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mionemymind · 3 years

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Chapter 3: The Harsh Treatment

Fake Memories

Series Summary: After Y/n is caught cheating on Wanda with Carol, Y/n would do just about anything to get Wanda back into her life. But was it even Y/n’s fault that she cheated? Or was it the new enemy set on revenge?

Chapter Summary: What will happen to Y/n as the team pushes her past her limits?

A/n: I lied, I decided to be nice and post it now. Honestly, the amount of support that I’m receiving from this fanfic has literally made me smile so much. I really love all of you who read and/or comment. You mean the world to me. Let me know what you think. :) (Not my GIF)

Warnings: Starvation, harmful thoughts, curse words, self-doubt, mentions of blood, injuries, angst

Word Count: 5k

Masterlist

Y/n abruptly woke up at the feeling of pressurized gas coursing through her body. She quickly sat up, unable to see anything in the white fog. The cold feeling only lasted a couple seconds before F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Fire has been contained.” Y/n hugged herself for warmth as she waited for the fog to disappear. This was the 13th time this month that she was woken up with pressurized gas. At first, it was foam but someone in maintenance had changed the system after the 5th time she woke up.

Y/n looked at her surroundings and sighed at the damages to her sheets. There were burn marks along with small amounts of frostbite from the gas. “At this rate, I won’t have money for food.” With a grim face, Y/n got up from her bed and proceeded with taking everything off her bed, a routine she unfortunately started to learn.

Y/n didn’t know when things got worse. If she had to guess, maybe it was after the whole fiasco with Wanda. The team had been on edge ever since then. “They probably thought I hurt her,” Y/n thought at the time, but it was far from the truth. She had wanted to explain herself to the team but dismissed those thoughts with, “What’s the point in trying? I’ll always be guilty to them.”

As for Wanda, the still heartbroken girl didn’t dare to speak to the team about that night. Even she didn’t quite know what happened. Since that night, she only lied to herself stating that maybe Y/n had done something. It would probably remove the guilt she had when she thought of the blood running down Y/n’s face. But even the lie couldn’t repress the truth from her thoughts.

After she collected her bedding, she threw it away in the trash can along with the other damaged beddings. Y/n grabbed her wallet off her night stand and opened it. She couldn’t feel it, but her heart dropped at the sight of the lack of money she had. Only a $20 dollar bill as well as a couple ones were left. She closed her eyes and tried her best to keep herself calm, to try and act like the world wasn’t closing in on her. It was a couple minutes later when she opened her eyes and looked at her wallet again. “This was supposed to last me for the rest of the month.” Y/n rubbed her forehead, feeling the overwhelming stress from her lack of funds.

One might ask, “Aren’t you an Avenger? Shouldn’t you make a shit ton of money.” And at one point, Y/n would say yes, she did. But it all came back to that night. A week after, she had overheard a conversation that went…

“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this to her.” Y/n was about to go around the corner, but decided to wait at the sound of Steve’s voice. “It’s simple Rodgers - unless I have to remind you why we needed to redo the glass in the conference room.” Steve sighed at Tony’s simple minded actions. Y/n could practically feel him crossing his arms in a disapproving manner.

“Well she did work fair and hard for her money Tony - this just feels wrong.” Y/n heard a couple clicks before Tony replied with, “This is for Wanda. Anything to get Y/n out of here by her own means is worth it. If you have a problem with this, you must not care as much for Wanda as I thought.” Steve sighed again seeing as he was morally put in an awkward position. It was either care for Y/n or care for Wanda. “That’s what I thought.” Tony left with a smug look on his face as he clicked more on the screen in front of him.

It didn’t take long for Y/n to see the effects of Tony’s decision. Her pay day was the following day and the overwhelming sense of panic and anxiety rose up within her as she only had $400 to survive until the next pay day, which was a month later. Since then, her food portions have been small to say the least. Y/n learned that she only had enough money for the month to eat at least once a day and even that was cutting it. The dramatic changes to her diet had slowly affected her powers but it recently had an exponential increase.

This was her fourth month of hardly eating when her powers started to flare at night. It has gotten to the point that Y/n couldn’t control them in her sleep leading to F.R.I.D.A.Y having to deal with her fireside. But her powers weren’t the only thing that has changed. If anyone were to actually look, they would see that Y/n had gotten skinnier. Her literal glow was getting duller and duller the more time passed.

However, Y/n refused to feel sorry for herself. The sentence “I deserve this” was burned into her head. The brain tricks she puts herself through even allowed her to convince that Tony's decision was right. That Wanda didn’t need to tell the truth to the team. That Steve didn’t need to defend her. And that the team certainly was allowed to make her feel like nothing. Because to Y/n, if she didn’t deserve this, then why would you possibly treat a person like this? Just why?

Of course, Wanda didn’t notice these changes at all. The girl was trying her best to avoid Y/n as much as possible. She always had exit strategies in place in case she were to be in the same vicinity as Y/n. However, Wanda also didn’t notice that lack of Y/n’s presence. Much to her dismay, Y/n’s efforts were the reason they didn’t see each other much.

What Wanda did notice though was the slow and gradual decline of snacks in her cubby. It left her to question whether Natasha was done doing these small favors for her. But her reports were still getting done.

The red head didn’t have much room to think though as she got slammed down on the mat from the other red head. “Take a ten - you’re distracted and we can’t keep going like this.” Wanda grumbled at another failed attempt to flip Natasha over. Hand to hand combat was one of the few subjects that Wanda hated the most. With the help of Natasha, Wanda got up and walked over to the waters on the other side of the room. She was gulping down the remaining when Natasha’s words caught her off guard. “What happened?”

Wanda cocked an eyebrow while still drinking her bottle, needing more elaboration. Natasha faced Wanda while hundreds of thoughts racked her mind. Luckily for her, Wanda had trained her on how to make them quiet enough that Wanda wouldn’t be able to hear. When Natasha found the right words, she said, “I am not doubting you. I am doubting her…” Wanda closed the bottle and looked around the room to avoid Natasha’s eyes. This had been the first time that anyone from the team had remotely even asked her about that night. To be frank, she hadn’t expected Natasha to be the one to break the ice. Usually it was Steve that would act like the team’s counselor. Guess things change.

Wanda sighed and recollected her memory for the night that continued to haunt her. “One minute, I left to get a drink from the bar. - she said that she needed to go to the bathroom. The next minute, I come back to see her all over blondie.” Wanda’s grip on the bottle tightened at the words she was going to say next. “I thought it was a mistake - that she could have been too drunk that night - b-but her thoughts were so - loud.” Wanda slammed her fist at the table in front of her, tears already falling down her cheeks. “A-a-and I saw everything-”

The broken hearted girl didn’t have much energy left in her to continue. She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands. Natasha kneeled beside Wanda. She pulled the poor girl into her arms, trying her best to physically comfort her. But nothing could really make Wanda feel better. What could you say to a girl that saw every moment where her girlfriend has cheated on her? Nothing - you say nothing.

“It’s quite pathetic actually,” Tony said as he spun the rod, causing his player to score in foosball. He was currently versing Steve as the two decided to quietly speak about Y/n’s actions for the past couple weeks. Going on the defense again, Steve shot back but Tony was quick to block. “She’s probably just trying to get her money back.” Steve huffed from the sudden slap shot as well as Tony’s rude words.

For the past couple weeks, Y/n had gone from trying to win Wanda back to trying to win the whole team back. The first thing they noticed was all the completed mission reports and the continuation of it. Clint was the first to jokingly comment, “Bruce must really love mission reports.” But the genius bore a confused look before replying with, “It wasn’t me. Even I haven’t had anything to do in my stack for a couple days.” Bruce had a displeasured look on his face. Clint just assumed it was either he wanted to do his stack of reports or the comment was actually true...or maybe both.

When it was time for the meeting, Clint had asked everyone in the room, minus Y/n, on who was completing the mission reports for everyone. “Well, I’m doing Wanda’s and mine,” Natasha claimed as she sat in her usual spot. No one was able to detect her lie, but then again, Natasha was always good at lying.

Clint was quick to figure out that the only person remaining must have been the person responsible. With a straight forward voice, he explained to the team that Y/n had been completing everyones, besides Wanda’s and Natasha’s, reports. Still, Natasha sat there, copying the confused looks on everyone’s faces. She didn’t care to tell them the truth, it wasn’t worth it. However, the meeting proceeded with little comment on Y/n’s actions. She wasn’t worth the mention.

“What if she actually is trying to say sorry to us?” Steve couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for Y/n, but Tony’s words made the guilt go all away. “Oh - so miss Hydra over here actually wants to apologize - hilarious Steve.” With that, Tony quickly spun the rod and scored the final point, making him win the game. What the two failed to realize was the fact that Y/n had overheard their conversation. She no longer felt hungry for the day and had retreated back to her room, feeling overwhelmingly numb from the confession she heard.

It was a new and different day for Wanda. She had managed to want to try and sit in the common room with her team seeing as sitting in her room no longer gave her the same satisfaction anymore. Scrolling through the tv, she was about to pull up Bewitched when the following words appeared on the screen:

Bewitched is longer provided on Netflix. Please see related tv shows.

“What do you mean it’s no longer available?” Wanda frustratedly questioned. And here she was trying to have a good day. “Sorry kid, I guess Netflix took it off their streaming service,” Clint said as he leaned over the couch. “No why would they do that?!” Wanda said with an exasperated look. Clint simply shrugged, Netflix did have an awful reputation for getting favorites removed or canceled. “No clue, but you could try other shows.” Wanda crossed her arms and huffed at his suggestion. “I was really feeling Bewitched today.” Ruffling her hair, Clint left after saying, “Try to feel for something else.”

However, Wanda had failed to feel anything but angry for the remaining of the day. It wasn’t until she sat in her room for the night, aimlessly finding shows in her room when she noticed Bewitched on her home screen. She quickly clicked on it noticing that all eight seasons are there for her own viewing. Her mood immensely increased for the night as she fell asleep in the middle of season two.

Outside of her room, Y/n had been cleaning up the compound for the night. It was getting harder and harder to clean the kitchen when everything in her wanted to just take a couple of snacks for herself. Her hunger was constantly on her mind as well as the stupid flashes that have sporadically appeared more and more everyday. But she wanted more than anything to prove to the team that she is a good person. Stealing, no matter how minor, was probably the last thing she needed to be labeled as.

When she completed for the night, she returned to her room but paused outside of her door when she heard the Bewitched theme song loudly play in Wanda’s room. A small smile appeared on her face as she walked back into her room and slept on the floor tonight.

“Did it ever occur to you that I love you - like a lot?” The couple were laying in Carol’s room decorated with punk rock posters and pictures of their team. Small plants were placed around the room while Malcolm in the Middle was used as background noise.

“Nah. I haven’t heard you say it in approximately - 10 minutes?” Carol laughed as Y/n glanced at her watch. They laid on their sides as they faced each other, their faces being only inches away. “Well I do.” Carol cupped Y/n’s cheek as she soon grew mesmerized.

There are words to always describe feelings with someone but they all felt overused or incomplete. Because everything felt like this daydream colored borders with warm tones and retro filters as she glanced at Y/n. She felt like she was watching a show that she would never get tired of. Even if the show was in color or black and white, new or old, slow or fast, she would watch just to see her. Just her.

“You do what?” Carol flicked Y/n’s forehead at her response. “Kidding - kidding.” Y/n said as she rubbed her forehead. Carol rolled her eyes and kissed Y/n’s head as she cuddled into her arms, legs tangled within the sheets. “I do love you.” Y/n kissed her hair as she combed it with her hand. “I know,” she whispered, hoping Carol would pick up on the secret reference. Because to Y/n, yeah, she’s worth a whole galaxy.

It was the middle of the night when Steve woke up from a nightmare that shook him from his slumber. Rather than staying in bed to force himself to sleep, he got up and headed to the kitchen for a late night snack.

Heading into the pantry, Steve pursed his lips noticing that Y/n’s cubby had been empty for weeks it seems like. The guilt that was slowly forming inside him kept building and building. Although he knew he could try to do something about it, the loyalty he had to his family - to Wanda. That was something he didn’t want to break.

The relationship with Wanda and Steve was something similar to a father and daughter relationship. Steve had always wanted a kid of his own and Wanda had lost her father. The irony of it all just happened to work for the two. Even though Wanda nor Steve would admit it out loud, they viewed each other as the roles that needed to be filled in their lives. They needed each other regardless of titles.

But then there was Y/n. The troubled girl that made Steve absolutely nervous with how quick her and Wanda seemed to like each other. It absolutely didn’t help Steve’s case when the whole team found out about Y/n’s past. His anxiety had practically skyrocketed. It eventually led to a one on one talk with Wanda about how sometimes we need to protect ourselves before letting people in.

