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#now that the full premise is out there I'd love to TALK
kineticallyanywhere · 2 years
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[more under the cut!]
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Monkey’s Paw pages 101-106 ( START HERE || ao3 || previous || next )
AU after episode 62. The Omega Dads try a more desperate gambit, but careful what you wish for. Our dads find alternate versions of themselves in a strange dreamscape. Do you trust yourself?
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hey
THAT’S RIGHT IT’S BEEN AN EVIL HENRY AU THIS WHOLE TIME
anyway so this brings us to what has become the end of part 1??? this got so out of hand. MIGHT be a 3 part scenario here, but this is almost certainly the longest, or at least densest. the proverbial crap hits the proverbial fan from here on out and action tends to take up way more page space. as I figure THAT new pacing scenario out, among other things, Monkey’s Paw will be taking a break. Until probably November. Why November? well in November I’ll have finished my last teacher certification test. until then, I need to force myself to put some things to the side in order to not burn the candle quite so quickly. I don’t want any of my future-paying work or currently-paying side-hustle work to suffer, and thus also for this to suffer. There’s quite a bit of logistics for part 2 that need to be planned well in advance of it showing up on a page and that takes Time.
I didn’t even expect for this to go this far when I started. from the jump I’ve been working on the ethos of I’m Making This For Me, and while that’s still true I’m so incredibly grateful for all the response this comic has gotten!! I’m truly blown away by all the support and avid readers and commenters, you make my heart grow so so so big <3 Making this has been super fun as a fan but also an incredible confidence- and skill-builder for making That Original Comic That I’ll Get To Eventually Don’t Worry About It.
Between now and November, be on the lookout for a “chapter 2 cover art”, where I’ll give a progress update on part 2 and also (hopefully!) a link to where you can download a pdf copy of part 1! No promises, but that pdf version may have some redrawn panels or re-arranged pages, because any artist who’s ever told you they nailed every thing they’ve made on the first go is a liar. No changes to the plot, just in presentation.
Anyway! Thank you all again, so much, for reading! (and I don’t wanna draw any undue attention to anyone who doesn’t want it but to the person who spotted the red flags on Hen like 50 pages ago?? I am delicately holding your face and kissing you on the forehead you know who you are )
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randoimago · 11 months
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We need to give the thick-thighed girls of Genshin some love.
Here's the premise: Eula, Yelan, Ganyu & Ei are each sitting in the living room of their home. Their S/O arrives home after a long day. The girls greet them, but S/O doesn't respond; they just take off their shoes, make a beeline for their girlfriend, then lay their head down on their girl's thighs. And before the girls can even finish a full sentence, S/O is out like a light.
(Individual headcanons are fine; I'd love to lay my head on 4 pairs of thighs, but that's kinda impractical)
S/O Sleeping on Their Thighs
Fandom: Genshin Impact
Character(s): Ei, Eula, Yelan, Ganyu
Type of Request: Headcanons
Note(s): Thick thighs save lives~
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Ei
She has been waiting for you to get home as she's been rather bored with all the paperwork and sitting around. As procrastination, she had made plans of what the two of you could do when you got back.
Instead, you got back and asked her to sit back down. She pouted at that but did so, thinking you had something you wanted to talk about. Ei felt a tad annoyed when you just laid down and placed your head in her lap.
She had plans but she can't even protest to your actions because you're asleep. You'll get scolded later, but for now she'll deal with your antics.
Eula
She was just about to stand up to greet you, putting down the book she had been reading. Instead, she's pretty much forced to sit back down as you move to lay your head in her lap.
"What are you doing?" She'd ask you. You reply with "Getting comfortable" and it causes her to shake her head but a smile strays to her lips.
Eula figures that you must have had quite the day so she tries to get comfortable again and grabs her book. You deserve the rest.
Ganyu
"S/O, you're home!" She's excited when you get back, kind of like a puppy when their owner returns. She doesn't really get a change to ask you about your day because you're moving her to sit down before you're laying on her.
"Wha?!" Her face is heating up and she's feeling so flustered as you're just getting comfortable on her lap and falling asleep.
She pouts slightly because she wanted to talk and make sure you were okay, but she supposes this is okay too. You deserve a nice, long rest and so she'll do her best to stay still so you sleep comfortably.
Yelan
She was in the middle of a nap when she heard the door opening and closing. One of her eyes drifted open to see you coming in. Yelan let out a yawn and was going to get up to greet you, but instead you came over and laid down with her.
Yelan chuckled at the sudden affection you had before you asked her to scoot up so you could get more comfy. She was waking up more as she watched you move so that you could put your head on her thighs.
"I would've thought that my chest would make a better pillow, but sleep well S/O," she'll say before closing her eyes. If you try and change her mind then she'll tease you, but she does enjoy an excuse to go back to sleep.
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uzumaki-rebellion · 2 months
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"King Killmonger: The Golden Jaguar" Chapter 5
Masterlist HERE.
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"We hope each soul will find
Around and inside
Another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer, just like every child
Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe"
Avery Wilson & Candace Boyd—"The Prayer"
Yani held onto the hand of her baby sister Anika, as her middle sister Dawnette gushed over meeting Tahir. Anika told their entourage of women—Twyla, Zola, Ilana—the story of Killmonger and Tahir spending the night at their Aunt Leona's cramped apartment when she was sixteen and impressionable. But now that she was in her early twenties and legal, she had the right of first dibs on the handsome foreigner to Wakanda.
They entered the banquet venue's snazzy restroom where a full sitting room/powder room was set up before one even made it to the restrooms in a separate section. Checking their make-up and showering the room with their loud gossip over men and available bachelors, Yani noticed Ime in a corner with four other women seated on plush chairs chatting. Anika and Dawnette followed Twyla into the restroom to relieve themselves of wine and other spirits passed around for the after dessert libations. Yani took note of a few other noblewomen clucking together in their various groupings parceled about using wall mirrors to fix hair, and check make-up.
It was obvious that women snuck glances at Yani and she smiled while passing others to get to Ime.
"Princess Yani," Ime said.
Ime stood quickly and her friends did too, showing Yani respect.
"Leave us please…I would like to speak with Ime," Yani said.
Zola and Ilana walked away and kept watch over her for any intrusions.
"Shall we chat for a moment?" Yani said.
Ime nodded and Yani led her to some chairs in a corner that faced away from the other women in the room giving them some privacy.
"I wanted to talk to you about our relationship going forward. After I marry King N'Jadaka, I will be having a series of special events throughout Birnin Zana. Private teas, luncheons, and of course, the Queen's Ball. You and I will see a lot of each other because of Ramatla's position working for my husband."
"Of course."
Ime's voice was sweet as pie, but Yani wasn't keen on her maintaining a façade any longer.
"I know you don't like me. No need for us to pretend that you give a fuck about what I think about you."
Ime's eyes widened and several women within hearing distance moved away quickly to avoid catching strays. Hushed voices spread throughout the powder room and every woman not connected to Yani or Ime vacated the premises immediately. Zola and Ilana strolled over to the restroom toilet entrance to provide interference in case their party came out.
Ime pulled her shoulders back and lifted her head higher. She regarded Yani as a worthy adversary. Her mask fell away.
"It is true. I do not like you. You aren't fit to be queen—"
"You uncouth bitch!" Zola snapped.
Ilana held Zola back.
"I'm a bitch?" Ime said, slanting her gaze toward Zola. "You disloyal witches were so quick to scuttle over to her side that you threw away years of our friendship…and for what? A chance to be around the king?"
Yani glanced at Zola and Ilana. Ime craned her neck back and folded her arms over her chest. Her gaze burned into Yani's face.
"Do you know how many eligible women here that are better than you who would kill to have N'Jadaka Udaku?" Ime said.
"I know you are one of them," Yani said.
Ime didn't flinch. Her lips twisted into a devilish smirk.
"You are damn right. I was one of those women. Had you or that other one not showed up, I'd be in your place right now."
"Listen to this hussy!" Zola hissed.
Yani held up her hand to silence Zola.
Twyla, Anika and Dawnette wandered back in.
"What's going on?" Twyla asked, quickly sizing up the tension.
"Twyla, would you mind taking my sister's back to our party? I need to talk to Lady Ime in private," Yani said.
Twyla took the hint and gathered up the younger women toward the exit. Zola and Ilana followed behind to block anyone else from entering. Yani leaned her left arm over her right on the armrest and crossed her legs.
"I will be queen soon, so any dreams or aspirations you bad minded bitches had about N'Jadaka are over fuh good. I'll fuck up anyone who tries tuh come for we…even Remy."
Ime huffed and jumped to her feet. Yani's chest burned. She took her time standing up like a powerful royal woman with the highest status in the land shared with her man.
"This hatred yuh have in your heart…keep it or throw it away. I don't care. You mean nothing to me. However, we both have a duty to our country—"
"You are not a real Wakandan, Yani Galiber. You are a fake. A blight on the bloodline. You think your position is safe just because you will marry him tomorrow? Hmmph. Then you don't truly know the history of Udaku men. They have an appetite…a lust for life that you could never satisfy as an outsider. No Wakandan man in his right mind would see you as any kind of prize."
"Well, your man has a taste for me, so I can't be all that bad."
Ime's eyes narrowed and her right hand went up high to strike Yani.
"Ime stop!"
Remy's voice rattled them both. He grabbed Ime's arm and pulled her away before her hand connected with Yani's face.
"My apologies Princess Yani. She has disrespected you and I am…embarrassed by this."
Ime snatched her arm away. Her cold eyes had gone beyond jealous hatred. There was envious murder lodged in them too. Yani took a step back sensing an uncontrollable rage flowing through her nemesis. Remy struggled to get Ime's hand back down to her side. She stuck a finger in Yani's direction.
"You aren't special. He will get bored with you…you are nothing like us…"
Ime vomited hatred with her words, and Yani stood strong with a half smile on her face, allowing the woman to get everything off of her chest right then and there. Had Yani worn her finger armor that night, there would've been deep bloody holes in Ime's face. She kept a rigid posture despite her blood pressure going up. A physical entanglement would only fuel the fire of other nobles who felt the same as Ime. Her throat tightened and she parceled her words carefully. Yani's mind screamed to revoke Ime's wedding invitation, but she wanted the woman to watch her nuptials and squirm about it. Diplomacy and tact were the order of the evening.
"Lady Ime, I appreciate your honesty. You have never minced your words, so I will not run around the bush with mine. King N'Jadaka and I are one blade."
Ime's eyes narrowed hearing the euphemism. Remy watched Yani's face with an apprehensive expression. Had it been a club in St. Thomas back when she kept a reckless mouth, Yani would not hesitate to let all of the noble women know she was a good pussy gyal. They way N'Jadaka carried on in her pum pum was all the evidence she needed. The elites could come for Yani all they wanted, but that bad man from the hill wasn't going anywhere.
She took a step forward and Remy repositioned his left foot in front of the tips of her shoes to create a barrior between the two women. Biting back the rancor in her throat and the urge to call Ime a heavy-tongued cow foot whore, she opted to act her position.
"Your campaign to vilify me or make me feel less worthy of the throne has failed. You can't have N'Jadaka, so you go for Remy. The way I hear it, you backstabbed your best friend to get him…so if I were you Ime, I would worry about repairing my social reputation instead of coming for a queen. Good luck with this one, Remy. It's a pity that your family settled for this waste gyal as your future wife—"
Ime lunged for Yani. Remy became a shield. He hugged Yani and protected her body from Ime's attack. Ilana and Zola rushed over and yanked Ime into a corner, pushing her back against a wall mirror. They shoved her shoulders and cursed in her face to keep her from going up against Yani again.
"Please forgive her…I'm sorry for everything," Remy pleaded.
He held Yani's shoulders and she could feel his warm breath blow across her lips. From the reflection in the mirror behind him, Yani noticed N'Jadaka walking in with Twyla. Remy's hands dropped away from her body quickly, but N'Jadaka saw it all. Ilana rushed to the king's side and whispered something to him before he reached their side of the powder room. He moved like a stalking cat toward Ime afterward, ignoring Remy and Yani completely. Zola stepped to the side giving N'Jadaka space. Ime cowered before the man she desired above all others.
Everyone remained silent. N'Jadaka's smoldering presence held them all in a chokehold. Ime trembled.
"Look at me," N'Jadaka commanded.
Ime turned her head to the side and refused to do so. N'Jadaka crowded her body and Yani knew exactly how that felt up close. The heat. The crackling energy. The sexual prowess. It was too much to process all at once, and for a mere second, Yani pitied Ime. Her greatest desire was right in front of her and she couldn't even look at him.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"King N'Jadaka, I beg…let me remove her from your presence. She has been drinking—"
"Do you have permission to speak to me?"
N'Jadaka didn't bother to look at Remy. His voice boomed and the message was received.
Stand down.
Ime lifted her head. Watery eyes peered at the king.
"I don't normally get into women's business, but I warned you once about bothering her, so now I will give you a choice. Get on your knees in front of her and beg forgiveness for your insolence or I will strip you from your title and make life hell for your entire family."
Ime jammed her back against the mirror with horror dripping from her eyes.
"She accosted me…I was minding my own business with friends," Ime whined.
"Ime…just do it. Stop making this worse for yourself. If you have no title, we cannot marry," Remy said.
The tears fell then. Ime wiped at her eyes as if her own body betrayed her. Yani slipped her hand around N'Jadaka's.
"Let it be. She's drunk and we know how powerful the drinks have been tonight. We need to leave for rest. Our wedding will be here soon, king," Yani said.
Mercy.
That is what Yani gave Ime. Although it would've been a sight to see Ime groveling at her feet, Yani wanted to be above the woman in the best way. Knowing N'Jadaka showed his trump card, she doubted Ime would get out of line ever again. The threat of losing a title was worse than going to hell in Wakanda.
The king allowed Yani to lead him away from Ime, and Remy rushed to her side, throwing an arm around his fiancé's waist. He guided her quivering form away from certain banishment. Twyla wandered over.
"Gossip has already spread outside. When you walk out of here, look cheerful like nothing happened," Twyla said.
Strolling hand-in-hand with Twyla cracking a joke, they left the powder room laughing. Their performance was good enough to get them past a few people, but it was clear the mood had shifted in the banquet room toward her. The upper class were shook to their core. No one was safe if the king jumped for Yani like that in public.
Yani gathered up her children with Leona and Dante's help, and they all bid farewell to the hosts and their dinner companions from the center table. Couples were still dancing and liquor still flowed and would do so into the night. Nobles from all the tribes rushed up to Yani and wished her a good evening, hoping that she graced them with her sweet voice and a smile. N'Jadaka shook hands and accepted congratulations for their upcoming nuptials once more. She waved at her favorite people throughout the banquet room while Zola and Ilana stayed close with her sisters in tow.
N'Jadaka held Yani's and Joba's hand until they were outside the venue boarding a different vehicle with the children by themselves. Yani turned on the sound-proof barrier for the back seat where Joba, Riki, and Sydette sat comfortably, their eyes drowsy from all the activity of the day. They spoke freely without their driver and guard hearing.
"I'm glad you didn't fight her physically," N'Jadaka said.
"Me too. It wouldn't be a good look for us, no matter how much she deserved to get boxed. She knows where I stand. That's the important thing when dealing with a yamhead gyal."
"Remy has a problem on his hands."
"You do too."
"How's that?"
Yani leaned into him and held onto his arm.
"According to her, you were supposed to be her betrothed if I hadn't showed up in Wakanda. Remy was her back up consolation prize."
The corners of his lips went down and his brows joined in the center.
"This caste culture is very particular, very selective of whom they pair couples. The more I learn, the more I see how dangerous it was for my father to choose my mother. Sometimes I think she would've received the same treatment."
"They aren't nice about my foreignness at all in Ime's cliques. She even insinuated that Ilana and Zola only came to me to get close to you."
"We know there are advantages being around me. But those two…," He gave a casual glance to to Yani, "Their hearts are in the right place. They adore you. I know they have crushes on me, but those are just harmless feelings. Most times I have to bargain with them just to get you to myself all alone."
Yani grinned and stroked a finger up and down his chest.
"Are you still going to your bachelor party tonight?" she asked.
"It's not a party. A little get together with the fellas."
"Where will you guys go?"
"We're staying in the palace. I have some food and drinks prepared up in the salon. We'll play cards, smoke cigars…catch up with my cousins. Nothing crazy."
"Strippers?"
Yani giggled and N'Jadaka put an arm around her pulling her into his side. Her breasts mashed into his chest.
"I've seen enough naked women in my life to last me. Every color, size, and from damn near every continent. I'd get bored watching some stranger shake ass for mere entertainment with a bunch of men. Smoking, drinking and shooting the shit is all I want to do. Besides…I have the baddest woman on the planet and I'll get my own private show after we get married."
She puckered her lips and he lowered his head to brush his mouth against hers.
They arrived in the palace parking structure at a reasonable hour. N'Jadaka carried Joba and Riki, while Yani carried Sydette in her arms. Back at their home, Kora helped guide the children away from the front door in their sleepy daze toward the stairs.
"I guess we have to say goodnight here," Yani said.
She wrapped her arms around N'Jadaka's waist and he held her close.
"Yep. I say goodbye to Princess Yani forever. I'll miss her."
They locked eyes, basking in the moment together.
"Thank you for never giving up on me…even when you thought I was gone forever. Thank you for making sure our children knew about me. Thank you for being the light that brought me back to myself…the light that showed me that I could find a perfect love in paradise. You have made this imperfect man so very happy."
"Thank you for coming into my life…thank you for believing in me and making sure I was taken care of even when you thought death was a possibility for yourself. Thank you for being the love of my life…choosing our precious Sydette as your own and giving me my beautiful son. Thank you for trusting me to raise a special extra daughter too. You have made this equally imperfect woman very happy too."
"Well shit, we might as well be married now. Sounded like we said some vows," he joked.
"I know. I'm actually happy that we don't have to say a lot tomorrow. I already feel like crying…"
"Aye girl…no tears…"
Yani buried her face in his chest and wept out her happiness. He rubbed her back with loving hands and cooed in her ear soft words of love.
"You are my life, baby."
He pulled away and kissed her forehead.
"Go on now, get some beauty rest. We all get to sleep in until twelve thirty. I shouldn't even be looking at you right now. We're supposed to stay separated," he said.
She held his hands, not wanting to let him go, not wanting to part from his warmth and strength. Staring into his eyes, she luxuriated in the overpowering essence of his presence the way Ime had experienced him up close. Yani still thrilled to his energy and aura. She pulled him in for a kiss…a long one. Their heads moved from side to side and his hands palmed her backside, squeezing the heavy orbs. His tongue explored and made promises for their wedding night. He kissed her woozy and she stepped back on weak legs. Her brain felt mushy and her body tingled all over. Especially down below.
"I should go now," he said.
"Okay."
Neither one of them left the front door.
"I have to change clothes for my bachelor party," he said.
"Hmmm."
His dimples and septum ring mesmerized her. The glint of his gold panther teeth held her captive when his lips parted in a gentle smile. The king's body heat wrapped her in a cocoon of love. His too-muchness enveloped all of her senses and she suppressed the urge to look away from his face.
N'Jadaka's kimoyo beads lit up breaking the spell for Yani.
"It's Mpilo…I betta dip. Can't be late to my own gathering," he said.
Yani moved away from him knowing that if he touched her again, she would pull him into their home and up to her bed.
"Love you," he said.
She blew him a kiss and dashed inside the front door, closing it quickly. Resting her back against it, she touched her face. It was hot and a light sheen of nervous sweat covered the back of her neck. She touched her stomach to calm the butterflies there. Lord…he still made her swoon like it was their first time together.
"Are you alright, Princess Yani?"
Sindiswa, the evening attendant for their home approached Yani with concern.
"I'm fine. Can you please bring me some bria tea and chocolate biscuits to my bedroom?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Yani climbed the stairs thinking of love, family, and finally having her happy new beginning with N'Jadaka.
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Sunrises in Wakanda were a stunning tapestry painted with the delicate hand of Bast.
N'Jadaka rose early before the streaks of orange, rose, pale turquoise, and magenta saturated the horizon heralding the golden return of the sun.
He bathed in a wide tub filled with oils and herbs to purify his body for marriage. The humble priest Dinani waited for him on the balcony where they prayed together in the language of Bast, the ancient tongue that supported him through his transformation on the holy mountain. Ogum stirred in his chest and quickly rose to the crown of his head where the energies of two gods merged.
The ancestors rested within him.
Dinani and N'Jadaka's former temple caretaker Ayiz'e smudged him head to toe fully nude with river sage and more prayer work. As the sun rose, he watched it golden the sky while listening to a recording of a berimbau being played by his mother and a drum pounded by his Grandpop. He prepared his mind for hours of ceremony and honed in on Ayiz'e warming up a thick glob of ceremonial body butter in her hands. The pale yellow substance melted into clear oil and she rubbed it all over him, even his locs. It smelled wonderful, like citrus and honey. She knelt down and rubbed it on his buttocks and the back of his thighs. Dinani observed the preparation making sure no spot on his body was missed. Ayiz'e started rubbing the oil on his groin and when she stroked his flaccid penis and scrotum with it, Dinani held up a tied leather bundle about seven inches long.
"Kumkani, before you consummate your union with the new queen, you must remember to give Bast an offering of your semen first. Princess Yani has been trained properly to do this with you. We would all be pleased if you conceived a new heir on this night," Dinani said.
Ayiz'e finished oiling his nutsack and the front of his legs and feet.
"He is heavy with seed. We can expect plenty of blessings in the king's future," she said.
Dinani smiled.
"This is good to hear. It has been a long time since the royal family has had a bounty of children. Bast will be pleased with our king. We shall take our leave now until we see you at the wedding temple," Dinani said.
They left the suite and an attendant brought his early morning breakfast. Pork medallions, porridge sweetened with sugared red berries, buttery biscuits and slices of fresh fruit. He ate his meal alone on the balcony, calming his mind and the wedding jitters. The eagerness to be married right away already overwhelmed him. He wished they could skip all the ceremonial work, but the new marriage had to follow ancient Udaku customs.
Belly full and mind straight, he relaxed in bed for a short respite until it was time to dress. His wedding robes were brought to him and his personal stylist helped him dress. Ayiz'e returned to twist his locs into an elaborate bun with a few strands left to fall on his shoulders. She checked the wedding clothing front to back. His black opal ceremonial robes were blacker than an inky sky at midnight, but as he moved, the robes refracted an array of colors in blue, green, and silvery gray hues that looked like tiny galaxies bursting light in deep dark space.
"He is ready," she said.
Once more, she smudged him with a different bundle of dried plants that smelled spicy and sharp in the nose. It fit his personality. He sniffed it as she passed around him.
"You recognize it?"
He shook his head.
"Bast Root. It is the plant that we used for ceremonies before vibranium fell from the sky. This plant cradled the vibranium meteor when it landed. Bast led King Bashenga to it, and soon after, a patch of it mutated into the heart-shaped herb that we cultivate today. This original plant links us to our past because the Panther Goddess led us into our future. Smudging with it calls Bast and her sisters down to be with you on this day."
"I understand," he said.
