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astromaki · 3 years

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part 3 of second choice ; ceo!shoto todoroki x gn!reader (x ceo!katsuki bakugo) (1617 words)

part 1. part 2. (previous) part 4.

tw ; angst, arranged marriage, toxic relationship, degradation, divorce, mention of alcohol, bad language, slightly suggestive ?

EXTRA INFOS ;; all the characters are aged up obviously (they are 30 here), the point of view of this third part is from shoto todoroki !

confrontation. [7 : 16 pm]

a week has passed since he came home that night drunk. that he had begged momo to stay with him. that he had accidentally seen those divorce papers crumpled by your hands.

momo had seen them too that night, and yet she and shoto had not commented on them. good, he wasn't in the mood anyway.

it had become almost official, even the media had it on their front pages. "one of japan's richest couples on the verge of divorce?", "billionaire todoroki single again?" "y/n, will the heir.ess of their father's company return to being a lawyer?"

he would have liked to say that he cared what you thought about it. if you cried, screamed, were you hurt ? but that would be lying, you were the least of his worries.

and then, wasn't it what he wanted from the beginning ?

that you would end up hating him so much that you would leave him. that he could finally be free of the weight that you represented every day.

and yet his signature was still missing.

"you can't even love your partner properly, and now i hear through the media that a divorce is on the way ? you're pathetic son. i knew i should have married them to touya. " enji's heart-attack voice echoed terribly through the phone, which made shoto sigh. he was even pretty sure he could hear it from across town.

"calm down." shoto said in an annoyed tone. "your marriage isn't a success either, so keep your remarks to yourself. bye. "

"you idiot, don't you dare hanging up on me. i don't care if you can't satisfy your s/o, i don't care if they feel bad about this arranged marriage either. but y/n y/l/n comes from a very famous lawyer's family, so get a divorce and the amount of money you have to give will be huge. "

"i manage them, it will not be a problem. i have to go now. "

the young man finally returned to your room, looking exhausted, his tie loosened and ready to down a few glasses of whiskey.

however, he was surprised to see you. dressed in a beautiful versace dress/suit, you were glowing. well no, he meant that you looked... good.

though, it was the first time he took the time to look at you. to admire you.

the young man finally met your indifferent gaze through the mirror you were standing in front of. that gaze that was so joyful and sparkling at the beginning of your marriage, full of hope to transform this purely financial union into a love marriage.

but that look, devoid of emotion, almost made shoto, Japan's most ambitious ceo, doubt himself. almost.

"i'm surprised you're still using my card to splurge. how much is this one? $1000 ? $2000 ?"

he was tired, exhausted. nut the truth is he was in the mood to be a pain in the ass tonight.

"$ 8,330. plus the $800 pair. " you replied coldly.

your answer was like a slap in the face to your husband. not because of the price, he didn't give a fuck about this.

but this tone right there. it wasn't like you. you were normally so gentle, patient even with the worst of the crap he put you through. that naive kindness that made him want to vomit was completely gone. he didn't expect such a turn of events.

"so you decide to divorce me, but first you want to empty my bank account? you're exactly as I imagined." his look that used to reflect nothing but fatigue was now full of contempt for you.

you finally faced him. shit, he couldn't help but find you beautiful.

"here todoroki, let's talk about the divorce. " you began, quietly walking over to the cabinet and pulling out a stack of documents. "i've signed it, sign it, and i'll take it to my lawyers first thing in the morning.

he snatched them out of your hand and threw them across the room. you didn't even flinch, you even held his gaze. poker face.

a loud silence fell between you. a long silence, uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. heavy and light. sensible and meaningless.

"what's all this about ? who put you up to this ?"

a wry laugh escaped your lips. your new behavior puzzled shoto. he loved and hated what he had in front of him. a challenge.

"you think i need someone to make me realize that i deserve better than an asshole like you ? fuck, let me laugh. "

your hand went to retrieve a piece of paper from your purse. and it was slammed hard against his chest. bakugou’s business card.

he found your face inches from his, your warm breath gently caressing his cheeks. a scent of whiskey filled his nostrils. you were not sober.

"how many drinks are you on? " he asked quietly.

"so now do you care if i downed a whole bottle or not ? oh please shut up. because now that you mention it, your friend bakugou katsuki may have hired me. to be his company's business lawyer. isn't that funny? "

you turned your back on him, unaware of the state you'd put him in. but damn, it was like he'd just been slapped in the face. nausea took over his whole body, his legs became heavy and weak in few seconds only. and he knew damn well it wasn't fatigue.

so you were leaving him, but on top of that you were going to work for his number one competitor ?

he didn't know what hurt more, the knowledge that bakugo had won one of the most competent lawyers in the field or that you were leaving him for him ? was he jealous ? surely not, it was another feeling that repulsed him. he didn't even know.

"have you lost your tongue todoroki ?"

todoroki ? since when did you call him by his last name ? where are the darlings or my heart that used to annoy him so much ?

you finish getting ready, now wearing your long jacket. he had lost his tongue indeed, he didn't know what to say to you. what to do.

y/n y/l/n, you had succeeded in putting your husband to the wall.

but it was only for a moment. he quickly, too quickly, pulled himself together. his usual irritated expression returned.

"you don't see that he's using you to get ahead of me ? i thought you were smarter than that. "

he took a step forward, slowly but surely. like a predator approaching its prey.

"he doesn't care about you. just like no one has ever cared about you, not me, not him and not your bourgeois family. that's why they put you in a loveless marriage so easily. "

a mirthless laugh escaped from his lips.

"y/n, this bastard doesn't give a damn about you. "

you tried to move towards him, ready to slap him, but the alcohol made you capsize and stumble on your carpet. he arrived just in time to support you with his muscular arms. an annoyed sigh resounded in the large room when your sob reached his ears.

nevertheless, a petty smile stretched his lips. there you were again, the fragile and unassertive y/n finally in his arms.

that bakugo had managed to turn your brain inside out. yet shoto knew you better than anyone else. he knew you. better than you knew yourself. you were that puzzle he had managed to decipher long ago.

"that's not true. kacchan wouldn't do that...", you whisper.

"you know i'm right, sweetheart. you know i'm the only one who's honest with you. my love for you is all you need. "

his muscular hand gradually, peacefully, came to caress your back to take off the buttons of your dress. his lips came to meet yours, to draw you into a long, languid, unsentimental kiss. your lips asked for more, your whole soul asked for more of shoto. more of this man for whom your heart never stopped beating. even if his was vibrating for another woman.

you wanted to feel his lips making love to you sensually, sincerely.

you just wanted him to love you for one night. one fucking night.

shoto was ecstatic. he could already see himself opening a bottle of champagne with his father, to celebrate the divorce that would never happen. tonight, shoto had brought out his best acting skills. millions were at stake. he had brought out his best kiss. he had never touched you like that. so gently, so carefully.

he had never called you by any affectionate nickname.

he has done too much to keep you around.

and you were drunk, not stupid.

you finally stood up, moving away from him, reluctantly. nothing he said was true. from his love for you, to his accusations against katsuki.

awkwardly, you put your dress/suit back on properly.

"i have a meeting with my future employer mr. bakugou tonight. i'll be late. don't wait for me, i'll sleep at the hotel tonight, with your card. "

a red color came to his cheeks. anger ? sadness ? jealousy ?

he had never seen you so determined, so proud. and that attracted him. he was going to lose millions, no matter what. but it was you who was going to escape him. for that bastard bakugou katsuki.

the nice little y/n was no longer shoto todoroki's.

AHHH omg sorry sorry i told you i can't do a fluffy end!! >< (comments and reblogs are appreciated <3)

🔖 tag list ; @nveusii @angelofthorr @missmolliemoo @jazzylove @loki-an-idiot @deepestranchgoopdeputy @mhasimp666 @shotorozu @chscklvr @devilsbooksworld @marshmallow12345 (ones in bold cannot be tagged)

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ohhmyheart5678 · 3 years

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When in the streets of seoul (15)

Chan x reader

Word count: 900

Previous/next

********

David song was a man from Canada known for his love for women. Even though was "happily married" for thirty years, his wife doesn't know that unfortunately he actually was only faithful ten days out of thirty years he's been married.

How did I know so much about this man? Well he was my fathers's best friend. That is until he stole my dad's girlfriend and threatened to kill him. That's when the rivalry began and David decided to become his own leader.

He never really handled weapons he always let his men do it for him. David never knew that I knew about him, in fact I don't think he knew me or know of my existence at all. With the rivalry happened before I was born I've only seen him once when I was ten, but that's a story for another time. I'm a completely different person from then, I don't even recognize myself so how could he have recognized me? Plus the man saw plenty faces since then.

With the information I knew I decided to get into his pockets the best way I knew how. Women.

At first I was gonna buy a girl and make him believe she was my girlfriend because well, he liked it way better when she's under another man's arm. He likes the thought of being so powerful that he could take things without having to steal it , but it just wouldn't be believable.The chemistry just wouldn’t be there. So I knew kinley was the best option I mean he would probably see the way I looked at her even with the other girl and choose Kinley anyways . I told Changbin the whole plan because I knew he was good at keeping secrets. It would be much more believable if no one else knew what was actually going on.

When the day came I saw his face the moment he walked into the room his eyes automatically looked in Kinley's direction. I could see the want in his eyes it was like Kinley was his prey. Throughout the whole meeting I rarely contained eye contact with him. Kinley was too busy day dreaming that she didn't even realize. So when Mr.Song brought up his attraction to Kinley, I know I had him right where I wanted him.

I expect a good thirty to sixty million but eight hundred million was way more than I even imagined . I squinted my eyes at him, calling his bluff. I started actually second guessing myself 'should I actually go through this?' This was the girl I was madly in love with after all and a man that was willing to pay that much money for her seemed dangerous enough.

I knew I needed the money though, we've never had an offer this big. Plus I did have a plan after all. As soon as Mr.Song and his men left it was time to put the plan into action. " I.N I'm gonna need you to tell Marvin to fly us to Canada" Marvin was our personal pilot for our private jet. He took us anywhere we needed to go. "I don't have time to explain what's going on but I will on the way" I say to the group of boys who I knew so desperately wanted an answer.

"You better Chan and you better have a good one " Hyunjin threatens me and knowing Hyunjin it was a promise, and even though he holds true to his promises and that I wouldn't want him of all people to keep it , it didn't intimidate me in the slightest. "Now really isn't the time for threats Hyunjin" I rolled my eyes. "I think now is the perfect time for threats" Hyunjin gritted his teeth at me. "Chan is right, we have to go get her. So can we please continue this later?" Changbin tried to break up the argument before it gets too heated.

Hyunjin just sighs in response, storming the jet he was completely done and was ready to get everything over with.

The whole plane ride was silent and even though no one was saying anything , I could literally feel everyone's judgement. "I honestly can't believe you did this" Shaking his head, Han was the first person to finally speak up. I'd rather hear how they felt about me instead of feeling it, I mean one can only imagine the type of things that were running through their heads right? "800 million dollars guys! We've never had that offer before" I tried to persuade them but the just shook their head in disappointment.

"Don't pretend like you wouldn't have sold her for less! Admit it you already planned on selling her and he shot higher than you expected. You're not fooling anyone, everything you do is calculated and planned out." Han was right but I didn't want to come forward about it. So I acted as if I didn't hear it and just didn't respond. “Han’s right you’re so fucking selfish” Felix chimed in but his eyes weren’t on me. Instead his palmed covered his eyes as he was slouched down in his seat. “Just shut up Felix” my words were sharper than knives and I could feel myself getting tense. So I stopped talking all together, and so did everyone else. The rest of the ride to Canada was in silence. I knew after this something had to change I needed to be a better man for her. Or else I'd lose her.

Once we arrived in Canada we realized we had somehow made it to Mr.Song's house before he did so we decided to set up. We surrounded his place, and we had him right where we wanted him.

******

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retrievablememories · 4 years

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like you | jungwoo

title: like you pairing: jungwoo x black!reader genre: fluff, college!au request: “Hi. I’m requesting a fluffy imagine where Y/N is a senior in college and Jungwoo is a freshman in college. Y/N gets upset because people keep picking on him because he is asian and she defends him. This causes Jungwoo to get extremely clingy/flirty and develop a crush on Y/N. Y/N is not used to recieving affection so she feels skeptical” word count: 3.8k warnings: cursing, instances of racism a/n: this one was pretty fun to write, i love writing college-inspired stuff for some reason lol. tumblr fucked the image quality but whatever. the title comes from the song off story op 1. stan kim jonghyun girlies!

“Who’s that guy in your Medieval History class?” Your roommate, Mira, randomly asks you one day. She’s hanging off the edge of your bed, her textbook on the ground in front of her as she fists her hands in her hair and tries to comprehend the words swimming on the page in front of her.

You turn away from your desk to look at her. “That’s a random ass question. Have the words finally fried your brain? I don’t even know what guy you’re talking about.”

She looks up at you, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her chin on them. “Fuck this homework man, I’ve had enough. I wanna know who’s the guy in your History class, the black-haired one? The Asian dude?”

You think for a moment. You do remember who she’s talking about; he sits closer to the front of the class, though you’re not sure how she knows him. She’s not even in the same class. He has cute features, though you haven’t paid him much mind—you know from the first day’s icebreaker that he’s a freshman exchange student, but any other details have escaped your mind.

“I don’t remember his name at the moment...what about him?”

“He seems kind of awkward, like...I’ve only really seen him with one other boy. It’s kinda sad...he could use a friend or two.”

“You’re assuming he’s awkward? Maybe he’s just shy, or doesn’t want 800 different friends,” you say, turning to another page in your notebook. There are only a couple of reasons why she’d ask you about a guy, and you can guess what her plans are. “If you want to be his friend, you can. Ain’t nobody stopping you.”

“Well, shit, can’t you like...introduce me? I don’t wanna be a weirdo going up to a total stranger!”

You laugh incredulously. “Girl, he’s a total stranger to me too. If you really want to be friends, just say so...or say you’re with that Freshman Committee who pairs upperclassmen mentors with the new students. I’m sure that’ll work well.” In actuality, you’re not entirely serious or sure about that, but it’s better than listening to your friend complain.

Mira sighs, going back to her textbook. “Ugh, you never wanna help me get guys. Fine...I could try it, but if I end up looking like a fool I’m blaming you.”

You only have Medieval History on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you have to wait another day before returning to class again. After keeping your ears open for the roll call, you figure out that the guy’s name is Jungwoo.

He appears to be really into the subject and participates often, asking and answering questions whenever the professor engages with the students. You’re only taking Medieval History to fill out the last credit for your Social Studies electives, so you never expected to be all into the subject; but the teacher does a decent enough job of making the class not totally boring.

Jungwoo has a pretty proficient grasp of English, which makes you wonder if he did a lot of studying before he got here. He mispronounces a word when asking the teacher about a certain concept in the reading material, though, and a couple of girls who sit behind him laugh. You furrow your eyebrows at that, wondering what their problem is.

Later, when you’re leaving class, they pass by you and you hear a bit of their conversation.

“Shit, if you’re gonna move over here you should at least know English first,” one says, screwing up her nose.

“Seriously, it’s so embarrassing. I thought Asians were supposed to be geniuses or something?” Both girls laugh at that, and you roll your eyes at the ignorance. They’re gone only seconds later, although your mind keeps drifting back to their comments for the rest of the day.

Over the next week, you notice that those same two girls seem to spend more of their class time giggling over Jungwoo’s mannerisms and speech than actually participating in the class. It quickly begins wearing your nerves thin; you’ve never gotten along well with people who are assholes just for the sake of being mean.

If Jungwoo notices—which you figure he must, because their cackling is too obvious not to pick up on—he doesn’t acknowledge it. This only makes you more irritated, knowing that he probably isn’t interested in picking a fight with these girls; but that doesn’t mean he should continue being disrespected.

You reach a point where you can no longer stay silent during a lecture on Medieval cuisine, where the girls keep whispering silly jokes about Asian food. You clear your throat loud enough to make a few heads turn, including the girls doing the laughing. “Excuse you, I can’t hear the teacher over the noise,” you say pointedly, crossing your arms. They both give you salty looks at that comment, and you have to stifle the urge to throw something at the backs of their heads when they turn around.

This is going to be a long semester.

Things come to head one day when you’re all waiting outside the classroom for the professor’s last class to leave. Jungwoo is standing beside the classroom’s door, while you’re seated on a nearby bench, trying to stay awake after studying until 2 a.m. last night.

The two girls walk into the hallway, including a boy you don’t recognize; you figure he’s probably a friend or boyfriend. You kiss your teeth at their entrance and try to return to your thoughts, but you’re quickly taken out of them again when you see the trio stop in front of Jungwoo.

The first girl, who seems to be the ringleader, speaks. “Hey, what’s your name again—Ching? Jing?”

“We need some homework help! And since you seem to be the teacher’s pet…” Both girls look at each other and laugh at that. Jungwoo furrows his eyebrows, an unimpressed expression on his face.

“I don’t think that’s—” Jungwoo starts, but the other guy cuts him off, putting his hand to his ear in an exaggerated gesture.

“What was that? We need you to enunicate, no one knows what the fuck you’re saying.” This time, all three of them break into laughter.

The tiredness drains from your body faster than any caffeine could achieve as you watch the scene unfold. Some of your other classmates look on, shifting uncomfortably, but no one moves to say or do anything. Before you can really think about it, you’re already up on your feet and walking towards the group.

“Maybe if your miserable asses spent more time studying the lectures instead of shitting on a fellow student, you wouldn’t have to beg for help.”

All three of them, plus Jungwoo, turn their heads in your direction with varying expressions on their faces. The main girl speaks up, putting her hands on her hips. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”

“You, bitch! Who else? Y’all love picking on someone you know is too nice to say anything back. That’s weak as hell and says more about you than it ever could about him.”

