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kukuiolelo · 6 years

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Da Kine: A Hawaiian!Hunk Fic

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Pairings: Background Keith/Lance

Summary: "Uh, Hunk, buddy, did you just call Coran ‘Uncle’?” The Paladins are far from home, really really far. As the mission goes on, Hunk begins to fall back into habits he tried to leave a thousand light years away on a small island chain in the middle of the Pacific.

AO3

Uncle

The first time was a slip up.

The night had been going pretty smoothly, Hunk thought, all things considered. They, that is to say the team, was gathered in the communal living space in wing of the castle that was designated a “meeting area,” mostly due to its proximity to food and copious soft furniture.

The meetings original objective, to debrief on the latest Galra abomination of the week, was abandoned quickly in favor of Lance and Keith's latest tiff. The details were fuzzy, but what mattered was Lance had Keith in a headlock who was, in turn, kicking at him in the shins.

“It’s like some strange mating ritual,” Pidge observed from her position on the arm of the couch. Hunk hummed his agreement and went back to doodling schematics on the back of some scrap paper. “You know,” Pidge said, “It’s a wonder they haven't gotten over themselves and just… Is Keith turning blue to you?”

Keith was, in fact, turning slightly purple, due to Galra or lack of oxygen, it was not clear. He kicked at Lance with a renewed vigor, cursing him out, only partially in English. “I wonder what that is, the language, I mean,” Hunk said, looking up from the table.

Pidge hummed, “I think it’s Korean. Something like, 'fuck you', I think.”

"How'd you know?" Hunk asked.

"I used to listen to a lot of kpop"

“Huh,” Hunk said, “fucking weeabo.” Pidge flipped him off absentmindedly, still staring blankly at the fight.

Allura looked up at the boys, pursing her lips. She nudged Shiro in the side, and when he didn't respond, she elbowed him a bit harder, and harder, and harder until he curled away from her, holding his side, and whispered a betrayed ‘ow!’ She looked at him pointedly, before turning her eyes sharply to look at Lance, who was whispering something in what was probably some very creative Spanish.

Shiro responded to her glare with a blank look and a shrug of his shoulders. She rolled her eyes with a huff, and repeated the motion, this time punctuating each look with a punch to the shoulder. His head tilted to the side with yet another pondering look, before realization dawned and he nodded.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough,” Shiro said. He marched up to the pair, who fell apart reluctantly. “Besides Lance, your form is sloppy, you need to turn your elbow in more. Here, like this.” He then proceeded to demonstrate said technique on a very indignant Lance, much to the amusement of his former victim. Allura put her fingers to her temples, taking in a deep breath

Hunk slapped his knees with finality and stood. “Well, I’m out,” Hunk said, “I’m going to go make dinner.”

Coran popped out of his seat as well. “I’ll come help lad,” he said. “I imagine you could use and extra pair of hands.”

“Yeah, sure,” Hunk said as he gathered his papers. “Thanks Uncle.”

The chatter fell silent for a moment. Shiro glanced up from his captive, who wriggled free of his hold. Allura turned towards Coran with a quizzical expression, who only shrugged. Finally, Lance spoke, rubbing his neck, “Uh, Hunk, buddy, did you just call Coran ‘uncle’?”

Hunk started. “What? No, no,” Hunk shook his head, hands held up. “No, I called him, um… shmunkle?”

Keith cocked his head to the side, “Shmunkle?”

Hunk stuttered. “It’s a- well I- and- Oh, shut up.”

Pidge scooted forward on the couch and had taken to looking at him over interlaced fingers. She looked calculating, studying, the same way she was over a perplexing line of code, and seemed about to say something. Before she could, Lance chipped in.

“Is there something you’re not telling us bud?” Lance said, a playful gleam in his eyes, “Do we have two part aliens on the team, I mean if anyone was going to be Altean it would be you, besides me of course-” Hunk glanced over at Shiro with a pleading look. He saw Shiro nod imperceptibly before he stepped forward.

“Alright guys,” Shiro cut in, “Leave him alone.”

Hunk shot Shiro a grateful look. He cleared his throat and four pairs of eyes turned to him. “Right,” he said, “As I was saying, any votes on dinner?”

The team shouted out their input, ‘not goo’ being the dominant sentiment. Hunk flashed a thumbs up before running back to the kitchen, the door slamming behind him. He could still hear the others talking from the other side of the door.

“So Coran’s our uncle now?” There was a general murmur of confusion and assent. Hunk scoffed and rolled his eyes.

A pause, and then, “Lance is this another one of your mee-mees?”

Lance groaned. “It’s pronounced memes, Keith, we’ve been over this!”

“But it’s spelled mee-mee.”

“No- well yes technically, but it's pronounced- You know it feels like you’re just fucking with me at this point.”

“Then why is it spelled mee-mee?”

“Dude, I don’t know!”

Pidge piped in. “English is a garbage fire.” Shiro, Keith, Lance, and surprisingly Allura seemed to agree with this.

At that moment, Coran stepped into the kitchen. He grinned, twirling his moustache. “So, Uncle...”

Hunk buried his face in his hands. “Long story Coran.”

Coran chuckled. “If you say so lad”

Hunk shot him a look. “Seriously, long story.” He turned towards the refrigerating unit and considered its contents. Uncle, that was a slip. Hunk wasn’t embarrassed of his upbringing, not really. He didn’t have an accent like a lot of people did, his English at the Garrison was 100% mainlander. But, old habits die hard, he thought, and he had been on the mainland for quite a while, long enough that his team would barely comment on any slightly less than middle America peculiarities. That being said, they did tend to pry, and with how much everyone missed their families and their home, that stone was better left unturned.

He closed the fridge with an armful of ingredients and threw a purple thing at Coran. “Mince this for me, I’ll start on the starch.” He turned to the counter and started cooking, and by the time he put dinner on the table, the Uncle incident was all but forgotten.

Loco Moco

When time zones cease to exist, one’s circadian rhythms can become slightly out of whack. It was a few hours before the castle would wake up and the lights would brighten. Hunk padded into the kitchen and fumbled along the walls for the light dimmer. The lights turned on with a small whine.

The fridge was stocked well enough. A trip to a nearby planet, one with a downright toxic atmosphere but surprisingly edible animal products, had stocked them with a good supply of meat and what could pass as eggs. Hunk pondered the contents of the fridge. The others wouldn’t be up any time soon. Yesterday’s mission, yet another standoff with the Galra fleet, had been rough. Keith, after charging headfirst through a line of battle cruisers, was really dinged up, and Shiro, who’d been targeted again by the main destroyer class command ship, looked like shit. After that, no one would muster the effort or wakefulness to eat together any time before noon.

And that’s why Hunk was now standing, bleary eyed in front of the alien fridge at what must be around four AM, Earth time, pondering what to eat for breakfast. There was meat, lots of it, and a good few dozen of the egg-like things. It felt like an age since Hunk had made a good breakfast for himself, and only himself. In fact, the last time was back home. His mom had spent the night on the North Shore with a friend from school and Hunk was left the house to himself for the morning. He got up around seven and started on a good, heavy, traditional local meal, with meat and eggs and rice and...

Hunk started to grab ingredients out of the fridge, some minced fatty meat, three of the egg-like things, leftover grains from a few nights ago. He didn’t have exactly the right spices, and the milk always made things taste a bit like paperclips, but it would do. He began mixing the meat, eggs, and a few approximate spices. As long as it had been, it wasn’t a recipe you forget. Hell, it wasn’t a recipe you even had to remember. All you had to do was make a hamburger patty, make some gravy, and fry an egg. Hunk proceeded to do just this, frying up his components and stirring together a gravy over the still disconcertingly cyan cooktop. Just as he began to plate his food, the door slid open to reveal Lance, resplendent in his fuzzy bathrobe and facemask.

“Morning Lance,” Hunk said, returning to the task at hand. “How are you?”

Lance shuffled towards the machine that made a liquid almost like coffee. “Better than Keith, that’s for sure,” he said, “Yesterday was a fucker.” He took a sip of his coffee and moaned. “God, how are you even awake?”

Hunk shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.” He placed the fried eggs in the bowl and went to load the dishwasher. He came back to see Lance leaning over the table to stare into his bowl with a mix of curiosity and horror.

“What even is this dude?” he said, poking at the bowl with a fork. “Is that a hamburger and gravy? I can feel my pores clogging just looking at this. Hey, Pidge!”

Pidge stuck her head through the door looking like for all the world like a bespectacled owl who’s gone through a wind turbine. She stumbled through the room and dropped herself in the seat across from Lance and dropped her head on the table with a thunk. After a few seconds of tired mumbling, she reached across the table to snag Lance’s coffee and downed it in a few gulps, staunchly ignoring his affronted stuttering. Finally, she looked back up at the pair and blinked. “What?”

“Um, Pidge,” Hunk said, “have you slept?”

“Sleep is for the weak.”

“Yeah, also the dead,” Lance said.

“Same difference.” She looked into her, formally Lance’s, cup and groaned. “Get me coffee?”

Lance sighed. “Yeah, yeah.” He took Pidge’s cup.

Hunk looked at her with worry. “Pidge you really should sleep.”

Pidge waved him off. “Sleep later, coffee now.” The coffee machine hissed and bubbled and Lance came back with two cups, one for himself and one for Pidge. “Fuck, yes.” She grabbed the cup from the table and took another sip. “So yeah, you wanted something. What?”

Hunk took a minute to remember what she was referring to. Lance, however, beat him to the punch, and pointed at the bowl on the counter. “Look at that, tell me it doesn’t look like heart disease.”

Pidge leaned over the bowl. “Is that gravy and eggs?” she said. “Hunk what is this?”

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a loco moco,” he said, “just some food from back home.”

Lance stalled, staring at the bowl, and blinked. “Crazy boogers? Loco moco. Crazy boogers. Seriously?”

Pidge, still staring into the bowl, smacked her lips tiredly and looked up at Hunk. “It looks like hangover food, dude.”

Hunk pulled the bowl away from the pair with an affronted huff. “How would you know, you’re like, what, twelve?”

Lance put his hands together in a ‘let’s talk about this’ way. “Seriously, it’s called crazy boogers. Why is a food from your home called crazy boogers?”

Hunk sighed. “I don’t know, it just is.” He sat down and took a bite. “Damn, needs shoyu.” Lance and Pidge looked at him, befuddled. Hunk corrected. “Soy sauce.”

“Oh,” Pidge said, “Just use butter and salt.” Both Hunk and Lance looked at her in horror.

Hunk pulled his dish away from her further. “Don’t you dare.”

Lance seemed to shake himself. “Seriously, crazy boogers-”

Hunk dropped his head and groaned. “Oh my god, guys,” he said, “Let me eat in peace.” He took another bite out of the hamburger. “Or I will be making these for breakfast for a week.”

Lance raised his hands in surrender. “All right, all right.” He nudged Pidge in the arm. “Hey, let’s take bets. Who will wake up first, Keith or Shiro? Dibs on Shiro.”

Hunk tapped the table. “My bet’s on Keith.”

Pidge raised her hand. “Stumbling in at the same time.”

“You are on.” Lance clapped her on the back. “So what the hell was up with those green things yesterday.”

