#today someone asked me (in my own native language) where i was from and i completely blanked on how to answer 🙃 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

namboobieslover · 11 months

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Kintsugi: the beauty of broken things || MYG

Summary: Yoongi and Minnie have been friends for quite some time now, almost... 15 years? 15 years since they ran into each other in that music classroom by an unlucky (or not) mistake. They've grown close, but both of them have strong characters and insecurities that will have to be put aside when Minnie falls into her own lie, risking her job in the process. They have 3 days to feel comfortable and make everyone believe their role as the young engaged couple or she is fucked :[

Pairing: musical producer! Yoongi x lab tech/science nerdy! f reader au; non-idol! BTS members make a brief appearance

Genre: fluff, angst, kinda slow burn (?), best friends to fake couple au, constant unresolved sexual tension, two idiots too proud to openly speak but pinning each other

Word count: so far, almost 25k but still unfinished

Warnings: use of bad language, mentions of insecurities/low self-esteem, anxiety, trauma; light use of weed, little smut if you scrutinize, SFW

Masterlist: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // ...

A/N: hi there! this one it's my first story to be uploaded, a way for me to de-stress from uni exams. I'm not a native English speaker, so please forgive any grammatical mistakes :/

As Yoongi said, you have to put your work out there to learn about it, so... feel free to give some feedback (as positive as you can, please). The story is halfway done, but as I have to proofread most of it and apply the holy Grammarly, uploading will have a normal pace

I'm not fully confident of my writing abilities or English use, but it is what it is, I guess

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CHAPTER 1: Surprises and planning

Word count: 7'1K

-Sup, loser.

-Hi

I roll my eyes while I flop into the sofa.

-I mean... I'm not asking for big parties but, you know, a little more enthusiasm when seeing your bestie wouldn’t hurt. Don’t you think?

The only answer I get is a loud exhale of air.

-Someone is susceptible today…

Min Yoongi.

We’ve been friends for maybe… 15 years? And what a ride.

We first met in high school, at the sweet age of 12/13. With all the hormonal stuff and changes going around… such a happy stage of life to remember, yikes.

We didn't have anything in common; he was an artistic soul while I considered, or I would like to consider myself, as a science girl. But little me saw too many talent shows with great singers and decided to give it a shot.

-Hi! It’s here where the choir practices?

-Yeah, here is where all the magic happens -I would’ve never expected such an ironic answer from such a cute-looking girl- Are you new or lost on your way to another place?

-New or that’s what I intend to be. I signed the paper in the hall and someone emailed me the instructions. Told me to come to Mrs Lars's classroom.

-Oh, then you are in the right place. She is in the storage room looking for the materials we’ll be needing today.

-Okay class -a sweet voice fills the room interrupting our conversation- please take a seat.

I signal the seat next to the girl asking nonverbally if it’s taken, and she answers that it's not occupied.

-So… today we have lots of new faces. Instead of having personal interviews with each of you, I thought that maybe it would be better and easier to have you join us for today’s lesson. That way you’ll see how we work, a light version of course. After I dismiss the class, as I told you in the email, please stay a little longer and perform a song of your liking. Any questions?

A boy asks if they have to stay at the auditions if they aren't new.

-If you want to, you can stay but if you prefer to leave, that's okay too. That reminds me: for the ones that aren’t new, welcome back; I'm happy to see you again. To y'all my pupils, I wish for a good and healthy year. Any other doubts?

Silence is the answer.

-Then, we’ll start.

The 60 minutes pass fast. The teacher is really fun and makes all the music technicalities more approachable to everyone in the room. We play some games to get to know each other's names while learning a little bit about music structure.

-Well done. That’s all for today. See you next day.

A lot of students start picking up their books and bags, and I bid goodbye to Nelly, the one with a loving face and a smart mouth. She is… interesting to say the least, but also nicer than expected.

And friendly enough to ask my dubitative ass to exchange numbers…

Now, the moment of truth: the audition. Not gonna lie, nobody here will be the next Céline Dion but they are okay. That makes me even more nervous, and it shows when my turn comes. Luckily (ironically) I'm the last one. My voice is shaky and even if I am doing terribly, they all keep a smile on their face, which I thank deeply.

Like everyone else, I don't receive any type of feedback from Mrs Lars. She just tells us the following.

-Thanks to any single one of you for showing interest in my subject. Everyone will be accepted in this class; the “audition” was just a formality to classify you in the range that fits you the best. Music is a language that unifies all humans, and even if most of them haven’t been gifted with an incredible voice or the ability to play an instrument, I won't deny the chance to learn it anyways. There’s always a role that fits you the best and I’m sure that while communication runs in both directions, we’ll have a good year. Today you saw how my class works; if you still want to join me and your classmates, the only thing needed is to send me an email by the end of the weekday to confirm it. I will reply with indications, information and advice to improve your natural talent and I want you to practise for a couple of weeks to get used to that routine and the work method. Then, you’ll be divided into groups with people who share your characteristics to work together with the things in common and have healthy feedback. Also, you can ask me when needed or use the music studios to train. I’m sure your parents will thank me -she laughs- Does that sound good?

-Yes Mrs Lars -we answer in unison.

-Ah, and also, if you don't think this is your thing and want to choose another activity, that’s okay. Not receiving the mail of confirmation I previously had talked about, will be understood as the desire to not continue. Feel free to do it if you want to; no hard feelings. This will take a lot of energy and free time, so… make sure that all the effort goes to something you like or you’ll end up despising me and music itself. Any questions or doubts?

As nobody speaks, she dismisses the class.

It took me a couple of days to decide whether I should join music or look for another option, but animated by my parents and the possibility of this helping me with my scenic fear, I choose to keep going with the idea.

Apparently, my vocal range is mezzo-soprano-contralto, which is why I have a difficult time in a higher register. Once I knew that, everything changed for me. Singing was easier and less damaging; just better. I wasn’t that good but for once I felt like my efforts were taking me somewhere.

I still needed a lot of practice, so I would usually spend some time during lunchtime (with the teacher’s permission) doing so in the rehearsal room. Unluckily, one day when I went to my usual spot, the class was already occupied by another person, so I met with my teacher to know what had happened.

-I’m sorry sweetheart, it’s my fault. I have such a big cold that the headache is making my head pound and I can’t even think straight. Would it be inopportune if I reserve the room after class so you don’t have to skip today’s practice?

-That sounds good too.

-Okay, then I will write your name in the folder -she says reaching for it hung on the wall. She seems a little confused when looking at today’s schedule

-Isn’t it possible? -I ask her.

-Oh no, everything is fine. Seems like I’ve already written the reservation in your name earlier. Must’ve forgotten to tell you when I did that, I guess that just in case, to offer you a resolution to this problem.

-Then, I’m noted to the main classroom after class?

-Yeah, you are good to go.

-Thank you.

As told, I went to the said place and started my warming exercises. After some scales, I tried “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga, struggling with the highness of the bridge. I was stuck with that part for some days by then, and my frustration was almost visible in the form of smoke outing my ears.

I was on my…¿20th try? When an unknown voice scared me when the song finished.

-Well… that was…interesting.

-Fucking hell, you scared me.

-Not more than you did to me with your vocals.

-Excuse me?

-Apologies accepted.

Is a boy around my age and size. He wears rectangular glasses and a mostly black outfit, which contrasts with his pale skin perfectly. His eyes are quite small but ooze tons of coldness. He impassively walks to the piano in the corner and starts to get things out of his backpack.

-Mmm… What are you doing?

His dark orbs peer at me with a pensive aura, but he dismisses those thoughts and gives me rolling eyes.

-Practising.

-Yeah, I could have guessed that.

-I am not the one asking the stupid questions here.

-What I meant -he interrupts me by playing some notes- As I was saying -he does it again.

I approach the instrument he is in and put down the keyboard cover, giving him enough time to retract his hands. Ups his sight and boy, is a furious one.

-Are you crazy? -he shouts- You could have harmed me!

-Chst, nobody with two functional cells doing synapsis would have that bad reflexes so please, stop crying, you little baby.

-Excuse me?

-Apologies accepted -I deliver the sentence the same way he did to me, with a pompous smile on my face while I sit proudly in a nearby chair- Also, you deserve it. That’s what you get when trying to mess with me.

-Oh, was I disturbing you? Sorry, I didn't want to. I’m so distracted -what he says in a pitying tone doesn’t match the challenging look in his eyes and the smirk he isn’t even trying to hide.

-I can tell -I bark back the same way- Anyway, as I was saying before you decided to be a cretin, what are you doing here?

-Judging based on your singing skills maybe…you aren't aware that this is a music classroom? You know, where musicians do their thing -speaks ironically

-Of course I know where I am. My doubt is what are YOU doing here at this time. I made a reservation with Mrs Lars.

-Me too.

-That’s impossible.

-No, it’s not. Since I did. You must be wrong.

-No, you are -I fight a little offended.

He rolls his eyes.

-Okay. Let’s search the classroom schedule Mrs Lars keeps in her office and you’ll see your mistake -decides while clapping his hands together and getting up.

-You must mean YOUR mistake -I clarify while imitating his gestures.

I follow him to said office, where he signals to a folder hanging on the wall. He goes through it while searching for today’s schedule and once he finds it, aggressively puts his finger in the initials “M.Y”

-As I was saying, you are the one wrong -he says proudly.

-What? Those are my initials!

-No, they are not. They are M.Y. as in Min Yoongi.

-No, they are M.Y as Min Young Mi.

We look at each other kinda confused.

-I guess Mrs Lars must have committed a mistake while writing our names because of the similarities -he thinks out loud.

-You think so? -I reply as ironically as I can. He rolls his eyes.

That evening was the beginning of what we like to call “The Valerian War”. As stubborn as we were, any of us was willing to give in to the other. None offered to leave or neither changed the reservation for the evenings that followed, so we played mental resistance war, and it got so bad that we needed some valerian infusion to support the evils that we did to each other so that the other would surrender.

Some favourites were him cutting my microphone wires or playing a recording of my voice on the school’s radio for everyone to listen to. I gave back by making good use of a 2x3 glue thrift offer. I was almost sent to the other world when he had to walk back home with the piano’s bench cushion glued to his butt or with music sheets united to his hand.

Eventually, with little acts of kindness by both sides, we started to open up and help each other (he assisted me in musical stuff while I improved his anger management) and we reached the point where we were looking all day to that moment of the evening. It took almost a year and a lot of Nelly’s talks to finally admit that we enjoyed spending time together. Slowly but surely, we started meeting out of school till becoming besties. We had a lot more in common than we thought.

-Call me stupid but-

-Stupid -he interrupts me without hesitance.

-Min Yoongi, be careful with your words, I have your mom on quick dial.

-So childish that is almost sad.

-Would she think as childish that you signed a big contract with an important company and didn’t say a word to your family? I guess I can just ask her -my tone is a mockery one.

The keyboard typing stops followed by a dry laugh.

-You dirty bitch. Must be desperate to threaten me with that.

-It’s just that… I’m frustrated.

-Sexually?

-No. Well… That too. But no.

He quietly laughs.

-Maybe I can lend you a hand.

