#DANIEL DO YOU FEEL THE DAWG CALLING

[yesloulou]

Drive To Survive Season 3 Episode 5 AND THEN HE DRAGGED THAT MID ASF RENAULT ONTO THE PODIUM TWICE FINISHED 5TH IN THE WDC

[kurikive]

please! — 67. you reek, and even then i still like(love) you.

babbling incoherent words, hanni was dragging down y/n on the floor with her arms around her neck. "now i get why you do this." she slurred out barely understandable words while y/n just sighed trying to get her girlfriend to get up.

see, it was now 12:56, almost 1 AM. and hanni had spent the last hour doing absolute nonsense at the party, like cursing out hyein (a child) for god knows how long, dancing strangely and making her girlfriend think she was having a seizure, throwing up in the kitchen sink on accident, and climbing up a tree when unsupervised.

hyein's mom called, it was her time to go home. and by the looks of her state, it was hanni's too.

"babe, please get down." y/n exclaimed to her girlfriend who was sitting on a thick branch with seemingly no expression other than a blank stare to the people below her. "you're gonna get dizzy and throw up."

"my throw-up will go all over you like the peasants that you are." she slurred.

"okay, what the fuck?" danielle, one of the only people with consciousness in the group, said offended.

"hanni, pleaseeeee!" y/n pressed her hands together as she pleaded her lover to get down. "i'll take you home, just please get down."

the girl on the tree seemed to think about it. "beg and i'll consider it." she shrugged.

"nah, this is some weird shit, dawg." drunkenly, jungwon stumbled away in disgust.

"wha- god, hanni, please? can you just please get down? what more do you want? i'm literally kneeling, gosh..."

"help me, i can't get down by myself, duh." hanni complained.

holding out her arms as she carefully pulled hanni down the branch she muttered, "don't ever get drunk again, goodness hanni..."

and now, a group of drunk teenagers and some sober ones walking down the dark streets to go home street. the ones who lived close together walked beside each other with the sober ones while hanni and y/n walked with each other with their arms around each other (y/n was just carrying all of hanni's weight while the other hung on her shoulders).

danielle and haerin walked behind them to make sure none of them fell to the ground, and if they did... well, danielle would be there to take the pictures and (not) help.

other than the loud laughs and drunken comments by the teens, it was a peaceful walk, kind of. "y/n~ where are we goooingggg~" hanni asked as she clung harder to the tallers shoulders, almost dragging her to the ground.

"i'm taking you home, nini. we'll get there soon, don't worry." she reassured her, pulling the girl closer to her instead of the pavement. the other just groaned.

hanni doesn't know how y/n even managed to get the both of them on the bus, all she knows is that she feels a little sleepy. the atmosphere of the night pulling down on her eyelids, and before she knew it her head was resting on y/n's shoulder once again as her consciousness faded away.

y/n felt the weight return to her once heavy shoulders. she looked down to find her girlfriend resting peacefully beside her. the lights of the city shining on her features made her look even prettier.

y/n was about to take her phone out before she held back and just admired the view with her own two eyes. a light gust of wind came in through the upper windows of the bus. could the moment get better than this?

a few minutes later, y/n recognized the bus stop approaching from the window. it was the same one she waited in when she took hanni home on their first date. she gently shook the sleeping girl, whispering sweet words to wake her up from her rest.

groaning once again, hanni let herself be guided by y/n to the doors of the bus while the other carried both their weights with difficulty.

hanni almost tripped as she got down the stairs of the bus, giving y/n a mini heart attack. "are you okay?" she asked with concern, hanni just nodded in response.

"are your parents home?" y/n asked once again as they walked that familiar path towards hanni's home. hanni shook her head carefully while pouting, "mm-mh, if they were i wouldn't have gotten drunk, dummy."

"right." y/n chuckled at her girlfriend's drunken expressions. they were getting closer to the house and y/n internally battled with herself if she should just drop her off at the front door and go home or accompany her inside to make sure she went to sleep accordingly and not wake up with a headache the next day. she figured she'd just let hanni choose in the end.

as they got closer and closer to hanni’s house’s front door, y/n began to grow more nervous. ‘what if she sets her house on fire when i leave?’ thinking of every horrible and possible outcome of leaving a drunk hanni alone in her own house started to freak her out until she heard the other’s soft sleepy voice speak.

“you’re gonna help me brush my teeth, right?’

y/n almost let out a big sigh of relief.

“if you let me then yeah.” hanni just chuckled at the taller’s words.

y/n barely noticed they were already in front of their destination when hanni removed her own arm from y/n’s shoulders to take out her house keys as she stumbled trying to keep her balance. y/n quietly hovered her arm behind the shorter, just in case.

hanni tried about five times to get the key in the key slot before she could actually unlock the door to her house, y/n just watched her patiently as she thought trying to help might disturb her concentration and make her feel worse. as soon as hanni opened the door she immediately got inside and took of her shoes to go sit down and rest her body, but she stopped halfway on her tracks when she noticed the front door was still open and y/n was still outside.

“you’re gonna stay outside and freeze until you die?” she sarcastically asked, letting a giggle slip through her words. “come in before i go back and slam the door in your face.” and so y/n stepped inside, admiring the inside of what her girlfriend called home.

meanwhile y/n closed the door behind her, the shorter girl was slowly starting to stress out in her mission of finding the TV remote. “y/n.” said girl rapidly turned her head to where she was called, “help me find the remote.” hanni whined. chuckling, the taller could already spot the object from behind her partner on top of the counter the TV stood in. slowly making her way towards it, she checked if said object was the one hanni was so desperately looking for. “this?” she asked.

with an embarrassed frown, hanni took it from her girlfriend’s hands. “huh. weird. i checked there.” y/n laughed endeared at the other’s excuses.

“why were you even looking for it? we have to get you ready for bed.”

“yes, but... i need the TV as background noise so i feel less lonely.” she shyly admitted. “don’t.” she cut off y/n, who seemed like she was about to speak, in fear she’d make fun of her habits. “don’t make fun of me.”

“i was just gonna say i do that too, nini. don’t worry, i would never make fun of you for something like that.” and although the first part was true, the second one was a complete lie as their relationship was just pure bullying towards each other as a way to hide their “embarrassing” feelings.

after hanni chose a channel to leave as background noise, she drunkenly carried herself towards her own room, y/n following behind her as she kept admiring the decorations in the house. it took a little longer than expected to walk up the stairs, but y/n let hanni go at her pace instead of carrying her up and getting her dizzy and potentially having them both fall down the stairs.

“wait, you’re going in my room for the first time, this is exciting!” hanni randomly turned around and looked at her girlfriend with excitement. “i’m- i’m going in your room?”

“you’re gonna brush my teeth in the kitchen?” the shorter asked.

y/n grinned, “i mean, you seem sober enough to do it yourself, i don’t know.”

“i could kick you out.”

“sorry.” was the last thing any of them said before hanni opened the door to her room. still, it was only hanni who went into the bedroom.

she turned around and glared at the taller, “are you gonna keep doing this?” y/n only chuckled. “change into your pajamas by yourself! i’ll wait here.” and she turned around, back facing the door frame.

“weirdo...” hanni muttered before shutting the door to change clothes. it’s not like they had that type of confidence yet, they were a fresh couple, also minding that hanni was still drunk and not yet sober. it was only better to wait.

y/n stood outside the door to hanni’s room, listening to the sound of the TV downstairs and admiring the new surroundings. but that short peace was disturbed not long after by hanni’s screams for help inside the walls behind her.

“y/n! help me! i’m stuck!” she held in a sigh and braced herself for any possible scenario she’d discover once she opened the door. “hanni? are you okay-

HAHAHA!”

“stop laughing, asshole! help me out!” the shorter demanded, but who wouldn’t laugh? when hanni was standing with her arms up in the air and her head barely making it through hole of her pajamas. the room suddenly turned quiet, “y/n? where are you?”

click!

“did you just take a fucking picture?”

but there was no other sound apart from the soft giggles that left y/n’s lips. she finally got hanni’s head through and was met with the sight of pink pajamas with bunny prints and a very red faced short girlfriend. y/n could not figure out if the redness was from anger or embarrassment.

hanni just glared at her girlfriends silly smirk, and only frowned harder when she teased, “there you go, big head.”

“fuck you. brush my teeth.” the shorter hissed.

“but we have to take your make up off first, silly!”

2:02 am. hanni was sitting on her bathroom’s countertop while y/n was, after a long session of whining and complaining, diligently brushing the other’s teeth.

after she was done, the latter took the toothbrush to rinse it with water while her girlfriend stared intensely at every action. “god, hanni. never get this drunk again.” she once again complained.

hypocrite. “but i wanna get drunk at our wedding.” hanni muttered sheepishly, clearly acting and noticeable by the way she threw her shoulders out. nevertheless, y/n dropped her jaw in shock at the sudden comment. “what? do you not want to get married?” hanni still feigned innocence, this time with a smirk on her stupid face.

“what?! no! i-i mean, yes! i just- i don’t- i didn’t... you know...” y/n’s face grew redder every second while hanni’s smile grew wider. “i don’t know...” she mumbled in surrender.

“you’re cute. i like you.”

y/n smiled at her confession, “no shit, hanni. we’re girlfriends. i’d hope you at least liked me.” she rolled her eyes as a chuckle escaped with her words, only to find a pout and watery eyes when she put them back on her girlfriend. “are you crying?”

as soon as she said that, hanni started bawling. “we’re *hiccup* girlfrie-ends.” the taller could only laugh in disbelief. she was the lucky one to be able to call the girl she liked a lover, and yet here she was, drunkenly crying at the fact that they were dating.

but then again, hanni’s mouth smelled of alcohol and her opening it as she sobbed didn’t help. at all.

 “hanni, i really love you and all, but you reek of alcohol and i need to find this mouthwash. so, pleeease stop crying.” and so she stopped, with little tears dropping past her pout as she watched y/n kneel in front of the counter’s cabinet trying to find the blue liquid.

“found it.” but when she went to stand up, she hit her head on the counter. “ow.” the pain fading away the moment she heard hanni’s little giggles. she handed the bottle to the girl, but saw she refused to take it because it was still closed. with a groan, she twisted the cap and poured the mouthwash into it, finally handed it to hanni, who reluctantly took it and drank it like a tequila shot.

“what the fuck?!” y/n yelped at the scene she just witnessed. hanni just stepped down from the countertop and face y/n as if nothing that insane had happened, making y/n step backwards and almost trip. “what?” she chuckled, there she goes again with the innocent act.

this idiot was just crying and now she’s downing mouthwash shots. crazy.

walking away mindlessly, hanni turned off the bathroom lights with y/n still inside, signaling her to also walk out. “wait! i’m scared of the dark!” she said as she ran off.

this time it was hanni’s turn to laugh loudly, “no you’re not!”

“a little...” the taller mumbled.

“good thing i have a nigh light! can finally put it to use.” hanni mentioned.

y/n suddenly stopped in her tracks, “wait, i’m sleeping here?”

“if you allow yourself to.” hanni shrugged. “you just said the l word to me but can’t dare to sleep in the same room as your girlfriend.”

“i can sleep on the floor- wait, what did i say?”

“you said the l word. few minutes ago.”

“no i didn’t?”

“you did.”

“liar.”

“why would i lie about that?”

“to tease me.”

hanni laughed, yet agreed. “yeah, i would do that. you still said it, though.”

“did you say it?”

“nope.”

“will you say it?”

it was quiet for a bit.

“i’ll think about it.”

“great, let’s go to sleep.” said y/n as she walked towards the bed to undo the covers so hanni could get in first.

getting under the covers, hanni started thinking while she stared at her girlfriend who was fixing the night light. “if i was a bug-”

“no. sleep.”

“not even a buttefly?”

“butterflies scare me.” y/n laid in bed next to hanni, who fixed her position to look at her face to face.

“what about a roach?”

“sleep.”

“you’re no fun.”

“snore... mimimimimi...” y/n pretended to sleep and made fake snoring noises, making hanni giggle. “read me a story.”

“no.” y/n had already closed her eyes.

“i hate you.”

“you stink.”

“even if i stink you still like me.”

“even if you reek i still like you.”

“weirdo.”

“can you please sleep?” there were no words after that, only soft breaths and a few sounds of shifting in place made by hanni who tried to find the most comfortable position. y/n was also slowly falling asleep, and when the taller unconsciously wrapped her arm around hanni’s waist, she found the most comfortable place was in her arms.

masterlist | epilogue

— y/n is most definitely not immune to pretty girls, and hanni is very pretty. she begs for one chance, but when it's given, what will she do?

## taglist ! @lcv3lies @yourwife @haerpins @rosielover69 @luvkait @lizseos @gojosrug @xuimhao @captivq @yumtooki @ahnneyong @seeju @sserajeans @phamminji @llluvbluy @sserafimez @misumiausworld @lostamoeba @archerheejin @skisk1 @giginings @falling-intoo-deep @jenaissantesworld @txtbrainrot @luvrsxt ...

kurinote 📝 i havent slept in four days <3 officially the last chapter of please! hope u liked it lol hehwjebsj (epilogue still on board btw dw!!)

[nerdtronica]

my thoughts while watching bride of re-animator

I FUCKING HOPE FRANCESCA DIES

i wont shirtless bride dan

he’s so girlfriend

his ugly ass partial flock of seagulls mullet haircut 🥰

GLORIA BOOBS

god damn that blood is too red

NOOOO DANNY HAS BLOOD ON HIS FACE

he just fucking fell💀

“i’m calling it” “NOOOOOOOOOO”

WHY IS THE BLOOD TOO RED

dan is so girlfail

WHAT IS WROBG WITH DOCTOR HILL

WHY IS DOCTOR GRAVES COVERING HIS EARS

i feel bad for doctor graves he’s lowkey underrated

WHAT THE FUCK

THE COP GUY???

KILL YOURSELF DR HILL OH WAIT HE’S PARTIALLY DEAD

OMG IS HE GONNA PUT THE BAT WINGS ON THE HEAD OH WAUT HE DIDNT

EW ERNEST

herbert tryna be all sneaky about this💀

yo who the fuck brings a coffin into a fucking hospital room

WHY DO I DRess LIKE DAN AND ERNEST???

FUCK YOU FRANCESCA

OMGGGGGG BRIDE TIMEEEE

YESSSS HE ADDED GLORIA’S HEAD

herbert is so good at faking being sincere

DAN SHOULD STOP BEING PRETTY

THE HOOKER???? WAS KILLED????

DAN IS SO CUTE

HES SO HOT

need me a girl like the bride of re-animator/gloria

omg that was kinda deep

HERBERT???????????????

wdym “special”

DAMN DANIEL

OMG BOOBS HI BOOBS

DAMN DANIEL

need me a dan cain to my herbert west dawg

“wHo’s tHeRe?” -wilbur graves, 1989

IS THAT AN APPLE OR A PEACH

OMG NOT THE COP GUY

DOCTOR HILL???????:$&/8-99/9/@/

re-animator (1985) all over again basically

ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE DANIEL

oh god its francesca

SHUT UP FRANCESCA YOU CAN DIE

DID HE JUST SAY MLP???

jesus that blood is too red

REAGENT TIMEEE

i heart gloria

what is up with herbert’s lil flashlight

DAMN DANIEL

herbert with his little gay walk

DID HE SAY BOOGERS

herbert you good

DAMN DANIEL

ooh reagent reflection in herbert’s glasses

HOMOSEXUAL

DAMN DANIEL

oh boy

THE FUCKING SYRINGE FELL💀

[usedpidemo]

Eavesdrop (TWICE Jihyo)

Read on AFF

“Listen to me, brodie. I’m certain one of them will notice you,” says Daniel, moving your face directly at him with his left hand.

“I don’t know about that,” you answer with a doubtful look on your face.

“Come on dawg,” Edgar interjects from behind the driver’s seat. “We’ve been chasing these tickets ever since they dropped and now you want to back out! Fucking pussy.”

“Hey! I’m not a pussy, I’m just--”

“Woah woah woah! Both of you calm down,” Jules chimes in. “This is not the time to be fighting. All that matters now is that we pray he gets chosen.”

Jules turned to speak to you. “Don’t be nervous. If anything else, just have fun, okay? This is a once in a lifetime experience. Make the most of it.”

“Oh boy, here we go with the speeches,” grumbled Edgar. “Man, just fuck out the car and go inside!”

“You better get moving,” Daniel adds. “We’ll be here if you need anything, so don’t hesitate to call if something happens.”

You step out the driver seat of your car and trudge toward the venue where the Twice concert was being held. Even though fear and nervousness gripped your psyche, it didn’t stop you from metalling your resolve. This was a rare opportunity for you to see your faves on stage and having fun was what kept you from falling apart mentally. You can feel sweat  drip down your face as you make your way to the left side of the audience. Checking your phone occasionally you see texts from your friends reminding you to enjoy yourself, albeit they expressed it their own ways.

Daniel: Have fun! Tell us how beautiful they looked.

Edgar: If anyone gets in your way, try punching them.

Jules: *thumbs up emoji*

Three hours went by so fast. You definitely had a blast watching the girls perform. You were able to pull your phone out during their encore and streamed it with your friends, still waiting in the car. You may not have noticed, but several members waved at your phone and a couple of them threw a kiss aimed at it. The concert drew to a close and you heard your friends react as you were leaving the venue.

“Told you there it was a fun experience,” Daniel said cheerfully. “There was no need to panic.”

“I saw a few hot bitches in the audience,” Edgar chimed in. “Did you get any of their numbers?” he added.

“Typical Edgar,” Jules interjected sarcastically. “They won’t be sleeping with you at all!”

“Man fuck you,” Edgar barked at Jules.

“We know you’re just in it for the women,” Daniel quipped lightly.

“Do you want a fist to the face right now or not?” Edgar threatened angrily.

“Guys! Let’s try to get along now,” you joked. “At least you saw the girls wave at the camera!”

You were laughing at your phone when you tilt your head up and find a man in a gray suit standing ahead of you. You come to a sudden halt, losing grip on your phone and dropping it.

“Oh sorry, I was, uh, talking to my friends, and I--”

“May I ask you to come along with me?” the man interrupts before walking off to the side. You pick up your phone from the ground and follow the man as you pass through several narrow hallways.

“Uh...what the fuck is going on?” Daniel demanded with raised eyebrows.

“I think homeboy’s getting kidnapped!” Edgar exclaimed loudly.

“Listen, are you hearing us right now? Is everything okay?” Jules calmly posed.

