#why do you think being disabled is a punishment. hm.

[storm-of-feathers]

I did not just see someone say jaune deserves to be PERMANENTLY DISABLED as a PUNISHMENT for the fact you don't like him

#anti rwde #HOLY ABLEISM BATMAN #teehee jaune deserves to never walk or hold a weapon again uwuuwuwuwu #why do you think being disabled is a punishment. hm. #why do you think jaune needs to be a rerun of yangs arc #which yang learned to find peace and power with herself #but moreover you seem to hate jaune. a lot. #which is fine hate who you hate #but why do you have violent fantasis about ''making'' unable to hold a sword #why do you fantasize about making a character disabled *as a punishment* #bc he kind of annoyed you. #the ableism fucking reeks holy shit

[writer-and-artist27]

An Unbent Person

Note: Even though I haven’t finished the movie Remaining Sense of Pain from Kara no Kyoukai as a result of my being triggered by the intro, Asagami Fujino has been lingering in my head lately. And since it’s your birthday, @withanina / Aqui, I wanted to revisit her in a way that both honors you as one of my best friends and that helps me process the complex character that Fujinon is.

I just hope I did Fujinon justice with this oneshot. I’m still trying to figure her out, even when she’s one of my best Archers in my Chaldea and I’ve been in a writing slump to the point of defaulting to S&S verse to try to get back something. But we’re still here and I’m rambling, so enough of that. I’ll just insert this song as a theme since Yuki Kaijura also composed Credens Justitiam for Madoka Magica after working with Type: MOON, and let’s go. The lyrics used for the song are taken from lyricstranslate.com. This story canonically takes place, I think, after the aforementioned Remaining Sense of Pain (possibly around Extra Chorus) and S&S 24, before Kannabi.

Happy Birthday, Aqui. Thank you for sticking with all my stories. I hope we’ll keep being friends for years to come.

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

Growing up in Nagareboshi Café meant getting used to what other civilians would call “abnormal behaviors.” Or, maybe the better phrase was simply “not minding things out of the ordinary.” Whether it was the shinobi coming into the café with nothing but a few flicked fingers in my direction to ask for an order or the occasional call for a song by a tired voice from the bar area, I learned very quickly to take things as they were. After all, it was still the Narutoverse — a place where child soldiers were considered “common” of all things. Papa had lived in that very same scenario for years, and now my best friends were growing up in it.

It felt like death was inevitable, no matter where you were in this world, because it was made a “norm.” Ugh.

Thus, the least I could do was not judge and instead be as welcoming as possible. It was all I could do just to provide some levity in a world that couldn’t offer any.

It was with this mindset that I met her.

She could’ve blended into the crowd with her unassuming black and red spider lily-patterned kimono and long purple hair, but once she was gently walking past Mama’s figure in the front of the café and carefully making her way to a table in the corner of the building with her cane, I did my best to not stare. It wasn’t every day that someone came in with a cane in hand, and once she started gently tapping the cane against every object she came across while walking, it automatically clued me in that it was not my business to ask.

Someone with an apparent disability didn’t need extra attention drawn to them unless they needed it for a helping hand. Internally, I was very grateful, though, to see how some clientele and our own café servers stepped out of the way to let the lady slowly maneuver through the crowd with her cane, a few people even quietly moving their chairs out of the way to give her a clear path. It was such a stark contrast to how Vy’s old family at times gave one of my aunts far too much space, simply because of how emotionally stubborn and physically weak she was for reasons I never did understand even after being reborn. Family issues were family issues.

But for a second, my thoughts wandered to how things would have happened for the lady to come in the way she did. Anyone, of course, could use a cane. Everyone had their own reasons. But the cloudiness in her eyes — it said something about her cane usage. Aside from looking straight up at the sun for that direct UV light exposure, possibly impaired vision wasn’t something that just happened unless we were getting into the possibility of genetics, lifestyle choices, and/or eye strain and how eyes related to anime powers. The Sharingan was a notable example of the latter, where Canon Sauce went blind thanks to overusing his Mangekyo after fighting Danzo, and I did not want to think about Obi possibly dealing with the same consequences once his Sharingan activated.

Wait. No no no. I shook my head vigorously, clamping down on the urge to slap my cheeks as punishment. It wasn’t my place to speculate what happened to Nagareboshi Café’s newest customer, even if she was pretty and the empathy in me was screaming to help her. The right thing to do is give distance and let her come to me if she wants to, I mentally knocked my head against a library wall, much to Hisako’s raised eyebrow. Remember that, me.

How about a song to break the ice, then? Hisako suggested, eerily quiet with her arms crossed over her chest. Tomoe Mami’s theme? To stop the library knocking.

Oops. I glanced at the black and white keys underneath my fingertips and nodded to myself. You know, why not?

My Nobody beamed with pride. Much better!

I couldn’t help but agree. There was something about seeing that lady with her walking cane and cloudy red eyes sitting by herself at a table that reminded me of a yellow magical girl. A single yellow-themed, gun-wielding magical girl who went about fighting alone just to ensure some kind of future for herself. It was honestly sad to think about because her wish was “to live” and that was where it had landed her.

But the concept of “loneliness” was not one I could entertain forever. I knew I didn’t want to when I couldn’t unsee the white myself.

Thus, humming the first few lyrics to myself was a good distraction while it lasted. Plus it was a good starter for tapping my foot to get the rhythm before letting my hands play out the rest. The piano crooned softly with my thoughts, echoing the chords I wanted, and for once,  I didn’t mind feeling my chakra start to float from the interaction. It felt like I didn’t have to hold my chakra back. This time, I let the music take me away in the hopes of letting my chakra play out as it should’ve been. Free, empathetic, and open.

The Sage of Six Paths might’ve been happy with the performance. I wanted to think that, at least, when playing the piano at that moment.

Solti ola i Amaliche cantia masa Estia…

E sonti tolda i Emalita cantia mia Distia…

A litia dista Somelite esta dia A ditto i della Filioche mio Solti tola Solti ola i Amaliche cantia masa estia E sonti tolda i Emalita cantia mia distia…

Alita della Maliche sonta dia Mia sonta della I testa mia Testi ola Solti ola…

Solti ola i Amaliche cantia mia Dia, dia...

By the time the last few keys faded into the air, I knew without opening my eyes that someone was sitting next to me on the piano bench. Miyako-bachan’s teachings were close to becoming second-hand nature to a point, but it didn’t stop me from squeaking a little when glancing over to find the very same lady I was thinking of at my right side.

Maybe I was too invested in remembering the first Heroine of Justice…

Even up close, it was obvious my newest visitor had gone through a lot at her age, with the little creases on her cheeks and the occasional white line of scarring crossing along what skin her kimono showed past the collar. Once she wrapped her red shawl tighter around her shoulders, hiding the scars with one hand while clutching the handle of her cane with the other, she slowly blinked in the vague direction of the piano. It took a moment before she went about turning her head towards me. Her gaze was unfocused, but still pointed my way. “Hello,” she said very quietly, her long purple hair brushing her shoulders with the greeting. “Are you the one who played the song just now?”

“Y-Yes,” I replied gently, nodding my head. “I am Hoshino Tomoko, your pianist for the day. Welcome to Nagareboshi Café, um…”

“Asagami,” the lady said, bowing her head in return. Her red eyes blinked again, as if focusing past the clouds in the irises, before she added, “Asagami Fujino,” with a small smile. “It was a beautiful song, Hoshino-san.”

“Thank you, Asagami-san,” I said respectfully in return. “Is there another song you would like me to play for you while you’re here?”

To my surprise, Asagami-san shook her head, her long purple hair swishing against her clothes enough to reflect the café lighting. It took an extra moment for me to realize she was wearing a black ribbon in her hair. “Not a song,” she said, voice all the more quiet in spite of her closeness. “I wanted to ask you something.” She blinked for a moment, her eyes narrowing in my direction in that small interval of time before widening minutely. “What were you thinking of when playing it? It was…” Asagami-san trailed off, turning her head back to looking at her lap as she gripped her cane. “It felt different. I never heard such a song like yours before.”

Oh. Uh. Just in case, I turned to the other person in the room. Hisako?

It didn’t even take a second for my Nobody to answer. Reliable as always. Yes, dear?

Chakra or no chakra explanation?

Hm. Hisako thoughtfully pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Keep it simple. No chakra. Best to not add any confusing elements.

Alrighty. Simple and no chakra it is.

To Asagami-san, I admitted honestly, “I was actually thinking of you.”

Asagami-san raised her head in my direction so quickly, I would’ve thought she’d have given herself whiplash with how her neck turned. Her red eyes were still cloudy-looking, but they seemed to be shining with a newfound light of some sorts now. It felt like she was shocked. “Eh?” With that said, Asagami-san then lowered her head, no longer gazing in my direction but still exuding that same aura of surprise. “…Me?”

“Yes,” I continued, in spite of the growing blush no thanks to anxiety and embarrassment. “I-It looked like today is your first day here, so I just wanted to play something that made you feel welcomed—”

“No one has ever done that for me before,” Asagami-san interrupted, her voice one octave louder than before. Her knuckles were turning white against her already pale skin as she gripped her cane. “Not after…” She inhaled one long deep breath. “It was not painful.”

I took a deep breath too. “I didn’t mean for it to be,” I said softly.

Asagami-san gave me a small smile past the shoulder of her red shawl. “You seem to be a kind person, Hoshino-san.”

“I try to be, every day,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice from wobbling. This conversation was definitely starting to hit something heavy, and for once, it felt like I was doing something right and stepping into territory I couldn’t exactly parse out on my own. After all, it wasn’t every day a grown woman was relying on a teenager of all people. But the situation was happening, and there was no stopping it. “It’s what I was taught to do, and I want to keep doing it.” For the people I care for, for the people I lost, for myself, was left unsaid. “Everyone deserves a chance to feel safe and be themselves. I just help make the space for that, without pain and with as much kindness I can muster.”

Asagami-san said nothing for a while after that, merely tapping her cane against the pedals of the piano for a small moment. I did my best not to wince when one such tap happened on my foot, but by then, it seemed like Asagami-san was in her own thoughts. My bit of pain didn’t matter. Right now, something was up.

Did I say something wrong?

“…You can see,” Asagami-san said finally, her voice a bare wisp in the air, “life even without pain?”

As expected from a moment of silence — it sounded and felt like a loaded question. Still, I lifted my hands from the piano keys to place them into my lap, taking a breath to formulate my answer. There was no way I could leave this standing. “Maybe. Maybe not. I just know that life is full of many things, Asagami-san. Pain can be a part of it, but that’s not all there is to it. There’s the trees outside, the bright blue sky, the warm air, the food in the café, and the people that live here.” With the warmest smile I could make, I turned to her, even if a part of me could guess she wouldn’t fully see it. “It’s because of what happens in this life that I got to meet you, right?”

Asagami-san looked up in my direction again. Her red eyes were wider than before, letting in enough light to expose my reflection in the cloudy irises before the first visages of tears dotted the edges. “You…” her bottom lip quivered. “How can you say that, Hoshino-san? I-I…” Asagami-san shook her head vigorously, enough to jostle the black ribbon in her hair, making it crooked. “I’m not—”

Maybe I shouldn’t have shared. Maybe I was going too far, considering we were in the middle of the café and the privacy seals weren’t turned on and I needed to turn them on. But the words were leaving my lips before I could stop them, interrupting whatever thought Asagami-san was about to voice. “You’re fine, Asagami-san. I just wanted to play the song for you because I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t want anyone else to feel the same way when there’s so much more in the world to discover and enjoy.”

Asagami-san’s shoulders shook against her shawl, causing the red cloth to fall back and expose the barely hidden scars against the black collar of her kimono. “…I thought I couldn’t feel anything outside of pain. Not after Keita-san a-and Shiki-san.” Keita-san? Shiki-san? “But you—”

“I’m sorry if I overwhelmed you,” I said honestly, raising my hand for a moment before lowering it. Even if I was tempted to pat her back as a form of sympathy, from the way Asagami-san was hunching into herself, it wasn’t the best time to intrude on her personal space bubble. I made this bed, and I was going to lie in it even if I wasn’t sure of what was going on. “I put a lot in what I do. But I meant everything I said. And what I felt when I played the piano.”

It was at that very moment I saw a small droplet hit the edge of Asagami-san’s kimono sleeve. Oh. Oh dear. “Wh-why…” there was a dainty sniffle, “why didn’t I meet you sooner? If I knew you before, then—”

Screw it.

I reached over to gently rest my palm against the hand Asagami-san was using to grip her cane. “But you’re here, Asagami-san,” I said, feeling my smile wobble all the more at seeing more droplets fall onto Asagami-san’s kimono, creating dark wet circles in the black cloth. “You’re still here now. And I’m glad that you are.”

Asagami-san shuddered, her shawl barely covering her back with the gesture tilting her center of balance. “I-I feel like crying. It hurts. I-It all hurts. C-Can I… Can I cry?” For a grown woman, I was not expecting the childlike tone of wonder in her voice. “Hoshino-san, can I cry?”

My heart hurt. Something must’ve happened for her to react so much. Even then, I still curled my fingers so that they could brush against Asagami-san’s hand and hopefully relax her grip on her cane. Physical comfort was the least I could give after unearthing something so heavy. “Of course you can. That’s a part of what makes you human, Asagami-san. Crying is a part of what helps all of us be alive.”

