply. I wear my heart on my sleeve, right there in plain sight, ready to be taken advantage of. Despite continually being shown otherwise I have always chosen to see the good in people and have tried my very best to bring the best out in a person and nurture that part of them. One of my toughest life lessons is coming to the frigid realisation that not everyone has the same heart as I do which means, not only will another person be incapable of loving me at the depth that I love them, but I am also setting that person up for failure the moment I place any kind of expectation on them to match that love. My love is my love, rare, loyal, unique, deep, vulnerable, raw. No one can love like I do, they can only love like they do.

On the back of the traumatic events that lie deep within my psyche, I had to grow up fast. When I lost my mum in my early twenties, I had to grow up even faster. Whether this be how I was conditioned, a learned behaviour, a mastered behaviour - I’ve never lived in a world that is completely black and white. I’ve been a law breaker, a risk taker, a heart breaker and before ‘yolo’ was even a concept I was always living in the moment. I respected order, don’t get me wrong. I’m an over achiever and thrive off of positive recognition when it comes to my work or how I show up in my friendships. I love being told that I’ve helped someone, or made a difference in someone’s day, week, life! However whilst I tend to live in alignment between order and chaos, sometimes the scale tips and I need to master myself to ensure that I find my way back to true balance. I was fifty shades before anyone had even heard of Christian Grey.

I’ve made too many mistakes in my life to count but it’s hard to live with regrets when every mistake I’ve made has been with good intentions. Not once, not ever, have I set out to intentionally hurt another person. I have one of the purest hearts imaginable, I can feel it within my being. The darkness that follows me from my childhood could’ve consumed me, hell... it still could! However I am incredibly passionate about moving forward toward a better life for myself and although I know with every fibre of my being that my experience is the very reason I will never bare a child, I understand that I could break the abusive pattern - but only when I am fully healed and I can’t be sure if that will ever come to fruition. My priority is to make sure that I continue to heal my own inner child so that I can help others do the same and the only way I will be able to do that is by continuing to follow my heart, trust with all I have and risk getting hurt in the process. Anything else is not living.

My purpose and my contribution in this world is not about ‘what’ I do, it’s about ‘who’ and ‘how’ I am. It’s about my connections and the vibrations that I put out into the Universe within every single relationship that crosses my path, past, present and future. It is the difference I can make in the heart of another that means everything. I will rewrite my story at 35 and again at 50 if I have to. Following my heart is how I stay true to who I am and I will not make apologies for that. I will never intentionally set out to hurt another person but I will intentionally set out to love another person with all I have. To me, that’s worth all of the adversity and I’m the one who gets to make that decision. I’m the one that has the power over who I am and no one on this earth has the ability to take that away from me. I’m the writer of my life… and this story is far from over.

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missskzbiased · 3 years

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Betting Big

Summary: As the one and only Seo Changbin, you would never think that you would be willing to pay for someone to go out with you. At least not until you met her. To be honest, not even after you met her but here you were now… Agreeing with splitting the money from a bet that you never made… And all this for what? Just to get a chance to make her fall for you

WC: 1,5 K

Genre: Romance, Fluff

AUs: High School, Fake Bet

Pairing: Seo Changbin X Fem! Reader X ???

Rebloggable Masterlist // Main Masterlist // Tag List

Warnings: none

Notes: This is in “Changbin’s POV” although written as Self-insert

This is going to be a miniseries, I guess. I’m not sure how many chapters I want to make. I’d like if you guys could vote on this:

Minho as BFF to lovers for the Triangle

Han as Friends to lovers for the Triangle

No Love Triangle at all

///

Everyone but you wanted to be the popular guy.

Not because you were above things like wanting to fit on the wild battlefield that high school was or because you didn’t need people’s approval to feel like a whole person, and even less because you hated being under everyone’s eyes… No. You were petty enough to admit that you loved the attention. The reason why you weren’t like everybody else was that you were the popular guy that everyone wanted to be. That’s right… You were what every single one of those kids wanted to become and you didn’t need to do anything to have your way.

At least, that was what you believed exactly thirty seconds ago.

The silent pause following your invitation wasn’t expected, and neither was the way her judgmental eyes scanned you from head to toes. There was this foreign feeling of being embarrassed, and that sudden urge to shrink and hide from the crowd that you didn’t allow to show on the surface. You were too cool for this. So you settled for clearing your throat, leaning on her table in what you hoped to be a flirty way, and glanced at your friends’ table in search of some sort of silent moral support that you were so in need of right now.

You could say that you weren’t the most subtle human being in the world or else her eyes wouldn’t have snapped right to where you were looking at. As the bunch of overly stealthy people that you definitely were used to be with popularity clogging your better judgment, the four of your friends stared right into her eyes; the expression of a deer caught in headlights plastered over their face. If you had any hopes of not humiliating yourself to that strange girl in the corner ─ who you happened to have a big, fat crush on for at least one year now ─, they were immediately crushed by your own best friends.

Very well.

At least, it couldn’t get any worse than this, right?

Then you learned the valuable lesson of not speaking too soon.

“You want to go out with me?” That wasn’t the kind of incredulous tone that was meant to hide one’s excitement… It was more like that bewildered contempt that one cannot hide at all.

She couldn’t even process the fact that you were bold enough to believe that the mere thought of dating you could ever have crossed her mind… And once more, the humiliation hit you like cold water coming directly from an angry, merciless waterfall. Was that how normal people felt in their daily lives? Jeez… It was so much better to be popular! How do those kids even handle that? Definitely not the life for you.

Your internal rambling had you missing the slow shift on her expression; rejection dissolving to give way to some kind of resigned interest: “How much?” She spoke up in curious confidence, and you must have been too lost on your thoughts because you had no idea of what she was talking about.

“Excuse me?” You blurted out ever so eloquently.

“How much is into this bet?” She asked as if it was the most reasonable thing in this world, and the lack of response had her scoffing, to further prove your point, “Really? You expect me to believe that the most popular guy in school would come all the way to my table, conveniently under his friends’ eyes, just to ask me out on a date with no second intention?” She raised her brows amusedly, chuckling at what seemed to be the best joke she had ever told anyone “Right” She huffed, crossing her arms and tilting her head to take a better look at you.

That was the moment of the truth.

You could either tell her that she misunderstood everything and explain how much you really liked her ─ which would put everything at risk because she clearly didn’t believe you could like someone like her ─ or you could play along with it and score a chance to win her heart on a date.

The answer seemed to be pretty obvious to you.

“Yeah, right” You laughed dismissively, pulling out the chair so you could sit down beside her. There was no sign of resistance in her face; moreover, there was a shimmering curiosity dancing in her expectant eyes, “You totally caught me…” You admitted grudgingly, shrugging to show her how much you didn’t care about it. Fun Fact: You actually did! And you would very much appreciate her to know that… Damn it! What the hell were you getting yourself into?! “So… Should we split it?” You suggested nonchalantly ─ just like the smooth son of a bitch you were.

“What about fifty-fifty?” She proposed shamelessly; face twisting in a funny expression that tried to say that she didn’t care about it either but giving it away that she did, “How much is in for me? Like… A hundred bucks or something?” She leaned back on her chair before shrugging, not willing to admit that she was interested in this.

“You’re good” You chuckled while nodding in agreement; mimicking her as you leaned back on your chair, “Sounds great, right? Getting a hundred bucks to date this hot stuff here?” You grinned as you gestured at yourself, getting nothing but an unimpressed look from her.

“Look, Changbin…” She began hesitantly “If we’re going to make this work, it might be better for you to let me do the talking, okay?” She smiled sarcastically, looking at you with a mix of… You weren’t even sure what. Was constipation considered a feeling? If so, she looked constipated by your existence, “I’m not gonna lie… I want the money, and as long as we don’t have to do anything stupid like kissing or having sex, I think I’m in” She simply agreed while looking into your eyes.

She had such pretty eyes… The most beautiful eyes you have ever seen… The type of eyes to hold so many emotions that you couldn’t help but wonder if those would ever be directed at you. Right now, you could see they were. However, the usually captivating trait wasn’t that heartwarming now… Not when there was nothing but pained resignation in them… Not when they made so damn obvious that she didn’t like you back… Not when they shift to sheer excitement to the sound of someone else’s voice.

“Hey” Was the single word that brought her to such a state of happiness; eyes twinkling and a genuine smile cracking on her face as she looked to the guy talking to her “What’s this?” He asked while gesturing to the both of you before squinting his eyes in suspicion “This table has always been our, shortie, fuck off” He scoffed; sitting down as if it didn’t even cross his mind that you could stand up against him.

“Short—?!”

“Shut up, Minho” She rolled her eyes, even though you could see the amusement in them, “He’s here to ask me out on a date” She clarified nonchalantly; eyes attentive to his reaction.

“Of course he is” He snorted, shaking his head in disbelief while poking his food.

“I am” You stated seriously while boldly offering him The Look, “Is that a problem?” You arched your brow in a silent challenge.

“I don’t know…” He dropped his fork; eyes connecting to yours with such a murderer intention that for a second you considered just playing it off as a joke “Is that a problem?” He asked back, studying your face.

Thank Lord you were a proud Leo or else the “No, Sir” on the tip of your tongue would have slipped just like that from your mouth. Instead, you just returned his glare, choosing to be silent so you would not show him how much he scared the shit out of you. The silent battle was promptly cut off by the damsel in distress herself, a not-so-subtle kick under the table that had Minho wincing on his seat.

“No, that’s not a problem” She stated firmly enough to end the discussion “I’m going out with him” Even though you were aware of that, it still made your stomach flutter.

“Okay” He said bitterly; lips twitching slightly “So that’s not a problem” He forced a smile, picking his fork and scrambling his food mindlessly.

“Great!” You offered her a bright smile, too excited to hide your true feelings.

“Great” She stated monotonously “So… See you later?” She arched her brows as if to say that it was time for you to walk away.

“Of course” You agreed promptly “I can walk you home later… So… We can arrange the details” You suggested hopefully, and she seemed to embrace the idea.

“Sounds like a date” She smiled.

“Yeah” You chuckled; rubbing your arm before waving at her and heading to your friends’ table.

Well… Getting a date: Checked.

Having your feelings reciprocicated: Hm… On progress?

First confession meeting any of your expectations: Hell no...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rebloggable Masterlist // Main Masterlist // Tag List

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#skz fanfic #skz x reader #changbin x reader #skz fluff #districtninewriters #changbin fluff #skz scenarios #skz imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids fanfic #seo changbin fanfic #changbin fanfic #seo changbin x reader #changbin scenarios #changbin imagines

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hermitcraftheadcanons · 3 years

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Hermitopia AU Conclusion

The last ask has been answered, the masterposts are complete, and (although art, writing, and Discord discussion are still accepted and encouraged) it is finally time to officially wrap up the Hermitopia AU! Because this was such a massive event - and no small thing to moderate - there will be a pause in blog activity for a day or so before the inbox will open for regular headcanons again. I apologize in advance for the wait!

