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iamtheblondestblonde · 4 years

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The Clark Kent Effect

Part Four

AN: I finally did it! I’m getting back into writing after weeks of no thoughts head empty yay!! I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this one, I’m really excited for you guys to read it. It’s kind of important, ya know. God I wish I could say more but I don’t want to take away from anything. Also I love this gif of Mat, thank you @gabelandeskog for blessing our timeline with it.

Song: Slow Hands - Niall Horan (spoiler sorry)

Word Count: 5.6k (oops)

Warnings: explicit language, smut (also spoiler, sorry)

Masterlist / One / Two / Three

With the playoffs approaching January was a busy month. Time in between games was stretched thin but somehow that still didn’t stop Mat from showing up at your door from time to time, usually after an exhausting game or the end of a roadtrip. Despite the voice in your head telling you that this wasn’t a good idea you couldn’t find it in yourself to turn him away.

The two of you would watch nature documentaries together, sometimes talking about his games if he was in the mood and other times you’d simply do your best to take his mind off things. Not in the way one might think though.

The sexual tension between the two of you was palpable, but neither of you acted on it, choosing to bask in each other’s company instead of addressing the issue at hand. Nothing besides getting cuddled up on your couch ever happened but it was clear that neither of you were able to keep yourself from doing something stupid much longer.

Something was bound to happen sooner or later but for now the two of you managed to hold everything together. Sort of at least.

One night Mat had taken off his hoodie - not for obvious reasons - but because two people underneath a fluffy blanket generated a lot of heat and he’d simply gotten too hot. You honestly hadn’t even thought of it until Emily had stood next to your couch, said dark grey hoodie with Mat’s number and last name clearly visible on it in her hand.

“How did this get here?”, she’d asked and for one second you contemplated making up a bullshit excuse before conceding, knowing full well she’d be able to see through your lies either way. Maybe you’d even benefit from hearing a second opinion right now.

So you explained what had gone down in the weeks since New Year’s, leaving her speechless.

“I wanted to tell you about it, I promise, but I haven’t even figured for myself what it is. I wouldn’t even know where to start explaining”, you rambled further, taken aback by your friend’s silence following your confession.

Emily was many things, but quiet definitely wasn’t one of them. It only lasted a couple of minutes though, as she seemed to gather her words before speaking up:

“I don’t even know what to say to you.” That much was obvious. “All I know is that you’re bound to get hurt if you don’t talk to Tito about this. You like Mat and he likes you just as much I can tell. If Tito is as much of a good friend as you think he is he won’t stand in the way of your happiness, no matter who it is with.”

She had a point of course, but somehow you couldn’t bring yourself to tell Tito, not yet at least. You weren’t even sure what you were holding out for, maybe some magical moment that would give you the clarity you desperately needed but for now you weren’t going to say anything.

It wasn’t like Mat had said anything either though and his role in this – whatever this was – was just as big as yours after all. Both of you would be risking an important friendship if you were to pursue each other, wasn’t it reasonable that you wanted to be 100% sure about things first?

However life as usual didn’t hold out for you, leaving you no choice but to finally make a decision after all.

Said decision came under the guise of a party invitation, an invitation you couldn’t possibly turn down. But first you had to attend a game, the last game before bye week and against the Rangers of all teams. Emily and Rafael were having dinner with Rafael’s parents so it was only Dana and Mariah who were able to join you for tonight.

The three of you had only been able to get some mediocre seats because you hadn’t started looking for tickets early enough, thus disappearing in between the masses of Islanders fans that had made it out to the Garden as well. This time Mat definitely wouldn’t be able to find you in the stands after scoring a goal, you were barely able to find him on the ice after all.

They came out on top though, something you were grateful for because a loss wouldn’t have set the right mood for tonight. This time you watched the masses pile out of the arena before getting up yourself because you’d have to wait for the boys either way so it wasn’t like you had to beat any traffic. The plan was to meet in front a back entrance and you were grateful that you’d grabbed a warm coat to protect yourself from the freezing January air as you and your friends waited for the rest of your group.

You could hear them long before they made their way through the door, Mat’s cackle bouncing off the walls and making you smile as well, his laugh nothing but infectious. Only four of them would go out with you tonight, the rest understandably either going home to their kids or flying out early the next morning. Greetings and congratulations were kept short, everyone too excited to finally get to said party to dwell on such trivial things.

Tito had met this fancy music producer a couple of weeks ago and because famous people apparently liked to associate with other famous people he’d been invited to his fancy housewarming party. Tito had then proceeded to snag invites for the rest of you as well and you for one couldn’t wait to see the promised freshly remodeled penthouse suite in Williamsburg. Having friends among New York’s elite certainly paid off.

After finally entering said building the lot of you piled into the elevator and Tito pressed the button at the very top, accompanied by oohs and aahs from Dana, Mariah and you. You’d thought that arriving at a party without ever meeting the host beforehand would be awkward but it turned out that Nick, said music producer, was actually a really nice guy who immediately introduced you to some people after showing you where the drinks were.

The guys got recognized almost immediately and while they were bombarded with hockey questions you grabbed Dana and Mariah so you could dip towards the bar, needing alcohol in your system. You grabbed some drinks for the boys as well, a rum and coke for Mat and beers for the rest of them, carefully dancing around intoxicated party guests so you wouldn’t spill anything on what you imagined to be a very expensive carpet.

As the hour got later and everyone inside proceeded to get plastered you stepped out on the terrace, wrapped tightly in your coat and enjoying the view of the East river, the Brooklyn Bridge to your left and the Manhattan Skyline in the distance. The apartment was beautiful, really, but not even the tasteful interior design could compete with the view it provided.

You could still hear the faint beat of the music thumping but besides that and the ever-present sound of the city that never sleeps it was quiet. Everyone else was inside, avoiding the cold like any reasonable person would and in turn giving you some time by yourself to sort your thoughts.

You were so lost in them that you didn’t even hear the glass sliding doors open and close, didn’t notice that someone had joined you outside until Mat stepped beside you, making you jump a little.

“Jesus, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Sorry”, he just chuckled, taking another step closer until your shoulders almost brushed, resting his hands on the railing. He looked out to the city and you looked up at him, suddenly not interested in the twinkling lights in front of you any longer. It was hard not to after all, his soft expression and tousled hair practically demanding your attention. He looked good tonight, still dressed in his game day suit which was now covered by his jacket though.

“You’re not usually the kind of person to just disappear, why are you outside by yourself?”, he asked, his breath creating white clouds in the air.

“I’m not by myself right now, am I?”, you responded and he just smirked, eyes still focused on the skyline though. “It’s quiet out here, I came out so I could think.”

“And what is that pretty head of yours thinking about?” At this point you weren’t sure if your cheeks were this rosy because of the alcohol you’d consumed, the cold, his words or a combination of all three things. You did however blame the alcohol for your next words.

“You. Us, I guess.”

You could tell he stopped breathing for a moment, the steady rhythm of white clouds interrupted as he turned towards you.

“You are?”, he asked quietly, his eyes portraying a vulnerability you hadn’t seen in them before.

There it was, the cumulation of everything that had happened over the past few weeks.

There was no taking it back now, you were long past the point of no return here. Maybe it really was the alcohol in your system that had finally gotten you to admit your feelings to Mat but everyone knew that the drunk mind only speaks sober thoughts.

“Of course I am, you should have figured that out by now. I don’t watch nature documentaries with anyone after all.” That got a chuckle out of him but it did nothing to the look of absolute adoration that had taken over his features. Now it was your turn to hold your breath as you waited for his next words.

“Why thank you, I feel honored. But this certainly makes things easier, because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, about us, either.”

This was real. This was the magical moment and while it didn’t exactly provide you with an omnipresent clarity it finally solidified where either of you stood in this situation. You only wished that it wasn’t happening on the terrace of some guy you still barely knew with your friends inside, able to walk in and ruin said moment.

“Don’t worry, Tito is too busy following Dana like a lost puppy to come out here”, Mat said, seemingly able to sense in which direction your thoughts were going.

“He knows she plays for the other team, right?” In fact, you were pretty sure that there was something going on between Mariah and her but you weren’t about to pressure either of them for answers before they were ready, especially with Mariah only being in straight relationships before.

“As long as it keeps him busy I won’t tell him if you don’t.” The accompanying wink made you snort a little but the sound quickly died in your throat when he placed his hands on your hips, carefully walking you backwards towards the edge of the terrace. Here you were hidden from the people inside, invisible to possible curious onlookers. He was shielding you with his body as well, the two of you practically pressed together from head to toe as he crowded you against the wall of the building.

He then reached up and placed one of his hands on your cheek, carefully tracing your bottom lip with his thumb. All you could do was stare up at him, frozen in place and unable to move. He looked at you with absolute reverence, like he’d never held anything this precious in his hands and you honestly wouldn’t be surprised if your heart straight up decided to leave your body and be with him instead.

“Please tell me I can kiss you right now”, he whispered and you didn’t trust your voice so you only nodded, not a single doubt left about your decision.

He leaned down towards you, and after months of pining for each other your lips finally met.

It was sweet and soft, his lips still tasting like the rum you’d seen him drinking all night and yet it was perfect and right. His hand moved up into your hair, holding you close as the two of you explored each other for the very first time. It wasn’t like you were going anywhere though, not even an apocalypse would have gotten you to stop kissing Mat right now.

He pulled back eventually - after what could have been seconds, minutes or hours - both of you breathing heavily as you tried to fill your lungs with the oxygen they’d just been deprived of. Your heart was running a mile a minute, beating so hard against your ribs that you were convinced Mat could feel it as well, despite all the layers that currently separated you. You weren’t done with him though, so after catching your breath you pulled him down to you again.

This time there was more force behind the kiss, the initial phase of careful exploration over. One of his arms found its way underneath your coat, wrapping itself around your waist and pulling you even closer while the other one was still buried in your hair.

Mat licked along the seam of your lips asking for permission, which you gladly granted, allowing him to deepen the kiss. In a second the entire mood shifted. He dropped his hand then, tightly grabbing your ass and groaning when you rolled your hips against him. By now you weren’t feeling the effects of the alcohol anymore, instead intoxicated by his kisses. You could get lost in him forever.

As you slowly came back to your senses you realized that might not be the best idea however, as the two of you spending hours out on this terrace might raise suspicions, despite Tito apparently being distracted by Dana right now. So you pulled back, reluctantly, slightly pushing Mat off of you. He must have taken it as you rejecting him and his brows were knit together in confusion. You quickly spoke up before he could get a wrong idea of the situation:

“We should take this back to my place.”

His lips, those beautiful lips, swollen from all the making out formed a surprised ‘o’ and you almost laughed at his reaction.

“Unless you don’t want to, that’s totally fine as well”, you quickly continued, not wanting to push any boundaries. That seemed to finally get to him.

“Of course I do. I’ve been thinking about that for so long and now there’s no chance I’m leaving here without you”, he beamed at you, his smile so bright that the New York skyline behind him paled in comparison.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah”, he confirmed, leaning down for one last sweet kiss.

“Wait, before we go back inside though, your hair is a mess.”

“I wonder whose fault that is”, you responded, your voice dripping with sarcasm. He actually had the decency to blush, an adorable pink tinging his cheeks as he reached up to try his best at untangling your hair.

After he deemed your hair situation presentable again you followed him inside, instantly greeted by the party sounds again. It took a while until you managed to spot your friends and you had to stifle a laughter once you realized what was actually going on.

Tito was sprawled out on one end of the couch with Mariah and Dana on either side of him. By the looks of it Mariah was trying to get him to drink some water but he was just giggling up at Dana, who looked anything but amused by the situation.

“Oh my god”, Mat groaned, covering his face in embarrassment for his friend.

“What happened? He didn’t drink that much, did he?”

“No he didn’t but he took a space brownie from this random dude, saying something about how he needed to make the most of his week off. I don’t know how much was in there but he’s been like this for almost twenty minutes now”, Dana said with an eyeroll, Tito simply giggling again. You’d never seen him like this.

You knew that the reasonable thing would be to take him home with you since he didn’t live that far from your apartment, but you also knew that if you did that nothing else would happen with Mat tonight. Maybe you were being selfish, but just for this one night you allowed yourself to be.

“Could you guys take him home, please?”

“Oh come on, he lives way closer to your place”, Mariah protested immediately, obviously and understandably not wanting to be responsible for a greened out Tito.

You gave her a look, taking a step closer to Mat – who hadn’t said anything so far – and putting your hand on his shoulder. It only took a couple of seconds until realization dawned upon your friends and Mat just blushed, coughing awkwardly. You didn’t care that they knew now, it was only a matter of time anyway. Tito hadn’t noticed anything though because he’d closed his eyes and leaned his head back, blissed out and lost in his own world right now.

“You owe us”, Dana mouthed and Mariah nodded before motioning for the two of you to leave, which you gladly did. Mat called for an Uber as soon as the two of you stepped into the elevator and it was as if your streak of luck wasn’t over yet because the closest ride wasn’t even three minutes out.

Even traffic didn’t seem as bad as usual but maybe that was because Mat kept distracting you by rubbing small circles on your thigh. He’d pulled you close as soon as you’d settled into the backseat and was now making small talk with the driver, who was apparently an avid Islanders fan. On the one hand it was sweet to see him interact with a fan of his, on the other hand you’d rather kiss him senseless but apparently that part would have to wait.

“I can’t wait until I’m all alone with you”, he murmured in your ear when there was a break in the conversation, seemingly able to read your thoughts yet once again. The driver asked yet another question though before you even got the chance to respond, making you bury your face in Mat’s shoulder. He simply squeezed your hand, a lazy smile on his lips.

You’d never been so happy to see your apartment building before and you were even inclined to do a little happy dance when the car finally came to a stop in front of it. Despite all that you still thanked your driver, wishing him a good night and after Mat had taken a selfie with him you finally slid out of your seat. You were instantly greeted by the cold again but you barely even noticed it as Mat wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close once again.

“I swear I’m stabbing the next person who attempts to pull you into a conversation”, you grumbled as you made your way inside, leading Mat up the seemingly endless stairs until you finally reached your apartment door, unlocking it as fast as you could.

“But if you get arrested for attempted murder I wouldn’t be able to do this.” And with that he pulled you in for a kiss that was definitely worth being sentenced to prison. He pushed you up against the back of the door, the two of you instantly picking up where’d you left off on the terrace.

“I just wanna say that it’s cute you’d think I’d only get charged with attempted murder. This right here is a badass bitch”, you butted in after pulling away shortly but because you were still breathless it didn’t have the intended effect. He only giggled again, pushing your coat off your shoulders and then closing the distance between you once again instead of giving you a response. Not that you were complaining. Maybe you’d never be able to complain about anything ever again, not if he kept on kissing you like that.

It was a bit of a struggle to kick off your shoes with his lips distracting you but somehow you managed and he followed your lead before pulling you towards your bedroom. He knew the way by now, having changed in there many times after his games, which probably the only reason why neither of you smacked into any walls because it was pitch black in your apartment.

“Fuck, I can’t see shit”, he cursed upon entering your bedroom and you stifled a giggle, the alcohol you’d consumed earlier in the night and his presence making you giddy.