The conversation devolved slowly as Hunk finished his loco moco. A few hours later, once all the lights had brightened and both Coran and Allura had floated through, cheery and murderous respectively, Shiro and Keith staggered into the kitchen. “Huh, looks like Pidge won.” Hunk said. Pidge had fallen dead asleep an hour before, in the middle of a sentence no less.

Lance poked at her arm, with no response. “Shame she can’t be awake to see it.”

Keith looked around the kitchen in bleary confusion. He squinted and said, “Why does it smell like a Sonic drive-in in here?”

Lance raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his long cold coffee. “I don’t know, why don’t you ask Hunk?”

Hunk dropped his head into his arms. “Shut up.”

Ku’u Honua

Before the team had even landed on the planet of the week, it was pretty damn obvious there was going to be trouble.

As the lions touched down on one of the millions of islands that made up the land mass of the planet, a group of aliens scuttled out from the trees. They were diverse in appearance, like they were a mix of species rather than just one, and all with some kind of firearm strapped to their sides. The one at the front, a tall, broad alien with a line of triangles running down her leg, walked towards the lions shouting. “‘Ey! ‘Ey, wha’ chu doin hea? Chu wit dem fakas?”

Shiro’s voice crackled over the comms. “I’ll handle this.” He stepped out of his lion and the rest of the paladins following suit. He stepped forward, a hand raised in greeting. “Hello, we are the Paladins of Voltron. Have you seen any Galra on this island? Our intel indicates their force should be stationed here.”

The alien looked around at the paladins, brow furrowed. “Eh? Wha’ chu say?”

Shiro repeated. “We are the Paladins of Voltron, maybe you’ve heard of us?” The leader looked back at the others and shrugged. The other aliens looked around at each other awkwardly and began to shuffle their feet. The leader turned back to Shiro and shook her head.

Shiro frowned before he walked back towards the paladins, who’d gathered at the edge of the sand. Hunk spoke first. “Hey, what’s up?”

Shiro gestured back at the aliens. “I’m having some trouble understanding them,” Shiro said.

Lance snorted, “Yeah, we can tell.” He looked back at the aliens, who started to regroup on the edge of the treeline. “Maybe our translators are malfunctioning?”

“That could be it.” Shiro lifted his hand to his helmet and fiddled with some controls. “Princess, do you copy? We’re having problems communicating with the locals.”

Allura’s voice crackled through the comms, “I read you Shiro, what seems to be the problem?”

Hunk cleared his throat, “Um, guys I can try-”

Before Hunk could finish, Pidge cut in, “It’s not our translators, if it was we wouldn’t be able to understand Allura.” Pidge fiddled with her helmet’s onboard computer, scanning through lines of code, and frowned. “Nothing’s wrong with our systems either.”

Shiro nodded. “Princess, can you tell us anything about this planet?”

After a brief pause and the sound of typing, Allura said, “The Honuans, an amphibious sentient species from the planet Honua. Or at least, those were the natives. Many other species have settled here from other planets, for work, refuge, etc. They call themselves the Kanaka.” There was a pause over the line as Allura scrolled through the page. “However their languages have mixed. For some reason it never goes well through translators. We might be able to communicate with them another way, though.” She continued to type, muttering to herself under her breath

“Rodger that.” He switched off his helmet and turned back to the team. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

Hunk raised a hand, “Hey, guys?”

“Why do we even need to communicate with them?” Keith said, growing visibly impatient. “Why can’t we just look for the Galra ourselves?”

Allura’s voice broke in. “There are thousands of islands on this planet.” She said, the typing of a keyboard coming through the comms “To search all of them would take years.”

“Well what if we just fly above them,” Lance said, “Scan for anything Galra-”

Pidge broke in, shaking her head. “Are you seeing that jungle?” she said, “We won't be able to find jack if they don't want to be seen.” As the team argued, Hunk turned to look at the Kanaka. They were chattering amongst themselves in much the same way, glancing over at the paladins apprehensively. Hunk raised a hand in greeting and a few waved back, before turning back to the group. He turned back to hear Shiro speaking in that finalizing team plan voice and made a decision.

“OK,” Shiro said, “here’s the plan. Pidge, go high and use your scanners over the oceans. Lance and Keith, you check the big islands for anything suspicious, they might make a mistake. Hunk- Hunk? Hey Hunk, what-” Shiro turned to see Hunk walking over towards the Honuans, who were crouched on the ground by the treeline. They pushed themselves up, hands hovering by their weapons. He raised his hands and took a step closer.

Hunk cleared his throat, it had been a while for him. “Ey, chu ova dea!” His voice changed, harder on the consonants and more open on the vowels. The Kanaka perked up, listening, and a few hands fell away from their weapons.

The leader took a step forward. “Wha’ chu wan’? Chu guys one a dem fakas? Chu wit dem?” The Kanaka stopped her foot, rolling her shoulders with arms held away from her sides in a pretty universal ‘come at me, bro’ posture. “Chu wit dem, yea? Like scrap? Yea, les’ go, brah, les’ go.”

Shiro shifted. “Hunk?” Hunk looked back at the team, in various stages of curiosity and wariness, a few hands floating towards bayards. Hunk shot them a look before turning back to the Kanaka.

Hunk lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “Nah, nah nah nah, nah.” Hunk laughed and shook his head again. “Nah, we got big kine beef wit dem fakas.”

The Kanaka lowered her shoulders, hands falling to her sides. “Fo’ real?” The Kanaka in the background started to relax, falling out of defensive postures and speaking to each other in quiet tones.

Hunk turned back towards their leader and smiled. “Yea, yea, brah, we coo’.”

“Ah.” She relaxed and stepped a bit closer. “Oh, yea, wha’ chu wan’?”

“Chu see da kine purple guys?�� Hunk gestured, indicating the average height of a Galra. “Look like one popoki?”

The Kanaka nodded.“Yea, brah, choke.” She made an expansive gesture with her hands and continued. “Dey wen’ go ova dea, dat islan’.” She pointed towards an island maybe a mile off with a large crater at the peak. “Mean kine luna tho, he go ova mauka. Big, da faka, hoowie!”

Hunk nodded, “Tanks auntie, dea an’ dea?” he pointed, first at the island, then up into the mountains.

She nodded. She looked back at the group with a questioning look before she seemed to make a decision. “Yea brah, we try sho’?” The other Kanaka nodded

“Shoots auntie!” Hunk smiled. “Guys,” He turned back towards the group, all in various stages of surprise, confusion, and curiosity, “The main Galra force is on that island over there, but their leader went up into the mountains for some reason.” He gestured towards the Kanaka, who were pulling each other up and talking amongst themselves, checking their weapons and packs. “They can takes us to where they last saw him.” He paused and looked around nervously. “Is that cool?”

Shiro considered for a moment and nodded. “That sounds good, Hunk.” He turned to the rest of the team. “All right team, here’s the plan.”

The walk up the mountain, while it was slightly awkward and technically a march to a possibly unspeakable evil, was some of the most fun Hunk had had in awhile. The leader, named Ohelo, was friendly, despite her initial hostility. They talked story, seemingly incomprehensible to the rest of the team, who trailed behind in relative silence. Ohelo stopped at the edge of the forest and pointed up at the barren craggy mountain. “Da luna small kine up mauka,” she said.

Hunk nodded. “Raga’,” he said, “Sua you no can go?” They had discussed the Kanaka leaving the islands for the time being, just until the Galra had been cleared out.

Ohelo shook her head “No can, choke keiki and kupuna ova hea.” She shrugged. “Bummas.”

“Yea, yeah, auntie,” Hunk said, “I gotchu.”

Ohelo looked out over the clearing, all the way up to where Hunk guessed the Galra were hiding. “Ey.” She grasped Hunks shoulder and looked at him seriously. “Chu no go make, yea?”

Hunk chuckled. “Yea, auntie. No sweats.”

Ohelo shook his shoulder and smiled. “Den go, chu lolos.”

“Ey!” Hunk laughed. He turned back towards the team, checking their weapons, and cleared his throat. “Hey guys, the leader is a bit further up that way.”

“All right, you all know the plan, let’s go.”

Hunk broke off with Lance to scan the base ridge for suspicious activity. Before they left the forest, Hunk turned back towards the Kanaka. “Ey auntie!” He raised a hand to about chest and flashed a shaka, first three fingers bent down and thumb and pinky held straight. “Tanks!” The Kanaka waved back and he turned to walk up the mountain.

“Um, Hunk?” Lance was looking at him curiously. “What...”

Hunk shrugged. “I’ll explain later.”

And that was, of course, when they stumbled upon a Galra security droid all hell broke loose. Now, Hunk thought, it would really have to wait for later.

A giant purple octopus and two very angry Honuan sharks later, the paladins returned to the castle battered, tired, and hungry. The castle dispensed the usual food goo and Hunk took it with a resigned reluctance. This wasn’t real food, and God if he missed being able to pick up a spam musubi from 7-11 or a surf pac from Zippy’s. He dropped down onto the floor next to the couch and pondered his plate. Pidge sat on the arm of the couch and grunted.

Hunk dropped his head to the table. “Yeah, same.” He felt Pidge fall back onto the couch.

“Hey buddy.” Hunk looked up to see Lance leaning over the table. Hunk hummed in response before dropping his head back on the table. “Aw come on, don’t be like that, scootch over.” Hunk sat up and complied, and Lance sat down next to him. “Thanks, but you’ve still got to explain the thing.”

Hunk looked at him quizzically. “What thing?”

“You know,” Lance gestured vaguely. “The thing. The thing with the talking with the Honuans.” He spread his hands. “Duh.”

Hunk groaned. “Kanaka.”

“What?”

“They prefer to be called the Kanaka. I asked.”

Lance pointed at him. “Yeah, that’s the thing. We couldn’t understand, like, ninety percent of what you guys were saying. Come on, Pidge, tell him.” He nudged Pidge in the leg and she hummed groggily.

“What?” She said.

“Hunk talking with the Honuans-”

“Kanaka,” Hunk corrected.

“Kanaka, sorry. Hunk talking with the Kanaka, you couldn’t understand that right?”

“Nope.” Pidge said. She yawned. “You’re going to explain that? Hey guys,” She sat up to yell into the kitchen. “Hunk’s going to explain how he talked to the Kanaka.” Keith and Shiro wandered in, Shiro looking worn out, as usual, Keith looking like a drowned cat and still grumpy from the healing pod. Shiro looked around the room before he sighed and dropped into the nearest chair. Keith stalked through with a bowl of something from the kitchen and climbed onto the back of the sofa.

Keith took a bite of what might have been cereal, or maybe ground meat. Hunk winced. He pointed the spoon at Hunk and scowled. “Talk.”

Hunk sighed and raised his hands in surrender. “They were speaking pidgin.” This was met with confused looks. “Spelled P I D G I N, not like the bird. It’s a language, kind of, or maybe a dialect, from Hawai’i. It’s just how we speak sometimes with friends or whatever.”

Pidge frowned. “Why did a bunch of aliens speak pidgin?”

“I don’t know dude, they just did.” Hunk shrugged. “And you guy’s weren’t making any headway so...” He trailed off. It felt like every eye was on him. He took a bite of food goo.

