wenrene + “Point the gun at me. What are you waiting for?”
“You know what? This is possibly the dumbest situation you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“You say that and yet, you’re right here with me.”
Irene lets out a haughty chuckle. “Well, someone has to save you.”
Wendy whips her head to look at Irene, who has a smug look on her face. “I do NOT need you to save me.” She rolls her shoulders. “I can save myself.”
Irene hums. “Say that to little miss princess over here.”
The young princess Chaewon looks so confused at the two women who are dressed in black. They look like bodyguards, can fight like bodyguards, but something about their demeanor does not scream bodyguards. Wendy is dressed in a nice black leather jacket with a ripped gray tee and black jeans and combat boots, while Irene is dressed in a black blazer and black tank top and black skin tight leather pants and flat sneakers.
“How did you even get into this--”
“SHUT UP?!” The kidnapper screams as he holds up his rifle, still pointing it at Wendy. He has listened to the pair bicker since Irene came sauntering into their hideout. It was bad enough Wendy had suddenly showed up mid transport. “HOW DID YOU GET HERE?”
His frantic yelling causes Irene and Wendy to send each other a glance. They know that he’s lost control of the situation. Irene stares at Wendy pointedly.
How do you want to get out of this?
I haven’t thought that far.
Irene rolls her eyes at Wendy’s readable expression. “After all these centuries,” she shakes her head. “Hey, kidnapper,” she casually addresses with a tilt of her nose. “Point your gun at me. What are you waiting for?”
Wendy’s eyes go comically wide. “Excuse me?” Even the kidnapper stares in disbelief because Irene’s tone isn’t pleading to save the love of her life, she sounds rather bored.
“I said someone has to save you,” Irene repeats herself rather arrogantly. She stands up straight. “I can take the bullet this time.” There’s a smug look on her face. “Again.”
Wendy scoffs in disbelief. “Oh, shut up, I can take the bullet this time. You really act as if I need saving all of the time.”
Irene shrugs. “You’re a princess, you always need saving.” Wendy is about to argue when--
“I SAID SHUT UP! WHY DO YOU KEEP BICKERING?” The kidnapper yells in distress and suddenly the rifle goes off with a loud BANG.
Irene flinches at the loud sound and sharp tear in her skin. “OW!” She grabs the bleeding hole in her stomach.
“Unnie!” Wendy yells, startled that the kidnapper actually shot Irene.
Irene groans as she looks at the blood on her hand from her wound. “God, he used a full metal jacket.” She glares at him. “You’re military AND you’re kidnapping the princess?” She looks offended at him and turns to Wendy. “I’m not letting him go alive.” She holds up her fists and rushes towards the kidnapper.
Wendy grimaces. “NO! Jagiya, we are not killing anyone this century!”
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PJO & Palestine pt. 2
This is going to unpack some bullshit I've seen about Rick Riordan. For pt. 1 about why "boycotting Disney" is not actually the thing you need to be doing right now, go here.
Imma try to keep it brief this time <3
In addition to the misleading info about Disney as a boycott target, I've seen some ridiculously facile takes about boycotting the show because of Rick Riordan.
As far as I can tell, the drama stems mostly from this blog post, where he shares his (fairly tepid but still principled) view of Palestine and Israel.
Here are some key takeaways:
The blog post is from Oct 17, 2023. Only ten days into the genocide, and with plenty of attention still lingering on Oct 7 worldwide. As far as I know, he hasn't shared any updated reactions
Should he? Maybe. Here's what he has to say about it in the blog post:
He goes on to talk about having readers in both Israel & Palestine:
Maybe you think he should pick a side. Maybe you're sick of both-sideism and if you see one more media take equating Israeli grief to Palestinian grief during a motherfucking genocide you will launch yourself into the sun. Rick goes on:
I don't know what you were expecting from a children's author whose overarching theme is, "You might think you know who the monsters are, but be careful; black-and-white thinking like that reduces us all."
[SPOILERS for non book readers] In PJO, Percy ultimately agrees with Luke that the system is unjust and can't remain as it is. Luke's willingness to sacrifice the lives of their friends is the thing he can't support.