“There’s a switch on the right side of the bed..”, you trailed off, pulling out your phone to illuminate the room with the dim display light and giggling even more when you could hear Mat rummaging around until suddenly soft lighting filled the room.

“Ahhh that’s better”, he sighed, softly looking up at you from his new position on the edge of the mattress.

“Nice to see you again”, you joked while placing your phone on the nightstand before softly brushing over his cheekbones with your thumb. He only hummed before wrapping his hands deftly around the back of your thighs, pulling you close until you were perched on his lap.

“Likewise. Wouldn’t want to miss seeing your beautiful face for the world.”

Your heart just about melted at his words but then he captured your lips again, your mind immediately going blank. For a minute or two the two of you made out like teenagers and Mat only abandoned your lips to trail kisses along your neck, leaving goosebumps in his wake. You didn’t bring him home with you to make out however, so you climbed off his lap, suddenly impatient.

He whined in protest but the sound died in his throat when you pulled off your sweater, leaving you only in your bra and jeans.

“Fuck. Wouldn’t want to miss seeing this either”, he said, pulling you close again until you were standing between his thighs and press open-mouthed kisses all over your cleavage, making you bury your hands in his hair. You were so lost in the feeling that it took you a couple of seconds to notice his hands working your jeans, quickly pushing them down your hips.

He cursed again once you were only left in your underwear but you stopped him before he could pull you back into his lap.

“What?”

“I think it’s not really fair that I’m practically naked and you’re still fully dressed in your suit.”

“And whose fault is that babygirl?”

The pet name almost made you forget your mission but somehow you managed to pull yourself together, his suit jacked and shirt soon discarded in some corner of your bedroom. He groaned when you sank to your knees in front of him, now eye-to-eye with his very prominent bulge. With quick fingers you made work of his belt and he helped you pull off his pants.

The image of him sitting in front of you now, only in his boxers, chest heaving, face flushed and with his hair all messed up would probably forever burn itself into your mind.

You took your time, lowering your lips towards his cock and mouthing along it over his boxers teasingly, unable to stop yourself. Mat squirmed under your touch, his breathing growing even more ragged as he buried his hand in your hair once again. He only allowed himself to enjoy this for a couple of seconds though before pulling you up to stand again, getting up as well and spinning you around before throwing you onto the mattress. You were tempted to make a WWE joke but your thoughts were quickly elsewhere when he climbed up on your bed, lowering himself between your legs.

By now you were so keyed up that the friction of his clothed cock against you had you moaning instantly. Mat groaned as well, kissing you fiercely as he rocked against you. When you arched your back he took the chance to unhook your bra, quickly throwing the lacey fabric over his shoulder as if it had offended his mother. He made sure to appreciate every inch of exposed skin, leaving you breathless.

Kissing his way down your body he hooked his fingers into your panties, looking up to ask for permission to take them off. You quickly nodded, watching him as he discarded the last item of your clothing, leaving you fully exposed to him. You weren’t nervous though, not with the way Mat looked at you like you’d hung the stars in the sky.

“You. Are. So. Fucking. Beautiful.” Every word was accompanied by a slow kiss, each closer to where you needed him most. He didn’t do anything but stare at you though, making you whine impatiently.

“Don’t worry babygirl, I’ll give you what you deserve soon enough. I just want to take my time. We’ve got all night after all.”

And with that he finally lowered his mouth towards you.

Mat being an amazing kisser should have given away the fact that he’d be amazing at other things, but nothing could have prepared you for the way he was eating you out right now. You were putty in his hands, begging for more as he traced slow circles around your clit with his tongue. Your legs were already trembling, face flushed as you arched your back off the mattress over and over again. To keep you from moving too much Mat had wrapped one arm around your stomach, pressing you against him, while his other hand was busy trailing up your inner thigh. When he finally sunk one of his thick fingers into your heat you almost came then and there but Mat noticed, of course, and slowed his movement even more.

“Please Mat, I need..”

“You need what?” He asked when you didn’t continue, stopping to look up at you. His finger kept pushing in and out of you, making it hard to form a coherent thought.

“More. Please, please, give me more.”

“God I love hearing you beg”, he whispered before finally fulfilling your wish, pushing a second finger inside you before wrapping his lips around your clit once again. He picked up his pace then, every move of his fingers and every stroke of his tongue bringing you closer to the edge until your body snapped.

You were a writhing and moaning mess beneath him, your legs shaking as he brought you through your orgasm, moaning himself when you pulled at his hair a little harder than you’d intended.

As soon as you came down again you noticed Mat grinding against the mattress and you moaned softly at the sight. He only winked at you though before wiping his face against your thigh and climbing back over you to give you a searing kiss, making you taste yourself on his lips.

He willingly let you roll him over until you were on top, helping you take off his boxers as well but ultimately stopping you when you moved to take him in your mouth, wanting to return the favor. He looked so tempting, all thick and long and with droplets of precum leaking out. You’d never wanted to suck a dick so badly before.

“Babygirl I can’t.. Otherwise this is going to be over embarrassingly fast”, he groaned, pulling you up until you were face to face again.

“Next time then.”

“I promise.”

You smiled contently at him before reaching over to your bedside drawer, fishing for a condom. Sitting on his thighs you reached for his cock, unable to stop yourself from stroking him a couple of times before rolling down the condom. You’d take what you could get with him.

“Ride me”, was all he said next and you eagerly moved up to align yourself with him, abandoning his thighs. For now at least.

Both of you moaned once you finally sunk onto him, welcoming him into your tight heat. It was a bit of a stretch and you took a couple of seconds to adjust to his size, Mat immediately sitting up to pull you in for a passionate kiss. With his hands guiding your hips and your arms wrapped around his shoulders you began to move slowly, unable to stop the moans echoing off your bedroom walls.

It didn’t take long until you’d found your rhythm and pushed Mat back to rest against your pillows, his hands on your hips still guiding you.

“You feel so good Mat”, you moaned as you leaned backwards, placing your hands behind you on his knees. This angle had him brushing against your g-spot with every move and it didn’t take long until you could feel your next orgasm approaching. Mat noticed, again, and raised one of his hands to let you suck on his thumb for a second before moving it towards your clit, circling it expertly. The added sensation had you shaking in no time, moaning loudly as you clenched around him, the waves finally crashing. Your entire body was tingling, heat spreading through your veins as you all but collapsed on top of him.

“You’re mesmerizing to watch”, he whispered in your ear and you smiled softly, unable to respond at the moment. He flipped you around without ever pulling out, now kneeling between your legs. His thrusts were slow until he could tell that you’d come down from your high again, only picking up his pace once you wrapped your legs around him.

Mat was wrong though, he was the one who was mesmerizing to watch. His hair was falling into his face, his lower lip was pulled between his teeth and his chest was glistening in a sheen of sweat as he fucked you with deep stokes. Nothing else would ever matter again as long as you got to see him like this, absolutely and utterly losing himself in you.

You could feel him getting close, pulling him in for a kiss as you wrapped your legs even tighter around him. His thrusts were picking up speed and losing their rhythm until he buried himself into you one last time, shuddering as he reached his own high with a moan, spilling into the condom.

“Fuuck”, he groaned softly and you chuckled softly, your legs still wrapped around as he continued to twitch inside of you. For a couple of seconds the two of you stayed like this, basking in the feeling until he reluctantly and carefully pulled out, rolled off of you and discarded of the condom.

He pulled you close then and you curled up against his side, slow hands trailing over his body. The both of you were quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. After a while you regretfully pushed yourself up into a sitting position.

“I should go pee, wouldn’t want to get a UTI or something.”

“Good idea”, he laughed and you smiled down at him. He looked so happy and blissed out, you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning down and kiss him one more time before hopping off the bed.

After finishing your business and pulling on your silk robe you looked at yourself in the mirror, smiling at how incredibly happy you looked.

Surely Tito would see that as well.

Emily was right, he was too good of a friend to not want you to be happy. Even if happy meant being with his best friend. You’d ask him to talk tomorrow, unable and unwilling to hide your feelings any longer.

You splashed some water in your face, contemplating to run a brush through your messed up hair before ultimately deciding to fuck it. Mat wouldn’t mind, he was the one responsible for it after all.

“I’m grabbing some water, do you want-“

The words died on your lips just like your smile when you stepped out of the bathroom to see Mat hurriedly buttoning up his shirt. He’d already pulled on his pants, the suit jacked already thrown on your bed, where the sheets were still messed up from earlier.

“What’s going on?”, you asked with a shaky voice, unsure if you even wanted to hear his answer. He wasn’t meeting your eyes and in that moment you knew that you wouldn’t like his answer. He abandoned his quest of fiddling with the tiny buttons then, pulling on his jacket instead and looking like a gigolo with his shirt still halfway unbuttoned.

“I gotta go. I still have to pack for St. Louis. Early flight and all that.”

You knew this was bullshit.

He’d asked you to come over to his apartment yesterday after you got off work to help pick out the suits he should take to the All Star Games. Hell, you’d packed half of his suitcase yourself after having enough of watching him haphazardly throwing in his stuff.

Why would he lie like this?

Before you could call him out on his bullshit though he was already out your bedroom door. You were left speechless, frozen in your spot and unable to follow him. You heard him shuffle in your living room, probably pulling on his shoes, until your front door closed behind him with a resolute bang.

He hadn’t even bothered to said goodbye.

Tagging: @jamiedrysdales @matbarzyy @nazdaddy @itrocksmysocks @yeeehaw-hockey @whitesummerx @teenagekook

#mat barzal #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal smut #nhl smut #nhl fanfiction #hockey writing #nhl #my writing #new york islanders

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ryttu3k · 3 years

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End of year book asks, original post here!

1. How many books did you read this year?

Only 25 26. Alas! An average of two a month. I mean I did read a few novel-length fics, though...

2. Did you reread anything? What?

I reread bits and pieces of things? Like if I was looking up something Locked Tomb-wise and accidentally kept reading for a few chapters...

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Ooh, let's see. Number one was the last Wayfarers book by Becky Chambers - The Galaxy, And The Ground Within. Also goddamn adored her solarpunk novella, A Psalm For The Wild-Built, the first Murderbot Diaries, All Systems Red by Martha Wells, and The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. For the last one, I'd say the novella Defekt by Nino Cipri?

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

RoAnna Sylver! Also read more from Becky Chambers and yeah, she is absolutely up there with Tamsyn Muir as one of my top favourites.

5. What genre did you read the most of?

Science fiction, easily.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

*laughs in excessive TBR* (It's on 73 now.)

7. What was your average Goodreads Storygraph rating? Does it seem accurate?

4.4 (or 8.8 by my usual marking standards). Yeah, seems about right!

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I was hoping for three books a month, kinda failed there.

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Honestly, not really.

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

The Galaxy and The Ground Within ;_;

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

All Systems Red and Empty Vessels came out in 2017.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Honestly, not really! The lowest I rated anything was an 8!

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

See above~

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

Wouldn't mind getting one more in. Might continue the RoAnna Sylver stuff (most-read author, with Chameleon Moon and Lifeline Signal, Life In Parole 1, and Stake Sauce), and read Life In Parole 2 or the Stake Sauce sequel?

Edit: Got in The Midnight Library!

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

Interactive novel, but The Luminous Underground (Choice of Games) got a Nebula nomination. For Locus, Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson was nominated for best science fiction novel. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel won the Arthur C Clarke back in 2015. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig got the Goodreads Choice Award for fiction. And I'm pretty disgusted by the Hugos right now, but Murderbot Diaries won best series and I read the first book of it. Harrow the Ninth and Finna also picked up a bunch of nominations, but I read those in 2020. Really enjoyed all.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Overhyped, huh. None I can think of - some with the most hype (Murderbot Diaries, Station Eleven) honestly deserved said hype, they were really good!

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Nah, went into basically all going, "Yeah, going to enjoy this", and did!

18. How many books did you buy?

Ooh man. About 40? Some of these were double-buys too, ie. buying hard copies of books I already had ebooks of.

19. Did you use your library?

Alas, my local library system is... not great!

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

The Galaxy, And The Ground Within BITCH I CRIED.

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

I did go 👀 at the Bad Art Friend drama. That shit was incredible.

22. What's the longest book you read?

Like all of Kim Stanley Robinson's work, Ministry for the Future was a chonky boy. (Seriously, I haven't even touched the Mars trilogy yet because it looks so intimidating!)

23. What's the fastest time it took you to read a book?

Some of the novellas I cleared in an hour.

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

Nope! Closest I came was about 30% into Ministry for the Future because it was so grim at that point, but pressed on and started getting to the point where shit started getting better for the characters and the world and I was going “Yeah!!” a lot. Very glad I didn’t DNF!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

This time I'm gonna do three a month really.

#year in review #books

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aswallowssong · 4 years

Text

Whumptober (Sickfic) Day 2 - Cough

This is late because I fell asleep on accident last night, and my boyfriend had to wake me up so I could stretch my old lady joints and be able to walk today (I am 23, this should not be a problem.) Enjoy!

It is also based in @themetaphorgirl‘s Patron Saint AU, because that’s a sandbox I LOVE to play in. I’ll probably bounce back and forth between SCRC and Patron Saint for this, because there are too many good prompts. Thanks Caitlin! Love ya!

Read on AO3

TW for vomiting

-----

Alex couldn’t stand the coughing. All winter long it seemed like Hotch had a cough; wet, and deep, and gross. It didn’t matter what she gave him, or how much Vicks she watched him rub on his chest and neck.

Sometimes it let up, but it was never truly gone, and Mrs. Clark had made more than one concerned remark at the playground that usually circled back to “Why are you here?” and “Why isn’t your mother doing anything about that?” and “Why haven’t you been to the doctor?” To which Alex always answered for him, “I can’t drive” and “She is, it’s fine” and “He has, he’s good to go,” and while lying to Mrs. Clark always weighed on her conscience, they were way too deep to change anything about their charade.

But she hated the coughing fits, and she hated the one-off coughing more.

The one-off coughing set them all on edge. Alex had figured out pretty quickly that when in combination with several other factors, the one-off coughing did not bode well for Hotch, for her, or for anyone in the vicinity.

Because the one-off coughing, when in sets of three, always meant that Hotch was sick, and that Hotch was for sure going to throw up. Like, right then.

She’d started counting them after it happened a second time, and with at least four instances under their belt, she was pretty sure she could handle it accordingly.

They were sitting in the library, with Spencer curled against Alex’s side on the couch, both of them reading out of the same book. Emily and Hotch were both staring at their math textbook, and Dave and James were on the other side of the table pouring over an English essay James had sworn was cruel and unusual punishment.

Penelope and Derek were flicking rubber bands back and forth while JJ kept score, the goal being to hit the other person in the forehead. Derek had complained that Penelope had an advantage, because her glasses would protect her eyes from any errant shots.

The girls had vetoed his concern, and for once, things were relatively calm.

Cough.

Alex’s head snapped up from her book, eyes locking on the back of Hotch’s head. She shifted slightly on the couch, untucking her legs.

“What’s wrong?” Spencer whispered, his eyes looking over to where her’s had settled.

Alex sighed very quietly, shaking her head. “Nothing. At least, nothing yet.”

“Who coughed?” He asked, sitting up a little straighter, but his eyes were still searching in the big kids’ direction.

