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goddessofthundathighs · 6 years

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The Aftermath

Pairing: Poly!Erik x Hennessy Stevens-Udaku

Word Count: 2,163

Premise: After feeling under appreciated, everyone’s favorite wife decided to take a leave of absence. What’s the worse that could happen?

Warning: Angst with a little fluff

A/N: I apologize in advance for how this may affect you all.

“Now get yo filthy impertinent ass up out my room.”

The words replayed over and over in her head as she cleaned herself up. She’d had a time freeing herself from the expertly tied rope, but once she did, a new rage boiled inside of her. She was used to being punished, but what had just transpired was nothing short of torture and she wouldn’t stand for it.

She dressed like she would for a mission: coils braided into two French braids, black long-sleeved crop top, camo pants and combat boots. She loaded her duffle with all of her tactical gear and a couple weeks worth of clothes and purposely left her phone and kimoyo beads on her bed. She knew how life was without him; she’d done just fine on her own before they met. Without a second glance she loaded her belongings into her army green G Wagon and left the lavish estate. She was back to square one: alone and off the grid, living life on her terms.

He hadn’t seen her all day, but he was used to her disappearing after a punishment. Their attitudes were similar so he figured she needed time to reconstruct her ego. This punishment had been the worse he’d ever delivered to her, not because he wanted to, but because he was sick of hearing the others complain about how lenient he was on her and she’d really fucked up this time. To an extent the other wives were expendable, but Hennessy? The world would burn if anyone harmed a hair on her tiny head.

1 week. 168 hours, 10,084 minutes, 604,800 seconds since she’d been gone. The house had an eerie chill and was strangely quiet despite its many inhabitants. After the third day of her absence, he made the short venture to her bedroom. To the untrained eye, everything was in its rightful place; but no one knew her the way he did. One glance in her closet told him everything he needed to know. All of her tactical gear was missing and her gold iPhone 8 Plus rested in the middle of her plush green comforter along with her kimoyo beads. Her puppies Sosa and Cocoa sat quietly in their kennels. His heart ached a bit. After years of his bullshit, she’d finally left him.

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The palace was a madhouse. Erik had taken a leave of absence and Killmonger was now running the show. Hennessy was still M.I.A. which meant the rest of the wives were feeling the brunt of his anger.

“Where the fuck is she?” Bastion whispered angrily to Angel and Aly’Sha.

“No one knows,” Angel responded. “She left her phone and her kimoyo beads here and Ashley said that all of her tracking devices had been disabled.”

“This bitch just doesn’t give a shit about our well-being!”

Bastion was furious. She had never been one to bite her tongue, but she also wasn’t stupid. Killmonger was an entirely different beast, and after their last altercation, she vowed to never find herself on his bad side again.

“ANGEL!” he screamed from his bedroom.

“Welp, guess that my cue ladies,” Angel remarked before slowly retreating down the hallway. The last week had been especially stressful for her. Her peaceful demeanor meant that whenever Killmonger felt the need to destress, he called upon her. She was exhausted and wanted Hennessy back more than anyone else.

______________________________________________

Hennessy reclined in the hot bath, allowing the soothing scents of lavender and vanilla to invade her senses. The last few days had been exactly what she needed: peaceful and quiet. She was thankful that she’d secretly kept her old condo despite her husband’s protests. Speaking of her husband…

A lone tear fell as she toyed with the ring on her left hand. She missed him, but was just as stubborn as he was when she was hurting. Though everyone else in the house respected her and her position, she couldn’t help but feel inadequate at times, like there was a constant competition that she seemed to be losing.

She allowed the last few tears to fall before exiting the bath. She wrapped herself in her robe and pondered the last few years of her life. Financially, she was more than capable of living without him. She owned several dispensaries and could sweet talk a rattlesnake out of its rattle if necessary. But her heart was an entirely different story. It had been 10 years since he’d infiltrated her life and she’d be lying if she said her entire world didn’t revolve around him. But even still she was tired and angry. She hated feeling as though she was on the back burner of his affection, though she was fully aware of what she’d be getting herself into when she agreed to the arrangement. More tears fell as she allowed her wayward thoughts to completely consume her.

“What are you going to do if I ever decide to leave, Erik?”

She could tell the question caught him off guard by the way his body went rigid, but in true Erik fashion, he quickly recovered.

“You ain’t going nowhere Henny. You love a nigga too much,” he replied smugly before pulling her closer into his arms. Before this conversation, he’d never imagined life without his feisty munchkin. Ever since that fateful day he stumbled on her doorstep, she’d been there. She stuck by his side for everything, even the Wakandan takeover and failure. He remembered her teasing him, singing “Oh I just can’t wait to be king” at the top of her lungs once he finally came to. She was his best friend and the love of his life. Though he had 10 other wives, there was something about the good doctor that had him hooked.

Her heart had never ached this much. She wanted to go home, wasn’t sure of she was ready for the beast that awaited her.

2 weeks. 336 hours, 20,168 minutes, 1,209,600 seconds since the lavish palace had only been a speck in her rear view mirror. After a much needed break, Hennessy Stevens-Udaku was finally home. She’d barely gotten all the way in the door before she felt tiny arms wrapping around her neck, squeezing for dear life.

“Thank Bast you’re back,” the little woman said. “He’s been on a rampage the entire time. How dare you leave without telling anyone where you were going? That’s the reason you got punished last time.”

Hennessy stared at the little woman as though she’d grown another head. For a split second, she contemplated leaving again, but the dark figure looming in her peripheral vision stopped her.

“I missed you too Baby,” she responded before moving to her bedroom. The tiny woman followed behind her, finally releasing all of the anger she had built up over the last two weeks.

“I was forced to bite my tongue the entire time you were gone because you decided to unleash the beast! He almost broke Aly’Sha’s X-Box and don’t get me started on poor Angel! All of us have had to deal with the monster you created and you’re just standing here like you don’t give a shit!” Hennessy listened to Bastion rant for a little while longer before putting a hand up, stopping her mid-sentence.

“Listen, I’m sorry, ok? I’m sure shit has been rough around here, but I needed to get away for awhile. I honestly didn’t think he’d notice I was gone.”

“BITCH!” Aly’Sha’s voice called from the hallway. Hennessy knew she was in for another earful from the medium sized, younger version of herself. Before Aly’Sha could begin her rant, however, Hennessy’s icy stare cut her off.

“Listen, I said I was sorry. Y’all know I don’t apologize for shit so y’all better take it and leave me the hell alone.”

“Yes, Kitana,” Bastion replied before sashaying out of the room. Aly’Sha remained. She’d been just as worried about Hennessy as Erik was. They talked about everything, so the fact that she’d left without telling her really hurt her feelings.

“I really am sorry,” Hennessy stated, sensing Aly’Sha’s agitation.

“I know, but it still hurts,” Aly’Sha replied.

“You know he cried, right?”

Erik Stevens? Crying? That was new.

“I just needed some time. I almost asked him for a divorce.”

“A what?!”

Her body went rigid. She wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing in the doorway, but she could tell by his tone of voice that he was far from happy. Aly’Sha took this as her cue to exit. She hugged Hennessy one more time before retreating to her gameroom.

She continued unpacking her belongings, refusing to meet his stare. This was the longest that she’d been away from him with no communication and she knew that he wouldn’t rest until he’d learned the reason for her unannounced disappearance.

“So you wanna tell me why you had me sitting up here playing where in the world is Henny Sandiego?”

If the situation had been different, she’d have laughed at his response, but even she knew not to play with him when he got like this.

“I just needed time, N’Jadaka.”

His eyes softened at the mention of his given name. Though he was livid with her, he was happy that she was home.

“You were gonna divorce me?” he asked, voice just above a whisper.

“I honestly don’t know what I was going to do. I felt like I had been replaced. It felt like I’d gone from being your number one to number 1001. It felt like I’d been replaced ten times over.”

His arms found her waist instantly. This side of her was something new. She always exuded confidence and to hear that she’d been feeling less than broke his heart.

“I’ll drop them all like a bad habit if you really feeling a way, Mama.”

Her eyes widened as she stared up at him.

“I didn’t stutter,” he stated, catching her expression in the mirror.

“You can’t just say stuff like that, Daka,” she replied, voice dropping to the same level as his.

“I know, but I mean it. At the end of the day, if you really feel like that, then yeah I’d do it. You were my first, I’ve known you the longest, and we’ve been through some heavy shit together. I know I’ll never find another one like you.”

She briefly met his gaze in the mirror before turning away again.

“I’m sorry if I made things awkward around here. I love you all, that’s undeniable, but there’s a love I have for you that’s unmatched.”

“I get that Daka, which is why I’d never make you choose. All I’m saying is sometimes it gets frustrating having to share you with so many others. I know that this is what I signed up for when I agreed to this arrangement, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“I get that too, Henny. You’ve never liked sharing,” he chuckled quietly. “But I don’t want you to forget that I’ll always come back to you. It might take a minute, but I’ll always come back. Nobody gives cuddles like Henny,” he stated, softly squeezing her sides.

She met his gaze in the mirror once again before snatching away from his grasp.

“Really nigga? All I’m good for is cuddles?” she asked, placing her hands on her ample hips.

“Nah. That pussy is pretty amazing too,” he replied, flashing those gold fronts that she loved so much.

“Bye nigga!” she replied, pushing him towards the door. “You can get the hell out since all I’m good for is pussy and cuddles,” she said.

He turned around suddenly, taking both of her wrists in one hand.

“You good for more than that Princess. You smart as fuck.” he kissed her forehead. “Your cooking is amazing.” he kissed her nose. “And you make sure a nigga does whatever he has to do to be successful,” he said before kissing her lips.

She smiled softly at his compliments, but she still played hard to get.

“Plus you got them pretty ass eyes and that pretty ass smile. You got a nigga weak, girl.”

She was full on grinning at this point. Hearing him admit that he’d drop all of the other wives definitely fed her ego, but she’d never let him do it. As annoying as they were, she’d grown to love them just as much as he did and couldn’t imagine the palace without them.

“I love you Hennessy Monae Stevens-Udaku,” he stated, placing soft kisses along her jawline.

“I’m sorry for making you feel less than and I promise I’ll do better in showing my appreciation.”

She hummed in agreeance, smiling in spoiled Princess the way she often did when she got her way. The rest of the wives cheered silently outside of her bedroom door, thankful that peace had been restored in the palace and that the beast had been returned to the fiery pits of hell where he belonged.

TAG LIST: @vikkidc @hearteyes-for-killmonger @kxnfuzed @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @thehomierobbstark @sweetsexysavagery @beautifulqueenflaws @iamrheaspeaks @wakanda-inspired @winteroflife @amethyst1993 @thickoreo @ange-sensuel @allhailnjadaka @dameshaemonique @theunsweetenedtruth @ayellepea @thadelightfulone @drsunshine97 @princessstevens @princesskillmonger @muse-of-mbaku @imagine-mbaku @wawakanda-btch @killmongersgurl @yaachtynoboat711 @eriknutinthispoosy @youreadthatright @forbeautyandlife @panthergoddessbast

#vanity writes #erik killmonger x black oc #erik stevens #erik x henny #hennessy chiron #i’m an artist #and i’m sensitive about my shit

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honeylikewords · 5 years

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(P1) The pilgrim thing got me really disappointed!! Because they LITERALLY SAID!!! HE WAS GONNA BE FIGHTING A*T-RIGHT PEOPLE THIS SEASON!!!! I feel like this is a big let down to a lot of the people who were looking forward to frank, a character who is commonly misconstrued as an a*t-right figure himself to deny that once and for all, namely the fans who belong to minority groups (myself included) as well as the issue with the last I know they were doing it as a little easter egg by

(P2) recreating that one image from the comics but they could have put it in a better situation because a)those criminals were in fact rather young and the fact that the perfectly fit the "thug" stereotype is iffy at BEST. Because it also brings up something that was talked about in luke cage/defenders (a character I mcfrikken love) that black boys who are just trying to feed their family end up getting killed/beaten within an inch of their life meanwhile the white vigilante gets off free

(P3) (I know I'm writing a lot I apologize but m feeling heated ab thjs) because truly they looked roughly the same age as Amy. I will say I enjoyed his brotherly jokes with curtis (shout out to that man for dealing with his dumbass and not killing him for all the stress he causes him akdjsk) and the times he showed true care and softness (ie ACTUAL FRANK CHARACTERIZATION) towards amy. Im also iffy about the fact that he let a guy who peddles child porn go? S2 of dd he killed a dude doing that

Okay, first of all, don’t worry about apologizing, it’s TOTALLY fine to be heated about this. The media we consume is reflective of the thoughts and beliefs of the people creating it, and can influence the thoughts and beliefs of the people consuming it. As such, we SHOULD be heated about the content we see and create; it has impact and influence, and it matters that we call out issues when we see them, and remain intensely scrutinous of what we’re being shown. No need to be ashamed of that.

Second, I’m going to answer each point or comment made here in list format, just to try and keep things organized. Because it’d be really easy for me to spin out and start ranting, and I want to keep this cohesive and legible.

1) The letting Pilgrim live thing was just... so unimaginably stupid. They talked about him being a major antagonist and yet he played no important role in the series at all. From a functional, story-based level, the entire Pilgrim-Schultzes plot needed to be cut. It was convoluted, unnecessary, and wasteful, while also managing to be confusing and just flat out boring. Pilgrim wasn’t even an interesting character! He was just a waste of screentime! The two plots of Billy and Pilgrim were always fighting for attention, and it distracted from the linear progression of the show.

But on a more fundamental and moral level, it was also just... so, so bad to display him as an alt-r*ght neo-N*zi and just... let him live. As if he had an excuse. As if he was “equitable” to Frank because his weird little Christian fundamentalist wife died and he had two kids (off topic, but Lemuel is a horrible name). As if I was supposed to feel bad for him. As if I was supposed to sympathize with him, pity him. I don’t. And if I, a pacifist, soft-hearted, “forgiveness freely given” girl wouldn’t pity him, why on earth would a man like Frank?

It’s ridiculous. It’s shameful. Any piece of media that tries to “humanize” N*zis in a way where they are portrayed as sympathetic and “just people following orders” is disgusting. A N*zi chooses hate. A N*zi chooses bigotry. There is no mistake there, no human folly. That is choice and it is unforgivable. Pilgrim deserved to die, and that’s all I have to say about it.

2) I recognized that as a scene from the comics, an icon of Punisher-ing, but... You’re really, really right, and that’s something that worries me about Punisher and its fanbase. I’ve been stepping away from Punisher because I think it’s starting to cross the line into that territory; white vigilantism is, in many ways, a dangerous game to play, and when we start to romanticize white men with guns taking the law into their own hands and mowing down “thugs” (who, you are right to say, are usually just poor POC who are trying to make ends meet), we start walking a razor thin line.

Frank Castle in DD S2 was... different. This new Frank, this Punisher Frank? I don’t like him. And I don’t like what he stands for. Not anymore.

And I think the issue is that people like the idea of this big, bad white man with the guns calling all the shots, literal and metaphorical. And that scares me. Frank Castle is supposed to protect these infringed people, supposed to protect the downtrodden and oppressed. When he becomes a symbol and tool of that oppression, things get ugly, and things go wrong.

We can’t just excuse the inherent issues in something like Punisher just because we like Jon. I know I can’t. I have to ask these questions because they matter, and because it matters to me and to hundreds of thousands of other people who have to live with the fact that there is a chance that they could be shot down like that for no reason other than because someone decides their life doesn’t matter as much as, let’s say, a white one.

I know it sucks to bring politics into something we enjoy, but it also sucks that people have to deal with the real-life consequences of these issues. And it sucks that people see this show and idealize it, romanticize it, idolize the violence and the wickedness and the idea that they should be able to hold the scales of justice on their own and decide who matters based on their own personal whims.

