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sumukhcomedy · 4 years

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The Rebel Flag, The Noose, and Racial Intimidation

A month ago, I had no idea who Bubba Wallace was. While I love sports, I can’t say I’m a NASCAR fan. I know a certain number of drivers. I’ve watched a Daytona 500 here and there over the years. That’s about the extent of it. If you want to know how confused I was, when I heard Bubba’s father’s name was Darrell Wallace, I assumed he was the son of a driver but then realized I combined two drivers in Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip to make a driver.

I grew up in the Midwest and so NASCAR never was exactly accessible. It was highly popular in the South and it didn’t appear like its fans were exactly the most open or inviting people. The sport didn’t feel that way either. It’s not as if I could hop into a car and start racing around a track the way I could grab a basketball and head to a court. If I did watch any racing, it was usually the Indianapolis 500 and I preferred IndyCar. I remember watching the magnitude of Dale Earnhardt’s death as I was waiting to watch FOX’s Sunday night comedy lineup. Regardless, I grew to appreciate the sport even if I didn’t watch it with any regularity or understand the inner details of it.

Over the past month, from an outsider like myself, NASCAR has made incredible leaps and unbelievable stances that I would never have expected out of the organization. For NASCAR to make a public statement on the removal of the Confederate flag was huge. For Bubba Wallace to then get behind the wheel of a Black Lives Matter car seems unthinkable. For a legend in Richard Petty to be behind that car and be fully supportive is wild. In the same way that the well-meaning white person may be overrun with guilt over the past month, the racist white person is likely losing their mind over the decisions of NASCAR.

Then, late last week, a noose was found discovered in the garage at Talladega for Bubba Wallace’s team. An investigation proved that the noose had been there since late 2019. But, in understanding race and intimidation, the investigation was necessary and its transparency important to our current discussion on race.

Almost immediately after the investigation began, extreme conservative Twitter wanted to spread the doubts over the situation. They began to compare Bubba Wallace to Jussie Smollett. They began to throw out inaccurate and made-up stats about hoax hate crimes.

First, we need to understand how intimidation plays such a strong role in racism. The Confederate flag is a symbol of intimidation whether its supporters or “free speech” lovers want to believe it or not. It’s basically now associated with racists and white supremacists. It’s carried around and worn by those who are aggressively racist. It’s been connected with murderers like Dylann Roof and so many other violent individuals. There is nothing about this flag that seems peaceful or open to a connection with people of other races. If I see a Confederate flag (and I have seen plenty as someone that travels the country and enjoys nature), it is a message by that property owner or that individual that I am not welcome. I steer clear because there is no need for me to possibly die at the hands of a racist.

So, first, for NASCAR to make the step to remove the Confederate flag was to say to all their fans that they no longer support the presence of racism and intimidation on their tracks and in their organization.

So soon after such an announcement and the sweeping, positive decisions of NASCAR, a noose is found in Wallace’s garage. Wallace is the Black driver of NASCAR. He is driving the Black Lives Matter car. He is the focal point of all these decisions. As a result, he is also the focal point for racists and the opposing side to target. Simply hearing the word “noose” or seeing that image conjures up one memory for people of color: lynching. For white people, it should do the same thing but perhaps they think of hangings and executions of 15th and 16th Century England. I have no clue what goes on in the minds of white people towards this. But, plain and simple, in understanding how race functions in this country, a noose is equated to the country’s history of lynching Black people.

So, for Wallace and NASCAR to be outspoken, a noose appearing in a garage just days after seemed too coincidental. No one does that without a message being sent. That message is you are unwanted and we could kill you just like we killed Black people in the past (and, even how Black people are being killed right now given the wave of suspect public “suicides” occurring).

For the FBI to investigate such high-profile intimidation is necessary. For it to turn out that it was, in fact, coincidental are quite the odds. But NASCAR’s transparency should be hailed. They’ve supported the investigation. They’ve supported Wallace as part of their family. They shared a photo of the noose that was hanging from the garage door. They’ve expressed that such a type of noose is not present in any other garage doors within Talladega. So, these are a massive amount of coincidences that could be investigated more thoroughly to understand how this even could happen. Or, we could just understand that the investigation was still positive in presenting the importance of intimidation in our discussion of systemic racism as well as to firmly show NASCAR is taking an appropriate antiracist business approach: they are condemning racism’s presence in their sport while also being transparent about race and its discussion both inside and outside the sport.

Of course, those who defend the racists and are unwilling to have a real discussion on race were frothing from the mouth at these results. It allowed them to spin their conspiracies. It allowed them to say that so many allegations of racism are hoaxes, that everything is about race now, or worst, equating Bubba Wallace to Jussie Smollett, which is racist and inaccurate commentary.

What Jussie Smollett did was his choice and a poor, inept choice. Once the investigation revealed that it was all his plan, it’s not as if Black and Brown people came to his defense at all. In fact, most understood this was a terrible decision on his part because a false or made-up allegation puts the lives of Black and Brown people back a couple steps. The moment may have been made fun of no better than by another Black man, Charles Barkley, on live television.

But comparing Smollett to Wallace is just plain wrong. The accuracy is wrong. The jokes are wrong. The numerous memes are wrong. Smollett MADE UP a hate crime in the most dumb way possible apparently to further his career. Wallace did not make up a hate crime. A possible hate crime HAPPENED to him. It was investigated and determined that what happened was not a blatant act of intimidation by someone. It also determined that Wallace was not responsible for that act.

This is where the line between race, accuracy, and comedy gets all blurry. A responsible comedian or meme creator would not make jokes connecting Smollett to Wallace because it’s simply not the same thing. It’s not a good joke based in that comparative way that so many jokes are. Also, just a responsible person would understand that Smollett and Wallace are two very different situations. Also, a responsible person would know that Smollett and Wallace are two different people. But that’s not the case in the world we live in. Smollett and Wallace are the same because they experienced a hate crime. Smollett and Wallace are the same because they are high-profile individuals. Smollett and Wallace are the same because they are biracial men with Black blood. Smollett and Wallace are the same because their allegations did not prove without a shadow of a doubt that a hate crime occurred. If you add up enough of these comparisons, you should be able to understand that comparing Smollett and Wallace is racist in and of itself.