Lance clapped him on the shoulder, nearly making him choke. “Well thanks for saving our asses with your weird hidden accent, God our lives are weird.”

Shiro, silent up until this point, smacked his forehead. “Pidgin,” he said, “God, it was pidgin.” Keith looked at him curiously, along with more or less everyone else in the room. He noticed the looks and explained. “I was in an exchange student program to Honolulu in high school, I should have recognized-”

Hunk waved him off. “Nah, you couldn’t have recognized it. They were talking pretty thick. What school were you at?”

Shiro thought for a moment. “Punahou, I think. We visited ‘Iolani too.”

Hunk laughed. “Yeah, no. No one there speaks pidgin, definitely not with exchange students.” He shook his head, smiling. They tried, but those kids spoke like junior professors sometimes. “You want to hear pidgin, try Aiea. Or hell, try Kaua’i, some of them talk it like it’s the 1960s.”

Keith finished chewing a mouthful of his whatever it was and set down the bowl. He squinted at Hunk. “Is that why you called Coran uncle that time?”

Hunk groaned. “I thought we were going to forget about that?”

Lance shook his head with a shit eating grin. “We are never going to let that go, I thought you knew us.”

Hunk growled and threw his hands in the air. “It’s a thing, ok! You’re like ten years older than me, you’re uncle or auntie. It’s how we talk, for God’s sake. I don’t make fun of you guys for your weird accents.”

Pidge raised her arm from the couch. “Petition to mercilessly mock Keith every time he says ‘y’all’, say aye.”

Lance raised his hand. “Seconded.”

“Hey! I don’t say it that much.”

Hunk raised his hand as well. “Yeah, honestly, you do.”

“Come on.” Keith pointed his spoon at the couch. “Honestly, if y’all-” Keith stopped, blinking like a confused fish, and started over. “I mean if it ain’t for y’alls- I mean youse- Stop laughing!” He scrunched up his nose and took another bite of stuff, hopefully food.

“See, Keith? Do you see?” Lance said. “Shiro agrees with me, right Shiro?”

The room turned towards Shiro. He looked around before sighing, resigned to his fate, dropping his face into his hand, and slowly raising the other. Keith whined. “Shiro!”

Shiro looked for all the world like a man who’d lost all hope. “Do you even hear yourself any more? I- I don’t even know where you got that accent.”

“Yeah, this is an intervention, Keith.” Pidge leaned forward on her elbows. “Time to face the music.”

Keith sputtered. “I- Just-” He picked up his bowl and growled, “Fuck y’all.” and stormed out of the room.

Hunk couldn’t help but smile as he heard Keith fume in the kitchen. Finally, Lance pulled himself up. “I’ll go cool him off.” he said. Hunk gave him an incredulous look. “What? We’ve been bonding.” Lance headed off for the kitchen, and Hunk shrugged. He picked up his bowl of food goo and left the meeting area with a few goodnights to the sound of increasingly quiet Texan cussing. As he walked back towards his room, he chuckled to himself. “That,” he whispered, “went better than I thought.”

Manapua

Not all missions are created equal. Some are long, stressful affairs that take weeks of planning and days of fighting, some are hard and fast, a few hours of intense, white knuckled battle followed by a day of cleanup, some are tense and tedious, operations with little to no intel going in and so, so much nerve wracking waiting.

This mission, the one scheduled for tomorrow morning, was none of those. This mission was easy and simple, they knew the deal going in, there were no civilians to clear, and the objective was some uncomplicated sabotage. It would take half a day, at most, by Hunk’s estimates, and there would be plenty of time afterward for cleanup without technically needing to stop at the castle first. So, of course, they would need a lunch.

Hunk carefully lifted the last baking tray out of the oven and set it on the counter. The buns looked good, from a visual inspection, golden brown and lovely. He didn't have a stamp, even if it was traditional, but he did get something close to char siu for the filling. Hunk started to clean as the buns cooled.

Just as he put away the last of the ingredients, Hunk heard someone shuffle into the kitchen. Lance stood in the doorway, eyes squinting in the light. “Hey bud,” Lance said.

Hunk waved a hand over the manapua, checking for temperature, before he began to transfer them to a plastic container. “Hey, what’s up?”

“You, apparently. What’re you even doing?”

“Just finishing up a recipe.” Hunk moved a few more of the buns. “You should be in bed already.”

Lance yawned. “Pot and kettle, bro.”

“All right, I’m just finishing up.” Hunk transferred the last few things and put the container in the fridge. “Night Lance.”

“Yeah yeah, night.” Lance raised a hand in farewell and stumbled off to bed. Hunk placed the baking tray in the dishwasher, checked the oven one last time, and began to wipe down the counter. This, at least, would make tomorrow a bit more interesting.

The mission ended more or less as expected. No unexpected purple abominations were discovered, nor were any life altering secrets revealed. The lions settled on the cliff edge where the base used to be, and the paladins by mutual routine stepped out for a breather.

“Never again.” Pidge dropped back onto the ground with a groan. “I am never being bait for you again.”

Lance sat down next to her. “Speak for yourself. Better you than hothead over here.” He gestured towards Keith’s prone form.

Keith grunted in agreement. “Fair.”

Shiro dismounted from his lion and cleared his throat to get the team’s attention. “Status report, how is everyone?”

Lance raised his hand. “Present, no damage on Blue.”

Keith sat up. “Same here. No damage on Red either.”

“Present,” Pidge said, “Green’s sensors were damaged, but it’s nothing urgent.”

“Can you make it back to the castle?” Shiro asked.

“Yup.” Pidge nodded. “She’ll be fine.”

“Good,” Shiro said. “No damage on Black. Hunk?” Shiro turned towards the lions. “Hunk? Has anyone seen Hunk?” His shoulders tensed, his Galra hand held rigid away from his side. Keith rolled into a crouch, and his hand dropped to his bayard.

The door to the yellow lion opened. “Sorry!” Hunk said, “Present. Yellow’s fine. Hey, I brought lunch.” Hunk dismounted from the lion with an armful of paper bags. He tossed one to Shiro.

Shiro fumbled to catch the bag. “Thank you, Hunk. What is it?”

“No problem. Manapua, try it.” Hunk finished passing out the bags. “I thought you guys would be hungry, dig in.” He sat down next to Pidge and took a bite of his own. Keith took one of the buns out of the bag and took a mouthful. Lance and Pidge leaned over, looking at the half eaten manapua.

“Why is it red?” Lance said. Hunk looked up to see something like confusion on their faces.

Hunk shrugged. “It just is, ok.”

Pidge tilted her head to the side. She whispered to Lance, “Is meat supposed to be red?”

Lance whispered back “Dude, I don’t know.”

Around another mouthful of bread, Keith mumbled something that sounded like, “It’s food, just eat it.”

Hunk rolled his eyes and continued to eat. Shiro tore it open curiously and took a careful bite. “It is rather red. Is this normal?” Hunk rolled his eyes and nodded in lieu of a spoken answer.

Pidge pulled hers apart and looked at it suspiciously. After a minute of staring she looked up at Lance. “It’s like my food is bleeding.”

Hunk groaned and looked up at the sky. “Holy quiznak, guys,” he said, a little louder than usual, “You all are such haoles, eat the damn manapua!”

The translation software on their helmets clicked on and began to read aloud.

Haole: Usage, Hawaiian Creole English or Pidgin. Hawaiian translation, stranger or foreigner. Modern usage, an individual of exclusively or predominantly European descent. Example, a haole friend of mine went to Zippy’s and ordered teri beef with mashed potatoes.

An awkward silence fell as the group scanned the people to which Hunk was referring, more specifically Takashi Shirogane, Keith Kogane, Lance McClain, and lastly, Pidge Gunderson, the only caucasian for roughly 10,000 light years. Hunk felt his face go red. “Mainlanders,” he said, “I mean mainlanders. You’re all such mainlanders.” He took another bite of a manapua, pointedly not making eye contact. “Just eat it, you lolos.”

Keith leaned over at Shiro and whispered. “Did he just call us white?”

Lance snorted. “Dude, he called me white.” He gestured at himself with a free hand. “Me. I resent that statement.” Hunk groaned and hid his face in his hand.

Pidge raised her hand. “I resemble that statement,” she said.

“Sorry,” Hunk said, his voice muffled by his hands.

Lance laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Nah, it’s fine buddy.” Hunk looked up to see Lance grinning widely. “But, oh my God, we are never letting this go.”

Pidge nodded. “That is very improbable.” She sniffed at the manapua again, less wary than before. After one last poke, she shrugged and took a bite. Her eyebrows raised as she chewed. “Hm, not bad.”

Keith gestured at her pointedly. “The haole ate it, Lance,” he said, ”Suck it up and eat the bread meat thing.” Hunk choked on a laugh and a mouthful of manapua. Keith, oblivious, continued. “It’s bread and it’s meat, what more do you want?”

Hunk swallowed and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Keith.” He turned towards Lance. “See? Keith will eat it, Pidge will eat it, just try, for God’s sake.”

Lance raised his eyebrows. “I’ve seen Keith eat a space possum,” he said, “He’s not a high bar to jump, Hunk.” Even so, Lance took a bite. His expression rapidly changed from trepidation, to surprise, to enjoyment. “Ok, I’ll admit, not as bloody as it looks.” He took another bite.

Hunk snorted. “Just be glad I didn’t make you Spam musubi.”

He heard Lance choke. “Spam what? I am not eating Spam, buddy.”

Hunk smirked. “Yeah you will, I’ll get you eventually.” He looked at the slightly appalled faces of everyone but Keith. “I’ll get you all, believe it.”

Pidge blinked, a delighted smile spreading across her face. “Was that- Hunk was that Naruto.”

Hunk froze. “What? No, I-”

“Holy fucking quiznak it was!” Pidge stood up, pointing at Hunk triumphantly. “You’re wearing a headband, oh my god you’re-” She dissolved into giggles. “You’re a fucking weeaboo!”

“Hey, you’re the one who recognized it.” Hunk pointed back at her.“Judge not, lest you yourself be judged or whatever.” Lance raised a hand, held out towards Hunk for a high five. ”You too?” Lance shrugged unapologetically.

Shiro scratched his head. “Believe it,” he said. All eyes turned towards him. “Is that a thing from the English dub?”

Hunk shook his head in disbelief. “No.”

Meanwhile, Pidge punched the air. “YES!”

“What are y’all even talking about?” All eyes snapped to Keith.

“So you’ve never...” Lance said.

“Never,” said Pidge, “Not ever.”

Keith looked at them incredulously. “I grew up in a hut in the desert in Texas.” He spread his hands. “What do y’all think?”

Pidge stared off into space with a delighted smile on her face. “Boys, we have a job to do. Naruto marathon, at the castle, in Keith’s room, right now.”

“Not so fast,” Shiro said, “We still have a mission to finish here. After cleanup, you can, but until-” Lance and Pidge were in their lions before he even finished the sentence.

Let’s just say cleanup was much, much more efficient than usual.