The race discussion is very real with Punisher, and it’s a discussion we need to be having. We need to look at this critically and we need to see that, yes, there’s some very, very bad problems and some glaring issues. And we need to be honest about that, preferences all set aside.

3) Curtis Hoyle is a f*cking saint and deserves a break. He deserves it. (Also, what is going on with the show that they? Seemed to forget he has a prosthetic? He was leaping around and doing all manner of stunts as if he had both legs. Like... guys.)

4) Dad Frank was the only good thing about this season. Fight me.

5) The child p*rn thing upset me, too. I guess we’re supposed to infer that Frank is “growing” and not just killing whomever he pleases, and supposed to infer that he listens to Amy and wants to please her and not upset her, but... then he, like, murders anyone anytime anywhere after that. It seemed like they only showed the “growth” away from the urge to kill when it suited them, and it seems it only suited with regards to some of the lowest, most disgusting people ever.

Like, Frank takes the shot and kills Billy without even letting Billy say his final, dying words (which seemed to be an apology in the making?), but holds back from killing Pilgrim just because Pilgrim said “wait” and “I have sons”? Bullshit. Pilgrim and that child p*rn man should have died. End of discussion.

In the end, I guess I’d sum it up this way: Punisher season two lacks conviction. It wants to present the argument that things with Frank are complicated, but complicated just ends up coming across as nonsensical. Nothing about the show makes sense, there is no clear character development, every action is seemingly at random, and the plot is jumbled. The show can’t stick to anything without changing its mind, retconning itself into nothingness.

But worse yet are the implications of this jumbled mess; humanizing N*zis and white s*premacists, advocating the brutal violence of a white man with a gun as his own lawless lawmaker, and just a sort of devil-may-care attitude about what it means to be someone with power and exerting that over people who don’t stand a chance.

I have a lot of complaints, but I think, mostly, I’m just disappointed and sad. Frank deserves better than this. We deserve better than this.

We deserve heroes who will fight for what’s right. This Frank seemed to hardly know what on earth it was he was fighting for. And that makes me really, really frustrated.

(D/o/n’t r/e/b/lo/g, I don’t wanna get into any discourse, thnx)

#long post #messages #pettyprocrastination

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loki-subterfuge · 6 years

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Irked

Author: lokilover9 Chapter: #18 Rating: Mature Loki began pacing the kitchen floor, continuing to criticize himself, for upsetting Shandi again. ‘Brilliant, God of stupidity. Expand your list of reasons to apologize. Certainly she's more than impressed with you now.’ While he festered in misery, Clint began snoring down the hall. It quickly became so obnoxious, Loki considered putting a pillow over his head when an idea came to mind. Then he went to him, used magic to prevent an impending hangover and smiled. ‘See you bright and early, baby cakes.’ Suddenly a thud occurred from above, followed by a loud curse and he ventured upstairs. ‘Norns, my lovely oaf. I wish not to invade your privacy further, yet must assure you aren't broken.’ Shandi was brushing herself off, as he entered her room invisible. “It would appear imbecilic tendencies prevail in all males, no matter what planet they're from.” She climbed into bed and flopped back onto the pillow. “They can be, at times.” Said Nat. “At times? This one seems to favor such behavior. Less than forty eight hours passes and poof, he oversteps a boundary I specifically asked him not to.” “‘Poof?’” “Yeah Nat, ‘poof.’ Are you not familiar with the word?” “I am, but your cuteness is almost unbearable at the moment. Would you mind toning it down a bit?” “Seriously?” Nat smirked. “I don't believe he intended to and looked very forlorn after you left. Tell me something, vibrator masher. Has anyone else besides Loki, expressed concern about your terrible diet?” Shandi sighed. “You, Steve, Pepper...and Tony.” “Who’s also a Fruit Loops fan, so if ‘he's’ on your case…..” “Point taken, but you don't mess with my stuff.” “You've only just come to bed.” “Never mind.” “Chill out woman, I'm trying to make you laugh.” Nat went quiet for a moment. “Alright, I've another question. You've had gardening experience, what would that peony job involve?” “How is that related to anything?” “Humor me, will you?” “Fine, geez. Digging large holes, implanting wiring for the lighting, positioning plants then replacing the soil. You'd have to measure and cut weed barrier to prevent the decorative rocks from sinking into it..lay and level them...put a border around it...then there's clean up…” The more Shandi spoke, a realization came to her. “Wait, we never visited any garden centers.” “So the supplies came, via magic?” “He must've conjured them in the garage, but there's no using magic outside.” “All that work sounds time consuming. Didn't you say he made breakfast, too?” “Yeah.” “Mm. I'd guess he started around dawn, to finish everything by then. I wonder what his incentive was?” “I had said I liked them, but…” Shandi watched a big smile grow on Nats face. “Wait, you don't think..do you?” “What? That Loki has begun seeing beyond your pretty face, like you’ve always wanted him to?” Loki watched Shandi blush, like one of her deepest secrets were uncovered. ‘Apparently, I ‘am’ an imbecile.’ “How did you even know, Nat?” “I'm highly observant. Has it registered yet, he did all that to impress you?” Shandi reached for the sheets at the beds end. “That's a nice thought, but I'm on a mission and need to remain focused. Let's get some sleep.” Nat rose too and locked eyes with her. “Why are you so reluctant to pursue your interest in Loki?” "Tony." Shandi quietly stated. "He'd hate me.” “He could never hate you, beautiful. Besides, I wouldn't tell him.” “Really?” “That's your decision. I'd only do so, if believing Loki a threat.” “You trust him, Nat?” “I wouldn't be here, otherwise. Look, Loki tricking you was wrong, but I've considered raiding your kitchen with a dumpster bag and hurling it off Tony's landing deck, on several occasions. Would you stop trusting me afterwards?” “No and see your point.” “I know he's irked you on other occasions too, but I think he regrets all that and is trying to make amends. Give him a chance. Maybe you'll be pleased with the results. If not, toss him off that balcony Tony mentioned.” Shandi chuckled and Loki rolled his eyes. ‘Must you remind her of that, Kroshka?’ “Sounds like a plan.” “Alright. I'll help you lift him, then.” “I meant the chance, you nutter.” ‘You won't regret it, Pet.’ Nat suddenly pushed Shandi down and hovered over her. “Good and now it's bribery time. Once you're fucking, I’ll only keep your secret, on one condition.” “Uh oh. Why do I get the feeling you having your way with me is involved?” Loki's brow arched. ‘I beg your pardon?’ “Because it is.” ‘Well, well, ladies, Cupid was right. You ‘are’ Vixens.’ “Filthy slut.” ‘What foul language, darling.’ “Says the one who let my hand freely roam between her legs, twice today.” ‘Did she now?’ A playful struggle then ensued, leaving Shandi in only her panties. ‘Ooooh, I'm liking this.’ “Did you think I missed the subtle way your thighs kept tightening while sitting next to him?” Asked Nat. “No they didn't.” She traced her lips across Shandis cheek, then sucked and slowly nibbled down her neck. “Liar. It happened every time you moved. Were you fantasizing about him touching you? I was.” “Oh lord.” Nats tone became sultry as she toyed with one of Shandis nipples. “The movie played as he pressed your shoulders back, draped a leg over yours, firmly pinning you in place. Magic dissolves your bottoms and he caresses up your inner thighs, his cock stiffening as you squirm. ‘You'll enjoy this.’ He whispers. Your eyes widen when I place a finger to my lips and he smiles. ‘So will our audience.’ Discovering you wet, he teases amidst your lips until his fingers glisten, then slides two, deep into your warmth.” Nat reached into Shandis panties, doing the same, then continued acting out everything she spoke. “You struggle to stay quiet, but he's relentless, pumping and exploring at various speeds, while revealing his desire for you. Can you hear his dirty words, beautiful?” Shandi whimpered when Nat strummed over her g spot. “All that passion and longing...raging like a maddening fever he can't wait to unleash? Your cries become louder, as he coaxes you towards release, the squelching from your arousal, sounding obscene. Fearing you'll wake Clint, you claw at Loki's arm, pleading with him to stop, but are refused. Then I step in, pinning your other leg and wrist, restraining you further. I stroke your cheek as Loki bites along your shoulder and neck until you pant.” With that, Shandi quivered and gripped Nats shoulders. “Oh, please don't? I'm too...ohhhh.” “Too loud? Who gives a shit? Clints done until morning and Loki won't hear a thing with this storm raging. You're going to cum for me, beautiful, now keep listening…” ‘Mmm..yes pet. Obey the lady.’ “Then he stops, holding his hand before your face, forcing you to watch as I suck and lick your essence from his fingers.” ‘Fuck, Kroshka. You'd make a great porn star.’ “When done, we place you on all fours, bind your wrists behind your back and he grips your hips, sinking his erection into your eager pussy. Your back arches, granting deeper access and once he moves, you’re done for. Moaning in ecstasy, being fucked through multiple orgasms.” Shandi responded in breathy moans. “I’ve never..I...” “You've never experienced multiples?” “No.” Nat tisked. “Poor thing. I'll bet Loki will give them to you. Are you aware he's a Dom?” She smiled when Shandi pulsated around her fingers. “Trust me, it's true.” By this point, Loki's mouth watered from Shandis scent and his cock had hardened so painfully, he was indulging it in a gentle massage. ‘Very perceptive Kroshka and multiples she shall receive.’ “I'm so grateful to be giving you pleasure, again. Do you know why? After laying in his bed, you'll never want for another.” Shandis nails dug into Nats skin and she moaned against her neck. Mmmm..return to the fantasy, beautiful. Loki's still fucking you, cum for him.” Shandi lost it, moaning uncontrollably and Loki released his cock, before giving himself away. ‘When I get my hands on you….’ Nat whispered as Shandi caught her breath. “May I do it, beautiful? Taste you how I've wished to, just this once?” As erotic as Loki envisioned that to be, a sudden streak of possessiveness overtook him. ‘Sorry, Kroshka. She's mine and that exceeds the permissible.’ Nat was kissing above Shandis navel when a loud bang and the sound of glass shattering, made them jump. Loki returned to his room, quickly altered his attire to night clothes and knocked, asking if they were alright. Then he darted down the front stairs to see Clint rising from his slumber. “Did you hear something?” “Might you need a hearing aid, Cupid?” As he investigated the house, Shandi and Nat sauntered down in robes and they all gathered at the front stairs. “Nothing's broken inside. I'll check the outer guest room.” Clint offered to help, then slid a hand down his face. “Shit, the truck!” “You didn't put in the garage?” “I forgot!” “No need to panic. We can…” Before Loki could finish, Clint stepped out into the storm and complete darkness. “Move it after I turn on the lights?” He flicked a switch and seconds later, Clint barged back in and slammed the door. “FUCK ME!” “That's Kroshkas job. Is there a problem?” “A large tree branch broke through a back window, dented the door and the interior is getting doused!” “Be thankful it wasn't a bilgesnipe. You'd be walking back to Manhattan.” “Really Cactus? Tony's going to freak.” “He'd be grateful neither of you were in it. Get the keys and come.” They removed the branch together, so the truck could fit in the garage, then Clint reentered, soaked. “Where's Loki?” Asked Shandi. “Using magic to repair everything in the garage.” Nat started upstairs and he and Shandi followed. “Come baby cakes, I'll get you a towel. She was handing it to him when suddenly tossed over his shoulder. “What the...are you looking for an ass whoopin?’ “I'm cold, darlin.’ Come keep me warm?” “Pffft. Do I have a choice?” “Nope, Caveman Clint has claimed his woman.” He winked at Shandi, while closing the spare room door. “Don't wait up for her.” Shandi had just returned to the bottom of the stairs, when Loki came in. Hair damp and tousled, his dirtied white t shirt, clinging to every ripple on his torso, night pants resting just above his hips. She ran her eyes over him without even realizing it. “Clint gone to bed?” He asked. “Hm?” Loki stifled a smirk. “Clint?” “Oh, yes. And the truck?” “Back to its former self.” A moment of silence fell between them, before Shandi offered the towel in her hands. “‘Thought you might need it.” Loki was about to talk, when Clint shouted. “Oh please, darlin! Not the nipple clamps!” It was obvious he was messing with Nat and Loki couldn't resist. “Do you think she’ll pull out the spanking paddle and make him plead for mercy?” Shandi smirked. “I hope not. Goodnight.” “Shandi?” She turned to him on the stairs, his gaze making her knees quiver. “Yes?" “Thank you.” “Sure.” Shandi returned to bed, but sleep eluded her with sounds of Nat quietly moaning in the next room and thoughts of Loki, wet. He'd gone for a shower to relieve himself while imaging Shandi, legs locked around his ass, leaving claw marks on his back as he drove into her, like an insatiable beast. His seed shot beyond the water droplets coating tiles, as he moaned and grunted through a wicked orgasm, until collapsing against the wall with a growl. “Fuuuck. If this continues much longer, I'll go mad.” Afterwards, he ventured into the hall, invisible, and stopped when hearing the sounds from Clints room. ‘Perfect. You're exactly where you belong, Kroshka.’ Then he entered Shandis and almost laughed, finding her covering both ears with pillows. ‘Troubles, Pet?’ She sat up and grumbled. “Great. They're fucking, he's catching zees and once again, I'm headed for a cold shower. If magic is so wondrous, why wasn't he dry before coming back in?” Loki smirked. ‘If that's what ails you, I regret nothing.’ He watched as Shandi lathered her breasts, until another tent rose in his pants. ‘Perhaps I should leave, before lust catapults logic into a portal.’ He read quietly in his room, until silence fell in Shandis, then returned to remove her impending hangover. Now only Nats was left and when she opened Clints door, Loki followed her to the main floor bathroom and swore he heard her crying. Shortly after, she returned to Shandi, carefully climbed in behind her, kissed the back of her head and softly whispered. “You've a challenging road ahead, beautiful. Love isn't easy. Believe me, I know.” She wiped a fallen tear from her cheek. “Regardless, I'll always be here for you.” While she fell asleep, Loki started recalling her past and present behavior in Shandis presence. Nat smiled, laughed and talked more, when normally quiet and elusive. She’d frequently touch Shandi, be it a stroke to the hair, or caress to the arm, paid her compliments, escorted her around town, kindly advised and encouraged, helped her adjust to becoming an Avenger and how protective she always seemed of her. ‘Is it possible you love them both, Kroshka? Rest assured, I'll be watching you much closer until she’s laid with me and what challenges do you speak of? Is there news from Manhattan, I'm oblivious to? I shall eavesdrop on your conversations with Clint, whenever possible. Perhaps being the bosses closest friend, has its benefits.’ By the morning, the storm was raging again, waking Shandi a little early. She smiled finding Nat with her and decided to make some coffee. Halfway down the stairs, it registered Clint and Loki's doors were wide open. ‘They're up?’ She thought. ‘It's awfully quiet.’ After checking every room, she peeked in the garage then returned and yanked the blankets off Nat. “Get up, we've a problem!” Nat opened one eye. “Have you a death wish, woman?” “Dammit, I'm serious! Clints taken the truck and I can't find Loki anywhere!”

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wineanddinosaur · 3 years

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Wine 101: Txakolina

This episode of “Wine 101” is sponsored by E. & J. Gallo Winery. At Gallo, we exist to serve enjoyment in moments that matter. The hallmark of our company has always been an unwavering commitment to making quality wine and spirits, Whether it’s getting Barefoot and having a great time, making every day sparkle with La Marca Prosecco, or continuing our legacy with Louis Martini in Napa, we want to welcome new friends to wine and share in all of life’s moments.

