#but i mean let’s just say that one of her groupmates was Literally There. forced to witness how the ancients refused to help her

[simcardiac-arrested]

can i ask some stuff aboutyour ocs you mightve already said/shown at some point on the askblog . thank you in advance either wayyy

how does NS even "know" to blame NWB for his suffering? how well does he remember the conflux fuckening?

it seems like FTA has seen NS at their happiest post-trauma, which is. sad. why does he hate them?

does Wayback intentionally self-isolate from the rest of his group, cuz it seems like at very least WT would try and humor him, and CD wouldn't care about his productivity.

WAIT IS CD IN THAT ONE ARTIST COMIC WITH NS PRE-VIRUS CD? REAL? actually do their groupmates feel like.. upset about the change in *her*? ok sorry i know this is so many asks are not the best way to do this but i am runnin g away

hi ! totally fine. probably have revealed some of this stuff already but i have the memory of a dust particle so idgaf we Will talk about this once more

1. i think sep remembers that it was wayback’s ‘fault’ because well, that’s Licherally how it all started. like the reason they went through all of this at all was cuz they had to take wayback’s workload as well. i think waves would often talk about how sep needs to be Better than that useless green bitch. but mainly i think that everytime sep would be forced to overwork themself they would also see wayback just doing nothing and having fun and whatever and they’d be Reminded. re: how well does sep remember the conflux fuckening … i will be honest it’s tricky to explain and i feel like anytime i do it 1. completely changes 2. doesn’t make 100% total sense. but also i think that’s ok ^_^ i don’t need it to make total sense i just need u guys to get the gist of it. because like … well memory problems and/or loss in Human brains already kind of works weirdly. and with sep he is both biological and mechanical and literally One Big Superbrain; so basically i’ve always imagined that while his memories and files can just be erased with no consequences like how it would usually happen to a normal computer, i think the biological part of him would always Know to some degree and be aware. i think the best way i’ve ever explained it is that it’s like walking into a mall in the middle of a weekend and seeing it empty. it just feels off, like something is missing, like there should be People there, because it’s 2pm on sunday and everyone fucking loves malls. but there’s no one. you can Tell something is wrong and something is missing but you can never fully Understand, just follow your deja vu and gut feelings. i hope that mostly makes sense!!

2. first of all, fates is just a really reserved and negative person and a Professional Hater, so she can find reasons to hate almost anyone for almost anything. it comes naturally to her. the surface reasons for hating sep would be that he is generally annoying and can be condescending even while helping fates. she just doesn’t really like him as a person, she thinks he Sucks. but the deeper reasons … well. let’s just say maybe fates and wayback have more parallels than u might think (said by a guy who barely draws attention to these parallels (I’M SORRY WE JUST HAVENT GOTTEN TO THAT PART YET !!! UEAHGHH) (completely unrelated. Hi skiddles hi steven)))

3. nope, wayback only self-isolates when he’s Going Thru Shit, which i understand is like 100% of the time but you know what i mean — the thing with his local group is that he’s an Enigma to them. they do not understand him and like a good half of them think he’s just annoying (ris, fta, sep(???)). also to be fair wayback is just not super interested in all the iterator business so he barely checks the local group (even if he dislikes being lonely). and while wt does try to humor him most of the time they are also Quite Old and do not really get what the fuck he is on about 80% of the time. also they honestly just have bigger things to worry about. now with cd it’s a different deal because she and wayback would make amazing buddies, it’s just that she’s actually a really big fan of his weirdass music and therefore is way too shy to ever actually talk to him. also she thinks if she does become friends with him then the whole group will hate her because they all seem to dislike wayback to some degree. she whines to weaving about this often and they just go No one would dislike u man … but she doesn’t believe them. she’s quite peculiar if i do say so

4. yesss cd used to be sep’s artist buddy! and uhmm. to be honest i don’t think most of the group knew cd that well before (ris and soar are not huge fans of interacting and son isn’t either) and/or just don’t really gaf about what happened (fta and ris once more). so yeah don’t even worry about it. i mean i’m sure Someone is upset about it . don’t know really. Who said that. must’ve been the wind

[arckook]

around and around - three

pairing: cho seungyoun x reader, kim wooseok x reader

au: idolverse

warnings: none

wordcount: 4.1k

description: you’ve had a one-sided crush on your close friend seungyoun for who knows how long, but things don’t stay so black and white when he introduces you to his new groupmate kim wooseok.

next

It’s November now, which means it’s a little chilly. The first few days of being back in Korea were a dramatic change from the warmth of Hawaii- you’d gone outside without a coat, and were immediately shocked by the prick of cold air, having to run back inside to get something to put over your outfit.

You’d almost done it again today.

Where are you :( 

It’s cold!!!!!!!!

You send the texts one after the other, then quickly tuck your hands under your arms, shivering. You can handle the cold during the day, but at night, it feels like it really gets into your bones.

Your phone buzzes in your hand, so you pull it out to look.

Pink coat + beret?

You glance around to see if you can spot him, but you guess he’ll just pop out of nowhere like last time.

That’s me!!

Kim Wooseok doesn’t respond, and you’re right in your guess that he’ll appear at your side within thirty seconds. It takes you a moment to get that it’s him, since he’s wearing not only a mask and those glasses, but a hat too.

“You look like you’re hiding from the police or something,” you tell him, sticking your phone in your back pocket.

