#whatever that show Evan and Angela are on is called | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

andydrysdalerogers · 2 years

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Love to Hate You ~ A Chris Evans Story ~ Chapter 12

Pairing: Chris Evans/OFC Angela Wagner

Summary: Angela Wagner has been best friends with Sebastian Stan for years. Meeting in Vienna and following each other around the world has formed a bond that couldn’t be broken. No matter how much Sebastian’s other best friend, Chris Evans, tries.

A cruel comment sets the stage, and the frenemies makes sure to let each other know how much they love to hate each other.

*** this story will have situations and scenes that are not suitable for younger readers. Smut, infidelity, degradation, dirty talk and foul language are your warnings.

Chapter 12 of 13 - Previous Chapters Here

Playlist available on Spotify.

Chapter 12 ~ I Get To Love You

Angela woke in Chris’s bed and smiled. She finally felt complete, with the love of her life sleeping next to her. She crawled out of bed and grabbed his button down and her phone. She went to the bathroom and called her new editor, placing the call on speaker, as she buttoned up the shirt. “Hello? Joel?”

Angela! Ready to fly. Excited to work with you.

“I was excited.”

Is everything alright?

“I’m sorry Joel but I don’t think I could do the assignment.”

Angela, we need your vision for this project.

“I know. I wish I could, but some circumstances have changed. I can’t leave the US right now.”

Ok so don’t.

“Excuse me?”

Don’t leave. Video chat us, edit the photos. Fly out when you can and fly back home. I told you, you didn’t need to commit to being away.

“Are you sure?”

Angela, you have to be the most inventive, creative photographers I have ever worked with. I’ll take whatever I can get to get your mind on this project.

Angela sat on the bathroom floor in shock. Joel was one of the biggest names in the business and he wanted to work with her, she would be an idiot to turn down the offer. As she struggled with the words, she heard a noise and turned to see Chris in the doorway. “Joel, can I call you back?”

Sure.

She hung up and looked up at Chris. “How much did you hear?”

He crouched down to sit next to her. “The part where you turned down a great opportunity. Why?”

“Because I thought I would have to be in London to pull it off.”

“What’s the project Angie?”

Angela pulled up her notes on her phone so she could show him the project idea. “Shooting the athletes for the Invictus Games. Joel is the royal photographer for Prince Harry, who founded the games. They were looking for someone to be their art director for the athletic photos. Originally the idea was to fly to the different countries and shoot and then edit in London before the 2016 games.”

“That sounds like an amazing opportunity, my queen. Why are you turning it down?”

She looked down but drew her knees in, hugging them and resting her head on them, looking away from Chris. “Because I can’t… I can’t leave you,” she whispered.

Chris could feel the heart break in her voice. The last month taking a larger toll than he realized on her. He moved to her other side, so she was forced to look at him. “Baby, you wouldn’t be leaving me. You don’t think it kills me every-time I have to film and be away from you?”

“This is different Chris.”

“Not from what I heard. Angela,” he took her head in his hands, “we can make it work. I love you, so much. I’ll do anything to make you smile.” He smiled big. “In fact, I’m on an extended break. My only obligation in the next six months is the premier and the press tour. So why don’t I move to London with you?”

“What?”

“How long would you need in London?”

“You can’t be serious?”

“For you, always. Tell me. How long?”

“I would need to be there for at least three months.”

“Perfect. Delay for a month, let us do the premier, then I have press for like two weeks and then we can move to London for three months. After that you can move with me to Boston. We can be together. And you can travel after that when they need you.”

Angela looks at Chris. “You want to do this? Move to London, be at my disposal?” She said with a smirk.

“I’d wait naked every day for you.” He kissed her neck, “have dinner waiting for you, a glass of wine,” he whispered.

“God, Chris,” she moaned.

“Please my queen? Let’s do this. I want to do this for you. Because you are everything to me.” He wrapped his arms around her and continued his assault.

“I love you, Chris.”

“And I love you, Angela. More than you’ll ever know.”

With those words, the tears started to stream. She held onto Chris, attempting to calm herself. “You’re amazing, you know that.”

“I have been told,” Chris said with a smirk. Angela smacked him with a laugh.

“It’s cold in London.”

“You’ll keep me warm.”

“Football would be on late in the day.”

“And Boddingtons are easier to get in London.” He caressed her cheek. “Why are you fishing for an excuse?”

“I can’t believe that the Chris Evans wants to move with me. To London. For three months.”

“And I can’t believe that the Angela Wagner is doubting that I, Chris Evans, am so in love with you that I would follow you anywhere.”

“Anywhere?”

“Anywhere.”

Angela stood up and offered her hand to Chris. He really didn’t use it but took her hand anyway. “Follow me back to bed.”

“Yes ma’am.”

~*~

One month later…

“I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Rață, I swear I’m going to throw up.”

“No, you aren’t Duck. You’ve done this before.”

“With you. Not with anyone else. I’m going to stay here.”

“Angela Wagner, you get your ass out of that bathroom now!”

Angela opened the door and looked at her best friend. Sebastian was standing with his arms folded, his grey suit tight around his arms. “That’s not fair. No full name usage.”

“I didn’t.”

“Close enough.” She went to close the door, but Sebastian stopped her. “Angela Lucy Wagner, you better not make that man wait.”

“And there it is.” She closed her eyes. “It's not fair, you don’t have three names.”

“Sorry Ducky.” He offered a smile. “I’m just excited for you.”

“To have the fans hate me for taking a heartthrob.”

“If that were true, you’d be dating me,” he snarked. She smacked him and they laughed. “Ok, ok.” He pulled her in to hold her. “Everything is going to be ok. You look amazing, and what’s better is that you already have a year together. This will only make it better, ok?”

Angela took a deep breath. “You’re right.” She smiled. “I can do this.”

“You can. It's just a red carpet.” He shrugged with a smile. “No big deal.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me. Now I promised to deliver a beauty to Chris and I never back out of a promise.” He took Angela’s hand and dragged her from the room.

Downstairs in the lobby, Chris rocked on his heels, hands in his pockets, waiting for Sebastian and Angela. He was nervous, red carpets usually did, but this time he would be walking with Angela. He had his back to the elevators, trying not to fidget with anything.

The elevators doors pinged, and he whipped around. All he saw was a vision in blue. A strapless, sweetheart neckline that gathered around her before coming together at her waist and then falling straight to the ground. When she walked, he could see the slit that went all the way up her leg. Blue stilettos completed the look. He checked her out and saw her hair was down, how he liked it but clipped back with diamond barrettes. She wore the necklace that Sebastian had given her, but earrings were from him.

He approached her. “Wow,” as he ran his hands on her arms. “Angie, you look beautiful.” He pecked her lips gently.

She tried not to swoon at how delicately he handled her. “Thank you, Chris. You look nice in your tux.” She leaned closer to his ear. “I want to see it on the floor,” she whispered, making Chris smile with a Cheshire cat grin.

“Ok, I’m right here,” Sebastian complained. Chris and Angela laughed before joining hands. “Still not used to you guys. Shall we?”

The trio headed to the limo to take them to the Age of Ultron premier. Chris never let go of Angela’s hand, but her knee bounced. “Angie, please calm down.” He lifted her hand to kiss the back of it. “It’s going to be ok.”

“Sorry. We are about to shock the world. You know that right?”

“That Angela Wagner is giving the time of day to Chris Evans? Yes, shock the world indeed.” Sebastian snorted. “You understand that only our friends know you hated each other, right? The world doesn’t know that.”

“Ok, fair, but he,” she pointed to Chris, “tends to make headlines everywhere he goes.”

Sebastian looked at Chris. “She has a point.”

“You guys are evil.” He wrapped his arm around Angela. “If you don’t want to do this with me, my Ice Queen, you can walk with Sebastian.”

“No! That’s not… that is not what I am trying to say. I’m simply scared that people will just be mean. That they will think I’m not good enough for you.”

“Fuck what they think. You are my queen and I want to show you off.” He kissed her just as they pulled to the end of the red carpet. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and I want the world to know that you are mine. I love you.”

“I love you. Thank you. I needed that.” Angela sighed. She looked out the window to see all the people waiting for them. “Let’s do this before I lose my nerve.”

Sebastian climbed out first with a wave and started to make his way down the red carpet. Chris went next, waving as he stood by the door. He held out his hand and said, “I’ve got you, my queen.” She took his hand and climbed out. The flashes were intense as Chris took her hand to start the step and repeat.

They changed positions a few times, with his wrapping his arm around her waist and she places her hand on his chest. Then it was just them holding hands. But the big one is when he leaned in to kiss her. The photographers went nuts, shouting at them to look at the camera. When the interviews started, Chris never let go of her hand. They all asked when and how long but Chris never gave details, just the vague statement his PR team came up with it. “We’ve been together for a while, we’ve just been keeping it quiet, enjoying each other.”

Sebastian watched, never prouder of his best friends than in this moment. As they came to the end of the red carpet, he had a couple of glasses waiting for them. Chris took his and took a large sip. Angela took a much smaller sip, letting the alcohol warm her belly. Chris never let go of Angela, hand on waist or her hand in his.

At the after party, Angela got up to get a drink while Chris chatted with Robert and Scarlett. As she waited, she was bumped.

“Oh, my apologies.” The man turned. “Angela!”

“Oh, Henry, how are you?” They greeted each other with a kiss to each cheek.

“I’m well.” He took a sip of his drink just as Angela received hers. “So you and Evans.”

She flushed. “Yes. Chris and I.”

“I’m glad to know that you are with someone who is very worthy,” he said with a chuckle. “Are you happy?”

“The happiest I’ve ever been.”

“Good I’m glad.” He glanced over his shoulder to see Chris watching intently on them. “I suppose if I asked you to dance, it might cause a scandal.”

“Probably, although not with Chris. Possibly with Sebastian. He’s very protective.”

“Ah yes, the best friend. Well, I should go back to my table. It was nice to see you again, Angela.”

“Likewise, Henry. Angela went back to her table. Chris took her hand and pulled her into his lap.”

“Hello, my queen. Do you like making me jealous?”

“Sometimes,” she said with a smirk. “But not tonight. Henry says hello.”

“Hmm, he likes what’s mine,” he whispers into her ear.