Kuleana

There was a routine in the castle. What else would you expect? All but one of it’s residents had been military in one form or another, and this manifested in more than a few ways. Besides the obvious, everyday, and downright bizarre signs, many a time salt shakers had been literally thrown across the table, the most notable hangover was that of the chore schedule.

Today, it was Lance’s turn to do the dishes. Hunk knew this, and he knew Lance was present and accounted for, and he knew the state of the castle presented no current emergencies, but even still, there were the dishes, unwashed, in the sink.

“Hey, Lance?” Hunk called. “Lance!” He wasn’t in the common room, nor was he in the kitchen or his room or anywhere else Hunk looked. In the end, Hunk found him in the gym, predictably, in hindsight, as that was where Keith was.

Lance was leaning against a wall with his most flirty smile. “Hey, are you a photographer?” he said to Keith.

Keith barely paused in doing pushups. “What.”

“Because,” Lance continued unperturbed. “Baby, I could picture you and me together.”

Keith actually stopped his circuit to look up at Lance. “Why would you think I’m a photographer?”

“No Keith I mean-” Lance floundered, then started over. “Are you from Tennessee-”

“No, I’m from Texas.”

Hunk figured it would be a good time to step in. “Lance, could I talk to you?”

Lance glanced over at him. “Hmm? Oh yeah sure.” He trotted over to Hunk. “What is is? Quick, I think I’m making progress.”

Hunk exhaled slowly. This would call for drastic measures. He placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder and steered him out into the hallway. He turned Lance toward him and sighed. “Ok buddy,” he said, being sure to make eye contact, “Now we’ve all got a job to do, we’ve all got our kuleana here. Do you know what kuleana means?”

Lance shook his head. “No I don’t, what does it mean?” he said skeptically.

“It means responsibility. It means your responsibility to those around you, the earth, and everything on it. But it also means privilege. Your kuleana is an honor, and you do your kuleana, not just to stop bad things from happening or to get attention, you do it because it’s your kuleana and that’s what’s pono.” He pulled Lance next to him, his arm wrapped around his shoulders. “The paladins’ kuleana is to protect the galaxy. It’s a huge job, but we’re doing it, because the lions and the universe are our kuleana. It is an important responsibility.” Hunk turns his head to look at Lance. “And so is yours. Your kuleana is to do the damn dishes tonight.” He cuffed him on the back of the head. “Now stop making eyes at Keith and go was up, you lolo.”

Lance scurried towards the kitchen, looking sufficiently cowed. Shiro, previously standing in the doorway of the gym, walked towards Hunk. “How the hell...” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair. “Huh. How did you-”

Hunk shrugged. “Kuleana lecture,” he said simply, “Works every time.”

“Huh.” Shiro blinked, still visibly confused, before he seemed to give in. He disappeared into the gym, and through the door Hunk could hear muffled muttering.

“How did he-”

“Still no idea.”

Hunk smiled to himself and set about his own chores. The dishes were clean within the hour.

Fakas

Some missions were easy and some missions were hard, but some missions were downright brutal. Hunk dodged out of the way of yet another small fleet of Galra fighters, biting back the litany swears at the tip of his tongue. Few others offered the same courtesy. The comm link was flooded with profanity in more languages than Hunk could track. Lance swerved past, tailed by two long range guided missiles. “Chingate!” Lance yelled over the comms, desperately weaving in and out of nearby rock formations, “Tu madre es una puta fea- CHINGATE!” Blue made a sharp turn around a large spire and the missiles exploded against it. “HA,” Lance crowed, “Besa mi culo, puto.”

Shiro’s voice cut through the line. “All right cut the chatter. We need to form-” A heavy collision sounded over the comms. “SHIMATTA- Form Voltron NOW.” Another volley of shots whizzed past. “Formation!” Hunk veered away from the Galra fighters, just barely avoiding a collision with a ship. He ascended into open skies while Lance gave cover fire at the fleet at his back. Keith spun in the air, as he scanned for melee targets. Red turned suddenly into a steep dive, and Hunk heard Keith roar and he ripped through a Galra cruiser aimed at Lance. “Form up, form up!”

Lance shouted over the maelstrom of shots. “Where’s Pidge?” Several curses cut through the sound of gunfire. Hunk could hear her swearing over the comms, quick and multilingual, and nothing she spoke fluently.

Hunk scanned the horizon for the green lion. A battalion of Galra fighters spun like bugs near the rock formations, and in the center a green speck. “There!” Hunk yelled. “Shiro, on your four o clock.”

The black lion spun towards her. “Pidge, respond!” Shiro snapped. “Get out of there!”

The green lion swerved a hard left. “I’m trying- SCHEISSE.” A spearhead of Galra followed her screeching ascent. “Fatue! Tcho za galima, ba’Qa shit shit shit.”

“Lance, cover fire.” Shiro ordered. Lance said some choice words in Spanish and began to fire holes in the formation, covering her retreat. She swerved into her place, still muttering invectives. The Galra fleet began to reform below them. “Form Voltron!” The team did so under heavy fire, shield formed before the legs even clicked into place. Just as the giant robot man unsheathed it’s sword, a missile the size of a bus launched from the flagship, aimed not towards them, but towards the castle. The castle, where the entire refugee population of the planet was being housed.

Hunk, of course, reacted. “Ho, chu FAKA.” Hunk roared. Voltron’s sword sliced the missile in half as it hurtled towards the Galra ship. Hunk whooped as they sped downwards, winding up before the yellow foot of Voltron rammed into the bow of the Galra battleship in a punt kick that sent it spinning. Something important sounding crunched. “CHEE HOOO.” The ship careened into the ground and exploded as it’s magazine apparently caught a spark. The surrounding fleets dived towards the wreck in a desperate attempt to rescue survivors, leaving the way clear to destroy the objective. They did so thoroughly before retreating to the castle.

As they cleared the stratosphere, Pidge huffed. “Well,” she said hesitantly, “That worked.”

The comms fell silent as Hunk muttered sharply in pidgin. “Try come ova oua side, yea?” Hunk chuffed harshly. “Yea dey wan scrap, yea I give dem scrap...”

“Hunk, buddy?” Lance said, “You need to explain that better to us sometime, yeah?”

Hunk snapped out of his string of threats. “Wha’ chu say?” He blinked, then corrected himself. “Oh, oh right. Yeah, just an old habit, but chee dem fakas...” He broke off into another string of pidgin. “Hoowie, we’re retreating right? We should do that.”

“Yeah.” Voltron climbed steadily into the sky, then broke off into the five lions.

“Y’know y’all,” Keith said, “I’ve got to agree with Hunk.” The lions touched down in the hangers, where Coran waited. “They’re fuckers.”

ʻOhana

Across the galaxy, the Paladins were widely known. News often traveled fast between the planets, Galra censorship be damned. Each paladin was known, remembered details through every sighting and small interaction. They knew of the clever green paladin with a love for robots, the brash red and his Galra ancestry, the flirty blue with an eye for marksmanship, the stoic black with a robotic hand. But, when news travelled that Voltron was coming to help, the most widely anticipated, the most widely loved, was Hunk. If you were in trouble, they said, hope for the yellow paladin, kind and steadfast.

They said he was big and strong as a tank, wielding a massive cannon like it weighed nothing. They said he was a mechanic, able to understand engines and thrusters he had never seen before, and able to repair anything, from the largest turbine to the smallest wiring, with ease. They said he could cook, quite well in fact, and if you took him to your kitchens he would make something incredible from mere scraps. And, they said, he could communicate directly with the Honuans.

The paladins did make another trip to Honua. The islands torched by the Galra were devastated, and rehabilitation efforts were far underway. Hunk went to greet Ohelo and her hui and ask her how they could help. She had hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, and then promptly ordered the other paladins off to help on other islands. She took Hunk aside and they talked story in rapid fire pidgin. She asked if he had found a boy or a girl he liked and Hunk responded with a scandalized “Auntie!” They left soon enough. Ohelo and her hui met at the beach to bade them farewell. Ohelo herself sent Hunk off with a hug and an order to not break too many hearts. Hunk hugged her back and agreed that he would try.

Hunk slipped into using more and more pidgin, on and off Honua. Lance and Pidge caught themselves using picked up vocabulary, asking for ‘da kine’ at dinner and responding to queries for a marathon movie night with ‘shoots!’.

Hunk began to cook more local food. He fried spam and portuguese sausage for a breakfast fried rice and served up plates of loco moco at all hours. And, even though Pidge still salted her rice, an action that made Hunk physically wince, he couldn’t help but love how his friends would dig into whatever salty and greasy thing he put on the table.

The onboard refrigerator, only found on the lions after someone stuck their bayard in the wrong place, were soon stocked with pog and spam musubi. Lance and Pidge would complain, of course, speculating how much of pog really is juice and what distasteful creatures went into the spam, Hunk still had to refill the coolers every week. They’d sometimes just stop, after a mission or just before one, on some grassy hill and eat in silence, each with a musubi in one hand and a carton of pog in the other.

When you got down to it, it tasted like family. Salty, carb laden family.

#voltron #Hawaiian Hunk #hunk garrett #fanfic #mine

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rozenmich · 5 years

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Tae, The cat. Introduction

~Ladies and Gentlemen, peers, mah dudes.

Welcome to the shitshow. Sorry I already failed. I'm supposed to just inform you that the content below is full of profanity, dumb jokes and shounen ai content. That means romantic cutely sweet guys being gay. Cause this is my love story. Or some shit like that. So go ahead and enjoy.

Or hate it. I don't know. I'm not your mom. So far actually it's just about me and my bestie. But we will get there people. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Do please show your love if you are interested in my story, cause even tho I find it creepy. God. Or more like the loser writing this story, likes attention and it's a deeply flawed person with no self esteem.

So yeah

-Love, Tanner

"Tae... Tae!..." Her voice was being suffocated by the loud music coming from his headphones. He was staring to the table in front of him, a blue tray with food siting between his arms. Suddenly a third arm appeared slamming the table scaring the living shit out of him. But he immediately recognised the caramel brown flawless skin of his best friend Isabella, God damn her and her naturally soft skin, who then pulled from the cord of his headphones, them falling on his shoulders, Tae pouted following her with his grey eyes as she sat on front of him, she seemed upset. He could tell by the way the strand of hair in the top of her head curled, and not really from the wide eyes, heavy breathing and frown she was dedicating him.

"Dude! What the hell?!"

Yeah she definitely was upset, Tae's dyed light blue and pink cat ears lower themselves in guilt as he realised what was wrong. He quickly grabbed his phone and pause the music. They usually walked to the cafeteria and had lunch together, but Isabella, a teacher's pet, was talking with the science fair coordinator and Tae after class just went his own way.

"I'm sorry man, I-" Tae began explaining but Isabella shaked her head shushing him while she took a bite of her mash potatoes, She knew Tae had trouble reading people, he was clueless when it came to normal human expressions, but she was the exception, they had known each other for so long that Tae knew by heart her other tells about her mood and her usual triggers, so she could guess what he was about to say.

"Man, it's not only that you left me behind. You have being distracted lately. Are you Okay?" The tone of concern in Isabella's voice scared Tae, and also surprised him. He tilted his head trying to think how to phrase his worries as he grabbed a fork and started eating with her.

