#waits patiently for the ep to officially drop so I can

[lesbianstarlightglimmer]

HUNTER…

[jaylver]

soft launching with rockstar boyfriend jay and his popstar partner !

pairings: rockstar!jay x (afab) singer!reader

genre: instagram smau, established soft launch relationship

synopsis: being a rising pop singer writing love songs and performing them, you didn't expect yourself to actually live out your writings. what happens when your fans discover the mystery man turns out to be a famous member of a rock band? you found yourself taking over the internet.

yourusername

liked by ryujinshiii, ksunooo, gardenwon, lheeseung and 70,870 others

yourusername i'm so excited to finally announce that my single "feels like" is out NOW! thank you all for being so patient with me and i hope you will look forward to my EP that will be dropping next week <3

jenaissante i will be THERE when the ep drops. congrats on this release bae 🫶

ryujinshiii gf ending careers once more

ksunooo it's a masterpiece i loved it

yn4ever SHE'S BACK AND SHE'S HERE TO GIVE

iluvyn that's mother there

ynsluv why is no one mentioning the 3rd pic????

ynenha the enha members liking this ... hmmmm

enhagirlie call me insane but you could be onto something

view all comments

parkjongseong posted on his story!

yourusername posted on their story!

50000+ unreplied messages from this story

ynsnumberone GIRL DELETE

jenaissante IS THIS THE GUY YOU MENTIONED

ynenha i've prayed for times like these

pjsfan THAT ... HAND

tap to load more

parkjongseong posted on his story!

67000+ unreplied messages from this story

pjsfan oh boy you really aren't slick AT ALL

jakeeesim YOU WENT TO Y/N'S SHOW?

jakeeesim wait ... is she the girl you've been talking to?

jakeeesim REPLY THE GC. manager's been calling too 🤕

ynswife man give me back my wife 🫤

tap to load more

parkjongseong

liked by lheeseung, yourusername, jakeeesim, psunghoon and 65000 others

parkjongseong working hard

lheeseung working hard or hardly working

parkjongseong will you stfu for a sec

ynsluv is that who i think it is in the second picture

ynswife i'm afraid yes

ynsenha the cards,, i'm pretty sure yn posted a story but deleted it and it was THOSE DECK OF CARDS!!

jaysgirlie mastermind

view all comments

jaysgirl what are they cooking

ynlovebot parents

ynenha launch soon? 🙏🤭

enhafan1 they are SO CUTE

view all comments

yourusername

liked by parkjongseong, lheeseung, jenaissante, ryujinshiii, oliviarodrigo, and 140000 others

yourusername my boyfriend's in a band !!

jenaissante OMG

jakeeesim too cute ... now stop flexing in front of us please

lheeseung jay couldn't stop giggling at this post

parkjongseong can you PLEASE stfu

parkjongseong hell yeah 🎸 love you 💓

ynswife MY PARENTS

jaysgirl stop they're too 🥹

iluvyn THEY'RE OFFICIAL

ynenha double concert content ... i'm so down

view all comments

parkjongseong

liked by yourusername, lheeseung, psunghoon, ksunooo, gardenwon, and 140000 others

parkjongseong happiness with you

gardenwon JAY HYUNGGG

ksunooo PARENTS !!!!

pjsfan0420 THEM ☹️

ynenha i don't know if i want to be jay or y/n

jayyn can't wait for all the songs 🥹

enhaluver them writing and producing together ... i'm sooo excited

_

( © jaylver all rights reserved. do NOT copy, plagiarise or edit my work and repost whatsoever. once discovered will be exposed and blacklisted. )

return to masterlist

_

[fordarkisthesuede]

Hey! this will sound out of place probably but I randomly run into one of your asks where you said that Disney’s handling of the show could’ve been way better. I watched the show fairly new so I don't know if there was an event while the show was still airing but I really wonder why do you think like that. (I hope I don't come across as mean. English is not my first language so I'm not the best at expressing myself.)

This is probably very very late, but "Disney's handling of [Gravity Falls] could've been better" is very much related to their terrible scheduling system.

It started out with about 3 episodes a month. The first big gap in the airing was between the Summerween episode (S1x12) and Boss Mabel (S1x13) was 5 months, from October 5 to February 15. This was actually around the time I started watching, because people on here kept talking about it on here!

But a 5 month gap MID-SEASON is still unheard of for regular shows. It technically wasn't even the MIDDLE of the season! There's only 20 episodes! You'd normally produce a whole season of a show to air over the course of a year to have a steady amount of content and keeps eyeballs primed and ready, with a 4-6 week long break for the winter holidays.

From 1x13 - 1x17, new episodes were twice a month, so every other week. But 1x18, Land Before Swine, aired about 1.5 weeks after 1x17, and then Dreamscaperers another 2 weeks after that. You remember that cliffhanger, right???? The Shack is destroyed, Gideon's run amok, the twins were going to be sent home for SURE.... People on here were OBSESSING over Bill Cipher. EVERYTHING was Bill. Every meme, every newly-discovered hint, every theory, every fanart was Bill-Bill-Bill *Bill* *Bill!* *BILL!* BILL CI ~ THE TRIANGLE GUY!

And we had to wait 3 weeks until the season finale, Gideon Rises aired. Imagine having to WAIT FOR THAT DAMN CLIFFHANGER SEASON ENDING. THREE F*CKING WEEKS.

But maybe you're still like "that's not too bad, it's bi-monthly, right? Maybe a little fickle. Doesn't sound horrible." Oh, my sweet summer child. You don't know the worst of it.

Season 2 started a day over the 1 year mark since Gideon Rises, and kept up tradition of 1 new ep twice a month, with the usual winter gap...and then, 2015 happened:

The proof's in the wiki page. Imagine, you wait patiently for 2x11, Not What He Seems, and get THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST EVER PREDICTED BY FANDOM, with everyone losing their SH*T over what happens next....only to wait for the new episode for 4 months.

And again, it's not a real mid-season break. It wasn't like the next episodes hadn't been made yet, either. And they kept up a rough twice-a-month airings (sometimes with a 2-week gap, and other's 3) until...

WEIRDMAGEDDON.

THE EPIC 3-PART FINALE. PINES FAMILY VERSUS BILL CIPHER. THE SERIES ENDING. A BIG MOMENT FOR THE SHOW, THE FANS, AND EVEN DISNEY XD,

got split up into another 4 month gap.

Imagine it. IMAGINE how you're all excited for the series ending, a little scared to see what happens, and sad to see it go. The first part is so exciting, so full of promise, so easily ready to marathon with the rest - it'll be like watching a movie premier!

But that horrible goddamn mouse only laughs in your face. "Ho Ho! A marathon? Not on my watch arms, buddy!"

You've seen Part 2. You know how great it was. The emotional reconciliation, Mabelland, the series callbacks, the build-up to the fight with Bill. Can you, with your streaming services and dvd/bluray sets and pirated material you can watch at the drop of a hat even FATHOM what it was like to have to wait 4. Damn. Months. for the series to end?

To this day, I don't know of a show that's given that kind of haphazard hate-boner of a schedule. (Except for maybe Wander Over Yonder, which only ran 2 seasons for 3 years until it was cancelled.)

I'm sure Disney has excused it away with the dying breaths of cable on the wind and the growing popularity of streaming services, but I want to take your anonymous shoulders gently in my hands and look you dead-on so I can tell you this, from the bottom of my heart:

Gravity Falls wouldn't have made it without it's very, very dedicated fanbase. I was there for every episode live-stream after 1x15 aired. I only started a tumblr to keep up with the fandom. We waited for a 2-season, 40-episode cartoon show to complete for 4 years, knowing that the likelihood we'd ever get a movie out of it later was <0.

I just don't think Disney gave 2 flipparoonies about their animating department, let alone this show. They didn't make much merchandise for Gravity Falls. The vast majority of it back then was fan-made, with the official stuff being sold strictly online. I was lucky to find a single t-shirt in a Hot Topic up until the first break of Season 2, and then they slowly started bringing out Waddles plushies, the POP Vinyls, and of course the physical copy of Journal 3 by the end of the series.

TLDR; Disney didn't really care about this show, man. :/

[purpleyellow]

Let’s try something | Beeography EP.1

NCT 24th member / Dream 8th member

Bee’s Masterlist

“Episode one of Bee’s first content on the NCT Daily channel”

a/n: Someone stop me from making puns. If you want to see more of this with a particular member please tell me! Don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open. Any kind of feedback will be very appreciated💛 Requests are open!

“Hi everyone, today I’m here… no wait” Bee sighed and dropped the camera she was holding, walking a few steps before she raised it again and waved at the lens “Hello!...  Hi!” 

Stretching on the floor, Winwin watched as the girl struggled to make an introduction to the video. Any other person would be getting slightly concerned at how frustrated she was becoming, but the boy only stared at their reflections on the big mirror and waited patiently for her to be done. 

When pitching ideas for the NCT youtube channel, Bee had suggested a series of videos with some of the members coming together to choreograph small covers as a way to both induce their creative side and show the fans the process of making something up. 

She didn’t actually believe they were going to take her idea seriously considering how time demanding it would be, and it never actually crossed her mind that she would become the official host for that content, yet, here she was. With some changes in the original plan, Bee had to choose the members, choreograph and record the covers for them to even be approved for the Daily channel.

“This is impossible, I’m wasting our times” She pouted slumping next to him on the floor “I can’t even start a video for Pete’s sake”

“Just say something simple, they’ll get the concept along the way” Sicheng chuckled patting her back. “If they don’t, the second one will make it clearer”

“I don’t even know if there’s going to be a second one” Bee sighed laying her head on his shoulder “It’s up to how many views and likes this one gets. This might be the only one”

“Well, let’s make it count, then” He picked the camera from her hand and sat legs crossed in front of her at a good enough distance that the footage wouldn’t be out of focus “Tell me what we are here for”

“Shouldn’t I introduce myself?” She frowned looking up at him instead of the object in his hands and Winwin shook his head.

“Just explain how we got here”

“So…yesterday I texted the person behind the camera and he picked a song for me to make a little cover of it. Today, we’re here at a practice room and I’m going to teach him what I came up with and we’ll try to put together a cover for you guys” She smiled at the camera and then up at Sicheng, who mouthed for her to say her name “I’m Bee”

“And I’m Winwin” He smiled turning the camera to himself before turning it back at her “And this is”

“Beeography” She laughed as he shook one of his hands into frame. “Isn’t this a little too weird for an introduction”

“I think it’s original” He calmly said getting up and placing the camera on the corner of the room, that way giving it a clear view of them practicing in front of the mirror.

Walking back to her, Winwin extended his hands to help her get to her feet and they both stood next to each other. 

“So, we just start?” Bee asked and he shrugged his shoulders, letting her know she could lead this however she wanted. “Right, I’ll show you what I have done and then you can say if you want to add anything”

Playing the song from where she wanted, the girl showed him how far she had made it and they began the learning process with Winwin adding some of his touches here and there. They had half of the routine down when it suddenly hit her that they were being recorded.

“Isn’t this a little boring to watch?” She stopped mid-move and turned to Winwin, who mimicked her posture as they stared at each other with the music still playing in the background.

“I think the three times you almost tripped and the one you stepped on my feet were funny enough” Sicheng nodded before turning back to the mirror “The editors will speed up the parts where you’re just teaching me and leave the good stuff up don’t worry”

“So this is entertaining enough?” She fidgeted with her fingers before walking in circles “Shouldn’t we like, joke around for a few minutes?”

“Sure” He nodded stepping back and waving her closer “Let’s try this thing I saw on TV, you’ll need to gather a little momentum and then do a knee slide”

Placing his hands under her arms, Sicheng messily swung her in front of him, the girl taking a little to understand exactly what she should do and just grabbing onto his elbows as an instinct. Laughing at her yelp, the boy let her go to cover up his face.

“That wasn’t what I had in mind” He managed to say while laughing at how funny they looked.

“I think I got it now” Bee giggled along and clapped her hands “Just please give a countdown before”

“Okay, take a step back. We’ll do two steps, and then swing okay?” He said, still smiling, and placed his hands under her arm again, this time they did the move with a lot more success.

A few tries later, they considered the move mastered and  Bee turned to the camera smiling tiredly.

“This was not a part of the choreography but we did it” She gave them a thumbs up before returning to the mirror with Winwin next to her.  

Finishing up the rest of the routine and running through it a couple of times, the girl finally picked up the camera from the floor and stood with it in her hands, filming Winwin instead of herself as she gave him a high five.

“See, you’re getting good at this” He chuckled before going to get some water, returning the camera to her, Bee sat on the floor and began rambling on.

“Well, Czennies this was it. I’ll get someone with a better camera to record us dancing so you’ll see the final product after this, I guess. I hope you enjoyed this format and will share it with many friends. Thanks again to Winwin Oppa for joining me and thank you for watching us, please support NCT 2020 as we are all working very hard for it and I will see you some other time, byeee”

(a/n: in case anyone cares, choreography inspiration came from this)

[taste-in-music]

My Most Anticipated Releases of 2020

Now that 2019 is behind us, it’s time to look into the oncoming year for exciting new releases to come! 

Manic by Halsey (January 17th): Halsey’s music is a mixed bag for me, but even I can’t deny that she’s got some real gems in her discography or that listening to Badlands makes me nostalgic to no end. The singles Halsey has released so far for this project are a mixed bag in my book. “Without Me” doesn’t click with me and “Nightmare” is messy and gets grating quickly. However, I like the others quite a bit, especially the synthpop euphoria of “Graveyard,” which I’ve returned to quite a bit over the past year. If the rest of the album leans more in that direction, I can see myself liking it quite a bit. 

High Rode by Kesha (January 31st): Hearing Rainbow back in 2017 was one of the most exciting pop album listening experiences of the 2010s. Not only did Kesha deliver a confident, spirited, self-assured message, but she also blended together a slew of genres, such as folk, rock, and country, all of these qualities culminating in a exhilarating and touching record that I still return to to this day. The singles she’s dropped so far see a continuation of these elements into her next era, with “Raising Hell” and “My Own Dance” being dance-pop bangers while “Resentment” shows Kesha’s softer side.

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala (February 14th): After five years, the wait is finally over! I’d call myself a casual fan of Tame Impala, but even I can’t admit that Kevin Parker and crew know their way around indie rock hooks with a psychedelic spin, (as far as I’m concerned, “The Less I Know The Better” is a modern classic.) Singles such as “Patience” and “Borderline” show that this quality hasn’t lessened in the slightest, while the sprawling soundscape “Posthumous Forgiveness” shows that experimentation is still in store. Also, it’s being released on Valentine’s Day!