“Quiet,” you answered on your phone. “They might hear--”

The man you were following grinds to a halt, causing you to suddenly stop again. You made sure to hold on to your phone tightly this time. Turning to you, the man pulls out a card from his coat’s inner pocket and presents it to you. You took the hint and took the card.

“No phones are allowed once you step in the room,” the man instructed. “Continue along the halls until you see the matching number on your card. Have a good night.” After giving out the command, he returns the way he came from. You paused for a moment before getting back to your call.

“Did you get all of that?” you asked everyone on the phone.

“Yeah. Something about a room and a matching number,” Daniel replied. “What does it say?”

“It just has the number 5 written on it.”

“I’m guessing you need to go to room number 5. What for though?”

“I don’t know, the man just said to follow along until I reach it!”

“I hope it’s a million dollars,” Edgar interjected. “Or bitches. Actually both can work.”

“Keep us updated,” Jules added. “Again, don’t dither if you need help.”

Bearing those words in mind you place your phone on the left pocket of your shirt. Following the man’s words, you passed through a few narrow stretches of halls. You also see a few other men and women holding identical cards as you walk by.

“Guess they’re looking for their rooms too,” you quietly mumbled.

“How many did you see?” Jules quizzed.

“Eight others,” you replied.

“Hmm...interesting,” Jules added.

“I’m starting to think this is a sham,” Edgar interrupted. “I mean what if some masked dude chased you with an axe or--”

“Made it,” you remarked.

You took a glance at your card before looking ahead of the room in front of you. Five is written above the door. You put your call on minimal volume before returning it to your shirt pocket, and taking a deep breath, you pressed your card on the door and slowly opened it. Stepping inside, there was nothing except another door and a couch. Your eyes widen to the beautiful figure sitting on its center, gazing back at you with kind eyes. Park Jihyo.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Jihyo said with an alluring voice.

Your legs freeze hearing those words come out from her mouth. She notices you visibly tremble - a feeling you’ve not had since you left the car. Jihyo moves to the right side of the couch and taps the spot where her ass made her mark. You remain paralyzed in place watching Jihyo giggle quietly at your twitchiness.

“It’s okay,” she reassures you with her lovely voice. “I don’t bite...unless you want me to,” she winks.

Despite your anxiety you somehow managed to get your body to move. Closing the door behind you, you dragged your legs to the couch and sat where Jihyo told you to sit. You place your hands on your lap, some sweat running down your head as she sits beside you in an upright position.

“Did you enjoy tonight’s show?” Jihyo asked, directing your face toward hers. You try to look away, coming up with an answer, but every time you do, she turns your head again.

“I-I-did, it w-was w-wonderful.”

You shudder with heavy tension as Jihyo wraps her right arm around your neck, resting her hand on your right shoulder. Your body stiffens when you discern her face near yours, feeling her breath.

“Tell me, was I your favorite performer?” she breathed. You wonder if she paid attention to you the entire time - which she did. You can’t help but tremor madly as her grin widens toward you.

“Yes.”

“Am I your favorite member?”

“F-f-fuck yes.”

“Good, this will make things easier for the both of us.”

Your nerves calm down temporarily when Jihyo removes her arm from your body and stands up from the couch. Your eyes are laser focused watching her sway her ass and her breasts jiggle while she struts back and forth; her hands fixing her hair. Turning her attention to you again, Jihyo’s upper body drops in front of your face, bringing you to a state of paralysis once more.

“Can I make a request for you?” she pleas, placing her hands on your knees.

“W-w-what is it?”

“Call me by one word: Mommy. Understood?”

You inadvertently groan upon catching that last word. “Anything for mommy.”

Any suspense and pressure you had stored up immediately went down the drain the moment your lips met hers. Jihyo’s kiss was as powerful as her voice. You let a few muffled hums escape your mouth before she pulls away from you. Taking her hands off your lap, she stands tall above you and pulls her shirt up and over her head, revealing her massive busts restrained by a white bra. It doesn’t take too long for her top to follow shortly after. Your jaws drop at the sight of her freely roaming breasts. Watching her perform you thought they were tremendous, but seeing them out in the open, bigger than expected, left you breathless with disbelief and shock.

“Holy fucking shit,” you blurted in awe.

Meanwhile in the vehicle, your friends are still on the line, watching everything that’s going on in the room. Even behind a layer of clothing they can still see Jihyo’s magnetic orbs flashing in front of your face.

“Are you catching this?” Jules asked the others.

“I am. So magnificent...” Daniel replied, mouth watering with amazement.

“Must see milkers in 4k…” Edgar added, his right hand slowly making its way down to his zipper.

Your eyes can’t turn away from Jihyo’s tits as they bounced, not noticing she has mounted herself on your lap. She squeezes her boobs together, teasing you, before pushing your body back on the couch. Moving her hands all over your body you find yourself at her mercy helpless to do anything as she unbuttons your shirt and throws it carefree on the floor. Pressing against your chest, Jihyo kisses you again while your hands clutch her breasts.

“You want to suck my tits, don’t you?” she murmurs in your mouth.

“Fuck yes,” you answer, giving her tits a gentle wring before kissing her back. “Your tits are unbelievable, mommy.”

“Then milk me.”

You couldn’t refuse an order like that - especially coming from her sultry voice. Jihyo lets out a pleasurable moan, feeling your mouth receive her erect right nipple. Her hands force you to take more as you bite and suck down her tit. Each nibble was delicious, giving energy and urging further guzzling. She leads your head to her left nipple and you give it the same attention as the other one. After some time, Jihyo pulls you away from her swollen, wet breasts and tilts your head, directing hers like a caring mother. Smirks of delight were exchanged between the both of you.

“You’re so fucking delicious, mommy,” you complimented.

“Mommy doesn’t like it when my baby is hungry. Are you still hungry?”

“Fuck, I am, mommy.”

“Then have some more, baby.”

Eager to please mommy, you dive back into her breasts without any hesitation. Jihyo lets out another whimper, hands on your head making sure you consume her tits to the fullest.

The mood was hot - her silky voice combined with her delicate touch urged you to eat her up unapologetically. It seemed like forever passed before she tore you away from her body again.

Swiftly hopping off your lap and falling to your knees, Jihyo makes quick work of your pants; her eyes widening at your noticeable bulge. You felt embarrassed, but she caressed your hard-on, staring at you back with kind, comforting eyes. Shortly after she removes your boxers, springing free your erect cock. Licking her lips, Jihyo gave your shaft a tender kiss. You let out a moan and roll back your eyes as she sets her breasts to capture your leaking precum.

“Mmm, you’re quite big,” Jihyo flattered. Without paying attention to her she wraps your cock with her breasts. You partially look down and find her face filled with delight trying to trap you between her tits. Both of you moan once your dick makes yourself comfortable in her cleavage. Jihyo presses her breasts together and starts grinding them on your shaft. You don’t remain idle as you start pumping in her, catching her rhythm.

“Mommy…” you whine. Jihyo catches wind of your voice. Looking back at you, she meets your contact with lust in her pleasure-filled eyes. You understood what she wanted and began thrusting faster, watching your cock disappear and reappear sandwiched between her large mounds. She glances down, meeting your moist tip with her tongue with each retreat from her cleavage, jolting you with heightened pleasure.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Jihyo asked, each word produced with the same level of ecstasy you were having. “Do you love fucking my tits?”

“Fuck yes, I love them so fucking much.”

“I hope your friends are enjoying these too,” she replied. Your mind was engulfed in pleasure to perceive what she said. Any reminder of your friends’ existence back in the car was gone. You were focused on titfucking the beautiful girl that performed for you a couple of hours ago.

Your breaths begin to feel short as each drive between her cleavage keeps going faster than before. Every slide in and out of her tits while her tongue continues to moisten your shaft fills you with immense gratification. Involuntarily moaning, you sense your impending climax, but you want to keep going with Jihyo as long as you possibly can. Breaking free from your trapped joy, your hands grasp her shoulder before pulling out from her breasts one more time.

Raising her up to her feet, you pull the hem of her skirt down her legs, noticing the lack of panties. You get up from the couch and grab hold of her thick thighs - ones she worked very hard for. Wrapping her thighs around your waist, you lift her body up and twirl your own, setting her down on the couch. Dropping to her knees, you spot her crotch, wet as yours. Spreading her thighs apart, you look up to Jihyo, seeking some form of approval - and when she nods, you feast on her.

Going to work you take slow licks up and down her soaked clit; a loud gasp leaving Jihyo’s mouth. She can’t help but imprison your head with her meaty thighs, though you had no objection to that. Your tongue revels in the sweet juices of her pussy as you run a couple of fingers into her wet flesh. It took a good while, but once finding her sensitive spots, your digits poke her delicate areas, making her squeal like one of her trademark high notes.

“Fuck! You eat mommy so well,” Jihyo pants. You smile mischievously upon hearing her comment, and carry on eating her out. Her bud swells against your sticky tongue while your fingers haphazardly dig at her g-spot and other sensitive places. Suddenly she hits her peak. Her release catches you by surprise as her juices gush over your mouth; her thighs loosening their grip around your head. You detach your tongue from her crotch while her body aches and quivers from her orgasm. Sitting back on the floor you lick your lips and taste her, admiring her perfect body while she recovers from her high.

“That was so good,” you mutter under your breath.

“Come here,” Jihyo says, looking down at you with half-lidded eyes. You jump up from the floor and push her body down on the couch; staring her down with lust.

“Fuck me please,” she says, eyes practically begging for it. “Give mommy your big cock.”

You wasted no time bringing your still hard shaft near her moist pussy and with a single, powerful stroke, you buried yourself into her tight body.

Jihyo draws out a lengthy moan as you fill her with the full length of your cock. Her moan turns into a range of operatic sounds as you thrust into her, pushing your dick into her firmly, making sure she feels every hit inside her. Your eyes picked up where they left off - watching her thick figure tremble with pleasure and her breasts bounce with frantic energy from each pass through her body.

By now you are pounding her at fervent speeds - yet each time you shove into her it is forceful and rigid, showing your delight at watching her go into a frenzy with each stroke. For a few more minutes you fuck her like that, until her heavy moans and breathy gasps leave you wanting more.

“Does mommy like being fucked like this?” you growl.

“Yes! Mommy loves getting fucked like this! Give me more!”

You give her one last stiff thrust, piercing into her as deep as you could, leaning forward until your face is right beside hers. Stretching forward a little further you nibble her ear and lightly kiss it.

“Then call me daddy.”

“Mommy wants daddy to fuck her more! Please!”

Your attention is directed past her wet body where your shaft is stabbed inside her. Slowly the both of you watch as your cock exits her body, leaving a small trail of her wet juices drip on the couch. Straightening your back, you flip her body so that her plump ass is now facing you. Gently you line your cock against her soaking cunt; her rear spread against you, you slowly maneuver into her asshole. Jihyo releases a soft moan upon feeling the head of your cock make its way inside her ass, but quickly pleasure overtakes her as you feel her warmth enveloping your shaft.

Much like you did with her pussy, you push deep, powerful strokes into her asshole. Groping her cheeks, you pump in and out of her ass, turning Jihyo into a pleasure filled mess. Clawing on the edge of the sofa, her face can’t hide how much she relishes being pounded by you.

“F-f-fuck, you feel so big inside me, daddy,” she whimpers.

“You like getting fucked in the ass too, Jihyo?” you answer, breaking her sole rule, but you didn’t care and neither did she.

“Yes! Yes! Oh, fuck!”

“Then fucking cum for me. Cum all over daddy’s cock.”

Before long, her body quivers with immense pleasure, each passing stroke in and out of her ass becoming too overwhelming to handle. You bask in your ability to take control - the nervous, anxious side of you was now merely an afterthought. Jihyo’s agitation reaches a breaking point as she squirms beneath you.

“I’m gonna cum again!”

It takes only a few more jabs before you feel wet again from her seed spilling out in climax. She was now an uncontrollable, shaky, drenched mess, trembling while you continued to pound her.

“I-I’m about to cum,” you spouted, her insides becoming too much for you to bear.

“Cum for me! Anywhere for mommy...just cum...oh god!”

You put a few more rigid, powerful strokes, wanting every moment inside her ass to be memorable before you reach your end. Using some quick thinking, you pull your shaft out her body moments before peaking. Stroking your cock with your right hand, you cum hard; thick streams of semen ejaculated from your cock and landed on Jihyo’s ass, thighs, and back, dripping in drawn out flecks.

Falling on Jihyo’s back you notice her look of satisfaction on her face. Her grin wide, eyes shut, and her body glistening from a mix of both your sweat and cum. You run a finger down a spot where you emitted your seed, after which you bring it in front of her mouth. Her tongue swirls around your wet finger, letting her taste you. Your consciousness slowly fades from exhaustion as everything around you turns black.

You open your eyes after some time has passed, your naked body still laying on the couch, though Jihyo isn’t below you anymore. Taking a look around you see nothing left in the room except for your scattered clothes on the floor. You jump off the couch and quickly get dressed when you hear a noise coming from the other door. It opens and Jihyo emerges from it with freshly dried hair and a set of clothing different from before.

“Oh shit,” you exclaim. “Tell me what the time is.”

“It’s only been forty-five minutes,” she answers, letting you sigh in relief.

Jihyo grins before walking up to you and presenting you with four photo cards, each being a picture of her with her signature on it. You take the cards and look at it; each photo card having you and your friends’ names written on it.

“You made me a happy mommy today,” she says, her eyes returning to her warm, friendly look.

“I never mentioned my--” you reply before getting cut off by her kiss. Unable to finish your statement, you walk out the door and leave both the room and Jihyo.

Walking along the halls, you took in everything that just happened. Only one word came out of your mouth and you repeated it like a broken record. Mommy. It was only when you reached the lobby stopped uttering and you remembered your phone and friends. You check your phone and discover the call had ended, the battery on red. You dash to the parking lot where you find your car’s windows open and your friends seemingly unconscious.

“Hey! Wake up!” you scream, bringing your friends back to life.

“Mmm, mommy you’re so good...Wh-wh-what the...is it over?” Daniel blurts.

“Mommy give me milk please...oh, you’re back,” Edgar wheezes.

“Oh fuck, mommy…Ah shit,” Jules buzzed, glasses falling off.

“What the fuck do you mean mommy...oh my god,” you say, before realizing that you left your phone on while fucking Jihyo the entire time. You peer through the windows and discover streams of white spilled over the dashboard, the seats, and the carpets and notice your friends’ unbuttoned pants and the stains on their undergarments.

“In my defense, that was really fucking hot,” Daniel said, cheeks blushing in embarrassment.

“I’m not gonna talk about it,” Edgar grumbled, zipping his pants up and turning away from you.

“Let’s just pretend tonight didn’t happen,” Jules added, leaving you four in an uncomfortable situation for the rest of the night.

(A/N: Back to the fucked up shit we go! This is also the first time I’m giving names to characters not the protagonist so I hope it isn’t awkward. lol. Thanks for reading!)

[casnextdoor]

been crying and listening to the same few songs all day so im turning this feeling into ,, this ???

Warning; substance abuse (sort of??), a shit ton of nonverbal self deprecation (done more so in action??), ot7 are kinda lifesavers but mostly jungkook, fratboy!bts, JK’s eyebrow piercing is REAL, mention of suicide, very angsty dawg.

———————

The echo-y sound of This Side of Paradise by Coyote Theory played through the empty bathroom.

You found yourself intoxicated beyond belief in a bathroom at a frat party. The party had died down eventually leaving you to be one the few who remained, drinking and smoking until you couldn’t quite feel your face.

How you ended up in the corner of a small, scarily sterile half bathroom you weren’t sure. You were hyper focused on the music whispering around you and didn’t miss the switching of the song. The familiar riff of 505 by Arctic Monkey drifted into the quiet of the white bathroom.

Your eyes drifted closed, imagining yourself in a place that isn’t there. A place where it was night all the time and where fun was endless. The alcohol seemed never ending and the pills were kept in a ten foot deep pool that you could swim in. The thought of that made you smile.

“Hey! Party’s over!” A voice said harshly, causing your eyebrows to shoot up and eyes to flutter open, flitting over to the open bathroom door.

He was wearing a leather jacket and his purple hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a few strands falling loose and framing his face. Two little studs above and below his eyebrow glimmered at you in the fluorescent light. For some reason, the sight of him made you nauseous. Or maybe it was the three four lokos and seven shots-

Before you knew what was happening, you had crawled over to the toilet, emptying the contents of your stomach into the no longer sterile toilet bowl.

He stumbled over quickly, taking hold of your loose curls in his tatted hands, forming a flimsy makeshift ponytail.

When you’d successfully ridded yourself of your breakfast, lunch and alcoholic beverages, you shrugged him off before clambering to your feet and pushing past him out of the bathroom.

You’d walked the vaguely familiar path to the kitchen counter, quickly grabbing the freshly opened Jack Daniels bottle and stumbled your way to the front door.

Unbeknownst to you, the mystery man had followed you all the way out into the front yard, watching sympathetically as you took frequent swigs from the now half-full bottle. He kept watching as you took a seat at the end of his driveway, pulling your knees up to your chest.

He watched until he felt a presence beside him. When he looked he found Jimin watching you too.

“How long has she been doing that?” He asked, shuffling his feet nervously.

“Like twenty minutes now. The bottles’ almost empty.” Jungkook said, rubbing a thumb under his lower lip.

“She drank the whole thing? Kookie, go stop her!” Jimin seemed to be quite panicked and he didn’t know why.

Jungkook nodded, before jogging down the driveway toward you. He sat next to you, brushing his hands off on his tight jeans. He was close enough to brush knees with you, which he did to get your attention.

“You look lonely. And drunk. Need a ride home?” He asked, hoping you’d look at him.

“Home? Ha! I don’t need a ride. My story ends in about ten minutes. Don’t worry, it won’t be in your driveway.” You drunkenly stand to your feet, preparing to walk yourself down the street when you felt a strong hand grip your wrist.

“Hey. Just come inside. Your drunk, just crash here.” There was a strong sense of panic wracking through JK’s body and he wasn’t sure why. He knew what you were implying, but it wasn’t in his character to really care.

Behind him, the other five boys had collected next to Jimin to watch and hear the scene unfold. Taehyung had turned to Namjoon, face filled with worry and panic.

“Hyung, what if she’s in trouble? We gotta stop her.” It didn’t come out as strong as Tae would’ve liked it too. He wasn’t too familiar with situations like this and didn’t have much of an idea of how to stop it.

Namjoon could only draw blanks. He didn’t know what he was going to do, silently willing one of his Hyung’s to have an idea.