Ayiz'e left his side and he stared at himself in the mirror.
"You truly are a king."
N'Jadaka turned his head and Dante walked forward.
"Your parents are with you…they can see how handsome you look, JaJa."
"I feel them."
"They came to me in a dream last night. All I could do was tell them how excited I was to watch you marry Yani, and they looked pleased. I woke up before I could remember what they said, but I'm sure it was something like 'We love you, son.' Their faces were so shiny…so close to me that I could touch them."
Dante touched N'Jadaka's shoulder and admired his wedding garb.
"Are the guys ready?" N'Jadaka asked.
"Waiting for you at the carport. Yani and the children have already left for the temple."
He took a deep breath and checked his clothing again. Dante tapped his arm.
"Come…let's go get your wife," Dante said.
N'Jadaka walked with his grandfather out of the suite. Four Dora Milaje and six kingsguards awaited him outside. They rode a private elevator down to an underground carport where his groomsmen stood near their vehicle transports wearing custom obsidian Wakandan suits that complimented N'Jadaka's robes.
"You look clean man!" Shawn said, giving N'Jadaka dap.
"Damn, I feel like royalty too," Walter said, showing off his outfit.
Tahir wore a custom suit that incorporated his cultural heritage into the design. Mpilo grinned from ear to ear in his own attire. Bibi shook N'Jadaka's hand and congratulated him on his day.
His older cousin, Junie paraded around in his suit.
"I think I ate too much last night," Junie said, patting his stomach.
"I think that fat has always been there," Bibi joked, poking Junie's round belly.
His cousin Nevaeh hugged him. She wore a long overcoat over her covered dress and would walk as his groomswoman carrying flowers to represent Marisol's missing presence. Yani's cousin Kendall was doing the same as a bridesman filling in the gap of missing family from the Galiber side. He would escort Nevaeh down the aisle.
"How are you feeling, JaJa?" Nevaeh asked.
"The nerves are kicking in a little bit, I'm not gonna lie," he said.
She kissed his cheek and wiped away the smudge of her lipstick.
"Are you ready to leave, kumkani?" a driver asked.
"Let's rock and roll," N'Jadaka said.
They split into three cars and N'Jadaka sat next to Dante.
The streets of Wakanda were jam packed with spectators who had lined up on every avenue and street corner waiting to catch sight of the royal family. Every inch of the city looked decorated and the festive energy of the citizens forced grins on all their faces in the cars. The wedding was the celebration the country needed after a tumultuous year adjusting to life removed from the Infinity War.
He watched people dance and throw flowers at the cars as they were whisked to the heart of the golden city where the temple waited. Traffic clogged up two blocks before they arrived at their destination, and they waited patiently for the kingsguards and the royal onyx squad to make way for their cars to get through.
They crossed through the gauntlet ten minutes late, but N'Jadaka didn't care about time. He stayed in the present moment, feeling all the feelings, letting the fervor of the crowd wash through him.
The ancient temple loomed in front of them. The last time they had been there was to reunite with his parents, but that sadness didn't linger over the ancient site. It beckoned to him with an ethereal beauty and gave him the gift of peace in his heart. His parents were there waiting to watch him wed. Their spirits hovered all around him.
Their vehicles were ushered into a covered parking structure on the west side of the temple entrance where his clan and extended family convened. Umama, Ramonda, and an army of other Udaku relatives stood waiting for him and his groomsmen.
"You look amazing Umama. You too, Ramonda," he said.
He hugged as many relatives as he could before a wedding director arrived and pulled him away from Soliel, Aujannue and Serah to give final instructions. Nevaeh's mother Rolita straightened the locs that tangled on his shoulders from all the hugging. The family drummers stood nearby waiting for their cue, and the family griot, his cousin Didah, walked in front of everyone carrying a centuries old staff that was carved with family sigils of protection. She touched the top of her forehead and took a deep breath before approaching N'Jadaka. He could feel the rising energy of his family behind him.
"Cousin N'Jadaka, the temple is packed. Your grandmother has permitted some people to stand in the back, so when we go in, please keep yourself in the center behind me at all times until we reach the front. The acting griot for the Galiber clan will come in right when the last of our family has been seated."
N'Jadaka nodded. He heard Didah's words, but his body sensed the anticipation inside the temple. Somewhere on the otherside of the structure, Yani was waiting for him. His heart thudded in his chest and his hands went clammy. Umama lifted his chin with her hand.
"Breathe, grandson…that's it. Relax and breathe."
Tunnel vision and anxiety ran through him. The overstimulation forced him to gulp in air. Serah clasped his hand and his Uncle Addae slipped next to him and gripped his elbow to steady him. N'Jadaka was about to ask for a chair to sit in, but a comforting warmth spilled down from the crown of his head and flowed to his feet. He closed his eyes. Her familiar scent came down on him the way it did when he used to cook in her kitchen when he was a little boy. Florida water.
Nana Jean.
"I'm glad you're here too," he whispered under his breath.
He knew his great-grandmother always stayed with him, but the scent of her protective potions surrounded him…grounded him. Standing tall, he shook his hands and prepared to swagger down the aisle so the world could see a king claiming his queen.
Didah gave him the biggest smile that rivaled the sun shining above them. She tilted her head back and burst into the first stanza of their family history and the drummers matched her strong voice as they pounded out the backing rythmn. His groomsmen and groomswoman were led away to join Yani's bridesmaids and bridesman to prepare for their entrance.
"I feel you all in me," N'Jadaka said out loud to his ancestors.
He held onto Dante's and Umama's hands and followed Didah out of the covered structure. The drummers controlled the pace of their trek around the temple and once they entered, N'Jadaka focused his eyes on Dinani the priest who waited for them at the front.
The temple overflowed with guests and their excited energy pushed against the king, adding an extra layer of sensory overload he tried to control. He was happy, so very happy, and every inch down the aisle heightened the experience. The piercing pride in Didah's voice carried him along as she sang out the story of the Udaku family leading the country for generations. Each time she named a queen or king, N'Jadaka felt their movement in his core as if they each tapped his soul to let him know they were walking beside him. He laughed out loud when Queen Shuriya's name was uttered. His greatest grandmother tickled the back of his neck and a vision of her clouded his eyes before the next name was called. His family gave a call and response with the drummers as they circled the temple allowing all the spectators to see the great King N'Jadaka in all his royal splendor. They made their way back up the aisle as his father's and mother's names were uttered. Umama let out a ululation that rippled through the family and N'Jadaka's knees almost buckled hearing the pain that was still in his grandmother's throat.
He closed his eyes when he felt a kiss from his mother on his temple and another kiss from his father on his forehead. He wiped his eyes and guided his elder relatives to their seats on a dais behind the priest. The rest of his family filled in the reserved seats in front of their guests.
N'Jadaka looked across the rows of guests and acknowledged the nearly nine hundred non-Udaku family members facing him. Sunlight filtered through the temple and illuminated the majestic indoor trees that created the canopy roof, their wide-sweeping branches intertwined with the solid pillars and Goddess statues making the atmosphere look surreal and holy. Didah and the drummers concluded their family song by highlighting N'Jadaka's bravery in protecting the people, and he danced entertaining the crowd. A few elderly Udaku aunts and uncles stood up and encouraged him to show out and he granted them a show. Umama and Dante hooted and hollered for him too. A bold drummer jumped in front of the king and pounded an extra rhythm for his feet and shoulders and he allowed his limbs to cut loose. The unseen Galiber clan called out his name loudly from the back announcing their entrance, and he ended his dancing by bowing to his grandparents. A riotous applause cascaded from the foreign guests in the audience.
Didah took her place behind him on the dais waiting for Yani's family griot to orate about her family.
The sound of clashing blades echoed from the far side of the temple. N'Jadaka waited with great anticipation. Kendall, and about fifteen of Yani's adult family members carried shiny cutlass blades and lit torches. They didn't use drums for a percussive sound, but sang acapella about Queen Mary, their history of enslavement and liberation using the acoustics of the ancient temple to echo the beauty of their combined voices. Leona walked among them lending her voice with her head held high wearing a strapless puffy champagne-colored gown decorated with tiny cutlass blades. Her salt and pepper hair was carefully decorated with Ginger Thomas flowers the official island flower from their home. Several young children and teenagers from their family followed along clapping to the beat and gazing at the wondrous beauty of the ancient temple.
Although Yani's family was small in number representing their clan in comparison to N'Jadaka's, they kept the guests spellbound listening to the story of their island roots and their connection to Africa through the diaspora. After singing the folk song of Queen Mary, Kendall took over the oral history and sang/rapped about their family. The other relatives stomped their feet and clapped their hands with percussive beats supporting his playful delivery of Caribbean history. The Galiber clan circled past N'Jadaka, and Kendall helped Leona join N'Jadaka's grandparents on the dais with four other elder cousins from her family. N'Jadaka moved over to them and gave them hugs and kisses before quickly taking his position back in front.
Kendall stood before Didah and the two of them had a playful back and forth of singing. Didah challenged Kendall to tell the world why Yani was the best woman for N'Jadaka and the young man waved his blade around and pointed the torch at the king. The fire was close enough to heat N'Jadaka's cheeks.
Didah held a long singing note and studied N'Jadaka's face.
"Is this woman for you, kumkani?" Didah asked.
"Bring her to me," he replied and the Udaki family laughed and clapped because he was supposed to simply say "Yes."
Didah's smile swelled his heart and she turned her attention back to Kendall.
"The king has spoken," Didah said.
Kendall grinned and attendants took away all the torches and cutlass weapons. The Wakandan drummers pounded away giving Kendall time to ceremonially return to the bride-to-be letting her know she was called forth. The sweet orchestral sounds of Wakandan strings, flutes, and violins mixed with the beautiful vocals of his paternal grand aunt serenading the strides of Twyla and Bibi. Twyla was already bawling as she clutched her husband's arm and the bouquet of flowers. Yani had all of her bridesmaids wear custom-made, iridescent mother-of-pearl dresses that each woman was allowed to choose in their personal style. Twyla's garment was a one shoulder wrap dress with a high slit on the left side. Her shoulder-length locs were also heavily decorated with island flowers. She clutched Bibi's arm tight while sniffling toward him. They stood on either side of N'Jadaka and he bent over and kissed Twyla's cheek, wiping her tears away.
"I'm sorry..I'm sorry…" Twyla whispered.
N'Jadaka laughed at her and she gathered herself together.
Zola and Ilana walked down with Tahir and Mpilo wearing elaborate crisscross halter neck gowns. The slits in their dresses were more modest, but their elaborate braided hair-dos showed flair and sassiness in their style. Mpilo looked terrified of messing up his walk down the aisle with Ilana, but he relaxed more when the king smiled at him. The heavenly music elevated the feelings in the temple and N'Jadaka touched his chest hoping it wouldn't explode before Yani appeared.
Anika and Dawnette made the long walk down the aisle with Walter and Shawn. Their dresses were a matching ruched style with sequins at the top and satiny overskirts that reminded N'Jadaka of mermaids. They crafted thick twists in their hair and wore their hair flowers tucked at their left temples like Billie Holiday.
Junie escorted Shuri who stunned everyone with her make-up and hair. She had fluffed out her hair into a perfectly coiffed 'fro where flowers were strategically placed to look like they grew from her scalp like a giant ebony bouquet. Her dress had a plunging neck with split sleeves that showed skin powdered with sparkly dust that twinkled like stars on her rich brown skin. As she passed the front row, she gave a nod to Nakia who held a sleeping Toussaint on her lap. Shuri gave a sly smirk to N'Jadaka knowing he was peeping all the extra make-up she never wore in her regular life. His young cousin looked stunning and his older cousin Junie looked proud to escort her in front of the Udaku clan.
Kendall strolled out with Nevaeh whose custom dress shared her Native heritage with Yurok detailing of abalone shells and stringed shell beads that dangled around her waist like a fancy apron that jingled as she walked. She wore a long braid threaded with flowers all the way to the small of her back. When she separated from Kenny she blew a kiss to N'Jadaka and showed him the extra bouquet of flowers she held for Marisol and Disa.
The music changed into a melody that transfixed the entire temple gathering. A young woman sang like an angel with a choral ensemble backing her up high above them. N'Jadaka lifted his gaze to a balcony above the temple entrance where the angelic voices rained down on them like holy blessings. He now understood why Umama insisted that the wedding take place in the late afternoon. The placement of the sun in the sky had its sunrays directed into the temple by the architecture where it created a natural spot light for his children coming down the aisle next.
The entire congregation stood up when Joba appeared, flower crowned with her thick wavy hair shiny with ringlet curls all down to her back. She held a basket of flowers and threw them in front of herself as she slowly walked in the procession. N'Jadaka heard the oohs and ahhs of their guests. The sun made Joba's skin a deep mahogany brown like her mother's and he beckoned for her to keep walking to him so he could hug her. Although her walk was out of order for an American custom, the Wakandans deemed it appropriate for the youngest child in the bridal party to herald the coming of the new wife with flowers and acceptance from the priest.
Joba reached the front and her eyes took in the ancient wisdom of Dinani who presided over the ceremony. Dinani gestured for Joba to come forward and the little girl paused, staring up at the expectant priest. Twyla waved for Joba to come to her side, but Dinani stepped forward and held Joba's hand. Something sacred transpired between the priest and his child. Dinani glanced at N'Jadaka and smiled. Whatever it was made the priest happy. N'Jadaka reached for Joba's hand and pulled her in front of him. He kissed the top of her head and the sweet show of affection made a few guests wave their hands in approval.
Sydette, his ring bearer, stepped lively carrying a satin pillow in her right hand that held the wedding rings. Her left hand kept a tight grip on a red satin binding rope that she would tie around her parent's wrists as part of the wedding ceremony.
His eldest child's hair carried buoyant curls that almost looked bigger than Shuri's 'fro with a braided Mohawk style. A few flowers were tucked into the intricate braiding pattern along her scalp accentuating the fullness of her curls, and her face glowed as she kept her eyes on her Baba watching her steps. Sunlight dappled across her hair and face as she drew closer to him. Her dress matched Joba's, silvery white and princess-styled to fit her age.
"Hey Sweet Pea," he said.
She fixed her lightly pink-glossed lips into a big smile for him showing big dimples like him, and took her place by his side next to Joba. He bent down and gave her a kiss on her nose and she giggled, patting his cheek with the hand carrying the marriage tie. She glanced at her sister and Joba giggled making Sydette giggle more.
"Wait until you see Mama," Sydette said to him.
N'Jadaka straightened right back up and waited for Yani to appear. Before she stepped into the temple, he heard her voice singing the words that were meant for him in that little St. Thomas club so long ago.
"Can't do without you for sure
Amount a place I and I explore
Still nuh find nobody else I adore
Them can't stop we, yeah
Yuh love a sumn wah mi have to protect
You are my balance and my ease to mi stress
Your vibration never fail me yet
Wull on pon me, yea…"*
N'Jadaka had been unaware that Yani was going to sing during their ceremony. Their rehearsal had been calculated from start to finish and at no time was he made aware of his bride serenading him. His ears caught the lead singer of the choral ensemble vocalizing the exact same English words into Wakandan, lending her vocals after Yani finished.
Like it had been in the past, he was mesmerized by Yani's voice before she even stepped into his sight.
Riki held his mother's hand and led her into the temple. His royal robes were an exact replica of his father's. His hair was fluffed out into the big sandy-red sunburst of his grandmother Califia. Yani wanted her son, the first child born to N'Jadaka, to give her away for the ceremony.
N'Jadaka's lips trembled as he watched the beaming face of his gorgeous bride walking toward him in all her glory. Yani's silvery-white dress sparkled in the light of the sun rays that struck the shimmery iridescence in all the right places. Form-fitting, a hood covered her head that fell back into a luxurious train, accentuating the roundness of her beautiful face and big tranquil eyes.
His heart stopped.
N'Jadaka gasped and Joba patted his wrist keeping his spirit from flying out of the room. He held out his hands, palms up, willing his radiant bride to come to him with all his might. Riki took his time setting Yani's pace. The boy wanted to show off his mother. The Wakandan choir sang over their bridal march with a hymnal that brought tears to N'Jadaka's eyes. Yani transported him.
He stood nude in warm liquid inside a Caribbean sea as a young mouthy woman fussed at him to get out of her waters. Surly eyes from the past challenged him to show his true self in a hectic kitchen on a compound until he clawed his way back to humanity and fell in love with his future queen. Yani beckoned him into the ocean of her love for all time. Was there no better proof of higher powers protecting him than that divine encounter with her?
Nothing prepared him fully to witness a vision coming toward him that made his whole body quake. He gasped for breath. Joba squeezed his hand.
"Its okay, Baba. Umi Yani is coming," Joba said.
Riki stopped halfway to the priest and puffed up his chest.
"Baba, come get Mama!" Riki shouted.
The congregation erupted into cacophonous laughter. Like his father, Riki eschewed tradition and said what needed to be said. Sydette pushed N'Jadaka forward and he took eager strides toward Yani. He was supposed to sing the royal wedding song that grooms shared with the bride, but he spoke them instead. The Wakandan words slowed down his steps and he approached Yani full-throated and proud:
"Come when the nights are bright with stars Or when the moon is mellow; Come when the sun his golden bars Drops on the hay-field yellow. Come in the twilight soft and gray, Come in the night or come in the day, Come, O love, whene'er you may, And you are welcome, welcome.
You are sweet, O Love, dear Love, You are soft as the nesting dove. Come to my heart and bring it rest As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.
Come when my heart is full of grief Or when my heart is merry, Come with the falling of the leaf Or with the redd'ning cherry. Come when the year's first blossom blows, Come when the summer gleams and glows, Come with the winter's drifting snows, And you are welcome, welcome…"**
He smiled, happy that he was able to remember every word and say them with enough eloquence in flawless Wakandan. Pausing for a moment to look over her stunning appearance, he relished the sight they created standing in the center of the temple with the warmth of the sun caressing them.
"Will you walk with me Yani Galiber?" he asked.
Yani kept her eyes locked onto his face. She fought to keep any tears from welling up, but the shimmer on her lower lids lost the battle. He never wanted to see her cry, but he made an exception for that day. Riki nudged her hip with an impatient hand. She cradled her son's chin and spoke to him softly.
"Should we?" Yani asked Riki.
A saucy grin curled Riki's lips and he nodded enthustiastically.
"I will walk with you King N'Jadaka Udaku," she said.
"Say that one mo' 'gin," N'Jadaka teased, cupping a hand to his ear.
Yani laughed and obliged him, her voice as soft and magical as it had been the first time he heard it.
"I will walk with you forever King N'Jadaka Udaku…my Golden Jaguar."
"Aye!" he shouted while offering her his arm. She held onto him with a firm grip and he clasped Riki's hand, escorting them both to Dinani.
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Yani held tight to Riki's hand while the adult bridesmaids and groomsmen walked into the temple stepping in time to the exalted music playing for them. Several women priests had smudged her and the children with aromatic plants and oils before they left the palace and once again, a young female priest circled Yani and the children with a gold incense burner trailing a spiraling cloud of purple smoke that clung to their wedding garments and hair. The sweet odor calmed her mind and settled the children who were ready to gallop through the temple to reach their father.
Sydette hugged her waist.
"You look beautiful Mama," Sydette said.
"Thank you Sweet Pea. You all look beautiful, too."
Yani touched Sydette's hair then caressed Joba's cheek.
"I wish they'd hurry up," Riki lamented, swinging Yani's hand.
"They have to take their time walking down the aisle, silly. Everything is being filmed for the country and it's a big deal. If they walked fast they'd miss all the pretty clothes and how good we all look," Sydette said.
Riki and Sydette spoke quietly and Yani honed in on Joba's silence. She had been chatty and playful earlier that morning when everyone rushed around bathing in sacred oils and herbs with the female priests overseeing their preparations. But once they'd eaten a full breakfast, dressed, and left the palace, she'd quieted down.
Yani knelt before her youngest child and clasped her hands.
"How are you feeling, Sunshine? Nervous?"
Joba nodded. Sydette wrapped big sister arms around her.
"You'll make Baba proud when you lead us out…okay? We practiced and practiced and you will make the path for Mama pretty. I will be right behind you," Sydette said.
Joba clutched her basket of flowers and nodded. She tilted her head to look at Yani.
"What if I drop the basket or walk too fast?" Joba said.
Relief spilled over Yani hearing her speak again.
"All you have to do is listen to the music. It's like the metronome in Umama's suite. The beat sets the pace. If you think you're walking too fast, check the music cues. You are going to be a wonderful flower girl."
Yani hugged her and Joba leaned into the embrace. She kissed Yani's cheek and all was well again.
"It's time Princess Joba."
The lead wedding director smiled at the little girl and held a hand out to guide her into position at the temple entrance. Riki ran forward and hugged Joba. He whispered something in her ear and his sister broke out into another bright smile.
"You got this," Riki said out loud.
The director glanced at Yani.
"Everyone is standing up…here we go," the director said.
Joba took a deep breath and marched in time to the harmonious music.
"I'm next! I'm next!" Sydette squealed, twirling in a circle holding the wedding rings and sacred red tie.
Sydette peeked around the wedding director.
"Oh Mama! Baba looks so handsome," Sydette said.
Yani's heart and stomach fluttered. The anticipation of seeing him engulfed all of her nerve endings. They all heard collective oohs and ahhs and a smattering of applause. She wondered what happened to make the congregation applaud. Luckily, she would be able to watch the entire ceremony at a later time. The ceremony was broadcast live and recorded from start to finish. Palace recorders filmed everything the moment they stepped foot outside the palace for candid shots to later be edited into a royal wedding documentary.
"Princess Sydette, you are next please."
The director held out a hand and waved it, summoning the girl. Sydette blew Yani a kiss and marched out like a diva.
"Here you go, Princess Yani."
Another wedding coordinator handed her a mic. Yani waited for her music cue to tap it on. The peaceful strumming of harps alerted her, and she sang out all that she felt to N'Jadaka. She wondered what his facial expression looked like hearing her voice singing that particular song. Riki squeezed her hand in support and for a moment, holding her son's hand and singing to his father brought back all the connections they had in St. Thomas. Emotion spilled through her voice as she conveyed to the king how much he meant to her.
As the voice of the Wakandan choral member sang the song in their language with a different musical arrangement that transformed into the Wakandan wedding march, Yani held tight to her bridal bouquet and let her son lead them into the temple.
Grateful to have her son's hand for support, Yani took in the hundreds of faces that watched her march toward her destiny. Her brain tried to connect with individual eyes upon her. That proved useless once she zeroed in on N'Jadaka waiting for her at the far end.
God…he was more than handsome.
She lost her footing for a second and Riki helped her find her steps again.
It all came down to this moment.
Yani drifted away into a time when she was a lost woman-child trying to make a way out of no way on a small island. How many nights had she prayed for a better life for herself and Sydette? Given up on herself? How many days had she cried and chastised herself for choosing love with Chez who treated her so poorly and abandoned Sweet Pea? Yani had felt so alone and lost to a pre-destined fate that befell too many young women with big hearts and limited resources or support. Thank God Auntie was there for her. Thank all the angels too that her auntie liked Killmonger so much that she didn't run interference keeping them apart. There were too many tangible things that should have prevented Yani from ever meeting the foreign mercenary.