-Yeah, in my neck to cut the flow of air? -I ask acidly but then my black humour needs to make an appearance- Actually, that’s not that much of a bad idea. One lifetime occasion where I would let you commit the desire of killing me without getting angry about it; I promise.

-Mmm, kinky. If that’s what you want… -he spouts with a teasing tone and a smirk.

-What?

I’m no stranger to letting my intrusive thoughts win over me and make it aaaall the way to my mouth without realising it, so when he answers I have to replay the last section of our conversation to understand what he means.

-Ugh, you are disgusting.

-Yeah. I think how disgusting it is that I know you so well, that I am genuinely not surprised about you having a choking kink.

-I… I don’t have a choking kink -I defend myself by putting a brave face on when I actually kind of like that stuff.

-Yeah, right -he answers in a disinterested way, turning back to his computer- Just so you know…next time you try to lie as much as you are doing, tell your red cheeks to not make an appearance. It gives it away.

I take advantage of him not looking at me to raise my hands and check if they are matter-of-factly red, which are. I clear my throat in the need of changing the subject.

-Till now all you said has been really helpful, you know? -I say rolling my eyes

-Till now you still haven’t said a word about your problem, apart from your need to get laid, of course.

-The thing is that I messed badly with my boss -I purposely ignore the last sentence and he lets out a little laugh because of it.

-What makes you think that?

-It’s not something she said or did. Actually… It's my fault.

-I doubt it… but would you mind explaining? -he still has his back facing me while clicking the unwired mouse, something that will make the next thing I have to say a lot easier.

-Do you remember when you got appendicitis and had to stay at the hospital? And then when you needed help when sent home?

-How would I not remember?

-Well… The thing is that to convince my boss, which I already told you, is a hard one… I had to lie. A lot.

That seems to catch his attention because finally turns to face me.

-When you mean a lot, how much are we talking about? You said everything was okay with you taking those days off.

-I think we have already established the point that I am a ‘liar, liar, pants on fire’.

-So… What did you tell her?

-Mmmm… I knew some of my coworkers asked her for some days off because of a friend or a relative being sick, and she always rejected them except when they talked about fiancés, husbands or sons; that kind of stuff. So to make her accept my petition, I made her believe it was about my fiancé.

-You said what?

-I basically said all the truth but omitted that you are only my friend. I completely made up a story about my hardworking fiancé, who fell sick, and has no other family around than me to take care of him… It was a little white lie, but when I was back to work everyone was nice to me, even my boss.

-Why don’t you tell them that you broke up?

-That was my plan, I swear. Buuuut, I started to talk a little bit here and there about him being an asshole, like getting ready to break the news, you know? Buuuuut that made them even nicer to me! Never knew criticising a partner would unite us that much.

-My surgery was last year…have you been lying to them for that long?

-Yeah…

-And didn’t they suspect anything when a year passed and still no wedding was in sight?

-Yes, but I explained how as we were both busy with our respective jobs, trying to save money for it, and having some trouble in our relationship… had decided to take it easy.

He seems lost in thought, with the elbows resting on the armrests of his chair and fingers brushing his chin. Then laughs, crossing his arms over his chest.

-Well, well, well. When I think that you cannot surprise me anymore, here you come.

-Yeah, really funny how this will end with me getting fired.

-Don’t be silly. They’ll never know.

-That’s what I thought till my company decided to celebrate a ball to raise funds for their project about breast cancer. And everyone expects me to bring my said fiancé to meet them.

-OMG you are such a loser.

-I don’t know why I came here expecting some support. Seems like today is not the day you want to deal with my stuff -I get a little angry because he doesn't understand how bad this is and how much I’ve been stressing the last few weeks trying to find a solution.

-Minnie, you know that’s not it -he quickly answers.

-Don’t worry. It’s my fault. By now I must have put in my mind that while you are working don’t wanna be bothered by others' banal stuff -I recollect my bag and start my way to the door.

I feel his hand wrapping around my wrist, trying to stop me.

-Stop it. I don’t wanna bother you.

He sighs and uses that hitch as a way to put me closer to him and after that, sit me again on the couch.

-Yeah, you are a pain in the ass, but even like that… you’ll never bother me when it’s about struggling with something, so… don’t say that.

-That’s how you made me feel.

-And I’m sorry about it. When it comes to words, we both know that I’m not the best to be sensitive.

-Except with your lyrics -I half-joke to reassure him.

I feel bad to react this way because he has a life too and here I am burdening him with my problems; all because I am so weak that I drown in a cup of water.

-Yeah, except for my lyrics -says way softer.

-Ugh, I’m so messed up -I groan while hiding my face between my hands and laying back.

-Yeah, a little bit but, what are you going to do?

-What do you mean?

-I know you, so I expect you to have something in mind already -he says palming one of my knees while still sitting in his chair.

I drop my arms to my sides, tired.

-No. Well, technically yes, but not anymore.

-What?

-I had a plan but not anymore because things didn’t go the way I expected.

-How is that?

-Don’t wanna hear you say anything about “I warned you”.

-This is going to be good -he whispers loud enough for me to hear it, but after giving him a death stare, motions his mouth getting zipped and throws the key away.

-The obvious solution is to have someone pretending to be my fianceé. After wondering who would be the best option I asked Jim to fill that role because, you know, we were kinda hooking up.

-What did he say?

-Like cartoons. I was almost able to see smoke in his dashing foot.

-Told you so -whispers again with a smirk.

I want to save energy, so my only answer is to roll my eyes. It's not like I could deny it because he, in effect, told me that.

When I started to meet Jim, equally scared of commitment as me, Yoongi warned me about how he would never be the one for me. How under the sweet gestures and amazing chemistry, we were only two people wasting time. How he could, maybe, let me down when I truly needed him. He wasn’t wrong. While explaining this whole issue to Jim, he was losing all the colour on his face because I told him that he would have to pretend to be in love. Pretend. I didn’t love him either but I was expecting the both of us to put on a little show of it.

But Yoongi knows that behind the façade I put saying that I don't want serious business, the reality is that I'm just searching for the right person to let my defences down. But to find it and as a scientist, I must do trial and error. Right?

-Then I contacted everyone in our group but all of them are occupied with close notice, and since my family is away, I can’t ask a cousin or something. Not to mention how weird it would have been -I shake my shoulders trying to shake the disgusting image of my mind.

-What about a random person or a gigolo?

-I don’t have enough time to teach somebody the full ass history of how we fell in love or the money to pay for it. Also, I'm trying to avoid paying for another human till I'm 70 and alone, with the only company of my 5 cats. Thanks.

-That’s all?

-I started to pretend that I’m falling sick to have an excuse, but everyone seems suspicious of me. If that doesn’t work, I’m fucked up. For real. That’s my last chance.

-As I see it, that’s not your last chance. You forgot about something.

-I did?

To say that I am confused is an understatement.

-Yeah you fool -he smiles widely and reclines in his chair with crossed arms.

-I…don’t…follow you.

-Me.

-You what? -My confusion is at the ceiling level.

-Me -He repeats with open arms- You forgot me.

Is this what I think it is?

-Stop frowning -and I do at his call- I can't believe you didn’t try to ask me.

-You are joking, aren’t you?

-No -he turns to the computer shrugging.

-Wait, wait, wait -I turn him to face me by the armrest- You, Min Yoongi, THE Min Yoongi, are offering to be my ‘date’ for an event at my workplace?

-God, don’t put it like that. But yeah, the answer is yes. I don’t know why it seems so unbelievable to you.

-I didn't ask you because: 1) I was ashamed, 2) you and I aren't precisely the most comfortable with touching or sweet words, and 3) and the main: aren’t you visiting your hometown this weekend? I know how much you’ve been looking forward to it.

-Yes, I was. But you are crazy if you think that I would let you lose your job for it.

-But you’ve worked so hard… you deserve that break.

-Listen and stop being stubborn. I know that your job is as important to you as mine is to me, not to mention that if you are in this position it is because of me. So… the fair thing is to be the one helping you out of this situation.

-You realise that we will have to pretend that we are in love, right? -I say carefully.

-I pretend that I like you every day so, I don’t think it will be that hard.

I know he says it to make me laugh and take the iron off the matter, but I can’t help smacking his thigh while giggling.

-What preoccupies me is you; would you be able not to fall in love with me?

We both laugh, knowing that it’s impossible.

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I’m completing my look with sparkling earrings and I look at myself in the mirror. Not bad.

I’m wearing what I consider my slutiest outfit: a baggy long-sleeve dress with a deep v-neck and which long is mid-thigh. The cloth resembles black silk but falls beautifully around my curved body, adjusting in the places it should to remark my features. I added all the sparkly accessories because they contrast greatly with my tanned skin and the dress itself, but I guess all seems blurred compared to my boobs. Those girls are looking great tonight.

My hairstyle and makeup are a little basic, but enough to make me feel pretty.

While applying perfume someone rings the doorbell. I’m ready on time, so taking all my stuff and a false pink fur coat, I open the door.

I have to admit it, he looks stunning. Yoongi is wearing black skinny jeans with a white t-shirt tucked in, black combat boots and a green bomber jacket. All prettily completed with silver accessories and his long ginger hair slightly gelled back on the sides. My favourite look on him.

-Why aren’t you wearing high heels?

That comment is enough to get me out of my trance, but I understand it; that’s the only part of my outfit on display.

-Is bad enough to be wearing ones for the ball, so yes, thank you, I won’t be torturing myself tonight -I explain as I close my house with the key.

-You were the one who had the idea of dressing in the clothes the other likes most.

-I’m wearing everything you asked for except for the heels. Relax.

-Let me see.

-Hell no, it is freezing here. You’ll see once we get to the discotheque. C’mon.

-I don’t trust you. At all -he whispers but follows me to the taxi stop.

This is part of the amazing plan we made together on Tuesday night. Not the best idea but…it will have to do the work.

The ball is on Friday so we have a couple of days to make us believable as a couple. Tonight, Wednesday, part one is in development. We’ll go to drink (a lot) and dance in a public place and act as partners in love. Is like practice for the real situation and luckily, as I suggested, dressing in a way the other likes will make it easier to dissociate the image of best friend that we find disgusting to act in love with.

We have two days to be comfortable with holding hands, him holding me for the small of my back, me hanging into his arm, hugging and… kissing. Not fully making out, like little pecks. Or at least that’s the order both of us come together to decide as necessary to give the ‘’living in the honeymoon stage of relationship’’ vibes.

Tomorrow we will work on our love story, pet names and all that stuff. Maybe we’ll have to buy some alcohol for it too.

-Should we…maybe…start? -he asks, looking the other way.

-I think I need a couple of quick shots before.

-Thank God, me too -laughs.

I signal to a bar near us that won’t make us change our direction fully, and he agrees.

-Please, four shots of tequila -Yoongi orders to the bartender, and I am grateful for that amount.

Since I am the one using his help, I want to invite him. He gives me bored eyes and tries to take my money away from the counter, but I push him a little bit and open my coat to let my neckline on the view of the young bartender.