“And you look like you’re trying to make yourself recognizable.” he retorts, reaching up to pull his mask down. “Better?”

You nod, smiling. “Yup. It’s weird talking to someone when you can’t see half their face. Anyway, I wore this so you could find me easier, so if I were you, I’d be saying thanks.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Wooseok deadpans, then glances around, almost looking nervous. “Let’s start walking.”

You shrug, following his lead when he starts going down the street. “Did you pick a place to eat?”

“No,” he says simply, which explains why it feels like you’re just walking without a destination.

“Hey!” you exclaim, frowning over at him. “You had three weeks and you still didn’t decide?”

Wooseok glances sideways at you. “You don’t like my favorite food, so you can just pick.”

“Huh?” you tilt your head. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Chicken feet,” he answers, and you almost physically gag. Wooseok cracks a smile. 

“How’d you know I don’t like those?” you ask, shaking off your disturbance at the thought of eating that cursed dish. You’d tried them when you first moved into the dorm with Jiseo, Eunmi, and Soohyun- who all like them. That was an experience that, regretfully, you’ll never forget.

“The youngest in our group won’t eat them either. Seungyoun mentioned you while we were all talking about it.” Wooseok says, which catches your attention.

“Seungyoun mentioned me?” you ask, holding back a smile. “Did he say anything else?”

Wooseok glances at you again, with a sort of vague expression. “No, sorry.”

You nod, looking back towards the street. “Oh, okay.”

“...Well, what do you like to eat?” he asks after a few seconds. “We should go somewhere unpopular.”

Since he actually met you closer to your dorm, you know the area pretty well.

“Oh!” you grin. “There’s a really good budae-jjigae place nearby! The lady who owns it has known me since forever so she’ll give us a discount, and there’s a private room if you’re nervous about being seen together.”

Wooseok nods. “Sure.”

“Looks good,” Wooseok remarks after your food arrives, the pot of stew steaming hot. “How many calories do you think this is?”

“I don’t know and I’m not going to think about that,” you tell him, picking up your chopsticks and digging in right away, putting some of the meat and tofu in your smaller bowl so it can cool off faster.  

He snorts, probably at your brazen response, but you deal with people questioning how much you should be eating practically every single meal, and once in a while, you’d like to ignore that you have to watch your weight.

Wooseok takes some of the stew for himself, mentioning something to you about eating the noodles quickly so they won’t get soggy. 

You eat in silence for a little while- you think he must have been hungry and just hadn’t said anything about it. And you were definitely hungry too, after having been busy shooting photos for a pictorial the entire day.

“So,” Wooseok eventually starts, surprising you. “How was your trip to Hawaii?”

You sit back in your chair and finish chewing as you nod. “It was fun. The scenery was so beautiful, I’ve always wanted to go there to see everything for myself. It lived up to what people say about it.”

He hums, sipping some of the soup. “Guess I’ll have to go there someday.”

“If you ever get the chance, you should,” you say, starting to eat again. “It was really relaxing. I think being in nature like that puts your mind at peace.”

Wooseok sighs. “I could use that.”

You frown, teeth latching onto your bottom lip as you watch him dip his head down towards his bowl to lift some noodles into his mouth. You didn’t notice before outside in the dark, but in here with the bright lighting, you can see that the skin under Wooseok’s eyes is dark with fatigue, and his posture seems weak.

“Wooseok-ssi,” you say, a little quieter than before. He looks up to meet your eyes and you almost say nevermind, but you force yourself to go on. “I really meant it when I said you could vent to me. I’ll still pay for the meal.”

He pauses, in what you think might be consideration. For a second, you’re expecting him to set down his chopsticks, and start letting out all of the things that are bothering him.

Instead, Wooseok offers you a hint of a smile. “I’m doing fine, Y/N-ssi.”

“Alright,” you mumble, looking down at your bowl and beginning to scoop more of the stew into it. 

Wooseok clears his throat. “...Did you want to hear anything else about Seungyoun?”

Remembering that that was the whole original deal you two had made, you glance up, mouth full. “Yeah, tell me!” you try to say, but you’re pretty sure it comes out unintelligible. Despite that, you guess Wooseok understood that you were saying yes, because he nods and starts talking.

“Besides the chicken feet thing, I got Seungyoun to talk about you another time.”

You swallow quickly, then start coughing, then choke a little, desperately grabbing a napkin and ducking away so that Wooseok can’t see you dying in front of him. Once you’ve recovered, you set the napkin down and smile. “What’s the context? What’d he say?”

Wooseok gives you a look of plain disgust, shaking his head. “How can you have possibly told me that you’re not weird, with confidence?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you say, still smiling. “Go on about Seungyoun?”

He rolls his eyes, but obliges. “I asked him if you’d sent him any pictures of you in Hawaii, and he said you sent them in your friend groups’ groupchat but he hadn’t seen them yet. I asked if he could show me since you hadn’t put any on your social media yet, so we looked at them together-”

“What’d you two think of the one where I’m on the mountain, and I’m pointing at the sky?” you interrupt, squinting. “Eunmi-unnie took that one literally, and I’m not exaggerating, thirty times, so I was worried it would come out looking unnatural.”

Wooseok gives you yet another look, this time just seeming tired. “I thought it looked fine, if that’s what you’re asking. Seungyoun didn’t say much, he just said that he thought it looked really refreshing there.”