But Y/n was still there. Breaking down Wanda’s walls. So just like any Dad would, Steve watched over. Making sure his girl was always happy and safe. So while Natasha may have refilled Wanda’ cubby and did her reports, Steve had carried Wanda to bed during nights she couldn’t sleep. He made her tea for times that she didn’t want to talk, which was often. He tucked her in at night and cuddled with her when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He was just there.

But so was she. She was there whenever Wanda cried at night. She was there when Wanda would sometimes forget to eat after busying herself all day. She was there to take care of Wanda. She was there when Steve wasn’t. And that meant everything to Steve. So why couldn’t Steve be there for Y/n?

There were a lot of unanswered questions roaming around Steve’s head. Rather than pondering more about them, he walked around the tower, eating a pack of cookies for himself. Just as he was turning the corner, he glanced towards the conference room to see Wanda asleep in front of her reports. However, the more alarming part was the girl that happened to be right in front of Wanda. Steve quickly grew on high alert and observed Y/n’s actions. However, after a couple minutes of harmless actions, Steve forced his shoulders to relax. “She’s just doing reports - calm down,” Steve thought.

But he couldn’t calm down. The guilt had maneuvered it’s way back up to his throat as he actually noticed the pale state of the once bright girl. For someone that had literal fire abilities, she lacked the glow of any raging fire. Feeling nothing but guilt all over, Steve felt compelled to say something - anything. But he froze. He didn’t know what to say.

However, the opportunity soon was lost as Y/n finished everyone’s stack of reports. Steve hid around the corner as Y/n passed him. Hearing a door close was when Steve stepped out of hiding. He glanced towards the direction of Y/n’s room, feeling every need to go to her. But his footsteps led him to Wanda. He picked her up and carried her to her room. Wanda will always be first in Steve’s heart. And nothing could change that.

“We have to stop this treatment Tony.” Steve waltzed into Tony’s lab the very next day. For once, he couldn’t sleep for the remainder of the night. Y/n was all over his mind. The guilt was practically eating him alive.

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve’s dramatic fashion for entrances. “Oh - good morning Tony - how are you - I’m actually pretty good.” Steve rolled his eyes as he stood in front of Tony, a hologram in between the two.

“Cut the crap Tony - I’m being serious.” Steve crossed his arms. This needed to end. “And you think I’m not Rodgers?” Tony was quick to respond, already growing irritated by the conversation.

“This isn’t right - none of this right.” Steve wiped the hologram to finally get a clear view of Tony as he grew frustrated by the second. Tony simply swiped it back, not wanting to deal with the issue. “Well maybe if she just quit - we wouldn’t need to worry about anything. It’s not my fault Fury hired Ms. Hydra - and if he finds out I fired her, he would not allow it at all.”

“But can’t you see that your stupid plan isn’t working? All we’re doing is abusing the girl.” Steve wiped the hologram again but Tony simply walked to a different station and continued his work. Angry with his response, Steve walked around the table and stood beside Tony.

“This needs to end Tony,” Steve said through his gritted teeth. The man was clenching his jaw so hard, it almost looked as if he was going to break his teeth. However, Tony quickly glared at Steve at the mention of his threat.

“Don’t you fucking dare. Can’t you actually see that I’m trying to protect Wanda.” Steve tilted his head at the awful reasoning for his actions. “How is this protecting Wanda? Why are you even trying to protect her?”

Tony slammed his fist into the table, feeling his anger rising by the second. “We - no - I need to protect her Steve!”

“Why Tony? Why?”

“Because I’m the goddamn reason her parents and her country is dead. I’m the reason that everything she ever loved is gone. I’m the reason for her sadness. She, of all people, deserves happiness. And I sure as hell won’t let anyone else hurt her anymore - no more Steve.” Tony didn’t give Steve a chance as he walked out the facility needing a day drink more than ever.

It was lunch time and all Wanda could think about was the need to cook paprikash. She didn’t know when the last time she had actually cooked. And seeing as the majority of the team was on missions, she could actually cook without interruptions or lingering eyes.

Walking into the kitchen, Wanda tied her hair up and started to take out the necessary ingredients for the meal. It was when she was talking the spices out when Vision had appeared out of nowhere, nearly scaring the girl. “Vision!”

Sensing a slight rise in her heart rate and anger, Vision had quickly apologized. “Sorry Wanda.” Wanda shook her head and quickly resumed prepping. “I will try to work on making my presence known. If I may ask, what is it that you’re doing?”

“I’m making paprikash.” Vision’s mind grew curious at the word and quickly searched his database for it. “I see. A traditional Sokovian food.” Wanda didn’t realize it, but she had felt a little annoyed at the synthezoid’s presence. It wasn’t anything he did, but Wanda desperately wanted alone time for herself.

Before she could ask, Vision had said, “Good morning Y/n.” Wanda’s quickly grew wide as she avoided glancing in Y/n’s direction. She hadn’t stayed in the tense position though as Vision announced, “Oh - it seems she had left before saying hi back.”

Feeling ever more frustrated with people’s presence, Wanda was about to ask him to leave but noticed the confusion written all over his face and didn’t hesitate to ask, “What is it Vision?” Vision pursed his lips and contemplated his words. It was visibly obvious to see that he was trying to wrack up what to say. “I think...it’s just…” He sighed knowing that this was going to be a sensitive subject to the witch but knowing everything she's been through, lying was not the best option. “It’s just that Y/n-” Wanda quickly cut Vision off in desperation to know what Y/n had done to Vision. If the girl were to even lay a finger on him, she was sure to deal with it herself. “What did she do? Did she hurt you? I swear-” Seeing her eyes turn red, Vision immediately explained himself. “-No no no. It’s not that, the complete opposite actually.” Wanda’s eyes slowly turned back to normal. When Vision saw that her heart rate was close to normal, he continued. “It’s just that...Y/n’s vitals have been decreasing in a fluctuating matter. Some days it would be a small decrease, but some days it would be a big decrease. Overall, her health has been poor.” Vision looked back at where Y/n once stood. If he hadn’t quickly analyzed her, he wouldn’t have noticed that today’s vitals was record worst. “Although she does have physical injuries, she seems to continue to radiate pain throughout her body even when those injuries have healed. It starts through her head and it spreads like a radio wave through her nervous system. I’ve done my calculations and the leading cause could be migraines...” Vision soon was in deep thought, trying to recalculate just to make sure what he was about to say was correct. “...but it doesn’t make sense.”

Wanda tilted her head. Processing this information was hard seeing as at her darkest moments, she wanted nothing but Y/n to be hurt. She deserved it for all the pain she caused her to go through. But hearing it now? That was a different story. It was like an internal conflict was going through her. Should she even care about Y/n’s health? “What doesn’t make sense?” Vision looked hard into Wanda’s eyes as he said, “Migraines shouldn’t cause her heart to stop multiple times.”

Wanda stared at Vision, processing the information that the love of her life is practically dying. “A-are you sure?” Vision slowly nodded. “However, after some calculations, I do believe she will be okay. She only needs a good source of food for her healing regeneration to fully heal this.” Wanda relaxed at Vision’s words. Although she has been through immense pain through these past couple months, having Y/n gone from her life like that would hurt more than anything.

Before Vision could continue his explanation, F.R.I.D.A.Y stated, “Emergency alert. All available Avengers please head to the quinjet per the request of Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers.” Quickly, the two headed to the plane as the important part of Vision’s explanation was missed. Little did Wanda know, Y/n would not heal any time soon.

The trio arrived on the quinjet and wasted no time trying to figure out the mission that was ahead of them. There was a serious feel in the atmosphere sensing that this had to be bad. There was no way that it couldn’t have been. Because if it wasn’t, they certainly wouldn’t have invited Y/n to this mission.

Lately, the girl has been assigned to only solo missions. Y/n couldn’t quite remember the last time that she was on a mission with any team member nevermind the fact with the whole team.

“Backup is needed immediately after touch down. Vision and Wanda, meet up with Steve and Sam at the Northeast corridor. Y/n, you are assigned to the entrance,” Tony stated through the intercom.

The feeling in Y/n’s stomach worsened. Not only was she hungry and sleep deprived, she didn’t also have a partner with her. It also didn’t help the fact that the flashes have gotten worse. Y/n couldn’t help but pray for a miracle. After all, they were dealing with the very people Y/n hated - Hydra.

Y/n couldn’t quite tell when things on the mission got to shit. Maybe it was the fact that as soon as they touched down and went to their assigned positions, Y/n received a massive swarm of Hydra agents. It didn’t help that her health regeneration was not at its peak or these agents actually were decently trained. Or was it during the third wave, that was currently happening, where Y/n tested the limits of her body.

Seeing the onslaught of agents coming her way, Y/n decided it was time to test out her new ability. She rapidly swung her right arm, building momentum as the fire within her right side blazed. As soon as the enemies were close, she released a fire tornado in their path. It had managed to take out at least half of the wave, but more and more kept coming.

Pressing her comms, Y/n said, “Can someone send back up my way?! There’s too many for me to handle.” Y/n kicked back the agent that was about to stab her in the back, but was too distracted to the point a different agent was able to cut her leg. “Fuck.”

Y/n quickly released an ice wall that at first glance, appeared to be the same height as the Great Wall of China. She hoped the barrier would give her enough time for her backup to appear. Focusing all her energy on her fireside, Y/n aimed at any agent near her, using her arm as a flamethrower.

However, worry immediately grew when no one had responded to her call within a couple minutes. Before she could request again, Nat had spoken bitterly in the comms, “On my way.” Sighing in relief, Y/n continued to fight off the agents the best she could.

But no matter how hard she tried to buy herself time, it seemed that Natasha was taking forever to come. It had gotten to the point that multiple lashes already appeared. Her healing regeneration couldn’t keep up at all. Not only that, but her body was either giving up from exhaustion or blood loss. It was only during the last couple agents when Natasha had shown up and quickly killed the remainder.

Y/n glanced at the assassin and noticed the lack of any injuries on her and it was as if she barely broke a sweat. “What happened? I almost got killed.”

Natasha glared at Y/n as she responded with, “I helped Bucky and Rhodey on the way, they needed it.” Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat knowing the redhead in front of her had practically lied. If backup was needed, it was always voiced through comms.

Even if Y/n had wanted to confront Natasha about it, she couldn’t. Natasha had already left to head to the quinjet. Y/n simply limped a couple feet from her. When Y/n arrived, it seemed that everyone else was already prepared for take off. Feeling ever more guilty, Y/n simply sat at the closet seat to the entrance that was away from the team. But something inside her broke even more noticing the lack of any questions or concerns from the team in regards to her injuries.

Not even bothering to buckle up, Y/n sulked in her thoughts when she realized, “Why doesn’t anyone care about me?”

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#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #fake memories

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luci-in-trenchcoats · 3 years

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If I Fell For You (Part 15) - Trouble In Paradise

Summary: The reader is enjoying settling into her newfound children’s book career and shares how important the bracelet she gave Jensen is to her. A rainy day allows the reader to enjoy her shift into motherhood despite all of the bumps that go with it. But not everything is smooth sailing for the happy couple...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader

Word Count: 5,600ish

Warnings: language, angst, mention of past abuse, nightmares, major angst

A/N: Uh oh. Big uh oh. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

________

Two Weeks Later

“Honey bun,” sang Jensen as he stepped into your home office you’d set up in the small reading room in the house. “Must you work today?”

“I do occasionally have to work on that drawing thing,” you said. He pouted and laid out on the daybed, picking up a copy of the third book. “Give me another hour to finish with these pages.”

“Can I hang out and watch you draw?” he asked.

“Knock your socks off,” you said. You picked up your stylus again and went back to your pad, Jensen sitting up and watching from the other side of the room. “You can sit closer if you want.”

He got up and pulled over a chair, crossing his legs in it.

“I basically draw using my stylus and this pad and it shows up on my laptop screen,” you said.

“We could get you a better screen, like your own separate work computer. I know your stories are picking up a lot of steam.”

“I’m okay for now. All I need to do is finish illustrating this book and my five book deal is done and ready for print,” you said.

“Can I make a request?”

“I would love to put in a giraffe for Zepp but the story takes place in the woods,” you said.

“Baby giraffe? Maybe just in the background?” he asked.

You backed out of your current page and went to the last two where the foxes and wolves were playing with their friends. You tapped on a tree and erased it, sketching out a loose shape.

“Look up a giraffe for me?” you asked. He tapped away on his phone and pulled up a picture. “Thanks.”

You drew a picture of a rough giraffe, softening it some before adding colors.

“You’re really good at that,” he said.

“The characters are easy. Backgrounds can get boring,” you said. You went back to your original set of pages and worked quietly, Jensen watching carefully. “Yes?”