“He can like all he wants. I’m yours,” she whispered, with a kiss on his neck.

“Angie!” Elizabeth Olson calls out. “Dance with me!”

“Go dance for me, my ice queen,” Chris said. “But behave.”

“Love you,” she said with a kiss.

“Hmm, love you too.” He patted her butt as she got up to dance with Elizabeth. Chris turned to Sebastian. “She’s killing me.”

“Yeah, I don’t need to know that,” Sebastian said, taking a large drink of his beer. “How much longer do I need to carry this?” He patted his pocket.

“I don’t know when to do it. Do I do it in front of everyone or when we are alone?”

“I would say in front of everyone.” Sebastian smiled. “There is no press here but there are photographers to capture the moment.”

“True. Ok.” Chris rolled his shoulders. “I’m more nervous now than before.”

“Relax Chris.” Sebastian looked at Angela who was twirling with Elizabeth. “I’ve never seen her this happy.” He looked back at Chris. “Thank you. After everything, losing her dad, Penn, she’s happy.”

As Sinatra’s “Just the Way you look tonight” started to play, Chris got up and made his way to Angela. “May I have this dance?”

She giggled and took his hand. He pulled her close to him as they swayed to the music. “You know love, I really used to love to hate you.”

Chris chuckled. “I used to love to hate you too. It was the best part of any party, sparring with you.”

She beamed at him. “It was my favorite part too. But now I get to love you and it’s the best thing that I get to do.”

“Yea?”

“Yea. This is my favorite place in the world. In your arms.”

Chris smiled as she leaned on his chest. It took them awhile, to get to this place, where they could be together. He never wanted to let it go. He kissed the top of her head and she looked at him at him. “Baby, you ok?”

“Yes sweetheart. I just need to confess something.”

“Chris?”

��My Angela, you make me so happy, and I’m really excited to get to London with you and then Boston and start a life, a real life. But I would like to do it knowing we’ll be together forever.” He stopped and knelt down, and the room got eerily quiet, minus the music. “Angela, will you do me the honor and allow me to be your husband? Marry me?” He held up the ring that Sebastian had been holding onto for him.

Angela had her hand on her mouth, tears streaming down her face. All she could do was nod and the room exploded with cheers as Chris slipped the ring on her finger and stood up. He pulled her in for a kiss, dipping her in front of everyone as they cheer and hollered. Sebastian reached them first and pulled Angela into a hug. “I’m so happy for you Duck!”

“Thank you Rață! I can’t believe it.”

“I can’t believe I managed to keep this a secret.”

“You knew?!”

“For a couple of weeks. When he asked me if he could ask you.” Angela’s eyes went wide. “You’re my best friend Ducky and my sister. Of course, he would ask. Your dad would be so proud.”

She pulled Sebastian in close. “I love you Rață. You’ll walk me, right?”

“Try and stop me Duck.” He let go to shake Chris’s hand. But Chris wasn’t having it, pulling Sebastian in for a hug.

“Thanks man.”

As Angela showed off her ring, Chris took a moment and watched his new fiancé. The amazing red head who stole his heart. He went through his memories of her, every argument, every insult, every touch, every kiss. He smiled as she walked towards him. He reached out and she took his hand, and he pulled her close. “Hello fiancé.”

“Hello fiancé. Why are you here all by yourself?”

“Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Us.”

“Yea?”

“Yea.” He kissed her softly. “I can’t wait until I make you Mrs. Evans.”

“Little presumptuous to think that I won’t keep my last name.” Angela smirked at him.

Chris narrowed his eyes. “You are so going to be in a world of hurt my ice queen. I need to take you to my bed, Mrs. Evans,” he said seductively, emphasizing her future name.

Angela shivered. “Yes, Mr. Evans. I love you.”

“Love you too, my queen.”

#andy's hea #andy's shenanigans #chris evans smut #chris evans #chris evans x ofc #chris evans au #chris evans story #chris evans fic #chris evans fanfiction #sebastian stan #marvel mcu #avengers

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seven-oomen · 4 years

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Happy Halloween, Ben! I hope you are continuing to feel better! Do you expect any trick-or-treaters tonight? (Is that a thing in the Netherlands?) I hope you find lots of good candy at the grocery store! I myself have two bags of dark chocolate Kit Kats to hand out to all the kids I foresee coming by (*wink wink*) Your pumpkin is adorable, by the way. I wanted to do some cool faces with mine, but my friends that normally host a Halloween party decided to just hold their Costume and Pumpkin Decorating Contests online, and the theme was “2020”. I thought “well, I’ll just get two pumpkins, and use one for the contest and one for whatever." Then one of them started molding, which seemed very on brand for this year, so I just went with it, and ended up with meme pumpkins. I included a color pic, so you can see just how gross the one got. Fun fact: the top of it is held on by being skewered with a dowel rod and set in place along the rim. In case you were curious (you probably weren’t, but oh well), trying to scoop out a moldy pumpkin is indeed deeply gross. Imagine a physical manifestation of the sensation most people seem to feel when you say the word "moist”. Just…so gross and squishy… *shudders in remembrance*

My costume attempt turned out okay given that I managed to pull it together entirely out of things I already had. In case you don’t recognize the symbol, I was one of the more recent comic versions of Black Canary (this one at least had proper shorts). Let me tell you, trying to free hand draw that goddamn bird outline with no printer or projector was an adventure. I had to do it backwards, essentially, too, because I realized that pencil marks are extremely difficult to erase off of craft foam.

And I just wanted to show off that I’m the kind of classy bitch who drinks wine out of a can (also, it’s an awesome can.) To be fair, it was actually surprisingly decent (I say, as though I know shit about wine). I sent a picture to a friend, and she started teasing me, and I said “it’s a rainbow can, how was I supposed to pass it up?”, and she was like “you know what, fair, I would have done the same thing." I also got some kind of sparkling red wine to drink tonight for proper spooky effect. The cashier commented on it being good as I was checking out, so here’s hoping.

I know what you mean about endless plot ideas, too. I started a couple of smaller pieces to work on when my longer WIP gets overwhelming, got on a roll, and have almost finished one. I got super excited when I finally got to a few of the lines that were among the first I thought of for it months ago, then realized "fuck, now I have to write the smut, don’t I?" So, hopefully the wine will offer some inspiration there, too. XD

By the way, I totally wasn’t kidding about the Chris Evans/Henry Cavill rom com idea. I totally went and found it in my FB messages and screen-shot it so that I can now inflict share it. Buckle up, here we go: So, Chris’s character’s great-aunt (played by Angela Landsbury) talks him into coming to stay with her along the English coast after his divorce, and help her run her mystery book shop. Only, less than a week in, she runs off to go on vacation with her boy toy (Christopher Walken). By this point, he’s already ended up in an unexpected rivalry with the co-owner of the comic shop next door (Henry), who’s been trying to get the great-aunt to sell him part of the bookstore’s storage space to build a table-top gaming area. The woman (Natalie Dormer) who runs the little bakery/tea shop attached to the other side of the bookstore has a running bet with the other co-owner of the comic shop (John Boyega) on how long it will take for the two men to realize just what type of tension there actually is between them. Chris could wear hipster glasses, and skinny jeans, and cozy sweaters/cardigans, that he could remove at strategic moments to reveal the ridiculousness that is his arms and chest. Henry could wear tight jeans and fitted nerdy t-shirts and SET THE CURLS FREE GODDAMMIT. And of course at least one encounter would have to happen at a dog park, because both their RL dogs are absolutely adorable and deserve a moment in the spotlight. Please, Netflix, I’m begging you. Make it happen. (If you curious, this particular moment of inspiration struck during a discussion over "if Evans is America’s Ass, is Cavill Britain’s?" My friends are also classy like me. XD )

Well, on that note, I’m gonna shut up for a while, and go wash the color out of my hair, because I think it’s been on at least half an hour longer than it should be, technically. Enjoy your sugary findings, and I hope they and your coffee give plenty of energy for writing your various projects! :D I hope you continue to feel better, and that things keep looking up! Take care! *Properly socially distanced and seasonally spoopy hugs to you both!*

Okay 1: omg I need that gay wine. (Rainbow wine, whatever.) That is amazing, I love it. And I totally get why you needed that. I don’t have any wine for myself tonight. But I have some Budweiser (Or well “Bud” as it is called here), cans of coke and Jack Daniels, so I should be good.

And I think your jacket turned out pretty well! Looks awesome. (Though I get what you mean about craftfoam. It is a bitch to work with when you only have pencils and no stencils.)

Halloween isn’t much of a thing here I’m afraid, aside from some witches who celebrate samhain and the uprising of general pop culture there aren’t many people who really celebrate Halloween like in the US. So no, I don’t expect any trick or treaters tonight (also because COVID has us on a 8 pm curfew).

I think the Netherlands celebrates Saint Martin far more which Wikipedia explains pretty well as: Saint Martin's day, also known as the Funeral of Saint Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, as well as Old Halloween and Old Hallowmas Eve is the Funeral day of Saint Martin of Tours (else Martin le Miséricordieux) and is celebrated on 11 November each year.

The day is celebrated on the evening of 11 November (the day Saint Martin was buried) in the Netherlands, where he is known as Sint-Maarten. As soon it gets dark, children up to the age of 11 or 12 (primary school age) go door to door with hand-crafted lanterns made of hollowed-out sugar beet or, more recently, paper, singing songs such as "Sinte Sinte Maarten", to receive candy or fruit in return. In the past, poor people would visit farms on the 11th of November to get food for the winter. In the 1600s, the city of Amsterdam held boat races on the lake IJ. 400 to 500 light craft, both rowing boats and sailboats, took part with a vast crowd on the banks.

But other than that we don’t really have a holiday where children go door to door to ask for candy.

It’s getting more popular now in recent years to do so on Halloween, as well as Halloween parties, but it’s not very widespread.

Yeah I was really excited to write some fanfic for Love and Monsters and then today I started doubting that. And now I’m leaning towards writing more Petopher fic where Chris gets turned?

I blame @for-the-love-of-wolves for that one because I read their fic and now I’m like: that’s a good idea. I want to write that too. And now I can’t shake it.

I should really finish things but urgh... part of me just wants to write more teen wolf fanfic.

