#also also the function row. function row is needed please stop

[toonelemental]

whyyyyy does no one make full size mechanical keyboards anymore

what is with the obsession with mechanical keyboards but As Small As Possible

please for the love of god i just want a numpad

[glitter-stained]

Sense the current state of jason as character is stagnant do you think dc will ever purplish a good story of him, maybe he even kills of his red hood persona and goes on to be something else that would be something I would like to see but I don’t think it will happen. Dc will forever shoehorn him in to the batfamily. At least in his anti-villian era he was actually fun now his character is in a pitiful state

do u think theirs a chance of reinvent him as character anytime soon ?

Well first of all through spite everything is possible, so jot that down.

Like seriously, remember when it was so so incredibly over like Spiderman's Uncle Ben levels of over and then Under the Hood happened? Hell yeah I think dc will publish a good Jason story

Second I may not be the best person for this ask because I like my blorbos pitiful and miserable. Like yeah defiance is awesome but exhaustion -in characters who have been angry and alone for so long, beaten dog who got electrocuted too often to bite back- has a special place in my heart. But I also agree this has to be a transitional part of a story, the arc can't be "well he was hurt and then he was angry and then he was tired and he was miserable the whole time". Unless of course he ends up perma-dying in a really meaningful arc centered around his character but I'm not sure that'd be what I want for him, and we all know how lame dc is with permadeath nowadays. I'm also very mitigated with his villain side because yeah sometimes it's very fun and cathartic to see the angry/bad victim trope, but also the classismXpsychophobia of villain Red Hood sometimes are just too much; and also I'm a jaybin fan and sometimes I feel betrayed on jaybin's behalf by elements of his villainous characterization. (One day I'll write that damned UTH rewrite, I will).

With that being said!!! I love Jason because of his potential, he has so so much of it, that's what's exhausting about his many bad comics is that yeah. Yeah, dc can absolutely publish something more than good. They don't understand the goldmine they're sitting on in terms of potential.

What I'd love to see explored in hypothetical upcoming good comics (i'll talk more about it later with malfiora but for now)/how dc could go about reinventing his character :

1) addressing Jason's suicidality and getting him a functional support system (seriously, something's gotta give)

2) Get that boy a dog. Ik he had one at some point in N52 idc give him more dogs. Big ass rescue dog that's loyal and similar to him.

2) we need to figure out a way to let Jason keep being a Crime Alley/Park Row vigilant without being dependent on Batman. Like yeah he should explore the world away from him and heal but also i'm very uncomfortable with the idea that healing, for Jason, has to mean leaving the city and neighbourhood he grew up in and protected, has to mean be shoved out of his home by a guy who doesn't live there and, at least when Jason was a kid, only visited the place one time a year because of the anniversary of his parents' death- it's not fair and I won't accept it.

3) I so so agree about the "killing the red hood persona" or at the very least changing his vigilant name. Like I get the point, I understand the use he had for him, but his story can't be centered around the Joker forever (I keep thinking about the Joker's attitude to him in The Man who stopped Laughing and god, I can see a driving force to find himself as something else than what Batman and the Joker made him). At some point his name has to become something that is his and turned towards the future.

4) art + story that acknowledges how young he is (someone please let Jason take college class please please he deserves it)

5) perhaps most importantly: batman writers often sound like hardcore deontology or hardcore utilitarianism (and the occasional egoism) are the only acceptable moral philosophies. And for characters, it works! Like I can see Batman as a Kantian, sure. But for others, it doesn't fit as well.*

The cool thing about Jason's character right now is that he's a utilitarian, but a utilitarian that often isn't guided by his values. He can and will compromise on his philosophy in the name of love and being loved ( @bestangelofall called that a morality leash) and that already sets him as an interesting character in his own right. But in terms of redefining himself as a person after decades of defining himself through his pain (which, at 20-23 years old, he should get to do) I'd love to see an evolution of his morals based on love. Specifically, I'd love from his morals to shift from mathematical utilitarianism to agape, an ancient greek concept of platonic love for everything human, a movement towards the other that can be thought of as close to some conceptualisations of empathy. Mind you, that doesn't mean that he would stop killing! I can believe in a Jason who kills because or against of agape, the pain or relief that could be so good to explore in relation to that, how he would go on to define himself as a person... I feel like Jason has a certain tendency to kinda dehumanize the worst criminals as he kills them (a lesson from Judy, love her sm) which I love, but would also love to see him grow out of - learn to see and love everyone as human and what it means, a re-exploration of his empathy.

Imagine: a scene where he kills a guy because a kid victim begged him to. The focus on the image is on the kid's big wide tearstruck eyes, and then Jason's uncertain face, the kid begging him to kill the bad guy. And then Jason kills him and they're standing so close to eachother, and he's look him in the eyes and seeing the image of the kid's eyes, and then turning back to the kid while wiping the blood on his face and seeing the kid's wide eyes looking in disbelieving awe. And then kneeling and hugging the kid as he cries his heart out. And Jason's inner monologue during all that being something like "I could say that I killed him because I'm a bad guy; I probably am. Or argue the world is better off without scum like him; I could pretend I did it so he wouldn't hurt [x] again, or that I was thinking about all the other children he wouldn't be able to hurt anymore. But the truth is, I didn't. I killed him because [x] asked me to; because I could tell that he needed it. I can live with that."

Idk, that's the direction I would love to see it going, but simply "becoming even more open, louder and unapologetic about prioritising his love over his values, and being angry when it causes him dilemma" is something I'd love with as way. Very "Odysseus knows what he's going to choose the moment the gods tell him to throw the baby off the wall to see Penelope and Telemachus, but fuck if he's angry at the gods for making him make that choice" kind of vibe if you like Epic the musical.

*i'm not saying there aren't any characters in dc that fall out of this deontological/utilitarian false dilemma, it's just a vibe I get from batman writers at times, and as a consequence of specializing in one character I don't feel legitimate in exploring the intricacies of other characters because I feel like I'm lacking information and would be making uneducated guesses (that being said, I would fuck heavily with an exploration of Cass' morals VS Levinas' concept of ethics). If anybody has recommendations of dc characters that are neither utilitarian nor deontological (or are at least an interesting twist to it) I would love them so much please don't hesitate!!!

So yeah, idk if that answers your question, I don't pretend to know the intricate working of dc editorial. But imo there are wonderful possibilities for dc to reinvent Jason and write him into good comics -call me a blue lantern cause baby I got hope.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Sweaty Palms 1

Warnings: this fic will include obsessive behaviour, possible non/ducbon, bullying, and other elements which may not be specifically triggered. Please be cautious in continuing on to the story.

Character: Curtis Everett

Summary: You start going to the gym to break old habits, but new things are scary.

Please reblog and leave some feedback, preferably in a reblog but you can always drop by my asks. I always love working in y'alls ideas with these AUs so I am so excited to hear from you.

As always, take care of yourself <3 be kind and be patient. Love you.

No tag lists. Please review my pinned and bio for guidelines.

You’ve never been to a gym before. You’ve never been to a lot of places. Crowds are not your forte, public places are your personal nightmare, and strangers make your nervous. Everything makes you nervous. 

You can’t hide forever. That’s the conclusion you’ve come to. It's not a very comfortable one for you but if you don’t change, you’re always going to feel like this. Heavy, deflated, lost. It’s hard to put into words the feeling. The world just seems to pass you by, it functions around you, and sometimes you almost believe you’re not really there. Like a ghost, you just watch it without effect. 

The extra fifteen dollars a month isn’t too much of a stretch. You can hold off on your Kindle addiction for the expense. That’s another thing, you need to start being smart, more practical with your money. 

Planning. That’s something you’re working on. You didn’t come without one. You wouldn’t make it past the door without a set of steps to follow. 

You stop by the front counter first. You ask the woman behind it about how to get into the gym. You bought a membership online. She brings up your profile and issues you a membership card, explaining how you can also download the app and register with your member number. You thank her and continue through. 

You walk along the first floor, the leg machines and the rowing machines being worked by the regulars. You find your way to the dressing room on the second floor and enter with your head down. You try not to look anywhere but where you need to. You find a stall and change, packing away your street clothes, then go out to find a locker to shove your stuff in. 

You emerge with your phone and your new smart watch strapped to your wrist. You glance at the face of it. Your heart rate is already elevated. You unlock your phone and tap the app you downloaded the day before. You flipped through the catalogue of beginners’ workouts but didn’t have any of the equipment to do it yourself. It’s cheaper to just come here. 

You go to one of the spaces laid with mats and stop before one of the racks of weights. You stare at your phone in exasperation. You don’t understand, you’re connected to the wifi but the app just won’t connect. You could try on your own but you really don’t know what you’re doing. 

Ugh, why did you even bother? This is just another failure. You try restarting the app and then your phone, aware of the activity around you. Does anyone notice how clueless you look? 

“Hit it or quit it, little girl,” a man startles you as he brushes by you and grabs a large set of dumbbells, the thirty on the side catching your eye. You shift out of the way and press your phone against your chest, the smooth fabric of your shirt causing it to vibrate as if you tapped the screen. “This isn’t the phone club, it’s a gym.” 

“Sorry, I...” 

“There’s a cafe across the street, you can go play candy crush there,” he scoffs, “seems more your speed.” 

“Must feel real big, huh?” A gritty voice nears from your other side, “real heavy lifting there, pushing around a woman.” 

“Huh?” The first man narrows his eyes as he grips the set of dumbbells at his sides and faces the other man.  

He’s taller than you, muscular but not too bulky. His head is shaved and a dark short beard lines his jaw. Similar hair peeks out from the top of his tee shirt and dusts his toned arms. He slips past you, inserting himself between you and the gym watchdog. 

“Bro,” the first guy sneers, “don’t even start with me. You think you can step up.” 

“I’m not stepping up,” the other man defies, “I’m telling you to mind your business. Take your weights and leave her alone.” 

“Pfft, this some sort of date? You know, this isn’t the Olive Garden--” 

The second man crosses his arms, his back to you as he postures at the other man. He’s silent as he stares him down. You can’t see his face but you can feel the tension roiling off of him. There’s a thick lull as both men stand in a deadlock. 

“Got something to say, bud,” the first guy drops the weights and they boom against the floor. You wince and step back, “go on, I could use the work out.” 

“I said it,” the second man utters flatly, unyielding as he looms like a wall between you. 

“Fucking loser,” the other spits back, “you’re really gonna fuck around for that? Have you seen the skin around her?.” 

The man doesn’t respond. He stays as he is, an unmoving sentinel. The other man growls in frustration. 

“Fucking chicken shit, why don’t you speak up, dude?” 

Still no answer. Just a glare. You clutch your phone against your chest, frozen in horror and confusion. You didn’t mean to start a fight. You hate confrontation. 

Suddenly, the man before you jerks as he’s grabbed by the large man. His back hits you slightly and you drop your phone as he latches onto the other man. Everything happens so fast. The man who came to your defence has the other man on his back on the mat in seconds, a knee on his chest as his fists clasp around the top of his tank top. He bends over him and snarls. 

“Christ, bro, get the fuck off of me,” the man on the floor shoves on his arm helplessly.  

You glance around and notice the audience forming around you. Oh no. You look back to the two men. You step forward and tap the closest man on the shoulder, the one who defended you. 

“Please,” you croak nervously, “I don’t wanna get in trouble.” 

He turns his head, glancing back at you with powder blue eyes made bright by the dark row of his lashes. He exhales and lets go of the other man. He stands and puts his arm out as if to keep your behind him. 

“You really want me to repeat myself?” He sneers down at the other man. 

The larger man pushes himself up and scowls, shaking his head and he turns to stalk off muttering, leaving behind his forgotten dumbbells. The other man bends to pick them up and returns them to the rack. You look down at your empty hands then search the floor. 

You reach for your phone but it’s plucked up before you. The man brings it up between you and holds it out. You take it with a thank you. 

“No problem,” he rasps. 

“I... you didn’t have to--” 

“That guy’s an—he's not nice,” he corrects himself and drags his hand over his mouth and chin, “I don’t like bullies.” 

“It’s my fault,” you shrug, “I was in the way. But er, thanks. I'm... I’m sorry.” 

You turn away and look back at your phone. The app isn’t working. It says it needs another update. 

“You need help with something?” The man asks. 

“I...” you peek at him over your shoulder, “yeah, I... I don’t... I don’t usually... it’s my first time.” 

He nods and hums as he steps closer. You face him and show him your phone. You’re jittery as it trembles in your grip. He’s a stranger. Your whole plan was to avoid those. 

“I got this app to help but it’s not working,” you frown. 

“Try the update?” He points his thick, long finger at the screen. 

You tap and keep the phone visible. The app shop comes up and the update button is grayed out. Underneath, italics read ‘this update is not available for this device’. You frown and bring the screen closer to your face. 

“It won’t let me,” you pout and flick your lashes, mortified. How are you this helpless? Why did you have to have a witness? Several. You look around, some eyes darting in your direction. 

“Hm, well, what are you trying to do? You said this is your first day?” He prompts, “I could... I could help out a little. If you need. I’m no trainer, I just do my own thing but I could try.” 

You bat your lashes up at him then look back at your phone. You don’t know what else to do. Your whole plan has fallen apart because your operating system is outdated. 

“I... I’m not very... athletic,” you explain, “so I can’t go very fast.” 

“That’s okay,” he assures you, “I can go slow.” 

“You don’t have to do that. I can figure it out.” 

“I know I don’t have to,” he shifts and peers over his shoulder, “but how about I stay close anyway,” he moves and you can see the guy from earlier staring daggers from a chest press, “just in case.” 

“Oh, I... I’m sorry,” you tuck your phone into the pocket of your leggings, “I made him mad.” 

“Let him be mad. Got nothing to do with you,” he turns back to you again, “I could take you through some stretches and basics; lunges, squats, stuff like that. As best I can.” 

“Erm, I guess... I don’t wanna be in the way,” you rub your neck. 

“Not in my way,” he says evenly, “lets grab some weights first.” 

He directs you to the rack and without a thought you go to it. He approaches beside you as you realise, you didn’t say yes, you didn’t agree to this, but you don’t know what else to do. 

“Start with some twos,” he advises, “and if you’re not getting a good burn, we can up it later.” 

“Oh, okay,” you grab the dumbbells with the large twos on the side. He grabs the twenties. You feel totally inadequate. 

“So let’s get out space,” he backs up and looks around the mat, “here should be good.” He bends and sets down his weights, "for now, let’s put these aside and start our stretches. You don’t wanna pull anything.” 

You nod and place your weights beside you. You stand and stare at him. He’s in good shape. Great shape. He makes you even more conscious of your neglect. You already feel breathless. 

“I’m Curtis by the way,” he steps forward and offers his hand. 

“Oh, uh,” you shake his hand and give your name. 

“Pretty,” he says as he squeezes before letting you go. His hand is huge compared to yours and the gap in your strength is obvious just in that small gesture. 

“Alright, easy, slow, arms out,” he extends arms, “roll your shoulders and your head, loosen up.” 

You watch him and hesitate to follow his direction. You hate that there’s so many people around. You don’t want to look stupid. You’re so ungainly and awkward.  

“Try not to think about it too much. We’re all just here to work out, right?” He says and you shy away, embarrassed that he noticed your discomfort. You raise your arms and start the stretches, “good, you’re doing good, angel. Make sure to breath, alright?” 

You roll your shoulders and head and blow out a breath. Your nerves are pinging all over and your muscles are shaky. This isn’t what you expected at all. Your plans fallen to pieces and yet, it’s not entirely a lost cause. 

“Arms up,” he guides you into the next exercise, “on your toes, reach as far as you can...” 

You obey, letting his voice guide you. His deep, calm timber is almost comforting. The even tenor is a stark contrast to chaotic nervously. You can get through this. 

[numberonetacostan]

RAAAHHHH HAI AGAIN LOOMY MY POOKIE 😼😼😼 (It's ok btw if ya don't wanna be called "pookie" 😭😭)

Again I dunno what mepad ship to request 💔 but ya could choose this time too [I like surprises bru I'm sorry 💔] ^^ (ALSO I'M SO SORRY I CAN'T STOP DRAWING UR OC SHE'S JUST TOO CUTE LIKE AGHHHH THE SKRUNKLY😭😭)

And a bonus taco doodle😼‼️

Also the cubic looking oc is mine 🤑🤑

(Little note tho the red text is saying "SKRUNKLY SPOTTED!!!" if ya couldn't read my ugly ahh writing 💔 also tac)

Hi Star!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for sending in your request!! :] And you art!!!! :D It me again!!!! X3c I love how you draw Tea Bag so much it's so CUTE!!! :D I don't mind being called Pookie! I noticed you put me on your "pookie list" and my friend clarified to me that was like a list of buddies and I'm cool with that!! Not only do I already consider all the people who follow my account friends, but also you draw my objectsona, and are a fellow genderqueer lesbian so we have a kinship! :)

This isn't for a specific Mepad ship, so please feel free to use this on whoever you want Mepad to love at any given moment, but consider him enjoying talking and being in the presence of someone so much that he forgets to mind his battery power. They're in the middle of their fourth sleepover in a row when his screen suddenly goes black and he passes out because he didn't charge himself. It would be cute after the initial terror <3.

