#i just stayed on disney channel way longer than most people my age | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hardskz · 4 years

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bow down.

pairing — bang chan x genderneutral! reader

genre — modern royalty au, drama-ish, smut; sexual tension-ish, hand kink, brat tamer! chan, degradation, leg humping, humiliation

synopsis — you have eyes. prince bang chan is a whole snack. but you also have too high of an ego and can’t seem to accept that prince chan isn’t full of himself unlike the other dozen members of any royal family you’ve met before. alternatively, this is the disney channel movie ‘princess protection program’ but make it porn only.

note — this fic with a wc of 7k+ does not include any spoilers to the movie and you don’t even have to know what the movie is about you’ll get the gist as you read. ngl half of this is from one of my drafts from like 3 years ago and i never continued it so here i am turning it into filth hahahah (and i needed a fresh idea for brat tamer chan and hence why i think the sfw part is better written than the nsfw lmao) rip also pls accept this as the follower milestone gift and 1 year anniversary special :’)

“I’m pretty sure I asked for a puppy for my birthday — which was three months ago may I add — not for a new roommate?”

You look back and forth between Youngjae and the stranger sitting on the couch who is staring back at you with a curious expression. He looks around your age and you admit, his face isn’t the kind of face that makes you thank your parents that genetics did a decent job on you. It’s quite the opposite, actually.

His face is the type of face that makes you ask your parents why genetics didn’t do a better job on yours. Okay, you haven’t reached that stage of visual inferiority yet but that’s mainly because he is dressed in clothes that were trendy in the 15th century or something. The garments clinging to his skin look like a bad fusion of a suit (which college student wears a suit in their free time?) and the ridiculous costume the marching band at your former high school had worn whenever a football game was up. And those weird golden pins clipped on the blazer makes it seem as if he used to be in the marines or comes from a royal bloodline or—

Oh.

“Don’t mind my cousin, your Highness. (y/n)’s humor has always been questionable.” Youngjae sends you a glare before he puts on his sweetest smile — you know, the act he puts on whenever he tries to negotiate a bonus with his boss or woo his date — and opts to ignore your presence. “Anyway, since we are dealing with a more serious issue at hand than originally expected, we need to give you a makeover to—“

Before he gets to finish his sentence, you violently tug him away from the prince and despite Youngjae thrashing around and complaining, you manage to send the guest a forced smile and leave his vision. The moment you let go of Youngjae in the neighboring room, he readjusts his collar. “What? Couldn’t you have waited once I was done? Also, was it necessary to crinkle my collar this much?” he hisses but you get straight to the point.

“What is he doing here?”

“Uh, sitting on the couch?”

“That’s not what I mean.” you grit your teeth and land a punch on his arm. “What is he doing here?”

Youngjae looks over your shoulder, making sure that what he’s about to say next is only heard by you. “Prince Chan is,” he hesitates, unsure how to approach his topic. You know it’s taking up his last nerves to conclude a logical explanation as the tip of his tongue pokes out of the corner of his lips; a habit he has adapted ever since he stopped chewing on his bottom lip. “The predicament he’s in is worse than we expected. Well, his dad is partially at fault because he forgot to tell us this not-so-small critical detail that—“

“Youngjae, you’re rambling.”

“The point is.” he sighs and gives you a distressed look as if he already knows you’re not going to like the information at all. “We can’t send him to the family in Goyang, the place he was originally going to stay in. He’s one of the more extreme cases and the Board agreed that he had to live with one of the active combatants to ensure his safety.”

Silence engulfs the kitchen and you know he’s waiting for you to count two and two together.

“He’s going to live here,” you deadpan eventually and Youngjae nods in confirmation.

“I know you’re not very happy—“

“Not very happy is underwhelming.” You earn a flick against your forehead and yelp in pain as you over the spot he just hit. “Ow! I was just stating the truth!”

“Will you stop interrupting me? Geez. Yes, I know that you’re not happy at all. I know that you’re not a huge fan of the majority of our family working in this business. But please do me this one favor or so help me God— try to be nice to him for the next year.”

“He’s staying for a year?” you shriek and in the blink of an eye, Youngjae clamps your mouth shut.

“Can you keep it down?!” he whisper-yells, then retreats his hand and reverts to a conversational tone with a frown. “It’s just a year, okay? Y’know, just... say hi to him whenever you see him. Act civilized.”

You grimace as he stresses his last words like you didn’t know what human decency was. The longer you keep the petrified expression on your face, the more it turns into a staring contest between the two of you. Just as if you were each other’s reflection, you mimic his actions and vice versa. When Youngjae squints, you squint. When you shoot him a glare, he returns it. It all boils down to the final blink that Youngjae feints and you’re the first to look away.

“Okay fine! I’ll try to behave,” you mumble in defeat.

A satisfied smile makes its way on Youngjae’s lips. “It’s always nice negotiating with you.”

Being born into a family where the majority works for the royalty protection program (short: RPP or as you like to stylize it: argh-pee-pee), also known as the secret service for people with crowns on their heads, comes with many perks. In your eyes, this privilege comes with many, many downsides that aren’t worth the advantages. Sure, there is the one or other occasion where you can waltz around in fancy evening attire and attend an actual ball, but overall, it’s a pain in the ass.

Even though it’s prohibited to openly declare that you work for the RPP, the news always finds its way out. Usually, it takes approximately a week for pretty much half of the neighborhood to find out. And it certainly isn’t nice hearing whispers about your dad being that guy working for the program whenever you step out of your house, which is ultimately why you moved in with your cousin Youngjae. (Housing in your small town wasn’t really affordable for a dirt poor college student after all!)

Youngjae has always been your favorite cousin out of the... whatever number of cousins you have. But here’s the thing. He also works for the RPP.

However, somehow he managed to — and up to this day it still remains a mystery to you how on earth he did that — keep his job a secret. Especially with his tendency to dish out the worst kinds of secrets when he’s slightly tipsy. Frankly, you once considered printing out the image of a trophy for that remarkable feat.

With your dad and cousin both active in that business (because organization sounds too shady), it’s not the first time you meet a prince, so you already know how the entire thing works. The concept is quite simple; they get sent to a household but before they settle in and take on a fake identity until their circumstances have improved, they undergo a makeover. Most of the time, it ends up in the glow up you secretly crave but in Prince Chan’s case, you suppose he can’t get any more attractive.

Oh boy. You’re in for a ride.

You’re busy slicing bell peppers for the meal you were cooking when both your cousin and the prince enter the kitchen and Youngjae explicitly demands you to pay them attention. You don’t react immediately, but the moment he threatens to swipe the knife away from you, you perk up and set your desire to prepare your fried rice aside.

“(y/n), uh, hi? I’m Bang Chan and I’ll be your new housemate for a year. I hope we can get along.” Chan recites his introduction without any mistakes and earns a way too brotherly pat on the back from Youngjae, considering that they just met this morning. It’s truly amazing how fast Youngjae can get people to warm up to him.

Chan is stripped out of his weird clothes and instead, looks like he threw on the next best thing lying around in his room. Nonetheless, despite the seemingly little effort that was put into the outfit, it looks oddly good. The stylists didn’t seem to do much to his hair and just parted his bangs a little, so one could catch a slight glimpse of his forehead. It’s just a small detail, but you find yourself liking his current appearance much more appealing than before, though you’re pretty sure his clothes played a major part in your previous distaste.

“Remember Jihyo?” Youngjae interrupts your train of thought. “She’s Chan’s relative. And because I’m the genuine friend who loves to help her out, I decided to agree to this after she went down on her knees and begged me to let Chan live with us for a while—“

“I’m not interested in your blown up, fictional background stories, thank you very much.” you backtrack. “Wait. Did you say Jihyo? Seriously? Jihyo is his alibi?” Of course, you remember Jihyo. It’s quite difficult to forget her when Youngjae used to swoon about her at every hour of the day, back when they were a thing. Besides, she still stops by every few months.

“C’mon, you have to admit there is a similar vibe between them!”

You furrow your brows and inspect Chan a second time. Your gaze wanders back to Youngjae and then returns to Chan anew. It’s obvious that the latter is feeling as if he were up for auction and you can’t really blame him for feeling so uncomfortable. You’ve heard from a few friends that if looks could kill, you’d have the highest killing record.

There’s no similar vibe in your view, but for the sake of entertaining Youngjae’s thoughts: “He does seem similar to Jihyo.”

“Told ya. But back to more important matters,” Youngjae coughs and wraps his arm around your shoulder to pull you closer, but it somehow seems as if he’s opting to strangle you. “My duties are calling, so I won’t be back until late. You look like you could need some help with cooking, by the way. I’m sure Chan right here is willing to help you!”

“I’m almost done though—“ you choke when he tightens his embrace. By now, his arm is no longer hugging your shoulder, but rather crushing your throat.

“You look like you could need some help,” he repeats, this time with added urgency. “It’d be a great opportunity for you to bond since you’ll also share pretty much all classes at uni. Did you know, he has the same major as you! Besides, it’d be a very useful life experience for him if he helped you with cooking.”

“Of course, how fun!” you hiss, voice going an octave higher from the lack of oxygen. “I already said that I’m painfully delighted about that, so you can let me go now, Youngjae!”

A sneer and a jab in his arm later, Youngjae finally takes his leave. That nasty liar, leaving an hour earlier than his schedule stated. You know that silently cursing at him isn’t going to make your problems dissolve because that’d be a dream come true.

“Listen, let me get things straight.” you sigh, picking up the knife to resume chopping your vegetables. Youngjae may have ordered you to act civilized, but having eye contact with Chan when you’ve been starving for the past hour isn’t your priority. Food doesn’t make itself. “I don’t have any intention of getting close to you and I expect the same from you. Don’t step a foot into my room, don’t talk to me unless absolutely necessary, and don’t think I’ll run around and do your chores or cook your meals like one of your little servants. Just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean you’ll be treated like one under this roof.”

“We live in the 21st century, not the renaissance. Your idea of royal families is very dated.” Chan chuckles dryly.

“Baron Yoon Jeonghan from the seven islands is a stuck-up prick and out of touch with the world. It took him several visits to the slums, multiple voluntary hours at the kindergarten, and stripping him off his bank card to make him see reason,” you deadpan. Fuck Baron Jeonghan. Just thinking about your first and last encounter with that entitled douchebag almost makes you slice your finger instead of the bell pepper. “Duchess Yoo Shiah threw a hissy fit when she found out her clothes weren’t dry cleaned and bought from Zara instead of fucking Dior. The one who takes the cake when it comes to privilege is Princess Kim Min—”

“Everyone knows they are problematic,” Chan interjects. True, he has a point. There’s nobody out there who doesn’t know about Baron Jeonghan or Duchess Shiah but he’s also missing the entire point.

“And guess who gets stuck under the care of the RPP?” you raise a brow at him. He blanches at the realization as if he got struck with lightning. Perhaps you should give him more credit because he seems to own more brain cells than Baron Jeonghan. “Exactly. Everyone problematic.”

Chan’s jaw is clenched as he racks his brain to come up with a smart comeback. The sight of him stumbling on his words is nothing but pitiful, so you turn back to the cutting board and grab an onion to slice in half. “I’m not interested in your sob story, your Highness. I don’t care why you’re under the protection of the RPP. The only thing I care about is that you stay out of my business.”

“Chan is fine. No need for the title,” he sighs with a strain. “Perhaps I should’ve been more considerate with my first comment. Youngjae already told me about your… negative attitude towards the entire setup. It wasn’t my intention to anger you. Sorry.”

Well, that’s new. Out of the dozens of aristocrats you’ve met (and sadly also shared a house with back when you were 16 years old and still living with your dad), he’s the first to drop his title within five minutes for the sake of the disguise and apologize.

“We live under the same roof so we should get along with each other. If there’s something you need help with, just ask me, (y/n).”

“Thanks for the offer,” you reply nonchalantly because act civilized unless you want to suffer from a late-night sneak attack from Youngjae if he finds out. “But no thanks. I don’t need your help.”

You find yourself in need of help a few weeks later, right before the dreaded exam season.

“No. Forget it, Bam. I’m not going out clubbing with you tonight. In fact, I won’t do that anytime soon.” you let out an exasperated sigh as you try to break down to your friend that you prioritize your grades over his need of getting wasted.

“C’mon!” he whines so loudly that you have to put your phone farther away from your ear. “You’re not in that much stress yet! You have to make the most out of it before you drown in your exams.”

“Things are different for engineering students like, uh, me for example!” you hiss. “I fell behind and need to catch up. Ask Yugyeom or Changbin.”

“First of all, Yugyeom is always at the bar doing his job. And Changbin never picks up his phone. There’s nobody who’d dance with me!”

“You abandoned me at the bar for some chick the last time,” you deadpan. “I’m very sure you’ll find someone.”

Bambam finally gets the gist and gives up. “Fine then. Your loss. Have fun dying in numbers and variables instead of living in the moment. You’re going to regret it—”

You end the call and set your phone on mute before throwing it on the bed. Sometimes you wonder whether you were on drugs when you decided to major in engineering. The longer you stare at the jumble of numbers and letters — some of them in Greek too — the more you think your brain cells are decaying.

That’s how you find yourself in the kitchen, complaining at Youngjae’s expense and telling him how much you’d rather drown in bleach than subjecting yourself to Algebra II.

“You know there’s someone you can ask for help and he’s right here,” Youngjae drawls before chugging down the rest of his beer. If he’s going to be a victim to your temper tantrum about a major that you chose yourself, he might as well get a drink so he won’t go insane from your monologue about numbers and graphs and formulas he’s forgotten since he graduated from high school.

You gawk at him. “You? Are you hearing yourself? You almost failed maths. Twice!”

“Because I didn’t mean myself, dipshit,” he says blankly and his eyes flit over your shoulder, “Speaking of the devil. There comes the man of honor.”

You whip your head back to the door to see Chan enter confusedly. “Uh, did I interrupt something?”

“Yes.”

“No, we were just talking about you!”

You send Youngjae a death glare which he casually shrugs off. “(y/n) here is bitching about her Statistics I class and needs a tutor!”

“It’s actually Algebra II if you bothered to pay attention—”

“(y/n) needs a tutor!” Youngjae exclaims and nearly trips on his feet when he gets up from his chair. “Channie, I heard you’re good with numbers. Didn’t you get accepted into all Ivy Leagues in the States for all engineering programs?”

“You didn’t have to word it like that,” Chan laughs it off and nervously rubs the back of his head. He’s not denying it though.

“Obviously he would. He’s loaded and lives in a castle,” you mutter under your breath, but everyone catches it.

“Hey,” Youngjae warns. “That wasn’t necessary.”

“It’s alright,” Chan says casually. “I just wanted to get myself a snack. But if you have some questions, don’t hesitate to knock on my door. The offer still stands, y’know.” He digs through the cabinet until he finds two packs of the strawberry flavored Pocky knockoff that is 1) apparently his favorite thing to eat and 2) half the price of the Pocky version. He gives Youngjae a thumbs up before he returns to his room.

The moment Chan is out of sight, Youngjae whips his head to you, nostrils flaring. All that’s missing is steam coming out of his ears and his face running red and then he looks like the impetuous brother in every kids cartoon ever. “Really? He’s been staying with us for how long now? Four weeks? Five? Yet you’re still acting as if he murdered you in your dreams or something.”

“I don’t like him,” you state coldly. Youngjae looks like he’s about to rip his hair out.

“Look, I get that you don’t like me being active in this field of work, and I get that you have some hatred against the royal families. But you know you signed up for this when you decided to move in with me.” Youngjae pauses to get a breather and pop a new beer bottle open. “Besides, Chan isn’t like Baron Jeonghan or Duchess Shiah. I have eyes, (y/n), and I’ve seen you two avoiding each other as much as possible. And he doesn’t just laze around — he does the fucking chores and cooks dinner too! Chan is good, (y/n).”

The last words make you snap. “Good? Are you fucking serious? Because that’s why the press in his kingdom is depicting him as a tyrant who cares more about building his sick harem instead of helping the poor. And wasn’t he diagnosed for having anger management issues?!”

All the color leaves Youngjae’s face. This is obviously something you shouldn’t know. While he’s scrambling for words, you take the chance to add, “Dunno why you’re protecting him when he’s making headlines as a prince who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”

“Chan isn’t just a prince,” Youngjae says quietly. “He’s the crown prince.”

Your eyes widen at the confession. “What? Isn’t that even worse with that reputation he has?”

“It’s all propaganda,” he sighs and takes a swig, “The ministers are doing everything they can to finish him off. You see, Chan is the only child of the current king of the seven islands, and if he’s wiped out, it’ll be utter chaos. Chan’s smart and I admit, he used to have anger issues, but he’s worked on them. Though I guess he’s resorted to bottling up his feelings when push comes to pull. The point is, all the higher-ups don’t want him as their future king because they know that Chan is very much capable of pulling through with his own ideas and that doesn’t sit well with them. And a supposedly impulsive future king is the last thing anyone wants, hence why his people are eating up the news.”

“Oh.” you’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel an ounce of remorse. However, it’s not the first time you’ve heard such stories.

“Yeah. Oh,” Youngjae mocks, “If that’s the main reason why you don’t want to talk to him, now you know better. He might have power, but he’s not a monster. And for the record, he got into all Ivy Leagues and elite schools all over the world through his intelligence, not his status.”

Although you can see it in his eyes that Youngjae is done with the heated discussion, he’s still waiting for you to say something. You frown. “So… you think he’s a good tutor?”

“He’s your only shot.” Youngjae says nonchalantly, then adds with a warning tone, “But remember: Act. Civilized. Oh, and don’t tell him I told you about his circumstances. It’s supposed to be confidential information.”

You roll your eyes. How the fuck hasn’t Youngjae been busted yet?

Nonetheless, you’re trudging to Chan’s door a few minutes later, your fat binder of incomprehensible math formulas and (Greek) letter heavy in your arm. Chan opens the door with surprise etched on his face after you knocked, but it settles to warmth when you begrudgingly ask him to help you understand Algebra II.

“Sorry, it’s a little messy here,” he chuckles airily once he lets you in. It’s not messy per se, just a few clothes piled up in a corner of the room and some books and messily written notes lying on his bed. Still, it’s by far cleaner than the pig stall that is Youngjae’s room (and yours when you’re having a very bad day).

Chan clears his desk and drags his other chair to the table before plopping down on it. “So, what’s the problem?” Instead of answering, you just shove a sheet of paper up his face. “Y’know, you can talk to me. If this is about earlier, it’s really alright. I’m not mad or anything,” he says with the same friendly tone you’ve been hearing ever since he moved in, yet he still takes the sheet from you. You watch his brows scrunch together the more he reads on, and you can already see the question forming in his mind.

“(y/n), you do know this is the basis to understand—”

“I was absent when the professor covered it and everyone I asked couldn’t quite explain it to me,” you respond before he can finish speaking out his thoughts. “All my friends were like—” you gesture with your hands, “—you just do this and that and then hope your hunch is right. Before you say it, yes I know that I don’t get the material of one entire unit and the exam is two weeks away.”

“Then let’s not waste any time,” Chan says before grabbing his iPad. You stare at him blankly as he writes something on his tablet. The last thing you expected from him was to accept it and try to hammer as much of missing information as he can into your brain, but then again, you’ve never seen him backtrack whenever Youngjae asks him something. Speaking of Youngjae, perhaps he is right. Chan does seem to know what he’s talking about.

“You have to subtract X first, then replace it with Y,” he explains as he circles said letters in different colors. By now, you’ve leaned closer to him to get a better view on what he’s writing (his handwriting isn’t the worst you’ve ever had to decode; refer to Youngjae who you’ve internally awarded with the worst handwriting of the decade).

Chan is exceptionally good at explaining. You feel like you’ve figured out a secret of the world that not even Pythagoras found out as you slowly understand what on Earth you are supposed to calculate with the formula. Chan is patient, always asking if you got it or if you needed another clarification, and takes the time to draw colorful graphs to visualize the jumble of numbers. His voice is pleasing to the ear too, soft and gentle to the point where you’ve blurred everything out except Chan. Chan’s voice. Chan’s hand.

You didn’t mean to stare, but with him always adding something new every five seconds as he goes on with his monologue, you can’t help but do so. His fingers aren’t long — that’ll always be courtesy of Hyunjin from Subway and yes, his very pretty hands might be the sole reason you only insist on going to that one specific Subway at the intersection next to KFC — but just one glance at Chan’s hand and you know that he’s strong.

He’s barely applying pressure to the pen, but you can see the veins slightly protruding. Chan’s sleeves are pushed back and if you move your head a bit, you’re more than certain that veins are bulging out from his forearms too. However, you don’t muster up the courage to do that because Chan will definitely notice and the last thing you want on your platter is to tell him that you were too busy checking out his arms instead of listening to him talk about Algebra II.

Eventually, Chan sets the pen down to stretch his hand. He says something, but you don’t pick up what exactly. Not that it’d matter much anyway since you’re too busy admiring his hand—

“(y/n), you there? I called out your name several times but you didn’t react.” Chan’s breath hitches and surprise flashes in his eyes for a split second when his gaze meets yours. You don’t understand his hesitation, but then horror bubbles in you once you realize that his hand is firmly gripping your chin and keeping your head pointed at his direction. The very same hand you’ve been staring at for God knows how long.

“I’m good. Just a little tired, but I’m good,” you stutter, though it comes out very breathlessly as if you just finished a marathon.

“Tired?” Chan echoes, concern settling into his features. “You should’ve said so, then I would’ve stopped talking. You need something?”

Now that you think about it, you’ve never got a close look at Chan. Sure, he’s handsome, the countless pictures of Google prove that he’s also too photogenic for his own good (goddamnit, why didn’t your parents make you just as photogenic?) but in person, he’s something else. His lips are plush and look very inviting to kiss, and the lower your eyes wander, the more you see a toned chest hidden underneath that damn shit that hugs him in all the right places.

Fine, his hands aren’t the only attractive thing about him. Then again, he’s a prince.

“I said I’m good.” you snap out of your thoughts and finally gather enough control over your nerves to tear his hand away. “And I caught everything you said.” Of course, you know that’s a blatant lie and he knows so too from the way he’s looking at you. That is until he quirks a brow.

“Okay, then what did I say before I called you?”

Your mouth feels dry. It’s almost as if he knew the reason for your distress. “I caught everything relevant to this,” you mutter, suddenly finding his curtains much more interesting. What an interesting design, maybe you should get yourself new curtains too—

“Then you wouldn’t mind solving these questions, right? Just so I can make sure that you got everything down.”

“Sure,” you reply because that’s the only thing you could say without hurting your ego and straining your vocal cords. Chan doesn’t comment any further and looks for some practice questions before sliding the iPad to you. Already the first question makes your head spin in disdain. Numbers? Variables? Never heard of them.

Chan is watching you like a hawk as you fiddle with the pen, unable to write down anything that makes remote sense. Feeling his eyes on you makes you feel helpless and you shift around in your seat. “What are you staring at?” you glare at him once you give up for good, and you just hope that your look is as intimidating as you pictured in your head.

“You’re definitely exhausted. You’re shaking,” Chan points out. Your eyes widen as you stare down and realize that your thighs are shaking, and it’s then and there when you realize that you’re feeling hot. Seems like Chan doesn’t realize that because the worry written on his face is genuine. “You say the exam’s in two weeks right? We can stop for today and work on this tomorrow. That is if you still want my help.”

You nod and add in a tiny voice, “Yes, please.”

You’re too busy ignoring the heat building between your thighs to notice the borderline feral sound that leaves Chan.

“And here I thought you had quality bonding time.” Youngjae gives a disappointed look. “You’re acting even colder towards him than before your exam meltdown. Your prick level can only stoop down so low.”

You ended up getting tutor lessons from Chan every day before the dreaded day of judgment: the exam in Algebra II. You spent more hours in his room than on your own if you were completely honest, and the results were fruitful. While you did manage to pass the exam with a fairly high score, the price you had to pay was hell.

It’s almost as if Chan caught up on your hand fixation. Sometimes he twirled the pen in his fingers, sometimes it was the simple bracelet dangling on his wrist. Just when you thought he had you figured out, he asks you if you’re alright, visibly oblivious to his effect on you. Such duality in a person should be illegal, you conclude. If you die from whiplash, you know who the perpetrator is.

“You were the one who pretty much pressured me into asking him for help,” you drawl.

“I had good intentions only! You can’t keep up the I-hate-royal-families-blah-blah mentality the entire time!” Youngjae wails before stuffing a handful of chips in his mouth.

“Watch me.” You internally cringe at the loud crunching sounds he’s making and add vigorously, “And stop chewing so loudly.”

“You’ll get around or so help me God—” he groans when his phone buzzes. He doesn’t spare a glance at the caller ID because there’s only one person who has set his ringtone to the baby shark song specifically for when he’s calling. “I gotta go, Jinyoung’s being a bitch again. Don’t murder somebody. Thanks.” You only watch him shuffle for his bag and grab a handful of chips before he’s out the door. Groaning, you clean up the mess he’s made on the table.

Just as you’re done wiping the crumbs off the surface, Chan pads into the room.

“Hey, can we talk?”

“I established right at the beginning that you should only talk to me when absolutely necessary.” you scowl, trying to walk past him.

“Well, this is important,” he urges and blocks the doorway, effectively stopping you from fleeing. “And I do deserve one conversation with you after I helped you out.”

“You offered on your own. That’s not the same as asking for a favor.” You successfully push your way past him, but in the next moment, he spins you around and pins you against the wall.

“We’re going to talk, whether you like it or not.” The sudden coldness of his tone has shivers running down your spine. Chan holds your wrist in an iron grip and if he clutched on any tighter, you wouldn’t put it past him to break your bones. Out of options, you comply and give him a curt nod before he lets go and takes a step back.

“I don’t understand you, (y/n). I genuinely thought you would put your prejudices aside but instead, all I get are mixed signals from you.”