“Hotch,” Alex said after taking a breath.

Spencer sat up straighter. “But just one?” Alex hummed quietly. “Just one.”

They were quiet for a moment before Spencer relaxed slightly, pushing back against Alex’s side. “That’s not good,” he said simply, and all Alex could do was nod along with him.

“No, it is not.” She narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched Hotch shift in his chair and rub at his ear, as if it was bothering him. Like he did when he didn’t feel well.

It was almost half an hour before she heard it again.

Cough.

She sat up straight, Spencer whining when his head popped against the couch.

“Ow, Alex,” he said, rubbing at the spot where the couch absolutely did not hurt him, his lips tugging into a pout.

Penelope, JJ, and Derek had moved on to folding paper fortune tellers, and James had given up his essay at least five minutes beforehand.

“Shhh,” Alex said quietly, “Hold on, darling.”

Hotch was rubbing at his ear again, one arm crossed over the front of him as if he was cold. And it was cold, she’d give him that, but not enough to justify him curling in on himself like that? When she knew he had a sweater on under his hoodie?

Not quite.

Cough.

"Two," she said under her breath, and Spencer’s eyes widened. “I’ll make Dave and Emily take me and Derek and Penelope to the Honeybean.”

Alex felt her eyebrows coming together, but she didn’t look down at him. Her eyes were locked on Hotch. “How are you going to do that?”

“Because I’m going to tell Emily it’s time for my four p.m. coffee.”

Alex glanced at the clock on the wall before saying quietly, “It’s almost seven.”

“I know,” he said, shimmying down the cushion and hopping to the floor. He flashed her a smirk. “It’s a code.”

Alex looked at him for a moment before she flashed him a very small smile, “Well, then, you better go quickly.”

He bounded over to Emily, tugging on her sleeve and whispering in her ear. Emily’s posture stiffened, flipping her notebook closed and looking at Dave with wide eyes.

“Hey, let’s take a coffee time field trip.”

Dave closed his laptop, calling over to Penelope, Derek, and JJ.”

“Hey, lovebirds, I need some caffeine, who’s with me?”

All three of them looked up, and Alex watched as recognition flashed through their eyes. Penelope and Derek grabbed their things, but JJ stayed exactly where she was.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Hotch? James?”

Hotch shook his head quickly before he started to rub at his eyes, and Alex watched as Emily, Derek, Penelope, and Spencer followed Dave like baby ducks out of their section of the library with silent efficiency.

She realized that they must have talked about it. Created a code that wouldn’t be suspicious, and would give her the space and people she needed to deal with a Hotch style , one-off cough breakdown.

Cough.

Alex set her book on the couch and stood up, walking over to Hotch and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, come on.”

“Come on where?” he mumbled quietly, not looking up at her. His eyes were locked on the math book in front of him, but he wasn’t holding his pencil anymore.

Alex sank down into Emily’s chair, knowing she didn’t have a lot of time. “You clearly don’t feel well. You’re doing that thing. Come on.”

“I’m not. This is due tomorrow, Alex, go away.”

She rolled her eyes, listening to the shifting of JJ behind her and feeling James’s eyes on her from the next seat over. He’d pulled his things off the table and was already packing up.

“Not a chance, Bubba.”

“I’m fi-”

She grabbed at his thin wrists and pulled him up out of his seat before he could finish. The color left in his face drained like a faucet, and he blinked hard before he took a shuddering breath.

“Um, Alex, I’m-”

“Going to throw up. I know. Come on.”

She walked quickly away from the table, pulling him behind her and calling, “Jayje!”

“I’ve got it!” The younger girl called, having already moved towards the table to pack up Hotch’s things while James went to grab Alex’s. It’s exactly what they’d done the last time.

Alex pulled Hotch into her office with practiced ease, moving fluidly to shut the door and push him into her desk chair.

“Alex!” Hotch said, his voice pitching with urgency.

“I know,” she said. She was forcing herself to stay calm. Stay even. Even though everything in his brain was screaming at her to leave the room and let him handle it.

Instead, she grabbed the trash can from beside her desk and set it in his lap, wincing when he threw up, loudly, into the bin. A year prior, she probably would have thrown up herself. Hotch had to be the loudest puker she knew, and she always felt her own stomach flip in discomfort just being in the vicinity.

But it wasn’t a year prior, and between both her “brothers’” having the constitution of wet paper, she would have been incredibly disenchanted to admit that it didn’t bother her as much as it used it. So, instead of leaving and having him just come get her when he was done, she stood behind him and gently rubbed her palm between his shoulder blades.

“You’re okay, Bubba. I’m right here.”

It was a few minutes before he’d calmed down enough to ask, “How did you know?” His face was still hanging over the trash can, knuckles white with his grip on the sides.

Alex let out a quiet laugh, palm still rubbing in a steady rhythm. “You did the coughing thing,” she said quietly. “Not like you’ve been coughing since Halloween. The weird one-off coughing. If you do it three times too close together, you always throw up. Especially when you rub at your ears and look like a ghost.”

He took a breath, clearing his throat before saying, “I didn’t know.”

“We’ve done this like, five times now.”

“I didn’t know I did that. I don’t-” he swallowed thickly. “I didn’t feel any different than I feel all the time.”

Alex thought about that for a moment before frowning and saying, “How do you feel now?”

“Really nauseous,” he said, and she nodded. “Well, when you’re ready, we’ll get you to bed.”

“My stuff-”

“Jayje got it. James has mine,” she assured him quickly. She pushed his bangs back from his forehead, not flinching at the fact that they were damp with sweat. Other people thought they were twins, she hadn’t realized how much they acted like it until they found themselves caught in positions like that one.

His eyes closed, and he took a steadier breath than before. “Okay… thank you.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” she said quickly, “You’d do it for me.”

“In a heartbeat,” he mumbled. They’d done it for each other plenty of times as the year had gone one, and he knew they’d do it for each other plenty more.

#Brenna writes things #or at least she tries #criminal minds #patron saints of lost causes #Whumptober Sickfic 2020 #sickfic #tw vomiting #Hotch is an idiot #Alex is the best #day 2 cough

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okimargarvez · 4 years

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TASK FORCE - 10

Original title: Task force.

Prompt: during the Doyle case, FBI Director calls five teams to catch him.

Warning: A.U., what if for S6, character’s death, crossover.

Genre: action, family, angst, romantic.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Phil Brooks, Kevin Lynch, Sam Cooper, Mick Rawson, Gina La Salle, Beth Griffith, Jonathan Simms, Jack Garrett, Clara Seger, Russ Montgomery, Matthew Simmons, Mae Jarvis, Mary Meadows, Owen Quinn, Jack Flicker, O.C.

Pairings: Garvez (Penelope x Kevin, Luke x O. C.), Hotchniss, Katt (slight), demily (slight), Mick x Gina, O.C. x O.C.).

Note: oneshot 74 in Garvez collection.

Legend: 💏 😘😈🔦🎲 🕶️🎈⚰️.

Song: La differenza tra me e te, Tiziano Ferro

Task force - Masterlist

See the notes for more informations.

GARVEZ STORIES

My life makes me lose sleep... always makes me realize that it is clear... the difference between you and me...

*first rain and fractures

He wanted to go to her as soon as he got out of that place, but, first point, he was afraid of what he could do, with all that anger in his body, second point, he didn't know her address. The next day, at work, he hadn't had a moment's respite, and so did those afterwards. At least Dalia had in turn been forced to give up tormenting him.

Today, however, Vladimir ordered all his subordinates to take a break. Until Interpol provides the latest data, there is nothing they can do. Especially he, who has been deputy to the action, but cannot move without coordinates. Even computer scientists have been left free. But this time he has a plan. After that evening, it would have been pointless to deny it, so on the way home, he admitted it. Phil screamed so loud that the windows of some houses lighted up, even though the windows were not lowered. He said he was a little jealous, but then he congratulated him, as if they were already a couple. Luke therefore had to add one detail: that she was engaged to Lynch, of BAU2, as everyone called the team headed by Cooper, not in the presence of its members, it is clear. Phil told him this wasn't necessarily a problem. She was the first woman who managed to scratch his armor, so he shouldn't have thrown this chance for anything in the world. He didn't have to sleep with her; he just had to make her understand how things were, show his cards and then let her decide. His plan, however, wasn’t about Penelope.

-Hey, Dalia, there was one thing I really wanted to ask you...- Phil intercepts the woman before she can reach his best friend, who then is free to go to the office of the supreme genius. As he walks down the corridor, he recognizes that excruciating noise. The closer he gets, the more he gets confirmation. It comes from there. He doesn’t knock, opens the door and enters. She is bent, with her head in her hands. Her sobs bounce into his chest as if he were crying. She does not turn to check who has entered, so he manages to reach her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Hot like lava. She frees himself with a violent move, but in doing so allows him to scrutinize her face and accumulate details. Anger doesn’t last long enough in her eyes. It goes out as quickly as it turned on. Penelope collapses on herself, without even turning back to the desk. Luke feels a little bad for being been rejected. The only thing he cares about is knowing the reason for so much despair. And if possible, to do something to improve it. No matter if he would have to "eliminating" the root problem.

He keeps silent, allowing her to let off steam, for at least five minutes. She breaks out again for no apparent reason. -Go away! Get out! The knowledge office is closed for today! The streets are flooded, if you haven’t noticed.- she laughs at her own joke, but after a second she breaks again. Luke isn't going to satisfy her, not this time.

He loosens her clenched fists, making a lot of effort. It does not seem, but she is very strong. He takes them among his, although she seems to be trying to escape him, but she can't do anything if he decides to seriously use the weapons that mother nature has provided him. After thirty seconds she gives up. As soon as she surrenders, Luke lets her go, confusing her to the point that she interrupts to cry for a few moments. However, the man's hands reappear on her face, on her cheeks. It is even worse than resting her head on his shoulder. She never allowed Kevin to do it, only Morgan can.

Yet another wrong thought. She curses herself, starting to cry again and wetting his fingers, but he doesn't seem to be bother. He begins to move his thumbs on her eyelids, on her cheekbones. She doesn’t know if she should consider them as caresses. But she hopes the answer is negative. Then he starts talking. -Penelope, hey, Penelope.- he is violating the rule imposed on him on the first day, but she no longer has the strength to protest. -Tell me what happened to you, I really care and when you have told me, I will go away and leave you alone.- although it is clearly not what he wants. And he sees all this clearly reflected in his eyes, not dark enough and too close.

If the only way to get rid of him is to talk, then that's exactly what she will do. In addition, the man's voice is so low and deep, decidedly persuasive, bewitching, almost a medicine for her emotional wounds. Too bad for that almost. -One of my best friends has disappeared, she doesn't answer me and I don't even know if she is still alive.- she begins, even if she eats half the words in sobs, he understands anyway. The movement of his hands seems to become sweeter. -And my boyfriend, very understanding, has just broken up with me, because he cannot understand that I don't want to go to dinner with him, play video games and then make sex.- he asked for the truth and obtained it, without any censorship.

The image of the woman clinging to Lynch peeks into his mind, but disappears fairly quickly, fortunately. Because she said they broke up. She is single. And he doesn't want to be so mean as to feel pleasure for something that makes her suffer. Yet here he is, fighting to mask the shadow of a crazy smile, that will make him locked up in an asylum.

In order not to let her know, he decides to take two birds with one stone. He leaves her face free and stands up, feeling aching legs for being uncomfortably crouched at her feet. He grabs her by the shoulders, pulling her against him and hugging her. She never stops crying and trembling and after a short time (too much, for his tastes) she gives up, lacing her arms in her turn around the man's body and sinking her face into his spacious chest. She mentally thanks him for choosing not to comment in some shabby or rhetorical way. His fingers in her hair and his caresses are more than enough. Gradually she manages to calm down, but something else awakens in her, to be so close to him, to be able to touch each of his muscles with her hand. She strokes his neck quickly and hears him moan like a novice teenager. However, she greatly likes the power she seems to have over him.

-Now you have to go away.- she says, her voice still a bit strange, mainly because of the stuffy nose. But not because she really wants it. Her goal is to test him, to challenge him and to understand his point of break. Luke separates and looks at her. He takes her face in his hands again.

-Is that what you want me to do?- the asshole wants to unload all responsibility on her. Too easy like that. She doesn't answer, she just keeps staring at him and he does the same thing. But he sayst to himself that it was Penelope's fault, not his. If she hadn’t openly challenged him, perhaps he would have been able to restrain himself. But he still has the data from reading the file on the Jason Clarke Battle case that are passing through his head and traces of her tears on his shirt. Penelope understands what is about to happen a few seconds earlier; she digs her fingernails into his cheeks, until leaving scratches that will be fun to explain tomorrow, but in this moment he doesn’t care. They don't even hurt, nothing more than a slight tickle. The woman's fingers melt, as does her entire body, when the man's lips meet hers. Her eyes close instantly. She didn't want this kiss, but she kisses him back as if her life depends on it. She grabs him by the shirt, pulling him closer and risking to break it. It would have been an acceptable price for Luke to pay. Specially to feel her voluminous breasts pressed against his chest. He mumbles again, running his hands down her back, stopping just before her butt. Penelope thinks that he's too good guy, even if she doesn't even notice it, because as quickly it is born, as quickly this thought dies, disappears into thin air. They are so wrapped up in their vortex that they lose their balance and end up on the chair, she first and he on her, even if he tries to stay up not to weigh too much, until he feels her bare leg in the middle of his ones and he loses what little self-control he had tried to preserve. His hands go along her rib cage and are stopped just as he reaches the final goal or one of the main ones, at least.

Penelope pushes him away with force. It seems that his kisses have given her energy back. -No, no!- she looks at him badly, as if it were only his fault, as if he had attacked her and she hadn’t been able to prevent him. -That's enough! Don't you understand that it's wrong?- less than a minute ago, she was trying to trace new horizons with her tongue on his palate. -Kevin and I will get back together, you know, this is just one of our thousand breaks.- he wonders how she can think he knows. Has Morgan said something? No, it is unlikely. -I love him...- he just can’t stay quiet after this last declaration. He lifts her up until they are back on the same level. She stares at him terrified (even of herself).

He approaches her, but Penelope continues to walk backwards, until she condemns herself, colliding with a wall. Luke smiles at her, ironic, almost in a bad way. He reads her mind. Trapped. -Oh yeah, do you love him?- he challenges her to repeat it, shaping his own forms on the soft ones of the blonde. -Then why do you two make this back and forth? Do you think this is love?- she doesn't even know what makes her angrier: that she is so close to him that she can hardly breathe, her own excitement or his words, his speech, his pretensions.

She puts her hands on his chest but gets nothing but electric shock. -And do you think you know what it is?- she doesn't know why she is conducting this discussion, when she would simply like to start kissing him again and maybe discover some other details. She has a concrete clue right there.

Luke grabs her by the hips; his hands are so large that with his thumbs he touches the inside of her thigh. -I don't pretend to know the truth, but for me love is... totality.- he looks at her in the eyes, intently, never looking away and she can't do it either. -It's finding the person who completes you, who fits perfectly with you.-he presses her against himself. -And yes, even the bullshit they say in the movies. To need her like air.- Penelope opens her mouth wide, for his last exit or for the thing that pulsates between her legs, she doesn't even wonder.