[OJPad] This could again in theory apply to anyone, but OJ is one of the very few contestants that would probably use an alarm to wake up, since not many of them would really need to be up at a certain time. So, Mepad being a mepad could just set an alarm for them on himself. This is efficient and functional! Unfortunately, it also often results in OJ slapping him in the face multiple times when he's blindly reaching to turn off the alarm. They end up switching to an analog clock.

[Tacopad] So, I've been very clear on my enjoyment for my headcanon of Mepad liking it when Taco is rough with him. He finds it very attractive. Contrary to this, though, Mepad does not like it when Taco is a bit rough with other objects, non-living ones that is. She'll tend to scratch things or grip them too hard when she gets frustrated, and he always reminds her to be gentle with them. It's one thing for her to be rougher with him, since he happily consents, but he feels bad for whatever object she's breaking/crinkling, etc.

[Toipad] Fuck it, very much not able to happen in canon, but it would be cute if Toilet and Mepad did little secret video calls after he gets fired. Toilet talks so loud that Mepad has to turn his volume almost all the way down so he doesn't get caught. Toilet tells Mepad what's going on in his life and Mepad tells him that Cobs is trying to trick him. Toilet cartoon silliness-es his way into killing Steve Cobs. He did it. He saved Inanimate Insanity.

[Micropad] Cute little earbud sharing, but Mic has both earbuds in and they're plugged into Mepad. They chilling. She's sharing her music with him, he's enjoying listen and having her lean on him, they can wiggle their feet in sync to each other and the music!!

[mzminola]

I have my music in alphabetical order by song title when I go on walks (it provides more of a shuffle-feeling experience than the actual shuffle function) which meant I was hit by three songs in a row that gave me Bat team feels:

Halsey, Control, Bruce.

Florence & the Machine, Cosmic Love, Batman & Robin,

OneRepublic, Counting Stars, Jason.

~

Control: oh boy does this work well for Bruce and his many created personas. I'm bigger than my body, Bruce -> donning Batsuit -> Batman standing in Gotham, dwarfed by it but also representing it. Damn right Bruce is bigger than his body.

I'm meaner than my demons, well we just need a pan over or flash-shuffle through ever Rogue, and the way Bruce specifically designed Batman to be a figure that evokes fear.

I'm colder than this home, ouch.

I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my bed. Hi every single love interest of dubious morality Bruce has ever had.

I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head. Oh NOW we're cooking. Hi Zur, hi Failsafe, hi every single alternate universe evil Batman. And this leads so, so well to, The kids cry out please stop you're scaring me, I can't help this awful energy.

~

Counting Stars: feels like a mash-up of different eras in Jason's life. No more counting dollars, now we're counting stars, is great for the switch from stealing the Batmobile tires to being Robin. A lot of this works for his Robin era!

I've been losing sleep, dreaming about the things that we could be, is Jason's entire life. The yearning, the constant second guessing.

I feel something so right doing the wrong thing / And I feel something so wrong doing the right thing, is perfect for the most fun eras of Red Hood shenanigans. Especially Under the Red Hood, he is having too much fun being an absolute menace.

But oddly enough, Everything that kills me makes me feel alive, and everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly, really DON'T work for post-resurrection Jason. He does not have this attitude! Anything that reminds him of his death makes him depressed and scared, it does NOT fill him with energy. I could see street kid era & Robin era Jason saying those lines, but once he has actual experience with death, and drowning in the Lazarus Pit, it stops fitting.

Sink in the river the lessons I've learned, this whole section could be a montage of his Lost Days training era.

I feel your love, and I feel it burn / Hope is a four letter word. Jason your relationship with Bruce is soooooo messed up. Perfect.

~

Cosmic Love: this is the one that really got me, and honestly the one you could make a music vid out of, since the key elements have all been in live action or animation. The other songs mostly rely on the comics. Could be Bruce & all first three Robins (the orphans) but I think it would work best focused on Bruce & Dick.

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out, Martha & Thomas in that alley.

No dawn, no day, John & Mary broken on the sand.

And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat / I tried to find the sound / But then it stopped / and I was in the darkness, all of these Lost Boys searching for parents they will never get back.

And so darkness I became, is all of the Bats, all of them.

You left me in the dark / I'm always in this twilight, could work for Bruce & Dick being left behind by their parents' deaths. It could also work for how Bruce makes the Robins feel. In the shadow of your heart, oh yes that works with Dick in Bruce's shadow, and in Batman wrapping his cape around Robin.

I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map And knew that somehow I could find my way back Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too So I stayed in the darkness with you

This is Dick becoming Robin, setting out to avenge his parents and never setting the mantle down again (this is Tim, setting out to convince Nightwing to come back). This is Dick always returning to Bruce, no matter why he left.

This is Batman & Robin, partners. I stayed in the darkness with you.

[megadoomingir]

Hello! I read your fanfic "stop me" and it inspired me to create a whole sub-blog dedicated to an au I came up with.

Are there any tips you have for writing things out like settings? And also just general pacing cuz I seem to struggle with pacing lol

Hello! And goodness me- I was recently told ‘artists inspiring artists’; please carry that with you as you work on your AU blog and any other stories you come up with! Keep the energy flowing! 🙌

And what a great question! Let me see if I can break things down for you and, hopefully, be helpful. :)

Let’s start with settings. Let’s say you’d like to write a battle. Swords clanging, guns firing, knuckles cracking, whatever it is. The battle itself, whether big or small, has no form or real function unless you know where it’s being fought. Fighting on a beach is going to be written differently than on the streets in a city or even along a mountain path. You have to take into account the terrain and the relationship it has with your characters. Not just where their feet are planted but what hazards could arise (misplaced stones/shells, trash/human objects, boulders/trees/bushes, SO MANY THINGS-). Even the little details, the weather, the natural world, the smells, all of it, comes together to create the scene. So hmm… Let me try something. I’m not going to tell you where the setting is. I’m going to describe it…

Dawn had long since passed. The crash of the waves and the salt in the air only added to the tension growing amongst her soldiers. Her lieutenant was trying to be subtle, kicking the heel of his boot against his calf to dislodge sand collecting between his toes, but it only made her fill with more anxiety. The discomfort was as palpable as the bite of the cold wind across her face. She could smell winter’s breath, its breeze like frozen fingers in her hair. Her army’s banner twirled above her on a post. It would be the first thing her opponents saw as they crawled over the dunes to meet their end.

Now let’s analyze this. They’re on the beach. It’s the seaside. It’s cold, miserable, windy. Everyone is on edge. Instead of directly saying ‘The battle was on the beach…’, I described the territory and some of the issues they’d be dealing with. I even give the time of day. I don’t need to talk about how maybe there’s a cape nearby or an outcrop of boulders, unless it be pertinent to the story itself, but I give enough detail that someone could close their eyes, smell the salt, feel the cold and hear the waves. Don’t overload your settings to start, but be very mindful of what is important to tell your story. Since this woman’s army stands at the beach, that sand is going to affect how they’re able to move, run, dodge, etc. Focus FIRST on the most important details to your story’s environment, then add other details as needed. If the detail has no impact on your characters or the progress of the story, then it probably isn’t needed anyway. Let me give another example of this, so you can see the difference!

Milo needed the latest and greatest appliances, especially in his state-of-the-art kitchen. He never cooked and refused to learn. Among the wooden countertops that he felt matched the blue walls and low-hanging white tiles, his utensils were stacked neatly and covered in dust. He had flowering plants in pots by the window. Next to the kitchen was his favorite room, his woodworking shop.

Ok, this was hard for me to write because I didn’t want to talk about his kitchen at all and really wanted to detail his hobby- But let me explain that! Pretend we are writing a story about this ‘Milo’ and his woodworking shop that he runs out of his home. That’s the first thing we should be describing! If it’s important later that he needs his kitchen, we can describe it gently in the beginning. But pretend we talked about his shop first already-

He’d never really noticed it all before. The stacks of nonperishables he never cooked, the neat rows of appliances and utensils never touched- some still tightly bound in their original packaging- and all of it, all of it, covered in a fine layer of dust that had never once caught his eye. Well, it caught his eye now. And as the surmounting list of cleaning tasks grew larger, Milo’s stomach dropped with the feeling of knowing he had only an hour to clean… and an hour to learn how to cook.

Oh Milo. Shouldn’t have put that off. XD Now that it’s important to the story, we can describe his kitchen. Could be family, a friend or even someone new in his life coming over. The point is this: if you’re writing about Milo’s woodworking shop that he runs out of his house, and it happens to sit next to the kitchen, don’t describe the kitchen unless it becomes a major part of the story. Maybe he needs to grab a cup of coffee out of there and reflect on his life choices. Or he has a tantrum and breaks a cup. But unless his coming into the kitchen for say, breakfast, is a super important moment, don’t describe how he makes two poached eggs, three slices of toast with butter, fresh squeezed orange juice and a handful of bacon. Sounds like a great breakfast. But does it give him food poisoning later? Is the breakfast itself important because his late mother made it for him and it was the last thing she made for him so he eats it every day? To sum it all up, focus on the details that drive your story forward or have place and reason among your characters. I’ve written Milo for only a little bit, I just made him up, but from what we can already see, he’s an artist, probably good with his hands, but clearly neglects parts of his house and he doesn’t know how to cook. He’s probably struggling with other aspects of his life that are spiraling out of his control and where he finds control is in buying things he never uses. His house is probably hoarded in on top of everything else. If I were to write a story about Milo and his woodworking shop, I would want to keep my details of his environment important to his story.

As for pacing… I feel like a majority of my childhood was filled with great movies and TV shows. Some, when I watch now, are really fast-paced and I feel robbed of the larger story I could have had with an extra season or even a TV show out of a movie premise. Take a look at the media you consume. What movies and shows are you watching currently? Do they feel wrapped up a little quickly or too fast paced? Or even the opposite? Are they dragging on and on without telling much of a story? Part of how we as writers tell stories is based largely upon our exposure to media and experiences we’ve had. When it comes to translating all that into our own written word, pacing can be hard to master.

Let me be clear: it took me years to master pacing. Practice, practice, practice does help. Not perfection, but improvement. There’s always the ability to do better later on. If I were to read my very early works, I would cringe at the sight of it. But it’s what helped me develop my skills as a writer. My advice would be to look into writing privately for yourself, something you don’t post, and something you can quietly dissect without outside influence telling you how to do it. Read it aloud so you can hear the story (as reading it and hearing it are very different and can help you spot problems) or even have your computer read it to you (check your computer’s Voice under System Preferences, if you have it).

How does your story end? It’s one of the most important questions a writer can ask themselves when they come up with an idea. If you don’t have an idea for the ending, your pacing will definitely be off because your story is on a journey to nowhere. I’m fortunate in the sense that when I have an idea, it’s one of the first few things I establish in my head. ‘I have a story about this and these are some things that happen in between and this is how it ends.’ Stories that have no defined end tend to drag on too much and stories that don’t have foundations to build off of will move too quickly.

So to summarize: when it comes to settings and environments, you need to imagine in your head what the territory accomplishes for your characters and your story. What details are important to them to push the story forward? What needs to be understood immediately and what can be told later? Highlight the most significant aspects first. Let your characters’ interactions with their world help describe the rest. And when it comes to pacing? Absorb what you can through media. Analyze the pacing in movies and TV shows. Ask yourself ‘did they write the pacing too fast/too slow? Am I satisfied/agitated/bored with the length of the story? Does it make little sense how it pulls together?’ And don’t limit yourself to watching only the good stuff, consume bad stories, too. You will learn so much by watching bad shows and movies because we as humans notice the bad over the good consistently. (If you have a friend who seems to always complain about their car, you’re going to think they need a new car. But wait-! How often does your friend compliment how well their car drives? How often does anyone? You’re not going to spend your days praising your vehicle, you’re going to complain when this simple blip in your life is doing something wrong.) So watch bad media, too. Sci-Fi movies are easy to do that with. Any movie ‘made for TV’. I can provide you a list of ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ to study from. All movies that I would name, good or bad, are done so with love.

And let me say this…:

You will struggle. You will revise and rewrite and reimagine whole sections, and that is the beauty of your creation. To be seen and understood in your way and then reformed to be better seen and understood by others. Your writing will only improve the more you do it. Don’t be afraid to explore the limits of your abilities and push them. :)

[lodien]

DD:BA EP8 LIVEBLOG!!! SPOILERS BELOW CUT!!

DEX DEX DEX DEX DEX YEAHHHHHH WOOOOHOOOOO I lowkey wish they kept him paralyzed

Putting him general population is just inviting death oh my god??

Matt and Heather need to break up they do not work together at ALL 😭 Also I feel like they’re trying to make Heather hateable bc “they’re the same animal” shit is just kinda annoying? I wish they would develop her perspective a little more or SOMETHING, because right now it makes no sense for her to be saying that? Like… objectively, she was dead without Daredevil. There is no world in which she wasn’t. It doesn’t make sense for her to be against vigilantes, especially from the angle she currently has.

I wish we had Wesley back he made everything better 💔💔 Also why does EVERYBODY have amnesia regarding Fisk’s crimes? If he were a felon that turned “good” (or a Trump-like figure) it would work alright, but there’s nothing like that anywhere. I wish they would just address it at least a LITTLE bit.

Heather ignoring why Matt might be anxious about an EX MOB MAN knowing where they live, especially after the Ayala case, just makes her even more annoying? Do they hate this woman?? Also what does she have against vigilantes after Daredevil objectively saved her? I feel like Heather exists solely as a plot device, which sucks, because she’s like THE female character with the most screen time (maybe after Vanessa).

VANESSA KILLS SOMEONE 🥳🥳🥳🥳 God she’s beautiful

Matt’s eye rolls are so silly to me. Also him and Kirsten having a moment where they seem like friends! yay!!

Dex is so evil lmfao why would he do that 😭😭😭 Matt don’t do this. Matt don’t make the dumbest choices imaginable please 😭😭

“Is that on our schedule?” Daniel is growing on me. Can’t wait to see him die next season (I don’t think they’re killing him in ep9?)

Am I tweaking out or have they used a somewhat fisheye lens like twice this episode. I swear to god I’m losing my mind

Why are Kirsten and Matt finally getting to be friends on like… the episodes where he’s falling apart? Anyway I love her and he needs to stop abandoning his legal partners in the middle of cases

Matt’s umbrella is so stupidly large why is it like that

The way they made me actually kinda like Cherry more in a single scene than in the entire show so far is CRAZY. Him and Josie gained like +20 emotional investment points

Ooooohhhhh Matt’s losing his mind 😭 visiting Dex is objectively bad for you baby don’t do this… taunting him is crazy by the way

Matt is about to make a decision that everybody is going to hate him for!! Good for him. Also beating Dex up is crazy work

Why are Artemis/Arthur not the Stromwyns? Just functionally they work in the same way and it woulda been a cool nod to the comics

Vanessa in the blood red OOOOOOOOOO got me monkey brain

DEX DID THE TOOTH THING oh my god ew

Fisheye lens again I swear to God I’m not crazy they just did it again (also Bullseye color!! yay!!! I’m manifesting the forehead scar)

Matt is making so many poor decisions in a row I love this for him. Yes king implode yourself!!

“Matt you have been checking out on me…” immediately checks out. That is so funny. He is the Worst

Swordsman 😭 who is that. I’m losing my comic reader aura rn I have no clue who bro is

Shoulda made Powell say “Dere-lick my ass.” It would’ve been so very Disney of them and I would’ve loved it so deeply

I like BB and the commissioner…. I’m a fan

Matt Murdock conspiracy theorist is so fun he is so broken

Oh! OH!!! OH MY GOD??? LMFAO???? Matt bro it’s gonna be okay just walk it off you’ll be fine bro

—

Why are they developing all the things I like at the very end? I actually have an understanding of half the cast that I didn’t have before, except it’s like… about to be over? Which sucks. But also, this episode was really good! Like, really, REALLY good.

[fictionfordays]

Parked

The gif search function would not load any of Ran!!! So I found this gif on Google Images, credit to the gif maker! So sorry :'(

(21+) Ran Haitani x Fem!Reader

CW: piv, riding, car sex, pet names (baby, sweet thing, good girl, pretty girl), begging, Ran is a tease but also kinda romantic, softdom!Ran ig, lil hair pulling

WC: <1k

A/N: The brainrot is so fr rn like 😵‍💫🫠 I. Can. Not. Function. Also as a side note: idk do we like the divider right here to separate the Masterlist links or nah???

Back to Main Masterlist | Tokyo Revengers Masterlist

The air feels hot, a stark contrast to the cool breeze just outside the vehicle. Between the clouds and the city lights, the stars are nowhere to be seen, the night sky seeming even darker than usual.