You stare at Wooseok for a second, wondering if you just heard what he said right, and then remembering how few times Seungyoun has really said anything about how you look in photos, you look back down at your bowl, pushing what’s left around inside it. “Ah.”

You hear Wooseok sigh, and the sound of him setting down his chopsticks. “Y/N-ssi, are you sure you really want me to tell you these things? Isn’t it just making you feel worse?”

You shake your head, trying to smile at him briefly. “No, I appreciate it. Maybe hearing this stuff will put me in my right mind.”

Wooseok is quiet. 

You don’t really have much of an appetite anymore.

“Wooseok-ssi,” you say, sitting straight again. “Am I wrong for wanting him to say that I look pretty in a photo? I hear it often, but I just want to hear it from him.”

The man across from you looks at you with a vague expression, but you think, by the way he hesitates, that Wooseok feels bad for you. “I think that’s just what liking someone is.”

“...I guess so,” you say after a moment, doing your best to smile again. 

Wooseok sends you off in a taxi when you’re both done with the meal, promising to meet up with you again soon, when you have time.

“Again,” 

Your dance coach’s voice is sharp when it rings out. She’s said the word ‘again’ probably a hundred times in the last hour. You sigh, but walk to your starting spot.

“Wait a minute,” 

You look to the side, surprised to hear Jiseo speak up. Your leader has her hands on her hips, her bangs are stuck to her glistening forehead. She looks exhausted.

“The kids are all tired,” Jiseo says, gesturing to the other three of you. “We’ve run this a thousand times in the past two days, and it’s eleven pm. Ssaem, don’t you want to go home too?”

“Are you kidding?” your coach stands up from where she’d been sitting in front of you. You don’t know what’s been up with her, but lately she’s been getting antsy and harsh so easily with the four of you. “Award season is starting soon and you want to go home without making sure it’s perfect? You have three more dance breaks to learn, and you think you can slack off on the first one? Park Jiseo, are you a leader or not?”

“Am I a leader?” Jiseo snaps back. You match eyes with Soohyun, who looks visibly distressed. “I’m trying to take care of the members, because ever since we got back from Hawaii, we’ve been worked to the bone every day! We’ve been here for thirteen hours, the routine looks perfect in the mirror- it’s not going to get any better if we do it again right now!”

Your coach’s jaw is clenched tight, and her arms are crossed over her chest. “...Fine. You think it looks perfect, then you don’t need to practice that one until the day you perform it. I hope it looks perfect then, too, for your own sake.” she snatches her bag off the floor next to her, and stalks out the door.

“Ssaem, you know that’s not what I was saying-” Jiseo gets cut off by the slam of the door. 

The four of you stand there in a tense and thick silence.

“Did her husband cheat on her or something?” Eunmi mutters, and you crack a smile, then Soohyun chuckles behind her hand, and even Jiseo lets out an amused puff of air from her nose.

“Sorry that I probably just made tomorrow’s dance practice ten times harder,” Jiseo says, running a hand through her hair. “I just wanted us to have time to eat some dinner tonight.”

“It’s okay, unnie,” Soohyun chirps, already looking brighter now that the mood has been lifted. “I want fried chicken, does anyone else?”

“Sounds good to me,” Eunmi says, stretching out her limbs. “Is Dowoon-oppa gonna be at the apartment when we get back? ‘Cause if he is, we need to eat it here.”

“He’ll probably make us get on the scale when we go back anyway,” Jiseo rolls her eyes. “Let’s just go home and pretend we ate. I’ll make sure he leaves, and then we can order chicken.”

“Mmm,” Soohyun throws her arm around your shoulders, and you smile at the youngest’s antics. “Unnie, doesn’t it sound so good? Some crispy chicken… mmmmmmmm…”

“It sounds good,” you nod, patting her cheek. “Let’s get going, then.”

“Y/N!” Seungyoun’s voice calls out brightly into your earphones. “I didn’t think you’d pick up, honestly.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” you joke, setting your phone on the dashboard of the treadmill so you can actually see his face. “And also sorry that I’m answering at the gym.”

“I thought you’d be at dance practice,” Seungyoun says, brows turned up. “Why are you at the gym?”

“Because I’m not at dance practice,” you answer, knowing it’s going to annoy him ever so slightly.

“Just answer the question,” Seungyoun whines.

You sigh, slowing down the speed of the treadmill so you can talk easier. “Jiseo-unnie argued with our dance coach last night, and I guess she got mad enough to cancel practice today. She said we should dilly dally since that’s what we want to do anyway.”

Seungyoun cackles, and even though you know he’s about to tease you and your group members for always being so stubborn, his laugh makes you smile. 

“I should send a bouquet to Jiseo for never letting anyone mistreat you,” he says, still chuckling. “It seems like you guys always have something to say to your staff.”

“That’s not true at all!” you frown at your phone, hoping the connection is good enough that Seungyoun can see your scrunched up face. “We loved Sungjoon-oppa, and we love all of our makeup artists and stylists and the female managers, and our CEO is nice to us, too. Something’s just up with Haeyoung-ssaem lately, and our new manager Dowoon-oppa is frustrating too.”

“Tell me in person!” Seungyoun says, surprising you. 

“Huh?” you frown deeper. “In person?”

“Yeah, let’s hang out today,” he says, smiling that peaceful, Seungyoun smile at you through the screen. “You promised, remember? And you just exposed yourself for having a day off.”