The first sob I heard from her then sounded more like a relieved laugh than a cry for help. Even then, Asagami-san shrunk into her seat at the piano bench, purple hair shrouding her face all the while. I simply kept my palm against her knuckles, controlling my own breathing to not cry myself from the shared emotion.

“M-May I—” Asagami-san choked around another sob as her hand relaxed minutely under my grip, “May I come here again, Hoshino-san?”

“Yes,” I said faintly. “Of course. I wouldn’t say ‘no,’ Asagami-san. Feel free to visit Nagareboshi Café whenever you’d like. I’ll be here.”

It felt like a promise I couldn’t turn my back on. I wouldn’t.

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

Long after Asagami-san left from the café closing for the day, I found myself letting go of the breath I was holding. Then a hand gently fell onto my hair.

“You okay, hime?” Papa whispered, patting my head for a moment before pulling me in for a side-hug. “Need anything?”

My lip quivered before I let go of my current inhibitions and wrapped my arms around his waist, converting the side-hug into a full-on hug. The fact that I was getting a faceful of his waist apron didn’t matter. Nor did the smell of what reminded me of day-old soda. No matter what, it was still Papa, and work was done. I could be selfish around him and it was okay. “M-More hugs, please, Papa.”

Papa laughed softly before resting a hand against my back and patting there too. “Alright. You did well, hime.”

“I-I followed your example, daddy,” I whispered back, finding my voice going back to Vy’s for just that moment. “Help others when you have the ability to.”

“And that, hime,” Papa replied wistfully and proudly, “is what makes your heart a good one. Just let me and Mama help you next time. You can’t do everything alone and we’re still here. We’ll play a full concert together when Asagami-san comes back.”

“Aye. Th-That’ll be nice.” If it meant one more wounded person could smile, that was enough for me. I didn’t have to shoulder everything. And one concert could possibly make one more day won from the dirty clutches of war. I’d just have to settle for that.

Maybe next time, Asagami-san could smile without tears in her eyes.

#birthday gift #writing #hoshino tomoko #asagami fujino #oneshot #happy birthday friend #happy birthday Aqui #withanina #friend things #long post #tw: trigger mention #implied blindness #kara no kyoukai #tw: long post #the sea and stars #hisako #yuki judai

[insanetwocubes]

So what exactly is so hard that you can’t do without?!

I need to spend time alone for extended periods of time in order to recuperate from the sensor overload of every day life!

...So? How is... I mean. You don’t... You already do that.

I need people to understand I don’t look at them when they’re talking because of sensory problems, not to be rude.

...I .... don’t know how to solve that for you.

I need people to understand that I’m not doing things on purpose to piss them off.

...I... again.... I....

Don’t know how to solve it. Well, this is my proposition.

I don’t think it will solve it.

Me, either. It’s the first step.

Lyke I don’t understand, what, are you lyke gonna wear an “I love my autistic self” t shirt and then what?

Then people will know without me having to tell them.

Then people will /know./

Flare, that’s the fucking point!

That is the fucking point!

Flare! What are you so scared of!

I’m not fucking stupid! And I’m not disabled! And I’m not some vegetable who isn’t able to achieve her dreams!

You’re! Not! Able! To! 

Yeah, I am!

Are.... are you against me?

No, of course not....

....

Then why would you say that.

Because I think the only way to get where we want to go is to utilize accommodations. Take advantage of things that already exist so we can thrive.

We don’t need those.

I do.

No, you don’t.

Yes, I do.

No. You’re better than that.

*facepalms* It’s not about being better, Flarichka.

Then I don’t understand.

I’m trying to explain.

Then explain it again.

....

Okay. Where do I start? Are you even listening?

*shrugs* I don’t know.

I mean... we’re not....

What.

Vegetables.

No.

.....

Okay.

We can do some things.

Yeah! We can do some things!

But we can’t do it all.

....

Pf. Do you think we can do it all? Alone?

.... kinda.

I think. Here’s the way I see it, right. I started out fronting wanting to do it all.

...

And it’s been a few years. And not much really happened.

....

What. What do you say to that?

What? No, nothing. It’s probably lyke bad luck. You didn’t get the right opportunity yet. You can still do it. Just too many things keep getting in the way.

Like what?

Uh.

Like what?

Uhm.

Why haven’t I done it all already?

.... 

Say it!

I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!

Flare. Am I lesser-than?

Of course not.

You’re- you’re the best, most amazing thing that ever happened to me.

Thanks. So. If I’m so amazing, then what happened? If I’m really so much better than the rest of them?

Of course you are so much better than them.

Then what happened?

I don’t know. Problems. Mental problems. We’re fucked up.

What mental problems specifically?

I don’t know. Depression? 

Hasn’t been me.

Inability to effectively communicate with them? They keep pushing us off course.

Good. Good. I can’t talk to them properly, right? It results in a lot of problems?

Yeah, but... I can’t change you. And I can’t change them. So I don’t know. I’m sorry. We’re just in the wrong world.

No, no, don’t be sorry.

...then what?

So you said you can’t change me.

I don’t want to. You’re the best as you are.

I know lol So what’s the problem?

With what?

Why do we clash?

Misunderstandings? Distaste? 

So why is this communication thing important?

Well If you could just get them out of the way and find people you’re on the same page with, it will all be good. Right?

Exactly. So this communication thing is important. Yet misunderstandings happen. So why do you think misunderstandings happens?

Well, like you mentioned a lot of the time they think you’re doing something intentionally when it’s just an accident.

Why do they think I’m doing something intentionally? People make social faux pas’s all the time.

Well, the things that you’re competent at don’t match up with the mistakes. Lyke to them they’re not on the same level.

So why do they think that?

Well-

....

Uh.

Why do they think that, Flare.

Because.... we’re just different, I guess?

Okay. Let’s say we’re just different.

Okay.

But the communication thing is a problem.

Communication is something we can get better at.

Flare. Focus.

It’s relevant.

I thought you said I was the best just as I am.

You are.

Then how could I have room to improve in order for us to /function./

Uh.

Back on track now. So let’s see what we have. We’re different. That’s okay. But they’re the majority. And we have communication problems.

Right.

But it’s not a normal thing to have communication problems. Is it?

.....I don’t know. Why are we comparing ourselves to other people anyway? We’re different.

Yeah, we’re different, but we have goals that need achieving.

....okay.

And we need them to be able to achieve it.

.... okay- But do we really? Can’t we just do everything alone?

Can we?

N.....I... guess...not......

That’s.... strange. We should be able to.

I know.

But something is missing.

I know.

It’s lyke. All these things that other people do. We can match them intellectually but when it comes to ability....

That’s...

Something is off, right? We’re kinda different. Aren’t we.

Y....yeah.

So what’s.... up with that?

Our brain just doesn’t match up, Flare.

I mean we’re not dumb.

No, we’re not.

So... what.... happened?

Nothing happened. We’re just a little different.

I’m not being punished or anything.... right?

Nope.

So why....

Born that way. I think.

Either way, it doesn’t matter.

....

Can we accept that we’re just a little different?

I guess. 

So. Okay so should we... lyke...how.... what....?

*nods* Yeah.

Do you think that will help?

I don’t know but I think.... the problem is important enough and strong enough that we need to start taking advantage of the humans’ ability to..... bridge gaps in ability lol

But lyke. How is that fair?

Why does it have to be fair?

Cuz I’d feel guilty?

Don’t.

Uhm lol.

Do you feel like you’re incurring a debt you can’t repay?

Yes! Exactly!

Right. So what debt? We already acknowledged that we need them. Or did you change your mind?

I guess.... we do need them.

I know.

....Hm.

So we need them then we need them, isn’t it.

It’s just not.... a normal thing... y’know?

Yeah, but we’re different. Even if just a little. (Or a lot.)

I.... okay. I kinda get where you’re coming from.

~Flare

Eyyyy. Good talk, Flarichka. I love you.

~Four

#dicerolls #like if you read reblog if you want #txt #things4said #things1said #intersysconvos

[spectralscathath]

ask: crackhead scorpion

Send me a character and I’ll tell you:

Tyrian Callows

First impression: Oh goody, I love a good psycho villain, he looks like he’ll be fun.

Impression now: Hi, Tyrian, how does it feel to without a doubt be one of the best characters in the show? This man is off his head, an absolute crackhead of the highest degree, and yet he’s also sharp as a tack, one of the best fighters in the cast, incredibly insightful, manipulative, opportunistic, dramatic, hilarious, and a poetic to boot! They literally grabbed every single character trait I like in a villain and shoved it all into one character and then made him venomous, I don’t know what else to say. I adore Tyrian Callows, even though the whole serial murderer thing is definitely fucked up. Still, I don’t know how someone’s meant to write a bad guy that doesn’t do bad things, so why not enjoy him for the chaos he causes? Aside from that, I love his leitmotif so much, it’s just so mischievous and full of fun. You can also tell that his VA is having an absolute blast with him, and I enjoy when actors are enjoying their role. 

Favorite moment: Hm, I think I’d like to pick his establishing character moments in the fight he had with RNJR and Qrow, it’s just so excellent. Barring that, when he shows up to kill Robyn. The animation on him is excellent, especially him catching her quarrel and then bending it in his hand, it’s just a really nice little threat. Also, his tail animations are great fun to watch, they really nailed the motions and physics of it. 

Idea for a story: I really like the theory that was floating around about him being a former Ace Op, so that could be an interesting AU to explore. 

Unpopular opinion: Uh. Fuck, I don’t know any unpopular opinions for this guy. I suppose the opinion that his tail getting amputated isn’t exactly as traumatising and awful as Yang losing her arm? They both happen in similar ways too, due to Yang and Tyrian being cocky/reckless, and underestimating their opponent. Also, his current disability is a consequence of dropping his guard mid-fight to savour a killing strike (probably his worst habit), and it’s not a punishment for being a bad guy. That’s kinda yikes. 

Favorite relationship: Okay, so yes I love Nuts and Volts, but I also love Tyrian’s budding nemesis/murder soulmates/’only one allowed to kill you’  thing he’s got going on with Qrow. That’s super fun, and if anyone other then Qrow defeats Tyrian I’ll be a bit annoyed. Come on, Qrow’s earned that fight, narratively.

Favorite headcanon: Oh boy uh probably that his tail’s natural chitin used to glow under a blacklight like a normal scorpion’s does. Imagine him fucking things up at a rave with his glowing tail, absolute icon. Also, that his aura ripping thing is not a semblance, but is instead a banned aura technique, and instead his semblance is a much more insidious and subtle Negativity Spike, where he amplifies the negative emotions in those around him. 

thank you kinds, anon!

#tyrian callows #rwby #Character Ask Meme #asks

[aro-aizawa]

anyways, since the idea won’t leave me alone here’s my pitch for a prince of the galra keith au where lotor doesn’t exist and canon is just a suggestion i guess. (under a cut part ways in bc uhhh it’s like 3.7k words. rip.)

for starters: krolia is human and zarkon’s his dad. a nightmare idea, i know bc uhhhh the same thing that occurs w thinking about how lotor exists is uhh “zarkon fucks?” yeah. yeah he does. which uhhhhh yeah. but bare w me here, bc he’s still an utter dick in this au and krolia is still a badass. 

in this au, krolia was married to mr shirogane and had shiro before leaving earth on a garrison solo mission to pluto. she collided with a stolen galra ship manned by a prisoner who was trying to flee the empire, though the galra ship wasn’t damaged her ship was completely destroyed but she managed to survive for the prisoner to bring her aboard. together they tried to escape the empire, but they got caught. the prisoner was executed and krolia was taken to the arena. 

(earth believes she crashed her ship in the rings of saturn, and honor her death. no solo manned missions to space anymore, and certainly not to places humans haven’t been before. it also delays plans to send more people up there, so the next manned mission isn’t until shiro’s mission to kerberos. mr shirogane dies a five years before that mission.)

there she fought viciously and won literally every single one of her fights with only a dagger she’d earned early on in her battles. even when they provided bigger weapons, she always came on top with just a knife which earned her high praise and approval. enough to gain zarkon’s attention. 

idk why but he forces her to marry him, and when shiro’s 9 years old and krolia’s been in space for 5 years, keith’s born. he doesn’t actually go by keith at this point though because i doubt zarkon would let krolia name him that. not quite sure on what he’d go by though i quite like kyix of discordiansamba’s burgundy. krolia wanted to name him keith, and so calls him that when they’re alone as a secret nickname. 

keith doesn’t look fully human. a la lotor style i guess, he looks human but has purple skin and yellow sclera. pointy zarkon-ish ears and fangs. he’s still tiny as fuck though and doesn’t grow, to which he’s furious about bc galra are big and he’s a shorty but no one mentions it to his face otherwise he’d stab them right where they stand. 

krolia tries her best to raise him w good morals and lessen zarkon’s influence on him but she doesn’t fully manage it. he’s willing to please zarkon even if he’s not cruel about it, and he does wish for the best for the empire but knowing that his father’s reigned for over ten thousand years, he knows he’s probably never going to sit on the throne himself. doesn’t prevent him from getting all the training a prince would need (including a lot of combat training). 

he’s never told much about earth because krolia finds it hard to talk about. she does tell him about humans as a species and teaches him the three earth languages she knows, korean (her native language), japanese (mr shirogane’s native language) and english. she especially doesn’t tell him about shiro, but she does say that she left a husband and her family behind on earth, that she misses them a lot. 

back on earth, shiro goes to kerberos when he’s 26 (two years older than canon) and they still get caught. most canonical events in the year time zone go almost exactly the same. shiro gets sent to the arena, matt and sam still get sent off to the camps before matt’s broken out by the resistance, katie goes undercover as pidge, and lance and hunk are just regular dudes, but lance is in fighter class straight off the bat. 