Cape God by Allie X (February 21st): I don’t think I can express how excited I am for this album. I think this is my most anticipated album of 2020 right now. All of the singles released so far been amazing. The eerie synths on “Fresh Laundry” make it the perfect spooky bop, Ms. X and Troye Sivan work great together on “Love Me Wrong", “Rings A Bell” goes OFF with its chorus, and bassline on “Regulars” makes for one killer groove. Not only that, we’re also getting a Mitski feature? I’m calling it for the collaboration of the year. Allie X's discography has been near flawless so far, so let’s just say that I’m hyped. 2020 better be the year she gets the recognition she deserves. 

Notes On A Conditional Form by The 1975 (February 21st): As I’ve mentioned before, I have no expectations going into this album because I have no idea what it’s going to sound like. All the singles so far have been so drastically different, one being a speech set to music, another punk, and another pop. Regardless, they’ve all been good, so I’m not complaining. The 1975 are always dependable when it comes to delivering danceable bops with philosophical tidbits peppered throughout. 

Miss_Anthrop0cene by Grimes (February 21st): How am I going to survive February 21st? I’ve been awaiting a new project from Grimes since falling in love with the sugary hooks, eccentric production, and hellish flair on Art Angels years ago. The singles so far have been a mixed bag, but it looked like we’ll see Grimes tackle themes of technology and artificial intelligence on this album, which is bound to be interesting.

Masochism by Sky Ferreira (TBA): This is assuming that we’ll even get an album at this point. Has it really been 7 years since Night Time, My Time dropped? Of course I’m kidding, however long Ms. Ferreira takes on this album will be well worth it, and I’m all for artists taking their time to refine their projects. We got some crumbs last year, both with her Charli XCX collab and the lush, baroque pop single “Downhill Lullaby.” I’m willing to patiently wait for whatever this alt-pop songstress will dish out in the coming months. 

Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa (TBA): Dua Lipa was a breath of fresh air in the pop scene of 2017-2018. Her debut album provided not only hit singles that were some of the best on the radio but also great deep cuts that showcased her strength as a vocalist and songwriter. The debut single from this album, “Don’t Start Now,” has been on a loop for me over the past few months, and the melding of past and future aesthetics in her recent videos and music is panning out in a really interesting way. I’ve also heard rumors of Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus, and Normani possibly being featured on this album, but I don’t have an official source for that, so it’s just speculation, (but can you imagine though?)

Watching You EP by Robinson (TBA): Robinson is an artist I don’t remember I love until I realize that I’m hours deep into marathoning her music and singing along to every line. She’s got a knack for a catchy hook and fun pop production. “Don’t Say” was one of my favorite songs of 2019, and it’s reported to be a debut single from what will be her first longer project. I’m stoked. 

White Hot Forever by Lana Del Rey (TBA): I’d love to get another Lana album so soon after NFR!, but I have a similar concern about this as I did with thank u, next, that it would end up sounding rushed or not as fleshed out as it could be. Still, NFR! was my favorite Lana record to date, and I’d love to see if she’d continue the aesthetics of that project onto this album or start a completely new thematic and visual cycle. It’s also unclear as to whether this would be her spoken world album that’s also been announced? I guess we’ll just have to see. 

The Archer by Alexandra Savior (TBA): Alexandra Savior won me over with her femme-fatale crooner of a debut, Belladonna of Sadness. The debut single from this album, “Crying All The Time,” is a swooning, fuzzed-out ballad that won me over instantly. This woman knows her way around a sensual vintage aesthetic, I’ll tell you that.

Other artists that have either announced or teased dropping albums this year include HAIM, Dominic Fike, Hailee Steinfeld, Oh Wonder, Lauren Jauregui, The Killers, Noname, Orla Gartland, Normani, Madison Beer, Ava Max, Conan Gray, Donna Missal (!!!) and, (good god, if we are worthy,) Fiona Apple. 

It’s still very early in the year, so I’ll likely update this list in the months to come. What albums are you excited for this year? I’m always open to listening to new artists, so make sure to let me know. 

[mayapenelopeclutterbucket]

*SPOILERS* Thoughts I had while watching TGD 3x18 “Heartbreak” aka MY SHIP IS FUCKING SAILING HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD I CANNT BREATHE LIKE IM STILL FREAKING OUT AND DYING HERE THIS POST IS GONNA BE SO LONG OKAY IM SORRY NOT SORRY

Y’all I AM REAAAADy FOR TONIGHT and not that anybody cares probably but I am really sorry about not catching up on my motifs that clearly didn’t happen but just that depression has been getting to me and I’m definitely gonna go thru them because after tonight I’m just so pumped and excited and still can’t breathe and love and appreciate all yours guys constant support and I’m just v emotional rn okay I want to cry from happiness after tonight’s episode ending also plz forgive me 😩😩

-yessss the shaire friendship I have been needing all fucking season ITS. ABOUT. TIME.

-I am in love with dr. Claire Browne okay 😭😭 she’s too pure and I love her with all my heart

-melendaire looking like the power couple of the century every time they’re standing next to each other and I’m HERE FOR IT 👏🏼👏🏼

-ooof shaun is triggered by ilys being shared

-aww Morgan’s arthritis is getting worse ://

-and Morgan referring to Claire and shaun as their last names really??? Haven’t we progressed further then that

-also Glassy is pissing me off like shaun can have friends who want to help him out he doesn’t need to do everything on his own fuck off with this narrative

-Morgan is breaking my heart here I wonder if she will go to a different field of medicine

-Claire don’t be swayed by this cheater lmaoo why you gonna listen to his dumbass

-damn Claire calling shaun out and shaun doing the same to Claire

-wow I am loving all this talk about dating with melendaire around SUBTEXT AM I RIGHT SEASON 5 ENDGAME WE ARE COMIIIING

-sometimes I feel like I miss things tho typing all this while watching it live 😂 oh well I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-damn call him out Claire for interrupting you MY QUEEN everyone needs to bow before her tbh

-OH SHIT SHAUN CALLED MELENDEZ OUT FOR BEING “nice” TO CLAIRE 👀👀👀 but got called a jerk in reply lmaooo the ogs are being so chaotic this ep I love it

-the melendaire look exchanged after that tho POETIC CINEMA

-also yeah shaun friendship is a two way street support should be going both ways

-daaaamn Melendez getting jealous about dash OH HOLY SHIT I CANNOT CLAIRE SHARING EVERYTHING TO MELENDEZ AND MELENDEZ GETTING JEALOUS AND IS TRYING TO BE LIKE WTF I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU DIDNT LIKE ROMANTICS??? Questioning dash and their relationship but in a nice way okay before y’all haters come for my ship GOD BLESS 🙌🏼🙌🏼

-like I feel like the both know and aren’t saying anything but that they do have feelings for each other like there was so much left unsaid with this interaction

-and Melendez telling Claire if it’s the right guys don’t wait for the right time is this foreshadowing?!?! And Claire making a move on melendez even tho he’s still her boss???!!!!? AHHH IM SO FREAKIN EXCITED 😭😭

-WOW MELENDAIRE SCENES PRACTICALLY BACK TO BACK IM DEAAAAD even if it was just about work the 2nd time around lmao

-Claire looks so great I love seeing her in something other then work clothes

-oh my god noooo CLAIRE AND DASH KISSED 😭😭

-omg melendez was inspired and got his idea from Claire’s!!!! He’s so in love with her and they make each other better!!! She amazes him EVERY DAY

-woooow shaun is really projecting and being a little shit no wonder Melendez threatens him with no longer being his resident the way he said the shit in front of the patient “it’s one thing to be rude to your colleagues but your patients hell no”

-y’all we’re only 30 minutes in and already sooo much content ooof I’m almost on melendaire overload 😂 like my heart can’t handle it

-Melendez trying to give advice to shaun love it and boo your heart healed because of Claire just ADMIT IT

-HE ALSO JUST SAID HES MOVED ON FROM HIS TWO HEARTBREAKS GOD BLESS L*MLENDEZ IS FINISSSSSHED 🙌🏼🙌🏼

-Morgan looks likes she’s about to quit after lims speech

-Lmaooo that guys car just got REKT

-Noooo Morgan my bby she just dropped her bombshell about ra and is quitting 😩

-awww lim giving Morgan her “last chance” to shine and do surgery and stuff a 3rd year wouldn’t typically do my babies

-I’m sick of shaun being surprised about Claire having good ideas I know he’s been undermining everyone this ep but I will not allow any asshole behavior from anyone to my bby!!!

-Melendez just put his HEART OUT THERE and Claire looked shooook MELENDEZ LITERALLY TOLD HER SHE INSPIRES HIM AND MAKES HIM A BETTER DOCTOR AND PERSON WITH HER AROUND and remind hims of why he became a doctor 😭😭

-Morgan is officially doing the surgery to “fix” her hands

-shaun getting back out there WE LOVE TO SEE IT

-CLAIRE LOOKS SO UNSURE ABOUT DASH LIKE BREAK IT OFF FINALLY PLEAAAASE y’know you really love Melendez

-is she gonna go see her boo her Neil Melendez

-god damn it @jillrox202 was right 😂 shaun is about to smash lea’s car what the fuck or at least wanted too

-wow okay shaun went off and went waaaay to far

-wow wow Claire went to her therapist is she gonna admit the feelings she has about her boss?!!?

-HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOLY FUCKING SHIT CLAIRE JUST ADMITTED SHE IS IN LOVE WITH HER BOSS I CANT BREATH I CANNOT BREATHE OH MY GOD WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FOOOOR ALL SEASON SINCE SEASON 1 EVEN HOLY SHIT

-IS CLAIRE GONNA TELL MELENDEZ THO AS HES TRAPPED IN THE EARTHQUAKE WOW HOLY SHIT THAT WOULD BE POETIC CINEMA I CANT IM STILL IM SHOCK THE GROUP CHAT IS STILL IN SHOCK

-like I have dreamt and hoped for this and waited for this day to fucking come and now that it has I can hardly believe it 😭😭😭

-y’all we have waited for this for so long and it doesn’t feel real!!!!!

-okay I cant like oh my god the excitement I feel I cant deal I really can’t

-CLAIRE BEING IN LOVE WITH MELENDEZ IS FUCKING CANON JESUS CHRIST

-y’all I’m gonna cry now that I’m finally processing it wow just fucking wow

-I just want to keep typing to show my disbelief but this post is already long enough and just think of hopeless we were in in season 2B and look where we are now!!!!

SEASON 5 ENDGAME IS A FUCKING GOOOO

[idonthaveanyurlideas]

Ep 5 Spoilers

i think... joren and caramelinda should team up....

anyway u can also read it on ao3

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” A guard ran up to Caramelinda, a scroll clutched in one hand as he reached her, panting heavily.

“What’s going on?” Caramelinda frowned.

“Something’s gone terribly wrong in Comida!” The guard said, pushing the scroll towards her. The blood draining from her face, Caramelinda took it, trying to guess which of her family had done something ill-advised this time.

She read it in silence, the council she had been holding all waiting patiently, muttering to each other.

“This is a trick.” Caramelinda looked up from the scroll, staring at the guard, who frantically shook his head.

“It’s real! We just heard about it!”

“Has something happened?” One of the councillors asked, and Caramelinda looked at him for a moment before looking back down at the scroll, reading and rereading every single word, trying to find a single explanation for the utter horror on the page in front of her.

Amethar… what did you do?

“Where are they all now?” Ignoring the councillors, Caramelinda turned back to the guard. “Are they in custody? Are my daughters harmed?”

“We don’t know!” The guard exclaimed. “That’s the only official announcement we’ve heard… but there are rumours-”

“This council is adjourned.” Caramelinda stood up, the bewildered councillors staring at her. “You are all dismissed immediately.”

“Your Majesty, we simply must-”

“You are dismissed, I will call for you again shortly.” She repeated, waving a hand towards the door, not dropping it until all of them had left the room, leaving just her and the guard that had delivered the scroll.

Caramelinda dropped the scroll onto the table she had been sitting at, stepping away and walking towards the window. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, even though her fingers were trembling.

“Has Duke Jawbreaker heard the news yet?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” The guard said. “If he hasn’t yet, he probably will soon.”

And as soon as he did, there was no question in Caramelinda’s mind as to what he would do first.

“Alert every guard, call for every official. Close the borders except for Candian citizens reentering the country, and make sure we know the location of every single foreign diplomat and high-ranking member of the Bulbian Church. No harm is to come to any of them. Send for Sir Maillard and Sir Toby to meet with me as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The guard said, saluting her.

Once she was alone, Caramelinda exhaled a long, shuddering breath, walking back over to the scroll on the table and reading it once more. Then again. And again. Over and over until the first people she had called for began to arrive.

The door to the throne room crashed open, hitting pillars with a sickening thud. Caramelinda did not flinch, simply standing up from her throne (still her throne) as Joren Jawbreaker strode inside, his sons flanking him on either side.

He strode almost all the way up to the throne unimpeded. “You know why I’m here.” His voice was low and serious. “I’m sure you’re not stupid enough to stand in my way.”

“I’m not,” Caramelinda spoke through gritted teeth. “And I hope you’re not stupid enough to not listen to what I have to say.”

Joren tilted his head up slightly to look down at her, and one of his sons — Trivel, third-born, not the brightest. — took the opportunity to trash-talk. “Why would we want to listen to a false queen?”

“Because regardless of my current standings in the eyes of you, Candia, and the Concord, I have been Queen of this country for nearly two decades, and if you do not tread carefully we will all be invaded and killed.”

“And what gives you the belief that you know more about operating in wartime than me?” Joren asked.

“I have never declared such a thing.” Caramelinda took a step towards them, keeping her back perfectly straight and her head held high. “I have the utmost respect for your proficiency in battle, and I make no claim to being better at it. But what I am skilled at is diplomacy. Politics. This is not the Ravening War restarted, this is every other nation of the Concord against us alone. If we rely on military strength, we will be crushed.”

Caramelinda put her hands behind her back, staring Joren in the eyes. “I ordered my guards to allow you free passage here, with no resistance at any point, because we no longer have the luxury of indulging rebellions. The Bulbian Church has declared you rightful King, and no matter whether I or the rest of Candia agree, your skills and strategy will be essential in our survival.”