Yoongi stood between Jin and Hoseok, watching on in horror as Jungkook tried to convince this nameless girl to come in the house.

She had just laughed him off, downing the rest of the bottle of whiskey before pulling her wrist from his hand.

“Your friends are waiting on you. Nice party, kid.” You stumbled away, humming the quiet tune of the aforementioned Coyote Theory song.

“Please. Please just stay. Stay with us for as long as you’d like. I just need you to stay here.” At this point he was hollering after you, watching you walk away from him, in complete and utter fear.

“Dude you don’t even know me! We’ve never even spoken. I was just one more person you’d cross paths with. One more small dust sized blimp in your timeline. Go back to living. I’ve got nothing left to live for!” You turned around, smiling brightly at him, eyes glossed over and feet stumble-y.

The boys had moved to stand beside Jungkook, trying hard to think of something to say or do to get you to stay.

“Let us show you what its like to live for something!” Namjoon call after you.

You’d stopped dead in your tracks, twirling around on the heel of your foot before —drunkenly— storming towards the group of seven boys.

“What did you just say?” Your eyes were squinted in their direction, fist clenched at your side and wild curls falling in your face. You don’t know what was making you mad. Maybe it was their persistence. Maybe it was the idea that is felt like an act of sympathy. You didn’t need sympathy; You needed this to be over.

“Just come inside. Spend the night with us. Give us seventy-two hours to find you something to live for.” Jungkook had stepped toward you. His hand wrapped around your fist, eyes pleading with you. You stared at him for a while, eyes crossing a bit to get a good look at him.

He was being sincere. That much was obvious. And to be honest you weren’t quite sure of how go about this. But there was something here. Something in the way they all were staring you down. In the way his hand held your fist. It was telling you to give into him. To them. To let them help you.

What’ve you got to lose?

———————————

i’ll probably delete this later on . this was written purely on the feeling of sadness . and i wrote it somewhat to make myself feel better so it’ll probably go back to my drafts . but for now enjoy my self indulgent angst . mercury is in retrograde btw so this is very justified .

[ofhoneyandrosepetals]

Summer Roads - Chapter 3

Pairing: Sean x Fem! reader

Description: You’ve always been Lyla’s best friend, but since Sean moved you became an inseparable trio. But who could say that, after all these years together, you would start growing feelings for Sean?

Warning: swearings only.

Word count: 2.049

A/N: is it allowed to use the same gif from the first chapter? I think so lol it just gives the best Sean’s vibes.

“I need to get some stuff first,” Sean said as you got near Lyla’s place.

“Yeah, me too,” you said.

“Okay then, I’ll prepare things. And by that I mean my mom,” Lyla responds.

“But she loves us,” you say frowning.

“Even so,” Lyla shrugs.

“Care if I go with you to pick your stuff up? I need to give Daniel that thing I promised,” you ask Sean.

“Yeah, cool. I’ll go with you to pick up your stuff too,” you were too busy looking at Sean to notice the look on Lyla’s face. “I need to give that board a new update.”

Hearing this made your heart pound a little - Sean meant the little whiteboard you had in your room for important notes, but those important notes turned out to be Sean’s drawings. Sometimes he would draw something simple, and other times he would make something clever and funny. It was a nice Easter egg feeling - you never knew what was coming. 

*

At your house, you grabbed your sleeping bag and old clothes to use as pajama. A little necessaire followed the pack as well. 

“Shit, I don’t know where I put it…” you thought out loud.

“That thing for Daniel?” Sean turned his head from the whiteboard. “What is it, anyway?”

“A stuffed animal…” you say focused in your search, looking behind pillows and under the bed.

“A stuffed animal? You do know he’s seven already, right?” Sean said with a grin.

“Sorry, I forgot my basic math lessons,” he chuckled in response. “It’s Power Bear, but since I don’t play with it for a long time I asked Daniel if he wanted it.”

“Of course he did.”

“I think it’s cute a seven year old boy still wants a stuffed animal.”

“Daniel is always cute,” Sean said in a low tone and you thought you felt a little resentment there. Shrugging the feeling off, you focus yourself once again in your search. “Try in the corner by the window. Where the toy chest is. You always lost things there as a kid.”

“But I don’t have any toy in there anymore,” you say as you open the chest.

Sean, once finished with the drawing, grims and goes to the toy chest, moves it a little bit and then raises his eyebrows at you. You roll your eyes, knowing what was behind there.

“Thanks,” you say as you get the stuffed Power Bear.

“At your service. Are you all packed up? I mean, I don’t want to rush you or anything…”

“Nah, I’m good. Just lemme grab some chips.”

“Don’t you dare let Lyla hear this.”

“Cheetos are not chips,” you imitate her. Sean laughs.

“They really are not.”

“I know, but I just can't stop saying it that way. But I don’t have Cheetos, anyway. It’s Doritos.”

“We didn’t had that discussion yet.”

“And I don’t look forward to have it. Let’s go.”

Before going out of your room you give a quick look to Sean’s update on your board. He made a drawing of the two of you at the skate ramp.

“That’s really nice,” you point out. “But where’s Lyla?”

“The little dot back there,” you laugh.

“We agree to not let her see this, right?”

“You bet.”

*

Arriving at Sean’s house, Daniel storms out of his room.

“Did you bring Y/N? That’s so cool! Is she sleeping here?” Daniel says all excited.

“Hey, goofball,” you greet him. “I brought ya something.”

“Really? What is it, what is it?” The little boy starts bouncing. You pull out the stuffed Power Bear and Daniel goes wild. “Wooooow…! That Power Bear you told me about!” He said in amazement. “Oh, he’s fluffy,” he chuckles after he pokes the toy.

“It’s yours, you do know that, right?” You say to him. Daniel gives a shy look.

“I remember you said so.”

“He was just afraid that you’ve might forgotten. Or changed your mind,” Sean said.

“I was not!”

“Yes you were.”

“Oh, here we go,” you breathes out. “Danny? It’s yours.”

“Yay!” He grabs the toy and hugs your legs - actually what he can reach at his height.

“What do you say…?”

“Thanks!” Daniel say as he run to his room again.

“I swear that sometimes…” Sean begins to say, but you put a hand on his arm.

“That’s fine, Sean. He’s a kid.”

“I know, I know… it’s just… sometimes it’s hard to live with him everyday.”

“That muffin? You joking me?”

“Wanna trade?”

“I’m hearing this,” Daniel’s head appear outside his room, pouting.

“Good,” Sean says. “Is dad home?”

“Garage.”

“I’ll just let him know that we’ll be sleeping over at Lyla,” of course you paid attention to the whole phrase, but the we got to stick for a little longer.

“I’ll go with you.”

You enjoyed the Diaz garage, even though you didn’t understand shit about cars or knew what tools were those.

“Hey! If it isn’t Y/N,” Esteban greets you.

“Hi, Esteban,” you wave a shy hand at him. “How you doing?”

“Just good,”

“Hey, dad,” Sean interrupts. “We’re gonna have a sleepover at Lyla, is that okay?”

“Sure, mijo,” suddenly worry takes over Estaban’s face. “Y/N, I think your knee is bleeding.”

“Oh,” you completely forgot about your injury. “It’s fine, it’s just a scratch. I tripped with my roller skate, but luckily Sean was my superhero.”

“Was he?” You didn’t know if it was because of your crush on Sean, but you could swear for everything in this world that Esteban’s eyes sparkled a little. Maybe.

“Hey, let’s cut it out,” Sean says, his hand scratching his head. 

“But I’m not gonna let you leave my house until someone takes care of that scratch,” Esteban says.

“There’s no need to, really.”

“I’ll do it,” Sean says quickly. Esteban was smiling.

“Really?” You ask.

“Yeah, c’mon. Things are in the bathroom.”

*

Going upstairs, you insist to Sean that there’s is no need to take care of your knee.

“Let me just clean it then, you can’t go around while a bloody knee.”

“Actually I thought we were doing just fine,” walking in front of you, you didn’t need to look at his face to know Sean rolled his eyes. It was a thing that you could even hear. 

You sat on the edge of the bathtub, waiting for Sean as he looked in the cabinet for the things he needed, trying not give away your nervousness. He’s just going to clean your scratch, it’s not a big deal. Lyla could do the same thing, you kept thinking to yourself.

“What’s on your mind? You look so thoughtful,” you heard Sean’s voice. 

“Oh,” you jumped on your seat. “Nothing, nothing. I was just… zoning out.”

“I’m kinda nervous about this, I don’t wanna hurt you,” you could see Sean’s hands wasn’t as steady as they used to be, but you believed him, innocently. 

“You won’t hurt me, at least not as much as I already am,” he smiled.

“I’m not one to brag, but sometimes I take care of Daniel’s scratches as well.”

“So it’s in your résumé,” you say jokingly. Sean only smiled, since he started cleaning your knee attentively.

You swallowed dry as you kept your attention on him. Sean was being very serious on his task, but his hands were a little shaky indeed. You could barely feel the liquid burning on your skin, and you give the credits for that to your fucked up feelings. Maybe Sean’s hands had something to do with it too - they were hands of an artist, after all. He knew how to be delicate.

“How does it feel?” He asks.

“It’s fine. I’m not feeling it much.”

“I’m all finished here, just lemme put a bandage.”

“I don’t need it, Sean,” you protest.

“At least for today, Y/N,” since you don’t answer, Sean looks up at you. He holds your look. “I know you’re stubborn, but only for today,” you don’t give up on your principles. Sean takes a deep breath. “Gosh, you’re just like Daniel sometimes. Please, Y/N,” Sean pressures the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his patience. 

But there was no time for anything else, because a little goofball stormed inside the bathroom, holding stuffed Power Bear and another toy you didn’t recognize.

“Swooooosh,” Daniel made the toys fly. “You will never catch me, Power Bear!”

“Daniel!” Sean shouted.

“I’ll call my reinforcements!”

“Daniel!” Sean tried again, but Daniel came up to running around the bathroom.

“There is it!” Daniel pointed a stuffed Power Bear to you. “My reinforcements are here! Prepare to lose!” Daniel ran to your direction, knocking you down inside the bathtub.

“Oh my god,” you say laughing as Daniel fell on top of you, his little arms tangled in yours.

“Daniel!” Sean kept trying.

“You’ll never beat me, Power Bear!” Daniel sat on top of you and started playing with his toys again.

“For fuck sake, Daniel!” Sean lost it, his voice raising tones and more tones. You looked surprised at him, as well as Daniel, who turned. “Get out of her…”

“You never let me have fun!” Daniel complained.

“You always have all the fun, Daniel! Now get out.”

“But I wanna play with Y/N…”

“She can’t, she’s hurt.”

“Sean…” you try to reason.

“Really? Where?” Daniel started turning your head, looking for anything. You giggled.

“I scratched my knee, goofball. But I’m fine, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“See, Sean? She says she’s fine.”

“Still need a bandage, though,” Sean says pouting.

“Oh, you can have one of mine! It has Hawt Dawg Man!”

“That’s neat, Danny. Would you put it for me?”

“Yes!” Daniel leaves the bathtub and goes to his room. Sean gives you a hand to get up.

“I can’t fucking believe him…”

“Shh, he’s coming.”

“Here! See?, it’s big. I’ll put upside down so you can see Hawt Dawg Man.”

“Thanks, dude,” you ruffled his hair. 

“Any reinforcements of Power Bear is my friend too.”

“Oh, so I was the reinforcement?”

“We gotta go to, Daniel. Say bye to her as I get my stuff.”

*

“I can’t believe it,” Sean complains as you two go down the street.

“Sean, you need to be more understanding with him.”

“I know, but it’s so hard. And you don’t make it easier too. I was trying my ass off to put a bandage on you and you only accept when Daniel suggests it,” you would be lying if you said that Sean’s words didn’t hurt you a bit. On normal times this wouldn’t affect you, but now everything is different.

“I’m sorry, Sean, but your brother is just the cutest thing.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I’m sorry I upset you.”

“What?” Sean looked at you surprised. “You… you didn’t upset me, not exactly.”

“So what is it?”

“It’s… I don’t know, it’s nothing,” he shrugged.

“You don’t need to be jealous of Daniel.”

“I’m not,” he says as he rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, right,” you say ironically and put a hand on his shoulder. “But thank you for taking care of my knee. If you had offered me a bandage of Hawt Dawg Man before maybe I would’ve accepted way sooner.”

“So that’s what it was all about, huh?” Sean grinned.

“Sure.”

It wasn’t news that sometimes Sean would be jealous of Daniel when he got in the middle of you and Lyla, trying to get your attention and playing with you. You never had a sibling to know how the feeling was and what really happened there, but today it was a little weird, if you could say so.

Maybe Sean got angry because Daniel started to make a mess, but you thought it was so adorable that you could never think that. You frowned as you stared at the asphalt. 

“You’re zoning out again. What’s up with you?”

“I’m just looking at my new awesome bandage,” you lie.

“With that look? I would say you’re trying to make it disappear,” you laugh and slaps his arm with the back of your hand. 

“C’mon let’s just go to Lyla’s. She’s probably wondering why are we taking so long.”

“I’ll blame Daniel for that.”

“Of course you will, Big Brother of the Year.”

[lovewriting-5]

Rules:

*gif is not mine*

6. The Gingerbread House

8. Christmas Spirit

7. Bending Laws:

It was the next morning. Same thing as yesterday morning, I woke up to the sun shining in through the windows. Claire and Stephen came downstairs all dressed and ready to go. They say “Morning, (Y/N).” I say “Morning.” Claire tells me “We’re on our way to church. We’ll be gone for a couple hours.” She quickly scribbles a note and tapes it to the front door. Her and Stephen are gone. I think I can’t believe what happened yesterday. It was crazy.

Daniel comes rushing down the stairs as I’m folding the blankets. I ask “Where you going in a hurry?” He tells me “I’m off to the neighbors.” I ask, questioningly “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Trying to sound convincing, he says “Yeah...I...Uh...talked to grandma and she said it was okay.” I tell him “Okay but be careful.” He got a smile on his face, says “Will do.” Then he was out the door with his snow gear on.

I was finishing up getting ready when I hear Sean come out of the guest room. He calls “Claire? Stephen? Anybody home?” As he comes down the stairs, I tell him “They went to church this morning.” He says “Well looks like we’re home alone.” He kissed me on the cheek. He adds “By the way, did you see Daniel leave?” I tell him “Yeah...he went to the neighbors.” Angrily, he says “I knew it! Fuck! That kid never listens!” Sincerely, I say “Come on Sean...give him a break, there are no other kids around his age.” He says “I know...he just better not do anything to get us in trouble.”

We put on our winter gear and head out the front door. We leave the front yard and cross over to the next door neighbor’s yard. He says “Okay. Let’s get this brat back home now.” We head to the front door. I was about to knock when Sean lets himself in. I think Sean, really?? We see toys levitating in the air. I ask, shocked “Daniel?” Finishing the question, he says “What is going on here?!”

The toys drop to the floor as he says “Sean, (Y/N)! Wait! Don’t freak out! I can explain!” Chris stands up and begins “Let me tell them...I know it sounds crazy...but...I have a superpower. You saw me yesterday...I know you did. I was flying! I can move things...objects...with my mind!” Sean and I cross our arms. He has red face paint all over his face. Daniel avoids eye contact with us.

Sean says “Oh! A superpower...Really?” Chris says “YES!” Trying to ease the tension, I say “Well...that’s pretty cool, Chris...So you’re like a superhero?” He explains “I’m Captain Spirit! I can bend any matter to my will! But that’s my secret identity, so you can’t tell anybody!” Sean looks at Daniel, says “Oh, we can keep a secret, Captain Spirit...”

Welcoming us to his team, Chris says “Now that both of you are official members of the Spirit Squad! If you betray us, I’ll disintegrate you! Nah, just kidding. Oh yeah, we need a...team signal!” He crosses his arms across his chest. Daniel does the same thing, “Totally! I’m gonna be...Super Wolf! What’s your super names?” Sean says “How about... ‘The Silver Runner?’ Cool? Cool, right?” I say “I’ll be ‘Invisible Girl/Boy.’” Daniel says “Not bad! That’s true you both are good at running and hiding.”

The man from yesterday comes out of the bathroom. He says “Okay guys, I think we’re ready to roll...” He notices us, asks “Uh, excuse me...Who are you?” Shaking his hand, I tell him “I’m (Y/N).” Sean shakes his hand, “I’m Sean.” The man introduces himself, “Oh yeah, sorry...You’re here for Daniel. Hey, let’s make it official. I’m Charles Eriksen.” I say “Nice to meet you.”

Charles says “Hope you both know that Daniel and Chris are a dangerous team...We’d better watch out, or they’re gonna take over the world...” I cross my arms and smirk at Daniel. He gives a quick shy smile. Sean says “Yeah...They share a lot of things...As thick as thieves...” Excitedly, Chris asks “Can we go get the Christmas tree now? We’re both ready to fly!” Charles says “Yes, yes, yes...the team has been waiting too long! You guys should come along too. There’s nothing going on over here...”

Daniel says “YES! Can’t wait to see all the decorations! And Sean, (Y/N)! We could buy Christmas presents for grandma and grandpa...!” Not trying to sound like a downer but I remind him, “Well...They’ll worry if we leave the house...And remember you still have to get better, Daniel...” Trying to convince us, he says “Come on...You both know I haven’t done anything fun since I got sick...It’s the first time I’ve been out for daaays!” Charles explains “We won’t be gone for long, the market’s only a few miles away...Anyway, they’ll be at the service for at least another hour...” Chris adds “Yeah, I can show Daniel around...and you both can come with us! Please say yes!”

Sean and I look at each other. Daniel puts his hands together in a praying motion, “Please, please, please...” I chew the inside of my bottom lip. Sean says “Okay...You win...not a fair fight...So let’s go...” At the same time, Daniel and Chris say “Yes!” Charles says, jokingly “See? Dangerous...Okay team, I...give me a time out to clean up the backseat. I’ll honk when I’m done.”

Charles walks outside. Daniel asks “Ooo...uh...Can I use the bathroom?” Chris tells him “Of course! You’ll see my comic books.” Daniel scurries off to the bathroom. He turns back to us, says “I’m glad you’re both coming too...Hey, you guys wanna see my toys?” The three of us sit on the floor next to his toys. From the bathroom, we hear a faint “Oh! Score! The new Hawt Dawg Man!” I chuckle a little.

Chris begins “Since you’re new members of the team, you have to know everybody...These are Captain Spirit’s friends! And his enemies...” Sean says “Dude! That’s pretty cool...” He asks “Can you guys guess who are the good guys and the villains?” I say “Let’s see...”