(to earth, shiro crashes the ship and dies just like his mother did. which is......all kinds of sad to think about.)

except when shiro lands on earth, the garrison trio decide to break shiro out on their own. they then steal a jeep and head out into the desert, finding a nice guy who owns a shack (canon keith’s father but not in this au, who im gonna call mr fireman bc he doesn’t have a canon name). he’s been doing some investigating some funky stuff (the lion), and lets the kids crash at his place bc kids shouldn’t be wandering the desert w/o any supplies at night it’s dangerous. 

anyways, the shack conversation all goes almost exactly the same w mr fireman taking keith’s place. he goes with the kids, but he doesn’t get in the blue lion, she doesn’t let him in. mr fireman parts ways with the kids friendly-like, and the four of them head off to arus. 

things.....largely? stay the same? when it comes to stealing the red lion off the ship, they actually have to get the lions to drag it out of the cargo bay because they don’t have a pilot for it but as long as the lion is out of the empire’s hands, that’s all that matters although allura does try to pilot it when sendak’s ship is destroyed. due to having no pilot, they can’t retrieve black for shiro. so they only have three active lions, but three lions are still pretty powerful. 

from there i haven’t exactly worked out all the kinks but somehow they get in contact with rebels from their steady liberation of galra-controlled planets. they do small targets, taking out the weakest on the fringe of the empire and build up footholds while building the coalition. shiro fights with them on the ground, and using the castle with coran and allura when it’s not possible. sometimes he rides along with the other paladins. 

sometime before they go the galactic hub, and skipping over crystal venom entirely, they join forces with the rebels and the coalition to pull off a mission to kill zarkon. they’d received intelligence to suggest that he’s visiting a less secure ship, to oversee a project for a few days. instead of taking the lions and just blasting the ship to pieces, they decide to infiltrate and take him out stealth like to guarantee his death. 

only the information is faulty because it’s keith there instead of zarkon. 

when they learn that keith is zarkon’s son.......they kidnap him. 

their goal was to hold him hostage and/or interrogate him for weak spots in the empire, but somehow they end up thinking “hm maybe he can be redeemed bc his dad is literally an asshole and ehhh he can’t help who his parents are?” so they give him a chance....tentatively. 

keith, seeing this huge opportunity to sabotage his father’s greatest opponents and eventually steal the lions back for his father, takes this absolutely for granted and fakes his redemption. he basically pulls a lotor, and ends up helping them in certain areas but sabotaging them in others. he’s unable to report back to his father for spying purposes, but he does leave clues and/or hints to weaknesses somehow. all the while, the real reason for these things going wrong isn’t thought of. 

all the while, the paladins are trying to bond with keith. trying to get him to redeem himself, and they end up really liking him even though he’s still rather a loner, doesn’t pretend to be nice and trains like every day. he particularly gets along with shiro, the two of them forming a close bond that keith had not planned or counted on. 

allura is the only one who’s still suspicious of keith. she’s not....hostile. not really, she pretty much acts like she does in canon when keith’s heritage gets out. though they do have a few moments where they could maybe see eye to eye. she’s still apprehensive and unwilling to think that zarkon’s son could be anything but evil. 

this pays off when she investigates a major hit to the castle that renders it unfit for battle for a time and finds that keith was responsible for it. 

at this point, keith has been seriously reconsidering his allegiances. thinking that maybe the right thing to do really was to redeem himself and help out voltron and coalition. he’s not completely blind to the shitty things zarkon did, he’s well aware but he figures that maybe getting his father’s approval isn’t worth all the suffering of others nor something to desire. 

allura attacks keith and calls him out in front of everyone. providing evidence of literally all the times that keith’s fucked them all over. the team feel betrayed, keith is super guilty, and allura’s just pissed. keith doesn’t get a chance to explain before he’s thrown into a prison cell on the castle to wait until voltron can contact the coalition and decide what to do with him because it’s clear that zarkon hasn’t exactly been hurrying to find him. 

but then zarkon attacks the castle of lions with a massive fleet headed by haggar, a force that’s way too much for just three lions to take on while the castle’s defenses are still down. the whole team is in trouble and it pretty much starts to seem like zarkon’s gonna win and the paladins are gonna get killed. 

until the red lion reaches out for keith. 

so he breaks out of prison (that he could have done within minutes of being confined there), and heads to the hangar. he jumps in and uses the element of surprise to disable the fleet enough to make them need to retreat. 

the paladins are freaking out because uhhhh who the hell is the pilot of the lion? they do a little sound off like “allura that’s not you? coran? shiro?” but then keith uses the lion to communicate and basically says “sorry i broke out jail”. 

when they get back to the castle keith awkwardly does a heartfelt explanation of his plans and how the paladins actually did sort of make him want to redeem himself and realise just how much zarkon needs to get murked and stuff. he apologises for fucking them over and he even offers to go with whatever punishment they decide to dish out with no retaliation. 

the team go off and talk for a while. debating if they could really trust him anymore. allura is adamantly against it, pissed off that he’d already betrayed her trust after all zarkon did and the fact he piloted her father’s lion. lance joins her, upset he trusted him at all. pidge and hunk are apprehensive, pointing out that the lion must have seen the good in him to choose him. shiro believes in what keith’s saying and has faith in the kid to actually redeem himself. 

they tell him he can stay but the only reason he’s not dead and/or serving time in prison is bc he’s the red paladin. they make a lot of rules about what he’s allowed to do and not to do though, which keith doesn’t enjoy but he doesn’t complain about them. one of them is that he’s only allowed to fight the empire in the red lion and no on the ground stuff. 

now that the team have the red lion’s paladin they awaken the black lion and they form voltron for the first time. it’s badass, and the liberating of planets goes even faster than before. 

the paladins start to bond again even slower than before bc they need to rebuild that trust. it goes....pretty rockily considering the fact that keith is still pretty prickly in personality, and the others aren’t entirely convinced he’s actually changed sides. but shiro is essentially the only one that actually makes any headway in rebuilding the trust/relationship. 

one night he asks about keith’s mom. bc human far out in space? as far as the team knew there should have only been them and the holts, so he’s definitely curious. keith tells him about a pilot who’d been picked up in their solar system after their ship got destroyed and took them as prisoner. he tells shiro all about his mom and what she taught him of earth. 

but shiro. he starts to wonder who on earth this pilot was. because, uh, only very few pilots have gone missing in space and one of them is important to him. so he asks her name. keith replies krolia. shiro asks “as in...krolia kogane?” and keith’s like yeah. 

shiro mentally freaks out, doing mental acrobats all over the place but his thoughts mostly boiling down to a mixture of “HOLY SHIT MY MOM’S ALIVE” and “HOLY SHIT I HAVE A HALF-BROTHER WHO’S AN ALIEN PRINCE”. he manages not to let keith know he’s freaking out, and excuses himself. 

they end up doing a covert blood test and yup keith is shiro’s half brother. this earns him points in “okay yeah he’s capable of change if we warm up to him”, so the team start to treat him more favorably, not that keith is aware of this new revelation. so it’s common knowledge to the ship minus keith. shiro tries even harder to bond w his little brother, bc uhhh yeah he’s never had a little brother and he definitely likes keith so far even though he was a little evil for a while. 

keith at some point expresses to shiro why he’s fine with not telling zarkon that keith’s on the paladins’ side. that his mother would most likely be killed for turning him against zarkon due to the fact that paladins are humans, and that she’s still at central command completely unable to get away. like a glorified prisoner because, well, she is. 

shiro suggests to the team that they pull off a rescue mission to free krolia, not only for keith’s sake but for shiro’s sake too. plus the fact that she’d been a prisoner for twenty three years. which then kicks of the finale of season 1. (yes we’re still in season 1. it should have been way longer than it actually was.)

things go largely the same, except that in allura’s place it’s krolia. when keith charges at zarkon his identity is revealed to him. they manage to rescue krolia, keith fights zarkon and thace destroys the shield holding them in place. they don’t go through a corrupted wormhole though. 

then there’s a cute heartfelt reunion between keith and krolia. during which keith emotes more than he ever has in front of the paladins, who have pretty much all accepted that yep keith’s a good guy now considering he almost fought to the death with zarkon. 

but then shiro steps up and calls krolia mom which confuses the fuck out of keith, the only one who doesn’t know. krolia shakily says “Kashi?” and they tearfully hug, krolia completely caught off guard that her other son wasn’t on earth where she left him. keith is confusion until krolia explains, and keith asks if that means shiro is his brother. they say yes and they have a big old threeway hug, to which lasts for like an hour because its big family bonding time. everyone is happy for them.

you’d think, huh is this the end of the au? this is pretty long already.....nope!! we’re just getting started!!! (this thing is a monster......hence why im never going to even attempt to write it out lmao)

we go into season 2 where krolia starts to talk to the others about the rebel galra group that she helped and kind of joined called the blade of marmora. she tells them that there was a galra named thace who kept her in the loop about keith, and the goings on of voltron. she tells them that they would be a very good ally in the fight against zarkon. 

shiro then backs this story up with his memory of how ulaz helped him escape jail, and says that they should trust them. the team tentatively agree, but decide not to immediately go to them and focus more on building the coalition. krolia pulls keith aside and gives them a knife that they had given her to protect herself as zarkon prohibited her to carry weapons. its keith’s marmora blade that she was unable to activate because of her lack of galra blood, but they gave it to her to protect herself anyways. 

canon largely stays the same for a while. zarkon still does the tracking thing, except when allura and keith go out in a pod, krolia comes with them. they have a little thing where they make clear with each other where they stand and end up having a little fun despite the tense atmosphere until the castle is attacked by zarkon.

when the team meet up with the blades, keith demands why they didn’t help krolia themselves. they’d already proved with shiro that they could free prisoners if they wanted to, and demands to know why they didn’t risk it for krolia. he wants to know why they never took a bigger part in taking down the empire and why they never stepped forwards to work with voltron themselves instead of letting the team come to them. 

kolivan says that he only gets the answers, an alliance between them and gets to keep the blade if he joins as a member of their order and take the trials. keith accepts. the rest of the blades however, don’t like the idea that the son of zarkon was joining up and taking the trials. but when keith passes and pretty much immediately tries to kill memory zarkon on sight, he proves himself to them. the blades ally with the coalition and voltron. 

again, season 2 goes quite a lot like canon. except!!! in the finale they actually do end up killing zarkon along with haggar and shiro doesn’t go missing! hurray!!! 

but. that means with no prince lotor, and a dead zarkon instead of comatose zarkon, there’s no one to lead the empire. hence a kral zera is called. 

(here is where i mention i have vague memories of s3 onwards and haven’t seen past s4. so i don’t...actually know how most canon events from here on out go in explicit detail. its all pretty vague.)

the plan from there is for keith to attend and win. if he gets crowned the new emperor, he could officially announce the end of the war, and significantly reduce the amount of fighting the resistance would have to do to bring peace to the known universe. the coalition & blades don’t fully trust keith however, thinking that once keith is on the throne he’ll just betray them. 

keith understands and explains he doesn’t actually want the throne. he suggests that they just kill everyone on the planet when the kral zera is called, with no more candidates, the empire will be severely fractured and would still be easier to defeat than having a leader. in the end, they go with the idea of having keith become emperor, but the coalition there in case people fight back against his orders. 

keith wins, some back down and obey and some don’t. the coalition and voltron take down those that fight back, and from there it’s a lot of “keith orders galra to release planets and those that don’t, get liberated by the resistance”. its a lot of politics where keith frees all the prisoners of the empire, lets them get back to their home planets and finds sam returning him to pidge and matt. 

he sets up a colony in an empty solar system for the civilian galra to live governed by the blades, while he sees to it that those that were soldiers are put on trial and punished for their various crimes. 

again, still not entirely sure what happens in late canon, but i guess from there it does the whole...sendak takes earth thing? but it’s actually a pretty easy mission considering they have the might of the entire coalition (which is almost the entire universe at that point) and the blades and voltron. but after the defeat of sendak there pretty much isn’t any opposing galra resistance to keith’s reign? so from then on it’s just the paladins, allura, coran and krolia back on earth experiencing things. 

krolia busts into the garrison like “hey guess who’s not dead! also meet my alien son who’s king of an entire race of people, and my other son who’s leader of the universe’s most powerful weapon also with a sick glowing arm”. the garrison sweats under the pure power and skill the three of them exude. especially when krolia utterly annihilates all records on their simulators/actual ships. and then keith and shiro join in on it too and they end up giving them all the awards and accolades bc no one is going to top that ever. 

the paladins go to disneyland. keith is still technically emperor but considering the blades have been overseeing all galra activity anyways, he’s not really needed. so he just bums around earth for a while, getting to know the other half of his heritage that he never really got to. 

krolia meets mr fireman and they end up getting together bc krolia deserves good things and a desert hermit who helped get shiro back into space and eventually to her with is a good thing. they still live out in the shack tho bc mr fireman is committed to it at that point, bc he ended up living there through sendak’s invasion pretty well. 

and then uh i think that’s pretty much it. keith is a normal teenager, allura and coran get puzzled by human shit, lance reconnects w his family, hunk does too and cooks a bunch of food and pidge works w the garrison in making it less shitty while also just tagging along with whatever dumb things they decide to experience. 

end of au!!!!