-Please, accept my money. You can keep the change as a tip -my voice is as sweet as I physically can and I bat my eyelashes. It works because he takes my money a little bit flustered and his only answer is a nod. I laugh to myself and close the coat again, turning to my friend, who is downing his first little vase.

I take one making cheers in the air before ingesting the hot liquor.

-You know… what you did is not fair.

-What do you mean? -I play dumb.

-You know what I mean -he says before drinking his other drink- That poor boy… I would be surprised if he doesn't end up hard as wood.

-Why is that bad? Dozens of men look at my ass or boobs without any intention on my side or dressing to “provoke” them. It’s not my fault that in this patriarchal society, women are so fucking sexualized that men think it’s okay to do it. He would have looked at them anyway if I weren’t wearing the coat so excuse me for using that in my favour instead of against me - I drink my last shot.

He looks at me kind of speechless, but after clearing his throat he says “When you are right, you are right”.

The cold air receives us in the street, but the burning sensation in our stomachs is a great contrast. We decide to go walking to the discotheque since it isn’t that far and after ten minutes of comfortable silence, I start to feel the alcohol quicking in in the form of an unexpected laugh.

-What happens? -Yoongi seems confused but laughs too.

-This situation… is ridiculous.

-I know.

-But again, thank you. You are saving me from a good one. I owe you.

-Don’t be stupid, we are best friends. You take care of me and I take care of you. That is how we have always worked and how it will always work.

-Wow, alcohol is getting into you too? You are speaking mindlessly.

-A bit. A long time has passed since I last drank something; work has been… crazy.

-Same for me. Maybe it is a good moment for…you know.

-First step?

-Yeah, first step. Are you okay with that?

-Of course.

We look at each other's hands and making a brave move, I'm the one initiating the motion. His are colder and slightly bigger but feels surprisingly comfortable to intertwine fingers and sense his even colder rings brushing with mine. That heat difference sends a shiver through my body.

It’s not like we have never held hands in other contexts. We do, for example, while walking in a street full of people or in a comforting situation and stuff like that, but it is our first time to do it without a physical or emotional need.

-How do you feel? -I ask cautiously.

-Weird, not gonna lie.

-Me too.

-But it’s not the first time we held hands and I have to say that luckily you feel warm.

-Yeah, you are freezing man -the tension weakens and we start to walk again, still hand in hand.

-I forgot my coat and when I realised I was already too far. I expected to be in a taxi and drunk so I didn’t take it so seriously. Now I’m regretting my choices.

I can’t stop a laugh and he does the same, showing a gummy smile.

-I can work with that. Grieving for my frozen-to-death fiancé is a good excuse to go to the bloody fundraiser alone.

-Then, who would listen to your nonsense anxious babbling?

-You aren’t my only friend, you know that right?

-They simply can’t compare. Even Nelly.

-Yeah, they can’t compare because nobody reaches your level of pettiness.

-That’s what we have in common you and I, my friend.

Our bickering continues till we reach our destination, where it is time to start the practice. Reading my mind he offers his arm for me to cling to it while still holding hands; a typical pose of couples who’ve been together for some years.

-IDs? -the bouncer asks us.

Once he checks that we are above 23 (a way to only let in adults) the heat receives us when we cross the door. The decoration is beautiful and serious, way different from what we are used to.

-Everyone here seems a little off, don’t you think? -Yoongi asks me.

-Yeah, I guess the age requirement takes away the younger spirit. You know this place is for people who want to have a good night but not that “wild”.

-If this is what awaits me once I establish a serious relationship, I’m definitely staying single.

-Bold of you to assume that you’ll find someone who can keep up with your antics. It’s not like you are turning love proposals all day.

His elbow pinches at my ribs for making fun of him and I laugh.

-You are one to talk… Also, I have some game so… your words don’t offend me miss “Please help me because my ashole of a hookup can’t even pretend to be in love with me”.

-Yeah, that was because he knew that once he started pretending, it wouldn’t be pretending anymore and I’m too much of a woman for him.

-Sure -his eyes are mocking me.

-Let’s grab some drinks, stupid.

He straightly asks for a whiskey, his favourite drink, but I order a rum with coke. He offers me to taste it and I’m dumb enough to do it, gagging at the flavour.

-You have an easy gag reflex, maybe now I understand why Jim dumped your ass so easily.

-Don’t worry hun, it’s only related to alcoholic drinks and he surely dumped me but my ass felt a great loss to him -I cheer my drink with his.

He gives me an unreadable stare while swallowing the odd savoury liquor.

I hate to admit it, but he looks smoking hot tonight. I can’t put my finger exactly on what it is, but something of him making dark humour about Jim while staring at me in that mockery way and gulping whiskey like water… is entrancing. Am I that sex deprived or what?

He frowns one eyebrow trying to guess what's on my mind and just the possibility of him being able to decipher my thoughts has me blushing.

-Is hot here. I’m going to the wardrobe to leave my coat - I excuse myself while getting up from the stool.

-Want me to accompany you?

-Oh, no. Don’t worry. I don’t think it will take me that long.

I join the wardrobe queue a little anxious. Just thinking of what awaits me these days stresses me; it’s really out of my comfort zone. I take the coat for the smiley girl behind the counter to take it.

-Wow girl, you are stunning.

-Thank you, I hope my… boyfriend thinks the same -the b-word gets a little stuck in my throat.

-If he doesn’t… take him to the doctor. That would mean he has his sight damaged. Or better, come back and I’ll make sure you have a good time -she says winking and giving me a little key with a number.

-I’ll keep that in mind -I answer a little flustered and return to where Yoongi is waiting.

He is turned to face me, elbow resting on the bar and cup playing in his hand in circular motions. He eyes me up and down and licks his lips, and I have to put all the effort in me to keep walking like nothing and not choke on my air.

He must have noticed my nervous state because this time, decides to directly ask.

-Oh, I was a little shocked -I answered because… well, that is true- The girl in the wardrobe made a move on me suggesting that if my partner doesn’t like me or something, she will take matters herself to give me a good time -that is also true.

-She did?

-Yeah, why is it so hard to believe? -I am a little offended and I chug down the rest of my drink.

-Not that is hard to believe, but… Do you like girls or something now? -he seems genuinely curious, trying to assure me that anything I say next, will be well received from him.

-No, this isn’t me coming out; sadly I’m still into men. Just… is nice to have someone complimenting me even if I’m not into girls -a change in his gaze is noticeable, and that’s what makes me realise that maybe he feels like I’m implying something else that I’m not- Anyways, I thought that she was nice and a funny anecdote. Do you want anything else to drink?

I can almost see him shaking his head to get rid of whatever was going on there and nods, chugging the remains of whiskey, which makes his Adam's apple move up and down. He has a nice side profile, I’ll admit that too.

Once we have refilled our vases, we start a little conversation about our works and how excited he is that his first mixtape is in the final steps to be published. Only the photos and the design of the cover are missing, which will be arranged on Friday morning, previous to the gala.

-I can’t believe that you didn’t let me listen to it.

-I want you to see the final product, to see the full concept like the rest.

-Still… I can’t believe that you are doing this to your very first fan. I guess from now I will have to fight with all your new fans for a little attention.

-Like you ever had it… -he smirks and I hit him in the arm.

-Maybe I should start stanning other rappers, Namjoon is doing great with his mixtape. At least he appreciates me a little bit.

-Yeah, he would appreciate having you under his sheets. Well, he and the rest of the boys of the studio.

-Don’t be silly, we are just friends.

-Yeah, because no friends in history have ever hooked up, right?

-Not me at least.

-Because you are good at friend-zoning without even noticing. It’s really fun to watch them all try to have a date with you. I will tell you more, we have a bet going on.

-What? Stop joking.

His gaze is devilish, but his face remains serious; that’s how I know that he is being honest. He funnily grins while drinking and I just blush.

-Seriously? I don’t know Yoongi, that seems fake.

-Kinda is, kinda not. At the start, when they first meet you, they, believe it or not, wanted you as something more than a friend. After some time trying and failing, they accepted that it was impossible. However, it is still a joke to make moves on you to see if you notice but I know that if you give them any signal, they would be moving their tails like the dogs they are.

-That's what the bet is about? For how long has it been going on?

.Around… I don’t know. Two years maybe?

To say that I'm speechless is an understatement.

-Who’s in that bet?

-All the group?

-Even… you?

-I guess… but I like to think of myself as a judge in all this. It wouldn’t be fair to them if I played at their level since I’m your best friend.

-Oh my god, you are so full of yourself.

-Why?

-You think you can win against the others with that dumpling-like skin and that skinny body of yours? You wouldn’t be able to handle me. Jungkook or Namjoon? Definitely.

-I would prove it to you, but once you get a taste… you can’t go anywhere else.

Scarlet cheeks are my only answer to that.

-And what’s the prize of that bet?

-Free pass with you if you want it too.

-Ugh, and you are part of that?

-Now you are the one full of herself. If I win maybe I’ll be able to trade that for some equipment my studio is missing.

-I’m not an object you can use to “trade”.

-Of course you aren’t. Of course.

He pats my head messily and I can see a glint of fun in his eyes, which in Yoongi’s language means that he feels a little tipsy. He’s not the touchy type at least he has some alcohol flowing through him.

Honestly, I know that I should be a little angry with this whole bet thing but I am not. Yes, is a little weird that all of them are in this but at the same time… I know they would never hurt me or take advantage of me in that way. Also, I have to admit that sometimes I do second checks of them because… holy cow, they seem like some greek marble-carved figurines that came to life. So.. am I the one to blame?

Not to mention how lovely and protective of me they all are; I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have had their support for whatever stupid thing I was trying or a warm hug if I needed it. I guess this thing is a friendly joke I wasn’t aware of but thanks to alcohol-induced honesty in Yoongi…I’m going to have MY fun with it.

-Now that you have told me this, who has won? You are destroying it.

-I suppose the first you flirt back to and I told you because… two years?? At this point, we all know that the bet was never going to end. Why? Now that you know, is your interest in any of those assholes?

-Maybe…

-Who? -I know this caught him by surprise.

-You will have to give me more drinks and a couple of dances to know that. Decide your strategy while my trip to the bathroom -I laugh at him and make my way to the service room.

I’m not interested in any of them, but as I said, it’s my turn to have some fun with it and poor Yoongi, he’s my first victim. We have some bond to do to look like a couple, right? Well, I will take this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

->Chapter 2

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scvrletstrange · 2 years

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Unrequited | Stephen Strange

MoM spoilers ahead.

Summary: Stephen finds out that he loves Christine in all universes, meanwhile you happen to love him without expecting anything. Stephen x female reader.

Word count: 607

Note: this is my first x reader one shot I think, please be nice with me as english is not my native language. Thank you if you read this angsty thing.

You tried. You tried a lot to not fall again on this loop, but it wasn’t possible.

Not when Stephen protected you all the way when you fell on the portal with the girl. He never left your side, or hers. You knew it’s something natural on him, and you couldn’t help but feel your heart hurting because he would never see you like you did.

The trip became awkward at some point after you saw your most treasured memory. It was one of those nights where you couldn’t grant sleep and he was there too. Outisde the temple, on the training grounds, you saw Stephen comforting you.