The series deeply explores questions of monsters vs. victims, how our circumstances shape us, institutional injustice...
I get the anger when people, especially celebrities and the media, use calls for nuance to avoid taking a stand. I don't think it's accurate to say that's what's happening here.
I said I'd keep this short and I've obviously failed, so let's get to the most damning part of Rick's blog post:
This is what has people calling him a Zionist. And do I kinda hate it? Yeah, I do. That line "security and support" is propaganda that Israel has spent 75+ years feeding into the global media machine. I also hate that the overwhelmingly pathetic response of most public figures has conditioned me to be impressed by breadcrumbs like 'Palestine should also be secure and supported and free.'
So there you have it. Rick's opinions from 10 days into what has become a 100+ day genocide.
Maybe this all sounds unforgivably centrist to you, and that's your right. You don't have to engage with his stories. Approaching content with an eye to the author's real positions and attitudes is a healthy way to interpret media critically.
However, I'd really like people to remember two things:
This is not a JKR situation. Watching the show does not give money to someone who actively uses their platform to spread hate.
If this is about your own media purity, I have bad news for you. Literally none of your faves are perfect, and neither are you. Trying to only interact with un-cancellable media is futile, discourse-killing, and self-absorbed at a time when there are more important things we should be doing.
Ultimately, the choice of whether to engage with content from someone whose views you don't agree with is your own. You get to decide where to draw that line.
I, personally, can respect a lot of what Rick says here. He's a children's author using his platform to speak to children. He has his eye on the long game. He still emphatically argues for a free Palestine.
There have been other betrayals from other artists that I couldn't tolerate. It's a personal choice.
So please, stop shaming people for watching this silly little show. Stop trying to police how others engage with media that isn't hurting anyone.
There's work to be done.
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oh nooo that's quite a bummer :( but i'm very glad that i helped brightening up your day :") tbh your writing brightens up my day too (≧▽≦)
AND WAIT I'VE BEEN ACTUALLY QUITE THINKING ABOUT WHETHER ZOMBIE MOB HAS FOUGHT OFF A ZOMBIE WHEN I ASKED IF HE HAS EVER BITTEN SOMEONE and since you brought it up, well, would be okay to ask about the details of how it went 👁️👁️ (also him fighting off a fellow zombie to protect tome got me sobbing)
- 🪻
aww im glad my silly little words brighten ur day!! ur so sweet :]
and yes, it went horribly <3! tome prolly wasn't paying attention as closely as she should've been and got herself surrounded by a crowd. to be clear, that's not Always dangerous, since zombies arent like,, after ur brains in this constantly. but these zombies did look quite hungry, and human or not, she looked like a good meal,,
she had wandered off a bit from mob n ritsu, but mob heard the commotion first. tome has a big fucking baseball bat in this au that she likes to swing around, but a baseball bat can only get u so far in terms of self defense. she thins the horde but there's simply too many of them
mob lets exactly One zombie grab her and yank her toward them before he goes ballistic
watching zombies fight is a lot closer to watching wild animals fight than anything else, and it gets quite horrid sometimes. since their bites aren't rly "dangerous" to each other beyond the typical Oh No a Chunk of Flesh is Gone (not even painful for them, since their nerves r.. less than functional), the fight is a lot more close up and gruesome than a fight against a zombie and a human would be. humans usually back away from zombies immediately and try not to touch them at all in fear of getting bitten; zombies don't need to care abt that
most of the horde realizes that this meal isn't going to be easy and they wander off, but a few more hungry, more desperate ones try to rip into mob's throat at the first sign of defiance. it's not exactly a fair fight; it's like 1 against 4, so he's sorta bound to lose
thankfully ritsu shows up and shoots two of them down (he's Terrified of shooting mob by accident, but either way he'll probably die, so) and tome gets the last one with a good swing to the head. ritsu rushes to mob and is horrified by the amount of blood dripping from his neck and his arm; tome is equally as shocked, but she's mostly thinking, "ive Never seen a zombie defend a human before"
mob's neck is thankfully mostly just scraped up and clawed, but there Is some gruesome punctures where canines sank in and tugged. it's a lot worse along his arm that's bitten and gouged beyond belief. he loses a lot of blood here, but the whole nerves-no-longer-work thing is a blessing in disguise atm; he'd be in a lot of pain otherwise. while ritsu and tome are patching him up w shaky hands he simply glares beyond their shoulders like he thinks he's still in danger, even when they tighten the bandages. it's like he barely notices what they’re doing
his strangely alert behavior makes them think abt the possibility that maybe mob Knows he could've easily been shredded apart there, and he's a little scared and worked up abt it. the only reason he managed to fight as long as he did without dying is prolly bc the other zombies weren't as well-fed as mob—they were kinda weak and shaky from days of no food, but mob has humans taking care of him and keeping him fed 24/7
they're all shaken up by it pretty good.. tome is still reeling from the fact that mob defended her so valiantly, and ritsu is quietly horrified by the idea of another zombie killing mob instead of a human. he doesn't know which is worse
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[ previous ]
In the meantime, Pikavee gazed up at the stars that dotted the black and blue sky. She noted how even in a place as alien as this, the constellations looked exactly as they did back in Sciliva.