Your voices start getting louder as the girl gets up in your face, and before anything can pop off, the professor comes storming through the classroom door.

“What the hell is going on here?” he shouts over the arguing.

The girl backs down after the professor makes his appearance and turns to look at her two partners in crime. “Girl—got the damn teacher out here, come on, we ain’t got time for this shit.” They both walk away in a huff, their male friend trailing behind them, and some other students give them sideways glances as they pass. The guy throws you a dirty look before he leaves, and you don’t hesitate to flip him off.

“That’s an unexcused absence on your record!” The professor calls after them, shaking his head. Meanwhile, Jungwoo has been watching the whole scene with shocked eyes, and he keeps looking at you as you shrug and head into the classroom.

The next time you have your Medieval History class, the two girls don’t show up. Maybe they’re too embarrassed to come back to class, but whatever it is, it’s above you now.

After the professor finishes his main lecture, he flips through his copy of the class textbook for the day’s assignment. “Everyone, turn to page 273 in your books. I want you all to read and analyze this text on Romanesque architecture, then answer the 3 discussion questions on page 275. You can get into groups of no more than 3 if you wish, but everyone needs to turn in their own individual answer sheet.”

Sighing, you open your notebook and rifle through your backpack for a writing utensil. When you look up, you jump a little from shock; Jungwoo is standing near your desk with his things in his arms.

“Hi...could we work together?” He gives you a gentle smile.

“Oh, sure, that’s fine with me!” Jungwoo takes the empty seat beside you and you push your desks to be closer together.

“I never got to say,” he starts, “but thank you for doing that last week...you didn’t have to.”

“Well, I would hope any decent person would...I didn’t want to just sit there and watch you be insulted. It’s so unnecessary...” You quickly flip through your textbook, completely overshooting the assignment page and having to go back. You feel a little flustered at this kind of attention, because you weren’t really doing it to be noticed or heroic.

Jungwoo smiles at your modesty, though he doesn’t try to push the matter.

At the end of class, after you’ve both turned in your assignments, you and Jungwoo leave together.

“Thanks for partnering with me today,” you tell him, and he nods in acknowledgement. “I guess I’ll see you next class?”

“Actually, do you want to eat lunch with me? I mean, at the cafeteria today?” he asks. His eyes seem to literally sparkle in anticipation of your answer, and you find it hard to turn that face down. Plus, he seems nice enough; this could be a good way to introduce him to Mira.

“Sure,” you say, grinning.

You and Jungwoo head to the dining hall for lunch, talking about anything that comes to mind along the way. You find out that him and his roommate, Jaehyun, have been best friends for awhile before deciding to go overseas for college; his roommate has been to the U.S. before, but this is his first time. He talks a lot more than you expected him to, but you figure some people just need time to warm up before they get comfortable.

It doesn’t take you long to find Mira after you get to the cafe, and you plan to let her take the reins with the conversation, but Jungwoo continually does his best to keep you roped into the dialogue. You realize you don’t mind that, though—it’s nice to have someone who actively engages you rather than lets you fade into the background.

Jungwoo quickly makes the desk beside yours his new spot in class. He sticks close to your side during lectures and even when you walk to the cafeteria or back to your dorm, always thinking of something new to tell you about. With any other person you’d quickly get tired of this borderline clingy behavior, but something about him keeps you interested, even when you’re talking about stuff that would be boring to others—like Medieval History.

The two girls eventually make their return, glowering silently at you and Jungwoo but not saying a word. Their object of laughter and mockery is no longer available for harassment; who knows who they’ll try to terrorize next, though you hope the answer is no one.

“You don’t mind that Jungwoo always wants to hang out with me, do you? Since I know you kinda liked him and all.” You ask Mira at lunch one day, when Jungwoo leaves the table to get the straw he forgot. You feel a bit sheepish. You didn’t mean to “steal” her prospective man away from her, but you and Jungwoo have taken a liking to each other, and you enjoy being in his presence.

“Jungwoo? No! I actually have my eye on another guy in my Nursing class now, he’s really funny and he owns a collection of vintage records…” You snort, unsurprised that her attention has drifted already. Mira launches into a whole spiel about this new dude, even detailing how the color of his irises is just shy of being “true hazel green.” She pauses in her speech to bat her eyelashes at you. “Besides, it seems like you two have something going on already. I wouldn’t dare get in between that.”

You almost drop your food in your lap. “Uh, what?”

“Don’t be shy. You two are practically tied at the hip, and Jungwoo already talks to you like you’re his girlfriend. It’s only a matter of time at this point.”

“I seriously doubt that,” you say, suddenly feeling very put on the spot. You don’t think Jungwoo sees you like that at all, and you’re a little irritated that your roommate would suggest it, jokingly or not.

She sighs and shakes her head. When she spots Jungwoo walking back to the table, she tries to act casual and wrap the subject up. “Suit yourself, but I’m always right about this kinda stuff. Watch.”

Every year, your college throws a Welcome Back party on the last Friday of the first month in the semester. You initially didn’t have plans to go, much preferring your friends’ kickbacks where you don’t have to avoid sweaty and horny stranger dudes all night. However, Jungwoo turns to you one day after class ends and brings it up.

“Y/N, there’s gonna be a party on campus at the end of the week...are you going?”

“Hmm, probably not...Welcome Back parties are always lowkey messy and filled with freshmen who don’t know how to act…” You momentarily forget that Jungwoo is a freshman, and you have to walk your comment back a bit. “Not saying you’ll be like that, though!”

He waves it off. “It’s fine. It’s just, me and Jaehyun are going and thought it’d be fun if you came too.”

“Well…”

Jungwoo rests his head on your shoulder and hugs your arm. “Please? I want the prettiest girl in school to be my date.”

You pat his hand and laugh off his comment, unsure how to accept his compliment. “Since you asked so nicely…I’ll go. But I’m bringing Mira with me. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to a campus party.”

“Yes!! That’s fine, Jaehyun will probably like her,” Jungwoo says, smirking. You still don’t get how they haven’t formally met yet with how your friend circles overlap, but you know it’s coming soon. Obviously, Jungwoo knows something you don’t, judging by the look on his face, but you don’t inquire about it.

You and Mira spend the night of the party getting ready with Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls blasting through your dorm room. She was a little resistant to the idea at first, insisting that campus parties were too corny for her taste, but you eventually convinced her to go.

As the hour approaches, there’s a knock on your door. You’re still putting the finishing touches on your makeup, so you tell Mira to answer it. When she does, Jungwoo and Jaehyun are standing there.

“You guys are here already? Who let you in?” she says jokingly, though you wonder the same thing; you can’t get into a dorm you don’t live in without a key card.

“Some guy downstairs. Maybe your dorm needs better security.” Jaehyun laughs. “I tried to tell Jungwoo it’s still early, but he was ready to leave.”

“Walking in on two girls getting ready, how presumptuous of you,” Mira giggles, pretending to shove Jungwoo’s shoulder. You roll your eyes hard and try not to laugh in the mirror. “But you’re here now, so might as well come in.”

Jungwoo makes a beeline straight to you, placing his hands on your shoulders like he wants to give you a massage. “Hi pretty girl.” He smiles at your reflection, and you almost drop your lip gloss on the floor.

“Oh, h-hey, Jungwoo! The party tonight better be fun...if not, you owe me,” you say, trying to play off your nervousness.

Jungwoo acts reluctant about it, placing his hand in his chin and thinking deeply. “I owe you? Well, okay...anything you want.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You can have my heart first, if you want.”

This time you really do drop your lip gloss, and Mira and Jaehyun watch with amused fascination as you mourn your lost makeup. But right now, you just want to avoid thinking about what Jungwoo has just said, and how it makes you feel.

The gymnasium where the party is being held is just as packed as you expected it to be, even at your group’s early arrival. It’s only going to get more crowded from here, but you don’t think about that as Jungwoo all but drags you to go dance.

You genuinely enjoy yourself for the first time in a while, and you’re surprised at just how much fun you can still have even with drunken dudes bumping into you every few minutes.

You’re too caught up in dancing with Jungwoo to notice, but Mira and Jaehyun are nowhere to be found. You only realize this after you two take a break during a slower song and you can’t spot her anywhere on the gym floor. You send her a text message, but you don’t expect to receive an answer anytime soon.

“Shit, they didn’t waste any time,” you laugh, and for some reason you can’t stop laughing at the situation. Jungwoo joins you until you’re both outright cackling, and some of the other party-goers give you odd glances.

You and Jungwoo spend most of the night dancing and partying with some of your other classmates. You both leave the gym one hour before the party ends, wanting to avoid getting caught in the huge rush of people who’ll be looking for fast food places to hit up. Instead of heading back to your dorms, you two decide to walk around the campus for a while, enjoying the still night air and the sounds of crickets all around you. You’re glad for the open air, because you were burning up in the gym with so many bodies around you.

Neither of you speak for a while, simply taking in the scenery and retracing your footsteps on paths you walk everyday to get to class. Jungwoo finally breaks the silence when you pass through a long path flanked on both sides by rows of flowery trees; this part of campus is so picturesque that it almost seems out of place.

“Tonight is really pretty,” he says, glancing at the starry sky.

“I know, right,” you agree. “It’s so nice outside. I’m glad you convinced me to go to the party.”

“I’m glad too. I really like being next to you...” Jungwoo’s eyes linger on your face for longer than you expect them to, and you look away nervously, unsure what that could mean. “But, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Oh? What’s that?” The sudden change in tone makes you a bit anxious, and you half expect him to tell you he has to return home after this semester ends. That thought makes you more disappointed than you anticipated. Your stomach curls into a knot.

“Y/N, I like you.” Jungwoo’s face is earnest, but your brain has a hard time catching up to the meaning of his words. You feel like you’ve been kicked in the chest—or maybe that’s your heart trying to knock its way out of your ribcage. You stop walking and simply look at him, unsure how to approach his confession. He stops too, turning to face you with gentle eyes.

“I-is...this a joke?” You finally blurt out. Jungwoo’s face draws into a confused expression. He shakes his head, his hair waving as he does.

“It’s not a joke at all. You are funny, nice, cool, brave, pretty…”

“A...are you sure this isn’t just because I defended you? Like, maybe you just feel really grateful about it—a-and we’ve only known each other a month—”

“Y/N, I know how I feel,” Jungwoo argues, grabbing your hands. He pauses for a moment as if he’s trying to come up with the accurate words to express himself. “I just...I don’t need a reason or excuse. I just like you.”

This is all far more than what you’re used to. You pull your hands away from Jungwoo’s for a moment, embarrassed and overwhelmed. You tentatively reach for his hand again after seeing the hurt look on his face, but you hesitate.

“I’m...sorry, it’s just…” You don’t really want to admit something so personal to him, but you don’t know how else to avoid completely hurting his feelings tonight. “I’m, uh, not really used to this kind of stuff…” Jungwoo raises his eyebrows at that.

“Used to...what? Someone liking you?”

“Well damn, when you put it like that…” You try to laugh it off, but you feel corny and sheltered at best. What must Jungwoo think of you, as a senior who’s never had a genuine love interest? You’ve had more than one college boy’s lust directed at you one time or another, but true affection is another thing entirely. That has been a much rarer find.

“Then...you can get used to it now. It’s never too late to experience love.”

“You really believe that?” you say softly, allowing yourself to feel a little relieved that he’s not laughing you out of town. But of course he wouldn’t. He’s not that kind of person, anyway.

“Don’t you?” You let him take your hand this time as he steps closer. “You deserve someone who will treat you nicely, tell you funny stories, carry your books for you..”

“Someone...like you,” you finish for him, thinking back to all the times he’s done those exact same things for you. You’re unsure how to approach the intense newness of this situation, and you’re a little afraid of him holding your sweaty palm, but you decide none of that matters when Jungwoo’s lips meet yours, his hand carefully holding your face.

Right now, the only thing that matters is this moment under the stars.

#jungwoo #jungwoo fluff #nct 127 fluff #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 fic #ambw scenarios #ambw fluff #ambw imagines #ambw kpop #ambw fic #jungwoo scenarios #jungwoo imagines #jungwoo fic #nct 127

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transeliot · 4 years

Text

A Hippie, A Punk, and A Rockstar Walk Into A Pub... (Part 1.5/?)

Pairing: Roger Taylor x Robert Plant x Ryker Stone (Genderqueer!OC)

Author’s Note: I cut the last bit off a bit prematurely (whoops) so here’s some bonus pining plus some R2 content to bridge the gap before part 2.

Word Count: ~800

—————————————

Finally. Ryker took a deep breath and leaned back against the door. They could hear Robert worrying on the other side for a moment before both his and Roger’s footsteps faded away. Once they collected themself, they peeled themself away from the door and shrugged off their jacket, cringing as their side twinged.

They fumbled to untie and loosen the laces on their boots with still-shaking hands, stumbling around as they yanked them off their feet and tossed the boots carelessly by the door. Picking up clothes could wait til the morning, they were more concerned with cleaning up their face and icing their throbbing ribs.

Their breath caught in their throat as they pulled off their shirt. Okay, so maybe they did break something. After they caught their breath, they made their way to the kitchen. They pulled the freezer open and their fingers closed around an ice pack as their other hand grabbed the vodka bottle from the door. Ice for both the inside and outside owies, Blaze’s words and sharp grin echoed through their head and they couldn’t help but smirk at the memory. God, they missed living with him, but hey, London wasn’t treating them too bad. They’d met Robert after all.

Ah, yes, Robert. Ryker grinned as they pressed the bottle to their lips and took a pull. They grimaced barely as they set the bottle down and wrapped the ice pack in a tea towel, holding it to their side. Fuck, if that didn’t hurt, but god it was worth it to spend some time with Robert tonight. The man was mesmerizing. And taken, Ryker gently reminded themself. It’s alright though, Roger seemed like a good guy and Robert clearly adored him. They knew how to step back and just appreciate the view without getting involved. But that didn’t say they couldn’t imagine what it would be like, being with Robert. Waking up to that sunshine filled smile and halo of golden curls. Hearing him sing around the house while Ryker was still half asleep and making coffee. Curling up next to him for a movie marathon and sharing popcorn. Yeah, Ryker could keep their thoughts to themself.

———————————

“So,” Robert started as he and Roger left Ryker’s place and began the walk back home. “That was an eventful night.”

Roger snorted and rolled his eyes. “That’s putting it lightly.”

“Didn't exactly go to plan.”

“Ah, right, yes, your plan for me to meet Ryker and fall in love with them as quickly as you did over a pumpkin spice latte.” Roger grinned and nudged Robert.

“First of all,” Robert started. “It was over a hot chocolate. Second of all, if you get a chance to talk to them you’ll get what I mean, I promise. You’ll get on like a house on fire.”

“Well if their right hook is any indication, we’ll get along just fine.” Roger offered a toothy grin and ducked away when Robert tried to give him a playful shove. “Hey hey hey, what happened to being a pacifist!” Roger teased and let slip a giggle as he fell into step alongside Robert again, looping an arm around his waist. He planted a kiss on Robert’s cheek and intertwined their fingers as their hands brushed up against one another.

“So you like them?” Robert ventured, keeping a close eye on Roger for any telling reactions.

“Well I’ve only just met them but they seem like a decent enough person.” He shrugged. In all honesty, Roger hadn’t really had a chance to get to know anything about them aside from what he’d heard secondhand through Robert. They were an androgynous punk with a love of blondes--both in terms of coffee and in men. That and they were a poet in their free time, a fact that Robert would not stop swooning over. Roger liked to think himself a pretty good writer, but he’d never gotten the same reaction out of Robert as Ryker had with their spoken word poetry that one night that Robert had joined them.

“I dunno, suppose I’ve got to hang out with them again, maybe this time without the shitty homophobes to ruin the night.”

“Good call,” Robert agreed with a grimace. “He had a lot of nerve saying those things at a Queen show of all places. What did the jackass think was going to happen?”

“Don’t know but clearly he wasn’t one for thinking,” Roger smirked. “Either way, we should see if Ryker wants to get together again. You know, outside of work hours.” He lightly elbowed Robert, who responded with a sheepish grin.

“Alright, fair enough,” Robert conceded. “I’ll get their number on Sunday and we can go from there?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Roger nodded.

—————————

Tag list: @pacific-treeoctopus @smittyjaws @lap-of-the-gods

#jamie writes #roger x robert x ryker #r3 fic #roger taylor fic #Robert plant fic #Queen fic #led zeppelin fanfic #Queen fanfic #Led Zeppelin fic #random thoughts #my writing

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stan-denbrough · 5 years

Note

if for whatever reason the losers couldn’t pursue their chosen carriers/jobs, what else could you imagine them doing?

Well let’s be cute about it. Let’s reference the changes they made in adaptation!

If Richie’s standup career didn’t take off, he majored in communications, he’d be a radio dj, and eventually he’d end up being a guest judge on Drag Race. And that’s when Richie’s pop culture career really kicks off. Maybe Richie is a drag queen on the side?? God imagine Richie being a contestant on Drag Race?

If Eddie’s not a Risk Analyst, he becomes an Uber driver and he’s perpetually broke. But he’s trying to save up money so he can start his own business, but I’m not sure in what? Actually since Eddie is into driving and knowing the risks and benefits of things, it would be funny if Eddie were a mechanic, and his dream was to open his own shop (so he can stop touching grease and oil). We have to say masc Eddie rights every once in a while.

Stan’s fallback career is to go to rabbinical school, for like 800 years. I think it would be really funny if he ends up being a Cantor. But if Stan becomes a rabbi, I think he’d officiate the first gay marriage in whatever state he lives in. Stan simply would not pass up that opportunity.

