#but when choosing to split up into two groups for tactical reasons this seems to be how it's divided | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

j-graysonlibrary · 11 months

Text

The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two Chapter 31

Title: The Xiang Chronicles: Book Two

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 98k

Genres: Fantasy, adventure, drama, LGBT+

Available on: my website

Synopsis: With another Xiang in the mix, for the first time in history, Pangu decides to reevaluate his methods and his place in the world. Along with taking his little sister Heidi as his last disciple, he also chooses to take the more political path in his efforts to end the discord throughout the land—particularly within Terra. (And gaining favor from the handsome Lord of Ultimos does not hurt.)

Heidi butts heads with everyone in the group, save Raine, and tensions are higher than ever. There are failed love confessions, in-group fighting, and demons from Kira’s past but that all comes to a head when they meet a servant of Shakti who is more than what she seems.

Could it be that the Mistresses of Shadow are more nuanced than previously believed? Or that the strict dichotomy between light and dark are, perhaps, a touch exaggerated? That and more begin to plague Pangu’s mind and his faith wavers…

Full chapter 31 under the cut

Chapter XXXI:

The carriage came to a stop after an hour of travel and when everyone was more than sure they were not being followed. They stayed hidden in the thick brush of the woods, careful still.

“I just worry that the spirits will come get us—they are supposedly all around us, right?” Oli raised a valid point as he dismounted the carriage. He stretched and frowned as everyone stepped out around him.

“That is true, but…” Pangu started to remove the outer layer of his robes. They had traveled south and, even if they had not breached the border into Meala, the humidity was already prickling the air. “The spirits will not act without the instruction of those above them which, for some reason, includes Merra now.”

“So they will come for us, it will just take more time,” Viren clarified.

“They may not come at all.” It might have just been optimistic to think so but Pangu figured, so long as they were not stirring up trouble, there would be no reason to hunt them down.

“Should we prepare for Merra and her disciples to follow us the old fashioned way?” Baiya asked, glancing behind his shoulder as if to see a hoard of carriages after them.

“She could decide to,” Viren answered this time, “After she recovers from the shock.”

“That might take a few days,” Kira mentioned with a smirk.

“So…we should just lay low somewhere for a while?” Heidi’s voice rose a little with each word, as if she was not sure of herself.

“Yes.” Raine answered definitively. “The question is: where?”

“We cannot pick anywhere that might seem obvious,” Pangu pointed out what did not really need said but he continued, “and returning to any large Terran city is out of the question.”

“What of my family’s farm?” Baiya suggested.

Kira immediately started to shake his head, before he was even finished. “That is way too obvious, man. That is one of the first places I would check for us.”

“I just worry what might happen if they do check and we aren’t there,” he muttered.

Pangu smiled softly. “I do not think your family will be in danger but, if we hid there, they could be.”

Then Raine asked, “You do not believe Merra will use underhanded tactics such as threatening or hurting our loved ones?”His mind was on his orphanage, it was clear.

“No.” Although Pangu could not be entirely sure of the fact, he knew they could not afford to worry about it. Not because it would be distracting or distressful (though that was true) but because jumping into action over the idea that Merra could attack their families would put them in an even more vulnerable position.

To start, they would have to split up to protect all the people they worried about and that would divide their forces, making them weaker immediately. All for something that was not guaranteed.

At the moment, they needed to focus on the things that were true and in front of them. Even if Pangu spared a thought for his own parents, he hoped that they would be fine. He believed in it.

“So…where to?” Oli brought everyone back on track.

“We are already headed south,” Pangu responded and glanced in the direction but, of course, he could only see more trees. “Merra mentioned to me her issues with getting the tribal people’s help so we should be safer down here.”

“The capital is off the table, right?” Kira guessed.

He nodded. “Yes. I do think that might still be obvious and would bring a fight to Lords Dio and Evie.”

“What about that little village further south?” Heidi chimed back in. “The one that necromancer guy attacked?”

Pangu smiled—it was perfect. If they were pursued on foot, after a day or two, the new Xiang’s group would be unable to pass through the area without alerting the attention of the lords in Kuniser. With their hostilities in mind, the village of Gnoma was the ideal spot.

He grabbed his sister’s arms. “Perfect.”

She gave a surprised smile in turn. “Oh…okay. Yay?”

The ride down was long and there were few rest stops. Really, they only stopped for a quick bite to eat and to drink. Supplies on the carriage were slim and the need to reach a safe place grew more and more urgent with each passing hour.

Every so often, seating arrangement would be swapped and the responsibility of driving the carriage would change so no one’s arms became too tired. It was still an exhausting two days with little sleep and light conversation that always devolved into mumbling.

The excitement from the rescue had worn off although Pangu was no less thrilled by it. Every time his eyes started to droop and he flirted with sleep—real sleep—he saw the images flash in his mind. His first three disciples, rushing into the temple after having escaped from the dungeons, interrupting the marriage he was forced into and running away with him.

If the tale of his “marriage” with Merra was to be a story told for generations to come, he hoped that would be the most revered part. Or, perhaps, the most reviled. It could be the moment in the story when the audience would realize that he—Pangu—had been the villain all along.

Somehow, when he considered that telling, he did not feel distressed at all.

***

When they arrived on the border of the village, some of the villagers met them but not with hospitality. They saw only a carriage from Terra and drew their weapons, poised to attack. But they quickly noticed the people driving the carriage and their arms started to waver.

From the small crowd, a familiar man pushed his way through. “Kira? Baiya?” Alf looked between the two on the carriage and then his eyes flickered to the cart itself when the door opened and the rest poured out. “Oh my…what brings you all back?”

“We need a place to stay for a few days,” Kira said as he jumped down.

“We hope to not be too much a burden,” Raine added as he kept an arm around Pangu. The Xiang was ready to pass out though he was holding himself up as much as possible.

Alf scanned the group with a frown. “You are running away from something, aren’t you?”

Some of the villagers had left but a few stayed behind Alf, they just no longer kept their weapons in the air, poised for attack. Not all of them knew common tongue but they were clearly catching familiar words here and there, checking with each other for context.

“Yes,” Pangu answered directly and walked forward, gently removing Raine’s arm in the process. “Please forgive our impudence for just dropping by unannounced and in need of your help. I will do all that I can around the village to make up for this.”

Alf gave a hefty sigh but then shook his head. “All you need to do right now is rest. You all look dead on your feet—you especially. I will arrange for a few tents and spare pelts for you all.”

They were led into Gnoma while some of the villagers took care of the carriage and the horses for them. Alf walked them past the sacred arrowhead at the center and Pangu kept his eyes on it as he passed. He had felt, when he was there before, that he would be back. He just never would have imagined it would be under these circumstances.

“Alright, Oli, you take Pangu and Heidi and go sleep,” Viren instructed. “The rest of us will discuss our plans.”

“No,” Baiya stopped him, “You are exhausted too—you go with Pangu.”

He blinked, bleary, and almost shook his head. “I am lord…I should be involved in these discussions…”

“We will go over them again,” Kira added. “You go sleep.”

Pangu laughed a little—Viren’s lord status would give him no leeway with this group. He grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him closer.

Oli walked with them, quiet aside from the occasional yawn. Heidi, despite being grouped in with them in Viren’s initial instruction, had chosen to stay behind. She had not said anything but she did not move from her spot beside Alf and Raine.

“I wanted to talk things over as well,” Pangu told Viren as they entered their guest tent which was a lot roomier on the inside than it looked on the outside. “But they will not listen to us until we have slept.”

“I understand wanting you to sleep…” Viren grumbled as he sat down on one of the pelts. Already, Oli was laid out on his. “You had a terrible past few days.”

Pangu frowned. “You were in a dungeon. I, at least, had a nice room.”

But he would not be swayed—it was clear in the way he smiled and shook his head. No matter what Pangu said, Viren’s opinion would remain the same.

“Come, sit in front of me.” The lord patted the floor before him, “I will remove the rest of your hair ornaments.”

Along the carriage ride, Pangu had pulled what he could out of his hair but a few stubborn wires and clasps still remained. He had also stripped to nearly his inner layer of robes due to the heat and he hoped the people of Gnoma had some spare clothes that were more appropriate for the climate.

There were a few tugs in his hair—some pinching of his scalp—and Pangu flinched. “Sorry,” Viren whispered immediately and removed a hand to squeeze his shoulder.

“Ugh,” Oli grumbled suddenly as he began to flop about on his pelt, “This is wildly uncomfortable.”

Both Viren and Pangu laughed, breathy and quiet.

“I am sure I cannot get used to this,” the young man complained.

“You will,” Viren assured him as he finally pulled the largest remnant of the headpiece from Pangu’s hair. It took a few hairs with it but he felt lighter already.

“How much more is there?” he asked, reaching back to feel for himself.

His fingers touched Viren’s and, instead of jerking away, the slender digits hooked around his. He was guided to a few more pieces of metal while the pads of Viren’s fingers graced his skin, occasionally pushing to feel closer. When he pulled away, Pangu felt cold.

He clasped his hands on his lap, wringing them together as Viren started to comb through his hair, slowly freeing him.

It was sort of funny and Pangu almost laughed. Just the day before, when he had been dolled up by Ashoka, he had attempted to trick himself into thinking her hands were Viren’s. And, as the pieces of metal and intricate braids set in by her were taken out, he did not have to pretend.

Viren had never brushed his hair before but Pangu smiled at how well he already knew the sensation. He had known Ashoka’s fingers felt wrong and how…and he had been right. Viren’s touch was almost exactly what he expected.

The sound of Oli’s steady breathing was a good sign that he had finally fallen asleep and all of Pangu’s hair was loose by then. Viren combed through it a few more times but then they parted. Or, Pangu assumed they would.

Without a word, Viren helped him to lie down but, instead of lying directly on the pelt, Pangu was directed to lie against the lord. His head against his chest, his back along his lower torso and hips, slumped but somehow still comfortable. Really, it was just a more relaxed version of their previous position and Viren returned his fingers to his hair, scratching now instead of combing.

“Baiya and Kira told me of your speech…while you and your sister were steering the carriage,” his words were so quiet, Pangu almost did not hear them.

“Yeah?” he hardly had the energy to say much more.

“Mhm.” Viren drew circles against his temples, almost lulling him to sleep instantly. “You are brave or foolish but I am grateful for what you said. Someone needed to say it and…as much as I believe it, I never would have.”

“Well,” Pangu mumbled, his eyes closed, “I had nothing left to lose so…”

“That may be true,” he responded and continued to scratch, slow and gentle patterns. “Maybe someone else will feel brave because of your confession. Maybe it will change the world.”

The idea that one of the people in the temple would feel emboldened to live more authentically because of him was almost silly but Pangu smiled as he fell asleep anyway. He enjoyed the thought and, even more so, he enjoyed that the sentiment came from Viren.

To be honest, Pangu had not spoken for any reason other than the fact he wanted to. More than any call to others like himself, it was more of a confession—just something he needed to say.

But perhaps it would start something.

Pangu’s thoughts started to grow more and more distant and he did not get to finish any of them anymore. Just the beginning of ideas and feelings blossomed and then they floated away.

#the xiang chronicles #my novel #my writing

0 notes

the-enamorando-deity · 4 years

Note

Okie dokie so for my first request, can I ask for a Yelena one with Pillow + tent + star gazing+ "Hey, if you were an animal, would you want to be one that walks or flies?" + "what are you waiting for?" Please and thank you, oh also *** ;) with Yelena being the top you're the best and congrats!!!!

i am......... SO FUCKING SORRY. the last few months i lost all inspiration but today i found it, and i’m gonna get right back to working on your requests. again i’m so sorry, i hope the word count and content shows a little much of how sorry i am, but you absolutely do not have to forgive me because i am a garbage person

but they WILL get done.

yelena belova x fem!reader, hello this is my first time writing in a while so bear with the shitty smut (18+ of course)

prompts: Yelena Pillow Tent Stargazing, “hey if you were an animal would you want to be one that walks or one that flies?” and “what are you waiting for”

Gazing at Stars

Your eyes rolled so far back into your head when you realised what month it was. Every year, Steve insisted on the team taking a trip together to some random place he would pull from a hat, and every year, it was camping in some dumpy forest. It was rather obvious that those were the only options, and it was compulsory.

Steve insisted it was team-building, and you knew that was bullshit. The only way he could get some peace was by dropping you all somewhere in pairs with a map, those few priceless hours all to himself as he set up the camp ground, and you all wandered aimlessly hoping to find a hotel rather than the same pile of tents.

Every year, you were all disappointed. You felt Yelena fidget next to you, her brow knitted together in concern and confusion. Nudging her softly, she flashed a meek smile to try and hide whatever was going on in her mind. You let it go for now, but as soon as the meeting was over, you stopped her in the hall.

‘Hey, Belova, what’s with your face in there?’ you queried, making sure no one else was around so she’d actually answer truthfully. ‘Almost looks like you hate camping as much as I do, which I thought was impossible.’

She also glanced around, but seemed hesitant to answer at all. ‘What is camping?’

Realisation struck, and you quickly scrambled to try and find the right way to describe it, without turning her against it too early. ‘Well, you can do it alone or with a group, and pretty much you all go into a forest and sleep there.’

‘For what purpose?’

You managed a smile, the now scared look in her eyes making you uneasy. ‘Uh, Steve likes to say for fun, Nat and I always say it’s more of a torture tactic, but it isn’t always so bad.’

‘It is, I think,’ she replied quietly. Seeing the confusion that spread from herself to you, Yelena forced a smile. ‘The Red Room did this too. They drive you to nowhere, and leave you, using only what you know from their teaching on how to get back. You don’t, you die.’

After trying to explain the difference between abandoning nine year olds in the frozen Russian tundra and sleeping in a tent around a bonfire for a few days, you knew Yelena was still concerned.

‘I’ll talk to Steve, I have an idea.’

‘Don’t do anything stupid,’ she remarked, quickly stretching herself out to her full height, which did nothing but make you laugh.

You winked and turned to find him, missing the rush of warmth that ran up Yelena’s body to her cheeks, holding there until you disappeared around the corner.

‘STEVEN!’ you shouted, delighted by the weary face that peered around the corner before you. ‘Good, you heard me.’

‘Hard not to, Y/N,’ he teased, ‘what do you need?’

Two weeks later, Steve stood in his usual place before the team. He gave you a quick nod, before announcing that this year’s camping trip would be set on the grounds of the Avengers Compound, due to certain restrictions and new recruits being unfamiliar with the whole process.

No one even glanced at Yelena, some others on the team just as fresh as herself. She squeezed your hand under the table as a thank you, but didn’t so much as spare a glance your way.

‘No technology is to be used, except in the usual 7pm to 9pm rule, unless with exceptional reason,’ he explained, ignoring the grumbles and groans. ‘Now, I have enlisted Friday’s help in coming up with a system for pairs.’

He droned on with each pair, no one really paying attention, knowing Steve would post it in the hall later.

'Yelena-’

Yelena froze at the mention of her name, unsure whether to stand or move or just continue breathing, all in the split second it took Steve to say your name right after. The sigh of relief was noticeable only to those on either side of her, you and Natasha exchanging a look behind her back.

When the day finally came, you and Natasha cornered the reformed assassin and took either of her arms.

‘What is this? Are you hazing me?’

‘What?’ you both laughed, shaking your heads.

Natasha rolled her eyes and pulled her in tighter. ‘No, dumbass, we’re taking you down to the campground. Y/N and I are going to show you how to set up a tent.’

‘Don’t you have your own partner?’ Yelena grumbled, her relationship with Natasha just as sisterly as ever.

You and Natasha turned Yelena around to see Clint following behind, holding several large bags which Yelena could only assume were these “tents” you kept trying to explain. He ran to catch up, joining in on the current gossip session Nat was catching you all up on.

It’s not so bad, Yelena thought to herself, hiding a smile in her puffy jacket as you tightened your grip on her arm, pulling her a little closer.

I don’t entirely hate this, she thought, unable to stop herself from laughing as you shoved popcorn up Bruce’s nose and the Hulk spit it out, or as you dared Thor to an eating challenge, only for him to balk and refuse after last time. Her favourite thing was the race between you and Steve, everyone refusing to let him know you cheated every time.

Hoping to distract everyone from the current story time in the circle, knowing your ass was about to be handed to you if Natasha or Steve knew how your last mission went, you turned to Yelena and posed a question. It was loud enough to intrigue the others, and your dumbassery was forgotten.

‘Hey, if you were an animal, would you want to be one that walks, or one that flies?’

Yelena seemed confused, but knew why you were trying to silence the story. ‘One that flies. They see more than the one who walks even knows exists.’

Tony jumped in next, his answer not very surprising. ‘I’m already both, why choose?’

The night progressed, and you started to think. You all knew camping really wasn’t so bad, it was only the concept of it, that or the fact that Steve enjoyed it a little too much.

Amidst the Asgardian Tales of Horror that Thor began to spin, you snuck Yelena away to show her your favourite part of camping, the only reason you didn’t vanish from the trip every year. Pillow tucked under your arm, you sighed a breath of relief and dropped it to the ground.

‘Y/N, I don’t think-’

‘I’m not saying trust me here, but I think you’ll like this.’

Yelena seemed concerned as you dropped to your knees and dragged her down beside you, looking into her eyes as your fingers lightly grabbed her chin, tilting her head skyward. Above you, the stars stretched out in an endless expanse, her chin dropping as she studied each one.

You had seen the stars plenty of times, but they were nothing like the ones you saw when she kissed you. She grabbed your hips and pulled your body close, turning you on your back, mumbling into your lips. Pulling away from you for only a moment, she moved to kneel over you, lowering herself so she could straddle you.

Her hands ran softly up the material of your shirt as she leaned down to kiss your neck, sucking a trail across your collarbone.

‘Are you okay with this?’ she whispered into your ear, the shivers running down your spine turning you into a malleable mess.

‘Extremely,’ you huffed, your hands on her toned back, pulling her down, closer.

You could feel the smirk cross her face as her hand drifted along your ribcage, tugging at the bottom of your shirt. Your jaw clenched at the soft touch, looking down just in time to see her lift your shirt up, kissing across your stomach.

Biting your lip, you felt your legs clench together, but something was pressed between your thighs. Yelena used her knee to push yours apart, the pure rush you got from that movement only increasing your need for her to touch you.

‘Yelena-’

‘Beg me,’ she remarked, sucking at your skin softly, drifting lower as her fingers danced at the button on your jeans.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you felt yourself inching down towards her thigh, clenching your legs around hers. ‘Please,’ you started, looking directly into her eyes as she traced your stomach muscles with her tongue, ‘fuck me.’

‘Good girl.’

‘Christ,’ you moaned, the slow movement of your zipper sending interesting vibrations down your body.

She seemed to enjoy riling you up, the slow movement of your jeans sliding down your legs torturous, her fingernails touching so lightly along your thighs it tickled, making you want her all over you at once. No matter how much you kicked your legs and squirmed to get her to touch you any faster, her pace didn’t differ.

You didn’t notice until the air hit you, but it wasn’t only your jeans she’d dragged painfully slowly down your legs. Her lips were softer than you expected, but her tongue was as sharp as her quick wit. A dangerous combination in most situations, yours included.

The moment you realised you were entirely exposed to the cool night air, Yelena had graciously moved her talents south. She traced an agonisingly slow trail up your folds, her touch registering on more than one level. You choked down a moan, grabbing your own hair with one hand, and Yelena’s with the other.

She busied her self with tantalisingly slow tongue movements and soft kisses all over, fingers drifting up your skin and beneath your shirt. They squeezed at your breast over your bra, the clenching of her fingers in time with the flicks of her tongue over your clit.

If this was how you were going to die, you would already be in heaven. Positive your teeth were going to shatter from how hard you were clenching them, you tried to push yourself closer to her, wanting more and more.

She gladly obliged, taking your dripping clit into her mouth and sucking at it. Slowly at first, gentle and soft, your body tingling as you realised her other hand was holding your thigh, and her fingers were inching closer to you. Yelena knew exactly what she was doing, each movement like the most blissful torture one could imagine.

The release of your jaw came with a loud moan, Yelena’s fingers soaked with your slick, sliding easily inside you. You sank down against her hand, moving your hips and twisting yourself until she was right where you wanted her. Grinding hard against her hand and face, Yelena’s enhanced strength came in hand.

She moved faster and harder, fingers curling in all the right ways and tongue expertly teasing the most sensitive part of you. Your head fell back against the pillow, the stars in your eyes matching those above, sweet release coming only once Yelena had drawn you out to your maximum.

You don’t know how long you lay there, trying to catch your breath, knowing the assassin still had every move, and the word “reformed” wasn’t in her vocabulary. She would had positively killed you with her talents, if she hadn’t already done so with her smile.

The pair of you exchanged tired glances for a moment, Yelena propped up on her elbow studying you.

‘I want to kiss you,’ she said softly.

‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ you smiled.

taglist: @marvelfansince08love @mymarvelwomen @imnotasuperhero @natasha-danvers @veteranwerewolf95 @monihaswritersblock @natasharomanoffswife @xxxtwilightaxelxxx

#yelena belova x reader #yelena x reader #yelena belova #black widow #marvel #writing #fanfiction #request #smut

99 notes · View notes

feckin-zicons · 3 years

Note

that's why i hate larries, i hate them with all my heart. besides being boring they are hypocrites 🙄

Hey nonnie, sorry its taken me so long to reply but if you’re following me you know I’ve been travelling lately and have been more scatterbrained than usual. Not that I’m ever not scatterbrained, but its been just a little crazier than usual!

Now I wouldn’t go as far to say I hate Larries. After all their delusions can be pretty funny sometimes!

Joking aside, I don’t hate Larries, I love Larries, I’m a Larry, so I really hesitate to tarry the whole group with the same brush. However I do strongly agree with you that there are those who are complete hypocrites. Nothing annoys more more than when Larries ™ treat the other boys, other celebrities, their friends and even family as one more side character to the Larry Show.

In particular when Larries ™ flood comment sections asking or in some cases, ordering people to confirm rumors/the couple being together. The absolute fucking disrespect. Not just because they’re flooding comment sections in videos streams, tweets, what have you, that sometimes have nothing to do with the couple in question, but because its presumptuous and rude as fuck to think they’re owed a coming out- just because they’re fans of the boys.

Stop it. Thats fucking ugly as hell.

While I have no doubt all the boys will one day be out (as referenced by their continued efforts in fighting the closet. I don’t get the sense the boys will just stop at being freed from their contractual obligations). It should and will be on their own terms. Provided they’re not forcibly outed some other way.

Coming out is a deeply personal experience and no one, no one ever, has the right to out someone else. I’ll never not be absolutely furious at the Larries ™ who posted about having ‘receipts’ that would out the boys. Which… tbh weren’t receipts at all but thats a whole other story. I’m also still angry at the reactions after Liams Attitude spread that wouldn’t have been as bad if not for the entitled fandom that peddled ridiculous claims beforehand about Liam confirming Larry to be real.

I mean… What the actual fuck. Setting aside the fandom experience of the time, and boy was it an experience. What right would Liam have confirming Louis and Harry’s relationship? I mean, get some perspective? It doesn’t help that a lot of fandom adults were the ones coming up with, and reblogging those theories and the younger fans ate it up. It would have made more sense for Louis and Harry to do it but idk maybe I’m still out of touch for thinking so. I mean, it felt like every other week someone was talking about Larry coming out. It was such a shit storm oh my god.

Biggest issue I still have with them is that the entitled behaviour hasn’t stopped. For some it seems like, Larry coming out is it for them. Like pack it up, goodbye, shows over, Louis and Harry are gay and in a relationship and everything is rainbows, we get to see cute pictures of them and everyone lives happily ever after.

Yeah, no. Coming out, for anyone, is just the beginning, can’t even begin to imagine what its like for them. They’re still going to need everyones support, and it irritates me that for some fans it seems so fucking conditional.

Time and time again, I’ve seen tweets, and posts, and videos, whatever, going on about Larry coming out and it reads like a fucking wattpad story. Not just that but its always on the assumption by the poster, on the off chance they consider the other 3/5ths of the band and Ziam being a possibility, that Larry will come out first?

What?

I’m sorry but, what?