She always liked looking at the stars. It brought a sense of calm, even in a time like this.
She then spotted something else directly in her field of view. A sliver of light that stood out among the scattered sparkles. Her calm became that of dread as she realized.
It was a crescent moon. The shape was so thin that she almost missed it among the cluster of stars, but there was no mistaking it.
She averted her eyes soon after, but it was too late to regret looking at it. Her eyes shut in pain as her headache returned fullforce, becoming unbearable.
Thankfully, it lasted only a moment. It ebbed as quickly as it flared up, back to a dull ache.
She sighed in relief, before being startled at the sound of rattling bushes and crunching grass.
Pikavee: “Lief? You’re back already?”
Then she spotted the orange-red glow from the red-orange markings and heard the grunts she made as she dragged along a wagon full of goods with her mouth, and she realized with fear who it actually was.
Butt first, Fenninkou stepped in the open, pausing to say:
Fenninkou: “Nope! Me again! Eheh.”
Before resuming her toil, now struggling to pull her luggage completely out from the bushes.
Pikavee: “Wh-what are you doing here…?”
Fenninkou’s voice came out somewhat muffled as she replied, still focused on tugging the wagon free.
Fenninkou: “I brought you something. I dunno what giants eat, so I figured I’d find out and bring… ngh, bring everything.”
She growled through gritted teeth as she pulled even harder.
Fenninkou: “Come on, you crappy–”
Pikavee: “D-do you need help?”
Fenninkou: “Almost got it!”
She didn't. It was still stuck.
After a moment longer of awkwardly watching and wondering if she should do something, Pikavee did do something.
The oval marking on her forehead lit up with a gentle, lavender glow. The wagon became enshrouded in that same color.
She gently helped Fenninkou along, using telekinesis. The latter’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the glow.
Now that the wagon was unstuck and out of the brush, the glow faded from it and Pikavee’s forehead spot.
Within the wagon in question was an assortment of items, but what stuck out were the jars full of honey apple jelly.
Somewhat curious, Fenninkou turned to face her.
Fenninkou: “Was that you?”
Pikavee: “I-I hope you didn’t mind… did you mind?”
Her tail upright and wagging, Fenninkou looked at her with awe.
Fenninkou: “No way! That was amazing! Thanks~!”
Pikavee’s fearful expression had mostly faded. That is, until Fenninkou stepped closer to her, and she shied away somewhat.
Fenninkou paused in response.
Fenninkou: “I’m not gonna attack you again, ok? I promise. I just want to talk.”
Fenninkou: “We can talk, right?”
Pikavee: “I-I don’t know…”
She found it hard to keep looking Fenninkou in the face.
Pikavee: “What are you doing here, really?”
Fenninkou: “I couldn’t sleep.”
Pikavee definitely didn’t see that declaration coming.
Pikavee: “H-huh–?”
Fenninkou: “I felt really bad for what happened and wanted to do something, but I didn’t know how. So I stayed up thinking and thinking about it, at first. I thought about asking Mr. Livingston something…”
Pikavee: “Really…? What did he say?”