Of course, the foggy film forming on your car windows doesn't help that fact. The only light illuminating you being the dim lights on the radio and the parking light a couple of rows over from where you're parked in a random lot.

Memories from your dream the night prior flooded your mind, coupled with the warm hand that grasped your upper thigh as he drove to who knows where, fingers delicately digging into the meat of your leg, made your panties feel uncomfortably damp on the far too long drive.

You squeeze your legs together. He notices, of course he notices, and you see him smirk out of the corner of your eye. His slender fingers sliding their way up your cute little skirt but stopping short of where you wanted him most.

He feels you, ready to jump out of your skin desperately.

"You okay, baby?" His voice holds a teasing lilt that makes sparks run straight to your core. "You seem a little... on edge~"

You slowly spread your legs a tiny bit wider, hoping that maybe he takes the hint. "'M fine..."

He knows you're not.

The air in the car changes as he begins to move his fingers again, stopping at the hem of your poor wet panties.

"Good girls use their words." A statement. No, a demand. You take in a shaky breath, pulling your skirt up just a little bit higher, sinking just a little bit lower in your seat, hoping to subtly entice him to keep going.

He taps your thigh once... twice... thrice before tsking. He's not one to ask a second time.

"P-please, Ran. Jus' need you..." your quiet pleas fall on deaf ears. He removes his fingers from where they sat so dangerously close to where you wanted him, needed him.

The rest of the car ride is silent. Your nerves becoming restless when he's suddenly veering the car onto random dirt roads and parking in some abandoned lot.

Which is how you find yourself now, straddling his lap in the backseat of his car, moving your hips frantically to the pace he set. His fingers dig into the meat of your hips harshly as he helps you move along his thick shaft.

Your fingers thread through his long hair and tug firmly, pulling his head back enough to expose his neck to your desperate and wet kisses, nibbling along his jawline before making your way to his collarbone and biting down roughly.

A shamelessly loud moan escapes his swollen lips, "f-fuuuu... hnn you'll be the death of me, sweet thing~" his voice is raspy and quiet.

He slides one hand down from where his fingers were bruising your hip, his thumb rubbing all too slowly through your folds and catching just right on your sensitive little nub.

"Raannnn~" you moan, too quiet for his liking.

"C'mon, baby, lemme hear you," he bites your shoulder before rubbing quick, tight circles over your clit. His lavender eyes searched what he could see of your sweet face ere his other hand wrapped behind you and firmly traced up your spine. He held you close, keeping you attached as he adjusted the position. He began fucking up into you, the force of it pushing you forward so your chest was pressed against his own.

You moaned loudly this time, mouth agape and eyebrows furrowed so beautifully as he continued to hit that spongey spot inside of you. Your warm, wet walls fluttering around his length as he held you close. Your legs began to tremble as his thumb rubbed faster circles over your clit and his thrusts became desperate and erratic.

“That’s it, baby…” he mumbled against your damp skin.

The coil in your belly was tightening.

"G-god, you feel so fuckin’ tight," he panted against your ear. "Close, huh, pretty girl?" He teased a little, though he, too, was getting close.

“Hnn~” you hummed, breath hitching. “Feel s’ good, baby. G-g’na cum mnnnhh-” you grabbed his face, bringing your lips down to crash against his, teeth bumping in the process.

He moaned into the kiss. “G-go ahead -ahhh- and cum for me, sweet thing~” His hips began to stutter when he felt you fluttering, your warm walls squeezing around his length so tight causing him to sputter thick ropes of cum inside of you. You both moaned and whimpered against each other’s lips as you milked him for all that he’s worth. His deep groans sent shivers down your spine as you rode out your highs together.

You rested your forehead against his, your breaths hot against each other’s faces.

He kissed your nose sweetly, with a warm, mischievous smile. “We don’t have to be home any time soon…” he smiled and searched your eyes, “we got time for another round~”

You chuckled at him warmly, “Ran, you are… insufferable.”

Tags: @enchantedforest-network @fuyuswifey @nanamis-wifey-reye @sin-and-punishment​

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I do not own these characters. All rights to the original creators. All content—created rights are reserved to Wallabypirate©2023.

[sanccharine]

02:14 | ys

pjo au

pairing: son of hecate!yeosang x child of galatea!reader 

genre: angst

word count: 2.5k

warnings: mentions of death

a/n: once again, thank you percy jackson. also galatea is a nereid, a sea nymph. it’s too fun to explore minor gods and other beings from the myths hehehe. mind you this is a year old, rotted away.

The moment their pathetic row boat docked itself onto the fine golden sand, Yeosang knew something was wrong. 

After days on the rocking sea, solid land was a haven, but this was an illusion. One foot in the sand and it was as if his vision cleared. The fineness of the sand grains beneath his feet, the crispness of the leaves, the dew shimmering on flowers too vibrant to be true. No, it couldn’t be real. This island bled magic from every living form. To Yeosang, the magic was thick, suffocating… familiar. 

The first thing Yeoang did was turn to his questmate. To his chagrin, San was already gorging himself on a fruit that had fallen. Yeosang bit back a scowl. Of course, the pair of them had lost their backpacks, their food, their map, their money. And having escaped by the skin of their teeth from Charybdis, they’d been stuck paddling uselessly. Dehydration and exhaustion and hunger could do that to a person. 

But if you learn anything from old myths it's that you don’t eat strange fruit found on strange islands. Not unless you plan on staying here forever. 

Did San not feel the immense magic rippling in tidal waves from the island? Surely, he was smarter than this—

“Eat,” San threw him another fruit he'd grabbed. 

Yeosang dodged the fruit, watching the bright magenta thing fall at his feet into the sand, practically reflecting the sunlight back at him. It would’ve been tempting, if it didn't look so unnatural. 

“You need to stop eating them, we don’t know what could happen—what rules this land—”

“You haven't had food in days, one more spell and you’re useless,” Yeosang bristled at San’s harshness. His mouth being full with juice and pulp lessened the weight of the blow but he was right. 

Ever since the death of his satyr, Yeosang has barely been functioning. 

He knew. Of course, Yeosang knew that he had returned back to the land. The circlet of lilies that formed when he’d passed meant he’d reincarnated, rooted to the woods. No name, no gravestone, but still home. 

And yet, Yeosang’s hands were itching to practice necromancy again. Why did he have to keep losing people? It was an awful pull, necromancy, not that it worked when you’d been lost to sea. A year back, he’d pored over his spells and books then, much like a mad man. Now, it called to him again. Repeatedly, he recalled his spells to bring about the satyr that had found him when he was young, even if it were just conjuring up their form out of illusion. But he knew it wouldn’t work. Forms were easier when there were souls… not when reincarnated. One lost to sea. One lost to land. 

But then, he thinks of the line in the prophecy; What was one lost, now returned.

Whatever that was lost, Yeosang could make sure they returned. He has to. 

“Yeosang,” San called out his name again, wiping the juice dripping from his mouth with his sleeve. He was rough around the edges, but he cared, Yeosang knew he did. San’s tone changed, now a little softer. “Maybe you’re right, but do you have a choice right now?” 

San threw him another fruit, this time Yeosang did catch it. 

“Eat… please.”

Yeosang stood straighter, studying the fruit in his hand. Finding the shimmering sheen on the outer skin inviting… but he couldn’t. Not until he knew it was safe. 

His mother would loathe him if he showed weakness here.

When you’d been asked to serve the two young men who’d washed up on shore, you’d groaned. In the year you'd been on Circe’s island, you found that you were rather happy tending to many sea creatures that washed up on shore instead. Rejuvenating them with genuine care and then throwing in the occasional spa-like treatment brought you some odd sort of happiness. 

It was peaceful here. 

Welcome.

Accepting. 

Home.

Initially, it didn’t feel so. 

The first few weeks had been the worst. When the oceans had brought you here instead of turning you into foam, you’d been confused. Land, again? Was this another trap in the form of a blessing? That had been your thinking. You were sure you’d return to the sea, where you belonged. Not on land. Not at camp.

But your visit to Aeaea had been much better than you’d expected. 

Circe welcomed you with open arms, fed you, clothed you, sheltered you… and you were sure it came with a price. You couldn’t trust her. And she… merely seemed to be entertained by your constant worry, though she did nothing to give you any reason for suspicion. What settled you was when she’d offered your shoulder bag from camp, still filled with your drachma and ambrosia and that damned necklace of beads that seemed to haunt you. 

She didn’t need to say a word. Circe made it clear. Her option. 

Aeaea or camp. 

Stay or leave. 

You’d shoved that bag under your bed to collect dust. 

Then guilt replaced suspicion. That necklace under your bed, somehow burning through the plush mattress and bronze frame. Visions of land you could never call home. Flashes of that beach by the hills every time you welcomed foolish pigs by Aeaea’s sands. 

The worst of it was the memories of the people. The children of the gods, young and old, bright-eyed and weary. The satyrs and the dryads, and mostly the nymphs you found yourself drawn to. That centaur that made it is his job to keep you welcome despite how out-of-water you felt there. 

That warm pair of eyes, a veneer of naivete which hid a sight that saw all. 

Those which convinced you belonged. 

There, with him. 

Yeosang caught sight of you the moment you appeared. 

There was that burning sensation again, something you haven’t felt in a year, clawing up your throat. 

He’d changed so much in a year, from what you remembered. In your memories, he always seemed to glow in a moonlight reflected by the warm waters of the beach, a light neither of you could share. Warm even when everything seemed cold, unreal. 

But now you saw him as he was. Eyes tired and sunken, cheeks hollowed from hunger and dehydration. He was ragged and mistrusting, blinking as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Colour left his skin further, you didn’t think it was possible. Then, you noticed the way his hands twitched, lips opening and closing while his eyes darted around you—those were his tells, obvious to anyone paying attention. A silent study. To conclude if you were real or a cruel trick played on him by his mind. 

The breaking point was that necklace, that damned one everyone wore, to show your years, your struggles and triumphs. Yet his was barren… except for a singular pearl. 

You looked away. Not wanting to see that thing. Not wanting to see him. Not wanting to even acknowledge the other demigod who choked on air. 

No, your attention was on Circe. 

And it was as if you were transported to a year ago. 

This time, two demigods in place of your shoulder bag. 

You hadn’t said a word. After placing the tray and serving them, you’d practically run. Trembling, you’d been trembling like some fool as you plated their meals, not daring to look at them. But everyone knew their fates. Yeosang and San did not take a single bite. 

Whether they eat or not, Circe would turn them into pigs any moment and all you could do was run. 

What you didn’t expect was Yeosang to follow you out. Circe had let him. 

Within minutes, he’d caught up to you. His hand shot out to wrap around your wrist, pulling you closer with a sudden burst of strength. Something about seeing you seemed to ground him again after being lost for so long. 

Yeosang balked when his hand clutched yours, as if he couldn’t believe it. Then a light set ablaze in his eyes—a glimmer that had you stepping back but he didn’t let go. 

He mouthed your name once. Then again, as a whisper. 

“You’re real… it is you!” 

And then he did something even more strange. 

He hugged you. 

It was an embrace so tight you wondered how he even had the ability considering he looked so brittle now. He pulled back to see you, his eyes doing that darting thing again, mouth whispering as if to dispel an illusion even though there was none. 

It was nauseating. How distraught he seemed. How disbelieving he was of his own eyes. His gift. 

An apology was on your tongue. That guilt from a year ago returning but he beat you.

“You have to come back home.” Your lips shut close into a tight line, yet, he continued, “you have to join us on our quest, it’s supposed to be you who returns—the prophecy is about you!”

With each line, you tried to tug away from his grip, but his hold was unrelenting but the mention of a prophecy. Of home. The word soft like honey on his tongue, as if it didn’t haunt your every waking moment. Nothing had changed. 

He was still that boy who tried to convince you belonged. 

Shoving him back, you ripped your hand from his clutch. Something like hurt flitted across his features, softening him, before he started frowning again. 

“You need to leave, now,” you said, holding your wrist to your chest, that burning feeling growing. “Circe already must know of my—of this!” You gesture wildly between yourself and Yeosang. “Leave now, or stay here as a pig.”

Yeosang hadn’t let you go. He was convinced the prophecy meant you and he was adamant on bringing you back, how the quest would be completed, how they’d lost everything but you could fix it. Raving like some mad man, but you weren’t hearing him. 

So stormed to your room, knowing the one thing that could let you be. From under your bed, you dragged out that bag, somehow pristine even when it had been untouched. You searched through it, unsure what you wanted to keep from it, if any. But when your hand wrapped around the necklace of beads. You pulled your hand away as if burned when it felt around the silky smoothness of a pearl. Yeosang can keep it as well.

Like Circe, you gave him his choice. 

An hour or so later after that, you were back in the main hall. Once again, a tray rattling in your shaking hands. No amount of will can stable them. 

But hopefully, he’d listened. To you, when you shoved him away. To Circe, when she was merciful. Hopefully, Yeosang and San were far away from this island, sailing to anywhere as long as it is far away from here. From you. 

Circe knew. 

She knew it all. 

It was useless to be so frightened. And for how you’ve betrayed her, you’ll take the punishment she gives with open arms. Even convincing yourself of that, you couldn’t stop the fear seeping out of every pore. The porcelain clinked horribly as you placed them on the table. If Circe minded, she didn’t show it. 

“Here—”

“How do you like it here?” 

You stilled. 

“I don’t—I don’t know what you mean—”

“It’s been over a year since you arrived. Since you decided to stay,” Circe smiled in thanks and brought the cup of tea to her lips, taking a moment before sipping. “I am asking how it has been? How do you feel having spent a year under my care?”

“I’m grateful—”

“That is not what I am asking, my dear.”

You pursed your lips. Circe finally looked at you, her eyes a changing wheel of colors. Too fast to be recognized. 

“I’m happy,” you paused, that was not right. You tried again. “I am at peace.” 

Circe studied you like she often studied her animals, with a faraway look. 

“You need not lie, I won’t be hurt—”

She chuckled. Laughed. At you. 

“I’m not lying!” You snapped, probably not the wisest to do so at an immortal who had been far too generous to you. 

But then she laughed again. 

“I am happy here, at peace,” you start again, tone lowered in apology, “I mean it. You have given me food and shelter, a home. And I am grateful.” 

“But you wish to leave,” you start to shake your head but she only sighs. 

“I don’t know what I want.” 

What has changed in the year? Nothing. Once again, you stood still at the same question. Stay or leave. Aeaea or camp. Land or land. 

You hang your head in shame. “Lady Circe, I am sorry—”

“I understand, dear,” she said, softer than you’ve ever heard her. “And if you ever return, I will accept you again with open arms. If the waters ever lead you back to me, you are always welcome here.” 

“I’m sorry,” was all you could mutter. 

Every other word on your tongue seemed to choke, your throat refused to cooperate unless it was that whispered apology. That itching and burning returned and you know you were close to tears. 

Circe’s demeanour softened completely, her whole facade crumbling as her hand reached to take your own and she muttered her blessing. Her goodbye. 

The walk to the shore was one of silence. As if the island itself was mourning a loss. 

No birds chirped, no leaves sang in the wind, nor flowers bloomed, like the magic itself wilted. 

Yeosang and San were readying a ship provided by Circe at a request to wait. Their hands are full with things to keep them afloat. A new shining vigour. It only increased when Yeosang spotted you. 

“You came,” Yeosang said, his hand itching to take yours, to help you up onto the deck. He wished to provide some comfort, anything to make this easier for you. 

Though, you only silently boarded the boat. Hands empty unlike them, with nothing to your name and you sure as hell didn’t want to touch that bag of yours until you reached land again. With a sigh, you took a seat closest to the water and dipped your hand into the blue. 

Yeosang watched you quietly, his own hand coming up to toy with the pearl around his neck. The matching pearl burning in his pocket, hesitant to return it to you, hoping you’d wear it again. But he didn’t wish to push you. 

San stood by the steering wheel. He didn’t need to look at the pair to know what was going on in their minds. Mouthy as he was, even he was still reeling from the fact that you are not dead. So for once, he stayed silent and kept his comments to himself. Instead, he thanked the gods for their mercy, he thanked Circe for her gifts, and then made a note to himself to offer a sacrifice when he reached camp again. With that, he pulled away from the golden sand, their shimmer a little paler. 

As the boat picked up speed, sea foam formed by your hand. 

A tidal wave of power revitalizing you, yet none of it familiar. 