But look at God.
Her eyes watered and she looked away to control her blurry vision. No tears fell and she was able to concentrate on her delicate steps to reach the king.
Riki halted their march and shouted for his father to get her. The audience laughed and Yani chuckled herself. His declaration was not a part of the ceremony. She lifted her bridal bouquet to her lips to hide her open-mouthed laughter when Riki sucked his teeth sounding like an annoyed Auntie back home.
Her laughter fell away once N'Jadaka came down the aisle to claim her at his son's demand. She heard a few gasps from women around her who also felt that energy coming toward her. He spoke forceful words of love instead of singing them to her. The switch up made the evocative words more powerful and she felt every utterance in her bones, marrow deep. When he finally reached her, she could barely see his face. Her eyes had become a river threatening to spill down her face.
"Will you walk with me Yani Galiber?" N'Jadaka asked.
His voice was full of pride and so much love for her. The scent of oils on his skin and the smudging on his clothes smelled heavenly. She lost the ability to speak taking all of his spirit in. Riki balled up a small fist and pressed it into her hip. Yani lifted his chin and stared into Riki's shiny eyes.
"Should we?" Yani asked her son.
Those little Udaku lips on his face swept up into a knowing smile and Riki nodded like she was foolish to even ask the question. She looked at her great love again.
"I will walk with you King N'Jadaka Udaku," she said.
"Say that one mo' 'gin!"
N'Jadaka had cupped his ear and she knew in her soul he did that purely to show off for the nobles who questioned her place in his life.
"I will walk with you forever King N'Jadaka Udaku…my Golden Jaguar."
"Aye!"
Yani gripped his arm and he held Riki's hand, escorting them all to the priest waiting for them. Her bridesmaids and bridesgroom were in various stages of watery eyes, crying, and beaming love to her. She handed her bouquet to Twyla and her cousin gushed over her with a weepy voice.
Facing N'Jadaka, Yani watched the priest give Sydette instructions. She handed the wedding rings to her brother and a footstool was placed in front of her so she could easily bind her mother and father together. Dinani spoke ancient words as Sydette tied the satin binding rope around N'Jadaka's wrist first. She left about two feet of rope in between them before she tied the other end on Yani's wrist. Her task complete, Sweet Pea kissed both their wrists and returned to stand next to Joba.
Yani listened to the Wakandan words spoken by the priest, but her eyes stayed on N'Jadaka's face the entire time. His soulful eyes drank in every inch of her. It seemed like they were the only two there, but with the guests, plus the entire Udaku clan in attendance, over one thousand people witnessed their union and she blotted them all out.
Dinani spoke of their expected duties toward one another. Her ears glossed over all of those expectations and only tuned back in when the long ceremony moved into the portion where she was told the qualities of a virtuous queen.
Holy scripture was read by Ayiz'e who wore the sacred red robes of the mountain temple of Bast. A male priest presented Dinani with more sacred oils and they anointed Yani and N'Jadaka. The qualities of a virtuous king were recited to N'Jadaka. An older female priest blessed their children who stood there, and also blessed the children they would have in the future.
Umama stepped forward from her place on the dais holding Yani's queen isicholo. Dinani prayed over the crown and anointed it with holy Bast oils before N'Jadaka pulled back the hood on Yani's wedding dress revealing her platinum hair. Umama's voice was loud and strong.
"We of the Udaku clan accept Yani Galiber into this holy union. She is our welcomed daughter…our new queen…Queen Yani N'Isiqithi the First."
The women of the entire Udaku clan broke out into heartfelt ululations that echoed throughout the temple. Yani bowed her head slightly and Umama placed the queen's isicholo on her head.
"Stay blessed Queen Yani, may your reign make us all proud and may your greatest grandmother Queen Mary guide your hand in all that you do," Umama said.
Yani stood still and accepted the ululations, the shouts, the applause, the jealousy, the envy, the hatred, the admiration, the love, the curiosity, and the fear her queendom brought to Wakanda. She straightened her posture and let the weight of the crown sink into soul.
Queen Yani.
Heavy was the head that wore the crown, but not so much with N'Jadaka by her side. He held her hand up and they turned around to face the congregation. Dinani raised their arms and spoke with a firm tone in their voice.
"May I present to you all here, the royal heads of the nation, King N'Jadaka and Queen Yani Udaku, avatars of the Golden Jaguar…children of the Black Pather Tribe."
Everyone in the temple stood, including the relatives on the dais. The Council of Elders came forth from the audience and circled Yani and N'Jadaka. They held hands and recited an oath promising them both wise council in the days ahead. Stepping aside afterward, Yani and her new husband were able to acknowledge the crowd amidst their applause.
"You may now kiss your bride, kumkani," Dinani said.
N'Jadaka's lips were on hers before the priest finished giving permission, almost knocking her crown off. He kissed her within an inch of her life and backed away when she almost went limp.
"Hey queen," he said.
"Hey king," she answered.
Yani checked on their children and all three had glossy eyes admiring her new isicholo. N'Jadaka threaded his fingers with hers and boldly showed her off. To close the ceremony, they had to circle the inside of the temple as newlyweds counterclockwise. The isicholo settled nicely on her head, and Yani willfully entered her new era as ruler. She relaxed into N'Jadaka's strides and pranced about, letting her beauty and new status burn her enemies down to charcoal.
N'Jadaka kept stopping to kiss her hand and the red satin binding tie dangled between them letting everyone know they would never part. She reveled in the power, soaked it up and let it propel her around the temple with a fierce protective energy.
Back at the front again, N'Jadaka kissed her chasrely, with pecks to her lips and both cheeks. She bent down to hug and kiss their children just as the closing wedding march started. Dinani gave their final blessing and the Udaku family drummers showed out again, leading the march out of the temple. Didah sang a new griot song prophesying the reign of Yani and N'Jadaka.
"Ready to face the rest of the world?" N'Jadaka asked.
"I am," Yani said.
They held hands tight and strolled down the aisle together, exiting the ancient temple as husband and wife.
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* Lyrics to Jada Kingdom's "Wull On"
** Poem by Black American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906), "An Invitation to Love"
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kalims · 2 years
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‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "if we ever break up I'd go back to my ex because I love them too much—you're my ex stupid."
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"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
premise. let's all pretend that in a state of emergency at the word of "breaking up" some are gonna lose all logic and not register the ex part.
parts. one , two
characters. cater, idia, riddle, epel, jamil, kalim, jade, and floyd.
cw. established relationship, fluff, teensy tiny angst, crack, tweels being highkey red flags, nothing too triggering so this is safe to proceed with.
🏷 : for @cynthinesia
note. also, I already have the characters for the second part planned, courtesy of @/vyndiesel since they did get 2nd when i asked for it.
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cater diamond
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"haha. what."
the only way that you'll actually get him is if that he isn't directly looking at you. cater is scarily perspective and I don't lie when I tell you he'd figure it out immediately the second he takes a look at your face but whose to say he can't tell from your voice alone? I do.
anyways! if you do actually get him and he has no idea on what's happening cater will awkwardly laugh at first and think you're joking. you are but at the same time you're not? you'll have to know what your sentence means before understanding that.
cue staring contest with cater wearing a bright look while you're trying your best to keep a straight face and not burst into laughter at the look he gives you alone. it looks quite normal, there's still the cheery look he has but the thinly veil of irritation in his eyes honestly says otherwise.
that's fine... but like rather than why your 'past lover' WHO THE FUCK IS YOUR EX?? you need to tell him their social media username so he can judge the fuck out of them and analyze if they are good enough. (spoiler: no one is better than him atleast)
finally you concede and end up telling him that HE'S the ex if you end up breaking up. his face just breaks and he starts laughing with you, proceeds to playfully threaten you because um.. don't break up with him 🔫 .... please? ^^
cater on his way to make sure he's gonna get you back, he will but I reccomend for you to watch your back. it's fairly easy to spot when he'd try prank you back cause he posts in the exact same day, containing a lot of questionable stuff and "get ready for havoc" insert long ass tags
for someone you'd consider smart cater's actually pretty dumb (in a good way♡)
idia shroud
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"..😨 I knew it.."
literally stop before you make him even more depressed. lets think of a scenario where you're chilling together in the empty room of his club, surrounded by board games, generally something he knows he can manage and win.
see this is why he doesn't go outside.. 😞 he would've gone back to the dorm since classes were over but you were insistent on talking to him alone so he helplessly let you drag him around the school until you pull him inside the room. not that he'd ever have the courage to deny. (you out of all people as well.)
you struggle to stifle a laugh when he looks like he's ascended and not in the good way you'd think. to put it simply, he looks horrified and most definitely not having processed all your words yet. I will be using this pic once again because it's too big of an opportunity to ignore.
starts stammering a sentence but too horrified to actually finish one so he just shuts up and lowers his head in a way that makes you feel bad, just as you're seconds away from comforting him—
ortho from somewhere in the room? how did he get there, was he always there? simple. we will never know. anyways ortho casually says that if you broke up with idia your past lover would be idia in a happy-go-lucky super smart tone. /j
oh... now he gets it! but that wasn't a very nice thing to do prefect. you had him questioning his life existence and choices because if he didn't go with you would this have still happened?? full of regret.
no he will not let you inside his room... temporarily *hides in the dark while gloomily playing games*
riddle rosehearts
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"🙁😡"
how dare you say this atrocious thing right at his face?! are you stupid because now you have the short end of the stick. you honestly would've been punished to the fact that you'd wish you never told him but since he loves you he just.. teensy weensy gets a bit harder on the rule breakers :).
ace is highkey spamming you because he does not want to get collared once again and him and a bunch of other people are walking on eggshells around riddle because he's suddenly more sensitive to stuff so = more easier to anger.
ngl that kinda made him sad cause :( ur gonna break up with him? </3 even if there was an 'if' please stop ir cause ur putting ideas, doubts, and a bunch of things that aren't good in his head.
so he just reacts in a way he knows best. ✨anger✨, maybe it's not healthy but it's a response that had grown into a habit soooo he just starts getting red in the face while frantically excusing himself cause he will never let you see him actually crumble.
so when you see him actually struggling to keep it up, he looks upset so you just blurt out that HE'D be your ex if you broke up with him.
riddle turns incredibly stiff, like you can see the invisible jolts that climbs up his whole body (for comedic purposes) and his red face is no longer an indication of an upset, or angry emotion. it's more of embarrassment and maybe shyness.
awkwardly clears his throat and mumbles a; "I see, that's.. a relief." also he surpassed the 6 bulleted per character i set for everyone so next..
epel felmier
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"WHAT--ahem.. what??"
was two seconds away from bursting a nerve, and slipping into his accent but it was gonna be used on a more aggressive-flabbergasted reason. you know he's gonna start bothering you to subtly ask who exactly your ex is.
that's just one of his questions by the way, he's also gonna ask what you saw in your ex and why you were gonna break up with him. I honestly think epel wouldn't be able to tell that it's a joke cause if he sees something bigger(break up with you part); which conceals the small loop hole. (i'd go back to my ex part)
so he doesn't really register it just like any of the boys listed here. epel is both mad but also curious since you never mentioned an ex so he wants to see if your ex did you justice. either you laugh because you don't have an ex, or just at epel's unconscious cute behavior.
if you don't tell him the joke, he's gonna end up spilling to either vil or rook, one way or another. and the two would decipher it quite easily since their minds aren't erratic like epel's was when you first spoke of it.
so how to know if epel now knows the joke? he's stomping his way over to you but also awkwardly slowing down, and calming his steps because he remembers pomefiore residents that might report his 'ungraceful' behavior to vil.
anyways he doesn't know whether to feel more mad or happy, but hey! atleast epel's back to being himself. maybe more talkative and affectionate... hehe.
jamil viper
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"😐"
oh, what was that? what did you say prefect? oh you'll go back to your ex? hmm.. okay thanks for telling him /s goodluck on your new relationship cause he does not give a fuck because he knows you won't actually break up with him.
jamil poker face on. atleast he's 98% sure you won't, but he knows 2% still means it's possible.
also he has a huge radiar of the bullshit detector. given that he's dealt with a hefty amount of dumbasses the people trying to take advantage of kalim so you're not fooling him any time soon.
anyways since you have a lot of free time to prank him why don't you go and help him around with the chores huh? passive agressively dumps work on you because he's secretly salty about the fact that you told him that.
^ now he's in a certain mood which makes him more quiet and dismissive of people who try to talk to him, if someone that he doesn't know came up to him right know he's too absorbed to put up the polite act so he says some random excuse.
pretends he wasn't getting worked up over it after he randomly realizes that he would be the ex if you broke up with him. also secretly relieved cause that means you love him still, regardless whethee you're together or not..
kalim al asim
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
":(.... that's good for you.. :(("
our pure boy still sees the best in every situation even if it doesn't please him in the slightest and instead, makes him sad & gloomy. kalim really does wish you happiness if he loves you so much, even if it isn't with him.
takes this 100% seriously so you feel like absolute shit garbage for pulling such a prank on him when he looks so... SAD?? this depends on how intent you are on finishing this, or you just want to torture yourself by prolonging the truth by him.
OKAY this can go in two ways. if you end up breaking face at the sight of kalim quite literally near tears while wishing you all the best cause he thinks this is an implication of the future and that you're really gonna break up with him </3
—and tell him that it's a prank and he'll be the ex if you break up with him. his sad face just immediately goes away as he tearily leaps straight at your body and doesn't think about the landing for a moment since he's so relieved. "MC!😢💛"
but, if you were intent to keep it up until the end of the day atleast. you're gonna get a jamil knocking at your homeroom with an exhausted look on his face as he stares at you as if to say. 'what did you do.' because he's receiving the end of kalim's mood.
he's gonna 100% drag you over to go to kalim because no way you're gonna get away with the hell hole you just put him in. if you won't spill what you did he WILL make you spill it trust me.
jade leech
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"fufu, what makes you think I'd let you leave me?"
high key went yandere for the span of two seconds. but I think we can all agree that jade is a sadist and he really wants to test how deep in depth your love is so he starts taking your sentence seriously and watching you fumble around with an easy smile.
maybe he means harm, maybe he doesn't but his intention is more pure than you'd think, not actually pure pure but y'know. just to test how much you love him hehehe 🚩and cause he thinks your joke is so, funny.
out of all the 8 characters here. jade would be easily the first one to discern the certain trick in your joke and he's pleasantly suprised when he comes to the realization that if you indeed, did break up with him. he will be your ex and that means you'll go back to him.
guess your love does really run deep, so sweet. 🚩😃
nothing really ever changes but jade will convince you that he doesn't know the catch of the joke by pretending he's upset, with his stupidly decent theatre skills. basically you won't know that he knows about it.
overall it provided very good entertainment for him. even if you ended up being centered around it instead of the other way around. jade somehow twisted it to his advantage and it's his joke now, not yours. 🙄
floyd leech
"if I broke up with you, I'd go back to my ex."
"noooo shrimpy! don't leave me or else I'll beat up the guy that you go back to 😡"
in all honesty you can't tell if you should consider his statement cute or a whole ass red flag cause he's basically acting so cute yet so malicious at the same time. so *crosses out last part* there now it looks normal.
floyd doesn't give you any time to react as he walks away with a big frown and everyone immediately starts scattering. you come to know that he's attempting to threaten everyone to check if you've dated any of these... buffoons....
if you won't tell him then he'd just get everyone else to tell it to him instead, he'd never force his shrimpy to say something they don't want to! 😇 *starts forcing everyone else* congrats you're an exception to his shenanigans.
since he's already gone and terrorizing the students, jade will find him one way or another to ask about his foul mood so floyd being floyd who can't keep something to himself, especially if it's jade asking spills everything vaguely.
but jade is used to that so he easily gets it and tells floyd. his mood immediately goes up and his scary aura disappears and is now replaced with a sparkly one. he's touched ♡♡
floyd: :0
floyd: :D
jade: :)
he's happy again and most probably running away to crush you with a hug. floyd is now more clingy and highkey possessive, using every single reason to keep you away from everyone, pouting when your attention drifts from him to somewhere else.
ask mc on how to make a tall, big, scary eel man happy.
anyways since ur here have song reccomendations:
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tossawary · 1 year
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Hey! You've mentioned female!SQH in passing a while ago and that concept has been living rent-free in my brain ever since. I'd love to read your thoughts on it if you have more/are interested in sharing. Hope you're having a nice trip! :)
Thank you! I don't have many concrete thoughts on Fem!SQH (or Fem!MBJ or F/F!Moshang for that matter) besides the fact that I would try my best to make it a hot fucking mess. I would probably write it as a cracky one shot and I would want Fem!SQH to cause constant secondhand embarrassment on multiple levels. Not that Airplane Bro as Fem!SQH would be especially oblivious, no, she knows what she's doing and it's hugging thighs, committing crimes, and making other sect leaders walk out of conferences asking themselves if women should really be allowed to cultivate.
I'm exaggerating a little, but also not really. Airplane Bro is wily and genre-savvy and an apathetic bastard, at the same time that he's a clingy idiot who needs to pay more attention to what he's saying, and I resent assumptions that a female character is automatically the one "carrying the braincell". I would want to write something outrageously funny in which Airplane Bro transmigrating into Fem!SQH causes some chaos and gives MBJ even more issues than MBJ already had.
(I'm talking about a Male Airplane Bro transmigrating into a Fem!SQH here because I think a Female Airplane Bro transmigrating into a Fem!SQH sounds a little too OC for me to write that, though a woman writing an incredibly successful stallion novel like PIDW is very fun to think about. Even Airplane Bro growing up as Fem!SQH would inherently shift his character at least slightly, but that would be a firmer base for me to start on and I'm growing more comfortable with the idea. There's lots of room to explore Airplane Bro's relationship to gender and women by having him transmigrate into a female character in his stallion novel world.)
As for the idea of a Fem!SQH in PIDW... the details all depend on what kind of story you want to write. Only changing SQH's gender inherently has very different vibes to doing a full genderbend on the entire cast of PIDW/SVSSS. In a full cast genderbend, I personally don't really see the plot beats of the original SQH changing much. In a SQH-only genderbend, things could stay the same still, but if you wanted to switch it up, I suppose that in PIDW, the premise could instead have been an ambitious Fem!SQH trying to (maybe successfully?) blackmail MBJ into marrying her, but also resenting the necessity of having to marry for power, especially to a demon, and so hating MBJ's guts. Which would be mutual.
Lots of potential themes for a Fem!SQH's storyline in PIDW about how power can be given and taken away, the pros and cons of the legal situation of marriage, the intersection of sex/gender and class, and all sorts of interesting things.
Okay, now that I'm thinking about it, I kind of like the concept of PIDW Fem!SQH blackmailing MBJ into marrying her or something and then PIDW MBJ later on murdering his own wife. That seems sufficiently dark for PIDW. It would also be a stark contrast for PIDW MBJ to be a murderous widower when Luo Bing-Ge has so many wives. Putting Airplane Bro into that particular Fem!SQH situation for the SVSSS version of those events has strong Bluebeard fairy tale vibes. But that's also probably a slightly more serious story than the cracky vibe I was originally envisioning.
Mmm, I don't have any specific thoughts besides that at the moment. It's all fun to think about, though. ❤
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twig-tea · 6 months
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Love in Translation--Everyone Is Right This Show Is Great
Ok so I was convinced by these great posts by @bengiyo here and @lurkingshan here to catch up and prioritize this series.
But then I watched Minato's Laundromat s2 instead (which was a disappointment, bad decision).
And then I lied again and watched Only Friends ep6 as cough you may have noticed based on my posting this past 24hrs.
But now I'm finally actually keeping my word and prioritizing Love in Translation lol
And of course, they were totally right, this show is so good!
I'd already seen episode 1; it was chaotic but cute, and already established the older/younger brother dynamic as well as the chemistry between the two leads and the full cast of supporting characters--who bengiyo rightfully points out are delightful.
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Episode 2 hits the ground running and the next few episodes flew by on my catch-up binge; as lurkingshan said, the pacing on this show is FAST and really enjoyable. With the absurd premise established they jumped right into character development and pining! I love a grumpy on the outside because he has too many feelings on the inside character, and Yang is perfect. He fell so hard so fast for Phumjai's sunshine charisma (which bengiyo is so right, is a rare breed of happy and energetic but not annoying). And I love that they've established pretty clearly that Phumjai needs someone to believe in him (hello, Dangerous Romance's Khaotung, I see you), and that Yang warming up and trusting him is going to be the thing to sway his heart. Yang clearly being aware of his feelings and helping Phumjai talk to Tammy anyway is giving me so much of the good kind of pain! I love a pining while helping my love interest with their romance because I am secretly a simp even though I seem cold character. Yang's tiny smiles give me life. And I also really love a smile through my pain because I desperately want to protect everyone around me at cost to myself character, so this show is really giving me everything I could want and then some.
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Love in Translation is so good at earning every emotional response the characters give... lurkingshan talked about this in her pitch and I'm going to double down because this show keeps surprising me in the best way. Yang is not just jealous, he knows something. Phumjai is not just inexperienced, he's never been trusted to stand on his own or make any decisions for himself. There's a reason why Phumjai hesitates and why Yang pulls back. Every time there's a character decision that moves forward the plot that in any other show would be handwaved away, it's explained and given context and I am LIVING. I can't wait to find out why his brother is so overprotective, for example, because I now trust this show to give us that.
I can't talk about this show as much as I want to without spoilers so cutting the below for those who have been convinced but don't want to be spoiled. But for those who have not yet been convinced: Below the cut I talk about how this show queues up annoying narrative tropes to undermine them. I also just want to say while I'm still above the line, the chemistry between the two leads is excellent:
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this show is very pretty (some really interesting shots and use of the store aisles for framing, as well as lovely colour grading):
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the interpersonal drama is so far quite good at staying interwoven with actual work (I know absolutely nothing about running a mini mart but at least they do seem to do work in a workplace show, and at least some of the episodic challenges are about work/sales), and the comedy is not too slapstick. At least one side couple (involving Ngern! My beloved) has an arc clearly forming and I am hopeful the other will too.
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And for you colour girlies, @respectthepetty has written brilliantly about the colours in this show meaning things (and already been proven right).
TL;DR Love in Translation is so far a really, really enjoyable viewing experience!
Oh hi! For the record, I will be potentially spoiling through episode 5. This is just me gushing about stuff that might be spoilery, don't expect any brilliance here lol
God I love how this show tees up tropes to undermine them. Tammy is an influencer, but Phumjai fell for her because they met in person and she made him feel competent and listened to. Tammy is a player, but Phumjai is aware and makes no demands. Phumjai made Tammy feel like someone really cared about her and so she decided to be serious about him (rather than Tammy playing into the evil woman stereotype). Yang is clearly already aware of his feelings, but decides to help and Phumjai go on a practice date, and doesn't hold back, AND gives the older brother a baller speech about letting people make their own choices. Phumjai isn't totally thoughtless about Yang during the practice date, he doesn't just focus on Tammy and chooses things Yang would like. And then when he goes on the date he doesn't sublimate, Phumjai realizes something is going on and goes to talk to Yang, who kisses him!!! Phumjai reacts badly and avoids Yang, but it's because he realizes he has a crush and thinks he needs to make it go away rather than because of gay panic. Yang starts pushing Phumjai away, but it's because he's literally under threat rather than because he's scared of having emotions, and he doesn't want to risk Phumjai's safety. And this also puts Yang's intensity, anger, and seriousness about the business and how its doing in context because (I think) he owes folks money and is very worried about being found before he can pay them back.