I’m really curious about your wip though, I hope that when you’re ready to share it, I get to read it too. ^^

Honestly, Netflix needs to make this idea happen. I insists. I wonder if my friend who works their customer service can pitch ideas but I don’t have much hope for that. Would be pretty awesome though to see this come alive because it’s GOOD! Holy moly I want that to happen now XD. Brittain’s ass is it, UK Vs US ass fight!

Wait is that too gay?

Ah who cares XD

I’m still snivelling with a cold but it’s only stuff coming out of my nose, for the most part, I’m doing pretty good and can focus somewhat on things again. And no real pain aside from the general ones.

So I’m gonna wish you Happy Halloween, have a good night and lots of socially distanced hugs from me and Mo.

#ben says stuff #my convos with anon #B #halloween #submission

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sunshinemossboy · 6 years

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which is your fav ahs season

WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME I CAN'T DECIDE????!!

I'm just gonna be extra as hell and list my pros and cons... get ready for a long ass answer sorrynotsorry you're dealing with a writer here:

Murder House

just gonna say it - overrated

I do appreciate it because it sparked the rest of AHS

created some iconic characters

in hindsight, at least Tate is better than Kai

still a really good concept

a bit boring at times though

Jessica Lange is fucking superb

lowkey started trend of Lily Rabe's characters either dying or already being dead and me no likey that so much

Francis Conroy talking about men is always great but I liked the more subtle hints to her speeches this time

Asylum

LANA BANA BO BANA BANANA FANA FO FANA FE FI MO MANA, LANA

Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe were ICONIC in this season holy fckin christ

so was Jessica Lange

and Zachary Quinto

basically the characters had really good like writing and rounding out and such

but wtf was with the alien subplot??

some damn good writing

while I do not approve of Sister Mary Satan raping the monsignor I can never get "There was a priest, the dirty beast, his name was Alexander. His mighty dick was inches thick, he called it Salamander" out of my head

Jude and Kit at the end was so sweet

Coven

honestly at times bit off more than they could chew with the subplots, not all of those were really resolved

Jessica Lange somehow even more iconic

same with Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett, what QUEENS

Foxxay

seriously both Misty and Cordelia are adorable on their own, and together I just can't handle it

STEVIE NICKS

the music in this season provokes an emotional response from me

"Can we please not move things? Some of us are blind!"

*stuffs bagels into bag* "Who's takin me home?"

Myrtle Snow calmly playing that instrument while Cordelia had a breakdown

those all black looks were good shit

Freak Show

this shit was SAD AS HELL

like literally how they killed all the characters was fucking gut wrenching

also Pepper? at Briarcliff?? seeing that magazine with Elsa on it??? I cry every time

once again proved the crazy talent of Sarah Paulson

at least Lily Rabe was kinda there

despite being a little shit Dandy was a great character

last time they had some really long episodes, or at least varied between 45 min and longer, which I liked bc I think it let them do quite a bit

I want Sarah Paulson's cover of Criminal to play at my funeral or my wedding or goddamn something ugh

"We might not be on a farm but something sure smells like bullshit to me" (paraphrased)

I can't believe they made me feel so damn bad for a scary clown dude, he didn't deserve that

Hotel

the fucking style? and music? SUPERB

"I FUCKING LIVE HERE"

when Iris was gonna off herself and made that video

I have a love/hate relationship with John Lowe 'cause he kinda stupid

Evan Peters looking like Spongebob as a fancy waiter

Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer drenched in blood

everything about Liz Taylor was like beautiful

somehow the vampire thing worked

could (should) have used literally any song other than hotline bling

Devil's Night was great but then they made an inconsistency with the zodiac killer in Cult

aT lEaSt LiLy RaBe WaS kInDa ThErE

loved it when Billie came back

Roanoke

enjoyed the documentary style and kudos to Ryan for doing something different

with that being said it was pretty predictable and cliche

so damn happy to see Lily Rabe back

favorite fan promo thing I saw: "Lily Rabe is back and she has a gluten allergy and questionable judgement" (paraphrased but hilarious and accurate)

wish they had time to round out the actor characters (Audrey, Monet, etc)

RIP an accent 2016-2016

still though, it brought some good people back into the cast

good call with Adina Porter, she's amazing

"I'm not American, I'm not used to all this carnage!"

honestly a lot of Audrey's lines were great

and her reaction to Shelby's death holy fuck that honestly startled me

Cricket Marlowe looking like Danny Devito in that one episode of Always Sunny

Cult

I liked how they worked phobias into it

a good deal of the sexual stuff just made me really uncomfortable, like especially when it was directed at Ally (or Ivy I guess), idk I think as a lesbian myself it felt like they were pushing all this phallic shit on her and challenging her sexuality which just really rubbed me the wrong way (my take on it, anyway)

Ally's character development though goddamn

Ally in general, she was so fckin cute ugh

I feel like they made Ivy too dislikable? like she could've had SOME redeeming qualities but nah

Kai was fucking awful

people shit on Winter as a character but I still think Billie Lourd acted wonderfully

why do all of Emma Roberts' characters have to be such bitches? lol

still don't know how I feel about it ending with Ally supposedly like becoming leader of the SCUM group or whatever

loved that they used extreme stereotypes of both conservatives and liberals

Apocalypse

they killed Venable too soon

she and Mead were so extra together I loved it

MISTY IS BAAAAACK

again, Foxxay (they better kiss and be happy by the end of this season I stg)

Cordelia's vision was terrifying, like she got her throat torn out jfc

if Cordelia (or, hell, even Billie) die too I'm going to be 2-3 times more heartbroken than I already am about Venable

especially excited to see Mallory's character develop

I both love and hate Michael Langdon

Leslie Grossman still getting all the wack, iconic one-liners

BD Wong being in it was lowkey hilarious to me bc I've only ever seen him in SVU before

"Because I'm the FUCKING Supreme"

can't wait to get more Billie Dean Howard

Jessica Lange! it's been so long, how ya been?

where the hell did Brock go after he broke in to kill Coco? did he just fuck off back into the wastelands?

Ryan, USE LILY RABE'S TALENT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD even if she doesn't stay for long this season (plz let Misty be okay and while I don't quite think it'll happen I'm still hoping to see Nora) bring her back sometime with another major character I miss her so much

I'm excited to see more!

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truthbeetoldmedia · 6 years

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Good Trouble 1x12 “Broken Arted” Review

In the penultimate episode of Good Trouble’s first season, sh*t hits the fan. Then again, what else can we expect from the show with more love triangles, rectangles and whatever shape you can think of, really, than any other?

Most of the episode takes place at an art gallery where Gael is featuring eight of his pieces, hoping to attract some new fans and some buyers. Most of the gang tags along, and even some of Mariana’s coworkers and her boss are there.

Raj accompanies Mariana, who is preparing to make an app pitch to the CEO of the company, Evan. Unfortunately, Mariana’s work friend, Casey, has advised her not to pitch her original idea as it’s something he’s heard before, and when Mariana brings up her idea for an activism app, Casey isn’t so sure he’ll like that either.

Mariana is also majorly stressed out about the not-so-anonymous anonymous list detailing employee salaries at the company. Though she still wants to make positive change and close the wage gap at Speckulate, she knows that being the only marked Latina female on the list will out her and attract some negative attention.

Regardless, Raj agrees to stick by her side and remain open about his race on the list as well. He says, “If you go down, I’m going down with you.” (Is anyone else crying?)

Meanwhile, Gael receives slightly negative feedback on one of his pieces, causing Bryan to immediately strategize how he can get some positive publicity. Gael is getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute though, and when his sister, Jazmin confronts him about his feelings for his boyfriend, he realizes that becoming exclusive with him was probably a mistake. He’s still in love with Callie. After all, she helped him craft one of the pieces in the gallery last minute the night before. She’s his muse, as he calls her.

While he tries to sort through his feelings, Jamie and Callie seem to be going strong. Jamie continues to look into Judge Wilson and his son’s legal past, since both find it strange that charges on him were dropped after he assaulted a police officer. With Callie being replaced as the clerk on the Jamal Thompson case, she seems to have more time to snoop, and less worries about the possible consequences. When Malika tries to get her to come to the next Black Lives Matter protest though, she still says no. Being seen at the event may be a little too public seeing as she’s still a clerk for Judge Wilson.

While Malika is attempting to organize the protest, her mind is occupied by her brother, who she hasn’t heard from in a while and whose number has suddenly been changed. She tries to focus on her work, but when she finally hears from him, he tells her he’s not well.

Meanwhile, Sumi and Meera’s relationship is threatening to fall apart. Sumi tells Alice that she’s still in love with her, and even admits she was her soulmate. She’s set to get married in just days, and while she’s admitted her feelings, Alice seems to genuinely be into Joey. I can’t be the only one crossing my fingers every time Alice is on screen that she won’t forget her worth and get back with her ex, right?

Speaking of which, ah, Davia. Her on-and-off boyfriend who’s from Wisconsin and still married (what a mouthful) is back in LA and still promising to leave his wife for her. Though Dennis has made it clear that he doesn’t want to see her get hurt and doesn’t think he’s good enough for her, Davia is continuing to see the guy. However, she seems to be taking Dennis’ words to heart, because she informs her boyfriend that she’s not moving back home until he’s divorced. She’s not going to continue being someone’s mistress. Yes, girl!

At the gallery, Mariana runs into Evan and pitches him her idea, which despite Casey’s warning, he seems to love. Unfortunately, Angela and Josh are watching the entire exchange, and Josh tells Angela that he’s afraid Evan is into Mariana for more than her app ideas. He mentions a name we haven’t heard before, Amanda, and remarks that he doesn’t want what happened to her to happen to Mariana, landing Speckulate smack dab in the middle of a #MeToo movement scandal. He then tells Angela to get her fired.

When Mariana tells Raj about how well her informal pitch went, he isn’t as congratulatory as she’d hoped. Raj then unknowingly echoes Josh, telling Mariana that he’s afraid Evan has bad intentions. She doesn’t want to hear this though, and blows up on Raj, reminding him that he’s the one who had bad intentions. Yikes.

Back at the loft, Bryan confronts Gael about his feelings for Callie, knowing from the paint on Callie’s hands that she helped him create his last minute piece. Gael admits that he should’ve never agreed to be exclusive (sigh) and breaks things off. Bryan’s words to Callie as he leaves? “You won.”