In the mean time, I would just like to say: I am so, so thankful to everyone who participated in the AU. Your ideas and your creativity have made this blog a better place, whether you sent in one headcanon or dozens, and I am constantly in awe of the energy and enthusiasm of this community. Thank you, all of you, for making this universe we’ve created as vast and as interesting as it turned out to be.

Below are a collection of my own ideas, for those of you who like a satisfying (but still not entirely closed-ended) ending. These events take place as many days, months, or years into the future as you need them to make your own ideas work, and none of them are set in stone. You can take all of them, some of them, or none of them as truth if you want to...but either way, it has been an honour to build on a project like this one alongside you all.

And with that...the Hermitopia AU concludes! Finished, or barely begun, like so many good projects are. Have a great day everyone, and happy headcanoning!

- Mod Shade

"People of Hermitopia."

The man on the screen shifts, running a nervous hand across his bald head and squaring his shoulders. The broadcast quality is unstable, but it's more than enough for every citizen in the city to recognize who's speaking.

"This is your Concorp Branch Director, Cub. As I'm sure you are aware, I am the head of Project VEX in this city. You all know the VEX initiative as groundbreaking, life-saving, a shining success and a step towards a new era for humanity...and some of you may even see me as a hero for creating it.”

He closes his eyes, a brief look of pained remorse crossing his face. For a moment, he looks utterly defeated, almost small in the face of his impromptu audience of thousands...but finally, he fixes the camera with a steady gaze once more and begins the great unravelling.

“Maybe it was all those things, in the beginning. Maybe *I* was, once. But today, after far too long, I have some confessions to make...."

- For years, Cub had been desperately scrambling to hold the tatters of his life’s work together. Project VEX had started so well, and he had poured so much of himself into it, that when the failed experiments and rebellions became more and more frequent he was unable to accept a change of course. He covered up the project’s failings to maintain funding and public image, but mostly to maintain his own image to himself - that he was still the hero he’d set out to be and create at the project’s start. However, his denial was wearing on him heavily, and eventually he had a breakdown and decided to go public rather than keep drowning the city in lies.

- This breakdown was prompted by xB, who after his own moral breakthrough, confronted Cub and urged him to stop withholding knowledge and truth. xB also informed Cub of his own unknown truth - that the unintended power of his presence was the thing that was keeping the experiments successful when Cub was around. This was the final straw in breaking through Cub’s denial

- Along with Cub’s broadcasted speech, files were released to the media containing proof against most if not all of Concorp’s falsehoods. Many names were cleared of crimes that had been pinned on them, including Beef, Impulse, Doc, Cleo, and the majority of the other Unrestrained and Unaffiliated former VEX trainees that the company had tried to cast away

- Understandably, it took a very long time for the chaos to die down and all that information to be processed by society and the justice system. It may be years before the community can see some of their heroes in the proper light again, but at least they are now free to begin rebuilding their reputation without being labeled as villains and traitors.

- Those who actually did commit villainous acts are given a fair trial, with consideration for their motives and the new Concorp information as extra evidence

- The VEX program is withdrawn by Cub’s superiors and put under a strict review. It is reborn after a massive restructuring, with a new director, new limitations on what experiments can and cannot be attempted, and a greatly extended screening and training program to reduce the chances of graduates becoming villains. The new project will produce far fewer heroes with much subtler powers at first...but if that is the cost for the safety and stability of the city, then most people would agree that it is a small price to pay.

- Cub is not permitted to work on the new Project VEX in a management role, ever again. It’s a harsh blow for him, to have to watch his dream from the sidelines...but he knows he gave up the right to guide it when he abused the control that it gave him. At least his superiors allowed him something to do while he awaits trial: he is present (although guarded) at every new VEX trainee’s first experiment, lending his power to increase their chances of success.

- Mayor Scar resigned willingly. Nobody had enough evidence to accuse him of anything, and he didn’t plan on giving them a reason to look by trying to stay in office. Instead he chose to make his exit from both Concorp and government matters complete, at last. Or so he thinks. Who knows? Maybe he’ll learn what most of the people he’s helped to manipulate have already found out: that connections and old grudges don’t easily lose their grip.

- Scar is replaced by TFC, voted in by almost unanimous community support and funded by donations from all the people he’s saved over the years

- The greater Convex company offers a choice to the survivors of the old program: Come to work under their new, more honorable system, or take a generously large settlement and be free to build new lives

- Team ZIT declines the job offer, pooling their payment and using it to buy a shiny new base together for their independent hero venture. There are still a handful of real villains to fight, after all, and there are bound to be more once people start successfully copying Concorp technology. Now that Impulse is back at their side, they wouldn’t give up their roles saving the community for anything - but they’re done with being used by some guy behind a desk. From now on, justice and bravery will be their only guides!

- ...justice, bravery, and TFC, that is. He isn’t their boss by any means, but the more experienced hero does drop by often between his mayoral duties to make sure the youngsters stay out of trouble and in one piece.

- The nHo, according to all official records, took their settlements and split up, leaving Hermitopia far behind. However, Team ZIT suspects that the vigilante life hasn’t left them so easily. They’d be the last ones to report the odd sighting of a whipping vine or a distant masked figure, though - unregulated as they are, the nHo’s shady methods for a good cause prove useful from time to time. (And their base has really good tea. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit more than “the occasional sighting”...)

- Ren settles back into his meadow cabin, but after that massive release of info and a long, LONG period of processing, he now has Iskall, Stress, and Cleo as regular visitors. Every morning he wakes up and forgets for a moment that it’s real, that they’re really alive and with him again...but they are, and he is happier than he ever thought he would be again.

- Jevin and Mumbo visit the cabin occasionally. It took a while for Mumbo to get his memory back, but he now remembers all of his friendship with Iskall and Grian, and they come together for fun and shenanigans regularly with the rest of the cabin crew.

- Grian still spends his time looking for his clones, but honestly, he doesn’t mind. The adventure always did hold more meaning than the conclusion for him, and now, he has friends to help out!

- False disappears into thin air to wait out the fallout of Concorp’s information release. She snags herself a quiet job and a small apartment on the outskirts of town, fully intending to return to her mercenary work just as soon as the dust has settled...next week, maybe. Or the week after that. Or maybe, once the garden has been fully planted. She’s really enjoying having time for stuff like that now...but she’ll get back to work, really, she will! Soon.

- Joe and Cleo tearfully reunite through xB, and Joe becomes another frequent visitor to the cabin. Cleo also visits Joe’s base in the time exclusion zone, but she really prefers the cabin. Time skips are disorienting, and they make her want to sneeze.

- Keralis and Void come to an agreement. Xisuma isn’t entirely clear on what that agreement is - something to do with an allowance of cookies from Biffa’s bakery in exchange for not killing anyone - but he’s more than happy to be less sore and tired all the time.

Hermitopia is making progress. Real progress, this time - not just the breaking of humanity’s limitations, but breaking them with true heroic care, with the good of everyone in mind. There are some hurts that will never fully heal, mistakes that can be learned from but not undone, and yet...now there is a path, a way forward. It won’t be easy, but a kind and gentle future waits for them, welcome and well deserved. They will figure it out, together.

And together, they will step forward, into the new world that each of them has helped to create.

#hermitopia au #announcement #sort of #I know this is long; and not all of it is my best work; but I hope you'll find some of it worthy of canon #or at least inspiring to your own personal version of events #both hermitopia masterposts will be added to the masterpost of AUs in the normal pinned post #you'll still be able to access them #most importantly; I hope this event was fun for all of you #that's all there is to it; really. that's the point. :)#again; thank you

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themadamespod · 3 years

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The Great White Gripe

A lot has been said about the “social commentary” within The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

“Since when is Marvel a bunch of SJWs? I don’t need this shit.”

“All this race stuff feels SUPER forced.”

“Oh here we go Marvel tryin to be all woke to get the libs on board.”

If you personally know anyone who spews this brand of ignorance, we’re sorry.

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: there is no social commentary on TFATWS. Showrunner Malcolm Spellman and director Kari Skogland simply show the reality of life in America. It’s not their fault that so many (white) people (men) don’t like looking in the mirror.

And some people claim they have no problem with film and television addressing politics and social change.

“Just keep it out of my comic book movies. It doesn’t belong there.”

They could not be anymore wrong, even if Chandler Bing himself was lecturing them.

If you asked 100 people to name the top ten movies of all time, you’d get 100 different lists. But one thing we can all agree on is that film has power. It has the power to move us, to divide us, to unite us. Entertainment can lead to the kind of discourse that prompts action and positive change.

And that’s why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the conversations it’s sparking are so important.

One World, One Reality

“Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window.” - Stan Lee

There are two takeaways from that statement:

One: Stan Lee didn’t say that in the 1960s, 1970s, or even the 1980s. He said it in 2017.

Two: Our window, not your window, is a subtle but important distinction, particularly as it relates to TFATWS. The Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau, live by a simple creed: “One world, One people.” The core message of the show is that white Americans and Black Americans experience the world very differently, but there’s still only one world, one reality.

It’s just a matter of people opening their eyes and seeing it.

TFATWS is an extension of Marvel’s early support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Stan Lee created the X-Men as an allegory for the ongoing struggles of the African-American community. Though he didn’t explicitly base Professor X and Magneto on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, there are ideological similarities.

Five years later, following the assassinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, Stan wrote the following:

“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. It’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race—to despise an entire nation—to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if a man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”

In 2021, Stan’s words still resonate. Racism in the United States is as virulent and damaging as it’s ever been. Black Americans are facing deadly policing, Jim Crow 2.0 voting laws, mass incarceration, and countless other roadblocks to mobility that most white people have never encountered.

Through the journeys of Sam and Sarah Wilson, Lemar Hoskins, and the heartbreaking Isaiah Bradley, TFATWS shows the unvarnished truth of what Ira Glass might call Black American Life. And through John Walker, the writers nail home the message that’s really making certain people squirm:

White men are the greatest threat not just to Black Americans, but all Americans, because TFATWS is as much an indictment of toxic masculinity as it is of bigotry.

As aggressive racism has spread like wildfire since 2016, so has hostile sexism towards women of all colors. John Walker is the embodiment of the hyper aggression that the Proud Boys applaud. The clearest example of this comes when Walker dares to clap the shoulder of Ayo, one of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje.

Her swift and, ahem, pointed response had women the world over screaming like they’d just won the lottery.

One could also argue that Walker’s dogged pursuit of Karli and displaced peoples supporting the Flag Smasher cause mirrors the Trump administration’s war on immigrants.

There are plenty of parallels to draw. The point is, none of them are forced or manufactured or exaggerated. And whether we’re talking about a fictional road in Latvia or a real street in Minnesota, white Americans need to stop avoiding conversations that make them uncomfortable.

The Politics of Comics

In 1938, Americans were still reeling from the Great Depression. Enter Superman, the everyman hero, who made his comic debut while the nation was facing widespread unemployment, rampant poverty, and blatant corruption at every level of government.