Interested in trying some of the wine brands discussed on “Wine 101”? Follow the link in each episode description to purchase featured wines or browse our full portfolio at TheBarrelRoom.com. Cheers, and all the best.

It’s incredibly crisp, refreshing, and hard to pronounce. Meet Txakolina (chah-kuh-leena), a white wine that comes from a small but compelling area of northeastern Spain.

In this bonus episode of “Wine 101,” VinePair tastings director Keith Beavers reviews the history behind the grapes, regions, and wines of Basque Country. He also shares his first run-in with the wine, and explains why everyone should try Txakolina for themselves.

Tune in to learn more about Txakolina.

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Keith Beavers: My name is Keith Beavers. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. “Damita Jo” is the best Janet Jackson album, right?

What’s going on, wine lovers? Welcome to Episode 1 of VinePair’s “Wine 101” podcast bonus season. That is a lot to say, but we are here at the bonus season, and it’s so exciting.

It’s not easy to read, it’s very easy to say, and it is a pleasure to drink. If you guys have not heard of Txakolina, we’ve got to talk about it. If you have and you’re confused, let’s get some stuff out of the way.

So, in 2010, I was invited to this exclusive party in Manhattan. It was in a membership-only club, and it was hosted by a wine importer at the time. I had a restaurant and a wine shop, so I was buying wine. I was invited to a Txakolina party. I had no idea what that meant. But, when I left that party, I was obsessed with this wine. The party was kind of crazy. They actually had kegs of this wine, which was wild. You’ll understand that in a second. Txakolina, if you’ve never heard of it, is awesome, and it should be on your radar. I’ll tell you why. It might be one of the most refreshing wines you’ll ever have on your palate. It’s crisp. It’s refreshing. I don’t know if you remember the Portugal episode, but it has a slight effervescence to it, just like the Vinho Verde wines do in the Minho region in northern Portugal.

It’s a whole different story, where these wines come from. The wines are very interesting, but even more interesting is where the wines are from: the northern part of Spain, in a place called the Basque Country. To some, it’s called Basque. To others it’s called País Vasco, and to others it’s called Euskadi. I can’t admit to fully understanding this, but Spain is made up of 17 autonomous regions. From what I understand, they’re not like states — like in the United States of America — but they do have borders and their own governments within them, just like states would have their own state constitutions. The leadership of these regions are actually presidents and not governors. I don’t know. I don’t really understand it too much.

What I do know is that the Basque region of Spain is known as ferociously independent, more so than a lot of other regions in Spain. It makes sense. Reading about the history of this part of the world, reading about the people of this country, is just incredible. It’s fascinating stuff. I think it’s a historical anomaly, if you will. The Basque region is very small, in the northeastern part of Spain, bordered by the Pyrenees to the east, the Bay of Biscay to the north, the Cantabrian Mountains to the west, and the Rioja region and Ebro River to the south. But, at one time, the Basque Country was known as Vascone. Their territory went from the Ebro River — which is now south of the Basque Country — over the Pyrenees, going north to the river Garonne, which is the southern river that borders Bordeaux. That’s a lot of real estate, am I right? Now, of course, it’s a very complicated history. It’s fascinating and it’s complicated. Over time, it gets decimated. It gets smaller and smaller, until it’s one of the smallest areas in the northeastern part of Spain.

What’s really cool is that, even though this land and the people of this land were increasingly restricted, the language of the people in the Basque region was never Romanized. The language they speak is ancient to the point where there’s a lot of theories as to where it came from. It is a language that, when you look at it, is very confusing, but at the same time, it’s just extremely fascinating and beautiful — unless, of course, I’m pronouncing it. I’m going to try my hardest, but I apologize in advance for anything sounding weird. It’s not the language, it’s me.

What can be confusing is that there are multiple names for this area. Outside the border of the Basque Country, it’s often referred to as País Vasco, which is a reference to the old, ancient region that it once was, the old country. In general, it’s called the Basque Country, which you see if you’re looking at the wine situation. Basque is said to be an evolution of the word Vascon, but within the borders of the Basque Country, they call their land Euskal Herria. It means “our country.” Their language, which we refer to as Basque, is called Euskara for them. Of course, Spanish is spoken here, but this is their ancient language that they’re really holding onto. When it comes to wine, they use the ancient language for that.

The wine situation in this area is interesting. About 100 years ago or more, there was a very healthy wine-growing region going on. That little louse we talked about last season, phylloxera, completely destroyed that. It never really came back to what it once was. This region of Spain, because it’s protected by a mountain range — the Cantabrian Mountains and the Basque Mountain range — is very wet. It’s a high elevation. It’s very mountainous. It’s very close to the Bay of Biscay, which is the Atlantic Ocean. Because of that mountain range, a lot of the rains get trapped in that region. It’s not the best wine-grape growing region, just like Champagne is not the best wine-grape growing region. Just like Champagne, the people in this area wouldn’t let a little bit of rain and weird weather get them down after phylloxera. These wine growers and winemakers in the Basque region held firm to their local varieties and built a small, yet very significant, local wine market. It eventually moved its way out of the region and onto a lot of places. This kind of wine comes to us and Germany, but most of it is localized and consumed there. That’s one of the reasons why wines coming out of the Basque region have the local language on the labels. The majority of it is consumed there.

What’s cool about all of this is that — even though the language is really foreign to a lot of people — the terms are pretty simple. There are two varieties that are used to make wine in the Basque region. There’s a white grape called Hondarrabi Zuri and a red wine grape called Hondarrabi Beltza. That sounds very different. All it really means is this. Zuri means white in Basque. Hondarrabi is a reference to a town. It’s the white grape of the town, Hondarrabia, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Beltza means red in Basque, so Hondarrabi Beltza is the red wine grape of the town of Hondarrabia. That’s just a reference to where they think the variety came from. These varieties are native to this part of Spain, or at least the Pyrenees. We’re going to get into the specific wine regions in a second. One thing to know is that the majority of the wine made in the Basque region is from Hondarrabi Zuri, the white wine. Over 80 percent of the wine made in this area is white wine. Hondarrabi Beltza, the red wine grape, does make red wine. It’s light and peppery. It’s very good, but you don’t see it on the American market. I had a chance to have it and was very lucky to have it. You’re not going to see it around. If you do, it’s kind of like Cabernet Franc, but a little juicier. On our market, if we ever see it, it’s in a rosé version. It’s blended a little bit into the white for rosés from this area.

In the Basque Country, there are three DOs, or three appellations, and they’re some of the smallest wine regions in Spain. Here is where the word Txakolina comes into play. Txakoli, in the Basque language, roughly means village. Txakolina means “of the village,” basically. There are three DOs in the Basque region that make Txakolina, and the word is a reference to where the wine is made. The first wine region to be awarded to this region, which was in 1989, is the most popular one. It’s in the very eastern part of the Basque region, about 18 miles from the French border. It’s very close to the Pyrenees. The vineyards are mostly in from the coast, just south of a main coastal town called Getaria. The appellation is called Getariako Txakolina. It means “the village wine of Getaria.” Now, get this. This wine region has only 201 acres under vine. It is the principal wine region of the Basque Country, one of the smallest in Spain, but the largest in the Basque. It’s crazy. It’s about 25 miles away from San Sebastian — in the Basque region it’s called Donostia — so it has a really big tourist attraction very close to it. This is where tapas are from. This appellation really defines what this wine is to us as an American market. It is mostly white. There’s some rosé, but they’re mostly white. They’re made from the Hondarrabi Zuri variety. They’re made in a way that has a slight fizziness to them. The thing about this area is that everything is about height. The vines were once trained at a great height so that fungi couldn’t get a hold of these grapes, because it’s been such a rainy region. The land itself is very high. It has a significant elevation because it’s right before a mountain range. Because of its fizzy nature, it’s a tradition in this area to pour Txakolina from a great height into the glass to get the fizziness going. Here, they make the most out of the 201 acres under vine that they can, giving us some of it, giving Germany some of it, but giving a lot to themselves. Good on them. I mean it is their village wine, right?

Going west along the coast from Getaria, we run into one of the major cities of the Basque region. It’s called Bilbao. It’s a very industrial city. It’s highly populated. But, surrounding Bilbao, is the Basque country’s second-largest wine region at 144 acres. It’s named after the province that it’s located in, which is called Bizkaia. The name of the DO is Bizkaiko Txakolina, or Txakoli de Bizkaia. Basically, it means “the village wine of this province.” Of course, the province is also called Vizcaya, which is a reference to the Biscay Bay, which is a reference to the Vasco Country, which is a reference to Basque. It’s all interconnected. These vineyards are also just in from the coast. What’s unique about this particular wine region is that it has a predominance of a grape called Folle Blanche. This is a grape derived from Gouais Blanc, which we talked about all the way in the first season. It’s very old-school. Here, they call it Bordeleza Zuria. It’s blended with Hondarrabi Zuri, So the result is a clean, crisp, fizzy white wine with a touch of herbaceousness.

Now, the thing is, with 144 acres, we’re not going to see a lot of this on the American market. If you’re looking for it, you can find it and probably get it delivered to you. But it’s not easy to find. This was the second of the three awarded to the region in 1994. The last of the three we shouldn’t even really talk about, because there’s only 50 acres under vine in the region. It’s south of Bilbao in the Basque Mountains, and it’s still humid there. It doesn’t get above 68 degrees in this part of the Basque country. It’s further south, towards the Ebro River, almost bordering on the northern part of Rioja, and it’s located in the province of Araba, or Álava. This gives name to the DO, which is called Arabako Txakolina, “the village wine of this province.” As usual, they have Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Beltza, but they also have a grape called Gros Manseng and Petit Manseg, which are very prominent over the Pyrenees in southwest France. Here, they don’t call them that, of course. It’s the Basque Country. They call Petit Manseng, Iskiriota Tipia and Iskiriota. I’m not going to lie. I’ve never tried these wines. They’re only 50 acres. If anybody knows how to get a bottle from that place, please let me know. I want to try it.

So, that is the Basque region. That is the wine made there. That is Txakolina, the village wine of the Basque region. We’re really only going to have the Getariako Txakolina, and it’s going to be clean, fizzy and with bright fruit. It’s always consumed young. It doesn’t matter what the region or DO is for all three of them. These aren’t age-worthy wines. These are wines to be celebrated now. One of the reasons why it’s consumed so much in the region is because it’s enjoyed young, from a height, poured into a glass, made fizzy, paired with tapas.

Oh, man. You’ve got to get into Txakolina, guys. It’s awesome, and it’s around. The rosé is very cool. You get that little hint of pepperiness because Hondarrabi Beltza can have that little Cab Franc thing that I said. I have this idea: Cab Francs from this area. Huh. OK, I’m going to digress, but you get a little bit of a peppery note from the Hondarrabi Beltza in the rosés from Txakolina. Guys, enjoy.

Oh, and that 2010 party I went to? If you can find Txakolina in a keg, it’s awesome. It’s not as traditional as pouring from a great height from a bottle, but pouring from a great height from a keg hose makes it a little easier to get into the glass. OK, I’ll talk to you guys next week.

@VinePairKeith is my Insta. Rate and review this podcast wherever you get your podcasts from. It really helps get the word out there.

And now, for some totally awesome credits. “Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big ol’ shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darbi Cicci for the theme song. Listen to this. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Wine 101: Txakolina appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-101-txakolina/

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johnboothus · 3 years

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VinePair Podcast: Wine Has a Bad Language Problem

This week on the “VinePair Podcast,” Adam Teeter, Zach Geballe, and Joanna Sciarrino discuss how the language of wine tasting notes has created a gatekeeping effect in the industry. After listing what they have been drinking recently — including a Pennsylvania Nebbiolo — our hosts dive into a discussion about the pretension of many wine descriptors.

That conversation leads into the hosts’ opinions about how wine tasting notes often alienate people who are just getting into wine. This particular Eurocentric language creates a barrier for entry into wine, which can be intimidating to some and a turn-off for others. Instead, Geballe, Sciarrino, and Teeter believe that professionals should take a step back and allow consumers to make their own decisions about wine.

If you have any thoughts on wine language, please send your ideas to [email protected].

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Or Check out the Conversation Here

Adam Teeter: From VinePair’s New York City headquarters, I’m Adam Teeter.

Joanna Sciarrino: I’m Joanna Sciarrino.

Zach Geballe: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the “VinePair Podcast.” Zach and Joanna, how were your holiday weekends? What’s going on?

J: Do you want to take it, Zach?

Z: Oh sure.

A: He never misses a chance to be called on first.

Z: Well, I just follow the lead. Anyway, my weekend was nice. We had a pretty low-key fourth. We had a few of my cousins over for what my wife, who is from Wisconsin, refers to as “cooking out.” I refer to it as grilling. Whatever, it’s cool. It was pretty casual. The Fourth of July is a rough night for my dog, which is unfortunate, but he did OK. It was nice that my wife had a four-day weekend, which is cool. Yesterday, she said, “We gotta go back to work.” That just means her office. Still, it’s an adjustment for all of us. But it was nice to drink a lot of rosé over the weekend. It was warm, sunny, and just good weather for rosé. We also had some chilled reds from northern Italy. It was lovely. Joanna, what did you do?

J: Nice. So our Fourth of July was also very low-key. We just hung out at home and on our roof for a little bit. We also grabbed dinner at a local restaurant. We also had some rosé and had some more Tip Top Proper Cocktails, which I love. I really like them. I also had a really good, Oaxaca Old Fashioned.

A: Very cool, so my Fourth of July was good and also not good. On the good front, I had some really delicious wine. My wife is from Lancaster, Pa., and we brought some really cool wines with us. Keith, who is VinePair’s tastings director, and his wife Gina came along, and we had a bottle of Biondi Santi that was incredible. We also actually had a really great wine that’s made in Pennsylvania. It’s called Vox Vineti. He was a big wine lover from Manhattan, moved to Pennsylvania, found this amazing piece of property, and is making Nebbiolo and things like that, which was awesome. On the not-so-good front, I wasn’t sure I was going to talk about this, but I think I need to. That night of the Fourth of July, we were playing with fireworks in the front yard with the whole neighborhood. This guy across the street came out and yelled f*****g Jews at us and it wasn’t the first time that I have experienced anti-Semitism in my life, but it was pretty jarring. It reminded me of the two times recently I have experienced it in our industry. Once, an Amarone producer told me, without knowing I was Jewish, that the reason his Amarone prices were falling was that the Jews control the markets. Another time when I was in Chile, a wine producer said to me that the reason Chile is known for cheap wine is because of the Jews. I thought about that and thought this is completely unacceptable. The fact that this person felt it was OK to yell at us, and he had no clue that we were Jewish. Besides the fact that my in-laws are, but they’re not outwardly looking Jewish at all, meaning that they’re not religious. They don’t wear any head coverings, etc. He still chose to yell that at us anyway. Keith and Gina, obviously, are not Jewish. Then, the fact that these two producers have said these things to me prior to Covid as a “we know the truth,” right? I felt that I needed to say something because it’s completely unacceptable and absolutely ridiculous. We’re talking about all these other times where we want to root out all the huge issues in our drinking culture, whether it’s sexism, racism, xenophobia, etc. I believe that when this happened to me, I had not spoken up in the past. In both those situations, I didn’t say anything. This weekend made me regret that. I wanted to protect the publicist, who apologized for the winemaker who said it. I wanted to look the other way. At this point, I’m not going to protect those people anymore. Actually, the publicist who wanted to protect that winemaker, I’m pretty disappointed, still has that winery as a client, which is not cool. Anyways, not to take us down a weird path, but it was just something that I’ve been thinking about since it happened on Sunday. It weirdly ended my Fourth of July weekend, and it needed to be somewhat brought up because we all have to talk about these things or they’re just not going to go away.