It’s your turn to gawk. “Me? Mixed signals? What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how you keep looking at me as if you want me to fuck your brains out.” If the color hasn’t drained from your face yet, it has now. Chan smiles wickedly at your horrified reaction but doesn’t stop there. “I’m talking about how you talk like you don’t want anything to do with me but act as if you’re begging for my attention.” He takes a step closer to you, and you wish you could morph with the wall. “I’m talking about how you keep staring at my hands and think I don’t notice it.” You wince when he rests his hands against the wall on each side of your face, leaning closer so that you can feel his breath on your lips. “So, you have a thing for my hands?” Bullseye.

“You’re so full of yourself. No wonder your ministers want to get rid of you,” you snap because you’d rather suffer from food poisoning than admitting that you want Chan’s fingers in you.

Something shifts within Chan. He gapes at you, clearly not expecting you to even know about the ministers. His demeanor darkens in a blink of an eye, and you feel like your legs are about to give up on you when you meet his eyes, black and feral.

“You’re playing with fire. Don’t anger me,” he warns, voice low and rough.

“So it’s true that you resorted to bottling up your feelings, your Highness?” you cock your head to the side. Chan clenches his jaw at the mention of his title, struggling to keep his anger in check. You laugh through your nose, then grab one of his hands and force it away from the wall. If he already knows that you’re thirsting after him, might as well go for it. “It’s funny how your ministers aren’t able to string you around like a puppet yet here you are, unable to do anything against a commoner. You know you have nice hands and you know my weakness and yet, you’re not using them on me.” He gulps when you fumble with his fingers.

And then he understands.

“Unless I misread the situation,” he says darkly, though you distinguish the slight tremor his voice carries. “Do you really want this? I’m not going to go easy on you.” Chan is dead serious, judging by the way he’s looking at you expectantly.

“The safe word is petunia.” You don’t take your eyes off him and add in a louder tone, “Now try me, do your worst.”

“You’re going to regret wanting me at my worst,” Chan growls and before you know it, he crashes his lips against yours. The kiss is anything but sweet, more of a clash of teeth and tongues and saliva dribbling down your chins, yet it leaves you boiling hot and wobbly on your feet. He presses you up against the wall and forces his leg between yours, the sudden contact making you hunch forward. You moan against his mouth when he tugs harshly on your hair, the sting making your nerves go haywire. In the meantime, your hands roam his upper body, blunt nails digging into his shoulders as you try to buck your hips against his leg. While he doesn’t budge, you manage to elicit a groan out of him.

When you pull away, you’re both gasping for air. Chan’s hair is disheveled from the way you’ve been pulling on them, lips pink and glossy. One look in his eyes is enough to make your heart stop beating. They’re dark and animalistic and set ablaze with unfiltered lust. You’re such in a daze from a simple kiss that you nearly stumble when Chan drags you to his room.

He manhandles you on his bed with ease before his lips latch on yours once more. You nearly sob when he rids you off your pants, putting pressure in all the right places to have you losing your mind. As you’re about to gain back some dominance in the kiss, he breaks it off. His fingers that were once ghosting over your underwear are now tracing patterns all over the material, making you spasm. “You’re such a brat, all bark but no bite. All it takes is one kiss and you’ve lost all your fight. Can you get any more pathetic?” he mocks as he focuses his fingertips directly on the wet patch of your underwear. Your eyes roll back as he rubs on the same spot, the broken moans leaving you eerily similar to cries. “Don’t tell me you’re about to come like this. How sensitive are you?”

“Am n-not—” you cut yourself off with a whimper when he lets the waistband snap against your skin.

“Yeah, you sure about that?” he grins and that’s when you break, feeling your high approaching at lightning speed.

“Don’t wanna come like this—”

“But I thought you’re not sensitive?” the satisfied grin just widens with every syllable that leaves his lips. “If you don’t want to come like this, all over your underwear, beg.”

Chan applies even more force to your sensitive spots, and you struggle to have a clear thought. The smirk he delivers is lethal, and you couldn’t be any more convinced that he’s the devil’s incarnate.

“I’ll do anything, please. Don’t let me come like this, that’s all I’m a-aah-asking for,” you weep, your blood nearly boiling at its climax, “I’ll even take a punishment!”

“Say my name,” he orders, fingers still drawing circles.

“Your—”

“My name, not my title.”

Your breath hitches as you finally realize what he’s aiming for. He wants you to remember that it’s him who’s reducing you into this illiterate mess. Him, the one you’ve been despising since before you even met. If you still had any ounce of dignity left, you’d try to fix the power imbalance until you’re left with no choice but to obey, but now you’re so close and the last thing you want to do is come with your pants on.

“Please, Chan,” your voice breaks towards the end and in an instant, he pulls away. As you’re letting you’re basking in the break from his brutal tempo, not too affected by how your upcoming orgasm is fading away, Chan observes you.

And then out of nowhere, he flips you on your stomach and delivers a hard smack to your ass that has you screaming into the pillows.

“You said you’d take any punishment too, right?” You twitch as he rubs the small of your back. You can already imagine the handprints on your ass he continued to slap you with such force that has you moving up the bed. The pain that’s going to haunt you for days. Before you know it, you try to arch your back to lift your ass, but then the bed shifts. “But if you really think I’m going to spank you as a punishment, then you’re really fucking dumb. As if I’ll use my hands on you when we both know you love my hands.”

With that, he drops himself on his chair, spreading his legs that you can see the prominent tent forming in his pants. He orders you over with a flick of his finger, and just as you get up from the bed, a new wave of horror flushes over you.

“Crawl.”

The look you send him is priceless. There’s no fucking way you can do it. It’s just a few meters, nothing you can’t handle, but he’s there sitting on his Ikea swivel chair as if it’s his throne made of gold, watching your every movement like a predator. And then there’s you, only in a shirt and underwear, being forced to go on all fours as if you were his fucking dog—

The difference in power display couldn’t get any more visible. He really is the fucking worst.

“You’d really do anything, huh…” he muses as you drop on your hands and knees and crawl to him, never looking up. It’s only when he beckons you to stand up that you look at him with nothing but rage and shame in your eyes. Chan has always been slightly terrified with your death stare but right now, he can’t take it seriously and it shows. It shows in the way he smiles lopsidedly, in the way his brows quirk in amusement. “Now hump my leg.”

Humiliation runs through your body all over. Your fists are clenched as he waits for you to act, even pats his thigh in case you didn’t get the memo. But oh you do, and his thigh does look inviting.

“Hump my leg like the brainless bitch you are. If you want my hands or my cock, you earn it first. Especially since you treated me like shit ever since I moved in.” The last sentence burns you badly because he has a point. But then there’s the prospect of his hands and dick that’s bulging out of his pants.

Pushing all thoughts away, you settle on his leg. Taking a moment to gather yourself, you tell yourself it’s all good and then you move. The first thrust knocks all air out of your lungs and you grab onto his shoulders for support. You didn’t even move that much, but Chan’s looking at you as if he’s about to fucking devour you and knowing that he is very much capable of moving you around, you’re starting to become overwhelmed.

Eventually, you lose yourself in the feeling of his rough jeans against your drenched underwear, humping on his thigh as your orgasm builds up. It’s silent, save for your pants, and the countless whimpers flying past your lips as your movements gradually become sloppier. You’re almost there and you know it. But so does Chan, and the moment he’s got it figured out, he lunges from your hips and forces you to pick up the pace.

“Oh no, you’re going to come,” he growls, ignoring your pleas and sobs. Adrenaline courses in your blood and you know it isn’t long until you fall apart. You try to make him stop, even put your hands on his, but you don’t have the energy to actively push him away.

“Chan, please— I’m gonna—”

“You’re gonna come? Then fucking come on my thigh, (y/n),” he snaps, and then adds, “You hear that? You’re about to come from humping my thigh.”

Maybe it’s the realization that he’s right, maybe it’s the way he’s worded it. Either way, it’s the last straw to make you spasm as you come, soaking your underwear and even managing to make a mess out of his pants. Chan makes sure you ride through your orgasm, only stopping to move your hips once you’re all spent and resting your head on his shoulder. Your eyes are glassy, vision foggy, but the only thing you can envision clearly is Chan.

Chan jolts when your hand grazes over his bulge. You’re about to undo his pants, but he’s quick to stop you and restrict your hands behind your back.

“You think you deserve my cock? Dream on. As if I would fuck any commoner, especially those who don’t respect me,” he spits, and you flinch at his choice of words, clearly recalling that you used the exact same terms and he’s now using it against you. “You said you’d take any punishment. Well, guess what? This was just punishment number one.”

#yes the ending is rushed oops sue me #may consider part 2 so heads up #stray kids smut #skz smut #bang chan smut #chan smut #smut.mine #dom!chan #sub!reader #crispy.txt

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prettyboybarzal · 4 years

Text

Conversations in the Dark

Pairing: Tyson Jost x OC!female

Summary: Fiona Gatwood and her mother move to Canada after a nasty divorce and end up moving in beside the Jost family. Quiet Fiona takes a liking to the sweet, outgoing boy, Tyson, next door and the rest is history.

Word Count: 8k+

A/N: This is literally just tooth-rotting sweetness of a childhood friends to lovers trope. No warnings except maybe some curses and the mention of a shitty father, though it’s more of a subplot than anything. By the way, this is based off the song Conversations in the Dark by John Legend!!!!! Go listen. It makes my heart melt! (And, as always, let me know what you think! ILY)

Age 10

“Talk, let's have conversations in the dark. World is sleeping, I'm awake with you.”

Fiona Gatwood was whispering. She was whispering and her mother couldn’t believe it.

It had been days since Diana last heard her daughter’s voice, but it was clear as day through the wood door her ear was pressed against. She knew that it was nearly 1 a.m. and the longer she let her stay up, the crankier she’d be in the morning, but she didn’t want to stop her baby from talking.

The past year had been a nightmare for the two. Between an ugly divorce, a custody battle, and a move from the States to Canada, Fiona hardly spoke anymore. Except she did speak to one person consistently, and it was the boy next door.

When his mother mentioned how talkative the two kids could be, Diana laughed, “Fi? Talkative?” Just behind the front door, Tyson and Fiona sat in front of the television, distracted by Disney Channel.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, Diana,” Laura spoke through her smile. “The two of them are non-stop.”

But, now, she believed it because she was hearing it first-hand.

“Tyson, go to sleep,” Fiona whispered. “My mom is going to wake us up soon.”

“No, she’s not,” Tyson whispered back. The floorboard squeaked beneath him as he moved to see the alarm clock. “It’s only 12:47 a.m.”

“And we’re leaving at 5:30 a.m. That’s in five hours,” Fiona spoke. Tyson sighed loudly and Diana could hear him lay back down in the sleeping bag on the floor. “You’re not mad at me, right?”

“Of course not,” Tyson spoke. There was a moment of silence that followed, then a loud sigh. “You’re right. We should go to bed. I just like talking to you.”

Diana’s heart clenched in her chest at the sweetness of the exchange, at the way Tyson treated Fiona. He understood her. He saw her quirks and he accepted them without a thought.

“I like talking to you, too.”

“I wish you’d talk more at school.”

“Why?”

“Because more people would be friends with you,” he said softly, like he was scared to tell Fiona the truth.

In return, she released a soft breath and responded, “I know.”

Diana rapped her knuckles against the door and the kids pretended like they were already fast asleep, earning a laugh from her. “I know you two are awake, but it’s time for bed now,” she said. “We’ve got an early morning tomorrow.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Gatwood.”

“It’s okay, Tys,” she said. She looked at Fiona before turning out of the room. Her hands were tucked beneath her head as she gazed up at her. Diana willed her to speak before walking out the door, but nothing came and she looked away. “Okay, goodnight, kiddos.”

She stepped out into the hallway and shut the door quietly behind her, holding the knob as she leaned her forehead against it in disappointment. There was a soft thud from inside and the sound of a child’s ‘ow’. And then, “Goodnight, Mom.”

Age 15

“Watch movies that we've both already seen. I ain't even looking at the screen, it's true. I got my eyes on you.”

Fiona was going to her first-ever co-ed birthday party and she couldn’t stop thinking about it ever since rumors about spin the bottle began. She’d never been kissed and, quite frankly, didn’t think it would happen during a game of spin the bottle. Tyson, on the other hand, had been happily egging on the spin the bottle conversation. He was a boy, after all, and he also wasn’t worried about his first kiss because he already got it.

Tyson giggled at the movie they were watching, bringing her attention back to the present. It was the third time they’d watched Ted that week, if their moms knew they’d kill them, but they always kept it quiet. At that point, Tyson could quote it and most other days, she’d be quoting it right along with him, but not that night. She had too much on her mind.

“Tys, what if I’m not a good kisser?”

He almost laughed, but the pure nervousness etched across her features made him stop himself. “I mean,” he trailed off, eyes trailing over her facial features to get a good read on what she was feeling. “You’re probably not going to be bad.”

“What do I do with my hands?”

“Your hands? What do you mean?” he asked. She sighed loudly, reaching out to grab the remote and pause the movie they were watching. “You don’t have to do anything with your hands.”

“They said we might play seven minutes in heaven.”

“No one ever actually does anything during seven minutes in heaven.”

“You don’t know that,” she grunted. “What if one of the guys wants to do something? What if they want to make out? I’ve never even been kissed. I’m going to embarrass myself.”

Tyson usually had solutions to most of Fiona’s problems, or at least he’d have the words to reassure her, but he was at a loss. The first, and only, idea he had was that he could kiss her just to help her get it out of the way, but he stopped himself from offering that option. Fiona, however, noticed the metaphorical lightbulb that went off over his head and began to pry.

“What are you thinking?”

“I could kiss you,” he offered. “Your first kiss shouldn’t be with someone you don’t want it to be with and I know you’re not crazy about all the guys going, so I can help you get it out of the way.”

“You don’t think that’d be weird?” she asked, fingers curling around the blanket that was strewn across their laps.

“I mean, we don’t have crushes on each other or anything,” he murmured. “We’re best friends, nothing more, so it’s whatever. You just can’t overthink it.”

Fiona didn’t answer right away and her hesitation cued Tyson to play the movie once more while she thought it over. Not five minutes later, she paused it again.

“Okay, let’s just get it over with.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely,” she answered. “I trust you.”

Tyson leaned in tentatively, watching her carefully as her eyes fluttered shut and she puckered her lips. He smiled softly to himself before closing his own eyes and closing the gap between them. Their lips barely touched before they were pulling away at the feeling of a quick electric shock against their lips.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tips of her fingers brushing along the place his lips had just touched. Tyson’s did the same. “You shocked me.”

“You shocked me!”

They giggled together, any awkwardness that could’ve came from that little kiss dissipating before it even came to fruition.

“Do you, uh, want to try again?” he asked. He felt his heart hammering in his chest and did his best to ignore it. This wasn’t his first kiss by any means, but it sort of felt like it was by the way his stomach was turning.

“Um, yeah, sure.”

“Okay,” he whispered. He lifted a hand to her cheek and cupped it as he leaned in. “Don’t shock me.”

“I’ll try not to,” she responded with a giggle. Tyson laughed, a tuft of his chocolate candy-smelling breath fanned across her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut again, but this time Tyson didn’t close his right away. He pressed his lips to hers and then closed his eyes as she shaped her lips to fit his and reached up to place her own hand against his jaw.

The kiss only lasted a moment more. As they pulled away, they met each other’s eyes with a shocked expression.

“We kissed.”

“We did,” Tyson confirmed, nodding his head as his tongue swiped along his bottom lip and tugged it between his teeth. She could’ve sworn his cheeks were a little bit pink and she felt the warmth of his cheek just under her thumb where it rested on his cheek. “Um, and that’s the perfect place for your hand, by the way.”

She nodded obediently before dropping her hand back into her lap. Though they turned back to the television and played the movie, Tyson couldn’t bring himself to quote it any longer, mind too preoccupied on the moment they just shared. Fiona, on the other hand, felt better and she’d begun quoting the lines he failed to speak.

Age 16

“And you say that you're not worth it. You get hung up on your flaws. Well, in my eyes you are perfect as you are. I will never try to change you, change you. I will always want the same you, same you”

Fiona was crushing on Tyson’s teammate hard. He thought it was obvious, what with the way her cheeks flushed the moment he walked into the room, but everyone else was clueless about her little crush.

Though the two of them were closer than they’d ever been before, her crush on Tommy Abbott was a secret she didn’t share with Tyson. She’d never liked any of his teammates before, and she wasn’t planning to start. Tyson would never let her hear the end of it, especially if he found out Abbott was the crush, so she kept her mouth shut.

But Tyson knew her too well and it only took a few weeks for him to catch on.

The two of them were standing at Tyson’s locker after school just before parting ways as he went off to practice and she headed home. A few of his teammates walked by, waving on their way to the locker room as they passed. Tyson watched as Fiona’s cheeks blushed.

He watched your eyes follow Tommy Abbott down the hall and out of sight, jaw dropping in shock at his revelation.

“Fi?” he called. She looked back at him, wide eyed. “Do you have a crush on Thomas Abbott?”

“You can’t tell a soul,” she warned, jabbing a finger into his chest. He was a solid foot taller than her at that point, but he still obeyed her command. “If anyone on your team finds out, I’ll kill you.”

“Fiona,” he sighed, reaching up to pull her finger away from his chest. He dropped it at her side. “I have kept every single secret you’ve ever told me. This one is just joining the others in the vault. I promise.”

Keeping that secret was, naturally, one of the easiest things Tyson ever had to do. But then, Tommy Abbott was sharing the same sentiments.

“Josty, wait up!” he called as he jogged after Tyson in the school hallway. Tys slowed to a stop, welcoming smile on his face.

“What’s up, dude?”

“I was just, uh, wondering,” Tommy began. “About you and Fiona Gatwood.”

Tyson’s eyebrows raised at the statement.

“Fi’s just my best friend. Nothing more. Why?”

“Oh, well, I was thinking about asking her out,” he murmured, kicking his toe into the tiled floor. “She’s in my English class and I just think she’s cute.”

“She is!” Tyson exclaimed, maybe a bit too excitedly. He lowered his voice when he began talking again. “Like, she’s really cute and I’ll bet she thinks your cute, too.”

“Really?”

“For sure,” he said with a nod. “You should ask her out.”

Within days, Tommy Abbott had both asked Fiona out and planned their first date. But Tyson was the one that hung out with her while she got ready. He listened to her chatter on nervously about what her expectations were, and talked her down when she almost decided to cancel. Then, as any fifteen year old date would go, Diana drove Fiona to drop her off at the movies to meet Tommy.

He never showed.

Tyson showed up to practice the next morning with a scowl on his face. He entered the locker room and marched right up to Tommy Abbott, slamming his locker closed as he pulled his hand out with his jersey. Tommy knew what he did wrong, but he didn’t step down or apologize. He stated simply, “Dude, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t do it.”

“So why did you ask her out?”

“It was just a joke,” he said, reopening his locker to cover Tyson’s face. Tyson slammed it shut again. “You should’ve known that, Josty. C’mon, it’s just a bit of fun between teammates.”

“You hurting her really isn’t my idea of fun.”

“She was hurt?” he asked, though he looked unapologetic. “Listen, she’s not the type of girl that guys like me, or you for that matter, date. Don’t act like your surprised.”

Tyson was a little more aggressive than usual that practice, slamming Tommy into the boards every chance he got. He left practice faster than everyone else, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to just get to Fiona and make everything better.

As if she knew he’d be on his way too her, she was sitting on the porch waiting for him.

“Hi.”

“Fi, I need you to know that every single one of those guys are assholes, even the ones who weren’t involved,” he grunted as he hustled up the steps. She giggled softly at his dramatics, knowing that there was a handful of innocent guys on the team. Tyson plopped down beside her on the porch swing. “They all suck. All of them.”

“You don’t have to talk about your teammates like that,” she sighed. “Honestly, I’m nuts for thinking he was even into me in the first place. I’m not the kind of girl guys like him go after.”

Tyson stomach turned. It was almost exactly the same thing Tommy had said earlier and it only mad him angrier hearing it come from her.

“You don’t get it,” he groaned. “You are too good for guys like him.”

“I spend most of my time with my nose in a book, you’re my voice when I don’t want to speak which is a whole lot, and I’m not popular by any means,” she listed off. Tyson listened intently, listened to her spew out insecurities left and right. “I get these nasty pimples on my chin, and I come from a broken home, and I just—I don’t belong to anything.”

“Stop talking,” Tyson snapped. “Do you even hear yourself? How are you not mad at yourself for talking like that?”

Fiona stared at him, mouth open as if waiting for permission to spew out the next insult to herself.

“You are the best person I know. It wouldn’t matter if you were athletic and popular or a troll under a bridge. You have the best,” he paused, pondering his next word, and then said, “You have the best soul. You should never change for anyone because you’re perfect just the way you are. You’re Fiona. You don’t need to be anyone else.”

Fiona’s lips formed a perfect ‘o’ as she found herself at a loss for words once again, but this time it wasn’t her shyness that was the reason. It was the shock at the words tumbling from Tyson’s lips. His cheeks were red and he was still breathing a little heavily because of the flood of compliments, but then he cracked a smile.

“That was profound, Tys,” she said softly, smile coming to her own lips. “Thank you.”

“I mean every bit of it,” he said. His mother called him from his own porch and he leaned in to place a soft kiss against her temple. “I’ll always want the same Fiona. Please don’t change.”

Age 18

“Swear on everything I pray to that I won't break your heart.”

Fiona loved her birthday because her birthday meant Funfetti pancakes in the morning and presents after dinner. But, most of all, Fiona loved her birthday because her father called, no matter how long it’d been since the last time they spoke.

On the day of her eighteenth birthday, Tyson was a few hours away at a tournament. It was the first birthday since they were ten years old that they’d spend away from each other. There was, however, one way he’d make it home and that meant losing a few games for an early exit.

Now, I’m not saying Tyson purposely lost the game, but his mind wasn’t in it. Sure enough, he was bounding up the driveway to Fiona’s front door that night with her birthday gift stuffed in the backpack on his back.

After a somewhat frantic knock, Diana opened the door to the curly-haired boy from next door.

“Oh, Tys,” she sighed. Her voice sounded a little sad and Tyson’s brows knit together in confusion at the lack of pep in her step. “Fi is downstairs.”

The basement was dark. The low hum of acoustic music got louder as he continued down the stairs. He found Fiona with a blanket over her head and wrapped around her shoulders. She managed a smile when he entered, but it didn’t meet her eyes. Tyson approached, grabbing another blanket from the end of the couch and wrapping himself just like her as he sat.

“My dad didn’t call,” she offered, knowing the question that was sitting on his tongue before he even uttered it. Tyson watched her as she stared blankly at the wall across from them. He noticed a streak along her cheek from where a tear had fallen and frowned.

“Well, that doesn’t mean he won’t call tomorrow,” he spoke softly.

She began to cry. Everything she’d been feeling for months came crashing down and she started to sob into the blanket she’d so carefully wrapped around her body. Tyson slid down the couch, arm wrapping around her shoulder to pull her into his side. He said nothing, only listened to the sniffling coming from his best friend until she was ready to speak again.

“I haven’t talked to him in a year.”

“I thought he called last month.”

“I lied,” she sighed, rubbing her teary eyes with the heel of her hand. “I didn’t want to talk about it.”

Tyson’s heart sank as his grip tightened around Fiona’s shoulders.

“You know that I wouldn’t have made you talk about it until you were ready,” he whispered. She looked up at him, eyes still watery, and released a quivering sigh. And then she dropped her forehead against his shoulder.

Fiona was having a hard time saying it out loud honestly. She didn’t want to admit to the Universe that her own father had ghosted her for the second time since her parents’ divorce. The first was immediately after, and he promised it would never happen again. But now, 365 days had gone by without a phone call or a text. He didn’t even bother to send money like he’d grown accustomed to whenever he messed up.

“It feels like it’s for good,” she mumbled. Both of Tyson’s arms wrapped around her then to tug her into his chest as he leaned against the back of the couch. She went with him, collapsing against his chest. He kicked his legs up, and hers went with them. They laid together for a while before Tyson’s thoughts wandered to the gift in his bag.

“I have your gift,” he spoke, lifting his head just a bit to look down at her. She met his eyes with a smile. He motioned for her to sit up and then he stood to grab his bag from where he dropped it at the bottom of the stairs. As he fished it from beneath a sweatshirt, he felt his stomach turn.

This was nothing new, but the gift he bought her this year held weight to it.

With the NHL draft coming up, it was easy to see the end of their days as neighbors. Eight years of friendship, of sleepovers and birthdays and sitting on the front porch waiting for the other to come home was coming to an end. So, Tyson wanted to do something special. He wanted to give her something better than postcards, and souvenirs from different cities he’d been to.

“What is this?” she asked the moment he placed the paper in her hand. It was a rhetorical question. She knew exactly what it was. Her fingers danced along the destination on the ticket as she gazed up at Tyson. He smiled coyly.

“Tickets to Banff,” he said. “I already talked to your mom about it. She said it was cool. My mom and Kacey are coming with us.”

“Tyson, this is insane,” she stated. She shoved the paper back into his hands. “This is too much. I don’t deserve this.”

“It’s not too much,” he said, almost defensively. He grabbed her hand and placed the paper back into her palm. “Stop saying things like that. You deserve this and so much more, okay? I don’t want to hear you say that ever again.”

“Tys—”

“Please, let me do this for you,” he pleaded. Her lip quivered as she gazed back at the paper in her hand. “I just want to make you happy.”

She met his eyes and felt like she was going to melt beneath his gaze.

“You do,” she told him with certainty. He released a sigh of relief, smile coming back to his lips as he sat beside her again. “You might be the only guy, including my father, who hasn’t broken my heart. Good for you.”

“Well, lucky for both of us, I never plan on doing that.”

“I'll be there when you get lonely, lonely. Keep the secrets that you told me, told me. And your love is all you owe me. And I won't break your heart”

A few weeks later, while the two of them laid head-to-toe on a hammock outside their cabin, Tyson spoke, “I wish this never had to end.”

