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teamsarawatshusband · 4 years ago

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Word Of Honor - 1st watch insta thoughts - Episode 4

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

In case you haven't read my previous episode summaries, you should know that I now refer to alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy as Baby Xu (because he gave the name Zhou Xu), Wen Ke Xing is Smirky Xing, Ke Xing's female travelling companion is referred to as purple love of my life (because she rocks).

Alright let’s get started with Episode 4:

:O WHAT? Smirky Xing is qi-gong-balling nuts? Is he the red masked nut guy??? WTF? Is that why he said he's terrifying? Is that why he wasn't there at first during the fight in the dusty place? Waaaahhhh

Aww, he stilll wants Baby Xu and himself to be on first name basis. Giving horses as gifts. He's so determined.

Oooh the beggars caught up. And they openly state they're with 5 Lakes and want to bring the kid back to... some guy, I already forgot. Hmmm. The kid is instantly scared and hides behind Baby Xu. Baby Xu looks worried too. Nobody trusts 5 Lakes. Smirky Xing also doesn't trust them.

Wow, that's a lot of beggars.

Oh no, Smirky Xing insulted the talky beggar guy. And now they wanna fight.

Woahooooo, Baby Xu is pissy at Smirky Xing, but he trusts him to take care of the kid while he throws himself into the fight. Nice.

Less than 6 minutes in and we already have a million times more action than in the last episode. Thank you.

I see what smirky Xing meant when he called Baby Xu elegant. He is a VERY elegant fighter.

Offering nuts again, lol. Doesn't he know that the kid never wants to eat?

But jokes aside, the way Xing and the kid don't even go far but stay close enough to watch shows really well that smirky Xing is super confident in Baby Xu's fighting skills...

Oh no, they broke the alcohol jars, Baby Xu is gonna be so pissed.

And Smirky Xing is kind of an ass, teasing Baby Xu about his promise to keep an eye on the kid, while the beggar is chasing the kid around and Baby Xu is doing all the work.

Ahhh, it's cause he wants Baby Xu to admit that he needs him. Hehe, smart. Evil but clever.

:O The beggars got swords in their sticks! Cheaty little fuckers.

Baby Xu is fighting a bazillion beggars at once, no problem while the kid is almost caught.

Oh no, Baby Xu is mouthbleeding. That's never a good sign.

Oooooh, Smirky Xing notices and instantly steps in. No more teasing.

Oh how the turntables. Baby Xu and the kid flee, while Smirky Xing takes on the beggars. Nice. Sharing the workload. Like good husbands. Smirklord ftw!

Oh no, Baby Xu is worried about being a loser. And now he's doing the smelly meditation thing again. Awww :(

Meanwhile Smirky Xing has killed all the beggars, and it's not even shown on camera. Like... he probably did it with a determined look, some nut throwing and a snap of a finger or something. Impressive.

LOL, the purple love of my life comes on screen, looks around and has this, "Aww, dangit, he's on a killing spree again" look on her face. So this happens a lot, I gather.

She's concerned about the cleanup and the aesthetics, lol. My queen.

Whoa, what's that? Two tied up girls on a boat. And a jerk. I don't even know him but I know that much. Character introduction 101.

Oh wait, my purple love stops him. She knows him. He's one of the mountain ghost guys? And she knows him? There's a connection. That probably means that Smirky Xing really is nut guy. :O :O :O

She's striking a deal. And I didn't catch what she asked jerk guy to do in return for keeping him tying up girls a secret. But he leaves to do it.

Wow, Baby Xu knows how to cook. And offers the fish to the kid. And the kid ACTUALLY TAKES it. Impressive. I thought he hates food.

Ah, no, he spit it out. Okay. My worldview has been restored. And Baby Xu is not a good cook after all, lol.

My purple queen shows up and explains how to cook fish, lol. Yeah, they wish they had her cooking skills.

Oh, and baby Xu actually asks about Smirky Xing's whereabouts and looks longingly towards the boat where my queen points to.

Very lovely scenery, with Smirky Xing plaing the flute on the boat, and the two girls (who were previously tied up, I think, I still suck at recognizing faces) are enjoying his company, preparing drinks and listening.

Clearly Smirky Xing is playing just for Baby Xu. And then jumps off the boat with a flute twirl (clearly a Wei Wuxian fan, and who isn't?!) and then fly-jumps over the water to the beach and Baby Xu.

Heh, tempting Baby Xu with alcohol and good food, Smirky Xing is really trying everything.

LOL, you can't sit with the cool kids Smirky Xing.

But he never gives up and recites poetry again. Okay, now some story about historic white cloth. And a sword. Wait, is the "white cloth" the sword? Oh, and Smirky Xing is hinting that Baby Xu's sword is so bendy that it might be the legendary sword.

Always digging for info. Always noticing everything.

Oooh, Baby Xing compares their relationship to the fish he threw away, calls it "raw/unrequited". Nice pun. BUT, the fish wasn't raw, you literally discussed with the kid that is was cooked through, you little liar. I see what's going on there. Unrequited my ass. Smirklord setting sails.

Baby Xu explains that he doesn't know himself and couldn't care less about knowing Smirky Xing.

Smirky Xing is such a sweet talker. This whole "I hurt when you hurt" spiel... blergh.

He called him "My A-Xu" awww, cute. Also super invasive.

Some dark figure is playing headach inducing music. Huh? What is going on?

My purple queen and the kid are affected and Smirky Xing, stops them from running off by placing his hands on their backs. How? What?

Wait, Baby Xu plays the flute as well???

Everybody's a musician.

Oh, it's a music fight. The acoustic waves are hitting each other.

And the girls on the boats are jumping off, because they don't have Smirky Xing's hands holding them back.

Whooooooo, Baby Xu's flute sound lawnmowers the grass and the other musician down. Nice skills.

Oh, it's an assassination skill. The one that the dark figure used. :O A music assassin!!!

LOL, Baby Xu apologizes for getting Smirky Xing's flute dirty. Honey, he 100% won't mind your spit.

Why is the kid puking? He hasn't even eaten anything. Oh, he's lacking martial arts skills to defend against the attack, got it, got it.

Awwww, the one who dislikes you is the one who is really good to you. Of course you would live by that motto Smirky Xing, you lovesick boy.

Okay, the kid wants to learn martial arts now. Wants to be Baby Xu's disciple. And he's kind of agreeing, even though reluctantly, because he... doesn't wanna look good in front of Ke Xing?

Oh a camp of assassins. Pretty girl assassins. One of them is getting a leg massage. Nice. Being an assassin has perks, it seems. Ooh, and she gets touchy with some victim guy.

Did that guy just kill the several-times-stabbed victim by throwing a bone at his head? lol

Oh, the music assassin is one of this group, k, got it.

What? Smirky Ke Xing playing this special meditation song means he has a pure mind? I'm with Baby Xu, I would never have thought so. So, he's not nuts guy? WHAT IS GOING ON?

Dude, he does NOT look like of pure mind while playing that flute at all. It looks very... not pure. This looks like a mating ritual to me.

Wait, is he telling my purple queen to kill the two girls she saved? I'm so confused.

Aww, he LIKES Baby Xu. Not that it's a surprise. But he admitted it. Heh. And, once again, my purple queen gets it.

Aww, Smirky Xing plays for his boy all night long. And Baby Xu finally gets some rest. Nice.

And Smirky Xing finally gets to sit next to his crush after all.

But he doesn't get to hold his hand yet. I see how it is.

LOL, tough women can't resist clingy men, what? Is Smirky Xing ever talking about anybody other than himself and Baby Xu?

Ahaha, Smirky Xing is such a bad liar. But really good at making Baby Xu feel guilty. Yes, yes, you poor man driven off the boat, aching from all the flute playing, riiiight.

LOL, he ends up the coachman. Nice.

Oh no, the grandparents are fighting nice undies tree master guy and the mini Wangjis. Why can't they be friends?

Why are they all after that stupid glazed armor, this is so annoying.

Oh no, now pleated skirt soldier boss guy is joining in as well. Which side is he picking?

Okay he's fighting the grandparents, but is he on friendly terms with undies tree guy? Because I don't think so. But the mini Wangjis knew him and seemed to trust him. So confusing all of this...

Okay and there's another new guy. In green and gold with a tiny mustache. Is he the one they were supposed to bring the kid to? Ah yes, okay. Uncle Zhao.

Wait, the leader of the something something sect is chased. Who was that? Undies tree master? I need a name chart mind map or something. I should make one and add on to it as I go along.

Anyway, end of episode.

Okay this was interesting, what have I learned? Baby Xu can't get rid of Smirky Xing, no matter what. The kid wants to be his disciple. My purple queen is 100% a smirklord shipper. There's a bunch of assassins out there to hurt... I don't know, everybody, possibly. Everybody seems to want the glazed armor. Except for Baby Xu who just wants to be left alone, and Smirky Xing who just wants Baby Xu. I feel like I'm getting the hang of this. Except I STILL don't know how everybody is truly connected. And Smirky Xing might be nuts guy but also maybe not because he's pure, but I mean, who are you kidding?

Goals for future episodes: I should really actually make that character name chart mind map thing.

Also, we have officially reached the moment, where I wanna continue watching, even though I'm tired and have other stuff to do. I bet the point of no return strikes during the next episode. I can feel it coming.

#word of honor #1st watch insta thoughts #word of honor ep 04 #smirklord

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asteriismos · 5 years ago

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attention. - bill denbrough

authors note : this is the first chapter of ‘ballads 1′.

warning(s) : underage drinking, college au, swearing, drug use, no pennywise bc i say so, toxic relationship between the reader and another guy,

words : 2.7 k

based off the song ‘attention’ by joji

bill denbrough always thought of himself as a hopeless romantic.

not just in the blatant lovers romance, but in all aspects of love in his life. love for his friends, love for his distant parents, love for writing. he has a large heart, a heart that leads with a strong pride that not many people are able to have. throughout his life he has always had a sense of longing. when he was younger it was always a longing for the future, to see what really was in store for him as soon as he graduated and moved away from derry, maine.

but now that he grew older and was going to turn twenty one this next year, bill realized that he didn’t just have a longing for the future, but the past as well. he missed his friends, though they were only a phone call away, he missed the sense of nostalgia that he always got in those summers in derry. when him and his friends would swim for hours in the quarry and mess around at mr keene’s pharmacy enough to make the old man want to rip his hair out.

it was not his idea to join a frat. it really wasn’t. honestly it made bill a little bit sick to his stomach at the fact that he did. though upon realizing that he longed for that sense of friendship that he had in derry ( though the losers could never be replaced ), bill thought that maybe it would be a good idea.

he also played a lot of baseball, which landed him in one of the most popular frats at his colleges. a bunch of his teammates also were a part of it and got him to join once and for all. bill was a really good baseball player, he always has been for some unknown reason. and he loved it, almost as he loved studying english for his degree. there was just something about being on that field in the hot sunlight that made bill like he had a sense of place in the world. wearing that jersey made him feel like he was a part of something, a family, and he got the same sense with the brothers in his frat.

the same frat that he was a part of also hosted the best goddamn parties. bill never thought of himself as a party animal, and he really wasn’t that wild, but on special occasions he was. he’d flash that million dollar smile, shine those pretty green eyes, and be the life of the party.

tonight was one of those nights. it was the night of the big win anyways. bill had made the game winning home run, making him the topic of the entire party.

little did bill know, this party that he is the topic of would change his life forever.

you, on the other hand, didn’t know what the hell you were doing at a frat party. it was the least favorited place of yours. and if you had any say in the matter, you would’ve just rather stayed in your dorm to read a book, watch netflix, or do literally anything other than be where you are right now.

you used to be an independent person. coming from a small town, you were always the person who everyone admired for being so out of the social norm. you were outgoing, charismatic, the ideal friend. and still somehow you had really good grades to get you into a good college.

now that you were in that college, however, you changed. no longer were you really the outgoing type, you were still charismatic but limited, and you didn’t have many friends. this was all because of the boy you met in freshman year college calculus, his name was liam. at first, liam was the ideal guy for you. he was everything that you could’ve imagined in a boy. at first he was nice, funny, charming, someone who everyone knew. when he asked you out for the first time your heart soared with excitement for that first date. everything went perfectly planned, and you believed that you had a partner for life.

then somewhere after the first three months, something changed. liam got hotheaded, never hitting you, but lashing out with his words. he would get jealous when you talked to other guys and sometimes even your girl friends. then when you would call him out on it, he would manipulate you into thinking that it was your fault for making him angry, which after a while, you started to believe. you knew that it was a wrong relationship, but to some degree you still really liked liam. when liam was in a good mood, he was a good boyfriend. the only problem was when he was in a bad mood . . . he really wasn’t.

you were never the submissive type until you met liam. a part of you wanted to cut him out of your life forever and try to build yourself up again to where you had been before, but you were too scared of what would happen if you did. liam had connections, he would make your life a living hell if you broke up with him. so you stayed with him, despite you not loving him. liam always reminded you that he loved you, even if it took him a few insults to get there.

dressed in a black tank top and dark blue jeans, you walked into the front door of the frat party on 18th street. at first you were even surprised that liam was allowing you to go to this party with him. he loved baseball and went to all the games, but he never took you to the parties that occurred afterwards because he was too scared of you getting too much attention. though tonight he was in a good mood, only commenting on your choice of outfit. liam said that he didn’t want anyone else to see that much of your skin, but that there wasn’t enough time for you to get out of his car and go back up to your dorm to change.

he said that it would be an exception.

a few other of liam��s friends walked behind you and him, him holding you by the waist, into the crowd of people that had pooled into the large house. a few people you recognized from around the campus and in your various classes, though the only people you really knew were liam and his friends.

and then the strangest thing happened.

liam’s arm went off your waist. which wasn’t the strangest thing, no, the strangest thing was when he walked away from you with his friends. without a word, he walked away. it was so unlike him to leave you alone in a public place, though the more you listened to your surroundings, the more you heard the mention of some coke that someone had gotten. that’s what got his attention.

now here you stood, alone in a crowd. and despite the irony of it, you couldn’t have been more happy.

bill thought that you were the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life.

he was standing on the grand staircase when you walked into his large house. at first he didn’t notice because his mouth was on a red solo cup, taking a long swig of the liquid that would end up being his luck. as he pulled the cup away, his buddy harrison was talking about the game and how he thought that they weren’t going to win until bill made the winning hit. and usually he would accept the praise with open arms but in that moment he could care less about his baseball skills and more about you, who stood alone with a detached look on your face.

it was such a change from the normal girls that went to these parties. usually they would have giddy, almost too happy smiles on their faces to be at probably their third party this week. they threw themselves at the guys in his frat like they had no self worth, and dressed in the most skimpiest outfits that probably would get them kicked out at a restaurant for public nudity. it took bill a few drinks to find these girls attractive. and it wasn’t because they weren’t pretty, most of them were drop dead gorgeous, but it was because they didn’t have a personality outside of being a sorority girl.

you didn’t seem to be that person. and he definitely hasn’t seen you at a party before or he would’ve approached you before.

with a quick excuse, bill made his way down the stairs past the people standing and talking, all the way to where you were standing. your eyes were low so you didn’t see him until he said, “d-do you want a drink?” damn. he wished that he had payed some more attention in speech therapy as a teen because in this moment, he was more than embarrassed that he had a stutter. being the golden boy of the baseball team didn’t seem fitting for a boy with a stutter, yet here he was.

your previous gaze of the solid dark brown mahogany wood was replaced with white high top converse shoes pointing right at you, to which you looked up to be met with green eyes. and for a moment that scared you because for the longest time you’ve stared into liam’s brown eyes forever, trying to find a hint of hope in them, and now that you’re staring into the green eyes of this stranger. . . you see the hope almost like a blinding light.

liam doesn’t like when you drink.

“i'm-” you start, cutting off your words when it starts to feel like cotton is being shoved down your throat. what you were about to say is that you’re taken. and technically you are, but it wasn’t cheating to accept a drink from someone. for all you knew, this stranger is just being nice.

“i'm y/n,” you corrected yourself, giving the boy in front of you a smile.

bill, admittedly, felt like a little kid again with a crush. because the second that you talked to him, his heart started to soar to cloud nine. your voice felt like everything that he was missing in his life and the more he stared at you the more he wanted to get to know you. he wanted to know all your hopes, aspirations, your favorite color . . . everything that you would possibly let him know. and bill knew that it was wrong to think this much about someone who he has only spoken four words to, but as said before, he was a hopeless romantic.

in fact, he was surprised that you were even giving him the light of day, especially since he was staring into your eyes a little bit too long for someone you just met.

if only he knew that you had been seeking some kind of validation like this for almost two years now.

giving that same boyish grin that had been on his face when he first spoke to you, he said, “i’m bill. it’s n-nice to meet y-y . . .” he cursed under your breath too silently for you to hear. “you,” he finally got out, cheeks blazing red with embarrassment.

you only smiled, nodding your head, deciding not to even acknowledge his stutter. which he silently thanked you for.

“bill,” you said, testing how the name felt on your tongue. it felt nice, rolling off like honey. the second that you said it, bill felt like he could live a lifetime of you saying that name. he tried to capture the moment, playing it on repeat over and over in his brain. it sounded so perfect, so pure, it was everything that he wanted.

fuck off bill, you’re falling in love with a stranger, at least get to know her a little bit beforehand.

“s-so do you want that d-d-drink?” he asked again, motioning over to the kitchen where the lines of cups stood, just waiting to be picked up by another eager college student.

and, taking a leap of faith towards bill with the hopeful green eyes, you nodded your head and said, “yes.”

bill watched as you spoke with a smile, sitting next to you and admiring the light in your eyes as you spoke about your hometown. he quickly realized after hearing you talk to him even more, that he could listen to you speak forever and not say one word back. your voice was passionate, speaking with a fire behind it that you realized you haven’t had in a while.

both of you sat on a lawn chairs in the backyard of the house, where not a lot of people were so it was quiet enough to talk without screaming over the music that boomed in the inside.

now that you were without the cloud in your life for almost two hours into this party, you had broken out of your shell a little bit. it was nice. for a few moments you started to feel like yourself again.

and the more you got to know bill, the more you liked him. he was nice, funny, came from a small town just like you, and was super easy to talk to. you were patient while he worked out the words that took him a moment to say with his stutter, which you learned was something that not a lot of people did in his life. he told you about how his own parents got annoyed with it sometimes, and how the frat brothers would start talking over him while he worked out words. it saddened you that you were one of the only people who was patient with him, since bill seemed like someone everyone liked.

“so you’re telling me you’re the reason this whole party is even happening?” you asked him, a small hiccup followed soon after and a giggle.

bill rolled his eyes jokingly. “y-yes. but please it’s n-n-not that big of a d-deal. my friends a-are just over the t-t-tuh-top.”

you shrugged. “i’ve never really been to one of these before, so to me it is a big deal. i’m with the star of the party!”

“stop it,” bill joked. “i’m n-not a star. f-f-far from it.”

you didn't think so.

“whatever you say, billy denbrough,” you teased. maybe you did have a little bit too much to drink after all.

“b-b-but im glad that you’re here,” bill said, giving you a look. his eyes never left your face while it looked at his with such wonder. “it’s n-n-not every day i get t-to talk to pretty g-girls.”

now that threw you through a loop. it’s not every day i get to talk to pretty girls. talk to pretty girls, pretty girls, pretty girls. he thinks that i’m a pretty girl.

you were about to answer, but your phone buzzed, prompting you to take it out of your back pocket and look at the text. it was liam, asking you where the hell you were and that he wants to leave. you looked around the vacinity to see if somehow liam spotted you, but he wasn’t there. thank god, because you couldn’t have imagined if liam saw you talking to bill. he would never let you out of his sight again, he wouldn’t let you out of his grasp . . . suddenly your heart started to race, and you felt the borderline panic attack that washed over your body.

you need to leave before he gets mad, if he isn’t already.