J: I’m really sorry that happened to you. That sucks.

A: It was nuts.

J: It’s really disgusting.

Z: Adam, I think you and I have talked off-air about this before, but I, too, have been subjected to anti-Semitism. I have also been present when those things have been said when someone doesn’t necessarily know that I’m Jewish, and it’s awkward. It’s both offensive and awkward. For me, it’s often been hardest with “jokes,” where you think, “Do I want to be that person who makes a big deal about this?” One time in particular, I came very close to saying something, and I regret not doing it. I also think it’s one of those things where sometimes, you make a decision where the person telling the joke that’s inappropriate is frankly, someone who passed away within the next year and was quite old. Then, is this really worth getting into? I don’t know what it is. You end up in this place where you just recognize it. It also reminds you that this thinking, these beliefs, whether it is anti-Semitism or bigotry of all other kinds, it is there. Frankly, I’ve thought in my life that when someone says something in that vein, I know where they stand. They never say anything and they’re just thinking it real hard, you know where you’re at with that person. When they open their mouths and say something like that, now I know this is how you feel about me, women, or people of color. Obviously, this happens in a lot of ways and I know that many of our listeners have been present or victim to this, so it’s obviously not just anti-Semitism. For you and me, Adam, we’ve experienced it personally.

A: Yeah, exactly. I would assume a lot of our listeners have experienced this in another form, whether it’s sexism, racism, etc., and it’s just not appropriate. It’s not OK. If you are listening, and this happened to you, it can be really scary to say something in the moment, right? You don’t want to say something. I think whether you address it later or you talk to people who are involved, it is important if you believe you can. I think it’s important for people who represent these people. If you have a client, I understand that’s revenue, but if you have a client that is doing these things or is saying these things, it’s a reflection on you if you continue to work with them, and in this regard when it was the winemaker from Italy, “Oh, he’s just their export manager. He’s just one of the brothers.” He’s the export manager?! Come on, that means he deals with people publicly all the time and that reflects on that winery. You shouldn’t be working with them anymore, regardless of what fees they pay. Again, we have a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, over the past five years, there’s been an acceptance of saying these things again. Hopefully, we’re moving away from that, but there definitely seems to still be a large number of people who are very emboldened to say very hateful things to people — whether they know or don’t know those people are part of those groups. It’s not cool. It’s just not cool. Anyways, I will change the subject so we don’t only talk about this for the rest of the episode and get into a different one which is also equally, I think, about acceptance and trying to make things more inclusive to all people. Zach, I’ll let you jump into our topic for today.

Z: Yeah, so this started as a thought in my head that that’s been getting more concrete over the last couple of years, and it’s come from a lot of teaching and working with the public on wine in particular. Unfortunately, the wine industry — and I think you see this spilling out into beer and spirits, too — there is this emphasis on really specific almost comical tasting notes as well as European-centric, too. What I mean by this is if you go look at the tasting notes for a wine and it says “late season blackberry compote and spring sandalwood,” that is the type of language that I think all of us in one way or another roll our eyes at in a sense. It also has this really pernicious effect, which in my opinion, at least, it really gives casual wine drinkers and people who work in the trade, this sense that every wine is a test, and all of us fail. One, picking out all of those tasting notes is often being pulled out of someone’s ass, to be completely honest. You’ve got to write a paragraph about wine if you’re a reviewer or if you’re the person creating the shelf talkers for the winery or for the distributor. You’ve got to say something, and there’s only so many ways to describe wine. There are only so many flavors and aromas. There are a lot of them, but in the end, how many different ways can you say blackberry? Again, it creates this idea that these flavors, these aromas, are not just present in the wine, but distinguishable for everyone. If you drink this one, you should get these notes. That’s the perception that the industry gives off. It is not true and also serves to alienate people. I was just pouring at a public event the other day, and people asked, “What should I be getting in this wine?” I mean, just drink it. You can tell me what you think, but this isn’t a test. I don’t have a scoresheet here. I’m not looking to grade how good of a wine drinker you are. I’m really disinterested in that entirely. Again, this idea that every wine is a test for people is the one that I really want to see go away. Joanna, since you’re someone who is newer to wine, I would love to know from you if this rings true. Is something that you have experienced?

J: Yeah, that’s a good question. My initial thought when I’m tasting wine is what I taste, versus what I think I’m supposed to taste. Seeing something that says “marionberry,” maybe I can pick up some berry qualities or berry on the palate. I’m not necessarily looking to those descriptors to inform how it tastes for me. If I can taste a wine and then identify something that’s been written, great. But I also understand what you’re saying, Zach. I think for people, especially people who are trying to educate themselves about wine, people who are attending classes, I understand this desire to be able to taste what a professional says you should taste. I also see where that’s problematic because that leaves it to your own palate and what you’ve tasted. If you haven’t tasted a marionberry, which I don’t actually think I have, then you’re excluded from that experience, right?

A: Well, when you see these tasting notes, do you find them to be intimidating? I’ve definitely heard that from people who are getting into wine that’s what has always intimidated them to begin with. Or do you just think that they’re pointless?

J: Actually, what I find more intimidating in some of these other descriptors. I don’t know what a chewy wine is. What is a crunchy wine? I don’t know what that is, so that’s when I feel stupid.

A: No, I agree. An issue with wine is that it’s created this language for itself over years and years of writing about it. People collect it and make it, which is great, but it does then create a barrier to entry. The only challenge that I would posit, which is something that I think Zach and I have talked about before, is that I think a lot of people lose in wine like that barrier. That barrier to entry means that not everyone can enter the luxury market. I mean, think about it this way. If you’re talking about handbags…

Z: Adam’s favorite comparison!

A: I haven’t talked about this in the past?!

Z: Yes, you have.

A: No, I haven’t.

Z: Oh, yes, you have.

A: Whatever, so not everyone’s allowed to buy a Birkin bag. You have to walk into Hermès and you have to ask a certain way. Then, they have to size you up and then they’ll let you buy a Birkin. It’s an elite club. When you have the Birkin, you are known as someone who was able to buy a Birkin. I think in a lot of ways, the way we talk about wine is, are you in the know, or are you not? I’m going to say things in a way such as, are you going to appreciate this wine, or are you just buying it because it’s expensive? I had a similar experience recently where I went out to dinner with some people and we went to a very nice restaurant in Manhattan, Le Bernardin. I ordered a bottle of wine, and the wine came to the table. It was from an area of Burgundy that is not known for having the best Pinot Noirs, but if you’re on this specific spot in this area, you actually might as well be in one of the best areas of Burgundy for Pinot. The two people that I was with love wine, but don’t know a lot about or don’t speak the language. They asked, “Hey, can you tell us what wine?” The server just went off this laundry list of all these random descriptors and said what I said, but almost making them think that the wine was a diamond in the rough, but in a really weird way that totally overwhelmed them. All they were looking for him to say is “Oh, the producer is this person. They’re really known for making whatever and the wines f*cking delicious.” That’s all they were looking for. When he left, they were saying it was like he was testing them and did they understand what he’s saying? That’s what I’ve always wondered with wine: Is it both? First of all, to become really versed in wine, you are almost forced to learn all these descriptors and all these ways to talk about it because you want to be able to have these conversations with other people in the know. So it’s a way to challenge people, but then it’s also this barrier for a lot of people. Joanna, as you were saying before we started recording, it also doesn’t take into account the experiences of so many people who are currently coming into wine who have different aroma experiences, have different cuisine experiences than this traditional, very much French, Eurocentric way that we have always talked about wine.

Z: I think you make a good point, Adam, about a segment of the wine industry reveling in some sense in the way that the language creates a barrier to entry. Tasting notes like I’ve described are ubiquitous. You see them on $7 bottles of wine as much as you see them on $700 bottles of wine. It’s not just a high-end problem. I think it’s an all-of-wine problem. To me, it comes back to a fundamental issue that we have in the industry. If we want to talk about wine in a way that is accessible to people but also not the opposite. Sometimes, when it’s just like, “This wine is good,” I find that to be a little bit “eh, fine.” I think there is a middle ground to find and it’s maybe a middle ground of accepting that most people, given their life experience, may not be able to distinguish between blackberry, marionberry, loganberry, and boysenberry, but they probably have had berries before. They have some sense of that. Maybe they can’t tell you the difference between all these different pears but they’ve had a pear before. It’s about simplifying the language. Will there be a little bit of nuance lost? Yes, but I honestly think that a lot of those nuances are in the eye of the beholder in the first place. One person’s ripe pear is another person’s tart pear. It’s very hard to objectively discern these things, in my opinion. At the same time, to talk about other parts of the wine experience and the impact of the wine on us that often doesn’t get mentioned in tasting notes. They get talked about some in professional circles, and they’re adjacent to the things you both recoiled against — chewy and crunchy — but they are more about the texture of the wine. One of the reasons why I think it’s so important to talk about texture when it comes to wine and anything that we drink is because for so many of us, the things that we like and don’t like, have a lot more to do with texture than flavor. Yes, some flavors are off-putting, but I see this because I have a child, and I’m seeing him learn what he does and doesn’t like. It’s so much more about the texture of a thing than the flavor of a thing because flavors are malleable. We can learn to appreciate new flavors but if you don’t like mushy things, you’re never going to like a banana. It doesn’t matter what the banana tastes like, the texture of the thing is the problem. Wine, too, has lots of different textures that have to do with the ripeness of the grapes, the level of alcohol, residual sugar, the tannins — all these things and more. Yet, that element of wine is not mentioned, or it’s given an opaque term such as crunchy or chewy. I could sit here and try to explain to you what those things mean, but the point is we could talk a lot more interesting notes in descriptions of wine. I think it would be good for everyone in the industry to talk much more about the actual physical sensations of having the wine and waste a lot less time talking about ephemeral and very hard to define aromas and flavors. A wine that’s high in tannin is going to have the exact same physiological impact on everyone who drinks it because it’s just a physical and chemical reaction in your mouth. It’s not based on a memory. If you didn’t have red currants when you were a kid, and you don’t know what the f**k a red currant tastes like, it might as well be gibberish. Everyone can recognize, if they pay attention to it — part of it is paying attention to, of course — what their physical tactile senses are telling them. We have to be willing to talk about those things. I find them fascinating and interesting in how wine affects us in the same way that it’s interesting to talk about how alcohol affects us. And how over the course of an evening all the things we experience will be in some way affected by that. I don’t know, I get why the florid prose seems to sell bottles or sounds good or give someone something to do, but I just don’t think it does anyone any real good.

J: I also find that those types of descriptors — the more objective ones that perhaps more people experience — also feel intimidating. Almost as intimidating as saying something tastes like a rare fruit you’ve never had.

A: I agree with Joanna.

Z: I’m wondering if reading or hearing someone say it without any explanation is more alienating. I mean, someone can say this wine tastes like an anjou pear and you maybe not have had that, or I don’t remember how that is different from other pears, but you know it tastes like a pear, so you feel OK. And talking about a wine that is rich, oily, or wine that is really lean and linear. We need to learn what it means to have those wines, but I do think that there’s real value. Again, maybe this isn’t for every last person who drinks wine. Nothing is, but for people who want to learn a little more, I do think there’s real value in focusing or thinking about these more objective, chemically and physiologically derived experiences with wine than just emphasizing flavor. I think it is similar to the difference between al dente pasta and overcooked pasta. It’s the same thing, but our experience eating it is different, even though the noodles are the same either way.

A: If you want to talk about descriptors, good for you. That is, if you want to get more into wine, but I think the problem that we encounter all the time that we need to try to rectify is when you are someone who is selling wine or you are someone talking about wine to people who love wine but aren’t as geeky or learning, just say it’s f*cking good. I think that’s something that beer does much better than wine, and I think spirits do in a way, too. Also, don’t judge people for words they use because you think you know better than them. Again, a publication we will not name wrote a whole takedown of the word “smooth” recently. It’s not the people’s fault who used that word? Don’t be a f*cking prick. I get that you don’t like that word, but that word exists in so many other beverages. Oh, this whiskey is really smooth. Oh, this New England IPA is really smooth and fluffy. Of course people are going to apply it to wine, so get over it and try to understand why they like that.

Z: Many wineries have sold their wine based on the notion that it’s smooth. That was the selling point for a lot of California Merlot for a long time. It’s smooth, and with red blends, same thing.

A: Again, that’s where I question: Do you really want to make money? Do you really want to get other people into these beverages? Do you want to get them excited? If you did, you would amend your language and you would become more accessible. If you don’t, then you won’t. Don’t be upset at the companies that have decided they’re going to figure it out and do it. Don’t shake your fist at the sky and say, “Well, they’re big wine.” Well, they figured it out. They’re bringing more people into wine in general, and there’s something that’s awesome about that. I think we’d be much better off starting with, “The wine is really delicious. It’s super refreshing.” People know what refreshing is, right? When you talk about wine, say, “This is a very refreshing white wine. It might remind you of lemonade.” Most people know what lemonade tastes like. Or, “This is a great red wine with the steak that I see that you ordered.” Things like that, I think, are much better. The reason that gosh, now, a decade or more ago, someone like Gary Vaynerchuk had such success was he just was willing to say that these tasted like banana runts or this tasted like Juicy Fruit. I don’t think that there were more people in America who knew what Juicy Fruit tastes like. I don’t really remember what Juicy Fruit tastes like. I was not allowed to have a lot of candy growing up. I think they thought, oh, my gosh, he’s breaking the mold using candy and other things as opposed to Anjou pear, which I love that that’s what we’re using right now in this conversation. Anyways, it was just refreshing to people that he wasn’t scared to say it tasted like something else. At the end of the day, what’s so cool about wine is that wine tastes like what you remember so it’s all based on flavors you’ve had before. When you walk up to a consumer who’s getting into wine and say you’re going to have X, Y and Z, and they don’t taste those things, you just make them feel stupid. I don’t understand why there has to be such one-upmanship of what is good and what isn’t. For example, there was another thing that happened to me this last weekend.

Z: This was quite a weekend, my goodness.

A: I think it’s interesting because this goes back to what you guys are talking about. Keith and I went to this amazing producer, Vox Vineti. We had his Nebbiolo, which was really, really good, but it tastes much leaner, less tannic, and all that stuff. I posted it on Instagram and I had a few somms who slipped into my DMs, some of whom I’m not actually friends with, who just happened to follow me. They said there’s no way. Well, that is what my palate told me. Trust my palate or don’t, why are you arguing with me? That is exactly what my palate said it tasted like to me based on the fair amount I had because I like that style of wine. What’s the fight? Why does it matter? I posted that not trying to say that Pennsylvania is going to be the next source of the best Nebbiolo in the world. I didn’t say any of that. That’s the problem with wine that we need to get over. Don’t tell the consumers it tastes like strawberries, let them tell you what they think it tastes like. “I think it tastes good.” Awesome. Then, that’s how it tastes. “I think this tastes like boysenberry.” Sweet, I don’t know what boysenberry is, but good for you. ‘This reminds me of the red wine I used to drink with my grandmother.” Dope. “This is from Virginia, but it tastes like Bordeaux.” Awesome. People should just get to have their own experiences with wine and everyone else should shut the f**k up.