“Oh, well, I was still going to work, though,” you say, and then mentally smack yourself. Why did you not immediately accept his offer? 

“On what? You’re really going to work on a day off?” Seungyoun’s bright look fades. 

“Well… I figured since it wasn’t really meant to be a day off, I’d go to my studio and work on some music or something.”

“To your studio?” he pipes up again. “When? I’ll meet you there.”

You laugh. “Oppa, do you even know where it is?”

He shrugs. “It’s in your company building somewhere, right? I can find it!”

“If you really want to come, just meet me in the building lobby at five,” you say, smiling. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Seungyoun says, winking. “Don’t leave me stranded alone in another label’s headquarters, Y/N!”

“I won’t,” you tell him. 

Seungyoun smiles again, that smile.

Ugh.

“I’ll see you later, then.” he says, and waves. “Bye!”

“Bye,” you say back, and he hangs up.

“Excuse me,”

You look to the side, seeing what looks to be about a thirty-five-year-old woman in a Gucci tracksuit and diamond earrings standing by you.

“Uh, yes?” you ask, taking out one earpod. 

“You’ve been on there for forty minutes, dear, and the maximum is half an hour. I know you’re some celebrity, but you’re not all that. Let’s give other people a chance.”

You smile, grabbing your phone and your water and hopping off the treadmill. “Yes, ahjumma.”

Her eyes widen, and she sputters something about not being old enough for you to call her that. You chuckle as you walk to the showers, thinking that you’ll have to tell Seungyoun later.

You walk up to your company building a few minutes before five, pushing your sunglasses up onto your head with one hand, and digging in your bag for your ID with the other, not really looking where you’re going.

“Oof!” 

You smack into someone, and nearly fall as you step back to try and balance yourself. The person spins around, and your eyes widen when you see that it’s Seungyoun, reaching out to grab and steady you.

“What a greeting,” he says, holding both your arms and helping you back to your feet. He grins, letting go to pat your head. “What if I hadn’t been there to catch you?”

“Catch me?” you roll your eyes, but give him an appreciative smile. “What if you hadn’t been standing in front of the door?”

“What?” he exclaims. “The door is at least a few feet away! You just weren’t watching where you were heading.”

You shrug, finally getting a hold of your ID, and flash it to the secretary. You don’t know why you even still need to do that- you’re pretty sure they all know your face around here. “That’s true.”

You start walking, heading through the first door into the room with the elevators and some seating. “I thought I’d have to wait for you, why’d you come so early?”

“I only got here a couple minutes before you did,” Seungyoun says, looking around the room. You press the up button on the elevator.

“Oh, good.”

You hear Seungyoun breathe in to start talking, but the elevator doors open right at that moment, and a few trainees at your company get out.

“Sunbaenim!” one of them says, and you recognize him after a moment as the oldest, who your CEO always talks about being “the next big thing”, or something dramatic like that. 

“Oh, hello,” you smile, bowing your head slightly as they bow to you. “Are you all going to eat?” 

“That’s right,” the main boy says, his grin half-crooked. “Sunbaenim, do you want to join us?”

Surprised, you can’t help but laugh at how confidently he just asked you that. “Thank you for the invitation, but not this time. I’ll treat you all to a meal when you debut. Enjoy your meal.”

The boy winks as the other trainees seem to cringe at him. “Thank you, sunbaenim,”

They all bow to you and you bow your head back as they leave. 

“They seem to like you,” Seungyoun comments, pressing the up button again as the elevator doors closed while you were talking to the trainees. The doors open up quickly, and the two of you step in. 

You reach forward to press the number 8. “I try to look after some of the trainees. Lately they’ve all been practicing a lot. It’s always nice to hear some encouragement from your seniors.”

Seungyoun hums. You glance over, and he meets your eyes, smiling. 

The elevator dings, and the doors slide open. You look away and walk out, gesturing to the hallway you stepped out into with pride. “This is where all of our studios are!”

Seungyoun chuckles. “I feel like I’m going somewhere top secret.”

You raise a brow at him. “You totally are. Pretty much our whole discography comes from that room right there.” you point to Jiseo’s door, which is plain and undecorated aside from the standard plate with her name on it.

“Where’s yours?” Seungyoun asks, walking leisurely a bit ahead of you.

“End of the hall,” you say, trailing him. “You can’t miss it.”

And indeed you can’t. Nobody can. Seungyoun definitely doesn’t.

He laughs, pointing at the door. “Yah, L/N Y/N! Who does this?”

“I’m not accepting criticism,” you tell him with an amused look. “I worked really hard on this door.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” he says, shaking his head. 

“You don’t like the balloon hands?” you ask, flicking one of the blown up plastic gloves that is taped to the door. “Or the distorted mirror?” 

“Y/N-ah,” Seungyoun says, turning to you. He wipes his hands over his face, still laughing a little bit. “This might be the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. When did you have time for this?”

You shrug, pulling out the key from your bag. “I don’t know, it was when we first debuted. People kept knocking on the door and bothering me so I decided to make it creepy and hard to approach.”

You haven’t thought about how truly bizarre your studio door looks until now, and you’re kind of regretting showing Seungyoun, but, well, you can’t change things now. At least it’s funny, you hope.

“Anyway,” you say, opening the door. “It’s only weird on the outside.”