Everything I’ve seen from the boys tells me they’re all in this together, they support each other and are working through the bullshit as a team. We have all seen the No Judgement music video yes? The merch, posts, double speak etc referencing each other, yes?

I mean, I suppose if you only look at Louis and Harry, like so many do, sure. Only Larry matters, everyone else is a side character in their life.

(Lemme just, scream for a second).

However, that kind of thinking leads them to the wrong conclusions. Like… assuming the SBB/RBB countdown was attributed to nothing, when it counted down to Liam finally being free of Sophia. In the years since, I’ve seen Larries ™ backtrack on claiming the bears had anything to do with the boys, that they weren’t behind it at all, or that they were just trolling the fandom.

You know, despite all the proof otherwise, and some really, really good posts breaking down clues about what the boys were trying to tell us. The moment something might not actually be about Louis and Harry its like all their thinking shuts off. Its frustrating. Really fucking frustrating.

Seriously, fans of the other boys as individulas, not just Ziams, have been talking about the stunts too and how they fit together. Its why we tend to be right, because we’re considering the entire group. They’re still a group. They’re not free until all of them are free.

Just for that Nialls coming out first. Lmao. I’ll call it now. Lets go Niall, whens the baby coming. We all wanna know. Its been years.

Imagine, imagine! Acting like coming out is some race to be won. The fucking audacity.

Go outside and touch fucking grass you absoulte ninny.

I get it, you want to be vindicated, you want to be rewarded for putting your faith in two celebrities being together.

Newsflash you dandelionfluff, its not a race, Louis and Harry coming out isn’t a fucking prize. Thats not what supporting a relationship looks like.

Its worse when someone admits they don’t know much about Ziam or the possibility of Niall being LGBT+, and claim they’re open to it, but then immediately tweet or reblog or sub tweet or tag comment a post or answer an ask from another Larry ™ talking about how Larries ™ are the most marginalized and persecuted group.

???

In what fucking world?

IN WHAT FUCKING WORLD?

If we wanna play that game, boohoo, the media claims Louis and Harry aren’t friends anymore because of crazy shippers. Meanwhile Zayn publicly isn’t friend with anyone and “left” the band… despite the Ziam fandom calling the stunt about either Louis or Zayn “leaving” and getting it down to the exact week (the second article coming out a week before about the Ziam kiss pretty much cemented it for Zayn leaving. Which did a lot to fan the flames of the already rabid fanbase when Ziam got two articles confirming a Ziam kiss over the years and Larry got nada. Like that actually means anything).

Not to mention Larries ™ using the hetties and management tactics against the other parts of the fandom to silence them.

Who cares what the media says anyway! TPTB, 1DHQ, The Sun, The Mirror, Simon and his minions and their unpaid interns have used the media to split the fandom apart and it worked.

Who the fuck cares if the media calls the 1D stans delusional, you know the truth! The truth it out there and you’ve seen it! The truth is coming! Who gives a damn about what some two bit “journo” who failed out of their creative writing course writes? They get worse by the year. If it wasn’t so pathetic and hilarious I might actually feel embarrassed for them. They can’t even come up with new stories and have just taken to copying old articles, but you’re upset with them??? Give it a rest. Honestly.

The sense of disconnect, entitlement and victimhood of some Larries ™ is absolutely ridiculous.

Oh my god they’re Karens. I’m not trying to be insulting, but thats exactly who they remind me of.

I’m not going to say its a surprise to me that so many in the Ziam fandom are POC, LGBT+, and Neurodivergent and any combination of those, but I am going to say I’ve read a lot of Larry fics that just have Het sex made gay. Those in the Ziam fandom just tend to look at facts in a different way than Larries do due to their life experiences. A interfaith, interracial, relationship where one or both partners fall under the Bi umbrella (not saying Louis or Harry can’t be or aren’t Bi+ but rumors, and the way the fandom markets them, puts them firmly in the gay category) looks very, very different than gay or straight relationship. Both looking from outside and being in one. There’s just different dynamics at play that aren’t often realized or understood by the gays and hets.

Its not a bad thing. All relationships are different. The issue is that theres a lot of biphobia/racism/religious prejudice etc that arises from people being unwilling to understand the inherent differences.

Taking myself for example, I’m bi, like, bi as hell, and I don’t understand how gays and hets only like one gender. I just don’t. Can’t wrap my head around it. If someone asks me to choose one gender over the others to prefer I can’t. Its so stressful. My brain goes into panic mode and it feels like I’m being torn apart. My sense of identity is shaken- its a shit feeling. I just can’t lie to myself like that. If other people feel the same well, its no wonder bi+ have such high rates of depression and suicide. Its not about choosing who to like, there is no choice, I just feel attraction to everyone. Aces, I get. Its similar to being the opposite of what I feel, or not feeling an attraction to someone I’m not interested in. Easy. Gays and hets? I’m completely lost on.

Completely, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to try and understand where they’re coming from. Its alien to me, personally, but I’m not going to shut down the fact, that theres a fuck ton of people who only like one gender or try and make up reasons as to why they’re actually bi+

I digress, none of the boys fall neatly into the gay stereotypes, its just that parts of the Larry fandom have boxed Louis and Harry into certain roles to fit preconceived notions (likely do to them initially fitting in better with the white, sassy, somewhat effeminate twink thats been plastered all over Hollywood as their “LGBT+ representation” for years. Gag), they can understand better, and only look for proof to back up their theories but don’t look at things objectively.

They really need to get out more and make some LGBT+ friends that aren’t on the internet and talk to some gay elders. They need educating that’s not the often sanitized and insulting Hollywood version, that’s all I’m saying.

They made Louis and Harry more palatable for themselves and its… really gross.

I don’t know, I don’t get it.

Some Larries ™ turned the boys into their fandom and fanfiction stereotypes when they’re so much more than that. The Sony leaks should have been enough to dissuade the fandom, and prove that the brand sold to the broader audience is just that- a brand, and yet… Niall only talks about food and golf and Ireland and is only allowed to be straight or ace. If he exists at all its just to be Capt Niall. Liams slow and dumb and depending on the day he’s either Capt Liam or a horrific abusive homophobe. Zayns just The Worst, a unstable drug addict, and the boys hate each other, and they should have kicked him out of the band sooner because he never wanted to be part of them anyway, etc.

It drives me absolutely around the bend some days. They’re real people who don’t owe anyone anything, especially not coming out.

Yes, I think they will. But they’re not obligated to. They can change their minds, I’ll support them regardless of an “official” coming out or not.

Look, a part of me gets it. They wanna be right, they wanna prove the haters wrong, they want to be able to say I called it all along! The vindication will be sweet.

But like, it takes a quick look at someone other than Louis and Harry to realize theres something hinky going on with Liam, Zayn and Niall. Please listen to their fans who have spent just as much time as you have looking into Louis and Harry compiling together evidence.

It might take a weekend to watch the ILYSM and pterodactyl bros videos and a few more hours looking into some Niall blogs, which isn’t much compared to the hours I know they’ve spent looking into Larry. At least then they’ll have enough information to form an opinion on things.

I wonder, for some, what would happen if Larry didn’t come out, or didn’t come out first, or one of the other boys was outed against their will. Because… I don’t know. It seems like some would rather just be proven right at this point.

I get it. We’re tired. Its been eleven long years. But this isn’t a television show were everything can come to a head with a s3 or s4 cliff hanger and fixed in the series finale. Its real life, and they started off as boys trusting industry veterans who never had their best interests at heart.

Iduno. I just want some Larries ™ to take a step out of the echo chamber, realize life isn’t The Larry Show & co. And especially. ESPECIALLY, that every instance were someone, friends, family, co-works, industry peeps etc support the boys they are SUPPORTING THE BOYS, NOT THE FANDOM. They are not “confirming Larry for the fans” they’re doing it to support the couple, not to cater to the fandom. Please stop confusing the two. There’s a huge fucking difference. Learn it.

#Honestly it should be the Liam Payne the three guys who’ve had a crush on him and the one who married him.#aka the hill I'll die on #lmao #sorry not sorry #IM SORRY IT LOOKS LIKE I HAD A LOT MORE TO SAY ABOUT THIS THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD #ASDFGHJKL;#also please don't think I'm calling anyone out specifically #these are a lot of generalizations and trends I've noticed after being in fandom for nearly 11 years they pop up all the damn time #circles we're just going in circles #I've been following Ziam in particular since the Nov 2011 interview #but suspected Liam had a crush sometime before when I saw a gifset of him talking about Zayns birthday presentsbc he as acting the exact sa #e way I was when I was crushing on a girl I knew #I saw myself in him and ignored it for another day #lmaooo #ziam #larry tunnel vision #larry vs ziam #Larry vs Niall #fandom bs #ask

9 notes · View notes

black-streak · 5 years

Text

Waiting for the Worms - Mother

Part 9

So uh... Marinette's part kind of became too long and I'm going to have to extend it into part 10. Plus the tone of this to the rest is just so different that it seemed necessary to split it. Very Damian centric here. Warning all still apply.

Closed! List (Do y'all mind that I've hit you up four days in a row now?) : @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

Before the week ended, the boy approached her once more. This time it was after she had just finished up her Arabic lessons, the first time she'd seen him outside of that room.

"Why did she choose you?"

Marinette lifted her shoulders in a shrug and watched the frustrated twist of his lips as he attempted to stare her down. Her eyes occasionally jumped around the corridor, ensuring their privacy, but still refraining from answering.

"Are you mute?" The child demanded of her, "is that why you're with the language masters all the time? To learn to speak?"

Amusement coursed through her, shining from behind her eyes as she lifted a solitary finger to her lips, letting Damian determine her meaning. He didn't disappoint as an excited look came about him and he pressed further, hushing hus voice and moving in closer as though sharing a secret, which wasn't far off from the truth.

"The others aren't aware you can talk, are they? Of course not, dimwitted as they are," he took a condescending tone.

Letting an airy chuckle pass and offering a small smirk to let the other know he hit the nail on the head, she watched as the kid tried to appear composed while also preening under her obvious agreement with his insight. She couldn't help but wonder if this was his first experience with a willing audience. He couldn't be more than seven years old and yet already so cautious about allowing her to see how he enjoyed her attention.

"Well no matter, if they can't figure it out on their own, I see no need to inform them," Damian reassured her, hiding it as another jab at their peers. And after taking note of her appreciative nod, he disappeared the way he came.

...

Over the next few weeks, he showed up at random, venting out his annoyance with the trainers and masters, always under the guise that she couldn't tell anyone anyways without giving herself away, to which she only offered her quiet affirmations and acceptance.

Sometimes he asked questions, only to cut off and respond to himself that of course his companion couldn't answer, returning to his own conversation. It seemed to ease him that he never need worry over what she might say to him. Once in a blue moon he asked something she could answer without opening her mouth.

"Do you have a life outside of here?"

She tilted her head back and forty in contemplation before shaking a decided no. He seemed pleased with this. No competition for her attention, she supposed.

"How many languages do you actually speak then? Or are learning at least."

She contemplated if league dialect counted and decided it had to and also threw in guardian speak since she had been learning it beforehand, lifting up eight fingers. Damian's surprised look and appreciative hum lasted only a moment before his next barrage of insults to those who thought her mute started up once more.

While their talks only lasted about ten minutes tops and only every few days, the progress was enough to earn her Talia's praise in private, excited that the boy took to her so quickly. She also inquired as to Marinette's tactics but only received a shrug of her own and the quiet explanation that she simply listened.

…

After a particularly grueling training session where the two ended up switching targets midway through their own battles, taking both trainers off guard and downing them in record time, Talia decided to send them out for an extended mission together. Her reasoning that Jason obviously felt protective over the heir and the two worked well enough in tandem that it offered the perfect environment for furthering Damian's training, having only ever tagged along for small time missions in the past.

Later in the evening, she explained how the joint missions extended their trust and allowed more freedom for bonding to occur. How they could further plan for their escape if they knew how to work together outside of the city limits. Marinette meditated every second she could before the start of their new assignment.

The morning of, she collected Damian from the meeting point Talia gave them and led him into the larger group to make their way out of the caves. The mission went on for five days before they finally tracked down their targets. It took all of one night to end the mission, Marinette taking extra precautions to cover Damian's back at all times, landing killing blows to any that threatened the young life entrusted to her. By the end, the little one only took one life. A young woman who landed a lucky shot on Marinette. The boy's eyes widened in fear and struck blindly, slashing his katana across her torso, opening her up to the world before giving another wild slash to her neck. The second the woman dropped, he ran to her side, pressing on the wound and helping her back towards their hideout as the others cleaned out the last of the building.

As the sun rose, he helped to patch her up, yammering on about how stupid she was to allow herself to be hit like that. How ashamed she should be. How she should be better. Marinette saw the fear and worry and horror waring in his eyes, in the tense way he held his shoulders and shake in his hands. The guilty glances he tossed her, knowing she was distracted by protecting him. She ruffled his hair and offered a crooked grin at his huff of indignation. Neither slept that night, ready to return in the morning.

Damian refused missions without her after that.

…

After their return from their seventh successful mission, over two months later, Talia stopped showing up in the training room. No longer informed Damian where to meet up for missions, allowing the information to flow from the trainers down instead. She still told Marinette inner details in her rooms, but she could tell the woman cut off the child almost entirely. Knew they only saw one another during meetings with Ras.

Within another two weeks, Talia began to distance herself from Marinette in public even further. She was no longer seen as the pet project, but as a full fledged member who happened to run in this squadron. She stayed quiet on the manner, not willing to question her mentor on what she thought best when seen amongst the League. And with Marinette now understanding and speaking both arabic and league dialect fluently, she could spy on the others and gather information much easier without the silencing presence of their leader, all speaking more freely amongst themselves, still under the impression that she was not only mute but one of them now.

Damian seemed to grow more irritable by the day, sticking to her side like glue, quieter and on edge. Separation anxiety most likely. Talia had always retained a distant aloof relationship with her own kid, but he likely never expected her to quit checking up on him entirely, to no longer keep up with his progress and watch his training. She always let him know she hadn't forgotten him entirely, in her own way. Now, she hardly glanced his direction if they happened to enter the same room.

He lasted three weeks without Talia's watchful eye, before he broke down in his own manner.

Marinette heard a soft knock on her door before it creaked open, one green eye peeking in at her, in a silent question.

Sitting up in her bed, she tilted her head in consideration before nodding her acceptance. She observed as he slid into the room and shut the door behind him, hesitating only a moment in the doorway before marching over towards her and taking a seat, starting in on his usual tirade of random facts and observations. By now, she recognized this as a coping mechanism, his way of excusing his coming to her without outright stating that he just craved the company. A growing suspicion in the back of her mind told her that once he assured himself she wouldn't leave nor dismiss him, he might take to more quiet quality time. For now, he rambled endlessly. Eventually he tired himself out and left her alone once more.

Every other day, he made a reappearance to rant once more until he couldn't find anymore excuses to stay and left, tail practically tucked between his legs.

…

Two months more passed and Talia showed no sign of returning to Damian's life, Marinette finally decided to confront the woman.

"Oh Jason, surely you know I can't escape with you, right?"

Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion at the question, before realizing her own stupidity. Why in the world would she train Marinette to take away Damian if she could do so, herself? As shock overtook her, arms wrapped gently around her shoulders, drawing her into the woman's embrace.

"It would put both of you at too high a risk. I need to stay here and throw them off your trail. To control the situation until you're both too far out of my father's reach. He can't know I have any attachment to either of you for this to work. You need to blend in, mean nothing to me so that everyone overlooks you. It doesn't matter if Damian clings to you, as long as no one else looks at you twice, you're still nobody. You'll slip out and everyone will just assume you died on a mission if they even think of you."

"Can't you meet with him in private? Like you do with me?" She pleaded with Talia, heart heavy knowing she would have to eventually leave another mentor behind. Knowing how Damian hurt for his mother.

"No Jason. He's too young. He won't understand. It's best if he comes to the decision to disown me. To no longer care about me, ao it hurts less in the long run. If he barely ever knew me and I simply disappeared, if he never truly knew my love to begin with, there's less to miss. Less of him to hurt in my absence. I know it's terrible and he feels abandoned, but think how much worse it would be if I showed him love now only to kick him out of the league to never be seen again? I can't add on to that pain."

She hated how much sense that made. Whether Damian knew it or not, his mother loved him so much and was willingly sacrificing her right as his mother so he could have a better life without her. That would never make the years of neglect and abuse okay, but at least she was setting him up to move on to something hopefully better. Marinette would do everything in her power to ensure that hope became a reality.

…

Three months into Talia's disappearing act, six since Damian first came to her in the training room all those months ago, he entered her room and sat without a word on the bed next to her, staring down at the floor. She waited patiently for him to find his words, but tensed upon seeing the tears well up in the corner of the child's eyes. She desperately wished to reach out to comfort him, but restrained herself, not sure how he'd take the action. Eventually, he spoke in a trembling lilt.

"Why am I never good enough?"

Sucking in a breath, she swallowed down the last of her reserve and murmured back, voice a gentle lull, if a little deep and gruff around the edges, "You are plenty enough."

His eyes snapped up to meet hers, wide and clear, "You…"

"You are so much more than you know and anyone who can't see that doesn't deserve you."

He hesitated a moment, "Even mother?"

"No one who pays so little attention and offers so little love deserves the title of mother," she stated, hating herself for the words, knowing how much Talia truly did love and care, but aiming to break his connection to her at the woman's own command.

"You've never spoken to me before," he accused.

"You seemed like you needed someone to listen. And you said it yourself, I couldn't very well pose as mute if I answered all of your questions," she eased.

"And when I came here?"

"You hardly gave an opportunity to speak up in the midst of all your ranting. You don't strike me as the type to appreciate being cut off either," she teased, earning a soft blush in return.

He sobered up after a moment, looking back down towards his feet, "So if she doesn't deserve the title of Mother, I have no one."

"How do you mean?"

"Well Ras hardly deserves the title of grandfather by your definition and it's not like I have a father. So I have no one."

"And what am I then, chopped liver?"

He startled up, shooting her a bewildered look, "What?"

"You've become my personal little leech, attending all of my missions, sharing my training with me, coming into my rooms at your leisure, and yet you have no one? That hurts me deep," she attempted a saddened look, not sure how it turned out with her older, masculine features and white lined scars scattering her skin. It startled a tiny laugh out of him, so she'd take it.

"You… you want me? You actually care?"

"Of course I do, Dami. You're the closest thing to family I've got."

"Family," his inquired, tone guarded, a slight twitch in his nose and uptilt in his chin, giving away his hopeful excitement at the word.

"Yours, if you'd have me."

"That would be," he cut himself off here, trying to control himself, to not appear too eager, "acceptable," he settled on.

"Good. You're well spoken for an eight year old."

"I'm seven," he corrected with a smug smile.

"Even more impressive then," she lilted, watching as he took that to be the end of that conversation, moving to leave, only to stop with a hand on the door.

"Jason?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're my family."

#jasonette #maribat #ml x dc #WFTW #part 9 #if i get writers block im going to crash so bad i just know it #cross your fingers folks #and please tell me your thoughts i live off them

527 notes · View notes

wayhavenguide · 4 years

Text

Book Two, Chapter 16

The opening of the chapter will be split up into different character’s POV depending on who, if anyone, the Detective is romancing.

If A is the Love Interest, the first portion of the chapter will be from A’s perspective, with F as their companion while the Detective is scouting for the Trappers.

If F is the Love Interest, the first portion of the chapter will be from F’s perspective, with A as their companion while the Detective is scouting for the Trappers. The dialogue will be slightly altered depending upon if F and the Detective are an official couple and Unit Bravo knows, or if they’re not official/Unit Bravo doesn’t know they’re official. If A Friendship is 6 or higher, A will say that they have no desire to see either F or the Detective hurt. If A Friendship is below 6, A will say they have no desire to see F hurt.

If N is the Love Interest, the first portion of the chapter will be from N’s perspective, with M as their companion while the Detective is scouting for the Trappers.

If M is the Love Interest, the first portion of the chapter will be from M’s perspective, with N as their companion while the Detective is scouting for the Trappers. If M and the Detective had sex in Chapter 10, M will say they enjoyed attaching certain parts of themself to the Detective. Otherwise, they will say they would certainly enjoy attaching certain parts of themself to the Detective. If N Friendship is 5 or higher, N will admit they are worried about the Detective, but they’re also concerned for M. If N Friendship is lower than 5, N will say they’re more worried about M. M will say that there’s no point in looking elsewhere when there’s someone right beside you unless the Detective told turned down M’s advances because they want more out of the relationship.

If on the Love Triangle path, the first portion of the chapter will be from F’s perspective, with A as their companion while the Detective is scouting for the Trappers. F will talk to A about their feelings for the Detective and N’s feelings for the Detective, and worry that the triangle will ruin the family they’ve found.

A AND F PATH

If Combat is 50 or higher, the Detective will manage to get off the ladder with ease. If Combat is below 50, the Detective will nearly fall into the tunnel because they slip off the last rung. If F is the Love Interest, they will ask if the Detective is all right. Otherwise, they will say, “Nice one, Nancy Drew/Sherlock.”

If A is the Love Interest, F will suggest that the Detective sidle up to A and make a comment about them smelling nice. If on the Love Triangle path, F will suggest A and the Detective stick together for safety reasons. If F is the Love Interest, F will ask if the Detective wants to share a flashlight with them.

If Deduction is 50 or higher, the Detective will see recent footprints leading down one of the tunnels and point towards it as the correct path forward. Otherwise, A will be the one to see them.

Choice 1

“We have to do everything to get her back safely.”

Save Sanja +1

“We should at least try to take out some of these jerks while we’re here.”

No effect

“Oh, the leaving part sounds good. How about we skip to that bit?”

No effect

“In and out. Got it.”

Save Sanja +1

“Remind me again why we’re risking our lives to save her?”

No effect

Give a sharp nod. “Agreed.”

Save Sanja +1

Choice 2 [STAT CHECK]

Put the vampires’ hypersenses to use.

If People is 65 or higher, the Detective will successfully get one of the vampires to sense the location of the Trappers. If A is the Love Interest or on the Love triangle path, A will say that the only thing they can sense is the Detective, and F will be the one to hear the Trappers. If F is the Love Interest, F will say that the Detective is stealing all of their focus, and A will be the one to feel head coming off of a gathering of the Trappers.

If People is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Research is 1 or higher, the Detective will successfully get one of the vampires to sense the location of the Trappers. If A is the Love Interest or on the Love triangle path, A will say that the only thing they can sense is the Detective, and F will be the one to hear the Trappers. If F is the Love Interest, F will say that the Detective is stealing all of their focus, and A will be the one to feel head coming off of a gathering of the Trappers.

Otherwise, the stat check will fail as the Detective doesn’t have any suggestions about which senses A and F should use, and the group will run into a dead end. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1.

Search the area tactically.

If Combat is 65 or higher, the Detective will successfully talk A and F into sticking together through the tunnels and search them strategically. If A is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, A will back the Detective’s plan up, and F will be the one to pick the correct tunnel. If F is the Love Interest, F will call the Detective brilliant, and A will be the one to pick the correct tunnel.

If Combat is 40 or higher but under 65, and Supernatural Combat is 1 or higher, the Detective will successfully talk A and F into sticking together through the tunnels and search them strategically. If A is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, A will back the Detective’s plan up, and F will be the one to pick the correct tunnel. If F is the Love Interest, F will call the Detective brilliant, and A will be the one to pick the correct tunnel.

Otherwise, the stat check will fail and the Trappers will hear the group coming. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1.

Use my own equipment to get the lay of the land.

If Science is 65 or higher, the Detective will be able to download the sewer’s schematics onto their phone and they’ll find the correct tunnel by looking at the map. If A is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, A will say that the Detective continues to be a constant surprise. If F is the Love Interest, F will say that the Detective is seriously impressive.

If Science is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Research is 1 or higher, the Detective will be able to download the sewer’s schematics onto their phone and they’ll find the correct tunnel by looking at the map. If A is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, A will say that the Detective continues to be a constant surprise. If F is the Love Interest, F will say that the Detective is seriously impressive.

Otherwise, the Detective will not be able to get any signal on their phone and can’t download the sewer’s schematics; the group will resort to following F down a random tunnel. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1.

Attempt to work out the Trapper’s location.

If Deduction is 65 or higher, the Detective will manage to hear the Trappers through one of the pipelines, and lead the group to follow the trail.