“And you want a seat at the table.” Joren scowled. “So that if Amethar comes back you can try to get right back to where you were.”

Behind her back, Caramelinda curled her hands into fists. “I don’t know where Amethar or my daughters are. I don’t know if they are alive, or captured, or dead. Do you know where your son is?”

“My son was supposed to be safe with your people.” Joren glowered, stepping forward until he was only inches away, casting Caramelinda in shadow, but she refused to cower. “And you sent him into the heart of the enemy and let him be tried for witchcraft!”

“If your son performed magic where others could see, I am certain they tried their best to protect him. But we do not have time to argue about it because all of them could be dead at this very moment while the Imperial armies march to our doorstep!”

She stepped to the side, walking away with her back turned, almost daring him to plunge his sword into it. “If we make a mistake now, all of Candia will fall to the Concord. And I know that is the last thing you want to happen, Joren.”

There was a dark chuckle behind her. “You’re not fuckin wrong about that.”

Caramelinda turned, facing him again. “And that is why you will need my help. You can lead the armies, you can formulate brilliant battle strategies, you can slaughter a hundred soldiers by yourself, but it will mean nothing if the people are not organised, if there is no plan or structure beyond winning the next fight. Whether I am Queen or not, I still know how to keep a kingdom functioning.”

Her stomach twisted even as she said it, the power and drive that she had dedicated all these years to snapped away in a single instant. But now was not the time to fall to despair, to leave in petty anger. Now was not the time to dwell on Amethar, on how his single mistake had brought everything crashing down around them. Now was not the time to think about her daughters trapped in hostile territory, with only a handful of people, however dedicated, however powerful, on their side.

“Hmm.” Joren scratched his chin. “Alright, Duchess, you’ve got yourself a deal. For now.”

Caramelinda tried not to let the ‘Duchess’ title sting. Now was not the time for self-pity. Now was the time for action, for strength. She could not allow herself and her country to lose anything else.

[bjoe70560]

Black Players For Change & Players Coalition Negotiate Official Partnership! I #AskASoccerPro Show Ep 078

Black Players For Change & Players Coalition Negotiate Official Partnership! I #AskASoccerPro Show Ep 078by Quincy Amarikwa

11-year MLS veteran Quincy Amarikwa welcomes you to episode 78 of the #AskASoccerPro Show where he talks Black Players for Change, the MLS is Back tournament, how to make US soccer more inclusive and more!

Check out what Quincy covers this week:

00:00 – 02:35: Welcome To The #AskASoccerPro Show Ep. 078!

02:38 – 07:04: Did You See The Black Players For Change Protest?! #MLSisBLACK

07:08 – 11:57: Do You Want To Watch #MLSisBack With Quincy?

11:58 – 13:09: How To Get Back In Shape For Soccer  @CJsmith_04

13:11 – 17:47: What To Do When You Don’t Have An ESPN Stream

17:51 – 19:12: Black Players For Change & Players Coalition Negotiate Official Partnership!

19:17 – 23:34: I Have Lower Back Pain, How Do I Get Rid Of It? @trevorwillis_

23:35 – 24:48: What To Consider When Trying Out For Your Team @_pogbajunior

24:49 – 26:37: Why The Pay To Play System Is A Massive Problem

27:00 – 30:22: How Is Montréal Looking To Quincy?

30:26 – 34:56: Can Pro/Rel Make US Soccer More Inclusive? @ben._.Jammin

35:00 – 37:04: What Is The Best Thing Quincy Learned In The MLS? @yojxrd

37:08 – 40:13: What Does Quincy Really Think Of Pro/Rel?

40:17 – 43:31: What Does Quincy Think of FC Dallas Being Removed From #MLSisBack?

43:34 – 46:09: Who Started the #MLSisBlack ?

46:11 – 50:55: What’s It Like Being Traded In MLS? John Hollinger

51:01 – 53:47: Would Quincy Go To The #MLSisBack Bubble Right Now To Play? @pgsports

53:55 – 55:31: Where Do Players Stay In New Cities? @soccer_dad_for

55:41 – 58:50: Why D.C. United Did Not Want Quincy Back

If you would like to listen to the episode:

If you would like to watch the episode:

If you would like to read the interview:

*Transcript is unedited and machine-generated. There will be errors. For further clarity please refer to the audio or video.

Quincy Amarikwa (00:00):

We're all here to ride the MSL wave. The Mental Strength League. I'd like to welcome you to another episode of the #AskASoccerPro Show! Joe Jackson. What's happening in Houston. Dynamo memes Mario B a L a R D I N. Welcome. Welcome Connor Johnson, England 2130. What's going on? UJoe, it's going good, man. Lots of progress. UAndy, what's going on brother and see you in a minute. Welcome into the live. Uas you guys know, let's see what we got here.

Quincy Amarikwa (00:42):

Yeah.

Quincy Amarikwa (00:43):

Photo up on this screen though. What you guys know? Sirena drunk, dropping in John, dropping in it's pot. Is it pause for anybody else? Yeah, there you go. I think I'm in your head. Emojis. Let me know if you can hear me. Okay. We're getting everything dialed in. I don't know what's going on with the service. Trevor just said he had, he just had tryouts here, set something up, some stuff behind me, the Luca what's going on. Let's see what we got here. If this is able to set up. Okay. And Melissa for those of you guys who've been falling in for a while, you know, you know, we're coming, we're coming correct with the MLS is black campaign. I don't know if any of the, the kickoff game for the MLS, our MLS is black campaign, main mega board. It's in the tournament.

Quincy Amarikwa (01:39):

And you guys saw the protest yesterday drop drop a comment. You know what I'm saying? Like, what were you guys' thoughts or you guys' thoughts on the protest that you saw yesterday? Did you see it? Are you aware of it? You know, what's been going on, you've been living under a rock. You've been joining in, not joining in what's going on. Let me know Matt drop nine in your head. Emojis, John dropping into I'm in your head emojis. And now that I think we are good to go on the audio side and we are set up, I'd like to welcome everybody to episode 70, there's a 77, maybe 77 or possibly 78 of the #AskASoccerPro Show with your host. That's me Quincy Amarikwa, 11 year MLS pro ucurrent currently in my free agency year. Uand here on the #AskASoccerPro Show.

Quincy Amarikwa (02:38):

Yo, Kevin, what up bro? Welcome. I got you up here in the, I got you up here in the screenshot on the top row before you guys did your protest yesterday, you'll love seeing, I love seeing the MSL repping heavy, a whole DC United squad. You guys could see, you guys could see them up in the, up in the top, top corner there. But as I was saying, yeah welcome to the hashtag Assa soccer pro show. I'm your host, Quincy America, as you guys know 11 year MLS pro, but on this show, we talk about the M S L or better known as the mental strength league. It's a game of 40 chess. It's a mentality game where you're either an active participant or you are steady getting played in every Thursday, 6:00 PM. PST 9:00 PM EST. The Perfect Soccer community joins me here, live for the #AskASoccerPro Show to get your questions answered and come together and build an ever growing influential community to better ourselves with every passing week using the patented Amarikwa process, seven step process to building the MSL mentality mindset, which is the mindset you need to accomplish your goals, because we don't look at things as problems.

Quincy Amarikwa (04:00):

We look at them as temporary obstacles and as a group, we work together to overcome them because as John knows and the rest of the perfect soccer community knows teamwork equals dream work. And we use the three S's of self awareness to, to maintain our critical thinking skills to get to wherever it is we want to be in life and soccer. So I'd like to welcome everybody to another beautiful episode. I'm seeing you guys spamming that heart button and dropping in your I'm in your head emojis. I'm seeing Trevor said, Trevor Willison D C needs to sign you for real. Yo, you guys need to, you guys need to be hitting the pavement and letting these MLS clubs know if you'd like me to sign with them. I don't know if they know that I'm still free agent and I don't, you know, or maybe they do know, but they're scared to sign me. That'd be maybe why. And then I could ask, why would they be scared to sign me? Why are they so scared? Or maybe they're not scared. Maybe they're waiting. Maybe they're being patient because they're putting together an amazing contract deal. And you know, contracts take a big contracts, take time to come together. So maybe, maybe that's what it is. Maybe we're just needing to be patient,

Quincy Amarikwa (05:23):

But

Quincy Amarikwa (05:24):

You guys know we've been patient out here, MSL mindset putting in that work, staying ready. So we don't have to get ready. New York red bulls means joined in what up? Ronaldo goalkeeper seven joined in as well too. Are you guys doing, did you watch, like I said, did you guys see the protests? Were you able to catch it? If so, what were your thoughts? I'm looking up here. I saw someone had shared, let me see John had dropped MLS as black. I think someone else had said they watched it on Twitter.

Quincy Amarikwa (06:04):

Okay. Yeah. Robbie Robbie had said he just saw it on Twitter and it is fire. Yeah. A lot of the content that's coming out as a result of its serene has been going hammer time on the BPC, MLS Instagram and Twitter account. If you guys haven't been up to date as to what's going on, make sure you guys go follow those accounts and you can see the dope IG stories and Twitter, Twitter reviews that Sirena has been putting together. She's also getting the black players for change. Linkedin, Facebook, tick tock YouTube, all of that stuff. Just getting all that stuff together. So she's been doing a dope job with the social media accounts. So if you guys haven't checked it out, make sure you go and check that out, give them a follow and show Serena some love with all of that. Luca ask, are you watching the game right now? No, I'm not. If the game, the game is on is the game on right now?

Quincy Amarikwa (07:08):

If the game is on, what I was going to say is Sirena. If you're in the, I don't know if Sirena is in the house actually right now, if you could bring me my laptop, maybe I can log in and we could watch the game. We could watch the game together. Guys. That would be a fun episode. If we watch, does everybody have access to a Luca said new England verse. So who's, who's playing right now. Is anyone, does everyone have access to you to ESPN to watch the game? Okay. New England versus Montreal. If let me know if you guys would like to maybe watch the game together, we could do a little bit of live commentary and we can answer questions on the fly. We could have a kind of an impromptu fun episode and watch MLS is Back together. That'd be pretty cool. You guys let me know. What do you think it is? It is up to the group. While we're waiting on that, if any of you have any questions, make sure you drop them in the comment in the question box there and we can

Quincy Amarikwa (08:14):

Okay.

Quincy Amarikwa (08:14):

We can get, we can get a couple of those answered while we see if we can set up a while. We can see if we can set up for, for the game watching the game together. Let's see what we got here. Yeah. John said, let's do that pug bud jr. Said yes. Get the game on. Okay. Trevor said, yes, sir. So let's see Serena, are you in the house? Cause I think my laptop, my laptop's in the car. Let me go. Let me look out the window. Okay. No Serena took the laptop, so let's see what we can do here. Everybody bear with me while I try to set something up here on the fly. So as I'm setting this up so we can try to set up and watch the game together. You guys dropped some questions or some thoughts and things that you saw from the tournament. I don't know if you guys saw Earl Earl was on at Earl Ray and I was trying to look for it Earl Ray. And let me switch that up. So see, Earl Ray and Justin were on ESPN, ESPN round table. After the, after the protest to talk about black players for change our organization, what the protest was about as well as answer some questions as to what they think.

Quincy Amarikwa (09:41):

The Lucas said, I don't know what channel it's on. It's on ESPN. So I'm going to see how I can set it up And get it going. So let's see.

Quincy Amarikwa (09:56):

Ooh, you know what I'll do.

Quincy Amarikwa (10:04):

I was thinking if I could sit my computer on the ground. All right. Oh, there we go. Alright. We might be able to do this. Let me see. Oh gosh. Oh, super close to my computer. I don't know if that's good computers. That's like super big. Let me see. I'm going to read just, I was going to sit at my computer in front of me, but the computer's too big. So hold on. Yeah, Ben Jammin said ESPN, So let's see. That's probably see all my stuff behind me go. So we'll set up like that. Adjust here. I'm bringing the computer up in front of me 47th minute. Okay, cool. So it's not half time or we can actually get into the Oh five. You have not seen any questions coming in. It looks like everybody's been doing, they're doing their thing. So let's see here. It's already you Quincy. It's not on ESPN. Let's see. Associate Minnesota joined

Quincy Amarikwa (11:54):

In Ben Jammin dropped in what up, what up. Okay, so I have a question. So CJ Smith has a question while I'm trying to get the game set up here. So let's see what we got MLS is back tournament. And I'm gonna have to go to my old, my old sneaky ways of bringing up stuff. If I don't have the account on my computer CJ Smith underscore Oh four said I have a question. I'm trying to get back into soccer. And I'm wondering if you have any good workouts for getting back into shape and back into the grind of soccer. Yeah. So if you're trying to get back into the swing of things, head over to perfect soccer skills.com/login account, that's logging account. You'll see a link on the page to create your account. If you don't have one already and to create yourself a free perfect soccer team membership account.

Quincy Amarikwa (12:47):

And in there you'll get access to a full free week of B pro by perfect soccer. So Ryan mash or be pro general manager, shout out Ryan mash. Many of his many of his his players joining on the live regularly. He puts together those weekly programs. So their custom weekly soccer training programs. So if you're just getting back in the swing of things, I would start there. For that, let's see. I don't know if ESPN, I don't know if ESPN allows for it. So what I do, there's this website that I've found in the past, all the

Quincy Amarikwa (13:25):

TV.

Quincy Amarikwa (13:28):

So I found a website that I usually go to. So it's a T at T D H E dot U S. And then usually you can find the games on there.

Quincy Amarikwa (13:44):

I don't know if it's but it always see if we can get it. Let's get it

Quincy Amarikwa (14:08):

Stern. That links yet. Caitlin joined in increased football. Stopped by what? Up, what up? Yeah, you guys let me know you got here. Any questions I'm saying I'm seeing you guys are joining in. We're trying to set up the game so we could watch it. What else is going on? Ah giving you guys, I'm trying to the Luca I'm seeing if I can make sure that it's working before, I'd tell you guys to go to it. Cause there's usually always a bunch of popups and stuff on it. So I'm trying to see if it's working, right?

Quincy Amarikwa (14:40):

Yep. Okay.

Quincy Amarikwa (14:44):

Okay. So everybody, Ooh. How can I drop a link to everybody that they can click all at one time? Would it work if I do this way? So hold on. I found a stream. So I found a stream. So guys, what I was doing is I'm trying to find a stream so we could all, all watch. All right. So how it usually works. Hmm. What I could do, how do I get everybody to link cause this link and make the link clickable. So all right, everybody, if you're wanting to watch the stream right. Go to [inaudible] go to 80. So I'm going to type it in.