You lead him into your studio. You wouldn’t say you’re the most amazing interior decorator, but you do follow a lot of aesthetic pages on instagram, and have taken influence. It’s mostly white, with light wood accents, and a lot of knick-knacks and photos that have good memories.

“You can sit down wherever,” you tell Seungyoun, setting your purse down on the desk where your computer and other equipment are.

“It’s nice in here,” he says, looking around. He sits down on the small couch you have pressed against the wall. 

“Thanks,” you smile, adjusting the framed picture of you and your group members that’s sitting on the desk. “Sorry it’s kind of cramped. Jiseo’s the only one who has a big room.”

Seungyoun shakes his head as you sit down in your computer chair, spinning around to face him. “No, I like it. It suits you.”

“...So,” you say, tugging at your fingers. You feel a little awkward alone with Seungyoun. He had said that it’d been a long time since just the two of you met up, but you honestly aren’t sure if you ever have. Vernon is the one who introduced you two, and in the beginning of yours and Seungyoun’s friendship, he tagged along a lot. 

“I thought you said you wanted to do something fun next time we see each other,” you finally finish. “There’s not that much to do in here. I was just going to work on a melody for a track that Jiseo started a few weeks ago.”

Seungyoun shrugs. “Yeah, I guess I did say that, but I just wanted to see you.”

You try to hide your smile, heart racing as you subtly spin your chair back around to face the desk so Seungyoun can’t see the expression on your face. How can he just say things like that, nonchalantly? “Oh, well, thanks.”

“Play me the song!” he says, and you hear him stand up. Seungyoun leans on the desk, looking down at you. “I’m curious.”

“Alright,” you say quietly. Your heart is beating painfully fast with him so close to you, after he just said he wanted to see you, and the way his hair is falling over his forehead…

Shit. Focus.

You unlock your computer and open up the music program Jiseo works on (you just followed her lead on all this production stuff). “There’s no words or anything,” you tell Seungyoun as you connect the sound to your speakers, and press play. 

It’s one of Jiseo’s simpler instrumentals- it begins with a low distorted vocal sample and some soft, pulsing chords. Then the beat comes in, the kind that hits right on the hits of the music, and sporadically after that, light bells and occasional piano decorating the atmosphere of the song. It’s slow enough to have a somewhat sensual vibe, but fast enough to keep your foot tapping along. 

You play through the end of the first chorus, and then pause it, not wanting to bore Seungyoun as the song is a little repetitive without vocals. 

“Pretty good, right?” you ask, leaning back in your chair and looking up at Seungyoun. His eyes are on the computer screen, trailing the different tracks showing in the music program.

Seungyoun hums, then reaches over you to the keyboard, tapping a few keys that pull up a menu on one of the instrument tracks. “I think it’ll sound better if the chords drop out right before the chorus, just for two counts. And a snare roll would work right at the drop, too…”

He adjusts things naturally, easily. You weren’t expecting Seungyoun to add some input to the song, but you can’t say no now that he’s leaned down right beside you, brows furrowed in concentration, a hand coming up every few seconds to push his hair back. You almost do it for him, but catch yourself before lifting your hand.

“Okay, listen to it now,” Seungyoun says, pressing the spacebar without moving. He’s looking at you, so you feel pressured to look away, instead pretending to watch the movement of the screen. 

You nod once it finishes. “I like it.”

“Got a mic around here?” he asks, standing back up to his full height and glancing around. “I think you should sing a little. I’ll help you figure something out to add.”

“Are you sure?” you frown, not reaching for the mic that’s under the desk. “Oppa, this might not ever even make it on an album. You shouldn’t waste your time.”

He shrugs, smiling over his shoulder at you as he continues looking around. “Y/N-ah, we both love music. What’s more fun than doing something we love together?”

And, like always, you can’t turn him down.

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/07/07/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-7717/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 7/7/17

I took last week off, but I hope y’all had a great 4th of July weekend. Life’s still kinda kicking my ass, so this’ll be an abridged edition this week.

I finally got around to watching a movie! It’s been on my list since I first heard it was in pre-production, and I’m amazed it took me this long to watch it, considering my love for the source material. The Founder stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, the “founder” of McDonald’s who really just stole the concept from the McDonald Brothers. A down-on-his-luck shake machine salesman, Kroc happens upon the fledgling McDonald’s restaurant in Southern California. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, he pretty much insisted on becoming a part of the operation, mainly focused on franchising the business. And that’s when things get interesting. I LOVE McDonald’s. You can hate me all you want, but like Jim Gaffigan says, “Everyone has their own McDonald’s”. Mine just happens to be the actual company. I don’t know enough about the history of the company to know how factual an account the movie was, but it was sure damn entertaining. Keaton is amazing in it, and I feel like anyone would enjoy the movie even if they think they don’t give a rat’s ass about McDonald’s as a company. I highly recommend this film.

We finally got our first trailer for Marvel’s Inhumans, and now I realize why they were so hesitant to release it. MY GOD THIS LOOKS TERRIBLE! It looks like Into The Badlands – a show that I hate because people fawn over it when it looks like something that would’ve aired after Xena on Saturday afternoons 20 year ago. Yeah, I even told one of the Badlands creators that when he confronted me over my “appraisal” on Twitter. Badlands is a bad show, but it gets “diversity points”, so folks give it a pass. This show doesn’t even get diversity right, so it’s really just a shitshow in the making. I hate hate HATE that this is considered an official part of the MCU, even if it’s just a part of the never-referenced TV wing. Anyway, this trainwreck debuts in IMAX on September 1st, but will officially air on ABC beginning September 22nd.

