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malicious-compliance-esq · 7 months

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New game focused on POV characters, folks!

Rules: Pick an OC and post a snippet from their viewpoint.

Now that I’m not being a complete doofus about what “OC” means in this context, let’s try this again! Thanks @late-to-the-fandom for clarifying that any POV character is appropriate for this meme. So without further ado, here’s a segment from my “Shaking in the Light” story written from Black Jack Randall’s perspective. For full context on the story including a summary and info for the “Dispatches from Fort Laggan” series, click through to the link. The sequence below shows Randall wrestling with his attraction to his brother’s partner Mary Hawkins while she fumes after kicking an arrogant doctor out of their house. Both of them trying their damnedest to keep Alex alive as his health continues to deteriorate has taken a toll. Black Jack feels himself starting to lose it in more ways than one.

To say 1746 gets off to a rough start would be a gross understatement. Not much of an upgrade from that foretold death of long ago, Black Jack thinks glumly as his brother’s health continues to decline along with any remaining hope of recovery. He arrives home one afternoon to a commotion upstairs—a male voice he dimly recognizes as Alex’s physician huffing indignantly, and Mary fast losing what remains of her commendable patience. “He’s in pain, Doctor. We’ve tried everything you’ve recommended. His brother pounds on his back and sides at least twice daily to help clear the phlegm. Jack and I help Alex eat when he can’t manage it himself. We keep the room warm and boil water with rosemary over the fire just there. We give him brandy to help him sleep. But he’s gotten so much worse. Now nothing stops the pain anymore even when he has a high fever and is barely lucid, like today. He needs…” “I’ll be the judge of that, miss. Laudanum is…” “I know bloody well what it is! It also happens to be the only thing with a chance of helping! And I’ve had quite enough of arrogant men thinking you can just talk over me as if I’m nothing,” she hisses. Jack’s heart feels as if it might turn flips within his chest. How far you’ve come in just a year, magnificent girl. He only wishes he could see the look on Mary’s face as she dresses down that pompous doctor. He’d never much cared for the fellow to begin with, even before he disrespected Alex’s dear companion thusly. “Don’t you talk to me about your patient. I’ve been caring for Alex day in and out all this past year; if he had the breath he’d tell you that himself.” “Perhaps I could talk to his brother…”

Black Jack can practically hear the temperature drop ahead of Mary’s next words. “I assure you Captain Randall wouldn’t do much talking if he could hear how you’re speaking to me.” Instinctively, he fingers the hilt of the sword still strapped to his belt. Too right, little dove. Then again, Mary seems to have the matter well in hand. “So either listen to me—that Alex is suffering and you’re doing absolutely nothing to stop it—or get out now, this instant!” Apparently the man finds precisely enough good sense to heed her order. He bustles out in a swirl of black wool, barely sparing a glance for Black Jack in the foyer. Mary follows close behind, quite literally chases the cowed physician from the premises with a menacing rustle of skirts. The doctor isn’t looking back in the slightest, surely fearful of what he’ll incur if he does. But Black Jack has no such compunctions. He raises one dark brow in Mary’s direction, sweeps his gaze over her flushed bosom and blazing eyes. God, he’s never seen her look lovelier. Admiration and longing swirl in his stomach. He wants terribly to brush the loose bits of hair from Mary’s brow and sweep her into his arms. “I suppose he won’t be coming back, then?” Mary purses her lips, keeps her simmering regard focused directly on Jack. “It’ll be his funeral if he does.”

Black Jack remembers, absurdly, what Murtagh had told him about the night he and Jamie collected Mary from Bellhurst. Th’ lass wouldna come wi’ us til she’d gone through evera drawer in th’ residence takin’ evera last knife. Coming from her it’s surely a credible threat. The best kind of all, Black Jack knows well. His throat goes dry; his groin aches. Mary just looks at him for several long moments. Those enormous eyes stay sparking with fury and something unnamed. He stares back, unable to look away or stem the tide of wanting that threatens to drown him. “We’ll need to hire a new doctor,” she murmurs. “Consider it done. I would give you final say though…in light of everything.” A knowing little smile plays over her lips. “I suppose I’ve been spoiled by the company of such intelligent men.” Mary’s eyes soften then as she asks about his day—“nothing so eventful as yours, I assure you”—and slyly brushes a bit of dust from the sleeves of his topcoat. Eventually she makes her way back upstairs, her soft voice fast settling into reading aloud from a novel he’d spotted by the bed yesterday evening.

Jack settles into his usual armchair by the parlor fireplace with a glass of brandy in one hand and a pencil in the other. Mary comes to life on the page in due course. Black Jack disappears into the flaring surfaces of her wide blue eyes, not dulled in the slightest by the gentle gray tones of graphite in two dimensions. Do you think this to be the first time I’ve had blood on my hands? Mary pauses in her reading after a time, drops her voice to a subtle whisper as it mingles with Alex’s. As he shades the likeness Black Jack listens to Alex laughing softly and the almost imperceptible sounds of kisses between coughs. He doesn’t dare think too long on what precisely Mary does to please him thusly. She stares back at him from the paper, radiantly angry in a splendid dress that he aches to unlace. Small wonder my dear brother thinks you hang the moon, he remembers saying in Paris many months ago. You’re no coward, girl. Jack passes another hour by the dwindling fire, drowning in her lifelike rendered eyes as she sighs softly upstairs. He tries to do the same with brandy and finds it miserably wanting. The drink does nothing now to snuff his wishing that Mary were making those noises for him. Idly he picks up another sheet of paper, contemplates it with wary trepidation. Well then. What can it hurt? He places another log on the fire and licks the pencil anew. In the warm glow from the flames, Mary’s eyes slide closed.

Lots more intrigue in the full story for those who dare. If you love the “heartbroken and horny combo pack” that so often colors Black Jack’s storylines in official canon, you’re definitely in the right place. Do heed the rating on AO3 if you venture further. Generally if you’re reading this blog you know you’re in for highly detailed erotica, but a reminder never hurts!

Tagging @meerawrites who's been working on an awesome story in the Turn: Washington's Spies fandom for the good of the Evil Redcoat Pipeline! Anyone else who's got POV character snippets to share should absolutely feel free to jump in.

#play friendly games win fun prizes #tag you’re it #late-to-the-fandom #pov characters #niche outlander fanfiction #black jack randall #malicious fics it #lgbt fiction #fanfic #ao3 #trauma #writing is healing #character analysis #villain discourse #evil redcoat pipeline #yes good

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puppyeared · 3 years

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When Hylia gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade! Make Hylia take the lemons back! Get mad!!!!

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rapeculturerealities · 3 years

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Ma Kyal Sin loved taekwondo, spicy food and a good red lipstick. She adopted the English name Angel, and her father hugged her goodbye when she went out on the streets of Mandalay, in central Myanmar, to join the crowds peacefully protesting the recent seizure of power by the military.

The black T-shirt that Ms. Kyal Sin wore to the protest on Wednesday carried a simple message: “Everything will be OK.”

In the afternoon, Ms. Kyal Sin, 18, was shot in the head by the security forces, who killed at least 30 people nationwide in the single bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 coup, according to the United Nations.

“She is a hero for our country,” said Ma Cho Nwe Oo, one of Ms. Kyal Sin’s close friends, who has also taken part in the daily rallies that have electrified hundreds of cities across Myanmar. “By participating in the revolution, our generation of young women shows that we are no less brave than men.”

Despite the risks, women have stood at the forefront of Myanmar’s protest movement, sending a powerful rebuke to the generals who ousted a female civilian leader and reimposed a patriarchal order that has suppressed women for half a century.

By the hundreds of thousands, the women have gathered for daily marches, representing striking unions of teachers, garment workers and medical workers — all sectors dominated by women. The youngest are often on the front lines, where the security forces appear to have singled them out. Two young women were shot in the head on Wednesday and another near the heart, three bullets ending their lives.

Earlier this week, military television networks announced that the security forces were instructed not to use live ammunition, and that in self-defense they would only shoot at the lower body.

“We might lose some heroes in this revolution,” said Ma Sandar, an assistant general secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar, who has been taking part in the protests. “Our women’s blood is red.”

The violence on Wednesday, which brought the death toll since the coup to at least 54, reflected the brutality of a military accustomed to killing its most innocent people. At least three children have been gunned down over the past month, and the first death of the military’s post-coup crackdown was a 20-year-old woman shot in the head on Feb. 9.

The killings have appalled and outraged rights advocates around the world.

“Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protesters,” Michelle Bachelet, the top human rights official at the United Nations, said Thursday. “It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country.”

In the weeks since the protests began, groups of female medical volunteers have patrolled the streets, tending to the wounded and dying. Women have added spine to a civil disobedience movement that is crippling the functioning of the state. And they have flouted gender stereotypes in a country where tradition holds that garments covering the lower half of the bodies of the two sexes should not be washed together, lest the female spirit act as a contaminant.

With defiant creativity, people have strung up clotheslines of women’s sarongs, called htamein, to protect protest zones, knowing that some men are loath to walk under them. Others have affixed images of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief who orchestrated the coup, to the hanging htamein, an affront to his virility.

“Young women are now leading the protests because we have a maternal nature and we can’t let the next generation be destroyed,” said Dr. Yin Yin Hnoung, a 28-year-old medical doctor who has dodged bullets in Mandalay. “We don’t care about our lives. We care about our future generations.”

While the military’s inhumanity extends to many of the country’s roughly 55 million people, women have the most to lose from the generals’ resumption of full authority, after five years of sharing power with a civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Tatmadaw, as the military is known, is deeply conservative, opining in official communications about the importance of modest dress for proper ladies.

There are no women in the Tatmadaw’s senior ranks, and its soldiers have systematically committed gang rape against women from ethnic minorities, according to investigations by the United Nations. In the generals’ worldview, women are often considered weak and impure. Traditional religious hierarchies in this predominantly Buddhist nation also place women at the feet of men.

The prejudices of the military and the monastery are not necessarily shared by Myanmar’s broader society. Women are educated and integral to the economy, particularly in business, manufacturing and the civil service. Increasingly, women have found their political voice. In elections last November, about 20 percent of candidates for the National League for Democracy, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, were women.

The party won in a landslide, trouncing the military-linked and far more male-dominated Union Solidarity and Development Party. The Tatmadaw has dismissed the results as fraudulent.

As the military began devolving some power over the past decade, Myanmar experienced one of the most profound and rapid societal changes in the world. A country that had been cut off from the world by the generals, who first seized power in a 1962 coup, went on Facebook and discovered memes, emojis and global conversations about gender politics.

“Even though these are dark days and my heart breaks with all these images of bloodshed, I’m more optimistic because I see women on the street,” said Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd, a Burmese-American who served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army and is now a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. “In this contest, I will put money on the women. They are unarmed, but they are the true warriors.”

That passion has ignited across the country, despite Tatmadaw crackdowns in past decades that have killed hundreds of people.