The only weapon she has left is her irony. -And would you make me believe that you feel this for me? Really?- she must not cert or simulate unbelief. Luke is annoyed, irritated by the subtext of that claim. She thinks she isn't attractive enough to him, because she doesn't wear the same size of Dalia's clothes. And she doesn’t want to understand that this is precisely the point. He is physically, magnetically attracted to her body. For the way she is.

He lets her go for fear of hurting her, because he is angry, furious. -Why it's so hard to believe! I have never felt this way before, never.- he confesses, without any embarrassment. -I have never been in love.- he has never allowed it to himself, but love is not something you can put in break. If it has to happen, it will happen. And if it hasn't happened to him until now, it's because he was waiting for her.

Penelope begins to vibrate for fear and no longer for anger. The change is evident, and he notices it. The desire for her doesn’t diminish but subsides enough to make room for apprehension again. -So how can you say you are now?- a good question. About a week has passed since he met her. Can someone really fall in love in such a short time, in real life?

But Luke doesn't hesitate, not even for a second. The right words come out of him, whether he agrees or not. -Because I find it hard to concentrate on work, I think of you constantly, I act like an idiot...- he caresses her cheek too delicately. She hates him because she knows exactly what he's going to say. -And I know you feel something too.- he silences her protest or her attempt to deny by placing his index finger on her lips, still swollen from his kisses, on her mouth with his savour. -When we look into the eyes, static energy becomes almost visible.- she opens her eyes wide, but she knows that she is now screwed.

-Static energy?- she can continue to pretend as much as she wants, it will only prolong the agony. -But how do you speak?- so similar to her. So opposite. So much confusion in her head. They've been talking for too long, for Luke's taste. He misses her mouth, so he catches it. She doesn’t reject him, on the contrary, as before, she clings to him as tightly as possible and, not entirely voluntarily, she rubs herself against his groin.

Luke moans and it excites her so much that she imitates him. She bites his lips, so hard that it hurts. He pulls off, panting and looks at her. She doesn't understand why he had to stop. Did he not understand that he must take advantage of these moments and not give her any excuse to go back to her senses and run away? -You are convinced that I just want to take you to bed.- Penelope surprises him further, reaching out and touching the evident swelling of his jeans.

The intensity increases in her eyes, while she is performing this act, giving it a value completely new. -Isn't that so?- it's his turn to bother her. He grabs her by the wrist, in a firm but still delicate way and forces her to place her hand on his heart. He sees the shadow of a smile or laughter in her eyes, but she remains serious.

He shakes his head. Penelope struggles to stay focused, because she is as if spellbound, bewitched by the beating of his heart. She feels a tremendous fear that it may stop working at that very moment and an absurd pain affects her cardiac organ. -No.- Luke denies. -I don't just want to have sex or make love with you.- this specification makes her start shaking again, especially for the fucking way he says it. He cannot know that she has always protected herself from possible love sufferings by joking excessively on this very point and that therefore she has never made love, despite having been in bed with men she loved. -I am not satisfied with owning your body.- he is continuing, without any restraint. -I want... I would also like to touch your soul.- that correction at the last second is almost the last drop.

-Luke...- it is the last desperate attempt left to prevent what she also wants.

The man doesn’t grant it. -It's the truth.- and she sees that he is fucking scared too. How did Morgan define him? Taciturn? No, reserved. But with her, he opened up completely and she knows she's going to do it in turn... In more ways than one. -Ridicule, or whatever you want, but still the truth.- he lifts her chin, even if there would be no need, because she's already staring at him. -You can deny it looking into my eyes?- she flutters her eyelashes and shakes her head. This time she throws herself first on his mouth, sucking his lower and then upper lip, while he nibbles her earlobes, sending her to Heaven, and then he leaves marks everywhere on her neck, so the world will know she's his, thinks Penelope, because after all she is about to become that or perhaps she always has been.

When an excessively high moan escapes from her, because he is simultaneously massaging her breast and carrying out a first exploration of the lower area, she is forced to block him. She doesn’t deny that she wants him, she wants all this, however as wrong as it is. But she has a small request and hopes that he will show himself understanding. -At least, can we change places? Not here.- Luke doesn't care much about the background around them, so he nods, moving to the side and staring at her throughout the system shutdown phase. He looks at her with the awareness that he has had a taste, but the act is about to be consumed. And it doesn't seem real to him.

TAGS: @martinab26 @thinitta @shyladystudentfan @pegasus-scifichick @paperwalk @inlovewithgarvaz @the-ellen-stuff @astressedwriter @symphonyashley @kofforever @myhollyhanna23 @tootsienoodles @centiaaa @penelopesluke @dumbdraws @onefail-at-atime @reidskitty13 @adorarapril @princesstreaclefanfic @glocknade111-blog @magiunific @fallen-novak @dreatine @hopelessdayydreamer @canadianfangirl @vickyd-2012 @baileysb1tch @futureperfectmedia-blog @makingmemories2019 @maguloser @letsplayeternity @tonysslut @strangerthings14 @yranidro @majo0803 @dragona56 @painterofhorizons @oh-chuck-help-me @avengvr @dittokld @rockyroadthepastryarchy @lizboo4

#garvez #criminal minds #cm #penelope garcia #luke alvez #penelope x luke #luke x penelope #garcia x alvez #alvez x garcia #tiziano ferro #la differenza tra me e te #crossover #a.u.

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jackie-talks-about-starkid · 4 years

Text

ANI: A Parody (Rewatch #8, 10/27/2020)

YouTube publish date: October 31, 2014

Number of views on date of rewatch: 990,767

Original Performance Run: July 3 - August 10, 2014 at Stage 773, Chicago (part of their Summer Season program)

Ticket price: options available for Ani, The Trail to Oregon, or both shows Individual: $35 Both shows/Season Pass: $65

Director: Matt Lang

Music and Lyrics: TalkFine

Book: Matt and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: $7.92 on iTunes Release date: October 31, 2014

Parody or original: parody of Star Wars, heavily influenced by the prequels with references to the Dark Horse Star Wars comics and formerly-canon Star Wars novels

Main cast and characters

Ani - Chris Allen

Tarkin - Joseph Walker

Mara - Denise Donovan

J.J. - Brian Holden

Emily - Julia Albain

Sebulba - Eric Kahn Gale

Bob/Veers - Joe Moses

Oola - Meredith Stepien

Pappy/Obi-Wan - Nick Lang

Band and Vocals

Keyboard 1, Vocals - Clark Baxtresser

Keyboard 2, Vocals - Pierce Siebers

Keyboard 3, Back. Vocals - Max Evrard

Guitar - Corey Richardson

Bass - Mason Cormie

Drums - Nick Kabat

Percussion, Back. Vocals - Meredith Stepien

Musical Numbers:

*all vocals provided by the band

Act I

“Ani”

“Long Ago and Far Away”

“Strike Back”

“With My Own Eyes”

Act II

“The Force (You Got It)”

“Haunted by the Kiss”

“One in a Million”

“Back on Top”

Notable Notes:

Performed two years after the acquisition of Star Wars by the Walt Disney Company, and before the subsequent Star Wars sequel films, as well as Disney’s decision to make any non-movie material produced before their acquisition (ex. Novels and comics) non-canon

Not a fun fact, but I highly recommend watching this short video essay by Silvana Ltd. discussing whether or not Ani can be considered a musical (x)

According to Nick Lang, the numbers were performed primarily by the band and are interspersed with dialogue because he wanted Ani to “feel like a Rocky movie” and give the feeling that the band was “like a Greek chorus” (x)

Cultural Context: 2014

Ellen DeGeneres take arguably the most popular selfie in existence at the 2014 Oscars

Disney’s Frozen is released in theaters

The series finale for How I Met Your Mother airs

Scotland decides to stay in the UK

Robin Williams passed away August 11, 2014

Content Analysis:

ANI: A Parody is StarKid’s least popular musical because of two reasons: the niche subject matter and the fact that people cannot decide whether or not Ani is actually considered to be a musical. This is a matter of personal opinion depending on the audience member watching it, but from a theatrical standpoint, Ani heavily leans more toward being a musical than not being a musical, despite the fact that the characters in the show do not actually sing the songs. Rather, the songs are sung for them by the band and the characters perform them through dancing or act through the songs by interspersing sung lyrics with dialogue and action. The definition of musicals and musical theatre is very loose. Musical theatre has technically existed for as long as song - even in ancient times, songs for ritual purposes were performed in a distinctively theatrical way, such as being performed with costumes and makeup and telling a story solely through song. In more recent history, vaudeville can be considered by most theatrical scholars as being a form of musical theatre because it uses song as the main source of entertainment for an audience in a very specific setting of a theatre, regardless of whether or not it physically takes place in a theatre with what we consider to be traditional architecture such as a raised stage and a strong distinction between an audience seating area and a performance area. However, many people use the terms ‘musical’ and ‘musical theatre’ interchangeably, thinking that they are one and the same when the working reality of the fact is that the two are different. Sort of like how every square is a rectangle but not every rectangle is a square, every musical is musical theatre but not every work of musical theatre is a musical.

Now that I have that out of the way, let’s discuss the origins of what the modern-day idea of a musical is: a story that is told and advanced through song. This is often referred to as a “book musical” in that a plot, or “book”, is being performed for an audience while songs are a separate element of the performance that are used to continue the story. This is also referred to as an “integration musical” in that songs are integrated into the action of the story to make a complete performance. The idea of a book musical is a relatively new one when looking at musicals in relation to all of theatre history. Whereas theatre has existed as long as historical documentation has existed, and most likely before than, the book musical or the modern-day musical is often attributed to becoming a solidified Thing™ in 1943 with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! In Oklahoma! and every subsequent mainstream musical, a story is presented in which a character or group of characters go through various experiences and eventually reach some kind of entertaining conclusion while using song, and often dance, to continue the action of the plot. That is a very simple way of defining modern-day musicals but is a definition of a musical nonetheless, which is why I consider Ani to not only be a musical, but an experimental one at that.

As stated, the characters of Ani do not sing the songs at all. The only time they interact with the songs being performed by the band are when the character or characters dance to the song or have their actions narrated by the song being sung. However, even though the characters do not actually sing the songs themselves, the songs that they interact with, which are entirely non-diegetic, are still used to advance the plot or deepen a character’s development, which is the ultimate goal of any musical. So, yes, Ani is a musical but it is a very non-conventional musical that I believe the media will be experiencing more of in the near future. One of the reasons musical were so commercially popular in the Golden Age, and even today with Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen, is because the musical recording for the productions were made available for the public to purchase and listen to on their own time when they could not afford to go see a physical musical production of Broadway or go see a musical film in a movie theater. The beauty of Ani as a modern-day musical and a piece of musical theatre in general is that, unlike most musicals where only one or two songs can be separated from the plot and reach commercial success outside of the theatre community, is that Ani’s songs advance the plot of the musical perfectly while also being well-written and enjoyable standalone songs.

Any Star Wars fan who is familiar with the lore of the universe can listen to the recording of ANI: A Parody and enjoy the music to the fullest extent of being a fan through the references and the general energetic composition of the songs alone. Really, despite Ani not being a traditional commercial piece of theatre on Broadway, it is a money-maker’s dream production on top of being just a great, well-rounded production in general. The songs can be taken out of context of the musical and still be enjoyed by anyone with a fan connection to Star Wars, while holding even more meaning for those who enjoy Star Wars and have also seen the production on YouTube (which is yet another reason for encouraging greater access to theatre by using the internet and other multimedia platforms that lessen the need for large ticket and travel expenses). Similarly to the popularity of non-musical movies and their successful chart-topping soundtrack counterparts à la Dirty Dancing and Guardians of the Galaxy, musicals with the Ani format have a great future for both commercial and fandom success in the theatre community and the media industry at large. ANI: A Parody is a musical in the traditional sense and a piece of musical theatre that could potentially hold the key to theatrical accessibility worldwide due to its creative and inventive format.

#@TeamStarkid #ani #ani: a parody #I will die defending the intellectual validity of musical theatre and of starkid specifically #team starkid #starkid productions #starkid musicals #starkid #musicals #musical theatre #theatre #musical

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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Women's Six Nations: Scotland v England - radio & text

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/womens-six-nations-scotland-v-england-radio-text/

Women's Six Nations: Scotland v England - radio & text

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Live Reporting

By Becky Grey

All times stated are UK

31 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Scotland are driven backwards and the ball squirts out of the side of the scrum. Mo Hunt is the first person to it.

Can England come away from this attack with a try? Scotland have been holding incredbly firm since conceding in the third minute.

Posted at 14:0614:06

‘Wasteful England’

Scotland 0-10 England

Rocky Clark

Former England World Cup winner on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

You would expect England to be a couple of tries up by now but they’ve wasted a couple of opportunities.

30 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Another knock-on from Mo Hunt! Uncharacteristic from such an experienced player. Looks like the ball got caught on the ankles of the player in front of her.

Scotland have a scrum.

29 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

England are offside after the line-out and Scotland get the chance to clear their lines.

28 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Scotland are looking way more confident, holding their own in the scrum for the first time.

But they fumble the ball and Sarah Bern doesn’t need to be asked twice. The prop rumbles into Scotland’s half. She started today after being on the bench last week and looks as if she has a point to prove.

Helen Nelson gets hold of the ball and clears to touch.

27 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

And that chance immediately disappears.

England nab the ball at the line-out and kick it away. Helen Nelson kicks it straight back and Emily Scott knocks on.

It feels like Scotland have got to come away with something.

Posted at 14:0114:01

Tough conditions

Scotland 0-10 England

Rocky Clark

Former England World Cup winner on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

It’s very cold and the wind is swirling around. The conditions mean England won’t get the ball out wide that often and players will instead have to come and hunt for it.

25 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Centre Helen Nelson barges her way forward a few metres, then Scotland send a kick up and England’s Emily Scott can only carry the ball into touch.

A great chance for the hosts just outside England’s 22.

24 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Jade Konkel again has to search for an escape route for Scotland after they are trapped in a dominant England scrum.

The number eight finds a way out and Mairi Mcdonald puts up a high clearing kick, which Jess Breach drops. Scotland are upping the pressure now.

23 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Emily Scarratt chips over the top and gathers. She is so good at rugby.

But great work from Emma Wassell on the floor forces a knock-on from Mo Hunt. Scotland scrum.

21 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

Poor Abby Dow looks so cold on the far wing. The scrum keeps collapsing and she’s kept waiting in the biting wind. Ah the life of a winger…

20 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-10 England

The decision to kick at goal there shows how much respect England have for Scotland. They know a try would not be guaranteed against a side who are looking much stronger under coach Philip Doyle.

19 mins

Penalty – Scotland 0-10 England

Emily Scarratt

No problems for the World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year.

18 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-7 England

Jade Konkel again manages to gather the ball even though Scotland are overpowered in the scrum. But she’s holding on and Emily Scarratt decides to kick for goal.

Posted at 13:5213:52

Harrison handling errors

Scotland 0-7 England

Rocky Clark

Former England World Cup winner on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Zoe Harrison might have it in her head now about dropping the balls. Conditions are tough with the snow falling but she’s got to keep it simple and restore her confidence again.