I applaud NASCAR. They are strangely well ahead of our more prominent sports organizations in handling the country’s current racial dynamic. They still have a lot to learn. We all do.

But, in this case, they fully supported Bubba Wallace. They investigated the matter and have done so in a transparent, nuanced way deserving of the issues that come up with systemic racism. They still support Bubba Wallace and all other drivers as they are part of their family. The other drivers support Bubba Wallace as one of their own.

Rather than get angry over race, a Confederate flag, or a noose, one should actually realize that NASCAR is going down the right path to the unity and equal justice that is the reason so many people are vocal and protesting.

#nascar #bubba wallace #race #blm #black lives matter #confederate flag #noose #racism #jussie smollett #charles barkley

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cuddleslutloki · 5 years

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I have a genuine question. How often do you actually deal with antis? I've been following you for a bit now and it seems every so often you bring up antis. I've certainly kept my interest about thorki shut and locked away in a box from my friends for the simple fact that all of them think it's incest. It's not an easy topic of conversation but you just seem to handle all the antis so well? Also on an off note about beast!Thor, his favorite pass time must just be rutting into Loki 24/7 🤔

when someone tells you that you're romanticizing abuse [bc i made a stockholm moodboard for a fic] I don't know what I'm supposed to say other than I don't condone it but I write about it? Is writing about abusive relationships bad in writing??? you're the only person i ask for advice so thank you for anything in advance

i’m honestly really glad you came to me. i really do like discussing this topic in this kind of way bc i’ll never reblog an anti or answer an anti ask. even if you’re arguing against them, i don’t think it’s worth it to argue against them if it means also spreading what they’re saying

the basic premise of all anti behavior and ideology is censorship. that’s all it is.

“i don’t like this topic, you need to stop writing it and making art for it. if you don’t stop there will be consequences.”

that is censorship and that is the kind of shit fandom has had to fight ever since there’s been fandom. women, poc, lgbt+ folks have been dealing with people telling us what we can and can’t write and enjoy for... well, probably forever. but we’re still here, creating the kind of content we want to see and indulge in.

as far as how to deal with antis, my advice is to ignore, ignore, ignore. they want what any bully wants: attention

you stop paying attention, you stop giving them time they don’t deserve from you, they’ll die off. there’s no point in fighting them directly. produce the content you want to see and enjoy what you want to enjoy. drown them out. you don’t owe them a response just because they come to you. they don’t have any qualms about being rude to you, so be rude back and just ignore them. i love blocking antis, personally. take out the garbage, y’know?

antis use the words ship and support as synonyms because they think that shipping is some radical call to action for lgbt rep instead of entertainment

shipping is not activism. shipping is about entertainment and enjoyment, nothing more

so this is why i have this very blasé attitude about antis. i just don’t give a fuck about them beyond making posts trashing their idiocy. because that’s what it is. it’s idiocy, but going deeper it’s puritanism at its finest. antis use fox news scare tactic logic under the guise of some pseudo feminist agenda because they don’t understand and don’t want to understand that enjoying dark fiction as entertainment isn’t equivalent to some greater moral stance

they use the same argument about shipping and fanfiction that WASP moms use against video games and loud music: that enjoying and consuming it will make you think it’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with it irl

okay, well, vlad the impaler never played CoD or far cry and caligula never watched hentai but we know why i’m bringing them up in this context without even heading over to wikipedia, don’t we?

they use the words abuse and pedophilia waaaaaayy too liberally and they’re doing more harm than good because they’re twisting and warping words that should have very specific meanings by using them so goddamn vaguely and irresponsibly

my own personal theory is that these people are terrified that if they don’t yell in opposition to these topics 24/7 and actively attack content creators that they’d probably enjoy it, and they’ve been so programmed by the echo chamber of tumblr and twitter that they think this means they’re bad people.

spoiler alert: that’s not what it means

i literally watched a circle jerk on twitter where screenshots of some mafia starker au got tweeted and retweeted w/ pictures of someone pouring bleach into cereal and people had asked to see more of the post. if you really don’t like something, you shouldn’t hate-read about it. it’s not productive, it does more harm than good if that’s the actual issue rather than some reverse psychology-style enjoyment they’re probably getting out of it.

they claim to hate this shit so much, but they’re reading hundreds and thousands of words and putting these images in their heads of their own free will. i don’t do that with shit i genuinely dislike. i avoid it.

i see antis say they enjoy thorki fanart because they think it’s cute, then they see it’s tagged thorki and they have an over the top reaction because the nature of anti ideology states you should never enjoy something like that, so if you do then you have to make the excuse of ignorance to prove that you’re still innocent and pure. enjoyment is apologism to them because they aren’t content to simply attack fan creators, they want to try and drive away the people who consume our art as well because they know you’re the cornerstone of fandom. consumers are why creators create. yeah, i write because i enjoy it, but i also write to connect to my readers and have people commenting on my fics when they like them.

it’s also worth noting that antis only ever talk about shipping. they only talk about sexual and romantic ships. i’ve never seen an anti talk about (often extreme) levels of violence in canon source material for the ships and characters they want to froth at the mouth over.

seeing someone bleed out and choking on their own blood after being stabbed or shot or bludgeoned? meh

seeing a character who was once a child have a sexual thought about a character who was also once a child and is also their close friend? omg why are we trying to make fandom unsafe for people?

personally, i’ve also noticed that fandoms with darker canon material tend to have more chill fandoms most of the time. i think it also depends on the average age in a given fandom. there’s a major difference between fannibals and steven universe fans, let’s just say that.

creating a moodboard for a dark fic is not “romanticizing abuse” and at this point antis honestly have no fucking idea what that phrase is. they use those words the way a bored CEO uses social media buzzwords and hashtags in a staff meeting

if antis want to see true romanticizing of abuse then they can go to serial killer thirst tags and spot the fucking differences between shippers and people who forget that ted bundy was weak, flaccid, cowardly piece of shit

writing something dark or violent or whatever else and condoning the act or doing the act are different. this is why stephen king isn’t under government surveillance or in prison.

make no mistake, this anti shit only applies to fandom. they’re attacking creators here because creators out at the professional levels don’t give a fuck. they’ve tried, and they’ve failed.