“Women took the frontier position in the fight against dictatorship because we believe it is our cause,” said Ma Ei Thinzar Maung, a 27-year-old politician and former political prisoner who, along with another woman the same age, led the first anti-coup demonstration in Yangon five days after the putsch.

That passion has ignited across the country, despite Tatmadaw crackdowns in past decades that have killed hundreds of people.

“That was the time I committed myself to working toward abolishing the military junta,” she said. “Minorities know what it feels like, where discrimination leads. And as a woman, we are still considered as a second sex.”

“That must be one of the reasons why women activists seem more committed to rights issues,” she added.

While the National League for Democracy is led by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, its top ranks are dominated by men. And like the Tatmadaw, the party’s highest echelons have tended to be reserved for members of the country’s ethnic Bamar majority.

On the streets of Myanmar, even as the security forces continue to fire at unarmed protesters, the makeup of the movement has been far more diverse. There are Muslim students, Catholic nuns, Buddhist monks, drag queens and a legion of young women.

“Gen Z are a fearless generation,” said Honey Aung, whose younger sister, Kyawt Nandar Aung, was killed by a bullet to the head on Wednesday in the city of Monywa. “My sister joined the protests every day. She hated dictatorship.”

In a speech that ran in a state propaganda publication earlier this week, General Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief, sniffed at the impropriety of the protesters, with their “indecent clothes contrary to Myanmar culture.” His definition is commonly considered to include women wearing trousers.

Moments before she was shot dead, Ms. Kyal Sin, dressed in sneakers and torn jeans, rallied her fellow peaceful protesters.

As they staggered from the tear gas fired by security forces on Wednesday, Ms. Kyal Sin dispensed water to cleanse their eyes. “We are not going to run,” she yelled, in a video recorded by another protester. “Our people’s blood should not reach the ground.”

“She is the bravest girl I have ever seen in my life,” said Ko Lu Maw, who photographed some of the final images of Ms. Kyal Sin, in an alert, proud pose amid a crowd of prostrate protesters.

Under her T-shirt, Ms. Kyal Sin wore a star-shaped pendant because her name means “pure star” in Burmese.

“She would say, ‘if you see a star, remember, that’s me,’” said Ms. Cho Nwe Oo, her friend. “I will always remember her proudly.”

#tw murder #state sponsored violence #Myanmar #activism

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quillyfied · 3 years

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First Lines Meme

Tagged by @cheeriosandwine

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line, then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Oh, goodie, this should be fun XD Taken from the last 20 stories off my AO3 as of 4/2/21, I’m not gonna post links bc that’s exhausting but here’s my AO3 account, have fun.

1. It wasn’t often that Aziraphale got the urgent and sudden sense of being needed, not these days. (Summer Blockbuster Teenage Angst Fest, Chapter Nine: HOLY WATER)

2. Once upon a time, there lived a king named Shadwell, who did alright for himself as far as kingdoms went, but he had no heir to inherit his throne. (far longer than forever (you’re my best friend) )

3. Warlock Dowling walked his three special invitations to the mainland mailbox in the dead of night, six months before the posted date of the event. (dancing queen (guaranteed to blow your mind) )

4. Crowley’s slumber was interrupted by a very insistent poke to his face. (Pen to Paper)

5. It is quiet and still, in the After. (repose)

6. How it happened wasn’t entirely clear. (Peace and Goodwill, although to be fair this was a collaborative work and I’m pretty sure this line in particular was olwendylluan’s; I thiiiink, if memory serves, my actual first written line was either “As a group, they followed Junior into the greenhouse, Angelica carrying her plate of food, Datura with half a danish still hanging out of their mouth.” or ““Where did you even find pipe cleaners?” Clem asked, looking up from his bow-making station at Angelica, sitting across the table from him and weaving together black and red pipe cleaners.“, it’s not entirely clear)

7. Marley was dead, though this has very little bearing whatsoever on the story about to unfold. (Bless Us, One and All, though props to Mr. Dickens for the yoinking that took place)

8. “Angel!” Crowley called as he stepped into the bookshop, one fine autumn afternoon well after Armageddon’t. (you don’t have to answer, leave them hangin’ on the line)

9. “Crowley. Crowley, look.” (Thirteenth Night, Chapter Two: Bones; it’s a compilation work of both standalone art and writing, I just took where one of the writing bits began)

10. Some days Junior couldn’t get out of bed. (Third Eden, Chapter Five: Step by Step; a collab, but this latest update was one of mine so here we are)

11. “Father?” (Snake Cottage, or Snottage, , Chapter Eleven: An Awkward Question)

12. The morning was cold and grey. (The Whole Truth)

13. Angelica, being a master of the art, knew when she was getting the cold shoulder. (The New Arrangement, Chapter 18: WAR AND PEACE; another collab, but this particular chapter, the latest update, was my own, so first lines from there it is)

14. It was a quiet afternoon in the bookshop, which didn’t happen often these days. (Snake Parents, or Snarents,)

15. It occurred to Aziraphale that he hadn’t heard the hissing of tiny tongues in quite a while. (A Very Wiggleverse Snektember, Chapter One: Sunbathing; another collaborative work but one that’s complete so I just took my first line in it)

16. In the end, Michael did not stay with Adam and Eve and their brood the entire time, though when she first left the little humans latched onto her hands and wailed. (Frabjous Portents, Chapter 4, which I am going to get back to I swear, I have an outline and everything XD)

17. Crowley was not in bed when Aziraphale woke up. (The Empty Nest)

18. Aziraphale drew his hand through the water of the bath he’d drawn for his beloved, stirring in the scented oils, testing the scalding temperatures. (living waters)

19. It started with an overheard conversation at school. (To Have and to Hold, Chapter One; another collab, but the first chapter was mine, so here we go!)

20. You have all, perhaps, heard the tale of the little cinder girl, yes? Good. (find me (somebody to love) )

I feel like I tend to start on one isolated kind of scene-setting or dynamic, dramatic sentence, but there were quite a few that had whole paragraphs to start, which surprised me, so I suppose I’m very pleased about it XD My favorite of the bunch is probably the opening of “living waters” but “Snake Parents, or Snarents,” has some very satisfying transitions, which isn’t opening lines but if you think about it, it kind of is, just for entire scenes.

Oh, tagging people...um...tell you what, if this sounds like fun to you, this is my explicit given permission, and you can even fib and say I tagged you, if you’d like XD

#quilly writing: director's cut #quilly writing #idk y'all it's good omens all the way down #for like thirty fics #and a very large chunk of them are wiggleverse #and most of those wiggleverse fics are collaborative #so here we go

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purplesurveys · 3 years

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1154

[created by: joybucket]

What was the last thing you ate? We had adobo for dinner. I didn’t find it filling though, so I might get some of my mom’s bread pudding sometime tonight as a midnight snack.

What is one thing you're a hoarder of? Receipts, for no reason whatsoever other than the frequent nagging feeling at the back of my head telling me I might need to pull out a certain receipt one of these days just in case I get into any issues, so I end up keeping all of them.

Do you collect magazine clippings? No. I used to but they’re all gone now.

What rating do you normally give surveys? I just take them on here. I visit Bzoink pretty often but I never made an account so I haven’t been able to rate the surveys I’ve taken.

Name someone you wish acted the way he/she used to. I wanna say Gab, but she’s better off figuring out who she wants to be and is meant to be for now. Otherwise, I don’t really have an answer to this; all the people I know are pretty dang fantastic.

Have you ever worked in food service? No.

What was your favorite job that you've had? I’ve only had one job, and I definitely can’t complain about it.

Does your stomach hurt currently? Nope. I’m actually on day 2 of my period, but fortunately the pain really ever only takes place on day 1 for me. The rest of my period usually goes smoothly.

What's one medication condition that you have? I don’t have any. I have one medical condition – scoliosis – but I don’t take any medication for it.

Do you forget passwords a lot? LOL yessssss, because websites have varying rules on what they can count as a password – some want 8 characters, some want 12, some want upper case letters, some want a symbol; so even though I use the same password for everything I typically have to make 84954983573475 variations of them anyway that I end up forgetting.

What is the most you've ever weighed? Not sure, maybe a little over 100 lbs.

Do you plan your wedding on Pinterest? No, I never understood how Pinterest worked :/ I lasted all of 5 minutes on there until I felt bored.

Would you want your first child to be a girl or a boy? I’d love a girl.

Who are the cutest babies on Facebook? The Song triplets will always be babies to me, no matter how big they get.

Do you refer to coral as pink, orange, salmon, or coral? Those are four different colors/shades that you’ve just named right there.... < Lmaooooooo same thoughts. I would just call it coral because that’s what it is.

Name someone whom you wish would apologize to you. I have a name in mind and you guys already know who it is. I’m at peace regardless if I get an apology or not (I definitely won’t), though – and I count that as a win. It’s absolutely batshit insane that I never heard one apology but instead got a million “Can’t you give me credit for trying?” I can’t help but chuckle every time I take myself back to those moments. Thankful I got out of there :)

Do you own a record player? I don’t, but I’d love to have one.

Do you have many regrets? No.

Do you wish your regrets would stop coming back to haunt you? I don’t have a lot of them, so I don’t let them bother me to begin with.

Have you had any regrets in the past week? Can’t say I’ve had any.

What do you not know how to say no to? Requests/favors. I’m a people pleaser through and through.

Have you ever been mad at God? Yup, that’s why I let go of religion at a very young age. I was going through shit no kid should’ve been going through and the idea that some deity is making it happen because it was supposed to encourage me have more faith was utterly stupid. I had no problem disowning whatever god I was desperately trying to latch on to by the time I was 10.

If you don't have a car, do you feel like you're missing out? I have a car. I don’t own it, but it was designated for me.

What is your favorite cousin's name? Jereth. I keep forgetting where they got his name from, but it was from like a German movie or something like that.

Who do you wish were your best friend? Hayley Williams.

Would you ever consider moving to L.A.? Never. Just never seemed like my kind of city. Not to mention the amount of Asian/Asian-American hate crimes I’ve been hearing about recently. The US is undeniably out of my list of places I’d want to step foot in, much less live in.

List 5 other names that start with the same letter of your name. Rhiannon, Riley, Rocky, Rachel, and Russell.

Have you ever known anyone who's name started with a "Y"? Yes, I went to college with a girl named Yumi. Yanna is also still a good friend of mine and we catch up every once in a while.

^If yes, what was it? Oops, mentioned them already. There are also a couple more Y people I know but I’m not close to them nor are we in the same social groups, so idk how to classify them.

Did you hear laurel or yanny? It’s been a while since I let myself get carried away by that ~meme, but I think I heard yanny.

Owls or penguins? Penguins. But owls are great too.

What is your go-to comfort food? Probably something with grease that is fried. < This is an awesome answer. Right now though, I’ve been frequently getting spicy tuna salad every Friday to reward myself after a work week.