“i have to go . . . it was nice to meet you bill,” you said, giving him a wave and walking towards the house to leave.

bill stood up, about to question your sudden shift in behavior. it happened right after he complimented you and now he believes that he has said the wrong thing. he’s pushed his luck too far. bill felt like an idiot. then again, your whole demeanor had shifted the moment you checked your phone, so maybe he hadn’t been the reason.

standing there dumbfounded, all he could think about is how much he longed to see you again.

#bill denbrough #bill denbrough x reader #bill denbrough imagine #stanley uris #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #mike hanlon #ben hanscom #beverly marsh #it #IT movie #it movie imagine #it movie 2017 #it movie x reader #it movie 2019

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thinkyoureholy · 5 years ago

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Vox Populi [1]

[so I decided to combine the first and second chapter together😬]

Pairing : Park Seonghwa / [fem] Reader

Genre : Angst, Violence, Fluff, Smut, Post Apocalypse/ Dystopia! AU

Words : 4.4k

Previous Chapter. - Next Chapter.

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

-3rd Person P.O.V ; 2135-

Soldiers, hundreds of thousands of them all fought for their lives, for their country. So many were blinded by the vile words spewed out by the crooked presidents or prime ministers that ran their oh so beloved country, while there were some that didn’t believe in this war but had no say in whether they wanted to participate or not. Their country’s laws are set in stone, normal law abiding citizens had no power to argue and were many times forced to follow the laws they don’t agree with. Many signed up willingly for this war, others were drafted, every country involved sending thousands of men and women to die for a war that would lead to nothing in the end.

A woman cried out as she lunged at the man that had shot at her hand, forcing her to let go of the gun she was using. All she had was a knife while he was still fully armed but that didn’t stop her, she was fighting for her life. The man looked at her with wide eyes, her words not registering in his mind, the language she was speaking foreign to him but one thing he could understand was the murder in her eyes. She was out to kill. As shaken as he was at being thrust into this war at such a young age he knew there was only one thing he had to do to survive. It was either kill or be killed, and he wanted to make it back home alive. So with a cry of his own he began to fire just as the woman got within arm’s reach and in the next second she dropped dead at his feet. The man, no, the child, a boy no older than seventeen stood above her, terrified of what he had just done. He looked around, bewildered, not knowing what to do next.

“Get moving, soldier!” A woman that was about the same age as his mother yelled out to him, her uniform the same as his, “Move if you want to live!”

She grabbed a tight hold of his vest, pulling him along with her to get him to move. He stumbled over his own feet but her tight hold refused to let him fall. She grit her teeth as she dragged him along, ignoring the pain that spread across her side, her blood seeping through her clothes. She could have easily left him behind and gone to camp on her own but seeing him standing in the middle of a battlefield, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car she sprung into action before she could stop herself.

“Do you know how to get back to camp?!” She asked, shouting over the sounds of guns firing and people crying out in pain.

He didn’t respond, still shellshocked. She cursed under her breath, knowing he’d be helpless on his own. She thought back to her own family back home, the laughter of her youngest son ringing in her ears. Her eyes welled up with tears, the blood loss already making her light headed. She knew she wasn’t making it back home but if she could save this one boy then that’d be enough for her. So she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and dragged the boy behind her to camp, her wish to go home to her children thrown out the window.

……

“Sir, we’ve lost too many soldiers. We need to bring them home so we can regroup, think of a better strategy.” The general urged the secretary of defense, the president sitting there in silence.

“We’ll just do another draft-”

“I don’t want any more children! The youngest one I just saw was sixteen! We’re sending them out there to die when they haven’t even properly experienced living!” The general shouted, losing his composure.

“Then what is it you suggest we do, general?” The president asked, speaking up for the first time since the meeting started, “Don’t tell me you’re trying to suggest we surrender and back out of this war entirely?”

“Sir, there’s no way we’ll win this war anymore. When it first started yes, we had a big chance of winning but now? We’ll be buried alive.” The general argued, his voice softer but still firm.

“We’re not backing down, General Scott. We’re the most powerful country in the world and if we back down-”

“Sir with all due respect the power we once held means nothing now.” The general cut him off, trying not to lose his composure once again but if they continued to insist he doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to hold back for.

“What if we could turn the tide, general?”

The general furrowed his brows, confused, “How?”

“Secretary, how many missiles can you get ready by this afternoon?” The president asked like he was asking about the daily value menu at his favorite restaurant.

“I can have them all ready within the next hour.”

The president nodded, opening his mouth to speak but the general beat him to it, his voice panicked as he spoke, “You’re not seriously saying you’re going to nuke them. The radiation will kill us all! Is your pride really more important than the millions of lives you’re prepared to kill?!?!”

“If it means we win this war then I’ll do whatever I deem is necessary.” The president spoke without a hint of remorse in his voice.

The general stared at him with wide eyes, mortified. He opened his mouth to continue arguing but he shut it just as quickly. Grinding his teeth he tore off the patch on his arm that displayed his rank. Along with that he took off his hat and threw them down onto the table in front of him.

“I won’t be a part of this any longer. Find yourself a new general, I’m going home.”

The two watched him leave in silence, not bothering to stop him. Without a word the president nodded at the secretary, giving him the go ahead to get the missiles ready. What the general didn’t know is that these missiles weren’t toxic...but the damage they would inflict on not just the overall population but the planet would be catastrophic. It would take centuries for humanity to get back onto their feet and even then it would never be the same as it was before.

-Y/N’s P.O.V : 2650-

I groaned, writhing around on the ground at the pain that bloomed from my back. I looked up at him through narrowed eyes, slapping his hand away as he held it out to help me up. I heard him chuckle softly under his breath. He crouched down in front of me and ruffled my hair and I slapped his hand away again.

“C’mon Y/N, don’t be a sore loser. You’re the one that asked me to train you.” He said, reaching out to grab my arm, helping me sit up.

I shrugged out of his hold, rolling my shoulders back as I tried to alleviate the pain, “You could’ve at least gone easy on me.”

He smirked, placing his hand on my shoulder but this time I didn’t move to shrug his hand off of me, “If I went easy on you then you wouldn’t learn anything.”

“But I’m your daughter!” I whined like a child, a fond smile replacing the smirk on his lips.

“And because you’re my daughter I don’t hold back. Anyone trying to kill you won’t hold back and you need to learn how to defend yourself properly.” He explained, helping me to my feet.

He looked like he wanted to say something else but a voice coming from our right stopped him, “You’re as ruthless as always, Marcus.”

We turned to look for the source of the voice, already knowing who it was. Park Junhyuk accompanied by his son Seonghwa came up to us. Junhyuk had a gentle smile on his face while Seonghwa merely looked around, watching the others in the room spar. I could see the fascination in his eyes, knowing just how much he loved to fight. I find it a bit unfair that he not only was a genius but he could also hold his own in a fight. I chuckled under my breath at seeing the look on his face, drawing his eyes to me. The moment he met my gaze a soft smile tugged at his lips. He sent a quick greeting to my father before making his way over to me.

“Training?”

“More like getting my ass handed to me.” I grumbled as I dusted myself off.

He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest, “It's rare to see you lose in a fight, serious or not.”

I scoffed as I shoved at his shoulder lightly, “Shuddup. I’d like to see you win against my dad in a fight. He isn’t the commander of our guard for nothing.”

Even though I was grumbling there was a bit of pride in my voice. My father was the best fighter, the best hunter, the best shooter, the list goes on and on. It was a mystery to me why he wasn’t the one leading us but when I did ask him that one time curiosity got the better of me he simply told me he wasn’t built for politics. He was more than content training his fellow officers, hunting outside of the walls, and keeping the peace.

“Oi Y/N!”

My head immediately looked for the source of the voice, already knowing who it belonged to. Just the sight of him had me sighing heavily. The moment he reached me he slung his arm over my shoulders, hugging me close to him. I grit my teeth at the gesture, unaware of the annoyed look that crossed Seonghwa’s features for a second before it vanished when I elbowed Nikolai in the gut.

“What do you want, Nikki?” I asked, slightly irritated but not enough to be genuinely angry with him.

Nikolai was a few years older than I was, one of the few ‘Russians’ in Liszto. He grew up a few doors down from us so we had known each other for quite a long time. I didn’t particularly hate him but he always found a way to leave me wanting to wring his neck with my bare hands every time he talked to me. But, as much as he annoyed me I was still fond of him, he was like that older brother I never had.

“Wanna spar? I have some free time and I’m just itching to kick your ass.” He taunted, rubbing his hands together with a shit eating grin on his face.

At his taunt my lips curled upwards as I rolled my shoulders, “Oh ho, you’re on. Get ready to eat your words, Volkov.”

He chuckled as he slipped out of his jacket, throwing it over a nearby chair as he rolled his own shoulders. He began to jump in place, loosening up, the grin never falling off of his face. I rolled my eyes at the giddy look on his face but I was also excited to spar with him. The only one that could get me on my ass within seconds was my father and the only one that stood as an equal with me in terms of skills was Nikki, all our officers were nothing but child’s play to me. Nikki and I had spared a fair amount of times and not once had they ended with either of us being the victor. Just as I was about to get into it I stopped, suddenly remembering that Seonghwa was standing right there and we were in the middle of talking when Nikki interrupted us.

“Ah...Seonghwa I-”

Seonghwa stopped me before I could continue with a shake of his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re done.”

I beamed back at him, my excitement returning. I turned on my heel and got into the makeshift ‘ring’ with Nikki. The moment the other officers saw us standing in the ‘ring’ a chorus of murmurs were heard before they gathered around.

“C’mon, Nikki. I’ll let you throw the first punch since you’re the one who challenged me.” I taunted, fixing the fingerless gloves on my hands.

He let out something that was a mix of a scoff and a laugh, the sound airy but he offered no reply, instead he took a step forward. He brought his hands up and I did the same. Just before it all started I slowly exhaled through my mouth, relaxing. Nikki circled, trying to get around me to get me from behind but I met him step by step, not allowing him to. Nikki threw the first punch, one I easily dodged. He threw another and another and I dodged and blocked every one. If I were anybody else I would think he’s not much of a fighter but I’ve gone up against him enough times to know he was just warming up.

We went on like that for a few minutes, that is until I swung for the first time but not with my arm. I bent down low and swiped at his legs. Nikki quickly jumped back, my leg narrowly missing him. Staying low to the ground I charged at him. As soon as I got close he brought a fist down. I dug my heels into the ground and pulled back, grabbing onto his wrist as I did so. With a smirk I pulled on his arm, swinging a leg at his stomach but I never made contact. He swiftly blocked my kick, his hand grabbing onto my ankle.

“Your kicks are as annoying as ever.” He huffed out, his grip on my ankle tightening slightly but not enough to hurt.

I smirked, my eyes shining brightly, “They’re reserved solely for you.”

And with that I jumped up, kicking at his chest with my other foot. He instantly let go of me, stumbling back as he gasped for breath. I didn’t give him much time to recover as I charged at him. I swung at his legs, successful in kicking them out from under him this time. He groaned as he landed on the ground but he didn’t stay down. With his arm he swiped at my legs. And just like him I landed on the ground. Before I could even recollect myself he was hovering over me. He brought his fist down, intent on landing a punch to my face but I moved out of the way just in time. I grabbed onto his wrist and brought my legs up, squeezing his bicep with my thighs and forced him to the ground. Pushing his shoulders and torso down with my legs I hyperextended his arm, laying flat against the ground. I felt him claw at my legs but I refused to let go. The next thing I knew I was being lifted up from the ground, no longer feeling the hard surface.

“No way…” I murmured under my breath.

Knowing what he was about to do I loosened my grip, trying to get away but I wasn’t quick enough. Within the next second he had slammed me back down onto the ground, the air leaving my lungs. My grip all but disappeared as I clawed at my chest, gasping for air. I withered on the floor, mistakenly rolling into my stomach. I realized my mistake when I felt him on me, his arm wrapping around my throat from behind, putting me in a chokehold. I had already been struggling to breath with being slammed into the ground but now it was impossible to get any air with the chokehold he had me in. I clawed at his arms but that only had him tighten his hold, a breathy chuckle falling from his lips.

“I think this’ll be my win, doll.” He teased in a strained voice.

I clicked my tongue, continuing to claw at his arm but it was no use. I wasn’t going to get out of this easily. Just as I was about to lose consciousness I saw some shuffling from my right. I looked over to see Seonghwa had taken a few steps towards us but stopped the moment my eyes met his. I gave him a glare, silently warning him to stay back. He hesitated but didn’t move to take another step. I could tell he was worried but Nikki and I had never given each other injuries that couldn’t be taken care of with a bag of ice and some rest. Gritting my teeth I dug my nails into Nikki’s arm, bringing my head forward and snapped it back. Nikki cursed loudly, his hold on me disappearing. I brought my arms up and propped myself up, pushing him off of me. I turned around to land the finishing blow and he went to do the same. We froze at that exact moment, my fist inches from his face and his inches from my ribs. Seconds passed before we each broke into a smile.

“Ah...I think you broke my nose with that headbutt.” Nikki groaned out with a chuckle, wiping the blood that had flowed out of his nose.

I rolled my eyes and scooted over to him, grabbing his face in my hands. I moved his head from side to side, inspecting his nose to see it was in fact crooked. I frowned, feeling guilty that I actually broke it. I moved my thumbs to the sides of his nose, mumbling an apology under my breath before snapping the cartilage back into place.

“I thought we’re not supposed to break anything…” He whined, pulling my hands away from his face.

“I’m sorry.” I said under my breath but flicked his forehead lightly, “You’re the one who put me in a choke hold! What was I supposed to do?”

“Tap out!” He cried out dramatically with a pout, gingerly touching his nose, “You’re ruining my good looks.”

“Oh please, you're pretty enough that a crooked nose won’t do anything damage to your dating life.” I scoffed without giving it much thought, missing the way a small blush bloomed on his cheeks as I got up.

I held out a hand to help him up. The instant he was on his feet he ruffled my hair like he used to when we were younger and like then I shoved his hand away, punching at his arm lightly. While this was going on I was unaware of the look Seonghwa had on his face as he watched this all go down. In fact I was so busy screwing around with Nikki I didn’t even notice Seonghwa had left in the middle of it.

“That was some nice fighting skills.” Junhyuk said, walking over to Nikki and I with my father in tow.

My father had a proud smile on his face, placing a hand on Nikki’s and I’s shoulders, “They’re the best fighters I have at my disposal, though this one needs a little more work,” My father said, shaking me lightly.

“Oh c’mon, not even Nikki can beat you.”

“No but he doesn’t give up like you do when I knock you down.” He shot back, Nikki giving me a smug grin.

I scoffed with a roll of my eyes, “There’s no point in me wasting my energy when I know what the outcome will be.”

“I see you’re not getting the message your old man is trying to drill into your brain.” Nikki said, digging a knuckle into the side of my head.

I glared at him as I shoved his hand away from me, Junhyuk’s laugh drawing my eyes to him. Looking at him like this reminded me how much he and Seonghwa looked alike. Speaking of Seonghwa I looked around only to find that he was nowhere in sight. I furrowed my brows, frowning.

“Alright, get going to the mess hall you two. I have a few more things to discuss with Junhyuk. Get Adonis a plate.” My father said, directing that last part to me.

Nikki saluted my father in a bit of a mocking way before slinging his arm over my shoulders and walking the both of us out. I didn’t shove him off of me this time, thinking back to where Seonghwa could’ve gone. I tried to rack my brain to figure out when exactly he left but I kept coming up empty. I was so lost in thought I didn’t hear Nikki calling out to me until he pulled on my ear, snapping me out of my stupor. I cursed and swatted his hand away, elbowing him in the gut.

“What the hell?!”

“What are you spacing out for?” He asked, rubbing at his side, “You’re gonna burn out your brain if you keep thinking so hard.”

I didn’t even have the energy to bicker with him as my mind made its way back to Seonghwa. Maybe he left after trying to step in. Was he angry that I started to fight while in the middle of a conversation with him? He seemed fine at first, he even said he’d be there when I was done. Maybe he had something urgent came up. Whatever it was I’ll just have to wait to ask him all this when I saw him again.

-Nikolai’s P.O.V-

I glanced at her from time to time as we walked, noticing that she still had that far away look in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking, she was always thinking about him. Ever since we were teenagers he’s all that occupied her mind in her free time, I hated it. I sighed heavily, knowing there was nothing I could do to get her mind off of him, it’s like she tuned out the whole world any time he was involved.

I glanced at her once more, frowning at the dirt that had smudged across her cheek. Without thinking I reached over and gingerly wiped the dirt away, the simple action finally drawing her out of her thoughts. She pulled away from my fingers, her hand grabbing onto my wrist to stop me.

“What are you doing?” She asked, clearly confused over the action.

Her words seemed to snap me out of it, realizing what I had just done. My eyes went wide for a moment, a blush coating my cheeks as I pulled my hand out of her grasp. I took a step away from her, the arm I had slung over her shoulders now falling back to my side. I opened my mouth to offer her an explanation but no words came out. She waited patiently for an answer but since I didn’t give her one she let a soft smile tug at her lips, her fingers touching the side of her face that had been smudged with dirt. She pulled back to inspect her dirty fingers, chuckling softly.

“You dote on me too much.” She said under her breath, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I scoffed as a reflex, combing my fingers through my hair as I tried to answer as nonchalantly as I could, “Well, duh. Who else is supposed to do it if not me?”

She rolled her eyes, hugging her arms to her body as a gust of wind blew past, “Careful, the ones basically throwing themselves at your feet on a daily basis will eat me alive if they hear you talking like that.”

I relaxed at her words, a little hurt by them. Sure I caught the attention of some people in this city but the one I wanted to notice me wouldn’t even so much as look my way...well at least not the way I want her to. I inhaled sharply before exhaling slowly, slipping out of my jacket and draping it across her shoulders to warm her up.

“If they have a problem with you then I’ll deal with them,” I mumbled as I began to walk towards the mess hall again.

I hadn’t even taken more than two steps when I saw him standing outside of the hall, his hands shoved into his pocket as he looked over at us. Y/N hadn’t noticed him yet, going to start walking when I reached out and stopped her, turning her around so she had her back to him. She gave me another puzzled look, about to ask why I stopped her when I suddenly pulled her into me, hugging her tightly to my chest.

“Nikki!? What are you doing now?” She asked, her voice muffled by my shoulder.

As I hugged her tightly to me I glared over at Seonghwa, his eyes glaring back. Even from where I was standing I could see his jaw clench, his hands now out of his pockets and balled into fists at his sides. I smirked at seeing the reaction I wanted.

Y/N had pulled away slightly, looking up at me with worry filled eyes, “What’s gotten into you? Are you alright?”

I let a fond look cross my features as I pulled her into the hug again, “Nothing, I’m fine. I’m just feeling sentimental all of a sudden and I wanted a hug.”

I felt her sigh heavily, relaxing in my hold as she wrapped her own arms around my waist, “It’s been awhile since you’ve needed a hug. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me, savoring the hug as I gave Seonghwa a sly grin. I only kept her in my arms for another few seconds before finally pulled away, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Okay, hug over, I’m good now.” I said, returning to my old self.

She laughed, shaking her head at my behavior. She still had yet to notice Seonghwa so I went on ahead, the look on my face a stern one. Seonghwa just stared at me without saying a word, his arms crossed over his chest. Just as I reached him he spoke.

“Watch yourself, Volkov.” He spat through clenched teeth.

“I should be saying that to you, Park. You and I both know who’d win if we ever fought.” I said in a low tone, giving him a once over from head to toe, a teasing smirk on my face, “ байстрюк.”