creators at the professional level understand something antis don’t: that being able to reconcile your enjoyment of dark media can be a sign of emotional intelligence and good emotional health. it’s cathartic. it’s allowed to be cathartic.

the most common consumers of dark fiction are members of minority communities and people who’ve been emotionally and/or sexually repressed for one reason or another.

antis want to say that fiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum and they are 100% correct! because writing fanfiction and original fiction that relates to parts of my life that nearly killed me gives me control over something that was beyond me in the original context. writing about fucked up codependent, violent romance allows me to process my shit in a way that’s healthy and produces something fun and enjoyable.

my therapist knows i ship thorki, she knows i write thorki. i’ve had her read pieces of fanfiction i’ve written in addition to pieces of original fiction. y’know what she said? “wow, baylen, that’s vivid. you have a way with words!”

i read her a line out of smart boy and told her what the story was about and this trained professional said “well it’s a productive way to process some emotion that you clearly need to let out”

but you know what? if someone doesn’t have the trauma i have? let them write it, too! let them create and enjoy the fictional content they want! more cake, y’all!

finally getting around to one of the first parts of your ask, lol. thorki is incest. thor and loki are brothers. they were raised believing they were blood brothers, even. loki being adopted doesn’t change a thousand years of personal history where thor looked at loki and thought that they came out of the same woman, y’know?

that’s his brother and in the comics his attachment to loki is even more intense. the mcu nerfed that shit. loki’s life has been intrinsically tied to thor’s ability to feel a full sense of joy.

enjoying an incest ship isn’t some sign of moral depravity. writing abusive relationships isn’t bad. gone girl was made into an award winning movie. art should look like life, and sometimes life fucking sucks. dark stories, sad stories, fucked up holy shit idk if i can go to sleep after i read this stories exist for a reason. we need them. we have to have an outlet for our frustration, our anger, and especially our fear.

so which is the healthier option of these

to write up a piece of fanfiction where two siblings are in love in a way that might be cute and soft or might be destructive, depending on your mood?

attacking strangers you don’t know online and threatening violence against anyone who doesn’t think like you do?

i know what kind of person i want to be.

ship and let ship, thanks for reading my doctoral thesis office hours are always

#anon #baylen chats

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fairyshuuu · 6 years

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Mercy has a price pt.4

.summary. You’ve been an outsider all your life. Never truly part of one life, and never truly part of the other. When you find him though, the people you once called yours fall into pieces to pry you apart. .word count. 7.4k .pairing. minseok x reader .genre. werewolf au angst/fluff (will contain smut in the future) .other members.

.warnings. a lot of swearing, domestic abuse, injuries part 1. part 2. part 3. part 4. part5. part 6.

He tosses the door open harshly, the glass trembling because of the impact, as he walks inside. The two women in the kitchen look up right away to see him walking through the backdoor, wide smiles and giggles fading as they observe his expression. Maggie is the first to speak, dropping her hand that now has a brand new and shiny ring on her slender fingers, and Minseok feels incredibly bad for ruining the moment. Kyungsoo finally must have gotten the courage. Maggie’s eyes widen at his shallow breaths. “Are you okay, Minseok? What is wrong?”

“Where’s Jun?” He heaves, out of breath from running the entire way home. Bumble immediately jumps out of her chair, and rushes into the next room to go find him, while Minseok walks over to Maggie on shaky legs. “Is anyone outside, or out running?”

“Not that I know of, no. Sehun and Jongin are studying, Jongdae and Chanyeol are gaming and Baekhyun is in the city together with Yixing and Kyungsoo.”

Minseok nods, brushing his sweaty hair out of his face and comes to rest against the wall, attempting to get enough oxygen. “Good. Keep it that way. And call the fire department, quickly.” With the mention of something that serious, Maggie blinks her wide eyes a few times, before grabbing at her phone to do just that. Bumble and Junmyeon come to walk around the corner, both with worried frowns on their faces.

“Minseok. What’s going on, why is-” He looks over at Maggie than, who’s babbling with wide hand gestures, and back at his older brother. “A fire?”

Minseok nods. “It’s the South pack, Jun. They started it, and right now I don’t have a clue as to how far it has spread. We need to act quickly, or the entire treeline will be gone.” There are multiple sets of feet that rush down the stairs too, everyone pouring into the kitchen with confused faces. “Chanyeol, grab the keys, we need to do something.” Though Chanyeol has no clue of what is going on, he trusts the oldest and does as asked right away.

Junmyeon pauses at the mention of Bumble’s past pack, as she turns to Minseok too. Her eyes are wide and searching, unable to believe that someone could be this evil. Her mate grabs her shaky hand, before looking back over to Minseok, with a frown. “Are they safe?”

“Who?” Maggie yelps, anger filling her tiny body now the shock has started to subside. “Those vandals? Who cares if they are fine, as long as-”

“Junmyeon is right.” Bumble speaks, teeth gritted with as much, if not more anger as the other woman. “Some of my friends are in that mess still, I’m sure they haven’t done anything. Donghyuk, Jiwon, Seoyun… Y/N.” At the mention of your name, Minseok’s hands shake, and he almost drops the glass he had taken a hold of to cool down. He still didn’t know if you were alright, and the stress was eating him alive. “I want them safe.” She says, tears shimmering at the corners of her pretty eyes.

“We all do.” Chanyeol replies, while giving Maggie a pointed look, where she sits apologetically.

When someone knocks on the door, you snap out of your wandering state, and practically fly over to the door, pulling it open with too much force. There are familiar eyes and then two warm arms envelop you in a hug, walking you backwards and out of the doorway. Donghyuk smells like smoke and the damp forest soil, a smell that fills your entire being as he buries his face in your shoulder. He shakes in your hold, as your arms rest gently against his back. When you look around, you don’t hear his murmuring, don’t feel his tears as they roll down your collarbones, because you’re numb. Your first thought was the safety of your family, it being the only thing you allowed yourself to think about all the way home, the entire wait until they would return.

You didn’t let your thoughts wander to Minseok, despite how hard your body ached to know he was okay, that he was safe and his family was safe. You didn’t let yourself think of the forest, the beautiful nature flying up in flames, being enveloped by monstrous licks of fire. Now that you blankly stare when Jiwon passes through the door, eyes red and unfocused, followed by Seoyun and Shownu, the reality starts to sink in. One by one the other people enter, and your chest keeps getting tighter and tighter as they do, a numbing anger spreading like a poison.