17 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-7 England

Another dropped ball from Zoe Harrison! Starting at fly-half in place of the more experienced Katy Daley-McLean is a big opportunity. Is the occasion getting the better of her?

To be fair, it is now snowing at Murrayfield so the conditions are pretty tricky.

16 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-7 England

This is great work in defence from Scotland. England have dominated possession but just have one try to show for it so far.

The Scots are managing to keep them on their 22 as the rain begins to fall.

15 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-7 England

There’s a bit of kicking back and forth and eventually Chloe Rollie is off in a flash of blue down the left wing.

Abby Down gets a bit of help from Vicky Fleetwood to eventually drag the full-back into touch.

14 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-7 England

The skies have gone dark again and the wind is picking up at Murrayfield. At least the sleet has stopped now.

Scotland have a scrum and it takes a couple of goes to get it right but again Jade Konkel saves the day. She picks the ball up from the base of the ruck and takes Scotland towards the halfway line.

12 mins

Post update

Scotland 0-7 England

Mairi McDonald puts up a high clearing kick but it doesn’t go too far. England go again from Scotland’s 22.

Zoe Harrison knocks on and the Scots get some relief again. Scotland conceded 12 tries at Twickenham last year so one try in 10 minutes is progress against this professional England side.

#ENGLAND #radio

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lodelss · 4 years

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Soraya Roberts | Longreads | January 2020 | 8 minutes (1,978 words)

“And when they bombed other people’s houses, we / protested / but not enough, we opposed them but not / enough …” On January 3rd, Ukrainian immigrant Ilya Kaminsky quote-tweeted his poem, “We Lived Happily During the War,” after it went viral the day Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was assassinated on the order of President Donald Trump. The poem appeared in his long-awaited 2019 poetry collection, Deaf Republic, about a town that responds to the killing of a deaf child by itself going deaf, a parable of the present-day United States, a country that responds to its own demise (and the rest of the world’s) by blocking its ears. His tweet went up in the midst of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Iran and ahead of the death of more than 50 people in a stampede during Suleimani’s funeral procession. It went up months into bushfires ravaging New South Wales that have destroyed millions of hectares and killed roughly half a billion animals. It went up in the wake of a slew of antisemitic attacks across the country. Last Sunday, while thousands in New York marched in solidarity with the Jewish community, the Hollywood awards season kicked off in Los Angeles with the Golden Globes, and the media started gleefully tweeting about couture as though the destruction of the world had politely paused for the occasion. The timing made me think of a friend who recently asked: What if all the people who went to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — tens of millions of Americans — protested instead?

“Now’s NOT the time to live happily,” read Kaminsky’s tweet after he extended his thanks for his poetry’s dissemination. He did not squander the moment the way so many of us often do, advising instead that we “write quality journalism & spicy op-eds & protest poems, get out in the street if you’re able. We won’t live happily during another war.”

But aren’t we already?

* * *

In April, when the Notre-Dame threatened to burn to the ground, a bunch of billionaires fell all over themselves pledging to restore the Gothic cathedral (which turned out to be a lot of bluster — the fundraising goal was largely met by small donations). The mega-rich have been comparatively quiet in response to Australia’s bushfires, which are exponentially more devastating, broadcasting their priorities all the louder. Columnist Louis Staples noted that billionaires tend to run businesses with the sorts of carbon footprints that fuel climate change, the clear cause of the conflagrations. “Also Notre Dame is a landmark in a world famous city,” he wrote, “whereas the Australian wildfires have mostly affected rural, sparsely populated areas.” This confers a kind of poetry on their predilection. Notre-Dame is not only one of France’s most powerful religious and cultural symbols, it was also looted during the French Revolution because it was emblematic of the country’s — and the church’s and the monarchy’s — plutocracy. Marie Antoinette lost her head, but so too did Notre-Dame’s statues. That billionaires pledged to rebuild this historic monument to inequity amidst worldwide uprisings against oppression and large-scale environmental destruction speaks to where their allegiances continue to lie.

More than morals, more than guilt, the number one concern of the ultra-rich appears to be rebellion — the threat of those with less coming for those with more. In the New Yorker this month, a profile of the Patriotic Millionaires, “a couple hundred” rich Americans (at least $1 million in income; more than $5 million in assets) who push for policies to address income inequality, had them voicing this fear repeatedly. Tech exec William Battle, who was raised Republican but veered left after Trump’s election, somewhat comically told the magazine (in a whisper, I have to imagine), “We could have — I don’t want to say it, but, riots.” It tickles me to think of a bunch of exceedingly rich idiots walking around with their knickers in a twist of terror over an imaginary enemy, while in reality the horrors of the world largely originate with them. Paraphrasing Walter Scheidel, author of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-first Century, the New Yorker’s Sheelah Kolkhatar explained, “levelling happens much more often because of the collapse of a state, such as the fall of the Roman Empire; because of deadly pandemics, like the black death of the thirteen-hundreds, which killed so many people that there were labor shortages and workers’ wages went up; and because of mass-mobilization warfare, such as the two World Wars.” Sound familiar? States are too in control to bow to pitchforks; what they can’t control are natural (“natural”) disasters. Fire, flooding, starvation, disease. Which isn’t to say they aren’t trying.

“Disarm the lifeboats.” This is the title Jonathan M. Katz, who made his name reporting on the 2010 Haiti earthquake, chose for his latest The Long Version newsletter. It’s a reference to journalist Christian Parenti’s 2011 book Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, which builds on a model of panic proposed by Lee Clarke and Caron Chess. These two academics claim that panic weakens social bonds, reducing the likelihood of crisis resolution, but that it is in fact rare in disaster situations. But people’s enduring belief in this myth — the truthy trope that the public panics in a crisis — ironically leads to actual “elite panic”: powerful people hoarding authority and resources and withholding information. And this panic is actually worse. “Because the positions they occupy command the power to move resources,” Clarke and Chess write, “elite panic is more consequential than public panic.” To get an idea of the sort of consequences they’re talking about, go to any newspaper. It will bear out Parenti’s prediction that elite panic results in what he calls “the politics of the armed lifeboats,” where “strong states with developed economies will succumb to a politics of xenophobia, racism, police repression, surveillance, and militarism and thus transform themselves into fortress societies while the rest of the world slips into collapse.” The failure to mitigate disaster — through cooperation and redistribution, through working together instead of apart — inevitably leads to the collapse of these lifeboats as well.

But in the meantime, as Kaminsky wrote, “I was / in my bed, around my bed America / was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house.” Within the center of the country’s plush cocoon, far away from the laps of floods, or the waves of heat, or the growling hunger, or the roving pestilence, we are comfortable enough to be lulled into complacency. Sprawling homes constructed by capitalism have taught us to individualize and to consume, and so in the midst of a crisis, we respond by purchasing self-help, by buying into self-care, by looking after ourselves as a first port of call, as though anything else really comes second, as though after that massage we will actually extend a hand to anyone else. “I believe that each person has the opportunity to offer the gift of their own higher level of consciousness,” Oprah told The Today Show earlier this month. “You can only heal the world when you are healed yourself.” The feel-good cliché is hard to shake because it isn’t entirely wrong. You do have to be well before you can take care of others, right? Aren’t we always told during in-flight safety routines to put the mask on ourselves first? Except we never seem to get further than that. Those in distress, who feel less cocooned, always seem to be fighting alone. In a recent interview with The Guardian, DeRay McKesson discussed the burnout faced by people of color who have been part of Black Lives Matter protests while the larger population sat in bed and watched on TV. “We saw that people were going to say, ‘Oh, my God, people should be in the street,’ but would never join us,” he said. “We saw that people weren’t willing to risk much.” Outside the lifeboat, they got tired, and inside the lifeboat, the messiah — the one on Netflix, I mean — provided a higher calling.

* * *

“In the street of money in the city of money in the country of money, our great country of money, we (forgive us) / lived happily during the war.” The last line of Kaminsky’s poem seemed to be host Ricky Gervais’s inspiration at the Golden Globes on Sunday. Before anyone could even take the stage, he castigated the ballroom full of famous faces for living happily, despite some of them — including Michelle Williams and Patricia Arquette — going on to address the war raging outside. “If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech,” he warned. “You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything.” And yet Gervais himself broke his own rule, pleading at the end of the show to “please donate to Australia.” I consider this about-face a positive sign, the synthetic lifeboat losing buoyancy despite itself. Gervais’s inability to follow his own dictate shows the weakness of the fortress the West tries so hard to enforce in the face of the current calamity; the invisible ruins have suddenly become visible, even when we are watching from our bedrooms. This is the sound of Australia denouncing its prime minister for refusing to acknowledge the climate change, the sound of Americans protesting their president for attacking Iran, it is even the sound of Anand Giridharadas’s viral tweet pointing out that 500 of the richest people in the world could save the planet, if only they would work together.

“Climate scientists have modeled out how global temperatures might shift in different geopolitical scenarios,” wrote environmental journalist Emily Atkin in her newsletter Heated last week. “And the scenario that always ends up with the planet in fiery climate chaos is the so-called ‘regional rivalry’ scenario — to put it simply, the one where everyone is fighting, borders are closed, and rich white-led countries like the U.S. are super racist toward less-wealthy countries filled with brown people.” Which means the opposite is also true, the planet survives in the global community scenario in which everyone is cooperating, borders are open, and all countries are equal. So here’s the choice: You can face guaranteed death in the comfort of solitude, the chaos outside muffled by Disney and Netflix, Justin Trudeau’s beard, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal defection, by any solipsistic interest, really, which does not involve engaging with the external world. Or you can face the cataclysm, you can bathe in discomfort and unrest, you can engage with it in your work and your life along with everyone else, and with them work toward survival. Refusing to rock the boat for fear of making anyone uncomfortable right now does not mean the boat is not still fated to sink in the end. If we keep continuing as we have, the Crisis of the Third Century, in which the Roman Empire almost folded due to combined political, social, and economic crises, could very well become the Crisis of the Twenty-First. In an interview with Chinese Poetry Quarterly in 2011, Kaminsky even compared present-day America to latter-day Rome. “The Roman Empire has produced many things that were valuable to modern civilization. But at what cost to other nations? This is the question anyone living in the U.S.A. today, particularly its authors, should be asking,” he said. “Anyone who reads and writes books should attempt to see with clarity the world they live in, pay taxes in, support by mere being there. Not everyone is guilty, Dostoevsky used to say, but everyone is responsible.”

By which he means: Rock the boat, especially if you’re in it, even if you don’t have a life jacket of your own.

* * *

Soraya Roberts is a culture columnist at Longreads.

#IFTTT #Blogger

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fyourself-literally · 5 years

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Hello, mi gente! I am back. I’m sorry I’ve been MIA but the semester was kicking my ass and I couldn’t risk falling behind because it was my last semester—not including the month-long summer semester which was probably the hardest semester ever—before I graduated. But I am free from university (not counting the online classes I’ll be taking to get certified as medical interpreter) and at the moment jobless so hopefully, I’ll be able to go back to posting regularly. Who am I kidding? I never posted regularly but I am going to try. Today I’m doing a very late Mid Year Freak Out Tag. I love this tag and I believed I’ve never done it before and I am so ready.

The original tag was created by Chami from Read Like Wildfire and Ely from Earl Grey Books. The links are to Chami’s channel since the original video is unavailable and Ely’s original video

I’m going to start by saying my goal was to read 29 books and I’ve surpassed by reading 52. This means it will be very hard to choose just one answer so most of them will have multiple answers.

Question #1: Best book you’ve read so far in 2019

Such a strong start to this tag. This is one of the questions that I just can’t choose one so I choose five. Fight me!

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

I must say that as intrigued as I was by this book I was also nervous which why I opted for the audiobook because it was on Scribd. I was nervous because I hated The Female of the Species—an unpopular opinion, I know. But my God was this book addicting, I couldn’t stop listening to it. The story was amazing and so was the audiobook. I definitely recommend going the audiobook route. It made the book even better, it made it feel more real like this was an actual person telling you their story. It’s definitely one of my favorite audiobooks of the year. This is the story of a high school athlete who gets injured on a car accident and start taking pain medication for it. This is her story as she becomes addicted to them until, like the title says, she gets addicted to heroin. This was so heart hitting and I loved it. It’s weird saying I loved such a sad book but I did. I don’t know what that says about me but yeah.

I must say this book is extremely graphic so if you’re struggling with an addiction or are a recovered addict PLEASE stay away from this book.

Add it on Goodreads

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Mi gente, this book was also so addicting. I couldn’t stop reading it until it got to a point that I didn’t want to read it anymore and ignored it for like a week because I didn’t want it to end. It’s a problem, I know. What can I say about this book? If you’re a lover of science you will love it. If you’re not or like me you only have very basic knowledge of it, you might get confused at times. This didn’t stop me from loving it though. This sci-fi thriller is about a genius scientist who wakes up one day to find out that his wife was never his wife, that he didn’t have a son, and that it seems like the life he knows never existed. We follow him as he tries to figure out what happens and tries to go back to the life he knows and loves. I truly, truly, truly recommend.

Add it on Goodreads

My Brother’s Husband Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii

This is the cutest most heartwarming book ever. Like all the books on this list, I completely adored it. This is a manga about a man whose brother came out as gay and then moved out to Canada where he married a man and lost touch with his twin brother. Then he dies and his husband travels to Japan to get to know his family and their culture. This book is about this man struggling to accept that his brother was gay and that he married a man. The cutest part of this story was not him but his daughter that accepts her uncle right away and creates a precious bond with him. She was so proud of him that it made my heart happy. As you probably know Japanese culture isn’t exactly the most accepting of queer people, so this is book gives a message of hope to those that feel oppressed. A message that one day things will change. I can’t wait to read vol. 2, it’s definitely on my TBR. Please read it.

Add it on Goodreads

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

This is a very polarizing book. I’m going to start by saying that. You either love it or hate. Well, I fell on the love it side. I’m not a fantasy lover but I fell head over heels for this book. I know some say they expected it to be darker and that they didn’t connect with the characters but it was dark enough for me and I did connect to the characters which is why I adored it and why I was destroyed by the end of the book. It took me a long time to get over it.

This is a fantasy world where two kingdoms are at war because one side, the very religious one that worships the gods, consider the other side heretics because of their use blood magic and the other side just wants magic and control of their enemies’ lands. In it, we have a girl who can speak to the gods, a prince that is very powerful and just wants to catch her and win the war, and someone who’s secretly a villain. I must say that I don’t recommend that you read the synopsis as it spoils it.

This book got very confusing at times. I thought it was me but after hearing other people talk about it, I realized it was the book. This made it hard to get into it a time but by the end of it, I was completely in love.

Add to Goodreads

Birthday by Meredith Russo

This is “a love story eighteen years in the making.” This is definitely the best way to describe to book. But to convince you I want to give you more details. This is an own voices story about a trans girl and her trying to come to terms with it while her best friend, that she’s into and who she has been her best friends since the moment they were born, struggles with his attraction towards her as he is straight but knows her as a boy. This book is told through their birthdays from the moment they turned thirteen to the moment they turned eighteen.

Mi gente, this was so heart-hitting. I just wanted Meredith Russo to give my girl Morgan a break but she wouldn’t. She would just hit her with one thing after the other with only sparks of happiness. But life as a trans person isn’t easy especially for those living in very conservative towns and I’m sure that she speaks from her experience.

