#Idec that I said this for the third time

[tolerateit]

chris pine keeps giving person who did all the work in a group project and is watching the rest of the members stumble through the presentation energy throughout dwd promo

[white-weasel]

Ideal Hypothetical Saw Film Reroll episode(s)

(This is something I’ve been thinking about as I’ve watched through the movies and @afoxnamedmulder also formally asked about it so I took that as full permission from him to just start spewing my every thought about these two things together. This post is hyper niche and for literally like 3 people but idec lets gooooo)

So the first thought is if the Film Reroll crew were to ever reroll Saw it would obviously be the first one. It’s the most culturally relevant one and the one that most fits with what I can see the show doing. In the case of rerolling Saw I, ideally the players would not have seen the movie. Like I said, since this is the most culturally significant one this might be hard but I’m gonna go off of both vibes and play style for this one and just hope that it works

For the GM it’s gonna be Paulo. I just feel he could do the cramped space of the bathroom justice and bring in new “challenges”/obstacles to keep things moving.

Playing Lawrence Gordon, and this is gonna sound crazy please bear with me, I think we get Carolyn Faye Kramer. My reasoning for this is that the Lawrence of Saw I is someone who, despite his task being to kill Adam and cut off his foot, does not actually have the ability to do it until the very end when his family is threatened. If we put Jon or Scott here, Gordon is shooting Adam within the first 15 minutes of the movie. Carolyn I feel can play someone very conflicted about the choice and also won’t immediately jump to trusting whatever Jigsaw is saying on the tape. She’s willing to cooperate with her fellow player and only if she’s pushed to take things into her own hands will she start trying to make moves, which I feel is fitting. (Also she’s the only cast member I feel like we can say 100% has never seen these movies lmao lest we forget the infamous Friday the 13th “I know who the killer is” fiasco” happening because she doesn’t like scary movies)

My first choice playing Adam Faulkner-Stanheight would be none other than Joz Vammer themself! I think they could really get the tone of the character down full stop. The mixture of outbursts and jokes, but then also throwing things at the wall to see what sticks in getting them out of there. I feel like Joz also would not accept the zero sum game presented by Jigsaw and would work to find a way for both Adam and Lawrence to get out together, which is really what you need for this movie. In my heart I feel like Joz has seen the movie, but for this scenario I would hope not because…

The twist in this reroll would be there has been a 3rd PC the whole time: Zep Hindle. I would LOVE for Tim to play Zep. He could 100% play this quiet, envious guy given instructions to carry out his part of the game. My imagining for this would be he and Paulo had a session before the main game that was all about how Zep handled the set up stuff with Alison and Diana.

And then I’m envisioning the bathroom game sessions are happening on a Zoom call or the like, and Tim is sitting with Paulo in his apartment, letting him know what Zep is doing if/when phone calls to the outside world are happening and stuff. Also Paulo could totally call for “breaks” in recording where he’s actually conferring and rolling with Tim on what Zep is doing. The knowledge Zep gets is basically the equivalent of him getting to know stuff because of the camera set up in the movie. This would probably be a logistical nightmare to actually record, but I like to think that the payoff would be awesome. Like it gets revealed there was a secret third player in the episode, Joz and Carolyn are shocked, and then the edit goes back in time to show key tidbits of Tim’s turns and such. They could even release the full audio of it then on Patreon lol

The reveal at Zep being a PC rather than an NPC also kinda parallels/coincides with him not actually being Jigsaw from the original movie too. He’s not the one actually making things happen, he’s all a pawn in the game as well

HOWEVER I also had the thought - if the crew does Saw they don’t HAVE to do the first one. They didn’t do the first Friday the 13th and hell, their first episode is literally Back to the Future 2, not the first movie. If the crew just wanted to do a Saw episode to focus on the trap aspect when they’re playing, I think they could play as the Fatal 5 from Saw V (blatant Saw V bias showing here, don’t look at me, but also I genuinely think this is the group game most conducive to being rerolled). It’s also very likely that none of them have seen Saw V, so the “twist” with the traps being all survivable wouldn’t be known to them

It was between Saw V and Saw II because those are the two group games where all of the participants are free to work together and it’s not reliant on one person. I like Saw V better because I feel it can be self contained more than II. With II you have to deal with the fact Amanda is in on all of it and idk I feel like that just doesn’t work as well for a ttrpg setting. Casting for this one is a lot more vibes based and I have less concrete answers, so I’m open to suggestions

GM - Paulo once again. King of making this all work

Ashley Kazon - Carolyn (don’t know too much about Ashley but I want Carolyn in this movie and feel she could work this)

Charles Salomon - Scott (he could do it. He could bring the smarmy vibes and even though he wouldn’t know the line “I’m an Investigative Journalist for 👆The Herald👆” he would know it in spirit)

Luba Gibbs - Jon (first of all, we don’t get Jon to play women enough on this show. I love him playing Annabelle in Jumanji. Secondly, I think he can play Luba’s cut throat nature well. However I also wouldn’t mind Lisa in this role. I think she could play it well also)

Mallick Scott - Andy (he might be a bit too sedate for this, but also he’s the one I trust the most to play into the inevitable guilt complex that would be put on his sheet so)

Brit Stevenson - Kara (she could 100% do corporate woman who cares only for her own survival until she realizes that she doesn’t HAVE to care only for her own survival. I believe in her)

No twist in how the gameplay happens here, the only fun thing would be to see if the cast would be able to figure out Jigsaw’s message in that they can all actually work together to get through the traps.

FINALLY the most self indulgent thing and the thing they would never actually do because it technically wouldn’t be the movie itself is they would give us an apprentice campaign with the mainline apprentices working together before the start of Saw III/Saw IV, each of them with their own specific, secret objectives they’re hoping to achieve:

GM/John Kramer would be Paulo

Amanda would be Joz (Fairly self explanatory I feel. They have the range to play her. They would GET her)

Lawrence would be Andy (I feel Andy could pull off apprentice Lawrence. Lawrence strikes me as someone in the shadows during his apprentice work, biding his time, and I can see Andy bringing that sort of thing to Lawrence. At the same time there’s some room to develop apprentice Lawrence’s motivations and character so I would be interested in seeing what he’d do for him)

Hoffman would be Scott (Hoffman was the hardest for me to pin down in this line up but I think I like Scott as my pick for now. Open to more thoughts about this one though.)