Quincy Amarikwa (15:35):

Yeah. So

Quincy Amarikwa (15:38):

I was trying to make it so as clickable, but

Quincy Amarikwa (15:41):

80 D H E dot a D T a, sorry, this thing is, auto-correct a T D H E T V that he knew.

Quincy Amarikwa (16:01):

So

Quincy Amarikwa (16:03):

That a T D H E T v.edu,

Quincy Amarikwa (16:08):

Let me make sure that's right.

Quincy Amarikwa (16:12):

And usually what you can do on that you can usually get. Yeah. So if you guys go there on your computer,

Quincy Amarikwa (16:21):

You'll see,

Quincy Amarikwa (16:52):

You'd be able to watch the stream so we can watch the game together while I answer questions. So for those of you who don't know, so actually this is what I'm going to do. Sirena. I am going to send you the link to the stream in Slack, and then I'd like for you to paste and copy and paste it in the, in the channel. So I can pin it T Gabrielle, what's going on. Mia. What's happening official. MLS means Daniel joined in to say, what up the Luca were you able to, were you able to see it, John, where you guys were able to get it, to get the stream? Who did I disappear? It disappeared.

Quincy Amarikwa (17:51):

Oh, there we go. It disappeared. I think what you guys see me putting it on the screen as well too, is black players for change is the official rebranding and name of the black players, coalition of MLS, where we started out just a month ago, we just recently negotiated or finalized finalized a deal to have an official partnership with the players coalition. So Anquan Boldin and Malcolm Jenkins started the players coalition over five years ago to help in the fighting of racial injustice. So, Oh, sorry. Racial justice yet, but social justice issues. They've got a great organization. They really enjoyed and loved what we, what we were about and what we came with. And these last several weeks we've been discussing with them an official partnership. So we just announced that I think two days ago, the day before the protest.

Quincy Amarikwa (18:44):

So there's been a lot of great things that I've been telling you guys about for several months now, cause you guys know 2020s about the vision and people will, people will learn or they'll choose not to, and we'll continue to learn and grow without them. So it doesn't really matter either way, right. Either, either they'll learn over or they'll lose, but we're out here learning Zuri, welcome. What's going on? How are you doing? Trevor said I have lower back pain and I can't seem to get rid of it. I've gone to physical therapy and it still didn't do anything, any advice on how to get rid of it? It depends on what type of lower back pain you're having. Are you having like lower disc pain or are you having lower muscular pain? So there's different items I used to have, well, not used to, I have low back pain. I've had issues with that for a while. You know, it's something that I've managed for ever since. Wow. Like ever since college, especially with running longer distances, but so I've got a bunch of tricks of the trade, but it depends on what type of what type of back pain you're having. Like what's the cause of your back pain? Do you have an idea or an understanding of what's causing your back pain and then from there I could probably be a little bit more helpful.

Quincy Amarikwa (20:03):

Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (20:06):

But yeah, if you guys haven't seen the news of the partnership with the player's coalition head over to perfect soccer skills.com. We, we we shared the news over there. I'm happy to talk about it. As soon as you said, the link is too long that's okay. So yeah, if you just put a D a T D H E T v.edu, you guys will be able to find a link to the stream. If you guys don't have ESPN naturally. So we're, we're watching the new England revolution, Montreal impact game fun fact. I played for Montreal in 2000. What year was that? 2018. End of 2018. I really enjoyed my actually yeah, shout out Montreal. I really enjoyed my time in Montreal. I even got my Montreal trainers on and that's a goal. Let's see.

Quincy Amarikwa (21:12):

So I don't know what the score is because it's the things are in the, let's see what we've got here. Nice touch chop. A great finish. I'm almost not sure if like the broadcast will end up giving me like a strike. That's a good finish. Finish. If I can try to make this larger. There we go.

Quincy Amarikwa (21:43):

So yeah.

Quincy Amarikwa (21:47):

Who's that

Quincy Amarikwa (21:49):

B O U. Okay. You got you guys on the field, the link. Yeah. I'd sent the link. I drop the link, but let me, let me pin it. I guess I forgot to pin it so sorry, you guys. And so they go a T D H E T v.edu. You guys will be able to get a link to the stream or we can watch. So it's Montreal zero new England, one in the 56th minute. We're watching our first stream of the game on the fly, which is cool. So we're all watching our first game together. And I'm answering questions while we're at it. So if you've got any questions, make sure you guys are dropping the questions there. And let's see. So I liked the black Zuri set. I liked black clears for change shirts. Can you get them in kid's sizes?

Quincy Amarikwa (22:55):

There should be. There should be kids sizes on the site. And if there isn't Sirena, could we get those added? So for those of you who are interested in getting some of the black players for change merge, you could head over to perfect soccer skills.com/b L M that's the BLM black lives matter collection any and all t-shirts or merge purchase from that collection. The proceeds will go directly to the black players for change or black place for change. We actually need to update Sirena now and think about it. We got to update the page. So everybody knows that it's going to black players for change. Now a black players, coalition of MLS, but sorry, thank you for that question. That's actually very helpful,

Quincy Amarikwa (23:34):

Honey.

Quincy Amarikwa (23:35):

Ooh, let's see what we got here. Underscore POG B a junior said I'm thinking of trying out for my team next year. Is there anything I should know? Well, there's a whole lot of things that you should know but it depends on how old you are, what level you want to get to how much work you're doing on your own and how much work you're doing with your current club. So I'd say the best place to start would be to head to perfect soccer skills.com/login account, create a perfect soccer team membership for free. Well, there's a free way to make your account and there's a page so you can pay. We're happy that we're happy for those of you who are paying for your account. Cause an investment in perfect soccer is an investment in yourself. We take that money and we reinvest it into the company and create you know, the systems and processes and the resources that you guys have access to you.

Quincy Amarikwa (24:22):

But we also understand that not everybody has the financial means to pay, which is why we're here to disrupt the pay to play system. So there is always a free way. There's always a way to get whatever it is you want from perfect soccer or need for free. There's also a paid version or a paid option. And that's how we've, we've we've solved that problem for the issues we see with the pay to play system. I think a lot of the, a lot of the articles and a lot of the, yeah, a lot of the media that you guys would probably see here over the coming weeks and months is going to greatly bring to light the inadequacies and the shortcomings of just the pay to play system and the MLS system. And just this, you know, us soccer system in general.

Quincy Amarikwa (25:12):

I think there's there's been a lot of, there's been a lot of things that have been ignored for a long time. And I think those issues are finally going to start being addressed or hopefully, hopefully address, but at least acknowledged, which is what I think is happening right now. So I think we're in the first stages of people acknowledging that there's a problem. And I think it's going to take several weeks for people to realize how massive the problem is. It's a pretty big problem. These are a lot of these are really big issues. They're systemic, they are deep. And they have been, they've been pervasive for a very long time. So I think once people get an understanding of how deep the issue is and how massive the problem is, we then be able to really start

Quincy Amarikwa (26:02):

Attacking ways to, to implement the policy changes that need to happen to make it a more equitable

Quincy Amarikwa (26:10):

Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (26:11):

Experience for people you're moving forward and more inclusive. I just think there's a massive, there's a massive number of soccer fans here in America that that should be tapped into and could be if we just, if we were more understanding of how we could be more inclusive in that process. So

Quincy Amarikwa (26:44):

Greasy said new England all the way. We'll see they, they look like they're doing, they look like they're doing all right. Montreal looks a little bit on the back foot as of right now, but I am jumping in to the middle of the game. So I don't know how the flow of the game has gone up to this point.

Quincy Amarikwa (26:58):

Mmm

Quincy Amarikwa (27:00):

Let's see. John said, saw your snake pray when you were at Montreal of it. Well, I think the snake prank was of, of was when I was with San Jose. So you, you probably, when I was with Montreal, that's probably when you saw the snake prank on Nick Lima love that deep. Ooh, okay. Yes. What drills. Okay. T dot Gabriela said, what drills do you recommend doing to get better with a foot that you aren't used to using? To be honest, repetition is the most important is the most important factor. I think most, most players think that there's some special drill or saw one certain, Oh, that's great play. Oh, how do you miss that? Just joking. I know how you miss that. It's always easier. It's always easier to miss a goal than it is to make a goal.

Quincy Amarikwa (27:56):

But that was, that was great buildup and play by the new England. Montreal is it's looking like they've, they've kind of been exposed cause they were easily broken down on the, on the counter there. As I was saying, I think too many players believe or think that there's like one master skill or trick or drill that you should be doing. I think what's most important is, is doing, doing it consistently and over a long duration of time. So like a lot of the drills and things that I do are very like simple, simple. I don't overcomplicate it too much, but it's repetition. That's most important. So repetition, repetition, repetition you just gotta make enough mistakes.

Quincy Amarikwa (28:55):

The Lucas had, did anybody just get a heck of a lot of ads? Yeah. So because it's a, because it's a website that does random streaming, where what they do is they add a whole bunch of ads on it. So you have to click through all the ads before you get a, before you get to the actual stream. But once you get the stream, it's always pretty, pretty decent stream. I've used the webs, the website for years and finding, finding things. If I'm not able to find the stream he at G R I E Z, I underscore 21 say Quincy, my cousin geo Alvarez was recruited at DC United, but backed out now he is going to play for New York cosmos. Okay. Let's do it. Do you know why he didn't? He decided not to go through with DC United if other link

Quincy Amarikwa (29:42):

Doesn't work you can use. Okay. So Ben jamun said, if the link that you guys see below doesn't work, you can use my goal, tv.com. I haven't heard of that. So yeah. Shout out, ban jamming for dropping the keys. Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (30:03):

Let's see what you got here. Safier, that's always dope watching, seeing your ex teammates, former teammates playing games.

Quincy Amarikwa (30:25):

Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (30:26):

You know, cause you know, you know, you like know them personally in the locker room, you know, their their personalities and all the stupid things that they do in the jokes and stuff. Let's see, Ben Jammin asks. How how is one way you think US soccer could make it more inclusive, one way to make it more inclusive? I mean, there's, there's a lot of different ways. I just read an article, I forgot the guy's named Ben. It looks like he was doing YouTube videos over two years ago, talking about, I think he started hashtag pro REL for USA. I just read one of his articles on his argument for why there should be PR promotion relegation. I've talked about that in the past about about me thinking, at least at the time when I was talking about it the league is not in a position where they would be willing to be open to that idea at that time.

Quincy Amarikwa (31:28):

And the reason for that, it was just, they had too much power. They had too much control. The single entity system was from their perspective is working right. Values of organizations are going up with each passing year. There's more and more people who want to get into the MLS. The expansion process was very fruitful. But like I also talked about back in December as an #AskASoccerPro Show episode. For me, I was looking at it and seeing it very similar to the housing market of 2008. Right. Cause there is a limit to to expansion. So I think, I think that is a, that is one way. It's one way that I think would be a very, very difficult and tough sell. But in essence, pro REL does create total inclusion because you have to do enough to maintain your spot.

Quincy Amarikwa (32:24):

And if not, you, you go down and the next person gets an opportunity to step in. So I think in the purest sense of the, in the pure sense of openness inclusion, I think pro REL is one way in which you, you you eventually accomplished that goal. I don't think pro REL immediately solves the problem. I think there's still inherently certain advantages and disadvantages money then becomes access to money, becomes a huge influential piece to that. I think maybe like a hybrid pro rail system would be a good transitional step. And this is me thinking about this on the fly now. So take it with a grain of salt. Cause I haven't, I haven't spent anywhere near enough time thinking through this to say for certain in either direction. But I do like I do like the idea of taking the best parts of systems and making the best system you can create for, for today to get you to gathering enough data, to decide how to better refine it over time.

Quincy Amarikwa (33:29):

So I think salary caps are good. So, so there are, there are advantages to the single entity system that I think are, are hugely advantageous and a big reason why the league's been able to at least get to this point. So I don't think it's a, you just throw everything out just because you know, some things aren't ideal. One of those, I think the salary cap is good because if, if you're doing pro REL and you don't have the salary cap now, people who come in and just overspend and to a large degree, you can come in and then it becomes non-inclusive in other ways, like you've got the super teams and other leagues all over the world and cause you know, some, some super rich Uber billionaire will overspend on all players in everything to five X. They're not really like earning their way up the ladder the way in which pro REL is meant to be utilized.

Quincy Amarikwa (34:29):

So I don't want to say that that's the solution, the be all end all. But I think are a hybrid, a merger of those multiple systems and ideas would, would be ideal, at least as of right now, it's a good fit. A good attempt. Good question. That's where I fall with that. As of right now, I'll probably end up thinking more through that and we could discuss that more in depth in future episodes. Yo, yo Jordan, Y O J X, R D a N asked what's the best thing you learned from playing so many years in the MLS? I think the best thing that I learned is how to, how to refine and hone in on the MSL, right? Like I think because of the, because of the system, the MLS system, all the rules, the systems, the processes, the, the just the bureaucracy of the entire process because of that because of that, it, it forced me to adapt or die. Right. And I to continually adapt and reinvent and redefine myself with each passing year and learn more and grow and learn from my mistakes. So it has been it hasn't been easy by any stretch of the means, but it has been it has been a great defensive play. It has been a trip, so I've learned quite a bit, but if you're saying what's the one thing that would be that

Quincy Amarikwa (36:09):

Let's see

Quincy Amarikwa (36:12):

Tony said, Quincy, who do you think will win? The MLS is back tournament. I'm actually not sure. I haven't, I have not been plugged in enough into the kind of the day to day of the teams to even give a remotely educated or at least confident decision on that. Just been, I mean this last month and a half has purely been implementing, organizing the black players for change that you guys are seeing here and, and you know, working through the, the partnership with the players coalition as well as, you know, two kids under three. So a lot of, a lot of stuff on our, on our end. Let's see Ben had said I'm definitely down for pro relegation hybrid. I remember your anti pro relegation video, and it's nice to hear your updated opinion of Fort.

Quincy Amarikwa (37:16):

Unfortunately, ribs will become the Everton of MLS. Thank you for the insight. Ah, okay. Then Ben is saying, I remember your anti per relegation video. So when you say an anti, which video are you talking about? Cause it's not that I've necessarily, maybe I was at the time, but I'm thinking more. So it wasn't necessarily [inaudible], I'm, I'm thinking from the perspective of the league and the league would definitely be anti pro relegation. So I don't think that's what I'm saying. I don't think I've ever had an actual stance as to pro REL is more speaking to the perspective, the league views pro REL and me going, like, I don't think the league is even, especially at that time, I don't even think they'd entertain the idea of that, even being a possibility. But with the current state of us soccer and I think the attention that's going to start coming their way now and just in alignment with where I was talking about the massive issue and problem that, that I think has been ignored for as long as it has, I do think pro rel will be a potential.