I got to say that this, like her other book If I Was Your Girl, became one of my all-time favorite books. Actually, most of the books on this list did. This book is important. Please read it!

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You by Caroline Kepnes

This is a story about a man who meets this woman and becomes obsessed with her to the point that he starts stalking her. This book tells the story of everything he does to be able to get her to be with him. One of the thing that makes this book both interesting and creepy is that he narrates the story as if you were her. So, all the time he’s like you did this, you looked this way, I watched you, I followed you*, etc. The weirdest part is that the “love interest,” if you can call it that, is so unlikeable that you kind of root for him.

I am obsessed with this book, pun not intended, it was so crazy and honestly, scary. It made me realize how public my life is thanks to social media and how it just needs a little research to find out everything about me. If you need the motivation to make your life more private on social media and to be a little more careful about what you do in real life, I recommend this book. It definitely worked for me.

Theme song for this book: Sucker by Jonas Brothers. Yup, I just totally ruined the song for you. You welcomed.

*Fun fact I’ve heard the audiobook makes it even creepier.

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Question #2: Best sequel you’ve read so far.

Lady Killer Vol. 2 by Joëlle Jones

So, I’m not a fan of series, therefore, I rarely read sequels to the point that this year I’ve only read graphic novels sequels. From those, it’s hard to choose one ‘cause I can’t tell them apart. So, I think I’m going with Lady Killer Vol. 2 by Joëlle Jones. What can I say? I adore this series and it breaks my heart that there’s no news for a third volume. This series is about a homemaker in the 60s whose also a paid assassin. It is as good as it sounds but it ended on a cliffhanger which both makes me mad and tore me apart. I truly recommend this series. Plus, LOOK AT THE ART! Swoon.

Add Vol. 1 on Goodreads

Question #3: New release you haven’t read yet but want to.

Choosing an answer to this is both hard and easy. I usually get to new releases way after they’re published but there are some that I want to get to before the end of the year and those are:

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian

This story is about Reza an Iranian boy who’s gays in the 80s during the aids epidemic. This deals with him being terrified of someone finding out since the only things he’s seen in the media is about gay men dying from aids. Then we have Judy who’s an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle who’s a gay man living with aids. She never imagined romance until she falls for Reza and they start dating. Then we have Art who’s Judy’s best friend and the only out and proud gay teen at their school. As Reza and Art get closer, Reza is looking for a way to stop the deception without breaking Judy’s heart. Or at least that’s I believe it’s about. I skipped a lot of details so this post won’t be a thousand pages long.

I mean, doesn’t this sound amazing? Not only does it sound great but it also has a gay main character who’s also a person of color. AAAHH! I can’t wait to read it. If you’ve read it please let me know your thoughts.

Add it on Goodreads

Kings, Queens, and In-Between by Tanya Boteju

This book is about Nima Kumara-Clark who’s in love with her straight best friend and trying to move on from her mother’s unexpected departure. She then discovers the world of drag and gets immersed in it.

Drag queens, kings, in between AND a lesbian main character? Sign me the F in! I’ve always wanted to venture into this world and may even try drag so I’m excited. The fact that one of my good friends used to do drag makes me even more excited. I want to see a little into his world. If’ you have read it let me know your thoughts.

Add it on Goodreads

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

This is the story of Rukhsana Aline who’s secretly gay and trying her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations. One day her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend. They then send her off to Bangladesh “where is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition.” But only through reading her grandmother’s old diary she is able to gain perspective.

I know the reviews haven’t been the greatest but I’m still very excited. I feel like most queer books feature white main characters so I’m always on the search for queer books with intersectional main characters. But I’m not excited just because of that but because the premise has me intrigued. If you have read it let me know what you think.

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Don’t these just sound amazing? I just can’t wait to get to them.

Question #4: Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.

I don’t know many new releases but these are ones that I can’t wait for.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

I am so hyped for this book. This is either a sequel or a spinoff of The Handmaid’s Tale, the synopsis has me a bit confused about which of these categories this fit. I must admit that The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t the most entertaining book ever but it was so interesting and I am just so ready to know more about this world.

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Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

This is the sequel of Skyward which is why I can’t give details of what it’s about. Just know that I liked Skyward enough to get me to continue with the series and that never happens. This is why I prefer standalone novels because usually even if I like the first book, I normally can’t commit to the rest of the series. But this series is the exception and I can’t wait to continue it.

Ps that cover has me dead. Definitely one of the prettiest cover I’ve seen this year.

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Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

This is about a lesbian necromancer in space. That’s all I have to know. Count me the hell in. But seriously this just sounds so amazing and different to what I normally read—if you don’t count Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh. And apparently, I’m really into stories about women necromancers (saying female excludes people from the trans spectrum that identifies as women) who likes other women. And I know I’m not the only excited. This seems to be on many people’s most anticipated releases TBR.

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Question #5: Biggest disappointment

Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal

Sadly this was the easiest answer. My biggest disappointment was Five Midnights by Ann Dávila Cardinal. I was so hyped. I mean, it’s a story written by a Puerto Rican author with Puerto Rican main characters set in Puerto Rico about el cuco. It’s a freaking horror-thriller!!! This was supposed to be good and Puerto Rican af but the representation was way off. The author was not born and raised in Puerto Rico, at least that’s what I think, and you could totally tell. It definitely felt like it was written by an outsider in the sense that the image it had of Puerto Rico and its people and culture is one from someone who isn’t from here—expect a post with more details—still, I can see why some people might like it.

*I’m not saying that you’re not a real Puerto Rican if you aren’t born and raise in Puerto Rico but it’s just the image we each have is usually not the same. Please don’t feel offended.

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Question #6: Favourite new author (debut or new to you)

This was so easy to answer. Ashley Herring Blake is officially an auto-buy author for me. I’ve read three of her books this year and I have adored every single one of them. I’m not a fan of middle grades but hers are so amazing. The fact that she writes queer books, even her middle grades, just makes me love her even more. If you haven’t read a book by her, you must.

Question #7: Biggest surprise

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

To answer this question we have to go back to Ashley Herring Blake. I was expecting to like The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James but I didn’t like it, I adored it. It is a book I will forever recommend. Even if you don’t like middle grades you need to give it a chance. This is about a girl who gets a heart transplant and decides she wants to truly live her life and she has a plan. On that plan there are two important things 1) make a new best friend. 2) kiss a boy 3) do awesome things. She then meets a Puerto Rican blue-haired girl (!!!!) and they instantly became best friends. But what happens when she realizes that she might also want to kiss a girl the same way she wants to kiss a boy. This book also deals with her mother coming back after giving her away and how she deals with it. Please, please, please read this book.

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Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

But that’s not the only surprise Wicked Saints, the book which I gushed about in question #1, was a total surprise. I was intrigued by the synopsis but what truly called me was the cover—call me shallow, I don’t care—but since it was a fantasy I wasn’t sure if I was going to truly love it but I did. I am so freaking glad I gave it a chance because I am obsessed. You can see me gushing about it on my highlight on Instagram.

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Question #8: Newest fictional crush

I never get fictional crushes so next question.

Question #9: Newest favorite character

This one is easy. My newest favorite character is the girl, whose name I can’t remember, from My Brother’s Husband. She was just so accepting and adorable that I couldn’t handle it. Oh, and also Quinn from The Might Heart of Sunny St. James and not just because she’s Puerto Rican. She’s just so smart, adorable, and a great friend.

Question #10: Book that made you cry

So I rarely cry with books but this year two books have made me cry and of course, they were Ashley Herring Blake’s books. To be more specific both of her middle grade. The first one was Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World which is about a girl who loses her house to a tornado and then loses her notebooks where she had drawn pictures of girls holding hands. Then someone starts putting her drawing on her lockers while asking her to please open up and talk to someone about it. The scene between her sister and her just destroyed me. I’ve realized that I get really emotional when I read those kinds of scene as I am very close with my older sister. The other is The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James which I have already explained what it’s about. Now this one affected me even more. I was crying nonstop during the last sixty pages and that NEVER happens. I just adore that book.

Add Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World on Goodreads

Add The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James on Goodreads

Question #11: Book that made you happy

I have a couple of books that fit this and those are:

My Brother’s Husband which I have already gushed enough for you to get the picture.

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James which you’re probably tired of me talking about it.

Aurora Rising which is about the star student on a space pilot academy that after missing the choosing ceremony gets stuck with the misfits, the one no one wanted. But the reason he missed it was because he rescued a girl that has been in cryo sleep for two centuries and who might be a catalyst for a war millions of year in the making. This sci-fi book is so hilarious that it was constantly making me laugh out loud in public which probably made people think I’m crazy. In here we have a disabled character who might also be bisexual and that’s always a plus.

Question #12: Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

This goes for both Wicked Saints and Aurora Rising. I mean, look at those covers!

Question #13: What books do you need to read by the end of the year

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Pretty much every single book on my TBR. But to actually answer the question with a book I’m going with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I own both the book and the audiobook ever since the movie came out. I loved the movie and usually, the books are better than the movies so I don’t know why it’s taking me forever to get to it. This is historical fiction set in World War II about this girl that stars stealing books and how the family she’s staying in is hiding a Jew in their basement.

Add it on Goodreads

_____

If you’re still here, THANK YOU! So that’s my very late Mid Year Freak Out Tag. I hope you enjoyed it and that I have convinced you to give some of these books a chance. Thank you for reading and

HAPPY READINGS!

A VERY late Mid Year Freak Out Tag Hello, mi gente! I am back. I’m sorry I’ve been MIA but the semester was kicking my ass and I couldn’t risk falling behind because it was my last semester—not including the month-long summer semester which was probably the hardest semester ever—before I graduated.

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omgnsfwisnsfw-blog · 5 years

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NSFW #2.3: Watch The Throne

The setting was nondescript. It could have been a room or soundstage anyplace, mostly dark save some strategic lighting and a director-style chair occupied by a lovely, chipper young blonde woman wearing a dress tastefully straddling the line between professional and provocative, a microphone clipped to the collar. “Greetings, Valor Pro Faithful, Emily Burlingame here. Rite of Kings is just around the corner. We’ve already heard from the Apex Champion but well, I wanted to speak directly to a tag team that also doesn’t seem to lack in confidence.” The camera pulled back, revealing Emily’s interviewees. To her left was Bishop Church, clad in a pearl-grey suit with a darker shirt unbuttoned at the collar. At her right was Mike McGuire, their outfit mirroring their partner’s- a charcoal grey affair with a white shirt, similarly undone- with the exception of a well-loved New York Mets cap that rested atop their short, fiery hair. “Joining me right now are Mike McGuire and Bishop Church, better known as NSFW,” Emily looked to John to kick things off. He just stared right back so she repeated herself, “...better known as NSFW.” Precious seconds passed by as Emily watched John fidget with his watch. “That’s us. And might I say, we’re awful happy to be here. Starting to think we oughta’ve done a formal-like interview sooner.” The redhead gave Emily a saucy sort of grin. “I’m sure I can speak for many that you two are a welcome addition to the Chimera Tag Team Division,” but with pleasantries exchanged, the interviewer retrieved an index card from her right side, “Mike. Bishop. You two busted on the scene with an impressive victory over Brenna Gordon and Berlin Anderson. That secured NSFW a Chimera championship bout against the current holders Rekota--” “--which ain’t gonna be a walk in the park. We’ve seen--” “But,” Emily interjected, “before we talk about that, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring something up. We know you two don’t mince words. You said as much,” and she turned to Mike, “you also walked back what transpired in that match. It went beyond calling out each other’s methods. So what happened?” “Actually, if it’s all the same to you, m’dear, can we stick to the subject at hand? Big title match. Lookin’ to become the third Chimera Tag Champs in our second outing in this company. That’s not a small fuckin’ deal.” But Emily persisted, “You’re right, that’d be a pretty quick turnaround. But I think this is fair game. Moments after Brenna and Berlin uploaded their latest piece denouncing you two as hypocrites, Mike, you alluded that Brenna knew nothing. Then NSFW went dark. Uncharacteristically, you two show up after Blitz had already begun. And then left minutes after your match concluded.” Emily turned her attention to John, though. “That seems odd, don’t you think?” John shrugged in response. Mike sighed, adjusting their Mets cap in a manner that could easily be construed as annoyed. “Miss Burlingame, you’re really goddamn cute but you keep getting distracted by the shiny object. C’mon. Lot to unpack here. We’ll be glad to answer your questions but can we stay on topic?” Emily smiled wryly at Mike’s compliment but she barreled through, “Mike. Bishop. Are you two together?” “Yes,” John finally piped in, “we’re a team.” And the blonde shook her head and she repeated herself emphatically stating each word, “No, are you two together?” The air was terribly tense. One of Mike’s hands had curled into a noticeable fist, their jaw ticing slightly. Their eyes flicked over to their partner. Back to the journalist. Then they closed, the Bronx brawler breathing in and letting out an exhale. The sharpness of their words had probably been dulled by the cooldown breath they’d taken, but it still lingered in the undertone. “What do you think?” “I think Brenna Gordon struck a nerve. She called out your hypocrisy for denigrating what they are. And despite this,” she pointed back and forth at the current seating situation, “You walked on the stage before you thought anyone was here, holding hands.” “It was cold.” Emily stifled a chuckle at John’s retort, “There is literally no air conditioning in here.” “My partner’s actually right. It was cold of Gordon to run her yap about something she don’t know shit about. It was cold to stir up all kinds of crap that we got to deal with now, including questions like this. You ain’t the first Clark Kent who thinks they have some scoop and just bulldog the fuck onto it. No offense, I know journalistic persistence is a thing and I’d like to think you don’t mean no harm by it, but it’s got jack-all to do with anything.” “And no offense, Mike, it has everything to do with everything. What are you going to say about Cross and Dakota? Run them down for being what they are? Say what you want about them but they aren’t pretending to be something they aren’t. So, Mike, John, that’s not going to cut it.” “And here I thought we were gonna be friends. Jesus Fuck, this is Ace Heart all over again.” The hard tone crept back into Mike’s voice, dark green eyes narrowing. “But like I mentioned before, my first impressions ain’t been that spot on lately. Do me a favor, sweetcheeks. Don’t ever put fuckin’ words in our mouths again. If you would’ve asked us about Cross and Dakota first off, you’d know that what you just said is as full of shit as they are.” “Emily. My name’s Emily.” John cut in before anything else could be said about that, “Emily. It’s a matter of perception.” “What does that even mean?” “Let’s look back at the preview for our last match, shall we? Brenna Gordon is introduced as Berlin’s fuckin’ mistress. Cross and Dakota? The’re the Power Couple. And you could’ve asked us anything about our Chimera Tag Team Championship match, anything at all. Shit, we encouraged you to. But what do you go for instead? ‘Are you two together?’ What I would like to know is when the fuck any of this became relevant. When who anyone may or may not be fucking became the hot topic and not, y’know. Wrestling. The word on the goddamn marquee.” “Our intention wasn’t to denigrate anyone in the manner you’re speaking of. Brenna Gordon said what she said based on perception. But she also said it without any fear of the repercussions. That’s what happens when you choose to live in a seemingly different plane of existence. But in due time, Berlin Anderson and her will have to step back into the real world and square up,” he moved on, “Dakota Jennings. Cross Reboca. They speak for themselves. It’d be lazy for us to wade into that trap. Miss Jennings had fought against that perception for so long before she just gave in.” “A little research shows us what she did to her last partner. I’d feel bad for it if said partner and us didn’t have a history and we didn’t know she probably had it coming, but I digress. No more Ms. Nice Girl.” Emily didn’t take the bait, “You two try this often. Going for the divide and conquer tactics so to speak. Why is that?” “Church? Remind me that we oughta handle our own interviews from now on so we can channel out at least one line of crap.” Mike snorted. One could almost imagine a plume of smoke curling, dragonlike, from their nostrils. Both hands were tightened into fists by now, and trembling slightly. John turned it back towards the question. “Suitable tactic. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. And clearly it didn’t against those two. And yet,” John paused to signify their status, “here we are. Whether we are confident or arrogant, we got here by playing the game. And that means exploiting the weaknesses of our opponents. So Emily Burlingame, you’re probably right. We aren’t going to drive a wedge between Rekota. But through their actions and words they have made it clear, they are not worthy to represent this division.” “And before you make any cute comments, let me clarify,” Mike cracked their knuckles and placed their hands on their knees, leaning forward, “Anyone who either has a decent memory or access to YouTube knows where Cross Recoba’s head’s really at. He has a blonde-haired barefoot monkey named Cosmo Cooper on his back. He’s made no fuckin’ bones about the fact his sights are set on the Apex Championship and is practically obsessed with the idea of becoming the first Valor Grand Slam Champion. To be honest? I don’t think he really gives a crap how long he holds the Chimeras. All he needed to do was win them once to be one belt away from his precious Grand Slam. They never seemed to be his ultimate goal at all, and that should be fucking insulting. Not just to us, but every tag team busting ass to win them. But that’s alright. He ain’t never had a successful title defense yet, and we’re not about to let him start now.” “And Dakota Jennings, meanwhile, I wonder what is going through her mind. Losing the Chimera Tag Team Championships is one thing but …” John trailed off and Emily attempted to bring him back into the fold, “But, what?” “Unlike the modest Berlin Anderson, I’d never take pleasure in the fact but Miss Jennings knows very well that she is one defeat away from being a former employee of Valor Pro.” “Hey now, that’s exactly right.” Mike’s grin turned downright sharkish, “Now, most people would think that’d have us at a stark disadvantage. Dakota’s already shown herself to be violent and vicious as hell- that’s how she got herself into this little predicament. Her desperation’s only gonna make her moreso- her desperate to keep her job, and shit, Cross desperate to help her keep it. The thing about desperation is this- it makes you fuckin’ sloppy. People may turn up the voltage when under the gun but it rarely does crap for accuracy.” John nodded in affirmation, “But we’re patient. So color us surprised when we had the opportunity to jump right in. Maybe it's that whole perception thing again. We’ve heard a lot of this living and breathing as champion as of late. Here. Elsewhere. Out of our own mouths. I believe that to a degree. I know, Emily, that if Rite of Kings isn’t our night that we’ll be back the next. And this should send palpitations to your heart, but even in defeat, we have each other’s backs. But, Miss Jennings? There is no tomorrow. I mean, I suppose, Cross Reboca would be fine either way. Lofty aspirations and all.” “Okay, okay,” Emily set the notecard aside finally, format being out the window and all, “What makes NSFW worthy of being Chimera Tag Team Champions?” “You’d know that by now if you weren’t single-mindedly asking us about what ain’t your or anyone’s business,” Mike scoffed, “We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it as long as people keep asking. We ARE Tag Team Wrestling. The embodiment of what it is on its very best days runs through us. We ain’t looking beyond that gorgeous pair of belts. We’re looking straight at them. They ain’t a stepping stone, they are to be stepped to. What all too many outfits treat as an afterthought, we treat with the respect it deserves.” John slid off the chair abruptly, “Perception is that this division is secondary to the melodrama of two usurpers. That changes the same night that Rekota ends.” Mike stood up as well, “The name of the show’s fuckin’ apt. The kings have arrived and the crowns are there for the taking. Stop watching TMZ for five seconds… and watch the throne.” Almost simultaneously, NSFW unclipped their mics, dropped them, and left a slightly stammering Emily behind them without another word.