I spat that last word out with as much hatred as I could, bumping my shoulder harshly against his as I passed by.

[байстрюк = bastard]

[a/n : I’ll be trying to insert as many languages as I can into this but I’m only fluent in two and can barely pass with this new third one I just recently learned. I will be using google translate for the rest so if its wrong please don’t hesitate to correct me]

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et-lesailes · 6 years ago

Text

safe place

pairing: chris evans x reader

word count: 3500 waow

summary: while clubbing in boston, you happen to see your favorite actor, none other than chris evans himself. unfortunately, his anxiety seems to be acting up again, and you can tell. you have a plan to help him out, and even though you know fully well you could embarrass yourself, you’ve gotta try it for him.

themes: this is just pretty chill n fluffy, highlights struggles with anxiety as well!

taglist: @viarogers , @evanstush , @chibi-crazy , @chalamet-evans , @world-of-losers , @songforhema, @sebabestianstan101 , @tanyam93 , @bval-1, @wonderwinchester , @little-miss-exo, @poerebel , @pining-and-tired , @gogomez-509 , @patzammit, @a-distantdreamer, @malthestorytellerblog, @rainbowkisses31, @jbug491writinghelp, @quaiderade

note: yeah kinda had sudden muse for this out of nowhere hence the longer word count, and i really luv discussing mental health so i thought it could be kind of interesting to talk about anxiety in this one. tbh i feel like it’s a lot of rambling so i apologize in advance! hope you all like it though!

It had been a while since you had been out with your girlfriends, but now that everyone was back home in Boston for at least some of the summer, it was a good chance to catch up with the friends you had made back in high school and reminisce on all of the good times. You had remained in Boston for work along with a couple of others, but everyone else had moved to all different parts of the country-- it seemed like a miracle in itself that everyone was able to make it back at the same time, but you had also all planned for this. To take the same week off from work, summer classes, whatever it was everyone was doing-- all to go back home and reconvene as one big group.

It was Friday night, and you were ready to hit the clubs. You inspected yourself in the mirror of your apartment where everyone had decided to gather to get ready, smiling satisfied at what you saw. A typical LBD was perfect for a night like this-- yes, it was cliche, but you didn’t care. You looked good. It was just the right amount of revealing, showcasing cleavage and legs that managed to look slightly lengthier thanks to the shoes you had picked for the night, and you had actually decided to do your hair for once. “Whew! You look sexy!” your friend Delia complimented, and you shot her a little grin. “Thanks, Del. So do you, red is really your color.”

After taking at least a couple more shots, you were all ready to go. Piling into an UberXL, you made your way deeper into the city where the best nightlife was, reveling in just the perfect amount of buzz and feeling ready for anything. You had been planning on dancing with a few guys tonight, maybe getting a little action in, but nothing serious. You definitely had not been expecting on meeting him.

_____________

As a group of young women, it was rather easy to get access to VIP. Besides, a majority of you had been brought up in Boston; by now, you knew people, had connections. You were currently lounging on a plush leather couch with a fifteen dollar drink in your hand, deciding to worry about the consequences the next day. Most of your friends were off dancing with other people they had befriended in the club, so it was just you and a couple others chilling, drinking, and talking-- and then you suddenly felt a rough nudge to your arm. “Ouch. Gabby, what the hell?” You wrinkled your nose though you were mostly exaggerating, looking to her with more amusement than anything. “What?” However, you were far more intrigued upon seeing the shock upon her face as she was staring at something a little further away. You followed her gaze, only seeing a crowd of people and iPhone camera flashes in the next couch area a few feet away. “What?” you repeated yourself, craning your neck trying to see what the big deal was. You could see a Red Sox cap sticking out from the center, but that was not anything interesting considering you were literally 3 miles away from Fenway.

And then the figure with the cap moved slightly, and you almost spit out your drink.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Gabby seemed to have found her voice again, her eyes widening. “That’s Chris fuckin’ Evans. Oh my God, should we go say hi?” You still had your eyes on him, unable to help it-- God, he was even more gorgeous in person. You were about to agree instantly, the awe practically taking over your inebriated mind. Of course you wanted to say hi. You had loved Marvel for years now, and Captain America was your favorite Avenger. Not only that, but you had taken a liking to Chris’ acting because of his Marvel movies, which had encouraged you to watch several others. Living in Boston, it had always been a hope of yours that you would somehow run into him, but you never imagined it would actually happen. And now here he was, standing about five feet away from you-- sure, he was surrounded by girls, but you and Gabby could totally squeeze through.

But then you stopped to actually look at him. Not in the fangirling, celebrity idolizing way, but just to actually look at him. You could see on his face that he looked a little tired. Like his smile was forced. It did not seem disrespectful to you, but more so that he was… overwhelmed. He was still taking pictures with every single girl around him, even making effort in having conversation, but you caught every single sign. The frequent looking around, eyes not focused on one thing or one person. How he’d take off his hat and run his hand through his hair, but practically every ten seconds. The slight inward tug of his bottom lip, and while he made it look sexy, it was obvious he was not doing it to be seductive. You had listened to interviews of Chris speaking of his anxiety, and considering you had faced it before and had friends who did as well, it was hard not to see the signs. Now, if anything, you were getting a little pissed at these clubbers surrounding him, even though you were almost quite literally going to be one yourself.

“He seems a little on edge right now,” you noted, frowning slightly. “Maybe we should wait a bit, yeah? It’s not like VIP’s that crowded anyways, so hopefully once those girls leave him alone we can have a chance to just say hi or something.” Gabby sighed loudly but nodded her head. “Okay, okay, fine. But I’m gonna head downstairs to tell the girls. You stay here and keep an eye on him!”

“Wait--” you started to say, not wanting her to spread the news, but she was already leaving in a tipsy fit of giggles and excitement. You sighed and looked back towards him. He seemed even worse than before, and it had only been five seconds.

And then an idea came to you, and you nibbled on your lower lip wondering if you could really be that drunk or if this was just actually a brilliant plan. No. No, no. It was crazy. Absolutely insane, really, and you would look like a total idiot if it didn’t work. Which it most likely wouldn’t.

And so you downed the rest of your drink, barely fazed by the bitter taste of alcohol at this point as you stood up, taking a deep breath. Walking right over, you called out as loudly and confidently as possible over the music. “Chris? Chris! Chris, is that you? Oh my God, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you last! I can’t believe you’re back in town, this is great!”

Everyone immediately turned around to look at you, and you prayed that your cheeks weren’t burning. God, what had you done? How drunk could you be? Part of you wanted to simply turn around and run away, it wasn’t like you’d ever see him again. But you watched his reaction, hoping your own expression was visible enough to him to show that you were very clearly hinting at him to go along with it. At least, if anything, this pressure was helping in somewhat distracting you from how damn handsome he looked up close. How was it possible that the camera didn’t do him justice when he looked so hot in all of his photos?

Yeah, maybe you still were a little caught up in how handsome he was.

He seemed a little confused for a second, but suddenly, the corner of his lips tugged upwards. Your heart raced faster. Was he about to laugh at you, humiliate you in front of his fangirls? Or was your plan working? “Holy shit,” he stated, lightly pushing himself through the small crowd to step closer to you. “I didn’t know you were still in town, that’s crazy! Fuck, how long has it been? A year? Two? I’m so happy to see you!” You could not believe it; there were at least a million thoughts running through your mind right now. He actually went along with it. He’s standing right in front of me now. He’s smiling at me, having a direct conversation with me. And he swore, oh God, he sounds so hot swearing…

You snapped yourself back to reality. This was not about meeting your idol at the moment, this was about helping someone with what could turn into a straight up panic attack if this kept on any longer. You smiled back at him brightly before looking around at everyone, clearing your throat. He might have had to be polite because he had an image to protect, but you did not. “Excuse me, can you please leave us alone? Chris is one of my friends and I’d like to be able to catch up with him. And I’m pretty sure half of you aren’t even supposed to be up here…” you commented with a raised eyebrow, eyes glancing towards the lack of VIP wristbands on their arms. There was a lot of scoffing, huffing, and bitchy glares, but they eventually turned away, all furiously typing away on their phones most likely posting photos on every social media site possible.

You exhaled just as he did, looking up at him and clearing your throat. “I can, uh, leave you alone if you want. I swear I didn’t just do this to be able to talk to you too, I just noticed you looked a little… stressed.” You paused before quickly adding, “Not that I don’t want to talk to you. I mean, fuck, I love your shit, you know? I think you’re a great actor. But you shouldn’t be swarmed by fans or anything. So, yeah, I can leave.” After that word vomit, you decided the only proper way to do said leaving was flinging yourself off the balcony. But instead, he just smiled wider as he looked down at you, shaking his head. “No, no. Of course not. I really appreciate what you did for me back there, trust me.” He tilted his head, seeming curious. “Did I really look stressed?” You blinked but nodded truthfully, biting your lip. “It just looked like a typical bout of anxiety to me, if we’re being honest,” you told him, then wondered if that was somehow offensive. “I mean, I know just because you mentioned having it doesn’t mean you’re just always some anxious person, and I’m not trying to assume anything either but I’ve also had experiences with it too so it’s kind of easier to catch signs, you know? But if I was wrong then I’m really so-”

“You weren’t wrong,” he cut you off, but he was still smiling kindly at you. Damn, his eyes are beautiful. “Yeah, I was definitely feeling a little crowded back there. So thank you. Really. What’s your name? Can I buy you a drink?” You looked up at him somewhat shocked. “Me? Oh, please, you really don’t have to do that,” you shook your head, not wanting him to feel obliged to you in any means whatsoever, even though a drink would Chris Evans would probably be all you needed to die happy. “I’m sure you have friends waiting on you or something, really, it’s okay. I genuinely just wanted to help.” He raised an eyebrow, slightly stepping closer and it was taking you everything not to creepily deeply inhale from how good his cologne smelt. “And I genuinely want to buy you a drink,” he spoke with an amused grin, eyes twinkling even more than before. “Please. Or if you don’t drink, I can at least get you a--”

“Oh I drink.” You cut him off way too fast, then realized afterwards. “Okay, but like, I don’t mean I’m an alcoholic or anything, I just--” you finally just sighed loudly, looking down for a few seconds before looking up at him, silently cursing your brain for not allowing you to sober up at least a little. Despite the fact that it was solely your fault for having decided to chug a freaking vodka sour. “Okay, yes. Let’s do this. But-- unfortunately my friend is about to bring my entire horde of friends up here, so let’s try a different bar in this club.” He was laughing as he listened to you, but it did not feel mean or embarrassing; he simply seemed like he was actually having a fun time with you, almost as if he were a friend. He then blinked, curious and slightly confused. “In this club? Is there another one, besides the VIP one and the general one downstairs?” You laughed softly, nodding your head. “You gotta come back to Boston more! They just opened a rooftop one upstairs that’s way less crowded, but it’s pretty exclusive.” You raised a brow, continuing, “But I’m pretty sure we won’t have any problem getting in...” He chuckled and it was a deep rumble of heaven, but you forced yourself not to be annoying or even more triggering towards his anxiety. “Well, that would have been nice to know earlier, but I’m glad I at least get to know it from you. Lead the way….” he trailed off, waiting for a name to use. You giggled lightly at the slight flirtation, in disbelief that it was even happening but of course introduced yourself, lightly taking his outstretched arm and walking towards the staircase to the roof.

_____________

“Sebastian said that to you? Oh my God, that’s hilarious.” You laughed upon listening to a story he was telling you from a drunken night he, Sebastian Stan, and Anthony Mackie had shared in LA, a beam spread across your entire face. “You guys seem like such cute friends.” He laughed and nodded his head fondly, looking out towards the view. “Eh, they’re alright, I suppose,” he spoke playfully, and you giggled for the hundredth time within that hour, looking out towards the city lights yourself.

The two of you had been chatting away, the peaceful nighttime air and breeze definitely helping you in sobering up a little more. Not that you had been absolutely trashed before, but you wanted to be as present in this moment as possible. You knew something like this would never happen again, but you were trying not to think about that. You loved that he was also asking you questions about yourself, and seemed sincerely interested, at that. He was so easy to converse with, so relaxed and thoughtful, you felt bad knowing what his anxiety could do to such a kindhearted person like him. You were sure he would have loved to be like this with all of his fans, but he had even explained to you himself that it was difficult for him to be in front of big crowds. “I know that seems kinda ridiculous coming from a Hollywood actor,” he said with a sigh, chuckling lightly, “but I can’t control it, ya know? I wish I could.” You nodded sympathetically, unable to even imagine what it would be like having to deal with such conflict in his current occupation.

“But what about you?” he asked, surprising you again even though he had shown genuine interest in you and your life this entire time. “You said you’ve dealt with anxiety before, too?” You nodded with a sigh, taking a sip of your drink. “It used to be pretty bad for me in high school. I guess high school’s just a rough time in general, though,” you said with a laugh, shrugging your shoulders. “I still get attacks every now and then, but I’ve learned how to cope with it much better. Definitely better than hormonal, puberty ridden me, anyways,” you chuckled. He laughed too and you tried to ignore how adorable the sound as well as his face was when he did so. “Mm. Definitely don’t wanna reminisce on those days,” he playfully shuddered before tilting his head with interest. “How do you cope with it?” You could not believe Chris Evans was here asking you for advice, but you pondered this over. “I guess this is common sense and easier said than done, but I think I’m just a lot better at being able to mentally step back from a situation and think it through more logically when I’m feeling anxious. I just go through a rundown in my head and remind myself that it’s okay. It also helps distracting myself from it by talking to friends, like to call my best friend if I’m feeling down or weird about something.” You told him, barely biting your lip-- you had never really talked about such topics with any guys before, and it was crazy how it felt so comfortable with a celebrity.

“Yeah? Well maybe next time you could call me, too?” he asked, and you were practically baffled. “Like, on my cell phone?” you asked rather dumbly, then closed your eyes as you rubbed your forehead. “Okay, yeah. Duh. My cell phone. It’s not like I own a landline. Who really does anymore, besides old people. But I mean--” you stopped and collected your thoughts briefly before looking up at him. “You’d really feel comfortable giving me your phone number? And you actually want to… talk?” He laughed again, even tilting his head back slightly before nodding with a wide smile. “Yeah. I mean, hell yeah, I do. I’ve had a lot of fun talking to you tonight.” He slid his phone out of his pocket, unlocking and handing it to you with a hopeful grin. You slowly smiled, nodding and taking it from him to input your number. Much to your delight, when handing it back he went straight to sending you a message, looking to you as he arched an eyebrow playfully. “You have my number now, right? You didn’t give me a fake one?” You blinked before laughing loudly, taking your phone out of your little crossbody bag. “Why the hell would I give you, of all people, a fake number?” You waved your phone at him to show him that the message had come up on the device, then looked down at it to save his number. You had assumed he just sent a “hi” or an emoji, something simple-- but you paused as your eyes scanned the words on your screen.

“Go on a date with me.”

You stared at it somewhat dumbfounded before looking up at him, knowing your cheeks were slightly red. “A-a date?” you asked; sure, the two of you had been hitting it off and flirting a little, but you had kept reminding yourself throughout the conversation that he was a celebrity. He probably had tons of girls in his life, you were someone who could just be an acquaintance. If that. But now he wanted to take you out on an actual date?

“I’m in Boston for the next few months. And I know that’s not permanent, but I really, really liked talking to you tonight, and.. I want to see if this works. Please.” You almost didn’t reply due to being too shocked that he was begging you to date him, but you quickly cleared your throat. “I’d… yeah, I’d really like that.” You admitted, feeling excited and terrified all at once. But that was how dating should feel, right? “But, um, how does this… work? Do you, like, not want me to tell anyone…? Do I not save your number at all, in case anyone hacks into my phone? Or should I just save you as a fake--”

“Okay, okay, don’t go all secret agent on me.” He interrupted you with a loud laugh, eyes twinkling fondly as he gazed down at you. “Honestly… I trust you. Call it a gut instinct, but I do. So tell whoever you’d like, or don’t. The only thing I’m more worried about is your own privacy, because it most likely won’t be respected if we’re not careful about this. But when it comes to people knowing about me taking you out, that’s fine with me. I’m allowed to have a love life, aren’t I?” he said with a smile, then glanced down at his phone. “Oh, shit. I need to go, my brother’s waiting for me. And I’m sure your friends are, too.” He looked at you and chuckled softly, probably at the disappointed face you wore. “Hey. Text me tonight, alright? Promise.” You smiled at that, arching an eyebrow playfully, teasing, “Wow, you’re already pretty needy, huh? Yikes, what am I agreeing to here?” He blinked before scoffing, though clearly amused. “You know what? Yeah, I am. And it’s your fault.”

He suddenly took a light hold of your waist, gently pulling you closer to him and leaned down. You widened your eyes slightly but did not move away, looking up into his beautiful blue orbs instead silently confirming that you were alright with what was about to happen.

You would remember that kiss for the rest of your damn life-- you were sure of it.

#chris evans x reader #chris evans fluff #chris evans imagine #chris evans fic #chris evans x you #mental health

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f-da-program · 6 years ago

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Contains IT Chapter 2 Spoilers

So I just got to see Chapter 2 and I have a lot of thoughts that I need to get out, good and bad.

Con 1: Bill’s entire story line: I didn’t really care for Bill’s story line at all. Pretty much the first moment we have with him is him and Audra having a tiff. Unlike the book, you don’t get the sense that they have a strong relationship. The line he gave about being the girl he wants her to be comes to mind. And I kind of figured they were using that to say he wanted her to be more like Beverly, but we don’t even really get that. I’m not a huge Bill/Bev shipper so I’m not super bummed about it, but we never really get anything with that. Bev kisses Bill once and then we never really get anything from Bill’s side again. And it’s just strange because they seemed to hint that was going to be a thing, but it never was. In fact Bill never brings anything up to Bev and she and Ben ride off together into the sunrise. Perfectly fine, but awkward. It would have made more sense to have Bill’s relationship with Audra just seem like a happy one and have Bill push her away (fuck book canon there, there isn’t time to get into the ‘we’re just doing it because we’re going back to childhood’ and if you don’t have time for that or to explore Bills feelings for Bev more, then we don’t have time for Bill to cheat on his wife).

I’m also not into the idea that Bill wasn’t sick the day Georgie died. It’s unneeded. He doesn’t need that to feel guilty. Honestly, why do they have to push the guilt that hard anyway? Can’t he just be sad and angry his little brother was murdered? Why do we need a new guilt arc that was never brought up in the first movie or in the book?

Also, was the scene with the little kid in the fun house necessary? We get it, Bill feels guilty he didn’t save Georgie. And now he can’t save this kid. Oh no. Like, I didn’t need another scene to reinforce that Bill is guilty. It was already apparent. All this did was waste screen time that could have been used for more important scenes.

Pro 1: Ben is amazing I love Ben. He was totally the mom friend in this movie and I was digging it. Him checking in on everyone was nice. I feel like he got a good amount of screen time and his scenes were justified in being included in this packed movie. I’m so glad we got Ben the architect!

Pro 2: The Clubhouse I didn’t think we’d ever see the clubhouse or the Barrens outside of the Quarry. It’s a little shoehorned in, but I love that location so I’m going to call it a pro. Although, can we talk about how the book 5x5 clubhouse got a major upgrade? Like, holy shit, that place was huge!

Pro 3: Ben kept the yearbook page Look, I’m a sucker for the idea that Ben kept the yearbook page with Bev’s name. For one, how fucking cute is it that it’s been 27 years and he has no fucking idea who Beverly Marsh is, but he still keeps it?

But, it’s also a double edged sword. Because how lonely must he be that he keeps that? Like, he keeps this reminder that there was a time that someone would write hearts by their name in relation to him. That’s so indicative of Ben’s character. It shows how even as a successful man, he still feels all alone. Very nice.