“You don’t mean that,” Fiona said with a giggle, foot nudging Tyson in the ribs. He wrapped his hand around her ankle and tugged playfully. “You’re about to be an NHL star.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” he asked though he already knew Fiona would say yes. She nodded, naturally. “I don’t know if I’m ready for any of it. I don’t know if I’m ready to play in the NHL.”

Fiona sat up immediately and sputtered, “Tys, are you—are you crazy? This is exactly what you’ve been working towards your entire life. You’re more than ready. You’ve been ready.”

Tyson’s laugh filled the air, light and airy at her pep talk.

“It’s going to be different, though,” he said, fingers picking at the lint on the hammock. “I’m not going to be near you anymore.”

“You could always end up in Edmonton.”

“Imagine,” he said dreamily. She followed his gaze to the stars in the sky. “It’s not going to happen, but it would be pretty cool.”

“It would be,” she said. “But there are other cool places you could end up, and that just means I get more free vacations out of you.”

“You can have all the free vacations you want,” he promised. Her giggle was contagious, filling the yard along with the sounds of crickets and the wind. Tyson smiled at her, soaking up this moment and wishing it could last forever. He sighed heavily. “I don’t know how to function without you, Fi.”

She curled her fingers around his wrist and yanked him to sit up and look at her.

“I’m literally not going anywhere. All you have to do is call me and it’ll feel like we’re still together, okay?”

“It’s going to be different.”

“Sure, it will be,” she said. “But different doesn’t always mean bad.”

“I know,” he murmured. She smiled softly at him, and he returned one to her. Neither could stop gazing at the other, thoughts swirling in their heads faster than they could make sense of them. She felt it then. Fiona felt the first tinge of change between them when his eyes dipped from her eyes to her lips for a moment, but she forced it out of her mind.

“Thank you again,” she spoke. “For the trip.”

“Of course,” he said. He fell back onto the hammock and gazed up at the stars, unaware that Fiona still couldn’t take her eyes off him. She turned and moved so that she could place her head on his chest. Tyson’s hands came up and around her, pulling her into his warm body. He placed a soft kiss against the top of her head and wondered if she could feel his heart beating beneath his chest.

She could.

Age 21

“On Sunday mornings we sleep-in 'til noon. Well, I can sleep forever next to you. And we got places we both gotta be. But there ain't nothing I would rather do then blow off all my plans for you.”

Tyson’s eyes fluttered open to the sight of Fiona’s sleeping face against the pillow beside him. She was snoring softly and the hair that had fallen in her face overnight moved with every breath she released. He reached out and brushed the hair behind her ear softly enough not to disturb her.

When Tyson saw a free weekend on his schedule, he immediately booked a flight to visit Fiona. It was the first trip he was making to her university. After the draft, Tyson felt the pressure to perform well and, in turn, his relationships took a backseat until the off-season. So, the two of them enjoyed their time during the summers until he left for Denver and she left for school. But this year, things were different. He felt more secure in himself and his spot on the team, so he carved out some time to see Fiona.

Things never changed between them. They were still peas in a pod, and they both understood that it was hard to keep in touch with so much going on in their lives. They made time for each other once a week whether it be through Facetime calls before bed, or phone calls as Fiona drove home from work. They were still the same.

But then he visited her and something shifted.

“So, this is the Tyson we hear so much about?”

He must’ve heard statements like that every twenty minutes and, each time, he caught the blush that rose to Fiona’s cheeks before she suppressed it with another swig of her drink. Her friends were whispering amongst themselves, pointedly gazing at him and the curl of Fiona’s fingers around his. He assumed they just didn’t get their friendship, but as the comments kept coming he began to wonder if there was something lying beneath the surface.

“Do you wanna get out of here?” she asked sometime before midnight. That question was one he’d become familiar with, but hearing Fiona ask made him feel things he’d never felt before. Her lips brushed against his ear as she asked and he felt goosebumps along every inch of his body as he nodded in response.

Nothing happened in the Uber, or after they devoured their late night snacks. But, as they got ready to sleep in her twin sized bed, an awkward tension settled between them that had never been there before.

“I’m sorry that it’s so small,” she said after they’d changed and brushed their teeth. “But, you know, college.”

“Do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

“No,” she answered with pink cheeks, again.

When they got into bed, they lay facing each other and spent way too much time shooting the shit before she eventually nodded off. She rolled onto her other side and, as Tyson sat there trying his best not to fall off the other side, she reached over and wrapped his arm around her so that they were spooning.

Throughout the night, they’d moved, but her legs were still intertwined with his beneath the comforter. She finally stirred and, without opening her eyes, she inched towards him to wrap her arms around his waist and lean into his chest.

“Morning.”

“Good morning, Fi.”

He rubbed her back soothingly as she rested against him.

“I don’t really want to get up,” she admitted softly.

He chuckled. “Me neither.”

“Let’s just stay in bed,” she proposed, leaning back to look up at him.

“Don’t we have brunch plans with your friends?” he asked. She groaned, dropping her head back against the pillow in frustration. He leaned up on his elbow and loomed over her with a grin. “You made the plans. We could’ve just laid in bed all day, but you wanted to show me off to your friends.”

Fiona shoved his chest lightly and with a smile, then rolled over to grab her phone from the nightstand. In just a few taps, she was calling one of the girls. The sound of the ringing felt loud in the otherwise quiet apartment and then, finally, her friend’s voice came through.

“Good morning, sleepy head! How was your night with Tyson?” her friend sang.

Fiona sat up abruptly, lowering the volume on the phone as she brushed her off, “It was fine. Hey, we’re going to just make breakfast here, if you don’t mind. I know we were talking about doing brunch.”

“Fiona, are you bailing so you can have sex?”

Tyson couldn’t help but laugh as Fiona sprang out of bed and slipped into the hallway. Once she was out of earshot, she tore into her friend, “It’s not like that.”

“It is so like that, Fiona,” she argued. “He’s smitten with you.”

“He’s just my best friend.”

“He’s something more.”

“Rain check on brunch,” she urged. There was giggling on the other end of the phone, so frustrated, Fiona grunted, “Goodbye.”

“You should kiss h—”

The door swung open before she could open it and Tyson was standing in the doorway with a wicked smile on his lips. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her waist to throw her over his shoulder.

“If you wanted to have sex, you could’ve just asked,” he teased. She smacked his back as he carried her down the hall, smiling all the while at his laughter. When he dropped her onto the kitchen floor, he told her to sit and tell him about school while he made breakfast. So, she did. And Tyson listened to every single word that came out of her mouth happily.

“When no one seems to notice and your days, they seem so hard. My darling, you should know this; My love is everywhere you are.”

Tyson left Fiona’s apartment and, every day after, she missed him.

It wasn’t like she didn’t miss him before. It’s just that it was worse than it was before. It was worse now that her friends had met him and he charmed the pants off them. It was worse now that the smell of his cologne lingered on her sheets.

He never used to affect her like this, and honestly, she didn’t want him to affect her like this. There was too much at stake.

Some months passed after his visit and it felt like everything was falling apart. He was busy, busier than ever before, and she was lost. Graduation was approaching and she was not having a successful job search. Not even by a mile. After yet another rejection letter (this time from her dream job), Fiona called the only person she wanted to talk to.

When Tyson answered her phone call, she was sobbing.

“Woah, woah, woah,” he murmured into the speaker as he paused the music that had been playing over the speakers in his room. He sat up attentively, listening to the sniffling on the other end of the phone. “What’s going on, Fi?”

“I feel so alone.”

“Alone?” he repeated, eyebrows knitting together in confusion and fear. He hadn’t heard Fiona sound this sad in forever, and briefly he worried if he just hadn’t been listening. It had been a few months since he visited her at school and the two of them had gotten significantly busier in that time. “Fiona, what do you mean? You’re never alone.”

“I miss you and I miss my mom,” she whined. Her breath came out uneven, quivering as it filled the air. “And I’m so scared of the future.”

“Okay, that’s news to me,” he said, running a hand over his face. This was a problem he couldn’t fix for her. “I thought the place you’d been interning at was going to offer you something after graduation.”

“They just laid off half the department,” she told him. “No way they’re bringing me on.”

“Then, that’s their loss,” he began. “But you shouldn’t even be stressing out about this right now. You have, like, two months before graduation.” She sniffled again, this time a little more calmly than before. “Someone is going to hire you. You just have to keep looking. Besides, you have a kickass resume.”

“I’m surprised you even know what that is,” she teased quietly. He started laughing, grateful that she’d bounced back.

“Feeling good enough to be mean to me, huh?” he asked. “Now, what’s this about you missing me?” She could hear the smile in his voice and felt her cheeks warm. The tension in her shoulders disappeared almost immediately. “Tell me more about how much you miss me.”

“You’re annoying.”

“Apparently not annoying enough to not miss me.”

“I just feel like we’re so far apart,” she admitted. His smile fell. “Things have been different, right? I’m not crazy for thinking that?”

“What do you mean different?”

“You’ve just been so busy, and I feel like we don’t talk unless one of us needs to be talked off a ledge. And I know that we’re still best friends despite the amount of time we go without talking, but I just—I really miss you.”

“I miss you every day,” he said softly. And it wasn’t a lie. He thought about her every day since the last time they saw each other, even when he was kissing other people. “You don’t even know it.”

“I want to cuddle with you right now,” she said. “Just to calm down.”

“I wish I could be there,” he murmured. “But, even if I’m not there physically, I’m always with you. Even when we’re in completely different countries, I’m still your guy.”

“Thanks, Tys.”

He hummed in response, then the call was filled with a comfortable silence. She could hear him breathing on the other end, and he could hear her shuffling beneath the comforter of her bed. He could imagine her curled up with her pillow to her chest and found himself wishing he had a few days to sneak away and hold her.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity just sitting in silence, Tyson spoke, “If you really don’t know what you’re doing for work, you should look at jobs in Denver.”

Her heart was pounding in her chest at the mere mention of them in the same city again and she quickly sputtered out, “You’re crazy.”

“I am not,” he argued. “Think about how much fun it would be to live together. Honestly, you wouldn’t even have to pay rent.”

“I would pay rent,” she argued.

“Yeah, if I let you.”

“I’m not moving to Denver, Tyson,” she stated, matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Fiona, you could never be a burden.”

Age 22

“I will never try to change you, change you. I will always want the same you, same you. Swear on everything I pray to that I won't break your heart.”

“Is this the last box?” Tyson asked, leaning into Fiona’s trunk to grab a box marked kitchen. She nodded and watched as he lifted it out before shutting the trunk behind him. She followed him into his apartment complex, well, their apartment complex, and breathed a sigh of relief at the move finally being final.

True to what she assumed, she was not offered a full-time job after interning, which meant her entire life was up in the air. Tyson took the opportunity to really convince her to move to Denver.

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

Truth be told, Fiona was nervous about the move. She didn’t know anyone in the city other than Tyson, and now JT Compher. She worried that she wouldn’t fit into his life here knowing that he hung out with Instagram models and professional athletes and other important people that she couldn’t hold a candle to. She felt inadequate, and the feeling that she’d be a burden to Tyson continued to haunt her.

“Your clothes boxes are in the guest room,” JT announced as soon as Fiona reentered the apartment behind Tyson. “And I started putting some of the groceries you brought away.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“No problem,” he said with a smile. “I have to head out, but I’ll see you guys tonight.”

“Tonight?” Fi asked, eyes tracking Tyson’s movement across the living room. His cheeks flushed as he avoided eye contact. JT noticed the exchange and took the chance to say goodbye and slip out to the hallway. “Tyson, what is going on tonight?”

“It’s really not a big deal,” he murmured, finally meeting her eyes. “I just want you to meet a few people.” Her shoulders deflated. “They’re good people, I promise. They’re my friends, and you need friends other than me here.”

Tyson had a point, but it didn’t save her from her anxiety. It only made it worse.

They spent most of the day unpacking boxes and putting together furniture. They danced around the living room in sweats and fuzzy socks and ate the groceries she picked up on the way in, and most of all, they giggled at each other, happy to just be in each other’s presence. And this time, for good.

After dinner, they met some of his teammates and their girlfriends at a local bar. They were so nice that Fiona felt like she was a member of the group right away. Tyson stayed beside her, one hand on her back to keep her grounded in each conversation she joined. He knew that she was most comfortable when he was beside her.

She settled in nicely with Comph’s girlfriend and, while they giggled about stupid JT and Tyson stories, the boys went off to the bar for another round of drinks.

That’s when she showed up.

A group of girls around the same age as Tyson and Fiona showed up like they were on a mission. The moment they entered the bar, they seemed to divide and conquer. One of them, a petite brunette, made a beeline for Tyson.

“Who is that?” Fiona asked curiously.

“Her name’s Faith,” JT’s girlfriend answered. “She’s always around.”

Fiona watched the girl’s fingers trail up Tyson’s bicep, squeezing it just lightly as she leaned in and giggled at a joke of his. Fi felt a little sick looking at it, watching someone else capture Tyson’s attention like that.

“They’ve been hooking up,” she continued. “I don’t think he’s, like, actually into her.”

“It wouldn’t matter if he was,” Fiona said a little too quickly. She refocused her attention on the drink in her hand. The girls around exchanged knowing looks between each other and, though they thought Fiona wouldn’t notice, she did. She slipped out of the booth in pursuit of the bathroom because she was a short of breath and panicking slightly.

She locked herself in one of the stalls and tried to steady her breathing. She paced in the little space between the door and the toilet, trying to talk herself down from what she was feeling. And then Faith entered the bathroom like the whole scene was out of a movie.

“Apparently he’s here with some girl,” her friend was saying as they entered the bathroom. The one slipped into the other stall while the other stood at the sink.

“Oh, yeah,” she scoffed. “He pointed her out to me. Said they were roommates. He would never go for a girl like that. She’s not even close to as pretty as me.”

“You’re horrible,” her friend teased. The toilet flushed and she rejoined Faith at the mirror. “But you’re so right.”

Fiona peeked at them through the gaps in the door and watched as they reapplied their lipstick. These were the girls Tyson spent time with and the realization almost made her sick. Everything that she was worried about was coming to light. She was completely right.

“Time to get my man,” Faith sang. Her friend snickered and the two were off to find Tyson leaving Fiona to exit the bathroom stall and plan her exit strategy. She wanted to leave. She wanted to give Tyson the space to do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted. But, she had no clue how to get around Denver.

She slipped out of the bathroom stall and weaved through the crowd that had gathered on the dancefloor to find the door. When the night air finally filled her longs, she released a relieved sigh and leaned up against the brick of the building.

It only took Tyson fifteen minutes to come looking for her.

“Why are you out here and not inside with me?”

“I’m just getting some fresh air,” she answered. “Besides, you were talking to that cute brunette girl that likes to touch your biceps.”

It took a moment for Tyson to catch on and then he was wide-eyed and worried. He sputtered, “It’s not like that with her, like at all. I don’t like her like that.”

Something settled in Fiona’s stomach. She felt a little bit sick and still nervous. The words spoken about her in the bathroom echoed in her ears and she couldn’t keep it at bay anymore. She blurted, “Moving here was a mistake.”

Tyson took a step back, looking wounded. He couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her mouth, especially on the first day she was even in Denver.

“You don’t mean that,” he spoke. “You haven’t even been here 24 hours.”

“I just know that I don’t fit into this lifestyle,” she said. “What if living together ruins our friendship? What if we can only handle each other in off-season spurts?”

“Why are you talking like this?” he asked. Tyson knew someone had to have said something because Fiona was happy just thirty minutes before all this. She sighed heavily, shaking her head at him to drop it. “I want you here. How do you not realize that? The months I spend in Denver without you drag because I’m counting down the days until I get to go home and be near you. But, now, I have you all the time. That’s all I want. Can’t you see that?”

Fiona’s face was red, flustered by his certainty and the emotion behind his words.

“You belong here. You belong with me,” he spoke. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into him. Oh, how they both wanted that to be true. “Now, can you please get out of your head and hang out with me?”

Fiona nodded meekly and allowed Tyson to lead her back into the bar. He sat at the bar beside JT, legs hanging from the barstool with his knees apart so Fiona could fit between them. She leaned up against him, eyes flitting briefly to the angry group of girls in the corner. Tyson noticed this and, without a word, wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. He’d deal with Faith later.

“Your love is all you owe me. I won't break your heart.”

Tyson was on a date.

At least, that’s what Fiona thought he was doing.

She came home from work on a Friday night to an empty apartment. Tyson had practice early that morning, but he had the night off and he was planning to live on the couch, except he wasn’t on the couch. His shoes weren’t even beside the door.

So, Fiona texted him and he responded that he was out to dinner with a friend and he’d be home soon. That was at 6:30 p.m. It was now 8:30 p.m.

She wondered if it was with Faith. It was only a week earlier that she first encountered the professional mean girl and she still hadn’t shaken the feeling of worthlessness that came after. Tyson didn’t say anything about her that night. He didn’t explain why she was rubbing his arm at the bar or why she was giving Fiona death glares all night. He simply hoped that Fi wouldn’t catch on and that he wouldn’t get caught in a sticky situation. But, he knew he was already stuck because Fiona was acting weird and Faith was trying to get more attention from him.

He needed to restore balance in his little universe.

So, he texted Faith to grab drinks. He was going to tell her to get lost, that he didn’t have feelings for her.

Fiona didn’t know that. She spent the night sulking on the couch, glass of wine in one hand and a chocolate donut in the other. Love Island UK played on the television, acting as a small distraction from her disaster of a love life. When she finished her glass, she turned the TV off, wrapped herself in the blanket, and headed off to her room.

Tyson, on the other hand, was sprinting up the stairs in their apartment building just to get back to her. The elevator was taking too long and he was scared that if he waited a minute more he might lose his nerve, so he was skipping two steps at a time to get to Fiona.

She didn’t hear the door open, too invested in whatever she was reading on her phone to notice that he entered the apartment. She only realized when he called her name as he kicked his shoes off. He appeared a moment later, winded, at the end of the hallway.

“I love you,” he blurted out. Fiona’s eyes went wide. “Like, I love you as way more than a friend and I can’t keep ignoring how I feel. Tell me you feel it, too.” Her jaw dropped as he continued, “You’re the best person I know, inside and out, and you deserve to be loved every single day. You deserve someone who’ll never let you down, never break your heart. I want to be that guy.”

He was only a few steps away, having moved towards Fiona down the hallway, and his chest was still heaving from his marathon up the stairs. She took a deep breath, butterflies filling her stomach at his words, at the way he was looking at her, at her own feelings.

“I love you, too,” she spoke. “As way more than a friend.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I have for way too long.”

“I bet I have you beat,” he teased. He stepped into her space, one arm wrapping around her waist to tug her against him. She smiled at him, gaze shifting to his lips only for a moment before she met his eyes again. “Fifteen.”

“Huh?”

“When we kissed for the first time, the only time,” he said softly. “I think that’s when I knew deep down that there was nobody else.”

“Oh,” she spoke shyly. “Then, yes, you have me beat.”

“I knew it.”

“It was when you visited my school that I knew.”

“It took you that long?!” he exclaimed, his other arm coming to wrap around her waist with his other. She threw her head back with a laugh, eyes light and happy. “Wow.”

“Oh, don’t wow me,” she muttered. “It took you six years to tell me how you feel.”

“And it was worth it,” he said. She couldn’t stop smiling, neither could he. “Well, it will be.” She gave him a curious look, confused by his words. He laughed softly. “Do you think you’re a better kisser than you were at fifteen?”

“Why don’t you find out?”

Tyson leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. It was shy and chaste at first, only one kiss before they pulled away to soak up what they’d just down. And then he was leaning in again except this time her arms found a place around his neck and he pulled her closer, chest-to-chest. Their lips fit perfectly, melded into one another like this was the way they were meant to be.

The kiss didn’t last long before they were both smiling into it, teeth knocking against each other as they tried to make it last. Giggles erupted as they pulled away, both red in the face and breathing heavily. His fingers curled into her sides, like he couldn’t get enough of her and he couldn’t get close enough.

“I love you,” he spoke against her lips before placing one last peck against them. Fiona’s cheeks hurt from smiling. She pulled away from her to get a good look at the man in front of her. Through everything, Tyson had been at her side and, looking in his eyes, feeling his touch, she knew there would never be a day she wouldn’t feel his love.

“I love you, too. I always will.”

#tyson jost fic #tyson jost story #nhl imagine #tyson jost imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl fic #tyson jost #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche imagine #colorado avalanche fic #mk writes

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miniwolfsbane · 4 years

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JWCC Sammy Gutierrez and body positivity

THIS IS VERY LONG! (I just have a lot of feelings!) Also, this is personal and doesn’t talk a lot about Sammy and is just one big rant.

Comment I wrote on the S2 preview “Also, shout out to the creators for making Sammy heavy, but it not effecting or having anything to do with her character. OR have her be obsessed with food. I'm sure other 90s kids remember the fat kid trope. Not doing fat logic, but we've come so far from the old days! As a woman who had that kind of body type growing up (had skinny friends, developed early, etc. it all was uncomfortable for many reasons. Long story.), it's amazing to see this kind of...semi-body positivity that's quiet and unspoken in a show aimed at everyone, including girls. If I had seen this character at 13, my mind would've been blown. Kudos!!”

I’m reeeally tired and getting to that point where I get emotional about stupid stuff. However, this isn’t that stupid...maybe?

We’ve reached a milestone, a kind of apex in American society, where being fat is no longer a running gag and it’s celebrated to be thick and/or a healthy weight. (Not to say skinny isn’t cool and it’s sure as heck better than carry 90+ pounds if it can be helped, but, as I said on Youtube, lots of 90s fat tropes were had, were they not? Every body type has their problems, blessings, and issues.) But, health is also a big issue and losing weight is too. I’m all for losing weight, but I also know what it was like growing up a fat kid, then a fat teenager in the 90s and 2000s when we didn’t have representation and people like Tocorra Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Ashley Graham and Rebel Wilson around to promote different body shapes and/or being a little heavy or curvy while still being healthy. (Melissa and Rebel have lost weight and I applaud them full circle!)

Anyway, It is downright uplifting to see Sammy in JWCC like this! Being “thicker” than her two female friends doesn’t slow her down or hinder her in anyway. She is not obsessed with food. She is not constantly eating. Likewise, she has an actual personality and an interesting secret and backstory. The fans seem to love her. She is not dressed immodestly and she doesn’t seem to have ANY negative opinions of her body type, for now. Likewise, in a fast paced show like this, no one is talking behind her back about her weight or eating habits (again, for now. This could change in upcoming seasons, we don’t know.) Come to that, she’s fairly intelligent and isn’t dumb. Like, how many times have we seen a fat, dumb person in a show. (I’m looking at you Chris Griffin and Cleveland Jr!) This could’ve gone SO SIDEWAYS in her character creation any number of ways and I’m just amazed it didn’t. However, this maybe is attributed to the show being an action show and not a comedy? In any case, I’m so glad girls of this generation can see it. I wish I’d had it at their age. (It’s probably because her VA is heavy, but heavier than how Sammy is portrayed, to my knowledge. I’ve only seen her years ago on Disney channel. Who cares why? It happened and I’m glad.) Please be assured, I’m NOT trying promote fat acceptance, just inclusivity, relatability, and representation.

Like I say all the time, I’m not super heavy. I never was. As I said in the comment, I developed early and had mostly skinny friends growing up. I remember being about 11 and hosting my first sleepover and someone pointing to my arms at my stretch marks, asking what they were. I wasn’t traumatized and they didn’t tease me, but I was a little (a lot?) self-conscious. Like, can we please get the idea out of our head that ONLY pregnant women get stretch marks?? (Cocoa butter companies, hello?!) They can happen to girls that grow tall fast or, like me, you can have them all freaking over because the puberty button in your brain got stuck. (LOL?) And calling them cute things like skin lightning doesn’t really help. My limbs and body still look weird.

I don’t remember seeing many characters shaped like me in shows as a kid or teenager. Unless maybe Simpsons characters with their pudgy bellies who may be some of the most average, realistic bodies in all of fiction, really. We can’t all be supermodels and body builders. Sailor Moon girls were all thin and leggy. None of the Magic School Bus kids were pudgy, all average and healthy (which is probably a good thing in a way. IDK. Representation is great, but so is promoting healthy eating and healthy shapes. Everything has their place.) Disney characters were mostly animals at the time, and I didn’t see Recess until Highschool or something at 3 am, and even then, there was only Mikey. Mikey was progressive, but he wasn’t female. Closest I got was Ariel’s (Little Mermaid) sister, Adella ( https://littlemermaid.fandom.com/wiki/Adella) and even then, she had no belly and never animated the same outside of the series with not much character development or anything.

Cassie from Animorphs might’ve been a close second, but, though she was my favorite female character as a kid (not anymore), it was hard to say “OMG, she’s shaped like me!” as it was a book series with few visual aides outside of covers, posters and some toys.

I remember seeing the singing group Cherish for a few seconds on TV once. A bunch of thick, busty, heavy black girls and I was SO EXCITED because for those few seconds on TV, there were girls that looked like me! Then some years later I found out a few of them lost weight and I was like bleh. (I didn’t follow their music or anything, not even sure how I saw them again.) Not that disapprove, health is essential, and I encourage people to lose weight for themselves, but it was nice having some representation. Except health needs to come first. It’s a two-edged sword if I ever saw one.

Don’t get me started on the sheer amount of girls with small/flat chests on TV. (No offense! See above about body types. Again, it’s about representation and seeing someone that looks like you that was not common in the 90s and early 2000s) I’m picky though. I wanted to see more representation, but the minute I saw it, I was not impressed or annoyed. To my better judgement, I saw a few episodes of something I won’t name with a curvy lead. I found her times dressing up as a man unconvincing and confusing because of her body shape. Other times I was, for lack of a better word, slightly appalled at her own size, even though she somewhat looked like me. I know, it makes no sense. Other times, I was mad at Lizzy Mcguire or another show for having skinny characters with A-cups while I was, er, way past training bras and smaller bras by 14/15 when the show was new.