Z: Well, I think there’s also one last piece of this. There is this unfortunate belief that there are right wines and wrong wines, again, coming back to this notion of it not being a test. I found this a lot as a sommelier, so often with tables, they do want to be essentially told what you said, Adam: “This is really good f*cking wine.” I always train my servers and say that my job as the wine director is to make sure that all the wine is good. The point is you’re not going to ever get to the wine that you recommend to them as the right wine and all the other wines are the wrong wine. Well-made wine is well-made wine. If people like the broad-strokes style that it’s in, they’re probably going to like it. Yes, some people might be more particular than others. This is true in all things. However, at some point you get yourself, guests, and consumers in this headspace where they’re worried about being wrong or worried about making mistakes. That’s when they choose something else. They either step away or they go back to the same thing they always bought or ordered. It’s a language problem. It’s a marketing problem. It’s an attitudinal problem, for sure. It’s unfortunate because it’s pretty widely spread, but it’s also exciting to me because I think it is an area where you get people coming into wine from other places, from other backgrounds, other experiences where you do see people who don’t need this framing. They don’t need to play within this established benchmark and established lexicon that exists around wine in a very Eurocentric way. I think it’s super exciting to see people breaking out of that framework and using the verbiage that makes sense to them. That is connected to their life experiences, their sense memories, and the foods they eat. That’s fantastic, and I may or may not connect with all of it. It may not be in my lived experience, but wine and the wine industry would be all the richer for more of that and less of the same old shit that’s been written for the last 50, 60, 70 years.

A: Totally. I completely agree.

J: Yeah, and one last thing. Some of my favorite wine experiences that I’ve had are when I’ve been in a restaurant and expressed to a sommelier the types of flavors or wines that I like. Then, they would bring me something that they think I would like.

A: I agree. That’s how it should always be, right? I’ve had a wine recently that’s one of the trendy wines out of California right now. I don’t really love oak, so I didn’t really love this wine. Yet, a lot of people do right now, and that’s OK. Even with critics, the reason certain critics took off in the past and still have followings is they have palates that other people like. There’s a lot of other people in wine that don’t agree with those people’s palates and that’s also OK. We shouldn’t just make wine for one person’s palate. That was a huge mistake when everyone followed Parker, and we’re now correcting that. It’s OK if some wineries make that style of wine and his palate likes that style of wine and there’s a lot of people that like that style of wine. That’s OK. I just think that there’s so much variety in the world of beverages that we can all find things that are delicious. At the end of the day, it’s just as you said, Zach. It’s the job of the person selling that wine to just ensure that the person knows that it’s really good.

J: I think the more language we can use to describe wine, the better.

Z: Exactly.

A: I agree. Well, guys, this has been a great conversation, as always. I won’t be with you next week. You’re going to miss me so much.

Z: I also do want to hear, listeners, if you have thoughts on this. We love to get your feedback on anything, but particularly this topic in which we are trying to push the conversation forward in how we talk about and think about things like wine. Please email us at [email protected]. It’s really exciting to hear from you all, whether you agree or disagree, whether you think Adam’s Pennsylvania Nebbiolo is crap. Let us know.

A: Hey, hey, hey.

Z: Well, slide into his DMs for that, I guess. I’m sure it’s good. I would love to try it. I’m just saying.

A: I had some bottles.

Z: Oh, excellent.

A: I mean you are going to have such not a good conversation without me next week, but I hope it is at least a B-level conversation.

Z: We’ll see what we can do.

A: Talk to you guys later.

J: All right, bye.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City and in Seattle, Wash., by myself and Zach Geballe. He does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tastings director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who is instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: Wine Has a Bad Language Problem appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-has-bad-language-problem/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/vinepair-podcast-wine-has-a-bad-language-problem

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professorfaber · 3 years

Note

I'm interested to see what you have to say about my communism paragraph.

To point out the Healthcare Man, me personally? No, I have not been able to do that for years on end due to my age, however several people over the years have been pointing out the issues within Marvel media as well as general superhero media. Including Healthcare Man. I wasn't trying to seem like I was disagreeing. I think that part got deleted, apologies. (I had made note that the paragraph was no way intended to be directed at you, more as like an agreement and that the situation was kinda dumb.) As for the memes, yeah could definitely do without those, I'm tired of seeing them. (Also wow do I agree with the statement that Marvel are incompetent cowards. Oof Marvel, step up or clear out.)

The WandaVision thing, g o d s don't get me started on the bs they pulled. Consumer activism definitely doesn't work in this situation, I wish that situation was handled differently. For the centrist fearmongering, it could potentially have to due with the fact it's a common piece of media. I'm sure as you know, the more x is in the media, the more people seem to think x is ok. The memes would contribute by someone taking it lightly or not thinking it's a serious issue. Only mocking it to go with the crowd and not looking at the situation through a critical lens, barely even scratching the surface level on the issue.

As for the statement of "Marvel is problematic" I'd say in this day-in-age, it needs to be worded like that because it catches people's attention. Do I personally agree with it, no. But it's necessary to catch an audience so something can be done. As long as the person using that statement has an actual argument, I think it should be used. I see where you are coming from though. Also I hope I haven't come off aggressive or rude, if I didn't address your other points it's because I agree with them. I'd also like to apologize, my tone often comes off as argumentative when I just mean to have a conversation. I hope you are havin a good day.

Thank you for clarifying all of this! I think we agree on a lot more than I initially thought (and no, you haven't come off as rude, don't worry). And thank you for sending an ask instead of adding on to an already very long post. I hope you're having a good day too.

Okay, point by point (this might be pretty long, sorry, I'm like. allergic to brevity but I do try):

1. The communism paragraph. First of all, I'm allowed to make snide remarks about liberals on my own blog on tumblr dot com without it harming The Cause. My post was not directed at liberals, and very few people, if any, that I engage with on this website are liberals so I wasn't hugely concerned about watching my language. Normally I would agree with you that it's important to do outreach, but it's my personal blog and I make the rules. Also:

"liberal this, republican that", both side are are horrible in their own ways but we still need the people.

Okay so, this is tricky because sometimes when I say "liberal" I do mean it in the modern, especially American, sense of social liberalism that the Democratic Party (ostensibly) adheres to, and that was kind of what I meant in the original post, but Republicans are also liberals, just of a slightly different ideological strand. In America today both parties are primarily dominated by centrist and rightist factions, with the original American left (i.e. socialists, anarchists, trade unionists, social democrats) being essentially squeezed out of political discourse over the past century. It's less an instance of "both sides are horrible" than "one side is horrible, but it's being presented in two flavors".

Also, I never said I was a communist and I actually usually don't politically identify as such, but I can see why you'd make that assumption based on the kind of things I post.

2. I think I get where you're coming from on this better than I did at first and I'm sorry for being dismissive about the memes. It did not occur to me that casually shitting on a massive corporation's ridiculous propaganda could be an issue in that way. Like, to me it was less "people all of a sudden realizing that Marvel is bad" than it was just a continuation of people criticizing Marvel as before, but you've honestly made me reconsider and I'm sorry if those sorts of jokes are frustrating or annoying. They honestly seemed like completely innocuous leftist tumblr memes to me, in the vein of jokes about any other shitty company ("shitty company" is kind of redundant I think but you know what I mean). But yeah, you've convinced me. I'll stop reblogging them if that helps.

3. This was a bit confusing to me? I understand being personally upset by the memes, but the notion that they normalize and contribute to corporations using propaganda to nullify left-wing ideas is kind of odd. Companies like Marvel and its parent Disney make those sorts of characters and storylines because it is in their interests to do so, and it will continue to be for as long as capitalism exists. What I called "centrist fearmongering" is like, a function of their existence as capitalist entities with immense power to manipulate public opinion in their favor, and what you or I post on tumblr really does not have an effect on that.

Capital shapes public opinion, not the other way around. That's one of the big reasons consumer activism doesn't work.

4. I've gotta disagree with you here, honestly, though I should say upfront that I'm not like, super invested in whether people call Marvel problematic or not. My original post was just a rant, no one is obliged to listen to me, I don't care about this nearly that much.

However, if we are going to have that conversation, then I will say that while it is important to attract an audience, using patently misleading or reductive language is the wrong way to do it, even if you also have a solid argument. I might also note that the problem that needs addressing (the influence of the interests of capital on entertainment) isn't exclusive to Marvel, and pretending that it is just lets the problem fester. "Marvel is problematic" just... seems like a bad slogan honestly as far as critiquing capitalist media goes.

I think there are two separate problems here: Marvel media broadly containing harmful or clumsy messages, and Marvel media suppressing or distracting from left-wing ideas and resistance. The former will change when it becomes legitimately profitable for Marvel to become more sensitive to certain members of its audience (which will only result in more marginalized identities becoming emptily commodified, unfortunately). The latter is a more direct result of capitalism that is systemically unavoidable.

Lastly: as you said, if I didn't respond to one of your points or comments that probably means I agree with it or couldn't think of anything to add

#the problem with Marvel isn't Marvel #it's an ongoing problem of liberalism co-opting and then crushing progressive; intersectional; and leftist ideas #one facet of which is companies like Marvel

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sturlsons · 7 years

Note

do you have any content that you regularly keep up with? like fics/comics/shows/blogs? i want to start consuming more content and be more knowledgeable/wellread in general but i don't really know where to start :(

i saw this ask like an hour ago and promptly got distracted catching up on my youtube subscriptions so thank u for the reminder but apologies for the delay,,

LONG reply coming up, discussions of depression.

(if u’d rather skip my sob story just scroll down to the picture of the upset dude with the cigarette)

before i get to your specific question, just a little something, because you’ve unknowingly shed light on one of my B I G G E S T struggles: i’m actually real shit at consuming content myself. i have a horrible concentration span and focus issues in general, and i tend to have tunnel vision for academia and hence spend nine months of the year memorising vocab blindly and watching like three episodes of anime. i regularly try to get myself out of this habit but It’s Hard™, so instead i try to make academic choices which will automatically bring new content to the table. choosing essay topics that i’m not familiar with, using the mandatory individual reading requirements to check out books i’ve been meaning to read, trying to do more than the required reading while i’m at it, etc etc. i also try to make lists of things to watch/read every summer, but usually end up being distracted with my writing projects.

however, kinda good AND bad news. i only started getting stuck re: content consumption after moving to france and starting uni. in india my consumption was OFF THE CHARTS. eating through books and shows, doing research about all sorts of things, you name it. the good aspect of this is that as a child/teenager i already took in a way-above-average amount of information that still keeps me Smart and Cool™ in conversations to this day, but the bad aspect is that most of this was a form of escapism, a way to feed my insomnia back in the day, and then a horrible tangle with my depression which all ended in a huge mess. result: i was a pretentious fuckwit with an enormous amount of trivia in my head, but i was a manically depressed pretentious fuckwit with an enormous amount of trivia in my head, and what’s more-- the most hilarious-- i was actually terrified of moving out of my comfort zone in certain aspects. i used to read new things all the time, sure, watch new shows. but i’d also watch the same shows over and over until i memorised them, read the same books and poems out loud to myself, write the same kinds of fics, listen to the same artists. yeah, that one was weird as shit-- i couldn’t listen to new music, i just didn’t have the courage. the FIRST ever thing my therapist told me to do was check out a new artist by the time we had our second session. that’s when i discovered the national, one of the two most important bands of my life, and since that day i’ve made it a point to listen to at least one new artist a month.

anyway.

so then i moved to france, which was the best thing that could happen to me ever. however, as i quickly discovered (and sometimes still reel from), whether i like perpetuating this mindset or not (i don’t) the truth is at least for me, it seemed for a while that it was my very depression that kept me so Creative and Hungry For Knowledge and Pretentious Fuckwit. the happier i got, the “lazier” i got. i stopped writing for a year straight because i didn’t feel the urge to create anymore, i stopped consuming content because Who Cares I’m Living In The Moment I’m Finally Happy I Don’t Need To Hide Behind A Book. etcetera. most importantly: i was INSANELY focused on learning french and getting into the university of my choice, and since i kept seeing results in that department, i was happy with what my brain was doing.

then this dude broke my heart. if you’re from the jaywalkers readership, that’s when i started writing jaywalkers. you see how that doesn’t help the whole “no no, i’m only intelligent when i’m SAAAD” thing. i wrote jaywalkers, i wrote other fics, i wrote poetry, i sang songs and watched anime and read books and i used my brain more than i’d used it in the entirety of the year before this happened, and i was like, this is it. if i want to be great, i’ve got to be miserable.

two years later, i’m here to tell you that it’s bullshit. bullshit, you’ve gotta be sad to learn things. it’s the best thing for being sad is to learn something, NOT the best thing for learning something is to be sad. i let my habit of seeking comfort by reading/writing make me believe that i could only do that when i was heartbroken. it took me two years to understand that i was wrong. i could’ve been doing all sorts of bullshit in those two years. i could’ve watched all the james bond films! i haven’t watched all the james bond films!

does that mean i’m magically feeding myself knowledge again? nope. because it’s not all about feelings. it’s also about how much time i have, how much energy (physical and mental) i have. i still have a shitty concentration span and can barely make it through a movie without getting the creepy-crawlies over my skin. i still have to do three different things simultaneously or i’ll never get any of them done. i gotta skype someone while doing the dishes. i gotta skype someone while eating. i can’t just eat. i can’t JUST read. i SURE as hell can’t just watch something. but you know what? the only reason i figured (am still figuring) all of this out is because i got rid of the initial block that said i don’t want to. i had to realise that it was up to me whether i consumed content or not, and once i did, THEN i could get to solving the practical problems that came with it.

it’s still a work in progress. a very, VERY fresh work in progress, because i’ve only started implementing big changes this spring/summer. it’s a lot of trial and error, but there’s a lot of solutions. turns out i’m better at keeping up with shows if i make it a regular date night thing with my boyfriend. i’m better at reading things on my kindle since it throws me back to my bookworm days when i had physical books. i’m actually better at listening to content sometimes, which was a huge surprise since i’ve always staunchly believed that my auditory comprehension is utter shit. but i’m still working it out u know? i’ll make it. i don’t want to stagnate anymore.

NOW. ONTO YOUR ACTUAL QUESTION.

here’s the thing, i’m REALLY shitty at keeping up with ongoing content. my preferred m.o. is waiting for whatever ongoing thing interested me to not be ongoing anymore, and then i binge. it’s a concentration/stamina/fucks thing. hence what i do is subscribe to anything i like and save it for later.

like i like knowing what my favourite authors are up to, so i subscribe to them. if an ongoing fic’s summary seems interesting i subscribe to the writer, that way if they write something shorter/complete i can check out their writing style, and i’ll still get updates if the main fic is completed. then i save those update notifs until a time that i can get to them, so that they’re little reminders in my inbox:

i also keep lists of everything that i want to check out at some point. i try not to give myself deadlines (anymore) because i literally never stick to them when it comes to consuming content and i end up feeling like shit. i used to have like, “SUMMER 2016″ lists and shit with like seven movies and three shows and i’d never do any of it completely and that sad little list would just lie there. so instead now i try to just make lists, period. it’s like a humongous queue of things that i want to check out, and whenever i have the time/willingness for it, i refer to it.

and then i keep a list where i keep track of what i checked out.

i find that it’s less pressurising to make a separate list of what i accomplished as opposed to having a to-do list where you check things off. because like, get this. so you have a to-do that isn’t urgent, right? not like, groceries, dinner, dishes. for those it’s totally important to have a reminder right in front of you, like do your dishes brah. but for things like this, especially for someone like me who’s a flake and will say “i’m gonna watch this movie tonight” and then will literally stare in your face without a word the entire evening and not watch the movie, it’s really shit to have a “TO DO: THINGS TO READ” which just lies untouched for a month straight.

instead, i keep a reference list. and then, when i do something, i note it down. that way i satisfy my inner list monster like “i did a thing today!” and at the same time avoid the disappointment of staring at a pileup of titles that don’t have a strikethrough. this helps with everything that isn’t urgent tbh. if you can afford it practically, don’t make a “what i have to do” list. make a “what i did today” list. it actually helps you to stay positive.