Con 2: Dirt doesn’t equal germs I wish I could scream this from a rooftop. This pissed me off last movie and it pissed me off this movie. So let me say it again:

DIRT DOESN’T EQUAL GERMS.

The movies have not done enough to separate Eddie’s fears from Stan’s. Stan doesn’t like things that are unclean. Eddie doesn’t like things that can make you sick. Those are two different things. Eddie can reach for a ball on the dirty ground. Because cobwebs and dirt don’t cause diseases.

Con 3: Everyone is mad at Mike Seriously? The losers come back to Derry because they all made a promise, and they’re mad at Mike? Like, y’all made the promise. What was Mike supposed to say on the phone, ‘Hey, the killer clown we fought as kids is back, are you still in to come back and kill it?’ It just doesn’t make sense to have them all pissed at him.

Pro 4: The Ritual of Chud I never would have thought they would include that. It seemed too complex and out there (outing Pennywise as a million of years old cosmic being, that’s a whole different level). But they did! And I liked the idea that Mike found that out in his research. Sucks he shared it with Bill and not Richie, but I wasn’t made about it. It was a cool way to include it and give Mike some more screen time.

Con 4: Mike lied to everyone Wait, what? I don’t understand why anyone thought this was necessary. Mike said he needed everyone to believe they could kill It. Okay, that checks out. But they literally already know they can hurt It. They did it in the last movie by believing they could. So why do they suddenly need a fake ritual to do it? I like the idea of Mike getting the vision of Pennywise’s origin but I wish it had stopped there. The losers didn’t need that to know they could take It down.

Like, Mike needed more screen time, but not like that.

Pro 5: Richie loves Eddie If you didn’t think this would be on the list, you don’t know me. I think it’s awesome that they went this direction. I’ve always thought there was enough evidence to argue that Richie was bi and had a thing for Eddie. Getting to see that on the screen was great. And I loved the use of the Paul Bunyan statue. Because first movie they’re sitting by that statue when they ask Richie what he’s afraid of. Whether he’s really afraid of clowns or not, we now know he’s also afraid of people knowing he’s gay. When Pennywise attacks him there later, it’s relevant because that’s where he lied to the losers.

Eddie’s death and onward is handled really well. Richie having to be dragged out of the sewers and crying in the Quarry is so sad. But him re-carving over their initials is beautiful. He’s finally able to be okay loving Eddie. And even though Eddie’s gone, that’s still a powerful thing.

But...

Con 5: Eddie’s feelings weren’t clear Look, I read the book, Eddie’s gay. Like, if you argued that in the book Richie was straight, you would have had a leg to stand on. But with Eddie, you really wouldn’t. He was so clearly intended to be a gay character (Stephen, just say it next time).

But here we have a movie that doesn’t spend any time on confirming that, let alone confirming that he shared Richie’s feelings. Like, come on! It would have been so easy to show!

Here’s how I would have done it. First, scrap all the freezing bullshit (that’s the next con, don’t worry) and have them talk when they’re about to go down the hole to face Pennywise. Richie: Are you ready for this? Eddie: No, I’m scared shitless. But I keep trying to remind myself that I have nothing to lose. Richie: What the fuck does that mean? Eddie: I hate my life. I hate my wife. I might as well have married my mother. I don’t like my job. I wanted to do something with cars. And remembering all of this shit has just made it more obvious that I don’t to be who I was. I don’t want to go back to that. Richie: No one says you have to. Eddie: Where else would I go? Richie: I have a spare bedroom. Eddie: Like you could put up with me full time. Richie: I always did. Eddie (realizing Richie means it): ...I’ll think about it. And then the sewer fight happens, Eddie saves Richie because why the fuck wouldn’t he. And their last conversation goes like this: Eddie: Rich, *grabs Richies arm* I thought about it. Richie: About what? Leaving with me? Eddie: I want to. I’ve always- Pennywise starts attacking so he doesn’t finish.

And that shows that the feelings aren’t one sided and adds some angst for when Richie comes back over and he’s dead (or he could just not leave his side, whichever).

Con 6: Eddie freezes There’s no shame in freezing in terrifying situations. It’s natural. Fight, flight, freeze. Those are the options when scared.

But Eddie has literally never frozen in the past. Eddie never froze in the first movie. He didn’t freeze when Bowers attacked him. But you want me to believe that suddenly at the last leg of the movie he’s going to start? And for what? So it’d be dramatic when he stepped in the save Richie? That’s just who Eddie is. He’s always moving and acting and talking. It just made no sense to suddenly introduce this flaw that has arguably no pay off. Cut it and use the time for something important.

Con 7: Stan’s fears are never clearly explored It’s so easy to write Stan off as just being weak and scared. Even with the letter, it’s so easy. Because the 1st movie took away the scenes where he was brave (being the one to make them promise and being the one to say they needed to clean Bev’s bathroom).

But Stan’s issue isn’t just being scared, it’s being unable to accept things that aren’t logical. Pennywise existing offends him as a child. As an adult it very likely would have made him lose his mind. And this movie did better at touching that, but didn’t quite get there. They accept that he’s the most scared, but they don’t get down to why.

Pro 6: The losers grieve for Stan I don’t think the book even does as good a job at this. Stan was their friend. Part of the lucky 7 that made them powerful. Him being dead should feel like part of them is ripped out. They aren’t whole anymore. Having a scene where they mourned him was so important and I’m so glad they included it.

Pro 7: The ending This one is controversial, but I liked the ending change. It never made sense to me that after purifying Derry they forgot everything. Pennywise and the Turtle are dead, so who’s there to make them forget? In some ways I think remembering might be sadder (Richie gets to accept being gay just in time to watch the guy he loves die), but I think it makes more sense. I also think the losers being able to call each other and be lifelong friends is a good change. I don’t know if I’d call it the happy ending the movie implied that it was (it’s a small change Stephen, don’t pat your back too hard. It’s not like Eddie got to live), but I do think I prefer it.

And Stan’s letter really worked for me despite the flaws (Stan took the time to write this letter and then kill himself? Also, Patty saw this letter, I assume with the losers club’s names and decided to send it out? She wasn’t pissed that Stan killed himself for these people? She didn’t want any answers from them about what the fuck her husband was talking about?). It was needed to give Stan’s character some kind of redemption for how weak they made him out to be.

Pro 8: Eddie stabbed Henry with a knife he pulled out of his face Look, there’s not a lot to say about it, it was just cool. The whole scene was hilarious and Eddie Kaspbrack is a badass.

Pro 9: Pennywise is scary as shit I thought the first movie was a little heavy handed with CGI and didn’t give us enough horror movie makeup. And there was plenty of CGI here, but it felt more balanced with how much we saw of Pennywise. Honestly, Pennywise is so scary on his own, he can carry the movie. Things like the leper just look kind of fake. But Bill Skarsgard delivers.

I think that’s it!

I know there‘s stuff I left out, but I think I got the big ones. I feel bad I didn’t mention Beverly much, but her story line this time around was mostly centered around Ben. Which I could consider a flaw, but given the amount of time in the movie and how much focus she got last movie, I’m not mad about it.

#it spoilers #It Chapter 2 #It 2 #losers club #It #bill denbrough #ben hascom #beverly marsh #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #mike hanlon

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douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years ago

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THE COURAGE OF PROJECT

Then when you start a startup anywhere. That's why mice and rabbits are furry and elephants and hippos aren't.1 The very design of the average site in the late twentieth century. He got a 4x liquidation preference. Google, it's hard to get into grad school in math. Can we claim founders are better off as a result of this new trend. Where you live should make at most a couple percent difference. But investing later should also mean they have fewer losers.

They make something moderately appealing and have decent initial growth.2 If you major in math it will be whatever the startup can get from the first one to write a paper for school, his mother would tell him: find a way to turn a billion dollar industry into a fifty million dollar industry, so much the better, if all fifty million go to you. The classic yuppie worked for a small organization. Before us, most companies in the startup funding business. The best way to get a big idea can take roost.3 4 or 5 million. This essay grew out of something I wrote for myself to figure out how to increase their load factors. But you can also apply some force by focusing the discussion: by asking what specific questions they need answered to make up their minds. This plan collapsed under its own weight.4 Startups happened because technology started to change so fast that big companies could no longer keep a lid on the smaller ones.

The only place your judgement makes a difference is in the industry.5 People who do great work, and it's a bad sign when you have a special word for that. One of the exhilarating things about coming back to Cambridge every spring is walking through the streets at dusk, when you can see into the houses. If you have steep revenue growth, say over 6x a year, no matter how many good startups approach him. Recently we managed to recruit her to help us run YC when she's not busy with architectural projects.6 This works better when a startup has 3 founders than 2, and better when the leader of the company in later rounds. I'm not saying you can get away with zero self-discipline.

We're not a replacement for don't give up. What you should not do is rebel. But while series A rounds from VCs. Someone who's scrappy manages to be both threatening and undignified at the same world everyone else does, but notice some odd detail that's compellingly mysterious.7 Even Tim O'Reilly was wearing a suit, a sight so alien I couldn't parse it at first. They can't tell how smart you are.8 The story about Web 2. Maybe one day the most important thing is to be learned from whatever book on it happens to be closest. This essay is derived from a keynote at FOWA in October 2007. They'll decide later if they want to raise.9

Sometimes it reached the point of economic sadism: site owners assumed that the more pain they caused the user, the more benefit it must be to them. It's cities that compete, not countries.10 Kids are curious, but the best founders are certainly capable of it. But investors are so fickle that you can fix for a lot of time on work that interests you, and don't just refuse to. But you have to be an insider.11 A key ingredient in many projects, almost a project on its own, is to step onto an orthogonal vector. So ironically the original description of the Web 2. Back when it cost a lot to like I've done a few things, like intro it to my friends at Foundry who were investors in Service Metrics and understand this model I am also talking to my friend Mark Pincus who had an idea like this a few years ago.12 0 seemed to mean was something about democracy. We didn't have enough saved to live on. There is another reason founders don't ask themselves whether they're default alive or default dead.13

So most investors prefer, if they wanted, raise series A rounds. They're unable to raise more money, and precisely when you'll have to switch to plan B if plan A isn't working. That doesn't mean the investor says yes to everyone. Miss out on what? It's so cheap to start web startups that orders of magnitudes more will be started. Investors evaluate startups the way customers evaluate products, not the way bosses evaluate employees. The bust was as much an overreaction as the boom.14 Startups are undergoing the same transformation that technology does when it becomes cheaper.15 Another way to fly low is to give them something for free that competitors charge for. After all, a Web 2.16 He bought a suit.

Instead you'll be compelled to seek growth in other ways. They all knew their work like a piano player knows the keys. But consulting is far from free money. They say they're going to get eliminated. What does it mean, exactly? If investors were perfect judges, the two would require exactly the same skills. And to be both good and novel, an idea probably has to seem bad to most people, or someone writes a particularly interesting article, it will show up there. The mere existence of prep schools is proof of that.17 So far the complete list of messages I've picked up from cities is: wealth, style, hipness, physical attractiveness wouldn't have been a total immersion. Don't just do what they tell you to do. But advancing technology has made web startups so cheap that you really can get a portrait of the normal distribution of most applicant pools, it matters least to judge accurately in precisely the cases where judgement has the most effect—you won't take rejection so personally. If raising money is hard.

There is no sharp line between the two types of startup ideas: those that grow organically out of your own life, and those that you decide, from afar, are going to get rarer. While some VCs have technical backgrounds, I don't know enough to say, but it happens surprisingly rarely.18 Most subjects are taught in such a boring way that it's only by discipline that you can never safely treat fundraising as more than a startup that seems like it's going to stop.19 It sounds obvious to say that you should worry? One reason startups prefer series A rounds? When I was in high school either. If you feel you've been misjudged, you can do. Google. Of course, someone has to take money from people who are young but smart and driven can make more by starting their own companies after college instead of getting jobs, that will change what happens in college.

Notes

Though they are themselves typical users. But it takes to get good grades in them to private schools that in three months, a valuation. Giving away the razor and making more per customer makes it easier to get them to stay in a time machine.

Apple's early history are from an angel investment from a mediocre VC.

In the beginning.

Plus ca change. But on the other.

And that is exactly the point of a stock is its future earnings, you now get to go behind the scenes role in IPOs, which allowed banks and savings and loans to buy it despite having no evidence it's for sale.

However, it will seem dumb in 100 years. Digg is Slashdot with voting instead of blacklist.

Sofbot.

I write out loud can expose awkward parts.

I've become a so-called signalling risk.

Hint: the way they have because they couldn't afford a monitor.

And it's particularly damaging when these investors flake, because there was a new search engine is low. They have no connections, you'll find that with a wink, to take care of one's markets is ultimately just another way in which income is doled out by Mitch Kapor, is to raise money after Demo Day, there would be easy to discount, but I'm not against editing. As one very successful YC founder told me they like the one hand and the exercise of stock options than any preceding president, he tried to shift back. At three months we can't believe anyone would think twice before crossing him.

Progressive tax rates has a significant startup hub. He, like speculators, that alone could in principle 100,000 sestertii apiece for slaves learned in the early adopters you evolve the idea is crack. As we walked in, we love big juicy lumbar disc herniation as juicy except literally.

It's sometimes argued that we didn't, they thought at least accepted additions to the modern idea were proposed by Timothy Hart in 1964, two years, it was cooked up by the National Center for Education Statistics, about 28%. I've come to accept that investors don't like the bizarre consequences of this essay talks about programmers, but I know of no Jews moving there, and should in some ways First Round excluded their most successful startups are competitive like running, not the original text would in itself deserving. This is not whether it's good enough at obscuring tokens for this type are also several you can't even claim, like play in a city with few other startups, because time seems to pass. Please do not try to avoid that.

This kind of people starting normal companies too. If Ron Conway had been raised religious and then using growth rate to manufacture a perfect growth curve, etc, and then a block or so.

But it is to trick admissions officers. I meant. The mere possibility of being harsh to founders. As he is at fault, since 95% of the class of 2007 came from such schools.

I started doing research for this purpose are still, as they are now. There was no more unlikely than it would be easier to say that it is dishonest of the next round, that suits took over during a critical point in the usual standards for truth. Wittgenstein: The French Laundry in Napa Valley.

It wouldn't cut their overall returns tenfold, because they wanted, so the best ideas, they mean statistical distribution. The original Internet forums were not web sites but Usenet newsgroups.

A doctor friend warns that even this can give an inaccurate picture. At some point, when the problems you have no idea what's happening till they also influence one another directly through the window for years while they think they're just mentioning the possibility is that in Silicon Valley. I find hardest to get rich by creating wealth—wealth that, isn't it? Look at those goddamn fleas, they have less money, the big winners aren't all that matters, just as if you'd invested at a famous university who is highly regarded by his peers.

Compromising a server could cause such damage that ASPs that want to pound that message home. He, like arithmetic drills, instead of blacklist.

Thanks to Tim O'Reilly, Peter Norvig, and the guys at O'Reilly for inviting me to speak.

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satanlopezz · 5 years ago

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Hallmark moment pt:1

When: Christmas 2 years ago

Who: Santana and Brittany Tagging: @brittlopezpierce

Info: The prelude to hallmark moment- our favorite exes run into each other.

Santana: Santana runs down the list of people she has on her phone. Shes covered all the gifts of her immediate family, but the list of cousins her mother gave is like 3 million people long. She swears, all of them must be popping out kids just to hurt her pockets. Shes already had to make one trip back to her car, and shes going to need some caffeine to keep up. Redirecting her path, she heads to the nearest starbucks.

Brittany: Brittany couldn't believe she managed to procrastinate again... and such an important thing. She was SO lucky to be an only child which helped her out a lot but she still needed gifts for her parents, grandparents, and her few extended family members. She knew she didn't have that much but she wanted all these gifts to be perfect. She left her car in the mall parking lot with the rest of the people who waited till last night but decided to make a quick detour to the nearest Starbucks if she was going to get through this.

Santana: Santana glanced up from her phone, scanning the shop. She couldn't have anyone she knew seeing her here. Her eyes stop on the blonde in front of her, she looked very familiar. Running her tongue along her teeth she tried to pin it down. Where did she know her from? It didn't take long before it clicked. Brittany. Brittany was back in Lima. Why was Brittany back in Lima? What the fuck? She was so caught in her thoughts she didn't notice she said that last question out loud.

Brittany: Brittany rushed in and found it less busy then she expected it to be. It was a stark change from how packed the mall was. She ordered her drink, waited for her name to be called and collected her drink once she heard Brittany. She was just about to sneak out and start her shopping when a familiar face landed right in front of her and she felt her breath hitch for a split second. Was that Santana? Why was she back in Ohio? Did she know Brittany was back? but all questions forgotten when she heard Santana ask one question outloud.

Santana: Fuck. Why is she such an idiot. Who runs into their ex and blurts out 'what the fuck'. She feels incredibly stupid. She looks over Brittany. Some how she looks even better than she did, if thats even possible. Her hair is longer. "Uh, Hi Britt. Sorry, I'm a complete idiot, as usual" She chuckles, hoping that will ease the tension between them right now. There are a lot of questions she wants to ask.

Brittany: Brittany didn't even know how to act, Santana Lopez her ex-girlfriend was standing right in front of her and it made her feel so many things at once. "Santana, we both know you aren't an idiot in any form." She said with just the hint of a smile. She didn't expect to see her today or ever if she was being honest. She had no clue she was even back in Lima. "But uh... what are you doing back in Lima."

Santana: Brittanys compliment makes her feel bashful- she knows its genuine. Looking down at her coffee cup and fidgetting with it, she searches for an answer. "Oh, I live here now. I tried the New York thing, and it didn't work out so well. Hauled my ass back here to live with my parents, and well, now I live here I guess" She shrugs. Shes a little embarrassed to say she never got out of this shit town. Especially to her Ex who has been off being a math monkey. "What are you doing here?"

Brittany: Brittany was honestly shocked that she would ever come back here, she always knew she was destined for bigger and better things then what this town could provide. "Well.. I graduated from MIT, did some work around and while I'm not technically moved here yet, it's potentially the plan." She told her ex, that word still hurt like a knife to her heart, it had been years at this point but she didn't know if she would ever truly get over it. "It's easy to find a job here anyways."

Santana: Santana listened intently. It was weird to be talking to Brittany. She thought she'd closed that chapter of her life. "You graduated? Congratulations!" Santana squeals just a little, but shes seriously proud of Brittany. "You're moving here?" Santana questioned, and ignored the way her stomach fluttered at Brittany being close. Brittany wouldn't still harbour feelings for her right? She couldn't let the thought even blossom. "What do you think you'll do here? What do you do with a math monkey degree?" Yeah, Santana would've liked to go to college and get a degree, but it wasn't on the cards for her and thats okay, she guesses.

Brittany: "I did, and thank you." She smiled at her. She knew college wasn't always in the books for Santana but assumed she an Associates degree or something. "Did you graduate?" She asked filed pure curiosity in her voice, no judgment but Brittany didn't ever think she could ever judge Santana. There was too much history for judgement as this point. "Yeah... it's looking like I will be back in Lima. To be honest, that's what I'm trying to figure out. It makes more sense to be in a bigger city with a math degree but it's just hard right now." She confessed. "Are you staying in Lima as well."