“Just wanna spend time with you is all,” he said, resting his head on your shoulder.

“Okay, baby,” you said. You worked for another hour, Jensen asking the occasional question but mostly staying silent and close by. After you sent off the pages for review you turned to him, Jensen offering a soft smile in return. “All set with work for the day.”

“Awesome,” he said.

“Where’s the munchkins?”

“A movie,” he said. You ran your fingers through his hair and he leaned into it. “Tell me a secret.”

“A secret? I don’t think I have too many of those left from you,” you said. He opened his eyes and looked at you through his lashes. “What?”

“You said you got this on vacation,” he said, holding up his wrist, the bracelet you’d put on him two weeks ago still there. “When we were down there, I was talking to Ray and he kinda implied it wasn’t just a souvenir.”

“I was upset that day when he bought it for me. It meant I was safe was all,” you said.

“How long after did your mom…”

“A few months. She went on bed rest after that trip.”

“Y/N, I know when you’re holding back, honey. I would never judge or tell anyone anything. You know that.”

“You got hurt because you lost someone and you got hurt and it sucks right? But it’s kinda like something happened and then you heal from it right?”

“Yeah…” he said. “What don’t I know?”

“You know how anxious you were to get in the car and drive down to the beach?” you asked as he nodded. “You’ve never been afraid of a person, Jensen. It’s like that feeling...but everyday and you’re expected to live your life normally when you constantly have that over your head.”

He was quiet, glancing past you as the room grew darker from some passing clouds outside.

“Canada wasn’t the first time you saw your father since you were adopted, was it,” he said.

“You wouldn’t believe what a good lawyer and shitty laws will do for a piece of shit like that,” you said.

“You were a kid.”

“With zero physical evidence. Everything was circumstantial. So he got out and he came to apologize or some bullshit and Ray decked him.”

“The more I learn about Ray, the more I like him.”

“My mom kicked him in the nuts.”

“I really like that woman,” he said. You smiled and he moved his chair closer, pulling you into his lap. “I don’t mean to make you talk about your dad. I was curious was all.”

He went to take off the bracelet when you put a hand over it.

“I don’t want to remind you of something bad, sweetheart.”

“Like I said, I was upset. Very upset and in public and I went down to the beach to try to hide away. Ray bought that for me and told me I was safe when he put it on me. All it means to me is that you’re safe.”

“What about you? What do you have?” he asked quietly. You cocked your head and moved your hand to rest over his chest. “Alright, sort of a dumb question.”

“Not dumb,” you said, trailing your fingers down his chest.

“Guess you’ll just have to stay as close as humanly possible.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” you said.

“Do you have a restraining order against your father?”

“No but that’s only because Ray managed to get him kicked out of the country. He found some loophole law. He was born in the Yukon so technically he’s not American and he got him kicked back.”

“Scratch that. Ray is my new favorite person,” he said. “If only we could send him someplace we’ll never visit like...a deserted island. Or Hell.”

“I appreciate the thought but I’m not scared of him anymore,” you said. “I am however afraid our plans of lunch at the brewery are going to get rained out.”

“We can enjoy ourselves right here. I’ve never heard a complaint yet about my grilling.”

“You know what? I got the perfect idea.”

“Okay,” said Jensen, sliding the foil packet off the grill and onto JJ’s plate. You’d decided to have lunch on the grill, sitting out under the covered back patio off the playroom. It was pouring rain but you were plenty dry there. “Chicken, marinara sauce and cheese. Then we got chicken, ketchup and baby carrots for Arrow. Zeppy wanted to try barbecue sauce and onion which sounded good to me and then Y/N went for the salmon and lemon.”

You helped the twins open up their foil packets and get their food on their plates, dicing up the chicken for them before going to your own plate.

“Daddy,” said Zeppelin while he chewed on a big piece of chicken. Jensen hummed and worked on his own food. “Can we play race cars after lunch?”

“Sure,” he said, JJ shaking her head.

“I don’t wanna play cars,” she said. Zeppelin stared at her and his bottom lip wobbled. “You’re a cry baby.”

“JJ, that’s rude,” you said, Jensen glancing at you and nodding. “Apologize to your brother.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“We’re gonna play cars after lunch and you’re welcome to join,” said Jensen. “Your brother goes along with what you girls want to play quite a bit so I think you can do the same for him.”

“I still don’t wanna play cars,” she mumbled.

“You play cars with the Padalecki boys all the time,” you said.

“Not little kid cars,” she said. “He doesn’t know how to play right.”

You saw Zeppelin getting upset again and sighed.

“There’s no wrong way to play,” you said. “Zepp’s littler than you. You gotta be the big sister and do what he wants sometimes.”

“Mom would have played dress up,” she grumbled. “Not stupid cars.”

“Enough,” said Jensen. “You’re old enough to know better.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Your brother wants to play cars. We played horses all morning long and you barely let him have a turn at that so like I said, we’re gonna play what he wants and you are welcome to join us but if you don’t want to, you can play something else,” he said.

“Baby,” she said under her breath. Jensen didn’t catch it but you did.

“JJ you’re in timeout after lunch. Ten minutes,” you said.

“I didn’t-”

“You just called him a baby. You want to make it fifteen?” you asked.

“You’re not my mom! You can’t give me timeouts,” she said.

“Half an hour now,” said Jensen. She stared at him and he shook his head. “Eat your lunch.”

Zeppelin spent half of it crying quietly and JJ barely touched hers before she was following Jensen inside. You threw your head back and sighed before you went inside to get some tissues. When you came back out Arrow was hugging him tightly.

“Let’s clean you up, buddy,” you said as you squatted down beside them. She let go of him and you wiped off his face and helped him blow his nose. “Feel better?”

“We can play dress up,” he said. You picked him up and hoisted him on your hip.

“We’re gonna play cars. Arrow, do you want to play with us?” you asked. She smiled and nodded. “Hey how about you go wash your hands and then you can bring out the bucket of cars and we’ll play out here. How’s that sound Zepp?”

“Okay,” he said. Arrow went inside and you carried him around as you collected the trash and threw it in the bag you brought out. You tied it up and left it in the corner to put in the bin later before you you walked to the edge of the covered patio, rain coming down at a decent rate. “Y/N you’re my mom right?”

“I’m one of your moms,” you said. “I’m gonna adopt you that way everybody can know I am though.”

“Cool,” he said softly, resting his head on your shoulder. “Mom can we play in the rain?”

“Hear any thunder?” you asked. He shook his head. “See any lightning?”

“Nuh uh,” he said.

“Then we can play in the rain all you want,” you said. You walked out to the grass and spun around with him, getting a giggle out of him. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he asked. You spun around again and he laughed.

“There it is again!” you said. He giggled and you spun around a few times until you were dizzy and took a seat. He hugged you and kissed your cheek as you noticed Jensen leaning against the post of the patio. He was smiling and you hopped up with Zeppelin, waving him around in the air until you were back under cover. You set him down and he ran over to Arrow, picking out his favorite cars from the bucket and handing her some.

“Well that might have been one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“You took a picture, didn’t you.”

“Oh several,” he said. He glanced back at the twins and then at you. “It clicked for you just now didn’t it.”

“Being a mom? Yeah.”

“You didn’t look to me on how to discipline JJ and you made him feel better and you made him laugh. You went full mom there and I’ve kinda been waiting for that.”

“I know it’s just playing they’re arguing over but I just hate...there is so much of you in him,” you said.

“I know and that feeling will never go away but it means you love ‘em and loving them is my only requirement for us working so this was actually a really good thing.”

“Those two are so sweet,” you said.

“It’s the twin thing. Oh what fun we have to look forward to when they are teenagers and they lie to us for one another,” he chuckled.

“Yeah but I’ll take it. Did you really give her a half hour timeout?”

“Fifteen minutes. She needs to share more and he doesn’t like confrontation so he goes along with what she wants but it’s not her road or the highway.”

“She’s been a little…”

“I know. Since we told them about the engagement,” he said. “We gotta talk to her on her own.”

“Let me take a crack at her first?” you asked.

“You got a hunch?”

“I don’t think having a mom again is a problem. I think the idea of losing a mom again is.”

“That makes sense considering she was attached to your hip before all this.”

“I’m gonna go see if I can get to the bottom of this. Now go play cars,” you said. He kissed your cheek and you headed inside, drying off some with a towel in the laundry room before you went up to JJ’s bedroom. You knocked and cracked open the door, catching her splayed out on her bed. “JJ. Can we talk?”

She rolled and put her back to you. You sat down on the edge of her bed and took a deep breath.

“You know your brother did what you wanted all day. You have to share,” you said. She didn’t say anything and you lay back on the bed, turning your head. She rolled back the other way and you sat up. She rolled again and you tilted your head back. “JJ do you want me to be your mom?”

“No,” she mumbled.

“Are you lying?” She didn’t move and you sat back, her face scrunched up. “Are you scared if I’m your mom something bad will happen to me?”

“I don’t want two dead moms,” she said.

“I have two dead moms,” you said. She blinked her eyes open and sat up. “My first mom, I never met her. She died giving birth to me.”

“You only had a dad when you were born?” she asked. You nodded and pulled her into your lap. “Did he get married again?”

“No. My dad was very mad my mom died. He took that out on me. He was a bad guy. He went to jail and I got adopted by my mom when I was your age. Ray was her boyfriend. He acted like he was my dad in a lot of ways. I was sixteen when my mom died. I understand it hurts, sweetie, and that it’s scary and you don’t ever want to feel like that again.”

“I thought if I was bad you and daddy wouldn’t...and then I don’t have to feel bad again.”

“I am so sorry honey but you can’t stop that feeling from never coming back. The only way you could not get it would be to not love anyone or anything and that’s not a life at all. It’s the price you pay for loving someone. Your mom was an accident. But Daddy is young and I’m even younger and I promise you will not have to feel that way about me for a very, very long time.”

“How long?”

“How about fifty years?”

“Fifty years? That’s forever,” she said.

“I’ll give you fifty years if I can be your mom and you stop picking on Zepp. Deal?”

“Okay. I’m sorry I made him cry.”

“I’m not the one that needs an apology,” you said. “Now do you want stay in here all by yourself or do you want to come play with us?”

“I can play?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” you said. You got up and carried her down on your back, setting her down to let her run off out to the porch. Jensen got up from his seat and held up a finger, ducking back inside to where you were.

“That’s what I like to see,” he said as she gave Zeppelin a hug and he handed her a car.

“I did have to promise not to die for fifty years.”

“Fifty? You got off easy. I had to promise a hundred after the accident,” he chuckled. “I should have noticed she was scared.”

“I have more experience being a scared little girl than you do. I got experience with letting people get close again too,” you said.

“How’s that working out for ya?” he smirked.

“He’s lucky he’s hot,” you said. He threw his arm over your shoulders and grinned. “Do you want to get married in the fall?”

“This fall?” he asked.

“Can we pull it off that fast?” you asked.

“Yeah. We don’t have to book a venue which is the hardest part. I don’t see why not. What’s the rush?” he asked.

“It’s easier to adopt them if we’re married,” you said. “I don’t really want to wait longer than we have to if that’s alright.”

“I’d say let’s go drive down to city hall and get a justice of the peace right now if I knew my mother wouldn’t kill me for it. How about I call up the lawyer and ask him to start prepping the paperwork as if we already were so it’s all set to go,” he said.

“You have a lawyer?” you asked. “They’d do that?”

“Y/N, honey. My taxes alone frighten me not to mention I own a business with employees and what qualifies as a business write off still confuses me and wait you don’t have a lawyer for your book deal?”

“Should I have one?”

“Greg is your lawyer now,” he said. “He’s good. He’ll do all the paperwork for us.”

“Oh good cause all the forms online were confusing the hell out of me,” you said. He shook his head and pulled you in close.

“Silly goose,” he said, a loud boom of thunder shaking the house. “Let’s get the crew inside before it pours.”

“Who wants to build a fort?” you asked that afternoon. JJ jumped up and down on the couch and Jensen walked in with an arm full of blankets and sheets. Three little hands shot up and Jensen lazily tossed the blankets on the couch, covering the three of them.

“Hm, where’d those three munchkins run off to…” he said, Arrow ducking her head out first, hair all in her face. Jensen giggled and she rolled her eyes, the other two climbing out. “Alright. I’m gonna grab clothes pins and a few more things. You guys start designing.”

You stood back and let JJ organize, figuring out her first choice of blanket for a roof was too small. Jensen returned with a bag of clips, some twine and the step ladder, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his head on your shoulder.

“How they doing?” he whispered.

“Picking out the roof,” you said, Arrow rushing over and grabbing his hand as Zeppelin climbed on JJ’s back and held up a sheet over the two of them with one hand. You smirked and she let out another eye roll.