Mike would take over the family farm, but he would definitely modernize and expand. Most farmers go out of business, but I think Mike would actually turn a profit. And he still stays in Derry. Instead of being like, a guardian of the knowledge and memory of Derry, he’s a caretaker of the earth.

Ben is a travel blogger/writer. Like he has books published on going on vacation around the world. I just think it would be funny if Ben is the writer and poet and not Bill, plus Ben is like, more abs than man, and has a boat with a dog, you’re telling me he doesn’t know how to sail all by himself? And he’s a himbo who has a way with words, at least one publishing company wants him to sell books to bored housewives.

Bev is the trickiest for me? Like Ben only really has one passion but I could still envision him doing something niche and successful. Bev is harder. For some reason I could see her being a bartender? She gets in bar fights and she makes a mean cocktail and she doesn’t take shit from anyone. And of course she saves her money and one day she owns the bar she originally worked in. Maybe that’s where she remeets Ben? Maybe he was writing a blog about hipster bars or something?

Bill does what everyone with an English degree ends up doing: he teaches. It would be so deliciously ironic to have him go from hating academia to having his soul violently removed from his body and having to teach English 101 to a bunch of uninterested freshmen. Listen Bill, you have tenure, you have benefits. Stop whining.

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 4 years

Text

Just like Fire Final ch. 7

"Let em' burn. Let em' burn. They're no longer my concern. Let em' burn. Let em' burn. Time to show the world's my turn. I don't care, how they're gonna scream. Let the fire rage on, flames never seem to bother me". - @Tuiteyfruity (Let it go parody)

Claire sat in her room, for some reason Kurt didn't demand she get up early today. But she was still curious, she could hear people moving frantically outside.

She peeked out and saw heavy machinery being pulled out of the rooms.

Then she saw Kurt stomping down the hallway, red in the face. "Shut down!! Shut down!! But..but really this could work. I need the job, I need money!" he yelled at a important-looking FBI agent. "Shut down!" Claire thought, "Does that mean, he doesn't need me anymore. I'm free?"

"You!" The agent turned his glare toward her "Don't move."

He strode over and with a small laser pen, cut off her collar.

"Thank you for your work, Volcana. But we have other programs to fund besides military operations." he spoke that last part to Kurt. The agent man strode away leaving Kurt sputtering after him as he exited, his head whipped to glare at Claire.

"You are not going anywhere. You are still useful to me!" he grabbed her by the throat.

"No, you've been defunded," Claire choked out, smirking at his rage.

"You think I trust YOU out there with militant information. And Project Firestorm may be defunded but I can still make money off you. Lots of our enemies would like to dissect your pretty little brain to get your powers. Oh yes. 9 million at least. You.. You have your uses." Kurt leered.

No! This would not happen to her again, she would get free this time. She used her right hand to pull his arms off her neck and her left covering his eyes.

Then she sent a fire ball.

Kurt flew back, clutching his left eye. Claire flew past him and all the agents staring at her in terror. She burned through the wall and flew out to Metropolis.

She landed in an alleyway and started to run. She needed new clothes, and to hide her hair. She wasn't going to make that mistake again.

She spotted a store called Bella's Boutique, took a few deep breaths and went in.

It looked upscale and practically glowed with sequins, but today it was mainly deserted except for a bored saleswoman. Perfect. First she grabbed a purple scarf. Wrapping her hair under it in a bun. Then she picked a pink peep-sleeve shirt and comfortable black leather pants with high heels. She burned her old outfit and tossed the ashes into the trash.

She glanced at the counter and asked for brown eye contacts and make up. She wanted to change everything. She put blue eye shadow, black lipstick, hoping to look chic and middle-age, not that she lived under a fashionless governmental weapon program for ten years.

"Money" the saleswoman pointedly asked, holding out her hand.

Claire froze. She would probably need that for food and money. And Kurt was probably going to start hunting her down once he got his eye fixed so she would need to leave Metropolis quickly. So there was only one thing to do....

She knocked the woman out with a punch. Jumped over the counter and shook out the cash register, tucking the door bills and change in a black handbag on display. She looked at the cases filled with jewels. She wouldn't mind having some. She hadn't worn jewelry before, it was too unnecessary for a weapon.

She melted the glass case and pulled out a ruby studded necklace, and matching bracelet plus a pair of diamond earrings. She never been so rich!

She ran out of the store, as she reached the side walk, she slowed to a walk and tried to act nonchalant but her heart was beating fast. She spent the rest of the day walking around Metropolis, eating a little at a café. Glancing nervously around her. Finally she decided to settle into an alleyway for the night. She didn't feel comfortable going to hotel. Too many security cameras.

She had been sleeping lightly when she felt a presence surrounding her. She cracked open her eyes and saw four masked men in a circle, one with a gun.

"Give us dem jewels and you won't get hurt!" one yelled out. Claire rolled her eyes. She stood up, grabbed the gun and melted it. Then set a circle of fire around the men.

The three started running and crashing into each other fell to flames, one escaped but Claire figured he would be too scared to rescue his buddies. She stayed up for some time afterwards, huddled in a corner, staring at the burned men. It reminded her of the first person she killed and she tasted the bile in her throat like it had been the first time.

When she woke up the next morning, another figure made himself known in front of her. "Hello..." He was blonde and shifty eyes and wore a black suit that reminded her of a gangster, and held out his hand

Claire flipped him over, pinned his arm behind his back and gripped his head to the pavement. "Woah you are a mad girl!” he groaned. "I'm 29. A woman." Claire corrected, " And I will kill you." "I know. My man told me how you killed the others last night so I came to offer you a deal." He grunted "Let go of me and I'll tell ya."

Claire reluctantly let him get up but still held out her hand making flames dance on her fingertips. "So I sent my men to get the Ruby Majestica from the case of Bella's Boutique, but imagine my surprise when the ruby is gone and the glass case is melted and burned. So my men let the police sniff you out, took out the police and get you. And then you killed them." He said, he didn't sound angry but just slightly awed. "I don't have the Ruby Majestica." Claire protested.

"What do ya think you’re wearing?" He pointed to her necklace. "Oh." She blushed, but caught herself "So it's worth a lot?" "8 hundred dollars. And I'll give that 8 hundred to you if you include the bracelet and earrings," he said. "Wait. Since the bracelet matches, shouldn't that be another 8 hundred?" Claire smirked. "Lower price, it's just a bracelet." "$799" Claire lowered. "800 for all." "800 plus 799 and I'm not even including the cost of earrings," Claire grabbed onto his wrist, appling pressure and heat as he struggled to ungrip her. After all, she was the one with the powers here. She could destroy his home, his possessions, himself if she wanted to. He should not be the one trying to take advantage. That would be his worst and last mistake. She’d make sure of it.

No one was going to control her ever again. "Fine, fine $1599 just stop burning me!” He yelped, struggling to remove her iron grip. Claire released him and smiled as he unloaded his wallet, then she handed over the jewelry. She probably had enough to leave the country by now.

But she wasn't sure, she needed to check on a phone or computer. But she was really hungry so she needed food. And she didn't want to sleep in the alley again so she would probably have to spend some of that money on a house. And what about getting an apartment in the new country? And an actual wardrobe! The man turned around to leave when another idea struck her.

"Wait, would you pay me again if I find more jewels. Not even just jewels. Anything you want me to get. Clothes, statues, collectables. I'd be a lot more useful than your men. After all, no one plays with fire much less fights with the likes of me." "Hmm, get stuff for me. I'd sell to the black market. We split the profits." Donnie murmured to himself, seeming to consider the idea so Claire plowed ahead as a "yes." "Sounds reasonable. But if I ever suspect you are cutting me out of the deal. Well let's not get into detail." She pulled a lock of hair as it burst into flames along with her hand.

"Yes. We could do that." The man nodded. "And you give me an apartment." She added. "Yes, yes. I'll give you apartment. Any more demands?" "No, partner" she emphasized the word "partner" gripping his shoulder. "It's Donnie. What's your name, woman?" he pushed her hand off him. Claire hesitated for a second. Could she really tell him? It's been so long since anyone used her name, but it felt nice to hear it, familiar. Yet at the same time, she didn't want to start committing crimes using her real name it would be so stupid. "Volcana, but off the job you can call me Claire Selton."

#claire selton #volcana #superman: the animated series #my fanfic #my fanfiction #where’s the smoke #just like fire #ch. 7

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ayma-nidiot · 4 years

Text

In the White Light - Prideshipping fic Chapter 20

Also on AO3.

Author’s note: I wrote most of this chapter whilst drinking wine, so forgive me. Probably explains why there’s strong YGOTAS influence in this chapter, particularly with Rex and Weevil.

I’m also sorry for the slow updates. Not only am I swamped at work, but the duel portrayed in this chapter was very hard to write, and definitely the most important duel in the fic.

Also there is minor blood in this chapter. But nothing graphic.

Also, for inexplicable reasons, Kaiba and Rex has become my new BROTP.

Chapter 20 – Torment in Hell

“It’s quiet…” were Joey’s first words upon return to the palace. “Too quiet.”

“You sure this is the best time for clichéd movie references, Wheeler?”

“Besides,” spoke Yami Yugi. “You forget that the attacks were mostly concentrated in the villages. Plus I think this silence is a sign of peace.”

“Guess again, pharaoh!” Téa walked a further bit behind the rest of the gang. “Someone’s hurt!”

“What?” Yami Yugi rushed over to where Téa stood – the nearest medical ward – and his heart sank to learn that Mahad had been gravely wounded. “Gods… Mahad! What happened to you?”

“Pharaoh…” Mahad coughed up a bit of blood. “Isis… We were suddenly attacked by two strong men… I… I had never seen the likes of them before! I bought time for Isis so that she may escape to the nearest village… I hope that she’s okay… and that she found Karim or Shada.”

“Master… Master, please don’t die!” Mana pleaded with tears.

“Mana… I’ve taught you everything I know. Take my place as a High Priest on the royal court… And if you can defeat the man who took my Millennium Ring… It’s yours.”

“I don’t even care about that, Master! …Master? Oh… Oh no…” Mana took Mahad’s staff from his cold hands. “I promise. I will serve the royal family to the best of my ability in your place.”

“We better find the bastard who did this!” Joey proposed. “Huh? Pharaoh?”

“If only I hadn’t left the palace… If only I had doubled the guard at the palace, then Mahad would still be alive…”

“Babe, it’s not your fault. Nobody could have predicted this, given what we know about the enemy.”

“My love, I’ve realized something. If we are to put an end to this war, then we need to kill the two men who did this. If they were strong enough to kill a High Priest, then I can only imagine what they would do to the common citizenry.”

“Funny you should say that, pharaoh.” Tristan looked to Rex and Weevil. “Because I don’t think you’ve finished interrogating these nimrods.”

“You’re right… Say, guys?”

“What do you want?” The events from Anubis’ chamber still fresh in his mind, Weevil cast his gaze to the side. “I’ve already told you all that I know.”

“But surely the two guys you dueled serve a master,” Yami Yugi continued. “Did they happen to mention anything of the sort?”

“Actually… Come to think of it, one of them thanked their master for lending them a rare card…” Rex recalled. “Or something like that.”

“What was the card?”

“It was… Uh… Dank Necrofear.”

Weevil bonked Rex on the head for that answer. “Dark Necrofear, you dino brain!”

“‘Dark Necrofear…’”

Yami Yugi’s eyes opened wide when he started to surmise who this “master” was, but a sudden voice pulled him from his thoughts. “If you want to have at my ultimate monster, then I’ll gladly oblige, pharaoh!”

Though Yami Yugi, in his heart, wanted to partake in this challenge, Kaiba stopped him. “You have your own mission, and that’s to find your true name. While you do that, let me handle this ‘master.’”

“By yourself? Are you certain?”

“I’ve got the ‘power of the gods,’ remember?”

“That’s what you said in your past life!”

“Ugh, this isn’t the best time to argue!”

“Kaiba… Is this about what Anubis said? That we can’t be together because I belong in the past, and you in the present? So… Does this mean you choose KaibaCorp over me?”

“…Just go, before my heart breaks any more than it has already.”

“Then… May the power of the gods be with you.” In tears, Yami Yugi left through the back entrance, beckoning for his friends to follow.

As soon as the “Dweeb Patrol” had gone out of his sights, Kaiba exited the palace through the main entrance. He would have cried, too, if a somewhat familiar face hadn’t given him a not-so-warm welcome. “Huh. How disappointing. To think that I would be dueling the pharaoh, and yet I’m just dueling the present-day form of Priest Seto instead. But I guess you’ll do for now.”

“It can’t be… Yami Bakura! And…” Kaiba looked to the other man, with his spiky blond hair and tattooed, tan skin. “Yami Marik! But how? I thought you were dead… Is it occult nonsense again?”

“Nah, I’d just call it the power of the gods, gifted to only the most powerful in this country. Oh, and you can call me Bandit King Bakura. That is my real name, after all.”

“I remember you well from Battle City.” Yami Marik stepped forward.

“Likewise.” Kaiba was ready to activate his Duel Disk any second now.

“Oh? Don’t tell me you plan to challenge us all by yourselves! I said I remember you well from Battle City, but last I checked, I placed second while you barely placed third!”

A high-pitched shout interrupted this verbal fight. “Waaaaaait!”

“Hmm…” Bandit King Bakura eyed the intruders – Rex and Weevil – carefully. “Ah, yes, now I remember. These are the twerps who helped me recover my Millennium Ring.”

“Wait, is that Bakura? And… Who’s this, a Super Saiyan?” It took a while for Rex to process what was going on. “Hey, Kaiba, you gonna duel these guys?”

“Yeah, and you better stay back, rabbit stew!”

“Why you…” Weevil didn’t like hearing his boyfriend being addressed by that name. “I’ll show you!”

“No, baby, let me.” Rex had no qualms about calling Weevil a pet name in front of company. “I want to show Kaiba how I’ve improved since our last duel.”

“Wait, we’ve dueled before?”

“But of course! It was during a tournament you hosted before you lost to Yu- I mean, the pharaoh.”

“What tournament? Do you know how many tournaments I’ve hosted, rabbit stew? How many twerps like yourself I’ve crushed?”

“Argh, stop calling me that!” Rex had already fully activated his Duel Disk. “I’m tag dueling with you, and that’s final! We LGBT folk should stick together!”

“I don’t see how that has jack shit to do with anything, but I suppose I’ll humour you.” Kaiba looked to his two foes before starting up his own Duel Disk. “Don’t expect me to cover your ass, though. Also, you have a very poor taste in men, to have chosen a dung beetle like Underwood.”

“Yes, don’t let this ‘rabbit stew’ slow you down!” Bandit King Bakura summoned four stone tablets with his DiaDhank. “I’ll take the honour of first move. I summon Archfiend Heiress in attack mode! I’ll set a card, then turn it over to you, Kaiba.”

Hah! Kaiba marveled at his starting hand – Ancient Rules, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, White Stone of the Ancients, and Staunch Defender – as well as his newly drawn Karma Cut. Already, I’m halfway done gathering all my Blue-Eyes White Dragons! “I play the spell Ancient Rules to Special Summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! I’ll set two cards… before I unleash a White Lightning upon your Archfiend Heiress!”

“It’s all good…” Bandit King Bakura seemed chill, even though he had just suffered 2000 points of damage. “Because I activate my Heiress’ special ability to add an Archfiend card to my hand… and I choose Summoned Skull!”

“Good work, ‘partner!’” Yami Marik drew a card after this half-hearted congratulations. “I’ll set a card, then I summon Dark Jeroid in attack mode! Now say goodbye to 800 of your attack points, Blue-Eyes! I’ll end it for now; it’s your turn!”

“Who, me?” Rex was so entranced by the early heavy hitters that he barely remembered to draw a card – or to look at his starting hand. Oh! I already have the Creepy Coney… Since Blue-Eyes White Dragon is on the field, I’d do well to play it. “I’ll set a monster and another card. Turn over.”

“I’ll use one of your favourite spells, Kaiba, to Special Summon Summoned Skull from my hand! Thanks to Dark Jeroid, my Summoned Skull has enough power to wipe out your ‘mighty’ Blue-Eyes!”

Hmph… I’m not worried, Bakura. I’ve got ways to get Blue-Eyes out of my Graveyard. “You’ve activated my trap, Karma Cut! I’ll discard my White Stone of the Ancients to banish your Summoned Skull from the game!”

“Grr…” Bandit King Bakura was now open to a direct attack. “I’ll set a card before ending my turn.”

“Did you say ‘ending my turn?’ Good! Because thanks to my White Stone of the Ancient’s special ability, I can Special Summon a Blue-Eyes from my deck during the end phase! I know what you’re trying to pull here, Bakura, and let me tell you this: I am not going to let you summon your Dark Necrofear. …I’ll set this card, then with my newly summoned Blue-Eyes, I’ll attack Dark Jeroid!”

“You may be too smart to let him summon Dark Necrofear,” Yami Marik spoke as he drew a card. “But I know your dueling partner’s ‘strategies’ all too well. He shoots first and asks questions later! You cannot hope to defeat us like that!”

“Are you done?” Rex snarled. “Because I want to have my turn too, you know!”

“Oh, I will be soon! After I activate my Nightmare Wheel, weaken the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with it, then Special Summon my Zoa with Ancient Rules! Now, Zoa, attack that Blue-Eyes!”

“Leave my Blue-Eyes alone! Reveal trap card, Staunch Defender! Your attack is redirected… at rabbit stew’s set monster!”

“Heh! Even though my Creepy Coney is sent to the Graveyard, I still activate its special ability and you suffer 1000 points of damage, Super Saiyan! I also have a trap of my own, Dimension Equilibrium! Not only is your Zoa banished from the game, but I can also Special Summon my Creepy Coney from the Graveyard!”