Santana: Santana kind of wants to hug Brittany, she doesn't know how else to express just how proud she is. It feels a little inappropriate for a just ran into your ex at a mall meeting. "Uh no, I didn't end up going back to school. I do have an Ohio teaching certification, though." Its just a piece of shit paper, but her Mami insisted on hanging it. So now it sits on her parents dining room wall. "Thats alright, you don't have to do what others say. Do whats right for you, Brittany." It feels weird to use her full name, it feels weird to know shes going to live here. Santana doesn't want to get her hopes up, but it kind of feels like she was supposed to run into Brittany. "I do. I have my own place, I don't like live with my parents. Seems like I'll be living here for life. Lima was always the thing I knew best"

Brittany: "Oh, are you working towards becoming a teacher?" She asked, a hint of surprise in her voice. She always assumed Santana would go on to be a performer or something big like that. She knew she had start potential so she had to wonder what stopped her from making those dreams come true. "Yeah, I know that.. it's hard sometimes." She frowned. She tried to not let other people cloud her judgement but sometimes it was so hard. A lot of people still saw her as High School Brittany, at least in this town."

She was happy for Santana though, that she at least was happy in her own life and doing things her own way. "I'm glad you were able to get your own place. I'm just planning to couch crash at this point after my hotel stay is up." She laughed. "The best thing you ever knew?" She repeated sadly, feeling her heart break.

Santana: “I actually teach at McKinley now. Took over Sues spot now that she’s Vice President.” She says, fidgeting. She’s always worried she isn’t meeting expectations, and the Cheerios are big boots to fill. She’s also worried about how she comes off to Brittany- she must seem like the Lima loser who settled for teaching. “You’ve just gotta remember they’re jealous of your super smart math brain. They want you to do things with it cause they never could. It’s your brain, you choose how to use it.”

Santana doesn’t even have to think before she says, “You could stay at my place?” But then she does think, it’s kind of weird to have your ex-that-you’re-not-over stay at your house. Santana’s never done anything the right way though. “I mean, I don’t have a spare bed, but you could share mine?” Fuck, stop speaking. You’re making it weird Lopez. “Well, besides you, Lima is the best thing I know.” It Goes without saying that Santana doesn’t even really know Brittany anymore, so she’s stuck with shitty Lima.

Brittany: "Oh, that's amazing..." She trailed off just letting it all sink in. "Good for you, I'm proud of you." She smiled. She never really saw Santana as a teacher teacher but coach of the Cheerios made a lot of sense. She could never judge Santana for her career or life decisions as long as she was happy. Santana's happiness, through her made Brittany happy as well. "Well.. I don't know if anybody would be jealous of me but I do miss the more academic world. It's funny because in high school I just didn't care but it wasn't until college that my professors allowed me to start caring." She said with just a minor sigh.

"You... you want me to stay at your place and share a bed." She teased with a sly grin. She could sense Santana wishing the ground would swallow her whole but she enjoyed just slightly teasing. "Though, I might have to take you up on that offer, it sure beats random people's couches." Less than one conversation and she just might end up back in Santanas bed, somethings truly don't ever change. "Well... technically Lima is your town. I left but you found your way back."

Santana: Hearing the words *I'm proud of you" come from Brittany warms her from head to toe. It blows Santanas mind that this girl still has that effect on her. "You already miss the academic world? You just left it" Santana jokes. It was an adjustment for her to see Brittany as a math genius. She'd always known Brittany was smarter than her, but to see it on paper, that was a new thing.

Santana blushes, looking away. She can't believe that came pouring out of her mouth. Shes surprised that Brittany is not hating the idea- its pretty out there. "While awkward, I really do mean it Britt. You can stay with me." Santana would give up her bed so Brittany wouldn't be out on the street. "I left first. I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have left you here, and maybe we could've worked if I didn't"

Brittany: She honestly never expected to miss the academic world the way she did and something's it made her concerned just how much she missed it. "It was the first place where my professors allowed me to find myself. They didn't judge me for learning different then the other students but rather helped me find my own way to learn and allowed to me to use it. It was something Mckinley could never give me." She told her. Mckinley didn't have the resources or the patience to ever truly help her which is why she never really excelled there, but rather an average student.

Brittany noticed a faint blush grace Santana's face and couldn't believe how adorable she looked. Why even after all these years... did it affect her? "I know you are serious, and I'm serious about taking you up on that offer." Staying with Santana really did sound like a good option and if nothing else, it gave her an excuse to be close to her.. even just for just a little longer. "We just wanted different things at that point, you did what you had to." She shrugged in understanding.

Santana: "McKinley was pretty shit. They couldn't handle you and your awesomeness. Maybe you should go back? Do some more education, or become a professor or something?" Santana didn't really know how college worked beyond attending classes. She was never cut out for it anyways. She probably would've never stepped near another educational institution if it wasn't for Mr Schue and that night at her old bar.

"It could be like an eternal sleepover." Santana hoped Brittany actually meant it. It would be kind of cool to have her old best friend in the same place, and living with her, feelings aside. Those feelings kept bothering her- popping up in the back of her head and making her want to kiss the girl in front of her. "I'm going to go out on a limb here- Did you want to go and get coffee sometime?" Santana asks, and then remembers they're still in a starbucks. Nice one Santana. "We're at coffee. Um. Dinner then?"

Brittany: "I have to agree with you there." She nodded. Mckinley tried, at least sometimes but they just couldn't help her the way she needed. "I don't know if I would be good at teaching, maybe college level if anything but if I'm honest, going back as crossed my mind a few times." She confessed. She hadn't told anybody about her thoughts and nobody knew she had looked at upper education. If she didn't even have a job, should be looking at more school? It truly was her internal struggle.

"Like back in high school." She had to laugh at her line. "But... I am serious about living with you. It won't be long term or anything, I promise." She confirmed, but noticed Santana starting to blush again as she stumbled her words. "We are at coffee, so coffee already happened but I would love dinner. I just might be starving." She agreed. "Do you have any suggestions? I'm game with pretty much anything right now."

Santana: Santana smiled. Brittany deserved the world, and she would always fight to give it to her. "You should!" Was Santana the right kind of person to be encouraging this? Probably not. She still doesn't understand what undergrad means.

"Like back in highschool." Santana echoes. She's thought about it a couple times if shes honest. The way they used to sleep curled into each other, the sound of Brittanys heartbeat, limbs tangled. She misses it in the moments shes lonely- or times like now when she's reminded of Brittany. "My door is open Brittany. Always has been, always will be." Santana's not quite sure how she'll cope with having Brittany in her house but shes going to try her hardest. She wants Brittany to stay. "Breadstix? I mean like a date. Like old times?" Just in case Brittanys super smart math brain couldn't work it out.

Brittany: As much as Brittany tried not to, she couldn't help form a faint smile when Santana did. She was in a place now where Santana's happiness made her happy. And she looked pretty happy right in this moment. "Possibly." She confirmed. "I don't want to rush anything but I have a few schools I am still interested in. I have some in Michigan, some in New York and a few elsewhere." She told her keeping the smile on her face.

Brittany nodded... just hearing her repeat her own words. She could tell that Santana was deep in thought, but she couldn't quite get a read on just what she was in thought about. "I know." She said softly. "And I truly appreciate it." She smiled at her next words though.. "You want to go on a date to Breadstix? I am so in." She confirmed with a laugh.

Santana: Santana would be Brittany's cheerleader for as long as the blonde will let her. She really had missed the girl. This conversation is just a big reminder of how stupid she was for ever letting her go. "Any of them would be lucky to have you. You really are a genius." Santana will forever feel bad for doubting Brittany's intelligence in highschool. She was a shitty person and she's got a long road to atonement.

Brittany's in. Brittany knows its a date, and shes in. Santana feels like she was just given the best christmas ever, a second shot with her soulmate. Nothing she will ever be given will be as good as this. She has to resist the urge to engulf Brittany in a hug, or something. She has to keep a little bit of her reputation. At least in public. Brittany knows she has a mushy side. "Do you have more things you need here?" Santana asks. "We could go and do our shopping and I'll text you- I assume your number is the same. Maybe breadstix around 5 or 6?"

Brittany: "I don't know if I would go that far." She had to laugh. Nobody ever called Brittany a genius. "I'm just... above average." She knew that everyone doubted her in high school, even Santana to a point. It used to sting, a lot that Santana didn't believe in her but throughout college she was able to push that away and it didn't hurt as much anymore. Besides it wasn't fair to only be hurt from Santana when half of her class did the same exact thing.

"Uh... yeah. I was supposed to get Christmas gifts for my family but as you can see, I haven't accomplished too much," She laughed motioning to her still empty hands. "But I would love to meet you around 5 for dinner." She smiled at her, it almost felt comforting, like she was back in high school again. A time when things were just simple. "Yeah, my phone numbers the same. I haven't changed that much since high school. But I look forward to seeing you later." With a quick wink, just knowing it would get her attention

#para:Brittany #Brittany

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ifyoucouldholdme · 6 years ago

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Movie Nights with Trashmouth Chapter 3

Words: 1286

Pairing: Bichie, Bill/Richie

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Read on AO3

Even though he tried his best to overcome the mass of clutter he called his room, Richie knew this was too big a job for just one man.

“Bienvenue to Chateau du Awesome,” he attempted in his notorious French voice, but his stressed energy flattened any sound of enthusiasm. He shuffled through the one visible foot path he had managed to clear of dirty band tees and various albums and video games, ushering in a bewildered Beverly and Stan. Bev joined Richie in flopping on the lightly stained bedspread.

“You know, if there was any more junk on the floor, you might qualify as a legit hoarder,” she gently teased. The sulking mop beside her only muffled a weak groan in response. Stan planted himself in the doorway, surveying the chaos around them. “Richie,” he started with a worried grimace, “what’s going on? You didn’t say it was this serious.”

“Yeah,” Bev chuckled, “did you not make the cut to be on one of those ‘clean my house’ shows?” Richie listlessly threw a pillow at the side of her smirking face.

“You don’t get it, Bev,” Stan chided. “I’m not concerned that his room is a mess. This is actually the cleanest I may have ever seen it.” She crinkled her brow, dumbfounded. “Wait, it’s usually worse than this?” Another garbled sound from Richie served as confirmation. Stan waded through the mess to stand on his other side. “Really, Bev, when have you ever known Richie to clean up after himself?”

Richie lifted his head to level an unamused glare at his less than tactful best friend. “Gee Staniel, that makes me feel so much better. Ever thought about going into motivational speaking? Like going around to different schools, telling kids how to be only partially fucked up. You know, that kind of shit.”

“I’d make millions,” Stan deadpanned right back. He awkwardly patting his pile of tangled locks, believing it to be a more comforting gesture than it actually was. “Seriously though, why the sudden rush to clean up? Is your dad getting on your case about it again?”

Richie huffed and rolled off the bed. “No, it’s nothing. Now, are you gonna help me out or just sit there and psycho-therapize me?” Beverly and Stan shared an unconvinced look which Richie tried to ignore in favor of cramming a pile of sneakers under the bed. “Of course we’re going to help,” Stan reassured as he started collecting the multitude of CDs and vinyls into neat stacks. Bev deemed the crumb coated dishes and shredded candy wrappers as the higher priority.” She eyed Richie with the kind of stern glare that a worried mother gives her stubborn child. “But you will tell us what’s going on when we’re through.”

The mood swiftly lifted over the next few hours. In between the organizing and the vacuuming, Stan managed to crack enough zingers to bring out Richie’s croak of a cackle. He said just enough to lift his friend’s spirits, no more. He had a reputation to maintain for being the serious one among the Losers after all. Beverly got a little distracted during their feel-good montage moment after they had cleared away all the clutter hiding an old record player on the forgotten desk in the corner. She slapped on an old Misfits album with a mischievous grin. As the music blared to life, she grabbed the boys and started dancing wildly, her auburn waves bouncing in rhythm. The song touched a soft spot within Richie, and soon he was thrashing his head along as well. Stan refused to move.

“Come on, Stanny my boy,” Richie gasped over the guitars, still violently jumping, “be a punk for once in your life!”

“Richie, you know good and well that I’m not going to—oh, what the hell.” Stan untucked his button-up and attempted what he thought of as headbanging. In reality, it looked more like an overenthusiastic orchestra conductor. The others cheered him on, nevertheless.

“That’s my boy!” Richie crooned. They continued their homegrown mosh pit in the newly spruced up space until the last song faded into the faint scratching of the needle. Exhausted from tidying and jamming, they collapsed onto the freshly laundered bed. Richie wrapped his arms around their shoulders and held them close to his heaving chest. His mind searched for the words to thank them for helping him today. Without them, the room would be a wreck and he would be in the midst of a minor meltdown. He wanted to express what they did for him, but he didn’t know how. Fortunately, there was no need. His friends knew perfectly well.

“Ok, Rich,” Stan sighed and wriggled out of the embrace. “We get it. We all love each other, but I don’t need to be buried in your sweaty armpit. Besides, I need to get going anyway. I’ve got a night class at six I shouldn’t be late to.”

Richie jolted upright almost throwing Beverly off the bed. “It’s almost six? Bill’s going to be here soon! Shit, I can’t let him see me all sweaty and nasty like this.” He raced to his cabinet, rifling for a towel and a fresh pair of underwear.

“Wait just a damn minute,” Beverly stopped him, her hair a tousled mess from the shove, “you’re freaking out about cleaning your room for Bill?” Stan’s face also creased in puzzlement at this information.

“What’s so special about Bill coming over? You’ve been friends for years. I hardy think your sweaty ass or messy room would change that.” He sniffed and faintly grimaced. “Although he might appreciate a deodorizer or something.”

“It’s…it’s not that Stan. I just…It just has to look nice, ok?” Richie couldn’t really explain everything he wanted to. Bill would be there in about twenty minutes, and he still needed to shower and make the popcorn and light some incense or a candle or some air freshener because God knows Stan was right, his room needed it and, shit, was he the smell or—

“Bill’s not a neat freak, Richie. You’ve seen his room. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to show him how to fold his laundry,” Stan derailed Richie’s spiraling anxieties. Thankfully, Bev placed a gently hand on Stan’s arm. “I think we should let Richie finish getting ready,” she hinted.

“But I don’t understand why Bill would—

“Stanley.” Her eyes, sweet yet stern, held him still. Stanley, his brow still knotted in a haze of confusion, reluctantly submitted to Bev’s suggestion.

“Sorry, Rich,” he murmured, “I’ll see you later, then. Have fun with Bill.” The boy gave Beverly one last unsure glance, then made his exit. Bev stayed behind long enough to gather Richie in a farewell embrace. His nerves still trembled with the looming anticipation of his date night coming ever nearer, but her warmth seeped into his veins, comforting him.

“Had fun today, Trashmouth. Next time we want to rock out, let’s do it without the cleaning part.”

“Yeah, sounds good, Marsh,” Richie muttered back. He wanted to let her know how much they had helped him that afternoon. He wanted to tell her how much it meant to him. He wanted to, but all he could muster was a whispered, “Thank you.”

Beverly smiled that sunshine grin and lightly punched his shoulder. “Anytime, Sir Sweats-a-lot.” She left him with his thoughts, almost walking out the door before throwing a sultry smirk behind her. “And good luck with Bill tonight. Just remember to be safe and use protection.” With a knowing wink, she disappeared giggling down the hallway. Richie froze agape, towel in hand, utterly embarrassed as Bill’s ringtone began to sing from his pocket.

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dualwieldingrollingpins · 6 years ago

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I haven’t written fic in years, but mp100 and its fandom have inspired me to pick it back up. This was inspired by a post by @mikuhats and I hope you all enjoy!!

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Looking back, Shou realizes he only had himself to blame, but he couldn’t have expected the outcome of his actions. Not in a million years.

He was, after all, the one who had broken the silence and occasional clicking of buttons. It was too quiet, and although he knew Ritsu valued the peacefulness if he didn’t speak he was probably going to explode.

“Hey Ritsu, I got a proposition for ya.”

The boy in question kept his eyes on screen, the only hint that he had even heard the redhead was the small hum of acknowledgement he made.

“Five races in Mario Kart. Whoever wins gets to draw whatever they want on the loser’s face.”

Not his best plan, but the thought of drawing something hilarious (and probably inappropriate) on the Golden Boy of Salt Middle School amused him more than he cared to admit. He practically vibrated in his spot on the floor, though this wasn’t out of the ordinary considering he could barely sit still in the first place.

However, he clearly wasn’t the only one scheming, as the illuminated screen let him see the corner of Ritsu’s mouth turn up ever so slightly.

“You’re on.”

They choose their characters (Shou chooses Toad, Ritsu picks Luigi) and their karts (something both boys are very serious about, maximizing their potential to work with their characters’ strengths). Shou grins, hunching forward towards the television. He’s ready to kick Ritsu’s ass and have bragging rights for at least the next week, as well as maybe have a photo for him to snicker at whenever he needed it.

Then the races start, and Ritsu annihilates him. Absolutely destroys him. With every green shell that hits Shou at the worst moment, every boost that Ritsu somehow manages to get perfectly, and every time the redhead’s kart flies off the track, Shou’s dreams of embarrassing Ritsu with his epic racing skills fly further and further away from him. He’s astonished really, Mario Kart is HIS game, and while he’s struggling Ritsu still has that calm smirk that Shou can’t wipe off his face despite all his efforts.

At the end, his pride is so battered that he almost forgets his fate, until Ritsu grins triumphantly and turns toward him.

“Alright,” he turns off the game, leaving the home screen as the only light in the room. “Where’s my marker?”

Shit shit shit shit shit and He’s going to draw a dick or something like that and I’m gonna look like an idiot were the two most prominent alarm bells clanging in his head. But he’s not gonna back out, he’s no coward and he’ll take his punishment like a man.

Ritsu stood, silently walking towards his desk as to not wake his parents. Rifling through his drawers, he picks up a brown marker, not as noticeable as black would be, but good enough.

He knelt back down in front of his friend, marker uncapped, twirling it between his fingers.

“What are you gonna draw?”

Ritsu rolled his eyes, flicking Shou on the forehead. “Like I’d tell you. Now close your eyes.”

Although this was normally when Shou would make a snarky comment or a half-hearted protest, this time he did it without hesitation. Bright blue eyes closed, leaving Ritsu free reign to unleash whatever chaos his artistic side was feeling that moment, which was truthfully nothing. He had no clue what he wanted to draw on Shou’s face, because he wasn’t going to do something basic like draw dicks, there was way too much potential to waste it on something like that.

He inspected his canvas, trying to gain some idea of what to do. Then he spotted them. Shou’s freckles.

The young boy has always been fascinated by them, if he was honest. Shou’s heritage made him look completely different than most people in Seasoning City, a physical representation of his out-of-the-box and fiery personality.

He was struck with an idea, and while it wasn’t anything embarrassing or funny, he was gonna have a good time doing it. Leaning in and ignoring the flip flop of his stomach, he pressed the tip of the marker to a freckle on Shou’s left cheek, connecting it to others around, even some on the side of his nose.

Normally, Shou’s mind was running at around 60 miles an hour, chasing and capturing thoughts while some slipped through his fingertips like sand. This time though, it was moving double time, speeding and racing, revolving around one thing.

Ritsu was so close. He can practically feel the boy’s breath on his face. It’s the only thing he could think about, and his mind took the possibilities and made them into a one hundred meter sprint.

He couldn’t stand it, the outside world was so quiet while his mind was buzzing and panicky and loud-

His thoughts, once floating and soaring, plummeted to the ground from the gravity of a hand on his cheek. His eyes snapped open.

“Dude wha-“

“I couldn’t control the marker calm down,” Ritsu deadpanned, oblivious to the other’s crisis due to trying to mask his own. “Now close your eyes, you staring at me while I’m drawing is weird as hell.”

Shou nodded dumbly, for the first time in his life he was completely speechless. His face was rapidly heating to levels he had only felt when his curiosity had led him to touching a candle’s flame when he was young. His heart was thumping so loudly that he was positive Ritsu could hear it and his mind was screaming and Ritsu’s hand was so warm.