Superman could have faced off against any number of supernatural villains. But Siegel and Shuster went a different route, setting a precedent for comic books that has prevailed to this day:

They got political.

Throughout Superman’s earliest adventures, he fought against evil politicians, apathetic bureaucrats, aggressive police officers, greedy businessmen, and even a Washington lobbyist.

Then in 1941, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby introduced Captain America just in time to fight the nazis and free the world from fascism. A couple decades later, Kirby and Stan Lee would tell the tale of the aforementioned Erik Lehnsherr, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz. These comics endured because their passion and nuance transcended entertainment. So what was the secret sauce?

Like Siegel and Shuster, Simon, Kirby, and Stan Lee were Jewish. Representation matters, folks.

Later on, the X-Men weren’t the only conduit through which Marvel supported Civil Rights. In 1966, on the heels of the “March Against Fear” from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MS, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby unveiled Black Panther. When African-Americans were fighting harder than ever, Black children could suddenly read a comic book about T’Challa, the noble warrior king of a highly advanced African nation.

Marvel has never been shy about critiquing foreign policy either. Tony Stark and Iron Man debuted in 1968 as the conflict in Vietnam was escalating. And let’s not forget, Tony made his MCU debut in a film that is a clear indictment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We could do this all day, but you get the idea.

Comic books have always reflected the politics of our times, and so has the MCU. Fanboys can’t start crying now just because they’re on the wrong side of history. And when they do, we defer to the great Jon Bernthal when asked about alt-righters appropriating the Punisher symbol:

“Fuck them.”

Life Imitates Art

In 1986, American men felt the need for speed. After Top Gun was released, applications to U.S. aviation forces increased by a staggering 500%.

Two years later, Errol Morris exposed police corruption in his film The Thin Blue Line. The documentary prompted a new investigation that eventually exonerated death row inmate Randall Adams for the murder of a police officer.

That same year, the Polish government ceased all executions after leaders were swayed to do so by A Short Film about Killing.

Following the release of Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine in 1999, Kmart bowed to public pressure and stopped selling handgun ammunition.

And 5 years ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif changed the law on honor killings in response to the critically-acclaimed film A Girl in the River.

Like we said earlier, film has the power to spur social change. Even if the effects aren’t always so direct and immediate, television and movies have always contributed to the process in America.

Seeing the Ricardos sharing a bed allowed some Americans to start relaxing their prudish ways.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Maude empowered women as they fought for reproductive rights.

The Jeffersons and Good Times facilitated calmer discussions about race relations.

And The Ellen Show led to greater representation of queer people on screen and greater acceptance of queer people in society. Though Ellen herself has become a problematic figure in the last year, that legacy still remains.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is hardly the first show of its kind. And given the impact film has on society, we believe Hollywood has a moral obligation to produce content that exposes society’s ills and fosters productive debate.

Stan Lee would be very proud of the team behind TFATWS for bringing the stark reality of American life into people’s living rooms. The next time you see someone bitching about it, remind them what Stan himself said just a few years ago:

“Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or color of their skin. The only things we don't have room for are hatred, intolerance, and bigotry.”

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human-do-a-worm · 3 years

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Ramblings of an Old Soldier Part 2/?

Part 1 can be found HERE

The next day, the Unkall boy came back to the old soldier, sitting on the bench where he normally does, reading his data tablet. The boy had a rather happy look on him today.

“Ah, you’re back. I take it that my story wasn’t quite enough on its own then?”

“Not quite mister. It turned out to be more than enough for my first paper. After I turned it in, my teacher said I could go ahead and write the rest of my papers for the course since I had found a primary source willing to share their experience.”

“I see. How kind of your teacher. Back when I was in school, they would have told us to stuff it.”

“So, what other stories do you have to tell?”

“How about my time in the cycle after the Martian campaign?”

“That sounds wonderful. Let me start my recorder.”

The Unkall child pushes a glowing button on his data tablet, and a blue dot appearing on the screen indicated that the recording had started

“It was less than a month after the battle on Mars; that’s one twenty-fourth of a cycle in standard units. Reconstruction had begun on mars, and the war fleets which were now all massed around Terra had been split into five groups. Group Solar and Group Lunar were the two largest of the fleets, and as such were classed together. Group Pangea, Group Gondwana, and Group Oceana were the three smaller groups, and were classed together as well. The fleets were organized in this way by Grand Admiral Demetrius, to ensure that no one fleet would have to stand against the enemy for too long a time.”

“Since I’ve brought him up, I should probably tell you a bit about the Grand Admiral. Remember what I was saying about the preparations for the battle on Mars. All the meticulous planning done to move the civilians back to Terra, and keep morale up while being an effective fighting force? Well, that came from Demetrius, and was only slightly modified by individual units as the orders were passed down the chain. His odd decision making turned out to be one of the most valuable things that humanity had, because nobody could anticipate his plans; especially the Vrumoids. He was only a rear admiral, but after his commendation, and the first victory in the war, He was immediately promoted.”

“Back to the war now. The battle plan was simple. Keep a constant pressure on the enemy, working in a single spot, pushing the enemy back system by system, and planet by planet. Where to stop would be figured out as the fleets went along. This seemed to work very well. In most systems, Groups Solar and Lunar rarely had fire a single shot. The Vrumoids would either flee or be destroyed by one of the smaller groups before the heavy guns of the heavy class ships could be brought to bear.”

“The reconquest continued almost flawlessly until there was a single human world left to reclaim. Rexorb VI was nothing more than a rock when humanity last saw it, but after looking upon it, the armada called for the command group; Group Regal; to come and take a look. At first sight of the data scans, Demetrius broke down with laughter. Failing to find the humor in this situation, his second in command asked him what was so funny.” “These poor bastards. They’ve made this planet up to be just like Mars, hoping we’ll make the same mistakes they did. Have they never been told that it’s a bad idea to try using the tactics someone created against them? They’ve made themselves the easiest targets possible for us, and what’s even better is that they did it on a mining world. There were only a few housing units on that planet, and its riches lie deep inside. This is the perfect opportunity to try a new idea.”

“With that, preparations were made swiftly, and with much laughter all around. On the back side of Rexorb VI’s moon, groups Solar, Gondwana, and Oceana moved into position, mounting themselves with their primary propulsion systems poised to drop the moon from its orbit.”

The boy spoke up

“Didn’t the Vrumoid forces on the planet notice what was happening?”

Laughing, the old man responded

“Nope. That was a benefit of only showing the enemy one small and one large battle group at a time. According to Vrumoid intelligence recovered after the war, The defenders on Rexorb VI simply thought we were just deciding how to invade properly. They had no idea Demetrius was crazy enough to consider crashing the moon into the planet, and they would have to have been crazy to even guess that the rest of the fleet would just go along with it. I know Demetrius was expecting to do some explaining to the others.”

“The High Admiral may have been absolutely insane, but he wasn’t heartless. He ordered a shuttle to take one squad and an emissary to give them one final chance to surrender. They of course, believing a ground war lay ahead, refused. That was the last mistake that the Vrumoids ever made when dealing with humanity. Exactly one planetary axis revolution after the shuttle returned to the fleet, all the pushing ships’ engines fired up. Each of the ships had worked out their individual point of no return for propelling the moon towards the planet, and had an order to pull off at what their captain deemed a safe time before reaching their point of no return. By the time the last ship pulled off, The moon was going faster than its own terminal velocity.”

“When that moon hit the surface of the planet, the entire thing cracked like a geode. After observing this from one of their comm stations, the Vrumoid Empire rushed to set up peace treaty negotiations. Of course, who was the Terran representative by unanimous vote from the United Terran Council? None other than High Admiral Demetrius. They figured that if nothing else, he could get the Vrumoids to leave humanity alone. But what he got us was something so much greater.”

“As you might have learned in class, our home system and colonies were entirely located within an isolated part of Vrumoid space. We had no knowledge of the Galactic Council Alliance, at least until one of the Vrumoid delegates at the negotiations made a mistake and asked one of his compatriots what the council would think of their actions if they ever found out. After learning that there were other intelligent species in the galaxy, Demetrius demanded that humanity be granted a swath of planets and territory directly to the territory of another GCA member.”

“This single achievement is what brought humanity forward. Demetrius did what no other Terran could do; he found sentient life that wasn’t actively trying to kill us, and he made sure we could get to them with ease. If it weren’t for him, we would have never known the GCA existed, and likely would have been either wiped out or enslaved by the Vrumoids after they rebuilt their forces.”

“Of course, after we made contact with the council, and they saw what we were able to do to a far more technologically advanced species, they demanded to see our battle reports and to speak with all the commanding officers. I remember standing there by High Admiral Demetrius’ side.”

The young Unkall spoke up ecstatically

“You were a commanding officer?”

“Sure was kiddo. Leading the charge of those bikers on mars was one hell of a brave thing, and Demetrius took note. When he got the chance to promote one of his soldiers to an admiral under his command for Group Solar, he spoke loud and clear to us and said “Where’s that crazy bastard that volunteered to charge a platoon of enemy tanks using nothing but motorcycles and bombs on sticks? I have a job for you!” That was the day I was no longer a simple marksman, I was an Admiral, and a damn good one too. My group didn’t lose a single vessel to the enemy.”

“I still remember the day I went down on that rock the day before we cracked it. The Vrumoid commander must have been watching the video recordings from when I charged the tanks, because the moment I walked into the room and she looked up at me, she looked all sorts of shaken up. When I told her that this was her last chance to accept a mercy never offered by her empire, a chance to surrender; she simply said that surrender would never come until she and her warriors no longer stood upon the planet. If only she knew the irony in those words.”

“I remember being at the peace conference, and although Demetrius had only been seen rarely by the Vrumoids, mostly in transmissions intercepted from Mars to Earth, they had seen me plenty. I think I scared them more than Demetrius did, because when I talked about how my motorcycle wasn’t out of fuel yet, they started agreeing to our demands.”

Curiously, the boy tapped something into his data tablet

“Wait a minute, are you saying that you’re Admiral Sturm?”

“Indeed I am. Admiral Jakob Sturm, service number 6556-0293-422-41, former commander of the Terran expeditionary fleet codename Solar. I proudly led my sailors, soldiers, and marines through some of the harshest battles that humanity has faced, and kept my fleet intact. I wasn’t lying when I said that I didn’t lose a ship in my group to the enemy. And after serving 10 cycles in service of my species, I left honorably.”

“So what did you do after you left? I’d imagine being an admiral is a hard job to top.”

“You’re right, admiral is a hard job to beat. I served as an ambassador of Terra for a cycle before I returned to the stars. I found some of the others from back on Mars that charged with me on that day. We were a mercenary group. We mostly took escort contracts or welfare and security for anyone we deemed especially needy. We did good work for a few cycles, but then I had to give it a rest.”

“That’s around the time your name stopped appearing in records of both the GCA and Terran reports. What happened?”

“I’ve been talking for too long. I think you might be able to get a few pages out of what I’ve said today. Better to not burn up all your content at once, right? I’ll be here again tomorrow, like I always am. I’ll tell you more then.”