Quincy Amarikwa (38:29):

Okay. I do think it'd be something that will be open on the table now and under consideration now, will it come to fruition? I don't know. It's still early to say, but I do think it is introduced into the conversation now. Because the league is the league and us soccer in general is going to have to really showcase some very large ideas too, to show that they are, they are ready and committed to, to not continuing with status quo because status quo is what's, what's gotten us here to this point, you know, to a point in time where many people do not feel included in the process included in the system. They don't feel that there's a path for them. They don't feel as though they're fairly represented and that that's a problem, right. And that's a problem that I think they're, they're open and willing to, to address and get. Right. Which also means there's going to be some tough decisions to be made.

Quincy Amarikwa (39:34):

Okay.

Quincy Amarikwa (39:37):

Of those being, bringing to table things that I definitely don't think they would have been open to or willing to in the past, but that's what we say, you know, soccer things can change very quickly.

Quincy Amarikwa (39:50):

Okay.

Quincy Amarikwa (39:51):

So are you, are you one that's ready to adapt or are you are you stuck in your old ways? Cause the MSL is a mindset. It's a mindset

Quincy Amarikwa (40:06):

And it's a new thinking and

Quincy Amarikwa (40:12):

We learned from our old thinking, let's see what we got here. Ben said MSL greater than MLS loved that. Lucas said you should start a series where we watch watch games in common commentary together. Yeah. Maybe what I'll start doing. I can do that on the on the Twitch account. I don't know. I don't know the rules as to, and I'll need to look into it. So I don't know the rules as to like live broadcasts if you don't have like rights to resharing and stuff. So maybe we'll go on Twitch. Cause I know that there's no limitation on like how long you can stream on Twitch for I know no context Dylan is going to be being a more regular daily streamer on our Twitch account. So he'll be there doing FIFA daily and then maybe from time to time I can go on and we can watch games like this together. We can do commentary and break stuff down. I think this would be kind of good change of pace. This is enjoyable. I know that

Quincy Amarikwa (41:23):

Mmm

Quincy Amarikwa (41:25):

We're all down for the MSL and we're tuned in and dialed in that also doesn't mean that we can't have some fun and enjoy some time together guys. John asks, what are your thoughts on FC Dallas pulling out of the Orlando tournament? I think it's necessary. Considering the whole point of it is supposed to be like an impenetrable bubble. Right. And I think above anything and everything safety has to come first for the players and the staff and the individuals at the tournament. And yeah, I think, I think from what I've heard and the, and the information available some, some players had arrived with, with COVID.

Quincy Amarikwa (42:16):

So, you know,

Quincy Amarikwa (42:20):

By the time, yeah, I think at that point in time, then multiple players ended up having it. And because of that I think the league had to then remove them from the tournament. Yo, speak of speak the man's name and, and he comes no context. Dylan joined in yo brother fury in here. My bad, like I said, you could see on the screen, we we've been, we've been working on this partnership with the player's coalition and getting everything organized for the protest for the black players for change. So I have been running around at a million miles an hour. I'm trying to delegate and elevate things. So hopefully we'll get you here going on the Twitch account. I think at the very least, we just need to get you into our Slack channel so we can communicate more regularly. And then get you log in details to the Twitch account. PG sports that hashtag Quincy bubble. Yo, what up Paul welcome. Let's see, Chris, Chris Floyd soccer said, hello. Hello. How you doing? Paul said, did you start #MLSisBlack. I don't know. You guys might want to go and check the very first post on the hashtag and, and see where it started.

Quincy Amarikwa (43:46):

Could you drop a link and have people watch on two tabs? Like now

Quincy Amarikwa (43:51):

What?

Quincy Amarikwa (43:51):

I'm not sure you could drop a link and have people watch on two tabs, but what, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I don't know from reading that right. We need to do one, we one for a stream I'm down, I'm down. Like I think with now that now that, you know, we had the protest, the black players for change is there. We've kinda got the, we've done the partnership with the players coalition. We, we got things together with the MLSP. I think the next step is really getting that taken care of with the MLS. Yeah, getting all of that taken care of with the MLS. So I foresee having a much more time here. That's a good through bowl. Much more time here in the coming weeks and I'm looking forward to doing a lot more fun stuff. Like, so for instance, like us doing the live, watching the game together and answering questions. I like this. This is this is, this is nice.

Quincy Amarikwa (45:00):

Let's see soccer dad for life. Welcome to the show, the stream trough. Now I'm in your head, emojis loving that. Yo that's what I'm saying. What was dope is yo the MSL made it, lemme sell, made it you see the top of, see the top of Earl's hat at the tournament. A we made it yo shout out my DC United, my DC United fam. You seen Chris Adoi in there. O'neill Kevin, Don Pines, Bill Hamid. Zach love that. Love that, love that. And I was crazy when when Earl called me for that I happened to be wearing my DC United, my DC United kit. So look at that. Perfect timing. There's love in that live, let's see. POBA jr. With the I'm in your head emojis. Let's see. Okay. John had asked John Hollinger had asked, what are your thoughts on MLS players being traded on the fly without warning Rooney talked about it in his episode with you, but can you talk about it from your experience when being traded?

Quincy Amarikwa (46:26):

Okay. Okay. So what are you traded or your teammates? So the, how things happen in MLS as of right now, a mass majority of the times is most players are not aware of then being traded. I would assume big name players are kind of in, on that process. But for the most part, I don't think most players don't have a no trade clause in their contracts. Those aren't, those aren't commonplace as of right now. Mainly cause I just don't think players have had enough leverage to have those types of things in their contracts. And then the big, big name players are paid such a large amount of money that if they, if they aren't performing or doing well, most clubs aren't trading for them cause they don't want the salary the salary cap hit. So with that in mind, it's, it's pretty much a it's pretty much at any point in time at any day, you can just get a phone call from your general manager, your coach.

Quincy Amarikwa (47:28):

And they say like, Hey, you're for, you know, whoever. And usually it's pretty straight. It's pretty straightforward in the sense of like, Hey, we traded you their team admin will be getting back to you. Oh, you gotta get across that to this man. He tried to shoot that their team admin will be in contact with you within a couple of hours to, to let you know. And then usually within a couple hours, a team admin, probably someone you don't know, you've never spoken to you before. Let's, you know, like, Hey, congratulations, welcome. We signed, you know what I mean? We traded for you a coach, the coach wants you to fly out the next available flight. And that would be, you know, tomorrow at four in the afternoon. Cause we want you to make, you know, your physical that evening and make training the night, the day after that.

Quincy Amarikwa (48:14):

So it's pretty it's, it's, it's usually like, Hey, it's not a, are you okay with this? You know what, you know, what's your family situation. Can you afford this? Like where are you at mentally? There's there's no real regard from that. It's just, Hey, you've been traded. This is where you're going. And like, we need you out here in a day or two or so my phone's starting to get low on battery. So we've got about 10 minutes here before the episode's over, we hit the hour Mark. But I think I've been traded so many times, right? Because once you get traded once, then, then you're seen as someone who has trade value amongst the league. And once you're seen as someone who has trade value, your name is always included in conversations. When my general managers and technical directors are having conversations about getting a deal done.

Quincy Amarikwa (49:10):

So it's very much like, Oh, what if we throw him in on the deal? Or so, so once you've seen, you're seen as it's positive and negative, right? So it's positive because it means, you know, your name is included in conversations. So you'll have other opportunities, but it's negative because sometimes organizations aren't looking at you as someone for the longterm, they're looking at you as someone in the short term to fix an immediate problem or need that they have while they then work on getting a longterm solution. So that's why I said it's, it's positive and negative. Positive, short term, I'd say negative longterm, because then you can't really build any longterm like roots anywhere.

Quincy Amarikwa (49:56):

So,

Quincy Amarikwa (49:58):

But, but I've, I've learned a lot from the process, I think because of being traded and as, as much as I have, and more importantly, the mentality I have when I approach it, I'm able to get maximum value out of eating traded. So like it's a new city, it's a new market, it's a new opportunity to learn new people. It's a, it's a, it's a way to try new ideas or learn from the mistakes that you made at the last organization that you were at or or better understand if the things that you're doing are valuable and needed and important. So I think many players struggle with it though. Because it isn't easy. It really isn't easy. It's, it's a lot of work and it's a lot of expectation. It's a lot of it's. Yeah. It's a lot of you're on your own and figure it out. And if it doesn't work, you're blamed for it not working, but that's, you know, that's life that's as it is, but you guys know we don't make excuses here.

Quincy Amarikwa (51:01):

Paul said, how about a 24 hour IG live? I'd be down. If, if Instagram, Instagram allowed it to go for 24 hours, I'd be down to do like one full, like one day stream. Benson. I mean, if you're going to watch if you're going to Twitch stream a game and can't live stream the game for copyright reasons, you could leave it link so we could watch on one time unless you on the other. Gotcha. No, I appreciate that BIM. That's what I was, I was thinking with that relation to Instagram and I was like, what do you mean tabs? I think would be cool to listen to things that a pro pays attention to while watching the game. That's actually a really cool idea. I like that. And I'm going to do that with I'm going to do that with with an MLS his back game, at least one we'll do at least one maybe multiple for these games, from watching the stream and we can do that. So I can, you guys can ask questions about what I'm paying attention to and why, and we could break down games that way. That's a good idea. I like that one. I'm trying to think if you guys haven't joined your preferred soccer team membership make sure you do that or go to my website and join my email list, my personal email list. Cause that's where I'll probably give you guys an update as to do in the stream so you can get information on that.

Quincy Amarikwa (52:20):

Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (52:22):

PG sports, ask if an MLS team calls you right now, would you go to the bubble? Yeah, of course. I'm ready to go. You guys, that's what I'm telling you guys. Mans has been training out here in in Bakersfield, whether that's as that's as good of weather that I could, that I could be in to prepare for Orlando heat. I mean, you can't match that humidity, but I'm ready to go. And I definitely know some teams are struggling at the forward position. Cause a lot of, a lot of guys definitely did not prepare well for this. They were, they were not thinking that there's going to be a tournament or they didn't think they needed to do much to be ready for it. But you know, not all, not all not all Fords in this league got the MSL mindset. You know what I mean?

Quincy Amarikwa (53:09):

You know what I mean? But like I've said and been saying I'm still a free agent for some reason, weird, or maybe it's not weird, you know, been denying stuff for a long time. All, all it takes is one chance, one opportunity. And I don't think, I don't think it would be, I don't think it would be a bad decision to bring me in. That's all I'm saying, but I guess it's more so asking what other people think, what do you guys think? You think a team should sign me? If so, why do you think a team should sign me?

Quincy Amarikwa (53:55):

A soccer dad for life as a, where do you stay once in a new city at the clubs, facility or hotels? I'm assuming you mean like when we travel for games, travel for games there you stay at like the, the hotels that they've broker deals with over the years. So it has to be a certain level of hotel cause that's what was negotiated in CBA with the, with the union or sorry with the player's association, we used to be the union, but we've rebranded as the player's association. So that's usually where you stay and then if you're being traded it's similar, but you're usually like in a longer term place, like a Homewood suites type of type of deal until you're able to get your own, your own like lease and a apartment or, or home a soccer dad said not to get off subject, but are there videos of you as a youth player?

Quincy Amarikwa (54:50):

You 12, 13? That's my son's age group. So would like to watch if we did, they're probably really bad home videos because my dad was horrible, horrible at recording games. As soon as anything was serious was going to happen. He was always like watching. So I'm sure there's a little bit, but not a whole lot. I'd need to reach out to him and ask if he's got anything. But I do have some old teammates and friends like Stuart Campbell was one of my own teammates. His dad would record games. I think he had said he has a couple of, couple of games from my youth, my youth playing days. So I'll reach out to him or you guys reach out to him and ask him if he's got him, if he can find him.

Quincy Amarikwa (55:41):

Ooh PG sports ass. Did, did you talk to D C after last season to bring you back? I did speak to them. You have your end of the year, you have your end of the year meetings and then, and then sometimes you have additional meetings after that. They did not. Yeah, they were not at the time. They were not open and wanting to bring me back. Yeah. Makes you think of the conversations you had. They're interesting conversations, but they came to the conclusion that they were not interested in bringing me back that's at the time. So like I said, guys times can change. So you don't, you're not out. You don't want to be out here burning bridges. You want to you know, understand how and why people make the decisions that they do accept the decisions that they make and then prepare for your next opportunity.

Quincy Amarikwa (56:39):

But when people make mistakes, sometimes they sometimes they own up to them and they realize the mistake that they made, they apologize and they, they put place a plan to move past and move forward. But also many people double down on, on them, not making mistake, which just creates further issues and problems for them in the future. But everybody's on their own journey and path and has their own lessons to learn and experience to have. So we're just here riding the MSL wave together, everybody. But I got two minutes. I got two minutes here. A team should sign to team should sign you to be the leader of the team. I'll be down. Just, I guess just need the team to see me as a leader.

Quincy Amarikwa (57:32):

Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (57:33):

A pub would junior said, I think they should. You might you have a lot to offer. Thank you very much. Soccer. Dad said Chicago fire should sign you reasons because it's close for us to go and watch you play and love that. Got one minute here left guys. I appreciate that. Ben said, if you got signed, you wouldn't be able to get all this excellent content out to us. Yes, I would. We were doing the show every Thursday, 6:00 PM. PST 9:00 PM. EST heat, no matter what, we'd make this work.

Quincy Amarikwa (58:02):

Mmm.

Quincy Amarikwa (58:05):

Well you made a big impact with DC. Look at the picture. A you guys know that you guys, Hey, I love that. I love the guys at DC of the, my teammates here were awesome. And I was happy as happy to see them and especially see them shout me out before the protests was. So it was dope. J pro skillset, ed 11 should sign. You tell him to call me. But yes, everybody, we got 25 seconds left here before they kicked me off. I really appreciate everybody joining in. This was a, this was a fun episode. I'm glad we got a chance to kind of just relax, talk a little bit, see how everybody's doing. I am looking forward to seeing everybody here next week. Next Thursday, we will figure out some things to do here on the lives with the Twitch stream. So make sure you sign on to my email list.