NEXT. i also always, always, always invite recs from my friends. this part involves having exceptionally patient friends, because i always ask for recs. and then i never check them out. literally me checking out a rec is a once in a blue moon thing, so my friends ( @fyolette in particular, may the lord bless her) really have a calm mind because they still always send me things they think i’ll like. i’m eternally grateful for this, ETERNALLY.

so then i make a list of those. recs most commonly involve fics and music. i try to check out music recs within the day/week, and fic recs get tabbed on my favourite chrome extension ever: onetab.

boom. beautiful.

NEXT. how to retain all that Good Content™ that you binge? there’s no easy way, you have to figure it out on your own. before my depression hit i had an incredible memory and grasping power, basically reading through something once was enough to memorise it. this ability took a major hit in high school (which i nearly failed by the way, despite being one of the TOP students of my school), and i’ve never really come back to my full form. most days i fear that i never will, but i still have faith. it’s a long life. and hey, even if i don’t, i don’t shy from hard work. i’m willing to replace what was once natural intelligence with hours of manual labour if i have to. that’s a choice i’ll make.

personally, saying things out loud helps me lots. making flashcards for everything too. i like anki, it’s pretty clean and friendly, but i also struggle with screens when it comes to learning. for me the best way to learn something is to write it out by hand. there’s something about the motion of writing that permanently inks things in my head, so i try to do it whenever i can. i’m trying to shift to digital methods more, though, to save time/money/resources. i like having a split-view. i’ll open whatever i’m reading on one half of the screen, and a notepad on the other, and constantly paraphrase. paraphrasing really helps me. another fantastic thing is to highlight anything unfamiliar (technical jargon, unfamiliar names, cited works, even pop culture references that you don’t get) and make it a rule to google all of it at the end of your reading session. not immediately-- you’ll get sucked into the black hole that is wikipedia and leave your novel aside. do the reading first unless your highlighted term is essential to understanding, and then check out whatever you set aside. that way you understand your current content better, and also branch out into related topics.

i can go on about these tips for ages so if you have any specific questions/would like me to elaborate, hmu.

NEXT. your...actual...question...what content i keep up with...

so firstly, fic, because fic is life. i’m subscribed to: gentlestars, mindheist, porridgemilk, potter, retox, and rix. i’m also subscribed to a bunch of fics/series but would prefer to keep them private, so hmu off-anon if u’d like to know which ones!

i also kept up with OMGCP for an astonishingly long amount of time (for me) and then dropped off, but i do hope to catch up this summer. i adore OMGCP. i also started on WTNV the moment i realised that i’m good with audio stuff now, but i deliberately don’t binge it because its episodic narrative allows me to be sporadic, and WTNV is not something u binge. it’s something u feel in ur heart.

for music, i’m a mainstream hoe so spotify’s global top 50 is always great, i also love their daily mixes. spotify in general is fantastic, sometimes i like setting up a song radio and listening to similar music, it’s great. my cousin/best friend abhi always hits me up with fantastic music recs, he really knows my taste and knows when to insist that i listen to something. always ends up in my library.

the only thing i do on youtube is watch cooking videos and vine compilations honestly (btw nathan/ayitspnayo is the prince of my heart so i’m very much subscribed to him on snapchat, along with vice magazine and lemonde) but my favourites are sortedfood and peaceful cuisine. apart from those two the only channel i really keep up with on youtube is med school insiders. i love this dude. this dude is like my clip art older brother.

for shows i’m currently crawling through weightlifting fairy kim bokjoo, and waiting for narcos S3 and GOT S7. i want to binge either brooklyn 99 or it’s always sunny in philadelphia, or parks and recreation. i don’t know, something funny, u know. we’ll see.

of course it’s incomplete without a tumblr shoutout. i love lolmythesis, wizzard890, pyrrhiccomedy, fyolette, saintjoan and some others that i don’t follow but keep bookmarked to check regularly. also, pretty random, but reddit is fantastic for trivia and more-than-trivia. the todayilearned sub is gold.

so there u go! i’m sure i’ve missed out on some stuff (it’s 4 AM how did this happen i started answering this at 2) and maybe none of this is useful as opposed to half of it being useful, but i sincerely hope that there’s a miracle and ALL of it is useful to u. it’s never too late to start learning things, and i know that it’s overwhelming when u feel like u don’t have any kind of base so u don’t know where to start. like where does one start learning the history of everything. what does one do to get to the point where u know some obscure detail about nikola tesla’s life? i feel u! i feel u! but u gotta start somewhere. pick something that interests u and branch out from it. u can’t know Everything about Everything Ever anyway, so why not accept that from the get-go and spend ur time wisely learning about what u really want to learn about!

and it’s such a big world. i’m sure there’s so much you want to learn about.

youtube

#teesta talks for ts #this is...long #anons #replies

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phagechildon · 7 years

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The Greater Good - Chapter 2

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Author’s Notes: Xena Warrior Princess AU~ I've had this written since the first chapter but my new job is so taxing I hardly have time and I've had a lot of health issues lately x.x I'll try my best to update again very soon, I have another huge portion prewritten, I just need to plan a little bit more before uploading. So sorry for the wait! I'll try to update more frequently! Thank you for edting this Tashi~!

Summary: Jack, unable to handle the dark life he’s living, is now trying to redeem himself by using his skills and demigod powers to protect the innocent. Though he gets more than he bargained for when he meets Hiccup, who unknowingly holds the very fate of the world in his hands.

Words: 8,145

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Tears silently streamed down pale cheeks, some catching in the wind and turning into snowflakes as he allowed the wind to glide him down. He didn’t want to leave… he didn’t get to bring joy to the children like he was promised, and he didn’t get to help Hiccup. Gods… because of him, Hiccup was probably being punished for speaking out against his father like that while that brute Snotlout plotted ways to become the next heir to the throne.

If it were up to Jack, he would’ve stayed, tried to prove his innocence, but Stoick had already made up his mind. It was one against thousands of dragons under the man’s control and he could hardly recover from being grazed by the heat of one dragon. It was so hard staying conscious, the wind shifting and stuttering around him. He had to make it to the bottom though, he didn’t want to risk being found on the trail by the riders or Alvin’s army. Until he was properly rested, he was useless against further attacks.

Pathetic, wasn’t it? He was a powerful demigod yet he had one overwhelming weakness – heat and open flame. An oracle once explained to him that since he was so powerful, there had to be checks and balances in the universe. In his case, he was very susceptible to heat and fire… which was the main reason for his shitty past…

--------

“You are NOT going!” Stoick barked as he slammed the door leading to the kitchen open, finding his rebellious son packing bread, fruit and other food into a basket. Despite the raised voice and tone, the dragon whisperer didn’t flinch, he merely continued to pack a few casks of water.

“Jack hasn’t eaten in three days, giving him food is the least we can do!” Hiccup snapped as he closed the basket, fully stocked on food. The action made Stoick clench his fists as steam practically spewed from his nostrils in anger.

“You’ll be playing right into that bastard’s hands! No-“ he shook his head, slamming his fist against the table, making it jump from the strength. “I forbid it, as Chief - as your father.”

With a roll of his eyes Hiccup crossed his lanky arms, the basket nudging and digging into his bony hip. “He saved my life father. If it wasn’t for him I’d be at the mercy of Alvin’s men.” Stoick’s stern look faltered for a moment, a look of disbelief crossing his face. “I was inches away from being thrown into the arms of the prisoner warden when Jack, not a dragon, not a Viking, not a rider, blocked the path. Berk would’ve been at Alvin’s mercy unless you disregarded my safety, which I would’ve wanted.”

Just as quickly as the worry came, it vanished as Stoick growled even deeper. “What were you doing outside the gates anyway?!” He snapped. “You know it’s dangerous, especially with the war going on!”

Hiccup opened his mouth, but his voice faltered. His father wouldn’t believe him about Snotlout; he’s tried to tell him a thousand times and nothing’s gotten into him. At this point he knew going down that road was hopeless.

“It’s quiet and peaceful-“ he tried before shaking his head in frustration. “Never mind, you wouldn’t understand,” he mumbled as Toothless, who had been snacking until now, flew on his shoulder. “It’s pointless trying to explain things to you – you never listen!”

“I do too!” Stoick snapped as he stood up straighter, putting his hands on his hips. “I am the chief! No one listens better than me!”

With a roll of his eyes, having enough, Hiccup pushed passed him. “Yeah, listen but never pay attention.” He didn’t wait for his father to respond as he kept walking, right out the door and to his riding dragon, Windwalker, who patiently waited for them.

-----

The ground came faster than he anticipated. Maybe it had something to do with the way he kept coming in and out of consciousness, the wind dropping and leaving him to the mercy of gravity.

“Wind!” He desperately called as he flailed his arms and legs desperately, the ground only a few feet away. The wind picked up in small bursts, but not enough to catch his body. That was the power fire and heat had over him. It sucked out his energy and life like a vacuum, leaving him defenseless.

He was falling, and he couldn’t stop himself. Unable to stop it, his life flashed before his eyes:

He saw his mom, he saw his sister, and he saw his stepfather, all laughing and living together peacefully. But then the winter came, and so did the torches, chants and violence. There were no words to describe the utter hatred that ran through his bones as he recalled that one fateful night that lead to the rest of his miserable life. Just thinking about it made the wind swirl around him in a fury, stopping him just a mere inch from becoming a pile of meat on the grass.

Just as quickly as the gust came, it left, letting him collapse on the grass, both physically and emotionally drained. He hated going back there – he hated remembering… why did his conscious have to remind him all the time? He knew he had to make up for his crimes against humanity, and he was trying, so why… why?

With a deep sigh he fell back into the grass, clenching the dewy blades tightly. It’s what he deserved, he assumed as darkness started to consume him.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered as unconsciousness took him.

---

Night descended upon the world by the time Hiccup, Windwalker and Toothless made it to the valley. There were no signs of Alvin’s men aside from a cooling, abandoned campfire, which was lucky for them. However, there were no signs of Jack, which was weird considering he should still be hiking down the mountain.

“Unless he didn’t hike,” he muttered to himself, recalling his powers over the wind.

“Smart human,” Toothless yawned tiredly from his shoulder despite the fact he’d been sleeping the whole time. “Flying beats walking any day.”

“Obviously,” Hiccup said as he gently patted Windwalker on the side. “Let’s fly around the mountain, maybe he set up camp at the base for the night.” With a nod and sneeze, the dragon took to the air again, high enough to avoid trees but low enough to search the ground. “You know, this would be a lot easier if you helped Toothless.”

“Butttt hibernation season’s coming upppp,” he whined. “If I sleeepppp a little now, I can stay with you longerrr.”

Hiccup couldn’t help it as he snorted in disbelief. “Yeah, right, that’s why you’re sleeping more.”

With a hiss Toothless got to his feet. “Toothless is telling the truthhhh, Toothless is worried for stupid human who always finds trouble.”

“It’s not like I go looking for trouble-“ he stopped mid-sentence, realizing their situation wasn’t helping his case. “I’m just doing what I think is right.”

“By being a big stupid head,” Toothless mumbled, settling back down on his shoulder. “Being selfish keeps you alive. You should be more selfish like Toothless.”

“Trust me, that’s what I avoid,” he mumbled.

They searched through the night, until the sun’s first rays started to peak over the mountains. Windwalker, who had been flying for hours finally landed in an area surrounded by trees, breathing heavily.

“S-sorry m-master I-I just need a rest-”

“No no, I’m sorry for not letting you rest earlier,” Hiccup quickly apologized, slipping off him and petting his cheek. “I’ll start a fire while you rest, okay? We’ll search when you’ve had enough sleep. And it’s Hiccup, Windwalker, not master.” The dragon gave a little whine before he finally laid down, falling asleep almost instantly. It only made him feel even worse; if Windwalker was that tired, he should’ve let him sleep earlier. Gods, he couldn’t let his own selfish desires rule over reason.

“Dragon abuser,” Toothless teased, as if hearing his thoughts. With a roll of his eyes, Hiccup looked around, gathering brush. “You’re just as bad as Alvin, enslaving dragons to fight and die for them in battle. Worst of the worst.“ The sarcasm that oozed made the dragon whisperer chuckle as he lay the brush on Windwalker, hoping it’d stay long enough to keep him camouflaged while they gathered wood. This was Toothless’s way of trying to cheer him up; it’s how their relationship operated, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I hear he eats the ones that don’t listen. Maybe I should give it a try.” Shivers rattled Toothless’s small spin as he shook his head.

“G-good thing you don’t have any disobedient dragons,” he stammered, flapping and stretching his wings. “Toothless will fetch some firewood, then you can feed Toothless!” With a flap of his small wings, he was gone.

---

He had no clue how long he’d been out, but when Jack felt himself slowly start to stir it was to large lips and hair tickling his face.

“Mmm…. Stoppp ittt,” he mumbled, reaching his hands up and resting them against the attacker. They were covered in fur and bad breath, which only made him laugh. “Babytooth, you found me, as usual,” he chuckled, opening his eyes to see his horse with one chocolate brown eye and the other green. Upon seeing him awake, the horse gave a cheerful neigh, which only made him chuckle even more. “Oh, was I making it cold again?” He asked, glancing down at the now frozen grass and sighed sadly. Whenever he was fell unconscious, he’d ice the ground next to him. Last night had been no exception. The entire glade of grass was frozen over, his horse being able to stand without sliding because he had taught it the art of balance.

Don’t ask how, but sometimes he could swear his horse was part human or something.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as got to his feet, pressing his forehead against his horses, letting out a deep sigh. “Dragons and I don’t mix.” The horse let out a laughing sound, which he took as a sarcastic remark (something around the lines of ‘you think?’). “Yeah yeah, don’t rub it in, let’s go.” He let the horse lead the way as he forgot where he hid the reins and saddle. The horse seemed to take some pride in this. Normally Jack remembered where he was going but not today.

After about half an hour, they finally stumbled upon the hiding spot. Jack cursed under his breath as he took the saddle and started to dress the horse. Alvin’s army was probably down here somewhere, planning their next attack on Berk. If they saw him down here and not in Berk, he might attack again, hoping he’d be lucky. For all he knew, Hiccup would be outside the gates, resting under the tree again despite how terrible of an idea it was. For the betterment of Berk, he couldn’t let the Outcasts know he was gone.

Mounting his horse, he looked left and right, trying to decide where to go. Should he go east or west? Was there a particular town he promised himself he’d go to? He honestly wasn’t expecting to find Berk and assumed he’d be here for at least a week searching.

Maybe he should go west, stop by his friend’s town and pay them a visit. It’s been what, a year since he last saw them?

Liking the sound of that, he headed west, only to slow his horses trotting at the sounds of clinking metal and weak roars. That sounded like a fight close by.

Great, did Alvin’s army find someone to rob? He didn’t want them to know he wasn’t in Berk, but he couldn’t leave someone at their mercy. Without having to give a command, Baby Tooth took off towards the sounds. When they saw the fight, however, Jack groaned and shook his head in disbelief.

There, fighting off three men was Hiccup while two other soldiers were trying to drag his flying dragon, Windwalker, away in metal chains wrapped around his neck. Toothless was flying around the men, swooping down at scratching at their helmets and trying to bite their ears and noses to distract them.

“I can’t let you take him!” Hiccup cried as he parried one of the men’s swords. “What if someone enslaved you? How would YOU feel?!” The soldier scoffed as he put more pressure against his sword, making Hiccup’s lanky arms tremble.

“Stupid reptiles aren’t people,” the soldier mocked as another one dove his sword towards Hiccup’s exposed belly. Predicting this, the dragon whisperer applied all his strength into his hands and pushed the sword off his own before twirling his small blade, slapping the other away from him. The third soldier quickly ran in, swinging his sword. Gasping in shock, Hiccup fell to his knees, the sword cutting a few strands of his hair. He didn’t have any time for reprieve though as two swords came at him from both left and right. Tucking his knees to his chest, he quickly rolled backwards, his back hitting the trees.