Swearz, I developed (pun not intended!) this weird conspiracy theory that Disney execs have to look at the Star’s mom and other women in their family before casting a girl to make sure she stays thin/average chested for the shows entire run. Outside of one show, all shows in that era had the same thin girl body type. (And not much representation for different races for Disney back then, but that’s another debate for someone to better handle, not me.)

All that said, my shape was attributed to four things: Diet, genetics, lack of exercise and my mom’s cooking. Not sure how much I subscribe to the “genetics effect body fat theory”, but the “genetics effect body shape” is definitely a thing! And hormones in chicken. My family said all I ever wanted when I was little was McDonald’s chicken nuggets all the time, so I think that had some play in how I turned out. It’s probably too much to get into here, and no one cares about my sob story, so let’s move on.

Sammy is awesome and I hope to see more characters like her from other studios in the future. Every body type needs representation, but every body also deserves to be healthy and nourished.

EDIT: WARNING: THE VIDEO AND THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS TALK ABOUT ED AND CALORIE RESTRICTION!!

OMAHGAWWWD! I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING ROTTEN IN THE INDUSTRY, Y’ALL!! (Okay, that’s obvious, but you don’t really give it thought in your day to day life.)

The video gives a summary of Jenette McCurdy’s time on iCarly and the horrors she’d been going through in her younger years, which included an eating disorder and restricting calories to an (alleged) 900. Dear lord, that is sickening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCE1x_chT34

Granted, I would take this with a small grain of salt as it’s from the internet, and undoubtedly, many actresses, probably more than we realize, have ED’s. If they would start encouraging them to be at healthy weights, things like this wouldn’t happen. Frick Nickelodeon and frick the acting industry!!

So, this was what I was trying to convey. Casting and producers need to find that middle ground. Don’t promote fact acceptance, but do not force your actors/actresses to be stick thin either. I could go on a huge tangent, but I don’t have the brain power right now. If you have an ED or know someone that does, I strongly encourage you to get help. I’ve been in tight spots like that (I knew of people or knew people), but getting REAL help from a doctor, professional, or someone with a good head on their shoulders is better than hiding it or keeping it secret. Ten years down the line, you’ll be thankful you did and not have regret. No one is perfect, but sometimes you have to fight harder to find a solution and someone that will actually listen to you and take your concerns to heart.

If I get negative comments, I’ll be deleting this and no one will be able to enjoy it. Think before you type and don’t be a jerk.

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minheefreckles · 4 years

Text

Hidden Love - Taeyoung

Word count: about 2.5k

Member: Cravity’s Taeyoung

Warning(s): Idiots in love, a few curse words here and there nothing too bad

Genre: Fluff, bulletpoint scenario, slight crack

Note: This was requested by anon! Also I don’t know how entertainment companies work so there may be some errors. Reader is older than taeyoung and is female since anon requested a nuna reader. Enjoy!

Request: hi!! can i ask for a taeyoung fic where the reader is an older trainee at starship and tae has the fattest noona crush on him 🥺

Plot: In which getting locked into a closet brings you a lot closer to a certain younger trainee

- The first thing taeyoung was greeted with while entering the practice room for the first time was a big group hug, sweaty arms and shoulders embracing him from everywhere

- (he swore he could have felt someone wrap their legs around him koala-style too)

- Giggles and shouts echoed through the room and despite himself (and the numerous sweats stains the huggers left on his new, plain white shirt :)), he felt himself giggling along with these strangers that he has known for a total of 5 seconds

- A chorus of very very enthusiastic “Hi Taeyoung!”s as the group released him from their hug followed, people introducing themselves to him left and right, leaving him slightly disoriented, but like, a good kind of disoriented if that was a thing

- As each trainee introduced themselves properly to him, by what he was guessing as age order– age, years of training, name, all that jazz

- Taeyoung’s eyes finally drifted to the person at the end of the line

- You!!

- There’s a small sign with the word “leader” messily written in black Sharpie on it and he noticed the corners of it didn’t stick on your shirt anymore

- Your eyes shone brightly and warmly, a wide grin etched on your face and Taeyoung felt his heart skip a beat

- Taeyoung seeing you basically: 😳

- You took a big step towards him and extended a hand towards him

- “Hi! I’m (Y/N), leader of this practice room, and you’re watching Disney Channel. Welcome to Starship Entertainment. Let’s get along well!”

- Taeyoung’s eyes widened slightly.

- Taeyoung: “what if… what if my hand was sweaty???”

- “What if my hand sweat disgusts her????”

- To the poor boy’s shock, you retract your hand

- Taeyoung now, his eyes even wider because he thought you hated him now: “Did I make her wait too long????,,, does she hate me??? am i gonna have to leave starship now????”

- Taeyoung stop overreacting

- However, you open your arms very wide, inching closer and closer to him until your body is about 2 inches apart from his

- Taeyoung’s heart right now: THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THU-

- You hugged him in what might the warmest and most comfortable hug Taeyoung has ever received

- After a few seconds, which felt like an eternity for Taeyoung, you broke the hug and ruffled his hair

- “Let’s be good friends, kiddo :D!”, you said while unintentionally kiddo-zoning AND friend-zoning Taeyoung at the same time

- And become good friends you guys did!

- You were the one he was closest to and the most comfortable with among the female trainees

- Whenever he couldn’t execute a dance move the way he wanted to, you were there at his rescue! guiding him through it and calming him down

- Whenever his throat was feeling sore from all the practicing and singing, you were there to yeet a bottle of water at him and tell him to stay hydrated, ruffling his hair while he whines at you for always treating him like a child

- Whenever he felt sad, down and as if the whole world was against him, you were there to sit down with him, remind him that no! he’s not alone, he had you and the other trainees who cared a lot for him

- Sometimes, you guys engage in deep long talks that last hours

- They always without fail manage to cheer him up and its probably during one of these talks that he starts to crush on you

- And boy does he start crushing h a r d

- The thing he liked most about you was probably the way you were so kind and so encouraging to everybody

- Even if the teachers scolded you for spending too much time helping the others with their moves or something, you didn’t care

- You liked helping others and you had already claimed all the others as your children >:D

- Anyways, the second time where he felt himself fall even deeper for you was on a weekend night, late in the night

- All the others have opted to go out to the movies or to go sing at a karaoke since it was the weekend

- You, however, decided to stay at the practice room to touch up some dance moves you didn’t feel that good about and Taeyoung stayed because… well because of you

- After practicing for a good while with him and also lowkey just messing around, you laid down on the hard floor, your shirt soaked with sweat, Taeyoung soon following suit.

- You turn towards him to face him and Taeyoung noticed how pretty you were, even with your sweaty, wet, messy hair plastered to the sides of your face, even when your nostrils were flaring up and down because you were out of breath

- “I never noticed how pretty your lips were” you said and turned back to stare at the ceiling

- While taeyoung’s literally about to flatline because his heart is beating so quickly jssjakak

- He also turns to stare at the ceiling awkwardly because he swears to god, if he looks at you for one more second, he will literally combust

- “R-really?” - him, absolutely shook while you lay there peacefully smiling at nothing

- “Yeah :) they look very soft :)”

- Taeyoung’s literally shaking at this point

- “T-that’s cool. Your lips are pretty too?? I guess?? N-not to be creepy, i just find them really pretty, like pretty in shape, you know haha? And color too!! Your lip color is really pretty :’DD”

- He turns back towards you to see you snoring and sleeping peacefully and he just sits there for a minute blinking because

- What just happened

- …

- The poor boy is on the verge of tears because :((( was he that boring to the point where you feel asleep :(((

- The truth is you were just tired from practicing and from pulling that one nighter yesterday

- But he didnt know that so whoops

- He ended up just saying fuck it and just fell asleep next to you, his arm under his head serving as a pillow

- And oh boy y’all bet y’all got teased when the other trainees came back and found you two together

- Taeyoung with his arm around your waist even though he made sure to sleep at least 3 feet away from you last night because he wanted to respect your personal space

- Your face nuzzled into his chest

- Your legs tangled together

- S c a n d a l o u s

- Many pictures were taken on that day

- “God tier blackmail material” - kang minhee probably

- That was the day where you also started seeing taeyoung in a different light

- Maybe… just maybe he wasn’t the kid you always thought he was?

- Maybe he was… a man 😳

- There’s no way, right?? Haha you were just tripping

- … unless ?

- You start paying attention to your hair whenever you practiced with him

- No longer were the days where you liked to agressively flip your hair into his face because what if your hair smelled bad today :(?

- And wow, you really weren’t lying that night

- His lips really were pretty :0

- And how can someone look so good right after waking up at 5 am? And right after dancing for 30 minutes straight?

- And wow he really cleaned up well in a suit and tie when there was a certain formal event you guys had to attend

- You were even afraid to hug him sometimes after practice because what if you got sweat on him :((( what if your sweat disgusts him :((((

- Oh how the turn tables

- Unfortunately, taeyoung being the clueless boy he is mistakes your crush on him to being uncomfortable

- He racks his mind to think of something he did to offend you or something

- And he suddenly remembers the practice room night

- Did he make you uncomfortable that night? Maybe he should have woken you up instead of laying down with you?

- Goddammit taeyoung - him

- He now thinks you hate him whoops :)

- So now the two of you avoid each other

- You avoid him because you’re still having an existential crisis over whether you really consider him as a crush and a man or a boi™

- He avoids you because he feels guilty for sleeping next to you and thinks you think he’s creepy

- Two idiots in love :)

- And y’all bet the other trainees knows how absolutely dumb and in love the both of you are

- And that is why they formed a plan together to

- !!! lock both of you in a closet to talk out your feelings !!!

- Isn’t that just genius haha nothing’s gonna go wrong right? Of course not

- So, Minhee’s mainly the one behind this absolute evil masterpiece

- He commands tells poor Seongmin to go tell you that you need to retrieve a bucket from the closet

- While Wonjin’s the one who tells Taeyoung to go there to get a mop for “spring cleaning” even though its almost july

- And as if y’all couldn’t be dumber, you guys buy it and do exactly as they say

- You arrive first to the closet, not noticing the small footsteps behind you as Taeyoung also walks towards the closet, too enthralled by something on his phone to notice you were right before him

- As you enter the tight closet, you don’t see a bucket?

- Did you get the wrong closet?? :( you remember them specifically saying it was this one though

- You hear the closet door open once again and you yelp, surprised by the sudden creaking and suddenly finding yourself face to face with Taeyoung

- His nose was literally almost touching yours because of how small the closet was and you feel your heartbeat accelerate

- You didn’t even have the time so say hi to him before the doors suddenly closes followed by the sound of something, or rather somebody locking it.

- Now that the door was closed, there was no natural light peeking through the crack of the door like before and you both find yourselves in the dark, tight space of the closet

- You stare bewildered at Taeyoung’s direction and you were pretty sure his expression was also mirroring yours before both of you turned towards the door and banged on it

- It didn’t take long to conclude the others were behind this as the sound of giggling and hushed laughter could be heard from outside

- “YOU FUCKNUTS” - Taeyoung

- You at him swearing: 😶🤭😯😧😮😲

- “LET US OUT”

- “NOT UNTIL YOU TALK TO EACH OTHER AND STOP BEING DUMBASSES. YOU GUYS ARE IN LOVE AND ITS ANNOYING. BYE” sais someone who suspiciously sounded like Minhee

- You knew they weren’t gonna give up so you tried to find where the light switch was so you could at least see

- “Taeyoung, just give it up, do you know where the light is?”

- “IT’S NEXT TO THE DOOR” - a voice from outside

- “Thanks, I guess” you muttered, trying to stabilize yourself when you almost trip on something, which you were guessing was probably Taeyoung’s foot or something like that

- “Ouch!” Yep, that was his foot

- “Sorry, it’s really dark here, can you help me find the light switch. I can’t even remember where the door was”

- You keep palping the wall to find it when you come in contact with something else :) something that kinda feels like a hand :) like Taeyoung’s hands :) not that you memorized the feeling of his hand shape from holding his hands so many times you could recognize them anywhere anytime :) totally not :)

- You hear a “click” and the light finally comes out of a light bulb from the ceiling and you tightly close your eyes for a second to get accustomed to the sudden change

- When reopening them, you realize that you and Taeyoung found the light switch at the same time, your hand now on top of his

- You quickly retract your hand, your face feeling kinda warm, and glance at Taeyoung to find that his face, too, was very very red

- “So… um…”

- “Yep…”

- Awkward silence ensues :)

- “Look y/n i can’t take it anymore… i’m so sorry for making you uncomfortable that night when i slept next to you in the practice room. I was tired and i didnt want to wake you up because you looked so peaceful. Im sorry :(“

- “Wait… what, Taeyoung, you didn’t make me uncomfortable at all. Actually, since that night, I’ve just been really weird. I get weird around you, not in like a bad way. My heart feels weird, my stomach too. Like it feels like having butterflies in your stomach. All this time I thought of you as a kid, and now I might actually,,,,,, seeyoulikeaman?”

- Taeyoung: :0

- sO YOU DON’T HATE ME? Or is this your way of indirectly telling me that you hate me :(“

- “NO NO I DONT HATE YOU AT ALL WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT”

- Haha nothing just you basically avoiding me 24/7 and not talking to me ever about anything anymore - taeyoung in his head

- “Idk. Wait, what did you say before? You might see what?”

- “Uh, well basically, uhhh…”

- “Does the mighty y/n mayhaps have a crush on me? I think I heard something like “i might see you like a man now”, huh?” Cue Taeyoung grinning like the Cheshire cat

- “Pfft, no, what do you mean, i never said that…”.........

- “Ok, yes, I admit it, I may have a small, teeny crush on you. I don’t know how it happened but it happened. And I actually like the feeling I get when I’m nervous around you. That sounds really weird, doesn’t it? And now I feel stupid because you probably don’t feel the same.”

- Taeyoung who has been crushing on you literally from the second he saw you: :0

- “I have a confession, but… I’ve liked you since the day you hugged me in that practice room my first day at Starship.”

- “WHAT?”

- “You were so kind to me and the others even when I just entered the company. You supported me through all these years and I don’t think I honestly could have picked someone else better than you to crush on. You’re literally an angel in disguise, Y/N.”

- Homeboy really just poured his entire heart and feelings to you in a closet

- “Wow. I guess we were crushing on each other this whole time and didn’t notice.” You couldn’t help but chuckle at the situation.

- “NOW KISS” - a voice outside, again

- You and Taeyoung shared an exasperated look together.

- “Leave us alone, this is private >:(((“

- “No.”

- You know, Tae,” you put your hand on his arm, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively, “that kiss doesn’t sound like a bad idea” You were now sporting a wide grin.

- “Y/N NOT YOU TOO”

Bonus

“guys! get us out of here”

“jungmo unlock them”

“...”

“jungmo!”

“i may have forgotten the lock combination…”

“JUNGMO!”

#kim taeyoung #cravity #kpop #kpop blurbs #kpop fluff #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #cravity taeyoung #taeyoung fluff #taeyoung scenarios #taeyoung imagines #cravity fluff #cravity scenarios #cravity imagines #request #cravity taeyoung fluff #cravity taeyoung imagines #cravity taeyoung scenarios

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hazellvesque · 4 years

Text

Some Kind of Miracle - Chapter 9

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: G

Pairing: Adrien/Marinette

Summary: If Marinette had her way, she would have had nothing to do with Alya’s latest celebrity crush. So how did she get roped into stalking him around Los Angeles? When fashion icon Adrien Agreste quite literally crashes into Marinette’s life, they have no choice but to put up with one another or risk ruining both of their potential careers forever.

An AU based on the iconic Disney Channel Original Movie, Starstruck.

Read on Ao3

Chapter 9 - Searching

<<< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>>

At first, the silence had been a welcome respite from the non-stop hustle of the trip thus far. Marinette had uttered a silent thank you to Gabriel Agreste and his obscene fortune, as it was the main reasoning behind her overwhelming sense of serenity and downright coziness as she burrowed further under the endless expanse of blankets on her expensive hotel room bed.

Until now, she’d never realized just how comfortable a pillow could be. If she ever came into possession of a massive inheritance or managed to marry rich, she decided, her first order of business would be to invest in half a dozen down pillows. With silk pillowcases. The highest thread count she could find.

And to think, some people lived like this every day . All tall ceilings and open floor plans and the most expensive materials making up every inch of their living space, never needing to share with or see anyone, having every possible thing they could want in the world right at their fingertips.

Incredible was one word for it. Intimidating was another. Yet glancing around the massive space with nothing but the sounds of morning rush hour traffic in the distance to distract her, Marinette couldn’t help but wonder how quickly this life would turn from luxury to loneliness. Owning everything you could ever want, but having no one to share it with? No doubt the novelty would turn stale eventually.

Admittedly, as the hours dragged on, the quiet and comfort quickly turned to restlessness and an odd tickling sense in the back of her mind that she should be doing something. Anything besides lying around and letting the day waste away.

At this time of morning, the only shows on television were overacted soap operas and old childrens’ cartoons, which could only be entertaining for so long. Scrolling through other people’s pictures and posts was never very rewarding, and opening her sketchbook only helped to make her realize just how lacking her brain was in the inspiration department. She couldn’t think of a single new idea.

Compared to the past couple of days she’d been having, a single afternoon of relaxation and silence was dull at best, and downright torture at worst. The most productive thing she’d done all day was rummage through Alya’s bag for ibuprofen and wander to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. In retrospect, caffeine probably wasn’t the best for a headache, but the energy was worth the side effects.

All Marinette could think about, honestly, was how much she hoped Alya wasn’t going to completely freak out being in the Agreste mansion. It was all fun and games until her best friend got so excited that she popped a blood vessel or fangirled too hard in front of the wrong snobbish elite.

At least Alya was having more fun than she was.

Alya Césaire had never been more stressed in her entire life.

Her nerves were a direct reflection of her mother’s, who was pacing back and forth as she read over her to-do lists. If her incessant circling went on any longer, she might very well leave a permanent rut in the Agreste’s perfectly manicured back lawn.

It seemed neither of them were very good at handling last-minute wrenches in their plans.

Nathalie Sancouer had greeted them as they entered the car outside of their hotel, giving only a brief apology for the last minute addition to Mme. Césaire’s itinerary and ensuring her that she’d receive a substantial pay raise as a result. Putting a face to the mysterious assistant’s name was the first thing that put Alya on edge. The woman had a fierce stare, even as she remained watching straight ahead and hardly spared her backseat passenger a second glance.

The next source of tension came from what Alya thought was an innocent question. Slicing through the thick silence, she dared to ask, “So, do you plan and hire people for all sorts of celebrities like Gabriel Agreste or is this a one time thing?”

Nathalie’s smile - though it seemed more like a knowing smirk - quirked just slightly enough for Alya to see in the rearview mirror. “I am Mr. Agreste’s personal assistant,” she said coolly. “I handle all of his affairs.”

Alya had suddenly felt as motion sick as she did on the plane. She tried her best not to gape at the woman like an idiot. Instead, her shock was directed towards her mother, who sat innocently looking out of the window of the passenger seat as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

Before Alya could open her mouth, Nathalie cut in. “I’ll be adding your name to the non-disclosure agreement your mother signed upon accepting the job. You won’t be telling anyone about the things you do as part of this job. Understood?”

Even if the words seemed harsh, Nathalie still had a hint of amusement lingering on her face. A threat hidden under a smile was enough to send a chill down Alya’s spine.

“Understood,” Alya gulped.

By the time the tables were set up and guests began arriving, Alya had stress-eaten about five cupcakes. Maybe six. But who was counting?

Stand up straight. Smile politely. Don’t let your hands shake too much. She plastered on a cheery demeanor as she passed plates of sugary confectioneries to anyone who approached the table.

Nathalie watched her from the other side of the garden, a small approving smile on her face.

The guest list seemed to be entirely incohesive. Attire ranged from business casual to black tie and everything in between, and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the conversations happening around her. So far, there was no sign of Adrien or his father.

There were, however, many guests her age. Young people, likely models and musicians and the like. And there in the distance, a familiar spectacled face in the crowd. Alya squinted to get a better look, but that proved unnecessary as the boy and a female companion approached the desserts.

She prayed there were no cupcake crumbs or icing remnants on her chin. She cleared her throat once to get his attention, then again to try and look casual. “It was Nino, right?”

She remembered at the last second that she should speak English, so her vowels were slurred in all the wrong ways, but at least it sounded vaguely understandable.

Nino’s eyebrow raised in recognition. He nodded. “Nightclub girl. Anna, or-?”

“Alya,” she supplied.

“Right,” he tapped his temple with his index finger, as if he were committing the name to memory this time.

Alya’s eyes slid to the blonde girl. If her glossy high golden ponytail weren’t recognizable enough, she made sure to stand out with her insanely high shoes and little black dress. No surprise that she was the best dressed person here by far. ‘ Posh ’ was one of the kinder words that Alya’s blog followers used in their comments about her. “And you’re Chloe Bourgeois.”

“You know who she is?” Nino frowned.

Chloe scoffed. “It’s about time someone did, right?”

“She’s Adrien’s friend,” Alya said too quickly, too matter-of-factly. Her eyes widened as her mind scrambled for a cover. “At least, I assume you both are. That’s why you’re here, right?”

“Well, you’re here too,” Chloe looked her up and down. Not disdainfully, but quizzically. “Alone?”

“Chef Césaire is my mom, I’m here to help her set up and serve.”

“Serving? Oh please,” Chloe rolled her eyes, placing her hand on the small of Alya’s back and guiding her away from the table, not bothering to ask if she actually wanted to leave. “These people may have enough cash to get everything handed to them, but they’re not entirely helpless. You shouldn’t have to stand there all night and kiss their asses.”

Alya looked to Nino for help, but he seemed just as confused. He snatched a cupcake from the table before trailing behind them, biting into it as if it were movie theater popcorn to accompany the entertaining scene about to unfold.

“Are you sure Natha- er, Miss Sancouer won’t mind? She seemed pretty serious about this whole thing.”

“Oh, she’ll mind,” Nino smirked, taking another bite. “But you’re not her kid, so she can’t get mad at you for whatever trouble you might get in like she does with Adrien-”

“Except she’s not his mom,” Chloe grumbled, “and she should stop acting like she is.”

Alya nearly flinched noticing the way Chloe’s grip suddenly felt like claws in her back.

Nino continued on, either not noticing the icy shift in tone or choosing to ignore it. “Besides, there’s nothing to do tonight to even get you on her bad side. This whole thing is just another scheme of hers to make Adrien look good. ‘Stand around, eat some food, talk to some guests, don’t say or do anything questionable, be mundane all night so no one can bad mouth you later.’”

The three of them had made it over to the bandstand, where a guitarist had just finished setting up. Chloe sat on a white stool, immediately leaning down to unfasten the buckle on her stiletto heels. She removed her shoes and folded her legs under her, somehow effortlessly poised in her odd seated position. Evidently she was very comfortable here. Nino wasted no time making himself comfortable too, swinging an extra stool around to use as a footrest.

“Is this a normal thing?” Alya asked. “I mean, a band, a caterer, a whole huge crowd of people to entertain. Just for some flashy pictures?

“Welcome to Hollywood,” Nino gestured as the last open seat next to him, urging Alya to relax. “Enjoy your stay while you can.”

As the guitarist plucked out the first few notes of a soft rock song, Chloe leaned over to talk with Alya. How she had perfect posture even when sitting so precariously was a mystery. “Is it your first time at something like this?”

Alya swallowed nervously as she sat down. “How could you tell?”

“You don’t fit in,” Chloe said bluntly. “Trust me, that’s a good thing. You haven’t let any of this stuff go to your head. Don’t let it corrupt you or else you’ll feel obligated to start wearing stuff like this-” she gestured to her discarded shoes, “-to impress people you don’t even know.”

As the song picked up, Alya’s two new companions lapsed into comfortable silence. A few people had wandered over to listen as well, still huddled in their odd exclusive conversation circles.

Chatter and a half a dozen camera flashes in quick succession to Alya’s left caught her attention.

There, coming out of the sliding glass doors of the large house, was the reason Alya’s heart suddenly started palpitating. Adrien had finally arrived, fashionably late to his own party. That, too, was probably calculated down to the minute.

He looked exactly like his pictures, which was probably why her brain hadn’t entirely processed yet that he was indeed a real person, standing less than 10 meters away, totally accessible. Alya took a deep breath as she watched him descend the short steps and properly enter the garden area. Stay calm, she reminded herself for the tenth time that night.

Various partygoers struck up conversation with him immediately as he put on a show for the cameras, smiling and shaking hands all around. Knowing it was all mostly fake left a weird feeling in Alya’s gut.

“There he is,” Chloe looked up, quickly fastening her shoes back on. “I’ll be back,” she said, abandoning her seat.

Nino tipped his head back and sighed. “No you won’t,” he said to no one.

The band’s guitarist strummed out the last notes of their song to polite applause from the small crowd. Alya cast a nervous glance back at the dessert table, but her mother was deep in conversation with other party guests, laughing and even enjoying some of her delicacies for herself. Nathalie stood in her own circle not too far away, not seeming to care in the slightest that Alya had abandoned her post.

Chloe had made her way to Adrien’s side, planting quick bises on both of his cheeks and gesturing for him to come join them near the band. He smiled and gave her a ‘later’ gesture before turning to greet the rest of his guests while Chloe shrugged and dissolved into the crowd.

And then there was Nino, still lounging beside Alya, nodding along to the opening notes of the next song, completely lost in the music. His glasses had slipped down the bridge of his nose. His tie knot was slightly loose, hanging around his neck revealing that the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. Casual. Like he didn’t care at all about the crowd and cameras. He was completely in his element listening to the music.

He was kind of cute, now that she thought about it.

“I’ve never heard this song,” Alya tested the waters.

Nino smiled just a little, his eyes still closed blissfully. “Neither have I. It’s got a nice beat to it though. It’s probably an original, not a cover.”

His foot tapped against the stool to the steady rhythm. His fingertips twitched, as if he were playing an air instrument.