#shut up danni #voltron #long post #jesus this thing is long as fuck #now do i tag shit so that people will actually see this thing im really really proud of or do i just...not in an attempt to make it seem #like i don't really care about this au even tho i worked hard on it #bc i don't wanna try too hard but uhhhhhhhh #keith kogane #voltron legendary defenders #prince keith kogane #i guess i'll throw down a few tags #idk if they'll work but worth a shot i guess #hey #hey if you like voltron pls reblog this i worked hard for like an hour or two to write this out #idk my general writing tag

[luisaaronopez]

Rosie and I continue to chase after Mel and her friend. But they were going so fast that we lost them. Rosie looks at me and reassures me “Aww don’t worry Thomas. We’ll catch these criminals someday. Let’s go home and get some rest.” “I guess so…” I said in sadness. Rosie did a U turn and we head back to her house. I kept looking out the window. The forest looks scary. The trees all look like people having their arms up doing a chant like a cult. But then I look at Rosie. She’s so brave to drive at this hour. She turns to me and smiles before looking back at the road. This reminds me of the day I met her. I arrived at the Magical Island tournament. Like all newbies, I was lost. I went into a dark room and met the happy go lucky General Mitch. He called Rosie over to give me the tour. But the way she looked at me, she made a friendly smirk. I snapped out of my flashback and asked Rosie what she wanted to talk about her future. “H-hey Rosie..” “Hm? Yes?” Rosie said without keeping her eyes off the road. “What are your plan for the future? After we’re done with this whole ‘Purple Burger’ case, what are your planning to do with your life?” She had to park on the sidewalk im the scary woods. But with I feel more save and less scared with Rosie around. “Well I still have plenty of time to think about it. I need to take things nice and slow while I’m still young.” She said with a giggle. “Me too!” I said with a giggle as well. “I was thinking of working as a teacher. I really love children. But….” Rosie lowers her head. “What’s wrong?” I ask her. Rosie takes a deep breath and says “I feel like it’ll never happen.” “What?” I gasp. “There’s so much going on with my family. My parents constantly argue that would drive me and my siblings nuts. My older sister eventually got married and moved with her husband. Now life is telling me its MY turn to get a job and get out of the house. But that’s not the real reason why I’m still living with my parents. Well, USE to now that I’m a therapist and living alone.” “What’s your reason?” I asked her. “Its my little brother. His name is Buddy. He is young, about the same age as Angel’s little sister. He also has a disability. Loud noises scare him and I have to calm him down whenever he panics. Whenever my parents and sister are at work, I stay home and look after him. But after getting hired to work at Magical Island, my family has hired a babysitter to look after him. I’m not only doing this for myself, but also for him.” I can see tears coming from Rosie’s eyes. “S-sorry…I get choked up whenever I talk about my family.” She said softly as she wipes off her tears. “Its okay to get teary eyed when saying these things. I get like that too when I mention my family. I need a job too. I know I’m rich but I don’t like BEGGING for money. I wanna earn it by working hard. I just….don’t know what job to choose.” I told Rosie. Rosie smiled at me and said “I’m pretty sure there’s a job suitable for the both of us.” I can only smile briefly ay her before I can go back to being sad. “That’s another thing. If we DO find jobs, that’ll mean….we’ll be going separate ways.” Rosie puts her hand on my shoulder and said to me in a soft voice “Aww Thomas. If our jobs are distanced from one another, we can still keep in touch.” Wow! Rosie is so nice. I’m just lucky to have her as my friend. But I feel like we should be more than friends…. I blush and sheepishly start to say “Rosie….” “What is it Thomas?” She asked nicely. Suddenly Rosie’s cellphone rings. She answers it of course. “Hello honey. I miss you too. Yes, that would be nice. Oh….oh I see….well, let’s talk about it when we’re alone. Okay…love you too. Bye.” What did she say? H-honey? “It was my fiance Theo. He just wanted to remind me that I promised to let him visit the place I rented. Anyway, what do you wanna tell me?” F-f-fiance??? I sadly look away and whisper “N-nevermind…” Suddenly Rosie sees someone or something. “Hold on. We’re not alone in this forest.” Rosie whispered. Rosie looks out the window and sees two silhouettes running off. Rosie and I get out of the car. “Your sword and shield are in the trunk. A brave knight must always arm themselves.” Rosie said as she opened the trunk. “Yes! Thank you Rosie!” I should as I arm myself. “Anytime! Now let’s go!” I was still scared of the trees. But I must remember. I gotta be brave and not to mention Rosie is here to help. We rushed into the forest. Yuck. I hope that wasn’t a spiderweb I touched. Spiders make me shudder. Oooh ooh oooh ooh. We eventually got out of the forest. But it lead us to a meadow. Rosie still senses something. “They’re here. I can sense it.” We both are ready for a fight. Suddenly everything turned purple. Then we see a figure walking towards us. “Nobody move. We have you surrounded.” Said the figure. We backed away a little bit. “YOU two are going to make me sick. Would you care to know who I am?” The figure said as he finally reveals himself. He is Mel’s friend. “I am Nightshade. An Eliminator from the Chaotic Army!” He said with pride. Rosie gasped “That horrible army Angel told us about?” Nightshade laughed. “So you are aquainted with the princess huh? It must be our lucky day.” “What do you mean your lucky day?” I asked him out of curiosity. “I won’t tell you much but there is a generous reward for those who assassinate Angel. Plus a bonus who disposes her sister as well.” Nightshade said with a grin. “You’re evil!!” Rosie shouts in disgust. “AND I LOVE IT! HAHAHAHA!” Nightshade shouts. Nightshade looks behind him and says “I believe you met my partner in crime Melantha.” Melantha appears, waves at me and winks. So gorgeous….. NO! SNAP OUT OF IT! “Good evening Mel.” Nightshade greets Mel. Mel smiles and waved at Nightshade. Rosie and I prepared ourselves to fight these criminals at last. But I see Nightshade and Melantha look at each other and start pointing at us. We're both immobilzed. "Why don't we play a game? The name of this game is called "Mind Screw." Its a game that Eliminators such as Mel and Yours Truly play against mortals. If you lose, we will cast a Punishment Spell on you!" Nightshade shouts with glee. "Punishment spells?" I said in confusion. "Yeup. They are so horrible, you'll be BEGGING to die immidiately when trapped in one. You'll never escape or commit suicide while trapped in a Punishment Spell. Just think of it as being stuck in a nightmare but you will NEVER wake up. That's how scary it is. Are you two up for it or ya'll too wimpy to take us out? Hahahahaha! "Kind of like Sleep Paralysis but....its permanent torture instead of death..." Rosie said with the sound of fear in her voice. "These spells can make the sanest person in the world into a deranged lunatic in less than an hour." Nightshade continued to shout with sadistic glee. I looked at Rosie and she looks at me. This is a risky gamble but at this point, we don't really have a choice. "We accept." Rosie said to them. "Does THAT one accept? Dudes, shaking like a leaf." Nightshade insults me. "I do too!" I shout. "Alrighty then. I'll go after this lovely lady. And you Mel will gk after this shaking porcupine." Nightshade told Mel. Aw come on. My hair isn't THAT spiky. Oh....wait... Nightshade pulled out his gun while Mel pulled out a spear that's almost as big as her. I just hope we win. If we lose, I'll never forgive myself. I don't wanna be a drag to Rosie and prove to her I can do it! To Be Continued

[aliravaleria13-blog]

My community: Musicians

Photo by Scarlett Hart, Copiah-Lincoln Community College/Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Concert Band has been selected as one of only four bands nationwide to participate in the 2019 Percy Grainger Wind Band Festival in Chicago, Illinois.

     As each individual, I am part of a community that is very important to me, which is the musician community. I have been part of this community for around 6 years and I have enjoy all of it. There are many aspects of this community that I am going to explain, because I want people to understand the importance of this community and the impact that it has in society. This community is a large one. There are lots of musicians all around the word, but we all connect to each other by being part of this community, which makes us special.

Photo by Circle of Flutes non-profit association in Washington, powered by Squarespace.

Also, there are plenty of instruments to play. In fact, there are 1500 instruments. In my case, I just play one, which is the flute. I became interested on this instrument because I was curious about how it works and how could it make a pretty sound using wind. There are different types and categories of flutes, and their prices varies over the $100. Depending of the musician level, is the flute recommended. This helped me to integrate more in my community, because I started to see people with other kinds of flutes so I decided to investigate about them.  

Photo by: “Music Delight School - Pasir Ris - Singapore.”

In this community, there are also schools. Some of them can be just like a regular school with music classes, others can be a whole music school program or lastly, an after school program. It is where the students become musicians from an early age until they decide not to. It helps musicians to develop professionally and socially. They can interact with others students, which makes them an active member of the community. Also, it helps them to understand music concepts better, as well as improve their personality. It can as well help to create aspects of leadership, citizenship and others. 

Photo by: “Music Therapy.” HMS School, Michael Norris

The music community can also help people more than a social way. Many people has this question, “Does music therapy exist?” and the answer is yes, it does exist. The concept of music therapy is to help patients with different illness to engage with the music and help them with their motor skills, or with mental health. It an important aspect of this community that people does not know about. Music goes more further than just a song or a concert, it consists on making a differences like this one, trying to be part of an issue that affects families, the health, and doing something good for it.

Photo from: Redacción, La. “Vigente Legado De Ludwig Van Beethoven a 190 Años De Su Muerte.”  La Unión

Like in every community, there is people who inspires us to be part of the music community. We have many of musicians that are important and even famous, like Ludwig Van Beethoven. He is one of the most recognize compositors in our community. What makes him different form others is his story. His father was alcoholic, he has a difficult childhood. He became a great musician at an early age. But, several years later, he lost his audition. It is an inspiring story, because he is one of the most famous compositors, no matter all the obstacles he had to face.

Photo from: “Finger Lakes Concert Band and Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert.” The Hochstein School - Music and Dance Education., 2018

There are also different classifications of music groups. Some of those are: band, orchestra, and symphony, and there are differences. The band consist of wind instruments, like flutes, trumpets, saxophones, etc. An orchestra is all about instruments like violins ad cello; it can have a few of wind instruments, but those are the mains instruments. The symphony is very similar to the orchestra, but it is more advanced. Each one has their director that guide them during rehearsals, concerts, and recitals. It is important to mention that there can be more classifications, but these three are the most common ones.

Photo from: “Best Day Jobs for Musicians.” Careers In Music | Music Schools & Colleges, 3 Jan. 2017

In this community, there are also jobs for us. One of the most common is music teachers. There are 5.05 million music teachers in the United States. It is a hard job to do, because it is like trying to teach a new language. It also includes teaching the history of music, how to read it, play an instrument, etc. The average salary goes around  the $52,407. Another job includes what was mention before, as therapist. There are 5,00o music therapist in the US. And plenty of jobs more that involves our community members to have a future in what they like.

Photo by: “ASPIRING 10-YEAR-OLD RUMSON MUSICIAN.” The Journal, 28 Oct. 2013

Even though there are some children who are very talented from a very early age, the recommended age to start being part of this community is at age of 10. Before this age, the kids can go to different music schools and programs to shadow others. It helps them to have an idea about how being a musician is and to give them an idea about what instruments they are interesting on. In some programs, there admission exams, which requires the possible member to have a reasonable thinking skills, which a 5 year old would not have and that is one of the reasons why this recommendation is.

Photo by: Goussy, Therese. “Can Classical Music Help You Study?” Sphinx Organization, 29 Mar. 2018

Many people believe that there are benefits when we study while listening to music, which is right. But, we must be sure which kind of music we listen to that would help us to concentrate. Study reveals that the best choice is listening to classical music, because it does not have any lyrics that would confuse the person with the material they are studying. Also, because the classical music is relaxing instead of pumping, which is what the person needs when studying.

Photo by: JMendezMusic. “Sad Piano Music (THIS WILL MAKE YOU CRY / Saddest Piano & Violin Ever!).” YouTube, YouTube, 13 Jan. 2014.

Like in every community there are obstacles and hard days in this one as well. There can be form financials to mental. Instruments, uniforms, and classes are expensive and taking care of them too. There will always be costs that some people can’t afford. Another obstacles is in their minds. They think that they are not good enough or that they would not go any further. This can make many musicians to quit, which is not good for the community.

Photo from: “5 Amazing Reasons Music Is the Best Gift To Humans.” Youth Tune, 27 Aug. 2017, youthtune

Being part of this community has benefits too. It helps to improve our health. It is known that it helps to decrease pain and increase our memory, which is important. It also helps our immune system, which helps with preventing illness. Having something that does good to our health should he priority for everyone. Another benefits outside the health, is monetary. People who are musicians has opportunity to scholarships. It is a benefit to have this because it would pay your studies. We all know how hard can it be to find scholarships that fits our financial needs, and it is an important point to mention that by being part of this community there are opportunities for it.