The next morning, at Speckulate, Angela confronts Mariana about the anonymous list, having hacked her way into the system to get it. Instead of firing her on the spot though, Angela gives Mariana a hard drive of all the men’s salaries. Could this be an unexpected partnership blooming? Or is Angela taking Josh’s warning seriously and setting her up?

We don’t have much time to ponder this because in probably the most heartbreaking Good Trouble episode ending ever, Dennis is missing. This comes after his friend who went into a deal with Jesus on building tiny houses is threatening to back out, all because of drama involving Dennis and his soon to be ex-wife.

She then tells Dennis that he was a horrible husband and horrible father, and that it took their son getting cancer for him to care about her feelings. With these words ringing through his head, Dennis takes off and parks his car on the roof of a tall building overlooking the city. He leaves his ex a voicemail detailing how horrible he feels for everything he’s done, and how he wants her to have all the money from the settlement so that she can start a happy life without him.

It’s clear that Dennis is about to hurt himself, but as we see Davia panicking, thinking back on every interaction Dennis had with his friends at the gallery that day, she realizes as we do that it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. He’s been saying goodbye to everyone he knows and loves for days. And before we can see what he does, the screen cuts to black. For the first time ever, Good Trouble has left us wondering about the fate of a beloved character (can someone pass the tissues?).

So let’s unpack all of this. Where do I even begin?

There’s so many relationships intersecting here that it’s almost difficult to keep track, perhaps the biggest drawback of having so many amazing characters. Of course we have Callie and her love triangle with Jamie and Gael, who’s also dating (well, dated) Bryan. But then, there’s also Alice, Joey, Sumi and Meera, and then there’s the weird unestablished shape that is Mariana, Raj and Evan. Because after all, she may not be interested in either of them.

And a bit more understated, we have Davia whose relationship with her boyfriend is on and off, and who I refuse to believe doesn’t have something going on with Dennis, whom is also dealing with his ex-wife.

On top of all this relationship drama, we have much bigger issues unraveling in this episode. Mariana’s anonymous salary list has now been discovered by Angela, her boss, and it seems like people at Speckulate want her gone. Additionally, the CEO of the company, Evan, who’s taken interest in her, has a cloudy past that may involve sexual assault? Whoever this Amanda person is, I’m dying to hear about her and maybe even get a flashback of her relationship with Evan. But for now, the fact that we know close to nothing is only building the suspense.

Meanwhile, Malika’s brother seems to be in trouble in the midst of the protest she’s organized. I’m still trying to figure out what exactly could’ve happened, but I can only imagine it involves their mom in some way, shape or form. Regardless, it’s about to get ugly.

But most worrying of all is Dennis’ disappearance and worrying voicemail left to his ex-wife. We can all assume that he’s probably about to attempt suicide, and with Davia the only person who seems to be around, I’m terrified to find out if she’s able to get to him on time. I’m really glad though that the show is honing in on this relationship between two friends who virtually hated each other at the beginning of the season. They’ve learned in such a short time that they have more in common than they thought, and that they only want the best for each other. If only one thing can happen in the finale, I hope it’s Davia saving Dennis and reiterating to him that his life is worth living, because he is worthy of love and happiness and success just like everyone else.

With all the “good” trouble we’ve seen the characters get into, it’s so important that real issues like the wage gap and mental health are being brought up as well. Scandalous relationship drama and threesomes can be entertaining to watch, but Good Trouble is concerned with being more than just entertaining. This show is starting conversations about things like men’s mental health, and I’m so, so thankful they are. Men have only recently been given a platform to talk about their mental health issues, and Dennis is one of few great examples of representation in that space.

As we go forward to the finale and into the second season, I’m hoping that Dennis’ story will continue to be told, and that we’ll see him heal, even if slowly, because that’s real and it’s raw. In addition to Dennis, there’s so many amazing stories being told in this show that will continue to be told. I feel like I say this every week, but the writers of this show are so fantastic and I applaud the work they’re doing to create realistic dialogue between characters that tackles social issues. There are so many characters in the Coterie and at Judge Wilson’s firm and at Speckulate that come from all walks of life and have their own experiences to share.

The finale is definitely going to be full of drama, with Dennis, Callie/Gael/Jamie, and the lesbian love rectangle just to name a few characters/relationships. I’m definitely not ready.

Good Trouble airs Tuesdays on Freeform at 8/7c.

Jessica’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

#Good Trouble #Broken Arted

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kadyshackkk-blog · 6 years

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Final Reckoning Episode One Review plus a little info from seasons past.

Hello World! Mtv’s Hit The Challenge Returned Tuesday July 10, 2018 at 9pm! This season is “the end of the challenge as we know it”. Which as of right now I’m calling total b.s. since well mtv the last few season has been “recreating” older seasons ie; The Challenge Invasion of the champions, a very sad and terrible attempt to recreate the iconic The Ruins. Then we went into Dirty 30, the longest season in existence and a horrible rip off of Free Agents which in my opinion was the last great season of the show. In the dirty 30 we had something called the purge aka lets fuck Darrell over and allow a bunch of idiots to run the show. Yes I am still bitter because Darrell was robbed out of a title that season and instead our winners were a racist and an anti feminist douche lord, I mean Camila and Jordan. Then we slide into Vendettas after that tragic second season of Champs V stars, which we won’t even talk about since it was a bunch of d list celebrities who i didnt even know and well the terrell owens aka the biggest bitch in the nfl. Moving along, on Vendettas we received a much needed invasion of new people from big brother and mtv uk! Be warned I have never watched mtv Uk shows or any big brother so I had zero idea who these people were but I was excited to see them! We also got from season 5 of are you the one Kam, Eddie, and Alicia. I loved that season of ayto and the people they chose to come onto vendettas made total sense. But what didn’t make any sense at all was the poor get rid of eddie they did. Now I will only say this once and the source that told me this is very credible since he was on their season of ayto he also doesn’t like either person involved however he dislikes eddie more. Simple fact is Alicia Lied, plan and simple. There was never a restraining order or anything of that nature. You can look it up online its public information in every state. Moving on from that, the additions from the uk were all very attractive, and before you gasp and say even Kyle?! Yes even Kyle , I feel like he looks better in person then he does on tv. The fights that season we’re beyond annoying . This was my face anytime Kailah or nicole spoke or were on my tv screen

I give them both a chance every season they are on but they always make me regret giving said chance. The luggage throwing incident pissed me the fuck off. & Before you all go WeLL cArA dID iT To JOrdAn guess what she put a waterproof bag of his clothes in water omg get over it. Jemmeye Kailah & Britni Ganged up on kayleigh because of a rumor about her and bananas that Devin started to get Johnny thrown into elimination. It was not okay, it is never okay to touch someone elses belongings ever. I do not care, her stuff was broken and none of the actual apologized for it.

Now for what you came for my review of the Challenge Final Reckoning Episode 1

First off I was hoping this season was a team season sadly it was just a rip off of the Rivals series which was only decent for rivals 1 and 2. Rivals 3 was ridiculous and a waste of time and energy. In the beginning we see everyone show up and Tj is all like guess what your partner is buried and you have to find them! oh and the last two teams will be sent home ending their time in south africa. Me as a view knowing damn well tj is full of shit

We see Zach dig up his partner Amanda first. Listen I was very excited to hear that Amanda was coming back this season! I really was until all the twitter beef with cara, and unless you’ve been living under a rock you know exactly what I am talking about. (hint him and amanda won the challenge wooooooooh)

Here is everyones partnerships.

Zach & Amanda; Their beef seems a little forced since it’s about Amanda “making up” lies about jenna that even jenna confirmed was true. This team will go far if Zach learns how to work well with women.

Angela & Faith; I honestly don’t understand their beef, really over tor’i really. irrelevant ass team. Angela doesn’t have that same energy she did with Alicia when it comes to Shane and Kam. They won’t go far unless someone (cough cough angela sleeps with someone in power, pulling a veronica in the ruins when she hooked up with my favorite toothbrush twin evan.)

Dj Bald I mean Brad & hair plugs pathological liar I mean kyle; THIS TEAM MAKES ZERO SENSE YALL DEADASS MADE SOME SHIT UP. UHM HELLOOO DARRELL TAYLOR DID NOT WHOOP THAT ASS ON THE RUINS FOR ZERO REASON. Like mtv please stop calling kyle , he literally makes me want to stab him daily.

Cara & Marie; Listen these two have serious dislike for each other over a fucking tweet cara liked & it makes sense they are together. I honestly think this team will do well if Marie Actually fucking tries which i think she will. Tbh marie did campaign to be caras Partner.. However I feel like we as viewers deserved a coral cara team. Those two are both very strong women who need to work out their issues and become civil because I personally love them both.

Ct & Veronica; An og team, ct called v weak but she won more daily challenges then the majority of the girls on dirty 30 . A team to actually fear if they try and win

Derrick & Tori; Yasssss my boo derrick is back!!!!!! Don’t tell tyler but i adore derrick and think hes amazing. I really like tori as well but her taste in men is just as questionable as mine. Back story tori cheated on derrick with jordan. therefor they don’t like each other.

Bananas & ??? : THIS LITERALLY COULD BE ANYBODY. I’m hoping its sarah so he can break his curse and retire because honestly no one can touch his record unless Landon came out of retirement or if production doesn’t keep fucking over darrell

Joss & Sylvia the sheep; Joss is Hot , and he voted sheep into the elimination and she got mad. damn well knowing she would’ve done the same thing. they do great.

Kam & Melissa; I love this team, this “rivalry” started over a misunderstanding I’m hoping they do well...

Natalie & Paulie; I don’t care enough to waste my time

Nelson & Shane; I’m actually started to like nelson, my dislike for him comes from my loyalty to tyler.. I love shane he is the sassy gay bff that I need in my life. This team will do well if nelson and shane both keep themselves in check

Mama Day & Jozea; I’ve never watched big brother but this team is by far my favorite big brother pairing, I follow both on twitter and they make me laugh daily. underdogs i stan

Britni & Chuck; The hotmess express team. Clearly still feelings there, chuck sucks for what he did to her, they will need to find a way to get past their issues

Jenna & Jemmeye; One of the best moves in challenge history caused this feud. they will do well, jemmeyes brain and jennas brawn.