"It's San Valentine's Day soon..." Tae started explaining looking at his food, avoiding her gaze "I usually don't care too much but. It's the first time I will spend it completely alone eating Cheetos on my pyjamas while playing Final Fantasy all day. That's a really sad thing to do in a day for friendship and love you know?"

Tae had just started living on his own, no family, no roommates. And he felt unexpectedly lonely.

Isabella open her eyes in surprise, hearing those words coming out of shy, scared of people, awkward Tae was truthly amazing. Isabella thought that the scenario Tae just described would be heaven for him, but she wasn't one to dismiss the worries of her best friend.

"But Final Fantasy are all about friendship!" Isabella joked which made Tae just look at her like 'seriously?' with a smirk as he still found it funny, she thought about it for a moment leaving the joke behind.

"Since when you became a sad cliche? Tae, come on, I would totally crash at your place if you want me to!" The young girl said with a soft smile trying to cheer him up, Tae looked at her lifting one of his cat ears in interest.

"Mmm? I thought you where going to this concert with your boyfriend"

Isabella chuckle softly and shrug. "Yeah that was the plan. But he didn't want to go once he heard who the band was and where it was. I can't blame him, he's not the one for those kind of things." Isabella pulled her backpack from her back and started rummaging through it. It was blue and was full of pins with nerdy puns and chemical symbols, just the sight of it gave Tae a headache as school wasn't exactly the favourite thing in his life. Finally Isabella handed him a ticket.

"Maybe we should go after all. I didn't thought about inviting you sooner since I thought you don't like this kind of music either"

Tae was one hundred percent more into foreign pop music and indeed heavy rock wasn't much of his style so he was a bit doubtful at first. He grab the ticket and inspect it more carefully. Late at night, some shady basement, several bands from town but different schools...

"Maddo Pinku?! Oh for the love of spaghetti with meatballs dude!" Tae's tail started to wave in excitement as he lifted his eyes to look at the other side of the cafeteria where a small group of eccentric people had gather lively talking about something Tae wasn't able to hear from so far away. The girl was obviously the center of attention. The table shined with the glitter of popularity and social status. The girl had way too much eyeliner listening to the bassist yelling the loudest he was all over the place, the drummer which had a face mask resting under his chin to be able to eat, was having a more chill conversation with the guy on the synth trying his damn hardest to not listen to his bandmate's rambling and yelling. Dispite them all going dressed in black they managed to stand out.

That was Maddo Pinku, or at least the girl dressed like a Gothic lolita, the rest of guys where her band mates.

"Yep, That's Taylor alright." Isabella replied with a sweatdrop. Maddo Pinku is just her stage name, but she insisted on being called that to everyone even teachers as she hated deeply the name Taylor. "I didn't imagine you like their music"

"I do!" Tae said turning to her but then shaked his head relaxing a bit "Well not exactly, I like the style of kawaii metal, obviously" Tae made a sign to Isabella to look at him, light blue with pink coloured hair, glasses, a lilac hoodie with a Hello Kitty pattern and some black jeans and finger less gloves. Of course also his cat ears and tail but that was just a biological advantage for his aesthetic. Isabella rolled her eyes with a smile "but heavy music does hit me hard so..." Tae looked back at the ticked and ended up shrugging sliding it into his pocket "What the hell let's go. If we are lucky they end up being terrible and at least we get a good laugh out of the whole deal"

Isabella gasped pretending to be shocked putting her hand on her chest as she laughed, happy that she had someone to go with "Tanner, you evil maniac" Isabella wasn't exactly fan of Maddo Pinku but of music in general. It had a lot more power than people realize.

She stuck her tongue out at Tae, who's full name is indeed Tanner, in a teasing manner.

Tae could relate to Taylor, as he also disliked his name but he didn't had a cool stage nickname like Maddo Pinku for people to call him by instead. But hey Tae was pretty dope too.

Their table was completely empty, Isabella and Tae where nerds, different kind of nerds but nerds nonetheless and their friend circle was... Limited. Apart from Isabella's boyfriend no one else talked to them much unless they had to and they both where perfectly okay with that. It's not that there weren't other gamers in school, geeks or even weeabos, but Isabella and Tae where shy people, and just with one friend was enough, so they never forced themselves to get more. They where sort of invisible most of the time and they found comfort in that.

Isabella had her boyfriend but Tae... Only had Isabella. When he found himself unable to sleep late at night, when Isabella wasn't in class, when he was picked last on the science fair he realised.

He was lonely.

It was completely different, more cold, than being alone. Lonely meant he had no one around to share his happy moments with, and it was starting to weight on him. He didn't want to overwhelm Isabella but he also didn't undestood too well the art of making friends. He wasn't streight up weird however, or 'that' kid, so he still had some hope about making a new friend dispite his struggle to understand people's intentions. He wants to step out of his comfort zone and live the best life he can.

Even Isabella was just a happy accident he didn't plan. After Tae was failing chemistry he was tutored by Isabella and they ended up making a lasting friendship after Tae drag her with him into the vast void of procrastination.

"How did you got this tickets anyways?" Tae asked suddenly which disoriented Isabella for a moment, but she then smiled proudly.

"I won them in a podcast giveaway! I love listening to podcasts" Isabella mimicked being a DJ making a funny face that made Tae laugh.

"Really? I'm kind of surprised"

"Yeah! I like to hear them while im working, the voices make me feel more comfortable"

Tae smiled softly nodding in understanding, he took a deep breath in a bit of relief. The fact that Isabella had a similar problem made him feel a little bit better. There was always the possibility she couldn't relate and ended up judging him a bit for it but Tae knew Isabella isn't that kind of person.

Tae looked up at the band group eating together again, he found himself actually looking forward to it. Not because the band but because he would have a lot of fun with Isabella.

Adventure. Friendship. Music. It was perfect.

More perfect that he could even imagine.

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ztufs · 6 years

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10 Animations (and games) that made my life a little better

So for my first post I’d like to just share my appreciation for 10 animations I really felt a connection to, whether they were emotional, out of fascination or just pure amazement. I have no “rules” for what kind of animations they’re gonna be, aside from them being animated (Shocker I know).

So yeah, I hope yall enjoy this list, and leave a comment about some of the animations that left you with a smile on your face!

#1- Wall-e

I’m gonna start of this list with my favourite animated movie (or just movie in general): Wall-e. It’s no secret that Pixar makes great animations, and I know I’m not the only one who loves this movie. What really captures my attention is the feeling of soltitude and ambience shown throughout the first act of the movie, until Eve arrives. What I find great about this part is how much “show don’t tell” is used, to describe to us, the viewers, about the post-apocalyptic world.

Being that the main character almost never speaks, repeating alot of words or lines when he actually does, makes it super duper cool how the animators used visual storytelling to show us how the world has gone to shit, as well as Wall-e’s expressions and sounds to pinpoint exactly how he feels.

If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly reccomend it!

#2- Ori and the Blind Forest

For my second pick I chose one of my favourite games, name is in the title.For me, this game has everything: Awesome music, tight gameplay, a flubtastic story, and smooth animation. Playing this game really felt like going on a journey through a MAGICAL world, where anything could happen! Even though this game was the source of alot, and I mean ALOT, of ragequits, it still brought me back every time. The art in this game is fenomenal, and combined with the animation I really feel it when Ori, the game’s main character, flies through the world, up and down walls and through changing environments.

Also Managing those difficult jumps feels really satisfying!

#3- Death Parade

There are alot of animes out there (yes I’m a weeabo), but there’s a few that I’ve really enjoyed, Death parade is one of them. It’s opening might trick you to think you’re gonna watch a friendly, happy-go-lucky show about different people living in purgatory, but you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s dark themes and how it tackles different topics about human pshychology with a touch of humor and warmth really got to me. I felt a connection with the main character in a way I haven’t with any other characters in anime, and the realization about the main characters fate (no spoilers), really worked for me.

#4- Night in the Woods

I really love this game. I don’t know if it’s the overall great stylized aesthetics, the great, great music, the amount of clever, funny voicelines given to the characters, the characters themselves, showing multitudes of different personalities and charisma, the general story of the game, the oh-so-smooth animation or the underlying themes of friendship, anxiety and an existential crisis that grips me. I might have a clue though.

This game really delves into the greater questions about life in a really humorous and philosophical way, and i loved every step of the journey. It has really worked as an inspiration for me when it comes to creativity and life itself.

#5- Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse (trailer)

I’m just gonna throw this out here first to clearify: As of the date I wrote this list, the full movie wasn’t out, so I had just the trailer to go by.

Ok, I’m not gonna lie. The moment I saw the trailer for the spider-verse movie my mind. Was. Blown. The animation in this video is perfect. It’s the amazing mix between cycadelic cartoon meeting animation. The colors are vibrant, the animation is smooth as butter, and the textures really capture the comic-feel of everything. Along with me being a Spider-man fanboy I really love the whole concept of the spider-verse, and I can’t wait for this movie to come out

I hope Spider-pig is in it.

#6- Animator vs. Animation (the whole series)

If you watch alot of animations on youtube, you’re bound to come by one of these videos. Made by Alan Becker, Animator vs Animation is a series about an animator (You don’t say), who has to fight his own animated stickman. The genious about these videos is how it’s animated. The animator uses different tools in the animation program, as well as the computer and even phone, to really make it seem that he’s fighting with a virtual stickman. Getting better and better for each video, you can really see how different principles of animation are applied, to make for a really cool untraditional “stick-man fight”.

The series is pretty funny and shows you how creative and meta you can get with animation. Just don’t come to me if your pc is attacked by a small stickman.

#7- Angry Birds - Piggy Tales (The first two seasons)

NOW BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS BLOG IN DISAPPOINTMENT AND ANGER, let me just say that there’s a special reason as to why I chose this, out of all things.

There was a period in my life where I was going through some rough things, and I spent a lot of time cooped up in the hospital. As I didn’t have a lot to do, phone games became my rescue, one of them being angry birds. I remember getting 3 stars on every stage (get on my level noobs), and having fun watching the different animations the creators of angrybirds made.

That being said, Piggy Tales is actually a funny short show, made on computer to resemble clay and stop-motion animation, making use of physical humor and slapstick. The animation is pretty smooth and funny, where different kinds of settings are explored each time.

Be aware though, as the third season shifts from clay-like animation to more refined animation. This might be off putting for those who found the clay-style appealing.

Piggy Tales are short but many, so if you wanna kill some time, this might be a good time-assassin.

#8- When Marnie was there

I had to include a Ghibli film here, I mean come on! Which one was the question though, but I was kinda allready set on one in particular. “When Marnie was there” is my favourite Ghibli film. I feel like it really connected with the movie in a weird beautiful way. The themes I saw and experienced throughout the movie, might not have been the same as the ones the writers and producers saw. opr me though, I felt like the movie really showed what it can feel like to be alone. Along with beautiful music and composition of scenery, the movie really grabbed me from the get-go and didn’t release me until the credits started rolling. What I was left with was a feeling of solitude, but at the same time I felt grateful for having friends and family, and for being part of this journey we call life.

Conclusion: Anime makes you feel feelings.