If Deduction is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Combat is 1 or higher, the Detective will manage to hear the Trappers through one of the pipelines, and lead the group to follow the trail.

Otherwise, the Detective won’t be able to figure out how to deduce the Trappers’ location, and F will end up picking a random tunnel for them all to follow. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1.

Pick a tunnel at random and go for it.

The outcome for this is quite literally random. There’s a 5 in 8 chance of it leading to a successful outcome, and a 3 in 8 chance of it leading to a failed one. We only recommend this choice be undertaken if all of the above stat checks are sure to fail. [Note: We believe these odds to be a mistake, as it’s coded in the opposite way on the other two possible paths. As such, it may change in the future.]

If the narration says that the Detective chooses the “left-hand” path, the outcome is failed. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

If the narration says that the Detective chooses the “middle” path, the outcome is successful.

PEOPLE, SCIENCE, OR DEDUCTION STAT FAILED, OR RANDOM SELECTION FAIL

If Optimist is 65 or higher, the Detective will suggest that maybe the Trappers are too busy doing other things to hear the group moving through the tunnels. If Optimist is 35 or lower, the Detective will say that they’re no doubt the Trappers heard the group moving through the tunnels. If Optimist is between 35 and 65, the Detective will say they’ll have to wait and see.

TUNNEL SUCCESS PATH

Choice 3

“It might help avoid anyone getting hurt. Including Sanja.”

No effect

“They won’t surrender. There’s no point in even trying to make them.”

The narration will alter slightly depending on if A is the Love Interest/on the Love Triangle path, or not.

“Excuse me, I’ve got a lot to lose: an arm, a leg, my life.”

The dialogue will alter slightly depending on if F is the Love Interest or not.

“If you think that’s best, then I’m with you.”

The narration will alter slightly depending on if A is the Love Interest/on the Love Triangle path, or not.

“I’m with [F]. This doesn’t seem like a plan that can end well.”

The narration will alter slightly depending on if F is the Love Interest or not.

Give a nod. “Understood.”

No effect

Save Sanja+1

If Combat is 65 or higher, the Detective will dodge the attack. If Combat is 40 or higher but below 65, the Detective will sidestep the attack, If Combat is below 40, the Detective will barely manage to avoid the attack.

Choice 4

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 5

“I’m Detective [Surname] of the Wayhaven PD.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either A or F will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No. Unfortunately for you.” Stun him with the Volt.

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Slow clap. “Give the man a prize.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No, but I still work for the Agency.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Don’t respond and stun him with the Volt.

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

TUNNEL FAIL PATH

Choice 3 [STAT CHECK]

Dodge the attack.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Attack him first.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Defend against the attack.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Choice 4

“I’m Detective [Surname] of the Wayhaven PD.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Slow clap. “Give the man a prize.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No, but I still work for the Agency.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Don’t respond.

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

TUNNEL SUCCESS/FAIL PATHS MERGE HERE

Choice 5/6 [STAT CHECK]

Attempt to join the fight.

If Combat is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will successfully use their Volt gun to take down the Trapper.

If Combat is below 70, Combat +5% and the Detective will get hit with the Trapper’s electric baton, and will need either A or F (depending on which is the Love Interest) to take down the Trapper; A or F will then get hit in the jaw.

Try to look for a way to work with the vampires.

If People is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will find a way to cut the lights in the room, allowing the vampires to use their night vision and take down some of the Trappers.

If People is below 70, People +5% and the Detective will get hit with the Trapper’s electric baton, and will need either A or F (depending on which is the Love Interest) to take down the Trapper; A or F will then get hit in the jaw.

Attempt to use the equipment on hand to gain an advantage.

If Science is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will figure out a way to get the Trapper covered in water and electrocute them.

If Science is below 70, Science +5% and the Detective will try to electrocute the Trapper but it won’t work, and will themself get electrocuted by the Trapper. They will need either A or F (depending on which is the Love Interest) to take down the Trapper; A or F will then get hit in the jaw.

Attempt to deduce who the leader is and take them out first.

If Deduction is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will figure out who the leader of the Trappers is and will use their Volt gun to incapacitate her.

If Deduction is below 70, Deduction +5% and the Detective will figure out who the leader of the Trappers is, but won’t be able to get to her because they’re taken down by another Trapper. They will need either A or F (depending on who is the Love Interest) to help them; A or F will then get hit in the jaw.

Choice 6/7 *If A is the Love Interest/on the Love Triangle path

Rescue [A].

By the Book -10%

Heart +10%

If Save Sanja is above 1, Save Sanja -2

If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

F Friendship +1

N Friendship +1

NOTE: SANJA HAS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF DYING IF THIS CHOICE IS MADE

Rescue Sanja.

By the Book +10%

Heart -10%

Save Sanja +2

M Friendship +1

Agency +1

NOTE: SANJA WILL LIVE REGARDLESS OF PREVIOUS CHOICES MADE

Choice 6/7 *If F is the Love Interest

Rescue [F].

By the Book -10%

Heart +10%

If Save Sanja is above 1, Save Sanja -2

If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

M Friendship +1

N Friendship +1

NOTE: SANJA HAS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF DYING IF THIS CHOICE IS MADE

Rescue Sanja.

By the Book +10%

Heart -10%

Save Sanja +2

A Friendship +1

Agency +1

NOTE: SANJA WILL LIVE REGARDLESS OF PREVIOUS CHOICES MADE

RESCUE A

If F Friendship is 5 or higher, the Detective will understand immediately when F suggests “helicopter”. Otherwise, the Detective will need further clarification of F’s plan to help A.

Choice 7/8

Smile and return the high five.

F Friendship +1

[If the Detective is taller than F] “Next time, I get to be the blades.” Return the high five.

F Friendship +1

[If the Detective is shorter than F] “Next time, you be the blades.” Return the high five.

F Friendship +1

Frown and stare down at the dropped Trappers.

No effect

Chuckle and return the high five. “We make a pretty good team.”

F Friendship +1

“Nice. I didn’t actually expect that to work.” Return the high five.

F Friendship +1

Ignore the gesture. [STAT CHECK]

If Friendly is 35 or less, F will ask if the Detective is going to keep being all stoic now, even after the awesomeness. Otherwise, F will ask why the Detective is choosing now to be all stoic.

Forgo the gesture due to worry.

No effect

If Save Sanja is 2 or higher, Sanja will still be alive. If Save Sanja is below 2, the Trappers will kill Sanja.

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is alive

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is dead

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

RESCUE SANJA INSTEAD OF A

Choice 7/8

Smile and return the high five.

F Friendship +1

Frown and stare down at the dropped Trappers.

No effect

Chuckle and return the high five. “We make a pretty good team.”

F Friendship +1

“Nice. I didn’t actually expect that to work.” Return the high five.

F Friendship +1

Ignore the gesture. [STAT CHECK]

If Friendly is 35 or less, F will ask if the Detective is going to keep being all stoic now, even after the awesomeness. Otherwise, F will ask why the Detective is choosing now to be all stoic.

Forgo the gesture due to worry.

No effect

Choice 8/9

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

RESCUE F

If A Friendship is 5 or higher, the Detective will immediately understand A’s silent plan. Otherwise, the Detective will take more time to understand what A wants to do to rescue F.

Choice 7/8

Smile and nod back.

A Friendship +1

“Nicely done.” Return the nod.

A Friendship +1

Give a simple nod in return.

A Friendship +1

Chuckle. “We make quite the team.”

A Friendship +1

Ignore the gesture.

No effect

Forgo the gesture due to worry.

No effect

Choice 8/9 *If the Detective and F are a couple

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

If Save Sanja is 2 or higher, Sanja will still be alive. If Save Sanja is below 2, the Trappers will kill Sanja.

Choice 8/9/10 *If Sanja is alive

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 8/9/10 *If Sanja is dead

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

RESCUE SANJA INSTEAD OF F

Choice 7/8

Smile and nod back.

A Friendship +1

“Nicely done.” Return the nod.

A Friendship +1

Give a simple nod in return.

A Friendship +1

Chuckle. “We make quite the team.”

A Friendship +1

Ignore the gesture.

No effect

Forgo the gesture due to worry.

No effect

Choice 8/9

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

N AND M PATH

If Combat is 50 or higher, the Detective will manage to get off the ladder with ease. If Combat is below 50, the Detective will nearly fall into the tunnel because they slip off the last rung. If N is the Love Interest, they will ask if the Detective is all right. Otherwise, N will look back to check that the Detective is all right. If M is the Love Interest, M’s fingers will brush against the Detective’s arm, and they’ll get much closer to the Detective.

If Deduction is 50 or higher, the Detective will see recent footprints leading down one of the tunnels and point towards it as the correct path forward. Otherwise, M will be the one to see them.

Choice 1

“We have to do everything to get her back safely.”

Save Sanja +1

“We should at least try to take out some of these jerks while we’re here.”

No effect

“Oh, the leaving part sounds good. How about we skip to that bit?”

No effect

“In and out. Got it.”

Save Sanja +1

“Remind me again why we’re risking our lives to save her?”

No effect

Give a sharp nod. “Agreed.”

Save Sanja +1

Choice 2 [STAT CHECK]

Put the vampires’ hypersenses to use.

If People is 65 or higher, the Detective will successfully get one of the vampires to sense the location of the Trappers. If N is the Love Interest or on the Love triangle path, N will say that they’re struggling to sense past the Detective, and M will be the one to sense the Trappers. If M is the Love Interest, M will say that they can only sense the Detective, and N will be the one to sense the Trappers.

If People is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Research is 1 or higher, the Detective will successfully get one of the vampires to sense the location of the Trappers. If N is the Love Interest or on the Love triangle path, N will say that they’re struggling to sense past the Detective, and M will be the one to sense the Trappers. If M is the Love Interest, M will say that they can only sense the Detective, and N will be the one to sense the Trappers.

Otherwise, the stat check will fail as the Detective doesn’t have any suggestions about which senses N and M should use, and the group will run into a dead end. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Search the area tactically.

If Combat is 65 or higher, the Detective will successfully talk N and M into sticking together through the tunnels and search them strategically. If N is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, N will call the Detective’s thought process more than a little impressive. If M is the Love Interest, M will say they’re soaking in how clever the Detective is.

If Combat is 40 or higher but under 65, and Supernatural Combat is 1 or higher, the Detective will successfully talk N and M into sticking together through the tunnels and search them strategically. If N is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, N will call the Detective’s thought process more than a little impressive. If M is the Love Interest, M will say they’re soaking in how clever the Detective is.

Otherwise, the stat check will fail and the Trappers will hear the group coming. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Use my own equipment to get the lay of the land.

If Science is 65 or higher, the Detective will be able to download the sewer’s schematics onto their phone and they’ll find the correct tunnel by looking at the map. If N is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, N will say that they’re more than a little glad the Detective is with them. If M is the Love Interest, M will say that the Detective must know how impressive they are right now.

If Science is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Research is 1 or higher, the Detective will be able to download the sewer’s schematics onto their phone and they’ll find the correct tunnel by looking at the map. If N is the Love Interest or on the Love Triangle path, N will say that they’re more than a little glad the Detective is with them. If M is the Love Interest, M will say that the Detective must know how impressive they are right now.

Otherwise, the Detective will not be able to get any signal on their phone and can’t download the sewer’s schematics; the group will resort to following M down a random tunnel. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Attempt to work out the Trapper’s location.

If Deduction is 65 or higher, the Detective will manage to hear the Trappers through one of the pipelines, and lead the group to follow the trail.

If Deduction is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Combat is 1 or higher, the Detective will manage to hear the Trappers through one of the pipelines, and lead the group to follow the trail.

Otherwise, the Detective won’t be able to figure out how to deduce the Trappers’ location, and M will end up picking a random tunnel for them all to follow. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Pick a tunnel at random and go for it.

The outcome for this is quite literally random. There’s a 5 in 8 chance of it leading to a failed outcome, and a 3 in 8 chance of it leading to a successful one. We only recommend this choice be undertaken if all of the above stat checks are sure to fail.

If the narration says that the Detective chooses the “left-hand” path, the outcome is failed. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

If the narration says that the Detective chooses the “middle” path, the outcome is successful.

PEOPLE, SCIENCE, OR DEDUCTION STAT FAILED OR RANDOM SELECTION FAIL

TUNNEL SUCCESS PATH

Choice 3

“It might help avoid anyone getting hurt. Including Sanja.”

No effect

“They won’t surrender. There’s no point in even trying to make them.”

No effect

“Excuse me, I’ve got a lot to lose: an arm, a leg, my life.”

No effect

“If you think that’s best, then I’m with you.”

The narration will alter slightly depending on if N is the Love Interest/on the Love Triangle path, or not.

“I’m with [M]. This doesn’t seem like a plan that can end well.”

No effect

Give a nod. “Understood.”

No effect

Save Sanja+1

If Combat is 65 or higher, the Detective will dodge the attack. If Combat is 40 or higher but below 65, the Detective will sidestep the attack. If Combat is below 40, the Detective will barely manage to avoid the attack.

Choice 4

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 5

“I’m Detective [Surname] of the Wayhaven PD.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either M or N will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No. Unfortunately for you.” Stun him with the Volt.

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either M or N will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Slow clap. “Give the man a prize.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either M or N will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No, but I still work for the Agency.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either M or N will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Don’t respond and stun him with the Volt.

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either M or N will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

TUNNEL FAIL PATH

Choice 3 [STAT CHECK]

Dodge the attack.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Attack him first.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Defend against the attack.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Choice 4

“I’m Detective [Surname] of the Wayhaven PD.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either N or M will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Slow clap. “Give the man a prize.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either N or M will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No, but I still work for the Agency.”

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either N or M will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Don’t respond.

If the Detective had the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective and decide they’re the more desirable target. This puts Sanja’s life in greater danger. Either N or M will attack the Trappers in the Detective’s defense, depending on which is the Love Interest. If Save Sanja is above 0, Save Sanja -1

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

TUNNEL SUCCESS/FAIL PATHS MERGE HERE

Choice 5/6 [STAT CHECK]

Attempt to join the fight.

If Combat is 70 or higher, Sava Sanja +1 and the Detective will successfully use their Volt gun to take down the Trapper.

If Combat is below 70, Combat +5% and the Detective will get hit with the Trapper’s electric baton, and will need either N or M (depending on which is the Love Interest) to take down the Trapper; N or M will then get hit in the jaw.

Look for a way to work with my allies.

If People is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will find a way to cut the lights in the room, allowing the vampires to use their night vision and take down some of the Trappers.

If People is below 70, People +5% and the Detective will get hit with the Trapper’s electric baton, and will need either N or M (depending on which is the Love Interest) to take down the Trapper; N or M will then get hit in the jaw.

Attempt to use the equipment on hand to gain an advantage.

If Science is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will figure out a way to get the Trapper covered in water and electrocute them.

If Science is below 70, Science +5% and the Detective will try to electrocute the Trapper but it won’t work, and will themself get electrocuted by the Trapper. They will need either N or M (depending on which is the Love Interest) to take down the Trapper; N or M will then get hit in the jaw.

Attempt to deduce who the leader is and take them out first.

If Deduction is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will figure out who the leader of the Trappers is and will use their Volt gun to incapacitate her.

If Deduction is below 70, Deduction +5% and the Detective will figure out who the leader of the Trappers is, but won’t be able to get to her because they’re taken down by another Trapper. They will need either N or M (depending on who is the Love Interest) to help them; N or M will then get hit in the jaw.

Choice 6/7 *If N is the Love Interest/on the Love Triangle path

Rescue [N].

By the Book -10%

Heart +10%

If Save Sanja is above 1, Save Sanja -2

If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

F Friendship +1

M Friendship +1

NOTE: SANJA HAS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF DYING IF THIS CHOICE IS MADE

Rescue Sanja.

By the Book +10%

Heart -10%

Save Sanja +2

A Friendship +1

Agency +1

NOTE: SANJA WILL LIVE REGARDLESS OF PREVIOUS CHOICES MADE

Choice 6/7 *If M is the Love Interest

Rescue [M].

By the Book -10%

Heart +10%

If Save Sanja is above 1, Save Sanja -2

If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

F Friendship +1

NOTE: SANJA HAS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF DYING IF THIS CHOICE IS MADE

Rescue Sanja.

By the Book +10%

Heart -10%

Save Sanja +2

A Friendship +1

N Friendship +1

Agency +1

NOTE: SANJA WILL LIVE REGARDLESS OF PREVIOUS CHOICES MADE

RESCUE N

If M Friendship is 5 or higher, the Detective will immediately understand M’s plan to save N. If M Friendship is less than 5, the Detective will need extra time to understand M.

Choice 7/8

Nudge [them]. “So did you.”

M Friendship +1

Smile. “It was your plan. I just followed it through.”

M Friendship +1

Chuckle. “I’ll call you next time I need a sidekick again.”

M Friendship +1

“It’s a shame doing good ended with so many of them injured.”

No effect

Nod. “We did good. We should team up more often.”

M Friendship +1

Ignore the comment and stare over the Trappers.

No effect

Forgo any kind of reply due to worry.

No effect

If Save Sanja is 2 or higher, Sanja will still be alive. If Save Sanja is below 2, the Trappers will kill Sanja.

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is still alive

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is dead

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

RESCUE SANJA INSTEAD OF N

Choice 7/8

Nudge [them]. “So did you.”

M Friendship +1

Smile. “We did, didn’t we?”

M Friendship +1

Chuckle. “I’ll know to call you the next time I need a sidekick again.”

M Friendship +1

“It’s a shame doing good ended with so many of them so injured.”

No effect

Nod. “We did good. We should team up more often.”

M Friendship +1

Ignore the comment and stare over the Trappers.

No effect

Forgo any kind of reply due to worry.

No effect

Choice 8/9

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

RESCUE M

If N Friendship is 5 or higher, the Detective will immediately understand N’s plan to help M. If N Friendship is below 5, the Detective will need extra time to understand N’s plan.

Choice 7/8

Smile at [them]. “Well done too. “I’m glad you had my back.”

N Friendship +1

Give a respectful nod in return.

No effect

Grin. “With the two of us working together, how could it not?” [STAT CHECK]

N Friendship +1

If Charming is 67 or higher, N will say that it’s lucky the Detective is so charming. Otherwise, N will call it a fair point.

Chuckle. “Neither did I.”

N Friendship +1

Ignore the comment.

No effect

Forgo any kind of reply due to worry.

No effect

If Save Sanja is 2 or higher, Sanja will still be alive. If Save Sanja is below 2, the Trappers will kill Sanja.

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is still alive

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is dead

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

RESCUE SANJA INSTEAD OF M

Choice 7/8

Smile at [them]. “Well done too. “I’m glad you had my back.”

N Friendship +1

Give a respectful nod in return.

No effect

Grin. “With the two of us working together, how could it not?” [STAT CHECK]

N Friendship +1

If Charming is 67 or higher, N will say that it’s lucky the Detective is so charming. Otherwise, N will call it a fair point.

Chuckle. “Neither did I.”

N Friendship +1

Ignore the comment.

No effect

Forgo any kind of reply due to worry.

No effect

Choice 8/9

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

FRIENDSHIP PATH

On the Friendship path, the Detective will be accompanied by N and M for the chapter.

If Deduction is 50 or higher, the Detective will see recent footprints leading down one of the tunnels and point towards it as the correct path forward. Otherwise, M will be the one to see them.

Choice 1

“We have to do everything to get her back safely.”

Save Sanja +1

“We should at least try to take out some of these jerks while we’re here.”

No effect

“Oh, the leaving part sounds good. How about we skip to that bit?”

No effect

“In and out. Got it.”

Save Sanja +1

“Remind me again why we’re risking our lives to save her?”

No effect

Give a sharp nod. “Agreed.”

Save Sanja +1

Choice 2 [STAT CHECK]

Put the vampires’ hypersenses to use.

If People is 65 or higher, the Detective will successfully get one of the vampires to sense the location of the Trappers.

If People is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Research is 1 or higher, the Detective will successfully get one of the vampires to sense the location of the Trappers.

Otherwise, the stat check will fail as the Detective doesn’t have any suggestions about which senses N and M should use, and the group will run into a dead end. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Search the area tactically.

If Combat is 65 or higher, the Detective will successfully talk N and M into sticking together through the tunnels and search them strategically.

If Combat is 40 or higher but under 65, and Supernatural Combat is 1 or higher, the Detective will successfully talk N and M into sticking together through the tunnels and search them strategically.

Otherwise, the stat check will fail and the Trappers will hear the group coming. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Use my own equipment to get the lay of the land.

If Science is 65 or higher, the Detective will be able to download the sewer’s schematics onto their phone and they’ll find the correct tunnel by looking at the map.

Attempt to work out the Trapper’s location.

If Deduction is 65 or higher, the Detective will manage to hear the Trappers through one of the pipelines, and lead the group to follow the trail.

If Deduction is 40 or higher but below 65, and Supernatural Combat is 1 or higher, the Detective will manage to hear the Trappers through one of the pipelines, and lead the group to follow the trail.

Otherwise, the Detective won’t be able to figure out how to deduce the Trappers’ location, and M will end up picking a random tunnel for them all to follow. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

Pick a tunnel at random and go for it.

If the narration says that the Detective chooses the “left-hand” path, the outcome is failed. If Save Sanja is 1, Save Sanja -1

If the narration says that the Detective chooses the “middle” path, the outcome is successful.

PEOPLE, SCIENCE, OR DEDUCTION STAT FAILED, OR RANDOM SELECTION FAIL

TUNNEL SUCCESS PATH

Choice 3

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Save Sanja +1

Choice 4

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 5

“I’m Detective [Surname] of the Wayhaven PD.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No. Unfortunately for you.” Stun him with the Volt.

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Slow clap. “Give the man a prize.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No, but I still work for the Agency.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Don’t respond and stun him with the Volt.

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

TUNNEL FAIL PATH

Choice 3 [STAT CHECK]

Dodge the attack.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Attack him first.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Defend against the attack.

If Combat is 70 or higher, People is 70 or higher, Science is 70 or higher, or Deduction is 70 or higher the Detective’s maneuver will be successful. Otherwise, the Trapper will knock them down.

Choice 4

“I’m Detective [Surname] of the Wayhaven PD.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Slow clap. “Give the man a prize.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

“No, but I still work for the Agency.”

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

Don’t respond.

If the Detective did not have the Agency blood tests run, the Trappers will recognize the Detective through their father. Save Sanja +1

TUNNEL SUCCESS/FAIL PATHS MERGE HERE

Choice 5/6 [STAT CHECK]

Attempt to join the fight.

If Combat is 70 or higher, Sava Sanja +1 and the Detective will successfully use their Volt gun to take down the Trapper.

If Combat is below 70, Combat +5% and the Detective will get hit with the Trapper’s electric baton.

Look for a way to work with my allies.

If People is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will find a way to cut the lights in the room, allowing the vampires to use their night vision and take down some of the Trappers.

If People is below 70, People +5% and the Detective will get hit with the Trapper’s electric baton.

Attempt to use the equipment on hand to gain an advantage.

If Science is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will figure out a way to get the Trapper covered in water and electrocute them.

If Science is below 70, Science +5% and the Detective will try to electrocute the Trapper but it won’t work, and will themself get electrocuted by the Trapper.

Attempt to deduce who the leader is and take them out first.

If Deduction is 70 or higher, Save Sanja +1 and the Detective will figure out who the leader of the Trappers is and will use their Volt gun to incapacitate her.

If Deduction is below 70, Deduction +5% and the Detective will figure out who the leader of the Trappers is, but won’t be able to get to her because they’re taken down by another Trapper.

Choice 7/8

Nudge [them]. “So did you.”

M Friendship +1

Smile. “We did, didn’t we?”

M Friendship +1

Chuckle. “I’ll know to call you the next time I need a sidekick again.”

M Friendship +1

“It’s a shame doing good ended with so many of them so injured.”

No effect

Nod. “We did good. We should team up more often.”

M Friendship +1

Ignore the comment and stare over the Trappers.

No effect

If Save Sanja is 2 or above, Sanja will still be alive. If Save Sanja is less than 2, the Trappers will kill her.