In every scenario there would be will rolls up the wazoo. I feel like will stats in this would be fairly normal, it would just be the penalties that would make the rolls hard. So I like to imagine that cutting your own foot off is probably a -5 penalty or something, but if you’re in immediate, imminent danger or you have credible reason to think your family is in danger you’d get some bonuses back to make it a less tricky roll. Also numerous fright checks would also be on the table I’m sure, as well as senses of duty or different traits people will have to resist. I think building the character sheets for this would be fun, though it would be interesting to see how it would get balanced out by Paulo when actually playing

[shinjaeha]

ipytm ep 3 (thoughts + spoilers)

this is going to be a tough post for me to do bc honestly...this ep just left me feeling so run down. i know that the cast and crew have always strived for realism and authenticity with this series, but this one was just a lot to take in :/ my thoughts are gonna be even more all over the place than usual but idec at this point. having to rewatch this ep again is really fucking hard (even harder than itsay ep 4 bc even though that makes my heart ache, i still feel some sense of satisfaction from the development we get...this just leaves me feeling defeated in every way).

you know the drill: not an analysis, just me ranting as usual bc free therapy (and boy do i need it after this one)!! i had so many feelings watching this ep (esp towards teh but what’s new), so here goes.

we begin with the drama students rehearsing for jai’s new play, and the introduction of the plum wine which will be the recurring motif in this whole ep. the use of the plum wine in this also kind of reminds me of how teh initially disliked coconuts until he started falling in love with oh-aew and started to like them instead...i’m guessing that’s the parallel they’re trying to draw with the plum wine comparison in this.

teh’s having a hard time getting into character (which we already know from last ep was always going to be one of the toughest challenges for him as an actor). his character in the play is supposed to have a sex scene, but he’s struggling with this bc he can’t put himself in his character (akin’s) shoes, so jai ends rehearsals early.

jai gives them all logbooks which he basically wants them to treat as diaries where they’ll write everything they feel/learn and hand it back to him (he’ll be the only one reading them). ngl this already had me feeling kind of yikes (esp now as i rewatch this knowing how everything went down) since jai already has inside knowledge about teh’s feelings on his relationship with oh-aew which he can take advantage of :/ more on that later though...

it’s sad to me that so much time has passed since teh’s argument with khim and he's STILL avoiding her. khim was someone that he respected immensely (and was such a great mentor for him) so it just sucks to see that their relationship has deteriorated so much since the first two eps. teh might have had his reconciliation moment with oh-aew last ep, but there’s still a lot that he’s not ready or willing to address yet.

i understand that teh’s just encouraging jai about his work when he tells him to stop having others comment on it, but at the same time, i disagree with him bc i think it IS important to get other peoples’ opinion about your work. how else will you ever be able to see things from other perspectives if you don’t?

anyway, teh tells jai he’s seeing a play, and jai asks teh if he’s bringing oh-aew...the look on teh’s face is telling enough that things aren’t going great between them (at least on his end). this brings us to the logbook scene, where teh’s homework for the day is to write about the similarities and differences between himself and his character in the play. this gets teh to reflect on how he feels his relationship with oh-aew is changing, or specifically, how oh-aew seems to be changing so much that teh feels like he’s becoming someone else entirely...and does that mean that he still loves him the same?

i feel like this is a fairly common issue with people that have been in a relationship for a while (and this is their third year together now), so i understand how teh might start having doubts. it’s nothing that oh-aew’s done, it’s just that sometimes all these small changes can keep mounting up to the point that they feel much bigger than they actually are. oh-aew’s really just doing what everyone else does, which is grow and change as they get older, but teh’s still stuck in the past trying to hold onto what they used to have instead of evolving with oh-aew. the way teh picks at all these little changes of oh-aew does make me think that he’s self-sabotaging himself. he’s just so afraid and insecure that oh-aew will change so much he leaves him, that he has to nitpick at reasons why oh-aew’s the one that’s growing away from him (though when we watch the whole ep we know that that’s not the case at all). it’s like a ‘if i push him away first, then he won’t push me away’ sort of self-defence mechanism. either way, teh’s a constant overthinker...and he’s always been his own biggest enemy since the start, so it makes perfect sense to me that he would do this to himself here too.

i know that they’ve been together for years at this point, so things are not quite as exciting as they used to be, but it hurts to see oh-aew be so happy about getting an A for his class, and teh be so unenthused about it. oh-aew has to basically beg teh to give him attention and praise. remember when teh used to get so worried when oh-aew did badly in chinese class...and now it’s like whatever to him just bc he’s not tutoring him/they’re not in the same major anymore :((( i know it’s prob both bc teh’s still hurting that oh-aew transferred majors, and from seeing oh-aew succeed while he feels like he’s failing, but still...

also, not inviting him to see the play with him bc he thought oh-aew wouldn’t be interested/oh-aew kept falling asleep whenever they saw plays together ;;; i get the reasoning from both povs, but it still is nice to be asked :(

so one thing i have to say about the progression of their relationship here is that i just feel this huge disconnect from last ep and this ep?? i know it’s bc of the time skip (since it’s a year later basically), but to go from the end of ep 2, where they’re promising to love each other forever, and then to teh feeling disillusioned/as though he’s falling out of love with oh-aew basically right after that?? it’s so jarring. i feel like we lose so much with these time skips bc the transition from ep 2 to ep 3 is never really shown, so there’s this lack of flow there. like we’ve skipped a step entirely and something’s missing. this is the disadvantage of only focussing on one year per ep since there’s not enough time to explore as much character and relationship development when we’re only seeing an hour long snippet of an entire year. it just makes things feel superficial since so much of what we should be seeing is missing...and we basically have to fill in all the gaps ourselves.

okay, back to oh-aew ranting to his friends about how he feels like his relationship with teh is fading away bc they don’t have the same interests anymore, but also wondering if that’s just normal for long-term relationships. bless that boy that came to ask oh-aew for his ig :’) at least he knows that he’s wanted and has options, even if he obv turns him down bc of teh (for now).

plug and mangpong are dating!!!!!!! and mangpong does a horrible job of trying to hide it 😂 sidenote, but i love the way pp delivers lines sometimes (like the “just shocked”), he’s so cute. plug and mangpong’s legs touching...and the wave of nostalgia that came over me (and oh-aew) during that ;;; oh-aew seeing their blossoming relationship would make him reminisce back to his own experience of falling in love with teh...when everything was still so fluttery and new. so when teh texts him about using his car to help jai move, he looks happy. like he wants to rekindle those feelings again too.

that being said, it’s kind of sad to me how even jai shows more interest in oh-aew’s major than teh (when he asks him for his opinion on how to get people interested in his play). oh-aew’s got some good ideas and is more than willing to help (esp since he wants to connect and find a common interest with teh again). also, just bc oh-aew doesn’t want to be an actor anymore doesn’t mean that he’s completely uninterested in it. god, watching this part again hurts bc oh-aew looks so happy and optimistic. he worked so hard to help teh (and jai) only for them to betray him like that. it made me mad originally, but now it just breaks my heart :(

jai’s running acting classes again for his play, and this time it’s a workshop to help them tap into their feelings. it’s like an intimacy exercise where they give one another consent to touch certain body parts. teh is still struggling a lot with this. i think teh craves intimacy, but as he doesn’t feel that connection in his personal life to oh-aew anymore, so it’s difficult for him to draw on his experiences. he can’t even remember the first time he had sex with oh-aew properly anymore. as usual, teh’s too in his own head to just go with the flow and ~feel things (which isn’t new since teh’s had problems with this since itsay), but it’s def something that he’ll need to learn how to do if he wants to become an actor. he’s trying, but the fact that he can’t get to that place makes him feel even more insecure than ever that he might never be able to get there. imo one of the reasons teh works so hard, and is as driven and ambitious as he is, is that he’s afraid that he’ll never be good enough. he puts so much pressure on himself, and the issue with that is that he’ll never be able to live up to his expectations that way.