You turned back just as Aeaea disappeared from the horizon.

any feedback is much appreciated.

a/n: this was supposed to be different and more but i wanted it OUT. i'll read it over later and find like a bajillion errors but oh well. anygays hope you have a good day/night :]

tagging: @someone-who-likes-broccoli  @eternallyghosting

[uzumaki-rebellion]

"King Killmonger: The Golden Jaguar Chapter 9"

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

"You're beautiful, you're wonderful! Incredible, I love you so You're beautiful! Each moment spent with you is simply wonderful This love I have for you, girl, it's incredible And I don't know what I'd do If I can't be with you The world could not go on so every night I pray If the Lord should come for me before I wake I wouldn't want to go if I can't see your face Can't hold you close What good would Heaven be? If the angels came for me I'd tell them no"

Michael Jackson – "Heaven Can Wait"

The king and queen rose early at approximately seven in the morning to shower and eat a quick breakfast of porridge, scrambled eggs and fried crocodile sausage. They chose to wear periwinkle blue linen pants and tight long-sleeved shirts to protect them from the sun that was supposed to warm the entire day without rain for once. Stylish and functional, their fits looked good enough for a royal cocktail party. Yani carefully placed her queen's isicholo on her head. Her crown was meant for all public appearances, no matter the occasion.

Okoye was adamant that they were escorted to the market on the water and also when they walked on land again. That meant four Dora Milaje canoes flanked Yani's and N'Jadaka's river paddling. The Royal Talon Fighter would be on stand-by in the air on remote if the royal couple had to be swept away from overzealous crowds.

N'Jadaka had hoped he and Yani could blend in discreetly with the people, but his aura was hard to hide behind shades and covered locs. It was better to just be open about their appearances. He walked like royalty and his presence alone jarred people in person, especially up close.

They were both excited to start their trip downriver right away. Ayo had arranged for them to have lunch at a secured location inland and stinger aircraft flown by his hand-picked Onyx Squad would track them on the water hidden behind their spectral camouflage.

He helped Yani climb into their canoe and he settled in behind her. They worked in tandem rowing with the oars for ten miles and he eventually told Yani to stop rowing so she could rest her arms and take in the views before they arrived to their destination. He paddled at a leisurely pace. Yani stuck her hand in the cool emerald water and glanced back at him occasionally with a huge smile on her face. He looked all around pleased that the weather was perfect. Directly in front of their canoe at fifty feet was Okoye. Behind them was Ayo, and on their sides were Quamba and Aneka. He knew they were having fun with them by the slips of grins that he caught on their faces whenever Yani squealed about the beauty of the landscape on the wide river, snapping more holo-pics with her kimoyo beads.

To their right lurking just above the surface were a pair of crocodiles that ignored them as they floated by. Everything around them was wide open, green and lush. Yani waved her hands with thrilled abandon.

"I see it! I see it!" she said.

N'Jadaka could already smell the odors of cooked food, fresh fish, sweet foods, and smoking grills. Music peppered the air in the distance and there were already river boat vendors shouting about their wares for sell all across the wide body of water. Quaint floating shops shaped the throughway for all the customer boats floating about. Larger craft shops and riverside cafes closer to shore were propped up on stilts. Entire families rowed long boats to shop for seafood, crocodile meat, chicken, goat, or beef, rice, vegetables and fruits plucked from the rainforest. Entire platters of cooked combination meals were already being served hot and it was only a quarter past nine. Sparkly trinkets, hand-crafted rugs, colorful rainbows of fabric and jewelry were sold too. It reminded N'Jadaka of a Moroccan-styled Open Air Bazaar except it all took place on the river itself.

River security riding on sleek Wakandan-styled personal watercraft jetted over to Okoye and she gave them instructions on how they would proceed through the floating market. Five more security watercrafts took their direction from their boss and N'Jadaka paddled them forward.

Word spread fast.

Vendors and customers gaped openly at the king and queen. No one there was told of their arrival. Only the river security team was notified and there were emergency contingency plans on their route there. Luckily, the people were respectful. Many tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal to have royalty floating near them shopping for goods like regular citizens.

The colors and aroma of the market dazzled the eye and nose. The sounds of laughter and shouts to buy goods kept Yani enthralled. He noticed a large Ferris wheel on a pier that reached across the water filled with all kinds of amusements. Tall metal poles held an aerial tram ride that carried six people at a time over the treetops. There was also a zipline that shot couples down an exciting adventure below the grand heights of the outer emergent layer of broad-leaf forest trees that had lived for almost one thousand years.

An elderly vendor in one of the floating shops waved his thin dark carob-brown arm to get Yani's attention so she could taste a sample of his fresh chocolate candies. Yani gobbled down what looked like a piece of fudge with coconut and peanuts in it. She leaned back and handed a sample to him. He ate it and the chocolate had a kick to it as it melted on his tongue. The peanuts were roasted in cayenne pepper infused honey and the fresh grated coconut was soft.

Yani purchased a pound of it using her kimoyo beads, tapping it against the small yellow screen floating above the vendor's beads. She tucked the candy inside the water-proof bags she brought to collect souvenirs. Easing in among the other customers they enjoyed strong thick coffee with a springy layered flatbread smothered in cherry butter. They licked fingers, sipped, and spoke choppy D'Ja, a River Tribe dialect, to the proprietor floating next to their canoe with the help of their translator buds. The River Tribe territory was inside Birnin D'Jata and because the Panther Tribe and River Tribe ancestral territory overlapped, D'Ja was often used as a universal tongue since they shared a similar linguistic root.

N'Jadaka paddled further into the throng of small boats, some shaped like micro-sized catamarans carved from wood that could hold up to four people and their goods in the center. Yani inspected bananas, mangoes, passion fruit, papayas, loquats, and various tree nuts before buying two pounds of fried plantain chips from a young woman who couldn't stop fawning over meeting the queen in person. He watched his wife nibble fried fish nuggets and barter over sweetbread stuffed with sweet vanilla cream.

"Yani, you'll be too full to eat lunch at the restaurant later," he said.

She crammed half of the sweetbread in her mouth and flushed it down with chocolate goat's milk.

"I'll make room," she said stuffing the other half of bread into her mouth.

The two older women who sold Yani the sweetbread grinned at the king. One of them clucked her tongue at him in a friendly way.

"Kumkani, it has been a long time since we have had a good round queen. It is propper to fatten up your wife. It makes her even more beautiful than she already is. Here we call Queen Yani our special daughter because she looks like us with lighter skin. Do not deny her the pleasure of food. A fat woman is a gorgeous woman who is loved," she said.

N'Jadaka burst out laughing at the openness.

"Fatten her up, huh?" he said.

The woman nodded emphatically and stuffed another bag of sweetbread into Yani's hand.

"I promise you kumkani, make her a bigger woman and you will never have any problems in your life."

He sampled the bread and stayed away from any more sweets. However, he did put another small round sweetbread in Yani's hand. Good elderly women never steered him wrong and he always enjoyed big women. Another thirty pounds on Yani might be the move, he thought.

"There's so much to see here…almost too much. I can't believe this goes on every day," Yani said.

Their security made sure they had plenty of room to maneuver and that made it easier for him to control the canoe and keep it from bumping into boats crammed close to theirs and the Doras. Vendor after vendor slid their boats against each other trying to sway customers their way. From an outsider's perspective it looked chaotic to N'Jadaka, but there was a natural rhythm to the dense population sharing water space. A pretty woman in a faded green dress and short close-cropped hair floated next to their boat under Okoye's watchful eye so that Yani could check out her supply of fresh flowers picked from the forest floor earlier that morning. N'Jadaka paid for several bouquets delighting the vendor. He allowed her to take a picture of him and Yani. Aneka snapped the holo-pic with her kimoyo and transferred the image to the woman so she could be in the photo too. Once Yani had her fill of shopping on the water and filling their canoe and all of their Dora Milaje's canoes too, they went to the pier, tied their canoe, and had one of the River security men guard their things from prying eyes.

Helping his wife out of the canoe, they were met with people holding up their kimoyo's to record their travel onto the land. Some observers seemed to just want a chance to catch a whiff of Yani's walking by air, because her perfume attracted oglers like bees waltzing to a honeycomb. Okoye and Quamba shooed folks away, but didn't deny them holo-vids under Yani's command. No citizen had become unruly and she didn't feel the need to stop them from capturing her image. Okoye warned them to stay at a respectful distance from the couple. Yani pulled a light blue shawl over her shoulders and they walked hand-in-hand up the steps that led to a busy amusement area. People played all manner of games like shooting long water guns at fish and crocodile images, and fished directly from the pier. Some ate ice cream and other treats as they watched visitors chatter and scream on spinning rides or amuse themselves being entertained by magicians and a puppet show for children. There was a line of thrill- seekers waiting to ride the zip line. A group of young musicians played instruments and sang songs for tips. The large Ferris wheel took up the far end of the pier. Scattered throughout were picnic tables where people could eat their bought food or just relax and enjoy the weather and a view of the wide river below.

They made it a point to visit each entertainment stall and snack station to say hello to the people they ruled over. Yani greeted children who shyly waved at her and giggled when she asked for their names and spoke to their parents. N'Jadaka shook hands and did his part to be cordial like his wife.

The zip line attendant allowed them to cut in the front of the line much to the insistence of the thirty people already waiting before them. Okoye and Ayo rode it first to place themselves at the final destination point before he and Yani went down. He walked up the stairs that took them to the top of the platform where a young man eagerly strapped them into the double seats. Yani held the thin strap in front of them and yelped when they were pushed down. They were so high up. Their legs dangled above the emergent layer and then there was a gentle downward swoosh as the zipline carried them through the opening in the canopy. Yani laughed and yelled her loudest to hear her voice travel across the scenery. Both their stomachs dropped. He laughed too and enjoyed the view flying past them while keeping his hand on Yani's isicholo to keep it from flying off. At the very bottom of the forest floor, Okoye and Ayo stood watching them disembark. Waiting for Aneka and Quamba to reach them, they decided to ride the aerial tram to see other parts of the forest that would also return them back up to the top where the market was, saving them a tiresome hike up the stairs or using the long escalator that ferried people back to the starting point. They rode in their own tram with the Doras in front and behind them in separate transports.

"The air is so clean and so different from Zana. Smell it?" Yani asked.

He nodded.

Far below a herd of domesticated water buffalo crossed a section of the Ibukun and Yani sighed.

"We are so blessed," she said in awe.

He stroked her cheek and kissed her.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Very."

Yani rubbed his arm.

"Let's go and find the restaurant. You're running low on batteries and wearing your hungry face," she said.

N'Jadaka clasped her hand and on their return to the market pier, Okoye guided them through a tumultuous boardwalk filled with shoppers and other citizens simply going about their regular day. They were gawked at and plenty of people stopped in their tracks to watch them pass. Yani's isicholo gave her a regal bearing that was gentler to take in as opposed to his larger-than-life figure. A few children ran up and handed Yani flowers and handmade bracelets. She accepted the flowers and sniffed their fragrance. N'Jadaka helped her put on the bracelets after Okoye scanned them for anything strange. The king didn't sense any oddities, but appreciated Okoye's thorough nature.

Ayo hustled them away to give them room for sightseeing the land-based shops and various cafes filled to the brim with men and women enjoying brunch on sidewalk seating. Most people stood up immediately the moment they realized who they were seeing, and others froze, too stunned to do anything but stare.

"This is the establishment, kumkani and ukumkanikazi. The proprietor's name is Lungile Chilza. His family has run this business for over fifty years. His wife, Nomble Chilza is the head chef," Okoye said.

Lungile and Nomble stood waiting for them at the front entrance. Nomble wore a pale green chef's hat and matching chef's apron. Her dark skin was without blemish for her age and her smile held white teeth with small gaps in them that made her look even more youthful. Lungile was a robust man with hair whiter than soft cotton that floated like a cloud three inches off his scalp. His ebony skin was shiny and smooth like his wife's.

Yani stepped forward first and greeted them both. She shook their hands and the older couple gushed over her before N'Jadaka was brought forward. He elicited nervous energy in them both. Giving a heartfelt smile that relaxed them, N'Jadaka held out his hand to Lungile and the man shook it firmly.

"King N'Jadaka…Queen Yani, my wife has prepared a wonderful meal for you. Come inside, please, make yourself comfortable. We have you seated at our best table."

Lungile held out his hand inviting them in. Okoye and Ayo stepped in first to inspect the place and gestured for them to enter. Yani sauntered in first and they immediately noticed the exquisite artwork on the walls. Landscape paintings of the Ibukun River and portraits of Birnin D'Jata life at night.

"Here…sit here, please," Nomble said.

N'Jadaka reached to pull out the chair for Yani, but Lungile beat him too it, his pudgy yet spritely frame eager to please. Yani sat down and Nomble admired the isicholo on her head.

"Your crown is so lovely Queen Yani. I enjoyed watching your nuptials to the king. It was all that everyone talked about."

"Thank you, Nkosikazi Chilza," Yani said.

"Please, call me Nomble, daughter. You are family here," Nomble said.

The other patrons in the restaurant peeked at them, but then went about eating their own meals when his eyes cast out to take in more of the restaurant décor. Lungile poured them refreshing cool glasses of chilled passion fruit juice along with glasses of water.

"Would you like anything stronger, kumkani? We have a wide array of wines and other beverages."

"This is fine for me. Yani would you like anything else?"

"I'd like a glass of your best wine from this region," Yani said.

Lungile clapped his hands thrilled that she wanted to try something else from their place.

"My wife has cooked you both a delicate smoked pork brisket smothered in a mango glaze with some savory greens and our famous spicy plantains. I will bring you a glass of D'Jata's most popular white wine that will tickle your tastebuds, my queen."

"Spicy plantains? My father Prince N'Jobu cooked those all the time for me and my mother," N'Jadaka said.

Lungile patted his chest with pride.

"Your father used to come to our restaurant when he spent time here as a teenager. My wife taught him our special recipe to make them."

"Then I have her to thank for making my belly happy when I was a child."

Lungile beamed and his wife returned to their table carrying two platters of finger foods to start their meal.

"The king loves your plantains. Prince N'Jobu cooked it for him and is mother," Lungile gushed.

Nomble cheesed hard, her cheeks rising up higher than the sun outside.

"I think in another life your father would've been a wonderful chef. He was a quick learner and loved food. He would fly here all the time with your grandparents and…."

Nomble stopped talking.

"Finish what you were about to say," N'Jadaka said.

"I do not want to upset you kumkani."

"You won't."

"I was going to say your uncle's name. My apologies for making that mistake."

"No need to apologize. My family held this place in high regard. It's why I brought my wife here. To enjoy what my father loved."

Nomble nodded quickly and her eyes watered, fearful of upsetting the king despite what he said. He reached out and held her hand.

"No reason to get upset Mama Nomble. I take no offense and look forward to chowing down on the best pork brisket in Birnin D'Jata," he said.

Nomble trembled with his hand covering hers. His touch shook her up and she wiped her eyes. Yani stood up and gave the woman a hug.

"He means what he says Mama Nomble," Yani said.

"Eh eh…the king and queen have called me Mama…me a humble cook," Nomble said.

"Who said you were humble?' N'Jadaka joked, "I heard you brag on your food to rival the chefs in the double palace."

A few patrons eavesdropping laughed at his comment and Nomble held her cheeks.

"Brag on yourself!" N'Jadaka said.

"Yes, I am the best!' Nomble conceded and even Lungile laughed with her. "Let me get the rest of your food. Baba, keep them entertained until I return."

N'Jadaka glanced at the window of the restaurant. A crowd of people stole glances at them, pressing their noses to the glass.

"I will close the blinds to give you privacy," Lungile said.

"No. Let them watch. Queen Yani doesn't want any special attention other than ones needed for safety. We are customers like anyone else."

"No…no kumkani, you are our guests. This meal is our treat."

"I insist on paying. Let me contribute to your continued success."

Lungile wanted to shake his head, but N'Jadaka's voice was commanding and the man grew nervous at the idea of pressing the matter.

Nomble returned with four servers. Three held large platters of food and a fourth carried a warm bowl of lemon water and hand towels to clean their hands. The food was placed on the table along with plates and bowls. Two servers helped him and Yani wash and dry their hands.

"Mama Nomble…Baba Lungile…you will join us, won't you?" Yani asked.

The elderly couple looked shocked at the request. A bottle of white wine was brought over to their table. Yani waved a hand to get the attention of another server.

"Please bring two more plates, bowls and wine glasses for Mama Nomble and Baba Lungile," Yani said.

The server hurried away and N'Jadaka stood to pull back the chairs across from them for the elders. Nomble handed her chef's hat and apron to another server. Her silvery-white hair was styled in puffy Nubian knots. She took her seat next to her husband and N'Jadaka helped push their chairs closer to the food-laden table. Lungile gave instructions to another server to take his place as the host and Nomble gave instructions to her other cooks to continue working without her.

"A toast," N'Jadaka said after he poured glasses of wine for his hosts.

Glasses clinked and the wine tasted crisp and delightfully elegant. A perfect pairing with pork. Yani shared their day in the market and the older couple sat spellbound listening to his wife rave about their honeymoon thus far. N'Jadaka discussed the history of the river market with Lungile full of enthusiasm, and after a couple of glasses of wine and delectable food, all four of them chatted like lifelong friends catching up. Loquacious and energetic, Nomble and Lungile were avid historians and prideful people. N'Jadaka learned more about the River Tribe in one sitting than he ever did reading about it or hearing tidbits from Nakia. The Chilza's were happy to answer any question they had, and Yani had plenty more over dessert.