Photo by: Admin. “Why Learning to Read Music Isn't Required to Be a Musician.” Lincoln School of Music, 4 Apr. 2018.

To be a goo musician we need dedication. We have to practice every day, go to our classes, practices and be able to receive advices from other members of our community. Without dedication, no one can succeed in this community. it is important to take from our free time even just a few minutes to practice and try to get better. Try to find someone who is a better musician and try to equal them, in order to improve our abilities in the music. It is not a competition, but we have to always give our best and become role models for those member who needs help.

Photo from: Dreams time, 2018

We meet new people being in this community, specially if we are in a music school, because people see new students every day. It is an important point, because those friends can help you if you have any doubt about an assignment or does not know how something is supposed to play like. Also, they can spend your free time between classes with you. They will critic your performance in a good way to help you improve in whatever you are having troubles with. 

Photo from: Boyer College of Music and Dance

There are different types of performance. The most common one is band concerts. It consist of musicians sitting on their assigned chair and playing their instruments while being directed. Another one is the recitals, which are more likely to be individually. There are also competitions, in which bands go and try their best to win a prize. In marching band, the musicians are walking and doing a few dance movements. Each of this types of performance are important and has to be taken seriously. They must have discipline and respect for the professor and other alums if they don’t want to be punished or expulsed, they have to follow the rules.

Photo by: Block, AJ. “Doctors Now Prescribing Music Therapy for Heart Ailments, Brain Dysfunction, Learning Disabilities, Depression, PTSD, Alzheimers, Childhood Development and More.” Didge Project, 4 Sept. 2016.

In conclusion, to me and every musician, our community means everything. We dedicate time and effort to become better ever day. We take out community like something important as well as the other members that are like us. Even though there are difficulties, we try to overcome every bad situation, because we love what we do, and we want to help our community to make it better every day that passes. It is interesting to be a part of a community that shares beautiful things like the music and connects people and cultures.

[asflowersfade]

Ficlet: Playing Santa

A MacGyver ficlet. Murdoc does not expect to find this little mouse in his trap. Or, Mac gets shot playing Santa, just as Jack predicted. An alternate ending to ep 211. Mac’s POV.

Mac decides to give Cage a teddy bear for Christmas. He knows it’s a silly idea - the thing’s huge and fluffy and it has a big red bow tied around its neck - but he thinks it might make Cage smile and that’s what this is about.

And by this, he means breaking into her apartment and leaving the gift under her Christmas tree, Santa style. Too bad she doesn’t have a chimney. Oh well, the front door will have to suffice, then, what with the security system being nothing more than a small obstacle for someone like him.

A very small obstacle, as it turns out. All he needs to disable it, is a paper clip, a little dexterity and some basic knowledge of how this system works. Hm, maybe he should’ve gotten her a better alarm and not a teddy bear. Alas. He’ll have to remind her to upgrade it first thing after Christmas.

Cage’s out, doing some last minute Christmas shopping, Mac knows. Still, he tiptoes around her apartment like a sneaky thief. He’s already been caught once, playing Santa - by Jack - if it happened again, he would never live it down!

So, he’s carefully shuffling across the open space, holding the teddy in front of him and peaking over its shoulder as not to trip over anything. He’s headed for the Christmas tree with the plan to arrange the toy underneath it, when--

“Well, well, well, that’s one little mouse I did not expect to find in this trap!” a mocking voice echoes behind him, from the shadows of the kitchen corner. A voice Mac knows very well.

He whips around, dropping the teddy bear. “Mur--”

A silent pop whispers through the otherwise quiet apartment and a second later, Mac cries out in pain. Hot waves of agony shoot up and down his right leg and his knee buckles. He hits the floor hard, almost knocking his breath out, and his hands automatically seek out the source of the burning pain: a bullet wound, a mere inch or so away from the scar left behind by his self-inflicted wound from a few weeks ago.

“Really, MacGyver,” Murdoc sighs, stepping out of the shadows, gun pointed in Mac’s direction. “Not that I’m not glad you got yourself out of those ridiculous domestic terrorist charges but did you have to go and ruin my plan?”

Mac rolls onto his side, groaning, and the despite breath-stealing agony, he presses his hands hard against his wound to stop the bleeding. Still, he can feel his hot blood seeping through his tightly squeezed fingers while his toes slowly grow cold. He’s already getting lightheaded and that’s not a good sign.

Murdoc walks up to him, and dropping down into a crouch, he glances at the wound he caused. “That looks bad. But it’s your own fault really. I was trying just to nick you, you know?” He shakes his head. “Oh, well. Things happen. Besides, you do deserve some punishment for being where you had no place to be and complicating things for me.” He shakes his finger at Mac. “That’s not nice, you know?”

“What… do you want?” Mac grits out, gasping.

“Not you this time, obviously!” Murdoc rolls his eyes and waves his gun around Cage’s apartment in a very “Duh!” gesture.

“Cage? You were after… Cage?” Mac asks in disbelief.

“Blood loss is really dimming your wits,” Murdoc says. When he continues, he speaks slowly and clearly, “Yes. I was after Ms. Cage. Now, I’ll have to get her some other way. How annoying.

“I mean, I could wait for her here and kill her when she comes back but…” He looks down at Mac’s wound and sighs again. “You would probably bleed out before then. And as much as I want her to die, I want you not to die more - at least not yet,” he adds reasonably. “To take you out with a bullet would be so… so anti-climatic. Though I would enjoy watching you bleed out slowly.”

Mac decides to focus on the important part: Cage. “Why? Why her?”

“Hm?” Murdoc raises his eyebrows at him and then he grins. “Oh, isn’t that the question, my… little… poppet?” he replies, tapping Mac on the forehead with the silencer on his gun to the rhythm of his last three words. “Why don’t you ask her when she comes back?”

Blackness is starting to creep up on Mac, blanketing him. He’s cold and he can’t think. He can feel himself starting to shake as the puddle of his blood keeps growing bigger and bigger on the floor around him. He tries to speak but he can’t seem to move his tongue.

Murdoc almost pouts. “You’re no fun when you’re bleeding out, MacGyver. I’ll have to remember that for later.”

Then he goes through Mac’s pockets, searching for his phone - Mac shudders, feeling Murdoc’s hands on him - and when he finds it, he pulls it out and goes through Mac’s contact list.

“Since you already ruined my plans for killing Ms. Cage, let’s use this chance to gather some intel, shall we?” He looks down at Mac with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. “Let’s see how quickly your guard dog will respond to his master in peril…”

Murdoc dials a number and when the person on the other end picks up, he says gleefully, “Guess who, Jackie? Your boy’s bleeding out on the floor of Ms. Cage’s apartment right this second. What will you do about it?”

He drops the phone on the floor - Jack’s voice can be heard calling Mac’s name and cursing a blue streak - then he dips his gloved fingers into Mac’s blood. For a moment, he just stares at its redness in fascination. Then he smiles and slides his fingers down Mac’s cheek to grip his chin, leaving bloody streaks behind.

“See you soon, MacGyver,” Murdoc whispers. “But do not cross me again. This time, I’ll forgive you. Next time, I might not be so lenient.”

With that, he gets up and leaves. Mac loses consciousness before Murdoc can reach the door.

“I told you that playing Santa would get you shot one day,” Jack points out but there’s very little satisfaction in his voice. He looks rather grim, straddling a chair with his arms crossed on its back and watching Mac in his hospital bed.

“Yes, you told me so. Repeatedly,” Mac allows a little hoarsely, staring at the ceiling.

He’s been in the hospital for three days now. Or that’s what they tell him. He doesn’t remember much of the first two. Apparently, he almost bled out before Jack got to him. One surgery and many blood transfusions later, he still feels as weak as a newborn. And he can’t seem to force his hands to stop shaking. It’s the blood loss, nothing else. Just the blood loss…

This time, I’ll forgive you…

Mac swallows hard, eyes still trained on the ceiling. “Do we know why he did it?”

Jack lifts his eyebrows. “Why that psycho lurked around Cage’s apartment, planning to kill her?” He shakes his head. “No. Cage’s gone and Matty - who I’m sure knows what’s going on here - isn’t talking. And when I asked, she gave me the evil eye and told me to mind my own damn business. Well, I am minding my own damn business. You are my damn business. My damn business almost bled out on me, so pardon me if I want some answers!” He ends his annoyed tirade on a huff.

Frowning, Mac turns to look at Jack. “Cage left?”

Jack frowns, too. “Yeah,” he drawls. “She was here to say goodbye, don’t you remember?”

Mac remembers… something, from… yesterday? He remembers Cage in here, in this room. He remembers apologizing to her in a slurred voice. He remembers Cage leaning over him, saying, “I owe you my life…” And then… nothing, Mac must’ve fallen asleep again.

“I can’t remember pretty much anything from the past two days,” he sighs.

“Yeah, well,” Jack says, “Cage seemed to know what the whole thing was about. She mentioned someone from her past, or something? That she should’ve taken care of that a long time ago?” He waves a hand. “I don’t know, man. I was more concerned with your half-dead ass than her issues in that moment.”

“I hope she’ll be okay,” Mac whispers.

Jack snorts. “The way she looked when she left here? I would be more worried about the other guy.”

Mac hmms, not as sure about the outcome of that fight as Jack, then he tries to shift into a more comfortable position - only to hiss sharply when the dull pain in his thigh turns into a roaring agony.

“Would you stop squirming like a worm on a hook?” Jack snaps, but it’s not anger driving his temper, it’s concern. “You have two holes too many in you! No need to unplug them again!”

Fisting his hands into his cover, Mac rides out the pain, eyes squeezed shut. When it finally dulls again, he’s sweat soaked and drained, his breath shuddery. He opens his eyes and blinks back tears. And then he notices the pinched look on Jack’s face.

“What?” he rasps.

Jack swallows and shakes his head. “Kid, if that madman was less obsessed with you, if all he wanted was to kill you… you would be dead now,” he answers softly. “When I heard his voice on the phone, I was sure that he was calling me to gloat. That I would find you dead.”

“Jack…” Mac whispers thickly.

“And I thought you were dead,” Jack continues. “There was so much blood and you were-you were so pale... You looked dead! It almost killed me.” He rests his forehead against his crossed arms, hiding his face.

“Jack… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--”

Taking a deep breath, Jack lifts his head again and looks straight at Mac. “I know,” he cuts Mac off. “I know. And it’s not your fault. It’s just…” He pauses and when he continues again, his voice’s hard and sharp. “We need to get that bastard. We have to, Mac. And I don’t care how. You hear me?”

“I hear you,” Mac responds softly. And since he can still feel the tapping of the still warm silencer against his forehead, the grip of Murdoc’s bloody fingers on his chin, he agrees with Jack wholeheartedly. 

Because next time, they might not be so lucky.

#macgyver #angus macgyver #jack dalton #murdoc #thehemingwaygoldfish #my fics #my macgyver fics

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #45

UPDATE 45: Temporary Replacement

Last time this had turned into a momentary point of view change! That’s right, Taylor’s story has been interrupted for this long intermission in the form of an arc from the point of view of a character that has arrived to Brockton Bay to lead the Wards: it’s Weld. Apparently he’s rather popular, and I like he seems to be a rather decent guy, so let’s continue!

Aaaaaand Weld isn’t here anymore. I suppose this interlude isn’t just about him, it’s for everyone in the Wards. There’s a second newcomer, and it’s Flechette. Now that I think about it, it was mentioned in the last chapter that she’d be in the team too. Without the burden of the leadership role, she should have less of a hard time fitting with the rest of the team – when she’s not sneaking to the back of someone who works with crossbows and isn’t known for thinking twice before shooting.

“You nearly killed me!”

“It’s a tranquilizer shot, and you have the fire escape behind you.”

Yeah…no. It’s just my personal opinion, but getting shot with tranquilizer doesn’t sound fun at all. Not that…Flechette would have a reason to blame Shadow Stalker, sneaking behind someone like that was a stupid move.

At least Shadow Stalker isn’t berating her or anything like that. She seems rather courteous. It’d almost be hard to know Sophia Hess is the person behind the mask.

Flechette confirms she is just a temporary replacement, and the reason why Shadow Stalker is bothering to be civil is revealed.

“I don’t do backup, and I don’t do the team thing unless someone makes me, but I’m willing to hang with another crossbow aficionado.  Is that the right word?  Aficionado?”

It’s because Flechette uses a crossbow too. Okay, I…suppose that’s a reason as valid as any to accept someone’s presence. Besides, it’s not like Flechette is going to be a burden, she is a capable hero on her own right – although inexperienced, from what I remember happened during the Leviathan fight. They should be okay.

I have no idea how one’s supposed to use a grappling hook, but if it helps her keep up the pace, then great. Besides, Shadow Stalker’s patrol route isn’t complicated, Flechette will be fine as long as she goes in a straight line. I wonder what’ll happen during this chapter? I can guess there’ll be trouble, that this won’t be a calm and boring patrolling. What I don’t know yet is if trouble will be caused by a civilian or by a parahuman, maybe affiliated to one of the villain groups. The city, broken down as it is, really is the perfect place for riots and discord.