teh is also very much alone now. oh-aew has his group of friends to talk to about his relationship with teh, but teh just has jai at this point. he’s pushed khim away...and he and oh-aew aren’t communicating effectively (which is also why they’re on SUCH different wavelengths in terms of where their relationship is at), so there’s literally only jai for him to talk to about all his relationship issues. and to me at least, jai seems to have ulterior motives (particularly when you consider that the subject matter of his play is pretty much the same thing that teh’s going through rn). it’s times like this when i do feel kind of bad for teh, but then again, he brought this upon himself the way that he almost always does...and it leaves me frustrated instead.

jai kissing his professor though...also their conversation?? i have QUESTIONS...

that whole interaction with teh when jai catches him spying on him and the professor was SO awkward. idk what it is about teh but i have never encountered a character that has given me as much secondhand embarrassment as he does. when he starts touching the bars and avoiding eye contact i just- why, teh why?????

moving on, i’m thinking there’s prob more to that scene that we don’t know about bc jai’s shifty like that...but it’s purpose is also to shift teh’s perception of jai. before this, he pretty much just saw jai as his friend and mentor, but seeing him kiss someone else pushes him to think of jai in another less platonic light. like the first spark of attraction.

the both of them go to see the mime show (babymime), and i know that the point of this is so teh can learn to just feel and let go the way that the mimes in this play do, but idk it’s just kind of funny to me the contrast between the last scene and this one. 

the leg touching scene again but this time with teh and jai...thanks, i hate it :/// 

teh’s already feeling like he and oh-aew’s interests are making them drift apart, so by connecting with jai, it’s that initial feeling of attraction that he used to feel with oh-aew all those years ago. jai is that cool senior that he respects...he’s goal-oriented and has so much in common with him (in a way that he feels that oh-aew doesn’t anymore), so it doesn’t altogether surprise me that teh latches onto jai in this way. esp when all their conversations revolve around what teh’s most passionate about, and what dreams they’re striving towards in the future.

it doesn’t surprise me bc teh’s affections shifted in a similar way from tarn to oh-aew when he was first starting to realise his feelings for oh-aew too (though at least he and tarn were never officially dating during that time...)

there’s a genuineness to the way teh praises and encourages jai that isn’t there when he’s doing the same to oh-aew :( and that coupled with teh lying to oh-aew about him having dinner with jai while oh-aew is at home, completely oblivious, painstakingly photoshopping his boyfriend’s face on the poster of the play TO HELP TEH instead of doing his own uni work, makes me so fucking upset for oh-aew.

it’s interesting to see how different their personalities are even when it comes to something as simple as the way they read their texts. oh-aew is so ready to accept whatever teh tells him at face value, but teh overthinks everything to the point where he jumps to a certain conclusion in his head about it instead.

but yeah, it’s just really tough to see oh-aew try so hard for teh, only to see teh do nothing back for oh-aew in return. there’s only so much one side can give. it’s the absolute lack of effort on teh’s part to even try to make things work with oh-aew that is the most frustrating thing of all. oh-aew is carrying their entire relationship rn and it makes me feel all “and for what?? why should he even bother??” about it.

sneaking to sit at the river with jai is like this forbidden, new experience, so it just enhances that feeling of attraction that teh is already feeling towards jai. and esp when he starts telling him about his previous relationship with james, the significance of the plum wine, and how jai ended up breaking up with him. since it’s reflective of teh’s own experiences atm (even in how he kind of self-sabotages himself to push people/oh-aew away first), he clearly takes it to heart. and it makes him want to do an even better job since the play is an autobiographical one for jai. not to mention, teh supposedly being the only one that jai told his story to makes him feel ‘special’......and we all know how teh likes feeling as though he’s special to someone. you can see it in how dejected he is when he thinks jai only told him his story bc he wanted him to get into character better, but perks up the moment jai says he actually told him bc teh’s been doing such a good job (and to encourage him). like i mentioned before, teh’s already feeling vulnerable and isolated from everybody else, so hearing any sort of praise (and esp when it’s from someone that he looks up to as much as jai), is going to pull him in.

when they were hiding from the security guard i was like ughhh i know where this is heading and i. don’t. like. it........

the problem is that i know where teh stands on this. like i know that there’s some attraction on his end. but i don’t know where jai stands. is he intentionally manipulating teh’s feelings for his play? is there any sincerity there? i think it’s obvious that he can tell teh is attracted to him from the glance that they share in this scene, but i can’t get a handle on what he actually wants (which i guess is the point of making his character as mysterious as it is but still). and if he can tell, and he doesn’t actually like teh back in that way, it makes the end scene even more yikes imo.

hmmm teh lying in the pool trying to recreate that feeling right before their first kiss when the both of them just let everything go and sank down into the water. that’s how you KNOW the next scene is supposed to be angsty...bc just like how their first underwater kiss had a sense of sadness to it bc they were hiding, their first (on screen) sex scene has that same sense of sadness, only this time it’s bc teh’s using his attraction to jai/his method actor desire to get into character to fuel the sex instead of bc he genuinely just wants to have sex with oh-aew. and if his reasoning for the sex is bc of that, then his task to recreate their first sexual experience will never live up to the actual first time they had sex (when they BOTH wanted it, and there were no other factors involved).

that’s not to say i don’t think teh doesn’t love oh-aew anymore. i think that there HAS to be some level of love still there amidst all of the confusion, but it feels a lot more like he’s testing his love/attraction to oh-aew during this scene (sort of like how he did with tarn in itsay) than a proper ‘love scene’. like he’s trying to reconfirm his feelings, whilst using oh-aew as inspiration for his role at the same time. it makes my heart ache that this is the first love scene we get from them this series, and it’s marred by the context of what we know is going on in teh’s head. like i said, it’s this permeating sadness throughout...and just knowing that oh-aew has absolutely NO IDEA what’s going on with teh and why he suddenly wants to have sex makes it worse. oh-aew’s been trying to make things work, and in his mind, teh spontaneously coming over like this prob makes him think that things are getting better between them since this is also the closest thing to teh showing any sort of initiative to work on their relationship in this ep so far...

and that’s not also taking away how beautifully this whole scene is shot. i’ve always loved the way that teh and oh-aew play and flirt with each other (bkpp’s chemistry is honestly unparalleled!!) so it was nice to see them be kind of playful before they started kissing again (if you ignore how sad this scene really is). i LOVE the inter-splicing between their first time on the beach and the present. the way the score swells, and little moments where you can see their feet and fingers interlocked on the beach. it gives you such a visceral visual (and totally takes me back to itsay days when that sort of imagery was used a lot more). i just hate that since we know the truth, this scene is more uncomfortable than satisfying despite how nicely shot it is.