[sososdelightfullydumbimagines]

Stray kids reaction to sharing a bed with their s/o for the first time

Requested: Yessss Thanks to @ep-ip-ha-ny

Summary: How would the boys react to the first time you two slept in the same bed

Warnings: Mentions of puking and insecurities

Hey babes! I hope you guys enjoy, I'm sorry this took so long I went a little over board with this. Don't forget to request!

-Admin SoSo

Chan:

It had been a long day. For both you and Chan. He sent you a message asking you if you could comme over the dorm. You quickly agreed. You changed your route and headed for the dorm. Once you reached your destination you promptly knocked on the door. Chan opened the door and dragged you inside. You barely had the time to greet the other boys who were hanging out in the living room. Chan hauled you into his room. Once he closed the door behind you, you pulled him back towards you.

"Chan - Chan, what's wrong you haven't said a thing since I got here..."

"Nothing's wrong. I just really need to spend time together..." He looked down, sheepish

"Alright, are we watching a movie?"

"Yeah, yeah..." You both laid down on his bed and Chan pulled his laptop closer. You snuggled closer to him for some warmth. After two or three movies, your eyes started to droop.

You were dozing in and out of conciousness and Cham noticed. He held you tighter until you officially fell asleep.

He felt nervous. Very nervous. Although he felt nervous it felt right. He knew it would only be the first of many. He loved to be in bed with you after a long day.

Woojin: 

You felt cold, cold and scared. Usually your nightmares weren't this bad. But tonight you were scared and you didn't know what to do. No matter what you did you couldn't fall back asleep. You had nothing else to do but to call Woojin, he was the only one who could calm you down when you were like this. You picked up the phone and dialled his number. The phone rang a couple of times before Woojin picked up.

"Hello?" It was clear you woke him up, guilt bloomed in the pit of your stomach

"Hey, umm c-could you come over?"

"Yeah, of course. Is everything alright?"

"No actually, not really..."

"Alright I'm on my way. I'll be there in five" Shuffling was heard in the background. You pulled your knees up to your chest and rested your chin on your legs.

There was a knock on the door and you scampered to the door ripping it open. You dove straight into his arms. You some how shuffled into your bed. He pulled you onto his chest and rubbed your back.

He felt nervous but his protective instinct took over. He just wanted to take care of you. He would do anything for you including scaring away the nightmares.

Minho:

Your breath was shaky. You couldn’t contain your sobs. You were hunched over the toilet puking your guts out. You felt like crap. You were supposed to meet up with Minho soon for a date but you definitely couldn’t make it. You shot him a text briefly explaining the situation. You were too preoccupied with not puking that you didn’t hear the door open and close. Suddenly, a voice called out

“Y/n?!” Your head dropped against the toilet seat.

“In the bathroom!” Soft footsteps made their way to you

“How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better...”

“How about we get you to bed?” He slowly pulled you up and walked you down the hall. Making sure not to rattle you, he slowly pushed you on the bed and tucked you in.

“Minho, wait! Don’t go... please” He smiled softly and laid down with you.

He loved taking care of you, because he knew you would also take care of him. He loved you in the purest form and would do anything for you.

Changbin:

There were suppose to be six beds. Eight of the boys were going to share four of the beds and then you and the remaining member were going to have one bed. But of course there were only five beds. Meaning you and the other member had to either share a bed or somebody had to sleep on the floor. The left over boy was Changbin. You didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by offering to sleep in the same bed. Looking at him you reviewed your options.

“I could sleep on the floor” you offered

“No, no. How about we both just sleep in the same bed.”

“Alright” You felt grateful he offered it first.

He didn’t want to snuggle too much so that the boys don’t see it and poke fun at him. He’d feel super soft and warm inside. He was certainly grateful for that missing bed.

Hyunjin:

It’s hard being in the lime light all the time. The judgement, paparazzi, tabloids, the stress. He could feel overwhelmed at times. Unfortunately, today was one of those times. He called you asking if he could come over. You waited patiently for him on the couch. 

The door clicked open. you stood up to meet him in the hallway. When you saw him he dove for your chest. He held onto you tightly letting out a chocked sob. You wrapped your arms around him in hopes of comforting him.

“C-Can we go cuddle?” He let out softly

“Yeah, of course...” You both walked to your room and laid down. He put his head on your chest. Hearing your heartbeat comforted him.

Hyunjin didn’t feel nervous at all. You were his safety blanket, his little teddy bear. Nothing could ever touch him when he was with you.

Jisung:

It was your weekly movie night with Jisung. You were cleaning up your place and laying out some snacks for the both of you. Tonight was all about Christmas movies. A knock resonated in the apartment. You headed for the door and let him in,

“Hey”

“Hey” He looked horrible. Exhausted, sweaty and pale. Like he just ran a marathon.

“Are you ok?”

“I’m just a little tired...”

“How about we take a little nap and watch the movies later.” You pulled him closer and ran your fingers through his hair. Heading towards your room you ignored the awaiting living room.

You both dropped onto the mattress and quickly doze off.

Jisung really didn’t over think it at first. The next morning he did get shy but more rested than ever. So expect him to drop by more often for a nap.

Felix:

It was the big finale. You and Felix had been battling it out for the whole day now. Who was the best at Mario Kart. Up to now it was a tie. Understandably it had been a very high energy and intensity. No wonder your eyelids were so heavy. With Felix’s voice droning on and on, the warmth of the blanket strung over your lap and a tummy full of junk food, just made you even sleepier.

“Babe... y/n do you wanna go to bed?” You cracked your eyes open to see him hovering above you. 

“Yes please.” He slipped his arms under your knees and behind your back. He carried you over to his bed and slipped in after you. He drew your back closer to his chest and buried his nose into the crook of your neck.

He felt totally at peace. After such an amazing day with you, it only made sense to finish it with you. You were always high energy with each other it felt nice to spend some calm time together.

Seungmin:

Your stomach was in a knot and your heart was launching itself into your throat. Earlier that day you stood at his door with your bag under your arm. It was the first time you and Seungmin were gonna sleep in the same bed or even the first time you two had a sleepover.

Now you were getting ready for bed. Brushing your teeth while shooting subtle glances at each other through the mirror. 

“Are you ready to get to bed?” asked Seungmin. You spat out the rest of your toothpaste into the sink and slipped your hand into his awaiting one.

You both pulled the covers away and laid down. It was really awkward. Neither of you knew what to do. You both just laid there for a while. Until you took a hold of his hand for the second time that day. He turned his head to look at you and gave you a fond smile. He turned his hold body on his side to face you and so did you. Intertwining your legs and fingers together, you just admired each other.

At first it was awkward, neither of you had done this before and didn’t know what to do. But of course love just knew the way and you both quickly fixed it.

Jeongin: 

You were horrible at math but you excelled in languages. Miraculously, the exact opposite was true for Jeongin. Which is why you always studied together. You needed his help as much as he needed yours.

You were both sitting on your bed reviewing for your exams. You were bored out of your mind. Your brain felt fried and all you wanted to do was sleep. 

“Jeonging, can we take a nap?” you whined.

“Uh.. sure, I-I’ll go...” Scrambling to pick up his stuff, he turned as red as a tomato. You quickly grabbed his hand.

“No. actually. Could you stay?” You looked down, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure”

You both laid down facing each other. Both of you were feeling very bashful.

He was terrified something would go wrong. Yet he knew everything would be alright. As long as you were in each others arms.

[pillowfluffs]

Soulmate!Wonho // Chapter 2

Pairing: Wonho X Reader (female)

Genre: Soulmate!AU, fantasy, fluff, slight angst

Summary: After learning some things while writing back and forth with your soulmate a few nights ago, things get even more stranger.. Here’s to a new chapter in your life, however! But some strange figure might cause some.. complications..

Author’s Note: Yay! It’s officially been a week since Chapter 1 came out! I’m so excited for you guys to read this new chapter so please enjoy! And I suckk at summaries ;-; so my apologies, but please leave feedback, it’s much appreciated! But as mentioned before, I will be posting a new chapter on Saturdays 5:30pm Eastern Standard Time (U.S. Time) ((4:00pm Central Time // 2:00pm Pacific Standard Time)) Please Enjoy chapter 2!

You sat in your EP (enhanced placement) runes class, next to the window. The room was illuminated in a dark light from the cloudy skies outside. You sat next to the window which stretched from the ceiling to the ground. Tall pines and the woods were your view as you looked out and since it was a few more months until the end of the year, all the classes had small projects and assignments to do. Busy work for those who needed the credit to have a passing grade in the class. Your grades were “beyond exceptional” as the headmaster told you yesterday towards the end of your lesson of demoniaco, but you still had to attend classes for the last few months for attendance, but you didn’t really need to worry about the end of the year exam either. Your grades were proof enough of your mastery to the knowledge you absorbed so far.. You were of course proud of your achievements so far in college so you sat there in a dark blue quarter zip with no motif on it and black sweatpants, spacing out every now and then as you looked outside. Boredom filled you as small chatter of off subject things filled your ears and a movie played on the projector. The students used this time to study for other classes and finals or just to relax for the time being. The room was set up so all the students’ desks were on steps so there were about eight rows and each row as you went to the back of the room was raised by two steps and the desks themselves weren’t really desks either, they were long tables which curved along with the room. Each person had their own desk area. The last row looked down to see the front of the room along with the professor.

Professor Emanuel Demsky sat at his desk grading papers and entering them instantly into his computer. He was gifted with memoriam faciunt, the talent to allow the caster the ability to manipulate memories, but it also granted him significant memory capacity. He was considered one of the most powerful professors at the academy as this magic also allows the user to create new magic by combining spells from the other magic which the user has memorized before. Although he was deemed one of the most powerful, if anyone were to see him, they’d probably think he was a broken one; someone with a gift, but a very weak one and usually not full. Any gift could be broken but the holder cannot be able to use the power to the full capacity. An example would be the gift of invisibility, but only turning invisible about half way, which is very useless in this world.

You eyes grew heavy from the early wake and lowered your head into your arms, staring into the world outside as small pitter patters hit against the glass and a low rumble of thunder grew louder every few minutes. All the sound in the room including the talking in the back and the documentary on ancient runes in the front, were drowned out and all sort of merged to one sound quietly in the background as your ears focused on the rain and thunder outside. You watched the rain bounce off branches and leaves before your eyes shut and sleep enveloped you. The last thing your mind thought of was Wonho, vague images of what he could look like based of what you learned.

From the room’s furthest back row, in the far right corner, a man sat there and watched you as your slowly fell asleep into slumber with stone eyes. He sat there though the period, watching and absorbing every detail he saw. The way you breathed when you slept as your back rose and sunk, how your hair spread out over your arms and desks area. He was a somewhat tall guy, wearing a black long sleeve with a white shirt beneath, the bottom of the shirt peeking out with dark blue jeans and a light brown leather jacket with white vans’ slip ons. The bell rang and he noticed how you were still sound asleep in your seat. He sat patiently, waiting for everyone to leave the room as the professor continued to work diligently at his desk. As everyone made their way out the door, he stood up, picking up his backpack, slinging it over his left shoulder and making his way over next to you. He went down two rows and went to the very left end of the sixth row where you were, his shoes silent against the thinly carpeted ground.

You slept peacefully, hearing nothing including the low rumbles and cracks of thunder, the hum of the air conditioning right above your head.  You had no other class today, including the headmaster’s as the he went on his annual council meeting, so no class with him for the next week or two. The council are a group of mages who are considered the most powerful in the world. You felt a few tickling marks beginning to form on your right thigh as you knew Wonho was drawing. You began to stir in your sleep, beginning to wake up as the tickling wouldn’t stop. A smile grew on your face as you were waking.

He sat in the seat to the right of you, facing you, watching your every move. “How precious you are..” An eerie smile grew upon his face as he leaned his head against his right hand. He opened his left hand, a silver, almost black steam flowed out of his hand as it grew closer and closer to you as you began to wake up.

You sat up and opened your eyes, a warmness spreading through your body as you yawned and stretched. You turned to your right and gasped at the sight be. The bell had already rung and everyone was gone except for you. Luckily as mentioned before, you had no more classes so you were free to go wherever you wanted. You got up and left, saying a farewell to the professor who only waved in response without looking up as he entered grades to a previous test into his computer. The rain rained harder than before, same as well for the thunder; louder.

In a dimension separate from the world, outside of existence,  he looked through and watched you, an eerie smile smile on his face as he lay comfortable in his own little world. Though a pang of worry bloomed as he didn’t want you walked through the rain.

You walked out of the enchanted language building and made your way through campus back towards your own dorm. The rain did not bother you one bit as you just walked through, but that was only because the rain never touched you, except for the bottom of your pants which were slowly becoming soaked as you walked through puddles. You were manipulating the weather around you. The tickling sensation paused as you got up to leave the room earlier but it had returned once again but on your left thigh this time. “Ah, this tickles!” You reached down and scratched your left thigh, with a giggle, but it was no use; the tickling continued as you walked across campus. You pulled out a dark blue pen as you decided to always keep one on you since the events of last night with your soulmate. You wrote on the back of your hand “it tickles, can you draw or write on the wrists instead?” you smiled as you walked without looking. You weren’t paying attention to where you were walking before a pair of hands firmly grasped you by the biceps.

“Woah, careful there,” you gasped as your heart jumped at the strange man before you with a peculiar smile as he peered into your eyes, almost dropping the pen in your hand. He stood a half a head taller than you, his brown hair blowing gently in the breeze, gazing into your eyes. His hands slid down the sides of yours and he held you as your power expanded so now he was no longer in the rain as well. For some reason, you don’t know why either but you just couldn’t break the stare of his eyes with yours. “You almost walked straight into this tree,” he broke the silence. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you, I just want to make sure you’re okay.” He released his grasp on your arms with a kind smile and lingering touch.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, thank you.” You closed the pen cap, tucking it away into your pants pocket. “I was just drawing on my arm.” You shied away with a gentle smile, looking back to your hands, pulling your sleeves over your hands and looked back up. Your heart jumped a tad at his face as it was now closer, your smile fading. You were able to see all the details in his face; his prominent cheekbones, the way his rose colored lips were shaped as if he was a statue, carved from marble, how his hair was disheveled, the ends just above his eye lids. His eyes were a dark earthy brown which you were entranced to, as if you were under a spell. You weren’t going to lie but you felt a bit uncomfortable from such closeness. He was looking at you as if you were a significant other, a look filled with adoration and love but you had never seen this man before you. He seemed around your age, if not older, but that was just your opinion based on his height and looks.