You don’t even notice when your little brother fists his hands into your sweater, don’t feel the way he is trying to keep you near with his fingers tightly woven into your clothes. All you see is Changkyun, his little smirk as he tilts his head to listen to the distant sound of the firefighters, and his flushed cheeks. You can’t keep your hands from shaking in anger, and you don’t want to. You want to hurt him. You’ve never felt this much hate for a person in your entire life as you have for him, and you know you want to hurt him. How dare he ruin the one thing that has always been there for all of you. When they didn’t have a place to go, the trees would give them shelter, protection from the harsh rain. When they want to go out, and don’t want their entire lives exposed, they take comfort in the forest, the one thing that always protected all of you.

The woods should be treated sacred, and he just disgraced them all. Not to even get started on the fact that any on the people you care about could have gotten hurt. You take a deep breath, trying your very hardest to steady yourself but to no avail. You peel the dark haired man from you and walk with looming steps over to the door, where the whole reason this started stands casually against the wall, picking something from under his nails. Jiwon reaches out when you walk past him in an attempt to stop you, but you yank your wrist free with a snarl and don’t stop walking until you’re right up in his face.

He grins. “Wha-”

Not even a full word can pass his lips or you ram your fist into the bottom of his jaw, with so much force you surprise even yourself. A prominent crack sounds through the room, one you are not sure comes from your hand or his face, or both, and then you’ve smacked him across the face again with your other hand. In the meantime the room is definingly quiet. You think it’s only appropriate that no one comes to his aid because they didn’t do so for you either, and Changkyun doesn’t deserve any mercy.

You want to lift your hand again but the adrenaline rush you just experienced fades away and Jiwon is pulling you back by your collar. Changkyun in turn glares at you with a true evil expression, frothing at the mouth and heaving over. He grunts twice and his bones all yerk, screaming under the pressure, before his familiar brow fur adorns his face. He snarls at you, bearing his teeth, and moves closer angrily. When he does though, there’s suddenly a pointed voice from your right.

“Back up.” Seoyun grunts, clenching her teeth with a flushed face. You’ve never seen her this angry, practically fuming. Changkyun pauses, before growling at her. You know it’s hurting him to disobey her, an Alpha’s order stronger than own will. When he doesn’t listen right away, she takes an angry step closer, even with her small height looming above him. “I said. Back. Up.”

Changkyun hisses furiously but does as asked, though he expresses his clear distaste by baring his teeth at her now, a vicious glint in his eyes. Seoyun only seems to get more pissed off at his self involved reaction. “I’m so done with your shit.” She seethes, her voice steady but sounding even scarier in it’s low volume. “You have gone too far this time, and I won’t let you off with any more warnings. You and your brother-”

“He and his brother what.” Shownu suddenly speaks, voice icey as he looks over his mate. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. All his actions seem collected, but you can tell by his extended nails and bright eyes that he is far from it. “He and his brother what, Seoyun.”

“You cannot blame me, Shownu. He burned down a part of the forest, he could have gotten our whole cover blown-”

“It wasn’t our forest.” Shownu responds, the same matter-of fact voice and you can imagine that all his younger brothers have gotten a free pass for years. Shownu doesn’t care. At his stupid response you have to keep yourself from screaming.

Seoyun mimics your exact thought, though. “And that makes it better?! We know people who live across the border, Shownu. Y/N practically has family over there! I practically have family over there! It not being ours doesn’t make it any less problematic!”

Shownu rubs his eyebrow, and peers at her in something that looks like distaste.

You’ve had enough of this entire conversation, and turn around on your heel suddenly, storming up to your room, again almost being stopped by Jiwon but you don’t let yourself be comforted. You slam the door behind you, not caring if anyone hears because you’re done. You’re done pretending that you’re fine, that you don’t hate yourself any time they throw you a crooked glance or a disappointed sigh. You remember Minseok’s words, holding onto them like a prayer in what feels like Noah’s flood. He would come for you, and get you out of here. He would.

Baekhyun’s face pales as he hears the news. Getting to swallow that 3 acres of forest have burnt to a crisp in the span of a few hours, first thing when you come back home is hard. Yixing just sits unmoving in the seat at the head of the table, as Chanyeol’s big eyes fill with tears. It’s Bumble who takes the word first. “Minseok,” she starts, voice sharp because of the stress and mental pain that’s straining on everyone. She notices how much it sounds like a command, and shakes off the harsh attitude, voice breaking as she starts over, much softer this time. “Min. You were on watch, you were there. Wh- What happened? How did it start, I don’t understand.” Junmyeon wraps his arm around her shoulders, as she melts into him.

“I was… on watch. I-” He runs it through in his head again and again, but there’s no way he can’t involve you in the story. He tries, but comes up shallow time and time again. “And then I saw Gwio.” All eyes, even Baekhyun’s, who were aimed starkly at the table before, turn to him now at the mention of another person. “I saw her all alone and so I wanted- or needed to keep her company.”

“Wait- who?” Jongdae calls, his dark brows bunching together at the unfamiliar name.

“Gwi- uhm Y/N. Bumble’s close friend?” The light haired woman looks intently into his eyes while he explains, but doesn’t say anything. Junmyeon runs a comforting hand over her arm from what Minseok can tell is muted worry in Bumble’s eyes. “We were talking and suddenly we noticed the smoke. Then I ran here right away. But we need to get her out of there, she doesn’t feel safe and her brothers are terrible to her. I can’t-” He stops himself for a moment to collect his thoughts, mouth running too quick and it’s something that catches everyone’s attention. Your plead to keep quiet about your bond makes him pause. “If it were my best friend,” he starts again, while Bumbles gold eyes find his, a frown lining her brow, “I wouldn’t want her to suffer the abuse she is. At any cost, we should get her out of that situation.”

“Maybe we can… ask them to disown her? Then she’d be free to make her own decisions.” Chanyeol suggests, looking between everyone collected.