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is still alive

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

Choice 8/9 *If Sanja is dead

(ALL OPTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT)

#long post #booktwo #b2c16

32 notes · View notes

allmyleftistsliveintexas · 4 years

Text

Gerrymandering in Austin, Texas and What We Can Do to Fix It

Below is a deep dive into Austin’s gerrymandering problem. It includes defining gerrymandering, a look into how Austin’s congressional districts are drawn, some actions we can take to make this drawing more fair, and more.

Note: while gerrymandering can occur in any electoral district, this post focuses on US congressional districts in Austin, Texas.

The Redistricting Process

To best understand gerrymandering, it's important to understand the redistricting process.

Every part of the country is divided into different congressional districts. Each district is represented by one congressperson. Redistricting is the process of drawing these districts so that each congressperson represents a relatively equal amount of people.

In every year ending with a zero, the US Census Bureau aims to count every person in the country or every American citizen, depending on the party in power. (Trump did not want to count undocumented folks. Biden will.)

This data is then used in reapportion, where it is decided how many congressional seats/districts each state receives based on population. Typically, the reapportion report is delivered by the US Census Bureau on the last day of the year. This year it is expected by April 30th. This year, Texas is expected to gain three seats. California is expected to lose one.

Next, the US Census Bureau releases redistricting data to the states. Typically this happens for April of the next year, but this year it will happen before September 30th. States then utilize different methods to redraw district lines.

Who redraws the lines depends on the state. While 21 states currently utilize some sort of nonpartisan redistricting committee, in Texas, the state legislature is in charge of redrawing the lines. The current Texas redistricting committee includes 10 republicans and 7 democrats.

"Redistricting is like an election in reverse. It's a great event. Usually the voters get to pick the politicians. In redistricting, the politicians get to pick the voters." - Thomas Hofeller, Redistricting Chair of the Republican National Committee

What is gerrymandering?

"The practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections" - Merriam-Webster Definition

Gerrymandering refers to when electoral districts are drawn to favor one group of people over another. This often means that districts are drawn counterintuitively and in strange shapes so that like-minded voters are separated into one district instead of spread out over multiple districts. Because these voters end up in the same district, they are only able to win that one district instead of the multiple districts they could win if the districts were drawn fairly.

The word "gerrymandering" is named after Elbridge Gerry. (pronounced Gary.) While he was governor of Massachusetts in 1812, he helped create a partisan district of Boston that resembled a salamander. This led to the district electing three Democratic Republicans into historically Federalist seats that same year. While this wasn't the first time the US experienced gerrymandering, this was the first time a name stuck to the practice.

salamander district, via vox/boston centinel 1812

Today, gerrymandered districts play a massive role in keeping political parties in power. While both democrats and republicans are guilty of gerrymandering, the majority of gerrymandered districts are drawn by republicans. In 2010, Republicans launched "REDMAP" which utilized software to strategically redistrict in favor of republicans. This led them to retain control of the US house by 33 seats, even though democrats had a one million voter majority. Additionally, AP found almost four times as many republican skewed states than democrat in 2016. An AP analysis indicated that Republicans won 16 more congressional seats in 2018 because of gerrymandering than they would have with fairly drawn districts.

"When the representatives are drawing their constituencies in a way that allows them to choose their constituents, you've reversed the dynamic quite fundamentally." - John Akred

Gerrymandering Strategies

There are many tactics used in gerrymandering districts, but the two main ones are cracking and packing. Note: there are even *more* methods of gerrymandering than those included on this list.

Cracking - Cracking is when voters of the opposing party are "cracked" or split into many different districts so their voting power is diluted across many districts.

Packing - Packing is when all voters of the opposing party are "packed" into one district to reduce their voting power in other districts.

Kidnapping - Kidnapping is when an incumbent's home address is moved to a different district making reelection more difficult.

Incumbent Protection - Incumbent Protection is when redistricters use any of the above strategies or others to create districts that favor the incumbent over the opponent.

Additionally, there are two main kinds of gerrymandering: racial and partisan.

Racial - Racial gerrymandering seeks to disempower voters of a race or races of people. Racial gerrymandering is illegal but still frequent throughout the country.

Partisan - Partisan gerrymandering seeks to disempower voters of one political party. In many cases, partisan gerrymandering is racial gerrymandering.

What does it look like?

While gerrymandering can occur in any electoral districts, this post is focused on US congressional districts in Austin, Texas.

Here’s what the six congressional districts in Austin look like:

via The Austin Chronicle

A Closer Look at Austin’s Districts

Despite Austin being a heavily blue-voting city, five of the six congressional districts are represented by Republicans. This is one reason why Austin has been identified as one of the worst cases of gerrymandering in the country.

Austin is mostly gerrymandered using the "cracking" method. Austin's blue voters have been spread out among multiple districts, all of which include large swaths of country towns. For example, district 25 travels from Austin all the way to Fort Worth, district 17 travels beyond Waco, and district 10 touches Houston. By including hundreds of small Texas towns into Austin's congressional districts, the firmly red voters in the country outweigh the blue city voters. This design is intentional, and is slated to get much worse this year unless we receive federal protection.

district 10 (michael mccaul-r)

57% caucasian

26% hispanic

10% black

5% asian

.6% indigenous

district 17 (pete sessions-r)

57% caucasian

26% hispanic

13% black

5% asian

.5% indigenous

district 21 (chip roy-r)

62% caucasian

30% hispanic

4% black

4% asian

.5% indigenous

district 25 (roger williams-r)

70% caucasian

19% hispanic

8% black

3% asian

.5% indigenous

district 31 (john carter-r)

59% caucasian

24% hispanic

11% black

5% asian

.4% indigenous

district 35 (lloyd dogget-d)

26% caucasian

61% hispanic

10% black

2% asian

.5% indigenous

Additionally, district 35 is packed. Hispanic voters are grouped together from East Austin to San Antonio so that their voting power is isolated to only one district instead of many districts.

You can view an interactive district drawing map here.

Why this is Bad

Gerrymandering is a racist tool that politicians use to strip minority voters of their political power. If we do not stop gerrymandering in it's tracks right now, districts will be redrawn to be even more oppressive than they are now.

Though racial gerrymandering is illegal, Texas districts still get away with it. In 2018, a seven year legal battle regarding Texas's racially gerrymandered districts (like district 35) ended because the Supreme Court rejected nearly all claims.

Districts in Texas are drawn strategically so Republicans retain power. We need a fair districting map to ever have a realistic chance of unseating republicans.

A Possible Solution

Independent Commissions - 21 states are currently using some sort of nonpartisan commission to redraw their maps. Utilizing independent commissions means districts are drawn sensibly and without favoritism for one group or another.

HR1 is an act that recently passed congress seeking to implement independent redistricting commissions for every state. Should it pass the senate, we would no longer have to trust Republican legislators to draw our district maps.

There are other possible solutions including proportional representation, using artificial intelligence, and ranked choice voting. However, independent commissions seem to be the most realistic future for Texan gerrymandering prevention at this time.

What We Can Do

1. Register ASAP to speak at the Texas Senate's public hearing on Thursday, March 11th at 9am!

The Texas Senate is having a public hearing about Austin's congressional districts on Thursday, March 11th at 9am on Zoom. This is an opportunity for the public to "share details about their local communities and information that they believe is relevant to the upcoming redistricting process." Sign up and tell Texan representatives why your community should be kept together in the redistricting process. Request and independent commission be used if possible. The Texas government canNOT be trusted to draw districts fairly.

Testimony Guide at fairmapstexas.org/testimony-guides

Leave a written comment at senate.texas.gov/redistrictingcomment

2. Call your senators and tell them to vote YES on HR1, the For the People Act!

The For the People Act would incorporate 800 pages of voting rights legislation. Among other things, it would guarantee mail in voting and at least 15 days of early voting for federal elections, would require states to automatically register citizens to vote, would restore voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences, and would require all states to use an independent citizen commission to draw congressional districts.

HR1 passed the US House on March 3rd. To pass the senate, all 48 democrats and the two independents would need to be joined by 10 republicans to overcome a filibuster.

Will Ted Cruz & John Cornyn vote yes on this bill? Very unlikely.

Should we let them know how we feel by blowing up their inboxes anyways? Yes.

Ted Cruz: (512) 916-5834 - email him here.

John Cornyn: (202) 224-2934 - email him here.

"Historically, gerrymandering has been used both as a racist weapon to undermine the political power of minority communities and a political weapon to ensure partisan advantage... Gerrymandering fundamentally undermines a fair and representative democracy."

****act now. sign up to testify. call your senators. ensure a fair redistricting process.****

Additional Reading:

https://www.keranews.org/2019-04-14/texas-matters-gerrymandering-in-texas

https://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/

https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2019/11/01/why-redistricting-important-and-why-should-you-participate-texas-democrats-republicans/4103303002/

Sources:

The Redistricting Process Sources:

https://indivisible.org/resource/fighting-gerrymandering-states

https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Texas_after_the_2020_census

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/30/940116088/supreme-court-weighs-trump-plan-to-cut-undocumented-immigrants-from-census

https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/20/958376223/biden-to-end-trump-census-policy-ensuring-all-persons-living-in-u-s-are-counted

https://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/2019/06/28/lt-gov-patrick-announces-2021-redistricting-committee/

https://www.c-span.org/video/?165594-3/2000-redistricting-review

What is Gerrymandering? Sources:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerrymandering

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/01/this-is-the-best-explanation-of-gerrymandering-you-will-ever-see/

https://www.vox.com/2014/8/5/17991968/gerrymandering-name-elbridge-gerry

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/REDMAP

https://www.businessinsider.com/partisan-gerrymandering-has-benefited-republicans-more-than-democrats-2017-6

https://apnews.com/article/9fd72a4c1c5742aead977ee27815d776

https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2017-07-28/big-data-and-the-gerrymandering-of-america

Gerrymandering Strategies Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#:~:text=Two%20principal%20tactics%20are%20used,voting%20power%20in%20other%20districts).

https://www.policymap.com/2017/08/a-deeper-look-at-gerrymandering/

https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/7/24/16012440/racial-partisan-gerrymandering-redistricting-supreme-court-video

What Does it Look Like? Source:

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2018-02-09/u-s-congress/

A Closer Look at Austin’s Districts Sources:

https://thefulcrum.us/worst-gerrymandering-districts-example/7-austin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_10th_congressional_district

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_17th_congressional_district

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_21st_congressional_district

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_25th_congressional_district

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_31st_congressional_district

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%27s_35th_congressional_district

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/redistricting-maps/texas/

Why this is Bad Sources:

https://indivisible.org/resource/fighting-gerrymandering-states

https://newrepublic.com/article/149357/texas-republicans-got-away-racially-discriminatory-electoral-map

https://www.caller.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/02/27/texas-republicans-democrats-gerrymandering-legislative-districts-voter-suppression/4545917002/

A Possible Solution Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/4d2e2aea7e224549af61699e51c955dd

https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=vlr

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/05/hr1-bill-what-is-it/

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/11/16453512/gerrymandering-proportional-representation

https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/04/ai-drawn-voting-districts-could-help-stamp-out-gerrymandering/

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/473788-replacing-winner-takes-all-system-would-end-gerrymandering

What We Can Do Sources:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItde6gpjMvH9Mn_8FA26GFQaVkPVxEzQNL

fairmapstexas.org/testimony-guides

senate.texas.gov/redistrictingcomment

https://www.vox.com/2021/3/3/22309123/house-democrats-pass-voting-rights-bill-hr1

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/five-ways-hr-1-would-transform-redistricting

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-house/u-s-house-passes-sweeping-election-bill-senate-prospects-unclear-idUSKCN2AV2JM

https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=form&id=16

https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/node/5853

#austin #austintexas #texas #politics #texaspolitics #leftist #leftists #leftistpolitics #gerrymandering #hr1 #forthepeople #forthepeopleact

4 notes · View notes

skamenglishsubs · 5 years

Text

Subtext and Culture, Season 1, Episode 1

For the longest time I’ve been wanting to write a series of posts about the small details of Skam that haven’t been widely talked about. All the key dialogue has been analyzed to death, but there’s still pieces that a lot of people have missed or are confused about. Some of these things are because of Culture, things that are obvious to a Norwegian audience isn’t always obvious to an international audience. Some of the things are blink-and-you-miss-it moments, they flash by, and you only see it if you are really paying attention. Some of the things are subtext, that which is hidden in the dialogue, and not explicitly said. But you can figure it out because of how the characters are saying it, or because of what the characters aren’t saying. Culture: The series starts in September 2015. The school year starts in August, which means that all the characters have been at their new school for about a month. High-school is a clean break from elementary school, and most of the other students will be people you don’t know, since you choose schools by what you want to study, and not by where you live. Some students at school will be ones that went to the same elementary school as you. Eva, Jonas, Isak, Sara, and Ingrid all went to the same elementary school together.

Blink and you miss it: It’s Chris’ laughter that pulls Eva’s attention to the girls walking, because Chris and Vilde have apparently made friends with Ingrid and Sara. This also shows that Ingrid and Sara have been making new friends, while Eva isn’t. Culture: Grades are on a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 means fail, 2 that you barely passed, and 3 that you passed, but should do better. 4 means you did good, 5 means you did really good, and 6 that you aced it. The plus and minus modifiers are unofficial comments from your teacher, and 5+ basically means “Keep this up and you’ll get a 6.” Cinematography: Eva feels alone, and the scene’s ending shot establishes this visually. Even though she’s in the schoolyard, surrounded by people, she’s all by herself. Blink and you miss it: Eva’s paper is clearly marked 3+, but she told Jonas and Isak she got a 4-. Blink and you miss it: Ingrid and Sara’s fake lashes. The photo caption simply says “Lashes ftw”. Subtext: In the dialogue with Isak, we learn that he knows Ingrid and Sara from earlier, and knows what happened between Eva and Ingrid.

Culture: The poster says: “First revue party of the year. Friday September 25th. Buy tickets here.” The Revue™ is a big thing at many Norwegian high schools. It’s an extra-curricular activity that results in a theater production that usually premieres in January, which means you have about four months to produce it. A revue is a multi-act variety show featuring comedy sketches, song, and dance, usually with some sort of unifying theme, and always referencing current events and zeitgeist. At Nissen, the revue typically engages 150 students out of the 700 total each year. Different groups in the revue are responsible for different aspects, the students at the table are part of the party group, who organizes parties, advertises them, and sells tickets, all with the purpose of having fun and raising money for the production. Culture: Students at high schools are organized by year, programme, and class. Your class is the ~25 students that you will spend the majority of your time with, since you are all in the same year, studying the same programme, taking the same subjects. Ingrid and Sara are in 1STA. 1: First year. ST: Studiespesialisering, “College prep”, A: If there are many students in the same year and the same programme, you split them into several classes and simply label them A, B, C, etc. The next year, Ingrid and Sara’s class will be called 2STA, and their final year 3STA. Culture: The revue needs you! Since students leave school after graduation, the revue needs to recruit new students each year to do all the work and keep the tradition going. Argentina and Igor are presumably second-year or third-year students who participated last year, and are now recruiting first-year students, using the time-honored tactic of peer pressure. The revue lays the foundation to your social life! You don’t want to go around being a nobody, do you? Subtext: Eva doesn’t have opinions of her own, which is why she is just repeating what Argentina said verbatim to Jonas. Subtext: I can bring a friend and you can bring a friend is a normal trade in normal circumstances, but here it’s a problem, because Eva doesn’t have any friends any longer, which Jonas seems to either have temporarily forgotten, or he’s just an ass. Culture: The autumn break is one of the five standard school breaks in Norway, together with Christmas break, winter break, Easter break, and summer break. It’s typically one week long.

Blink and you miss it: The notification that causes Eva to pull up Instagram on her phone is that her mom, Anne-Marit, liked one of her posts. Blink and you miss it: Photos of Ingrid, Sara, and Eva, being best friends, sometime in the past. Culture: This is Eva’s secret stash of alcohol, two small bottles of white wine. Drinking age is 18, Eva is 16, which means she had to have someone else buy these for her, and she’s stashed them under her bed because she doesn’t want her mom to find out and take them. Culture: The revue party is being held at a real bar somewhere in Oslo, that has been reserved for this private event. Some students at the party will be 18 and allowed to buy alcohol at the bar, but most students won’t be. This is why pre-parties are such a thing, because it’s the only and/or cheapest way to be drunk at the actual party. Eva didn’t go to the pre-party that the stage group hosted, which is why she is pre-warming alone, by drinking both bottles of wine. Eva’s behaviour is seen as completely normal in Norway, no-one would consider her an alcoholic. Subtext: Eva has no opinions of her own, which is why she’s removing the eyeliner that Ingrid said made her look like a slut. Subtext: We’ve seen Vilde with Ingrid and Sara, both at school, and in Instagram photos. When Eva and Ingrid are at the bar, some girl comes up to Ingrid and says that Vilde snapped. So this moment is when Vilde was thrown out of the Pepsi Max russ bus. Culture: Bus groups also need a lot of money to finance their bus, and one common way is to buy items in bulk and re-sell to friends, family, neighbours, and other suckers. Everyone knows it’s a bad deal compared to just buying the items at a store, but you do it anyway to support the kids and their buses. Subtext: Toilet paper worth 40.000kr is way more than a single person can use or sell in a reasonable time, you need an entire bus group to pull it off, which is why Vilde is so upset, because she is now financially screwed.

#skam #subtext #skam meta #eva kviig mohn

184 notes · View notes

anexplanationofunfortunateevents · 5 years

Text

a post about the Democratic primary, which I did not enjoy writing

I haven’t talked about the Democratic primary here for a couple of reasons. I think that wrapping our minds about what Trump is doing in power – and what he and his backers did to get him that power – is a lot more important than any campaign tactic his eventual Democratic opponent can use, or even who the Democratic candidate is. I don’t even know who I’ll be voting for myself.

What I do know is that above all other issues, I’ll be voting on democratic values. That includes more conventional voting rights and election integrity issues that we’re used to discussing in American politics. It’s also about pounding the brakes on democratic backsliding at home, and giving institutional and moral support to people around the world who want the same. If we make enough progress on this issue, we can make enormous strides on other progressive priorities. If we don’t turn back this authoritarian tide, we will lose on everything else.

And on my #1 issue, I’ve developed serious concerns about Senator Bernie Sanders.

This is a long post because it’s an attempt to articulate an uncomfortable pattern which requires a lot of context, but I hope you’ll take the time to read it, so let me assure you of a few things it’s not:

Concerns about Sanders seem to be collapsed into “is he as extreme and irrational a leftist as Trump is a right-winger” or “is he too kooky to win an election.” I’m not doing either of those. There is an argument out there that Sanders is too far to the left on policy. I’m … really not the person to do that argument justice. There’s an argument that, whether or not you like his policies, he would have a harder time winning a national election in a year that Democrats cannot afford any more disadvantages. I think this election really is going to be won or lost by the voters choosing to accept or reject Trumpistani autocracy, but it’s entirely responsible to consider that kind of thing. I have a substantive concern about Bernie Sanders, not because I oppose progressives but because I am a progressive, and I don’t pretend to have any insight into how it might affect his chances of winning a general election.

I don’t care a whole lot about what Senator Sanders feels in his heart or whatever. I tend to think this is more about being misguided than malicious, but that’s not make or break for the pattern I’m trying to describe.

I’m not trying to endorse someone else by process of elimination; like I said, I haven’t decided yet who I’m voting for myself.

I’m old enough to remember four years ago when only a few nerds had ever heard of superdelegates. Superdelegates, or unpledged delegates, are party activists and officials who get to vote at the convention along with the pledged delegates who are assigned in the state primary contests. They’re the backup plan put in place after the clusterfuck of 1968. We also got better at avoiding clusterfucks after 1968, so they weren’t an issue. Until 2016, when Sanders decided they were an issue for him because he was going to lose the old-fashioned way, and “superdelegates” were a convenient boogeyman he could use to turn progressives against the Democratic party. Then his campaign successfully talked itself into believing that this conspiracy theory about superdelegates going against the voters, so they started arguing that the superdelegates should take the nomination away from the winner and give it to him. This was always a pipe dream, but it did inspire Sanders supporters to dox a bunch of counterrevolutionary elected officials and progressive activists. Remember, he’s a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, so he’s talking all this shit as a superdelegate.

The sore losering only helped Donald Trump and his Russian backers, but it was delegitimizing enough that the Democratic National Committee felt pressured to revamp the presidential nomination process. Thus, a “unity” committee was formed to placate the feelings of those who were implacably infuriated that the person with the most votes had won the nomination. (The Republicans, whose party processes had allowed an unqualified, unstable, ideologically unreliable foreign asset to take over, made no such alterations.) The big concession on superdelegates is that they don’t vote on the first ballot. If someone wins a majority, then they win the nomination. If nobody gets a majority, then there’s a second vote where the pledged delegates are released and the superdelegates also get a say.

Presumably because pro-Sanders activists were so instrumental in drafting the new rules, they were all set to start gaming those rules before voting began. In early January, when it was assumed that former Vice President Biden would win more delegates than anyone else but come up short of a majority, groups supporting Sanders floated the idea that Warren’s delegates should be ready to join Sanders, or vice versa. The reasoning was that a vote for Warren or Sanders should be considered a vote for what they considered the relatively progressive wing of the Democratic party, and therefore pooling the two candidate’s votes together would represent the will of the electorate. Six weeks later, with Sanders having eked out a plurality in a few early states – more delegates than anyone else, but nowhere near a majority, and losing the popular vote – he’s out here warning that it would be very, very bad for everybody if the person who wins the plurality isn’t guaranteed to win the nomination. If 66% of voters split between two “establishment” candidates, well, that 34% who voted for the “anti-establishment” Sanders better get their way, or the party gets it!1

Sanders representatives also insisted states be allowed to keep holding undemocratic caucuses – until he was outplayed in the Iowa delegate count, at which point they realized the establishment $hills had been right about voter suppression being bad.

Look, real talk, small-d democracy is about trying to do what the voters want. If Sanders stays exactly where he is in the polls – winning a plurality of delegates with only about 1/3 of the voters – he will be getting a lot less support than he did in 2016. When he lost by a whopping 12-point margin, despite being propped up by the Kremlin, the Koch brothers, and thousands of years of patriarchy. If these trends hold (and they might not!) Democratic voters, who are the voters most likely to support his policies, do not want him. So – and I’m editorializing a little bit in this final assessment – spare me.

America is a big country and the Democratic Party is a broad coalition. There are going to be good arguments for and against a lot of different ways to pick a presidential nominee, but a key part of doing it as fairly as possible is to choose the rules beforehand and then stick to them. Campaigns making the best case for their candidate isn’t a bad thing, and a politician being able to change their mind is a good thing. But Sanders whips his supporters up with sweeping claims about the legitimacy of the process – until the opposite claim looks like it might be advantageous to him, at which point his campaign completely reverses itself on whether or not the rules of the election are fair. This is not acceptable. We cannot be playing this game when we are trying to defend the legitimacy of democracy itself against the most powerful person in the world.

On its own, I’d find that frustrating. But once a frustration starts overlapping with a genuine national security issue, it stops being a frustration and starts being a serious concern.

Senator Sanders was informed a month before the Nevada caucuses that the Russian government was supporting his campaign. Again. We still don’t know what kind of support they were giving him, though it’s probably more or less what they were doing in 2016 – pushing propaganda and making it harder for people to have productive discussions about the primary. He didn’t say anything about it, except to obliquely reference Russian trolls when he was challenged on the debate stage about some of his supporters being abusive online. (We’ll come back to that one.)

When this story broke, as it clearly would, Sanders reacted by attacking the newspaper. He claimed that the briefing his campaign received was classified, which a) it is unlikely to have been properly classified, which he would’ve known if he’d tried to work out a way to go public and b) didn’t stop him from using some of that information to his advantage during a debate. His campaign went around crowing about these great victories where he squeaked out pluralities knowing that those victories were tainted by a foreign government helping him and/or sabotaging his competitors. (Meanwhile, these competitors were not even told that they were at risk.)

He responded similarly to the Russian support he received in 2016. He failed to educate his supporters about the seriousness of the attack as it was happening. When asked later, he begrudgingly admitted to having known about it, falsely claimed to have tried to alert the Clinton campaign, and attempted to deflect criticism by literally blaming the victim. Admitting that he lost despite benefiting from the criminal sabotage of his opponent, rather than because he was the victim of some nefarious party establishment conspiracy, would have damaged the story he tells voters and been a blow to his ego.