Alya tilted her head. “Is that how you and Adrien met? You’re a musician? What do you play?”

“Musician is one word for it I guess,” his voice was low, allowing the other party goers to enjoy the music. He spoke only loud enough for Alya to listen. “I’ve tried picking up strings and keys but none of that really suits me. I leave the original work to the more talented folks, but finding ways to remix and mashup songs is my favorite. I’m trying to think of a way I can use this bass line.”

His hands continued their odd little dance, moving through the air as if he were placing invisible notes on a floating staff.

Alya was glad his eyes were closed, so he wouldn’t notice her staring.

As often as Nino’s name came up in tabloids alongside Adrien, not much was known about him. No one really knew who he was - and judging by the way he chose to blend in tonight, all casually clothed and careless air, that was probably intentional. All he was known for was being Adrien’s best friend. But clearly there was more to the story.

She waited until the song was over and his hands came to a rest at his side to speak again.

She decided to try a new topic, one that wouldn’t have her gaping like a fish out of water while he went on and on about a hobby she knew nothing about. “So Chloe seems. . . nice.”

“She can be when she wants to,” Nino said, leaning his head closer to whisper, “but to be honest, I was the one who saw you over there stressing yourself out and I figured you could use a break. I guess her getting your attention was her way of being nice to me today.”

“Oh.”

Before she could think of a response, Nino stood and shrugged his head towards the growing crowd at the center of the party. “Come on, let me go introduce you to the man of the hour.”

Alya’s stomach dropped to her toes. Nino led the way through the throngs of people, having no trouble making his way up to the superstar model. It was like the red sea of flashy glitz and glamor parted perfectly to make way for best friend privileges.

Adrien immediately lit up at the sight of Nino. “Dude!” They did that strange boy shoulder-bump handshake-high-five combo.

“Adrien, this is Alya,” Nino turned and waved her forward, politely taking a step back and giving her the floor.

“Um, hi!” She didn’t know if she should shake his hand. She could hardly breathe, now was not the time to be considering social etiquette. Part of her almost wanted to curtsey, but to save herself the embarrassment, she just waved politely. “Alya Césaire. Nice to meet you!”

“So you’re the daughter of the chef. Lucky you, getting to eat amazing food like that every day,” he smiled, and Alya practically melted into a puddle right there.

“Yeah,” she gulped. He was real. And talking to her. He was an actual living human person and she was in his backyard and this was his party and suddenly it felt hotter than it should even for July. “I’m pretty lucky.”

An odd look crossed his face. “I thought Nathalie told me there were two girls working with Mrs. Césaire during her stay?”

“My friend Marinette, she wasn’t feeling well tonight.”

“That’s a shame, you’ll have to tell your friend hello for me.”

If she could remember how to speak after this conversation was over, she would gladly. “Speaking of work, I should probably get back to helping my mom. But, uh, it was nice to meet you Adrien.”

“You too, Alya,” he held his hand out to her, and she steadied her breathing before shaking it briefly, afraid that if she held on any longer than a second she might burst.

She turned on her heel to leave and came face-to-face with Nino. That quickly, she had already forgotten he was standing behind her. And now he was standing incredibly close.

Nino took an awkward step back, chuckling.

“It was nice seeing you again,” he said. “I don’t want to keep your mom waiting, so I’ll tell Chloe to stop bothering you.”

Alya laughed at that. “Yes, well, tell Chloe I said thanks for kidnapping me for a little while. I had fun. And when you figure out how to mix that bass line, you should let me listen.”

Before she could embarrass herself any further, she hurried back to her spot at the dessert table.

For the rest of the night, every time she glanced up and saw Adrien and Nino in the crowd, she had to swallow down the feeling of her heart leaping up into her throat. Actively resisting the urge to stress eat more tiny desserts proved to be a difficult challenge.

And oddly enough, she didn’t think Adrien was entirely the reason why she was so nervous now.

The moment Alya left earshot, Adrien’s mouth morphed into a sly smile. He walked quickly, leaving the camera circle and following Nino further out into the mass of partiers.

“So Alya seems nice,” Adrien said. Casual, yet straight to the point. He applauded himself internally.

“No,” said Nino.

So much for that.

Adrien scrambled for a response. “I mean, you think she’s cool, right?”

“What scheme are you about to get me tangled up in next?”

“Just answer the question, please?”

“Yeah, she’s cool,” Nino grumbled under his breath. “I still don’t appreciate you making me her chauffeur the other night, but I can look past that now. Why do you need to know?”

“No reason,” Adrien may as well have been twiddling his thumbs and whistling a jaunty tune under his breath for how hard he was pretending to be aloof. “I just thought it might be nice for her to have someone to hang out with.”

“Right. You mean other than her best friend who she came halfway across the world with. The same girl who you keep sneaking off to talk to.”

“Well, I think Alya likes you.”

“That’s not the point,” Nino deflected, though the look in his eyes seemed to say he wasn’t totally against the idea.

“And if you, my best friend in the entire world, could do me a massive favor and distract Alya tomorrow so that Marinette doesn’t have to worry about getting caught leaving her hotel for a few hours…”

“You want me to entertain Alya so you and Marinette can go on a da-”

“I promised I’d show her around the city,” Adrien insisted. “I kind of owe her a favor, all things considered.”

Nino stood silently, his brows furrowed. Finally, he muttered, “You’ll be owing me a favor too, after all I’ve done for you.”

Adrien clapped Nino on the shoulder. “You’re the best.”

“And you’re the worst,” Nino replied.

Just before drifting off, Mariette noticed her phone screen light up.

She had a single notification from the app she had installed the night before. A new message.

A little birdy told me you weren’t feeling well tonight. A shame you had to miss out on the fun. Let me make it up to you tomorrow? Be ready at 9am.

- AA

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #adrienette #ml #some kind of miracle #my writing #tumblr I hate you and your stupid formatting #don't ask me why this took nine months I don't have an answer

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belizedeservesbetter · 5 years

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Hercules is Bursting At the Seams With Potential

or, It’s Roger Bart’s World and We’re Just Living In It

Short Version: Right now it’s good but not great HOWEVER with some work this could be really spectacular

Long Version:

The production of Hercules presented by Public Works did exactly what it was meant to do. It brought in crowds, put the entirety of the Public Works community (all 200 of them) onstage and showed producers this is a viable project worth pursuing, be it on Broadway, a Disney park/cruise ship or simply available for licensing.

In all, I liked it. But I didn’t love it, which was a little disappointing to be honest, especially because Hercules is my all time favorite Disney movie. But it is easily (easily!) fixable and could be amazing if they put the work into it.

I’m gonna divide this review/commentary/whatever into three parts:

1. The Good

2. The Bad

3. What I Think They Should Do Moving Forward

So here we go. And I guess I should say there’s going to be a bunch of spoilers here, but if you’re reading this I’m assuming you’ve seen/loved the movie so you already know the plot.

1. The Good

Every moment of this show is filled with an extraordinary amount of heart. You can tell everyone involved with this production loves the source material and wants it to soar. You can tell the entire cast is having a blast and loves being there. The material itself is full of heart because that’s exactly how it was written. The leader of Public Works made a speech at the beginning saying how Hercules is about what it means to be a hero and she’s exactly right. That message is the beating heart of the show.

The length of the show was also pretty nice. My problem with a lot of these film adaptations, Disney ones especially, is that they take a relatively short film and fill it with filler songs/moments in order to fill a 2.5 hour show. Frozen suffered from this. It didn’t need to be that long. However, Hercules was only 90 minutes with no intermission! There was little to no filler! The story, while at times a bit clunky in the beginning, doesn’t take any scenic routes to fill time. This kept the plot moving at a mostly good pace and I was never bored or looking at the song list to see how much longer we had left. I could focus completely on the cast and show without feeling like it was dragging on forever.

And the cast was so good too. Krysta Rodriguez has always been a fav of mine and I was thrilled to see her playing this role. She was fun and spunky and was in great voice. If anything, she didn’t have too much to work with.

Jelani Alladin was FANTASTIC. He was the perfect Hercules. If producers decide to move forward with this show and take it to Broadway, Alladin better stay. He was charming and fun and funny and sang the hell out of “Go the Distance.” But what really impressed me about him was the dramatic moments and how personal and impactful they felt. There’s this great moment when Hercules talks to Zeus and Hera after becoming the hero of Thebes where he breaks down and has his wonderful moment with Phil and that whole scene was so good. He really lets you see Hercules’ insecurities at that moment and the way he was able to be subtle but still project to an outdoor audience of over a thousand was remarkable.

James Monroe Iglehart was great as Phil, as was Jeff Hiller and Nelson Chimilio as Panic and Pain respectively.

The costumes were really cool (with one glaring exception but we’ll get to that later). I especially enjoyed Hades/the gods costumes, because they looked enough like their movie counterparts while still being unique to the show. The way they did Hades’ makeup was super cool, like they pulled him right into the real world. Likewise, the Muses had some really cool costume changes throughout and they all looked amazing.

One of the more impressive aspects of the show was the puppetry and special effects, which felt grounded in a more Greek theatre kind of style and I thought it worked very well. The puppetry of the monsters specifically was super cool. The Hydra looked fantastic, as well as the three Titans. This production of course wasn’t given a lot of money, but much like The Lightning Thief, they worked with it. They were in these cool pieces that different actors held and when they came together they looked great. They were bright and bold and drew on older theatre techniques which I liked a lot. The special effects, especially in the latter half, were also good. How they did the Underworld was simple but effective and made a wonderful stage picture, especially the moment when Hercules saves Meg from Hades. How they made his life string turn gold looked really cool as well.

In terms of musical numbers, what worked best was the songs we all know and love. “Go the Distance” was simply staged, which made the emotion of the song far more effective. “Zero to Hero” was a blast and took all the best parts from the movie and put them on stage. “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)” was divine, just as I expected it to be. “A Star Is Born” was genuinely uplifting and joyous, since they brought out all 200 members of the cast and everyone was so happy to be there and it was the perfect way to end the show.

There were 5 new songs, and while I wasn’t a fan of most of them, I really really liked “Bolts of Thunder” and thought it was a fun way to musicalize the big fight scenes with the Titans towards the end. The Muses also wore these incredible 90s girl group inspired jumpsuits that were spectacular.

Speaking of 90s girl group Muses, there were two moments when they heavily channeled this vibe and I wish they did more of it. “Bolts of Thunder” with the jump suits and the reprise of “Gospel Truth” after “One Last Hope” where they wore these late 80s/early 90s workout video outfits. Those moments were artistically bold and really emphasized what worked in the original movie, but I’m gonna talk more about that later in part 3.

Of course my favorite part of this production was Roger Bart. He stole the entire show. Whenever Hades is on stage he has the best lines and the funniest moments and he just has a way of making every line feel both biting and passive aggressive. He was absolutely incredible and the perfect choice for Hades. This production gave us more Hades than the original movie, but I wanted even more Hades. Bart has always been an actor near and dear to my heart (Young Frankenstein was my jam) and I was so glad to see him onstage again.

2. The Bad

Unfortunately, a good portion of the show feels clunky, both stylistically and in content. The book was perfectly serviceable, taking a good portion of its lines from the films. But it felt too slow in the first half and too fast in the second, which was also when things got more interesting. For example, there’s a whole song about Hercules not feeling accepted at the Agora and there’s a long scene after that song but later on when Hercules defeats Hades, that takes literally 2 seconds. Likewise, the show over explains certain exposition points (and is not subtle in any way, shape or form) and doesn’t explain other things. Though really there isn’t much exposition at all, as this show assumes you’ve watched the movie dozens of times.

That doesn’t always work well.

I went with a friend who hadn’t seen it in a while and afterwards he asked about what happened to Meg that made her sign her soul over to Hades. I knew because I’ve seen the movie so many times, but the show kind of brushes right over it. If you’ve never seen the movie before, which will definitely be the case with some people, it might be a little difficult to keep up with.

Stylistically, this show was all over the place.

In my opinion, Public Works presented three versions of Hercules:

1. The gospel version

2. The 90s nostalgia version

3. The Greek inspired version

I’m going to go more into this later, but these three versions would have worked if they could have seamlessly blended into each other. As of now, it’s incredibly jarring and distracting and would sometimes take me right out of the show.

For example! Hercules wore a traditional toga. Meg wore this

Yes this is Mal from Disney’s Descendants and yes Meg wore basically this but she had shorter hair and purple heel boots instead of gray. Hercules’ toga and this together looked almost absurd to be honest.

And side note: Disney has been on a kick recently where they think pants equals feminism? Someone needs to tell Disney that women can wear dresses and still be feminist

Anyways

The choreography was pretty basic, but it’s hard to fault them this when the choreography is meant to be for a crowd of 200 people with ages varying from 5 - 80. There were a lot of step touch and wave moments. There was one really cool dance break in “Zero to Hero” that made me think about how cool some of these big production numbers could be if they got some good dancers in there.

I wish the Muses were better. They were so low energy during “Gospel Truth,” which made the evening start off on a lower note than it should have.

The pop culture references were really weird and out of place, mostly because of their specificity. The pop culture references in the movie are purposely vague and more “modern” references than pop culture, which makes the movie timeless. The pop culture references here might date the show in the future. There’s two that stood out specifically, one being when Hercules says “I know the Wobble!” before doing it, the other when Panic starts doing the Hercules Mulligan rap (you know the one) from Hamilton when Hades asks him if he knows Hercules.

The rest of the new songs weren’t great either, and I’m gonna talk about each of them separately

“To Be Human” - This one definitely felt like a first draft of “Go the Distance.” Interestingly enough, I feel that an edited version of “Proud of Your Boy” from the Alladin musical (also written by Alan Menken) would have worked a lot better.

“Uniquely Greek Town Square” - bad

“Forget About It” - I’m all for giving Meg more songs, but this was decent at best

“A Cool Day In Hell” - I desperately want Hades to have a solo, but not this. It was cheesy and felt out of place. Roger Bart sold the hell out of it, but of course he did cause he’s Roger Bart and incredible and amazing

“Uniquely Greek Tough Town” - not to be confused with “Uniquely Greek Town Square,” this song didn’t feel uniquely Greek at all and was, well, bad

“To Be Human (Reprise” - fine, I guess. Jelani Alladin made it good but the lyrics weren’t great. They rhymed “fail” with “frail.”

3. What I Think They Should Do Moving Forward

Like I said before, this show has so much potential! I think it could be so good! This is my favorite Disney movie so I really want it to go to Broadway! If they do, there’s a couple things I think they could benefit from.

The best Disney Theatricals productions draw heavily from the culture/country the story takes place in. The Lion King, which draw heavily from Kenyan culture and reinvents the source material is the best example of this. I think drawing on Greek theatre conventions/styles would work well here, especially if Disney threw some of that good Disney money at it. I’d also like to see them lean into the Greek myth aspect of it a bit more.

However, what also made the original Hercules movie so fun was its modern flair that felt both timeless and very 90s, which was fun. In this way I think the Muses and all the supernatural characters should draw more on this 90s flair while the mortals draw more on the Greek theatre conventions. I think with incorporating some Greek into the 90s and some 90s into the Greek, this could work really well. During “One Last Hope,” all the ensemble members wore those fun workout video outfits. I think it would have been fun if they wore togas still, but with sweatbands and leg warmers. Something like that to blend them together more. A theatrical beauty blender, if you will.

In all honesty, I just want something bold and inspired. Give me something interesting!

The show would also benefit from heavy edits to the newer songs and a good troupe of dancers, but that would of course happen in a possible commercial transfer.

Lastly, as with just about anything, throw some Disney money at it! Make it shine!

Normally I’d end this with a “Go see it!” or a “Don’t waste your time on it!” but this run is already sold out and lottery winners have been predetermined. So if you’ve won the lottery and are going, you’re in for a treat! The show is so fun and so enjoyable. I only critique it so heavily because I love the movie so much and have been wanting a musical adaptation for a while now. But I also know it’s Public Works and it’s free and it’s in the park and it’s fun and you can eat ice cream while watching it. If you didn’t win but live in NYC, give the lottery a go! I saw the lottery crowd waiting for winners to be drawn and it was incredibly crowded, so be aware of that.

Or, if you didn’t win the lottery/don’t win standby lottery, go over to the Belvedere Castle and you can listen in on the show. You’re only seeing their backs, but I saw a bunch of people there watching/listening the whole time!

#hercules #broadway #jelani alladin #krysta rodriguez #disney #review #voice

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years

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Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? Yep and watched all the movies. I was really into it at the time. When was the last time you ran into something? Hmm. I don’t recall. Do you enjoy dressing up? Nah. Do you live in the city or a rural area? I live in the city. Would you say you have a sense of style? My sense of style consists of mostly graphic tees and leggings, but also some Adidas clothes. And shoes.

What’s your biggest fear? This question comes up all the damn time. Have you ever been bitten by a wild animal? Nooo. Are you close to any of your cousins? Aww, I used to be close to a few of my cousins. Not anymore, though. :( That’s all my fault. I became really distant and withdrawn from friends and even family outside of my immediate family. Have you ever been lost in the woods? No, thankfully. Where did you last travel? Disneyland back in February. Do you enjoy driving? I don’t drive. What song did you last listen to? I mentioned this in a previous survey already, but I’ve had Savage by Megan the Stallion stuck in my head because of TikTok. If you have a job, how often do you work? I don’t have a job. What time do you normally go to sleep at night? For the past month I’ve been going to bed after 6AM. :X Do you watch a lot of movies? Hmm. Not a lot, no. I watch more TV shows. Do you like Tom Petty? ”Now I’m freeeeeee Free fallin’.” Would you rather have snow or rain? I love rainy days. It doesn’t snow here, but I wish it did. Do you own a lot of sweaters? I own a lot of sweatshirts. Have you ever tried rock-climbing? Well, no. For obvious reasons. Ever ridden in a police car? Nope. Favorite decade of music? That’s tough cause I like music that spans across decades, but I think the 90s and early 2000′s will hold a special spot. Have any of your best friends been your best friend longer than a year? My longest was my best friend of 15 years. Ever witnessed a murder? Noooo. Does your room have a ceiling fan? Yep. Have you ever tried blogging? Before Tumblr I had Xanga for a long time. Favorite television channel? E!, MTV, The Hallmark Channel, TeenNick, TVLand, and the ID Channel. Have you ever lied under oath? I’ve never had to be under oath. What are your religious views? I’m a Christian. When did you last change your bed sheets? A week ago. Would you consider yourself a flirt? No. At what age do you plan to be married? I don’t plan on getting married. Do you eat a lot of junk food? Honestly, all I eat is sandwiches, ramen, eggs, and Wingstop. Sometimes pizza and pasta. When did you last go on vacation? I’ve answered this 3 times now tonight, but I went to Disneyland back in February. Are you resilient? I was when I was younger. Definitely not anymore. Have you ever failed a subject before? I failed one math course in community college and had to retake it again. I ended up doing a lot better the 2nd time. I honestly believe it’s because I had a better teacher. If so, what was the class? ^^^ Do you wear more bright or dull colors? Dull. Majority of my clothes are black. Do you know anyone who has attempted suicide? Yes. What’s your favorite quote? Blah. How many clocks are in your house? Like 20 including all the electronics. Do you play any sports? Nope. What is your biggest life regret? I have a lot of those. Have you ever been injured in a car accident? No, thankfully. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? Well obviously right now I only want to be at home, but I look forward to the day I can go to the beach. Have you ever had highlights in your hair? Yeah, I had them for years. Favorite fast food restaurant? I’m not into fast food anymore like I used to be. I was a fast food junkie before. The only takeout I’m into is Wingstop. And pizza from a local place, but I haven’t had that in awhile. In what country were you born? US of A. Are your eyes more than one color? Nope, just brown. Have you ever caught something on fire? Something in the microwave once, something in the oven once, the tips of my hair.... What would you consider your biggest flaw? Oh boy where to start. What do you think your best quality is? I don’t know. Do you enjoy listening to others’ problems? I used to be the person people came to if they needed advice or just someone to talk to and I was good at it. I liked being there and helping any way I could. People told me they felt comfortable talking to me and I was easy to talk to. It could also be overwhelming and draining at times. Especially leading up to when I fell into a really low, dark place a few years ago. I couldn’t be that person anymore. I wasn’t in a good headspace. I pushed everyone away and became very distant and withdrawn. That was 4 years ago and I’m still out of that place. :/

Do you keep any plants in your house? Nope. What is your mother’s occupation? She’s a manager at Walgreens. Do any of your friends like your musical style? My family and I share some musical interests. What are you most looking forward to? I wanna say this quarantine ending, but I know resuming life in the real world would also be making me anxious when the time comes. I guess I’m most excited for seeing Gabie again, because I haven’t seen March 7th. <<< SAME to the first part. What was your favorite television show as a child? Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, PBS, Saturday morning cartoons on ABC, WB Kids... all the kid shows in the 90s, basically. Are you afraid of insects? YES. ALL of them. Are you cold-natured? I’m very warm blooded, I feel like I’m always hot. I like when I’m actually cold and can wear a hoodie/sweatshirt or curl up under a blanket. How old were you when you got your first pet? We had a dog when I was a baby. Did you / do you enjoy high school? I liked parts of it. What would you say was your favorite age? Childhood. What annoys you most about social networking? Trolls, fake news, cancel culture.

Are you the center of attention most of the time? Nooo. I never want to be the center of attention. What are you currently reading? I’m starting the 2nd book in the Jack Ryder Mystery Series by Willow Rose. When did you last go to the library? Sometime back in 2014 when I was still in school. Are you ill at the moment? Not with a virus or anything like that, thankfully. I just always feel crappy for other reasons. Do people tease you about anything? How I’m too sensitive. How late did you stay up last night and why? Last night I went to bed at 4 in the morning, which is really early for me these days. Have you ever written poetry? I dabbled with it when I was 16. I still have the diary I wrote them in and yikes they’re so cringe-y haha. Curtains or shades? Curtains. How many people have you spoken to in the last hour? Zero, everyone in my house is asleep. Do you tend to text a lot? Nope. Ever lost a great best friend? Yes. What is your favorite kind of flower? Eh, I just say roses but I don’t really have one. Do you own any guns? No. What would you say is your favorite book of all-time? I could never choose. What’s your least favorite part of the day? Late evening always seems to go by really slow.

Have you ever won an award for a speech? No. Do you tend to curse a lot? Nah. Have you ever played on the Ouija board? Nooo. I don’t mess with that kind of stuff. Do you sleepwalk? Nope. Have you ever slept on the floor before? Yeah. Are you a fan of public displays of affection? I don’t care for like heavy make out sessions or groping all over each other, but I don’t care about a kiss, cuddling, or hand holding. When did you last attend a yard sale? When I was a kid. We had a family friend who had them often. What goals do you wish to accomplish tomorrow? I don’t have anything I want to accomplish tomorrow. When is your birthday? July 28th. What was the best part of today? It’s only 430 in the morning. Do you attempt to stay away from drama? Involving me yes, but I like celebrity gossip and drama. What liquid did you last drink? Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink. Do you ever prefer to be alone? Yeah, I need to have some alone time. Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? No. Favorite Disney movie? Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, A Goofy Movie, and Toy Story. Have you ever been to the beach? Countless times. I love the beach. If you have, how many times have you been? ^^^^ What was your dream occupation at age ten? I wanted to be a teacher back then. Are you terrified at the idea of weight-gain? No. I’m underweight and need to gain some weight. Do you drink a lot of water? I only get like 2-3 glasses a day. :X Does your room have carpet or hard-wood floors? Carpet. Do you take naps daily? No.

Who were you named after? No one in particular. Do you plan on traveling this spring or summer? No, we’re still going to be dealing with all this. :/ Do you know anyone who is colorblind? Nope. Have you ever been a teacher’s pet? I guess so. I was always the good kid, the “pleasure to have in class.” Teachers loved me. What is your absolute favorite hobby? Reading, surveys, coloring. Ever been to a tanning bed before? No. I have no interest in that. Are you satisfied with your financial stability? I have enough to pay my bills and a little extra for other stuff, so I’m grateful for that. Who is your favorite actor / actress? Alexander Skarsgard. Are your nails painted? Nope. Do you ever accidentally talk to inanimate objects? Not accidentally, but I talk to inanimate objects when they don’t cooperate. More like talk shit, but haha. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Strawberry. Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? No. Do you receive any hate mail? No. Have you ever sent a letter in the mail? Yeah. If you could, would you have a pen pal? I did in 3rd grade. It was fun. We even got to meet them toward the end of the year during a field trip. I wouldn’t want one now, though. What color are the pants you’re wearing? I’m wearing black leggings. What is your life philosophy? Hmm. Who last sent you a goodnight text message? No one does. Do you own any clothes that are your favorite color? Yeah. One of my favorite colors is black and most of my clothes are black. I have a few items that are my other favorite colors as well. Have you ever been in a hot tub before? Once for a short time. I didn’t like it. What’s your favorite comedy movie? I have several, but the one that came to mind first was Bridesmaids. In which year were you born? 1989.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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734.

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? >> I have, finally! Read it during my trip to Texas in January. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would; my quibbles are few. I want to see the movies but I also don’t want to see the movies -- what I want are... not those movies, pretty much. I’ll probably give the first one a shot at least, just so I know for sure exactly what I’m protesting against, lol.

When was the last time you ran into something? >> I don’t remember, I don’t do that often.

Do you enjoy dressing up? >> Yes, absolutely, mostly because I don’t get to do it often so it’s a novelty.

Do you live in the city or a rural area? >> I live in the outskirts of a city. So, kind of the suburbs, but not quite.

Would you say you have a sense of style? >> I mean, yeah.

What’s your biggest fear? >> Being terribly aware of my every dying moment and carrying that awareness into another life or something.

Have you ever been bitten by a wild animal? >> No.

Are you close to any of your cousins? >> No.

Have you ever been lost in the woods? >> No.

Where did you last travel? >> For any significant distance? Houston, Texas.

Do you enjoy driving? >> I don’t drive. I enjoy driving being a part of my mythic self, though (my mythic self is called the Driver, you see).