Kailah & Kayleigh; Failah likes to bully others kayleigh was her victim last season. they’ll probably be out pretty early..

Now to the results of the challenge

Amanda and Zach won.

I’m not to sure about the rest of the order except for the fact Day & Jozea came in last but before jem & Jenna and Chuck & britni.

it was chucks fault him and brit lost

it was jennas fault her and jem lost

but was anyone really in shock

So then we hear bananas yelling for help since his partner left due to family emergency everyone goes digs him up and if it was up to me he wouldve been sent “home” and not brit and chuck since they almost beat day and jozea.. after they get bananas hoe ass out tj announces that amanda and zach are able to send another team home! And out of all the teams these two dumb asses pick day and jozea. like uhm helllooooooo!!! ya’ll deadass had the chance to send send strong teams home... I can’t the stupidity of these two i can’t. SO then the three teams leave and “go home”. Everyone goes to the house and already a fight breaks out between shane and angela, over a fucking shelf. Homegirl didn’t have the energy with shane like she did with Alicia , but we already knew she was a fraud. Then cut to outside where Joss and amanda are already flirting with each other. I will give credit is due, Amanda is a beautiful girl but has a very ugly soul and joss is very smart to hookup with her, camera time is everything and why not hook up with one of the most dramatic cast members ever. Cut to Syliva saying this could go great for her alliance or terribly for her alliance at least shes smart. The Que the amanda and joss makeout session. Then we cut to bananas cara and hair plugs talking about cara and kyle. Everything out of kyles mouth is a lie and garbage. Kyle states hes gonna sleep with other people and caras like cool whatever . The cut to faith and hairplugs making out, then faith gets into hottub and johnny being johnny brings it up in front of cara, and cara pulls a queen move by being like if he doesnt want me im not gonna wait around. boy bye best choice shes ever made. Then baby girl proceeded to go into a room and make herself look bad by trying to get at paulie. Like oh no baby what is you doing go to sleep and leave him alone..

Then we cut to the best part of the night in my opinion, first we see melissa walk in and try to be civil with kailah, failah wants zero part in it but melissa still tries because melissa wants to be nice then failah pushes melissa and melissa molly whopped her then they were pulled apart

Everyone but kailah stans on twitter

Then the teams who were “sent home” arrive at the redemption house and tj explains some shit i wasn’t paying attention because i didnt care at that point

Then they go to the photoshoot day and Tj shows up which is never good..

Tells melissa and kailah they are both out ..

Now we dont know kam and kayleighs fate, we find out next week..

Over all this episode was awesome , the cliffhanger was needed , we had a fight some hook ups and a twist.

this season will be interesting to say the least.

#mtv the challenge #final reckoning

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ethanalter · 7 years

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Back to 'Westworld': What these 11 new photos reveal about Season 2

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Westworld.

Forget about winter — Westworld is coming. With Game of Thrones benched until 2019, HBO’s futuristic sci-fi series is guaranteed to become everyone’s big obsession when it returns for Season 2 on April 22. Just as the internet cracked many of the freshman season’s secrets before they aired, fans are already trying to figure out where the next 10 episodes are headed, and whether or not that destination is Samurai World. Now they’ve got more fodder for their speculations in the form of these 11 just-released Season 2 photos, as well as an all-new website that mimics the retro-futuristic theme park’s parent company, Delos Destinations. Scroll through the above gallery and start your theories… now.

Westworld returns on April 22 at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Dolores

Back in Season 1, Westworld’s top host, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), had two storylines: save her or woo her. Heading into the second season, she’s nobody’s damsel in distress. Having awakened into full consciousness and killing her creator in the process, she’s now turning her (gun) sights on the rest of the humans unlucky enough to be trapped in Westworld. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Dolores and Teddy

While a new emboldened Dolores stands tall in the saddle, her former beau Teddy (James Marsden) looks a little worse for the wear. (Being manually and violently reset by a fellow host will do that to you.) As per this Delos-released graphic the previous version of Teddy — Version 3.26, for those keeping score — only had an 18% aggression level. If he’s spending a lot of time in Dolores’s company, that’s gonna have to rise by at least 25%. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

The Man in Black

Nameless no more, the Man in Black aka Old William (Ed Harris), has been looking for fresh challenges in Westworld for nigh on 30 years. The Maze wasn’t his thing, but now that hosts can wound humans, it’s a whole new game. Too bad his VIP status won’t come in handy in the middle of a robot uprising. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Maeve

The first host to realize there’s a world beyond Westworld, former bordello madame Maeve (Thandie Newton) was literally one train ride away from leaving the park behind — until she turned back, hoping to find the daughter she just barely remembers. At least, that’s what we assumed. “I don’t know the reason, you don’t know the reason,” Newton told us last year. “I just know that whatever her future is, it’s going to be really, really daring and vicious.” (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Bernard

Having until very recently believed himself to be human, Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) is caught between his identity as Westworld’s behavioral department head and his memories of his past life as Robert Ford’s assistant, Arnold. This picture of him standing amidst various Westworld guards seems to suggest that he’s sticking by the park’s flesh-and-blood population… for now, at least. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Bernard and Charlotte

Her own plan to unseat Ford fell flat — Dolores did that for her — but Delos executive director Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) has another wild card up her sleeve. At the end of Season 1, she retrieved Dolores’s father, Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum) from cold storage and put him on a train out of Westeros for an as-yet-unrevealed purpose. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Angela

Last season, Westworld greeter Angela (Talulah Riley) met new visitors clad in an all-white ensemble. What are we to make of the fact that she’s traded it away for this black dress? For what it’s worth, the last character to undergo a similar transformation was William, who gave away the white hat of his idealistic youth for the black hat he wore as an older, meaner parkgoer. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Lee and Maeve

This snapshot comes from a scene in the trailer that premiered at Comic-Con last summer showing Westworld’s narrative director, Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), and an armed Maeve standing in the ruby red control room filled with dead guards. But who — or what — took them out? Maybe those bulls we saw in the Super Bowl teaser? (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Maling, Ashley, Karl, and Bernard

Get Out scene-stealer, Betty Gabriel, isn’t getting out of Westworld anytime soon. The actress joins the cast as park enforcer, Maling, who will presumably work closely with security head Ashley (Luke Hemsworth) to protect privileged parkgoers like Karl (Gustaf Skarsgard). But is Bernard her helper or her prisoner? (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Antoine

When your host technology experiences a major breakdown, who ya gonna call? Antoine Costa! This tech expert (played by Fares Fares) seems to be standing behind Bernard in the makeshift camp that the surviving humans are calling home. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

Hector

Westworld’s resident bad boy, Hector (Rodrigo Santoro), is clearly ready to make more mischief in Season 2. One theory that we’re waiting to see addressed is whether this particular host was modeled after William’s old frenemy, Logan (Ben Barnes), last seen being dispatched into the Westworld wilderness in an unexpected power play by his future brother-in-law. They definitely share a similar taste in facial hair. (Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO)

Source: Yahoo TV

#_revsp:wp.yahoo.tv.us #evan rachel wood #westworld #ed harris #james marsden #photos #_category:yct:001000086 #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT #drama #hbo #slideshow #jeffrey wright #thandie newton #_uuid:325410e9-7a81-3597-bb02-b75cfa03ecfe

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ilovereadingandilovebreathing · 7 years

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MScale (Part 1)

A/N: Wow okay, so this is a Soul Eater AU set in the Psycho-Pass universe that I wrote but never posted, and honestly I don’t know why. I really dig the idea and direction I was going with it, so let’s see how this goes. This will be a multi-chapter work.

Summary: There’s no rest for the wicked (or otherwise) when Death City is crawling with latent criminals. It’s Maka Albarn’s first day as an inspector at the Shibusen Madness Scale Law Enforcement Department, and what a first day it is.

Word Count: 2511

Genre: Psycho-Pass AU; Action, Drama

Characters/Pairings: Maka Albarn, Death the Kidd (Dean Kiddenger), Black*Star, Soul “Eater” Evans, Sid Barrett, Myra Nygus, Crona Gorgon, Giriko Sawyer, Angela (mention of Mifune and Arachne)/None in this chapter

Warnings: Violence (threats with a knife and description of death by explosion [if you’ve seen Psycho-Pass, you know what I mean, if not, I don’t go into much detail, no worries]), minor character death, hostage situation

“Oh man oh man I’m going to be late!” A petite girl wove between masses of towering (over her, anyway) pedestrians; her blonde pigtails flew behind her when she finally broke free of the hoards and took off at a sprint. “Excuse me, pardon me, sorry-Whoa!!” Grabbing a pair of silver handles just before her face had an unfortunate encounter with spotless glass, Maka Albarn sighed with relief when big black characters declaring “Shibusen Madness Scale Law Enforcement Department” met her eyes instead. Righting herself, she threw the door open and attempted to speed through the lobby unnoticed, pulling up only when a skull-faced security droid requested her identification. "Oh, here-" She whipped out her newly commissioned PDA2400 and flashed her ID.

"Authorization Confirmed: Albarn, Maka. Your presence is requested in building 3, level 8, hall 5, security desk 12, belonging to the Enforcement of Autonomy through Technology Division."

"Thank-" She paused, realizing a drone likely didn't register appreciation, so she merely tightened her signature pigtails and pressed forward.

After nearly 10 whole minutes of wrong halls and desks, Maka finally strode toward number 12, trying to keep her assurance about her.

"Um..." Well, that went... "Is this the EAT Security desk?"

A raven haired man with brilliant golden eyes peered over his clipboard, his eyes narrowing as he flipped through the pages.

"You must be the new inspector....Albarn...Maka, correct?"

"Yes, Maka Albarn." She straightened her shoulders, declaring her name with a stable tone.

"Albarn, huh?..." He muttered to himself. It could be a coincidence... "Dean Kiddenger. You may address me as Inspector Kiddenger. Now if you'll follow me this way..." He gestured down the off-white hallway. Following him like a newly domesticated animal, she nearly bumped into him when he suddenly stopped in front of an automatic glass door. "This-" He withdrew an identification card from his pocket, slid it through the registration slot, and ushered her inside. "Is our headquarters, so to speak. At least, for our unit of The Enforcement of Autonomy through Technology Division. You, myself, and our subordinates will work here."