Minseok doubts that your family would let you go like that, but he does agree. Talking it out would be a good start. He’s determined to keep you safe, no matter what. He looks over Maggie and Kyungsoo, who are pressed side to side in the couch, listening in with wide eyes, and back at Bumble and Junmyeon. He’d do anything and everything to keep you safe. Even if that meant not telling them that you were his mate. For some reason he was certain that would only complicate the situation, and fire up Maggie and Bumble more, not to start on his brothers.

“What if they don’t want to listen? They might feel threatened by our pack unexpectedly walking onto their ground.” Jongin cuts in, from where Sehun had been whispering into his ear.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine people who just almost burned our place down would appreciate having a pack of double their size storming into their borders.” The black haired man nods, strong brows woven together.

“We’ll go with a few, keep a low profile. We can check the situation out and decide what to do after. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, not on my watch.” Junmyeon runs his fingers through his hair, before weaving them into his mate’s, who sits scarily silent. “Anyone who wants to go?”

Kyungsoo moves from the corner of Minseok’s eye but Maggie almost immediately pushes him back in the seat, stormy eyes keeping him in place. “If either of us would be going, it would be me. I’m not letting you anywhere near those crazies.” She bites out, looking over at the table.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mag. We’re supposed to be civil, and you look like you’re ready to punch them in the face.” Bumble suddenly speaks, voice shaky. “Same with me. Anyone who hurts my family-” With a squeeze of Junmyeon’s hand, she closes her eyes, stilling again.

“I want to go.” Minseok speaks, putting himself as the first volunteer. If anyone should be there, it should be him.

Yixing’s eyes flick to him, before he nods, and straightens up too. “I’ll go too. I think I can be rational.” He says, voice soft and Maggie laughs. Though it sounds sarcastic, everyone knows that she’s just too stressed out to say anything else. Yixing pulls his lips together tightly, while Kyungsoo brushes his thumb over Maggie’s hand and his lips over her temple.

The raven haired man then turns to his older brother. “Thank you, hyung. We’re all sure that you can be rational. Maggie is just-”

“I know.” Yixing responds, nodding at her.

Baekhyun, the one who has been silent the whole time suddenly stands up, and starts nervously tapping his fingers on his thighs. He seems deep in thought, clear from the prominent frown on his face. “You said most of them were Omega’s? Right?” He looks over at the oldest couple in the room, both who nod tensely. Rank never is a determinator for bad behavior, that’s entirely dependent on the person, so Minseok wonders why Baekhyun mentions it. “I imagine that Seoyun doesn’t dare to say much because even though she’s the pack Alpha, her mate has always been the other boys’ Alpha.” He continues.

Baekhyun’s eyes flick over everyone at the table. “If we take one of our Omega’s, maybe it’ll be easier to get across to them, or at least seem like we’re in the same position.”

Sehun huffs, and runs a hand through his hair. “Even though I would love to go, I’m pretty sure I’ll ruin the plan as soon as I see their stupid faces.”

Jongin nods. “I’ll go.” The young man seems determined, and Minseok knows that Jongin would be the best choice to take with in this moment, just like everyone else in the room.

“Good.” Junmyeon sighs, running his hand over his face. “You should leave in the morning. Minseok, Yixing, take care of Jongin. I know I don’t have to say that but- this really was their last chance. We’ve overlooked all the crossing our borders, the previous attempts at provoking us, all the noise complaints. If they don’t listen now, I think we’ll have to-”

“We will take more serious measurements.” Bumble says, before standing up and walking out of the room.

You’re sat in your pajamas around the table this morning, staring with wide eyes that can only read as ‘what. the. fuck’. You’re perched on the chair most towards the end of the table and next to Jiwon. Shownu and Seoyun are sat down too, while an angry Changkyun avoids everyone’s gazes from his spot against the room. The thing that makes you more than anxious though, is the person sat straight across from you. Minseok. Your Minseok.

His eyes haven’t left yours for a second since he entered the room, but he’s not said a word. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to, without having everyone catch on. Next to him is a black-haired man, with soft cheeks, though his eyes look serious, and scooted closer to them sits the youngest of the three, brown hair falling over his eyes. He seems quite shy with all the gazes on him, but stays silent. You shiver as you feel the presence of more of your pack members behind you, and freeze up. Why would they come with so little?

Seoyun clears her throat, and catches eyes with the two men closest to her. Minseok swallows, before tearing his eyes away from you, and over to the other woman. “Welcome.” She says, folding her hands in her lap. “I think we all know why you are here. There’s been a lot of trouble between our packs, and I’m aware that most, if not all of that has been caused because of my pack. I want to apologize in advance, for I should have acted up sooner.” Clear by the deep frown on Shownu’s face, he and his mate didn’t make up since last night. You know Seoyun must feel absolutely horrendous right now.

Minseok looks over you for a split second, before jumping into the conversation. “We … have a lot to talk about.” He starts. At his voice you shudder, his soft sound feeling wrong in this room. How you wish he wouldn’t be here right now, exposed to the gazes of those people behind you. “It all started with just trash. It wasn’t nice, but we didn’t really care much. We cleaned up the garbage left on the borders of our territory and went on with our day.

But after multiple times our young ones found stuff in our territory when walking the borders, I think Bumble let you, as Alpha, know something. I can’t say much because I don’t know the details but-”

“She did.” Seoyun mumbles, sinking smaller and smaller. You truly feel bad for her. Despite everything, you know her and her mate care about each other a lot. It’s impossible not to, with them being mated and all. Shownu just makes it way too hard on Seoyun to be a fair Alpha. “She sent me a message a few weeks ago. I- I didn’t know it had been so bad, to be fair.” You can hear the disappointment in her voice, most likely because of her failure to be a responsible Alpha under the pressure.

The black haired man next to Minseok speaks up now. “It wasn’t that bad. Not until last night.” You hold your breath.

From the back of the room there’s a scoff. “Alright, enough niceties. Get on with what you came here for.” Kihyun speaks. You turn back to look at him where he sits on the staircase, glaring at the table.

“We didn’t come here for anything in particular.” The soft-spoken dark haired man continues with a steady and unbothered tone. You have to admire his calm. “We just wanted to have a discussion. We have two Omega’s in our pack as well, our two youngest. We know that most of you, with four, if I’m not mistaken, are all still Omega’s since you’re quite new to this pack.” He is correct. Hyungwon, Changkyun, Minhyuk and Kihyun are all still Omega’s in the pack.