What song did you last listen to? >> Sunlight by Hozier. Which was, of course, written specifically to call me out.

If you have a job, how often do you work? >> ---

What time do you normally go to sleep at night? >> Anywhere between 10.30p and 1a.

Do you watch a lot of movies? >> I do.

Do you like Tom Petty? >> I don’t.

Would you rather have snow or rain? >> Rain. Absolutely rain.

Do you own a lot of sweaters? >> No. I’m not sure I own any at all, actually -- oh, wait, I own exactly one. It’s a Hot Topic Christmas sweater and it says “Sleigher: Reindeer Blood” on it. I love it and I would live in it if I could.

Have you ever tried rock-climbing? >> Nope. Except on that small rock wall in the Museum of Science & Industry (pretty sure that’s where it was).

Ever ridden in a police car? >> Yes.

Favorite decade of music? >> I don’t have a favourite decade. I prefer listening to music from as many decades as possible.

Have any of your best friends been your best friend longer than a year? >> ---

Ever witnessed a murder? >> No.

Do you care what people think of you? >> I care what some people think of me.

Does your room have a ceiling fan? >> Nope.

Would you consider yourself poised? >> Not particularly. I never put any effort into it.

Have you ever tried blogging? >> Of course, lol.

Favorite television channel? >> I don’t have cable.

Have you ever lied under oath? >> No.

What are your religious views? >> Nebulous and subject to whim.

Are you a romantic person? >> No.

When did you last change your bed sheets? >> About an hour ago, actually. And I showered afterwards, so now I’m a clean boy in a clean bed. Livin’ the dream.

Would you consider yourself a flirt? >> No.

At what age do you plan to be married? >> 32, apparently.

Do you eat a lot of junk food? >> No. I really just don’t like a lot of the foods that are widely considered “junk”.

When did you last go on vacation? >> I guess the trip to Texas was kind of a vacation? But otherwise I’d say my wedding/honeymoon in October.

Are you resilient? >> Yeah. Like, I know I am. It’s been proven that I am. The fact I feel so fragile and wounded so often isn’t a contradiction of that fact.

Have you ever failed a subject before? >> I don’t think so.

If so, what was the class? >> Like, I should have failed English III because I got a zero on the midterm and the final, but I think the teacher gave me a D out of pity or whatever.

Do you wear more bright or dull colors? >> I don’t really wear colours at all. It’s not even an effort anymore, it really just seems that all of the clothing I’m willing to wear comes in black...

Do you know anyone who has attempted suicide? >> Yes.

What’s your favorite quote? >> DAMMIT. I totally forgot about that quotes file I was going to keep on Evernote. I gotta work on that so I have answers for this question.

Would you consider yourself mature? >> I mean, I suppose I do okay. Being post-traumatic means I have some pretty child-like responses to things sometimes, but, you know. I’m doing my best.

How many clocks are in your house? >> There’s one on my wall, although there’s no battery in it because I can’t abide the noise. It’s just a decoration. (It’s one of those records that someone cut a design out of, it’s really cool.)

Do you play any sports? >> No.

What is your biggest life regret? >> ---

Have you ever been injured in a car accident? >> Nope.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? >> My mind went a lot of places with this question in 5 seconds flat, and I don’t even know how to unpack any of it. Half the shit I thought of didn’t even have anything to do with this lifetime.

Have you ever had highlights in your hair? >> No.

Favorite fast food restaurant? >> Meh.

In what country were you born? >> USA.

Are your eyes more than one color? >> Nope.

Have you ever caught something on fire? >> Accidentally? Yeah, a couple of times.

What would you consider your biggest flaw? >> I don’t know.

What do you think your best quality is? >> Curiosity and open-mindedness.

Do you enjoy listening to others’ problems? >> I’m not sure “enjoy” is the right word in this context, lol.

Do you keep any plants in your house? >> Yeah, Sparrow’s really into plants. I like them, but I tend to enjoy them more when they’re outdoors. Kind of like animals.

What is your mother’s occupation? >> ---

Do any of your friends like your musical style? >> At least some of it, I’m sure. I like way too much shit for me to have no music preferences in common with the average person.

What are you most looking forward to? >> That glorious day when I can just. Walk into a bar and have a drink and some lunch again.

What was your favorite television show as a child? >> I don’t think I had one.

Are you afraid of insects? >> Not as a rule.

Are you cold-natured? >> I don’t think so, but my 485745 defense mechanisms often make me appear so.

How old were you when you got your first pet? >> I was a toddler.

Did you / do you enjoy high school? >> I did not.

What would you say was your favorite age? >> ---

What annoys you most about social networking? >> The way it’s engineered.

Are you the center of attention most of the time? >> No.

What are you currently reading? >> Staring at the Sun: Overcoming The Terror of Death by Irvin D Yalom. It’s... not really giving me anything I can use, mostly because it doesn’t address the things I actually fear (like, no, I don’t fear not leaving behind a good legacy or whatever, I literally fear the awe-ful, terrible knowledge of my organs shutting down and shit like that, the helplessness of being pulled into the abyss. Literally. Not figuratively. This is a literal visceral thing I believe in. Also, I fear persecution by cosmic forces because I have internalised the idea that I am Bad and I will be Punished. Where is my book? I do like the title, though.), so I don’t know if I’m going to finish it. I might skim through it for a few decent nuggets like that one Nietzsche quote he used, “when we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago”. That was a good one.

When did you last go to the library? >> It’s been a while, since I usually just check out ebooks. Oh, wait, we went to the branch for a Black History Month event, so, February.

Are you ill at the moment? >> No.

Do people tease you about anything? >> I mean, Sparrow does. And some tumblr mutuals tease me about various aspects of my Brand, hah.

How late did you stay up last night and why? >> I think I dropped off at around midnight, idk. Because that’s just how it happened.

Have you ever written poetry? >> Sure.

Curtains or shades? >> I’m not sure what the difference is.

How many people have you spoken to in the last hour? >> One.

Do you tend to text a lot? >> No.

Ever lost a great best friend? >> ---

What is your favorite kind of flower? >> Sunflowers.

Do you own any guns? >> Absolutely fucking not.

What would you say is your favorite book of all-time? >> ---

Do you think you’re living a good life? >> I am doing my best with the life I have.

What’s your least favorite part of the day? >> I don’t have a least favourite part of the day.

Are you an over-achiever? >> No.

Have you ever won an award for a speech? >> No.

Do you tend to curse a lot? >> Sure.

Have you ever played on the Ouija board? >> Nope. I’ve never even seen one in person, except for seeing the box in a store or something.

Do you sleepwalk? >> No.

Have you ever slept on the floor before? >> Yeah, I did for years. I should probably have worse spinal alignment or something now, but I guess them’s the perks of doing shit like that while I was still young.

Are you a fan of public displays of affection? >> I don’t do well with physical affection whether in public or not, so, you know.

When did you last attend a yard sale? >> A couple of years ago?

Do you wish your life were simpler or more interesting? >> I like the level of simplicity I’m at right now.

What goals do you wish to accomplish tomorrow? >> ---

When is your birthday? >> 28 May.

Which is worse: going blind or deaf? >> How would I know, I haven’t experienced either.

What was the best part of today? >> Visiting a mutual’s house in FFXIV, signing the guestbook, and then turning around and there was her character (and her girlfriend’s character) right behind me, lmao. We didn’t get to chat long because their dungeon queue popped, but it was still nice.

Do you attempt to stay away from drama? >> I don’t have to stay away from it, it’s never anywhere near me in the first place.

What liquid did you last drink? >> Gose.

Do you ever prefer to be alone? >> Often.

Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? >> No.

Favorite Disney movies >> Lilo & Stitch, Moana, and Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Have you ever been to the beach? >> Sure.

If you have, how many times have you been? >> Like... a few dozen? I don’t know.

What was your dream occupation at age ten? >> ---

Are you terrified at the idea of weight-gain? >> I don’t know if terrified is the right word, exactly, but something similar to that.

Do you drink a lot of water? >> Not a lot. I drink when I feel thirsty, and that just isn’t that often? I don’t know. Maybe I’m not good at recognising thirst cues, that’s a possibility.

Does your room have carpet or hard-wood floors? >> Carpet.

Do you take naps daily? >> No.

Who were you named after? >> I wasn’t named after anyone.

Do you plan on traveling this spring or summer? >> Well, we had planned...

Do you know anyone who is colorblind? >> Maybe?

Have you ever been a teacher’s pet? >> When I was a child, I guess, because I was precocious and nerdy and adults are obsessed with that sort of thing for some reason.

What is your absolute favorite hobby? >> *shrug* What’s a hobby.

How many times a day do you brush your teeth? >> One, provided I remember and have the executive function.

Ever been to a tanning bed before? >> No.

Are you satisfied with your financial stability? >> No matter what, I still have more financial stability than I did when I was literally penniless and living on the street, so I can deal.

Who is your favorite actor / actress? >> When it comes to people I’m always excited to see in a movie, Javier Bardem is one.

Are your nails painted? >> Nope.

What’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to someone? >> I don’t know, I’ve said a lot of mean things.

Do you ever accidentally talk to inanimate objects? >> Not accidentally, no. I do it on purpose, because it pleases me.

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? >> Vanilla bean and matcha are the only flavours I actually like and don’t just. tolerate.

Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? >> I don’t think I’ve ever kissed another agender person.

Do you receive any hate mail? >> No.

Have you ever sent a letter in the mail? >> When I was a kid.

If you could, would you have a pen pal? >> I don’t think I’d make a good penpal.

What color are the pants you’re wearing? >> Black with lime green print.

Have you ever had a stalker? >> No.

What is your life philosophy? >> I don’t have one.

Who last sent you a goodnight text message? >> ---

Do you own any clothes that are your favorite color? >> I don’t own any gold clothing, no.

Have you ever been in a hot tub before? >> I tried a hot tub once, at Easton Mountain. Five seconds in, I felt faint and like my heart was going to burst out of my chest, so I had to get out.

What’s your favorite comedy movie? >> Blazing Saddles and The Producers come to mind.

In which year were you born? >> 1987.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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tjkiahgb · 6 years

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Episode Recap: 3.08, “I Got Your Number”

Let’s see if I still remember how to do this.

Wait. Nope. That’s not it.

One second.

The episode begins with Andi and Bex in their apartment. There we go.

Andi says Bex is using her charger because it has pink tape on it, but then Bex finds another charger and it also has pink tape on it.

Then Bowie jams his head through the still-unfixed giant hole in the wall.

Those bricks look like loose teeth. They’re going to fall out any second. The whole wall is going to come down and no one seems to care.

Bowie also has a charger with pink tape on it and Bex realizes Andi has put pink tape on all the chargers as a ploy to be able to seize any charger she sees for her own use.

I don’t know how Andi thought that plan was going to hold up for longer than a minute. Once Bex found another charger with pink tape on it, it was all over.

On the other hand, I’m glad she’s doing sneaky stuff like this. It’s like living with a little velociraptor. She’s clever and dangerous and always plotting something. It keeps Bex and Bowie on their toes and keeps their minds active, which is important as you start to age.

The next day, Buffy finds Andi at the Jefferson Middle School Machu Picchu.

She delivers her a handwritten invitation to hang out that weekend. It’s a bit extra, but I appreciate the effort.

Then Buffy says her plan is to watch a ton of bad dance-themed movies and reels off a list of films that -- and I did the math on this -- would take Andi and Buffy over 16 full hours to watch. It would basically be: wake up, watch nothing but dance movies the entire day, then go to bed.

Buffy calls it the “DanceDance Film Festival.”

I call it cruel and unusual punishment.

I’m pretty sure the Geneva Convention has rules against treating prisoners of war this way.

Watching 16 straight hours of dance movies sounds like something a conspiracy theorist barking up a wrong, dumb tree would do.

If I was trapped in a steel box for 16 hours and had nothing but a portable DVD player and the Step Up films, I’d spend my time trying to punch my way out of the steel box. (don’t @ me, Step Up fans)

Andi’s into the idea though, except she can’t do it because she already has plans for that night with Amber. Andi suggests they do it tonight, but Buffy has plans with Walker.

They decide to postpone this marathon of pain until another time and say they’ll plan out a future date for it. And then they both talk about how crazy it sounds for them to be making plans like some kind of lame adults or something.

20! Hah! Can you imagine? Can you even imagine??

*laughs and laughs and laughs until the laughter turns into tears and now I’m laughing and crying and I don’t know if I can stop* Help me.

Speaking of being old, Bex and Bowie read books on the couch. Bex asks Bowie to hold her foot which makes Bowie feel like they’re an elderly married couple. They swap visions about how cool it’d be to be unaware seniors.

Then Bowie tells Bex he could see her as a grandma...

...which is something I would never say to someone. I don’t care if she’s 100 and wearing a shirt that says “Ask me about my grandchildren!” You let them say they’re a grandma first, and then you always say something like, “You’re a grandma?? That’s crazy! I’d never have guessed!”

All this talk of being old freaks Bex and Bowie out and they decide to get out and have themselves a little romantic evening. The type only young folk have.

Over at one of Cyrus’s houses, Cyrus brings Jonah down to his stepdad’s man cave for some ping pong. Jonah is surprised Cyrus has a ping pong setup, but Cyrus says it’s because until recently his stepdad was using it for civil war reenactments.

Oh so they’ll let Cyrus imitate guns firing but they won’t let him say gay. Ok.

They start to play and Cyrus quickly goes up 3-0.

Suddenly, TJ comes waltzing down the stairs.

Who let him in? Do Cyrus’s parents know him? Does he have a key? Was he already in the house, stalking around like a cat? I like any and all of these possibilities.

Either way, he’s here now. Just in time to congratulate Cyrus on taking a 3-0 lead. He does this by saying, “Niceberg.”

Sorry. Hold up. I gotta rewind.

This’ll just take a second.

Ok. Be right with you.

Alright, just gonna put that in the mail and I’ll be right back.

Ok. Back.

Anyway, long story short, I don’t feel like “Niceberg” is gonna catch on the same way “Underdog” did.

Jonah’s mood immediately flips. He starts looking for any reason to get out of the basement.

Cyrus is like, if this is about the gun thing, we worked that out. Jonah’s like, it’s not about that. I couldn’t care less about that. I had the Metcalf tattoo thing and the Libby thing, I barely even know what happened.

Jonah storms out, leaving Cyrus and TJ in a metaphorical hole of confusion.

Also, like, a literal hole. Because that’s kind of what a basement is? A hole in the ground? I’m trying too hard to be poetic I think. You can’t force art.

Jonah retreats to Red Rooster Records. He wants to know why he wasn’t warned of this surprise TJ. Cyrus is like, I didn’t think I had to.

You’re universally liked and you universally like everyone back. You know, like a Golden Retriever.

Cyrus says TJ’s in between friends right now, what with TJ sending Reed and Lester up the river to Sing Sing to do 10 years hard time.

Jonah says he’ll never be friends with TJ. He says it’s a long and embarrassing story, though I imagine it’s nothing like the embarrassment Alfonso Mazzanti would feel if he saw his record was still sitting unpurchased in this ratty store.

Does no one in Shadyshade have an appreciation for opera anymore?!

Jonah says the story goes all the way back to little league and we get basically a Drunk History retelling of the Jonah/TJ fight, except Jonah’s obviously not drunk, he’s just Jonah, so, you know: Jonah History.

And the story is this: Jonah used to love baseball. He idolized Roberto Clemente. Now, I’m not going to argue Clemente isn’t an all-time great, but I do find it strange that this kid in Shadyside loved a player who spent his entire career in Pittsburgh and died some 40 years before Jonah was even born. Most kids just go with Derek Jeter, but to each his own I guess. Anyway, Jonah wanted a “21″ jersey to be like Clemente.

But before he got to wear it, it was nabbed by a young TJ, from way back before he changed the direction his hair parts.

This leads to an argument where young Jonah gets angwee.

Cyrus asks Jonah if he cried, but Jonah invokes the baseball law laid down by Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own: there’s no crying in baseball. Cyrus says that’s just a line from a movie, but since when did he become an expert on sports? Stay in your lane, Cyrus.

Jonah says the jersey thing led to a shoving match that got stopped by his dad (their coach) before it could get too far. Jonah took another jersey, but the emotional scars remained. He couldn’t take the pain of watching TJ playing in his number and Jonah would never play a real sport again, banished forever to a lifetime of frisbee.

Cyrus says Jonah has proclaimed multiple times that Ultimate Frisbee is a real sport, and Jonah’s like, “Yeah...”

...let’s stop lying to ourselves about what frisbee is.

Jonah thinks the whole grudge is stupid, but Cyrus feels that it’s clearly important to him and it’s part of what shaped him as a person, so it can’t be that stupid.

Cyrus wants to figure out why TJ did it. Jonah thinks it’s because he’s permanently mean. Cyrus is like, no, he isn’t. He just has resting mean face.

Jonah feels glad to have talked it out and says he’s ready to let it go, but Cyrus isn’t, more so for TJ’s sake than anyone else’s at this point, I assume.

That night, Andi and Amber walk through a parking lot. Amber asks about the Buffy/Walker situation, which Andi says is still a situation, although she’s feeling less strict about following the Girl Code’s laws to reacting to such situations. They discuss how there’s room for interpretation as far as the Girl Code goes. It’s not exactly the Ten Commandments chiseled into stone.

Andi suddenly realizes they’ve been walking a long time and have somehow found themselves deep in the warehouse district.

Amber leads Andi towards a warehouse party. Andi starts to get a little unsure about this whole thing. As they head for the entrance, a man with facial hair exits.

A man that does not shave on a regular basis is one of the best indicators of questionable behavior in the area. You know the old saying: clean faces, clean hearts.

Amber says it’s a high school party, but not to worry, because she’ll protect Andi. They head inside.

Guys. This high school party. I’m losing my mind. I feel like I could make 1000 gifs of the people dancing in this place. I’m not going to, but I could.

Because this party...

is a party...

for dweebs.

I mean, I get part of the problem. It’s Disney Channel. They aren’t allowed to really show anything, so nothing like underage drinking or whatever. You just have to assume it’s an intimidating party off-screen. Ok. Fine.

But maybe the costume designer could’ve put everyone in less floral prints?

There’s very little that’s intimidating about a floral print unless it’s being worn by some kind of iron fist island dictator.

Andi gets separated real quick from Amber and immediately begins to panic.

Bex and Bowie, meanwhile, take a romantic nighttime carriage ride through the park when they get a text from Andi about the warehouse party.

Bowie asks the carriage driver (conductor? horsier?) to take him to Andi.

I hope he understands these carriages are not taxis. I’m not even sure they’re really street legal.

Bex is surprised to find out Andi snuck off to a warehouse party, but Bowie says at least she came clean to them about it within minutes.

Bex wants to know if the carriage can go faster. Bowie stops the carriage instead and says he’s going to run all the way across town to the Meatpacking District to get their daughter.

Bex stops him and says he’s doing a great job as a dad. Really dadding it up. And then they make out again.

These two. They’re always making out. It’s like, get a room.

Bex sends him to find Andi and he takes off running as the carriage horsier sits in uncomfortable silence.

Bowie finds his way to the warehouse party and runs in with the pitch perfect energy of a dad come to take his teenage daughter away from a party.

Although, and I don’t want to harp on this too much again, but if I was Bowie and walked into this party and this was the first thing I saw...

...I’d breathe a big sigh of relief.

I’d be like, “Oh, thank God: dweebs. It’s a dweeb party. Phew.”

He quickly finds Andi and she asks him what took so long. They start to leave when Amber returns. She’s like, are you leaving? And Bowie’s like, you’re darn tootin’ she’s leaving! Amber tries to take the blame but Bowie says it was Andi’s decision and she’ll take responsibility for it. They leave together.

Outside, Andi thinks Bowie’s whole dad thing was an act, but it turns out he was actually very much in dad mode. He says her behavior has led him to not trust her at this moment and then he throws his hand over his mouth like he just called Andi an expletive by mistake.

Bowie and Andi are shocked by this sudden dad-ness.

Andi promises to never do this again, but Bowie isn’t listening because all he can hear is how much he just sounded like his father. He and Andi both see this as a big moment in their father/daughter relationship, and I guess that sort of releases any of the tension as it seems Bowie actually isn’t going to follow up on any of the punishment talk.

They head off. Bowie tells Andi to call Bex but before she can, Bex shows up in the carriage in the middle of this industrial parking lot like some kind of misplaced Disney Princess.

Andi realizes she’s ruined Bex and Bowie’s date night, but they forgive her and all ride off together.

At Cyrus’s house, Cyrus has brought TJ and Jonah back together to solve this little league thing. TJ thinks it’s crazy. Jonah wants to let it go but TJ doesn’t want Jonah going around rest of his life proclaiming him some kind of jersey thief.

At this point, I was kind of like, “Oh, I actually like TJ’s outfit here.”

But then I was like, “Hold on a second. Enhance.”

That’s a basketball hoop! This is a surprise basketball shirt outfit!

Dammit! I can’t believe how many basketball themed shirts he has in his closet.

Anyway, Cyrus pulls up a picture of the two in little league.

Both Jonah and TJ think this proves their point.

But then Cyrus confirms the jersey number is actually 21 and TJ realizes his dyscalculia has struck again.

He explains to Jonah he’s got a learning disability. That this whole thing has been something of a misunderstanding.

Jonah apologizes for holding onto this grudge for so long and for never thanking him for helping him when he was having a panic attack at the Bash Mitzvah.

TJ notes that everyone has struggles.

Cyrus notes his fear of flamingos, which is not the first thing I’d think of when it comes to him, but I don’t disagree. They have unnaturally thin legs.

I don’t trust them for one second.

Jonah and TJ fist bump to end the grudge.

That was such a great little scene. One, for tying up the TJ/Jonah loose end from the Bash Mitzvah, but two, for showing these characters’ growth. It’s nice to see these two, who had previously been so guarded, be able to discuss their mental health openly without fear or anger, and then support each other.

On the other hand, Jonah’s now told TJ about his anxiety before he’s told Andi about it. I guess she was always going to be the hardest one to tell, but uh... yeah...

Speaking of Andi, she shows up at Buffy’s house with a big ol’ bag of popcorn and a pretty sweet new impression.

She explains the party was no fun, but that Buffy is. She wants to hang with her and participate in her crazy film festival.

They start dancing the night away.

Buffy asks if they’ll still be doing this when they’re 20.

*laughs and cries until I’m suddenly scream-wailing into the night sky for some reason* I’m fine.

They dance and dance until the episode ends.

So I guess there really isn’t going to be any punishment if Bowie and Bex just let Andi go hang out with a friend that very night.

Unless they heard what Buffy’s plans were and decided that was punishment enough.

Sure it seems like fun now, but when she’s at hour 12 of this and the credits are rolling on Step Up 3D and then Buffy goes, “Awesome! Let’s watch it again!”, Andi’s going to be wishing she was grounded.

#Andi Mack #Buffy Driscoll #Cyrus Goodman #Jonah Beck #TJ Kippen #Amber #Bex Mack #Bowie Quinn #Andi #episode recaps

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minimalexertion · 5 years

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Chapter 2

Blending into the New Dimension

After that whole fiasco of waking up, passing out, then waking up once again, only to pass out again, then finally waking up and being able to stay awake, the Hokage (bless his heart) had allowed you to stay with him.

You had a small room to yourself, a couple of belongings that he had given you, such as clothes, a bed and a couple of small bits and pieces, and most importantly of all, your privacy. You lay, slumped on the comfy bed, staring angrily at the small black handbook. Unsurprisingly, step 3 of chapter 1 was 'Finding a Place to Stay.'

Step 3 - Finding a Place to Stay

This will, most likely, be the hardest step to complete. Finding a place to stay is often difficult due to the fact that you are an anomaly. However, the best people to ask for a place to stay are in fact, no offence, old and single people. Especially women.

If you appeal to the motherly or fatherly side of people, you will increase your probability of surviving and therefore the success of your mission to saving valuable lives.

If you are without parental figures, or a guardian, in this new world it is probably best to befriend a few of the popular locals. This is mainly to create a bond between you and the place in which you have been dropped off at. Undoubtedly, you will get attached and most likely refer to them as your parental figures the longer you stay, but it is nicer to come back to a warm bed and friendly faces, than a cold house. Just a tip, by the way.

Handy Tip #4: If possible, try to find a temporary guardian who is not essential to the plot, as you may put them into danger just for harbouring a stranger.

Handy Tip #5: Find a temporary guardian who won't ask too many questions about your past, what you know etc.

You growled angrily, before grabbing your pillow and screaming into it. After letting out your pent up anger at your so called 'guardian angel' you returned to the notebook to quickly read through chapter 2: 'Blending Into your New Dimension'.

Step 4 - Assimilate the Culture

Take some time to learn about the cultural differences between this new world and the one you were previously in. It will take some time but by doing so, you can 'blend' into the crowd and not (as some people say) stick out like a sore thumb. Try to learn the culture from mature people/beings, it will help you understand what is acceptable and what is not, making your reputation credible and as a result, statements you will say in the future will be believable and trusted.

To do this, observe the every day lives of a few locals and try to pick up some slang that is appropriate for your age.

Handy Tip #6: Try to befriend the 'protagonist', i.e. the main character of the dimension you are in. Not only will you learn the culture quickly, but you will also be on good terms with the winning side and therefore have, "plot armour".

Note: Observing does not mean stalking.

Step three sounded easy enough, but step 4 made you want to rip out all the hair on your head, make a wig out of all that hair, then rip it out once again. You, a responsible 18 year old adult, have to be friends with an annoying 12 year old child?!

You glared at your reflection in the mirror, as one thing that Dara [you had revoked your guardian angel's right of formalities and respect] forgot to mention was that you had to live out the rest of the timeline starting from the age of 12. Which just means, that not only would you have to experience the beauty of puberty again, but you would have to deal with a bunch of other kids, who had not experienced puberty, experience puberty for the first time.