Speaking of diversity points, CBS lost all of theirs when they let the Asians go from Hawaii Five-O last weekend. Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park both left the show after salary negotiations broke down as they requested pay equal to their costars. I’ve never seen more than 15 minutes of that show, but I know the dude from Lost seemed pretty important to things. He was basically the White guys’ interpreter to all things native. CBS has claimed that they offered them sizable increases, which weren’t deemed acceptable to Park and Kim. Now the Five-O showrunner, Peter Lenkov, is now joining the side of the network, saying that CBS made “generous offers” to the stars, yet they decided not to renew their contracts.

This has turned into a discussion of race in Hollywood and how things still aren’t equal across the board. I’m a big fan of billing. Billing is important, and should go to the most well-known star. It’s the reason all the ’89 Batman posters say “Jack Nicholson” first. Dude was a bigger star. Now, I didn’t watch Lost and I didn’t watch Battlestar Galactica, but I still recognize Kim and Park from those shows. Maybe it’s just because I’m a geek and folks were always talking about those shows. The show’s star, Alex O’Loughlin? I can’t name a thing he’s been in. Don’t know that dude from Adam. And the other lead? James Caan’s kid? Whatever. Y’all mean you couldn’t pony up the cash to keep Lost Dude and Battlestar Girl? We’re not talking about big names here so, unless there was a favored nations clause where O’Loughlin would have to get a raise if they got raises, thereby thwarting the whole “equality” thing, I don’t see what the problem was. As has been pointed out, all O’Loughlin and Caan had to do was stand in solidarity with their costars and this would’ve been a non-issue. Word on the street it O’Loughlin is quitting at the end of the season anyway, so it’s not like we’re talking another 5 years here. He couldn’t keep his ego in check for a season? Nah, for too many folks, as long as they’ve got theirs, they don’t care if you’ve got yours.

We also got a trailer for Pitch Perfect 3, forcing me to reiterate that NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE A TRILOGY. I know everyone involved likes money, but sometimes there are natural, built-in ends to things. That thing was a 2-movie franchise and that’s it. Don’t forget – I lived that life. I was in the same competition the Bellas won in the first film (we came in 2nd), and I experienced the aca-graduation blues that the girls experienced in the second film. That’s pretty much it. There’s nowhere else to go. I mean, sure there are some random outlier outcomes. One of my groupmates is a hit producer in Asia now. Another is a pretty big pop star in Hong Kong. The rest of us? Dead-end jobs and bills. I used to occasionally do karaoke, but even that got to be too depressing. That shit is fun while it lasts, and then you’ve got to move on. So, in that vein, I can understand the plot of the 3rd movie, with the girls wanting to have one last hurrah, but I don’t really understand the concept of putting them on a USO tour. Is that something the troops wanna see? Has Pentatonix been dropped into the theater of war? It just seems kinda farfetched to me, and I was fine with how things were left in the last movie. Sure, I’ll see it, but it won’t be in a theater.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Hide grandma’s wallet – QVC is buying out Home Shopping Network.

After 3 seasons, The Carmichael Show has been canceled by NBC. I really wish someone else would snatch it up, as it’s a smart show

Netflix has renewed Dear, White People for a 2nd season. Meanwhile, they canceled Girlboss after one season. Reed Hastings giveth and he taketh away.

Speaking of Netflix, hearing the cries of fans, Sense8 will officially conclude with a 2-hour finale special

Netflix also renewed one of my favorite original shows, F is For Family, for a 3rd season.

Apparently a series based on the popular Step Up film series, called Step Up: High Water, will premiere on YouTube Red, where absolutely NOBODY is gonna watch it.

Fuller House season 3 will coincidentally premiere on the 30th anniversary of Full House, September 22nd.

Make your vacations weird again, as Cirque du Soleil has purchased Blue Man Group.

Patton Oswalt is engaged to 80s actress Meredith Salenger. Ya know, the same Patton whose wife died last year. I guess we all grieve in our own ways…

Lack of interest brought down The House, which bombed at the box office last weekend. It was reportedly Will Ferrell’s lowest live-action opening for a major studio.

Nick Fury will reportedly be making his MCU return in 2019’s Captain Marvel

HBO is reportedly getting the True Detective band back together, with a 3rd season to star Mahershala Ali

Nixing speculation that she was still up for the White House Press Secretary job, Kimberly Guilfoyle has reupped her contract with Fox News

Rob Lowe and his sons will chase the supernatural in The Lowe Files, and I literally cannot wait.

New game show, Snap Decision, premieres August 7th. Hosted by David Allen Grier, the show breaks precedent because it will debut on GSN and in syndication on the same date.

The world’s leading (and only) bar scientist favorited my tweet this week

We’re gonna do something different here this week. Usually, if you’ve been paying attention to the week’s news, you can at least try to figure out who or what had the best week. Some weeks it’s harder to choose something than others. Then I remembered, “Will, this is YOUR site.” After all, this is all pop culture through my lens, so it’s my rules. So, sometimes I might choose something that meant a lot to me that week, while you were none the wiser. But I bring it up on the site so that we’re all on the same page. And that’s the kind of pick I have this week.

