#maybe working with poc is helping him widen his perspectives and writing

[vulpixhoney]

the stuff with the cops was making me nervous y'all. I like they they, are kind of changing the show to fit the fact that Annabeth and Grover are poc instead of just pretending it would be the exact same as the book. like in the book they were never given any trouble, Annabeth even makes a comment that mortal cops can't touch them and is not concerned at all about Percy being a wanted "criminal". but that's in 2005 from a white man writing about white children. but now Annabeth is a black girl, she's going to have completely different interactions with the police. the "are we under arrest" is like, textbook How to Respond When Being Hassled By the Police. it's very subtle bc it's Disney, but Leah's response felt very real

eta: also, the echidna being a southern white lady, but like the type of southern that calls the cops on her neighbors for being in their own yard or some shit. like, she got the cops to turn on them so easily. even though there's no way they could destroy a room like that, the cop just automatically assumed it was their fault, because some white lady said they did it. and the group is a black girl, a brown boy, and their token white boy, who isn't a great buffer bc at the very least is a ~delinquent~, and at this point in the book has an active warrant

[marveliciousfanfics]

Walk With Me Part 3

This is my entry for @dinnafashsoldat POC Writing Challenge.

Prompts: “You’re not taking me to bed. Ever.” “Who said it had to be the bed?” and “I wasn’t lying when I said I loved you.” Mexican!OC

A/N: I am a Mexican girl so when I saw this writing challenge I had to get on board. It is going to be about a 5-6 mini series. I love Thor. He’s my favorite! Even over Bucky and Steve because he’s just so…perfect and needs to be protected.

**

Tony had also provided a car for us and I was thankful it wasn’t a flashy car. It was just a Toyota Highlander. Thor was still too big for it, but he would have not fit in anything smaller. I drove since I knew my way like the back of my hand. Again I tested Thor on my family’s name and he got it down well. He said we should stop by for something to eat since I hadn’t had a bit all day. I told him that I couldn’t eat when I was nervous, plus my family was probably making food for us already.

In the middle of traffic I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. My stomach was in knots. I was torn about what we were doing. Was Steve right? What I was doing so bad? I mean, I have lied to my parents before, but never like this. At first, it felt like it wasn’t so bad, but what if they actually really liked Thor? I mean there was no chance in the world Thor would want to be in a relationship with me. Sleep with me for a night or two? Maybe. But I don’t think he wanted a relationship.

“What’s on your mind? You’re so tense,” Thor’s voice filled the car. I couldn’t look at him so I stared at the plates of the car in front of us for several seconds. “Hey…” his voice softened.

And I felt my eyes start to sting and my view started to get blurry.

“Hey,” he pushed harder.

I wiped away the tears that fell. “I just…what Steve said…I feel bad now.”

“Well, if you wanna tell them the truth, that’s fine with me. I can still go with you as your friend.”

That didn’t sound so bad. What if I did just come out with the truth? I mean, I’d get a lot of shit from my cousins and my siblings were not going to let it go either. No, I could do this. The focus was not going to be on us. It was my brother’s time to shine. He was getting married and that was a big step for him. He always said he was going to be a bachelor. I made my bed and I had to lie in it.

“No, we can do this. We’ll just…try to be…casual, like, not bring attention to ourselves. I don’t want to upstage my brother. It’s his time and his girl’s.”

“You sure, Dulce?”

“Yes. I’m sure,” I smiled to convince him.

Soon I got off the freeway and it wouldn’t be long before we got to my old home because we were close to the freeway. On our way I did point out the park where we were going to be playing soccer. It was a family tradition to have a game when there was a family gathering.

“I’ve read up on soccer. It sounds like a good way to exercise.”

Soccer was my passion growing up. I wanted to play in the league, but after what happened in New York it gave me a new perspective. First, we weren’t alone. Second, we weren’t prepared. So I wanted to make a difference. I had to. We also passed by my elementary school and those were bittersweet memories.

I wasn’t surprised to see that when I turned on my block there were several cars taking up almost all the spaces. I heard the music halfway down. My heart started to race, but I knew we could do this. Only two days and then it’ll be over. I found a parking space not that far from my house.