The two of us tag teamed the decision. As we were placing them, Chris says “The bad guys...The good guys...Not that easy, right?” We finished placing them, he asks “You suuuuure?” Sean asks “Okay. How did we do?” According to him, “Not bad! You’re almost right...It was a bit tricky.” Turns out we put Insectoid, Dino and Pirate on the villain side. Power Bear, Warrior and a shark car on the hero side.

Chris corrects the wrong ones, explains “This is Team Spirit! The good guys. There’s the Forest Warrior, Power Bear, Mar-T Rex and Sky Pirates.” I ask “So...who are the bad guys?” He explains “That’s Noctarious, and the Shark-Stinger. There’s also Snowmancer, but he’s out in the garden. Captain Spirit kinda...took care of him. He might need a little surgery now...But they’re all working for Mantroid, who’s the REAL supervillain!” Sean asks “So...where is he?” He says “Hiding out on his evil planet, waiting for me...But Captain Spirit and Super Wolf will make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone!” I say “Yeah...strength in numbers. Sounds like Mantroid is in trouble.” Chris continues “Just wait until he sees what Captain Spirit can do now...”

“Yeah...about that...Ummm...Aren’t you afraid...? Maybe...it’s not a good idea to disclose all your powers like this...That Mantroid guy could be...watching you, you know...” I add. Mischievously, Chris says “Even better. So he’ll know he’d better stay away from us!” Sean adds “Anyway, you shouldn’t let anyone know about this. Not even your father...” Sounding like he wants to say something but hold back, “I’m definitely not telling dad. I don’t want to freak him out. He’s worried about other stuff anyway...”

I glanced at Sean. He looked like he was going to press on further. I placed a hand on his arm, say “Well...Your dad is cool. He...totally hooked you up with that tree house.” Chris says “Yeah, he let Stephen build it for me! It’s my Flying Fortress!” Sean says “Oh, yeah...I saw that drawing you made of him. With that...badass blazing sword.” Grateful, Chris says “I made it to thank him. For making the tree house. Well, Captain Spirit had to help him, of course!” I say “Obviously. All hail Captain Spirit, first and only...carpenter vigilante!”

Sean says “Well...the Flying Fortress needs fixing now...” Chris says “Yeah...That sucks. Dad couldn’t fix it yesterday...He was not feeling well...He told me he’ll do it when we’re back from the market.” I chew the inside of my bottom lip, contemplating about asking. I ask, sincerely “Chris...It’s...none of our business, but...are you and your dad okay?” Questionly, he asks “Uh, what do you mean?” Sean chimes in “We don’t know...Claire seems to...be worried about you guys. Yesterday...Stephen and her talked about your dad...I think they had a talk with him...” He says “Claire’s always worried. We’re cool. Totally. He’s just...He...has a hard time being on his own...that’s all.”

“Chris...We know life can get pretty tough. Trust us. But...you’ll be okay. You’re an awesome kid.” I tell him. Chris says “Thanks. But I don’t feel scared anymore. I have the power...And I have Daniel!” Sean says “That’s cool.”

Charles honks the horn to signal us that the backseat is cleaned and ready to go. I say “There’s the signal.” Sean calls in the direction of the bathroom, “Come on, Daniel.” He comes out, says “Hey! Pro-tip: don’t...don’t go in there.” The three of us, say “Ew.” Sean says “Okay, Squad, let’s roll.”

We head outside to the black pickup truck. Charles opened the back hatch. Chris and Daniel climb in. Sean asks him “You need my jacket? We don’t want you catching another cold...” A little embarrassed, Daniel says “No, I’m good. Thanks...” Charles says “And don’t be waving your arms around when I’m driving, okay?” As soon as he turned his back, they jokingly waved their arms around. Sean reminds him “Yeah. Remember, Daniel, don’t mess around...” He says, annoyed “All right. Jeez...”

Charles gets in the driver seat. Sean and I squeeze onto the passenger seat. He sat closest to Charles while I sat right against the door. Charles says to Chris “Thanks for clearing the snow from the porch! You’re...You’re awesome!” Chris says muffled by the window, “You’re welcome, dad!” He pulls out of the driveway and head to the Christmas Market.

[t--writes]

idk u yet-

my friend laughs and asks what it’s like to be in love with someone you’ve never met. i laugh with her, not because it’s funny but because i think it’ll make the words i’m going to say hurt less. 

“well it’s not fucking fun” i chuckle out, the sound is dry in my throat, saying it cuts my tongue. 

i say this to buy myself some time, because honestly, i don’t know how to describe the feeling, “its like- imagine the person you love most in the world,” i begin. she closes her eyes and lets out a hum, thinking. i wonder if she is imagining her boyfriend? or her mom? or the guy from the walgreens that called her pretty, not the first one, but the third one with swoopy black hair and a nice build, i can imagine lots of people falling for him. 

i cough, “now imagine all of the best things you could do with that person. imagine every good moment and wonderous thing that could happen,” i try to keep my tone neutral, but i can feel my own excitement bubbling up. when i talk about things like this i can’t help but to imagine it on my own. imagine his hand in mine, a little rough but still soft, our fingers interlaced, his grip tightening as he looks from the night sky to my eyes. in my imagination he is seeing the galaxy in them, all dark brown and black swirls, speckles of light glittering in them. in my imagination he feels like he’s floating comfortably through space, like he wants to get lost among those dead shimmering lights. instead i feel my friends eyes boring into me. her gaze pulls me back to reality; she’s waiting for me to continue. 

“now think of all of the bad moments. think about all of the dramatic fights, the angry tears, the screaming...” my voice trails off and i fall again, back into my thoughts. we are standing in an apartment that i don’t even own because in reality i’m just a poor 20 year old college student, but in this world of mine i’m 25, and we share the apartment together. he stands in the archway of the kitchen his hands thrown up with exasperation. i know his words are sharp because it takes him a long time to even get upset. i can see the way his eyebrows knit together in anger, the vein in his neck a little more prominent. i also know that i’m crying, my head down because i was taught not to raise my voice and so i always feel guilty even in a moment like this. my words just as venomous. he yells something about how he can only apologise so many times about not being home enough and that i knew what i was getting into when i decided to be with him. i yell about how it was our anniversary and i worked so hard to cook everything and that of course i knew what i was getting myself into but that didn’t make it hurt any less. the sound of the door slamming as he storms out still rings in my ears as i shake myself out of the scenario, knowing i’ll start crying if i continue to think about it. my best friend seems to take her time with this one and i think that maybe i do know who she is imagining. 

“then let those thoughts bleed into what the next few days would look like, are you both still mad? are you both over it? picture it really hard,” i tell her softly. honestly i just wanted more time to think about it myself. i see his face as clear as day, as if he were standing right in front of me. the soft dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping, his mussed up hair sticking out a bit from him running his fingers through it -- an anxious habit he picked up from his friends. if i really immerse myself in the scene i can almost feel the way his arms wrap around my ample waist, his thin forelimbs squeezing my fat body tightly, his head comes to rests in the crook of my neck, his messy hair tickling my face as he plants a soft kiss on my cheek. my hands rest on his arms where they are wrapped, crossed around me, a small smile on my face as i breathe in the faint smell of his cologne and melt into his grip. 

he whispers a soft i’m sorry and i reply the same way. out voices gentle as we stand in the kitchen, the soft light of the rising sun dancing across every surface as it peaks through the open blinds. the coffee machine beeps just as i’m telling him that i was making coffee. he giggles quietly and releases me from his grip. i turn to face him and as soon as our eyes meet they turn into tiny rainbows as easy smiles stretch across our lips. his hands come up to cup my face and he leans down to kiss me. the kiss feels like every good thing i’ve ever felt. i know that when he pulls away i’m thinking about how each kiss is never long enough. 

my best friend snickers and once again i’m back in her dimly lit bedroom, laying comfortable beside her. 

“you have such a dopey smile when you think about him dude,” she teases, nudging me with her elbow. my face heats up in embarrassment. 

“yeah yeah,” i grumble before taking a deep breath, “now imagine that all got ripped away from you. imagine that whoever you thought about was 7500 miles away from you and didn’t even know your fucking name.”

my words faded out and made the room spin. saying things like that out loud is enough to knock the wind out of you. i looked over and our eyes met,  “do you still have that feeling in your chest?” she nodded and we both stared back up at the ceiling, but neither of us was really looking at it. silently we bathed in the feeling; hiraeth. 

the notion of missing home when you don’t truly know where home is and when it got to be too much for me again, i spoke. my voice far louder than it needed to be.

“that. that is how it feels to love someone you know you’ll never have. that is how i feel any time i see a picture of him or see him talking to another girl, or playing his guitar and singing some subpar cover of get you by daniel cesar or eating a fucking bowl of cereal. i don’t even like cereal or daniel cesar that much!” i exclaim and she chuckles sadly, i just keep going, “that’s the emotion that made me buy an ugly, an almost $65 shirt, just because he has the same one and wears it a lot and it makes me feel closer to him, and- and” i sigh, closing my eyes so that the universe or my best friend, doesn’t see me cry. i want to keep screaming, but the energy is gone, instead my voice almost cracks, “that is why i lay in bed every night wondering what the fuck i’m supposed to do with all this god damn love.”

and really, what can i do with it? where do i put it? how do i get rid of this feeling because no one will ever be him. no one will make me feel how he makes me feel and the fact that i feel anything at all is insanely stupid and unreasonable. there is only a  0.000007151124% chance of winning the lottery and that is still more likely than him meeting and falling in love with me. yet here i am, still waiting for that percentage to become my reality. 

all these thoughts swim in my head while we lay in silence. finally it becomes uncomfortable and like every other time the need for acknowledging the true pain underneath the emotions vanish. 

my friend and i let out a deep exhale simultaneously, “you got it rough homie,” she mumbles and i chuckle, “no fuckin’ kidding dawg.” 

[layce2015]

Life is Strange 2 (Sean Diaz x Reader)

Chapter 5: Long Road Ahead

Chapter 1 / Chapter 4

The moon was shining high above the ocean, as Mushroom runs across the sand, closely followed by a laughing Daniel. Sean and I watch on while sitting on a nearby rock. "Okay Mushroom, you can chase me. Then Sean and (y/n)." Daniel said to Mushroom. "Uh, no." Sean said as Daniel runs around while laughing. "Come! See if you can catch me..." Daniel exclaims to Mushroom, who bites at Daniel's hand. "Ow! Ha ha..." Daniel laughs as Sean and I continue to watch Daniel and Mushroom play.

"You know...Brody was right." I said to Sean. "About what?" Sean asked me. "There's a difference between alone and lonely. For most of my life, I've always been on my own. Alone. I was never really bothered by being alone. And the weird thing is...when I was around other people, I felt lonely." I replied as Sean looks over at me. "I know...it's weird. But that's just how I felt. Almost everytime I was in a large crowd, I felt I was the odd one out. I felt kinda empty. But on my own, I felt alittle bit better but there was always that nagging lonely feeling. But it wasn't that strong like it was when I'm with other people." I said.

"And...how do you feel when your around us?" Sean asked me, curiously. I smiled as I look him in the eyes and said. "I actually feel like I belong. Almost like one would feel once they come home." Sean and I stare at each other for a few moments while Daniel starts using a stick to lead Mushroom down the beach. "Come on, Mushroom, come on... Look, it's a stick! FETCH!" He exclaims.

I glance over at Daniel for a moment and give a small laugh as Daniel runs around the beach with Mushroom. I look back over to Sean and said. "I know that sounds weird, I mean we just met almost two days ago, but I want to be honest with you, Sean. But if that weirds you out, just let me know and I'll leave. I'll understand." 

Sean's eyes widen at this as he said. "N-no....it's fine actually. I don't mind having you around." A warm smile spreads across my face as Brody comes out of his car. Then he sets his backpack down next to us. "Come on, Mushroom, get that stick!" Daniel shouts as we watch him.

"Looks like these two are getting along. It's good to see him like that." Brody said and Sean nods in agreement. "Well, I got you that room." Brody said. "Seriously?" Sean and I said as we look up at him. "It's only a room, no big deal. Look, I had tough times when I started out...And...some strangers saved my life." Brody said as hands over the motel room key, which Sean accepts. "Thank you..." Sean said as I nod at him. "Yes, thank you. You're a life saver." I said.

"Now's my turn to help someone." Brody said, smiling, then he points towards the motel's upper balconies. "It's right there, Room 10. On the second floor." He said then he looks at Sean. "Listen...I don't want to freak you out, okay? But...you have to be twice as careful now. I know it's easier said than done, but...You should get rid of that phone." He informs. "Okay..." Sean said, in a defeated tone. "You can always get a burner later. Trust me. And Sean?" Brody said as he pats Sean on the back, reassuringly.

"Talk to Daniel. He deserves t--" Brody started to say until Daniel runs over to us. "Brody...You're not leaving...Are you?" He asked Brody. "Yes I am, but...not until Santa Brody gives you a goodbye gift..." Brody said then he reaches down and pulls up the backpack he had set down earlier as Sean, immediately, starts making declining gestures.

"Tada! Err...I mean, ho ho ho!" Brody said as he then looks over at Sean. "And don't you dare argue about it. I'll leave it right here if you do." He said and Sean laughs. "Okay. You win..." he said as Brody hands the backpack over to Sean. "Thanks, Brody..." Sean said to him and I smile at Brody. "You're too good for this world, Brody." I said as Sean takes off his old backpack and puts on Brody's while Daniel watches. "Thank you, (y/n)." Brody said as Sean said. "Feels good..."

Sean picks up his old backpack and hands it towards Daniel. "Here. Looks like it's yours now." He said and Daniel rolls his eyes. "As always..." he grumbles. "Hold on...I didn't forget you. I've had it since my first road trip...and it's always kept me safe." Brody said as he reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a red bandana, handing it over to Daniel. "Now it's yours..." he said.

"Cool..." Daniel said then he looks down at Mushroom, then back at Brody. "Hmmm... Do you think it's okay if she wears it? Like our official guard dog!" Daniel asked. "Sure...It's...your bandana now." Brody said as Daniel ties the red bandana around Mushroom's neck, then stands up and steps on top of the rock.

"Okay...Time for me to hit the road again." Brody said and my eyes flicker downwards. "Hey, don't look so sad...You can contact me on my blog...A Tribe Called West. So...you better keep me posted when you can...Okay?" He said and we nodded. "We will." I said. "Thanks again, Brody..." Sean said as he shakes Brody's hand, who pulls it into a hug. "Bro-hug!" He said then he goes over to me and we hug each other. "You keep an eye on these boys, okay?" He said. "I will." I said.

Immediately after our hug ends, Daniel leaps off the rock into Brody's arms, who returns the hug before setting him down. "Wish you could stay with us..." said Daniel. "Me too, kid..." Brody said ad they finish their hug and he makes a signing off gesture, then starts heading towards his car. "Sorry, I'll probably think of a better goodbye when I'm on the road, but...until then...Take care, my dudes." He said then gets into his car and starts the engine.

"I'm gonna miss him." Daniel said, sadly, as we wave Brody goodbye. "Me, too..." Sean said as I nod while Brody makes a final parting wave out the window, and his car drives off into the night.

"Okay. Time to hit the sack." Sean said as he pats Daniel's back, then we walk across the road towards the motel. "Don't worry, Mushroom. I got you." Daniel said as he picks up Mushroom then he looks over at us. "Do you guys think it will have Netflix? Or a jacuzzi?" He asked us. "Dude, this is a motel, not an Airbnb." Sean said. "If we're lucky, it'll have cable and a hot shower." I said as we head up the steps and started passing by room 14, where I hear groans, moans and screams of pleasure coming from that room. 

I look over at Sean, who heard the same thing, and both of us had a look of shock. My face was burning up as Daniel said. "Guys...I hear something...like a fight..."

"Um...It's...not a fight." Sean stammers, awkwardly. "Oh yeah? What are they doing? Sounds weird..." Daniel said as we walk away from the door. "It's a TV show." I replied, quickly. "Sounds stupid." Daniel said as we come upon Room 10.

Sean opens the door to our room and lets Daniel and I inside. "Check it out! It even has a bathtub!" Daniel exclaims. "Good! I'm gonna throw you in, cave boy!" Sean jokes as Daniel runs around the room. "We can even watch TV, too!" He said as he puts Mushroom on the left side bed. "And there's a balcony! Whoa, this is nice! And warm!" He said as Sean puts his phone on charge then picks up a note and reads it, Daniel takes his shoes off and climbs on the other bed. "Oooh...This bed is soft... What about this one?" He asked as he moves back to the first bed. "Uuuhh, not bad...But too far from the TV!" He said and I chuckle.

"Well, go ahead, you and your brother can take the one near the TV and I'll take this one." I said as I gesture towards the bed by the wall. "Really?!" Daniel asked me. "Yeah." I said, smiling at him. "Yeah! Thanks, (y/n)! You're awesome!" Daniel exclaims to me as he runs over to hug me. I chuckle and said. "You're welcome, munchkin." 

I hugged him back as he runs over to the bed and gets comfortable. "Daniel! You have towels in the bathroom. Don't forget to use them!" Sean called from the bathroom. "Yeah, yeah..." Daniel mutters as he picks up the remote and flicks through the channels.

"All right. I'm gonna run a bath. We totally reek." Sean said as he sticks his head out from the bathroom. "Especially you! Pig-pen!" Daniel shouts. "I wouldn't be so sure, cave boy. I'll call you when it's ready." Sean said. "I'll be right here!" Daniel said to him. "Course you will..." Sean said when Daniel finally stopped on a channel.

"Oh cool! HAWT DAWG MAN IS ON! Ooooo, I remember this episode! Weird it's on so late..." he said and I chuckle as I go over to the side table and plug up my MP3 to charge. I look over and see the note Sean was reading earlier, I read it and realized it was from Brody. Apparently, he lent us some money and the reason he had to leave was because his mom was battling cancer. I feel pretty bittersweet at this as I read the note, saying he hopes to see us again. "I'm gonna go sit out in the balcony for a bit." I said, after finishing the note and set it down. "Okay." He said as Mushroom barks her little cute bark. I lean over and pet her head as I slide open the door.

"HEY, DANIEL, BATH'S READY!" I hear Sean yell as I step out on the balcony. "What?! Already? Can I finish this episode first?" Daniel asked. "No man. You smell so bad, there's no time to lose." Sean yells and I see Daniel pick Mushroom up and walks to the bathroom.