i wish we got more domestic moments from them. i know their relationship has sort of grown past those initial moments of flirtation, but it truly makes me sad that we don’t get to see more of them as a couple in general in ipytm. moments like this where they’re lying in bed cuddling each other are so few and far between that i always feel like i have to cherish every little fleeting piece of fluff that i can get. even if idek if this can really be called fluff since the context sort of ruins it.

oh-aew’s still got his heart attack bag :’)))

he was soooooo happy when he met up with his friends 😭 but also, how the hell is it possible for teachers to move deadlines up like that. i FEEL that panic... poor oh-aew...

teh’s in rehearsals again and this time he’s wearing his moon shirt which...i do NOT need those ep 3 itsay vibes rn when i was already dreading this last ten minutes with everything i have in me :((( but anyway, jai’s brought plum wine to class and we know that teh doesn’t usually drink, but he does this time. he tells teh that the taste will change over time (it symbolises the ageing of the relationship process), and teh says it’s a pity he won’t get to taste it next time since jai wants to go abroad to study. then teh tells him he’s worked on the acting exercise and wants to try it out with jai, and i feel like we all knew where it was going to go from here.........

they really had to hammer it in with him missing oh-aew’s call too huh :/

as soon as they started the touching/intimacy exercise again i was just waiting for the catch. even on this rewatch i’m still sitting here chanting “don’t do it teh don’t do it” knowing full well that he kisses jai and there’s no changing that. but then when they cut to oh-aew walking up the stairs with the posters and you hear just how much time he’s sacrificed to help teh/jai on this...sacrificing time EVEN NOW just to go over to their uni to give them the posters when he has a presentation due tomorrow that he and his friends still haven’t finished working on...it’s just heartbreaking knowing what he’s going to end up walking in on.

whether it’s itsay or ipytm, teh’s default state is confusion. so while i think that there’s a certain amount of attraction towards jai there of course, i kind of get the feeling that he’s confusing his feelings of connection with jai (bc of their shared interests and passion) with him falling in love with jai. i feel like his attraction to jai reminds him of what it was like when he was first attracted to oh-aew, and since things have changed so much between him and oh-aew, it’s like he wants to recreate and capture that feeling again with jai (which is also why he wears the moon shirt...he wore that during itsay ep 3 beach scene, which was the moment when the attraction really started to burn between him and oh-aew). he can’t feel that same spark with oh-aew anymore, so he transfers his feelings to jai since, at this point in time, he feels closer to jai than anyone else. instead of growing alongside oh-aew, it’s like he’s choosing to revert back to a time when he was happier.

we know that teh has always been the type of person that will act on his impulses when he feels them. that’s WHY it was so hard to watch...bc i knew while watching that last scene, he was never going to restrain himself or put a stop to those feelings bleeding over into action. and esp not when it could benefit him in some way with his acting too.

in the end, it just makes me so devastated for oh-aew. and i really hope that he doesn’t let this go bc he thinks it’s just teh method acting or getting into character or whatever...i know that teh’s feeling a lot of conflicting things rn, but that’s not an excuse. he really fucked this one up.

the thing is, it’s not that i don’t think teh is capable of acting this way (i’ve seen a few people say that this is ooc for him, but it really isn’t? this confusion and impulsiveness has always been a part of his character from the very start...he was always the one that had the most trouble dealing with his feelings out of the two of them), but the time skips don’t do him any favours bc we lose all those moments that take him to what he’s currently feeling. when we don’t have those moments, then it’s a lot harder to sympathise with him. in itsay, bc we always knew how teh got from point a to point b, even if he did frustrating/silly things, i always understood where he was coming from. i always felt for him. i GOT his struggles, which was why i was always able to empathise with what he was going through. in ipytm, he just comes off as unlikeable bc of how superficial his feelings seem (from what we’re being shown on screen at least).

falling out of love with your significant other/starting to feel things for someone else is obv a fairly common experience, so i don’t blame teh for FEELING like this, but it’s how he treats oh-aew throughout this that doesn’t sit right with me. even if you feel like you’re falling out of love with someone, or that they’ve changed since the first time you fell in love with them, you’d think there’d be some motivation to at least TRY to make things work with them before giving up. we never see that from teh at all. instead, he just see him becoming infatuated with jai (so we barely see teh/oh-aew together in the first place). and while i can see now that a lot of this is due to his own insecurities and inadequacies, it’s also just so disrespectful to oh-aew who's the one that we see putting in all this time and effort (it calls back to their whole “don’t give my time to others” scene in itsay bc we see oh-aew giving so much of his time to teh through helping him out with his play, while teh’s giving that time that should be for oh-aew to jai now). no matter his reasoning, watching teh act that way towards oh-aew does make it increasingly hard to root for him. there’s just too big a disparity in how the two of them choose to act and devote their time to their relationship.

what’s frustrating is that in itsay, teh would fuck up but he would always try to make amends with oh-aew in some way. he would always come forward to try to sort things out after...but there’s nothing here. even after their dinner fight in ep 2, it’s OH-AEW that reaches out to him first (even though it’s teh’s fault that they fought in the first place). where’s that boy that dressed up in his old school uniform in order to talk to oh-aew at his school? or made a whole chinese idioms scrapbook for oh-aew? or gave up his uni admission for oh-aew? i understand that characters and motivations change (and he was obv hopped up on his first love with oh-aew at the time), but it’s just really, really sad to see teh keep messing up and not even try to meet oh-aew halfway with this. yes, you can fuck up, but there are only so many times you can keep fucking up before it starts to look more like a pattern of shitty behaviour than a few forgivable missteps.

another issue is that there’s been so much focus on teh and his flaws that a lot of the time oh-aew comes off as a side character to teh’s story. previously, i understood that since teh was grappling with his sexuality. it made sense that his journey was the primary focus of the plot and character development. but i always felt that there was more room to explore oh-aew’s story (and i thought that we would get a lot more of that in ipytm...esp after ep 1), but it just feels like we kind of skimmed past all of oh-aew’s growth and struggles adjusting to bangkok/uni life so we could turn the attention back to teh again. i just hate that we never get to see more of how oh-aew’s changed in teh’s eyes (other than the surface level things like his hair, new car and major), and that we never get to see more of oh-aew’s life when it’s not related to teh in general. i hope that we’ll get more of oh-aew in the last two eps, but i really don’t know what they’ll give us anymore.

at this point, i don’t even want them as endgame anymore given everything that’s happened in the recent ep. and it pains me so much to say that bc teh/oh-aew are so immensely important to me, but they’re just in such different places in life. and teh esp has so much more growing to do (i think i said this last week too? teh...). oh-aew deserves to be with someone that can see his worth as he is (that won’t cheat on him for one!!). i just want him to be with someone that can make him happy. what i wanted most for them out of this was for the two of them to grow to a better place (together and as individuals), and while i still want that for them as individuals, it’s hard for me to want them to be happy together anymore. at least for the time being.

i’m kind of at a loss for how they’re gonna work through this (and i genuinely want oh-aew to be able to explore his options too...particularly with someone that will actually treat him better than teh’s treating him atm). so at this point it’s kind of looking to me like a break up is inevitable? but i do think it’s necessary  for both of them rn. i feel so heartbroken about it though...like ipytm is actually making ME go through the breakup...breaking up with all my beloved itsay teh/oh-aew memories :((( anyway, i think a break up is also conveniently the best time to put a time skip tbh...so we’ll see if that does end up happening now in future eps.

this one took such a long time to write up bc i wrote like a quarter of this RIGHT after i finished watching the ep (so you can clearly tell which parts were me right after the ep, and which parts were me after i had some time to sit on what happened 😂), but i thought it was best to take a bit of a break. i didn’t rewatch it again until i calmed down a little and sorted out my thoughts some more (though i know this is still pretty messy). but yeah, i’m still very much interested in watching how they things are going to progress from here...but i can’t deny how sad i’ve been feeling after this.