“Daddy, can you pick up Zeppy so then he can put the blankie up? I told them they’re too small,” she said.

“Sure,” he said. “Tell me where you want it to go.”

Twenty minutes later the family room was covered with sheets, tied off to the stairs, chairs, the ceiling fan after Jensen broke out the larger ladder to get up there and assured you it wouldn’t bring the whole thing crashing down.

“Can we sleep in here tonight?” asked JJ.

“I don’t see why not,” you said. “There’s plenty of room on the couch. We’ll bring down your comforters when it’s bedtime,” you said.

“Can we watch Cars?” asked Zeppelin, glancing at JJ.

“Okay,” she said. She gave him a hug and picked him up, Jensen smiling to himself as he looked on.

“Can we get pizza for dinner like a real sleepover?” asked Arrow.

“We did cook up all the chicken at lunch,” you said, giving Jensen a side eye.

“Yeah we’ll get one,” he said. “Why don’t you turn on your movie okay? We’ll be right there.”

You let Jensen pull you into the kitchen, smirking as he picked you up and sat you on the counter.

“Seems like today’s crisis has been averted,” you said.

“I’m sure they’ll go back to tormenting each other tomorrow but I’ll take it,” he said, reaching into the drawer next to you, pulling out a menu. “So. You interested in pizza?”

“Oh that looks interesting,” you said, taking the pamphlet out of his hand and tapping at a special. “One cheese, one speciality, boneless wings and garlic bread? My little carb loving heart is in love.”

“She’s not the only one,” he said, leaning up on his tip toes and kissing you.

“Are you coming?” groaned JJ from in the fort. You shook your head and Jensen kissed your neck, even nibbling before he pulled back. You smacked his chest and he set the menu down, giving you a wink.

“We’re coming in right now. Don’t wait for us kiddo.”

You woke up sweating, Jensen shushing you, arms wrapped around you. You took a deep breath and caught the clock said it was almost three. You turned in his arms and buried your head in his chest, his hand rubbing up and down your back.

“You’re okay. Bad dream is all,” he said softly. You nodded and started to relax, flinching when there was more thunder. “Hey, it’s okay. Nothing’s gonna get ya.”

The thunder shook the house and you tensed up. Jensen pulled the covers over both your heads and you crammed in as close as humanly possible when more thunder hit.

“Honey look at me. Please look at me.” You lifted your head and saw a horrible face in front of you, a scream ripping out of your throat.

“Y/N,” you heard as you woke up absolutely drenched, Jensen’s hands on your face. “Honey, talk to me. Can you hear me?”

“Night terror,” you said quietly.

“Yeah, JJ used to have them. I didn’t know adults could get them,” he said.

“Can I have a cold washcloth? And some water?” you asked. He got out of bed and padded into the bathroom in his boxers, settling back into bed and handing you the water. You drank it down while he wiped off your face and neck, running it over your head. “Thanks.”

“You okay?” he asked.

“Mostly feel embarrassed.” He frowned and you put the glass on your nightstand, staring down at your sweaty shirt.

“Should I call Ray?”

“It was a stupid nightmare. I’m fine,” you said.

“You were sat up eyes wide open and talking and shouting and I couldn’t wake you up,” he said. “I know adults really shouldn’t be getting night terrors so maybe something triggered you or something during the day.”

“I know my triggers and I know when it’s just a stupid nightmare. Back off,” you said. You got out from under the hot covers and went outside to the balcony, the air nice and cool from the storm earlier. The slide of the door was loud in the the quiet and you rubbed your arm. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve seen you have nightmares. That was a lot worse,” he said.

“I thought I saw someone watching the house earlier.”

“What?”

“It was the neighbor’s kid, the teenager. It was his friend and he came over late but I thought...it freaked me out. That on top of thinking about the fact my father is not rotting in a jail cell most likely sent me over the edge,” you said. He walked in front of you, resting his hands on your arms. “I’m okay. Needed some air was all.”

“Alright. Tell me if something like that happens again?” he asked. You hummed and he gave you a kiss. “Okay, sweetheart. Let’s head on back to bed.”

“What do you mean?” you growled into the phone the next evening. Jensen lifted his head from his book in the family room and you walked away, stepping out to the private patio area on the side of the house. “That’s not possible.”

“It’s been fifteen years. He has every legal right to be in the country.”

“In the country! He got an apartment seven minutes from where I live!” you said. “I have little kids here, Finn. Tell me there’s something I can do.”

“I can get a restraining order-”

“That doesn’t mean shit to him. I need him fucking deported. I need him gone.”

“Y/N, you know me. I have never agreed to it but he paid his debt as it was assigned and he quietly followed the law. He did what he was supposed to and I’m sorry but until he does something, I can’t do anything besides help you and your fiance’s family get a restraining order.”

“So until he does something horrible again, I can’t do anything about it.”

“Y/N.”

“No Finn. I appreciate the heads up but...I have to go.”

You hung up and squeezed your phone tight. He knew where you lived. He was minutes away and there was absolutely zero help until something went wrong. You sat on a bench and bounced your leg. Nothing could go wrong. You couldn’t let anything go wrong. Who knew what the son of a bitch would do to any one of them.

You stopped bouncing your leg just as you heard the door open. You lifted your head and stood, spinning around to Jensen standing there.

“Everything alright?”

“Actually no.”

“Who was on the phone?”

“My ex,” you said, swallowing. You crossed your arms and thought of the things Jensen had told you about acting and getting in character and all that. You were gonna destroy him. Fuck you were going to end up shattering him into a thousand pieces he’d never put back together.

You couldn’t really lie just to keep them away from him, could you?

You saw Arrow run past in the house and made your face hard. Broken heart but safe kids was worth it.

“I thought you didn’t talk to him anymore,” said Jensen. You turned up your chin and he smiled. “You are the worst actress in the world. Who was it really?”

“I think we’re moving too fast and I want to take a break and I would appreciate it if you gave me my space to figure this out on my own.”

“Uh, what?” he said. You brushed past him and he followed you in, all the way up to your bedroom. You got out a bag and he flipped it shut. “What the hell is going on? Who was on the phone?”

“My boyfriend,” you said. He stared at you and you sighed. “You’re a great guy but I’m sorry. I can’t do the house and kids thing. I want to go see the world and not be tied down and you’re just...you’re too damn old for me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Maybe you should have trusted your first instincts when you saw me and Doug,” you said. He stared at you while you shoved some clothes in a bag. You slung it over your shoulder and he caught the backside of it. You took off your ring and put it on the table by the door, Jensen dropping his hand. “I just can’t do this anymore. It wasn’t you. I’m sorry. I really need to go.”

______

A/N: Read Part 16 here!

#spn #supernatural #jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader #jensen x reader #jensen series #rpf #rpf series #spn fanfic #jensen ackles fanfic #supernatural fanfic

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voltrontranscript · 3 years

Text

VLD S8E4: Battle Scars

Season 8 Episode 4: Battle Scars

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Summary: In a race against time as a weblum approaches Olkarion, the paladins have to piece together what happened to destroy the once-vibrant planet and all its people as flashbacks reveal the destructive powers of Honerva’s white Altean mechs.

[Google Doc]

Hunk: Okay, that’s the third star system we checked in the last eleven days, and we still haven’t found a single clue about any robeasts.

Pidge: Actually, that was the eleventh star system in the last three days.

Hunk: Was it, really? Oh my gosh. Okay, see, I’m so worn out, I can’t even… you know.

Lance: Uh, count?

Hunk: No. Think.

Allura: I know this is not ideal, but the intel we received from the Galra cruiser in Lahn’s fleet identified one of those robeasts within this quadrant. We must find it.

Keith: Unfortunately, we just don’t know how current that information is.

Pidge: Also, this celestial quadrant is two hundred and thirty thousand lightyears in diameter.

Hunk: I can’t even process what that means.

Pidge: Okay, picture five fleas searching for another flea on a dog that’s the size of Earth.

Hunk: Ugh, all this talk about fleas is making me itchy. Are you guys feeling itchy?

Lance: Pidge, why can’t you and Hunk just make a robeast tracker thingy, you know? Do some math and science stuff. Then put some components together and bam, it’s done.

Allura: Perhaps we should set our heading for the Altean colony.

Keith: We talked about this. To get to the colony, we would have to travel through the Quantum Abyss.

Pidge: Plus, Kolivan said the colony no longer exists.

Allura: But there will be clues there, something to go off of.

Keith: Traveling through that abyss was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. A single misstep could turn a six-month journey into a ten-year journey. The creatures, the environment, everything in there wants you dead. Except you.

Allura: I’m tired of hearing what we can’t do and what we don’t know.

Lance: Allura, we just want to make the best decisions--

Allura: The Alteans were my people, and the last of them are being exploited as soldiers in someone else’s war. You don’t understand.

Lance: I understand what it feels like to see someone I care about hurt so much.

Allura: I’m sorry, Lance.

Hunk: Okay, maybe we head to Olkarion. We’re just a few galaxies away. They might have some information on any unusual sightings.

Keith: Hunk’s right. Olkarion is a great spot to regroup and evaluate our situation.

Pidge: And it’ll be awesome to see everyone again. I wonder what kind of technological advances they’ve made in the last few years. Oh, man! If they figured out a way to untangle the uncertainty principle, new precision calculations could open the doors to a flood of innovations!

Lance: I think I understood, like, three of those words.

Keith: Allura, what do you think?

Allura: Perhaps a trip to Olkarion is best.

Hunk: Alright! Let’s do this!

Pidge: Hailing Olkarion. Be advised the Paladins of Voltron are en route. This is Pidge… hailing Olkarion. Do you copy?

Hunk: Are they not home?

Lance: Probably too busy untangling calculations. Am I using that right?

Hunk: No, not even close.

Pidge: I’m guessing there’s a delay due to our distance. We’ll probably receive their reply on the way.

Keith: Paladins, if we want to get to Olkarion quickly, there’s only one way to do it.

[Voltron transformation sequence.]

Keith: Engage wings!

Lance: Welcome to Olkarion’s galactic neighborhood. Did we ever hear from them?

Pidge: Actually, no, which is strange. I’ll try and contact them again. Whoa! We got incoming! Something big is headed our way at an incredible speed.

Lance: A Galra cruiser? Some kind of weapon?

Allura: Is it a robeast?

Keith: Shield up!

Lance: What the heck is that thing?

Hunk: It’s a weblum! Keith, look! We’ve been inside one of those!

Keith: How could I forget?

Pidge: Um, what’s it doing?

Hunk: Actually, it’s creating scaultrite. Pidge, you would love it. It’s this amazing chemical process--

Lance: Science talk later! We’re in its line of fire!

Keith: Thrusters!

Lance: Should we go on the offensive?

Hunk: No, no. They may be dangerous, but they’re essential for the universe. Think of them like giant space bees. Keith and I learned all about them from a video that Coran made. There was some rule, like, “If you don’t want to be killed stay away from its gills”?

Keith: That wasn’t the rhyme. It’s “If you don’t want to be dead, avoid its head.”

Allura: We don’t have time to listen to you rhyme!

Hunk: You just--

Keith: Hunk!

Allura: Where is that weblum going?

Pidge: According to my calculations, it’s headed towards… Olkarion.

Keith: Then we better get there first.

[Transition to Olkarion’s surface.]

Pidge: They were our allies, our friends.

Keith: Paladins, I know this is a difficult moment, but we need to get to work. That weblum is headed here right now, so time is short. Our top priority is search and rescue. If there are survivors, we need to find them, and we need to find out what happened here.

Allura: There is only one thing capable of this.

Keith: Well, let’s confirm it.

[Cut to each paladin conducting their search.]

Keith: I think our worst fears have been realized.

Hunk: What do you see?

Keith: The physical wreckage and destruction patterns are just like those on Earth.

Allura: Our findings are the same. It appears the quintessence was siphoned out of Olkarion as well.

Hunk: Lance and I took readings. We picked up trace elements of psyferite. That’s the same metal the creature on Earth was made from.

Allura: Why did this robeast attack Olkarion of all places?

Lance: Maybe because it was a central part of the coalition.

Allura: Maybe. I just get the feeling there’s something more to it.

Keith: You might be right, but we don’t have any way to confirm it. Right now, we just need to focus on finding survivors.

Allura: Pidge, have you picked up anything? Pidge, do you copy? Pidge?

Pidge: I know this place. This is where Ryner taught me how to bond with the forest. The Olkari people helped me to make that connection. I learned more from them than I ever thought possible. Allura, they had so much more to teach the universe. And now they’re gone. Huh? Huh?

Allura: Pidge. Are you alright?

Pidge: You didn’t see it?

Allura: See what?

Pidge: The forest, it was back to how it was before. There were girls playing.

Allura: Maybe this place is trying to show you something.

Pidge: What?