What is the best coffee shop in your town? Tim Hortons. < Tim Hortons is greeeeaaaat, but all the branches are in Metro Manila and not at all near me :( That said, my pick would probs be Starbucks. There’s a new local coffee shop where I live called Ghost Coffee and I had been meaning to check it out, but quarantine part two happened.

Do you prefer Pinterest or Tumblr? Tumblr, but then again don’t they have different features and purposes?

Do you think blonde is the best hair color? No.

In your opinion, what is the best hair color? I don’t think that there really is a “best” hair color... < Same. Tbh I’ve noticed that I only ever get attracted to brunettes, but I don’t think that necessarily makes it the best hair color.

If applicable, what is the name of your YouTube channel? I think it’s just my name since my account is linked to my Google.

Do you wear glasses? Yes, but I haven’t worn mine in a while since one of the legs snapped. I’ve been managing well without it, but I plan on getting a new pair soon. At least as soon as I grow the pussy to book an appointment HAHA

What's one nickname you have? Leigh calls me Robs. It’s not my favorite, but Leigh is like a sister to me so she’s the only person permitted to call me such.

What's one thing you miss? Being in crowded places and living in those moments.

Do you have a favorite spot in church? I hate being at a church; but to answer this, my very enthusiastic mom used to always pick the very front and center row for our family to sit at, so you can imagine how glad I am not to have to do this anymore because of Covid :)))

Who was the biggest bully in your high school? Bullies stopped being a thing in high school. All the friend groups just minded their own business for the most part, ours included.

Which news story has still stuck with you years later, and why? Manila hostage crisis. It was really scary and the fact that the entire thing was being streamed live on the evening news at a time when livestreaming was still a fairly unfamiliar concept made it even more unsettling.

Have you ever REALLY had a celebrity crush? On Kristen Stewart and Kate Winslet, yep. These days my eyes are on Kim Seon Ho hahaha, and I also feel a future crush on BTS’ Jungkook coming through.

Did you ever have to wear a school uniform? From preschool to high school. Didn’t have to anymore once I started college.

Do you collect washi tape? No. I neverrrrrrr saw the big deal, but then again I’m probably just not craftsy enough to see the point lmao.

Tell me something random that happened to you today. I took an afternoon nap for the first time in many months, and I woke up feeling completely disheveled and confused about the day and time. It’s been a while since I got that sensation and I did not miss it.

If you're a girl, are you on your period? I am, actually.

Are there any balloons in the room you're in right now? Yeah, the balloons we had set up for my dad for his 50th birthday celebration are surprisingly still alive. We originally had them in our accommodation in Tagaytay, but we brought the balloons home and put them up on the 2nd floor corridor, and they’re still all up there.

Do you have the windows open? I do, because the wind is actually pretty chilly tonight. I’m even wearing a hoodie in freaking April, which never happens.

What's one good name for a new puppy? Depends on their personality. It took hours for us to name Cooper, so it wouldn’t be easy to think of a name for a puppy I’ve never even met.

Would you collect antiques if you were rich? Depends on what kind, but yeah, I might consider it.

Did you dream last night? Yes.

Do you forget dreams or remember them? (or do you not dream?) I remember them in the first few minutes of waking up, but my memories of them gradually fizzle out throughout the day.

What color is your phone? Black.

Do you often have your phone on vibrate? Yes, because I often have meetings and it’s a big nuisance whenever there’s a ringtone that chimes in the middle of one.

Name something that gives you headaches. Working in front of the laptop for too long.

Do you have a secret hiding spot? My car, sometimes.

Have you ever lived in a place that had a secret passageway? Nope.

Did you play with legos as a kid? Yes, but I was never too imaginative for it. I just liked making tall towers and then dismantling them right after.

If applicable, what color is the rim of your bedroom mirror? White.

Can you be scatterbrained? Sure.

#survey #surveys

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blackevermore · 3 years

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x Wade In The Water

{ Chapter 6: Send My Blessing, Dear Child }

Summary: Ester Scott was once in love. She thought the days of her shortcomings were over and that the man she found was her one and only. But all that was taken away when the demons she had became too accustomed to finally took the one thing she had left. Louisiana was her home but the devil down below was calling her name. She only has herself to blame when it came to the hands dragging her under.

Notes: It’s Hazbin Hotel, be ready for everything. Also I apologize for all my mistakes in advance!

Word Count: 3,814

Angels for me will scare me with sharp teeth and many eyes. Angels for you will be of old loves and kiss you cheek. Both of our angels are righteous, both of our angels are kind.

- Ester R. Scott

It had been weeks since I saw the devil and his company. Nor had I seen the angels and their haunting eyes. One would think I’d feel more at ease not having someone watch me. But silence was the enemy, silence told you danger was coming before the skin crawling realization of danger was there. Every night before bed, before telling mama goodnight, I looked out the windows and waited to see something. Anything. But nothing was ever there and the disappointment paranoia that rested in my stomach grew.

Chemintine seemed to become catty with my neighbours who welcomed her with opened arms. That was good considering the impression she made when she first got here. They almost thought she fell off the bus and bumped her head, once she explained what was happening she came a causal. There were still some that didn’t like her being here. Said she would cause problems and bring someone else to come and cause bigger problems. There was no point in trying to change their mind, their fear was real just like everyone else here. The last time white folk stumbled into our neighbourhood we had to lock the doors. I was ten when I saw someone being drug down the street and never seen again. So I tell Clementine to just be the nicest she could be and have the same manners she would have if she met the queen.

She found it silly. I found it life saving.

“Will you be bring that friend of yours to church tomorrow, Ester?” Miss Bouchard asked me. Today I was helping one of the elderly ladies in the neighborhood with mending her clothes. When I wasn’t at the shop with a task list, I was out and out sewing and mending and caring for those around me. The best I could do when they took care of me when mama passed. Miss Bouchard was a fine woman of only 72 who was like a meme to me. I could tell in her youth was a firecracker that should have left Louisiana. She always kept her hair in tight pin curls with a headwrap tied in bows. As a child I could never tell if her chunky jewelry was real or if it was fake. I wasn’t sure it mattered since she always looked amazing. She never had a husband or children so her freedom was higher than anyone else. Mama would tell me she was nothing but a party girl, so much so every night she would stumble home with her girlfriends arms linked together still singing. Then in the morning she would still out in her robe with said friend nursing herself with coffee. No matter what though Miss Bouchard never missed a day of church, how could she when she was the lead singer in the choir. Now that I’m older I realize those women were never really her friends.

“I don’t think so ma’am, Chemintine isn’t much for church.” I smiled politely and continued to fold the bed sheets into a tight pile.

“You don’t have to be church folk to come to church. You just have to have an open mind and a free spirit.”

“Oh I’m sure Chemintine is all that and maybe more.” I chuckled to myself and Miss Bouchard tsked at me and I could help but laugh a little more. I finished the bed sheets and moved on to her shirts on her drying line.

“Be nice to that girl. I’ve seen many of her and she’s nothing but a sweet darling.”

“She’s mighty sweet. I’m just not sure if she’ll like it.”

“Have you asked her?”

“No ma’am.”

“Then don’t assume things. The worst thing you can do to another person is assume how they would feel or how they will act. You know better.” It wasn’t much of a scolding but I knew Miss Bouchard meant. All my life so far was a bunch of assuming, a lot of my mama’s life was, and I sure so way Miss Bouchard.

“I’m sorry ma’am.” I gave my apology and she shook her head and sighed.

“Bring the girl and let her see for herself if that’s somewhere she wouldn’t mind going.” Miss Bouchard waved her hand over to me to hand her a shirt and I did. We sat in silence for the rest of the folding till I eventually got up to put everything away. I said my goodbyes and moved on to the next house. My mornings were filled so I wouldn’t be home till the afternoon.

“Finally you make it home! I was starting to think you went off to work for the whole day.” Chemintine greeted me at the door with a hug and I shooed her off. She helped me out my coat and took my bag to place on the dining table. “This is what you do every weekend? Is this way you never go out?”

“I do this every so often, it's about giving back to those that helped you. I wouldn’t be here without these folks ‘round here.” I told her and she smiled sweetly.

“Ester, you really are a caring person. I had no idea this was your life.”

“Well I don’t go around talking about it, I preferred if I could keep some things to myself. Mama always said you never want people to be all up in ya business. Because then they’ll start trying to give you advice that won’t work.” Chemintine laughed and went off to the kitchen.

Mama was right though, a private life was safer than a public one. Even in the conditions we faced. Mama never told anyone where my father ran off to when they asked. Nor did she tell them why she stayed here in Louisiana when everyone else in our family left. She would just sit quietly and allow them to make up whatever story suited their narrative and corrected them only when it was necessary. She told me to never go around like the other black kids bragging about what we had or what we didn’t have at school. At that point you were asking for someone to rob you blind.

I kick off my shoes and pull my legs under me on the small worn down couch and relax against the comfortable back, “Chemintine?”

“Yes Ester?” The blonde stuck her head out from the kitchen arch way.

“They would like to know if you will come to church tomorrow.”

“A-Am I allowed?” Chemintine was hesitant and a bit scared.

“Do you want to?”

“I’ve thought about it. I see you get ready in the morning and when you leave I can see everyone else leaving their houses and they look mighty fine all dolled up. Then I hear yall singing coming home. I wanna sing coming home.” Chemintine smiled bashfully when she finished.

“Then when I say get up and get ready tomorrow I don’t wanna hear ya complaining about nothing.” I rolled my eyes and got up to go to the bathroom. Every morning during the week was a struggle to get Chemintine up for work. I have no idea how she managed on her own back at her daddy’s house. Luckily it didn’t take long for her to snap into action once she was up, it was only getting her out of bed that was the issue.

“I’se be ready! Be kind to me, Ester.” I could help but stop when she said those words to me. Everytime I teased her she said that to me as if I never was. I could tell when she was going to say it by now. Be kind to me. Be kind to me and I’ll always be kind to you. A very powerful saying.

Every Time since I told Chemintie about the angels she’s come to my bedroom door with her dress balled in her hands and her toes crossed over each other. Her messy blonde hair up in rollers and her sharp eyes staring right through me. Every time she would have a question rattling in her mind and I’d wait patiently for her to ask me. ‘Ester are they here’ and I would answer ‘they were until they heard you coming’ or ‘not tonight, Chemintine’ and she walked away a bit upset that she couldn’t be there with them. Tonight was no different as she stood in my door waiting for my attention.

“Chemintine, why do you want to know if the angels are here?” I finally had to ask her. She became so red in the face as she was placed on the spot. She started to twist the end of her nightie into knots as she stumbled back and forth a bit.

“It’s dumb, you’ll laugh at me.” Chemintine said, lowering her head in shame. I patted the space next to me for her to take and she slowly walked over.