I shut the door and go sit on one of the chairs in the corner and looked out towards the beach. The cool fall air was blowing through the sky, the sounds of the wave filled my eyes and I let out a heavy sigh. 

Suddenly, the door to the room opens and Sean walks out then shakes his head as he looks down at his phone. "Hey, you okay?" I asked him as he goes and sits down on the chair next to me. "My friend, Lyla, has texted me like crazy. She's really freaking out...and...I don't know if I should call her or not." He said and I give him a concern look. "I'd hate to tell you don't call your friend, Sean...but...if the cops find out that you've contacted her, they'll question her and then they'll tap her phone, hoping for a another chance for you to call. And when you do call her, they will be on your ass." I said.

He looks down for a moment then at his phone before he sighs. "Yeah, you're right." He mutters. "I'm really sorry, Sean. I know it would make you happy to talk to your friend, but I'm sure you care about her and wouldn't want to cause any trouble for her." I said and he nods. "Yeah, she really doesn't need that kind've stress." Sean said, sadly, as he looks down his phone. Then he presses some buttons and turns his phone sideways.

"Whatcha' doing?" I asked him. "Bout to watch this video I filmed on Christmas." He replied and I nod at him. "Do you need to be alone? I can go back inside, if you--" I said but he shakes his head at me. "No, it's fine." He said then he plays the video clip on his phone. I lean over as he holds his phone out so the both of us could watch it.

"Okay! Wait...Okay, okay...And...ACTION!" Sean's voice said as his dad was in front of the camera. His father turns to the side and yells. "Daniel! Get your butt in here right now!" Daniel then runs into view of the camera. "What? What did I do?" He asked. "You forgot to open this present!" His dad said as he hands Daniel a medium sized present.

"What is this?" Daniel asked as he opens it then his face squirrels up in disgust. "Socks...Underwear...That's it?" He asked as he pulls the clothing items out of the box. "Yeah, pretty cool, huh? That's what I got when I was a kid..." their dad said, a smile on his face. "Not funny..." Daniel grumbles and Sean began to laugh.

"Yeah it is! Dude! Check out your face!" He said as he points at his brother's angry face. I chuckled at this but glanced over to see Sean covering his face with one hand, beginning to tear up. I felt my heart turn heavy as I watch the tears roll down his face. I pull up the sleeve of my hoodie, over my hand, and used it to wipe his tears away as we continued to watch the video.

"What, what...Look! There's another one here! What is it...?" Daniel asked as he looks over to see a larger present under the tree. "Daniel...let me help...Looks bigger than underwear..." their dad teased as he and Daniel pull out the present. "Ooooh, what?" Daniel asked in excitement as he opens the present and his jaw drops. "No way! Can't believe it! The new...PlayBox! Thank you Santa!" He said as he looks up at his dad.

"Hey, don't look at me...You were a good boy this year..." their Dad said. "Yeah. Lucky boy." Sean mutters. "Daniel. This is for the whole family too, right? So you gotta share...With me! I want to play that game where you steal cars and go on high speed pursuit..." their dad said and I giggle at this. Their dad seemed like a pretty cool dude.

"Dad, you totally suck at games..." Sean said to his dad. "Oh yeah, track star? I was the dodge-ball champ of my high school...So duck!" He said as he throws a ball at Sean. "Ow! No fair!" Sean exclaims as he stumbles a bit. "You guys, don't crush the PlayBox! Hey! Let's set it up!" Daniel said but their dad kept wanting to good around a bit as he threw the ball at his sons. "Dad, come on! Ow! Okay. My ball now! Watch out!" Daniel exclaims as they play around.

"Merry Christmas, kids..." their dad said once he stopped and smiles. The video ends showing their dad wearing a Christmas jumper, Daniel holding the PlayBox, and Christmas decorations were in the background. 

I look over at Sean as he puts away his phone. "I'm really sorry, Sean. He seemed like a pretty cool dad." I said. Sean nods and said. "I just hoped he knew how much I've loved him." He said, his voice breaking. "I'm sure he did, Sean. He looked liked he really loved you and your brother." I said and Sean nodded again as he takes a deep breath then stands up and walk up to the railings. 

He looks down at his phone then throws the it towards the beach. I walk over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder, his puffy red eyes look down at me. I give him a comforting smile as the two of us stare at each other. His lips started to form a smile when music began playing from inside. We look through the door to see Daniel rocking out on the bed.

I look back at Sean and said. "You've got to tell him." He nods then let's out a sigh. "Here it goes." He whispers and we walk inside to Daniel playing the air guitar while jumping up and down to a song playing on the television. 

"Are you kidding me?" Sean asked, annoyed. "Remember that song?! Come on! Dance!" Daniel said as he stops and holds his hand out to us. "Man, we... we can't dance right now. My legs are thrashed. Sorry." Sean said. "Yeah, mine too." I said as Sean grabs the remote and turns off the TV.

"You guys are no fun." Daniel said, frowning. "Daniel...Come here. We need to talk." Sean said as Daniel sits down on the bed. "Can we get a drink first? I'm thirsty..." he said. "Right now?" Sean and I asked. "You said I could have a coke...or something..." Daniel said and I sigh a bit at this. "Okay. I'll get you a soda. But when I come back...we're going to talk. Serious." Sean said. "Fine...What's the big deal?" Daniel asked and Sean starts to walk out of the room, and I follow him.

We walk down the walkway and head to the vending machine to purchase a soda. As Sean puts the money in, the lights on the landing begin to flicker. I look around at the lights in confusion when I hear Daniel's voice shout. "Dad!" Sean and I give each other fearful looks and we began to run back to the room. "Daniel!" We exclaimed as we run.

Sean opens the door to the room and both of us looked in the room in shock. "Oh fuck!" I exclaimed. Daniel was standing with clenched fists in front of the TV, the screen glowing. The bed had been pushed to one side and Mushroom is in the corner, cowering. The work desk and chair had tumbled over, stuff was flying around the room and the lights were going haywire.

"Oh my God...Daniel...?!" Sean said, fearfully. "What is happening?!" I asked, also scared. "Daniel, calm down!" Sean said as Daniel looks at us in anger, Mushroom began to bark. Meanwhile, stuff continued to fly around the room.

"YOU LIED! Dad! Our Dad is dead!" Daniel screams as he points at the TV, which shows BREAKING NEWS: 2 DEAD IN SEATTLE INCIDENT with their dad's face on the screen.

"WHY?" Daniel screamed at us, angrily. "It was an accident! A cop fucked up and shot him! That's it." Sean admitted. "No! No! IT'S NOT TRUE!" Daniel cries. "I'm so sorry..." Sean said to him. "Why? Why did you LIE to me?!" Daniel asked him. "I was scared, Daniel...I didn't know what to say..." Sean replied then Daniel looks over at me. "Did you know?!" He asked me. "I did hear about this when I was traveling, but I didn't know who you guys were when I first meet you. Until I talked to your brother when you went to get firewood, that's when i realized who you two were." I explained.

"You...You guys should've told me!" Daniel said. "I couldn't believe it either! I didn't mean to!" Sean said. "I'm so sorry, Daniel." I said. "It's not fair..." Daniel cries as we walk closer to him. "Hey! Come on... I'm here. (Y/n)'s here. It's okay..." Sean assures as we get closer to Daniel. "No it's not!" Daniel shouts just as Sean gets close enough to grab his arm.

"Don't touch me!" Daniel yells as he tries to fight his brother off but Sean reaches forward and hugs Daniel. "Daniel! Please!" Sean cries while Daniel tries to get away, but Sean pulls him in again. "No!" Daniel yells. "Shhh... It's okay..." Sean said as he hugs his brother and I go and hug him then everything falls to the floor. Mushroom steps forward as Daniel begins to cry.

"I want Dad..." Daniel cries.

"Me too." Sean said and my hear was hurting for these two. 

"I'm so sorry, boys. I hate that you two are going through this." I said as the lights return to full brightness, then the three of us look around. "You told me we were gonna see Dad..." Daniel said to Sean. "I'm sorry... I just..." Sean stammers. "Just don't lie to me ever again. Ever." Daniel said as he shakes his head slightly.

"I promise. I won't lie to you again." Sean said to him. "And I promise to, Daniel." I said. "I'm serious, guys..." Daniel said to us. "We know...Me too, Daniel..." Sean said. "Same here." I said. "What are we gonna do without him?" Daniel asked his brother. "Sssshhhh...It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." Sean assures him and the two brother hug each other once more as I wipe away a tear running down my face.

"Guys... Am I... a monster?" Daniel asked us. It was the next day and the boys and I were on a bus, which was mostly empty. Sean and Daniel were sitting next to each other while I was sitting in the seat across the aisle from them, our bags in the seat next to me.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You're...Different." I said and he sighs. "Okay. What are we gonna do, now?" He asked. "I was thinking...Maybe we could go to Puerto Lobos. Where Dad grew up, you know..." Sean said. "Yeah...I guess..." Daniel said in a defeated tone. "It'll be fine, Daniel. There's nothing we can't do...as long as we're together." Sean said to him.

"Can you tell me a story? Like he did?" Daniel asked his brother. Sean nods and Daniel wraps Sean's arm over his shoulder. "I'm not as good as him...He used to tell me bedtime stories, too..." Sean said then he begins to tell his story. "Once upon a time...In a wild...wild world...there were two wolf brothers...living in their home lair with their papa wolf...They all lived happily together...but...but one day, hunters took their Dad away. Forever...So now the brothers were alone...and they had to find a new home...They started a journey through the great big forest...where they met a friendly fox, who decided to join them...as she, too, was looking for a home...."

I smiled at this as Sean continues his story until the three of us pass out, the bus taking us away.

[lyayayaya]

Is Finn/Cassidy present in Episode 4?

So, hi y’all! After securing my tin foil hat on my head, I can officially say I’m back with another theory! 

(WARNING: There are leaks mentioned in this post. If you are not comfortable with leaks, please do not read this.)

A few months ago, I dived in the world of Buddhism, Hinduism and Wikipedia articles to figure out what kind of person Finn might be. In some aspects I was right (figured his personality and role in the group out!), in other apects, I wasn’t. But that’s how theorising is, you definitely can’t be right about everything.

Please take this theory with a grain of salt and don’t be afraid to express your opinions, whether you agree or disagree!

We were left with many questions after the ending of episode 3, especially after the episode 4 teaser. What happened to Sean’s eye? Why is Sean walking alone in Nevada? Where is Daniel? What happened to the punks? Will Sean get arrested by the police? Will we ever see Cassidy or Finn again?

An inside source already told the following:

Sean joins a cult in Episode 4.

We are close to the truth if we say, Jacob went back with Daniel to his community.

We will be able to interact with our loved ones via minor contact (a call).

These bits of informations and the teaser are the only things we have of Episode 4.

We’ll only get all the answers once Episode 4 is out and playable, but there still could be some clues hidden in previous episodes of Life is Strange 2 or hidden in Captain Spirit. 

There are the infamous Hawt Dawg Man comic pages in Captain Spirit which should be taken into consideration. 

Hawt Dawg Man wanders on the road alone and devastated when his “friend”, Mustard comes and picks him up. They drive off in a car so happy, there is a rainbow flying behind them. Suddenly, Evil Mustard comes in their way, saying he will “crush them like peanuts”. Mustard gets scared but Hawt Dawg Man steps up against Evil Mustard, saying he “likes mustard and he will empty him out big time”. 

Despite the pages being an obvious joke, they could be foreshadowing. 

In Wastelands, Sean could explore Finn’s tent. The tents reveal a lot about their owner’s personality and mental state. Under a plate of leftover pizza in his tent, there is a Hawt Dawg Man comic book.

He might have it because of Daniel or he just enjoys reading them. Regardless, the comic is present in his tent and it could be foreshadowing.

I know the insider source said we will have minor contact but what if it’s just one of the possibilities? I think the comic pages mean Cassidy/Finn could go after Sean and help him against the cult to get back Daniel. 

Why?

I think being mustard in the comic is a metaphor to being white: Hawt Dawg Man (Sean) is ultimately a hot dog, not mustard (obviously) but he still has mustard on him (hence Sean is biracial) and he tells Evil Mustard that he likes mustard (Sean’s two love interests, Cassidy and Finn are both white).

Who is Evil Mustard?

He could be anyone from the group, someone in a high position and white. I think there are only white people in the cult, probably racist in some levels and only looking up at Daniel because he is believed to be a miracle child. 

The reason why a Hawt Dawg Man comic book is only present in Finn’s tent isn’t because only Finn could help Sean, Cassidy could help him too. She is white and it was already hinted she could go with the Diaz boys. The reason is Finn’s name.

In a video made by Square Enix, we were told that his name is a reference to Huckleberry Finn. The name “Finn” means white, fair. 

In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn runs away from his abusive father and becomes friends with a slave named Jim, who escaped from their owner and both of them hide away on an island.(...) Jim is eventually wanted for murder(...).

(...)

They continue their journey due to feeling forced to leave the island because search parties were coming. Jim gets sold to a farmer while Huckleberry Finn is away and Huckleberry goes after his friend to the farm. 

Huckleberry Finn goes after his friend to the farm to free him.

Mustard goes after Hawt Dawg Man and picks him up.

These two plot points are extremely similar.

“They continue their journey due to feeling forced to leave the island because search parties were coming. Jim gets sold to a farmer while Huckleberry Finn is away”- this could mean Finn/Cassidy could actually go with Sean but Sean would get arrested while they are away for some reason.

Sean would probably escape before the officer would reach prison with him (maybe jump out of the car?). 

For the end: are there any links between Sean and Finn/Cassidy in a religious aspect? While I’m not aware of such thing with Cassidy, Sean and Finn both seem to be involved with Satan (maybe referencing that they are the enemy of the cult?): The sigil of Baphomet badge on Sean’s hoodie, the book which Finn is reading. He is reading Lord of the Flies, the book’s title is another way Satan could be called as. 

TLDR; Finn/Cassidy might come along with Sean to Nevada as one of the outcomes but they separate due to Sean’s arrest. They later meet again and rescue Daniel from Jacob’s cult.

Thanks to the Life is Strange wiki for the images and useful informations I used while making this post!

[randomwordprompts]

If It’s Magic | Chapter 2

A/N: This is a bit longer than the first chapter, I’m not mad at it but I’m working towards something. No warnings...yet lol

Taglist: @great-neckpectations @wakandas-vibranium @bartierbakarimobisson @wakandan-flowerz @yaachtynoboat711 @oceanscorazon @babygirlofwakanda @storibambino @reaperdeldrunk Lucy huffed as she stood in line in the cafe, giving the barista a pleasant smile once she finally reached the front.

“Hi, I ordered a macchiato on the app under the name Lucille Owens. Is it ready?”

“I’m sorry but there’s no order here under that name,” the young man said with a bored expression on his face, signaling her to move over so he could help the person behind her. Lucy gaped at him and refused to leave the spot, much to the chagrin of the people behind her.

“Excuse me?! I’m gonna need you to check again because I know what I ordered!”

“I understand, but I don’t have your order here and there are others waiting. Either put in a new order or step aside, please.”

Lucy was about to rip into him before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked at Amira, who’d been quietly watching the two of them, and moved to make room for her in front of the barista.

“Listen, we have an Intro to Psych class to get to and it’s the first day. Could you put in two mocha macchiatos for me and my roommate, lease? She already paid and it’s only right.”

The male’s eyes seemed to glaze over a bit as Amira spoke, looking a bit dumbfounded. When she finished speaking he nodded and put the order in, letting the ladies know that they’d be called when they were ready. While waiting Lucy looked at Amira warily, unsure of what just happened.

Amira noticed and returned the look. “What?”

“You know damn well what. How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Lucy glared at her and huffed. “Mira...the thing with the barista!! What was that?!”

“Oh, that. It’s a long story that I’ll explain later, when we’re alone. Please ask me something else.”

Seeming satisfied for the moment, Lucy decided to ask something that had been on her mind since their first night together.

“Fine, fine. Tell me about that fine ass dude that came to our place the other night! He was all tall dark and handsome. You said he was your friend?”

Amira silently wished she’d just answered the first question, she thought with a chuckle.

“Xavier is a lot of things. My best friend, business partner, ex-boyfriend, almost fiance-”

“Almost what now?! You not gone just speed past that like you didn’t just say he was almost your fiance. Explain, Canadian.”

“He proposed, I said no.”

Lucy’s eyes nearly bugged out through her glasses at that.

“Why the hell would you say no to that? He fine as hell, probably smart cause he goes here, and he look like he got money! Did he hit you?”

“Girl, no! It just wasn’t the right time. After some talking, we agreed to wait until after graduation.”

Lucy sat back and ended her interrogation for now, just when their orders were ready. With a wink to the barista, they left the cafe and headed to class, speed walking a bit so they wouldn’t be late.

“So you telling me she said no...and y’all are still friends? You’re better than me, dawg.”

Xavier and his roommate Daniel were in the gym exercising between classes. Currently, the latter was spotting the former in a bench press as they spoke.

“We’ve been friends since middle school, dude. Besides, it’s more of a not yet than a no. We talked and decided together that it would be better to wait until after graduation.”

As they continued to speak, Xavier finished his set and got up to switch places with Daniel, spotting him through his own bench press.

“Okay, that’s fair. But why not still be together while in school? From what I’ve seen you two still have chemistry.”

“Man, stop worrying so much about my love life and focus on yours. What happened with that cutie you took out last night? I didn’t expect to see you again until this morning.”

Daniel huffed a bit and rolled his eyes as he paused to meet Xavier’s gaze, “Dude, her friend ended up calling her crying right when we got back to her place. I feel like it was a set up but either way we said goodnight early.”

Xavier barked out a laugh as they continued their workout before hitting the showers and grabbing some food.

Amira sat cross-legged on her bed surrounded by notes and her laptop, hair pulled up into a loose top bun with a pen behind her ear as she typed away. She barely registered the front door opening and closing before Lucy was at her room’s threshold with an excited look on her face and a flyer in her hand.

“Mira, you would not believe what happened today!”

Without looking away from her laptop, Amira raised a brow as she spoke.

“You finally asked that dude out from psych?”

“What? No! I was heading back from buying my brushes and there were these women on 20th Street talking about something called ‘reproductive justice’. You ever heard of it?”

“Yeah, we learned a little bit about it in high school. Women taking charge of what happens to their bodies and shit. Why?”

“Apparently there’s going to be an event next week where they go more into detail on what it is. Would my roommate care to join?”

Amira paused her work and gestured for Lucy to give her the paper so she could look it over, shrugging a bit before she finally answered, “I don’t see why not, I like learning sometimes. Speaking of, I almost got kicked out of my Culture & Society class today.”