Toothless mumbled something as he darted towards Hiccup. One of the soldiers, however, saw this and swung his sword out. Unable to stop, the small dragon rammed right into the flat side of the sword, falling, nearly unconscious to the ground.

“Toothless!” Hiccup cried as the three soldiers ignored the dragon and stepped closer to him.

They had him both cornered and outnumbered; such distasteful odds made Jack sick. These soldiers weren’t honorable men, these soldiers were cowards wanting to get this over with quickly.

“Hey!” Jack hollered as his horse picked up the speed. The soldiers turned around, swords and scowls ready – until they saw the billowing dark clouds and snow swirling around the newcomer. The look of pure fright and terror that flooded their faces was priceless. “How about we even the odds?” He spat as Baby Tooth came to a skidding stop a few feet in front of them. “One human, one demigod, against five? That’s fair, right?!” He snapped, sliding off his horse, taking a few warning steps forward. The men all jumped, their eyes going from the grass under the demigods feet as ice started to spread to the fury in his deep blue eyes. When they said nothing, their fear eminent, Jack smirked darkly. “Boo~” With horrified gasps, the men all ran in different directions. Even the two pulling Windwalker dropped the chain and made a mad dash to the east, not even looking back.

“Jack!” Hiccup cried out with a smile before it quickly fell as he stumbled to his feet, out of breath. “I could’ve handled them myself,” he quickly stammered, sheathing his small sword. “But… thanks for the help.”

Jack rolled his eyes as the wind and snow stopped around him, autumn’s warm breeze reclaiming the air. “Oh sure, you could’ve beat them with the flat side of your sword.”

Hiccup’s face went red as he crossed his arms, shifting his weight to his right foot. “I’m above killing.”

“Oh, is that so?” He laughed as he went up to Windwalker, gently and carefully starting to untangle the chains around his neck. “You realize they aren’t, right? Every thrust of their sword was intended to kill you.”

“Yeah, so? That doesn’t mean I have to aim to kill too,” the dragon whisperer’s voice grew sour, moving to Toothless who was trying to stand. “You okay bud?” He asked, his mood lightening up a bit as he lowered his hands down for him to stand on. The small dragon shook his head, trying to rid himself of a headache as he stumbled into Hiccup’s palms, collapsing into them like a drunkard.

“He’s got a point,” Toothless croaked, closing his eyes. “Hiccup’s too soft. Hiccup’s gonna get himself and Toothless killed.” Clicking his tongue, Hiccup stood, making the dragon groan from the sudden movement as it rattled his sore head.

“What are you doing down here?” The demigod asked, finding it was better to change the subject as he finally untangled the chains, letting them drop to the ground. “You shouldn’t be this far from home, especially with Alvin’s army lurking around.”

“I came to give you supplies, but I’m tempted to keep them now,” Hiccup growled as he went to Windwalker, still holding Toothless in both his hands.

“Rations?” Jack blinked, shocked. Why would Hiccup risk his life just to bring him some supplies?

“Yeah, you said you hadn’t eaten for what, three or four days?” Gently the Dragon Whisperer set Toothless on the ground next to Windwalker before digging through the brown saddle bag that was still tied to the riding dragon. “I wanted to give you supplies.” Pulling out a slice of bread and a canteen, he extended them out to the demigod. Sure he was pissed off, but this was the whole reason he came; well that and one other reason.

Jack blinked at the food, honestly surprised he’d risk his life just to give him supplies. No one’s ever done that. Then again no one’s ever done anything for him before. Hesitantly he took the bread and water from him, giving him a small smile. “Thanks… I appreciate it, but you shouldn’t have risked your life for me.”

“It’s an occupational hazard,” Hiccup merely shrugged, picking Toothless back up. “Though… there was another reason, for coming after you,” he mumbled, biting his bottom lip. Jack, curious, stopped himself from taking a bite of the bread, trying to meet those forest green eyes. Deliberately Hiccup kept looking away. “I… was wondering if… I could come with you, explore, see and meet new people…”

The statement caught him off guard. Hiccup wanted… to go with him? Jack Frost - a demigod? The shock nearly made him drop the supplies, but he held firm. “Hiccup, it’s too dangerous.” As tempting as the offer was, to finally have someone with him, he couldn’t accept. “I’m going up against warlords, slave traders, armies-“ he shook his head as Hiccup rolled his eyes.

“I know the risks, and I’m willing to take them!” He quickly stammered, watching as Jack shoved the bread and water into his pockets and turned, walking towards his horse.

“Look, I appreciate the food, but I travel alone.”

Hiccup couldn’t let him walk away like this – not after everything he just left behind! “I don’t belong there Jack,” he quickly said, putting a hand on Jack’s shoulder, making him stop. “They don’t take me seriously; they’ll see Snotlout attack me and they blame me for it!” He cried, pulling his hand back to himself and Toothless, cradling him softly. “And I just… I want to see the world. I want to discover new dragons, new species, new techniques and just – I want to learn as much as I can and I can’t do that from Berk. I can’t even teach myself Dragonese without nearly being banished! Berk is like a cage to me - a jail!”

Jack almost forgot about that. Hiccup had been so terrified when he spoke in Dragonese that he was willing to do anything to keep it a secret. He expected the punishment to be something like a scolding or jail time, not being banished; that was outrageous! No one should be restricted from learning, especially when it came to learning about something they’re passionate about.

“Ironic how the village known for dragons has laws set against learning more about them,” the demigod spoke up, gently going to his horse and petting her. “How are you supposed to progress if you’re not allowed to learn anything?”

Hiccup merely shrugged his shoulders as he looked to Windwalker, who was still recovering from the attack. “I don’t get it either. But it’s the law, and gods forbid we change those,” he remarked sarcastically. “It’s why I wanted to go so badly. Down here, I can learn and do whatever I want, and no one can stop me.” He mumbled, meeting Jack’s gaze, but the demigod only turned away, his eyes darkening sadly.

“You can’t come,” Jack sighed as he mounted his horse effortlessly, unable to look at the dreamy look in those forest green eyes. The fact that Jack didn’t even consider taking him made Hiccup clench his teeth in annoyance.

“Why can’t you just give me a chance?!” He cried, taking a few desperate steps towards him. “I can prove my use!”

Jack merely rolled his eyes as he guided his horse to start turning towards Berk’s mountain. “I already told you, I travel alone. Now tell your dragon to fly home and mount up with me. I’ll escort you back home.” Turning to the east, he spotted smoke where small fires rose, his eyes narrowing in concern. “Those men that ran away no doubt told the others about you, they’ll be aiming for the skies.”

“It won’t work, you know,” Hiccup said, turning to face Wind Walker, who stared right back at him. “Go home, I’ll be there soon.” He mumbled as he begrudgingly climbed on the back of Baby Tooth, stubbornly refusing to hold onto Jack. Instead, he gripped the saddle, planning to use that to support him instead. “As soon as no one’s looking, I’ll just leave again.”

“That’d be pretty stupid of you. You’ll just get caught again.”

Hiccup was so furious he didn’t even notice they started moving, the horse’s hooves thudding against the earth like a countdown. “What the hell does that mean!?” He growled.

Not even phased by the change of tone, Jack continued forward, not even looking back. “It means this world will eat you alive. Even if you didn’t run into Alvin’s men or some other war-crazed bastard, you wouldn’t last long in another village. People prey on weakness, and you’re too soft.”

“Am not!” Hiccup snapped, starting to lose his temper. “I can defend myself – I’m not stupid-“

“But you base your decision off your feelings.”

“Don’t act like you know me!” Hiccup growled as he glowered at the back of Jack’s stark-white hair. It was probably as cold as his heart.

“You left Berk and got attacked because you didn’t want me to go without food. Setting your selfish reason aside, it’s obvious you’d sooner risk your own life over someone else’s. Out here, out in this world, that’s only good for one thing – getting you killed.”

As much as Hiccup hated to admit it, Jack had a point. He did have a heart and openly shared it with the world. “That’s not only a weakness,” he mumbled, the strength in his words steadily rising. “It’s also a strength. Without it, Berk would still be fighting against dragons and using them as slaves.” It was sadly true. He single handedly changed the way most of Berk viewed dragons. Without him, they’d still be killing and hunting them. Without him, they would’ve all perished from the Red Death that tried to make Berk its new home.

“I thought that too, for a while,” Hiccup hardly heard Jack mumble.

“What-“

“HELP!” A desperate voice interrupted, making them both quickly turn their heads in the direction it came from. In the distance, a soot covered women in tattered, burned clothing desperately waved her arms. “PLEASE – PLEASE HELP US!!”

Without warning, Jack pulled the reins and turned around, racing towards the women. The closer they got, the more wounds they could make out. She had a long nasty sword line down her left arm while she bore a nasty gash that wouldn’t stop bleeding on her head. They were honestly surprised she had the strength to be running at all.

Coming to a stop in front of her, the lady dropped to her knees, finally resting as she sobbed in relief. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Jack asked, his eyes going between her and the forest, making sure no one came charging out.

“A-an army is attacking my village!” She cried, looking up at them with such sorrow and desperation it made Hiccup clench his heart. “You have to help us! Please! We have too many children relying on us!”

“We’ve got to help!” Hiccup cried, seeing as Jack was taking too long to act. “You can take me back after but right now we HAVE to do something!”

Shaking his head, as if in a trance, Jack nodded. “Tend to her, I’ll be right back.”

“What?!” Hiccup gasped. Without a word the horse jumped up on its back legs. Despite being a professional dragon rider, he wasn’t used to horse riding. With a surprised gasp he fell off the horse and hard onto the ground, his head rattling a bit. “Hey – I can help!” he cried in vain as Jack rode off into the forest.

Anger and frustration boiled through Hiccup’s veins, but he took a few deep breathes. If this was how Jack wanted to play it, fine, he’d play, and win . He’d prove his worth.

Turning to the women, he took the canteen of water he had on his waist belt and handed it to the women. “Here, let me help you.”

-------

Jack could hear it - the horrible sounds of metal clashing against metal, of metal sliding into flesh. He could smell it - the horrible stench of burning wood and flesh so strong he nearly threw up despite how used to it he was.

But that was exactly the reason why he had to stop this. He couldn’t allow anyone else to suffer this way.

The thundering claps of his horse’s steps echoed through the forest, followed by an eerie, cold breeze. Some soldiers stopped mid-swing as they cautiously looked up from their victims, their hearts racing. Instincts told them to flee, but their duty and honor left them rooted in place.

Soon snow started to fall, and in places where fire raged, the snow fell even harder while a fog rolled in like a tidal wave on a beach. The soldiers that didn’t stop the first time slowed their actions, giving the victims some time to run.

“It can’t be,” one of the men muttered as he squeaked in fear. “These stories – they’re from the north!”

“Stories?” One of them asked as he backed up against a stable building, trying to keep himself composed.

“It' s the monster!” another spoke as he dropped his blood-covered sword, looking all over the place in a crazed fear, his pupil’s shrinking in terror. “Looking for fresh blood to feel warmth!”

“Fools!” Their commander, large and built like Alvin the Treacherous, boomed, his black hair swinging at his neck as his hazel eyes beamed in hatred. “Stop being morons and kill! We have women to devour , remember?!” His voice oozed with power and annoyance. The said women in chains all gasped and desperately struggled in their restraints, the men holding the two ends grinning.

“Yeah hurry up! I’m starving !” One of them licked their lips as he yanked the chain forward, making the first women in line stumble forward. Instead of falling on him though, pale arms caught and steadied her, making the man frown, completely confused.

“Looks like a few pigs fled from their slaughter,” an airy yet deep voice growled, the wind making the voice travel throughout the village. Even the victims shivered where they stood as they all wondered the same thing: was this voice here to help, or make things worse? Judging by the words, they feared the latter.

The soldier who had tugged the women let go of the chain in shock as two large eyes peered at him from behind the captives – floating eyes without a body.

“Wh-who are you?!” He demanded an answer as he fumbled for his sword, failing to draw it. As if laughing at the display, a large toothful smile nearly blinded him with raw, animalistic fear. This voice had no face, only eyes and teeth. It was something straight out of nightmares!

Just as he let out a screech, the eyes and teeth lunged at him. Bystanders watched as the soldier disappeared in a cloudy fog. The women, fearing for their lives quickly ran with only one man holding their chains, easily ripping free themselves.

“Hey!” The soldier cried as he took a step to go after them just as excruciating pain shot through his stomach. The shock made him choke and spit up saliva, helpless as a hand jammed itself into the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious as a small blade swiftly slide across his throat.

No one saw the painless death. They only saw the soldier be swallowed up by a flurry of snow and fog.

At this point, some soldiers fled, fearing for their lives. Others, however, rose to the challenge. “Don’t stop! Not until every last one is dead!” The leader commanded. Chaos started to break out again, but the flurry of snow roared – like a dragon – in anger. The four men who thrust their swords to flesh had their lungs frozen. To the soldiers who grabbed and threw people to the ground in an effort to beat them, icicles pierced their windpipes.

While this went on, the flurry of snow, consisting of just eyes and teeth, lunged at the commander. He was met with a sword, to which was blocked by his own.

“So there is a man under this monster guise!” The large man laughed. “Oh I’ve heard a lot about you, Blackout, ” he grinned from cheek to cheek. The name itself send anger boiling through Jack as he pushed him away with his ice staff. “You were the best in the business, until you and your army disappeared-“

“Shut UP!” He screeched like a livid banishi, shooting ice at the commander. Being more observant and faster than the others, he quickly blocked them with his sword. “I’m not that man anymore!” He yelled as he lunged at the man. Quickly the commander blocked Jack with his sword, letting their weapons cross in an X formation.

“You’re not a different man, you’re just killing different people.” Dark blue pupils shrunk when he heard this, his heart nearly stopping. The commander wasn’t lying. He was still killing, he was still committing the ultimate sin. “You’re still the ruthless killer he created!” The weapons started leaning closer to the unfocused demigod.

He still hadn’t changed – he’d never be able to change. Once a killer, always a killer…

“Jack?!” A faint yet familiar voice broke through his vulnerable state. “Where are you?!”

Hiccup- that’s right, without him, Hiccup would be in Alvin’s hands. Without him, Berk might have collapsed over a hostage situation – or worse, a take over from information they managed to torture from the innocent boy.

Confidence and concentration flared within the demigod, making the commander getting both nervous and frustrated, no longer having the upper hand. “No, I have changed,” he barked, breaking the contact and striking the man on the back of the knees at full force. Crumbling to the ground, the commander howled in pain. Growling, Jack took his staff and shoved the butt of it into the man’s mouth, his eyes glossing over darkly. “I protect the innocent from scum like you .” Not even waiting for a response, Jack formed an icicle at the end of the staff and shot it into his throat.

Flailing in agonizing pain as the sharp ice both tore open his throat and choked him, Jack removed his staff. Ruthless, yes, but the commander and his soldiers had been too. They were all monsters...

“Jack!” Hiccup voiced in relief as the snow storm settled down, finally revealing the man, or rather demigod, behind the ice. The whole village was stunned, even those who were mourning their loved ones who didn’t make it.

Cautiously Hiccup walked up to Jack, looking around at all the dead soldiers. “Wow, you really had it under control, huh?” He laughed nervously, sheathing his own small blade, seeing that dark, haunting glint in his eyes. Honestly he was afraid, Jack had looked like a ruthless monster, but he swallowed the interfering emotion. Jack was no monster. “You even put the fires out.” When Jack gave him a death glare, the dragon whisperer noticed it didn’t quite reach his terrified eyes. This reminded him of when Jack saved him from Alvin’s army. He was probably afraid of what the people thought about him, and he had every right to be.