Because he chose to deflect rather than face the issue, he has never dealt with the ways that the ways that the Russian attack probably did poison his movement. Nobody else has really wanted to deal with it either, so I’ll stipulate that this is my opinion, but I think it makes sense.

There is a qualitative difference between what Sanders tries to communicate to people and what his supporters do in response. I do not believe that Sanders wanted his supporters to vote for Trump, stay home, or discourage others from voting in 2016. I do not believe he wanted progressive organizers to be inundated with death threats. I do not think he wants people like anti-racist filmmaker Ava DuVernay or Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg to be swarmed with abuse online. I sincerely believe that if you hooked Sanders up to a lie detector, he would say that’s bad stuff and he doesn’t want any of it, and I am not inclined to be overly generous to Senator Sanders.

And yet it keeps happening, and it can’t just be blamed on Russian bots. Real people physically showed up in Philadelphia to heckle speakers at the convention in 2016. Abusive phone calls to perceived establishment enemies of Sanders really do slow down after he explicitly says he doesn’t want people to do that – which means that he dissuaded real people, who started down that ugly path because they thought it was what he wanted. There is an observable mismatch between what is being said and what is being heard. Something is jamming the signal.

Jamming the signal, incidentally, requires exactly the kind of stuff that troll farms do best. Post “edgy” guillotine memes and see who bites. Flood brutal criticism of mainstream Democrats with applause. When ostensible leftists use their independent platforms to spread disinformation or even just nastiness, toss a few coins in their Patreon – they don’t have to know they’re working for you, they just have to learn that pushing the envelope is profitable. Shout down even mild criticism by spamming it with garbage, so that skeptics withdraw or become defensive, while supporters internalize the idea that abuse is an acceptable response to dissent. Work hard enough to desensitize a campaign to that kind of behavior, and you might even get it to put a bunch of spiteful trolls in charge.

This is a theory, but I think it is the most likely theory. I certainly think it’s more persuasive than the alternatives, which are “those intelligence and disinformation professionals have spent the last few years shouting into the void and having no discernible effects on target populations, and also, all these people who say they’ve been hit with the exact type of toxicity that disinformation effort seems designed to provoke are actually all hallucinating and/or lying because the unbelievers of The Establishment(TM) are all conspiring to take Bernie down” and “this Russia thing is a fake news Democrat deep state witch hunt.”

I’m not saying I think Bernie Sanders is a Russian asset. I’m saying that the Russians seem to think he’s an asset to them.

The Sanders campaign has a complicated problem on its hands, and I don’t know what they should do about it. But it isn’t enough for Sanders to say “I don’t care who Putin is supporting.” It is his job as a United States senator who swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution to care about who Putin is supporting. It is his job as a presidential candidate to care enough to ask why Putin is supporting him. Even if he doesn’t care morally, he has to care politically, because plenty of voters care, and if he can’t give us an explanation we’re going to start trying to figure it out for ourselves.

Which makes it time to stop ducking the ugly question: why is Senator Sanders useful to people who are against everything he stands for?

Maybe, as the press and the Bloomberg campaign seem to think, whoever’s designing this strategy thinks Sanders is the most likely to lose to Trump, so of course they prefer him over the stronger competition. I hope they’re right. It would certainly be comforting to think that Trump’s Russian backers think we’re going to have a free and fair election based on how voters feel about the nominees, because it would mean they’re not relying on their ability to hack state boards of elections. And it would be comforting because the other possibilities get pretty depressing. Unfortunately, the Kremlin whisperers putting out this comforting explanation were also quite certain that the Russian government was just trying to cause chaos and didn’t have a preferred candidate in 2016 (they did), the Russian government only supported Trump because they hated Hillary Clinton (she’s not running and they’re still at it), that the propaganda campaign couldn’t have had an impact (it did), that the Russian government would never have attacked actual voting infrastructure because norms or whatever (lol) …. the mind-readers turn out to be big on the wishful thinking, is what I’m saying here.

Maybe it’s just a narrow convergence of policy. Sanders was one of only a small handful of legislators who voted against the Magnitsky sanctions that the Russian government is desperate to overturn. He failed to support further sanctions on Russia for the 2016 election interference – again, interference which helped his campaign. He’s called for neutralizing NATO against Russian aggression by letting Russia join. From the Russian government’s perspective, that’s as good as destroying it like Trump has been trying to help them do. Maybe those things are enough. I think those are bad positions and he should have to explain them. But he seems less committed to those things than Trump, who’s spent three years failing to deliver.

If four years of the Trump show have taught us anything, it’s that you can’t just write off the tinfoil hat conspiracy stuff; you have to acknowledge it and explain why it’s unlikely. So yes, it is theoretically possible that Russian intelligence believes they have some leverage over Sanders, either to manipulate him or to kneecap him at a moment they think is most advantageous to Trump. That doesn’t mean Senator Sanders has done anything wrong. It just means that there’s a bit of footage from when he visited the Soviet Union back in the day, and they might think they can use it to make a damaging deep fake. Personally, I think that’s pretty unlikely to be the motive here, because the cost-benefit analysis seems pretty thin, but we’re just trying to take a clear-eyed inventory about what’s possible.

A few hours after the Post broke the news about the Russian efforts to help him, his official Twitter account posted this:

I've got news for the Republican establishment. I've got news for the Democratic establishment. They can't stop us.

If you’ve been paying a bit of attention to Sanders you’re probably not too startled by that comment, which is exactly the problem. In a few short words, it boosts some of the most insidious narratives that pro-Trump propagandists have also been pushing over the past few years. It’s framed as a belligerent defiance of “party establishments” - AKA, those same American institutions that we know our adversaries want to destroy. It sets up a nihilistic false equivalence between the Democratic and Republican parties. In this little story, it’s Sanders up against shadowy forces and their conspiracy against him – he’s the real victim here, but also the center of the universe. (Sound like anyone else the Russian troll farms like?)

This tweet may or may not have been in direct response to the Washington Post’s breaking the story about Russian intelligence helping his campaign again, but the timing sure looks like a great American newspaper was being lumped in with the big, spooky “establishment” trying to “stop” Sanders. (A week and a half later, he’s still sore at the Post about something.) That, too, would fit a disturbing pattern of Sanders world’s relationship with critical press, or even with criticism in general. While all this was going on, there was a Daily Beast story about the kind of alarming behavior that seems to keep happening in pro-Sanders circles. A low-level staffer was running a gross Twitter feed that reflected badly on the campaign. The campaign responded to the story by taking out the trash, but supporters responded to the story by swarming the reporter and sharing pictures of his home address. This wasn’t surprising. If you dip into Democratic-leaning podcasts or cable news shows, it’s really common to hear people preface any criticism of Sanders with a semi-jokey “don’t yell at me on Twitter, guys!” or respond to someone else’s criticism with a rueful “RIP your menchies [Twitter inbox].” Journalists and political commentators know to expect disproportionate retribution when they criticize the Dear Leader. (Sound like anyone else the Russian troll farms like?)

Maybe you’re the kind of person who likes to give the benefit of the doubt. Couldn’t all that be #ActuallyAboutEthicsInJournalism? I suppose a good test would be: what’s the response to negative feedback from a group of people, not just an individual who can be intimidated? And the answer is: conspiracy! Paid Protesters! Fake news, folks! That is not progressive, it is not healthy for our politics, and it’s exactly the kind of behavior that autocratic regimes around the world are always trying to normalize. Democrats, and all other small-d democrats, cannot start rewarding it.

That’s the context for this: Sanders has a long track record of defending authoritarian governments which call themselves socialist, communist, or otherwise leftist. Of course, authoritarian governments are more like gangster kleptocracies than “socialism” as Sanders sees it, but he just keeps rejecting opportunities to walk it back.

Too many progressive commentators with platforms have shrugged this off as some kooky Cold War thing that the media is blowing out of proportion, but it’s not just uptight Wall Street Journal opinion writers pushing back. A lot of Americans are Americans because their families ran for their lives from exactly these regimes. Five years of Latin American immigrants being Donald Trump’s favorite target, now we’re going to make people who fled Castro’s Cuba or Chavez’s Venezuela eat this shit sandwich? Mayor Pete Buttigieg was the first openly gay person running for the US presidency; was he supposed to add a bit in his stump speech about whether a dubious “literacy program” would help him in a concentration camp? The world is a complicated place where American leaders have to make hard decisions and don’t always get to work with nice people. That’s no excuse to be casual about rubbing salt in raw wounds.

I haven’t spent the past three years angry that Donald Trump fluffs up dictators because I’m looking for excuses to hate Donald Trump. Really, I’m good there. I’m angry about it because democracies are good and dictatorships are bad. When the American president is clear on that point, it really can make the lift just a little bit lighter for activists and freedom fighters and oppressed people doing the hard work of citizenship all over the world; when the American president fails to speak that truth, their work gets a little bit harder. I think their work is hard enough already.

You know that cliché about “Mussolini made the trains run on time”? It’s fascist propaganda. “Sure he locked up dissidents and inspired Hitler, but Infrastructure Week was a real success!” And he fucking didn’t even, because of course he didn’t, he was busy murdering everyone who could burst his narcissistic bubble. The Italian fascist regime polished up a few tourist-friendly routes and boasted to privileged visitors about how the trains were running on time. Then those visitors would go home with an innocuous sound bite to sanitize a brutal regime. Look, Prince Mohammad is letting women drive [and imprisoning the activists who made that a winning issue for him]! Sure, Putin is a heavy-handed old KGB guy, but he’s cracking down on corruption [as an excuse to imprison critics]. I’m not defending Castro, but hey, literacy program. Look, I’ve been to the Soviet Union, the bread lines didn’t look too bad on my guided tour!

Maybe the big money donors behind this Russian intelligence super PAC think Sanders will be susceptible to manipulation by their authoritarian regime because he keeps saying that he’s susceptible to manipulation by authoritarian regimes.

When someone seeking the United States presidency says that? Believe them.

I’m not saying Sanders is an aspiring dictator like Trump. I mean, I could be wrong, but that’s not my concern. A lot of politics is made up of civic habits. If we validate these tactics, we make bad habits that soften us up for a smart, focused Trump to come along in four or eight years. We can’t afford leadership that doesn’t understand, on a gut level, why those bad habits are dangerous.2

I’m not saying he’s the only flawed candidate on this issue, but he troubles me more than any candidate with even a slim path to the nomination. Representative Tulsi Gabbard is an exponentially more dangerous character – or at least she would be, if she somehow pulled ahead of “none of the above.” I have serious issues with former NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg; I’m less concerned about those issues because people can criticize Bloomberg without anyone mocking them for having been raped.

Because I think democracy is the most important issue on the ballot, I’m not going to mislead you with false equivalence. Sanders would not be as bad on Trump on these issues. He would not be stacking the courts with right-wing judges who are overtly hostile to voting rights, he doesn’t stand to rake in cash by cozying up to autocratic regimes, and an administration which pays lip service to democratic values is preferable to an administration which is overtly hostile to them. A vote to reduce harm can be cast with a clear conscience. It’s still the primary, though, so we have the chance to cast a general election vote for real improvement rather than damage control.

If I haven’t convinced you of anything, fair enough. If I have convinced you that this pattern is serious enough to consider as you’re voting in this primary … this isn’t one of those posts where I try to wrap up with a concrete suggestion about something you can do, for obvious reasons. I have a suggestion about voting tactically, though. Primary delegates are awarded proportionately to every candidate who makes it over what’s called a viability threshold. Basically, a candidate who gets 15% of the vote wins something like 15% of the state’s delegates, while a candidate who gets 14% gets zero. A vote for someone with 3% support is a vote for whoever wins the state, whether you like that person or not. Check FiveThirtyEight to see which candidates are polling above 15% (preferably above 20% to get outside the margin of error) and then choose your favorite of those candidates.

1A good argument for this particular system is that it gives candidates two chances to prove that they can build a coalition, because that is something Democratic presidents need to do. You can win an outright majority going into the convention, which requires satisfying a lot of diverse groups of people. If nobody can do that, then the convention gives you another shot to show you can win people over. If you have a plurality then you have a head start. If you can’t get from a plurality to a majority, you probably shouldn’t be nominated, because you would be a shitty president.

2The topic of this post is democracy, not politics, so I don’t want to go too far into it, but I do want to shoot down the bullshit counterargument: “oh, blah blah, knife to a gun fight, Democrats are wimpy little girly-men who always play by the rules, Republicans are big strong daddies who understand power, blah blah.” Guys? Guys. You’re not going to out-shitpost the Republicans; they have unlimited money flowing into sophisticated propaganda machines. You’re not going to out-bully the fascists as a means to an end; bullying is the end for them and they have a lot more practice at it than we do. You don’t get into a pissing match with a drunk. IDGAF about sinking to their level, it’s about refusing to fight on their turf. We’re not going to win their game on their terms.

#democracy #voting rights #bernie sanders #election 2020 #democratic party

23 notes · View notes

chaoticneutralwriter · 5 years

Text

Misery and its Company

As the saying goes, misery loves company now that you’ve officially joined the ‘can’t go to a BTS concert’ club but you find company in probably the last person anyone would think of (even if he thinks you’re the one possessed by a demonic entity).

guardian demon!Jimin x reader

word count: 7.3k

genre: supernatural, fluff, romance, comedy, slow-burn

Related works: see masterlist under guardian demon!jimin au

Continuation of Thirty Second Heartbreak

A/N: And so the ball starts rolling.... (SORRY FOR THE WAIT AS PER USUAL TAT!! But I still love you~)

You're met with silence, which is a bit surprising coming from him since he always seems to have a sassy comment ready to dish out. You spend the time finishing up on typing your message before you finally put your phone down and your eyes naturally stray over to him. The first thing you see is just how confused he looks, the most you've seen him – one perfectly raised eyebrow, eyes scrunched and the corner of his full lips slightly downturn; the image almost manages to crack a smile on you.

Right when you're about to voice your own confusion, he asks. “So what of it?”

The heavy sigh escapes from you before you can stifle it, already feeling the weight of your post-concert depression except you haven't even went yet and the slightest tinge of annoyance for Jimin's tactless question.

“Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not made of money and even if I were to go, the cost of the tickets alone is a lot already but now I have to take into account for travel and a place to stay.” You explain, tapping back into your group chat to also continue this conversation there too. “Also, even trying for a ticket is hard in itself; my friends and I were lucky to score some the last time they were here.”

“Then why not try again? You can always split costs for travel and hotel can't you?”

“They're pretty much tight on money too.”

You hear him scoff lightly, cocking his head to one side still very much not understanding your point. “I thought you were pretty much dedicated to BTS, ready to drop the ball for them the moment they announce anything.”

“Not like I don't want to go! It's just...” You feel your frustrations begin to boil over; frustration for not having your city included in the stops, for having restraints like distance, time, money, and that no matter how much you even (theoretically) try to work out a plausible plan, it still wouldn't work. “There's too many strings I need to pull, and not just on my end, to make this work.”

The words pained you even if you were the one who spoke them. They don't stop the dull yearning in your chest that had settled there, only making it worse, to the point where your friend's joke about 'YOLO-ing' it for this concert is looking more and more enticing as you reply laughing to it. Alas, the logical side wins you over at the end of the day, the need for sustaining yourself in the long run and upholding responsibilities smothering out the more impulsive side of you that flares up at the most unexpected of times.

“It's fine.” You say after a while, more to yourself you think than it is for Jimin who's been observing you quietly from the side. “The trailer said that there were 'more dates to come', so I'm gonna put my faith that they will come.”

“Because in BTS we trust?” The demon snorts and the underlying light-heartedness of his tone in the comment successfully tickles a small smile out of you.

“Yeah,” You laugh lightly, “In BTS we trust.”

He says that, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's not as okay as it seems. Days pass by from the initial announcement of the tour, you go on about your life as if everything is fine, like the dog sitting in the burning house type of way.

Jimin still doesn't quite understand your logic in any of this. He gets you've got other commitments in life (school and work) and also money hesitancy, but...this is BTS we're talking about – the one thing that brings joy to you and for all the times you've proclaimed your undying love for them, you choose to pass up the opportunity to actually see them? Because of, what he thinks, are materialistic reasons? What if this was your only chance for another two-three years? He only thinks this because he's honestly seen people with way worse odds against them and yet the minute they get the chance at something they want, they jump on it, money and responsibilities be damned. Impulsivity, the very core to the folly of humans in the best way he's seen it – caused by giving in to the temptations of their own poison, their own kryptonite and often times, lead to their own demise.

He cocks his head again, lost in thought; you're so confusing because by all means you should've done the same; be blinded by your love in pursuit to chase that temporary high, only to crash and burn afterwards in dealing with the consequences. But here, logic wins over your heart's desire and willingly you suffer under the pretense of blind faith instead.

Ah, he thinks in realization, is this simply you choosing between the lesser of the poisons?

He catches a smile creeping up at the corner of his lips at the possibility. Interesting...

“What are you smiling so dreamily to yourself? Thinking about setting a poor sap on fire?”

The ghost of a smile instantly vanishes at the sound of another presence and Jimin's face quickly takes on a more irritable one.

“Yes, in fact, I actually had you in mind.”

“Oh dear brother, you're going to have to do better than that.” Jungkook sidles up to the older demon, plopping himself down on the edge of the building he's found the guardian on. The night air is still cool, but seeing as there is no wind to be felt it made sitting outside pleasant, even more so with the view of the city lights illuminating from below. But Jimin is not here for the view, never really has been while Jungkook on the other hand, is here to pick apart his mentor and friend's brain. Jimin's blasé response to Jungkook's follow up all the more intrigues the young demon because that's a clear sign that something else was on his mind. Something more important and he's willing to bet money on what that could be. So he waits, bides his time to see if he'll crack. It pays off.

“Humor me,” Jimin's smooth lilt breaks through the silence, the only other sounds were the bustling of cars passing by below, too faint to be a disturbance to the two demons in their own world atop of another. “If one was given the chance to see the one thing that brings them joy, with the prospect of probably never seeing them again, would you still forgo your responsibilities, even if they'll most likely lead to your demise in the long run? Or do you not, instead, live a stable life but suffer for an undetermined amount of time on the what-ifs?”

Jungkook straightens up, the metaphorical throwing him off a bit. To be honest, he wasn't really sure what he was expecting but nevertheless, he's willing to take a whack at it. Who knows, it might lead to some more telling things. Crossing his arms, he answers after giving it some serious thought.

“Depends on what one values.” Jungkook responds vaguely enough. “If desire and satisfaction rules above all else, then indulging in ones joy even at the cost of your demise in the long run is but a small matter.” He pauses, tilting his head much like a puppy, as a thought comes into mind. “What's that expression mortals like to say? Curiousity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back? Makes you think they rather prefer acting on impulse than to go through a slow death of not knowing the possibilities from trying.”

Jimin goes quiet again in contemplation; from Jungkook's answer, even he eludes to the fact that humans would naturally fall into that sort of trap – just like how Eve did with the snake and the apple in the Garden of Eden. But then there's you, who's brain triumphs over your heart even when presented with your figurative apple.

“Why do you ask, brother?” Jungkook speaks up after the silence becomes too unbearable for him. “Last I remember, you're not much of a riddler type.”

He doesn't get an immediate answer and it further prods at the younger demon's curiousity. So his mind starts to race, pulling up information he already knew and piecing them together in hopes of coming up with something coherent. Jimin has always been aware of the weak will of humans, ruefully laments on them in fact, for making his job as a demon very lacklustre so why would it get him all hot and bothered now? Come to think of it, he's hadn't had a thrill since meeting Jungkook and....

The light bulb goes off in the brunette's head and his face does not hide his eureka moment. Jimin is immediately suspicious.

“What's with the stupid look?” He asks, eyes narrowing.

“....this is about Y/N isn't it?”

“Wouldn't you like to know.”

“So it is. I knew it!”

“I didn't even say it is!”

Jungkook makes a knowing hum in the back of his throat, noise rising in pitch with thin lips curling at the edges to give his cheeky grin a very bunny-like quality. It takes everything in Jimin to not smack the younger upside the head but with much effort, he settles with rolling his eyes hard and shaking his head, turning away to gaze out at the city instead.

“Has something come up recently with Y/N?” Jungkook persists however, doe eyes wide and leaning into Jimin's personal space. “Did you two get into a philosophical argument? Clashed on morals?”

Jimin remains determined to ignore him, and Jungkook could feel his eye twitch at his friend's stubbornness. So he decides to switch tactics; do the one thing that'll get on the older demon's nerve in one second flat: make absurd assumptions. Leaning in closer for dramatic effect, Jungkook whispers scandalously, much like a gossiping housewife.

“Has she committed a sin?”

The reaction was instantaneous.

“W-What?! What are you even talking about?! Of course not!” Jimin sputters and it brings indescribable joy to Jungkook to see him so flustered (a very rare sight). He can't help the bark of laughter that has his head tipping back but quickly recovers to placate the older demon so that he doesn't end up ditching him with no answers to his odd behaviour.

“Okay, okay then what? You seem awfully troubled and I could only guess it has something to do with your darling of a charge.”

The glare sent his way could kill, dark eyes flashing dangerously red before they flicker back to their muted brown. Jungkook puts his hands up disarmingly, watching the other demon release a heavy sigh while running a hand through his faded midnight blue locks. Jimin stares unseeingly out at the cityscape for a moment longer before he gives in.

“You know how Y/N loves that boy band of hers', BTS right?”

“Oh yeah, the ones who's faces we borrowed, not to mention her room is a reminder of it in our every waking moment and we don't even sleep. Why?”

The corner of Jimin's lips pulls up without resistance in the way Jungkook answered the question, like he was asked what the colour of the sky was. His big doe eyes stare at Jimin, blinking perplexedly.

“Well,” The older demon starts, rolling his head to one side to deliberately drag it out. He hates having to confide in someone, it goes against a lot of his demonic nature but then again, he's currently working as some mortal's guardian now so he can't exactly say this is a first – but that doesn't mean he still doesn't dread every second of this. With a heave of his shoulders, he spills, “They're doing a world tour right now and one of their stops is in the area.”

Jungkook's eyes grow impossibly in size at the news, mouth dropping open in shock and surprise. “Holy shit! I bet Y/N's freaking losing it right now! Is that what's this is all about? Did you tell her she can't go 'cus she's broke or something?”

“Quite the opposite actually.” Jimin cuts in sharply, deadpan. “She's decided not to go because the stop isn't exactly in the city but a few hours bus or plane ride away and something about not having friends agreeing to go, even after the fact I said I was fully expecting her to go too.”

That makes Jungkook pause, completely taken aback. So much so that it makes him zone out and at any moment, the X-Files theme music will start playing in the distant. Jimin looks on in disbelief, not really sure how to react but definitely knows that he's having a hard time keeping a straight face. Finally, after it seems like Jungkook's returned back into his vessel, he snaps.

“That's ridiculous! How can she not go see them?! This is her life's work! Has she lost her mind?! Are you sure we're even talking about the same person here?” He says it all in one breath, eyes still so piercing that Jimin leans back with a concerned furrow of his brow.

“Don't ask me, ask her because I would like to know too.”

“You're right, I should. There's just no way.” Jungkook nods to himself, abruptly standing with a fierce determination that Jimin had to thank his supernatural reflexes once again to be able to stop the younger demon in time from bursting through your room at five in the morning.

It becomes even more painfully obvious as the first days of the tour comes around the corner. Jungkook probably (read: most likely) made matters worst by doing what he couldn't do the first time he heard the news of you not going out of your way to any of the tour stops; ask why in the seven hells you're not doing it. After having to explain to him about how being a broke college student, knee deep in debt (and climbing), working at a part-time, minimum wage job will probably have you end up on the streets before you can say 'BTS', (and Jimin throwing a warning fireball shot at his head) he drops the topic.