I think I had ever noticed how Shadow Stalker moved. Taylor never noted it, she never described it in her usual speeches about capes’ powers. Looks like Shadow Stalker has strength in her limbs, allowing her be propelled upwards or forwards. Maybe that cloak of hers aids her in gliding? It’s faster than what Flechette does, at least. It seems Flechette needs chains and crossbow bolts to use a grappling hook, and she relies mods on equipment than Shadow Stalker, leaving behind the bolts she uses after severing the chains that helped propel her.

Since Taylor isn’t here, the exposition duty falls on Mr. Wildbow.

Capes with the ‘breaker’ classification were generally those who had some ability to ‘break’ the natural laws of the universe as far as those laws applied to them.

Ah! That’s a good explanation! Breakers can bypass the laws of nature and all that with ease, it’s inherent to their powers. Sometimes such effect can be applied to themselves, other times to objects, and…I suppose it can never be applied to other people. Or almost never. The Manton effect would get in the way. Still, that’s quite the dangerous classification, isn’t it? When you’re fighting, you can’t rely on the laws of nature to keep you safe or help you. It’s a tad funny, though, almost all capes are Breakers in some way…but I suppose those who break the laws of nature more blatantly are the ones given this classification.

Flechette’s power gave her a low Breaker classification. Her power can give her crossbow bolts certain qualities that allow them to be more or less affected by laws like gravity, the air friction, and other similar elements. It’s not that she modifies the crossbow bolts physically, her power is nothing visible. I wonder how she trains and how she found out the extent of her power, back when she triggered? It sounds like it’d be complicated to find out. Then again, powers have a certain measure of instinct in them. Miss Militia’s awakening kind of made it clear.

She could do other things, but the primary benefit, the easiest thing to do, was making her ammunition punch through anything.  

Ah, right! She was the one who managed to fire a very large bolt through Leviathan’s head, wasn’t she? Given what we know about Leviathan’s mass and tissues, that’s no mean feat. That was the perfect way to demonstrate this. Compared to that, she shooting a bolt through the corner of a rooftop is child’s play.

It was tiring, constantly running, but she didn’t want to look bad in front of Shadow Stalker.  She was going to spend weeks with this team, and Shadow Stalker was the only other girl present that was close to her own age.  

Oh dear. Literally everyone else in the Wards would be a better person to spend time with. Buuuut yeah, of course someone would look for a peer, and Shadow Stalker is the only option that’d fit, so beggars can’t be choosers. At least Shadow Stalker is tolerating her presence.

Running on rooftops sucks, but she reaches Shadow Stalker, who is waiting for her.

“Don’t you run out of chain?”

Flechette turned, reached over her shoulder to tap her back. “Tinker teammate back home specializes in replication and cloning.  Small pack back here consumes energy from a small fusion battery to create a steady supply.  I’ve also got a kit back at the base that makes me a fresh stock of bolts.”

Ah! That answer that, I admit I was wondering just how much chain she had. If it’s constantly being created and replicated, then she won’t ever run out of supply, and not many would know to attack that backpack. She’s safe.

Shadow Stalker didn’t stop for kicks and giggles, looks like this chapter’s suspense and conflict has arrived. What is it?

Shadow Stalker led Flechette to the edge of the roof.  Looking down, they could see a group of men in a loose half-circle around a middle-aged woman.  The woman was backing away from the men, who were gradually closing in.

Looks like these are civilians, there’s no mention of costumes and the such. Should be no problem for a pair of heroes. Flechette demands to know why Shadow Stalker hasn’t gone ahead and saved that woman, the answer is that first they must do some type of violent and clearly bad action before she intervenes – so she has an excuse to open the can of whoop ass. Okay, I don’t like that, but...yeah, that’s usually how it goes, first you do the illegal action and then you receive punishment. Sometimes it’s rather unfortunate that’s necessary.

And Shadow Stalker had neglected to inform command.  Flechette reached for her ear, where an earbud was nestled in the canal. She squeezed it twice.  “Console, woman under attack by twelve or so ordinaries.  Shadow Stalker and Flechette stepping in.”

I’m pretty sure she, hm, “forgot” on purpose. If command doesn’t know, then it never really happened, yeah? She can use excessive force – without killing or maiming too hard because yeah, she’s still in probation, but I’m convinced she didn’t mention this so she could go and hit as hard as possible.

When Flechette gets to the fight, Shadow Stalker is already fighting and winning. The tranquilizer darts she has are for disabling the opponent, not to stop violence before it happens. Kind of a dirty tactic, when you look at it objectively, but I guess effectivity is what matters here.

Flechette does seem to still be inexperienced, she lets her guard down for a moment to make sure someone she defeated wasn’t going to drown in a puddle, giving enough time for another one of these men to take out a gun and try to shoot her. All he gets for his trouble is a crossbow bolt through the crotch of his ridiculously sagging jeans. Shadow Stalker deals with like three at the same time, they were already retreating, but she wasn’t going to let them go so easily.

Okay, despite everything bad and ugly Sophia is as a person, it can’t be denied she has some rather good fighting skills. As a fighter hero she’s competent, that definitely can’t be denied. All Flechette can do is watch her, enraptured, and I don’t blame her, that must have been quite the spectacle.

Soon all the attackers are either unconscious or trapped. Flechette made sure to restrain them with a minimum amount of harm, while Shadow Stalker, well, you can imagine she played rough.

Flechette palmed one of her throwing darts, glanced at it.  She’d been with the Wards a year before she had been given the arbalest and the chain reel.  Her darts had been her weapon of choice for a long time, alongside a rapier she’d eventually retired after too many fights using it had turned out badly.  She hadn’t had the heart to change her codename, even if it didn’t quite apply anymore.  Maybe when she graduated to the Protectorate.

It’s still kind of fitting, isn’t it? Crossbow bolts are close enough to darts, when you think about it. Maybe I’m just biased because in Spanish her codename is rather fitting, if a bit ridiculous.

Since their job is done, Shadow Stalker tosses Flechette a round device Flechette claims to not have seen since her training days. I’m not sure what it is.

“Times like this call for ’em.  City wants us on patrol, not sitting around with our thumbs up our asses, waiting for the cops to cart these fuckers off,”

Ah, alright, it must be some way to keep all of them restrained, you know, leaving all these guys behind and imprisoned so the police can come at their leisure while the heroes continue patrolling. I’m not sure yet of what this device will turn into, but at least I can guess its function.

Okay, what the device does is that it traps the criminals by keeping them hanging in the air, the device attaches to a wall. She goes to get the one she had made crash against a bolt, but before she can restrain him, the woman they just helped started bludgeoning the man with a trashcan lid. Well alright! Things are still violent around here! And Shadow Stalker doesn’t make a move, intending to let the woman achieve catharsis by beating the crap out of this guy. Flechette won’t have fun partnering with Shadow Stalker, that’s for sure.

“Told you, I don’t do the backup thing,” Shadow Stalker bent over the unconscious man, turning his head to investigate his injuries.  “He’ll live.  Him and his buddies deserve what they got.”

“That’s not your call to make.”

“Sure it is,” Shadow Stalker retrieved another restraint device and quickly strung the man up beneath a metal frame meant for an air conditioning unit.  “Times like this, we’re cop, judge, jury and if it really comes down to it, executioner.  We’re the ones with the power.”

Yes to the first three, no to the last one. Executioner? I fail to see the times when that’d be part of the job. I mean, the only ones that’d need such treatment are those like Leviathan, beings so powerful and dangerous it wouldn’t be farfetched to think that’s the only solution – and it’s not something most capes do, judging by what I was told about the capes’ intentions towards Leviathan during the fight.

This is a deal breaker, as far as Flechette is concerned. She decides to ditch Shadow Stalker, and Shadow Stalker isn’t exactly begging to keep someone with her. She’s a vigilante, after all. She’s in the team because she has to be. You know, I may hate Shadow Stalker so much keeping a meter for her would lead to negative numbers in like two updates – which is why I don’t bother giving her a meter, even though her importance as a character skyrocketed when it was revealed she is Sophia Hess – but I admit I’d be interested in an interlude with her as the central character. It may be fun to read.

Since she’s unfamiliar with the territory and any capes that may appear, Flechette requests information from console. Kid Win is manning it. First action! To give information about the rogue who had the stuffed animals moving during the Leviathan fight. Good question! I’d also like to know more about her.

“Parian,” Kid Win replied.  “A parian doll was a kind of doll about a hundred and fifty years ago.  Though Parian’s costume is actually closer to a more classical Victorian style porcelain doll, from the same era.”

“Oh.” That was random.  What kind of guy knew that much about dolls?

Let the guy have his interests, Flechette. Maybe he’s into toys and their history. It’s healthy to have a hobby.

Apparently Parian’s performance during the Leviathan fight was impressive enough for Flechette to want to meet Parian in person. She’s a rogue who is actually a fashion student, using her stuffed animals as her distinguishing quality. I think being a parahuman would be quite the enticing quality to have in terms of marketing, surely it’ll attract clients. Too bad the college she was attending is gone and these times aren’t good for studying of any kind.

It seems the lake downtown will be a permanent fixture of the city. Sure, there are barriers, chain link fences and fallen buildings in the center of the lake, but it’s not like the lake will be going away anytime soon. With some luck it could be incorporated to Brockton Bay. Adaptation, that’s a human trait. But for now...well, Brockton Bay isn’t adapting to anything. So much rubble, so much lack of control, it’s actually scary. Just imagining yourself passing by a place like this...it’s enough to make me feel goosebumps, honestly.

Flechette steps over one of the colorful debris lines.

She stepped over the line, and immediately felt a resistance.  It took her a second to figure out what it was – a thread caught the moonlight.

There was a muffled splashing sound, and a twelve-foot tall gorilla leaped from the nearest rooftop to land directly in front of her.  It swung its arms wildly in front of it, missing her, then slammed both knuckles down in the water, crushing one side of the orange striped barrier.  Flechette raised her arbalest to shoot, then stopped.

Okay, it’s pretty clear this is Parian’s creation! Not many people would have access to a twelve-foot tall gorilla, parahuman or not. Seems to me like this is a sentry, watching out for any threats trying to cross the border. It’s...not the best sentry ever? Because it’s mindless and its moves missed, but yeah, there’s intimidation factor and a punch from that thing would hurt. It can work.

I was wrong, it’s more like a puppet. Parian’s costume looks like an antique doll; it does fit her codename. Although she recognizes Flechette, she isn’t going to let anyone in – partly because she can’t trust Flechette because she could be lying about who she is, and because she promised not to let anyone in, anyway.

“Doesn’t matter.  I made a deal.  Me, my friends and my family get a place to stay here, a fair share of the food and water. In exchange, I keep people from entering.”

It’s fair. Sorry, Flechette, but I’m on Parian’s side here. A deal is a deal, duty is duty. There’s no reason for Flechette to enter this area, anyway. If she wants to talk, she can do it from the other side of the boundary.

The frocked rogue climbed up to stand on top of the gorilla’s shoulders.  She added, “I made a deal.  I’m keeping to it.  One hundred percent neutrality.  You trespass, I fight you.”

And I’d almost definitely win, Flechette thought. You may even know that, but you’d fight me anyways.

Just with that, Parian gained my full approval. Add this character to the list of characters I hope keep appearing. I doubt she’ll appear much since she, you know, is more akin to a civilian than to a hero or a villain and therefore won’t be taking sides unless there’s big trouble, but it’d be nice to see more about her.

“Good, good,” Flechette sheathed her arbalest, hoping the rogue would feel safer. “Look, I’m here if you need anything. If people make trouble and you’re not strong enough to protect that neighborhood there, or if you need resources that you couldn’t get otherwise, like names or medical services, call me. Can I give you my card?”

Flechette is such a nice and honorable person...why do all these good heroes have to be from places far away? Brockton Bay got saddled with douchebags, how unfortunate! Haha! But yeah, Flechette is another one that seems to be quite the decent person. I doubt she’ll want to stay, though. Once her temporal stay is over, I’m pretty sure she’ll return to the team she came from, and won’t even look back.

To show she does mean to be helpful, Flechette asks if there’s anything she can get them. Fresh water, that’s what’s needed.

“Seriously, are you okay?  You holding up?”

Parian turned, looked behind her, as if checking anyone was listening.

“I hate fighting.  Hate confrontation.  Even this, being here, having just thought I might have to fight you, fight anyone, it makes me feel edgy.  My teeth are chattering and I’m not even cold.”

I feel bad for Parian; she didn’t ask for any of this. Still, despite not liking to fight, she dared to join everyone else in the fight versus Leviathan, even though she knew that could have ended in her death. Parian is rather brave. With some luck she won’t have to get into more fights, but given how desperate people are...well, I’m sure she’ll have to deal with a few fights before things get better. She has Flechette’s support, so that has to count for something.

“Deal. I’m Flechette, by the way, in case you didn’t know.”

“Oh. Um.  I didn’t.  My name’s Sab-” Parian stopped, made a barely audible groan.

Looks like she’s still not used to having a secret identity! No idea how she plans to use her power as a way to promote her work if she can’t give her real name – after everything that’s happening there’s a chance word about her power gets out, people could link it to her real identity – but I suppose she’ll cross that bridge later.