You arrived some time before he did at Kamar Taj, even though he would think you’ve healed, that wasn’t the case. He let you cry on his shoulder that cold night, holding you tight and listening all the things your heart was keeping inside.

Now, America was gone because of Wanda, and once again, Stephen protected you from his own corrupted variant, who ended up under the effects of the Darkhold after Christine died on his universe.

Stephen always would love her. In all universes. This was his destiny. You remembered your variant, who was left on the Sanctum before you escaped from Mordo and his team. Probably she longed his love reciprocity as much as you did.

“Are you okay?” Stephen hurried to help you get up from the floor, waking you up from your thoughts. His variant now gone, the Darkhold was now the only option he had.

“I am,” you mumbled once you got on your feet. “Thank you.”

His trembling hand stayed a little too much on your arm. None of you moved. You could see on his gaze the worry, but still, he was attached to her. All across the multiverse. He knew it. So you had to make things clear again before something happened to any of you. After all, there might be a possibility you didn’t make it out alive.

“About today...”

“It’s fine.” Stephen cut you off. “Is it about your memory?” he asked after a long pause between both.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“That machine made us see things that we value. I am flattered that you keep that as your most precious moment... It makes me think I did at least something for you,” the grip on your arm never left.

“You did a lot for me, even today. So I’m grateful for that.”

Stephen smiled, setting aside a small strand of hair that was falling on the side of your face with his other trembling hand.

“You knew already,” you said. You wanted to continue, but you were not capable of pronouncing those words. They were too strong and Stephen wouldn’t feel the same way.

“I know it now, and it’s fine,” he reassured. “I do love you, but not in that way.”

You nodded gently, his thumb caressed your cheek softly, until his lips kissed your forehead softly. Just like he did in your memories. Slowly, he set aside, taking the black book from the floor while looking the mess that was created.

“Are you going to dreamwalk back there?”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll protect you here.”

Stephen agreed silently and started the magic conjuration. You saved the urge to let a single teardrop fall from your eyes when he turned his back to you, this was not the moment. At least he was being honest with you, not giving any hopes.

But inside, Stephen was scared. He was afraid of taking another step beyond your relationship. He didn’t even had the minimum idea of why someone like you loved him with all your being. Even he could see on your gaze that you’d give anything for him, but he wasn’t worth it.

He was so unlucky. Love wasn’t for him, he thought. The last time he did love someone, she had to get over him. Now the question Christine asked before was present the whole trip. Maybe he could lie to someone else, but his truth was different. No, he was not happy.

GENERAL MASTERLIST | MARVEL MASTERLIST

#stephen strange x reader #doctor strange x reader #stephen strange fanfiction #doctor strange fanfiction #doctor strange one shot #stephen strange one shot #marvel fanfiction #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #doctor strange spoilers #stephen strange x female reader #doctor strange x female reader #multiverse of madness #marvel one shot

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dailycupofcreativitea · 1 year

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This is a very niche Muslim issue (about accessibility of the religion due to language barriers) but

Today my sister invited her friend over to our apartment for iftaar (dinner you eat to break your fast). Her friend is a revert (Muslim for ~4 years now) whose first language is English.

I invited a friend too and all three of us (myself, my sister, my friend) are desi Muslims. So much of our language concerning religion is in Urdu cause that's how we were raised. Ex. ablution is wudhu, dates are kadjoors, prayer is dua, prayer mat is janamaaz, intention is niyaat, etc. As we threw around these words my sister's friend would ask for clarification and she looked kinda lost.

It made me reflect on how a lot of language surrounding the faith can be exclusionary towards reverts because unless they know Arabic or Urdu (at least in the communities here) it's hard to "break in". So it can probably contribute to feeling isolated.

It also made me realize that as someone born Muslim and raised with Urdu, I don't even know the difference between terminology that's in Arabic (that most Muslims would probably know) and terminology that's in Urdu because Urdu has loan words from Arabic. While rediscovering my own faith, I had do shift some things from Urdu to English, like how I would express my intention during prayer, to make them more deliberate. Talking to my sister's friend made me realize there's more work to do with switching over my religious practice to English since English is my first language 🤔

Lastly, I think the prevalence of too much Arabic terminology can also be off-putting. I'm not a native Arabic speaker (I can only read Arabic badly, not even understand it) so it's a bit intimidating going into a space where people are exclusively using Arabic terminology (ex. consistently using "tawakkal" to talk about trust in God and assuming everyone understands it instead of explaining the concept in English). It would be more accessible to define Arabic concepts in the speaking language (whether English or other) as they're brought up.

But specifically, I think it would be useful to first-generation desis (Urdu as a second language) to dissect the language we use to refer to our religious practices and ensure we're not only catering to other desi Muslims. 🤔

#musings #religion #islam #ramadan #pakistani #urdu #desi muslims #desi

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sweethyune · 1 year

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The taste of your lips. (series - chapter three)

— pairing : hyunjin dancer x f!reader dancer

— warnings : the story includes fiction, a lot of cursing, violence, hyunjin is very rude :,), anger issues, dirty talking, choking.. please let me know if i forgot something!

— also please keep in mind that english isn't my native language! ^^

— word count : 1,5 k

— there are reader's povs, hyunjin's povs

— READER'S NAME IS WINTER ICE!

Chapter three - "Do you like me this much Sam?"

Winter Ice.

You were standing in front of your mirror at home and you were rummaging through your closet for half an hour, just to choose something to wear, on the very first day of school. In freshman year, you use to wear formal clothes, because you didn't really need to dress up. In sophomore year, you wore a longer black dress that ended just below your knees. But what now? That was the question you've been asking yourself.

You sighed and threw on a white shirt that you tucked into a black skirt that you took on, which ended just a little bit below your butt. To top it all off, you threw on ten-centimeter black heels.

Was it too much? Maybe. Did it bother you? Absolutelly not. At the end of the day you are four feet and nine inches so you had quite a big problem with people, because you usually became someone's carpet. This way, you could avoid someone stepping on you.

And with those heels on, you can't just overlook someone who is five feet and ten inches tall.. and has perhaps the most annoying face you have ever seen in your life. You were angry again. Just thinking about that gothic bastard made your fists clench on their own. You took your bag, got into the car and drove to school.

You didn't even realize that this and next year are the last years, you'd be in this school and then, you're going to work. Crazy. You are now in third grade but.. how did the time fly so fast? It's not like you were rolling on the couch during the holidays, you had three part-time jobs at the same time to earn some extra money, which could always come in handy.

You spent money on clothes and make-up, because it was something like an aid for school. You had to go to the performances dressed up nicely from head to toe. It also had weight on the grade. At Dinadan, you had to know more than how to dance.

You had to look a certain way, be able to memorize all the ballroom dances and be punctual. You had to have a good character, be able to communicate in ways other than words. Our body has always been able to speak for us but.. can you read body language?

Do you know what it means when a person has their arms crossed on their chest? Do you know how a person feels, when they cross their legs? You had to be smart to get to Dinadan. This wasn't just another overpriced school, this is one of the best dance schools in the world. The school where you're going daily for past two years.

When you arrived at the place, you pulled into the parking lot and hit your hand on the steering wheel. Fuck. The entire parking lot was taken. Except for one place.. and when you wanted to park there, you almost hit a black Mustang, which came there in that moment and parked in YOUR spot. You angrily got out of the car and waited for an explanation from the moron, who allowed themselves to do this.

But at that damn moment, that bastard, that you hate so much, got out of the car and you knew you weren't definitely in the mood to talk to him for today. „Get into your cheap car and get out of my way. Get away yourself away from my sight." He stood in front of you amused in all his "perfection".

“Get out of here and maybe i won't scratch your eyes out." you smiled innocently at him. You were pissed, because you were already late for school.

„Shut the fuck up.” he growled without even looking at you, his face pissed off as always. He walked away not forgetting to elbow your shoulder as he passed. That fucking piece of shit.

Hwang Samuel Hyunjin

I didn't sleep all night. Molly drove up to see me yesterday and then we did it three times in her car. The fact that i had two scratches from her on my back from her claws pissed me off. I probably wasn't soft to her, but that doesn't mean i'm going to have her marks all over my body. I guess not really. I already had a warning light going on in my head to never fuck Kim Molly again.

I finally got up and went to school. That's right, at two in the morning. I changed into a black tank top, gray sweatpants and finally relaxed as i began to sway to the music. I danced until about a quarter to seven and then went home to shower and change. I had to dance out all the stress and anger because everything that was going on around me was like a spiral of shit from which there was no escape.

I don't even know why the fact that this is already one of the last two years that i will be studying here pissed me off. Maybe i felt her presence here and that's probably why i wasn't ready to leave. She was here, in all the photos and on half the trophies the school won. She was beautiful and i looked at her every time i have passed by the fame board. All the teachers here knew her, some even taught her.

„Good morning." Minho sat down next to me and threw a burger at me. I was sitting in the dining room, planning to buy some food from the buffet, but i guess i don't have to anymore. „Hello." I mumbled. „Where's the dog?" I arched an eyebrow and glared at Minho. He looked so pissed off. „Shitting" He snapped and i smirked. Of course he is. What else could Seungmin do in the morning?

I got up and left him with a nod. I turned around and headed to my locker where i grabbed my gym bag. I threw one pair of sweatpants in, shorts, two tank tops and the burger with bottle of water inside. I put my gym bag on my back and suddenly watched as Winter Ice appeared not far away from me.

Rage. I felt angry again. I quite enjoyed watching her in the morning as she tried to park somewhere and ended up parking the car into the janitor's parking spot. I smirked. The boys from several classes appeared next to me and i leaned my elbow on the locker. "Hey you blue viper." I yelled at her, my smirk deepening as she spun around to face me.

Winter Ice

„Hey you blue viper." You heard a voice that made all the hairs on your body stand up. That fucking bastard. „How many guys are you going to fuck today? Or did you get all dressed up for me? Want me to fuck you this much?" He appeared in front of you and licked his lips. You balled your hands into fists, anger seeping through you. You scoffed and raised your hand to hit him.

But you were stopped by his hands, which grabbed your wrist. He pushed you and pressed you against the locker behind you. You looked up at him with your head held high and watched his pissed off expression. He gritted his teeth.. and he was definitely thinking of killing you in hundred different ways.

„Don't even think about doing such a thing." He growled. „You're just a little whore that nobody cares about. You can't be compared not even to a dog." He spluttered and you just smiled. „Do you like me that much Sam? So much so that you have to hold me like this, pressing your crotch against me? You're pathetic if you think that i could ever want you that way.” You smiled cheekily, teasing him. Knowing exactly how much you were annoying him at the moment. But you weren't lying anyway, his body was pressed all against yours. Maybe it wasn't his intention but you felt happy with the thought, that you could piss him off even more.

„What? Does fucking others no longer satisfy you? Are you having problems with your prostate?" You chuckled and wanted to continue, but just then he grabbed you by the neck and squeezed it hard in his hand. „You're dead, you tiny chump." He growled and you suddenly felt tears welling up in your eyes from the lack of oxygen.