And because the show gives good reasons for why these characters have these reactions or make these decisions, the show is also able to explain when these reactions or decisions change! Yang doesn't just forget about his crush or his history with Tammy, she proves to him she's serious this time with her actions. Yang thought he was safe and he finds out he isn't, so he stops pursuing Phumjai.
What I'm really, really hoping for in the next ep: we know from the trailer that Phumjai bolts, I'm assuming because Yang says something unclear to push him away again, and Tammy finds him. I'm really hoping this gives Phumjai and Tammy a chance to air things out, and for Yang to realize he needs to be honest with Phumjai about what's going on so that they can ~please for once, BL gods~ face their troubles together!
Also can I just go off on a rant and say how much I love Phumjai? At first I was afraid he would be annoying either because he's so sunshine or because he's incompetent or both, but besides his obsession with Tammy (which I will admit at least is motivating for him lol) he is actually really dedicated to his job and works really hard. Love that Phumjai's recruits are already on his side and defend him to Yang, even moreso than Tag, Phumjai's so-called best friend (I am side eyeing you sir) does to Phojai.
Really holding onto hope that this show keeps surprising me because I'm really enjoying every time it does it!
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tarisilmarwen · 8 months
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Rebels Rewatch: "Zero Hour"
Thrawn's master plan pays off in a devastating season finale.
I calculated out once approximately how many onscreen casualties we had on the Rebels' side from this battle. I'd like us to keep those figures in mind while we watch as a reminder of how well Thrawn's attack actually went.
(People tend to selectively forget that part when talking about how all the main characters managed to survive.)
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One of the Imperial musical motifs to open us up and even covered in smog and pollution Capital City is still pretty.
Unlike Tarkin's big entrance two seasons ago, there's only Konstantine and Pryce and a couple rote Stormtroopers to welcome Thrawn's shuttle. Because Thrawn does not bother with the flashy shows of force, with the politics and pomp and circumstance. All he cares about are results.
"Thrawn's Web" is in keyboard synths now instead of organs, for his first appearance, btw.
It's kind of adorable how Kallus repurposed the mouse droids to be spy cameras for him.
Our premise is set: Thrawn has figured out--from their sorties and surveys and smaller attacks, most likely--that Phoenix Squadron are preparing to move to attack Lothal's TIE factories. Tarkin doubts in their audacity, but Thrawn has seen Hera in action and knows she very much would dare.
This meeting with Tarkin is twofold, on the surface level a strategy conference, but also another attempt to bait out Fulcrum. Just as he used the map back in "Through Imperial Eyes", he uses this covert meeting to entice Kallus into warning the Rebellion, into taking action that would expose him.
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I don't think they ever followed up on this plot element they introduce here, that Thrawn apparently had spies tracking Dodonna's group? Unclear if they were in that Rebel cell or just had good eyes on them. My vote is the latter because Yavin remains undiscovered by the Empire both before and after this battle and the remnants of both Dodonna's group and Phoenix Squadron flee there safely.
Tarkin puts a single leash on Thrawn for the upcoming pre-emptive strike: Capture the leadership alive. If not for this one condition, I'm pretty sure Thrawn would have just slaughtered both Rebel groups in full. Thrawn doesn't seem particularly bothered by this condition, in any case, not a single sign of annoyance or displeasure on his face, but a soft smile instead.
Leaning hard into these OT feels with Luke's Theme and what sounds like ambient noise lifted directly from the Yavin scenes in New Hope.
There's a distinct feeling of optimism here. Ezra is happily gushing about how much everyone else has done for the Rebellion. (Love that cute little wavering gesture he does with his hand to qualify Chopper's contributions lol.) And then Kanan says some of it was Ezra too and ugh my heart.
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He immediately deflates and dismisses his own contributions. "Kanan, I... I didn't do any of this." and my brain goes immediately to his soft guilty, "I didn't do anything." from all the way back in the pilot and the self-esteem issues he's shown throughout the series, how he has trouble believing in himself, how he doesn't think he's anything without Kanan and the others, that there's nothing special about him. He thinks he would have been stuck on Lothal "waiting to be rescued like everyone else".
(This is one of the reasons Ezra's grief over Kanan later turns largely self-pitying.)
Kanan's "Ezra, you have never been like everyone else." stabs me right in the gut, hgn. This whole conversation about how Hera saw something special in Ezra, and he did too (eventually), how he wonders if there's even anything left he can teach Ezra... even with the death flags all over it it's still pure heartwarming, basically an open acknowledgement of Kanan as Ezra's father figure.
"He commands one of the largest Rebel cells I know of." HA. HA HA. HA HA HA HA HA. HAAAAAAA. *cries*
It's... adorable that Kallus was using Ezra's old comm tower to send his Fulcrum messages. Kind of stupid, because of course that would be the place to check for a Rebel spy heavily associated with a former Lothal-based group, he may as well have put out a big welcome mat for Thrawn, but it's cute nonetheless.
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This fight has been analyzed a few times by people much more keen to this stuff than me but I do like how blunt and precise Thrawn's every move is. Also I did notice that Thrawn targeted Kallus's bad knee (the one he broke on Bahryn).
*grumbles* The "heart of a Rebel" line would have been just that much more awesome if it was a bit more earned. *grumbles*
You know I think this blather about Kallus providing the last clue Thrawn needed is a bunch of bullshit, Thrawn already knew the planet was there, he saw it in the artwork he was studying and realized it had been deleted off his map.
Man just wanted to gloat.
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Kallus's face tho. :((((
Continuity callback to "Legacy" and the Empire flushing them off Garel.
The slow build-up of this ambush is great. Fulcrum cutting out, Ryder mentioning the fleet above Lothal just vanished, Hera and Ezra realizing with horror what that means, Sato called away to see the Star Destroyers dropping out of hyperspace, Ryder's holoimage vanishing...
And that final nail of dread when you realize Thrawn brought Interdictors to the battle to cut off their escape.
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And there's the flagship in all her glorious splendor.
Thrawn's theme creeping in eerily here as the man himself decides to call in and gloat some more. With any other character this might be empty bravado but we know by now that Thrawn can back this threat up.
And so the stage is set.
Hera quickly realizes she can't brunt force her way through Thrawn's fleet without suffering heavy casualties, so her plan is to try and open the formation up enough to get a ship through to summon reinforcements, basically a Gondor Calls For Aid ploy. They hold out until help arrives behind the Imperial vanguard to distract them, hopefully allowing the Rebels to slip through.
"As Jedi you have the best chance to escape." Oof, Hera knows just how small their opening is going to be, going to need an assist from Force-imbued quick reflexes. And she knows the Alliance responds stronger to calls to action from Jedi, because Jedi are the inspiration, the standard bearers, Jedi make people hope.
Kanan planning on enlisting Bendu and Hera having no idea what he means lolol.
These goodbye/good luck shoulder touches mean everything ghkjh.
Luke's Theme struggles to break in, but the note progression is wrong, ascending to shorter heights than it should be. The heroism of the theme is hesitant, uncertain.
Thrawn's already pegged Sato's strategy, recognizing it by name and implements countermeasures smoothly. The plan to try and spread out the Star Destroyers is dead on arrival before it can get started, Thrawn closes formation and relies on the fighters to batter the front guard of the Rebel forces.
Konstantine whines about why aren't they charging in at full strength and Thrawn shuts him down, warning that the Rebels are going to do something unexpected and that it's only his strategy that's going to win out, shut up, sit down, and follow MY orders. Kallus, who has worked with Konstantine for years, knows exactly how Konstantine is going to take being told to stay put, exactly how he'll see it--as a petty fight for glory.
Thrawn dismisses that. He's not interested in glory, only results. And this is where his lack of political acumen is going to come back and bite him.
Hera enters the battlefield herself, and we see Wedge too. Kanan, meanwhile, is trekking it out to the Bendu hollow to go be a nuisance and give an excellent deconstruction of why neutrality in the face of evil is not only less than helpful it actively harms the righteous cause because With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, if you can act to defeat an evil or work against it you should. This is why Empire stans' crowing about how there were good decent people working for the Empire holds very little water, at a certain point Joe the Average Stormtrooper is going to either witness or be asked to participate in some type of atrocity or injustice, and what they do when confronted with the knowledge "Oh, the organization I work for is actually Really Terrible And Evil." matters. If they bury their ears in the sand and declare, "Not my problem." they're complicit in the daily tyranny and oppression of the system they uphold.
"But when I saw innocents harmed, and knew I had the power to do something about it, I couldn't just watch it all burn down around me!" *CRIES IN "THE JEDI CODE IS LIKE AN ITCH, HE CANNOT HELP IT" FEELINGS*
Ezra's job thus far seems to be to help pick off Imperial fighters and stay out of enough dogfights to watch for his opening. He looks stressed.
Sato changes strategy, ordering a charge. It's disastrous immediately, they lose like three big ships in the space of thirty seconds. And Ezra can't edge around the battlefield far enough to get access to the hyperspace lane opening.
Frick, the frustration in his voice...
This pushes Sato to attempt the Rebel Alliance's favorite tactic: Ram a ship into another ship. This kind of heroic self-sacrifice happens all the time on the Alliance's side, a kind of lighter version of a kamikaze attack, an "If I gotta die I'm taking you down with me!" kind of desperate bravery.
The two pilots that stay behind out of loyalty to Sato says nothing really about them and everything about Sato and the kind of man he is, that people would willingly elect to stay with him to the bitter end.
Sato has them head on a course that seems like they're attempting to escape. Konstantine sees it and takes the bait, defying Thrawn and moving out of position.
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Ho ho man the shock on Thrawn's face.
At the last second Sato has the pilots swerve course and plow into Konstantine's Interdictor and THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A PERFECT TIME TO HAVE A REACTION SHOT FROM MART, GUYS, JUST SAYING.
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Godspeed sir. *sobs*
Ezra slips through and Thrawn has his fleet tighten once again, repositioning his remaining Interdictor and you can hear the vaaaaaaaaguest hint of irritation in Thrawn's voice here lol.
Organs punctuate this cue, hints of Thrawn's theme overhanging, threatening.
Back down on the ground Kanan's Persuasion Check isn't working so now he switches to insults.
Bendu ah... does not take kindly. I think it's actually kind of hilarious that the whole terrible "It was the will of the Force that the Jedi get genocided!" take is put into the mouth of Bendu after he got pissy for being called a coward. I feel like that maybe was deliberate. Like, "You wanna be like this asshole, fandom? Yeah, didn't think so."
Ezra is having similar trouble getting help from Mon, who feels like sending any of their limited forces to the battle would just reveal them further to Thrawn, alluding to some kind of disagreement she and Bail had about this matter. Bail apparently thought it was too soon for open war. (And that's why he's still in the Senate and Mon abdicated to shore up the Alliance.) I think it runs deeper than that, though, Mon is many things but she's not a strategist and she knows it. In a way she's almost a foil to Thrawn, skilled in politics and people but ill-adept at battle, whereas Thrawn does not understand politics but is a devastating war general.
Ezra's not ready to just abandon Phoenix Group though, so he beelines straight for the person who's been missing from things this whole time.
For Sabine. <3
She's talked about a lot in the opening scene in the next episode, too, reminding us she's not been here. Thrawn's fleet has now made a blockade cover directly overhead of the base, and they're preparing for orbital bombardment.
The worry in Hera's voice when urges Kanan, "Faster... please?" <3
Heeeeeeeeeey remember that time the holonet referenced Base Delta Zero and I told y'all it was basically a bunch of Star Destroyers holding in orbit and glassing everything on a planet's surface?
NOW YOU GET TO SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE DIRECTLY UNDER ONE! :D
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Frick that's terrifying.
Thrawn's theme plays in brass, an overwhelming drama to the score as the batteries fall. I love the way this is shot, with close-ups on Thrawn and Hera's faces as if they're staring at each other from across the battlefield. Thrawn doesn't order the ceasefire until Hera flinches, turning her eyes and bracing.
This Base Delta Zero was not solely an intimidation tactic, however. Thrawn likely weakened the localized shield enough for the ground forces to be able to penetrate. He does have his directions from Tarkin and a ground assault will more likely yield him living prisoners than continuing the bombardment.
"I'm getting the feeling Thrawn's actually trying to kill us this time." "Ohhh-ho that is only funny because you're still alive. Now please, come home, love." <3333333 They are so married. So so married. It's actually been a while since Hera called him "love" so she must be feeling Some Type Of Way right now.
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HER FACE.
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SHE WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM. <3
They're both immediately in front of Ursa together to petition her. And they are this close to holding hands sssfdsrrrhfhghh.
Kallus cackling because he knows he can get under Pryce's skin like he can't get under Thrawn's.
Thrawn still sounds just a smidge annoyed. :)
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Ezra preparing to leave by himself empty-handed until Sabine declares, "And Rohan will answer!"
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Curse this photo limit I'm going to need to make a separate post of just their interactions there's so much good subtle stuff here.
SABINE THINKS THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE EZRA BELIEVES THEY CAN, CRIPES I AM UNWELL.
Sabine thinking strategically and figuring out the obvious target. <3
Meanwhile Rex has set up a choke point to hopefully slow the ground forces down, buy Ezra enough time to come back with help.
Nnghhghkh I didn't think the AT-DPs were capable of freaking me out but that whole big cluster of them all advancing slowly is uh... a good contender.
Thrawn apparently sent the AT-DP company to sus out the Rebels' defenses, so now he's sending in the big bois, the AT-ATs. Not the first or last time he would sacrifice lower level troops to a specific objective. This also serves to prime us to expect multiple waves from Thrawn, which would be used to devastating effect next season.
Love this Big Damn Heroes moment from Kanan here. <3 One Jedi, one nice slice with the lightsaber, felled a whole walker.
The build-up to the Bendu storm is great too, the clouds keeping on rolling in and darknening. Atollon doesn't actually seem to get storms very often, the only two times we've seen it storming were in "Visions And Voices" and now. It does make Thrawn look very intimidating.
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EEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
And the first thing our Mandalorian reinforcements do is jam transmissions. Not sure from where to where, from the Interdictor to the other Destoyers? From the Destroyers to the ground troops? Just trying to figure out how much of Pryce not telling Thrawn about the Mandos was her failure versus she literally couldn't call him.
Right so Pryce's first mistake was moving the capital ships, Thrawn had them smack over the base for a reason. Now there are gaps in the formation that the Rebel ships can slip through. The Fang fighters were sent in as a distraction while Ezra and Sabine bring the gauntlet in to attack the Interdictor.
AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER TO HEAR THE HEROIC VARIATION OF THE "SHENANIGANS" CUE.
AT-ATs firing up through the coral overhangs from below, at the landing platforms the Rebels have made on one of the big leaves.
Hera sounds like she was getting ready to make a last stand, she was insistent on being in the Ghost when she went out and she sounded astonished to hear Ezra.
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ANDTHENTHERE'STHISASSHOLE.JPEG.
*pillows hands* It is fascinating that Thrawn specifically threatens Kanan first to get Hera to surrender. Methinks he has discerned the "special relationship" the two have.
He keeps his hand on his own sidearm, too, makes me wonder if he was planning on doing some of the executions personally.
Thrawn was all ready with some type of comment about not being afraid of the weather and then the lightning struck a liiiiiiiiiitle too close lol.
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He's already looking up at the sky like, "Okay that ain't natural." and Bendu's face hasn't even emerged yet lololol.
Angry god face in the clouds and and everyone basically just scatters ha ha. Troopers go that way, Rebels go that way, this is a little awkwardly staged so yeah it does kind of feel like the Imperials just let Hera and the others go.
But again. Angry god face in the clouds hurling lightning bolts down on you. I feel like they don't cover that scenario in training lol.
Sabine with faith in Hera to get the others out awww.
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HELLO YES, MY SHIP BE BATTLE COUPLE NOW Y/Y?
"Shenanigans" coming in again, grimmer and more serious than ever, such a far cry from its original instrumentation.
"Hey, I don't have a jetpack." "You have those little thrusters!"
*raises finger, opens mouth*
Was... was that supposed to sound like some kind of "size joke" innuendo?
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<333333
"I might have made him angry." Lol just a bit, Kanan, just a bit.
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A very atmospheric last look at Atollon.
Don't think we've ever heard Thrawn shouting before, he's trying very hard not to be unnerved lol. And amazingly his, "Shoot the hell out of whatever that is." idea works. Props to Thrawn he took down a literal physical god.
I love the whole fight atop the Interdictor it's just so visually interesting. And Ezra is awesome throughout.
Kallus makes his move once Pryce is sufficiently rattled and flustered by the Interdictor blowing up, sassing her into ordering him out the airlock.
Even with the second Interdictor gone, not all the ships make it through.
I love the way the Stormtroopers Kallus takes out just slowly slide down the wall ha ha. Also love that his escape plan was basically, "Eject myself into an open battlefield, send coordinates, and pray."
I love this music cue, it captures the drama and pyrrhic nature of their escape.
Aaaaaah yes, the Thrawn-Bendu conversation of Foreshadowing. I love this. Thrawn once again trying valiantly not to show how disturbed he is by all of this, Bendu sounding astonished that he was actually hurt by something and then the prophetic words:
"I see your defeat... like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace."
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Fandom had a hard time puzzling that one out I tell ya.
SINGLE TAKE SHOT.
This shot is so good, how we slowly track Kanan as he moves through the Ghost, pausing to listen to important conversations, how he puts a hand on Zeb's shoulder as he passes. THE MUSIC.
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Underrated and undeveloped friendship, I want so much more interaction between these two. Fic recs? Anyone? Bueller?
Kanan makes his way to Ezra in the nose gun, who is dejected and somber. Losing Atollon is not just a blow to the Alliance, but a blow to him personally, since it was the attack to help Lothal that got interrupted by Thrawn's ambush. He'd just spend the whole previous episode getting his head back right about his purpose and true goal and place in the story and now it seems further away than ever and that much harder to accomplish.
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For some bizarre reason fandom took Kanan's, "There's a future for us, one where we're all free." as much more literal foreshadowing than I think it merited. Mostly after the fact, to complain that it was some kind of broken narrative promise after Kanan died. Guys c'mon, this is meant to be taken in context, as Kanan comforting Ezra with promises of hope, just like Hera did at the end of "Visions of Hope". This is not a prophecy, the "us" is a general us not specifically Kanan-and-Ezra us and the repetition of "I've learned to see things differently" is about reorienting your perspective, not Kanan saying he's literally getting visions.
Anyway, on Kanan's note of optimism in the face of defeat, the remnants of the fleet jump into hyperspace and close us out.
"Zero Hour" definitely has a bit of that Empire Strikes Back pyrrhic victory feel, we escaped and live to fight another day, but the cost was high, the attack on Lothal's factories was delayed and will remain off sometime in an indeterminate future, we lost a major Rebel base and were dealt a severe blow to morale. The Alliance moves more hesitantly after this, afraid to tip its hand too far and attract Thrawn's attention. The camerawork is fantastic throughout and there's a feeling of homecoming as our scattered characters come back together. With a few quibbles, this finale is very very good.
Overall Season Thoughts:
Season Three is the most uneven in quality of the show. The standout episodes are among the more fantastic of the show's run, but the duds fall even flatter. There are episodes that are solid but just "okay", plot threads and elements that are introduced only to receive no follow-up, and overall it feels just a bit messier than the previous two seasons.
That being said... it's still my favorite season. XD I tallied it up and the majority of my favorite episodes were here so what ya gonna do?
Coming to the final stretch here, one more season to go. I expect to breeze through this one since I've already done liveblog reactions to the whole of Season Four so I'll mostly be rambling meta about music and themes and character arcs and of course commenting on my favorite bits and pieces.
See y'all at the finish line!
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uglypsyche · 5 months
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what's psychonauts and who's cali? :-) your art of her is so gorgeous and i followed you for your art, but now im so curious about her + her media!
@__@ Oh my my my ... Sending me , Me , An ask like this ... ? Well ... You're asking the right person , that's for sure ... But may I warn You : A BOMB ( Many words ) IS ABOUT TO DROP ( Be written out ) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's almost hard for me to even think where to start ... But I'll try my best !!!!! Here I go ! :
Psychonauts is a video game made in 2005 about a 10 year old boy named Razputin Aquato who is a Psychic ( Which means he has ... SPECIAL POWERS !!!! ) & Many wacky things ensue due to this simple fact , as he himself slowly starts to Explore & Learn more about his own Psychic Abilities. Because he wants to become a "Psychonaut" ! ^-^~ The main premise of this game is that Raz finds out there is something Sinister happening in this Camp he stays in to better & learn more about his own abilities , & As you could probably guess , He is the only one who can really Deal with it !!! & While going on this adventure & Finding clues & Whatnot , He is made to venture into the 'worlds' in Other Peoples Brains ( Which are FILLED With So Many Things to Explore !!! ) & Usually , in a way or another , ending up helping them resolve an inner issue / conflict happening within them.
This is only scratching the surface of course - There is SO much more that happens in this game. It has SO much Story !!!! Nearly all the characters are shown to have some kind of backstories of their own in the form of 'Memory Vaults' : ) + The game is also filled with humor , however ! That's one of my favorite parts of the game ... It manages to stay very lighthearted & just Fun despite it all ^-^ The game is truly Filled with Characters who really feel like People ... & They look wacky ! I absolutely adore the designs so much , It's really easy to fall in love with the characters as they have SO Much Personality...❤❤❤ I love the look of the game overall just over all. I really enjoy the models & textures. I love the colors. I love how Ugly&Gorgeous it gets !!!!!!!!! There is So much Genuine Beautiful Art put into it thats not afraid to be Authentic & Stylized in its own awesome way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
& Cali ...... Ohhhh , Cali ........ Don't even get me started .... AAAHHH!!!!!!!! *My head bursts into a million pieces*. It's hard to talk about Cali without spoilering things about the game , But ... I CAN Give You some General Information , though -w-... Which would be that Cali , Full name Dr. Caligosto Loboto , is a mad unlicensed dentist&scientist who Fucks around & Finds out. A lot. Let's just say ... That in the game(s) , she plays quite the role ... A quite sinister one at that ... !!!!! Only unfortunate thing is that she doesn't show up for very long ... Atleast not for as long as I'd like for her to show up hehee ...T__T But Ignoring the Screentime - She is definitely made out to be Important. There's a lot of mystery surrounding her & her whole Backstory as well ...
I think she especially gained popularity after a certain Game Release ( Rhombus Of Ruin - which takes place after psychonauts 1 ) As a lot of people grew sympathetic towards her for ... Well .....🤫....... Let's just say it explains a lot of her behavior ... I say the sympathy Is very understandable. I myself hold a lot of Personal Feelings about that whole part of her life ... + In Psychonauts 2 she shows up. Significantly Less ( TT___TT!!!! ) but Talking about her role in the game is Spoilery Enough , so alas ...