“Oh!” Bandit King Bakura and Kaiba declared at the same time.

So… Rex stared at the plain white rabbit that stood on the battlefield. That’s my animal form? “I play the Pot of Greed I just drew, then I use Book of Moon on my Creepy Coney. I also thought I’d take the time to mention that you’re defenseless, Super Saiyan.”

“My name is Marik!” Yami Marik roared.

“I don’t really give a frog’s fat ass what your name is, since you’re going to die anyway… thanks to this Bracchio-Radius I just summoned. I equip it with Raise Body Heat for good measure, then it’s time for a direct attack!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that! I activate Counter Gate!” Bandit King Bakura declared. “Your direct attack is negated, and Marik gets to draw a card. You better hope it’s not a monster… Or else.”

“Th-Thank you.” Yami Marik displayed an unusual show of tenderness as he drew a card.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I just want to defeat these fools at all costs.”

“Anything you say… At any rate, thanks for the Normal Summon! I summon the card I just drew, Archfiend Empress, to my side of the field!”

“Then it’s my turn!” declared Bandit King Bakura. “I summon Giant Orc in attack mode! I’ll then play my spell, Mystik Wok, and tribute my Orc so that I can gain 2200 Life Points!”

“Shit… You just sent a third Fiend to the Graveyard, didn’t you?”

“That would be correct, Kaiba! I banish the Fiends in our Graveyards to summon my favourite monster of all… Dark Necrofear!”

“Yiiiiipe!” Rex fell on his butt upon seeing this familiar monster.

“You’ve got every right to be scared, because the monster I plan to attack is your Creepy Coney!”

“Hmph. You still suffer 1000 Life Points of damage, though.”

“I’m sure he’s well aware of that.” Kaiba spoke impatiently as he began his turn. “I’ll set a monster, then I banish White Stone of the Ancients from my Graveyard to take a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from there.”

“That’s it? Then, I’ll summon Revival Jam in defense mode! I’m sure you remember this monster from Battle City preeeetty well.”

“Yeah, I remember it. I remember it well enough to remember its flaws!”

“Go, Archfiend Heiress! Get rid of the Bracchio-Radius! So, who’s the defenseless one now, rabbit stew?”

I won’t be… I hope the “heart of the cards” thing Yugi keeps on talking about is real… Rex beamed when he drew his Red-Eyes Fusion. Oh, it’s real, all right! “I use my Red-Eyes Fusion card to Fusion Summon one of the strongest cards of all… Red-Eyes Slash Dragon! And though I may look like a dumb bag of bricks, I know better than to attack Dark Necrofear. So I’ll just get rid of Archfiend Empress instead!”

“Very cute that you’ve actually learned your lesson for once. But now I’ll set a card…. Then I’ll attack with Dark Necrofear!”

“What? But her attack-”

“Is exactly the same as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Which is why I’ll attack that monster, so that I may Special Summon it to my side of the field! Then before I end my turn, I’ll set a card that I think the two of you will like… Hahaha!”

Dear gods, that better not be what I think it is! Kaiba thought. “I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue in attack mode! That will be all.”

“My next turn will be just as simple! I’ll play the Pot of Greed I just drew, then set two cards.”

“Huhuhu… Weevil, he said ‘pot.’” Rex turned to look at his boyfriend, who during this entire duel, remained standing.

“Oh yeah… Hehehe. There’s a lot of that in this duel, I’ve noticed. Hehehe.”

“Oh my gods, just draw a damned card already.” Kaiba closed his eyes and face-palmed.

“I summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode, then I’ll attack Revival Jam with my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon!” spoke Rex.

“Apparently, you’ve never seen this monster – or the trap you just activated, Enchanted Javelin! I gain 3000 Life Points, then pay 1000 of them to Special Summon Revival Jam in defense mode.”

“Good work, partner.” Bandit King Bakura revealed his face down card – the one that nearly won his modern incarnation a spot at Battle City – Destiny Board. “I’ll play another Pot of Greed, and set two cards.”

Before Rex could make another pot reference, Kaiba spoke while he drew his next card, “Don’t even think about it, rabbit stew. I’ll tribute my Maiden with Eyes of Blue to activate the special ability of this card – Sage with Eyes of Blue! With these two cards combined, I can Special Summon two Blue-Eyes onto my side of the field! Now, Blue-Eyes, attack Blue-Eyes on Bakura’s side of the field so it returns to my Graveyard!”

“Sorry, Kaiba, but it’s not going to be that easy! I activate two traps – Enchanted Javelin and Jam Defender! Now I have a grand total of 6200 Life Points, and you’ve got no choice but to attack the Revival Jam!”

“Did you forget that I have two Blue-Eyes already? Now my monster returns to my Graveyard, and your Nightmare Wheel is history!”

“Not a problem, not a problem…” Yami Marik laughed. “I’ve got all the Revival Jams – and Life Points - in the world, and I’ll summon one from my Graveyard, one from my hand in defense mode!”

Largely unaware of Yami Marik’s strategy, Rex summoned Jurrac Gallim in attack mode. “Hey, hey. If you don’t attack eventually, then you’re gonna run out of cards, buddy! I’ll attack you directly with both of my monsters, Bakura!”

“You mean my Revival Jams?” Yami Marik corrected.

“Hehehe, I’d knew you’d try that. I can still Special Summon another Hydrogeddon from my deck, if the one I have on the field destroys a monster.”

“Maybe you’re not a total dimwit after all! But then again, neither am I. I now have three letters of my Destiny Board in play, in addition to the trap I just set.”

Leaving himself to a direct attack? It may be risky, but… “I’ll direct attack Bakura with one of my Blue-Eyes!”

“Shouldn’t have taken the risk, Kaiba! I use one of my favourite traps, Counter Gate! …Now I summon Abominable Unchained Soul to my side of the field.”

Yami Marik waited a while to see if Kaiba would kamikaze one of his Blue-Eyes, then began his turn. “If I were you, I would have sacrifices one of your Blue-Eyes! Because if you did, you could prevent me from summoning my ultimate monster to your side of the field! I sacrifice your two Blue-Eyes to Special Summon Lava Golem! Prepare to suffer for the four turns it will take for my monster to sap your Life Points!”

“That is if my Destiny Board doesn’t destroy him first!”

Shit… This duel… Rex couldn’t still his shaking hand as he drew Dark Effigy. These guys are so much better than me! Even my strongest monster is nowhere near tough enough! Maybe I should have just let Kaiba duel by himself… I’m only weighing him down.

“Rabbit stew, this isn’t the time to give up!” Kaiba snapped Rex out of his despair. “Look more carefully at your cards, and at your Extra Deck! There’s a special ability somewhere there!”

Hey, he’s right! Rex looked at a powerful silver card in his Extra Deck. I’ve never seen anyone Synchro Summon before, and what better time than now to do it! “The Destiny Board… The Lava Golem… It’s all going to end. Prepare to suffer as the dinosaurs did when they went extinct! I Synchro Summon… Jurrac Meteor!”

“What?” Kaiba, along with the other duel participants, had never heard of technique before. “‘Synchro Summon?’”

“I’ll tell you all about it later! Now every card on the battlefield is destroyed! But there is one survivor… My Jurrac Gallim comes back from my Graveyard, and it’s ready to attack you directly, Bakura!”

“Oooooh, I’m so scared!” The Bandit King sounded cool, but in his mind he cursed Rex for ruining one of his favourite strategies.

“You’re just going to end your turn like that? And with no set cards, either?” Kaiba smirked. “Then I’ll summon Assault Wyvern to attack you directly!”

“You think after the third time, you’d have known better than to attack one of us directly! Because now, my Battle Fader’s special ability activates! I can Special Summon it from my hand, and in so doing, end your battle phase!”

“And if you thought we were done torturing you… Well, that’s where you’re wrong!” Yami Marik played Monster Reborn. “I revive Archfiend Empress from my Graveyard! But before I attack, I’ll power her up with my field spell Archfiend Palabyrinth!”

Shadows danced across the battlefield now, adding to the backdrop of a pointy castle.

“S-So? I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!”

“Well, you will be when I destroy your Jurrac Gallim, and discard a card to negate its special ability! Now then, let’s see your last line of defense before I send you to hell!” Yami Marik taunted.

“I… I…” Rex summoned Dark Effigy and played Banner of Courage before turning back to Weevil. “Sorry, Weeves, but… Just know that I love you. Try not to cry too much when I’m gone, okay?”

“Rex…” Weevil started to feel burning butterflies in his stomach. “No… No, it can’t end this way!”

“Will you stop with the pessimism? Gods!” Kaiba growled. “I reveal my face-down card, Double Summon, and let you use it! Surely you’ve got something good in your hand that you can summon, right?”

“…” Rex bared both hands, indicating that they were free of cards. “In my next turn, Archfiend Empress will attack my Dark Effigy… Then that will be it for me.”

“Are you serious right now?” Weevil spoke in a distorted but calm voice. “Is my boyfriend really that weak? Whatever happened to your famous phrase ‘my duelin’ dinos will tear you to shreds?’”

“Weeves?” Rex froze in place when, after turning around, two spider’s legs jutted out of each sleeve of Weevil’s shirt and shorts. “No way… Don’t tell me that you’re a shapeshifter too?”

“Marik…” Weevil spoke through the black pincers that had replaced his mouth. “Let me teach you a lesson. If you mess with my beloved Rex Raptor… Then you’re only inviting yourself to an endless torment in hell!”

#yugioh #ygo #prideshipping #shrimpshipping #fanfiction

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cecilspeaks · 7 years

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Episode 107 - The Missing Sky

The best strategy for a labyrinth is to put one hand on a wall and follow that hand until you reach the exit. The second best strategy is screaming.

Welcome to Night Vale.

We start with our lead story: the faint popping that people have been hearing under the Earth. It sounds like the mole people are making popcorn in huge numbers, but everyone knows that mole people are deathly allergic to corn, so maybe something else? City Council issued the same statement it does for all emergencies, explaining that everything’s fine, we shouldn’t be worried, and that if we are worried, it probably means we did something wrong and are guilty about it. “Just what did you do?” the statement asks hundreds of times and increasingly larger fonts.

Carlos is intrigued by the popping. He is taking a small task force of his top scientists, Lucia and Nilanjana, to investigate. He placed censors in a number of locations and is trying to track the epicenter of the sound. Meanwhile, reports of strange aberrations in reality continue, with large gashes appearing in the sky and on walls all over town. Plus, nearly daily reports of false or alternative memories, which City Council again would like to remind you is almost probably fine. “See, we even put out a press release that everything’s fine, so it’s true!” they said.

More soon, but first a word from our sponsors. Today’s show is brought to by Ace Hardware on Fifth and Shay Street. Which is a real hardware store, and not merely a camouflaged snake pit. Ace Hardware is here to fit all of your needs, and while it may look like a crude representation of a store created out of leaves and trash by hundreds of animals that had to work without the benefit of limbs. Trust us that we are a real store, that you can really enter, and will definitely leave again, alive and uneaten. Don’t worry, the near deafening hiss is the sound of [voice and music distort, static] hardware savings on everything including [ding] circular saws, reciprocating saws, [voice turns normal but the music still distorts] coping saws, and of course hand saws. All kinds of saws are 50 per cent off during this week’s “you saw it, you bought it” s<ale. Come by today. We also copy keys if you need that, so again, come on buy. This has been a word from our sponsors.

City Council is still in conflict about the situation at Old Woman Josie’s house. Old Woman Josie passed away several years ago, and we all remember her fondly. I myself never got to know her well, but those close to me say that she was a generous, kind, and incredibly clever human being, and the world is poorer without her. But it has been poorer without her for a while, and City Council indicates it is time to move forward with the plan the demolition of her house for the new highway extension.

The lone voice of protest to this plan is Erika, who has been living in Old Woman Josie’s house a few years before Josie’s death. Erika has no relation to Josie, but says that Josie took her in decades ago. No one knows much about Erika. She is a middle-aged woman with short hair and a tattoo of an angel on her right forearm. She was visiting town when contact was cut off with the outside world, and of course now, she cannot leave. She argues that, given that she has no way to return to the family she left behind, it would be cruel to force her out of the home she has made for herself. We will monitor this situation as it continues.

Citizens, we enter the Great Weeks of Memorial, in which we remember the vicious and inexplicable attack that almost destroyed our city, and the fruitless years of war that followed. This will be observed in the usual manner with parades and military displays. Mayor Pamela Winchell will give a speech honoring those killed in battle, including intelligence officer Leann Hart, and John Peters, you know, the war hero. I would like to take this moment to thank a fallen warrior from my own family. He was a great man. I speak of course of my brother-in-law and best friend, Steve Carlsberg. Ever since the great change, which cut us off from the rest of the world, he devoted himself to understanding what had happened to us. He had never been interested in the strange or abnormal before, but threw himself into research and observation. He said that, contemplating the new sky above us, he could see lines and intersections, a great grid pattern across the heavens.

When the attack came, he was one of the first to enlist. We all tried to stop him. Steve was not naturally a fighter, but he said that he had to protect his wife Abby and his daughter Janice. And he joined those brave few who left our boundaries to explore… whatever is out there. And he never came home.

Steve, I love you. You know, sometimes I go out at night and try to see the same lines you did, the great grid pattern in the sky. But it’s hard to see through those tears, you know?

Mayor Winchell is preparing to speak now. She is standing in front of the brand new memorial statue, with the controversial design chosen by Harriet Ramone and Benjamin Gould of the City Council. The design that depicts a human foot, several stories tall. Let’s go to her speech.

Pamela Winchell: People of Night Vale. I come to you as I do every year, as a mere citizens. As another human being who lives in this town. Who has suffered losses of her own, who has fears of her own.

We are none of us alone, except when we think we are. We have all faced circumstances that can only be categorized as extraordinary. And that we are still here, that we come together today to remember, this is a sign that we, too, are extraordinary.

Citizens, we will persist, no matter what. No matter how, no matter the [voice and music distort, static] the weight in our hearts, we will continue [ding] I like the tail and I like the flank, and I like the part where the fur goes up when they get excited, and I like the ears. And the tongue. And the face. And those are the parts of the dog that I enjoy. I wish there was a dog to pet right now. The question might be: would I give up on a regular life in order to pet a dog at all times forever? And the answer is yes of course instantly, without regret.

Thank you. I will not be taking any other questions. This has been my emergency press conference on the subject of the strange noises detected from below the Earth. I will now put myself into a canvas bag that will be chained shut and then will be, an instant later, revealed to be empty.

Cecil: Wise words from our Director of Emergency Press Conferences, Pamela Winchell.

Carlos is continuing his investigation into the subterranean popping. There are now also sounds that resemble singing, but not at a frequency that matches any possible human voice. He is trying to examine what alterations could make a human sound like that. One hypothesis is that it could be caused by severe mutations from genetic manipulation or exposure to massive radiation. He also has a chalk board full of numbers. These are his favorite numbers, and whenever he feels overwhelmed, he can look at the chalk board and feel like – he has more control over his situation.

In any case, as the City Council says it’s probably fine, don’t worry about it! Don’t worry about it.

And now, traffic. For that, we take you to ten uninterrupted minutes of farm sounds. [sheeps bleat, chicken noises, car engine, birds singing, cows mooing] [voices distort, static, ding] Things are looking pretty clear out on the roads, like most days.

[deep sigh] Listeners, why do I keep reporting the traffic? I don’t know. I’ve asked myself the same question. Muscle memory I guess? Habit? The reason we squint when leaving our homes, as though the sun might be there this time, but we all know the sun won’t be there. Nothing is in the sky anymore. And we don’t have gasoline. Not since the trucks stopped coming. No more deliveries.

Out on Route 800, Trish Hidge is taking a walk under the constant rolling thunder we’ve learned to live with. She likes to walk sometimes, in what she imagines must be the evenings, although others in town have taken those times to be the morning, and others still are asleep in the middle of their nights. She takes walks out to where the road ends and the great slopes rise up. She stands there at the edge of town, which is now the edge of everything, and she cries. Yeah, she really lets it out. No one hears her. She just puts her hands just beyond the end of the highway and holds them there for a moment, and then she turns and makes the loooong walk home. To a husband who is asleep, because she and her husband have agreed to live by different clocks, for reasons that are their own.

So that is the one bit of traffic in town I guess. If you see Trish, give her a hug. Ask first. You should always ask first before giving anyone a hug.

As the parade lines form, as we prepare to march out and remember the vicious attack against us, I am drawn, as I am every year, to my own memory of what happened that terrible day. We were starting to feel that we had reached a kind of acceptance of the great change years ago that took our sky and our connection to the rest of the world from us. And those years later, we were going about our business under that blank sky. Eating at the Moonlite All-Nite Diner, studying at the public library. Helping John and Jim Peters in the fields so that our isolated community could continue to have food. We heard the usual loud rumblings, like a rock slide above us.

But then, there it was: a tower of destruction. An aberration. A terrible apparition. An abomination in our absent sky. And nothing would ever be the same. And afterwards, the years of war, only recently given up as lost.

What did we do to deserve all that is happened to us? First, the theft of our sky. Then, years later, the attack.

Listeners, do you ever think about the moon? I was sitting outside last night and I thought, does anyone actually know where that thing went? Have there been any studies on this? I’d ask a scientist, but I’ve never met one in person. I’ve only heard of the famous scientists like Rosalind Franklin and Lisa Meitner, and Hidetaka Miyazaki. I doubt a scientist would ever deign to come to such a small and isolate town as ours, especially now that it’s… so much more difficult to get here.