“I won’t laugh at you.” I told her in a comforting voice, there was nothing she could really say that would make me laugh at her. Unless she started asking if angels were connected to love then maybe I’d snicker.

“Ya promise?”

“I promise, now what is it?”

“Since you can see them, and I believe you can, I was wondering if when I stand in front of you, you would see my grandma. She died when I was 14 and she always told me she be with me. I miss her so much right now.” Chemintine sighed and looked at me with a defeated look. I shook my head and took her hand in mine and rubbed circles on her thumb.

“I don’t need to see the angels to know you’re grandma is watching over you. Passed loved ones are always watching.”

“Are the angels around you actually your mama?”

“No, I wish one of them was but they ain’t. Mama is resting her feet with a drink in hand and I know it.” I chuckled and that seemed to knock the cloud off from over Chemintine’s head.

“I hope grandma Gogo is enjoying her music in a garden up there. She used to plant the prettiest daisies. That’s what my name was going to be, Daisy Eve Evans.” Chemintine did jazz hands in the air like magic fell from her fingers.

“Well who named you Chemintine?” I had to ask, I had to know who couldn’t spell Clemintine correctly and cursed this poor girl.

“My daddy, he named me after some hag from the family that came from France.” I pity that damn fool. “It’s a real name ya know, it’s the wrong spelling but for some reason people kept using it. I don’t really like my name.”

“Oh,” I was speechless a bit, I always thought she wasn’t aware of it. Silly me for assuming, Miss Bouchard was right. “Why don’t you change it?”

“I am, or I was when I got up to New York, I was going to become Daisy as I should have been.” Chemintine face said it all, she had a dream and one day it was going to come true.

“I’ll call you Daisy if you want.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Not right now, I want to get out of here first, make a life of my own and then I’ll be Daisy. Daisy is a woman’s name and I’m nothing but a girl at the moment. I’m not like you Ester.” I narrowed my eyes and cocked an eyebrow at the comment and Chemintine stopped me from saying anything before she could finish. “You were born Ester, you seemed like you were wise ever since you were born. You had the old soul of a woman, never a little girl.” I thought about it a moment then shook my head. If only she knew about all the nights I cried myself to sleep or ran to my mama for comfort because the dark scared me. Sometimes the dark still got the best of me and I found myself hiding under my blankets.

“Well when we get up there I’ll make sure I’ll say ya name right, Miss Daisy.” I smile and nudge Chemintine’s shoulder and she smiled. She got up and said good night and walked towards the living room. Before I headed to bed myself I looked around my room. As always there was no sight of angels, pity, I would have loved to tell Chemintine there was.

}~~{

Before the sun was shining through my bedroom window Chemintine was waking me up for breakfast. I could care less where she got the food from as long as my stomach was full and a cup of tea was ready for me. As we sat and ate I read her a passage of the bible which was something mama would do before we got ready. Within an hour it was time to get dressed and leave. Chemintine beamed as she put on her best dress and did her hair. When I finally made it to the living room with my shoes in hand and my overcoat, Chemintine was sitting up on the couch clenching her purse.

“You okay?” I asked her as I sat beside her and slipped on my heels.

“You sure this is okay? No one will be mad I showed up are they?” Chemintine swallowed hard.

“Some might but not everyone, as I told you before just smile and nod and stay with me.”

“Smile and nod, got it.” When I was ready we headed out the door and down the street. Buses didn’t come on Sundays so walking was the only way to get to and from, luckily no one had to go to the city. When we made it to the church the first bell started ringing which signaled everyone to come in. A few old faces greeted me and when they saw Chemintine behind me they rushed to greet her. They asked her all the times you would ask an old friend and then some. As I waited for the old ladies to leave Chemintine alone with the promise she came by for dinner, I noticed the few sour faces watching from the side. They turned up their noses and held their bags close to them. Some even held their children close to their side so they could come over. Finally I had enough and walked over to pull my friend along.

“Come on now, Chemintine, we have to take our seat.” I smiled sweetly to the olders and excused us so we could get a seat in the front. I knew I wouldn’t be able to have my normal seat in the middle now that Chemintine was with me. So sitting with the elderly was our best bet and a good chance Chemintine wouldn’t notice people staring at her. As service began I was quickly drowning it out with my thoughts. Even when I tried to pay attention I couldn’t and I caught myself staring out the window to the old fields around the church. A few times Chemintine would poke me to ask if I was alright and I would quickly nod and face forward. But with every word the pastor said I turned my head back towards the windows.

“I see today we have a visitor. Would you mind standing and telling us your name?” The pastor called out in the middle of a recession while he thanked everyone for coming. I snapped back to reality as I felt Chemintine start to shake from nervousness. She slowly rose to her feet and I quickly held out my hand for her to grab for comfort.

“Morning church, my name is Chemintine Evans, I’m Ester’s guest for today.” Chemintine tried to smile but it was hard as she tried to keep her cool. Now she understood what it was like to be the only one of your skin color in a room full of others. Only difference was she wouldn’t get beat for breathing.

“Welcome Chemintine, we are happy to have you, everyone could you give a warm welcome for our guest?” The room quickly filled with clapping and “welcome” from people around us. Soon the pastor rose his hand to silence the room so he could speak again. “Chemintine is there anything you would like to say this beautiful Sunday morning?”

“I-I would like to thank Ester for taking me in. Things aren’t going very well at the moment but Ester was a true friend to me and allowed me to stay with her.” Chemintine shook my hand and pulled me forward to stand with her which earned us a few claps. “I’ve only known her for a few years but she’s been nothing but kind to me. Nothing but truthful and teaches me everyday and I want to be able to be just like that as I continue on. Ester is a real friend.”

“Sister Scott, thank you for doing god’s work, he has truly blessed you with a heart so kind and so open. I pray that the both of you will be blessed with god’s righteous path.” Every clapped once again and this time when I looked at Chemintine she seemed more at ease. We quickly mouth thank you and sat back down and for the rest of the serves I could finally pay attention. But beside me, outside the window, I could feel someone watching in and I could tell it was someone good.

After church Chemintine was once again surrounded by church folk asking her questions. Knowing them they were trying to find gossip but with a white girl like Chemintine all they would find was a dreamful country girl. As I waited by the end of the stairs I saw Miss Bouchard slowly walking towards me with a flower in hand.

“Morning Miss Bouchard, did you have a good service?” I asked

“Indeed I did, I’m happy you brought Chemintine with you, she’s a breath of fresh air. Reminds me of an old friend I had long ago who smiled just like that.” Miss Bouchard chuckled then handed me the flower. I took it and noticed it was a white daisy freshly picked from some garden. The church hadn’t had a garden in years so I had no idea where Miss Bouchard could have gotten it unless she held on to it all morning.

“Is this for Chemintine?” I asked gently tucking the flower into my elbow to hold it.

“It is, something told me she would need a flower so I brought one.” Miss Bouchard pointed towards the sky and for a moment my heart skipped a beat. Could it be?

“I’ll make sure to give it to her, Miss Bouchard.”

“Thank you, have a fine day Ester.”

“You too ma’am.” I waved goodbye and watched as the old woman made her way down the street. As I watched her I saw something faint form next to her and when it became less foggy I saw a woman with blonde hair waving goodbye as well. I watched the apparition closely and as she turned around to look at me I thought it was Chemintine. The apparition smiled towards me then looked back towards Miss Bouchard as the women grew small in the distance, then vanished. This was the first time I’ve seen what I believed to be a ghost. First it were angels, then it was the devil, now it was a ghost with faces like my friend. What was next?

“Ester?” Chemintine pulled gently on my jacket to get my attention. “I’ve been calling for ya. Are you okay?”

“O-oh yeah I’m fine. I was just making sure Miss Bouchard got on safely. She’s getting older and I know one day she won't be able to make the walk from her house to here.” It was completely a lie, just not the whole truth, but Chemintine didn’t need to know that.

“That’s really sweet of you, Ester. Are you ready to go?”

“I am, by the way Miss Bouchard wanted me to give this to you.” I gave the daisy to Chemintine and her eyes went wide. She smiled hard and took the flower and tucked it into her hair.

“See, I told ya, daisies are beautiful, ain’t it!” She spun around and I nodded as we started to walk away from the church steps. Chemintine was as happy as could be as she skipped ahead of me talking about all the people she met. She told me she wouldn;t mind going to church if it was with me. I told her she was welcome anytime as long as she didn’t promise anyone we would come over for dinner.

“Be kind to her.” a voice whispered in my ear and I quickly whipped around to see the ghost from earlier standing beside me. Her voice was airy and light but felt welcoming. “Be kind to her, Ester.” The woman looked beyond me towards Chemintine who was now half way down the road. The woman began to age as a slight breeze blew past us. Her blonde hair turned white and her posture started to hunch over as her skin wrinkled. She still had the same eyes as she did before.

“I will.” I whispered back and nodded as I began to catch up with Chemintine. I didn’t have to peak over my shoulder to know the woman was gone and it was only me and Chemintine walking.

“Chemintine?” I looked over to the blonde who was sitting on the ground reading the newspaper.

“Yes Ester?” She looked up towards me with raised brows and a soft smile.

“You’re grandmother was named Daisy, wasn’t she?”

“Why yes she was, Mrs Daisy Anne Evans, the sweetest woman of Spring, Texas. Raised ten kids all by herself when granddaddy fell into a river and drowned. Why’ya ask?” Chemintine put down her paper and scooted closer to the couch to rest her head against the frame as she looked up at me. I knew she was waiting for me to say something about the angels but I didn’t have to as she read my eyes. She reached up and touched the daisy in her hair before making to her feet and pulling me into a hug.

I patted her back as she cried and asked me to tell her grandma she loved her and missed her. I told her I didn’t have to because she already knew, all of our loved ones that passed knew.

“Tell her anyway, Ester.” Chemintine mumbled into my shoulder happily.

“Tell her yourself.” I chuckled. “I’m sure she can hear you.”

#🔻Red Thread🔻#chapter 6 #my writing #self ship #self shipping #self shipping community #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel

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non-stop-imagines · 5 years

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Three Floors Up (College!AU Fic) Part 3

Here’s Part 1 Part 2

Pairing: Peter Parker x Black!Reader; Bisexual!MJ x Black Fem!OC (Armani) (Armani face claim @cecewiththefro on ig)

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: An instance of underage drinking (as in 19 year olds drinking), but this chapter is mainly just adorable.

UNIVESAL TAGS LIST: @avc212 @beautifulwisdom2001 @iamzion-therealhabesha @cheychey10142 @jetaimeamore @thottio @shakzer00

THREE FLOORS UP TAG LIST: @lucifersnipnips

A/N: So here’s the next part! I have just accepted at this point that my writing is getting longer so I’m gonna roll with it. I enjoy writing this because it really is a mixture of how I feel everyday and what I wish I could feel every day. Anyway hope you guys enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Love you all!! 💖💛💖💛

Remember requests are open! It can be a specific prompt or from the Drabble Request list linked in the bio! Just ask to be on a tags list (or all tags lists)!