The sound of your door bursting open and a small child screaming, "I have you where I want you!" Which was promptly followed by your body being tackled to the floor by an 8 year old boy. You sighed, as Konohamaru began laughing as he stood over your limp body.

You regretted not watching at least 10 episodes of Naruto when your friend had shown you the first episode. Heck, they would be laughing at your predicament right now, probably mocking you by cackling, 'Look at who's laughing now, [f.name]! Look at who's 'meaningless' hobby is suddenly super important!'

On the upside, one could call Konohamaru [the Hokage's grandson] your minion. Strangely, Konohamaru had taken an instant liking to you, following you everywhere (when possible) and trying to teach you the customs of Konoha. In return, you thought of him as a younger brother who you would kill and seriously maim people for.

Konohamaru was quiet, confused at your still body, edging closer bit by bit until he was close enough to poke you in the face with his finger. "Hey, [f.name]?"

As quick as lightening, well as quickly as your 'frail' 12 year old body would allow you, you leapt forth at Konohamaru with a playful growl. Instantly, he let out a loud squeal, giggling as you scooped him up in your arms. "Who has come forth? Who demands to speak to the beast?" You growled out, channelling your best lion-from-the-cave-of-wonders-in-Aladdin impression, squishing Konohamaru's cheeks playfully between your hands, as he laughed and squirmed in your grip.

Wriggling his way out of your hold, Konohamaru sprinted out of your room, laughing the entire time. Chuckling quietly, you shoved the small notebook safely into your pouch and chased after him, making weird dinosaur noises all the while.

"Sir, can we really trust this [l.name] girl?"

The Hokage stared at Iruka blankly before replying, "I don't see why not?"

Iruka looked baffled, his eyes wide, before he managed to stutter a comprehensible answer, "W-well, she could be a spy? Or even worse, a human weapon?!"

The Hokage lay one hand reassuringly onto Iruka's shoulder, "I know about your fears, but I need you to trust me when I say, she poses no harm for Konoha and its people. In fact, I truly believe she will be a formidable Shinobi."

Iruka only gave the Hokage a grim smile. Before jolting quickly as he realised, "Wait, Sir! Shinobi! Are you going to train her to be a Shinobi?! All the teams have already been finalised and they've already gone on their first few mission!"

Chuckling, the Hokage merely nodded his head, "Don't worry, Iruka. I know what I'm doing, she'll be ready to join a team, and I think I know which one I have in mind."

Dear Diary To Bob this weak-ass journal that I've decided to keep so I know that I won't go insane,

A few months have passed since I first came to this dimension. I found out I had a knack for fire-bending, or as good-old Gramps said, "Your chakra nature seems to be fire," whatever that means.

Gramps (something that I referred to the Hokage as since I decided that he would be my adopted guardian in this universe) had an Anbu member train me on simple hand to hand combat, weapon handling, as well as some simple jutsus. Jutsus which I immediately forgot right after the poor Anbu taught me. Sorry, but it's just takes too much time to remember those hand symbols. Also, I couldn't really do those jutsus anyway, so who cares.

And, if I was to be honest with the characters, I spent way too much time trying to be as cool as Azula or Toph from the TV series for someone who was trying to catch up to the other kids.

My fire-bending skills was passable, my earth-bending tolerable, my water-bending skills were kind of there, and my air-bending skills were completely non-existent (which was pretty dumb considering that the main character of the fucking TV show was an air-bender, but whatever). Dara comes to speak with me in my dreams, which is a little weird, at least she's telling me how to control these weird-bending powers, Toph made earth-bending look so easy.

Konohamaru had shown me around the town and introduced me a few nice people in return for the stories I keep telling him. It won't be long before I run out of Disney plots to talk about. Other than that, I kept eating out at this ramen place which will not only put a dent in my wallet but also my health, something I'm not ashamed of, by the way. It's not my fault that their food is so god dang delicious. I also learnt a few customs, like how it's apparently "offensive" to fling oneself out of windows in the hope that I can air-bend.

Anyway, haven't met the main character yet, but I found that the notebook also has pages on the synopsis of this show in the back, so guess who's becoming a fortune teller?

I am, bitch.

Talking about the future, and the main character, the Hokage said he was going to have me skip the "graduation exam" (which sounds very important) and chuck me onto a team already. I'm supposed to meet them later today, so hopefully they all turn out to be, at the very least, tolerable, and considering my situation they'll probably be the main characters too.

Great.

Sighing, I closed the small journal that I was given by the Hokage and promptly hid it in the underwear drawer of my dresser. I cannot deny that I have gotten used to this new life of mine, training and learning new things every day. Amazingly, I haven't gotten anyone killed or seriously injured yet, which is probably a testament of my ability to not give a single fuck, but who knows?

Getting up and stretching my legs slowly, I wondered out of my room and found myself face to face with good-ol' gramps.

"Are you ready to meet them, [f.name]?"

Air-bending skills: 3.4 out of 10

Number of fucks given: At least 1

Probability of survival: 87.63%

#wishful thinking volume i #naruto x reader #naruto various x reader #x reader #reader insert

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thecloserkin · 6 years

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fic rec: in fire, in ice by moirariordan

fandom: Wizards of Waverly Palace

pairing: Justin Russo/Alex Russo

word count: 25k

Is it canon: Yes

Is it explicit: No

Is it endgame: Yes

Is it shippable: Like fire

It’s an on-the-run story! Where they get fake married! For real this fic is #sibcestgoals. It’s justifiably the most widely read and influential fic in the fandom, whose influence transcends the fandom itself: the tagline ought to be “come to the dark side, we have incest-flavored cookies.” Say you had a friend who had never read a word of fanfiction in their life. For a starter pack you would hand them something like The Shoebox Project, right? Something accessible, for a pairing that’s ludicrously shippable, something that would rip their heart out and leave them aching for more. That’s what this story is. I would have no qualms recc’ing it to anyone on the street. Just look at the testimonials on Fanlore or on the TVTropes rec page —these people can’t all be incest shippers right?

Wizards of Waverly Place was a teen sitcom that aired from 2007-2012 on the Disney Channel, starring Selena Gomez and David Henrie as the titular brother-and-sister wizards. They have parents and a younger brother too but for shipping purposes Justin/Alex is the six-ton orca whale in the room. Justin is two years older, boring and responsible; Alex is the wild child. There’s a lot of banter and a lot of snark and it’s that dynamic where the older male does everything by the book and the younger female character categorically refuses to even crack open the spine of a book. There was a made-for-TV movie in 2009, and 87% of people who caught it while channel-surfing came away under the impression that the male lead was Selena Gomez’s boyfriend. I know this because I conducted a highly scientific poll, obviously.

Let me say upfront that I love this story but every time I read it it’s like I just watched Schindler’s List. It’s literally a story about a wizard Holocaust.

It starts with an old man who accidentally torpedoes the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy (or the in-universe equilavent). It’s important to emphasize how he gives the game away, which is by conjuring a specter of his dead wife, one that unfortunately winds up outliving him; when the police broke his door down they found her weeping over his corpse. He loved her so much he preferred a flimsy facsimile over the lack of her. Or is it that he loved her so little he would settle for a cheap echo? Either way, love is the downfall of the wizarding community. The tension between love and magic is at the heart of this fic, for love is about sacrifice and at its root, so is magic.

The muggles’ initial reaction is consternation. The dead old man was unfortunately in possession of an extensive and illegal magical library, and pretty soon “every New Age hippie who ever read a deck of tarot cards” descends on New York City to pore over it. Consternation turns to fear turns to anger/mistrust turns to outright persecution of wizardkind.

Alex keeps waiting and waiting for someone to do something, to stop it, to make it go away, but nothing happens.

Alex is still in high school. There are people out there every day braying for her blood and calling for her family’s heads on spikes. Plot happens.

“Is this a good thing?” she asks, because Justin always knows what’s good and right and what’s not, and she really needs to know. He’s silent for a very long moment. “I don’t know,” he says, and for some reason this is more terrifying than anything.

She’s relied on Justin all these years to be her moral compass and when he admits he’s at a loss her whole world crumbles. They’re not canonically codependent, I think, but Alex does a lot of shit she wouldn’t otherwise if she wasn’t relying on Justin to bail her out. Likewise Justin resents how Alex’s raw gumption allows her to brazenly bluff her way through stuff he has to work his tail off for. I think Justin gives himself less credit than he deserves because Alex is right, he is insanely smart and talented. There’s an actual no-word-of-a-lie witchhunt going on and Justin still manages to graduate valedictorian.

There’s an underground railroad of sorts that smuggles wizards out, endowing them with new identities and new memories. The Russos grow desperate after Justin and Alex’s mom falls pregnant, but for plot reasons they can’t all be relocated so Justin and Alex stay behind. There are tearful farewells. The plan is to wait until Alex finishes high school, then rejoin the rest of the family. Things get even darker, but Justin “makes her smile like it’s his job.” LIKE IT’S HIS JOB. My friends, this is the good shit right here.

They eat in his room, most of the time, and do homework. Alex knows that he finds it soothing.

It’s a ritual, don’t you see? Other people meditate; Justin does homework. Alex does it too to keep him company. In fact Alex spends a lot of time in Justin’s bed. She’s always falling asleep there or waking up there and it’s not sexual but it gives you an idea of where her head’s at. Once, she slams out of the living room during an argument, and after a disorienting moment realizes it’s not her room she’s retreated into, it’s Justin’s. Her subconscious has obviously decided Justin’s room is the safest sanctuary there is.

Justin takes her out to dinner to celebrate her grades

IT’S A DAAAAATE only neither of them know it yet haha!

When Alex’s lifelong BFF announces she’s joining the Youth Nazi and invites Alex to join up with her, Alex runs away to a bench in Central Park. Justin shows up in short order:

“How’d you find me?”

“Are you kidding? You always come here when you’re upset.” He sits next to her. “Remember the time you ran away when Mom and Dad wouldn’t let you get a ferret?”

Nobody is conflating the pain of being denied a potential pet ferret to the pain of being deemed subhuman by one’s best friend, but the point of this scene is (1) that Justin gets her, in all her melodramatic over-the-top pettiness, and (2) Justin notices and remembers which bench she prefers — it’s a big gorram park after all. Eventually the political situation comes to a head and Justin and Alex decide it’s not safe to stay in New York City any longer, and they gather up their cash and bounce. Once they leave they have no way of getting back in touch with their parents but they have no choice; it’s too dangerous to stay:

They sleep in cheap motels and pay in cash under fake names, staying under the radar as much as possible because they’re not sure what else to do. They run out of cash in Maryland and get a decent hotel room under the fake account name.

They stop in Indianapolis to celebrate Justin’s twentieth birthday. Alex scores some champagne with one of the fake IDs she’d snagged before leaving New York and they drink it in a hotel room, the TV off and knees touching on the bed

They make it to Denver and get a small apartment and tell everyone they’re newlyweds and Alex dyes her hair red

OMG THEY’RE FAKE MARRIED I AM DECEASED

p sure there was also blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bedsharing in the hotel room

Alex’s hair color is a solid proxy for her state of mind

They save half their money each month in case they have to run again, and for a little bit, things are kind of nice. After her shifts, Alex will walk to the library where Justin works and sit at a table behind the corner with him, reading history books and novels.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you Alex Russo, the girl who a few months ago wouldn’t know which end of a book was up. She learns to love BOOKS and LIBRARIES on JUSTIN’S account and that is everything. Well, this is a nice respite but it doesn’t last and they have to keep running because Alex is assaulted at her waitressing job by a creepy customer who won’t take no for an answer. It’s a highly unrealistic stranger-in-a-dark-alley attempted assault situation but I will let that slide because the point is she instinctively spews magic in self-defense, which of course will bring the authorities down on them in no time. She’s scared shitless and she runs straight into Justin’s arms, the only place she feels safe:

Justin nearly freaks when he sees her, dragging her into the back office and touching her face, her arms, over and over as if to reassure himself that she’s okay. He sees the scrapes on her back and frowns, pulling off his soft cotton jacket and wrapping it around her as she explains what happened in a monotone voice. “We have to go,” she says, “tonight.” He nods and kisses her nose. “You did what you had to do,” he says, and something tight unravels because he’s not mad.

There is so much tenderness in that nose kiss. I feel like they’ve been partners for a long time but this is where it really clicks that Justin’s not “in charge” anymore, he’s not the older brother who knows best, they’re just two teenagers clinging to each other on a life raft because they are everything the other has left.

“The baby must be three years old now,” Alex muses. The champagne they’re drinking isn’t nearly enough to get them wasted, and she suddenly wishes that they were the type of people who get drunk. “Max is fifteen. In high school.”

This made me so sad, how they used to be a five-person family unit and now Alex and Justin are cut adrift and they’ve formed a unit of their own but they’ll never stop missing the others.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you with straight hair since New York,” he says when she emerges from the bathroom. He flicks her bangs away from her face. “You usually look like a street urchin.”

All the hairstyle changes for disguise purposes but she’s still his sister underneath. He’d know her anywhere. Here’s the scene where they first kiss — they’re standing on their own doorstep, having gone out to celebrate his birthday, and Alex (as you would expect) initiates it:

He narrows his eyes at her and she looks, looks, because she can’t have read this wrong – no, she didn’t. There is nothing in the world that she knows better than Justin – his face, his body, his head, his mind, his heart.

Yesssss I need it like air. Later:

(They don’t talk about what happened on his birthday, but they’ve started asking for single rooms.)

Eventually they settle in rural Italy, which I guess doesn’t have the same 24-hour surveillance panopticon that we have here in the USA so it’s easier for wizards to slip through the cracks. I like to imagine them in in the Tuscan hills. Justin is a schoolteacher and Alex a graphic designer. They remain for many years below the radar, until Alex is recruited into the Resistance to help smuggle other wizards out through the Underground Railroad the same way she and Justin were smuggled out. She feels a moral obligation to do it, even if it kills Justin to watch her diving repeatedly into danger and him unable to follow.

She’s never been that great at protecting people, she knows. When she was seven and Justin was nine, there’d been a bully that lived in the apartment building across the street who used to try and steal her lunch money every day, and every day she would offer Justin’s in return for her own relief. When she was twelve and he was fourteen, they broke Theresa’s glass statuette from Barcelona during a fight and she blamed him without a second thought, and when she was seventeen and he was nineteen, she let him pass up freedom in order to protect her and she will never forget all that he gave up the day he made that decision.

Alex’s great grief is that Justin has given up an assuredly brilliant future, in which he would have shone as a superstar and had his pick of careers, in exchange for being hers.

“You’re so smart, and grown up and good and – and handsome, and I’m irresponsible and immature and –“

She sees his being with her as a sacrifice. She doesn’t know anything about sacrifice yet. She finds her parents living in the same apartment in New York they fled so many lives ago. They’re waiting for Justin and Alex to come back, or send word, or something. It exposes them to an acute degree of risk, of course. Alex orchestrates the Resistance mission to evacuate/relocate her parents, but she does not reveal herself nor reconnect with them. She lets them go. It’s unclear why, although I suspect it would be tough to have a relationship with them without dealing with the elephant in the room, the fact that she and Justin are now together. Yet I think it was important for her to see her parents one last time, because it gave her closure. After she returns to Italy she and Justin welcome their first child. The baby is a mini-dynamo and a nexus of magical potential, sending up trails of rainbow sparks even in utero, so Alex makes the painful decision to give up her powers for good. This means she will be mortal, and so will the child, and any future children or grandchildren. It also means she and Justin will be allowed to stay under the radar and hang onto the life they have painstakingly built. Remember how I said that the root of both love and magic is sacrifice? This is the sacrifice that defines Alex Russo, that she was willing to give up magic -- the thing that has shaped her identity for twenty-odd years -- in order to be with Justin.

#wizards of waverly place #wowp #fic rec #jalex

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hangonimevolving · 6 years

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Attempting some gratitude, for once.

I need to post this, before the thought and the mood from which it’s sprung both dissipate into thin air.

I suck at gratitude, on the whole. Seriously, I do, and I know I need to work on that. I’ll spare everyone my sob stories, explanations, justifications, etc. for why I have had a hard time with gratitude in recent years, but suffice to say - I am aware that I suck at it, and I heard somewhere that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one.... so fine. I admit it. I’m ungrateful and unappreciative in my life most days.

But today, I’ve had multiple - MULTIPLE - moments of just feeling this weird, inexplicable, warm and fuzzy, happy, sigh-inducing THING just bubble up in me. And I was like WTF is this feeling?! Why is my tummy all glittery and light? Why am I sitting here on the sofa smiling for no damn reason?! OHHHHH! Wait! Is this.....gratitude?! HOLY SHIT, I think it is! So I’m gonna write it down and note it for all posterity. I, Evolver, have felt gratitude on this 7th day of September, 2018.

It all started last Saturday night, where, right in the middle of Labor Day weekend and my sister Rithers’ visit to our hike in Miami along with her hubby, Uncle K, and her kids H20 and NiNi, our 5.5-year old Vevvy fell ill. We thought that perhaps he was just overly exhausted from a long and happy day in the pool when he felt warm to the touch on Saturday night, but mid-day Sunday, during a beach excursion - Vev’s FAVORITE thing in the world, he completely fell apart, acting listless, fatigued, and not having fun at all. One look at him, standing statuesque on the beach, staring out to sea longingly while tears rolled down his cheeks, said it all: “what is going on?! I’m so confused, mommy! I’m in my favorite place in the world, and yet I feel so miserable! What is happening to me?!” A hand on his forehead revealed that he was burning up. Without a moment’s hesitation, Dr. Spouse loaded him up in the car and headed for home, while I remained at the beach with Dey to host Rithers and co. a while longer. Poor Vev needed a shower, some kiddie Tylenol, and bed rest, stat.

the “I am siiiiick” face :(

Over the next seven - SEVEN! - days, Vev would continue to have relentless fevers or 101-103F even with continuous children’s Tylenol and Motrin. He also developed monster congestion in his sinuses and nose, headaches, body ache, and general fatigue. I was sincerely shocked and more than a little intimidated by his congestion snot (keeping it real), which was so thick and oppressive, it would choke his throat and inhibit his from breathing if he dared to rest in even a semi-reclining position.

The poor kid had no choice but to be completely upright if he didn’t want to gag on his own phlegm, which meant that he (and by transitive property, I) could really sleep no more than 90 minutes at a stretch for four nights straight. He was miserable, and I was doing everything I could to help him, staying with him each night either on an air mattress in my bedroom, or just holding him against my shoulder/chest in my bed while he desperately tried to sleep and breathe at the same time. I felt awful for him, and mused for a moment about parents whose children have respiratory disorders like CF who live their lives this way.... good health is such a blessing that we all take for granted.

As much as I hated every minute of Vev’s suffering, there was something a bit nostalgic in holding him sleeping in my arms for several consecutive nights. Wasn’t there a time in the not-so-distant past where this was the ONLY way he’d sleep?! I bitch and moan all the time about how clingy, dependent, and non-self reliant my kids are — but it has been years since Vev needed me at night this way. My Vevvy has grown up a lot.

And to his credit, despite all this sicky misery, he was really a trooper while ill. Against his traditional character, when sick or not, he really didn’t complain much - just went quiet and kept to himself for days, forming a little nest on the sofa each day with a warm blankie, big box of Kleenex, and his iPad, not really asking for much at all except quiet and rest. He never really complained when I had to give him medication, and he did his best to heed my urges to drink clear fluids even when I could tell he really didn’t want to. And - forgive the TMI here - but you know your kid is really growing up when they begin to have some way of forewarning you and/or running to the bathroom on their own steam and hitting the preferred target of the toilet when they’ve gotta vomit. Fortunately, Vev only puked twice this week, and I suspect that too was only bc he gagged on his own copious snot — but both times, he announced “throwwww uuuup!” to me before sprinting to the loo and handling affairs with no mess and accurate aim. HALLELUJAH! This should be considered a major developmental milestone!!! (And yes - poor, poor kid! I really am glad it was only the twice, because that must have sucked a lot for him!)

Yeah, so. He’s growing up. Way to go, buddy!!!... and, sniff.

(supposedly this says “Mommy I love you ”... but he always starts writing at the bottom of a page and works his way up. He may also be of the mind that “Mommy” is spelled “mom-E.” Yes, we’re gonna work on it)

It was only yesterday, Thursday, that we got an official pediatrician diagnosis of his illness: the flu, as in the legit flu virus, or Influenza A. The word came too late for antiviral medications to be of any great use to him, unfortunately, but I was grateful anyway that we got a halfway-decent pediatrician BRILLIANT nurse practitioner who needed my assertive request demand for a prophylactic prescription or Tamiflu for Dey. We’ve had shitty luck in South Florida with pediatricians who appear to be reactionary and unnecessarily nonsensical in their responses to my requests for help - but this time, our pedi NP was A+. She treated our family like competent, educated people and did things that made sense as far as ensuring this highly-contagious virus wouldn’t spread to another healthy child living in the same household. I wish she could be our regular PCP (but of course, I bet she can’t be, bc she’s not a doctor. Grr, fucking managed care. Oops, hold it - I’m supposed to be channeling gratitude here, not my customary bitchiness. My bad.)

Anyway, speaking of Dey, I’ve got to brag about him a bit here too. At 3.5 years old, Dey’s baseline is definitely chill, go-with-the-flow, glass-half-full, and a pleasant, happy and easygoing “whatever you want, dude!”-ness that Vev NEVER was at that age. It’s been really awesome to see. But this week, his general outlook on life, combined with impressive moments of being a team player, cooperating, helping out, and exhibiting formidable empathy really made me sooo proud.

It’s certainly understandable that he’d be potentially jealous that his older brother got to skip an entire week of school while he still had to go. It would be even more understandable since they are actual CLASSMATES at school this year (yes, our Montessori school groups ages 4-6/preschool, pre-K and kindergarten in one classroom, so they’ve been together at school and at home since the start of the academic year). So I was very impressed when Dey accepted his brother’s illness and his need to stay home from school, while he was forced to go. Without one word of complaint, he’d get up each morning, eat his breakfast, get washed up and dressed out in uniform, gather his things, then visit Vev quickly and dispense a goodbye hug and a “hope you feel better, Vev!” before loading up in the car for school drop-off. What a trooper. At afternoon pick-up, when I’d ask about his day at school, he’d say with a little frown, “oh, school was okay...but Vev wasn’t on the playground.” It was kinda weird feeling my heart simultaneously break a little, but also burst with pride at how much he loves his brother. Sweet kiddo.

At home, each afternoon he’d run excitedly to Vev to see how he was doing, his face full of hopeful anticipation that perhaps today, Vev was feeling better and could play with him... but when he’d find Vev too miserable and tired to play, his face would momentarily fall in disappointment, but then he would muster some compassion and understanding, silently shuffle away, and find a quiet game to do in the vicinity, just so he could be nearby without disturbing Vev. Or, cuter still, he’d snuggle down on the opposite side of the couch as Vev, and tune his iPad into the same YouTube video Vev would be watching, so they could give each other silly smiles and glances during the funny parts. The boy would periodically race off in the house to find his toy doctor kit, and would affix his little plastic stethoscope to his ears so he could “give Vev a checkup” and “make him feel better.”

(Dr. Cutie Pie is in)

It was adorable, man. His whole world spins because of his brother. It’s so touching. I don’t know how it is that I managed to have two kids who love each other so much, because karmically I’ve done NOTHING to earn this. My sister and I were rotten to each other as kids, and only really turned a corner on it in our... what, our late 30′s?! Haha :) But I’m so grateful for these two dudes. These two little people are the best of friends, and they can’t live without each other. The feels.

One more funny brag about Dey. Dr. Spouse and I often jokingly refer to him as Dory, i.e. the lovable blue fish, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres from the Disney movie “Finding Nemo.” Dory’s schtick is that she’s easily distracted and has short-term memory.

Fittingly, Dory is one of Dey’s favorite cartoon characters, and he’s not shy to let the world know....

youtube

Anyway. Remember that whole prophylactic script for Tamiflu? Mind you, I was so grateful to get it. But. Ummmm, pediatric Tamiflu tastes FOUL. It is seriously the most bitter, disgusting, viscous goo I’ve ever gingerly licked to mentally prepare myself for my kid’s reaction to. I began fearing Dey’s reaction, and the ensuing tantrums to come over the five-day course of the drug. But I spoke matter-of-fairly to Dey about how this was a medicine he’d need to take to keep himself healthy, and that it would be a little bit yucky, but that I’d give him a HUGE spoonful of sugar right after to make it taste better (and THANK YOU, blessed Mary Poppins, for your genius).

Luckily, little Dory just took my words at face value without any further thought, opened his mouth, and downed the nasty shot of devil’s semen Tamiflu that I dispensed into his mouth. Immediately his face went every shade of red, purple, and white, with a coordinating expression like “what the hell is this shit?!” — but I swooped in there prepared, like a crack-smoking Mother of Batman, giving him a swig of water then heaping a MASSIVE spoon of white sugar directly onto his tongue. The result was nothing short of magical - the kid instantaneously closed his eyes in pleasure, turned up his cute little round cheeks to the ceiling with a huge smile on his face, and loudly cooed “Mmmm!” as if it was the best damn thing he’d ever eaten in his life. Moments later, the sugar fully dissolved, Dey matter-of-fairly reminisced with a RainMan-esque tone, “hey mommy, that medicine was kind of yucky for me. Kind of salty. Kind of spicy. But the SUGAR WAS YUUUUUUMMMMMY!” I worried that at the next dosing (and man, the kid’s gotta take it morning and night, poor little dude) he’d run screaming from the salty spicy medicine, and wouldn’t fall for the sugar trick — but amazingly, when I announced “medicine and sugar time,” the child came RUNNING to me with a huge grin on his face like he’d just won the lottery. He gulped down the medicine like a champ, swigged the water himself, then began changing “Su-gar! Su-gar! Su-gar!” till I ladled a bit into his mouth. Naturally, my mind spun forward a bit, concerned that his ease of overcoming the Yucky Taste Barrier and downing this stuff for a cheap reward might translate into some unsavory teenage and young adult behaviors (err, tequila shot champion in the making?! Please god, help us). But, for now - eternally grateful for my little Dory’s easy distractability and forgiving memory!!! Vev, at that age and even now, would have NEVER gone along with this!