But like All that aside In my totally perfectly 100% unbiased ( <- Sarcasm Genius ) Opinion She is like One of the best characters. Maybe of all time ever. It's genuinely hard not to fall in love with her in some way or another I think. Or well It was hard for me atleast LOL ^-^'... She is SO much Fun. I am Deeply enamored by her & Have been for A long while ... She means so much to me. She's important.💗
( Additional Thing : Thank you SO MUCH !!! That means a lot to me !!!! I'm happy to have my art be called 'gorgeous' ... Wow !!!!!! 💗💗💗 )
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flownwrong · 4 months
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happy wincest wednesday alina! I'm sending this around a few boxes today. What movie that you've seen would you like to see sam and dean in, and how much do you have to mangle them to get them in there? are they having a good time? DO. THEY. KISS.????
happy ww nige! what a question haha
well it depends i guess on whether in there is like, an au/fusion or a full crossover
i think i'd love to see them in an it follows setup actually! it's basically a ready-made fuck or die (or in this case i guess DON'T FUCK or die lol) setup
in an imaginary s3 i'd put them on the case: a trail of bodies connected in ways both obvious and not; how they figure it out is irrelevant, but just imagine—
an entity able to take shapes meaningful to you follows you at a slow but dreadfully intent pace because of a one night stand you had; nobody but you (or people previously afflicted and still alive) can see it; you have to be on the run until you figure out how to kill the thing (let's pretend for a nebulous wincesty reason you don't have an immediately available solution); you know the thing will prey on whoever you sleep with next; you got the hots for your brother, and he's going to hell.
your brother would probably like to see whatever is hunting you instead of taking shots in the dark. is probably hellbent on it even because he's due for a trip to hell soon and he needs you safe period. but if you do sleep together you'd both read some kind of obligation into each other's decisions. from his perspective, he's finishing what he started, making sure that when the deal comes through you're truly and fully safe and free. make no mistake, he wants you bad. but he's probably very focused on the idea he's talked you into it and you accepted because you'll give him anything before he leaves. from your perspective, lost in your pre-grieving, he's going through with it because of his obsession with your safety, and he'll give you anything before he leaves.
I can't figure out more sound reasoning for it to happen, mine doesn't sell the idea that well, but hell, however they work it out, it will lead to one fraught and complicated sex scene.
anyway! you have this miserable fuck, you can now both see the thing, but you also both realise now there was more than duty and desperation in there, but discussing it is a moot point now, right? the deal is still just around the corner. uh oh! get on the pain train!
bonus point if the creature takes some ouchy and confusing shapes. jess or mary for sam? dad and so help me god ruby for dean? and like. IT DOESN'T TALK. it doesn't taunt you. it just... follows. coming for you. because you fucked someone for an arguably wrong reason (if we run with my sam triggered it premise, from his perspective the wrong reason would probably be losing sight of his obsessive save dean quest. although then why did he do it in the first—quick, hit that post button before you talk yourself out of it Alina!!). and you can't stop it.
bonus point two if they figure out what to do with the creature just in time to realise they didn't need to both see it after all. wow! awkward!
short answer: THEY. DO. KISS. but they have a pretty bad time :(
also, wow, that thought got away from me. all I took from the movie is the monster concept. uh. sorry!
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bryastar · 3 days
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word salad #4
happy twilight Thursday!
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today is a work day and something I'm thinking about right now is, yes just because this may be a daily blog doesn't necessarily mean I need to go into full detail about how every part of my days go. otherwise I'd be ranting about work for a vast majority of these entires.
so instead I wanna talk about... retro 3D platformers
a while back I came across a game called Cavern of Dreams. it claims itself to be inspired by retro 3D platformers. it features low poly graphics and textures with simple lighting effects, reminiscent of late N64 games. the gameplay feels very much like if Conker's Bad fur day was lighthearted and wholesome. what's also neat is camera controls are more reminiscent of later games, Mario sunshine and Zelda wind waker immediately come to mind for me. I've gotten through the first part of the game and really loving it so far, and the controls are probably the best I've seen in a long time.
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but while thinking about this, I sorta made a bit of a realization... growing up, games like this were referred to as adventure games instead of 3d platformers. heck, I don't think I've seen the term "platformer" until around the mid 2000s. even Mario games I think we're more well known as action adventure games, or Zelda games being a puzzle adventure. PC adventure games tend to be point and click games, which is vastly different than what consoles typically offered. I personally think that NSMB for the DS may be in part why we now make this distinction as the 2D Mario games play vastly different than their 3D games, notably being easier to pick up and play.
but while on this thought train, I sorta began to wonder what sort of similarities that 3D platformers from this era had vs a point and click adventure game. what I ended up deciding on was: exploration. point and click games, you topically make progress by exploring the world around you and finding clues and solving puzzles by exploring the environment and talking to npcs. 3d platformers is... actually kinda the same, while typically focusing on item collecting, many similar elements show up such as exploring worlds and finding ways to progress by interacting with the levels and different characters.
while on that thought about collecting items...
a lot of late 90s and early 2000s platformers would feature collecting a long list of items. one prominent example is donkey Kong 64, which tends to be known as the game that killed collectathons. I have some thoughts on but I'll save for another entry, but I guess I will say that calling such games a collectathon very much misses the point of what the game is actually about. is it a game where you are sent out into a level and made to collect all the random items scattered on the ground, or is it a game where you're friends have been captured and your hoard of bananas have been stolen and you must rescue your friends and recover your bananas in order to progress while learning new moves and meeting interesting creatures who either help you or try to intervene. I dunno about most, but I like the latter premise better. (or maybe I out much more weight on a storyline for a game as opposed to the gameplay)
I hope this entry wasn't too hard or confusing to read, I guess I'm mostly rambling and jotting down bits and pieces of what's in my mind when I get a couple minutes of free time.
uhm..
pineapples (I need a better way to end these aa)
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Text
Wonderful World - Part 1
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Hello friends, part 1 is here! This one is long, but it is setting the scene to show where each character is at as this story begins. I really hope you guys like it! And again, it's just starting to be developed so if there is anything that you'd like to see happen in the story please let me know, I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions!
Learn more about the premise of the story, see main (original) character mood boards, and character casting HERE
Warnings: Brief mentions of suicide and depression
WC: 11.3k
“Alright, alright! Listen up!” Diana’s voice carried above the rest of the voices as her class continued chattering as the class period came to an end, “Before you go, I know it’s only our second week back, but I will remind you of the paper you have due in 2 weeks!” She called over the commotion, “Dos paginas, completamente en Español, sobre sus carreras y las metas que tienen para el futuro!” Diana reminded the students in her intermediate level Spanish class and a few of her students nodded while a few others looked on perplexed, “If you need to hear that in English you can find the information on your syllabus!” She smiled as they started filtering out. She rounded the podium at the front of the classroom and started packing up her things.
“Profesora Beltran?” She heard and glanced up to see one of her students approaching. She taught Spanish to college students and was proud to be one of the more popular professors of the World Languages department.
“Yes, Maddie?” She asked as she shifted her focus to the young girl before her.
“Ummm, I am still undecided in my major, so I’m not sure what my goals for the future are. I was wondering if you would allow me to write my paper on something else?” She asked nervously and Diana’s expression shifted into one of compassion and understanding as she removed her glasses.
“Oh, certainly Maddie. You can write about a profession that interests you or a career you’d like to have?” She suggested and Maddie smiled timidly.
“Ummm, I actually run a small candle making business, I mostly sell on Etsy and I want to do that full-time, but my parents are a bit opposed to that. They don’t see much of a future there, is that something I could write about?” She inquired and Diana smiled.
“I love candles! I think if you’re passionate about that then you should have plenty to say about that.” She decided and Maddie smiled brightly upon hearing this.
“Oh wow, thank you Professor.” 
“Of course.” Diana smiled and soon the girl was heading off.
Despite her win with one of her students right now, Diana wasn’t feeling too great, she was actually feeling extremely anxious today. More than she had in a long while because she would be taking her daughter, Celeste to a therapist for the first time in her life and these were the thoughts plaguing her mind as she made her way through the building and to her office.
Celeste, was her 14 year old daughter and she had been displaying symptoms of depression for a while and despite Diana’s efforts to try and talk to her about it she was consistently met with a huff or an eye roll, which were not surprising responses from a teen girl. But it was just the day before school was back in session that Celeste came up to her in tears and told her that maybe she was a bit depressed. She was 14, a freshman in high school, there were new pressures, academically and socially, and Diana explained to her tearful daughter that depression wasn’t uncommon in her age group and that it was something very treatable and with the right help she could be back to her old self in no time.
It was concerning to Diana when Celeste expressed her apprehension with seeing the school counselor. She said that she was really overworked and that when she first reached out for help in November she was assessed for suicide and upon determining that she was low risk, she was given a pamphlet with coping strategies as appointments were not available until they returned from school after Christmas break. So Diana did what any parent would do and researched for therapists in her area that were accepting clients. It was rather hopeless and eventually she resorted to checking Psychology Today, where she knew she might find options of newer clinicians who were building their clientele and would have time for their patients. She eventually did find one who had a relatively new practice, his name was Dr. Harry Styles, his website was really nice and easy to navigate, and the information provided there made her feel confident in him and so she made an appointment. It was only an intake, if the vibe wasn’t right she could continue looking, but she just wanted Celeste to get help sooner rather than later and well, today was the day.
She checked the time on her phone and saw it was already 2:30pm so she pulled up the intake forms that he had sent and got to filling them out. Celeste had already filled out an electronic questionnaire outlining her symptoms and Diana was just filling out the information about insurance and parental consent to treatment. Soon she was printing the forms out and locking up her office to pick up Celeste from school. 
Celeste was also really nervous for her appointment, which was completely understandable, but Diana talked her down and assured her that the first appointment was just going through the forms that had been filled out and feeling out the vibe with the therapist. Diana assured her that if she didn’t like the therapist that they could keep looking and that seemed to ease some of her daughter’s nerves. After a ten minute drive they were pulling up to an older apartment building and parking out on the street. They made their way inside slowly and right at the bottom floor they saw a directory and he was on floor 5, room A & B, so they rode up to the fifth floor and upon the doors sliding open it was evident that this apartment building had been modified into office spaces. There was a plastic plaque reading Harry Styles, MD beside the frosted glass door with a 5A painted onto the center of the glass. They headed inside and were met with an empty reception desk, but there was a sign on it reading “In Session, I’ll be with you shortly”, so they sat on the couch there and Diana looked around as Celeste pulled out her phone. It was home-y, the color palette was neutral, but not in the way that made you feel like you were in a model home or something of that natural. The couches they were on were evidently new, but the furniture looked loved-on, there were magazines and coloring books for kids and adults on the table before them, and the wall art was minimalistic with positive messages and bursts of color that drew her eye. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes before they heard some movement on the other side of the reception area and then another door close and moments later the door across the room opened up to reveal a tall and very handsome man. Upon seeing her and Celeste he smiled and stepped out to the reception area.
“Hello, you must be my 3:30, Celeste right?” He asked. He had an accent and his voice was deep, but calming - not daunting in any manner.
“Hi yeah, that’s me.” Celeste said standing and offering him reluctant smile.
“Nice to meet you, Celeste. I’m Harry.” He said coming over and extending his hand to her and she shook it politely as Diana stood as well and their eyes met and Harry’s pupils immediately grew in size at the woman before him. She was definitely shorter than him, but she looked really professional and put together, so he assumed she might be Celeste’s mother, but how? She looked young enough to be a sister, “You must be her…?” He asked Diana instead of just assuming her relation.
“I’m her mom, Diana Beltran.” Diana introduced herself, extending her hand to meet his, his beautiful eyes met her own as they greeted each other and she felt that his eyes were just burning into her soul; it almost felt like time stopped for the moment they greeted each other.
“Wonderful, nice to meet you as well.” Harry greeted with a warm smile. As soon as their hands broke contact he clasped them together in front of his chest, “Have you been waiting long?” He asked and she shook her head.
“Hardly, just a few minutes.” She assured.
“Perfect.” He smiled at her and then Celeste, “I know you filled out the online questionnaire, were you able to complete the other intake forms?” He asked them.
“Yes, here they are.” Diana cut in and reached into her tote to pull out a folder and handed them to him. 
“Excellent.” He smiled, “If you’re ready Celeste, we can head back now.” He said and she looked to her mom for a moment.
“It’s alright.” Diana assured softly, “I’ve got your things.” She said extending her hand and Celeste gave her mom her phone before following Harry back into the main space and then the door shut. Now that she was out of sight, Diana felt even more stressed and she just hoped that this guy made an attempt to make Celeste feel heard and comfortable.
************
Harry tried to reflect as much calm as possible because he could feel the apprehension and anxiety emanating from his new, young potential client. She took a seat on the couch in the position furthest away from his seat as possible, which was typical of most first timers. He let her know he was just going to check the forms out and she could look around and then proceeded to open up the folder that her mother had so kindly put together with the intake forms and he paged through them.
Celeste liked his office, it was cozy and his rug was cool. She then noticed a record player on the sideboard against the wall and she wanted to look at it more closely. As her eyes traveled down she noticed that one of the panels was open and that there were actually records in there and she was curious about what he had in his collection.
“Ummm, Dr. Styles, can I look at the records?” She asked nervously and he looked up from the form he was reading over, with a friendly smile.
“Certainly!” He encouraged her and she slowly got up and went over to look at the records inside of the cabinet. She smiled as she recognized a handful of them as she flicked through them. He also had some candle going on another little table by the window that reminded her of her mom’s bedroom, it was maybe the same one. When she spared him a glance she saw that he was still looking through the forms her mom had brought and she bit her lip nervously when they made eye contact.
“Y-your office is nice.” She said as she made her way back to the couch and he smiled.
“Thank you.” He expressed his gratitude at her compliment.
“I especially like your rug, it’s really cool.”
���Yeah? It’s my favorite thing in here actually.” He said excitedly and she smiled nervously, “Did you see any music you liked?” He asked and she nodded.
“Obviously the Beatles and some Elvis.” She said and he smiled, “And your Wings ones, Paul is my favorite Beatle.” She explained.
“Get out of town, mine too!” He grinned and she smiled wider, she was still looking really nervous, “So apart from having sick taste in music, what are other things that you enjoy?” He asked and she started to talk a little bit more about her interests. Harry learned that she played guitar and that her favorite classes in school were Human Biology and choir, and that she was considering joining the drama club, and a few other surface level facts. She seemed a little hesitant to talk about herself though, almost as if she was concerned that she would say something wrong.
“You know, it’s my job to listen to you, no matter what you want to talk about and I won’t judge you, so if anything comes to mind you can just say it.” He assured and she exhaled and nodded, “Is this your first time trying therapy?” He asked and she nodded.
“Yeah.” She then responded verbally, “I’m kinda nervous, I guess, sorry.”
“It’s normal for you to feel nervous when you’re doing something brand new.” He assured her, “What about it makes you feel nervous?” He asked and she sighed and looked down at her fingers that were twisting together in her lap.
“Just…I don’t know…I mean first of all you’re a stranger.” She said and he hummed.
“True.” He said and she shrugged before proceeding.
“And I guess I’m nervous that it won’t work on me?” She said in a questioning tone as their eyes met again and he bit his lip as he listened to her express her concerns over treatment and what had happened with the counselor at her school and it was honestly very disappointing to hear her experience.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you. I understand why you’re so hesitant about this, but let me let you in on something. Whether this works or not is totally up us being a team. It’s my job to listen, guide you, and give you tools to help you get better and it’s your job to try and use the tools I give you as recommended. The only way it won’t work is if one of us is not doing our part, and I promise you that if you decide to stick with me I will always do my part.” He said with certainty and a friendly smile and she nodded, “Of course, sometimes just talk therapy isn’t sufficient or isn’t working as quickly as we’d like and if that’s the case we can talk about medication to help. So if you really feel it’s not helping you can tell me so that I can make sure that I am doing everything I can do to get you back on your feet.” He explained and she nodded along again
“Well, I hope this works.” She said and he chuckled.
“I promise you I will do my absolute best.” He reassured her and she smiled and with that he started to get into the session. He started to explain to her the confidentiality clause and what kinds of things are excluded from that, he went over his role and responsibilities as the clinician, and then they started going over the questionnaire she had filled out, and what she wanted to get out of therapy. As Harry listened on he jotted down a couple things that stood out and his own questions that he wanted to ask and the longer she spoke the more it was evident that she was experiencing some depression. As she finished recounting her side of things he took over explaining what he thought would be the best treatment plan for her and how he wanted to approach her situation.
Celeste liked the way he talked to her and how he expressed himself very clearly. When he answered her or asked her a question she could tell he had listened to everything she had said and was so patient. The things she felt were confusing sometimes and he didn’t push her when she would answer with an “I don’t know”. He was just so nice that she felt comfortable with him quite quickly, a lot of the stuff she had told him about what was happening at school, she hadn’t even told her mom and that was new for her because they were quite open with each other. But once they wrapped up she felt really good and she had decided that she wanted to give him a chance.
“So in terms of scheduling, we need to work that out with your mom right?” He asked and she nodded, “OK, perfect. I’m going to have her switch with you in just a moment, but just so we’re clear, like I said at the start, anything we talk about in session just stays between us. I’m just going to go over some of the formalities with her and answer any general questions she might have for me. But if you would like me to be able to share your progress or any information about our sessions with your mom then you can always sign a release, but only if you really want to.” He offered.
“Thank you, I’ll give it some thought. And ummm, do I call you doctor or?” She asked and he chuckled.
“I prefer my name, Harry, but if Dr. Harry or Dr. Styles is more comfortable for you then that’s OK with me too.” He assured with a kind smile and she nodded and they both stood and headed to the door.
*************
As soon as the office door opened up Diana flew up from her seat and locked her phone. She saw Celeste come out and then Dr. Styles emerged with a small smile and that made her feel more at ease.
“Mom, he needs to talk with you now.” Celeste informed and Diana nodded.
“OK. I’ll be just a few minutes.” Diana said and reached for her bag before she followed him back to his main consultation room. She had a look around when she walked in and when she went to sit, she sat on the side of the couch nearest to his chair as Harry went to grab his laptop before settling into his seat.
“Is she alright?” Diana asked and he smiled.
“Yeah, she’s good. She did great, by the way.” He reassured her.
“That’s good to hear. I don’t know if she mentioned to you what the school counselor said to her?” Diana asked with a frown.
“Yes, she did. That must be extremely concerning to learn as a parent.” He acknowledged and she nodded, “And I can assure you, that will not be the case here.”
“I would hope not.” She said with a slight chuckle, “I have been to therapy myself and I had such a great experience, I just want to make sure it’s the same for her and that we find the best fit for her and that she won’t be pushed to the side until she’s in distress.” Diana explained and he nodded in understanding, “About how many clients do you have in total?”
“I have 35 total right now.” He said, “Of those 35 I’m seeing 10 on a weekly basis, 15 on a biweekly basis, and the other 10 on a monthly basis or as needed as they have already completed their treatment or just need their medication dosages adjusted.” He explained and she nodded.
“Oh, OK that’s pretty good.” He smiled and nodded, “And you specialize in CBT.”
“Yes, but I do have a more Humanistic approach which is derived from-”
“Dr. Carl Rogers.” She cut in and Harry smiled and nodded.
“Precisely.” He grinned, “And I will assume you know what his approach is about?”
“Yeah. I don’t mean to be a know it all, after I was in therapy I got really into learning more about it and did a minor in clinical psychology in my undergrad.” She explained and he hummed.
“Oh, no worries! It’s good that you know though. Especially with the younger patients, it’s good to see when the parents are invested. Celeste seemed to really understand the process today, which I’d like to think I’m thorough, but I’d assume you walked her through it before.” He said with a smile.
“Yeah, she was so nervous, I gave her a little run down on the way here.” Diana explained with a smile.
“Well, it worked! She opened right up once we got past the daunting stuff.” Harry assured her.
“Oh wow, that’s typically hard for her. You must be good.” She said and he chuckled.
“I think we just have the same taste in rugs and music.” He joked and she laughed a bit before looking back into his eyes.
“So in terms of your assessment, what do you have in mind for a treatment plan?” She asked.
“Well, starting out I would like to see her once a week, treatment is typically 8 to 10 weeks give or take, just depends on her progress.” He explained to Diana who nodded.
“OK, that sounds reasonable. In terms of charge, what is your rate?”
“I’m charging $125 a session. I do offer a special for new clients, if you commit to three sessions I use your intake fee towards the third session.” He explained.
“Oh, why three appointments?” She asked with a curious smile and he chuckled.
“In my experience it’s enough to have a somewhat comprehensive diagnosis at that point. And also by that point people will have hopefully learned some basic tools to use in the future. Also, that’s the point where you start to get annoyed with your therapist so a lot of people flake out for a while. And well for the people that just come in trying to get prescribed meds I mean, that’s a lot of work to go through and so they’ll just fall off the face of the earth.” He said with a grin.
“Oh, I see. That’s smart! Is that something that happens a lot?”
“It has happened to me a few times here, the university is nearby so a lot of self-diagnosed ADHD or OCD people.” He said and she grinned.
“Ah, TikTok fallacies.” She hummed and he nodded.
“Exactly! A lot of them don’t like to hear that they’re perfectly normal with a few quirks.” He explained.
“Geez…I don’t think I ever considered how challenging this job must be.” She said and he chuckled.
“There’s more good days than those kinds of days.” He assured her.
“Well, it’s good to hear that from you.” Diana said and he smiled, “Sorry, back to the topic at hand, how much is it for today’s session and do you accept insurance at all?” She asked.
“Not yet, unfortunately. I’ve submitted several applications to be a network provider but it’s been a nightmare.” He explained with a small frown, “But it’s $100 even.” He said.
“I can imagine the circles they must walk you in.” She sighed through a dry laugh and he nodded.
“You would not believe.” He joked back and she shook her head as she dug through her tote bag for her wallet and pulled out a crisp $100 bill and handed it to him.
“I promise it’s real.” She joked and he laughed.
“Well now I feel like I need to check.” He joked back but headed to his desk and pulled out a little iPad where he started inputting that to give her a receipt. She continued looking around his office, recognizing the scent of the candle burning by a little table he had near the window. Soon he was back before her with a receipt in hand and she took it and started to put it in her bag.
“Well, Dr. Styles-”
“Harry is fine.” He cut in and she nodded.
“OK, well Harry, it was lovely to meet you and I will have a chat with Celeste, see what she thinks and ummm, in any event I’ll be in touch.” She said and he nodded.
“I appreciate that. It’s good to know when people decide to go in a different direction, otherwise I’m left wondering.” He explained and she nodded.
“It’s just professional courtesy, in my opinion.” She shrugged as she fished her keys out of her purse and he saw her university ID on the lanyard.
“Oh, you work at the university?” He asked in slight surprise and she glanced over to him as they approached the door.