But the salt has been rubbed into your metaphorical wound and you're still feeling the burn, as much as you don't want to admit it. It's not like you haven't been to a BTS concert before, in fact, you had gone the previous year. In hindsight, there are many fans who wouldn't even have the slightest chance ever of seeing them for a number of reasons; you're blessed enough to have them in your country at all. But BTS, oh BTS, when you're in deep, it's deep. You don't think you can put into words how happy they make you feel, how they became something more than just a K-Pop band you follow because they have great music (bonus that they're all ethereally beautiful, inside and out), how much they influence your life in small ways that cause a bigger effect. It may seem ridiculous to other people, but for those who don't understand won't see how they helped you re-connect with old friends you never thought you could be close with again, comfort you in your hard times with their songs and letters, and helped remind you that you're doing great even when it doesn't seem like it.

They're the ones who tell you the things you need to hear the most.

A heavy sigh escapes you before you realize, and it seems to make your whole body sag. You're on your last few weeks of the semester, crunch time and exams are looming over your head and instead of studying, all you can think of is how you're not living your best life right now.

“That's the fifteenth time you've sighed.”

You throw a halfhearted glare behind you where the demon stands, back leaning against the closed door with his arms crossed coolly. You only let out a grunt in response, turning back around to stare vacantly at your laptop screen, trying to force yourself to read through your online textbook chapters and go through Powerpoint slides on God knows what anymore – the subjects are all blurring together at this rate. You've also have given up on colour coding your notes along the way, finding it too troublesome to switch between the different coloured pens and highlighters you have so needless to say, you're on your way to failing your exams.

You don't even pay any mind when you feel Jimin's presence creep up beside you, your desk creaking at the added weight caused by him pressing his hips into it to peer down at you like a house cat wanting attention and is thinking about sitting on your keyboard to get it.

It goes on for a few minutes but after reading the same two sentences again for the fifth time, you let out a loud, ragged breath, dropping the pen you're holding and letting your head fall forward.

“What do you want?” You ask tiredly.

He doesn't reply right away as if giving the answer some thought before he says in a very deadpanned voice, “You look awful.”

You shoot him an unamused side glance that's devoid of any real effort, picking up your pen to twirl it distractedly in between your fingers as you slouch further in your seat, practically wallowing in your misery. “Yeah, well that's what having five different exams to do within two weeks will do to you. Now, be a dear and leave me alone to die.”

You hear a quiet snort but you really do have half the mind to actually ask him to send you to literal Hell if it means that you'll get out of having to write these exams. You're pretty sure that having your limbs pulled and set aflame will be much more painless than this. But alas, as if reading your mind, Jimin saunters away without another word, footsteps quietly receding and you're surprised he listened.....Or he really is leaving you alone to die a slow and painful death. Damn, there goes your chance.

Looking back at your screen has you wanting to bash your head against the desk and though you really want to just call it a day, you need to get this chapter finished. So after a few more mental pep talk, you haul yourself up begrudgingly to start reading through the paragraphs of texts again.

You make it about three pages away from the end when you're pulled out of your tunnel vision by a hand reaching over to place a mug of steaming tea in front of you. It takes you a second to let the image settle into your mind but once you process that Jimin had went and got you a cup of tea in a small gesture to ease your stress, your eyes immediately trail up to who it belonged to, slightly widen at the realization. When you meet his own gaze however, your face begins to warm.

He quirks one perfectly shaped eyebrow at you but otherwise, his face remains passive. It makes you feel silly, with your racing heart and shaking eyes struggling to remain focused on him. In moments like these, you can't hide behind the facade of being annoyed by his teasing, letting you become just a tad bit too vulnerable in front of him. It makes you not know how to act which makes you fumble and make a fool out of yourself. You hated that feeling, so you shy away, dropping your gaze to the mug of tea and hands reaching up to cup the ceramic with a murmured thanks.

You miss the way he stares at you for a moment longer, just taking in your slightly disheveled hair, the way your shoulders slouch, eyes drooping and the mindless doodles that litter on the pages of your notes, having long lost their focus on the subject at hand. He watches as you delicately hold the mug up to your lips, giving a steady blow to cool the liquid inside before taking your first sip. A soft hum of approval escapes you and already Jimin can see the drink easing your tired body and mind. It's only then that he turns away, letting his head roll back towards the ceiling. Jimin lets you have your moment of peace, letting the companionable silence take over. His eyes drift over to your bedside clock and seeing the time reaching into the early morning hours has a small smile tugging at his lips. It seems you two always had a habit of being in each other's company during these times, but perhaps given the nature in how you met, it's only fitting.

Turning his head back to you again, Jimin finds that you've made it halfway through your mug of tea and decides then that it'll be in your best interest to head to bed.

“You should sleep. It's getting late.”

“....But I need to finish this chapter.”

Even as you go to protest, Jimin can hear the drowsiness in your voice as well as the reluctance to continue. He shifts his body to face you, towering over you as you peer up at him with a slight pout to your lips. Honestly he doesn't know why you're so adamant on pushing yourself like this when you're clearly very tired but a part of him does respect you for your tenacity.... Or he should say stubbornness. Either way, he can't have you fainting all because you choose to bypass sleep but furthermore, what kind of demon would he be if he's not tempting you into the more self-indulgent things in life.

You instinctively shrink back from the demon when he leans down slightly, letting one hand rest against the back of your chair. You watch with trepidation as his dark, alluring eyes roam over your face in an almost calculative manner, and the way the light of your desk lamp makes them glimmer as well doesn't help the growing suspicion you have that he's up to no good. As you swallow nervously, you see from the corner of your eyes his free hand reaching up to the tea mug you have clenched in your hand still, prying it away from your crushing hold with relative ease.

“Now, Y/N....” Jimin's voice flows out like velvet honey – rich, smooth and dulcet, like a Siren's song drawing you in, powerless. Vaguely, you had the thought that Jimin was using a bit of his demonic powers to enthrall you into submission but another part of you argued that you're still very much aware of your surroundings, of what he's doing and that perhaps, to your utter astonishment, you're willingly allowing it to happen; maybe going as far to say that you enjoy it.

You register the gentle way he places the mug onto the desk, never once breaking eye contact with you before you feel the ghost of his touch along your shoulder, nudging you so that you swivel towards him. Your body reacts, goosebumps erupting and as you see him lean in just a hair more, your breath catches in your throat. You watch, hyper aware as his pillowy lips part and he whispers huskily.

“Why don't you be a dear, and come to bed....”

God yes, the words were right at the tip of your tongue, mind unable to distinguish between meaning the bed or something else entirely, but you would've embarrassingly said it in the same way as someone who just got asked if they wanted to eat a plate of the creamiest chicken Alfredo....for free.

But Jimin, Park impeccable timing, the Biggest Tease™ Jimin, knows when exactly to leave you high and dry because the next thing you know, you're being hauled upwards and the swooping sensation of your stomach dropping like you're on a roller coaster kicks your muddled brain right back into fight or flight mode, starting with an undignified cross between a yelp and a loud, choked gasp escaping from your lips. You're jostled into his arms, limbs flailing between trying to reorient yourself and slapping a hand over your mouth to prevent you from waking up Jaehee (and possibly your neighbour). Jimin takes it like a champ, stupidly well-coordinated and steady throughout it all (even has the gall to snigger at you) as he nonchalantly turns to deposit you onto your bed.

You bounce with a squeak but immediately shoot upright, grabbing the first pillow you touch to smack him with it, only the weight and momentum don't add up for an effective throw and instead, Jimin gets a light pat that barely puts a wrinkle in his luxurious black, lace-up collar, tunic shirt (probably made of Egyptian cotton). He makes a show of that by dusting off the spot where the pillow had hit, unperturbed.

“What is wrong with you!?” You hiss indignantly, red in the face. “I'm not a sack of potatoes! Don't – !” You cut yourself off to chuck another pillow at him, this time it flies upwards to his face but he catches it midair. Clearly, you're proving yourself not to be the most athletic but at least you stopped the snide comment that was about to leave his mouth. Unfortunately, the sly smile is still on his face when he lowers the pillow, casually fluffing it as if you had voluntarily given it to him and he's graciously accepted to do it out of the kindness of his heart.

“Now, now my darling Y/N, I know it's past your bedtime so there's no need to throw a tantrum.”

“I'm not a child, Jimin.” You snap back, eyes narrowing on him. “I need to finish my exam notes tonight so I can start on making other notes on my other exams.”

“You can do that tomorrow.”

“I literally have three pages left!”

“Exactly.” He says, plopping the pillow back at the head of the bed. “It won't take you that long. Besides, I can't have you sabotaging my way to getting into the good graces of heaven just because you decide to pull a quick one on me.”

That made you raise an eyebrow. “Good graces...? Oh, right.”

You completely forgot about that; the whole point of Jimin being here. Now that it's been brought up, Jimin's good track record, by the looks of it thus far, meant that he was well on his way to getting let off the hook for...whatever heinous crime he committed against heaven. The thought suddenly has your mind spiralling with questions.

“Are you like expecting their letter of approval some time soon or what?” It slips out before you can really think about it. The demon only gives a noncommittal shrug, tossing the first pillow you threw back onto the bed from the floor.

“Who knows – we never know what heaven is up to half the time. Nevertheless, I'd rather not take any risks so,” He redirects the topic back to you and your deplorable sleep schedule seamlessly with a pointed look, “we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

You scoff a laugh at that, crossing your arms,“You just said you weren't going risk your perfect track record and now you're threatening me to sleep?”

“Oh cherub, I didn't say I was going to use physical force to make you sleep you know.” Jimin smiles with a tilt of his head, making his fringes fall lightly over his eyes....that were beginning to glow red; at first dimly before gradually becoming more luminous. An immediate chill washes over you, your initial stubbornness shrinking back down by ten notches and unease takes over.

“I can simply ask and you would listen.”

Before you can ask what he meant by that, you hear another voice whisper in the back of your, lie down.

Soon you feel your own body seize up and against your will, you're lying back on your bed. The only thing you could do is stare up in shock at Jimin who shoots back a smug smirk.

“W-What did you do to me?!” You whisper shout, voice cracking when for the life of you, you find that you can't get yourself to sit back up or move any of your limbs for that matter.

“Your mind is in such a worn and tired state that it's easy for me to take control, bend you to my will you could say.” He replies, matter of fact. Jimin blinks and the eerie glow vanishes along with the numbness of losing control of your body. You immediately do a pat down to ensure that that's the case and once satisfied, you shoot a hard glare his way.

“That's not fair.”

“It is doll; you could have easily stopped it but in your state, I highly doubt that.”

And being the dumbass that you are, you shoot up in retaliation (and maybe even out of pettiness), but is met with the same constricting force that had restrained you earlier. Jimin is unfazed, not a single hair out of place, one hand cupping his cheek with a sickly sweet smile staring down at your struggling form.

“We can do this all night darling; you know I don't sleep.”

A few more minutes of silent fighting with him no where near breaking a sweat and you about to sweat buckets, you let out a frustrated groan, letting go of the strain you've been putting on yourself in attempts to break free of his hold. It's then that he relents, your body automatically becoming loose against the mattress, too tired to even think about trying to lift a finger and it's with a belated scowl of annoyance that you realized you just played yourself.

“Sweet dreams cherub. You'll thank me later.” Jimin says a little too smugly. In a last ditch effort to getting the last laugh, you limply swing your arm at him, hoping to land an indignant smack to his person but as expected, he dances out of the way in time, giggling all the way.

Contrary to what Jimin said, you're not so thankful. Well....Sure, you did get a fairly well rested sleep but in terms of progress with your study notes....

“What are you doing?”

You minimize the window so that your digital textbook could be seen on the screen instead, going back to pretend like you were in the middle of writing down a note.

“Studying.”

“Right....” You hear him drag the word out as he saunters over to obnoxiously lean over you to reach your laptop. “And not, oh I don't know, scrolling through your Twitter feed to read everyone freaking out about tickets going on sale in half an hour?”

Jimin takes the time to click on your hidden window right at that moment to pull up the receipts. You swat his hand away, hitting with a satisfying smack but all he does is squeak a laugh as he pulls away and you're left red-faced in embarrassment anyways. You throw down your pen in order to rest your head in your hands, heaving out a heavy sigh.

“I can't help it....” You nearly whine. “It's stressing me out even when I'm not going to buy one anyways. Like I should be but I'm not and my mind is just screaming at me why?”

“You know what that is?” Jimin singsongs from his place on your bed, reclining back on it as if he owns it. “It's your gut telling you that you should.”

You shoot a glare his way. “If you think you can tempt me this time then no.”

He shrugs, turning his attention back on his phone. “Your loss.”

Minutes tick by and though you valiantly truck through half a chapter more, once the clock struck its half hour mark, you find yourself unconsciously pulling up one of the ticket web page (you know, just out of curiousity). As expected, the site is borderline malfunctioning probably from the rush of people on their server and on top of that, there's this new queue line setup that you have to go through before even getting to the seat selection screen.

You're currently behind 250 other people.

You feel dejected already, knowing that even if you had wanted to get a ticket, the chances of that are slim to none, just as you had predicted.

“Wow....what is that?” Jimin's breath brushes over your ear so closely that you jump at the sudden proximity. You run a hand over your face, trying to calm your racing heart before addressing the demon.

“It looks like a new queuing system to buy tickets, I guess to stop bots or something....”

“Huh, well shit.” He chuffs, “I'd say getting into hell is a lot easier than that, by the looks of it.”

You laugh dryly, watching the little running man on screen run as if his life depended on it but has yet to move even an inch forward (wow, story of your life). “Aren't you a demon? Don't you have some black magic for this kind of stuff, like cheating the system?”

He hums, tilting his head from side to side. “I can...”

You hate yourself for perking up at the idea, wide eyes following Jimin as he moves languidly back over to your bed. He takes his time to flop back and get comfortable, bringing an arm up to cushion behind his head while pulling out his phone before he notices your laser beam eyes. The sight causes his lips to quirk.

“There are some strings I can pull if you want the tickets that badly, but as with most demonic magic, it'll be at the expense of someone else.”

You deflate, brows furrowing at the statement. “Expense? How?”

“Simple – for you to get the tickets, someone else will lose their chance, no matter how good the odds were for them.” Jimin puts plainly, bringing his phone down. “So do you want to? Just say the word.”

He holds up a hand in a way that looks like he's about to snap his fingers, eyes faintly glowing in that reddish hue. You swallow, watching with morbid fascination that literally all it would take is a snap of his fingers and the tides would turn in your favour. You could have something to look forward to once all the stress of exams and a school year is over; the perfect escape to just forget about your worries for a while.

But you tear your eyes away, letting out a sigh that has you slumping your shoulders.

“No, it's fine.”

It wouldn't be fair, you'd rather try with your own chances and not have to live with the guilt of ruining someone else's because you so happen to have a demon to your advantage (you don't think anyone could say that in their lifetime). You know it'll eat you alive.

Jimin raises an eyebrow at you but acquiesces, lowering his hand almost disappointingly. He watches you close the ticket window and then go back to reading your textbook, the only sounds between the two of you is the scratching of your pen on paper as you take notes. After a moment more, Jimin huffs quietly to himself.

“You're no fun....”

You continue to read through your textbooks for the rest of the day, stopping only to eat and take few short breaks (snacking, getting a drink, showering etc). Even when you feel like you're not taking in any information by the time the sun has gone down, you stubbornly write down everything that might be of significance. As for your guardian demon, the last you saw of him was earlier that afternoon when he had offered to get the tickets by shadier means. You figured at some point he had gotten bored and wandered off to probably tempt more unfortunate souls around the city.

By the time you decided you've had enough and should probably head to bed in preparation for your first exam of the week, it was already half past twelve. You can only praise the sun that the class was at least an afternoon one. But in spite of that, you find that you can't fall asleep once your head hits the pillow and you've settled under your covers.

You toss and you turn repeatedly, trying desperately to shut off your racing mind. Of course, you think ruefully with your eyes shut tight but very much still awake, that the one time you try to be a decent human being and go to sleep early, your mind decides to have a crisis – asking unhelpful hypotheticals like 'are you sure you've studied enough?', 'can you answer this particular question right now if you're asked it?', or 'what if you'll never see BTS again for another three or four years? You're probably missing your one and only chance right now', 'hey, remember that one thing you did when you were sixteen? Man you're such a –'

“You know you'd make a very poor actress from the way you're pretending to be asleep.”

“I'm not trying to pretend.” You grumble, finally giving up and letting your eyes fall back open. As per usual, it takes a while before they adjust to start distinguishing shapes in the darkness of your room and from there, you see the unmistakable figure of Jimin by your door. You shoot him one pointed look before going back to stare aimlessly at your ceiling and after a silence passes between you two, you dejectedly admit, “I can't sleep.”

“I can see that.”

“Maybe it's the pre-exam jitters or something, like I feel like I'm gonna blank out as soon as I see the papers.” You find yourself ranting to him, maybe in hopes of trying elevate your worries or lull you enough to finally sleep. Either way, it has you feeling like you're in a psychology session with Jimin as your psychologist – which you should not have someone as a psychologist....or anyone for that matter. You run a hand down your face, refraining from groaning as you catch your mind racing with ridiculous thoughts again when you should SLEEPING.

You feel a dip in the bed and you don't need to look up to know who it is.

“Humans are so easily troubled by their own minds....” You hear him sigh. “I'm sure you'll do fine.”

You huff one back in return,“As if you – ”

“Like I said cherub, you're funny but not dumb. You're just getting in your head again.” Jimin says this as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. You're surprisingly touched by his words despite his blasé tone but you know by now how to read Jimin's sincerity. It warms your cheeks and makes you fidget with the sheets by your hands.

“....You're very bold to assume I won't totally bomb this exam.” You can't help deflecting. You feel him shift as if to shrug his shoulders.

“Well, when all else fails, you can bullshit your way. You're good at that right?”

A puff of air escapes through your nose, the smile threatening to overtake your face. You swat lightly at him, the back of your hand unfortunately meeting the bonier end of his knee. You immediately recoil hissing in pain. He lightly snickers.

“Sleep cherub.”

“I told you I can't.”

“Count sheeps then.”

The suggestion makes you crane your neck to give him a raised eyebrow and a face that clearly asks, ‘are you serious?’ When all you’re met is silence, you’re surprised that he’s actually serious. But you’re also getting desperate at this point, at your ropes end so you think, why not give a tried-and-true trick a go?

So you inhale deeply, then exhale steadily through your mouth, closing your eyes as you try to slow your breathing and picture a meadow with a little picket fence, where fluffy white sheeps are bound to hop over one by one in succession.

One sheep.

You try to let it become your lullaby, hypnotizing you to drift into a dreamless slumber.

Two sheep.

Three sheep....

Four sheep...

For a moment, you think it's working or...or maybe you're trying to fool yourself into thinking it's working and you just look silly. Actually, were you supposed to say ‘little’ before each sheep or...?

You exhale loudly, eyes coming open again. “It didn't work...”

Even Jimin lets out a quiet groan of his own, head thumping back against your wall. You feel him shift again and hear the light smack of his hands coming down on his thighs as he pushes himself off your bed. “Well, that's all I got.”

“W-Wait, I swear you have a spell for this.” You say, propping yourself up on your elbows. “The sleeping one you always do.”

You faintly see him halt in his steps, turning back to you with a hand on his hip. “Yeah, but it's magic induced sleep – it puts you in a deeper slumber than natural sleep and as a human, you're susceptible to becoming dependent on it.”

“Okay... Yeah, I get it, but....I'm asking you this time – just this once. I feel like I'm going to lose my mind at this rate.” You half plead. He goes quiet and you think he'll humour you by giving it some thought before outright turning you down. “I swear this will be the only time, you can even use enough to just make me sleepy....?”

Still, he remains quiet and you think that's your answer enough. So you begin to sink back into your bed, preparing to count sheep into oblivion when you hear him release a sigh, bringing a hand up to run it through his hair. Then, he turns back to you and you can only stare up in question.

“You owe me.” He murmurs under his breath. You blink, mind floundering for an appropriate response but it seems that Jimin didn’t plan on leaving any room for argument as he carries on to say, “Lie back.”

You involuntarily swallow but obey regardless, lying back fully and getting comfortable. In all honesty, you understand where he's coming from, having already experienced the magic induced sleep spell a total of two times but....you really need this, even the groggy after effects can't stop you.

Jimin stoops to take his seat on the empty space beside you again, only this time, he positions himself in a way he can hover over you. The faint glow of his eyes is the only thing that helps you get an idea of just how close he is to you, along with the soft caress of his breath against your lashes and rapidly warming cheeks. You wait with baited breath, nibbling your lower lip out of nerves. It makes him let out a breathy chortle.

“Relax, you're making me nervous.”

You snort unattractively, eyes darting off to the side as you mumble under your breath. “You shouldn't be talking....”

Jimin doesn't say anything in reply, though you know he's probably smiling to himself and it's only when you feel a gentle hand cupping your cheek does your gaze snap back to his, body freezing up instinctively. He patiently waits until you're used to his touch and though it takes while, you eventually feel yourself loosening up, as if his gaze has you spellbound. Jimin senses the way you once tense body relaxes and he takes it as a cue to prepare the spell, eyes glowing a little more vividly as he whispers the magic words.

“Now, sleep.”

The last thing you feel is the feather light touch of Jimin's thumb caressing your cheek as you gladly let the familiar hazy cloud swallow you finally into your much desired dreamless sleep.

341 notes · View notes

gozel · 4 years

Photo

https://datacide-magazine.com/from-subculture-to-hegemony-transversal-strategies-of-the-new-right-in-neofolk-and-martial-industrial/

From Subculture to Hegemony: Transversal Strategies of the New Right in Neofolk and Martial Industrial

11 Comments

Neo-Folk and Martial Industrial are two sub-categories of Industrial Music, which developed in the 1980’s. Industrial as such was a direction that – parallel to Punk Rock – worked with the latest electronics in order to create an aesthetic of futuristic noise machines of the late 20th century and research extreme zones of contemporary society and history. Throbbing Gristle already thematized concentration camps, serial killers, Aleister Crowley etc by using cut-up techniques of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin and thus with strategies of liberation from brain washing. Similarly, Cabaret Voltaire were said to wage a “propaganda war against the propaganda war” (Industrial Culture Handbook). With SPK this was combined with a critique of Psychiatry and a presentation of extremes of the body and death. In the 80’s there were agitational and critical bands such as Test Dept., Nocturnal Emissions and Bourbonese Qualk which were often associated with the ever broadening spectrum of “Industrial”. However, with Laibach the critique of totalitarianism became more ambivalent. This ambivalence was at first seemingly shared by Death In June, the band that in many ways was at the origin of what is now considered Neo-Folk and Martial Industrial.

Death In June has already been the subject of an article in datacide by Stewart Home. Although the band’s name derives from the “night of the long knives” when the SA leadership and other elements in German fascism were liquidated by Hitler and the SS in June 1934, DIJ’s left wing origins as well as their collaboration with a number of musicians not suspected to have far right leanings seemed to suggest to followers of 80’s industrial that their use of fascist imagery had some sort of critical element to it. There was a romantic and fetishistic element to it and and when Tony Wakeford was sacked from the band (supposedly) for his membership in the National Front it seemed to show that indeed they were rejecting politics and their use of fascist themes and imagery was on the level of aesthetic provocation.

In the course of the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s a number of other bands flocked to the use of this strategy creating a small sub-culture heavy with far right symbolisms and content, sometimes more, sometimes less explicit and politically oriented. Although there is no doubt that this scene harbours a lot of entirely “unpolitical” elements, there are definite personal connections to some elements of the organized far right who are trying to use a “metapolitical” strategy of intervention to fight their fascist kulturkampf.

Right wing sub-cultures are still mostly associated with White Power rock, Skinhead and Oi!-music. This has historical reasons. Central in this is the band Skrewdriver around Ian Stuart Donaldson. The first couple of 7”s and the first album came out on the pub/punk rock label Chiswick Records in 1977. Lack of success however made the band dissolve twice until they reformed again in 1982 and released a 12” on Last Resort’s Boot and Braces Records and then a couple of 7”s on the National Front’s White Noise Records. By now they had become the quintessential White Power band and played numerous “Rock Against Communism” festivals, the NF-answer to the much more popular Rock Against Racism festivals at the time. In 1987, Ian Stuart fell out with Patrick Harrington and Derek Holland of the White Noise Club, the National Front’s “musical” arm, and founded his own Blood & Honour network, in which he played a leading role until his death in a car accident in 1993.