Turning to face the survivors, Hiccup could see the fear and anger coursing through each of them. The sight was frightening… poor Jack, he probably had to see this every time.

“A child of Loki!” Someone gasped. “No wonder we were attacked!”

“You cursed us!”

“You brought them to our home!”

“This is a trap!!”

Shaking his head, Hiccup stepped in front of Jack, trying to shield him from the people’s view. “Hey now, wait just a second,” he started, getting people’s attention as Toothless hid more deeply in the hood of his jacket. If they all saw a dragon, they’d really lose it. “This demigod just saved your LIVES. Did you not see the way he defeated the soldiers?”

“Oh we saw alright!” One of them said with a snarl.

“He came in like a monster - no, a demon - showing no mercy! I nearly had a heart attack!”

“Heart attack?! One of those icicles nearly stabbed me!”

“He pulled me into that cloud of smoke and tried to kill me!”

“Okay okay – ENOUGH!” Hiccup demanded in the loudest voice he could muster, managing to silence everyone. “Look, I know he scared you, but he was just trying to protect you. He only looked like a monster because he was beating the other monsters – the ones that attacked you. And that’s scary, trust me, I know. But Jack just saved me and my village today from the Outcasts. How many of you, with a show of hands, know the Outcasts?” The villagers all looked at each other as they mumbled things under their breaths, nearly every hand going up.

“Good, then you know how ruthless they are. I was, in fact, being dragged to Alvin himself when Jack stopped them.” This time Hiccup turned to the unsure demigod with a thankful smile, chuckling at the look of bewilderment on Jack’s face. “I wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for him, and neither would my village. Though-“ his smile slowly fell as he looked back to the survivors. “We understand that you don’t feel comfortable with us staying. And that’s fine. We’ll be leaving now, but please, remember Jack for the good deeds he did, not for the fear in your hearts.” With one final smile, he turned back to Jack and nearly laughed at the completely dumbfounded expression he bore.

“What? Dragon got your tongue?” He merely smirked, though it fell as Jack simply just – collapsed. With a worried gasp he dashed over, rolling Jack on his back.

“Jack? Jack!? Can you hear me?!”

But it was no use. The demigod used too much power, going as far as exceeding his limit to both save the villagers and to sedate his anger. Even if the world was ending, even if an enemy was about to run him through, he would’ve fallen unconscious anyway.

Unlike usual, however, no dreams tormented him that night. They didn’t even haunt him. When he started to wake, it was to the sound of a crackling fire and the smell of freshly cooked meat. Confused, he opened his eyes and looked around, finding Hiccup staring blankly into the flames.

Memories of the fight and village came crumbling back, still stunning him. Hiccup was the first person to ever stand up for him. The first person that saw his deeds and didn’t let his view of Loki get to him. Hell, he even begged an entire village to look past his parentage and focus on the good deeds he did!

Sensing eyes, Hiccup turned and smiled upon seeing him awake. “Oh good, I was starting to think you were out for the count.”

Rolling his eyes, Jack forced himself to sit up, stretching out his arms. “How long have I been out?” The sound of logs moving in the fire made him flinch, afraid a lit log had started to roll away. Instead he saw Toothless , Hiccup’s small hunting dragon, laying in the middle of the camp fire. Honestly he knew he shouldn’t be surprised, but he had never seen a dragon do it before.

“A week,” Hiccup said as he popped a piece of meat into his mouth. Jack snapped his gaze back over to Hiccup, his whole face paling over in shock and horror.

“A WEEK? ! You’re lying!!”

“Of course I am,” Hiccup smirked, tossing him a slab of meat. The demigod nearly dropped it because of his stupor. “It’s been nearly two days.”

Only two days – that sounded about right. Whenever he used his powers to that extent, they normally exhausted him for a day or two.

“That’s what you get for leaving me behind.” Hiccup tore off another piece of meat and tossed it into his mouth bitterly.

The demigod though rolled his eyes, taking a bite of the food. “Oh yeah, like I was taking you on the battlefield-“

“Oh yeah, here,” he interrupted, picking up a full canteen filled with fresh water and throwing it at him as well. “They gave you your own personal canteen.”

Jack had to lean forward to catch it, Hiccup’s toss not the best. He couldn’t tell if the snarky auburnette did it on purpose or not. “They?”

“Yeah, the villagers you saved. After you collapsed, some of the kids brought some water while the lady I tended to came back. She vouched for us so they gave us supplies and I strapped them to your horse.”

There were so many things wrong with what Hiccup said. The first and foremost being that the villagers helped him . Normally when they learned of his parentage they treated him like someone with a highly contagious disease. Secondly, the only person his horse came up to was him . Maybe she came after seeing him collapse? That was more likely.

Then again… Hiccup had a way with people and creatures. It made him wonder if Hiccup was some kind of demigod too.

“Thank you,” was all Jack could muster, unable to think of how to respond properly. It hurt his pride, but he was so astounded he didn’t even care.

“You’re welcome,” Hiccup replied, a small, enduring smile folding on his lips. “I was only doing what I thought was right, so…” he sighed after that though, putting the meat down and leaning back on his hands to look up at the stars. “You’re still gonna take me back, huh?” His smile slowly faded.

Jack sighed as well, biting into the meat. Hiccup had to go back – he knew that. This world was too cruel for someone as special as him. They’d take his kindness, his gifts, and use him, then beat him into the ground until he lost everything, even his life.

Yet… even If he did take Hiccup back, there was no guaranteeing the kid would stay. He might just leave to pester him again or even go off on his own, which was even more dangerous. Besides… he was starting to like his company.

“What would be the point?” He said, dramatically sighing. “Even if I took you back you’d just run away again.” He looked back up at the stars, smiling softly. “You really impressed me today… But don’t come crying to me if you get yourself killed by sticking around.”

Hiccup beamed with so much happiness he could hardly contain it. “Thank you – gods you don’t know how much this means to me!” But the look of pure joy and happiness told Jack all. In Hiccup’s books, he was finally free. He could become anyone he wanted, he could do anything he wanted, even it was just learning more about people and dragons. But most of all, he could finally travel and see the world...

-----

“So you’re telling me,” Jack began as he rest his back against a tree, crossing his arms in disbelief as he watched Hiccup fiddle with the small and wild blue dragon. “That that Terrible Terror is going to deliver your letter to Berk?”

Hiccup couldn’t help the proud smirk that crossed his lips as he tightened the strings to the dragon’s leg. “Yep, we call it airmail back on Berk.”

“Airmail?” Jack rose his bushy eyebrows. “Punny.”

Hiccup merely rolled his eyes as he started to stand, the small dragon hopping on his arm. “My friend, Fishlegs and I, came up with the idea. You see, dragons are very territorial, they’ll always go back to a place, or person that means a lot to them.”

“But isn’t this just a wild Terror? It doesn’t even know Berk.” It was so hard to wrap his head around the idea, but he didn’t really question Hiccup. After all, he was the dragon expert.

“They have an incredible sense of direction, including direction of smell,” he said, though stopped, realizing that made no sense. “Look, all I know is that I give them a message, have them smell something that belongs to the receiver, and they go.” As soon as he uttered the command, the terrible terror took off, flying in the direction of Berk. Both watched the dragon fly into the rising sun, almost mesmerized by the sight.

“So... if I needed to find someone, I should use a Terrible Terror?” Jack asked as he pushed himself off the tree and headed over to Baby Tooth.

Seeing it was time to go, Hiccup followed suit. “The ideal dragon for that is a Rumblehorn. They can tack someone islands away - my dad has one.” Jack merely nodded, storing the information for later use as he mounted his horse. Hiccup was right behind him, though had a little trouble getting up due to the hibernating dragon in his front pocket. Being winter, it was the season where dragons went into hibernation. Toothless, being as stubborn as him, tried to avoid it. If Hiccup needed him he wanted to help. And if he ate, he wanted some food too. He couldn’t eat if he was doing long-term hibernation! So instead he took burst naps, some lasting up to six hours.

“Hopefully he doesn’t come looking for you then.” Jack said absentmindedly, to which Hiccup quickly shot him an annoyed glare.

“Yeah well, hopefully Gobber talked some sense into him because I’d rather avoid the reunion, for both our sakes.”

-----

They traveled all morning, passing no one on the trail they were on. For this area, that was highly disconcerting. Normally this road was teeming with merchants and traders from all around the world. His friends were quite handy, and famous, their town being one of the most wealthy and successful in the world. For it to be abandoned like this… something had to be wrong.

“You should show me some of your moves,” Hiccup interrupted his thoughts, Jack’s lips brushing into auburn strands as Hiccup rode in front of him on Baby Tooth. Hiccup might know how to ride a dragon, but Jack was scared someone might try to shoot them in the back. Cowardly, yes, but many assassins and mercenaries weren’t against it. He’d rather them hit their original target then Hiccup as collateral damage.

“And why should I do that?” He asked, taking in Hiccup’s smell. Unsurprisingly he smelled like fish and, if he wasn’t mistaken, fire and metal. There were a lot of blacksmith shops in Berk. He wondered if Hiccup worked in one.

The dragon whisperer merely rolled his eyes. “So I can learn more? I know how vikings fight, but our style might be outdated.”

Jack couldn’t suppress the small snicker that left his lips. Their fashion sense was old school, but he didn’t want to upset Hiccup. “Point taken,” he admitted. “Next time we stop, I’ll show you a few moves, okay?”

Pleased with the answer, Hiccup beamed, one hand gently touching his jacket’s pouch where Toothless slumbered. Instead of hibernating, the small hunting dragon slept in short bursts. The stubborn reptile wanted to be sure he could help Hiccup if things got out of hand; he also didn’t want to miss out on a meal.

As they traveled further into the forest, the more eerie it became. Less and less wildlife was spotted, even less dragons. Something told Hiccup that they weren’t just hibernating...

“What’s wrong?” Hiccup asked, feeling the demigod tense. Hiccup was very observant - Jack had to give him credit for that.

“The tracks on this road are old,” he said, his eyes and ears straining. Something wasn’t right here.

“And no birds,” Hiccup voiced out loud, as if reading Jack’s mind. “And barely any dragons.”

As impressed as he was, Jack remained silent, continuing to ride forward. They couldn’t risk panicking, not until he was sure-

Crunch- a tree branch cracked under someone’s or something’s foot about twenty to thirty feet away.

“Hiccup, as soon as I give the signal, hold onto Baby Tooth as tightly as you can.”

“What? Did you see something-” Jack rolled off the horse suddenly, clicking his tongue twice as he fell. “Wait-!” Hiccup cried, twisting his body around to face him but yelped as the horse ran. Instinctively his hands gripped the horse, cursing under his breath as he was, once again, taken away from the fight.

Bouncing up just as quickly as he hit the ground, Jack unsheathed his sword as four camouflaged men charged out of the forest, their own swords drawn.

“Don’t you know it’s not polite to ambush travelers?” He laughed as he knocked two swords to the side, kicking the third man under the belt and slamming his elbow into the fourth man’s face. Confidently the first two returned, both lunging at him from both Jack's left and right sides. With a giddy chuckle, Jack tucked and rolled forward, swiping his sword and tripping one. The other regrouped, but Jack was ready for him. He grabbed a handful of dirt and snow, throwing it in his face. With a cry, the man stumbled backwards, his now free hands rubbing at his eyes.

The sound of metal piercing the air made him gasp and quickly side step to the left, flipping his sword so the edge was behind him before he thrust it backwards. A large scream pierced the air as he felt his sword slide into flesh. Both hearing and seeing this, the one he elbowed and tripped stood, anger flaring in his eyes.

“You’ll pay for that!” One of them screeched as they both advanced, their swords ready to deliver a blow. Pulling his sword out of the man behind him, Jack kneeled on one leg and held his sword up, all three weapons clashing together. Terrifyingly enough, he stopped them a few mere inches above his head.

Talk about being too close for comfort.

The two men kept pushing down against his own sword, their combined strength far harder to manage than he originally thought.

That’s what Jack got for getting cocky.

“Get him!” One of them said as the one he blinded took up his sword and came running.

“There’s more of us you know,” the one he elbowed smirked, his now black eye squinting in dark glee. “Up ahead - archers and horsemen, Your little friend doesn’t stand a chance! And now you’re gonna die!”

Fear coursed through Jack, more fear than he anticipated. If there were just horsemen, he wouldn’t be that worried. He knew Hiccup could protect himself while Baby Tooth outran them. But against horsemen and archers? As observant as the Dragon Whisperer was, Jack doubted he could handle that many enemies on horseback, especially when there were archers involved.

Shit - he needed to get to Hiccup and Baby Tooth - fast.

Using all his strength, he threw the other two off as he parried the sword of the man who rushed him. Without wasting another breath, he twirled and sliced the man’s neck, not even watching him drop as he went forward, his staff forming in his hands.

The magic trick had both men startled, too dumbfounded to do anything as Jack used it like a staff, hitting the back of one of their knees. Frost crawled along the skin, resulting in frostbite as the man fell backwards with pained cries. He hit the other with the hilt of his sword in the head, making him instantly fall unconscious.

With the last two incapacitated, Jack took off running as fast as he could down the trail.

‘Please be safe!’

#phage writes #the greater good #hijack #it's better to read this on AO3 - there's italicized words that make it flow better when reading that for some reason tumblr wouldn't keep o #I'll go back when I have more time and italize it on here orz #I've had this written when i wrote the first chapter but i started a new job that's full time and things aren't going too well there lfaiush #and i've been having a lot of health issues lately too so that's /definitely/ helping orz #I'm also editing amv's a lot more flduhfasdf so yeah I finally have this uppp #i wanted to upload more to this chapter but it felt like sticking the rest of what i have written would be too much in an episode #not episode chapter whatever so i decided to cut it there for now adflasiudhfad and im not too happy with the opening scene at the next part #so im trying to make it better? i donno fasliduhf imam make it better somehow flahdsaf #everytime i go to work on it i end up deleting it XD;; and hating it even more whoopss orz so i have to wait for someone to edit it or i'll #just delete all of it and stop

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wineanddinosaur · 3 years

Text

VinePair Podcast: Wine Has a Bad Language Problem

If you have any thoughts on wine language, please send your ideas to [email protected].

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Or Check out the Conversation Here

Adam Teeter: From VinePair’s New York City headquarters, I’m Adam Teeter.

Joanna Sciarrino: I’m Joanna Sciarrino.

Zach Geballe: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the “VinePair Podcast.” Zach and Joanna, how were your holiday weekends? What’s going on?

J: Do you want to take it, Zach?

Z: Oh sure.

A: He never misses a chance to be called on first.

J: I’m really sorry that happened to you. That sucks.

A: It was nuts.

J: It’s really disgusting.

Z: Adam’s favorite comparison!

A: I haven’t talked about this in the past?!

Z: Yes, you have.

A: No, I haven’t.

Z: Oh, yes, you have.

A: I agree with Joanna.

Z: This was quite a weekend, my goodness.

A: Totally. I completely agree.

J: I think the more language we can use to describe wine, the better.

Z: Exactly.

A: I agree. Well, guys, this has been a great conversation, as always. I won’t be with you next week. You’re going to miss me so much.

A: Hey, hey, hey.

Z: Well, slide into his DMs for that, I guess. I’m sure it’s good. I would love to try it. I’m just saying.

A: I had some bottles.

Z: Oh, excellent.

A: I mean you are going to have such not a good conversation without me next week, but I hope it is at least a B-level conversation.

Z: We’ll see what we can do.

A: Talk to you guys later.

J: All right, bye.

Z: Sounds great.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: Wine Has a Bad Language Problem appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/wine-has-bad-language-problem/

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