#9- Sly Cooper (trailer)

As with the Spider-verse, this is only a trailer, since the movie has been either cancelled or suspended for a long time.

The Sly Cooper games were the first games I ever played on a home console, so they have a big place in my nerd-soul. So when a movie was announced, I was well on my way to the cinnemas, even before the trailer was released. When I saw the trailer though, I was overwhelmed with just pure good-feels. The character-designs had changed to give them a more natural look, but it worked really well in my opinion.

As for the dialogue, the voiceactors were the same as the ones I grew up with, aside from the main character, Sly, but I let that slide since the new voice actor, Ian James Corlett pulled off Sly’s charcter pretty good! The animation of him jumping, sliding and running through the city also matched the way it felt playing the game, and doing those exact same actions.

If the movie ever comes out, I’ll be the first in line by any sacrifice necessary.

#10- Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin

To finish of this list I thought I’d share a piece of nostalgia! Though It’s been a long time since I last saw it, this movie was a big part of my childhood! Now don’t make fun of me for choosing a kids movie for this list, I still think this movie has a great story and music, along with the animation and background-paintings. Besides, making fun of me makes me sad, and I’m a big boy so I’m not supposed to cry.

This movie really excels at showing how vivid our imagination can be. Every scary location in the movie is shown at the end to be a reimagined version of reality, emphasizing just how much a kids imagination changes the world around them.

So yeah! Thanks for reading through my list of 10 animated things that really made for the raisin in the sausage (It’s a norwegian saying so don’t feel confused).

I don’t know what this list says about me as a person, but it is what it is. I also hope you found some of the stuff on this list intriguing, and that you might wanna check it out.

Welp, that’s it for me!

Ztufs out!

#ztufs #animation #top 10 #top10 #top ten #topten #animator #disney #anime #cartoon #marvel #games #videogames

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agentharrisonofshield-a · 6 years

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what are some of vivian's favorite works of fiction? what are the books, movies, shows that she loves?

send me questions you have about my character!@whiskeystained

Full disclosure, this is one of the areas where I openly just use my own interests (though sometimes scaled differently) because when I made Vivian the last thing I felt like doing was researching genres, books, movies, and shows that I wasn’t familiar with, especially when like 70% of her infodumping is about media she consumes. So if any of this shit sounds suspiciously like “things Zen likes” there is no secret as to why.

(whoops this got long)

Vivian is a huge spec-fic reader whose tastes run about 90% to fantasy. While her current favorite book and author are American Gods and Neil Gaiman, a large portion, if not a majority, of her bookshelves house female authors. There’s a lot of books and authors categorized as YA in there, mainly because YA is miles ahead of the adult spec-fic genre in recognizing talented female authors and publishing books featuring leads other than straight, white, cis, males. Some of her favorite authors include Robin Hobb, Marie Brennan, N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, Nalo Hopkinson, Malinda Lo, Liani Taylor, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Tamora Pierce.

She also still maintains her full childhood collection of Bruce Coville books. Literally every book he published she still has on her shelves. He was her introduction to the possibilities of sci-fi as social commentary and to the joy of the short story, and she keeps all his books to revisit the joys of re-discovering those things anew.

Her favorite movie, oddly enough for someone who tries to avoid all emotional attachments, is The Princess Bride. She’s basically memorized all the Star Wars movies, including the prequels. (She’s working on committing the sequels and Rogue One to memory.) The only Star Trek movies she’ll watch are II, III, IV, and Generations, and she really doesn’t really like II and only watches it for the setup to III. (She’s undecided on her opinion of the new movies. They’re pretty and she likes them but they’re not hers.) She cries that there were only two Addams Family movies (she also cries that the Addams Family is fictional and cannot adopt her). She is, unsurprisingly, a huge Tim Burton fan, and has been ever since her father showed her Beetlejuice against her mother’s wishes and gave her nightmares for two weeks (don’t ask me how Vivian’s brain worked as a child it was just as strange as it is now). Again, huge Neil Gaiman fan, and can watch MirrorMask, Stardust, and Coraline over and over again for weeks on end. She has all her childhood Disney favorites, as well as some new ones that came out during and after her ‘I’m too grown up for Disney movies’ phase. In movies, she enjoys sci-fi almost more than fantasy, provided it’s done well, and while she understands that there’s plenty to critique she loves Blade Runner and the Matrix movies. Vivian’s love of sci-fi movies is entirely about movies that explore what it means to be human, what it means to be a person, she’s she’s spent so long convinced she was neither of those.

Note that fits between movies and shows: Vivian was a huge weeabo as a teen and still maintains a love for any number of the anime she watched as a teenager as well as the occasional new title that she’s gotten into as an adult. This is only mentioned at this point because the live-action Ghost in the Shell can go die in a dumpster fire, while the original anime movie was a gem to be treasured.

As for shows, Vivian doesn’t actually have cable. She can usually only handle watching the news in small chunks before her blood pressure and her urge to break things starts rising, and she’s never been a big TV show person, so she opts for a combination of online streaming, Netflix, and pirating + a nifty little device that lets her watch things off an external HD. Plus this question gets super complicated when you consider how many shows I consider to be crossover-worthy with the MCU (*cough*B99 RPers where are you*cough*) and therefore not existing in her universe.

...She definitely has the complete run of Good Eats downloaded to watch when she wants to. She tries to support shows like The Get Down and One Day At A Time on Netflix. She definitely has older anime like Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion downloaded for her to watch. She keeps up with John Oliver on Youtube or via download.

#answered meme #about Vivian #this is weird because it starts as 'things Vivian shares with Zen' and then it turns into 'details that have nothing to do with Zen'#whiskeystained

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mercurialsmile · 7 years

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Hmm so tell me anything you want about Wilhelm & Dustin - anything that isn't spoilery of course! ;3c Since Counting Stars is unavailable to read right now, I'd love to know more about them, dear! ^^

HM WELL I’ll make a list

Counting Stars used to be a B//ill////D//ip AU whoops but it became so different and I felt like it was so OOC that I might as well make it into an original story

The entire story is gonna be one novel long :)

Idk if I’ll publish it yet who knows

The entire story is mainly about not judging other people and to treat people with kindness always since you never know what’s going on in their life

Wilhelm is a Literal Ray of Sunshine, a complete puppy, and in general a sweet and precious human bean

Dustin is a prickly asshole who has a lot of issues and has issues expressing himself, but he has a Heart of Gold tbh

All the characters in the story are based off of modern stereotypes- The social activist, the neckbeard, hipsters, the weeabo, and etc. Wilhelm is based off hipsters while Dustin is based of of neckbeards lol

Counting Stars is my only YA story. Everything else I guess would be classified as either Adult or New Adult

Wilhelm is pan af and Dustin is bi! And yes both terms are gonna be actually used in my book point-blank

Wilhelm is a massive conspiracy theorist tbh and loves photography, fashion, and makeup

Dustin really likes coding, video games, and anime

Wilhelm is basically a highlighter he dresses in pure neon while Dustin wears basically the same clothes every day because He Doesn’t Give a Shit

Wilhelm has anger issues

Dustin has both depression and anxiety, though CS isn’t focused on those two things. He just happens to have both.

Dustin’s best friend is a girl named Vee who is uber rich and also gay af. She’s kinda a snob and super rebellious

Wilhelm’s best friend is named Alan. He’s Hispanic, incredibly smart and studious, and enjoys Wilhelm’s antics

Dustin has a sister named Krystle and they both live with their uncle Johnathan

Wilhelm lives with both his parents who are super loving and wonderful

Dustin is 19 and Wilhelm is 18 in CS.

Aaaand that’s all I got so far I don’t wanna say too much but ye ;3c they both have their own tags you can browse through to get a better idea for their personalities.

#Dustin #Wilhelm #Counting Stars #Counting Stars Novel #authorrjcity #lbanswers

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pozobetaz · 7 years

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11 Questions Tag

Tagged by: @lookingglasswolf

1. Would you rather meet a time traveling wizard or a friendly dinosaur that’s capable of speaking English?

A time travelling wizard, because what the fuck would a dinosaur talk about? Id probs learn a lot more from the wizard cuz time travelling is awesome.

2. Do you prefer waffles, pancakes, or neither?

Both is fine, waffles are better than pancakes but Id take either.

3. What’s your favorite article of clothing to wear?

Does it have to be clothing tho? Because Id pick my schechers sandals for sure.

4. What’s a moment in your life that you wish you could have approached a bit differently?

There were a few times that I wore my heart on my sleeve and got hurt. Or that I held onto someone that I shouldnt have for way too long. I wish I could be able to see someones true intentions before trusting them or getting too close. I tend to assume that the way I feel about someone, that they equally feel the same about me, and that is not the case.

5. If you could master any musical instrument, which one would it be?

Piano!!!!!!!!!

6. What word do you tend to use the most in conversations?

like, uhhh

7. What is one of the best days that you’ve ever had?

I would have to say that entire 5-day span of my trip to Izumi in November 2011. I know that might sound lame? I really don’t get out that much. And the bonded weeabo love we all had while we were there. I got to meet an amazing bunch of people and do some completely crazy shit with them. It was a rollercoaster of feels, an overall amazing experience that I will never (and hope to never) forget for the rest of my life. (11/11/11 never forget)

8. How would you feel if someone tried to hand you a spider?

Im going to assume its a pet spider and that it would be harmless, Id be freaked out for a minute but its not like Im going to squash someones pet spider that would just be rude.

9. If you have a favorite video game to play, which one is it?

League of Legends, and I only say that because I play it so damn much. You should have asked to name 3 of my favorite games for 3 of my favorite consoles! If so my answer would have been

1. Mario Bros 3 - NES

2. E.V.O. - SNES

3. Knights in the Nightmare - Nintendo DS

10. Name one of the coolest pairs of pants that you’ve ever owned?

BROOOOOOOOOOO when I was like 15 I found a hidden tub of clothing that my parents had from the 70s- early 80s that had been stored. My dad had these amazing flare jeans and I altered them so they would fit me and I fcking wore them until they couldnt be worn in public anymore hah. Im super sad they dont really make TRUE ‘flare’ jeans anymore..

11. If you could do anything at all right now that you really wanted, what would it be?

I would go to a beach somewhere. Put my feet in the water. Walk on a pier, eat ice cream. Watch birds fly by. Sit on a towel under an umbrella drinking an ice cold wine cooler. Ohhhhhh how I miss the beach :(

#im sorry carlie #i dont have the energy to tag anyone lol #tagged post

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monterey-jack · 7 years

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1. Always post the rules.

2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you.

3. Write 11 questions on your own.

4. Tag 11 people. (...but I don’t have 11 friends.)

Apparently I was tagged twice XD by @jokerteeth and @cuddyclothes

Jokerae’s questions

Hats or Scarves? - Either. Actually, both articles of clothing is not really a part of the fashion culture here since it’s too hot.

Do you like giving presents or receiving them? - Receiving!! I’d rather give the gift of friendship LOL

Favorite potted plant? - Cactus. They’re low-maintenance cuties.

Do you have any favorite inside jokes with your friends? - Usually it’s Broadway related lol.