„That's what you said in freshman year and i'm still alive." You gave him a cheeky smile and a growl came out of his mouth. If he thinks he can control you, he's fucking wrong. And just then it stopped because you two heard Mrs. Young's voice.

„Mister Hwang and miss Ice to the principal's office. IMMIDIATELY."

masterlist

#hwang hyunjin #hwang hyunjin x reader #hwanghyunjin #hyunjin #hyunjin smut #stray kids #hwang hyunjin smut #hwang hyunjin x you #straykids #skz fanfic

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holofoiltowercard · 6 months

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The Journey of The Tarot Haiku

VI: The Lovers - Love of Tarot

When I first jotted down my plan to make one update a day based on the Fool's Journey, I was a little unsure about what to do for The Lovers vis a vis my book project, as shown by my notebook saying "love... of Tarot?" next to it. Even as I am typing up this post, I'm not sure yet how to connect it to the book (what more is there to say beyond the fact that it is a labor of love!), but I am committed to the pattern I have chosen, so today I'll talk about my love for the Tarot, and the Tarot decks I have, since a Tarot reading and their Tarot deck(s) is sort of a love story, isn't it?

So, I really love the Tarot, it is so fascinating. The systems, the stories, the way it really captures the energy, how accurate it is when you focus on it. I said earlier that I have always loved cards and thought there was something magical about a deck of cards, each having its own unique meaning and energy. It really was made for someone like me, who keeps wanting to explore it and apply it in various ways. I have literally just published a book, the hardcover went live exactly a week ago, and already I am thinking about what might be my next Tarot-related project. It is captivating and will probably keep me busy for the years to come.

And now for my Tarot decks, of which I so far have five. For comparison, I chose the same ten cards to show off each - 0: The Fool, Ace of Cups, Four of Wands, Seven of Swords, Ten of Pentacles, XXI: The World, Page of Cups, Knight of Wands, Queen of Swords and King of Pentacles.

My first deck was The Type Tarot, and when I do readings where I have to ask the questions in English, this deck makes me feel the most confident to do so. I really love the word-heavy design and I'm so happy I started with this one.

I do have a Rider Waite deck as well, with the card names translated into Hungarian, and whenever I do quick readings for myself, I like to take it out and speak my questions in my native language.

My next deck was The Crystal Tarot illustrated by Italian artist Elisabetta Trevisan, whose artwork immediately captivated me. To this day I consider it the most beautiful Tarot Deck I have ever seen, and if I could purchase prints of the artwork for my walls, I would.

I also purchased The Sorcerer's Tarot because the fairy tale type illustrations appealed to me, and got a fun surprise when I saw just how adventurous and dare I say, saucy the deck was when I laid out all the cards. It is an absolute treat.

Last but not least, I also have been privileged to receive a Tarot deck as a gift. One of my mom's friends used to read Tarot, and when she heard I was studying it, she brought her decks over to show them to me. I looked through about a dozen decks I have never seen before, and many were beautiful and intricate, but there was only one that immediately grabbed me: Tarot de la nueva visión, which features the original Rider Waite illustrations from behind. It was such a fresh perspective that I could not stop admiring the cards, and my mom's friend kindly gifted it to me.

(One day I would love to also own The Urban Tarot, whenever I have the means.)

Needless to say, these Tarot decks helped me immensely in my studies, and they have been invaluable in my journey to write the poems for my book.

Buy the ebook

Buy the paperback

Buy the hardcover

#tarot #tarot cards #the lovers #poetry #haiku #the tarot haiku journey

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inlocusmads · 1 month

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I have a very important question to ask, so let me slide into your inbox real quick! Does Trystan ever properly introduce Nora to the Drakovian / Eastern European culture? What does he show her? What are her impressions? 👀❤️

Oh HECK YESSSSSSSS

I hate what canon did so much I am going to pull a Thanos and snap it out of existence. Here's a little HC of how that goes (and yes I'm breaking them down into categories)

Disclaimers: - these are just my hcs!!!! - take a shot everytime I say "cantonese" or "drakovian" (please don't)

Literature: Trystan loves feeding in little tidbits about his culture wherever he finds it plausible. Mostly he enjoys quoting Drakovian literature and stuff he's read in the past - things that resonated with him deeply. He does so over a voice message or dinner or really, any given situation and he loves LOVES to share them. Nora's not the reading-type as in someone you'd expect to pick up reading for a hobby and instead she likes listening to Trys as he goes off on tangents about how a case might be relevant to a quote he read a long time ago or things just remind him of home in some way.

TV and Film: Nora's introduction to Drakovian culture is largely dependent on how the royals perceive it, so Trystan makes it a point to introduce her to a bunch of different films (and yes, in the off chance the films aren't dubbed or subbed, he pauses it every now and then to supply translations). It's easier for Nora to grasp (given she gravitates towards films a lot) and she ends up liking films with a lot of contemporary themes. I hc Drakovian films usually tend to gravitate towards historic themes or comedy-with-hidden-commentary and in terms of TV shows, a fraction of them might tend to gravitate towards procedural/workplace dramas and psychological/crime thrillers that might have a more serialized, seasons-spanning model or TV shows based on plays. Nora will eat that up entirely because if there's one thing she loves besides films, she loves when shows are these episodic collection of stories. She also ends up really liking some Drakovian feel-good stuff too - with the storylines (I hc) focusing on themes of "coming back home", road-trip comedies, stories set in small-towns that reflect upon the country's heritage, black comedies set in cities or this niche genre of "old person tries to keep up with today's world" or just these really mundane little ideas packaged into their own stories. They're not all "murders and daggers" cmon, let's be real.

Onto my absolute favourite part - THE LANGUAGE: Besides getting to know tid bits here and there from film and books, Trystan loves just teaching Nora a couple handy words in Drakovian. I'd like to think he did teach her a few words - just the basics when they went to talk to Bird in Book 1 (to really hammer in that good cop/bad cop routine) and once Nora reciprocated that interest back, he was like "YES now here's a couple of swear words you need to start off with" (jk jk) The reason why Nora showed an interest was largely due to the commonality she drew between her native language - Cantonese and Drakovian - and especially how they have these certain unique phrases that can't just be translated, even though Cantonese and Drakovian have very little similarities in terms of grammar or sentence structure. However they are both tonal languages (I hc Drakovian does focus on tones but it's not heavily dependent and a native speaker would be able to discern the differences without any confusion) which calls for some hilarious moments where Nora overpronounces Drakovian words and gets super focused on the tones and Trystan's like "Nora, it is okay! You can relax!" Both of them, when they're good to share, kind of introduce each other to their native languages. Normally Nora struggles with emphasizing her "r's" (she grew up speaking Cantonese at home and English in school) because Cantonese doesn't have the "r" sound and well, Drakovian takes incredible pride in enunciating your "r's" as much as possible. And how does Trystan help her with it? Swears. It's almost satisfying to exclaim in Drakovian than it is in English because there's about a hundred different ways to put your excitement as well as disappointment (sometimes both) out there. The day Nora ends up dropping something - possibly a cup of coffee and loudly swears in Drakovian is also the day Trystan's just crying tears of joy, full on happy breakdown, in the background. Conjugations suck. Forgetting English for a bit here, Cantonese from what I have gathered, doesn't have conjugations for verbs, instead there are characters that go before or after the word to indicate a specific tense. It's a bit of an uphill climb for Nora to go through this spiel because Drakovian swears by verb conjugations which makes up at least a fraction of its already complicated grammar rules. So yes, even though Nora knows this little "language exchange" thing they've got going on is something both of them really treasure in their relationship, she's one grammatically-incorrect sentence away from screaming.

Culture, traditions and so on: Trystan isn't just a walking encyclopedia of his country's traditions, rather quite literally a valuable resource for the Agency's cases. I'd like to think Drakovians who come to America end up settling in parts of the East Coast or perhaps uber-rich business conglomerates based in Drakovia gravitate towards parts of NYC for well, business reasons. While it isn't a considerable population compared to larger demographics, there is still a population comprised of business owners, celebrities, wealthy magnates and so on who might be interested in employing the services of a one private detective agency (and the endorsement by an exiled prince boosts their credibility too) The Agency do find themselves tackling a lot of high-profile cases and assisting big-name corporate law firms. Trystan's abundance of knowledge in Drakovia's culture and economics - and even some parts of Eastern Europe (thanks to trade and ambassador parties) helps Nora understand the nuances even better. A big lesson for her to learn - ever since the Agency gained traction after the Hand of Mahra case - was to discern between two different clients. A case is intrinisically unique on its own and factors such as economic, culture and society plays an additional role that gives her substance to go on with. It's how she learns more about Sonja in the first place and Drakovia's extensive history with art. Tidbits like that give her so much additional insight to carry on with. Eventually she just really ended up liking Trystan's stories (partly because he's a very good storyteller) - more than what he did as a kid and emphasis on what he saw. They kind of found a solace within each other's cultures because Nora learned the more Trystan kept talking about his, the more he tended to forgive himself for and the more Nora talked about her culture - be it through food or language or film or virtually anything she wished to share - she kind of began embracing her background instead of associating it with her trauma and wanting to ignore it entirely. Their heritage is super important to them. Trystan's family prided themselves over how their culture cannot simply be "shared around" and Nora's parents struggled to build themselves a home away from home in America, whilst ensuring their daughter didn't forget her culture. How they perceive their cultures is so rooted in their familial relationships that of course, it's going to be difficult trying to distinguish the stuff you want to forget from the culture you were brought up with. Partly why they (mostly Nora, because she doesn't like talking all that much) encourage the other to just talk about these things. It took them a while to realize even though they had completely different upbringings, they still had a couple things in common.

And lastly, the People and Places: One thing I really liked about Crimes 2 was the People's Garden scene where Trystan's just rambling about the places he loved as a kid and it's such a gateway into giving Nora an insight more than books, tv, movies, food, music etc. (They literally say that canonically too, if I'm not wrong - about wanting to take MC and give them a tour of their home) and it's like absolutely imperative to Trystan for Nora to have her experience it. Not many opportunities arise for them to go back home, but Trystan makes do with places in New York. From pubs to sociable gatherings, Trystan happens to know - and do some of his own finding-and-gathering to figure out the best scenes. He has a group of his own friends who run restaurants, bars, manage parks and so on and it's the best place for Nora to really understand what the culture is like, rather than see it from a royal/monarchial standpoint. And Nora ends up making a few friends on her own. It's great!

Out of all the avenues, Nora especially connects with the places and the language the best. Obviously it's a slow process. It took them eons to actually open up and even more so for Nora to see Trystan as Trystan and not as an exiled prince/diplomat/top-dog person or as a workplace colleague rather just a really really good friend of hers.

Them taking the time and effort to finding commonalities and compromises made them not only strong as a team (in terms of the job) but just bring them a lot more closer. They get a little jolt of happiness when the other takes an interest in the other - as in, when Trystan's able to read the label off a pack of sunflower seeds in perfect Cantonese or Nora swearing left and right in Drakovian and that basically prompts them to be more open and honest and thus, the cycle of "I NEED to tell you about this little factoid" continues lmao.