"Our-" Before she could get the question out, he was leading her to the side of the room.

"Your station is here." He pointed to a small desk with a flat screen computer. "Any and all assignments will be delivered to your desk or sent instantly to your personalized Shibusen messaging inbox. Assignment reports are due no later than 24 hours after the mission is completed and all Madness Scale Detection Guns are returned to their proper dock. Assignments that do not fit the proper formatting as outlined in form-"

"FID 1-M, Form of Inspector Duties, section one, subsection M, of the Shibusen Madness Scale Law Enforcement Division handbook."

He paused, his stare neutral as he observed her from behind his clipboard. Her mossy eyes glimmered, though she bit her lip a bit, realizing that she might have overstepped her bounds already...

"It's nice to find that the academy was successful in training at least one knowledgeable recruit." The faintest shadow of a smile nearly graced his lips as he continued. "Seeing as you likely know anything else I might tell you, I will save both of us the time and trouble. Now, we will proceed to-"

A screeching blare sounded from a black box attached to the man'a hip, prompting a frown from him and a grimace from his new charge.

"It seems we are needed. Kiddenger, Identification Code 4242564. Speak." Putting his ear to a small speaker, the elder inspector attentively absorbed the transmission, ending with a terse, "Yes, we'll be right down."

"It seems, Miss-....Inspector Albarn, that our assistance is needed in pursuit of a newly detected latent criminal."

"So soon? I mean, not that I'm not excited to jump into the job so quickly, I just....it seems so sudden."

"Yes, well, we are a bit short on manpower as of late. We don't normally commission new recruits so soon, but your scores and overall progress and knowledge seem to show that you are prepared. Now, follow me to the preparation quarters and we will do a brief run down before we meet the rest of the team."

"This-" Inspector Kiddenger placed his hands around a bulky gun, a large skull imprinted on the side. His eyes glowed white as the gun authenticated him. "Is your Madness Scale Detection gun, also called the “MSD” or “Demon” guns. They’re controlled by the Spartoi system. I trust you received lessons in the academy?"

"Yes...briefly, but I caught on quickly."

"Good. Now, as a reminder, the gun decides whether or not someone is a criminal to be subdued. The gun reads the Madness Scale of whomever it pointed at and will only unlock the trigger if the target is a latent criminal. The level of depravity determines the level of enforcement. Another reminder: Only Inspectors may use guns on Enforcers, not the other way around, because they are, in fact, latent criminals."

Her mossy eyes widened a bit as Maka pondered the implication. She knew, of course, what, or who, really, Enforcers were, but she never thought she'd meet them so soon, or that she would ever need to use a gun on one of them...

"Get your gun. The Enforcers should be here-" He was cut off as a massive shadow overtook the transparent door a few yards away. "Now."

The door slid open, and a group of five, led by a dark-headed woman with a bandaged face who must have been their supervising inspector, slowly filtered into the room and gathered their respective gear.

"These are the Enforcers." The lead inspector nodded to the silent woman, hardly bothering to lower his voice. "They are neither human nor animal, but some fine-line creatures that dwell in between. They are not as spotless as you or I, their Madness Scales having been thrown off balance long ago, but they have been deemed redeemable only through their abilities and knowledge, granting them whatever significant value to this system."

"I-I see..."

"Oooo Kiddo brought us some fresh meat!" A raucous tone declared. Maka soon identified the owner as an azure-haired muscle-head of a man; he approached her confidently, gun in hand as he looked her over. "Hmmm not bad, Kiddo, though she's a little...'small up north,' if you-OW!" He was cut off when another enforcer, a sizable man with cornrows, delivered a healthy slap to the back of his head, making him see stars.

"That's enough from you, punk." He grumbled. "Show the lady some respect. She's our new handler, after all."

"Indeed." Kiddenger broke in, shooting a disdainful glare at the loud mouth. "For today, Black*Star," He pointed to the now sheepish brawn for Maka's reference. "And Sid." He gestured to the towering figure. "Will come with me. Soul and Crona, you're with Inspector Albarn."

"All right, team, let's do this!!" Black Star thundered, pounding out the door as the other two men followed behind him.

"Well..." Maka turned, finding herself face-to-face with a set of the palest blue eyes she'd ever seen. "I'm Maka Albarn," She chirped. "And you're..."

"Uh...um, C-Crona G-G-Gorgon..." The robin egg irises shied from her gaze.

"And you-"

"Hey, Kidd and the others left like a full minute ago." A growling tone bit off. "We'll save intros for later, we need to get a move on." Silvery locks brushed past her, and she barely caught sight of flashing scarlet as the rough-throated figure breezed past her.

"Right, sorry....Soul?" She jogged after him, Crona trailing behind, his gun facing the floor. "So, where are we going, exactly?"

"Check your SPDA. You should've been sent the information as soon as we were assigned."

Flipping open her device, Maka found a briefing message awaiting her. Scrolling through, she picked out the general details and area of pursuit.

Target Name: Giriko Sawyer

Occupation: Pest Control Technician

Affiliation: Arachnaphobia Pest Control Services (Currently Under Surveillance)

Status: Targets condition detected by street scanners when he was on his lunch break. Never returned to his post. His last detection indicated that his Madness Scale Ratio was unbalanced at 30:70.

"The target's name is... Giriko... weird... okay, scanners not too far from here just picked up his readings. Let's go!" She took off at run, adrenaline feeding her elation as she lead her team to their mission field.

"Let's see..." Maka stood at the crossroads of two alleyways, trying to pinpoint which of her three options was their best bet. "Left leads deeper into the city...right leads toward the residential district...straight leads to the business sector...."

"He went right." Soul interjected.

Maka stalled. "How do you know?...That...natural instinct for sniffing out depravity?" She snuck a glance at the rather tall man poised in front of her; his face was stoic. Despite what the senior inspector had said, he looked pretty human to her...though his eyes...

He merely nodded to the right, indicating a discarded uniform hanging from a fruit crate. "Briefing said he works at Arachnophobia Pest Control, right?"

Blushing a bit, Maka followed the pair as they slowly moved forward. "Soul?"

"Yeah?" He grunted, angling toward her with a raised brow as they crept forward.

"What did it mean, in the mission update, when it said that Arachnophobia is under surveillance?"

"That place has churned out a handful of employees with MScale imbalances. Giriko is the third this year. Some team from Shibusen is keeping tabs on the place to see if they can pinpoint the cause."

"I see..." She started a bit when her PDA rang out with a mission update.

"H-he took a hostage." Crona stuttered out, his brows creased. "A k-kid...a little girl n-named Angela. What'll we do now, Soul?"

"What we're already doing. Track the guy down and wait for the Demon guns to tell us what to do with the scumb-"

A dark, lurching figure emerged from around an apartment building about a block ahead of them. A high-pitched little voice cried out indignantly. "You better let me go! You're gonna be sorry you took me! My daddy knows how to fight, and he'll kick your stupid butt with his big sword! He'll cut your guts ou-"

"Shaddup!" The man hollered, suddenly spinning around and pinning the child against the wall, a knife angled toward her tiny throat. "One more peep from you and I'll slice right through that windpipe of yours, ya hear?!"

The child's words clogged in her throat, her brown eyes wide in recognition. "M-Mister...Gir-?"

"Hey!" Maka cried, charging forward even as Crona and Soul grasped at her to keep quiet. "Let her g-"

"Stop right there or she dies!" Giriko demanded, pulling the child in front of him as a human shield, the knife still at her throat.

"Crap." Soul muttered from behind her.

"Hey, you! Alla you! Drop your guns, now! Or she dies!"

Throwing a glance behind the man, Maka slowly lowered her gun, signaling for the other two to do the same.

Detecting her subtle movement, the criminal peered over his shoulder. "The hell you-"

"AAHH!" Maka, her weapon raised and activated, charged at the man full force, gun pointed to his forehead.

"Target's MScale Ratio: 25:75. Now activating: sin erasing exec-."

"No you don't!" The man released the girl long enough to spin around and kick the gun from Maka's hands, a triumphant grin on his features. "Now you're in for it, Missy!" He bellowed, grabbing the girl in one arm and the inspector in the other. Laughing hysterically, he muttered, "There ain't no way I'm spendin' my life in one of those isolation rooms. I'm takin' both of you with me, and you'll be my pretty little-"

"-20:80. Now activating: sin erasing execution."

A roar shattered the air, and nothing was left of the man but scattered carnage and a pool of blood. Turning, Maka sighed with relief when she saw Kiddenger lowering his gun, Black Star and Sid looking on behind him.

Turning toward the little girl at her side, Maka started, "It's gonna be okay, swee-" She froze at the petrified look on the child's face; her tiny body trembled violently, her big brown eyes wide and watering. Bending down, Maka took the child into her embrace, rocking her as the girl murmured, "He…he w-worked w-with my d-addy...he...t-tried to k-k-" She exploded into sobs, gripping onto the woman as tears poured from her eyes.

"It's gonna be okay now, sweetie." Maka soothed, lifting the child into her arms as she turned to her team. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"H-How's she doing?" Crona asked a few hours later, coming up beside Maka as she watched the child from behind a two-way mirror.

"I think she'll be okay, eventually. Her madness scale took a hit after all that, but she's still a kid. They bounce back pretty well."

"I'll say...."

"Hey."

Soul poked his head in the door. "Kidd needs to talk to us."

In the conference room, Inspector Kiddenger and a spectacled lady Maka recognized as the Head Inspector, Yumi Azusa, sat at the head of a lengthy table.

"Inspector Albarn." Azusa began, her tone and her eyes the same cold steel. "Inspector Kiddenger has informed me that you took....unnecessary and highly dangerous risks during your recent mission."

"I-"

"You threw yourself at a latent criminal, allowed him to de-arm you and take you into his custody, correct?"

"Well, only-"

"Y-Yes, M-Ma'am,” Crona cut in, blushing when all eyes were on him. “Ah-she did, but-"

"She believed, though incorrectly, that her actions would allow her to free the hostage, even at a personal cost to herself."

"B-but-"

"Inspector Albarn, I understand that you are new here, but such actions cannot be taken. The risk posed to the hostage and to yourself-"

"But, ma'am, um...Chief Azusa,” Maka started. “We both made it out alive and safe, save for some blood stains, and my MScale was completely unaffected."