(is it just me, or do they even kinda sorta look alike, Dory and Dey? No one else sees it?! No one?!!! Hmm...)

Anyway. In conclusion, it’s not normal for me to have something kind of bad happen, like the flu hitting one of my kids, but finding some good in the mess. But here I am, in spite of myself, awash in all the warm fuzzies.

1. I’ve got two healthy, happy kids, when many people have children with serious health issues and have to live their lives watching their kids sick and miserable all the time

2. my kids are growing up, becoming wonderfully independent, self-reliant, empathetic and helpful. But they still sometimes need me, and that’s nice too.

3. They both have such fun, distinct personalities.

4. I admit that it’s pretty awesome that my second kid is so chill. Love them both to bits, but if kid #2 has been more ornery and neurotic, I think that would have sucked. Having a chill kid #2 is a godsend.

5. They frigging LOVE EACH OTHER. It’s a goddamn brotherly love fest up in here.

6. Last but not least - the flu sucks, but it isn’t forever, and life will go on. Soon, in fact. And we’ll be onto the next adventure together. Look forward to seeing what it’ll be!

#Vev #Dey #parenthood #influenza #flu #brotherlylove

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surveysonfleek · 7 years

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544.

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? i read the first two books and got through half of the last book. When was the last time you ran into something? eh i probably do it everyday. Do you enjoy dressing up? sometimes, only when i’ve found the perfect outfit, Do you live in the city or a rural area? neither. i live in the suburbs. Would you say you have a sense of style? eh, not really. i don’t actively follow fashion trends i just wear whatever i like.

What’s your biggest fear? losing people i love. Have you ever been bitten by a wild animal? nope, i was actually bitten by my grandparent’s pet dog before though lol. Are you close to any of your cousins? not really because most of them live at least an hour away or live in a different country from me. but we do all get along. Have you ever been lost in the woods? no, i’d be pretty freaked out by that. Where did you last travel? april. Do you enjoy driving? no i hate driving with a passion. the first thing i’d get if i ever became which is a chauffeur. What song did you last listen to? i forgot. If you have a job, how often do you work? 3-5 times a week. What time do you normally go to sleep at night? 3am. Do you watch a lot of movies? nope. Do you like Tom Petty? idk him. Would you rather have snow or rain? rain. Do you own a lot of sweaters? yes. Have you ever tried rock-climbing? no i haven’t, i’d probably suck in it. Ever ridden in a police car? nope. Favorite decade of music? 90s or 00s. Have any of your best friends been your best friend longer than a year? yes. Ever witnessed a murder? nope. Do you care what people think of you? to a certain extent if i know them. Does your room have a ceiling fan? nah, i have a standup one. Would you consider yourself poised? haha nooooo. Have you ever tried blogging? i have, i’m made blogs on all different servers but have never really held on to any. Favorite television channel? netflix i guess. Have you ever lied under oath? no. What are your religious views? raised a catholic but i don’t really practice it at all. Are you a romantic person? not really. Would you consider yourself a flirt? nope. At what age do you plan to be married? around the 30 mark. Do you eat a lot of junk food? haha no. When did you last go on vacation? april. Are you resilient? i’ll make it out as if i am. but i tend to think a lot. Have you ever failed a subject before? nope. If so, what was the class? Do you wear more bright or dull colors? dull. Do you know anyone who has attempted suicide? no. What’s your favorite quote? i hate quotes. Would you consider yourself mature? i’d like to think so. How many clocks are in your house? probably quite a few. Do you play any sports? not anymore. What is your biggest life regret? not starting my career earlier on in life. Have you ever been injured in a car accident? nope. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? on a cruise or a beach in the caribbean. Have you ever had highlights in your hair? yes. years ago. Favorite fast food restaurant? kfc. In what country were you born? australia. Are your eyes more than one color? no. Have you ever caught something on fire? yeah i accidentally caught a tea towel on fire during cooking class in high school but luckily put it our before the teacher saw. What would you consider your biggest flaw? my lack of motivation. What do you think your best quality is? i’ll always put the people i like and love before myself. Do you enjoy listening to others’ problems? i’m happy to listen and give advice, i just can’t deal with people who come up to me with the same problems and won’t listen to my advice. Do you keep any plants in your house? yes. What is your mother’s occupation? pathologist. Do any of your friends like your musical style? yes. What are you most looking forward to? idk lol. my birthday. What was your favorite television show as a child? arthur, sesame street, the simpsons etc. Are you afraid of insects? just cockroaches. Are you cold-natured? not really. How old were you when you got your first pet? about 4. Did you/do you enjoy high school? not really. i didn’t love it nor hate it. a had a small group of friends and that was enough for me. What would you say was your favorite age? 21 probably. What annoys you most about social networking? how everything has turned into a competition of how good your photos are, how many followers you have etc. Are you the center of attention most of the time? nope. What are you currently reading? nothing. When did you last go to the library? years ago. Are you ill at the moment? no. Do people tease you about anything? no. How late did you stay up last night and why? maybe 3am. it’s my usual bed time. Have you ever written poetry? only for school. Curtains or shades? curtains. How many people have you spoken to in the last hour? one. Do you tend to text a lot? yeah, daily i guess. Ever lost a great best friend? yes. What is your favorite kind of flower? peony. How tall are you? 5′4″ Do you own any guns? nope. What would you say is your favorite book of all-time? the harry potter series. i’ve read it through multiple times. Do you think you’re living a good life? it can be improved. What’s your least favorite part of the day? going to work. Are you an over-achiever? not at all. i wish! Have you ever won an award for a speech? no. Do you tend to curse a lot? yes. Have you ever played on the Ouija board? no thanks. Do you sleepwalk? nope. Have you ever slept on the floor before? umm yeah i have. Are you a fan of public displays of affection? not really. i’m indifferent, i personally wouldn’t do it but don’t care if others do. When did you last attend a yard sale? i don’t remember. Do you wish your life were simpler or more interesting? more interesting. What goals do you wish to accomplish tomorrow? pick up my shopping. When is your birthday? dec 5. Which is worse: going blind or deaf? idk. What was the best part of today? not having work. Do you attempt to stay away from drama? yes.

What liquid did you last drink? water. Do you ever prefer to be alone? yes. Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? nope. Favorite Disney movie? aladdin and mulan. Have you ever been to the beach? yes. If you have, how many times have you been? countless times. What was your dream occupation at age ten? idk, i just wanted to be famous lol. Are you terrified at the idea of weight-gain? not terrified, but whatever. Do you drink a lot of water? yes. Does your room have carpet or hard-wood floors? carpet. Do you take naps daily? no. Who were you named after? no one. Do you plan on traveling this spring or summer? next autumn. Do you know anyone who is colorblind? nope. Have you ever been a teacher’s pet? hahaha no. What is your absolute favorite hobby? traveling. How many times a day do you brush your teeth? 1-3 times. Ever been to a tanning bed before? nope. Are you satisfied with your financial stability? not at all. Who is your favorite actor/actress? i don’t have one.

Are your nails painted? yes. What’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to someone? eh idk. i’ve never been that mean to any of my friends. i say a lot of things in a joking way. Do you ever accidentally talk to inanimate objects? nope. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? cookie dough or nutella. Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? no. Do you receive any hate mail? nope. Have you ever sent a letter in the mail? yes. If you could, would you have a pen pal? nah, no time for it. What color are the pants you’re wearing? not wearing pants. Have you ever had a stalker? no. What is your life philosophy? meh. Who last sent you a goodnight text message? my boyfriend. Do you own any clothes that are your favorite color? yes. Have you ever been in a hot tub before? yes. What’s your favorite comedy movie? mean girls.

#survey #surveys #quiz #bored #questions

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toomanysurveys9 · 7 years

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Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? i have not. i’ve thought about it but i’m not sure if i’d like it. When was the last time you ran into something? yesterday at the factory i’m working at. Do you enjoy dressing up? not so much. i feel extremely uncomfortable with my body after having a baby and i’m still breastfeeding, so that doesn’t help. Do you live in the city or a rural area? city. but it’s a smaller city where there’s never anything to do. Would you say you have a sense of style? i do, but it’s just kind of big t-shirts and jeans.

What’s your biggest fear? failing as a mother and at life in general. Have you ever been bitten by a wild animal? i have not. Are you close to any of your cousins? we used to be when we were younger but as we’ve all grown up and life has happened, we’re not. Have you ever been lost in the woods? not really, no. Where did you last travel? last place of significance was kentucky this past may. Do you enjoy driving? depends. generally, i get pretty bored with it pretty quickly. i rather ride shotgun and pick the music or in back with wyatt. What song did you last listen to? whatever was on the radio. If you have a job, how often do you work? i’m working at a factory operating a rivet machine so i can afford christmas because jake wants to be an ass. that’s monday through probably saturday, 5 am to 2:30 pm. then i go home and take care of my baby love. oh. he also still doesn’t sleep through the night, so that’s been fun. i get no sleep. i can’t wait to be past christmas so i don’t have to work there anymore. it’d be different if i was doing something i loved, but i’m not. What time do you normally go to sleep at night? whenever wyatt decides it’s bed time. Do you watch a lot of movies? eh, kind of. we have netflix and movies and that’s alll.. Do you like Tom Petty? i think i enjoy a couple songs but i’m not a super big fan or anything. Would you rather have snow or rain? rain. i hate snow. it’s just cold and complicates driving. Do you own a lot of sweaters? i own two. i only have one here. Have you ever tried rock-climbing? i have not. i don’t think i’d be good at it. Ever ridden in a police car? yeah. when i was taken to this place to talk to a forensic psychologist about my cousins who abused me as well as others... Favorite decade of music? i guess the 90′s and early to mid-2000′s? Have any of your best friends been your best friend longer than a year? yeah. kayla has been and so has jake. Ever witnessed a murder? i have not. Do you care what people think of you? ugh. i do but at the same time, i don’t. it’s complicated. Does your room have a ceiling fan? no, it doesn’t. Would you consider yourself poised? nope. Have you ever tried blogging? only tumblr, and i’m not sure what i do here really counts.... Favorite television channel? food network and cooking... usa... stuff like that. Have you ever lied under oath? no, because i’ve never been under oath. but if i were, i definitely wouldn’t lie. What are your religious views? i don’t have any. Are you a romantic person? not so much anymore. used to try but it’s not really worth it. Would you consider yourself a flirt? not even a little. At what age do you plan to be married? i am married. i got married when i was 22 to jake, who i have been with since right before high school. Do you eat a lot of junk food? not a lot, but still probably more than i should. When did you last go on vacation? this past may. Are you resilient? i’m not sure that’d be a word anyone would use to describe me. Have you ever failed a subject before? nope. If so, what was the class? Do you wear more bright or dull colors? dull. i wear a lot of grays and black. Do you know anyone who has attempted suicide? a few people, myself included. What’s your favorite quote? "and she loved a little boy very, very much; even more than she loved herself.” Would you consider yourself mature? for the most part, yes. How many clocks are in your house? i don’t know the exact number but we have quite a few ways to know the time.... most aren’t actually clocks exactly though. Do you play any sports? i do not. What is your biggest life regret? trusting anyone. ever. Have you ever been injured in a car accident? i have not. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? far away from here. Have you ever had highlights in your hair? i have not. too much work. Favorite fast food restaurant? i don’t really have a favorite. In what country were you born? the u.s. Are your eyes more than one color? no. just blueish. Have you ever caught something on fire? nothing comes to mind. What would you consider your biggest flaw? i’m emotional. i care too much. What do you think your best quality is? i don’t even know. i guess i’m a pretty good mom.

Do you enjoy listening to others’ problems? i mean. i’m not sure i’d say i enjoy it. i feel horrible when i hear about the things people are going through.... i’m good at it though. Do you keep any plants in your house? nope. What is your mother’s occupation? stay at home mom. Do any of your friends like your musical style? yeah.. for the most part. What are you most looking forward to? quitting the factory job. What was your favorite television show as a child? i don’t know. when i was really little, barney. Are you afraid of insects? certain ones, yes. Are you cold-natured? lately i have been. How old were you when you got your first pet? i don’t remember exact age. Did you/do you enjoy high school? i enjoyed some of it. What would you say was your favorite age? young child before all the bad. but i really like my current age thanks to wy. What annoys you most about social networking? almost everything yet i use it. lol. i really hate that people hide behind their phones and computers and think it’s okay to be assholes to people. Are you the center of attention most of the time? not even close, which is fine with me. What are you currently reading? willow. most of my books got taken to storage. When did you last go to the library? it’s been a very long time. Are you ill at the moment? nope. just tired. Do people tease you about anything? yeah... i have a lot of weird quirks i guess. How late did you stay up last night and why? it was after 11:30... i wanted to finish watching john wick.

Have you ever written poetry? yeah. i used to really enjoy it. Curtains or shades? we usually use shades. How many people have you spoken to in the last hour? six. Do you tend to text a lot? no. i have no one to talk to. Ever lost a great best friend? yeah. story of my life. What is your favorite kind of flower? lilacs. How tall are you? about 5′3″ or something. Do you own any guns? not at the moment. my husband has quite a few though. What would you say is your favorite book of all-time? there are too many amazing books to choose. Do you think you’re living a good life? eh. there’s a lot of bad right now. What’s your least favorite part of the day? when i have work, that’d be it. Are you an over-achiever? depends what it is. Have you ever won an award for a speech? no. i hate speeches so i don’t give them much. Do you tend to curse a lot? sometimes, yes. Have you ever played on the Ouija board? nah. no reason to. they’re not real. Do you sleepwalk? nope. Have you ever slept on the floor before? many times. Are you a fan of public displays of affection? eh. depends. personally, i’m okay with holding hands, hugs, and maybe some not super intense kissing, but i’m not a super open person. When did you last attend a yard sale? a couple years ago. Do you wish your life were simpler or more interesting? more interesting i guess. What goals do you wish to accomplish tomorrow? just spending time with my baby. When is your birthday? september 1st. Which is worse: going blind or deaf? both would be hard to adjust to since i’ve had both senses my whole life. What was the best part of today? cuddles with my baby. and getting to take a nice, warm shower. i even got to shave my legs. Do you attempt to stay away from drama? for the most part, but it somehow manages to find me from time to time.

What liquid did you last drink? sprite. Do you ever prefer to be alone? i’m fine if wy is with me always, but other than him, yes. Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? no. Favorite Disney movie? the lion king. Have you ever been to the beach? yes. it can be fun. If you have, how many times have you been? lots of times. we used to take yearly trips to florida. What was your dream occupation at age ten? singer. Are you terrified at the idea of weight-gain? i have self-esteem issues, so it kind of does i guess. Do you drink a lot of water? not as much as i should. i don’t drink anything as much as i should. Does your room have carpet or hard-wood floors? it’s the floor that was under the carpet so neither. Do you take naps daily? nope. Who were you named after? first name is after a character on a soap opera. middle name is after my nanny (aka my mom’s foster mom). Do you plan on traveling this spring or summer? this spring and summer has passed. Do you know anyone who is colorblind? no one comes to mind. Have you ever been a teacher’s pet? jake has called me that. What is your absolute favorite hobby? reading and playing with wy. How many times a day do you brush your teeth? twice, depending how many times i’ve eaten and whatnot. Ever been to a tanning bed before? i have not. Are you satisfied with your financial stability? no. Who is your favorite actor/actress? misha collins, jensen ackles, and jared padalecki.

Are your nails painted? no. as always. What’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to someone? i’m sure i said some not too nice things to michelle but she’s a psycho bitch who wanted to talk shit about me as a parent and wy. that shit isn’t going to fly with me. i suck at every aspect in my life EXCEPT that one. and who the hell talks about an innocent baby, and your nephew who you tried claiming to love so much at that? like seriously. and we won’t even go into the shit that was said when i was pregnant because she was jealous i was pregnant first (she wasn’t even seeing anyone). oh, and all of that drama started because i said her brother said we weren’t going to her grandpa’s house but that i’d talk to him. apparently he’s not a grown man who makes his own decisions. sorry. i am still having issues with her and jake’s entire dad’s side and it’s pissing me off. Do you ever accidentally talk to inanimate objects? i’ve never accidently talked to them, no. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? lately, plain vanilla is fine. Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? on a dare, twice. Do you receive any hate mail? nope. Have you ever sent a letter in the mail? yeah. a long time ago. If you could, would you have a pen pal? eh. it’s whatever. What color are the pants you’re wearing? blue jeans. Have you ever had a stalker? not really. What is your life philosophy? i’m just trying to be the best mom i can and trying to give wy a good life. other than that, i don’t care much about life. Who last sent you a goodnight text message? no clue. Do you own any clothes that are your favorite color? yup. Have you ever been in a hot tub before? yeah. they’re pretty nice. What’s your favorite comedy movie? i just watched fist fight and that one was pretty good. i’m also a robin williams fan and jim carrey.

#survey #surveys #personal #questions #question #random

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girlwsoftsound · 7 years

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BBQ || Matty Healy Oneshot

Word Count: 1,935 Summary: The friends of your family The Healys come over to a family barbecue. You, whom your mother has tried to bring together with their son Matty for years, finally meet him. Author’s Note: A little Matty to end your day :) Thanks to @keep-it-peachy0 for the prompt <3 Be sure to throw in a like or comment if you liked it! I love seeing feedback from you all. Please feel free to read my other work here! Enjoy!

Your family spoke about the Healys all the time.

Being high school friends with them, your parents adored them, chatting about them any time the conversation fit it and throwing in jabs about old fun they used to have together before they got famous. You had grown tired of hearing them talk about it after a while. It just grew annoying to hear constantly ‘Denise this’ and ‘Tim that’. They seemed like fine people, but to always hear about them? You felt like pulling your hair out and suing them for damages. It was an unyielding torment that you suffered for far too many years. That, and hearing about their son Matty, who most conveniently just so happened to be your age and, according to your mother, ‘incredibly attractive’.

Matty, Matty, Matty. The day you were seemingly old enough to care about boys, your mother was right there begging you to date him. Apparently a genius with a guitar and a voice of gold, he was a stunner that had all of the girls on his block wanting to talk to him. You rolled your eyes at this. Any guy with that kind of praise sounded so utterly conventionally cute. He sounded like something straight out of a tween magazine, or a Disney-Channel star turned singer. You loathed the idea of him. The idea of actually dating him sent bile into your mouth. Besides, anyone your mother found attractive usually ended up being gross or a goodie-goodie. It wasn’t your fault you wanted someone to get high with and stare at the stars together in a field, laughing on about anything and everything. It was theirs for not being interesting enough.

Finding out that Matty, the great and all-powerful Matty, was to be coming over to finally visit your house along with his family (it had been the other way around always, with you staying behind with the excuse of schoolwork) gutted you. It sent a panic through your veins and a sense of entrapment you couldn’t shake. You dreaded being put with this boy and having to exchange pleasantries with him. You wanted out days before it began. The feeling lasted all the way until the very second their car drove up in your driveway, forcing you to watch over the barbecue as your father and mother rushed to greet them. A loud chorus of yells and greetings were exchanged, that much you could hear through your house’s walls to the backyard. The racket that followed only grew louder, until finally you were no longer the abandoned one chilling with the grill and mindlessly flipping burgers.

Your father took over for you then and pushed you to meet the bunch. You looked to him uncomfortably, but followed his instruction nevertheless, shooting a fake toothy grin the family’s way. The father, Tim, gave you a kind smile and shook your hand. Holding his hand was a younger brother of Matty’s, a little brown-haired boy who looked to want to be there about as much as she did. Upon introduction, Tim told you his name was Louis. Giving the kid a grin, you watched him quickly get distracted and go after your family dog. You couldn’t blame him. Next was Denise, the mother of the household. She hugged you, preferring to go for a more warm approach. You accepted it kindly, but you did not really want to partake in it. You knew what was coming up next, and you knew very well that she probably was in cahoots with your own mother to make it happen. You had to meet Matty. Cringing as you pulled away, you looked around to see him. However, he wasn’t there. Denise must have expected such a reaction, for she smiled and patted you on the shoulder.

“Matty will be in here soon, he simply went to the bathroom,” she reassured, though it only delayed the inevitable. You would still see him, but you had a bit more time before it. You nodded at her and walked over to your poolside chair, settling down in it. Face buried into your phone, you listened to the noise of the chattering parents and the playful laughter of Louis playing with your dog. You scrolled and scrolled until you were sure you had seen all that social media could bring to you for the time being. Just as you shut your phone and went to pocket it, a shadow entered your view. Looking behind you, you met eyes with its owner. Tall with a lanky build and brown eyes that bore into yours, he looked far from the boy you had been expecting to show up. His cover blown, he walked over to sit at the end of your poolside chair, gently scooting your feet to the side so he could do so. You watched him curiously, impressed at his lack of nervousness.

“Matty,” he told you, his voice sounding far smoother than you had imagined as he held out his hand to you. Reaching forward, you took it into yours and shook it. “You must be {Y/N}.”

Nodding, you pulled your hair back. “How did you know?”

“My parents have told me loads about you.” Seeing your eyes widened, he laughed a most brilliant laugh. “All good things, don’t worry. They adore you.”

“They do?”

He nodded. “Ardently so.”

“Nice word choice, mate.”

“I like to keep it exciting,” he said with a laugh, and you couldn’t help but smile back. Something about this boy gave him a charm that was well beyond the appearance he led of a tough guy, wearing black jeans and boots and looking like a homeless child by the holes in his white shirt. He was fascinating, far beyond what you expected of him. You grew a bit more open to the idea of growing acquainted with him.

“So, {Y/N}, tell me. Do you smoke?”

You chuckled. “Excuse me?”

“You know, smoke,” he elaborated, as if it were the most common first question to ask someone you had just met at their family’s barbecue. “I’ve got a pack of fags I think we could split if you do. If that’s not your poison, I’ve got a small stash of weed we could get into.”

You couldn’t believe it. Matty, the boy your parents gushed to you about, the boy that they thought would be lovely for you, was a druggie? You didn’t know whether to be excited or concerned for their state of mind. They hated your weed use. You couldn’t imagine what they’d do if they knew Matty also smoked. He had to have been good at hiding it for them to give such a high approval of him. You hoped he was good at hiding for two, because you could go for some weed.

“I’ll use some of that stash of yours if you don’t mind,” you told him softly, his eyes watching your lips as you spoke, “but where on Earth do you expect us to go to do it? My house isn’t exactly big and private.”

At this, Matty grinned and reached to take your hand. You gasped, especially when he pulled you up to stand with so much ease, but followed him as he brought you towards your mom and his. Their eyes seemed to glisten with excitement as they caught your hand in his. His grin widened as you approached.

“Hey Mom, do you mind if {Y/N} and I go on a little walk? We’d love to talk more, but it’s rather busy here.”

Your mother and Denise shared happy smiles. “Go on, love! Just be back soon so you can have something to eat!”

Nodding, Matty kissed his mother’s cheek and then hurried you behind him into your house. You waited until you both were safely alone on the other side to look at him in shock. He smirked, knowing, seeing your dismay at how smoothly he manipulated the situation. “Years of practice and seeing my mom fall for you led up to that,” he assured, pulling out his pack. Taking a cig from it, he lit it and puffed the smoke into the sky. Your nose turned up a bit at the scent, but you didn’t say anything about it. He fumbled around in his other pocket before producing an already-rolled joint. Your eyes gravitated to it in anticipation.

“Is there a park nearby we could go to? Not that I necessarily care what people think of my habits, I wouldn’t want you to get caught.”

You frowned. “Why not?”

“You’re a good girl,” he replied, going for another puff. “I know you have a reputation to uphold. Besides, your parents adore me. Not sure what they’d think if they saw you sharing a joint with me.”

You had to hand him that, though you did not really enjoy the good girl image he had been fed by his mother. You weren’t a bad girl, but you were hardly the class pets or sweethearts of your class. You simply just kept your secrets hidden well. You did not say anything however, as you knew he had weed and was being sweet outside of the situation. You took him by the hand and brought him down the street to a small park, where there was a trail and a playground. You opted for the trail, bringing Matty halfway down it within the forest before instructing him to light up. As he did, he took a puff for himself and then handed it to you. You gladly accepted, letting the smoke from it enter your lungs and then trail back out slowly through your lips. You caught Matty smiling at this.

“What’s the matter, you never see a girl smoke a joint before?”

Shaking his head, he sighed. “No, that’s not it. You look alive.”

“I’d hope so, I’d like to be.”

Matty laughed. “I don’t mean it like that. I mean, you look like you’re really living, as if you are truly content with yourself. It’s fascinating.”

“Glad I fascinate you.”

“When did you start?”

You smiled behind your joint. “When I turned sixteen.”

“Two years? Nice. I was fifteen. Have you ever shotgunned smoke?”

Your eyes widened. “N-No.”

“Do you want to?”

You didn’t know what to say. You knew what shotgunning was, but the thought of Matty’s lips on yours was so much all at once. You both wanted it, but also hated it. But, you couldn’t deny it in the end. Nodding, you motioned for Matty to come close. He listened, looking down into your eyes as you handed the joint to him. He brought it to his lips, sucking in the smoke as if it were effortless. That’s when your heart stopped. Bringing his hand to cup your cheek, he leaned forward and perfectly shotgunned the smoke into your mouth. You sucked it in somehow amongst the whirlwind of emotions that flooded your head. After blowing it out, Matty’s lips came back to yours, and you found yourself not complaining. They were soft, supple, and oh-so-more-intoxicating than the pot. As he pulled away, he smiled.

“No one ever mentioned how beautiful you are when the smoke is in your eyes,” he whispered, “or how delicious your lips are.”

You grinned. “No one ever mentioned how good of a kisser you are, either.”

“Oh love, I can show you a lot more of what I’m good at that you don’t know of.”

Looking him in the eye, you put out the joint and wrapped your arms around his neck. “I’d love to find them all out.”

“Fantastic.”

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