___

I'm super super sorry this ran for pages Anon! I just loveeeeee talking about their little sharing-of-the-culture (if that's a word?) <333 Thank you SO MUCH FOR THE ASK I HAVE LITERALLY WANTED AN EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT THIS FOREVAHHH

#anonymous #askboxed #trystan x nora #thorne rose headcanons

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skaruresonic · 2 months

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Oh Jesus Christ, not the "they scalped people" argument again. Why do these dickheads always bring up scalpings like some sort of gotcha...

Hey, quick question: am I now allowed to hold "your ancestors blood-eagled their victims" over every WASP I see? No real reason I'm asking, just out of curiosity.

Every single time someone mentions indigenous violence in a bid to make the public consider the indigenous tribes of history morally gray, I guarantee you it is not to point out how indigenous societies are complex, because the thought typically ends on a commonly-recognized image of indigenous brutality: scalpings, Aztec human sacrifice, slavery, tribal wars.

Others' understanding of our history stops at ancient acts of violence to which we must forever be chained. Even though, according to that logic, we ought to hold modern-day Romans accountable for how their ancestors horrifically crucified people.

Indigenous acts of peace, coexistence, and alliance, on the other hand, are conveniently and routinely ignored. None of you in this Chili's have heard of the Two-Row wampum and it shows. I have legit never heard a single non-Native bring it up, mostly because people in general have never heard of it. And the reason they've never heard of it is because it doesn't fit this presupposed narrative of pre-colonial Indians being anything less than warmongering savages.

We're rarely portrayed as "complex" as in "created a society with such little rape that it shocked European colonists." Never complex as in "struck a treaty of friendship and trust with Dutch settlers where we call each other 'brother' instead of 'father' and 'son': an agreement to coexist in peace following many frustrated attempts at communication." No, it's always "complex" as in: "Don't forget they used to scalp people, too! Did you forget? Let me remind you for the 1,000th fucking time, just in case you were inclined to think of Native people as able to ~behave themselves~ for two seconds. I am certain my insistence on using the visceral imagery of scalpings carries no racist overtones whatsoever. What do you mean, more white people scalped Indians than Indians scalped other Indians because they were selling that shit to the government for sport? INDIANS WERE NOT UWU SMOL BEANS EITHER, YOU KNOW."

Furthermore, I can't help but notice folks use violence as a way of making us seem more human… as if there is no other way of humanizing us in the eyes of others. Violence is the only language violence recognizes. And it is a way of dismissing our genocide via colonialism by implying we deserved it somehow. Because we were not "perfect" victims, it lifts the burden of conscience from people's minds.

---

"Native American cultures had plenty of interpersonal violence. In what is now the eastern US, competition over land led often to warfare, and in eastern North America, captives were routinely tortured to death, with the entire community participating in that torture, which was seen as a chance for the captive to demonstrate stoicism that reflected well on their own people, while at the same time giving the torturers the opportunity for revenge."

pLeNtY oF iNtErPeRsOnAl ViOlEnCe, as if that A.) is in any way comparable to colonialism and B.) means anything when history has proven that we were frequently capable of cohabitation and settling our differences without bloody conflict.

You seem to have missed the point that Native tribes formed alliances just as often as they warred. The Haudenosaunee may be the most famous, but there are multiple inter-tribal alliances throughout history. They just don't get a lot of press. Because why would they. They contradict your mental image of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Aztecs ripping the hearts out of people's chests.

Also, the Haudenosaunee? The People of the Longhouse? The Six Nations, formerly known as the Five Nations? Haʔ Akunęhsyę̀·niʔ hęʔ? We're still here. As in today. Right now. Always been here. Never went anywhere. Never going anywhere. That's more than can be said for other historical alliances.

You're not saying anything new by saying people have always been violent towards one another. No shit, Sherlock, part of the origin story of the Haudenosaunee is that the Five Nations used to fight each other. The violence of our past is not news to us, and treating us as though we act as though we're somehow hiding that part of our history in order to present the world a squeaky-clean image is to treat us as though we are as equally ignorant as you. Therefore the only possible thing you could be saying here is "It's okay, they really were savages." And no one in this Chili's ever really seems to consider that, from our perspective, the colonists were just as violent as we were, if not more. To the point where us ~violent savages~ took notice and commented on it. We don't call George Washington "the town destroyer" because he rolled up into town saying pretty please.

You realize the flaw in your logic? We were violent and imperialistic just like every other group in history, and that's grounds enough to dismiss anything we say on the matters of white supremacy and imperialism. But if the colonists were acting such fools that even we were like "damn, dude," then just how violent and imperialistic could we have been, really? And what does it say, then, that the colonists never had their "damn, dude" moment when it came to our genocide?

People who have beef with "Turtle Island" are so weird, dude. It's just a name. Nobody's insisting it's this place's only name and that everyone has to use it. The other person decided to use it once and you're all "nOt aLl InDiAnS" about it. Okay.

Yeah no, you don't give a shit about Salish, Seminole, Nahua, or Navajo views of the world because you don't actually tell us what they call the world. You're just using them as rhetorical chess pieces. In case you're confused about the context, the OP of the post I screenshotted created the above reblog as a response to this portion of another's post:

And while, yes, this is a tad reductive and does not reflect the experiences of all Native tribes across the continent (who's treating who like the monolith again, OP? hmm), it also carries a grain of truth which would be equally disingenuous to ignore. When the colonists first began living among the Haudenosaunee, they were surprised by the zero amounts of rape they saw. I am not exaggerating that number. They looked, but they did not see a single rape in their time there. The most damning conclusion you should take away from that is not that a lack of rape is a random fluke of an otherwise dark human nature; it's that the colonists had been expecting rape as a natural matter of course and were surprised to see its dearth among a society they assumed to be more "primitive" than theirs. Rather than reflect on their beliefs and perhaps do some soul-searching on why they expected to see rape everywhere they fucking went, they shrugged and were like "idk dude." (The men did, at least. The women noted the disparity in how they were treated, and thus the seeds for suffrage were planted.) They did not seem to realize that the reason rape was so prevalent in their culture was because rape is the byproduct of a societal attitude which treats people like possessions. Remove the dehumanization and you eliminate a lot of the impetus for rape.

The Haudenosaunee's lack of rape is due to a variety of factors. One among them being that women are considered people first and foremost, not objects, and another being that Haudenosaunee culture does not allow the kind of fuckery that enables abuse. If a man hit his wife, he would see his things strewn outside the Longhouse door the next day, and he was fully expected to pack up and leave without protest. Our society takes measures to ensure abuse is not tolerated at a material level that engenders Actual Consequences for the abuser. If you prove unable to treat people with a baseline level of respect, you have no business being part of society to begin with. By contrast, Christianity made divorce nearly impossible and thus trapped many women in abusive marriages. This worldview heavily colors Western perceptions of Haudenosaunee culture to this day, and "women have an equal say in how things are run"/"we are matrilineal" tends to be misinterpreted as "they are a matriarchal society (read: patriarchy except Uno-reversed)" and "women wear the pants." In reality, our society is gender equitable. Women only seem to "have power" when they have a say and your baseline perspective is "women ought to have no say."

Re. scalping, another popular refrain of the "um, ackshually" crowd. As I have said earlier in this post, more Indians were scalped by white people than white people were scalped by Indians and Indian-Indian scalpings put together. White people sold Indian scalps to the government, yet no one ever brings that up in discussions of this ilk. Gee, I wonder why.

"The US is not a monolith" - Cry me a river. The government killed 95% of us regardless of who we were or where we were from. The colonists might have deemed some tribes more "civilized" than others, but you have to keep in mind that it was a divide-and-conquer tactic. Their paying lip service to some tribes' supposed "civility" didn't prevent them from attempting to kill and/or assimilate all of them.

"Which part of the US?" - You are being obtuse. The federal government. The elected body chosen to represent this country and its interests. The government that made us move to inhospitable climes and then forbade us from moving anywhere else, ripped children out of their homes, placed them in residential schools and beat the language out of them. The structures they erected which operate on indigenous oppression to this day.

Our genocide never stopped, by the way. It just donned a fancier-looking suit. Instead of kidnapping children and sticking them in boarding schools, social services simply invent bullshit reasons to take kids away from their parents so they can be placed in the foster system and lose their culture. They criminalize poverty and wonder why Indians are suicidal. They do nothing about missing and murdered indigenous people. They send bodybags instead of clean water or masks. This world makes it almost impossible to be indigenous and then blames Indians for not trying hard enough. We mention white supremacy because the US cannot exist as it is today without our genocide. Manifest Destiny was a deliberate project of white supremacy, and our elimination through death or force was regarded as the ultimate "solution" to the "Indian problem." It was all very much intentional.

The government will never acknowledge it as such, however, because acknowledging it requires them to admit on some level that the country's very foundations are illegal.

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marvelswinterfrost · 7 months

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Force of Gravity - Prologue

Pairing: Loki x Bucky Barnes (MCU)

Summary: After the magician performs his last trick, it's time to go home. So when Loki plays his last card, he needs someone to protect him from the dangers of the realms. There is nowhere left to go but earth where he is looking for someone just as broken as him.

This story does not follow certain MCU plots after CACW - Bucharest. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, as they belong to Marvel.

A/N: However, I do own all the grammatical errors this fanfiction contains. I have no beta reader, english is not my native language and I have also not written in this language for over a year, so please be patient with me as I slowly regain my ability to form a correct sentence. Thank you! :) ...

There was a dark cloud looming over the city of Bucharest, that hid the bright and warm sun from the busy streets, as if it wanted to play hide and seek with the masses below. Here and there you would find old newspapers being carried by the wind. They seemed to be floating effortlessly.

And eventhough there was rustling and conversations being heard from every side, there stood a silent and still figure hidden in the shadow of a large oak tree. His appearance was masked by the darkness the shadow casted onto him. Only his tall, slim figure was a contrast to the grey wall behind him. His eyes followed a particular man wearing a black cap that was talking to a vendor on the street.

As the conversation between the two people neared its end, the tall figure silently and slowly made his way towards them. His features now plainly visable as the sun took the secrets the shadow bore. His long, black and greasy hair was tucked behind his ears and the black suit that he wore looked flawless, which was quite odd considering the state of his hair. Not even coming to a halt, he watched a plum, that might had lost it's way, roll off of the wooden table and onto the sidewalk.

Carefully, he picked it up and examined the fresh fruit. Looking back at the man with the black hat, he cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the man before him.

"I apologize," he said with an outstreched arm that held the plum as if it was a temptation right as the man had turned around, "but I think you might have lost this."

His voice was calm and deep. Easy to get lost in, one might think. The man had turned around, looking at the fruit in the stranger's hand. He hesitated a little bit before gently grabbing it. His gloved hand, the stranger noticed, seemed hard as steel as he accidentally made contact with his own. The man with the hat smiled a soft but unsure thank you before starting to head off.

"It is a nice day today." the black haired man said. The other stopped but remained silent, not bothering to turn around. "So why the gloves?" he asked.

The man grabbed the paper bag, that held his plums, tighter. Even from behind him you could see his Adam's apple move as he swallowed with fear. His shoulders were tense and his breaths were coming quicker and quicker.