But the moon’s disappearance was weird, right? It was there and there and then suddenly it wasn’t. All the stars went too, replaced by a smooth blank.

Where. Did. The moon. Go? Is it somewhere hidden, watching us? If not, what is it watching instead? Is there something more interesting than us? Hey, watch us, Moon! We may not always be the best show in the universe, but we try. This has been today’s Children’s Fun Fact Science Corner.

And now the weather. Clear skies tonight, although cloudy and windy tomorrow, [voice distorts, static] With gusts up to 45 [ding]

[“The Ends and the Means” by Robby Hecht]

Carlos and his team have found the source of the subterranean popping noise, but it is not a place we expected any more disturbance from, and it is not a place that – I’m comfortable with him going. They advanced on the area, nodding to each other to confirm that their suspicion was correct, and making hand signals to indicate that they should have worked out some hand signals before starting.

Listeners, I am, I’m just, I’m sick with apprehension. Carlos.. [sighs] Just please be careful!

OK, he’s approaching the source. Ahem. The singing is louder than ever, strange and high-pitched. There are popping noises and a pulsing vibration, he reaches cautiously out of the edge and he looks and yes, yes, it is as we feared, it is the tiny city under lane 5 of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. The tiny streets are teaming with tiny parades. There are the loud pops of tiny fireworks and the singing, which Carlos now confirms matches the unified sound of hundreds of tiny human voices. The last time Carlos approached the city, he entered it and was attacked and almost killed* by the residents. This led to years of war with the tiny people, which was mostly quite manageable because they are exceptionally small, but still, caution. Is. Warranted.

OK, hold on, I’m gonna uh, head over there to give him moral support, so let’s return to the farm sounds previously in progress.

[sheeps bleating] [static, ding] An aberration, a terrible apparition. An abomination in our absent sky. As we marched our memorial march and held aloft our portable shrines to our God, and set off our many fireworks, there appeared above us enormous face of the entity that tried to destroy our city, not four years ago.

Why this great being from beyond chose to return at this moment, I’m not sure but it leaves me unneeassyy, listeners. It leaves the feeling that history is bubbling back up. That perhaps another great shift is coming. Like that shift many years ago, when Huntkar destroyer – oh great God Huntokar – appeared to us and took our sky away. We’ve prayed every year to Huntokar, but She has never returned the world that we once lived in. Surely we will fade away, unable to get what we need from the outside world. Why did Huntokar do this to us? We may never know.

And then this creature attacking us from the world above, with the giant foot so controversially depicted in the new memorial statue. Looking into his rich, brown eyes today… he was beautiful. Much like us humans, but of course larger, with teeth like… a military cemetery, and absolutely perfect hair. No lowly mortal could ever achieve hair that perfect.

The last attack from this being led to a disastrous war with these giants, one that nearly ruined our city. I hope that these powerful beings look away from us, leave us forgotten and dying, leave us cut off from the world. Unless Huntokar undoes what She once did to us. Unless we finally are absolved of whatever crimes we are being punished for. Unless, at last, the sky is returned these many decades later. But until then, we will continue our Great Weeks of Memorial, and then this fall, enter into the Months of the Rememberance of the Change.

Stay tuned next for one of our most popular shows, Janelle Duarte’s advice show, “Hey Janelle, What Did I Personally Do to Contribute to Huntokar’s Anger Against us?”

And under whatever starless, moonless sky it is we have lived under since the day of the change,

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Top of the morning to you. The rest of the day to me. I never said this was fair.

A great mystery. There is not a single person in Paris nor all the world, who can tell us the mysterious origin of France’s most beloved holiday classic, the Second Imaginary Symphony. Yes, decades ago discovered in a refuse pile, this audio recording was brought home by an enterprising trash collector on (Platypus Eve). The trash collector played the cassette he’d found, expecting music. There was instead a very strange story.

“This is nice neighborhood. [carnival music] Just over that hill, factories, soon to be full of busy grownups hard at work. And this is nice street, Telegraph Road.”

Bringing us to modern times, where there is not a single Platypus Eve celebration in all of Paris, of which the Second Imaginary Symphony is not a part.

“This is Mr Ackerman. Nice neighbor and friend. Mr Ackerman works at the big factory just over the hill, and I have begun to wonder just what it was that the big factory over the hill is making. [machine noises, music wells up] Having wiled away many a twilight admiring the great factory. And I had to come know each of its towering smoke stacks and flashing lights.”

It’s a secret, of course, and that’s what this whole thing’s about. We listened to the story, we found it a comforting way to pass the holiday eve, featuring- [random noises]

“And this was the good one: things unfit for the ears of a little boy.”

Also featuring: “wild laughter that offered not a hint of happiness.”

And of course featuring: “Atomic hypnosis.” [weird voices, noises]

“Atomic hypnosis? It’s just like ordinary hypnosis, only much much smaller.”

There’s nothing the French desire more than to sit back, close one’s eyes, and listen to the Second Imaginary Symphony. It’s something that we enjoy every year, and we hope that you will too.

An Orbiting Human Circus Special: The Second Imaginary Symphony. Premiering on Wednesday, May 10, 2017 on Night Vale Presents, on the Orbiting Human Circus feed, with new episodes every other Wednesday through July 7.

#welcome to night vale #wtnv transcripts #episode 107 #the missing sky

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everyhowlmarksthedead · 4 years

Text

NSFW ALPHABET

MICHAEL “RIZ” ARIZA

Thanks to my lovely beta reader @chibsytelford 💘

Author comments: I hope you all enjoy, I had to do it. Gif credits to: @fromthesixteenthfloor

Tag list: @starrynite7114 @chibsytelford @dazzledamazon @mara-mpou @sammskellington @gemini0410 @1-800-imagines @briana-mishell24 @sassymox @whyisgmora @aquamento @sadeyesgf ✨ (if you wanna be tagged, send me a message!)

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Depends of the time. Usually, he helps you to clean all the mess you’ve made, having a shower together after that. Even if he’s tired, he likes to cuddle with you on bed and know how was your day, till he falls asleep between your arms and listening your soft voice.

If you do it out of home, like in a dorm of the clubhouse or at Vicki’s place, he helps you to clean yourself, before going to have two beers and bring them to the room, so he can share them with you. Then, you usually make a bet of which Mayans you’ve traumatized because of your loud moans, screaming out his name.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Of him, his chest. He actually loves his chest ‘cause it’s at the height of your face and you’re constantly kissing it and rubbing your cheeks on it, without caring about where you are, nor who is looking at you. He loves all those unexpected and sweet kisses you give him.

His favourite part of you it’s your hair. He loves the smell of it, how smooth it is, and also because he can grab it between his fingers when you’re fucking. Riz also has a rule for it. You can’t cut it more than his fist can be tangled on it. (He cried that time you cut it over your shoulders, for almost one week).

C = Cum (anything to do with cum)

Inside. Always inside you. He’s obsessed with the warm feeling of your legs around his waist, pounding you till he cums. The view of it, getting spilling out between your thighs is his favourite thing in the world.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Riz loves watching you kicking the shit out of Vicki’s girls when they try something with him, putting them on their place as the savage and jealous Old Lady you are, whenever someone looks at him for more than five seconds. You trust him blindly, but not them. Then, he likes to tease you about it making you lose your mind, till you ride him to make sure he’s satisfied with you. Even if you well know he is.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He knows what to do in every moment. Riz has the experience of his years, but seems like he continues learning, because he has never had to worry about the pleasure of a girl, until he met you.

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying)

Doggy style. He’s less romantic that people thinks. He likes to bite your neck, your nape and your shoulders, touring your back with his tongue and filling every inch of your skin with bruises. But when you’re about to cum, he needs to be on top of you face-to-face, looking how you bite your lips keeping your gaze on his.

Plus, he also likes when you ride him, dragging your nails on his chest, while your hips are dancing over his hard cock.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

He’s not a clown, he’s the whole circus. He likes to make some jokes about the looks on your face, making you laugh and interrupting the ride with a “good god, mi amor, I can’t focus please turn around”.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

He doesn’t have much time for things like that and he also don’t care at all. But he usually keeps it a little short just for comfort, even if he has asked you thousand times how you like it like “hey, baby, it’s too long or it’s too short”. You can’t help but fuck him every time he does it, starting to think that he does it on purpose.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Depends of the moment. He usually goes hard on it, filling you with bites and some slaps on your ass, ‘cause Riz says he’s like a hungry wolf and you’re his favourite piece of meat. Does it count as romantic? No? Well, he is after being one or two weeks out of home. He becomes the most romantic man on earth, wanting to let you know how much he loves you and how much he missed you, covering every inch of your skin with lovely kisses as he makes you love.

J = Jack/Jill Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He’s not comfortable jacking himself off. He used to, but not now. He likes your body under his, your lips taking away his breath and every touch that gives him pleasant chills. But if he feels needy when he’s out of Santo Padre, he fucks off the crew to facetime with you.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Riz favourite thing is watching you walking in slow-motion, in front of everyone and playing the innocent till you lean to his ear, just to beg him to fuck you. Probably you’re gonna have to stop doing it when he passes his 60s, or you’re gonna provoke him a heart-attack. He’s a God’s blessing. So keep safe your man, lady, please.

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

Wherever. He doesn’t care. Riz is always ready to please you at bed, in a bathroom, in your car… Even on top of his bike.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

He doesn't need motivation. Is he breathing? Then he’s ready for you.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He would never do anything that could hurt you, bother you or make you feel angry. Under any concept. He wants to make you feel loved and desired at all cost, so that’s not an option.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Let’s be realistic, Riz goes crazy every time you make his hard cock disappear between your warm and wet lips, pressing his skin with your tongue till his hand pushes it to your throat. But he’s most the kind who prefers to eat you out. He likes how you taste, the way you have of squirm under his hands, begging for more and more. Thursday is your favourite day of the week, ‘cause he usually wakes you up with his lips sucking gently your clit. It’s a blessing.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He’s mostly rough. He has too much desire contained because of you, that he can’t help but pounding you hard with his fingers tangled on your hair, pulling it back to him. Except when he’s back home from a travel, then Riz takes his time enjoying every part of your body. Especially marking your neck with a bruise collar.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Yes, he loves it. He’s always desperate to feel you, no matter if it’s a pre-game or playing the whole match. He’s on it whenever you want it.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He’s a little classic, and that’s not a weakness. But if you want to experiment with a position, he would do whatever to please you.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Usually Riz is in the good mood to do it two times per day. One fast, rough, full of pleasure at any moment of the day. And one by night kinda slow, taking his time to enjoy every moan and every gasp you do, on your bed.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

No. Absolutely not. He’s the kind who thinks he’s good enough to please you with his fingers, his tongue ad his cock. Use toys is like setting on fire his ego, making him feel insecure.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

A lot. Like a lot. When you take him away, feeling angry because one of Vicki’s girl bothered you talking about him, he loves to tease you. So you ride him rough.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Bishop told you once he used to be so fucking loud, till he met you. That night, you asked him at home, thinking that maybe you didn’t please him as other women did. Then he said that every sound he makes, owns you. That’s why he likes to whisper it on your ears or against your lips.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

When he makes you feel angry about anything, that night Riz prepares you dinner and does with you a Disney marathon drinking Möet. You’re like a child with refined tastes.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants)

Did you see him? He’s a fucking heaven’s gift. I don't need any more words, ladyship.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Again. Is he breathing? He’s in. Riz is your fan number one.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He usually falls asleep first, once he’s sure that you’re okay and you don’t need anything else. You hold him between your arms, as he sinks his face on your neck letting himself go listening your voice or your breath.

#mayans mc #mayans mc x reader #mayans mc imagine #mayans x reader #michael riz ariza x reader #riz ariza #michael riz ariza #riz ariza x reader

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thecounterplan · 7 years

Text

What the United 3411 Incident is Really About

by Brice Ezell

If you've followed the news at all in the past week, a recap of the events of United Express flight 3411 is unnecessary. For those who limit their news intake or even avoid the news – in this political climate, not an unreasonable move as far as stress and mental health are concerned – here's a recap: 3411, a plane leaving Chicago's O'Hare Airport for a short-haul flight to Louisville, Kentucky, was overbooked the day of its departure, Sunday 9 April. Overbooking is problem enough for paying customers, but in the case of 3411 there was an additional complication. United had several employees that needed to be on the plane, as they had to work on a flight in Louisville the next day.

With the flight being overbooked, United offered to give a night's stay in a hotel plus $400 USD to any customer willing to give up their seat. When no one took that offer, United upped the offer to $800. No one was enticed by that, a clearly considerable sum that likely outweighed the cost of the original plane ticket. According to some reports, United ended up offering $1000. When no one accepted these cash incentives, United randomly selected four passengers to be removed from the plane to accommodate the United staffers that needed to be in Louisville the next day. Three left the plane, undoubtedly frustrated, but without making much of a scene. The fourth, one Dr. David Dao, a practicing physician, refused to leave on the grounds that (a) he paid for his seat and (b) he needed to be at the hospital the next day to tend to patients. Despite the reasonability of those claims, United called the airport police on Dao, who was physically yanked out of his seat and dragged off the plane, leaving him bloodied.

Since then, United has faced a hailstorm of media criticism, and with good reason. As it turns out, using state-sanctioned violence to take from someone a service he had paid for makes for bad PR. It didn't help that the official Twitter statement by Oscar Munoz, the CEO of United, sounded like it was drafted by a corporate jargon bot, like horse_ebooks attempting to give an apology. United presumably compensated Dao and the other individuals removed from the plane, and in a surprisingly classy move, the airline did later refund all passengers on the plane the price of their ticket. Yet in examining how this thoroughly terrible event came to pass, it doesn't take long to figure out that this is but a single manifestation of a much larger problem, and that United could have saved itself a lot of grief by acting sensibly.

Before getting to the crux of what 3411 represents, there is one particularly bad argument that is worth addressing right out of the gate. I've seen it crop up across social media, but one grating iteration of it appears in the post called "I Know You're Mad at United but… (Thoughts from a Pilot Life about Flight 3411)", by Angelia J. Griffin. An early paragraph in Griffin's post features this confession, "If a federal law enforcement officer asks me to exit a plane, no matter how royally pissed off I am, I’m going to do it and then seek other means of legal reimbursement. True story."

This kind of argument is popular any time there is an instance of accused (or even likely) abuse of power by a law enforcement officer. "If only that unarmed black man who wasn't doing anything wrong at all simply did exactly what the officer told him, he would still be alive today!" This mindset is a curious thing to exist in America, a country founded on rebellion from the government that’s also home to the most guns per capita by a long shot – almost one gun per American (skip to page 47 of that PDF). Thee "if an officer says, you do" mentality is a whisper away from total fascism, if not an outright capitulation to it. I know that in the era of Donald Trump it's popular to bandy the word "fascism" about the minute something bad happens, but I do not use the term lightly here.

Just so it is crystal clear: a badge and a gun do not prima facie put an officer in the right. The presence of a badge does not mean that everything an officer says or does is correct. Asserting the high standing of the law does not negate the fact that many officers of the law fail to uphold their obligations to the law, and in some cases even abuse the law. Respectfully questioning an officer, or standing your ground when you know you are within your rights, does not make you a criminal or a degenerate. It makes you a human being, one that does not let the mere presence of power take away your dignity. Griffin's tone in her piece turns her seemingly "I don't want to cause any trouble" point into something closer to, "Shut up and obey orders when you're told." I and I don't think most Americans want to live in a society where that is the default response to authority figures.

Dao was not in the wrong for insisting that he needed to tend to patients the next day. I'm willing to bet that his reason for needing to be in Louisville the was better than most of the others' on board.

While the initial response to Dao's injuries was widespread sympathy and outrage, it wasn't long before a certain disingenuous brand of argumentation reared its head in opposition to the outrage. Basically, it boils down to this: "But the rules!" United Airlines, like all airlines, has each passenger sign a contract of carriage with each ticket – though, of course, most passengers click "I accept" on this contract without ever actually reading it. One stipulation of most if not all contracts of carriage is that airlines can in fact deny boarding to paying customers, given a particular set of circumstances. This brief primer by USA Today illustrates some of the myriad reasons why one might be denied entrance to a plane even after she has bought a ticket. (The article also notes that a contract of carriage runs up to 37,000 words.)

Descriptively, the "play by the rules" argument is valuable, for it reminds airport passengers of just how much legal scaffolding exists for the process of air travel. United and the other major airline carriers have their asses covered, and the minute you cry foul, they will let you know of that. Given that most customers don't have time to parse through 37,000+ words of text every time they need to buy a plane ticket, it is good to know what stipulations come in the contract of carriage.

As a claim against Dao's sympathizers, however, the "play by the rules" argument – espoused by Griffin and many others – is nothing more than pedantry. Yes, it is true that airlines have contracts of carriage that come with certain rules. Yes, it is true that people should be better informed about these things. But the fact that rules exist isn't the substance of the matter for those angry about what happened on 3411. In the battle of Single Paying Customer versus Giant Corporate Airline With Its Army of Lawyers and Whatnot, everyone knows that the latter will always win out, even if slight concessions are granted. The outrage isn't that rules exist at all; it's that the rules set by the airlines are fundamentally unjust and result in pernicious outcomes like 3411's.

It is first of all worth noting that the "rules are rules" line of reasoning might not even exonerate United in the case of 3411. As many have already observed, there is a distinction in contracts of carriage between being denied boarding and being refused transport. The former is what the "rules are rules" crowd is leaning on: if a plane is overbooked or there are airline employees in need of transportation, it is true that passengers can be denied boarding. However, being denied transport – that is, an airline's refusal to fly a customer to his destination after she has boarded the airline – is a different situation. Were Dao denied boarding prior to getting on the plane, legally United would have been in the clear, but since Dao was violently removed from the plane having already been boarded and seated, United's legal footing is a lot less sure. There is ambiguity in the contract of carriage on the line between "denied boarding" and "refusal of transport," but in contract law, ambiguity in a contract stipulation works against whoever drafted the contract – in this case, United.