He tried to focus on anything other than that stupid hand. The coolness of the floor underneath him, the hushed ticking of the clock in the hallway, the reminder that it’s 1:53 in the morning and he’s never felt more awake in his life, the pins and needles feeling in his legs from kneeling for so long. But nothing worked, because as soon as Ritsu did anything his thoughts focused on him like a moth to light.

Ritsu had moved on from his friend’s cheeks to his nose to just idly doodling on forehead, though his points of reference were quickly disappearing due to Shou’s face and hair becoming the same color. But it didn’t matter, he was almost done, and he didn’t know why that thought disappointed him. As he finished the final line, he tilted his work from side to side, inspecting his art.

It was cute. He’s cute, his inner voice corrected.

“Okay, I’m done.” It came out a whisper, as if he was too nervous to be any louder.

One eye cracked open, then another, and as soon as he saw blue, his breath trapped itself in his throat. Because he realized how close he truly was, inches away from the other’s face, and his cheeks began to burn.

For a moment, neither spoke or move, daring the other to do something. The challenge hung in the air, mingling with the nervousness and excitement that had been there previously.

As if bored of their game, the earth decided to continue its rotation. The clock sounded. It was 2 am, and the trance was broken.

Both boys backed away from each other. The tension was palpable.

“So, uh,” Shou started, very interested in his socked feet. “I guess I need to see what you drew. Hopefully something funny or cool, like a creeper.”

He chuckled in an attempt to dispel some of the awkwardness that permeated the room, and he silently thanked Ritsu for playing along.

“Yeah. It’s nothing crazy but it’s better than dicks.” The black haired boy shrugged, trying to maintain his calm facade when really his stomach was turning cartwheels.

Shou headed towards the bathroom, with Ritsu a few steps behind, making sure to avoid waking anyone up.

As soon as he flicked the light switch, the brightness smacked him in the face with an unforgiving relentlessness, and he groaned. He took a moment, blinking rapidly in order for his eyes to readjust to the stark change.

Once he could finally stand to open his eyes, he took in his reflection. There were no dicks, no creepers, and no words. He leaned in closer, inspecting.

His freckles were connected by brown lines to form various little shapes. Constellations. The Big Dipper on his left cheek, the Little beyond that, going up the side of his nose. Cancer dipped from his forehead to a spot above his eyebrow, and Sagittarius stretched from his right cheek to his ear to above his lip. So many constellations littered his skin, and the spaces not connected by brown were covered with planets, as if Ritsu was determined to leave no part of his face untouched. He was transformed into a miniature universe with something as simple as a marker.

He pulled and tugged at his skin, obsessively checking so he doesn’t miss a single drawing Ritsu had made. Ritsu observed him from the door frame, bouncing from one leg to another and twiddling his thumbs to suppress his nerves.

Ritsu waited. And waited. The seconds seemed to pass like molasses, idly dripping with no intent on gaining speed. Finally, it was too much. He coughed awkwardly, which brought the redhead back to earth.

“What do you think?” His voice cracked on the last word, buzzing with anxiousness.

The redhead looked at him through the mirror, grinning, cheeks a pretty shade of rosy pink.

“‘S cute Ritsu. Didn’t realize my freckles were such an inspiration.” His teasing was lighthearted, poking his cheek.

Ritsu scoffed, crossing his arms. “Well I figured it would be more fun than just writing ‘Fornite sucks’ or something like that.” His aloof attitude was betrayed by his refusal to look Shou in the eye and a blush that was overtaking his face and ears.

A laugh rang out, genuine and pure and happy. Shou was grasping the counter, shoulders shaking. It was contagious, and just like a lot of his actions, his best friend couldn’t resist joining him.

There they stood until their laughs turned to giggles and faded away. Their faces were alight, having laughed more in that moment than either have in a long time.

“We should probably go to bed. It’s late,” Ritsu pointed out. Shou nodded, turning back to his reflection, looking at his galaxy.

“I wanna take a picture of it. It’s really cool,” Shou reached into his pocket, gesturing for Ritsu to get closer.

Opening up his camera, the two grinned for a picture, their cheeks pressed together and Ritsu’s right hand brought up in a peace sign, with Shou’s arm thrown around his shouldner. After taking a few, Shou seemed satisfied, lowering his phone and inspecting the pictures.

Ritsu saw this as a cue to start walking back to his room, reaching to open the bathroom door.

“Wait!” Shou grabbed his sleeve, stopping him. They both looked down his grip, Shou dropping his hand quickly and muttering an apology.

“I want to take another picture. None of them turned out quite right,” his voice was uncharacteristically small, and he was stumbling over his words.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of mood, but obliged. They returned to their previous pose, Shou opening his phone camera once more.

Shou gulped, mentally preparing himself for what he was going to do next. As he continued taking photos, he stood on his tiptoes (Ritsu still had a good two inches on him, a fact he never lets Shou forget) and pressed his lips to his friend’s cheek. He felt the other boy stiffen, and he quickly pulled away.

“Thanks for the pictures Ritsu I’m gonna go to bed now sorry if I made things weird just don’t mention it haha,” Shou made a quick exit, willing himself not to kick a wall or scream because he was positive he had messed it up and his first real friend had fallen through.

A calloused hand grabbed his own, and now the tables had turned. He stared down at their clasped hands, then back up at Ritsu, and the fact that Ritsu had yet to speak was killing him inside.

Ritsu silently inched closer, not taking his eyes off Shou, clearly focused.

“Dude please don’t beat me up I’m sorry,” Shou stammered, his eyes squeezed shut.

He was prepared for anything really: yelling, shoving, silent animosity, and he was suddenly reminded of his time at Claw in the worst way possible. What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was the soft pressure on his forehead.

For the second time that night, his eyes shot open to stare at the esper. He was in complete disbelief.

“If you wanted a kiss, you could’ve asked,” Ritsu muttered, embarrassed but still sporting a small smile.

The redhead’s jaw opened and closed, trying to form words but only succeeding in staring. He simply nodded, as his vocal cords were obviously betraying him.

“Let’s go to bed. I’m tired,” Ritsu yawned, tugging their intertwined hands and leading them down the hall. And through his embarrassment and happiness, Shou realized that, as corny as it sounded, their fingers slotted together perfectly.

As they climbed into Ritsu’s bed on opposite sides, allowing sleep to wash over them, Shou realized that this all stemmed from his stupid challenge. He reached up, idly tracing the stars that dotted his face.

Something had changed between the two of them, something they could talk about when the sun was shining. But for right now, each other’s company was enough.

And if they woke up with their fingers intertwined and their bodies much closer than before, they didn’t have to mention it.

#mp100 #ritshou #shouritsu #mp100 ritsu #mp100 shou #mob psycho 100 #two awkward boys with awkward crushes

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a-secondhand-sorrow · 6 years ago

Text

Chapter 2: my limbs all froze and my eyes won’t close

Here’s chapter 2 of when the sweet words and fevers all leave us right here in the cold (why is this name so long). This is all from Zoe’s perspective, unlike last chapter.

Chapter title based on “bury a friend” by billie eilish

prologue | chapter 1 | chapter 3 | chapter 4

Trigger warnings: suicide mention, swearing, abuse mention

***

On the list of things Zoe Murphy wanted to do on Thursday evening, having dinner with her parents and Evan Hansen was not very high on the list.

It probably didn’t even make the list, honestly.

Because despite her yearning to be closer to Larry, and to get along with Cynthia, and to get to know Evan’s (slightly adorable) smile, that didn’t seem close to happening.

She wanted to find a reason to hate Evan, a reason to hate him like she hated her brother. But he was... different. Quiet. There was a somberness to him and Zoe couldn’t tell if it was because of the grief in his eyes or something deeper.

Especially when the empty chair that Cynthia refused to move seemed to manifest itself in her mind, twisting into memories into memories into memories.

But he was grieving, and Zoe wanted to hate him for it.

She knew, just by looking around the table, that this would be a difficult meal. Her father ate quickly, seemingly trying to drown himself in distraction. Her mother pushed food around on her plate, glancing hopefully up at Evan. Evan fidgeted, as unable to eat as her mother, looking around a little wide eyed. She simply sat and stared, her arms crossed, for she couldn’t conjure up anything else to give to the people sitting around her.

Even in death, Connor’s presence dominated everything. His chair took up a monumental space at the table, his shadows danced across the walls, and his name remained unspoken, on the tips of everyone’s tongues.

“Would anyone else like some more chicken?”

“I think you’re the only one with an appetite, Larry.” Cynthia bit out.

“The Harris’s brought it over.” Larry said, somewhat defensively.

Cynthia ignored him, leaning across the table a little, her eyes locked hopefully on Evan. “Did Connor tell you about the Harris’s?”

“I, uh, I don’t think he did.” Evan seemed... disappointed, almost, that there was nothing else for him to offer to Cynthia.

“We used to go skiing together.” She pressed, trying to draw some memory from him.

Looking down at his plate, in almost a whisper, Evan said “Connor didn’t really like skiing.”

“Connor hated skiing.” As Zoe said it, all conversation fell at the table. She almost regretted saying anything.

“So, you guys, you...you hung out a lot.” Cynthia said, leaning forward, trying to get something.

“Yeah.”

“Where?” Zoe cut in, feeling a sort of desperation she’d never felt before.

“Oh, you mean, like where did we...? Well, we mostly hung out at my house. I mean, one or two times we came here, but nobody else was home. We would email a lot, though, mostly. So, we wouldn’t have to, he didn’t always want to hang out. In person, you know?”

Although Evan seemed sincere enough, something whispered don’t believe him and she listened. Cynthia ate it all up, almost smiling, which was something she hadn’t done since before...well. And Larry was doing his best impression of a wall, seemingly carefully indifferent.

“We looked through his emails and we didn’t see any from you.” Zoe spat out, with more venom then she would have liked.

“Well, no, of course, yeah, I mean that’s because he had a different account. A...seceret account, I guess.” A slight pause. “That must’ve been very confusing.”

“Why was it a secret?”

“Just so no one else could,” he struggled, “it was more private, I guess, that way?”

“He knew we read his emails.” Cynthia said suddenly, turning to look at Larry, a fraught quality to her tone.

Staring pointedly at the lighting fixture, a vein working in his forehead, he deadpanned “someone had to be the bad guy.”

Zoe felt herself growing more frustrated, the fact her parents were accepting Evan’s story so easily stirring up something inside of her. “The weird thing is, the only time I saw you and my brother together was when he shoved you at school last week.”

“He shoved you?” Cynthia said, turning to Evan.

Evan only looked at Zoe for a moment, before looking back down at his plate, picking at his cast.

Zoe spit out, staring directly at him, “I was there. I saw the whole thing. He pushed you, hard.”

Evan finally spoke, still picking at the cast, his voice heavy and quiet. “We... we had a fight. Over the summer. And even before then, he...didn’t like us talking at school. And when I tried to talk to him, he just....” he shrugged a little, eyed still downcast.

“Why didn’t he want you to talk to him at school?” Zoe pressed, refusing to look away from him.

“I’m, I’m not really sure. He didn’t really want people to know that we were friends. I guess he was embarrassed. A little.”

Sounding incredulous, Cynthia cut in with, “Why would he be embarrassed?”

“Um. I guess because he thought I was sort of, you know...”

“A nerd?” Zoe offered somewhat bitterly, louder then she’d meant to.

“Zoe.” Larry said, a warning embedded in the single word, just like so many other family dinners around the table.

“Isn’t that what you meant?” she pressed.

“Loser, I was going to say, actually. But nerd works too.” said Evan, the barest hint of a smile gracing his features.

Cynthia hadn’t looked away from Evan through the whole exchange. “That wasn’t very nice of him.”

“Well, Connor wasn’t very nice, so that makes sense,” Zoe spat out.

Dead silence surrounded the room.

Zoe supposed that, even to Evan, it was clear this was not new territory for the Murphy family. Cynthia quickly looked away, while Larry snapped back to attention at the head of the table.

For the first time all evening-or really all week-Zoe had her mother’s attention. With obvious difficulty, Cynthia said, staring evenly at Zoe, “Connor was... he was a complicated person.”

(He was late again. He was always late.

She had convinced her parents to go to bed, that Connor would be home any minute. They’d believed her, believed her after all these times she’d covered for him. So she sat up, scrolling idly through Instagram, ignoring the rush of anxiety that grew every minute that passed without Connor appearing.

Eventually, the lock clicked, and Connor slid in the room, wearing a black hoodie despite the near-freezing temperatures.

“Where were you?” Zoe whispered, getting up and walking across the floor, her sock-clad feet making soft thumps with each step.

Connor refused to make eye contact with her, instead taking his sneakers off and throwing them down with a loud thump.

“Shh. Mom and dad are asleep. I covered for you. Don’t wake them up.”

“Why?” He said suddenly, loudly. “So that you don’t get reprimanded? It’s none of your fucking business,” Connor said, refusing to make eye contact.

“No, Connor, I-”

He was shouting again, backing her back into the living room. “Because you’re ashamed of me, ashamed of helping me, aren’t you?” She tried to speak again, but he cut her off, bloodshot eyes staring into hers. “Of course you are, the fucking golden child. Wouldn’t want to tarnish your pristine reputation.”

“No, it’s to fucking help you!” she shouted, forgetting why she wanted to be quiet in the first place. “So that they don’t give you more shit then you get already.”

“I’m not something to pity, Zoe!” he roared, raising a hand, as Zoe scrambled backwards. “I’m not some sad creature to need to fucking protect! I don’t need your fucking-”

He cut off, realizing what he was doing. He lowered his hand, which was only inches from Zoe’s face.

Everything held still, silent, tense.

She stared at him, wide-eyed.

Connor started to say something, eyes wide. “I’m-”

“Zoe?” came Cynthia’s voice from the stairway. “What are you doing up?”

Zoe finally unfroze, darting around Connor and his hand which was still half-raised, through the stench of pot, as Cynthia came to the doorway.

“You should be in bed,” Cynthia said, ignoring Connor and his obvious arrival.

Zoe only stared at Connor, her head shaking slowly. “You’re a fucking psychopath,” she spat in something close to a whisper, her whole body shaking. “Watch me help you again.”

Connor’s eyes cut through the dark. Zoe thought she saw him shaking.

“Don’t use that language,” Cynthia began. “That’s not contructi-”

“Zoe, I’m-I-fuck this.” Tension radiated through his tone, as he shoved his half-raised hand through his hair with the last part, radiating self doubt.

“Zoe-”

She’d pounded back up the staircase, unable to forget the look in Connor’s eyes as she tried to drift off.)

Without looking at Cynthia, her eyes trained at a shadow on the kitchen wall, Zoe responded with “No, Connor was a bad person. There’s a difference.”

“Zoe, please.” Larry said, sounding more tired then anything else.

(Another morning, around the breakfast table, the same old torture repeated day after day.

“Connor finished the milk,” Zoe’d complained, like a million other days.

He was gone from the table in a flash. Zoe wondered briefly if he’d used smokescreens.

“Zoe,” Larry said in a tired tone.

“What?” Zoe demanded.

Neither of her parents looked her in the eye.)

“Don’t pretend like you don’t agree with me,” Zoe said, her voice growing louder then she expected, furiously looking anywhere besides Evan who was looking around the table wide-eyed.

“You refuse to see any of the good things!” Cynthia shouted, something having shifted with Zoe’s last words.

Ignoring her mother’s tears, Zoe retorted “Because there were no good things!”

At the same time, Cynthia sob-screamed “You refuse to see anything positive!”

(Once, in eighth grade, she came home sobbing. Connor was the only one there.

He’d made sure to sit her down, get her some water. Then he’d sat and listened to her whole tearstained story, cursing at Adam Sullivan and his incriminating rumors about Zoe. He’d made her laugh, assured her that no one would listen to him ‘brag’ about what they had supposedly done together.

The next day, Adam came to school with a bit of a limp and a sheepish look on his face.

At the table the next night, Zoe caught Connor’s eye and smiled.

He smiled back.)

“What were the good things, mom?” She shouted, her hand curled into a fist on the table.

“I don’t want to have this conversation in front of our guest,” Cynthia said, pushing herself up from the table and walking across the room, a hand pushed to her temple to hide tears that were falling.

(“Zoe, this is not constructive.” Cynthia said, for what felt like the hundredth time.

Just once, she wondered if she ever said it to Connor.)

Zoe pushed herself up from the table, trailing after her mother. “What were they, mom? Tell me.”

“There were good things!” Cynthia shouted, desperation shown in every inch of her being.

(During one of their parents’ screaming matches, he’d locked them into the bathroom where almost none of the arguments could be heard. He’d told her the story of the Little Prince until she drifted off against his chest, the cold tiles beneath her and tear tracks dried down her face.)

“I remember a lot of good things about Connor,” Evan blurted suddenly.

A beat.

“Like what?” Zoe demanded, blinking back tears.

(When she was thirteen, he and Cynthia had a knock down drag out fight. He’d run upstairs, locked himself in his room, refused to let Zoe in as she pounded at the door, crying, begging him to let her in.

She fell asleep curled up just outside his door, just like she’d do many other nights in the future.

In the dead of night, he’d cracked the door open but stopped short when he saw her sleeping form. She stirred.

“You deserve better than this,” he’d whispered. “Why do you still try?”)

“Never mind, I shouldn’t have, I’m sorry, never mind.”

“No, Evan, you were saying something.”

“It’s... it’s not important.”

“We want to hear what you have to say.” Cynthia said, tears choking her voice. “Please.”

(It was something small. She might’ve made some offhand comment he’d just remembered, or left her stuff out on the counter, or finished the milk, or some tiny thing that was the straw that broke the camel’s back that day.

But suddenly, Connor was practically punching her door down, his face red and shoulders squared, shouting about how he was going to kill her.

The door burst open, and she lept up on her bed, but Larry was there suddenly, holding Connor back from his blaze.

Their eyes connected, hers wide and full of fear and his glassy, bloodshot, dead to the world, full of blind hate, so far away from the starry-eyed boy who’d protected her and made sure she was never scared.

They were a long way from her sleeping outside of his door.

“I hate you,” he spat.

She kept her door locked from then on.)

“Well, we...” Evan stilled a little, perhaps drudging up some memory. “There was one day. Last May, I think. Maybe early June. Where he was really...” he stopped for a moment, taking a steadying breath. “He was better.”

Cynthia was still standing, the tips of her fingers pressed to her mouth, eyes watering. “What... what did you do?”

“We went to, um,” he paused for a moment, perhaps remembering a name. “The ice cream place by the orchard-um, À La Mode?”

The entire Murphy family realized, at the same moment, exactly what the weight of this statement meant.

Cynthia was the first to speak, her eyes wide. “He-did he take you to the orchard?”

Evan nodded slowly, staring down at the table.

“We stopped at À La Mode, and-I think the cashier recognized Connor, they were taking for a little while-and then we went back to the orchard. It was, I guess it had been closed for a while, but I didn’t know that until we were there and Connor really-Connor really wanted to go so we went in anyway. It was run down and everything but, it was a really, it was charming.”

“Oh, do you remember stopping at À La Mode?” Cynthia turned to Larry and Zoe, and although both remained stone-faced, Zoe could already see the orchard spread out in front of her, mid-day light filtering through the branches.

Evan had gone quiet again, stuck in the memory of some long-gone afternoon. When he continued, it almost seemed like he was trying to make himself remember. “We’d walked around the orchard, and then we just... sat, for a while, and talked. About the end of school, about girls-er, people-” he chanced a glance at Zoe, and she tried to decipher some kind of hidden meaning to his look-“that we wished would notice us, and, you know, quoting our favorite bands and in-jokes.” He’s quiet for another moment. “It was really a perfect afternoon.”

A silence descended on the table.

“Wow, I-” Cynthia swiped at her eyes, before going over to Evan and wrapping him up in her arms.

(A small voice whispered when was the last time she hugged you like that, paid attention to you like that?