“It’s the second week, how the hell did you manage that?”

“I might have told the professor that he didn’t have any culture because he’s white...unless you count inbreeding, theft, murder, and beastiality.”

Lucy damn near fell over she laughed so hard, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes as Amira shrugged once more with a laugh.

“I mean, you weren’t wrong. But you know you can’t say that to these professors! They already think they’re “aware” because they went backpacking in Denver on their parent’s dime, or decided to stop washing their hair.”

“White people wash their hair?”

“Ya know...probably not.”

They laughed once more until Amira’s phone rang, the contact name “Peachy Kins” over a picture of Jonathan popping up and not going unnoticed by Lucy.

“Wooooow. So you can talk about white people but you got one saved in your phone looking all yummy with a pet name?! Ma’am.”

“Eh, cut that shit out. That’s my brother, he’s basically off black.”

Lucy snorted as Amira answered the phone and ushered her out of the room. “Well introduce me to the black side cause he fine. Heyyyy big brother!”

“Who the fuck was that?” Jonathan’s voice hit her ear as she closed the door, shaking her head.

“My roommate. She thinks you’re cute, ignore her.”

“I mean...I like dick, so I will. Anywhore, are you by your laptop?”

“Yeah I am, why?”

“Oh, just got something you might wanna see. Call me on Skype.”

Amira made a face but hung up her phone as she pulled up Skype on her laptop, calling him right away. When he answered it was clear he was in the basement of their office building, his usual dress shirt’s sleeves rolled up before he turned the camera to face what he wanted her to see. It turned out to be one of her workers, tied to a chair and barely conscious as if he’d been drugged. She was prepared to ask what was going on but Jonathan spoke first as he walked towards the male.

“So it seems we have a mole in our midst. I had Kenneth here followed and apparently he’s been meeting with the Chief of Police when he’s not working. But apparently, he doesn’t work with you guys anymore?”

The man in question was slowly coming to, looking dazed and confused as to where he was currently. Amira leaned back slightly and shook her head, running a hand over her face.

“Oh, Kenny. Kenny, Kenny, Kenny. Nah, he doesn’t work for us anymore because he was stealing.”

“A snitch and a thief? Heavy stuff. How do you wanna handle this?”

“Given that he has nothing the cops can actually use...just put him in the hospital. I think that’s a fair punishment.”

“Alright, will do. Later babe.”

“Oh Jon, wait! Make sure he can’t have any kids? No one needs to have that burden in their lives.”

At those words, Kenneth came to slightly, struggling to get out of the chair he was tied to with increasing strength. Jonathan snorted at his attempts before looking back to his sister.

“I can see why you’d say that. On it though, I’ll keep you updated on the other shit.”

After exchanging ‘love yous’ and ending the call, Amira grabbed her phone and texted Xavier the situation to keep him in the loop. She was surprised when he opted to call instead of replying, but answered the phone regardless.

“You know I don’t like texting.”

“I know, but I figured you were busy. Actually, what is that sound?”

The sound in question was what slurping and gagging, but Amira thought she might be mistaken.

“It’s nothing important honestly,” Xavier began, prompting the girl sitting between his legs to pull her mouth from his semi-hard dick, irritation clear on her face as she inquired who the fuck he was talking to. He raised a brow at her and smirked before putting the phone on speaker and replying so that both women could hear him.

“I was talking to someone that actually knows how to suck a dick, you might wanna ask her for some pointers because your mouth is pretty sad.”

Amira’s voice floated from the phone laced with pure amusement.

“Damn, you called me while she sucked you off? That’s sad as hell. Do better, Mr. Rose.”

At this point the girl was fuming, standing and going on about how she didn’t need this shit and Xavier wasn’t that cute anyways before she let herself out. Xavier simply pulled his sweats back up as Amira cackled on the other end of the phone, no doubt wiping tears from her eyes.

“She was trying to be cute, who does that?”

“People that don’t know how to suck dick, but I digress. Did you read my text?”

“I did. Jon’s handling it right?”

“Of course. I just didn’t want to leave you out of the loop of information.”

“Mighty white of you, beautiful. Since I have you on the phone though, you got plans next week? Daniel and I are going to stage a sit-in on administration about having a BSU and it would mean a lot if you showed up. You can even bring your loud roommate.”

Amira chuckled and stood from her bed, stretching her legs and letting out a small groan.

“Lucy’s just passionate, give her a break. But let me see what my week is looking like and I’ll get back to you?”

“No problem. In the meantime, go eat.”

“How do you know I haven’t eaten?”

“Because you sound hungry. Now go eat or I’ll come over there and feed you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time unless you plan to follow through. But fine, I’ll eat...you can still come to feed me though,” she said with a smirk as she left her room to head towards the kitchenette.

“The hell he can! I got an early class tomorrow...” Lucy interjected as Amira grabbed some ingredients for a quick stir fry.

Daniel tried not to laugh in Xavier’s face when he relayed how he was basically shut down by Amira’s roommate, but he quickly failed.

“I’m sorry dude, but it’s funny. Why don’t you do something cute, like ask her out?”

“Because she’s my girl and I don’t have to do that? She knows how I feel.”

“And? Nigga, the same shit you did for her to be your girl, you now have to do to keep her that way. Fuck around and be single by your sophmore year.”

Xavier looked at him for a moment before shaking his head, “Nah, it’s not like that with us. We’ve always been friends first since we were kids.”

“Key word there? Kids, my nigga. Y’all grown now, and she’s gonna want to know that you don’t see that same little girl anymore.”

“...you give a lot of advice for somebody that ain’t got nobody.”

“You don’t listen and you won’t have nobody either.”

Xavier thought about Daniel’s words but brushed them off, sure that Amira knew how he felt about her already. Besides that, they’re bonded. They can’t be in love with anyone else...right?

___________________________________

Daaamn, Daniel! Did he have a point though? Tell me what you think!

[tkmedia]

The key storyline to follow for every top 25 college football team

The 2021 college football season will have no shortage of storylines. All four of last year's College Football Playoff teams are replacing their starting quarterbacks, which gives hope to a new group of teams (like Iowa State, North Carolina, and Texas A&M) that they have a shot to find a way into the final four.Talks of expanding the Playoff will continue during this season. Speaking of "talks of expanding", Oklahoma's and Texas' defection from the Big 12 to the SEC has set college athletics ablaze with rumors of a massive realignment of some leagues and the folding of others. The NCAA is even signaling that their time as the complete umbrella of college sports is coming to an end. The name and image likeness rules get their first real test with the upcoming football season while transfer rules and the extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic season add extra intrigue to what should be an exciting ... and somewhat normal ... college football season.But that's the storylines of the sport as a whole. Each team enters the season with their own questions and concerns; dreams and goals. So here are the key storylines for every top 25 team.  

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Can Nick Saban win his 8th national championship? A lot of teams have the question of "how do you replace this guy" or depth problems or inexperience or whatever. Alabama has those issues too but we've moved past that. They've won championships with different kinds of quarterbacks. They've stocked the NFL with first-round picks and are the epitome of next man up. Heisman Trophy winners have come and gone. Alabama has all of those issues to deal with in 2021 but they're back as the title favorites yet again. You don't question how Nick Saban will manage as much as you just believe he will. The man has won seven national championships -- six of them at Alabama in the last twelve years. His legacy is cemented, as we are at the point of him just piling on the superlatives. The question really isn't "can Nick Saban win his 8th national championship" as much as "who is gonna stop him".   Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC Moving on from the Trevor Lawrence-Travis Etienne era.Clemson was 39-3 during the Trevor Lawrence era in Clemson, which included three ACC titles and a national championship. It also included two blowout losses in the College Football Playoff that have abruptly ended the Tigers' last two seasons. Lawrence is gone, as is the ACC's all-time leading rusher Travis Etienne. Clemson has two guys they feel are capable of keeping the ball rolling in D.J. Uiagalelei and Lyn-J Dixon, but it is a major reload to deal with as teams like Miami and North Carolina feel as if they have a shot at taking down the six-time conference champions.    Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports Will Spencer Rattler be the next Sooner Heisman winner? The biggest story around the Oklahoma program this year will likely be the school's move to the SEC in a few years, but on the field, it will be about quarterback Spencer Rattler. As a freshman in 2020, he threw for 3.031 yards, 28 TDs, and just 7 interceptions despite not having a normal offseason program. He followed Jalen Hurts (national champion), Kyler Murray (Heisman winner; No. 1 overall draft pick), and Baker Mayfield (Heisman winner; No. 1 overall draft pick). The four playoff teams from a year ago will be replacing their quarterbacks, giving Oklahoma a distinct advantage heading into the season.    Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports Who is the quarterback?Like the other three schools who were in last year's College Football Playoff, Ohio State will be replacing their quarterback. The big difference in Columbus is that they aren't exactly sure who the new guy will be. Signs point to freshman C.J. Stroud as the favorite to start when the season begins, but fellow freshmen Kyle McCord and Jack Miller III will be chomping at the bit to step in. Stroud and Miller played sparingly during garbage time last season as backups to Justin Fields, but McCord is the higher-rated recruit who may eventually secure the job. Add to the mix Quinn Ewers, who in early August decided to skip his senior season of high school and enroll at Ohio State early. It is doubtful he could win the starting job, but he may end up being the best of the bunch. In any event, someone needs to take the reins if the Buckeyes are to get back to the national championship game.    Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports Is it finally Georgia's time?Kirby Smart is 44-9 over his last four seasons in Athens, winning 28 of 33 SEC games, three bowl wins, and an SEC championship. They've finished either first or second in the East division every year and played for the 2017-2018 national championship with a freshman quarterback. The program is ready to enter that elite level that has eluded them for far too long. The offense is stacked with an experienced quarterback (JT Daniels), a talented running attack (led by Zamir White), and a group of skilled receivers ready to break out. The key will be a very young defensive secondary who will need to grow up quickly for the Dawgs title dreams to be realized.    Gary Cosby Jr/The Tuscaloosa News via USA TODAY Sports Who is replacing Kellen Mond? Kellen Mond, who it seems as if was at Texas A&M for a decade, is now in the NFL and head coach Jimbo Fisher must find someone to replace him. The candidates are both really good and really diverse. Zach Calzada has the big arm who can stretch defenses and opens up the playbook. Haynes King is more athletic and spent last season as Mond's backup on the depth chart. King's speed and ability to move around may be more valuable as the Aggies are rebuilding their offensive line. The good news is that A&M's first five games allow them to learn on the fly before their big showdown with Alabama at Kyle Field in mid-October.    Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Can the Cyclones cash in on the perfect storm?Everyone should be rooting for Iowa State. They are the little guy trying to punch their way up to the big time. They've got a Heisman candidate quarterback in Brock Purdy, who may be the best QB in program history. They've got another Heisman candidate in running back Breece Hall, who was a first-team All-American last year. The entire starting offensive line is back as well as much of the defense, led by linebacker Mike Rose. Don't forget that Iowa State won the Big 12 regular season by two games in 2020, before losing to Oklahoma in a thrilling Big 12 title game. Head coach Matt Campbell is on nearly every NFL GM's list to call when they have an opening. Add in the current turmoil in the Big 12 which will lead to an anti-Oklahoma and Texas sentiment and it creates a perfect storm for Iowa State to strike for a conference title and more in 2021. Purdy, Hall, much of the defense, and Campbell could all be gone after the season. Make this season count.   Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports Is rebuilding an offense around two really good backs the right move?Notre Dame could be due for a bit of a drop-off in 2021. Most of the offense from last year turned over (nine starters gone), Wisconsin grad transfer Jack Coan takes over for Ian Book at quarterback, and are rebuilding their offensive line. So backs Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree will be the focal points of the offense as everyone else get comfortable in their roles. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees loves a solid running attack and will need to get that going in a hurry as the Irish have a difficult schedule to navigate. Notre Dame has four straight 10+ win seasons coming into the year, but with games on tap against Florida State, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, USC, and North Carolina, that streak could be in jeopardy if the offense struggles.    Brad McClenny-USA TODAY NETWORK Fixing a defense that collapsed last year.Of the top nine schools on this list, only Oklahoma, Iowa State, and Georgia aren't breaking in new starting quarterbacks (the Gators will be replacing Kyle Trask with Emory Jones), but that's not where the questions lie. What's up with the defense? Florida was on the cusp of gaining a College Football Playoff berth when their defense just fell apart. A stunning home loss to a bad LSU team in the regular-season finale (37-34) began the puzzling trend. Then came a loss to Alabama in the SEC championship, which was competitive but saw Florida give out 52 points to the Tide. Finally comes a 55-20 spanking at the hands of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl and fans are upset at high-priced defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. There is talent all over that defense but stunning breakdowns keep happening. Corner Kalir Elam, DL Zachary Carter, and rusher Brenton Cox Jr. are great pieces to build around with the hope that a second-year under Grantham's scheme will net better results.    Sam Greene via Imagn Content Services, LLC Can the Bearcats do it again?In 2020, Cincinnati went 8-0 in the regular season, beat Tulsa in the AAC title game and pushed Georgia to the brink before losing in the closing seconds of the Peach Bowl. One of the best seasons in Bearcats football but one that felt unfulfilled. Fans felt that they were not only robbed of a spot in the College Football Playoff but disrespected after ranking just 8th in the final poll. So can the Bearcats pull it off again? After all, quarterback and AAC Offensive Player of the Year Desmond Ridder returns and is a darkhorse Heisman candidate in 2021. Also back is that punishing defense, who held 7 of 10 opponents to 20 points or less and only one opponent, UCF, to score more than 24 points. Head coach Luke Fickell has also beefed up the schedule with road trips to Indiana and Notre Dame, so an undefeated record against an admittedly soft AAC schedule this year will look better if they can beat the Hoosiers and Irish.    Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Will Oregon's defense carry them into the playoff?The Ducks' 2020 season was a bit rocky. Justin Herbert was tearing it up in the NFL and not in Eugene anymore, the season was initially canceled before being thrown back together at the last minute, and several high-profile players opted out of the season. Despite all of that, Oregon did win the Pac-12 championship (head nod to Washington) and looks to pull off a third straight title. This defense is stout. End Kayvon Thibodeaux may be the best defensive player in the country, linebacker Noah Sewell had a fantastic freshman season and the secondary is filled with playmakers. Sure, defensive coordinator, Andy Avalos is now the head coach at Boise State, but new DC Tim DeRuyter wants his troops to be aggressive creating turnovers. With yet another new quarterback this fall, the defense may need to carry the load -- especially in Week 2 when the Ducks waddle to Columbus to face Ohio State.    Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports Can Sam Howell offset losing a lot of offensive power? Sam Howell is a Heisman candidate in what likely will be his final season before becoming one of the top picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. He's clutch has swagger and has all the tools to be a star. What he doesn't have are all those skill guys that had big seasons in 2021. Michael Carter and Javnonte Williams were the best running back duo in the nation last year and he won't have Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome to throw to anymore. Mack Brown has done an exceptional job recruiting in his second stint in Chapel Hill, and those guys stepping in must produce if the Tar Heels are going to take the next step towards a conference title.    Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Can Clay Helton save his job by getting USC back to where they belong? You know how you view Alabama right now? That's how we used to feel about USC in the 2000s. Now we view USC a bit like Alabama in the 2000s -- during the Dennis Franchione/Mike Shula era. Last year was a start in the right direction as the Trojans went 5-0 in league play before getting dumped by a 3-2 Oregon team in the Pac-12 title game. Needless to say, Clay Helton didn't cool off his hot seat very much as he enters 2021 as one of the top names on the pre-season chopping blocks. This Trojans team is good, as Kedon Slovis has a chance to be one of the best QBs in the country and this defense can be one of the best in the conference. If USC doesn't contend for a league title, another coaching change is likely.    Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports What was the fluke: 2019 or 2020?LSU followed up one of the most magical and dominating seasons in college football history with one of the most puzzling and uneven years a defending champion has gone through. Yes, LSU filled the 2020 NFL Draft with a lot of talent that was going to be next to impossible to replace. Sure, Ed Orgeron's assistants used the success of their national championship in 2019 to move up the coaching ladder, and the replacements didn't fill their shoes very well. So Orgeron has hired two new coordinators to right the ship. On offense, Jake Peetz's job will be to figure out who their starting quarterback is: Senior Myles Brennan (who missed most of the season with an abdominal tear), Max Johnson, or TJ Finley ... sophomores who took over when Brennan went down. On defense, Daronte Jones is tasked with fixing the worst passing defense in the nation last year (and that was with Derek Stingley Jr. in the secondary). The Tigers have a lot of talent coming back, but can this coaching staff capture just a little bit of that '19 magic to calm down a notoriously fickle fan base?     Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports Can Michael Penix Jr. Read the full article

[aion-rsa]

Hulu New Releases: July 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

It’s summer, everyone! And with its relatively sparse list of new releases for July 2021, Hulu seems to be subtlety imploring its subscribers to go outside.

Don’t get us wrong: Hulu’s library offerings get a big upgrade this month. July 1 sees the arrival of great films like Galaxy Quest, Fargo, and Caddyshack. Bill and Ted Face the Music premieres on July 2 and its followed by Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on July 9. Not bad stuff! It’s just that, outside of the library titles, there isn’t much to go off of.

Hulu’s only major original release this month is the FX on Hulu production American Horror Stories on July 15. As its name implies, the show is a spinoff of American Horror Story and will feature self-contained horror episodes rather than a season-long arc. If you’ll allow this geriatric millennial to deploy one truly ancient meme: “Yo dawg, we heard you like anthologies so we put an anthology in your anthology so you can anthologize while you anthologize.”

The day after American Horror Stories premieres is the release date for McCartney 3,2,1 – a docuseries about Paul McCartney. Peter Jackson’s epic The Beatles: Get Out docuseries is coming to Disney+ in November so hopefully this will be a nice amuse-bouche.

Here is everything else coming to Hulu this month.