“Yeah, I’m the newest faculty member in the World Languages department.” She disclosed.
“Oh, that’s neat. I actually just got hired as an adjunct professor for the department of Mental Health & Behavioral Intervention.” He said with a bright smile.
“Oh congrats! What’re you teaching?”
“It’s a graduate course on Tele-health. After the pandemic it’s important to be able to translate our skills through virtual sessions and a lot of people are having trouble with that. It’s a new class. I teach it twice a week.” He explained and she hummed in interest.
“That sounds really cool.”
“Yeah, thanks. Well, I don’t want to detain you any longer, but it was a pleasure to meet you both.” He said as he opened up his office door and led them through towards the reception area.
“Likewise. Thank you so much for your time.” Diana said turning back to him once more.
“Of course. And Celeste, chin up.” He encouraged her with a smile and she nodded, offering back a smile and soon they were riding back down the elevator in silence. They settled into the car and Diana glanced to Celeste.
“What did you think of Dr. Styles?” She asked and Celeste smiled.
“I like him. He was easy to talk to and he’s really nice. I want to try another session.” She said and Diana smiled.
“OK, sweetie. I liked him too, he’s very sweet.” Diana agreed. 
In a few minutes they were taking off and Diana was driving them to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner. She couldn’t stop thinking about how there was an air of familiarity with this Dr. Styles. If his session with Celeste went anything like their conversation went, she was very happy with the type of help he could provide her. She liked that he still remained professional without making it feel too formal or rigid, there was flow and it was noticeable that he really enjoyed his job.
************
Harry sighed contently as he bid farewell to his final client of the evening and locked up the exit door in his office. He then went to the reception area and also latched that door shut and switched off the lights before heading back to his office. He plopped down into the chair behind his desk with his note pad and opened up his laptop to start typing out his session notes from that day to put in the patients’ electronic files. He then got to Celeste’s notes and started to create a new file for her in his system. He needed to scan in all her paperwork and session notes. Just as he was about to start scanning his phone rang and he saw it was his girlfriend, Rebecca, and he smiled and picked up.
“Hey, love.” He greeted her with warmth.
“Hey, babe!” She responded cheerfully, “How was your day today?” She asked.
“It wasn’t all that busy, but I might have a new client on my roster, things went well so I’m hoping to hear back soon.” He said.
“Aw that’s great! I’m happy for you, H.” She hummed.
“Thanks, love. What’s up?” 
“Well I was calling because I was wondering if you’d be able to join me for something tonight? I know it’s super last minute, but a colleague of mine is friends with the mayor’s wife and she knows about my aspirations in city government and she thought she might introduce us. It’s just a little fundraiser for a clinic on wheels, cocktail attire is what she said.” Rebecca explained and Harry nibbled on his lip pensively.
“Mmmm, I have to prepare for lecture tomorrow…what time is it at?”
“It’s now. But they she said it’s over at 10pm. My colleague, Joanne, is gonna be there until about 9:30, but she said to come earlier rather than later as Mayor Singh might not be there until that late.” She explained and Harry nodded as he pulled up his calendar for the following day and saw he didn’t have many client’s scheduled the next morning.
“Ummm, yeah I can make it. Tomorrow is pretty slow, I can work on my lecture then. I just need to finish all my client notes right now.” He informed.
“OK, thank you so much, babe! Is half an hour enough time? I can pick you up? I’m just changing and touching up now.”
“Yeah, that’s plenty of time. I’ll see you in a bit. Love you.”
“Love you too, bye.”Rebecca said before hanging up. He let out a deep exhale before rolling his shoulders back and standing to get the scanner on and finish up Celeste’s file.
Harry and Rebecca had been dating for almost two years. When they met, he was on his least couple months of his residency and she was fresh out of law school and working on the legal team for the community mental health center he would do some of his hours at. Every year they did a mandatory training on the procedures in the case of a malpractice suit or of a subpoena. Since they were a community clinic a lot of people that came through were court mandated clients and it wasn’t out of the norm for the court to subpoena the doctors, therapists, or social workers working with that particular client - it was fairly routine. Either way, that is how their paths crossed and she was actually the one who approached him shortly after their first meeting. Rebecca was bold and had big ambitions, this wasn’t something Harry could see himself being entangled with in the long run, but when they started to date she started to slow down and he figured that maybe her goals were changing a bit.
Because Harry was fresh out of med school and had a little more time on his hands, he was eager to jump into anything that wasn’t school related and when Rebecca asked him out he said yes. Rebecca was smart, gorgeous, and very pleasant, what wasn’t to like. He doesn’t think either of them were looking for a serious relationship when they first started out, but all on its own it kind of became serious. Something that worked well for them was that they both were kind of workaholics, they were both ambitious and out their professions first and they both liked that they were of the same mentality because it helped them not to feel so strapped down. He was always more of a loner and he enjoyed his space and she was very much that same way and so things worked and they didn’t mess with it and here they were today. 
Sometimes Harry did wonder if their relationship was normal; what they had was working for them, but in a way there was kind of a distance between them and many of their friends didn’t really get that. He recalls that at one point his best friend, Henry, once said that it seemed that the relationship was just convenient for them and while he took offense and disagreed immediately, Rebecca responded first and asked Henry if it was wrong that a relationship be convenient? And well, after a big fight about that Harry and Rebecca cleared up that it was OK that they were progressing slower than other couples because they had a lot going on personally and that if it worked for them then there was nothing they needed to justify to others. What did worry Harry was that every aspect of life felt like a routine and he knew that while consistency is great, routine could also be damaging to relationships and Harry didn’t want that for them. He did love Rebecca and often worried that the routine they’d been in this entire time would lead to their slow, but certain demise.
The time passed him by quickly between doing his notes and his thoughts and before he even realized it his phone was ringing again with her name lighting up the screen. This meant that she was downstairs, so he quickly shut everything down and he slipped his laptop it into his lockable drawer and rushed out. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth as he rode down the elevator and as soon as he stepped out of the building he waved as he approached the car and then slipped into the passenger seat.
“Hi love. You look nice.” He hummed as he leaned over and kissed her cheek quickly.
“H, I just did my make up…” she sighed as she flipped down the visor to check her make up in the mirror.
“M’sorry.” He said as he switched on the overhead light so that she could see if anything was out of place, “I don’t see any damage.” He assured and she glanced to him and rolled her eyes before leaning over and puckering her lips out and he chuckled as he kissed her quickly on the lips.
“You’re lucky there’s no damage.” She said as she settled back into her spot, “You’ve got lipstick on your lips now though.” She grinned and he huffed and rubbed over them with his palm as he took off. The drive wasn’t all that long and the event seemed to be pretty packed when they arrived. She did a loop around the block and found no parking so they circled around again to the entrance.
“We’re just gonna have to do valet. S’cash only, though. Do you have cash?” Harry asked and she sighed.
“I don’t have cash do you?” She huffed.
“No, sorry.” He sighed, the only cash he had received was Mrs. Beltran’s payment earlier and that was back at the office.
“Fuck, I don’t want to miss the mayor.” She groaned and Harry nibbled on his lip.
“I can find somewhere to park, you go on. I’ll meet you inside, yeah?”
“Are you sure?” Rebecca asked and he was about to respond, but he jumped when he heard some knocks on the window.
“You can’t stop here unless you’re going to park valet!” The man shouted through the glass and Rebecca rolled her eyes.
“Yes, yes! I’m getting off!” She called back in an aggravated tone and Harry chuckled. Rebecca had a rather short fuse, he got it, he did too, and while he was now used to it, it wasn’t something that made her very likable to people who only experienced that part of her. Harry hurried out of the car to get to the driver’s side.
“Sorry, mate. I’m just dropping her off.” He said and the guy just nodded and she rushed past them and towards the entrance as Harry settled into the driver’s seat and took off down the street. He was able to find a parking spot a few streets down in a residential area, luckily no permits were needed and as he locked up the car he opened up his phone to let Rebecca know he was on his way over and he saw a text from her.
Becs:
Hey H, it’s invitation only! Text me when you’re up front!
Harry sighed as he started the walk over and as soon as he got there he texted her letting her know that he was outside and then five minutes passed…then fifteen…he even showed the guy with the list the text and he said he needed her to verify that he was her plus one, even if it were via text. He tried calling and she still didn’t answer and so now he was grumpy and hungry and decided to just go back to the car and pick up something to eat until she decided to check her bloody phone. Unfortunately, he had left his wallet in the office as he left in a rush and all he had was $5 on his apple pay from god knows how long ago and he was able to score himself a burrito which he ate in the car. It had been nearly an hour before Rebecca called him to come up front and so once again, he made the walk over and she was waiting at the steps of the venue.
“I’m so sorry, babe! Joanne was chatting with the mayor and his wife right when I got there and we were able to talk for a while and I couldn’t pull out my phone!” She explained as they made their way inside and despite his irritation he just nodded.
“It’s OK, things happen.” He assured her, “What were you able to talk to him about?” He asked curiously.
“Oh, just some ideas I have when I run for office as a council member.” She said vaguely because she knew that he had no real interest in that and he hummed as they made their way further in. He was able to meet Joanne and her wife, Michelle, they were sweet and nice to talk to and it was around half an hour later when they decided to go out for some drinks and dinner. Harry was still in a sour mood from his multiple walks to and from he car and he had already eaten. Joanne was nice enough to drop them off at their car and Rebecca agreed to meet them at some restaurant before getting out.
“Babe, can you just drop me off at my car? I ate while waiting for you and I’m just not feeling up to staying out tonight. It’s already 9:30.” He said and she sighed as he unlocked the car.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” She said as she opened up her door and then groaned, “H, my car smells like Mexican food.” She whined.
“I’m sorry, love. I was super hungry and there was no garbage can and I wasn’t gonna leave it on the street. I’m sorry.” He said again and she just sighed as she turned on the engine and rolled down the windows.
“It’s fine.” She huffed as she started texting on her phone for a moment before they took off again. The drive back was a bit tense though, despite that when she dropped him off at his office building she kissed his lips quickly and bid him a good night before taking off. Harry was left to wander back upstairs and grab his wallet before he left for the night.
This was why he wondered if their relationship was normal. As a mental health professional, he knew that all relationships looked and functioned differently, but he didn’t feel awful about things with Rebecca. Just now, he was irritated with her and she with him and they just got over it, it wasn’t anything serious that they were irked about, so it didn’t warrant a long conversation, they just needed to grow up and get over it, like they had. And it wasn’t always this way, they hardly ever argued and they did love each other. But sometimes when things like this would happen he wondered whether they were truly just with each other because it was convenient, like Henry had said, and they had both settled for each other because they got on so well and were like-minded. He knew he wanted more of a relationship but he didn’t know if his relationship with Rebecca was capable of that, they hadn’t really talked about it properly. He didn’t feel like it was sometimes and it worried him that he was just wasting her time and his time.
*********
Diana knew it was late, but over dinner she had a lengthy conversation with Celeste about how serious she was in continuing to see Dr. Styles as her therapist and she was very serious about it. She said she felt really comfortable around him because the way he talked to her was similar to her uncle Damian, Diana’s brother. He lived in Mexico, but they visited each other regularly and since Celeste didn’t really grow up with a father figure he was someone that she looked up to a lot. Either way, this prompted her to call his office and she would leave a message about wanting to schedule another appointment. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous leaving the message, maybe it was how soothing his voice sounded in the greeting, despite him saying that if it was an emergency whoever called should dial 911 - it was the delivery of it that made her feel a little out of sorts.
“Hi Dr. Styles, or ummm Harry, you had said to call you that. I’m sorry it’s late.” She said and then shook her head as she thought to herself ‘that’s the point of voicemails, idiot’, “Anyway, I just wanted to give you some of the times that would work best for Celeste to start treatment. So, Mondays work, but 6pm would be better as my office hours end at 5:30pm. Or Tuesdays and Thursdays also work anywhere from 5 to 7pm, and Fridays after 3pm as well. Just ummm, yeah let me know what works best for you. If none of these work out just let me know and we can figure something out, you can also email me as I’ll be teaching tomorrow and that may be easier for me to check. Thank you for your time today, I appreciated it, have a good night.” She said and pulled the phone away about to hang up and then realized that she hadn’t even said who she was, “Oh, ummm this is Diana Beltran, by the way! Sorry, I forgot to-”
“Your message has been recorded-” the machine cut her off and she groaned, “to play it back press 1, to re-record press 2, to delete your message press 3. If you are finished you may-”
“Ughhh…” she groaned in irritation and hung up, cutting off the monotonous voice from continuing to speak. She wasn’t about to do that again, so she just set her phone down and continued packing up their left over chicken and rice for their lunch the next day.
************
Fresh out of the shower, Harry got in a t-shirt and sweats quickly before hopping into bed. He lived two blocks away from the university campus, so the house he lived in was originally old and small, but with gentrification and all it looked a lot more modern now and the property had been reconfigured to give optimal space, it was rather nice. It had a lot of character, is what he would tell people. Over the pandemic he renovated the bathrooms and re-invigorated the original wood flooring of the home and even now, he continued with his project on updating things just a bit during his free time. Either way, he was happy here and he found it easy to rest in his space. He reached for his phone to just kill some time before he drifted off to bed and as it lit up he saw that he had a voicemail forwarded from the office phone. He always checked just in case he needed to call 911 for a client or something. So he opened up his phone and immediately played the message and brought it up to his ear to listen…
“Hi Dr. Styles, or ummm Harry, you had said to call you that.” The gentle and soothing voice spoke and he immediately smiled as he pictured the person it belonged to, Diana. “I’m sorry it’s late. Anyway, I just wanted to give you some of the times that would work best for Celeste to start treatment. So, Mondays work, but 6pm would be better as my office hours end at 5:30pm. Thursdays also work anywhere from 5 to 7pm, and Fridays after 4:30pm as well. Just ummm, yeah let me know what works best for you. If none of these work out just let me know and we can figure something out, you can also email me as I’ll be teaching tomorrow and that may be easier for me to check. Thank you for your time today, I appreciated it, have a good night.” She finished and he heard a bit of shuffling for a few moments before he heard the last bit, “Oh, ummm this is Diana Beltran, by the way! Sorry, I forgot to-” it suddenly cut off and he chuckled to himself a bit. 
His office phone had a time limit on the messages and he had no idea how to fix that. He was tempted to get out of bed and grab his laptop to look at his calendar to figure out when he could schedule Celeste so that he could return her call first thing in the morning, but he needed to chill out. He wasn’t sure why he was so eager to figure this out for them. Actually he was…she was striking. Absolutely gorgeous. From the moment they met he was drawn to her just because of her looks. But more than that, she was so sweet and clearly smart, and she was amicable and so easygoing, it drew him in. Harry told himself that he was thinking of her because she had left a voicemail and obviously, she was now stuck in his head. And his mind kept bringing back one thought: Someone like her had to be taken. Just then, his phone buzzed in his hand and it was a text from Rebecca apologizing once again for getting upset at him for the food thing and telling him good night. He assured her it was alright and wished her a good night before deciding to just get to sleep. The last thing he needed was to be in shambles and exhausted for his class the following day and more than that, whatever curiosity Harry had towards Diana ended now. Yes, she was beautiful and she seemed like a nice and wonderful woman, but he would be seeing her daughter as his client and entertaining those ideas of her wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone.
*************
After Harry got far too excited over hearing Diana’s voice last night, even if it was over voicemail, he decided that he needed to set up a boundary before he got too invested in her or developed any type of crush on her, as he had decided the night before. Her daughter, Celeste, had chosen to continue seeing him as her therapist and the relationship with her was his priority now. After emailing Diana back about scheduling (instead of calling back), his day went by rather slow. Harry was dedicating a lot of his time to review his lecture material for his class that evening. His class was technically an elective, so he had students who were interested in or leaning towards only providing therapy online. His class was actually a good number, they capped them at 30 for the graduate students and he had 23, so it was good that this topic had cultivated interest. He did have to mentally prepare himself though to be as stoic and neutral as possible because some of the women in his class were not subtle at all. And even thought they were closer in age to him, he was still their professor and the last thing he wanted was to give anyone the wrong impression and get himself into trouble. He wasn’t cocky, but he knew he was a handsome man and he was really nice, so he just wanted to be sure no lines were ever blurred or that a misunderstanding was even remotely possible. That was honestly his biggest stressor; he had been a bit nervous about actually teaching the students and being able to convey information to them, but as soon as he started doing it he felt comfortable and he understood why so many people loved to contribute to the growth of their profession in this manner. 
************
On her busy days, which were Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Diana’s best friend, Grace, would be the one to get Celeste from school. Diana was lecturing non-stop on Tuesdays and only got an hour break before her final class of the day, which started at 6pm. So now, she was rushing down the street to her favorite cafe on campus, Café Flores. It was a little over a 5 minute walk from where she lectured on Tuesdays, but even if it were out of her way, she would always find an excuse to go. Since most students were at dinner, it was slow at the cafe at that time. She would always order the same thing, the guy at the register smiled when he saw her come in.
“Hey, professor.” He said as she walked up, smiling as well.
“Hi Nico, how’s it been?” She asked.
“It’s slowing down.” He said with a smile and she nodded, “What can I get started for you?” He asked.
“I’m gonna do the 20oz today, café con leche.”
“The usual.” He smiled.
“I sized up, OK?” She said and he chuckled.
“And half & half is OK?”
“Always.” She said and he grinned.
“Anything else?” He asked.
“I’m also going to get the avocado toast.”
“With everything?” He asked.
“Ummm, no crema and no onions.” She said and he recited her order before submitting it and taking her payment. The owners of this cafe were originally from Chiapas, Mexico - the opened this place up in the late seventies and as they grew older their children took it over and it’s such a wonderful atmosphere to be in; it reminded her of being back in Mexico. And this spot was so popular that when the neighboring business relocated they bought it as well and that’s more of the study lounge vibe students are looking for. They were just as, if not a little more popular than the Starbucks across campus. It was really amazing to her how well this business had evolved to continue being around for that long.
“Professor Beltran?” She heard kind of from a distance and as she zoned back in and looked away from the little card with the shop’s story she blinked a few times before turning to her left and looking up to see none other than Dr. Styles who was smiling down at her.
“Oh, hello!” She smiled bright and stood immediately, extending her hand to greet him, “What brings you here?” She asked.
“I teach tonight and ummm, the last two weeks I’ve seen most of my students with cups from here and I thought I should check it out.” He said and she nodded.
“It certainly beats Starbucks.” She said and he grinned.
“Oh, perfect.” He hummed and she nodded, “You teach today as well?”
“Yes, I’ve got three classes today.” She explained and he grimaced and she chuckled.
“I know.” She sighed, “But to be fair this last one is an elective on Latin American art & culture so I don’t do as much talking as I do visual aids.” She said and he chuckled.
“That’s good.”
“It it’s a three hour class though, so I am pretty pooped afterwards but you know about that with the graduate students.” She said and he nodded. She remembered. Harry thought to himself.
“Order for Diana!” The girl at the pick-up station called out.
“Excuse me for a second.” She said to Harry.
“Oh, you can go if you need to, no worries.” He assured.
“I was actually going to stay and eat here, I lecture in the building just around the corner and it starts until 6pm. You’re more than welcome to join me if you’d like.” She said and before he could overthink it he nodded.
“That’d be nice, I still don’t know too many people.” He explained and she nodded.
“Yeah, of course.” She assured and hurried off but came back quickly as Harry was settling into the spot across from her and she was settling in.
“Do you want some?” She asked and he shook his head immediately.
“Oh no, I ordered something as well. But please get started.” He assured and she nodded and went for her toast right away. She finished chewing and hummed.
“Always hits the spot. I haven’t eaten since 11:30.” She disclosed.
“Oh god, I would be a proper grouch if I went that long without eating.” He said and she giggled.
“So you get hangry, I see…so does my teenage daughter.” she teased and he chuckled as he shook his head at her little joke.
“I mean, most people do.” He said and she shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s fair.” She responded and he chuckled again.
“You don’t?” He asked her and she shook her head.
“No. Being a parent often means staving off your own needs for your kids, even hunger. I will admit sometimes I forget to eat-”
“You forget to eat?” He asked in shock and she giggled.
“If I’m really busy. It’s usually during the end of the semester, but I don’t think any of my classes will push me to that this quarter.” She said and he nodded.
“Well good.”
“Yes.” She grinned. Then they called his name and he came back with his own order. He just had a regular black coffee and a capirotada - which is essentially a bread pudding.
“Ooh, good choice.” She said and he glanced up to her.
“Oh yeah? He told me it was like bread pudding.”
“It is! They make it really good here, it’s not too sweet or cinnamon-y, it’s just right.” She said and he nodded.
“Oh good!” I just got this because it looks kind of like a dessert from England and I admittedly got a bit nostalgic.” He explained himself and she smiled; she understood that feeling very well.
“Yeah, I get that.” She nodded, “So have you been in the US long?”
“Yeah, I came over for med school, so I’ve been here about…10 years?” He said, “Oh shit.” He then said lowly as the realization struck him and she laughed lightly as she watched it unfold before her.
“Do you miss England?”
“Some things I miss, but I really like it here. It was a fresh start.” He said and she nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, we need those sometimes.” She acknowledged, “But look at you now, your own practice and everything. Even teaching now!” She said veering the topic into a more positive light and he chuckled bashfully as he reached for his coffee.
“Living the dream.” He said and she quirked her face a bit with a confused smile because she did not miss the sardonic tone in his voice.
“You say that like you’re not convinced of it.” She called him out, which surprised him and he shrugged before he decided that he would explain himself to her.
“It’s just like, you work so hard for something…literally dedicate everything you are and all of your time and resources to it to get there and once you do it’s kind of the feeling of like “that’s it”?. Do you know what I mean?” He asked, an existential crisis was close if they were to continue not he topic of him so he had to turn it around and she hummed pensively at his question.
“Kind of… I mean, I hear med school is…horrific.” She said, “Highest suicide rate, no?” and he nodded.
“Well, three times more likely than our peers.” He corrected her and she frowned, it was still alarming. She had friends who had gone to medical school, a few dropped out because it was too intense, so yeah, maybe he was very valid in feeling like all of that made it out bigger than it needed to be.
“So it is horrific.” She said again an the sighed, smiling bit now despite the morbid topic they had just touched on.
“I love learning and I do love school, maybe that’s why I came back to teach… so ummm, I wouldn’t say it was horrific for me, but definitely challenging…and I don’t know, I was just one of those people that were so focused on school and being excellent in that capacity that I didn’t it as much as I could have or made the good kind of memories with the people around me. Like several of the people in my cohort were married over the last couple years and well, I wasn’t invited because, we were classmates but I didn’t take the time to make them my friends. And just little things like that, that I wish I had valued more at the time.” He explained and she hummed with a small frown, “And well now, yes, I have my practice, but having your own business is very time consuming and it makes it hard to have my own life too, you know? I love what I do, trust me, I would’ve never gone through with med school if I didn’t. I would do It for free! But like there are times in which I wish I didn’t have to answer a phone call of a patient in distress in the middle of a date with my girlfriend. Or have a patient go through that angry at my therapist phase and fear I’ll get sued and lose everything.” He chuckled and she did as well.