Masterlist

_____

Ever since movie night on Sunday, you and Peter have texted each other at least once a day. It started off with talking about movie night and the favorite movies and quickly morphed into weird memes and random phrases and existential questions that came to mind and wanted to share. Soon Friday came around and all you were focused on was getting through Physics until your phone vibrated on your thigh.

Petey😝: Hey! Do you have any plans tonight?

You quickly look up to see if anything changes on the board then look back down to respond.

You: Nope. MJ and Armani are going out which means that I probably won’t see them again until Saturday afternoon.

You look at the time at the top of the screen. 10:45am. You look up to see everyone packing their bags, starting to do the same as the professor gives the reading assignment for Monday. You quickly type it into the notes app on your phone just as you receive a text from Peter.

Petey😝: Do you maybe want to go out tonight?🤷‍♂️

You give a little grin to your phone as you walk out the building, heading down a long walkway that eventually takes you to the building your Philosophy lecture was in. You type a response.

You: What did you have in mind, Parker?👀

You place your phone in the back pocket of your shorts and continue to the next building, stopping as you walk in to look at a flyer for an art exhibit being put on by some art majors. You continue in and sit down in a chair, pulling out your phone to look at the message you received while you were walking.

Petey😝: Ummmm…. Didn’t think I’d get this far.😬 You got any ideas?

You: I saw a flyer for an Art Exhibit being put in by some art majors, maybe we could go there?

Petey😝: And then we could get some food? I know a pretty good sandwich shop

You: Look at us making cohesive plans. Come down the three floors at around… 7?

Petey😝:Look at us😂

Petey😝: Cool👌🏻 See ya then.

You sit and linger on the thought of having a date with Peter, wondering what to wear, how it will go. You just smile and shake your head, then place your phone down next to you to take out your laptop to finish the reading for your next class.

“Ned!” Peter shouts, poking his head into the bathroom where his friend was taking a shower. He waits for the loud frantic clamour to stop and Ned to poke his head from the shower curtain to continue. “I’m going on a date with Y/N tonight! Well, I guess it’s a date… we didn’t specifically call it a date, but it’s definitely a date. Anyway, I don’t know what I’m gonna wear… should I buy her flowers? She doesn’t seem to be the type of girl to want flowers. But I also shouldn’t assume whether or not should would want flowers. I don’t even know if this is a date so would flowers even be acceptable… I-”

“Because I am wasting water in here, and I’m sure you want to take a shower before… this, here’s what I have to say. Just ask her yourself if she likes flowers. I think you can trust your own instinct with what to wear, and please, breath.” Ned closes the shower curtain and finishes his shower, leaving Peter there, deep breathing after realizing that he hasn’t breathed for almost a minute straight. He turns on his heels and leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind him and pulling out his phone, absentmindedly heading to his and Ned’s room, flopping in the bed. He unlocks his phone and opens his messages, going to your text string.

Peter: Hey question, do you like flowers?

Peter: Like receiving them…

Peter: As a gift???

He face palms himself after writing the string of texts, dropping his phone screen down on his bed. This seems to be a common occurrence when Peter and you text, but he could never get over his own cringeiness. His phone vibrates at his side and he rushes to pick it up, checking the message.

Y/N🤗🥴: Surprise me 😏

Your text causes his face to heat up and a smile to grow on his face. He pokes his head from his room to see that the bathroom door was still closed, so he takes this time to figure out what he was going to wear. He considers his usual attire, khakis, plaid button up, but then he gets a glimpse of a jacket that May bought him before he started college, quite literally in the case of a date. It was a dark brown leather-like jacket with a black collar. He pulls that out along with a pair of dark wash jeans, then thumbs through his plain colored T-Shirts, eventually pulling out a black shirt. He quickly skims over his small number of shoes, deciding on a pair of old white Nike’s, placing them on the bed next to his clothes. He takes a step back to get a visual of the final look, then close his eyes and takes another deep breath. “Okay Peter. Calm down. Everything will be fine.” He makes his way back to the bathroom door, banging on it to hurry Ned up.

_____

“Ooo, look at you dressin’ all cute.” Armani comments waiting for MJ to come out of the bathroom. You smirk and give a breathy laugh to her compliment, stepping back into your room for a moment to look at your outfit in the body length mirror on your door. You were wearing a red dashiki shirt, black distressed skinny jeans and white slip on Vans. You were contemplating back and forth whether or not you should wear those or heels, but decided to leave the heels for a nice dinner rather than a college student art exhibit. Your hair was still in the same style from Sunday, as neat as it could look after being slept on with a scarf, spruced up with some gel and gold hair cuffs. Your makeup consisted of many gold accents, a gold shade incorporated into your eye shadow, gold highlight, good flecks in your lip gloss. You looked like a Nubian goddess and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it.

“Thank you. I try.” You take your phone from your pocket and check the time. 6:55. “Let’s see if Boy Wonder is the type of person who is always on time.” You fluff one of your puffs then head to the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle and taking a couple of long gulps.

“Oh, trust me he’ll be here on time.” She reaches toward you still on the couch, indicating that she too wanted a water. You open the fridge, grab her one and toss is to her.

“What does that mean?” You smirk, setting down your bottle and grabbing your already packed small clutch.

“With the way he was looking at you and how he speaks to you on the daily, I feel like he’ll show up a day early for anything you tell him to show up for. Maybe even things you don’t ask him to show up for.” She tilts her head and opens up her water, taking sip while poking her pinky into her pulled back hair to scratch her scalp.

“Oh shut up. Besides, nothing can beat what you and MJ have. She’s doing your hair tonight isn’t she?” You thumb through the items in your clutch checking off a mental checklist.

“Yep. Box braids. She’s been practicing and she’s actually pretty good. But I guess we’ll see how she does on a human head.” At that moment, MJ busts through the bathroom door into the living room, hair damp and in a messy bun.

“Trust me, I got this… Hopefully.” She turns around to fold her towel while quietly saying that last word. Just as Armani was about to question what MJ just said, there was a knock at the front door. It started off faint, but the last rap was frantically loud. “Looks like Wonder Bread is here…” MJ snickers, making her way over to her bedroom area. You scowl at her then turn back to the door taking a deep breath then opening the door.

“Hey.” Peter greets in a daze, giving you an equally dazed grin.

“Hi.” You remove your hand from the door knob and clasping them together behind your back. An awkward silence falls between you too and MJ noticing this capitalizes.

“Wassup dork.” She smirks, taking down Armani’s puff and moving her hand through it to disperse the curls.

“Hi, MJ, Armani…” he takes a hand from behind his back to wave but realizes that it was the hand that contained a single red rose. “Oh, uh, this is for you.” He hands it to you as a small blush crept onto his face.

“Thank you, it’s beautiful. Let me just put this in some water and we can go.” You take the rose and head to the kitchen. You grab a cup and fill it with water, placing the rose in. You glance over at Armani who raises her eyebrow at you and smirks. You look over to the time on the microwave. 6:58. You just shake your head and head back to the front door. “Alright, ready to go.” You grab your clutch again and head out the door, but not before turning your head and sticking your tongue out at MJ and Armani. You exit with Peter right behind you, closing the door behind him.

_____

“So, how did you think of going to this art exhibit tonight?” Peter asks, sneaking glances at you. You focus was forward as you looked down the block at the building that had college students moving in and out.

“When I was walking to my Philosophy class I saw a poster, and I thought, ‘Why not? If I worked for an entire summer on something I was passionate about and shared it with the public, I would hope someone would want to see it.’ I just like for people to feel like their efforts weren’t in vain, that’s all.” You guys stop at a cross road and wait for the crossing signal to change. When it does, Peter let’s you go first, leading you with his hand hovering over the small of your back, following behind you. No words were exchanged until you guys got inside the exhibit. It was louder than you expected it to be as you walked in, music playing at a louder volume, everyone talking at a normal volume. You turn to your right and receive a bottle of water for yourself amongst the other alcoholic drinks, second guessing it, and grabbing a Mike’s Hard too. “Hey, do you want something to drink?” You move over a bit for Peter to get a clear view of the selection only for him to choose the same thing as you. You give him a questioning look, leading him to give you a simple explanation.

“What? I feel like I trust you enough for drink choices.” He attempts to swiftly remove the cap from the Mike’s bottle, but fails and pinches his hand a little. He gets it on the second try and drinks some as you laugh at him a bit. “Alright, alright. Let’s go look at some art.” You smirk at the blush on his cheek and follow behind him as he starts to walk. For the first couple of minutes you two just walk, look and drink, pointing out details the other didn’t notice. Eventually you two started a game where you guys had to find a certain color or object in a piece of art before the other. You guys didn’t keep count so by the end you guys only cared about the last piece of artwork. It was an oil painting of a black woman, back to the front of the canvas. She was completely naked except for cream colored fabric draped across her lap, her entire back exposed, all the way down to the beginning of her butt. Her hair was kinky and wild, styled like it hasn’t been tended to for years. Her head hung low, like she was exhausted or tired of fighting in this case. He arms where raised, shackles on her wrists, but the chains that held her, which were red, white, and blue, were just broken. The background was a gradient, at the bottom pitch black and at the very top a pure white. Your eyes moved over the details in the painting, the lines in the woman’s back, her hair and how you can even see a few individual coils, how you can feel the drop in her wrist from finally being freed. Peter tried to look at the painting with as much fervor as you did but gave up and turned his gaze to you. He admired you as if you were part of the exhibit, loving how the florescent light that illuminated the painting glowed on your skin, making the gold accents in your makeup sparkle, how you squint at the painting to get a glimpse of every little thing on the canvas, and how you lips stayed slightly parted as you did so. His trance was broken when he saw you look over to speak to the girl that stood close to the painting. She was taller, probably around 5’ 10” and on the skinnier side and dark-skinned . She had a shortcut fro, bright, beautifully done eyeshadow with a sunset-like color palette and wore bright red lipstick.

“Excuse me, did you paint this?” You ask, looking back at the painting once again.

“Um, yeah. Did you like it?” He voice was deeper and slightly raspy, but she answered unsure.

“It’s amazing! You conveyed such a deep message in an abstract way that is still easily understood, you were able to project movement on a still photo. Really this looks like it was stolen from the Met or something.” You gush, holding onto her hands. She beams at the compliment.

“It’s so skillfully and carefully painted. It’s, like she said, amazing.” Peter comments from behind you, nervously twisting the top to his bottle of water.

“Thank you. Both of you. I don’t know why but I was really nervous about tonight, and your comments really helped me. So thank you.” She held on to your hands for a moment longer, then dropped them to shake Peter’s hand. She bends down to get close to your ear, nodding for approval before coming close to whisper. “I saw how he was looking at you while you looked at the painting. Not even the greatest paintings could be admired the way you were.” She backs up and smirks giving you one last wink. You turn to look back at Peter who gave you a gentle, toothless smile.