That froze the room for a moment.

Sighing, the other woman rose and assented, “Very well. Since you are new and your qualifications are exemplary, you will be pardoned with minor probationary action this one time. I expect a full and detailed report to be sitting on my desk by 5:30pm tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Wow." Soul deadpanned as the trio strode back to the observation room. "She's never gone that light on anybody. She must really be impressed with you."

Maka merely hummed in reply as she went in to interact with Angela.

"She's...different, Soul." Crona commented as they watched her bright eyes and sweet smile as she spoke with the recovering child. "I...I can't believe she wasn't tainted at all...even after that guy threatened her..."

Soul merely grunted in reply, his flashing gaze still locked on the outlandish inspector who was his newly assigned owner.

"B-but I'm glad she's here...A n-new face isn't s-so bad..."

"Yeah, let's just hope that we don't end up babysitting her more than she monitors us."

The older Enforcer turned on his heel, heading for his quarters to do a little investigating of his own.

#soul eater fic #soul eater fanfic #soul eater au #psycho pass #psycho pass au #mine #sefanfics

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jess-oh · 6 years

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Reflection

hey journal!

i am doing a lot better mentally and i’ve received a ton of free food so im one happy gal, haha! i know i had a pretty rough start the first few days of this week but I am doing a lot better now. I’m feeling much more optimistic!

Real quick before I dive into this... I made a comment on Angela’s interest in Dear Evan Hansen and made a “mock” argument of sorts with her and went unnecessarily into detail on a stupid topic and I thought it’d just be fun banter at first but from her tone in response, I think she actually took me seriously? So I just messaged her to clear the air bc I really do want to get better and avoid offending or hurting anyone bc that’s really not my intention.

I do want to care more about how others feel and think in an understanding sense but not so much in a im afraid what they’ll think of me sense. bc i dont want to fall down that path. i think the biggest thing i need to remember is my confidence and to rest assured that I am made perfectly in God’s image but to more importantly, come from a place of love when I am talking to other people. “Am I really caring about how they feel and think right now? How can I best serve them to do that?” Those kinds of thoughts. Which is different from “What do they think of me? Did I do something wrong? What can I do so they like me?” It isn’t an issue of how they view me but rather how I can best serve them. Which, I think the line will get pretty cloudy down the line but so long as I remember this, I think I’ll be fine.

I also worry for Jason bc like I mentioned before, I think he’s in a position where he feels the need to take care of everyone in a world where everyone is too afraid to approach anyone themselves. And I really don’t think Angela likes me. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I pushed her too much or said something ill timed. My theory is that when she found out someone else goes to Columbia, she was hoping I would be her saving grace of sorts and we’d immediately click. But we didn’t. And I didn’t save her. Because we’re just very different people. She calls me out for things pretty often and I do appreciate her blunt nature but sometimes, it is a bit discouraging. If I knew she was calling me out from a place of love and caring, I think I would be fine. But it feels like she’s constantly judging me. And I worry that she vents to Jason about me and he feels the need to defend me because we’re friends. And I don’t want him to face that. No wonder he’s been feeling so burnt out recently. He can be immature at times but other times, he’s above us all. He’s been through a lot and been forced to grow because of it. His sense of humor is immature but mentally, he’s way wiser than us all. At least, us college kids. No wonder he would prefer to hangout with Catalyst over us. I thought I was pretty mature and could match his level but I think I was wrong. Especially after everything he told me and how poorly I initially responded to it. I must admit that I’m not as mature as I originally thought. Maybe I’m just surrounded by a bunch of people less mature than I am. A lot of the times, I think I’m only prideful bc of my low self esteem but that’s not true. I’m actually insanely prideful and it blinds me a lot. When I speak with clarity, I know that it’s true and I have full confidence in what I say. But lately, I have been speaking in the heat of the moment, clouded with emotions. And that’s...a pretty immature thing to do. I need to pray for more guidance and wisdom and clarity from God bc I can’t do this without Him. I do genuinely want to get better. I do genuinely want to exude passion and wisdom and love. I do think I used to be an incredibly compassionate person but I’ve fallen a long way since then. Just because I’m “wise” around my sister doesn’t mean I’m always super mature. I definitely have my own flaws and weaknesses and it would do me good to be more aware of those things. To not speak before I’ve gathered all the facts and to actually take into account how everyone else is feeling and where they are before speaking.

I was salty before that P. Josh didn’t appoint me as outreach person instead of Christine but I’ve definitely rubbed some people the wrong way. In trying to reach out, I messed up our relationship without realizing it and that’s on me. I didn’t realize I had hurt Chaeweon. I thought we both just grew busy. We were both filled with so much excitement at first and then it just went so bad so fast. And that was totally my fault for not realizing I made her feel stupid and less than. That was never my intention but I do admit I felt good when I bragged about my own decision making skills. Instead of trying to be empathetic with her, I made myself look better and that was really wrong of me. And I do genuinely feel bad. I do want to apologize though I don’t know if it would actually help anything. She said it was fine but I think she was still hurt. And I don’t want to apologize for the sake of making myself feel better but I want to make sure my intentions are pure and true and apologize with her in mind.

Sigh.

Iiii apologized! We’ll see how she responds but I don’t really expect her to respond at all. I just felt like it was something I needed to do. Maybe it was just for myself or maybe it was God placing it on my heart to say something. Who knows. But I do know that I want to make the most of these opportunities when I feel like I should do something. Whether that’s to reach out to someone sitting alone or apologize or give food to the homeless or sing on the streets, I want to do it with full confidence and unashamedly! Because I’m walking with the Lord on my side. And if I shall die today, then I shall die today because that is His Will and I trust in what He says.

But yeah! I’m actually not sure when I last posted was but yesterday, I just had History of Communication Design and thankfully, I got the full credit! I was so scared bc I totally knocked out from exhaustion the night prior instead of working on my homework for Graphic Design III and Developing a Marketing Plan. Wow, my brain is all over the place. Backtrack.

SO! On WEDNESDAY, I had negotiation skills and graphic design III but my DMP homework was DUE at 12:30pm that day. Which is why I was stressing! So I quickly finished my American Girl Research and then worked on Facebook on the bus! I was going to work on it offline but then the extension didn’t work and then I was going to wait it out but my worries got the best of me and I just turned on my data and worked on it on my phone with my research opened in front of me on my laptop and quickly turned it in. I wish I didn’t worry so much about the formatting because Gina showed us an example of a really good one in class the next day and if I had only known that we had the freedom to break apart from the mold, I would have done that too! Ahhhhhhhhhhh. But oh well. Now I know! But in DMP, I remember we got into our groups and I got along with everyone really well! It is kind of hard bc in everyday conversation, I feel the need to constantly be checking myself and wondering if I’m saying “I” too much or being selfish or making the conversation about me instead of actually listening.

I can’t find my mouse but I guess I’ll find it later. Oh shoot! When I start typing, my cursor disappears from the screen! Interesting...anyways. I got along really well with my groupmates and I did falter under immediate pressure but picked myself back up relatively quickly! But we talked about Jane the Virgin, Titanic, BBC shows, The Walking Dead, and a bunch of other things and I’m really blessed to be in their group! At least that’s how I feel for now. We’ll see how I feel once we actually start working on the project...in fact, I’m going to try and finish my part of the research today so that I don’t forget about and can just get it over and done with now. Because I have so many responsibilities, I’m always afraid that I’m going to forget something. Speaking of which, I need to remember I have a meeting with Jenny tonight at 10pm! AHHH! MUST. REMEMBER! But yeah! I just closed Facebook bc the longer I stare at it, the more I’m going to expect a response and I don’t want to make any more mistakes so I just closed the tab so as to no longer think about it.

I’ll write more about Wednesday and Friday in a bit but first, I want to type this out.

When Jason revealed to me the areas in which I lack, I got to thinking some more and wondered what areas I have lacked in the past and how I could have done better. Yearbook has been the bane of my existence and that is something that I can never really escape. But for a while, I just blamed them for everything. For treating me poorly. For not making an effort to get along with me. But honestly, I never made an effort to get along with them either. I just let them do them and let me do me. But I’ve always wondered. There are definitely some people who I just know are always talking smack about me and I always wondered if the van ligten’s thought i was doing that to them. I remember when Jasmine called me and I missed it but called back in worry, hoping she was okay. And by her tone and what she said, I think they thought I thought I was cooler than them. But I never did. I had a lot of anxiety and depression and I was really struggling at home. But I never let them in. I never let them know or made an effort to be friends with them. And that was partly my fault. I did micromanage a lot and was very controlling. And I was insanely prideful for having expected the position of EIC so early on. I was absolutely heartbroken when that happened and I felt like my whole life was a sham. But without it, I never would’ve come back to God. He really did break me. So fully. And I definitely broke. But whatever I would’ve felt as EIC does not compare to the newfound love I have with God in my life. I want to constantly strive to do better. I want to be more than what I am here on this Earth. And I know that with Him on my side, anything is possible.