[johzenjei]

May I request Hinata with male reader who’s shorter than him where nobody knows Hinata has a boyfriend and they follow him to see where he goes to after practice?

I spent multiple days on this idec the word count at this point but it's A Lot and I'm v proud of myself. I owe a great thanks to my friend Lily who saved me when I had no clue how to start writing this

Hinata Shoyo

“And then he hit the serve, and it was so fast, nobody could even react in time! It was so cool!” Your starry-eyed, orange haired boyfriend cheered, waving his free hand around excitedly. His other hand, however, which was holding on gently to yours, didn’t move an inch. You squeezed his hand gently, and smiled. “That does sound cool! Did it make a cool sound?”

“It did! It was like ‘VWOOSH’, and then when it hit the floor is was like ‘BAM’!”

“Woah!” You exclaimed, “A ‘vwoosh’ and a ‘bam’? That’s insane, Shoyo! Must have been a really impressive serve!” “It was! I thought my arms would come off if I tried to receive it!” He shivered visibly, before looking at you with a grin. You laughed a little at his antics.

Most people who sat nearby this animated conversation would only see Hinata Shoyo and his good friend (L/n) (F/n) talking about volleyball in the remaining minutes of class, and that was probably all they cared to see. Why look for anything else, right? It was a good thing for the pair though, as if anyone decided to look closer, they would notice the sweet looks, the hands clasped together, hiding between the desk and the wall beside it, the gentle pink tints shading the tips of your ears.

Your mission to keep your relationship on the downlow was going as planned, and had been going as planned since your relationship had begun. As awkward as it had been at first, you had fallen into a routine, and your relationship had become known to your friends and classmates only as a very close friendship. You hadn’t discussed making your relationship public yet, but it wasn’t exactly like either of you you knew a good way to bring it up, anyways. Heck, even his teammates didn’t know.

“Hinata!” Two voices sounded from the doorway to the classroom. At the sound of the shout, Hinata released your hand. You pulled your previously occupied hand back into your lap, but your boyfriend raised both of his hands high in the air, as though he were being threatened, pushing his chair backwards with a screech. Your boyfriend was many things. A believable actor was not one of them.

At the door of the classroom, two guys poked their heads in. One was bald, and the other had a spiky hairdo, with a noticeable shock of blonde hair in the front. You didn’t know them personally, but from the many stories you’d heard, you could only assume these were Shoyo’s teammates. You had heard these two came in a set. This appeared to be true.

"Uh! Hello! Tanaka, Noya!” Hinata yelled back, a little quieter, obviously sweating bullets from what he considered a close call involving you.

The upperclassmen in the doorway cocked their heads and raised their eyebrows at his reaction. This was not a usual reaction from the redhead, something they recognized immediately as his nerves getting to him. It wasn’t like this didn’t happen often.

“We came to come get you and Kageyama for practice!” Tanaka said with a grin. His shorter companion nodded. “We were passing through anyways!”

“Ah, okay! I’ll be right there!” He said, standing from his seat. He picked up his bag, and went to move his chair back over to his own desk. Afterwards, he went back to where you were still sitting. “I’ll see you in our usual spot after practice!” He whispered with a grin. You reciprocated his infectious smile. “Definitely. Have a good practice, remember to stretch!”

“Will do!”

“Hinata, come on. Don’t make us wait.” Your classmate, Kageyama, asserted from the door. He was already standing alongside their teammates, his bag slung over his shoulder, ready to head out. In that moment, the school bell rang, and your classmates began to stand up, their chatter becoming louder.

You traded quiet “I love you”s with Shoyo, before he all but sprinted out the classroom door to join his friends. You watched him go with a small smile, before gathering your things and preparing to leave.

As they traveled the hallway, Nishinoya looked curiously at his underclassman. “Hinata, who was that guy you were sitting with? The short one?”

“Oh, him?! Ah, nobody really! Just a friend!”

“Does your friend have a name?” Tanaka continued the line of questioning, not quite ready to let him off the hook until they had at least a few details.

“D-does it really matter?”

“His name is (L/n) (F/n).” Kageyama spoke for him, his stone face never changing, as he didn’t really seem to care about the topic at hand, and yet felt the need to make a comment. Perhaps it was a subtle jab at Hinata.

“I’ve never heard of him.” Nishinoya said. “Must not be the type to get called out for things, huh?”

“Called out for what?!” Hinata asked. He wasn’t quite paying attention to the whole question, all he heard was ‘called out for things’.

“Like, being popular and having people talk about you. Or being a troublemaker. Usually even the third years hear about those kinds of underclassmen.” Tanaka answered. 

“(L/n) is very mild mannered and doesn’t seem to like to stand out much.” Kageyama, again, commented. ‘Why is he answering for me again?!’ Hinata wondered, annoyed.

“Well, we’re here! Time to get changed for practice, right? Right!” Hinata said, a little hurriedly, before immediately bounding up the stairs to the club room. Kageyama followed, shouting things after him. From there, it turned into a mild argument, per usual. Tanaka and Nishinoya took a moment to pause and look at one another, slightly confused. This behavior was odd.

And this hadn’t been the only odd behavior from their dear underclassman as of late. For a while now, he had seemed to rush a little while cleaning up, and was almost always the first in and out of the club room. After he changed, he cared about how he looked, about if his hair was in place, and would sometimes ask if he looked okay. Then, instead of walking past the Sakanoshita store with them, he’d travel in the opposite direction. This change was seemingly unprompted, but nobody really seemed to care all that much. They had figured he was just changing it up a little, and besides, they weren’t entitled to know everything about their teammates, right?

During one of their brief breaks, Tanaka and Noya decided to talk to the third years to get their thoughts. “Hinata’s been acting weird lately, right? Especially after practice!” Tanaka started the conversation, his white towel draped over his head. Noya nodded along as he spoke.

“I guess so.” Daichi said. “With the way he runs around afterwards. That didn’t start till a short while ago, right?” He looked to Sugawara for confirmation, who nodded. “Yeah. He seems like he’s in a big rush to leave. And he heads the wrong way to be going home.”