____

After the interaction you had with Charlene, the girl who did the oil painting, you followed Peter to the train platform so you guys could make your way to the sandwich place Peter told you about. The trip there mainly consisted of conversation about the exhibit or silence that was accompanied by Peter grazing his fingers along yours to hold you hand. You guys get to a store front, the words on the window saying “Mr. Delmar’s Grocer”. Peter opens the door for you and you thank him as you walk in. The place was dimly lit, like it was supposed to be closed, but had a table next to a side window had a candle burning and two wrapped sandwiches. You make your way over to the table sitting down, after Peter rushes over to pull out your chair. He sits across from you then finally takes a deep breath.

“So, why this place?” You ask as you unwrap your sandwich, breathing in the surprisingly savory scent.

“My aunt’s apartment is only a couple blocks from here. I always used to come here after school to get something to eat before I went home. Mr. Delmar’s sandwiches never disappoints.” He unwraps his and takes a bite. When he lowers his sandwich you smirk and point to the left corner of your mouth, causing Peter to frantically wipe the mustard from his own face, then smile back at you. “Can I ask you something?” Peter sets down his sandwich. You nod as approval. “Is there another reason why you chose to go to the art exhibit?”

You take a moment to think. “I personally have an affinity towards photography, I even have my own camera that I hope to use more one day, but it’s practically painting but through a different mean. I just like how some people have and idea of a visual that they would want to see and are able to produce it themselves, I guess.” You take a bite of your sandwich and immediately wipe your mouth with a napkin. “Okay, my turn. Were you looking at me while I was looking at that last painting?” You smirk at his shocked expression. “Charlene told me.”

“I-uh-well…yeah I guess I was. But it’s hard not to look at you. Your absolutely… stunning.” You feel yourself simultaneously heat up and run cold. “And, I don’t know, I like watching you admire something else. I have never seen someone put so much passion into observing something- okay, sorry that sounded weird. I-” You stop his rambling by placing a finger over your own lips.

“No, I understand. I’m typically one to observe what’s around me and sometimes panic that I’m not being entertaining enough. It feels good to know that sometimes it’s not a bad thing.” You swirl around the lemonade that sat in your glass then took a sip from your straw.

“I’m glad. I feel like that quality about you is what makes you appealing.” He compliments, taking your hand that was messing with your straw.

“Most people say that’s what makes me seem scary.” You giggle nervously, but Peter gives your hand a squeeze for you to look up.

“Well that’s horrible. But I guess it’s on them for never learning how wonderful you are.” He gives you another toothless smile then let’s you hand go so you two can continue eating. “Y/N, why… why did you, well, give me the time of day?” Peter chuckles at his choice of words.

“Hmmm… there’s something about you, about the way you came into my life. I don’t know how or why, but I could just feel that you were meant to be in my life. In some way.” You shrug and tilt your head, giving Peter a loving grin. His signature blush takes over his face again making you giggle. He just picks up his sandwich and takes another bite.

_____

“Tonight was fun. And I’m glad we agree that I won that game we were playing at the exhibit.” You joke, swinging Peter’s arm.

“I mean, we weren’t keeping score, but if we were, I probably would have won.” Peter responds nonchalantly. You scoff and let go of his hand skipping to your front door. Peter eventually gets to you, walking around so he’s facing you.

“Thank you again for tonight. I really did have a good time.” You unknowingly start to rock on your heels and fiddle with your fingers in front of you.

“No problem. I’m glad we did this.” You can feel his eyes move from yours to your lips, back and forth. He begins to slowly lean in. “Can I?” As a yes you lean forward to catch his lips yourself. Your lips move in time with his as he attempts to get closer to you by pulling you in by a belt loop on your jeans. In turn, you bring your hands to his face, moving one into his hair and draping your other arm over his shoulder. A few seconds later you two pull away, breathing heavily and only looking at each other. That was until a cough came from your door. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, turning your head and opening them to see MJ with a cheeky smirk and Armani giving you two thumbs up. You just stick your middle finger up at them.

“You know, apartment is gonna be free until tomorrow afternoon…” MJ sings, as her and Armani move past you guys to exit.

“Thaaat won’t be necessary. Also I was not expecting for MJ to do such a good job on your hair.” You motion her to turn around with your right hand, your left hand being occupied with Peter’s.

“Honestly, neither was I. But that’s my girl for ya, always a surprise with her.” She smiles towards MJ and gives her a small peck on the lips.

“Anyway you two have fun.” You wave them off and watch as they clumsily make they’re way down the hall. “So…” you turn back to Peter. “I guess this is goodnight.”

“Uh-yeah. Night.” He gives your cheek one last peck then let’s go of your hand, watching you enter your apartment. He waits for you to close the door then heads over to the elevator.

You make your way to your room, quickly shedding your jeans and pulling on some pajama shorts. The apartment was eerily quiet, something you never really mind, but this time it drove you crazy. You needed someone. Just for company or something. You pull your phone from your clutch.

Y/N🤗🥴: Do you think you could come back???

In no time at all there was a knock on your door.

Part 4

#peter parker x black!reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #black reader #spiderman #spiderman imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #Bi!MJ x OFC

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thatcrazybookwormgeek · 5 years

Text

Teenage Royal Part 5

A/N: At long last, it is here. If I missed you or you would like to be tagged just let me know.

Warnings: None that I can think of, but let me know if there is any.

Due to Tumbler's new policy, my Masterlist can be found in my bio. Normally it would be linked in each post, but posts with links no longer show up in search results.

Pairing: Coming soon: Peter Parker x Lokidottir!reader!

Sunlight hit my face as I turned over in bed. My mind traveled back to yesterday, when me and my dad made up. Realizing I wasn’t on the couch where I had fallen asleep I jolted up with a start. My surroundings were familiar and I soon realized I was in my room.

“How’d I get back here?” I asked the seemingly-empty room.

“I thought you’d like to sleep in your own bed. I carried you here while you were asleep.” My once tired brain riddled itself with adrenaline as I faced the speaker.

My father sat in a chair with a book in his hands, smiling at him I said,“Thank You.”

Now awake I was ready to start my day. I got out of bed and went to my closet, pulling out a black mini-skirt and a skull tank-top I entered the bathroom. Once dressed I applied my usual green eyeshadow and drew on a dramatic wing. Satisfied with that part of my face I moved on to my lips, filling them in with a black matte liquid lipstick. Looking and feeling like a million bucks I exited the bathroom. I found Loki still sitting in the chair, engrossed in his book one again.

Clearing my throat I got his attention, “What do you think?”

“You look amazing, are you ready for your first day of high school?” I was glad my dad liked it, even if I forgot that it was the first day of school for me.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I answered as we both exited the room and headed down to the kitchen.

The kitchen was chaos as we entered it. Sam and Bucky were arguing as Steve was attempting to make pancakes. Tony and Clint looked half asleep as they sat and drank their coffee, Clint literally out of the pot. Deciding that it would be better to get to school early I grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee to go. Then me and my dad exited the chaos of the compound.

The ride to school was filled with comfortable silence. Both of us were simply enjoying each others company without the need for chatter. It wasn’t long before the gates of Midtown School of Science and Technology came into view. With a wave to my dad I left the car and approached the building.

Entering the front door I searched for the office. I must have looked lost because it wasn’t long before a student pointed me in the right direction. Thankful for the help I was able to find the office and get my new student packet. Looks like my first block was Science, oh look, I have a student guide. Looks like their name is Peter Parker. Wait. I know that name. That’s the guy I met yesterday. Spiderman.

“Hi, I’m your student gui… Y/N?! What are you doing here?” Just as I put the pieces together none other than Peter Parker walked through the doors of the office where I was told to wait.

“I go to school here now, I just transferred. Tony said this would be a good school for me.” I answered his questions with honesty, it would be nice having a familiar face at school.

“That’s awesome! Principal Morita said you have all the same classes as me, so that means we have science in… 5 minutes.” Peter rambled on like he would die if he didn’t keep speaking.

“Then let’s get going.” We walked through the halls in silence, as we didn’t know what to say.

I had just entered the class when the teacher announced that they were going to have a new student. “Say, here she is now. Can you tell the class your name?”

“Y/N L/N.” I responded as I found an empty seat next to a girl with bushy hair.

“I’m MJ.” The girl next to me introduced herself.

“You already know my name so no use saying it again.” I said with a slightly snarky attitude that MJ seemed to like.

The rest of the morning passed without a problem. The teachers all had me say my name, but that was a minor inconvenience. It was the last class of the day, gym. I don’t particularly hate gym, but it’s not my favorite.

“Alright, Students. Today we’re going to be playing a timeless P.E. classic. Dodgeball. Everyone go grab a jersey and line up the balls on the center-line. We start on my whistle.” The students rushed to do as they were told, and soon we were all ready to go.

The game passed in blurs of balls and dodging. I had managed to get a few people out, although I mostly tried to get Peter out, but his reflexes were just too good. Until he got distracted, then I managed to hit him straight in the chest. Just as he was about to get in the out area the bell rang, signifying the end of school. I walked beside Peter to get to our lockers, as they were right next to each other.

After we had changed out of our sweaty gym clothes and grabbed the books we needed we headed out the doors of school. We were greeted with the sight of an Audi parked on the sidewalk. I recognized the car as the one I had arrived in and began to walk towards it.

“Parker, you coming?” I called over my shoulder.

“Yeah.” He stuttered as he caught up to me.

“Hey honey, Parker.” Getting in the backseat we noticed Loki was sitting in the passenger seat in the front.

“Hey dad. How was your day?” I asked with no hesitation, I didn’t care if Parker knew we were related anyway.

“Dad?! You’re Loki’s daughter!?” Peter asked with eyes the size of dinner plates.

“Yeah, that a problem?” I questioned.

“No, that’s awesome. My friend’s dad is a god. That makes you a goddess!” Peter was cute when he fanboyed, even if it was over my father.

“We’re friends?!” I teased him.

“Yeah, right? I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine.” Poor Peter was stuttering so bad at this point I almost felt bad.

“Relax, I was just teasing you.”

The rest of the ride back to the compound was full of meaningless small talk and meme references. Talking to Peter became easier with every passing minute and time seemed to fly at the speed of sound. Before either of us knew it we were at the compound.

Exiting the car we both headed straight to the kitchen for an afternoon snack. Luckily, it appeared that someone had cleaned it up since this morning. Seeing as there was no visible puddles of pancake batter. Still talking we raided the snack cabinets and headed towards the living room. However, to our disappointment it was occupied.

We turned to exit the living room as the voice of Tony Stark rang out. “Nice to see you two getting along. Wanna come play some video games?”

Mine and Peter’s eyes met as we both cried out, “Last one there’s a rotten egg!”