“Well, be careful from now on, and watch where you’re going.” He gave you a quick smirk as he reached up and tucked a stray of your hair behind you ear, gliding his fingers tips down your cheeks. He leaned against the tree you were about to walk into, his height shortening a bit. “Where are you heading to?”

“Uh, I was just heading back to my dorm.” You bit your lip, you couldn’t help but feel a bit scared. For some reason, you felt powerless. As if you were in some sort of orb of a space which absorbed all the power you had in your body. You vision was beginning to blur longer you maintained eye contact. You attempted to use the last of your ability to mimic his, but nothing happened. No cold rush ran up your spine as you stood there. “Who is he?” For the first time in your life, you couldn’t absorb the ability of the person before you. If you had any warning alarms, they were being triggered right now.

“Are you okay? You look a bit.. Pale.” He pushed a strand of hair behind your ear, rubbing your cheek with the pad of his thumb. His right hand in his pocket tightened into a fist. His plan was going accordingly his way, and he made sure it was full proof. “You will be mine.. No matter what...”

“I have to go,” you mustered all the energy you had and left him. All the energy in your body you used for your abilities were gone, as if a dripping sponge was put through a wringer, drying every last drop out. The rain patted against your body as you walked faster, unable to use your ability. You turned around hoping to see him no longer there, but to your fear, he stood there leaning against the tree, watching you and eye contact was made right away. He pushed himself off the tree and started slowly approaching you. You turned back and made your way faster back to your dorm. You didn’t turn and  look back the entire way, it didn’t feel safe.

“What a tease she is.” He watched over you through his pocket dimension, ab amused grin stretched upon his face. He was a broken one and he didn’t have a soulmate. But when he saw you, he knew he had to break the natural laws of the universe. He wanted you all to himself; take you away from your soulmate as soon as possible because your destined day to meet could be any day.

You shut the door behind you, using the peephole to see if anyone outside, but saw no one. You locked the door and walked over to your bed and sat. You sat there doing nothing, wondering what you could do. Your room was quite spacious fortunately. Upon entering the dorm, the first thing you saw was the bed. Your bed, when you first moved in was against the right wall and the desk facing the left wall in the corner. And when you entered and turned left, there was a large bathroom with two toilets and two showers; one for you and one for the other person, well usually but since your room was at the end of the hallway, you had the bathroom all to yourself. You adjusted the furniture to your liking when you first moved in with the help of your neighbors so now the desk was facing the wall you faced when you first enter, allowing the natural light from outside to come in. Your bed was against the left wall and your head was next to your desk, in the left corner. The space where your bed once was was now a relaxation area; you brought in a black lounge chair and a jumbo sized black bean bag. Your mom insisted on being extra comfy so she bought you a cool gray rub, soft at the touch and a mini coffee table to place on the rug. You didn’t really have a theme but if anyone were to see your dorm, they would simply assume a dark theme. Now you felt stuffy and out of place in your own room. Your clothes were drenched from the rain outside, which continued harder than ever. You made a quick change of clothes, changing into a black hoodie this time and gray sweatpants. You grabbed your backpack and filled it with some of your EP runes and EP charms textbooks and left to go anywhere. You cracked the door open and peeked outside the door, turning your head left and right, luckily seeing no one in sight to be seen nor heard, but just a muffled laughter from your neighbor across the hall from you. You hadn’t really seen any neighbors of yours since the first day, but you didn’t mind; they were kind and kept to themselves. You closed your door, locking it and head to the stairwell. You walked down three levels and went outside, cautious and ready to change into a shadow mode from your demonic abilities to avoid the guy. You pulled your hood up, pulling the strings so the hood would close around your face masking you, using your ability from your pocket on the hoodie to shift the rain away from you. You walked swiftly and faster across campus. No one was outside due to the rain so if they did see you from inside, they wouldn’t know it was you which was ideal since you were known to be a pyrokinetic, an enemy of water.

The campus was substantial with openings here and there, but it was also littered with small groves here and there. Normally on a sunny day, there would be numerous amounts of other mages outside; studying, working out, sparring, anything. No matter what season it was, the campus was as magical as seen in pictures on the website; it was a prominent tourist attraction to anyone and everyone during breaks when students weren’t on campus.

You were sooner than you thought at the front gate of the school which was open but still heavily guarded. The guards simply looked at you then looked away; they wore contacts which scanned bodies for an ID card or if they were a guest, the guest tag. No matter where it was, they could scan and find it. If you didn’t have one on you, they would question you before leaving but you were not likely to get back in. Unlike your orientation day, the barrier was no obstacle for you those entering or leaving. As long as students had their ID card somewhere on them, they could get in and out with ease. ID cards were the key to everything at Mapnerry, literally. They got you into the school, buildings, computers, and more. The rumbling of thunder filled your ears as your walked as you walked along the sidewalk down a short hill towards a street full of life. There were numerous restaurants and bars, a mall where mages walked though daily. Many students often came here to have fun along with other activities similar to those done on campus. Mages of all kind walked by you with umbrellas and ponchos while the road was only slightly congested with cars. You walked down the road toward the corner, untying the strings to your hood, pulling the small opening to your face open. You turned left and entered the Espresso Express, one of the cafes in the mall, which was your favorite since it wasn’t as popular, meaning there were less people but a good amount would make them busy. It was a slight building huddled despondent among the tall apartment buildings where upperclassmen usually lived off of campus.

A warm breeze brushed your face and the fresh smell of roasted coffee filled your nostrils, causing you to suddenly feel bubbly and as if you were home on the inside. Unlike outside, the interior was warm and cheery, with bright lights and colorful murals on brick walls. Once you walked in, you passed booths where the seats were cushioned with black leather pillows. Edison light bulbs dangled over each table, illuminating the dark yet cozy cafe. It was only dark due to darkness outside from the storm since there were large windows which stretched from the ground to the ceiling. The retro styled cafe was partially full with mages socializing, students studying, even some business men tending to some meetings.

Almost all food restaurants were run, managed, and owned by culinary mages with abilities which allowed them to create and/or produce astonishing foods from the finest or repugnant of ingredients.

What you loved about this cafe was that in the level above, the cafe expanded into a spacious dining area. It was truly the quietest part of the cafe. You made your way upstairs, passing multiple students seated at their own single tables as finals were near approaching. Their tables littered with small pastries and coffee cups. You walked up the wide chestnut wood stairs, your hand gliding over the banister handles. There was only a handful of people towards the lighter side of the room and one on the darker side with their light on. The entire level was majority windows so they were sitting where there was better light. You went to the darker side in the far left corner and sat on the cushioned seat, placing your bag next to you. You spread out your books and notebooks, ready to do some heavy duty studying, adjusting the light so the brightness wouldn’t strain your eyes with a knob on the corner of the table. In the silence, you heard quiet music, but the peculiar thing was that it was very close to you. The nearest person was to your right in the other corner, which confused you even more about where it was coming from. It took you a moment until you realized it was yours and dug through your backpack, finding your phone to be on and playing music the entire time.

“Oh shoot,” you said to yourself. You paused the classical music only for a low battery notification to pop up. “Great, and of course I didn’t bring my charger,” you sighed. You shut off your phone, turning the ringer off and tossing it back in.

He sat there quietly, concentrated on the EP necromantiae textbook before him. Necromancy was the study of using the ability of necrokinesis to manipulate the dead, allowing the user to utilize magic revolving around the dead. “I should have taken EP animancy,” he mentally scolded himself for taking this challenging class. “I should have listened to Hyunwoo.” He sighed, rubbing his temple and closing his eyes as they were straining for hours. He leaned back against the plush cushion, throwing his head back and reaching for the brightness knob, turning it down a notch. He breathed calmly for a few minutes before he looked back up, looking around the room. He looked outside and saw how much darker it had been compared to this morning and that it had begun raining for awhile now, he just never noticed. He stood up and stretched his body as a yawn came out of him. “I need another coffee.” he thought to himself and got up, leaving his things neatly in his space, unafraid of anyone stealing his things since there was no one close to his space except for a girl sitting to his left in the far corner. He wore gray joggers, a black t-shirt with a black hooded jacket, and black ankle rain boots.

You saw a figure move through the room, but you assumed it was the guy to your right and pushed the thought away. You blocked out all the sound you could and any possible distractions in your peripheral vision, but you couldn’t help but think of the weird guy from earlier. You were pretty sure you had never seen him before but he spoke to you as if he already knew you. You yawned and began rubbing your eyes after sitting for about twenty minutes, continuing to feel drained from the moment you met him. You saw through your fingers as you rubbed and for a brief moment, you saw him. You moved your hands, looking around the room, but no one was there except for the same people on the far side of the room. “Pull yourself together, Y/N.” You slapped your cheeks lightly, opening your mind back up. “You’re starting to see things,” you sighed leaning back although you could have sworn you saw him just now in the same exact clothes, just staring at you from a few tables in front of you. You shook your head and  pulled your book closer, focusing on the text before you, writing down notes you believed to be significant.

He stood in line, waiting to order his third round of coffee. He watched his hand, admiring his soulmate’s handwriting. While he waited, he drew onto the back of his hand, below his soulmate’s handwriting, a rose.

“Next please.” He was cut off by the barista. “What would you like to order?”

“Hi, could I get a medium americano?” The barista put in the order. He stood at the same height as him but just a tad shorter The cafe was somewhat fuller compared to this morning.

“And would that be all?” His voice was monotone, most likely a recently graduated mage working hard to earn money to pay off student loans and debt. His eyes looked like he could have fallen asleep then and there while standing.

“Yes.” He handed the barista his card. He looked to the rose, anticipating to finish.

“Name for your order, sir?” The barista handed back his card along with a receipt and a copy for him to sign. Holding a cup in the other hand, ready to sign a name.

“Wonho.” He swiftly signed, returning the pen and receipt back. He pulled out his pen from before, continuing to finish the rose as he walked to the right of the main counter to the waiting area. This area was somewhat cooler than the register since it was closer to the door.

You sat fully focused on your notes before you. To be honest, you didn’t really need to study due to your highly exceptional academic levels. Even your professors had told you that you didn’t have to go into class anymore nor take the final at the end of the year, but you insisted. You wanted to be on the same academic level as the other mages and treated equally, but now that you really thought about it, you really didn’t have to study as of right now. You stood from your seat, stretching your body, loosening the tight muscles. Fortunately for you, you didn’t think you would get to it but now you did. You packed away your textbooks neatly and pulled out a book your father had gotten you as a going away gift and you never really had the time to read it. The book was called The Everything in Nothing by one of your favorite writing mages, Elizabeth Harmon. In this world, there were many types of mages such as good ones and bad ones; not every world is perfect. There were mages who made a living taking jobs and going on missions and quests such as Y’N’s father and mages who used their ability to do things such as open a restaurant or farm. The cover of the book was leathered with the title indented into the center. A brown leather book with a latch, made to look similar to a magus liber. It was stunning how much production value was put into Elizabeth’s books. Right when you opened the book, you suddenly got a bit light headed.

“Woah.” You caught yourself, grasping the table as a balance. You sat still for a minute, the dizziness going away. You swallowed feeling your throat dry. You went to your backpack, digging through only to find no water. “Guess I have to buy something then,” you sighed getting up and grabbing your wallet.

“Order for Wonho,” the female barista called, her voice bright and perky.

“Thank you.” Wonho reached for his coffee, continuing to draw a rose. He took the cup, making his way towards the sugar and cream counter. He opened the lid and a warm breath of americano coffee filled his nose.

Your head tilted to the side as the rose drawing had paused. “I wonder what he’s doing..” You thought to yourself as you approached the stairs. “What will it be like when I do meet him?” You began down the stairs.

He closed the lid, heading back up towards the stairs. He held his hot coffee in the hand he was drawing on. All the petals had been finished and now all he had to do was draw the stem. “Almost done~” He began on the first step.

The finished flower took your breath away. You brushed your finger over the finished flower as you walked down, not paying attention. Your body bumped into someone, causing your heart to jump in your chest, and the next thing you felt was something hot on your body but luckily your hoodie was thick enough so it didn’t hurt you.

“Ah, ow.” You stumbled backwards, landing on your bottom against the stairs. You felt embarrassment heat up your face as a small pain radiated from your back and bottom as you were face to face with the man before you.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” The man’s body hovered above yours. His arms were around your body, holding himself up. He was finely built and his muscles evident through his shirt. “Are you okay?” He pushed himself up, offering his hand to help you up.

“I’m okay.” You took his hand and he pulled you up as if you were a feather. Your hand was miniscule in his soft yet large hand.

“Again, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying atten-“ His words paused as he caught a glimpse of your hand. “A rose.” He held your hand in his, inspecting the rose. He didn’t say anything, looking at it, brushing his finger over it.

“What about it?” You stood on a stair above, matching his height, mixed emotions stirred within you. You looked closely at his facial features; how the ends of his black hair meeting his eyelids. He looked at you then, his dark eyes drilling into yours. You watched him movements, anticipating what he would do next.

He turned his hand, holding yours, showing the identical unfinished rose. “Is this your handwriting, Y/N?” His voice velvety in your ears, a soft smile growing on his face. He stood there with light eyes filled with wonder.

You felt your heart stopping and racing at the same time. “You’re.. My soulmate?” You bit your lip, preparing for the next answer, trying to restrain a smile. “You drew the rose?” You glanced back down, gesturing to the rose and looked back up to his. You’ve always wondered when you would meet your soulmate and how you would meet them one day in the future, but you guessed today was your destined day.

“I guess I am,” he smiled, nodding his head. He pulled you into his arms. “And you’re mine?”

“I guess so.” You smiled. A rollercoaster of emotions rushed through you as you looked your soulmate in the eye. The two of you stood there for a minute or two, taking in each other’s features, still holding hands. “Wait, the coffee.” His face was soft, his skin milky with his plump cheeks and rosy reddish and pink lips. His teeth perfectly straight and white though you noted that when he talked, there was a tiny lisp, but it was very cute.

“Oh, right.” He released your hand, scratching the back of his head. “I’m really sorry about your clothes.” He looked down to see your coffee stained sweatpants. “I have a spare change of clothes in my bag ‘cause I was going to go to the gym to workout, but you could wear them if you’d like.” He stood there with his right  hand remaining on the back of his neck as his weight was supported on his left leg and his left hand tucked into his pants pocket.