“If you insist sir. I’ll be here.”

“Until then, take care. I may be old, but I still expect people to stick to a schedule.”

With that, the boy stopped his recording and went home. To meet someone as important as Admiral Sturm, who seemed to have vanished from most records 8 cycles ago, was entirely unexpected. Unexpected, but it will certainly make a wonderful paper for his teacher.

#humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #humans are space australians

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cassandraclare · 4 years

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Not too spoilery, but very long!

fieidofpoppies said: I was hoping to get some clarification about the LGBT situation in TLH’s background.

What exactly is the Clave's position on homosexuality? Alec struggles with people's opinion in 2008, so I guess in 1900ish things are definitely not rosey, but to what extent? We know that being gay is considered a crime in mundane London at the time and I'm guessing that is not the case for the Shadowhunter world, so how seriously is it a problem? What does it/ would it mean for our characters to be out?

Okay, so I’ve gotten a few of this question, leading me to believe it is A Conversation that needs some addressing. It’s a complicated issue so I’m going to try to break it down in parts.

There is no “The Clave’s position on homosexuality” that is unchanging: it has changed, advanced and regressed through history just like you, know, regular human history. :) If you’re asking about the Clave’s position on LGBT Shadowhunters in 1903, we will get to that.

Just because Alec is struggling in 2007 doesn’t mean things were worse for Anna in 1903. The idea that culture moves inevitably forward towards tolerance and progressivism is an oversimplification. We see it assumed all around, so it’s easy to believe it, but actually it’s more of a two steps forward, one step back scenario. There are always periods of cultural progress, marked by periods of cultural regress. If someone had told me when I was a teenager that a woman’s right to choose would be more trammeled and in danger in 2020 America then in 1989 I wouldn’t have believed it; it is, however, the truth. We are in a more regressive period culturally now than we were ten years ago; LGBT rights are more under threat. This isn’t the first time in history this has happened and it won’t be the last: “During the golden years of the Weimar Republic [Germany's government from 1919 to 1933] Berlin was considered an LGBT+ haven, where gays and lesbians achieved an almost dizzying degree of visibility in popular culture” — but by 1934 LGBT+ Germans were being persecuted and eventually would be sent to death camps with Jews, communists, and other “undesirables.”

Alec is living in a time in which a regressive, conservative group that his own parents belonged to nearly toppled the more progressive aspects of the Clave. He already comes from a family in exile, during a time in which progressive and regressive aspects of the Clave are battling each other and the situation with Downworlders is explosive. Four years after Alec comes out, the fascist Cohort rises to power and splits the Clave in half. Nothing like that is happening in 1903: there is a progressive Consul in power, demon attacks are low, there is generally peace with Downworld.

It is reasonable that Alec would have concerns about how the Clave at large might treat him, and also have concerns about family and friends, given his parents’ past. And while Anna and Matthew etc. might have similar concerns about coming out to the whole Clave, which they haven’t, they are not concerned about their particular group of friends, and have mixed concerns about family. (Also, we have plenty of characters who have been just as worried about coming out as Alec was: Charles, Alastair, Ariadne. We don’t yet know Thomas’ attitude. Everyone who doesn’t consider themselves a “Bohemian” isn’t taking this very lightly, and even Matthew isn’t “out” to anyone except his friends. It’s not like the Wentworths know he’s bisexual.)

None of this is to say it was “easy” to be LGBT+ during the early 1900’s. It isn’t easy now. It’s to say that “Well, it sucked across the board then and now it’s great across the board!” isn’t true, and ignores the significance of context in the lives of characters — and people. There’s a great moment in the movie Colette (set in the 1890′s and early 1900′s) that focuses on Mathilde de Morny, Colette’s lover. Mathilde was assigned female at birth (academic scholars are widely divided on whether Mathile was transgender so I’m going to be gender-neutral here.) Mathilde dresses in men’s clothes, and openly romances women, but in this particular moment, Mathilde speaks about the fact that if Mathilde were not rich and titled, it might be a problem. But given Mathilde’s social status and power, and the Bohemian set of people Mathilde spends time with, it’s not. Colette herself also dresses in men’s clothes and is open about her same-sex romances, even kissing Mathilde onstage at the Moulin Rouge.

(Colette and Mathilde, 1907.)

The artist Romaine Brooks wore men’s clothes, even painting herself in them: according to the Smithsonian “By 1905, she had made a name for herself in Paris as a painter of women, some of whom were her lovers. Her most visible and lasting relationship was with the American poet Natalie Barney, who also lived in Paris.” (There’s a reason the characters are often talking about Paris or visiting Paris: being LGBT+ wasn’t illegal in France, and Paris was a gay and lesbian mecca, complete with LGBT+ cafes, high society, celebrities, and so on.)

People like Anna existed in the mundane world in 1903. It’s important to realize; this isn’t something I wrote because I’d have liked it to be true and historically accurate, it is true and historically accurate. It’s also true that even though male homosexuality was illegal in England in 1903, there were plenty of gay men who were out to their friends and community. Lytton Strachey (part of the Bloomsbury Group which included Virginia Woolf) “spoke openly about his homosexuality with his Bloomsbury friends, and had relationships with a variety of men.” Which isn’t to say he spoke openly about it to everyone — just that there have always been spaces within “mainstream” society where it was safe to be queer: Anna and Matthew, by going to the Hell Ruelle, by standing somewhat apart from their contemporaries save those they already trust, are inhabiting those spaces.

Now, if the question becomes: what happens if everyone in the Clave finds out the sexualities of the LGB+ characters in TLH? Well, first, they won’t be arrested; it’s not illegal. But that hardly covers the whole issue. We look at what happened to Oscar Wilde and think, horrors, as well we should — had he not sued the Marquess of Queensberry, though, he probably would have lived out his life with society turning a blind eye to his affairs with men. What happened to him is fucking terrible. Yet even today, there are celebrities who remain in the closet — though their queerness may well be an open secret to their friends, family and colleagues — not because they’re worried about being arrested, but because of the fear of what the damage to their career might be were it publicly known. And how is that so different from the situation Charles finds himself in? He’s pretty clear that if people knew he were gay, he couldn’t be Consul. He wouldn’t get the votes. In the same way, it’s likely that the other LGB+ characters would face societal disapproval and issues with their families. That’s not really about the “Clave’s official position” though, any more than a politician today not wanting to come out is worried about being arrested rather than losing their career. The official position is important, but it’s not the only indicator or generator of societal, systemic bigotry. (” It turns out that one of the worst times to be a homosexual - that is, in terms of being at risk from the law - was in the run-up to and aftermath of the liberalisation of the 1960s [when homosexuality was decriminalized].” )

So if you made it this far: what I’m basically saying is three things: one, that any comparison to Alec has to take into account Alec’s specific family situation, the Uprising, and who the Clave and Inquisitor are in 2007. And that I can’t say what it means for the characters of TLH to be out because it’s going to mean different things, and have different repercussions, for all of them. I can say “They won’t be in trouble with the Law”, which is true, but in terms of their family situations, their personal goals and dreams, and where they are socially, it would be different for each one of them.

And third, that we can’t assume that progress is one inevitable forward march. That things will always be more tolerant, less oppressive, in “the future” simply because it’s the future. While we can believe that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” it’s important to remember that rights can be abridged, freedoms taken away, times of tolerance and harmony can end, bigotry and nationalism can rise. To assume progress is inevitable is, I worry, to forget to fight for it. And we can never forget to fight.

[Recommended reading: Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century, by Graham Robb.]

#the last hours #chain of gold #spoilers #tlh

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bunny-hoodlum · 3 years

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Asynchronous With You: Ch 6

ship: naruhina

rating: teen (quite possibly mature or explicit later)

tags: Modern Day AU, Foster Siblings, Family, Angst, Unrequited Love, Poor Communication, Missed Opportunities

summary: An awkward journey full of self-denial and missed moments between two foster siblings. Perhaps their love will find the right timing someday.

"I think everyone should know," she said.

They were walking the usual route to their high school, the train station coming up ahead. Naruto kept a protective though furtive gaze on Hinata as he walked behind her on the steps.

He swore she's never modified her skirt. It would be against the dress code she's forced to protect. So he has no idea why it feels like he's seeing more of her than usual.

"Know what?"

Usually he's already doing this, because he's worried about perverts. Even in grade school, he was worried. If it weren't for their teachers educating them on Stranger Danger, he probably would have had to do it himself.

He had to learn it the hard way before Kurenai-obasan took him in, but so did Neji apparently. That's why he's gotten good at being less obvious with his suspicion, and also why he can better tell apart intent based on their body language.

He used to perceive everything around him to be potentially malicious. He never realized the toll that had been taking on him until Neji taught him how to really see.

He stood close behind her on the platform as they waited.

"That we're fosters."

A burst of wind shot through the platform, ruffling overcoats and business suits and whipping pleated skirts and loose hair in a sudden frenzy.

The PA announced the train's arrival, and it wheezed to a stop soon after.

He observed Hinata as she flattened her skirt down and smoothed her bangs, but none of it registered in his brain.

It was simply auto-pilot for him to follow her onto the train, then using his larger frame to block the other passengers from nearing his little sister.

Right. His foster sister.

In all of their nine years together, they've never told anyone. It wasn't that it seemed weird, it just… never occurred to them?

But now it did seem pretty weird.

"Why, though? In a couple years, it's not going to matter anymore."

She turned her face against her shoulder to look at him, but he didn't know what she was thinking. It was the same schooled features she put on last night when visiting Neji, like there was a one-way mirror and only she could see through him.

Then she looked away.

"You're not going to introduce a girlfriend to Kurenai one of these days?"

"Hmm?" The suggestion bloomed in his mind and quickly withered. The idea wasn't… very appealing. Something about inviting judgment onto his life and stuff. He defends himself in every aspect but at home, and he'd rather keep coasting on the good thing he's got. "Dunno. Hadn't ever thought about it."

He certainly wasn't going to introduce any of the one's he's taken to bed when the apartment was empty. He's rarely done it with the same girl twice, mainly because he can't help but lose interest.

He blames it on sexual incompatibility.

"Well, I know I will."

He misses the melancholy hedging around her words, and latches onto the opportunity for an easy ribbing.

"You're gonna bring a girlfriend over?" he's happy she shoots him a look so that she can see his corny grin, otherwise he worried she might've mistaken him for serious.

He's nonplussed by the severity of her glare, but then she says "Maybe when you're not around," and he no longer knows what to think.

"Wait, what? Hinata?" He's craning left and right in hopes of catching a smirk or a giggle from her, but she's evasive. Has she? "Hinata, are you--?" And since third grade she said? "Also, what's that supposed to mean 'when I'm not around'? Huh? Hey, what's that supposed to mean 'when I'm not around'?? Hinata???"

"We're getting off topic--"

"Bullshit! I have questions!"

She ignored him.

"I vote to tell our friends that we're fosters. And I'd like to have it taken care of during Lunch. What's your vote?"

Is this what she sounds like during her Public Morals Committee meetings? Because it was doing something to him.