I ended up beating him and calling controller one. To our surprise they were playing Wii Sports. It was quite a sight to see the god of Thunder playing wii bowling. But unfortunately that sight didn’t last. As Thor had forgotten the wrist strap and sent it flying straight into the television. After that we all decided that maybe we should be done with the wii for the night. So we all headed to the kitchen and Steve ended up making burgers.

Having seen Steve’s pitiful attempt at pancakes this morning my hopes weren’t high for the burgers. But apparently nothing is more patriotic than burgers, as The Man with The Plan proved.

After everyone had eaten we all decided that it was too early to call it a night. So we met in the living room with board games. Board games seemed to be a smart idea after the wii fiasco.

However, after getting halfway through a game of monopoly, that did not appear to be the case. Tony had left long ago after being stopped from using real money after going bankrupt. Bruce had opted out in fear of the hulk. Which was probably really smart, as Natasha was currently sharpening her knives viciously. Steve was crying in the corner and Clint and Thor were fighting over railroads. Loki was muttering about “mortal games”, and Bucky and Sam were battling it out in the training room.

“I feel incredibly mature right now. Wanna go find some fruit roll ups and watch Star Wars while we study?” Peter asked as he finished putting the game away.

“That sounds like a plan. Meet you in my room in 20.” I replied as I walked towards the kitchen to find fruit roll ups and soda.

An hour into the study session we ended up having a full blown karaoke war. So far it was tied 1-1, with Clint as the Judge. This was the last chance to win, and I wasn’t going out on a low note. So naturally, I decided to go with one of my personal favorites, Young Blood by Bea Miller.

I blew every note out of the park and poured my heart out into the song. At the end it was clear that I was the winner. But, unfortunately we still had homework. So the rest of the night was spent studying until we both drifted off. Both of our noses buried in books, and various pens scattered across the bed we camped out on.

Early in the morning the light on in Y/N’s room intrigued Loki, and he went to investigate. He knocked, and hearing no answer he entered. Looking around he took in the sight of studying materials and the two teens passed out on top of the covers. Both still in their clothes from yesterday. He smiled at the sight and left the two teens as he wandered his way to the kitchen for tea and then to the library.

Taglist: @ughs-posts @animechick555 @strangerthingshargove

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lunar-winterlude · 6 years

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Stealing this meme

1: Could you go the rest of your life without smoking a cigarette? Never smoked, so yeah.

2: Are you single/taken/heartbroken/confused? Single and confused.

3: What if I told you that you were pretty? Then I’d ask you why no one will date me.

4: Ever been told “it’s not you, it’s me”? Ugh. Yes. The one time I told a guy I liked him.

5: Are you interested in anyone right now? Yep.

6: What are you looking forward to in the next week? Spending time with my sister, getting paid, trying a new meal recipe.

7: Do you want to be single? Heck, no.

8: Did you go out or stay in last night? Stay in.

9: How late did you stay up last night? 10pm or so.

10: Can you recall the last time you realized you liked someone a lot? Recently.

11: Last three things you had to drink? Water, water, soda.

12: Have you pretended to like someone? Nope. When I don’t like someone, I can’t be arsed to care.

13: Have you ever told somebody you loved them and not actually meant it? This will sound horrible, but yep. Some family members.

14: Honestly, has anyone seen you in your underwear in the past 3 months? I hope not, unless some creep has been spying on me.

15: Is it hard for you to get over someone? Yep.

16: Think back five months ago, were you single? Is it that hard for people to remember? I’ve always been single.

17: What were you doing at 12:30 this afternoon? Work.

18: Hold hands with anyone this week? I wish.

19: Could you go for the rest of your life without drinking alcohol? Nah, I think I’ll give it a few more tries. Still looking for a drink that I actually enjoy.

20: What would you name your future daughter? I have a file with potential names, but I don’t plan to have any kids.

21: Do you miss anyone? Yeah.

22: Have you kissed three or more people in one night? Never kissed anybody.

23: Did your last kiss take place in/on a bed? I wish.

24: Are you good at hiding your feelings? Not anymore lol

25: Have you ever cried from being so mad? Yep!

26: Who did you last see in person? Co-workers.

27: Are you listening to music right now? No.

28: What is something you currently want right now? To move closer to work. I’m so tired of this hour-long commute.

29: What is the last thing you said out loud? Something I yelled at the screen, I think.

30: How is your heart lately? Pining like a teenager lol.

31: Do you wear the hood on your hoodie? Not in public.

32: Are you wearing socks? Nope.

33: What do people call you? What kind of question is this? I don’t have any nicknames atm.

34: Will you talk to the person you like tonight? I dunno.

35: Are there any stressful situations in your life? I guess?

36: Who did you last share a bed with? I think the last time I shared a bed was with a random girl at Katsucon 2015. They had a program in place where convention volunteers who worked over 20 hours got to sleep in a hotel room at the convention center for free (in addition to a t-shirt and some other stuff, which I still have). So I stayed up from Friday morning to Saturday night (iirc) and got half of a hotel room bed. There was a bunch of us in that room, but everyone was too tired to do anything but sleep. It wasn’t sketchy, I swear xD I miss conventions, man. I never talked to many people, but the overall vibe was always good.

37: Did you do something bad today? I’m sure I did.

38: When was the last time a member of the opposite sex hugged you? Oh man, it was probably my brother when he visited a couple of months ago.

39: Do you get stressed out easily? Depends.

40: Will you sing today? I always sing in the car.

41: Have you ever wanted to tell someone something but didn’t? Who hasn’t...?

42: Who do you go to when you need to talk to someone? Michelle! Natas! Sometimes my sister, too!

43: Have you ever been taken to the emergency room in an ambulance? I rode up front in an ambulance to accompany my mom after she suffered from a concussion.

44: What are you listening to right now? Jack playing God Dad of War.

45: What is wrong with you right now? What is wrong with YOU?!? Dang. Right now I’m trying to figure out what I believe and it is Not Fun.

46: What is on your wrists right now? Skin.

47: Where did you get the shirt/sweatshirt you’re wearing? Thrift store.

48: What do you like better: hot chocolate or hot apple cider? Hot apple cider.

49: Do you make wishes at 11:11? Once in a while.

50: Are you a good artist? No.

51: Love really is a beautiful thing huh? I imagine that it must be.

52: Do you miss the way things were six months ago? NO.

53: Ever been on a golf cart? Yep, when I was looking at apartments before I moved to Maryland. The office lady took us on one to look at one available place, which was silly since we could’ve just walked there? x)

54: Do you have trust issues? Yeah, I get paranoid easily.

55: Ever stayed up all night on the phone, with who? Once, with someone I don’t talk to anymore.

56: Do you own something from Hot Topic? Used to own a pair of those wide-legged black chain pants like the goth kids wore, but I never had the guts to wear them in public.

57: Do you use chap stick? Link’s.

58: Have you ever slapped someone in the face? No, but I’ve wanted to.

59: Do you have a little sister? Yes.

60: Have you ever been to New York? A couple of times.

61: Think of the last person who said I love you, do you think they meant it? Yes. :)

62: Have you hugged someone within the last week? No.

63: What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping.

64: Have you ever regretted kissing someone? I need to kiss someone first before I can regret it.

65: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile? I think so.

66: Were your last three kisses from the same person? My last three kisses have been from 0 people.

67: Have you kissed anyone in the last five days? Why the kissing questions.

68: Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone? I’d need to share a bed with someone on a regular basis before I could make this decision.

69: Will next Friday be a good one? It will be Friday, so I hope so.

#about me #ask meme #guess i'm chatty tonight #why doesn't the keep reading thing work on mobile #long post

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creeping-shadow-heralds-storms · 3 years

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Hannah Beech

Thu, March 4, 2021

The black T-shirt that Kyal Sin wore to the protest Wednesday carried a simple message: “Everything will be OK.”

In the afternoon, Kyal Sin, 18, was shot in the head by the security forces, who killed at least 30 people nationwide in the single bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 coup, according to the United Nations.

“She is a hero for our country,” said Ma Cho Nwe Oo, one of Kyal Sin’s close friends, who has also taken part in the daily rallies that have electrified hundreds of cities across Myanmar. “By participating in the revolution, our generation of young women shows that we are no less brave than men.”

By the hundreds of thousands, they have gathered for daily marches, representing striking unions of teachers, garment workers and medical workers — all sectors dominated by women. The youngest are often on the front lines, where the security forces appear to have singled them out. Two young women were shot in the head Wednesday and another near the heart, three bullets ending their lives.

Earlier this week, military television networks announced that the security forces were instructed not to use live ammunition, and that in self-defense they would only shoot at the lower body.

The killings have appalled and outraged rights advocates around the world.

“Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protesters,” Michelle Bachelet, the top human rights official at the U.N., said Thursday. “It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country.”

While the military’s inhumanity extends to many of the country’s roughly 55 million people, women have the most to lose from the generals’ resumption of full authority, after five years of sharing power with a civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The Tatmadaw, as the military is known, is deeply conservative, opining in official communications about the importance of modest dress for proper ladies.

There are no women in the Tatmadaw’s senior ranks, and its soldiers have systematically committed gang rape against women from ethnic minorities, according to investigations by the U.N. In the generals’ worldview, women are often considered weak and impure. Traditional religious hierarchies in this predominantly Buddhist nation also place women at the feet of men.

The prejudices of the military and the monastery are not necessarily shared by Myanmar’s broader society. Women are educated and integral to the economy, particularly in business, manufacturing and the civil service. Increasingly, women have found their political voice. In elections last November, about 20% of candidates for the National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi’s party, were women.

The party won in a landslide, trouncing the military-linked and far more male-dominated Union Solidarity and Development Party. The Tatmadaw has dismissed the results as fraudulent.

As the military began devolving some power over the past decade, Myanmar experienced one of the most profound and rapid societal changes in the world. A country that was once forcibly bunkered by the generals, who first seized power in a 1962 coup, went on Facebook and discovered memes, emojis and global conversations about gender politics.

“Even though these are dark days and my heart breaks with all these images of bloodshed, I’m more optimistic because I see women on the street,” said Dr. Miemie Winn Byrd, a Burmese-American who served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and is now a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. “In this contest, I will put money on the women. They are unarmed, but they are the true warriors.”

That passion has ignited across the country, despite Tatmadaw crackdowns in past decades that have killed hundreds of people.

Both Ei Thinzar Maung and her fellow rally leader, Esther Ze Naw, protest by day and hide by night. About 1,500 people have been arrested since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

The pair were politicized at a young age and spoke up for the rights of ethnic minorities at a time when most people in Myanmar were unwilling to acknowledge the military’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. At least one-third of Myanmar’s population is made up of a constellation of ethnic minorities, some of which are in armed conflict with the military.

When they led their rally on Feb. 6, the two women marched in shirts associated with the Karen ethnic group, whose villages have been overrun by Tatmadaw troops in recent days. Esther Ze Naw is from another minority, the Kachin, and as a 17-year-old she spent time in camps for the tens of thousands of civilians who were uprooted by Tatmadaw offensives. Military jets roared overhead, raining artillery on women and children, she recalled.