#location: valor pro studios

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iamtheblondestblonde · 4 years

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The Clark Kent Effect

Part Three

AN: Imma be honest, I’m not happy with this part. I feel like my brain isn’t entirely ready for writing yet, it’s still wired to argue cases so please bear with me as I get my shit together. I still wanted to give the people who follow this story something though (you have no idea how happy I am about every single one of you) and I sincerely hope that this is good enough, apologies if not :)

Song: Catching Feelings - Drax Project (this will be a thing from now on)

Word Count: 4,6k

Warnings: explicit language I’m pretty sure but thats it

Masterlist / Part One / Part Two

You felt foolish really. It was as if your entire life had turned into a soap opera overnight. You wouldn’t call yourself cynical by all means, you loved love and everything that came along with it far too much for that, but you would’ve at least described yourself as rational.

Up until now.

Up until now you’d been convinced that if people really wanted to, they would be together. Up until now you’d been a believer of where there’s a will, there will be a way - relationships that would classify as statutory rape excluded of course, age was a bit more than just a number in those cases - but you, you, you had been stopped by the Bro-Code, which was just absolutely ridiculous.

Imagine telling that to your parents: Hey mom, so I met this great guy but I can’t do anything about it because he’s friends with my ex. Your grandma would straight up laugh in your face if you told her, the badass bitch had married her former lover’s rich best friend after she’d gotten the news that her fiancé hadn’t survived the war. Without needing to call her you knew that she’d tell you to go for Mat in a second, no matter how much she’d adored Tito back then.

But you weren’t your grandma and Tito hadn’t died in a war so here you were, pining over a guy you couldn’t have and practically living out a tragic romance novel. Technically you didn’t even know if Tito would have anything negative to say about the entire situation, it may all be water under the bridge by now, but you also couldn’t just casually ask him without giving anything away.

The only good thing about this situation was that Tito had brought a great group of people along with him into your life. He’d always been good at making friends, that certainly hadn’t changed from when he was younger and since the two of you had hit it up again your friend groups had seemingly merged without issue. It sure made for an interesting dynamic. You’d had some explaining to do whenever you initiated someone new into a group that also included your ex, but the result was definitely worth it.

Spending time with Tito was just as easy as it used to be, back before feelings complicated everything. Somehow you’d managed to fall back into a completely platonic relationship, one that worked just as well when the two of you were alone as it did with others around.

You’d missed having him around the years before, his view on things and the way he’d always managed to make decisions easy by providing simple solutions.

Should you get a puppy right now? - No, your apartment is too small for a big dog right now and no, you also shouldn’t settle for a purse-sized dog because you’ve always wanted a big one since you were little.

Maybe a cat instead? - No, you are allergic to cats, don’t be stupid.

What about one of those naked ones? - Also no, you need to bathe those frequently because of the built up oils on their skin and you don’t even have a bathtub in your apartment.

(You really had to bathe those from time to time, you’d looked it up. Apparently they could still trigger allergies as well, which straight up sucked.)

Should we grab Thai or Chinese? – Chinese, you told me about this new place you wanted to try out like three days ago.

What can I do to stop this one coworker from belittling and making fun of me? - I’ll help you make her jealous, how about some courtside seats to watch the Nets since she likes basketball?

The last idea had actually come from Mat (since Tito didn’t know shit about basketball), who had also pulled some strings to get four tickets so you could attend the game with Dana, Tito and him. Mat had even taken some pictures of Dana and you in your jerseys and at the game so you could post about your night excessively on your social media, making sure that said co-worker would see it. They’d also given you a tour of the building and you were surprised to say that their locker didn’t smell as bad as you’d expected.

Said coworker hadn’t said anything ever since by the way, but you could still see her lurking on your Instagram.

For all the advice Tito provided you with, you still hadn’t asked him the one thing you needed an answer to:

Is Mat off limits?

But you couldn’t do that and therefore it somehow became a normal thing for Mat and you to walk on eggshells around each other after the “incident” at the bar.

From time to time there were moments that made it blatantly obvious how good things could be – the time he’d excitedly side hugged-you after the Nets turned the game that one night before realizing what he’d just done and quickly letting go, how he’d found you in the crowd and looked straight at you after scoring a goal at one of his games before being swept away by his teammates or simply how you could see him looking around until he found you whenever your group met up – but they never lasted more than a few seconds.

The two of you were stuck, neither of you wanting to hurt Tito’s feelings. At least with your big group moments with Mat alone were rare. They still happened from time to time though, especially since the majority of your friends wasn’t even aware of your dilemma, which was why you found yourself in the passenger seat of his car on a Friday night.

Emily’s boyfriend Rafael had finally returned from a two-month-long work trip to Spain and was dead set on making an authentic recipe he’d been taught over there for everyone. Unfortunately he’d made the mistake of putting Emily in charge of getting the needed groceries and in true Emily fashion she’d forgotten to buy tomatoes. Something neither of them had noticed until Rafael had wanted to start cooking as soon as everyone arrived at their place. Maybe Emily had done it on purpose or maybe she hadn’t been thinking properly in that moment, too caught up in the fact that her lover was with her again, but she’d tasked Mat and you with a last-minute errand run to the store.

You couödn’t stop yourself from checking out the wine aisle though, leaving him waiting behind, dutifully holding a bag of fresh tomatoes and checking his phone while you inspected the options. Rafael had asked you to bring some wine as well but the one he’d requested was apparently out of stock.

“Barzal”, you called for his attention, inspecting a label to try and figure out if it was a suitable replacement, “you think Rafael would like this one?”

As you turned around with the bottle in your hand you were taken by surprise by Mat’s proximity. You hadn’t even noticed how close he’d moved until now and for a couple of seconds you were caught up in your daydreams again. He seemed to struggle with the same thing, his pupils blown and his breathing growing uneven while the two of you just stared at each other. His lips were so close and so incredibly inviting, his mouth slightly agape.

If I leaned up on my tippy toes right now I could-

You quickly stopped yourself from finishing that thought, looking down so you had a couple of seconds to gather your thoughts, thoughts Mat seemed to infiltrate constantly. By the time you dared to look up again he was running his hand across his face in frustration before slowly breathing out and returning to his cool and collected regular self.

“I’m the wrong person to ask this, he was drinking some red wine earlier and the one you picked out is obviously red but that’s about it. Wine culture is definitely lost on me, sorry. I prefer beer.”

“Stereotypical hockey player through and through, I see.” Later on you’d tell yourself that the smirk that followed made your brain short-circuit, because there was no other way to explain why you’d keep on flirting otherwise.

“Maybe one day I’ll teach you, only if you’re nice to me though”, you teased, maybe in an effort to take control over the situation, maybe because you simply couldn’t stop yourself but his laugh made your heart soar for one second, until you remembered why this shouldn’t be happening.

Maybe you simply were an undiscovered masochist because even though you knew you should stay away from him you kept finding yourself in situations like this one way too many times. Deciding that you’d simply drink the wine by yourself if anyone had an issue with it - drowning your sorrows seemed like a great idea either way right now - you handed him a second bottle before moving to leave the aisle and in turn his personal space.

Making eye contact with Colin standing a couple of meters away from you got you to do a full 180 though, almost smacking into Mat in the process, who had obviously followed you towards the cashiers.

What was it with Mat and you?!

While a collision was thankfully avoided, Colin’s presence could cause other problems, since he hadn’t exactly appreciated you breaking off things over a month ago. Because you hadn’t known him for long it had taken you longer than you liked to admit to realize that he was a manipulative bastard, you weren’t proud of that, and you had no idea how he’d act right now.

“What’s wrong?”

“My ex is over there and I don’t want to talk to him. Is he walking in our direction?”

Mat lifted his concerned glance from you to look over your shoulder so he could be on the lookout.

“If he’s the one wearing a Gucci hoodie that is so obviously fake then yes, he is walking in our direction.”

You let out a snort at the casual burn but you weren’t too happy about having to face Colin right now. He hadn’t even crossed your mind in these past few weeks but for him to cross paths with you while you were with Mat of all people seemed to be yet another one of these odd twists of fate your life seemed to attract lately. Maybe your guardian angel had decided to start a meth lab instead sometime recently, there was no other way to explain what was going on instead.

“Uh.. you look good, don’t worry, he’s definitely the one that missed out. Do- do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend or something?”, Mat stuttered out nervously, probably noticing your anxious shifting and you couldn’t help but smile at his words, despite him being wrong about the reason behind your nervousness.

“Thanks for the offer”, you gave him a gentle smile of reassurance before continuing, “but no, it’s not about the way I look or anything like that, I don’t give a fuck what he thinks of me because he’s an idiot. I just don’t want him to cause any problems and if I could I’d just run away from him forever so he doesn’t have the chance to ever ruin my night again.”

“Well I’m no expert on forever, but I’m here right now and I say fuck that guy”, he responded and with that he grabbed your hand and started running towards the cashiers, leaving you with no other choice but to run along with him so he wouldn’t rip your arm out of its socket.

Oh how you wished you had a picture of the expression on Colin’s face as Mat and you ran past him, hand in hand and cackling like maniacs.

He was apparently too stunned to follow you as you fought over who would pay for the stuff - Mat ultimately winning - but you didn’t let that stop you from running all the way to this car as well. Of course hand in hand.

Masochist.

Somehow the weird tension between the two of you seemed to lift sometime during your little sprint but you weren’t sure if this would be permanent or if it was a spur of the moment thing. You’d be damned if you didn’t enjoy it while it lasted though.

The entire ride back you couldn’t stop thinking about the way his hand had felt in yours and what a perfect fit it had been, desperately wanting to feel it again as the two of you sang along to the songs playing over the speakers, perfectly happy in your little bubble.

As Christmas approached Emily roped everyone in to accompany her on her mission to make Rafael appreciate the cold that taken over New York. According to her he dearly missed sunny Spain but all you could see was a man who was happy to be home again. You weren’t about to tell her that though, you’d long figured out that whenever she’d set her mind to something it was best to simply follow along. Everyone else had apparently come to the same realization because no one objected to her plans.

Emily wanted to take Rafael ice skating and since the Rockefeller Center apparently wasn’t good enough and too crowded, she told everyone to meet at Pier 17. Dana and Mariah were on board of course and you’d managed to convince Tito to come along, who had in turn invited Mat.

In a ridiculous attempt to not get spotted, both Mat and Tito had donned a pair of glasses and while you were used to seeing them on Tito by now, seeing Mat with them again knocked the breath out of your lungs for a second.

It had been almost two months since you’d last seen him like this and the fact that you hadn’t recognized him that night seemed impossible to you now. Maybe it was because you’d gotten to know him since, seeing him in real life instead of only on pictures and memorizing his handsome features in the process but as you tried to get a good glance at him without anyone noticing you realized that he’d never be Clark Kent to you again.

Whether that was a good or a bad thing was still left to decide though.

“Need help with those?”, Mat’s voice ripped you out of your thoughts. You’d been so lost in them that you hadn’t even noticed that everyone else had already laced up their skates and walked out onto the ice while you’d been staring at your hands for who knows how long, laces wrapped around your fingers but not doing anything. Tito and him had brought their own skates while everyone else had to rely on rentals and his were already laced up perfectly of course.