Oh, right. She wanted an honest answer.

But… "What do you get out of announcing this? I mean, aside from knowing how to introduce me in the future or whatever. Have you thought this through at all?"

What's the rest of the school going to say?

The guys who share their skin mags with him might get wary and reject him. The girls he's dumped might try to get to him through her. Teachers might give up on disciplining him, essentially offloading their responsibilities onto her as both Public Morals Committee and his sister. And he wasn't having any of that shit again.

All kinds of things could bite them in the ass one way or another.

She hasn't replied to him at all, and he thinks she's upset again, but he has to make his point.

"Hinata, the way things are now isn't broken, so what are you trying to fix?"

"It would help me."

"Huh? How? With what?" He waited, and she was silent. A drop of dread sank in his chest for her. "So something is wrong," He leaned in closer, causing her to shrink. He sighed. "Hinata, for someone who wants the world to know we're fosters, you sure don't seem willing to rely on me like a sibling."

"I don't favor Neji-niisan over you."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to," Tension clutched at their throats. "People always have more history with their blood. I can't really compete, y'know?"

He can't compete at all, actually.

Sometimes he thinks his only true brother is Sasuke, but he still wants to work at this. She just has to let him.

"I'm sorry. I just thought it would be less lonely if we could talk to each other normally again. And we only see each other at school these days, so…"

He envisioned her waving to him in the halls between periods, or her having a reason to cheer him on during a deadlift tournament. It would prevent people from making the wrong idea about them.

Damn, he felt stupid now.

"Fine!" He intoned with mock-annoyance. "If it'll make you happy."

She looked over her shoulder again, and what she found was his warm, supportive smile.

________________________

Hinata gathered her friends, Kiba, Shino, Ino and Sakura.

And he gathered his friends, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Chouji.

Ino had tsked in distaste when she saw Sasuke, had gone as far as to drag Sakura away so that the others sat in-between them. He caught some sort of nickname from her lips, but wasn't sure what she had really said.

As Naruto stood before them alongside Hinata, his gaze fell on the skinny lad scribbling away at his sketchbook, and immediately his fight instinct was switched on.

"What's your monochromatic ass doing here??! Did anyone invite him?!" He jabbed a finger in Sai's direction.

The monotone, softboy, little creep didn't even look up.

"I'm making a record of these proceedings for posterity," he lifted the sketchpad and flipped it around.

Inkified Naruto was pointing right back at him with an agape snarl. Sai then proceeded to show everyone else individually, and they all cracked up, one by one.

Ino was absolutely dying. Stomach-clutching and tears rolling, the whole nine yards. She snatched the sketchpad from Sai and begged if she could keep it.

"Whaddya want that for??" Naruto interrogated. He was so about to punch Sai and throw his art supplies in the pool. This was Hinata's announcement and the softboy was ruining it.

Ino mockingly tilted the sketchbook side to side. "Something to keep your ego in check, Charato."

Hinata faintly snorted. He wasn't sure until he saw how she had her face turned around and her shoulders were lightly trembling.

He frowned at her, feeling betrayed.

"Ahhhh, alright, enough! Me and Hinata have gathered you all here for a reason! So shut up and listen! Hinata, tell them!"

Hinata jolted out of her humor, her face flushing as though this were the first time she's done public speaking.

"Uh, Uhm… Naruto-kun and I… we're foster siblings. We, uh… we live together," Hinata froze up under their collective stares. With a stiff smile, she half-heartedly sang "Ta-da," and punctuated it with rather embarrassed jazz hands.

"And as our friends, you're the first to know," Naruto added. "Also we don't care if the whole school finds out. So don't worry, we're not sharing this out of confidentiality."

Their collective shock evaporated rather quickly.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Well, that answers a lot of questions. And raises plenty more." She ended it with a growl and a glare. That accusatory look irked him.

"Feel free to ask away! I've got nothin' to hide!"

Sakura flattened the back of her skirt as she rose up like a dignitary representing The House of Hyuuga. And then like a certain video game attorney, she pointed at him.

"I always wondered why you obsessively protected Hinata in the past, but never showed any romantic initiative towards her. Now I have to ask, knowing the sex maniac that you are: Do you ever sneak into her bedroom?"

"No," He answered unconvincingly. He looked at the jury one by one, unsure how much of their scrutiny was sincere or misperceived. Sasuke was leaning forward, arms circling around his knees. He looked a little too interested in the idea of him and Hinata… doing things… "I-I've never done that! I would never do that! Hinata's special to me, okay?! You've got a filthy fuckin' mind, Haruno!"

"Me?! You've tried to sneak into the female locker rooms!" Sakura took off her shoe and slugged it at him. "Multiple times!"

Naruto hunched up and twisted away as the shoe smacked his shoulder and bounced away.

Hinata moved in between him and the one-woman mob. "Okay, this is getting out of hand--"

"I will never fucking do that to Hinata. I was in an orphanage for six years. And they're not all run by saints."

Dammit.

This was way more than he ever wanted to share.

He took a few steps back before turning tail. He jogged downhill as fast as he could.

What was he doing?

Uzumaki Naruto doesn't run away.

But it was either that, or… have them watch him cry.

________________________

AN: So this is missing a scene cuz I cut it. I might not use it anymore, and instead I'll see if the backstory I had expanded upon will be worked in later on in the plot. Because before I started writing this, I had anticipated that things would actually get cuter from here on out. (Also anticipating that I may work in at least one smutty chapter in the future. Yeah, it's totally diverging from this fic's original concept when I posted it for Secret Santa, but that's okay!) And the total Ego Death I unexpectedly wrote just feels kind of Deus Ex Machina in a way to Naruto's vices. I just can't have him maturing right now. That's a plot route I don't have any material for, and I don't quite see it as not defeating the other stuff I had planned to write. (I'm also happy to state that I'm starting to get a better picture of how to condense this content on AO3, because I honestly feel like this could be Ch. 2 now. :B I mean, it's too short on its own if I do, but it kinda has that hook for the rest of the story.)

I hope you enjoyed this update! 😘💕💕💕

#asynchronous with you fanfiction #chapter 6 #naruhina fanfiction #naruhina #naruto x hinata #modern au

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sanders-sides-dnd · 3 years

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Family Reunion Chapter 1

Here it is! The beginning of our adventures. I’m sorry this took so long. This was the first session of the first game we played together, everything the characters do was the choice of their players. This includes the romance, I later worked their pairings into their backstories to add some clarity. If you have any questions for us or the characters our askbox is open. Wordcount: 5048 TWs: Kidnapping, swearing, violence, implied child death, implied child abuse, ghosts, hunting, dog Pairings: Logince, Moceit Taglist (ask to be added): @crazydemigod666 @newtnotfound @star-crossed-shipper @3amthebitchinghour @s4moose

The group woke up and felt a tight rope tying them all together. They looked around the darkness and most were able to identify they were in a cell, they also saw Prince Roman sitting outside the cell. He softly stroked Kai, the paladin Patton the Moral’s hound. Roman didn’t notice his friends had woken. Logan, a human wizard and partner of Prince Roman, recognised the cell. They were in the castle of Creativiton which explained why Roman was not locked up. His parents wouldn’t lock up their heir. But why were they locked up? Logan was the first to try and get Roman’s attention.

“Why are we here?” Logan asked. Roman’s black eyes lit up when his partner spoke. “What happened?” The group all looked at Roman. Kai stuck his head through the bars to try and get to his owner. Roman felt guilty, this was all his fault. He remembered what had happened. They were happily walking through the forest, unaware how close they strayed to Roman’s kingdom. They were ambushed by familiar guards, his mothers personal battalion, they knocked out his friends before they could even fight. They were all tied up and brought back to the castle. He was separated from his friends and brought to his less than pleased parents who promptly banished him to his room to wait, however he clearly didn’t stay there long. “Are you all okay?” Roman asked full of concern. “We were ambushed on our journey.” The half-orc answered as he slid a cup of water through the bars towards his friends. Patton, being only a few feet tall, easily slid out of the ropes and inspected the water. “My parents are… displeased we left. They wished to speak to all of us, I was waiting for you all to wake up.” Patton brought the water to Logan to inspect, he was much smarter after all. Logan nodded and took a sip, Patton followed hesitantly. Janus the deceiver, Patton’s partner, a wicked tiefling warlock, smirked and took a drink not worried if it was poisoned or not. Virgil drank too and Patton returned the cup. “Why are we in a cell?” Patton asked as he handed the cup over. “Couldn’t they have spoken to us over dinner or something not… this?” Virgil, the rogue elf, piped up. Roman looked away guiltily. Patton moved to pet his hound. “I think they’re just angry we left the castle. Although I agree, locking you up is a bit drastic.” Roman sympathised. Janus scoffed. “And tying us up is just for safety.” Janus remarked, snarky as always. “Right, totally believable.” Janus never trusted royals, the only reason he could get along with Roman is because they met away from the castle. Roman paused for a moment. “We’ve been here a few hours and I haven’t seen Remus yet.” Roman said solemnly. Prince Remus or, as he preferred, Duke Remus was not the kind to be quiet. Especially after his brother who has been gone for so long came back. Virgil knew this was weird too, he was a close friend to Remus. Well, until he abandoned him that is. Roman shook his head and got back to business. “I could break you out of here and we can leave. Or we could stay and talk to my parents… although I am starting to think fleeing might be our best move. What do you think we should do?” Roman nervously eyed a nearby guard, trying his best to stay out of sight. Virgil asked what everyone was thinking. “Did you know your parents were going to do this?” Virgil pressed. “Of course not, I have no idea why they would lock you up!” Roman defended. “You know your parents best. Do you think talking to them would work?” Virgil asked. He already knew from what he’d heard from the twins that the Queen definitely wasn’t the talking it out type but perhaps the king was? Logan spoke up after a bit of contemplation, working at the castle meant he had a good array of knowledge to help make a decision. “If Duke Remus is missing then something suspicious is going on. I vote we flee while we have the chance.” Logan concluded. “I’m sure they have a reason to want to talk! Even if they weren’t the best to their guests...” Patton opposed. He always saw the best in people, it’s what he was taught in the temple he grew up in, even when it got him in trouble. "I say we get out now and then we'll see." Janus said. He was Patton’s grounding force, bringing him back from his dream lands and reminding him of the harsh reality. “They were in a foul mood when I spoke to them earlier, I vote we get out of here.” Roman informed. "If we escape do you think your parents will send people after us?" Virgil questioned. Roman thought for a moment before replying. "Most likely, but what other choices do we have?" Roman finally replied. "What if they just kidnap us again?" "Then we'll get out again." Janus announced. Virgil knew how to do that, he’d been in these jails many times. Logan grew agitated, they needed to make a decision quickly. "We do not have time to worry about that, we must be focused on getting out for the time being!" Logan reminded them all. "The best we can do now is to get as far away as possible, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Roman added. With a nod Virgil and Patton finally gave in. Virgil quickly got to work. With his hands behind his back he quickly found the knot keeping the men together, the knot was tough but Virgil was an expert. In mere seconds the rope slacked and the men were free. Virgil knew the key to a successful escape was speed so he wasted no time beginning to pick the lock. Roman looked at the guard, he was still unaware. The bars opened with a quiet squeak. “Where to now?” Virgil whispered as they all exited the cell. They had no gear, no weapons, they weren’t in the best position. Roman remembered all the times Remus and he had snuck around the castle, trying to think of an exit. "I can lead us out of here, but we'd have to go through the main halls. There's a high chance we could be spotted." Roman whispered. "Damn, no secret passageways?" Virgil retorted with a smirk. In all his years here he had never found any but then again he wasn’t a royal. "None that I can think of right now, and none that won't be monitored by my father's men." Roman informed as the group started sneaking. “They wouldn't expect us to go through the main halls, out in the open. It's our best chance of escape." Roman looked around the corner, it seemed clear. The men kept low and ran quietly, Roman took care looking around every corner to watch for guards. Eventually they made it to sight of the door, but as Roman looked around the corner he saw the shins of a familiar human. He looked up to see the black armour his mothers battalion wore, the same colour as the man’s hair and stubble. His helmet was off so Roman could clearly see his grey eyes looking down at him. “Ah Roman, how predictable.” Remy teased as Roman rose in shame. "Remy, " Roman said grimly. "Let us pass, my friends and I have done no wrong." Without a word, guards seized the group and brought them to the throne room. Roman was set at the front of the group with the others slightly behind. They stayed silent as two royals stepped out. A tall and stocky orc woman with brown dreaded hair and a lean human warrior in a golden crown on his silver hair. The king and queen stood on a dais with one throne, looking down at their son and his party.