“Is that really any of our business, though?” Asahi asked, a little pointedly, handing a water bottle to Sugawara, who thanked him quietly. “It’s his personal time. I don’t think we need to pry. As long as he’s taking care of himself and showing up to practices, I don’t see any reason to worry.”

“I agree.” Daichi nodded.

“I mean, I’m a little curious. But not enough to go question or follow him. I know it doesn’t concern me.” Suga turned his nose up a little, his eyes closed, but a small grin tracing his lips.

Tanaka and Nishinoya looked at one another in sync, as though they had the same thought at the same time. “Are we doing it?” Nishinoya asked, a devious grin playing on his features.

“Oh, definitely.” Tanaka replied, an almost identical, if not more mischievous grin gracing his face.

Before Daichi could warn them against that course of action, they were off on the other side of the gym, talking in hushed tones.

“What was that about?” Asahi wondered aloud, messing with the cap on his water bottle. “They seem like they’re up to no good.”

“They’re gonna go follow Hinata and spy on him, obviously.” Sugawara looked smug, bringing his hand up to his mouth. “Daichi, you should have told them off. They shouldn’t spy on people. It becomes a bad habit!”

“It’s your fault for putting the idea in their head! I feel like you do this on purpose.”

“Maybe a little.” He shrugged, trying to look innocent. “But you know what this means, right?”

“What does it mean? Eh?” Asahi looked between the captain and vice captain repeatedly, making small sounds of confusion. “We have to follow Nishinoya and Tanaka to make sure they don’t run interference with whatever it is Hinata does after practice.” Daichi crossed his arms, heaving a sigh.

“Ah, of course.” Asahi smiled gently. Although he already looked older, the look of exhaustion that that proposition inflicted on him almost gave him the energy of an elderly man.

Practice went without a hitch for the rest of the afternoon. When they had finished, the sun was setting, and the sky was painted in oranges and yellows.

As had been the norm for a while now, Hinata rushed through cleaning in the gym, and hurried into the changing room. He fussed over himself, before leaving the changing room with a huge grin and a tight, excited grip on the strap of his bag. He happily traveled in the opposite direction of Sakanoshita store and his route home, unsuspecting of his upperclassman following him.

However, those upperclassmen were also unaware that they, too, had a tail. The third years walked a little ways behind. 

But wait, there was more. It got worse. 

The third years were also being pursued, by the three remaining first years. Kageyama had noticed all of their seniors headed in the wrong direction, and in his sudden decision to follow after them, had dragged a disgruntled Tsukishima along with him. And of course, as they are a pair, Yamaguchi followed along as well.

“Why are we doing this? I have better things to do.” Tsukishima grumbled, although he spoke quietly and followed after Kageyama anyways.

Meanwhile, in his excitement, Hinata remained oblivious. He walked down the road, humming lightly, before he reached the park. The rolling hills by the playground were dotted with picnic tables and trees, and the grass grew a little long. The lack of buildings in the immediate vicinity made it the perfect place to watch the sun go down and the stars come out. And that was exactly what you and he had done every day.

He reached the park and stopped, taking a minute to look around, before spotting something and all but bounding towards it. His teammates chose various vantage points nearby. Tanaka and Nishinoya observed Hinata closely, and the third years observed them, while also being observed by the first years. Makes a lot of sense, right? No, I didn't think so either.

As he approached, he called out gently. “(F/n)!” He said, in a sweet tone of voice that only you had ever had the privilege of hearing him use. Upon hearing your name, you looked up from the book in your hands, before smiling brightly and placing your bookmark in the center, shutting it gently and setting it down on the tabletop. “Shoyo!” You greeted him back, before getting to your feet.

Once he was near enough, he hugged you, which you returned. He pulled back to peck you on the lips, before grinning.

Now, the third and first years had been too enveloped in the scene before them to notice Tanaka and Nishinoya until they were halfway to the sweet couple. But upon noticing this, the third years quickly dashed out of their hiding spot in pursuit, the first years following suit. 

“Hinataaa!” The two second years called out. Daichi and Suga had to grab them before they could jump on the frightened pair.

At the sight of almost his whole team approaching himself and his boyfriend, he was almost so shocked that he forgot to release you. You stood there in his arms, visibly confused as a chorus of statements rang out.

“Is this your boyfriend?”

“You got a boyfriend before me? This is unfair.”

“I’m so proud of you!”

“I really didn’t want to come.”

“Oh, are we intruding on something?”

It was Asahi who managed to calm all of the voices, before turning to Hinata, who had since let go of you. “Sorry, Hinata, we didn’t mean to bug you. A lot happened. Again, sorry.”

Hinata sighed slightly, a little bit irritated. You brushed his hand with yours, locking your pinkies together, causing him to look down at you. “Maybe it’s time.” You said, tilting your head slightly.

He looked at his team, and then back at you, before smiling softly and nodding, shifting to hold your whole hand in his.

“Everyone,” He began, “This is my boyfriend, (F/n).”

You waved with your free hand, smiling at the gaggle in front of you. “Hello! It’s nice to meet you all. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The first person to speak after that was Tanaka. “Geez, you’re short, huh? Even shorter than Noya. How tall are you?”

A couple people were about to comment on how that statement was a bit rude, but you answered first. “151 centimeters.”

“Wow!” Noya said. “It’s kinda cool to be taller than someone.”

After that interesting conversation, introductions happened. You learned the names and positions of each person in the circle, most of whom seemed happy to meet you.

“You should come watch our practice sometime!” Sugawara suggested, Daichi nodding along. “It would be nice to have you.” He affirmed.

“I’d love to!” You grinned, causing most of the team to grin back in return, before Tsukishima looked at his watch and spoke up. “It’s getting late. I’d like to go home, if I may.” He glared at Kageyama, who glared back in response.

“Yeah, we should leave these two to their date! Come on, come on! Let’s go!” Sugawara prompted, before ushering everyone towards the entrance to the park. A few people shouted goodbyes to the both of you, which you met with equal enthusiasm.

After a short while, it was just the two of you once more. The sun was mostly set, and the sky was beginning to darken. One singular star shone in the sky. You sat side-by-side on the bench together, your head resting on Hinata’s shoulder. It was quiet for a moment, before you spoke. “I like your team.”

“And I’m glad you got to meet them.” He smiled, turning to plant a kiss on the top of your head. You smiled wide at this, snuggling further into his side. What an odd day, what interesting people. But what more could you expect, dating an amazing guy like Hinata Shoyo?

[minigolden]

this one’s for you, ao3

fic info:

Lance is beyond excited for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. So, when Allura invites him to attend a viewing party, Lance decides to check it out. He ends up at the home of Keith Kogane— the striker for Marmora University’s futbol team. Lance’s rival. The bane of his existence. And, the one player Lance might have a thing for.

tags:

college au, 2018 FIFA World Cup, modern setting, enemies to friends to lovers, mutual pining, soccer player keith, futbol player lance,  slow burn + more. read more tags on AO3!