"There are so many breathtaking places throughout D'Jata," Yani stated over another glass of dessert wine that was nearly empty, "We hiked above the waterfall near Ekuqaleni and it looked so unreal above the trees."

"Ekuqaleni is a very special place to the River Tribe. It is where the Panther Tribe and River Tribe made their truce before the final war of binding us all together with King Bashenga," Nomble said.

N'Jadaka offered to pour more after-dinner wine for her, but she held up a hand and latched her eyes onto Yani's.

"We were told our tribe had a habit of intermarrying with yours," N'Jadaka said.

"Elder Bhira's niece and your cousin carried on the tradition. In a way, you've also carried it," Nomble said.

"How so?"

Nomble folded her plump fingers on the table and smiled at Yani first before wrenching her eyes away to gaze at the king.

"She is a child of Mama Wati. As was your mother kumkani. We see the Lost Tribe as our kin. Other tribes in Wakanda do not agree, but we do. In our oldest creation stories they say that a lost child from outside will return here and raise an empire."

"Empire?" N'Jadaka chuckled.

Yani studied his face carefully. It was a touchy subject with her since their return from the states. Several African nations surrounding them accused him of that so often that it became a narrative that carried far and wide on the continent.

"I have no plans for empire, and I've never read in our books about creation where someone comes back here to do that," he said.

Lungile patted his wife's hand and Nomble grinned.

"Not your Panther Tribe stories, kumkani, ours. My people of this region," Nomble corrected.

"Tell us your story," Yani asked.

"I have taken up much of the talking, I will let my husband share that."

Nomble looked at Lungile and he cleared his throat.

"We used to think they were fables…myths that we told our people in times of war, famine or intertribal disagreements that may have led to more war. I suppose every culture in the world has a story about a savior of some kind appearing to redress all wrongs. Isn't that what the Christians out there believe their Jesus will do? In Wakanda, Bast is the great cosmic mother who birthed daughters and sons that she planted like seeds on this earth. One of her daughters, Mama Wati, was planted near here before there was any water in the world at all. The Ibukun River that we know of today used to be a big dry gorge that stretched all the way to where the sea is now. Bast spit on her precious seed, and our water goddess sprang forth fully formed. This is why every newly married king must offer his seed back to her in a burning ceremony before he can taste the fruits of his wife—"

"Lungile! Sthhh! Must you say that in front of our queen?" Nomble scolded before covering her mouth with embarrassment.

Lungile lifted his hands palms up and stared at his wife.

"Aye…Mama…it is part of the story they have asked me to tell."

Yani laughed and tilted her head. Her eyes twinkled.

"Go on, Baba…tell us more," Yani encouraged.

Nomble rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair with her arm thrown over the back of it, her body turned toward her husband. Lungile slowed his cadence, making his voice sound more dramatic with the telling.

"Mama Wati made the great trek through Wakanda leaving water in her wake, creating all of our lakes and rivers and waterfalls until she reached our empty ocean and gave the world all of the liquid you see all over the planet. She was given dominion over all the water that birthed all the creatures in the sea and even mankind. She is the goddess of childbirth and healing. She is the goddess who cradled the first man and first woman on this earth. The Panther Tribe says that Bast is the mother of us all, but in our ancient stories that were written on the sides of cliff walls in a language we don't even speak anymore, she is actually the grandmother. Mama Wati is our ancient mother. She is your mother too," Lungile said with conviction.

The older man's voice grew softer. He sipped some dessert wine and looked down at his fingers.

"In the dark days, when the slavers came to this continent, we in Wakanda didn't always have secure boarders or have the full capabilities to make our shield dome just yet. The border tribe protected all of us. They are some of our fiercest fighters. We were still warring with the nations along our borders and knew we had to close ourselves off from the rest of the world in order to prevent more bloodshed and other countries discovering our secret. Mama, you tell the rest, you know it better than me," Lungile said.

Nomble turned back to Yani and N'Jadaka.

"Well…there are several versions of a prophecy that have been handed down, and depending on which clan you talk to, it is said that a child of ours…a Wakandan…would come to us from the outside world and help protect the entire nation by creating a vast empire by absorbing other tribes into our fold. No one believed it of course because we had closed ourselves off for centuries. We were never slaves to anyone so it would be impossible for Wakandan blood to leave our borders…let alone return to conquer other nations and rule over them. But here is the most interesting part, and this comes from the eastern faction of our region…"

N'Jadaka glanced at Yani and his wife's eyes were as big as plums. She had leaned forward in her seat. He reached over and rubbed the middle of her back. Nomble palmed her hands together, warming up to her addition of the story.

"The people there say that it's not one child who will return, but actually two from very different places in the world who will guide the hand in the building of a future empire. Unfortunately, the stories never say when this will happen."

"Well it can't be me or in my time because I'm the only person to return here with Wakandan lineage from the outside that shifted the culture… and like I said, empire building is not on my agenda," N'Jadaka said.

Nomble nodded her head.

"The prophecy says that it will happen in a time of great distress, and I think you have already fulfilled it when you fought the alien intruders. You are powerful enough for two people, kumkani," Nomble said.

"Or," N'Jadaka said, "My greatest grandfather already fulfilled the myth by uniting all the tribes during the great battles back in the day. Remember, he was still an outsider to your people until he married Queen Tiye, your tribal member. Their first child was born outside of this territory and brought back to your people."

"True, true," Nomble said, "But the elders of long ago had many stories and who knows, we could be living out what was told long ago and choose to ignore it because we think myths and fairy tales are for children."

N'Jadaka thought of the stories he was raised with back in Oakland. Believing in fairy tales from his father brought him an entire kingdom to rule. As far as he was concerned, fairy tales held kernels of truth. Had he fulfilled the legends on their cliff walls and whispers around long ago campfires? If two children were supposed to come back…

Riki and Joba.

His heart thumped a little faster. His two youngest children came from two very different places in the world. They had Wakandan blood through him.

Lungile lifted his wine glass and his hand shook slightly. He was a little tipsy.

"To King N'Jadaka Udaku and also our first ruler, King Bashenga…two great kings who helped save the nation twice…our myths who sprang to life!" Lungile said.

N'Jadaka and Yani raised their glasses for a final toast.

A pregnant customer headed for the exit with her husband and Yani stopped them to ask how far along she was. The expectant mother shared that she was seven months along. After they left, servers began lighting candles on all the tables. Yani checked her kimoyo beads.

"We have been here for three hours. Taking up all your time," Yani said.

"Stay as long as you like, in fact, stay for the dancing," Nomble said.

"Dancing?" N'Jadak glanced around at the dining area. The Chilza's restaurant had nothing but tables and chairs for eating.

"Come see…in the back," Lungile said.

He ushered them with their Doras who finished eating their own meal hours ago to a door that led to another section of the restaurant that was set up with a bar and a dance floor. A bartender and a few waiters prepared for an evening crowd. D.J. equipment was set up in a corner and a woman behind the D.J. booth fiddled with a soundboard. Everyone stopped what they were doing to set their eyes on the king and queen.

The walls were decorated with giant pink flamingoes and 3D blue lagoons that gave the space a marshland setting that didn't match the décor in the restaurant. Nomble noticed the confusion on N'Jadaka's face.

"In three weeks the pink flamingoes flock here before they set off for Birnin S'Yan's beaches, right before the Mama Wati celebrations. It is a spectacular sight. Vast numbers, over two hundred thousand alone flock to Umbono Lake and then migrate through our territory," Nomble said.

"What do you think, kumkani, hmm?" Lungile said, wiggling his hips and holding his hands out like he had a dancing partner, "You and our wonderful queen enjoying a night of music and dancing together?"

N'Jadaka waved his hand. He rubbed his stomach and reached for Yani's hand, pulling her next to him.

"You have fed us beyond capacity. Your reputation as a master chef has been proven Mama Nomble and because of that, we'll probably start to nod off. Another time," he said.

Yani released his hand and held Nomble's shoulders, "Thank you for your hospitality and the fantastic food. We will come again real soon and bring our children."

"That would be our honor, ukumkanikazi. Please let us show you out," Nomble said.

Lungile rushed off to the back of the bar and met them outside later carrying another bottle of top shelf wine and a small tan biodegradable container.

"A gift from us. Enjoy it tonight. Our best wine you enjoyed and some spicy plantains to snack on later. It is Mama Wati's favorite offering outside of sugary sweets and flowers. Give some to the river and she will taste that you know her as your own," Lungile said.

N'Jadaka took the gifts. The Dora Milaje blocked off the street as the royal couple said their final goodbyes. The evening patrons studied their interactions and Okoye summoned the Royal Talon Fighter to fly above them for a gravitational pick up. The tracker beam pulled them into the aircraft and Yani hugged N'Jadaka's waist.

"Today was so beautiful," Yani said.

She settled in their comfortable couch in the back and they watched their flight across the boardwalk. Ayo traced her fingers on the viewscreen across from them to lift the six canoes they used that were stuffed with all of their river market shopping. A gravitational force field kept the canoes stuck against the bottom of the aircraft.

They arrived at the treehouse encampment in time to catch a new display of stars above the river tributary. The canoes were lowered onto the ground with them and Yani picked out items that could go onto their houseboat, and the rest that would be stored on the Talon Fighter. The Doras worked quickly and the canoes were pulled back up to the aircraft.

"Remember to leave two canoes at the houseboat. We'll need the extra for when the children join us," N'Jadaka instructed Aneka.

Yani pulled off her isicholo and walked up the stairs into the treehouse.

"I am beat," she sighed.

She tucked her crown inside the special hat box made for it that locked by her fingerprint. Too tired to bathe or do anything else, they slipped off their clothes and went to bed early. They cuddled and listened to the night song of nocturnal creatures.

"Okoye had a hard time today, yeah?" Yani said in the darkness of the room.

The faint light of stars appeared above the skylight. He stroked Yani's arm.

"She doesn't like us to mingle with citizens in the streets for long. Too much unpredictability and one thing that woman wants is to control every security move."

"It looked like she had a little fun, even though she was strict."

"Yeah, they all did I think."

"Imagine being forced to canoe on a lovely day and fly across tree tops," Yani said.

"The nerve of us making her do all that," N'Jadaka teased.

"I know right? Her having to eat chocolate and cake samples because the queen couldn't make up her mind which tasted better."

"You also demanded that she eat that jumbo fried shrimp plate while on duty at the restaurant."

"I expect our security personnel to comply with my wishes at all times."

"You are a cruel ruler. They will ask to have your head cut off!"

They giggled together.

"Tomorrow we will simply relax, read, and nap…deal?' he said.

"Deal."

Yani lifted her head and pressed her lips softly against his.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you, too."

Yani drifted off to sleep before he did. When she had slept for a least an hour peacefully, he detached from her and pulled on a robe. He needed to check the grounds before he could fall asleep and decompress from the day alone.

"I know your big asses aren't on that furniture," N'Jadaka scolded.

S'Bu and Unathi lounged on the outdoor couch. Unathi jumped up at the sound of his voice and quickly leapt from the couch to scurry onto a thatch of soft grass near the treehouse. S'Bu rolled over on his belly.

"Nah, man. Get down and go sleep somewhere else. Y'all ain't slick. Now I know what you do when we aren't watching. Go on now…get."

N'Jadaka clapped his hands and S'Bu joined the other panther.

"Watch my wife. Stay here," he said in Wakandan.

Both panthers ambled over to either side of the staircase entrance of the treehouse and watched him move quietly around the perimeter. He sniffed the air and used his own special nocturnal vision to check for movement of any animals. He had been warned that crocodiles sometimes crawled onto the land to sleep under their outdoor furniture often, attracted by the energy of the place. There were protective barriers and warning systems in place to let them know if any had snuck into their area.

Nothing was out of order.

The moon finally rose above the trees. A halo of colorful hazy light surrounded it indicating new rain to come in a few days. It was a good sign. He and Yani would be floating on their houseboat and could enjoy the patter of raindrops falling on the lake they would anchor down in for a week.

Moonlight sparkled on the tributary and he thought of the conversation with the Chilzas. They reiterated what he had been told about Ekuqaleni. It was a place of enchantment that made one feel that anything in life was possible for those who walked among the ancient trees. He understood why the people there considered it a healing place. There was a spiritual energy that pervaded it. It prodded the mind and body to recognize it.

It also made him feel like something would happen that would nudge him to some important discovery about himself. There was a power there that still made the hairs on his neck and arms rise like it did when he did his sabbatical at the Temple of Bast. This was a kindred power. He searched within his soul for reassurance from Bast herself. She rested within him quietly letting him settle into the expectation. Ogum slumbered in a deep repose, unbothered by the place.

Ekuqaleni was tranquility and contentment. A needed retreat from the responsibility of holding up a nation that dominated the political landscape of the outside world. It gave his wife joy, and whatever Yani wanted he would give it to her in abundance with more trips together out in nature.

He wandered about on a sort of meditative walk that cleansed the slate for that day. The staff would bring them breakfast in bed in the morning per his directions. Perhaps by noon he and Yani would frolic in the bigger pool of water, or maybe take a dip in the tributary. Sunbathe. Sleep. Make love.

The children crossed his mind. He missed them dearly, but he had to admit, time away from them and being alone with his wife was a dream come true. No wonder his parents snuck away to their bedroom as many times as they did when he was a child. It was good to be in solitude with your beloved and not have to worry about your child for a few hours. His parents had one child, but he had three and more energy depletion because of it. He couldn't even imagine his parents handling two more of him growing up.

Two more of him.

The Chilza's story still poked around in his mind. The possibility of Riki and Joba fulfilling some long ago legend bothered him. Unlike his own later childhood, N'Jadaka wanted his children to grow up knowing nothing but peace and security. He would be the only one of his new lineage that would experience war and have to build up nations to defend their own lands. One day all three of his children would have to do the mandatory military service required of all citizens. He would raise them to become whatever they wanted and whichever one took over the throne, he would become their counsel.

The idea flitted in his mind about whether or not he wanted them to even take on ruling the nation. All Udakus had been raised to one day take the throne. What if Riki or Joba didn't want to? Sydette was legally his daughter in the eyes of the ruling class, so she would also be considered for the role. But he knew all of the tribes would challenge her at Warrior Falls. Legal daughter or not, the elites preferred direct bloodlines. He couldn't see Yani allowing their eldest to fight five challengers. Sweet Pea was a gentle spirit who detested all violence. She had survived mercenaries holding guns to her body and being shot at as a baby. It wasn't in her to inflict harm. Truthfully, he just didn't see his children choosing that life anyway. Sydette wanted to be a scientist. Riki a rock star. Joba wanted to learn new languages and study art.

A tickling in his gut compelled him to walk closer to the water.

His mother told him a child was coming that would shake up the world. Maybe the throne wasn't meant for his three oldest, but for the one that wasn't there yet. His mother had been adamant that he look out for that new one because they would be something different. N'Jadaka wasn't seeking to build empire. But maybe the next Udaku from him would.

He hurried back into the treehouse and collected three pieces of spicy plantains from the container Lungile gave him. Returning to the tributary, he knelt down in the soft, moist earth and offered the plantains to the water. They floated away toward the center and were swept downstream quickly. Still kneeling, he lifted his palms up and stared at the water.

"Mama Wati, I offer you a gift. My mind is troubled with thoughts about my children. I was a man who sought retribution in this land, but instead I gained my soul and my family back. Bast raised me and Ogum chose me, but I feel as if you have touched my life more times than I can count without even knowing it. In Brazil I knew you as Yemanjá. With my Nana Jean, she called you Cymbee. I see traces of you in my wife. Back where she is from, they call her the Black mermaid. By nature, I am not a humble man. I come from a father who was as large as a god in my eyes until he was taken from me. But now I am here…on my knees in your domain, asking for guidance…a sign that all will be well with my family. If there is a child coming who is going to build an empire, help me understand why this needs to be…if it needs to be. I have killed and spilled blood all over the earth. I don't want that life for my children. I beg of you, under the eyes of Bast, your mother, and Ogum who wields the iron of war in my blood…please. Don't let my children ever have to see the destruction that war brings again. I want them to become who I could've become if…"

N'Jadaka's night vision caught sight of the crocodile much too late to move. It rose to the surface, black eyes shining with icy concentration. He heard and sensed movement behind him. Turning his head slowly, he found S'Bu and Unathi flanking him. They sat on their haunches in a relaxed stance and not one of protecting him from the predator.

N'Jadaka regarded the giant crocodile coolly as it ambled its big body slowly from the water. He held his breath and kept the springing of his panther suit at the tip of his one immediate thought. His natural recoil reflexes were kept still and he waited to see what the croc would do.

Bast moved and the pressure of her presence sat at the top of his head. Ogum remained submerged in inactivity. This was a Wakandan matter not needing his input.