“Ah Roman I see your companions are awake.” The king sung. The king was a professional man, even Roman had never heard his name. He had always called him Dad or Your Majesty. This didn’t mean he was a stick in the mud, he was a happy man just a stickler for titles. “Welcome to Creativiton!” Queen Bhom Head-Crusher greeted, knowing well some of the group had been here before. The Queen was a true blood orc, married into human society. Steel and war ran through her veins. She was caring but violent and bull-headed. “Salutations.” Logan said with a controlled glare. “Pleasure.” Janus followed with a scoff. Patton tried to bow and Virgil tried not to barf. “It’s been a while since I had you in chains, Virgil.” Remy chuckled. "Can't get enough of me in chains?" Virgil shot back. “What is the meaning of this?” Roman cried, outraged at the treatment of him and his friends. They had been knocked and locked and now, just as they had a taste of freedom, chained. Queen Bhom looked across the group then let her eyes land on Roman. “When you left your brother was quite upset that you didn’t ask him to join you. He felt as if you didn’t care about him anymore. He was sad for a while but then it turned into anger.” She explained. Roman felt guilt begin to scratch at his stomach. “He wanted to find you and make you explain yourself. So he left, without telling us.” The Queen’s black eyes grew sad, but her face did not waver from it’s strong expression. "Is that all?” Janus announced. All eyes turned to him. “Hardly seems a reason to put us in chains and a cell." Janus didn’t let royals hold power over him, he had once and it ended with blood on his face and a demon in his mind. “Well, street rat, we can’t have both of our heirs just off running around in forests. We need at least one of you here or our reputation will be destroyed.” The King reasoned. He looked directly at Roman. “So we're grounding you until your brother comes back and we can sort this out together. Your friends must stand trial for treason and kidnapping but if they leave without causing trouble then I won’t stop them.” Roman blinks, momentarily thrown off guard. "He's never shown interest in fighting with us before, I didn't think this time was any different, so I didn't ask." Roman mumbled. This wasn’t like his brother. Yes he was wild and unpredictable, and he hated the castle, okay maybe it was like him. "Not to be rude, your majesty, but how is it our fault if Duke Remus felt a certain way and did certain actions? Those were of his own volition." Logan asked. “And it’s not kidnapping if Roman came with us willingly.” Virgil added. Patton raised his hand. “Your highnesses?” He addressed incorrectly. “Some of us are not even from here. How can it be treason if we aren’t citizens?” Roman put out a hand to silence his friends. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. He could stand up to his parents one on one, but both of them together is a challenge. "Mother, Father, surely you see that this is unreasonable?” Roman began. “I went with my friends of my own volition, it was in no way a kidnapping. Let them go peacefully, and I swear to stay and do whatever it takes to locate my brother. He couldn't have gone far. Let me take responsibility for him, but let my friends leave." Roman’s plan to sacrifice himself did not sit well with his friends. However, his mother looked down proudly. “Well how about a trial by combat, an orc tradition.” Queen Bhom announced proudly. The king tapped her arm gently but she gave him a reassuring glance. “If you can find your brother and bring him back then it would be quicker and we won’t have to send more guards. It’ll also prove to us that you can go out and adventure with your companions without getting yourself killed.” The queen waited for a response. Roman looked back at his friends, they all gave him enthusiastic nods. Roman pulled himself to his full height. “I accept.” With a wave of her hand the guards escorted the group to the armoury where all their gear was laying on the ground. While everyone gathered their gear Virgil turned to Remy. “Don’t miss me too much.” Virgil flirted with a wink. Remy looked away, the faint blush on his face mostly covered by his stubble. The others kept a close eye on Virgil while they gathered their stuff. Roman thought it was a good idea to have the head guard on their side. Logan and Roman looked around at the other guards protectively. “Hurry up and get your stuff before I lock you up.” Remy said in a stressed tone. Virgil began collecting his stuff while looking back at Remy. “I’m sure you’ll be looking forward to that.” Virgil shot another wink. Remy looked away awkwardly. Virgil did too as he remembered the last time before this he was locked up, it wasn’t his most graceful encounter. Janus made a gagging noise and rolled his eyes.

When everyone had their stuff Remy escorted them out of the castle and slammed the large door behind them. The streets were narrow and the group walked in sets of two. Logan looked at Roman. “You know Remus the best, where is he likely to go?” Logan asked. “Tavern.” Virgil and Roman answered in unison. Roman continued. “He’s a fan of wandering around. He’s usually at the tavern but I’ve seen him around the inn, the blacksmith, and that old burned farm.” “There’s also a hunting store he likes to visit.” Virgil added. "Maybe we should try the tavern first," Roman mused. "He's probably passed out drunk under the counter." "With so many places, perhaps it would be wise to split up?" Logan suggested. They all agreed. Roman split from the group to go to the tavern, he didn’t find Remus but the bartender did tell him they hadn’t seen the duke in a week. Logan and Janus went to the inn, they hadn’t seen him at all. Patton brought his hound and found the blacksmith, he informed him that Remus had stopped by a month ago to get some weapons sharpened. Virgil took the hunting store where he found out Remus had bought a large sum of dried meat about a month ago.

The group met up again at the gates to share their findings as they headed out to the last place on their list. The burned down farm. The sky was a dim orange as the sun disappeared. "This is worrying, to say the least," Murmured Roman. He started to look visibly concerned about his brother. "Sharpening weapons, hoarding dry rations, sounds like he was planning to go away for a while." Logan put a hand on his partner's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He knew Remus and Roman were close, this had to be affecting him a lot. "Well we were gone for a while ourselves. It's a good thing he at least has anything with him at all.” Janus reasoned, but it only made Roman’s guilt grow. “Now what is the deal with this farm?” Roman and Virgil smirked at each other before leaping into a dramatic stance. “We don’t know a lot about the farm…” Roman began suspiciously. Logan knew this song and dance. “I heard a child who was just learning to control magic lived here with her family. One day she lost control and burned down the whole farm.” Virgil explained and Roman made an explosion sound behind him. Janus and Logan rolled their eyes but Patton was entranced. "The flames didn't touch anything on the other side of the fence, and they didn't touch her younger brother's things. The girl and her parents perished, her brother was never found." Roman finished with a flourish. Patton clapped. Roman turned around and saw a charred fence. They were here.

