#’cause they INSIST!! on droning out thirds directly in my ear?!

[void-tiger]

How can I pick up “weird” choral parts that aren’t a lazy “just singing a third below at all times”? Well, for one I got tossed into the deep end in college with the second soprano part being “whatever’s leftover ‘cause y’all can actually read. Now have fun or you’re getting kicked out, ya expendable surplus soprano!” (no really. weeks of that. the director didn’t Shut Up until I ended up having a public nervous breakdown, especially since he spent years taking my name off the audition list but letting freshman sopranos in after telling me I WAS good enough when I first enrolled years ago) in addition to my actual music theory and ear training classes (and accepting it’s NOT a “sour note”, the chord’s just dissonant. That’s the point!)

But in my own time? I just think of harmonies like counter melodies weaving a tapestry, and listening for whatever’s playing in the base, root, or main melody and making a “grab bag” of notes in the chord. Experimentation. What’s smooth or crunchy. (And when in doubt, droning the root is almost never wrong, but Not Every Chord Has A Third, Altos!! Music can have more texture than that!)

[whythinktoomuch]

i. apocalypse now & then

Kara touched down, her boots meeting the earth with a metallic clunk that was promptly swallowed up in the dust and utter grayness of her surroundings. The warnings came immediately—insistent beeps, bright red numbers and figures flashing before her eyes.

“How’s it looking?” asked the tinny voice in her helmet, and Kara sighed.

“Yeah, you were right. Place is infested,” she said, studying the mess of debris and desolation that seemed to feed directly into the faint horizon in every direction. “Kryptonite readings are off the charts. There’s either a tower nearby, or mines just planted all over. Maybe even both, if i’m Iucky.”

Alex let out a harsh breath. “Look, I know you’re not going to leave until you find those people, but you better watch your fucking back out there, okay?”

“Hm… don’t I always though?”

“You ask that every single time, and every single goddamn time, I have to re-mind you of all—”

“All right, all right…” Kara said, rolling her eyes. “Just stop worrying so loudly already, jeez. I’ll keep you posted the entire time.”

“Like that was ever an option.”

“Love you too,” Kara said breezily, and she began her search.

She explored the area in proportioned sections, slipping periodically into x-ray vision, keeping her feet drifting an inch off the ground at all times. You just never knew these days. By now, Kara had stepped on enough lead-wrapped kryptonite mines for one lifetime, which coincidentally had been the same number of times it took to gray almost the entirety of Alex’s head. Or so Alex claimed anyway.

Apparently, over two decades of this sort of living could do that to a person: make them older, but also, steal away every last bit of their sense of humor. 

--

Whenever Kara happened upon a particularly extensive blind spot—jagged slabs of lead piled on top of each other—she took her time. Carefully sifted her way through all that rubble, with a spare bit of rebar or her heat vision from a safe distance. Calling out to any potential survivors that could have been trapped underneath. But as she steadily neared hour two of her search, it was starting to look like a lost cause. That whoever had sent that distress signal must have since succumbed to the environment, like so many others already had done before them.

Then Kara heard it.

Whipping her head around, Kara strained her ears to their very limit, all the while silently cursing how muffled everything sounded in this godforsaken suit of hers. It took a minute or so to hone in on it, but she finally made out the distant voice.

Help us. Save us. We’re down here.

Kara snapped into action, already hurtling full-speed toward the source of the cry. “Alex, I found them.”

“About fuckin’ time,” Alex said, but the note of relief carried through the speakers loud and clear. It always did, of course, given the scarcity of such a feeling as of late. “All right, get them out of there, and hurry your ass up. You’ve already been out there for too long.”

The voice grew louder and more distinct as Kara approached it, and eventually, she could even distinguish other people in the mix—their whispers, the muted beats of their heart seemingly punctuating every word, and all the shallow breaths of air in between. She counted at least five separate individuals, five more lives that she could potentially save from this impossible landscape.

But by the time Kara reached the point where the voice was sounding from below rather than from the distance, her excitement had all but waned, receded back into the ever present anxiety hanging in the air.

“… Fuck,” she huffed out, staring at the large swathe of broken rock and dirt and twisted metal beneath her, the letter K spray-painted all over the surface in a faded green. “Alex. They’re in a mine-rigged shelter.”

“Forget it then. Just get out of there,” Alex said, all rather predictably. “We can send an extraction team with defusers in the morning.”

“But that’ll take too long,” Kara protested. “It would take days, just for a task force to cover all that distance, and these people need help now.”