Last summer, I started writing a klance fic focused on the 2018 FIFA World Cup where both Keith and Lance are soccer/futbol players at college. They also happen to attend different universities and had some bad history which is slowly transitioning to something akin to friendship and beyond.

I loved writing the story and fell off of it for roughly a year as school was so incredibly intense but I’m happy to say I have updated and plan to complete the story. It should be roughly 15 chapters so I’m nearly halfway through! Thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos, it means so much! If college athlete AU's and pining are your thing, check out the story! 💕

Chapter 7 Preview:

If Keith could go back to March when he was considering whether or not it was worth it to commute to San Francisco for this internship, he would have slapped himself and said: “don’t do it.”

It’s the third alarm and Keith knew he had one more to dismiss before he definitely has to wake up and get ready. His entire life runs on a timeline because if he misses the baby bullet, he is in trouble. Keith lowly groans and clamps his eyes shut as his alarm went off for the third time and blindly reached for it to turn.It.Off.

Once the echoes of the soul-crushing sound of the alarm fade away, Keith sits in silence with himself, the heaviness behind his eyes so painful he wanted to sink into the mattress and sleep forever. He really shouldn’t have stayed up texting Lance about some rapper cheating on his wife.

Lance [12:03am]

>He’s a good for nothing bummy dude. In the name of TLC, that man is a S C R U B.

> s2g if I ever gave birth to a man’s child and he cheated on me the hell I would lash on him

> I would fit on SIGHT. Idec if I just gave birth tbh

Gave birth? Keith rubs a finger to his browbone, shaking his head in amusement at the memory. He spoke about it like he actually could give birth. Keith thought that Shiro could get dramatic when he’s arguing his point in some random discussion, but really, he has nothing on Lance. Lance’s personal offense to everything in the world is something else.

The texts were coming at such fire speed that it left Keith grinning at his phone. If he had gone to bed, biting back a grin, in the words of Lance, mind your business.

[zombiesolace]

tagged by @jsteneil back in September, yikes, appreciate it still

What is your total word count on AO3?

83,698 - for now, i have plans

How often do you write?

translating noise is not one of my skills as a writer but kno that i made a disgusted sound when i read this. every day? every other day? every third day? one of those three depending on whether life permits it or not. also this is a really recent thing. its only in the last few months that i’ve managed this. before that i’d go months without writing and i knew i had to do something about that

Do you have a routine for writing?

nope. i just need a seat, somewhere to sit my laptop and said laptop. writing comes fairly easily to me once i actually manage to start lol

What are your favorite kinks/tropes/pairings?

i’m doing these backwards to ease into it???/ why is kinks first??

Pairings: my knee jerk response to that was ‘none’ lol. i have trouble appreciating people as a couple. ask me about my favourite characters 

Tropes: The Power of Friendship! Friends with Benefits! Body swap! Fake/Pretend Relationship! Found Family! Family of Choice! 

Kinks: nobody knows me like that and no one ever will bc i’m ace HA

Do you have a favorite fic of yours?

i absolutely do! Badlands by Irrelevancy is hands down the most beautiful fanfiction i’ve ever read. its unfinished and i doubt ever will be and idec, its That Good (it probably helps that it stopped on the end of the first arc lmao). i’ve read it countless times and recommend it to anyone in love with Patroclus and Achilles. 

i just realised this says ‘of yours’ but i’m going to leave the fic rec there bc it needs to be said. my favourite piece that i, myself, have written lol is peu à peu. it’s centered on the ONE and only Kevin Day. its the first thing i posted on ao3 and will forever be my proudest. i put a lot of work into it and a lot of spite also. i didn’t really like Kevin all that much when i started but i did fucking respect him. the fact that no one else was dedicating novels to him made me mad lol, and then i fell in love with that asshole

Your fic with the most kudos?

that is peu à peu once again at 65 kudos

Anything you don’t like about your writing?

i feel like i’m just constantly writing actions. forget introspection and dialogue, what are the characters doing?? i’ve entered multiple pieces of my work into this Word Cloud app that shows you which words you use the most and ‘hands’ and eyes’ are always the among the biggest ones for me. it doesn’t count unavoidable words that make up most sentences but like, right after, character names these two pop up. they’re important sure but not that important and not every fucking time i want to use them

What do you write in?

GoogleDocs! i used to use Word exclusively but then my service or whatever you call it ran out and i was like this shit is supposed to be free right? and now its been three years since i had any of the Office apps on my laptop lol

Tagging: @fictionsmyaddiction, @carry-on-my-wayward-son-atem, @greenerbucket, @izumitate and anyone else interested! tag me if you do it

[bisexualbenpaul-old]

miscevus replied to your post: y’all give me quick fic requests idec the...

whispers,,, softly,,,,, nea/pasta,,,, like that post u reblogged earlier,,, modern lunch date w/ cross (and optional mana) overseeing fr the bg,,,,,,,, ;o

HERE GOES SOMETHIN

Wallet, keys, phone, and a proper outfit— triple check! Though, when Nea stands before the full-body mirror, admiring and thoroughly inspecting himself, he wonders if the outfit is… too much. What if Allen thinks him ridiculous for dressing up in such a way? After a moment of thinking on that, Nea notes that his date is far worse when it comes to this sort of thing. He recalls with a brief smile the time Allen had to go to a super market— simple little city super market— and he wore fancy black slacks with a full button-up white shirt. When Nea innocently (but not really) inquired how much hair gel Allen used for that trip, the brunette responded with one of the dirtiest looks, probably in the history of dirty looks.

 It just served to make Nea laugh, though, and at the memory of that, he even snickers to himself in the present. He’s fine, and Allen may even appreciate the formal-ish look.

 Before stepping away from the view of the mirror, Nea gives himself a quick finger guns gesture, and then he’s off. Out the door, into his car, and to Allen’s apartment he goes, excited for today but apprehensive as well. The first date with his best friend of… well, he can’t exactly remember how long they’ve been friends, but it’s been a while. He almost couldn’t believe that Allen had actually been interested in him, but here he is, driving to meet his date. It’s all so weird and amazing.

 “Who’s the shit? I’m the shit,” he says to himself once or twice as he parks his car and then turns it off. Self-assurance is a mighty thing, Nea knows, so a little encouragement every now and again won’t hurt.

 As he climbs out of the vehicle, he peers up the outside stairwell with apartments on every floor, searching for Allen at the very top. He’s not there yet, so Nea patiently waits, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and standing by his car as he does so. He successfully manages to completely zone out in that lapse of time that Allen isn’t there, and though he snaps out of it when he hears his date greet him from the top floor, he doesn’t remember anything he had been thinking about.

 “Apologies for making you wait,” Allen says as he hurriedly approaches Nea’s car shaking his head. “Cross came over briefly, the annoying fool wasting nearly all of my time. You pulled in just as he left me be.”

 Nea scoffs, looking up to the uppermost platform a last time, finding the redheaded man in question, leaned over the rail with the stupidest look he makes. Nea knows that look, and he knows what it means, so to combat the suggestive comments he will definitely get later, he simply ignores Cross and gets into the car with Allen.