Do you remember your first childhood friend? - The first person that I remember being friends with was Bea during Prep. We were seatmates in the first day of school and I just said “Are we best friends now?” She said yes. We’re not best friends nor friends anymore. But we’re in good terms, no drama happened.

Favorite cartoon character? - Finn the Human and Jake the Dog. I need to watch Adventure Time again.

Ever been in love? - Not really sure. I had a crush on a boy when I was in Chemistry Camp years ago. I didn’t do shit. I don’t know how he’s doing now.

How tired are you on any given day? - There were days where I just want to work in the day shift. I’d rather be tired and miserable but still see the morning sun when I wake up.

Horror or Comedy? - Both. But I hate shitty jump scare horror. Give me horror that deals with human psychology.

What do you collect? - It depends on my interests. When I was a weeabo, I collected manga and magazine clippings with pictures of my favorite band. Now I collect....memories of Broadway shows that I watched lol

Favorite music genre? - I’m very choosy with my music, so I don’t really have any favorite genre. But I like listening to acoustic, jazz, and of course modern musicals.

Cuddy’s questions

1. How tall are you - 5′4″

2. What weight would you admit to - 170 lbs

3. What’s your least favorite color - Orange. It hurts my eyes.

4. What would you rather die than be seen wearing - Nothing comes up lol as long as I’m covered up I’m good.

5. Who is your guilty pleasure sex god or goddess - ... Paul Dano

6. Have you studied the Bible, the Koran or the Torah? - I’m Catholic, so I had my elementary and high school years studying the Bible.

7. What body part do you like the most - my hair

8. Ice cream or cake - Ice cream cake!!!!!!

9. Favorite kind of paper - ??? the good kind??

10. Animal you most want to be - Squirrel

11. Least favorite family member, extended or otherwise - I don’t know my extended family on my mother’s side, so it’s probably them? XD

My questions

Sing or dance?

Favorite season?

You have one free roundtrip ticket to anywhere in the world. Where do you go?

Favorite planet?

Childhood pet?

Thoughts on religion?

Hot or cold food?

Carnivore or vegetarian for life?

Does money buy happiness?

Do you like anything now that you never thought you’d like?

Any memorable childhood moment?

Idc if you got tagged already, this is a getting to know you moment and I’ll tag you again whether you like it or not

@jokerteeth @cuddyclothes @faggghaggg @yippie-kayak-other-buckets @pranconyperkins @lemonsaretheshit @forks-for-antlers and of course @akuze

#meme #gianna posts #tag thinggy

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legendaryquill · 7 years

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My long emotional review of GOTG Vol.2

ok here we go

it’s VERY long

and spoilers af

I saw it opening night,and I ended up watching it alone because both people bailed on me last minuet. I made sure no one sat beside me so when I cried I wouldn’t be bothered or embarrassed. [I’d accidentally read a spoiler about Yondu a few days before and it hurt I knew tears would happen.]

The movie began and I COULD NOT STOP SMILING. I was so happy, my face literally hurt. Which was odd, what the hell was I smiling for? IDK I was just so happy. I couldn’t NOT smile. We got to see Meredith before she was sick and dying nd OOOH BOY I WAS SO HAPPY. I love meredith so much, y’all dont even know. she’s my river lilly. We got to see Peter’s mom and dad interact and be in love. Despite what Ego said, I feel like he really did have feelings for Meredith. There was strong emotions when he talked about her later in the film. James Gunn totally forced that accent in her though, like ooh no baby what is you doin??? I live in the south and have been here all my life and I’ve literally never heard anyone with an accent that strong. I have 2 friends from Missouri and have literally never heard them or their friends or relatives talk like that.

GROOT DANCING TO MR. BLUE SKY WHILE THE GUARDIANS FOUGHT IN THE BACKGROUND. It was so good, so pure, Baby Groot is Good and we must protect him. Peter being a Dad, hhhhmmmmMMM YES. MOM GAMORA SAYING HI TO HER LITTLE TREE SON HMMMM YES. unofficial mom and dad lbr

Peter was kind of flirting with Aesha, and then he look a look at gamora and was like ooh shit sorry babe ad then HE APOLOGIZED TO HER AND they were just, a married couple tbh

And then the ravagers, who appear to never have seen snow before, are having a good time on some Robot Hooker planet with anime weeabo music blaring in the background and it’s all around a good time until Yondu confront’s Stakar and it’s just tension,,,,,,

also When The Guardians were about to be obliterated and they were suddenly saved by the tiny man, I was hoping it was Yondad to the rescue, but it turned out to be Ego. Which was alright. They were sitting around the fire and Ego was like “I gotta take a wiz” and I was like hhhhm yup he’s your dad peter theres no doubt there.. And then Gamora was like lets take a walk and i was like hhHHHMM YES TAKE A WALK KIDS and kiss. And I was all happy and smiling and then Gamora starts telling the David Hasselhoff story and my heart just broke because FUCK, i’ve done that before.

Gamora Telling Groot That It Will Be Okay And She And Dad Peter Will Only Be Gone For A Few Days

When they went to Ego’s planet, everything was so bright and pretty and colorful, my artistic side was already picking color pallets.

And then peter learned about his background and i was fUCKed Up. It was so good.

Meanwhile Rocket is back with the Milano and he’s just Having A Good Time kicking those ravager’s asses while country music plays in the background. Now, I dont even like country, But i was getting Turnt The Fuck Up in my seat. And then poor Groot is crying while nebula pressures him in to setting her free and tHIS BITCH shoot’s yondu’s fin right off his fuckin head WHAT THE FUCK

Groot’s panty raid and Kraglin sadly apologizing for fucking everything up was good too

Back on Ego’s planet, Peter is learning that he is one with light, all I cared about was the Meredith sculpture of her holding the fruit basket or whatever it was because honestly same. I want a giant Meredith statue in my sculpture garden.

AND THE EGO AND PETER STARTED PLAYING CATCH

honestly my favorite Part of the movie. My weak sensitive ass started tearing up when they were passing the ball and then Ego took a few steps away from Peter to create good throwing distance and Peter realized that they were gonna legitimately play catch and he smiled and I started bawling my fucking eyes out and i pretty much cried through the rest of the film. THE ENTIRE THEATER WENT “AWWW”

Mantis learns that she is A Pet and Ugly [she’s so cute, kill me]

And later, when Gamora and Peter are having their Married Couple Argument, and she storms off, Peter is just laying on the sofa in his room all up in his feelings and Ego waltzes in and gives him relationship advice and snooping in Peter’s business

He begins teaching Peter about expansion and he boops peter’s head and Peter literally gets starry-eyed and IT’S FRICKIN ADORABLE. Peter with galaxies in is eyes. He’s in awe and smiley and just so fuckin cute it makes my heart flutter. And then he starts dwelling on living forever and how he’s gonna miss his friends and he’s just Sad From All Angles. It hurt me. And the way he says “my mother” with a half-mumble and cute little voice slays me.

And then Ego was like “That’s why it hurt me to put that tumor in her brain.”

THE ENTIRE THEATER LITERALLY WENT “OH” AS IN OH SHIT. LIKE, SHIT JUST GOT REAL.

I shed some more tears when Ego crushed the walkman.

And of course Yondu and Kraglin come to his rescue. Also Yondu and Rocket is a great friendship pleeeease leave me alone to to die. It’s all just so good and the battle’s going great, and it’s all action, and giant Pac Mans, and Mary Poppins, Y’all!!!!

And at the end Peter is just ready to accept his fate and Die. and then Yondad swoops in and saves him and they start flying outta there and Yondu puts the space suit on Peter.

“He was your father but he wasn’t Your daddy”, “my boy”, and Peter clinging to Youndu and crying [cue my ugly ass sobbing in my seat with my sleeve in my mouth to keep quiet.]

And the funeral...Oh My God. Peter admitting that he had a pretty cool dad while a tear streamed down his face [My Total Cry Count: probably like 5 at this point.] Then they sent Yondu off and it was just COLORFUL and eye pleasing fffuck

And then the ravagers appear and They have a ravager funeral and It’s so bright and colorful and lovely, Kraglin cheers, Everyone pays their respects, I cry again.

Groot goes from Peter, to Mommy Gamora, to Drax, and he is a small sleepy baby and rests his head down on Drax to sleep. Drax realizes Mantis Is beautiful, Gamora and Peter finally get together [they didnt kiss, dammit], I cry harder. They stand back and watch the light show, and it’s a beautiful ending.

I cried and waited for like a-whole-nother hour to compose myself before calling my mom to come pick me up

[True stories: I’ve told people on two different occasions that my dad is an actor or a drummer in a band. Because I had no real reason for explaining why he was never around. I said I never really grew up with a dad and they asked why not or if I knew where he was and I didnt want to tell them that I knew exactly where he was.]

#ooc #long post #spoilers

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scarletwelly-boots · 6 years

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Books Read 2017

I read 35 books this year. I'm about halfway done with #36, so I might make a smaller post later if I finish it before the New Year. I will also make a follow-up with the top ten so you don't need to read this whole thing. This post will briefly review each book (and damn I slacked this year; last year I got through 39 books).

As last year, each entry will include the title, author, and the entry of this year's reading challenge that it fell under.

1. All the King’s Men, by Nora Sakavic (A book that’s been on your TBR list for way too long). This is book three of the All for the Game trilogy, and holy shit you have to read this. It’s the best book in the trilogy. It is a series about a college sports team who play a made up sport called Exy, which is basically a more violent version of lacrosse. I’m not a huge sports fan, but the way she writes Exy matches had me on the edge of my seat. The team is made up of all “at-risk” students, the main character being a kid on the run from his mob boss dad. Trigger warning for the series for violence, sexual assault/rape, abuse, drug use, I may be missing some things. It was so good though.

2. Chopsticks, by Jessica Anthony (A book of letters). This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I kind of cheated on including this for this part of the challenge. It’s not entirely epistolary. It’s more mixed media. The story is told through pictures, letters, newspaper articles, notes, etc. It was good. It’s about a girl who’s basically this piano prodigy who meets a boy and falls in love.

3. East, by Edith Patton (an audio book). This year was going to be the year I reread books I haven’t read since junior high, but I kind of fell through on that, so I think this might be the only one I actually read. It’s a retelling of the Scandinavian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, which in turn is basically a version of Beauty and the Beast. I was obsessed with Beauty and the Beast retellings (and fairy tale retellings in general) when I was fourteen. The book certainly holds up over time. I definitely recommend it.

4. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz (a book by a person of color). Guys, everything you have heard about this book is true. It is so cute, and beautifully written. Two very different boys meet at a swimming pool when they are fifteen, and almost immediately become inseparable best friends. Also, if you can, the audiobook is surprisingly cheap on Amazon and read by el amor de mi vida, Lin-Manuel Miranda, so the book has that going for it too. 11/10 would recommend.

5. The Summer Palace, by CS Pacat (a book with one of the four seasons in the title). This is a short story in the Captive Prince series, and while it is absolutely adorable and so sunny, you need to read the trilogy to understand and appreciate it. It’s so sweet, with Laurent and Damen finally allowed to get to know each other and explore their personalities without the immediate threat of death hanging over them. Definitely recommended, but only after you read the trilogy, which I also obviously recommend.