The crocodile settled its mammoth head in front of N'Jadaka's bent knees. This wasn't an ambush at all. The creature could've snapped the king's head into its giant maw, and that should've been unlikely from jump since their encampment was surrounded by security detectors. A powerful system in the water was also on alert to prevent them from sneaking onto land without people knowing. There was even a force field deterrent set up for crocs and water vipers that gave a slight shock to help them move away from that section of the river. The eyeshine in the crocs slit pupils reflected an unnatural iridescent glow that grew brighter. Mighty jaws snapped open and the croc lunged forward, its heavy snout-tip pushing weighted pressure against N'Jadaka's chest before it disintegrated into a splash of cold river water onto his chest, waist, and thighs.

He threw his hands up and gasped, startled by the frigid water soaking his robe through to the skin underneath. N'Jadaka touched his chest and the cool liquid evaporated. His robe and skin were as dry as when he first approached the edge of the tributary. He exhaled relief and his body felt light and airy. The intrusive thoughts about his children's future turned into warmth and serenity. In his mind, Mama Wati let her presence be known. Nana Jean once told him that alligators and crocodiles held spiritual meaning. They existed in two worlds, the physical and spiritual. The land was the physical world, and the water they submerged in was the spiritual one. He took on the experience as a message that he was a part of those two worlds and he would have to trust the greater wisdom of the gods to carry him through.

S'Bu nudged his head against N'Jadaka's shoulder. The king lifted his arm and scratched the back of the big cat's ears.

"You two were letting me know it was okay. I understand," he said.

N'Jadaka stood up and tilted his head back. He bathed his face in moonlight and said a prayer for his parents. And his beloved Nana Jean.

Breakfast in bed was so good, Yani ate seconds and refused to get out of it until it hit high noon.

She bathed and put on a bikini, joining N'Jadaka outside to sunbathe while reading. She held a physical book in her hand and stretched her left arm above her head indulging in doing nothing. N'Jadaka read a physical book right next to her on the lounger couch wearing tight trunks that might as well had been briefs. It did nothing to hide all that he held between his legs, his dick print and balls outlined visibly. She peeked at his face. He'd been pretty quiet for most of the afternoon. They'd chatted a lot during breakfast and once they were in their own little worlds reading, no words had passed between them for two hours.

Yani placed her book on her chest and sighed to get N'Jadaka's attention. He turned the page of his book and scratched at a scar on his chest.

"Should we call the kids?" Yani asked.

"No."

N'Jadaka kept reading, not even looking at her.

"We've been sending them vids and pictures, but we haven't spoken to them directly since we left. You think they miss us?"

"I'm sure they do, but think about it. There are a ton of little cousins still in the palace on holiday with our family. They're busy running around and having fun. Probably preoccupied with the wedding gifts we gave them too."

His eyes scanned the pages on the book, but Yani caught the glint in his eye the moment she mentioned them. There was a little twitch in his jawline too, like he'd been waiting to talk about his pride and joy.

"Three days is a long time not talking to them. Maybe just a quick chat up?" Yani said.

"We agreed to five days of no direct contact. For us."

Yani turned on her side, her fully baked skin two shades darker and smelling like sweet coconut oil.

"Just five minutes. Not a minute more. I want to see their faces."

N'Jadaka dropped his book near his side and stared at her.

"Didn't we talk about not coddling them too much? This was an opportunity to build up character and self-reliance. They have an entire staff, three nannies, great-grandparents, aunties, uncles, and cousins keeping them occupied. I don't want to be one of those helicopter parents," he said.

Yani chewed her lip and squinted when a ray of bright sunlight struck her eye when he adjusted his separate couch back support to a lower position. It unblocked the sun from his bulky frame. He glanced over at her and the pout on her face made him smirk.

"Five minutes," he said.

Yani clapped her hands and wiggled in her seat. He tapped his kimoyo beads for all three children. Riki answered first. The eyes that stared back at them with his floating image looked just like his father's when he was annoyed.

"Baba, what is it now? You keep calling us," Riki whined.

"What?" Yani yelped.

She smacked N'Jadaka's arm. Joba and Sydette's images popped up next to Riki's.

"How many times has your father called you guys?" Yani asked.

"Four times today," Sydette sighed out with an equally annoyed tone.

"Four times?" Yani said. "But I was here and I didn't see him call anyone."

They'd eaten breakfast. Swam in the river, showered, sunbathed, read their books, ate lunch and…

Yani's lip curled into a grin. She'd gone to the restroom four times that day. He'd called the kids when she was inside the treehouse.

N'Jadaka quirked his lips and shrugged his shoulders.

"All this backchat you were doin' man, and here you are calling them behind my back."

"Can we make this quick please, Mama? I'm in the middle of something with Zuko and Balwe, and if I don't pay attention, Zuko will move one of my game pieces," Riki said.

Yani looked them all over one by one. Happy, healthy, and whole. Her perfect trio.

"I miss you. It's been a long time since I spoke to you all."

"Three days isn't a long time, Mama," Joba said.

"To us it is. Neither one of us has been away from you all this long together. It feels uncomfortable sometimes," Yani said.

"But you're having fun, right?" Sydette asked.

"Yes Sweet Pea, we're having the best time—"

"Snack time everybody! Leave your toys and games where they are…what…what are you doing?" Umama said.

Their great-grandmother's face came into view.

"N'Jadaka, Yani…is everything okay?" Umama asked.

"We're fine, just checking in with the kids," N'Jadaka said.

"Again?" Umama said.

"I wanted to see their faces this time, Umama. Let them go have their snack."

"Okay, Mama, bye!" Riki said.

The call winked out.

"You sneaky cheater!" Yani said, pinching his arm. "Talking all that stoic shit and you're the one to break our pact."

"Okay, okay, I missed them a lot. They were on my mind all last night and part of today. Thinking about their future."

"Thinking about their future because of the story we heard last night?"

"Yeah. A part of me doesn't want them to carry the weight of the throne, and yet another part of me wants their legacy to be better than mine."

"You're going to be king for a very long time. We'll probably be great-grandparents before you even have to worry about succession."

"Even so, I can't be the Golden Jaguar forever. One of them may have to take the mantle while I'm still king."

Yani cradled his chin with her hand, the softness of his beard warmed by the sun.

"Listen to me. That's a long way away."

"I hear you. But you're right. It's nothing to worry about now."

He rolled over and placed his head on her stomach. She rubbed his head and untangled his locs on his back. Tension rested in his muscles. The future still rested on him. Yani hummed him a tune and stroked his forehead gently. The tautness in his muscles relaxed under her fingers.

Yani didn't like that he pondered too long on the children and their political future in Wakanda. They were finally a happy family unit and their children were living fruitful lives as normal children. At least as normal as royal children could be.

He needed something to get his mind off of politics and the march of time to come. She wanted to have fun with him and not waste their energy soothing fears.

"It's getting extra warm for me, I'm going to go cool off and rest indoors for a minute until the sun is behind the trees," she murmured in his ear.

"No, stay here. You've made me too comfortable. Don't leave now, it's not that hot."

"I'll be back. You can take this heat more than me right now. I want to fix my hair too, oil my scalp a little," she said.

He whined and pretended to throw a tantrum with his feet. She bent her head closer to his and kissed his forehead. Scooting off the couch, Yani headed for the treehouse and bee-lined to the bedroom where she rummaged through their belongings and pulled out a wig box. Inside was the red wig N'Jadaka loved. She shook the tresses and carried it into the restroom. Using a brush by the sink bowl, she smoothed the hair and fixed it on her head with a bit of hair sealant and a spritz of perfume on her body. She unfastened her bikini and pulled on a short silk bathing robe that rose above her thighs.

Staring at her face in the mirror, she added a little make-up and pink lip gloss. Debating about adding eyelashes, she eventually took the time to add some onto her top lid and made one final inspection of herself. Sexy, and she carried the aura of a different woman. That's what she wanted to be. Not the fretting mommy needing to check up on her kids. That woman could return when the children joined them in eleven days. She fixed the bit up lip gloss that ran over her lip line and decided to add one more detail before she left the treehouse. The bottle of lubricant on the open cupboard would help with what she needed to do.

After her preparations in the restroom, she returned to the outside where N'Jadaka rested with an arm over his eyes.

"Is this seat taken?" Yani said.

N'Jadaka lifted his arm and looked at her. The grin plastered on his lips thrilled her.

"My wife was planning to come back later," he said.

"Oh, well, I'll just find someplace else to sit."

"Nah, you can chill until she comes back. Long time no see, Toya."

Yani pushed back the hair on her shoulders.

"You don't mind if I sunbathe next you…nude, yeah?"

He patted the vacant seat next to his on the comfortable couch lounger. She took off the robe slowly and turned to place it on the end table next to the couch. Bending over further than she needed to, she allowed him to see the cherry-red anal plug heart she had inserted in the restroom. She crawled onto the couch knees first and settled in next to him, her toasted skin sparkly with mica chips from her coconut oil. He watched her recline and his gaze fell to her breasts.

"You sure this is okay?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Her right hand drifted to her vulva. Running her fingers gently around her clit, she kept her eyes on his face while he watched her hand play with her pussy. He reached over and played with her right breast, squeezing her nipple. They didn't speak. Yani dipped her fingers lower to open her labia. She made sure he saw that it glistened with her own arousal. The piercings they loved looked so pretty. Her inner labia fell open and the puffy engorgement made him groan. Yani stared at his swim trunks and the bulge there grew and stretched the material. She reached over and palmed it, feeling the girth inside harden under her touch. His fingers trailed down to her vulva and he bypassed her clit to finger her opening, her arousal making his digits sticky.

"Do you miss fucking me, kumkani?" she said, all breathy and low, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear them.

"Yesssss."

He moaned and slipped his trunks down, freeing his erection. The full mass of his dick had her sighing his royal title, exciting N'Jadaka more.

"Kumkani, I don't want to get you in trouble on your honeymoon. But I know you miss fucking me in the ass and stretching out my pussy."

She gripped his dick, squeezing it first to test how hard it was before sliding her hand up and down.

"I miss this big dick, kumkani. Let me make you happy."

"Shit…yes…keep squeezing it like that…"

He sat back and let her work her fingers around him. She nestled her index and thumb under the ridge of his tip and twisted it in tight half circles. It didn't take long for pre-cum to spill out. She stopped her movement to let him kick off his trunks all the way, and then continued pleasuring him. Her pussy was already acting up and the fullness of her anal plug hinted at the debauchery to come.

"Has your wife been good to you?"

N'Jadaka's lips were smooshed together; his focus lost on her hand getting slick from his pre-cum. His eyes became glassy and narrowed. She began to give his dick harder strokes up and down, loving the feel of her hand wetting up his shaft, making it sticky. Lowering her head, she darted the tip of her tongue in and out of his slit.

"Fuck!"

N'Jadaka's voiced carried over her head as it moved up and down, deep throating his dick. His right hand slid down her spine and around the curve of her ass to finger her pussy. He finger-fucked her, plowing his digits into her fast, wiggling them back and forth so he could hear how wet she was. She gasped when he spanked her hard. Rubbing on her backside, he moaned and thrust his hips up to shove his dick further into her throat. He pushed on her anal plug and fondled the shiny heart.

"Lemme stretch that pussy before my wife comes back," he whispered in her ear.

Yani obeyed, scrambling onto her knees and straddling his dick in reverse cowgirl. She wanted him to look at her anal plug in anticipation of stuffing his dick there in its place. Widening her thighs, she guided him inside her slippery entrance and the tightness in her ass doubled her pleasure with his dick stretching her out too.

"Kumkani, you feel so good in my tight little pussy," Yani huffed, meaning every word she said while looking over her shoulder at him.

N'Jadaka slapped her ass cheeks with a determined rhythm.

"Look at that ass…look at that big ass…tight pussy fucking me so good…grip that shit…yeah…grip it tighter…you a little grip monster on that thang girl…fuck…"

His words tumbled over each other and Yani bounced on his dick, flexing her back muscles to give him a view of the perfect arch.

"I missed your big dick, kumkani," Yani yelped.

"Ride that dick, baby…yes, ride it hard Toya…"

Yani twisted her hips from side to side so he could experience the pleasure of her cheeks bouncing as she moved. N'Jadaka kept smacking her ass and her backside grew hot and tingled with delicious pain. He rubbed both sides of her rump to give her skin a break from his slaps, but he continued again when she did slow winds all the way to the tip and back down. The slow motion dance on his dick had him shouting her name and cursing about how good it felt. Yani rose up again and leaned forward to let him watch her opening throb and grip the tip of his dick with syncopated squeezes that looked like sucking motions from her pussy. She practiced for weeks with her queen training on the erotic arts. Her instructor was a no-nonsense elder noblewoman who gave Yani silver balls of varying sizes to insert in her vagina and walk around with for hours using her pelvic floor muscles to grip them. Every time a ball fell out, she had to re-insert and try again or risk a scolding. Sex was a very serious matter in the royal lineage. Even N'Jadaka had to take lessons for his dick, tongue and fingers to please his new queen. Those tiresome lessons paid off as she made her man holler and grunt with pleasure. She gripped and released his tip in fast successive motions, twisting her body ever so slightly to change the angle. Her suction around the ridge was like the lure used to catch a big fish. Her husband gasped and clutched the cushion of the couch.

She dropped down on his length hard and used her walls to clench around the root of his dick while she fondled and squeezed his nutsack. He was literal putty in her hands only eliciting moans as she showed off her sex magic. Those queen lessons truly enhanced the natural gifts she already possessed, and helped her build up more stamina to handle the king. She did the ripple effect, using her walls to clench his dick in sections as she rose up and down slowly. Because he stretched her with his girth, N'Jadaka could watch her pussy lips kiss and pulse on every inch of his dick. She became more excited by the delicious feeling of fullness in her insides. His sounds of enjoyment rewarded her pussy with hot throbbing coming from his dick. Her perspiration increased from the furnace of his heavy body radiating so much heat.

The pressure of his dick tugging on her clit and the anal plug filling her up had Yani speaking in tongues. Her skin tingled all over and the heat from his blows to her ass cheeks created a perfect storm of pleasure for her that she couldn't hold onto anymore. Her pussy throbbed on a final thrust from him. A pulsing sensation raced up her spine and she trembled all over. Yani threw her head back and wailed out his name as her orgasm choked his dick and her own throat. Her voice echoed above the trees and shushed a few birds who had been chirping in the late afternoon sunlight.

When he couldn't take it anymore himself, N'Jadaka plucked the anal plug from her ass and pulled her down against him. Her back went into his chest and he spooned her for a few minutes, playing with her breasts and kissing her neck and shoulders before pushing his dick into her ass. She was ready for it, already keening and pulling her ass cheek to the side so he could watch his entry.

"Bitch I love it…I love when you let me fuck you in the ass…taking all this dick…"

His voice sounded bewildered and hungry for release. She gripped the cushion on the couch and held still, letting him pump wild thrusts into her.

"Just letting me fuck you like this…nasty little bitch…fucking the king's dick…I'm all up in there…fuck!"

"Your wife will be back soon," she said, urging him on to glory.

"Tryna rush me like I'm scared of being caught?"

"Aren't you, kumkani? The queen wouldn't be happy to see you fucking one of your secret women."

"I think she'd like watching me fuck you."

Yani gasped as he slowed down his thrusts and played with her breasts.

"I think her pussy would get wet watching this big ass dick stretching you…watching you cream all over me Toya…"

He stroked her clit, plucking at the piercing there. His breath warmed her earlobe and he nibbled on the outer shell of her ear.

"Or maybe you'd like to watch me fuck my wife like this. She takes dick so good in the ass."

"Yeah?"

Yani shuddered as her skin combusted with the fire of her lust listening to his words.

"My wife is the best. Before we were married…back when we were on an island together, she used to let me fuck her in the ass all the time. She has a nice big bubble. Niggas been after her for years and still want her. But she's mine and she lets me do anything I want to her. When I fuck her pussy, it weeps on my dick…"

Yani gasped. Listening to him talk about her in the third person was such a turn on. N'Jadaka had transformed into a trickster, changing the power dynamic of their encounter. She had come down from the treehouse to seduce and drive him crazy and he flipped it on her. He shifted their position, forcing her on her knees with her ass up and her head down. He kept a hand on the back of her neck and fucked her ass with slow hard thrusts. Each time he smacked against her rump, the slapping sound was loud and disrespectful to her ears.

"My wife is such a good girl. She knows to get on her knees without me asking so I can cum all over her pretty face. She'll lick up every drop of cum I give her. And she can take my dick so deep…lemme show you how I fuck her ass deep, Toya."

Yani began whimpering. The nerve endings in her ass were on high alert and her clit twitched.

"I took her to an opera in Zana and she let me fuck her ass right in the theater booth. She hiked her dress up and got on the floor and let me fuck her like that, even though there were nobles in the sections next to us. Feel it? Feel how I fucked her ass, Toya?"

"Yes!"

Yani cried out and she squirted on the couch. The sudden release heightened everything.

"I'm making you squirt, baby?"

The tone of his voice was so raspy that Yani's body squirted again, harder, making a complete mess on the couch.