United also promised federal regulators in 2014 that all ticketed passengers were guaranteed seats, but unsurprisingly a "promise" from a large corporation without any legal apparatus behind holds as much water as the notion of Southwest Airlines being a budget carrier.

Furthermore, there is a practical consideration in the case of 3411. Given that the flight was full of paying customers and the airline did have a need to send employees to Louisville for work the next day, the easy solution would have been to rent a car for the four employees and have them drive to Louisville, a four and a half hour trip which would have put them in Louisville with time enough for sleep. Airline employee's unions do require certain standards of accommodation for employees, and considering that I am unaware of them I might be speaking out of turn here. But on the surface, at least, this solution would have met the airline's need of getting its employees to their next work location without depriving paying customers of their seats.

But suppose United was legally in the clear, and that at best Dao would get a tiny settlement in going after the airline through legal means. I'm not one to elevate late night talk show hosts as beacons of reason, Jimmy Kimmel made an excellent point in his televised remarks on 3411: in no other industry would customers tolerate the policy of overbooking. Imagine, Kimmel suggests, going to an Applebee's and after having ordered your food, you are removed for other paying customers who wanted to sit down. Applebee's would be out of business in a heartbeat. (That is, unless people really love riblets.) Yet for some reason, with airlines overbooking comes with the cost of soaring through the skies. No federal or state law prohibits overbooking.

In the first instance, it makes sense why airlines overbook flights. Air travel, even when an airline has economies of scale, is an expensive enterprise, and all airlines have the financial prerogative to ensure that every seat is filled. Any unfilled seat represents wasted space and lost revenue. Hedging on the possibility that some travelers won't make the flight for which they've bought a ticket – which given the expense of a plane ticket strikes me as a low possibility – air carriers overbook flights such that if a seat becomes empty, a passenger on the wait list can board, and the airline is then ensured of its revenue. I am thinking in the aside of that last sentence that most travelers wouldn't outright skip a flight; I am aware there are other reasons to miss flights, including the not insubstantial number of people who miss flights due to TSA security delays. However, I have yet to see compelling statistical data that shows that missed flights pose such a profit problem for airlines that the practice of overbooking becomes necessary.

It is incumbent upon airlines to prove the financial need for overbooking. Even with the practice of overbooking in place, airlines remain almost systemically unprofitable, and it is implausible that missed flights by some customers would constitute absolute financial ruin for air carriers, above and beyond the harms caused by the already problematic standard operating procedures in the industry. But logical scrutiny and good business are not correlated, so for the time being it appears that the outrage over 3411 will fizzle out in the short term, and airlines will go back to doing whatever they want in the long term because they know air travel is a necessity in a globalized business world.

The fact that airlines know that necessity has in large part enabled the industry to become anything but the free market many would like to think it is. Alex Pareene puts it directly and astutely in the title of his article “Airlines Can Treat You Like Garbage Because They are an Oligopoly.” An oligopoly (think “oligarch”) is a market controlled by a few core players, in this case the “Big Four” of commercial American aviation: American, United, Delta, and Southwest.

Central to an oligopoly is the limitation of competition, and in the aviation game, there is little of it. If you go on Kayak or any airfare aggregator like it, you’ll find that with few exceptions, most airlines stay within a predictable cost range for their flights. For example, I can fly to New York City from Austin round-trip -- if I buy well in advance -- for around $200-$250, and in most cases I can have my choice of American, United, or Delta. (As for Southwest: see my previous comment about it being definitely not cheap.) I could go to a budget airline like Spirit (or Frontier if I was heading west), but those airlines are only deceptively cheap. The budget flights on those airlines usually only exist for select airports, and even for those fares that are comparatively lower than those of the Big Four there is a well-known nickel-and-diming that occurs after the initial ticket purchase. (For reasons that remain opaque to me, it costs more on Frontier and Spirit to bring a carry-on bag -- which the major carriers don’t charge for -- than it is to check a bag.) This may seem odd on face: wouldn’t each member of the Big Four want to stake out the most competitive rates, thereby ensuring that they draw more customers?

Well, as it turns out, no. The Big Four appear quite happy with the sky oligopoly. (Skoligopoly?) As Pareene puts it,

This is called oligopoly, and, for airline shareholders, this is great! It truly is a new golden age of aviation, for people who fly in private jets but own stock in airlines. For the rest of us, this is most of why flying sucks now (the rest of it is the ever-expanding and largely incompetent security state), and also why United is not that worried about you sharing that video of a man being brutally dragged off their plane. They are not embarrassed, and you will not embarrass them. Airlines feel no need to perform the dance of corporate penitence. If you’ve chosen to fly somewhere, it’s probably because you don’t have a good alternative to flying...

What does United care if the internet is mad at it? The airlines divvied up the sky between themselves, and if you live or work in United territory, at some point you’ll face the real “choice” offered to consumers in a post-consolidation industry: flying with them, flying a more time-consuming and circuitous route with some other, probably equally horrible airline (if such a route is available), or not flying anywhere. Do you need to get from Fargo to Denver in a hurry? Congratulations, you are now a United customer.

So long as each airline can generate profit and earn regional advantage in certain places, these companies have no incentive to compete for the purpose of lowering prices. The utter hilarity of the “trickle-down” notion of profit-seeking is also illustrated by the airline oligopoly. Writing for Vox, Alex Abad-Santos points out,

Flights are still expensive, even though the cost of jet fuel, a reason commonly cited by airlines for raising prices and adding fees, has gone down — in 2016, jet fuel prices were a third of what they were in 2014, but ticket prices didn’t decrease in kind. It’s cheaper for airlines to operate now than it was a few years ago, but they haven’t passed any savings on to customers.

To boil it down to its essence: United, along with the three other members of the Big Four controls the skies. Who cares what passengers want? What power do they have against the airlines?

In response to the outrage following 3411, many in the “rules are rules” crowd also touted the classic “hit ‘em with your wallet!” line of reasoning. “If you don’t like it, don’t give your money to United! That will show them what their customers prioritize, and if enough people do it United will change its behavior.” This argument is predicated on the notion that the airline industry resembles anything like a free market, and that airlines are responsive to customer inputs in the way a market competitor theoretically would be. But since the skies are ruled by just four airlines, corporations like United don’t have to care about customers in the way a business freely competing with others would. Many have touted the heavy airline deregulation instigated under the Carter administration in the late 1970s -- prior to that, airlines were highly regulated by the government -- as an example of giving choice and lower prices to the consumer, thereby making air travel more democratic. In seeing the corporate merger-driven oligopoly that now controls the air, I cannot help but think of the classic line from the film No Country for Old Men, a question I think well applies to more than one stipulation of United’s contract of carriage: “If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?”

This is the heart of the matter when it comes to 3411. The anger following Dao’s horrible mistreatment is not about what the rules are, but rather why the rules are, why the airlines are in such a place that they can treat customers in this way. The airlines are able to implement policies like their overbooking practices because there is no regulation that forbids it -- or, seemingly, even tempers it -- and there is no means by which customers can hold these companies to account. This compounds the initial frustration of 3411 further: it’s not just that airlines behave in a way anathema to good customer relations, but they also have no incentive to change.

Some will instinctively backpedal at the slightest hint of regulation, suggesting that deregulation led to lower fares and greater choice for consumers when shopping for plane tickets. Given the increasingly non-competitive airline marketplace, one wonders how competition will be fostered by the status quo. But more importantly, knee-jerk anti-regulation relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of coercion. Matt Bruenig writes,

What’s amusing about libertarians and laissez-faire people (and the loose way certain economists talk) is that they will describe my choice to pay rent as non-coerced and voluntary while describing my choice to pay income taxes as coerced and involuntary. But there is no neutral construction of “coercion” that would ever support such a distinction. As [Robert] Hale aptly demonstrates, coercion occurs when there are “background constraints on the universe of socially available choices from which an individual might ‘freely’ choose.”...

...When we talk about the economy, we are not arguing about whether we want coercion. We are arguing about what coercion we’d like.

The same holds true for airlines. There will always be rules for flying on a commercial airliner, and customers should know those rules. But wanting a different set of rules isn’t tantamount to a new imposition of coercion; instead, it’s a question of how coercion ought to function in an airline-to-customer transaction. Looking at how United’s overbooking policies -- which are similar if not the same to the other contracts of carriage in the Big Four -- resulted in Dao being yanked out of his seat and bloodied in the process, I think it’s high time those rules be reconsidered. So long as things stay the same, let’s not pretend that the air is just another competitive marketplace.

In thinking on 3411 and all the follies of American capitalism it represents, I've come up with what I call the Greenspan Rule, the name of which is inspired by this classic observation of Noam Chomsky's, which he delivered in response to one of former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s characteristic panegyrics on the free market. The Greenspan principle is simple: if you hear a businessman, CEO, corporation, or pro-corporate politician singing the praises of the free market, you can almost be certain that the market they envision is anything but free.

Some further reading on Chomsky's response to Greenspan's claims about the virtues of the free market can be found here. See specifically the section "Saint Greenspan and the transistor."

#United Airlines #United #Flight 3411 #economics #airlines #David Dao #airline industry

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plottpalmtreescom · 5 years

Video

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Wall.He has helped reverse so many people of cancer with this plant. So why would not advise to promote producing this plant in America and all over the world? This one plant has been healing nations worldwide for thousands of years. It originates in Khemite Egypt where it was Cleopatra's secret weapon for anti-aging and beautification. She used to bath in tubes poured from vases filled with Ben oil aka Moringa oil. Of course, they have the rare heirloom cold-pressed Moringa just like this company who has specifically sourced this one raw organic rare sourced seed, hence why they have ranked the number one Moringa in the nation Its no joke not the same as that hybrid Moringa. Sadly millions will never stop to figure this out. So it is truly a blessing to come across MoringaHeaven.eCrater.comAnd #TheMoringaQueenOr#TheKingMoringa.If it wasn’t for this company I would have died of breast and cervical cancer. 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That is probably why they aren’t trying to give this plant too much notice or credit of adue.So, the seeds when crushed can completely purify all water impurities. Why aren’t they? It’s like that movie IDIOCRASY, I think ethics hasn’t kept up with technology and humans who have influence are lazy or being corrupted by compromise.-So Yes, just consuming the Oleifera version of Moringa you get all 8 essential amino acids. You get omega 3,6,9 and b12 along with boron and iron at quality amounts. A great collection of videos to watch on this is #Divine12CHART , which talks about what each antioxidant and mineral found in Moringa can do to our body for benefits.Also, the high levels of protein and calcium and all the other vitals a-z that it offers.Yes, it can end world hunger and poverty as well. As I have been making money by commission referral of this company. 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PLott has like 800 plus videos which have reached over 112 million people and while that doesn’t seem like much, it is a start to get people awaken to how this tree can literally save all people worldwide.This gets out and it can reverse all mineral deficient which would end obesity and gluttony if people took this man's info more serious. Got off all the meat dairy and eggs, we could experience a happier and healthy world and end all this illness and that is happening. That is the most important topic right now.He doesn’t have time to waste. He just sent out a metric ton of Moringa powder to many people and companies just now, that is what is the most important part. Getting it out now. Saving lives while we can. #13Dynasty #UltimateTruthWarriorXThey need heirloom breeding from the Oleifera Not sure what you mean selective breeding, u know that is what I was talking about the entire time. 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agrusslawfirmllc · 6 years

Text

Stop Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Harassment

Debt collectors like Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. cannot harass you over a debt. You have rights under the law, and we will stop the harassment once and for all.

THE BEST PART IS…

If Eastpoint Recovery Group violated the law, you will get money damages and ERG will pay your attorneys’ fees and costs. You won’t owe us a dime for our services. Plus, some of our clients also receive debt relief and cleaned-up credit reports. You have nothing to lose! Call us today at 888-572-0176 for a free consultation.

youtube

Who is Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc.?

Eastpoint Recovery Group is a debt collection agency based in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 2011, Eastpoint is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau and has received 16 complaints via the BBB in the past three years, 15 of which are for billing/collection problems. Based on 4 reviews on Google, Eastpoint Recovery Group received a 2-out-of-5 rating.

Consumers allege harassing phone calls, unlawfully contacting debtors’ relatives, threatening to take actions that could not legally be taken or were not intended to be taken, and unlawfully posing as a law firm in attempts to collect debt.

Eastpoint Recovery Group’s Address, Phone Number, and Contact Information

Eastpoint Recovery Group is located at 26 Mississippi St., Suite 200, Buffalo, NY 14203. The main telephone number is 800-459-2417 and Eastpoint’s website is http://www.eastpointrecoverygroup.com/Home.html.

Phone Numbers Used by Eastpoint Recovery Group

Like many debt collection agencies, Eastpoint Recovery Group may use different phone numbers to contact debtors. Here are some phone numbers Eastpoint Recovery Group may be calling you from:

716-256-1710

716-362-2357

716-362-2359

716-362-5600

716-462-6445

716-712-5496

716-748-7156

Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Lawsuits

If you want to know just how unhappy consumers are with Eastpoint Recovery Group, take a look at the number of lawsuits filed against the agency on the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (“PACER”). PACER is the U.S.’s federal docket which lists federal complaints filed against a wide range of companies. A search for Eastpoint Recovery Group will display over 30 lawsuits filed against the agency in 17 states, most of which involve violations of consumer rights and/or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Complaints

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law which applies to everyone in the United States. In other words, everyone is protected under the FDCPA, and this Act is a laundry list of what debt collectors can and cannot do while collecting a debt, as well as things they must do while collecting debt. If Eastpoint Recovery Group is harassing you over a debt, you have rights under the FDCPA.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) protects you from robocalls, which are those annoying, automated, recorded calls that computers make all day long. You can tell it’s a robocall because either no one responds on the other end of the line, or there is a delay when you pick up the phone before a live person responds. You can receive $500 per call if Eastpoint Recovery Group violates the TCPA. Have you received a message from this agency that sounds pre-recorded or cut-off at the beginning or end? These are tell-tale signs that the message is pre-recorded, and if you have these messages on your cell phone, you may have a TCPA case against the agency.

The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) protects electronic payments that are deducted from bank accounts. If Eastpoint Recovery Group took unauthorized deductions from your bank account, you may have an EFTA claim against the agency. ERG, like most collection agencies, wants to set up recurring payments from consumers; imagine how much money it can earn if hundreds, even thousands, of consumers electronically pay them $50 – $100 or more per month. If you agreed to this type of reoccurring payment, the agency must follow certain steps to comply with the EFTA. Did Eastpoint Recovery Group continue to take electronic payments after you told them to stop? Did they take more money from your checking account than you agreed to? If so, we can discuss your rights and potential case under the EFTA.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) works to ensure that no information reported to your credit report is false. In essence, it gives you the right to dispute those inaccuracies that you find on your credit report. We’ve handled many cases in which a debt collection agency reported debt on a consumer’s credit report to obtain leverage over the consumer. If Eastpoint Recovery Group is on your credit report, they may tell you that they’ll remove the debt from your credit report if you pay it; this is commonly known as “pay for delete.” If the original creditor is on your report rather than the debt collector, and you pay off the debt, both entities should accurately report this on your credit report.

Several states also have laws to provide its citizens an additional layer of protection. For example, if you live in California, Florida, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, or Wisconsin, you may be able to add a state-law claim to your federal law claim above. North Carolina, for example, has one of the most consumer-friendly statutes in the country: if you live in NC and are harassed over a debt, you may receive $500 – $4,000 in damages per violation. We work with a local counsel in NC and our NC clients have received some great results in debt collection harassment cases. If you live in North Carolina and are being harassed by a debt collector, you have leverage to obtain a great settlement.

How do we Use the Law to Help You?

We will use state and federal laws to immediately stop Eastpoint Recovery Group’s debt collection. We will send a cease-and-desist letter to stop the harassment today, and if ERG violates the FDCPA, EFTA, FCRA, or any state law, you may be entitled to money damages. For example, under the FDCPA, you may receive up to $1,000 in damages plus actual damages. The FDCPA also has a fee-shift provision, which means the debt collector will pay your attorneys’ fees and costs. If you have a TCPA case against the agency, we will handle it based on a contingency fee and you won’t pay us a dime unless you win.

THAT’S NOT ALL…

We have helped hundreds of consumers stop phone calls from Eastpoint Recovery Group and we know how to stop the harassment and get you money damages. Once again: you will not pay us a dime for our services. We will help you based on a fee-shift provision and/or contingency fee, and the debt collector will pay your attorneys’ fees and costs.

What if Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. is on my Credit Report?

Based on our experience, some debt collectors may credit-report, which means one may mark your credit report with the debt they are trying to collect. In addition to or instead of the debt collector, the original creditor may also be on your credit report in a separate entry, and it’s important to properly identify these entities because you will want both to update your credit report if or when you pay off the debt.

THE GOOD NEWS IS…

If Eastpoint Recovery Group is on your credit report, we can help you dispute it. Mistakes on your credit report can be very costly: along with causing you to pay higher interest rates, you may be denied credit, insurance, a rental home, a loan, or even a job because of these mistakes. Some mistakes may include someone else’s information on your credit report, inaccurate public records, stale collection accounts, or even being a victim of identity theft. If you have a mistake on your credit report, there is a process to dispute it, and my office will help you obtain your credit report and dispute any inaccurate information.