 “A fool!” Allen repeats in exasperation, immediately beginning to rummage through the compartments where Nea often keeps his music CDs. “He said Mana informed him of our date today. He visited me just to hound me about it! ‘Where are you two going?’ ‘Are you one of those no-sex-until-the-third-date kind of guys?’”

 A grin finds its way to Nea’s face as they exit the parking lot. “That’s how he knows to be a friend, Allen, and I know it can be nuts sometimes, but he’s just messing with you nine times out of ten.”

 “Well, it’s that last one that I would like to experience more of,” Allen snorts and inserts a CD marked ‘angry mood’. Nea marked them specifically for how Allen felt for the duration of their car rides, so whatever he was feeling, the CD would have the songs he liked most for those moods.

 Thus, The Neighborhood blasted within the confines of Nea’s car all the way to the restaurant.

 It didn’t take too awful long for the pair to be seated, their drinks brought, and their orders taken. The entire time, Allen sat very proper, straight, shoulders back, never setting his elbows on the table. To Nea, it’s nothing short of charming— he has seen Allen relax before, and it’s not that he feels he needs to look a certain way to be perceived a certain way. He just likes it, and Nea loves it. He wonders if he’s biased, however, considering Allen could probably do anything and it would be charming.

 “Manatees aren’t endangered anymore, did you know that?” Allen suddenly pipes up, peering over his big round-rimmed glasses at his date. “We have had quite a past few years, but manatees getting their wind back is wonderful news.”

 Nea nods, grinning. “The Siberian tiger, too,” he adds on.

 Allen beams. “Honestly? I hadn’t heard! That’s exciting, maybe we really will improve on that front. Those animals could be wiped from existence, and that would be that— terrifying, isn’t it?”

 “Yeah, but I think people will stop being stupid and get their shit together before too much longer,” he responds, now moving his attention to the silverware wrapped neatly in napkins before him. He nudges them a bit, getting them lined up with the foamy mat where his plate will go, and it takes a moment, but he manages to get it right.

 They continue to talk, over multiple things. Current events, music, what prank to play on Cross next— it’s easy. They were already friends, they’re just… a different kind of friends now. They can still talk like friends, act like friends, and that’s one of the coolest things about this scenario.

 Their food arrives not too long after they had been seated, served with quick “if you need anything, let us know”s and “please enjoy your meal”s. Allen takes no time in digging in, but Nea takes a tad more time to start. He unfolds his napkin, retrieves the cutlery he thinks he’ll need, places them on the edge of his plate, and refolds the napkin. He had, unfortunately, drank his beverage a bit too fast, so now he has to worry about not finishing the full meal. Hopefully, that won’t be the case, and as he stares at said meal, trying to decide what to eat first, he spaces out again.

 It’s only a moment, however, before his phone vibrating calls his attention.

 Quickly, Nea grabs the device, opens it, and sees he has a text message. From Cross? Weird, but not incredibly unexpected.

 “Why aren’t you eating?” is all the text reads.

 Nea stops for a good minute, blinking at the words. Is the redhead trying to act like he knows what’s happening, so he can pretend he’s psychic or some shit?

 “What the hell, man?” is what Nea texts back.

 “Look behind you”

 He squints at the text for a few seconds and then tries to subtly do as it said, but he doesn’t find Cross anywhere among the few people seated in the rows behind them. Just as Nea begins to turn around in his seat again, one of the customers about three booths back raises their hand. It’s a quick and nearly unnoticeable gesture, but upon closer inspection, Nea does indeed find that red stubble on the bottom of that sharp chin, and though a dark hood is pulled up on his head, Cross’ crazy bright red hair spills ever so slightly out and onto his chest.

 Beside him, another someone sits, less disguised, only wearing a pair of shades and a fake moustache on his upper lip. Mana is with him.

 Once it registers that his best friend and his brother snuck onto this date with him, Nea quickly turns around in his seat again, trying to stifle his laughter as he returns to his phone. All he sends back to Cross is a “wtf” and then puts it down for the last time until after his food is done.

 “Having fun, there?” Allen asks, grabbing his drink. “Who texted you that made you laugh?”

 Nea can’t help the few giggles that spill out, so he says honestly, “It’s fuckin’ Cross.”

 Allen rolls his eyes. “I am not surprised. No doubt, he plans on knowing every detail of our date, but the poor thing’s a bit impatient, isn’t he? Good lord.”

 As he eats, Nea tries his hardest to stop laughing, but he continues to lose it every few minutes. “Yeah. Impatient is definitely a word that can be used here.”

 Later, once climbing back into the car, Nea would pick up his phone and find that Cross had replied another time after his last message. “I wanted to make sure you kids had fun”, it read, and Nea started laughing all over again.

[tkmedia]

Lubin: I Want It More Than Rosario; I Know What I Have To Do To Get Him Out Of There

ATLANTA – Erickson Lubin had no interest in a tune-up fight. Lubin is already the WBC’s number one contender for one of Jermell Charlo’s championships. He could’ve chosen a safer opponent as he attempts to remain in position for another shot at the WBC’s 154-pound crown. The strong southpaw from Orlando, Florida, still didn’t hesitate to accept a fight against Jeison Rosario. Charlo floored Rosario three times and knocked him out with a body shot in the eighth round of Rosario’s most recent bout, but Rosario remains a risky opponent for Lubin. The Dominican Republic’s Rosario (20-2-1, 14 KOs) and Lubin (23-1, 16 KOs) will meet in an intriguing 12-round WBC elimination match Saturday night on the Gervonta Davis-Mario Barrios undercard at State Farm Arena. Lubin-Rosario will be the third of four fights Showtime will offer as part of its pay-per-view event (9 p.m. EDT; $74.99). “We both hungry,” Lubin said Wednesday night during an open workout at the College Football Hall of Fame. “I just think I want it more. You know, I think my preparation is gonna speak for itself. And on Saturday night, man, the fans can expect fireworks. They can expect the best of me.” The 25-year-old Lubin has won five consecutive contests since Houston’s Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) knocked him out with one punch in the first round of their WBC title fight in October 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Lubin convincingly out-pointed their other common opponent, Nathaniel Gallimore, in a 10-round encounter in October 2019 at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania. Gallimore (21-5-1, 17 KOs) became the first fighter to beat Rosario when he dropped Rosario three times on his way to a sixth-round stoppage in April 2017 at Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. “I’ve seen him fight against Charlo and others,” Lubin said. “I’ve seen him enough. I know what I have to do to get him out of there. I’m a competitor and I wanna give the fans the best show.” A week before Charlo knocked out Rosario, Lubin beat Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder September 19 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. He is consistently listed as nearly a 3-1 favorite versus Rosario. “My loss affected me and motivated me big time,” Lubin said. “I know my abilities and I know what I’m capable of, so I just went back to the drawing board and took it all in. I understood how serious this sport is, and how unforgiving this sport is. So, I knew I had to go out there and do things different to take my career to another level. That’s what I did.” Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing. Read the full article