“That must be one of the reasons why women activists seem more committed to rights issues,” she added.

While the National League for Democracy is led by Suu Kyi, its top ranks are dominated by men. And like the Tatmadaw, the party’s highest echelons have tended to be reserved for members of the country’s ethnic Bamar majority.

In a speech that ran in a state propaganda publication earlier this week, Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief, sniffed at the impropriety of the protesters, with their “indecent clothes contrary to Myanmar culture.” His definition is commonly considered to include women wearing trousers.

Moments before she was shot dead, Kyal Sin, dressed in sneakers and torn jeans, rallied her fellow peaceful protesters.

As they staggered from the tear gas fired by security forces on Wednesday, Kyal Sin dispensed water to cleanse their eyes. “We are not going to run,” she yelled, in a video recorded by another protester. “Our people’s blood should not reach the ground.”

“She is the bravest girl I have ever seen in my life,” said Ko Lu Maw, who photographed some of the final images of Kyal Sin, in an alert, proud pose amid a crowd of prostrate protesters.

Under her T-shirt, Kyal Sin wore a star-shaped pendant because her name means “pure star” in Burmese.

“She would say, ‘if you see a star, remember, that’s me,’” said Cho Nwe Oo, her friend. “I will always remember her proudly.”

#news #world news #politics #world politics #myanmar #burma #myanmar coup #myanmar crackdown #myanmar crisis #new york times

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cottonsecurityblanket · 6 years

Text

So I watched Citrus ⚠SPOILER WARNING⚠

And I have issues with it. Now Ive never read the manga a day in life. Ive seen fan art of it however and knew it existed but never what it was about. If im missing out on some parts message me and explain please. I’m not going to hate the show. I don’t hate the show at all. I just have issues with it. Now here’s my thoughts.

Note there’s only 5 episodes on Crunchyroll but here’s my thoughts so far

So Mei is the Class President and has been since she was a first year. Her grandfather is a Chairman of the school and Mei’s father marries Yuzu’s mother and they move to another district. For some reason Yuzu’s mom forgets to tell her that she’s got a younger step sister and for some reason Yuzu’s never seen her new stepfather. But Im gonna ignore that.

Yuzu wants to fall in love and get a first kiss and get a boyfriend. Nice plan for a high schooler. So she walks in and this girl with springy pig tails named Momokino gives her shit. Mei comes up and feels up and down Yuzu to get her phone from her pocket. Later on in the day she meets her friend Harumin. Harumin explains to her that everyones not outgoing and follows the strict rules. Oh and um everyone looks EXACTLY the same. Black and/or purpley hair, beige top, greenish plaid skirt, all shy and reserved.

So it’s implied all the girls in this all girl school fuck each other before they get married off to someone after high school. So fast forward and Yuzu finds the hot teacher and Mei kissing and later it’s said theyre supposed to be married to each other. Later in the day Mei goes to Yuzu and her moms apartment and then Yuzu making an effort to talk to Mei and get along as step sisters. Mei ignores her this entire time so Yuzu has to talk about a subject that’ll strike a nerve to get conversation. Mei takes her down and kisses her.

At that moment I do the Oprah gif where she’s squinting. It’s not incest cuz they’re not real sisters but I’m sure a good majority would argue it is and I can understand that but lets ignore the incest is wincest meme right now.

At this point Im sure Im missing a lot of aspects in the anime and manga. I know that there’s a good following for the manga but i haven’t seen much for the anime cept a few screenshots and comparisons to the manga. This is what I think about the characters and plot watching it blind I guess.

Mei….bothers me. Characters like her I have an issue with because they always initiate the first move like kissing them or some shit and then are always confused about why the Protag is so confused and can’t control their emotions. I don’t usually watch romance anime like this in fact the only one I liked was My Little Monster and Sakura Kiss but that’s another thing. I get it Mei you and your dad have a bad relationship and haven’t seen him in five years and you live alone. Alright I get it but that doesn’t give you the right to fuck with Yuzu like that.

I’ve seen a post that Mei is literally sexually assaulting Yuzu and that it’s a toxic relationship but I don’t wanna go that far. Ill just chalk it up to anime being anime. It’s not the first time we’ve seen characters force a kiss but back to the topic on hand.

Mei in the anime is such an unlikeable character. In Episode 3 Yuzu sees that Mei’s stuffed animal is ripped and she sews it back together as if nothing happened. Later in the episode when Yuzu has to stay at school late to clean the bathroom Mei goes through her stuff and finds a Manga named Peach Sisters and confronts her about it saying stuff like “if someone saw you with this theyd be disgusted” or “you should be ashamed.” so Yuzu kisses her and says all this is happening because she kissed her.

Finally we address the situation. Yuzu is absolutely right. All the shit that Mei detests so much is all her fault. She could’ve engaged in conversation and at least put in the same effort Yuzu was putting in and they would’ve bonded making the “romance” between them understanding. But no. Mei just completely ignores Yuzu and gives her the short end of the stick.

In episode 3 Mei says the only reason why she kisses her multiple times in the other episodes is to shut her up. But in episode 2 when the two girls fall in water Mei kisses and licks Yuzu’s neck while Yuzu is thinking about why she kissed her and Mei says “You looked like you wanted me to touch you.”

So what’s the truth Mei? Are you taking advantage of your older sister or are you not?

I hate Sasuke so much. Mei is starting to get close to that amount of hate. Yuzu is doing mental backflips to figure out her feelings and what to do while Mei is doing everything except thinking.

Oh yeah in episode 2 when Yuzu AGAIN tries to make an effort on what’s going on with Mei offering to help, Mei throws her on the bed and starts ripping her clothes off only to be caught by Old Grumpy Gramps. Yuzu is expelled and Mei does fuck all about it while in other times Yuzu stood up for Mei. In the begining of episode 2 while Mei gets chewed out by gramps Yuzu stands in front of her and says “if you want to get mad at someone get mad at me. She has nothing to do with this.” Gramps doesn’t listen and at the end of the episode gramps has a well deserved heart attack. And who helps him? Yuzu.

I think I’ve ranted about Mei enough now onto Yuzu. In the first episode she monologues to us about how she talks about having boyfriend’s and kissing them when she hasn’t even had her first kiss yet. I did the same thing in high school and Im sure others have too.

Yuzu is a likeable character. She’s blonde and has personality and very well rounded I guess? I don’t have problems with her. If anything I feel bad for her because of what Mei puts her through. It’s not only Mei. Is this other girl too. I can’t think of her name. Like this has taken me a few days to write when it shouldn’t. I think her names Kono-something but well get to her later.

Harumin is Yuzu’s friend in the situation and has NONE of an idea pf what’s going on with Yuzu and Mei however she’s there to help and is a pretty good friend. In episode 5 they share an indirect kiss when Harumin feeds Yuzu something from her lunch and they do it so naturally. As platonic as the relationship may be I prefer theirs over Yuzu and Mei’s SOOOOOOO much more. If this show threw a curveball and ended with Harumin and Yuzu being a thing I would NOT be upset and id accept it as such but that’s not gonna happen.

Now onto the friend. Her name is Kono or Kokno but for now let’s just call Kono. So she’s got purple hair with girl pigtails thats in curls and she’s the vice president. She’s known Mei for what seems like maybe Kindergarten? I dont know which school years are similar to ours (Im from America) but that’s just my guess. So Kono has this disdain for Yuzu because she doesn’t conform to rules and is all of sudden getting close to Mei. So after episode 3 in episode 4 she keeps asking Yuzu what the two did some conference room or what not and Yuzu doesn’t tell her so in Kono’s….trial to assert dominace over Yuzu she goes and licks and touches Mei’s ear. That turns into Mei moaning and then Kono slides her hand under her skirt and the scene cuts away to the afternoon sky. Later in the episode Kono tells Yuzu to meet her at a cafe or something and the two talk and Kono says they “crossed a line” which DOES NOT sound good by the way. Im not sure if that’s the english translation of what she said or what but it doesn’t sound okay (Im watching Sub). So Kono lies and says Mei wants NOTHING to do with Yuzu and never wants to see her again. Yuzu’s already thinking “but we live together”.

This whole time Im thinking the two might’ve fucked or something BUT in the episode 5 Mei tells her Kono made advances at her and she told her no or something. Kono sees the two walking outside of school and Mei tells her to stop putting weird thoughts in her head and Kono is sad and stands there.

In episode 4, Mei tells Kono that she and Yuzu are step sisters FINALLY and anytime Yuzu tries to be a good older sister Kono sees it as making advances on her.

I don’t like Kono. She’s very annoying. Im not sure if she was like that in the manga or not but again Im going in this anime blind.

She’s honestly very annoying and that’s just how I feel. Gets in the way and just don’t like her character.

Mei and Kono? Can’t stand Mei. Kono is…slightly tolerable.

Yuzu and Harumin? I like them. They have better chemistry than the romance intended.

I cannot stress how much context Im sure im missing and I WANT to read the manga and know stuff but sadly that’s just not possible. If ANYONE could link me to translated versions of it online great. Now Im gonna talk about the plot of this.

I don’t watch romance. The only two I watched and liked was Sakura Trick and My Little Monster. In the show My Little Monster there was plot. However little it was there was still plot but it kept it entertaining to watch. Sakura Trick barely had plot at all but it had a storyline and had lots of lesbian kisses. More than the entire anime industry combined and that’s where the show got it’s charm.

Another show I watched and liked called Yuru Yuri. The girls start a club. That’s it. Don’t ask anything more of them.

Citrus? If you asked what the plot was…I couldn’t give you a simple sentence answer. Im not sure…where this anime is going. I know they’ll end up together dispite them being step sisters but for the plot right now I have no clue what or where it is. I think it’s just me being stupid but right now I can’t really think of a plot. The closest I can think of is “two step sisters who have some things to work out.”

I don’t have any….comments on the animation. Modern. Clean. Looks nice for 2018 animation. Nothing really striking except when Yuzu is in uniform she’s very pleasing. Color scheme wise I mean. It’s no Ancient Magnus Bride so….I guess I mean….animation is okay I guess.

Overall, I don’t hate the anime. But I don’t love it. I have issues with it and Im going to continue to watch it cuz I want to see where this will go. I want to see Mei’s character growth and I want to see plot. I want to see this get good and I want to like this anime and Ill stick around as long as I can. After a few more episode’s Ill do a part 2 on what I think.

For now….3 outta 10. I’d have to have a lengthy conversation with someone before recommending this to them.

So those are my thoughts on the anime Citrus. If you wanna talk about it with me just DM me. If you’ve read the manga and what to give me context great. Thanks for that.

Considering doing anime reviews as a thing.

#citrus #anime review #my thoughts #yuri anime #yuri manga #lesbian anime #anime #manga #yuzu #mei #original content

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