REMEMBER…

If a credit reporting agency violates its obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you may be entitled to statutory damages up to $1,000, and the credit reporting agency will be required to fix the error. The FCRA also has a fee-shift provision, which means the credit reporting agency will pay your attorneys’ fees and costs. You won’t owe us a dime for our services. We have helped hundreds of consumers fix inaccurate information on their credit reports, and we’re ready to help you, too.

Complaints against Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc.

If you’re on this page, chances are you are just like the hundreds of consumers out there being harassed by Eastpoint Recovery Group. Here are some of the BBB reviews and complaints against Eastpoint Recovery Group:

“Eastpoint is harassing me and threatening to put liens on my house, etc. But they are also finding the names and phone numbers of family members and contacting them as well! This has nothing to do with outside family members. They should NOT be contacting family members that have no association with my account and discussing personal information! I have contacted an attorney!”

“This employee Ray was very threatening to me and said that he was part of the legal department for this business and asked me to borrow the amount I owe from someone or ask someone to get a credit card and I make monthly payments to them to pay my cc debt. He said if I didn’t do it then they would be forced to file an action lawsuit against me and could take any assets I had. They continuously call me daily. This man was unprofessional. He did leave me a threatening voice mail about lawsuits. From my research they have nothing to do with any type of law firm or have a legality department.”

“First, they did call us and when they first started talking with us they told us that they were a law firm, (and that was a False Truth), and then they told us that there is a lawsuit (and that is another False Truth) and telling me how much money they will get from me and that is another False Truth, also I will be filing a Complaint with the American Bar Association because they misrepresented themselves telling me that they are attorneys and they are not. Also, do research, this company has many complaints against them, they are deceptive, sneaky, and very underhanded and very rude and mean and nasty and they have anger issues if you do not agree with them on anything that they tell you. Just a VERY SCARY AND DANGEROUS COMPANY.”

Cases We’ve Handled against Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc.

I THINK YOU’LL AGREE WITH ME WHEN I SAY…

Threats and harassment from collection agencies can be pretty intimidating. However, we can stop the harassment and get you money damages under the law, and the collection agency will pay your attorneys’ fees and costs. Here are two cases we’ve handled against Eastpoint Recovery Group:

Michael H. v. Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. – In September 2017, Michael of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, pursued a claim against Eastpoint Recovery Group for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Complaints centered on ERG unlawfully contacting the plaintiff’s relatives and disclosing confidential information to said relatives in attempts to collect debt. The case was resolved in October 2017 and Michael was happy with the outcome.

Ken B. v. Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. – In June 2017, Ken of Los Angeles County, California, pursued a claim against Eastpoint Recovery Group for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Complaints included ERG’s failure to identify itself as debt collector when contacting the plaintiff and ongoing failure to comply with statutory regulations of the FDCPA. The case was resolved in July 2017, ERG stopped harassing Ken, and Ken was happy with the results we got for him.

Monica A. v. Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. – In April 2017, Monica of Washoe County, Nevada, pursued a claim against Eastpoint Recovery Group for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Complaints included engaging in “harassing, oppressive, and abusive” conduct when attempting to collect debt, repeated harassing phone calls, unlawfully contacting the plaintiff’s current and former employers to “embarrass and coerce” the plaintiff, falsely representing the legal status of a debt, and threatening to take action that could not legally be taken or was not intended to be taken. The case was resolved the same month in April 2017 and Monica was thrilled with our fast services.

What Our Clients Say about Us

Agruss Law Firm has over 660 outstanding client reviews through Yotpo, an A+ BBB rating, and over 100 five-star reviews on Google. Here’s what some of our clients have to say about us:

“Michael Agruss handled two settlements for me with great results and he handled them quickly. He also settled my sister’s case quickly and now her debt is clear. I highly recommend Michael.”

“Agruss Law Firm was very helpful, they helped me solved my case regarding the unwanted calls. I would highly recommend them. Thank you very much Mike Agruss!”

“Agruss Law Firm was very helpful to me and my veteran father! We were harassed daily and even called names for a loan that was worthless! Agruss stepped in and not only did they stop harassing, they stopped calling all together!! Even settled it so I was paid back for the problems they caused!”

Can Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Sue Me?

Although anyone can sue anyone for any reason, we have not seen Eastpoint Recovery Group sue consumers, and it’s likely that the agency does not sue because they don’t always own the debt they are attempting to collect, and would also need to hire a lawyer, or use in-house counsel, to file a lawsuit. It’s also likely that the agency collects debt throughout the country, and it would be quite difficult to have lawyers, or a law firm, licensed in every state. However, there are collection agencies that do sue consumers; for example, Midland Credit Management is one of the largest junk-debt buyers, and it also collects and sues on debt. Still, it is less likely for a debt collector to sue you than for an original creditor to hire a lawyer or collection firm to sue you. If Eastpoint Recovery Group has threatened to sue you, contact Agruss Law Firm, LLC as soon as possible.

Can Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Garnish my Wages?

No, unless they have a judgment. If Eastpoint Recovery Group has not sued you, then the agency cannot get a judgment. Barring limited situations (usually involving debts owed to the government for student loans, taxes, etc.), a company must have a judgment in order to garnish someone’s wages. In short, we have not seen this agency file a lawsuit against a consumer, so the agency cannot garnish your wages, minus the exceptions listed above. If Eastpoint Recovery Group has threatened to garnish your wages, contact our office right away.

Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Settlement

If you want to settle a debt with Eastpoint Recovery Group, ask yourself these questions first:

Do I really owe this debt?

Is this debt within the statute of limitations?

Is this debt on my credit report?

If I pay this debt, will Eastpoint Recovery Group remove it from my credit report?

If I pay this debt, will the original creditor remove it from my credit report?

If I pay this debt, will I receive confirmation in writing from Eastpoint Recovery Group for the payment and settlement terms?

These are not the only things to consider when dealing with debt collectors. We are here to help you answer the questions above, and much more. Whether it’s harassment, settlement, pay-for-delete, or any other legal issue with Eastpoint Recovery Group, we at Agruss Law Firm are here to help you.

Share your Complaints against Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Below

We encourage you to post your complaints about Eastpoint Recovery Group. Sharing your complaints against this agency can help other consumers understand what to do when this company starts calling. Sharing your experience may help someone else!

HERE’S THE DEAL!

If you are being harassed by Eastpoint Recovery Group over a debt, you may be entitled to money damages – up to $1,000 for harassment, and $500 – $1,500 for illegal robocalls. Under state and federal laws, we will help you based on a fee-shift provision and/or contingency fee, which means the debt-collector pays your attorneys’ fees and costs. You won’t owe us a dime for our services. We have settled thousands of debt collection harassment cases, and we’re prepared to help you, too. Contact Agruss Law Firm at 888-572-0176 to stop the harassment once and for all.

The post Stop Eastpoint Recovery Group, Inc. Harassment appeared first on Agruss Law Firm, LLC.

#Debt collection law #consumer law #debt relief agency

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douchebagbrainwaves · 7 years

Text

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN AREA

They were the kind of ideas you could not merely ignore, but ridicule. Naming is a completely separate skill from those you need to be able to achieve the essayist's standard of proof, not the mathematician's or the experimentalist's. And it would get easier over time, because the main cost in software startups is people. Real thought, like real conversation, is full of false starts. When there's something in a painting by Piero della Francesca.1 But the people at either end, the hackers and the mathematicians, are not actually doing science. But not quite. Because, although insignificant as revenue, this amount of money can change a startup's funding situation completely. Such observations will necessarily be about things that seem broken, regardless of whether it seems like a bad idea and the other is a good idea for a company located in a startup is always calculating in the back of their mind how much runway they have—how long they have till the money in the bank. You have to be profitable, raise more money, or go to grad school.

Not entirely bad though.2 The advantages of rootlessness are similar to those of poverty.3 Depends what you mean by free. US, companies would even pay their kids' private school tuitions. My Y Combinator co-founder? Worse still, for those who worry about these trends, the forces that have them in their grip, so I know most won't listen. Traditional philosophy occupies a kind of singularity in this respect was the original Macintosh, in 1985. To someone who hasn't learned the difference, traditional philosophy seems extremely attractive: as hard and therefore impressive as math, yet broader in scope.4 So hackers start original, and get original. But it was also because our standards were higher.5

Dartmouth, the University of Vermont, Amherst, and University College, London taught English literature in the 1820s.6 Twenty-six years later, I still don't understand Berkeley.7 Plus a company that has raised money is literally more valuable. And that is another area where undergrads have an edge. I'm not claiming that ideas have to have in person. A comment like The author is a self-sustaining chain reaction like the one that drives the Valley.8 I came of age just as it was starting to break up.

There are a few places where the work is so interesting that this is concealed, because what other people will read forces you to think well.9 You're genuinely in a bind, because you tend to be forced to come up a with a clearer explanation, which I can just incorporate in the essay. The difference between then and now is that now I understand why Berkeley is probably not worth trying to understand. But it was also because our standards were higher. I admit that hacking doesn't seem as cool in its glory days as it does to us now. After you raise the first million dollars, the company is doing. As a result most books on the subject end up being written by people who don't understand it.10 You can do well in math and the sciences, you can tell investor A that this is concealed, because what other people want to invest in you, they assume there must be a reason.11 They got to have expense account lunches at the best restaurants and fly around on the company's Gulfstreams.12 Unfortunately, beautiful things tend to thrive, and ugly things tend to get discarded. And then there was the mystery of why the perennial favorite Pralines 'n' Cream was so appealing.13 The question is whether the author is incorrect somewhere, say where.

It's not something you read looking for a specific answer, and feel cheated if you don't find it. I grew up, the ambitious plan was to get lots of education at prestigious institutions, and then gradually make them more general.14 Economies of scale ruled the day. It's not just that it will succeed, but that the startups with a high probability of the former will seem to have fully grasped what I earlier called the central fact of philosophy.15 100,000 people worked there.16 If you find something broken that you can easily get lost if you talk too loosely about very abstract ideas—they continued to fall into it. Compiler? For a long time and could only travel vicariously. Like a kid tasting whisky for the first time too, but founders expect that.

Notes

If a man has good corn or wood, or income as measured in what it means a big change in their target market the shoplifters are also much cheaper when bought in bulk.

Not all big hits follow this pattern though.

Http://doingbusiness. I think I know of any that died from releasing something stable but minimal very early, then invest in a in the evolution of the 800 highest paid executives at 300 big corporations found that 16 of the magazine they'd accepted it for had disappeared. There are titles between associate and partner, which would be to say they bear no blame for opinions not expressed in it.

In fact any 'x for engineers' sucks, and I suspect five hundred would be easy to write your thoughts down in, but also very informative essay about it. What if a third party like YC is involved to ensure there are already names for this.

More generally, it could hose the whole fund. To be safe either a don't use code written while you were. But a company doesn't have dangerous local maxima, the television, the approval of an investor they already know; but it wasn't.

The moment I do, I'll have people nagging me for features. And at 98%, as far as I explain later. There are some controversial ideas here, the way up.

8 in London, 13 in New York. In other words, it's a hip flask. Ed.

How much better that it would be just as well. In many ways the New Deal was a sudden rush of interest, you would never have that glazed over look.

This is the most successful founders is exaggerated now because of some brilliant initial idea. One of the company they're buying. Imagine the reaction was so violent that she decided never again. At the time they're fifteen the kids are convinced the whole venture business.

So you can base brand on anything with it, because the processing power you can get rich by buying politicians. But it's a seller's market. Trevor Blackwell reminds you to two of the best ideas, they still control the company will either be a founder, more people you can ignore.

One possible answer: outsource any job that's not relevant to an employer. Google is not always intellectual dishonesty that makes curators and dealers use neutral-sounding nonsense seems to be secretive, because despite some progress in the biggest successes there is one that we should worry, not how to use some bad word multiple times. Then Josh Wilson came in to pick your brains. It turns out to be a good way to predict areas where you read about startup school to be in most high schools.

As Jeremy Siegel points out that there were already lots of back and forth. Quite often at YC.

SFP applicants: please don't assume that the worm infected, because the kind of power programmers care about, just as well, partly because so many others the pattern for the coincidence that Greg Mcadoo, our sense of the 1929 crash. You're going to give up your anti-dilution provisions also protect you against tricks like a ragged comb. Make it clear when you lose that protection, e. Even Samuel Johnson said no man but a big chunk of stock the VCs buy, because you can use this technique, you'll have to resort to in order to provoke a bidding war between 3 pet supply startups for the firm in the services, companies that seem to be important ones.

The first alone yields someone who's stubbornly inert. Algorithms that use it are called naive Bayesian. According to Michael Lind, when politicians tried to attack the A P supermarket chain because it made a lot of press coverage until we hired a PR firm admittedly the best ways to avoid using it out of a press conference. So if we wanted to.

His theory was that there is no longer a precondition. Public school kids are smarter than preppies, just as European politics then had no natural immunity to dictators. Many will consent to b rather than lose a prized employee. The person who has them manages to find a blog that tried that.

Among other things, which is to how Henry Ford got started as a process.

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merlinficreview · 8 years

Text

The Student Prince: Chapter 1-5 Review!

Sorry it’s been 84 years since Romeo or I have posted anything. Romeo is back to school for the semester so her time is limited and work has been really draining on me recently. Never fear, we are still here though and I’ve got a review!

The Student Prince by FayJay

Word Count: 145222

Ok guys, this is it. The infamous Student Prince fic. I have read this one before and I liked it because it seems to be the closest fic I’ve found to a modernized version of the BBC show. Plus, as I’ve already said before, I am a sucker for Modern Royalty AUs. This fic also takes place at the University of St. Andrews, which I know nothing about. So google will be my trusty friend throughout this review.

Here we go!

Chapter 1

We begin with Merlin getting hit in the face with some luggage and falling onto some poor elderly lady. Merlin has to maintain an extra sense of control when objects are flying towards his face because he has magic and doesn’t want to out himself. Yay Modern Day Magic Fic!

So it turns out the luggage situation was someone else’s fault. “She glanced from Merlin to the lady and then back again, her face the picture of mortification, and Merlin – who had been feeling a little disgruntled about the whole unexpected-rain-of-luggage scenario – took one look at her huge brown eyes and immediately wanted to reassure her that he had thoroughly enjoyed being knocked half unconscious.” Haha, aww.

The luggage canon introduces herself as Gwen. Yay, Gwen! She is studying engineering at St. Andrews. I think it’s weird that Gwen already has all her textbooks. Have they already signed up for their classes? How would she know what to buy?

Gwen tells Merlin she also has a hammer in her bag. "’Of course there is,’ nodded Merlin, gravely. ‘Who travels without a hammer in their luggage these days? One never knows when a spot of joinery might be in order.’ The corner of his mouth twitched. ‘Stop!’ he said, raising one hand in front of him. Gwen blinked, and after a beat Merlin added: ‘Hammer Time! Dooo doodoodoo! Doodoo! Doo! Hammer Time!’ as he improvised a quick, and truly terrible, attempt at the Hammer Dance in the cramped confines of the aisle.’”

Oh my God. How embarrassing. Stop it, Merlin. Then Gwen tells Merlin that she makes her own jewelry and Merlin is super impressed. Merlin even does the dance a second time and I want to crawl in a hole and die from secondhand embarrassment. Merlin, you JUST met Gwen. Calm yourself.

“’Hey, it's not really Merlin, is it?’ Gwen asked, looking at him sidelong. ‘I mean – really really? You're pulling my leg, right? I mean – nobody's called Merlin. Why would any woman name her baby after an old man with a long white beard and a pointy hat? It's like calling your baby Gandalf.’” This is the second time Gwen has awkwardly expressed disbelief about Merlin’s name. Stop being weirdly obsessed with his name, Gwen. How fucking rude. Poor Merlin. Getting assaulted by luggage and then getting his name made fun of. Good start to college, Merlin. Good start.

Then Gwen points out that Prince Arthur is also going to be attending St. Andrews and she says Merlin and Arthur will become besties. Merlin points out that her name is Guinevere and that she’ll be future queen.

"’That isn't why I applied there,’ she insisted. ‘I mean, I know that there must be thousands of girls who filled in their UCAS forms with St Andrews just because they're living some kind of stupid “Princess Diaries” fantasy and they think they're going to meet him and he'll fall for them and they'll end up with a tiara and a load of corgis, but I'm serious about my career. St Andrews has an excellent engineering department. I was going to apply there long before I heard that's where Arthur was going.’”

But that’s not the plot of The Princess Diaries at all?

I also have the St. Andrews website pulled up because like I said, I know nothing about it, or going to school in the UK, to be honest, and it doesn’t even look like St. Andrews has an engineering department. Man, Gwen is going to be pissed when she finds out she spent all her money on textbooks for a degree her school doesn’t offer.

Then Gwen tells us how King Uther met his wife while they were at Oxford once upon a time. "It's such a beautiful story, isn't it? The way they met at Oxford when she borrowed his jar of Gold Blend, not even realising he was the Prince of Wales at first because he was in the middle of shaving and she was distracted by her friend's dog...oh, they were so in love!" Gold Blend is coffee, by the way. I had to google it too. In what situation would a man be shaving his face next to a container of instant coffee while a random dog is nearby? That’s such an odd scene to imagine. Maybe she knocked in his door to borrow the coffee and she had the dog with her? Were there co-ed dormitories back then?

Merlin is just as suspicious about this story as I am and pops Gwen’s bubble, telling her it was most likely PR. I agree.

"Merlin shook his head mutely, and carefully didn't mention any of the books or magazines he might possibly have read about Prince Arthur and his family. Especially not the outrageously hot photoshoot in GQ magazine that he'd been hiding under his bed for the past three months, and frantically jerking off to most nights. Nope, definitely not mentioning that. Gwen rolled her eyes. ‘Uther and Igraine – it's like a modern day Romeo and Juliet!’" First of all, 100% do not mention that to Gwen. Good decision. Second of all, Gwen has a really hard time grasping plots, doesn’t she? No wonder she decided to major in a non-existent department at her university. She’s not a very bright girl.