Allura: The Olkari had a profound connection to the land, just like you do. Their history could be etched into the very soil for you to see. Concentrate. See if you can tap into its energy.

[Transition to a flashback of Olkarion shortly before its destruction as Pidge watches.]

Olkari Girl: Come on! Follow me!

Pidge: Huh? We need to get to the city!

[Cut back to the present as Allura and Pidge return to the city, then the flashback resumes with Pidge watching.]

Pidge: Ryner.

Allura: You can see Ryner? What is she doing?

Pidge: The robeast! It’s here! We need to get closer. Ryner!

Ryner: Get civilians to evacuation pods and launch them immediately! Have all military personnel report to battle stations. Scramble the mechs for counterattack. Come with me!

[Cut back to the present.]

Pidge: Ryner. It seemed like she was talking to me. Or it could have been to the soldiers. I don’t know.

Allura: All the answers we’re looking for could be here. We may be able to find out where this beast came from and where it’s going next. There might be some clue here about the Alteans.

Pidge: If there is, I will find it.

Hunk: Guys, we have a, uh--we have a major problem here.

Lance: Hunk released some low-orbit trackers outside of Olkarion on the way in. The weblum just set them off. We have about ten minutes to evac!

Keith: Copy that. Everyone to their lions! Let’s go, now!

Allura: We can’t leave yet. How long do you think you can hold it off?

Lance: Hold it off? It’s a giant space worm! We can’t hold it off. What are you talking about?

Allura: Pidge found a way to tap into Olkarion’s history. She may be able to find out what we need to know, but we need a little more time.

Keith: Alright, we’ll buy you as much time as we can.

Allura: Copy that. Thank you.

Keith: Hunk, Lance, we need to hurry! I got it on scanners. Let’s intercept it.

[Flash back to the fall of Olkarion.]

Ryner: Go, go, go! We need to preserve the information from the communications tower! Keep the beast at bay as long as you can.

[Cut to Keith, Lance, and Hunk in space.]

Keith: We need to get it to divert its course.

Lance: And how do we do that?

Hunk: How about like this? Uh, my idea isn’t working!

Lance: Okay, okay, well, what were the rules with this thing?

Hunk: I’m drawing a blank. I’m not good under pressure!

Keith: It’s still heading for Olkarion! We haven’t slowed it down at all!

[Cut to Pidge and Allura on the communications tower as the flashback continues.]

Olkari Officer: How did we not pick this thing up on our scanners?

Female Engineer: It just appeared!

Pidge: Just like on Earth.

Olkari Officer: How could that be? Wait, bring up our scanner logs. Those anomalies we detected recently. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. The anomalies are from the warping of space-time. This creature came through a wormhole.

Ryner: Transfer all data from this facility to a safe location off-planet, then evacuate immediately!

Olkari Officer: Understood. What we just discovered could save billions of lives.

[Cut back to the present.]

Pidge: It was a wormhole. That’s how they travel.

Hunk: Pidge, Allura! I’m sorry, but you’ve gotta get out of there immediately!

Pidge: I need more time.

Allura: I’m coming up to help.

[Cut to Keith, Lance, and Hunk in space with the weblum.]

Lance: Over here! This way! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Too close! How’d you guys beat this thing the first time?

Keith: We never beat it. Trying to get it to alter its course is an entirely different thing than collecting its scaultrite.

Hunk: Alright, that’s it. I’m calling Coran. Coran, come in!

Coran: Hunk! Hello there.

Hunk: Coran! You’re there! Okay. Um, I’m sorry to make this quick, but we need to stop a weblum from eating a planet, like, right now! Any chance you know how to do that?

Coran: Well, it’s definitely been a while, but in my younger days, me and my cohorts would have a little weblum fun.

Hunk: Coran! We’re kind of in a rush here!

Coran: Right. Let’s see, if I remember correctly, all you need to do--[static hissing]--on the trilo-mutarth, which you’ll find under its dorsal--[static hissing]

Hunk: Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no! Not this again! Our connection is breaking up!

Coran: --resulting in face boils, a runny nose, and cosmic light radiation poisoning. And if you don’t do this, you’ll expand to twice your size and pop like a balvax.

Hunk: Okay, that conversation took a lot longer than I expected, and I learned nothing. Allura, thank you!

Allura: Please hurry, Pidge.

[Cut back to the fall of Olkarion.]

Ryner: Hurry! Everyone on board. It came for something. Find out what.

Pidge: It came for the cubes. Why? Ryner, can you hear me? Do you know why the beast wanted the cubes? Please, talk to me!

Ryner: Hurry! Everyone on!

Pidge: Ryner, please! Ryner!

Olkari Girl: I’m scared. I don’t want to leave!

Ryner: You mustn’t cling too tightly to the past. The Olkari have always been able to adapt and move forward. It is our greatest strength. And it will live on in you.

Olkari Girl: But, our home…

Ryner: The old must give way to the new. It’s the way of the universe. Now please, go.

[Flashback fades away and Pidge becomes aware of the present again.]

Allura: Pidge! Pidge, are you there? We can’t hold this thing off any longer. You need to get out of there!

[Cut to Hunk in Yellow Lion.]

Hunk: There she is! The planet is clear!

Keith: Everyone, fall back away from the weblum!

Lance: It’s… it’s all gone.

Allura: I’m sorry, Pidge.

Keith: I wish we could’ve done more.

Pidge: Thanks, everyone.

Hunk: If you think about it, this isn’t really the end of Olkarion. Weblums eating dead planets is just the first step in a process that leads to the growth of new stars, planets, and galaxies.

Pidge: The old gives way to the new. We need to contact the Atlas.

Allura: Why?

Pidge: Because it turns out the Olkari weren’t done teaching us a few things. They showed me a way to track the robeasts. Their information is going to save billions of lives.

End.

#vld #voltron #transcript #pidge #allura #hunk #keith #lance #ryner #coran

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ask-de-writer · 4 years

Text

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 78 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 78 of 83

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

written 2007

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story? Read from the beginning. PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

Kurin smiled, “Did you give helmswoman Darkistry the idea to ride the eye of the Coriolis storm north?”

“No, Little Fish, that was her own idea, and an excellent one. At that time they did have to hide but I could not allow them escape over the Dragon Sea to another fleet. I still regard the Naral fleet as my fleet and it had done a terrible injustice. If the fleet was not given the opportunity to undo the injustice, a new Captain of Captains could arise. War and ruin could follow. It has before.”

“When and where did you have your talk with Barad and Tanlin?” Kurin asked Mecat.

“In the eye of the storm, as the Grandalor rode it north.”

“Besides barring them from flight,” Kurin wanted to know, “what else happened during that talk?”

“I found out why the Lady Tanlin was so highly regarded by such a rough-cut crew. That led me to give her a Dragon’s Gift.”

“What was the nature of the Gift, if you will tell us?” asked Kurin with high interest.

“Singularity of self, acceptance of loss, internal peace, an end to nightmares. She deserved no less,” said Blind Mecat quietly. “She made many hard choices. The Wide Wings, Skye and Thunderhead, got included in the Gift by accident. That may have far reaching ecological consequences. I urgently wish to find out.”

“I think that you will have that chance, Mecat,” said Kurin.

Turning to face the Court, Kurin paced as she talked. “The incident with the Fauline is now closed and all the charge of piracy dealt with. We have the word of Dragons who were direct witnesses. By the Tenth Great Law the facts as described by Captain Barad are incontestable.

“The matter of the poison plot has been exposed, not as the action of a whole ship, nor even of a large cadre, as it indeed did appear. It was the work of a very limited circle. It is probable that at least one murder, Master Selked’s apprentice, Merk, was committed solely to reduce the size of the circle even further. Captain Barad, having changed his mind about the plot, tried energetically to prevent harm to me or any other.

“Mister Morgu and Silor Elon, who are being held prisoner aboard the Grandalor for Council trial, were the sole attackers. On them alone lie the charges of murder, attempted murder and mutiny.

“As to the matter of unlawful flight, it was the Council itself that broke the Second Great Law. The Grandalor had both a duty, now discharged, to seek proper justice and the necessity to preserve the lives of the innocent against the blatant injustice involved.

“Neither Barad nor Tanlin can be held accountable for the piratical attack by the Longin on the Grandalor. I personally ordered the counter attack in defense of both the lives of the crew in my care and the ship itself, my sole property. Effort and care were exercised to minimize the damage to the Longin while still putting her out of action.”

That revelation caused consternation among the Court and spectators. A shocked Sula demanded, “You ordered the attack on your own ship?”

“The ship that I grew up on, yes,” said Kurin softly. “And it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done. I had to, Sula. These lives were in my hands.” From her pile of notes, Kurin pulled out the book entitled ‘Grandalor Adoption Register.’ She handed it over, with the simple explanation, “I’ve confirmed the whole lot, personally. There’s not one person on board, except for the two prisoners, who did not adopt in. They did it after they knew what kind of trouble they were in. Captain Barad had saved many of them and they were determined not to let him down in his need. Barad and Captain Tanlin have that loyalty from their entire crew. Few Captains do.”

“I petition the Court to dismiss all current criminal charges and actions against the Grandalor, her crew, officers and Captains. They acted as reasonable people. Their assessment of the situation was proved accurate on all counts but one.

“They had no need to flee from the Honored Huld and the Soaring Bird. He was seeking to enforce their rights and would have fought Sula herself if necessary to do so.”

This bombshell caused consternation among the audience. The Great Sea Dragons were regarding each other and nodding their agreement. It made sense of confusing reports from Iren’s Orcas. Sula turned to Huld and said, “You said that we must pursue. That’s part of the reason that I did.”

Huld thought for only moment before saying, “Indeed, necessary it was. Injustice obvious was. Rights protected and enforced was need. Found them not. Error found you for yourself and correction made without help. Way of adult, not child.”

Sula turned to Kurin and asked, “How did you know?”

“I long ago asked him what Honored meant,” Kurin replied. “If what he told me were true, and I believed him, then he could not act in any other way.”

Sarfin concentrated on the petition that accompanied the revelation. He consulted Sula for a few minutes of whispered conference. Both gestured and remonstrated, at the last asking, “Captain Farrol, do you have anything further to add to your case?”

“An hour ago, you could not have changed my mind about Barad or any from his ship. Guilty, I would have said. Since then, I have heard Dragons testify in Court. I have heard things that make sense out of things that I have accepted without question. We, the Court, still have much business to address. The Grandalor case though, I concede. They are innocent of these charges.”

Sarfin stood and raised his hands for silence and got it. “The decision of the Court in this matter is final and may not be appealed. The Grandalor and her entire crew as represented in this document,” he held up the ‘Grandalor Adoption Registry’, and her Captain at the time of the charges, are innocent.

“I am not done. Captain Barad shows many qualities that are, now that we understand them, admirable. He has saved lives that would have been lost. He is right. We did not look into many matters as well as we ought to have.

“Unfortunately, that does not excuse the civil matter of the counterfeit scrip and many other infractions of conduct. His Master’s Certificate is revoked. In five Gatherings, he may petition the Council for reinstatement. During the penalty, he may not hold any position of command.

“Captain Tanlin, subject to approval by the full Council at the next Gathering, is instated as Captain of the Grandalor.

“This trial is now over.” He sat.

Kurin stood and held up her hands for recognition.

Captain Urson sarcastically said, “What, isn’t it enough that you got that load of scupper trash off?”

“No,” said Kurin with deceptive mildness, “it isn’t.”

Turning to Captain Sarfin she stated, “There are Council charges that must be brought against the Fauline. As the owner of the Grandalor and her advocate before the Naral fleet, I am the proper person to bring these charges for the ship.

“The Fauline dodged share tax. She knowingly brought false capital charges against another ship. You have the Word of Dragons on those. She has willfully lied to the Council. She could not have got to the Arrakan fleet and then to her Spring waters in the time that she had.

Kurin smiled slightly and added, “In addition, she has not yet filed the quitclaim on the Grandalor’s hull secured loan, as an integral part of her deception of the Council. Until all the parchments are signed, the Grandalor, remains out of the Naral fleet and cannot legally collect what is due to her. Thus, her loan reverts to the fleet and the Grandalor will cheerfully leave it with the fleet as partial payment of her fines. That makes the entire 12,306 Skins, 209 blocks of arrears due for immediate payment.

“If they produce the quitclaim, the date will prove it to be false, because their Log will show them to be in Arrakan fleet waters at the time. The loan will have to be paid up to current. If the date is any other than what the Court has heard from the Great Sea Dragons, the entire document is void due to forgery and the loan must still be paid.

“However it falls out, Skua, by Naral fleet Law, must lose his Master’s Certificate for life because he willfully allowed his ship to become bankrupt. Also by Law, the bankrupt vessel must be Scattered.”