Flechette is truly desperate for a friendly connection of some sort, going so far as to remove her visor and show her face. But it does work! A connection is made, because faces and names are mentioned. Parian’s real name is Sabah. Sabah...that is Malaysian...maybe Turkish? She does seem to come from the Middle East.

Parian dropped her legs down to either side of the gorilla’s neck as it moved forward. To stay decent, the girl pressed her hands down on the lap of her dress, leaning forward a little.  It was a little thing, that bashful modesty, but Flechette felt as much of a rush watching that as she did running across her chain/tightrope with a five-story drop below her.

...oh! Oh, my! Looks like Flechette isn’t straight as an arrow, in what concerns to her tastes. Still, this isn’t the time for ogling anyone, it’s time for patrolling and making the friendly connection she couldn’t make with Shadow Stalker. Parian may not be a member of the Wards, but she is an admirable person and I think it’ll do Flechette good to have a friend in this city. Maybe her stay in Brockton Bay won’t be so bad now.

That’s the second chapter of this interlude arc. I can’t imagine what comes next! Another change in point of view, I guess, but there are many available options. Bring it on! But, uh, next time.

Next update: in two updates

#worm #worm liveblog #liveblog #book liveblog #story liveblog

[scriptshrink]

my mc was held captive and tortured for three years as a child, being rescued at 9 years old. they developed c-ptsd. in the current story theyre 19--i was wondering, what sort of signs of the trauma would you see in them after that long, if theyve been going to frequent therapy & had a lot of support through recovery etc? and if an extremely traumatising event happened now, could it bring back old symptoms again? they are also autistic, if that changes anything. thank you!

CW: Trauma, child abuse, torture

Snail

A traumatising event could definitely bring back old symptoms. It wouldn’t have to be “extremely” traumatising. 

Some symptoms might flare up again if they are triggered by something like seeing a person who looks similar to one of their captors, for example. 

The autism can interact with the trauma response so that following a trigger or after re-traumatisation they seem to others to be “more autistic”(I can lose speech, have increased difficulty interpreting non-literal language, have greater difficulty gauging my internal states)

(I cut off contact with my mother because every time I spoke to her it would take me days to recover, during which time I found it impossible to know if I was hungry or not and Other Problems) 

In times soon after trauma my sensitivity to sound has been very heightened - much more than usual.

The amount of time elapsed is not necessarily a good indication of what the continued impact on your character is. People all respond differently. Some people don’t develop PTSD/C-PTSD at all, whereas for others the condition lasts decades. There are lots of things that impact how likely one is to develop a disorder as a result of exposure to trauma (for example duration of trauma, type of trauma, previous experiences of trauma). 

Signs of trauma you might see in them: 

scars 

ongoing pain (eg. back problems from trauma to spine) 

a whole raft of possible symptoms from traumatic brain injuries (problems with balance, vision, tinnitus) 

aversion to things that remind the MC of the trauma

making sure that they always have a clear path to the exit in social situations (this could be always sitting next to the door so that they can escape quickly, or always facing the door so that they can see anyone coming in or anyone moving to cut off access to the exit)

conditioned responses as a result of their time in captivity - for example, if they were punished for walking across the room they might still persist in always walking around the outside of a room if they need to get to the other side. 

volatile relationships with peers or with people in positions of authority 

poor self-esteem

There would also likely be an impact on things like the character’s reading and mathematical ability (from missing three years of education at an important stage).

I just want to add - 10 years is in some ways a long time, but also not. Your main character has been treated horrifically, they spent three years in captivity, three years being tortured. That’s… that’s not a small thing. And while therapy and support are very important and will help your character, it’s not a magic bullet that makes everything better.If you as the author want a character who is extremely traumatised, you’ve got all the ingredients you need.

An innocent question from another character about “what was your favourite planet when you studied the solar system in third grade?” is suddenly a very difficult one - does your character lie, change the topic, or say “actually, when I was supposed to be in the third grade I was being held captive and I didn’t see the sun for three years, much less study the solar system”. 

As an autistic person, your character is likely to find this sort of situation even harder. It can be hard to judge when it is appropriate to talk about traumatic experiences - especially, for your character, if they have spent a lot of time being encouraged to talk about the trauma in therapy and by carers. It isn’t always clear if someone is asking because they want to know the real answer or if they are just making conversation. 

Even if your character has no trauma response from that type of conversation, the amount of processing needed to judge what to do can be very tiring: “is this person asking because they really want to know? even if they do know, are they a safe person to tell? if I don’t tell them about my childhood, what can I say instead? can I lie? what lie can I use? can I say I don’t want to talk about it? how do I do that without being rude?”And that’s on top of the normal processing your character has to do when interacting with other people. All of this is very tiring, and could lead to your character shutting down and not responding, having a melt-down, or just answering with the truth out of default, even if it is not a safe/suitable time to do so.

Anon01

I don’t know if this one would count as PTSD or C-PTSD because straight up torture is something distinct you can point at and say “that, that’s what messed me up” instead of C-PTSD which as I understand isn’t a distinct “big bang” of trauma but rather a series of smaller traumas (correct me if I’m wrong?)… either way, one of the signs of prolonged exposure to childhood trauma involves learning the behaviours as “normal” and doing it for themselves, long after the aggressor is gone, not because the person doesn’t know they’re hurting themselves, but because they’ve never learned any better in terms of life experience and as they get older new things will challenge their worldview of what’s okay, even as they intellectually understand what’s they’re doing is not good.  Think of it as a Pavlovian response rather than a conscious decision.Whatever “a lot” of therapy and “support” is supposed to mean, the short answer is it’s not a quick fix.  Many people struggling with mental illnesses have less, hm, “hardcore” experiences and still under the best of circumstances, with therapy (which you must understand YMMV) and support (support network of ~common~ mental problems get real sick of it real quick, so support for torture needs to be actually qualified and not just friends curing with love)

If an extremely traumatising event happened ten years after the initial cause ended?  Yes.  That’s hardly a long time in terms of recovery.I can’t speak about autism but I will say that generally certain types of disabilities get more abuse than others, physical disabilities is one, and yes autism is another.I will add that from the ask, it feels like the author’s done enough research to have the terminology and general feel down, but is still in the uncanny valley of writing experiences to get the details quite right.  I’d go back and review why they picked this millefeuille of issues, and make sure it’s not fetishizing torture, child abuse, and autism.  I get it, fiction will often ramp things up to 11 to get a more visceral feel, I’ve written some horrendous things myself just to cope (not even for publishing, just for the catharsis), at the same time I’d advise ramping it down a notch, because while all three things are real things that happen, most of the audience in a general sense will relate more to more realistic depictions.  Unless your story is set in a fictional world.  Then just make sure whatever you’re doing is consistent with the world’s rules. 

Disclaimer 

#Anonymous #asks #torture #trauma #child abuse #effects of abuse #consultant #scriptshrink consultants #autism #autism spectrum disorder #Anon01 #Snail #recovery #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice

[baek--honey]

1-50 bitch

well since u asked nicely how could i resist

1. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? paint/draw or the like, or knit maybe,

2. What’s your favorite piece of clothing you own/owned? MY HOT MOMS SHIRT THAT I LOST ;n; also the big grey hoodie i have & a pierce the veil shirt i borrowed from my gf that im never giving back :)

4. How often do you play sports? never

5. What fictional place would you most like to go to? The Digital World

6. What job would you be terrible at? probably anything involving extensive memorizing and maintaining information for long periods of time. so basically a lot of things…… or maybe like. working at starbucks cos i cant make coffee OR remember lots of drink recipes omg

7. If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance at winning a medal for? playing kingdom hearts 2 on easy mode. i would have a good chance at winning because all the people that are good at playing kingdom hearts are gaming elitists that think playing on easy is for losers and if you dont play on critical mode you arent a real gamer :)

8. What skill would you like to master? making an omelet OR knitting

10. What would be the most amazing adventure to go on? some out of town adventure with my girlfriend where money and time dont matter 

11. If you could change one thing about your life right now, what would you change and why? uh i’d like to be less haunted by my traumatic past maybe! or be a few inches taller that would be cool i feel like both of these are pretty self explanatory 

12. What’s your favorite drink? W A T E R or milk tea 

13. What do you consider to be your best find? my girlfriend 

14. Are you usually early or late? way too early. too mcuh time i dont know what to do with it

15. What pets did you have while growing up? hm lets see i had a couple turtles, some fish, i had a gerbil that i got from a friend, an african grey named solomon, boston terrier named Tiny, two white boxers named Floyd & Lloyd, a mix named Macy, 4 chihuhuas named Dude, Pooty, Flout & Chief, and now we have a cat named Schrödinger :~), oh and an amstaff/dalmation mix named EL

16. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with? anything and everything but never really asking for advice i guess? its more of them talking about a problem cos im easy to talk to and then me trying to help them come up to a solution if they need it

17. What takes up too much of your time? S L E E P I N G 

18. What do you wish you knew more about? cats!!!! also dogs cos i know a lot but i want to know more

19. What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for 100 years? why am i still alive?

21. Who’s your go-to band or artist when you can’t decide on something to listen to? seventeen or monsta x, exo’s LMR repackaged album

22. What shows are you into? the office, lost, honestly nothing thats still running on tv, i havent watched a show in forever, oh god wait does anime count cos i could write the longest list of anime i love: haikyuu, nge, digimon, noragami ,,,,,,

23. Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished? Seventeen (Hangul: 세븐틴), also stylized as SEVENTEEN or SVT, is a South Korean boy group formed by Pledis Entertainment in 2015. The group consists of thirteen members divided into three sub-units, 

24. What age do you wish you could permanently be? a dog mom & i hope i can make that wish come true

25. What would be your ideal way to spend the weekend? napping on and off in bed with my girlfriend and then going to town for sushi & milk tea and then uhhhhhhhhhhh coming back home to nap some more and then go out for noodles for another date :} oh and a dog would be involved if possible because cuddling dogs is best

26. What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way? physically writing and sending cards/letters in the mail i guess? i dont know if that really counts as doing something the old fashioned way but i definitely dont get as many cards or anything in the mail anymore. i also like to keep physical hand written to-do lists & schedules and stuff

27. What have you only recently formed an opinion on? how bad exo are at dancing  turtlenecks and scarves. they are good 

28. What’s the single best day on the calendar? october 10th my dogs birthday and also narutos birthday

29. What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of? asmr??? 

30. What is the most annoying question that people ask you? “did u have a little lamb?” OR when my grandpa asks me anything about his iphone 

31. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on without absolutely no preparation? my dogs or seventeen. OR a half ass presentation about kingdom hearts, trying to explain it while getting around all the plot holes and not nailing down my arguments cos i dont really get it either and theres a lot i dont pay attention to but i could come up with 40 mins of info im sure

32. If you were a dictator of a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do? no waking until 10am. no crime or anything will be allowed ill figure out some way to make everything perfect so women can go out alone at night and not be afraid. no discrimination !! all the poc, lgbt, disabled, any minority  will be welcome and have safe spaces and any hate will be punished by law. also everyones allowed to have pets in their homes and no home goes without food or power. am i doing this right

33. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives? travel out of your comfort zone. like physically travel somewhere and make the most of it but do it with someone cos the buddy system is important

34. What’s worth spending more on to get the best? jackets. i will pay up to 100$ for a good jacket and wear it forever cos itll be confirmed long-lasting and also most likely very comfortable!!!

35. What is something that a ton of people are obsessed with but you just don’t get the point of? i just want to point out that its not that i dont get the point of it because everyone has their likes and i have my own that other people dont i like that people are into whatever they want to be its just that i am Not into it. and that thing is yuri on ice

36. What are you most looking forward to in the next 10 years? being able to wake up every morning next to my girlfriend and out pets :~)

37. Where is the most interesting place you’ve been? corning museum of glass was super neat……. , dollywood, gatlinburg, chicago chinatown, idk i havent been to many interesting places 

38. What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t gotten around to? i wana get a tattoo !!!!!!!!

39. What’s the best thing that happened to you last week? getting a job interview at barnes & noble because now i have a job there!!!

40. What piece of entertainment do you wish you could erase from your mind so that you could experience it for the first time again? diamond edge chicago

41. If all jobs had the same pay and hours, what job would you like to have? all i really want is that job where im paid to sleep 

42. How different was your life one year ago? tbh not that much different?? other than i was in school and now im not. i didnt have a job and now i do. i was a year further away from moving 

43. What’s the best way to start the day? talking to my girlfriend and also let me just say that first pee in the morning. perfect

44. What quirks do you have? what are quirks exactly i looked up examples to help me think of some but all im thinking of is…i cant have the volume on my tv or radio on an even number it has to be on an odd number??? i have to sleep with a fan on. idk dude

45. What would you rate 10/10? [MV] 몬스타엑스 (MONSTA X) _ 걸어 (ALL IN)

46. What kind of art do you enjoy most? abstract w lots of colors and shapes. geometric stuff 

47. What do you hope never changes? my ability to collect myself (unless it gets better which then i hope it does), my passion for art of any sort

48. What city would you most like to live in? anywhere except charleston and somewhere thats not extremely highly populated

49. What movie title best describes your life? Scooby Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed

50. What’s the best way a person can spend their time? sleeping or hanging out with their pet

#i like how the all in mv is a link #t #thanks for ur time

[il--dottore]

The Hand That Feeds (part 5)

When Marcos awoke, he was blind.  