After watching The Founder, I was left thinking, “Michael Keaton is a goddamn national treasure”. After watching Spider-Man: Homecoming last night (yeah, we’ll talk about it next week, when more of y’all have had a chance to see it), I was thinking “Why have we been sleeping on Keaton the past 20 years?” I mean, with the exception of The Other Guys, I honestly hadn’t seen a Michael Keaton movie since probably Batman Returns, and yet Birdman is the one considered his “comeback vehicle”. In The Founder, he really made you feel for a traveling salesman who was at the end of his rope. After a string of laughable failures, he finally found something to which he could hitch his wagon: McDonald’s. And while he also had to prove this to everyone in his sphere of orbit, most importantly he had to prove this to himself. He really needed a win, and Keaton did such a great job conveying that.

In Homecoming, Keaton plays Adrian Toomes, better known as the Vulture (though he’s never called that by name in the film). Not unlike Alfred Molina’s Dr. Octopus, he’s something of a sympathetic villain. Were it not for the fact that comic book franchises deal in the good/bad binary, you could almost relate to him and understand where he’s coming from. He’s a modern-day working class guy who feels ignored by the fat cats up on high. He doesn’t have evil goals. He simply wants to provide for his family, and he has a code of honor that dictates he must do whatever it takes to make good on that promise. I felt that Keaton did a great job expressing the plight of the working man. Sure, he got to utter some cheesy villain dialogue, but that simply comes with the territory. If you stopped for a minute, and ignored the fact that Spider-Man HAS to win, you realize that Toomes is actually kind of on to something. Again, though, I’ll get into more Homecoming thoughts next week.

My pal Chad pretty much swears by Michael Keaton as his favorite actor – a lot of that having to do with his immense love of 1989’s Batman. I’ve gotta say, I was never a huge fan of Keaton’s Batman, and when Chad would laud Keaton’s praises, I wasn’t really seeing it. I see it now, though. I have seen the light and I am healed! Dear Hollywood, more Michael Keaton, please! He pretty much impressed me on two different cinematic fronts this week, and that’s why Michael Keaton had the West Week Ever.

[k-writer1998]

Who Said Love Was Easy? (4/12)

      There are many different kinds of people who come and go from your life. Some will stay constant and sturdy like a river, growing alongside you, others will come like a whirlwind who wreaks havoc and leaves just as quickly, then there is everything in between. In this twisted maze of connections, that is where our story begins. A steadfast boy, a girl with a past, a little bit of alcohol, mistakes, and some love. Where can you go wrong with that?

angsty fluff

w.c: 1.7k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      I groan at the light shining from the window, increasing the massive headache that decided to drill its way into my skull. Turning my back to the light, I allowed my eyes to adjust to the less bright, dull grey walls of Changbin’s guest room. When I felt stable enough to get up, I trudged to the livingroom to see Changbin drinking a cup of coffee.

“Breakfast?”

“Food sounds terrible right now,” I responded as I curled up on the couch next to him. My stomach turned at the thought of eating.

“Not eating is gonna make it worse. I got hangover soup for you so go clean up then eat.”

“Ugh, give me a minute. How embarrassing was I this time?”

“More than usual but not as bad as that one time when-” my hands flew up to cover his mouth.

“Hey! We do not speak of that but let me guess, I just went on about Jeongin.”

“Bingo. Every detail and thought when you first met him again until last night where you wished he kissed you,” Changbin teased, making kissy noises.

“It's not my fault his face was so pretty up close… Lord never let me get drunk at the pub before I dig myself a grave in front of him with drunk talk.”

“I mean you already told him you liked him, what more damage could you do?”

“Accidentally confessing to his four year crush for him? I would rather he not hate me. Remember that one time I almost did that to you?”

“I- yeah… noted, now up. You have your summer classes and I have work soon.”

      With a groan I got up and went to the bathroom to get ready as Changbin went to the kitchen to heat up the food. After freshening up we chatted together while we ate, he irritatingly made sure I ate every last bite, before pulling out a wrapped gift and sliding it to me.

“Early? Are you not going to spend my birthday with me?”

“I wish I could but dad is having me go with him on a business trip for three days so I won’t be here.”

“Wow, my own best friend is abandoning me on my birthday. Who am I supposed to hang out with then?” I ask dramatically.

“I thought you said you have other friends?” he mocks.

“You know my birthday is different- wait three days?! You aren’t gonna be there for the cursed dinner?”

“You're gonna go?”

“I’m more scared to know what would happen if I didn’t. They already found out where I live and I’m lucky I’m freelance so they can’t harass any co-workers but my brother saw Jeongin, I don’t want unnecessary people dragged into my mess.”

“Now who’s the one thinking they're living in a revenge drama?”

“Still them, thank you, and that’s why I don’t put underhanded things beneath them because of that fact.”

“Whatever makes you happy kiddo, but don’t go in it alone. Even if they’re putting up a front for your grandma I don’t trust them. Now open your gift.” 

      He changed the subject after getting the last word, typical. I knew he was right though so with a roll of my eyes I complied. I would just have to figure out the dinner thing later. As I unwrapped the box my mind sped through possibilities. I didn’t need anything nor did I want anything recently so what could he have gotten me? When I pulled off the lid, I didn’t know what to expect but I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Are these Felix brownies?!” I squealed with excitement as I took the container out. Although see through, it was decorated in a very Felix-esque manner with multi-colored sparkly paper along the edges.