Fenninkou: “Oh no, no one knows I’m even out here. I snuck out of town.”
A double whammy of a confession. She didn’t expect that, either.
Pikavee: “Th-that’s just reckless!”
Fenninkou: “I got excited, ok?! I thought about asking Mr. Livingston where I would look if I wanted to find humans, and then I realized how I could help you! What if we searched the entire Isle together and looked for clues? And even treasure! We could be like real Treasure Hunters! And all we need to do to get started is to go back to town right now and asked Mr. Livingston where to start!”
Fenninkou: “Then I couldn’t sleep because I got so excited! And I figured I could come talk to you and share with you my favorite food, too~!”
She now went back to tug the wagon close, right up to Pikavee’s toes. At this point she began rambling about the uses of honey apple jelly while taking a jar to eat from.
Pikavee was at a complete loss for words, at first. This same child that was adamant on humans being dead was now in front of her downplaying all of that and pacing around like an overeager puppy.
Pikavee: “Wait. Wait a minute, please…”
Fenninkou slowed, looking up at Pikavee.
Pikavee: “Y-you said that there’s no way they could be alive before. Now you’re changing your mind?”
Fenninkou: “Yeah. Mr. Livingston never told us they were dead. Just that they were gone. Maybe he meant ‘missing’ gone and not ‘gone’ gone.”
Fenninkou: “So now I think that they’re out there, and we just haven't found it, yet. Maybe it’s a place no Treasure Hunter has ever seen before~!”
She went back to eagerly guzzling her helping of honey apple jelly.
It really sounded too good to be true. Again, Pikavee had trouble looking at her directly.
Pikavee: “And what if you’re wrong? What if we’re wrong?”
Fenninkou: “How else will we know for sure?”
She swallowed her mouthful and licked the bits of jam stuck to her maw and lips.
Fenninkou: “That whole ‘they’re probably dead’ thing really was just my opinion, but if it’s true? We’ll find another way.”
Fenninkou: “Maybe you can be with me and Rue. Help make the Isle a better place. What do you think?”
Pikavee: “Um… I…”
Pikavee wasn't sure what her answer was, yet, regarding the latter half of what Fenninkou said.
The former bit, regarding going to ask Livingston? Different story.
Pikavee: “M-maybe we should start from the beginning, first. Fenninkou, was it?”
Lief: “Oh really, now?”
The two look over with shock at the sound of his voice. He had just returned from the look of things, with quite a few oran berries sticking out from the fur of his curved tail.
Lief: “It isn’t enough that you bully her and make her cry, now you’ve stalked her and filled her head with ridiculous ideas~.”
Fenninkou: “Hey–! How long have you been there?!”
Lief: “Not long at all, actually. But you really do have a big mouth.”
He casually walked up to them, joining them here in the clearing. He rested a hand on his hip as he stood before them.
Fenninkou: “B… big mouth?!”
Then Lief pointed her way while glancing over.
Lief: “I’m serious, you should work on that. If you’re dead set on selling out, learn to be quiet out here.”
As Fenninkou looked even more stunned, he turned to Pikavee next.
Lief: “As for you, Missy, what do you think? Do you want her help?”
Pikavee took a breath. Inhale, exhale…
She had intended to come off firm, but actually speaking it made her sound quite skittish instead.
Pikavee: “L-Lief. I know what you said before, and I promise I’ll be careful. But I need to do this.”
Lief: “Which is why I’m coming with you.”
Now Fenninkou and Pikavee both gawked at him, caught off guard.
Pikavee: “Y-you’re not gonna stop me? Or talk me out of it?”
Lief: “Oh, I still don’t like every bit of this. We’re lucky enough to leave when we did before she could poke her nose in it. But I said my piece already.”
Lief: “Besides, you look like you have your mind made up. Like if I hadn’t shown up, you would have followed this little thief back to town. And now would be the best possible time to go back.”
Fenninkou merely grumbled in response.
Fenninkou: “Big mouth… I’m not a big mouth.”
Fenninkou: “If you don’t like us so much, why do you keep coming back, anyway? Why even follow her around?”
Lief: “Because you townies are hilarious. Plus, someone needs to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t give her more hopeless ideas.”
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