But back to Wednesday! It started raining! And I took up another shift at work! I was kind of freaking out bc I wasn’t sure if I just made a grave error in choosing to work 4 days a week again with all these extra responsibilities and priorities. But I think I’ll be okay! At least I hope so! But I went to Waffle Wednesday and briefly spoke with Claire, Jamal, and this other girl whose name I cannot remember...and it was great! Graphic Design III went pretty smoothly and I feel like Dan was weirdly nice to me this past week during that class and the week prior? Maybe he’s just trying to be a nicer person but it’s borderline flirting. But he also definitely has a girlfriend so I’ve been kinda confused... Regardless, I’m going to continue observing and see if he really is being extra nice or if I’m just tripping. I also told Evelyn about it in class today and she said that she noticed him talking to her more recently when he never usually did so maybe he just had a change of heart? Who knows. I don’t think I want him to ask me out. If he did, I think I would just be stunned and need to get back to him. I think a part of me hopes that he does want to so that I know I’m a desirable person and I would be tempted to say yes but ultimately say no bc I do know I have so much of my own baggage to sort through still and I think I would constantly be trying so hard to please him and be the version of me that he likes instead of just being able to relax with my partner in crime. So...that’s that. But after class. it was pouring rain! And I had no umbrella! So I put my stussy jacket over my backpack and just went for it in the rain bc I needed to go grocery shoppping! And honestly, my groceries were not nearly as expensive as I was afraid they’d be so I really hope tomorrow night goes well for the potluck! ^_^ This is my first real opportunity to host so I want to do well! :D

And then today... it was pretty straightforward and simple. I waited a bit for the bus this morning and was afraid I’d miss pancakes but I didn’t! And it was so much better than I could’ve ever imagined! There was bacon, sausage, and two types of pancakes! And all my favorite people were there! So many people from my work or people I’ve had past classes with or different faculty members I got along with really well. I was really happy! I laughed in joy with a girl I vaguely remember and everytime someone left from our table, another person would join. And I’m really so glad and blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people and feel so at home. Once again, I feel much more at home with the people at school than I ever have with the people at church. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Then I worked on some homework, went to History of Communication Design with Hannah, got along with a couple new people, yelled at Richard from across the room, got my questions answered, and overall, had a good time. Then I went to my e-board meeting, we had fun, fooled around, danced, and got a lot done. Then Tina and I spent some good time together just chatting it up in the weird 618/624 building hybrid room and I’m glad. I went to the 9th floor, thinking I could get my textbook hw done but unfortunately, IT WAS CLOSED. So I just went home instead. Oh! Joyce also gave Tina and I both food to take home and it was bomb.com! Anyway, my week started pretty shitty but it got progressively better and I feel both honored and blessed.

Thank you God!

#reflection

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viralhottopics · 8 years

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Passion is overrated 7 habits that you need instead

Image: Shutterstock / ChingChing

Its common wisdom. Near gospel really, and not just among young people and founders. Across generational lines, sentiments like those from Steve Jobs 2005 commencement at Stanford have been engraved into our collective consciousness:

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.

In other words, follow your passion. Theres just one problem: Follow your passion is dangerous advice.

Thats a troubling claim, but it comes straight from Cal Newports investigation into the details of how passionate people like Steve Jobs really got started as well as what scientists say predicts happiness and fuels great accomplishment.

Newports not alone. In recent years, a host of leaders, academics, and entrepreneurs have all come to the same startling conclusion: nearly everything youve been told about following your passion is wrong.

Here are seven habits you need instead.

1. Not passion, purpose

Ryan Holiday, author of Ego Is the Enemy:

Your passion may be the very thing holding you back from power or influence or accomplishment. Because just as often, we fail with no, because of passion. [P]urpose deemphasizes the I. Purpose is about pursuing something outside yourself as opposed to pleasuring yourself.

Until about a century ago, passion was a dirty word. Classical philosopher like Socrates and Marcus Aurelius saw passion as a liability not an asset: an insatiable and destructive force. Why?

Chiefly because passion is dangerously self-centered. In fact, our own modern descriptions of passion betray this inward bend: I want to [blank]. I need to [blank]. I have to [blank]. In most cases, whatever word finishes those sentences regardless of how well meaning it might be is overshadowed by the first.

Purpose, on the other hand, is about them, not me. It reorients our focus onto the people and causes were trying to reach, serve, help, and love. In The Happiness Hypothesis, psychologist Jonathan Haidt describes this pursuit as a striving to get the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself. If you get these relationships right, a sense of purpose and meaning will emerge.

Passion makes us bigger. Purpose connects us to something bigger and in doing so makes us right sized.

2. Not passion, picking

Shaa Wasmund, author of Stop Talking, Start Doing:

No is a far more powerful word than Yes. Every Yes said out of obligation or fear takes time away from the things and people we love. When an opportunity appears connected with your passion, its even trickier. Instead of snatching up everything that might get your closer to the life you want, give yourself the space to pick carefully.

Good is the enemy of great. Thats how Jim Collins put it anyway. Learning to say No is easily one of the most vital skills we can cultivate. And yet, even if youve mastered No to the obvious stuff, passion rears its head.

The blinding effect of passion leads us unthinkingly into projects and meetings that, in truth, are dead ends. Worse, they sap time and energy that would otherwise move us forward. When Tim Ferriss asked journalist Kara Swisher what message shed put on a billboard for millions to see, her answer was a single word, Stop.

And thats what picking is all about: slow down, pause, evaluate, weigh, and only then make a clear-headed choice. Picking involves, first, putting a time buffer on our decisions, particularly decisions that appear connected with your passion. Second, running our choices by an objective third party: a friend or colleague who can call out our blind spots.

Sleep on it. Reach out. The sun will rise tomorrow. And be ruthless with your Nos.

3. Not passion, practice

Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance:

After youve discovered and developed interest in a particular area, you must devote yourself to the sort of focused, full-hearted, challenge-exceeding-skill practice that leads to mastery. You must zero in on your weaknesses, and you must do so over and over again, for hours a day, week after month after year.

We all love shortcuts. The allure of getting more by doing less is seductive. But are there times when doing more equals more? Absolutely.

The classic illustration comes from David Bayles and Ted Orlands Art and Fear where a ceramics teacher divided his class into two groups. The first was told theyd be graded on quality. The other, quantity. To get an A, the quantity group was required to produce fifty pounds of clay pots. Not exactly an artistically inspired assignment. And yet, when grading time came, a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity.

What accounted for this reversal of expectations?

Easy: while the quality group held back laboring under perfectionism the quantity group got busy. They practiced. And thats good news. If greatness came down to passion or worse, talent then itd be reserved for only a select few. Practice means greatness is doable one tiny step after another.

4. Not passion, planning

Liran Kotzer, CEO of Woo.io:

Passion is indeed very important, but what most people don’t know is whats needed to achieve their true potential. Whether its to acquire new skills, get a promotion, or achieve what they want, it all starts with having a plan based on real data and real-world options.

The only word less sexy than practice is planning. And yet planning is a golden thread woven through the lives of artists, leaders, and entrepreneurs alike. The trick here is that plans need not be grandiose. Rather, they shouldnt be.

Optimism is wonderful when it comes to our dreams. However, when it comes to whats next the nitty-gritty actions thatll get us there optimism kills. Infected with passion, our plans lose touch with reality. We overestimate strengths and underestimate challenges. Beyond the real data and real-world options, we build castles in the sky. Thats one of the reasons platform like Woo, which lets you get feedback from companies and headhunters anonymously, are so valuable.

Where passion disconnects us from reality, planning especially planning of the SMART goal and number-crunching variety drives home the true state of affairs.

That true state rescues us from false expectations, show stoppers, and resentment. As a good friend of mine likes to say, The question when youre trying to bring a dream into reality shouldnt be, What going to go right? It should be, Whats going to go wrong?

5. Not passion, positioning

Jason Stone, founder of Millionaire Mentor Inc.:

Passion can only take you so far. After that, if you don’t have the skills, the tools, the resources, the knowledge, and the track-record to move forward, take risks, and expand. Otherwise, you wont be able to position yourself as an authority. Positioning is key to make sure you are ready when opportunity strikes!

Humans are associative creatures. We think and act not in isolation but by comparing and contrasting.

The basic approach of positioning, wrote Al Ries and Jack Trout in Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate whats already up there in the mind, to retie the connections that already exist. This is especially true when it comes to how other people see us.

Passionate people often come off as self-inflated. Theyre legends in their own minds. Positioning means leveraging who you are and what youve done as a springboard to whats next. It embraces the associate nature of other people and while it still leaves room for confidence acknowledges that how others perceive us is more real, at least to them, than how we see ourselves.

6. Not passion, peripheral

Troy Osinoff, author of My Bad Parent: Do As I Say, Not as I Did:

People that think they completely understand their world are the most susceptible to overlook new opportunities. Peripheral is about establishing an unwavering curiosity to use your existing knowledge in uncovering new patterns and trends both for the sake of your personal development as well as the success of your business or career.

Passion makes us myopic. We become so focused on the desire inside us, we lose sight of whats around us. Objectivity the ability to see the world as it truly is atrophies in the blinding light of passion.

Adopting a peripheral perspective forces us to examine the margins. It widens our view. Rather than rush headlong into disaster, were able to spot not just the pitfalls but the opportunities we would have otherwise missed.

How? By cultivating curiosity. Questions like, What am I missing? What am I ignoring? Who could give me a fresh take? are vital in every area of life. Likewise, so is putting ourselves in new situations, reading books outside our passions, and intentionally pursuing people who have nothing to do with what it is we think we want.

7. Not passion, perseverance

Brian D. Evans, founder of Influencive and Inc. 500 Entrepreneur:

The person who calls themselves a student is more a master than those who try to wear the title. Get up when you get knocked down. Come back stronger, faster, and (above all) smarter. The constant desire to learn and overcome has helped me achieve everything. You must persevere.

Although it might sound odd, perseverance is as much about putting in effort as it is battling ego. Drunk on passion, masters are doomed to repeat failures in the name of pushing through. In contrast, students do more than hone their craft; they learn from their mistakes.

Asked if the Patriots historic comeback in Super Bowl LI was his greatest game ever, Tom Brady replied: [W]hen I think of an interception return for a touchdown, some other missed opportunities in the first 37, 38 minutes of the game, I dont really consider playing a good quarter-and-a-half, plus overtime as one of the best games ever but it was certainly one of the most thrilling.

Certainly Brandy persevered, and itd be nice if that guaranteed success. But sometimes you wont come back to win it. At least, not in the moment. Jobs will be lost. Pitches turned down. Relationships ended. And reviews harsh.

Failure, however, isnt just an inevitable stepping stone toward success. Rejection is part of success itself. As Louis CK put it to a budding comedian, The only road to good shows is bad ones. Just go start having a bad time and, if you dont give up, you will get better.

Is passion a bad thing?

Understood rightly, no. But as the be-all-and-end-all? Yes.

Cal Newports prescription was skill: passion is the result of excellence, not its source.

Far from a magic bullet, passion can mislead us, blind us, and even turn us in on ourselves. Newport was right: Follow your passion might just be terrible advice. Thankfully, these seven habits put passion in its place so that the fire Jobs spoke of doesnt burn out but endures.

Aaron Orendorff is the founder of iconiContent and a regular contributor at Entrepreneur, Lifehacker, Fast Company, Business Insider and more. Connect with him about content marketing (and bunnies) on Facebook or Twitter.