“Ready?” Thor asked beside me.

I nodded my head not trusting my voice. I got out of the car and went in front of it to get to the sidewalk. He asked if we got our stuff now. I told him later because it was more important to greet the family first. I turned towards my house and Thor reached for my hand. I pulled back like I had been shocked.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Sweetie, we have to play the part from now on.”

I sighed and shook my hands and bounced a little to relieve some of the stress. “Okay, okay, you’re right. We can hold hands. Sorry, I haven’t had a boyfriend in like years so…I forgot about the etiquette.”

“Dulce,” I loved the way he said my name with his deep voice. I turned my eyes up to him as he placed his hands on my shoulders. “Tell me what’s really wrong.”

“I…just…don’t think people will believe the God of Thunder would ever take a second glance at me,” it blurted out without hesitation. Somehow he compelled me to say the truth. He huffed a bit and frowned.

“Why not? You are a sweet, kind, smart, and sexy woman.”

With each of those compliments I felt my body flush. “I mean…Jane was…gorgeous and super freaking smart. I’m…me. I just…do research—“

“And that takes brains. You are always very diligent and your research has never let us down. I know you double check all your sources and you never take things lightly.”

It was odd to know Thor noticed me before now. Sure, we were friends before, but I always thought he just saw another co-worker. Now it felt like he saw more than that. But he never made a move. He was always friendly. Just friendly.

“Thanks,” I mumbled and looked down. “Okay, we should go.” I held out my hand and he placed his large one on top of mine engulfing it. We intertwined our fingers. I never thought I would be walking down this old street with Thor. I had read up on Norse Mythology—well I guess it wasn’t a myth anymore. 

My home was to my left and it was the pink house with the cactus at the front. There was a rose bush by the porch of the house that I remembered getting pricked many times when cutting the flowers to use as the center piece of our kitchen table. There was a big gate that I hated because I had to use the string to pull on it so it could open. The string was still there. It was so nostalgic to be back.

It had been way too long. I always found some sort of excuse not to come back for the holidays. It was hard for me. Everyone in my family knew that, so coming home with a boyfriend—a celebrity of sorts—was a big deal. The music was playing loudly. I knew they were all in the backyard, but we had to go through the house to get to the back.

I opened the door and immediately I was welcomed by my niece Elizabeth. She was about five years old and the light of my eyes. She tackled me wrapping her little arms around my hips.

“TIA! TIA! TIA!” she chanted. I released Thor’s hand to place my arms around her. I lifted her off the floor.

“Mira que grande estas!” I spoke to her in Spanish telling her how big she got and she did. “Y tan hermosa.” She and I mostly Face Timed and I did visit her at my sister’s place, but could hardly bring myself to visit my parents at their home. 

“Traiste a tu novio?” she asked if I brought my boyfriend. I turned her so she could face Thor.

“What a beautiful princess,” Thor grinned. “You must be Elizabeth.” He took her little hand and placed a peck on top of it.

“I’m no princess,” she giggled and took her hand back.

“Oh yes you are. I know many princesses, so I know when I see one,” he winked. It warmed my heart to hear her giggle. I really loved my niece and nephew. I knew what I was doing wasn’t meaningless. I wasn’t super powered, but what I did helped. It was for them. So they could have a future.

The first room of the house was the living room. We would have to go through the kitchen to get to the backyard. It was a one story home Ranch style so to our left was the hallway with the three bedrooms. One was for my parents and the other two my siblings and I shared for most of our lives.

It just hit me that Thor was going to find out something about me I had never told anyone. Tony probably knew but he never brought it up, which was good for me. But I honestly didn’t tell anyone on the team about myself a lot. I tended to keep to myself. I liked to listen to others and when it came time for me to share, I always changed the subject. It was on purpose.

I placed Elizabeth down. I told her to show me to the others. She grabbed my hand and pulled me across the living room. I had nearly forgotten about the shrine on the way there and I stopped in my tracks. I hadn’t seen his picture in so long. It was his graduation picture where he looked so happy.

My mom had the candles lit each candle had a different saint on it. His valedictorian medal was across the picture and also a rosary. My heart sank at the sight of it. It had been years. Too long and yet it still hurt. Thor placed his hand on my shoulder. Silently understanding what I still couldn’t say out loud. And of course he would understand more than anyone.