“Yeah, wow, that is…intense.” She said and he nodded.
“It is and again, I love to do it and I love to help people, but I’m still new at this so I’m just getting the hang of it. I’m sure I’ll be able to find balance with some time, but it does feel like I never will be able to start living my life sometimes.” He expressed, “Do you ever feel that way? Being a mum? Sorry, if that came out weird, Celeste mentioned that you were quite young.” He tagged in and she shook her head.
“It’s alright,” Diana assured him, “and not really… I don’t feel that I missed out on my youth or anything like that. I wasn’t all that social in college anyway.” She explained and he hummed in understanding, “Kind of also threw myself into the work and well, I had a baby, and well it’s not like I was a 16 year old mom, but being 19 with a baby still makes people look at you differently.” She shrugged and Harry frowned slightly upon hearing this.
“People are dicks.” He said and she smiled at his lame attempt to comfort her after what she had shared, but it wasn’t necessary, that had stopped bothering her a long, long time ago, “And Celeste’s dad? You guys were young, how does he feel about that?” He asked and Diana suddenly looked down at her coffee cup before clearing her throat and glancing into his eyes.
“Ummm…h-how’re you liking teaching?” She changed the subject all together, so fast and abruptly that Harry just went along with it, barely even noticing that his previous question had been completely ignored.
“It’s been great! I was dying of nerves beforehand but as soon as I got up there it just felt amazing to know that I could share what I knew like that. It’s made me fall in love with my profession even more.” He admitted and she smiled.
“Yeah, that happens to all the great teachers I know, at least.” She shrugged and he smiled before digging into his capirotada. He moaned in satisfaction at the taste of the dessert.
“OK, that’s phenomenal.” He said after he swallowed down the bite he took.
“Oh yeah, it’s a classic.” She agreed and he hummed.
“I can see why.” He acknowledged. 
They continued to talk a little bit more, though he noticed that after he had brought up Celeste’s dad the topic stayed more at the professional level as she discussed teaching and the university, and curriculum designs. He felt bad for bringing that up, but he was curious as Celeste had talked about her dad, but very briefly and he had meant to ask more questions, but then they progressed to something else in the session and he just wanted to know more about their family unit - maybe she wasn’t married like he initially assumed. Either way, after the reaction she had, he felt like he needed to apologize for it, but it seemed that just changing the topic was enough for her. Just as he was about to ask her something else her phone started ringing and she glanced down to it.
“And that’s my 15 minute timer!” She announced and his eyes widened.
“Already?”
“Yeah.” She giggled, “Time flies when you’re having fun!” She exclaimed and he grinned.
“I guess so. I should probably head out too, I’m lecturing further than you are and I walked too.” He said and she nodded.
“Then yeah, you should.” She agreed as she stuffed the last bite of her toast in her mouth and they both stood to clean up their table a bit and gather their things. “Well, it was nice running into you. I hope your class goes well.” She smiled and he nodded.
“Yeah, yours too.”  He returned her well-wishes and then they both made their way out only to realize that he had fallen a few steps behind her as they were heading in the same direction, “I’m not following you, I swear.” He said and she laughed; she had a pretty laugh. “You’re fine.” She assured him.
“Well, while we’re going in the same direction I guess I have a sort of question about something.” He said hurrying up to match her pace and she nodded, “So in my field, it’s a female-dominant one and ummm, obviously, my class is mostly women, there are 2 or 3 guys in it, but ummm, some of the women are-”
“Oddly friendly?” She grinned up at him in question and he smiled, a cute dimply one that made her heart race in a way it hadn’t in a long time.
“Yeah, ummm, to put it nicely.” He confirmed bashfully, “I just don’t want to accidentally miscommunicate things or give the wrong impression. And I can’t deal with it as a therapist because it’s a different scenario. In therapy we just tend to confront it directly and I don’t know it that’s the best approach here too? I do notice some of them looking at me in certain ways or just being a little flirtatious with me and I don’t know… I just don’t want to mess something up. Is that something you’ve dealt with?” He asked and she nodded.
“Oh yeah, being a young professor comes with unique challenges and ummm, yeah, some of my students have put me in a position like that too and I learned that when you directly confront it they immediately deny it and then make you feel like you’re being a cocky asshole or presumptuous, which also sucks.” She sighed, “H-have you ever had a client do that to you?” She asked and he nodded.
“Once or twice, but I was still a resident and like working in my fellowship at the time so I had a lot more help to navigate that.” He explained and she nodded, “I just got switched to another rotation, it was in a psych ward so it wasn’t like I was the clinician, it was more 51-50 situations, so I was just providing the meds while we were allowed to hold them.” He explained and she nodded.
“OK, so yeah, in this scenario, if they flirt or hint at liking you just act normal, don’t acknowledge the flirtations and advances if they’re very subtle, keep it professional, set the boundary with your response. But if they start to come on stronger or in more obvious  and bold advances, like I once had a student ask me if we could go out after the class was over and I wasn’t his professor anymore. Or if they bring you gifts,” She shared, “then you can be more stern in reminding them of the boundary. I know with graduate students it’s a little different as they are full-fledged adults,” she said, “but if there are students who just seek you out without reason or are just trying to get close to you, obviously try to keep those interactions documented. So if they want to see you try to keep it over email or zoom, document meetings and appointments on your calendar, things like that. We often think that we need to not have any evidence, but paper trails are your best friend if you’re not a sketchy person!” She explained.
“OK, that is the best advice I have ever received.” He smiled and she nodded.
“I came up with that one myself.” She grinned with pride and he chuckled, “Here’s a suggestion, I don’t know if you’ll need it for your courses, but I make a calendar for my office hours for each class and add all of my students to it, they can then book their own appointments, but everyone else who is in the class sees, kind of like a virtual sign-up sheet. In my experience it dissuades those students who are just coming by to “say hi”, as they like to say.” She said and he hummed, “That is time consuming though, so if anything just try not to let them catch you alone, causally bring up you’re in a relationship, stuff like that.” She smiled. 
“OK. Yeah, I just don’t want them to take it too far and I have to do something more serious about it, you know? Like I get having crushes on your teacher, in Med school I had this o-chem professor who was so attractive, I was one of his best students and he was like a genius, he was about my age now and I knew that he kind of liked me too. There was this unspoken tension that we both just…lived with for that entire semester, but he never said anything about it. He just let it be and then after I finished his class he just kind of never spoke to me again. I didn’t take offense to it, I know that once a line like that is crossed it just makes it easier for it to happen again. But it’s hard being a sapiosexual while running in academic circles.” He said with a breathy chuckle and she nodded as she started to slow down.
“Oh definitely, I’m with you on that one!” She giggled in agreement, she was a fellow sapiosexual and knew all about that on her own, “But I think he was smart about how he dealt, your professor.” She said and he nodded, “So yeah, just be nice about it, don’t make the student feel awkward about it if it’s just a crush. And well I’m sure the magic’ll wear off after midterms.” She joked and he laughed as they came to a stop in front of a large lecture hall.
“Most likely.” He chuckled, “This you?” He asked and she nodded.
“Yep! Well, Dr. Styles it was lovely running into you.” She said again.
“Likewise, Professor Beltran. And please, s’just Harry.” He insisted once more and she smiled and nodded.
“Right. Well, I’m just Diana too, so umm yeah. I’ll uh-see you around. Have a good night.” She bid him farewell.
“You too!” He called after her before he continued walking towards his class with his heart racing a bit more than it ought to. But he was walking at a relatively quick speed and he’d just had a plain coffee with an extra espresso shot, so it was likely that his heart was reacting to just that. It was ironic really, the conversation they had just had. He had too many questions for and about her and his interest was piqued after this. All he knew was that the next time he went by the cafe he would be taking his order to-go, he couldn’t sit with her like this again.
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animeomegas · 2 years
Note
Ohhhh! I’ll love to request something with Alpha’s Ex! Let me think
Oh!
Maybe Alphas Ex(Who’s now with Kiba!) popping up out of the blue and claiming that they had given birth to a child years ago and they know it’s theirs. Like they broke up and Alpha started pursuing Kiba. The other omega tries to mix up the timelines so that Kiba thinks Alpha was cheating on them.
But as soon as you see that pup you know who’s baby that is! Your old Friend! Who was suspiciously close to you old omega, go figure. But this omega is determined to show you that this pup is yours ,almost desperate to prove to you.
So I would like to see what my love Kiba would do!! I know it’ll be hilarious!!
Oh, this would be very dramatic! @voodoogoul
I like to think Kiba answers the knock on the door.
Just for an extra bit of chaos ;)
"Who the fuck are you?" is said by both Kiba and the ex at the exact same time.
They immediately hate each other before the story even comes out.
Ex says they're here for alpha!reader but Kiba asks why before he calls them out.
Ex only grins and says, "They have some catching up to do with their child support." knowing full well that Kiba is most likely their old alpha's new mate.
At that moment, they gesture to the nervous looking six or seven year old child standing behind them that Kiba didn't originally notice.
The tension rises, and just then, you turn up from behind Kiba.
"Babe, what's going on?"
"Ask them," Kiba says, voice lined with a growl.
The ex only smirks and says, "I thought it was time for you to meet you son. I got pregnant the last time we hooked up. It was the night of that summer festival five years ago, do you remember?"
This ex has done their research and knows that his alpha has been with a new omega for seven years now and they also remembered overhearing their old alpha have a conversation at a bar (where they were stalking them lol) where they mentioned heading to the summer festival with friends because Kiba said he wasn't up to going.
It was the perfect plan.
Or it seemed like the perfect plan until Kiba started cackling.
"Ha, I was almost worried for a second, but you're just trying to stir shit, aren't you?" Kiba grinned a wild grin with far too many teeth on show.
"I'm not trying to stir up anything asshole, I'm just trying to get my pup to have a relationship with his appa. Are you so insecure that you'd deny him his appa because you want them all to yourself?"
Kiba only laughed harder.
"Yeah, okay, firstly, that pup was not conceived five years ago, he's way too old and two, there's no fucking way you slept with my alpha during that summer festival."
"He was and I did, you bitch! What ground do you have to call me a liar huh?"
Kiba stepped closer to them, threateningly, only stopping because of your hand on his arm.
"I know because I have five pups, I know what a 4-5 year old looks like. And the oldest of said pups just so happened to be born prematurely on the day of that very festival, meaning my alpha never went. I know childbirth can fuck with your brain, but believe me, I would have noticed my alpha fucking someone else in the delivery room."
The ex reeled back like they'd been slapped, face white as a sheet.
"That's- I-This is unbelievable!"
Kiba opened his mouth to reply, but you stepped in.
"You know, genetically, we could have never produced that eye colour," you said simply.
"What?" your ex snapped.
"Your son, his eyes. We could never have produced a child with those eyes, it's basic genetics."
Kiba grinned, his scent both threatening and pleased.
"So how about you get out of my sight before I have to escort both you and your son off the premises?"
They huffed and left, pulling their poor son behind them.
"Damn, talk about crazy," you muttered, shutting the front door.
"Fuck yeah they were crazy, I'm the only one who's carried your pups and I'm the only one who ever will," Kiba grinned before pulling you in to a kiss with way too much teeth.
"And I'd never want anything different."
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lillithhearts · 3 months
Note
Hi! I was the person who asked for that sunshine reader with horrifying powers request! Thank you SO much for writing it, you did an excellent job and I absolutely loved it! Your writing is just *chefs kiss* 😘
I believe my premise for the original ask was based on a Tav of mine who's a circle of spores druid who could turn their dead enemies into fungal zombies, The Last of Us style. Fun fact about this Tav, they have a really horrific backstory despite their bubbly (on the surface) personality: they saw their entire family killed and accidentally turned them into zombies who then ate their own killer, hence why my Tav doesn't use their power very often. Then Tav had to burn their house down with their zombie family inside and flee. It was so traumatic that they put up a bubbly face to try and block it out.
If you'd be comfortable writing something about that, I'd love to see it! Maybe after a particularly rough or traumatic event/fight Tav triggers a flashback that everyone can see (either via the tadpoles or a spell) and they're all freaking horrified that the sweetest, cutest, bubbliest member of the party lost their entire family after accidentally using their power on them. I'd love to see your take on that! Thank you so so much, take care!
YIPPIEE ANGST+FLUFF
CW : Panic attacks, Talk/thoughts about traumatic incident,Death, Fire (lots of it)
SporeDruid!Gn!Tav x Bg3 chars
You and your Crew found yourselves in the sewers doing some kind deed for some rando who begged you to help him; so you obliged ignoring the groaning from Astorian and a few others behind you, you flashed the stranger a smile and walked to where they said you should go.
That's how you got to where you are now; coughing and heaving at the smell of burnt grease and charring bodies. You had been ambushed in the Sewers where someone's last resort to murder you would be lighting the grease on fire that had covered most of the area you were in, Including some of you due to the slipping hazard, as the entire area was set in aggressive roaring flame, you stood frozen as you looked at the disaster in front of you, the charring bodies and howling flames seeming all to familiar to the loved druid. Alas thankfully you all got out without much injury minus the prior fight, physical injury at least. You reported back to the stranger quickly before setting out to rest, the facade you held slipping on the silent walk to camp unbeknownst to you; your loving companions already knew the past you'd tried so hard to hide away from others and yourself.
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He had kept his eye on you the entire walk to camp, the Tadpole having given him access to what had you so shellshocked in the sewers; he knew this might escalate and walked close to you the entire way. He was initially horried seeing a flashback of what exactly you saw when you were younger, He himself needing a moment to snap back into it before yanking your arm and dragging you away. He hadn't noticed the breath he held in until you were out and safe, not only from the gut wrenching smell but the sight he saw.
He sat you down in his tent; cupping your face as he tried to make eye contact with you
"My Love, Can you look at me?"
You have been out of it since the fight, disassociating before you slipped into full blown despair, Your eyes finally met his as you nodded slowly
"I saw what happened, you needn't explain further— Is there anything I can do for you?"
The words were stuck in your throat as you scanned his face for any sign of Disdain or disgust at what you did, any anger or disappointment for hiding this from him; from all of them. But with tears running down your cheeks you couldn't find anything to imply he felt any of those things. You almost choked your next words
"no— uhm, I'll be fine I just need to wait it out. Thank you for your concern,Wyll"
His lips thinned as he smiled as tilted his head ever so slightly to the side; pecking your cheek before motioning for you to lay down
"rest here, if you're hungry just call for me and I'll bring you some, are you alright being alone?"
He held your hand as you nodded and he nodded shortly after to affirm; giving your hand a squeeze before walking out of the tent.
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Her first move was to try and cheer you up and it did work you were less focused on what happened and more the shenanigans she dragged Astorian and Gale into, Whispering at them to "please just play along, for Tav".
However after the gang had settled in you were sat alone in your tent and everything dawned back on you, the thoughts you tried to press down the entire walk rapidly bubbling to the surface, thoughts of your family, what the camp could possibly think and the people you had killed— despite it being their own fault for picking a fight. Karlach 'knocked' on the flap with a little "knock knock" and your head whipped up as you couldn't silence the sobs in your throat anymore and despite no entry she quickly popped her head in almost falling into the tent
"Soldier! Oh my hells what's going on? What happened?"
She quickly rushed to you and pulled you into a hug and everything became too much for you and you sobbed into her shoulder mumbling something incoherent to her. When you had calmed down a bit she pulled away and finally asked what's wrong and you sniffled your lip quivering before you spoke in a hushed tone
"Do you, think I'm a bad person for what I did?"
You almost heard Karlachs Jaw hit the floor as she practically jumped onto you holding your hands tightly in hers
"love, it was an accident and you did what you needed to..devil's know I've done worse"
You almost protested saying her time in Avernus wasn't a choice but she silenced that with a kiss
"nobody here thinks of you any less, we all have skeletons in our closet"
With a smile you hugged her and finally relaxed for the first time in a few hours, You were safe; loved and cared for, you have Karlach with you no matter what.
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He quickly swept you aside away from the group and looked you over while he rested his forehead to yours, rubbing his hands up and down your arms; grounding you.
"Darling, what happened in there?"
You fidgeted with your fingers as you tried to convey what possessed you in there in a way that didn't make you found insane
"You don't have to give me the entire run through I saw most of it, I—"
He threw his hands up before grabbing your shoulders, irritated with himself for being so grammatically stupid right now.
"what— do you need, My love? I clearly saw you were absolutely unresponsive in there and I don't want your pretty little head to run to negative thoughts so— what's bothering you?"
They stood there looking at him mouth agape before clearing your throat and hugging yourself
"well i— What you saw it doesn't disturb you? I'm not a freak or something? I mean I hid this from you for so long"
You winced at his expression, he looked as if you had told him he had lettuce in his teeth
"Darling— You- i— WE'VE all done pretty messed up shit I mean do we need to bring up the whole speech I gave you in Moonrise? If anyone isn't surprised by the buried bodies you have it's me!"
You almost laughed at his words, more how he delivered to you with flailing arms and a boisterous tone; you grabbed his hand and started heading back to the group
"thank you Astorian, you can read me like an open book"
"I do like reading, Darling"
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In the camp he sits next to you by the fire, pondering to himself what he should make of this new information, He's aware there's a reason you hid this but he's still thrown off by it. He's a lot older and a lot less traumatized then most of the group so he has a more open view on it, and that terrifies you because you both sit there horrifyingly aware of each other's thoughts
"Is that why you don't use your powers?"
"you knew?"
"of course I knew I'm a druid as well, my heart"
"oh— Yeah that's pretty much why"
Silence
You shifted on the log, fumbling your hands into your lap as you looked around the camp, watching scratch and the Owlbear cub goof around an exasperated sigh leaving your lips as you rub your face with your slightly trembling hands, Halsin seems to notice and places his hand on your thigh
"I'm not, Mad or any negative feeling you think I'm feeling"
You looked up at him bewildered as he smiled down at you
"I was just curious on why you never used your powers because you're already so powerful and I suppose seeing it with my own eyes due to that spell i— I was a bit taken aback, but I'm not upset with you"
You almost slipped off the log with relief as you hit his arm to which he playfully winced
"I thought you'd thought I was some, I don't know—"
He sets his hand on your head, grounding you as he taped his fingers on the crown of your head.
"do not worry, My love"
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You groaned as you watched his expression as he stared at you, so many thoughts running through his brain; yours doing the exact same with what he was thinking of you at this very moment.
Much to your surprise after awhile he was mostly surprised by the power and talent you had hidden and how well you had hidden the horrible event you experience, I mean he's basically an open book so he was gobsmacked you came off so, untraumtized and "normal".
The two of you quietly sat by the fire, his hand in yours and his thumb running over your knuckles, it was surprisingly peaceful.
You coughed and tightened your grip on his hand;
"Gale I—"
"I know, You don't have to talk about it with me, I already know everything"
You were content with that, sighing and resting your head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around you, that same peaceful silence washing over you again.
MY GIRLFRIEND FOUND MY TUMBLR IM GOMNA DELETE IT I SWEAR/J
I also almost forgot to add the spell part because Halsin doesn't have a Tadpole😭
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mdhwrites · 6 months
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I Wish I'd Found the Randy Cunningham Ninth Grade Ninja Fandom
I LOVED that show when it was first coming out. I thought it was just a ton of fun and that characters like Viceroy and Mcfist were genuinely amazing takes on their archtypes. Admittedly, Randy and Howard are entirely classic to me since I grew up with stuff like Danny Phantom and Kim Possible but...
None of you probably know what I'm talking about.
Okay, so a bit over a decade ago now, Disney had a show called Randy Cunningham: Ninth Grade Ninja. The premise was actually kind of Sailor Moon S1 in with half of its villain group. The Ninja exists to oppose the Sorcerer, trapped below the town. The Sorcerer feeds on misery and can corrupt people who are vulnerable through items and the like that they hold dear, turning them into monsters who are usually beat either by destroying the object or convincing the person to give up their grievance.
The other half of the main villains (it had a lot of side villains too of course) were the duo of McFist and Viceroy. They employed a lot of robots, mutants, etc. because, well, McFist was so rich as to practicallly own the town and be beloved by all (Think Lex Luthor but bad at hiding it and really shouty) and Viceroy was literally his on staff MAD SCIENTIST! He even graduated second in his year from a mad science university. Or first. Can't remember despite it being a plot point for an episode when a skeleton that the science teacher is... Married to I think? Comes back to life and tries to finish his graduation project that would have made him Valedictorian: A Doomsday Device. After all, if you blow the world, you are indeed the greatest evil scientist apparently.
The show was pretty classic in how it was structured and played thing and when I say classic, I mean it. It had a moral of the episode format, usually taught through ancient ninja rhyme through the book that gave Randy, the main character, his powers: The Ninjanomicon which is a great name. It would also be what helped grant him various ninja tools to beat bad guys, though his main weapon was the ever changing length scarf he had and a sick ass sword.
The show also had a good sense of humor about what it was though. Like the first episode's lesson from the book is that the greatest weapon is within the suit. When Randy gets his ass kicked, he believes it must be trying to tell him to believe in himself, draw in deep and OPE NOPE! It means there's a sword in the suit! Time to get to slicing and dicing!
The downfall of the show for me was the same thing that makes me actually surprised it didn't stick around longer than it did (besides Disney being honestly pretty stingy with seasons for the past decade for its shows): It being formulaic. Eventually, I did get tired of seeing Randy making similar mistakes or do things that felt like he should have outgrown. Sure, his best friend Howard rarely if ever changed and that could pull him down but it still eventually stopped feeling right. The episode that snapped it for me was when Julian (I can't believe I remember his name), the wanna be magician of the school went full supervillain and got real magical powers. It was a neat turn... Predicated on Howard and Randy being complete assholes to someone they'd at least once or twice called friend.
And that is what the real shame of the show for me was. There was a lot you could actually read into and say about the eb and flow of relationships and sometimes even the show had great fun with it. One episode in particular that I loved was when Howard accidentally gets the ninja powers and people like how he showboats while doing it so Randy questions being the ninja. The two guys are cut from the same cloth, best friends for a reason, but the show REALLY highlighted that eventually, a conflict between Howard and Randy was going to come to the head. Why?
Well... Because Randy is just a dumb teenager who wants to be popular. Howard is an asshole. It's not even the first episode that highlights it but every time it gets highlighted, it's a BIG problem for Randy. In this one, Howard is so cruel to a robot, takes his time to mock it so thoroughly that eventually the robot gets corrupted by the sorcerer and all its weaknesses are now strengths and it's damn near unstoppable. I forget how Randy beats it (besides just being better with the powers) but it always stuck out to me as a reminder that Randy WAS a hero, despite his flaws, and that the ninja before him had made the right call choosing him (not sure if we ever got an answer as to WHY Randy got it, though that was by no means necessary.)
It's just the sort of show that I had enjoyed enough that I wish I'd had more people to share in it while I was enjoying it. I could admittedly try going back now and seeing how it is but well... It's a decade old and had protags all about trying to be cool. Danny Phantom used regular, classic tropes for this while Randy actually tried to embrace the fact that stuff like influencers were starting to exist and become more popular so you can probably imagine its sense of humor by that. I wouldn't call it bad but the last time I tried rewatching the first episode, I remember not finding it nearly as charming as I had the first time, let alone as charming as my brain thought it was.