"I'ma nut in you so deep. Let you have what my wife gets…yeah…feel all that? Your king is balls deep in that ass."

He pressed a hand on the arch of her back, and then gripped her hips with both hands.

"Taking it so good…that's a good girl…that's it…let your king fuck that ass…ooohhh….'bout to nut…fuck…here it comes…here it comes…shit…here it comes!"

He thrust hard once more and shot hot cum with curses flying from his mouth. Yani took it all and fell over in a satisfied lump when he finished. Her entire vulva throbbed and her clit still pulsed with anticipation.

He allowed her to rest a few minutes. She lifted from the couch and smoothed the hair on her wig. His dick was still hard.

"Come on," he said, lifting her up in his arms and cradling her against his chest.

"Where are we going?"

"Inside."

"But the queen…"

"She'll just have to deal with her man fucking his lover on their bed."

Yani held onto his neck tight. He bounded up the treehouse stairs and carried her into the bedroom.

"Wait here," he said.

She listened to him shuffle into the restroom and run water to clean his dick off. He returned and stroked his dick with fresh lubricant on it. Yani admired his body. He had always been a beautiful man. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, N'Jadaka was the finest chiseled specimen of man she had ever seen. The scars on his body actually enhanced his beauty and that man knew he was physical perfection just by the way he preened in front of her.

He lowered himself to the bedding and held her close to him.

"I will show you how I make love to her," he said.

He kissed her forehead with lips so soft that she forgot that he was her husband. The scent of his skin reminded her of honeysuckle blooming and she held onto his shoulders feeling safe in his arms. He rubbed his nose against hers making her smile.

"I love you," he said.

Yani pressed her lips against his and savored the softness. Oh how she fought to have this man! From the naysayers back home to the nobles who questioned her worthiness, Yani held onto her husband tight, feeling his heartbeat against her chest. Her tongue twisted around his and the joy in her heart thrummed throughout her body, raising the temperature on her skin and causing her pores to sweat even more. Their combined heat raised her arousal. He bit the side of her neck with those sharp slugs and Yani gasped, her eyes glued to the opening in the ceiling.

N'Jadaka penetrated her pussy with a quick motion in his hips and he marinated inside of her, keeping his kisses deep and wet inside her mouth. Her walls contracted when he pushed in further, accommodating him with intense slick heat.

He sucked in a breath when she squeezed around him tighter. His claw necklace dangled above her nose. She raised her legs up and held her thighs. N'Jadaka raised up on his hands and watched his dick go slowly in and out of her pussy. The focused concentration gave her joyful shivers. He loved looking at her body while he made love, and kept checking in with her by staring at her face. Swiveling his hips he slowed down his pumps and drops of sweat fell on her from his chest.

"Show me how much you love me," she begged.

N'Jadaka inhaled and then huffed out puffs of frantic air. The pussy clenching was getting to him. Yani absorbed the yearning he had to make her cum again while he stretched her out. Her clit was engorged and sat there fat and gorgeous like a precious jewel.

He was so big everywhere. His body. His dick. His personality. His legacy. His love.

Yani had shaped him and the world he conquered. No two people had ever wielded the power they did together all over the globe. His power over her body flowed out in hot waves across her tender skin. Her breasts bounced with his thrusts and his eyes darted down to watch. He loved every inch of her and she could see that clearly in those cunning brown eyes. She panted. He was too much. In the end of all their intimate encounters he was always too much. God, what a blessing.

He hit a spot inside of her that made her scream his name that became exaltations to heaven. N'Jadaka watched her face as she came on his dick and she felt him swell and spill inside of her. Looking down at their wet messy joining, his dick pulsed and so did his balls.

Yani let go of her thighs and let her orgasm cascade over any thoughts of anything outside of Ekuqaleni. All that mattered was them. Right there. Right now.

She gave herself permission to forget her children and the rest of the world.

N'Jadaka was all that she would live and breathe for in that moment. They were perfect and divine and meant to make love for a lifetime.

Attendants carried away the last of Yani's personal belongings she used in Ekuqaleni.

N'Jadaka conferred with their Dora Milaje and she took a final walk past the treehouse and into the forest. Their houseboat was ready for the next part of their honeymoon and all that was left was to give instructions to their personal staff and notify the palace that they were leaving within the hour.

"Don't go far," N'Jadaka called out.

"I won't," she said, waving at him.

She wandered past the large mineral pool and headed over to the mini waterfall that fed into the stream that attracted the best butterflies because of all the lovely flowers that beckoned with their nectar. The long wrap-around cornflower-blue dress she wore brushed past her ankles and a gentle breeze blew across her face. The coolness from the canopy gave her skin a break from the sun as she rounded a bend in the stream to get one last look at the mini waterfall.

In her peripheral, she caught sight of something dark and low to the ground. She pretended not to see the panther cub until two others popped out on her side next to it, all three watching her walk along the damp path of forest floor dirt in her sandals. Above the canopy she could hear and feel the vibration of the Royal Talon Fighter leaving Ekuqaleni.

"I'm going to ignore you because you aren't real and you won't harm me," she said out loud, throwing her voice over her shoulder at the cubs.

There was no sense looking at them, they would only disappear after a few minutes anyway. Whatever magic or spirits that lived in the forest would stay there. Yani was leaving in thirty minutes.

"Where are you?" N'Jadaka asked.

His image floated above her wrist. She stopped walking to catch her breath.

"Not far. I wanted to see the little waterfall and maybe collect some flowers before we leave," she said.

"Do that, then head on back. I'll wait for you at the firepit," he said.

She tapped her beads and his image winked out. Bending down to pluck the best flowers, one of the cubs brushed against her leg. She yelped and jumped back, not expecting it to be real flesh and blood at all. It purred loudly and rubbed against her ankles, its cute little tail flicking with agitation.

Should she pick it up?

Yani glanced around. The other two cubs sat on their haunches watching her…and waited.

What harm could befall her if she bent down to test if it were a solid thing?

N'Jadaka waited for her. All she had to do was walk away and leave with happy memories. They weren't real, just a trick of the mind. She decided to forgo touching and spun around to head back to her husband.

The cub jumped in front of her path and rubbed himself back and forth against both of her ankles. She felt the warmth from its chunky body. It opened its mouth and gave a weak kittenish yawp, showing its tiny baby teeth. Too cute. It stared up at her with cute eyes and cute whiskers.

Yani bent down and the first cub ran in front of her, looking back to see if she still locked eyes on it. It gave that pitiful baby panther cry again and the two other cubs ran toward them and ran around her in a circle, rubbing their little warm bodies against her ankles too. They jumped away when she tried to pet them, and ran in front of her a few feet, looking back to check her stance. She walked forward when they ambled back to her, but the closer she got, they ran ahead of her again and stopped. Yani got the message.

They wanted her to follow them.

Running ahead of her in the opposite direction she needed to go, Yani had a decision to make once more. Go with them or stay?

N'Jadaka knew where she was. If she sensed danger, she could scream and tap her beads, and he would come to her rescue within seconds with his enhanced speed. She could follow them and if they led her to someplace sketchy, she would put up the force field that was embedded in her beads to protect her until her husband arrived. Ekuqaleni never showed her any harm or made her feel unsafe. Panthers were the Udaku's animal guides. If she left without seeing where they went, the curiosity would get the better of her and ruin her honeymoon. She tapped her beads.

"N'Jadaka, I see the panther cubs again," she whispered into the beads.

"Stay where you are, I'll be there in a minute."

"They rubbed against my legs. They seem real."

"Do not touch them," he said.

"Okay. I'll wait here."

It would take him at least fifteen minutes to walk there.

The cubs ran ahead of her again, much further this time. They still looked back at her to make sure she had eyes on them.

Wait.

Yani tapped her foot and glanced over her shoulder. N'Jadaka was taking too long coming to her. The cubs padded further south. She took a few steps forward to keep them in her eyesight as they passed through some low fronds off the path she had taken.

"Hurry N'Jadaka," she muttered under her breath, not wanting to cause the cubs to disappear before he arrived. Although he couldn't see them, he could sense them, and it would be better to have him go with her on a wild goose chase. Or a panther chase.

She couldn't see them ahead of her anymore and took a chance following. Nothing in her gut felt weird and she wasn't afraid.

She quickly caught up to them and they began to run. They weren't as fast as her and she lifted the hem of her dress to keep from tripping on it. The shade around her seemed to grow darker the further she went and she brushed away low hanging branches, vines and brush to keep up.

Ahead of her was a clearing and she caught sight of the cubs running as fast as their little legs could carry them. She started laughing, feeling the air on her skin rush by, and the wonderful physical sensation of her leg muscles stretching in a good sprint. To her right was a part of the tributary that led to the main river of the Ibukun, and that shocked her because it meant that she had run further than she thought. Twenty miles.

Yani took in her surroundings and checked her kimoyos. There was no way she should've been able to run that far in under fifteen seconds.

"Yani, where are you?" N'Jadaka's voice broke her reverie.

"I'm here!" she said, looking at his floating image.

It winked out and Yani stared at the three panther cubs still running ahead of her. Several yards ahead of them, next to the riverbank sat three serene-looking River Tribe women on a rug in a circle. They're eyes were closed tight as if in a deep meditation session and they stood up the moment Yani appeared. They all wore lavender headwraps twisted in the style of their people. Two wore sleeveless long purple and turquoise dresses and the other had short sleeves on her pale turquoise long dress. The purple rug under their feet was five feet in diameter with white swirling lines and white dots that looked like tiny stars. A lit candle floated inside a bowl filled with water at the bottom of the carpet. The flame flickered and Yani noticed that sky was the color of lilac and amethysts and that could only occur there at sunset.

"Wait…wait…this can't be. It's still morning," Yani said.

The panther cubs ran directly toward the women and before Yani could reach them, each cub ran through the bottom of each woman's dress and vanished.

"Are you real?" Yani asked.

The woman in the white dress smiled.

"Yes Queen Yani, we are very real," she said.

"Were those panther cubs…?"

The woman in the white dress stepped forward but kept her feet on the rug.

"Our apologies, kumkanikazi. I am Jabulile. That is Khanyisile, and she is Nolwazi. We had to get your attention without upsetting the king. He gave an edict that no one was to disturb you on your honeymoon, so we were unable to come to you directly. Using avatars allowed us to get close to you. We had hoped to catch you alone and draw you out here to meet us without the king becoming angry."

"Why do you need to see me?"

"The oracle requests an audience with you."

"Oracle? What oracle?"

"Nolwandle…the mother of oceans. She received an urgent message from the other side and Mama Wati has given permission to let it pass through her. You must go to Nolwandle as soon as possible. But the king must not know about this or else Bast will find out," Khanyisile said.

Yani took a step back.

"If you are afraid of Bast finding out, then are you trying to do something bad behind her back?"

Nolwazi clasped her hands together in a beseeching motion, "Kumkanikazi, the Grandmother of us all must not know about this because she does not like messages about the future reaching human ears. There is order in all divine things coming to pass, but if humans know things ahead of that time, they may disrupt the pattern she has set forth."

"I want my husband with me. I don't go anywhere alone without him by my side."

Jabulile nodded with understanding, but her eyes pleaded for Yani to heed their words.

"You must see Nolwandle, within three days. She can only be a vessel for the message that long, or else it will cause her great bodily harm and mental distress. Today will be her first day. It will be to your detriment to ignore her call. A message like this has traveled through souls to get to you, my dear queen."

Yani gestured toward the sky.

"You could be tricking me," Yani said.

All three women shook their heads.

"It would be a sin for us to trick anyone," Jabulile said, "We do not mean to frighten you, but I beg you Queen Yani. Heed our words daughter. Go to Mama Wati's statue at the mouth of Warrior Falls, past the great Manta Ray monument. Look at her face at the first light of the morning and it will show you the path to the Oracle. If you do not receive this message, the Udaku bloodline will come into jeopardy, and so will the fate of our country."

Jabulile held out her hand. Her words startled Yani and she reached out to the woman. Jabulile clasped Yani's hand and pulled her onto the beautiful rug.

"Oh God!" Yani cried out.

Her body felt like it was rushing through a powerful vortex of pure light and loud sounds that rattled her eardrums. After a few seconds she saw the figure of a dark-skinned woman sitting crossed-legged with a crackling fire in front of her. The woman's eyes rose from the flickering flames and stared right through Yani.

"Come daughter…Mama Wati protects you here…come Black mermaid…I have a message for you…come quickly…"

Yani's body whipped back at an angle and it felt like she was about to do a backflip or split in half trying to do so.

"Easy kumkanikazi, you are here with us again," Jabulile said, still holding Yani's hands.

Yani stumbled back off of the rug. The women stepped off of it too, and Jabulile rolled it up.

"Find your way to her…your bloodline is in danger if you don't," Jabulile said. "Go to Mama Wati's statue. Let her show you the way."

The women lowered their heads to Yani and walked toward a canoe waiting for them halfway out of the water. The tucked the rug inside and each woman climbed inside quietly with Jabulile in the center. The other two women paddled them downriver.

Yani watched them and caught her breath.

"Yani!"

Yani whipped her head around toward N'Jadaka's voice and it was morning once more. She checked her kimoyo beads. It was the same time as when she had first spotted the panther cubs. Glancing around, she was back at the mini waterfall with flowers still clasped in her fingers.

Her husband smiled and walked toward her.

"Ready to leave?" he said.

He held out his hand and she threaded her fingers with his, her body trembling.

"You okay, Yani?"

"It's just a little chillier in the shade. That rainy weather must be on the way," she said.

"Don't matter, we'll be snuggled up and floating in blissful waters."

Yani walked out of Ekuqaleni trying to figure out a way to go to Warrior Falls sooner without raising any suspicions in her husband. The weight of something extraordinary depended on her carrying it in secrecy. That was something she promised N'Jadaka she would never have with him. Secrets.

"Onward, " he said, and Yani stayed by his side.

Chapter 10 HERE.

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[oldguy56-world]

Under Pressure

Do not confuse this with my December 2019 blog Pressure. These are two completely different things. In today's world there are a lot of things that apparently put the younger generations under pressure (hence the title) but they have no idea the pressure we went through in our younger years. (I am talking post Stone Age but barely). Times were simpler but pressure was not. We had parents that would smack us if we did something wrong, regardless of where we were or who was around. The pressure to stay good for someone like me was unbearable. We were not allowed to debate the situation as that would only make things worse. (I do have to confess that I learned to bob and weave at an early age and I am not talking about doing hair in case you are wondering). I understand it is hard to relate regarding generational differences so let me enlighten the younger generations while taking a stroll down memory lane with my fellow Boomers.

Getting a date. You could not go on line, find someone with similar interests, get them to swipe right and meet up with them... No way. We had two methods. 1) Phone them and ask them out. This involved a very difficult set of tasks including finding their phone number (which could involve bribery of some friends) and then making that cold call. You were out there hoping for a yes. (If any of you were master of the 6 digit attempted call before bailing welcome to my world). 2) This one had greater potential for humiliation. You saw them at a school dance, bar, church function, in class and HAD TO MAKE THAT WALK ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM TO ASK THEM OUT. Believe me that walk back after rejection is even longer. (Helpful hint, although it is much too late, is to position yourself so that they are on the way to the washroom. that way you can convince your friends you just stopped to say hi before heading in to do your business). I put this one first on the list so that you understand why so many of my generation no longer has hair. Pressure.

You are successful in the above and then find out you only have $9 for food, gas and a date somewhere. We bowled a lot. Trying to impress them enough so that you get a second date...Pressure.

Before there was GPS you are trying to find your way to your friend's cottage when you realize there wasn't something quite right about that egg salad sandwich you ate. You think you can stop anywhere? Back then we still had a lot of bears in these remote areas waiting for people like me. Big and Juicy.

We had to memorize a lot of stuff because we didn't have a cell phone to put notes into. It was very hard remembering important things when your brain capacity was full of TV theme songs.

We had to polish our shoes all the time. "If you can't see your reflection in your shoes it reflects on your personality instead''. These words terrorized me for years.

If we didn't pay attention in class the teachers would actually fail us. (If you are unfamiliar with that concept please find an ancient text that explains it). There is nothing worse than taking a subject that you suck at two years in a row. (There was a mercy rule after that which eased a bit of the pressure.

Before Google, when you had to research a topic you needed to get to the library and hope no one else had taken the only copy of the needed reference material out already. This was especially difficult if you waited until the day before the assignment was due. This was called self inflicted pressure.

We moved out of our parent's places earlier on and found out that fridges are not magic and the food doesn't just appear. Money was needed. Beer money. Making decisions at a young age is difficult and can cause hemorrhoids. (See Preparation H commercials.)

You tended to have the friends you grew up with as there was no social media to find better people. Aiding and Abetting is also a felony.

Combining the first point and the last point. If you secured a date and it didn't work out. You were toast until you changed your name or moved to another city. Your neighborhood was now tainted as word would get around to all other available females. Since we had no way of meeting others (unless we went to a lot of bars, leaving no money for actual dates if you secured one) you had to wait 4 years (yes that is correct) until the next group of people was eligible for you to attempt to repeat step 1.