“So?” Shownu leans forward, supporting his weight with his forearms, and glares at him. “They were all Beta when they were part of my pack, they’ll be Beta here soon again too. What does that have to do with anything?”

Now the brown haired man leans forward slowly. “In our pack, we don’t have an Alpha. Me and Sehun are the only two Omegas. I know that we can be a bit rowdy but when we are, there’s consequences. What happened yesterday-” When he looks up and sees most men in the room fume at him, he takes a breath, stuttering a little. “I mean- we- we know that you- started it and that can’t be left unnoticed. We’re not here to put anyone responsible, but that is something that should happen in the pack, though.”

Minseok looks over at you again, his hand twitching as if he wants to reach out to brush your cold cheeks, but speaks up with a deep breath instead, though his eyes stay locked on your face. “What Jongin means,” his tongue peeks out to wet his lips, “is that we are not here to start anything. We’ve lived peacefully alongside each other, and want to keep it that way. The fire was less than peaceful though, and there should be consequences that are made up by the Alpha. Seoyun,” her eyes shoot up at the call of her name, “Bumble put her full trust in you. Don’t make her regret it.” Towards the end of his sentence, his voice starts shaking from anger, so you brush your foot gently against his calf in an attempt to calm him down, keeping your eyes on the table though.

The black haired man breathes, attempting to cool the conversation down again. The more you look at Shownu, the more you start to suspect that Seoyun begged him to at least hear them out, because he still hasn’t exploded like you would’ve expected by now. “So you have the Alpha, five Betas and four Omegas?” He asks.

You hear a high pitched giggle, and then a deep breath. “Four betas, pretty boy.” You hear Minhyuk gleam, already knowing why he found it so funny.

“Yixing,” the other responds, “and how- so? What about Y/N?”

“That thing doesn’t have a rank.”

Minseok’s leg flexes against your foot, his entire body freezing now you’ve been directly dragged into the conversation. He grits his teeth, before dragging his eyes away from yours slowly. “About that.” He says, voice significantly lower than normal. “Bumble misses her friend very much. We talked about it and we want her to join our pack.” Minseok says it so straight out, you can’t help but stare with an open mouth. What was he doing? That was never going to work.

“Doesn’t sound like we have much of a choice.” Another man behind you, a voice you hoped you most definitely wouldn’t hear, speaks up. Hoseok. There’s some snickers from his brothers. “What if the little ones don’t want to get rid of their little sister?” He says, voice sounding scarily neutral. You sink into your chair more and more, the bad feeling in your stomach doubling down again.

Minseok’s jaw twitches angrily. “I’m sure you all would understand that she needs her childhood friend, more than she needs to be in a home full of new wolves.”

Hoseok suddenly laughs, though his eyes shine coldness across the room. “How about no.” He stands up from his seat on the staircase, and walks over to the table slowly. “We’d miss her so much.”

Minseok stands up from his seat suddenly, when Hoseok’s hand brushes your shoulder. He can just hold back a growl, his fingers digging into the table angrily. You can’t even move, since Minseok is glaring at the brown haired man over your head, while Hoseok stands behind your chair. Jiwon looks up between the both of them, and grabs your hand in worry. Your heartbeat is the only sound for a few moments, and then Hoseok smiles.

“What.” He breathes, before putting his hand on your cheek and looks down at you. “It’s werewolf rule.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Minseok stands almost shaking in his shoes, face flushed an angry shade of red. Yixing and Jongin look at him in serious worry, not used to the sudden outburst of their oldest brother, and you know that Minseok hasn’t spilled your secret yet, even now.

Hoseok brushes his thumb over your cheek like another punch in your mate’s gut, and then he brushes your hair out of the way. It takes a second for you to realize, but when you do you quickly reach up, hands covering your exposed shoulder with wide eyes. Hoseok doesn’t let you though, digging his fingers into your wrists and holding you still while you try to yank away. “Wolf rule. You can’t separate my claim from me, lover boy.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to you then, seeing the scar in the crook of your neck. Minseok looks too, as tears fill your eyes in pain at the sharp sting from Hoseok’s harsh handling. Minseok’s eyes widen, and then he takes a stumbled step away from the table. All kinds of voices sound out then, but they blur into the background as Minseok looks at you, his eyes full of so much pain you feel it in your own body.

“It’s not true.” You say, finally breaking away from Hoseok’s hold and stumbling away from the table as well. “That’s a lie!” You seethe, anger filling you. They were really so evil that they would ruin any type of happiness you had in this world. Jiwon reaches for you as you try to avoid anyone but the eyes of the blonde stood across the table, and pulls you behind him as a protective shield.

It takes Minseok a while, but when his eyes meet yours again, he looks into your face intently. ‘He’s lying’ you mouth, begging him with your eyes to trust you. To your slight surprise, Minseok nods, and then he walks back toward the table.

“Well.” Kihyun says, taking a stand in front of Seoyun, who looks absolutely confused at the entire situation. “You got to say what you wanted to. We appreciate the friendly advice. You are outnumbered here though. I would suggest you see yourself out.”

Jongin is the one to turn his brothers around with a tense nod, and having them make for the door. Everyone keeps their eyes on them, all except Jiwon, who is looking down at you by now, tilting your head to the side carefully. “You said it was just a nick.” He whispers, worry swimming all over his face. Yixing looks back at you with a guilty face, just like Minseok, before they all exit. You can see Minseok mouth something, but you’re too far away to really make out what. “Is it true?” Jiwon continues, pitty woven between the letters. “Is Hoseok really…?”

You shake your head, brushing away angry tears, and break out of your big brother’s hold. His eyes slide over to your neck again so you pull your hair in front of the scar with a pointed look.

The door clicks into lock behind the boys. Hoseok grins and then starts giggling, only making your anger bubble to the surface. “So it’s him, then.” Hoseok grins, turning to you.

“Who is what?” Donghyuk asks, irritation clear in his voice, as well as every part of his expression.

The brown haired man lifts an eyebrow at you instead of replying to him. “You know,” he chuckles, gummy smile looking vicious as ever, “doesn’t matter how much you fuck a wolf, it still doesn’t make you one.”