"It's a skin condition." he explained rather dully. He turned his face a little to the left so that in the corner of his eye, he could see the tall man in the corner of his eye. He knit his eyebrows in confusion as he made out the black suit the slim man wore. Not the usual attire people wore around this part of town.

"I think I might have heard of your condition, sergeant Barnes." there seemed to not be a single second left between his last word and the collision of his back and the dirty wall of the building they had stood next to. A loud grunt came from his lips as the strong gloved hand squeezed around his slender throat.

"Who the hell are you?" Barnes barked. Emotions raw as the anger and fear in his eyes mixed with his panicked breathing.

"That should not be any of your concern. All I ask is for a favour." he gasped as he started to push the heavy arm away from his throat. His eyebrows shot up in confusion as the grip on his throat only got tighter and tighter.

"I don't do favours anymore." Barnes hissed at the taller man again. "Go back to whatever scumbag sent you and tell them-" he stopped and gripped the throat tighter as the taller man's head started to look to the left, completely unbothered. The black haired man's head was forcefully pulled in his direction again.

"Look at me- you go back and tell them that if I find them, they are dead." his threats were coming out in low, deep hushed but the anger they held was intimidating. His nose almost touching the nose of the strange man. But once he made sure the other man understood, he let go.

The strange man straightened his suit, brushing off the dusty particles that were painfully visible on his all black outfit. But despite being practically thrown at a nearby wall, he seemed to be rather unbothered.

"Whoever you seem to take me for, I can assure you, I mean no harm." He stretched out his hand again, letting it hang low for Barnes to take it. As the man explected, he refused. So the stranger took it back and straightened his back.

"I am Loki of Asgard. And I have come to you in need of protection."

...

Chpt 2

If you liked it, please leave me a comment, it would mean the world to me!

#winterfrost #loki #marvel #bucky barnes #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #bucky #fanfiction #bucky/loki #lokixbucky #angst #hurt #comfort #fanfic

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hummingbird-of-light · 8 months

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Against All Odds

Part 695

McCoy

“You’ve read it?”

“Yes,” David said.

“I just found out,” McCoy said. “I just got back. I- I didn’t pay attention to any news today.”

David nodded. “This picture,” he began, “is it real?”

“Yes,” McCoy said miserably. It had been a lighthearted moment. Now it had been twisted against him. Who had seen them? Who had dug into the system and found it?

David seemed to sigh. “Where did it come from? It looks like one of the school hallways.”

“It is,” Scotty said. “Someone went into the security cameras and found it. There’s no security protocols on the system.”

David frowned. “How would— no, nevermind.” He recomposed his face. “Leonard, were you injured? It mentions a bruise?”

McCoy looked at Scotty, who nodded at him. He had tried to keep everything quiet. His shoulders dropped, and he sank further into the desk chair.

“He was attacked and hit by a boy here,” Scotty said before McCoy could open his mouth. “One that Jocelyn is hanging out with.”

He was surprised, but he knew how much Scotty had wanted him to report Pete at the time.

“I had a cracked rib from it,” McCoy nearly whispered.

The king’s eyes opened in surprise.

“Why didn’t Christopher let me know?”

“I didn’t report them. When people saw at swim practice we made up a lie about it. The nurse fixed the rib though,” McCoy said.

David looked frustrated.

“They covered the camera when they did it,”

McCoy said quickly. “It would have been my word against theirs. I didn’t want them to think I was weak and went running to have someone else take care of things for me.”

“Except the bruise on your chest would have proven you right,” Scotty said quietly.

David was quiet, except for a long exhalation.

“Leonard,” he finally said slowly, “there are times to remain quiet and times to speak up.”

Scotty’s PADD began to chirp behind them. He got up to silence it.

“Alright,” David said, “I am going to come there in the morning. You are going to tell me everything that is going on, and everything that has happened. All of it. We are going to sort this out and be done with it.”

“What about Jocelyn?” McCoy asked. “It’s her fault. She keeps telling these lies because she wants to ruin my life. She’s the one twisting everything against me. How do we make her stop?”

“We are going to put this right, and then be done with it,” David said again.

“Ok,” McCoy said, hearing the petulance in his own voice.

“I will be there after breakfast boys, be ready.”

McCoy flopped face first onto the bed when they finished the call. He was still miserable.

Scotty’s hand rubbed his back.

“The king’ll get it all right again,” he said softly.

McCoy rolled over and sat up abruptly.

“Scotty, I- I’ve never done anything you didn’t want- didn’t like, have I? I’ve never forced something you didn’t want?” He knew his eyes were wide and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he waited for his fiancé’s answer.

Part 696

Scotty

Scotty blinked a few times in confusion. He couldn't believe that Leonard was actually asking that question.

Still, he could see that his fiancé was serious about the question, so he quickly grabbed both of his hands and squeezed them, shaking his head.

"What? Nae, mo ghràdh! Ye never forced me to do anything."

He remembered all the times when Leonard had wanted a wee bit too much, but as soon as Scotty had said something, the prince had always stopped and apologized.

"Ye... can be quite passionate from time to time, but ye never hurt me. Ever! Everything that has happened between us was consensual, ye hear me?"

Leonard's eyes were still wide, but he nodded slowly.

"I love ye, Len. And I would always tell ye if something bothers me."

They stared at each other a moment longer, before Scotty pulled his fiancé into another hug.

"Bidh sinne dìreach ceart gu leòr," he whispered in his soothing native language, "we'll be just fine."

Dinner was an awkward affair. Everyone was staring at them and Scotty felt the blush on his cheeks. He bumped his knee against Leonard's, searching for his love's comfort.

They could hear distinct chattering coming from across the table, but Scotty tried his best to ignore it.

One thing he knew for sure. They wouldn't spend their evening at the lounge.

As soon as they had finished eating, the boys quickly headed back to their room. They didn't want to talk to any of their friends.

Just when they sat down on the bed, Scotty remembered the call he had received earlier.

He grabbed the device and unlocked the screen. It had been Christine. She had tried to call him.

"Chris called earlier. She sent a few messages too. Should... we call her back?"

Leonard shrugged and rubbed a hand across his face.

"Guess we better do. She must be worried."

With a nod, Scotty tapped the screen and only a few seconds later, Christine's concerned face appeared.

"Oh my- there you are! I was so worried!"

Scotty exchanged a glance with Leonard, before he answered.

"Sorry, lassie. We were talking to Leonard's father and then it was time for dinner."

Christine sighed and nodded understandingly.

"How are you? What is it with that crazy article?!"

Slowly, Scotty started to tell their friend what had happened at town and after that. With every word he spoke, Christine's face darkened.

"That bitch! It must have been Jocelyn or her friends!"

"Aye... but I cannae find any proof," Scotty said, defeated. Leonard leaned against him.

"I hope that Father and Mr. Pike can do something."

Christine agreed on that.

"I hope so too. For both of you."

They talked a while longer about what had happened, but also about Leonard's day with Dr. Lane. Scotty listened to everything his fiancé said, but a part of his mind was already scared of what was to come on the next morning.

Hopefully David could help them.

#star trek #montgomery scott #leonard mccoy #scones #au #against all odds

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nekoannie-chan · 8 months

Text

Weird place

Title: Weird place.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!Reader.

Word count: 652 words.

Rating: Teen.

Square: O4 “AU: Horror”.

Summary: Steve and you went to an old HYDRA Base.

Warnings/Tags: Cursed place, hallucinations, lost of memory, some kind of magic.

A/N: This is my entry to @allcapsbingo. AC1078.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish: Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter.

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989

Today was one of those days when Steve felt very confused. Again, he had had some confusing dreams, but during all those years, you had never managed to make him remember his past.

The only clue and proof you had was Bucky. Even though he was in the organization with you, Bucky didn't remember anything about his past either; the only thing he knew was that Steve and he had been best friends since childhood.

Steve took his shield. He was ready for the next mission; it would only be him and you. You took your weapons and turned to see him.

"Steve, are you ready?" You asked, he nodded, and you saw the location; it seemed like a strange place, but you preferred not to say anything.

Everything seemed normal as usual; however, when you were close to the location, you hid the vehicle, and the forest you had to go through looked too creepy.

"Are you sure this is the location?" Steve was confused; the images you had been shown were completely different.

"That's right, it's correct; it's probably an illusion to prevent people from entering that place; it's obvious that it would easily scare someone away," you answered while making sure that everything was in order, especially your weapons.

You continued walking; the place was becoming more and more gloomy. Maybe it had not been such a good idea to have gone alone; you should have gone with some reinforcements. Of course, if the situation worsened, you would ask for some.

Steve signaled to you that it was safe to enter; the symbol on the wall caught their attention, and as you started to walk inside the place, he found some documents that didn't add anything.

"What is HYDRA?" you asked him when you saw one of the documents.

"I don't know; I had never heard of this; do you think it has something to do with...?"

"I don't know; we need to keep looking; maybe we'll find something."

Steve didn't realize at what moment you separated, but when he turned to look for you, you were gone. He tried to contact you through the intercom several times.

The damn base was empty. Was it a joke?

Had you planned a prank or someone else's?

Still, he had a bad feeling.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw you pass by, or maybe it was one of the enemies; he wasn't sure, but he decided to go check it out, still taking precautions. However, he did not see you again, nor did anyone else.

Suddenly, on the intercom, it seemed to be working again. You signaled for him to meet you in the east corridor, but there was nothing there, and it was best if they left. He went as fast as he could to where you told him to go, but when he got there, you were not there; in fact, there was no one there.

"Steve, where are you?" you asked over the intercom.

"In the east corridor, as you told me," Steve answered.

"I told you I was waiting for you outside; there is something wrong with this place; we must leave immediately."

Steve felt that something or someone was watching him. Just as you had told him, there was something wrong with that place; it was definitely not a mission for anything but two people.

As fast as he could, he met with you, and he was also going to investigate further what Hydra was and if it had anything to do with what happened to him and Bucky.

"I think we'd better bring Maximoff and Strange; this place is cursed, and we need reinforcements, but not the usual ones," you said as Steve drove as fast as he could to get away from the place. Nothing was right, and you didn't want to be in any more danger.

#allcapsbingo #allcapsbingo2023 #steve rogers x reader

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anarchotolkienist · 7 months

Note

I don't know how asking asks work, so please forgive me if I've already made this ask.

1. What dialect of Gàidhlig are you learning on DuoLingo?

2. Do you have any resources for Gàidhlig you recommend for people trying to learn the language?

3. Are there any good university level programs worth attending to learn Gàidhlig?

I hope to move back to Scotland in the future and want to help preserve the culture of my spouse and our kids that white supremacy stole from my family. Any additional resources are always helpful!

No bother at all!

1. Is this the passive you or the singular you? I myself am not learning any dialect at all on Duolingo because I was already fluent when it came out, but wrt grammar Duolingo teaches you the standard mid-minch, which is mostly used by the various Gaelic churches these days, and for pronounciation they give you a good cross-section of ages and islands. You will have some examples of native speakers from all the islands, North to South, that is to say, all dialects that are relatively lively today. In other words, no mainland speakers, if those are the dialects you yourself are interested in. However, learning the grammatical standard and island dialects will be useful to you even if this is what you're interested in - it's much easier to modulate from the standard than it is to scratch learn a specific dialect.