Two things have to be stated in our context here: 1. The ludicrous paranoid race hate ramblings present in the lyrics of Skrewdriver and a host of other like-minded bands that joined them just didn’t lead them anywhere in terms of commercial success, which is something Stuart by his own admission wanted to achieve. 2. With that avenue barred, this scene didn’t and doesn’t have problems outing themselves as National Socialists. To present their political ideas they can do without references to obscure authors of the “conservative revolution” or völkish occultists, and are quite happy to chant their primitive slogans undiluted. The same is true with “National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM), the openly neo-nazi section of the Black Metal scene and certain White Power Noise Bands. There seems to be a competition to pronounce the most inhuman, brutal and anti-Semitic messages. Song titles as “Die Juden sind unser Unglück”, “Systematische Judische Vernichtung” (Deathkey), “Sieg Heil Vaterland”, “Europa Erwache!” (Der Stürmer), “The Whitest Power”, “Blood Banner SS”, “Juda Verrecke” (Streicher) are quite common.

With Neo-Folk and other outgrowths of the Industrial scene this is different. A great importance is attached to avoid being easily associated with the brown swamp. Their attitude is intellectual and elitist with adoration for Ernst Jünger and Julius Evola not Hitler and Mussolini. Even with key figures who have undeniably been members of far right political groups (in Britain this is crystallized around the mid-80’s National Front and its “Political Soldier” faction), there is a surprising eagerness to distance themselves from allegations of “fascism”. This has a historical precedent in the French “Nouvelle Droite” (see appendix) who, motivated to get out of the neo-Nazi cul-de-sac, and on their march through the institutions, tried hard to avoid being tagged fascists while serving old wine in new bottles, or old ideology in new phraseology for to the present day.

Troy Southgate, head of the group HERR, seems particularly eager not to be branded a fascist despite his history as a wanderer from one group of the extreme right to the other (such as the National Front, the International Third Position, the English Nationalist Movement, the National Revolutionary Faction etc). Presumably this is a tactical move not to scare away potential recruits to his more recent “National Anarchist Movement”. With a list of his favorite authors including pre-cursors like Bakunin, Proudhon and Nietzsche, “classic” fascist and National-Bolshevik authors such as Julius Evola, the Strasser Brothers, Ernst Jünger, Martin Heidegger, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Ernst Niekisch, Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, Karl Haushofer, and finally more contemporary fascists and esoteric Hitlerists like Francis Parker Yockey, Miguel Serrano and Savitri Devi, one wonders why he pretends to be so allergic to the f-word. While this is not necessarily a homogenous bunch of authors, and most of them are not “Nazis” in the sense of toeing the line of the NSDAP, all of them (minus the 19th century pre-cursers) can reasonably be called fascist in the sense of using “fascism” as an umbrella term for tendencies including the conservative revolution, national bolshevism, the Hitler-Nazis to the various strains of the contemporary New Right.

Armin Mohler, a historian and speaker of the “conservative revolution” said: “Fascism for me, is when disappointed liberals and disappointed socialists come together for something new. Out of this emerges what is called conservative revolution.” He somewhat modifies this point in 1973/74: “Apart from a few extras from the ‘lunatic fringe’, no one was defining themselves as ‘fascist’ anymore.” He then tries to define what “fascist” means. He chooses a procedural method he terms the “physiognomic approach”: “In any case all attempts to understand fascism from its theoretical declarations, or (which is not the same) to reduce it to a theory, are doomed to fail (…) In this area of politics the relationship to the concept (Begriff) is just instrumental, indirect, retrospective. Preceding there is a decision for a gesture, a rhythm, in short: a style. This style can of course express itself in words – fascism is not mute, on the contrary. It loves words – but they are not there to communicate a logical context”, rather, according to Mohler, they lead “most of the time” to “random and arbitrary results”. “To summarize we can say that fascists can obviously easily accept discrepancies in theory, because their communication is happening in a shorter curve, exactly through ‘style’”. (Von Rechts gesehen, 181f.) Mussolini declared in an almost more radical fashion: “Fascism is to the highest degree a relativist movement, because it never made the attempt to clothe its multi-layered and powerful mentality in a defined program. Its success lies rather in the fact that it has followed constantly changing individual inspirations (…) Us fascists have always expressed our complete indifference towards any theory…” Mohler (1920-2003) himself was increasingly openly calling himself a fascist towards the end of his life, while the younger “new right” adepts on the contrary try to utilize an ideological fog machine to obscure their positions.

While Southgate only more recently added a musical “career” to his CV, his former comrade in the NF, Tony Wakeford, has been involved with music longer than his involvement with far right politics. In fact, Wakeford did have roots in the far left scene as a member of the Socialist Workers Party when he was in the band Crisis (see Datacide 7). Douglas Pearce was simultaneously in the International Marxist Group, a competing Trotskyist group. Crisis was dissolved apparently out of disillusionment with the left, and Death In June was founded in 1981.

Shortly afterwards Tony Wakeford joined the National Front. The NF had been the most important party of British neo-fascism in the 1970’s. However, in the early 80’s it already was in a state of decline and internal factional disputes. There was soon a de facto split between the “Official NF” and the “Flag Group”. In control of the “Official NF” was the “Political Soldier” faction around Nick Griffin and Patrick Harrington, and it was with this latter faction that Wakeford was sympathizing. Supposedly Wakeford had to leave the band DIJ for this reason, although this seems strange, given that this was right at the point when the NF took a turn to Strasserism, the so-called “left wing” of National Socialism. Douglas Pearce himself said in 1992 that when “searching for a new political perspective we stumbled across nationalist Bolshevism (…) people like Gregor Strasser and Ernst Röhm, who were later known as the ‘second revolutionaries’”. This is a position that would have been compatible with the “Political Soldiers” from the NF.

The question has to be inserted here: why wasn’t DIJ immediately recognized as a far right band by most people? There are different reasons for this. Their background was explicitly left, texts and imagery seemed to be ambivalent, one wanted to recognize not a glorification but also a critique, and when the band was singing the Horst Wessel Lied, it was seen as a provocation embedded in a historical collage. One could and should have been more critical, but songs like “Death of the West” were serving both “left” and “right”-wing anti-Western resentment. People like John Balance and David Tibet, who seemed unsuspicious, were playing on DIJ records and Douglas Pearce was working for a time in Rough Trade record shop, which was supposed to be politically correct – hadn’t they banned Whitehouse records for the fact the band shared the same address as the fascist League of St. George? And last but not least hadn’t Wakeford been sacked from the band for his involvement with the NF?

After leaving DIJ, Wakeford founded the band Above The Ruins with the bassist Gary Smith of No Remorse, which was an openly neo-nazi band similar to Skrewdriver both in terms of musical style and ideological direction. Above The Ruins released one album and became effectively the first line-up of the new band Sol Invictus, in which Wakeford is still active. Sol Invictus first album was called “Against The Modern World” in homage to Julius Evola, on which Smith still played bass, and was joined by Ian Read and Liz Gray. Wakeford has denied this connection for many years, although there was a re-release of the album in 1996 which was also sold through the Sol Invictus mail order. Above the Ruins featured on a National Front benefit sampler called “No Surrender” alongside the likes of Skrewdriver on the Rock-o-Rama label, who have as recently as 2008 released a track by No Remorse on a 30 years anniversary compilation. Interesting detail: The track “Waiting” had not previously been released on Rock-o-Rama, but was on the “Songs of the Wolf” album. This album, released originally on cassette tape in 1984, then on vinyl in 1986, had already reaped praise in Scorpion magazine from Michael Walker, who is another figure of the British New Right as former NF member.

What is certain is that Wakeford makes some sort of effort at damage control concerning his involvements with the far right. His strategy seems to be to make flimsy disclaimers and otherwise deny everything (see his “Message from Tony” on his website). The legend that he was only briefly involved with far right politics in ca. 1984 doesn’t hold up. His involvement with the NF went back at least two years during which he was a member of DIJ. Wakeford has had many personal involvements with important figures of the far right till at least 1999 when Richard Lawson was best man at his wedding, which also include figures like Patrick Harrington and National Socialist Movement leader Tony Williams. We already encountered Patrick Harrington as one of the organizers of the White Noise Club in the mid 80’s, and he was also a part of the Political Soldier faction of the NF. When this faction split at the end of the decade (leaving the small rump of the NF to the “Flag” group), it produced the International Third Position (Griffin, Holland) and the “Third Way” (Harrington), which is posing as a “think tank” rather than a political group. Harrington remains a confidant of Griffin as the chairman of the fake trade union Solidarity, which is essentially a BNP front. Wakeford was good friends with Harrington and Tony Williams, the future leader of the National Socialist Movement and the person who would issue his NSM membership card to London nail-bomber David Copeland. Wakeford’s other close friend Richard Lawson had a career in the extreme right going back into the 70’s. He was editor of “Britain First” together with Dave McCalden, who became known as a holocaust revisionist, followed the Strasserite split of the short lived National Party. In the 80’s he returned to the “Strasserized” National Front, founded the IONA-Group (Islands of the North Atlantic) and wrote for Scorpion, the magazine of Michael Walker (who was one of the people who safe-housed Italian neo-fascist terrorist Roberto Fiore). In the mid-90’s, Lawson founded the fluxeuropa website and was involved along with Southgate in Alternative Green, the nationalistic spin-off from Green Anarchist. As we can see, Wakeford was surrounded by key figures of the extreme right until the end of the 90’s at least. So it’s not surprising that he spouts on about Europe in true new right fashion in an interview with Jean Louis Vaxelaire, which was published on Lawson’s fluxeuropa site. Wakeford said that Europe was “one of my obsessions”, and slightly distanced himself from 19th century concepts of nationalism by preferring to see “Europe as a collection of regions”, but he then in accordance with the new right decried the “unstoppable” “americanization of European culture.”

Wakeford and Southgate are by no means the only ones involved in the far right. Ian Read, a founding member of Sol Invictus and occasional member of Current 93, who featured on Death In June’s “Brown Book”, founded his own project Fire & Ice in 1990. Known in occult circles for his editorship of Chaos International, his interests are focussed on runes, odinism, nordic mythology, and he thinks of himself as one of the most important occultists of the British Isles. But he too has a history as a far right militant as he acted as security for Michael Walker and Michèle Renouf at events around 1990.

Renouf is one of the leading figures of British holocaust denial and anti-Semites. Amongst other things, she participated in the Teheran holocaust conference, and is one of the most active supporters of David Irving. She also pops up in our context again in 2007 when she spoke at an event of Southgate’s New Right groupuscule, as reported by the anti-Fascist magazine Searchlight. This (and a looming leadership contest) led to disputes within the British National Party, since its culture commissioner, self-declared “philosopher” and “artist” (who made garish oil paintings with titles such as “Adolf and Leni” or “Freud was wrong”) was simultaneously Southgate’s partner in the New Right grouplet. This was at a time when Nick Griffin (former Political Soldier, now BNP chairman and recently elected to the European Parliament) tried to create a more “respectable” image for the party. Of course if leading functionaries rub shoulders with radical anti-Zionists and anti-Semites, who, as Renouf does, believe that “Hamas fights for us all”, then Griffin’s attempt to clear the BNP from charges of anti-Semitism have little credibility.

Back to Neo-Folk: In contrast to “Battlenoise!”, the book titled “Looking For Europe” was received with praise in the scene. The 500 page convolute is stuffed with information on bands and records. It functions a bit like a film documentary cut with snippets of interviews in between the text, and amended with “essays” on the “philosophical” background of the artists. The book title of course is taken from a song by Sol Invictus. All sides of the scene are presented and indeed all kinds of references are mentioned and quoted, but the overall agenda seems to be to discredit the anti-Fascists who are active in monitoring and counter-acting the fascist tendencies in neo-folk. Thus, “Rik” from the fluxeuropa web site comments on whether the Neofolk-scene in England has the reputation of being politically incorrect: “The witch hunters of Political Correctness have their very own and narrow minded political agenda – a kind of ‘social marxism’ – and are not satisfied with anything less than complete compliance with their own values and aims. To justify oneself towards these people would be to play their game, and is ultimately futile. This is why I think we shouldn’t even pose this question.” (p 24) This “Rik” can be none other than Richard Lawson, who we already encountered as NF cadre and IONA founder, but the reader is kept in the dark about these facts. It would be interesting to know if the authors of the book knew this information. If the answer is yes, it would show that they are manipulating the reader on this question; if no, it means they didn’t do their research properly. Either way it illustrates well how the book operates – consciously or not – in its quest to create a whitewashed encyclopedia of Neofolk. Why left wing authors like Martin Büsser or Lars Brinkmann let themselves be instrumentalized remains unclear, but it makes it possible that pretend-equilibrium is created. Most importantly, the involvement of the far right in Neofolk is trivialized and reduced to footnote status.

One other method in this strategy is to present authors such as Ernst Jünger and Julius Evola as heroic mavericks and mystical sages. It is worth briefly looking into their relationships with fascism. Ernst Jünger was active as a publicist and author from the 1920’s onwards on the fringes of the furthest right of the Weimar Republic. He was never a Hitlerite National Socialist, but still he was one of those intellectuals who expected to be the helm of intellectual life after the “German Revolution”. Benn and Heidegger are other examples of this. In 1964, Jünger wrote in his book “Maxima-Minima”: “Revolutions also have a mechanical side”, complaining that the result is that “subaltern” types are coming to the fore. I’m sure he is thinking of the mediocre writers that became national authors of Nazi Germany. Of course Jünger is a stylistic “genius” compared to a Herbert Böhme. It was beneath him to formulate cheap adulations of the “Führer”. Much has been made of Jünger’s supposed refusal to join the Deutsche Akademie der Dichtung when it was purged and then filled with Nazis in the spring of 1933. Fact is that he wasn’t actually invited to join it in May ‘33. One month later, when the NSDAP was already consolidating its power, five more writers were nominated to the Academy. Besides Jakob Schaffner, this also included Jünger. However Jünger got the least number of votes. The poet was insulted and penned a letter of refusal even before the actual invitation arrived. He wrote: “The character of my work lies in its essentially soldierly character, which I do not wish to compromise with academic ties… I ask you therefor to see my refusal as a sacrifice which my participation in the german mobilisation is imposing on myself, in which service I have been active since 1914.” He was obviously offended by the preferential treatment lesser authors were receiving. In any case there is no anti-fascist attitude that can be projected into this statement, and is rather a position that is still consistent with his critique of the Hitlerites from the right.

In his post war writings there is clearly a different tone, and Jünger may well have learned something from the horrors, but it is also possible that a very similar message was encrypted in a different way for a different cultural climate (see the box on “Der Waldgang”). Whatever may be the case, there is definitely no self-critical analysis of his own role in the “german mobilization”. Instead, he often revised his older writings including those versions in his collected works making the texts more compatible for the cultural climate of the post war era. In passing it should be mentioned that Armin Mohler, who was Jünger’s secretary for a while in the early 50’s, turned away from the author exactly for this reason.

Julius Evola was one of the main inspirations for the extreme end of Italian post war fascism. Marginally involved with avant-garde art after WWI, he soon became an ideologist of a radical and anti-Semitic “traditionalism”. That he was not just some random occultist will be clear from the following quote from the preface of the English edition of “Men Among the Ruins”: “… for us as integral advocates of the “Imperium”, for us as aristocratically inclined, for us as unbending enemies of plebeian politics, of any ‘nationalistic’ ideology, of any and all party ranks and all forms of party ‘spirit’, as well as of any more or less disguised form of democracy, “Fascism is not enough”. We should have wanted a more radical, more fearless, a more absolute fascism that would exist in pure strength and unbending spirit against any compromise, inflamed by a real fire for imperial power. We can never be viewed as ‘anti-Fascists’ except to the extent that ‘super-Fascism’ can be equated with ‘antifascism’.” Despite this, various protagonists of the neo-folk scene are allowing themselves to present Evola only as an eccentric mystic in order to trivialize what he is really about: “super-fascism”.

Not everybody sees it like that. For example, the Ukrainian academic and fascism scholar Anton Shekhovtsov wrote the article “Apoliteic music: Neo-Folk, Martial Industrial and ‘Metapolitical’ Fascism”, which appeared in “Patterns of Prejudice” magazine in December 2009. His starting point is that in the post war years the radical right had to switch from openly political forms to what he calls “apoliteic” form. Here, he is particularly referring to Evola, Mohler and Jünger. These conservative revolutionaries find themselves in an interregnum until the time would be ripe again for the “glorious” national re-awakening. The metapolitcal fascism of the New Right manifests itself less in the form of parties than in networks of think tanks, conferences, journals, institutes and publishing houses. Shekhovtsov demonstrates how this strategy is at work in Neo-folk and Martial Industrial with bands such as Folkstorm, Death In June, HERR and others. Of course, record labels and distributors, venues and festivals, fashion and fetishism also add to the cohesion of the scene and operate as transmitters of ideas.

We have seen how certain activists of the scene have roots in the political milieu of British neo-fascism, and that their later activities appear not to be “sins of the youth” but rather a conscious change in strategy. This makes it easier to sell records and exert influence, and also makes is possible that the Antifa can be portrayed as “intolerant” and “totalitarian”. The examples shown in this article are by far not the only ones. From the US, examples such as Michael Moynihan, Boyd Rice or Robert Taylor could be examined and would show deep involvement with far right politics, just as the band Von Thronstahl from Germany would. There are numerous other examples. On the other hand, it doesn’t mean that everybody involved in this scene is automatically to be seen as a far right activist. There are even members with years of involvement who seemed to be unaware of the political components. The right wing Gramscian strategy works best when the recipients of the ideas don’t identify them with the hard right, but with “common sense”. This is a very small scene which tries to ennoble its consumers into being supposedly part of some “elite”.

One of the more prevalent opinions on this topic is: as long as these are just the quirks of some pseudo-eccentrics, we shouldn’t care. However, the danger of lies in a camouflaged and sneaking popularisation of ideas as concepts of the New Right can not be underestimated. Caught in the cul-de-sac of “straight” neo-nazi politics, the individuals involved in the far right and neo-folk switched to “metapolitical”, sub-cultural strategies. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to expose these actual connections, to prompt those in the “grey zone” to distance themselves, and especially to expose the actual arbitrariness and banality of fascist thinking.

5 notes · View notes

ratedbangtann · 5 years

Photo

✧˚₊‧ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 - 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 ✧˚₊‧ 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙚 || 𝙆𝙞𝙢 𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙟𝙤𝙤𝙣

𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝙰𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍...

Pairing: Namjoon x reader

Word count: 4.5k

Warnings: Fluff, fluff and more fluff, with just a touch of angst...

Song: Mistletoe by Justin Bieber ✧˚₊‧

"Remind me why I thought Canada was a good place to spend Christmas together this year please?" Seokjin huffed, shivering as he stood in the snow outside the log cabin the boys had rented for two weeks.

"You specifically said, 'somewhere we haven't been before where there will definitely be snow and people speak English'. Where else would we go?" Yoongi grumbled, trudging through the snow from the car to stand next to Jin.

"They speak French here too," you smiled, arms crossed over your chest to keep you as warm as possible. "I think it's beautiful! In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow at Christmas... A cabin in the woods that we can all decorate together. It's cute!" you were far too cheery for a grumpy Seokjin and well, a regular Yoongi.

You couldn't help it; you'd barely seen the boys for longer than two or three days at a time all year. Their schedule had been crazy, and you were looking forward to two weeks of secluded alone time with your seven best friends. Especially at Christmas...

"It's alright guys, we got the bags. You stand there, looking pretty," Hobi jeered at the three of you while he, Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung and Jimin unloaded the two 4x4s you had rented.

"It's what I'm best at!" Jin pouted. You just shook your head with a smile and turned to go help.

"At least grab some of the food or decorations we got, Jin!" you said, pushing his shoulder until he followed you, Yoongi behind him.

You had bought a ridiculous amount of food and drink to last the fortnight from a department store on your way from the airport, and with eight large bags and suitcases that belonged to each of you, it took longer than expected to get it all into the living area of the cabin. Well, you say it was a cabin... but it looked more like a large chalet made of wood if you were telling the truth. It had to be, to house eight of you.

"Right, who's sleeping where?" asked Taehyung. "There's five rooms to this place; two rooms have two double beds in them, one has a king bed, the other two have a double bed in each. Choose wisely."

"What if we did that thing where we all pick a room that we like one at a time, and whoever ends up together just has to deal with it?" you suggested, feeling playful.

"Sounds good to me," Hobi shrugged, the others mumbling their agreements.

"Okay, let's go have a look around, meet back down here in like ten?" you asked. You all scarpered off to different corners of the house, exploring the rooms to find one you thought you would like.

They were all beautiful, honestly. It was difficult to decide which room you wanted, thinking tactically... if any more than three of you were to pick the king size bed, it'd be a very snug room. If any more than two picked a double bed, that would be just as snug. But at the end of the day, you didn't mind sharing and if needs must, you could just decide to spend one night cramped together before you split off into free rooms.

Downstairs, you all gathered after having a good look around. You had picked a random order based on several games of rock, paper scissors and Jungkook was first to pick. He scuttled off, tip-toeing around upstairs until he picked one of the rooms with just a double bed in, taking a seat perched on the edge of the bed. You received a text to the group chat when he was settled, signalling the next person.

It was Yoongi, who made his way upstairs to pick a room with two doubles in.

"My turn!" you chimed, jogging up the stairs but slowing your pace to keep quiet as you wandered down the hall, choosing the king size room. You had to; the view was beautiful even if you did end up squished between two or three others.

Namjoon chose next, finding himself in the same room as Yoongi. The two of them shared a brief bro-handshake, totally fine with sharing; they'd lived together for years and nothing really phased them anymore.

Jimin chose the other room with the two double beds in, Tae choosing the same. Hoseok wound up in the same room as Namjoon and Yoongi and Jin chose the king size room, with you.

"Y/n!" he grinned, jumping on the bed to sit next to you. "Can we have a slumber party and braid each other's hair?" he asked, fluttering his eyelashes at you ridiculously.

"You're an idiot, Kim Seokjin," you laughed, shoving his shoulder. "But I will happily braid your luscious locks."

All of you dragged your bags up the stairs and unpacked them, satisfied with the sleeping arrangements.

As you and Jin unpacked, the two of you got to chatting.

"So, have you missed us?" Jin asked, wagging his eyebrows at you. Of course, you had, not seeing them for weeks before your trip.

"Nah, enjoyed the peace and quiet to be honest," you joked. He kicked your foot lightly with a pout settling on his face. "Jin, if you ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer," you shrugged with a laugh.

"We missed you, you know. Felt weird not having our best friend with us the whole time. It was nice to have you with us in Europe, though!"

"Oh god, Europe is beautiful. And those shows were intense. All those people... I don't know how you do it all the time." You had flown out to follow them around for the European dates of the Speak Yourself tour, signing yourself off work for a few weeks for a much needed holiday.

"I'd say you get used to it, but you never really do," he mentioned honestly, hanging up some of his shirts in the wardrobe you were going to be sharing.

"I bet," you mumbled, sifting through your case to find your skin care bag. A moment of silence passed as you both focussed on your tasks.

"Joon missed you the most, I'd say," Jin teased. You rolled your eyes at him; it hadn't taken him long to bring that up.

"Shut up, Jinnie," you warned. It really had been a mistake telling him you had a crush on Namjoon. Jungkook had managed to keep it to himself when he'd been observant enough to have seen the way you looked at him when you thought no one could see, but Seokjin teased you at every given moment. Thankfully, he had kept it to himself though.

"I'm just saying! He was always talking about you, wondering how you were and what you were up to. It was quite sweet," he sang. But you didn't believe a word of it; he was just mocking you, having a bit of fun.

Little did you know, Namjoon had actually felt lost without you around.

If you had the courage to be able to tell him how you were feeling, you'd have been dating already; no doubt about it. Namjoon had been completely infatuated with you since the first day he'd met you, when Jungkook had introduced you to the boys as his best friend from back in Busan. He'd never said anything to you, for fear of being rejected and making relations weird between you and him, and the rest of the group. And that's the whole reason you had said nothing to Namjoon too.

So instead, the pair of you suffered in silence, stealing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking and imagining what it would be like to be together since before they had even debuted. You'd been pathetically pining over each other from afar for years.

"Jin, cut it out. C'mon, it's not fair!" you whined.