“No. I want you to put down a marker and come right the fuck back home,” Alex said. “That’s your last kryptonite filtration suit! If anything happens, if you sustain even the slightest bit of damage out there, you could—”

Kara cut the feed and swiftly locked her comms from all available channels, employing one of the few tips Winn had passed onto her before he died. Because Alex didn’t understand. How could she, when she wasn’t the one who had to listen to these desperate cries for help from people just barely out of reach.

She floated outside the presumed blast radius, planted her feet firmly to the ground, and went to work. Uncovering the buried shelter bit by bit, one sizable mass of charred rubble dug up after the other. It wasn’t easy. The kryptonite in the area, though not exposed, was much too close for comfort even through her suit. And it made the sun hotter, everything heavier, and Kara’s progress as slow as it could possibly be.

But all that—the sweat gathering on her brow, the soreness burning up her lower back—was a very small price to pay when weighed against the lives of at least five people in need. So, Kara kept going. She kept burrowing deeper into the earth with her bare hands, until the sun was but a small twinkle above her head and her fingertips were brushing against a patch of warmed metal.

And she could hear them better now. They were so close.

Kara pressed her palm against what had to be the outer wall of their shelter. “Hey, can you hear me in there?”

“Please help us!” came the frantic response, only somewhat muffled now. “Please get us out! We can’t breathe in here!”

“Okay! Okay… I’m gonna get you out, okay?” Kara shouted back, heart thumping hard in her ears. “Just… hang on.”

A quick once-over was all it took to determine that the wall before her—like most other surfaces nowadays—was naught but a few inches of commercial steel, coated in a thin layer of lead. And as such, all it would to take, of course, to break into such a structure was—THUNK!—a single punch from the Girl of Steel herself.

Kara ripped a hole in the wall, using her heat vision to melt down the edges as she tugged the entire thing apart. Eventually satisfied with her efforts, she was just about to crawl through her rather crude but functional doorway when the speakers in her helmet abruptly flipped back on.

“—him back to life, and just… throttle him for showing you that trick!” Alex was practically hollering in her ear. “Why would you ever need to do that anyway? The whole frickin’ point of the—”

“Whoa, Alex, Alex, it’s fine! I’m fine! Just shh!” Kara hastily cut her off. “I’ve pretty much got my foot in the door already, okay? So, I’m helping these people whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah, you fucking better,” Alex said with a scoff. “I want to look these people in the eye while you explain to me what was so goddamn special about them that you had to…”  

And Kara barked out a laugh, shaking her head in wonder as Alex continued to chew her out in a way that only sisters could, apparently. “Hey, you can do whatever you want, okay? Just let me bring them home first.”

“Fine. Just don’t kill the comms this time.”

“Oh, I would never.”

“Kara, I fucking swear to—”

But the rest of all that swearing quickly faded into the backdrop, as Kara finally poked her head into what should have been just another underground refuge from everything their world now had to offer. Because ten feet below from where she had burrowed her way in, was not a handful of dehydrated people waiting to be rescued—only masses upon masses of thick coils and plates of smooth black metal shifting about.

That’s when Kara realized that it’d been quite some time since she’d heard a cry for help. And soon after that was when a muted click! sounded, then somewhere down there in the midst of all that darkness and mechanical movement, came another loop of voices calling out to her.

“Oh shit…” Kara whispered, and at least ten sets of glassy eyes flicked up to stare at her. The pre-recorded voices immediately cut out, and the entire room lit up in a vibrant green as the machines all powered up with a collective hum. “Shit, shit, shit, you were right!”

“Right about what?” Alex demanded, but Kara was too busy heeding her long overdue advice of getting the fuck out there to respond.

Kara burst from the ground in a flurry of dust and clattering scrap metal, already heading for the horizon at full-speed. She needed to put as much distance as possible between her and the decoy shelter. It was nothing short of an honest-to-Rao miracle that her sudden escape hadn’t tripped any of the mines on-site, but now, it was only a matter of time.

Still hurtling away, Kara threw a glance over her shoulder just in time to see the first three drones break through the surface, already mindlessly chasing after her. Then the third and the fourth crashed right on through after them, which abruptly led to a series of rapid beeping, which abruptly led to a violent disturbance in the air that stole away all the sound from the world and knocked Kara right out of the sky.

(next part here)

[randomwordprompts]

If It’s Magic | Chapter 10

A/N: It’s really been almost a year since I updated this story!! I almost didn’t but my friends gave me the kick in the ass I needed to finish this chapter I’ve been sitting on. Hope you enjoy this lil ride, I’ll try to be more consistent in my postings!