6. The Course of Irish History, by TW Moody &co (a book with multiple authors). This is like 800-page textbook-grade Irish history, from the Ancient Celts to the Celtic Tiger economy in the 2000s. It is the leading book for Irish History courses, as I understand it. Guys. I loved this book. It took me forever to read, but I love Irish history books. It’s almost the only nonfiction I can sit through. Will you like it? Probably not. Do I recommend it anyway? Absolutely.

7. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (a book with a cat on the cover). Might’ve cheated on this entry too. Okay, listen. I have zero interest in reading the other books in the series and I’m sorry, but the musical was ten times better. However, there are several things about this book that I love. (And I read this in January so how accurate my memories are is questionable.) Elphaba is absolutely bi/pan in this and you cannot convince me otherwise. There are two munchkins who aren’t in the musical but who are absolutely gay as the Fourth of July. I’m pretty sure I remember someone who could be read as trans. This book was very queer. I just have no attachment to the characters that I know will be in the other books. If you want to read it, I’d recommend it. If you have the opportunity to see the musical instead, go with that option even if it’s the more expensive choice.

8. Fence, vol. 1, by CS Pacat (a book by an author who uses a pseudonym): CS Pacat is back, this time with a modern sports comic about fencing. This is a literal comic book guys, so it was really short, but vol. 2 is out soon so it’s okay. I liked it. I like fencing and CS Pacat, so I enjoyed it. Too short, but I know that’s how comics work. Yeah, go read it and support comics.

9. The Raven King, by Nora Sakavic (a bestseller from a genre you don’t normally read). “This was a bestseller?” Yeah, okay, so I cheated a lot this year. It should have been a best seller. This is book two in the All for the Game series. I already explained this series above, but guys read it, it’s so good!

10. Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green (a book by or about someone who has a disability). Yay, John Green wrote another book! Yep, it’s a Green book all right. But it was really, really good. Yes, this is coming from someone whose favorite book is still The Fault in Our Stars, but listen. The main character has anxiety like crazy, and Green, having anxiety himself, writes it so well. Almost too well; the character’s anxiety was starting to give me anxiety. I loved it. Read this book.

11. A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson (A book involving travel), this is a classic. Bryson goes to hike the Appalachian Trail, which is very very long. He takes along his somewhat stupid friend from home. Another nonfiction book, but it was good and had no Ireland at all in it. It was really funny, too. I recommend the audiobook, because it’s really fast to get through, but good.

12. The Immortal Irishman, by Timothy Egan (a book with a subtitle). I know, but it’s got a subtitle actually but I just can’t remember what it is. Guys, I know it’s Irish history again. This book is whole leagues above The Course of Irish History. It’s not a textbook, and doesn’t read like one. It’s a biography on Thomas Francis Meagher, a revolutionary in Famine-decimated Ireland trying to free his dying and oppressed country from the English. It doesn’t go well. He’s imprisoned and sentenced to death. But instead of dying, he is transported to the Penal Colony in Australia, where he lives and works to free Australia from Britain’s clutches as well, before he escapes to the United States just in time to be a general in the Civil War. It’s really good.

13. Weird Ireland, assorted authors (a book that’s published in 2017). A very small, independently published book about paranormal, supernatural, and extra-terrestrial sightings in Ireland. It was okay. I finished it in two hours. I knew everything that was in it, and some of it they even got wrong. Even if you’re crazy-obsessed with Ireland like me, you can skip this one.

14. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the movie script, by JK Rowling (a book involving a mythical creature). Did you see the movie? Then you’re good, you don’t need to read the script. Bye.

15. Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones (a book you’ve read before than never fails to make you smile). Did I say TFiOS is my favorite book? Sorry, I meant this one. Did you see the movie? Don’t care, book’s better, go read it. This may be my most frequently read book on my shelf. It’s sooo good!

16. Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt (a book with career advice): I hate to say this about a fellow Irishman and a celebrated author, but Frank McCourt? not a great guy. The book was good, because I’m also a teacher, so some of what he was saying was relatable to me. But the guy teaches high school English, and even though the book follows him from his thirties to like his sixties, he’s kind of salivating over the high school girls and it was making me very uncomfortable. He never actually does anything about his attraction (at least not in the book), but I was still like this is wildly unprofessional please stop.

17. Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 1, by Jason Ewing (a book from a nonhuman perspective): This was the second-ever graphic novel I’ve ever read guys. Yes, I had a weeabo phase in junior high like everyone else, so I did read manga, but comics were never really that interesting to me. So I was Thor: Ragnarok six times this year. Why did I see it six times? I love Loki and their genderfluidity, even if the MCU won’t acknowledge that my love so obviously gf. So I decided to read all the comics where it’s canon that Loki is genderfluid. This book was so good, please read.

18. Graceling, by Kristen Cashore (a steampunk novel). Cheating again, sorry. This was more fantasy than steampunk. It was also a junior high favorite I’m reading again. In this world, there are people born with two eye colors that signify they have special abilities. Some are benign, like being an amazing baker or the ability to tell someone is lying to you, but some are more sinister. The main character, Katsa’s grace is for killing. It’s a good book.

19. The Irish Civil War, by Tim Pat Coogan (a book with a red spine). A very short book highlighting the Irish Civil War 1922-1923. I liked it, because the civil war is basically the only section of Irish history I was still a little foggy on, so it was helpful. Will you like it? Only if you’re into Irish history like me. This is not Immortal Irishman.

20. Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan (A book you loved as a child). We read this with my fifth graders last year. I loved this book when I was ten, but I got so much more out of it this second time around. It’s a really good book, even if you’re not a child. Esperanza starts out the daughter of a wealthy rancher, but when her father dies under shifty circumstances, she and her mother are forced to flee to America, where they live with their servants’ relatives in a migrant worker camp in California, facing hardship, discrimination, and immigration laws. It’s very good.

21. Cupid, by Julius Lester (a book with a title that’s a character’s name). This was okay. I thought I’d read it in junior high, but I had no memory of any of it. It’s a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which is very similar to East of the Sun and West of the Moon. The author tried to be tongue-in-cheek in a few places, which I didn’t appreciate, but overall it’s a pretty good YA novel.

22. Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 2, by Jason Ewing (a book with an unreliable narrator). Loki? Unreliable? Since when? Still good, still queer, Freyja pissing me off as always.

23. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (a book with pictures): Okay, I guess I lied, since this book was a graphic novel and I read it before Loki. It was really interesting. It’s autobiographical of Bechdel’s life and relationship with her dad.

24. The Pirate Queen, by Barbara Sjoholm (a book about an interesting woman). Not only was this about my favorite person ever, Grace O’Malley, stone in Britain’s imperial sandal, but also talked about the relationship between Atlantic-dwelling women and the sea. It covers goddesses, fisherwomen, pirates, adventurers, and sea-witches from Ireland, Scotland, the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland. It was really interesting and I recommend it.

25. Timekeeper, by Tara Sim (a book set in two different time periods). Cheated here, too, don’t know what I was thinking. Anyway, this is a steampunk novel in which clock towers actually control time, which means that if there’s a flaw, it affects time itself in more literal ways. It’s about a clock mechanic and a clock spirit who lives in one of the towers and watches over the clock. They are adorably gay, but that’s more of a subplot because someone has been sabotaging the towers and throwing time into chaos. The sequel comes out in January. Good for a debut novel.

26. Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt (a book with a month or day of the week in the title). This is about a ten-year-old boy growing up in rural Illinois during the Civil War, so it talks about how it affects him and his family, as well as covers the course of the war in a more general perspective. It was interesting, and well written, but I think I prefer Hunt’s Up a Road Slowly.

27. The Adventures of Charls, by CS Pacat (a book written by someone you admire): Another Captive Prince short story that should be read after The Summer Palace. Where Green But for a Season (the first CP short story) was sad, and Summer Palace was passionate and cute, The Adventures of Charls is hilarious. Charls, the cloth merchant, was such a great side character in the CP trilogy, and telling the story from his perspective was great. It doesn’t have to be read after the Summer Palace, but at least the trilogy should be read first.

28. Wonder, by RJ Palacio (a book that’s becoming a movie in 2017). Did you watch the movie? Whitewashed, go read the fucking book. I read this with my fifth graders last year too, who loved it. It’s a very sweet story, and the movie was good, but it goes too fast and leaves out some scenes that I liked. Highly, highly recommend.

29. The Foxhole Court, by Nora Sakavic (the first book in a series you haven’t read before). First book (obviously) in the All for the Game series. What are you still doing here? Go start this trilogy!

30. Symptoms of Being Human, by Jeff Garvin (a bestseller from 2016). I think I cheated again, but this book should have been a bestseller. Quality of the story gets a solid 7/10, but this is the only novel I know of that has a canon human genderfluid character, and representation is so important and for a cis dude, this guy wrote genderfluid shockingly well. Characterization and representation gets a 10/10 because I just ignored the “I’m a whiny teenager, no one likes me, my parents don’t get me, woe is me” chorus. Some of it was justified, because they were being bullied, and they weren’t out to their parents, but still, the book was written very young adult-y.

31. The Story We Carry in Our Bones, by Juliene Osbourne-McKnight (a book about an immigrant or refugee). The subtitle describes the book best: Irish history for Irish-Americans. Down side: very watered down Irish history because it’s a small book and just an introduction to Irish history. Up side: More information and context of the history of the Irish in America, because my personal studies have pretty much entirely skipped over that aspect of my heritage. If you’re Irish-American and looking to learn a little more about your ethnic past, but don’t want to dive headfirst into the deep end of Irish everything like me, you should read this book. If you’re willing to study more in-depth Irish history, skip this book and I have some better recommendations for you.

32. Loki: Agent of Asgard vol. 3, by Jason Ewing (a book from a genre you’ve never heard of): Cheated; I know what a comic book is. This is the last volume in this series. My only qualm is a spoiler, so I’ll give it 8/10.

33. Original Sin: Thor and Loki in the Tenth Realm, by Jason Ewing (a book with an eccentric character): Who is more eccentric than Loki “Always-Extra” Laufeyson? This is the first comic I’ve ever read, and I have to say it was very good. Featuring genderfluid!Loki all the way, actual Father-of-the-Year this time Odin, Freyja’s shockingly shitty parenting skills (maybe this is a theme in the comics, but coming from actual-angel!Frigga in the MCU, this was upsetting for me), and Thor abandoning the Avengers in a fight to start another battle in another realm because Thor is a fucking over-dramatic bastard.

34. Huntess, by Malinda Lo (a book that’s been mentioned in another book). I read Lo’s Ash a few years ago and loved it. Huntress, while okay, didn’t quite live up to the hype I’d applied to it after reading Ash. It was good, and had a very mythical Ireland feel to it that I liked, and it was very gay, but I don’t know, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

35. Ever, by Gail Carson Levine (a book based on mythology). I read this book when I was fourteen, too (guess I did read a lot of books from junior high). I love this book. It’s about a young god who meets a monotheistic mortal girl and they fall in love despite the differences in their religion. I didn’t love it as much as I did in junior high, but it’s still good. Levine also wrote Ella Enchanted, which is very good and more well-known than Ever.

#books #book recommendations #book recs

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