She ignored it, pushed it down.)

Evan stayed for a little longer than that, trying to politely disengage before desert, claiming his mother might worry if he stayed too late.

Zoe was silent through it all, bolting upstairs the moment the front door closed, pretending she couldn’t hear sobs and the clacking of plates and bottles from downstairs.

“Zoe-”

She slammed the door behind her, her eyes suddenly finding a picture frame on her desk, her brother’s eyes filled with stars instead of pain staring back at her.

helovedyouhehatedyouhetriedtohityouhescreamedatyouhelovedyouhehatedyouheprotectedyouhelovedyouhehatedyouhelovedyou-

With a crash and a shatter, the eyes were gone, and Zoe curled up on her bed, sobs overtaking her completely.

#dear evan hansen #deh #evan hansen #my fanfic #my love #zoe murphy #deh fanfic #my works #dear evan hansen fanfiction #when the sweet words and fevers all leave us right here in the cold #mine #my fanfiction #deh fanfiction #dear evan hansen fanfic #cynthia murphy #larry murphy #connor murphy

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joonie-beanie · 7 years ago

Text

Welcome To The Wild Side [7]

<-- [6] | [8] -->

Genre: Superpowers + College AU

Rated: T

Words: 2,440

A/N: Wow I’m terrible at writing lately but I’ve been wanting to write more fun, silly things for a while so here’s a WTTWS update.

It’s not long before Jimin and Taehyung’s apartment is bumping with music, a cool glass of rum and coke in your hand to replace the wine cooler you had already downed. Hoseok had made the drink especially for you, commenting that you better like it strong because tonight—you’re gonna have a real good time.

Taking a sip, the alcohol overwhelms the flavor of the soda, but you don’t dislike it.

“So,” Taehyung pipes up from the edge of the kitchen, his mouth packed full of snacks. “What game should we play?”

“Really? You wanna play a drinking game?” Namjoon questions, cocking an eyebrow.

He and Yoongi are stood over by the speakers, having been talking about rappers and music, and using a lot of technical terms you hadn’t quite been able to understand.

“Why not!” Taehyung responds, grabbing his drink off the counter and skipping into the room. He saddles right up to where you’re leaning against the back of the couch, draping and arm across your shoulder.

“Y/N is here, so why not play a game? We haven’t in a while, since it’s always just the seven of us.”

“He’s right,” Jin pipes up, smiling. “We always just lay around and talk. Why not do something fun since Y/N is here too?”

“Well, I’m down,” Jimin comments, appearing on your other side. His eyes crease happily as he looks over at you. “Any suggestions for a game?”

“Me? Gosh no, I just know like…the basics,” you say, laughing to yourself. “You know—never have I ever, flip cup, beer pong—shit like that.”

“Wow, I haven’t played never-have-I-ever in a million years,” Namjoon chuckles, moving away from the speakers towards the couches, Yoongi following after him.

“We could do that!” Hoseok chimes in, vaulting over the back of the sofa and landing on his butt with a bounce. “C’mon, c’mon—it’ll be fun!”

“Kook, you too,” Yoongi mumbles over the music, eyes drifting over to the boy who is still lingering in the kitchen. His lips press into a pout as he watches all of you settle in—Namjoon, Jin, and Yoongi taking the 1 sofa, and you, Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung scattering across the floor and the queen sized mattress stuffed between the couch and the TV (a common place for the bed during Friday night parties). However, after a few seconds Jungkook sighs, grabs his beer, and makes his way over. You watch him, eyebrows pinching together slightly with worry.

Since you’d arrived Jungkook had seemed…fairly distant. Was something wrong?

“Alright people, you know the rules!” Taehyung speaks up, snapping you out of your worrying. “Everyone has 10 fingers—well, actually how about 5 since we don’t wanna do this all night—and you put one down every time someone says a statement that applies to you. Be honest—we’re not here to judge—”

“And maybe tone it back a little since Y/N is here and we don’t want her to run away and avoid us until the end of time,” Jin adds in wisely. You laugh.

“Is there anything I need to know about before we start this that will scar me for life and make me wanna do that?”

“Mmm…do you have a problem with Tae being a furry?” Hoseok poses jokingly, breaking out into a laugh when Taehyung sputters in disbelief and reaches across the circle to smack him.

“I’M NOT A FUCKING FURRY, SHUT UP!”

“Oh my god,” Yoongi groans, but there’s an amused smirk tugging at his lips. “Can we just start this?”

“Nose goes!” Jin exclaims, and like children you all rush to bring your pointer fingers to your noses. Evidentially, having been too busy trying to beat Hoseok for his comment, Taehyung ends up being the last to react.

“FINE,” he groans, and sits back in his seat, wine cooler cradled between his crossed legs as he holds his hand up—displaying 5 fingers. “Never have I ever driven after drinking alcohol.”

Yoongi, Jimin, and you all put fingers down. The rest look on in disappointment. Immediately the three of you gather your excuses, saying things between “I barely had anything to drink” and “I can sober up quickly”, but either way Jin fixes you all with a disapproving stare that would make even the biggest man in the room curl up in shame.

And so you, who are sat next to Taehyung, quickly move the game along.

“Never have I ever…umm…failed a class!”

With a heavy sigh, Taehyung puts another finger down—Jungkook following suit begrudgingly.

“Ouch,” Jimin winces, smiling sympathetically, and then takes his turn.

“Never have I ever…kissed a boy!”

“Seems like bullshit, but okay,” Yoongi grumbles as he puts a finger down, along with you, Namjoon, and a blushing Taehyung.

“And what does that mean?” Jimin retorts, sitting up a little straighter in his seat. Yoongi shifts his gaze to Jimin, leaning forward to look him in the eye.

“Have you seen yourself?”

“Okay, okay! Let’s keep this rolling!” Hoseok, who is sat between the two, intervenes before any type of argument can start. “Never have I ever…masturbated in public.”

“Why is the game already headed in this kind of direction?” Jin asks as Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jimin curl down another finger. And, after a few seconds of deep thought, you shyly glance around the circle before slowly putting a finger down as well. Cheeks red, you assume that no one really noticed until you glance up and find Yoongi staring at you with a knowing grin, eyebrow cocked in amusement. Feeling hot with embarrassment, you hold up a finger and point it at him, a gesture of “say nothing”, and with a roll of his eyes Yoongi moves on.

“Never have I ever tried to cut an onion with the wrong side of a knife.”

“…this is a personal attack,” Namjoon responds, putting a finger down, and Yoongi shrugs uncaringly. You stifle your laughter by biting your lip.

“I’m just trying not to lose the game, man.”

Namjoon sighs. “Never have I ever been mistaken for a camboy.”

“You just complained about personal attacks and now you’re gonna throw one at me?” Jin says in appalment, and Namjoon snickers. Jin rolls his eyes, glancing around the circle carefully. He and Jungkook are still at one finger, while Yoongi and Jimin are at two, and the rest of you are already at three, save Hoseok—the star child.

“Fine then. Never have I ever watched porn on a school’s computer.”

Hoseok, Yoongi, and Namjoon share a look.

“…does it count if it was on the computer in Yoongi’s workshop?”

“Yes. And did you all watch the same porn together?? What’s with that look!” Jin responds, laughing, and Namjoon huffs, while the other two put fingers down.

“That…is a question I don’t want to answer.”

“We’ll take that as yes then,” Jimin pipes up, giggling along with Jin when the eldest continues laughing. You laugh a little as well, trying to hide your smile behind your hand, and glance over at Jungkook since he’s up next. However, Jungkook still seems to be totally separated from the atmosphere of the party, glancing around the circle with no hint of humor showing on his face.

Again, you find yourself frowning.

“Jungkookie, your turn!”

The maknae turns his gaze to Namjoon. “Well, you’re already at 4 so why don’t I end this. Never have I ever had the last name Kim.”

“Oh c’mon!” Namjoon protests, jumping to his feet angrily. The other boys follow suit, pushing to their feet and leading Namjoon towards the kitchen while smacking his back and shoulders.

“Time to take a big ‘ol shot, loser!”

“Shot, shot, shot!”

You follow after the guys, laughing as you watch Yoongi pour Namjoon the biggest shot a shot glass will allow. Namjoon groans in agony, because he knows the cheap vodka is probably going to burn (and not in a good way), and the rest of you raise your own drinks.

“To Namjoon losing!” Hoseok declares.

“Cheers!” The rest of you echo, and Namjoon downs the shot while the rest of you take a sip from your own glasses.

Smiling to yourself, you hang back and fondly glance around at the group of males. To think there’d been a time when you hadn’t known any of them…and now you can’t imagine not knowing them.

Hell, if it weren’t for Jungkook intervening that night then—

You look around the kitchen only to realize that Jungkook isn’t present. Face dropping, you take a step back and look into the living room, but realize he’s not there either.

“Hey,” you say quietly, shuffling up next to Jin and bumping your shoulder against his. Blinking, Jin turns himself away from the commotion in front of him and looks over at you.

“Do you know where Jungkook is?”

“JK?” Surprised by the question, Jin looks around and just like you realizes that Jungkook is nowhere in sight. “Huh. I’m not sure. Maybe check the balcony?”

“Alright,” you say and immediately turn to look for said balcony, only to have Jin to stop you.

“Why are you looking for him? Is something up?”

“No no—I just…he hasn’t seemed? Very into the party? So I…just wanna make sure everything is okay.”

“Awww, how sweet. Well, if you find him tell him to snap out of his funk because the party won’t wait for him!”

“Will do,” you laugh, turning on your heel and heading deeper into the apartment. Since you’re not familiar with the living space it takes you a minute to locate the door which leads out on to the small balcony, and, sure enough, when you peek through the glass panels you spot Jungkook.

Gripping the handle, you slide the door open, and at the telltale sound Jungkook perks up from where he’s leaned against the metal railing. However, when he turns and sees that you’re not one of the six hyungs he had expected, his eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh, uh, hey,” he says, scooting over to make room for you beside him.

“Hi,” you say, smiling friendlily. You step up, folding your arms on the chilled metal guardrail. “It’s pretty cold out here, you like the cold?”

“Not necessarily,” he mumbles in return, and when you glance over you notice that goosebumps have risen on his skin.

“So…why hang around out here then?”

“Just…needed a break, I guess. What about you?”

“Me?” you echo, “well…I came out here because I was worried…,” Jungkook glances up at you, and you flash him a sad smile, feeling a little awkward. Sure you feel pretty comfortable around all of the boys but every person handles emotions differently, and you’re not sure how Jungkook reacts to being questioned about his own.

“Worried?”

“About you.”

Jungkook blinks, gaze sinking down to look at the parking lot below.

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry if I’m prying! I just…you know, I care about you,” you admit, eyes wandering to night sky above. “I know it might seem silly considering I haven’t known you all too long but…I do care about you. And you’ve been acting a little…different…tonight, in my opinion, and I was wondering if you’re okay.”

Silence stretches for a few seconds, a gust of wind causing your hair to settle around your face and a chill to sink into your skin. Anxiety knots in your gut, because you really do like these boys, so you don’t want to make anything with Jungkook awkward but—

“Y/N—”

“And if it’s because I’m here I can go!” You interrupt up, pointing over your shoulder towards the front door of the apartment. “I don’t wanna ruin anything for you guys. I’m sure it’s kinda weird since I basically just popped into your group all of the sudden, so I’d totally get it if you don’t like me being here—”

“What? Y/N, no—,” Jungkook cuts in, taking a step forward and gripping your wrist when you move to leave the balcony. You blink in surprise, looking up at him, and he shyly meets your eyes.

“That’s not it at all. I’m totally fine with you being here. I like you. I actually just…feel kind of bad for dragging you into all this.”

You stare at him, head cocking to the side in puzzlement.

“What?”

“I mean…I’m glad I saved you that night and I don’t regret helping to keep you from the Sharingan guy a second time either, but…,” he sighs, cheeks turning a little red and eyes glancing off to the side. “The guys…they keep making moves on you and I don’t know if it’s making you uncomfortable or what. Like…I don’t regret saving you but I’m also sorry for dragging you into this since the guys basically forced you into our group? Does that make sense?”

“It…it does,” you blink, and then crack a smile, exhaling a laugh through your nose. “It’s fine though, Jungkook, really. I’m honestly really happy knowing all of you and being able to hang out with you like this so…thank you.”

Reaching a hand up, you cup the side of his face and then press forward, touching your lips to his other cheek.

“I never did properly thank you for saving me. Either time,” you whisper, pulling back and smiling at him brightly. Ears the color of tomatoes, Jungkook rubs the back of his head, eyes fliting around the balcony.

“Well I think you’re a little late, but you’re welcome.”

“Good, now stop being a loner and come enjoy the party,” you say, hitting his arm playfully as you turn back to the door wall and slide it open. “Besides, it’s fucking freezing out here. Get your ass inside.”

“Alright, alright~,” Jungkook responds with a roll of his eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips, and, together, the two of you step back into the apartment.

“WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN WE’RE PLAYING SUPER SMASH BROS.”

“GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW.”

“Only if I can play as Kirby!” you retort, skipping over to where the boys are gathered on the floor in front of the TV. Jimin tosses you a controller, and when Jungkook settles in beside you, Yoongi throws one into the youngest’s chest, causing him to wince.

“Kirby is the worst,” Jin retorts, totally serious as he selects Pikachu as his player.

“Yeah? We’ll if you still feel that way after I kick your ass.”

“Hey. Fuck you.”

“Fuck me? No, fuck you!”

“OKAY, CHILDREN,” Namjoon butts in, starting the game and picking a stage. He grins as the countdown begins on screen.

“Less talking, more fighting.”

#wttws #welcome to the wild side #bts fic #bts superpower au #bts college au #namjoon fic #jungkook fic #yoongi fic #hoseok fic #jin fic #taehyung fic #jimin fic #bts x reader #bts reader insert

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geneticmisfit · 7 years ago

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Okay

Let’s talk Venom. Warning, this is LONG.

Okay so, two things

1. I’m gonna first look at it as a movie, and then look at it as an adaption of the character, because those two are wildly different things and I never expect a movie to give us a correct take on the character, just that it is an enjoyable take on the character.

2. I’m also going to start with the cons first because boy do we have a lot

THE MOVIE:

CONS:

The script is a god damn mess. It feels like they left two halves of different drafts in this movie. The movie doesn’t know if it wants to focus on the arrival of the symbiotes, Eddie’s slow acceptance of his new buddy, rivalry between Riz Ahmed’s character ( I could say Drake but would anyone even remember his name ) and Eddie, or the rivalry between Riot and Venom symbiotes, or the fact that symbiotes consume humans as food and jump from host to host. All of those plot hooks are in the movie but it tries to focus on each briefly and as a result ends up focusing on NONE of it.

Acts are unbalanced. The movie spends way, way, way too long of a time in act 1. We get it, it is trying to show us Eddie’s life before things went south, the end of his career, and his lowest low after. But the movie draaaaaaaaags those events out. Eddie legitimately doesn’t get the symbiote until the 50+ minute mark, and the movie then spends another 20 minutes dealing with Eddie’s slow realization that he has a stowaway in his body ( there are three scenes of Eddie hungering ravenously without knowing why and eating random foods as a result. You only needed one scene of that. At least Tom is having fun, bless him. )

It glosses over things that are interesting, focuses too much on things that aren’t. This is connected to the act unbalance, but it warrants its own point. And we’re gonna do bulletpoints on this. The movie spends an ungodly amount of time focusing on Drake’s obsession with the symbiotes in the first act ( you thought Lasher and Scream would be in this ? They die after possessing a few people but not fully bonding with them. ) but then does nothing with it once Riot and Drake bond. Venom himself hints at there being a symbiote hierarchy and symbiotes having a Class system, it’s why Riot ( and later Carnage i’d imagine ) can form weapons with their body and Venom can’t, but it is literally ONE LINE and then the movie moves on. NO. FOCUS ON THAT. THERE IS INTRIGUE THERE ! Related to that, the movie makes it seem like Riot and Venom have history, but they only speak like 5 lines to one another before fighting to the death. Same with Drake and Eddie. Drake is the one who destroyed Eddie, yet Eddie doesn’t really fight with Drake over that during their fight. Third act is EXTREMELY rushed which might be because a) they have a lower budget than most so they can’t spend 15 minutes to a CG fight I get that, but also b) They probably wanted this movie to be under 2 hours, but the first act is too long and clunky to be worked around, so then you run into this problem.

Characters don’t have arcs. Now this is a biggie, not that most characters lack arcs, but that the two characters that do have arcs are criminally underplayed. Firstly, Eddie has a non-verbal arc in that at the beginning he is, and I’m quoting Venom here, a pussy. He’s meek, he’s a bit of a coward that tries to make himself look brave, but cowers when shit hits the fan. But due to his time with the symbiote, he learns to be more assertive himself and bolder. That’s a good arc ! But you really have to pay attention to it because the movie doesn’t shine any light to it. There isn’t even a recognition of it. BUT THE BIGGEST OFFENDER OF ALL IS VENOM HIMSELF. Venom has an arc that completely takes place OFF SCREEN. So, apparently, Venom’s initial goal in the movie is to make it to Life Foundation and hijack their Rocket to bring his symbiote pals back, and he doesn’t really care for Eddie and is using him as a ride. Okay, that’s good ! And the movie kinda hints at that by Venom just sloooooowly fucking up Eddie’s internal organs and then acting extremely defensive when Anne’s doctor boyfriend mentions it, and gets hostile. Okay, that is also good ! But, during their walk to the Third Act Fight, Eddie asks why Venom suddenly wants to stop Riot and he is like ‘ Oh I want to live here now, I like it here. And you, Eddie, you helped change my mind. ‘ That is, on paper, is interesting. BUT WE DON’T SEE THAT SHOWN ON SCREEN. There is ONE, small, moment of Venom looking at the San Fran skyline and musing ‘ Oh. This planet is not as ugly as I thought. It is actually beautiful. ’ and that’s good, and you get the sense that Eddie, a loser, and Venom, a self-professed loser, are becoming better beings as a result of their bonding and Venom recognizes that and wants to keep going, that’s good too, but the movie DOESN’T SPEND TIME ON THIS. And as a result Venom’s character turn just feels absolutely out of left field and empty.

......Phew. Okay, let’s focus on some PROS.

Eddie and Venom dynamic is a JOY to watch. They are both like a bickering married couple and bickering college roommates and you can tell Tom is having a BLAST with this interplay and you have fun as a result. Reports say that a lot of what Tom did with his Venom scenes is improv and honestly you can feel it at times. It feels natural. Worth the price of admission alone tbh.

Action scenes are enjoyable. Almost all of the action scenes are released on YouTube as shortened clips so you could watch those if you so wish but, there are a handful of nice action sequences here. Riot - Venom fight is way too quick for my taste but it has HINTS of creativity that feels restrained by its budget, and it’s a dumb cg vs cg fight. If you enjoy those, like I do, then you’ll enjoy this one too.

Venom looks good. Honestly, I see people saying his CG looks like shit but, honestly ? We have seen TERRIBLE CG characters in Superhero movies just last year. Steppenwolf was absolute ASS. He looked stiff, he moved like a toy, he didn’t emote, he was a blank face. And that movie had the budget of 300 million. Venom is THE OPPOSITE of that. His face is EXPRESSIVE, his movements feel FLUID, the way the symbiote lashes out with tendrils from Eddie and what it does without fully Venoming up is interesting and kind of cool to see. And this movie had a budget of 100 mil, so it’s impressive what they’ve managed to do with that budget.