Hulu New Releases – July 2021

July 1 The Mighty Ones: Complete Season 2 (Hulu Original) RuPaul’s Drag Race: Complete Season 7 (MTV) 127 Hours (2010) 28 Days Later (2003) 28 Weeks Later (2007) 68 Kill (2017) 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene (2017) A Ciambra (2018) The Adventures of Hercules (1985) Almost Human (2014) Alpha & Omega: Legend Of The Saw Toothed (2014) American Gun (2005) An Acceptable Loss (2019) Australia (2008) Bad Teacher (2011) Band Aid (2017) Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest (2011) Beetlejuice (1988) The Best Man (1999) Better Living Through Chemistry (2014) Big Fish (2003) Bitter Harvest (2017) Blue Sky (1994) Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Breakdown (1997) Bruno (2009) Caddyshack (1980) Caddyshack II (1988) Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999) Carnage Park (2016) Caveman (1981) Chaplin (1992) Chuck (2017) The Chumscrubber (2005) Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (2017) Cliffhanger (1993) The Condemned (2007) Confessions Of A Shopaholic (2009) The Conversation (1974) Coyote Ugly (2000) The Cured (2018) Dangerous Minds (1995) Dealin’ With Idiots (2013) Dealt (2017) Dear White People (2014) Donnybrook (2019) Dumb & Dumber (1994) Dumb And Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (2014) Eliminators (2016) Enemy at the Gates (2001) The Face of Love (2014) Factotum (2006) Fargo (1996) The Feels (2017) Fired Up! (2009) Foxfire (1996) Frank Serpico (2017) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) Free To Run (2016) From Paris with Love (2010) Galaxy Quest (1999) The Gift (2000) Gimme the Loot (2013) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) Gorp (1980) Graduation (2017) Grandma (2015) Hellions (2015) Hideaway (1995) House of the Dead (2003) House of the Dead 2 (2006) The House That Jack Built (2018) Housesitter (1992) I Daniel Blake (2017) I Do…Until I Don’t (2017) I Remember You (2017) Ice Age (2002) In The Cut (2003) Indignation (2016) Intermission (2004) Intolerable Cruelty (2003) Johnny English (2003) Knowing (2009) The Ladies Man (2000) Last Days Here (2012) Let’s be Evil (2016) Manic (2013) The Mask (1994) Maximum Risk (1996) Mercury Rising (1998) Morning Glory (2010) Mystic Pizza (1988) The Natural (1984) Ode to Joy (2019) Open Range (2003) Open Water (2004) Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) Passage to Mars (2017) Personal Shopper (2017) The Polar Express (2004) Rabid Dogs (2016) Rebel in the Rye (2017) Reno 911!: Miami : The Movie (2007) Revolutionary Road (2008) Robocop (1987) Robocop 2 (1990) Robocop 3 (1993) Rookie of the Year (1993) Seabiscuit (2003) Shelley (2016) Sightseers (2013) Sleeping With The Enemy (1991) Sleepwalkers (1992) Soldier Boyz (1995) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Somewhere (2010) Sorority Row (2009) Space Jam (1996) Stand by Me (1986) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift (1990) The Stepfather (2009) Stonewall (2015) Stray (2020) Sunshine (2005) Super Troopers (2002) Sweet Virginia (2017) Taffin (1988) Take Every Wave (2017) Take Shelter (2011) Taken (2009) The Terminator (1984) They Came Together (2014) Thunderheart (1992) Timeline (2003) Tooth Fairy (2008) Twisted (2004) Underworld (2003) Underworld Awakening (2012) Underworld Evolution (2006) Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009) Universal Soldier (1992) The Unknown Girl (2017) Walking Tall (1973) Whip It (2009) White Nights (1985) William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) Wolves (2017)

July 2 Summer of Soul (2021) (Hulu Original) Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)

July 3 Flower of Evil: Complete Season 1 (Subbed) (Viki) I’ll Go To You When The Weather Is Fine: Complete Season 1 (Subbed) (Viki) More Than Friends: Complete Season 1 (Subbed) (Viki) Dreamcatcher (2021)

July 4 Leave no Trace (2018)

July 8       My Wife and Kids: Complete Series (ABC) Murdoch Mysteries: Complete Season 13 (Acorn) Papillon (2017)

July 9       This Way Up: Complete Season 2 (Hulu Original) Grown-ish: Season 4 Premiere (Freeform) Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar (2021) In a World… (2013) Moffie (2021)

July 10       47 Meters Down (2017)

July 12       Love Island UK: Season 7 Premiere (iTV)

July 14       Cleopatra in Space: Complete Season 1 (Peacock) Cleopatra en el Espacio: Complete Season 1 (Peacock) My All-American (2015)

July 15       American Horror Stories: Two-Episode Limited Series Premiere (FX on Hulu) 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) A Field In England (2013) The Act of Killing (2012) Amira & Sam (2014) Borgman (2013) Bullhead (2011) Cheap Thrills (2013) The Complex: Lockdown (2020) The Congress (2013) The Connection (2014) Enforcement (2021) Exit Plan (2021) The Final Member (2014) The FP (2011) I Declare War (2012) The Keeping Room (2014) Men & Chicken (2015) Mood Indigo (2013) Pieta (2012) R100 (2013) Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (2015) Wrong (2012)

July 16       McCartney 3,2,1: Documentary Series Premiere (Hulu Original)

July 17       Horimiya: Complete Season 1 (Dubbed) (Funimation)

July 22 Olympic Dreams featuring Jonas Brothers: Special (NBC)

July 26 The Artist (2011)

July 29 The Resort (2021)

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Leaving Hulu – July 2021

July 4 Warrior (2011)

July 9 Desierto (2015)

July 20 The Last Full Measure (2019)

July 21 Bolt (2008)

July 24 All The Wild Horses (2017) B.B. King: On The Road (2018) The Beatles: Made on Merseyside (2018) Bees Make Honey (2017) Closing Gambit (2018) Gloves Off (2017) I, Dolours (2018) In Extremis (2017) Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death (2017) The Last Animals (2017) Lost in Vagueness (2017) Painkillers (2018)

July 27 For A Good Time, Call… (2012)

July 30 The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) Like Someone in Love (2012) Mad Detective (2007)

July 31 (500) Days of Summer (2009) 28 Days Later (2003) 28 Weeks Later (2007) A Perfect Gateway (2009) The Adventures of Hercules (1985) Alive (1993) Batman Begins (2005) Before We Go (2015) Blue Sky (1994) Breach (2007) Broken Flowers (2005) Captain Corelli’S Mandolin (2001) Caveman (1981) The Crazies (2010) Cyrus (2009) The Dark Knight (2008) Dinosaur 13 (2014) El Dorado (1967) Evening (2007) Fargo (1996) Footloose (1984) For Richer Or Poorer (1997) Friends With Benefits (2011) Gamer (2009) Goodnight Mommy (2015) Gorp (1980) Grace Of Monaco (2015) Hannibal Rising (2007) Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004) The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) Haunting In Connecticut 2: Ghosts Of Georgia (2013) Hyde Park On Hudson (2012) I Feel Pretty (2018) I Saw The Devil (2010) In The Mix (2005) Internal Affairs (1990) The Iron Giant (1999) The Jackal (1997) Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) The Ladies Man (2000) L!Fe Happens (2012) Lucky Number Slevin (2006) Machete (2010) McLintock! (Producer’s Cut) (1963) Morning Glory (2010) Mystic Pizza (1988) The Nanny Diaries (2007) National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002) The Natural (1984) Ong-Bak (2003) Ong-Bak 2 (2008) Ong-Bak 3 (2010) The Pawnbroker (1964) Predator (1987) Predator 2 (1990) Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) Red Cliff (2008) The Relic (1997) Robocop (1987) Robocop 2 (1990) Robocop 3 (1993) Seabiscuit (2003) The Skeleton Key (2005) Sliver (1993) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Soldier Boyz (1995) Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Soul Food (1997) The Spy Next Door (2010) Stand by Me (1986) Star Kid (1998) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Star Trek: Generations (1994) Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Step Up 2 The Streets (2008) Step Up 3D (2010) Step Up Revolution (2012) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Taffin (1988) The Terminator (1984) Triangle (2009) Turbulence (1997) Unstoppable (2010) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2009) What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993) Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008)

The post Hulu New Releases: July 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2UX6Igv

[placetobenation]

RIP Jon Huber.

Words can’t do justice. To all that knew him, he was a devoted father, husband and wrestling superstar. Gone far too young at the age of 41 due to a non-COVID-19 lung issue. We’ll always remember Brodie Lee, Luke Harper and Jon Huber.

Kudos to All Elite Wrestling for a tremendous tribute Wednesday night on TNT. Extremely well done on every front.

This one's for you #BrodieLee pic.twitter.com/2wNFJEK82y

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 31, 2020

A tribute to #BrodieLee #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/ZptMKH1Hst

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) December 31, 2020

The WWE also released a tribute after AEW’s show.

Husband. Father. Friend. Superstar. WWE Superstars & friends pay tribute to Jon Huber. (via @WWE) pic.twitter.com/8CUd1fQnwZ

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) December 31, 2020

RAW

RESULTS

Keith Lee defeated Sheamus to win shot at WWE Championship

Gran Metalik defeated The Miz

Shayna Baszler defeated Dana Brooke

AJ Styles defeated Elias

Mustafa Ali defeated Ricochet

Charlotte Flair defeated Nia Jax by DQ

The Hurt Business defeated The New Day, Jeff Hardy & Riddle

WHAT is @AlexaBliss_WWE thinking? WHAT is @RandyOrton thinking?!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/tBXlzsBHve

— WWE (@WWE) December 29, 2020

Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton

That was something I will say that. I didn’t know whether to love it, hate it or just walk away from it. Yes, it was some sight seeing Alexa Bliss call out Randy Orton, begging him to light her on fire as he did to The Fiend. Of course, we don’t know whether Orton dropped the match to a fully engulfed with gas Bliss as the show ended. It was indeed a true cliffhanger in that mode. But, do we really believe that Orton would now intentionally murder two people on national TV? I’m not quite sure, other than shock value, what the WWE is looking for with this angle. We’ll all see Monday night for the next episode of RAW.

Thumbs Up:

Keith Lee vs. Sheamus was as good as expected. I really did think it was going to be Sheamus going over in this one, but I do think it works better having Lee get another shot at McIntyre while Sheamus stews the defeat and puts off an encounter with his BFF for a bit.

.@AliWWE: "Join RETRIBUTION. What is your decision?@KingRicochet: #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/PJcAGuQDjs

— WWE (@WWE) December 29, 2020

AJ Styles vs. Elias was very good. Good to see two “bad guys” go at it and just get after it without the old heel cliches. Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet was its usual good stuff. I wish they would come to a resolution to the matter as its not helping either side with the same ol’ story each week. I’d like to see a darker side or Ricochet in my mind. Take off the masks from RETRIBUTION and form a true stable that has a chance to do something.

They were right all along…@mikethemiz is ONCE AGAIN Mr. Money in the Bank! #WWERaw @TheRealMorrison pic.twitter.com/Xvt6T6VHYl

— WWE (@WWE) December 29, 2020

The Miz getting his Money In The Bank briefcase back is a good thing. Having him lose to Gran Metalik to bring him down wasn’t needed. It only would’ve made sense to bring The Miz down if they had dragged it out for a couple of weeks. Having him down for about an hour or so did nothing. They need to build The Miz up to more than a cartoon character of comedy to truly be a challenger worthy of Drew McIntyre’s WWE Championship.

Thumbs Down:

Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax – I just can’t get behind anything that Nia Jax is doing these days. Charlotte Flair is The Queen, but there’s no flow or chemistry when these two get together. Why waste it? And another thing. Let Shayna Baszler be a bad ass by herself. It would work better for her.

Angel Garza. Please, I’m begging them to stop the romancing the rose storyline. It’s been old since they started it back around WrestleMania. It’s even older now. It’s doing nothing to move Garza forward. At least he got the 24/7 Championship victory over R-Truth on Tik Tok!

NXT

RESULTS

Bronson Reed defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Breezango

Mercedes Martinez defeated Valentina Feroz

Pete Dunn defeated Roderick Strong

Lucha House Party defeated Legado del Fantasma

NXT North American Championship Match: Johnny Gargano defeated Leon Ruff to retain the title

.@Lady_Scarlett13 likes what she sees.

#WWENXT @WWEKarrionKross @ArcherOfInfamy pic.twitter.com/mUjkxY9r29

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 31, 2020

Thumbs Up:

Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong. The rivalry continues between the Kings of NXT and The Undisputed Era. Dunne’s look really good the past couple of weeks in singles competition against TUE. As for Roddy, well, he continues to be Strong.

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is back!#WWENXThttps://t.co/JJ72EIWNb1

— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2020

Another year of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Adam Cole and Roderick Strong make an interesting entry. I’d love to see WWE bring in a few teams from outside NXT to make things interesting too.

"It means something to me. To me, it's proof. Not only proof that I belong in the ring with you, but proof that I belong at the top of #WWENXT." You deserve it, @KORcombat. #WWENXT #NXTAwardMatch @FinnBalor #NXTYearEndAwards pic.twitter.com/JyI8HPBvse

— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2020

A wild brawl just broke out between @WWEKarrionKross & @ArcherofInfamy on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/bVm6lB7sHt

— WWE (@WWE) December 31, 2020

Balor vs. O’Reilly. That’s about as good as it gets on the mic with these two. You could feel the passion, the reality, the urgency and yes, we’re ready for round 2! Adding Karrion Kross into the mix with Scarlett just puts it over the top. Doomsday is here. Tick. Tock. Oh, hi Damien Priest. That was a very good segment!

Rhea vs. Raquel vignette. The Last Woman Standing match is going to be awesome. Let’s just say that New Year’s Evil is stacked folks!

Highway Robbery:

Shotzi Blackheart over Pat McAfee for Breakout Star of the Year. There’s no bigger Shotzi fan than me, but even I can admit that McAfee took NXT by Storm and is a star in the making. He proved it on the mic, behind the scenes and yes, even in the ring during WarGames. Here’s hoping the WWE doesn’t keep him on the shelf too long.

Lucha Like!

Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado showing up to take on Legado del Fantasmo was a cool surprise. Long live Lucha Libre! Pretty cool week for Gran Metalik with wins on both RAW and NXT over 48 hours.

Meh:

Year-end awards presentation. They were kind of just there. Obviously, the tie-in with Balor vs. O’Reilly for the match of the year was a home run to set up their in-ring promo. All the rest, I could’ve done with online.

Johnny Gargano’s curse-breaking win over Leon Ruff did what it needed to do. That’s about all.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Non-title Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E defeated King Corbin by DQ

Big E & Apollo Crews defeated Sami Zayn & King Corbin

The Riott Squad defeated Tamina & Natalya

Carmella & Bayley defeated Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair

Otis & Daniel Bryan defeated Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura

Kevin Owens defeated Jey Uso

Another level:

.@WWERomanReigns just sent @FIghtOwensFight crashing inside the #WWEThunderDome!!!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/Xz2e8JCqqH

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

Sure, on its face, another Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso match seems like filler. But, oh no. Not when the Head of the Table is involved! First off, Owens and Uso beat the snot out of each other with KO getting the expected knockout victory. Then, and you could see Roman Reigns foreshadow it earlier in the show by saying “they” don’t understand, “they’re” trying to take away what we have, Reigns was going to get Owens for making a match against Reigns’ wishes. Every week, they take the best angle in the WWE up a notch! It’s the very first attack through the ThunderDome crowd! I’ll be honest though, I thought Adam Pearce was in danger of an attack too. Maybe that’s next week?

Thumbs Up:

.@WWEBigE and @WWEApollo pick up the win on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/5tXhcI6UqE

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

I like the way they are bringing a lot of people into the mix for Big E’s Intercontinental Title run. Sami Zayn as former champ, King Corbin as first challenge and now Apollo Crews as friend and Open Challenge acceptor for next week will keep it fresh. Zayn is awesome no matter what and making Big E look strong out of the gate will eventually make him a contender for Roman Reigns’ Universal Championship.

The Riott Squad keeps winning. After months of going nowhere, it’s good to see Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott on a winning streak even if it is beating Tamina and Natalya with the help of the annoying one, Billie Kay. There’s got to be a better way to use Billie, right?

#SmackDown Women's Champion @SashaBanksWWE has encountered an obstacle in this tag team match… a negative one! pic.twitter.com/9lqE7jV4Om

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

Sasha. Carmella. Bianca. Bayley. Getting them all together in the same ring makes Friday night a winner for all of us. Loved that Carmella gets the pin to get her some juice back after losing at TLC. Damn, Reggie has some moves! Can’t wait to see him in a ring soon too!

WOAH. @SonyaDevilleWWE is BACK on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/AcId1KWFDV

— WWE (@WWE) January 2, 2021

Sonya Deville is back! That’s good for business although we do need an explanation as to how one loses a loser leaves town match and then returns back so soon. We know the reality of it due to her stalking case, but how the WWE plays it on TV will be interesting.

I could’ve done without the drums and the predictions, but that was one helluva beatdown by Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler on TSP. The Dirty Dawgs deserve some gold in their future!

Interesting:

Otis & Daniel Bryan teaming up was fun. Chad Gable + the YES movement sure is inspirational. Will it be more than a one-time effort? Even Otis looks better with Bryan, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in the same ring. The three amigos salute at the end was hilarious!

Annoying:

Billie Kay’s gimmick.  

Parting Shots:

With so many tag teams forming on the fly in the WWE these days, I’d love to see an old-school Crockett Cup tournament in the WWE. Take it across all three brands, maybe bring in some indy teams as well and I think it would be a fun event for 2021. There’s absolutely room to make some odd and unique pairings and match-ups instead of the old and tired matches.

Coming up this week:

RAW Legends Night WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee

NXT – New Year’s Evil hosted by Dexter Lumis NXT Championship: Finn Balor vs. Kyle O’Reilly Damien Priest vs. Karrion Kross Fight Pit Match: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher Last Woman Standing: Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Santos Escobar vs. Gran Metalik

SMACKDOWN Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E vs. Apollo Crews

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

[lovewriting-5]

Roads:

*gif credit goes to @angelshizuka*

6. Sand Castle

8. Long Road Ahead

7. Room With A View:

We walk pass the front office as the manager turns the lights off. Daniel is carrying Mushroom. He asks “Do you think it will have Netflix? Or a jacuzzi?” Sean tells him “Dude, this is a motel, not an Airbnb. If we’re lucky, it’ll have cable and a hot shower.” We trudge up the stairs and Daniel reached room 10 first. He says “Look! Room 10! I found it!” Sean says “No shit, Sherlock Diaz.”

I unlocked the door and Daniel was the first one through. He noticed the bathtub and says “Check it out! It even has a bathtub!” Sean tells him “Good! We’re gonna throw you in, cave boy!” Next thing, Daniel noticed was the TV, then he takes in the rest of the room. He places Mushroom on the left side bed. He says “We can even watch TV, too! And there’s a balcony! Whoa, this is nice! And warm!”