Captain Urson slammed both hands down on the table and launched herself to her feet in a rage. “You little Ord! How can you do that to somebody like Captain Skua! What did he ever do to you?”

Kurin looked at her as if she were a particularly noisome bit of offal. “To me personally, nothing. To my fleet, he’s a liar, cheat and tax dodger. To my friends, the Grandalor and her crew, he’s a scoundrel who doesn’t pay his debits, a rapist and an attempted murderer. I try to take care of those that I like.”

Captain Urson was about to sit again when it hit her. “What do you mean, rapist?” she asked uneasily.

Kurin once again spoke with that deceptive mildness that Captain Urson was now beginning to dread, “Captain Sarfin, I have a few parchments here that may be of interest. These are fleet certified copies of unaltered Grinna Log entries. They detail a trial held some Gatherings back. You will find my copy of the same entries, for comparison, marked and highlighted for witness’ names and certain other information.”

She handed over another set of parchments with the explanation, “These are fleet certified, unaltered crew duty rosters for the time periods noted in the trial record, along with the whole Wohan before and after. Please note that every crewman or woman in that whole time who is absented from duty for more than a few minutes is noted.

“A simple comparison of the witness list and the duty roster proves that this trial was never held at all.

“The charge was seduction in violation of the Marriage Laws, a potentially capital offense, if no ship will take in the one found guilty.

“Captain Macom, now deceased, First Officer Skua Calin Grinna, Second Officer of the First Night Watch, Kotance Warn Grinna, Harpooner Miklot Moen Grinna, now dead from a Strong Skin attack, and one other conspired to the rape, attempted murder and denial of Great Law rights to one Darkistry Colm Grinna, now Darkistry Colm Grandalor.”

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS NEXT==>

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Return to World of Sea

#SEA DRAGON’S GIFT #Part 78 of 83 #World of Sea #Written by De Writer

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isthisableism · 6 years

Text

🚨🚨Disabled comrade in need of emergency assistance!! 🚨🚨

Copy-pasted from a Facebook post, with permission

Posted by Katrina:

I am in a really bad spot.

I have an important appointment with my eye doctor tomorrow. My sight depends on it.

Apparently I don't have insurance. I don't have a ride. I don't have things that were supposed to be taken care of.

If I can manage to drive, maybe they will even see me when I don't have the cash for the visit, but it's doubtful.

Then I have court Friday for an expired registration that I wasn't able to get taken care of, because I've been experiencing so much hardship. I don't know what will happen with that?!

I think it's worse to have half assed "support". People think you're being helped and cared for, when you really are being sabotaged. Malicious or not, that's my material reality.

I can't get anyone to aid me in getting assistance from social services like Medicaid.

My 2.5 year long social security application and accrued back pay was throw out because I trusted someone to mail off an appeal when I was not physically able to. The tracking number receipt was misplaced and of course they said they "didn't get it".

I don't have any energy or ability to go find an advocate. Everyone wants you to come in for an appointment, but I can barely make it to see doctors.

Being sick and poor is a death sentence. It seems that I'll probably have to wait til I have cancer from my high risk syndrome to get any official help.

There is plenty of evidence that I'm disabled, but the gov orgs have beuroRATS who are only familiar with more common stuff. Even with that, I should be a clear example of someone unable to fend for myself, trapped, in a state of neglect.

I really did try to keep making some income. I can't rely on my body. I pushed too hard for too long.

Even having a private policy was supposed to be temporary last year! Just for the few months it would take to get approved for public assistance!

All my records are a mess from moving, I was never able to physically get all that shit together and see someone.

I keep having health events pop up that prevent me from doing all that.

I'm disabled. This whole broken system is so ableist.

I can't always drive, have been hemorrhaging cash on medical costs, and have nothing left, I can't dig any deeper. There's never even enough for food and meds.

How the fuck was I supposed to go to the DMV? Things just keep snowballing. The hole is getting deeper.

If I'm underinsured I really won't be eligible for any programs, but I have emergencies pop up and can't go without. You have to be in good standing with these doctors. I'm in collections with so many medical bills.

This stress is the biggest trigger to my symptoms flaring. I'm unable to present my case and start over again. No one makes house calls.

I really don't want make a go fund me for myself and exploit that kind of biased platform, but I know I don't deserve this either.

I've been way less active on here lately trying to give myself a break, but nothing helps.

There are so many things I could try to get better quality of life and functionality, but they're just not accessible.

Even if I'm approved for Medicaid, they don't cover a lot of the stuff I'll need, there will always be more hoops to jump through.

I can't even get myself mobility aids, braces, things like that.

I can't just shell out $1000 to try a med that may not work or go to therapy.

To get the Medicaid you have to have a current social security application. I'm at my breaking point.

I shared what happened to me with the local eye doctor in a post a while back.

I was sexually harassed, physically assaulted, intimidated, and defrauded. That's why I'm still having to go back and forth to this new doctor, still on these eye meds, and having complications.

I can't catch a break. The fucking pig who pulled me over didn't have to give me a citation, but went ahead and did. I was almost home from a 13 hour day. I had to go 4 hours away to see my PCP and back, got detoured, just utterly demoralizing.

I needed to see these doctors to get well enough to even be able to go get all my stuff up to date with my car, license etc.

I needed to get my flare under control first off, so I can see, so I'm not spending every dime on copays, and to document just how screwed I am.

Every period of time that I go without the medical care I need is also going to be held against me. They're not going to see that I should have had tens of thousands of dollars or more worth of medical care. They just want to see how much you've actually spent.

So, when I should have had all this stuff checked out or fixed, I've just been terrified and suffering more.

I need a miracle, but in the meantime, I really need emergency funds and solidarity. I mean it when I say I am physically unable to do this shit.

I don't know how to even express how bad spending hours on the phone fighting for help, being told to "just go here", etc makes my symptoms worse.

Those stressors make me shut down. They incapacitate me.

I'm in debilitating pain and can't even make my case anymore. There is no "doing what you have to do". I'm past all that. I did that until there was nothing left. It really is too much.

Please help in any way you can. Before I got so sick I took care of people. I really was there for others. I still am emotionally. I give moral support, people seek my advice, I freely give what I have to offer, I know it's not much, but I'm not worthless.

I'm still a problem solver, you have to be when you can't take care of yourself, I'm at a loss here though.

Sadly, there just isn't reciprocity from those who benefitted from me when I was able to be organized, thorough, physically supportive, I showed up for people. For shit like this!

I guess I'm disposable. I'm a prop for photo ops on holidays and other functions like that, but otherwise abandoned beyond superficial appearances. From the outside it looks like I have people in my corner, but I really don't. Not in a meaningful way that counts.

That hurts more than truly being alone. Then I'd probably have more tangible relief.

So, please, I really need a hand here. I don't need general life advice, I really don't think I can take suggestions like that right now. I don't need medical advice. Well, I do, but from my doctors.

I need solidarity and action. I am open to thoughts on how to get over the obstacles that I've mentioned. Specifically, how do I get crowd sourcing going? Can someone please help with that? Do I work that even though it's problematic as fuck?! Ya know? I am being left to rot.

Can y'all please share elsewhere for me as well? I can barely keep myself composed thinking about this stuff. I've been through some shit, but I'm tapped out. My eyes are acting up. I'm dreading what that means.

What's going to happen at court? I am not ready to give up my old car, nor would I feel safe doing so. I need it for emergencies. People really don't get that I can't just be somewhere as planned at 9:30 am, let alone face a judge! My body doesn't work like that.

The more indigent I appear, the more discriminated against I am with healthcare providers, and they're shitty at helping with the clerical paperwork shit even when you have your shit together.

If anyone could write up a post that can be used for reaching out to the general public, that would be extremely helpful.

I'm not worried about my pride, but I am in a very vulnerable dependent situation. I really need things to turn around. I need to be able to have my surgeries and to take better care of myself, to have the fixable stress alleviated.

Here's my PayPal...

paypal.me/KMartling

#disability #assistance #disabled #mutual aid #support #emergency #signal boost

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day6imagines · 7 years

Text

Skinny Love

[ jae x reader ]

* requested

word count; 2.2k

genre; angst

summary - yourself and jae had been best friends for a long time, both liking each other but too shy too admit it and too fearful that it would damage your friendship. however, due to one of you moving on, confessions are made and feelings rise.

skinny love [ noun ] when two people love each other but are too shy to admit it, yet they show it anyway

The last bell of the day rang, indicating that school had finished for the day. You neatly packed away your Physics textbooks.

You felt a tap on your shoulder. You spun around to face Wonpil and Brian.

“Hey, are we still on for study group tonight?” Brian asked, smiling.

“Sure, Jae will be coming too. I heard the upcoming Maths exam will be hard so I think we all need any help that we can get,” you replied, flinging your backpack on over your shoulders before picking up your Physics binder.

Normally, you preferred to study on your own, but sometimes it was nice to study in a group with your friends. Usually you and Brian would get competitive about your academics amongst each other whilst Wonpil and Jae would keep you both sane and ensured that you both take breaks.

“I’ll see you guys in a while, I’m just going somewhere but I’ll be home soon so call around whenever,” you explained.

Wonpil had already left the classroom to go for music practice which he had a couple of times a week.

“Going to meet your new boyfriend?” Brian teased, following you out of the classrooms door. You nudged him and smiled shyly before walking away in the opposite direction. You smiled to yourself as you walked towards your locker to meet with your boyfriend to go and grab some coffee before going home. Your boyfriend was a guy in your Biology class who you had been crushing on for an exceptionally long time. Fortunately, he asked you for coffee after school to go and study for a test and both of you got along really well. You weren't that shy as a person, but when it came to crushes, you spaced out and found it hard to talk to a guy you liked.

After your brief coffee date, your boyfriend dropped you back home to your house before leaving to go home. You walked up to your house to see the door was already unlocked. Once you stepped foot into the foyer you were greeted by loud voices coming from the kitchen. You kicked off your shoes and quickly padded into the kitchen to already see Brian, Wonpil and Jae sitting at your kitchen table, textbooks littering the table but remaining unopened.

“Y/N!” Jae cheerfully shouted once he saw that you had arrived.

You smiled back at your friend before pouring yourself a glass of water and making your way over to the dining table.

You emptied the contents you'd need for your study out of your backpack and took a seat next to Brian and opposite from Jae.

“So, I made out a small list of topics we need to cover in the chapters that will be on the exam. Here, I made a copy for everyone,” Brian announced, handing you a neat sheet of paper. You passed the remaining two sheets to the other two. You admired Brian’s organisation and how similar his study habits were to yours.

After a long time of flipping through past exam questions and comparing notes you all decided that your brains had had too much Maths and you were in much need of a break.

“Hey, will we go and get food?” Jae asked, stretching his arms and shutting his notes closed.

“Sounds good,” Brian replied, getting up out of his chair.

“We should probably order something, I have no food and my parents are working late,” you explained.

“No problem, let’s go and get some pizza or something,” Jae said, walking over to Brian.

You and Wonpil smiled and nodded in agreement at Jae’s idea.

“All right, let’s go Brian. We’ll be back soon, do you two want anything?” Jae asked.

“Ohh can you pick me up some of the ice cream I like from the pizza place?” You asked, looking over in Jae’s direction. He nodded in agreement and smiled before himself and Brian left to go and collect your usual order of pizza.

Yourself and Wonpil stayed sitting in the kitchen whilst chatting with one another.

“All I have is water or orange juice, sorry?” you laughed, looking at the contents of your fridge to offer Wonpil a beverage.

“Water’s fine,” he smiled, walking towards the tap to get it himself.

After getting something to drink while waiting for the others to come back with food, yourself and Wonpil went back to the table and sat down. He happily chatted about his music practice and you adored seeing his face light up when he was talking about something he was so passionate about.

“You seem different lately Y/N,” Wonpil randomly blurted. You chuckled at your friends bizarre statement.

“What do you mean?” You laughed.

“I don't know, you seem happier or something,” Wonpil smiled, looking closer at you.

“I suppose I am, it's been nice having a boyfriend I suppose,” you shyly laughed, feeling yourself getting flustered over the thought of having a boyfriend as sweet as yours.

Wonpil’s eyes lit up.

“You have a boyfriend?” He exclaimed, clutching your arm.

“Yeah? I thought you knew,” you added.

“So Jae finally confessed to you, huh?” Wonpil smirked.

“What? Why would Jae confess to me?” You said, disbelief in your tone.

“Oh, I um… I thought it was Jae…” Wonpil quietly said, breaking eye contact, looking uncomfortable.

The atmosphere immediately changed - both you and Wonpil fell silent. Wonpil looked slightly upset and worried at what he had said, aware that you had no idea about Jae and his feelings towards you.

“Y/N…I’m sorry…” Wonpil quietly said, his tone apologetic and soft.