"It'll happen one day, I know it!" he said, dropping the subject and focussing back on unpacking. Of course, he didn't know it would happen one day; he hoped it would. If only Namjoon would grow a pair and confess to you...

In the room shared by Hoseok, Yoongi and Namjoon, the conversation was startlingly similar.

"So, lover boy; you must be glad to spend some time with y/n, finally? Hmm?" Hobi jeered, obviously directed at Namjoon. Namjoon ignored him, putting his folded clothes into the drawers he'd been designated.

"We could tell you missed her," added Yoongi, seeming to take it a little more seriously than Hobi. They all knew this wasn't some silly crush to Namjoon, but Yoongi almost took pity on the poor guy. Namjoon wasn't one to catch feelings easy and watching his brother fall deeper and deeper for you and feel like he couldn't do anything about it was heart breaking for him. He couldn't imagine how Joon felt...

"Can we drop it? I feel like it's all we talk about when she's around..." he complained. He hated discussing his feelings for you with them; they never really understood it. They tried, but they would always tell him to just go for it, to tell you. But how could he do that and get rejected? After all this time? Things would be so weird after.

"I'm not taking the piss, man. I'm just worried about you. It's a good thing she's here, you seem brighter already. You always do around her," Yoongi said softly.

"True, I think we all notice that," Hobi agreed. "Still think you should tell her. It wouldn't be weird; she'd never let that happen."

"Hoseok, don't..." Namjoon tried to stop him. "I couldn't... After all this time being rejected would just..." he couldn't finish his sentence, cut up already just at the thought of it. "And if it did make things weird, I'd feel bad for Jungkook; they've been friends since they were kids."

"But if she didn't reject you, you could have everything you've wanted for the last seven years, Namjoon..." Yoongi countered. Joon shook his head again, focussing on unpacking.

"I can't, hyung. I just can't."

*****

"Tae, can you pass me the tinsel?" you called to Taehyung who was sifting through the ridiculous amount of decorations you had picked up at the department store. "I wanna hang it over the bannister." Tae threw it to you, landing it in your arms as you clumsily tried to catch it.

The rest of the boys were working on different parts of the living space, hanging lights around the room, baubles on the tree they'd bought, stockings across the fireplace. Namjoon and Jungkook had gone out to the shed that was behind the chalet to get some firewood; nothing would feel cosier than a real fire in a log cabin.

"Ow!" Taehyung cried out, retracting his hand quickly from the bag he was digging through.

"You okay?" Jimin asked, rushing to his side like a worried puppy to his human.

"Yeah, just pricked my finger on the holly branches someone shoved in the bottom."

"Sorry, I wanted to make a wreath out of them..." Jin apologised, heading over to grab the holly carefully and lay it out of the coffee table. Tae carried on looking through all the bags, suckling on his affected finger to ease the pain.

"Hey, who bought mistletoe?" he laughed aloud, pulling a mistletoe branch out of another bag with a red ribbon tied around it.

"Oh, I did! Again, I was gonna put that in the wreath..." Jin added. "Or use it as a bargaining chip..."

Tae's eyes twinkled with playful glee as he turned to face Jimin, mistletoe in hand.

"No... No, don't..." Jimin warned, backing away from Tae slowly who was following step by step, dangling the mistletoe above his head. "Taehyung... I swear, I'll beat your ass..." Tae wiggled his eyebrows, lunging forward suddenly.

Jimin swiftly turned, running out of the way to put the couch between the two of them.

"Come on, Jiminie... It's tradition!" he chimed, wagging the branch about in the air. You couldn't help but laugh from the stairs, watching the ridiculous circus below you.

"Not in a million years, Taehyung," he dashed off again, running through the room with Tae hot on his heels. Everyone turned to watch them run about, laughing at Jimin's attempts to get away from a very determined Taehyung.

The front door flew open, Jungkook stepping in with a full wicker basket of firewood in hand. Jimin didn't have time to avoid him, tumbling into him as the wood went flying across the floor.

"Jimin-ah!" Jungkook yelled, frustrated after filling up the basket in the first place. Taehyung leaned over Jimin, still lying on the floor and planted a sloppy kiss to his cheek, skipping off back to the bags of decorations.

"Sorry! Tae was trying to kiss me..." he stood up, brushing the bits of sawdust from his clothing and helping Jungkook to pick up the discarded firewood. Just then, Namjoon followed in behind with another full basket of firewood.

"Whoa, what happened?" he asked, confused.

"Jimin ran into me," Jungkook grumbled, throwing the wood into the basket with a thud.

"Because Tae was trying to kiss me," Jimin defended. Namjoon's eyes widened.

"Huh?"

"Tae found some mistletoe Jin bought for a wreath. He was playing around," Hobi laughed, taking the basket from Namjoon to set beside the fireplace.

"Riiight..." Namjoon said, helping Jungkook with the final few logs.

"Tae put the mistletoe on the table, just hand us the rest of the lights," Jin instructed. Without a second thought Tae did as he was told, putting the mistletoe down with the holly and taking the bag of lights over to Jin to decorate the windows.

You shook your head, laughing to yourself as you wound the long tinsel through the bannister of the stairs, finishing your work on it and wandering over to help Hobi with the tree.

Namjoon crouched by the fireplace, Yoongi sitting beside him to help start the first of many fires of your stay. They both scrunched up old newspaper sheets, stuffing them into the bottom to get it going.

"So Namjoon... I had an idea," Yoongi started with a low voice.

"Hmm?" Namjoon hummed, not really paying too much attention as he screwed up more paper.

"A way of figuring out how y/n feels about you, without having to tell her..." Namjoon's head snapped up, focussing on you by the tree. You were still blissfully unaware of the conversation behind you, too caught up in decorating and singing cheesy Christmas carols with Hobi to hear anything.

"Hyung, no... I told you already, I can't. And she's right there!" he whispered.

"I know, I know, that's why I'm whispering, idiot. Listen to me," Yoongi shuffled closer, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "Jin bought mistletoe."

"So?" Namjoon asked, completely lost.

"So... You could use that, see if she's into kissing you. If she wants to, she will, but if she doesn't, she can politely decline and you can laugh it off as some stupid festive tradition. Feelings don't have to come into it."

Namjoon thought about if for a moment. No, it was stupid. He couldn't do that... He laughed at himself for even entertaining the idea.

"Yoongi that's dumb, no offense..." he scoffed and turned back to preparing the fire.

"No, no, think about it... You'll finally know. And no one gets hurt, then."

Except me, if it turns out she doesn't want to kiss me... Namjoon thought to himself.

"Yoongi you have to drop this; it's not going to happen..."

"No, we can't. Because frankly Namjoon, I'm sick of seeing you hurting yourself over this. If she declines then yeah, it'll hurt. It'll suck. But that's the closure you need. At least it wouldn't ruin the friendship, she'd never know anything was different. And if she doesn't? Happy days! You get a Christmas kiss and potentially, everything you want!" Yoongi was doing his best to encourage it, to manipulate Joon enough to trying it out just this once.

Namjoon chewed on the inside of his lip, thinking. If you said no, it would suck. But Yoongi was right; you wouldn't know any different and he would get the closure he needed.

His eyes flickered up to you when you asked the room if they all wanted something to drink, announcing you were about to make yourself one.

"Yeah, I'll have a beer," Jimin called to you. "Thanks!"

"Uh... did we get any wine?" Jungkook asked.

"Yeah, plenty. White?" you asked him, knowing his favourite by heart.

"Duh!" he laughed.

"Anyone else?" you asked, spinning to look at each member who hadn't answered. They shook their heads at you. "Suit yourselves," you sang, skipping off through the door to the kitchen.

Yoongi turned back to Namjoon immediately.

"Now's your chance. Go!" he encouraged.

"No wait, Yoongi... I-"

"Stop being a coward and go!" Yoongi pushed him to stand up, forcing him to his feet. Namjoon stumbled a little, thinking things over ridiculously fast in his mind, the cogs in his head working overtime.

Okay. He was going to do it. He was going to try and kiss you with the mistletoe...

He bounded over to the table, picking up a branch and making his way to the kitchen. He poked his head around the door frame to see you rifling through the refrigerator for the beer Jimin had asked for.

"Uh... need a hand?" he asked awkwardly, branch tucked behind his back. You looked over the top of the fridge door at him, arching an eyebrow.

"No, I... I think I can manage," you chuckled. He seemed to be acting weird around you, scratching his head awkwardly. You shook it off, rifling through the shelves of food to reach to the back where the beer was.

Namjoon stepped into the kitchen, hands behind his back still, wondering over to you.

"Uh, y/n... y'know, there's this tradition I've never tried..." he closed his eyes, annoyed at himself for the way he was going about this. He felt ridiculous. This was never going to work.

You didn't look up at him, still rifling through the shelves trying to reach the damn beers.

"Riiight..." you urged him to continue, wondering where he was going with this.

"I don't know if it's weird but, well..." he wasn't sure what to say, instead holding the branch up just above his head. Hearing him pause, you stood up to look at him, seeing exactly what he was doing.

"Uh, Namjoon..." you started to say but he stopped you.

"No, wait... it's weird isn't it? I just... I've never tried the mistletoe thing and I..."

"Namjoon, wait-" you tried to interrupt and stop his babbling but he just continued, nerves forcing word vomit out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, this was dumb and I shouldn't have-"

"NAMJOON!" you almost yelled, snapping him out of it. He shut up, eyes wide and hand dangling in the air ridiculously. "That's... that's not mistletoe..." you pointed at the branch in his hand, suppressing a laugh. In his panic, he'd picked up a holly branch instead...

Namjoon stared at the plant in his hand for a moment, a blush creeping over his cheeks with embarrassment. He dropped his hand to his side, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering a curse word to himself. You clasped your hand to your mouth, stifling a giggle.

"Sorry, I'm such an idiot..." he mumbled, feeling like a complete and utter fool.

"No, it's... quite sweet actually," you laughed, a blush creeping onto your cheeks. "You're adorable Joonie," you reached toward him and pinched his cheek, turning to grab the two glasses of wine you had poured for yourself and Jungkook and the bottle of beer you managed to pull out of the fridge, and walked around him to go back into the living room.

Joon stood there for a moment, cursing to himself, before turning to head back to the fireplace with Yoongi, throwing the branch angrily onto the table. He crouched back down, scrunching up the paper with frustration and throwing it into the fireplace.

"Whoa, okay... what happened?" Yoongi asked.

"Nothing, Yoongi. Absolutely nothing."

*****

The fire crackled as you lay sleepily on the couch, head resting on Jungkook's shoulder with a glass of wine in your hand. The boys and you had been playing standard card games all evening just enjoying each other's company in front of the fireplace. But it was getting late, and Jimin and Taehyung had already decided to head upstairs to bed.

"Right, I'm turning in. Y/n, you coming up?" Jin asked as he stood, wondering if his roomie would be joining him just yet.

"In a bit, comfy here," you smiled, waving to him as he slinked up the stairs.

"I'm going too, the fire is making me sleepy," Yoongi said, standing up to stretch with a large yawn.

"I'll come too, Joon?" Hobi asked, looking toward Namjoon who was sat on the floor, leaning up against the armchair with his arm resting on his knee, beer in hand.

"I'll finish this, and I'll be up," he tilted the bottle towards them.

"Alright, see you in a bit. Goodnight y/n, Kookie..." Hobi ruffled Jungkook's hair as he and Yoongi walked past.

"Aaand I'm gonna go too, up to my own bedroom that I don't have to share with aaaaanyone," he sang, pleased with himself. You sat up straight to let him get up and as he looked back at you, he quite clearly made eyes at Namjoon, then gave you a not-so-subtle wink. Luckily, Namjoon was staring into the fire, still embarrassed to look at you and wishing you would follow Jungkook, so he didn't have to awkwardly bask in his idiocy.

You widened your eyes at Jungkook, wishing that looks could kill because damn if they could, he'd be lying on the floor foaming at the mouth right now. But instead, he left with a smug smirk on his face.

A beat of silence passed by when the footsteps upstairs stopped, an awkward and unsettling feeling lingering in the air. You stood up, collecting the few bottles and glasses that were dotted around to take into the kitchen, leaving Namjoon wallowing in self-pity in front of the fire.

He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. He'd messed up the one time he had any courage to do anything at all; when would he ever feel that confidence again? Probably never.

He sighed, downing the last of his beer and placing he bottle down beside him. He stood up, ready to just give up on today and head up to bed, thinking he'd just discard of the bottle tomorrow when he wasn't trying to hide from you.

He took a few steps towards the stairs before he heard your footsteps behind him, quickly catching up to him.

"Joon, wait..." you called to him. He turned around to look at you stood there, shuffling your feet nervously and smiling adorably at him. You seemed shy, wanting to say something but not sure what words to use to articulate your thoughts.

So instead, you pulled your hand from behind your back, revealing the branch of mistletoe you had picked up on your way back through from the kitchen. You lifted it above your head, waiting...

Your heart pounded in your chest, unrelenting and powerfully throbbing in your ears. But you'd thought about this all night, readying yourself.

You had noticed how disappointed he'd looked as you walked past him in the kitchen earlier. You'd noticed the way he'd been quiet and had turned in on himself ever since. You'd embarrassed him, and you felt terrible for it.

Joon stood a little bewildered in front of you, not really sure what to do with himself. Was this really happening?

"To make up for earlier..." you said sheepishly, "Try out the tradition." Namjoon swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing prominently in his neck. He was terrified as he took a step towards you, followed by another, and another, until he was towering above you inches from your face.

Your hand shook where you held it above your head, mistletoe quivering with terror as Namjoon looked down at you. God, he was unrealistically gorgeous...

From this angle, you could appreciate the tiniest of details about him; the little mole on the side of his neck at eye level with you. The dark outline of his lips that almost looked like make up but just naturally enhanced the thickness of them. The length of his eyelashes that tickled the tops of his cheeks every time he blinked.

The tiniest details were so beautiful up close.

And although you had tried to prepare yourself for it, you never could have anticipated the way his thick lips felt against your own when he leaned down, pressing them to yours ever so gently.

He didn't rush it, slowly taking his time to savour the way you felt against him. He'd waited so long for this; there was no point in being hasty.

At first contact your eyes had fluttered closed immediately, letting the feeling of bliss overwhelm you. His fingertips danced from your shoulder, down the length of your arm to meet your fingers and lace your hands together. His other hand rested sweetly on your waist, just to hold you in place as you wrapped yours around his neck, dropping the mistletoe to the floor.

After just a fleeting moment, he pressed his lips a little more against yours, a touch surer of himself now that you hadn't flinched away from any of his touches.

He dared to part his lips a little, to move against you with such gentility. The way you worked together to create a moment of pure paradise was something you'd only read about in novels, but somehow you made it happen.

When he eventually pulled apart from you, he rested his forehead on yours and looked down into your eyes with a new softness to his own.

"I think I like that tradition," he whispered, his warm breath fanning out across your lips. You nudged your nose against his slightly, smiling to yourself.

"Me too," you simpered, the hand around his neck dropping to his chest. "Well, I uh... I'm gonna head upstairs," you announced quietly. You took a small step back, letting your hand slip from his. "Goodnight, Namjoon," you whispered, turning to take the first few stairs quietly.

Namjoon watched you climb them, still completely under your spell.

"G-goodnight, y/n..." he finally forced himself out of his trance and whisper shouted to you. "Merry Christmas."

You turned to look back at him as you climbed the last few stairs, giving him a sweet smile that showed off the gleeful sparkle in your eye. And then you were gone, disappearing into the dark hallway and leaving Namjoon stood at the bottom of the stairs, so unbelievably glad that Jin had bought that damn mistletoe.

✧˚₊‧𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬‧₊˚✧ - 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦

10 notes · View notes

hyunnielix · 6 years

Text

Bloodline

Ever since the new Rat Marcus joined you decided to make it your mission to befriend him. (This is kinda boring because it's my first imagine about him I apologize)

Pairing: Y/N x Marcus Lopez Arguello

Warnings: Fluff, Angst? Introducing yourself to the softest b o y (Might make this a series idkkk) UNEDITED

Word Count: 1.68k

I know what you need, but it won't be me don't want you in my bloodline

“I know, but he’s alone,” You mumbled to Maria, your eyes pinned on the new student with curly brunette hair who sat on an empty table completing what you assumed was his homework.

“So? you can’t allow yourself to feel bad for every stray that’s let in,” She huffed stating the reality of the situation, crossing her arms on the table she followed your gaze towards him.

“He needs someone to look out for him or he’ll end up dead,” You whispered harshly, you didn’t trust the rest of the group enough to share your opinion with them as you’d surely be reprimanded. Kindness was seen as a form of weakness, a trait which the Soto Vatos were strictly ordered not to possess for a multitude of reasons.

“Chico won’t let you go,” She replied, fixing her red headband as she tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed and a sigh leaving her crimson painted lips.

“Yeah well he doesn’t own me,” You retorted, standing up abruptly which caused the groups attention to flicker toward you. Shrugging it off you mumbled a quick ‘I’ll be back’ to Maria whos expression showed concern for you knowing full well how much of an abusive dick Chico was.

Chico began to stand, making his way towards your prominently shorter figure as almost to intimidate you. Ignoring his presence, you attempted to push past him only resulting in his fingers clasping tightly around your fragile wrist. The callouses on his hand from gun use rubbed against your soft skin uncomfortably.

“Where do you think you're going, muchacha?” He questioned while squinting his eyes and peering down at you with his measly excuses for guards next to him, or rather lap dogs as you’d like to call them.

“I think you know where, now let go of me I’m not your property,” You spat rudely on the floor, your eyes burning with rage as you hated physical touch especially the aggressive type.

“You don’t want to cause a scene, do you?” You leant into him your voice as quiet as a whisper, noticing the unendearing gazes of the rest of the legacies on the both of you.

Releasing his grip on you, the corner of your lips upturned into a bitchy grin before stalking off and towards the rats' table, noticing the boy with his green hair styled into a mohawk had already sat at the opposite side.

Collective gasps could be heard from all around the room ranging from the Preps to the Soto Vatos as you slid onto the bench next to the new student, looking onto his work almost nosily before he instinctively hid it. You caught a glimpse of the shaded figures in his notebook, slightly impressed by his drawing abilities.

“Y/N why are you sitting here?” Billy questioned nervously as his eyes almost bulged out of his head at your bold move that would surely cause damage to your reputation and reputation meant everything in Kings Dominion.

“Is it a crime to sit here? If so, I can leave,” You responded, preparing to leave but a tug on your blazer from the new student signalled your approval. His chocolate brown eyes met yours nudging his head slightly and gesturing for you to sit.

Raising your brows expectantly you awaited him to introduce himself, even though you already knew his name.

“Marcus-,” He began to speak, holding his hand out to shake which you politely declined instead giving him a friendly smile, physical interaction wasn’t your thing.

“Lopez Arguello?” You stated pressing your lips into a thin line as the expression on his face was a mix of surprise and astonishment.

“You’ve got quite a reputation around here,” You stated, noticing the scar that trailed from his eyebrow and onto his cheek taunting you to ask the question of how he attained it.

Everyone in Kings Dominion has been through some fucked up and traumatizing shit, you just wanted to understand what his background was and hopefully, this would help you.

“So, I hear.” He muttered, returning his focus back onto the book in front of him, he seemed unnerved by it which caused some type of confusion to show on your face for a split second.

“Don’t mind Chico,” You replied to Marcus as he made eye contact with the leader of the Soto Vatos, watching Chico tauntingly purse his lips.

“Fuck that bully, He pushed a girl,” Marcus replied, returning his gaze to his book before looking back at you a somewhat unreadable expression plastered on his face.

“Do you know where we are? I’m pretty sure us girls can stand up for ourselves,” You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest as a huff left your lips, you noticed his nervous tick as he kept tapping the pencil he was originally using for drawing on his thigh.

“That’s not what I meant,” He stuttered, beginning to explain but you were quick to cut him off yet again another trait you’d accidentally picked up from your time here.

“They can fight back they just choose not to, like Maria,” You commented, carefully examining his facial expressions as you brought up Maria.

He let out a loud exhale before replying. “What his deal, anyway?”

“Mm, Chico's cartel, numero-uno on campus,” Billy replied to his question as you nodded along making sure the information he was conveying to Marcus was truthful.

“Like the star football kids at a normal school,” You interjected, reaching over the table and stealing a piece of deep-fried chicken off Billy’s place in the process causing him to groan in response.

“Dicks,” Marcus seethed, causing a giggle to leave your lips as he was in fact correct.

“But the top of the legacies as in, not you guys,” You remarked while adjusting your legs underneath the table to make yourself more comfortable and take your mind off the beating you’d probably get from disobeying Chico's order.

“We get it Y/N, we’re losers,” Billy grumbled while finishing off what was left of his food waiting eagerly for you to leave.

“Let's get the groups over and done with,” You addressed, nodding to Billy to signal him for when you needed his help with explaining.

“Preps, Rich kids Mostly CIA, FBI.” Billy pointed to the table that held very clean shaven and proper students that looked like they’d just come out of a real academic academy.

“Fascists,” Marcus stated knowingly, his intelligence astounded you for a homeless kid you expected less from what you’d heard, but rumours never proved anything.

“Exactly.” You grumbled, stealing Billy’s milk cartoon and taking a swig of the flavoured milk which caused him yet again to outcry.

“Get your own!” He exclaimed, pouting in the process as he snatched the milk carton back from you, a scowl leaving his lips as you pulled a face at him before putting your hands up in surrender Marcus let out a small laugh at what was unravelling before him.

“Dixie mob, Confederate cousin-diddlers, White nationalists.” You noted, pointing to the next table further away from them which held Viktor and Brandy two of the most loathed students in the school or at least that’s how you liked to think of them.

“Nazis?” He questioned as almost is he was dumbfounded, running his finger through his curly hair as you nodded in reply.

“The Hessians classified by us as harmless drug dealers, we’re the real thing,” You proudly gloated, referring back to the Soto Vatos before quickly moving on.

“Final World Order out of Watts. Party bummers,” Billy continued on, shaking his drink with disinterest as you had drunken most of the flavoursome milk.

“What about her?” He inquired, his line of vision meeting the Kuroki Syndicate which automatically sent alarm bells ringing through your head as of course, he would’ve taken interest in the leader.

“Oh, Saya? I’m guessing she kissed you?” You questioned, raising your voice so loudly that you made sure she heard, glaring back at her with rage. The feud between the both of you was neverending.

“It’s her assignment tactic does it to everyone, sorry pal,” You attempted to reassure him as he raised his brows for a split second in sarcastic surprise.

‘Yeah, we're at the bottom of the food chain, no affiliation.” Billy cheerily announced embarrassingly, attempting to be light-hearted in the harrowing reality of it all.

“So how did you end up in the Soto Vatos?” Marcus asked while sliding his book out again, uncomfortable with your brutal honesty.

“It’s in my bloodline,” You answered unenthusiastically, resting your face in the palms of your hands.

“Is that so?” He commented in an almost teasing manner as you rolled your eyes, punching him in the arm. You knew he was wondering why a girl like you would trade sitting with the top of the legacies for a pair of rats.

“Are you testing me Lopez?” You questioned, replying to his teasing manner with equal if not more sass. He visibly scrunched his nose up at the use of his middle name.

“I’m not surprised if Chico kills you for this,” Billy commented, causing you to groan as that’s the very thing you were trying to forget.

“Woah what? I thought students couldn't kill each other,” Marcus naively spoke, shock evident in the tone of his voice as you awkwardly smiled.

“Chico doesn’t care about that,” You replied sighing loudly, Marcus’s gaze flickered between the both of you unsure of how to digest the new information.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll look after you, I promise.” You gave him a sly wink as you tapped your fingers against his shoulder, letting them linger a little longer than intended to before removing yourself from the seat as every second of wasted time Chico's glare became harsher on you.

“She’s definitely something,” Billy mumbled, saddened by the lack of food left on his plate after your raid.

“Yeah, she is.” Marcus replied, throwing his head over his shoulder to watch you make your way back to the Soto Vatos, his lips upturned into a small smile.

His curiosity was going to get him killed.

#marcus lopez #marcus lopez x reader #marcus lopez imagine #marcus lopez icons #deadly class #marcus lopez arguello #saya kuroki #deadly class imagine

438 notes · View notes