By this time it was dark, and the darkness only enhanced how creepy the house was. Under the full moon’s glow they inspected the burned walls. The house was a husk, not even the roof remained. However a small hay bed and some kids toys were alone, only touched by a thick layer of dust. They felt a cold presence around them. Janus lit a torch to help them see. “I feel like something doesn’t want us here...” Roman said as he lit up another torch. Logan inspected the toys without touching them, they had no ash on them. Just dirt and dust. They looked like they hadn’t been touched in years. Patton closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Using his divine powers bestowed upon him after a lifetime of prayer, he could sense the presence of good and evil. He breathed deeply through his nose. He could smell the foul scent of an evil and greedy presence. It was so strong it nearly startled him. Virgil saw a flick of white in the corner of his eye but when he turned there was nothing here. "I don't like the vibes of this place. How about we just confirm that Remus isn't here and get the fuck out?" Virgil fretted. He did care about Remus, but this place seemed off. Janus saw what Patton was doing and put a hand on his shoulder. Patton nodded in response. “There’s something here.” Janus shouted to the group who was spread around the house. They all looked over. “What kind of something?” Logan asked. Janus enjoyed being vague but it annoyed Logan. Maybe that was part of why he enjoyed it. “Only one way to find out.” Janus smirked. He gave his torch to Patton and sat down. He began chanting in a language no one else could understand. “Venite Tenebrae Animae et Ostende te.” Three ghostly figures faded into view in front of him. One child and two adults. The child appeared in the corner, she looked to be hiding. The adults, a man and a woman, quickly turned on the party with a hiss. The group readied their weapons. Patton was first to attack as he grabbed his battle-axe in one hand and raised his shield with the other. He pulled back and swung his axe at the female ghost. It passed right through her. “Crap…” Patton let out before the ghost retaliated. She scratched his face with her long nails. It didn’t do much but it was enough that it pushed him back. Roman took out his great-sword and raised it above his head. The heavy steel blade and golden hilt caught the torch light. Roman was about to take a risk. But it didn’t seem like he could do much else. If Patton’s silver axes didn’t work then surely his sword wouldn’t do much more. "Don't come any closer!" He yelled with his booming orcish voice. "I am Prince Roman of Creativiton, and I command you to stay back!" When they were alive they clearly lived in Creativiton, perhaps not during Roman’s life but at some point. Perhaps they still had some loyalty. Roman’s risk paid off as the ghosts cowered, leaving them vulnerable. Janus took the opportunity. He took out his staff and held it horizontally in front of him. The staff was curved and made of light coloured apple wood. A python is etched into the wood circling to the top, the side of the staff where the head was. “Illusio.” He whispered to himself. He pointed the end of his staff towards the attacking ghosts and a wall of flames shot towards them. They were shocked and backed themselves against the wall, much more scared than Patton’s attack. The male ghost looked to his right to see the scared child. He grabbed her and held her out like a shield. “Janus, what can we do?” Virgil asked as he pulled out his daggers. Janus was their creature expert, there is nothing he hadn’t fought. “Healing items and magic.” Janus shouted back. Virgil put away his daggers. Those weren’t going to do squat. “Healing?” Virgil asked again. Janus rolled their eyes although it was hard to tell since they were pure gold. “They lose connection to the physical realm because of the healing properties.” Janus explained as the male ghost shook the child at them. Logan was the only other who knew spells. He pulled out his silver staff, the blue gems attached to the top already glowing. He pointed the staff at the female ghost, streaks of blue shot out. The ghost disappeared as it was hit by the rays of frost, only leaving behind a thin layer of ice on the wall behind it. Roman shot a proud smile at his partner. He loved watching him fight, the way his face was lit by the magical spells he trained so hard to learn was his favourite sight. “One down.” Logan said proudly. Patton took advantage of his close range and called upon his divine powers again. His hands glowed with a healing light. Janus took the opportunity to reach to the shelf behind him and pick up a few small pieces of rubble discarded there. Patton lunged at the remaining ghost, attempting to avoid the child he shielded himself with. The ghost quickly turned on him, holding out the child. Patton retracted, not wanting to harm her. Across the room Janus put away his staff and pulled out a sling. He closed his hand around the rocks and whispered into it. “Incanto lapis.” When Janus opened his hand, the pebbles had a hint of a pink glow around them. He loaded the three small rocks into the sling and took aim. “Are you aiming at the child?!” Patton yelled from across the room. He knew his partner too well at this point. The rest of the group also looked over at him “Yeah.” Janus responded. The party looked between the two, not even paying attention to the ghost. “The child is a child!” Patton scolded. “Fine.” Janus groaned. He let go of the elastic and the rocks flew towards the ghosts. The little girl put up her hands to block her face but the pebbles went around her, bouncing off the wall and hitting her attacker. The other ghost faded after the rocks hit his head, the small girl fell to the floor. She stood and looked around. She smiled brighter than the white glow around her as the party put away their weapons. “Thank you! Thank you for helping me!” She said gratefully. She looked around at them all before her eyes fell on Kai. “Oh, can I pet your dog?” She asked happily. Patton offered the girl a comforting smile. “Of course you can.” He answered. The girl floated forward and began playing with the dog. They all looked at each other. Roman kneeled down next to the girl. “Hello there.” He said gently, trying to get her attention without startling her. She looked over with a smile. “Hi!” She replied. She looked at Roman quizzically for a second. “You look my friend.” Roman looked interested. For anyone else this’d be just a confused or funny kid moment, but he had a twin brother who hung around this house. “Your friend?” He asked, trying to pull more information from the child. She turned away from Roman to continue playing with Kai. “My friend Duke. He always scares away my parents when they try to hurt me but he wasn’t here this time.” She explained happily. Roman looked up at his friends. “He came by a month ago and told me that he was leaving. I miss him. He was silly and made me laugh. He promised he’d come back though!” The story seemed to fit what Roman’s parents had told them. Remus was a prince but preferred the title of duke in non-formal settings. He always said What’s the point of being called a prince if I won’t get the crown? “He’s my brother.” Roman was excited to finally have some information but tried to keep his voice quiet and reassuring. "We haven't seen him in a while either, do you have any idea where he went? Also what’s your name?" He questioned. He felt guilty for interrogating a small dead child. “I don't remember my name, but I do know where Dukey went. He said he was going to find you. He went to the witches in the north forest to see if they knew where you was.” She stopped playing with Kai and turned to Roman who had now shifted to a sitting position. “I’m looking for my brother too! Have you seen him? His name is Elliott.” Roman looked up at Logan who shrugged. He looked at the others who also didn’t know. "I'm really sorry, we haven't seen your brother,” Roman said. "Or my brother," he added after a pause. The small girl reached out and touched his hand. She smiled at him, he couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay. If you see him tell him he’s late and Mama and Pa are going to be mad.” The child said as she started to fade. Roman gave her one last nod as she disappeared. Roman stayed sitting for a couple seconds. He felt bad for the young girl. Logan put a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “We should find somewhere to set up camp.” Janus prompted. Roman nodded and stood slowly. They all left the burnt out house and set up camp on the edge of the northern forest, lighting a small fire and dropping some of their gear. “Our supplies are low.” Logan said, rummaging through his bag. “We’ll need to find some food.” Virgil nodded. He and Logan went into the forest. “I’ll go too, we’ll have a better chance.” Janus said as he stood. “Take Kai.” Patton told him. Kai trod up next to Janus. They headed into the forest together. After a while Logan and Virgil returned. "I saw some berries.” Logan said upon returning. Virgil settled empty handed by the fire. “I thought they were blackberries. I tried to get them. I was unable to, and was damaged by the thorns." Logan put out his arms to show a number of scratches. Behind him Janus came out of the treeline. "Well it turns out having the dog with us was very beneficial." Janus said and dropped a dead fox in front of Logan. "Look what he caught." Logan flushed red as Janus nudged him jokingly. "Never speak a word of this again." Logan huffed and went over to sit in Roman’s lap, Janus picked up the fox again. "Of course not Logan, I wouldn't want to blackmail you with any of this." Janus teased as he handed the fox to Patton. After the fox was skinned and cooked they all sat around the fire eating together. Janus and Patton sat facing each other, both with food in their lap. “You know I think I left something in the forest.” Janus said as they ate. “Help me come look for it?” Patton rolled his eyes. Janus and him had been dating for near a year now. He knew his tricks. “Janus! Everyone can hear you.” Patton didn’t really mind that much. “Yeah they look very interested.” Janus laughed and nodded towards Logan and Roman. They had abandoned their dinner and started kissing instead. Virgil was playing with Kai nearby. “Even so. I would prefer something a little more romantic then just follow me into the forest.” Patton responded. Again, Patton didn’t really mind. He loved Janus no matter whether he was able to come up with fancy words or not. He just enjoyed teasing him. Janus tried to come up with something quickly but his flustered mind couldn’t find anything. “So…” Janus began. “Papaya?” Janus drew out the last sound of that word. Patton giggled, it was cute putting Janus on the spot. He was usually so sharp tongued but when it came to Patton he would lose his nerve. Patton decided to throw him a bone. He put down his plate and put his arms around Janus’ neck. “Well I don’t know anything about papaya…” He began. He got close to Janus’ pointed ear, his breath warmed it better than the fire did. “But I do know about peaches.” Without warning Janus stood, holding Patton. He ran off into the forest with his partner. Virgil enjoyed the company of Kai. Virgil didn’t talk much and Kai didn’t mind, mostly because Kai was a dog and also couldn’t talk. Virgil also enjoyed being an elf. It meant he could stay up later than his friends. He looked across at his sleeping friends, he hated just sitting around. It meant he had to think. There were lots of things he didn’t want to think about right now. He went into the forest and climbed into the trees. He jumped from one branch to another. He did this as a kid, except instead of trees it was buildings. It helped him clear his head, focusing only on where to jump next. As he jumped he heard a scamper below him. He looked around and saw a fat rabbit. “You shouldn’t be out this late.” Virgil whispered as he grabbed his shortbow. He also took out an arrow, the purple feathers were stiff against his hand as he pulled the arrow back against the string. “Goodnight little bunny.” Virgil hummed as he let go of the string. He gathered the rabbit and took it back to the camp. There were just enough embers left in the fire to cook it. He stored it in his bag and found a place to sit against a tree. The other four were huddled together, sleeping in one big pile. Even Kai was with them. He felt a little left out, but he needed to be alone to meditate. Virgil closed his eyes, signalling the end to another day of adventure.

#sanders sides d&d #sanders sides #sanders sides au #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fic #roman sanders #ts roman #logan sanders #ts logan #patton sanders #ts patton #janus sanders #ts janus #virgil sanders #ts virgil #remy sanders #ts remy #logince #moceit