You shook your head, “Wonpil, it’s fine.”

Once all four of you were sitting at the table and eating, Brian and Jae picked up on the peculiar silence. It was abnormal for you and Wonpil to be this quiet, especially since you were both silently picking at your pizza and looking down at your plates, barely making conversation.

“Guys, what happened when we were gone?” Brian asked, looking towards yourself and Wonpil.

“Yeah, you two are being weirdly quiet, did you both have a fight or something?” Jae laughed.

You looked up to see Jae smiling at you. Why was the timing so wrong? Of course you loved Jae, he was your best friend. You used to crush on him, for a long time but he never showed any interest in you, so you thought it was futile to like him. You also didn’t want your feelings to damage your friendship. Plus, you had a boyfriend now and it wasn’t fair on anyone. If only you had known about this sooner things could have turned out different… Why did the timing have to be like this?

“I’m really tired, could we reschedule the rest of our study for some other night this week?” you lied, glancing at the others around the table.

“Sure of course! We still have a week before the exam anyways,” Jae smiled, standing up, Wonpil following him. Brian had already left so Wonpil and Jae left together since they only lived a ten minute walk away.

“Goodnight Y/N!” Jae chirpily said as he exited your house. Wonpil nervously smiled at you, leaving without uttering a word.

[ jae’s pov ]

Y/N’s behaviour was abnormal. She never fell silent without a reason and I was positive that something must have happened with her and Wonpil.

I turned my head to look at Wonpil who had his head down to the ground. He was acting strange too. Normally when we walked home, I couldn't get him to be quiet he could talk and talk forever.

“What happened back there at Y/N’s?” I questioned.

“N-nothing! What do you m-mean?” Wonpil stuttered, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. This was something that only happened when he was either nervous or lying.

I stopped walking.

“Stop Wonpil. Just tell me what happened, both of you were acting real weird. Honestly, did something happen?” I repeated, attempting to remain calm and not snap at him.

“Jae, please promise you won't get angry…” Wonpil began.

What was he going on about? He was really starting to make me worried now, and confused.

“I don’t know Wonpil… I can’t promise to not be annoyed if I don’t know what’s going on,” I explained, running a hand through my hair.

Wonpil let a sigh escape his lips before looking up at me.

“Okay well… I sort of let it slip that you liked… that you liked��” he gushed, his jumbled up words too incoherent to decipher.

“What?” I irritatingly huffed.

Wonpil looked up, a sad and pitying look on his face.

“I sort of let it slip that you liked Y/N… I swear it was an accident, honest,” Wonpil explained.

“Why would you do that?!” I shouted, unbelievably annoyed at my friend for sharing a secret like that… especially to Y/N.

“Jae I’m sorry! Honestly… I didn’t know she had a boyfriend and when she mentioned something about one I presumed it was you… since you both obviously like each other and I genuinely didn’t know that she had a boyfriend that wasn't you…” Wonpil explained.

Inevitably, I was irritated with Wonpil, but it wasn’t fair to be angry with him since it was a mistake and I knew he wouldn't ever confess any of my secrets on purpose.

“Jae… really… I am sorry,” Wonpil softly said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Look, you're okay… it was a mistake. I’ll see you tomorrow at school, yeah?” I said, giving him a small smile.

“Yeah, sure,” Wonpil reluctantly said, turning to walk down the opposite street where his house was.

Once Wonpil was gone and out of sight, I turned around in the direction we had already come to go back to Y/N’s house. I didn’t want her to feel awkward around me since she now knew about my true feelings towards her. Yes, it upset me that she was going out with some other guy but that’s just how things turned out and as her best friend I had to respect that.

I stood on her porch after knocking on the front door. Since it was currently October, the nights had become cooler. I was freezing cold since all I had was a hoodie and not a proper jacket.

The door slowly opened to reveal Y/N. She was dressed in pyjamas and once she recognised the person knocking on her door at 11.00pm was me, her face fell. This was what I feared would happen if she ever found out about my feelings for her; that she would feel uncomfortable and awkward.

“Hey Jae…” she began.

I stepped past her and into the foyer before kicking my shoes off.

“Why are you here?” she asked, shutting the front door closed to keep the house warm.

“Is it okay if we talk?” I asked. Y/N remained silent. She must have figured out that I knew.

I followed her into the living room. Neither one of us sat down and Y/N didn’t speak first.

“Wonpil told me about what happened…” I began, breaking the silence.

“He did? … I mean, I don’t know Jae, I don't know what to say,” Y/N replied, taking a few steps closer to me. In that moment, I was completely mesmerised and infatuated with Y/N, all over again. I had known her for years and years… it was inevitable to not fall for her. There was no one else that could ever compare to her.

“You know… I like you too Jae, I always have … but it’s a bit late now, things are different I suppose. I never thought you liked me or felt the same…” Y/N elucidated, biting on her nail. She looked up at me, her eyes shining.

Her words hurt me. How could she think I never liked her? It is still my fault, I never confessed to her or shared my feelings towards her and she was right, it is too late.

“I’m sorry Y/N… I should have said something sooner-“ I began.

“Yes. You should have said something sooner,” she interrupted, coming even closer. Due to our proximity, her face was only centimetres away from mine. Her bright eyes were gazing up at mine through my glasses.

I was much taller than Y/N, meaning I had to lean down to reach her face. Before either of us could say anything or stop it from happening, our lips had connected. Everything in that short blissful moment just felt right. I wrapped my arms around Y/N’s back as she pulled in closer, her hands finding their way to my hair. I deepened the kiss, not wanting it to end. I didn’t want this to be real, but then I did… I wanted Y/N and I had never wanted her so bad.

Y/N broke the kiss, hitting her hand on my chest. I stumbled backwards before looking up to see Y/N had tears in her eyes.

“You need to go,” she coldly said.

“W-wait Y/N,” I stuttered, attempting to walk over to her.

“Jae, please just leave,” she cried.

I turned around and began to make my way out of her house. What happened? More importantly… how was I going to fix this?

m a s t e r l i s t

#day6 #day6 jae #day6writersnet #day6 scenarios #day6 imagines #day6 comeback #day6 angst #day6 jae scenario #day6 jae imagine #day6 sunrise #day6 jae angst

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panhasablog · 7 years

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Reading Meme

Tagged by @theticklishpear! Thank you for the opportunity to ramble about books!

1: Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

I've got a few books I've had my whole life, so I'm not sure, but I think it's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, which if I'm remembering right my dad had in his childhood, so those are some pretty old books. (And I still haven't read Through the Looking Glass.)

More below the cut!

2: What is your current read, your last read, and the book you'll read next?

I'm currently towards the end of rereading allof the Riordanverse books (I've got like a book and a quarter left) so I'm going to count that all as one to stop this answer from being boring. Currently currently I'm about three quarters of the way through Sword of Summer and concurrently reading Riders of the Purple Sage (since I couldn't bring my Kindle to summer camp), which has turned out to be pretty boring so I probably won't finish. The last book I read before my whole Riordan sprint I think was Ella Minnow Pea or possibly If on a winter's night a traveller; I can't remember which of those I read first. (Both good books, the latter being really surreal and vaguely disturbing.) Next I'm planning to read either the Iliad or Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which from what little I've gathered I think is either about a gay kid navigating his social life or time travel or both, and I don't want to find out which until I read the book.

3: Which book does everyone like and you hated?

I'm gonna give a two-part answer to this question: the super-popular book I thought was pretty eh is Divergent (though I did read the whole trilogy), and a book I've seen a few people go "yeah it was good!" that I couldn't stand is It's Kind of a Funny Story. (It was mostly okay but the way they treated it treated the trans girl was an absolute deal breaker.)

4: Which book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?

Huckleberry Finn, honestly. I own a copy that sits on my bookshelf gathering dust to eternity.

5: Which book are you saving for "retirement"?

Is that a thing people do??

6: Last page: read it first or wait for the end?

Again: there's people who read the last page first? Why would you do that

7: Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

I don't usually read the acknowledgements, but I definitely don't think they're a waste. I think it's important to acknowledge how many people help with the creation of a book, and when I'm really interested in a particular book or it's author, I do like reading the acknowledgements. It's sometimes interesting to get a peek into how the author thinks of help and who's given it, if that makes sense.

8: Which book character would you switch places with?

I honestly don't think I would. Most book characters have a pretty bad time of it which makes for good reading but less good experiencing.

9: Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

The Lightning Thief reminds me of the friend who introduced me to the Percy Jackson books by talking about nothing else for several weeks after The Last Olympian came out until I figured hey I am not going to be able to communicate with one of my best friends until I read these books. I haven't spoken to that friend since we were eleven, but she made a pretty huge impact on my interests.

10: Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

My grandparents at some point had really nice copies of a lot of classic books made, with gilded covers and leather spines and all that fanciness, and then they haven't read any of them, so I've been borrowing a few of those at a time so these beautiful, beautiful books can serve their intended purpose. Right now I've got the Iliad, a collection of Shakespeare plays, and the aforementioned copy of Huckleberry Finn that at some point I should admit I'm not gonna read and return.

For a different kind of interesting, I borrowed the first Game of Thrones book from my freshman English teacher, which was an experience when I found out how incredibly full of violence and sex and violent sex that book was.

11: Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

I know this is a boring answer, but I can't say I have.

12: Which book has been with you to the most places?

It's gotta be The Little Prince (technically Le Petit Prince, actually), not because I've taken it on a lot of trips, but because I borrowed a copy (in French) from my French teacher to read during a trip she took me and some classmates on to France, where we went to several parts of France along the Côte d'Azure, Paris, and at in one day to Italy and Monaco, so that book has technically been to a whole heckton of places with me.

13: Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad ten years later?

I'm still in high school, so we'll have to see. I might like The Stranger better when I'm 25 as opposed to 15.

14: What is the strangest item you've ever found in a book?

The only thing other than bookmarks I've found in a book was a chunk of unidentified something hard and sticky, which is more gross than strange.

15: Used or brand new?

Honestly, no preference. I love the worn feeling of used books and the knowledge that the physical book itself has a story to accompany the ones the words tell, and I love the smell of a new book and the feeling of opening it for the first time and starting something entirely new. I just really love books

16: Stephen King: literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I've actually never read a Stephen King novel, so I can't really say, but I did read bits of his writing advice book, which annoyed me because he seemed very absolute that his way was the Right Way to Write and his way was very different than my way and didn't work for me and I didn't appreciate being made to feel that my way of writing was wrong (specifically, he said not to write anything down until you've thought about it a lot because writing down half-baked musings solidifies bad ideas, whereas I think by writing down every single thought that comes into my head and then reading them back and picking out the good ones)

17: Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

As far as movies based on books, I've never seen one I liked better, but The Princess Bride was as good. If we're counting books based on movies, the Monsters vs. Aliens book was Bad

18: Conversely, what book should never have been introduced to celluloid?

I know it's been said before but do not get me started on The Lightning Thief, one of the best books I've ever read and a mediocre-at-best movie that mangled nearly everything I love about the books

19: Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?

No, because I don't really...like food? Not in an unhealthy way or anything, eating is just a thing I do because otherwise I'd die and I don't get much out of it, so descriptions of food don't do anything for me either :P

20: Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?

As a general policy I don't have sources whose advice I'll always take regarding anything, but the closest book-wise is my English teacher from last year, who reads so much it's insane and has introduced me to a few great books I'd never have heard of, let alone read otherwise (such as If on a winter's night a traveller)

I tag: @winterspirit-13, @zeuscaboose, @guilelessbees, and whoever else wants to do this! (Especially camp friends, since I don't know which of you all like to do these kinds of things yet!)

#bloop #wow that was. a lot

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ottomanbob · 7 years

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(excerpt) alpha stage research on Distributed Distro

Distributed Distribution: The Sharing Crisis and How We Must Solve It

The current means by which digital multimedia are distributed (legitimately) online are diverse and convoluted. These systems, ranging from the iTunes Store to Google Images to Netflix, are responsible for an exponential growth in both audiences and the libraries to which they have access. Though this boom in accessibility should merit a proportional growth in wealth for artists and creators, it is simply not the case. These existing models have inherited many of the flaws of previous “analog” distribution systems, often accentuating, rather than remedying their worst qualities.

The problems with online media distribution are abundant; disproportionate revenue shares between corporations and creatives, undercompensated mega artists, rampant piracy, garbled metadata, a half dozen equally-confusing options for streaming media… the list goes on.

While this crisis pertains to all forms of media, ranging from music to videogames, I, as a filmmaker, am specifically interested in dissecting and remedying it in relation to movies. However, it would be unwise and regrettable to approach this issue from this perspective exclusively as the problem is orthogonal and multifaceted; this is a shared crisis. I posit that the issues at hand are as existential and ideological as they are logistical, and because of this cannot be resolved in a compartmentalized manner. I will refer to these issues collectively as the distribution crisis. Severe disruptions in both the thinking of the public and the design of the systems at play are necessary to its resolution.