Warnings: sex (at the beginning if you squint), anti-blackness, cursing

Taglist: @thadelightfulone @soufcakmistress @bakarilennox @wakandan-flowerz @wakandas-vibranium @yaachtynoboat711 @storibambino @brwnsugababe @reaperdeldrunk​

“Fuck...we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Why not though? It feels so fucking good…”

Amira and Xavier were in a rather compromising position. What began as a mutually agreed upon meet up at the library to talk turned into them in the back corner of said library humping each other. Her school girl-style skirt was hiked up around her hips and his pants were undone, his hardened dick freed from its confines. With Amira’s thong pushed to the side they were rubbing against each other skin on skin, the head of his length rubbing directly on her now swollen clit.

“My dick is fucking throbbing, Mira. Shit,” Xavier started, cut off by the insistent moving of Amira’s hips.

“I know and it feels so good. Xavier you’re going to make me cum like this, fuck…”

At her words he tightened his grip on her ass and pulled her against him harder, burying his face in her neck. Amira gasped and bit into her lip to keep from making noise in the silent space. Just when she felt her orgasm hit Xavier pulled back from her throat and kissed her lips to muffle her moans. He groaned against her softly before sliding himself into her wet heat, the sensation pulling growls from both of them.

“Merde, tu sens bien. I missed this...I missed you.”

“I missed you too, X…”

“I’m gonna cum already, fuck!”

Amira bounced in his lap more fervently, pressing her lips to his once more as they reached their climax at the same time. They panted softly in each other’s arms until Amira’s phone vibrated on the table next to them, reminding them that they were still in the library. She was prepared to ignore it but she saw it was her brother Jonathan. With Xavier still holding her and softening inside her, she answered the phone.

“I’m in the library Peachy, hold on.”

“You know they can expel you for fucking in public places, yeah?”

Amira sputtered for a moment before hopping off of Xavier’s lap and adjusting her clothes as he did the same, a questioning look on his face. Before she could fully respond her brother began to speak again with a chuckle.

“I shouldn’t know you that well but I do. Anyways, there’s word that we have some potential competition in New York so me and Fran are coming down this weekend to scope them out. Wanna come with?”

She answered with a question that was toned as a statement. “You need to get into somewhere important, don’t you.”

“Yes, but we also want to see our baby sister that annoys the hell out of us.”

Amira smiled at that and reached to grab her books only for Xavier to pick them up and hand her her bag, pressing his lips to the spot just below her ear. She shot him a wink before they made their way back towards the front of the library.

“I miss you too, Peachy. Just send me the info on when, where, and what dress. I’ll be there with bells on. Until then, me and X are headed to class so I’ll talk to you la-”

“WHAT YOU DOING AT THE LIBRARY WITH THAT SALAMANDER?!” sounded from the background followed by what sounded like shuffling and muffled arguing. Before she could hang up she heard Francois on the line, clearly waiting for their question to be answered.

“Yes Fran, Xavier and I came to the library to talk.”

“Talk about what? Ain’t shit for him to talk about to you, eh?”

“Oi, you don’t see me judging you for that bull you riding so cut the shit.”

Just when Francois was prepared to curse her out Jonathan took the phone again, disguising his laugh as a cough.

“Listen, before you two start trying to climb through the phone I’m gonna say have a good class and if you two are finally done acting like you don’t belong together, congrats. Don’t get pregnant before you get the ring.”

With that Jonathan hung up leaving Amira to choke on her saliva, Xavier looking at her with concern.

“Is everything ok with your siblings? I thought I heard Frankie yelling when you mentioned a bull?”

She chuckled a bit before shaking her head and replying, “Yeah they’re fine, just wanted to let me know they’ll be in town this weekend. What class do you have next?”

“I’ve got Comm then I’m gonna head to the study hall with Daniel. Are you gonna be at the BSU meeting tonight? I heard Steph is going to petition why she should be the next VP.”

Amira stopped in her tracks, causing Xavier to halt with her.

“Why the hell does Stephanie think she can run for VP of the Black Student Union? Did she miss the Black part?!”

Xavier chuckled and took her hand in his, pulling her along to the last class they have before their meeting.

...

“The BSU is meant to be a place of learning and diversity. What would say that more than electing me as your VP? I am an ally after all!”

Amira and Luci exchanged a look as Stephanie droned on about the reasons why she should be the next VP of the Black Student Union despite being white and they’d both had about enough. Amira raised a hand to be recognized by the counsel before speaking.

“With all due respect Steph, the very fact that you think you should be VP of the BSU proves that you aren’t an ally.”