“It’s okay,” you sighed, looking down to your clothes. “I’ll most likely have to walk up to my dorm to change and maybe come back again.” You were a bit bummed now that you really thought about it. The heat of the coffee still present. You looked down at your clothes, the smell of coffee filling your nose.

“Please? I really insist, especially if you’re going to come back.” His voice earnest as he walked passed you. He stood two steps above you at a base set of five steps.

“What about you?” You looked down his body, seeing a coffee stain on his clothes as well but not as big as yours.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me,” he smiled as he waved it off.

You bit your lip once again, contemplating. “Would it really be okay? I mean, I am his soulmate after all.. Wait, even if I did, wouldn’t they be too big on me?” You stood there, looking up to Wonho for a moment. “Can I try them on?” You tilted your head as your hands formed sweater paws, gripping your sleeves in your hands.

“Of course, come with me.” He gestured for you to follow him back up. “So you attend Mapnerry as well?” He broke the ice walking back up the staircase. His voice was affable, fitting his personality perfectly. To you, he seemed as if he could pass as a giant muscular teddy bear or bunny.

“Yeah, I’m a first year. You too?” You sped up, catching up to his pace and walked next to him back  into the room. You stood a whole head shorter than him, but you found this height difference comfortable.

He watched you and your soulmate from afar, a fiery resentment beginning to grow. He had a change of clothes on wearing a white hoodie with black jeans and sneakers. “Looks like there will be some.. Complications in my way.” He clenched his jaw as one of his eyes glowed red and his other glowed white, his magical energy radiating off of him though no one could see him.

~~~~~

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Masterlist

[jamieclawhorn]

Why I’d buy this dividend stock over Barclays plc

Despite making progress on its restructuring programme, Barclays (LSE: BARC) has struggled to win favour with investors this year. Indeed, year-to-date the shares have fallen 17%, underperforming the broader FTSE 100 by 20%. 

It seems that investors are struggling to regain trust in Barclays following years of disappointment from the bank. Third quarter numbers did little to reassure stockholders. While overall pre-tax profit rose 32% to £1.1bn, it missed City targets of £1.4bn. Net operating income fell about 4% to £4.5bn as the lender’s key common equity Tier 1 capital ratio remained unchanged at 13.1%. More troubling was the performance at its investment bank unit. 

Equity and credit trading revenue each dropped more than 20%, while rates and foreign-exchange trading, known as macro, fell 40% resulting in an overall decline in profitability of 31%. 

These figures are hardly reassuring and show that the bank is still far from returning to its former glory — bad news for income-focused investors. 

Income seekers should look elsewhere 

After cutting its payout at the beginning of this year, investors have been waiting for Barclays’ recovery to take hold, underpinning potential for  dividend increases. 

However, the third quarter figures offered no insight into when the bank would increase its dividend, leading to speculation that it might take longer than expected to return to previous levels. The shares currently only yield 1.7%. 

Defensive growth 

Mediclinic International (LSE: MDC) offers shareholders a similar level of income, but unlike Barclays, its dividend has plenty of room for growth. 

As one of the world’s leading healthcare companies, it is a highly defensive business. Unfortunately, the company is currently facing some headwinds to its business model in Switzerland and the Middle East due to lower patient volumes, insurance mix change, and expansion costs. These headwinds cut operating profit for the six months ended September 30 by 21%, and underlying earnings fell 11% to £84m from £94m. Exceptional costs pushed the group to an overall loss for the period. 

Nonetheless, Mediclinic’s top-line revenue growth of 10% shows that the company is heading in the right direction. 

Shares in the global healthcare business have taken a beating this year as concerns about its high debt levels and rising costs have put investors off. Over the long term however, I believe that the company has an enormous opportunity ahead of it. 

Building the business

Mediclinic is a recovery play. The company operates in a defensive industry, so there’s little risk that customers will suddenly start to avoid the business (it provides an essential service), which means management has time to turn the ship around. 

When its investment phase is over, the company can switch to cash generation and pay down debt, as well increasing its dividend to investors. 

The shares currently yield 1.4%, but the payout is covered just under four times by earnings per share, which gives plenty of room for dividend growth when management decides to tone down investment. On the other hand, if investment continues, shareholders should benefit from increased EPS growth. Pre-tax profit has risen nearly 10-fold during the past five years. 

Looking for other income plays? 

If Mediclinic is not for you, there are plenty of other top income stocks out there. 

Some of the best opportunities are outlined in this free report from the Motley Fool. As well as top income picks, the report also looks at all the benefits income stocks can bring to your portfolio.

The report is entirely free and available for download today. 

More reading

Why I’d avoid Barclays plc and buy this 8% dividend yield instead

Why I’d buy FTSE 100 turnaround stock Provident Financial plc ahead of Barclays plc

Could this micro-cap stock compete with BP plc soon after surging 15% today?

Why I’d buy Lloyds Banking Group plc for its dividend over Barclays plc

Is Barclays plc a buy after Q3 results?

Rupert Hargreaves owns no share mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Barclays. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

[hopelessdreameroflove-blog]

The Moment I knew I was in Love

Right now I’m listening to Dean Lewis’s EP, and I can feel my heart beating right out of my chest and my hands shaking. I can feel myself this way because I know I’m in love, and I think it’s with someone who doesn’t feel the same.

26 days ago, I saw him for the first time in five months, and when I saw him I thought ‘wow, how did I get so happy so fast?’.  On top of that I also thought one hundred other things like ‘when did he get so good looking?’ and ‘why am I shaking uncontrollably?’.  At that point, I told myself his newly-grown facial hair was what made him so much more attractive to me, and that the night cold was the reason I was shaking the way I was; but it wasn’t. It was because I was in love with the boy, and I didn’t even know it… 

So to give you a bit of a background on my love life, I’ve always been a dater. I give too many people chances they don’t deserve. I’m the ‘queen’ of dramatic romances, but trust me when I say it isn’t on purpose. Granted, I do a lot of it to myself by making mistakes that I don’t always learn from, but let me tell you that I do not appreciate or ask for the endless nights spent crying over people who didn’t deserve my tears, and I do not enjoy the ache left in my hand as a result of endless handwritten journal entries. My point is, I’ve never found the right guy and I’ve never been in love. Until now.

Flash forward to two weeks later at McDonald’s in the middle of the night with my best friend and her boyfriend and we’re all sat there in this small booth, drinking frozen cola’s and listening to me tell the story of Ian* and I. And there I am talking and answering questions and I’m trying to control my heart beat and I’m fiddling with the cola in my hand and the boyfriend is looking strangely at me and then at his girlfriend and then it comes out.

‘So do you love him?’

At first, I didn’t hear him and instead heard my friend say to him ‘why would you ask that? Don’t ask that’ and when I asked him to repeat the question, he asked if I ‘like’ him… but I knew that wasn’t the question, and I was right. It was something about hearing it out loud that scared me and suddenly I was shedding tears one by one, trying to hold back, but I couldn’t. I just kept telling them, ‘of course I like him, I have since I met him. All I’ve wanted to be since I met him is someone he wants, but I don’t love him’. But they knew.

And that was the moment I knew.

Maybe I knew what I felt but didn’t want to admit it. But what I know for sure is that I hadn’t been in love and I’ve grown up watching relationships fall into place and people live happily ever after like Chuck and Blair in Gossip Girl, and Annie and Liam in 90210. I thought that was what love is, two people being together, but I learned the hard way that love isn’t always there when you’re searching and it’s right under your nose when the thought isn’t even on your mind, when you aren’t asking for it.

I don’t want to be in love with him.

I want to be in love with someone I’m with, someone who loves me too, not someone who is leaving my heart with an ache every time I see his name on my screen, or see him smile, or watch take care of his younger brothers, or even wash the dishes like the crazy, adventurous and beautiful adult figure that he is. I hate it. I want a fairy tale love, not a love that keeps me alone in bed every night wondering where he is or what he’s doing or when he’s going to hold me again, the way he did that night not long ago.

That’s the thing though; you don’t get to choose love, it chooses you. And though I haven’t said it aloud to anyone, myself included, I know that it’s why I’m feeling the way I am now. Ian’s the first person I’ve ever been in love with, and I don’t even get to share that with him, even though I should.

He was my first official date, and the first that I ever introduced to my strict father (as a friend, of course). He’s the one I wanted when I met him on my 18th birthday, at a club. He’s the one I secretly hoped was serious when he told me he wanted to take me to dinner one day, the same night that we met and I played the ‘smart girl’ who knew better than to fall for a drunken guy’s promise to take me out. For all I knew, he’d kissed other girls that night and said the same thing to them all, and while I was naïve, I knew enough to know that people go out for a reason and that reason isn’t to look for love.

To this day my sister still says, ‘ew, I’m not going to meet the love of my life at a club’… are you sure, sis? Because I did.

Ian has been in my life for almost 2 years now, and what a complicated couple of years it’s been. It feels like the timing is just never right for us. We’re always taking two steps forward and one step back. And I feel like to him, it’s no big deal. It doesn’t matter, he’s a few years older and he’s living his life, never in the same place for too long. Then there’s me, following a strict 5-year plan, with hopes and dreams and goals to reach and someone to be. I don’t have the luxury of dropping my plans to be adventurous like he is, I’ve never lived the life that he does. Yet somehow, every year when we see each other again after being apart for so long, it’s like we haven’t miss a day.

 I love him. I’m not even saying that out loud, yet my heart is beating faster at the fear of admitting so.

 Love is a great thing, I’m sure. It’s like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it. You can hear it in the silence, when you’re sat in the car in the middle of a paddock, just enjoying each other’s company in that moment. It’s wondering around the botanical gardens with his hand in your pocket and stealing kisses on a beautiful day. It’s the feeling you get when you’re wanting his lips on yours in the pouring rain because even though you’re laughing at each other’s messy hair, you still can’t help but feel the way you do.

 Love is patient in times apart and appreciating the moments you spend together. It’s listening to Dean Lewis sing ‘you don’t know what it’s like to fall in love with you, and you don’t know what it’s like when you can’t go back’ and having all of your moments with him come flooding back to you in one heartbeat.

 But Ian, when we’re together and you give me that smile, I feel myself forgetting to breathe, and I feel my heart breaking. I’m always wondering if it’s killing you like it’s killing me, and if you can see in my eyes when you look at me and I’m looking at you like a fool, hopelessly in love with you and that fairy tale ending we once talked about, where I was Jasmine and you were my Aladdin. Just two people from different worlds, proving the love that exists.

 But it’s just my luck. I’m in love with someone who isn’t in love with me too. It’ll all work out, they say. If it’s meant to be, it will be, they say. But I don’t want to wait. It hurts my heart to wait, but there’s nothing I can do about the boy; the boy who just announced he’ll be freelancing Europe for the next two years, and invited me to join him, like it was as easy as 1,2,3 to drop my half completed university degree to ‘live my life’ and travel alongside him.

 So this is where I stand. I’m in love with a boy I can’t be with, the one who’s getting away quicker than the racing beat of my heart.

[jamieclawhorn]

Why I’d buy AstraZeneca plc over this soaring growth stock

These two stocks both operate in the pharmaceutical sector but could not be more different. One is a growth minnow, the other an income behemoth. But they have risk in common. One is quite evidently high-risk, the other has become unexpectedly risky. Which would you buy?

Sheeple

Bioventix (LSE: BVXP) manufactures and supplies high affinity sheep monoclonal antibodies for use in diagnostic applications such as clinical blood testing. Founded in 2003, the Surrey-based biotechnology company has traded on AiM since 2014, and has a current market capitalisation of £125m.

Recent share price performance has been meaty, with the stock up 275% in the past three years. Last year it was booming thanks to continued demand for its monoclonal antibodies, favourable currency shifts and encouraging developments from project partner Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics on its new troponin antibody. Some reckon it could even be the UK’s most exciting investment opportunity.

Peak or plateau?

Bioventix posted more good news last month, raising annual pre-tax profits more than a third due to rising sales of its vitamin D antibody. Annual revenue rose 30% to £7.2m and its cash balance climbed from £5.3m to £6.1m. However, it also warned that the vitamin D market would plateau in the near future, and may only record a “modest further increase” in the coming fiscal period.

I have personally developed antibodies against soaring biotech companies because of the danger that you come to the party too late! My concerns are magnified by the fact that after three years of double-digit EPS growth around the 40% mark, City forecasters are pencilling in a drop of 18% in the year to 30 June 2018. A forward valuation of 26 times earnings is also a concern. After the peak, the plateau.

Mystic men

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) is a very different creature with a current market cap of nearly £66bn. It has also done well lately, its share price up 77% over five years, and almost 15% over three months. However, it has been a bumpy ride, with the stock plunging 15% in July after the failure of its Mystic drug, a first-line chemotherapy alternative.

I wrote at the time that this was a buying opportunity for the brave and it has since rallied strongly, so yay me. You need to understand the ongoing risks, though. Investors have had to be patient with the company, and put a lot of faith in CEO Pascal Soriot, who is developing the company’s long-term pipeline of treatments.

Future shock

On Wednesday we had the good news that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to Calquence (acalabrutinib) for adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), combined with disappointing results for new treatment tralokinumab aimed at patients with severe asthma. You can expect a lot more of this.

AstraZeneca’s EPS have fallen in four out of the past five years. Another 13% drop is forecast for this year, followed by a measly 1% rise in 2018. The prize, however, is further down the line, with Soriot projecting revenues of more than $45bn by 2023, now just six years away. That’s quite a leap from 2017’s projected $16.06bn. The forecast yield of 4.2% should help settle your nerves as you wait to see if his strategy is a winner.

Favouring high-risk growth stocks over long-term dividend heroes can turn out badly but this is by no means the worst mistake you can make.

This BRAND NEW Motley Fool report, Worst Mistakes Investors Make, looks at some of the costliest investment blunders and sets out how you can avoid them.

It is absolutely free and explains why, say, you should not sell winners too early and should avoid going all-in on one stock.

Click here to read this no-obligation report. It will be yours in seconds and won't cost you a penny.

More reading

This FTSE 100 growth stock could be a better buy than AstraZeneca plc

Why I’d buy this FTSE 250 stock alongside AstraZeneca plc

Why I see more upside ahead for AstraZeneca plc

Should you buy this growth company after profits soar 40%?

Why this small-cap stock could be the UK’s most exciting investment opportunity right now

Harvey Jones has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AstraZeneca. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.