With the emergence of new technologies, specifically decentralized networks and cryptocurrencies, several alternative models for online media distribution become possible. The goal of this writing is to A) determine the precise origins of flaws in existing distribution systems B) determine the established and emergent technologies necessary for a new model C) describe in detail an ideal alternative distribution model and several derivatives of this proposition D) posit the methods and techniques necessary for the adoption of such a model E) predict the next order effects of the large scale implementation of such a system.

This writing is a research paper, a speculative design brief, and more prosaically a introductory exploration into an ideal future for artists. The ideas within refer to a multidisciplinary array of subjects, focusing especially on economics, software studies, and design philosophy. I am not nor do I claim to be a scholar of any of these topics. I am personally motivated to explore these subjects in relation to the distribution crisis, as I am affected as both an artist and audience member. Existentially, I believe the media distribution crisis is a microcosm of many of the larger issues facing our species today and some of the ideas presented herein can and have been adapted for and from other realms of speculative design.

Most of my research is derived from publicly accessible online data, direct observations of existing systems, and “whitepapers” for emergent technologies. In addition, philosopher Benjamin Bratton’s “The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty” has inspired much of the systems and software thinking herein, specifically in regards to the relationship and division between user, interface, and address layers in proposed systems. I have also included a healthy amount of personal intuition and occasional conjecture.

Centralization

At the core of all issues within the distribution crisis is the quality of centralization; an impractical design flaw inherited from archaic systems, dating back to the genesis of mass media. Previously, when media of any form was produced, whether it be a newspaper, vinyl record, or VHS tape, it was birthed at a central point, (usually a factory or printing press), and disseminated from there. Retail distributors of said media kept a portion of profits and the remainder kicked up to a management corporation, who paid both the manufacturer and a small or infinitesimal commission to the creator of said media.

This model, however disproportionate, was vital in the establishment of the mass media world we know today. Making a movie/album/book was a difficult process, but a much larger share of heavy machinery and coordination was necessary to share it on a large scale. With the internet, this is no longer the case. No tape, cellophane, or paper is necessary to move a piece of work from creator to audience. Just broadband. But we’re still using the old model, wherein a studio, label, publisher, or large corporation takes a huge chunk of artist’s profits. Today, media marketplaces and platforms chomp the biggest revenue share from creators. Spotify, the iTunes Store, Netflix, and YouTube have all grown exorbitantly wealthy on other people’s content.

The reason for this is a primary strength of centralized distribution models: their databases. An online media distribution system, whether it be a marketplace or streaming platform, controls and maintains the identity, distribution, and monetization of an artist and their work. These databases are massive, containing thousands, if not millions of songs and movies and other media, meticulously organized, indexed, and maintained. These centralized databases are why the common consumer subscribes to streaming media models. For a small fee, we are given access to a massive and orderly library of content, hopefully filtered through an intuitive user interface.

Though these databases are ripe with appeal and advantages, their centralization is extremely troublesome. They are data silos, completely compartmentalized from one another. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video may share an overlap of hundreds of thousands of films and shows, but their libraries are completely separate. Due to this compartmentalization, it is possible for the same piece of media to exist on a plethora of platforms, but the information and context surrounding them to be fragmented and isolated. An artist may be paid in five different ways on five different platforms, all of which severely undercompensate them. Their work may appear under five different names, in five different formats, with five unique audiences. The velocity their work receives on one platform may not transfer well to another platform, and when it does, it may not carry the identity and data necessary for proper attribution to the artist.

Let’s follow an all-too-common lifepath of a viral song. Artist A uploads Song B to Soundcloud, in hopes of promoting album sales on Bandcamp or iTunes. YouTuber C discovers Song B and shares it to his subscribers via a YouTube upload. Song B collects millions of views on YouTube, with no connection to the artist. Artist A discovers this upload and asks Youtuber C to link the video back to Artist A’s Social Media. A small percentage of clickthroughs lead to tens of thousand of new followers on Artist A’s Social Media. Some of these true fans purchase Artist A’s album on Bandcamp, wherein Artist A receives 70% of the profit, but most find the album on Spotify, resulting in hundreds of thousands of streams, for which Artist A receives less than one hundred dollars. Literally. Analogues of this phenomenon can be observed in the distribution of movies, television, and images, alike. Popularity seldom results in compensation.

What is worst about all of this is that data shows that consumers want to pay for their media. When it is intuitive, audiences will gladly pay up. [TK] Napster all but disappeared when the iTunes Store made it possible to purchase single songs for a dollar. When bittorrents emerged, making it easy to download entire albums and movies, distributors created the subscription streaming model, and millions of users hopped on. But these same users have become increasingly disheartened and alienated by these platforms. Serious fans would rather purchase physical merchandise or download media directly from its creator through mediums like Bandcamp or Louis CK’s direct-to-customer DRM-free model. More casual consumers become overwhelmed by the variety of streaming platforms, many turning back to piracy, or worse, abandoning their consumption altogether. Digital distribution is a nightmare for consumers and creators alike.

Decentralization

If we could decentralize our media databases, things would be very different. A diversity of apps and platforms would still exist, but they would be thin strips of code layered on a deep shared data reservoir. This reservoir could contain a master copy of all works, submitted and formatted as preferred by their respective owners. Views on Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube could all be written to the same count on a movie’s universal metadata. A view on any of these platforms could compensate an artist in the exact same way. The creator could have the same bio, profile picture, and fan base across multiple platforms. These platforms would no longer compete on the breadth of their database, but the quality of their interfaces and the user experiences they offer. Such are the promises of a public decentralized media database.

In 2009, an elusive software engineer named Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the Bitcoin payment system to the internet. Using peer-to-peer open-source software, Bitcoin became the internet’s first blockchain: a distributed and growing list of cryptographically-verified unalterable records or, more prosaically, a decentralized public database. In 2016, the Bitcoin blockchain holds 60 gigabytes of data on an average of 5000 “nodes,” or publically run servers. More information on the technology and folklore of Bitcoin can be found [TK].

Bitcoin, forgo all controversy and skepticism, has proved the viability of blockchain databases. It has shown that individuals, when incentivized by currency, will host data and offer computational power to a shared cause. Decentralized data is real.

Tokenization

The implementation, growth, and maintenance of a blockchain is best preceded by a tokenized incentive. While some parties may be motivated to host and compute a blockchain for political or personal reasons, their contributions, alone, are unlikely to be enough to sustain a large database. More importantly, a large and diverse population of nodes is imperative to the very definition of a decentralized database.

With a decentralized media database, both consumers, businesses, and creators may be attracted to the notion of hosting. However, their motivations are not aligned without a token. A cryptocurrency hardcoded into the blockchain programs both humans and machines and aligns their incentives. In order to receive or write data to a tokenized blockchain, a user must circulate currency and contribute to its microeconomy. The token is attractive to all stakeholders in the platform and the blockchain, itself, cannot operate without it. Moreover, the value of a token is based on the value of the database on which it is built. This includes, but is not limited to the data maintained on the blockchain, the speed and efficiency with which the chain operates, and the health of the community of users that interact through it.

The value of the token is not just in aligning incentives. It is also an effective means for bootstrapping and user acquisition. The creators of a blockchain are in charge of the allocation of tokens. Developers may speculate on the value of their blockchain and allocate a share of tokens to themselves. These tokens are, initially, worthless. They only acquire value when the blockchain itself does. This further incentivizes developers to create a quality database.

Developers may also allocate an initial share of tokens to user acquisition. New users on the blockchain may be compensated in tokens just for joining. This poses no risk to no users and is a powerful enticement to engage with a new technology. It is literally free money. In the case of a media blockchain, developers could compensate creators in tokens for adding their content to the database.

The true value of a blockchain is in the service that its network and database can provide to users. It is the goal of a blockchain’s developers to grow this value and, in turn, increase the value of the tokens they hold. Developers do not “own” a blockchain, but they are intimately acquainted with it, and thus should be able to build killer applications for it. By creating a free application in the aforementioned “thin layer” over a decentralized database, developers can attract users and value.

On the high conceptual level, the strength of a token in blockchain implementation may be puzzling. It may be easier to think about tokenized blockchains as a logical evolution of the co-op business model:

A co-op is a business corporation that offers every member and employee an equal share of decision-making power and economic ownership. The model is both egalitarian and democratic, but offers no power hierarchy: it is decentralized. The success of the co-op business relies on the participation of and work of all of its employees, like any business, but employees are more incentivized to contribute to the business because their compensation is determined by the health of their company.

The co-op model protects employees from selfish leadership, as their is no opportunity for a larger owner in the company to liquidate his or her shares and/or layoff employees. The co-op model also prevents careless scaling. Inefficient growth means lower pay for everyone.

The primary overlap between tokenized networks and the coop model is that many users may have a share in the value of a “business” from its conception. Tokens, however, usually do not provide a holder with a vote or voice in the direction of a blockchain. Tokens holders can contribute to the health of a blockchains interior economy by spending, receiving and circulating their token, within it.

The stakeholders in a traditional co-op are the employees of a corporation, itself. In a tokenized network, both the developers and users have tokens. Developers hold token because its value appreciates with the use and value of their network. In the future, they can sell their tokens to other users, or spend them as users. (Users are not limited to one side of a transaction.) Their profit relies on the strength of the network and microeconomy they develop.

In the case of a co-op bakery, customers interface with the bakery like they would any other brick and mortar store. They do not pay a membership fee nor vote on the leadership and interior politics of the bakery. In fact, they probably prefer not to. The bakery provides a good/service for the customer, the co-op model provides a service for the employee.

The inclusion of customers as shareholders in the co-op could lead to a variety of issues. First and foremost, there inherently will be more customers than employees. This means that customers could implement advantageous policies (prices and cost-ineffective products) for themselves that hurt the wages of the employees and profitability of a business as whole. While customers may not want to do this (they have incentive to keep the bakery running), they do not inherently have the same share in the bakery that the bakers do. Their incentives may be aligned existentially, but there is no mechanism to enforce these beliefs. Profit dividends distributed to consumers may fruit some economic alignment, but the survival of the bakery is of far more significance to the bakers, as it is their livelihood. The primary function of the co-op model is to combat a centralized governance of an organization that could later lead to a questionable distribution of wealth and poor treatment of employees, specifically.

The tokenized blockchain takes the principles of a co-op one step further: all stakeholders have aligned incentives, but may not have the same share in the economy. This a more naturalistic and feasible approach to democratized and decentralized business. The health of the microeconomy is a priority to players of all sizes within it.

A Blockchain for Movies

If we speculate on an alternative future for movie distribution with tokenized blockchains in mind, a near-utopian model of sharing becomes visible. This model, which I will refer to as “PopCoin,” can be thought of as a legitimized and more sustainable rethinking of the notorious free and open source “Popcorn-Time.”

Popcorn-Time is a software interface built on a centralized catalog of neatly arranged bittorrents of pirated movies and television. The PopCorn-Time metadata collection contains posters, descriptions, ratings and subtitles for a large library of bittorrents. These bittorrents, which can be accessed outside of the software, are more easily streamed through the reliable Popcorn-Time interface. User experience is also improved by access to contextual data and an established reliability and trust in the Popcorn-Time developers, who only link to quality torrented media. More about Popcorn-Time can be found [TK]

The PopCoin model, conversely, still relies on decentralized and torrented media, but shares it legally. Metadata is hosted on a blockchain that not only indexes information about the movie, but also who has a license to stream or download it. Users are compensated in PopCoin for their contributions and hosting of this “PopChain.” The movies, themselves, may be hosted by fans, studios, and investors, who are all compensated by the PopChain for sharing with their peers. A user can spend their PopCoin to stream or download a movie. Peers who help deliver the file receive a small share of this PopCoin, while the majority is sent to the movie’s owner. By eliminating a middleman like Netflix or iTunes, creators are able to slash prices for their media while receiving more profits. This is the brilliance of decentralization.

Developers of the PopChain allocate a share of PopCoins for themselves, and distribute an initial allocation to serious independent movie fans. Developers then take another share of tokens and give them to filmmakers who agree to have their work cataloged on the PopChain. These developers then develop a free PopCoin interface that makes the PopChain accessible to common users. Speculating on the potential of the PopChain, financially motivated investors may purchase PopCoin from developers, fans and filmmakers, bringing more monetary value to the token. If PopCoin provides better experiences for users and compensation for filmmakers than existing platforms, it has the potential to disrupt online movie distribution. This disruption starts with a network effect.

CONT>>>> (deep work coming)

#blockchain #bitcoin #distribution #mediachain #decentralization

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