A few snorts slipped out behind her as she spoke and Steph’s jaw dropped open for a moment before she continued on her tangent.

“And who would you elect as VP Amira? You? You aren’t even American, eh?”

Amira was acutely aware of both Xavier and Luci on each side of her muttering “ah shit”, knowing that Stephanie essentially just dug her own grave. She stood with a smile that nowhere near reached her eyes.

“First off you’re right, I am Canadian. However, I don’t say “eh” because I’m not a redneck from Alberta. Second, I don’t know what stupid stick hit you upside the head on the way in that made you think that would effect the fact that I am still Black but you sound like, for lack of a better term, a fucking dumbass.”

Steph opened her mouth to interrupt but Amira held up her finger like she was shushing a child.

“Aht! You spoke, now I’m speaking. Third, being an ally means you make space for those who do not have the space to be in positions such as VP. And lastly, just because you like to suck black dick does not mean you care about the people you oblivious imbecile.” 

The target of Amira’s words sputtered much like she was short circuiting at what seemed like a loss for words before a member of the council stood up.

“Well, I think Amira said what most of us were thinking if the reactions are any indication. Stephanie, your motion to run for Vice President is denied.”

Following the meeting Amira and Luci walked out after a few groups of people with Xavier in tow before being stopped by Stephanie in the hallway. She took it upon herself to stand in front of the trio and made it her business to get directly in the path of Amira. Before a word was uttered by the petite demon she started into her spiel.

“What the hell was that?! Who do you think you are, insulting me in front of everyone like that? I’ll have you know my aunt is in charge of financial aid and she will have yours cut in a fucking heartbeat, sweetie!”

Without batting an eye at Stephanie or the crowd now gathering around them, she replied.

“Hm...so you’re assuming I’m on financial aid because I’m Black yet you claim to be an ally? Pick a script and stick to it.”

Stephanie stammered in shock as Amira and her friends pushed past her and the disapproving glares others were aiming at her.

…

Friday Evening

“So. Are you and Rosey back together?”

“You know he hates when you call him that,” Amira snorted with her back to her second oldest sibling as she admired herself in the mirror.

Francois sat at her dresser and grunted before joining their brother. “That don’t answer the question, short stack.”

“No...not yet. But tonight isn’t about Xavier! Tonight we’re going to this party to scope out this supposed competition. Did you bring me the outfit?”

Francois looked at her as if to say “am I a joke to you?” before handing her the garment bag. She hung it on the door of her closet and unzipped it to reveal a blood red floor length gown with a pair of strappy black pumps and a matching burgundy clutch. With a smile, Amira pulled out the bag and shoes and placed them on the bed before unzipping the dress just when Luci peeked her head into the room.

“Just checking to see if y’all wanted anyth-” she paused, prompting the three siblings to turn in her direction before she continued. “Girl, that dress is fucking gorgeous! Where are y’all going tonight?”

“My brothers here have gotten us invited to a formal charity event with a bunch of stuffy doctors that think giving two-thousand dollars once a year is enough to “end” disenfranchisement. We’re going to go and show face on behalf of our family but also gather a bit of information.”

Luci hummed in understanding before leaving the three siblings alone once again. While Amira stepped into her dress, Jonathan gave her the info on who they were looking out for.

“So this guy’s name is Joseph Black. His father is Dr. Jacob Black, Johns Hopkins graduate and chief physician at the General Hospital in Queens. Joseph isn’t a doctor like his father, though. He prefers the socialite life without all the work of actually being successful.”

“So a trust fund baby playboy, got it.”

“Exactly. But get this: apparently Joey boy is into...street pharmaceuticals.”

“Selling or using?”

Fran stepped in to continue while zipping up her dress. “Both from what we hear, but it looks like his father is in on it too. Because our source says he’s pushing heroin & cocaine only to “help” them with over-the-counter prescriptions, for a price.”

“Which is an easy way to make money and get more legit business for his father. Doctors profit from sickness, not wellness.” Amira said with a shake of her head.

“Right, so we need to get close enough to get some info and a sample of what he’s giving to these people. Word is young Joseph has a think for short stacks, so work your magic.”

Amira chuckled and sat on the bed to slip on her heels, satin scarf still tied around her head and covered with a large bonnet. After checking her makeup one last time she removed the bonnet to show her braided high ponytail and the scarf with her hair pulled back securely but not too tight. She looked at herself once again and realized she was missing her jewelry. Black statement earrings and a matching choker with a silver pendant that fell right above the meeting of her breasts would be the finishing touches for her look.

Finally satisfied, she turned to her siblings and said, “So let’s go sniff out some rats.”