Jiwon is in front of him in seconds, nose to nose, though he has a slight height advantage. “Speak again. I’m fucking daring you to speak to her like that again.” He grabs his collar then, though Hoseok doesn’t back down, he also doesn’t say anything else. “I wish you’d try it, just so I can rip that dirty tongue out and feed it to the rats. That tiny girl right there is more of a wolf than you’ll ever be.” His voice sounds definingly steady, dark much like his eyes. “Shut your mouth if nothing useful is coming out.”

Seoyun looks across the room, before giving you a tight lipped nod. “Go up to your room and pack your stuff, Y/N.” She says.

Shownu steps in front of her then, cutting her off from your view. Though you can’t see his face, you don’t doubt he’s worked up. “What?!” Jiwon pushes you towards the hallway to your room as the conversation continues, silently urging you to do it quickly. “I don’t think we’ve talked about this and-”

“And frankly, baby, I don’t care!” Seoyun cuts in. “I’ve never understood you guys’ childish and immature acting about things. I’m the Alpha here and if I say that she’s packing her bags, she is.” She walks past her mate, as he turns to grab her arm, a look of true hurt passing his features. “Let go of me!” Seoyun grunts, yanking her arm out of his hold as she walks over to the door, angry steps resonating through the house.

Jiwon groans as she runs out into the forest, shifting right away to let off some steam. “She can’t go out there now, there’s still police and firefighters out there. They’ll spot her.” He runs a hand through his hair, gives you a hug and runs out after her, leaving the door open wide and you alone with just Donghyuk, and the rest of the pack.

You suddenly feel small, with the way most eyes find you. In two steps, both Kihyun and Hoseok are up in your faces. It’s Kihyun who grabs your face between his fingers, twisting it towards him sharply. “You want to pack your bags? Ungrateful mutt.” Hoseok sighs, true disappointment for something you clearly don’t understand, while the other digs his nails into your soft skin. You yelp and grab at his hands, trying to push him off, but he doesn’t let go. You soon understand Hoseok’s sighs, as you see that he’s holding back your younger brother, who’s trying to get to you.

“Y/N!” He shouts, reaching out his hand for you as the older takes a hold on the back of his neck, pulling him away. You know that Hoseok is physically stronger. “Let- Let go of her!” He rasps, before yelping. You don’t know what’s happening because Hoseok has dragged him out of your view, but your brother’s whimpers of pain only make you tear up more.

Kihyun twists his nails into the skin of your jaw, cutting it open with ease, as you scream desperately. “Please leave Donghyuk alone! Hoseok! He didn’t do anything, please.” You cry, tears rolling down your cheeks now, as your grip on Kihyun’s hands weaken. The man holding you hisses, before taking his fingers from you.

“You think your boyfriend can do anything to help?” He lifts his top lip to reveal extended teeth. “You’re despicable. We should’ve gotten rid of you sooner.” His hand connects with your cheek sharply, sending you staggering to the ground with a booming pain in your head as it smacks against the wall. Your breathing becomes totally ineffective now that tears fill your nose, mouth, you feel like your lungs are too small. “Hoseok, when you’re done there, watch the door. I’m not having those little pups trying to come back here.” He turns to you, where you’re painfully folded against the wall. “And you, get the fuck out of my face. I won’t just kill something that’s already hanging by a string. That would make it too fucking easy.” As a last add, he kicks you in the stomach, full force and you’re left heaving over in the suspense of pain that’s so blinding you can’t focus on your surroundings. You wrap your arms around you, whimpering at the pain, and slowly the swelling blobs of colors in your vision dim down to darkness.

When you wake up, you start coughing immediately, a pounding pain in both your stomach and face. You steady yourself against the wall, blinking against the dim light, and breathe in deeply. “Oh, hold on-” You hear, from across the room, and then Seoyun is in front of you. She helps you sit up straight but that only causes more pain in your upper stomach, and you have to bite your lip not to cry. “Sorry.” When she comes to sit next to you, you notice that you’re in your bed. Seoyun’s eyes are full of tears when she takes all of you in again. With her one hand, she lift your face up a little, and presses a wet cloth against your cheek. “I’m getting you out of here, I promise.” She whispers, her hand shaking against your face. “I wish I would’ve done more.

I wish I would’ve listened to my own judgment.” She switches to the other side now, the more sore one. You can still feel Kihyun’s hand in your skin, a warm radiation from the impact. “The boy from earlier… is he your boyfriend? Or-”

“He’s my mate.” You rasp, wincing at the movement of your chest.

Seoyun smiles softly, as she cleans your face as best as possible. “Good. I’m glad. He seems like he really cares about you.”

“Seoyun,” you say, grabbing a hold of her hand, “he’ll come get me. Where are the others?”

“Hoseok is standing watch in front of the door. Kihyun and Minhyuk went to work. I’m not sure where Shownu is but I don’t care.” Her voice is shaky, something that indicates her uncertainty. She does care, and it clearly bothers her right now. “I might come with you. I can’t stand it anymore. They are so horrible to you, and Jiwon and Donghyuk. And I can never get a say in anything without my own mate standing up against me.”

You pause, looking into her eyes, before giving her a little smile. “You know you love him the most. You guys are good when it’s just you two, I know you are. I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t know it was true. You know that leaving your mate after you’re mated would kill you.”

Seoyun sighs, but you can see it in her face, you’re right. “I packed your bags.” She says then, avoiding the topic. “I’ll give them to Jiwon to bring them to the border. You’ll find them there, right?” She stands up, and turns around to look around the room. “Can you stand?” You nod, and slide yourself off the bed. It hurts so much more than you thought it would, and tears immediately come into your eyes as you try to put pressure on your legs. You probably have a broken rib from Kihyun’s kick. Seoyun pulls you up and against her, helping you over to the door. You rest against it for a bit, while the woman in front of you gives you a little smile.

“I hope you’re more than happy with him. And I-” There’s a pointed silence, Seoyun not moving at all, before she looks back at you. “Did you hear a bird?” You agree in confusion. “Birds don’t chirp at nightfall. I asked Donghyuk to let me know if he notices something. Come on.”

She helps you down the stairs and over to the door, as you look around at what feels like the last time you’ll ever see this place, something you can’t help but be grateful for. Not all memories here are bad, but most are, and you’re grateful to be getting help for once. Seoyun supports you until you reach the back door. “Be careful. I’ll try to keep Hoseok distracted for a while.”