NOW LET’S LOOK AT IT AS AN ADAPTION OF THE COMIC BOOK

If you look at it from that angle, it’s..........not good. SPIDEY IS NEVER MENTIONED ONCE. Not even in the vaguest sense. There is the mention of a Daily Globe Incident that got Eddie kicked out of NYC press scene, and you could theoretically retcon Spidey into having a hand in that, but beyond that I have no idea how they could have a rivalry in this universe they’re trying to set up. If they cross paths, it seems it would be to TEAM UP rather than FIGHT. There also aren’t any major references to Spidey’s world at large. Kletus appears in the mid-credits scene, Woody Harrelson in a glorious Carrot Top wig, and apparently the astronaut who dies in the crash that brings the symbiotes to Earth is J.J.’s son

Eddie is not Eddie from the comics. He isn’t angry, he isn’t bitter or vengeful, as I previously mentioned he is extremely meek and cowardly, and only after getting the symbiote does he become more Assertive and sure of himself. He is, however, still a dick at times, so that’s nice. So if you go into the movie expecting classic comics Eddie, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

TL; DR

It does feel like this movie has a lot of cons than pros, HOWEVER, the strength of Hardy’s performance and the dynamic between him and the symbiote is SO good, and seeing Venom is SUCH a blast, that it kinda ends up balancing out the negatives. THE FIRST FORTY MINUTES ARE UNEVENTFUL AND BORING, and feel free to take your pee and food breaks then, but after the Venom gets inside Eddie, the movie becomes MUCH more fun and enjoyable, and becomes a Good Time to be perfectly honest. There is a decent foundation here, and if Sony gets better screenwriters, and focuses on what made this movie good, and throws out the parts that didn’t work, it could legitimately have a real strong sequel. This movie does feel like it desperately wants to deal with Venom being a Lethal Protector, but is Obligated to set it up for the regular movie going audience so it doesn’t come out of left field, and you can tell the movie really enjoying itself towards the end when it finally set that all up.

TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ THE TL; DR

The movie is a solid 6.5. / 10. Go in expecting 90′s goofy ass comics Venom rather than Hardcore Spooky Crazy Venom, and you’ll have a jolly good time.

#god this got long.#;out of homework #if you??? care about my opinions???? then enjoy??????????? lmfao #i should be a movie critic god damn

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sugardaddycentral · 7 years ago

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born to die pt. 2

Connor Murphy x Reader

Born To Die

Part 2

Summary: Connor and (Y/N)'s relationship start to take a different turn as they get to know the real version of each other.

Song Inspiration: Born To Die / Lana Del Rey

Word Count:

Connor was in absolutely no shape to drive. After we got food, I let him have one of the joints I stashed in the glove compartment. And then after that, it went against my conscience to let him drive himself home.

Connor lived in a huge ass house at the end of a cul de sac. The sheer size of it left me in awe. I swear, I could fit my bedroom in their closets. "Holy shit," I muttered under my breath. A short haired, redheaded woman who I assumed was Connor's mom was out on the front lawn doing pilates. At the same time, a silver Mercedes was pulling into the driveway. Mrs. Murphy dropped everything she was doing and jogged over to my car. I rolled down the passenger seat window.

"Hi Mrs. Murphy, I'm (Y/N). Just dropping Connor off," I introduced myself.

"Oh, thank you! I'm Cynthia." She grinned painfully widely. She extended her hand through the window to shake mine. "Connor, what happened to your car?" she asked.

"He's high," a masculine voice stated. The man who I assumed was Connor's dad emerged from the Mercedes. He set down his brief case and went to shake my hand as well. "Thank you for bringing Connor back. I'm sorry if he was any trouble," said Mr. Murphy, his face painted with disgust at the sight of his son. Connor rolled his eyes and hid his anger behind a passive-aggressive smile. He slammed the car door open, not giving a shit that his dad was standing directly in front. He muttered a goodbye under his breath and stormed into the house.

"He can be like that," Cynthia nervously chuckled. "How do you know Connor, (Y/N)?"

I couldn't help but focus on Connor slamming his house door. His mom seemed sweet. His dad on the other hand was a piece of work. Judging by Mr. Murphy's formal attire and brief case, and not to mention the large house, this man made some good money.

"Oh uh, we met in support group."

"Oh!" Cynthia started, her face portraying a million emotions at once. She went from shock to excitement and then confusion, which she tried to hide with a cheesy and toothy grin. "That's wonderful! I didn't know Connor goes to support group. Did you know, Larry?" she asked turning to her husband. The same disgusted look washed over Larry Murphy’s face again, but with a hint of confusion as well.

“No, I didn’t."

"Oh, well I'm so happy that Connor is making friends! How about you join us for dinner tonight, (Y/N)? I'd love to hear more about how you and Connor became friends," suggested Cynthia.

I knew that dinner with the Murphy's would be a whole new level of discomfort. But like an idiot, I said yes anyways. I reached over to my night stand and grabbed my phone to text Connor.

To: Connor M.

just a heads up, your parents invited me over for dinner tonight

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I awaited a response.

From: Connor M.

y the fuck would u say yes?

To: Connor M.

because i'm an idiot

His response took a lot longer than usual. I double checked my phone.

From: Connor M.

...

u said it, not me

I grinned widely, then glanced up to check the time.

To: Connor M.

see u in a bit, loser

From: Connor M.

wear something nice

I pulled up to the Murphy house at around 7. Not a single light was out in the entire house. I parked the car by the curb.

My hands trembled as I went to ring the doorbell. The whole idea of sitting down with the Murphy's for dinner made my skin crawl. I decided to heed Connor's advice and wear something somewhat nice. The only thing that wasn't lying on my bedroom floor or in the hamper was a black cocktail dress that still had the tag on. I didn't expect that I would need it until now. To accompany my look, I did a natural makeup look and put on a pair of faux diamond earrings. Fake it till you make it, right?

My hand froze as I reached out to ring the bell. Just ring the fucking doorbell, I told myself. Each time my finger inched closer, I felt my heart being dragged down to the pit of my stomach. What if I just told Connor that I was feeling sick and just left. Or what if I say that my car wouldn't start? Or what if-

Before I knew it, my finger was on the button and the doorbell sound echoed in my mind. Muffled voices shouted at each other back and forth and a pair of rushing footsteps reached the door. A young girl, probably a year younger than me, opened the door. She was really pretty, I admit. She sported a vibrant floral sundress, a polar opposite from what I wore. She wore her long hair pulled back in a braid, which gave her an innocent presence.

"Hi, uh, I'm (Y/N). I'm Connor's friend," I awkwardly introduced myself and extended my hand. The girl showed the same courtesy.

"Connor doesn't have any friends," she quipped. "Zoe. Come on in. Mom's just finishing up the lasagna and Dad's in the living room."

The inside of the Murphy home was slightly different than I expected. Judging by the extravagant exterior and the white picket fence, you wouldn't have any doubts about how this family was kept together. As Zoe led me through the long hallways to the family room, I examined all of the framed pictures on the walls. There were countless pictures of 8 year old Connor in a Little League uniform. There were also a few of little Connor and little Zoe together in one of those professionally photographed scenes, the ones only people with good money could afford. The family portraits made the family look like royalty. The pictures came to a sudden halt. There weren't any more pictures that passed Connor's fourth grade year, and Zoe's third.

The shift in atmosphere pulled me out of the rabbit hole of theories in my mind.

"She's here," Zoe said to her mother. Cynthia Murphy directed her attention from her cooking to me. Her royal blue dress and beige shawl made her stand out from the monochromatic color scheme of the kitchen.

"You look wonderful, (Y/N)!" Cynthia exclaimed as she pulled me in for a hug. "Connor's just upstairs. Why don't you go see him?" she suggested, which made my cheeks heat up and flush. She pointed over to the main staircase that led to Connor's room.

I dragged my hand against the railing as I made my way up. There were three doors at the top of the staircase. One was a plain white door that had colorful foam stickers that spelled out "Zoe." The colors looked aged and faded. The other was a pair of double oak doors, which had to the Larry and Cynthia's room. The last was a black door with a gilded handle. That had to be Connor's room. Coming from behind the door was "Yesterday" by The Beatles playing on a speaker.

The door had been left open wide enough for me to shimmy my body through. I wanted to knock, but that was before I noticed that Connor wasn't wearing a shirt and his hair was tied up in a messy bun. His topless torso caught me by surprise. My eyes maintained focused on his toned chest. But more importantly, my eyes drifted over to his exposed arms. Scars, both faded and recent, littered up the inner parts of his arms. My jaw slacked and I let out a silent gasp.

I tapped my knuckles gently against the door and backed away from the opening before Connor could look over. I heard him quickly reach for a dress shirt to at least cover up his arms. The door swung backwards as he opened it.

"Hey," he said, weirdly sounding out of breath. His eyes raked over my entire outfit.

"Hey." My cheeks were embarrassingly red and hot as I couldn't get the image of him topless out of my head. I gave him a quick spin to show off my outfit. "Nice enough for you?" He let out a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah, good enough I guess,” he smirked.

PT 1

MASTERLIST

#connor murphy #connor murphy imagine #dear evan hansen #dear evan hansen imagine #ben platt #mike faist #sugardaddycentral

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bravonovel · 4 years ago

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The Incomparable Man read novel online - Su Qi & Liu Nian - Bravonovel

The Incomparable Man https://www.bravonovel.com/the-incomparable-man-8227

The Incomparable Man novel is a Romance story about Su Qi and Liu Nian.

You can read The Incomparable Man novel on Bravonovel Web or App.

The Incomparable Man novel Chapter 1

Inside the outpatient department of Hua Hai Private Hospital, a group of male doctors instantly broke into a heated discussion as a gorgeous female doctor walked past them.

“Oh my, Dr. Liu is such a beauty it is ungodly! I don’t mind cutting my life short just to have her in my arms.”

“Dude, dream on. You don’t stand a chance, not even in a million years! She is exceptional in every aspect, be it academically or career wise. What more? She has an enchanting facial feature paired with a voluptuous figure. I reckon she has millions of pursuers on the waiting list.”

“Pfft. Isn’t that a little too exaggerated?”

“Hey, cut the crap. Here comes Su Qi.”

They turned around to see a man dressed in cheap and discolored clothing, slowly approaching.

“Tsk. What’s there to be afraid of? Who doesn’t know that Su Qi is a loser? The last time when Chief Xue gifted a bouquet of flowers to Dr. Liu before him, he didn’t even dare speak a word.”

“True that. If I were him, I’d rather die than watch other men flirt with my wife. I’m shocked at his indifference though. I wonder why would Dr. Liu agree to be married to him in the first place. I mean, come on. There has got to be better contenders.”

“Keep it down. If Su Qi hears you, he might beat you up.”

“Ha! If he dares to fight me, I’ll treat all of you to a nice massage in Empire tonight.”

Su Qi had a keen sense of hearing hence he heard every single word from their discussion. However, he remained disinterested as it was a normal episode which he had long been desensitized to.

The man had been living under their harsh criticisms for the past five years.

He raised his head to look at Liu Nian who was standing afar as he let out a sigh. They were a married couple yet they had not enjoyed a blissful marriage.

Having entered into a matrilocal marriage, Liu Nian had never taken him seriously and her attitude towards him deteriorated in the last one year.

Indeed, Su Qi was seen as being unworthy of Liu Nian in every single aspect.

Amidst the condemnation and ridicule, only Su Qi himself would know that such a day was coming to an end and he would rise to the occasion.

As a matter of fact, he hailed from the nation’s most prominent yet reclusive lineage, which owned unrivaled wealth and status. He was a formidable surgical who outstripped all the doctors in Huahai Hospital. But due to the family’s mandate, he had to enter into a matrilocal marriage with the Liu’s. Furthermore, during this period, he had to remain subservient to the Liu’s no matter what. It was only until then he would be allowed to inherit the family’s empire.

It was beyond him as to why the family had come up with such a ridiculous covenant, making him suffer all these years for no good reason and living a life worse than a dog.

Fortunately, the liberation day was approaching soon.

Sensing the boundless energy within his body, Su Qi could not help but feel ecstatic at the thought. Just you wait. I will make sure all of you regret every single word you have said about me!

He was especially eager to see the expression on his wife’s face when she discovered he was not a good-for-nothing after all.

At midday after work, Su Qi ordered a takeaway of Liu Nian’s favorite dishes at the canteen and brought them to her office. It was the single most important job for him at Huahai Hospital.

But as he reached the office, he caught sight of a few nurses standing outside eavesdropping. The group dispersed immediately upon seeing him as one of the nurses said, “Su Qi, you better not go in,” a nurse stopped him.

“What’s the matter?” Su Qi was confused by the nurse’s remark.

Before the nurse could answer, a man was heard pleading in Liu Nian’s office, “Niannian, my feelings for you are real. Why would you want to make yourself cheap by staying by Su Qi’s side? He is clearly not a match for you! Why won’t you marry me instead, Niannian? I promise to treat you with love and care.”

These words were audible even from a distance and those who were outside the office turned to look at Su Qi with a sympathetic look.

Su Qi’s lips twitched upon hearing the man’s confession. No man in his right mind would turn a blind eye to his wife being courted by the other man, not even Su Qi. He felt a rage boiling within him as he clenched his fist tightly. Shoving the nurse aside, he was prepared to march into her office to confront the man.

Alas! He stumbled after his right leg and instead of looking very bold, he ended up looking pathetic.

Just when he was about to reach for the door knob, the office door opened up and an alluring figure appeared in sight, and it was Liu Nian.

Seeing Su Qi at the door, a hint of guilt flashed across Liu Nian’s face before it dissipated quickly and turned into an angry look, “Why the hell are you here?”

Su Qi’s temper fizzled out almost immediately upon Liu Nian’s inquiry. Just as he was about to speak, the man came walking out of the office, “Dr. Liu, let me explain. I…”

He was Xue Hanhai. He halted his words when he caught a glimpse of Su Qi. He then turned to the latter and derided, “Oh hello! I didn’t see you there. Have you finished cleaning the toilets?”

The man’s query was not without a reason. There was a time when one of the toilets was clogged while the cleaner was away on leave. Su Qi then helped unclog the toilet out of goodwill. However, this has become an in-joke among the hospital staffs and they have since then mocked him about this.

“Hahaha!” The floor was burst into laughter as soon as they heard from the man

With his gazes fixed on Liu Nian, he ignored the man’s mockery and handed over the food to Liu Nian, “I packed these for you. Quickly eat it while it’s hot.”

Xue Hanhai immediately placed himself before Liu Nian, blocking off Su Qi as he said to Liu Nian, “Nian, the food at the canteen is poor. Let me take you to The Walnut, where we can dine in a romantic atmosphere.”

Deliberately enunciating the word ‘romantic’ loudly before the crowd, he glanced at Su Qi contemptuously.

It was a well-known fact that Su Qi was Liu Nian’s husband. Hence, his words were seen as an insult directed towards Su Qi.

Su Qi remained indifferent at his declaration as he gazed at Liu Nian with his arm stretched out. He hoped that she would stay back and eat the food that he brought.

Liu Nian was angered by his aloofness in taking on the humiliation by Xue Hanhai. She swiped the food boxes away from his hand and dissed, “You’re such a loser!”

Ever since they have gotten married, Liu Nian had never shown any interest nor paid any attention to him, often ignoring the things he said or did. This was the first time she called him a loser in public and his body stiffened upon hearing that.

On the sidelines, Xue Hanhai was extremely pleased at the development and his gleeful feelings were reflected on his face. He immediately jumped at the opportunity and held onto Liu Nian’s hand as they prepared to leave the office.

It was then that a panicky voice accompanied by anxious footsteps approached them, “Oh no! We are in trouble!”

…...

Continue to read Chapter 2 of The Incomparable Man on Bravonovel Web

https://www.bravonovel.com/the-incomparable-man-8227/chapter-2-192764

Read more exciting novels on Bravonovel App

https://www.bravonovel.com/download-bravonovel-app

#Su Qi #Liu Nian #Romance #story #Bravonovel #novel #fiction #The Incomparable Man #book

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junker-town · 4 years ago

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What to expect from The Weeknd during the Super Bowl halftime show

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TW

The Weeknd is your halftime performer at Super Bowl LV. This is what you need to know.

It’s time for America’s biggest concert, which happens to be between the first and second half of America’s biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl. Whether or not you’re interested in watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Kansas City Chiefs, the halftime show is bound to be a talking point around the country the next day.

This year’s Super Bowl halftime performer is R&B/soul artist, The Weeknd. No, that’s not a typo. The Weeknd has been releasing music since 2010 and gained popularity at an exponential rate. Now a multi-platinum award-winning artist, his last three albums have reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and all went multi-platinum.

The Weeknd’s songs, Blinding Lights and Save Your Tears, sit at No. 3 and 14 respectively on the Billboard The Hot 100. His albums After Hours (2020), Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), and Starboy (2016) are No. 4, No. 78, and No. 88 on the Billboard 200 as well. I write all this to say he is a good and well-known artist that continues to create great music with staying power.

Typically, Super Bowl halftime performances consist of seven to 15 songs, and while that is a big range, that leaves many of us wondering which songs will make the cut. Will he perform I Can’t Feel My Face, Starboy, Heartless, The Hills?

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret

What is the Weeknd famous for?

If you’re not familiar with the Weeknd’s mainstream music, you may have heard him in the film Black Panther. He collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on the song Pray For Me as a part of the movie’s album.

You may have also seen him in Uncut Gems, where he played himself singing The Mornings, a song from his debut mixtape House of Balloons. Or on SNL, performing his song Blinding Lights. He also appeared in a few skits, one of which was called “Weeknd Update.”

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

What to expect in The Weeknd’s halftime show

The Weeknd dropped some hints during his introductory press conference before the game:

In a press conference for the #PepsiHalftime , The Weeknd says the show will be a "cinematic experience" and his biggest inspiration is Diana Ross (SB XXX) who arrived in a helicopter. #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/XxbKzxlamO

— The Weeknd News (@NewsWeeknd) February 4, 2021

The Weeknd gives a preview of what to expect on the Super Bowl halftime stage. #usatodayRadioRowSB55 pic.twitter.com/y0DYOYN5UK

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) February 4, 2021

What happened to The Weeknd’s face?

A character with a busted nose and bandaged face is the main protagonist in many of the music videos from The Weeknd’s After Hours album. Since the album’s launch in November 2020, that character has made public appearances, leaving many wondering if The Weeknd’s face is okay. Long story short, his face is fine. When he’s bandaged up, he’s in character, and when he is not, well, he’s fully The Weeknd.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for dcp

The bandages critique Hollywood’s beauty culture and people manipulating themselves through plastic surgery and other means for superficial reasons. For him, being attractive isn’t what he’s after. Through his character, he is not only promoting his album, but sparking up a conversation around Hollywood’s beauty standards, what it means to be attractive, and more.

Will The Weeknd bring out a guest star?

The Weeknd has collaborated with many musicians during his 11 years as an artist, but here are a few potential guest performers.

Daft Punk - Starboy (Starboy), I Feel It Coming (Starboy), and Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack)

Ed Sheeran - Dark Times (Beauty Behind The Madness)

Lana Del Rey - Prisoner (Beauty Behind The Madness)

Labrinth - Losers (Beauty Behind The Madness)

Future - All I Know (Starboy)

Kendrick Lamar - Pray For Me (Black Panther The Album Music) and Sidewalks (Starboy)

Drake - Live For (Kiss Land)

Ariana Grande - Love Me Harder (My Everything)

What’s the best The Weeknd song?

The “best” is all personal preference, but my favorite song from The Weeknd is still, after three years and new music, I Can’t Feel My Face, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. If I were a betting woman, I would bet good money that he will perform it during halftime. Also, Starboy was a banger when it came out and had its moment at the top of the charts.

While we don’t know for sure how The Weeknd’s performance will go, he has poured $7 million of his own money into making this halftime show one to remember. If that doesn’t scream investment, I don’t know what does. We will have to see how it all turns out.

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