“C’mon, Tia!” Elizabeth urged.

I nodded down at her and continued on. The kitchen remained the same. It smelled so good. The sliding door was open and I already saw familiar faces. Cousins, aunts and uncles along with close family friends.

The first who noticed us was my aunt—my mother’s oldest sister Beatriz. She hugged me tightly since it had been years since I saw her. She cried and held me tightly. I hugged her back as well. I had many memories of her babysitting my siblings and I when my mom had to work two jobs. She was like my second mom and guilt washed over me knowing that calls, texts and  FaceTime wasn’t enough.

“Perdoname, Tia,” I asked for forgiveness.

“No te preocupes, mija,” she replied that I didn’t need to worry. It took all of my strength to keep it together. I pulled back and she squeezed my cheeks. Her eyes wondered behind me and they widened. Her face turned a little pink around her cheek area. “Ay, ese es el Thor?”

I looked behind me and he stood a few feet behind me with his hands behind him but with a grin on his face.

I turned back to my aunt. “Yes. Thor, this is my aunt from my mom’s side—Tia Beatriz. Yes, my sister was named after her.”

Thor walked up to my aunt, took her hand and placed a kiss on it. My aunt giggled much like Elizabeth had.

“A pleasure,” he told her.

We got everyone’s attention and suddenly Thor was swarmed by my family members. It was mostly the ladies. I stood back and watched. It was funny to see a tall, burly God get nearly trampled by short Mexican women. He stayed a gentleman and greeted everyone.

“Ya! Basta!” I told them and worked my way through the crowd and shooed them away. I got a hold of Thor’s hand and he squeezed it probably thankful I saved him. I met his eyes and his sparkled with gratefulness. 

“Mija,” my mom’s voice tore my gaze away. It had been a while since I saw her, so I released Thor’s hand to hug my mom. She was my rock. My best friend. So lying to her was killing me. “Que gusto me da verte, mi nina.” She told me how glad she was to see me.

“Mami,” I nearly whimpered. She caressed my hair and told me she loved me. I saw my father walk up. He had grown more gray hairs since the last time I saw him. I pulled back from my mom’s embrace. I went to hug my dad. He was stiff at first. It wasn’t in our culture for men to show their emotions, but it had been a while since I held him so I was pleasantly surprised when he hugged me back. He rubbed my back. “Pa, I’m sorry.”

“No hay nada que perdonar,” he said there was nothing to forgive. This time I broke down and released the sob I had been holding back since my aunt. My dad held me tighter and I heard him break down too. We both missed him. Missed him terribly. 

After a moment we both separated. I wiped away my tears and then I wiped his. He cupped my face with his hands.

“Ahora, quien es este Thor?”

I chuckled and looked back to see Thor with a soft expression. Clearly my crying had shown a side no one had ever seen at the compound. I introduced my dad and Thor. My dad had puffed out his chest and straightened his back. They shook hands. My dad wasn’t that tall either. Sure he was taller than me and my mom, but he was still way shorter than Thor. I suspected my dad squeezed a little harder, but I was sure it didn’t make a difference to Thor.

“Come on over so I can get to know you,” my dad told Thor. “You like beer?”

“Of course!” Thor boomed.

“Tecate? Corona?” my dad asked.

Thor turned to me unsure so I mouthed ‘Corona’.

“Corona?” Thor’s voice wasn’t convincing but my dad grinned.

“I knew you had good taste, eh? After all you are dating my daughter…right?”

“Yes! Absolutely,” Thor nodded and then followed my dad to the other side of the backyard where the men were. In the crowd I saw Bruno. He gave me a sheepish smile and waved. I waved back.

God, I was never this emotional. I needed a shot.

“Puta!” Betty hugged me from the back.

“Perra!” I said to her and laughed. Camila and Junior joined. We got into a group hug. I loved being at the compound and having my friends there, but nothing beat this. I really did love my family. I was just an emotional wreck after what happened to our little brother. The one I had raised. The one whose diapers I had changed. The one who got to go to New York only to come back in a box.