“Thank you.” You whisper, giving her a sideways hug, before the woman rushes over to the front door and you push open the back door carefully. It’s raining truckloads, but you don’t care at all, just grateful to feel the door close behind you, and the scent of outside surround you. You think about your brother’s though. You’d get them safe and sound too. As your fingertips leave the wood, you peer around the forest. The trees sway in unison, as if to cheer you on, so you try to take a step away from the house, only to stumble back when another sharp pain digs into your chest.

You breathe deeply, fresh forest air filling your lungs, and hold yourself up against the wall. Though you are hurting terribly, you keep yourself silent with the thought of Minseok. Soon you’d be safe, and close to him. There’s the sound of a crack, and then you see two big eyes peering at you from behind a bush. The man, who you trust is one of Minseok’s brothers, takes a sharp breath when he sees you with your hand pressed to your stomach in pain, before he quickly rushes over. Behind him appear two more faces, that you also don’t recognize. Though a familiar face would be nice right now, you’re just glad to have some support. The first man immediately reaches out to hold you up.

“Are you okay?” He whispers, worry swimming in his eyes. His black hair is short on the sides, longer on top, with deep chocolate eyes. When you give a tense nod, holding onto his arm tightly, he looks back at his brothers. “You’re unmated, right?” Again you nod, biting your lip. He nods, smiling at you a little, and helps you take a step away from the wall. “Chanyeol, Baekhyun, keep away from her a little, I really can’t have you getting distracted. My mate won’t mind me helping you, come on.” He nods, cocking his head to indicate you to get on his back. You do so with clenched teeth and teary eyes, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Thank you--” You whisper when seated.

The man nods. “Kyungsoo. It’s no problem. You good?” He asks again. You’re far from comfortable, but you keep your head up and nod in determination.

The tallest of the three, with messy blonde hair and ears that poke out, looks around cautiously. “Did they see you?”

“I don’t think so.” You whimper, groaning mutely when Kyungsoo starts moving.

“Chanyeol, you stay behind us, Baekhyun, look for Bumble’s car. She’s really cold, I want to get her out of the rain and inside.”

The redhead, who you guess is Baekhyun, nods, looking over you with a little frown. When his gaze runs over you, it sends spikes of tingles through your body. You sometimes forget that you’re not mated, since you don’t feel this with any members of your pack. You understand now what Kyungsoo means, and look away.

“Where’s Minseok?” You ask then, as the man below you picks up the pace even more. He holds onto you tightly so that you’re not bouncing up and down.

Baekhyun turns back, but it’s Chanyeol who answers. “He wanted to come, but we decided against it because someone might have recognized his scent. He’s waiting by the car.”

All three men move quickly and quietly again, until you start to recognize the sound of the river that runs by the border. By now, you guess that someone will have found out that you’re gone, but the forest stays quiet still.

When they pass the border, everyone slows their speed to a steady walk, sighing gratefully. So far, so good. Baekhyun clears his throat as he comes to walk next to Kyungsoo, before speaking up. He too, keeps his eyes on the ground though. “What happened to you? Can you- you don’t look okay.”

You can hear the worry in his voice. “It’s just the rain.” You smile, brushing your wet hair out of your face though you know that’s not what he means. You notice all the boys feel more comfortable now that you look like you can smile again, though the pain hasn’t subsided. It’s strange how worried they look about you, a stranger, but you guess there lies one of the differences between your pack and theirs.

Chanyeol suddenly points a finger. “I can hear them.”

Kyungsoo pauses his steps and looks with wide eyes at his older brother. “Who?”

“Minseok and Bumble, duh.”

Kyungsoo pretends to smack him, before carrying on. “Yeah, that’s my bad, Yeol. It could’ve been- I don’t know- the people we are trying to keep Y/N away from? But you’re right, sorry for being cautious.” At the teasing between them in such a tense situation, you can’t help but giggle. The three men join you in your amusement, understanding just as much as you do that in this tense a situation, you need to let off some steam. “Let’s get you to hyung.” Kyungsoo says, walking the last bit two the car.

When you approach, the headlights are flicked off, and the doors tossed open. “Oh, Y/N-” Bumble has you in her arms before you can blink, tucked safely into her familiar embrace, only thins time you physically can’t melt into her. “I’m so sorry for leaving you- I should’ve-” You pinch her side teasingly, and take a step back. She’s upset, and you want to make her feel better, but right now there’s no one in the world you want to see more than-

Minseok closes the car door behind him, finally daring to breathe, and walks over towards you with a shaky sigh. He pulls you to his chest tightly, arms around your shoulders and chin on your head. His heart seems to be drumming a million an hour, just like yours is. He pushes a kiss to your crown, and you can feel a tear drip into your hair. “Are you okay?” He whispers, already knowing the answer, looking down into your face. His one hand lifts to brush your cheek, the one that still stings under the touch. You can tell that his mind is running a thousand miles an hour, so you squeeze him a little tighter, and kiss his pouty lips slowly.

“Not tonight.” You murmur, hoping he’ll let you enjoy this moment as a victory, and not as a moment for revenge. You press another kiss to his cheek, and lean against him. “Not tonight, Minnie.”

He nods, and brushes your hair out of the way. “Let’s get you out of the rain first. Okay?” You are too tired to respond, and let him carry you to the car. When you’re seated, he closes the door for you, as you sink into the soft and warm fabric of the car, while watching your mate hug the people standing to the side, and getting into the car himself. “They are walking home. It’s not that far.” He starts up the car, and turns to you with unfocused eyes. “We’re going up the mountain. We have a cabin there, that we don’t use a lot. If anyone tries to find you, we’ll be gone.” He squeezes your hand as you yawn, before pulling the car out of the spot. “Sleep now, firefly.”

Woohhh, finally!! I killed myself multiple times trying to write this chapter, and I’m so sorry it’s about double of what I planned. I know it’s a whole lot of words. And I’m really tired editing this so hopefully there’s not too much typos. Mino is finally safe and sound and together. Uhh I’m so happy~

As always, please send me a message about what you thought, what you think is going to happen~ I love hearing what you guys think!! Thank you so, so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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