“Hey! I helped too!”

“When we cooked together you literally almost burned spaghetti and you were only boiling the noodles,” I rolled my eyes.

“Okay it wasn’t a lot but I still helped! What else am I supposed to get you? You don’t let me buy you stuff…” he grumbled.

“It’s fine,” I giggle, “I’m so glad my best friend has a best friend who can bake.”

      On the way to the office Changbin gave me a ride home to freshen up before class, which was a total bore. Regardless of the lesson I just couldn’t focus with the impending doom around the corner. Now that Changbin was out of the question that only left two options. I already decided that Jeongin should NOT get anywhere near my childhood trauma so there was only one answer… sorry Jaehyung. The next morning was just like any other day except for the fact it wasn't. The flashy birthday message from Changbin was a very obvious sign. It’s not like I hate my birthday but I have an ongoing record of bad luck on this day. No Changbin meant there shouldn’t be too much misfortune today since I won’t be doing much. Just in case though I should still keep my head down. Classes went by without a hitch until a few girls from my department came up to me. Recognizing one of them from a previous group project, I smiled.

“Hey, y/n are you free later?” My old groupmate asked.

“Yeah, what’s up Jisoo?”

“I know we aren’t really close but could you do us a favor? We are having a mixer with a few guys from another university. The thing is Somi got sick and won’t be able to make it a-”

“And it’s bad to go with uneven numbers so you want me to fill in?”

“Yes please! If you have a boyfriend that’s fine too- I mean of course it's not but you don’t even have to flirt, Hyein just has a big crush on one of them so we’re just there to help out and if you’re single who knows? Maybe you’ll like one of them.”

      I forgot how much Jisoo tends to ramble. All these names were going over my head but I mean it’s free food and drinks right? Well even if it’s not, it wouldn’t hurt to at least do this much for my birthday right?

“That’s fine. You still have my number right? Just text me the details,” I agree.

      My phone received the details by the time I got off campus. I wasn’t really there to catch anyone’s attention, so I decided to go with a silky slate grey off the shoulder crop top and black skinny jeans. I won’t stand out but I also won’t look horribly out of place. After slipping on my black heels, I grabbed my purse and headed out. Aside from the obvious match up of Hyein and her crush, the girls had gravitated toward their pick which left me with a lanky guy with glasses and long hair pulled into a ponytail. Luckily he was also dragged here since he "agreed to the mixer already, who cares if you found yourself a girlfriend. Are you trying to rub it in?" The guy apologized but I brushed it off telling him I wasn't looking for anything either. Once that was out of the way we stuck to ourselves, occasionally joining the conversation to keep the mood up. For once no incident happened on my birthday so I indulged myself with a little too much alcohol… the first mistake of the night. Amidst the merry making I got a text from Jaehyung.

To: Reckless Child

You NEED to come to the pub ASAP

To: Nosy Neighbor 

Is it urgent?

To: Reckless Child

Not life threatening but if you don't come I will cry from heartbreak 

To: Nosy Neighbor

No you won't 🙄… but fine.

      It wasn’t hard to act drunk with the alcohol working through my system already, throw in pretending to feel sick and we were set. The girls worriedly asked if I needed to go home and I gave them a weak nod, the guys immediately jumped at the chance to get rid of the loose wheel and pushed my partner to take me home. Once we were outside I pulled myself together and gave the guy a mischievous smile.

“Sorry to do that to you but I’m fine I just didn’t feel like being there anymore.”

“Are you okay to go back on your own? You did drink quite a bit, I can escort you home.”

“That’s sweet but I’m fine, my neighbor’s shop is around here and he asked me to stop by.”

      When I arrived I had forgotten it was Friday, meaning the pub was very busy. My usual spot by the window was taken so I took the first empty seat I saw. He literally begged me to come here so where is Jaehyung? He was nowhere in sight so I turned to the register beside me to ask Jimin but instead my eyes locked with Gahyeon. Before I could ask her anything some girls came up to pay their tab and started chatting with her. From what I caught from the conversation they were high school classmates who wanted to catch up. I could tell both were tipsy or neither would be so forward in bringing up her and Jeongin’s relationship.

“So what’s up with you two? Jeongin was always around but even after high school? Working at the same place? There is something going on isn’t there? He treats you so well,” One girl snickered.

“What are you guys on about? He’s been a close friend since middle school,” Gahyeon chuckled.

“C’mon, you can tell us. If you want to keep it a secret, we won’t tell.”

      This time it was the other girl. By now Jeongin noticed the girls around her and edged closer. He did say she got bullied in high school, so it's understandable why he is so antsy with old classmates suddenly chatting with her.

“Well yeah he’s great. Caring, sweet, reliable… but we’re just friends, he wouldn’t like me like that anyways.”

“You just named amazing qualities! So if you say he doesn’t like you then do you like him?”

“Me? I’m more into the mature confident types who have their life together,” she giggled before adding with a coy smile, “if he became a hotshot at his dad’s big company maybe things would change.”

      They all laughed together and I felt irritation bubbling within me. My eyes immediately darted to Jeongin who was trying to pull his face together as pain, defeat, and heartbreak danced across his face. As someone called for a waiter he forced a smile before moving to the table and that irritation in me sparked into frustration… and that was the start of mistake two.