But on that note, I will say possibly one of the least controversial thing I ever have, just to let fellow fans squeal with me: Holy shit was Randy and Baton girl my absolute OTP of the show and I still get all sorts of happy anytime I'm reminded of the two.
And if you're going "Wait, was she a background charact-" NOPE! THEY LITERALLY CALLED HER BATON GIRL! If she ever got an actual name, I don't know it! And god are elements like that why I've never forgotten that show, for good and for ill. Edit: She was named Theresa in S2. Thank you to the commenter who reminded me!
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imarvelatthestars · 2 years
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Travelling Man: August
Notes: The series title is inspired by the Chameleon Circuit song 'Travelling Man' - it's hard to fully explain why, but that song just reminds me so much of Marc (& Steven) even though it's a Doctor Who song. If y'all are interested in the playlist that helps inspire this and most of my other Moon Knight x Reader fics, you can look here.
Premise: Our story starts before the show begins, with Steven unaware that he’s an alter while he experiences memory loss and insomnia. You, the reader, are a new hire at the British Museum in the gift shop during the summer tourist season and end up working most of your shifts with Steven Grant. (The reader is neurodivergent coded, but nothing is specified.) [Previous chapter - July]
Warnings: mention of memory gaps and sleepwalking, I (an American) try to accurately portray the London experience, an attempt at describing British Sign Language was made
Pairings: Steven Grant x Reader; slight Marc Spector x Reader; endgame Moon Knight system x Reader
Word Count: ~3.7k
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The first time you see Steven outside of work, it takes you by surprise. Hard. Because he's on your mind, sudden but gently poking his way into your life beyond the museum in the little things like that new tea shop at the station near your flat or the posters of that Ancient Egypt movie coming out this autumn that you're sure he'll love to hate, and then he's suddenly right in front of you in the middle of town, surrounded by shops and food stands and people doing fancy acts on the sidewalk. He's sitting on the edge of a fountain by a brass statue, eating and talking like the statue can hear him. You take a step closer and realize it's not a statue, but a man in costume and face paint and hairspray. It's almost like you've summoned him.
You adjust your bag over your shoulder and brave the butterflies in your stomach, approaching him with an incredulous, giddy smile. "Steven?" you call just as his eyes flicker onto you.
The way his face lights up nearly knocks you over. He's up in a flash, arms spread wide and his mouth still half full, but he's saying your name and laughing and it's nice.
"God, fancy seeing you here." He laughs again, this time with a hand over his mouth so he can swallow politely. "Sorry. Shawarma mouth."
You shake your head. "No, you're fine. Sorry I took you by surprise."
"No, no, it's alrigh'. Not like I own the whole of bloody London, yeah? You can walk where you like. Just, er, just never thought I'd see you down here."
It's a fair assumption. London transportation is hell on a good day and you'd really rather stay home being just slightly bored than having to deal with it more than you have to. But you were restless the moment you woke up, your body needed to be outside, needed to feel the wind and sun, so you decided to explore. You're glad now that you did. And that you dolled yourself up a little more than usual.
"It's- It's good," he stammers as he looks everywhere except at you. "Good t' see you," and he says your name like a beautiful afterthought.
You're not really sure where to go from there. There's that weird tingle in the air again, the one that makes you feel funny when you're stood too close to him. You blink and take a step back, clear your mind, and look at the statue man still perched on the edge of the fountain.
"Who's your friend?" you ask with your thumb half over your shoulder.
Steven is moving his bag and what's left of his shawarma further down the bench-edge to make room for you, even going so far as to brush off some crumbs. Then he waves his arm in a big, mockingly elegant gesture and it makes you laugh.
"He's really committed to the bit," he says as you sit. "Always just sits and lets me talk, he does. He's a good mate."
You wave and introduce yourself, but the statue man doesn't move. He really is committed. Oh well, good for him. If he's not gonna talk, then he probably won't mind if you focus on Steven, who's already going on about the latest addition to the exhibit and why exactly it's so brilliantly important, all in between bites of shawarma and you let him. The sun is setting and it casts shades of pink and orange over the square, over his face, lights up his eyes as fairy lights start to pop on and torches are lit and you manage to actually look into his eyes for once while he's distracted. It's only been a month, you've only known him a month, you barely remember his last name, you don't even know if he has a favorite color or a favorite TV show, but you know that you like him.
"So." He chews thoughtfully. "What 'bout you? Ever had vegan shawarma?"
Your eyes drop so quickly that it's impossible he could miss it. You hope he doesn't take it wrong, it's just that it's hard enough to keep eye contact with most people, let alone him. Especially if you've been staring without even meaning to.
"No, can't say I have," and you laugh a little. You must have missed the part where he made the bridge between work and food. It's almost impressive, really, that you were zonked out enough for your brain to stop working. "Is it good?"
Steven groans and nods his head so emphatically that you're worried it'll roll off. "Is it! You've no idea what you're missing!"
You have some idea.
॰ ☆ ॰ ☽ ॰ ☆ ॰
"Do you hang out with statue man often?" you ask the day after.
Steven wrinkles his mouth while he thinks. "Sometimes, yeah. He's a saint, that man, bless. Not that I'd really know what qualifies as being saint worthy, but listenin' to me natter on has t' be up there."
You shuffle and reshuffle and pat down the edges of the museum postcards. Your lips are pursed as you try to hold back your smile. "What does that make me, then?"
His shirt ruffles from the speed at which he snaps his head around to look at you. You do your best to stay cool, but you're dying to know what his face looks like right now and if he's smiling. You hope he's smiling. It would be nice if he is.
When you finally do turn your gaze over your shoulder, you can see that his cheeks are a shade darker. He has a dopey little smile. There's something tugging at his lips that isn't a smile - a retort, maybe? But it fades before he can seem to have the courage to say it and that's okay, too. You're just glad he smiled.
॰ ☆ ॰ ☽ ॰ ☆ ॰
A family of four come into the shop on a lazy Tuesday morning. The one dad is dressed very smartly in nice slacks and a button up; he has salt and pepper hair and a nose ring. His husband, judging by their rings, is signing to him while their two daughters trot around at their knees. Your heart instantly melts and it takes every ounce of your willpower not to go "OhmygodSteven, looooooooookatthebabies, they'resocute!" right in his ear.
You watch them meander around the shop, pick out a few trinkets and a book for the younger girl, and God, it feels like your chest is about to explode. Dad #1, the older one, picks up the youngest girl and rests her on his hip while the other pulls out his wallet.
Steven is the one who rings them up, but you hover at his side and wave at the chubby cheeked sweet pea babbling at you over the counter. She has Dad #1's bright hazel eyes and Dad #2's hearing aid, and her sister, probably about 6, is enamored with one of the blue scarab plushies.
"You guys have a good time?" Steven asks and you translate it into sign for him almost without thinking.
Everyone stops, just for a moment, and looks at you. There's a moment where you're worried maybe you overstepped, so you lower your hands. But then Dad #2 breaks into a smile that rivals the sun and eagerly signs back to you.
"We had a great time, thank you," you tell Steven, your eyes still fixed on Dad. "Our youngest liked the jars with the animal heads on them."
Steven nods. "Canopic jars. Full of pharoah bits. Always a favorite."
Dad #2 laughs while Dad #1 suddenly dashes off after the 6 year old who's stolen the scarab and is attempting to make a break for it.
"We'll get the bug!" he shouts.
You wave and sign bye when they leave, and the youngest girl watches you over her dad's shoulder. She has about three teeth and you can see all of them when she grins and slobbers on dad's collar.
"I didn't know you knew sign."
You shrug and wipe the grubby toddler prints off the edge of the counter before your next round of customers comes in. "I had to take a few language classes for school. Figured that would be the best one to take."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Signing always leaves you with a pleasant, warm feeling in your chest. "Everyone should be able to have a conversation, y'know?"
Is he staring? His eyes are practically burning holes into the side of your face, so yes, he is. And when you look at him head on, you feel like you just got hit by a bus because he's looking at you like he adores you. You could swear there are stars in his eyes.
"Incroyable," he sighs, and it makes your stomach go queasy, but in a good way. A nice way. Nice like him.
"What's that?"
There's that dopey smile again. "'s French. That was French."
And now it's your turn to be surprised because of all the things you could have expected out of Steven Grant, his ability to speak French wasn't one of them. "You know French? That's amazing."
"Bit like you, then, eh? Amazing? Like, totally?"
Geez, now you're blushing and tapping the tip of your shoe against the floor like you just got asked to the prom. You mutter something lame under your breath, something along the lines of "thanks, you too, buckaroo" and you long to be swallowed whole by the Earth. But Steven is an angel and his laugh sounds so genuine that you think maybe the bad joke was worth it just to hear him.
He looks like he wants to say something at some point, but Donna comes in and chases him off for his lunch break while she complains about not wanting to pay him to stand around and flirt for 30 minutes. If it makes your heart jump a little, you don't dwell on it.
॰ ☆ ॰ ☽ ॰ ☆ ॰
"Would you teach me sign language?" he asks you in the staff room after you clock out.
"You sure? I'm not the best, I'm still learning."
His smile is as keen as he is. "I'm sure I'd love it anyway." And you love him for it because it means he cares.
So you show him how to say "good night": a thumbs up with his right hand, then a downward waving motion with both palms facing in toward his chest. Then he asks for "hello" and you just wave, and you both laugh.
"And 'my name is Steven'?"
A fist to the sternum, then two fingers pressed to the temple almost like a salute, and the letters of his name. You demonstrate it with your own name, then again with his until he starts to get the idea of it.
"What about-" He wets his lips and you finally notice the shakiness of his breath, like he's just been scared within an inch of his life. His eyes are focused on a spot somewhere below your nose. "What about 'can I walk you to your bus'?"
Oh.
You show him and he repeats it back to you, wide-eyed and nervous, and it's messy, but it's so endearing, so sweet, and then you realize that he's legitimately asking you and your face is burning. Your right hand bobs up and down in an approximation of a 'yes' that goes right over his head. So you tell him out loud and he grins.
The bus is early, for once in your entire life, so you don't have any time to sit and talk with him like you wanted. But you're one of the first passengers to find a seat, so you settle in and give Steven a wave through the window.
"Laters gators!" He's all muffled, but you knew he was gonna say it.
You grin and sign it back to him: two fingers in a v-shape by your eyes, then an L-shape that bounces forward an inch, and a little chomping gesture as if your hands are the jaws of an alligator. See you later, alligator.
Steven is frozen with that goofy look on his face again, and he's smiling again, and you see the light from the streetlamp reflecting in his eyes and you realize that you have it bad. Fuck.
Crushes are never easy. You know this. And the last thing you expected to come out of working in the gift shop of the British Museum was a crush, yet here you are. It's infantile, it's silly, and it'll probably pass soon, but it's burning inside you all the same and you honestly feel bad for Steven because he's just going about his normal life without a care in the world and he doesn't even know that you're thinking about him like you're a teenager crushing on her deskmate. The deskmate that's more brilliant than, like, people with doctorate's in their fields, and is miles out of your league just because his jawline could qualify as a deadly weapon.
What you should do is push this whole crush thing aside and not focus on it. You know if you poke at it and ponder over it, if you let yourself fawn over him, if you let your eyes linger like they did that night by the fountain, you're gonna get yourself hurt. But also... Steven is the nicest guy you've ever met. He laughs at your jokes. He asks you what it is you want from life. He's patient and smart and handsome - like, really handsome, even if he dresses like an early onset grandpa and even if you don't remember thinking he was terribly handsome when you first met, so you're not sure exactly when you started thinking it - and by the time the bus drops you at the station by your flat, you've already gone through five Steven Grant profiles on Facebook. You find his profile while you're in the lift. You send a friend request before you unlock your door. He accepts it about the time you settle into bed. You send him an alligator emoji on Messenger, then turn your phone over and close your eyes. And if you dream about little alligators with English accents that night, it's not really anyone's business, is it?
॰ ☆ ॰ ☽ ॰ ☆ ॰
Steven is absent again on the 25th. Donna fills in. He's gone on the 26th, too. He comes back the day after and he sounds funny. All those awful fears from last month come rushing to the front of your mind through the course of the day, only ten times worse - is he gonna ignore you again? is he gonna ditch you at the end of the night and act like he doesn't know what you're talking about the next time he shows up? And he is off when he talks to you, it's impossible not to notice, but the uncomfortable roughness isn't so bad this time. He sounds like an American putting on a really bad accent and he doesn't entirely meet your eyes, but he tries.
"Are you okay?" you ask at the end of the day, before he can run out on you. "You seemed off today."
His shoulders tense like he's bracing for something as he counts the cash in the till. "I'm fine."
"I'm not trying to pry, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." He's very quiet. You feel like your heart is going to launch itself out of your throat. "You didn't make fun of the shitty scorpion amulets we got on our shipment today. I thought maybe you were sick or something."
Steven just shuffles in place. You used the 'bad attempt at humor' attack. It was not effective. -500 HP.
You look down at the little scarab plushies and try very hard not to cry. You're not sure why you want to cry. You just want him to be back to normal. Where's your friend, Steven? The guy who makes you laugh and will literally never shut up about Ancient Egypt? The guy who looked at you with stars in his eyes? What happened to him?
Your throat hurts when you whisper, "I'm sorry."
The gift shop is aching with the weight of his silence. It's never felt like a tomb before, not even with canopic jars and half a dozen sarcophagi on display, not until now.
But then he sighs. "Don't be," he says in that weird, low voice. "I'm not myself today."
You fix him with a hopeful stare, brows drawn together. "Anything I can do to help?"
Steven bites back a smile and shakes his head. It only just occurs to you that he's done his hair differently - it's more tamed, his curls are smoothed over and nicely combed to frame his face instead of being left to frazzle above his temples. You can't see much of the silvery greys when it's done this way, but you like it. He looks nice. He looks good. But he also looks sad.
"Okay." Best to drop it. "Just wanted you to know I care. As a friend." The last word feels bitter in your mouth because you thought... Well, you thought something, didn't you? Only now you're not sure.
"Thanks," he says a minute later, but you're already out the door.
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"Hiya," Steven beams when you come in the next morning.
"Hey," you answer.
It's a big departure from your usual smile, wave, and chat, but you're in a big funk after last night and you cannot for the life of you figure out what makes Steven act so bizarrely, and that just frustrates you even more because it really shouldn't be this difficult to be normal. And you're mad that you're even thinking like this because you, of all people, should be more understanding, more patient, but it really hurts that he's flip-flopped on you again. Because you like him. Maybe you even really like him.
Is it me? Is it him? Does he just not know how to say, 'sorry, love, not interested in bein' friends anymore, cheers'?
And then it comes to you.
Steven's been quiet since you came in. He keeps watching you with that furrow in his brow and the awkward tilt of his shoulders that says he's confused and hurt, but he stays quiet. You realize he's been waiting for you.
"Steven, did I bother you when we ran into each other earlier this month?"
His eyes widen, then narrow in thought. "What? No? No, course not. Why would you-? I...? How d'you mean?"
"When I was staring at you." God, your face feels hot. "Look, if I made you uncomfortable because of that, I'm really sorry. I have a really bad habit of getting lost in thought and staring off into space only to realize that I'm staring at someone. But if that's the case, then you really only have to tell me. It's not a big deal. You don't have to..." How are you supposed to put this delicately while not also feeling like an ass? "You don't have to call in sick or act weird around me because of it."
"H-Have I? Been acting weird 'round you?"
Seriously? "What else would you call yesterday?"
Steven groans as his face falls into his hands. "Oh, God. What did I do? Was I a knob?" He starts shaking his head and his voice is muffled, but he sounds caught between being mortified and exasperated. "I was a knob. I'm so sorry, love." When he finally drops his hands, you can see that his eyes look red. And on even closer inspection, you can see the beginning of grayish-purple bags under them. Shit, is he okay? "Whatever I did, yeah? Whatever it was, I wasn't myself, I swear t' you."
And that strikes you as really odd. "Steven," you begin, your voice gentler and slower than it's been so far. You reach across the counter and place your hand over his, and he almost flinches. "Do you not remember last night?"
"What makes you say that?" But the question comes a second too late. By the time he's saying it, you've already seen the look in his eyes that screams out 'no!'.
You turn to fully face him, reaching for him so you can take both his hands in yours in a way that you would never have done with anyone else, but with him it's different. He's different. You feel a bond with him that you haven't felt with very many others, and maybe it's that spark of his, the one that makes him a little off that draws you to him, maybe it's his tenderness, but whatever it is, it grabs hold of you by your heartstrings and it won't let go.
The museum is gonna open soon. Donna will probably be barging in any minute now to tell the pair of you to get off your asses and shape up. Doesn't matter, though. Because yes, you like him, but more importantly, Steven's your friend and right now, he's scared.
"Are you okay?" He blinks and you squeeze his hands. "Seriously, Steven. I'm worried about you. What's going on?"
His lips starts trembling. "I'm not sleepin'," he says. "Can't sleep. I'm too scared to 'cause... 'cause I keep sleepwalkin' when I do. I wake up in strange places and I dunno where I am. And I'm not crazy. I know I'm not. I just-."
"Hey. No, I never said you were. I'd never think that."
You want to stroke your hand over and through his hair, promise him everything's going to be alright and that you won't leave his side for as long as he needs you, but to do so would be to cross a line that you don't have the courage to even approach. And the fact that you have this desire to touch him so intimately in the first place startles you. You don't know this man, not really, but God knows you want to.
You'll take what you can get, you decide in the moments between the clacking of Donna's heels sounding just beyond the gift shop doors.
"We'll figure it out," you tell him, and you don't even register the use of 'we' when you should've used 'you'. But he does. Steven always notices.
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lilyeon · 9 months
Text
ive been on a light novel kick recently
lemme summarize some thoughts on them:
7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 1-4: i thought it would be a standard "hypercompetent female lead in medieval europe" story and it was for the most part, in terms of convenient contrivances to make whatever whimsical actions that Rishe takes, but i appreciated the set dressing, at least. Rishe is funny and the repeated time loops makes for an entertaining premise.
The 100th Time's The Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock "Super Love" Mode?!: god this sucked. this honestly felt like reading a novel published by an 8 year old. so fuckin juvenile
A Lily Blooms in Another World: sometimes all you need is some simply girls who love each other.
The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent: interesting world with just enough worldbuilding, i liked that it didn't get explicitly romantic at the end, and I really enjoyed Carla's brazen attitude. Either she fit really well into the world around her, or the world was written to support her character, but either way, she felt like a complete product of her world and upbringing in a way that was really refreshing.
Did I Seriously Just Get Reincarnated as my Gag Character?! 1-2: there sure was a whole lot of talk about how much her character absolutely sucked despite being the most powerful being to the point of absurdity. i know the point is the contrast between game mechanics and expectation vs how she would be as a function of the world, but man that point was harped on a lot. as a protagonist, gotta say, trans as hell, that won a lot of points with me. "oh i'm suddenly my off-main RP character now? guess i'm a girl now, full-on. hell yeah" now that's the true trans rep we need
The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up 1-2: it was alright, i feel like i would've been more invested if everyone wasn't secretly in love with her though i suppose it is an interesting subversion of the usual "plain boring princess" trope that everyone is actually super on-board for her to become queen. she's a deeply tragic heroine, honestly, and i don't think that's the intention at all.
Saint? No! I'm Just a Passing Beast Tamer 1: if this was a oneshot i'd be chill with it but the fact that it carries on somehow makes me feel so tired.
Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss But I'm Not the Demon Lord: i read the manga first and this was just more of the same. it's cute, i like Yumiella as a protagonist for the same reasons i like Carla from Apothecary Witch. i wish we had a bit more on Alicia's whole deal because she could've been interesting at the end there but instead she just made the whole thing boring as fuck. probably my favorite moments in the novel were Yumiella grinding the boss for drops and the Patrick confession scene for two different reasons
The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life 1-3: i had access to 6 volumes but i had to stop in the middle of the 3rd one. i was displeased but willing to continue in the first novel when one of Mariela's first actions as a protagonist is to engage with the slavery thing, but willing to put that aside, but then we had several monologues about how much slavery sucks alongside diatribes about how it's Jay's/Sieg's/etc's own fault that they got sold into debt slavery. the chapters in the 2nd and 3rd novels where Jay is there being absolutely fucking miserable and you're expected to nod whenever the book says "Jay didn’t reflect on his own part in this at all, spewing resentment instead." made me fucking incensed. my breaking point was in novel 3 where a minor protagonist just straight fucking rips one of his teeth out after strangling him and replaces it with a Pain Tooth of Make Your Slaves Obey More, and it's immediately followed with that above line. just. jesus fucking christ.
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 1-4: hey speaking of slavery, in this one they spent 2 novels telling the main character she should buy a slave, and then she gets there and is like "man this is kinda fucked actually" and doesn't, so good for her, but i read it immediately after Alchemist Who Survived so i was a little pissed at the fact that slavery was also a thing here because please that's not a system that is necessary to your world stop fucking doing it
ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword 1-4: anyway not to continue talking about slavery but if you're gonna have it, do it like this one did, and make your main protagonist claw her bloody way out of slavery with incredible brutality and swear that she'll kill more slave traders if they lay a hand on her girlfriend. that part was great. shame it gets mega fucking transphobic at the end though, that whole bit about Mother being explicitly textually transgender and then not using the correct pronouns for her, the genitals = sex = gender segments, the gross parts where they discuss how Mother "isn't even a woman, yeah that tripped me up too, how gross is this dude". fuck that. the fight scenes and fucked up body horror parts are great though. and it's got a manga by minakata sunao, which is a shame given [gestures at novel 4]
She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 1-8: honestly i enjoyed it more than i was expecting. mira's cute, this is another one of those trans-as-hell novels where the protag is like "i guess im a girl now! this is great!" but i do find it incredibly unsettling how everyone is commenting on her looks and whatever if she's supposed to be, essentially, a 12 year old girl. deeply gross anime bullshit aside, it's fun. i thought i had more thoughts on this one so i was saving it for later in this list but honestly thats all i got. gross sexualization/infantilization of a young girl, but otherwise just a fun little fantasy jaunt
A Tale of the Secret Saint 1-4: fia's an idiot, i want more of her taking control in battle situations and less waffling about Great Saint abilities and fake-deep "political" """intrigue""". if you say any of these stupid-ass old men are her love interests i will throw a knife at you, and if the book goes in that direction even slightly i will Murder. canopus's devotion in the last novel was borderline for me dropping it. the manic obsession/devotion to fia is supposed to be humorous, i think, but it just comes off as deeply unsettling when the novel reminds you, as it often does, that fia ruud is a 15 year old (reincarnation of an incredibly sheltered woman who died at 18, so honestly even her mental age doesn't add much here). i know this is one of those chill life fantasy novels but i honestly want fia to serve actual consequences for the insane shit she does, not just passing-by mentions of having to do more laps or take training more seriously or being teased by her superiors or whatever. it's fun enough to keep reading though, i guess.
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