For the record, I have a couple of friends that got lucky the first time out and are still married to them. I have one that never married, and one that fled the area to find his love mate. As for me, eventually you get it right.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: Every generation has their own pressure. What defines them is how they cope with it.

[iveneverdoneanythingwrong]

So I have the day off today, and I marked the entirety of it down to watch Red, White, and Royal Blue. This was a good decision as I've had to pause three times and I'm 3 min and 40 seconds into the movie. I just get so

and I have to stop and calm down. So I'm blogging when I have to pause.

Such a fanfic set up - Enemies to Lovers, royalty AU, slow burn, 400k.

I'm at the after-wedding party and the cake is SO BIG I KNOW WHATS COMING I CAAAAAN'T

IT'S LOOMING LIKE ITS READY TO ATTACK

ALEX IS DRUNK ALEX STOP ALEX YOU ARE AT A WORK FUNCTION AAAAALEEEEEEXXXXX

OH NO OH NOOO DRUNK!ALEX HAS SPOTTED HIS NEMESIS HARRY IN FRONT OF THE FERAL CAKE

The cake has chosen a victim. To be fair, Alex attacked it first, so I can't blame the cake…

This is the funniest face, I don't know why but I can't stop laughing at Alex's reaction to icing. You'd think it was cum

THE CAKE HAS ATTAAAAAACKED . Alex FAFOd. RIP Alex.

I love how this whole thing is basically Alex's fault, but the crown prince blames Henry. Family tension, yay!

I also love how Alex is called on the carpet in the oval office and it's ALL WOMEN IN THERE. He's cracking jokes, and they're talking trade negotiations and polling numbers around him.

Zahra is my favorite person ever. GET HIM!

Ok, Alex, sweetheart, honey, you are FIXATED on Henry being 6'2''…. do you have a, shall we say, issue? "Making it was one of the most depressing moments of my career - and I once saw Mitch McConnell eating a banana." Thank you for your service, ma'am.

Smile, boys. I SAID SMILE.

"Alex has very strong opinions. And he shares them. Loudly." 🤣 He's just American, Henry. 🤣🤣🤣 This is our Get-Along-Press Conference.

OK, so my friend who is also watching says her first unbelievable moment was the wedding gown without sleeves. I don't know enough about fashion or royalty to argue, but MY first unbelievable moment is shots fired at a hospital and they're NOT in the US? DOUBT.

Active shooter and Henry is more focused on how Alex smells and why Alex doesn't like him. "Makes sense." "What do you mean by THAT?" "It means you have good taste, Alex."

Oh wow, Henry is showing some emotional intelligence here.

Nevermind, I take it back. Henry! Don't be a douche! Ok, I take it back take it back. Thanks for being vulnerable, Henry.

Fireworks. OK, that makes more sense.

I also love Alex's bodyguard.

"Kill me and I won't have to go." Hey writers, this is more relatable than making him talk about how expensive the cake is. Same, Henry, same.

My god, Alex's eyelashes are insane. Why. Why does he need those? To flirt with men?? Oh wait, yeah, I guess he does.

Oh my god, they actually POINTED OUT HIS EYELASHES. This movie was made for me. Is that guy flirting? Back off, man!

Henry is an amazing texter. I love the way they fit social media into the movie format.

Can I have another two or three hours of them just hanging out and snarking at each other please? kthx.

Alex's NYE party - is this the first time Henry has been underdressed for an event? *gasp* the mutual "oh no he's hot" moment.

aaaand already Henry has been bit by the little green monster. Pugsley. That was fast.

EEEEEE the kiss. Alex is like, I'm not touching I'm not touching I'mnottouchingIswear.

"The first fifty rows of a Gaga concert." 🤣🤣🤣 The women in the movie are On Fire.

"He grabbed my hair in a way that made me understand the difference between rugby and football" WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?????

"He can't ignore me all night. Can he?" Oh honey....

LUNCH BREAK - I started this at 8:30 am, it is now 11:30. I am 37:45 into this movie. 🤣

Why is Miguel coming off as skeezy to me? I want him to go awa-ALEX, your literal prince has ariiiiived.

Henry, sweetheart, you are not fooling anyone.

Damn Alex, *fans self* So... this was the "fade to black" of a sex scene. I mean, I wasn't expecting this movie to be subtle, but c'mon!

Henry: I just don't want you to fall in love with me. Me: How's that clown makeup feel?

Well now I gotta know. How many/which famous men have you shagged. Henry? Henry, COME BACK HERE!

"I'm so not playing this cool right now." Don't worry Alex, you guys are dork4dork.

I KNEW MIGUEL WAS A SCUMBAG

Ugh, Dickbag alert! Ah, jealolus dickbag alert!

Alex!! You've broken Zahra!! Zahra my loooooveee!! Put these boys in their place! That ENTIRE scene was AMAZING. This movie was worth it just for that.

HAHAHAHAH they didn't even get through the whole gag set up "I'm definitely not doing karao-*singing karaoke*

It's taking me forever to get through the floating dock/Alex confession scene. The whole "rope attached to my chest" is real Jane Eyre vibes. Henry, you need to say something. Communication is key, my dude. Or drown yourself, that's valid.

Oh you are NOT just sneaking out. No. I forbid it. Ugh, men.

"What happened in Texas?" "I ended things with Alex" NO YOU FUCKING WELL DIDN'T, YOU DICK.

Of course there's thunder for the big romantic confrontation scene. It has to be raining! For reasons!

oh, that is some grade-A projection there, Henry.

Mr never had a key has a key....

Damn, Alex, you have game.

"When they write the history of my life I want it to include you" Damn, Henry, you have game, too.

Ok, the most unrealistic thing in this movie - these motherfuckers don't move in their sleep??! The covers are always immaculate when they wake up. FAKE. FALSE. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN.

DOUCHE DOUCHE DOUCHE DOUCHE DOUCHE DOUCHE

Zahra is so done. Go ahead, Zahra, smack him with a pillow again, I know you want to. You've earned it! "mooning over the prince like a cow in labor" 🤣🤣🤣 Marry me, Zahra!!

Stephen Fry playing a homophobe?? He really stretched his acting chops for that. "Take the American with you." Thanks gramps.

Do you think anyone noticed??

Final tally: It took me 5 hours to watch this, not including the hour lunch break.

[youhideastar]

hi again! before you even start reading this i gotta apologize for 1: gushing so much over your writing (i can't stop), and 2: the wonky english (the not-my-first-language magic blessing seems to have passed me by).

thank you so much for your thorough answer! i've repeatedly been blown away by the amount of visible care and consideration you've taken in writing your portayals of bdsm in tbsa (and in a keener eye, too! i started listing my favorite little bits of that here until i realized i couldn't possibly cover even half of them, it's so stellar.) and i'm like, awestruck at this answer too. i think i agonized too much over the wording in the original question, as well as just not taking enough care in considering the meaning of what i was saying, and it came out weird. i'm sorry if i made you feel obligated to educate me in any way! i hope i didn't accidentally imply that 24/7 relationships are in any way wrong, icky, or any other negatives. i had no intention of criticizing or presuming stuff about that kind of dynamic, but hadn't considered many of your points here either and this really got me thinking about my own preconceptions.

you interpreted my question correctly for how i wrote it! what i was really wondering about when i was typing was (in addition to the more general stuff you answered here) was a more self-indulgent, headcannon-y thing, in the vein of "what are some specific things your flower really loves in his relationship?". like with how sid really enjoys bondage. :]

thanks again!

No one ever needs to apologize for gushing over my writing! 😆 It's always appreciated. The previous answer referred to in the ask is here, and the series discussed is here.

I also would not have written more than 200,000 words about role policing and other crappy threads of BDSM culture if I were not willing to do a little education on that front, so please don't worry about that, either! What you said about thinking about your own preconceptions made me really happy - in part because writing the whole To Be Seen Aright series often served that function for me, too. I wrote about that a little in the director's commentary on Amends:

“No,” Sid says immediately. He’s not having that. “No. What you have with Vero, maybe that’s about deserving, but this, us, what we have, it’s—” Above that, he almost says, but he catches himself – that’s not fair to Flower’s relationship with Vero, or to the relationship most of Sid’s friends and family and teammates have with their partners. This was me! I’m the one who wrote “this, us, what we have, it’s above that.” And then I looked at it and was like, ummmm. Not a great thought, Dea!

As far as headcanons for what Flower really likes in his relationship, I don't know that I have too much beyond what ended up on the page, honestly! He's a masochist, and significantly farther up the "how much pain is good pain?" scale than, e.g., Sid. For him, I think, the pain is always the main event, and anything else that he enjoys--bondage, or possessiveness, for example--is just a side dish. Again, not a very satisfying answer, sorry (two in a row!) but Flower is just a delightfully straightforward character, what can I say? 😊

[marinaratrench05]

Writing Tips :3

Not sure if this'll actually be helpful, but I've found I have some things I do when writing that help me with plots structure and beating writers block to a pulp. So, take it as you will.

1.) Treat Your Story Like a Body

Skeleton: What's the structure of the story? What shapes your setting/plot and keeps it up?

Organs: What makes things function? What is the importance of each function that makes it important and necessary to keep things running? Things may over lap or be completely separate, but all organs have a part to play (not you appendix).

Muscle: What gets the plot going? How much can things be stretched, strained and worked out without breaking things? The human body has limitations, but people can do some crazy stuff with their joints, so don't think you're too limited by your own story.

Skin: How does this all appear to others, whether an outsider or someone who knows what's going on under there? Remember, the surface doesn't reflect the inside, whether better or worse or about the same. People tend to be prettier with their guts inside them, and it's the same with a stories dirty secrets and plot twists. And the POV can drastically change the way others see things and what details are considered important.

2.) Organize Your Thoughts

I personally use an app called Novelist, which had these neat bits where I can separate stories with pictures and have segmented parts for themes and characters and such.

It's also good to have easy access to something you can write your ideas on, where it's some dialogue, a word you thinks sounds cool, or just a random idea. Don't assume you'll "remember when you wake up" because you won't. I never do... But still sleep, please.

3.) Create Ambience

Background music is my go-to when it comes to getting a certain vibe. This can be all sorts of songs either on loop or a playlist you made or found online. It doesn't even have to be traditional music! It can be sounds of rain and thunder, waves with whale sounds, or the low, ominous whistling of death incarnate... or Ghibli music, that works too.

You can also read other stories or look at pictures and art related to the vibe or fandom you're writing about. Obviously don't copy off them, but they can put you in the right headspace you help you write what you plan too.

4.) Do Research

Whenever you don't know something about what you're writing, look it up! Don't always assume you know or that it doesn't matter, because when you take the time to learn a bit more, you'll probably find something you missed, or even something interesting about it. You can even just research for fun, get some ideas flowing, maybe make a story off of something you discovered.

This is also great for vocabulary! Whenever I don't like a word or want something like it, I'll look up the meaning and click on 'more words' or 'similar words' and get some options that aren't the same thing five times in a row.

5.) Take a Break!

It's a tale as old as time, with a worn writer ignoring their health and well-being. But it's true! You're not some ninja turtle doing kick-flips in the sewer system, you're a fleshy person with moderate combat skills. So stop acting like you don't need water! You do!

Treat it like a treat to yourself, a reward system Pavlov's dog would be salivating for. This will help writing feel more rewarding if you make a point of making the experience good, both when writing and leaving it.

If the issue is writers block, you can try working on other things, whether it's things around the house, a hobby you're been itching to get to, or even working on a separate story and/or aspect of the story you're having trouble with.

That's about it. Again, I'm no expert, but my dog looks at me like I'm the best human ever, so I'm feeling a bit overconfident at the moment. Hope any of this helps!

:3

[f1]

Only reliability problems can stop Verstappen breaking Vettels record this season says Webber

Rather than bemoan Max Verstappen's dominance this season, former Red Bull driver Mark Webber insists rivals and fans have to give "credit where it’s due” for the level of performance his old team have achieved – and says only reliability issues are likely to stop the Dutchman's current run. Verstappen notched up his 10th win of the season at the recent Belgian Grand Prix, ensuring Red Bull are unbeaten in 12 races so far in 2023, while the Dutchman is now on the brink of matching Sebastian Vettel’s all-time successive victory record of nine in a row. READ MORE: Max Verstappen on pressure, breaking records, and the search for perfection Looking back on the first half of the campaign, Webber – who raced for Red Bull between 2007 and 2013, including a stint alongside Vettel – was full of praise for his former team and reigning double world champion Verstappen. “I think it’s really hard for people to understand this level of domination, how much work and effort goes into it,” nine-time Grand Prix winner Webber told Formula1.com. “That’s the big thing, you’ve got to give credit, people have to give credit where it’s due. Webber (right) raced for Red Bull from 2007 to 2013, including a spell alongside Vettel “To get that level of advantage with the depth of competition in F1… There’s so many, so many opportunities to make mistakes, whether it’s pit stops, reliability, presentation of the car, driver errors, but it’s just been a run for the ages, and obviously [McLaren in] 1988 was the last time it happened.” Pushed on whether he can see Verstappen smashing Vettel’s victory record in the races to come, the Australian continued: “It’s only reliability [problems] that will stop it, I think. READ MORE: Webber heaps praise on Piastri for ‘phenomenal’ first half of rookie F1 season “I think the world would like to see him win his home race [at Zandvoort]. To do the business there would be extraordinary. He should win that one and then he’s equal.” With Verstappen now 125 points clear in the drivers’ standings, and Red Bull 256 ahead of their nearest rivals in the constructors’, Webber feels there is more of the same to come when the championship leaders emerge from their summer break. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences Max Verstappen looks back at his dominant 2023 season so far “He’s the one out there executing, he’s dancing when the curtains go back, and he goes out on stage and does it,” commented Webber, who also raced for Minardi, Jaguar and Williams in F1. F1 NATION: The Quiz of the Season So Far “We know the level of intensity he brings – he’s top drawer. For the opposition, of course, he’s now well-established in his career, he’s got an immense amount of experience. “He’s going to enjoy the break, he’s going to come back refreshed, and I think because there’s even no pressure on him, it’s even more of an advantage for him.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[titaniumrock]

Okay so I wanted to share how I'm tackling V.A.T.S in my fic just because I can and I also thought it would be beneficial to anyone who is also writing, so do feel free to use and incorporate it into your work. I mostly got these ideas just based on what is in game and what makes sense to me, anyways do feel free to add your own ideas on how it works I would love to hear it, or well read it lol. Anyways it'll all be underneath the cut, please do enjoy!

How does V.A.T.S work/limitations?

They work by stabbing a thin tube sensor into the user's arm connecting to a major nerve, it then sends a special electric signal mainly to the eyes but it also effects the brain and even the rest of the body most of the time. Now V.A.T.S doesn't care if the user can not see and the system will continue work anyways. Overuse of V.A.T.S (using every few seconds without any breaks) can lead to spasms in the body and can even cause a seizure or increase the risk of one, it can and will also cause pain to the user if they max out their endurance/stamina.

V.A.T.S functions/modes-

Activating 'See' mode- Press button on pip-boy once

Activating 'Kill' mode- Press and hold button on pip-boy

How to use 'Kill' mode/what is involved-

To open 'kill' mode press and hold button on pip-boy equipped with V.A.T.S.

Once V.A.T.S 'kill' mode has been activated all movement and sound will be obsolete/not available to either party (user and environment).

V.A.T.S 'kill' mode has no time limit.

V.A.T.S 'kill' mode uses sight to function even if user has no sight (blind), all use of V.A.T.S contains a visual of green lines along every surface.

Blinking twice in a row causes a selection.

Selections are square brackets that can be seen on body parts (ex: [ body part ] ).

Select any body part by looking at it.

To see damage percentages user needs to wink, and to remove the percentages from sight user has to wink with opposite eye

Closing eyes for couple seconds completes 'kill' mode if selections have been made.

If no selections have been made and eye have been closed 'kill' mode closes.

When selections have been made and confirmed pip-boy will emit a little sound before V.A.T.S takes over the users body.

When V.A.T.S takes over the users body it will control all function causing the user to aim and move like a trained soldier.

V.A.T.S 'kill' mode has limits based on the users stamina and endurance.

Attempting to exceed the limit will cause the user harm and will not be allowed unless user pushes through V.A.T.S protection system.

Outside users do not notice time stopping and everything will appear normal, this is a user only experience.

How to use 'See' mode/what is involved-

To open 'see' mode press button on pip-boy equipped with V.A.T.S once.

Once operating user will see green outlines on everything even if they can not see (blind).

These outlines can change colour (green outlines on people/animals/plants=alive, when it's red=dead).

Standard outline colour for everything is green.

This mode does NOT stop time only slows it down a bit.

User does NOT experience the slowing effect on their body.

This mode has a time limit.

To those observing everything will look normal with nothing being slowed down, it is only a user experience.