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loversthroughtime · 3 years

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/28946823 It had been over 3 weeks since Kagome had gone home, and she was starting to feel the toll it was taking on her mind and body. Usually it wouldn’t have bothered her so much, as she had gone up to almost 2 months without returning to the modern world, but lately they had been fighting more demons than usual, besides all the studying she had been doing to catch up on missed work, luckily she didn’t have any upcoming exams or homework deadlines, but it was important to recap on everything so she wouldn’t be completely lost the next time she attended school. “Inuyasha it’ll just be a couple days. I need a break, I’m gonna lose my mind if I don’t get to rest at least a couple days in the comfort of my home, please let me go” Kagome was on the verge of a mental breakdown over not being able to return home, not that it mattered what Inuyasha said since she would be going either way, but it was nice when he didn’t fight her all the way there. “If I may,” Said Miroku stepping in, “ we are also starting to feel the need to rest, as you know, Sango and I are also human, and we could also use a few days for ourselves. It would be excellent to gather supplies and gather some energy for when we next encounter Naraku.” Sango smiled and nodded next to Miroku. “I could also use this time to fix some weapons that have gotten damaged over the last few battles, as Miroku said, Naraku is in hiding, this is the best time to gather our strength and prepare for what’s to come, otherwise we’ll be too tired to perform well in battle” Inuyasha was pensive at what his companions had just said. They all made perfect sense, and he agreed that some rest would be more beneficial than not. However, the fact that Naraku was in hiding gave them an advantage in gathering more jewel shards, not to mention getting more information on his whereabouts would be a win if he wasn’t expecting them to show up wherever he was hiding. “Well, it’s decided, since the majority voted for resting” Kagome was thrilled at her friends backing her up. “You can come with me to my time if you’d like Inuyasha, you don’t have to stay here and sulk like they say you always do.” At that Inuyasha’s cheeks turned red, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Keh, as if I would ever sulk, much less over you wasting time by going back to your house” He scoffed, turning his back towards the group. “But since you are all weak humans, I suppose it would be a waste of time to keep going if all you’ll do is complain” He started walking in the direction Kaede’s village was, it would probably take them a little over half the day to get there, but it was still very early in the day, so they would be getting there right before sunset without a problem. The walk back to the village went smoothly, they didn’t run into any trouble, and they were able to enjoy their time together by occasionally playing games, and singing on their way there. Kagome carried around a portable microphone she would pull out so they each had a go at singing a song, aside from Kagome, none of them were particularly good at singing, but they were having a good time, so it didn’t really matter. Since they were having fun, they got to the village in what seemed like no time at all. The sky had just started turning a beautiful shade of orange and pink when Kagome finally made it to the well. “I won’t be gone too long, four days at most, I promise, I just need to catch up on a little bit of school” She smiled at her friends who had decided to accompany her all the way there. “No worries Kagome, take all the time you need” Said Sango, gaining a death stare from Inuyasha at her words. “Yeah Kagome, you need to rest! We’ll miss you but we know you’ll be back soon” Smiled Shippo perched on Miroku’s shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want to come, Inuyasha? My offer still stands.” Said Kagome a little more hopeful than she intended, she usually loved getting time away from him, but for some reason lately the thought of being apart from him made her heart sink in her chest a little bit, almost like having a piece of herself torn away. Kagome mentally slapped herself at such thought, since when was Inuyasha a part of her? No, she definitely needed some time away. “Keh, I have nothing to do over there, and you’re always saying I annoy you, just get back in time” and with that he took off towards the forest before anyone was able to say anything else about the matter. “Well, that’s that.” Kagome said her goodbyes to the group and jumped into well that would take her 500 years into the future, leaving her companions alone as they started making their way back to Kaede’s village. “Sango my dear, how about a little bet?” Miroku smirked. “What do you have in mind, Monk?” Sango was a little reluctant to hear what Miroku had to say, given the fact that whatever came out of his mouth could never be good, much less now that he had such a mischievous look on his face. “I’ll bet you whatever you want that he follows her to her time at the latest tomorrow afternoon” “Okay, I’ll take you up on that one” Sango was the one that smirked this time “I bet you he goes back tonight, and if he does you have to keep your hands to yourself for a month” “A - A MONTH?! Sango dear, don’t you think that’s pushing it a little bit?” he said fearfully, as he didn’t actually think she would bet Inuyasha would follow Kagome at an earlier time than he had originally suggested, and to be frank, knowing Inuyasha he wasn’t confident at all it wouldn’t happen. “So what do you say?” “Ah, I actually think betting goes against everything I believe in as a monk. Such behaviors are to be condemned. Morally speaking, I can’t partake in such an activity” As he said this his left hand was making its way towards Sango’s bottom half, which luckily she caught on to, smacking him with all her might before it made contact with her body. “Why do you always have to be like this?” Shippo asked him with a sigh. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kagome had dropped her backpack in her room, and was gathering her supplies to take a nice warm bath. She was feeling more than ever how sore her body was from the constant fighting and running, she hadn’t taken her bike in a while cause she always had to leave it when a battle broke out, and it was such a pain to look for it, although Inuyasha could find it fairly easily with his sense of smell, it was still annoying, and if she was being honest it was more annoying than helpful, especially when she was tired of riding, and of having to push the damn thing around. Kagome stepped into the warm tub and contemplated how much she’d grown over the last months, it was crazy to think how her life had changed drastically overnight, being thrown into a world of constant danger, but she wouldn’t have it any other way if she was given the choice. Which she did, as she chose to spend the majority of her time there. Her friends had become family, and Inuyasha had become such a natural extension of herself, that whenever they were apart from each other, all she did was miss him, and wait until they were together again, as much as he annoyed her some times. “There I go again” she sighed, and started drying herself and getting dressed. “Thinking about him when he’s not here, even him driving me completely crazy is better than being apart” She had picked out a green long sleeved shirt and pajama shorts since the temperature was neither hot nor cold. Grabbing her dirty laundry off the floor, she made her way into her room, almost face planting as she walked around her bed to close the open window, tumbling over something that definitely should not have been on the floor. “Inuyasha! What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren’t gonna come” She said after regaining her footing and realizing that what she had tripped over, were Inuyasha’s outstretched legs, since he had been sitting on the floor. “Keh, don’t think I came for you or nothing.” he scoffed, cheeks turning slightly pink “I was just bored out of my mind, all Miroku does is flirt, and all Sango does is slap him, Shippo is annoying, and don’t get me started on that old hag” he crossed his legs and tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robes. “Well, I’m glad you came, it gets boring being out here by myself” “Is your family not here?” He asked, turning his head in her direction a little faster than he intended. “No, they left me a note saying Grandpa had some kind of convention, and mom and Sota decided to tag along since they didn’t have anything to do, they’ll be back tomorrow afternoon” She dumped her dirty clothes in the laundry basket she kept in her room, and made her way over to the bed, sitting right next to Inuyasha on the floor. “Why didn’t you come back? If you didn’t want to be alone you should’ve just returned to the village” “If I had returned, you would’ve made us get back on the road tomorrow, and I told you, I need to rest. I’m sore all over, I honestly don’t even know how I made it back all the way to my house. One more step and my legs would’ve given in” “Well… I can carry you, you know? All you have to do is ask” Kagome’s cheeks were slowly turning red at his offering. If she had to choose a favorite way of travelling, she had to admit that riding on Inuyasha’s back beat any other way of transportation by a LONG shot. “Thank you Inuyasha, that’s very sweet of you. I will definitely take you up on that one” They sat in silence for a while since they were both still madly blushing from their conversation, neither one really knew why they were so flushed over something they did almost every day. It wasn’t like he had never given her a ride before, but offering to carry her when she was tired, and not just in the midst of battle, or when they needed to get somewhere in a hurry, made the act seem a lot more intimate. Kagome looked over at him, and smiled to herself, noticing how handsome he was. She was never one to say such things to him, although she admitted it to herself every time she got a glimpse of his face. “What are you looking at?” Inuyasha had turned to look at her and noticed she had a very strange look on her face, her eyes seemed to sparkle, and she had a smile that curved to one side more than the other, she looked so cute, and the realization of that made his face feel hot. “Nothing! I was just thinking” she averted her eyes quickly, and tried to focus her attention on something else, when she noticed he had grass stuck to his robe, near where his rib cage was, so she reached her hand over and started picking it out of his clothes, when he suddenly pulled away in a suspiciously jumpy manner. Realization hit Kagome like a ton of bricks “Inuyasha, are you… ticklish?” she asked in disbelief. Inuyasha’s face was all the answer she needed, his eyes had gone round and big, his cheeks were pink, and he was trying to talk but nothing coherent was coming out. She never would’ve thought that Inuyasha who seemed so tough, who always shrugged off any sign of what he considered a weakness, was ticklish. Mischief filled Kagome’s entire face, her eyes were sparkling, her smile went from ear to ear. Inuyasha had never seen someone look so happy, yet so scary, and at that thought, she launched herself at him, placing her hands on both sides of his torso and tickling him to her heart's content. The laughs coming out of Inuyasha, where making Kagome’s heart swell three times its normal size. She had never heard such a glorious sound coming out of him. Sure, she had heard him laugh whenever they were goofing around, or he did a sort of evil laugh when he was mocking someone he didn’t particularly like. But this was unlike any of those things. This was his pure, most uncensored laugh. She could hear the roughness of his voice, it was low, and husky. It matched him perfectly, and all she wanted was to be able to hear that sound for the rest of her life. “St- STOP, HAHAHHAAHHA” it was getting hard to breathe through all the laughter “KAGOME, HAHAHA, STOP” He was kicking and thrashing under her, careful not to hurt her, but still trying to scurry away from her. No one had ever tickled him since his mother had died, and although his lungs were on absolute fire from laughing, he couldn’t say he hated the feeling. He was especially loving the enjoyment Kagome was getting out of this, and making her happy was all that mattered to him, no matter how much he said otherwise. After what seemed like an eternity, Kagome stopped tickling him, she was laughing as she allowed him to regain his breath. “I can’t believe you’re ticklish, god will I use this to my advantage from now on! When I was little my mom would threaten me with tickles if I didn’t want to do something, it worked in her favor so well because-” At that Inuyasha flipped her under him, and with an eyebrow raised and a teasing grin, he started tickling her the same way she had done to him. Being mindful of his claws he ran his hands through her body, tickling her stomach, under her arms, her neck. Anywhere he touched made her thrash and let out what sounded like heaven to Inuyasha’s ears. Her voice was high, but not in a deafening way, it was smooth, and fruity, and he could say without a flicker of a doubt that it was his favorite sound in the entire world. “OKAY HAHAHHAHAHA TRUCE, HAHAHAHHA TR- TRUCE” He stopped tickling her, and relished in the moment, one of his hands had found its way behind her back, the other in the little curve between her neck and shoulder. He had somehow ended up fully on top of her, his face mere inches away from hers. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his mouth. This made him lower his gaze from her eyes to her lips. Her lips, he had never seen anything like them. They were plump and luscious, naturally the color of cherry blossoms in the spring. He licked his lips, and returned his gaze to her eyes, finding her looking down, directly at HIS own lips, without a second thought he went in, taking her mouth into his own. If the look of her lips was perfect, the taste of them was something else. They were as soft as they looked, and tasted sweet, similar to the way her scent was, it reminded him of peaches somehow. He ran his tongue across her lower lip asking for better access, and deepening the kiss once she opened her mouth at his request. One of her hands had made its way to the side of his face, and she had intertwined her fingers through his hair, pulling him as close as humanly possible. If heaven existed, it was this, Kagome’s lips against his own, moving in sync with one another, tongue’s battling in dominance, heavy breaths in between movements, little nibbles here and there. Inuyasha had never experienced something as glorious as this moment. After what seemed like forever, although it was probably no more than five minutes, they broke apart. Regaining their breath, they both just stared into each other's eyes. Sudden fear hit him, he had not thought through what would happen if he kissed her, would she be disgusted with him? Would she think he forced himself on her? No, she had kissed him back, not only that, but they had kissed before, back in Kaguya’s castle, but that time had been different, his life was in danger, she had had no other choice. As if reading his mind, and noticing the self doubt that currently ran through Inuyasha’s head, Kagome smiled, making Inuyasha’s heart skip several beats. “If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve tickled you a long time ago” confessed Kagome, stroking his cheek with her thumb, fingers still running through his hair. Her heart was beating a thousand miles per hour, head spinning, as she tried to process what had just happened. It had been glorious, she truly had not expected this outcome when she discovered he was ticklish. The thought made her giggle. “I- I had never been tickled before” He said, averting his eyes. It was true, no one had ever gotten close enough to him to do such a thing, he supposed his mother had done it when he was a child, but it had been so long ago he hardly remembered the feeling before now. Since then no one had bothered to touch him in such a way to discover what spots on his body made him squirm and laugh, not until Kagome. She pulled his face a little so that he made eye contact with her again, lifting her head up a little, she gave him a quick peck on the lips and smiled. It was true that Inuyasha had had a rough life, people tended to be afraid of demons and half demons alike. But he didn’t have to feel like an outcast anymore, he deserved to experience love, and all the little things that made life worthwhile, and she would make sure of it. “Well, I’m glad to be your first” As her words left her mouth Kagome realized what she had just said “That’s not what I meant I-” This time it was him that gave her a chaste kiss “I know what you meant, thank you” He was running his fingers through her hair, not wanting this moment to end. He took a deep breath, trying to engrave everything about this moment in his memory, before finally pulling away and getting up. He offered his hand to hoist her up alongside him. Standing closer than they normally did. “Just so we’re clear, I definitely won this war” he said with a cocky grin, making Kagome laugh and roll her eyes at him. “Fine, but next time I’m definitely gonna win, you’ll see” At that both their stomachs made rumbling sounds, both of them realizing they hadn’t had anything to eat since that morning before they had set out on their journey back home. “I think my mom bought extra ramen the last time you were here, how about we make some to celebrate your victory?” Inuyasha’s eyes lit up in glee, as if he would ever reject the option of having ramen for dinner. “Let’s go then” he said, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers as he guided her out of her room and down to the kitchen. Perhaps this had been the first time he had been tickled, and it would definitely not be the last one. As long as it was Kagome, and it ended the same way each time, with their lips pressed together and her hand on his hand.

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