He didn’t realize it at first, accustomed as he was to the pitch black of the cell between sessions. And besides, he hadn’t woken up as cleanly as usual; his head felt fuzzy, his tongue lay thick in his mouth. As consciousness returned to him his thoughts sharpened – how many hours of rest had he been granted? – but in those first few minutes it took him much longer than usual to realize he wasn’t the only one in the room.  

He lay flat on his back. His arms were at his sides, and the weight of the collar around his neck had vanished. The concrete beneath him had lost some of its chill; he’d been lying there for some time.  In the background, sounds. A breath. Quiet footsteps. The soft clink of metal on metal. He stared upward with wide eyes, straining for any hint of light. It was only dark when he was alone. So if he wasn’t alone - 

“Are you feeling refreshed?” The metallic scrape of a chair being dragged across the floor, stopping near Marcos’s head. Giovanni sank into it. It had only taken the medic and the drug to do their jobs perhaps three hours, but he knew Marcos had no guesses. Giovanni watched Marcos’s eyes flick around with increasing urgency. Seemed the lenses really worked.

He’d had them made specially, as the company apparently didn’t keep anything like them on hand. Black, opaque contact lenses that covered the iris and pupil, inserted by the medic while Marcos was under the drug. Light reactant. They darkened to an opacity under bright light, which was the case in the room’s lighting today. He maybe able to see superficially in dim lighting, but at the moment, Marcos had virtually no vision.

“I can’t see-“ the words were a hiss, tight with fear. Marcos jammed the heels of his hands against his eyes before blinking furiously, his head moving in little jerks. “Why can’t I see?”

“I wouldn’t touch them,” Giovanni warned. “Your chances of any recovery are quite low, but if you rub at them so soon after the procedure, they’ll be zero.” Wouldn’t want the lenses slipping around, giving themselves away.

“Wh-“ Marcos froze with his hands raised, his whole frame starting to tremble. Recovery? Procedure? “What did – what-“ More than any of the pain Giovanni had inflicted, this shook him. A horror crept over him. “What did you do?!”

“Why are you so upset? You must know by now what the room looks like, and what I look like.” The nonchalance and slight annoyance in Giovanni’s voice was an almost comic foil to the panic in Marcos’s. “You really only need your ears and your mouth. Now, do try not to rub at them anymore, because I’m beginning to feel your hands are unnecessary, too.”

Of course Giovanni had no plans to permanently disable Marcos; this room was only the beginning. But Marcos need not be aware of that, not yet.

Feeling suddenly and unbearably exposed, Marcos pushed himself upright and pulled his knees to his chest. He faced Giovanni, as near as he could tell, but his head kept turning as he attempted to locate the others in the room. The tremors continued unabated.

Giovanni watched him silently for a moment. Marcos’s head twitched to the side, turning his ear towards where he’d last heard Giovanni’s voice originate. The expression of utter despair, stricken incomprehension, was uncomfortably familiar to Giovanni and his eyes shifted over the top of Marcos’s head.

“Are you hungry?” Marcos seemed to be compliant enough for the moment. “Or would you rather pick up where we left off?”

For a moment, Marcos did not respond. The same thoughts presented themselves - thoughts of pride, and principles, and compromise. But they were translucent somehow. Less real than before. 

"I don't -" He bit his lip, wrapping his arms tighter around his legs. His words were barely audible. "I'd like food."

He shouldn’t have been surprised by the answer, but Giovanni found himself caught a little off guard. He hesitated—should he make it that simple?—before holding out his hand to receive the usual bowl of warm, flavorless oatmeal. But of course it should be simple; the time for orchestrated chaos and unpredictability was possibly over, and it was time now to take tentative steps forward.

Marcos could have a choice now. He would make him understand that. But Giovanni created and enforced every choice, in the end.

Marcos held unnaturally still when he heard the clink of the spoon on the bowl. Giovanni held the utensil out about an inch from Marcos’s face, waited until the younger man twitched at the silence and felt it at the corner of his mouth.

Marcos closed his eyes as he opened his mouth, a flush coloring his cheeks. The oatmeal was tasteless but thick, and his shame was tempered somewhat by the warmth, the slaking of a need that had been building for days. He shuddered, his hands curling into fists until the stabbing pain from his healing fingers was almost too much to bear.

Waiting until Marcos had gotten the first spoonful down without choking, Giovanni offered another, this time tapping the spoon on Marcos’s teeth through his half-open mouth. Marcos seemed to swallow the concoction without any thought to savor or taste it; not that Giovanni could blame him, but it was almost amusing to watch him force it down so quickly, breath coming heavier, and practically see the hesitation working behind Marcos’s forehead before he opened his mouth again. Giovanni let him sit there unattended until his mouth snapped shut again, eyes darting futilely, second-guessing.

“I want you to answer some questions,” Giovanni started, “unrelated to Midnight. You will answer them either way, however—you may choose between a reward for compliance,” he tapped the bowl with the spoon, “or punishment for noncompliance.”

Marcos didn’t respond, but his silence was a lack of protest, and Giovanni knew how to read it. There were no expletives, nothing defiant in his expression. Just wariness and tension, awaiting the first question. He hadn’t yet decided whether to refuse.

“Do you know an Exterminator named Anders Madsen,” Giovanni started, nothing in his tone betraying the intensity with which he watched for Marcos’s reaction, “on a personal level?”

A pause. Marcos' eyes shifted as he searched the question for any tricks, any hidden meanings. Slower, his blind gaze drifted back towards where he'd last heard the click of the spoon. 

"No." True, technically. He'd never met the man. But it felt like an evasion, and despite himself his breath began to speed up, his fear only growing with the knowledge that Giovanni would be able to read his body language just as well as he could. "M-my brother does," he finally burst out, the admission bringing a feeling of relief that he had just enough awareness of to despise.

There was no indication of a lie in Marcos’s response, only apprehension; pass. Giovanni (ever a man of his word, if nothing else) spooned up another glob of oatmeal and tapped Marcos’s lip. Saw that it was all swallowed before he moved on.

“Your record shows that you’ve been outside the city unauthorized, after being registered as neutral. Was permanent defection your plan?”

After a tense, silent pause, “The only punishment you have to fear is punishment for refusing to answer, Marcos. It’s a simple question.”

Marcos shifted in place, warring anxieties plainly visible on his face. His lack of sight made him vulnerable and, paradoxically, lowered his other defenses too. Unable to see Giovanni's expressions, he did less to guard his own. "Not - not permanent-" His eyes flicked towards the corners of the room, with their imagined watchers. "I always c-came back-"

“Hm.” The portion this time was smaller, maybe only half a spoonful.

“I’m sure you’ve been interviewed about the details of these excursions. We’re just talking, Marcos, that’s all. Do you have friends in the Zones?” 

A nod from Marcos, almost immediate. "Vista, the - the people at Vista. Mou- Cass." Nothing wrong there. The outpost was sanctioned, and Mouse hadn't officially escaped the city, because she'd never officially been held there.

Giovanni stirred the quickly cooling concoction thoughtfully. Audibly. “And what about outside of the outpost? Have you ever met any killjoys?” He phrased it a bit carefully; it was going so well, and he wouldn’t want Marcos clamming up now, wouldn’t want that defiant streak rearing its head while they were inching towards progress. Giovanni saw Marcos lean forward just slightly, expectant. 

The spoon was still. "I..." Marcos offered no names, pulling back and hunching when the oatmeal was not forthcoming. It was either food or blows. He licked his lips nervously. "Not - not killjoys..." His fingers bent stiffly as he rubbed at his hands.

The younger man’s thoughts and emotions showed so plainly on his face that Giovanni almost found it funny. Perhaps at another time he would have, but he was weary of this room. It had been months since—since the last time an interrogation had stretched so long. Since the last time he’d gotten so finely attuned to a subject.

A short, still silence. “Are you lying to me, Marcos?”

Marcos sucked in his breath, freezing in place. His eyes were wide and unseeing. "Not killjoys," he whispered, "Not - they're not, they're just - they just live there -" 

Thoughts of Sugar and Shade presented themselves, and of Dannyboy, and the little kid who pretended to be a goblin over the radio. And of Perro. He didn't want them to have anything to do with this room. He didn't want anything from the desert to be trapped in here with him, because then it would belong to Giovanni too.

“I’m not very much interested in peaceful desert dwellers, or however you choose to think of them,” Giovanni’s voice projected boredom, dangerous dissatisfaction. The spoon clinked against the side of the bowl as he pretended to move it idly, the sound ringing harshly. It wasn’t time yet for pain; not with Marcos behaving so well, speaking so openly. But fear, too, was a kind of punishment. A higher sort, even, than physical blows. Which were still imminent. Fear had to be fed regularly.

“Isn’t there something interesting you’ve done outside the city? I’d much rather talk like this than get straight back to work.”

A moment of silence, full of tense energy rather than the stillness and purpose with which Marcos had made these decisions in previous sessions. He understood what the Exterimantor wanted - he was supposed to tell him about leaving through the sewers with their android guide, or about sneaking Mouse out through the body disposal, or about where Shade might live and what the members of his crew looked like. Or perhaps about Destroya and the other dieties - but that was probably shakier ground, with someone like Giovanni. The question was whether Marcos was willing to volunteer the information, and the answer wasn't as clear as it had been before. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, rocking back and forth slightly in a tight, staccato motion.

When he finally twitched his head in the negative, there was nothing resolute about his expression. He wrapped his arms around himself, eyes tight shut, his breath already coming quicker.

Giovanni released a near-silent breath and handed the tray off to a draculoid. The respite was ending; but it was Marcos’s right to end it. And his responsibility to accept the alternative.

Retreating to the counter, Giovanni immediately took up today’s instrument; a long, thin rod reminiscent of a bamboo cane. It was synthetic, of course, but the feel and flexibility were as good as the real thing. He circled back around slowly and pressed the rod flat against the back of Marcos’s neck.

“Back or hands?”

Marcos jumped when the cane touched his neck, motionless as Giovanni's words sank in. His erratic breathing hitched and then, paradoxically, began to even out. The unknown had lifted. He was being given a choice. 

His hands dropped back into his lap, out of the way, and as he released a breath, his shoulders straightened. Though still shaken by the occasional shiver, his posture was significantly more composed.

The cane lifted away from Marcos's neck, was raised back and over Giovanni's head. There was a pause, less than a second; Giovanni wasn't one for drama, but he did appreciate a tightly strung moment. The cane made a hollow whistling sound through the air before landing its mark square across Marcos's upper back with an ugly, somatic snap. 

Giovanni watched the skin slowly redden and then darken further, a long welt forming. Hadn't broken the skin. Perhaps the synthetic rod did require a bit more elbow. And besides, Marcos was being too good a sport about it. 

Wouldn't do anyone any good to drag in between. Giovanni raised the cane again. 

Marcos couldn't tell if the second blow had drawn blood, but he thought it probably had. It came with a sharper pain, a deeper slash of heat, and the tendons in his arms were tensed harshly as he tried to keep from flinching away or curling up. A thin exhale, not quite a whine, worked its way through clenched teeth.

Three. Giovanni suddenly remembered a public caning he’d seen in a small town in France after the bombs. Three strikes, and the crowd had murmured about the barbarity. Blood had run down the man’s back the way it was running down Marcos’s now. What little Giovanni could see of his face was starkly pallid. He knew Marcos wasn’t in a state to lose too much blood. Four would suffice.

At the fourth, Marcos hunched forward, curling his hands in his hair with a pained exclamation. His back was burning; between the fiery lacerations, he could feel the liquid movement of blood winding down to stain the pale fabric of his pants. Though his head swam, he didn’t bother shutting his eyes. It wouldn’t make any difference.  When Giovanni crossed the room once more to return the cane to its place, Marcos pressed his face against his knees, still pulled up to his chest. Every breath tugged at torn skin, every shift set muscles screaming. Maybe this would be the end of the session. God, but it hurt- if he could just stay here without moving, it would get better, right? Cuts scabbed over. So long as Giovanni didn’t want him to-

A soft thump pulled Giovanni’s attention away from the tool case. He glanced back to see Marcos had fallen over sideways and lay still. Fucking hell. Well, he supposed it would be impossible to continue for today. He’d reached an important milestone with Marcos, besides. Small successes.

But time was running out, and Giovanni could only hope that these small successes would culminate to something significant before—he closed his eyes for a moment, out of the view of his dracs, and suppressed an unbearable restlessness that rose in him. He must not let any outside pressure affect him. It was still too soon.

Giovanni lay the rod carefully into its depressed groove in the case and shut it. “We’re done for today,” he said quietly, and then turned to the draculoid nearest to him. “Arrange for a medic, he needs stitches in his back. After that, leave the ambience off.” Marcos may not have known it himself, but he’d done very well today. It seemed Giovanni preferred to reward him, after all, which almost disturbed him.

He left the light on, two of the four dracs hanging behind to wait for the medic. Giovanni had calls to make, requests to file, but all he could think about now was the burn of a cigarette in the fresh air.

#t #p #silvasboys #torture /////