You nodded, despite full well knowing how to do it yourself but you weren’t about to stop Mat from pulling your leg into his lap so he had better access. Besides, you’d stupidly forgotten to bring gloves and you’d gladly take any chance to leave your hands stuffed inside the pockets of your jacket as you rapidly got colder.

His fingers worked quickly, tightening the laces with expertise and you watched his hand moving in awe.

If hockey ever wasn’t an option for him anymore, hand modeling definitely was. He had such nice hands, strong and big and perfect. For a quick second your thoughts drifted to what else they could be capable of, before you reeled them back in, mentally scolding yourself. It really wasn’t your fault, not thinking of him seemed impossible these days.

His eyes were mostly focused on his work but from time to time he’d lift his gaze and give you a small smile, one you happily returned despite the mess inside your head. He had just finished tying the second one when someone banged on the glass, making the both of you jump a little.

“Ayo Barzy get your filthy paws off Y/N!”, Tito yelled before zooming away again laughing loudly, leaving an awkward silence behind.

Was this just Tito being his usual little-shit-self or was he actually serious?

For a couple of seconds you couldn’t do anything but stare at Mat as he looked down onto his hands, one of them still loosely wrapped around your ankle. Carefully you pulled your leg off his lap, set both feet on the ground and got up.

It was apparently time to face reality again.

You waited until there was a break in the throngs of people circling around the rink before stepping onto the ice, muscle memory from your childhood kicking in immediately. Once you were convinced that you weren’t going to fall on your ass you did a couple of little spins until you were facing Mat again, who had followed you. He looked at you with a slack jaw and you laughed at his expression.

“You can skate?!”, he asked bewildered and you laughed again, moving so the both of you could skate beside each other at a relaxed pace.

“Obviously. Sorry to ruin your late night fantasies of teaching me how to skate but I’m a good Canadian girl and I did some figure skating when I was younger. I actually used to be pretty fast.”

That caught his attention and you smiled at the way he looked down at you with a conspiring grin.

“Oh yeah? Show me what you got then”, after a couple of seconds of contemplation he continued, “last one to reach the others owes the winner coffee.”

You looked around to find the rest of your group, spotting them on the other side messing around. Of course.

“You’re on, Barzy. I hope you’re ready to lose though”, you winked at him before racing towards your friends, leaving him and his exclamations about you being a cheater behind, now definitely not cold anymore.

Something in your relationship seemed to shift after that, at least whenever you were alone with him. Things were still difficult around others, especially with the way Emily kept prodding you for updates and Tito constantly disturbing the few moments you had alone with him. You weren’t sure yet if he did it on purpose or if he simply had awful timing but it wasn’t like it made a difference.

Christmas came and passed just as fast, the team leaving for a roadtrip shortly after. You’d celebrated New Year’s Eve with your friends in a club, unable to kiss the person you wanted to either way so your lips had stayed untouched as the fireworks went off at midnight and the days following.

Tito had announced that the guys would return later in the day though, already making plans in the groupchat to meet up tomorrow. While you wondered where he got all this energy from you suspected it was a way to distract himself as the trip hadn’t been successful - to put it mildly. In reality they’d ate shit, losing all of their games, some to teams that should have been an easy win.

It was hard to watch on TV but even harder to talk to the guys afterwards.

A couple of hours later you sat on the couch, a book in hand that you’d meant to read for weeks and enjoying staying in on a Friday for once. You were so lost in the story that it took you a couple of seconds to realize that someone had knocked on your door.

Who could that be?

Tito or Emily were most likely to show up unannounced at your day but you knew that Tito would be on his way to his home so he could sulk by himself and Emily was away on a ski trip with Rafael. Unwrapping yourself from your fuzzy blanket you padded towards the door, taken aback by who was waiting on the other side.

“What..”, you trailed of questionably, not even sure what you were going to say in the first place.

Mat looked so out of place in the dimly lit hallway, dressed in a suit that fit him so nicely, bag set on the ground next to him.

“Can I come in?”, was all he said and you nodded, unable to bring yourself to say anything else.

How could you even refuse him?

You didn’t move from your spot beside the door and after taking off his shoes he took a couple of steps inside your apartment, hanging up his coat before turning back around to face you.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here but if I’m honest I can’t even tell you. I just didn’t want to be alone tonight and since you seem to constantly be on my mind either way..”, he trailed off, seemingly gathering his thoughts before continuing, “I don’t know if you watched the games or-“

“I did and you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to”, you said softly as you interrupted him, sensing his apprehension. You decided that you weren’t about to touch his admission of thinking of you all the time with a ten-foot-pole, instead focusing on the rest of his sentence. He looked so broken and lost standing there so you couldn’t help but take the few steps it took to reach him, wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug.

You knew from personal experience with Tito that athletes tended to take losses personal and if you had to take a guess you were pretty sure that Mat was one of those guys that blamed himself for them as well.

At first he seemed surprised about your bold move – it was the most the two of you had ever touched so far – but he quickly caught himself, hugging you even tighter to his body. For a couple of seconds you stood just like that, simply basking in each other’s proximity.

It was as if your bodies were made for each other, your head resting perfectly in the crook of his neck. Despite probably just getting off a plane he smelled so good and you were trying to figure out if you could take a deep breath without raising any suspicions. Before you’d managed to make a decision however, he pulled away and you unfortunately had to untangle yourself from him.

“Feel free to stay as long as you want to”, you said to fill the silence, leaving out the part where you hoped he’d stay for the night as well. He simply nodded before asking where he could change into more comfortable clothes. While you were sad to see the suit go you directed him to your bedroom, glad to have taken those thirty minutes earlier to tidy up.

He returned in a pair of grey sweatpants and a hoodie and it took every last remaining bit of your willpower not to drool at the sight of him. Somehow he managed to look even better in sweats than he did in his custom suit, which really wasn’t fair at all.

You had to admit it was a little weird to see him in your apartment though. He’d been over a couple of times to pregame etc. but he’d never been here alone. Somehow it felt strangely intimate to have him over by himself on this Friday night. To prevent your thoughts from going to a direction they definitely shouldn’t, you asked:

“Do you want some tea? I know technically you still owe me that coffee but I’ll be generous and let you off easy this time.”

For good measure you even threw in a wink at the end and your words had the desired effect, breaking the loaded tension completely.

“You cheated! I would’ve won if you hadn’t started early”, he exclaimed but the way he was laughing showed that he was anything but butthurt about the situation.

“Mmm keep telling yourself that, it’s okay”, you kept on teasing as he followed you into your small kitchen that was definitely at maximum capacity with two people in it. You’d be lying if you said that you didn’t enjoy the closeness the tight space prompted though.

With a steaming mug of tea the both of you settled onto your couch shortly after, also small enough to keep you close together. You’d been wanting to buy a bigger one for weeks, but right now you certainly didn’t mind its size.

Masochist.

“Oh I love that one, the chimpanzees are so cute”, Mat said to your surprise as he finally realized what was playing on your tv and you looked at him in utter disbelief. You certainly hadn’t pegged him for a guy that liked to watch nature documentaries but yet here he was, constantly surprising you.

“What? Documentaries are very soothing”, he defended himself and you had to laugh at the way he looked like a little kid with his floppy hair and the cute way his eyebrows had scrunched up.

“I know. That’s why I love watching them as well.”

You hadn’t exactly pictured yourself watching documentaries with him on a Friday night, something that felt way too domestic if you were being honest, but yet here you were.

As the hour grew later both Mat and you sunk further in the cushions and while you had no recollection of how exactly it had happened, your head apparently ended up on his shoulder somehow. Your only regret was that now it wasn’t as easy to sneak glances at him from time to time without him noticing. At one point he’d even wrapped his arm around you, moving both of you into a more comfortable position before covering your bodies with the fuzzy blanket and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulled you to sleep before you even knew it.

The soft sound of your name woke you up sometime later, you weren’t exactly sure how much time had passed but the credits of the second documentary you’d started were already rolling and you were pretty sure you’d only caught the first half of it. In your sleep you’d cuddled up even closer, your arm wrapped around Mat’s midriff and you quickly sat up, embarrassed about turning into a koala in your sleep. Maybe you could blame it on the documentary?

“Sorry for waking you but I should probably head home. Otherwise my back is going to kill me tomorrow.” His voice was a little hoarse and it was obvious that he’d fallen asleep as well, his hair now sticking up in multiple directions. You suppressed a giggle at the disheveled sight of him, instead appreciating that he let down his guard enough for you to see him that way.

“Yeah of course. I’ll show you out.”

“Thank you for tonight. It means a lot to me”, he said quietly as he stood by the door, ready to leave.

“Anytime Mat. Get home safe.” It was the first time you’d called him by his first name, after months of first calling him Barzal then Barzy and he must have noticed as well because his smile could probably make glaciers melt at this point. You weren’t even sure why you’d given up your pathetic way of distancing yourself from him – despite the fact that it was very much obvious that it wasn’t working – but to not call him Mat would feel wrong after this evening.

“Have a good night, Y/N”, he simply said, still smiling as he leaned down to kiss you on the forehead before walking out the door, leaving you speechless.

Tagging: @jamiedrysdales @nazdaddy @itrocksmysocks @yeeehaw-hockey @whitesummerx @teenagekook

#mat barzal #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #nhl fanfiction #hockey imagine #hockey writing #nhl players #nhl #my writing #new york islanders

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The songs that take us back to our high school graduations, by class year

Everyone has one song that brings them back to those late June evenings when they realized their hormone-fueled high school days were over.

We asked Mashable staffers to share the songs that remind them most of their last days of high school.

(And yes, someone chose Vitamin C, but don’t hold it against him.)

Class of 2000: “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic” – Saves the Day

“Me and my friends were obsessed with Saves the Day’s second record Through Being Cool. We played it on repeat for every road trip and made up our own lyrics for the songs. Just after I graduated, I got an apartment with a friend and we adopted two cats and named them Rocks Tonic and Juice Magic. We were cool.” – Peter Allen Clark, Assistant Viral Content Editor, Clarksville, Indiana

Class of 2001: “Bitch” – Meredith Brooks

“‘Bitch’ reminds me of how I thought of myself in high school angry and independent, but in a tragically mainstream, suburban way.” – Heather Dockray, Web Trends Reporter, Allendale, New Jersey

Class of 2001: “Bye Bye Bye” – *NSYNC

“I proudly saw *NSYNC four times live while in middle and high school. I’m a proud fan and still know the dance from the video. #TeamJC” – Jess Boiardi, Director of Account Management, Queens, New York.

Class of 2003: “Hot In Herre” – Nelly

“Every party, every hangout sesh and every hip hop and pop radio station played ‘Hot in Herre’ during my senior year in HS. It was the mark that we were grown enough to re-enact the music video (a pure party scene) soon to come during college and a song to date every memory we were making. The early ’00s was filled with glitzy Hip Hop videos and creative Pop videos and for me and my goal at the time, I had to be in one. So, ‘Hot In Herre’ marked the pursuit of working in the entertainment industry for me.” – Tunisia Wilson, Sr. Creative Strategist, Brooklyn, New York

Class of 2006: “My Humps” – Black Eyed Peas

“Everything that happens in South Florida is inappropriate. This song represents everything my senior year was about.” – Dory Greenberg, Weston, Florida

Class of 2006: “Graduation (Friends Forever)” – Vitamin C

“That fucking Vitamin C song won’t go away. It followed my from eighth grade graduation right through high school.” – Brian Koerber, Content Coordinator, Watertown, Connecticut

Class of 2007: “Nights of the Living Dead” – Tilly and the Wall

“Those were some very emotionally turbulent years.” – Tricia Gilbride, Web Culture Reporter, Houston, Texas

Class of 2009: “Successful” – Drake and Trey Songz

“‘Successful’ being released made me realize that I had a lot of work to do when it came to figuring out what job I wanted after I graduated. I planned on going in as a liberal arts major. High school wasnt serious to me but being well off was. In a way, the song shocked me into realizing I actually needed to do something with my life and stop rebelling. Thanks Drake.” – Emily DeCicco, Audience Development Manager, Greenlawn, New York

Class of 2009: “Stanky Legg” – GS Boyz

“It was the omnipresent anthem that you couldn’t escape. Though its novelty wore off almost instantly, the song refused to disappear. It was the only song anybody listened to for at least 4 months.” – Tyler Schmall, Humor Intern, Kettering, Ohio

Class of 2009: “1901” – Phoenix

“My friends and I listened to this song multiple times at our prom afterparty. In my mind, it’s still inextricably linked to the smell of hairspray.” – Laura Vitto, Senior Watercooler Reporter, Merrick, New York

Class of 2009: “Come On Eileen” – Dexys Midnight Runner

“Every graduation party I went to played that song at least 400 times. I think we thought we were very cool for listening to old music (we were right).” – Christina Careaga, Web Culture Intern, Sparta, New Jersey

Class of 2010: “For Good” – WICKED The Musical

“That song from the musical Wicked that was as hot as Hamilton in my day is all about the people who shape who you are, for good and for bad. My two best friends sang it during their final performance for chorus. It’s the idea that now you’re going on these separate paths and you may never met again, but these people (aka your high school classmates) had a big impact on who you are.” – Kerry Flynn, Business Reporter, Wilbraham, Massachusetts.

Class of 2010: “Wake Up” – Arcade Fire

“My graduating class was very into this song. I am pretty sure it played dramatically at our baccalaureate ceremony or something. In retrospect … jeez.” – Chloe Bryan, Velocity Curator, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Class of 2010: “That’s What You Get” – Paramore

“I finally accepted the fact I could never be as cool as her, but I did get my eyeliner to to do that.” – Vicky Leta, Illustrator, Brick, New Jersey

Class of 2012: “Breakaway” – Kelly Clarkson

“That song brings me back to graduating high school because I had never really been away from home before and I was so scared to go to college. But that song always reminded me that leaving home didn’t mean saying goodbye forever and that is was okay to be scared to leave but there were so many fun adventures out there in the world just waiting for me!” – Kayla Bazile, Newburgh, New York

Class of 2012: “We Are Young” – fun. feat. Janelle Mone

“At every end-of-the-school-year choir show, our choir program has all of the seniors sing a senior song and I remember having to hold other peoples sweaty hands for a good portion of the song while pretending to look sad (lol).” – Francesca Rivera, Associate Video Producer, Anaheim, California

Class of 2012: “It’s Time” – Imagine Dragons

“That song came out my senior year and it was before most people knew about Imagine Dragons, so our class got to experience them as a hipster band. It coincided with the fact that our class mascots were the Dragons (we graduated in the year of the dragons). It also had such an uplifting message, signifying that the end of high school was the just the beginning of something else.” – Avi Bagla, Video Production Intern, Cerritos, California

Class of 2013: “Get Lucky” – Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams

“‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk came out like 2 weeks before my high school prom, which was just enough time for everyone to realize how great it was and learn all the words in time for the dance. It was something that everyone agreed on and created one of those weird “We actually ARE all in this together” sort of vibes you can only get in high school.” – Sam Speedy, Web Culture Intern, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

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