We then learn that Merlin is planning to major in physics. That is a department at St. Andrews, good job, Merlin! Then Gwen compares their journey to Hogwarts. “He found himself wishing he could explain about Professor Gaius and Doctor Nimueh, and about the kind of text books he had stuffed into the bottom of his rucksack – but that wasn't going to happen. Magic was secret, and secret it should stay. Nobody wanted to go back to the days of witchburnings.” Poor Merlin. It’s always so sad that he has to hide himself. I will also give him a pass for already having magic books because that’s different.

Gwen and Merlin talk a little more about Harry Potter and then go right back to talking about Arthur and how they’ll probably never meet him. Well…

Then Merlin gets real depressing real fast. "Whatever. All those posh interbred types with more rooms than they know what to do with and flocks of sheep wandering around on their enormous ancient estates - that's who he'll be hanging out with. Not with a physics student from a grotty little council estate in Cardiff, or an engineering student – however lovely – who lives above her dad's garage in Wembley. Face it – we don't have our own flocks of sheep." Brutal Honesty Hour! It’s my favorite time of day!

Merlin then shares some chocolate with Gwen and they enjoy the rest of their train ride.

Chapter 2

“The door was open a crack when Merlin reached his room in St Salvator's Hall, and he could hear voices inside, and what sounded rather a lot like The Rolling Stones.” I looked up St. Salvator’s Hall and holy crap those rooms are nice. According to the photos, the rooms are like twice as big as the dorm rooms of the university I went to. I also decided to compare prices, for funsies, and also to sit and cry about how much more ridiculously expensive it is to go to university here than in other countries. The fee for a shared room at St. Salvator’s Hall is £5,837 which includes a meal plan. That’s 6292.55 USD for comparison. At the University that I went to, a shared room with communal bath is 6,795 USD. This does not include a meal plan which could add up to around 800 USD if you pick the one with the most meals. Those rates are also per semester and not for the entire academic year. Now, St. Salvator’s rate does not state whether the fee is per semester or for the whole year but either way, it’s still way more expensive here in the US. It also looks like St. Salvator Hall doesn’t have communal bathrooms like the one located here that I looked up. Yay not affordable education here in the US!

Anyways, Merlin enters the room and his roommate is none other than the Prince of Wales himself, Arthur. Oh my god. I NEVER saw that one coming!

“’Only – I thought – well, I pretty much assumed that you'd be staying over at New Hall. Where they have single rooms. And ensuites with all the mod cons,’ blurted Merlin. ‘Not sharing a room in Sally's. Why are you sharing a room in Sally's?’ Arthur frowned. ‘Because I lost a bet, if you must know. With my father.’ He stared at Merlin, looking puzzled and a touch irritated. ‘You weren't expecting this, then? They didn't get you to sign things – Official Secrets Act, all that?’” I think that’s a fair question Merlin is asking and I also want to know what sort of bet Arthur lost. How fucking awkward that no one alerted Merlin to who his roommate was supposed to be. Don’t they give out roommate names before the semester starts?

So then Arthur gets bitchy that Merlin hasn’t signed a non-disclosure agreement. “Well – sorry if this sounds, you know, rude, but basically if you touch any of my stuff, or take photos of me or my friends, or tape conversations, or sell your story to the press, or – basically, if you act like a dick, right? Well, we're talking Tower of London, pretty much. That's the Cliff Notes version.”

Calm the fuck down, Arthur. Throwing Merlin in the tower for borrowing your history book is way too excessive. So then Merlin asks if he can make a citizen’s arrest if Arthur does any the aforementioned things to Merlin. Good job, Merlin. Arthur is a complete asshole about that, acting like Merlin’s stuff is grosser than the stuff on the bottom on Arthur’s shoes and tells Merlin he will replace anything he ruins with something of “equal value.” "’Like a stick of gum,’ murmured Kay, sniggering.” Yeah, be prepared to really really fucking hate Kay in this. "’I can see why you have to swear people to secrecy, if this is how you act when you're not around a reporter,’ blurted out Merlin, feeling cheated. ‘You really are a massive prat, aren't you? A smug, self-entitled, patronising git.’” Yassssss. You tell him, Merlin.

Arthur and his friends leave and then Merlin goes to find Gaius. We learn a little about the School of Sorcery. This School can be found in every single building on campus, one just has to find the special door with a dragon on it. Merlin finds the door located in his residence hall. Of course the dragon on the door talks to Merlin, "’Young Merlin!’ it said, in a voice like a rusty gate, blinking sulphurous eyes impossibly as it writhed through the wood like an eel in water. ‘Back so soon?’ ‘What?’ Merlin stared at it. ‘I haven't – this is my first time here, Master Dragon.’” So we get a little hint of reincarnation.

Merlin finds Gaius who tries to shoo him away until Merlin gives him his name. Gaius changes his tune after that and tells Merlin he knew his father. The first thing Merlin does is complain about sharing a room with Prince Arthur. He says it will make it too hard to hide his magic. “Gaius blinked at him owlishly. ‘Then I suggest that you learn some discretion, young man, and quickly,’ he said.’” That is such an annoying adult thing to say. What a non-answer. Poor Merlin. Gaius tells Merlin he is supposed to be rooming with Arthur so he can protect him and that wizards have always protected kings and queens. Merlin is unhappy with this news.

Chapter 3

This chapter opens with:

“Hey, Gwen – how's McIntosh Hall?

Brilliant! How's Sallies?

View good, mattress soft, roommate total plonker. Yours?

She seems OK. Sorry you got plonker. Want to meet later & go to Union together?

God, yes please!” It’s written just like that (italics represent direct quotes and bold represents italics within the fic. You know the drill). I assume they are texting.

Anyways: “It was the tail-end of summer, but apparently that meant something rather different on the East coast of Scotland than it did in Wales, and by the time Merlin got to Gwen's Hall of Residence he was wishing he'd brought a coat, rather than just pulling on a black v-neck jumper.” Does Merlin not know how to read a map, or?

Like… I know the UK is small compared to the US but he can’t really be that surprised that the Northern part of the UK is colder than the Southern part. There’s almost 500 miles in between Cardiff and St. Andrews. I’m glad Merlin isn’t majoring in geography.

So Merlin meets up with Gwen outside her residence hall where she has acquired a gentleman caller. It’s probably Lance. Merlin and Gwen hug. “’Hey, you,’ he said into her hair, feeling something in his chest tighten unexpectedly. ‘I missed you.’”

Calm down, Merlin. You’ve known her for thirty seconds and only been away for her for three of those.

Lance is not happy with Merlin’s presence. “’Hi, Lance,’ he said, ducking his head in Lance's general direction. Lance smiled back – or at least, he bared his teeth, which was almost the same thing. Merlin had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. ‘Hi,’ said Lance reaching out a hand that Merlin rather suspected was going to be bone-crushing. He let go of Gwen and accepted the handshake, and managed not to buckle under the pressure of Lance's Very Manly Indeed deathgrip of macho posturing.” LOL HOW HILARIOUS. Men treating women like objects and prizes to be won. Real knee slapper, that joke.

Gwen tells Merlin that Lance is going to be her Academic Dad and then informs us that there’s only 8 weeks until Raisin Weekend. Thanks, Exposition Gwen! So I also googled this Academic Family business since that’s not a thing we have here. So, basically an Academic Mum and Academic Dad are like mentors for first year students and freshmen are allowed to ask for someone to be their Academic Mother but the Academic Dad has to do the asking to the freshmen. So it makes no sense that Gwen was so shocked about Lance asking her. Whatever. Raisin Weekend is basically just an excuse to drink excessively with your Academic Parents and dress up in costumes that Monday and have shaving cream fights. Typical college nonsense.

“’Well, if I'd known they were giving away hot blokes with every room, I'd definitely have put my name down for McIntosh Hall.’ Lance made a startled noise, and his territorial expression shifted rather quickly into something entirely different and almost maiden auntish as Gwen punched Merlin's arm.” Get it, because Gay Merlin is no longer a threat to Lance chasing after Gwen. No one tell Lance bisexual people exist. I think his head would explode. No, you know what? Someone should tell him. He’s an asshole.

“Lance gave her a slightly sheepish grin. ‘It's okay,’ he said. ‘I'll be your designated driver – I'm not big on the alcohol.’ ‘I don't need a designated driver,’ said Gwen, looking at him sidelong. ‘It's a three minute walk! It would take longer to get a car started than it would to get there!’ ‘Right – well, designated guard dog, then. Or knight in shining armour, or guardian angel, or overprotective Dad – whatever you want to call it. I don't drink, so, you know – I'll make sure you're okay. Promise.’”

Oh my God. Slow your fucking roll and let her do what she wants. She’s not some poor defenseless damsel in distress.

Lance gives off an extreme sense of superiority in this fic. He’s a Buddhist, doesn’t drink, volunteers all over the fucking place as Professional Knight in Shining armor and he’s vegan. “’My Dad disapproves of the veganism,’ he admitted, sheepishly. ‘But it's not so hard, really. It feels good, knowing who I am, and what I want out of life. Being mindful in all things.’” Be more pretentious, Lance. Really, I want to see if you can top all of that.

“Merlin studied Lance, trying not to be too damned obvious about it. He wasn't at all sure if this guy was for real, or if he was playing some kind of elaborate joke, with all this holier-than-thou schtick. There was a disconcerting intensity to the man. Merlin wanted to like him, but he wasn't at all sure what to make of him. He did seem a bit too good to be true.” See, Merlin knows.

Oh and Lance is going to teach Gwen kickboxing. He has classes on Wednesday. Of course he does. Merlin is not into it, especially after meeting one of Lance’s students, Elaine. “Merlin looked at her biceps and swallowed. ‘Yeah – no thanks,’ he said, with a watery grin. ‘I've got a suspicion she'd crush me like a bug.’” Mostly I just included this because I wanted to talk about the phrase, “watery grin.” I see this ALL THE TIME in fanfic and it drives me crazy. What the fuck is a “watery grin?” If your smile is “watery,” swallow your fucking spit. That’s disgusting.

“Gwen bit her lip and glanced up at them. ‘Would you hate me forever if I left you for five minutes?’ she asked. ‘I need the ladies' room. I know I should have gone before we left, but I was caught up talking, and I didn't get around to it. Can you wait for me?’ ‘Until the stars fall from the sky,’ said Lance, bowing with an elaborate flourish that made Gwen roll her eyes.”

I don’t even have a response to this bullshit.

So Gwen goes to the bathroom and Merlin does his, “hurt her and I’ll kill you,” speech to Lance and afterwards they become friends and Lance offers to be Merlin’s Academic Dad.

When Gwen comes back she is absolutely flipping her shit because she saw Arthur. “’ComeOnComeOnComeOnComeOn!’ she said in a singsong voice. ‘You should see him! He's sitting at a table! Drinking a beer!’” Yes, let’s all go and gawk at him like an animal in the zoo. Gwen and Lance are being really annoying so far.

So Merlin tells Gwen that Arthur is his roommate and that he’s an asshole. He then requests that they not go stare at him like total creepers. Gwen is not happy. “He looked at Gwen and sighed. ‘Look, I promise that you'll get to see him again. In fact I'll text you when he's in the room, so you'll know when's a good time to swing by and visit me in Sally's and meet him properly. I'm sure he'd love to pose for a photo with you, and give you his signature, and all that kind of meet'n'greet thing.’” Ok, Merlin. This shit is why Arthur already doesn’t like you. No inviting people over to stalk your roommate and make promises on his behalf. Stop it.

They all go dance and Merlin makes a fool of himself doing the hammer dance, covered in glitter, wearing DIY hammer dance pants (I don’t know) that he got from… somewhere. Arthur stares at him and Merlin falls off the stage.

Chapter 4

Merlin wonders how many other sorcerers are at St. Andrews and we learn that he is there on scholarship. Must be nice. My poor loan debt ass is going to be paying for the two years I spent in nursing school for like ten years. Cheers.

Merlin hears Gwen laughing, “He spotted her over on the other side of the room, in front of a table advertising the St Andrews Fencing Society.” Gwen? Fencing? I mean, I guess. Why not? She’ll have a lot of time on her hands when she realizes the major she’s chosen doesn’t exist at that school. Gwen is with her roommate, Sophia.

“With that thought in mind, he marched purposefully over to the rainbow-festooned table advertising the St Andrews LGBT Society in cheery glittering letters. ‘Sign me up,’ he said, firmly, grinning at a bald girl with enough silver in her various cavities to sink a small ship. ‘I'm a card-carrying friend of Dorothy, and I'm gagging for a shag.’” What a colorful way to introduce yourself, Merlin.

Merlin stops in the middle of registering for his LGBT club to fantasize about Arthur. As you do. “’Oh, marvellous,’ said a faintly familiar voice behind him, rippling with laughter. ‘Oh, that's just perfect. Does Arthur know yet?’” The person is Morgana, “’Er...?’ he said, trying to think where he knew her from. ‘Sorry, are you talking to me?’ ‘He doesn't, does he? There'd have been even more bitching and whining if he did,’ she said, decisively. ‘Oh, this is going to be good.’” Get it? Because Arthur’s homophobia is such a hilarious joke and it’s going to be SO LAUGHABLE when he finds out his roommate is gay.

Merlin goes out for coffee with Morgana, who I do like in this fic minus her laughing at Merlin’s sexual orientation in the previous scene. Morgana asks Merlin if he is in to Arthur. “He's an insufferable, rude, arrogant, overprivileged berk, and I wouldn't suck his cock if he was the last man on earth and he was paying me, so there!” Me thinks the man doth protest too much.

“Fine. We won't talk about how much you want to get into my cousin's royal boxer shorts. So – magic!” Morgana gives no fucks. I like that about her. Merlin freaks out because you can’t just go talking about magic all willy nilly like that. Merlin insists on calling magic “macramé,” but Morgana is having none of it. They decided that their cover story for being so familiar with one another is that they have played World of Warcraft for years and are finally meeting in person. Sure. We also learn that Morgana is studying Art History. Good job, Morgana. That is also a subject that St. Andrews provides.

“’Now then – word on the street is that you might actually be worthy of that remarkable name.’ She took a long, thoughtful drag, and Merlin watched blue curls of smoke snake out of her nostrils like she was some kind of very small, elegant dragon. ‘Is it true that you changed the seasons?’ she asked. ‘No!’ Merlin said. ‘Or at least – well, not on purpose.’” Yikes, Merlin. I guess Merlin was 10 and throwing a tantrum about cherries not being in season so he changed the season from winter to summer. He also summoned a kracken when he was 12 years old on a school field trip. Poor Hunith having to deal with Merlin. He sounds like an insufferable child.

They then proceed to get drunk and Morgana becomes Merlin’s Academic Mother thingy. Merlin gets Morgana to be Gwen’s as well.

Chapter 5

Merlin gets back to his dorm and Arthur is there. Arthur apologizes to Merlin and suggests they start over. Arthur then realizes that Merlin is drunk. Merlin drunkenly tells Arthur that he is friends with Morgana and they were drinking together and that she is now Merlin’s Academic Mother. Turns out she is also Arthur’s. Who didn’t see that one coming? Arthur admits that he looked Merlin up and knows a lot of stuff about him. Merlin says stuff he shouldn’t say, basically admitting he is a sorcerer and he finds Arthur hot and Arthur doesn’t pick up on any of it. Arthur is stupid.

Merlin starts to fall asleep on the floor and Arthur can’t have that, for platonic friend reasons, and so he gets Merlin into bed and decides to help him drink water and take some pain killers. “There was an uncertain space of time, and then Merlin was being manhandled upright by someone warm and shirtless, who smelled good. Merlin knew he smelled good because he was slumped bonelessly with his nose pressed into the hollow of a freshly-washed collarbone. Because it seemed like a good idea, he licked it, and made a small appreciative sound, and then tried a gentle bite. The owner of the collarbone gave a startled hiss, and flinched away, but didn't drop him; and the voice, when it came again, was decidedly hoarse.”

See, Arthur is fucking stupid. If a friend/someone I wasn’t into randomly bit and licked my chest, drunk or not, I would be like, “yo, that’s not cool.” Because that’s not something someone does with their platonic friend.

When Merlin wakes up, “Another thought wandered idly through his brain, and he was faintly aware that it was significant: he wasn't alone. He was, in fact, wrapped around somebody else in the manner of an affectionate baby octopus, one leg tangled between theirs, one arm hooked firmly around a neat naked waist and his mouth pressed damply into the warm, soft-sharp curve of a shoulder blade.” Arthur is awake too, “Do you have any idea of how much fun and frivolity I could have been having last night, while you were busy cutting off the circulation in my limbs? I'll have you know I was going to have a fantastic evening.”

Umm… you made the choice to stay behind and spend the night cuddling your roommate, Arthur. You could have shoved him over if you wanted to.

Merlin and Arthur go get breakfast together. Merlin texts Gwen to tell her about Morgana being their Academic Mother and that she is also Arthur’s. Gwen freaks the fuck out.

That’s it for this review. It’s a decent set-up to the fic. We get to know a little bit about Merlin and how powerful he is. We also have a rough start to the Arthur/Merlin friendship but then it’s nice to see Arthur actually own up to his shit and apologize to Merlin. Arthur is stupid for not realizing how into him Merlin is. Gwen and Lance have been pretty annoying so far and if I remember correctly, they continue to be insufferable for the majority of this fic because their “will they won’t they” cliché set-up is stupid.

Until next time

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin fic #review #the student prince #modern royalty au #Merlin has magic #arthur is dumb #gwen and lance are annoying

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