2. Depends on where you are in the world and in Scotland! But I'm assuming you're not in the country, based on the moving back comment, and if so I'd recommend the resources from SpeakGaelic (a podcast, tv programme and lesson plan) - the A series is aimed at early learners and is much better for explaining grammar than Duolingo is. I'd also recommend getting in touch with some class or course, to have someone to try speaking to and to correct you if you're wrong, so you don't accidentally naturalise a mistake in your own Gaelic. Shoot me a DM or another ask with where you are based and I'll see if I have some specific recommendations if you want :)

3. Well, I'm very biased but I think the University of Glasgow has a very good beginners course, which is the one that I did myself. They also have Bliadhna Bhogaidh, a year-long intensive for intermediate speakers that's not part of a programme, so you don't need to committ to a four-year programme, and a large and very active Gaelic society, the Comunn Oiseannach. Other than that, the Gaelic collage on Skye might be worth attending, depending on your level and what you feel you need, but that will depend on the year.

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pebblysand · 2 years

Text

[on arseholes on the internet]

i received an ask this morning which i rage-deleted but upon reflexion, i've decided to address it.

this ask was from the person with whom i argued in the comments section of castles yesterday.

context:

now, if you don't have the context, feel free to check it out, but i also don't want to shed more light on this stupidly silly debate on the canon-ness of castles itself - i already feel bad that i spent a day (and a half, now) addressing this person's comments when i already have a backlog half a dozen asks and about 20 comments in my queue. it gives the impression that arseholes (yes, i will come back to this word in a minute) are more deserving of my time than people who are genuine and kind, which is obviously not right. however, on the other hand, there are things that need to be said, here, so i'm going to give this another hour of my time, before forever putting it to rest.

first, i want to state for the record that the ask this person sent was polite, in the way that there were no insults or name-calling. they were simply annoyed that i called them an idiot and an arsehole on here (rightfully claiming that they never called me names) and that i blocked them on ao3. they explained that they'd apologised, that they never meant to be rude (their initial message would have sounded different in their native language), that they had tried to bow out of the conversation a number of times, and that i was the one who'd kept it going.

now, i'm not going to re-do yesterday's match. their first message was terribly rude, called a detail in castles "unforgivable" and "wrong on so many levels" - i think that's pretty plain to see. i also think it's pretty clear that they then decided to engage in an intense nit-picking exercise of everything i said, determined as they were to prove to me that i got canon wrong. their tone and messages were of the kind where as an author, if you don't respond, it looks like you're refusing to address criticism and if you do respond, you continue to feed the behaviour, so either way - you can't get it right. i chose to respond, and am again choosing to respond here, for reasons i will explain below.

my tl;dr point:

the reason i chose to respond, and the reason i am writing this post today is this: i am so sick and so tired of people getting away with shitty behaviour on the internet, without facing the consequences of their actions. i am sick and tired of people saying rude things and getting away with excuses such as "english isn't my native language" or "i didn't mean to be rude." i am so sick and tired of people saying: you don't get to call me an arsehole because i didn't call you one. as i said in one of my replies yesterday: "you mean this aggressively and thus, get responses that fit your energy."

more details on my point:

the thing is: english isn't my native language either. additionally, i am french, a country in which social conventions as to rudeness are very different to the english speaking world. yet, i have never, in my life, displayed the kind of behaviour that this user displayed yesterday. i have received plenty of critical comments and asks about castles, and have never felt the need to block someone. to take an hp example, as i've always said: fleur isn't rude because of her behaviour itself, which would be quite acceptable in france. she's rude because she refuses to adapt and listen to the social conventions and cues of the place she is in. this is a little bit of the same problem.

let me tell you: i agonised yesterday over the decision of blocking this user. that is because as i said to some of you in private, i know castles is controversial, i know it needs to be discussed, and i never want to be seen as stifling the conversation or refusing to take criticism because i think criticism and dissent is the cornerstone of our society. i don't think it's wise or healthy for me as a person to create my own little kingdom where everyone agrees with me, and everyone thinks i'm "the shit," blocking out everyone else. sure, my ego would be pleased, but we already exist in most aspects of our lives in such a strong environment of confirmation bias that i would never purposefully seek to make it worse. dissent is tough, especially on a work where you've poured your heart and soul in for years, i'm not going to deny that - but it is necessary to us as humans, living in a functional society. at least, it is to me. this is why i always respond to all of my comments, even the critical ones, and why i encourage you to tell me if something in my fics sounds insensitive or wrong to you. i don't necessarily like it. and yes, i find criticism crushing. but, we are dealing with pretty delicate topics, and i accept that there are other voices than mine, in this debate. it can be hard, but it is necessary.

however, there seems to be a subset of readers on the internet who increasingly view fanfic writers as influencers, or professional content creators, which we are not. because, majorly, we are not paid for the work we do. and yes, this matters. because, what makes criticism in an actual job fair, what justifies a certain degree of expected perfection, is financial compensation. in the world that we live in, which is (for better or for worse) a capitalist hellscape, time is money. and, as i am not being paid, i do not have the time to take this fic to a degree of perfection that i would, if i were. and i do not have the time to deal with nit-picking and rudeness in the same way i would if this was my full-time job. to give you an example: in order to finish this last batch of castles chapters, i have already been working almost all of my weekends, for the past three months. for the past six weeks, i have been either going to bed or waking up at 5 AM multiple times a week. all the time that i'm spending writing this post this morning, i will pay for tonight by having to work overtime to do what i need to do with castles. and, yes, of course, it's a hobby. of course, i enjoy it. of course, it is my choice. but that does not mean it is not work. and, if i could charge for this work, perhaps i wouldn't have to wake up early, or work nights as well as days, because this would be my full-time job. and, if this was my job, i would perhaps have more hours to devote to canon-checking, which seemed to be the major issue, here.

so, when commenters come at fic writers nit-picking through our work and tearing apart everything we say/write: yes, it is rude. and, yes, we have a right to be offended. because, your refusal to tolerate a healthy level of imperfection in a work that you consume for free frankly does my head in. the audacity you have to come into my comment section to argue with me on details also does my head in. for example, dear commenter, i will be honest (as i was yesterday) and say this: yes, i forgot that lucius malfoy was trying to break into the wizengamot in ootp. because, i am not paid to know the books by heart. and, i am not perfect. also, i don't care. this is so far from the bigger picture of the fic that you are miles away from the bloody frame. yet, i still gave you my time, on my irl work break, and gave you a very valid response on how i would make that work and yet still have castles function within the world of canon. you still refused to see light. this is not a polite discussion, anymore, it's an exercise in proving you are right.

because, i have to ask: what is the project, here? what is the end goal, if not to be rude? i don't believe you want me to change the fic, or at least you never said you did. this chapter that you are referring to is over six months old. you never said anything before. you didn't even comment on the chapter in question. this is not criticism with a point. this is not criticism to be constructive or better me as a human. this is criticism where, per your own admission, you read this blog, saw that i had put a lot of work in creating the wizarding justice system, and purposefully then came into my comments section to tell me: regardless of all the work you put in, here is this one detail you forgot. here's where i got you. here's where you're not good enough. this, on a work with which you have never interacted before (despite the fact that you've been reading my blog for months, it seems), and never said one positive thing about. and, you want me to just sit there and take it. you want me to accept it, send you flowers, and say: congratulations, you got me! this is not entirely compliant with the canon established by a series of books that are probably over 1, 000, 000 words long! 🥳 then, you tell me i don't get to call you an arsehole? i beg to differ. that is arsehole behaviour, and i will call it out.

which brings me to my last point: "you mean this aggressively and thus, get responses that fit your energy."

i have seen in the past few years (and this transcends fanfiction) a trend amongst most of us, saying: "don't feed the trolls." "don't respond, don't engage." plenty of people told me that yesterday, too. "they're just a troll, block them and move on." and, i don't blame them. i appreciate not everyone always has the energy to fight (and i definitely have let certain things slide in the past) all the time. but, not fighting this kind of behaviour, not calling it out, not responding to comments that clearly invite a response, allows people like this to continue to exist unchallenged and unchecked, under the pretext that it's the internet, and trolls are just trolls. i disagree. because, this user exhibiting this behaviour towards me is one thing. i'm a big girl, i can deal. but what if they go on the fic of a fifteen year old writer who's just starting out and do the same thing? what if they come at someone in my comments section sharing very personal details (as this has happened in the past), and go and question their experience? this conversation yesterday crushed my spirits. i didn't want to write anymore. and this is unfair to the dozens of other readers reading this fic. it's unfair to me. it's unfair to all the people who provided feedback/concrit in a much more polite and thoughtful way before this.

i hate this silencing culture that you shouldn't respond to hate, arseholes, or trolling behaviour on the internet. it only makes the victims feel more isolated, makes them question their own sanity, and allows this kind of behaviour to propagate. i'm not writing this post about this incident in particular, which is quite tame and only a fandom hiccup in the grand scheme of things, but about all the hate, and moronic behaviour that i see online, every day, that is just allowed to exist in our space. i hate this whole argument of: "well, i didn't mean to be rude," or, "well, i apologised." because unlike the catholic church, i don't think you can get away with being an arsehole just by apologising. being rude, then telling the person you were rude to that you didn't mean it like that, and that they have no right to call you an arsehole, invalidates their feelings. makes them feel like "well, this user didn't mean it rudely and thus, i'm overreacting. my reaction is the wrong one." that's gaslighting. and, it drives me fucking nuts.

never saying anything positive about a work, then showing up one random day to nit-pick flaws is arsehole behaviour. it's completely different from being a regular commenter, and reader, and pointing out a discrepancy, flaw, bad characterisation or treatment of a theme. i don't force people to comment or interact with me, of course, i understand some people just don't want to/don't feel comfortable, and that's their right. but, then, when you drop in with rudeness and criticism as a first interaction, you cannot reasonably believe it'll be well-received, especially when it's phrased argumentatively. (as i indicated in one of my responses yesterday, there were ways this question could have been worded much more respectfully.)

and, don't get me wrong, being an arsehole is a god-given right, but as i've said before, the hypocrisy of pretending you're not/didn't know/the author is overreacting is what does my head in. as a lawyer, i've been an arsehole to many people in the past, sometimes it's kind of my job, but i've always owned it. i've sometimes apologised for means of delivery, or context, but i've never been like "oh, i didn't mean it," cause of course i did. words are a weapon and you need to understand that using weapons generally triggers a right of retaliation. frankly, i'm kind of done with pretending it doesn't. engaging in arsehole behaviour triggers the unfortunate consequence of being called one. publicly. even if you didn't "mean" to be one.

so, to all of my fic writers friends out there: fight the arseholes. if you don't have the will/strength, just message me and i will do it for you. there's well-phrased, interesting and engaging concrit, and then there's this. as my lord and saviour lily allen says: "look me up and down, i don't make a sound, but if there's one thing i want you to learn is if you're gonna play with fire, then you're gonna get burnt."

with lots of love,

pebblysand.

#fic #writing #castles #asked and answered

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