Sean plugs his phone into the charger. Daniel takes off his shoes and climbs on the other bed. I sit down on the left side bed and begin petting Mushroom. It feels really good to sit down on an actual bed and inside a warm room.

Danie sits down on the bed closest to the TV, “Oooh...This bed is soft...What about this one?” He gets up and moves to the bed where I was sitting with Mushroom. He says “Uuuh, not bad...But too far from the TV!” He asks Sean “Can I take...the one in front of the TV? Huh? Wanna play it over rock, paper, scissors?” Sean getting ready, says “Oh, there’s no way you can beat me, but...Ready?” Daniel says “I am sooo ready to beat you!”

Sean won, Daniel says “Aww...shoot.” Sean tells him “I told you, man.” He asks “Can we play another round? Come on!” Sean says “Sure, I mean...you’re gonna lose again, but...suit yourself!” Pretty confident, he says “Not this time!” Sean won the second game. Daniel not happy, says “Aww...Come on...Not fair...” He says “You lost, man! What’s not fair?” Daniel says “I wanted that bed.” He decided to give up “Eh...take it.” Daniel asks “For real?” He says “I don’t really care.” Daniel hugs him and says “Awesome!” Sean trying to convince him, “They’re the same, y’know?” He says “Yeah, but I like this one better!”

Daniel picks up Mushroom, moves to the bed and sets her in front of him. Then he turns on the TV. Sean says to him “All right. I’m gonna run a bath. We totally reek.” He says “Especially you! “Pig-pen!” Sean says “I wouldn’t be so sure, cave boy. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” He says “I’ll be right here!” Sean says “Course you will...” Daniel turns on Hawt Dawg Man, “Oh cool! HAWT DAWG MAN IS ON! Ooooo, I remember this episode! Weird it’s on so late...”

Daniel begins going through his new backpack. He pulls a little blue square package out. He says “Yuk, Sean! There’s a condom in my bag...Gross!” Sean yells “Hey!” I get up and walk to the bathroom door. I say “So...Sean...I see what your party plans were for tonight.” He looks at me and gives an embarrassed smile. I give him a smirk and walk back to the bed.

As Daniel and I watch Hawt Dawg Man, I noticed a little hula girl sitting on the bedside table. I point to it and ask, “What’s that?” Daniel says “It was in Brody’s car.” I ask “He gave it to you?” He says, sheepishly “Uhhh...Well...Yeah!” I ask “You stole it from him?” He says “I dunno...it looked cool and...Sean stole before, so I thought...” I tell him “Stealing is bad. We only do it if...we really need it. Okay? Plus...Brody was super nice with us...” He asks “If it’s bad, then...why did Sean do it?” Sean comes back out of the bathroom for a second, “Hey! We had to. It was different! I don’t want you stealing around, understand?” Daniel nods as the hula girl sits on the bedside table, “Yeah. Okay...”

Sean sits on the other bed next to me. He asks “So...What’s up?” I tell him “The Buns want to catch Hawt Dawg Man...and turn him into sausage meat!” He says “Oh yeah! The Giant Meatball attacks in the next episode, right?” Daniel says “Yes! And they get to meet the city Mayo!” Sean says “Man, it’s been ages...” He asks “Why don’t you watch Hawt Dawg Man with me anymore?” Sean gets up and moves next to him, “I’m too old, dude...And I’ve seen it so many times.” He says “Okay, grandpa Sean! Feels so good to sit down and watch TV!”

Sean says “True” then begins to tickle him, “Watch out for grandpa Sean!” Daniel while laughing, “Stop! Sean! No! Come on!” I begin laughing along with them. Sean says “Next time you’ll respect the old man!” After a few minutes of everyone catching their breaths, Sean says “Okay. I’m done here.” Daniel says “You’re missing the best part!” He tells him “I know. But I gotta take care of the bath. Don’t forget, you’re up soon!” Daniel says “I know!”

Sean decides to step out on the balcony for a few minutes. I pick up the towels from the bed and hang them in the bathroom. I remind Daniel “There are fresh towels in the bathroom.” He says “Yeah, yeah...”

That’s when Sean came back in from the balcony. I told him “I put the towels in the bathroom.” Sean says “Thank you, I’ll go ahead and check the tub for Prince Daniel.” Daniel was too focused on Hawt Dawg Man to hear. He walks in to the bathroom and I hear the faucet being turned off. Daniel says to me “This episode is awesome. You should sit down and watch it with me!” I sit down on the bed to watch.

After five minutes, Sean yells “HEY, DANIEL, BATH’S READY!” Daniel disappointed, yells “What?! Already? Can I finish this episode first?” He tells him “No man. You smell so bad, there’s no time to lose.” Daniel picked up Mushroom and walked to the bathroom, he says to him “Hey, you smell too!”

There were small bubbles starting to come from the bathroom. Daniel excitedly, says “Oh my God...Whoa! So many bubbles!” Sean says “Try and keep them in the bathtub.” He is now looking forward to it, says “I will! Promise! Thanks!” Sean reminds him “And no, the dog is not taking a bath with you!” A little disappointed, he says “Okay, okay! Don’t worry.”

Sean checks on Daniel quickly, then walks to pick his phone up from the charger. I walk with him out to the balcony. I say “It’s nice and peaceful out here.” He says while looking down at his phone “Yeah.” He turns it on and notices a lot of texts coming in, “Shit! Lyla’s freaking out. Should I leave her out of this? I think she’ll get in trouble.” I peered over his shoulder at the phone screen and noticed all the texts from her. I tell him “She might or she might worry ever more.” He decides to not call her.

I throw my phone, when I noticed he sat down in one of the white plastic chairs out here. I sit on his left side when he pulls up a video of him, Daniel and Esteban from Christmas. I lay my head on his left shoulder as he presses play.

The video begins with Sean making sure the camera is working, “Okay! Wait...Okay, okay...And...ACTION!” The camera is on Esteban who yells to Daniel “Daniel! Get your butt in here right now!” Daniel thinking he’s in trouble “What? What did I do?” Esteban holding up a small box wrapped in colorful paper, says “You forgot to open this present!” He opens the box and is disappointed “What is this? Socks...Underwear...That’s it?” Esteban playing it cool, says “Yeah, pretty cool, huh? That’s what I got when I was a kid...” He’s not buying it, says “Not funny...” Sean can be heard laughing from behind the camera, “Yeah it is! Dude! Check out your face!”

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see him begin to tear up. He wipes the tears away on his sleeve. I place an arm around his shoulders and place my chin on his left shoulder as the video continues. Daniel notices a medium size box left under the tree. He says excitedly “What, what...Look! There’s another one here! What is it...?” Esteban moves to help him with it, “Daniel...let me help...Looks bigger than underwear...”

They both continue to tear the paper. Daniel’s face lights up “Ooooh, what? No way! Can’t believe it! The new...PlayBox! Thank you Santa!” As he looks to his dad. Denying it, he says “Hey, don’t look at me...You were a good boy this year...” Sean jokingly annoyed, says “Yeah. Lucky boy.” Esteban reminds him “Daniel. This is for the whole family too, right? So you gotta share...With me! I want to play that game where you steal cars and go on high speed pursuit...”

Sean jokingly tells him “Dad, you totally suck at games...” Esteban looking to get him back, says “Oh yeah, track star? I was the dodge-ball champ of my high school...So duck!” The ball comes toward the camera and hits Sean in the arm, “Ow! No fair!” Daniel blocking the PlayBox, “You guys, don’t crush the PlayBox! Hey! Let’s set it up! Dad, come on!” He got hit with the ball and kept it, “Ow! Okay! My ball now! Watch out!” Esteban says “Merry Christmas, kids...” The video ends with Esteban wearing a Christmas sweater. Daniel is holding the PlayBox with decorations in the background.

Sean then gets up and throws the phone toward the beach. He takes a few minutes before heading back. I heard music coming from the room. I turn around and see Daniel rocking out on top of the bed. We walk into ‘Banquet’ by Bloc Party blaring from the TV.

Sean asks “Are you kidding me?” Daniel says while dancing “Remember that song?! Come on! Dance!” We join him on the bed, Sean says “Oh man! We haven’t played Guitar Fighter for years!” He says “You never beat my score!” Sean tells him “You played on Easy Mode. I was on Hardcore, dude!” Daniel says “You’re so jealous! I’m the best guitar player!” Mushroom is barking happily while the three of us are dancing. After the songs ends, Sean steps down and turns off the TV.

I step down while Daniel jumps to sit down. Sean says “Daniel...Come here. We need to talk.” Daniel asks “Can we get a drink first? I’m thirsty...” He asks “Right now?” Daniel says “You said I could have a coke...or something...” He says “Okay. I’ll get you a soda. But when I come back...we’re going to talk. Serious.” Daniel says “Fine...What’s the big deal?” Sean leaves the room.

I sit with Daniel and check to see how he’s doing. He seems happier and more relaxed. Next, we start talking about random things. He can come up with anything to talk about. I went to use the bathroom and when I came out, Daniel had the remote in his hand. The local news was on. Everything was going fine until they mentioned Seattle.

Daniel shouts “Dad!” Objects started floating and the lights started flickering. I say “Daniel!” He managed to push the beds aside. The desk and chairs were tipped over. The lights are going haywire.

That’s when Sean runs in and sees what is happening. Daniel’s fists are clenched with tears in his eyes and there is a photo of Esteban on the TV. He says “Oh fuck! Oh my God...Daniel...?! What is happening?! Daniel, calm down!” Daniel is angry and I’m trying to comfort Mushroom who is barking. Daniel yells “YOU LIED! Dad! Our dad is dead!”

The news shows the headline BREAKING NEWS: 2 DEAD IN SEATTLE INCIDENT. Daniel yells “WHY?” Sean frighteningly tells him “It was an accident! A cop fucked up and shot him! That’s it.” He angrily, yells “No! No! IT’S NOT TRUE!” Sean says upset “I’m so sorry...” Daniel gestures to the TV and says “Why? Why did you LIE to me?!” Sean tells him upset and trying to calm him “I just wanted to protect you until I could-“ He says “Protect me from what? You?” There was a loud tearing of fabric as Sean is pushed back. He says “Daniel, I...” Daniel yells “I hate you!”

The closet door bursts open and the contents fly out. Daniel tells him “You’re not my brother!” Sean says more upset with tears in his eyes, “Don’t say that. I know I messed up everything. We’re gonna get through this...”

Sean tries to get closer to him. Daniel yells “Don’t touch me!” Sean finally reached him and pulled him in to a hug. He says “Daniel! Please!” Daniel tries to break from him but Sean hugs him tight. Daniel says “No!” Sean slowly begins to calm him down, “Shh...It’s okay...”

Everything falls to the floor as Mushroom and I step forward as Daniel begins to cry. He says “I want dad...” Sean tells him “Me too.” The lights stop flickering as the three of us look around. Daniel says “You told me, we were gonna see dad...” Sean says “I’m sorry...I just...” He says “Just don’t lie to me ever again. Ever.” Sean tells him “I promise. I won’t lie to you again. I promise.” Daniel looks at me. I nod and tell him “I promise as well.” He says while crying “I’m serious...” Sean says “I know...Me too, Daniel...” Daniel asks “What are we gonna do without him?” He says “Sssshhhh...It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay.”

[slamsams-blog]

Casino Royale - #24WeeksofBond

The year was 2006, 4 years after what would be the great Pierce Brosnan’s final performance as James Bond.  We (nor Pierce) knew it was going to be his last.  After Die Another Day, Pierce actually publicly stated that he was going to return for another film...but Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli had different plans.  Plans to shake things up a bit, start anew, wipe the slate clean, or whatever euphemism you can think of.  The Bond series was starting to grow stale...the cheesy lines, the over sexualized female characters, the over the top gadgets, the aging leading man.  It was all running against a new action series that would change the way Bond would be presented, that series was “The Bourne Identity”.  

The Bourne films had somewhat of a stripped down package when it came to spectacle.  They were able to capture the intensity and thrill of an action film without the use of CGI or big dramatic action scenes.  Instead, the camera was hand held to give it a jittery cinematic quality, the fights were hard hitting and raw, the characters were dirty and unpolished, and the viewers loved it.  It was fresh - unlike James Bond.  Things needed to change, the market was shifting, the storytelling was getting more real and up close.  The call was made to unceremoniously dump Pierce Brosnan for a young upstart named Daniel Craig. 

Little was known about this man, he had just come off an independent action film called Layer Cake and had starred in big box office hits such as Steven Spielbergs “Munich” and Sam Mendez’s “Road to Perdition”.  Still, he wasn’t widely known, the only thing people knew about him was that he was...gasp...BLONDE!  Man oh man, did people raise a stink about this.  Bond is supposed to have jet black hair, this is BULLS*#%!  I didn’t care at the time, but I just had no idea who the man was, and the reveal to me was a bit anti-climactic.  But they sure made all the nay sayers eat their words as Daniel Craig has widely been considered the best Bond of all time.  He has certainly become my favorite.

The plan was to start from square one, retell the story of Bond.  How did Bond get to be 007?  The only way they could retell the story of Bond, was to go back to the very first novel written by Ian Fleming, a novel that had only been filmed as a farce decades prior.  It was time to make Casino Royale as it should be told.  I was pretty pumped about this, I always knew of Casino Royale but only as a movie that wasn’t to be taken seriously.  It was nice to finally be introduced to the story and to be able to erase whatever legacy Casino Royale had before.

I love this movie.  It is just so beautifully done and it does what it is supposed to do, which is tell the story of how Bond becomes 007.  Breaking from tradition, (much to my dismay) we do not open with the famous gun barrel sequence.  Something we wouldn’t get until Craig’s fourth Bond film.  Instead we open up on Bond in a mans office who is betraying MI6.  The guy says “you’re not a double 0 because you’ve got no kills, dawg.”  We then get flashes of the guys contact Bond is ruthlessly fighting (in very Bourne fashion).  Apparently it only takes 2 kill to become a double 0.  Bond kills the guy in the office, and his contact...Bond is now 007 - but he’s not QUITE 007 yet.

The best part about the first few Craig movies is that, yes his status is 007 now, but there is much more to learn about being an agent than getting your kills and finishing a job.  There is finesse, there is restraint, there is an uncompromising dedication to the job and to your country, that Bond still has yet to learn and right now - Bond is as sloppy as Manwich.

This movie is about an accountant named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who invests terrorists money in the stock market.  Le Chiffre’s plans for making an airlines stock plummet get mucked up by James Bond who, on his own, has followed a trail that led right to him.  So Le Chiffre attempts to recoup the funds by hosting a high stakes poker game with a 10 million dollar buy in.  Le Chiffre is a math wizard which makes him almost unbeatable at poker, but Bond is sent to get a spot in the game to make sure Le Chiffre does not win.  Mads is absolutely perfect in this role.  He plays Le Chiffre with such class and has such a wonderfully menacing look to him.

While Bond is en route to Montenegro for the Poker game, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) comes to the table to introduce herself as the money.  Vesper works for MI6 and is the one in charge of handling the dough.  Vesper has a bit of distain for this plan as she sees it as a risk, because if Le Chiffre wins, MI6 will have directly financed terrorism.  Bond and Vesper trade barbs and VERBALLY dress each other down, showing how good Bond is at reading people - which makes him a good card player.  Vesper is still not sold.  The relationship between Bond and Vesper is so unique because we are seeing an unpolished Bond who still has feelings and is starting to have feelings for Vesper.  Although it starts getting a little over the top when he sets his password to “Vesper” and names a drink after “Vesper” - it’s like ok, maybe one of those would’ve sufficed. 

The best part about this movie besides all the amazing action sequences, is the card game.  Somehow, they have managed to turn a game of poker into an intense and thrilling sequence where we see Bond trip and fall, almost die, put on a new jacket, and get back on the horse.  I love the way we are taken on the journey to where Bond is figuring out Le Chiffre’s tell, so much so that Bond goes all in on Le Chiffre because Bond THINKS he knows what’s up, but we find out the Le Chiffre was playing Bond.  Bond loses everything.  Bond then suddenly grabs a knife and is in last ditch attempt mode, but suddenly one of the card players stops him...ITS FELIX, WITH TWO LEGS!!

We haven’t seen Felix since License To Kill, so this was a treat.  I love Jeffery Wright as Felix, and I hope he sticks around after Craig leaves.  Anyway, Felix helps Bond get back in, and then Bond gets poisoned and goes into cardiac arrest, only to be saved by Vesper.  Bond eventually beats Le Chiffre with a royal flush and Le Chiffre’s days are numbered.  What a beautiful sequence this whole thing is.  It’s one of my favorite acts in all of Bond history.  Just a quiet, but absolutely thrilling game of high stakes poker.  

I could go on and on, but Bond ends up quitting MI6 because he wants to be with Vesper for the rest of his life.  Bond is in love.  Little would we know that Vesper has actually betrayed Bond by giving an account number that only she has access too so that she can withdraw the money and deliver it to the people who are ordering her to get it.  Vesper’s back story is that she had a boyfriend who got kidnapped and Vesper was being blackmailed.  Unfortunately for Vesper, she started falling for Bond as well, but she had a job to do.  Vesper was definitely one of the ones to remember, it’s a real pity that she ends up being a baddie.

This whole movie we are seeing all of Bond’s actions, and consequences of those actions, shape who Bond will eventually become come “Spectre”.  While it had bothered me that they decided to connect the Craig films with some over arching of characters and stories - I’m now finding myself appreciating the fact that they didn’t give it all to us right away.  They didn’t turn Bond into Bond in one movie, it’s takes 3 movies to get the Bond we love.  While we tend to live in a short term world these days with the need for instant gratification, it’s nice to get some long term storytelling.  And now that we are a few years removed from it, I can really sit back now and respect the risk it took to break from all the tradition and give us a Bond that had some depth, meaning, and art.

I also love the song “You know My Name” by the late, great Chris Cornell who rocks that song.  One of my favorite Bond themes ever with an artistic title sequence incorporating the playing card aspect of the film into it.

All of everyone’s worries about Daniel Craig being Bond quickly evaporated with Casino Royale, and it became an instant favorite.  It’s in my top four for sure...EDIT: After watching this tonight, I have decided that I like this film better than Skyfall - top 3 for sure.  And because this film had the novel behind it, there is just a little more meat to the story than your typical fresh idea Bond films.  Casino Royale gave us a fresh start with James Bond, a fresh start we didn’t really know we wanted until we got it - and I am so ready for the journey to continue.  I will be so sad when Craig is gone, but I’m so lucky I got to be here for it!

That’s it for me, what did you all think? 

24 Weeks of Bond will return next Monday with - 

The Living Daylights